29 things the uk does that the usa should be doing !

13

Replies

  • mshopey
    mshopey Posts: 125 Member
    I'm American... and I wish we had most of this list to be honest... I need to go spend some time is the UK... ;D


    We could swap for a couple weeks, i'd love nothing more than to spend some time in America!!!
  • cmeade20
    cmeade20 Posts: 1,238 Member
    I know we have the signs on the subway in Boston. Train is still the epitome of inefficient though.

    I can totally get behind all those extra days off and more lax drinking laws.
  • cmeade20
    cmeade20 Posts: 1,238 Member
    The date thing is so true - I always have to think for a minute when I see an american date - why is the month first? So confusing! And chips & gravy is where its at! :D ooh and custard creams are amazing too. mmm


    The date thing I can also get behind. I think the American way is *kitten* backwards. it irks me.
  • Markguns
    Markguns Posts: 554 Member
    Is one of them "Not get your continent invaded by ze Nazis"?


    The UK was NEVER invaded by the Nazis! Your talking continent Europe: France, Spain, Italy...etc.
    The RAF and the channel kicked Hitlers Butt! If the Battle of Britain had been lost, things would be entierly different today!! Read a History book before making stupid comments. :grumble:
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member


    b. those London Underground displays that tell you when the train is coming.... what you have to understand is that the minutes are very flexible. Sometimes they're very loooooooooooooooooooong minutes, other times they're little tiny short minutes. There's some kind of highly intense gravitational field down there that dilates time when it feels like it, so basically just because it says that a train will arrive in two minutes, it doesn't mean that a train will arrive in any sane, non-relativisitic sense of the term "two minutes"

    True. It's kind of the that 7 day period in the bible. Especially on the Jubilee line.

    Perhaps there are wormholes down there...

    I think maybe you're right. In fact the entire northern line is probably a wormhole.
  • 4everchanged101
    4everchanged101 Posts: 50 Member
    The date thing is so true - I always have to think for a minute when I see an american date - why is the month first? So confusing! And chips & gravy is where its at! :D ooh and custard creams are amazing too. mmm


    The date thing I can also get behind. I think the American way is *kitten* backwards. it irks me.

    Why can't everyone else switch there dates? Its written the way its read. When we look at a non-American date we have to think for a minute the same way you do.
  • Jerrypeoples
    Jerrypeoples Posts: 1,541 Member
    i havent read the list but i will say this, kudos to europe. working for an international company i am a amazed at the german and french people that come over here with their knowledge of our language. i know if i went to germany or france id be screwed, unless my only job was to ask you if i may sharpen my pencil in germany
  • Laces_0ut
    Laces_0ut Posts: 3,750 Member
    i havent read the list but i will say this, kudos to europe. working for an international company i am a amazed at the german and french people that come over here with their knowledge of our language. i know if i went to germany or france id be screwed, unless my only job was to ask you if i may sharpen my pencil in germany

    if the worlds default business language was Swahili instead of English we'd probably all speak that as a 2nd language. :)
  • Dead_Darling
    Dead_Darling Posts: 478 Member


    b. those London Underground displays that tell you when the train is coming.... what you have to understand is that the minutes are very flexible. Sometimes they're very loooooooooooooooooooong minutes, other times they're little tiny short minutes. There's some kind of highly intense gravitational field down there that dilates time when it feels like it, so basically just because it says that a train will arrive in two minutes, it doesn't mean that a train will arrive in any sane, non-relativisitic sense of the term "two minutes"

    True. It's kind of the that 7 day period in the bible. Especially on the Jubilee line.

    Perhaps there are wormholes down there...

    I think maybe you're right. In fact the entire northern line is probably a wormhole.

    This x1,000,000 :laugh:
  • sam308lbs
    sam308lbs Posts: 1,936 Member
    i havent read the list but i will say this, kudos to europe. working for an international company i am a amazed at the german and french people that come over here with their knowledge of our language. i know if i went to germany or france id be screwed, unless my only job was to ask you if i may sharpen my pencil in germany

    English is very popular in most countries even outside europe.For instance i live in India and in the last one year, 95 % of the Tv shows/movies i have seen were US based.
  • weevil66
    weevil66 Posts: 600 Member
    i havent read the list but i will say this, kudos to europe. working for an international company i am a amazed at the german and french people that come over here with their knowledge of our language. i know if i went to germany or france id be screwed, unless my only job was to ask you if i may sharpen my pencil in germany

    I can say one thing in German and it is pretty bad, as confirmed by my cousin's German fiance. One of those things that you say it, make sure you have been utilizing that Zombies! Run app and hightail it out of there.
  • vtmoon
    vtmoon Posts: 3,436 Member
    The date thing is so true - I always have to think for a minute when I see an american date - why is the month first? So confusing! And chips & gravy is where its at! :D ooh and custard creams are amazing too. mmm


    The date thing I can also get behind. I think the American way is *kitten* backwards. it irks me.

    Why can't everyone else switch there dates? Its written the way its read. When we look at a non-American date we have to think for a minute the same way you do.

    Ever consider that you read it the wrong way because you write it wrong?

    May twenty-seventh
    The twenty-seventh of May


    Think about it, I know you think your way is right because that was the way you always learned it. You are in college now, time to consider different points of view, and question your knowledge.
  • runlilyrun
    runlilyrun Posts: 140
    [quote

    Nice to see a reminder that a university education is still relatively cheap, seeing as we mainly just remember to whinge because it's not free any more...
    [/quote]

    It's not that it's cheap, but that we have a good student finance system that wipes out the loan after 30 years and where repayments are linked to earnings. Some people do get shafted still so it's not all good

    On the spread of English - I'm currently reading The Last Lingua Franca by Nicholas Ostler amd it's amazing.


    Talking of language - something that bugs me about American English : 'during the election party Tuesday night' no no no it's 'during the elects party on Tuesday night'
  • cmeade20
    cmeade20 Posts: 1,238 Member
    The date thing is so true - I always have to think for a minute when I see an american date - why is the month first? So confusing! And chips & gravy is where its at! :D ooh and custard creams are amazing too. mmm


    The date thing I can also get behind. I think the American way is *kitten* backwards. it irks me.

    Why can't everyone else switch there dates? Its written the way its read. When we look at a non-American date we have to think for a minute the same way you do.

    I am American so what's your point?
  • whatascene
    whatascene Posts: 119 Member
    I'm American... and I wish we had most of this list to be honest... I need to go spend some time is the UK... ;D


    We could swap for a couple weeks, i'd love nothing more than to spend some time in America!!!

    Oh gawd don't tempt me XD
  • AggieLu
    AggieLu Posts: 873 Member
    I posted this on facebook, got a bunch of people offended lol!
  • ProphetOfDoom
    ProphetOfDoom Posts: 13
    God, i want to live in the UK.

    The British gave us amazing bands like Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden and Whitesnake. That's a lot of points for the UK.

    Oh, and Top Gear is awesome.
  • barbaratrollman
    barbaratrollman Posts: 317 Member
    http://www.buzzfeed.com/erinchack/things-the-uk-does-that-the-us-needs-to-start-doing

    dont take it seriously !!!!

    Why the heck not? I love all these ideas! \o/ :D Let's do it!
  • mustang289
    mustang289 Posts: 299 Member
    US Military writes dates as 28MAY2013 and I wish the rest of America would do that as well.

    Things the UK does great:
    The Beatles
    James Bond
    Austin Powers (LOL)
    the style of a Jaguar XKE
    Kate. I mean I know she's royalty and all that, but since when did the royals start looking HOT HOT HOT
    The Beatles (deserved to be mentioned twice in case anyone skips over it)
    AC motor cars, ancestor of the Shelby Cobra Roadster
    Shepard's Pie
    "English Muffins"
    Elizabeth Hurley





    Other things the UK is great at...

    saving money on visits to the dentist :)

    giving their current newborns 'Mohammad' as the most popular name
  • emaren
    emaren Posts: 934 Member
    s a Brit living in California, I can honestly say that I miss the entire list, especially 13,17,19
  • smantha32
    smantha32 Posts: 6,990 Member
    We used to be able to drink at 18 here and have open containers everywhere, but a bunch of liberal crybabies got that changed.

    I agree about Markets. I hate Superstores.
  • vtmoon
    vtmoon Posts: 3,436 Member
    We used to be able to drink at 18 here and have open containers everywhere, but a bunch of liberal crybabies got that changed.

    I agree about Markets. I hate Superstores.

    liberal crybabies?
  • smantha32
    smantha32 Posts: 6,990 Member
    We used to be able to drink at 18 here and have open containers everywhere, but a bunch of liberal crybabies got that changed.

    I agree about Markets. I hate Superstores.

    liberal crybabies?

    That bunch that wants to ban anything they disapprove of others doing. :smile:

    In fairness, conservative crybabies get plenty of things banned too.
  • vtmoon
    vtmoon Posts: 3,436 Member
    We used to be able to drink at 18 here and have open containers everywhere, but a bunch of liberal crybabies got that changed.

    I agree about Markets. I hate Superstores.

    liberal crybabies?

    That bunch that wants to ban anything they disapprove of others doing. :smile:

    In fairness, conservative crybabies get plenty of things banned too.


    The age thing was done by MADD, was both sides agreeing on it after looking at the statistics. I hated it between age 18 & 21 but I understood why it was a good idea.
  • squindles
    squindles Posts: 350 Member
    1, 4, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 16, 26, and 29 are why I'd rather live in the U.S rather than the U.K.................:laugh:
  • DawnieB1977
    DawnieB1977 Posts: 4,248 Member
    I'm proud to be British lol. Number 1 - reminds me of student days drinking snakebite and black. Ugh.

    I was also lucky enough to go to university at a time when tuition was free, and graduate in Canterbury cathedral.

    Given a choice...I would live in France though :)

    As a teacher, I get 13 weeks paid holiday a year. Nice!

    Also, not on the list, we get a year for maternity leave. It makes me sad to hear of women in the US have g to go back to work when their baby is a few weeks old.
  • MacDHH
    MacDHH Posts: 34 Member
    I'm American but was living in London up to a year ago, and this list makes me miss it so much :)

    Totally agree on the maternity leave issue. I had both my kids in the UK and it was great to know I could spend that precious first year with them.

    That said, as for speaking with "dat accent," it totally depends. I lived in south London, and it's not the greatest accent. And as for public transport, well, the UK has nothing on the continent...public transport here is great.

    But pubs, especially pubs with playrooms for the kids, yeah, totally miss those!
  • PepperWorm
    PepperWorm Posts: 1,206
    I don't think it's about one country versus another I am british but have lived in America and Australia. If I could ban one thing it would be the ubiquitous multi national food companies and franchises. I would be happy to see the back of McDonalds, Pizza Hut et all even their healthy options are too fattening. I would also love to see a ban on food advertising on TV. I personally have not bought food from an outlet for 3 years and think all mfp pals should do the same. Like good old Martin Luther - I have a dream! If you don't eat junk tell people.

    Given the conversation - Martin Luther didn't have a dream, Martin Luther King Jr. did. Martin Luther is responsible for Protestantism, and as I understand it, the founding of America by the Puritans, though.

    Rofl!

    Also, I work at Pizza Hut. I don't eat the food, but it's actually one of the better places I've worked at to get through college. Also, where the eff do you find ANY healthy option on the Pizza Hut menu? Trying to order healthy pizza is like taking this post seriously. You're doin' it wrong.
  • cityjaneLondon
    cityjaneLondon Posts: 12,716 Member
    Can't drink on the tube. Or shouldn't. - not the same thing unfortunately. Too many drunken louts in Britain. There is more to do in life than get p####d.
    Greggs is an abomination. Bring back artisan bakers. Mass produced bread and cakes are c##p.
    David Beckham has too many tattoos.
    Does anybody actually drink snakebite? I have never met anyone. Our beer is delicious. Not the lager rubbish. - the draught.
    University fees are extortionate and are ruining life for the next generation. Anyone who goes to uni will never be able to have children or buy a house until they are 40. I was lucky enough to get it for free. Good on you Scotland.
    This is the rant of an oldy. Not that the USA is any better. :laugh:
  • stephenenglish
    stephenenglish Posts: 5
    You don't have to pay to get well, that one does it for me!
    You can fight and die for your country at 18/19 but can't go into a bar!? that seems a little tough?

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