The Ice Man Cometh

Today's Wall Street Journal (Aug 19,2003 pg D1) has an interesting article about an American iceman in Germany. (The article is not available for free online, unfortunately.) The concept of putting ice in drinks to cool them is foreign to foreigners Eurpoeans, so the business has had a bit of a tough time. But the recent heat wave have helped him expand his market.

The ethnographer in me loved the following points:

  • An icecube-making machine had to be imported from the US because they don't make 'em in Europe.
  • Retailers thought all the ice would melt before consumers got it home.
  • The bags had to labeled to say that the ice was editable (made from potable water).
  • The bags had to be labeled to explain that it's normal for the cubes to stick together.

    To Americans, these last points are basic cultural knowledge. A nice example of how behavior and society mesh to disguise learned social norms as "common sense."

    That, and I also enjoyed the article because I can't fathom drinking soda without ice cubes. Barbarians, I say, barbarians!