We Asked People To React To Polish Things And They Nailed It

Where we learn beer with syrup has been murdered.

We sent 13 uncaptioned photos that represent Poland to BuzzFeed offices in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, England, and Brazil and asked them to write down the first thing that came to mind. This is what they said:

1. Wawel Dragon of Polish folklore

Kevin Labianco / Creative Commons / Via Flickr: kevinl8888

What is your reaction to this?

Jim (UK): Sheer terror.

Chelsea (NY): Looks like a sweet dragon you used to be able to buy in SkyMall (RIP).

Maritsa (NY): KHALEESI HAS COME TO WESTEROS.

Crystal (LA): This is the most glorious way to start a forest fire.

Samantha (NY): What an epic statue. I'd put that in my backyard! If I had one.

Paul (UK): HOLY BALLS DO YOUR STATUES ACTUALLY BREATHE FIRE?

Ben (NY): Is this at Burning Man?

2. Guitar Guinness World Record at the Thanks Jimi Festival

Thanks Jimi Festival / Via en.heyjoe.pl

What's happening here?

Jim (UK): The world's largest collective of acoustic guitars. Hell on earth.

Chelsea (NY): Polish people use guitars as weapons. This is obviously a mob scene.

Maritsa (NY): BYO-instrument concert?

Crystal (LA): National raising our guitars up in celebration of living in a really cute town.

Paul (UK): Ah! The famous upside-down-guitar protest.

Rebecca (NY): G strings everywhere.

3. Gołąbki (Cabbage rolls)

Martin P. Szymczak / Creative Commons / Via Flickr: marooned

What do you think of this dish?

Chelsea (NY): No thank you.

Tiffany (SF): Kimchi-dim-sum fusion???

Maritsa (NY): Stuffed cabbage. I wanna eat it!!!!

Jim (UK): Somehow Poland always makes healthy vegetables resemble meat.

Elena (NY): I can hear Hannibal Lecter in the background already: "Hello, Clarice."

Paul (UK): Leaves in some sort of soup. This checks out.

4. Śmigus-Dyngus, or Wet Monday

Janek Skarzynski / Getty Images

What's going on here?

Maritsa (NY): I don't know but someone should call the authorities.

Jim (UK): A small child is covered in yoghurt as part of a traditional ceremony.

Rebecca (NY): I feel like this is Nicolas Cage in that one movie. Wicker Man?

Crystal (LA): Wicker man! Wicker man! Wicker man!

Samantha (NY): He just doesn't want anyone to know his true identity. I wouldn't either, if my obsessions included weaving my own clothing and throwing mayonnaise all over children.

Paul (UK): Once a year, every year, people get to ruin a child's day, just to knock them down a peg and stop them getting too big for their boots.

Chelsea (NY): This is the ancient polish version of terrifying your children. Afterwards the guy has to yell, "AND THAT'S WHY YOU ALWAYS LEAVE A NOTE.*"

*It is very well known Arrested Development took this from Poland**

**It is not very well known

5. Opłatki (Christmas wafers)

Julo / Creative Commons / Via pl.wikipedia.org

What do you think these are used for?

Jim: Eating. What are they, mints or something?

Chelsea (NY): This is from a Polish color-me-mine. You can paint these religious tiles whatever colors you want, get them glazed and then give them to your mom! So nice.

Maritsa (NY): Are they long, flat...soaps?

Elaina (NY): My family is Polish and my great-grandmother had these, and we would break off a piece to eat and pass it around, but I can't remember why!

Juliana (Brazil): A baptism gift?

Samantha (NY): Christmas cards?

Paul (UK): Do you mush them in to sand to make religious beach imagery?

6. Wieliczka Salt Mine

Made Bulkes / Creative Commons / Via Flickr: 24146787@N08

What do you think of this place?

Rebecca (NY): Dracula's ballroom.

Tiffany (SF): Is Disney working on a new haunted house ride?

Chelsea (NY): What a nice place to have a wedding!

Maritsa (NY): Is this a screenshot from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade?

Paul (UK): HOLD THE PHONE, is that the Wieliczka Salt Mine? I LOVE THAT PLACE. Went there on my own, bought my then-partner an "I <3 WIELICZKA SALT MINE" t-shirt. She still wears it despite having very little understanding of what it means.

7. "A table with broken legs," a Polish tongue twister

Kasia Galazka / BuzzFeed

What do you think of these words?

Elaina (NY): That is quite a mouthful.

Samantha (NY): The one in the middle seems unnecessarily long.

Elena (NY): No. Not a word. Sorry. Bye.

Rebecca (NY): I can't read unicorn yet.

Paul (UK): I feel like I've accidentally just violated a traffic law.

Jim (UK): Polish really likes using letters at the end of the alphabet.

8. Beer with syrup

Coffee & Vanilla / Via coffeeandvanilla.com

What happened to this beer?

Maritsa (NY): Has it been murdered?

Elena (NY): It tried to put on lipstick.

Juliana (Brazil): Someone just got into a fight in the bar but is still sipping some beer?

Elaina (NY): The person drinking it had a nosebleed and didn't realize at first.

Samantha (NY): Somebody flossed a little too hard and then tried to drink this beer directly after?

Paul (UK): Literally no idea. Presuming it's a flavouring of some kind, but it doesn't seem to be affecting the head. What is the sorcery?

9. Poznań Town Hall clock goats

JMFotoTube / Via youtube.com

Chelsea (NY): This is definitely a clock striking noon!

Maritsa (NY): I don't know but it's adorable.

Jim (UK): Fighting robots. More of this please.

Rebecca (NY): Isn't this part of the ride, It's a Small World, in Disneyland?

Paul (UK): "Kids, you don't need Disneyland — go and watch the local town clock."

10. Pączki (jelly doughnuts)

Liza Lagman Sperl / Creative Commons / Via Flickr: kodamakitty

How do you feel about these?

Juliana (Brazil): Fried stuff! YES!

Maritsa (NY): Big doughnut holes?

Elaina (NY): Can I have one?

Paul (UK): They look like Krispy Kreme but I would not be surprised if there's an egg in the middle.

Samantha (NY): GIVE THEM TO ME.

11. Crooked Forest

Lisa / Creative Commons / Via Flickr: 88364173@N00

What do you think of these?

Crystal (LA): Those are some lazy-ass trees.

Elaina (NY): I want to perch myself on one of those and read a book!

Chelsea (NY): What did you guys do to your trees? This seems like a forest you would get lost in, a demon would take your soul, and the trees would begin to grab at you.

Jessica (SF): Looks like the trees are trying to spell Polish words.

Samantha (NY): I've seen this! Nobody knows why these trees grew this way!

Jim (UK): Something bad happened here and you're not supposed to ask what it was.

Paul (UK): Here we can see question marks growing. Poland supplies 95% of the world's question marks.

12. Zakopane, a mountain town

Nightman1965 / Getty Images

What do you think of this?

Chelsea (NY): Oh, this is pretty. I want to go to there.

Juliana (Brazil): Pink mountains! I want!

Jim (UK): There's some massive slides in the background that look fun.

Crystal (LA): The Vegas of Poland!

Rebecca (NY): Southern California: Polish edition.

13. Wojtek the bear

Skabiczewski / Creative Commons / Via en.wikipedia.org

What is this bear famous for?

Elaina (NY): He was the first to prevent forest fires.

Rebecca (NY): Best Karaoke solo.

Elena (NY): For having the exact facial expression everyone has when they finally get food after being hangry.

Chelsea (NY): This bear is famous for pointing out the snitch to the Polish army in some war. You know the phrase "Snitches get stitches?" This bear came up with that.

Paul (UK): Wojtek! WAR BEAR! BEST BEAR!

Jim (UK): This is Wojtek the soldier bear who fought alongside Polish soldiers during World War II and is an all-time hero. The soldiers adopted him, signed him up as a private, and he had to live like a human with the army as they fought across Europe. They taught the bear learnt to drink, smoke, and flirt with local girls. Wojtek helped carry ammunition at the Battle of Monte Cristo. Basically he's one of the all-time coolest animals and everyone should watch this film about him.

Ben (NY): Dancing.