The phrase “Why is there straw here?” is still floating around the internet. However, not everyone understands the bizarre meaning.
“Why is there straw here?” An idiom and its meaning
The meaning of the saying “Why is there straw here?” is quite banal, like many of the sayings circulating on the Internet. However, in contrast to many old sayings, the origin of the saying is relatively new. The banal statement comes from a sex film that was made in 2002.
- “Eighteen and a half 18” is the title of the porn from which the phrase “Why is there straw here” comes from. Hardly anyone knows the film itself, but at least one viewer has demonstrably seen the work and was so impressed by the sparse, dull dialogue that he spontaneously posted it online. The completely meaningless dialogue then spread on the Internet.
- As the responsible director Nils Molitor told Manuel Möglich in an interview as part of the report series “Wild Germany!” (ZDF Neo) confessed, the dialogue was quickly cobbled together in a makeshift manner. According to Molitor, they had hired an amateur actor who unexpectedly appeared on set with a mask over his head. When asked, the man explained that he didn't want to risk his real-life colleagues recognizing him in the film.
- Molitor, who really wanted the actor for porn, then made a decision. As the director said in the interview, he quickly decided: “If the film is going to be trash, then it should be really bad.” He designed the “exciting” conversation on the spot in order to appropriately embed the mask into the clear plot of the film.
“Why is there straw here?” That's how the saying came about
The saying “Why is there straw here” is just as witty as the plot of the film from which the saying comes:
- A masked electrician is supposed to check an electrical box. For seemingly inexplicable reasons there is straw in the corner of the room. This encourages the masked person to ask “Why is there straw here?”
- His female counterpart then asks the not entirely unjustified counter question: “And why are you wearing a mask?” After this exciting dialogue, the two actors devote themselves entirely to what makes a sex film a sex film.
- The phrase “Why is there straw here” has since become a synonym for a meaningless, stupid and therefore completely unnecessary conversation.
- By the way, do you know why they say “Happy New Year”?