an old discussion on wer-weiss-was about the British and mixer taps (actually in this case a former Commonwealth country).
War jetzt zum wiederholten mal in einem ehemaligen Commonwealth-Land und hab mich wie immer gewundert:
Wie waschen die sich die Hände?
In der einen Ecke des Waschbeckens gibt es einen Brüh-Heißen Wasserhahn in der anderen Ecke einen Eis-kalten.
Gibt es irgendeinen Trick?
Und nur mal theoretisch ist EIN Wasserhahn (mit Mischregler) nicht billiger und einfachere/schneller einzubauen als ZWEI?
An Englishman replies:
but if having a good wash, then you put the stop in the sink and put hot and cold into the basin until temperature is ok for you
The Germans may not have thought of that one.
It’s one of those topics that heats national prejudices.
I ask myself: how long have the Germans had mixer taps? Were they introduced together with the autobahn?
I remember how impressed my brothers were when I was living in a ramshackle building in Germany with other students, and the fuse went. The fuse was a large round plug half the size of a rolling pin, and all you had to do was unplug some electrical device and push the fuse back in. They had been expecting work with a screwdriver. But I think that fuse system had existed since the early 1900s at least.
This follows a mailing-list discussion on u-forum about a use of the word spigot in British English and how to translate it into German.
I love mixer taps. I couldn’t believe it when we visited Ireland and they had separate taps. You see that sometimes in the US too but only in very old bathrooms. (For instance, my college dorm!)
Yes, my brother used to ogle mixer taps in Germany, and I think there are three or four lying around unused in England.
Btw I was glad to hear your mother got back OK. At least she didn’t land in the Hudson, but she did everything else, I think.
I have the tap problem when I go to Britain. The answer to the question is simple: Sie waschen sich nicht die H
Is this perhaps why the Germans shake hands and we don’t?