Every written Abitur exam in Germany is checked by a second teacher as well. The education ministers of the states agreed on it. In Saxony, a ministry notice in force from 2009 to 2015 even fixed the colors. The first marker corrected in red and the second in green. If a third marker had to decide, that teacher used brown. None of them was allowed to write points into the exam paper itself. In Baden-Württemberg, the second marker comes from another school chosen by the school authority. In 2014, a court in Freiburg limited the power of the final marker there. A student’s two marks had been 9 and 8 points, and the final marker gave 4. The court held that the final marker may override the first two only if one of their marks was unlawful. It set the grade at 9.
Three Versions of Fidelio
Beethoven wrote one opera, and he wrote it three times. The first version had its premiere on 20 November 1805, after more than two years of work. A revised version followed on 29 March 1806, and Beethoven withdrew it after the second performance. The third version, now called Fidelio, was first performed on 23 May 1814. The revision took him almost half a year. Along the way he wrote four overtures for the work: Leonore I, II and III, and the Fidelio overture. He wrote to his librettist Treitschke: die oper erwirbt mir die Martirerkrone. The opera is earning me the martyr’s crown.
The Right to a Second Opinion
Since July 2015, a German patient facing a planned operation of certain kinds has a legal right to an independent second medical opinion. The rule is in the Social Code, § 27b. The second opinion may not come from the doctor or the hospital that would perform the operation. The doctor who recommends the operation must tell the patient about this right, as a rule at least ten working days before the operation. In 2017, the first operations named were the removal of tonsils and of the uterus.
Few, but Ripe
Pauca sed matura, few but ripe, was the motto of the mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss. His seal showed a tree loaded with fruit, with the motto around it. Gauss offered nothing to the public until it had received its last finishing touches. In 2005, the Tagesspiegel estimated that he published only about half of his ideas.
Words for Unfinished Work
Murks
Work done improperly, with faults, badly. Duden’s definition.
Pfusch
Work done carelessly and untidily.
Schnellschuss
Quick shot. Something produced at short notice, without longer planning and without thorough preparation.
nachbessern
To improve afterwards. Duden’s example is einen Gesetzentwurf nachbessern, to rework a draft law.
Montagsauto
Monday car. A car that has relatively many defects from the start, as if it had been built on a Monday.
Bananensoftware
Banana software. Software delivered unripe, which ripens at the customer. The idea behind it is called the Bananenprinzip, the banana principle.
First Weigh, Then Dare
Erst wägen, dann wagen. First weigh, then dare. The motto is associated with Field Marshal Helmuth von Moltke the Elder, the Prussian chief of staff. In 1891, the year of his death, a cast-iron wall relief of Moltke was made in the Harz with the words on it. The sources do not say whether Moltke coined the phrase.
The Engineer Who Checks the Engineer
For many large or risky buildings in Germany, a second structural engineer checks the first one’s calculations. In Bavaria, for special buildings with difficult structures, this Prüfingenieur, inspecting engineer, is an especially qualified structural engineer who checks the proofs of stability for correctness and completeness on behalf of the building authority. During construction, the inspecting engineer then checks that the building matches the checked calculations. The profession calls it the four-eyes principle.
Sighted Versions
In May 2008, the German-language Wikipedia switched on gesichtete Versionen, sighted versions. Since then, an edit by a new or unregistered user is not shown to ordinary readers at once. A regular author must first confirm that the new version contains no deliberate vandalism. A second level was planned. An article version could also be marked geprüft, checked, if an expert reviewer judged it free of false statements.
Students Who Studied the Opponent
For about seventeen years, students of the German Sport University Cologne helped prepare the German national football team for its opponents. The Spielanalyse-Team Köln, the game analysis team, began as a pilot project. It supported the coaching staff with systematic computer and video analyses of each opponent. About 1,000 students were trained in the program. The cooperation ended at the turn of the year 2022–23.
Three Readings for Every Bill
No bill becomes law in the Bundestag in a single debate. Under the Bundestag’s rules of procedure, bills are dealt with in three readings. The Bundestag’s research service set this out in 2017. The three readings come from the rules of procedure, not from the Basic Law. The Bundestag can depart from them in a single case only with a two-thirds majority of the members present.