I knew Germans were formal and stuff, but these Berliners just take the cake:

So when [the department store] opened and a young woman - naked from the waist up - handed out sale leaflets to customers at the door she elicited no visible response whatsoever.

If I were shopping with Ellen I would have no visible response either, but that's just because I like certain portions of my anatomy to stay where they are, instead of in Ellen's clenched fist.