At the library
- edinburgh
At the library, I asked to have my book extended. The guy grabbed it on both ends, pulled hard, and told me it just wouldn’t extend, as hard as he tried.
Now, a British person would have politely laughed at that joke and that would have been the end of it. But of course me being me, I called him out on it, accused him of recycling that joke, making it obvious that I was German. So, naturally, he told me a German joke.
A young German soldier, newly drafted, is sent to a training camp for the first time. There, he acts very strangely. Over and over, he picks up leaves and rocks from the ground. He looks at them, shakes his head and says: “This is not it.” “This is not it.” Inside, he picks up pieces of paper lying around. He looks at them, shakes his head and says: “This is not it.” “This is not it.” The commander watches this behaviour for a while and then decides that this young man is not fit for service. He decides to discharge him. So back in his office, he hands him the discharge papers. The soldier takes the papers, looks at them and says: “This is it!”
I don’t quite get it - what’s German about this? Well, you’ll be glad to hear that I wasn’t mean enough to make the librarian explain the joke. Instead I politely laughed, thanked him and left.
Now, a British person would have politely laughed at that joke and that would have been the end of it. But of course me being me, I called him out on it, accused him of recycling that joke, making it obvious that I was German. So, naturally, he told me a German joke.
A young German soldier, newly drafted, is sent to a training camp for the first time. There, he acts very strangely. Over and over, he picks up leaves and rocks from the ground. He looks at them, shakes his head and says: “This is not it.” “This is not it.” Inside, he picks up pieces of paper lying around. He looks at them, shakes his head and says: “This is not it.” “This is not it.” The commander watches this behaviour for a while and then decides that this young man is not fit for service. He decides to discharge him. So back in his office, he hands him the discharge papers. The soldier takes the papers, looks at them and says: “This is it!”
I don’t quite get it - what’s German about this? Well, you’ll be glad to hear that I wasn’t mean enough to make the librarian explain the joke. Instead I politely laughed, thanked him and left.