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Misconceptions about your home country.
- Thread starter Spaced Harrier
- Start date
Spuck-uk
Banned
That we all like, or care about:
-Dr.Who (It's shit)
-Harry Potter (It's for kids, grow up)
-Benny Hill (Nobody under like 70 remembers this show)
That we all speak like Benedict Cumberbatch (He's posh as fuuuuck)
The whole 'teeth' thing, although I guess we've always thought people bleaching their teeth is insane.
One thing that should be a stereotype, we do absolutely love our universal health care system, even when we bitch about it.
-Dr.Who (It's shit)
-Harry Potter (It's for kids, grow up)
-Benny Hill (Nobody under like 70 remembers this show)
That we all speak like Benedict Cumberbatch (He's posh as fuuuuck)
The whole 'teeth' thing, although I guess we've always thought people bleaching their teeth is insane.
One thing that should be a stereotype, we do absolutely love our universal health care system, even when we bitch about it.
Iriscomeback
Member
Grrrrr
Where young people do drink, they tend to do so at home ('pre-loading' before going out somewhere more specific like a restaurant, club etc, I'm informed by the office twenty-somethings) rather than in the pub as the price of buying four beers in a supermarket is about the same price as buying one in a pub these days. The price of a round of drinks can be a bit unfair amid a group where some aren't drinking, and queueing up to buy individual drinks can be a pain in a busy place.
Tea is still far more popular in terms of consumption by over-25s if you include what people drink at home, but coffee is increasingly popular now too.
https://yougov.co.uk/news/2012/03/27/tea-vs-coffee/
I suppose it's the difference in visible trends. The high street and stations etc are full of coffee shops, that also sell various teas, but people rarely buy tea in them as it's usually just a bag and hot water, and you can do that at home for pence. Most people here have an electric kettle but not a coffee-maker at home. That then gives the impression that nobody is drinking tea, when they are, they have just been conned into thinking that £3 is reasonable for coffee but common sense still wins out over tea.
Personally I've rarely bought either tea or coffee on the go since buying a flask (unless specifically meeting friends at a cafe), but I suppose I'm getting old and that's not very cool for young professionals!
Spuck-uk
Banned
OTOH Americans constantly don't realise the there are huge differences within other countries as well..
Spuck-uk
Banned
Depends where you live tbh, I'm up North and we get through loads of tea.
We drink a LOT as well, that's statistically true, just not as much as some other countries in Europe, and especially not compared to the world champs of being wasted, Russia
I agree, there are huge differences in culture in different areas of some European countries too. While I take the thrust of PantherLotus's point that the US is huge and diverse, the example given that the states of Texas and New York have less in common that Wales and Romania, two countries with cultures rooted thousands of years ago that rarely met and developed along very different lines, is very silly. Even next-door neighbours like England and France, technically only 20 miles apart, are probably further apart culturally than any two states, and that's following a thousand years of diplomacy, trade, migration, royal marriage, warfare, alliances, annexed chunks of land moved back and forth etc. A common language, country, relatively short history and unified federal government goes a long way towards making cultural gaps easier to navigate, different food and the minor social niceties is small fry in comparison.
Language and cultural barriers built over thousands of years of constantly shifting, dividinf and assimilating borders, and the sheer number of languages in Europe (about two dozen plus another 60 indigenous regional and minority ones) give a very different meaning to cultural barriers than those of the States. Despite their autonomous origins prior to becoming the USA.
I mean, check out this video of the map changing over the last 500 years (it's only a minute long), that gives a rough idea of how divided Europe has been even since the start of the USA.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nq0KNfS_M44
So how do you keep the igloo from melting then?
that's very ignorant and stupid
everyone knows the prefered method of transportation for Canadians is the moose
Funyarinpa
Member
Apparently a LOT of Americans still think Turks are desert-dwelling, camel-riding savages.
Every well traveled soul knows they douse themselves in oil and then slide on their bellies toward their destination, not unlike pinguins. Truly a magnificent people.
Switch Back 9
a lot of my threads involve me fucking up somehow. Perhaps I'm a moron?
Okay tough guy.
Spuck-uk
Banned
I mean, Erdogan..
It's nothing compared to your persecution complex apparently
Is the US culturally diverse? Yes, very.
Is it as culturally diverse as Europe? No.
Don't overstate your case, it makes you look silly.
Spuck-uk
Banned
It's literally a book series written, per the words of the author, for children as they grow up.
You absolute muggle
You're saying this on a games board, where virtually every game made prior to the end of the 90s (and a good chunk of what are called classics of game design) were pretty much also made for children, and a good chunk of them even now are aimed squarely at adolescents too. Imagination, entertainment and enjoying play shouldn't solely be the preserve of kids, that seems like something only the most dour of minds would think.It's literally a book series written, per the words of the author, for children as they grow up.
You absolute muggle
Where young people do drink, they tend to do so at home ('pre-loading' before going out somewhere more specific like a restaurant, club etc, I'm informed by the office twenty-somethings) rather than in the pub as the price of buying four beers in a supermarket is about the same price as buying one in a pub these days. The price of a round of drinks can be a bit unfair amid a group where some aren't drinking, and queueing up to buy individual drinks can be a pain in a busy place.
Tea is still far more popular in terms of consumption by over-25s if you include what people drink at home, but coffee is increasingly popular now too.
https://yougov.co.uk/news/2012/03/27/tea-vs-coffee/
I suppose it's the difference in visible trends. The high street and stations etc are full of coffee shops, that also sell various teas, but people rarely buy tea in them as it's usually just a bag and hot water, and you can do that at home for pence. Most people here have an electric kettle but not a coffee-maker at home. That then gives the impression that nobody is drinking tea, when they are, they have just been conned into thinking that £3 is reasonable for coffee but common sense still wins out over tea.
Personally I've rarely bought either tea or coffee on the go since buying a flask (unless specifically meeting friends at a cafe), but I suppose I'm getting old and that's not very cool for young professionals!
Thanks for your reply!
It's quite difficult to get exact figures on coffee vs tea, apart from those made outside of the home. In restaurants and cafes across the country, there are 2.1 cups of coffee sold per cup of tea.
In terms of alcohol, the data I used to make that hypothesis was from a 2016 study that found 25% of 16-24 year olds don't drink at all, up from 21% the year before. and from 18% in 2005.
I'm from Warrington so also a northerner! Yes we do drink more than most other countries but I do think that the reputation is a bit overblown.
Funyarinpa
Member
This made me cackle, thanks, hahahaha
I mean, I'll be the first Turk to say that I won't be the one to blame Western conservatives for not having a good opinion of the middle east, so yeah. If all I saw of Turkey were Erdoğan I'd fucking hate this country too. Actually, I want to get out anyways.
If you think that line comes from Family Guy then I feel deeply, deeply sorry for you.
Mass_Pincup
Banned
News flash, every country has regional and city differences.
Absolutely agree more coffee than tea is sold outside the home- best guess at home is in the tea aisle in the supermarkets, I suppose!
malingenie
Member
Some people, mostly armchair communists, think that Venezuela is a socialist paradise. That it's only because of the U.S influence that Venezuela is not thriving. I never see any of these people actually living IN Venezuela.
MadJackChurchill
Banned
Can we be friends? We're identical.
What about shooters, wargame simulations (and the like) and all the adult games?
Also, he is right in the regard that it's a children's series. Maybe his "grow up" wasn't too appropriate but eh...
ClivePwned
Member
Well yeah, but the average Canadian is much politer than the average American. Compare the number of times someone holds the door for you or whatever other barometer of politeness and it's really no contest
Westbahnhof
Banned
Are you trying to dispel myths? Sounds like a confirmation to me.
MilkLizard
Member
Not everyone in Luxembourg is rich.
That's why I said 'virtually all' and not 'all', of course games aimed at older people existed. However, I'd argue even most of the shooters throughout the 80s and early 90s were still aimed at kids despite the gore etc on the basis that kids like 'mature' content, same goes for Mortal Kombat. MK vs Street Fighter was a playground argument rather than a discussion in the pub
Stuff on consoles and handhelds was almost invariably aimed at kids by definition in the 80s and early 90s. Even on home computers here in the 80s, when I looked at the games for sale on the c64/spectrum/Amstrad, it was obviously aimed largely at kids buying games with pocket money, the magazines knew who the audience was and were pitched that way too. PC gaming traces its history back a long way, and I was playing wargames on a PC in the mid-90s in my late teens, but the bulk of games sold prior to then ended up in the sweaty paws of children.Brian Henson put it as his father speaking in this silly voice at Thanksgiving and Christmas when he'd carve up the turkey. I'd bet all my worldly possessions that this is where "Bork! Bork! Bork!" came from. Not sure how that became the Swedish Chef but even so, I never thought of the character as racist. In the same way as the Irish Muppets in the cinema in their last film made me laugh and didn't piss me off for thinking they were a racist depiction, I laugh at the Swedish Chef and don't for an instant think he represents the Swedish people at all.
Please don't tell me people find the Swedish Chef to be a racist or offensive caricature...
Spuck-uk
Banned
I'm not judging anyone for reading childrens books at any age. I'm just not trying to pretend they aren't books written for children.
Personally I think the books are crap for completely different reasons, but that's by the by, Dr.Who is still worse.
Spuck-uk
Banned
I know who Mad Jack Churchill was as well, so yes ^_^
It's pretty common for Belgians to not know shit about their own culture, so, don't be surprised if we know even less about our neighbours.
But this is also exemplary for the weird way most people in Belgium identify as Belgians: most of us call ourselves Belgians and don't want to see it dissapear out of pragmatism. At the same time the people within the different regions (Flemish, Walloon or the German-speaking one) don't have a lot of interpersonal contact with one another and stay -most of time- within their own region.
We see Belgium as an artificially made up country that for some reason, kind of works. This feeling of artificialism, makes any form of nationalistic pride, difficult for most. At the same time we don't really dare to be too proud of our separate regions, because that's largely associated with far-right ideologies and politics.
When we look at for example the French chauvinism or the Dutchies going crazy on King's day, we just shake our head in disbelieve, because we don't get how people can take such pride in their country.
Linkstrikesback
Member
thiscoldblack
Unconfirmed Member
Do you have a map that proves this?
Switch Back 9
a lot of my threads involve me fucking up somehow. Perhaps I'm a moron?
We don't actually eat maple syrup that often.
I'm more of a table syrup guy anyway
Personally I enjoyed Dr Who as a kid and found it quite scary (the various 1980s ones creeped me out along with loads of other kids tv at the time) but, upon watching the modern ones, I don't really like it quite so much as an adult. I think it's that, as a kid, they had all these scary monsters but you knew everything would be OK as the Doctor would sort it all out in the end. It works as an analogy for children living in a kinda fantasy world where monsters hiding in plain sight are real anyway, so the Doctor doesn't seem so fantastical. Now I watch them and find the character quite irritating, Even rewatching the old ones I struggle to see how I found them so scary, it's interesting to try and look at them in the context of how I viewed them as a kid during the Cold War, with frightening stuff that I didn't understand on the news and in the papers etc. The Doctor is basically a super-powerful time-travelling space wizard who can deal with anything, even armies of homicidal cyborgs and alien plagues or whatever, no wonder kids love him (or her).
gutter_trash
Banned
my 2nd country: Portugal
people have a misconception that the Portuguese language is a Spanish dialect and that the country gained independence from Spain .
in truth, the Portuguese language and the Galician language (Galego) used to be one an the same before the County of Portugal gained independence from Galicia in 1139.
(Galicia was under control of Leon at the time).
Galecian/ Portuguese, Leonese and Castilian (before name change to Spanish) all developed simultaneously in parallel during the Reconquista. Latin derivatives.
Portuguese language separated from Galician language subsequently when Portuguese Universities were founded where academia and literature developed then became the official language under King Denis.
Spanish was still called Castilian at that the time; the name change from Castilian to Spanish happened subsequently after the unification of the Kingdom of Castille & Leon with Kingdom of Aragon for a unified Spain (without Portugal LOL)
---
Portugal did get occupied by Spain for a period of 60 years due to royal succession during in the 17th Century.
people have a misconception that the Portuguese language is a Spanish dialect and that the country gained independence from Spain .
in truth, the Portuguese language and the Galician language (Galego) used to be one an the same before the County of Portugal gained independence from Galicia in 1139.
(Galicia was under control of Leon at the time).
Galecian/ Portuguese, Leonese and Castilian (before name change to Spanish) all developed simultaneously in parallel during the Reconquista. Latin derivatives.
Portuguese language separated from Galician language subsequently when Portuguese Universities were founded where academia and literature developed then became the official language under King Denis.
Spanish was still called Castilian at that the time; the name change from Castilian to Spanish happened subsequently after the unification of the Kingdom of Castille & Leon with Kingdom of Aragon for a unified Spain (without Portugal LOL)
---
Portugal did get occupied by Spain for a period of 60 years due to royal succession during in the 17th Century.
FairFriend
Member
Honestly, these are all misconceptions to some degree (except for 2), of course), so it's kind of sad to see an Italian perpetuate them. I think it speaks volume about the one thing that is true about us, that is that we enjoy criticizing ourself more than usual.
Glad to see I'm not the one noticing that.
gutter_trash
Banned
I was shocked by the politeness of Southerners in the North Carolina, Georgia and Florida.
"Good Afternoon" ""hello" "have a nice day"
total strangers. I was WTF, i never heard that in Montreal by total strangers
Oh okay. Yeah this girl was from a small town so her reaction threw me off.
Probably already mentioned, but everyone I talk to that's from across the ocean thinks that Canada is freezing cold year round. Not only does Canada have different climates depending on where in the country you are, but most of the big cities here have all 4 seasons, which does include bitterly cold winters but also burning hot summers.
Switch Back 9
a lot of my threads involve me fucking up somehow. Perhaps I'm a moron?
My friend from 'Straya was amazed at the temperature range. 70 degree difference between winter and summer.
NeoZeedeater
Member
A bunch of times on the internet, I have seen people from the UK saying they wouldn't move to Canada because it's too cold. They don't know that the southwest part of British Columbia has the around the same (or warmer) weather than the UK year round. There are desert areas with rattlesnakes, too.
This is a thing? Huh...
I mean, it's totally true, foreign ladies, yup, no lies at all.
Princess Viola
Member
More to do with my specific state than the US as a whole but Florida isn't as weird as the internet would have you think. It's basically a combination of being the third most populated state and laws where everything the government does is public record, so news can just search for weird arrest records from here to get their 'weird news from around the country' easily from us.
