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Weird Americanisms (UK vs USA thread)

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If I choose to have tea, it is easier for me to put a single mug in my microwave and heat it to exactly how hot I want it. 2:20 for me. My wife likes hers at 2:00. And for heating up my daughter's milk we use 1:20.

This is how it should be. I'm from the Old Continent and everybody I know makes a single cup of tea / milk / cocoa / soup like that. I have a steaming cup of hot water in 1:30 if I put it on Maximum Nuke.
 
This is how it should be. I'm from the Old Continent and everybody I know makes a single cup of tea / milk / cocoa / soup like that.
I make a single cup of tea by putting the right amount of water in the kettle.

Isn't there something to do with the way the water is heated/boiled (oxygenation?) that can have an impact on how it tastes? I might have dreamed that, but I definitely recall it cropping up in conversation somewhen.
 
I make a single cup of tea by putting the right amount of water in the kettle.

Isn't there something to do with the way the water is heated/boiled (oxygenation?) that can have an impact on how it tastes? I might have dreamed that, but I definitely recall it cropping up in conversation somewhen.

No, but if you bring water to boiling in a microwave it can be dangerous. I never bring water to a boil in the microwave, it is purely for heating water up to hot but not boiling, which is precisely what I want to do so then it will be drinkable immediately.
 
My wife just informed me that in England sugar is poured on popcorn. The fuck is wrong with you people?

Nobody I know has ever done that. On cornflakes sure, but still, it's unhealthy as fuck. You be nice to us or we'll take back Doctor Who, I swear it!

So a yard sale is similar except in a persons yard or garage (in which case it would be a garage sale). Does tat mean random stuff?

Course it does you numpty.
 
don't have a kettle. usually don't drink coffee or tea so that helps. If I need a cup of hot water just heat it on high for 2-3 mins.
 
I saw the movie Barber Shop on opening night. I was one of maybe 5-10 white people in a massive 700 or so person theatre (went by myself) and it was fucking glorious. Best movie-going experience ever. So much audience participation.. I'd never seen anything like it.

Funny movie too.

How do you eat Pot Noodle without a kettle? Do people microwave them?

People microwave (or "nuke" as its referred to colloquially as a verb) them. Electric kettles are quite rare in the US since most people don't drink hot tea and those that do usually use a real kettle from the stove.
 
Nobody I know has ever done that. On cornflakes sure, but still, it's unhealthy as fuck. You be nice to us or we'll take back Doctor Who, I swear it!



Course it does you numpty.

And be nice to us or we'll make The Doctor so popular that Hollywood will take notice. "Why can't Dr. Whom be American. Also, his name should be Conroy."
 
basically people load all their old shit into a car, go to some field or carpark where the carboot sale is on and sell stuff out the boot of your car.

We don't use boot here. It's a trunk in America. And carpark isn't used either.. it's called a parking lot (or a parking garage depending on the situation).

The only people who sell stuff out of their car are shady rip-off artists selling fake speakers and/or drug dealers.
 
Our tipping culture is probably unusual to people from outside the US because they may not have experienced US customer service. I've read time and again that foreigners who visit the US are kinda blown away by our levels of customer service.

Apparently, in other countries it is not unusual that if you complain your food is bad the service staff or owner will give you a hard time or just ask you to take your business elsewhere (not always, but I've seen people say this.) In the US, businesses are so willing to bend over backwards to keep you as a customer the service is generally, overly good.

We have a phrase in America: "The customer is always right." Basically it means that if the customer is upset, you do whatever you can to make them leave happy so they'll return to purchase more. Competition among retailers/foodservice is VERY high in the US and these businesses know that if you aren't happy you'll just go someplace else. This leads to high standards of customer service and thus a culture of tipping for said good service.
 
And be nice to us or we'll make The Doctor so popular that Hollywood will take notice. "Why can't Dr. Whom be American. Also, his name should be Conroy."

We've already had David Yates sniffing around talking about a reboot. Admittedly he's British, but he thoroughly Hollywood-ized the last four Harry Potter films.
 
you both have fucked up measurement units.
fahrenheit? pounds? stones? inches? oz?
lol

*knock knock* time to adapt to the future and the rest of the world.
even your scientists use the "normal" units(metric) because they are the right ones.

It seems like it would be chaos here if America suddenly adopted the metric system; at least for the majority. But I would like to be a part of the "standard". People say Celsius and Km/h and I am lost.
 
Nobody I know has ever done that. On cornflakes sure, but still, it's unhealthy as fuck. You be nice to us or we'll take back Doctor Who, I swear.

Heh. Mostly kidding. I put sugar on my corn flakes and some people over here enjoy Kettle Korn which is a sweet type of popcorn. I can't stand it though.
 
Don't think america has experienced the awesomeness that is Pot Noodle

That is the really baffling thing

google images tells me that's instant ramen.yeah we got that. standard broke ass college student mainstay. I have always eaten them by adding water heated in a microwave. takes only a minute or two
 
What the hell is pot noodle? Ramen? If it is then most people microwave it but there are a few weirdos that use the stove top.

Pot_Noodle_Bombay_Bad_Boy_96g.jpg
 
I don't even want to know man, i don't even want to know.

That looks like Ramen Noodles. I would just boil the water in a pot on the stove and then dump the noodles in and let it simmer. Wouldn't use a microwave for the initial cooking of soup, only reheating. But shit really has to hit the fan in your life to bother reheating Ramen haha.
 
Wow. hold on. How do you make cup-a-soup (instant soup) without an electric kettle?
Don't tell me you microwave that to.
 
We've already had David Yates sniffing around talking about a reboot. Admittedly he's British, but he thoroughly Hollywood-ized the last four Harry Potter films.

We're talking replacing the sonic screwdriver with an umbrella ("How British is that?"). One that shoots bullets. And he'll have two love interests/companions and must choose between the two.
 
Garage sales/yard sales are truly American. Great source for some hard to find stuff. Especially vinyl.

Wow. hold on. How do you make cup-a-soup (instant soup) without an electric kettle?
Don't tell me you microwave that to.

Microwave water, pour water into container.

Or a tea pot.
 
Going back to linguistic differences, there's something I noticed when I worked in the media and frequently had to edit news submissions from writers on both sides of the Atlantic. Americans seem to have an aversion to saying that someone 'died'; it's always 'x passed away' or 'x passes'. One of my editors used to make fun of it every time we got something from the States that did it.

You see it on here too. You can take a fair guess at whether whoever makes the thread announcing a celebrity death (passing) is American based on whether it's titled 'John Smith dies' or 'John Smith passes away'.
 
google images tells me that's instant ramen.yeah we got that. standard broke ass college student mainstay. I have always eaten them by adding water heated in a microwave. takes only a minute or two

I think its slightly different to what you have over there with a thick sauce and other ingredients
 
Wow. hold on. How do you make cup-a-soup (instant soup) without an electric kettle?
Don't tell me you microwave that to.

Of course. Duh. Same with Instant Oatmeal. The instructions are right on the package. Welcome to the 21st century.

M3jKx6L.jpg
 
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