Clearing up misconceptions about your country!
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Man I dunno, maybe some of Maryland is kinda southern but luckily in the Washington area it's diluted by allllll the transplants from everywhere in the country.UltraParanoia said:
Also, for all non-Americans: the "the south should have won the Civil War" viewpoint is by FAR a minority here. And UltraParanoia, you're probably right that the south had the right to a popular revolution. But really. Would you have liked it to go that way? The CSA could merrily go on to the same fate as South Africa, and meanwhile the divided country remains a backwater and never comes to world prominence.
Speaking of hegemony, apologies to everyone that English is the lingua franca. I'm aware its rules are totally inconsistent and thus am quite impressed with all the English goin' on here. Like most Americans I tried and failed at a foreign language in secondary school. Thus I am in awe of your abilities.
Y'know, that's just not true. Yes there's still plenty of problems of inequality, especially in places like Detroit (and DC and Baltimore). Thing is, the reports of everyone I know who's lived abroad make us seem like the least racist country ever. In the election they were worrying people would tell polls they'd vote for a black man but then not actually do it. If anything there was the opposite effect.Anarchy In Detroit said:
Which leads to another fact about Americans. It's true that we do think our country is pretty great. And I don't just mean the conservatives. Sure, definitely not all of us. And many of us who do still think we could learn a lot from you other guys (for instance many are envious of Europe not having to deal with Christian evangelists).
Also there's huge swathes of the country where you don't feel like you're surrounded by ignorant, closed-minded people. At least until you turn on cable news.
Im from britian our national sprot is either football or rugby im not sure but we are good at rugby 
i like tea but have never had a scone
btw i live in a big city not a tiny village in the middle of nowhwere
p.s. if you dont know what rugby is its american football without the 40lbs of armour lol
i like tea but have never had a scone
btw i live in a big city not a tiny village in the middle of nowhwere
p.s. if you dont know what rugby is its american football without the 40lbs of armour lol
Okay... misconceptions about Switzerland... I don't think I know many, so I just looked them up on TVtropes.
Peaceful history:
Switzerland was kind of founded when, in the 13th century, a small, rural part of the german empire thought they should start raiding a nearby monastery. When the austrians, who were friends with the abbot, sent an army to avenge this, they signed a contract of mutual defence with their neighbours and proceeded to beat the shit out of the austrians, the germans, the italians and the french for the next three hundred years. We've also had a few civil wars. The pope has a swiss guard because we were the most famous mercenaries in europe. And today, everyone has (theoretically) in the army. Or rather, only men. For women it's voluntary.
Banking:
Hahaha. No. We have a lot of large banks, but we also have agreements with pretty much all other countries to sell out tax dodgers. It doesn't work like that.
Mountains:
Well, they are somewhere around. They cover more than half the country, true. It's just that no one lives there. Why should they? Nearly everyone lives in cities.
Cheese:
Well, you kinda got us there. There are a few hundred kinds of cheese. Only Emmentaler has large holes, though.
Chocolate:
The guy who first had the idea to put milk into chocolate so that it wasn't all that bitter was swiss. We still sell chocolate. So that one is true.
Cuckoo clocks:
Invented in germany. An absolutely great invention at the time, by the way, and one of the first accurate clocks.
Democracy:
A rather recent invention round here, actually. The most conservative canton actually allowed women to vote only in 1990, when the federal government more or less forced them. The original war with the german emperor was about whether or not the austrians should be allowed to send their nobles or if we could keep our own.
Swiss army knives:
The army uses a different brand, actually, and they are a kind of ugly olive-green-brown colour. But we produce the red ones too, to sell to tourists.
Did I forget any?
Peaceful history:
Switzerland was kind of founded when, in the 13th century, a small, rural part of the german empire thought they should start raiding a nearby monastery. When the austrians, who were friends with the abbot, sent an army to avenge this, they signed a contract of mutual defence with their neighbours and proceeded to beat the shit out of the austrians, the germans, the italians and the french for the next three hundred years. We've also had a few civil wars. The pope has a swiss guard because we were the most famous mercenaries in europe. And today, everyone has (theoretically) in the army. Or rather, only men. For women it's voluntary.
Banking:
Hahaha. No. We have a lot of large banks, but we also have agreements with pretty much all other countries to sell out tax dodgers. It doesn't work like that.
Mountains:
Well, they are somewhere around. They cover more than half the country, true. It's just that no one lives there. Why should they? Nearly everyone lives in cities.
Cheese:
Well, you kinda got us there. There are a few hundred kinds of cheese. Only Emmentaler has large holes, though.
Chocolate:
The guy who first had the idea to put milk into chocolate so that it wasn't all that bitter was swiss. We still sell chocolate. So that one is true.
Cuckoo clocks:
Invented in germany. An absolutely great invention at the time, by the way, and one of the first accurate clocks.
Democracy:
A rather recent invention round here, actually. The most conservative canton actually allowed women to vote only in 1990, when the federal government more or less forced them. The original war with the german emperor was about whether or not the austrians should be allowed to send their nobles or if we could keep our own.
Swiss army knives:
The army uses a different brand, actually, and they are a kind of ugly olive-green-brown colour. But we produce the red ones too, to sell to tourists.
Did I forget any?
Some fool actually thought I'd faked the whole article, names and all, and that the country didn't exist.Echer123 said:
That's a glacier.Echer123 said:
That's a town in the north of the country; 2 towns actually, I have relatives there.Echer123 said:
That's a tiny religious group that goes by the old Norse myths (Ásatrú ("trú" means religion))Echer123 said:
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But you probably knew all that, since you apparently read the article =)
Most English people a.) do not live in London and b.) are not averse to swearing. And, thanks to global warming (!) the climate's improving as well...
Hehe.Echer123 said:
Another one I must add: We do NOT have polar bears here. They're not even rare. Occasionally one floats down here from the arctic on an iceberg fragment, and when they do, the media makes a huge fuss about it.
you live in florida? what part? i lived in florida for a year in Coral Springs near Fort Lauderdale.wouldyoukindly99 said:
Ireland:
-Yes we enjoy drinking
-Yes we enjoy drinking
-Yes we enjoy drinking
-Don't fuck with us or we'll kick your ass all the way back where you came from
-WE LIKE FIGHTING
so basically everything is true.
EDIT- oh and we make the best music in the world
-Yes we enjoy drinking
-Yes we enjoy drinking
-Yes we enjoy drinking
-Don't fuck with us or we'll kick your ass all the way back where you came from
-WE LIKE FIGHTING
so basically everything is true.
EDIT- oh and we make the best music in the world