The Official "Your country is weird" Thread
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skunk
macrumors G4
Come over here and say that.clayj said:On behalf of the 5.6 billion of us who drive on the right, I send the following message to the citizens of the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, Japan, and New Zealand (and any other silly countries I might have missed):
Y'ALL DRIVE ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE ROAD!
kiwi-in-uk
macrumors 6502a
I'm enjoying this thread. So a few of my own tongue in cheek observations.
Why are the English so polite when they don't mean it?
Why are (US) Americans so brash when they don't mean it?
Why are Australians so aggressive when they don't mean it?
Why are New Zealanders so self deprecating when they don't mean it?
Apart from that ...
Food
- the British (not just English) obsession with all things fatty.
- the Australian (current) obsession with bitter lettuce
- the New Zealand obsession with GOOD FOOD.
- US Americans for eating everything sweet and buttery
Booze
- the obsession with young Brits - so called lager - blergh
- Australians (esp Melbourne) thinking that what they drink would be called beer anywhere else
- NZ - thinking they can drive after a few (yes I have seen it recently)
- US Americans for drinking Bud
Foreigners
- Brits (NOT ALL, but enough for me to comment) being xenophobic despite having a very low immigrant pop'n in % terms
- Aussies for having a dig even after 25 years (me)
- Kiwis - for being bewildered for the most part (despite being - arguably - the most travelled nationality on a per capita basis)
- US Americans (MR members excluded, obviously) for not understanding that there actually other places on earth; and expecting to be called Americans even though they comprise a minority population of North & South America
Having said all those nasty things, I must admit to having enjoyed living in NZ, Australia, UK, and US. I have had the privilege to live in Kuwait, but that was many years ago - and I enjoyed that as well.
Why are the English so polite when they don't mean it?
Why are (US) Americans so brash when they don't mean it?
Why are Australians so aggressive when they don't mean it?
Why are New Zealanders so self deprecating when they don't mean it?
Apart from that ...
Food
- the British (not just English) obsession with all things fatty.
- the Australian (current) obsession with bitter lettuce
- the New Zealand obsession with GOOD FOOD.
- US Americans for eating everything sweet and buttery
Booze
- the obsession with young Brits - so called lager - blergh
- Australians (esp Melbourne) thinking that what they drink would be called beer anywhere else
- NZ - thinking they can drive after a few (yes I have seen it recently)
- US Americans for drinking Bud
Foreigners
- Brits (NOT ALL, but enough for me to comment) being xenophobic despite having a very low immigrant pop'n in % terms
- Aussies for having a dig even after 25 years (me)
- Kiwis - for being bewildered for the most part (despite being - arguably - the most travelled nationality on a per capita basis)
- US Americans (MR members excluded, obviously) for not understanding that there actually other places on earth; and expecting to be called Americans even though they comprise a minority population of North & South America
Having said all those nasty things, I must admit to having enjoyed living in NZ, Australia, UK, and US. I have had the privilege to live in Kuwait, but that was many years ago - and I enjoyed that as well.
0098386
Suspended
takao said:
The driving on the left thing makes absolute sense, it dates back to the lancing days, where you would hold your lance in your right hand and charge at each other on the left. Its the rest of the world that though it 'wise' to flip it around. apart from the few left-side driving remaining countries. IIRC it even dates back to the roman road days, where people would travel on the left if the road was busy. its all down to tradition.
I hope we dont go to KM. I really dont like that. we probably invented it back before america but it does seem so american, "hyuck hyuck ah jeest drove ah freedom-thousand-latino-uber-stretch, hyuck!"... the hicks would say. Miles even sounds posh. Miles... Miles?... Miles!
Applespider
macrumors G4
raggedjimmi said:
And how many times have you been jousting in the past century or so? It does add extra costs to car design/manufacturing... and then we wonder why cars are dearer in the UK (and yes, I know you can order LHD cars from the Continent cheaper too)
The Americans don't use kilometres. They're hardcore 'milers', 'pounders', 'ouncers', 'gallons' as opposed to our metres, kilos, grams and litres. You can thank Europe for our adherence to sensible metric systems which would make a lot more sense if we didn't still try to stick to the old systems part of the time.
bousozoku
Moderator emeritus
clayj said:On behalf of the 5.6 billion of us who drive on the right, I send the following message to the citizens of the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, Japan, and New Zealand (and any other silly countries I might have missed):
Y'ALL DRIVE ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE ROAD!
I've driven through North Carolina. No matter where y'all are driving, y'all are on the wrong side of the road.
cantthinkofone
macrumors 65816
skunk said:
Thank you for clearing that up for me. But i still dont see her doing any thing.
kiwi-in-uk said:
Budwiser is "The King of Beer" if you didn't know. Sure the founder of Budwiser stole it from a guy over in the netherlands...
But i will say that i had a New Castle Brown while over in england and it actually tasted good at the time. I was only 15 and didn't like beer, still dont, but that one tasted surprisingly good.
Applespider said:
And God have mercy on the man or woman that tries to take away our 12 inches=1 feet, 3 feet= 1 yard. 5280 feet=1 mile.
Chacala_Nayarit
macrumors 6502
There are many reasons why I am living in Mexico on an FM-3 visa, that's a foreign resident visa, not a tourist visa. You can work your own business, but not work for an employer.
What I hate about the states:
1. Bush
2. Having to show ID to buy cigarettes or alcohol.
3. Fundamentalist theists
4. Having to make 6 figures to get a decent girlfriend.
5. The topic of conversations amongst men turns into, "..yeah I make 6 figures..." within a few paragraphs.
6. You can get arrested for drinking in the streets.
7. The price of rent in the states is ridiculous.
8. Drinking turns to fighting in the States.
9. American culture, what a joke. Pop culture is not culture.
10. Having the government tell you you will get fined for mowing your lawn, cutting the brush, or running water to wash your car.
This is only a sample of why I am in Mexico.
And to add:
In the states becareful what you download, RIAA is watching.
What I hate about the states:
1. Bush
2. Having to show ID to buy cigarettes or alcohol.
3. Fundamentalist theists
4. Having to make 6 figures to get a decent girlfriend.
5. The topic of conversations amongst men turns into, "..yeah I make 6 figures..." within a few paragraphs.
6. You can get arrested for drinking in the streets.
7. The price of rent in the states is ridiculous.
8. Drinking turns to fighting in the States.
9. American culture, what a joke. Pop culture is not culture.
10. Having the government tell you you will get fined for mowing your lawn, cutting the brush, or running water to wash your car.
This is only a sample of why I am in Mexico.
And to add:
In the states becareful what you download, RIAA is watching.
kiwi-in-uk
macrumors 6502a
Netherlands ... or here ... http://tuoppi.oulu.fi/kbs-bin/directbeer?Nr=90cantthinkofone said:
Cheers
cslewis
macrumors 6502a
cantthinkofone said:
Hear, hear. Many people I know (and myself) prefer the customary system of measurement. I mean... sure, our system may be more cumbersome at times, but our units and their relationships have so much history and personality. Metric units to me sound so sterile and cold, and slavishly follow a rigid decimal structure. For example, you can divide a foot evenly by 1,2,3,4,6,and 12, while the meter can only be divided by 1,2,4,5,and 10.
Plus, there ARE relationships between weight and volume in our system. A pint of water weighs 1 pound, which means that one fluid ounce weighs one dry ounce. Regardless of what some pro-metric people may think, our system isn't complicated, is somewhat logical, and suits us well. Why change?
Chip NoVaMac
macrumors G3
kiwi-in-uk said:
I guess it is a matter of perspective. I had a couple from Germany in my shop over the weekend. They relished being in the States with the wide open spaces. I lamented the close in cities of Europe.
What I did learn was that the grass is always greener on the other side. Whether we are talking about vacations or healthcare; there are differences that make each side better than the other.
Chacala_Nayarit
macrumors 6502
I use the metric system in Mexico. It's easy.
im_to_hyper
macrumors 65816
What is with measurements? It seems the US is slowly switching to metric. McDonalds sells half-liter bottles of water and yesterday I bought a 425mL bottle of Apple iJuice from the gas station convenience store.
In addition, whats with Canada? Modern and metricized, whatever, but the cans of pop are still 12 oz, or whatever the measurement is, which works out to be somewhere around 341mL or something. Why not make EVERYTHING metric if you are going to go ahead and do it.
Why does German capitalize every Noun and other non-important Word in their Vocabulary and combine huge small Words to make one huge Word (Unabhaengigkeitsklaerung -- Which leads me to this: why have letters with dots that my keyboard can't make and when I try it just ends up closing FireFox) and have 5 different Words for "the" (der, die, das, des, den) with three different Genders and different uses for each "the" based on the Case. (Nominative, Accusative, Dative, and Genetive).
I don't see why Puerto Rico just doesn't do something for itself. Become a state. Become independent. Just do something.
England (some for Canada): The "z" is a "zee", not a "zed" since that makes the "zee" sound in words such as "capitalize" and "cannibalize". "Eh" is NOT a trademarked Canadian thing... haven't you ever been to Minnesota, Wisconsin or the U.P. of Michigan?
In addition, whats with Canada? Modern and metricized, whatever, but the cans of pop are still 12 oz, or whatever the measurement is, which works out to be somewhere around 341mL or something. Why not make EVERYTHING metric if you are going to go ahead and do it.
Why does German capitalize every Noun and other non-important Word in their Vocabulary and combine huge small Words to make one huge Word (Unabhaengigkeitsklaerung -- Which leads me to this: why have letters with dots that my keyboard can't make and when I try it just ends up closing FireFox) and have 5 different Words for "the" (der, die, das, des, den) with three different Genders and different uses for each "the" based on the Case. (Nominative, Accusative, Dative, and Genetive).
I don't see why Puerto Rico just doesn't do something for itself. Become a state. Become independent. Just do something.
England (some for Canada): The "z" is a "zee", not a "zed" since that makes the "zee" sound in words such as "capitalize" and "cannibalize". "Eh" is NOT a trademarked Canadian thing... haven't you ever been to Minnesota, Wisconsin or the U.P. of Michigan?