I am a Jelly Doughnut
According to an American urban legend, Kennedy made a slightly embarrassing grammatical error by saying "Ich bin ein Berliner," referring to himself not as a citizen of Berlin, but as a common pastry:
Kennedy should have said "Ich bin Berliner" to mean "I am a person from Berlin." By adding the indefinite article ein, his statement implied he was a non-human Berliner, thus "I am a jelly doughnut".
The legend stems from a play on words with Berliner, the name of a doughnut variant filled with jam or plum sauce that is thought to have originated in Berlin, although it is not known under that name in Berlin or nearby parts of Germany, where it is called Pfannkuchen (pancake).
In fact, the statement is grammatically correct and cannot be misunderstood in that context. The urban legend is not widely known in Germany, where Kennedy's speech is considered a landmark in the country's postwar history. The indefinite article is omitted generally when speaking of an individual's profession or residence (ex: "Er ist Soldat" for "He is a soldier") but including it is merely redundant, not ambiguous.
The origins of the legend are obscure. One prominent instance of its re-telling was in 1988 when William J. Miller erroneously wrote in an April 30 New York Times article:
What they did not know, but could easily have found out, was that such citizens never refer to themselves as "Berliners." They reserve that term for a favorite confection often munched at breakfast. So, while they understood and appreciated the sentiments behind the President's impassioned declaration, the residents tittered among themselves when he exclaimed, literally, "I am a jelly-filled doughnut."
Although it has no basis in fact, the legend has since been repeated by reputable media, such as the BBC [2], The Guardian [3], a Political Bloopers segment on MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann [4], and in several books about Germany written by English-speaking authors.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ich_bin_ein_Berliner
Kennedy should have said "Ich bin Berliner" to mean "I am a person from Berlin." By adding the indefinite article ein, his statement implied he was a non-human Berliner, thus "I am a jelly doughnut".
The legend stems from a play on words with Berliner, the name of a doughnut variant filled with jam or plum sauce that is thought to have originated in Berlin, although it is not known under that name in Berlin or nearby parts of Germany, where it is called Pfannkuchen (pancake).
In fact, the statement is grammatically correct and cannot be misunderstood in that context. The urban legend is not widely known in Germany, where Kennedy's speech is considered a landmark in the country's postwar history. The indefinite article is omitted generally when speaking of an individual's profession or residence (ex: "Er ist Soldat" for "He is a soldier") but including it is merely redundant, not ambiguous.
The origins of the legend are obscure. One prominent instance of its re-telling was in 1988 when William J. Miller erroneously wrote in an April 30 New York Times article:
What they did not know, but could easily have found out, was that such citizens never refer to themselves as "Berliners." They reserve that term for a favorite confection often munched at breakfast. So, while they understood and appreciated the sentiments behind the President's impassioned declaration, the residents tittered among themselves when he exclaimed, literally, "I am a jelly-filled doughnut."
Although it has no basis in fact, the legend has since been repeated by reputable media, such as the BBC [2], The Guardian [3], a Political Bloopers segment on MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann [4], and in several books about Germany written by English-speaking authors.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ich_bin_ein_Berliner
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Jelly doughnuts are just an illusion....... 0 -
I prefer Bavarian cream filled, or custard filled. 0 -
Chocolate long johns with NO filling. [:p] Also, old fashion double chocolate. [:p] 0 -
Chocolate longjohn, custard filled. MMMMMMMMM 0 -
Personally, I prefer buns [:p] 
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I've always found that women "love" cream filled long johns....[:0][:D] 0 -
so this penguin goes to have his car repaired and the mechanic tells him it will be about an hour. The penguin loves ice cream ( all penguins do) anyway he goes over to the market and gets some ice cream. When he comes back to get his car the mechanic says well it looks like you blew a seal, the penguin says oh no thats just Ice cream! 0 -
quote:Originally posted by Spider7115
Personally, I prefer buns [:p]
AS DO I[:p][:p][:p]0 -
Don't know about John but he Senior Senator from Massachusetts is certainly a jelly donut. 0 -
my iddish instructor in High School tought that JFK said "I am a jelly doughnut"...
who to believe? Herr Halverson or Time?
"A Stale Doughnut Myth" See Time Magazine February, 19th 2007 p.9.:- "Only in western Germany is a jelly doughnut called a Berliner. Here in Berlin a jelly doughnut is a Pfannkuchen. www.time.com0 -
I thought they were called "Bismarks", not "Berlins". 0 -
As a kid I worked in a bakery. One of my jobs was pumping the current jelly into the rolls. Bakery was run by an old German couple and they called the confection "Bismarks." 0 -
Well, there is also a sausage called a Berliner......
In any case, Ich bin Berliner is correct. But I doubt he was ever misunderstood, so much as it could be technically said that he had said that he was a pastery. It is like if John Kerry said, "I am a Bostonian" do we think that he is from Boston, or do we think that he is a type of shoe with a rather nice heel? (Hmm, well he IS a heel.... [:D])0 -
If the Germans were not confused this myth of donuts is idiocy. 0 -
I think technically Kennedy should be refered to as a Boston Creamed Pie...Pie being an old Indian word for HEAD. 0 -
This is an old Eddie Izzard bit. 0 -
I am the walrus. 0 -
He sure was a jelly donut in Dallas... 0 -
quote:Originally posted by hicap47
Jelly doughnuts are just an illusion.......
a sinful illusion0 -
quote:Originally posted by mrseatle
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ich_bin_ein_Berliner
Also, Wikipedia is a terrible source to quote. According to this sight; Stephen Colbert is responsible for getting elephants off the endangered species list over the last ten years.0
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