I'm American. Ask me anything.

[classic33]

Why do Americans think a Yorkshire Pudding is a pancake that can be eaten as a dessert?

 

[Edwardoka]

Why do Americans think a Yorkshire Pudding is a pancake that can be eaten as a dessert?
View attachment 515660

I refer you to the earlier comment about scones/biscuits.
In fairness I can see a sweet Yorkshire pie working out. Just tweak the recipe and you have a giant tart (oo, er, missus)

That's what happens when you send a bunch of colonists over without any instructions, they make things up and pretend that they were right all along. Like pronouncing Graham "Gram".

 

[anothersam]

Do Teletubbies look fat in America?

#fuhgettaboutit

View: https://youtu.be/--LNgHfndsA

Why are American cars so dreadful? I mean, traditional British cars (when we had a domestic motor industry) were rust-prone and unreliable but at least they cornered better than a sofa. US cars are apparently styled by a toddler, are the size and weight of a bungalow and only go in a straight line.

Finally, a chance to use these two videos I just found:

View: https://youtu.be/pAQlEWqwnaA

View: https://youtu.be/aBrpy2iEvSQ

There aren’t bungalows in America; or at least I didn’t hear the word for the first 18 years of my life. We had the Ranch. I grew up in one. It was truly home on the range.

The US is blessed (or cursed) with a lot of roads which go in straight lines: it makes sense to design a car for going down one. Where I live in Far East Sussex, there is a stretch which everybody calls “the straight mile”, so rare is the phenomenon here.

Is it possible to really experience anything objectively?

There’s a pretty good discussion about this here. I’m sure there are much better, and this deserves more time than I’m going to give it, but it’s 3.25 in the morning as I type, and I’ve got a lot of questions to go, so please forgive me for not exploring the subject further. I have a feeling this may come back to haunt me, perhaps as soon as 2.00 a.m. tomorrow when I sit bolt upright in bed and announce to the darkness “Why didn’t I ask Reddit instead?”

I've always wondered
Precisely how many mickles make a muckle??

According to the father of our country, many a little makes a muckle. And according to J Macdonald, “we won’t have any muckles for later, if we eat all our mickles now.”

Credit: Alex B. Hill

Every day is Presidents' Day

 

[anothersam]

A man of culture I see. Sopranos is not a show I've ever watched, despite it clearly being the kind of thing I'd enjoy.
There's something about the Italian-American Noo Joizey accent that winds me up, I'd have to overcome that first.

Did laugh at the Napolitano guy dissing Genoa, though. A nice looking city with very interesting architecture, built with money made from truly abominable mercantile practices. (And that's to say nothing about the overpowering stench of cat urine)

As an hors d'oeuvre, here's a screenshot collection.

It’s funny how discordant some accents can be, isn’t it. For example, my wife, who’s from Sri Lanka (not that you’d know it from the sound of her voice), has a particular problem with there’s no way on earth I’m going to reveal that. I will profess a disinclination for the hairs on the back of my neck to lie down when being subjected to more than a few sentences uttered in EastEnders.

Generally considered safe to skewer

As long as we’re at it

The Sopranos was full of all kinds of funny, much of it quite dark.

Spoiler

Like the ending.

Anybody who complains that TV has gone downhill hasn’t been paying attention. The last 20 years or so have been glorious.

 

[anothersam]

Does mud stick?

I haven’t caught that particular earworm. YMMV.

View: https://youtu.be/3scNYMjyYVs

Does Dra go?

Come again?

Have you ever had your face slapped for commenting on a womens fanny!

Why, I never!

Why are Indians now called native Americans, particularly when they're not native but migrated there via land bridge from Asia thousands of years ago?

Wikipedia.
Sopranos:

View: https://youtu.be/V_z_7KEAnsE

Why did John Lithgow never play more bad guys? He was deliciously nasty in Cliffhanger.

I know, right? He was even the line manager for Pa Walton’s assassin:

View: https://youtu.be/e7dybm2-TMg

Perhaps he’s trying to maintain a karmic cinematic balance.

Who wrote the book of love?

View: https://youtu.be/ekrzLtCKMJg

 

[Mike Ayling]

A bit out of date but worth re posting

NOTICE OF REVOCATION OF INDEPENDENCE

To the citizens of the United States of America,

In the light of your failure to elect a President of the USA,
and thus to govern yourselves, we hereby give notice of the
revocation of your independence, effective today.

Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will resume monarchical
duties over all states, commonwealths and other territories.
Except Utah, which she does not fancy. Your new Prime Minister
(The rt. hon. Tony Blair, MP for the 97.85% of you who have until
now been unaware that there is a world outside your borders) will
appoint a minister for America without the need for further
elections. Congress and the Senate will be disbanded. A
questionnaire will be circulated next year to determine whether
any of you noticed.

To aid in the transition to a British Crown Dependency, the
following rules are introduced with immediate effect:

1. You should look up "revocation" in the Oxford English
Dictionary. Then look up "aluminium". Check the pronunciation
guide. You will be amazed at just how wrongly you have been
pronouncing it. Generally, you should raise your vocabulary to
acceptable levels. Look up "vocabulary". Using the same
twenty-seven words interspersed with filler noises such as
"like" and "you know" is an unacceptable and inefficient form
of communication. Look up "interspersed".

2. There is no such thing as "U.S. English". We will let
Microsoft know on your behalf.

3. You should learn to distinguish the English and Australian
accents. It really isn't that hard.

4. Hollywood will be required occasionally to cast English
actors as the good guys.

5. You should relearn your original national anthem, "God Save
the Queen", but only after fully carrying out task #1. We would
not want you to get confused and give up half way through.

6. You should stop playing American "football". There is only
one kind of football. What you refer to as American "football"
is not a very good game. The 2.15% of you who are aware that
there is a world outside your borders may have noticed that no
one else plays "American" football. You will no longer be allowed
to play it, and should instead play proper football. Initially,
it would be best if you played with the girls. It is a difficult
game. Those of you brave enough will, in time, be allowed to play
rugby (which is similar to American "football", but does not
involve stopping for a rest every twenty seconds or wearing full
kevlar body armour like nancies). We are hoping to get together
at least a US rugby sevens side by 2005.

 

[anothersam]

A bit out of date but worth re posting

NOTICE OF REVOCATION OF INDEPENDENCE

To the citizens of the United States of America,

In the light of your failure to elect a President of the USA,
and thus to govern yourselves, we hereby give notice of the
revocation of your independence, effective today.

Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will resume monarchical
duties over all states, commonwealths and other territories.
Except Utah, which she does not fancy. Your new Prime Minister
(The rt. hon. Tony Blair, MP for the 97.85% of you who have until
now been unaware that there is a world outside your borders) will
appoint a minister for America without the need for further
elections. Congress and the Senate will be disbanded. A
questionnaire will be circulated next year to determine whether
any of you noticed.

To aid in the transition to a British Crown Dependency, the
following rules are introduced with immediate effect:

1. You should look up "revocation" in the Oxford English
Dictionary. Then look up "aluminium". Check the pronunciation
guide. You will be amazed at just how wrongly you have been
pronouncing it. Generally, you should raise your vocabulary to
acceptable levels. Look up "vocabulary". Using the same
twenty-seven words interspersed with filler noises such as
"like" and "you know" is an unacceptable and inefficient form
of communication. Look up "interspersed".

2. There is no such thing as "U.S. English". We will let
Microsoft know on your behalf.

3. You should learn to distinguish the English and Australian
accents. It really isn't that hard.

4. Hollywood will be required occasionally to cast English
actors as the good guys.

5. You should relearn your original national anthem, "God Save
the Queen", but only after fully carrying out task #1. We would
not want you to get confused and give up half way through.

6. You should stop playing American "football". There is only
one kind of football. What you refer to as American "football"
is not a very good game. The 2.15% of you who are aware that
there is a world outside your borders may have noticed that no
one else plays "American" football. You will no longer be allowed
to play it, and should instead play proper football. Initially,
it would be best if you played with the girls. It is a difficult
game. Those of you brave enough will, in time, be allowed to play
rugby (which is similar to American "football", but does not
involve stopping for a rest every twenty seconds or wearing full
kevlar body armour like nancies). We are hoping to get together
at least a US rugby sevens side by 2005.

Provenance

 

[anothersam]

Is it true that Captain Nemo built the USS Nautillus?

With a current budget of $748,000,000,000 (doesn’t include extracurricular activities like war – well, not all of it), the US military can afford to hire an eccentric contractor or two.

Why do all the celebrities choose to live in an earthquake zone?

Because the rich and famous secretly know they deserve God’s wrath, and they deserve it good and hard.

View: https://youtu.be/TCJsZBK1JKE

Why did you need the British to show how to land a Corsair on a carrier deck ?

It’s possible I may revisit this question, but I prefer to go on a typo-induced tangent.

View: https://youtu.be/NI9Hq0_Mhy0

In 1965, Ralph Nader came out with Unsafe at Any Speed, which featured the The Sporty Corvair and forever changed the American conversation about road safety.

“The Corvair relied on an unusually high front to rear pressure differential (15psi front, 26psi rear, when cold; 18 psi and 30psi hot), and if one inflated the tires equally, as was standard practice for all other cars at the time, the result was a dangerous oversteer. Despite the fact that proper tire pressures were more critical than for contemporaneous designs, this was not clearly stated to Chevrolet salespeople and Corvair owners.”

There’s a parallel with the Boeing 737 Max situation if anybody wants to run with it.

Why, when many countries citizens have just as many weapons (and sometimes more) do Americans spend so much time killing each other?
Why is there so many Columbine high school copy cat killings?
All of which lead me to believe that the gun lobbies view that " it's people that kill not guns" should be replaced with its Americans that kill not guns.
Signed a dual national whose has spent most of there life in the UK.

The first thing that pops into my head when I hear the NRA slogan “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people”:

The answer my friend, is blowin’ in the wind.

What's American India Pale Ale all about?

A renaissance of a product developed in Old Blighty. Apparently it’s got high levels of alcohol. What’s not to like?

Why is it that you stand up so vehemently for the 1st, 2nd and 5th amendments, but not so much the 18th?

Because it was repealed by the 21st.

View: https://youtu.be/dxs1BPO9hmI

View: https://youtu.be/4DXbLi52N_U

 

[Edwardoka]

I'm really enjoying this thread. OP using witty repartee, videos and memes.
Well done, sir. Have a virtual biscuit* for keeping us all entertained during these most trying times

* Not the American version

 

[Archie_tect]

Why do Americans think a Yorkshire Pudding is a pancake that can be eaten as a dessert?
View attachment 515660

My granny always gave me any Yorkshire pud left over with treacle on for afters.... so they are right, in a way.

 

[Jody]

Why do you say 'don't got' instead of 'haven't got'

Or burglarized instead of burgled. Or drug rather than dragged.

 

[classic33]

My granny always gave me any Yorkshire pud left over with treacle on for afters.... so they are right, in a way.

Left over Yorkshire Pudding!!

 

[ianrauk]

My granny always gave me any Yorkshire pud left over with treacle on for afters.... so they are right, in a way.

We had it with custard

 

[classic33]

#fuhgettaboutit

There aren’t bungalows in America; or at least I didn’t hear the word for the first 18 years of my life. We had the Ranch. I grew up in one. It was truly home on the range.

They even have their own "magazine".

https://www.americanbungalow.com/all-about-bungalows/what-is-a-bungalow/

 

[Rusty Nails]

My granny always gave me any Yorkshire pud left over with treacle on for afters.... so they are right, in a way.

In a restaurant in Moab a man at the next table kept all the crusty edges off his and his wife's pizzas, asked the waiter for a jar of maple syrup, poured it on the crusts and ate the lot. Yorkshire pud would have been haute cuisine for him.