Here is another of those stories that get reported wrong abroad. Ananova got the wrong end of the stick, and this filtered through to Wordlab too, and thence perhaps to the world. Boing Boing had it too.
In March this year, final-year students at a Jesuit school in southwest Germany sent Haribo a joke letter purported to be from school authorities, complaining about the lascivious appearance of the wrappings for Maoam sweets. A few days later, Haribo replied. The letter was clearly a joke, and it looks as if Haribo realized this (German originals here).
The Kölner Express newspaper reported on this on August 31st, suspecting in the last line that the letter was a practical joke, but milking the story for all it was worth, as did Bild a day later. Thanks to BILDblog for the true story (in German). BILDblog shows the first-page headline in Bild, which of course gives no suggestion that the letter was a hoax.
Ananova also places Sankt Blasien, which is near the Feldberg in the Black Forest, near Bonn, which isn’t. This seems to be because Haribo is in Bonn.
Won\’t somebody think of the children!? Ananova reports that a catholic college has complained about the new wrapper design for Haribo\’s Moaom fruit chews – the fruit on the wrapper seems to be copulating. If you have a dirty mind.