# 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:** 4
**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 11, 2012, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-questions-you-have-about-other-nations-cultures/621427/61 "2012-05-11T02:04:58Z")
> [@Capt\_Kirk](#): > > if you ever have the chance go to a Cracker Barrel for breakfast its astoundingly huge. What’s Cracker Barrel? ---
**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 11, 2012, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-questions-you-have-about-other-nations-cultures/621427/62 "2012-05-11T02:16:33Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > What’s Cracker Barrel? Oh man [http://www.crackerbarrel.com/restaurant/breakfast-menu/traditional-favorites/](http://www.crackerbarrel.com/restaurant/breakfast-menu/traditional-favorites/) Thats just one page of the menu, Part kitsch store part restaurant, you have to see it to believe it. Big chain that serves homestyle cooking all over the US mostly on the Interstates, just one of those things you have to do in the states. One meal and you need heart bypass surgery Capt Kirk ---
**Author:** ![Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimmy_Gibbler)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-questions-you-have-about-other-nations-cultures/621427/63 "2012-05-11T03:17:14Z")
> [@Throatwarbler\_Mangrove](#): > > What was odd was that the wife (I had their lease docs) had a really stereotypical _Polish_ name, like Kasia Waszelewsczki or something like that, and from the small bit around her eyes that I could see, she was just a regular (Polish) white chick. They were otherwise perfectly nice, normal people, just seemed sort of weird that a woman who probably wasn’t born into that particular religious tradition would take up such a strict observance of it. Or maybe she was born into it, whatever, it was odd. Are you sure they weren’t Bosnian Muslims? ---
**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:** [May 11, 2012, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-questions-you-have-about-other-nations-cultures/621427/64 "2012-05-11T03:30:27Z")
> [@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 ? I’ve yet to figure that one out myself. ---
**Author:** ![scratch\_llll](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@scratch\_llll](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scratch_llll)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-questions-you-have-about-other-nations-cultures/621427/65 "2012-05-11T03:54:18Z")
> [@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 ? Because we enjoy the impact of denouement as it was intended by the author. That and for the same reason we don’t begin a sentence with the end. Are burkas as hot to wear as they look? Back in the day US folks could enjoy visits to Europe without a lot of snark. Is that possible anymore? ---
**Author:** ![Li\_l\_Pluck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ee59a6/32.png) [@Li\_l\_Pluck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Li_l_Pluck)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-questions-you-have-about-other-nations-cultures/621427/66 "2012-05-11T04:01:50Z")
> [@Gleena](#): > > I now have an image of a velcro kippah. I’m sorry if it’s sacreligious, because this amuses me more than it probably should. Not sacreligious at all, and you’re actually pretty close, as I’ve been using velcro on my kippah for 20 years now. I get the strips of the rough side (the hook side, I think it’s called), cut them to size, and stick them on the underside, where no one ever sees them. I never liked the idea of wearing those clips, though I never let my hair grow long enough for the clips anyway. ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-questions-you-have-about-other-nations-cultures/621427/67 "2012-05-11T04:10:03Z")
> [@scratch\_llll](#): > > Back in the day US folks could enjoy visits to Europe without a lot of snark. Is that possible anymore? Keeping in mind Europe comprises 30+ different countries and even more individual cultures, the answer is absolutely YES, although in general, some places are much, _much_ more friendly to Americans than others typically are. Like most places and most people, if you treat others in an open, friendly manner, it is usually reciprocated back to you in kind… (Do you have a specific country you are planning to visit? I am sure that some Doper could give you detailed advice about an upcoming trip.) ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-questions-you-have-about-other-nations-cultures/621427/68 "2012-05-11T04:19:52Z")
> [@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? [Photos of 50 breakfasts](http://blog.hostelbookers.com/travel/best-breakfast/) from all around the world. ---
**Author:** ![scratch\_llll](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@scratch\_llll](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scratch_llll)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-questions-you-have-about-other-nations-cultures/621427/69 "2012-05-11T05:04:22Z")
> [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](#): > > Like most places and most people, if you treat others in an open, friendly manner, it is usually reciprocated back to you in kind… > > (Do you have a specific country you are planning to visit? I am sure that some Doper could give you detailed advice about an upcoming trip.) That’s good to know. It’s not always easy to tell from the net. I haven’t planned anything yet but let’s just say I have never had any objection to long evenings of tall pints in pubs and would like to see how many of the old haunts like “The Barley Mow” are still about. On the other hand it’s a good time to see Greece. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-questions-you-have-about-other-nations-cultures/621427/70 "2012-05-11T05:05:47Z")
> [@scratch\_llll](#): > > Are burkas as hot to wear as they look? From what I have been told, quite the opposite. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-questions-you-have-about-other-nations-cultures/621427/71 "2012-05-11T05:21:38Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > I want to know why it’s easier for me to get alcohol in Muslim countries (Malaysia and Indonesia) than it is in Australia. I have no idea - none - what you could intend by this, even in jest. Are you, or do you look, 14? My step-son had no problem whatever as a 16yo. [QUOTE=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. [/QUOTE] There is no difficulty whatsoever in getting alcohol here; it’s true that in the US it’s right there in the supermarket aisle next to the sugary cereal whereas here you have to go to the grog shop next door, but that’s about it. FWIW beer consumption here has dropped steadily since the 70s as wine consumption has risen, but [even that is levelling off, as is total intake of alcohol](http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4307.0.55.001main+features72010-11). [In this table](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_alcohol_consumption)we come 43rd in the world, under such noted pisspots as South Korea and the Netherlands. ---
**Author:** ![Namkcalb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Namkcalb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Namkcalb)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-questions-you-have-about-other-nations-cultures/621427/72 "2012-05-11T05:47:28Z")
> [@MichaelEmouse](#): > > UK: Why can’t/won’t you drink in moderation? Have you seen our women? Beer goggles are often necessary… and so is dutch-courage. ---
**Author:** ![Sleel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/73ab20/32.png) [@Sleel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleel)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-questions-you-have-about-other-nations-cultures/621427/73 "2012-05-11T08:00:00Z")
> [@MichaelEmouse](#): > > Japan: Why so hyper for some media yet so reserved otherwise? Japan is big on situational behavior. Every culture has it to some extent — I’m absolutely certain you act differently around your friends than you do around your parents — but in Japan it’s practically institutionalized. Game shows that torture comedians? The more bizarre, the better. News shows? Ultra-serious, including severe and immediate apologies if so much as a bobble in pronunciation should occur. > [@FairyChatMom](#): > > What comprises breakfast in various parts of the world? Breakfast isn’t much different from other meals in Japan. Traditional Japanese breakfast would be some kind of cooked vegetables, usually boiled in a sauce; fish or tofu; rice, of course; _tsukemono_ (vegetables pickled in brine); possibly salad or seaweed. Raw egg poured over steaming hot rice, sprinkled with soy sauce and sometimes red pepper flakes, all mixed together to make a sort of rice omelet is one common dish. _Nattô_ (fermented soybeans) with rice and hot mustard is another. The meal is usually pretty substantial, has a good variety of nutrients, and I think is part of the reason that Japanese are generally slimmer than people in most other industrial cultures. You tend not to eat a lot later in the day if you eat a good breakfast, and your metabolic rate is higher in the morning. Lately, there have been more Western influences in breakfast, which was probably more conservative than other meals. “Continental” breakfasts are pretty common hotel and even _onsen_ fare now, so more bread, pastries, fruit, sausages; less fish, rice, and vegetables. Families vary widely, but tend to be more along traditional lines. No one eats just cereal for breakfast, and in fact it’s not common for most people to eat cereal at all. ---
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-questions-you-have-about-other-nations-cultures/621427/74 "2012-05-11T08:19:49Z")
> [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](#): > > Keeping in mind Europe comprises 30+ different countries and even more individual cultures, the answer is absolutely YES, although in general, some places are much, _much_ more friendly to Americans than others typically are. Yep. #1 on this I think is Albania. It is the only country I have been to where the number of US flags flying matches the number of local (Albanian) flags flying. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-questions-you-have-about-other-nations-cultures/621427/75 "2012-05-11T08:39:09Z")
> [@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. I’m in Queensland, where they don’t sell alcohol in the supermarkets or 7-11s and the liquor stores are all closed by 9-10pm. Even in Sydney and Melbourne (two other places I’ve been a few times), where the supermarkets are open later and often have bottle shops in them, you still can’t get alcohol from 7-11s or convenience stores, and I don’t believe it’s available 24/7 (I haven’t been near one of the 24hr supermarkets in that part of the country to know for sure). Whereas in Malaysia and Indonesia, I could get alcohol from 7-11s and other stores pretty much 24/7, cheaply, and there were places selling booze all over the place (not that I’m a huge drinker, but when it’s hot, nothing hits the spot like a cold one IMHO). So, yeah, it’s my experience that it’s easier for me to obtain alcohol (especially beer) in the Muslim countries of Malaysia and Indonesia than it is here. Not that it’s especially difficult here, to be fair, but I still think it’s odd you can buy booze from 7-11s in those Muslim countries and not here. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-questions-you-have-about-other-nations-cultures/621427/76 "2012-05-11T09:30:38Z")
> [@WotNot](#): > > 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. At the same time, it is relatively easy to sight kilted men in Scotland, specially if there is a big football match (association or rugby) or a parade of any kind. Going to ogle man-legs was a favorite entertainment of my almost-all-female team in Scotland (Basque women tend to be leg women, but Basque men tend to cover theirs). > [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > [Photos of 50 breakfasts](http://blog.hostelbookers.com/travel/best-breakfast/) from all around the world. [Previous thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=642629) discussing that list. TLDR, most aren’t really representative. ---
**Author:** ![Djinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/65b543/32.png) [@Djinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Djinn)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-questions-you-have-about-other-nations-cultures/621427/77 "2012-05-11T10:42:44Z")
> [@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? In South India, we have idlis (steamed cakes made with a batter of rice and urad dal) or dosa (same batter as idli but made into a crepe) with sambar or various chutneys (onion, coconut, tomato or mint). It can be pooris or chapathis or upma (a dish made with semolina). Or it can be pongal. And then there is vadai. Or kichidi. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-questions-you-have-about-other-nations-cultures/621427/78 "2012-05-11T12:03:36Z")
> [@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 ? This may come across as rather impolite, but my thinking, and I’d imagine the view of others from the UK, is that countries like Thailand that are known for sex tourism would be a very dangerous place to be picking up women in bars for sex (as an example the AIDS rate in Thailand is [seven times](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_HIV/AIDS_adult_prevalence_rate) that of the UK). ---
**Author:** ![simple\_homer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@simple\_homer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simple_homer)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-questions-you-have-about-other-nations-cultures/621427/79 "2012-05-11T12:25:32Z")
> [@amanset](#): > > This may come across as rather impolite, but my thinking, and I’d imagine the view of others from the UK, is that countries like Thailand that are known for sex tourism would be a very dangerous place to be picking up women in bars for sex (as an example the AIDS rate in Thailand is [seven times](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_HIV/AIDS_adult_prevalence_rate) that of the UK). OK… but what are the British guys doing in the Thai bars if they are not there to meet Thai women ? Yes, not every man that goes to Thailand is there to meet Thai women, but, I am talking about Thai bars that exist almost exclusively for men to meet Thai woman. Why is it that the British men are known as being the ones that are there to start fights ? . ---
**Author:** ![spanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@spanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spanna)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-questions-you-have-about-other-nations-cultures/621427/80 "2012-05-11T12:47:02Z")
> [@simple\_homer](#): > > OK… but what are the British guys doing in the Thai bars if they are not there to meet Thai women ? > > Yes, not every man that goes to Thailand is there to meet Thai women, but, I am talking about Thai bars that exist almost exclusively for men to meet Thai woman. > > Why is it that the British men are known as being the ones that are there to start fights ? > > . I’ll go with Homophobia+Frustration+Alcohol They are Horny as Hell, Drunk, Have gone there for sex but can’t tell the women from the Lady Boys and don’t want to make the wrong choice [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-questions-you-have-about-other-nations-cultures/621427.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-questions-you-have-about-other-nations-cultures/621427.md?page=5)