# No sending Catholic things into Germany? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 5, 2024, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-sending-catholic-things-into-germany/1011183 "2024-12-05T07:55:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DerSchneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/eada6e/32.png) [@DerSchneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DerSchneck)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2024, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-sending-catholic-things-into-germany/1011183/21 "2024-12-05T23:44:11Z")
I had sent the gifts originally in a box that was laying around my house. Little did I know that the box had a symbol for dangerous items. This is why isc customs sent it back as it couldn’t be shipped overseas. Yesterday, I bought an appropriate box from usps while I was there and attempted a second time to ship the gifts. A more detailed list of items was put in the second time since I didn’t want any reason for them to be rejected. But here we are. I’m going to UPS and will post an update. ---
**Author:** ![DerSchneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/eada6e/32.png) [@DerSchneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DerSchneck)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2024, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-sending-catholic-things-into-germany/1011183/22 "2024-12-05T23:45:41Z")
I posted a comment with more context! All gifts are in a single box. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2024, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-sending-catholic-things-into-germany/1011183/23 "2024-12-06T00:08:17Z")
> [@Uniqueorn](#): > > This makes me sound like an international drug dealer, but it was mostly books and CDs. But only “mostly”? Only 10% was drugs? 😜 ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2024, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-sending-catholic-things-into-germany/1011183/24 "2024-12-06T00:12:10Z")
I once ordered some pet food from an ebay seller, and it arrived in this box. My wife had some questions for me. [![](https://greenwoodsoftware.com/misc/condom-box1.jpg) ](https://greenwoodsoftware.com/misc/condom-box1.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2024, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-sending-catholic-things-into-germany/1011183/25 "2024-12-06T00:25:52Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > My wife had some questions for me. She wanted to know if you’d be using the ribbed ones the next time… (I’m not going to speculate on how long it would take you to get through 512 condoms.) ---
**Author:** ![crazyjoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@crazyjoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crazyjoe)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2024, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-sending-catholic-things-into-germany/1011183/26 "2024-12-06T00:41:54Z")
I have been told that you shouldn’t ship internationally via UPS, as they will charge the receiver a brokerage fee, which can be expensive. I’ve also been told (by people who regularly ship internationally) that FedEx doesn’t charge these fees. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2024, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-sending-catholic-things-into-germany/1011183/27 "2024-12-06T00:51:53Z")
At least 512 uses ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2024, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-sending-catholic-things-into-germany/1011183/28 "2024-12-06T01:02:08Z")
…if you only use one side. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2024, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-sending-catholic-things-into-germany/1011183/29 "2024-12-06T01:52:08Z")
> [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](#): > > If you look further down the link that @Jackmannii shared you will see that the “Articles bearing political or religious notations on the address side” restriction is only for USPS, not UPS or FedEx. Yet the USPS sells overtly religious Christmas-themed stamps to affix to the address side. ---
**Author:** ![DerSchneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/eada6e/32.png) [@DerSchneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DerSchneck)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2024, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-sending-catholic-things-into-germany/1011183/30 "2024-12-06T05:00:10Z")
My gf already has money allocated from me for such an expense, as we were also told this of USPS. Generally speaking, the reviews in my locality for UPS are somewhat better than those of FedEx ---
**Author:** ![DerSchneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/eada6e/32.png) [@DerSchneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DerSchneck)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2024, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-sending-catholic-things-into-germany/1011183/31 "2024-12-06T05:03:07Z")
This is correct. They are prominently advertised at the checkout counters. ---
**Author:** ![Orville\_mogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/aeb1de/32.png) [@Orville\_mogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orville_mogul)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2024, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-sending-catholic-things-into-germany/1011183/32 "2024-12-06T05:06:41Z")
Just got an idea for an Advent calendar ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2024, 8:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-sending-catholic-things-into-germany/1011183/33 "2024-12-06T08:50:21Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > If you only use one side. Thanks for the best laugh I’ve had in a long time! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2024, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-sending-catholic-things-into-germany/1011183/34 "2024-12-06T14:08:47Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > I once ordered some pet food from an ebay seller, and it arrived in this box. My wife had some questions for me. To properly make a barcode unreadable, the scribble should be in the same direction as the bars so that at least one bar is totally messed up. 512? Odd number… Is that because there are 52 weeks in a year, so minus 8, meaning one less needed on holiday weeks? (Or maybe one less on school “professional development days” when the kids are home?) That would work out to… ummm… ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2024, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-sending-catholic-things-into-germany/1011183/35 "2024-12-06T14:15:30Z")
> [@md-2000](#): > > 512? Odd number… Is that because there are 52 weeks in a year, so minus 8, meaning one less needed on holiday weeks? Well, 512=2^9, so maybe the packing machine at the condom plant works on an obscure 9-bit logic? ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2024, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-sending-catholic-things-into-germany/1011183/36 "2024-12-06T15:33:42Z")
> [@md-2000](#): > > 512? Odd number No, Sir, it is even. In fact, as **EinsteinsHund** has rightly pointed out, it is 9 times even. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2024, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-sending-catholic-things-into-germany/1011183/37 "2024-12-06T15:36:08Z")
Sending 512 condoms would be the opposite of sending Catholic things, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2024, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-sending-catholic-things-into-germany/1011183/38 "2024-12-06T15:56:40Z")
Given that the people of Germany are 24% Catholic, a restriction on Catholic items would be strange. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2024, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-sending-catholic-things-into-germany/1011183/39 "2024-12-06T18:17:20Z")
Not surprising given Germany’s history. It wasn’t like England, but the Reformation and Counter-Reformation was poppin’. Plus it didn’t become majority Catholic until recently, because of birth rates, immigration, and especially Protestants got secularized easier. Then of course real demographics are hard to come by because many will check a box but never go to church unless there’s a wedding. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2024, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-sending-catholic-things-into-germany/1011183/40 "2024-12-06T18:27:56Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > > [@Ulfreida](#): > > > > including pulverized cocoa beans, absinthe, and opened decks of cards. > > “Shoot, a fella could have a pretty good weekend in Munich with all that stuff.” They can sure keep that Hemingway grudge alive, though, can’t they? Wow. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-sending-catholic-things-into-germany/1011183.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-sending-catholic-things-into-germany/1011183.md?page=3)