The UK and the USA. Are we very similar or very different?

originally posted by: nonspecific
So as per the OP does anyone have anything that can bring us all together or shall we continue to look at the differences then?

I think the Mexicans and French "and sichlike" need to be contributing to this discussion.
They are going to be better at recognising the similarities.
"For a start, they both speak this weird anarchic language which doesn't have any rules, and neither of them can cook, and they both think they are God's chosen people."

a reply to: Greathouse

Hey Hey Hey, lets not start on the old Spotted Dick. That's British institution right there. Seriously that has to be one of my favourite things to eat, that a cold custard (not as in heat but as in cold and lumpy.)

originally posted by: bigfatfurrytexan
a reply to: nonspecific

Of course we are more similar than different.

Vastly.

Beyond my ability to really expand on meaningfully.

yes, there are a few minor differences. But despite a very few differences that get amplified by online arguments, the similarities outnumber the differences on exponential magnitudes.

May I ask when you realised this or is it something you have always known.

As to the OP I honestly thought for many years we were similar nations with similar beliefs.

I feel a little silly now as we are very different nations.

Also please look inside yourself to find a similarity between us, I am a bit of a hippy like that...

a reply to: nonspecific

Well...we are all based on the same system as all Western nations, and are made up of the same stuff. Just another incarnation of Rome. Same as the UK. Germany. Italy. So on, and so forth.

Of course, our continent is still very wild, so we aren't populated nearly as densely as Europe. There is a frontiersman spirit among many, many Americans.

Other than that, the only differences are mostly political. We eat the same foods. Worship at the same altars. Carry similar political and economic systems. All our leaders back clap each other, and we are all part of various alliances like NATO, etc.

The differences you are seeing are mostly opinions and politics. Not much more. And even then...a large portion of our people share your opinions and politics. Just not those of us living in the more wild, "frontier" type environments.

a reply to: nonspecific

I imagine our food is a bit different.


It gets even more so when you eat some traditional Native food. That's stuff even most Americans never had.

originally posted by: 5thNovember
a reply to: nonspecific

Three words: Declaration of Independence

Three words

Derp derp derp

Like mine they add nothing to the thread.


Explain how it makes us diffrent as last time I checked your governent is as # as ours still.

a reply to: nonspecific

Well we keep our racism and homophobia verbal rather than violent...mostly

never mind spotted dick how about something that'll really get them going the other side of the pond



While both sides enjoy a bit of a jolly jape it normally ends up with the US side going 1776 on loop and the lack of guns over here while we just point out we don't need to be carrying body armour (yes with a u) and probably 10lb of metal just to go and fetch a pint of milk :p

Also we can get beer from the age of 5 and even earlier with a doctors note so its no wonder the brits/irish and aussies generally get to see you looking up at the underneath of a table

a reply to: JDmOKI

But your bread and chocolate tastes strange in the US

a reply to: nonspecific

There are so many differences, a single thread cannot address them all. We are fundamentally different. Our common ground is that we speak English, but we do not understand each other.

As for food, America has it all. And then some. French cuisine is good. Italian, Spanish, all good. Indian, Asian... Wonderful spices. Combine all these with amazing slow cooked meat, on real coals.... Then you have American food.

American food is the best. You only know this once you have over come the food snobbery that is prevalent in England.

It's not vastly different really. The times I've been to the states the people were pretty friendly. The Texans know how to make a steak better than we do for sure and they're massive in comparison.

a reply to: nonspecific

Well, then! I just watched Kingsman (a very good movie, by the way) and I saw another difference. In America if somebody pisses you off enough to put you in a rude frame of mind, you give them the one finger salute, otherwise known as flipping the bird.


You British do something similar to this:

I don't know what you call it there. The two finger salute?

a reply to: Greathouse
Dude! I hear most of what they were saying in that video almost every day.

a reply to: beezzer

Thanks for one hell of a good laugh. I wish I could give you more stars for that.

a reply to: Greathouse

That's a good song. Slap some bacon on that baby and it will be paradise.

a reply to: Skid Mark

Do you mean slap bacon on it while we can ? After all it's offensive to some people so it is likely to be Banned sooner or later .

a reply to: Greathouse

Sad but true. It'll end up on the black market. Being the outlaw that I am I'll get some. I'll send some your way.

originally posted by: Skid Mark
I don't know what you call it there. The two finger salute?

Ah yes, the V-sign.
Popular folklore derives it from the battle of Agincourt, though I think that's a myth.
There was a period a few decades back when it was popularly known as a "Harvey Smith". This was a well-known showjumping rider who was often at odds with the authorities governing the sport. On one occasion, he jumped a clear round, giving him victory in the competition, and celebrated the fact by giving the v-sign in the direction of the judges. They promptly used that as an excuse to disqualify him.

Churchill invented his own version of the v-sign, meaning "V for Victory". You will see it in pictures of the War.
The difference was supposed to be that the Victory sign had the palm facing away from the person using it.
If you hold the palm facing towards yourself, back of the hand towards the other person, especially if you waggle the fingers (simultaneously, towards yourself), that is definitely the obscene version.
The story goes that Churchill himself sometimes forgot the difference and held his hand the wrong way round, much to the embarassment of his aides.

I suspect that the modern "peace" sign was borrowed from the Churchillian version by American kids who did not appreciate the significance of holding the palm wrong, so they do it either way.

a reply to: Maxatoria

Man I love faggots, my niece calls them brains. I love to just sit at the table and have faggots covered in their juices. Only joking, I'm British and love Pork Faggots (yes I do laugh at their name) I have them when I have a roast dinner, they are just perfect with mash and peas. If you've never had a faggot in your mouth, man you have no idea what you're missing out on.

(They are intentional)

a reply to: nonspecific
I was just watching Torchwood and a character mentioned how lemonade is fizzy in the UK and not fizzy in the US. Is this true? Is it really fizzy in the UK?
ETA: Thanks to watching Doctor Who and Torchwood so much, I've had the overwhelming urge to shout "Oy!" at people.