# Perceptions about USA from non-Americans that Americans might be surprised to learn **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 13, 2015, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perceptions-about-usa-from-non-americans-that-americans-might-be-surprised-to-learn/719918 "2015-05-13T06:28:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 18
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2015, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perceptions-about-usa-from-non-americans-that-americans-might-be-surprised-to-learn/719918/341 "2015-05-19T20:53:21Z")
> [@Dioptre](#): > > A 5) US tourists probably have a better reputation than you might think. There used to be a stereotype of the Hawaiian-shirt, camera wielding ignoramus. Mostly modern US tourists self-select for friendly people interested in other cultures. I remember the first time I went abroad, to England. You never even noticed the American tourists. It was the Germans who were insanely loud and pushy. [QUOTE=Bad News Baboon] The reason I ask is because a lot of people (Americans included) seem to think Texas is a heat inferno all year. [/QUOTE] Back in 2004 or 2005 I was caught in an ice storm just outside Dallas, one of astounding suddenness and ferocity. I got off the freeway maybe five minutes after it started and had it taken seven I don’t know if it would have been possible. You could have skated on the roads. It was nasty as hell, and I know my ice storms. ---
**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 19, 2015, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perceptions-about-usa-from-non-americans-that-americans-might-be-surprised-to-learn/719918/342 "2015-05-19T22:23:19Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > I remember the first time I went abroad, to England. You never even noticed the American tourists. It was the Germans who were insanely loud and pushy. Ah yes. Forming pyramids and frightening the children. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2015, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perceptions-about-usa-from-non-americans-that-americans-might-be-surprised-to-learn/719918/343 "2015-05-20T01:08:54Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > I remember the first time I went abroad, to England. You never even noticed the American tourists. It was the Germans who were insanely loud and pushy. After losing two world wars to the British? Unimaginable. ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2015, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perceptions-about-usa-from-non-americans-that-americans-might-be-surprised-to-learn/719918/344 "2015-05-20T01:45:43Z")
> [@Penfeather](#): > > From a foreign perspective, American politics aren’t so much partisan as they are sectarian. What does that mean? Is there no sectarian voting in Northern Ireland? French Reformed Protestants don’t vote solidly left-wing out of anticlerical traditions? German Catholics aren’t more likely to support the Christian Democratic parties compared to their Protestant counterparts? ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2015, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perceptions-about-usa-from-non-americans-that-americans-might-be-surprised-to-learn/719918/345 "2015-05-20T02:12:56Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > What does that mean? Is there no sectarian voting in Northern Ireland? French Reformed Protestants don’t vote solidly left-wing out of anticlerical traditions? German Catholics aren’t more likely to support the Christian Democratic parties compared to their Protestant counterparts? I think **Penfeather** meant that the passion and rancor between American liberals and conservatives has an almost religious fervor. I take his point. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2015, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perceptions-about-usa-from-non-americans-that-americans-might-be-surprised-to-learn/719918/346 "2015-05-20T05:00:39Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > After losing two world wars to the British? Unimaginable. Yeah, it’s not like the British lost two wars to the Americans… wait…😛 ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2015, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perceptions-about-usa-from-non-americans-that-americans-might-be-surprised-to-learn/719918/347 "2015-05-20T10:47:05Z")
The War of 1812 is generally considered a tie. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2015, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perceptions-about-usa-from-non-americans-that-americans-might-be-surprised-to-learn/719918/348 "2015-05-20T14:01:05Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > The War of 1812 is generally considered a tie. The British burned Washington. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2015, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perceptions-about-usa-from-non-americans-that-americans-might-be-surprised-to-learn/719918/349 "2015-05-20T14:05:00Z")
The Canadians think they did it. They weren’t even there. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2015, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perceptions-about-usa-from-non-americans-that-americans-might-be-surprised-to-learn/719918/350 "2015-05-20T14:15:16Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > The Canadians think they did it. They weren’t even there. Canadians would never be that rude. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2015, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perceptions-about-usa-from-non-americans-that-americans-might-be-surprised-to-learn/719918/351 "2015-05-20T14:15:28Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > The War of 1812 is generally considered a tie. Only for very loose definitions of tie. The US got its ass kicked. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2015, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perceptions-about-usa-from-non-americans-that-americans-might-be-surprised-to-learn/719918/352 "2015-05-20T14:19:42Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > The War of 1812 is generally considered a tie. Great Britain was a world power at the time, if not THE world power. The US was a newly fledged nation of nowhere near that level of power and importance. Of course the Brits like to spin it as a tie. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2015, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perceptions-about-usa-from-non-americans-that-americans-might-be-surprised-to-learn/719918/353 "2015-05-20T14:25:01Z")
It costs both nations a lot of money in trade, and it was generally agreed that the war was a bad idea. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2015, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perceptions-about-usa-from-non-americans-that-americans-might-be-surprised-to-learn/719918/354 "2015-05-20T14:27:53Z")
> [@The\_Angry\_Badger](#): > > OK, I’ll give you that - I’ve been hearing interesting things about the craft beer scene for a while now. Not yet had the opportunity to try any, though. > The mainstream market, though, is still pretty poor - I was shocked a few weeks ago to discover that Bud Lite is the most popular beer in the US. > Admittedly the UK isn’t much better (I think Carling is the most popular, which is pretty awful stuff) but there are still a lot of decent beers around that you can get in pretty much any pub you can go to. SWMBO did her junior year of college abroad in Germany. She’s refused to drink American beer since then. American beer is loaded with preservatives to extend shelf life and they adversely affect the flavor. German beer, by law, can contain only “Barley, Hops and Water”, and apparently this law goes back hundreds of years. She says the difference is like drinking vintage wine vs. vinegar. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2015, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perceptions-about-usa-from-non-americans-that-americans-might-be-surprised-to-learn/719918/355 "2015-05-20T14:30:46Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > The Canadians think they did it. They weren’t even there. Well, the Canadians are still pissed that the U.S. invaded their country, so let’s let them think they’re the ones who burned Washington. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2015, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perceptions-about-usa-from-non-americans-that-americans-might-be-surprised-to-learn/719918/356 "2015-05-20T14:42:23Z")
> [@Jeff\_Lichtman](#): > > Well, the Canadians are still **pissed** that the U.S. invaded their country, so let’s let them think they’re the ones who burned Washington. I just remembered that “pissed” means something else overseas. I meant that they’re still angry, although they might be pissed as well. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2015, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perceptions-about-usa-from-non-americans-that-americans-might-be-surprised-to-learn/719918/357 "2015-05-20T15:07:08Z")
> [@Jeff\_Lichtman](#): > > Well, the Canadians are still pissed that the U.S. invaded their country, so let’s let them think they’re the ones who burned Washington. Fair enough. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2015, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perceptions-about-usa-from-non-americans-that-americans-might-be-surprised-to-learn/719918/358 "2015-05-20T15:44:05Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > Great Britain was a world power at the time, if not THE world power. The US was a newly fledged nation of nowhere near that level of power and importance. Of course the Brits like to spin it as a tie. We were also kind of preoccupied by stuff elsewhere. Stuff that was ever so slightly closer to home. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2015, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perceptions-about-usa-from-non-americans-that-americans-might-be-surprised-to-learn/719918/359 "2015-05-20T15:50:09Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > SWMBO did her junior year of college abroad in Germany. She’s refused to drink American beer since then. American beer is loaded with preservatives to extend shelf life and they adversely affect the flavor. German beer, by law, can contain only “Barley, Hops and Water”, and apparently this law goes back hundreds of years. She says the difference is like drinking vintage wine vs. vinegar. Speaking as Brit, I find German beer to be somewhat lacking in variety. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2015, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perceptions-about-usa-from-non-americans-that-americans-might-be-surprised-to-learn/719918/360 "2015-05-20T15:55:45Z")
> [@amanset](#): > > We were also kind of preoccupied by stuff elsewhere. Stuff that was ever so slightly closer to home. Indeed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perceptions-about-usa-from-non-americans-that-americans-might-be-surprised-to-learn/719918.md?page=17) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perceptions-about-usa-from-non-americans-that-americans-might-be-surprised-to-learn/719918.md?page=19)