Germany

Quote: Pacomartin

It's interesting that absinthe was was made illegal at a time when heroin and cocaine were both legal and marketed as medicine.

What amazes me, given today's hysterical climate on drugs, is that cocaine can still be legally used in the pharmaceutical industry.

Quote: Nareed

What amazes me, given today's hysterical climate on drugs, is that cocaine can still be legally used in the pharmaceutical industry.

For which eye surgery patients are very grateful.

That last bunch of posts about the refugee situation in Germany have been moved to Refugees in Germany -- Crisis or Much Needed Labor?.

Thanks Canyonero for your comments and hope you keep them coming.

Quote: Canyonero

PS: Concerning Absinthe: I always have a bottle in my liquor cabinet.

I was waiting to pick somebody up at the Las Vegas airport and wandered into the liquor store at baggage claim and asked about absinthe. To my surprise, the saleswoman led me to a bottle. Here is a picture of it.


Click on image for larger version.

No, I didn't buy it. You can put me in the "urban myth" camp when it comes to Absinthe.

Question for Paco -- Is the Van Gogh picture on the box a reference/joke to him cutting off his ear under the influence of absinthe?

Quote: Wizard

- Is the Van Gogh picture on the box a reference/joke to him cutting off his ear under the influence of absinthe?

That would be a safe bet.

"Van Gogh’s love affair with absinthe is considered to be the most famed in history. It is rumored that not only did Van Gogh enjoy absinthe to the extreme, but that he also devoured the oils and turpentines used in his paintings."

http://www.absinthe101.com/famous.html

If anyone went mad, ... absinthe.
If a woman aged before her time... absinthe.
Anyone who sang with the sinners rather than cry with the saints.... absinthe.

Quote: Fleastiff

Anyone who sang with the sinners rather than cry with the saints.... absinthe.

I thought it was "laugh" with the sinners...

Next in my travelogue about my trip to Germany I'd like to introduce you to the Ampel Man. Ampel meaning "traffic light" in German. You can find him at almost every street crossing in Berlin, both east and west. Briefly, the story is that East Germany was one of the first countries to introduce lights at intersections for pedestrians, featuring the Ampel Man. I think the idea being they wanted him to appeal to children and make teaching traffic safety more fun.

After unification, Germany started to gradually replace the Ampel Man lights in the former East Germany with the more bland ones in use in the west. Then somebody obtained the discarded Ampel Man lights and sold them. It is my understanding that in creating a branding around the Ampel Man people started to take some pride in him and protested the further removal of them. Perhaps the government changed some back -- I don't know. In my trip I found about 95% of intersections in Berlin had the Ampel Man.

There may be a question in a future WoV trivia challenge about this.

Quote: Wizard

What's the green guy carrying.

Quote: Evenbob

Quote: Wizard

What's the green guy carrying.

A bottle of absinthe.