' (, , ) is a
Czech
Czech may refer to:
* Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe
** Czech language
** Czechs, the people of the area
** Czech culture
** Czech cuisine
* One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus
*Czech (surnam ...
phrase which became famous as a graffito. It started to appear in the 1960s as a students' joke in restrooms of bars in
Prague
Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
. Later, however, it became a part of popular culture and has spread around the world, often in modified wording.
Background
The original inspiration for this phrase is believed to be ex-professor
Radim Servít of the Faculty of Civil Engineering of the
Czech Technical University in Prague
Czech Technical University in Prague (CTU) () is one of the largest universities in the Czech Republic with 8 faculties, and is one of the oldest institutes of technology in Central Europe. It is also the oldest non-military technical universi ...
(CTU). He taught
elasticity and
strength of materials
Strength may refer to:
Personal trait
*Physical strength, as in people or animals
*Character strengths like those listed in the Values in Action Inventory
*The exercise of willpower
Physics
* Mechanical strength, the ability to withstand ...
in the 1960s and was infamous for his extensive rigour in exams. Later accounts claim the phrase refers to a different person of the same name.
Time progression and spread
Students started writing the words ' on the walls of public restrooms in bars nearby the CTU campus. Thanks to the political mood in the 1960s
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
, this graffiti has gradually spread out of Prague, the country and Europe through students and their voices. These graffiti have prevailed for generations all around the world.
Some of the confirmed locations where this graffiti has been found include:
*
Empire State Building
The Empire State Building is a 102-story, Art Deco-style supertall skyscraper in the Midtown South neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States. The building was designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and built from 1930 to 1931. Its n ...
[Spisy Jaroslava Putíka, Nakladatelství Hynek, Prague 1996, vol. 1, 261 pages. Lidové noviny 63/1997]
*
Eiffel Tower
The Eiffel Tower ( ; ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower from 1887 to 1889.
Locally nicknamed "''La dame de fe ...
[Marek Kerles]
Jazykovědce trápí "volování"
Český a slovenský svět, 2005
* a
Milan
Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
train station
* a
New York City Subway
The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system in New York City serving the New York City boroughs, boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. It is owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Tr ...
station
*
Gerlachovský štít
Gerlachovský štít (, translated into English as ''Gerlachov Peak'', German: ''Gerlsdorfer Spitze'', Hungarian: ''Gerlachfalvi-csúcs''), informally referred to as Gerlach, is the highest peak in the High Tatras, in Slovakia, and in the Carpat ...
* a train station in
Nesebar, Bulgaria
* restrooms in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
* a corridor of the canteen in the Soviet polar station
Mirny in
Antarctica
Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...
[Disman, M. (2006): ''Jak se vyrábí sociologická znalost'', Praha, Univerzita Karlova v Praze a Nakladatelství Karolinum, 3rd edition, , p. 310]
As time progressed, various new versions of the phrase were created, for example: ' (), ' (), ' () and so on.
See also
*
Józef Tkaczuk
*
Kilroy was here
Kilroy was here is a meme that became popular during World War II, typically seen in graffiti. Its origin is debated, but the phrase and the distinctive accompanying doodle became associated with G.I. (military), GIs in the 1940s: a bald-head ...
*
Latrinalia
Latrinalia is a type of deliberately inscribed or etched marking made on latrines; that is, bathrooms or lavatory walls. It can take the form of art, drawings, or words, including poetry and personal reflections. Other types of latrinalia includ ...
* '
References
External links
*
Jiří ReinsbergMoje archa úmluvy V. – bral jsem život zvesela(přepis záznamu vyprávění na webu christnet.cz)
wiki Servít(heslo na wiki
ČWUT)
Servít je vůl a Kyselák po skalách leze časopis Speleo, č. 32, 2000, author -wc-
* Ivan Kolařík
Úvaha o kantorech(Světácké střípky smyslného seniora, díl 16), web Pozitivní noviny, 28. 3. 2007
{{Portal bar, Czech Republic
Graffiti and unauthorised signage
Czech words and phrases