Wizardry in Germany.

WaPo reports this amusing dialogue:

Q. Which Germans do you know besides [Dallas Maverick] Dirk Nowitzki?

A. Is David Hasselhoff German?

I heard that you all like him.

Q. He's an American . . .

A. Okay, then only Dirk.

-- Wizards forward Caron Butler in an interview with the German tabloid Bild. The Wizards were in Berlin to play an exhibition game with the New Orleans Hornets.

Let's not assume Butler was being dumb. I think a lot of Americans, trying to formulate an answer to that question, would think: Well, Hitler, of course. Everyone knows Hitler. And that would have been awkward. So coming up with Is David Hasselhoff German? and Okay, then only Dirk isn't so dumb. It might even be a smart joke. What's dumb is the question "Which Germans do you know?"