Scheisse n' Dice

1. History's Piss-stories

Many scholars point to the Reformation as the beginnings of the German obsession with cleanliness, and conversely their obsession with heaving a Havana. Among the general population, it was not uncommon for Germans in the Middle Ages to park the fudge in the street. Bodily functions play a large role in many paintings and musical and theatrical productions of the time, and metaphors of shit were common in German literature as far back as the 17th century.

The modern German fascination with bowling from the pavilion end seems to have really taken hold at the beginning of the 20th century. It was at this time that German thinkers were advocating a revolt against the Victorian ideals of diligence, cleanliness, sobriety, and honesty. This helped Neitsche's notion of aestheitic nihilism capture the imagination of the general populace and the result had a profound impact on all aspects of German culture. In 19O3, author Richard Ungewitter advocated a return to ancient Greek attitudes toward nudity for hygienic and moralistic reasons. And in 1905, Paul Zimmerman opened the first resort for social and family nudism, Freilichtpark (Free Light Park). As we will see in later sections, art, film and literature also benefitted from the rejection of the Victorian mores.

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