AIBU to ask you some questions about the USA?

[BreakfastInAmerica]

I've been reading lots of US fiction over lockdown, I've never been there.

What's the big deal with joining a fraternity house at College? What is the benefit of it? Why the Greek frat house names?

Is public access television still a thing?

Why do they call savoury muffins English Muffins when I'm more likely to see a blueberry or chocolate muffin when I'm out and about?

How do Americans eat things like thick pancakes with cream for breakfast, even the people who are slim?

What are grits?

Why are Automatic cars so prolific in the US, rather than manual/stick shift?

I'm sure I've got lots more questions and please pitch in with your own questions and answers.

AIBU to ask for your answers and questions about the small differences between the US and the UK?

Thanks for the explanation @Delphinium20

@x2boys I had no idea it was a formal class name for the U.K. Strange how a word can have such strongly different connotations!!

We also have Master's Degrees. But I've associated that (I have one!) as "mastering" an academic subject!

There are quite a few things in Southern cuisine that are called salad that are really more dessert-like. As for congealed salad, there is a cranberry-based one that has been in my family for Thanksgiving for generations. I still make it every year. It's not my favorite thing to eat, but it's a law in my family that we have to have it.

It is indeed I also find it interesting how some words can be highly offensive in some countries but not in others .

Well, I've lived in the South most of my life and I'm pretty old, and I have never seen "Master" used as a title for anyone. I don't think that is a very common or generally understood usage these days.

@x2boys As my entire family (white) immigrated to the North of America from Northern European countries AFTER slavery, some of the American cultural racism was already here, but in different forms depending on where you live. That's why I think the west and the middle north never really took to formal addresses like "ma'am" or "sir". Even though we were white people, we didn't have a U.K. nor early American European heritage. When I see articles about "white culture" it makes me laugh cause I don't see that when we live.

@SenecaFallsRedux that's a good thing it's gone away. My ex was from Georgia and it was his grandparents and aunts who called him that.

Back to laundry: why do people in hot areas in the US still dry all their clothes in the tumble dryer? I know people in Arizona and Florida who do this

For most Americans, using a tumble dryer means you don’t have to do much ironing or go outside and hang up laundry in the sweltering heat.

And as PP noted, it does kind of look downmarket ... so HOA often doesn’t allow it

But damn, tumble dryers can wreck your clothes if you are not careful.

But damn, tumble dryers can wreck your clothes if you are not careful.

If an item of clothing isn't tough enough to take the way I do laundry then it can get right out of my house! I have no time for labels & washing instructions. :D

I don't think anyone in the UK thinks it looks 'downmarket' to hang up washing, but perhaps I'm kidding myself!

I'm sure hanging it in the front garden would be frowned upon, but we always do it in our back gardens.

My ex was from Georgia and it was his grandparents and aunts who called him that.

For what it's worth, I am from Georgia, too.

Thank you for the replies about recycling etc. Just caught up. Glad to hear that it goes on to a degree but obviously not so good about rolling back environmental protections.

Has no idea about the 'master' thing but I guess it's obvious if you think about slavery. It's rarely used in UK anymore I think but when I was growing up it was still use for boys.

[quote Pelleas]@MissConductUS That Churchill Tavern looks wonderful. They've got a better selection of real ales than most restaurants in the UK! If I ever visit NY I will definitely try to go there, even though it might sound mad to eat in a British-themed restaurant when you've just come away from Britain.[/quote]
@Pelleas - you should go! The servers I had all sounded like they were from Britain so you'll feel right at home. As I mentioned, it's in a really good location and there are loads of great restaurants within walking distance of them, so I think the competition forces them to up their game.

I'm teetotal, but I did notice the vast selection of ales. I had a diet coke both times if memory serves me correctly.

The Homeowner's Association for the neighborhood I live in prohibits clotheslines and drying outside; however, Florida has a "right to dry" law that supersedes these local ordinances. No one dries outside though. Who wants to go outside in 90+ degrees F to hang clothes? Besides it so humid here and this time of year, it rains almost every day.

Where I live, all your recycling goes into one mixed container, and it then goes to ecomaine which is a sorting and recycling facility.

We also have a transfer station (what used to be called the dump) where you can drop off stuff like clothes, cardboard boxes, paint, metals, wood, all sorts - as much as possible is reused or recycled.

There's also a swap shop there which is very active - you leave stuff and others take it. I've got things like skis and furniture and toys from there. And there's a book barn there where you can leave/take books.

And we have a deposit scheme for drinks cans/bottles, so those all go back for recycling. I keep seeing the video that people post on Facebook saying what great schemes they are in Europe, and if only America would adopt them. We've had it since 1978 :-)

We actually have no public trash pick-up service in our town, so you either pay someone privately to take it away, or you take it to the transfer station yourself. The vast majority do it themselves. The transfer station is quite the social centre. I'm always bumping into friends there.

Oh and in my state 80% of electricity comes from renewable sources, so I don't feel quite so bad about using my tumble dryer. I don't put bras, wool socks or anything fancy in it - I hang them on racks in my laundry room.

My British friend in the usa is not allowed to peg out washing so she hangs it in her garage

Another one ,I know it's traditional to have Turkey at Thanksgiving ,Do people also eat Turkey at Xmas ,is it just the same meal or does it differ?

My other feeble excuse for not having an outside washing line is that the one I did have was destroyed in an ice storm.

But tbh, I was quite relieved

No turkey at Christmas for us. Ham is the traditional meat for Christmas in the Southern US. My Yankee husband's family has roast beef.

@x2boys

Another one ,I know it's traditional to have Turkey at Thanksgiving ,Do people also eat Turkey at Xmas ,is it just the same meal or does it differ?

Most families would switch to a different main course for Christmas dinner. I like to do a chateaubriand or prime rib of beef. Ham is popular too. There may be some families that give turkey a second go, but not in my experience.

Makes sense ,there's only so much Turkey one person can stomach 😂

I grew up in coastal Georgia, so we also usually have a seafood dish as well at Christmas; my brother's specialty is shrimp and grits.

Another one ,I know it's traditional to have Turkey at Thanksgiving ,Do people also eat Turkey at Xmas ,is it just the same meal or does it differ?

This is much more down to personal preferences; in our house turkey was served for Thanksgiving and Christmas could be anything. Sometimes it was ham, sometimes another turkey. When I got older and the family was larger it was catered and that was usually a few different dishes, beef and chicken and sides and so on.

There's always one family gathering that my father prepares the mains for, and that is always a grilled beef filet. Even the years we lived in the UK, whether my parents were visiting or not, that was always something I served at least once.

I tried hanging out clothes once on a little drying line In Florida but it felt damp after a few hours when I thought it should be dry, high humidity that day so it didn’t dry as I had thought it would.

My aunt in New Jersey ( much less humidity) used to hang out her washing in her back garden and her American neighbours thought she was crazy! However she grew up in UK so she carried on!

The one Christmas I spent in the UK, the family I was staying with had goose for Christmas, the only time in my life I have eaten goose. It was quite a few years ago.