Well, there have been a few changes in currency recently, to try to thwart counterfeiters. But inertia is a big reason. There’s also the fact that, on occasion, the flashier the money, the more screwed-up the country it’s from is and the less it’s worth–American money is supposed to be staid and timeless and the equivalent of a blue business suit with a red tie.
Two different Indian languages; Arkansas is a Quapaw name, Kansas a Sioux one. They’re rendered in English to look like they’d rhyme but they don’t.
?? Never heard that one. A few of them are fugutives from justice or child support payments and such, but that really doesn’t tar them all.
Canada is very flat so we can see it coming from a long way off
Well, maybe it’s also because much of the country is subject to much more extreme weather than Europe and it literally can be a matter of life and death to have good hurricane, tornado, and blizzard warning systems in place. Such systems can usually–though not always–predict if it’s going to rain tomorrow. WHICH IT WON’T BECAUSE SOME OF US ARE GOING ON THE WOODLAWN BONEYARD TOUR, SO THERE!!
It sucks. But TV shows are just a filler for the commercials in this country, except for some public stations. You get used to it and tune them out and do something else for a while. Certain technologies, like the VCR or even better the TIVO and such, are able to thwart them. The networks, in addition to ordering fewer shows in a season (Star Trek had 39 shows a year, I think, and now it’s down to 22-24) are filling them with more commercials–22 or even 20 minutes of show left in a half hour.
Why should you get something Americans can’t find? I’ve been officially unemployed for almost two years, although I’ve had a nice contract position since March that let me even finally buy some health insurance. But unemployment is a big problem here.
I haven’t heard such a blanket condemnation of American expats either, but I have heard (including on this board) it said that there is something inherently wrong with holding dual citizenship, which seems to me to be a peculiarly American attitude. Not that all Americans hold it, obviously, but that everyone I’ve ever encountered who has held it has been American.
It is kind of stupid to pay for a large drink when you can get all the refills you want and just pay for the small drink!
BTW,Lola, I was reading just last week that if a woman wants to blend in with Parisians, she should not paint her nails or wear sneakers, bright colors, sunglasses or jeans. I can’t imagine going through life without these things…
No, the airline was suggesting that the sick bag had a dual use. The humour (as we saw it) was in the contrast between the pompous euphemism and the quaint colloquialism in the same phrase.
In Australia, this is standard for master bedroom en suites (and some apartments). Houses’ main bathrooms, however, are nearly always separate from the toilet, which is in a little room by itself.
(Frankly I’m grateful for extra metres between my toothbrush and the dread toilet plume. :))
A song? My impression was that it comes from Dorothea’s McKeller’s poem “My Country”. The second stanza of this poem is probably the best-known piece of Australian verse in existence.
Just FAYI, the term “sunburned country” (or rather, “sunburnt country” comes from this poem
Any Aussie would immediately pick up the reference - it’s a very well-known poem. I suspect the name was changed because nobody else in the world would.
Back on topic…the one thing that freaked me out most on my one trip to the US (and this may be a purely regional thing … I was in Milwaukee at the time) was the line markings on the road. Every single intersection appeared to have solid white lines crossing the two roads all four ways. Round here that would mean “give way/stop at this line” - it obviously didn’t mean that there, since the people I was driving with would simply barrel over them at full speed, while I’m sitting there in the passenger seat covering my eyes and whimpering “nonono we’re going to CRASH AND DIE any second!”
Aspidistra, were they pairs of narrow white lines? Was there a wider white line in the lane where you were traveling, that went only partway across the road? If so, the narrow lines may have been crosswalks.
The weird thing is that it is little known in America, and that is what the book was titled here. I think many more Americans would associate Australia with “Down Under” than “Sunburned (or Sunburnt) Country”.
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Narrad *
**In Australia, this is standard for master bedroom en suites (and some apartments). Houses’ main bathrooms, however, are nearly always separate from the toilet, which is in a little room by itself.
(Frankly I’m grateful for extra metres between my toothbrush and the dread toilet plume)
Personally, I think it’s a wonderful idea! And I have to agree about keeping distance between the toilet and the toothbrush. My bathroom is so small, that I have had to replace many a toothbrush before its time (not to mention verious other items)
I was born in the UK but lived in the US for 6 years so here goes;
Good Wierd Things
The leave-a-penny-take-a-penny idea in convenience stores. Quite simply the most brilliant idea I’ve ever come across in my travels.
Tipping everybody. TIPS (To Insure Perfect Service) really does work. Coming back to Europe has certainly been a painful experience in terms of customer service.
Frosted Glasses - Really, really love having an ice gold beer served in an ice cold glass. Thank you America.
Lap Dances in Las Vegas.I’d being serving 25 years in a maximum security prison in the UK for receiving one of those. Actually, may as well just expand that to Las Vegas, period. Very wierd, very wonderful.
Dating. People in the UK don’t really date. They hook up by some mysterious mechanism which has so far completely eluded me. I loved going out on dates in the US. Bad, or Incomprehensible to Me, Wierd Things
Baseball. Sorry to all the fans, but WTF is that all about
Advertisements. Way too many of them and way too many advertising lawyers.
I would get a more leniant sentence for carrying a concealed weapon than smoking in a bar?!?!?!?!
Age of consent is 18, drinking age is 21, but I can drive and fight/die for my country at 16?
Hooters. Sorry, I’m a major fan of the female form but I just don’t get it.
Prurient attitudes toward sex/nudity. If I make a movie I can slaughter as many people as I want, in the most gratuitous ways possible but don’t ever, ever, fuck the leading lady. I still can’t believe that a movie like Pretty Woman has the same certificate as a movie like Fight Club. An NC-17 rating exists people, use it!
Well, legal age of consent is 18 meaning you generally can’t sign contracts without parental consent as well, but age of consent for other things varies with the state.
You can’t always drive at 16. I think it’s 17 in New York. And it’s a provisional license, meaning punishments are different for holders and your parents can have it revoked at any time by heading down to the DMV. There are also restrictions on what you can do as far as driving with it in some places.
And you have to be minimum 17 years old to join the military, but I think that’s only if you have graduated high school (which is also the case for legal cosent, I think it’s 18 years old or graduated from high school). Not sure about the high school thing, though.
I remember talking to a girl at work about another girl I’d met in the park who was 17 (I was 25 at the time). She enlightened me about the whole statutory rape thing. I remember being utterly bewildered at the time (and still am).
To paraphrase a line from Bull Durham: “Baseball is a simple game. You throw the ball. You hit the ball. You catch the ball.”
That clear it up for you at all?
As an American I have always (well, at least since I have been old enough to attend R rated movies) been amazed at the disparity in movie ratings. We as a society apparently have a much higher tolerance for violence than sex.
