The Dumbest Questions Americans Ask Germans REACTION 

A friend of mine went to such an exchange year in the US just like Feli. And he was asked if we had cars in Germany. Like, no, we just invented them for your pleasure, lol.

someone once said: "not all americans are stupid. but when they do it, they excell at it."

Mein Neffe wurde in Amerika geboren und als er das erste Mal Schloss Neuschwanstein sah, dachte er, wir hätten es bei Walt Disney gestohlen. Leider lernen amerikanische Kinder sehr wenig über Europa und andere Länder.

There are no fridges in germany. In winter we put dairy products on the balcony or terrace. But when it gets warmer, keeping these at dry and cold places is also not a problem. Like right next to our humour and emotions.

German here. Couple years back. One of my German friends, female, married an American and moved there. So, a bit later, he had to ask us (because she couldn't convince him that he's wrong) Seriously asked if we got diapers. You know, since we lost the war. If we even could buy stuff like that, because, he could bring it... He was dead-serious. Don't know if they're still together. I'd have left him. Not so much for not knowing that, though that is a kind of dumb I find hard to ignore, but because he was so alpha male he chose not to believe her. Makes him a walking red flag to me.

Me, german, once was asked in an online chatroom by an american if we have internet in Germany?! ... I was confused and told him like "yeah!? how do you think I am able to chat with you?" ... He didn't believed me and called me a liar! I shouldn't tell him, that germans have internet, when they don't ... that was really a strange conversation! ^^+gg And I am pretty sure, that he was serious! XD

Einstein once said "The universe and the stupidity of people are infinite. Well, I'm not completly sure about the universe, though." :)

When I was about 6yo I remember I didn't understand why some people would 'choose' to speak another language than Dutch. I mean, that's just stupid, right? Why speak something no one understands when you can simply speak Dutch? Quite funny to realize that a good percentage of the US population have the mental capacity of a small child. Let's hope those people don't get into a political career. Oh, wait ...

In the early 80´s I met an American couple in Munich. They had hired a very fast car to spend some time on the German Autobahn (highway) which often has no speed limits. So talking about their trip planning she told me, that they are a bit afraid to visit the city of Bayreuth and asked me, if that isn't a bit too dangerous? It was, because they had Beirut/Libanon in their mind, which wasn't a very safe place at that time. That, by far, was the most dumb or stupid question I ever heard!

My English teacher´s daughter went for an exchange year to the USA. She was asked whether she came from West Germany, East Germany or Nazi Deutschland. I doubt that anyone can superceed that in 2023 🤣

Do we have refridgerators? No, we just invented them.

I’m German but live in the US. I was at a wedding in Kansas, and I told the guy sitting next to me that German weddings are a lot longer, that there’s no “end time” and they go past midnight. He then said to me: “You guys don’t have tv then?”

When we had American exchange students visiting our German high school in 10th grade, one guy remarked how many american cars can be found in Germany. After asking him which brands he'd seen, he listed off Mercedes, Audi and BMW... Also, my family has friends from the states and they always act like Europe is one big country with one culture and that Munich and Venice are a stonethrow away from another. And even though most US-American tourists exclusively speak English, they still react in that (to me somewhat triggering) surprised voice how many languages we Europeans speak and that we can speak English too.

I don’t know how many people asked me about driving on the left when I moved to the US from Germany…it’s not particularly dumb I guess, but so many people are so confident about their “knowledge”, it’s astonishing 😅

When a classmate of me was in the US as a exchange student, she was asked if we have electricity in Germany (because no power supply lines are visible in the streets)...😂

When I was on vacation in the USA, I was asked in a very confusing conversation whether we in Germany also have mobile phones and whether our toilets are indoors or outdoors.... I didn't know if the question was meant seriously. I was a bit perplexed

I am swiss, someone from the US once was baffled when i told em, that we got a highway. He seriously tought, there where too many mountains in switzerland. Also, they tought that we could live underground completly cause we have so many "nuclear shelters". (The brackets... well, those "Nuclear shelters" are just "Luftschutzbunker", mostly useless against anything bigger than a conventional bomb.) But then also, i usually play along. I don't want to be the one robbing them their illusions. So... yes here are so many mountains, we do not have highways. And about the shelters... well we are secured against neutron bombs since 2010.

The dumbest question I ever got asked was actually by an American... I studied Ancient history and he asked "How can you study Ancient history when the history of mankind started in 1492?"

Once were with my school at the Airport in Frankfurt to greet an exchange student from Pennsylvania Well, we tried, but he got picked up by the police, because he "tried to be german" and tried to greet the worker there by raising his right arm and yelling ... You know, Something from 80 years ago...

I´m German and lived in the UK for about 6 years and I never got dumb questions about being German. I actually really liked when people asked me if the food is authentic....it just means they want to find a place where they can eat good German food.

When you watch more of her content, you get a feeling that it is not the questions themselves that led to this video but rather the frequency in which they occured. At least that's what she hinted at several times

I worked several years as waitress in restaurants and hotels in Germany. And I heard a lot of crazy questions. „why don’t you introduce you with your name first before serving?“ or why the supermarkets are not open all the time and on Sunday/holidays? This question is ok, but they don’t want to hear the answer why it is. They only want to hear there are Markt is who opens all the time (they are very rare in the south of Germany). I wouldn’t say that people from the US are dump, I would say they are ignorant. Because people from other English speaking countries are more open and thinking out of the box. Only some persons from England are a annoyed of bad grammar, but this ist really rare

I was once asked if we also have trees in Germany... I absolutely didn't know what to answer to this question 😂

Europeans are really all in a good mood. Everyone I've met so far has been at least reasonably well educated. Americans are a whole different ballgame. So far, I have only noticed such ignorant and disrespectful behavior there. Sometimes you really have the feeling that Great Britain, Germany, France, etc. have sent all the idiots on the ships, so that we in Europe have our peace...

I lived in Britain for over 3 years and never got a stupid question. I remember a guy telling me German sounds like having a too hot potato in the mouth, but trying to speak 😂... Whilst I got asked in America if they speak English in England....🎉😂🎉

I am German and was visiting relatives in the US. People asked me if I knew what a watermelon is. OMG.

Why Germany has so many different names is because this country came together late. Various tribes and later princes lived in the area. The neighbors named it after them. When Germany was later founded, the old names remained. The English sometimes do not distinguish between Dutch and Deutsch. I was in Hamburg at the weekend. There it is customary to eat a (raw) fish sandwich. A dish that does not exist in southern Bavaria. Likewise, typical Bavarian food is hard to find in Hamburg. German cuisine is very diverse in the region.

Feli is always very nice and polite, she is always willing to compromise and always tries to understand other cultures. Her education includes media, literacy and languages and linguistics. She picked out very simple stupid questions so as not to embarrass anyone too much. Please also react to other videos of her.

The Algeria thing reminds me of smth that happened to me encountering a couple from the United States in Germany. Me: "So, where you guys from?" Guy: " 'merica! " Me: "South, Central or North"? Guy: "South!" Me: "Uh, that is still a big place. Let me guess, Argentina?", Guy: "No, Texas!" Me: "..."

I think some weird questions about other nationalities will always occur, what might be tragic is that citizens of US are tought a bit too much that they are the best and do not learn to change perspective as they just learn they are the best country in the world anyway.

As for the soccer vs football question: This sport is football, as it was invented in England. The German word is simply the translation: Fußball - Fuß = foot, Ball = well, ball. As for Americans calling it soccer and deem American Football the "real" football sport, I think one could argue that you could call it "pussy rugby" with the same right Americans insist on giving football a separate name - and it would be more accurate. Btw, as there are so many variations of "Football", like Australian Football, it's really annoying how Americans tend to see their niche sport (on a global scale) as "the one big thing". Football, the real one, is waaay bigger internationally.

In the end we should be lucky that the most Americans never leave their country.

7:15 in this context, it bears mentioning that many Americans have a weird idea of what exactly constitutes a "German" name. "Gretchen" or even "Heidi" often comes to mind. Names that literally no one who is half sane would punish their newly born daughter with.

Greetings from Germany my friend

A motel host once told me, "oh, I was in Germany too, I was in Stockholm".

First name is Ralf. Back in the days when X had still the bird logo, even was struggling fighting the takeover, I was confronted by a probably American who didn't like my political view I had expressed earlier about who in their right mind would spell "Ralph" this way. My answer consisted of two words: "My parents." I never heard a reply to this. 😊

My friends boyfriend (american) once asked me (german) if theres a moon in the sky in germany 😂😂

I love the way you talk btw. Main reason why I haven't stoped watching your videos.

The only english-speaking country I visited was England and just for 10 days. And on my second or third day in London a older man came up to me and my friend and asked were we are from. As he heard that we were Germans he asked us what we think about the WWII and if we get teached about it in school. I found that a bit strange but also sad that seemingly war is the first thing he connects with Germany.

In 1997 two of my friends and me went for Dinner in Washington D.C.. We got into a nice talk with the waitress and she asked us where we were from. When we told her, that we live in Germany, she was quite astounded. She then asked us if we had driven all the way up here by car...

the reason there are so many different names for germany in differnt languages is that they are all based on different germanic tribes.

13:08 the question is valid and fair cause first rule all over the world is: mom makes the best authentic food of home But beside that the question is also absolutely okay cause here in Germany itself it’s quite difficult to find a restaurant who offers a very good and not average quality of local food who is homemade and not bought at the Metro or other wholesalers and just reheated it…. So nope, that question is fair.

8:22 its often cringe for me when some Americans especially some borderline nazis try to explain what is german/austrian patriotism

Two ways to interpret the question about "warm beer": 1) Germany just uses a lot less ice cubes than the US. If the beer is refrigerated beforehand, it's cold enough for a German but maybe not for an American. 2) During Christmas season, you can get "mulled beer" (Glühbier) in Germany. We probably got the recipe from Poland.

I visited my friend in the USA.. he was friends with an old dude that was stationed in germany after WW2. Old dude asked me "Do you have freedom now in germany?" XD To be honest it was more funny then dumb.. and he was an old guy so it wasnt an offending question

6:20 min: UK, Ireland, Cyprus and Malta request to drive on the left side. All others in Europe drive on the right side.

German, partially grew up in the US. In 2007 a girl in my high school senior history class said that she heard the German wall was torn down… and that she wonders where the Great Wall of China ends now 🤔

About Americans consuming predominantly British or Australian content, "because the languages are so similar". XD Love it! :D

You find ppl with weird imagination, when my family moved from poland to germany, from a big city to a small village ppl there asked weird questions like "Did you have refrigerators, washing machines and do you know how they work?"

I also find the question about the authenticity of the food of a foreign restaurant here in Germany absolutely legitimate. With Asian food, you usually know that it is europeanized, so I would also rather ask for a recommendation for a particular restaurant. - Translation by 'deepL'

Best regards from Germany too

Let's assume a random US citizen hears you speaking with Scottish accent for the first time, does he/she understand you are a native English speaker?

I,m from Germany 🇩🇪. I blame it on American school system.😢

The last question was the best :) I love your channel Mert!

Realistically, it's more like ten to twenty thousand different dialects, since almost every city has its own dialect

Oh Mert. You simply are a shinin light inthis f up world. Gives me so much joy. And the scottish to fit it. 😍

Well... I spend a few month in the UK back in 2008 - and I got the question "You are from Europe, aren't you?" Yeah... We both are, aren't we? ^^° (well, back then at least)

That's why I am always confused when Americans have problems understanding some of the thicker UK accents. I am German. I understand most of it. Thick Geordie will throw me a loop. I understood most of Trainspotting. But I have seen Americans capitulating in Derby.

I once had a friend who was an MP stationed in West Germany during the 50‘s. He told me once a story of a British officer looking for Köln (Cologne), he was in a sports car and asked for directions to cologney, nobody had a clue what he was on about, not until he wrote it down, oh! Köln, no, cologney😂😂😂😂

"You're are from Germany? - Do you have cars over there?"

My favourite was, if life in Germany is not very hard, seeing that we live in ruins, as WW2 had destroyed so many buildings.

OK. Greetings from the Netherlands as well I guess ;o). Thank you Mert.

I saw a "german fest" celebrated in milwaukee. Its basically just Bavaria some centuries ago. Since i saw that fest, i know where some questions has there origin.

IMOA, what's important in the food, is the quality of the ingredients, rather than the recipe that the chief uses. If it's good and the ingredients are good, that's fine. Every cook has it's own recipe.

The real important question about German food is where one can get a good Döner. AFAIK one can find acceptable bread and beer, although one has to look for it and it's expensive. But I have never gotten an acceptable Döner in any country except Germany, so how bad would it be in the US...

6:30 To be precise, there is another country in Europe where people are driving on the left side of the street, and unlike UK it still is member of the European Union: Malta ...

Telling them ahead of 9/11?! That one was EPIC! LMAO!

As I was in the US.... In 1989.... They asked me things like.... Do hitler still lives.... How long I need to drive from Boston to Germany by car.... Unbelievable 😊😂

I was a Hotel employee for about 13 years, receptionist. A U.S. American guest asked me if Hitler built the Berlin Wall.....

When I lived in the States I was asked a thousand times for the original German Chocolate cake receipe. There is no such cake in Germany.

It's not just the US. Now I am a naturalised German, I was born in England but I've lived in Germany for over 40 years. When I'm visiting family in England, I am always getting asked, the same question. Oh you live in Germany, do you speak German?????????

I am certain, that in every country there are vast differences in the food between north and south or east and west. I am from the north and haven't even tried Prezls? Brezeln. Or Sour joint Sauerbraten.😂😂 Nor have people from the south have tried Labskaus.

To add more confusion to the topic of football vs. soccer vs. Fußball … Tischkicker is called table football or foosball in the States which sounds exactly like Fußball

One of my former classmates once went abroad and they told me that many people mistook Austria for Australia and somebody was actually trying to convince her that Austria is in Australia. Also somebody thought that the Berlin Wall was still standing and that Hitler was still chancellor.

If i get it right (from memory), the last country in europe, that canged driving on the left side of the road to drive on the right side was Sweden. They did in over a weekend (a long time ago), they changed any road sign... Well on saturday you got to drive on the left side, on monday on the right side of the road. About country/city names: Bodensee Lake Konstanz (Konstanz is a town at Lake Konstanz, Bodensee means: The lake at the bottom, (Poem about Bodensee: Ach tun mir die Augen weh, wenn ich im Glas den Boden seh. That transates to: Oh what an ace in my eyes i got, if i can see the bottom of my glass. (seh means i can see, see means lake))), München Munic, Köln Cologne - (Eau de Cologne Kölnisch Wasser (parfume), Köln was build by the romans (imperator Claudius 50 a. Chr) -> latin: Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium... There are a a lot more: Königsberg, Hamburg, Danzig.... And about Felicita...: felice navidad (spanish?) - Means: I want to wish you a merry christmas. Edit: It seems i posted that twice, i dont know how i did this???

the main problem with a lot of questions from americans is, that they assume/claim, that all is based or made for america. a lot of EU cities are way older than several US cities together. also the refrigarator thing... they categorize EU or germany way behind the US in technology. even our standart homes are made from steel and concrete and have all electric stuff. also the whole discussion with taxes and insurances ect... all americans who lived longer than a year in germany i know, changed their opinion and find most things better here. and to be fair, some points arent important and just personal preference :D

German here. Many years ago I worked in tourism and one day a maybe 14yo girl from the Us ask me :"why are there so many languages in Europe". And the only thing that came in my mind was :" because weve lost a war". And she looked at me and says :" Oh,thats horable, im so sorry".

P.S. Typical female reaction with that "football" situation. I, as a German, will ALWAYS call the best game of the world "football", because you use your foot to play the ball. American football consists of padded big boys carrying an egg-shaped ball: Call it by its true name "Chicken run" and the confusion will go away at once.

9:20 not to be confused with "foosball" (as in table soccer) either.

@14:19 your face expression said it all. 😉

I liked the look on your face when she talked about StuDoc :) I thought her promoting this platform was ironic.

Even President Obama once said that Henry Ford invented the car. So, what do you expect?

Since you're living in Malaysia... have you ever considered making videos about your experience there? I'd be interested. I've got a friend who's from there as well, a child of German immigrants who then moved back to Germany. Apparently there's large German communities in the country aswell, if you wanna keep the whole "Germany" theme going

To get good and authentic food abroad, in particular in Asia, go where locals go!

6:18 as a German who was in Ireland for a year I felt double the insult...

My friend was asked on her exchange year, if this "Hitler guy" still rules in germany. That was 20 years ago. I asked my friend back if they have a huge bunker in their garden.😂

I did an exchange year in France and every single French person I met thought I was British. Apparently they can’t differentiate between the accents.

6:02 und warum ist das so? Genau! Napoleon und die Grande Armée

5:36 well i wasnt really out of germany but to be honest im pretty sure i could asked some stupid questions too ... some countrys are SO different in many situations you just cant know "normal" stuff that comon sense for them just some culture difference as example getting off your shoes when entering the house ... i dont really know that from germany and without the onlineworld i wouldnt really know its a thing in a lot of other spaces but yeah ok... i would never ask an italian man if he speaks his own language to be honest ..XD dont know how that can come to someones mind :D 6:30 thats another topic .. i have no clue as example what country is driving on which side of the road ... and in the end i dont really care at all its not like everybody could change the country because he think "driving left or right side is stupid" thats not how a country work xD so its useless to ask anyone "why are you driving on the wrong side of the road?" well ... because its a rule in the country ...? 9:23 reminds me of some stuff english teacher was talking ... uhm ... over 15 years ago .. man im getting old xD you cant translate word for word and "fußball" whats fuß=foot and ball=ball (well that looks stupid ..xD) would be football but that dont mean the activity is called the same in another language ... have overall the feeling german love just to press 2 words together to get a new one and of course you cant just translate these 2 words and put them together for the new word "translation" 12:30 but its a question that makes sense ... i mean of course not like "are you eating this every day in your country" but if i could i would love to ask a japanese guy as example about some places in germany "is it truly kinda like in japanese?" but more like "thats something you do or eat in that country from time to time ... not every day obviously xD maybe it would be better to ask like "would you say you can recognize these food from your country or is it complete different?" and i mean the question makes sense ... how should i know if not asking someone coming from that country? or just trust blind someone selling food and name it like its from another country

Dipping pretzels in mustard????!!! 😂

I was asked by my host mum in the US if the leaves change color in fall over in Europe... also I've been asked if I knew Hitler and/or was a Nazi multiple times, because of my German roots, although I think that was mostly just to annoy me.

If it is an authentic german food or not,is a good question because we do chinese food also very different here in Germany...more chinese food how Germans like it the most..

In Australia I was asked by an Indian Girl whether we do have trees and fridges in Germany -.-

Auckland New Zealand 2009: I was ask if I ever meet hitler. I was 19 years old….

I will have to start taking drugs when i finally visit amerika and have to deal with that sort of people. Maybe I should rethink my plans

Not just geography, German / European history seems to bee thought just about from 1933 to 45... But its right: the dumbest statement ever was an American, who said that the earth turns from west to east. So he really wanted me to believe that the sun raises over the beach of California...

Allemand Deutschland German and I think Tyskland from Scandinavia Proud to not be an Ameeeeeerican

There was simply no way for us to warn the US even though we were 7 hours ahead. That´s just because we didn´t have internet or telephone back then. We did our best by writing a letter but the postman didn´t make it in time across the Atlantic in his sailing boat. That would be my answer to the question why we didn´t warn the US ahead of the 9/11 attacks.

I have lived two year in the US as a German, and I never got these questions.

Yes, this makes for a fun video and story but it actually should be "dumbest question uneducated (American) people ask Germans". Any honestly asked question is a good one as it show curiosity - which is the foundation for real learning, it should be appreciated and is why you say "there are no dumb questions". In general, Americans have the same potential knowledge and intelligence as anyone else, but their education system is pretty shit if you compare it to other highly developed nations. And this is what gives many the impression of dumb Americans - e.g. their education is extremely America-centric.