So, just found out this is illegal in America.

[Soubriquet]

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

Or kinder eggs either btw

A lot of products made in Mexico and imported have sugar instead of corn syrup. I live in a big city where there's a big Hispanic population and you can find Mexican Coke, Jaritos, Ketchup with actual sugar, etc, in all the supermarkets.

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.

There is a lack of insight there. Why should one country be like another? Hundreds of years of separate history, geography, and economy should make it clear that the US and UK don't have 'kinship'. The idea that 'kinship' exists is one rooted in Empire.

This is sneery:
You can buy a gun, but not black current juice

There is no attempt to understand that blackcurrant might not be a native species and that non-native species can cause environmental problems, followed by the dig about guns.

It's really easy to google blackcurrants in the US, rabbits in Australia, NZ, and HI. But you don't get to feel all superior about guns that way.

Ooh, who knew there were so many fellow New Jerseyans on MN?!

sashh

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.

Watched a heart breaking film years ago about Australia, rabbits and a girl with a pet rabbit called Murgatroyd. Must Google to see what it was, though not sure I could watch it again.

I love the posts from Americans talking about the US and their lives. Learnt lots from MN, despite the bashing (which is grim and not acceptable).

Thank you, Mathanxiety and Susanna, and ha ha, Crisping. I can't recall off the top of my head what kinds of experiences people in the UK have with invasive species. But some species that have arrived here have been a real curse. Kudzu, for instance, is a plant that comes from China that was supposed to help with soil erosion. But it can grow literally grow a foot a day, and choke the life out of trees, etc. Another invasive species is an animal called the nutria, an extremely ugly rodent which was brought to the US for its fur, and which is now found in 20 states, where it destroys wetlands. So we are now trying to exercise caution with non=native species, as are many nations.

@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.

Rabbits are not allowed in QLD. My friends are vets and vaccinating a pet rabbit gets them a massive fine. You can get a permit to keep one if you have some kind of rabbit-exhibiting business (e.g. a zoo).

I HATE HATE HATE being called a masshole. I live in Mass and it bugs the hell out of me. I am Scottish by birth but have lived here over 30 years. Yes this place has issues, so has everywhere.

It's a good thing that caution over introducing new species is better recognised now.
Grey squirrels are non native to the UK, to the devastation of the red squirrel population. Plus mink (released by anti fur activists) have had terrible impact on birds and small mammals in some areas, and there's a type of crayfish causing havoc in the rivers. And that's without any exotic plant species.

We also have old bylaws that are spouted as law.
Eg. That it is legal to shoot a Scotsman with a bow and arrow from the walls of the city of York. Of course it's not, you will be arrested and convicted should the fancy take you!
New laws supercede the historic, but these things get repeated as true so often it can be misleading. Crazy old laws do make an interesting read though.

It's the differences that make life fascinating! I love hearing about other countries on here, please keep posting!

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.

Sigh. Kinder is blah. But you can still buy Kinder eggs in USA. So whatever? (And yes, Hershey's is worse.)

And again for those in the back: you can get haggis in the USA. Sorry if there aren't enough lungs in it! It's 100% true that Americans would prefer that there is a smaller proportion of lungs in their food. I'll wager that 100% of the British people I know would prefer the same thing too.

On the old laws, the Law Commission recommends repeal of old laws every year, ones that are no longer necessary or outdated, and also recommends where new law should be created.

So you cannot be prosecuted for not forming a queue when waiting for a bus in London.

I do think some laws should have a sort of sell by date so they automatically repeal themselves, eg legislation to set up a referendum, once the referendum has been held then that part of the legislation should just lapse (obviously with time for legal challenges if there has been any dodgy voting).

If you have geek tendencies the reports can be an interesting read.

s3-eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/lawcom-prod-storage-11jsxou24uy7q/uploads/2015/06/lc357_20th_statute_law_repeals_report.pdf

If I could get a green card and be able to move to the US I'd be there. I think it's an amazing country. I can never understand why so many posters seem to look down on it.

alrightfella

If I could get a green card and be able to move to the US I'd be there. I think it's an amazing country. I can never understand why so many posters seem to look down on it.

If it wasn't for visas and my elderly parents I'd be joining you. Friends had their visa revoked a few years ago and have been desperately trying to go back, they loved it.

The US is so vast and varied, such spectacular outdoor extremes. So much to experience.

@elp30, I used the word Yank because to most MN'ers it's a term for Americans generally. I know that Yankee means something different to southerners.

@SusannaQueen

I love the posts from Americans talking about the US and their lives. Learnt lots from MN, despite the bashing (which is grim and not acceptable).

Thanks, that's really nice to hear.

[quote MissConductUS]@elp30, I used the word Yank because to most MN'ers it's a term for Americans generally. I know that Yankee means something different to southerners.

@SusannaQueen

I love the posts from Americans talking about the US and their lives. Learnt lots from MN, despite the bashing (which is grim and not acceptable).

Thanks, that's really nice to hear. [/quote]
To me (Californian) a 'Yankee' is someone from NY & CT then the states north/northeast to Maine. You'd think I'd consider it to be 'original colony' states north of the Mason/Dixon line but for some reason I just don't consider PA, NJ & DE to be 'Yankee-fied' enough. Go figure.

That list of states is what I would consider New England, although I've seen NY left off that list.

To most Southerners, a Yankee is anyone north of the Mason-Dixon Line in the Northeast. But having married a real Yankee (family from upstate NY but originally from Massachusetts), I limit it to New England and New York.

The word is of Dutch origin, by the way, harking back to the early Dutch settlers in the Northeast.

I absolutely love a US thread and the info that those who contribute give us - my son lives in Texas and I'm always messaging him to ask random questions, usually off the back of a thread like this!

In fact, he brought me back some Swedish Fish when he came home at Christmas because someone on here recommended them - he maintains they're minging but I was very impressed with them! I also recommended he buy some Melatonin when he was out there but I was obviously a bit late to the party... apparently it's one of the first things you get!

Really hope most people on here don't come across as sneering - I'm just bloody interested as it gives me an insight into his new life without me having to hound him too much

@BearPunter, feel free to message me if you have a question about the US that you don't want to bother your son with.

I also recommended he buy some Melatonin

This is something I need to look into, CAMHS have stopped prescribing it for DD, and she is struggling, apparently you can buy online from the US.

Swedish Fish are readily available in Britain, our petrol station even has them (along with watermelon Jolly Ranchers which I was contemplating today).

PrincessNutella - coypu. We had them I'm the uk too but managed to eradicated them. Same deal with muskrat. American mink, grey squirrel, Canada goose and ruddy duck still cause issues though.

That's right, I think I read that gray squirrels have pretty much taken over in many places,. is that right? Oh, and Canada Geese are a curse, aren't they?!!!

@Nandocushion

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.

Sigh. Kinder is blah. But you can still buy Kinder eggs in USA. So whatever? (And yes, Hershey's is worse.)

And again for those in the back: you can get haggis in the USA. Sorry if there aren't enough lungs in it! It's 100% true that Americans would prefer that there is a smaller proportion of lungs in their food. I'll wager that 100% of the British people I know would prefer the same thing too.

You don’t know many Scots then....

• and it is not Haggis if it doesn’t have the main ingredient 😂