# Dumb questions you have about other nations/cultures. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 9, 2012, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-questions-you-have-about-other-nations-cultures/621427 "2012-05-09T21:20:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-questions-you-have-about-other-nations-cultures/621427/41 "2012-05-10T17:33:56Z")
> [@Anne\_Neville](#): > > When I was there in 2004, it didn’t seem difficult. They sold wine at Woolworth’s, at least in Sydney. Maybe it’s different in some other Australian states- the difficulty of buying alcohol certainly varies from state to state in the US. Technically, they don’t sell wine at Woolworths (which is a chain of supermarkets in Australia), but most supermarkets in New South Wales have a bottle shop next door separate from the supermarket, but where you can buy the full range of alcoholic drinks. It’s not quite the same (legally) as those states in the U.S. where you can buy wine and beer in the supermarket, but in practice it’s not all that different. Other states will vary in the details of their licensing laws, but none have any restrictions like those in the drier of the states in the U.S. ---
**Author:** ![PandaBear77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@PandaBear77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PandaBear77)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-questions-you-have-about-other-nations-cultures/621427/42 "2012-05-10T17:56:06Z")
How often does the average Scottish man wear a kilt? (Kilts are so hot.) ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-questions-you-have-about-other-nations-cultures/621427/43 "2012-05-10T17:57:10Z")
> [@Kenm](#): > > Because Stephen Harper’s sellout to the United States is only one-quarter complete. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-questions-you-have-about-other-nations-cultures/621427/44 "2012-05-10T18:09:57Z")
> [@Giles](#): > > Technically, they don’t sell wine at Woolworths (which is a chain of supermarkets in Australia), but most supermarkets in New South Wales have a bottle shop next door separate from the supermarket, but where you can buy the full range of alcoholic drinks. I do remember it being in a separate section of the store, though I think I remember being able to get there from the rest of the store without going outside. We weren’t buying anything else, so I don’t know if we could have paid for other stuff and wine at the same register. > [@](#): > > It’s not quite the same (legally) as those states in the U.S. where you can buy wine and beer in the supermarket, but in practice it’s not all that different. I lived in California at the time, where you can buy beer, wine, and liquor in the supermarket. Buying wine at Woolworth’s in Australia didn’t seem all that different from what I was used to at home, as a practical matter. Of course, Mr. Neville and I are not, and were not then, anything close to underage, nor did we look like we were. I don’t know what buying alcohol in Australia is like if you’re underage or look like you might be. ---
**Author:** ![Capt\_Kirk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@Capt\_Kirk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt_Kirk)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-questions-you-have-about-other-nations-cultures/621427/45 "2012-05-10T18:45:41Z")
> [@MichaelEmouse](#): > > To take care of those annoying Quebecians for you and buffer you against them. > > WIthout Canadians, Quebec would either be an independent country (completely free to annoy you) or a US state (annoying you from the inside). Yes thank you Canada for saving us from Quebec and its insidious poutin, wait I love poutin, I am making a flight reservation for Ville de Quebec right now. Why do we have a border with Canada, personally I think its pointless but that is another thread all on its own:D ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-questions-you-have-about-other-nations-cultures/621427/46 "2012-05-10T19:01:47Z")
> [@Kenm](#): > > Because Stephen Harper’s sellout to the United States is only one-quarter complete. Right on schedule. > [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > 2012-5-10 is common in many places. Parts of Asia, and US servicemen tend to write it out that way. > > Canada uses a mix I believe.\ We do, unfortunately. The official stance (adopted by banks and pre-printed on cheques) is DDMMYYYY. In practice Canadians will use any old date format that they can think of, including writing a different format over top of the pre-printed format. When you work with dates at all, this is a major pain in the ass, and the reason that I always use letters for the month. > [@Polycarp](#): > > I pulled a joke thread here a few years back where by the 1939 Treazty of Ogdensburg, Canadians agreed to stop insisting that they were not British and start insisting they were not (US) American. 🙂 Has it only been that long? 🙂 > [@simple\_homer](#): > > Why do some Brits seem to prefer fighting over sex ? > > The few times that I have visited Thailand the bars are full of drunken British men and Thai women. The Brits seem to prefer ignoring the women and picking fights with other men. > > Why ? “He’s not gay, he’s British.” ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-questions-you-have-about-other-nations-cultures/621427/47 "2012-05-10T19:02:10Z")
What comprises breakfast in various parts of the world? As an American, I consider a typical breakfast to be eggs/meat/bread and/or potatoes, or a bowl of cereal, or pancakes/waffles with a breakfast meat, or biscuits with sausage gravy. Leftover pizza is also acceptable. 😃 What’s breakfast like in China or India or South Africa or Uruguay - pick any country. Does the rest of the world start the day with sugary cereal and little marshmallows? Or leftovers from supper? Or tea and toast? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-questions-you-have-about-other-nations-cultures/621427/48 "2012-05-10T19:11:10Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > What comprises breakfast in various parts of the world? As an American, I consider a typical breakfast to be eggs/meat/bread and/or potatoes, or a bowl of cereal, or pancakes/waffles with a breakfast meat, or biscuits with sausage gravy. What’s with all the 'or’s and '/'s? Those should be 'and’s. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-questions-you-have-about-other-nations-cultures/621427/49 "2012-05-10T19:22:56Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > What comprises breakfast in various parts of the world? As an American, I consider a typical breakfast to be eggs/meat/bread and/or potatoes, or a bowl of cereal, or pancakes/waffles with a breakfast meat, or biscuits with sausage gravy. Leftover pizza is also acceptable. 😃 Do you really have that big a breakfast every day? For me, it’s tea and toast. Or cereal and tea. (substitute porridge for cold winter mornings). Or a croissant and coffee from Tim’s. That’s about it. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-questions-you-have-about-other-nations-cultures/621427/50 "2012-05-10T19:28:36Z")
I don’t always have such a big breakfast. If there’s no pizza ( 😉 ), I’ll do egg and toast, or cereal, or I’ll splurge and get an egg/meat/cheese sandwich from a local place. But on weekends, we like to go out for breakfast, and we may well do, for example, an omelet with home fries and sausage. And when we do, we rarely have lunch. ---
**Author:** ![Capt\_Kirk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@Capt\_Kirk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt_Kirk)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-questions-you-have-about-other-nations-cultures/621427/51 "2012-05-10T19:40:11Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Do you really have that big a breakfast every day? > > For me, it’s tea and toast. Or cereal and tea. (substitute porridge for cold winter mornings). Or a croissant and coffee from Tim’s. That’s about it. MMMMM Tim Bits, here we do often eat a giant breakfast if you ever have the chance go to a Cracker Barrel for breakfast its astoundingly huge. This might explain people of wal mart:p ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-questions-you-have-about-other-nations-cultures/621427/52 "2012-05-10T19:42:33Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Do you really have that big a breakfast every day? > > For me, it’s tea and toast. Or cereal and tea. (substitute porridge for cold winter mornings). Or a croissant and coffee from Tim’s. That’s about it. Granola bar and black coffee, followed a bit later by a mandarin orange. No breakfast on weekends typically. ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-questions-you-have-about-other-nations-cultures/621427/53 "2012-05-10T19:52:45Z")
> [@PandaBear77](#): > > How often does the average Scottish man wear a kilt? > > (Kilts are so hot.) Averages are difficult, but I’d estimate that the average scotsman wears a kilt only once in his life, at a wedding (his own or someone else’s). Then at the reception he gets drunk and flashes the bridesmaids, and is never allowed to wear one again. ---
**Author:** ![Bozuit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/edb3f5/32.png) [@Bozuit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bozuit)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-questions-you-have-about-other-nations-cultures/621427/54 "2012-05-10T20:20:45Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > If you wear a cap everyday does that mean hair underneath remains unwashed? If you wear trousers every day does that mean your penis remains unwashed? > [@MichaelEmouse](#): > > UK: Why can’t/won’t you drink in moderation? > Japan: Why so hyper for some media yet so reserved otherwise? > US: Other first world countries have rising obesity rates too but nowhere near as much as you. Why? Why are people even bothering to answer these questions? > [@Maastricht](#): > > Why do Americans complain so severely about spoilers, when in other cultures it is customary for official reviews of movies and books to contain open spoilers and no-one thinks twice about telling each other that they just _loved_ the part where John dies in the end ? I’m not American and I wouldn’t expect reviews to contain “real” spoilers. I’d be pretty annoyed if my friends told me John dies at the end too. ---
**Author:** ![\_Olive](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/_/4af34b/32.png) [@\_Olive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/_Olive)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-questions-you-have-about-other-nations-cultures/621427/55 "2012-05-10T20:27:41Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > It’s difficult to get alcohol in Australia? From the stereotypes in American media, I always sort of pictured Australia as having beer in the drinking fountains. There are some “dry” places in Australia due to the high rate of alcoholism in Aborignals. There was always a way around getting alcohol by just knocking on the back door of a pub or store and producing ID showing you were from out of town. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-questions-you-have-about-other-nations-cultures/621427/56 "2012-05-10T20:31:21Z")
> [@simple\_homer](#): > > Why do some Brits seem to prefer fighting over sex ? > > The few times that I have visited Thailand the bars are full of drunken British men and Thai women. The Brits seem to prefer ignoring the women and picking fights with other men. > > Why ? Because the Thai women have straight teeth? ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-questions-you-have-about-other-nations-cultures/621427/57 "2012-05-10T20:46:55Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > What comprises breakfast in various parts of the world? As an American, I consider a typical breakfast to be eggs/meat/bread and/or potatoes, or a bowl of cereal, or pancakes/waffles with a breakfast meat, or biscuits with sausage gravy. Leftover pizza is also acceptable. 😃 > > What’s breakfast like in China or India or South Africa or Uruguay - pick any country. Does the rest of the world start the day with sugary cereal and little marshmallows? Or leftovers from supper? Or tea and toast? Breakfast in North India often comprises of rotis or prontis, flatbread, lightly fried/sauteed in ghee (clarified butter) and cooked on a tava (flat griddle). With it comes some achaar, pickled mango or lemon, and some delicious sweet makhan, butter made from yogurt. It’s sweeter than any of our butters. Sometimes there might be a sabzi (vegetable) with it, sometimes not. If it’s a roti, which is usually just plain flour with maybe a little bit of cumin in it, there will most likely be a veggie. If it’s a pronti, they usually have stuff inside. Not stuffed though - think thinner than a quesadilla. And it’s often mooli (daikkon or white horseradish), cauliflower, or potato, with lots of spices and herbs and fucking delicious. When I went to india and visited with my family for the first time they bought me all of these cakes and pastries and sweets. After a couple of weeks I asked them why they bought me those…they said they thought that’s what we ate in India! Meanwhile I’m sitting on the floor with them eating rotis out of the same plate as my cousins with my hands. I love India. I love visiting. ---
**Author:** ![what\_do\_I\_type\_here](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a5b964/32.png) [@what\_do\_I\_type\_here](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/what_do_I_type_here)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-questions-you-have-about-other-nations-cultures/621427/58 "2012-05-10T23:49:13Z")
> [@Agent\_Foxtrot](#): > > [ol] > [li]What’s the difference between Hindi and Urdu? If they’re mutually intelligible, how are they two different languages?[/li][/ol] A language is a dialect with an army and navy. ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-questions-you-have-about-other-nations-cultures/621427/59 "2012-05-11T00:16:24Z")
> [@Bozuit](#): > > Why are people even bothering to answer these questions? Because they entered a thread titled “Dumb questions you have about other nations/cultures.” ---
**Author:** ![grama](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7cd45c/32.png) [@grama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grama)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-questions-you-have-about-other-nations-cultures/621427/60 "2012-05-11T00:40:43Z")
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