Today in 1979, Germany’s federal parliament, the Bundestag, welcomed a new member, one Jakob Mierscheid.
The only catch: Jakob Mierscheid is a fictional person, he’s completely imaginary.
But he’s become a real part of German political culture for almost half a century.
Mierscheid was the invention of two real members of the then-West German Bundestag.
Back in 1979, they were mourning the passing of their colleague, Carlo Schmid.
They decided he deserved an outstanding successor, so, on the back of a menu from the Bundestag’s restaurant, they created one.
Their made-up legislator, Jakob Mierscheid, was a tailor who “represented” a rural part of the country and offered up some wild ideas.
Once he proposed the government provide rent money for big dogs, on condition that they look after young children.
And he suggested the Bundestag shouldn’t have any so-called “backbencher” lawmakers, the low-profile members who sit in the back because they don’t have much power.
Instead, he said, the chamber should eliminate backbenchers… by having everyone sit in the front row.
This non-existent lawmaker makes his pronouncements with help from real politicians, who manage Mierscheid’s social media accounts and occasionally introduce his statements into the Bundestag’s register.
Just a week ago, the vice president of the body announced that the 92 year old Mierscheid had submitted comments on a “Future Workshop for Pigs.”
The fictional character’s real life constituents have gotten in on the joke too.
There’s a men’s choir in his part of the country, and they gave Mierscheid a “golden honor pin” for his long career in public service, as well as his tremendous singing voice.
You might think of him as the Bundestag’s jester; it’s sometimes useful to have a voice that injects a little sarcasm and silliness into the uber-serious world of politics.
The difference is that in Germany, they’ve made the jester part of the establishment.
In fact, there’s a pedestrian bridge connecting government buildings in Berlin that everyone there knows as the Mierscheid Bridge.
It’s the end of an era; the American one cent piece is on its way out.
The US Mint says the last circulating pennies are being auctioned off starting today.
There are 232 sets of three, to represent 232 years of minting pennies.
Does the bidding start at one cent?
A dubious existence (Süddeutsche Zeitung via Archive.org)
Last circulating cents to be sold in Dec. 11 auction (Coin World)
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Photo by A. Delesse (Prométhée), CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikicommons
