List of references (Medic)

Due to the comedic style of Team Fortress 2 and Valve's humor, the game includes references, usually in a humorous fashion. There are many different types, from games to movies. Even jokes that have developed within the game and its community have been included. Below are references specific to the Medic class.

Books and Comics

"Sturm and Drang"

“

Sturm und Drang! Click to listen — The Medic

”

Sturm und Drang (the conventional translation is "Storm and Stress"; a more literal translation, however, might be storm and urge, storm and longing, storm and drive or storm and impulse) is the name of a movement in German literature and music taking place from the late 1760s through the early 1780s in which individual subjectivity and, in particular, extremes of emotion were given free expression in response to the confines of rationalism imposed by the Enlightenment and associated aesthetic movements.

Events

The Oktoberfest

“

Oktoberfest! Click to listen — The Medic

”

The Oktoberfest is a sixteen-day festival held each year in Munich, Bavaria, Germany during late September (and running to early October). It is one of the most famous events in the city and the world's largest fair, with some six million people attending every year, and is an important part of Bavarian culture. Other cities across the world also hold Oktoberfest celebrations, modeled after the Munich event.

In-Jokes

FYI I am a Spy

Achievement: FYI I am a Medic/FYI I am a Spy

This achievement refers to popular youtube video 'FYI I am a Spy', in which a Spy uses his spray tag reading 'FYI I am a Spy' to distract an enemy Medic and backstab him.

Science

The Hippocratic Oath

Achievement: Hypocritical Oath

The Hippocratic Oath is an oath traditionally taken by physicians pertaining to the ethical practice of medicine. It is widely believed that the oath was written by Hippocrates, the father of medicine, in the 4th century BC, or by one of his students.

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Hernia Testing

“

Turn your head and cough! Click to listen — The Medic

”

Turning your head and coughing is part of the procedure of testing for a hernia. When you cough, a vibration will run down your spine. Based on how this vibration gets transmitted down to the base of your spine, which is what the doctor is touching underneath your testicles, will indicate whether or not you have a herniated disc in your spine.[1]

Philosophy

The Übermensch

“

I am ze Übermensch! Click to listen — The Medic

”

The Übermensch (German; English: Overman, Superman) is a concept in the Philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche. Nietzsche posited the Übermensch as a goal for humanity to set for itself in his 1883 book Thus Spoke Zarathustra (German: Also Sprach Zarathustra).

Interestingly, the idea of the "Übermensch" was also further developed by the Nazis, using the term to denote the Aryans as the "Superhuman" race. Although within the same period of time, the Medic's voice command was most likely referring to the initial aforementioned idea, due to Valve stating that the Medic was not a Nazi. This fits with the Medic's sadism and his ethical procedures and methods (or lack thereof), as Nietzsche's concept of the übermensch orbits around moral values and the progress of humanity and their interactions.

Places

Stuttgart

The Medic's home city of Stuttgart (IPA: [ˈʃtʊtgaɐ̯t]) is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 590,429 (February 2008) while the metropolitan area referred to as Stuttgart Region has a population of 2.7 million (2007)

Sayings and Phrases

"Big Pharma"

Achievement: Big Pharma

The phrase Big Pharma is often used to refer to companies with revenue in excess of $3 billion, and/or R&D expenditure in excess of $500 million due to the success of many large pharmaceutical companies.

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"Would you like an second opinion? You are also ugly!"

“

Would you like a second opinion? You are also ugly! Click to listen — The Medic

”

This may be an reference to one The Simpsons episode were the character Troy MacClure plays in a planet of the apes musical.

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"Blitzkrieg"

The Kritzkrieg's name is a reference to the term Blitzkrieg (German for "lightning war"), a popular name for an offensive operational-level military doctrine which involves an initial bombardment followed by the employment of motorized mobile forces attacking with speed and surprise to prevent an enemy from implementing a coherent defense.

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"Horrido"

“

Horrido! Click to listen — The Medic

”

'Horrido' is a traditional German hunting and war cry.

It is also possible that, due to the fact that the Medic's hometown of Stuttgart is close to the German-French border, the line is "On y go," a modern variant of "On y va" (translation: roughly, "let's go" or "let's begin"; directly, "one goes there") with the English word "go" replacing its French equivalent. This would be the only case where the Medic speaks in a language other than English or German.

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"Primum non Nocere"

Achievement: First Do No Harm

Primum non nocere is a Latin phrase that means "First, do no harm." The phrase is sometimes recorded as primum nil nocere.

The phrase expresses one of the principal precepts all medical students are taught in medical school and is a fundamental principle for the emergency medical services. It reminds the physician and other health care providers that she or he must consider the possible harm that any intervention might do. This is most often mentioned when debating use of an intervention with an obvious chance of harm but a less certain chance of benefit. Since at least 1860, the phrase has been for physicians a hallowed expression of hope, intention, humility, and recognition that human acts with good intentions may have unwanted consequences.

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"Schadenfreude"

“

Can you feel ze Schadenfreude? Click to listen — The Medic

”

Schadenfreude is enjoyment taken from the misfortune of someone else. The word referring to this emotion has been borrowed from German by the English language and is sometimes also used as a loanword by other languages.

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"Sieg Heil"

“

Heil, us! Click to listen — The Medic

”

Sieg Heil is a German phrase, which literally means "Victory Hail" or "hail victory". During the Nazi era, it was a common call at political rallies. When meeting someone, it was customary in Nazi Germany to give the Hitler salute and say the words "Heil Hitler".

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"Ubi Concordia, Ibi Victoria"

Achievement: Ubi Concordia, Ibi Victoria

"Where there is unity, there is victory.", a Latin phrase attributed to Publius Syrus.

TV and Film

Ghostbusters

The Medic's medpack, combined with the Medigun, is strikingly similar to the proton packs in Ghostbusters

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Hogan's Heroes

“

Teeeeeeaaaaaammmm! Click to listen — The Medic

”

Likely a reference to Colonel Klink's "Schuuuulllllttttz!" from Hogan's Heroes.

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Monty Python and the Holy Grail

The design of the scrapped Heal grenade appears to be a reference to the Holy Hand Grenade from 1975 film, Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

See Also

• List of references