The European View on all things American

Recommended Videos

Graustein

New member
Jun 15, 2008
1,756
0
0
hypothetical fact said:
I am neither American nor European but I would like to know why Americans still use the Imperial system of measurement.
I quote this post for emphasis and reiterate the question.
Why do you use Imperial?
 

ChromeAlchemist

New member
Aug 21, 2008
5,865
0
0
L.B. Jeffries said:
ChromeAlchemist said:
L.B. Jeffries said:
goater24 said:
Also are frat parties like the films?
Yes, but with less censoring.

I've always thought Europeans had better candy than us. The Brits don't nance about when it comes to chocolate bars and the Germans have dedicated 44 years of quantum physics research to perfecting the gummy bear. We've still got you beat on Jelly Beans though.
If these are English (which I doubt) then I beg to differ http://www.sweetstall.com/acatalog/Jelly_Bean_Factory_Beans_Gourmet_Beans.html
I'm trying to avoid this thread just because it's an issue that will get the best of me but, I assure you, Jelly Belly is an American company that is based in California. I visited their factory, did the tour, and even got to see the creepy place they make vomit flavored jelly beans. It smells exactly like what you think it smells like.
In that case, yes you do have us beat on Jelly Beans, because those things are god-like in taste, I just love them. And Vomit flavoured? Good god man they are crazy!
 

TheRightToArmBears

New member
Dec 13, 2008
8,674
0
0
Unfortunately, when I think of America I think of fat people, stupid people, ridiculous patriotism (WW2 films!). The thing is, I know that those aren't always true. And bad beer. That is true. When I visited my cousins in California I had to drink Budweiser! Jesus christ! And you're all massively un-mental. Like, wouldn't do stupid things for bets and stuff. That may just be californians though.
 

nathan-dts

New member
Jun 18, 2008
1,538
0
0
goater24 said:
They (Americans)need a Royal family just like the English
I'm a brit and I hate the royal family; I think they're a disgrace to britain. They take some of our taxes and don't even do anything.
 

nathan-dts

New member
Jun 18, 2008
1,538
0
0
ChromeAlchemist said:
L.B. Jeffries said:
ChromeAlchemist said:
L.B. Jeffries said:
goater24 said:
Also are frat parties like the films?
Yes, but with less censoring.

I've always thought Europeans had better candy than us. The Brits don't nance about when it comes to chocolate bars and the Germans have dedicated 44 years of quantum physics research to perfecting the gummy bear. We've still got you beat on Jelly Beans though.
If these are English (which I doubt) then I beg to differ http://www.sweetstall.com/acatalog/Jelly_Bean_Factory_Beans_Gourmet_Beans.html
I'm trying to avoid this thread just because it's an issue that will get the best of me but, I assure you, Jelly Belly is an American company that is based in California. I visited their factory, did the tour, and even got to see the creepy place they make vomit flavored jelly beans. It smells exactly like what you think it smells like.
In that case, yes you do have us beat on Jelly Beans, because those things are god-like in taste, I just love them. And Vomit flavoured? Good god man they are crazy!
Wait, you purposely produce vomit flavoured Jelly beans? God I'd love to see the packaging for them.
 

TheRightToArmBears

New member
Dec 13, 2008
8,674
0
0
berethond said:
Arsen said:
Europe has Iron Maiden, Opeth, and Therion.

America has Linkin Park, Soulja Boy, and Lil' Wayne.

/thread
America has Metallica
America has lots of good music. However Britan invented metal. America gave the world rap. Although America sort of invented Rock and Roll, I'd say it was a joint venture.
 

sneakypenguin

Elite Member
Legacy
Jul 31, 2008
2,804
0
41
Country
usa
Vlane said:
I once was a year in america (in Los Angeles to be precise) and I didn't enjoyed it.

Your standards for a good house are way lower then in europe and you have to be 21 to legally drink beer. That's ridiculous. Also the beer is not good.
MMM LA no wonder you hated it. You need to visit the south, contrary to stereotypes we are not redneckes(as long as you stay away from the barren parts of alabama) we have amazing water sports because we have lakes every 5 miles, wonderful outdoors with the Appalachian mountains, and by far the best food in the US. IMO
 

jabmops

New member
Jan 18, 2009
10
0
0
ha i love the way we always join up against the americans
i'm from liverpool and (for reasons i am unaware of) we are obliged to hate people from manchester, but if a londoner came along then we're all chummy and we'll go yeah but we're northerners so fuck off
it then escalates to saying to the uk disliking the french and then europeans disliking americans

but americans shouldn't get worked up, they don't understand our sense of humour which is just taking the piss
we don't really believe the stereotypes but we don't laugh until someone else is miserable or takes offence

you americans do seem to have delusions of grandeur though
let's just set this straight now
change the name of soccer to football, everyone else calls it football (i sound hypocritical as we rejected the euro, but unlike the most of the UK i am pro-euro)
the best beers are found in europe, especially germany
you can buy jelly beans in europe

i was in rome last year and we were in some bar having a few drinks when some american tourist came over and tried to start conversation
afterwards i realised there are three things that we have come to stereotype americans with abroad
first is pretending your european just because that's where your ancestry lies
because we asked this guy where he was from and he said "oh ireland" to which we had to repeat the question until he went "oh you mean where do i live? florida"
i'm sorry but are "where are you from" and "where do you live" two completely different questions?
the second was pretending to know the world like the back of your hand
we asked this guy what he did for a living and he said "oh i work for a gas company. they place me all over europe like here in italy, greece, spain, prague oh and a bit in russia at moscow"
ok, prague isn't a country, that is not all over europe, and don't pronounce moscow "MOSS- COW"
i remember him also slipping in an asian country as well but i can't remember which one
and finally he dropped the C-bomb of all insults
he thought guinness was "scotch" (may i just add he meant scottish not the scotch whiskeys or scotch eggs) and when he drank it complained to the poor italian bartender about it being flat
 

jabmops

New member
Jan 18, 2009
10
0
0
oh and also we use the word fag as well when we mean ******, just because it's not censored on our tvs doesn't mean it doesn't have the offensive connotations

because i'm tired of hearing americans in films or in tv programmes saying we use it just to mean a cigarette
 

The Rogue Wolf

Stealthy Carnivore
Legacy
Nov 25, 2007
17,491
10,275
118
Stalking the Digital Tundra
Gender
✅
Graustein said:
hypothetical fact said:
I am neither American nor European but I would like to know why Americans still use the Imperial system of measurement.
I quote this post for emphasis and reiterate the question.
Why do you use Imperial?
We were set to convert over in the 1950s, but (and this is how I heard it, anyway, not 100% sure on factuality) the trucking industry didn't want to bear the cost of converting all their weighing equipment from pounds to kilograms, so they and other like-minded industries lobbed the government to stop.

Whether or not that's true, there's been absolutely no government mandate to convert to metric, and the private sector has had little impetus to switch (you may notice that most products are dual-labeled, and soda still comes in litre bottles). Plus you know how resistant people are to change. Personally I'm up for it- I couldn't tell you if I've walked a mile OR a kilometer; I have a terrible sense of scale- but it's gonna take a while.

Now, a question in return. What's with this whole British habit of putting vinegar on all your food? It's a fairly widespread stereotype that the British overdo the "suffering builds character" and make all their food taste absolutely terrible... which is kind of funny because your neighbors, the French, are stereotyped as all being world-famous chefs.
 

Graustein

New member
Jun 15, 2008
1,756
0
0
The Rogue Wolf said:
Graustein said:
hypothetical fact said:
I am neither American nor European but I would like to know why Americans still use the Imperial system of measurement.
I quote this post for emphasis and reiterate the question.
Why do you use Imperial?
We were set to convert over in the 1950s, but (and this is how I heard it, anyway, not 100% sure on factuality) the trucking industry didn't want to bear the cost of converting all their weighing equipment from pounds to kilograms, so they and other like-minded industries lobbed the government to stop.

Whether or not that's true, there's been absolutely no government mandate to convert to metric, and the private sector has had little impetus to switch (you may notice that most products are dual-labeled, and soda still comes in litre bottles). Plus you know how resistant people are to change. Personally I'm up for it- I couldn't tell you if I've walked a mile OR a kilometer; I have a terrible sense of scale- but it's gonna take a while.

Now, a question in return. What's with this whole British habit of putting vinegar on all your food? It's a fairly widespread stereotype that the British overdo the "suffering builds character" and make all their food taste absolutely terrible... which is kind of funny because your neighbors, the French, are stereotyped as all being world-famous chefs.
So the bottom line is "Too expensive, why should we?"?
Makes sense.

As for the vinegar thing, I'm Aussie, no idea. As a kid I'd pour vinegar on my chips (that is, fries to you) though. They swam in it and it was yum.
 

Hunde Des Krieg

New member
Sep 30, 2008
2,442
0
0
I don't see nations, I see humanity! But in all seriousness why does the UK still have a royal family? Why does everyone(everyone!) think that they have the best country? What's with all the rampant nationalism? Why does someone's beer make their country better? I do believe beer comes down to families and their traditions, it's not like the country's top scientists get together in order to formulate the best beer ever.
 

jabmops

New member
Jan 18, 2009
10
0
0
people only really put vinegar on fish and chips and we're kind of known for them, maybe that's where you get the idea from
i can't really think of anything else to put vinegar on
and i wouldn't say the french are the best cooks
i've been to most of the major countries in mainland europe and the french are by far the worst cooks
italy or greece rank as the nicest
 

Galletea

Inexplicably Awesome
Sep 27, 2008
2,877
0
0
Hunde Des Krieg said:
I don't see nations, I see humanity! But in all seriousness why does the UK still have a royal family? Why does everyone(everyone!) think that they have the best country? What's with all the rampant nationalism? Why does someone's beer make their country better? I do believe beer comes down to families and their traditions, it's not like the country's top scientists get together in order to formulate the best beer ever.
You raise some very good points. Firstly we still have a Royal Family because of our fondness for nostalgia I think. They do bring in some revenue, but this is outweighed by the amount spent on them. I don't understand the rampant nationalism, I think the same way as you, I see people not flags. Beer is one of those things that many peoples do differently and therefore each nation thinks their beer is the best. Tradition and personal history are things that are very close to people's hearts and that is why people get protective. At least that's what I reckon.
 

Zykon TheLich

Extra Heretical!
Legacy
Jun 6, 2008
3,506
850
118
Country
UK
The Rogue Wolf said:
Now, a question in return. What's with this whole British habit of putting vinegar on all your food? It's a fairly widespread stereotype that the British overdo the "suffering builds character" and make all their food taste absolutely terrible... which is kind of funny because your neighbors, the French, are stereotyped as all being world-famous chefs.
Vinegar goes on chips. Since we eat a lot of chips, it looks like we put vinegar on everything.

EDIT: Damn, ninja'd.

PS: Against my expectations this has not turned into a transatlantic insultathon. I'm proud of you guys.
 

The Rogue Wolf

Stealthy Carnivore
Legacy
Nov 25, 2007
17,491
10,275
118
Stalking the Digital Tundra
Gender
✅
Graustein said:
As for the vinegar thing, I'm Aussie, no idea. As a kid I'd pour vinegar on my chips (that is, fries to you) though. They swam in it and it was yum.
scumofsociety said:
Vinegar goes on chips. Since we eat a lot of chips, it looks like we put vinegar on everything.
Ah, well, that clears things up a bit. I could still wonder why you put vinegar on fries- err, chips- but considering that my sister loved to put ketchup on macaroni & cheese, I suppose I'm just going to say "to each his/her/its own" and move on.

Now maybe we can do something about Europeans and Americans who feel the need to correct each others' spelling. Colour me crazy!
 

Booze Zombie

New member
Dec 8, 2007
7,416
0
0
Colour the armour, I'll get my alu-min-yum and make sure you smoke a fag to calm down.

Tell me, that sentence strike you as odd?

Anyway, I really think the worst thing about America is the lack of a proper health care system and the immesnly stupid people on Xbox Live, though it does redeem with all the incredibly sharp people on Live as well.
 

Dorian Cornelius Jasper

Space Robot From Outer Space
Apr 8, 2008
396
0
0
jabmops said:
i'm sorry but are "where are you from" and "where do you live" two completely different questions?
This is the result of America's eclectic population and the little cultural tics that emerged as a result. To most Americans, the question "Where are you from" is synonymous with "Where are your ancestors from?" This has a lot to do with school experiences, where kids would look around at all the different-looking kids and, since they might not be aware of the nuances of race and ethnicity in American society, they would simply ask in the simplest terms available.

Also, both Canada and America are united in calling The World's Kickey-Kickey Goal-Netty Game "soccer" and turn-based Rugby "football." This is because when soccer ("Association Football") was introduced in our countries after we'd already named something else football.

It's the local color. Changing it would make it lose appeal.

Bright_Raven said:
Well now you're just being mean. Honestly. And the death of Speedos can be attributed to the phrase "Banana Hammock," thank you very much.