# 16 People On Things They Couldn’t Believe About America Until They Moved Here **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 15, 2013, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/16-people-on-things-they-couldn-t-believe-about-america-until-they-moved-here/673954 "2013-11-15T01:24:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2013, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/16-people-on-things-they-couldn-t-believe-about-america-until-they-moved-here/673954/201 "2013-11-21T10:15:47Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Well, neither do North Americans - we have it once or twice a year here (on Thanksgiving mostly). I love pumpkin pie myself - mmm mmm good. You can have mine. On the once or twice occasions, I hope my hosts don’t serve pumpkin pie. They invariably do. I manage. If they were to serve an apple pie, on the other hand, especially with a piece of sharp cheddar cheese… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2013, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/16-people-on-things-they-couldn-t-believe-about-america-until-they-moved-here/673954/202 "2013-11-21T14:38:12Z")
> [@kambuckta](#): > > Ah yes, but we have[pavlova](http://food.ninemsn.com.au/recipes/ichocolate/8345460/chocolate-pavlova-with-raspberries). > > 😛 Which, as it turns out is much more delicious than pumpkin pie but also more work so I don’t know who wins that battle. ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2013, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/16-people-on-things-they-couldn-t-believe-about-america-until-they-moved-here/673954/203 "2013-11-21T14:40:19Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Well, neither do North Americans - we have it once or twice a year here (on Thanksgiving mostly). Yeah, that’s what I told her. I said it was a seasonal thing and it would pretty surprising to see pumpkin pie / pumpkin spice outside of fall or early winter. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2013, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/16-people-on-things-they-couldn-t-believe-about-america-until-they-moved-here/673954/204 "2013-11-21T14:53:27Z")
> [@kambuckta](#): > > Ah yes, but we have[pavlova](http://food.ninemsn.com.au/recipes/ichocolate/8345460/chocolate-pavlova-with-raspberries). > > 😛 Looks pretty tasty. Before I looked at the link, the name made it sound like it had [something to do with dogs.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Pavlov#Legacy) Or saliva. Or both. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2013, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/16-people-on-things-they-couldn-t-believe-about-america-until-they-moved-here/673954/205 "2013-11-21T19:04:27Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > Cookbooks always admonish that one should use small pumpkins for pie. Bad scratch pie might have been mistakenly made from an enormous would-be Jack O’Lantern. Yes - there are varieties of pumpkin that are bred for cooking, such as the Sugar Pie. They’re better than the nig Jack O’Lantern type pumpkins, but they’re still hard to deal with. They tend to be watery and stringy. Some cookbooks advise using a different type of squash, such as Hubbard. Butternut squash might work well. ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2013, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/16-people-on-things-they-couldn-t-believe-about-america-until-they-moved-here/673954/206 "2013-11-21T20:39:08Z")
> [@Aquadementia](#): > > Yeah, but they aren’t as much fun to carve after they’ve been canned. You obviously don’t have a plasma cutter at work or in your garage…😃 ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2013, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/16-people-on-things-they-couldn-t-believe-about-america-until-they-moved-here/673954/207 "2013-11-21T20:46:15Z")
> [@Nawth\_Chucka](#): > > [Or green tomato pie](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_92ggj1lK_Jw/TFcBVZfGkGI/AAAAAAAAANo/RAnAJv_pJWo/s400/sliced-tom-in-pie-shell-web.jpg). > [Or pecan pie.](http://themusingsofthebigredcar.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/pecan_pie.jpg) > [Or sugar pie](http://images.media-allrecipes.com/userphotos/250x250/00/97/07/970733.jpg). > [Or peanut butter pie.](http://unconfidentialcook.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/dsc_0046.jpg) > > Oh hey \*\*Swampspruce \*\*- Hill won’t let you do that nomo. Seems SOME people were buying enough for a few parties’ worth and even reselling it so there’s limits now. They still have those cute ‘STRONG BEER’ warning stickers on them, though. Precious. That really is a shame, we had some really great parties while I was there. I think there was only one or two nights the SPs weren’t paying us a visit…🆒 Absolutely beautiful area and I really liked the people. I also found it ironic that some of the best beer I’ve had in the US was in Utah…I wish I could get Wasatch beer in Alberta. And stop it, you’re making me hungry! You also forgot one of the USA’s greatest contributions ever to dessert-ry. Key Lime Pie… ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2013, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/16-people-on-things-they-couldn-t-believe-about-america-until-they-moved-here/673954/208 "2013-11-21T21:45:58Z")
> [@Jeff\_Lichtman](#): > > Yes - there are varieties of \*\*pumpkin that are bred \*\*for cooking, such as the Sugar Pie. They’re better than the nig Jack O’Lantern type pumpkins, but they’re still hard to deal with. They tend to be watery and stringy. Some cookbooks advise using a different type of squash, such as Hubbard. Butternut squash might work well. I didn’t need a visual of humping pumpkins, thanks for that. The Cinderella squash that gets used for the typical carved-for-decoration pumpkin is edible and a great vehicle for lots of spices and sugars, but by itself it’s pretty much just a dog treat. In times of need one could use its puree in place of applesauce in a baking recipe. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2013, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/16-people-on-things-they-couldn-t-believe-about-america-until-they-moved-here/673954/209 "2013-11-21T22:05:26Z")
> [@Nawth\_Chucka](#): > > humping pumpkins Band name! ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2013, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/16-people-on-things-they-couldn-t-believe-about-america-until-they-moved-here/673954/210 "2013-11-21T22:32:08Z")
This one kind of irritated me: From a South Seas island nation. “Wall-to-wall carpeting. The absolutely needless luxury is both profoundly wasteful and absurd. Not to mention hard to clean. I couldn’t agree more.” Yeah, you’re in a tropical paradise and don’t understand why someone would want to hop out of bed onto wall-to-wall polyester rather than cold wood on a January morning. I imagine they think that central heating and windows are a needless luxury as well. The weird thing is that wall-to-wall carpeting is probably the cheap approach – hardwood flooring is actually the luxury. ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2013, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/16-people-on-things-they-couldn-t-believe-about-america-until-they-moved-here/673954/211 "2013-11-21T22:40:24Z")
> [@CrazyCatLady](#): > > I had the same reaction to the [spotted dick in a can](http://www.britishfooddepot.com/Heinz-Spotted-Dick-Sponge-Pudding-114.htm?gclid=CIjz2q249LoCFcUWMgodVzQADw) I ran across in the foreign foods aisle yesterday. Is this actually an imported product, or is Heinz purely trying to cash in on the Homesick Brit market? You can buy that in any corner shop in the UK, pretty much. Just remember to make holes in the tin before you boil it… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/16-people-on-things-they-couldn-t-believe-about-america-until-they-moved-here/673954/212 "2013-11-22T00:17:09Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > From a South Seas island nation. > > “Wall-to-wall carpeting. The absolutely needless luxury is both profoundly wasteful and absurd. Not to mention hard to clean. I couldn’t agree more.” > Yeah, you’re in a tropical paradise and don’t understand why someone would want to hop out of bed onto wall-to-wall polyester rather than cold wood on a January morning. I imagine they think that central heating and windows are a needless luxury as well. “Why, they even spend money on wall-to-wall roofing, too!” ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/16-people-on-things-they-couldn-t-believe-about-america-until-they-moved-here/673954/213 "2013-11-22T00:57:24Z")
> [@interface2x](#): > > Yeah, that’s what I told her. I said it was a seasonal thing and it would pretty surprising to see pumpkin pie / pumpkin spice outside of fall or early winter. Supermarkets sell pumpkin pies all year round. And they sell reasonably well. The canned pumpkin to make the pies might be hard to find though. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/16-people-on-things-they-couldn-t-believe-about-america-until-they-moved-here/673954/214 "2013-11-22T05:48:09Z")
> [@Yookeroo](#): > > Supermarkets sell pumpkin pies all year round. And they sell reasonably well. The canned pumpkin to make the pies might be hard to find though. Or you could be like us and buy it by the case 😛 Though it is only made into pie for Thanksgiving and Christmas, we prefer it as just plain custard, or as a nice puree with dinner like mashed potatoes. It is great as part of a bread pudding, or pumpkin bread, or even pumpkin spice cake. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/16-people-on-things-they-couldn-t-believe-about-america-until-they-moved-here/673954/215 "2013-11-22T08:34:38Z")
> [@Dallas\_Jones](#): > > Well the police in the US do have a valid fear, or danger, that some simple traffic stop might lead to the citizen pulling out a gun and shooting at them. They have to be cautious. They get a little touchy about that. And all police in the US are well armed. > > So it is important to follow the instructions the police give and make no sudden moves. After you are identified and the reason for the stop is explained the situation becomes more normal. “Backchat”, or arguing with the cops is a good way to find yourself tazed or otherwise detained. It is best to just take your citation and leave the backchat to your lawyers. That’s the RATIONALE the cops give, the actual problem is that [US cops have become more militarized](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/01/cops-speak-out-on-police-_n_3688999.html) over the last few decades, and they tend to see American citizens as dangerous felons who should be shot first, questioned later, not the people they are trying to protect. ---
**Author:** ![antechinus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/fbc32d/32.png) [@antechinus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antechinus)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2013, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/16-people-on-things-they-couldn-t-believe-about-america-until-they-moved-here/673954/216 "2013-11-23T07:50:52Z")
Not sure if this is true - are pumpkins not eaten much in the USA? Except in pies, of course. Do they have pumpkin in a roast dinner or with meat and three veg? Also friends who visited the USA said all the pies were sweet. No such thing as a savory pie. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2013, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/16-people-on-things-they-couldn-t-believe-about-america-until-they-moved-here/673954/217 "2013-11-23T09:10:21Z")
Americans eat squash, which a pumpkin is just a type of, but I’m not sure about eating pumpkins per se. I know my family never did except in pies. But you can throw them if nothing else. I give you [pumpkin chucking or chunking](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pumpkin_chucking). ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2013, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/16-people-on-things-they-couldn-t-believe-about-america-until-they-moved-here/673954/218 "2013-11-23T09:24:11Z")
Another curious thing if I may: you Americans advertise properties to rent or for sale by the actual size of the house/apartment, as in 1200 sq feet or whatever. In Australia, the size of the property is secondary to the number of bedrooms, especially in rental vacancies. You will only see the size (normally represented by square-squares, as in “35 square mansion”) mentioned in For Sale ads, and only if they are selling a house that is larger than the norm. So, for example, in a ‘To Let’ ad, you will see: * * * Three bedroom with en-suite to master, built-in-robes, lounge, family room, double garage. Close to station and bus line etc etc.\*\*\*…and thus the size of the home is taken for granted by the number of rooms. Nothing terribly earth shattering, just interesting. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2013, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/16-people-on-things-they-couldn-t-believe-about-america-until-they-moved-here/673954/219 "2013-11-23T10:07:31Z")
> [@antechinus](#): > > Not sure if this is true - are pumpkins not eaten much in the USA? Except in pies, of course. Do they have pumpkin in a roast dinner or with meat and three veg? Pumpkins are almost always eaten in the form of pies, the vast majority of THOSE are consumed between Thanksgiving and Christmas. You can buy canned pumpkin pie filling easily enough at any time, I guess people who like it can make it anytime. I don’t care for it, so my tastes may be making me not aware of other pumpkin dishes. Still, you rarely see it in restaurants. Other squash dishes are much more common. > [@](#): > > Also friends who visited the USA said all the pies were sweet. No such thing as a savory pie. They were wrong about that. We do have savory meat pies. In almost any grocery store, in the frozen food section, you can find frozen chicken pot pies, beef pot pies and turkey pot pies. They are not all that savory, being considered low-end dishes, with salt being the main seasoning. (In America, all processed foods that are not sweet are loaded with salt.) A step up from ramen noodles, but what isn’t? Savory meat pies are very rare in US restaurants, perhaps because of their strong association with poverty. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2013, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/16-people-on-things-they-couldn-t-believe-about-america-until-they-moved-here/673954/220 "2013-11-23T11:23:56Z")
Another person chiming in - yes, the vast majority of pumpkins in the US are consumed in pie. I’ve heard of pumpkin soup, but I’ve never had it and it’s not common. Other squash are more commonly consumed. When you say “pie” to an American they think the sweet variety. While we do have the savory variety they aren’t thought of as “pies”, even if pie is in the name. In other words “pot pie” is thought of as a different category than “pie”. Chicken pot pie is a savory pie, but it’s not thought of as a pie here. I hope that’s not too confusing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/16-people-on-things-they-couldn-t-believe-about-america-until-they-moved-here/673954.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/16-people-on-things-they-couldn-t-believe-about-america-until-they-moved-here/673954.md?page=12)