[Peter]

I'm hoping that somehow the question isn't what i think it is!

[Kevin]

Wrong Forum!
Reported

[Oneota]

Eh? Seems the right forum to me. It's making fun of Germans, not Dubya.

[C.A.T.S. CEO]

[Peter]

how is this possibly political?


!Political

[MaxPower2k3]

Even after the 50/50, 3% of the audience still voted for "Torben"

[slpdLoad]

It seems that the question IS what it looks like. Sadly.

Google translates it into: "How is George W. Bush with first names called?"

[itistoday]

That reminds of, "Quick! What's the number for 911?"

[Cold Warrior]

Only in America.

Oh, wait...

[Doofy]

Please tell me that this was some kind of satire about how stupid the contestants on WWTBAM are.

[itistoday]

Originally Posted by Doofy 

Please tell me that this was some kind of satire about how stupid the contestants on WWTBAM are.

I don't know how it is in Germany, but in Spain people's full names can get quite large. So it seems possible to me that because of the way the question was constructed, it might have tricked those Germans into thinking that "George W. Bush" was Bush's "proper name" or something like that. Ex: "What is Rolando Francisco Dominique Chavez Martinez's first name?"

[BRussell]

It almost seems like it has to be a trick question, or they wouldn't have asked it. Like "who's buried in Grant's tomb."

[Doofy]

Originally Posted by itistoday 

I don't know how it is in Germany, but in Spain people's full names can get quite large. So it seems possible to me that because of the way the question was constructed, it might have tricked those Germans into thinking that "George W. Bush" was Bush's "proper name" or something like that. Ex: "What is Rolando Francisco Dominique Chavez Martinez's first name?"

Hmmm. I get what you're saying and it's a possiblity.

Must be a bit different from the UK WWTBAM, 'coz Tarrant (the presenter here) keeps banging on about "there are no trick questions".

[analogika]

No, Doofy, you have it quite right.

No trick questions, and the first two or three are complete no-brainers.

Of course, if I were in the audience and the contestant were completely stumped at that question, I probably would have voted "Edmund" or "Torben" as well, just for the hell of it.

This is from sometime in 2005, btw.

I have no idea if it's real. Couldn't find any debunk.

[TETENAL]

Two mistakes:

1) The first name of George W. Bush is of course "George" and not "Edmund". Embarrassing for the candidate.
2) After diphthong follows "ß", so it must be "heißt" and not "heisst". Embarrassing for the editorial staff of the show.

[analogika]

1) O RLY?

2) is not imperative. Standard would be "ß", but "heisst" is not incorrect.

[TETENAL]

Yes, it is imperative. "Heisst" is spelled wrong except in Switzerland (which is not where this show comes from).

[Peter]

its a photoshop i expect, but still amusing

[TETENAL]

YouTube - Interview Coolboy

OK, that's not the same scene, but proof that something like that actually could have happened.

[philm]

I thought that I had read that new school books etc. in Germany did not use "ß" but 'ss' instead. Isn't there a move to align the German alphabet with other European alphabets?

[Atomic Rooster]

This makes it political...

"What is the first name of George W. Bush..." (pix, !Political)



Besides not everyone knows his real first name is 'Liar'.

You should see some of the really dumb peeps on the Merikan version. Freaking sick!.

[Atomic Rooster]

Originally Posted by philm 

I thought that I had read that new school books etc. in Germany did not use "ß" but 'ss' instead. Isn't there a move to align the German alphabet with other European alphabets?

I read about it too.

[analogika]

Originally Posted by philm 

I thought that I had read that new school books etc. in Germany did not use "ß" but 'ss' instead. Isn't there a move to align the German alphabet with other European alphabets?

The other European alphabets that include ç, æ, å, ø, é, è, etc.? No.

But it's true that the German spelling has been simplified (though not nearly to the extent that would have made sense while we're at it - the reformers got cold feet). There is now an applicable logic in many cases where it used to be memorized cases.

"ss" is now used after short vowels; "ß" is now used after long vowels - to distinguish, e.g., "Masse" (mass) from "Maße" (dimensions).

A diphthong is treated as a long vowel, so "Scheiße" and "heißt" are still spelled with a "ß".

The wikipedia article Neue deutsche Rechtschreibung - Wikipedia mentions that the Swiss don't use the "ß", and that "ss" is used whenever there is no "ß" present on the keyboard.

I'd think that this means that using "ss" instead of "ß" isn't wrong *in principle*, but I admit that I don't know whether it would be marked wrong in school assignments.

[Peter]

Urban Legends Reference Pages: Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?

[- - e r i k - -]

This one's real though:


But yeah, OP's one seems a bit too similar to the one from Snopes.

[olePigeon]

Originally Posted by - - e r i k - - 

This one's real though:


But yeah, OP's one seems a bit too similar to the one from Snopes.

I... uh... well, at least his daughter is hot.

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by Oneota 

Eh? Seems the right forum to me. It's making fun of Germans, not Dubya.

I think Peter knows I was teasing.

[badidea]

Oh people please - that's a fake!!