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?

@x2boys

So regarding tips ,do restaurant,s divide all tips between staff or do individual staff get their own tips?Also do staff pay tax on tips?

It depends on the restaurant. Some of the more upscale restaurants make you tip out the bus boys,food runners and bar staff. Others wait staff keeps it all. They are taxed up to.A certain percent though. When I was a server many moons ago I only had to claim taxes on 10% percent of my total.sales everything else was free money. I'm pretty positive now that the cultural norm is to tip at least 15 to 20 percent they have to claim that 15 to 20 percent but everything else is not taxed.In normal times a server can make a very good living if they are good at their jobs

wait staff to.walk out of a mid priced steakhouse with 2 or 300 dollars tax free dollars in the pocket every night

It’s not tax free US wait staff have to declare their tips and most restaurants hold all tips, record what each member of staff get and report it as income to US tax office (IRS).

@TheoneandObi I'm sorry to say it but you were just served a bad meal! Biscuits and gravy made properly is delicious!

ProudBoomer people do it at spring break because in most colleges the semester will stretch from the end of January to May with only a one week "spring break" in March. Most college students work in the summer, so the spring break is the holiday time that college students from different colleges can descend together on some beach and get hammered.

colleges who have segregated housing And gradation for black students

There are federal laws against racial segregation, but that doesn't mean that it's illegal to have a group for particular races or cultures within a diverse institution. For instance at MIT that I noted above, there is a dorm called Chocolate City which is both a dorm and a social network for African American men who are students at MIT. In addition there are still what are known as "historically black colleges and universities" (HBCUs), like Howard, Morehouse, Florida A&M etc. These are left over from segregation when they would have been the only universities that African Americans could attend in some states. Historically they have always been open to all students - it was the segregated universities that kept black students out, not the HBCUs keeping everyone who wasn't black out if you see what I mean. All the HBCUs to varying extents have diverse student bodies these days.

@PlanDeRaccordement

wait staff to.walk out of a mid priced steakhouse with 2 or 300 dollars tax free dollars in the pocket every night

It’s not tax free US wait staff have to declare their tips and most restaurants hold all tips, record what each member of staff get and report it as income to US tax office (IRS).

No they don't. Not at all. They only have to claim a certain engage of their tips because their is no way to guarantee how much is being tipped or to prove how much they are being tipped.The only time restaurants hold the tips is if the tip is made in credit card and then it's taxed and paid out in their checks. Cash is a free for all. That's why the majority work for 2.13 an hour

@Xiaoxiong

ProudBoomer people do it at spring break because in most colleges the semester will stretch from the end of January to May with only a one week "spring break" in March. Most college students work in the summer, so the spring break is the holiday time that college students from different colleges can descend together on some beach and get hammered.

colleges who have segregated housing And gradation for black students

There are federal laws against racial segregation, but that doesn't mean that it's illegal to have a group for particular races or cultures within a diverse institution. For instance at MIT that I noted above, there is a dorm called Chocolate City which is both a dorm and a social network for African American men who are students at MIT. In addition there are still what are known as "historically black colleges and universities" (HBCUs), like Howard, Morehouse, Florida A&M etc. These are left over from segregation when they would have been the only universities that African Americans could attend in some states. Historically they have always been open to all students - it was the segregated universities that kept black students out, not the HBCUs keeping everyone who wasn't black out if you see what I mean. All the HBCUs to varying extents have diverse student bodies these days.

Because HBCU were starting to go Bankrupt in particular Morehouse in Atlanta, Shaw University, St, Augustine's it was only when they started to go Bankrupt that they started to recruit white students. Whites are still a definite minority at these Universities. BTW...It is definitely still illegal to have a whites only anything

sorry @otterbaby 25 years on the experience remains with me, and not in a good way!

English muffins we just call "muffins" here. I've never seen crumpets in the US, they're different, have a spongy texture and have holes all over the top and basically have to be eaten with lashings of butter and Marmite with a strong cup of proper tea, which you can't get in the US either. I used to bring whole boxes of Yorkshire gold back with me to university - my dorm dining hall had a choice of either Liptons (shudder) or Red Rose which was weak and watery.

Americans are bombarded with political adverts + direct advertising for medicines and medical treatments, which you don't appreciate unless you live there.

Trust me, even if you do live here, you still don't appreciate it (in either sense of the word.)

What's the big deal with joining a fraternity house at College? What is the benefit of it? Why the Greek frat house names?
Social networking. Purchasing your way into a socioeconomically homogeneous group of like-minded people has benefits beyond a place to live at school. It is often connections that can land you an actual job with prospects after you finish.

Is public access television still a thing?
As it's always been - regionally yes; nationally no.

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?
It's to distinguish them from the sickly-sweet things you're referring to in the second half of the sentence! Also that's what one of the largest distributors of the baked good calls them, so it stuck, I suppose.

How do Americans eat things like thick pancakes with cream for breakfast, even the people who are slim?
They don't. It's the same way my tiny, slim MIL could tuck into a full English fry-up every so often -- it's not every day. Also, pancakes with cream?

What are grits?
Cornmeal porridge. In a word -- don't. Even my Southern BIL can't make them palatable and he's a chef. Biscuits and gravy, however...yes, please!

Why are Automatic cars so prolific in the US, rather than manual/stick shift?
This is a pretty recent one; it was a marketing point seized on maybe 30-40 years ago when comfort was a key differentiator between brands, and when you drive as much as Americans do, it's critical. I could not imagine driving my tiny Ypsilon the same distances I do in America!

All tips are taxable, as per IRS guidance:
www.irs.gov/newsroom/are-tips-taxable-irs-offers-tips-on-tips#:~:text=Use%20Form%204137%2C%20Social%20Security,tips%20received%20during%20the%20year

It is not something you want to have audited -- it becomes a nightmare, quickly.

I think in UK even if you only get £10 payment as your entire annual earnings for babysitting a kid for 2 hours you're supposed to declare that to Inland Revenue (file self-assessment). As ever, what letter of tax law says and what people actually do, are 2 different things.

What states are you all in where you can pass your test on your 16th birthday? Here you can take your learners permit test but you have to have that for at least 6 months and 50 driving hours before you take your driving test. And our neighboring states are even stricter.

And you can get crumpets in Trader Joe’s.

The biscuits are particularly heavy scones

Sounds like they used hard wheat (not uncommon in more northern states as that is what grows/gets brought in from other northern states). Biscuits should be made with soft wheat and then they're not scone like at all beyond shape. Honestly, I wouldn't trust biscuits outside the South and the lower part of Midwest (though I have found a British place that does them well - though makes them square which I found so weird).

@TomBradysLeftKneecap I know in PA it's 16 for your license, and in Florida you get your permit at 15 and license at 16.

Which all seems WAY too young to me!

Also, we get our crumpets at Wegman's. :D

I am in a midwestern state where driving is a necessity. My dd will get her learners permit on her 14th birthday. At 15 she will be allowed to drive herself to school and work. At 16 she gets a restricted license that limits passengers and time of driving that is not for school or work. At 17, it’s a full license.

I do find these threads fascinating the cultural differences between the USA and UK, can I ask about drug abuse I have watched several documentaries about " the heroin epidemic" amongst young people in the US is it a thing or is it exaggerated ? Also some of the documentaries suggested people were getting addicted as they had been prescribed medications such as oxycontin for legimate reasons and getting hooked on that and it was a gate way drug?

@x2boys Sadly it is very much a real epidemic, and yes, pain medications are certainly a gateway. It affects families from all strata as well -- wealthy, poor, good neighbourhoods & schools, bad ones. It's fairly indiscriminate.

I keep noticing how many people on American shows each with their mouth open. Is that not considered rude in the US?

Public Radio, though widely available, is over-earnest and mostly dull as ditchwater.
Sorry - just giving you random snippets now!

@TomBradysLeftKneecap

What states are you all in where you can pass your test on your 16th birthday? Here you can take your learners permit test but you have to have that for at least 6 months and 50 driving hours before you take your driving test. And our neighboring states are even stricter.

same here (well judging by your username we are probably in the same state). You can take your drivers ed non-driving classes before you turn 16 but can't sit the learner's permit till your birthday.

PBS - public tv - is wonderful and the radio equivalent NPR is even better.

I still remember being a bit puzzled on my first college tour when a parent asked "Is there much greek life?"

@ChubRubTub It is rude and I don't know anyone who does that in real life. I also don't watch much TV (and even less American TV) so I don't recall any shows displaying that either.

Gross.

@TheoneandObi

Public Radio, though widely available, is over-earnest and mostly dull as ditchwater. Sorry - just giving you random snippets now!

Have to disagree with this (listening to BBC World Service on it right now) although we do keep a running competition on the most "NPR" thing we've heard- so far a piece on the rock lifters of the Basque region is in pole position.

What states are you all in where you can pass your test on your 16th birthday?

Midwest. You could get your learner’s permit at 15 so definitely could have the needed hours by 16.

Heard it was as low as 14 in Alaska?