American reacts to Things Germans do That Just Make More Sense

Thank you for watching me, a humble American, react to Things Germans do That Just Make More Sense


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[anoobis]

Something I noticed the first time I was in Germany that I found weird was that there were bottles and cans next to the trash bin. Not inside. And I learned that people sometimes don't bother to take them to get their pfand back. They leave them next to the bins, so homeless people can pick these up and return them for a few coins. Pretty nice!

[aileen]

"200!? some americans cant even step that far without a mcdonalds break" killed me 😂😂

[thisismetoday]

Just to clarify: You don’t have to bring “deposit bottles” back to the exact store you bought it from, but any store that accept return, which are most. Also there’s no time limit on it, so you can just collect them for however long you want, and when you next happen to go to a store for a shop you just take them along.

[Heisenberdy]

There's a reason why teen suicide rates are much higher in Germany than the rest of Europe.

Gymnasium is so fucking hard in Germany that it causes so much burnout amongst teenagers, especially in Bavaria where the Gymnasium is uniquely hard. There are people that finish gymnasium in Germany and then go study in Harvard, yale, Oxford, etc that say going to those universities was easier than gymnasium in Germany.

My ex wife is German and we were together when she was going through the gymnasium in bavaria.

And because i helped her study for her exams i know exactly how hard that shit is.

For her English class she had to know everything.... legitimately EVERYTHING about the civil rights movement and the foundation of the US.

She had to learn the entire constitution and bill of rights back to front. Every amendment and when they were first put into law.

Shit was crazy.

Germany and specifically Bavaria goes next level when it comes to education.

[koenigkorczak]

I'm amazed at how fast Ryan understood the connection between Pfand and homeless people

[KingRobar]

On the Pfand thing: There is actually a general, mostly unspoken, rule in German cities called "Pfand gehört daneben." (Put the Pfand next to the trash bin, not in it.). That way people who don't want to bother bringing back the Pfand don't throw it away, but leave it next to trash bins where homeless people or others who have to depend on collecting Pfand for their livelihood can collect it without having to go through the garbage

[NeverStopGivingUp]

Maybe an important correction as a german: the number on the cirlced signs with a red ring around the white gives a limit you have to obey not the recommended speed. Usually the recommended speed on autobahn is 130 but there is rarely a sign for it. it is a blue rectangle with a 130 on it. if you do not see any red-circled sign on autobahn you can drive as fast as you want, as long as it is "safe".

[MarcHumer]

The signs reads: "You are leaving Wilster" (so you can speed up from 50 to 100km/h - and in 6km the next village called Schotten will "begin". City signs always mean automatically that the max. speed allowed is confined to 50km/h

[chrisubels]

I am from the Netherlands and here, we just fill our shoppingbag with the bottles at home, go to the supermarket, return the bottles, and use that bag for our groceries. Very CONVENIENT lol, no trouble at all haha

[kReels]

The Monologue around 13:00 is a good example why I like this channel so much. The way Ryan always comes damn close to the actual facts in Germany by musing is always impressive.
Yes...we have homeless people (though far less than the US) and yes...they collect the deposit of found bottles.
It goes even so far, that; If you don't want to return your bottle....you don't throw it IN the garbage can, but place it BESIDES; so another person can collect the bottle and get the deposit.

[sebastianmuller]

When Mc Donalds charged for ketchup and majo they decliend heavily for a few years (3 or 4 years). That was something like ten years ago. They rehired the former german CEO to get McDonalds back on track and the first thing he did, was to add one free ketchup or majo to each menu. It helped massively.
The ketchup charge pissed people off so immensely, we nearly got healthy eaters.

[jowilson]

13:05 Yes there are homeless people in Germany and its actually quite interesting that its not just homeless people collecting bottles. Even "normal" living people sometimes collect those bottles especially when there are bigger events around (f.e. football games, festivals, street events), because obviously drunk people don't really care about Pfand. So some of them make like 200€ or more a day by bringing collected bottles in huge amounts back into the supermarket.

[PDVism]

FYI, the danger triangle and safety vest is not just Germany but is a law in lots of countries and has been for ages.
Why am I not surprised that the USA don't do that.

[Thunderwingisatakenalias]

About the Pfand: It's actually not inconvenient. We don't get handed a new single use plastic bag every time we go shopping. We use reusable bags or baskets. Instead of taking empty bags to the grocery store, we just put the plastic bottles we used since the last time we went shopping in the bags. The Pfand machines are at the front of the supermarket most of the time, so I just return them when I enter. The Pfand machine then gives you a small paper with your Pfand on it, and at the checkout you get money for the paper, so it's treated like an item at the store with a negative price.

[cybershadow]

5:58 The current gen Toyota Corolla only has 750 kg towing capacity with trailer brakes and 450 kg without. With the last gen Corolla you get 1, 300 kg with trailer brakes, which is enough for a small camper. European cars tend to have higher towing capacities than Japanese cars though, because they're designed with towing in mind. A VW Golf has up to 2 metric tons of towing capacity, which is enough for a large European caper or a horse trailer for two horses.

[stefans.]

Gas stations sell lots of things, because they have an exception from general shop closing hours laws (officially they are only allowed to sell things you need while on the road, but that's a pretty vague restriction). We rarely have 24/7 stores, so the gas stations fill that gap.

[Manuelaorginal]

About the inconvenience you mentioned about bringing back the bottles: It’s a universal system in Germany. You can bring back the bottles of one grocery store to any other grocery store. It doesn’t need to be the same chain. So since you buy groceries weekly anyway you just bring your bottles with you and get your Pfand back.

[Herzschreiber]

Concerning the gas: Yes, in Germany you start pumping right away and after you finished you go inside, tell them "I was at number 5" and then you pay either cash or with a debit card. (Remember that CREDIT cards are not very common in Germany. People pay cash or with debit cards, which means the money is booked away from your normal bank account instead of a credit company. Whe hate to get into depts!) Now you probably wonder why gas is not stolen .... well - there are security cams everywhere at the gas station, so the plate of your car can be read and you will be found quickly by the police when you drive away without paying the bill. The employees at the cashier will notice a theft immediately. Moreover most of the gas stations have a shopping area inside so they want you to get inside and maybe grab a snack or some drinks or a gift for your kids or spouse when paying the gas bill. :)

[kyliande]

At minute 21 the german gas pump is for diesel only, one tap is for trucks (thicker, faster) and the other tap is for cars. Gasolin might be on the other side of that pump station servicing E10 and E5 gasolin (10% / 5% alcohol addon). Some companies have up do 2 additional gas types with different addons.
So approching a gas pump you have to check which type is served at which pump by signs above the pump. Most pumps don't have card readers, you just stop at the pump, take the tap and fill your car, then go to the employee to pay. Some station will give you credits so you will pay less than it is on the pump display. If you drive off without paying, the next police car might stop you and fine you for stealing, otherwise you will get a letter from law inforcement because every car license is unique and police can find out within seconds who is the owner and living address.
Every gas station I know has cigarettes and newspapers, most have beverages, snacks, magazines, sweets and even alcohols. Some stations have a complete small store included.

[Entrnr]

Its a common thing in germany to put your empty bottles next to the trash because homless people will come and pick them up to get money