# Differences between US and Germany, real and imagined

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differences-between-us-and-germany-real-and-imagined/712844>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [February 16, 2015, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differences-between-us-and-germany-real-and-imagined/712844 "2015-02-16T19:37:21Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 5

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**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\
**Post date:** [July 5, 2015, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differences-between-us-and-germany-real-and-imagined/712844/81 "2015-07-05T13:13:26Z")

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> [@batsto](#):
>
> Our student was quite mystified at the electronic “walk / don’t walk” sign at the intersection near our house, but that may just be because she’s from what I take to be a relatively rural part of Germany (judging by the photos of her neighborhood).

That may well be it (though from the other things you’re saying about her, she may well not be typical of anything - but then, who is?). Certainly red/green pedestrian crossing signals are all over the place in Germany - and they generally obey them. You can always tell the Brits in Germany - they sail across the road if there’s no traffic, while the Germans wait for the signal to change.

There was quite a to-do in Berlin about proposals to change the East German “Ampelmann” (a jaunty figure of a striding man in a hat) to the West German equivalent.

> [@ElvisL1ves](#):
>
> If it wasn’t for us, you’d \*all \*be speaking German. 😉

And if it wasn’t for _us_, _you_’d all be speaking French.

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**Author:** ![Chicken\_Fingers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Chicken\_Fingers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chicken_Fingers)\
**Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differences-between-us-and-germany-real-and-imagined/712844/82 "2015-07-06T00:01:51Z")

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I found [this](http://venturevillage.eu/how-to-be-german-part-1) pretty entertaining.

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