\n“I mean that was a great book back in 1865 about Hans Brinker. You can always hang your hat on that. That’s the last big thing that’s happened over there.”<\/p>\n
The book he’s referring to is HANS BRINKER, OR THE SILVER SKATES. It’s a fictional story set in the Netherlands of the 1800s about a boy determined to win the ice skating race and, with it, the coveted silver skates, so he can use the money from them to cure his father and help his starving family.<\/p>\n
Joe Kernen’s right, it is a great book. But if you watch the interview<\/a>, his little jab failed to get a reaction from Anema.<\/p>\n Why? Because the Dutch (generally speaking, that is) don’t know Hans Brinker.<\/p>\n So here’s a little history lesson for Mr. Kernen and anyone else not already in the know:<\/p>\n Hans Brinker Fact #1<\/strong> Hans Brinker Fact #2<\/strong> Hans Brinker Fact #3<\/strong> Hans Brinker Fact #4<\/strong> Hans Brinker Fact #5<\/strong> So the next time you want to diss the Dutch (not that I’d recommend it!), try something other than the ole Hans Brinker jab.<\/p>\n If you’re Dutch and you knew who Hans Brinker was (before reading this, of course), give us a shout in the comments. And, since I know it’s the question everyone really wants to tackle: does Anema have a point or is it just a bad case of “euro envy?”<\/p>\n Last month, Dutch Olympic speed skating coach Jillert Anema made waves in America when he suggested that the country’s poor performance at the Olympics has much more to do with America’s obsession with (American) football over all other sports than it did with their high-tech Under Armor skating suits. After Anema made the remarks in…<\/p>\n
\nHANS BRINKER, OR THE SILVER SKATES: A STORY OF LIFE IN HOLLAND was first published in 1865. In America.<\/p>\n
\nThe book was written by a woman named Mary Mapes Dodge. An American.<\/p>\n
\nDodge’s book is largely responsible for:
\na. introducing the then Dutch sport of speed skating, and
\nb. popularizing the tale of the now world-famous story of the little Dutch boy plugging the dike with his finger<\/p>\n
\nThough the story is set in the Netherlands, Dodge had never actually been there. Not until after the book was published. Her information came from books and stories from her neighbors who were Dutch immigrants.<\/p>\n
\nIn the Netherlands, they have adopted the name Hans Brinker and given it to the heretofore nameless boy who saved Haarlem by sticking his finger in a leaking dike until it could be patched up. There are three statues of the dike plugging Brinker in Madurodam, Spaarndam, and Harlingen.<\/p>\nphoto credit: Jan Willem van Wessel<\/a>, Flickr creative commons<\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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