# Just to put the record straight in the US



## Evenstar (Jan 26, 2013)

Listen carefully - I shall say this only once:

No, it's not near London
Yes, of course I've met the Queen, we take tea whenever she's at a loose end
No, I don't drink tea
Yes, of course I know John Smith from Swindon, our mothers were best friends
No, It's not that cold and wet really
Yes, I know where Hogwarts is
No, I'm not related to William Penn
Yes, I do speak like someone from the Notting Hill film...

Have I forgotten any?


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

You know, if we're swapping stereotypes (or is that dispelling them?), some of us 'Muricans have actually been to England, and yes, more than just London.  *pats pockets for postcards.*  Just sayin'.




Betsy


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## KGGiarratano (Aug 14, 2013)

I have a bestie in Swindon. Maybe you know her? One thing you Brits have over us Americans is better chocolate. My friend brings her OWN chocolate when she visits me in PA.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

And I meant to add, do you know our co-mod from the UK, Linjeakel?



Betsy


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## Guest (Jan 18, 2015)

KGGiarratano said:


> I have a bestie in Swindon. Maybe you know her? One thing you Brits have over us Americans is better chocolate. My friend brings her OWN chocolate when she visits me in PA.


That chocolate comes from Belgium.


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## I&#039;m a Little Teapot (Apr 10, 2014)

LOL! I had a friend visiting me once from the UK, and when we were in a cab, the cab driver asked him if he'd met Queen Elizabeth.


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## Guest (Jan 18, 2015)

SevenDays said:


> LOL! I had a friend visiting me once from the UK, and when we were in a cab, the cab driver asked him if he'd met Queen Elizabeth.


I was in a cab in London once, and asked the cabbie how he felt about Queen Elizabeth.

He was against her.


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## A past poster (Oct 23, 2013)

Delusion of Grandeur said:



> That chocolate comes from Belgium.


Yes!!!


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## Guest (Jan 18, 2015)

Delusion of Grandeur said:


> I was in a cab in London once, and asked the cabbie how he felt about Queen Elizabeth.
> 
> He was against her.


I bet her security had something to say about that.


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## Elizabeth Ann West (Jul 11, 2011)

When I worked for disneyworld in college I had a ton of friends that were from other countries. They couldn't fully understand HOW BIG my country is until we drove 3 hours from Orlando to watch a space shuttle launch and I showed them on the map how far we traveled. Then and only then did they understand why growing up in virginia I had not been to California at the age of 19 in fact I hadn't been further west than Illinois then where I was born.


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## deedawning (Aug 31, 2013)

Evenstar said:


> Listen carefully - I shall say this only once:
> 
> No, it's not near London
> Yes, of course I've met the Queen, we take tea whenever she's at a loose end
> ...


I like your sense of humor XOXO


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## Jill Nojack (Mar 7, 2014)

Elizabeth Ann West said:


> When I worked for disneyworld in college I had a ton of friends that were from other countries. They couldn't fully understand HOW BIG my country is until we drove 3 hours from Orlando to watch a space shuttle launch and I showed them on the map how far we traveled. Then and only then did they understand why growing up in virginia I had not been to California at the age of 19 in fact I hadn't been further west than Illinois then where I was born.


This!

I was in Newcastle-on-Tyne on Guy Fawkes day a few years ago when I went to visit a friend, and his wife's father was discussing an upcoming trip to the US. He was very excited about visiting DisneyWorld in Florida and thought that he might also like to visit Disneyland in California if they had time. He was planning on driving it. They were going to be on a two week vacation.

I politely explained that it would take four long days of driving one way, but they could do it in three if they drove most of the night. Just about everyone there looked at me like I was making it up.


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## Guest (Jan 18, 2015)

I once drove in a straight line for thirteen hours and never left New York.


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## Guest (Jan 18, 2015)

Jill Nojack said:


> I politely explained that it would take four long days of driving one way, but they could do it in three if they drove most of the night. Just about everyone there looked at me like I was making it up.


The big problem with the British is that, in addition to driving on the wrong side of the road, they talk kinda funny. I once dated a girl from Scotland, and while talking funny is sexy in a woman, it is definitely a big negativo for any male person of the British persuasion.


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## Evenstar (Jan 26, 2013)

Seriously though... third email this week from a US reader


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## Jan Hurst-Nicholson (Aug 25, 2010)

When my nephew was doing his gap year in the US his Dad sent him postcards with lions, rhino etc and my nephew was able to quite easily convince people the pics had been taken in his back garden back home in SA. 

(And we mustn't forget the obligatory query when announcing that you are from South Africa - why aren't you black?)


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## Andrew Ashling (Nov 15, 2010)

Evenstar said:


> Listen carefully - I shall say this only once:


'Allo, 'Allo.


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## GTC (Dec 18, 2013)

I solemnly swear that despite my weird accent I'm not Scottish, I'm from north east England. Too many people I've met on US holidays have refused to believe me!


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## Evenstar (Jan 26, 2013)

Actually, if we are talking distances I have to confess that when I was sixteen my boyfriend took me to New York, and I thought I'd be able to see Mexico from Windows on the World (top of the twin towers back then).

If you go up the tallest tower in my city you can see seven different counties.


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## Evenstar (Jan 26, 2013)

Andrew Ashling said:


> 'Allo, 'Allo.


Clever boy


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Evenstar said:


> Seriously though... third email this week from a US reader


LOL...I apologize on behalf of my compatriots.

Betsy


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## Jill Nojack (Mar 7, 2014)

Evenstar said:


> Seriously though... third email this week from a US reader


But your readers are mostly teens, right? Teens ask many silly questions. That's why we love them


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## Tim_A (May 25, 2013)

TobiasRoote said:


> I once drove in a straight line for thirteen hours and never left New York.


It takes that long to get out of London, using British roads... (most of the time is spent stationary)


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## Christine_C (Jun 29, 2014)

Do you know this English pigeon?


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## Tim_A (May 25, 2013)

CN_Crawford said:


> Do you know this English pigeon?


It's my Homie...

It's a Homie Pigeon! Ba-dum-ching!


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## Lydniz (May 2, 2013)

Greenthecolour said:


> I solemnly swear that despite my weird accent I'm not Scottish, I'm from north east England. Too many people I've met on US holidays have refused to believe me!


I'm from the NE too, and a cab driver in New York once told me I sounded like Princess Diana.

NB: I do not sound anything like Princess Diana.


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## Evenstar (Jan 26, 2013)

Jill Nojack said:


> But your readers are mostly teens, right? Teens ask many silly questions. That's why we love them


Yes, but I should like to make some reply along the lines of a sad indictment of the education system, only I wouldn't dare... they might not read my books if I did! I love them for reading


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## Evenstar (Jan 26, 2013)

CN_Crawford said:


> Do you know this English pigeon?


yes of course, that's Dennis. _Everyone_ here knows Dennis. I saw him just yesterday


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## Christine_C (Jun 29, 2014)

Wait a minute. If you don't live near London, then where do you buy your bowler hats? And where do you get the waistcoat for your talking badger?


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## Midnight Whimsy (Jun 25, 2013)

Evenstar said:


> Actually, if we are talking distances I have to confess that when I was sixteen my boyfriend took me to New York, and I thought I'd be able to see Mexico from Windows on the World (top of the twin towers back then).
> 
> If you go up the tallest tower in my city you can see seven different counties.


Seriously?? Really Wow, that blows my mind.

If you want to talk about long distances, come visit Canada.  The two largest cities in my province are 300 km (186 miles) apart, which is 3 hrs away on the highway at 120 kph (75 mph). No, you cannot see one from the top of any tall buildings in the other. You can't even see it if you are in an airplane over one city looking toward the other.


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## MarilynVix (Jun 19, 2013)

Greenthecolour said:


> I solemnly swear that despite my weird accent I'm not Scottish, I'm from north east England. Too many people I've met on US holidays have refused to believe me!


I married a Brit from the North West. He loved to go to the Lake District to hike. Now, my mother-in-law lives near Blackpool. So, I go there for the holidays. I usually freak people out in the stores if I put on my Californian accent and call people "Dude". Other times, I just take on a bit of an accent so they can understand me. Usually, I'm the only American around for miles.


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## Sam Kates (Aug 28, 2012)

When I was in New York, a local told me my accent was 'quaint'. First and only time that word has been used in connection with me.

Another couple you can add to the list:

No, Wales isn't in England. Neither is Scotland.

Yes, we spell certain words differently. (Can you tell I've just received one of those reviews in the US complaining about the spelling in one of my books? Wasn't there a thread about them?)


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## Lisa Grace (Jul 3, 2011)

TobiasRoote said:


> I once drove in a straight line for thirteen hours and never left New York.


Don't you mean you never left Manhattan?


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## Lisa Grace (Jul 3, 2011)

I love flying from Fl to Oregon (Portland). You get to see how just big and empty our country seems to be.


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## ruecole (Jun 13, 2012)

Midnight Whimsy is a prairie girl.  

We met some Germans once who were thinking of popping over to Montreal for a day trip. It didn't look so far on the map.  

I always get a chuckle when people call Vancouver Island Victoria Island. The former is on the west coast of BC. The latter above the Arctic circle!

Rue


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## ruecole (Jun 13, 2012)

You wanna talk about big and empty, Lisa, try flying over Canada. Our prairies will make your midwest look like Manhattan!

Rue


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## Jill Nojack (Mar 7, 2014)

Evenstar said:


> Yes, but I should like to make some reply along the lines of a sad indictment of the education system, only I wouldn't dare... they might not read my books if I did! I love them for reading


Yes, our schools focus heavily on US History, geography, and culture. We are incredibly enthnocentric. Our teens have little awareness of other countries (in fact, most Americans tend to think of Canada as somehow related to the US, and don't even try to explain Canada's relationship to the queen). I think that's changing with the ready availability of British TV in the US now, though. Oh, and that Rowling woman may also have had something to do with it.


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## EC Sheedy (Feb 24, 2011)

Lisa Grace said:


> Don't you mean you never left Manhattan?


Having been to both London and New York, I'm always amazed at the car chases in movies filmed in these cities. Cars, followed by police vehicles, sirens howling, roaring along mostly empty streets. Where are these streets?


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## Christine_C (Jun 29, 2014)

Jill Nojack said:


> Yes, our schools focus heavily on US History, geography, and culture. We are incredibly enthnocentric. Our teens have little awareness of other countries (in fact, most Americans tend to think of Canada as somehow related to the US, and don't even try to explain Canada's relationship to the queen). I think that's changing with the ready availability of British TV in the US now, though. Oh, and that Rowling woman may also have had something to do with it.


I think TV is a large part of the reason that other countries know more about us than we know about them. In part because they get American TV in other countries, but also (at least in the UK) they have more documentaries.


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## Colin (Aug 6, 2011)

CN_Crawford said:


> Do you know this English pigeon?


Know him? I ate him for dinner...

I was clean out of fish.


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## Guest (Jan 18, 2015)

Sam Kates said:


> No, Wales isn't in England. Neither is Scotland.


These are all niggly little details that have significance only to the British, for some unfathomable reason. Nobody else really cares. 

Just FYI - I consider myself an expert in Scottish history. I read a book about Scotland once, and I saw "Braveheart" about 5 times.


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## D. Zollicoffer (May 14, 2014)

Sadly most people are ignorant when it comes to life in another country. So all you can really do is shake it off. Most Americans go by what they see on TV when it comes to British people. I'm sure a lot of people over there have a twisted view of Americans (not you of course).

Heck, here we even stereotype people from different regions! Some people think the south is filled with inbred racists, and that everyone in L.A. knows a movie star. I'm from Ohio and people from bigger cities think I live on a farm!

Most Asian countries have a weird view of the west (especially when it comes to black people because they're use to seeing ghetto ones on TV), most westerns don't know the difference between a Japanese, Korean, or Chinese person, etc.

Also, everyone knows that Australia is filled with boxing kangaroos: 




Basically, don't mind them. Let them ask their "silly" questions.

Normal people rarely take the time to study different cultures.


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## MyraScott (Jul 18, 2014)

At least those British know their way around the US.









[British people draw maps of the United States]

I live in the Dirty South, by the way.


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## Evenstar (Jan 26, 2013)

MyraScott said:


> At least those British know their way around the US.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Okay, this would be a really good challenge!
I challenge those US KBoarders who have a spare five mins to draw Britain without first looking at a map, and those British KBoarders to do the United States. I think we Brits would be pretty red faced at the end of it. I don't even know the names of most of the states let alone where they are. Though I have played RISK quite a few times so I should at least get the shape a bit better than this one!


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## ruecole (Jun 13, 2012)

They did better than the US did with Canada (and we only have 10 provinces to contend with!).

http://www.buzzfeed.com/tanyachen/americans-fail-canada-again?s=mobile

Rue


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## D. Zollicoffer (May 14, 2014)

ruecole said:


> They did better than the US did with Canada (and we only have 10 provinces to contend with!).
> 
> http://www.buzzfeed.com/tanyachen/americans-fail-canada-again?s=mobile
> 
> Rue


Lol, I've honestly never even bothered to look at a Canadian map. I know of Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver and I'm not even sure if those are cities or provinces. 

This thread has motivated me to take a look!


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## Elizabeth Ann West (Jul 11, 2011)

I'm watching football at the moment, go pack! And yeah how hopelessly American of me, lol but I can only draw a basic map of Great Britain. I can identify Scotland, Wales, Ireland, and a few major cities that in Jane Austen fiction but that's about it. Like I know Kent is south of London, and Derby is North. Lol


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## Moist_Tissue (Dec 6, 2013)

I used to hear similar complaints when I lived in Ireland. They would say that Americans didn't know a lot about European countries. They thought it was so incredibly self-centered; then I reminded them that the United States has over 330 million people, making it the third largest country in the world by population and fourth largest country by size. We have multiple languages spoken in our own country; we have multiple peoples. We are a friggen large country. Let us worry about knowing our own people.


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## Guest (Jan 18, 2015)

Moist_Tissue said:


> I used to hear similar complaints when I lived in Ireland. They would say that Americans didn't know a lot about European countries. They don't it was so incredibly self-centered; then I reminded them that the United States has over 330 million people, making it the fourth largest country in the world by population and fourth largest country by size. We have multiple languages spoken in our own country; we have multiple peoples. We are a friggen large country. Let us worry about knowing our own people.


I totally agree. Personally, I've never understood why "they (the Americans) don't know anything about other countries" carries some sort of a negative connotation with it. If other countries made a determined effort to learn more about America, they would be much happier places. But America is happy enough as it is without knowing anything about other countries.

Sure, there are some jobs that require some minimal knowledge of geography - Predator drone operator, for example. You want to be sure that when you drop a laser-guided bomb on somebody, that somebody is at least in the right country.

But those are exceptions that prove the rule.


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## Elizabeth Ann West (Jul 11, 2011)

Yeah trying to go listen to American English in certain parts of the US might as well be a foreign language. Visiting my husband's kin in Louisiana? shoooo, followings conversation between Uncle Stan and Aunt Patsy is very hard when everyone's drinking which is um... Well let's just say I say "pardon?" And "I'm sorry, could you say again?" A lot.  but some English dialects are the same way... I can't follow cockney at all.


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## ruecole (Jun 13, 2012)

D. Zollicoffer said:


> Lol, I've honestly never even bothered to look at a Canadian map. I know of Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver and I'm not even sure if those are cities or provinces.
> 
> This thread has motivated me to take a look!


(Cities)

Just don't depend on the Buzzfeed maps. Not a one got them all right!

Rue


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

MyraScott said:


> At least those British know their way around the US.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Truthfully, I'm not sure Americans would fare much better. At least not the ones interviewed on late night TV here.


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## Evenstar (Jan 26, 2013)

I've just been to Tesco to stock up on houmous and noticed a brand new American section selling things like Lucky Charms, tootsie rolls, peanut butter cups, grape jelly, milk duds. So in honour of this thread I just bought my first ever Twinkie (something we hear about on films, usually enjoyed by stoned people) which I've never tried before (or knew what it was before). I'll let you know.....

Football Elizabeth, with a pack? Do you mean Rugby? Oh sorry, you mean _American_ Football, the one with all the nancy padding in case their mascara runs right?


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## ruecole (Jun 13, 2012)

She means the Green Bay Packers. An American football team.

Rue


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## GTC (Dec 18, 2013)

Evenstar said:


> I've just been to Tesco to stock up on houmous and noticed a brand new American section selling things like Lucky Charms, tootsie rolls, peanut butter cups, grape jelly, milk duds. So in honour of this thread I just bought my first ever Twinkie (something we hear about on films, usually enjoyed by stoned people) which I've never tried before (or knew what it was before). I'll let you know....


How ridiculous was the price of the Lucky Charms? £6.50 is the cheapest box I've found in the shops so far! I love them so much but can't bring myself to pay.


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## Elizabeth Ann West (Jul 11, 2011)

To be fair, I'm a huge fan of rugby, too. But American Football moves MUCH faster than rugby does, so yes, the pads are needed. Hubby and I watched a professional rugby match in Brisbane when we went in 2007. 

Where rugby players are certainly handsome, dashing, athletic types . . .  most of an American Football team is just monster size. No one is going to tell an American Football player he's a nancy . . . except maybe the kicker. But they're usually soccer players so their status is questionable, at best.


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## cinisajoy (Mar 10, 2013)

TobiasRoote said:


> I once drove in a straight line for thirteen hours and never left New York.


Come to Texas. We want you for at least 24 hours.


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## Evenstar (Jan 26, 2013)

Elizabeth Ann West said:


> Where rugby players are certainly handsome, dashing, athletic types . . . most of an American Football team is just monster size. No one is going to tell an American Football player he's a nancy . . . except maybe the kicker. But they're usually soccer players so their status is questionable, at best.


Well, that's annoying! I can't argue with a single word of that


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## Evenstar (Jan 26, 2013)

Greenthecolour said:


> How ridiculous was the price of the Lucky Charms? £6.50 is the cheapest box I've found in the shops so far! I love them so much but can't bring myself to pay.


I know! The twinkies were six quid as well.

The verdict on the Twinkies is : (drum roll) Loved 'em! Would go perfectly with a coffee in the morning.


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## Elizabeth Ann West (Jul 11, 2011)

Evenstar said:


> I know! The twinkies were six quid as well.
> 
> The verdict on the Twinkies is : (drum roll) Loved 'em! Would go perfectly with a coffee in the morning.


::eyeroll:: Only a European would eat a Twinkie while drinking coffee. LOL.   Over here that's usually washed down with a soda or an energy drink.


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## ruecole (Jun 13, 2012)

Are UK twinkies the same as US twinkies? As in are they imported or are they manufactured there? If the latter, they may not taste the same. 

Also didn't Hostess go out of business in the US? Or did another company buy them up?

Rue


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## Christine_C (Jun 29, 2014)

D. Zollicoffer said:


> Lol, I've honestly never even bothered to look at a Canadian map. I know of Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver and I'm not even sure if those are cities or provinces.
> 
> This thread has motivated me to take a look!


That's exactly what my map would include. No idea where Ottawa is. The middle?


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## Evenstar (Jan 26, 2013)

ruecole said:


> Are UK twinkies the same as US twinkies? As in are they imported or are they manufactured there? If the latter, they may not taste the same.
> 
> Also didn't Hostess go out of business in the US? Or did another company buy them up?
> 
> Rue


We don't have Twinkies here. I just got some in the "American" section of our local supermarket. The box says Hostess on it


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## ruecole (Jun 13, 2012)

It should say "Product of..." Or "Manufactured in..." or somesuch. Maybe they're Canadian Twinkies. 

Rue


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## Moist_Tissue (Dec 6, 2013)

ruecole said:


> Are UK twinkies the same as US twinkies? As in are they imported or are they manufactured there? If the latter, they may not taste the same.
> 
> Also didn't Hostess go out of business in the US? Or did another company buy them up?
> 
> Rue


I think the UK version would be made with sugar while US version would be made with corn syrup. That was a hard transition for me. Products made with sugar do have a different taste than those made with corn syrup, particularly soda.


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## Guest (Jan 18, 2015)

Jill Nojack said:


> This!
> 
> I was in Newcastle-on-Tyne on Guy Fawkes day a few years ago when I went to visit a friend, and his wife's father was discussing an upcoming trip to the US. He was very excited about visiting DisneyWorld in Florida and thought that he might also like to visit Disneyland in California if they had time. He was planning on driving it. They were going to be on a two week vacation.
> 
> I politely explained that it would take four long days of driving one way, but they could do it in three if they drove most of the night. Just about everyone there looked at me like I was making it up.


I'm amazed that you could understand Geordie speak.  That seems like the hardest accent for me to understand.


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## ruecole (Jun 13, 2012)

Okay, I Googled. Hostess (in the US) went under in 2012, but they're essentially back in business under a new (but similar) name. Hostess in Canada was unaffected.

Still curious where the Twinkies are manufactured. The recipes are different on each side of the border.

Moist_Tissue, yes, that's my guess too.

Rue


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## 75814 (Mar 12, 2014)

Moist_Tissue said:


> I used to hear similar complaints when I lived in Ireland. They would say that Americans didn't know a lot about European countries. They don't it was so incredibly self-centered; then I reminded them that the United States has over 330 million people, making it the third largest country in the world by population and fourth largest country by size. We have multiple languages spoken in our own country; we have multiple peoples. We are a friggen large country. Let us worry about knowing our own people.


Even as an American, this used to embarrass me about other Americans who knew nothing beyond the US borders.

Then I moved to Japan. Suddenly Americans seem like worldly globe-trotters with a wealth of knowledge of other countries, customs, and history.


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## Evenstar (Jan 26, 2013)

ruecole said:


> Still curious where the Twinkies are manufactured. The recipes are different on each side of the border.
> 
> Rue


They seem to be from Kansas and do have lots of corn syrup in them


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## ruecole (Jun 13, 2012)

Interesting!

Rue


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## Colin (Aug 6, 2011)

Delusion of Grandeur said:


> ... If other countries made a determined effort to learn more about America, they would be much happier places...


I'm getting echoes of grand Victorian imperialism while reading your words. Not sure why. But the echoes are definitely there.


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## anotherpage (Apr 4, 2012)

Evenstar said:


> Listen carefully - I shall say this only once:
> 
> No, it's not near London
> Yes, of course I've met the Queen, we take tea whenever she's at a loose end
> ...


Yes you have..

It's FAVOUR not FAVOR

It's COLOUR not COLOR

LOL


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## Midnight Whimsy (Jun 25, 2013)

ruecole said:


> Midnight Whimsy is a prairie girl.
> 
> We met some Germans once who were thinking of popping over to Montreal for a day trip. It didn't look so far on the map.
> 
> ...


Haha, yep, that I am. Long, long distances with nothing but farms or grass or trees. My fiance and I are planning a road trip through BC for our honeymoon this July; I've yet to make it out that way and I've heard BC has much less boring, flat prairie. 

It doesn't surprise me that many Americans know so little about Canada despite us being neighbors. My fiance likes to mess with American online gamers by complaining about the herds of moose in our backyard and how he wasn't online earlier because the power was out in our igloo. A surprising number actually fall for it... 

Even the little cultural differences can be surprising. I once had a very serious conversation with an American friend about why people in TV shows/movies were always wearing their shoes in the house. Who wears shoes in the house? My friend patiently explained that, though it varies somewhat, many Americans do in fact wear their shoes in their houses. 

M.W


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## ruecole (Jun 13, 2012)

Oh, Lordy, don't get me started on shoes in the house! Probably the only bruhaha I've caused on the Internet involved that topic!  

You will love BC. It's really beautiful. 

Rue

P.S. I have family in both Alberta and Saskatchewan. Haven't been out to visit in a few years, though.


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## Jill Nojack (Mar 7, 2014)

Adly Teoh said:


> I'm amazed that you could understand Geordie speak.  That seems like the hardest accent for me to understand.


I love Geordie speak! I actually find it much easier than a lot of the accents for some reason, but I have been a Brit-o-phile for a lot of years. I have a more difficult time understanding people from Tennessee. But, in general, I just love UK accents and expose myself to them as much as possible through TV and movies (and have for more years than I care to mention--even back before the internet was on option to get my fix.)

I loved Newcastle. My friends had a flat on the river looking out on the Dunston Staithes. Very scenic. And such a fabulous town to just wander around in unaccompanied. Geordies are happy to tell you that they are the friendliest people in the world, and my experience was that they probably are.


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## Jill Nojack (Mar 7, 2014)

Midnight Whimsy said:


> Even the little cultural differences can be surprising. I once had a very serious conversation with an American friend about why people in TV shows/movies were always wearing their shoes in the house. Who wears shoes in the house? My friend patiently explained that, though it varies somewhat, many Americans do in fact wear their shoes in their houses.
> M.W


We make up for it by not wearing pants [note to Brits: please read pants herein refered to as "trousers". Because not wearing pants would just be scandalous. We're not totally uncivilized.]


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## Sam Kates (Aug 28, 2012)

Delusion of Grandeur said:


> These are all niggly little details that have significance only to the British, for some unfathomable reason. Nobody else really cares.
> 
> Just FYI - I consider myself an expert in Scottish history. I read a book about Scotland once, and I saw "Braveheart" about 5 times.


Lol!

I'm an expert on the US Civil War - I saw most of Gone With the Wind once. And I nearly read North and South.


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## Lunachick (Jan 2, 2015)

Greenthecolour said:


> I solemnly swear that despite my weird accent I'm not Scottish, I'm from north east England. Too many people I've met on US holidays have refused to believe me!


They wouldn't believe you anywhere further south than Leeds


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## I&#039;m a Little Teapot (Apr 10, 2014)

Midnight Whimsy said:


> I once had a very serious conversation with an American friend about why people in TV shows/movies were always wearing their shoes in the house. Who wears shoes in the house? My friend patiently explained that, though it varies somewhat, many Americans do in fact wear their shoes in their houses.
> 
> M.W


That's so weird, right? It feels so wrong to wear shoes inside.


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## Lunachick (Jan 2, 2015)

Evenstar said:


> Have I forgotten any?


I do enjoy a nice cucumber sandwich


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## Elizabeth Ann West (Jul 11, 2011)

I wear my sneakers (err trainers) in the house all the time. It's one of the best tips from the Flylady when you work from home. Get up, get dressed, including your shoes.


----------



## Christine_C (Jun 29, 2014)

I got a fair number of hillbilly jokes when I lived in the UK. I was like, "I'm from New England! We don't have hillbillies."  Except in Maine. And  Vermont, and New Hampshire, and the swamp yankees in Connecticut. Really anywhere outside Greater Boston.


----------



## cinisajoy (Mar 10, 2013)

SevenDays said:


> That's so weird, right? It feels so wrong to wear shoes inside.


Only if I am running in and out. Otherwise I am barefoot or just in socks.

I am not going to wear my good clothes to clean house. She says put on your regular clothes. I don't have enough clothes to risk ruining them.


----------



## Guest (Jan 19, 2015)

Evenstar said:


> Have I forgotten any?


Yes, you're a Manchester United fan. And you used to hangout with David Beckham


----------



## RN_Wright (Jan 7, 2014)

One of our ballroom dance instructors went back to her home town just north of London for a Christmas visit. Her relatives said she had an American accent! All I hear is a pleasant Albionion lilt.


----------



## BrentNichols (Mar 18, 2011)

I spent some time in Ireland and tried to explain the concept of correction lines to someone. Now, I don't think the entire emerald island has one road that runs straight for twenty kilometers. They meander all over the place. But where I come from (the Canadian prairies) the roads are laid out in a perfectly rectangular grid that runs as straight as a laser beam for so long that, every 24 miles, there are extra zig-zags to allow for the curvature of the Earth.

The Irish assumed I was making it up.


----------



## Midnight Whimsy (Jun 25, 2013)

SevenDays said:


> That's so weird, right? It feels so wrong to wear shoes inside.


It does! I mean, if you have a pair of dedicated indoor shoes, then okay. But tracking dirt and nastiness all around the nice interior of your house from outdoor shoes? I just don't get it.

I had to ask my American friend what I should do if I visited an American home. Take my shoes off and look weird? Leave them on even if they're dirty? (She wisely said I should do what everyone else was doing, haha.)

M.W


----------



## Lunachick (Jan 2, 2015)

Adly Teoh said:


> I'm amazed that you could understand Geordie speak.  That seems like the hardest accent for me to understand.


Haway man! Gan canny bonny lad, yer divent wahnt tae dunch summick


----------



## ruecole (Jun 13, 2012)

SevenDays said:


> That's so weird, right? It feels so wrong to wear shoes inside.


Have I mentioned lately that I love you, SevenDays? 

Rue


----------



## Elizabeth Ann West (Jul 11, 2011)

I do have a pair of sneakers just for the house. They're my Clarke's and super light weight. I also have slipons, like little cheapie ballet flats from Walmart. They keep my feet warm and my socks protected and make it easier for my brain to think "you're working" right now as opposed to when I take them off and get all lazy like.


----------



## Elizabeth Ann West (Jul 11, 2011)

And if it's weird to wear my shoes in my house where I work, why is not weird tow ear your shoes at your office in town?


----------



## Gator (Sep 28, 2012)

Evenstar said:


> Have I forgotten any?


Yes, I did take the TARDIS out for a spin, and David Tennant let me drive (until we crashed, but I blame that wibbly wobbly, timey wimey stuff). Do you like the new paint job on the TARDIS?


----------



## Guest (Jan 19, 2015)

Lunachick said:


> Haway man! Gan canny bonny lad, yer divent wahnt tae dunch summick


----------



## ruecole (Jun 13, 2012)

cinisajoy said:


> Only if I am running in and out. Otherwise I am barefoot or just in socks.


You, too, cin. Comfy socks inside is definitely the way to go. 

Rue


----------



## Herc- The Reluctant Geek (Feb 10, 2010)

Lunachick said:


> Haway man! Gan canny bonny lad, yer divent wahnt tae dunch summick


The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett features the Nac Mac Feegle - the pictsies were thrown out of Fairyland for being drunk and disorderly and have swords that glow blue in the presence of lawyers...

I couldn't resist a quote:

"Whut's the plan, Rob?" said one of them. 
"Okay, lads, this is what we'll do. As soon as we see somethin', we'll attack it. Right?"
This caused a cheer.
"Ach, 'tis a good plan," said Daft Wullie."


----------



## ruecole (Jun 13, 2012)

Elizabeth Ann West said:


> I do have a pair of sneakers just for the house. They're my Clarke's and super light weight. I also have slipons, like little cheapie ballet flats from Walmart. They keep my feet warm and my socks protected and make it easier for my brain to think "you're working" right now as opposed to when I take them off and get all lazy like.


I usually wear slippers.

My working uniform is yoga pants, tee shirt, and hoodie (in the winter).

Rue


----------



## HAGrant (Jul 17, 2011)

Sam Kates said:


> Lol!
> 
> I'm an expert on the US Civil War - I saw most of Gone With the Wind once. And I nearly read North and South.


I'm an expert on the US Civil War, too, because I live in Gettysburg and see cannons every day.

But in spite of being American, I don't wear shoes in my house. I also don't own a cowboy hat or a gun.

And every time I've been to England... it was cold and rainy... and green peas were the only vegetables they served in restaurants (edited to add that in spite of the rain and the green peas, England is one of my favorite places).


----------



## Vaalingrade (Feb 19, 2013)

I'm just shocked so many Brits have been able to post on the internet after working in the fields wearing burlap sacks all day, dodging past fights between knights and dragons, and re-thatching their roof.


----------



## cinisajoy (Mar 10, 2013)

Elizabeth Ann West said:


> And if it's weird to wear my shoes in my house where I work, why is not weird tow ear your shoes at your office in town?


I want a video of you tow earing your shoes. Your office is in a public place.


----------



## 75814 (Mar 12, 2014)

Elizabeth Ann West said:


> And if it's weird to wear my shoes in my house where I work, why is not weird tow ear your shoes at your office in town?


I go outside to reach my office in town. I don't go outside to reach my office at home.

Now as to why offices don't let you take off your shoes (or your pants for that matter), that's because they're fascists.


----------



## ruecole (Jun 13, 2012)

Office buildings have some of the nastiest carpets. Wouldn't dream of going shoeless in one. Yuck.

Rue


----------



## Axel Blackwell (Aug 10, 2014)

ruecole said:


> Okay, I Googled. Hostess (in the US) went under in 2012,


That's okay, twinkies have a 10 year shelf life...


----------



## Evenstar (Jan 26, 2013)

Have I forgotten any?


Adly Teoh said:


> Yes, you're a Manchester United fan. And you used to hangout with David Beckham


Actually no American has _ever_ asked me what football team I support!



Gator said:


> Yes, I did take the TARDIS out for a spin, and David Tennant let me drive (until we crashed, but I blame that wibbly wobbly, timey wimey stuff). Do you like the new paint job on the TARDIS?


The correct answer here for me would be: Yes, I did take the TARDIS out for a spin, and yes I did sleep with David Tennant, feel free to get totally jealous lol



Midnight Whimsy said:


> It does! I mean, if you have a pair of dedicated indoor shoes, then okay. But tracking dirt and nastiness all around the nice interior of your house from outdoor shoes? I just don't get it.
> 
> I had to ask my American friend what I should do if I visited an American home. Take my shoes off and look weird? Leave them on even if they're dirty? (She wisely said I should do what everyone else was doing, haha.)
> 
> M.W


We Brits would generally keep shoes on, unless told that it's a "shoes off house" upon entry. Which is considered a little bit lower class. However, as a writer I rarely get out of my pyjamas, so I mostly wear slippers all day long (again, considered rather Non-U behaviour, oh well!)


----------



## KGGiarratano (Aug 14, 2013)

I was visiting Scotland when a Kiwi asked me if Hoboken, NJ was near Florida. I said, "Well, I'm much closer to Florida than you are." He was asking out of concern because a cyclone (hurricane) was headed toward Florida. I was like, "Thanks, but I'm good." 

I miss traveling.


----------



## Axel Blackwell (Aug 10, 2014)

My brother's fourth-grade teacher thought New Zealand was part of Canada. She was pretty put out when he showed her that little spot next to Australia.


----------



## cinisajoy (Mar 10, 2013)

KGGiarratano said:


> I was visiting Scotland when a Kiwi asked me if Hoboken, NJ was near Florida. I said, "Well, I'm much closer to Florida than you are." He was asking out of concern because a cyclone (hurricane) was headed toward Florida. I was like, "Thanks, but I'm good."
> 
> I miss traveling.


I forget which hurricane ran over Florida and then came to Texas. I think Ivan. A friend in Florida called and asked if we were ok since the now thunderstorm was over us.


----------



## Jan Hurst-Nicholson (Aug 25, 2010)

Evenstar said:


> Okay, this would be a really good challenge!
> I challenge those US KBoarders who have a spare five mins to draw Britain without first looking at a map, and those British KBoarders to do the United States. I think we Brits would be pretty red faced at the end of it. I don't even know the names of most of the states let alone where they are. Though I have played RISK quite a few times so I should at least get the shape a bit better than this one!


When the soccer world cup was in SA in 2010 a US website showed a map of *South America* instead of *South Africa* (hope no one is still looking for the stadiums.) Admittedly the shape of AFRICA is not dissimilar to that of South America, but South Africa is a country at the bottom of Africa.


----------



## Guest (Jan 19, 2015)

It goes both ways. I get the American equivalent of those questions from people who are overseas from here. They mean well


----------



## Carol (was Dara) (Feb 19, 2011)

I love period BBC shows, so all my conversation with British people would be a hundred years or more behind the times. As far as I know, Edward VII is still your king.  I couldn't draw a map of Britain but, to be fair, I couldn't draw a map of the US as good as the one posted earlier. Although I would've crammed my own state (Oklahoma) in there somewhere. Speaking of which, I do not live in the desert or wear cowboy boots. Yes, I had a Cherokee ancestor but I can't speak Cherokee. I'm not a fan of guns, hunting, or wearing camouflage.  << Those last assumptions usually come from my fellow Americans. 

Also, I go barefoot indoors. Even if I'm a guest in somebody else's house as soon as I feel the least bit comfortable with them, I kick my shoes off. I'm pretty sure I embarrass my husband by slipping my shoes off under restaurant tables and sitting cross-legged in booths.


----------



## Jane Killick (Aug 29, 2014)

Evenstar said:


> No, it's not near London
> Yes, of course I've met the Queen, we take tea whenever she's at a loose end
> No, I don't drink tea
> Yes, of course I know John Smith from Swindon, our mothers were best friends
> ...


Roger McGough has a poem like this, it's called _Conversation on a Train_. He'd obviously met an American on a train journey and the poem is merely their side of the conversation where they ask all those sort of daft questions. Although one of them is something like "do you know The Beatles?" and, seeing as Roger McGough was actually in a band with Paul McCartney's brother (The Scaffold), it's safe to assume he did.


----------



## Lunachick (Jan 2, 2015)

Vaalingrade said:


> I'm just shocked so many Brits have been able to post on the internet after working in the fields wearing burlap sacks all day, dodging past fights between knights and dragons, and re-thatching their roof.


We utilise wind power. The methane from the cows in the field keeps the internet going, and we're awake because we haven't done a very good job on that roof and it's raining again


----------



## Lunachick (Jan 2, 2015)

Herc- The Reluctant Geek said:


> The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett features the Nac Mac Feegle - the pictsies were thrown out of Fairyland for being drunk and disorderly and have swords that glow blue in the presence of lawyers...
> 
> I couldn't resist a quote:
> 
> ...


I hope you aren't trying to say Geordies are known for fighting, drinking and stealing 
Sigh, you've watched Georgie Shore, haven't you?


----------



## Evan of the R. (Oct 15, 2013)

Here's everything you need to know about Knifecrime Island:










And we're done here.


----------



## Evenstar (Jan 26, 2013)

Evan of the R. said:


> Here's everything you need to know about Knifecrime Island:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


LOl, and who ever drew that nearly got the shape right.
But where on earth is the rest of Ireland?


----------



## Lydniz (May 2, 2013)

Evenstar said:


> But where on earth is the rest of Ireland?


Not part of the UK.


----------



## Susan Alison (Jul 1, 2011)

Drat! Now I'm gonna have to find Twinkies in the supermarket. After I've had my high tea and scones with Liz and Phil, that is.


----------



## Guest (Jan 19, 2015)

Lunachick said:


> Haway man! Gan canny bonny lad, yer divent wahnt tae dunch summick


I give up. You're telling me to go away? You have a smart skinny boy with a gun, and I won't want to punch that schmuck?


----------



## Lydniz (May 2, 2013)

Adly Teoh said:


> I give up. You're telling me to go away? You have a smart skinny boy with a gun, and I won't want to punch that schmuck?


I believe the translation is: "I say! Be careful, my good fellow, lest you collide with something."


----------



## Guest (Jan 19, 2015)

Lydniz said:


> I believe the translation is: "I say! Be careful, my good fellow, lest you collide with something."


Huh... I was pretty close  Thank you


----------



## I&#039;m a Little Teapot (Apr 10, 2014)

ruecole said:


> Have I mentioned lately that I love you, SevenDays?
> 
> Rue




I just don't feel comfortable wearing shoes in the house. It doesn't feel homey to me. Shoes on means I'm supposed to be somewhere outside the house, doing stuff. I can't relax at home with shoes on.


----------



## MyraScott (Jul 18, 2014)

Hate shoes.  Take them off as soon as I walk in the door.  Take them off under the desk at work.  Take them off anywhere I have to sit for a long period of time.  Fuzzy booties for when they get cold, but my toes prefer to be able to breathe!  Yes, they have lungs.  Or something.

If someone is wearing shoes around the house, I assume they a) don't live here or b) are preparing to go out.  I don't know anyone who wears shoes in their own house most of the time.  It's one of the reasons I couldn't hang with Flylady.  The shoe rules (and the incessant emails) were just too much.


----------



## ruecole (Jun 13, 2012)

SevenDays said:


> I just don't feel comfortable wearing shoes in the house. It doesn't feel homey to me. Shoes on means I'm supposed to be somewhere outside the house, doing stuff. I can't relax at home with shoes on.


First thing I do when I get home: kick off the shoes! 

Free your feet, I say!

Rue


----------



## ruecole (Jun 13, 2012)

Myra, Flylady and I couldn't be friends, either. 

Rue


----------



## unkownwriter (Jun 22, 2011)

Delusion of Grandeur said:


> That chocolate comes from Belgium.


You can buy chocolate from there at Aldi stores. Yum. Still love me a good, old-fashioned Hershey bar, though.

Stella, sounds like you get the kind of questions I always used to get when I was in the USAF:

what kind of planes do you fly? (I don't. I deliver parts to the people who fix them.)
are UFOs real? (Officially? No.)
do you know so-and-so from such-and-such base? (Oddly enough, the answer was often yes. We got shuffled around a lot.)
did you meet your husband in the military? (Nope. Knew him from before.)
what kind of Girl Scout are you? (That one was from my youngest sister's classmates. So sweet!)


----------



## I&#039;m a Little Teapot (Apr 10, 2014)

ruecole said:


> Myra, Flylady and I couldn't be friends, either.
> 
> Rue


That makes three of us!


----------



## jillb (Oct 4, 2014)

I thought this was funny:

http://www.businessinsider.com/whats-it-like-to-live-in-london-england-2015-1?utm_content=bufferb6a2c&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Oh! The Horrors of London with their lack of "Exit" signs and bad Chinese food! (London actually has some of the best Chinese restaurants around - and I'm Chinese)

I was born and raised in Singapore but attended college in the US and have lived in the US for almost half my lifetime now. I'll be honest and say that I won't be able to draw out the entire US map correctly. I have a general idea of the states in relation to the states I've lived in but there's no way I'll get it all right. 
I've never eaten a Twinkie, American or otherwise.


----------



## Lydniz (May 2, 2013)

jillb said:


> I thought this was funny:
> 
> http://www.businessinsider.com/whats-it-like-to-live-in-london-england-2015-1?utm_content=bufferb6a2c&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer
> 
> ...


Interesting article, although she might want to try broadening her horizons from McDonalds... Re electrical sockets - it's actually illegal to have them in bathrooms in the UK. I remember telling an Italian acquaintance this, and she thought it was hilarious.


----------



## I&#039;m a Little Teapot (Apr 10, 2014)

Lydniz said:


> Interesting article, although she might want to try broadening her horizons from McDonalds... Re electrical sockets - it's actually illegal to have them in bathrooms in the UK. I remember telling an Italian acquaintance this, and she thought it was hilarious.


 ... Really? How does one bathe with their hairdryer and radio, then?


----------



## Lydniz (May 2, 2013)

SevenDays said:


> ... Really? How does one bathe with their hairdryer and radio, then?


One doesn't. Unless your radio has batteries.


----------



## meowbiscuit (Jul 17, 2014)

Jan Hurst-Nicholson said:


> (And we mustn't forget the obligatory query when announcing that you are from South Africa - why aren't you black?)


My boyfriend is from SA. When I tell people he is from South Africa and then they meet him and realize he's white, you can see the shock and surprise on their face.

Then, "You don't sound anything like Leonardo DiCaprio!"


----------



## meowbiscuit (Jul 17, 2014)

Midnight Whimsy said:


> I once had a very serious conversation with an American friend about why people in TV shows/movies were always wearing their shoes in the house. Who wears shoes in the house? My friend patiently explained that, though it varies somewhat, many Americans do in fact wear their shoes in their houses.
> 
> M.W


I think it depends on the region. In the South, it seems we tend to remove ours as soon as we get home. There are exceptions of course, but even when my friends come over they tend to remove their shoes before we sit down. Unless it's more formal and then we keep them on.

Probably why the rest of the country makes fun of us for being "shoeless."


----------



## I&#039;m a Little Teapot (Apr 10, 2014)

Lydniz said:


> One doesn't. Unless your radio has batteries.


Interesting ... Here we have sockets in all the bathrooms, but all our appliances remind us that we're not to use them in the shower. Because, I guess, somewhere there are people who do.


----------



## Cliff Ball (Apr 10, 2010)

There are some Americans who have no concept of the size of their own country or states either. I live in Texas, and used to live in Amarillo. I used to work as a hotel bellman and had to pick up business people from the airport, most of these people had to stop in Houston first. It could be the middle of winter, a couple inches of snow on the ground, around freezing, in Amarillo, but raining in Houston and in the 50's. So, one of the first things they would say to me is that they didn't think it snowed in Texas and how come it wasn't raining because it was in Houston. I told them Amarillo was closer to Colorado Springs, so that's why our weather was the way it is and Houston is well over 500 miles south, near the Gulf of Mexico. They still didn't really get it. From Texline (northern border of Texas with New Mexico) to Harlingen(extreme southern border) is 874 miles!

Family drove from DFW to Yellowstone and I've never seen so many empty roads in my life as I did between Kansas and Wyoming!

By the way, Twinkies (YUCK!) and Hostess are now a part of the Bimbo Company, which is owned by a Mexican billionaire....


----------



## Daniel Dennis (Mar 3, 2014)

Got a good laugh when reading the OP. I think you covered all the typical stereotypes. Love the Hogwarts one.

I usually get asked if we still have people living in tepees in Oklahoma. Some people are great for laughs.


----------



## Cherise (May 13, 2012)

Evenstar said:


> Okay, this would be a really good challenge!
> I challenge those US KBoarders who have a spare five mins to draw Britain without first looking at a map...


Most of the comedy stems from my attempt to draw with a mouse, I hope!


----------



## Lummox JR (Jul 1, 2012)

Evenstar said:


> Yes, of course I've met the Queen, we take tea whenever she's at a loose end


I've heard a lot of British expressions, but "at a loose end" is a new one on me.


----------



## I&#039;m a Little Teapot (Apr 10, 2014)

Lummox JR said:


> I've heard a lot of British expressions, but "at a loose end" is a new one on me.


"At a loose end" means you've got nothing to do and you're a bit bored.


----------



## Guest (Jan 19, 2015)

Cherise Kelley said:


> Most of the comedy stems from my attempt to draw with a mouse, I hope!


Love it!  Though the Irish might not be too happy that their island had shrunk...


----------



## Bluebonnet (Dec 15, 2013)

meowbiscuit said:


> I think it depends on the region. In the South, it seems we tend to remove ours as soon as we get home. There are exceptions of course, but even when my friends come over they tend to remove their shoes before we sit down. Unless it's more formal and then we keep them on.
> 
> Probably why the rest of the country makes fun of us for being "shoeless."


I'm a Southerner. Everybody in my family has always worn our shoes indoors. I can't stand to walk around barefoot or in socks. I couldn't go shoeless now even if I wanted to -- my old bony feet hurt too much to walk unprotected on the floor. I have to have the support and padding of shoes.


----------



## Andrew Ashling (Nov 15, 2010)

Lydniz said:


> One doesn't. Unless your radio has batteries.





SevenDays said:


> Interesting ... Here we have sockets in all the bathrooms, but all our appliances remind us that we're not to use them in the shower. Because, I guess, somewhere there are people who do.


Let me summarize.

In the UK people don't dry their hair. In the US people will try to dry their hair under the shower, unless explicitly warned not to do so.

You're all crazy.


----------



## 555aaa (Jan 28, 2014)

Andrew Ashling said:


> Let me summarize.
> 
> In the UK people don't dry their hair. In the US people will try to dry their hair under the shower, unless explicitly warned not to do so.
> 
> You're all crazy.


We iron our clothes while we're wearing them.


----------



## Lydniz (May 2, 2013)

I dry my hair in the bedroom. I also have no particular preference for shoes off or on in the house (we tended to wear them indoors when I was growing up), but since I married a Welshman whose family all take them off, I've got used to taking them off.


----------



## Andrew Ashling (Nov 15, 2010)

555aaa said:


> We iron our clothes while we're wearing them.


It's even worse than I feared.


----------



## Lunachick (Jan 2, 2015)

oakwood said:


> Shush!! I actually have a story where cows have fart-collectors attached that produce better $$$ than milk for future farmers.


Great minds and all that  I hope the farmer realises that the fart and milk come from different areas so if he collected both he could be well in 

Does bimbo have the same meaning in other parts of the world? Airhead?


----------



## MyraScott (Jul 18, 2014)

Lunachick said:


> Great minds and all that  I hope the farmer realises that the fart and milk come from different areas so if he collected both he could be well in
> 
> Does bimbo have the same meaning in other parts of the world? Airhead?


No, that's not what it means around here. Closer to, lady with no morals.


----------



## 555aaa (Jan 28, 2014)

We also have the Cadillac "d**chebag" commercial (can I say that??) featuring Neal McDonough who isn't.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGJSI48gkFc

There's also a Ford parody ad of that ad

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAN61QK0aUI


----------



## Lunachick (Jan 2, 2015)

MyraScott said:


> No, that's not what it means around here. Closer to, lady with no morals.


Actually that's probably closer to what we would say too, but intelligence (or lack of it) would definitely be part of it.


----------



## ruecole (Jun 13, 2012)

SevenDays said:


> That makes three of us!


 

Rue


----------



## meh (Apr 18, 2013)

TOS.


----------



## Cherise (May 13, 2012)

judygoodwin said:


> And yes, I love when people come to Phoenix and ask if we just bop on over to the beach some afternoons. It's a six hour drive to L.A.


And because of traffic, it's often a three-hour drive from LA to the beach!


----------



## 75814 (Mar 12, 2014)

555aaa said:


> We iron our clothes while we're wearing them.


It's a time-saver.


----------



## CoraBuhlert (Aug 7, 2011)

jillb said:


> I thought this was funny:
> 
> http://www.businessinsider.com/whats-it-like-to-live-in-london-england-2015-1?utm_content=bufferb6a2c&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer
> 
> Oh! The Horrors of London with their lack of "Exit" signs and bad Chinese food! (London actually has some of the best Chinese restaurants around - and I'm Chinese)


That was hilarious and you'd probably have to be from New York to find housing in London affordable. As for the Chinese food, any British city with a sizeable number of people of Chinese origin tends to have some very good Chinese restaurants. Perhaps not quite up to Singaporean standards (I lived there for five months as a kid), but pretty close. I'm also amazed that she somehow managed to live in London without ever trying Indian food.

Regarding grocery bagging, coming from Europe where we bag our own groceries (and in Germany, we even bring our own bags or we have to buy a plastic bag at the cash register), I'm always very uncomfortable when I come across one of those grocery baggers in the US, because I'm never sure whether I'm supposed to tip them or not. And when I decided "Okay, I'll better tip the bag person, because I don't want to look like a stingy German", the kid was so overjoyed that he carried the bags to my car.


----------



## Guest (Jan 20, 2015)

This tread is going strong!  Speaking of the English and food- you've probably been asked about fish and chips but-

Do you like curry?


----------



## cinisajoy (Mar 10, 2013)

CoraBuhlert said:


> That was hilarious and you'd probably have to be from New York to find housing in London affordable. As for the Chinese food, any British city with a sizeable number of people of Chinese origin tends to have some very good Chinese restaurants. Perhaps not quite up to Singaporean standards (I lived there for five months as a kid), but pretty close. I'm also amazed that she somehow managed to live in London without ever trying Indian food.
> 
> Regarding grocery bagging, coming from Europe where we bag our own groceries (and in Germany, we even bring our own bags or we have to buy a plastic bag at the cash register), I'm always very uncomfortable when I come across one of those grocery baggers in the US, because I'm never sure whether I'm supposed to tip them or not. And when I decided "Okay, I'll better tip the bag person, because I don't want to look like a stingy German", the kid was so overjoyed that he carried the bags to my car.


No, we don't tip grocery baggers and yes on more than 2 bags some stores prefer they do carry out. Now one store, if you are older or pregnant they wouldn't even let you carry out a loaf of bread.


----------



## DanaG (Feb 13, 2011)

Well, if we're getting to ask questions about England, I'd like to ask the OP what they eat for Thanksgiving in England, and also I'm hoping she could introduce me to David Beckham. Or Matt Smith. I'm good with either.


----------



## CoraBuhlert (Aug 7, 2011)

Alas, I'm not elderly (and that incident was over ten years ago) nor was I pregnant.


----------



## ruecole (Jun 13, 2012)

So many people are shocked when they find out we have no snow in the winter here in Vancouver. Or if we do, it's a big deal. Car accidents. Schools shut down. Grocery store shelves emptied. Etc. Etc. Yes, I live in Canada. No, it doesn't snow here seven months of the year. 

Rue


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## cinisajoy (Mar 10, 2013)

CoraBuhlert said:


> Alas, I'm not elderly (and that incident was over ten years ago) nor was I pregnant.


That store has a policy of more than 3 bags and they will do carry out for everyone. Except for meats, they are the most expensive store in town.


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## katrina46 (May 23, 2014)

Jill Nojack said:


> This!
> 
> I was in Newcastle-on-Tyne on Guy Fawkes day a few years ago when I went to visit a friend, and his wife's father was discussing an upcoming trip to the US. He was very excited about visiting DisneyWorld in Florida and thought that he might also like to visit Disneyland in California if they had time. He was planning on driving it. They were going to be on a two week vacation.
> 
> I politely explained that it would take four long days of driving one way, but they could do it in three if they drove most of the night. Just about everyone there looked at me like I was making it up.


I live in Texas but I lived in Missouri for a while. My friend had a friend fly over and stay with her in Missouri. He was so excited to visit the US he asked if I would mind driving him to Texas since I'm from there. He wanted to touch a gun. I swear, not making it up. We said no, it's like 1100 miles, but we have guns in Missouri.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

ruecole said:


> Myra, Flylady and I couldn't be friends, either.
> 
> Rue


Don't tell Flylady (whom I love) but I don't wear shoes inside the house. Of course, I don't wear them outside the house, either, if I can avoid it. This time of year, not so much.

Betsy


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## ruecole (Jun 13, 2012)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> Don't tell Flylady (whom I love) but I don't wear shoes inside the house. Of course, I don't wear them outside the house, either, if I can avoid it. This time of year, not so much.
> 
> Betsy


I used to go barefoot pretty much all summer when I was younger. When you wear boots all winter, it feels amazing to let your feet free again. 

Rue


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## Andrew Ashling (Nov 15, 2010)

ruecole said:


> I used to go barefoot pretty much all summer when I was younger. When you wear boots all winter, it feels amazing to let your feet free again.
> 
> Rue


Oh My Goat.

Hippies everywhere. I bet the quilting one even went to Woodstock. This whole site is run by pot smoking, barefoot hippies out to corrupt innocent Europeans.


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## ruecole (Jun 13, 2012)

Okay, let me rephrase that:

When I was ten, I used to go barefoot pretty much everywhere I could. I still spend basically April to October with as minimal footwear as possible. 

Rue


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## horrordude1973 (Sep 20, 2014)

I couldn't follow anything in this thread as I can't read, and I'm too busy cleaning my guns while watching Fox News, eating cheeseburgers and measuring my weener.


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## MacMcAdams (Dec 25, 2014)

I wish I could meet you in person...to ask how you like living in Australia.


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## Adrian Howell (Feb 24, 2013)

Since no one seems to be able to accurately draw a map of the UK, let me see if I can set the record straight. I've actually been there once last summer. Beautiful place, friendly people, very spicy curry.










Who knew Ireland's southern coastline was so straight?


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## Colin (Aug 6, 2011)

Adly Teoh said:


> This tread is going strong! Speaking of the English and food- you've probably been asked about fish and chips but-
> 
> Do you like curry?


Curry: We Brits eat truckloads of the stuff every year.

It's said that when we were lording it up in India in Victorian times, military cooks added spices to the meat to disguise the fact that most of it was rancid. So although vegetable curry is definitely an Indian invention, meat curry was probably invented by the Brits.

But it could be a turban myth!


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## AkBee (Aug 24, 2012)

No, we don't live in igloos
Yes, we are a state of the USA, not a country by ourselves
No, it isn't dark year round
Yes, we have city moose and country moose, same with bears
No, we can't see Russia from the front porch
Yes, we are bigger than Texas!
AK is 587,878 sq miles, Texas is a lightweight at 266,874


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## vlmain (Aug 10, 2011)

ruecole said:


> So many people are shocked when they find out we have no snow in the winter here in Vancouver. Or if we do, it's a big deal. Car accidents. Schools shut down. Grocery store shelves emptied. Etc. Etc. Yes, I live in Canada. No, it doesn't snow here seven months of the year.
> 
> Rue


But you do have tea and that is all that matters.


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## ruecole (Jun 13, 2012)

Yes, lots of tea. 

We also have at least as many coffee shops as Seattle. Maybe more! (They also have tea.)

Rue


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## Colin (Aug 6, 2011)

oakwood said:


> FYI Bimbo is an honorary degree blond Swedish gold diggers receive on returning from the west.


Bimbo is also a brand of Spanish bread. It's like cardboard but with less mouth appeal.


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## Gator (Sep 28, 2012)

Lydniz said:


> Re electrical sockets - it's actually illegal to have them in bathrooms in the UK. I remember telling an Italian acquaintance this, and she thought it was hilarious.


That's because you have _indoor plumbing_. Electricity and running water don't mix. What you need is one of these hooked up with electrical outlets and lighting, and you're good to go:


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## 75814 (Mar 12, 2014)

Might as well use this to clear up some questions I'm often asked by friends and family in the States about Japan:

No, we aren't super technologically advanced. Fax machines and Internet Explorer are considered cutting edge technology here.

Yes, Christmas exists here but it's an excuse to eat KFC with your significant other. No, I'm not joking.

No, it's not expensive. Tokyo is expensive, but Tokyo is like a completely separate country.

No, there aren't used panty vending machines. There are porno vending machines, though.

No, Fukushima hasn't destroyed the country and turned all survivors into mutated freaks. We put our pants on three legs at a time just like the rest of the world.


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## Colin (Aug 6, 2011)

Perry Constantine said:


> No, it's not expensive. Tokyo is expensive, but Tokyo is like a completely separate country.


I was told that it's so expensive to buy fish in Japan that they can't afford to cook it when they get home.


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## George Hamilton (Dec 14, 2010)

I was on a beach in LA to watch the 4 July fireworks display one year. I then flew to the Bahamas and watched their independence day fireworks celebrations on 10 July, which were launched from a ship just off the coast. To dispel another stereotype, the US version was a mere bud in comparison to what was on display in the Bahamas.

[Ok, ok, I knew some smart a** would say but we have thousands of them, and when you put them all together we've still got the biggest!]


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## Abalone (Jan 31, 2014)

Been to Reading. Never been to London.


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## Lunachick (Jan 2, 2015)

Perry Constantine said:


> Might as well use this to clear up some questions I'm often asked by friends and family in the States about Japan:
> 
> No, we aren't super technologically advanced. Fax machines and Internet Explorer are considered cutting edge technology here.
> 
> ...


Yeah, but you do all go to karaoke bars after work, right?


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## Abalone (Jan 31, 2014)

Andrew Ashling said:


> 'Allo, 'Allo.


"You stupid woman, this poor child has had a fright. Her mother wrote her telling her that her dog died."

LOVE THAT SHOW.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Andrew Ashling said:


> Oh My Goat.
> 
> Hippies everywhere. I bet the quilting one even went to Woodstock. This whole site is run by pot smoking, barefoot hippies out to corrupt innocent Europeans.


How freaking old do you think I am?



You're banned.


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## Lunachick (Jan 2, 2015)

Colin said:


> Bimbo is also a brand of Spanish bread. It's like cardboard but with less mouth appeal.


I hope that van doesn't go to Sweden, they might get the wrong idea


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## Abalone (Jan 31, 2014)

Bimbo is a Mexican company with operations in South America, the US and Europe. They sell the same junk in stores here.


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## Colin (Aug 6, 2011)

Lunachick said:


> I hope that van doesn't go to Sweden, they might get the wrong idea


They'll probably think it's full of synaptically-challenged, gold digging blondes.


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## kathrynoh (Oct 17, 2012)

> No, there aren't used panty vending machines. There are porno vending machines, though.


There are in Tokyo. If you go to the seedy parts 

Tokyo isn't actually that expensive to live in. It can be, if you want to live in a new apartment in the super stylish part of town but it's no more expensive than most cities in Australia.

Btw we don't use kangaroos as transport in Australia and koalas can be quite vicious


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## 75814 (Mar 12, 2014)

Lunachick said:


> Yeah, but you do all go to karaoke bars after work, right?


That is actually a true stereotype.



kathrynoh said:


> There are in Tokyo. If you go to the seedy parts
> 
> Tokyo isn't actually that expensive to live in. It can be, if you want to live in a new apartment in the super stylish part of town but it's no more expensive than most cities in Australia.
> 
> Btw we don't use kangaroos as transport in Australia and koalas can be quite vicious


If you compare it to other parts, Tokyo's very expensive. Our apartment has two 6-mat rooms, a 4.5 mat room, and a 4.5 mat kitchen for under 5 man a month. Place like that in Tokyo would probably cost at least twice that if you're lucky.


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## kathrynoh (Oct 17, 2012)

> If you compare it to other parts, Tokyo's very expensive. Our apartment has two 6-mat rooms, a 4.5 mat room, and a 4.5 mat kitchen for under 5 man a month. Place like that in Tokyo would probably cost at least twice that if you're lucky.


We had a place about that size in Tokyo and paid a bit over 10 but it was a furnished, monthly rental so, of course, cost extra. My friend paid around 5 for 1DK that was a real rental but it was a long way from the station and didn't have a proper toilet - it was one of those compromises btw the squat toilet and a western one so pretty much a squat one built up to sitting level!

I reckon the biggest Japan myth is that Japanese work so hard. Sure they work long hours but it's far from productive time. If you go to karaoke places during the day, the rooms are filled with salarymen sitting there alone practising their tunes.


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

Tokyo may be expensive, but Sydney is just as expensive. Going overseas, anywhere, and you're constantly pleasantly surprised at how cheap everything is. OMG, the US is so cheap! Everyone always comes back from US trips with loads of clothing. Even on a recent European trip some people were trying to impress with prices for their best real estate. All I could do was laugh.


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## 75814 (Mar 12, 2014)

kathrynoh said:


> I reckon the biggest Japan myth is that Japanese work so hard. Sure they work long hours but it's far from productive time. If you go to karaoke places during the day, the rooms are filled with salarymen sitting there alone practising their tunes.


Oh god, yeah. Lots of things in Japan are based on appearances. If you sit at your desk for five hours after quitting time, you're considered to be a much harder worker than someone who clocks out on time, even if the guy who leaves on time was twice as productive as you. It's especially hard on younger employees who are usually expected to work more overtime than everyone else. Then everyone's surprised why young people aren't having babies.


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## kathrynoh (Oct 17, 2012)

Sydney is more expensive than Tokyo. Isn't it one of the most expensive cities in the world?


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## BatCauldron (Oct 2, 2013)

Delusion of Grandeur said:


> The big problem with the British is that, in addition to driving on the wrong side of the road, they talk kinda funny. I once dated a girl from Scotland, and while talking funny is sexy in a woman, it is definitely a big negativo for any male person of the British persuasion.


Gi' o'er, lad. Dunt kid yersen - yer luv a bit a Northern chat, lahk.


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## BatCauldron (Oct 2, 2013)

In the interests of fairness, I should point out that last Thanksgiving, my girlfriend (a Michigander) presented me with a blank map of the United States and asked me to name as many states as I could.

I didn't do very well...


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

BatCauldron said:


> In the interests of fairness, I should point out that last Thanksgiving, my girlfriend (a Michigander) presented me with a blank map of the United States and asked me to name as many states as I could.


Yeah, that's kind of what I thought it would be for many people in the US. 

EDIT: If y'all want to try the US like BatCauldron did, here's an online version:
http://online.seterra.net/en/ex/8

(I got 90%--those squares in the West always confuse me just a bit, plus on my iPad, I fat-fingered a couple states on the East.)

Betsy


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## 75814 (Mar 12, 2014)

BatCauldron said:


> In the interests of fairness, I should point out that last Thanksgiving, my girlfriend (a Michigander) presented me with a blank map of the United States and asked me to name as many states as I could.
> 
> I didn't do very well...


Speaking as someone born and raised in Chicago, I love that you wrote it down for Illinois first. Chicago basically is its own state. Everything outside of Cook County is backwoods country.

But any goodwill you had is erased at writing Chicago in both Kentucky and Tennessee. That's just mean!


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## BatCauldron (Oct 2, 2013)

Perry Constantine said:


> Speaking as someone born and raised in Chicago, I love that you wrote it down for Illinois first. Chicago basically is its own state. Everything outside of Cook County is backwoods country.
> 
> But any goodwill you had is erased at writing Chicago in both Kentucky and Tennessee. That's just mean!


Haha! The worst thing is, I've been to Chicago (and, if this makes it any easier to forgive me, I absolutely bloody love it there). But, yes, I did have a minor brain-spasm about Chicago vs Illinois... and I literally only realised it because I was thinking of the Sufjan Stevens album 'Illinois'.


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## Lunachick (Jan 2, 2015)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> Yeah, that's kind of what I thought it would be for many people in the US.
> 
> EDIT: If y'all want to try the US like BatCauldron did, here's an online version:
> http://online.seterra.net/en/ex/8
> ...


I got 25% but in all fairness it would have been a lot lower if the names weren't given when you clicked on the wrong state. I'm quite impressed with myself seeing as I once had to drive from London to Brighton (SE coast) and I ended up in Wales (NOT SE coast ) ). It's fair to say geography is not my strong suit


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Lunachick said:


> I got 25% but in all fairness it would have been a lot lower if the names weren't given when you clicked on the wrong state. I'm quite impressed with myself seeing as I once had to drive from London to Brighton (SE coast) and I ended up in Wales (NOT SE coast ) ). It's fair to say geography is not my strong suit


Yeah, if you click on the wrong state, it lets you know you're wrong and says again "Click on Florida." (For example.) But if you do that too many times, it just turns the state red and you don't get another chance!

Betsy


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Here's one for UK cities:

http://online.seterra.net/en/ex/46

And for Canadian cities:

http://online.seterra.net/en/ex/51

or Canadian provinces:

http://online.seterra.net/en/ex/85

Betsy


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## Elizabeth Ann West (Jul 11, 2011)

I got 50% on the UK . . .


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## Lydniz (May 2, 2013)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> Yeah, that's kind of what I thought it would be for many people in the US.
> 
> EDIT: If y'all want to try the US like BatCauldron did, here's an online version:
> http://online.seterra.net/en/ex/8
> ...


I got 46%. Must do better. I seem to get the midwest and the west confused.


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## BatCauldron (Oct 2, 2013)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> Here's one for UK cities:
> 
> http://online.seterra.net/en/ex/46
> 
> ...


Nice - I got 100% on the UK one... so I'm not a total numpty.


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## I&#039;m a Little Teapot (Apr 10, 2014)

kathrynoh said:


> Btw we don't use kangaroos as transport in Australia and koalas can be quite vicious


And those drop bears ... shudder!


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## Guest (Jan 20, 2015)

Colin said:


> Curry: We Brits eat truckloads of the stuff every year.
> 
> It's said that when we were lording it up in India in Victorian times, military cooks added spices to the meat to disguise the fact that most of it was rancid. So although vegetable curry is definitely an Indian invention, meat curry was probably invented by the Brits.
> 
> But it could be a turban myth!


Oh I just thought about this... curried fish and chips sounds really good. Has anyone over there started that yet? If not, screw writing, I'll open a restaurant somewhere in Britain instead!


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## Guest (Jan 20, 2015)

BatCauldron said:


> Gi' o'er, lad. Dunt kid yersen - yer luv a bit a Northern chat, lahk.


Yeah, that. That Scottish girl used to sing a song for me -

_Ye canny shove yer grannie aff a bus

Naw ye canny shove yer grannie aff a bus

Naw ye canny shove yer grannie

Cause she's yer mammie's mammie

Ye canny shove yer grannie aff a bus

Ye can shove yer other grannie aff a bus PUSH PUSH

Ye can shove yer other grannie aff a bus PUSH PUSH

Ye can shove yer other grannie

Cause she's just yer daddie's mammie

Shove yer other grannie aff a bus PUSH PUSH_

And it took me months AND an explanation to finally understand that the song means:

you can*not* shove your granny from the bus, because she is your mother's mom, 
but you can shove your other granny from the bus.

imagine my surprise.


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## Lydniz (May 2, 2013)

Delusion of Grandeur said:


> And it took me months AND an explanation to finally understand that the song means:
> 
> you can*not* shove your granny from the bus, because she is your mother's mom,
> but you can shove your other granny from the bus.
> ...


Is your grandmother out of plaster yet?


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## Guest (Jan 20, 2015)

Lydniz said:


> Is your grandmother out of plaster yet?


I guess you had to be there. She would go around singing "you canny shove your granny from a bus..." And I would sing along, too, just to humor her, thinking - this is an awesome children's song, they are singing of tossing grannies off a bus!

And then... to my amazement, it meant something else entirely.

I'll never understand those British people.


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## Colin (Aug 6, 2011)

Adly Teoh said:


> Oh I just thought about this... curried fish and chips sounds really good. Has anyone over there started that yet? If not, screw writing, I'll open a restaurant somewhere in Britain instead!


Not exactly. But a lot of fish and chip shops sell curry sauce.

I'm a purist, so never tried it on fish and chips.


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## meh (Apr 18, 2013)

TOS.


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## Davout73 (Feb 20, 2014)

I've been looking for an authentic fish and chips since I moved to the midwest....I suspect I'll be looking for awhile.

I lived in England for three years as a young teen.  Still like my tea, still remember the ferry full of drunk Everton fans coming back from a game in France, still remember watching 'Allo 'Allo.  They ever find the real painting?  I missed the last season.

Best/worst memory is our first Thanksgiving there.  Mom went out and bought a turkey from the local market.  Farmer used fish meal as his primary food source.  So, 18 pound turkey, looks like turkey, tastes like turkey, smells like bad haddock.  Discovered brining the next Thanksgiving.

Dav


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## Andrew Ashling (Nov 15, 2010)

Davout73 said:


> I've been looking for an authentic fish and chips since I moved to the midwest....I suspect I'll be looking for awhile.
> 
> I lived in England for three years as a young teen. Still like my tea, still remember the ferry full of drunk Everton fans coming back from a game in France, still remember watching 'Allo 'Allo. They ever find the real painting? I missed the last season.
> 
> ...


Yep, they found the _Fallen Madonna with the Big Boobies_ by Van Klomp. Forgotten the details, but it was _not_ hidden in a sausage.


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## Guest (Jan 20, 2015)

Colin said:


> Not exactly. But a lot of fish and chip shops sell curry sauce.
> 
> I'm a purist, so never tried it on fish and chips.


Bummer duuude... back to writing, I guess.



Davout73 said:


> I've been looking for an authentic fish and chips since I moved to the midwest....I suspect I'll be looking for awhile.


Can't help with the midwest, but if you ever go to Anchorage AK, the Downtown Deli's got pretty good Halibut and chips, I think they put a little turmeric in the breading. If you find yourself in Valdez AK, there's Halibut House, best fishnchips I've ever had. The halibut samich is pretty good too.


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## Lydniz (May 2, 2013)

One thing you can't get in the UK which I'd love to be able to find is decent sourdough bread. The stuff we get here just tastes like bread.


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## Evenstar (Jan 26, 2013)

ruecole said:


> So many people are shocked when they find out we have no snow in the winter here in Vancouver. Or if we do, it's a big deal. Car accidents. Schools shut down. Grocery store shelves emptied. Etc. Etc. Yes, I live in Canada. No, it doesn't snow here seven months of the year.
> 
> Rue


I don't believe you. I was in Vancouver for the winter of 1981 and all I remember is snow. It was literally 6ft deep around the car, and my dad took a photo of icicles that were about 80ft long. We even went skiing on Christmas day. But I also remember that the wooden lodge we stayed in was so hot inside that you shed your coat and jumpers and trousers and shoes and walked about in practically underwear.



Lydniz said:


> One thing you can't get in the UK which I'd love to be able to find is decent sourdough bread. The stuff we get here just tastes like bread.


Why not just make your own?


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## Colin (Aug 6, 2011)

Adly Teoh said:


> Bummer duuude... back to writing, I guess.


You could try inventing a curry burger.


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## Evenstar (Jan 26, 2013)

DanaG said:


> Well, if we're getting to ask questions about England, I'd like to ask the OP what they eat for Thanksgiving in England, and also I'm hoping she could introduce me to David Beckham. Or Matt Smith. I'm good with either.


I find it best to keep my mouth firmly shut on the subject of Thanks Giving as my views about the hypocrisy of the celebration are pretty strong!

I am unlikely to socialise with David Beckham as he is a football player (soccer) and distinctly lower class (even though Wills doesn't seem to mind that for some reason).

I'll ask Matt to give you a ring though, next time I run into him


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## ruecole (Jun 13, 2012)

Evenstar said:


> I don't believe you. I was in Vancouver for the winter of 1981 and all I remember is snow. It was literally 6ft deep around the car, and my dad took a photo of icicles that were about 80ft long. We even went skiing on Christmas day. But I also remember that the wooden lodge we stayed in was so hot inside that you shed your coat and jumpers and trousers and shoes and walked about in practically underwear.


You sure that wasn't Whistler? LOL (No "lodges" in Vancouver. It's a big city!  )

I'll admit I didn't live here in 1981, so maybe there was a freak blizzard that year (it has happened as recently as the winter of 200, but I've never heard anyone so much as mention it!

99.9% of the time it does not snow in Vancouver. If it does, it's for a day or two, then it turns back to rain.

Rue


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## jillb (Oct 4, 2014)

I got 62% on the US map and 50% on the UK one! I really have no UK geography clue other than Belfast is in Ireland, Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh are in Scotland in the north and Bristol is a coastal town. Teehee


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## Lydniz (May 2, 2013)

Evenstar said:


> Why not just make your own?


Does not compute.


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## CoraBuhlert (Aug 7, 2011)

I got 94% on the US state quiz (got one of the square states mixed up as well as Minnesota and Missouri).

I got 100% on both the UK and Canadian city quiz and 76% on the Canadian province quiz (had trouble locating Prince Edward Island and got Manitoba and Sasketchewan mixed up).

If anybody wants to try their knowledge of Germany, that site has both cities and states:

Cities: http://online.seterra.net/en/ex/24
States: http://online.seterra.net/en/ex/104


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## 75814 (Mar 12, 2014)

I got 59% on the US map and 61% on the Canadian one. In my defense, the states I got wrong in the US are states that I wish didn't even exist.


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## meowbiscuit (Jul 17, 2014)

MyraScott said:


> No, that's not what it means around here. Closer to, lady with no morals.


I always thought it was closer to "lady with no brains and possibly no morals as a result of that."


----------



## BatCauldron (Oct 2, 2013)

jillb said:


> I really have no UK geography clue other than Belfast is in Ireland


Never let someone from Northern Ireland hear you say that


----------



## Richardcrasta (Jul 29, 2010)

The variety of British accents bewilders me. Not just that BBC no longer has standard accents, but pronunciations like:
all: owl (Mick Jagger)
ROCK ME BABY: Mick Jagger version: "Rock me owl night lau-ong. Rawk me Beebay! Like my back ain't got no Bowles!"
states: stytes (cockney?)

PINK FLOYD'S "THE WALL"
education: edu-ky-shun
thought: thowt contryol
wall: wowl.


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## Taitrina (Oct 17, 2014)

I should be writing but this thread was too entertaining and too thought provoking. I'm from England and I've never been outside Europe.

I can name all of the US states. I memorized them all for fun, but just because I know them all doesn't mean I know where they go on the map. I got 38% on that. I did the British city test and got 82% despite living here, though in all fairness those were the better known cities. If you asked me to plot the counties on the map, I'd be in real trouble.

The comment earlier in the thread about the phrase "at a loose end" really hit home. I'm writing a book set in the US. I already knew I would need an American beta reader at the very least. Now, I'm doubly committed to finding an American to read my work. There's so much that I wouldn't think of as being 'British' but obviously is, it's a bit scary.

Oh and for the record I don't drink tea heh


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## Jan Hurst-Nicholson (Aug 25, 2010)

AA2014 said:


> Bimbo is a Mexican company with operations in South America, the US and Europe. They sell the same junk in stores here.


Where is 'here' ? I do wish posters would at least indicate which continent they are on .


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## Jan Hurst-Nicholson (Aug 25, 2010)

Colin said:


> You could try inventing a curry burger.


If you visit Durban you will find pickled fish. Fish curry is popular, and in some areas you can get curry sauce with just about anything - even for breakfast. (we supposedly have the largest Indian population outside of India) Curried burgers are on plenty of menus.


----------

