'House burping' is a cold reality in Germany. Americans are warming to it.

[dalton99a]

3. "Many people have frozen to death, but no one has died from a bad smell."

... Befuddled, Wessen took to Reddit to ask why Germans are so fixated on lüften. He was barraged with indignant responses from Germans: “Like, ‘You have to lüften.’ There’s an idea that if you don’t do it, the air gets disgusting somehow.”

During the coronavirus pandemic, lüften took on an outsize importance in Germany.

Then-Chancellor Angela Merkel promoted lüften as the “cheapest and most effective measure” to combat the virus. The federal Environment Ministry issued lüften guidance, recommending, among other things, opening the windows five times per hour in a room where people were exercising. Somewhat unhelpfully, the guidance added: “However, drafts should not occur in the room.”

Which raises a curious point: For all their fear of stale air, Germans are nearly as afraid of drafts. It’s not uncommon for someone to enter an apartment (or classroom or train or bus), remark on the stagnant air and theatrically open a window, only for someone else to complain a minute later about the draft and just as theatrically close it. After all, there is a German saying: “Many people have frozen to death, but no one has died from a bad smell.”