Back during the Cold War when Germany was still divided, government officials in West Germany looked forward to the regularly updated “joke report.” This collection of jokes told among those living in East Germany was gathered by West German spies (or Bundesnachrichtendienst) to ascertain the mood of their Communist brethren. Many jokes were told about East Germany’s famously bad automobile, the Trabant (or Trabi). Like this one: “A new Trabi has been launched with two exhaust pipes—so you can use it as a wheelbarrow.” Or: “How do you double the value of a Trabant? Fill up the tank.”