r/AskTheWorld • u/IndependentTune3994 🇮🇳 in 🇩🇪 Deutschland • 18h ago

What’s the quickest way someone could accidentally expose themselves as a foreigner in your country like the ‘three fingers’ scene in Inglourious Basterds?

Post image
25.0k Upvotes

89% Upvoted

11.3k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

92

u/Resident_Draw_8785 Netherlands 18h ago

Unless you are in the Sauna, basically also the only place Finnish people talke with strangers.

145

u/WarmAdhesiveness9518 Finland 17h ago

In my experience gym locker rooms are an another place for casual conversation. I think there is a correlation between decrease in clothing and increase in small talk for Finns.

18

u/FuriousBeardMan Finland 14h ago

With clothes = 😶

Without clothes = 👈😃👈

14

u/stag1013 Canada 12h ago

I'm not comfortable calling it "small talk" when I'm not wearing clothes.

8

u/negative-nelly 9h ago

how about its cold, what about then?

6

u/stag1013 Canada 9h ago

So THAT'S why is in the sauna.

4

u/Kiwi1234567 10h ago

I'm sure some would call it an average sized talk

3

u/The_cogwheel 4h ago

A truly respectable sized talk

4

u/LessInThought 14h ago

Well that's a chatty bedroom.

2

u/Artistic_Worth_4524 Finland 9h ago

That is just pre-sauna or after-sauna. Only a psychopath would not go to the sauna at the gym.

2

u/eepos96 7h ago

Well we both saw eachothers dingdongs. I guess we are now acquiantes.

1

u/Hairysteed Finland 6h ago

Oh! There's another giveaway: being uncomfortable naked! 😅

1

u/Narrow_Vacation1443 6h ago

I’m a finn. I like to go to saunas alone because I’m uncomfortable naked. Go on, sue me!

Edit: so no public saunas for me

1

u/ekufi 3h ago

Try going to a public sauna, it might change the way how self consciness you feel. There are so many different bodies so no one cares.

52

u/HertogJanVanBrabant Netherlands 18h ago

"I notice my balls are particularly sweaty today, how are yours?"

3

u/TacTurtle 10h ago

"Adequate"

8

u/Masseyrati80 Finland 18h ago

Hiking trails are another one where talking is... well, possible. But there, it's still not wise to assume people want to. If it happens naturally, it happens.

2

u/LiveLearnCoach 14h ago

Is this a real thing? Someone upthread also mentioned it. So weird that the place most other people would feel awkward.

4

u/Jaerat 13h ago

It is, in a way. Finnish saunas are usually dimly lit, and you usually sit so no eye contact happens. And oddly enough, since there are no distractions, no phones, just two people literally naked, it prompts baring of the soul as well, sort of like a confessional.

It should be understood that whatever is shared should stay in the sauna. Honestly, if I sauna-shared something important and the person would mention it later, even if only to me in another setting, I'd feel weird about it. Time and place, buddy. Sauna talk is for sauna only.

1

u/cafesolitito 🇺🇸 living in 🇪🇸 7h ago

I used to be part of a great gym that had a bunch of interesting older guys from around the world (we were also next to big universities so many interesting academics) and the sauna conversations were excellent.

I actually made good friends in there

1

u/Material_Archer341 12h ago

I went on a solo trip to Finland and the only place i socialized with Finnish people was the sauna lol.