"House burping is what America's content creators have christened the German practice of Luften, or airing out their homes by opening windows, presumably because it's a bit like burping a baby. TikTok is full of them enthusiastically describing it as a mom hack, or explaining it's supposed to keep sickness away. Does this Luften keep sickness away, then? It's supposed to shift stale air, ensure adequate ventilation and prevent mould buildup, all of which are good for people and places."
"The idea that it's a health essential got even more popular during the pandemic, when Chancellor Merkel said Luften could be one of the cheapest and most effective ways to prevent the spread of Covid. And what do the Germans think of Luften going viral Stateside? Mostly they seem to be mocking these TikToks with their own amused reaction videos and comments like America discovers fresh air. God help me and Luften is a TIKTOKTREND?!"
"Actually, Luften isn't uncontroversial, even in Germany. Paradoxically, Germans are also reputed to be extremely averse to draughts. There's a well-known retort to people who insist on airing when it's Baltic: Erfroren sind schon viele, erstunken ist noch keiner. Meaning? Many people have frozen to death, but no one has ever died from a bad smell."
Luften is the German practice of airing out homes by opening windows to shift stale air, ensure adequate ventilation and prevent mould buildup. The practice is sometimes mandatory in German leases and gained renewed attention during the pandemic after endorsement as a cheap, effective way to reduce viral spread. Luften became a viral TikTok trend in the United States, framed by creators as a mom hack and nicknamed 'house burping.' German reaction mixes amusement and mockery alongside cultural ambivalence about draughts, and researchers raised potential objections about other impacts in 2021.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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