Hall's commercial -- "Breathe, my pasty friend!" -- Who are these guys?

[lokij]

@JRDelirious

Yep, I read it as “Russian” right off the bat, too. Must indeed be something about that bear-ish quality, and the vaguely Boris Badenov accent.

Y’know, the last class of big Soviet nuclear subs actually had a steambath among the accommodations. That’s what I call being big on steambaths.

That would be the ‘Typhoon’ class ballistic missile sub, the largest submarine ever made. They also have a swimming pool inside… I kid you not. They are however not the last class of Russian missile submarine built, that would be the Oscar class of which the Kursk belonged.

[Cinnamon_Girl]

@lokij

That would be the ‘Typhoon’ class ballistic missile sub, the largest submarine ever made. They also have a swimming pool inside… I kid you not. They are however not the last class of Russian missile submarine built, that would be the Oscar class of which the Kursk belonged.

This is why I love this place. Whodathunk that within a thread about a Hall’s Mentholyptus commercial, I’d learn a little something about Russian submarines?

You guys are da bomb!

[DocCathode]

Russians, definitely.
From this fine page on Slavic mythology

•Bannik (BAHN-neek)
Bath house spirit. Slavic bathhouses were like saunas with an inner steaming room and an outer room for changing. They were dark and frightening and like many scary places, were considered perfect for divinations.They were also the place most often used for child-bearing. No newborn was left there long, though, lest the fairies whould steal him. No Christian icons were allowed in the bath house, neither, as they may offend the it’s true occupant - the Bannik. It was customary in some places to offer every third firing of the sauna, or sometimes the fourth to the Bannik. One did not want to disturb him while bathing, though, or he might just throw hot water on them. Other times he would use his sharp claws to flay his victim alive. Besides a firing of the sauna, he liked offerings of soap, fir branches, and a water. The Bannik usually takes on the appearance of a member or friend of the family; so if you ever see someone you know in the bathroom, and find out later that they weren’t there. . .

Considering that they were willing to risk being skinned alive, they really love a good steam.