— K.E., Internet A: Due to the crook in the handles, I think your two spoons with little holes in the bowl are absinthe spoons. Absinthe was a popular drink during the 19th and early 20th century. It was a green liquor that had hallucinogenic properties and often was referred to as the Green Genie. It was poured into the bottom of an absinthe glass, the perforated absinthe spoon was placed on top of the glass with a lump of sugar, cold water was poured over the sugar cube, sweetening the absinthe Read more [...]

"The lawsuit before the court is an act of political self-defense," said Volker Bouffier, the governor of Hessen. Between 1995 and 2007, Bouffier's six-million-strong state was the loser in the game of Germany's federal equalization system. Over that period of time, Hessen's state coffers were depleted by a net sum of 35.4 billion euros ($46.1 billion euros). Bavarian Governor Horst Seehofer agrees. "It can't be that 10 percent of our budget ends up in other states - which then pay for things Read more [...]