TresSugar

WTF?!

GiggleSugar — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 11:00:00 -0700

"You can call the operator/For the Super Perforator. . ." Let me rephrase my original question: HUH?!

Germans Do the Hamster Dance

GiggleSugar — Wed, 21 May 2008 13:00:00 -0700

If hamsters were bipedal, dancing theme park entertainers, would they have blond, curly hair? And wear cowboy hats? Would they engage in heinously choreographed line-dancing and booty shake for curiously large crowds of potentially deranged peeps? In Germany they would. I don't know why - but they would . . .

Amazing Angry German Kid Mashup

GiggleSugar — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 11:15:00 -0700

Remember the shrieking German kid? (How could you forget him?) The amazing musician Lasse Gjertsen has turned his annoying shrieks into percussive music. Now that, my friends, is talent!

2 Girls, 1 Angry German Kid

GiggleSugar — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 04:00:00 -0700

Just when we thought the 2 Girls, 1 Gross-Out phenomenon had lived its full 15 minutes of shame, it reemerges to ruffle the feathers of one angry German kid. He's got one hellavuh short fuse, so when all the reaction vids, pop-up ads, and Net Nanny filters get in the way of his "girls and cup" fix, all insanity breaks loose. (Warning: Language NSFW)

Thanks, Break!

Très Cool! Babies Cry in Their Native Language

TresSugar — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 02:00:00 -0800

I've always found it fascinating that dogs "bark" in different languages. Though we say "ruff ruff" in English, that same noise is expressed as "ouah, ouah" in French. Now here's something even cooler: German researchers have started to think that babies' wails sound different depending on what language their parents speak.

The scientists observed 60 babies born to families speaking French and German and found that the infants could be absorbing their parents' accents from inside the womb. In the last three months of pregnancy, babies have already begun to memorize sounds, and based on the analysis of the babies' cry "melodies," the sounds mapped closely to the parents' accents:

The French newborns cried with a rising "accent" while the German babies' cries had a falling inflection.

Writing in the journal Current Biology, they say the babies are probably trying to form a bond with their mothers by imitating them.

The findings suggest that unborn babies are influenced by the sound of the first language that penetrates the womb.

Fascinating, right? Now I want to hang out with a big international gang of babies and see if their cries all sound different. Wait, that means being trapped in a room with a bunch of crying babies - nevermind!

East vs. West: Berlin Wall Divided Two Attitudes Toward Nudity

TresSugar — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 08:00:49 -0800

When the Berlin Wall fell 20 years ago last week, East and West Germany had to integrate two very different cultures. Freedom may have spread quickly through the East, but nudity - the East's favorite and perhaps only freedom - never caught on in the West.

Freikörperkultur (FKK), or liberal body culture, was really the only way to rebel in the East, where the most quotidian details of people's lives were observed by the Stasi, East Germany's secret police. Though the East German government forbid FKK at first, many government officials were into walking around nude, so they protested with the argument that "doing FKK" did not mean you weren't a good communist. Good point - don't they put kids in school uniforms to level the playing field? What's more egalitarian than wearing nothing!

Yet on the west side of the wall, the attitude toward nudity was more on par with America and its don't-even-discuss-it-in-public ethos. A West German interviewed a former East German for Vice magazine to find out what's so great about wearing nothing. Check out some of the highlights after the jump.

German Music Video Is Big in Germany

GiggleSugar — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 14:00:00 -0800

But I doubt it will be catching like wildfire here! I have no other words for you guys. Just watch.

Thanks, College Humor!

Achtung, Baby: It's German Idol!

GiggleSugar — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 09:34:47 -0800

Wow. "Deutschland sucht den Superstar," Germany's answer to American Idol, does not disappoint. Check out the guy singing Michael Jackson's "Triller" (no, that's not a typo) and the third guy, who seems to be sucking on spaetzle during his rendition of "Angel." (Why no Rammstein?!)

Flashback: Keanu Reeves Is a Liar

GiggleSugar — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 07:00:00 -0700

Poor Keanu went on some German talk show and got hooked up to a lie detector. Watch him struggle through the host's questions (and her heinous dentist-office-wallpaper jacket). He's totally cute though. Wouldn't you believe anything that comes out of his mouth?

Cute Alert: Little Pup Takes on The Big Dog

GiggleSugar — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 04:00:00 -0700

The little punk below could easily fit into this German Shepherd's mouth, but he doesn't let that deter him from yapping, nipping, crawling, and climbing all over his Goliath-sized "friend." It's the pup's first day in the house and he's determined to show who's boss up in here. A little (over)confidence never hurt anyone - or so we hope!