polish jokes vs. facts

Polish people and emigration and truth

Polish emigrtion

Polish people left their country for many reasons. Some of them thought that e.g. in the USA they could earn more money and they could live on higher level. They were also persecuted for their religion or political views. Some of them were forced to leave their homeland. Many of them were undereducated farmers or unskilled workers…

They went there to find a better life, but instead most of them were jobless with no money to survive. Their dreams about the country of their dreams disappeared. The hunger and the misery were the major problems for Polish immigrants. They had to steal or beg for money to buy themselves something to eat.

The winters in the North of USA are really hard. The temperature is a lot below 0^oC so they drank alcohol to keep warm in their bodies. Of course the winter clothes were too expensive for them.

That is why there are so many negative stereotypes connected with Poles or Polacks as they are sometimes called by those who do not like them. They are thought to be stupid, thieves and alcoholics.

Therefore there are many bad jokes - Polish jokes - that came into existence especially in America. Here are some of them

Two sharks met in the Pacific Ocean.
One of them was half drunk and said: ‘Today I ate a Pole…”
The other one said: ‘This is impossible, let me smell your breath.”

When a Russian wants to buy a car in Germany, he has to buy two of them, because he has to return to his country through Poland.

Have you seen the Polish mine detector?		Put you fingers in your ears and start stamping the ground with your foot.
Why wasn't Christ born in Poland?		Because they couldn't find three wise men and a virgin.
How do you get a one-armed Polack out of a tree?		Wave to him.
How did the Germans conquer Poland so fast?		They marched in backwards and the Polish thought they were leaving.
How do you stop a Polish army on horseback?		Turn off the carousel.
Did you hear about the latest Polish invention?		It's a solar-powered flashlight.
How many Polacks does it take to change a light bulb?		100001. One to hold the bulb and the other 100000 to spin the house.
What do you do if a Polack throws a pin at you?		Run like hell - he's still got a hand-grenade between his teeth.
Did you hear about the Polish Admiral who wanted to be buried at sea when he died?		Yeah, five sailors died digging his grave.

Funny, isn’t it??? Although we do not take it very personal, we would like you to know something less funny but a lot more true.

Nicolas
Copernicus

Nicolas Copernicus (1473- 1543)

Nicolas Copernicus was born in Poland. He was a famous astronomer, mathematician, economists and medical doctor. The Academy of Kraków was not the only place he has graduated from. In 1496 he went to law and astronomical studies in Bologna (Italy). In 1501 Nicolas started to learn medicine. He was visited many places in the world. But it was not this that made him so famous and respected all over the world.

Nicolas Copernicus was the first person to discover that the Earth is a globe and it is turning around the Sun. In his times, the theory about that was totally different. People have thought that the Sun is turning around the Earth, which they thought was the flat center of the universe. But Copernicus was right and no one wanted to believe him. Nicolas Copernicus is one of world famous Polish scientists. Thanks to him we know that the Earth is a globe and that it is turning around the Sun. It is good to have this kind of person in our nation.

Alexander Wolszczan


Alexander Wolszczan		neutron star		pulsar vela

Alexander Wolszczan was born in 1946. He is an excellent Polish astronomer and astrophysicist. Wolszczan graduated from Nicolas Copernicus University in Toruń in 1969. Throughout his career he cooperated with Polish and American research centers. Since 1992 he conducted lectures and research at Pennsylvania State University.

Wolszczan is one of the foremost researchers of pulsars. His greatest achievement was discovering first extraterrestrial planetary system (comprising at least three planets) orbiting pulsar PSR B1257+12' in the constellation of Virgo. That was undoubtedly one of the most important astronomical discoveries in the last ten years. It is said to be “the greatest discovery Polish astronomers made since Copernicus” and that probably is so. Wolszczan’s success began a worldwide run for discovering other extraterrestrial planetary systems.

Prof. Wolszczan has won numerous awards such as Foundation for Polish Science award in 1992 and many more.

Authors: Karolina Barczuk 3a, Michał Wicha 1a, Łukasz Pomierny 3a

Polish people and emigration and truth

Funny, isn’t it??? Although we do not take it very personal, we would like you to know something less funny but a lot more true.

Send mail to lon40@op.pl with questions or comments about this web site. Last modified: 04.21.2003

Send mail to lon40@op.pl with questions or comments about this web site.
Last modified: 04.21.2003