@11:20 that's called Skimming - It happens in Germany as well, but it's less prominent, because - cash is (still) king in germany. you most likely see skimming attacks on ATMs Basically it's a small device placed in front of the card-entry that reads the magnetic stripe when you insert it - usually with a small camera nearby to capture your PIN-code (or a fake keyboard)
@andy low if you meant the rules around the car / driving in germany (since half of the video is about those) - u learn them in drivers school, which is mandatory in germany (theoretical and practical lessons) the rules regarding the school system are common knowledge in germany (at least for most germans) - alternatively the teachers will talk to you about your childs before they hit the 5th grade (where they enter one of the 3 paths). since going to school is mandatory in german, the community officials might contact you, if you don't send your kids to school (or the police might pick them up)
The graphics about school are not complete - there are some things missing and that would handle most of your critique. 1-4 year is primary school 5-6 year is secondary school - trial period. If a child doesn't fit into the school, it can change to a less or more demanding school type after year 6. Hauptschule Realschule Gymnasium Pupil who are in the Gesamtschule doesn't normally change, because Gesamtschule is Haupt-,Real-schule and Gymnasium in one school and pupil are separated in the school according to their their abilities to handle the different levels of skill necessary. Hauptschule is for the more practical, underperforming pupils, Gymnasium is for the more theoretical, high performing pupils and Realschule/Mittelschule is for the median between Hauptschule and Gymnasium. 7-10 year is secondary base schooling. After year 9 you can leave Hauptschule without certificate, but must go to a vocational school. In year 10 Hauptschule you can get a Hauptschul- or a Realschul-certificate ( also called mittlere Reife). In Hauptschule there are advanced courses in year 10 to be able to get 'mittlere Reife'. In Realschule and Gymnasium you get 'mittlere Reife' respectively Realschulabschluss. Gesamtschule offers you all options from no certificate to 'mittlere Reife' in year 10. If your grade in year 10 is to bad for 'mittlere Reife' (two failed courses) you get a Hauptschulabschluss. With a grade where 1.0 is the best and 6.0 is the worst you have to have 'mittlere Reife' with an average of 3.0 or better and max one course failed to be able to change into year 11. 11-12/13 year is Gymnasium or Gesamtschule senior classes. Depending on the state you live in Germany you have only year 11 and 12 or and additional year 13. Only finishing successfully these years qualifies you fully for University. Another option after year 10 is learning a trade in a dual system with vocational school plus working in a company. Some vocational schools require 'mittlere Reife', other Hauptschulabschluss. Some schools offer for people without 'mittlere Reife' to catch up and do it in vocational school. If you already have 'mittlere Reife' and finished your vocational training successfully you get a limited university access only in your trade. For example a machinist could study mechanical engineering.
I actually just commented this underneath another comment... I honestly did not notice when they got rid of plastic bags... I was watching a news update and saw that they were talking about the new recycle rules coming in 2023-2025...
@@HayleyAlexis I didn’t notice it either, my brother and my BFF told me. By that time they had already stopped offering them in supermarkets for some time, so they were both highly amused that I hadn’t even noticed. I just didn’t need them because I always have a bag or basket with me.
Plastic carrier bags have been subject to a fee for years and have been banned since January 1st, 2022, now single-use plastic parts (plates, cutlery, straws, etc.) will be banned from 2023. But since this has been discussed for some time, there are hardly any single-use plastic parts for private use in the shops, but the shops must now also use reusable packaging, for example for coffee to go. And it seems to me that there is no resistance to this ban from the general conversation, but rather a certain frustration that the oil industry has "fooled" us all with their plastic production and half-baked promises.
Plastic bags are not banned in the Netherlands,because you just put them in a bin that will be collectet in a few weeks and disposed off in a good way in the factory.With all the other plastic items.The same with paper carbage.So we have three bins...
Regarding Pfand. We have this in Denmark too and have had it for many many years. In Denmark 92% of all bottles with Pfand comes back and gets recycled. So Pfand is really something that can reduce littering.
We have Pfand in The Netherlands also, since 1950 (glass bottles and plastic crates), since 2007 I believe (PET bottles). But only since January 1st of this year for soda and beer cans. It’s a favorite system to prevent littering and reduce garbage.
@@mulraf In The Netherlands Pfand is called ‘statiegeld’, ‘geld’ means money and ‘statie’ means in this case ‘standing’ or ‘waiting’’, so standing or waiting money. We also know the word pand in Dutch which has somewhat of the same meaning as Pfand in German. Pand (or ‘onderpand’) means that an object is a collateral for an institution in case they lend you money, so a house is ‘pand’ for a mortgage, or jewelry is ‘pand’ for a loan, and in this case the bottle (or can) for money (you already payed the money and you’re waiting to get it returned). But we only use ‘pand’ for high value objects in a loan situation, which is not the case with bottles or cans. For quarters and dimes we use the word ‘statiegeld’.
The plastic bag ban works particularly fine together with the Pfand-system. When you go shopping and bring back all your empty bottles, you automatically remember to bring a bag which can be used to carry home your new groceries.
Beside the warning triangle and the colored safety vest you also have to have a standard first aid kit in the car. You also need a first aid course to get your driving licence and can be fined if you do not stop and help in the case of an accident. On the whole we do not have this culture of "everyone for themselves" in Germany. I must admit it felt really good to get a "thank you letter" from the police after helping after an accident in Switzerland. Being prepared and able to help in case of an accident and having the basic equipment on board is really a great advantage.
Paying at the gas station and stealing gas: the license plates at front and back of the car would "prevent" us from stealing gas and escaping, the license plates are providing enough information to get back to us. It would only work with a stolen car, or on a big escape without returning to your registered home.
Happened to me once on new years eve. We were just getting ready to go out and two officers show up at my place. They were like "Eh miss, where were you an hour ago...?" Apparently someone stole the license plates off of my second car (was about to sell it and it was parked near a dealership) and they used the plates to steal gas. They just wanted to see my ID and the Fahrzeugschein. I filed a report for theft right there and then and that was it. Got a letter in the mail like 3 month later that they didn't find the guys who stole the plates.
I used to work at a gas station and it happened to us that someone drove off with stolen license plates, so we couldn’t do anything about it 🤷🏻♀️ So I find the idea of paying first and filling up gas afterwards like in the US way better actually
Yeah, gen x did that. We ruined it. Used to be pump then pay but I know people my age running out on restaurants and gas stations back in the 70's 80's then came cameras.....not a problem, steal some tags, change yours out then gas and go, 5 miles down the road, put your tags back on. But you have to remember, gen x was self raised and 80% unregulated. Personally I didn't do stuff like that except maybe a couple denny's when I was with a bunch of people that just kept getting up to use the bathroom when the bill came until I was the last person at the table and the waitress or waiter started asking about payment..... Let me go find my friends. After the second time I started making different friends and always asked for a separate check. But yeah, Americans weren't raised right. Or at all in a lot of cases.
Sorry, gen x caused the pay then pump problems. Squarely on our shoulders. But it is one of the things I love about living in Germany. But the first set of tags I installed on a vehicle....my went straight back to 1985. I don't even need a screwdriver to swap plates? But that also why I understand France trying to permanently mounting tags on cars from new and that's that's cars plates until death. Okay, fair enough. I don't remember prepayment in Italy, Switzerland or Austria but for sure you have to pre authorise payment for gas in France Spain. I guess an Urkel would be in order here..... "Did I (we) do that?"
I think being able to tow trailers with smaller cars in Germany has something to do with the "Auflaufbremse" (overrun brake). Every trailer (except for very small and light ones) has to have one and therefore actively brakes when the vehicle does. Because of that, the vehicle does not need to be as heavy as in the US to be allowed to tow heavier trailers. Usually up to about twice the vehicle weight can be safely towed.
Driving rules and signs also apply throughout Europe, not just in Germany. We all require theoretical and practical classes when learning to drive, and we learn rules that apply in the absence of road signs. Example: inside towns the speed limit is 50km/h, so, if no sign tells you otherwise you can’t go faster than that.
@@oskarlibelle1769 and it's not only highways. Any road outside of town with two or more lanes in both directions is without speed limit ("autobahnähnliche Straße", mostly "Mehrspurigel Bundesstraße").
@@oskarlibelle1769 Actually more and more speed limits are creeping in on the autobahns in Germany. In some areas you are only allowed to drive between 100 and 130 kmh.
@@ssm445 This is not correct. The "unlimited speed" rule is only on the Autobahn which is marked with the sign at the beginning or at the entry point onto the Autobahn. On any other road, even if multilane, without any signs showing something else the 100 km/h rule is valid. But your are right in so far as that those multilane roads are often signed for a higher speed. Mostly 120 km/h
@@ulie1960 it is correct. It's a common misconception that these roads have to be marked or are having a speed limit of 100km/h. These roads are sometimes called "gelbe Autobahn" because of their yellow Bundesstraßen markings. I lived near some of those, they should be, but don't have to be marked, and when there's no speed limit sign, they are "unlimited" although not being an Autobahn (eg B17). Look up "autobahnähnliche Straße".
I just returned from Georgia (US) and would like to add the following to this list: Germans usually use real dishes (plates, cups, glasses etc.) and cutlery and wash them after use. Most people will not, in their homes, use plastic plates, cups and cutlery and throw them away after use! This was the first time I experienced something like that, and I must say that it brought me close to just giving up on "saving the world": If everybody starts to live this wastefully, there will be no chance of finding ecological equilibrium. Add to that that you can only shop for groceries by driving 20 minutes in your car (Atlanta distances), because the developers only put in a strip mall with a restaurant, a dry cleaner's and a real estate agent's office to serve about 5 subdivisions they built and the perfect lawns maintained by their HOAs with what must be tons of herbicides - then gute Nacht, Welt.
Oh gosh I remember that on my first Visit to the US. I was staying at a hotel and they used plastic/cardboard cutlery. I just stared at it in absolute culture shock and thought: what a waaaaaste! o.O
Da denkt man jahrelang, diese roten Becher für Alkohol wären nur was für Partys oder sogar eine Erfindung von Hollywood... Aber nein, die gibt's wirklich! Was für eine Verschwendung. Deshalb gucke ich solche Vergleichsvideos (USA-DE) nur noch alleine. Meine Mutter rastet regelmäßig aus und sagt dann sowas wie: "wir hier in Deutschland können uns den *Popo* aufreißen in Sachen Klimaschutz, wenn die Amis so einen Mist machen, hilft das alles nichts!" Und ehrlich, irgendwie hat sie Recht...
Yes I was thinking the same when I was in Arkansas.. Also it is such a shamefull thing to do. I wouldn't offer plastic cutlery and paper plate to a guest!
Big advantage of the German/European signs is that you don't have to read the words. Yes, you have to learn the signs - but they are more or less standard in Europe. And even people who can't read at all can learn the signs. In America you are forced to read English to understand what you have to do.
The main sign - yes. But there are often smaller additional signs with limitations or specific information for who is meant or when it is valid. These are in the local language. And that can make quite a difference e.g. for parking or blocked roads.
Kids can start to learn the signs from play carpets at an early age. Many do so, as the signs are visually interesting with thier simple shapes and colors and pictograms.
What shocked me most about driving on Highways / Interstates in the US for decades was the amount of blown tires everywhere along the roads, creating fatal hazards to everybody. I've never witnessed this to happen in GER on any road at all any times...... My longterm GER driving experience and driver's education kept me out of trouble in the US multiple times for that I'm sure of!
Blown tires is a daily occurence in Germany too but there is quite a lot of road maintenance (Straßenmeisterei) where road attendants (Straßenwärter) work who have to pass a 3-year vocational training [ ruclips.net/video/xF5ovlk8fFE/видео.html ].
@@HayleyAlexis A lot of it is due to the lack of mandatory vehicle inspection in most states (and some that used to have it have abolished it). People just drive until their tyres fall apart, something that just couldn't happen if they were regularly checked.
For children like our boy a so called „late fire“ or „spätzünder“ it was quite difficult in his early years. Privatgrundschule found him not able to attend school at all- quite a shock for us parents. After the 4. year teacher would not allow him to attend gymnasium. We did it nevertheless, because we realized we had a little dreamer who just needed to wake up. After the 6. klasse we left him alone with his homework and most of his learning, Physik and Math he got help, the rest he had to manage on his own. Was difficult, but he/we succeeded. He learned to work and study alone, got better from year to year. After the 10. Class he had to choose another school, took the most challenging gymnasium in our town. Is now still not a very much learner, but the grades he is bringing home are astonishing well, in Chemie he is the best. We are totally assure he will make easily his Abitur - and this was a boy who should neather attend Grundschule nor gymnasium.
With a english speaking father I wouldn't doubt him a second. Privatschulen können schon richtig böse sein. Hab da auch einiges bei meinen Klassenkameraden mitbekommen und gesehen wie einzelne Lehrer das ganze Leben eines Kindes auf den Kopf stellen können...Find es super, dass hier die Eltern gewonnen haben und nicht die Schulen
The reason why there was no uproar about the plastic bags is, almost nobody was using them any more. They have been charging for the bags for years, so a slightly more expensive cotton bag will pay for itself pretty quickly. Honestly, I didn't know they were banned until I saw this video. I still have some plastic bags that I (re-)use sometimes, but they're rather old by now. For one of them I know when and where I got it... at the airport in Dubai. In 2012... Usually, I use a basket like on the lower right of your graph, when this doesn't fit everything, I have some cotton bags (and if not, I buy sufficient new ones right then and there). Works rather well, and these bags don't rip, even if I'm carrying something heavy!
I totally forgot that they banned them in January... I think a few days ago I actually noticed and then I was watching a news update on RUclips and they were talking about it... and I was like "ohhh that makes sense"... For me plastic bags were not a part of my daily life so I don't/will not miss them.
I hate the ban of plastic bags. The sme time it happens that yiou can't get the yellow bags for free anymore. No I have to buy more trahs bags for putting my trash and and as replacement for the yellow bag. Yes, we have a big yellow bin for our house. But I have to keep the trash for recycling somewhere in my house. I don't run down four stairs and 50m down the parking lot just for throwing a joghurt pot away. I was using the free plastic bags from the fruit and vegetable departement for that.
@@fridadanke9076 There is no basement bin... It is down the parking lot. And I don't want to bring a bin back. It is annyoing. We pay for the recycling system as customer. The price for at are of course on the prices. You pay also a fee for the "Gelbe Sack / Tonne". You got it always for "free" and now you have to buy your own bags. When you have house it is better than before because you got your own bin now.
I was working in a Supermarket in Ireland when they brought in charging for plastic bags. We went from receiving Pallets of plastic bags each week, to NO deliveries of plastic bags needed, overnight. Before that, when working in a Newsagents, I remember EVERY morning a man buying his morning newspaper INSISTING on a plastic bag with his newspaper! I wonder how he reacted when they began charging!!!
More than 40 years ago (in 1978) the environmental movement started to fight against plastic bags wit the slogan: "Jute statt Plastik". People could get reusable fabric bags and deny the plastic bags offered for free everywhere. It took that long to finally get this done as a law for everybody. It's just a very small step and we have to do so much more.
I remember a time when I was occasionally asked to prove the bag I brought was mine and not freshly taken from the check out counter. I remember the discussions: "This is not you company's logo. And there's a pre-reunification zip-code on it". After a couple of "I bought a fabric bag, tried to use it at the same store a couple of days later and they tried to charge me a second time"- incidents, I proceeded to to dye all the fabric bags I had. They're all a nice, bright yellow now and I haven't been asked to prove the bag is actually mine since.
I've oftentimes wondered about the seemingly entitlement of americans (about smaller inconvieniences eg) and my conclusion was, that a collective hardship for the whole society has just been so far back for generations that there's no collective memory of "taking a step back", "hunger", etc. anymore. Whereas in european countries, the people that had to starve and had nothing during the war and after are still alive or only recently died, so there's still a collective memory of saving and not being wasteful. Of course there IS a lot of real poverty in the US and a lot of wasteful people in germany...
@@viomouse Yeah... I feel that. I mean, I once found a leftover packed slice of Leberkäs in my fridge that was allmost a month over its "best by"-Date, and I just could not bring myself to just throw it out without checking if it realy was spoiled. So, next day I took it out, gave it a smell and... well, yeah. It was food for the trash-truck. But I just had to make sure or I would have felt bad about it... (Had nice panfried potatoes that day.)
The majority of the road signs are uniform or very close to uniform across Europe (the continent, not just EU). I see many Americans assume that these are German only road signs when they do their obligatory "USA vs Germany" comparisons, and many other things for that matter. A lot of different stuff is homologized across the continent. It's not like we walk through the closet into Narnia every time we cross a border, which is what surprisingly many Americans assume (it's somewhat understandable though as not many have visited other countries).
When I visited USA back in 2019, I went to Target buying some clothes and other different items. I was shocked how many plastic bags the cashier used to pack my shopping’s. I think I maybe got out from there with aprox 15-20 bags, and in several there were only one item in it, like a t-shirt. If I was to pack my shopping’s in the plastic bags, I guess I wouldn’t need more than 2-3. Here in Denmark, if you are shopping and need a plastic bag for your shopping’s, you’ll have to pay for each plastic bag. They cost’s $0.62-0.86 per plastic bag. Most therefore bring a reuseable shopping bag made of some kind of textile when shopping. Driving with caravan towed by a regular family car is a common thing in all of Europe. Not just a German thing.
01:54 ok, so for the record these rules are the same EU - wide. The fact that sectiona of the German highways are without speed limit is surely another reason to be careful when handling car accidents, but this rule applies also in all other EU countries, which have a speed limit on their highway. Many rules we have today are actually EU-rules. 😊
The topic with towing trailers with a "normal" car has to do with US rules. A car which is totally fine with towing a 1500 kg-trailerin Europe is not recommended for towing in the US, even it is exactly the same car. Very weird, indeed.
The engines are different. Sometimes *much* different. I once saw a Renault Clio with a 2 liter engine. With laughable performance. Then we compared that to the 1.9l company car I had use of...
The main differnce is in the trailers. I have a sailboat which weighs about 1200 kg and I tow it with my VW Touran. The trailer has an active break system ( Auflaufbremse) that breaks the trailer when I slow down the towing car. A US friend of mine has a bay cruiser fishing boat (weight less than 1000kg) he needs a Toyota Tacoma 4x4 pick up truck. The trailer has no break system, just a safty chain. Thats the difference.
Roland was close, but still no cigar! ;-) It's very easy to explain: In Germany (or most of Europe), you actually trade speed for towing capacity, while in North America it's the other way round. It comes down to tongue weight - in NA, it's normally 10%-15% of the trailer, which means that smaller cars cannot pull them, while in Europe, it's more like 5%, which in turn makes driving very unstable at higher speeds. You can watch this video to see what that means. And no, that doesn't mean that driving with a trailer in the US is *saver*, it's just *faster* (about 20 km/h faster, to be precise). ;-) ruclips.net/video/w9Dgxe584Ss/видео.html
I think plastic bags wouldn't be such a huge problem if they were used multiple times but I often get the impression out of usamerican videos/films when someone goes groceryshopping that the free bags they get are as thin as the bags that are used for vegetables in germany so that they get easyly destroyed and what I find even more confusing is that they are so small that some people need 10+ bags instead of maybe 3 or 4 bigger better quality bags as they were often used before they were banned in Germany.
They are not as thin as the vegetable bags- a few millimetres thicker (which is a lot when talking about plastic bags) but they are small and usually not made for "multiple use".
I think the plastic bag thing is a big problem in Florida. I was there in 2019 and visited Orlando and Miami and in both places I visited a supermarket and the very nice ladies packing my bags, put very few items into each bag and then double bagged them. I didn't want to say anything because I didn't want to be a 'Karen', but at one point I thought they were going to bag me up. However I was in California last month and in Los Angeles they were charging for plastic bags, but in Anaheim they weren't but did ask if I wanted a bag, so they weren't just handing them out. Although I did drink out of a lot of plastic straws during my 3 weeks in California.
7:10 Admittedly, my knowledge on this point is a little old, and possibly out of date, but in the mid-'90's, I visited Chile. It's where my stepfather is from and we went down there to visit his family. They had a culture that supported the act of spending the day at the market (not to be confused with the supermarket) and buying things from _kiosks._ Now let me emphasize, going to the market does not mean just buying a few things and then _leaving._ You went to spend the _day._ One thing that meant was that you could go to a kiosk that would sell you a bottle of cola, and that bottle would be _glass,_ not _plastic._ It was made this way, because it was made to be carried around the market and drunk, and as soon as you were done with it, you would return it to this particular kiosk and they would wash it out, refill it with cola, and use it _again._ Of course this meant the system was zero-waste, and as such, was _much_ more efficient than what we have always had in the US.
The US did this in the 40's and 50's. My mom's earliest memory was putting used glass milk bottles out on the porch for the milkman to pick up. When she was 8 or 9 she and her friends would go around and look for glass coke bottles in the trash. They would take it to the depot and get money for it. This was the way my mom had money for candy and soda. It was in the 1960's when they stopped using glass bottles for milk and coke.
Plastic bags. When my mom heard of the ban, she hoarded plastic bags. But some grocery stores still have them so she tells me to bring 3-5 extra bags when I go shopping because one day there will be no more plastic bags in Germany. Sidenote: we reuse them as trashbags. In fact a lot of people do.
It's really simple. Within cities/towns/villages: 50 unless stated otherwise by a sign. Outside of city limits: 100 unless stated otherwise Autobahn: No speed limit unless stated otherwise The speed limits deviate from these general rules in specific areas. In these cases there will always be a sign that shows you the speed limit. They are most commonly found in residential neighborhoods, school districs, sharp turn etc.
School system. I’m not sure if the German system is the same used in Portugal, but I believe it is. And, if so, going to a system does not prevents a student to later on change to another system. Example: in Portugal a student can go to a professional school instead a regular one, and when graduates it’s equivalent to a 12 year graduation on a regular school, and can go to university as one from a regular school.
A few things surprised me on my trip to Florida. (a) I wasn't asked if I wanted bags, the cashiers just automatically bagged my stuff. (b) The bags were so thin that they had to use 2 bags. (c) The amount of polystyrene - cups in restaurants and packaging for eggs stood out. I hadn't had a polystyrene cup for years before that visit and I don't think I've ever seen polystyrene egg boxes.
The trailer thing is so true, we have a trailer (mainly for transporting large stuff like furniture, garden waste etc.) and we pull it with an Opel Corsa D. In driving school I also made the additional trailer driving licence, our driving school car with which we learned how to drive with a trailer was some Hyundai hatchback. You shouldn't go too fast with a trailer on your car anyways (the speed limit for cars with trailers is 80) so you don't need that much power anyways lol. And the trailers usually have their own brake that is connected to the car brake.
You should also talk about roundabouts. It’s the best option to avoid car accidents. And elevated (ramp) crosswalks, that force cars to slowdown. Road security is taken very seriously in Europe (EU).
a little more information on the german gas pumping: You basicly start filling your tank and while you do this, a display shows you exactly how much has been pumped so far and how much it costs. You can stop the process at any time and it stops automaticly on a full tank. You pay on the register afterwards.
@@camthesaxman3387 but how do you know how much it will be until your tank is full? that was always what i wondered. here in germany you let the gas fill up until it stops itself (if you want) and then you pay let's say... 88,56 Euro. How do you do this in USA?
@@SilvaLuna The pumps, however, show you how much you've pumped and how much it costs as you're pumping, so you're free to stop it any time or wait until it stops automatically. The fuel gauge on a car's dash just shows you a level between empty and full, not an exactly amount, so judging by that is a rough estimate.
I live in Littleton, Colorado, which is on the same street system as Denver. In Denver, they have much tighter restrictions on the availability of plastic bags at supermarkets. It's been a while since I've been there, so it should come as no surprise that I'm not acquainted with the specifics of it. I can tell you, though, that at the supermarket I go to, they sell _reusable_ bags, and as soon as I saw them, I made it a point to buy _four,_ because that's all I usually _need._ It took me a little while to get into the habit of remembering to take them _with_ me when I went to buy groceries, but as long as I do, I'm all set. That's the tricky part, I think. You need something to carry your groceries, and in the US, we've learned that it's easier to _complain_ than to _adapt._
I've at least 20 bags, because I forget them always and buy News ones. Now I have a bag for bags at the appartement door and sometimes I take it with me to the car, where the bags are carried around till they are needed
I always find it funny that when I am in the USA one of the hardest things for me to remember is/are BRINGING freaking reusable bags to the grocery store... but in Germany it happens automatically... It is crazy!
Burst out laughing when you said "There are so many places in the world where people don't use plastic bags and they are perfectly fine. They are not dying on the side of the street." Yeah, I am German and I never used plastic bags in grocery stores before. You either bring a bag made out of cloth or you bring a box (Klappkorb/box) to put your shopping from your cart into your car. What I was a little miffed about was the fact they replaced plastic straws with paper. I don't like that cause the paper straw makes it taste different. But I would never protest that. I have a different solution: I drink my beverage without a straw. Works fine.
Replacing plastic straws with paper straws is such a BS move from the politic (blinder Aktionismus). The paper straw not only change the taste, it has only half the diameter, so you have to suck 4 times harder and the straw starts disolving after a few minutes. Also the paper straw is wraped in plastic, glued to a tetra pack wich is also an unrecycable mix of paper, plastic and alu. Its not me who throws plastic in the oceans, its the garbage industy who export the plastic waste in 3rd world countrys for sorting. There are whole islands in the pacific covered in plastic waste, to make space for a new batch of unsortet plastic, they just burn the piles of sortet unusable plastic or dump it direktly on the beach in the ocean, and the industry is fully aware of that. Who gets punished for that? The industy? No the consumer
Since I am a nurse I hate paper straws because for ppl who are dependent on straws for drinking it’s very difficult bc after a while the paper becomes soggy which makes it useless. Also it’s dangerous bc parts of it could be inhaled by mistake
@@simonewohr4385 I'm sure an exeption can be made for hospitals. Those straws would seldomly even leave the hospital and would end up in the massive piles of gloves, masks, hairnets and other single use hygiene products.
The comparison of towing was interesting for me. I drive a compact electric car from Korea (Niro EV). This car is also sold quite well in the US and Canada. In the first two years of sales in Germany, there was no trailer hitch available or allowed for this car. The Koreans simply did not understand that Germans LOVE trailer hitches. Not only for all kinds of smaller and bigger trailers, but also for bicycle transport! Wisely, the Koreans have changed their accessory strategy.
The first point about the emergency triangles. Defined in FMCSA 392.22 6.3.6 Emergency Warning Devices states that when a semi truck is stopped for more than 10 mins then they are required to place the emergency devices at 100 200 and 300 feet on an interstate and 100 in front and 100 and 200 on a limited use road (two lane roadway or where hills are involved)
I think many of the points that you make about Germany are valid for the EU, too. The triangle for accidents exists as long as I can remember. However, the warning vest was a thing in France much earlier. Than it became part of the EU legislation to have warning vests in your car. And wrt to the gas: in Italy and France it is also much more common to have automated pumps where you put in your credit card in advance. You select the maximum which you want to spend. At the end, you are charged only as much as you have put in. And there is luckily no difference between different gas stations as you described it in the US. Slowly I see that the automated pumps are appearing in Germany. I think the German system at gas stations stems from two points: we are not very used to pay with credit cards, but prefer cash (it is changing slowly) and that the gas stations make most of their profit by selling other stuff (cigarettes, beer, etc) from their shop, so they want you to come in... *oh look, some ice cream* 🙂
well, we definitely have to add a very important point to the plastic bag ruel. Yes plastic bags are banned, but only so far as they are not allowed to be given out for free, which was the case before. So now most of the stores still have a collection of plastic or cotton bags, in case you forgot to bring your own and don't have enough hands to carry everything (cause yes, a big percentage of germans go grocery shopping on foot, when it is possible), but you have to pay for every bag. It's a similar amount of money, as what you get back for your plastic bottles, lets say 25-50 cent each bag. But that's, what convinced many people, to bringing cotton bags for shopping themselfes make a habit. And everyone, who can't imagen it, guys its no big deal, you just throw a bunch of bags in your car, to have with you in case. And you just learn, to pack a bag in your handbag or backpack, as selfexplaining as you put in your keys, your deodorant or waterbottle, when you go out the house. Or since when do we complain, that there are no free water bottles for everybody. No, we can just bring them ourselfes and REUSE THEM! And most important, when you come back from shopping, you put out your groceries and KEEP THE BAGS, STORE THEM IN A BOX OR SOMETHING AND TAKE THEM WITH YOU FOR THE NEXT TIME. Guess what, it won't hurt anybody, if you put groceries in there a SECOND TIME. And even better, if they are tote bags out of cotton.
7:30 Yes there are flaws, but I would probably go insane if I had to teach an American highschool. (Full disclosure: I am not a teacher yet, I am currently doing my Masters degree for teaching Gymnasium. Meaning I dont get paid for the teaching I do and cant call myself a teacher while teaching) I already have to prepare at least 3 different versions of every assignment, homework or experiment for faster, slower and middle-speed students. 4+ different versions if I have children with special needs in my class. If I had to provide additional variations of my lessons for all children from the entire width of human ability and interest, while preparing them all for the same, undifferentiated state wide exams, I would run away and live in the forest. Every child should have the same opportunities in education and we have a lot of work to do before this is reality, but I it is already nearly impossible to meet every students needs in a class, even within one of the three school types.
You have different classes for different students. In Elementary school there is the gifted program and kids who are really smart are the only ones allowed in the class. The gifted kids had PE (physical education), lunch, recess, and science with the mainstream kids. For the slower kids there is ESE (exceptional student education). Here they went slower in the subjects. The kids who weren't mentally retarded had science, PE, recess, and lunch with the mainstream kids. If your class had a birthday party or something like that you stayed in the mainstream class for the day. In school I was a little slow in math. When it came time for math I would go to my ESE class (it was a completely different teacher) and had extra help with my math. Again I learned the same things as the mainstream kids, but it was explained to me in a different way. For reading I was gifted so I would go to the gifted class for reading. I had more difficult work to do in this class. English and history I was in the mainstream class. I had lunch, recess, PE, and science with the mainstream class. You can keep kids of all learning abilities under the same roof. You don't need to send them to different schools. What they do need to bring back to school is vocational training. My high-school was one of the few schools in the state of Florida that had vocational classes. When I was in school we had car repair class and preschool teacher class. If you took one of these vocational classes for 4 years you would take a state test your 4th year. If you passed you would have all the qualifications of being a mechanic or preschool teacher. Now my school is offering computer coding, web design, and game design. Other schools in the same district as my school doesn't offer any vocational training which is sad.
When my American mother came to marry my father and live in Germany back in 1952, the thing she liked most was the three-tier school system that provided for different levels of abilities. I teach in German schools and am very glad we have these three levels, even though in my opinion we need to invest more money in each tier. I've taught Gymnasium and am now teaching Hauptschule and wish there were classroom assistants to help those kids who, at age 14, still don't have fluent reading abilities. This is not always due to coming from a foreign country. It might also be an untreated dyslexia. But certainly it would be awful to have to teach all levels in one classroom. -
General speed limit inside of cities, villages etc. (Ortschaften) is 50. Unless there’s a specific sign that tells you otherwise. In cities there are sometimes roads with 60km/h signs. There are 30km/h zones and 30km/h „Strecken“ (I guess like a stretch or sth?) 30 zones exist in pretty much all living areas. Meaning clusters of housing blocks with lots small streets and no big traffic roads. When you enter the area from on of the streets you‘ll get a sign telling you that you’re entering a 30 zone and when you leave it it will tell you you‘re leaving and returning to the normal 50km/h rule. 30 km/h stretches exist usually near schools, kindergartens, pension homes, maybe also hospitals, etc. They usually stretch around a few hundred meters, so that while you pass that school or whatever more slowly and cautiously. The sign below the speed limit will tell you for how many meters you have to slow down. I also think this system makes a lot of sense honestly ^^
I do like the dual-education system for 14+ with trade schools and practical job skills on one hand and a university path on the other hand. Like, doing a diet version of everything might just be a waste of time for most people at that point because the subjects diverge too much. However, splitting as hard for Middle School as Germany does just feels pointless to me. I think you could manage that with modules instead of some weird class separation.
That is the idea behind Gesamtschule. You attend those courses that fit your abilities. Which means you could do a very little advanced course in math but very high in PE. Or vice versa. In the end certain levels are then required to have achieved to be able to go to university or Fachhochschule or none of them. On theory everyboy looked favorably at the model. But it took too much money and rebuilding of schools to do it. AFAIR And it ran against the elitist view of many parents who wanted their kids to attend Gymnasium due to its appeal. Another aspect is the dissolution of the classes where the students stayed together for their trip through the system. That can be positive and a negative.
I personally think that there needs to be more "hands on" approaches and the ability to change paths without it being too much of a burden for the student. I have heard horror stories of people changing their mind and adding on years to their education route because they did not choose the "proper" route the first time. I do wish (and this is something I wish American schools would do as well) that there would be more courses/education for ACTUAL life lessons at an early age. Just to name a few: money management, taxes, web design, current events, nutrition etc etc
@@HayleyAlexis meine Tochter ist nach der zehnten Klasse mit der mittleren Reife von der Gesamtschule abgegangen. Sie hat gewechselt zur Berufschule. Dort hat sie dann eine Berufsausbildung für Büro gemacht und gleichzeitig ihren Fach Hochschulabschluss. Danach hat sie noch ein Jahr dran gehängt und hat jetzt doch noch das Abitur. Sie hat also jederzeit die Möglichkeit gehabt, in einen Beruf zu wechseln. Jetzt hat sie die Möglichkeit auch zur Universität zu gehen. I liebe Grüße aus Hamburg Ben
@@HayleyAlexis Isn't some of that the responsibility of your parents? I sometimes have the impression people expect the school to teach things the parents should take up to themselves. But since parents don't know much anymore and families are disfunctional it is forwarded to the teachers. Don't get me wrong. Newer things like web design etc. should be offered in schools. So I basically concur. But I see also the families fall short in some "common sense" things. E.g. they have to do taxes. So why can't _they_ teach their children and not outsource it? Wonderful opportunity to bond if otherwise everybody is doing their thing. And other things one has to learn to learn by themselves. You will always face new things in life. So learning how to fish is better than giving the fish directly.
@@tasminoben686 Hello Ben exactly. I was a mediocre secondary school student. It wasn't until 7th grade that I got a teacher who encouraged and challenged me. He also encouraged me to go to vocational school and complete the Mittlere Reife. Although I did not study like my brother, who attended the evening school and studied computer science. Thank you Mr. Schäfer. 🙋♂ Education is one of the biggest advantages over the USA and other countries - quality doesn't come from anywhere! Hallo Ben ganz genau. Ich war ein mittelmäßiger Hauptschüler. Erst in der 7. Klasse bekam ich einen Lehrer, der mich förderte und forderte. Er ermutigte mich auch auf die Berufsfachschule zu gehen und die Mittlere Reife abzuschließen. Habe zwar nicht studiert wie mein Bruder, der die Abendrealschule besuchte und Informatik studierte. Danke Herr Schäfer. 🙋♂ Ausbildung ist einer der größten Vorteile gegenüber den USA und anderen Ländern - Qualität kommt nicht von irgendwo!
The triangle is something that truckers carry in the USA. one is generally placed a few feet behind the truck and then another several yards farther behind the truck. As for towing, it was common to tow a camper or boat with a regular sedan type car in the USA until the mid to late 90's.
Another thing about the "Pfand" system is, that you can do at least a very little good thing for other people. Nowadays it is quite common, that (often retired) people gather their earnings (at least partly) by collecting bottles from the bins. So it is also very common, that, if you go on a short vacation - e.g. for a concert, discotheque, festival - , people leave their Pfand bottles beside the dustbins or give it directly to the collectors, if they see one.
About plastic bags: I think it's a process that already took decades, and will take more decades to be finished (if it ever is). The point for me is not so much the 10g of plastic saved, but the change in mindset: Don't waste if you can reuse. Look for alternatives. As another example, when I bought my washing machine I made a quick calculation to see which one is the cheapest including expected energy cost, not just the label price. I had the higher price back in my pocket after two years, and now pay ~€60 per year less than I would have.
After watching 3 of your videos I already subscribed to your channel. I love your way to talk, to compare and to mention differences. I am a German but not so happy with the Germans. I worked in Switzerland for nearly one decade but I am also not so happy with them. I found my luck in the Philippines which is influenced by the USA. So I can follow your thoughts, your comparison and find myself always thinking: She is a good observer and she is honest when she talks about differences. Keep it up. I want to watch some more from you. Just by the way: You have a very pleasant way to be yourself in your clips.
There are a lot of reasons why deposits have gone out of favor in the US. When I was a kid, they were common. Studies show deposits reduce the cost effectiveness of curbside recycling and it therefore needs to be tax subsidized. It addresses one of the smaller aspects of landfill and litter problems. Recycling isn't as greenness people think. In the old days, washed and reused glass bottles were indeed an energy saver but plastic bottles have to be sorted, distributed, remelted and remade...the energy saving is low and sometimes even negative. If you want to help the world, stop drinking bottled water. It is one of the stupidest things ever. Uy yourself a bottle and fill it up. Most bottled water is just tap water. Furthermore, it encourages water mining where companies like Coca Cola and Nestlé build facilities in small towns in Maine and other places and basically overwhelm their system and sell the water at a huge profit. They will even build most of their facilities just outside the town so they don't have to pay the town taxes. They benefit from the towns water system without paying into it.
Before pay-at-the-pump systems were installed, it used to be very common in the US to pay for your gas after pumping it. But, since almost everybody pays at the pump now, I think gas stations stopped offering pay-after-you-pump to cut down on gas theft.
I have lived in California for the last 8 years. I haven't used a single plastic bag for grocery shopping in all that time. Bags cost 10c a piece here. Regarding schooling: till 6th grade, i went to school in the UK, to a German Gymnasium after that. In the UK, (this was 30 years ago) you got placed in sets for various subjects, so people really good at math would cover whatever was required plus went into much more depth, whereas the medium set covered mostly what was required in depth but didn't go much deeper and the lowest set focussed on bringing you back up to where you should be and just covered what was required. I really liked that system and you had placement tests every 6 months which decided in which set for a subject you go into. I much preferred this to the German system. I am not sure if I would have been recommended to go into a Gymnasium in Germany after Grundschule because it was only in secondary school that i really started getting good grades and good at things and got placed into the top sets.
The worst thing with car crashes on the Autobahn is when the fire department blocks the road with their vehicles and then there are still accidents like a Semitruck ramming one and crushing the firemen under the vehicle. So not even after the crash is safe sometimes sadly.
At first the Plastic bag rule seemed like it was going to be an inconvenience. In reality you buy a few of those sturdy large shopping bags and always have some in the car. They are larger and most importantly stronger. You actually get attached to them. I have one from Switzerland that I like using. You can load them up, and when you put them into or out of your car, they don't break resulting in your shopping being spread all over the road!
Schools/kindergartens/neighbourhoods = 30 km/h Urban = 50 km/h Passing village = 70/80 km/h country road = 100 km/h Autobahn = unlimited if no speed limit
Rule #1 in German traffic laws is always respect the publics safety. So you can't actually drive infinitely fast (or unreasonably slow) if that would endanger anyone. Reckess speeds and streetracing are punishable.
@@AZeroEight The recommended speed of 130 km/h is a non-binding recommendation. For example, if you are involved in an accident at 150 km/h, it is always necessary to decide which regulations, if any, were otherwise complied with or violated and who is ultimately to blame for the accident. The speed of 150 km/h on an unlimited section of the highway is not decisive here. It's a bit like prison escapes in Germany. You cannot be prosecuted for breaking out because every person has the urge for freedom. However, you can be prosecuted for damaging government property or injuring fellow inmates and guards during your escape. If the doors are wide open and you just run away, then you have no fear of punishment.
Speed limits in Germany To get it clear: 50 km/h is the limit in towns and villages, beginning with the yellow name sign and ending with the crossed out sign. Exception: If there are any other speed limiting or opening signs into a town or village, these have to be obeyed until the next crossing. If there is no new restriction after the crossing, it's again 50km/h. The same applies, if there is the sign "all restrictions cancelled" (round, white, with black stripes traversing). 100 km/h is the general speed limit outside of closed towns or villages (the "closing" is indicated by the yellow name signs). Exception: If there are any other speed limiting or opening signs outside a town or village, these have to be obeyed until the next crossing or feeder road. If there is no new restriction after the crossing/feeder, it's again 100km/h. The same applies, if there is the sign "all restrictions cancelled" (round, white, with black stripes traversing). Exceptions: 1. Motorways (yellow signs with black writing) with four or more traffic lanes often are having a generally extended speed limit up to 120km/h. There should be a speed limiting sign at the beginning. 2. Highways (blue signs with white writing): There is no general speed limit, but you are recommended to drive around 130 km/h. Exception: If there are any speed limiting signs on the highway, these have to be obeyed until the next feeder road is passed. If there is no new restriction after a feeder road, it's again limitless. The same applies, if there is the sign "all restrictions cancelled" (round, white, with black stripes traversing). 3. Another German speciality: Traffic calming areas, mostly applicated in housing areas (Blue sign with pedestrians, children and other things on it) The maximum speed is 5km/h (If you have an older car, the needle of your speedometer has not to move, while you are driving) until you passed the sign crossed out. A little explanation to the automatic ending of speed limits after crossings, feeder roads etc.: If a driver comes in a road newly, by joinig from a sideroad, he cannot know, that there was a restriction before. Therefore there must be a new speed limit sign after each crossing/feeder road, if the speed limit shall be continued. Peculiarity: Speed limits painted on the road surface have the same function and consequences as the "normal" ones, made out of sheet metal. Regards Th. Krapf
One more point at speed limits: If you are unsere if you are „innerorts“ (max. 50 km/h) or „außerorts“ (up to 100 km/h) look at the position of the „Vorfahrtsstraße-sign. „Innerorts“ it normally stands before the crossing, „außerorts“ it normally stands behind the crossing.
That depends whether you driving on a "priority road" - "Vorfahrtsstraße", indicated by yellow diamond *after* the intersection - or just have right of way - Vorfahrt - at the next upcoming intersection, indicated by a black crossed arrow on white background inside of a red triangle *before* the intersection.
we also like to put a plastic bottle next to a bin intentionally (not in the bin, just next to it) so somebody in need of money could take it. But IF nobody comes there it’s still not littering since it’s right next to the bin. :D
I don't need plastic bags anymore. There are thin foldable nylon bags available and I always have at least one of them in my purse. They are very durable, one of them I use at least for 4 years now. So I can do my shopping on my way and always have a bag on me. 😊🙋
While there is an evaluation on your proficiency, and you are grouped into school types accordingly, it doesn't mean, that you can't get into the higher education tracks. I went to the Hauptschule but at the 8th grade I showed signs that I was unchallenged and bored, I went from the Hauptschule directly to the Gymnasium. It was an Aufbaugymnasium specialized for Hauptschul-kids to catch up Gymnasiasten. This is just one option to switch to higher education even if your Grundschul teacher didn't realize your potential.
Very interesting video, congrats. Just want to mention that some points like traffic rules, emergency signals, and the ban of one-use plastics are mostly common to the EU, it's not only a German thing.
the insanity of plastic one-use items even increases once you realize how easily plastic is replaced by other materials without losing any of the convenience. Plastic spoons/forks vs wodden, paper vs plastic cups etc. ... Sadly it always seems to need a ban or additional fee to push companies and consumers to make the switch. I am just glad that throughout europe politicians have the spine to "impose" such regulations upon their voters and rich lobbyist donors.
Dear Haley, as always, it's very interesting and enlightening to ear your perspective. Also, I love your earrings! A little anecdote: The ban on (complimentary) plastic bags kind of taugt me to be more mindful of how much plastic I use. Nowadays, I always have a folded fabric grocery bag in my handbag. They are washable and indestructible and they have come in handy on many occasions, not just shopping :-) A lot of my friends do the same plus they have bags or baskets in the back of their cars. Personally, I am usually not a very organized person. Before this ban on plastic bags, I very often forgot to have a bag with me . Therefore I was a little annoyed when the law was made: I thought I would very often be forced to by expensive paper or fabric bags because of my forgetfulness. But even though I was annoyed I appreciated at the time that we waste tons of plastic on single use bags. Also, the inconvenience I expected (which turned out to be virtually inexistent) was really only minor - not the kind of thing that makes me take on the hassle of going to a protest or chain myself to a grocery store shelf ;-) Also, generally speaking, I've always been for preserving the environment and not against it so it follows that I should be able to "endure" a minor inconvenience to that end... and that is probably what the majoritiy of germans think in such a case. Last year, plastic straws where banned. Now we have an array of paper straws, straw straws, washable glass and metal straws available and nowone died of a heart attack...
It's 50 in cities, marked by the yellow sign with the towns name (which can be a 50 person village) 100 outside cities, and unlimited on the autobahn unless there are signs saying otherwise
I think the graphic on the educational system for Germany is a bit misleading (at 8:00)... Because upper secondary schools are not actual, separate schools but just the final section of secondary school. It's called "Sekundarstufe 2" or Secondary stage 2. It is just the final part of Gymnasium or High School, where everything is focused on graduation, getting the "Abitur". Grade 11 is also the point where marking system changes from the school system (grading with numbers from 1-6) to the academic system (grading with points 0-15). This doesn't happen in "Realschule" or "Gesamtschule" because the kids going there are not expected to pursue academic careers.
You can go into a gas station and give the attendant 40 bucks to hold on "pump one" and then get your change when you are fill below that number. We used to have pay after you pump in the USA but, as you said, too many people stealing gasoline put an end to that.
Same in The Netherlands , the triangle and vest. Here the road design shows you the speed outside of a city , 60,80,100 60 has interrupted lines on both sides (for bicycles) 80 doesn't have those lines (a constant line or dashes down the middle only) 100 has a doulbe line down the middle with green paint in it. So if you missed the speed sign, that will tell you.
How I think a deposit system would work in the US. Karen throws her empty Coke bottle into some bushes in the park. Someone tells her that she can't do it. Her answer will be: "I have PAID $0.25 for it, the city must collect it. I don't have to do it by myself." But at least some homeless people will get money from it.
as a german it has always shocked me even before we got rid of plastic bags here how many plastic bags you get when you are out grocery shopping, not just in the usa, but also in japan for example, it is insane x.x
As for the schools, in Berlin children are split up to the schooltypes 2 years later. Elsewhere they have more and more Gesamtschulen, there are different schoolbranches, but you dont really change the school. so you may decide even after the 10th grade if you make Abitur or not.
Your romantic view on our school caste system is very adorable. I wish it was anything like you described it. But I get it compared to the US system it probably looks like that. So the same situation as with public transportation. Man I remember recognizing a building in a video of some dude saying public transportation is good here. And thinking: Shieeeeeeet, he lives *here* and thinks that? The situation must be dire over there!
as a German in California, I agree with all your points. But it's really funny that I never realized that Germans tow their camper with their VW whereas here it has to resemble a semi truck, haha! So true, just never realized it. I'm pretty sure I've NEVER seen a truck of any kind pulling a camper in Europe. The unpredictable speed limits always bothered me, you turn into a larger road but have no idea how fast you can go. Just dumb. At least navigation maps now have most speed limits on display. Im Ort 50 ausser andere Schilder ändern das. Ganz einfach, simple. In town speed limit is 50KmH. And outside of town it's 100 unless otherwise indicated. Autobahn no speed limit unless otherwise indicated by signs or overhead displays controlled by computers and sensors to set speed limits in real time depending on traffic and weather conditions. Almost all major freeways are computerized like that now. Quite amazing actually. And then I come back to California and am glad I have a 4x4 to ride on these farm roads we call freeway here. And I fully understand that not quite full tank thing, that would drive me nuts! But paying at the pump is convenient and leads to less impulse buys of chips and candy ;-)
We use our cars. We dont use them for getting fresh bread from the bakery 10-15 mins. away (only, if it's like down the mountain, then you also get everything else, you might need at home at the stores).
First two(the triangle and the vest) is not just Germany, it is mandatory in the whole of EU/EEA by law (1st has been for almost 50 years here in Norway)
Same in Denmark. The funny thing is, that for a long time the triangle wasn’t mandatory to have in the car, but it was mandatory to place behind you in a matter of an accident. Well, if you don’t have it, how are you supposed to place it? I’m not sure about the day-glo west. I don’t think it’s mandatory to both have or wear, but most think of it as a wise move, and as such keep one in the car.
I always use a hard plastic folding box to go shopping (as a German). Much sturdier that plastic bags, re-usable over years, easy to slide into the station wagon (if I owned one, oh I miss my VW Passat so much...). I do not know why anybody what prefer a plastic bag over a folding box. But that's just me.
You mentioned littering in regards to plastic bottles. I thought of another side effect the Pfand system brought along. Usually in cities with a lot of traffic (near train stations, shopping areas etc.) people still throw some plastic bottles in the public trash bins just out of convenience i guess? Anyway, they usually end up being recycled anyways because people are actively walking through cities looking to collect plastic and glass bottles with Pfand on them to go and turn in for the money.
Hi Hayley. Fell across your channel by accident. I think you should delve into the education system in Germany at the primary level and compare it to the US.. The hours, how they get there, and how they steer children into any profession they chose to follow. Maybe your subscribers back in the US might find it interesting.
The focus on car infrastructure is a little funny (albeit understandable from the perspective of an American) because I'd argue that one of the primary things Europeans do that just make sense are... walking, cycling, using public transport instead of driving and, very importantly, having the infrastructure to support that. 🙂
Different countries have different rules and you have to be aware of them when traveling there, especially with your own car. These are usually fine in rental cars. For example, in Italy you have to have a spare bulb in the car for every different lamp that is in it. Safety vests are a very common requirement and in my opinion such a cheap life insurance that even if it is not mandatory, it is worth keeping it with you. A caravan towed behind a car is very common in Europe. It has tires underneath, so it doesn't need a locomotive to pull it, as long as care is taken that the towing vehicle is not too light compared to the cart being pulled. In Europe, you usually drive according to the situation and the place. Everything is designed in such a way that the highway almost never passes through the city and it is not easy to walk there. In a sparsely populated area, you drive a little faster than in the city, and the highway is a highway. 1950 The Finnish bottle return system begins. In the first phase, glass bottles are recycled through the system, which are washed and refilled. In 1996, the recycling of aluminum cans also began. Returns of deposit bottles in Finland. 2021 2020 2019 Can 97 % 98 % 97 % Plastic bottle 90 % 92 % 90 % Glass bottle 98 % 95 % 99 % Finns recycle more than 2 billion bottles and cans every year. Most of the bottles are reused and this saves energy and natural resources. Abandoned bottles are disposed of properly and are not thrown into the sea. In Finland, the school system is the same for everyone up to the 9th grade, i.e. until about 15-16 years old. Then a choice is made between vocational school and upper secondary school. You have to attend these, because compulsory education is until the age of 18. Both routes can be continued to university of applied sciences and university. If you ever feel that you have made the wrong choice, you can also start over, because studying in Finland is almost free. Of course, you don't have to study everything again, because the old ones can used for good. In Finland, a plastic bag costs money and it is 40 liters in size. You only need one or two thick and durable bags (Not those thin little ones that you need 30 when you go to the store, they are vegetable bags) when you go to the store. After this, the bag can be used for packing, transporting or wherever else you can think of. Some even make them into rugs. After all this, the bag can be disposed of directly in mixed waste or as a garbage bag in mixed waste. Mixed waste is disposed of by burning and then energy is obtained from it. Most of the plastic bags in Northern Europe end up at the right address and not, for example, in the oceans of the world.
About the school system. That works only because of the apprentice system in Germany. With a apprentice you can make a living wage. And the good thing you start earning real money with about 20 years. We have similar system in Switzerland. But there is anyway many possibilities to make some higher degree later.
Ironically the reason we don't tow trailers with cars is safety. The car may be rated for up to a maximum 3000Lb payload and towing, An ultralight camper may be as low as 3000Lb dry weight. Absolutely everything you are carrying has to be add in to these numbers, including fuel, luggage and passengers. The trailer can easily take over control of the car. Saw it a lot when I worked for emergency road response.
Hey there, I am a German and I loved your Video. I like how you mix it up sometimes, like : They have no Überblick ;-) and something like that. You make me smile..... Thx for that.
Hi, great you should one day in one of your videos also talk about shopping carts in den USA and Germany… when I go to Costco in Miami is see hundreds of empty carts standing around, if you go to Aldi in Miami customers return them to a central storage areas to get the 25 Cent refunded, which they had to pay when collecting the cart prior their shopping tour… I think it’s a great system and educates people to not just drop off carts wherever they want but return them.. it works with Aldi why not with other grocery stores.. Rgds thomas
I know I'm slamming you...and I'm right but I will say you have a very sweet voice and are pleasant to listen to. Your delivery is much better than most RUclipsrs.
When we lived in the US, we just used the plastic bags for trash, so, we weren't really consuming less plastic. Here we buy garbage bags, so, it really is a wash.
The German education-system is made to fit into the job system. If you want to become a Tailor or carpenter for example, you "only" need a Hauptschulabschluss. But you are qualified AND able to pass the theoretical part of your 3,5 year lasting vocational training, if you passed Hauptschule.
Wir fahren meistens mit dem Auto zum Einkaufen! Wir laden die gekauften Sachen anschließend in unser Auto und zuhause bringen wir die Sachen dann ins Haus! Im Prinzip verwenden wir selten Taschen oder Tüten. Liebe Grüße aus der Nähe von Köln/Cologne/Germany
When it comes to cars, you are also obligated to have a first aid kit in your car. And you are obligated to provide first aid to any injured person if you arrive at the site of an accident. You are taught how to provide first aid when you go to driving school. In fact, you cannot get a driver's license withouth having proof that you now first aid. The most important thing, though, is that you cannot be sued if you provide first aid and you make a mistake. You will face criminal charges if you don't provide first aid. Learning how to drive in Germany is also more thorough, time consuming and much more expensive than in the US. I got my German driver's license in the early 90s and had to pay about DM2500, which today would be about 2000€. This included theoretical lessens and driving lessons at a certified driving school with mandatory lessons on driving overland, in cities on the Autobahn and at night. Also included were both written test and road test. Failing any of these tests would have raised the total cost by another 100-200€ When I got my US driver's license I simply had to pay $20 and do the tests, which were a piece of cake compared to the ones I had to take for the German driver's license. Plastic bags didn't get banned over night in Germany. First there stores only offered plastic bags, then they started selling cotton bags or heavy duty plastic bags that could be used many times. At the same time they also started to charge you for plastic bags. Today you can only get sturdy paper bags and the cotton bags/heavy duty plastic bags. When I remember the times when I shopped at Publix, Walmart etc. I always got so many of these small flimsy plastic bags. First I collected them to usw them as trash bags, but at one point I had to throw them away, because I didn't produce enough trash to put in these bags. When people in Germany go shopping and they go by car, many have foldable boxes in their cars where they put their stuff. So, I started using my laundry basket and I completely confused that poor fellow at the check out when I told him that I want him to put my stuff back in the shopping cart. 😂
I far prefer the reusable bags. They're sturdy with good handles and you can carry a boatload in one bag. A dollar well-spent. We use them for all sorts of things too...a beach bag, toys, grabbing last minute things going on vacation. I even use them for weights. You can load them up and use them for several exercises and I also close them in a doorway and use the loops as an anchor for rows and other exercises.
it's funny cause as many flaws the US education system might have, the one thing that always made more sense to me was NOT splitting up kids to different schools. we all have different strengths and weaknesses, and keeping everyone together allows you not only to focus on everyones talents, but also their weaknesses by offering different levels in each subject. So you can be in High math and Low Spanish at the same time. In contrast, when you are sorted to a Hauptschule, you basically have low-level classes for ALL subjects, even in those you might actually some talent for.
I think the discrimination is the reason why they changed it in BaWü from teachers choosing where the children would go to the parents making that decision. the negative side of this, is that too many children go to Gymnasium and then need to go to Realschule because of bad grades which is really bad for the self-esteem and motivation of these children. separating the children later would be better I think, they did that in East Germany. they were seperated in year 10, some graduating and some studying for three more years.
I also think a lot of parents would push for their children to do Gymnasium because they think it's "better" and it's maybe more of what they want than what the children want... I also wish the stigma around Hochschule/Realschule would not be so bad... I hear a lot of people joking about people that don't go to Gymnasium and I think it creates more of an issue.
Well, afaik it was always that way that the parents get the last word on that decision. The teachers only give a "recommendation". However, it can turn out to be quite an ordeal if as parents you want to not follow that recommendation. So while they cannot actually be forced to choose that type of school, they are kinda being pressured.
Since I studied in Italy, where the decision is taken when you are 13 yo (middle school is 3 years between 10yo and 13 yo and it's the same for everyone), I can tell that the system in which the parents choose for you without any regards to what you want or your teachers think is fit for you, it's not a perfect system. I went to the Italian equivalent of Gymnasium and later studied veterinary medicine at university, and ok, that was definitely right for me, but the amount of people my age who I saw abandoning Gymnasium or university later on was quite high. It was simply not their call, but most parents are convinced their children should go to Gymnasium and university. Regarding children of immigrants, I have worked as a volunteer in an after-school program support for them. This is a long known program in my region of origin: the Scalabrini monks provided that in the past for poor Italian all around the world and now they do the same for immigrants. Anyway, what I want to say is, I have witnessed quite a lot of those parents (and therefore their children being convinced of the same) think that you don't need higher education to work, and that the mandatory school is quite enough. Hence, I think that besides the "economical discrimination", we also have to take cultural differences in conceiving the school in consideration. Mind you, this is just my opinion based on my own experience, so by no means I think it correctly represents the entire problem. But yes, it's a common problem everywhere honestly.
@@silkwesir1444 "Well, afaik it was always that way that the parents get the last word on that decision. The teachers only give a "recommendation"." I remember the same. Sidenote: All the classmates of 4th grade i met later who upgraded to more then the recommended school had to change to a "lower" school at some point.
Hopefully this video was informative for everyone watching 👍😍 I hope you guys have an amazing hump day and see you in the comment section 👀
@11:20 that's called Skimming - It happens in Germany as well, but it's less prominent, because - cash is (still) king in germany.
you most likely see skimming attacks on ATMs
Basically it's a small device placed in front of the card-entry that reads the magnetic stripe when you insert it - usually with a small camera nearby to capture your PIN-code (or a fake keyboard)
@andy low which rules do you mean ?
@andy low if you meant the rules around the car / driving in germany (since half of the video is about those) - u learn them in drivers school, which is mandatory in germany (theoretical and practical lessons)
the rules regarding the school system are common knowledge in germany (at least for most germans) - alternatively the teachers will talk to you about your childs before they hit the 5th grade (where they enter one of the 3 paths).
since going to school is mandatory in german, the community officials might contact you, if you don't send your kids to school (or the police might pick them up)
Ohne Worte; ruclips.net/video/PcJQdDWSTYo/видео.html
The graphics about school are not complete - there are some things missing and that would handle most of your critique.
1-4 year is primary school
5-6 year is secondary school - trial period. If a child doesn't fit into the school, it can change to a less or more demanding school type after year 6.
Hauptschule Realschule Gymnasium
Pupil who are in the Gesamtschule doesn't normally change, because Gesamtschule is Haupt-,Real-schule and Gymnasium in one school and pupil are separated in the school according to their their abilities to handle the different levels of skill necessary. Hauptschule is for the more practical, underperforming pupils, Gymnasium is for the more theoretical, high performing pupils and Realschule/Mittelschule is for the median between Hauptschule and Gymnasium.
7-10 year is secondary base schooling. After year 9 you can leave Hauptschule without certificate, but must go to a vocational school. In year 10 Hauptschule you can get a Hauptschul- or a Realschul-certificate ( also called mittlere Reife). In Hauptschule there are advanced courses in year 10 to be able to get 'mittlere Reife'. In Realschule and Gymnasium you get 'mittlere Reife' respectively Realschulabschluss. Gesamtschule offers you all options from no certificate to 'mittlere Reife' in year 10. If your grade in year 10 is to bad for 'mittlere Reife' (two failed courses) you get a Hauptschulabschluss. With a grade where 1.0 is the best and 6.0 is the worst you have to have 'mittlere Reife' with an average of 3.0 or better and max one course failed to be able to change into year 11.
11-12/13 year is Gymnasium or Gesamtschule senior classes. Depending on the state you live in Germany you have only year 11 and 12 or and additional year 13. Only finishing successfully these years qualifies you fully for University.
Another option after year 10 is learning a trade in a dual system with vocational school plus working in a company. Some vocational schools require 'mittlere Reife', other Hauptschulabschluss. Some schools offer for people without 'mittlere Reife' to catch up and do it in vocational school. If you already have 'mittlere Reife' and finished your vocational training successfully you get a limited university access only in your trade. For example a machinist could study mechanical engineering.
To be fair, it was already pretty common to bring your own bag for shopping, so the change wasn't that big when they banned plastic bags.
I actually just commented this underneath another comment... I honestly did not notice when they got rid of plastic bags... I was watching a news update and saw that they were talking about the new recycle rules coming in 2023-2025...
@@HayleyAlexis I didn’t notice it either, my brother and my BFF told me. By that time they had already stopped offering them in supermarkets for some time, so they were both highly amused that I hadn’t even noticed. I just didn’t need them because I always have a bag or basket with me.
Plastic carrier bags have been subject to a fee for years and have been banned since January 1st, 2022, now single-use plastic parts (plates, cutlery, straws, etc.) will be banned from 2023. But since this has been discussed for some time, there are hardly any single-use plastic parts for private use in the shops, but the shops must now also use reusable packaging, for example for coffee to go.
And it seems to me that there is no resistance to this ban from the general conversation, but rather a certain frustration that the oil industry has "fooled" us all with their plastic production and half-baked promises.
@@manub.3847 Well said!
Plastic bags are not banned in the Netherlands,because you just put them in a bin that will be collectet in a few weeks and disposed off in a good way in the factory.With all the other plastic items.The same with paper carbage.So we have three bins...
Regarding Pfand. We have this in Denmark too and have had it for many many years. In Denmark 92% of all bottles with Pfand comes back and gets recycled. So Pfand is really something that can reduce littering.
We have Pfand in The Netherlands also, since 1950 (glass bottles and plastic crates), since 2007 I believe (PET bottles). But only since January 1st of this year for soda and beer cans. It’s a favorite system to prevent littering and reduce garbage.
And you can get a lot of,money after you made a party
just out of curiosity. do you call it "pfand" too? (because it somehow sounds like it)
@@mulraf in Denmark we call it "Pant". It mens pfand in danish
@@mulraf In The Netherlands Pfand is called ‘statiegeld’, ‘geld’ means money and ‘statie’ means in this case ‘standing’ or ‘waiting’’, so standing or waiting money. We also know the word pand in Dutch which has somewhat of the same meaning as Pfand in German. Pand (or ‘onderpand’) means that an object is a collateral for an institution in case they lend you money, so a house is ‘pand’ for a mortgage, or jewelry is ‘pand’ for a loan, and in this case the bottle (or can) for money (you already payed the money and you’re waiting to get it returned). But we only use ‘pand’ for high value objects in a loan situation, which is not the case with bottles or cans. For quarters and dimes we use the word ‘statiegeld’.
The plastic bag ban works particularly fine together with the Pfand-system. When you go shopping and bring back all your empty bottles, you automatically remember to bring a bag which can be used to carry home your new groceries.
True. Works really well with the big blue bag from IKEA. Lot's of space for empty bottles and big and sturdy enough for transporting a bigger shopping
I prefer a smaller bag (supermarket at walking distance), made of linnen, so I can wash it easily in case there are sticky soda stains in it.
Beside the warning triangle and the colored safety vest you also have to have a standard first aid kit in the car. You also need a first aid course to get your driving licence and can be fined if you do not stop and help in the case of an accident. On the whole we do not have this culture of "everyone for themselves" in Germany. I must admit it felt really good to get a "thank you letter" from the police after helping after an accident in Switzerland. Being prepared and able to help in case of an accident and having the basic equipment on board is really a great advantage.
Paying at the gas station and stealing gas: the license plates at front and back of the car would "prevent" us from stealing gas and escaping, the license plates are providing enough information to get back to us. It would only work with a stolen car, or on a big escape without returning to your registered home.
Happened to me once on new years eve. We were just getting ready to go out and two officers show up at my place. They were like "Eh miss, where were you an hour ago...?" Apparently someone stole the license plates off of my second car (was about to sell it and it was parked near a dealership) and they used the plates to steal gas. They just wanted to see my ID and the Fahrzeugschein. I filed a report for theft right there and then and that was it. Got a letter in the mail like 3 month later that they didn't find the guys who stole the plates.
I used to work at a gas station and it happened to us that someone drove off with stolen license plates, so we couldn’t do anything about it 🤷🏻♀️
So I find the idea of paying first and filling up gas afterwards like in the US way better actually
Yeah, gen x did that. We ruined it. Used to be pump then pay but I know people my age running out on restaurants and gas stations back in the 70's 80's then came cameras.....not a problem, steal some tags, change yours out then gas and go, 5 miles down the road, put your tags back on. But you have to remember, gen x was self raised and 80% unregulated. Personally I didn't do stuff like that except maybe a couple denny's when I was with a bunch of people that just kept getting up to use the bathroom when the bill came until I was the last person at the table and the waitress or waiter started asking about payment.....
Let me go find my friends.
After the second time I started making different friends and always asked for a separate check.
But yeah, Americans weren't raised right. Or at all in a lot of cases.
Sorry, gen x caused the pay then pump problems. Squarely on our shoulders. But it is one of the things I love about living in Germany. But the first set of tags I installed on a vehicle....my went straight back to 1985. I don't even need a screwdriver to swap plates? But that also why I understand France trying to permanently mounting tags on cars from new and that's that's cars plates until death.
Okay, fair enough.
I don't remember prepayment in Italy, Switzerland or Austria but for sure you have to pre authorise payment for gas in France Spain.
I guess an Urkel would be in order here.....
"Did I (we) do that?"
@@simonewohr4385 It's not worth it inconveniencing 10000 people just so you het stolen from one less time.
I think being able to tow trailers with smaller cars in Germany has something to do with the "Auflaufbremse" (overrun brake). Every trailer (except for very small and light ones) has to have one and therefore actively brakes when the vehicle does.
Because of that, the vehicle does not need to be as heavy as in the US to be allowed to tow heavier trailers. Usually up to about twice the vehicle weight can be safely towed.
Well if I can get this in the US I certainly will.
Trailers, caravans and horse trailers in the US are much bigger and heavier than the european ones. Therefore you need pickup trucks and suvs.
@@tnit7554They are only bigger because you want them bigger, also you don't have diesel cars which have more torque in America 🙂
Driving rules and signs also apply throughout Europe, not just in Germany. We all require theoretical and practical classes when learning to drive, and we learn rules that apply in the absence of road signs. Example: inside towns the speed limit is 50km/h, so, if no sign tells you otherwise you can’t go faster than that.
Jap, it's kind of the same thing all over Europe. Except speed limit on highways. We don't have it in Germany. It's emotional.
@@oskarlibelle1769 and it's not only highways. Any road outside of town with two or more lanes in both directions is without speed limit ("autobahnähnliche Straße", mostly "Mehrspurigel Bundesstraße").
@@oskarlibelle1769 Actually more and more speed limits are creeping in on the autobahns in Germany. In some areas you are only allowed to drive between 100 and 130 kmh.
@@ssm445 This is not correct. The "unlimited speed" rule is only on the Autobahn which is marked with the sign at the beginning or at the entry point onto the Autobahn. On any other road, even if multilane, without any signs showing something else the 100 km/h rule is valid. But your are right in so far as that those multilane roads are often signed for a higher speed. Mostly 120 km/h
@@ulie1960 it is correct. It's a common misconception that these roads have to be marked or are having a speed limit of 100km/h. These roads are sometimes called "gelbe Autobahn" because of their yellow Bundesstraßen markings. I lived near some of those, they should be, but don't have to be marked, and when there's no speed limit sign, they are "unlimited" although not being an Autobahn (eg B17). Look up "autobahnähnliche Straße".
FYI, the things you mentioned are not just Germany. It's pretty much across the EU.
Not all of them: the school system or the Pfand for plastic bottles, for what I know, are genuinely German.
@@JoseGarciaMagdaleno in the Netherlands there is also a system for returning bottles and someone commented that Denmark has it too.
@@JoseGarciaMagdaleno, nope, I know for sure that in Denmark, Sweden and Norway as well as the Netherlands they have a "Pfand-System", too.
@@JoseGarciaMagdaleno here in Luxembourg we also have the pfand system. Maybe not that much as in Germany but yes we have that too
@@JoseGarciaMagdaleno we have pfand system in Slovakia also, since january 2022. Also school system is similar to german.
I just returned from Georgia (US) and would like to add the following to this list: Germans usually use real dishes (plates, cups, glasses etc.) and cutlery and wash them after use. Most people will not, in their homes, use plastic plates, cups and cutlery and throw them away after use! This was the first time I experienced something like that, and I must say that it brought me close to just giving up on "saving the world": If everybody starts to live this wastefully, there will be no chance of finding ecological equilibrium. Add to that that you can only shop for groceries by driving 20 minutes in your car (Atlanta distances), because the developers only put in a strip mall with a restaurant, a dry cleaner's and a real estate agent's office to serve about 5 subdivisions they built and the perfect lawns maintained by their HOAs with what must be tons of herbicides - then gute Nacht, Welt.
Who wants to eat from paperplates? Who would offer their guests to eat from and with plastic cutlery as well as drink out of it? Bläää!!
Oh gosh I remember that on my first Visit to the US. I was staying at a hotel and they used plastic/cardboard cutlery. I just stared at it in absolute culture shock and thought: what a waaaaaste! o.O
@@MydieLy jaa genau. Mir fiel das auch wieder ein. Diese vielen Einmal Sachen überall. Dazu die roten oder blauen Becher 😂
Da denkt man jahrelang, diese roten Becher für Alkohol wären nur was für Partys oder sogar eine Erfindung von Hollywood... Aber nein, die gibt's wirklich! Was für eine Verschwendung. Deshalb gucke ich solche Vergleichsvideos (USA-DE) nur noch alleine. Meine Mutter rastet regelmäßig aus und sagt dann sowas wie: "wir hier in Deutschland können uns den *Popo* aufreißen in Sachen Klimaschutz, wenn die Amis so einen Mist machen, hilft das alles nichts!" Und ehrlich, irgendwie hat sie Recht...
Yes I was thinking the same when I was in Arkansas.. Also it is such a shamefull thing to do. I wouldn't offer plastic cutlery and paper plate to a guest!
Big advantage of the German/European signs is that you don't have to read the words. Yes, you have to learn the signs - but they are more or less standard in Europe. And even people who can't read at all can learn the signs. In America you are forced to read English to understand what you have to do.
The main sign - yes. But there are often smaller additional signs with limitations or specific information for who is meant or when it is valid. These are in the local language. And that can make quite a difference e.g. for parking or blocked roads.
@@reinhard8053 All safety relevant signs can be read by dyslexics, because they use shapes colors and pictigrams.
Kids can start to learn the signs from play carpets at an early age.
Many do so, as the signs are visually interesting with thier simple shapes and colors and pictograms.
@@jannikheidemann3805 Generally yes, but even they might have additional signs changing or limiting the meaning.
Not only that, you need to apply too much imagination sometimes. Like with the famous PED XING.
What shocked me most about driving on Highways / Interstates in the US for decades was the amount of blown tires everywhere along the roads, creating fatal hazards to everybody. I've never witnessed this to happen in GER on any road at all any times...... My longterm GER driving experience and driver's education kept me out of trouble in the US multiple times for that I'm sure of!
oh this is very true. mike also asked why this was so common....
Blown tires is a daily occurence in Germany too but there is quite a lot of road maintenance (Straßenmeisterei) where road attendants (Straßenwärter) work who have to pass a 3-year vocational training [ ruclips.net/video/xF5ovlk8fFE/видео.html ].
@@HayleyAlexis A lot of it is due to the lack of mandatory vehicle inspection in most states (and some that used to have it have abolished it). People just drive until their tyres fall apart, something that just couldn't happen if they were regularly checked.
@@davidjones332 That's exactly what I was going to say!
There tends to be lots of debris like nails and sharp pieces of metal on US highways as well.
For children like our boy a so called „late fire“ or „spätzünder“ it was quite difficult in his early years. Privatgrundschule found him not able to attend school at all- quite a shock for us parents. After the 4. year teacher would not allow him to attend gymnasium. We did it nevertheless, because we realized we had a little dreamer who just needed to wake up. After the 6. klasse we left him alone with his homework and most of his learning, Physik and Math he got help, the rest he had to manage on his own. Was difficult, but he/we succeeded. He learned to work and study alone, got better from year to year. After the 10. Class he had to choose another school, took the most challenging gymnasium in our town. Is now still not a very much learner, but the grades he is bringing home are astonishing well, in Chemie he is the best. We are totally assure he will make easily his Abitur - and this was a boy who should neather attend Grundschule nor gymnasium.
With a english speaking father I wouldn't doubt him a second.
Privatschulen können schon richtig böse sein. Hab da auch einiges bei meinen Klassenkameraden mitbekommen und gesehen wie einzelne Lehrer das ganze Leben eines Kindes auf den Kopf stellen können...Find es super, dass hier die Eltern gewonnen haben und nicht die Schulen
Geld hilft halt.🤗
@@NSA.Monitored.Device was ein Käse
@@berndschaffmann8522 qed
@@NSA.Monitored.Device stop harassing me. Besides - the money thing is absurd. You troll.
The reason why there was no uproar about the plastic bags is, almost nobody was using them any more. They have been charging for the bags for years, so a slightly more expensive cotton bag will pay for itself pretty quickly. Honestly, I didn't know they were banned until I saw this video. I still have some plastic bags that I (re-)use sometimes, but they're rather old by now. For one of them I know when and where I got it... at the airport in Dubai. In 2012...
Usually, I use a basket like on the lower right of your graph, when this doesn't fit everything, I have some cotton bags (and if not, I buy sufficient new ones right then and there). Works rather well, and these bags don't rip, even if I'm carrying something heavy!
I totally forgot that they banned them in January... I think a few days ago I actually noticed and then I was watching a news update on RUclips and they were talking about it... and I was like "ohhh that makes sense"... For me plastic bags were not a part of my daily life so I don't/will not miss them.
I hate the ban of plastic bags.
The sme time it happens that yiou can't get the yellow bags for free anymore.
No I have to buy more trahs bags for putting my trash and and as replacement for the yellow bag.
Yes, we have a big yellow bin for our house. But I have to keep the trash for recycling somewhere in my house. I don't run down four stairs and 50m down the parking lot just for throwing a joghurt pot away. I was using the free plastic bags from the fruit and vegetable departement for that.
@@helloweener2007 you could just use a metal garbage bin for your plastic. I do it and when it's full I bring it to the basement bin.
@@fridadanke9076
There is no basement bin...
It is down the parking lot. And I don't want to bring a bin back.
It is annyoing. We pay for the recycling system as customer. The price for at are of course on the prices. You pay also a fee for the "Gelbe Sack / Tonne". You got it always for "free" and now you have to buy your own bags. When you have house it is better than before because you got your own bin now.
I was working in a Supermarket in Ireland when they brought in charging for plastic bags. We went from receiving Pallets of plastic bags each week, to NO deliveries of plastic bags needed, overnight.
Before that, when working in a Newsagents, I remember EVERY morning a man buying his morning newspaper INSISTING on a plastic bag with his newspaper!
I wonder how he reacted when they began charging!!!
More than 40 years ago (in 1978) the environmental movement started to fight against plastic bags wit the slogan:
"Jute statt Plastik".
People could get reusable fabric bags and deny the plastic bags offered for free everywhere.
It took that long to finally get this done as a law for everybody. It's just a very small step and we have to do so much more.
I remember a time when I was occasionally asked to prove the bag I brought was mine and not freshly taken from the check out counter. I remember the discussions: "This is not you company's logo. And there's a pre-reunification zip-code on it". After a couple of "I bought a fabric bag, tried to use it at the same store a couple of days later and they tried to charge me a second time"- incidents, I proceeded to to dye all the fabric bags I had. They're all a nice, bright yellow now and I haven't been asked to prove the bag is actually mine since.
I've oftentimes wondered about the seemingly entitlement of americans (about smaller inconvieniences eg) and my conclusion was, that a collective hardship for the whole society has just been so far back for generations that there's no collective memory of "taking a step back", "hunger", etc. anymore. Whereas in european countries, the people that had to starve and had nothing during the war and after are still alive or only recently died, so there's still a collective memory of saving and not being wasteful. Of course there IS a lot of real poverty in the US and a lot of wasteful people in germany...
What always shocks me in US movies are "food fights"... that is a total taboo in germany, I have never seen it and I would be very shocked if I did.
@@abee8405 totally agreed. Food fights are disgusting and abhorrent! My whole body gets uncomfortable even thinking about it. DON'T WASTE FOOD!!!!
@@viomouse Yeah... I feel that. I mean, I once found a leftover packed slice of Leberkäs in my fridge that was allmost a month over its "best by"-Date, and I just could not bring myself to just throw it out without checking if it realy was spoiled. So, next day I took it out, gave it a smell and... well, yeah. It was food for the trash-truck. But I just had to make sure or I would have felt bad about it... (Had nice panfried potatoes that day.)
The majority of the road signs are uniform or very close to uniform across Europe (the continent, not just EU). I see many Americans assume that these are German only road signs when they do their obligatory "USA vs Germany" comparisons, and many other things for that matter. A lot of different stuff is homologized across the continent. It's not like we walk through the closet into Narnia every time we cross a border, which is what surprisingly many Americans assume (it's somewhat understandable though as not many have visited other countries).
When I visited USA back in 2019, I went to Target buying some clothes and other different items. I was shocked how many plastic bags the cashier used to pack my shopping’s. I think I maybe got out from there with aprox 15-20 bags, and in several there were only one item in it, like a t-shirt. If I was to pack my shopping’s in the plastic bags, I guess I wouldn’t need more than 2-3.
Here in Denmark, if you are shopping and need a plastic bag for your shopping’s, you’ll have to pay for each plastic bag. They cost’s $0.62-0.86 per plastic bag. Most therefore bring a reuseable shopping bag made of some kind of textile when shopping.
Driving with caravan towed by a regular family car is a common thing in all of Europe. Not just a German thing.
01:54 ok, so for the record these rules are the same EU - wide. The fact that sectiona of the German highways are without speed limit is surely another reason to be careful when handling car accidents, but this rule applies also in all other EU countries, which have a speed limit on their highway. Many rules we have today are actually EU-rules. 😊
The topic with towing trailers with a "normal" car has to do with US rules. A car which is totally fine with towing a 1500 kg-trailerin Europe is not recommended for towing in the US, even it is exactly the same car. Very weird, indeed.
Interesting! Yeah like I said... It is something you RARELY see in the USA... It looks so funny to an American eye!
The engines are different. Sometimes *much* different. I once saw a Renault Clio with a 2 liter engine. With laughable performance. Then we compared that to the 1.9l company car I had use of...
The main differnce is in the trailers. I have a sailboat which weighs about 1200 kg and I tow it with my VW Touran. The trailer has an active break system ( Auflaufbremse) that breaks the trailer when I slow down the towing car. A US friend of mine has a bay cruiser fishing boat (weight less than 1000kg) he needs a Toyota Tacoma 4x4 pick up truck. The trailer has no break system, just a safty chain. Thats the difference.
USA is full of garbage rulles,no wonder they have 3-4x more deaths per 100000 peoples then in germany
Roland was close, but still no cigar! ;-)
It's very easy to explain: In Germany (or most of Europe), you actually trade speed for towing capacity, while in North America it's the other way round. It comes down to tongue weight - in NA, it's normally 10%-15% of the trailer, which means that smaller cars cannot pull them, while in Europe, it's more like 5%, which in turn makes driving very unstable at higher speeds. You can watch this video to see what that means. And no, that doesn't mean that driving with a trailer in the US is *saver*, it's just *faster* (about 20 km/h faster, to be precise). ;-)
ruclips.net/video/w9Dgxe584Ss/видео.html
I think plastic bags wouldn't be such a huge problem if they were used multiple times but I often get the impression out of usamerican videos/films when someone goes groceryshopping that the free bags they get are as thin as the bags that are used for vegetables in germany so that they get easyly destroyed and what I find even more confusing is that they are so small that some people need 10+ bags instead of maybe 3 or 4 bigger better quality bags as they were often used before they were banned in Germany.
They are not as thin as the vegetable bags- a few millimetres thicker (which is a lot when talking about plastic bags) but they are small and usually not made for "multiple use".
I think the plastic bag thing is a big problem in Florida. I was there in 2019 and visited Orlando and Miami and in both places I visited a supermarket and the very nice ladies packing my bags, put very few items into each bag and then double bagged them. I didn't want to say anything because I didn't want to be a 'Karen', but at one point I thought they were going to bag me up. However I was in California last month and in Los Angeles they were charging for plastic bags, but in Anaheim they weren't but did ask if I wanted a bag, so they weren't just handing them out. Although I did drink out of a lot of plastic straws during my 3 weeks in California.
@@HayleyAlexis "a few milimeters thicker"? even industrial heavy duty bags are only a few 1/10 mm thick
7:10 Admittedly, my knowledge on this point is a little old, and possibly out of date, but in the mid-'90's, I visited Chile. It's where my stepfather is from and we went down there to visit his family. They had a culture that supported the act of spending the day at the market (not to be confused with the supermarket) and buying things from _kiosks._ Now let me emphasize, going to the market does not mean just buying a few things and then _leaving._ You went to spend the _day._
One thing that meant was that you could go to a kiosk that would sell you a bottle of cola, and that bottle would be _glass,_ not _plastic._ It was made this way, because it was made to be carried around the market and drunk, and as soon as you were done with it, you would return it to this particular kiosk and they would wash it out, refill it with cola, and use it _again._
Of course this meant the system was zero-waste, and as such, was _much_ more efficient than what we have always had in the US.
The US did this in the 40's and 50's. My mom's earliest memory was putting used glass milk bottles out on the porch for the milkman to pick up. When she was 8 or 9 she and her friends would go around and look for glass coke bottles in the trash. They would take it to the depot and get money for it. This was the way my mom had money for candy and soda. It was in the 1960's when they stopped using glass bottles for milk and coke.
Plastic bags. When my mom heard of the ban, she hoarded plastic bags. But some grocery stores still have them so she tells me to bring 3-5 extra bags when I go shopping because one day there will be no more plastic bags in Germany. Sidenote: we reuse them as trashbags. In fact a lot of people do.
It's really simple.
Within cities/towns/villages: 50 unless stated otherwise by a sign.
Outside of city limits: 100 unless stated otherwise
Autobahn: No speed limit unless stated otherwise
The speed limits deviate from these general rules in specific areas. In these cases there will always be a sign that shows you the speed limit.
They are most commonly found in residential neighborhoods, school districs, sharp turn etc.
School system. I’m not sure if the German system is the same used in Portugal, but I believe it is. And, if so, going to a system does not prevents a student to later on change to another system.
Example: in Portugal a student can go to a professional school instead a regular one, and when graduates it’s equivalent to a 12 year graduation on a regular school, and can go to university as one from a regular school.
A few things surprised me on my trip to Florida. (a) I wasn't asked if I wanted bags, the cashiers just automatically bagged my stuff. (b) The bags were so thin that they had to use 2 bags. (c) The amount of polystyrene - cups in restaurants and packaging for eggs stood out. I hadn't had a polystyrene cup for years before that visit and I don't think I've ever seen polystyrene egg boxes.
The trailer thing is so true, we have a trailer (mainly for transporting large stuff like furniture, garden waste etc.) and we pull it with an Opel Corsa D. In driving school I also made the additional trailer driving licence, our driving school car with which we learned how to drive with a trailer was some Hyundai hatchback. You shouldn't go too fast with a trailer on your car anyways (the speed limit for cars with trailers is 80) so you don't need that much power anyways lol. And the trailers usually have their own brake that is connected to the car brake.
You should also talk about roundabouts. It’s the best option to avoid car accidents.
And elevated (ramp) crosswalks, that force cars to slowdown.
Road security is taken very seriously in Europe (EU).
a little more information on the german gas pumping:
You basicly start filling your tank and while you do this, a display shows you exactly how much has been pumped so far and how much it costs. You can stop the process at any time and it stops automaticly on a full tank. You pay on the register afterwards.
That's how it works in the US as well, except that you pay ahead of time.
@@camthesaxman3387 but how do you know how much it will be until your tank is full? that was always what i wondered. here in germany you let the gas fill up until it stops itself (if you want) and then you pay let's say... 88,56 Euro. How do you do this in USA?
@@SilvaLuna The pumps, however, show you how much you've pumped and how much it costs as you're pumping, so you're free to stop it any time or wait until it stops automatically. The fuel gauge on a car's dash just shows you a level between empty and full, not an exactly amount, so judging by that is a rough estimate.
I live in Littleton, Colorado, which is on the same street system as Denver. In Denver, they have much tighter restrictions on the availability of plastic bags at supermarkets. It's been a while since I've been there, so it should come as no surprise that I'm not acquainted with the specifics of it.
I can tell you, though, that at the supermarket I go to, they sell _reusable_ bags, and as soon as I saw them, I made it a point to buy _four,_ because that's all I usually _need._ It took me a little while to get into the habit of remembering to take them _with_ me when I went to buy groceries, but as long as I do, I'm all set.
That's the tricky part, I think. You need something to carry your groceries, and in the US, we've learned that it's easier to _complain_ than to _adapt._
I've at least 20 bags, because I forget them always and buy News ones. Now I have a bag for bags at the appartement door and sometimes I take it with me to the car, where the bags are carried around till they are needed
I always find it funny that when I am in the USA one of the hardest things for me to remember is/are BRINGING freaking reusable bags to the grocery store... but in Germany it happens automatically... It is crazy!
@@kilsestoffel3690 I also have a stash of bags in my car. They like to be driven around. 😉
Burst out laughing when you said "There are so many places in the world where people don't use plastic bags and they are perfectly fine. They are not dying on the side of the street."
Yeah, I am German and I never used plastic bags in grocery stores before. You either bring a bag made out of cloth or you bring a box (Klappkorb/box) to put your shopping from your cart into your car.
What I was a little miffed about was the fact they replaced plastic straws with paper. I don't like that cause the paper straw makes it taste different. But I would never protest that. I have a different solution: I drink my beverage without a straw. Works fine.
Replacing plastic straws with paper straws is such a BS move from the politic (blinder Aktionismus).
The paper straw not only change the taste, it has only half the diameter, so you have to suck 4 times harder and the straw starts disolving after a few minutes.
Also the paper straw is wraped in plastic, glued to a tetra pack wich is also an unrecycable mix of paper, plastic and alu.
Its not me who throws plastic in the oceans, its the garbage industy who export the plastic waste in 3rd world countrys for sorting. There are whole islands in the pacific covered in plastic waste, to make space for a new batch of unsortet plastic, they just burn the piles of sortet unusable plastic or dump it direktly on the beach in the ocean, and the industry is fully aware of that.
Who gets punished for that? The industy? No the consumer
@@wolf310ii I absolutely agree with you
Since I am a nurse I hate paper straws because for ppl who are dependent on straws for drinking it’s very difficult bc after a while the paper becomes soggy which makes it useless. Also it’s dangerous bc parts of it could be inhaled by mistake
@@simonewohr4385 I'm sure an exeption can be made for hospitals.
Those straws would seldomly even leave the hospital and would end up in the massive piles of gloves, masks, hairnets and other single use hygiene products.
The comparison of towing was interesting for me. I drive a compact electric car from Korea (Niro EV). This car is also sold quite well in the US and Canada. In the first two years of sales in Germany, there was no trailer hitch available or allowed for this car. The Koreans simply did not understand that Germans LOVE trailer hitches. Not only for all kinds of smaller and bigger trailers, but also for bicycle transport! Wisely, the Koreans have changed their accessory strategy.
The first point about the emergency triangles. Defined in FMCSA 392.22 6.3.6 Emergency Warning Devices states that when a semi truck is stopped for more than 10 mins then they are required to place the emergency devices at 100 200 and 300 feet on an interstate and 100 in front and 100 and 200 on a limited use road (two lane roadway or where hills are involved)
I think many of the points that you make about Germany are valid for the EU, too. The triangle for accidents exists as long as I can remember. However, the warning vest was a thing in France much earlier. Than it became part of the EU legislation to have warning vests in your car. And wrt to the gas: in Italy and France it is also much more common to have automated pumps where you put in your credit card in advance. You select the maximum which you want to spend. At the end, you are charged only as much as you have put in. And there is luckily no difference between different gas stations as you described it in the US. Slowly I see that the automated pumps are appearing in Germany. I think the German system at gas stations stems from two points: we are not very used to pay with credit cards, but prefer cash (it is changing slowly) and that the gas stations make most of their profit by selling other stuff (cigarettes, beer, etc) from their shop, so they want you to come in... *oh look, some ice cream* 🙂
well, we definitely have to add a very important point to the plastic bag ruel. Yes plastic bags are banned, but only so far as they are not allowed to be given out for free, which was the case before. So now most of the stores still have a collection of plastic or cotton bags, in case you forgot to bring your own and don't have enough hands to carry everything (cause yes, a big percentage of germans go grocery shopping on foot, when it is possible), but you have to pay for every bag. It's a similar amount of money, as what you get back for your plastic bottles, lets say 25-50 cent each bag. But that's, what convinced many people, to bringing cotton bags for shopping themselfes make a habit. And everyone, who can't imagen it, guys its no big deal, you just throw a bunch of bags in your car, to have with you in case. And you just learn, to pack a bag in your handbag or backpack, as selfexplaining as you put in your keys, your deodorant or waterbottle, when you go out the house. Or since when do we complain, that there are no free water bottles for everybody. No, we can just bring them ourselfes and REUSE THEM! And most important, when you come back from shopping, you put out your groceries and KEEP THE BAGS, STORE THEM IN A BOX OR SOMETHING AND TAKE THEM WITH YOU FOR THE NEXT TIME. Guess what, it won't hurt anybody, if you put groceries in there a SECOND TIME. And even better, if they are tote bags out of cotton.
7:30 Yes there are flaws, but I would probably go insane if I had to teach an American highschool.
(Full disclosure: I am not a teacher yet, I am currently doing my Masters degree for teaching Gymnasium. Meaning I dont get paid for the teaching I do and cant call myself a teacher while teaching)
I already have to prepare at least 3 different versions of every assignment, homework or experiment for faster, slower and middle-speed students.
4+ different versions if I have children with special needs in my class.
If I had to provide additional variations of my lessons for all children from the entire width of human ability and interest, while preparing them all for the same, undifferentiated state wide exams, I would run away and live in the forest.
Every child should have the same opportunities in education and we have a lot of work to do before this is reality, but I it is already nearly impossible to meet every students needs in a class, even within one of the three school types.
You have different classes for different students. In Elementary school there is the gifted program and kids who are really smart are the only ones allowed in the class. The gifted kids had PE (physical education), lunch, recess, and science with the mainstream kids. For the slower kids there is ESE (exceptional student education). Here they went slower in the subjects. The kids who weren't mentally retarded had science, PE, recess, and lunch with the mainstream kids. If your class had a birthday party or something like that you stayed in the mainstream class for the day. In school I was a little slow in math. When it came time for math I would go to my ESE class (it was a completely different teacher) and had extra help with my math. Again I learned the same things as the mainstream kids, but it was explained to me in a different way. For reading I was gifted so I would go to the gifted class for reading. I had more difficult work to do in this class. English and history I was in the mainstream class. I had lunch, recess, PE, and science with the mainstream class. You can keep kids of all learning abilities under the same roof. You don't need to send them to different schools.
What they do need to bring back to school is vocational training. My high-school was one of the few schools in the state of Florida that had vocational classes. When I was in school we had car repair class and preschool teacher class. If you took one of these vocational classes for 4 years you would take a state test your 4th year. If you passed you would have all the qualifications of being a mechanic or preschool teacher. Now my school is offering computer coding, web design, and game design. Other schools in the same district as my school doesn't offer any vocational training which is sad.
When my American mother came to marry my father and live in Germany back in 1952, the thing she liked most was the three-tier school system that provided for different levels of abilities. I teach in German schools and am very glad we have these three levels, even though in my opinion we need to invest more money in each tier. I've taught Gymnasium and am now teaching Hauptschule and wish there were classroom assistants to help those kids who, at age 14, still don't have fluent reading abilities. This is not always due to coming from a foreign country. It might also be an untreated dyslexia. But certainly it would be awful to have to teach all levels in one classroom. -
General speed limit inside of cities, villages etc. (Ortschaften) is 50. Unless there’s a specific sign that tells you otherwise. In cities there are sometimes roads with 60km/h signs. There are 30km/h zones and 30km/h „Strecken“ (I guess like a stretch or sth?) 30 zones exist in pretty much all living areas. Meaning clusters of housing blocks with lots small streets and no big traffic roads. When you enter the area from on of the streets you‘ll get a sign telling you that you’re entering a 30 zone and when you leave it it will tell you you‘re leaving and returning to the normal 50km/h rule. 30 km/h stretches exist usually near schools, kindergartens, pension homes, maybe also hospitals, etc. They usually stretch around a few hundred meters, so that while you pass that school or whatever more slowly and cautiously. The sign below the speed limit will tell you for how many meters you have to slow down. I also think this system makes a lot of sense honestly ^^
I do like the dual-education system for 14+ with trade schools and practical job skills on one hand and a university path on the other hand. Like, doing a diet version of everything might just be a waste of time for most people at that point because the subjects diverge too much. However, splitting as hard for Middle School as Germany does just feels pointless to me. I think you could manage that with modules instead of some weird class separation.
That is the idea behind Gesamtschule. You attend those courses that fit your abilities. Which means you could do a very little advanced course in math but very high in PE. Or vice versa. In the end certain levels are then required to have achieved to be able to go to university or Fachhochschule or none of them.
On theory everyboy looked favorably at the model. But it took too much money and rebuilding of schools to do it. AFAIR
And it ran against the elitist view of many parents who wanted their kids to attend Gymnasium due to its appeal.
Another aspect is the dissolution of the classes where the students stayed together for their trip through the system. That can be positive and a negative.
I personally think that there needs to be more "hands on" approaches and the ability to change paths without it being too much of a burden for the student. I have heard horror stories of people changing their mind and adding on years to their education route because they did not choose the "proper" route the first time.
I do wish (and this is something I wish American schools would do as well) that there would be more courses/education for ACTUAL life lessons at an early age. Just to name a few: money management, taxes, web design, current events, nutrition etc etc
@@HayleyAlexis meine Tochter ist nach der zehnten Klasse mit der mittleren Reife von der Gesamtschule abgegangen. Sie hat gewechselt zur Berufschule. Dort hat sie dann eine Berufsausbildung für Büro gemacht und gleichzeitig ihren Fach Hochschulabschluss. Danach hat sie noch ein Jahr dran gehängt und hat jetzt doch noch das Abitur. Sie hat also jederzeit die Möglichkeit gehabt, in einen Beruf zu wechseln. Jetzt hat sie die Möglichkeit auch zur Universität zu gehen. I liebe Grüße aus Hamburg Ben
@@HayleyAlexis Isn't some of that the responsibility of your parents? I sometimes have the impression people expect the school to teach things the parents should take up to themselves. But since parents don't know much anymore and families are disfunctional it is forwarded to the teachers.
Don't get me wrong. Newer things like web design etc. should be offered in schools. So I basically concur. But I see also the families fall short in some "common sense" things.
E.g. they have to do taxes. So why can't _they_ teach their children and not outsource it? Wonderful opportunity to bond if otherwise everybody is doing their thing. And other things one has to learn to learn by themselves. You will always face new things in life. So learning how to fish is better than giving the fish directly.
@@tasminoben686 Hello Ben exactly. I was a mediocre secondary school student. It wasn't until 7th grade that I got a teacher who encouraged and challenged me. He also encouraged me to go to vocational school and complete the Mittlere Reife. Although I did not study like my brother, who attended the evening school and studied computer science. Thank you Mr. Schäfer. 🙋♂
Education is one of the biggest advantages over the USA and other countries - quality doesn't come from anywhere!
Hallo Ben ganz genau. Ich war ein mittelmäßiger Hauptschüler. Erst in der 7. Klasse bekam ich einen Lehrer, der mich förderte und forderte. Er ermutigte mich auch auf die Berufsfachschule zu gehen und die Mittlere Reife abzuschließen. Habe zwar nicht studiert wie mein Bruder, der die Abendrealschule besuchte und Informatik studierte. Danke Herr Schäfer. 🙋♂
Ausbildung ist einer der größten Vorteile gegenüber den USA und anderen Ländern - Qualität kommt nicht von irgendwo!
The triangle is something that truckers carry in the USA.
one is generally placed a few feet behind the truck and then
another several yards farther behind the truck.
As for towing, it was common to tow a camper or boat with
a regular sedan type car in the USA until the mid to late 90's.
Another thing about the "Pfand" system is, that you can do at least a very little good thing for other people. Nowadays it is quite common, that (often retired) people gather their earnings (at least partly) by collecting bottles from the bins. So it is also very common, that, if you go on a short vacation - e.g. for a concert, discotheque, festival - , people leave their Pfand bottles beside the dustbins or give it directly to the collectors, if they see one.
Haley, ich schaue dir gerne zu und lerne gerne durch deine Videos über deine Heimat. Mach bitte weiter so!!!
The mandatory vest+triangle+1st aid kit is common to many european countries.
About plastic bags: I think it's a process that already took decades, and will take more decades to be finished (if it ever is). The point for me is not so much the 10g of plastic saved, but the change in mindset: Don't waste if you can reuse. Look for alternatives.
As another example, when I bought my washing machine I made a quick calculation to see which one is the cheapest including expected energy cost, not just the label price. I had the higher price back in my pocket after two years, and now pay ~€60 per year less than I would have.
After watching 3 of your videos I already subscribed to your channel. I love your way to talk, to compare and to mention differences. I am a German but not so happy with the Germans. I worked in Switzerland for nearly one decade but I am also not so happy with them. I found my luck in the Philippines which is influenced by the USA. So I can follow your thoughts, your comparison and find myself always thinking: She is a good observer and she is honest when she talks about differences. Keep it up. I want to watch some more from you. Just by the way: You have a very pleasant way to be yourself in your clips.
There are a lot of reasons why deposits have gone out of favor in the US. When I was a kid, they were common. Studies show deposits reduce the cost effectiveness of curbside recycling and it therefore needs to be tax subsidized. It addresses one of the smaller aspects of landfill and litter problems.
Recycling isn't as greenness people think. In the old days, washed and reused glass bottles were indeed an energy saver but plastic bottles have to be sorted, distributed, remelted and remade...the energy saving is low and sometimes even negative.
If you want to help the world, stop drinking bottled water. It is one of the stupidest things ever. Uy yourself a bottle and fill it up. Most bottled water is just tap water. Furthermore, it encourages water mining where companies like Coca Cola and Nestlé build facilities in small towns in Maine and other places and basically overwhelm their system and sell the water at a huge profit.
They will even build most of their facilities just outside the town so they don't have to pay the town taxes. They benefit from the towns water system without paying into it.
@@rockapartie sugar being better for you than corn syrup is a myth. Both are equally terrible for you.
Before pay-at-the-pump systems were installed, it used to be very common in the US to pay for your gas after pumping it. But, since almost everybody pays at the pump now, I think gas stations stopped offering pay-after-you-pump to cut down on gas theft.
nice point about the "towing" - that's so true.
I have lived in California for the last 8 years. I haven't used a single plastic bag for grocery shopping in all that time. Bags cost 10c a piece here. Regarding schooling: till 6th grade, i went to school in the UK, to a German Gymnasium after that. In the UK, (this was 30 years ago) you got placed in sets for various subjects, so people really good at math would cover whatever was required plus went into much more depth, whereas the medium set covered mostly what was required in depth but didn't go much deeper and the lowest set focussed on bringing you back up to where you should be and just covered what was required. I really liked that system and you had placement tests every 6 months which decided in which set for a subject you go into. I much preferred this to the German system. I am not sure if I would have been recommended to go into a Gymnasium in Germany after Grundschule because it was only in secondary school that i really started getting good grades and good at things and got placed into the top sets.
The worst thing with car crashes on the Autobahn is when the fire department blocks the road with their vehicles and then there are still accidents like a Semitruck ramming one and crushing the firemen under the vehicle. So not even after the crash is safe sometimes sadly.
I use an empty cartbox from the juice section to carry my grocery's. It works for me.
That is smart!
At first the Plastic bag rule seemed like it was going to be an inconvenience. In reality you buy a few of those sturdy large shopping bags and always have some in the car.
They are larger and most importantly stronger. You actually get attached to them. I have one from Switzerland that I like using.
You can load them up, and when you put them into or out of your car, they don't break resulting in your shopping being spread all over the road!
Schools/kindergartens/neighbourhoods = 30 km/h
Urban = 50 km/h
Passing village = 70/80 km/h
country road = 100 km/h
Autobahn = unlimited if no speed limit
Rule #1 in German traffic laws is always respect the publics safety.
So you can't actually drive infinitely fast (or unreasonably slow) if that would endanger anyone.
Reckess speeds and streetracing are punishable.
But on Autobahn 130 is the recommended top speed. If you are caught in an accident while above 130, chances are you aren't (fully) covered.
@@AZeroEight The recommended speed of 130 km/h is a non-binding recommendation. For example, if you are involved in an accident at 150 km/h, it is always necessary to decide which regulations, if any, were otherwise complied with or violated and who is ultimately to blame for the accident. The speed of 150 km/h on an unlimited section of the highway is not decisive here.
It's a bit like prison escapes in Germany.
You cannot be prosecuted for breaking out because every person has the urge for freedom. However, you can be prosecuted for damaging government property or injuring fellow inmates and guards during your escape. If the doors are wide open and you just run away, then you have no fear of punishment.
Speed limits in Germany
To get it clear:
50 km/h is the limit in towns and villages, beginning with the yellow name sign and ending with the crossed out sign. Exception: If there are any other speed limiting or opening signs into a town or village, these have to be obeyed until the next crossing. If there is no new restriction after the crossing, it's again 50km/h. The same applies, if there is the sign "all restrictions cancelled" (round, white, with black stripes traversing).
100 km/h is the general speed limit outside of closed towns or villages (the "closing" is indicated by the yellow name signs). Exception: If there are any other speed limiting or opening signs outside a town or village, these have to be obeyed until the next crossing or feeder road. If there is no new restriction after the crossing/feeder, it's again 100km/h. The same applies, if there is the sign "all restrictions cancelled" (round, white, with black stripes traversing).
Exceptions:
1. Motorways (yellow signs with black writing) with four or more traffic lanes often are having a generally extended speed limit up to 120km/h. There should be a speed limiting sign at the beginning.
2. Highways (blue signs with white writing): There is no general speed limit, but you are recommended to drive around 130 km/h. Exception: If there are any speed limiting signs on the highway, these have to be obeyed until the next feeder road is passed. If there is no new restriction after a feeder road, it's again limitless. The same applies, if there is the sign "all restrictions cancelled" (round, white, with black stripes traversing).
3. Another German speciality: Traffic calming areas, mostly applicated in housing areas (Blue sign with pedestrians, children and other things on it) The maximum speed is 5km/h (If you have an older car, the needle of your speedometer has not to move, while you are driving) until you passed the sign crossed out.
A little explanation to the automatic ending of speed limits after crossings, feeder roads etc.: If a driver comes in a road newly, by joinig from a sideroad, he cannot know, that there was a restriction before. Therefore there must be a new speed limit sign after each crossing/feeder road, if the speed limit shall be continued.
Peculiarity: Speed limits painted on the road surface have the same function and consequences as the "normal" ones, made out of sheet metal.
Regards Th. Krapf
One more point at speed limits:
If you are unsere if you are „innerorts“ (max. 50 km/h) or „außerorts“ (up to 100 km/h) look at the position of the „Vorfahrtsstraße-sign. „Innerorts“ it normally stands before the crossing, „außerorts“ it normally stands behind the crossing.
That depends whether you driving on a "priority road" - "Vorfahrtsstraße", indicated by yellow diamond *after* the intersection - or just have right of way - Vorfahrt - at the next upcoming intersection, indicated by a black crossed arrow on white background inside of a red triangle *before* the intersection.
we also like to put a plastic bottle next to a bin intentionally (not in the bin, just next to it) so somebody in need of money could take it. But IF nobody comes there it’s still not littering since it’s right next to the bin. :D
I don't need plastic bags anymore. There are thin foldable nylon bags available and I always have at least one of them in my purse. They are very durable, one of them I use at least for 4 years now. So I can do my shopping on my way and always have a bag on me. 😊🙋
While there is an evaluation on your proficiency, and you are grouped into school types accordingly, it doesn't mean, that you can't get into the higher education tracks. I went to the Hauptschule but at the 8th grade I showed signs that I was unchallenged and bored, I went from the Hauptschule directly to the Gymnasium. It was an Aufbaugymnasium specialized for Hauptschul-kids to catch up Gymnasiasten. This is just one option to switch to higher education even if your Grundschul teacher didn't realize your potential.
Very interesting video, congrats. Just want to mention that some points like traffic rules, emergency signals, and the ban of one-use plastics are mostly common to the EU, it's not only a German thing.
the insanity of plastic one-use items even increases once you realize how easily plastic is replaced by other materials without losing any of the convenience. Plastic spoons/forks vs wodden, paper vs plastic cups etc. ... Sadly it always seems to need a ban or additional fee to push companies and consumers to make the switch. I am just glad that throughout europe politicians have the spine to "impose" such regulations upon their voters and rich lobbyist donors.
Filling up is also the same throughout Europe. We can prepay, or we can fill to the top and pay later.
Dear Haley, as always, it's very interesting and enlightening to ear your perspective. Also, I love your earrings! A little anecdote: The ban on (complimentary) plastic bags kind of taugt me to be more mindful of how much plastic I use. Nowadays, I always have a folded fabric grocery bag in my handbag. They are washable and indestructible and they have come in handy on many occasions, not just shopping :-) A lot of my friends do the same plus they have bags or baskets in the back of their cars.
Personally, I am usually not a very organized person. Before this ban on plastic bags, I very often forgot to have a bag with me . Therefore I was a little annoyed when the law was made: I thought I would very often be forced to by expensive paper or fabric bags because of my forgetfulness. But even though I was annoyed I appreciated at the time that we waste tons of plastic on single use bags. Also, the inconvenience I expected (which turned out to be virtually inexistent) was really only minor - not the kind of thing that makes me take on the hassle of going to a protest or chain myself to a grocery store shelf ;-) Also, generally speaking, I've always been for preserving the environment and not against it so it follows that I should be able to "endure" a minor inconvenience to that end... and that is probably what the majoritiy of germans think in such a case. Last year, plastic straws where banned. Now we have an array of paper straws, straw straws, washable glass and metal straws available and nowone died of a heart attack...
Aber die Papierhalme sind echt eklig! Deshalb hab ich immer meinen eigenen aus Metall dabei. 😆
It's 50 in cities, marked by the yellow sign with the towns name (which can be a 50 person village)
100 outside cities, and unlimited on the autobahn
unless there are signs saying otherwise
I think the graphic on the educational system for Germany is a bit misleading (at 8:00)... Because upper secondary schools are not actual, separate schools but just the final section of secondary school. It's called "Sekundarstufe 2" or Secondary stage 2. It is just the final part of Gymnasium or High School, where everything is focused on graduation, getting the "Abitur". Grade 11 is also the point where marking system changes from the school system (grading with numbers from 1-6) to the academic system (grading with points 0-15). This doesn't happen in "Realschule" or "Gesamtschule" because the kids going there are not expected to pursue academic careers.
You can go into a gas station and give the attendant 40 bucks to hold on "pump one" and then get your change when you are fill below that number. We used to have pay after you pump in the USA but, as you said, too many people stealing gasoline put an end to that.
Same in The Netherlands , the triangle and vest.
Here the road design shows you the speed outside of a city , 60,80,100
60 has interrupted lines on both sides (for bicycles)
80 doesn't have those lines (a constant line or dashes down the middle only)
100 has a doulbe line down the middle with green paint in it.
So if you missed the speed sign, that will tell you.
How I think a deposit system would work in the US.
Karen throws her empty Coke bottle into some bushes in the park.
Someone tells her that she can't do it. Her answer will be: "I have PAID $0.25 for it, the city must collect it. I don't have to do it by myself."
But at least some homeless people will get money from it.
as a german it has always shocked me even before we got rid of plastic bags here how many plastic bags you get when you are out grocery shopping, not just in the usa, but also in japan for example, it is insane x.x
20 cents for a single use plastic/paper grocery bag in Finland. Strong, usually re-used as a garbage bags.
The small family vehicles towing caravans also happens throughout Europe.
As for the schools, in Berlin children are split up to the schooltypes 2 years later. Elsewhere they have more and more Gesamtschulen, there are different schoolbranches, but you dont really change the school. so you may decide even after the 10th grade if you make Abitur or not.
Your romantic view on our school caste system is very adorable.
I wish it was anything like you described it. But I get it compared to the US system it probably looks like that.
So the same situation as with public transportation.
Man I remember recognizing a building in a video of some dude saying public transportation is good here. And thinking:
Shieeeeeeet, he lives *here* and thinks that? The situation must be dire over there!
as a German in California, I agree with all your points. But it's really funny that I never realized that Germans tow their camper with their VW whereas here it has to resemble a semi truck, haha! So true, just never realized it. I'm pretty sure I've NEVER seen a truck of any kind pulling a camper in Europe.
The unpredictable speed limits always bothered me, you turn into a larger road but have no idea how fast you can go. Just dumb. At least navigation maps now have most speed limits on display.
Im Ort 50 ausser andere Schilder ändern das. Ganz einfach, simple. In town speed limit is 50KmH. And outside of town it's 100 unless otherwise indicated. Autobahn no speed limit unless otherwise indicated by signs or overhead displays controlled by computers and sensors to set speed limits in real time depending on traffic and weather conditions. Almost all major freeways are computerized like that now. Quite amazing actually. And then I come back to California and am glad I have a 4x4 to ride on these farm roads we call freeway here.
And I fully understand that not quite full tank thing, that would drive me nuts! But paying at the pump is convenient and leads to less impulse buys of chips and candy ;-)
We use our cars. We dont use them for getting fresh bread from the bakery 10-15 mins. away (only, if it's like down the mountain, then you also get everything else, you might need at home at the stores).
reflecting triangle and jacket are mandatory across EU
First two(the triangle and the vest) is not just Germany, it is mandatory in the whole of EU/EEA by law (1st has been for almost 50 years here in Norway)
Same in Denmark. The funny thing is, that for a long time the triangle wasn’t mandatory to have in the car, but it was mandatory to place behind you in a matter of an accident. Well, if you don’t have it, how are you supposed to place it?
I’m not sure about the day-glo west. I don’t think it’s mandatory to both have or wear, but most think of it as a wise move, and as such keep one in the car.
I'm American and I use a kit like that anyway for safety reasons, because getting out of your car on the side of the freeway is fucking terrifying.
I always use a hard plastic folding box to go shopping (as a German). Much sturdier that plastic bags, re-usable over years, easy to slide into the station wagon (if I owned one, oh I miss my VW Passat so much...). I do not know why anybody what prefer a plastic bag over a folding box. But that's just me.
You mentioned littering in regards to plastic bottles. I thought of another side effect the Pfand system brought along. Usually in cities with a lot of traffic (near train stations, shopping areas etc.) people still throw some plastic bottles in the public trash bins just out of convenience i guess? Anyway, they usually end up being recycled anyways because people are actively walking through cities looking to collect plastic and glass bottles with Pfand on them to go and turn in for the money.
4:50 for Richtgeschwindigkeit we actually have a different sign. Official name: Verkehrszeichen 380, a blue square with white numbers.
Hi Hayley.
Fell across your channel by accident.
I think you should delve into the education system in Germany at the primary level and compare it to the US..
The hours, how they get there, and how they steer children into any profession they chose to follow.
Maybe your subscribers back in the US might find it interesting.
The focus on car infrastructure is a little funny (albeit understandable from the perspective of an American) because I'd argue that one of the primary things Europeans do that just make sense are... walking, cycling, using public transport instead of driving and, very importantly, having the infrastructure to support that. 🙂
I (in austria) once saw a VW beetle towing a caravan (trailer). sure, it was a small one, but it was a caravan.
Different countries have different rules and you have to be aware of them when traveling there, especially with your own car. These are usually fine in rental cars. For example, in Italy you have to have a spare bulb in the car for every different lamp that is in it. Safety vests are a very common requirement and in my opinion such a cheap life insurance that even if it is not mandatory, it is worth keeping it with you.
A caravan towed behind a car is very common in Europe. It has tires underneath, so it doesn't need a locomotive to pull it, as long as care is taken that the towing vehicle is not too light compared to the cart being pulled.
In Europe, you usually drive according to the situation and the place. Everything is designed in such a way that the highway almost never passes through the city and it is not easy to walk there. In a sparsely populated area, you drive a little faster than in the city, and the highway is a highway.
1950 The Finnish bottle return system begins. In the first phase, glass bottles are recycled through the system, which are washed and refilled. In 1996, the recycling of aluminum cans also began.
Returns of deposit bottles in Finland.
2021 2020 2019
Can 97 % 98 % 97 %
Plastic bottle 90 % 92 % 90 %
Glass bottle 98 % 95 % 99 %
Finns recycle more than 2 billion bottles and cans every year. Most of the bottles are reused and this saves energy and natural resources. Abandoned bottles are disposed of properly and are not thrown into the sea.
In Finland, the school system is the same for everyone up to the 9th grade, i.e. until about 15-16 years old. Then a choice is made between vocational school and upper secondary school. You have to attend these, because compulsory education is until the age of 18. Both routes can be continued to university of applied sciences and university. If you ever feel that you have made the wrong choice, you can also start over, because studying in Finland is almost free. Of course, you don't have to study everything again, because the old ones can used for good.
In Finland, a plastic bag costs money and it is 40 liters in size. You only need one or two thick and durable bags (Not those thin little ones that you need 30 when you go to the store, they are vegetable bags) when you go to the store. After this, the bag can be used for packing, transporting or wherever else you can think of. Some even make them into rugs. After all this, the bag can be disposed of directly in mixed waste or as a garbage bag in mixed waste. Mixed waste is disposed of by burning and then energy is obtained from it. Most of the plastic bags in Northern Europe end up at the right address and not, for example, in the oceans of the world.
About the school system. That works only because of the apprentice system in Germany.
With a apprentice you can make a living wage. And the good thing you start earning real money with
about 20 years.
We have similar system in Switzerland. But there is anyway many possibilities to make some
higher degree later.
I do remember, that back in 1983 all Americans got some „Pfand“ for their soda cans. Also they got Pfand for paperbags. Wann ist das weg gefallen?
Ironically the reason we don't tow trailers with cars is safety. The car may be rated for up to a maximum 3000Lb payload and towing, An ultralight camper may be as low as 3000Lb dry weight. Absolutely everything you are carrying has to be add in to these numbers, including fuel, luggage and passengers. The trailer can easily take over control of the car. Saw it a lot when I worked for emergency road response.
Hey there,
I am a German and I loved your Video.
I like how you mix it up sometimes, like : They have no Überblick ;-) and something like that.
You make me smile.....
Thx for that.
Ruanda has one of the strictest laws against plastic wraps and plastic bags! And it is enforced! Ruanda!😊👍
I like your description of what the vehicels in the US need to have for pulling a trailer. 😂
Hi, great you should one day in one of your videos also talk about shopping carts in den USA and Germany… when I go to Costco in Miami is see hundreds of empty carts standing around, if you go to Aldi in Miami customers return them to a central storage areas to get the 25 Cent refunded, which they had to pay when collecting the cart prior their shopping tour… I think it’s a great system and educates people to not just drop off carts wherever they want but return them.. it works with Aldi why not with other grocery stores.. Rgds thomas
I know I'm slamming you...and I'm right but I will say you have a very sweet voice and are pleasant to listen to. Your delivery is much better than most RUclipsrs.
You can go to Myrtle Beach State Park and see lots of campers to this day. Totally available in the US.
When we lived in the US, we just used the plastic bags for trash, so, we weren't really consuming less plastic. Here we buy garbage bags, so, it really is a wash.
The German education-system is made to fit into the job system. If you want to become a Tailor or carpenter for example, you "only" need a Hauptschulabschluss. But you are qualified AND able to pass the theoretical part of your 3,5 year lasting vocational training, if you passed Hauptschule.
For a Taylor you need Abitur, mostly you have to pay. Without Taylor no Chance for Designschool
@@Miristzuheiss What ??? Is that a joke I didn't understand?
@@BernieUndErt a Girlfriend of my daughter, the mother pays for her Taylor Ausbildung
Wir fahren meistens mit dem Auto zum Einkaufen! Wir laden die gekauften Sachen anschließend in unser Auto und zuhause bringen wir die Sachen dann ins Haus! Im Prinzip verwenden wir selten Taschen oder Tüten.
Liebe Grüße aus der Nähe von Köln/Cologne/Germany
When it comes to cars, you are also obligated to have a first aid kit in your car. And you are obligated to provide first aid to any injured person if you arrive at the site of an accident. You are taught how to provide first aid when you go to driving school. In fact, you cannot get a driver's license withouth having proof that you now first aid.
The most important thing, though, is that you cannot be sued if you provide first aid and you make a mistake. You will face criminal charges if you don't provide first aid.
Learning how to drive in Germany is also more thorough, time consuming and much more expensive than in the US. I got my German driver's license in the early 90s and had to pay about DM2500, which today would be about 2000€. This included theoretical lessens and driving lessons at a certified driving school with mandatory lessons on driving overland, in cities on the Autobahn and at night. Also included were both written test and road test. Failing any of these tests would have raised the total cost by another 100-200€
When I got my US driver's license I simply had to pay $20 and do the tests, which were a piece of cake compared to the ones I had to take for the German driver's license.
Plastic bags didn't get banned over night in Germany. First there stores only offered plastic bags, then they started selling cotton bags or heavy duty plastic bags that could be used many times. At the same time they also started to charge you for plastic bags. Today you can only get sturdy paper bags and the cotton bags/heavy duty plastic bags.
When I remember the times when I shopped at Publix, Walmart etc. I always got so many of these small flimsy plastic bags. First I collected them to usw them as trash bags, but at one point I had to throw them away, because I didn't produce enough trash to put in these bags.
When people in Germany go shopping and they go by car, many have foldable boxes in their cars where they put their stuff. So, I started using my laundry basket and I completely confused that poor fellow at the check out when I told him that I want him to put my stuff back in the shopping cart. 😂
normally "Richtgeschwindigkeit" is a Blue rectangular sign... the white signs with the red circle means the max authorised speed limit
I far prefer the reusable bags. They're sturdy with good handles and you can carry a boatload in one bag. A dollar well-spent. We use them for all sorts of things too...a beach bag, toys, grabbing last minute things going on vacation.
I even use them for weights. You can load them up and use them for several exercises and I also close them in a doorway and use the loops as an anchor for rows and other exercises.
it's funny cause as many flaws the US education system might have, the one thing that always made more sense to me was NOT splitting up kids to different schools. we all have different strengths and weaknesses, and keeping everyone together allows you not only to focus on everyones talents, but also their weaknesses by offering different levels in each subject. So you can be in High math and Low Spanish at the same time. In contrast, when you are sorted to a Hauptschule, you basically have low-level classes for ALL subjects, even in those you might actually some talent for.
Hauptschule hat doch die A und B Kurse in denen dann der gleichwertige Realschulabschluss möglich ist.
I think the discrimination is the reason why they changed it in BaWü from teachers choosing where the children would go to the parents making that decision.
the negative side of this, is that too many children go to Gymnasium and then need to go to Realschule because of bad grades which is really bad for the self-esteem and motivation of these children.
separating the children later would be better I think, they did that in East Germany. they were seperated in year 10, some graduating and some studying for three more years.
I also think a lot of parents would push for their children to do Gymnasium because they think it's "better" and it's maybe more of what they want than what the children want...
I also wish the stigma around Hochschule/Realschule would not be so bad... I hear a lot of people joking about people that don't go to Gymnasium and I think it creates more of an issue.
Well, afaik it was always that way that the parents get the last word on that decision. The teachers only give a "recommendation".
However, it can turn out to be quite an ordeal if as parents you want to not follow that recommendation. So while they cannot actually be forced to choose that type of school, they are kinda being pressured.
Since I studied in Italy, where the decision is taken when you are 13 yo (middle school is 3 years between 10yo and 13 yo and it's the same for everyone), I can tell that the system in which the parents choose for you without any regards to what you want or your teachers think is fit for you, it's not a perfect system. I went to the Italian equivalent of Gymnasium and later studied veterinary medicine at university, and ok, that was definitely right for me, but the amount of people my age who I saw abandoning Gymnasium or university later on was quite high. It was simply not their call, but most parents are convinced their children should go to Gymnasium and university. Regarding children of immigrants, I have worked as a volunteer in an after-school program support for them. This is a long known program in my region of origin: the Scalabrini monks provided that in the past for poor Italian all around the world and now they do the same for immigrants. Anyway, what I want to say is, I have witnessed quite a lot of those parents (and therefore their children being convinced of the same) think that you don't need higher education to work, and that the mandatory school is quite enough. Hence, I think that besides the "economical discrimination", we also have to take cultural differences in conceiving the school in consideration. Mind you, this is just my opinion based on my own experience, so by no means I think it correctly represents the entire problem. But yes, it's a common problem everywhere honestly.
@@silkwesir1444 "Well, afaik it was always that way that the parents get the last word on that decision. The teachers only give a "recommendation"."
I remember the same.
Sidenote: All the classmates of 4th grade i met later who upgraded to more then the recommended school had to change to a "lower" school at some point.
@@HayleyAlexis I think you meant Hauptschule, not Hochschule. Hochschule is a college or university
they have no Überblick ;) so cute Hayley