No Fun Huns

"Published this week in the Journal of the Blatantly Obvious"...

They probably meant "some" Germans are incapable of enjoying life. At any rate, the Germans will still have food and warm places to sleep while the rest of Europe is freezing, starving in the dark and figuring out how to get to Germany.

I dunno -- Germans can enjoy some things. My company was recently purchased by Siemens, so we've had a lot of German visitors in the office lately.

When someone farts in the men's room, one normally tries not to laugh about it. Not these guys. A fart in the facilities elicits gales of laughter from these guys.

I am dreading the day when they install the shelf toilets and the spatulas.

Anything I say would probably invoke Godwin's Law.

Finally! This study explains so much in my life. I knew there had to be a scientific explanation.

But it's not really true, we Germans love to laugh as much as anyone.

Take for example, this favourite German joke:

Q: Why was the blonde fired from the M&M's factory?

A: Repeated absences and stealing.

German traveler arriving at Greek Immigration

Nationality? . . . "German"

Occupation? . . . "No, here on vacation"

Where are you Sgt. Schultz when we need you.

The current crew running Euroland "Knows Nutting"

The study/survey is a self-serving piece of marketing cr@p that misappropriates scientific terminology in hopes of finding some way to convince Germans to believe that they too can consume themselves to pleasure.

Thankfully, there are still some countries with a work culture. Interestingly, they seem to be northern european and anglo. I wonder, what are the commonalities? Wasn't there a guy named Weber...?

What a stupid article.

Shortly to be followed by: Greeks don't know how to work. Frenchmen can't make lurve. English can't cook. Swiss only make clocks and chocolate.

I wonder when we will see a Muslim study of those who embrace Islam?

Hmmm, a defective joy gene in Germans. It naturally elicits the question: Is there also a defective gay gene in Gays?

If there is one thing that Gays are not, it is gay (i.e. happy).

"The 36-year-old took part in a study released this week by Rheingold, a market-research and consultancy institute based in Cologne...They also scrutinized the results of a representative survey of 1,000 men and women commissioned by the liquor companies Diageo and Pernod Ricard."

I half-expected the research was commissioned by Brussels to promote the Gross National Happiness Index or Greeks claiming that giving to others makes you happy.

Brussells??? Now I have to agree with Nigel Farange..pretty much a non-country....dour and cheerless...

Russians are alleged to be dour but I have found them to be invariably a riot....

"Brussells??? Now I have to agree with Nigel Farange..pretty much a non-country..."

Mmm. More of a city.

What I really appreciate about the Germans is how they try to share their incapacity to enjoy life with everyone else.

Hardworking over achievers, may not have as much fun but they are more reliable and self sufficient. Fun is more precious when you have security.

In general I am inclined to agree with this stereotype (stereotypes do exist for a reason), but my in laws are German, and they don't live up to it.

As for stereotypes, I've been to Germany a couple of times and I truly did not find them to be "incapable of joy". Drinkers at the beer gardens and bars were especially friendly. Oddly, it was Switzerland that was the grumpiest, barely a smile from locals or even mildly pleasant disposition from restaurant staff.

Germans work hard and play hard. this idiot that wrote this article should sit himself in the middle of a tent come October fest. I know, I am of German back ground and lived there for six years. It was a striking difference crossing over into France from Germany. Germany seemed always spot clean and France was a pit.

I dunno, I've found the Germans to be easy-going, fun-loving people. Just don't mention the war....

(Shocked a Fawlty Towers reference hasn't been used yet)

Well, if my future was weighed down by a host of useless neighbours...?

Come to think of it, all of a sudden, I'm kind of depressed.

As a patriotic German I would like to complain about zis slur and assure you that our armies will be in your capital very soon to enforce compliance. Expect an improvement in productivity and a decline in public disorder.

If the Germans invaded Brussels again it would at least help me enjoy my life a little more.

There's gotta be a schadenfreude joke in there somewhere.

The Huns just need a good war,they haven't had one since 1945, longest stretch in their history.

I suggest they DO occupy Greece. This time the Greeks might be grateful.

Gad,I love "studies",they can prove damned near anything.

Not much fun in Stalingrad.

Oh, come on, just because everyone else's idea of fun doesn't include taking over the world doesn't mean you have to rain on our parade.

Thank you for the funny comments above.

What Fred and Shawn said.

Now I can sleep better tonight knowing that I am not the only that needs to accomplish something each day before relaxing.

Let us see now,

Population of Germany is some 80+ million packed into an area cca 357,021 km2, a few km2 more than half or Alberta, the distance from north to south is some 876 km, east to west 640 km.
In comparison the distance from north to south of Alberta is 1217 km and east west 293 km at the narrow and 650 km at wide points. The 661,185 km2 is packed with about 3,645,257 people. Take a note that they got it down to 7 people.

Germans, the southerners are ich's and the northerners are ik's.
East Berlin in late sixties of the past century was one colorless place. Going down town Berlin at seven o'clock in the evening was like going to a city without people, kind of like the moon with apartments, not unlike Toronto in the 70's.... There was one bar hidden among the sameness of the buildings along the strasse and if it was not for a comparatively wild bunch from Slovakia, it would have closed at 6 pm. If you stood on the east side looking across the Brandenburg's Gate to the west you could see a quantum of difference, a world wholly unrelated.
You could walk the whole length of Karl Marx Strasse and not meet one person, though during the day you could possibly meet several.

The so called studies these wise guys do are so limited that they probably relate to their neighborhood and people like them. The masses of plebeians don't count.

One guy's motorcycle smoke is one guy's motorcycle smoke, it does not relate to anything among 80+ million of people.

That explains both World Wars, Cal2 and why my grandparents made greasy potato pancakes and wouldn't buy Heinz ketchup for us grandkids.

Isn't it time to mention Swedes about now? Dour and brooding...kind of like Scandinavian Scots.

"Hans Petr O'Donnell at May 24, 2012 7:23 PM"

ROFL!

My experiences with Germans just don't jibe with this stereotype. The engrained work ethic, yes, but lacking the ability to have fun? Nein!

Preemptive propaganda strike. Those no-fun German stiffs are going to be mean to the easy going Greeks and Spaniards again and kick 'em out of the Euro because the German "joy-gene" is broken.

Awesome.

My fingers itch for my cluebat. But then I'm a "dour and brooding" Scotsman.

Greece still hasn't finished paying for the 183 Leopard 2 tanks they bought off germany in 2005. Just the thought of going in to re-possess them should cheer them up.

But they're from the land of chocolate:

http://www.snpp.com/episodes/8F09.html

Being of German ancestry and having grown up with a close association of my parents German freinds, I can verify that we most certainly are a fun loving bunch.

But...

'The problem, she believes, is that Germans feel weighed down by the ongoing European debt and currency crisis. "

That would tend to dampen down the joy gene a bit. In fact, were I living in Germany it would piss me right off!

The article reminds me of an old joke:
Q: What's the shortest book in the world?
A: German Humor Through the Ages.

Heaven Is Where:

The French are the chefs
The Italians are the lovers
The British are the police
The Germans are the mechanics
And the Swiss make everything run on time

Hell is Where:

The British are the chefs
The Swiss are the lovers
The French are the mechanics
The Italians make everything run on time
And the Germans are the police

Und now all zis laughing vill schtop immediately...!!

Ze professor knows NUZZZING!!!

Cheers

Hans-Christian Georg Rupprecht, Commander in Chief

1st Saint Nicolaas Army
Army Group “True North”

Cheers Hans!

vatch the yokes, yah?. Zey culd be taking notes.

Solution: Germany, meet ouzo.

Oh, wait ...

I wonder if the authors of this "scientific" study had ever considered that some people actually enjoy the work they do. Perhaps German's fit into this category far more than certain other races who see work only as a useless exercise that interferes with their primary goal in life which is to do nothing.

My ancestry is only about 1/8 German but that hasn't prevented me from having a good time. I happen to believe in the work hard/play hard philosophy and the most boring thing I can conceive of is doing absolutely nothing. The last time I was on a beach holiday I tried relaxing on a beach mat and the exercise lasted about 6 minutes. Then it was wandering the beach looking at fractal patterns in the sand, wondering about unifying factors which produced the same patterns in both sand and clouds and pondering the ecology of molluscs.

It may be that the northern European location of Germany quickly weeded out the idle as they wouldn't survive the winters. A few thousand years of evolution in action and one has a race of industrious individuals who are able to survive harsh winters because they prepare for them. It's not the type of place where one can shut down society for the whole summer while the population goes on holidays and lies on the beach.

Maybe the only "Germans" the study used were the Muslim kind...you know like all those "French" citizens with the name of Muhammed.

My German forebears came to America in 1732. Help build the country and fought in their wars. My branch moved on to Canada in 1919. My research seems to indicate a 'work first then play' attitude.

People from northern climes always know that winter is coming. If you don't tend to business it gets cold and the food runs out in February. Happens every year!

You only need to travel and work out of North America for a few years to realize that you would never, ever, want to import other cultures into ours wholesale.

It's a kiss of death for our prosperity and hard working cultures, but Liberal Progressives in the know, realize this already.

I must admit that it is sometimes difficult to properly wash the corners when washing my hair, especially when in dire need of a haircut.

I read part way through the article. What a load of unmitigated psychobabble!

Ken (Kulak) at May 25, 2012 12:24 PM

Your comment made me laugh out loud. Thanks.