At the recent autumn fair in Oberursel, the bosses of the local craftsmen came up with an interesting competition. On Satuday evening (20th September, 2014), they lined up to see who could hammer a nail into a block of wood using the least blows.

The line up of those taking part including a number of people who, although themselves may not be seen in public that often, their names are a common and well-known sight on the side of vans in the town.

The participants of the nail-hitting contest

Some of those taking part needed only three blows to get the nail in properly, others took up to 26.

After the initial round of hitting the names in “normally”, the top four entered a second round using the reverse side of the hammer – the one normally used for taking nails back out again.  Dirk Velte, Sven Gottschalk, Gerd Bansa and Martin Henrich had each only needed exactly three blows for their nails.

Gerd Bansa preparing to start the second round

Taking it in turns in the second round, it was Gerd Bansa, who has an interior decorating business, whose nail was first into the wooden block properly.