There are grocery stores, and then there’s Aldi. In the decades since WWII, this discounter chain has not only won over the wallets of its customers but also their hearts. Faithful Aldi customers from all walks of life wouldn’t dream of shopping anywhere else. But behind the well-oiled Aldi machine, there is also plenty of intrigue in this family-owned empire.

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Brenda Arnold

Imagine bending over to tie your shoe. Now imagine that this simple act would earn you millions of dollars. Yet this is just what Pelé did. The shoe: a Puma.

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Brenda Arnold

Eyeglasses and watches used to be mundane utilitarian accessories until designers were invited to the table. The ordinary sock has now joined in on the game and is no longer a simple stocking, but a formidable fashion statement. And, as it turns out, an opportunity to have a little fun with a perfect stranger.

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Brenda Arnold

When is a snack a meal? It depends on what country you’re in, as Germans discover when they go to America to find potato chips on their dinner plate. Europeans brought foods with them across the Atlantic but many of them were transformed into something new. 

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Brenda Arnold

Germans are usually so logical, it’s hard to believe how that can make misjudge distances so badly when they visit the U.S. But to be honest, it’s kind of gratifying.

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Brenda Arnold

I first published this two years ago. COVID seems like a distant memory but reading this brings it all back.

Just as I was getting used to not being a mother, my COVID-harassed daughters came home - left - and came home - repeatedly. Now I'm trying to remember, what was it again that I always did for Easter?

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Brenda Arnold

I thought cowboy boots would help me develop my rodeo skills. An evening at the Grizzly Rose bar in Denver was enough to teach me otherwise.

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Brenda Arnold

Language class is where you learn to speak a language, but just memorizing vocabulary and practicing dictations won’t do the trick. I found a surprising way to get our exchange student to talk.

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Brenda Arnold

The German language is very precise and detailed, sometimes to the extent that it goes well beyond being descriptive and descends into hilarity. Let’s take a closer look at some of the most outrageous examples.

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Brenda Arnold

On just a 10-minute walk through Munich, I passed by the places that witnessed three pivotal moments in the city’s history: the scene of the murder of the president of Bavaria’s first parliament just after the end of WWI, the site where the anti-Nazi White Rose movement came to an end, and finally, the site of Bavaria’s first parliament, which was obliterated in WWII.  

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Brenda Arnold