Misconceptions about your homeland?(Spam on subject)

[Magrus]

4. The Canadian Royal Mounted Police do not generally wear red uniforms with silly little hats

The one that told my parents to get me out of his "gosh derned country" did.

[dragon wench]

The one that told my parents to get me out of his "gosh derned country" did.

Well....sometimes "special" occasions warrent the red outfit and hat....

[Craig]

I know someone tried to cover this but I'll do some for England.

1. We don't all drink tea.
2. No one speaks with the queens english, nor does anyone have that thick a cockney accent.


Actually I can't think of any other myths =/

[fable]

2. No one speaks with the queens english, nor does anyone have that thick a cockney accent.

Sure--Dick Van Dyke does. If you ever want to hear the world's worst Cockney imitation, try his in Walt Disney's Mary Poppins film. I was in my teens when it first came out, if I recall correctly, and I loathed both it, and him, on sight.

You're also not all tea drinkers.
You don't all think that the finest cuisine is roast beef cooked to the point of becoming leather.
You don't pull back from reacting emotionally under all circumstances (well, other than your civil service, and they're not human ).

[dragon wench]

I suppose this also means that all Englishmen actually consider mushy peas the epitome of a gourmet experience...

[Craig]

Sure--Dick Van Dyke does. If you ever want to hear the world's worst Cockney imitation, try his in Walt Disney's Mary Poppins film. I was in my teens when it first came out, if I recall correctly, and I loathed both it, and him, on sight.

You're also not all tea drinkers.
You don't all think that the finest cuisine is roast beef cooked to the point of becoming leather.
You don't pull back from reacting emotionally under all circumstances (well, other than your civil service, and they're not human ).

I work in a kitchen and I can tell you not everyone likes it Well Done, especially not the chef :laugh: Thanks for jogging my memory.

We aren't all rolling hills and scenic countryside. England isn't quaint Some of out inner cities are 'like war zones'. Probably some others about police and stuff maybe?

[fable]

I suppose this also means that all Englishmen actually consider mushy peas the epitome of a gourmet experience...

Careful--remember when Enchantress sqwacked loudly and at length about persecution, when I made jokes about English cuisine? In any case, English friends assure me that a recent national poll shows their favorite current food is curry. So I'd say the English have escaped that rap.

But the British as a whole still have terrible weather, and that's no misconception. I've read reports that it actually used to be 10-15 degrees Fahrenheit warmer in the UK before the 15th century, which helped support the woodlands, but that when all of Europe grew colder, the UK got the worst of it. Whether this is true or not, cold, cool, and warm drizzle does appear to be a regular feature of the British meteorological condition.

On the upside, they all got to stay indoors and watch Good Neighbors, and the Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin, for years. That's worth something.

[Craig]

Weather in the summer is good, in the winter is bad. Its what I would expect.

But english curries can be aweful, jeese! They have raisins in them. Its just wrong.

[dragon wench]

Careful--remember when Enchantress sqwacked loudly and at length about persecution, when I made jokes about English cuisine? In any case, English friends assure me that a recent national poll shows their favorite current food is curry. So I'd say the English have escaped that rap.

How could I forget? Thing is though, I am half English, my father is a Geordie no less. So I figure that gives me permission to abuse English cuisine

lol! Though don't forget that they borrowed curry as a result of their imperialist endeavours. It's my firm belief that the British and Dutch respectively colonised India and Indonesia as a bid to ameliorate their national cuisines. This probably also explains why both countries have decent beer, it's to mask the taste of the food

[wing]

A lot of the things about Minnesota are actually right.
It's hot dish, not casserole
pop, not soda(and DEFINITELY not coke, unless that's what kind it is)
It is very cold here, but only in the winter. I think it was two years ago that it was -40 degrees every day in winter for a week or two. That's the same in celcius or farenheit. I think. It gets to about 100 farenheit in the summer.
There are more football fans than hockey, at least where I've lived.
Most of the people in the state have a snowmobile, unless they live in St. Paul/Minneapolis(the cities, as we call them)
Most of us(including me) have Scandinavian background
I can't think of any more right now, but I will.

[Crenshinibon]

Well, now I live in MA, not too far from Fable... but originally I'm from Russia:

1.) Our women DO NOT LOOK LIKE MEN. If it matters, our men look like men. That's good, isn't it?
2.) Not all of us are Communists. A lot of people are against it but they don't speak out due to hate crimes and possible retribution from our corrupt government and police force.
3.) Russia does not house every mad genius our evil scientist known to man. No, they did not try to kill James Bond or a plethora of other heroes either.
4.) We are smart out of necessity, not because our country *magically* produces geniuses. It's the University or the army. You choose.
5.) We do not call Russia "Motherland". Why? Because that word is NOT Russian.
6.) We are not Nazis thank you very much.
7.) It does not snow for twelve months. Why does it snow every time that a movie takes place in Russia? Why?
8.) It does not snow during the summer, in case number seven wasn't clear enough.
9.) Not all of us speak with a heavy Russian accent, only those that lived here for a short time.
10.) Yes, we do have a black market. Yes, it's out in the open. Yes, you can buy things there for a fraction of the price and it'll work properly. It is one of the best black markets in the world.
11.) Not all of us drink Vodka like water... just some... like those alcoholics...

[Craig]

Well, now I live in MA, not too far from Fable... but originally I'm from Russia:
3.) Russia does not house every mad genius our evil scientist known to man. No, they did not try to kill James Bond or a plethora of other heroes either.

Well in the books they do. But James Bond doesn't exist.

[Gauda]

hehe! Nice thread, I have nothing further to add, but some comments

3. There are no Eskimos in Norway. The Saami people of north Norway live in houses, not in igloos.

Not entirely true, many Saamis still live in their traditional tents, and make a living of hunting.

7. There is no hole in the ozone layer over Norway. Our ozone layer is doing fine, thank you very much.

O RLY?

I bet there are some holes above the oil drilling platforms

[Fiberfar]

I bet there are some holes above the oil drilling platforms

No wonder... When reading about all the poisonous crap that's harming the workers there, I'd not be suprised if there wasn't Ozone there at all

[Moonbiter]

hehe! Nice thread, I have nothing further to add, but some comments

Not entirely true, many Saamis still live in their traditional tents, and make a living of hunting.

No, they don't. A very few of them still use their traditional tents for a short period during the summer when they're herding their ridiculously over-inflated flocks of reindeer around. In fact, most people who have hunting/fishing as a hobby spend more time in a tent during the year than the Saami. As for hunting for a living? Phu-leeeeeze! Most of this hogwash is maintained for the sake of tourism and various political reasons, and sadly a lot of clueless, romantic urban Norwegians buy into it as well.

[Robnark]

[QUOTE=dragon wench]It's my firm belief that the British and Dutch respectively colonised India and Indonesia as a bid to ameliorate their national cuisines.[/QUOTE]
you may have a point. the first moves towards establishing the british empire were driven largely by the highly profitable trade in sugar and spices, and there must have been a reason people were willing to pay so much...

[quote="Fable]...(well"]
that's a little unfair. as half civil servant myself, I can say that most of them are merely not entirely human, which is why I have only inherited a vestigial tail and nictating membranes. of course, the Management are a different matter, but we don't mention them in polite society.

[Tate]

AUSTRALIA:

1. We don't all say "crikey". Only Steve Irwin says "crikey".

2. We haven't all seen a kangaroo. I haven't, and neither have any of my friends.

3. We don't all spend our spare time "putting shrimp on the barby. I'm not even sure if I spelled barby right.

I could probably say more, but I don't want to. I can tell you that Steve Irwin is probably responsible for half of them

[Moonbiter]

AUSTRALIA:

1. We don't all say "crikey". Only Steve Irwin says "crikey".

I could probably say more, but I don't want to. I can tell you that Steve Irwin is probably responsible for half of them

You do say "crikey" quite a bit though. Every person who has been subject to an Aussie sports broadcast knows that. Oh, and don't blame poor Steve Irwin, Paul Hogan created the global image of the Australian male 20 years ago.

NORWAY:

14. People are under the misconception that Norway is run by some sort of democratic government with politicians in it, like they have in the rest of the western world. It’s not. What we have is something remarkably similar to a group of 10-12 year olds sitting around their mum’s kitchen table on a Saturday night, playing a geeky board game called “Run The Nation” while OD’ing on sugary soft drinks and candy. Hence, Norway and Norwegian politicians are taken as seriously in international politics as Beavis and Butthead, and that's how they behave as well.

15. Norway likes to market itself as a “Peace Nation,” sending envois, negotiators, aid and generally sticking our nose into every conflict on the planet. Don’t buy the hype! We only maintain the image because Norway hasn’t had a real army in 20 years, and we want to have an excuse for surrendering at once when someone comes knocking again. Some time at the end of the 80s, the geeks with the board game figured out that it’s better to kiss the butt of the schoolyard bullies rather than stand up to them, and promptly started disbanding the military so as to not seem "aggressive." So eager are they to please that the few decent remaining operative units are fighting someone else’s war in Afghanistan, while a moderately equipped LA street gang could successfully invade Norway during the weekend. We’re floating on a sea of oil, with a strategic coastline and natural resources to give every would-be conqueror wet dreams, and here we are, pretending to be a “Peace Nation” while making enemies all over the world. Great.

[fable]

A few important facts about USians:

We aren't all loud, rude, ignorant people, despite whatever your media might say, and your utmost belief in their purity of intent. In general, as with tourism everywhere, some of the loudest, rudest, most ignorant people are the ones who end up attracting attention to themselves, abroad.

We don't all eat cheeseburgers and swill coke. Many of us aren't monolingual. Very, very few of us walk around in gimme caps and drive pickup trucks. We're about as uniformly hick as you are.

We're a huge nation, made up of at least 12 geo-nations held together by the implied threat of governmental force. So don't make the mistake of assuming a single American type applies to all of us. It applies even less to us than assumptions made about a small area of your country applies to all its inhabitants, because of respective size.

Yes, we have some famous incidents of violence in our high schools, but on the other hand, we've never had a single example of sports hooliganism, like many European countries I could name. In short, we're no more inclined to commit violence than you are.

Our political system of winner-take-all allows idiots to slide into office for a considerable length of time, and gives them great visibility. This doesn't mean most people endorse that system--most don't, as the national voter count regularly shows--and the current resident of our top office was elected by less than half the popular vote. So we're not a bunch of little Dubyas. Take out your hatred of him somewhere else.

[Kipi]

Finland

5. Not everyone here listens metal... actually, I think it's on minority, even though several internationally popular metal bands come from Finland (Lordi, Nightwish, Sonata Arctica, Sentenced, HIM, Children of Bodom to name few...). This misconception is probably caused by Lordi, which won the annual Eurovision Song contest last year... the very first time ever when Finland won that competition...