CZECH BAD HABITS IN XV CHAPTERS

The idea of ​​creating an encyclopedia of bad habits took shape over several years. It wasn’t only that I wanted to share what I’d gradually collected; I also hoped it could serve as a faithful mirror of the Czech nation – and that we’d reevaluate our behaviors as a result.

To create the book, I called on four exceptional personalities who played a key role in making the encyclopedia possible and enabling me to get as close as possible to my original idea – RBF. Lucie Faulerová, Plč.xls Petra Černá Konečná, Pyž.WKH. Kristína Drinková, and BorDR. David Ondra. Each one his or her own unique and irreplaceable contribution. Without their participation, the encyclopedia couldn’t have become what it is – a truly collective work.

We considered many different forms the final book might take. Our biggest challenge became clear right at the start – what scheme should we use to classify the bad habits and what form should we present them in? We considered several possibilities, from the original division of bad habits into six categories, through an alphabetical ordering of the entire collection, to an attempt at a social table analogous to Mendel's periodic table of the elements. Somewhere in the midst of this chaos, the idea was born to frame it all as a straightforward encyclopedia of bad habits – and at the same time as an unconventional, comprehensive study of the Czech nation.

However, preparating such a publication proved to be exceptionally demanding for a small team without established procedures or prior experience with this kind of editorial work. We went through dozens of encyclopedias and lexicons and debated various options at length, eventually settling on fifteen major chapters. Some of them focus on basic areas of life (e.g., Czechs and the Body, Czechs and the Mind, Czechs and the Family), others on major areas where Czech bad habits are most clearly in evidence (Czechs and the Toilet, Czechs and Cleaning, Czechs and Holidays, etc.).

Next, the most important task was deciding which contributions to include in the book and which to leave out. We carefully sorted the bad habits into many topics and subtopics in order to capture the widest possible range of behaviors, while trimming those that kept repeating. Of all the bad habits submitted (35,666), we selected 9,230. We decided not to publish contributions that were extremely vulgar, sexually deviant, or that incited violence, intolerance, or extremist attitudes. We also tried to balance the perspectives of different social roles and groups, because, in our opinion, contrasting views on the same phenomenon added an additional dimension to the overall picture. We paid special attention to topics such as racism, homophobia, xenophobia, and transphobia, and issues surrounding addiction, especially among minors. We didn’t want to normalize these topics and expressions, but we couldn’t fully censor them or pretend that they don’t exist – that would have contradicted the very purpose of our collection.

We knew that creating a suitable annotation system would be essential for the encyclopedia. We thought for a long time which experts to approach – until we realized we actually didn’t have to look for anyone at all. The experts found us. All it took was reading the comments underneath the bad habits posted on the National Collection of Bad Habits’ social media pages – and it all became clear. After all, Czechs are experts on everything. And we decided to work with this national bad habit on a meta-level as well, using it as a key thread for our annotation system. We didn’t edit the language of the comments in any way so as to preserve their authenticity and their natural ‘expert’ style of expression. For this reason, some passages may seem less understandable to the average reader. Still, we needed a second voice – an expert who could supplement the book with explanatory notes, diagrams and statistics. And since we couldn't find a single expert capable of covering all areas, we created one – and invited ChatGPT to collaborate. Our cooperation didn't get off to the smoothest start, but we eventually managed to find a common language, one in which we didn't try to cure the bad habits or offer advice on how to get rid of them. We had the opposite aim, actually – to find a way to amplify them. Because we believe that bad habits are precisely what connect us all.

The Czech nation has its fair share of quirks and vices – and it’s thanks to them that this genuine curiosity came into being. Our greatest virtue, though, remains our ability to laugh at ourselves, and that’s the guiding theme of this publication. I hope it not only entertains and surprises you, but also moves you and prompts a bit of self-reflection.

With this, the Czech Republic officially becomes a superpower in bad habits.
SkčDŘč. Kateřina Šedá, POtrh.