Kultur 8 by Josh Crane

Kultur 8 Blog

Germans do not like drafts. They severely dislike the movement or circulation of air, and it is thought to be the cause of anything from pneumonia, flu, and colds, to clogged arteries. Germans can open their houses, trains, and cars, a short time but will not leave them open for the day. When they do air out their homes, it can be in winter or summer: there is no correlation. The author said that even a fan in an office will “land them in the hospital.” This is not in contrast, however, to riding bikes around cities, or a simple blowing wind.

In the same spirit, the next article spoke about German specific diseases. Because of such an aversion to medicine, more illnesses have made their home in Germany. An acute loss in hearing does not exist in America, but it recently forced the Social Democrat’s party chairman to retire. When they do get sick, they refuse medicine, and wait it out even if it means multiple weeks of suffering. When they do come back to health, they usually pack some tobacco and beer in at the local spot.

The last article is about saunas in Germany. The locals love their sauna, and Angela Merkal was there when the Berlin Wall came down. “Over 30 million are regular sauna-goers, while nationwide there are an impressive 2,300 public saunas, 3,800 sweat rooms in sport and fitness clubs, 5,100 more in hotels and around 1.5 million in private homes.” The sauna came in 1936, and has since given the Germans another excuse to be naked. Of the sauna, it is said, “Wrapped in tiny towels, the successful businessman and the welfare recipient are indistinguishable from each other. In the microcosm of the steam room, all worlds come together -- the frustrated intellectual, the esoteric do-gooder, the would-be entrepreneur, the overworked boss, the bureaucrat and the long-term unemployed.”