i don't know why but i enjoy reading about specific annoyances that people in other countries have. like how in the UK, coke is very slightly more expensive than other soft drinks due to a sugar levy, meaning that swapping from a sprite to a coke at maccas adds something like £0.18 to the cost.

after weeks of reconnaissance of the arr slash germany subreddit, i have struck gold: i've learned that many german companies and especially government bodies send almost everything via physical mail. people talk about having their neighbours check their mail for them when they go on a one (1) week holiday because so much time sensitive communication is only sent in writing.

deutsche post offers a service where they'll open and scan all your letters and email them to you as PDFs. most companies use a similar service, be it the deutsche post one or a commercial equivalent.

the following is therefore a common occurrence in germany:

• government computer generates a PDF about taxes or whatever
• MailCo prints the PDF and mails it to hans
• a few days pass
• duetsche post opens hans' letter and scans it to a PDF, which is emailed to hans
• hans reads the email and types up a PDF in response
• hans goes to PrintCo, prints the PDF, takes it to the post office, and sends it to the govt
• a few days pass
• MailCo receives the letter and scans it to a PDF, which is then emailed to the tax office

i cannot write a witty statement or even a cheap stereotype joke that would make the described series of events funnier.