In reply to " The show never mocked the abuse of prisoners - indeed, never dealt with it at all " :
At least technically, "the cooler" that Col. Klink ( often ) sent POWs into was a punishment cell, a purposefully very uncomfortable solitary confinement cell. As the name "the cooler" suggests, besides maybe the old American expression "cooling your heels" is that during very cold German winters, a few continuous days and nights without heat is indeed akin to torture. It was probably like an old Southern prison work farm's hot box "gets a night in the box" from Cool Hand Luke during Summer months. Fortunately, Hogan did have a tunnel to "the cooler" which likely saved some frostbite and deaths.
Was the film Stalag 17 overlooked by everybody involved with Hogan's Heros, including the author of this article? Except, I suppose the Gestapo officer, who says that all the other German characters had to be Nazis ( not every member of the German military were Nazi party members ) ? If not literally members of the Nazi party, at least disillusioned Nazis, especially towards the end of the war. In that line of thought, it makes more sense than a German colonel ( a very difficult rank to attain ) and a veteran German sergeant are actual idiots, but are instead sympathetic to the Allied cause or at least anti-war. At any rate, I always thought that Hogan was a smirking, unfunny jerk and LeBeau was annoying. Does that make me a TV-Nazi sympathiser?
Kinda funny how people are looking ( staring ) at the radio as if it was a television. I wonder how many times some one said to get out of the way, like when some one blocks your view of the TV. I can imagine my Dad, who regularly said not to sit so close to the TV because it will damage my eyes ( yes, this was years and years ago ) telling me not to sit so close to the radio for some similar reason.
I love Led Zeppelin, but very much dislike Stairway To Heaven, except maybe for the guitar solo. Too much of those Plant hippy dippy lyrics, which I would all sing along with a " there's a boat on a lake, and the elves want to dance, but the fairies are lonesome " or whatever goofy words came to mind until being screamed at to shut up by my Zep fan friends. Now Four Sticks, THAT'S a quintessential Led Zeppelin song!
In Italy, olive oil tastings are somewhat common, like wine tastings. Americans just about always choose spoiled ( rancid ) olive oil over fresh ( premium ) olive oil, because it's what we are used to tasting in America.
Leave It To Beaver - classic American family TV show during the Cold War. The Beaver and Wally's father's office job is never actually explained. Why? It's a cover for working in the C.I.A. The show mentioned that Ward was a Seabee in WWII, and he uses that knowledge of construction in analyzing - like missile sites in Cuba being built etc. and for effective sabotage. You have to watch a lot of the shows with that in mind to see this truth. P.S. He tolerates his kid's mischievous antics and Eddie Haskell's two faced behaviour because that is basically what spies do for a living, and he's grooming new recruits to the Agency.
Not an unknown item on that list, unless one knows zero about about Apollo 11, which I guess is likely considering today;s education system. An this "fact" from the story "...and the ship’s computer’s ROM chips were handmade by teams of “little old ladies.” Excuseme,but the ROM chip wasn't invented until like a decade after Apollo 11 ( right? ) and they are made by precision machines that can layer materials into the equivelent of micro-circuits, not something that is hand made by anyone. Although Space suits are hand sewn by usually middle aged seamtresses. THIS is the expert magazine that debunked the 911 "conspiracy theories" ? Maybe they should have gotten Chertoff's cousin to write this story too. Then I fall for the "fact" that ROM chips, made by old ladies, were used in Apollo 11 :D
Betty Crocker has always looked more like a lady running for mayor or Gongress than a home keeper. The Aunt Jemima character has much more credibility. I would think a Betty Crocker that looks more like the average woman ( a little heavier, and not in business clothes )would be the way to go, but I guess it wasn't product tested with male shoppers.
As to "typical Soviet food" : Mig-25 pilot Victor Belenko defected to the West and was resettled in the USA. On his first grocery shopping trip, he thought the market was a fake store made by the CIA - Soviet markets had such VERY little selection. Later, recognizing the English wood "food" he accidentally bought canned cat food and served it with crackers. He enjoyed it, and thought it was much better than canned Soviet food. If those two points from an elite, more privileged, jet pilot are any indication, I'd skip the food portion of the tour.
At least technically, "the cooler" that Col. Klink ( often ) sent POWs into was a punishment cell, a purposefully very uncomfortable solitary confinement cell. As the name "the cooler" suggests, besides maybe the old American expression "cooling your heels" is that during very cold German winters, a few continuous days and nights without heat is indeed akin to torture. It was probably like an old Southern prison work farm's hot box "gets a night in the box" from Cool Hand Luke during Summer months. Fortunately, Hogan did have a tunnel to "the cooler" which likely saved some frostbite and deaths.
An this "fact" from the story "...and the ship’s computer’s ROM chips were handmade by teams of “little old ladies.” Excuseme,but the ROM chip wasn't invented until like a decade after Apollo 11 ( right? ) and they are made by precision machines that can layer materials into the equivelent of micro-circuits, not something that is hand made by anyone. Although Space suits are hand sewn by usually middle aged seamtresses.
THIS is the expert magazine that debunked the 911 "conspiracy theories" ? Maybe they should have gotten Chertoff's cousin to write this story too. Then I fall for the "fact" that ROM chips, made by old ladies, were used in Apollo 11 :D