Das HB Männchen

At the birthday party of a friend (a special one - for a computer scientist, the 49th, which is 7x7) WiseMan noticed a DVD on the TV set: Das HB-Männchen in seinen besten Spots.

Now the HB-Männchen is a comic figure that most people our age know. He was used to advertise for HB cigarettes. In an everyday situation awful things would happen, and he would explode and jump up high. A voice from the off would say "Now, no need to get all worked up (literally, to go in the air), have a HB cigarette". And he would smoke. In some later ones there was a short sequence showing him solving the situation, after having a smoke.

The DVD is 99 minutes - and they have cut the smoking out of every single short! There are something like 190 shorts on the DVD, including some that were never broadcast.

It is interesting to analyse the spots - Bruno always had modern furniature, he doesn't seem to be married, he has great vacations and lives in different homes all the time. The only spots with him in the kitchen are in black and white - the older ones. This would be an interesting research topic - the picture of Germany reflected in the HB-Männchen comics.