UK - US : te little differences

I live in the Uk and have just come back from a 2 week visit of the US. I had a very nice time, and there were a few things that I found funny, odd, different, wierd. Please don't turn this into a "Your country sucks and you're all fucking losers" thread; I'm not doing that.

So:
Signs painted on roads are backwards ("Way Give"? )

You're supposed to tip everyone. But not quite everyone.

The restroom stalls have ENOURMOUS gaps.

All the public plumbing has automatic flushes. (I even saw a "no touch" paper dispenser thing)

No one ever looked at my credit card; I could have used anyones and got away with it.

People in shops are all really happy all the time and are all pleased to answer any questions you have and will ask if you want help. (Maybe this reflects where I spent most of my time; williams and sonoma, sur la table, etc. But even places like borders and gap and target had really really nice people working there)

I understand the SUV thing a bit more now. People in London DO NOT NEED 4 wheel drive. People in (say) Tahoe (where they had 10 feet of snow over one weekend) do need an SUV and snow chains. I still don't understand the Hummer H2.

The adverts either do not understand Irony or are the most ironic thing in existance. ("I'm 50 years old and I have a Bowflex body".)

Car drivers are all MUCH nicer to pedestrians. (Again, I'm sure wandering around the suburbs of South California helps)

I'd be interested to see a similar list by people who've visited the UK.

Also, UK keyboards ave notoriously bad "H" keys, making typos muc more common over ere. Innit, guvnor.

Your country sucks and you're... wait, never mind.

Also, here's a funny credit card thing.

[Edited on Jan 09, 2005 by ExcitableBoy]

que? haven't seen anything that weird before

it's so they can see if your really pooping

i work retail and get that alot

the only thing american employers don't drug test for is prozac

We dont have to pay taxes for the privilege of owning a television set, either.

Neither do I, and I live in the damn snow. Weirder is the fact that no one here has one. I only see them where there is no snow. Why people buy those overpriced pieces of poo poo is beyond me.

i noticed in the UK:

You don't need to tip 20%

All the pubs had those damn plastic collars on the shot bottles.....you got 1 1/4 ounces per drink and that was it...no such thing as a "free pour"

All pints of drink were filled to the brim of the glass, an honest 20 oz. drink, none of that half foam half beer shite like in Amsterdam.

Unless i specifically specified "drip coffee" I got instant coffee.

Nobody liked the idea of getting a red EU passport as opposed to keeping their old British blue colored ones.

Car parts were way more expensive , I did a tune-up on my friends Golf that cost me close to 60 quid.for what i would have paid about 35 USD

I had to get used to seeing 16 year old kids legally drink in clubs,pubs etc..

getting passed by a Ford Ka going about 120mph.

Photo radar and photo cameras everywhere.

Irish beef has a markedly peaty taste.

Everything is made out of brick.

I love scrumpy.

The prevelance of hashish as opposed to marijuana

Very unnerving sitting in the passenger seat on the wrong side of the car , whilst going 80 down a country lane in the wet ..

Sitting in the Windmill in Startford, realizing that the place was over 600 years old.

Baked beans is a damn fine accompaniment to breakfast.

London is one of the most expensive cities I have ever been to.

I'm visiting London right now and I worked here over the summer.

One of the first things I noticed were the bathroom stalls. It's like a little private room over here. So awesome. I immediately thought - I could take a great nap in there if I get tired at work! Sweet!

No tipping in pubs! People get angry at you if you do because they don't want to ruin the great scam they have of not having to tip in pubs.

The popcorn at movie theaters here is sweet or salty or you can mix them together. It's just salty in the states with the optional butter flavoUred oil.

Lots of words with too many Us -- flavour, favourite, colour -- and the er switched to re -- centre, theatre, etc.

The drivers are completely insane here. I come from nyc so that comparison should disturb people from / in London.

I've lived here my entire life and that still bugs me. I read it backwards EVERY damned time.

This is funny, because you're not the first person I've heard complain about this. The thing is, though, Americans also avoid public restrooms whenever possible. I think the two may be related.

I work retail. Yeah, you could; I don't look, usually. Honestly, I think the number of disputed transactions we've had since I started working here justifies that (no more than maybe 5 in four years). And I'm sorry to say this, but the people who immediately offer their IDs after giving their credit cards to you black and hispanic. A number of white people get surprised if you bother asking. This is a broad generalization, but I've noticed a trend.

When I watch BBC America, the irony is always striking to me. America doesn't seem to appreciate it much, and it's the thing I appreciate most about British TV.

I've never actually been there, but that was interesting to read.

the legal age to drink in the u.k is 18, however we do have a problem with under age drinking, when i got to 18 hangovers were boring

That's 'cause the law in the US favors pedestrians, and the law in the UK favors drivers. Here, a person could be hiding behind a bush waiting for your car to come and leap out in front of you, and that is your fault. In the UK, a friend of mine had a car driver break his mirror off on her back 'cause she was walking too close to the side of the road, and she had to pay the damages.

Understanding the Hummer H2 takes attention to nuance and subtlety, and is more about understanding its owner. Mediocre offroad ability, claustrophobic interior, unreliable parts, war-inducing gas mileage, and the fact that it's basically an overbuilt chevy tahoe makes it the choice car among those who wish to broadcast that they've spent too much money on a piece of shit.

everyone in the whole world drives on the wrong side of the road

You spent your time in the burbs. It is no true reflection of the U.S. Most of what you said i can't relate to even slightly. Polite clerks? Considerate Drivers?

I realize the midwest and south make up a huge part of America, but be realistic. No country in the world thinks of Alabama or ohio when they think of American Hospitality or cultural innovation.

come to a major city and then tell us if your claims hold true.

Your comments seem genuinly derived from your experience, so i do not fault you for it. It just doesn't sound like what i've experienced.

I've never seen a "Way Give" sign. where did you see this nonsense?

Ha ha! I noticed in the US when truck drivers were putting Snow chains on that thye were happy to wander about on the traffic side of their trucks in dark clothing, at night, in a snow storm. In the UK everyone wears reflective flourescent jackets. I live above a driving test centre and when they cross the road they make the testees wear jackets.

Really, over here they'r painted the other way:
GIVE
WAY

but in the US they're painted
WAY
GIVE

It got really confusing with
BIKE
YOUR
WALK


[Edited on Jan 10, 2005 by demetrius_z]

It definitely sounds like you were in the suburbs (nice people, SUV's and all). Detroit is not near as hospitable as you described, or any major city for that sak, but I do find more fun in the major cities.

Me neither. Is it like a "Yield" sign or something?

he's talking about writing on the road itself. it's everywhere I've ever been in a car.

Yes I am.

I remember sitting in a station in Northern England, having a prepackaged meat pie and looking around at all the friggin' English people! They were everywhere and they all had such cute accents. Did the reverse ever happen to you? Where you thought, "Good gravy, what a huge bunch of Americans there are! And how quaint are their speech patterns."

It was definately a southern California thing. That threw me when I first moved here as well. Back home we try to run our pedestrians down, honk and curse at them... most especially when they have the right of way.

I've also seen that road writing written both ways, depending on where you are in the US. Sometimes it's written for you to read as you are approaching in your car and driving over it and sometimes you just look ahead and read the whole thing as normal.

More common examples: painted on the road will be the words:
STOP
AHEAD

PED
XING

Etc. The way it's written in Southern California at the very least, is you read bottom to top, I suppose the theory being that maybe a word won't be visible first because of fog or maybe you're on a hill. So if you are still reading top to bottom, the words appear to be:

AHEAD
STOP

XING
PED

I had assumed it was that way all over the country, but I guess not.

oh, PAINTED road signs I can read I swear

[rant]
I hate those, they should just put it on signpost so i can see it for 1/5 of a second because i can't see around the ass end of the H2 i'm tailgating because they are driving 15mph to conserve gas
[/rant]