# Misconceptions about USA **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 19, 2003, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misconceptions-about-usa/202510 "2003-09-19T00:33:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![spogga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ab097/32.png) [@spogga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spogga)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2003, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misconceptions-about-usa/202510/121 "2003-09-21T11:34:34Z")
GYRATE: …and you can sod off too mate, if anything you colonials are getting just a little to big for your boots, so there! ;D ---
**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:** [September 21, 2003, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misconceptions-about-usa/202510/122 "2003-09-21T12:33:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by spogga \* > The quote I gave was just an example of how cheap it is to fly from the UK to the US. As you live in NC (Nth Carolina?) I can’t see the price being that much more. When making travel arrangements for my boss to fly to Washington DC on business, the price quoted for the ticket from Chicago to DC was $485 - which is almost as much to go from NY to England, isn’t it? And that’s a domestic trip. If you live in Nowhere, Kansas you’ll have to pay for a ticket just to get to a place where you can catch an airplane going overseas, and that ticket can cost as much as the trans-oceanic flight (or even more), and _that’s_ part of what drives the price up for Americans traveling abroad - we’re so spread out. The Canadians, by contrast, most live very close to their southern border and are much less spread out, so they’re are fewer people living far away from a major transportation hub. If you actually live in or near a major city like Chicago, Denver, NY, or LA then going overseas is much less inconvenient, expensive, and difficult - but a lot of Americans don’t live in or near such urban centers. Or you could drive from, say, North Carolina to NYC to catch your flight - it would take 2-3 days and you’d have to find somewhere to store your car while you’re gone (I presume LaGuardia, JFK, etc. have long-term parking at the airports) More likely, if you’re in North Carolina you’d go down to Atlanta, Georgia to catch a flight going abroad. But you’d still to either drive down there (which will be at least a day, maybe two) or buy a plane ticket to get you to Atlanta in the first place. Possible? Certainly! Lots of Americas travel abroad. But not always cheap or convenient. I’m sure you can find some great deals from time to time, but then there’s the time factor - the deals may not be in effect when you are able to get off work and go. ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2003, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misconceptions-about-usa/202510/123 "2003-09-21T13:02:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by CaptBushido \* > \*\*My dad was amused when some German visitors he took on a trip around the West Texas/Eastern New Mexico area asked to stop the car so they could take a picture. > > They were, of course, in the middle of a desert and there was absolutely nothing to take a picture of. Surprised he asked them what they wanted a picture of. > > The answer: Nothing! Perfectly flat with absolutely nothing visible in any direction except for the road and dirt; not a rock or anything. Apparently an amazing natural feature for a Western European! \*\* Similarly, we had visitors from England and one of the things they wanted to see was a road that stretches straight ahead as far as you can see with no other sign of human inhabitation. ---
**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:** [September 21, 2003, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misconceptions-about-usa/202510/124 "2003-09-21T13:08:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by spogga \* > All well and good once the cowboys/settlers had gone to and from the places a few times but what about before. > They would not have known of any landmarks, there would be no outposts, the trails would not have been established, no forts,and the railroad came much later than the covered waggon. > I hardly think that the native Americans would have willingly shown them how to get from A to B without getting lost. Actually, some of the Natives _did_ show the white folks their trails - when the locals discovered the joys of firearms and liquor they were more than happy to facilitate trade in these items. For that matter, Lewis and Clark hired a Native guide for a good part of their trip - Sacajewa (probably misspelled it). They weren’t wandering aimlessly although I’m sure they got lost any number of times. People forget that there _were_ people, lots of them, in the Amercias before the Europeans showed up. Those folks did have established trade routes criss-crossing the landscape. Some of those trails are still in existance. Highway 25E through the Cumberland Gap is one such - prior to building the tunnel through the moutain the road through the Gap was basically the old trail paved over - it’s not like there were any alterantive routes anyhow. In the Chicago area, all the diagonal streets that chop up the nice, neat street grid are old Native trails - Milwaukee (which was the trail between the Onion Swamp that became Chicago and what became the city of Milwaukee), Lincoln, Archer… they’re still major roads.\* So, really, there WERE established trails - the problem was finding out about them. And early explorers, mountain men, and the like most certainly did speak with the locals and learn about routes and landmarks and hazards from them. In fact, some of the early frontiersmen “went native” pretty thoroughly, adopting the dress, diet, and habits of the locals, sometimes a wife and family, too. The Great Plains _did_ pose a major problem with navigation - even when I fly above them today, with a much more distant horizon and a better view of the landscape, it can be darn easy to get lost - they’re just so _uniform_. Hundreds of miles where the land varies in elevation only about 10 feet. Even with roads and farm fields the landscape gets monotonous - at our local airport we’ve sent students out on cross country trips with a plane fully equipped for navigation and _still_ had them land 200 or more miles off course. (This doesn’t happen with GPS - provided your GPS is working properly. Sometimes they don’t, so to get a license you need to prove you can navigate by alternative methods). But - remember that folks had to navigate essentially featureless ocean just to get to North America. Use of the same navigation techniques would allow you to explore, map, and remain oriented. The eastern half of the Great Plains also had this amazing grass - the tallgrass prarie is something to behold. There are still patches of it left. Most years the grass and such easily reaches 6-8 feet in height (that’s 2+ meters for you metric types). Try navigating through THAT! Another thing the early guys did was to follow rivers - by staying near a river you not only had water, you had something to guide you back home. Not to mention that canoeing a river could be much easier than striking out overland. It was a daunting problem, to be sure. A lot of folks set out to explore and were never heard from again. I think the experience of the early frontier is part of what prompted the US government to invest so heavily in both railroads and highways - in order to be a unified country we had to have a practical a reliable way to travel from point A to point B. It may have also had an impact on how mobile Americans are, and how much we treasure being able to move around freely. - You might also wonder about what happened to the Natives living in the Chicago area. Someone in the 1970’s did a study to find out. Answer: they’re still there, they never moved. Mostly, they seem to be living in the Uptown neighborhood although they’re not confined there. But since they live in houses and apartments just like everyone else in the area, dress like modern Americans, speak English, and so forth they don’t stand out much in the poly-ethnic city. They only dress in ancestral costume for their festivals/events. I’ve known foreingers to be astonished at this, expecting the Indians to wear warbonnets on a daily basis. Well, no more than those of Scottish descent wander about in tartan kilts outside of their ethinic festivals, or those of Japanese descent wear kimonos daily. ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2003, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misconceptions-about-usa/202510/125 "2003-09-21T13:10:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by spogga \* > **Another thing I find rather strange is the American “fickleness” about certain sport. > For example, I support Manchester City Football Club (the round ball) but if they were to be bought out and moved to London (God forbid) I would still support my team, I could not follow the other Manchester shower of crap.** Yeah, but that’s a special case. Unless you support MU, you support two teams - your own and whoever is playing the scum. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2003, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misconceptions-about-usa/202510/126 "2003-09-21T14:20:07Z")
> [@](#): > > some southern us residents seem to think that in minnesota (one of those “M” states) you have to be careful of polar bears wandering aimlessly into your back yard. As L.A., Orange, and other Counties sprawl farther and farther out, there have been more and more contacts with the local wildlife. While it doesn’t happen every day, and it’s uncommon enough to make the local news, animal contacts _do_ happen here. There have been mountain lion attacks in the local mountain areas, brown bears taking a dip in someone’s swimming pool or hot tub, and the disappearance of many, many pets is chalked up to coyotes. Also in the outlying areas, you should keep an eye out for rattle snakes. > [@](#): > > (And although we call the Bay Area Northern California, it’s still several hundred miles to the Oregon border.) Isn’t San Francisco considered Central California or the “Central Coast”? I seem to remember seeing a news broadcast from San Francisco when I was staying at a hotel in Anderson, and they mentioned “Central” a few times in reference to the Bay Area. (I’ve always considered NoCal to start in Humbolt County.) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2003, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misconceptions-about-usa/202510/127 "2003-09-21T14:37:25Z")
> [@](#): > > When the Great Plains were opened up to settlers and the waggons all charged furiously across (I’ve seen the films y’see) where exactly were they charging to? If you’re talking about the films where you see a long line of wagons lined up, and then someone shoots a gun and they’re off like they’re at the races, then I think that would be the Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889. The Indian Territory in Oklahoma was opened to white settlers. These settlers lined up at the borders and waited for the signal to rush in to claim their homestead. The hurry was because each wanted the best parcel of land. I have not researched it at all, and it may be an Urban Legend; but I’ve heard that the phrase “jump the gun” came from the Oklahoma Land Rush when some settlers took off before the gun was fired. (Of course, the phrase could have oiginated in any number of racing events.) ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2003, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misconceptions-about-usa/202510/128 "2003-09-21T14:55:01Z")
Johnny L.A., I lived in SF for seven years and we definitely considered it “Northern California” - I think that term was applied to every place from about Santa Cruz up. “Central California” to me would be Fresno. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2003, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misconceptions-about-usa/202510/129 "2003-09-21T15:01:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Johnny L.A. \* > \*\*If you’re talking about the films where you see a long line of wagons lined up, and then someone shoots a gun and they’re off like they’re at the races, then I think that would be the Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889. The Indian Territory in Oklahoma was opened to white settlers. These settlers lined up at the borders and waited for the signal to rush in to claim their homestead. The hurry was because each wanted the best parcel of land. I have not researched it at all, and it may be an Urban Legend; but I’ve heard that the phrase “jump the gun” came from the Oklahoma Land Rush when some settlers took off before the gun was fired. (Of course, the phrase could have oiginated in any number of racing events.) \*\* This event appears in the otherwise horrible film “Far and Away”, and yes, it was essentially a race for the best bits of land. I’ve seen (and walked through) the tall prairie grasses **Broomstick** mentions, preserved in state parks in Nebraska (and presumably elsewhere). Not only were they exceedingly difficult to navigate through in the olden days, but the sound of the constant wind rustling the miles upon miles of grasslands drove more than a few travellers around the bend. And let’s not even get into the Great Plains weather (especially in Minnesota, where ten feet of snow was not uncommon in the winter). It amazes me that anyone survived at all (remember – there were no trees to cut for wood to build houses), let alone settled there. Today, of course, the Midwest has trailer parks 😉 and all other mod cons, although that didn’t stop a teacher in New Jersey a few years ago from telling her class that there was no electricity, running water or paved roads in Nebraska. Even in the US, a thousand miles is a long way. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2003, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misconceptions-about-usa/202510/130 "2003-09-21T15:02:15Z")
Conversation I had with a Tennessee high school senior after having seen _Far and Away_: Her: “Do y’all still live in huts in Ireland, then - don’t you have microwaves and dishwashers?” Me: “That question is best answered by considering whether you still have Land Rushes in Oklahoma…” ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2003, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misconceptions-about-usa/202510/131 "2003-09-21T15:09:32Z")
Actually, I hardly know anybody with a dishwasher here. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2003, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misconceptions-about-usa/202510/132 "2003-09-21T15:12:49Z")
I’ve got one! ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2003, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misconceptions-about-usa/202510/133 "2003-09-21T15:16:50Z")
Cool, that makes three. One for each 14 months I’ve been here. Come to think of it, I know a lot of people without microwaves, too. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2003, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misconceptions-about-usa/202510/134 "2003-09-21T15:21:52Z")
That said, I didn’t actually plan to get one - it came in a bundled appliances package we bought when we moved into our house. I don’t know anyone in Ireland without a microwave. How would single men feed themselves when the takeaways are shut? ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2003, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misconceptions-about-usa/202510/135 "2003-09-21T15:23:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jjimm \* > \*\*I don’t know anyone in Ireland without a microwave. \*\* Yes, you do 😉 ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2003, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misconceptions-about-usa/202510/136 "2003-09-21T15:25:02Z")
OK, I’ll shut up now. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Rashak\_Mani](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ea666f/32.png) [@Rashak\_Mani](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rashak_Mani)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2003, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misconceptions-about-usa/202510/137 "2003-09-21T15:36:46Z")
Common views Brazilians have of USers: Obese - kind of confirmed. USA has a lot of fat people… the world is catching up thou. Big Cars and Trucks always - kind of confirmed too. SUV mania. Eat a lot of burgers and coca cola - apparently McD is more popular outside the US than inside now. So false. Coca cola certainly still too much in the US… world catching up again. Only care about Money and Sucess - somewhat true… not total. Drink too much coffee - in fact false. US coffee is undrinkable and watered down for our taste. Funny enough we don’t think all of them have guns… we think they love guns thou. Know very little or dont care about the rest of the world - True mostly. ( You should see some of the stupid things we hear from americans and some europeans… awful… ) ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2003, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misconceptions-about-usa/202510/138 "2003-09-21T15:46:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ruadh \* > \*\*Johnny L.A., I lived in SF for seven years and we definitely considered it “Northern California” - I think that term was applied to every place from about Santa Cruz up. I generally draw the cultural line at Monterey, myself. Biogoegraphically it is actually well south of there at the Pt. Conception/Tehachapi Mt. range line. And just as an aside, I’ve lived in a variety of major metropolitan areas in the U.S. my whole life. In those 35 years I have never lived in place that has a.) a garbage disposal or b.) a dishwasher. I’ve lived a deprived life ;). - Tamerlane ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2003, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misconceptions-about-usa/202510/139 "2003-09-21T15:47:14Z")
> [@](#): > > Johnny L.A., I lived in SF for seven years and we definitely considered it “Northern California” - I think that term was applied to every place from about Santa Cruz up. > > “Central California” to me would be Fresno. [Looking at a map](http://www.censusfinder.com/mapca.htm), I’d say that San Fancisco is definitely in Central California. IMO Southern California would be everything below San Luis Obispo, San Kern, and San Bernardino Counties (inclusive); Central California would stretch from Monterey, Kings, Tulare\* and Inyo Counties to Sonoma, Napa, Yolo, Sacramento, and El Dorado Counties (inclusive), and Northern California would be everything else up to the Oregon border. San Francisco, geographically, is definitely within the central third of the state (albeit in the northern part of the central third). Of course San Francisco is also the largest city north of Los Angeles, so people may _consider_ it NoCal simply because there is “nothing” north of it. IMO. [sub]\*Note for people not familiar with it: Tulare is pronounced “TOO-la-ree”. I’ve also heard it can be pronounced “too-LAIR-ee” or “too-LAIR”. I use the “To Larry” one. It’s famous for giving us [tularemia](http://www.hopkins-biodefense.org/pages/agents/agenttularemia.html), also known as “rabbit fever”. ;p ) [/sub] ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2003, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misconceptions-about-usa/202510/140 "2003-09-21T15:54:28Z")
Yeah, but keep in mind you’re talking about a state where people consider everything beyond Nevada to be in the “east”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misconceptions-about-usa/202510.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misconceptions-about-usa/202510.md?page=8)