# Europe Versus America **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 16, 2007, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/europe-versus-america/422864 "2007-10-16T01:28:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/europe-versus-america/422864/41 "2007-10-17T13:38:29Z")
[QUOTE=RandMcnally] Ice isn’t a given anywhere else? [/QUOTE] No, if you order a soft drink in Europe you generally get a glass of just the drink, no ice. And this difference goes back a long way. A minor character in _Brideshead Revisited_ at one point says that “Six weeks in America has given me a positive phobia of ice”, and that was in the 1920s ---
**Author:** ![The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_chao_goes_mu/32/3191_2.png) [@The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Chao_Goes_Mu)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/europe-versus-america/422864/42 "2007-10-17T13:42:42Z")
**Europe:** You can easily drive, rail, or puddle jump to many other countries in short day trips and rather cheaply too. Hell, you can drive from one end of a country to another in less than a day! \*\*America: \*\* It’s so vast you can spend years travelling and it has, contained in one single country, all types of environmental conditions. Swamp, desert, arctic, tropical, coastal, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/europe-versus-america/422864/43 "2007-10-17T14:09:49Z")
Europe: People who are what they were born to. America: People who are what they made themselves be. ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/europe-versus-america/422864/44 "2007-10-17T17:07:39Z")
[QUOTE=Hello Again] Europe: Beer/wine with lunch America: Free refills [/QUOTE] I can only dream of a perfect place where these two go together. Europe: Great cars America: Great import cars. ---
**Author:** ![LonesomePolecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e57/32.png) [@LonesomePolecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonesomePolecat)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/europe-versus-america/422864/45 "2007-10-17T18:39:52Z")
Europe: Classical music America: Jazz ---
**Author:** ![Vayerly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/5daacb/32.png) [@Vayerly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vayerly)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/europe-versus-america/422864/46 "2007-10-18T01:28:30Z")
Europe: the efficient and beautiful city planning that comes with having cities that have grown from close-knit centers for hundreds of years; the sense of cities as being real communities rather than just many people living closely together (you get this with some \*US \*cities, but only a few). US: California. ---
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/europe-versus-america/422864/47 "2007-10-18T01:35:00Z")
Europe: Variety. America: Air Conditioning in homes. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/europe-versus-america/422864/48 "2007-10-18T02:04:58Z")
Europe: Everything is so close together. Did you know that London and Paris are closer than St. Louis and Chicago? America: Everything is so spread out. Did you know that London and Paris are closer than St. Louis and Chicago? ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/europe-versus-america/422864/49 "2007-10-18T04:20:45Z")
New Orleans to Chicago is further than Paris to Moscow. Europe is very quaint. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/europe-versus-america/422864/50 "2007-10-18T05:15:04Z")
[QUOTE=LonesomePolecat] Europe: Classical music America: Jazz [/QUOTE] Ironic, considering that Europeans are much more interested in jazz than Americans are. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/europe-versus-america/422864/51 "2007-10-18T05:53:34Z")
[QUOTE=Beware of Doug] Ironic, considering that Europeans are much more interested in jazz than Americans are. [/QUOTE] Not all that ironic, when you consider that jazz and swing music–which were considered American symbols of black and Jewish achievement–were banned in Nazi Europe during WWII. Of course, you know all this, but alls I’m saying is, the French are bigger fans of freedom and liberty than we are these days, so it’s only fitting that the music that symbolized liberty in France would find a new home there. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/europe-versus-america/422864/52 "2007-10-18T07:21:52Z")
[QUOTE=fetus] Not all that ironic, when you consider that jazz and swing music–which were considered American symbols of black and Jewish achievement–were banned in Nazi Europe during WWII. Of course, you know all this, but alls I’m saying is, the French are bigger fans of freedom and liberty than we are these days, so it’s only fitting that the music that symbolized liberty in France would find a new home there. [/QUOTE] That’s a long time ago; most European jazz fans weren’t even born then. I doubt French jazz fans like it because it symbolizes freedom and liberty. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_chao_goes_mu/32/3191_2.png) [@The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Chao_Goes_Mu)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/europe-versus-america/422864/53 "2007-10-18T13:05:40Z")
Europe: Round-a-bouts. (It’s genius really) America: Wide roads. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/europe-versus-america/422864/54 "2007-10-18T14:06:15Z")
[QUOTE=RandMcnally] Ice isn’t a given anywhere else? [/QUOTE] Conversation with an american coworker who was going to get more sodas, in the US: Me: “Mine with half the ice!” Him: “Uh? Oh, right, I forgot that you Europeans like your drinks warm.” Me: “Nah, we simply don’t like 'em watered down.” Ice, at least in Western Europe, is a given - but we don’t use as much. Europe: diversity. USA: everybody speaks English! (Except immigrants and the occasional weirdo) [Cafe Society hijack]To many jazz fans, or at least DJs of jazz programs, jazz does symbolize creative freedom. [CSh] ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/europe-versus-america/422864/55 "2007-10-18T17:19:31Z")
> [@Walloon](#): > > That’s a long time ago; most European jazz fans weren’t even born then. I doubt French jazz fans like it because it symbolizes freedom and liberty. When did I say anything to the contrary? A lot of American rock fans weren’t even born when Buddy Holly was a star; what does that have to do with anything? ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/europe-versus-america/422864/56 "2007-10-18T18:38:55Z")
[QUOTE=The Chao Goes Mu] Europe: Round-a-bouts. (It’s genius really) America: Wide roads. [/QUOTE] Alot of our roundabouts are getting traffic lights now (as I’ve posted elsewhere before). ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/europe-versus-america/422864/57 "2007-10-18T18:40:16Z")
Europe: Variety. America: Convenience. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_chao_goes_mu/32/3191_2.png) [@The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Chao_Goes_Mu)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/europe-versus-america/422864/58 "2007-10-18T18:45:11Z")
[QUOTE=An Gadaí] Alot of our roundabouts are getting traffic lights now (as I’ve posted elsewhere before). [/QUOTE] Yeah, I noticed that when I was in Ireland back in May. Once we got the hang of it, we noticed how much more smoothly traffic runs through them than through the intersections we have in the U.S. Now maybe you guys can get going on making those roads a little wider, eh? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/europe-versus-america/422864/59 "2007-10-18T18:57:33Z")
[QUOTE=The Chao Goes Mu] Yeah, I noticed that when I was in Ireland back in May. Once we got the hang of it, we noticed how much more smoothly traffic runs through them than through the intersections we have in the U.S. Now maybe you guys can get going on making those roads a little wider, eh? 😉 [/QUOTE] In case you didn’t know, we are a dinky little island, we aint got room for thumping great wide roads ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/europe-versus-america/422864/60 "2007-10-18T19:22:32Z")
Europe: Light banter with folks who constantly apologize for their English, and are flattered when you tell them you understand perfectly. 😃 Like America: Contentious do-you-mean-to-tell-me/I-never-said-that pissfests. :mad: Don’t Like [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/europe-versus-america/422864.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/europe-versus-america/422864.md?page=4)