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?

Biscuits and gravy ROCK! Not so keen on grits.

I'm interested to hear that the US is lax on drinking and driving, because the penalties for getting caught are really serious - I know because it's happened to a couple of friends of mine (NOT me, I swear). It was a nightmare for them to get through the process and made me pretty cautious.

I guess the other thing I'd say is that the US is so enormous, it really is more than one country in some ways, so, for example, at my university we do have fraternities and sororities but they certainly don't, eg, always wear pink on Wednesdays or whatever - they are very low-key and pretty much entirely philanthropic.

Leaannb no I am talking segregated housing in both Public and private colleges.
Just a quick google brings up this
www.nationalreview.com/2019/05/american-colleges-segregated-housing-graduation-ceremonies/

@pallisers ah well you kind of prove my point! It carries WS stuff which is great; the home grown stuff not so much!
But as with much on this thread, it's a matter of subjective taste

purpleartichoke I can not imagine a 14 year old driving! They seem so young and immature to be behind a wheel at that age.

No I agree with you OneandObi - I'm an avid Radio 4 listener (and TimesRadio too) and I can't bear NPR when we go to the States, it's far too earnest for me too. The "support for..." bits are annoying. Things like wait wait don't tell me just aren't funny compared to the news quiz or I'm sorry I haven't a clue. And there isn't any swearing!!

That being said, the hushed earnestness of NPR did inspire the best ever SNL sketch back in 1998 (back when SNL was genuinely hilarious) so for that I will forever be grateful - the "schweddy balls" sketch:

Doesn't 'muffin' mean different things in parts of the UK, a bit like teacake. I was surprised when my future MIL offered me a teacake with ham, that was a breadcake to me.

I read a LOT of American books, mainly true crime and biographies, and in pretty much every one people go to bars, have enough to drink that they're definitely over the limit, then drive home. I read it enough that every time it strikes me that it's quite normal. There was an article a while back written by (I think) a professor, apparently the US has 20 times more fatalities due to driving while intoxicated compared to Britain, even though the population is only something like 4/5 times more.

I've lived in the US for 43 years, and drinking and driving is really not the norm.

[quote TheoneandObi]@pallisers ah well you kind of prove my point! It carries WS stuff which is great; the home grown stuff not so much!
But as with much on this thread, it's a matter of subjective taste[/quote]
tbh the bbc is one of my least favourite shows. I don't think Wait Wait Don't Tell Me or Terry Gross/Fresh Air or This American Life are dull as ditchwater but like you say, it is a matter of individual taste.

IHOP is the grossest thing I've eaten in my entire life. Hands down beats any of the hideous concoctions I've found in Scotland, France or Russia.

A Sorority House is my idea of hell, so I guess I'd have been leaving college in the US without any philanthropic connections.

This thread's made me curiously nostalgic for the time I spent in the US.

Why DO the doors on cubicles in restrooms in the US have such a huge gap underneath so you can see everyone's knees when they're on the loo?!

I like NPR, not as much as radio 4 but I find it worth listening to particularly the history sections on the city I live in.

Drink driving in the suburbs around us is rife. In the city there is public transport and cheap Ubers so not so much.
There aren't any breathalyzers and the supermarkets have bars so it is a very wet environment.
Driving standards in general are shocking but the test is ridiculous so I'm not surprised.

I think biscuits are a savory scone but I don't think they are heavy.

@LentilBolognese yes I absolutely hate American public restrooms! Why are they like that??? The flushes are far superior though 😂

@Hingeandbracket

Only the yellow bar is manual, all the others are automatic, so add all those up and there is more auto's worldwide than manual

The cutlery thing interest me too.

UK- knife in the right, fork in the left (generally) for the duration of the meal. Cut, eat, cut, eat repeat.

Usa- knife and fork as above, cut all or most of the food. Set down the knife. Swap the fork to the other hand. Use the fork only to eat the pre cut parts.

The bathroom stalls are for cleaning efficiency. The guy who invented them did it because you could mop under the walls.

They are awful.

Hotdogs in the US aren't like those we have here - on the topic of corn dogs. Their mostly beef there and certainly not from a jar or tin!

IHOP is a restaurant chain, not a dish. Re the cutlery thing, it isn't universal. That is the way I eat, though. I can remember back in high school getting lectured by a very earnest foreign exchange student from Germany about how illogical and inefficient the whole hand switching thing is. I'm not sure why efficiency is necessary when eating...

Not sure about heroin, but I know of two people who have lost grown children to opiates like fentanyl. I don't have a massive circle of acquaintances, either. It is huge problem.

I'm an American who lives in New York. How have I not seen this thread until now?

My kids eat pancakes regularly, but a small serving and often skip lunch. I've never heard of cream on pancakes. It's a bit of butter and maple syrup.

I drove a standard shift ages ago then switched to automatics. They're much easier in stop and go traffic and on long drives. My new Subaru has a CVT (continuously variable transmission) that gets slightly better fuel economy than the manual, as it's computer controlled for optimum efficiency.

I like NPR and do a monthly donation to the NPR station in NYC. Yes, they can be a bit officious at times but it's good reporting and no adverts.

DS is in uni (starting his 3rd year this month) and DD is off to her first year shortly. Neither uni has frats or sororities. None of the uni's we looked at for with of them did. Perhaps it's a regional thing. Both are going to universities in Massachusetts that provide full housing for all students. We wouldn't have considered a uni that didn't offer that.

Have I missed anything? I'm happy to answer any questions I can.

@Youngatheart00

The boxing up leftovers at a restaurant is very common in the US and pretty unheard of in the U.K. in fact the servers in the US are pretty proactive in offering it. Kind of helps to justify why the portions are so large as can easily last 2 meals

I think that has changed a lot in the U.K. over the last 20 or 30 years. I have a small appetite and nearly always get my leftover food boxed up to take home.

Incidentally I ate out for the first time since lockdown last week. I was still ok to take my uneaten food home but because of Covid, instead of boxing it in the kitchen the waiter brought me the box and I packed it up myself. It was equally nice the following day.

@Mintjulia

The thing about manual vs automatic. In the 70s and 80s, automatic cars were much less fuel efficient. Petrol in the UK was expensive so most people chose manuals. Petrol in the US was much less expensive so they chose automatics.

Ah that makes sense. 👍🏻

@BarefootHippieChick

purpleartichoke I can not imagine a 14 year old driving! They seem so young and immature to be behind a wheel at that age.

That's very common in our "fly over states" and most of them are better drivers than most adults. They are more likely to be have more driving experience

@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.

Most states. I think it's Massachusetts it is 18 and the oldest. My children started taking driver's ed at 14 1/2,got their permits at 15 (driving with legal adult above 21) get their limited license at 16 (only 1 teen passenger unless they are siblings and curfew) and then in my state they get their full license at 17 with no testrictioms

@Leaannb - how are you feeling these days? Any significant sequela? I've been thinking about your case and hope you are fully recovered now.

It's age 16 to get a learner's permit in NY. I know that lots of states do farm licenses as young as 14 but I didn't know they had privileges to drive on public roads at that age.

On the restaurant leftovers question, we got takeaway last night and today for lunch I have half a Cobb salad that I'm very much looking forward to. It's common to ask the customer to do the boxing up themselves, presumably for safety reasons.

Very interesting thread. The fraternity/sorority business of hazing etc. sounds bloody horrible to me. If you're at a college and you don't join a sorority, would/could you still be friends with the sorority girls? Or do they not mix?

I find US houses interesting (admittedly I have only seen them on TV ) - particularly the way the rooms on the ground floor, so the kitchen and reception rooms, won't have doors, just big wide open arches. I like it!

I remember visiting New York in the 90s and being fascinated by the way people were cutting their food up then placing the knife down and switching the fork to the right hand like a PP said. However, when my DD was a baby and I would hold her whilst trying to eat, I would do the same and sometimes still do even now so maybe that's where that started

@Cheesymonster I was friendly with a few sorority girls from class, but I didn't hang out with them socially. At least at my uni, one sorority could have 50-100 members so you're basically set for friends. And typically, I didn't have much in common with the sorority girls!

My DH makes fun of me for how I eat. I can admit that it makes absolutely no sense, but holding a knife and fork at the same time just feels awkward!

Also, I got my learner's permit when I was 15 and a half. That was in California.