# I think I just spoke to the most ignorant one yet... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 4, 2003, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-just-spoke-to-the-most-ignorant-one-yet/186307 "2003-07-04T23:11:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Raini](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@Raini](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raini)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2003, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-just-spoke-to-the-most-ignorant-one-yet/186307/61 "2003-07-06T15:52:30Z")
* * * > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by parlo americano \* > \*\*So, now that we are getting some edumecation on Canada… What is boxing day? \*\* * * * Boxing day…this is the day after christmas where everything goes on sale for 1/2 the price that you paid when you were buying it as a christmas gift. There are LOTS of people shopping, pushing, losing tempers, which leads to a huge fight and a ‘boxing match’…thus…BOXING DAY! 😃 Get yer gloves out! ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2003, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-just-spoke-to-the-most-ignorant-one-yet/186307/62 "2003-07-06T16:43:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Polycarp \* > \*\*Not if they’re landed immigrants! > > BTW, we have two families of Canada geese nesting and raising young in the pasture behind our house. \*\* Two families…would you like more? Like, say, several hundred? They are a plague here in Anchorage. Ever heard the old phrase “like shit through a goose”? 'Nuff said. ---
**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2003, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-just-spoke-to-the-most-ignorant-one-yet/186307/63 "2003-07-06T16:45:58Z")
There’s no fourth of July in Canada? What about the other 11 months of the year? ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2003, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-just-spoke-to-the-most-ignorant-one-yet/186307/64 "2003-07-06T20:16:43Z")
No July in those months. ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2003, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-just-spoke-to-the-most-ignorant-one-yet/186307/65 "2003-07-06T20:52:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Raini \* > \*\*\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ > > * * * > > Boxing day…this is the day after christmas where everything goes on sale for 1/2 the price that you paid when you were buying it as a christmas gift. There are LOTS of people shopping, pushing, losing tempers, which leads to a huge fight and a ‘boxing match’…thus…BOXING DAY! 😃 > > Get yer gloves out! \*\* Ahh…that’s why I didn’t understand. The big shopping day here is the day after the (american, duh) Thanksgiving. ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2003, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-just-spoke-to-the-most-ignorant-one-yet/186307/66 "2003-07-06T21:41:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by parlo americano \* > \*\*So, now that we are getting some edumecation on Canada… What is boxing day? \*\* Its an old UK christmas tradition , all the help and trades would get presents on boxing day , ala in boxes. Declan ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2003, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-just-spoke-to-the-most-ignorant-one-yet/186307/67 "2003-07-06T21:45:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ILovCoffee \* > \*\*\<–color me dim but WHO IS Tim Hortons?😕 > > \<–knows the 50 states and all about the Great White North:) \*\* The who , Tim Horton , hockey player from way back. The What , coffee shops , great coffee , akin to krispe kreme, but more famous for the coffee than the pastry. Declan ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2003, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-just-spoke-to-the-most-ignorant-one-yet/186307/68 "2003-07-06T23:26:28Z")
Ummm, a much better explanation of Boxing Day is at [http://www.information-entertainment.com/Holidays/boxingday.html](http://www.information-entertainment.com/Holidays/boxingday.html) ---
**Author:** ![bubba\_jr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@bubba\_jr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bubba_jr)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2003, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-just-spoke-to-the-most-ignorant-one-yet/186307/69 "2003-07-07T00:16:09Z")
And she probably thinks she needs a passport to travel to New Mexico. Oh dear indeed. I used to visit a friend in NM and everytime I did I had to explain to the people I worked with that No, I didn’t need a passport. When I moved out here the confusion was even greater. Dumb asses,. ---
**Author:** ![look\_ninjas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b2d939/32.png) [@look\_ninjas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/look_ninjas)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2003, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-just-spoke-to-the-most-ignorant-one-yet/186307/70 "2003-07-07T00:23:40Z")
I’ve been through Canada once, but I’ve never visited. How is it, then, that I swear that I’ve seen a Tim Horton’s? Oh! It’s the ads in the hockey rinks. Never mind. ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2003, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-just-spoke-to-the-most-ignorant-one-yet/186307/71 "2003-07-07T01:14:18Z")
I moved to Florida from Ontario five years ago. Since then I have been amazed to learn that all of America is _not_ like an ongoing episode of **COPS**. Having seen that, and the news (which is mostly bad), I was sort of scared that I’d be walking into an armed camp, likely to be mugged while walking to the store for milk. I still haven’t heard of that type of crime being committed here. Of course it must, but not often enough to make the news. Over a period of time, I discovered that it was television and movies and so-called reportage in the papers that had colored my perceptions of America and its citizens. It’s not really like that here, folks! If it was, why would anyone stay? I have, however, run into my share of Americans who don’t know anything about Canada. (I shared some of these stories in another thread - “it scares me that people don’t know this stuff…”) I’d like to restate some of it here, but that would be bad posting etiquette, no? Hats off to another poster up the thread from Hamilton, ON. How are things in my hometown? ---
**Author:** ![Raini](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@Raini](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raini)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2003, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-just-spoke-to-the-most-ignorant-one-yet/186307/72 "2003-07-07T01:52:37Z")
* * * > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Cardinal \* > \*\*Ummm, a much better explanation of Boxing Day is at > > [http://www.information-entertainment.com/Holidays/boxingday.html](http://www.information-entertainment.com/Holidays/boxingday.html) \*\* * * * So then…my ‘boxing day’ explanation was a bit off??? :smack: ---
**Author:** ![plain\_jane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@plain\_jane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plain_jane)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2003, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-just-spoke-to-the-most-ignorant-one-yet/186307/73 "2003-07-07T05:06:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jaade \* > \*\*Hopefully this doesn’t sound rude, but you don’t make the news in TX very often. 🙂 > > I saw quite a bit about Canada on the news when I lived in WA state. I didn’t know who the President of Canada was either. > > ~J \*\* No, it doesn’t sound rude. I imagine we are not often headline news, but I figure you must sometimes hear about our politicians? Here, the news covers who has won the presidency in America. . . I imagined it was also mentioned in passing if Canada elected a new Prime Minister. Am I mistaken? ---
**Author:** ![Jaade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/dfb087/32.png) [@Jaade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaade)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2003, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-just-spoke-to-the-most-ignorant-one-yet/186307/74 "2003-07-08T01:35:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by plain\_jane \* > \*\*No, it doesn’t sound rude. I imagine we are not often headline news, but I figure you must sometimes hear about our politicians? Here, the news covers who has won the presidency in America. . . I imagined it was also mentioned in passing if Canada elected a new Prime Minister. Am I mistaken? \*\* I truthfully don’t watch a ton of TV these days. I used to keep up with these things quite a bit, when I was in HS and into Debate and Model UN. I had heard Jean Poutine’s name, actually. But see, our latest few presidents have been in the news constantly (Re: Whitegate, Monica, Gulf Wars I & II) so I’m not surprised that people know our leaders over the past few years. I can’t honestly say that I’ve ever SEEN the headline that mentioned a PM’s election in Canada. I do remember seeing Tony Blair’s election headline. I don’t have cable, so no CNN or anything like that. I live in Houston so at 6PM (when the news comes on), I’m just getting home. At 9 & 10PM when the news comes on again, I’m usually getting dinner, doing laundry, helping children with homework, chatting or something similar. I try to stay in the loop, but I fail sometimes these days. 🙂 And please stop bumping the bottom part of my message. I’m very embarrased about it. Before I typed it, I kept thinking, WHY would they have a PM AND a President? (Sometimes it is best to go with your first instinct.) ~J ---
**Author:** ![wolfstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d6d6ee/32.png) [@wolfstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfstu)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2003, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-just-spoke-to-the-most-ignorant-one-yet/186307/75 "2003-07-08T02:02:44Z")
> [@](#): > > had heard Jean Poutine’s name, actually. Well… maybe this is a big whoosh… But to clear a couple of things up: One: There is no Jean Poutine. The Prime Minister of Canada is, at the moment, Jean Chrétien. Poutine is a dish made of potatoes, cheese, and meat gravy, named after a military officer who first had it made (Capitaine Poutine). > [@](#): > > WHY would they have a PM AND a President? Two: Canada does not have a president. We do have a Prime Minister, and also a Queen. The Queen, too busy with her other, more favourite countries, is represented in Canada by a Governor-General. That being said, many functioning democracies today do have a Prime Minister, and a President, all at the same time. Usually, the Prime Minister is the head of an elected legislature (a Congress, a House of Commons, a Parliament, a National Assembly) and the President is an independent figure, either elected directly, or appointed by an elected official or committe of some sort. There are many variations of this division of powers. For example: France has President Jacques Chirac, and PM Jean-Pierre Raffarin Poland has President Aleksander Kwasniewski and PM Leszek Miller Italy has President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi and PM Silvio Berlusconi Each country, based on the way its democracy is contrived, uses the offices of President and PM diferently. And some of them have their roles filled by others- Canada’s Governor-General, Germany’s Chancellor. It;s likely, for example, that you are more familiar with the President of France than the PM, but I’d expect you to have heard the Italian PM’s name before that of the president. ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2003, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-just-spoke-to-the-most-ignorant-one-yet/186307/76 "2003-07-08T02:08:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by plain\_jane \* > \*\*Another guy didn’t know the nation’s capital, or the name of our Prime Minister, even. I mean, that’s pretty darn basic, I think, given we’re neighbours and _sometimes_ make the darned news. 🙂 > \*\* To be fair, a friend and fellow Canadian of mine was once complaining about some Amercian and said “I can’t believe he didn’t know who the Prime Minister of Canada is!” I asked: “Robin, who’s the Prime Minister of the UK?” She was stumped. Off the top of her head, the name was just not there Now she _is_ in fact a bright, well-informed adult. (It was also several years ago, so it’s not like today when Tony Blair is in the news on a regular basis.) Sometimes that just remote background news and you can’t put your finger on it. Chalk it up to brain cramps. When we invade, U.S. citizens will remember the name of our Prime Minister… Mel Lastman. What? Arming the MooseMobile… ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2003, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-just-spoke-to-the-most-ignorant-one-yet/186307/77 "2003-07-08T02:46:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fretful Porpentine \* > \*\*The cruise ship phenomenon is truly amazing; I had no idea it was possible to travel without knowing _anything_ about the places you were going. \*\* That’s the joy of remote wilderness canoeing. A provisional map that is only more or less accurate with regard to the major features, a couple of tales passed on by other paddlers, and off you go into the unknown in a two person cruise ship. [http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/4444/kattaw.html](http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/4444/kattaw.html) ---
**Author:** ![plain\_jane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@plain\_jane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plain_jane)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2003, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-just-spoke-to-the-most-ignorant-one-yet/186307/78 "2003-07-09T02:10:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Eats\_Crayons \* > \*\*I asked: “Robin, who’s the Prime Minister of the UK?” > > She was stumped. Off the top of her head, the name was just not there…[snip]When we invade, U.S. citizens will remember the name of our Prime Minister… Mel Lastman. > > What? > > \*\* Well, I presumed our politics get at least a passing mention when something happens, or changes, because we’re neighbours. And I’m not voting Lastman, I’m voting Jean Poutine! Lastman’s okay and all. . . but Poutine? What a yummy guy! Who wouldn’t vote Poutine? C’mon now. ---
**Author:** ![Flamsterette\_X](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/41988e/32.png) [@Flamsterette\_X](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flamsterette_X)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2003, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-just-spoke-to-the-most-ignorant-one-yet/186307/79 "2003-07-15T20:31:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Muffin \* > \*\*Canada never was part of the States, ever. Please tell me that this post was intended to whoosh. \*\* Admittedly, my grasp on the history I learned in Socials 10 is lessening yearly. How about a half-whoosh, half-serious post? F\_X ---
**Author:** ![lightingtool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/57b2e6/32.png) [@lightingtool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lightingtool)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2003, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-just-spoke-to-the-most-ignorant-one-yet/186307/80 "2003-07-15T22:23:56Z")
Re: Tim Horton’s Up in Maine, by Portland, there was a Tim Horton’s and Wendy’s all in one building. What more can you ask for? So, anyway, they do exist (in limited quantities) in the US. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-just-spoke-to-the-most-ignorant-one-yet/186307.md?page=3)