German folklore, scientists and entrepreneurs are responsible for innovative inventions, discoveries and beloved traditions such as the Easter Bunny or Easter Hare; the color Prussian blue; and the adorable endangered Humboldt penguins of South America.
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1. Easter Bunny - Beloved Symbol of Spring
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Originally a Hare, the Easter Bunny is popular among German Lutherans in the 17th century, and comes to be celebrated through much of the known world. Like St Nicholas and his companions, the Easter Hare is both kind and stern.
The Hare brings eggs, candy and toys to good little children and threatens the naughty with punishment, such as a whipping. The Easter Hare presides over the season of Eastertide or Paschaltide to celebrate the coming of spring.
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Other symbols associated with Easter include the lamb and newborn chick. The association of Hare with eggs goes back to ancient times. Unlike rabbits, who occupy burrows, the Hare makes a shallow nest in the grass of a meadow or vale.
Greylag Geese are known to lay eggs in abandoned Hare nests. The custom of a rabbit or hare first appears in Georg Franck von Franckenau's De ovis paschalibus ('About Easter eggs') in 1682. It refers to a German tradition of an Easter Hare bringing eggs for children.
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In Christian religion the hare relates to the Virgin Mary. At one time hares are thought to be hermaphrodites, giving virgin birth.
Spiritually the Hare relates to mystery, crossing dimensions, mental or physical agility. Hares can also correspond to madness, "mad as a March Hare" as per their boisterous behavior in spring.
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The egg is associated with the fast of Lent; symbolic resurrection through the egg of the Phoenix; and is also a widespread fertility symbol. Eggs represent wholeness and beginnings.
In pagan celebrations, Ostara falls on the Spring Equinox, usually between March 19 and 23. The tradition of the German goddess Eostre predates origins of Christian Easter. The sun inspires hope and happiness. Today, the Easter Bunny is a beloved symbol of spring.
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2. Prussian blue - delight of artists & poisoners
A vivid example of chemical reaction, Prussian blue is a vibrant hue first created in 1706 by Swiss German scientist Johann Jacob Diesbach (1670 - 1748) in Berlin. It's also called Berlin Blue, Brandenburg Blue, Parisian, Iron and Midnight Blue.
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Prussian blue is an accident of chemistry. A pigment and dye maker, Diesbach wants to make a red pigment known as red madder. For this he needs potash, also called potassium hydroxide or lye. A caustic chemical, potassium hydroxide can cause severe burning or ulcers on contact.
Evidence of lye used in soapmaking dates to c. 2800 BCE. It's used today as an electrolyte in alkaline batteries and in electroplating, lithography, and paint and varnish removers.
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He obtains potash from the alchemist Johann Konrad Dippel (1673 - 1734). Dippel achieves some fame in Germany for his animal oil. He's also known as one of the past residents of Castle Frankenstein in Odenwald.
Claiming his oil is the Elixir of Life, at one point he tries to trade the recipe for the castle. The resident owners of the castle do not jump at the opportunity.
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Created in the eighteenth century, Prussian blue is the first modern synthetic color. Used in paints, blueprints and 19th-century aizuri-e (Japanese woodblock prints), Prussian Blue is also considered a medicine.
Like most toxic medicines, a little can heal and a little too much will kill. Prussian Blue can be given orally as an antidote to heavy metal poisoning.
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From Prussian Blue comes prussic acid, or hydrogen cyanide. In German, hydrogen cyanide is known as Blausäure or blue acid. French chemist Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac names it cyanide after the blue color cyan.
3. Humboldt Penguin - Alexander von Humboldt
Humboldt Penguins are favorites in zoos and in the wild. Cute and curious, these little penguins live in undiscovered bliss until German polymath and explorer Alexander von Humboldt stumbles across them on his travels. In 1834, scientist Franz Meyer named the Humboldt penguin.
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Humboldt Penguins inhabit the coast of Peru in South America, and may be found occasionally in Ecuador and Colombia. Their range may overlap that of the Magellanic Penguin in Chile. Humboldts are listed as vulnerable by the IUCN.
These agile sea birds live only on the Pacific Coast, and swim in the cold water current bearing Humboldt's name. Males are larger than females, with a longer bill, and weigh around ten pounds (4.5 kg).
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In Peru the Humboldt penguin is called pajaro-niño, (baby bird), for its waddling walk and flightless wings out like arms. Humboldts have an array of vocalizations such as territorial yells, courtship brays or soft throbbing calls of adults, and peeps from chicks wanting food.
During courtship, Humboldt penguins bow heads to each other and exchange glances with each eye, alternatively. They extend heads vertically, collapse their chests, flap their wings and bray. The pair stand side by side and repeat the display.
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Humboldts like to dine on crustaceans and schooling fish. Diet may vary depending on location and time of year. They are opportunistic foragers, and hunt by sight. Humboldts have spiny tongues to hold down prey.
In 1977, the Peruvian government gives legal protection to Humboldt penguins. Peru and Chile have implemented protection under national law. Most penguins breed in protected areas.
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Peruvian legislation recognizes the species as endangered and prohibits hunting, possession, capture, transport or export of the Humboldt penguin for commercial purposes. Lately, the bird is a focus of eco-tourism.
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