# I say "Germany." What's the first thing you think of? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 24, 2012, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-say-germany-whats-the-first-thing-you-think-of/610507 "2012-01-24T16:24:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![YoudNeverGuess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a587f6/32.png) [@YoudNeverGuess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YoudNeverGuess)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-say-germany-whats-the-first-thing-you-think-of/610507/41 "2012-01-24T19:52:43Z")
First I thought of the German flag, then pretty, Bavarian countryside, then sausages šŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-say-germany-whats-the-first-thing-you-think-of/610507/42 "2012-01-24T19:58:28Z")
Reunification. When I was in the third grade, we had to write about the country our ancestors were from. Since mine were from Germany (about 150 years ago), I got West Germany, while another kid got East Germany. That was when I learned about how recent the East/West split had been. When I realized that it was within my parentsā€™ lifetime, I started wondering whether the country would be reunified in my lifetime, and picturing myself as an adult, when there would be only one Germany. So Germany makes me think, ā€œHey, itā€™s just one country now!ā€ ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-say-germany-whats-the-first-thing-you-think-of/610507/43 "2012-01-24T19:59:14Z")
I think of shiny black leather. Zooming out the leather turns into the foot of a black leather riding boot. Out further it is a long, slender, mid thigh-length boot attached to what Iā€™m almost certain is a woman in a matching black-leather teddy with a 10ā€™ whip hanging limply at her(?) side. Sheā€™s got a very pale face and crimson lipstick highlighting a derisive sneer. She is wearing a matching service cap. She says, ā€œ_Bad_ American!ā€ There is a sharp report from the whip and I cry furiously into a ball gag, my hands cuffed securely behind me. I pay her in Trident Layers gum. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-say-germany-whats-the-first-thing-you-think-of/610507/44 "2012-01-24T20:01:17Z")
I think of the Wicked Queen of Germany beating up the Very Beautiful Queen of France. ā€¦never mindā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-say-germany-whats-the-first-thing-you-think-of/610507/45 "2012-01-24T20:04:05Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > I think of the Wicked Queen of Germany beating up the Very Beautiful Queen of France. I think we understand one another. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-say-germany-whats-the-first-thing-you-think-of/610507/46 "2012-01-24T20:07:30Z")
Beer, babes, brats. In that order. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-say-germany-whats-the-first-thing-you-think-of/610507/47 "2012-01-24T20:10:36Z")
BMW and Oktoberfest. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-say-germany-whats-the-first-thing-you-think-of/610507/48 "2012-01-24T20:10:37Z")
I was stationed there and lived there for over 2 years. I was there when the Wall came down. I have a flood of memories when I hear Germany. ---
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-say-germany-whats-the-first-thing-you-think-of/610507/49 "2012-01-24T20:47:17Z")
Beer. Granted, my thoughts are probably colored by the fact that I am A) currently living in Germany and B) currently drinking a lovely _weissbier_ from a brewery thatā€™s been doing the beer thing since, I donā€™t know, the late paleolithic or something. Anyway, there are things that have way more relevance to my day-to-day life in Germany than Hitler - such as how absolutely _loathsome_ I find most German cuisine (exceptions: beer, pretzels, chocolate). ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-say-germany-whats-the-first-thing-you-think-of/610507/50 "2012-01-24T20:51:27Z")
1920s and '30s UFA movies. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-say-germany-whats-the-first-thing-you-think-of/610507/51 "2012-01-24T20:53:17Z")
A sort of brownish color. But Iā€™m a synesthete. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-say-germany-whats-the-first-thing-you-think-of/610507/52 "2012-01-24T20:55:09Z")
> [@NinjaChick](#): > > Beer. > > Granted, my thoughts are probably colored by the fact that I am A) currently living in Germany and B) currently drinking a lovely _weissbier_ from a brewery thatā€™s been doing the beer thing since, I donā€™t know, the late paleolithic or something. > > Anyway, there are things that have way more relevance to my day-to-day life in Germany than Hitler - such as how absolutely _loathsome_ I find most German cuisine (exceptions: beer, pretzels, chocolate). I love German food. I am on an unending quest to find good jaeger schnitzel in America. ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-say-germany-whats-the-first-thing-you-think-of/610507/53 "2012-01-24T20:57:38Z")
Odd. My very first thought was of the German flag, which I would not have expected. Iā€™ve visited Germany and read a lot of books and studied German in college. Iā€™m currently reading a thriller novel involving Nazis, but it still wasnā€™t my first or even tenth thought. ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-say-germany-whats-the-first-thing-you-think-of/610507/54 "2012-01-24T21:01:01Z")
Iā€™ve never been to Germany, so the very first mental image I get is the Atlas style ā€œmapā€ of central Europe. If you say Japan, however, and I get my personal memories of my visits providing different images. (Tokyo, Mt. Fuji, the rail transit system. Driving on the wrong side of the street, with the different traffic signs.) ---
**Author:** ![Cinnamon\_Imp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58956e/32.png) [@Cinnamon\_Imp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cinnamon_Imp)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-say-germany-whats-the-first-thing-you-think-of/610507/55 "2012-01-24T21:13:02Z")
Also beer! ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-say-germany-whats-the-first-thing-you-think-of/610507/56 "2012-01-24T21:17:02Z")
I did check the ā€œHitlerā€ box above, but a more precise answer would be that the word ā€œGermanyā€ conjures images of a highly regimented, driven society. The Elephant Joke makes sense for a reason. ---
**Author:** ![Namkcalb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Namkcalb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Namkcalb)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-say-germany-whats-the-first-thing-you-think-of/610507/57 "2012-01-24T21:22:07Z")
> [@Nightfall1](#): > > I think of you know who. šŸ™‚ Uwe Boll? I know he is pure evil and all, but he is just one man ---
**Author:** ![shantih](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f6c823/32.png) [@shantih](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shantih)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-say-germany-whats-the-first-thing-you-think-of/610507/58 "2012-01-24T21:34:56Z")
My first thought was ā€˜home,ā€™ since Iā€™ve lived here for going on 16 years, and my second was ā€˜dark,ā€™ since Iā€™m fairly sure weā€™re never ever going to see the sun again ever, and my third was a jumble of daily events and friends and places around and about. Hitler didnā€™t make the cut. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-say-germany-whats-the-first-thing-you-think-of/610507/59 "2012-01-24T21:41:49Z")
Where my family is from, certain foods, where my favorite massage therapist moved to, a place I want to visit, (I _need_ a good massage!) and some pretty fine engineering. Iā€™ve got a tool thatā€™s pre-war - it just says ā€œGermanyā€ and itā€™s definitely older than 1989. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-say-germany-whats-the-first-thing-you-think-of/610507/60 "2012-01-24T21:45:39Z")
ā€œWhatever you do, donā€™t mention the warā€ The Germans - Fawlty Towers [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-say-germany-whats-the-first-thing-you-think-of/610507.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-say-germany-whats-the-first-thing-you-think-of/610507.md?page=4)