American-British Q&A

[beema]

Just how big is football (soccer) in America?

It's pretty big here, but that's mostly because of all the dirty foreigners that have migrated here. The US's population is like 50% hispanic now.
Not that I like American football any better.

I've lived exactly half my life in the UK and half in North America and before you ask there is no preference when I'm in one I miss parts of the other.

so my question to North Americans:

what is with the lack of "pub culture" over here?!

It seems impossible for anyone to comprehend the idea of a quiet drink down the pub! or am I just asking the wrong people?

ehh, that's a tough question. America is a weird place: we have rampant alcoholism, but our society likes to pretend that it doesn't exist. To some extent we are still a very puritanical society at our core. So we don't publicly embrace drinking, even though so many of us do it.

My question to Brits:
Is is still true that lots of you have really bad teeth? Or is that just an outdated stereotype? Be honest.

ps: the "dirty foreigner" thing was a joke. They mostly aren't any more dirty than Americans. Mostly.

 

[Professor James]

i have a question for America,
Why do you do your dates backwards? as in MM/DD/YY opposed to the way the rest of the world with the DD/MM/YY, smallest unit FIRST so today is 21/05/11 in most of the world but Americans have it as 05/21/11.
i just had a minor rant on another thread about this and felt i should probably get some enlightenment.

It is in that order because of 2 things archiving and pronounciation. In archiving the most important things are the month and the day because things are usually archived within the same year so by seeing the month and date first, things can be slightly more efficient. With pronounciation, I'm not entirely sure on this one but don't brits usually say something like the 22nd of april and we americans say april 22nd and we write the date like how we say it.

 

[Wadders]

Do you brits actually like Spotted Dick and Blood Pudding?

It's called Black Pudding, but yeah it's lovely! Just don't think too much about the stuff that's in it

For Americans:

It's a common perception that you all drive around in big trucks or fuel guzzling vehicles. To what extent is this true, and if it is, then why?

In the UK we (mostly) manage to get about without over-compensatory trucks and jeeps, we just use like... normal cars, so it seems odd for people to be driving in like 5.7 L trucks and stuff.

 

[Matthew Dunn]

Here is a question as a British Scottish person how would an average American (if such a thing exists which I doubt) differentiate me from an English person?

I understand the whole English accent = snarky comic relief/villain thing but that is used so commonly in conjunction with "British" it leaves me curious.

Especially since I think Scotland has quite a strong and recognisable national identity for our size.

In America, there's 3 accents from the UK: British (mostly London, occasionally cockney), Irish (ie, the main characters in the Boondock Saints), and Scottish (ie, Sean Connery). We completely disregard everything else, especially Welsh accents. They don't exist for most Americans.

If you sound like Sean Connery, we'll assume your Scottish, otherwise we'll default to English.

Let's not completely discount Tom Jones. "What's new Pussycat? Whoa-a-whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa." He was pretty big back in the day. Then he had a slight comeback. Around the same time Tony Bennett had a slight comeback.

Tom Jones is welsh

And to those asking about metal
Being an English lad myself
I find that "British metal" is almost in a way "dying"
Seriously have you seen the **** we have ? and half the time we even consider it music

So heres a list of what bands I like (maybe you do to but mainly cuz i can) and where they are from:
The Agonist : Canada
Otep: USA
Deathstars (more electronic metal but rather good) : Sweden, Stockholm
Guano Apes: Germany
Lordi (won the 2006 Eruovision): Finland
Bring me the Horizon:Sheffield, England
Arch Enemy: Sweden
Metalica (if you haven't heard of these, you haven't lived): USA
Cradle of Filth: England
Iron Maiden: England (old but still amazing)
Nightwish:Finland
Drowning Pool: Texas (We will let the bodies hit the floor)
Thats all i can think about

What bands can you think of over there in the USA ?

Yes, I was aware that Tom Jones is Welsh. That's why I mentioned him in response to "[Americans] completely disregard everything else, especially Welsh accents." Tom and his Welsh accent actually enjoyed quite a bit of popularity in the States. Twice. Back in the late-1960s and again in the early-1990s when lounge music enjoyed a revival.

How about a Quote on Qoute on Qoute on Qoute
Neat
Not a fan meself but who doesnt know the man is insane


Changing the topic
No one ever mentions the north of england
When it is the best part
And Have you heard of the Parmo?

 

[beema]

Also, a question for you americans, do you acknowledge that we are your ancestors?

Actually, the largest ancestry makeup of Caucasians in America is German. So yeah, your statement is wrong.

I myself am Hungarian, Irish, Austrian, and Russian. I guess Irish sort of counts..?

 

[Professor James]

why do you Yanks call it football?
i mean common? u kick the ball like a few times in a game?

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_is_American_football_called_football

I hope this answers your question.(kinda long)

 

[Ris]

To Americans: when you see a mixed-race person of Afro-Caribbean/White European descent, do you class them as mixed race, or black?

I ask this because as a mixed race person myself, I've noticed that a lot of Americans don't seem to recognise it as an identity in it's own right; they are more likely to class that person according to what they physically resemble the most, i.e. tanned skin and coarse dark hair = black. This is really putting me off moving to America as I'm worried that I'm going to be given a new identity that I can't relate to.

I get what your saying, but at the same time are you not doing the same thing most of the time? When you see a white person do you think "Caucasian" or do you think (in my case) "mostly polish descent with a bit of German in there"?

That isn't a race issue, though. Polish, French, German.. you're still white.

I'm not talking about heritage, I'm talking about race; actual biological differences that are apparent from first glance. I appreciate that heritage might still make people view you in a different way for various reasons, but it's still not quite the same thing.

by that logic then, if i am just white than you are just black, to the average eye. that's how it always will be to just about everyone. Why do all asians look the same? while from another perspective why do all white people look the same?

apples and oranges... But honestly, I know PLENTY of "black" people that are whiter than me and i know plenty of white people that are darker than half the "black" people i know, so really if you come over here you might be in for a shocker or two yourself, because if you are basing it off of apparent first glance looks, then you are going to be second guessing yourself with alot of people over here too then.

You're confusing me a little with the quotations. You say you know white and black people with varying skin tones - but what are you and American society classing them as? To go back to my original question, do you recognise these people as mixed race?

Easiest way I can explain this: If you were describing one of these "black" people to another person, would you describe them as "he's a black guy with.." or "he's a mixed race guy with.."?

If you ask me, America still suffers from its "one drop" rule (i.e., any noticeable Black parentage is enough to get you classify as Black). Increasingly there is greater recognition of mixed-parentage persons identifying themselves as being of mixed-parentage but there are those who don't much buy into the concept. Perhaps surprisingly -- perhaps not -- the greatest pocket of resistance to the concept is found in the Black community. EDIT: This resistance among Blacks to the concept of "multi-racial" identification may go back to the days of American Jim Crow laws when Blacks who could manage to do so "passed as White" in order to avoid the Jim Crows laws (which treated Blacks as second-class citizens). The Black community tended not to look kindly at Blacks who passed as White. They saw them as "selling out" and traitors to their race. Today, mixed-Blacks who identify as something other than Black are often met with scorn. When Tiger Woods tried to claim he was "Cablinasian" (a mixture of Caucasian, Black, Indian (Native American), and Asian) he was greeted with a collective GTFOH by the Black community.

EDIT: But, as a matter of law, you are free to identify yourself as whatever you choose (e.g., driver's license, census questionnaire, college application, etc., etc., which typically have "multi-racial" or "other" as an option you can choose). But just because you call yourself "X" isn't any kinda guarantee that everyone else won't call you "Y." Although I am tempted to ask why that matters to you. Are you gonna let what others think of you determine your self-identity? If so, you may be putting too much stock in what others think of you.

Thanks for the response

The US black community's resistance is one of my larger fears; although today in the UK I am widely accepted as mixed race, when I was a child a lot of black people would either act with hostility, or spend considerable time attempting to make me "blacker" and therefore more palatable to them. I don't wish to re-live that!

As for your closing question... it's taken most of my life for the UK to accept mixed race as an identity in its own right; and an equally long time for me to understand what that means to me personally. Of course moving to the US wont change my self-identity, but now that I've found it, I don't want to have it denied again by others. It would feel like a massive step backwards.

I'm very cheered to hear that recognition is on the increase in the US!

To Americans: when you see a mixed-race person of Afro-Caribbean/White European descent, do you class them as mixed race, or black?

I ask this because as a mixed race person myself, I've noticed that a lot of Americans don't seem to recognise it as an identity in it's own right; they are more likely to class that person according to what they physically resemble the most, i.e. tanned skin and coarse dark hair = black. This is really putting me off moving to America as I'm worried that I'm going to be given a new identity that I can't relate to.

Honestly I have absolutely no way to determine someone's race more specifically than White, Black, Asian, Middle Eastern, Indian or Hispanic. (I hate that last sentence but I'm quite tired and am too apathetic to edit it.) Everyone I know has this same problem, even if they or their parents were not born in the States. It really doesn't matter in any event b/c the race thing isn't as big a deal as many media outlets make it out to be. If you tell people what you are it'll be fine, especially if you have good food. (This is why America loves immigration, MOAR FOOD!) Really don't worry about it we're really easy to get along with despite rumors to the contrary. (Not applicable to terrorists/liberals/Rooskies)


P.S.: Where ya gonna move to? My experience may not be applicable in some places.


A good way to get a handle on average american's opinions, read P.J. O'Rourke's books.

Thanks for the response All the responses I've had seem to confirm that I will be considered black, but I'm glad to hear that at least that might not mean as much to the average American as I'm fearing. The skewed media image that gets sent to us is that US black people stick together and never socialise with anyone outside their own community, and US white people spend all their time feeling awkward and guilty whenever they come into contact with a minority. Or call them terrorists.

I'm likely to move to Chicago, New York state of San Fran as that seems to be where all the work is for my profession.

 

[Scrubiii]

Just how big is football (soccer) in America?

It's pretty big here, but that's mostly because of all the dirty foreigners that have migrated here. The US's population is like 50% hispanic now.
Not that I like American football any better.

I've lived exactly half my life in the UK and half in North America and before you ask there is no preference when I'm in one I miss parts of the other.

so my question to North Americans:

what is with the lack of "pub culture" over here?!

It seems impossible for anyone to comprehend the idea of a quiet drink down the pub! or am I just asking the wrong people?

ehh, that's a tough question. America is a weird place: we have rampant alcoholism, but our society likes to pretend that it doesn't exist. To some extent we are still a very puritanical society at our core. So we don't publicly embrace drinking, even though so many of us do it.

My question to Brits:
Is is still true that lots of you have really bad teeth? Or is that just an outdated stereotype? Be honest.

ps: the "dirty foreigner" thing was a joke. They mostly aren't any more dirty than Americans. Mostly.

No, it isn't true. That stereotype originated from a time when the majority of the population was so poor that the idea of "cleaning your teeth" was pretty much unheard of for most of Britain and dentists didn't even exist. It hasn't been true since about the early 1900's and I would guess that the American working class weren't much better around then.

 

[beema]

"Pool" is what the Brits call "billiards."

Actually, Pool and Billiards are two distinct (but similar) games. Also, I'm fully American and I call it Pool way more often than Billiards. Such as a "Pool Hall." In fact I don't think I've heard anyone I know refer to it as billiards.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

To Americans: when you see a mixed-race person of Afro-Caribbean/White European descent, do you class them as mixed race, or black?

I ask this because as a mixed race person myself, I've noticed that a lot of Americans don't seem to recognise it as an identity in it's own right; they are more likely to class that person according to what they physically resemble the most, i.e. tanned skin and coarse dark hair = black. This is really putting me off moving to America as I'm worried that I'm going to be given a new identity that I can't relate to.

I get what your saying, but at the same time are you not doing the same thing most of the time? When you see a white person do you think "Caucasian" or do you think (in my case) "mostly polish descent with a bit of German in there"?

That isn't a race issue, though. Polish, French, German.. you're still white.

I'm not talking about heritage, I'm talking about race; actual biological differences that are apparent from first glance. I appreciate that heritage might still make people view you in a different way for various reasons, but it's still not quite the same thing.

by that logic then, if i am just white than you are just black, to the average eye. that's how it always will be to just about everyone. Why do all asians look the same? while from another perspective why do all white people look the same?

apples and oranges... But honestly, I know PLENTY of "black" people that are whiter than me and i know plenty of white people that are darker than half the "black" people i know, so really if you come over here you might be in for a shocker or two yourself, because if you are basing it off of apparent first glance looks, then you are going to be second guessing yourself with alot of people over here too then.

You're confusing me a little with the quotations. You say you know white and black people with varying skin tones - but what are you and American society classing them as? To go back to my original question, do you recognise these people as mixed race?

Easiest way I can explain this: If you were describing one of these "black" people to another person, would you describe them as "he's a black guy with.." or "he's a mixed race guy with.."?

we don't "class" them as anything, that specific person is just a variation of a color, just like me and everyone else, like i said america is ridiculously full of different people from all over the place so to sit there and say "that quarter african/aboriginal/turkish guy over there.." so if i was trying to point out a specific person out of a crowd i would say "that dark skinned guy with the blue shirt and a gold logo on it.."

idk how it is where you are located currently, but we have so many mixed races here to actually identify each individual would be madness.

 

[flying mong]

how popular are lucky charms ?
I see them on damn near everything if you want to buy them in England it sets you back an arm and a leg

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Is is still true that lots of you have really bad teeth? Or is that just an outdated stereotype? Be honest.

Complete falsehood. Apart from a British man inventing the toothbrush (while in prison), British people often have the healthiest teeth in Europe, perhaps the world.

The problem comes from media stating that teeth should be uniform and sparkling white (which usually means unhealthy because they've been overpolished). Our teeth may be slightly larger & slightly askew, but they're a lot healthier than most Americans.

how popular are lucky charms ?
I see them on damn near everything if you want to buy them in England it sets you back an arm and a leg

Americans have Religion (still), we have Superstition. Very popular, very big scam.

 

[thelonewolf266]

Alright so my question is this? What is a Chav? I've been called this on occasion and I don't think it's anything good, would someone care to explain?

Have you ever seen the people on the Jersey Shore? Now imagine the English equivalent of that basically.

Except generally their spottier than that.

 

[Agayek]

It's a common perception that you all drive around in big trucks or fuel guzzling vehicles. To what extent is this true, and if it is, then why?

In the UK we (mostly) manage to get about without over-compensatory trucks and jeeps, we just use like... normal cars, so it seems odd for people to be driving in like 5.7 L trucks and stuff.

It depends on where you are in the country, to be honest. In most cities outside of the South (and Texas), trucks and SUVs are not overly common. Most people there actually drive hatchbacks or compact cars.

Once you leave the city though, damn near everyone has a truck, and with good reason. It's so much easier to get around in the backroads with one. You have to remember that the US is about 30 times the size of the UK, in pure landmass, and it's several centuries younger. We simply haven't had the time to build roads covering even half of our land, so a lot of the driving in the US is on dirt/gravel roads (if it's on a road at all). In that situation, it's just not practical to drive anything other than a Jeep or truck.

 

[beema]

Complete falsehood. Apart from a British man inventing the toothbrush (while in prison), British people often have the healthiest teeth in Europe, perhaps the world.

The problem comes from media stating that teeth should be uniform and sparkling white (which usually means unhealthy because they've been overpolished). Our teeth may be slightly larger & slightly askew, but they're a lot healthier than most Americans.

I guess I meant "bad" as in looking bad, not necessarily health-wise (although there is often a correlation).

Also, how do you know they are healthier than most Americans?


ismathe against

 

[TheEndlessSleep]

America: What is Arby's?

 

[thelonewolf266]

Do you brits actually like Spotted Dick and Blood Pudding?

Yep. "Blood Pudding" is actually called black pudding and the blood isn't liquid, it's congealed and solidified and tastes similar to haggis. Its also not a pudding, it's usually eaten for breakfast as a substitute for sausage. Spotted Dick is just dough or suet cooked with currents in it.

awe here i was willing to try Haggis until that >.< I've had the 'pudding' and no sir, i do not like!

Spotted Dick sounds really bland

Don't listen to his slanderous lies Haggis is amazing much better than spotted dick also I really only eat spotted dick with custard or ice cream or something like that makes it a lot better.

 

[beema]

Oh, another question for Brits:
Are MacDonalds over there really more upscale eating establishments than they are here, or are they the same depressing shitholes full of obese poor people?

Also, is the Graham Norton show really popular? Cause I fucking love that guy.

And do you all find Gordon Ramsay as obnoxious as we do here? Or is he some kind of revered chef and we just get to see his stupid American-tailored persona?

Yeah, I watch a lot of BBC America.

 

[Wadders]

It's a common perception that you all drive around in big trucks or fuel guzzling vehicles. To what extent is this true, and if it is, then why?

In the UK we (mostly) manage to get about without over-compensatory trucks and jeeps, we just use like... normal cars, so it seems odd for people to be driving in like 5.7 L trucks and stuff.

It depends on where you are in the country, to be honest. In most cities outside of the South (and Texas), trucks and SUVs are not overly common. Most people there actually drive hatchbacks or compact cars.

Once you leave the city though, damn near everyone has a truck, and with good reason. It's so much easier to get around in the backroads with one. You have to remember that the US is about 30 times the size of the UK, in pure landmass, and it's several centuries younger. We simply haven't had the time to build roads covering even half of our land, so a lot of the driving in the US is on dirt/gravel roads (if it's on a road at all). In that situation, it's just not practical to drive anything other than a Jeep or truck.

Ah thanks, well that certainly makes sense. Here I was thinking people in the cities drove vehicles like that as well!

It's similar in the UK to an extent. Where I live in the countryside, a lot of families who aint even farmers (our family included) own 4x4's or 4WD vehicles because we can often get cut off with snow and things.

Although you do get posh rich people in towns driving expensive Land Rovers and other SUVs, just because they can. But everyone else thinks they're idiots

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Also, how do you know they are healthier than most Americans?

Honest, we do have good teeth.