I would have thought that people who were asked to read stories about Jurgen mit Füchse und Hühner and Günter Müller der Hürdenlaüfer, rather than feeling sad, would have busted up laughing. I think I also would have a hard time keeping a straight face with my eyebrows taped together.
I experienced pleasant and positive feelings while looking at the lady with the taped eyebrows.
However, I must agree that when I pronounce an umlatt, I experience an unpleasant sensation. This may be because the lone umlatt is used in my vocabulary principally when I reach in to the refirgerator hoping to find some tasty left-overs only to happen upon something very old and nasty: “Ü!!! Ü!!!”
If the umlatt brings on sadness, why then, does a smiley face universally include a sideways umlatt? (: