Maybe this has been dealt with somewhere in another thread, but can any Germans around here vouch for the authenticity of the plot point about how Germans hold their fingers up to order three of something? It works fine in the movie, so I’m just wondering if QT really found that somewhere, or if he simply invented it to have a creative way to make the scene work.
I love how Quentin plays with culture in general, pop culture and in this case: cultural differences.
Yes, it’s true: No German or Austrian would ever order 3 beers the way that Fassbender did in the movie. It’s a great idea from Tarantino, and a great scene
Absolutely! When I read it, I was like, “OMG that’s brilliant!”, and it really is so perfect.
Ever since I’ve seen that in the movie I’ve wondered how Germans count. the American/British way is: index for one, index + middle for two, index/middle/ring for three, index/middle/ring/pinky for four and of course all digits for 5. How do Germans do it? My granddad is part German and I think he does it that way. I never really thought about the way he did it until seeing this movie. I thought it was because he might have arthritis in his pinky and ring finger or something.
They start one with their thumb. If you order one beer and hold up your index finger, they could bring you two.
for two, I could also use index and middle finger. or for one, i could just hold up my index finger. either way, yes, for three beers, I’d use thumb, index and middle finger, and NEVER start at the other end of my hand…
When my dad was stationed in Germany, he said you had to order beers starting with the thumb. I think the town he was in really wanted the Americans to conform, because if you ordered one beer, and held up your index finger, they would bring you two, and you’d have to pay for them. Of course, they could have just been taking advantage of the American ignorance, and selling double the beer. :laugh: