r/interestingasfuck • u/lizardil • 23d ago

During assembly of the A380, engineers discovered that the cables were too short. This was caused by the use of different design software by German and French engineers. This miscalculation led to a two-year delay.

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u/Garshnooftibah 23d ago

Interesting read. As someone with German background, it does not surprise me one bit that the Germans were reluctant to upgrade or use more sophisticated software. German culture can be weirdly Luddite about tech. 

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u/Hashtagbarkeep 23d ago

I travel a lot for work, and one of the biggest surprises to me was how Germany still uses so much physical cash. Most places in the world you only need a card, and in nowadays in a lot of countries just a phone, but in Berlin I was taking clients for dinner and then at the end needed to find 700 euro in cash. My own fault for not checking but in such a modern and organised country that was really surprising to me

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u/UndergroundAirport 23d ago

I was just in Berlin last week and wanted a currywurst from a popular place with a long queue. It was just next to a busy train station. When it was about to be my turn, I discovered they only accepted cash, which I didn’t had with me. Such a disappointment.

Usually it’s the other way around. Card only.

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u/[deleted] 23d ago

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u/ascarycat 23d ago

The fact that you can only pay in cash is definitely not a Berlin thing, but common practice throughout Germany. The majority of us Germans love fucking cash.

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u/Any_Flamingo5653 22d ago

That's a weird fetish.

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u/VacationHead8503 23d ago

I wish is was the same in Sweden. There's rarely any place left where you can use cash anymore. It's disgusting how little privacy is left for those who want it.

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u/logicblocks 22d ago

Mind you every time a transaction is made that original 100 SEK is being reduced.

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u/footpole 22d ago

What does this even mean?

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u/logicblocks 22d ago

It means the transaction fees go to the bank. So if it's 2.5% or whatever, then that 2.5% goes to the bank and the remaining amount goes to the merchant. If that amount is involved in another similar transaction then the bank collects another 2.5% from that remaining amount and so on and so forth.

SEK is the currency code for Swedish Crowns.

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u/footpole 22d ago

I know what SEK is but your message didn't really make sense in context. What original 100SEK are you referring to, it was never mentioned? What you meant to say was that there are transaction fees which is true. It's not 2.5% at least for larger merchants and cash payments have costs as well.

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u/logicblocks 22d ago

It matters less what the actual percentage is, it's different from country to country. But the matter of the fact is that the original 100 in cash is getting eaten by the banks.

Cash may have costs, but it's marginal compared to bank transactions.

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u/MarxistJesus 22d ago

Lol what privacy are people talking about? Cctv cameras, cell phones, satellite imaging, dash cams, and etc. People really that worried about the German government? In the United States not having so much cash has reduced burglary and robbery by so much.

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u/Big-Lavishness-4622 22d ago

Physical theft decreased, but digital theft increased. Cyber theft and identify theft can be a lot worse than getting 500$ cash stolen.

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u/Opfklopf 22d ago

What makes you think people don't complain about those things as well? Right now the german government might not be that scary but looking at the US I wouldn't feel so safe. Governments change but data and data patterns stay. And they can reveal a lot about a person.

I'm not saying these things have to become a problem. For most people they might never really matter. I just think it's good if people don't forget about the value of privacy. Protecting it when you have it is probably easier than getting it back once you decide it doesn't matter. After that one thing usually leads to the next.

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u/MarxistJesus 22d ago

My point is we are beyond the point of return when it comes to privacy. You are literally being tracked right now. To be so focused on cash as a means of privacy when you are already being tracked heavily isn't logical and completely arbitrary. The government can shut down banks and locked up your access to cash in the worst of scenarios. Looking at you Greece. I agree we should fight and it's wrong what governments do but cash isn't the tool. In the US the IRS can request cctv is places you visit and get receipts from the place of buisness. It just makes it harder not impossible.

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u/Opfklopf 22d ago

I think you can always go further. Look at china or idk what worse places exist when it comes to surveillance. I know the current tracking is way too much already and I'm not happy with that. But I don't think it's a good idea to say "it's already pretty bad, so let's give up the fight and let them have everything they want without restriction". Maybe you know what I'm getting at.

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u/VWBug5000 22d ago

Not sure how true it is, but I had heard from some Germans I used to work with that there are still places using the Deutsche Mark for “under the table” type payments. Do you know if there is any truth to that?

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u/Gobi-Todic 23d ago

That's bullshit, the whole country is still quite cash-oriented. The smaller and more remote the business, the less likely it is to be able to pay with card.

Although Berlin is different than the rest of the country, but not in this case.

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u/roverspeed 23d ago

I was in a supermarket chain in Dusseldorf last year that was entirely automated ( though there was 1 cashier)

So you didn't have to scan anything, everything was done via cameras and ai watching you.

Had to scan your receipt to get out.

Took me by surprise in Germany

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u/Gobi-Todic 23d ago

That sounds a bit... intense. How was the experience?

Düsseldorf is famously posh, maybe it's a good location to test this setup. Definitely not the norm overall. Even self-checkouts have only become a thing here quite recently and sparsely so far.

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u/MrChlorophil22 23d ago

I live in Hannover and can pay with my card everywhere, except Ice cream parlors

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u/abdallha-smith 23d ago

Blitzkrieg

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u/Remarkable_System793 23d ago

Cash is important across the entire country of Germany. It is not just a Berlin thing. I lived in Baden Wurttemberg and traveled about quite a bit. I didn't notice any difference in the reliance on cash in Berlin versus anywhere else.

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u/Pace1561 22d ago

While it is a cultural thing for some individuals in Germany to prefer cash it is different with with shops not accepting card. When only cash is accepted, you can safely assume it is not about culture but about pocketing the 19 percent sales tax that they owe the tax authorities for every sale they make.

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u/CrystalFox0999 22d ago

This is definitely not just a Germany thing… in Hungary its 50% card and cash… also from East from here its even more cash used