Things I think are true about America based on Tv and Film

[PennyHasNoSurname]

People sort of pick at their food with just a fork - putting it on, scraping it off, moving it round the plate before putting it back on again and eating half of whats on the fork. Food must be stone cold by the end.

Nobody says goodbye on the phone. Now I know us Brits are painfully polite to a fault but "see you later" or "bye" is basic?

Everyone eats out of packets / dried goods. Of which they have 3000 of in their basement

School finishes at about 11am. University is called School (isnt that confusing?!)

[GingerNutRiskIt]

There's always a story about missing treasure that got hidden/lost centuries ago, and they need to find it from clues left by some old dead guy.

[chilledwarmth]

hesterton it depends where you say. In the city I live in Texas it's fairly common, I myself will refer to strangers as sir or ma'am if I don't know their name, I consider it to be a showing of respect towards the person. Sadly not all the stereotypes are true, I don't have a pool in my back yard.

[dodobookends]

Everyone has a yard 'in back' - nobody ever seems to call it a garden. All the front gardens all merge into one, you can't tell where one ends and the next begins. They all play basketball on the front drive.

You can tuck a week's grocery shopping in two paper bags under your arm. It never rains when you are carrying your shopping, so the paper bag never turns to mush.

Homicide detectives must have to carry chalk around, so they can draw an outline round the body.

[PuppyMonkey]

People are always going on massive big road trips across the country. Always.

There are lots and lots of cops on the brink of retirement.

They don't use washing machines they just send their clothes to the dry cleaners.

[Floowho]

When I lived in the States as an au pair, everybody had hired gardeners. The houses were huge, just like in Home Alone. Clothes are either washed then tumble dried, or are taken to the cleaners, nobody in the neighbourhood hung clothes out to dry. What really shocked me was that I could use my employers credit card to buy the supermarket shop, no chip and pin, I just had to sign her name . They do go to town at Halloween.

[Timeforanamechangy]

Art, sorry that should I read I don't understand the the post high school education system in America!

For example, in 2 separate movies I can think of, the main characters had been to 'college' and gotten a degree but they were applying to 'schools' (presumably unis?) to get their degrees. So are they going to 2 different unis and getting 2 different degrees? Confused!

I have been to both college and uni in the UK but the US system seems much less straightforward!

[askabusywoman]

If you are unhappy you go and sit at a bar alone and drink whisky neat. Never 4 litres of Pinot Grigio with a sympathetic friend.

[squoosh]

As far I can tell (from much TV and film watching) Americans leave high school with a high school diploma after sitting tests called SATs. The higher the SAT score the better the result. They then go to college (university) and study for a degree. If they take their studies further than undergraduate level and go on to do a masters for example they still refer to it as 'school'.

[squoosh]

Floo I've read that it's considered a bit low-rent to hang your clothes on an outdoor washing line to dry. Some places even have bylaws banning it!

[KaraokeQueenOfTheNorth]

people, more notably females, have bottomless wardrobes and therefore never need to wear the same outfit twice. Unless it is necessary for other people to understand who they are - the girl in the red coat, for example, or a comical themed attire, like a costume when working in a themed diner.

[SuburbanRhonda]

Secondary schools in Surrey use yellow buses

[SausageSmuggler]

Showers in high schools are poorly lit and grimy. Also always empty except for one poor kid who is inevitably about to be killed.

[BrianButterfield]

Aha, I can solve the degree thing - law and medicine need you to do an undergraduate then a postgrad degree - so you would graduate 'college' then go to 'law school' or 'medical school'.

[BoboChic]

Academics on academic salaries live in exquisitely decorated brownstones.

[SisterNancySinatra]

When pissed and alone at the bar drinking neat whiskies you exchange one sentence with hot, young guy then go back to he's place for amazing sex with no ties .

[jonquil1]

women wear the most amazing mascara which never runs and when they cry they dab with a tissue into the corner. they never gets streaks or have snot coming down their noses.

[redexpat]

Everyone goes to camp 😊 I now realise its because you only get 2 weeks holiday a year, but your kids are off school for 2 months.

Crime scene investigators have an excellent knowledge of litterature and the arts.

If youre looking for a villain, just arrest the british guy. All villains have English accents.

[tictactoad]

If you're an impoverished small town waitress you are guaranteed a full scholarship to an Ivy league university.

[SuburbanRhonda]

Women go to bed wearing a full face of makeup and wake up with all of it still intact.

[ChipsandGuac]

Everyone I know does go to camp. Either sleep away or day camp. My kids do 2 weeks per summer as I'm home. I still can't get over the amount of angst some of the mums I know go through every summer as they've sent their kids off for 7 weeks. If it upsets you all that much, why bother?!

[silvermantela]

People are generally more gregarious and community focused. Completely happy to share a room with a complete stranger at uni, have 'study groups,' instead of just revising on your own, every one in your town, local bar and coffee shop, knows your name, if in school you belong to a clearly defined 'group' (theatre kids, cheerleaders), etc., whole town actually gives a shit about the local school's sport fixtures and turns out to things like bake sales (?). Instead of spending time at home when not at work you spend all your time at said local bar or coffee shop.

If you are an introvert (different form not being popular) it is your most obvious characteristic, v. unusual, and possibly indicative of your disturbed mental state.

In addition to 'homes being huge,' teeny tiny towns have the most amazing facilities. Thinking of Sunnydale which was introduced as a tiny nowheresville, and over the course of 7 years had 13 graveyards, multiple churches, a hospital, several universities, a dock, mall, club, airport (!)...

All pupils sit on their own individual desks.

It's really easy for anyone to get a fake I.D. Even the wildest people when I was young would have no idea how to get a realistic looking driver's license or similar in the UK! If Americans do get busted for being underage, everyone only cares about the drinking, not forgery of important documents!

[jonquil1]

they 'fix' sandwiches for their kids and have gallon bottles of juice in their fridges, and they always have a bottle of chardonnay opened and clean wine glasses at the ready at any time when you call round.Oh, and the glasses match, too. in fact they've got a cupboard full of matching glasses.

Deeply envious, me

[Pipbin]

High school students are about 27.

All children have a large tree that can be reached from the bedroom window.

Even poor people have about 3 bathrooms in their massive houses. Seriously, Roseane was meant to be on the bones of her arse but their house was vast with 3 bathrooms.

This is hilarious, wish we could read a British version (i.e. a bunch of american mums sitting round talking about what they think things are like over here)

I'd love that too. Any American's reading please start a thread and then post a link.

[shggg245]

Excellent thread. All radio stations are abbreviated and begin with the letter k. Why is this? It's troubled me for years.

[SenecaFalls]

Some places even have bylaws banning it!

I live in a community like this in Florida. I did a bit of research when a similar discussion came up on MN and discovered that Florida is a "right to dry" state so if I wanted to, I could hang our washing out in the yard, and tell the HOA (Homeowners' Association) to fuck off if they complain. I won't though. It's true that Americans see their dryers as much of a necessity as an oven.