Also, apparently Brits don't have four-way stops. That I never noticed.

I don't speak Foreign.

Huh, interesting. Typicalville is pretty spot on for many small cities across the midwest excluding University and College areas.

Non-campus Ames, IA - I'm looking at you.

I like the "Fugitive" reference, though I would describe Typicalville town centers as more "Prisoner"-y sometimes. Particularly the ubiquitous eerie white security balloons.

this is offtopic, but just today I was thinking that if Mexico joins the USA as its 51st State, they'll get something like 450 representatives and 375 electoral votes

You could at least add some foreigner observations while you're here. Geez.

Also, the number of Representatives is capped. They would just take some away from other states. That's why there is redistricting after the census: states lose or gain seats. Now enough kinda politics.

I always enjoy telling people that in the U.S. a rubber isn't something you use to erase pencil marks.

State Republican Chairwoman Diane Tebelius said . . . . "(Cheney) really fires everyone up and this will be a shot in the arm. This is my upset special for a Republican taking out a Democratic member of our delegation."

I like to spoil stuff.

I like explaining to American women that they shouldn't talk about how big their fanny is when in England.

D'oh, forgot the link.

Sometimes I need these restuarant instructions like these in NYC. Like, should I take my bill to the register and pay there, or do I wait at the table for the waiter forever like I did for my coke?

lol, essexjan! (or conversely, how bony!)

I don't know about these restaurant instructions. In the section on Arby's, it says:

"Quality of food - consistently excellent."

I always enjoy telling people that in the U.S. a rubber isn't something you use to erase pencil marks.

Hmm. I don't know anyone in the US who refers to an eraser as a rubber.

I just checked out the FAQ section, and it's awesome. My favorites: "I'm interested in visiting historical places, but surely the USA and Canada haven't got any history?" and "Is the rest of the USA the same as Florida?"

Also, dano, touche.

states lose or gain seats.

exactly, that's the beauty of it. 60% of the House made of Mexicans!

I don't know about these restaurant instructions. In the section on Arby's, it says:

"Quality of food - consistently excellent."

Also consistently excellent: McDonald's, Sonic, Wendy's, Taco Bell, Subway, etc...

Foreigners like fast food.

And many, many people underestimate the size of the US. My Dutch friends were going to visit me in California, and they asked if I could pick them up if they flew into Boston instead of LA?
(a mere 4500 km away)

Matteo, now I'm picturing a log cabin made of people, sixty percent of whom are Mexican. I cannot stop giggling.

Funny that you posted this...there's a thread on another site discussing US/UK differences that is just packed with interesting info. I've been meaning to post it here—I think I will in a second.

yeah, Mi Casa!


some foreigner observations

you asked for it.

I love American classic diner food, fast-food not so much really. football, not so much, but I liked Joe Theismann as a kid, because I didn't know yet that "Redskins" was offensive. baseball I do like, and I love to go Fenway. NASCAR and monster trucks horrify me. American TV news suck much more than most Americans think. some US newspapers, on the other hand, are quite good, and better than many foreigners think. the death penalty and gun laws appall me, but they make sense in the context of American culture. I think that Johnny Cash is very possibly the greatest American who ever walked the earth (and the line, of course), with Hubert Selby jr a close second. I thought I'd hate Texas and Los Angeles, so naturally I really like Texas and love L.A. (I dream of owning a Modernist house one day).
I love Palm Springs, because I like deserts. I liked Virginia (I've lived in Alexandria) and I really like parts of DC, even in the summer (but then it was the early Nineties and I was much younger then).
I don't like New York as much as foreigners usually do -- I like it, but I'm not crazy about it. I find New Yorkers' obsession with NY neighborhoods quite amusing, but then it's a huge city, so that funny insular thing probably (a paradox, I know) makes sense (on the other hand, London's pretty big, too, and it's not as self-obsessed). I liked Vegas when I visited (twice), for the people-watching bexcause I don't gamble, I'm happy I visited but I wouldn't go back again. I'd like to visit Kentucky because it has a cool name. Iowa, not as much.
I love American bookstores (even some of the monster ones, for browsing, Borders usually more than B&N, but I try to buy 100% of my books at the independents). I quite like Whole Foods, but not Trader Joe's. I love Easy Cheese and Dr Pepper. sometimes at the movies (I love love L.A. movie theatres) I buy Cherry Coke, or Root Beer, with no ice. I've always hated popcorn, and fuck the person (an American, I am afraid) who had the idea to bring them in a movie theatre, polluting the movie experience all over the world.
I like 501's even if Levi's has been lame since, what, the mid-Eighties?

Dame, i think the roundabout is the equivalent of 4-way stop in the UK. We also have something called the Magic Roundabout which is 2 roundabouts combined.

But they aren't equvalents: the point of a roundabout is you don't stop, right? After driving around France for a while, I have to say the roundabout is way less annoying.

In the UK there is no requirement to stop, but sometimes you have to. With a roundabout you only stop if there is a car approaching from the right into which you will collide if you continue.

France, i don't know about, but looking at the footage of the roundabout by the Arc de Triomphe, the French don't care much for stopping (but that's a big fuck-off multi-lane roundabout so there might not be any need to stop.)

Q: What are biggest differences between Britain and the USA/Canada?

A: Most of the time you will receive excellent service from friendly people throughout the USA and Canada.

uws, I just noticed in France (well, where we drove in southern France) they had a mini-roundabout pretty much everywhere Americans would have a stop sign. And generally there wasn't traffic, so you didn't have to stop.

Also, the other cool thing is the signs at the roundabouts list the major town/city names (even if they were far) and then the near, small towns instead of the direction or the route number, so you could theoretically travel without a map as long as you had a basic grasp of your geography.

Roundabouts are usually between cities, and not inside them, right? Particularly I mean they aren't really in urban centers with old buildings in the way. Big plaza roundabouts don't count, because they're planned in relation to buildings/monuments.

Anyway, US inter-city travel is usually done on big limited access roads. Try taking a roundabout at 75 mph (121 kph).

Yes, capn, the service standard is sorely lacking in the UK. Whenever I get home from a trip to the States I'm always pissed off for days at the total lack of service we put up with here.

Also, having spent a lot of time in tinytown rural Ohio, I'm always appalled at the British binge drinking culture when I get home. In my old home town (Derby) I've noticed that most of the big buildings that were big stores or municipal buildings when I was a kid (the main post office, old family-run department stores, etc) are now all vast drinking halls. It's the same in every town across Britain.

Four way stops, jeez. How the hell do you work out who goes first? In Ohio the rule seems to be that the truck with the biggest tyres has priority.

Also, apparently Brits don't have four-way stops.

Every intersection of two or more roads in Britain must be, by law, a roundabout. Even if both roads are going one-way.

Fun fact: Outside the Northeastern US (mostly NJ and MA, where they're called 'rotaries'), traffic circles are unknown. I remember travelling with a bunch of kids who'd basically never left NYC when we hit a circle in a part of Brooklyn they'd never been to, and I had to explain it to them (in the intervening seconds before we hit it) in a bizarre verbal form of almost-charades. Finally, I just said, "You know, like Columbus Circle." "Oh!"

We survived, of course.

NJ loves its Jughandles, too.

I AM A ROAD GEEK, SO SUE ME.

Outside the Northeastern US (mostly NJ and MA, where they're called 'rotaries'), traffic circles are unknown.

Not true! There's one on my corner. I can almost see it from here. And Austin put some in as I was leaving -- they called them "chicanes," because it was in the hoity-toity bungalow part of town.

Although most of New York City is in New York State...

What part of NYC is not located in NY?

I'm sorry, mudpuppie. I meant to say MOSTLY unknown. I got that confounded with the parenthetical "mostly" and the rest is history.

Apology accepted.

We don't have four-way stops here, either, probably because "in this situation in practice most drivers negotiate by polite non-verbal communication" just wouldn't work here at all and I am amazed that it works in the US. Or does it?

At crossroads like this, one street will have stop signs and the other street will have nothing, giving cars on this street complete right-of-way.

Australians are congenitally unable to understand roundabouts, however. This simple, elegant, solution to managing varying traffic flows appears to be far too difficult. This is a shame, because we have lots of roundabouts.

Is a traffic circle the same thing as a roundabout?

Also, the other cool thing is the signs at the roundabouts list the major town/city names (even if they were far) and then the near, small towns instead of the direction or the route number, so you could theoretically travel without a map as long as you had a basic grasp of your geography.

I actually rather despise this. I often know that I want to go East, but haven't the foggiest clue what town (either close or far) is in that direction. I just know my destination.

This was especially true on long drives through the country.

We don't have four-way stops here, either, probably because "in this situation in practice most drivers negotiate by polite non-verbal communication" just wouldn't work here at all and I am amazed that it works in the US. Or does it?

It works reasonably well. Standard practice is that the first to arrive gets to go next, and if everybody is queued, then you just sort of take turns. If somebody gets confused, one of the drivers will usually wave them through.

And Austin put some in as I was leaving -- they called them "chicanes," because it was in the hoity-toity bungalow part of town.

I'd never heard the term "chicane" used to describe anything other than an S-curve.

Perhaps I could use a website on American English for Americans.

Is a traffic circle the same thing as a roundabout?

Yes, except we go around them backwards (or anti-clockwise). ;)

The Four-stop works because most Americans, believe it or not, are fairly laid back. Even in NJ, which is in the running for most aggressive drivers in the country (along with MA; and I actually FEAR Rhode Island, where several different people deliberately tried to swerve into me multiple times within a few minutes of each other. In NJ, we'll nudge a motherfucker out of the way, but never actually try to hit them and consequences be damned.) there's usually only one or two assholes who simply MUST go first at a given time, and even then the threat of being hit by three other huge honking SUVs (still talking in NJ, not upstate NY where I now live) is enough to keep them in check. But yes, most people are courteous, and often wave me through intersections when I am on my motorcycle, particularly if I am on a steep grade (there are a lot around here) and have to hold the motorcycle up. Just the same, I am glad to be out of NJ, because a motorcycle is not much of a threat to keep people in check (though it is usually quick enough to sneak through the intersection before there's time to quibble if someone looks like they want to press their size advantage).

Too many parentheticals again: Where I was going with talking about the people who insist on going out of turn is that people usually just let them rather than risk a scuffle, and then wave at them when passing them down the road, five minutes later. I'm famous for my ability to drive reasonably but choose the lane that will be moving faster, so I take pleasure in showing off my slow-and-steady strategy. Anyone can speed. Understanding road psychology, however? Not an easy thing.

Now when I'm in my pickup, however, I'll pull right in front of a motherfucker and cut him off. I'm one of the assholes who incites road rage by not giving in to the selfish (when not on the bike). My truck's been keyed at least once, and I wear it as a badge of pride (plus it just says "FUCK YOU" to anyone who tailgates me, so even better).

If you can't tell who's first to the stop, then the person to the left has right-of-way. I've never lived anywhere with very aggressive drivers (by US standards) and so I've never seen a 4-way stop not work pretty well. It seems like it's rare that there's any ambiguity who got to the stop first. Even when there's a queue, you can still tell who's next.

More on traffic circles... we have a TON of them in Buffalo. Most of the city dates to Victorian times, and I guess they had a thing for the circles.

I can think of two major ones in the center of downtown (one right outside city hall with eight streets feeding into it), and half a dozen others within city limits.

They work better than four ways when you have that many streets feeding into a single intersection.

I didn't even know they were rare outside this area until a couple years ago when an out of town friend was absolutely perplexed when arriving at one.

Plus, they look nice. You can put trees in them, a fountain, the larger one has enough benches for several dozen people to enjoy an outdoor lunch (or several thousand to cram in for summer outdoor concerts).
One of the smaller projects in my immediate area was turning several four-way intersections into traffic circles since they provide a space for public greenery and look good with the architecture.