EC regulation on the import of caramel candies

The fictitious, allegedly 25,911 or 26,911 words comprehensive EC regulation on the import of caramel candies comes from a quote from the entrepreneur Alwin Münchmeyer from 1974, later adopted by Franz Josef Strauss , and was reissued by Bodo H. Hauser and Ulrich Kienzle .

Alwin Münchmeyer, then President of the Association of German Banks , is quoted in SPIEGEL 29/1974 as saying:

“ The Lord's Prayer has 56 words, the Ten Commandments have 297 and the American Declaration of Independence 300. But a regulation of the EEC Commission on the import of caramels and caramel products extends over 26,911 words. "

The Bavarian CSU politician Thomas Goppel is quoted as saying:

“ They made a caramel ordinance that has 25,911 words. You have already sucked the caramel 3000 times before you read the regulation. "

Goppel takes over the number 25,911 from a quote by Franz Josef Strauss from 1986, with which he wanted to denounce the bureaucracy of the EC:

“ The Ten Commandments contain 279 words, the American Declaration of Independence 300, the regulation of the European Community on the import of caramel candies but exactly 25,911! "

In these quotes, however, only the number of words in the Ten Commandments is reasonably correct (110 words including 30 words for the headings). The American Declaration of Independence is actually (without signatures) over 1,300 words.

The H. Bodo Hauser and Ulrich Kienzle together with Stephan Reichenberger to broadcast head- authored book, "Any questions, Kienzle? Yes, Hauser! ”Published the quote as an ironic remark about a particularly extensive but superfluous law. According to Hauser's research, there were actually considerations of such a regulation in the early 1970s , but it has not yet been implemented. According to the concept of product regulation pursued at European level since 1985 , such an EU regulation will not be issued either.

Since then, the comparison has been taken up again and again by the German media as alleged evidence of rampant EU bureaucracy. B. in Süddeutscher Zeitung , Spiegel Online and Financial Times Deutschland , as well as by authors like Peter Hahne .

Modifications

A modified sentence is circulating in collections of quotations and on the Internet, which is attributed to the CSU politician Erwin Huber :

“ The Pythagorean theorem comprises 24 words, Archimedes' Principle 67, the Ten Commandments 179, the American Declaration of Independence 300 - and only Paragraph 19a of the German Income Tax Act 1862 words. "

In contrast to the statement about the alleged caramel ordinance, Section 19a of the Income Tax Act (transfer of asset shares to employees) actually existed, but has now been abolished. The other statements can be criticized as above: the two mathematical theorems can be put into text in different ways, there are also different versions and translations from Hebrew for the ten commandments, and the American Declaration of Independence is significantly longer.

literature

• Bodo H. Hauser, Ulrich Kienzle, Stephan Reichenberger: Any questions, Kienzle? Yes, houses! Hoffmann and Campe, Hamburg 1995 (various other editions), ISBN 3-455-11075-4 .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ quote . In: Der Spiegel . No. 29 , 1974 ( online ).
2. ↑ Build up in front, tear in back . In: Der Spiegel . No. 21 , 1986, pp. 83-91 ( online ).
3. ↑ http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration_transcript.html
4. ↑ Entry at www.bildblog.de from December 18, 2012 about the distribution of the caramel candy import regulation hoax in German media. Accessed on December 18, 2012.
5. ↑ Peter Hahne: Put an end to your eternal sham packs! We won't be fooled . Lübbe, Cologne 2018, ISBN 978-3-7325-5579-6 , p. 84 .
6. ↑ Sonja Sammüller; Andreas Ehrlich: Black humor . Edition XXL, Fränkisch-Crumbach 2012, ISBN 3-89736-917-6 , p. 112.
7. ↑ Zitate24.de about Erwin Huber ( Memento of the original from January 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved January 4, 2013. 
8. ↑ Sonja Sammüller; Andreas Ehrlich: Black humor . Edition XXL, Fränkisch-Crumbach 2012, ISBN 3-89736-917-6 , p. 112.
9. ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from March 20, 2005 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
10. ↑ See Income Tax Act .