The Official "Your country is weird" Thread

[gekko513]

Holy kripes!! $214.00 round trip to Oslo in February.

Maybe a birthday trip....How effing cold is it there in February?

$214, that's like nothing!

January and February are the coldest months, naturally. Temperatures are usually between -10°C and 5°C (14-41F) at the coast. It gets colder without actually feeling much colder when you get further inland.

 

[IJ Reilly]

Roundabouts make much more sense than the stop signs you get in the US. We have roundabouts all over the place here in Norway, too.

Agreed. Once you get used to roundabouts, they make perfect sense and you wonder why we ended up with so many four-way stop and traffic light controlled intersections in the U.S. It's all about yielding to traffic to the right.

Beans for breakfast, though...

 

[iGav]

Norway is the same. If there's no roundabout it's usually a give way. At the give way's do you give way to cars coming from the left since you drive on the left? We give way to cars coming from the right.

Depends which way you're turning of course

But you always have to give way to cars coming from the right (staggard junctions included) as we drive on the left and negotiate roundabouts clockwise.

 

[dubbz]

but is it true that they blur the naughty bits over there?

Yeah, and it's the weirdest kind of blurring too. Uh, not that I know that much about it. My invisible friend told me.

January and February are the coldest months, naturally. Temperatures are usually between -10°C and 5°C (14-41F) at the coast. It gets colder without actually feeling much colder when you get further inland.

Wow, that's almost t-shirt temperatures . I think I'll have to move south again.

 

[iGary]

Yeah, and it's the weirdest kind of blurring too. Uh, not that I know that much about it. My invisible friend told me.



Wow, that's almost t-shirt temperatures . I think I'll have to move south again.

Seriously, though, am I stupid for even considering visiting in February?

 

[gekko513]

I think I'm confusing myself and everyone else here.

In a roundabout (1), we yield to cars in the roundabout (traffic coming from the left).

At a crossroads with a yield sign (2), we yield to traffic from the left and from the right.

At a crossroads without any signs at all (3), we yield to traffic from the right.

 

[katie ta achoo]

My friend from Spain has told me that traditional spain things are:

THE TOOTH RAT (instead of the tooth fairy)
When you die, you don't "kick the bucket" or "bite the dust." the phrase, when translated into english is "spread your legs"
They have a President AND a King!!
She made her overweight friend walk with her to Burger King every morning for some reason.
If I go, and I use my knowledge of spanish (I can talk about ombligos and sobacos real good) they won't think I'm someone who knows no Spanish, but they'll think I'm cute and let me get away with it because I'm so tall and have red hair.
She also taught me a song about a leaky cow and said that ALL the kids in Spain know it. I sang it to someone who knows spanish and they just laughed at me. Punks.
She had 3 turtles and they all died. One JUMPED off a balcony, one CLIMBED into the dryer, and the other RAN away. Are there like SUPERTURTLES in spain or something? If so, I want one to bite me so I can be like... radioactive turtlegirl or something.
Madrid is the capital of Spain! (hehe)

Erm, there's probably more, but I can't think good. I'm wondering if my friend is givin' me crap or telling the truth.

..tooth rat, that's just scary. If we had a tooth rat over here in the US, I would still have all my baby teeth, I'd be SCARED to give them up to a freaking RAT.

/yo tengo una vaca lechera
//no es una vaca cualquiera
///me de leche merencada
////ES UN VACA ENSALADA (Mmm.. salad cow)
/////MOOO.. Mooo.. Mooo.. moo.

 

[iGav]

I think I'm confusing myself and everyone else here.

In a roundabout (1), we yield to cars in the roundabout (traffic coming from the left).

We drive round the other way, so we give way from the right. so it's the same thing.

At a crossroads with a yield sign (2), we yield to traffic from the left and from the right.

We're the same.

At a crossroads without any signs at all (3), we yield to traffic from the right.

On an unmarked junction like the one you've shown, no one has right of way here, you have to be prepared to give way to any cars already on the junction. What you're told to do it approach at a safe and controlled speed and stop to make sure it is safe to proceed across the junction.

Are you guys allowed to undertake on 2/3 laners?

 

[gekko513]

Seriously, though, am I stupid for even considering visiting in February?

Depends what you want. You'll need proper winter clothing, a hat and gloves if you visit Norway in February. If you want to see the city and stuff, it's naturally better to walk around when it's not as cold.

We get some winter tourists that want to go skiing, but I guess your back can be a problem if you want to try downhill skiing.

 

[Les Kern]

In England it's MPH for the cars, but when you get gas it's metric. You think you're getting a deal, only to discover gas costs about $300 a gallon.

They have the worst food in the entire world. Can you say "Boil it"? Folks, I DO MEAN the entire world. I'd rather shop for a hanging chicken covered in flys outside Cairo.

I lived in Walmer, Deal, Kent. Everything, and I mean everything, closes for lunch, and god forbid you need groceries on the weekend.

What's with the giant plugs on TV's and such? Afraid of losing them?

The milk is... chunky.

Tea... everywhere tea.

No endless cup of coffee anywhere. If I ate a restaurant breakfast there like I do here it would cost me 80 bucks.

 

[dornoforpyros]

this thread makes me wanna go down to saint james gate and have a few pints from around the world...

 

[XIII]

My friend from Spain has told me that traditional spain things are:

THE TOOTH RAT (instead of the tooth fairy)
When you die, you don't "kick the bucket" or "bite the dust." the phrase, when translated into english is "spread your legs"
They have a President AND a King!!
She made her overweight friend walk with her to Burger King every morning for some reason.
If I go, and I use my knowledge of spanish (I can talk about ombligos and sobacos real good) they won't think I'm someone who knows no Spanish, but they'll think I'm cute and let me get away with it because I'm so tall and have red hair.
She also taught me a song about a leaky cow and said that ALL the kids in Spain know it. I sang it to someone who knows spanish and they just laughed at me. Punks.
She had 3 turtles and they all died. One JUMPED off a balcony, one CLIMBED into the dryer, and the other RAN away. Are there like SUPERTURTLES in spain or something? If so, I want one to bite me so I can be like... radioactive turtlegirl or something.
Madrid is the capital of Spain! (hehe)

Erm, there's probably more, but I can't think good. I'm wondering if my friend is givin' me crap or telling the truth.

..tooth rat, that's just scary. If we had a tooth rat over here in the US, I would still have all my baby teeth, I'd be SCARED to give them up to a freaking RAT.

/yo tengo una vaca lechera
//no es una vaca cualquiera
///me de leche merencada
////ES UN VACA ENSALADA (Mmm.. salad cow)
/////MOOO.. Mooo.. Mooo.. moo.

I bet your friend is winding you up.. Spread your legs for dieing, hahahaha.. and Tooth rat. Heh.

 

[mac-er]

you know what's weird... how in some cities, in some states in the U.S. you can legally turn right when the lights are at red.

And in some states, you can turn left on red if the street you are turning onto is one way.

 

[gekko513]

Are you guys allowed to undertake on 2/3 laners?

I don't think our funeral agencies have more restrictions than others when it comes to driving.

Seriously, I think we're not allowed to undertake (do you mean overtake on the right side for us (I assume left side for you)?) on 2/3 laners, but I see it happen all the time anyway.

 

[mac-er]

TOP10 REASONS FOR BEING ENGLISH

1. Two world wars and one world cup, doo-dah doo-dah
2. Proper beer
3. You get to confuse everyone with the rules of cricket
4. You get to accept defeat gracioulsy in major sporting events
5. Union Jack underpants
6. Water shortages guaranteed every single summer
7. You can live in the past and imagine you are still a world power
8. Bathing once a week - whether you need it or not
9. Ditto changing underwear
10. Beats being Welsh
10a. Or Scottish

11. You save tons of money on dental hygiene and care each year.
12. The accent makes you sound really sophisticated and smart no matter how dumb you are.

 

[Whyren]

We do have traffic lights.. and roundabouts. It should be the other way round.. whats up with practically NO roundabouts in the US..? eh? eh?

Also, pancakes for breakfast.. THAT is screwed up.

When US drivers can't even grasp the difficult mechanics of a 4-way stop, I'd hate to see what would happen if they hit a roundabout.

Oh, and pancakes are an anytime food.

 

[bousozoku]

...
Why are there like no traffic lights in Great Britain - why all the roundabouts - and in the most bizarre places?
...

Come on now. If you go to Massachussetts, they call them rotaries and there are plenty. If you go to New Jersey, you not only have traffic circles, but you have jug handles.

 

[johnnyjibbs]

Why are there like no traffic lights in Great Britain - why all the roundabouts - and in the most bizarre places?

Why are there NO roundabouts in the USA?

EDIT: seems like everybody is barking up the same tree LOL . Oh well, I could see how this thread could get ugly. Personally I love the US (and I'm British) but it's funny how it starts with an American guy joking about the UK!

 

[Grey Beard]

Roundabouts

Roundabouts make much more sense than the stop signs you get in the US. We have roundabouts all over the place here in Norway, too.

In New Zealand we have the best of both options. The municipalities make an intersection a roundabout for three or four years. Just when you get used to it, they change to lights for three or four years and then back to roundabouts. And don't get me started on street works !!!
Grey Beard

 

[pknz]

We shag sheep in my country.

 

[0098386]

I dont know what to say here. Only that I really don't want to live anywhere in the world other than England. When i go on holidays i spend a few hours pretending i live there, going through all the problems and things that might go wrong. call me mad.
I just couldn't live without an NHS. I hear that in America if you need a life saving operation that its pretty much okay for that person to die if they can't afford it. Not that the NHS is perfect, but theres no admission fee and i'm under BUPA anywho...

all that said. I prefer Scotlands rough landscapes. you'll hear nothing but praise for scotland and wales from me

 

[edesignuk]

We shag sheep in my country.

You're a welshman?

 

[geese]

They have the worst food in the entire world. Can you say "Boil it"? Folks, I DO MEAN the entire world. I'd rather shop for a hanging chicken covered in flys outside Cairo.

I lived in Walmer, Deal, Kent. Everything, and I mean everything, closes for lunch, and god forbid you need groceries on the weekend.

The milk is... chunky.

Tea... everywhere tea.

Thats not 100% fair! Our fast food is terrible, but there are no shortage of decent restaurants in London. We do the best curry in the world i reckon. But our Pizzas are terrible compared to New York. Microwaved take-away pizza's, urrrrrrggggghhhhhhh.

How can you get 'chunky' milk?

 

[0098386]

[CUT] seems like everybody is barking up the same tree LOL . Oh well, I could see how this thread could get ugly. Personally I love the US (and I'm British) but it's funny how it starts with an American guy joking about the UK!

yea i've noticed that too months ago i got a new contact on MSN, some random girl. no idea who she was. about a week ago i started talking to her. anywho turned out she was FOURTEEN! i asked her how the hell did she find my MSN address and she didn't know. anywho she started going on about rubbish really, then she said she's american but coming over to the UK for a little holiday soon. and then she just insulted England in anyway she could! amazingly she was spouting baseless "facts", you know, like we all drink tea, get droughts, worship the queen (as well as talking like her). it was brilliant! i blocked her after she said that we're not fun because we dont take as much drugs.

i've never understood the droughts thing. Why does a country with a rainfall like ours always seem to get droughts? well, down south. our northern reservoirs are always full. seemingly!

 

[johnnyjibbs]

Note, the following is just a bit of fun, not wanting to flame or anything

In England it's MPH for the cars, but when you get gas it's metric. You think you're getting a deal, only to discover gas costs about $300 a gallon.

True, we're backward there. You can also buy a pint of beer or a pint of milk but soon it will be illegal to buy a pound of bananas.

They have the worst food in the entire world. Can you say "Boil it"? Folks, I DO MEAN the entire world. I'd rather shop for a hanging chicken covered in flys outside Cairo.

Worst food? I know it's not up there with Italian, Mexican or Thai but come on! You think America's got the best food? Burgers and steak?

I lived in Walmer, Deal, Kent. Everything, and I mean everything, closes for lunch, and god forbid you need groceries on the weekend.

That was about 20 years ago? Now in Britain we have 24hr supermarkets (except the stupid 6 hour Sunday trading law) but at least you can shop fully on a Sunday now, which is more than I could say when I went to France... (BTW, I have a French girlfriend and I really like France.)

What's with the giant plugs on TV's and such? Afraid of losing them?

Actually, I think they're the best plugs and sockets in the world, except perhaps the Australian/New Zealand ones. They are very sturdy and have earth leads and switches for safety on the actual socket. US plugs are the worst (flimsy and always falling out of the socket), closely followed by the European socket.

Sorry to pick your post Les Kern, but I have to stand up to British rights here