A funny look at the difference between American and British people

a reply to: eriktheawful

I would love to see the same kind of list done by a British person who visited the US

originally posted by: yorkshirelad

originally posted by: lucia2389

aren't the british so funny with their fork and knife. everything has to be piled up on the back of the fork. even the peas.

Nobody would bother if you turn the fork around and "spoon" your peas.....unless you are eating somewhere that has at least 3 sets of knives per setting! But make sure you keep that knife in your right hand

lol, unless like some of us you are left handed of course, then expect a five min shuffle of cutlery.

a reply to: Sublimecraft

I forgot about the flags, but yes, there was Flags everywhere. Not even on council estates in the suburbs! On lawns, in windows, everywhere!!

The bread isn't great. More like Brioche, ruined many a sandwich made on the road. lol.

I applaud the pickling! I love a pickle!!

Credit card security is scary- Use a PIN! Anyone could do credit card fraud in the US. We went to Macy's and we had to sign on an electronic pad. The signature on the pad looked nothing like my mother's on the back of the card. They accepted it!

Ok. This was fun!

I admit to being mystified by the "look right, walk left. Your welcome," item on the list. I assume it has something to do with walking in traffic but????

I visited England many many many years ago with a tour of High School students (I had just graduated my Senior year) when US currency was more powerful than UK currency. Ah, how the mighty have fallen... Unfortunately I was ill the first day and missed seeing the Queen wave in her carriage and the wax museum.

One thing I noticed in the hotels was that there was always a tea tray with biscuits and a tea pot to boil water in. I have to say it was lovely. We have "coffee makers" in our US hotels, but honestly, the 'coffee' is wretched and probably the white powdery stuff that fills in for "cream" is dangerous.



I'm sure if I ever had the opportunity to return, I would stand out like a sore thumb. However, I'm generally polite, so hopefully my American-ness wouldn't strain anyone's sensibilities.

France was a whole other story. The waiters knew we didn't speak French and openly laughed at us. Boo!
I wonder if people in the US do that to foreigners? In some places it wouldn't surprise me at all. We can be quite rude and inconsiderate here as well. I was also yelled at in a sweets shoppe for failing to fully appreciate the mastery of the pistachio creme I was given instead of the chocolate I asked for...??? Yikes. Then there was the beefy man who attempted to pull me into a mysterious building in the "classy" red light district, where our hotel was located. Luckily some friends pulled me away from him. For all that, it was still beautiful. (I tend to think positively.)

Thanks for the post. It was very entertaining. I'm sure I'd look it back up if I got to make the trip!

- AB

originally posted by: AboveBoard
I admit to being mystified by the "look right, walk left. Your welcome," item on the list. I assume it has something to do with walking in traffic but????

It's about crossing the road safely when traffic is about, something which is relevant when jay-walking is not illegal.
The point will be that cars on the nearer side of the road are coming from the right.
For exactly that reason, my generation was taught in school;
"Look right
Look left
Look right again
If all is clear, then cross".

Well done! Jolly good thread.

A great post, made me smile, and I'm a proud tea drinker, I'm not afraid of the police, I don't know anyone personally who thinks Obama is a hero! But over all he's got us pretty good.
I'd love to see a similar thread for Australians v British too, especially the British way of often saying things like "no that's ok" when actually we might mean "what a cheek"! There was a great facebook list like this doing the rounds sometime ago, shame I didn't save it.

Star and flag

a reply to: solitudeandme

Oh,we Brits LOVE taking the mick out of our colonial rejects.They are just as good as giving it back,too.

Stray observations from an Englander that went to Florida once.

It's very cheap to eat out in the USA
Most people were pretty friendly - being British I assumed they were all trying to scam me.
I went to a Dennys (awesome) and got asked if I wanted dessert with breakfast. I politely explained that this was my opening meal of the day, the waitress looked like I was stupid and asked me a second time if I would like ice cream with my cooked breakfast.
PORTION CONTROL!!!
There are a lot of obese people, but the ones that aren't all looked quite healthy.
I tried to buy Guinness in a supermarket, the cashier didn't know if it was alcohol or not.
Guinness is not suitable for Florida weather.
They even have people at Disney to just try and make you happy when in queuing/"in lines" - this was met with great suspicion on my part.
Americans really do organise stuff well, queuing there is very well done.
I think Brits prefer to suffer in (almost) silence about queuing.

Edit, generic/brand US beer is gash, microbrew is awesome.
Brits can out-consume most Americans on the beer/lager front.
Reverse that for sugary whisky (not Scotch).
Americans don't know what gash means.

When I heard they dont put ice in drinks over there... I just couldnt..

I cant drink water or pop or most juices without ice in it.

a reply to: brace22
I had to shake my head at the "Obama is considered a hero" part. Okie dokie then. Yeah...

Will probably never be able to travel there but one thing I always notice is just how small it is.

My state alone nearly has as much square miles as the UK in it's entirety.

94,058 for the UK.

84,889 for Utah.

Yeah it's miles we don't do kilometers.

Also my states population isn't even 3 million.

64 million in the UK?

WAYYY to many people in a small area for my delicate sensibilities.

I suppose our coasts deal with extreme population density as well. I avoid those areas anyways.

a reply to: corvuscorrax

Yeah it's miles we don't do kilometers.

Neither does the UK, Tis an EU thing. Our car speedos and speed signs are in miles and yards.

a reply to: brace22

Hey, my friend, I wasn't offended!! Just pointing it out. your post made me laugh! thanks, mate!

I agree with pretty much all the differences so far, but unless I've missed it, then there's one very important difference that's been missed completely that no true Englishman can let slide as its part of our humour and national character
I am referring of course to toilets
In America, toilets are closer to the floor by about 20 centimetres, they are squat devices that you have to squat down on. This of course means that your rectum delivers its load at an angle so you are much more likely to get splash back. For some reason, the front part of the plastic seat is missing, which means if you are gifted your penis rests on the porcelain. Which is disgusting
Then when you flush the toilet, instead of vanishing, your faeces go round and round like a carousel, displaying themselves for your viewing pleasure, or if you are English, your horror

You Americans should take a look at the designs of Thomas crapper and sons, one flush and the waste is gone immediately,

As an Englishman, nothing makes me prouder than the functioning brilliance of the English lavatory, it is the world leader in efficiency and the main reason why we as a people are genuinely superior to the rest of the world. You should see what the primitives are doing in France. They stand and poop into a hole in the ground, honestly you couldn't make it up...



now some brief toilet humour
What did Neville Chamberlain say on his return from Germany in 1939 after finishing his first sit down motion
"I have in my hand a piece of paper"


thankyou very much I'm here all week

originally posted by: MrsNonSpecific
a reply to: corvuscorrax

Yeah it's miles we don't do kilometers.

Neither does the UK, Tis an EU thing. Our car speedos and speed signs are in miles and yards.

Interesting to know! thanks.

a reply to: corvuscorrax

We use miles here in the UK as well

As to a dense population it is very high compared to other countries but mainly due to very high densities in the larger cities.

Ther are plnty of remote sparsely populated areas but they do are closer together so you don't tend to travel more than a few miles between villiages unless in the north of Scotland or the South west.

a reply to: Marduk

I would like to agree but have noticed that our great british bogs seem to be getting smaller and smaller these days.

Maybe not in height but certainly in width and capacity. I imagine ths is due to the cost of building land and the advent of privatised water companies.

What a fun thread! In the U.S. we have many British television personalities. Newscasters, tons of talk show hosts and guests, and one thing I've repeatedly noticed is a tendency to pronounce words ending in an 'a' as 'er'.

Such as 'agenda' becomes 'agender'. The name Anna becomes 'Anner'.

Am I imagining that?

(But of course the accents are second to none).

a reply to: angeldoll

never noticed , til you said that but i think you are right. I know that's how I say it.

The name 'Amy' sounds awful when I say it ' AAyyy-meh'

And 'Claire' is 'Cluuurr'