Like we always like to remind ourselves. Most differences between our two countries aren’t “weird” or “unusual” just simply different. Neither have it right or wrong most of the time, just different ways of doing things and this was us highlighting some of those differences that have no major implications one way or another it seems! 😊 What other Minute differences do you know that seemingly don’t matter either way they are??

@michaelgrabner8977

4 жыл бұрын

the left or right ringfinger for wedding rings has way more to do with the actual religious confession than with the country....catholics traditionally wear the wedding ring on the right side while protestants wear it on the left side..(my grandparents had different confessions so one (Grandma) had it on the left while the other (Grandpa) had it on the right for instance) But today the wedding ring is worn by many just on the more conveniant side..so to say there is no rule anymore..some even don´t wear it at all respectively I know some who have it on a necklace because they fundamentaly hate to wear rings on any finger. And regarding to ties ..I don´t wear diagonal stripes at all so that topic doesn´t matter for me at all... I pay way more attention to what kind of knot somebody uses...I just wear the double Windsor for instance...and how long his ties actually is..perfect for me is not too long till to the trousers but also not too short above the navel everything inbetween is then fine for me. And by the way "die Not" doesn´t mean "emergency" = "der Notfall" (= literally "case of necessity/misery/extremity" = emergency) But that vocabulary "der Notfall" is just shortened for efficiency reasons when it´s used for a compound word with emergency meaning...= instead of "der/die/das Notfall-whatever" it´s then just "der/die/das Not-whatever"...the right articel depends on the last vocabulary of the whole compound word..for instance "der Not(fall)arzt = emergency doctor, die Not(fall)schwester = emergency nurse, das Not(fall)protokoll = emergency protocol" But the vocabulary "die Not" used for its own/standing alone has in fact many meanings in English and non of them is actual literally "emergency": distress, hardship, adversity, misery, poverty, penury, necessity, affliction, privation, destitution, extremity...depending on the used context...but of course those english vocabulary also has many different german translations as well and "die Not" is just one of them.... Long story short the vocabulary "die Not" just describes as a sort of "umbrella expression" any very unpleasant, very bothersome, maybe even dangerous and life threatening state of situation without going deeper into detail of what kind of very unpleasant, very bothersome, maybe even dangerous and life threatening situation it actually is..which then is - detailed - one of those translations which I wrote in the previous paragraph... To use the expression "die Not" that´s for instance to instead of to beat around the bush with lots of words about an unpleasant situation just for being short and clear and direct although being unclear and indirect about that situation so to say just to express "help is needed quick right now for what ever reason which you will then see anyway to engage the right measures"

@LycielleHerself

4 жыл бұрын

Deutsche zählen anders als Amerikaner bis 3. Deutsche zeigen den Daumen für 1, dann Daumen und Zeigefinger für 2 und nehmen dann noch den Mittelfinger dazu für 3. Amerikaner zählen mit dem Daumen 1, dann mit Mittel- und Zeigefinger 2 und dann den Daumen dazu um eine 3 zu zeigen. Schönes Video!

@Anson_AKB

4 жыл бұрын

10:54 you can see that after finishing, closing the tank is done by turning it right. do americans also turn right to close or turn left ? the same problem (turn left vs turn right) applies to screws as well as all kinds of water taps, valves, switches etc in different countries ... and also to flipping light switches up or down for on/off, nodding/shaking the head yes/no, and other "directional activities". maybe this could even be a subject for an entire video on its own :-)

@Einauge1987

4 жыл бұрын

Right after Worldwar2 ther was a Problem with one tinny word. Because Korn is not corn. Both words a spelled Identically, but Korn means grain.

@ulrichrenner6256

4 жыл бұрын

I had seen 2 of your videos before, which were pretty good, but this one was so entertaining that it made me subscribe. I like playing with "false friends", but reading Nothammer as "not a hammer" is now my favourite. Difficult to notice for a German, because the o is closer to the o i "oh, what a nice diagonally striped european style tie". A friend in need= ein Freund in der Not, and try not to fall, we don't need another Notfall.

08:36 "In the U.S., this is toast:" (points at something what Germans would consider charcoal) …

@PassportTwo

4 жыл бұрын

Americans also consider it charcoal. It was was the product of accidentally turning up the heat and not wanting to waste a piece of bread by doing it again 😂

@Yoshin3000

4 жыл бұрын

Thought the same. cracked up reading your comment! :D

@stefanmuc2k

4 жыл бұрын

@@PassportTwo I think the German name started out as "Toastbrot" (bread for toasting) and was later shortened to "Toast". It was introduced into the German market in the 1950s by a concerted effort of American grain exporters and German toaster manufacturers. (Before that ordinary bread was toasted, and that wasn't as popular.)

@HenryLoenwind

4 жыл бұрын

@@stefanmuc2k Having grown up in the 70s in the American occupied sector, word use in our family has always been that Toastbrot refers to the untoasted bread and Toast refers to a toasted slice. However, as untoasted Toastbrot in inedible, I can see how many people just dropped the distinction.

@dude988

4 жыл бұрын

@@HenryLoenwind what? Untoasted Toastbrot is perfectly fine. It's also called Sandwich Toast, because you can use it for sandwiches when not toasted.

In America I often read a sign "FINE FOR LITTERING" on highways. A foreigner can think: ah, this place is fine for littering ? ;-))

@PassportTwo

4 жыл бұрын

haha, that's hilarious. I've never read it that way but can definitely see the confusion 😂

@slink2070

4 жыл бұрын

I am German and just can't get it?? What's the difference? 🤔

@hannahk8011

4 жыл бұрын

@@slink2070 "fine" in this example would be translated as "Bußgeld". In the phrase "I'm fine" it means s.th. like "ok". So if you insert that meaning into the example, you get "it's ok to litter", hence the confusion...

@missis_jo1017

3 жыл бұрын

Ahaha, this took me a second 🤣. As a kid I always got confused with the sign: "Gas weg. Schule." Misread it soooo often 🤦‍♀️

@anonimato1987

3 жыл бұрын

@@missis_jo1017 Gas off. School? Is it like take your foot off the gas pedal due to kids in the proximity?

I live in Switzerland, hence i'm neutral and don't own any ties at all. 😂

@PassportTwo

4 жыл бұрын

Haha, classic 🇨🇭

@MannyWellington

4 жыл бұрын

Do you only have horizontal stripes then?

@SpandauJerry

4 жыл бұрын

Fun fact: The Pontifical Swiss Guard has its uniform stripes both from left and right.! 🙌😁

@thenamen935

4 жыл бұрын

Me as well, and the stripes on mine are from left shoulder to the right hip. So it fullfills the clichee

"Not" is not spoken like the english "not" - you have to lengthen the "o" and get rid of the tendency towards an "a"-like sound of the english and shift that to a real "o"-sound (mouth shaped to a circle) . So phonetically (IPA) it's german "no:t" vs english "nɒt".

@PassportTwo

4 жыл бұрын

Ya, we know there is a subtle pronunciation difference but we are still so used to using that word in English that when we read it, in our head, we still read it as the English word 😊 thanks for the explanation though! Aubrey is a speech-pathologist and so she loves reading the phonetics of words 😃

@quentinmunich9819

4 жыл бұрын

And this "Not" should more translated as need. And I think those words Not/Need have the same roots. Look up: de.wiktionary.org/wiki/need#need_(Englisch) or en.wiktionary.org/wiki/need

@bartolo498

4 жыл бұрын

@@quentinmunich9819 Yes, these are cognates. Vowels change very easily even within dialects of one language. as for "o" vs. "e" cf. also "whom" -"Wem", "woe" - Wehe" (o/e shifts are very common throughout indoeuropean languages).

@guentersaller274

4 жыл бұрын

@@PassportTwo Hi there, the german "Not" is the abbreviation of "Notfall" - this is the translation of emergency. Nothammer = Notfallhammer = emergency hammer.

@prozaque

4 жыл бұрын

Das "o" in Not wird ausgesprochen wie in "boot" 😈

You still aren't a 100% correct on the bread.😊 Toast isn't sliced bread in Germany...it is sliced white american style bread. And if it is in the larger sizes you will find it been called american toast.😆 Every other style of sliced bread is called by the type of bread it is unsliced.😬 Great video none the less. Stay safe during lock down.🙋‍♂️

@jorgschimmer8213

4 жыл бұрын

Thank you for that Comment. 👍🏽😂

@PassportTwo

4 жыл бұрын

Got it! Not specifically sliced bread, sliced American style white bread 😂 Glad you enjoyed the video!! 😊

@axemanracing6222

4 жыл бұрын

@@PassportTwo If you go shopping at ALDIs, please compare the "American Sandwich" and the "Butter Toast".

@adoptedowl

4 жыл бұрын

There is also Vollkorn Toast, which was Germanys attempt to save that sad American bread and make it a little breadier.

@samfetter2968

4 жыл бұрын

@@PassportTwo classic german...being a 'Pedant' (person being pedantic) while trying to be helpfull.😬😇 So far i enjoyed all your videos that i have seen. And in these times they will help people to come by without 'durchzudrehen' (going crazy or turning loco)...so thank you for your (non military) service here...it is much appreciated. 🥰

Toast: Actually it is called Toastbrot, bread for toasting. In everyday language both are used.

@PassportTwo

4 жыл бұрын

We're just going off the comments and what it says on the bag haha 😊

Regarding the text on the book's spine, there is a "Wissen macht Ah!" Episode in the ARD Mediathek that deals with this topic :-)

@PassportTwo

4 жыл бұрын

Never heard of this! We’ll look it up 😊 thanks!

@japande

4 жыл бұрын

@@PassportTwo it's a TV show for kids explaining everyday things - but it's well made and entertaining for adults as well. Each episode has 5 parts - each dealing with one topic, so you probably will be most successful in identifying the correct episode if you check on their website www.wissenmachtah.de - BTW, I enjoy your show - keep up the good work and thanks :-)

@klaus-udokloppstedt6257

4 жыл бұрын

und das ist die entsprechende folge kinder.wdr.de/tv/wissen-macht-ah/av/video-wissen-macht-blau-100.html (die buchrücken sind ab 15:30)

@PassportTwo

4 жыл бұрын

I like watching kids shows to help with my German anyways, so thanks! 😊

@VicGrimes

4 жыл бұрын

or you can use wikipedia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_spine#Spine

I always thought it's called Toast because it is kind of ment to be toasted, whereas bread can be toasted but is usually eaten untoasted.

@PassportTwo

4 жыл бұрын

haha, and maybe that is the case in Germany 😊

@Aelsenaer

3 жыл бұрын

Same reaction from my (German) partner. German Toast is meant "to be" toasted.

@Laurelinad

2 жыл бұрын

@@PassportTwo toast is a british thing we adopted as a whole and is purpose made to be toasted. "actual" bread is baked and eaten cold usually and has al Kinds of tastes but usually either way sweeter in case of soft white bread or just Richter in Taste in case of darker breads of which pumpernickel probably is the darkest and richest

With the petrol station thing: that is the same in the whole of Europe. You do not pay first, because you cannot know how much petrol you need to fill the tank.

@PassportTwo

4 жыл бұрын

Neither do Americans but we still pay before filling 😊

@Anson_AKB

4 жыл бұрын

@@PassportTwo when paying with cash, you can't pay in advance without going back to the cashier a second time to get back the change, which would slow down the process a lot. even when paying with card (which is debit card and not credit card most of the time) you need to know the amount in advance and can't pay before you know the amount since it would feel weird to germans/europeans to allow charging any random amount without checking and approving it like it seems to be done in the us.

@mariasandrovich414

4 жыл бұрын

Yeah and I don't think gasoline theft is a large problem since every petrol station has multiple security cameras and your car's license plate is always visible.

@Anson_AKB

4 жыл бұрын

@ukkr in every shop in germany where i payed with debitcard, they enter the amount into that little machine and i confirm the transaction with my pin. recently and for small amounts only, the card has a chip so that i can pay without entering the pin. but *_in any case the transaction happens immediately and the shopowner also has to pay a fee_* for that machine and the service of his providers (phone company and account management company, mostly a small fixed amount like 0.20€, plus around 1% of the bill for debitcard and almost 3% for credit card). if i now would ask for a different amount, the transaction would have to be canceled and a new transaction would have to be made and confirmed. if at all possible, this would cause triple fees for the shopowner, maybe also additional fees (to him, or even to me) for reverting the transaction (since this would not only be an "update" of the amount, but a backcharge and a new transaction). thus paying with debitcard would strongly be discouraged or not be offered at all. because of those fees they currently often offer paying by card only for amounts above 10€ or 20€, and with those additional charges and multiple fees, probably only for even higher amounts. first verifying an amount of 50€ and later only paying 10€ thus wouldn't only be inconvenient (and i'm speaking of the transaction only, not yet about having to enter the store twice which would delay everything even more than paying with cash), but also defeat the purpose and advantages of debit cards where the transactions are done immediately, securely, and can't easily be undone. btw: there are scammers who offer a trade, pay you too much and ask for a "transfer back". since there are a few banks (in ireland?) which allow cancelling transfers, the scammer "undoes" his transfer afterwards, but you can't do the same on all other reliable banks (eg all german banks). thus you won't get his money, but he will get (and keep!) yours ... that's why i think that on most banks the immediate transfer is final, and reverting it would be an additional transfer from the shop to my account which i then (at home, on the next day) would have to check and verify afterwards. further problems follow like using up more than twice the amount towards my daily or weekly limits on debit cards ...

@thomasnorb4077

3 жыл бұрын

In most of Europe we use debit cards and not cash. I haven't paid for my gas using cash, or gone inside the gas station, for the last thirty years (Scandinavia). I think there might be a cash option on some pumps, but that is disappearing.

It's so much fun for me to watch your videos, because I'm German and I spent some time in the US (a long time ago) and I experienced a lot of things vice versa. Your "not hammer/Nothammer" reminded me of something: when I first saw a Pizza Hut I didn't know the meaning of "hut" (engl. cabin/Hütte, german Hut/hat). So I wondered, why this place had a German name. The funny thing is, that the sign has a red roof above the letters, but to me it always looked like a hat.

@martinastaniek

2 жыл бұрын

now i learned something new, i too thought its a kopfbedeckung not a cabin ....

The thing about "not" vs. "Not" is actually hilarious. Never noticed it before.

There is a small but important difference between “not” and “Not” in pronunciation. “Not” is said with a long “o”.

A pharmacy chain in Germany used the English slogan "Come in and find out". When asked, many Germans thought that this means that if you get into the shop, it is hard to find the exit.

@PassportTwo

4 жыл бұрын

Haha, that’s hilarious! I hadn’t heard of that 😂

@marcomaihofer

4 жыл бұрын

Auf jeden Fall hat die !!!! Parfümeriekette Douglas !!!! im Oktober ihren unter den englischsprachigen Werbesprüchen besonders bekannten Slogan "Douglas - Come in and find out" in "Douglas macht das Leben schöner" geändert. ----- Douglas is not a pharmacy chain.

@kayaraespunkt8382

4 жыл бұрын

Tom van Breukelen Douglas isn’t a pharmacy but a perfumery store. ;) Pharmacy is „Apotheke“. Rossmann and DM or Boots from UK are Drugstores „Drogerien“.

In all those years I've lived in Germany, I don't remember ever seeing anyone stacking their books on a table. Most people use shelves or at least place them vertically against the wall if they're indeed meant to go on a table. So it never even came to my mind that it might not be logical to everyone. It also baffles me how wearing the "wrong" tie can be such an uproar. I wouldn't even think about it beyond the point of "Oh, they wear a similar tie, just mirrored" (or whatever) and I wouldn't start analyzing the level of patriotism in it :D Also, Toast is short for Toastbrot - bread for toasting. Even though we name it after it's purpose, we do eat it toasted or non-toasted but it still stays "Toast(brot)"

@noasteinberger5415

4 жыл бұрын

siene 15 all of this is exactly what I was thinking lol

@mikelastname1220

2 жыл бұрын

Most Americans have what is called a "coffee table" in their living rooms in front of the couch. Women like to put their prized books on it so a visitor can look through them. Mostly, they are large expensive picture books of things like flowers, and art work. On our table is a giant book featuring pictures from all over Germany. It is MY prized book!

@siene1518

2 жыл бұрын

@@mikelastname1220But aren't these coffee table books only a small part of the books people own? I get it in that particular situation but if you put books against a wall or on shelves (which I assume is the majority of books people own), it would make more sense to me to change the direction of the title. Or is it also common to store books stacked on top of each other if they're purpose is not to be on display for guests/decoration? Btw, we also have coffee tables as well as that type of book/photo album but I've never seen them put on a coffee table except for situations where you know that you will show your guest those photos (right after coming back from travelling, for example). They usually have their own section on shelves (ready to look through them but so that they don't constantly take up space on the coffee table) or - as I have done with one of my beautiful books - display them on a stand on a small table next to the couch. But that's not incredibly common. But tbh, in then end, it's not a big deal either way.

@mikelastname1220

2 жыл бұрын

@@siene1518 Yes, the couple of books on our coffee table are just a very small portion of the books we own. I probably have 400 books on book shelves, just like in a public library. These books don't stay on the coffee tables for long. Just usually after a couple of months they are removed and either replaced with something else or just nothing.

Dutch, and yes, my ties also are European style. However I also noticed that even on the unicolour ties the weaving pattern still goes "the European way".

@PassportTwo

4 жыл бұрын

Ah, weaving pattern is an interesting addition! Hadn’t thought about that.

The last point was more a vocabulary thing, that reminded me: "Gift" in english means "present", but in German it means "poison" And although I am fluent in English, and "giftcard" or some combination does not bother me, when I read "gift" I can get mixed up. Also: montage confuses me even in Germany. XD

@PassportTwo

4 жыл бұрын

Haha, ya, I like all of those funny "false friends" 😂

@Anson_AKB

4 жыл бұрын

@@PassportTwo this last "false friend" applies even in the german language itself when you get confused about a sign at a repair shop : "Montage frei" ... do they offer free installation or do they take off (have a free day) on mondays ?

@jonathanwatkins222

4 жыл бұрын

That would then be (Montagsfrei) mondays off. Montagefrei either means no assembly required or assembly at no charge. I would tend toward no assembly required as the second meaning would better be said as Montage umsonst.

@xshowda

2 жыл бұрын

@@PassportTwo I read an article a while ago that this misunderstanding was a huge problem in Austria (also german speaking country) after WWII when then US send care packages labeled with "Gift for Austria" and people were really afraid to be poisoned .

In some Northern European countries, the male wedding ring is worn on the left if the couple is Protestant Christian, but on the right if they are Roman Catholics.

@PassportTwo

4 жыл бұрын

Ah! That’s an interesting difference also. Thanks for sharing 😊

@t.a.k.palfrey3882

4 жыл бұрын

@@PassportTwo Bitte schön. Ich habe für drei Jahr in Bayern gelebt, aber ich komme ursprünglich aus Ostafrika. Servus!

@manub.3847

4 жыл бұрын

There is even a legend about wearing the wedding rings on the right hand: during his dispute with the Pope, Emperor Heinrich (Canossa) is said to have ordered the marriage rings to be worn on the right hand, since the covenant between man and woman is also the covenant reflected between man and God and the Pope wears his signet ring as a sign of his covenant with God on his right hand. ;)

Love the video guys! The book and tie facts are hilarious 😂 I had no idea about these!

@PassportTwo

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much! Glad you enjoyed 😊

You hit the nail right on the head with your assumption that Toast is the 'American bread' because calling it bread would be insulting. But don't worry, it has nothing to do with America. We feel that way about almost any bread culture outside of Germany. It's the first thing Germans miss when they live abroad. Andererseits ist es vielleicht doch Amerika, denn ihr habt das Beleidigendste "Brot" überhaupt ;)

@PassportTwo

4 жыл бұрын

That is what we have been told and we are learning to really appreciate that bread culture ourselves as well! Love the amazing variety and quality!

@prozaque

4 жыл бұрын

Here in California they sell "toast". It's the same stuff they label "toast" in Germany. But I agree. Bread is bread and can be consumed the way it is. Crapy sponge bread has to be treated first so it doesn't break apart. It has to be toasted, hence the name.

@freakyfelt

4 жыл бұрын

Passport Two one exception in the states I can think of is Texas Toast which may not already be toasted, but describes the thick slices. Hallo aus Berlin

@myrrhsense

4 жыл бұрын

Totally true. It's the same in The Netherlands, although I'd prefer German bread over Dutch anytime!

I can cure your shock at German prices... go to Norway.

@PassportTwo

4 жыл бұрын

Haha, we were there last year but didn’t rent a car so we didn’t have to buy gas but everything was expensive there so I can only imagine...

@peterpan4038

4 жыл бұрын

@@PassportTwo The thing about german gas prices is that gas is taxed a lot. To begin with we import it (expensive), then we slap a 3-4 taxes on gas before it gets sold. The newest one was specifically introduced to make the gas more expensive (Öko-Steuer = Environmental-Tax). The logic being, higher taxes = less dependence on gas cause people find other ways => less imports => less dependance on nations like Russia. Try reducing oil exports into the USA, historically that ends in war => nobody dares to piss of the US military, hence they can keep gas prices low. "Fun" fact: France wanted to introduce a similiar Environmental-Tax on gas... remember those riots 2018/19? Yeah, didn't work out.

@mikelastname1220

2 жыл бұрын

@@peterpan4038 Our military has nothing to do with our gas prices. Also, all the claims that we invaded Iraq was to get oil is TOTALLY false. We did not get one drop of oil from that country or steal any, either. Our gasoline here is also taxed heavily. A gallon of gas starts out at around $1.50. But after about 3 different taxes, it is now about $3.95 a gallon. Before Biden became President, we ere totally independent on oil. We had all we could produce right here. And then he cut off the drilling and pumping and ruined it all.

@peterpan4038

2 жыл бұрын

@@mikelastname1220 You missed my point completely. What i was saying is that other nations have to think hard about stopping oil exports towards the US. Because the US can back up their politics with military force, if needed. But you don't need to go to war for oil, the simple threat of it is more then enough. => It's WAY harder to mess with the US, and for the most part that holds true no matter who sits in the ovel office. Case in point: $3.95 a gallon would be considered dirt cheap here in Germany. A gallon of gas goes for around $6.70 where i life.

@mikelastname1220

2 жыл бұрын

@@peterpan4038 Thanks for clearing that up. Sorry I missed your point. When Trump was in office our gasoline was $1.78 per gallon, or close to that, and now we pay nearly double for it through Biden's policies. It is not very popular here now with the prices increases coming almost daily. One thing I noticed while living in Germany. Gasoline prices seldom every changed. But here, the price changes almost daily. You go one day and it is $3.87. the next day it is $3.91. It usually goes up or down about 3 cents to 10 cents per day. A smart person watches which filling stations are the lowest in price in town. I don't pull in to just any station. If I am almost out of gas, I stop at one and get just two gallons and then go on down the road and stop at a station that is 15 cents a gallon cheaper. It is constantly changing here. Just a side note, I served for 34 years in the military and in a high position. I never once saw any policies about being prepared for war or just a simple military exercise over oil. When we were totally making our own oil and gasoline here under Trump, you never heard any talk about availability of oil. But, now with Biden, our country has to ask OPEC to release more oil at times. That is what drives the prices up.

i wanted to talk about the ties. in germany you learn as a child that lines from top left to bottom right always represent a negative curve. surely nobody wants to make their first impression in professional life with a negative sign. But you can still buy negative ties in Germany. But since they are sold poorly, they are not available in every shop because the demand is very low. AAAAAAnd in American Movie and TV Produktion about Business (like suits) the have no negativ ties too.

@peterpan4038

4 жыл бұрын

From the perspective of those that see you the negative turns positive. xD

@kayaraespunkt8382

4 жыл бұрын

Kinny Kahne I’m from Germany and I never heard about this.

@Midnight.Creepypastas

4 жыл бұрын

I'm German too and I'd _never_ make that connection.

@zam1am

4 жыл бұрын

I heard that one. It's the prevailing consensus in mathematics: top left to bottom right is negative slope, bottom left to top right is positive slope given your typical cartesian coordinate system.

For technical drawings, the projection method is also different. In europe you look at a drawing as if you had the part on the table and tilt it. For the US projection you have to tilt the part and then move it to the opposite side. Text on technical documents must always be readable/written from the front or the right side. I think that plays a role with the books also.

@PassportTwo

4 жыл бұрын

Very interesting! Thanks for sharing that difference. Probably never would have come across that.

@felixtheswiss

4 жыл бұрын

Oh yes that threw me off first when i worked in the US

I was giggling the whole time. Thank you for the video.

@PassportTwo

4 жыл бұрын

Haha, so glad to hear that! 😂

Fun fact: I Am German and never noticed the book thing. I store most of my books in a shelf but some books are stacked at the top of my bookshelf. I didn't noticed that the words are upside down until now. 😂

„Ceci n’est pas une hammer.“

@PassportTwo

4 жыл бұрын

lol, as a former university art student, this comment gave me particular joy 😊

@wernerhiemer406

4 жыл бұрын

@@PassportTwo Every one: No smoking here. german zoo Penguins: We have to get nude? But we can leave our cigar on?

@marfin1990

4 жыл бұрын

@@wernerhiemer406 for explanation: in german tuxedo = smoking

I think the German "Not" is languagewise related to "need" as in "a friend in need", in germany we say "Ein Freund in der Not".

@PassportTwo

4 жыл бұрын

Absolutely! But I've found so many times that translating directly doesn't often convey the true translation of a word. In these cases, translating to "emergency hammer" or "emergency exit" makes much more sense to what an english speaker would actually say. 😊

Nice trivia. Now I’m going to see my tie collection. Thanks! Tschüss!

@PassportTwo

4 жыл бұрын

Haha, nice! Tschüss!

„Haben wir noch Brot?“ „Nein, wir haben nur noch Toastbrot oder Filinchen.“

@animalfriend6413

4 жыл бұрын

Ich nehme Filinchen.:-)

You guys sure are attentive to these trivial differences. Very interesting. Yes, as already stated below, American-Toast is like the white bread sold in the US. As for the wedding ring. Completely correct, although due to the global influence (and the fact that diamonds are a girl's best friend), young Germans are leaning more toward diamond engagement rings now too. They will be switched to the right hand on the day of the wedding. Absolutely correct. The ties were new to me but extremely interesting. Love your posts. Keep it up so that we can keep learning about our country. Living here, you often simply overlook these little things.

@PassportTwo

4 жыл бұрын

Exactly about often overlooking differences! There are so many thinks that we just accept as a fact of life and it isn’t until we get out of our “bubble” and see others ways of doing things that we notice it isn’t always the same. 😊 We have relished so much about our own country looking back on it now that is so interesting since being introduced to new perspectives over here. Thanks so much for your information and kind words as well 😊

These are so interesting! Thanks for sharing!!

@PassportTwo

4 жыл бұрын

Natürlich! 😊

I'm German living in the US for 50+ years and the subjects you discussed today are things I have long forgotten, esp. the wedding ring location. I really love your channel, keep doing it.

OK, I just had to check my striped ties and can confirm they are all European-style (and I live in Belgium).

@PassportTwo

4 жыл бұрын

Wow! So far it’s 100% true!

Nobody: Passport Two: Let’s talk 5 minutes about book spines. Still great content! Keep on going 😄

@PassportTwo

4 жыл бұрын

haha, we had to be very thorough and besides...what else are we gonna do on lockdown?? 😂

@christophstahl8169

4 жыл бұрын

@@PassportTwo And you didn't even scratched the surface because german dvd covers tend to have an american style spine. Also german book spines do sometimes come the american way, so our bookshelves always are "mixedmode", so i have no problems sorting in the english books with the german ones.

Always love to watch this channel! ;)

Hey there! New to your channel (thanks Ash!) Love your content. Interesting differences between cultures. Thanks for sharing!!

@PassportTwo

4 жыл бұрын

Heck yes! We love Ash! Thanks so much for the kind words 😊

You guys are cute. I believe we have a great interest in unnecessary detail-knowledge in Germany.... you feed that in a great way!

@PassportTwo

4 жыл бұрын

Haha, thanks so much! Glad we can do so 😊

We don't have a handbook, where it is listed: Not to try your cat in the microwave :D

Very entertaining :) And thanks for the explanation regarding the text on the spine of a book. Something I can make use of in future conversations. ^^

@PassportTwo

4 жыл бұрын

Nice! Glad you enjoyed it 😊

Das sind wirklich triviale Unterschiede, die mir aber bislang nie aufgefallen sind (bis auf das Tanken). Danke für die wirklich sehr interessanten Videos!

I’ve got something that will interest you. As you are well aware, German and English, despite being closely related languages, have some key grammatical differences. For example, English has a progressive form, indicating something is happening at the moment which doesn’t exist in German, so you’d have to insert an additional word to explicitly say the same thing. E.g. ”she is walking” vs. “sie läuft (gerade)”. Now as it turns out, this and other grammatical differences have a profound impact on how we perceive reality. For example, German speakers are much more goal oriented. There was a study where simple video clips were shown to test subjects. Afterwards, they were asked to describe what they saw. English speakers would generally simply describe the action whereas German speakers would incorporate the perceived goal. For example: An English speaker would say: “in this clip, a man is walking down a road” whereas a German speaker would say “here, a man walks down a road towards a house”. Then they tried it with more abstract animations and also put people in an MRI to measure brain activity. When in the animation the animated object had the same shape as the end points of the animation, brains of German speakers showed a much greater activity than when the shapes were different. In English speakers, there were no spikes in brain activity. And now the kicker: These differences of perception are independent of your mother tongue. When they primed Germans who are bilingual in English and performed the whole test in English, they would perceive the clips exactly like any other English speaker would. When those same test subjects where primed in German and the test was done in German, they reverted back to perceiving them in the German speaking fashion. Here’s a link if you want to dive in a little deeper: www.mpg.de/9957413/psycholinguistik_jb_2015 Anyway, the connection between language and perception has always fascinated me, so I was really psyched when I saw that study a couple of years ago.

@thalamay

4 жыл бұрын

Some related studies: “On the road to somewhere: Brain potentials reflect language effects on motion event perception” www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0010027715000773 “Grammatical aspect influences motion event perception: Findings from a cross-linguistic non-verbal recognition task” www.researchgate.net/publication/256443577_Grammatical_Aspect_Influences_Motion_Event_Perception_Findings_from_a_Cross-linguistic_Non-verbal_Recognition_Task Processes of conceptualization in language production: Language-specific perspectives and event construal www.researchgate.net/publication/228919192_Processes_of_conceptualization_in_language_production_Language-specific_perspectives_and_event_construal

@PassportTwo

4 жыл бұрын

Wow! This has been fascinating to me also, especially since I have been learning German. I have always heard studies about how the noises and sounds a language produces effects the perception of reality. “Harsher” sounding languages, like Russian, can influence the seriousness of a culture in their daily interactions and cause them to be more direct apparently. I’m going to spend my Saturday pouring through these studies! Thanks!

@sinusnovi3826

4 жыл бұрын

Würde das bedeuten, dass Englischsprachige eine Beobachtung eines Ablaufs meist nur "beschreiben", aber Deutschsprachige die Beobachtung des Ablaufs nicht nur beschreiben, sondern auch eine vermutliche Folge des Ablaufs zur Sprache bringen?

Compared to the current ones I really miss the 'scandals' of the 44th President.

@PassportTwo

4 жыл бұрын

I guess it all depends on which news network one subscribes to 😂

From Scotland and living in Germany. Have just had a look at my old school tie...diagonals from left to right!!! :-)

Thanks for this realy new and fresh content! By the way, I'm an engineer and it's a rule to write everything "normal" or that you can read it from the right (for all technical plans). So you don't have to turn the plans and maybe get confused because you can still read everything.

@PassportTwo

4 жыл бұрын

Ya! Glad you enjoyed it! That’s interesting. Would never have come across that I guess since neither of us are engineers, so thanks for sharing! 👍🏼

Hi there, as a German I love your videos. Your pronunciation of the german word "Not" isn't correct at all. Short explanation: Vocals followed by one single consonant are allways pronounced long, vocals followed by two equal consonants as tt, mm etc. are pronounced allways short as the english "not".

@PassportTwo

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the kinda words and thanks for the help with pronunciation 😊

If you wish, I write in German. In den USA in Restaurants zu gehen, fand ich irgendwie ungemütlich. Wenn der Kellner sieht, dass Du fertig bist mit essen, kommt er ohne Aufforderung und bringt die Rechnung. Das kommt mir vor wie "Jetzt bezahl und hau ab!". In deutschen Restaurants kann man in der Regel nach dem Essen noch gemütlich sitzen und reden (wenn der Tisch nicht für andere Leute reserviert ist). Manchmal (bei größeren Bestellungen) kommt hier sogar der Kellner nach dem Essen und spendiert kostenlos allen ein Glas Schnaps. Man steht außerdem beim Bezahlen in den USA immer unter Druck, dass man auf keinen Fall zu wenig Trinkgeld ("tip") gibt und muß rechnen. Wir hatten in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina mal diese Geschichte: Wir waren abends mit sechs Leuten in einer Bar. Eine Frau von uns (26 Jahre alt, sie sah aber jünger aus) war dabei. Die Kellnerin glaubte ihr nicht, dass sie über 21 war (die Frau hatte leider ihren Ausweis auf dem Campingplatz vergessen). Die Kellnerin hat uns dann den ganzen Abend auf ziemlich aggressive Weise beobachtet, dass diese Frau bloß keinen Tropfen Alkohol an unserem Tisch trinkt! Ich war froh, als der Abend vorbei war und dass nicht auch noch die Cops gekommen sind... Es war zudem in dieser Bar typisch amerikanisch, dass 4 (!) Fernseher mit verschiedenen Programmen nebeneinander liefen und die Stereoanlage auf maximal laut gestellt war. In deutschen Bars ist es leiser und man kann sich unterhalten.

@PassportTwo

4 жыл бұрын

Manchmal fühle ich mich jedoch in einem deutschen Restaurant gefangen. Ich möchte bezahlen und gehen, aber ich kann den Kellner nicht finden. Haha

@janpracht6662

4 жыл бұрын

@@PassportTwo Ja, das kann manchmal dauern. Aber es ist ja auch ein Restaurant, wo man Zeit mitbringen sollte , und nicht Burger King ;-)

I have lived in the US for nearly 30 years and never understood understood why my bookshelves look so messy .... I cannot believe that I did not realize this myself ...thanks so much for this eye opening video. I also noticed that you had some cookbooks with Pfälzische Küche ..... that's where I am from. Thanks so much for this great post.

Small difference I noticed w.r.t. contracts: In the US one is expected to initial certain points within a contract and full-sign at the end. In Germany it is sufficient to sign at the end, no initials inbetween.

@PassportTwo

4 жыл бұрын

Interesting. I think the only contracts we have signed here are Aubrey's work contract and our housing contract and I don't think we paid attention to those differences. Thanks for pointing that out! 😊

Wow, von den Unterschieden der Textrichtung auf dem Buchrücken und der Richtung der Streifen auf einer Krawatte habe ich das erste Mail gehört, total interessant. Written on purpose in german, for you to practise ;) Schönes Video.

@PassportTwo

4 жыл бұрын

Danke schön! Für deinen Kommentar auf Deutsch und deine freundlichen Wörter auch 😀

I enjoy the outtakes! :)

@PassportTwo

4 жыл бұрын

Haha, great! 😊 glad you enjoyed them!

Thank you for all these nice vids.... i like them a lot. In this Particular Episode you are talking about the tie stripe direction. I never mentioned that our german stripes go from down left to up right until i saw it here 😎 ... But once you would look at the Obama tie again: To me his one is far more positive, because it points upwards. I don‘t really believe that ist has any kind of historical background but who knows. Keep on making these clips!

I do own an US-type tie I needed to buy in Miami a couple of years ago, and it really is striped the way you described. I discovered the difference only a couple of seconds ago, LOL

interesting find, but I have never thought about displaying my books laying xD I only have books standing up :P

Tennessee here, I checked my ties & I only have three diagonal stripe ties two of which goes from the right shoulder to the left hip and the other one has two stripes which goes from the left shoulder to the right hip but above those two stripes are a diagonal pattern which goes from the right shoulder to the left hip and I checked and it was made in Italy

@PassportTwo

4 жыл бұрын

So in this case, I would say the differences hold true! 2 American and 1 Europe tie! Thanks for continuing the investigation 😃

12:00 Totally makes sense. Often a Notausgang is *not* an Ausgang under normal circumstances. If there is no emergency, your are not allowed use those exits.

Eure Videos sind immer sehr interessant, ihr seid ein sehr sympathisches Paar! Ich bin sofort zum Kleiderschrank meines Mannes und an mein Bücherregal gerannt und es stimmt, die Streifen in der Krawatte sind von re oben nach li unten und meine ganzen englischen Bücher sind anders herum. Ist mir so noch nie bewußt geworden😂

I was in the the us last year and I had rented a car but I did not fill up the fuel tank once and brought back the car almost empty to the car rental station. because, if i would for example pay at the gas station 30 dollar for gas but the tank would be full after 25 dollar. what would i do? would it be my loss or would I get back the 5 dollar? I tried to avoid this problem. :)

I'm a German living in Britain and my bookshelfs are a mix of English and German literature. But until I've watched your video, I never realised there's a difference in the direction of the writing on the book spines. Very interesting fact. I don't know why I've never seen this before. Thanks for opening my eyes.

1:37 I have experienced the same with German books and also with records.

I never thought of this haha "NotDoctor" "Kein Arzt"

Hallo diesmal auf Deutsch für euch, mit ein paar Worten die du vielleicht nachschlagen musst. Ein sympathisches, kurzweiliges, freundliches Video. Ich mag es. Ist es so das ihr alles mit Amerika vergleicht? Und bewertet ihr es für euch ob es besser oder schlechter ist? Oder nehmt ihr es hin und gewöhnt euch dran? Freue mich auf euer nächstes. Thumbs up. Danke dafür.

@PassportTwo

4 жыл бұрын

Ja, wir haben nur in den USA und in Deutschland gelebt und so vergleichen wir nur mit den USA. 😊 Nicht alles ist richtig oder falsch, nur einfach anders. Das ist alles, worauf wir hinweisen wollen.

This is one of my favorite videos you have done. So interesting. Especially the books.... Who knew? Also I've been wondering about how you guys are getting along during the virus. I've seen videos about how a lot of countries are handling it... But not Germany. 🇩🇪

@PassportTwo

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much! Glad you enjoyed it! 😊 We have been talking about doing a little update video on what we’ve been experiencing over so we may just do that. Just know we are good though! Appreciate you thinking about us, Kerri 😊

@MichaelAndersen_DK

4 жыл бұрын

Then you might wanna pop over to another US expat, NALF kzread.info/dash/bejne/c6p8r8xmZNzbiJs.html

@kerrineilson597

4 жыл бұрын

Passport Two I Actually just saw you guys on Winging it with Ash. So I did get a little bit of an update... 👍

This one was realy good!

@PassportTwo

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much for that! 😊

Hi guys, the printing on the spine depends on the publisher. There are books in germany which are printed the way you are used to in the US, even though the majority of books is the other way round.

Hi Donnie and Aubrey, I just thought of another difference between the two countries. Mail delivery in the U.S., at least where I live in Nevada, is completed using a mail truck that the postal worker drives to each home. I don't live in Germany, I just have visited, and I have seen numerous times mail delivery completed by bicycle. This was in Munich and Berlin, does it apply to all of Germany?

@PassportTwo

4 жыл бұрын

That's an interesting one! In our part of the US it was done by a small postal car and also a postal mini-van while some other parts of Oklahoma City would have a postal worker park near a neighborhood and they would do that rest on foot. I have seen it in Texas where it was a postal pick-up truck also. Hadn't thought about the array of the ways post is delivered even jus tin the US! haha In our part of Germany, in our village there is a yellow van that drives around and they get out on foot with a rolling cart and in the neighboring city they do it by bicycle or they walk and using a rolling cart they pull behind them. Thanks for thinking of that! I will pay more closer attention to it now 😂 😊

In Switzerland the wedding rings are also worn on the left side, which confused me a lot when I moved to Germany :-)

@PassportTwo

4 жыл бұрын

Haha, that’s very interesting! I wonder what caused the difference from bordering countries. Thanks for sharing 😊

With the books, an explanation might be possible ... The back! In the shop, the books are often stacked up. On the back is often a summary, the price and the barcode. And if that is visible you can also read the title (without handstand) of the book.

@PassportTwo

4 жыл бұрын

Could be the case! 😊

I love your Necktie - story. It is a wonderfull example of intercultural observations. Never had heard about it before :)

as a technical draftsman I once learned that all texts should be readable from below or from right (looking straight at it or tilting your head slightly to the left)

"Pfälzer Küche"... I just screamed for joy!

Didn’t know that tie-stripe thing .. thanks

Why I watch this channel: so see what amazes you about Germany and if it's the same in the Netherlands (where I live). So far a lot is, but not everything. Very interesting. Really like your videos! Also I love Germany!

@PassportTwo

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much for those kind words! We have only been to Amsterdam once but we really want to get back to The Netherlands soon! 😃

There are very few petrol/gas pumps in Germany where you have to pay first but basically only if there is no attached shop or the usually shop is closed very often. Basically all petrol/gas stations are open 24/7.

When we take English classes in school we often get thought so called "false friends", words that we think we know from German, but mean something completely different.

They are currently developing a book spine with a small LCD. So you can set in which direction the text should point.

Hey, coole Videos! Arbeitet Ihr eigentlich für die USA in Ramstein, oder weshalb seid ihr in dieser Stadt?

@PassportTwo

4 жыл бұрын

Nein, wir sind weder mit den USA noch mit der Regierung hier. Aubrey ist Sprachpathologin und hat eine Stelle in dieser Stadt gefunden. Wir hatten das Ziel, für ein paar Jahre nach Deutschland zu ziehen, und dies ist das erste Mal, dass wir endlich die Chance bekommen haben! 😊 Vielen Dank!

You both are the very first made me check my ties for their stripes! And yes, they're striped from up left to down right all. So, you made my day. 😂😂😘 Love from Berlin, Germany.

@PassportTwo

4 жыл бұрын

haha, so far, all that have commented with their tie direction holds true except for one guy who had one tie that he believes he bought in Europe that has American stripe direction! Such a crazy fact and I still can't get over it or unsee it. Grüße aus Rhineland-Pfalz 😊

@SpandauJerry

4 жыл бұрын

@@PassportTwo jupp, some facts are kind of weird life changers.😊 Won't unsee it now too. Btw found it refreshing you've kept by those casual topics in this virus driven time. 😏

Great take outs lol :)

Greetings. I had a history teacher who explained the ring wearing tradition. He said, that there was the "Romantic" approach as you said with the left hand or the "Statement" hand with the right hand. Usually you raise your right hand to make an oath. Schwurhand in German. So you do an oath at the wedding, the right hand is the right one, the ring seals it.

@PassportTwo

4 жыл бұрын

Very interesting! Thanks for adding that history and information 😊

Standing in front of a bookshelf my mind was blown

Amazing

Es ist so erfrischend mal youtubern zuzusehen, die die form von tamponpackungen und die länge von einkaufsschlangen nicht einen "kulturellen Unterschied" nennen. ^^

@PassportTwo

4 жыл бұрын

Haha, vielen Dank 😂

Ich liebe es! Das mit ist mir ja noch nie aufgefallen. Kein-Arzt, Kein-Ausgang, nicht-anrufen xD

You delivered on most of the differences (I think you you reached by far the highest "Oh, I really did not know" score of every "you didn't know" video I've ever watched. But I noticed that "Not" thing years ago. Not Hammer, Not Ausstieg lol...actually at my work place me and a few of my collegues engage in a ton of pretty lame and insane word plays each day. One of them has a lot of knowledge about the heritage of words too.

Great video, and to make things even more confusing: In Saarland, you wear the wedding ring on the left hand, like in Switzerland, Italy or France.

@PassportTwo

4 жыл бұрын

Nothing can ever be simple, black and white 😂

din 406 regulates the alignment of the text on book spines and all other technical drawings and documents in germany. the reason is legibility from the bottom or right.

@PassportTwo

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the specific din number 😊 didn’t know this!

I was just reminded of our difference in paying at the gas station when I watched "Onward", the new Pixar movie. My boyfriend was unaware of this difference and asked me what the protagonists were doing, when they first went in to pay and then filled their canister. In my hometown here in Germany, we have one automated gas station where you first have to put your card into the machine (without entering a certain amount) and then you can pump your gas. Only afterwards the payment will be deducted from your bank account. Germans are very suspicious about paying first before receiving the goods.

@PassportTwo

4 жыл бұрын

Oh! We haven't seen this one yet so I will have to watch out for that part in light of our video and your comment now 😊 Germans may be suspicious of paying for goods until American companies move in like fast food chains and Amazon in which paying first is a must and they want those goods. 😉 haha

The right ring finger I didnt know about, here in Sweden we also have it on the left ring finger. And we have our book titles "the american way".

I have two European and one American style tie. And here in Denmark book spines have the text going from top to bottom.

Here in the US there are a ton of gas stations still where you don't have to pay first. At least here in the midwest. It's rare I have to pay first. And i'm in between Milwaukee and Chicago. Some stations want you to pay first. (Mostly interstate highway stations) But not all of them do. It's a mix really. Some stations want you to and some don't. I tend to find Citgo is known for wanting you to pay first. And BP can be that way too. But Kwik Trip here in Wisconsin does not require it, unless it's an outermost pump not visible by the cashiers point of view. It just depends on the station. Of course you can also just use a debit or credit card right at the pump as well to pay.

Hi Donnie, Hi Aubrey...This topic is so interesting! Ok, my husband just checked his U.S. ties and yes, they are right to left. The books I noticed some years ago when we were on a German cruise ship. I went to the ship library, tilted my head to look at the titles and they were upside down! What a shock! Another trivial difference is in Germany the store cashiers are sitting down and in the U.S. they stand. Why? Who knows! Love your videos!

@PassportTwo

4 жыл бұрын

So far we have had lots of people from both the US and Europe telling us which way their ties go and we are at a 99% that this holds true! Wow! You're totally right about the store clerks sitting down. Always makes me sad thinking about those in the US having to be on their feet all day now! haha Thanks 😊

@bas6983

4 жыл бұрын

Cashiers sitting down in Europe has most likely to do with proper labour laws preventing people to stand still for a considerable amount of time. Sitting at an approved seat at the proper height is allowed.

@mikelastname1220

2 жыл бұрын

@@bas6983 In most every store in the US, the store clerk is standing. But in our Aldi's store we have here, they are sitting. It's the only place I've seen that!

These are so amazing small Details . 😝

@PassportTwo

4 жыл бұрын

Haha, glad you think so too!! 😃

There‘s apparently a new fire protection norm (Brandschutzordnung) that emergency exits are no longer allowed to only be labled as „Notausgang“ because of the confusion you talked about. It must say Exit as well or you use the pictogram only.

wow. ... you went deep :O

@PassportTwo

4 жыл бұрын

Haha, gotta be thorough!

The book titles on the book spine never came to my attantion until now. Besides I store my english books not next to my german ones :D An other funny and kind of a complicated word in german is "umfahren", it could mean to knock so. over OR to drive around :D

That was actually funny. I did not know the tie stripe thing, but I do not wear ties at all (only if I have to), because I hate it so much. lol

@PassportTwo

4 жыл бұрын

haha, glad you enjoyed 😊

@teardrop-in-a-fishbowl

4 жыл бұрын

@@PassportTwo As always. I like your videos.

okay, I've been reading german books for awhile, and I never noticed the text was the other way around on the spine. I had to compare two books I had as soon as you said that.

@PassportTwo

4 жыл бұрын

haha, and now you won't be able to unsee it 😂

Charming and funny! I was most delighted. Thank you very much indeed. Banal differences reveal a constitutive commonality of our cultures, namely that the banal itself exists at all. Also nice and, I admit, well known: Gift and gift, sensibel and sensible, Spleen and spleen, Handy and handy, liberal and liberal, and so on and so forth. Here is a barely tangible difference (at least for knuckleheads like me): Gegenwart and present perfect.

@PassportTwo

4 жыл бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it! 😊

That is exactly my problem.. I have books from Germany and America and they are standing in my bookshelf totally messed up..

In Croatia, the tie stripes go from the top left to bottom right, like in Germany. The books, however, can't make their mind. The spine text can go either way. It doesn't matter whether the book was published before or after the breakup of Yugoslavia and it doesn't matter whether the book was published domestically or a localisation. In fact, when looking through my bookshelves, I found two 7th grade physics textbooks with spine text in different directions. For localisations they seem to keep the original orientation.