The Official "Your country is weird" Thread

[groovebuster]

TOP10 REASONS FOR BEING GERMAN:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

WOW! I didn't know I suck that badly!!!!

BTW... the word dollar comes from the german word Taler...

groovebuster

 

[Nermal]

Why does German capitalize every Noun and other non-important Word in their Vocabulary and combine huge small Words to make one huge Word (Unabhaengigkeitsklaerung -- Which leads me to this: why have letters with dots that my keyboard can't make and when I try it just ends up closing FireFox) and have 5 different Words for "the" (der, die, das, des, den) with three different Genders and different uses for each "the" based on the Case. (Nominative, Accusative, Dative, and Genetive).

Yikes, I'd hate to see your reaction to a "foreign" DVD menu:

 

[Skareb]

Country in Question "Australia"

1: we eat both of our animal mascots (Kangaroo and Emu)
2: In South Australia Ice Coffe out sells Coke
3: Our Prime Minister is a fool
4: We've got more Uranium in the world than anywhere else, yet are limited to 3 mines.
5: As above but with no power nuclear reactors
6: Radio active waste is stored under the main street of Adelaide, instead of a proper storage facility
7: The most polluting country per capita
8: Yet still produce the best wine and fresh produce
9: Gave the world the "Rotary" Clothes line
10: and the Monaro (GTO for the USA)

Cheers
Jordan

 

[skunk]

Yikes, I'd hate to see your reaction to a "foreign" DVD menu:

What is the practical difference between UK English and Strine on a DVD menu?

 

[Nermal]

Probably the copyright notice

Edit: OK, on that particular DVD, it runs through every copyright notice regardless of which language you choose

Edit 2: It gets even stupider. The UK copyright says that you're not allowed to export the DVD out of Europe, whereas the Australian copyright says you're not allowed to export it out of Australia. These notices are both on the same physical disc!

 

[mad jew]

Country in Question "Australia"

1: we eat both of our animal mascots (Kangaroo and Emu)

Mmm... Tasty 'roos and 'mus.

2: In South Australia Ice Coffe out sells Coke

Goes well with 'roos and 'mus. Mmm...

4: We've got more Uranium in the world than anywhere else, yet are limited to 3 mines.
5: As above but with no power nuclear reactors

Isn't there a plant near Sydney? We keep pretty quiet about it though - for good reason (see skareb's third point). I think we even asked Google to delete it from Google Earth.

6: Radio active waste is stored under the main street of Adelaide, instead of a proper storage facility

And people wonder why I'm mad...

 

[Chundles]

Mmm... Tasty 'roos and 'mus.
Goes well with 'roos and 'mus. Mmm...
Isn't there a plant near Sydney? We keep pretty quiet about it though - for good reason (see skareb's third point). I think we even asked Google to delete it from Google Earth.
And people wonder why I'm mad...

Roo and 'mu is very tasty, and the Kangaroo and Emu are on our coat-of-arms but it is a little known fact that neither is an officially sanctioned national symbol. Parliament has never passed legislation designating any animal as an "official" faunal symbol for Australia. So I have no qualms in tucking into a nice, rare-cooked, tasty kangaroo steak. You have to cook it rare cause it's incredibly lean and overcooking it makes it tough.

We do have a nuclear reactor at Lucas Heights just outside of Sydney. It's no secret that it's there but it's not a power station. It's uses are mainly experimental and it's also used to sterilise most medical supplies. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the group at Lucas Heights built a nuclear (that's new-clee-arr not nuke-u-lar) bomb then dismantled it - just to see if they could.

 

[Skareb]

Yeah the reactor at Lucas heights is souly for medical and research use. EG to produce the isotopes that are used in Radio medcine.

 

[mad jew]

Learn something new every day. Thanks Chundles and Skareb.

 

[im_to_hyper]

Haven't they had both on packaging for nearly that long anyway? I've not seen a product recently that didn't have the metric equivalent in parentheses.

I was referring to Canada... why be metricized, but still use fl oz in parentheses.

 

[Chundles]

I was referring to Canada... why be metricized, but still use fl oz in parentheses.

Because the Americans get confused (they do, I've worked in the service industry there and was constantly having to tell them what a given volume was in Imperial units.

And why is it that Americans believe it is perfectly acceptable to pay for things in Canada with US dollars. Mind you, the Canadians allow them too but I just feel (and forgive me if I offend you) that this is an incredibly arrogant belief - that you can pay for goods with a foreign currency. I could not pay for anything in the US with Canadian dollars so why should you be able to use US dollars in Canada. Everybody else has to go to a money changer before entering a foreign country and you should too. Sure Canada is not a big overseas trip but it's just common courtesy and respect to go to the effort of using the correct currency.

OK, end rant.

 

[MOFS]

Thank you for clearing that up for me. But i still dont see her doing any thing.



Budwiser is "The King of Beer" if you didn't know. Sure the founder of Budwiser stole it from a guy over in the netherlands...

But i will say that i had a New Castle Brown while over in england and it actually tasted good at the time. I was only 15 and didn't like beer, still dont, but that one tasted surprisingly good.



And God have mercy on the man or woman that tries to take away our 12 inches=1 feet, 3 feet= 1 yard. 5280 feet=1 mile.

Oh dear. At least Brits know how to spell US towns holding +200,000 people. Its "Newcastle" - not "New Castle"...

Actually saying that - the US' famous knowledge of geography!

 

[Applespider]

Oh dear. At least Brits know how to spell US towns holding +200,000 people.

You might be surprised how many Brits can't spell Cincinnati (adding extra an c or t)or Connecticut (yes, I know it's a state) and I've seen a fair few spell San Francisco as San Fransisco.

 

[mpw]

...And why is it that Americans believe it is perfectly acceptable to pay for things in Canada with US dollars. Mind you, the Canadians allow them too but I just feel (and forgive me if I offend you) that this is an incredibly arrogant belief - that you can pay for goods with a foreign currency....

Same with the French. They come here and expect to be able to use their Euros (and Francs before that) and just speak in French then don't seem to understand why I can't understand them.

I remember one time getting so pissed off with one guy that when he was buying something for about £1.50 and offered up a £5 note saying "Iz n urf?" I said "No, three of those" and gave him change of a fiver. I'd feel bad but he was french.

 

[iGary]

I really enjoyed England very much when I worked there. The local folk seemed as intrigued by me as I was by them.

Always treated very nice.

 

[groovebuster]

Since nobody wants to enlighten me any further I willl try to fill out the Top Ten myself...

TOP10 REASONS FOR BEING GERMAN:

1. We won WWII through the backdoor with the EU
2. No smoking ban in bars and restaurants
3. You can buy booze almost everywhere
4. No speed limit on the Autobahn
5. Smoking pot is legal
6. You can be miserable all the time even when your situation is OK
7. You can still vote for a party that was in power of a totalitarian "Republic"
8. German Politicians don't have a clue how to make the country prosper again
9. You are offended as a Nazi wherever in the world you are going
10. Companies make huge profits and still cut jobs/salaries

groovebuster

 

[XIII]

You know for the world cup in Germany, there are some english guys making shirts saying "Don't Mention the War" on them.

 

[groovebuster]

 

[TEG]

Because the Americans get confused (they do, I've worked in the service industry there and was constantly having to tell them what a given volume was in Imperial units.

And why is it that Americans believe it is perfectly acceptable to pay for things in Canada with US dollars. Mind you, the Canadians allow them too but I just feel (and forgive me if I offend you) that this is an incredibly arrogant belief - that you can pay for goods with a foreign currency. I could not pay for anything in the US with Canadian dollars so why should you be able to use US dollars in Canada. Everybody else has to go to a money changer before entering a foreign country and you should too. Sure Canada is not a big overseas trip but it's just common courtesy and respect to go to the effort of using the correct currency.

OK, end rant.

About us Americans Paying in USD in Canada. Most places (with the exception of a fly-by-night pizza parlor) accept Canadian Money. However, instead of having a special button on the register, we have to convert on a calculator. And we don't take coins.

Don't forget you allow the US to spend its money in Canada. Stop taking it, and we will change. (Really, lets just give up and combine currencies. Ecuador is using USDs why not Canada.)

Just to clear something up... THE US DOES NOT USE IMPERIAL MEASUREMENTS, IT USES CUSTOMARY MEASUREMENTS. The main difference is that there are 128oz in a gallon = 4 quarts = 8 pints = 16 oz(yes, we are missing an extra gil per pint.)

Reasons the US doesn't use Metric.
1) 55 mph = 88 kph not easy to use in a car.
2) Arguments over wether to spell it 'meter' or 'metre'
3) Buying something at $1.99/100g is not as satisfying as $1.99/lb
4) Miles per gallon is much easier to calculate than L/100km
5) Old people, who were taught creationism, don't want to change
6) A gallon of Milk, in a jug. Not 2L of milk in a bag.
7) 40° is cold, not hot.
8) 70° is comfortable, not lethal.
9) 100° is warm, not the boiling boing of water
10) Inches can be estimated by using the distance from the end of the thumb to the first knuckle.

TEG

 

[mad jew]

Reasons the US doesn't use Metric.
1) 55 mph = 88 kph not easy to use in a car.
2) Arguments over wether to spell it 'meter' or 'metre'
3) Selling something at $1.99/100g is not as satisfying as $1.99/lb
4) Miles per gallon is much easier to calculate than L/100km
5) Old people, who were taught creationism, don't want to change
6) A gallon of Milk, in a jug. Not 2L of milk in a bag.
7) 40° is cold, not hot.
8) 70° is comfortable, not lethal.
9) 100° is warm, not the boiling boing of water
10) Inches can be estimated by using the distance from the end of the thumb to the first knuckle.

All absolutely brilliant reasons to keep your customary system. Add to that the fact that it'd be really boring if everyone used the same system. Imagine how easy it would be for the engineers.

 

[Chundles]

Reasons the US doesn't use Metric.
1) 55 mph = 88 kph not easy to use in a car.
2) Arguments over wether to spell it 'meter' or 'metre'
3) Selling something at $1.99/100g is not as satisfying as $1.99/lb
4) Miles per gallon is much easier to calculate than L/100km
5) Old people, who were taught creationism, don't want to change
6) A gallon of Milk, in a jug. Not 2L of milk in a bag.
7) 40° is cold, not hot.
8) 70° is comfortable, not lethal.
9) 100° is warm, not the boiling boing of water
10) Inches can be estimated by using the distance from the end of the thumb to the first knuckle.

TEG

1) That's why we use 90km/h
2) There are no arguments, a meter measures something, a metre is a unit of measure. I'd be arguing over your spelling of whether...
3) Er, right.
4) Er, right x 2
5) There's the real reason.
6) Actually, it's 2L in a jug. I have one in fridge.
7) 40? is hot, ask the rest of the world.
8) 70? is lethal, once again, ask the rest of the world.
9) 100? is the boiling point of water, ask the rest of the world.
10) Yeah, but who uses inches, it's only you guys. Two cm is approx the distance from the tip of your first finger to the knuckle.

 

[osiris315]

Since nobody wants to enlighten me any further I willl try to fill out the Top Ten myself...

Good for you groovebuster! Glad to see someone stood up for Germany at last.

 

[takao]

Since nobody wants to enlighten me any further I willl try to fill out the Top Ten myself...

TOP10 REASONS FOR BEING GERMAN:

[snip]

groovebuster

so .. it looks like i'm have to tune in for austria

1. you can complain about everything and nothing regardless if there is a reason or not
2. Austria and Australia get confused ... a lot.. (i think it's the beer-drinking)
3. everbody believes you when you start talking about Mozart even if you have no clue .. at all
4. you get to have the biggest painting gallery of ugly looking royals
5. you get the blame for people who never made it in austria
6. the skiing world cup is close to an austrian championship
7. you can rub it in the face of your swiss neighbours
8. you can get first class bacon,cheese,sausages,bread and sweet dishes
9. a lack of bureaucracy is giving you a "something is wrong here"feeling
10. hmm last one is hard.. did i mention the skiing team ?

 

[Ugg]

I've never really thought about that. Maybe it's because all three countries are socialdemocratic and have huge tax rates that can be spent on things like keeping the country clean. Or maybe we're just brought up better. Montpellier in France is the cleanest place I've visited. I kept almost getting run into by those small trucks with circular brooms that sweep the streets.

In Budapest they have an army of street sweepers with little brooms and scoops. The place is spotless.

 

[Ugg]

5. you get the blame for people who never made it in austria

It's too late to do anything about Herr H. but I'll gladly pay Arnie's airfare if you'll take him back!