What are some strange American customs?

[Yumyumsuppertime]

Hard to find Vegemite around here, but if I mix soy sauce with crude oil and petroleum jelly, I can get a basic approximation of the consistency and taste.

You kind of have to look around to find Vegemite here in the United States, which is a tad ironic considering that the brand is owned by an American company. I tried to get some at a Winn Dixie the last time I was in Florida, and when I asked the staff if they had any in stock, I was told by the manager that he'd never even heard of the stuff. I eventually found some in the international section of one of those mega-Wal Marts.

I'll readily admit that it's an acquired taste, and that I probably wouldn't give it the time of day if I weren't somewhat of an Australophile.

I actually know where to get Vegemite. It took some doing, but they had it at a British Specialty Shop in Santa Monica.

[Katganistan]

Not everyone's the same, sure. But some people manage it fine.

Ideally, people should be able to go to university without having to worry about a job too, devote their time to studying, but we do not live in an ideal society.

what if we changed the social norm so that parents should be EXPECTED to pay for their sons/daughters' educational fees (including college) if they can?

Once this is adopted, it will become very very obvious to the government that education needs more funding to bring those tuition costs down.

I think the net effect of such a social transformation over time, is that more and more students will be able to go through college focused on learning and without having to work or borrow money.

Its just a restructuring of costs and responsibilities. The current generation would plan ahead and structure their lives financially to pay for their next generation's education (presumably they too would have enjoyed the same benefits)... and so on... and then each generation can enjoy college.

Jumpstarting the cycle is hard though...

Yeah, guess what? Parents DO pay what they can already.
The system sucks in that it EXPECTS you to have college to have a decent career, but leaves you scrambling for grants, scholarships and loans to pay it.

ALSO:

Not ALL Universities are that expensive.
Some people put themselves into hock for the prestige of going to A Posh University -- whether or not they need a specialized degree from said place to make it in their chose field.

City and State universities are generally less expensive than private ones.

this sounds wrong though...

I think its too young to be working...

I had my first job when I was 11.

Planting asparagus at a farm.

Paper route. Of course I was a genius -- my paper route was INSIDE my middle school. No being cold and wet! drop the paper in front of each classroom door before homeroom, collect money monthly.

Bacon with pancakes! What in Jesus' name?! In the UK our pancakes are sweet and our bacon is savoury and never shall the two intercourse and certainly not for breakfast!

Pffft, and you wonder why we broke away.

I want to get back to the peanut butter thing.

I heard recently that peanut butter was, if not uniquely American, then at least not well-known in other parts of the world. I checked with some European friends, and many never had it until they were in the States. I checked with American expatriate friends, and heard horror stories from some about not being able to find it anywhere, while others stated that they hadn't had any problems tracking it down.

Is peanut butter really that uncommon elsewhere? And for those outside of America who have tried it, what do you think?

Um, you realize it was invented here by George Washington Carver, yes?
It is pretty uniquely American.

I prefer "super chunk" style.

Peanut butter even sounds abominable from its name. I mean, peanuts and ... butter? Of all things? I tried it once in the States, and it does taste like it sounds. I'm pretty sure that creation is uniquely American. I suppose it's the Marmite of the USA, unless you guys have Marmite too.

There is no actual butter in peanut butter. The name comes from its consistency.

Nor is there butter in apple butter, to reassure those thinking of some unholy union between cows and orchards.

[Forsher]

It is pretty uniquely American.

To quote someone else on hearing this statement:

Oh God no, where's that bullshit coming from.

It may have been invented in the US, I don't know, but there's not a grain of truth in that statement.

[Katganistan]

It's not peanuts and butter. It's peanuts ground into a paste. Sometimes sugar is added, though purists tend to reject that sort of thing.

We don't have Marmite. Picked it up in a British specialty store. My kid's nurse tried some, hated it the first time, tried it again, and then started to develop a taste for it. I gave her a jar of it. Never developed the liking myself.

I once ran across an English guy online who was horrified by the concept of peanut butter and jelly. I couldn't figure out the extremity of his reaction until I realized that "jelly", to him, was the gelatin dessert that we call "Jell-O".

There's also the whole heresy of converting -ise's into -ize's and the word 'ax' for 'axe'. I swear I thought that last one was a joke at first, but I digress. What do you call the fancy apparatus you clean rooms with, if not a hoover?

A Hoover is a brand name of vacuum cleaner (or vacuum).

Yes, some breads are indeed sweeter than back home. Ditto with chocolate. You guys have quite the sweet tooth.

I love my country, but what we call chocolate doesn't have any right to the name. Hershey's tastes like bile.

Cadbury's or Lindt's ftw.

[Simargh]

I love my country, but what we call chocolate doesn't have any right to the name. Hershey's tastes like bile.

Cadbury's or Lindt's ftw.

Toblerone pls

[The Orson Empire]

Bacon with pancakes! What in Jesus' name?! In the UK our pancakes are sweet and our bacon is savoury and never shall the two intercourse and certainly not for breakfast!

American bacon goes perfectly with pancakes.

[Simargh]

Bacon with pancakes! What in Jesus' name?! In the UK our pancakes are sweet and our bacon is savoury and never shall the two intercourse and certainly not for breakfast!

American bacon goes perfectly with pancakes.

Bacon goes perfectly with everything.

[Eastern Equestria]

You kind of have to look around to find Vegemite here in the United States, which is a tad ironic considering that the brand is owned by an American company. I tried to get some at a Winn Dixie the last time I was in Florida, and when I asked the staff if they had any in stock, I was told by the manager that he'd never even heard of the stuff. I eventually found some in the international section of one of those mega-Wal Marts.

I'll readily admit that it's an acquired taste, and that I probably wouldn't give it the time of day if I weren't somewhat of an Australophile.

I actually know where to get Vegemite. It took some doing, but they had it at a British Specialty Shop in Santa Monica.

California, huh?

I've got an aunt who lives in LA, but like the rest of our family she grew up on the east coast. The first time she went to one of those sunny California beaches with some friends, she kept insisting to them that in order to get there they "had to go east!", to which they of course told her she was crazy. I guess for some of us, such geographical shifts are hard to swallow.

There's also the whole heresy of converting -ise's into -ize's and the word 'ax' for 'axe'. I swear I thought that last one was a joke at first, but I digress. What do you call the fancy apparatus you clean rooms with, if not a hoover?

A Hoover is a brand name of vacuum cleaner (or vacuum).

A brand quite inferior to Dyson, if I may say so.

[ImperialistSalvia]

It's not peanuts and butter. It's peanuts ground into a paste. Sometimes sugar is added, though purists tend to reject that sort of thing.

We don't have Marmite. Picked it up in a British specialty store. My kid's nurse tried some, hated it the first time, tried it again, and then started to develop a taste for it. I gave her a jar of it. Never developed the liking myself.

I once ran across an English guy online who was horrified by the concept of peanut butter and jelly. I couldn't figure out the extremity of his reaction until I realized that "jelly", to him, was the gelatin dessert that we call "Jell-O".

There's also the whole heresy of converting -ise's into -ize's and the word 'ax' for 'axe'. I swear I thought that last one was a joke at first, but I digress. What do you call the fancy apparatus you clean rooms with, if not a hoover?

I've never seen "axe" written without an E. Also, we clean rooms with a vacuum cleaner.

[The Orson Empire]

It's not peanuts and butter. It's peanuts ground into a paste. Sometimes sugar is added, though purists tend to reject that sort of thing.

We don't have Marmite. Picked it up in a British specialty store. My kid's nurse tried some, hated it the first time, tried it again, and then started to develop a taste for it. I gave her a jar of it. Never developed the liking myself.

I once ran across an English guy online who was horrified by the concept of peanut butter and jelly. I couldn't figure out the extremity of his reaction until I realized that "jelly", to him, was the gelatin dessert that we call "Jell-O".

There's also the whole heresy of converting -ise's into -ize's and the word 'ax' for 'axe'. I swear I thought that last one was a joke at first, but I digress. What do you call the fancy apparatus you clean rooms with, if not a hoover?

We call it a vacuum cleaner, or simply just a vacuum. I have never heard a vacuum cleaner being called a "hoover".

[Katganistan]

It is pretty uniquely American.

To quote someone else on hearing this statement:

Oh God no, where's that bullshit coming from.

It may have been invented in the US, I don't know, but there's not a grain of truth in that statement.

If you don't know, why are you opining on it?

[Furry Alairia and Algeria]

American bacon goes perfectly with pancakes.

Bacon goes perfectly with everything.

That depends if your tastebuds are good and you're okay with eating meat

[Yumyumsuppertime]

Um, you realize it was invented here by George Washington Carver, yes?
It is pretty uniquely American.

I prefer "super chunk" style.

That's actually a myth. Not the chunky part--that just makes you a heretic, but my wife is one, too, so you're in good company--but rather the Carver thing. It was actually invented by a French-Canadian.

[Yumyumsuppertime]

Cadbury's or Lindt's ftw.

Toblerone pls

We can quibble over which brand is superior, but I feel safe in saying that most chocolate-loving people of the world can come together in agreement over the fact that Hershey's chocolate is an abomination.

[Yumyumsuppertime]

There's also the whole heresy of converting -ise's into -ize's and the word 'ax' for 'axe'. I swear I thought that last one was a joke at first, but I digress. What do you call the fancy apparatus you clean rooms with, if not a hoover?

I've never seen "axe" written without an E. Also, we clean rooms with a vacuum cleaner.

I have, like when I ax someone a question.

[Katganistan]

I've never seen "axe" written without an E. Also, we clean rooms with a vacuum cleaner.

I have, like when I ax someone a question.

That's just poor grammar, unless you're hitting someone with an axe while questioning them.

Properly, we ASK questions.

[Katganistan]

Um, you realize it was invented here by George Washington Carver, yes?
It is pretty uniquely American.

I prefer "super chunk" style.

That's actually a myth. Not the chunky part--that just makes you a heretic, but my wife is one, too, so you're in good company--but rather the Carver thing. It was actually invented by a French-Canadian.

I sit corrected, though it seems he called his peanut paste.

[ImperialistSalvia]

I've never seen "axe" written without an E. Also, we clean rooms with a vacuum cleaner.

I have, like when I ax someone a question.

Ebonics aside

[Yumyumsuppertime]

I have, like when I ax someone a question.

That's just poor grammar, unless you're hitting someone with an axe while questioning them.

Properly, we ASK questions.

Or in the sentence "I have to ask: Do you ever understand when I'm joking?"

[Yumyumsuppertime]

That's actually a myth. Not the chunky part--that just makes you a heretic, but my wife is one, too, so you're in good company--but rather the Carver thing. It was actually invented by a French-Canadian.

I sit corrected, though it seems he called his peanut paste.

It's the same stuff.

[Eastern Equestria]

It's not an insult in Boston. What part of this is difficult to understand? When people talk about the Cleveland Indians, do you think they mean immigrants from India?

Good ol' Yankee know-how.

Speaking of baseball, I find it curious how most Americans would gladly watch NFL match-ups consisting of two teams based thousands of miles away, but will only watch the World Series if their hometown team is involved.

[Forsher]

To quote someone else on hearing this statement:

Oh God no, where's that bullshit coming from.

It may have been invented in the US, I don't know, but there's not a grain of truth in that statement.

If you don't know, why are you opining on it?

Maybe because you said something that was blatantly wrong? Yep, I think that was it. I mean, seriously?

[Yumyumsuppertime]

Good ol' Yankee know-how.

Speaking of baseball, I find it curious how most Americans would gladly watch NFL match-ups consisting of two teams based thousands of miles away, but will only watch the World Series if their hometown team is involved.

Baseball is not considered an especially exciting game. It used to have working-class appeal since it could be played on a vacant lot, but that status was usurped by basketball a couple of decades ago. To watch a Superbowl requires setting aside a couple of hours on a Sunday to watch some actual bursts of excitement. The World Series, on the other hand, is played over several days, and there is significant down time between plays. It requires some previous emotional investment to get into it.

[Eastern Equestria]

Speaking of baseball, I find it curious how most Americans would gladly watch NFL match-ups consisting of two teams based thousands of miles away, but will only watch the World Series if their hometown team is involved.

Baseball is not considered an especially exciting game. It used to have working-class appeal since it could be played on a vacant lot, but that status was usurped by basketball a couple of decades ago. To watch a Superbowl requires setting aside a couple of hours on a Sunday to watch some actual bursts of excitement. The World Series, on the other hand, is played over several days, and there is significant down time between plays. It requires some previous emotional investment to get into it.

All of that is true. There's also the fact that unlike the NFL which has capitalized on marketing it's marquee franchises nationally, Major League Baseball in recent decades has tried too hard to create a state of absolute parity within it's league. As a result it's individual teams can't garner nationwide interest as they once did, not even the Yankees.

[Nazi Flower Power]

I think the term 'Yankee' applies to just the North East in general, (don't quote me on that) not just New England, which is part of the North East anyway.

Try explaining that to my dad.