UK vs North American Cultural Differences

I've worked in the car then motorcycle industry pretty much since I left school and depending on the marque I'd have to swing between USA/UK terms - Trunk/boot, hood/bonnet, fender/wing etc ... oh and in the UK most cars still have 3 pedals

At 44 I use grams and ounces as required - though for baking I use grams as they're more accurate but if I'm craving strawberry bonbons I'll crave a 1/4lb, never 114g! If I eat too many I'd say I'd put on half a stone but if I posted this feat on here, I'd say 7lb to avoid confusion.

I now know a gallon isn't always a gallon (Imperial vs US) but I know gas = petrol. And while I buy my petrol by the gallon (actually, I buy diesel but lets not complicate things), I only know the price per litre (yes, litRE ).

We buy milk by the pint but I wouldn't put it in my tea, although I do like it hot - I have no idea how much a quart is.

I still can't get my head around how you'd measure a cup of salad ... do you weight it down or just drop it in?

Bangs? I think it's a fringe but I'm not sure so if I ever visit the USA I'll get my hair cut before I go just in case.

As a kid I had an afterschool job in a sweet shop, not a candy store.

Lager should be ice cold but beer (ale, bitter, mild) should be cellar temperature (and not fizzy).

I used to smoke *kitten* but I gave them up.

But what would I know? I'm only a pseudo Brit as I'm from Northern Ireland where they make whiskey (never whisky) and someone in a caravan (trailer) would offer to tarmac (asphalt) your driveway for cash.

Oh and something I've always wondered from reading Stephen King books - do all houses in the USA have aluminium cladding? Maybe it's a Maine thing!

UK born & based, on my first trip to Florida went into cafe, ordered a cup of tea, it turned up cold & iced, It just never occurred to me it would not be hot

later I asked if I could have some vinegar to put on chips [fries] look of amazement, seems ketchup [catsup ? ] is the normal

Oh, and was gob smacked at the size of food portions, they are just enormous compared to ours

Colleague was stopped by police because he was walking along the pavement [sidewalk] which apparently is only what rogues do it seems. Of course once the English accent was noted all was well.

McD's never got used to us turning up without a car & just trying ordering at the window

I was in the UK for work, wasn't very impressed with some of the food.. Ordered pizza at a restaurant and it was a bit different than in America, not sure if they use a different sauce etc or what.

I loved using the word Rubbish to refer to the trash can or when throwing stuff away.. I would yell it in a completely out of control context and get strange looks.. ya..

I laughed when reading Mind the Gap signs in the tubes (subway).. then was immediately uncomfortable with how close people get to you in those subway cars.

I laughed when seeing signs that said Attack the Fire and showed stick people hitting fire with buckets for a method to extinguish a fire in office buildings..

When ordering food in public or around people in a line, they would ask me what part of Canada I was from (no British accent obviously).. and would just assume I was Canadian.. only to seem disappointing that I was American

Americans do not consume spotted d!ck.

For a laugh, I once took a tin to the US, as my friends had never heard of this.

The customs officer saw it, and asked if it contained meat! :laugh:

I coudln't believe the size difference in just about EVERYTHING when I went to England. It's safe to say that everything here in the US is just bigger. WAY bigger.
But I have to say, I loved the people, the mushy peas, Liverpool and the clothes. Fashion here is "****E" compared to over there!
One more thing, many of the white people seemed REALLY, REALLY, REALLY white to me. Seriously... I did a double take a few times because some were white as paper. I was in awe of the whiteness... hahaha. (good awe, not bad awe..)

Americans do not consume spotted d!ck.

For a laugh, I once took a tin to the US, as my friends had never heard of this.

The customs officer saw it, and asked if it contained meat! :laugh:

WHATTTTT??? what is this made out of, dare I ask?

Pot of yoghurt (adorable!)
You guys have WAY more flavors of chips, and candy bars (KITKAT!)
Tea breaks instead of coffee breaks

Those are the few I think of.

As a Brit on this board I've noticed just how many cultural differences there are between us an you guys across the pond when it comes to things like food...

Imperial vs Metric - I have no idea what an oz of liquid or food looks like!
Cups - you really measure stuff in cups? What if everyone uses a different size cup?
Coffee creamer - what the hell is this stuff? Do you not just use milk?
String cheese - WUT?
We take our tea hot and with milk (& sugar) and is English Breakfast blend unless otherwise specified...


Feel free to add...

A cup is 8oz standard.

Coffee creamer is cream, a lot of times flavored (vanilla, mocha, etc)

String cheese is just mozzarella in the shape of a stick, it peels apart easily into strings, hence the name string cheese.

Sadly, most American creamer is not cream or milk at all, it's just oil with flavor added. However, there has been a small turn around in the market for actual cream in coffee creamer. Most Americans like a heavier cream than typical milk in our coffee.

String cheese as described above is fantastic fun for kids and adults alike.

I coudln't believe the size difference in just about EVERYTHING when I went to England. It's safe to say that everything here in the US is just bigger. WAY bigger.
But I have to say, I loved the people, the mushy peas, Liverpool and the clothes. Fashion here is "****E" compared to over there!
One more thing, many of the white people seemed REALLY, REALLY, REALLY white to me. Seriously... I did a double take a few times because some were white as paper. I was in awe of the whiteness... hahaha. (good awe, not bad awe..)

We're a bit cramped over here so we have to downsize accordingly lol
I think the average 3 bed house is about £250k ($380k) where I live which I'm sure would buy a helluva lot of real estate in the US. By 3 bed house I mean a house where only two of the bedrooms will be big enough to take a double bed and you can forget a games room!

The further north you go in the UK, people get progressively paler - we're planning on having summer on a Tuesday this year

one thing i think people need to realize when classifying things as being a certain way in the states is that this is a gigantic country and astonishingly different from region to region.

in discussions like this i always see a lot of talk about how gigantic our houses are. we don't all live in texas is these monstrous homes. for instance my husband and i live in a 1 bedroom 600 square foot (just under 56 square meter) apartment. i can not fathom living in one of these HUGE 2000 square feet (185 suqare meter) homes. so much wasted space. so much to have to keep clean.

i haven't owned an automobile in over 12 years. i only know a few people who actually do in my city. 80% of us live in urban areas.

hershey's chocolate does taste icky. you can get cadbury everywhere here that i have ever lived. ranch dressing is disgusting. hp sauce is delicious. iced sweet tea is a lovely summer time drink but i prefer my tea earl grey, hot, and with milk and sugar.

the majority (meaning over 50%) of us do not own guns and don't feel the need to.