# Silly things I miss from the US **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 21, 2008, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-things-i-miss-from-the-us/438532 "2008-02-21T07:35:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sophistry_and_Illusion)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-things-i-miss-from-the-us/438532/41 "2008-02-22T16:19:31Z")
When I lived in Lebanon, I missed: big box stores. I know, people hate them; but it really isn’t fun to have to visit five hole-in-the-wall computer shops to find the monitor you want. I’m all for one-stop shopping. decent bookstores cheap delivery from [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com) Nevertheless, the advantages still far outweighed the disadvantages for us, which is why we are probably (90% chance) moving back to the Middle East this summer. ---
**Author:** ![GomiBoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b2d939/32.png) [@GomiBoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GomiBoy)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-things-i-miss-from-the-us/438532/42 "2008-02-22T16:20:48Z")
[QUOTE=chowder] Now I need some F 'n C. Big fuck off chips, and a huge wedge of cod coated in crispy batter, the whole lot adorned with S&V with mushy peas as an extra [/QUOTE] Might do just that later today! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sophistry_and_Illusion)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-things-i-miss-from-the-us/438532/43 "2008-02-22T16:22:48Z")
[QUOTE=NinjaChick] \*Electric kettles. Why the hell are these so rare in the US? [/QUOTE] Heh? I have one in my office. [This one.](http://www.amazon.com/Proctor-Silex-K2070-Automatic-Electric/dp/B00023XCWS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1203697296&sr=1-1) Costs $14.47 + shipping on [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com). I got it at Target or Sears or something. They’re pretty plentiful. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-things-i-miss-from-the-us/438532/44 "2008-02-22T16:48:51Z")
[QUOTE=Siam Sam] Girl Scout cookies, which I’d not even thought of for years until a recent thread reminded me of them. Now I’m hankerin’ for some. [/QUOTE] Oh yeah. Samoas. You can only get the good ones from those damn girl scouts. They’re like drug dealers. ---
**Author:** ![Mahna\_Mahna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e47c2d/32.png) [@Mahna\_Mahna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahna_Mahna)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-things-i-miss-from-the-us/438532/45 "2008-02-22T16:49:45Z")
[QUOTE=Randy Seltzer] The one thing I miss whenever I travel outside the US: Cheap high-quality orange juice. All the orange juice I’ve had in Europe and the middle east has been either: 1. good, but insanely expensive or 2. thin nasty from-concentrate stuff that tastes more like flat orange soda than the juice from the actual fruit. [/QUOTE] Clearly you’ve never travelled in the south of Spain. The fresh-squeeze OJ in Seville was squeezed on the spot from local oranges, ridiculously delicious and usually the same price as a cafe con leche (much to The Boy’s delight, as he had an upset stomach for most of our stay and couldn’t handle coffee… I, on the other hand, reveled in good-quality espresso shots at a euro apiece) Things I miss when I’m not in Canada: - safe, clean, good-tasting tap water - polite friendly sales clerks - businesses that follow their hours of operation as posted, rather than treating them as guidelines - cheap ethnic food from all over the world at my doorstep - esp China, Vietnam and Tibet - poutine! - long hot showers - real seasons - almost winter, winter, not winter anymore, and construction ---
**Author:** ![PoorYorick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PoorYorick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoorYorick)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-things-i-miss-from-the-us/438532/46 "2008-02-22T17:14:08Z")
[QUOTE=chowder] Now I need some F 'n C. Big fuck off chips, and a huge wedge of cod coated in crispy batter, the whole lot adorned with S&V with mushy peas as an extra [/QUOTE] You had me until the mushy peas. Ewwww. What I missed most when I was in England were real honest to God hamburgers. I don’t know what Wimpy’s served, but it wasn’t hamburgers. It might have been my imagination, but even McDonald’s didn’t taste like McDonalds. ---
**Author:** ![Tanaqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3bc359/32.png) [@Tanaqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tanaqui)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-things-i-miss-from-the-us/438532/47 "2008-02-22T18:04:25Z")
cheese girls who don’t wear high heels every day bread that isn’t white and with the crusts cut off to boot pants that fit my big american ass and shoes that aren’t agonizing cheap fruit and vegetables\* being able to efficiently solve my own problems a horizon without power-lines Not sure how silly all of those are… but definitely important! > [@](#): > > Being able to complain about something without silently thinking “Back in America…” Amen to that one… \*I saw a zucchini at the store for the equivalent of US$3. No, not $3 a pound. THREE DOLLARS PER MOTHERFUCKING ZUCCHINI. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-things-i-miss-from-the-us/438532/48 "2008-02-22T19:04:49Z")
I’m not getting what’s so exciting about an electric kettle. The one linked at Amazon looks like the Hot Pot I had in college, way back in the dark ages, before we were allowed to have microwaves. We used them to boil hot dogs or make hot drinks. Today, I have a whistling tea kettle on my stove and it serves all my boiled-water needs. In the spirit of “what I’d miss if I left” … I’d miss exactly what **Gomiboy** doesn’t miss: Complete strangers telling you their entire life history, including diseases, miscarriages, divorces, etc. Hello, yes, I am from the South and require all the details of every last bit of your most private business. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Darkhold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@Darkhold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darkhold)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-things-i-miss-from-the-us/438532/49 "2008-02-22T20:05:06Z")
I agree with those that mentioned store hours. Why the hell must every little store around here have its own hours (often not posted anywhere I can find) and everything closes on Sunday. Amusingly I was complaining about the lack of convenience around here to my wife and she couldn’t even understand where I was coming from. Oh my life’s blood for a Taco John’s…or even a Taco Bell if I must. Grape…grape anything! I’ll show you what you can do with that Blackcurrant flavor and it isn’t pretty. Spelling words without extra 'u’s thrown in. See ‘flavour’ above. Going to a store finding the cheese section with a wide array of different types of cheeses instead of “Cheddar mild, Irish Cheddar Mild, Welsh Cheddar, Strong but mild Cheddar, Medium Irish Cheddar, Welsh Medium Cheddar etc etc etc oh and some Caerfilly as well” I just guess this country cares about it’s cheddar selection above all else. Buying meat (or cheese) without worrying about where it’s from. “Honey is Irish pork better than Scottish?” Seriously why would I care? Reading a paper that doesn’t suggest that any attempt to make people work for their money isn’t some sort of evil suggestion. The paper we get runs articles like “Scandal! Council suggests bill that would lower benefits for unwed mothers with children over 8 that don’t work!” ---
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-things-i-miss-from-the-us/438532/50 "2008-02-22T20:27:34Z")
[QUOTE=Ellen Cherry] I’m not getting what’s so exciting about an electric kettle. The one linked at Amazon looks like the Hot Pot I had in college, way back in the dark ages, before we were allowed to have microwaves. We used them to boil hot dogs or make hot drinks. Today, I have a whistling tea kettle on my stove and it serves all my boiled-water needs. [/QUOTE] I didn’t say they were exciting, just handy and not terribly common in the US. A few of my friends do have them in their dorm rooms, but in my (limited) experience, if you want to buy one and it’s not Back-to-School season at Walmart and Target, you’ll have to do some searching or order online. > [@Darkhold](#): > > Grape…grape anything! I’ll show you what you can do with that Blackcurrant flavor and it isn’t pretty. Oh, I’d forgotten about that! My first day in Europe, in Dublin, I unwittingly bought a bottle of what I assumed was grape soda, as it was purple, and for my prior nineteen years of life, purple beverages were invariably grape-ish. I was thirsty and I love grape soda, so I took a big ol’ swig and very nearly spat it out. It was Ribena. If you’re expecting the delicious, sugary, vaguely-grape carbonation of grape soda, and you get blackcurrant juice instead…it’s even more foul than it usually is. ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-things-i-miss-from-the-us/438532/51 "2008-02-22T20:39:14Z")
OK, Americans who want an electric kettle: [here ya go.](http://tinyurl.com/2evfgp) Wal-Mart has them. I bought two of the first one on the page. One for home, one for work. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-things-i-miss-from-the-us/438532/52 "2008-02-22T20:42:03Z")
[QUOTE=NinjaChick] I didn’t say they were exciting, just handy and not terribly common in the US. A few of my friends do have them in their dorm rooms, but in my (limited) experience, if you want to buy one and it’s not Back-to-School season at Walmart and Target, you’ll have to do some searching or order online. [/QUOTE] We’ve had threads about this in the past. Yes, you can find electric kettles but it’s uncommon. Americans have automatic coffee makers but not general purpose water-warmer-uppers. We use a regular tea kettle and the stove top for that. ---
**Author:** ![Tony\_Kessler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ccd318/32.png) [@Tony\_Kessler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tony_Kessler)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-things-i-miss-from-the-us/438532/53 "2008-02-22T23:16:36Z")
I’m getting into this posting kind of far down the line, I was getting tired reading about all the things that people miss. The things I missed slowly got to be fewer and fewer as more time went by. By the end of 20 years, the list was quite short. From the USA to Japan, I missed: BBQ sauce David’s Sunflower Seeds Going out to eat and getting just beef in a burger. American clothing. I did not miss: Christmas. (It is a one day affair in Japan, not the commercial marathon it is in the US.) One thing that I thnk no human being should ever have any reason to long for is the stuff called Vegemite. If you miss that, maybe you shouldn’t have left! (disclaimer: I say this of course just to get under the skin of my Ozzie friends and mean no offense to the general public.) ---
**Author:** ![Bites\_When\_Provoked](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bites_when_provoked/32/18073_2.png) [@Bites\_When\_Provoked](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bites_When_Provoked)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2008, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-things-i-miss-from-the-us/438532/54 "2008-02-23T02:01:25Z")
[QUOTE=Caractacus Pott] From America: I miss toilets that don’t require a brushing after use. [/QUOTE] Oh, I don’t miss the toilets. I never felt comfortable with them - the water level was way too high and my lifetime of experience in low-water toilets made me consistently fear the pipes were blocked up. I never once used a toilet without secretly fearing it was going to overflow. :smack: We spent about 5 weeks in Washington state last year. What I miss (other than my friends) is: Jack in the Box (yum!), US-style biscuits (it was like having damper available everywhere - wicked!), onion rings, and supermarkets that stay open late. Most of all, the glorious Autumn colours, how green everything was, the gentle, cloudy skies, the wet\*, and the softer sunlight. ☹ God, I miss it. - not wet anything-in-particular, just the wet. Seattle was wet. I loved it, and everything about it. It speaks to a South Aussie in ways you guys couldn’t imagine. ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2008, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-things-i-miss-from-the-us/438532/55 "2008-02-23T07:58:33Z")
[QUOTE=Darkhold] Going to a store finding the cheese section with a wide array of different types of cheeses instead of “Cheddar mild, Irish Cheddar Mild, Welsh Cheddar, Strong but mild Cheddar, Medium Irish Cheddar, Welsh Medium Cheddar etc etc etc oh and some Caerfilly as well” I just guess this country cares about it’s cheddar selection above all else. Get thee to a supermarket my friend, take your pick of all the cheeses on offer…gazillions of 'em 😛 and not just Cheddar. You certain you’re in Manchester? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Them](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/898d66/32.png) [@The\_Them](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Them)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2008, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-things-i-miss-from-the-us/438532/56 "2008-02-23T15:22:14Z")
When I was in Mexico, I bitterly missed well-marked streets. And highways with shoulders. Good bookstores. Readily available maps. Grocery stores open late. Laundromats. I did NOT miss: Smoking restrictions. Overpriced hotels. Cops who’ll bust you for any little thing. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2008, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-things-i-miss-from-the-us/438532/57 "2008-02-23T15:51:32Z")
[QUOTE=chowder] I would never volunta rily leave England, never in a million years. However if such a move became unavoidable the things I would miss are: Soccer, in particular my own beloved Manchester City Fish 'n Chips British TV The softness of English rain A beautiful summers dawn when all is quiet, mist drifting across the meadows The sound of church bells from a distance …other things to numerous to list [/QUOTE] That was nice, **chowder**. There will always be an England… (I miss most of that stuff, too–I like the UK. Could I move there and then miss American stuff?) Stuff I think I’d miss if I lived in UK or Europe (my imaginative scope is somewhat leashed these days): hot showers that go on forever front porches with swings iced tea lots of ice in my drinks economy sized grocery products road signage I can understand not having to pay to pee in a public place cab drivers that just take you where you want to go instead of berating you about your country of origin’s foreign policy and wealth etc. laundry detergent in English/Spanish instead of Chinese or similar flat or minimally rolling hills with wide open blue sky all day long violent thunder storms/hail storms/blizzards barbeque biscuits as a bread product at a meal cookies–real American cookies, drenched with chocolate chips, nuts and loaded with refined white flour, sugar and nothing good for you. Dairy Queen ice cream cones yes, even baseball news–at least news about the Cubs Really bad small business TV ads: “I’m Homer Fudd and I sell cars!” sort of thing newspapers with American focus ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2008, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-things-i-miss-from-the-us/438532/58 "2008-02-23T16:11:39Z")
[QUOTE=eleanorigby] That was nice, **chowder**. There will always be an England… (I miss most of that stuff, too–I like the UK. Could I move there and then miss American stuff?) Stuff I think I’d miss if I lived in UK or Europe (my imaginative scope is somewhat leashed these days): hot showers that go on forever…We have these y’know front porches with swings…but very few of these iced tea…Yup, got this lots of ice in my drinks…and this economy sized grocery products…these as well road signage I can understand…and these not having to pay to pee in a public place… :dubious: cab drivers that just take you where you want to go instead of berating you about your country of origin’s foreign policy and wealth etc. ::cough, cough:: laundry detergent in English/Spanish instead of Chinese or similar…got this flat or minimally rolling hills with wide open blue sky all day long…got the hills, not the sky violent thunder storms/hail storms/blizzards…Oooh, we get some stonking storms barbeque…only in summer biscuits as a bread product at a meal…nope cookies–real American cookies, drenched with chocolate chips, nuts and loaded with refined white flour, sugar and nothing good for you…got 'em Dairy Queen ice cream cones…nope yes, even baseball news–at least news about the Cubs…nope (Thank Og) Really bad small business TV ads: “I’m Homer Fudd and I sell cars!” sort of thing…we have crappy ads newspapers with American focus…some American coverage is unavoidable ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2008, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-things-i-miss-from-the-us/438532/59 "2008-02-23T16:12:50Z")
[QUOTE=Darkhold] Going to a store finding the cheese section with a wide array of different types of cheeses instead of “Cheddar mild, Irish Cheddar Mild, Welsh Cheddar, Strong but mild Cheddar, Medium Irish Cheddar, Welsh Medium Cheddar etc etc etc oh and some Caerfilly as well” I just guess this country cares about it’s cheddar selection above all else. [/quote] Try a supermarket. ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2008, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-things-i-miss-from-the-us/438532/60 "2008-02-23T16:13:55Z")
[QUOTE=Struan] Try a supermarket. [/QUOTE] See post 55 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-things-i-miss-from-the-us/438532.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-things-i-miss-from-the-us/438532.md?page=4)