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So, just found out this is illegal in America.

172 replies

Soubriquet · 31/12/2021 16:34

Black current juice. Apparently there is a fungus that lives on black currents that would be bad for the economy, so it’s banned.

You can buy a gun, but not black current juice Confused

Or kinder eggs either btw

OP posts:
crochetmylifeaway · 31/12/2021 21:42

I think it's legal now but there isn't a market for blackcurrants. Thats why they have so much grape flavoured stuff I think.

godmum56 · 31/12/2021 21:43

@Nancydrawn

*This is absolutely true in NJ, at least it was when I was there in the 90's. The reason is nothing to do with discrimination but to do with the strength of the trade unions and protecting employment. many many people in NJ were very worried about employment and foreigners coming in to take their jobs. I am not sure how valid the worry is or whether it is fostered by the unions to keep their power. I knew I could never get permission to work there and didn't want it. I was over there with my late husband who worked for a huge multinational and had been seconded there to do specialist work. I flew into there twice and both times was grilled by airport staff about why my husband had been allowed to work in NJ and why the work couldn't be done by an american. Both times I said I didn't understand his job (big fat lie) and I didn't know why he had been sent to NJ to do it (big fat lie). In order to be on a tax return, you need a social security number which you MUST have. Its also used as part of the info on your bank account and driving licence. when I wanted to open a bank account I presented myself at the social security office and was refused a SS number "because you are not allowed to work" One thing you do not do at government offices is disagree, even politely. I told them about the bank account and was given an official letter of refusal which the bank accepted. About a month later I needed a driving licence and was told at the driving licence office that I needed an SS number...couldn't get a licence without one.....back to social security, put through the interview and given another refusal letter....back to DVLC and given licence. THEN DH had to do a tax return and put me on it so I needed a SS number so back to SS . Interviewed again and refused until I pointed out that therefore I could pay no tax. Lady sniffed at nme and scowled and said I could have one that would only allow me to pay tax and not to work........Now that office KNEW at the first interview that I would need to be put on a tax return and therefore would need (and was entitled to) an SS number...but they still refused me twice because of foreigners coming here and taking our jobs. Got to say that outside of government organisations, the people I met in NJ were all lovely and very welcoming.*

There is...a lot that is not right about this.

I'd be honestly interested to know what? its my experience as I lived it but it was some 30 years ago as i said
Gunpowder · 31/12/2021 22:15

I think anti American or in fact anti anywhere sneering is horrible - and I wish it didn’t happen on Mumsnet.

I don’t think the being tickled at blackcurrants being banned is sneery. I reckon it just seems surprising because blackcurrant/Ribena is both so innocuous and ubiquitous in the U.K - and we have kinship with the States and so imagine they/you will have it too. Posting about it is the sharing of interesting trivia rather than doing down the U.S if that makes sense.

I hope international posters don’t leave. I think the chat on the site is richer and more interesting because of the differing perspectives from people from all around the world. And there’s always someone to talk to if you are up in the night with a crying baby.

Don’t leave Americans! Wine

MissConductUS · 31/12/2021 22:34

I'd be honestly interested to know what? its my experience as I lived it but it was some 30 years ago as i said

As I posted up thread, anyone can obtain an ITIN (Individual Taxpayer Identification Number) from the iRS that will substitute for a social security number for all administrative purposes. They don't hand out SSN's to noncitizens as it gets you into the government pension scheme.

I don’t think the being tickled at blackcurrants being banned is sneery.

It could have been raised in a neutral fashion, but OP went on about how it was banned as being bad for the economy (silly reason, right?) and then somehow managed to get gun ownership into question. Add the fact that Ribena and other blackcurrent products are actually easily available in the US, so the whole controversy is in fact empty, and for me, it hits an eight out of ten on the sneer meter.

*Don’t leave Americans! Wine

SenecaFallsRedux · 31/12/2021 22:45

I left once, but came back. I do think that MN, like much of social media, has become less congenial (not just about Americans, but overall) in the last several years than it was when I joined 10 years ago.

godmum56 · 31/12/2021 22:59

[quote MissConductUS]I'd be honestly interested to know what? its my experience as I lived it but it was some 30 years ago as i said

As I posted up thread, anyone can obtain an ITIN (Individual Taxpayer Identification Number) from the iRS that will substitute for a social security number for all administrative purposes. They don't hand out SSN's to noncitizens as it gets you into the government pension scheme.

I don’t think the being tickled at blackcurrants being banned is sneery.

It could have been raised in a neutral fashion, but OP went on about how it was banned as being bad for the economy (silly reason, right?) and then somehow managed to get gun ownership into question. Add the fact that Ribena and other blackcurrent products are actually easily available in the US, so the whole controversy is in fact empty, and for me, it hits an eight out of ten on the sneer meter.

*Don’t leave Americans! Wine

MissConductUS · 31/12/2021 23:06

Can i ask how old that ITIN thing is? It honestly happened as i have told it back in the early 90's.

You just missed it. The IRS started issuing ITINs in 1996. Millions of people have them now. They can simply be written in on any form that requires an SSN. Your situation is a great example of why they are needed.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Individual_Taxpayer_Identification_Number

DropYourSword · 31/12/2021 23:09

@RaskolnikovsIgloo

Not edible, but I only recently found out that having a hamster is illegal in Australia. Not guinea pigs or rabbits or mice, just hamsters. NZ and Hawaii too.
It’s actually illegal to own a rabbit in QLD
godmum56 · 31/12/2021 23:17

[quote MissConductUS]Can i ask how old that ITIN thing is? It honestly happened as i have told it back in the early 90's.

You just missed it. The IRS started issuing ITINs in 1996. Millions of people have them now. They can simply be written in on any form that requires an SSN. Your situation is a great example of why they are needed.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Individual_Taxpayer_Identification_Number[/quote]
thank you :) its always good when both people are right

Thursa · 31/12/2021 23:17

I live in Colorado. We have a British shop, British pub and a chippy. We can get haggis, squash, clotted cream, and loads of other British goodies.

Kinder egg clear up. There are two kinds of Kinder egg. Kinder Joy, which has the toy separate from the chocolate, and Kinder Surprise, which has the plastic egg/toy in the middle. It’s the Kinder Joy you can buy in America. There’s even a FB page called Free The Egg trying to get Kinder Surprise eggs allowed in America.

Taking Kinder Surprise eggs into America can cost you a fine of up to $2500, per egg!! Yes. $2500

KickAssAngel · 31/12/2021 23:38

I'm another Brit living in the US. I think there's a clear difference between people who are just interested in cultural differences, and those who post things about the US being backward and then reeling off a list of examples.

Ericaequites · 01/01/2022 04:04

To Europeans, all Americans are Yankees. In America, Yankees live above the Mason-Dixon Line. To Northerners, Yankee are New Englanders or Upstate New Yorkers, despite the New York City baseball team. In New England, a Yankee still eats pie for breakfast.
New Hampshire residents are simply more economical than Massholes. Their unofficial Morton is “Live Cheap or Die.” Vermonters are the peculiar libertarians. Google Ethan Allen; it explains a lot.
Americans do have haggis, but it can’t contain lungs due to tuberculosis risk dating back to the turn of the last century

tcjotm · 01/01/2022 04:50

[quote danmthatonestakentryanotheer]There are some corkers on here

www.rd.com/list/weird-things-banned-in-the-u-s/[/quote]
Some of those are bad but lot seem very sensible. I mean, I’d assume most were common sense and didn’t need an actual law on the books but clearly something happened that led them to legislate against them.

mathanxiety · 01/01/2022 05:17

It's true that growing blackcurrant bushes was banned for many decades. There was an environmental safeguarding reason for this.

However, importation of blackcurrant drinks has always been possible. I regularly buy it - I buy Ribena and many Polish brands and have for years.

The Australian, NZ, and HI bans on some pet species is due to the dangers of non-native species getting out into the wild and wreaking havoc in many habitats and economically important regions. To control rabbit populations running amok, Australia introduced bio controls, myxoma virus and rabbit haemorrhagic disease, which have had some success but the loss to agriculture is still estimated at over AU$200m per year. They also eat new forestry and interfere with efforts to contain carbon.

It has never been a good idea to introduce non native plants or animals into any environment, especially animals famous for rapid breeding.

The UK has seen problems related to Japanese knotweed, no? Should we laugh about attempts to stop it entering the country?

mathanxiety · 01/01/2022 05:18

They don't hand out SSN's to noncitizens as it gets you into the government pension scheme.

Resident Aliens (Green Card holders) get a SSN.

sashh · 01/01/2022 05:21

@RaskolnikovsIgloo

Not edible, but I only recently found out that having a hamster is illegal in Australia. Not guinea pigs or rabbits or mice, just hamsters. NZ and Hawaii too.
You can only have a pet rabbit in some states, have you never heard of, "The rabbit proof fence"?

Although a fence is not the ideal way to stop an animal that naturally burrows.
There are also places you can have a 'fancy' pet rabbit but not a European.

mathanxiety · 01/01/2022 05:23

news.wttw.com/2019/07/11/chicago-alligator-humboldt-park-fun-facts-alligators

Fun fact!

You can't own an alligator in the state of Illinois.

The alligator in this news story (he was eventually caught) was locally known as Chance the Snapper.

Pixxie7 · 01/01/2022 05:32

Another crazy law in the uk, which goes back to King Charles is that Cavalier King Charles are permitted to go any where.

Feather12 · 01/01/2022 06:18

@Nandocushion

We have kinder eggs, they just separate the food part from the toy part. My kids love them haha.

Was just about to point this out - Kinder eggs widely available in the USA, but they are packaged a bit differently to avoid a choking hazard situation. Time we can stop repeating it over and over again on MN maybe?

And yes, you can get haggis there too.

Kinder joy is nothing like kinder surprise (which are still banned) and you cannot get haggis in the US, they do a version, but without the lights (lungs) it does not taste as good.
tentative3 · 01/01/2022 07:25

If they have full sugar Ribena instead of the one packed with sweeteners I'm very jealous.

Feather12 · 01/01/2022 07:36

@tentative3

If they have full sugar Ribena instead of the one packed with sweeteners I'm very jealous.
They have very few things that are sugar as it is all corn syrup. My mum once brought me Heinz Ketchup when she came to stay from the U.K. (yeah thanks mum... it’s American...) but it was a revelation as it is made with sugar and not corn syrup in the U.K., so I do sometimes bring some back to NY with me.
LondonWolf · 01/01/2022 07:39

@LadyCatStark

I love grape flavoured things but avoid blackcurrant flavours. Never liked Ribena as a child either

I love the American focus on peanut butter and peanut butter in chocolate bars 😋

tentative3 · 01/01/2022 07:46

Ah well, I'll stick to envying the Europeans and their full sugar stuff then and content myself with envying Americans their Trader Joes.

I think a lot of the issue with the sneering is that people from the UK expect all Western English speaking countries to be directly comparable. I don't suppose it is restricted to the UK, certainly I think it can be attributed to some Americans too. I noticed it when living in Australia, that people from the UK struggled to recognise that Australia wasn't the UK with different shop names and warmer weather, but has its own unique culture, is fully its own country not a different version of the UK.

In terms of it being offensive yes, it is when done in a sneery way rather than an exploratory way.

gofg · 01/01/2022 09:22

@tentative3- you've hit the nail on the head!

PrincessNutella · 01/01/2022 16:10

Thank you, Gunpowder.

To answer a few questions.
You can indeed get clotted cream here, but from specialty shops. It is not widely available because most people don't know about it or what to do with it--cream teas just aren't a common American custom.

Blackcurrant jam is more available than blackcurrant juice (it is my personal favorite!!!!). All juice is generally out of style in favor of water for children, so introducing a new kind of juice at this time is not likely to be a success.

Sheep lungs were banned by the US in the 1970s from what I can tell for two reasons. One is that is difficult to remove phlegm and stomach acids and even less appealing fluids that migrate into the lungs during the slaughtering process. Later, many beef and sheep products were banned for causing mad cow disease (sheep have a similar disease called scrapie).

Hershey's chocolate has an unfamiliar taste to many British people, but it's not spoiled, nor are the ingredients bad. In fact, the ingredients are better than those found in a Cadbury's milk chocolate bar. Look it up for yourself. The unfamiliar taste is that of slightly fermented milk, which gives it a parmesan cheese-like tang. You can like it or not like it, but it's perfectly healthy (as far as a chocolate bar goes).

I am sorry Nancydrawn had a hard time with bureaucracy, but I am feeling pretty sure that there was something she didn't understand about how the system works, not that the entire U.S. government does not have a system to deal with various categories of non-resident aliens properly. I don't think it was out to get her. Of course it makes sense for people who have green cards to have social security numbers, because they are taxpayers. Green card holders have the right of permanent residence in the US, and a Green Card is a step on the path to citizenship. I am glad the people of New Jersey treated her well!

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