If I ever judged the UK by what I saw on TV when I lived in the US

[Tee2072]

Everyone in the UK would either speak with a Cockney or RP accent.

They would all either live in an over crowded terrace or a huge country estate.

All the schools would be crap.

The populace would spend their entire lives in pubs.

Now, I never believed any of that, being a relatively smart human being.

So am I being unreasonable to wonder how come I'm constantly battling US TV stereotypes here on MN?

It's a thread about many many many threads.

Contrast, I meant they wear their cheerleading uniforms on game days. Sorry, not clear there! Although they wore their letter jackets all the time.

One

Quite right.

"In fact they call it congealed salad. "

AIBU to be sitting here flapping my fingers and saying oooooooh yuuuuuck at that?

I have another one.

All balls in America are yellow and blue with a star on them. Like this one. They are not allowed to have any other design. It's the law. (Seriously if there is a ball in any US cartoon, it's always like this. Why?)

I'm beyond happy that they actually do wear team uniforms. I am ignoring the poster who says they don't at her ds' school as it ruins what I imagine high school to be like in the US

I was in the US when John Prescott lamped a protester who threw an egg at him. That was the only piece of "international news" they featured.

Ooh I love a good stereotype. If I move to America all my new neighbours will bring me home-made cupcakes and pies.(pumpkin or apple). Is this really not true? Snivel. Oh, and I will get shot or car-jacked- yikes.

Congealed salad is disgusting and very Southern. I grew up in New England, we almost never ate Jello and I hate it, in fact.

reggiue .... god I had forgotten how much I miss champagne brunch on a Sunday!

The thing about Americans that annoys me most - their reference to the 'british accent'. So would that be an accent from Newcastle or Liverpool, or where, then?

In the interests for fairness, the thing I hate most in the British attitude to Americans is that 'they don't et irony'. So blatantly untrue. Watch any number of U.S comedies e.g. Big Bang Theory, Family Guy - irony in abundance. It just makes us sound very up ourselves to say that.

I pounce on baby shower, halloween and christmas threads and growl at anyone who comes out with any dodgy comments. There is absolutely no need for it. Replace american with asian or whatever and it simply wouldn't be said (by non-morons anyway).

Tee - Ah, so we agree . It was mostly a few years ago when Heroes was on and Hayden whatshername lives in her uniform. Ditto the Glee girls more recently.

The last American I met, I asked him where he came from and he said sceptically "there's no point telling you, you won't have heard of it". I said "try me" he said "Wyoming" looking like . I said "oh Wyoming, western, landlocked state?" He was over the moon , he said that every British person he knew had never heard of it and asked where it was in relation to Florida or New York. So I don't think it's just Americans that have woeful geographical knowledge.

Exactly Orf. Not only would it not be said, it would be vilified on here and instantly deleted by HQ if someone was moronic enough to say it.

Sam they mean RP. See my original post.

Nobody lives in National Parks in america do they? Or have I made that up.

That is funny about the soldiers on the beach

Yes, Sparkly. Ask British people to label every American state on a map and they'd struggle w/ most of them.

Sparkly I can't even tell people here I'm from Connecticut originally. I get or when I do. I now say 'I grew up an hour outside New York City' which is true and they know where that is.

As someone with family in Northern Ireland, may I admit to getting a bit annoyed by the number of Americans who seem to believe Britain in the correct term to refer to the whole of the UK. Also the number of people who believe England and Britain are the same.

That is true Orf. National Parks can't be built on. Well, the Rangers live there, but there's no towns actually in the Parks, so far as I know.

As an American who lives in Belfast, Contrast, I agree with you.

I have never been chatted up as much as I was in Tampa. It was fantastic. No fucker ever chats me up in england.

If you walk in the US, beware that the distance on their trail posts seems to be measured on a large scale map, so if its up hill 2 miles may be more like 4 or 5.

That's possibly because of Pythagoras.
2 miles in a flat map corresponds to the hypotenuse of a triangle, although it won't be twice as long. :)

I thought you might Tee. I've seen you mention that you live there.

I met a naval student once who had joined the US Navy to work on submarines. He'd never seen the sea and couldn't swim until he arrived in Rhode Island to start his basic training .... That BLEW my mind.

Can anyone tell me why british soaps/sitcoms look completely different to the US equivalent? It seems to be more drab and the visual quality is grainier somehow?

Sparkly This is very true. I'm from Colorado, and so many times I get comments (from Brits), "Oh, did you used to live in LA?!" "Oh, I bet it's amazing there being right on the beach..." [stifle laughter]

On the other hand, I just recently had a friend who was planning a trip over to visit, and she asked me how far Great Britain was from London...
Erm... About ten minutes or so?