American Embarrassed by The Dumbest Thing an American Has Ever Said To You?

[@karenstrong8887]

I was once asked by a couple in LA airport if we spoke English in Australia. I said no, we speak Australian but we all have to take English at school. They told me how lucky I was to speak two languages. 👀

[@davidlean8674]

Fuggn Oath A!

[@kateemma22]

Honestly, Americans make it too easy for us to take the piss. At least the poms put up a fight.

[@suave-rider]

I was born in Australia. Where can I learn Australian? Sick of speaking English.

[@neilcampbell3212]

What a pisser. Aren't we all lucky to be bi lingual

[@tjc874]

My mates brother was congratulated on how good his English was He's English 🤦‍♂️😂

[@Haesslich1962]

I'm Norwegian, living in the US. A few weeks ago I was asked if I had any children. I said no, there was a pause, and then "how about grandchildren?". Still haven't figured out a polite way to answer that...

[@robynfisher4455]

🤣🤣 that's a whole different kind of ignorance.

[@ThePinkBinks]

Oh my god I got asked that too! I said no but my first great grandchild was expected soon. PS: they congratulated me.

[@phillipchan6044]

This person you met must be a Nobel prize winner for cross generation cloning.

[@alexjones4679]

I... I hope they were tactfully inquiring as to whether your firstborn was dead? And not inquiring as to whether one can skip a generation in the line of reproduction?

[@ghearanifebdiastri]

🤣🤣🤣🤣 this one made my day!

[@illusionalquestions]

Aussie here: Whilst backpacking through Europe, I found myself behind an American couple, a little bit older than me attempting to purchase a train ticket from a machine at a Paris train station. These particular machines are touch screens and the first option you need to choose is what language you would like the rest of the options to be displayed in. They have clearly defined each language with the country of origin's flag (e.g. German flag for German, French flag for French, Spanish flag for Spanish, etc). After some time had past I asked them if they needed help? They reply: "We want the screen to be in _American_ but can't find the American flag on the list." After explaining that there is no such thing as an "American Language" and the language we are using right now to converse with is called the English language and that is represented by "The Union Jack" They stared at me blankly, with a little bit of disgust on their face, as if I had just used their flag as a napkin. Me: "you know, the United Kingdom... That flag." Them: stares blankly* Me: Sigh* "The first option on the list." The kicker - after talking to them for a while, I later found out, the girl had been to the UK dozens of times... So she had undoubtedly seen that flag thousands of times and still couldn't solve the puzzle.

[@autohmae]

That last part floored me.

[@ivwvy]

hahahaha as soon as you said it showed the flag for each country I already knew what was coming up 😂 Also unintentionally when I read "We want the screen to be in American but can't find the American flag on the list" I read it in my head in the most stereotypical southern accent. Also how is someone gonna go to the UK multiple times and not recognize the Union Jack. Sometime I still need to check out the rest of the world though cause I'm an Aussie and I've never been out of Australia and I'm almost 17!

[@autohmae]

@@ivwvy well, you have an excuse: Australia isn't close to anywhere and it was oovid time for a few years of course... not to worry your time will come.

[@seanthiar]

I think I disagree with 'There is no American language." There is, but it isn't called that way. Every and I'm sure every person that does learn 'English' as a second language would be happy if there was no English, but American, British, Australian and Canadian. There are differences in writing and vocabulary. I've met US-Americans that were not able to read the British(English) literature I have because they did not understand some of the words and weren't able to pronounce words because it was not written the way they learned it. It's the same in Germany only that we don't say that swiss person speaks deutsch (German) , they speak schweizerisch (Swiss) and the Austrian speak östereichisch (austrian) not german. The languages have the same base and you can understand the offshoots in general, but they are not the same.

[@jessbellis9510]

Even if they hadn't seen the Union Jack before, it's not like it's difficult to figure out which flags (and therefore which countries) were colonised by the British, or had British ancestry. They basically all have red, white and blue, and usually have stars or the union jack itself on them. You don't even have to have been taught that - anyone can figure out they're similar and likely have things in common.

[@michelmartin6509]

Being carded in Boston but all my IDs are French. Doorman asks how he's supposed to know so I point out the only two dates, one being roughly 25 years older than the other. I told him one was my birthdate while the other is the date the card was issued. "But how do I know which is which?"

[@theender664]

Hmmm I WONDER

[@lennartdahlback]

Oh. I just want to cry. I mean, how can he not know how to process dates?

[@granadina48]

I was born and raised in Serbia, but I lived in the US for a number of years. I lost count of how many times the Americans would equate Serbia with either Syria or Siberia. Also, the dumbest question I was asked by a Texas lady once was if we had food in Serbia. I said, "no, we live off of air and sunlight." Her facial expression was priceless.

[@anaritabarrettosantiago5225]

Your answer was perfect 👍

[@tatianaferreira5998]

Maybe she believed you 😂

[@williamhardes8081]

is that a new fad diet? "Air and Sunlight", all you need to lose that weight and feel free. but wait there's more! lol.

[@nox8730]

Ah, i met an actual Serbian who lived through photosynthesis. He received the Nobel Price of the most ecological country, all by himself ôÔ

[@UTU49]

"no, we live off of air and sunlight." Well... that DOES sound like a really good idea.

[@AndyViant]

Here's a few. Expecting to see crocodiles. In Melbourne. Expecting to see people riding Kangaroos. In Melbourne, Brisbane and the Gold Coast. Being told that we can't have a Melbourne because they have one in Florida. Expecting to drive to Uluru and back as a day trip from Brisbane. Expecting to see the Sydney Harbour Bridge in Brisbane. Then when being told it's in Sydney expecting to see it in a day trip. Being told we can't have Indian food in Australia because they only make that in India. Then we get to the just plain rude. The usual being told that we drive on the wrong side of the road. Being told about how we're a disarmed nation who only exists because the USA protects us. Being patronizing told that Australia is just a state of the United States. Oh, how we could go on about that stuff. The crazy. Yes, I've heard the different moon one. Being told we're unpatriotic because there are no American flags up. Being accused that we're trying to rip them off because the weights are in kilograms not pounds and that a kilogram can't be more than a pound. Being told by a customer that they will only use American money because it's accepted everywhere. Getting asked why we're not celebrating Thanksgiving. Or Independence Day. Being told it can't be December because it's hot and December is cold. I think a mandatory 2 week course on what the rest of the world is like is almost mandatory for Americans travelling.

[@You-ul8qw]

Wow... that is so cringe. And to think that they think they do better at so many things that the rest of the world actually dominate them on... like America is the only nation to not have any paid holidays mandated by the government, with second last being Japan at 10 days!! (per year) 10!! waaayyy more than zilch.

[@jessbellis9510]

Each year of American education should have 1 week dedicated solely to learning about other countries and their cultures. It's honestly fucking embarrassing how ignorant a lot of Americans are. I get that a majority probably know better, but what Americans need to consider when us Aussies say "Americans are stupid" is that if even a mere 14% of the US is like that, that's still more than the entire population of Australia being ignorant.

[@thelibraryismyhappyplace1618]

Please include "indoor voices" as part of the curriculum.

[@JB-yb4wn]

Expecting to see dogsleds in Toronto. Expecting to see fur traders in Montreal. Expecting log cabins in Vancouver. Why is it so much colder, when I crossed the border it was 70, now it's 20. Since our side burned down the White House in 1814, we never get mistaken as being part of the US. Maybe you should try it sometime. Yes we get the same trope how the US is protecting us. Everyone does - well except the Russians and Chinese (lucky bastards). Just tell them about the drop bears, that will shut them up.

[@AndyViant]

@@jessbellis9510 At least about their major allies in the Anglosphere and NATO, and major trading partners and military threats. While it would be great if they were taught at least something about every country, there are how many? It's debatable - seriously actually debatable. China-Taiwan? Is Korea one country or two? Somaliland vs British Somaliland versus Italian Somaliland etc etc. I don't know that we really truly cover all that but at least we get taught from more recent textbooks and know there's somewhere around 200 countries. One thing's for sure, we're at least educated enough to know that "Africa" is not a country and we can find Europe on a map. I have been to parts of Europe where similar levels of ignorance exist, but to be honest that's rare - it seems the dropouts and intellectually challenged not the majority of the population. Part of the issue in the US is the very strong state control of the education system and how much it is politicised. Not all of the US is this bad. But sadly, large parts of it are because there are political and religious groups who seem to get veto rights on textbooks, or at least the spending to buy updated textbooks for their students.

[@pacificbob24]

As a Canadian visiting England I was picked up at the airport by a Japanese taxi driver with a very English accent. He did not seem to be very friendly. When I mentioned I was from Canada, his attitude changed and he apologized stating he thought that I was an American. He told me his last fare was an American who complimented him on his English and said that America had taken the English Language and improved it.

[@cobden28whittehnam7]

That's not true; I'm English, it's our language and we invented it ! The USA just amended it.

[@wonderpunch4984]

@@cobden28whittehnam7 Actually the english language comes from german (since its a germanic language), youre no better than an american with that attitude.

[@adeepope2156]

Actually it comes from ,french , Norwegian,Italian and German

[@wonderpunch4984]

@@adeepope2156 english comes from germanic languages. Italian is a latin language and french is a romance language. Edit: I was sleep deprived when writing these.

[@adeepope2156]

Yes and as we were invaded by all those countries there are many words from them ,

[@michaeltraube6400]

Hi,i'm from Austria,and glad that nobody in Germany has ever asked me why I can speak their language so well...😂😂😂

[@XgruenaugeX]

Haha. That never crossed my mind. But if you want the analogy to Muricans to be correct, it would have to be Austrians asking German people why we speak German so well... That would be hilarious ;)

[@scottsanders2474]

We had an American president (Obama) who claimed your primary language is Austrian. Yeah, he is a doofus.

[@kathleenmayhorne3183]

In Germany we asked for a stamp to send a postcard to Australia. She was so sure we said Austria.

[@nachtet4259]

Maybe we haven't because you really can't..? 😈😂👼🫂🇦🇹🇩🇪

[@mimia85]

I guess Amuricans don't have a clue why you started speaking about Germany and Austria in this context... 😅 - Finn

[@LilLottee]

I am Dutch, and a few years ago, I actually told an American in a super sarcastic way that we all live in farms, where we grow weed and tulips, we go to school by horse and carriage, every family has at least one cow and we all wear wooden shoes, and they said "Ohhhh, I always imagined the Netherlands like that, I am so glad you confirmed!" Meanwhile I was sitting there contemplating my life choices.

[@mrfrostygiant4725]

HORSE AND CARRIAGE??? NEE..NEE.. BICYCLE!!

[@Equiste97]

"So that's how fake info spreads", "and i've spread it", "am i a bad person?"

[@cariwaldick4898]

@@mrfrostygiant4725 Wait....how do you keep the wooden shoes from falling off when you peddle? (Sorry, I couldn't resist.)

[@mrfrostygiant4725]

@@cariwaldick4898 gravity

[@RichieDb2]

He probably would have arguments with other people on Dutch culture and and when others say he's wrong, he'd counter with "I'm right! A Dutch person confirmed what I said!".

[@davidrobertson376]

I met an Aussie farmer who while on holidays in America toured a John Deere factory. The tour guide found out he was an Australian farmer and said "We had an Australian farmer on tour last week and he told me he crops half Australia." To which my new friend replied "And I am the farmer who crops the other half" Poor guy had no idea he was the butt of the joke !

[@pinayladyoz8044]

🤣🤣🤣 I wish you told him you are farming koalas and kangaroos 🤣

[@davidrobertson376]

@@pinayladyoz8044 I should be farming akubras

[@sharpshooter_Aus]

That’s 2 very very very rich blokes then Jesus ahaha

[@MrMijnaccount1]

@@sharpshooter_Aus You have to be to do the full John Deere tour in the great, great USA😅

[@Rusty_Gold85]

And I know Nigel who takes turns with them when they want to go on Holidays

[@Nothingness00000-o]

I've seen a couple of KZbin channels where average Americans are educating themselves on the true state of the U.S, eg healthcare, poverty etc, and of course the rest of the world. I've seen some creators tear up watching these documentaries. I think it is great that more and more Americans are educating themselves & waking up from the indoctrination and limited (only basically teaching of American history & 'we are the best country in the world') education. The States are one of the richest countries in the world. But where does all that money go?? To the 1%, the government and to major corporations. I will always support those who are brave enough to educate themselves. Love from Australia 🇦🇺

[@dryad85]

Love from Canada

[@geraldinesnell2878]

I think most of the tax money goes over seas I seen one senator saying millions was going to a Muslim country to help trans people another 1 or 2 million dollars was for a science company to find out what would make tomatoes taste better after much study turns out the answer was sugar. I've been watching there parliament at work the amount of money wasted is an eye opener

[@paddington1670]

@@geraldinesnell2878 a million is 1/1000th of a billion. The USA spends 700 billion dollars on military annually. that's seven hundred thousand million dollars not including black projects. 700,000 x 1,000,000. A million dollars is not a lot of money, heck my house is worth over three times that because I have a 80x120' lot that can be subdivided. Yes we are thankful for the military that the US has, but the OP is getting at the overall picture. It's not one thing, it's a myriad of issues in the US. From war torn levels of fire arm violence, healthcare, basic education etc etc. Great country, I would know, I was born there, but the US could be so much better than currently. A whole lot of blind eyes, which is _exactly_ what the OP is writing about.

[@NebraskaGonvilleJones]

@@geraldinesnell2878 I’m sorry but “most of your tax money goes overseas” - is categorically false. It doesn’t have to be a guessing game, you can actually find out where the tax revenue is spent. I would also caution you against simply trusting “one senator” claiming such nonsense. Again it is possible to actually find out the facts and not simply rely on clearly politically motivated distortions. It is true that government has a particular knack for wasting money but don’t assume that the majority is in this category. Remember the government is there to serve every citizen even the ones that you don’t agree with and visa versa.

[@geraldinesnell2878]

@@NebraskaGonvilleJones mate I'm in Australia the senator was in your I'm presuming the white house in front of a he'll of a lot of other senators so I would be inclined to believe him.

[@madoldbatwoman]

Brit here. We have our blunt tools too. I remember travelling through Spain and one girl was totally blown because her British bought (probably foreign made) radio with British bought (again, probably foreign made) batteries was playing Spanish. It took several people to explain how radio signals worked, before she believed it.

[@nachtet4259]

😮😮😮

[@Emzaz01]

I'm British and used to work as a tour guide at a castle. The interior was decorated to look like it would've back when it was built. American lady once came up to me and asked how we knew what it looked like back then, then paused and said 'oh, I guess you have photographs of it' and walked off before I could answer. The castle was built in 1188. She thought we had photos from 1188.

[@jkoch1989]

A friend of mine is a tourist guide here in Germany. An American woman once told him that it was a pity that the church (from the 13th century) was built right next to the railway line.

[@mgytitanic1912]

You mean you don't have photographs from 1188? ;)

[@stargazer5829]

At least it was after 1066😂

[@mirandahotspring4019]

And when you consider that these Americans who were traveling abroad are the enlightened ones...

[@stargazer5829]

@@mirandahotspring4019 lmao 😂

[@BayleyBlake]

I was at a traffic light intersection in Brisbane City, Australia, waiting for the the signal to cross the road. In Australia, when you are signaled to walk across the road, the traffic lights make a 'Tick, tick, tick, tick... ' sound so our blind people know when to cross. An American woman next to us at the intersection immediately asked "Why are the Traffic Lights making that sound?". My friend said to her, "It's for our Blind People", and she said.... DRUMROLL.... "You let your blind people drive?" Haha!

[@anthonycarty9433]

I hope you told her how inclusive Aussies are and don't discriminate against blind people who want to drive . Lol .

[@cbisme6414]

I've read a lot of these comments Bayley and can relate to many so not surprised but yours really had me in stitches. 🐨♥️🦘🇦🇺😁

[@BobOgden1]

No, of course not. They ride motorcycles so they can use their white cane

[@robramsey5120]

I heard a comedian on tv tell this story word for word...🤔

[@9Tailsfan]

She must not pay attention or must not be from city or college town. I from St. Louis Mo. which is a large city AND a collage town. We have those types of street signals too. Most of them are around St. Louis University and the downtown area.

[@ef4947]

I used to work in a hotel in Amsterdam and one on of our guests once ordered a steak tatare (raw beef) as roomservice. About 10 minutes after it being delivered the person in question came down to the reception holding his plate and screaming at us "are you trying to kill me!?" and being very aggressive. Basically he started laughing after a while and saying he was going to sue us for every penny because we tried to kill him with raw beef, and since we hadn't given him a waiver to sign that meant that we "were screwed". He wrote down all our names, even asking for the name of the chef and would contact his lawyer unless we 'made it up to him'. The next day he wanted to eat lunch at the hotel restaurant and we refused him service for the way he treated the staff the day before. He, once again, threatened to sue us but this time said he would complain directly to the hotel management 'back home'. My man really assumed the hotel was owned by Americans because it had an English name and had to follow American rules :)

[@BrunoMaricFromZagreb]

What happened next?Surely,he mst've done something...

[@kathleenmayhorne3183]

​@@BrunoMaricFromZagrebwasn't he in for a very rude awakening.

[@DanBeech-ht7sw]

​@BrunoMaricFromZagreb he made his lawyer in the USA a bit richer

[@robwhythe793]

As a Brit, I once went into a school in Texas while working out there, to talk to the kids about history and geography, and to answer any questions they had. One 10 year-old asked me what language we speak in England. I said English. He looked surprised and said "Oh, you speak it too!" I replied, "No, YOU speak it too." He looked puzzled, so I explained that I don't just speak English, I AM English... " It was a fun visit, that day!

[@TheSecretChateau]

Travelling through Australia I met an American who wanted to know where the best place was on Sydney Harbour to see the 4th of July fireworks. I said there are no 4th of July celebrations in Australia because it was an American holiday, not Australian. He didn't believe me! He was totally amazed to find out that (his words) "Wow! Australia doesn't have a 4th of July." An Aussie with us told him (in all seriousness - which was hysterical) that in Australia, they always went from the 3rd of July to the 5th and skipped the 4th completely and that was why in international time zones, Australia was a day ahead of everywhere else on the planet. And the American believed him and said, "Yeah man, that makes sense." What can one do but walk away!

[@rockcrawlerchurch2976]

Just jump on your roo or emu and hop off into the sunset

[@ronnie7075]

Aussies are very good at taking the pi$$.

[@paulmartin3962]

That's gold mate 😂😂😂😂

[@etherealbolweevil6268]

I believe there is a tee shirt with "You can't argue with stupid" written on it.

[@stanislavbandur7355]

@@etherealbolweevil6268 In general, (I probably know US citizens out of this psycho-group or did not noticed) people which are naysayers, deniers, conspiracy lowers or just to proud to say they are wrong, have this in common. they behave like that pigeon playing chess. /it kick down chess figures, shi|s on chessboard and will fly away feeling as a winner /

[@ScreamingBlood]

I'm German... while I was in the US as an exchange student, I once got asked if I was a NSdAP party member. I still think it's unfair they sent ME to the principal after asking the girl if she owned any slaves. xD

[@muhammadgharibaldy8064]

Good one 🤣🤣🤣

[@lava7157]

The question should be if you met Hitler in personal. 😂😂🤣🤣🤣 Greetings from Poland 🇵🇱

[@karstenbursak8083]

Wie hat der Direktor reagiert ?

[@THEBORGRESISTANCEISFUTILE]

Double standards

[@danielseeh]

The same also form Germany the asked me if he was my grandfather 😂

[@__-fm5qv]

As an Englishman, with a very stereotypical southern English accent, I've been told by Americans my English is great for a foreigner, and asked where I learnt it... Bro, its our language... ENGLISH comes from ENGLAND! They didn't get it.

[@tasminoben686]

LOL! I love the British Englisch! Greetings from Hamburg!

[@imperialdebauchery5988]

​@@tasminoben686 you know, I think this is the first time in 6 years that I've seen a continental European say something nice about the UK without having to add some insult about Brexit.

[@blrfivvuvu]

@@imperialdebauchery5988 Don't blame yourself for something you cannot control. Also, I am south east european and I have to say that the UK blessed the world with amazing musicians, very skilled and very charismatic. And your desserts are amazing! When I was little I admired Britain for producing such great music that went popular. Joy Division, Eric Clampton, The rolling stones, The Beatles, David Bowie, Queen and many more. It was one of the first things that made me wish to travel the world :) so don't put the mean things that people say about british people close to your heart.

[@interestedbystander196]

@@imperialdebauchery5988 Did you not see what happened at _Eurovision?_

[@101steel4]

My English cousin lives in Florida. The locals think he's Australian.

[@mawmadestuff8680]

American here. Sorry for the absolute ignorance we have on foreign affairs. Just the other day I had to explain to my dad that the language of Sweden is not Dutch, but they in fact have their very own language, Swedish (I know this for a fact because I have a particular interest in languages and I spent some time learning Swedish before switching to Icelandic and Norwegian.) It finally took a google search for him to believe me, but that's one less dumb question that could be given to a native Swede, so mission accomplished I suppose. P.S. Canadians, I am especially sorry to all of you, since you guys are so often mistaken for us and get the backlash of our stupidity 😑

[@Sharon-bo2se]

Often true but remember poking fun at Americans is a national sport. We have our share of idiots but I often wonder about your country in the days of the Maga supporters, very sad and very dangerous.

[@bertrandleroux4133]

Your leaders want you to be ignorant so that you don't revolt.

[@Narangarath]

I have to mention this even though I'm way too late for the game. My Canadian husband and I (originally Finnish, but Canadian passing enough) were apologized to by a British gentleman when he mistook us for Americans while we were waiting for a connecting flight in London (UK, not Ontario). He was so, so very sincerely apologetic and I don't think I've ever been so amused by being mistaken for an American in my life.

[@lauriemapplebeck1286]

We are use to it. Still hate it, but ignorance runs wild everywhere.

[@shotintheface]

Move to Canada p@$$ŷ

[@MrGrumblier]

I live in Canada and I used to work for Avis car rentals. I handled "domestic" and international rentals. One caller, a woman, called to rent a car in "Hippopotamus, New York". I was a little confused but, being a professional, I actually looked to see if there was a city by that name. Unsurprisingly, there isn't. I very politely asked her to confirm the name of the city and she again said "Hippopotamus". I very politely told her that she might be mistaken as there is no city by that name in the state of New York. She proceeded to tell me that she is a US Congresswoman and I needed to book a car for her in "Hippopotamus, NY immediately. So I checked again - still no Hippopotamus, New York. Then I had a moment of inspiration. "Ma'am, do you mean Buffalo, New York?" "Yes." she snapped, "I told you it was a large animal!"

[@oldfogey4679]

Mr grumbler a congree woman sounds about right!

[@iriscollins7583]

@@oldfogey4679 There's one of the problems.🤣

[@wendybenton9762]

Dear Lord...the mind boggles. 🤪

[@mkozlinski]

And they have nuclear weapon...

[@huedoppler1]

Is she AOC ? 😀😃😃

[@christianflor1394]

An American tourist sued her travel company after learning that the midnight sun she came all the way to Norway to experience, was THE SAME SUN as they had back in the US.

[@rioeilat]

Christian Flor, do you mean to say that she found a lawyer to represent her in court? 😵

[@d00m0racl3]

@@rioeilat The USA is a very litigious country, you can find a lawyer to represent you in just about any bat-crap crazy lawsuit. That being said a good/decent lawyer would explain the futility of such lawsuit while a schizter would say "omg! that's totally false advertising! we can surely get you a full refund & possibly a few $100k for your pain & suffering..." 🤢

[@pontiuspilot9301]

Almost as bad as the "joke"? American flies to the Holy Land! Spends 2 weeks angry in the Televiv airport! He thought he was going to Philadelphia where Jesus signed the Declaration of independence and wrote the Constitution! Peace and Love from Canada!

[@teijul1106]

🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@ghostdemon7936]

This is the funniest thing I have read!😁😆🤣🤣🤣

[@beetleb1801]

While over in California, I was explaining the principle of the time difference between Australia and the U.S to a young lady at a store. She had trouble understanding that Australia is actually ahead of the U.S and that Australia was currently into the next day at that moment. You could really see the gears turning over with complete incomprehension. As it was 2008 at the time and President Obama had just been elected, I decided to add insult to injury and said "Yeah, we Australians knew that Obama was elected before you Americans did." Needless to say, it went WAAAYYY over her head and completely blew her mind! I didn't bother to try and explain it further.

[@glennllewellyn7369]

Nice.

[@stoodmuffinpersonal3144]

On the one hand, oof. On the other? Time zones are Trippy. I sometimes forget your seasons are different cause youre in the south pole. It does take me a minute to readjust. Even though I have traveled, Ive never been south of the equater? Ive come close, but still typically north of it, if not right on it. Anyway, time is strange

[@garykeeling2275]

Did she actually believe that you knew about it before we did? Or did she eventually figure out that both countries learned at the same time (assuming they were tuning into live broadcasts), but that the clocks in both countries would just show different dates and times?

[@beetleb1801]

@@garykeeling2275 I honestly think she thought we knew before they did. A couple of older ladies were having a giggle in the background as they overheard us. Maybe they set her straight after I left, but I’ll never know.

[@beetleb1801]

@@stoodmuffinpersonal3144 don’t you mean “Southern hemisphere”? We’re still a long way from the South Pole.

[@florinicrisan]

I worked for seven years on cruise ships, with American guests. Don't even get me started on the stupid things Americans say when they're in vacation :) I can talk about it for days. I like how the guys repeats "Not all Americans are like that". I can only answer: "So, where are the normal ones? They're so hard to spot"

[@jollybodger]

The smart ones hide away from the limelight to not be associated with the dumb ones, the dumb ones think they know everything and aren't afraid to vocalise or publicise it and no amount of contrary evidence can convince them they're wrong. Same reason I'm an introvert in the UK, the stupidity of the general populous makes me want to hide away so I don't get mistaken for one of them. Not that I'm a genius, I'm just not THAT stupid.

[@ericwilliams1659]

Sadly at least half of America is very dumb.

[@robertmoffett3486]

We don't go on cruise ships.

[@netizentersesat8003]

​@@robertmoffett3486 nice one🤣🤣

[@leckebergsten8587]

I was visiting St Louis and was asked if we had houses in Sweden by a lady the question surprised me so much that I just answered Yes. I have regretted ever since that I just didn't spinn some tale about swedes following their herds of penguins around erecting their tents when the herd stopped moving.

[@richardhockey8442]

No tales about the warrior penguin mascots you used to take on viking raids when you were a kid?

[@keithparker5103]

Lecke Bergsten, I'm like that, I can always think of a perfect answer-- later, when it no longer counts.

[@mirandahotspring4019]

Damn! Opportunity lost! But don't worry, most Americans don't understand irony.

[@ronhan9]

@wyomarine well that works both way as they cant really differ between the northen edge of the continet and the central part in the alps.... Number of people wanting coocoo clocks and chocoltae from sweden (we have coocoo clocks and make good chocolate aswell but they are thinking of Swiss ones if you prod them) is to damn high

[@toenailandthebedsores6682]

You've got competition coming across the border from Norway. They genuinely have a penguin brigadier in their king's guard named Sir Nils Olav III. He lives in Edinburgh Zoo in Scotland... waiting for the day he's called back to action....

[@bulletproofpepper2]

As an American working overseas for years I have heard all of this before and as a compliment ,I think, my coworkers would say “your not like all the other Americans I have met” or “you know stuff”. I would tell them “yes, I’m self taught” and that would lead into homeschooling vs public school system in America. The best story I was told by a Norwegian female first mate on our ship, the ship was in dry dock for inspection and some small refitting upgrades. We had all worked hard a finish 99% of all the refitting the captains took the crew out for “dinner” and after a few drinks, the first mate turns to me a said the last American I talked to, asked her “what happened to all the Vikings where did they go?” My beer almost shot out my nose.

[@johnmurkwater1064]

They all moved to Minnesota... LOL 🤣

[@rusydilfaiz3650]

What's the difference between homeschooling vs public sfhool in america? I'm honestly curious

[@bulletproofpepper2]

@@rusydilfaiz3650 homeschool was originally for extreme rural area mail order school workbooks. The politics of America was been on a down hill for along time. Some parents thought that the teachers have been abusing their position and teaching children politics not inline with the parents views or worse. The government has been busing students to other districts for 40 years. If your child is bused to an intercity school the alternatives are private school, boarding school, or homeschool. The laws in American are if a child doesn’t go to school the parents can be arrested.

[@debra1363]

@Sanna-Mary He said "your child".That is correct.You're is a contractions "you are"."Your" means "belonging to you".If he used the word you think is right,he would be saying,"if you are child".

[@1337flite]

@@johnmurkwater1064 and they are camping with the cowboys and indians on the hot arid plains.

[@DavesIneosGrenadier]

Back in 1999 I went to a week long conference in Singapore, held by the manufacturer of specialised electrical cable used for factory automation and robotics. I imported and sold this in Australia. The guy from America ended up explaining, over dinner and a few drinks, how homes in the US have electricity, unlike the homes in Asia and other countries. I told him he was not telling the truth as what he was saying was impossible. He finally explained how you can walk into a room and flick a switch and lights come on. I called bullshit on that one so then he explained refrigerators and microwave ovens to the group. I wonder what he thought we did with the specialised cable we imported and sold???

[@daveffs1935]

Obviously stripping the copper out so you can enter the bronze age

[@annefrommoors9847]

@@daveffs1935 Ukrainian here so I'm overly stressed for obvious reasons. But that one lightened me up. Pun intended.

[@Jeannine2007]

@@annefrommoors9847 Slava Ukraine💪💙 🇺🇦 💛

[@tobyk.4911]

So he explained that Asia doesn't have electricity ... while he was in Singapore?!? (Didn't his hotel -or wherever he was staying - have electricity?)

[@DavesIneosGrenadier]

@@tobyk.4911 Homes, individual houses. Not companies and hotels etc.

[@baronvonzach6109]

You cannot imagine the staggering number of American tourists in Austria asking where they can see some kangaroos.

[@arnolddavies6734]

Obviously confusing Austria with Australia. They’re Americans after all. Know nothing.

[@Lilibutter]

😂

[@StonefieldJim4]

😄

[@alexg.b.341]

😂😂😂😂

[@ronind6004]

I can see why they would think that given Austria . I'm surprised they visited it it is so irrelevant .

[@nikkibhashkar6327]

I am an Aussie, but I was born in NZ. Before I moved to Oz, I was an exchange student in South America, and I met a lot of Americans that were... interesting. I don't know why, but there were a lot that spoke Spanish but with a strong American accent. So strong that the Spanish was not legible. I was also asked where I was from, and they either hadn't heard of NZ, thought NZ was part of Holland or Germany or insisted that NZ was a state of Australia. One guy didn't even know where Australasia or Oceania was and when I told him in the South Pacific in the Southern hemisphere he called me a liar because there were no countries in the Southern Hemisphere EVEN THOUGH WE WERE IN THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE AT THE TIME!!! OMG he did my head in. IIRC he wanted to be a doctor, I hope it was only his geography that was lacking

[@soundwave8352]

Hint: Americans who travel abroad (especially regularly) are rich. He was going to be a doctor because his parents bought his spot at school and all the tutors he could need. Oceania & Australasia aren't really discussed in US geography, though - you just hope to figure it out or learn through research later? But that method of learning by listening & experience is patently unavailable to arrogant rich kids. Also, the heavy American accent to Spanish is probably because they learned from non-native speakers in a school setting, though I don't know if Americans speaking Mexican Spanish would also make things difficult to understand while traveling abroad.

[@alanmacification]

I live in Ontario, Canada. I've dealt with Americans my whole life. I would describe them as aggressively, willfully ignorant.

[@newbris]

@@soundwave8352 why do you have to be rich to travel abroad regularly?

[@billfear1]

"I am an Aussie, but I was born in NZ. Before I moved to Oz" Hmm 🤔. Then you are really a Kiwi. 🙂

[@newbris]

@@billfear1 or course not. You can become something else over time.

[@michaelmay5453]

I'm Swedish, I was told that in Sweden we speak German and French. K, so he mixed up Sweden and Switzerland, no biggie, it's kinda like mixing up the US and Brazil and Americans aren't really that great at geography. I explained his mistake and to my surprise he insisted that I, a Swede, was wrong regarding which languages we speak in Sweden. THAT is one of the more frustrating part of having arguments with Americans, no matter if you prove them wrong they will insist that they are correct. Naturally this is a generalisation that doesn't hold true for individuals but in my experience it holds true for the group as a whole.

[@ulukai_555]

I'm Swiss, I often have the Sweden, Swiss mix up. Pretty impressed that he knew at least two of the swiss languages though. Often they think we speak english.

[@eylonemuskson4177]

@@ulukai_555 But my American friends said the Swiss speak English, Swahili and Dutch, and that you all ride around on sheep yodeling! How could he be so wrong? _Extreme sarcasm_ _Switzerland is, pretty much, from what I gather, as close to a perfect country as humans are capable of getting thus far..._

[@ColdRunnerGWN]

@@ulukai_555 - It's very common to mix up the two. I used to live in Kanton Bern, and a lot of people back in Canada thought I was living in Sweden.

[@jimmckay2337]

Sadly, as an American, I run into these never wrong people all the time. Most cannot understand simple physics and math. Arguing with them is just a losing battle because no matter how much logic you use, they still lack the basic education to understand it. Better off just smiling and wishing them a good day.

[@oldfogey4679]

Michael my brother was an exchange student to Sweden, my family hosted one from Sweden, and my sons house cleaner moved to Sweden! So I've met a lot of swedes and hope to visit! Years ago I found swedes very cold and elitist anti immigrant because years ago Sweden didn't have people like the Syrian refugees! Now swedes are a lot more open and accepting of others but like Americans too certain about their preferred dogma!

[@Corsuwey]

I recall seeing a viral video of a teacher telling Spanish speaking students to speak American in her class. One of the students turned to the teacher and said, "American isn't even a language!"

[@ChrisSeilerLFD]

A few years ago there was a street festival in Düsseldorf (Germany) and we (my friends and I) meet a small group of people coming from Louisiana. We asked how it is to live in the US and they asked us how it is how to live in Germany / Europe and it was a pretty cool conversation which ends up on "Der längsten Theke der Welt"

[@millyjames7891]

I'm still in touch with a guy who picked me up hitch-hiking in the Utah desert 37 years ago!

[@BrentMeirmans]

The group you met was from Louisiana. A state that was colonized by spanish, after that by the french (got its name from Louis XIV) and later on it had a strong Italian influence. Surely their minds are opened wider than average.

[@Ducon-s6r]

It’s often the case … many americans are very educated, but we remember more idiots and noisy one … I’m french living in france but often working with americans coming for few weeks for the film industry … so, i know them pretty well

[@shay8575]

I'm Aussie, lived in the US for nearly 6 years. I had been working at a bank for about a year at this point. My habit was to spend my lunch break in the back doing the crossword from the local paper. The branch manager walks in and comments that I'm really good at them, especially with English not being my first language 🤔

[@stevenflynntheghost4845]

Omg 😂

[@aldobonaso3481]

well, Aussies might speak English...but they're not good at it...🤣🤣 jokes, jokes. I always love meeting Aussies while travelling Europe, too much fun. Crazy bunch. (South African by the way. I don't want anybody thinking I'm American haha)

[@shay8575]

@@aldobonaso3481 amazing how many Americans can't tell the difference between our accents 🤣

[@yia01]

@@shay8575 no the US probably have more accent thenthe rest of the world combine

[@Judge_Dredd]

@@yia01 So the rest of the World has fewer accents? You're sure about that? Are you American?

[@tanoz1440]

I have to admit American understanding of the rest of world is hilarious..... as in when i visited a bar in Florida (which must get lots of tourists) and after being asked where I was from and stated Australia they were so surprised at my English. I get they may have got me mixed me up with Austria, but Austrians speak very good English too lol

[@sailiealquadacil1284]

Nah, if they don't know that you speak English in Australia, chances are they don't even know Austria exists.

[@grandmothergoose]

My brother and his partner (Australian) were quite amused when they went to Austria to find tourist shops sell souvenirs that mimic Australian road signs as well as other things that categorically state that Austria is not Australia and there are no kangaroos there. Apparently it's a genuine problem for Austria for almost exclusively American tourists to mistake it for Australia and may of them get very upset when they realise they're in the wrong country.

[@sailiealquadacil1284]

@@grandmothergoose Well, I haven't seen upset tourists yet, but the mix-up happens a lot. And, yes, we sell souvenirs like that ^^ Gotta educate them.

[@donna6592]

@@grandmothergoose I also saw a lot of souvenirs in Austria with logos saying “No kangaroo’s in Austria “. I honestly thought it was a joke until a local guy told me it was definitely “for the Americans “. They don’t realise the difference between Austria and Australia 🤯

[@brontewcat]

@@grandmothergoose I am Australian, and decades ago when I was in Austria I bought a tee-shirt with a map of Austria, covered in kangaroos saying “There are no kangaroos in our country”. It tickled my fancy.

[@thefirm4606]

Living in New York ten years ago, I visited Toronto for the weekend. My work colleagues found this mind blowing. The most regular question I was asked was ‘but why do you want to go to Toronto?’ As a European, travelling to another country is so everyday. Hell the flight was less than an hour, why wouldn’t I go?

[@johnkemp8904]

Somewhat off topic I fear but this reminds me of Bill Bryson describing the surprising number of annual fatalities in the UK caused by cows upon walkers exercising their rights to cross farmers’ fields by footpaths. He said that he knew if he were to ask a citizen of his country of birth whether that would worry them they would almost certainly reply ‘Why would I be in a field”?

[@shirley7777]

I'm Canadian, but have also lived in Britain. I think most Americans would be stunned to learn that in the UK walkers have the right to cross private property. It appears that in the U.S. that can get you shot. (In Canda not so much, but the farmer might threaten to call the police.)

[@scottsanders2474]

I think that is more a New York thing than an American thing. A lot of New Yorkers firmly believe there is nothing to see or do outside of New York. New Yorkers are insufferable to 90% of the US population.

[@stanislavbandur7355]

@@shirley7777 Hmmm, in Ireland (Republic of Ireland) is only about 1% of country free to enjoy right to roam - national parks or so. But until people are not going crazy it is doable to roam (but some people do not understand that barter in this right - I'll let you in/you will get your waste, keep it clean and undamaged)

[@lindar854]

I've worked in Niagara Falls hotels for years and have heard it all. From: the falls freeze every winter (its happened in the past, but not since 1848, the water moves too fast), a woman arguing with me on the phone that Niagara Falls is overseas (we're actually 20 minutes from Buffalo, NY) and people showing up from PA in June with a trailer and snowmobiles, asking how far he has to drive to use his machines (we get summer like you do, not sue if youcan drivefar enough) but the best was people with a Fallsview room calling down to the desk at night and saying " I love having the room with a view of the falls but I can't sleep because they are too loud, can you shut them off?

[@shotintheface]

bs story

[@Llialune]

People will be stupid everywhere. I'm french and had a (local, french) dude once call me at work because there were too many mosquitoes at our hotel's parc by a lake. We told him that yeah, it was annoying but to be expected, you know: lakes in summer tend to produce mosquitoes, the parc is an outdoor space... He got mad and told us we had to get rid of them. As in cut all the grass at the (public, city owned) lake and cover the parc, or the hotel at least".

[@Hawkemoon1]

Kiwi here. I had an encounter with an American who thought our indigenous people (Maori) still lived in grass huts and were pretty much overlooked by the modern world and wear grass skirts. He knew he was right because he got told this by his school teachers when he was at high school. It took me hours to explain to him that New Zealand may have been one of the last countries in the world to be discovered by Europeans but that was about 200 years ago. Most of us here live in houses and wear normal clothes. Here's a message to all those traveling overseas from your own countries; READ A BOOK!!! Learn a little about the country you're visiting.

[@glennllewellyn7369]

Yep.

[@neenekinskins6241]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@andrehaugvaldstad]

No book needed. A 10 minute Geography Now video on KZbin would honestly be enough. Information is TOO accessible in today's world. Which makes this kind of ignorance all the more baffling if you ask me :/

[@emmaoconnell6168]

Oh god I had this too when I worked at a lodge in Alaska... Some American guests didn't believe I was a kiwi because I have paler skin, blue eyes and blonde hair and my English was too good!! 😳 Following that slightly confusing conversation about how we don't all run barefoot wearing grass skirts and travel around in canoes..... the head honcho of the group then revealed he had actually been to NZ... And proudly showed everybody he could find the photos of Kangroos, Koalas and Crocodiles from his trip 🤦‍♀️🤣 We actually argued for quite some time about this until I asked him to pull out a map so I could point out New Zealand and Australia were not the same country.... WE WEREN'T EVEN ON THE MAP!!! 😳😳😳 That was 2013 and its making me mad again just writing this 🤣

[@your_royal_highness]

You’re asking way too much. I suggest saying this: “Stay home, you are an embarrassment.”

[@aussiebattler7789]

A few years ago we went to the US and traveled mostly by train around the country . We were sitting on the platform at the Shelby train station in Montana waiting for the train and was having a bit of a yarn with a bloke about my age (60 at the time) . He was telling me at that he had just delivered a semi trailer to a local farmer and was catching the train back to Texas . He the asked me where I was from as I talked a bit differently ,I said I was from Australia and he said" cant say I have ever heard of that ,what part of the country is that " . I explained that Australia was another country on the other side of the Pacific and in the southern hemisphere , He did not looked to be convinced but we continued to yarn and he said that he drove cattle trucks or cow taxis as we call them . I started telling him about the triple road trains that move cattle around the outback and he gave me a look said "that cant be right " so I said that these trucks worked well in the Northern Territory because it was so big with long flat straight roads .He had a bit of a think about this and said "there's no where bigger than Texas " Lucky the train came along at that point and I did not have to explain that the NT is twice the size of Texas with a population less than 250 thousand people .

[@purpleguy319]

Didn't have the hearth to tell him we have 4 states bigger than texas, did ya?

[@tkps]

Saw one of these recently where an Aussie girl on exchange in the US was explaining she was from Australia & was basically pointing in the air, the US is up here (top of the globe) & Australia is down there (bottom), different country, different continent. The girl asked her where in the US that was. She explained it again. But what State is it in? She explained again. But the US is the whole globe! She gave up.

[@mikeparkes7922]

@@purpleguy319 Lol!

[@mikeparkes7922]

@@tkps Yup. Met quite a few convinced of that. There's NO POINT going any further. Cheers.

[@A_nony_mous]

He'd have been REALLY annoyed to find out that one of our cattle stations is bigger than Texas if he was like that about our states and territories.

[@roryslaine7896]

I'm from Ireland and I went to Texas like 3 years ago to see family. I was standing outside the hotel smoking a ciggie and having a conversation with my mother and some American guy just inserted himself into the conversation to ask if we were Dutch 😂 I was like... "no". He then proceeded to ask what language we were speaking in. I thought he was taking the piss at first and I laughed but he was DEAD serious. And I just said to him, slowly, "We are speaking English lah." And fucking then he was like "lah!? What does lah mean!?" It means lad, mate, pal, buddy, guy, friend, chief, boss, homie. I felt a bit patronising because this was a grown arse man and I had to speak to him like he was a 2 year old.

[@uingaeoc3905]

I bet if you asked him he would claim he was 'Irish' !

[@jimbobeire]

"We are speaking English , lah" ... Corkman detected... Friend of mine was pulled by security in JFK and asked why he and his friend were speaking _Arabic_ . They were conversing in _Irish_ but even if they were speaking Arabic... so what? Myself and another lad from Limerick were in a hotel in Chicago, and the first day we asked the receptionist where we might go to get on the internet to check our emails. (this was more than 20 yrs ago, so no wifi, smartphones etc) . She looked at me like I was a Martian and had no idea what these noises were meant to signify. I was pretty sure there wasn't sods of turf falling out of my mouth as I spoke, cos my accent is far from a strong Limerick accent (I had lived abroad a fair bit by then, and was understood by my German, Italian, and Belgian coworkers in Luxembourg) . Anyhow, I had to slow it right down and even mime it for this young lady. "Oh, you wanna go on the _inner_ net ? " I resisted the urge to point out that it's *InTerNet* cos I know she also said 20 as "twenny". She just told us to go to the _Li_ _berry_ and then thought the conversation was over. "Excuse me, but, y'know, we're _tourists_ , would you mind telling us where this _library_ is located and how we might get there?" . At least the hotel was nice... but wow...

[@juliashireen6195]

OMG I DIDN'T KNOW THAT! interestingly Malaysia, a country in South East Asia - in between Thailand and Singapore has that filler LAH when we speak in bahasa Melayu or even English !!! Did we get that from the Irish people??? (((shook now))

[@ashiko7376]

@@jimbobeireI’m surprised your Irish mate got stopped at JFK. I thought the security would have welcomed him as brothers since most of the Irish immigrants entered via NY and settled there. Half their police force used to be Irish!

[@tonybussey8763]

Irish Scouser? Lol

[@geminil2415]

I was just browsing and this channel came up.I would like to thank all the people who have commented here, for the laugh they have given me. I have been well entertained.Thank you.❤

[@perennials118]

I was on exchange in California in a very multicultural school. Talking to some students, one says "I can speak mandarin" another "I can speak spanish!" then I say, as a complete joke "I can speak Australian!" and then all of them stood, waiting with anticipation , and one asked me to say something in the Australian language 🤦 Had to break it to them that we speak English in Australia

[@mirandahotspring4019]

Well, sort of...

[@iriscollins7583]

I wonder if you had just spoke a few words in Gibberish, How many would have believed you? ( What a lost opportunity).😂

[@toenailandthebedsores6682]

@@iriscollins7583As the Aborigines say, "G'daymate barbiebonza crikeydingo"

[@mawmadestuff8680]

I would have said something like, "Sorry, we actually aren't allowed to share our language with outsiders. Maybe if you go yourself, you'll hear some native Australian speech in passing!" On the off chance they do somehow make it to the country, they would spend a good portion of the trip listening for the words of a language that doesn't exist. American by the way. I formally apologize for the ignorance of my fellow countrymen. We aren't all that stupid and pigheaded, I promise.

[@ramadaxl]

I ( still ) tell people that I speak all three British languages. English, cockney and 'Estuary English'.

[@megsybond]

I'm an Aussie who went to the USA and had several Americans say they always wanted to go to Australia - but they thought it was in Europe. I told one guy that Australia was an island approximately the same size as the USA minus Alaska, and he called me a liar and wanted to argue it!

[@rebeccasimantov5476]

It amazes me how often Americans confuse Austria with Australia!

[@blegi1245]

@@rebeccasimantov5476 americans generally believe nothing exists beyond what they currently know. The american in question didn't know australia existed. But had heard of austria. So when they heard australia they thought that because no such thing exists(because it is outside of the americans current knowledge base and thus cannot exist) the person talking must have miss spoken and meant austria.

[@ritajaklitsch7559]

I believe you won't be surprised that we Austrians even have T-shirts made with "No kangaroos in Austria!" on it to sell in tourist areas. Cause we get asked about it by Americans, too. - Only the other way round ...

[@OgreProgrammer]

Similar to the straight faced driving school leg puller one: My sister and I were in L.A. at Universal Studios, buying film at a kiosk (way back in the day, eh?) and my sister is chatting with the kid running the booth. I'm standing nearby, and overhear him say, "So... you're from Canada, hey? Do you speak any English at all?" and my sister without skipping a beat, in a very matter of fact tone says "No, unfortunately not, it sure would make things easier." It goes right over the kid's head and he nods sympathetically. It definitely fits the Canadian sense of humour to low key snark like that.

[@tummytub1161]

As somewhat of a jester I love the gullibility of the Americans. Being from the Netherlands people always ask me about the wooden shoes, windmills, bikes, drugs and prostitutes. I once told a guy when I was visiting a friend in the US we get provided with emotional support prostitutes by the government. His reaction was so sincere it was hilarious. I had to spend an hour explaining to him it was a joke and although having different cultures we actually live quite similar lives 😂

[@that_bloke_kiri]

now i want an emotional support prostitute....

[@squatter01]

In Ireland on holiday, staying at a bed and breakfast there was a lovely American couple, It was September and the wife asked what season was it in Australia? I replied it was Spring, she then asked what season was December? I replied summer, she then asked when do we have Christmas? - I replied on the 25th of December, same as the rest of the world, she then asked how was it possible that Christmas could be held in summer? hubby had to explain

[@Teagirl009]

I've experienced the Christmas in summer conversation many times😆. One random American kept arguing with me about it on social media once. I had to try and explain in the simplest terms...what the hemispheres were and that we lived in the southern one. And about the earth's orbit/rotating around the sun etc. Don't think he quite believed me. And still told me we were "weird" for having Christmas in summer. 🙃

[@chriskelly9476]

I had this same conversation with a couple of my cousin's friends in the mid-west. They refused to believe that the seasons are reversed here, arguing that it was simply "not possible." With my cousin's help, we did a demonstration using a basketball (the sun) and a rockmelon (earth) with the 'equator' drawn on in black marker to show how, yes, it was indeed possible because the earth not only rotates on its axis as it travels around the sun but it tilts as well. These were grown adults and their minds were blown.

[@LM-oh3vw]

I remember finding out about how in the Southern Hemisphere Christmas was in summer. It blew my mind. I was 6 years old.

[@riittaniemi6231]

I used to think that too, but in my defense, I was about 6 years old then :D

[@A_nony_mous]

Some of my Murican friends still ask me what it's like having Christmas in summer. Now I just say "normal" and ask what it's like having it in winter. For some reason they seem unable to come up with an answer.

[@jaybatty2728]

I'm from UK and years ago literally had an argument with an American who was convinced Canada was a USA state lmfao 😂

[@IWrocker]

Haha that’s hilarious 😂

[@wallywombat164]

@@IWrocker No it's not. It's sad that you find this funny. America, thinking they can laugh at the rest of the mostly free world. How long before your little daughter comes home from school and tells you she's a boy? Laugh then Ian, jezz, i hope it doesn't happen in to you mate. YOU, Who lives in the free'st and Greatest Country the world has ever seen

[@michaelmclachlan1650]

I used to work with a lady from Montana, on an airline flight in the US one of her fellow countrymen asked her what part of Canada it was in. Oh dear.........

[@mikeparkes7922]

@@IWrocker And terribly common, you'll be horrified to know! Cheers, pal. Love your stuff.

[@mikeparkes7922]

@@michaelmclachlan1650 LMAO!

[@c.e.g7448]

During a holiday in England I met an American couple. I am Ducth, but speak reasonably good English and I understand about everything the couple was talking about. They where bragging to the barkeeper about all the great inventions that where done in the USA. The more they told, the more I was tempted to answer them, but I kept quiet. The barkeeper was a very wise man; he just said, "yes did they?", or nod his head. He never really answered the man about anything. It got busy in the pup, and the man addressed me asking what the English invented if anything. That was the moment I could not hold back anymore and told him that most of the things he was bragging about where not invented in the USA but somewhere else. As a matter of fact, surprisingly, few things are really invented in the USA. Most "inventions" are just improvements of older ideas from other people in other countries. The American got aggrivated because the USA was great and the president (Trump at that time) would make it even greater! I told him that rockets were originally a Chinees invention. The rockets the USA used to go to the moon, were a German invention. They where based on the German V2 rocket and designed by the same people who designed the V2. Wernher van Braun and his team! The man got a bit angry because Wernher van Braun was an American. He really had no idea that Wernher von Braun was a German who came to the USA after he was captured at the end of WW2. The car also is a German invention. The first practical car was made by Carl Benz in Germany. The man could not believe this; to his knowledge cars were invented by Henry Ford! The (now old-fashioned) casset tape was a Dutch invention. The research and development department of Phillips invented this. The Compact Disck (CD) was an invention of Phillips and together with Sony (from Japan) they made it into a marketable product. The man now got a bit furious. How could I suggest this, Phillips is an American company and has just some minor factories in Europe. At that moment I stopped the discussion by saying I had to go, even though I could debunk at least 4 other claims he had made. One can not go against such ignorance and dumbness. This man has not had any history lessons or the theaters were very bad. His single mindedness was chilling me to the bone. Such people are dangerous and can cause very big problems that could even start a new war.

[@XgruenaugeX]

I'm German, from Mannheim in fact (where the first car and the first electric lift were invented, among other things...) and I studied history of technology for a while. Your comment just made me happy. The amount of times I had to explain to americans that they actually wouldn't have made it to the moon with their own technology is, well troublesome. And yes, you are right, there is no point in arguing with such folks.

[@Amverhaar]

You make a lot of spelling mistakes for someone who thinks his English is pretty good. And yes, I am Dutch as well.

[@A_nony_mous]

@@Amverhaar As an Australian whose primary language is English, I found only 8 spelling mistakes in the original comment, all of which were easily overlooked and none detracted from the meaning of the comment. For that length of comment, 8 is a relatively small number. Many (native) English speakers make far more mistakes.

[@paulwhite3237]

As an Englishman I agree wholeheartedly with Astrid. Spelling of any language, even one’s native language, does not come easily to a great number of people.

[@c.e.g7448]

@@Amverhaar Lees wat ik schrijf! Ik spreek vrij goed Engels, schrijven, spellen dus, is iets anders!

[@janemoney5144]

An American on a coach in Arizona in 1994 asked me if we had fridges yet. She claimed to have been in Scotland in the seventies and they didn't have fridges. Three possibilities. 1 she was visiting a remote island which didn't (then) have electricity 2 she visited an older person who clung to the traditional ways of shopping and storing food or 3 somebody was having her on for a laugh. I have now lived in Scotland for 20 years, and I can confirm that option 3 is the most likely!

[@ktkat1949]

I think there is a fourth option. Americans don't recognize European fridges ie the small ones in the kitchen. They think that fridges are all massive 5 or 6 feet tall with two doors side by side. In comparison to that they probably think the little device is a dishwasher!!

[@millyjames7891]

Also, my late aunt didn't have a fridge. She had a cold cellar. Very old building. You stepped down in to its history. Built of stone, completely dark with marble slabs. It was effective.

[@mp4986]

A while ago (as in the dreamtime before mobile phones and the internet in your pocket) an American tried to rent a car in Sydney to drive to Perth. The agent questioned them about this and they apparently thought that it wouldn't take that long as it was only crossing 3 states (NSW, South Australia and Western Australia) and it doesn't take that long to drive across 3 states in the US... It had to be explained to them that it was the same as driving across the full width of the US.

[@grandmothergoose]

I've found that Americans may take the cake for ignorance when it comes to comprehending distances in Australia, but Europeans can take the entire bakery for the same problem. Americans can at least comprehend the notion when you explain that the distance from Sydney to Perth is like going from NY to LA. Europeans get a bit of a bigger shock when they find out we have cattle stations larger than some of their countries.

[@mikeparkes7922]

It STILL happens!

[@HalfEye79]

My parents made a vacation in Mexico. The Yucatan Peninsula. Beforehand my mother told me, she could take that opportunity to visit some relatives in Texas. (I'm from Germany.)

[@Fallopia5150]

@@grandmothergoose , Americans need to look at a proper world map and not the one that America has that shows America as bigger than most other countries, including Africa.

[@mp4986]

@@Fallopia5150 And as an "island" not attached to anything, so they have a fighting change of finding Canada, when they go looking for that too.

[@langdalepaul]

This language thing seems to be common. I’ve twice had American waitresses ask me where I come from, and when I said “England”, they asked what language they speak there. One of them then followed up with “you speak English really well”. I’ve often been asked if we celebrate 4th July. 😳

[@tigerman1978]

I would have asked her what language the waitress speak and if they heard of a country named England, just to see if it finally clicked to her that it may be called "english" and not "american" for a reason...

[@renlosee5223]

.... Okay the English question is common for some reason. But why the HELL would you guys celebrate the holiday we turned traitorous? (Although to be fair, honestly, I am sure now, you're glad our country is separated from the various British nations. Lol)

[@mgytitanic1912]

I've been asked that latter question. I always ask what's special about the 4th July? It's just, you know, a day in July.

[@angr3819]

It was when N Americans believed they gained independence from England l. They didn't know and still aren't aware that all Monarchs of England continued to covertly rule in many ways.

[@Judge_Dredd]

@@renlosee5223 Absolutely, I saw a MAGBA Flag and Rounders Hat the other day (Make America Great British Again), and I thought 'nah, we've enough problems of our own...'

[@lorettayoung8911]

Many years ago I was vacationing in Alacanti Spain,when I met an American couple on the beach.They asked where I was from,told them Canada.The look on their faces was total shock!They could not believe how I could tolerate the heat in Spain as I lived in an igloo.I went along with them cuz I really thought they were making a joke but then I realized they were very serious.I proceeded to expand on their ignorance.I told them about how we build our igloo,s,heat them,dog sleds etc etc.They bought it all.I laughed so much for days.

[@mjenright1985]

LOL I can relate. As a kid visiting Florida from Canada, over 30 yrs ago, the people would ask how it was living in an igloo.

[@SirCanuckelhead]

I spread the word of the great igloo colonies we live in. Always nice to tell them some names of your dog sled team you have instead of a car

[@AbsoluteAbsurd]

Oh my god im dying these comments are so good

[@ninanoodles9775]

and then we wonder, why americans are so uneducated or even missinformed. you did that! :D

[@orlandocarrillo7132]

Alacanti??? Alicante. You've been there and you don't know the name?

[@mnumzanemadoda4900]

When i was on holiday in the Kruger National park in South Africa, which is roughly the size of New Jersey, i was asked by an American tourist where and at what time the animals were fed . I naturally provided a time and location 😀.

[@huwbishop6995]

I'm from Wales and speak Welsh as well as English. I was in a shop in my town when two Americans walked in. The shop sold tea towels with various things printed on them, such as a map of Wales, or a dragon. The lady (who looked like a stereotypical American tourist) turned to her husband and said "look honey, this one's written in Welsh" I had to point out that it's the poem by Dylan Thomas called under milk wood and it's written in English. That's why you can read it.

[@annalieff-saxby568]

Sorry, Huw, but " Under Milk Wood" is a (wonderful) radio play.

[@huwbishop6995]

@@annalieff-saxby568 It's a poem by Andrew Sinclair and Dylan Thomas. It may have been broadcast as a radio play also. It was probably written in a pub in Swansea, while drunk 😆

[@Pippins666]

@@huwbishop6995 Under Milkwood was commissioned by the BBC as a play for radio, first broadcast in 1953, with Richard Burton (an old schoolfriend of Dylan) narrating, It wasn't just knocked up (although he was a heavy drinker) he sweated blood over it, and different versions exist. The original broadcast is still the best version, and I can hear the opening lines as I write..."To begin at the beginning, it is spring, moonless night in the small town, starless and bible-black....". Much of it was written in New York, where it was first presented at The Poetry Center. For a recent (last week) birthday I was given a new illustrated version of the classic, illustrated by Kate Evans. (I identify with No Good Boyo) Thomas did not speak Welsh, and if you hear recordings, he speaks with a refined, cultured and rich English accent - not all the voice you might imagine

[@StonefieldJim4]

😂😂😂

[@queenslanddiva]

Ian says "I'm done!" Can't even make it to the end! Well, I haven't met many Americans, but I did meet a couple of older Americans in Sydney and they were lovely. They were in a shopping centre trying to make sense of the board that tells you where the shops are located. I could see that they were having problems so I asked if I could help them. They pointed to a shop they were looking for, and said, "It says its on the first floor, but we've been all around and we can't find it". I said, "It's upstairs, just go up the escalators". In Australia (and UK) the bottom floor is the ground floor and the next one up is the first floor. They simply were unaware, but really happy to have it explained. As I said, not stupid, they were lovely. 😃

[@tkps]

I've heard that happens in their high rises & hotels too. The first floor is the ground floor. Easy mistake to make in that case & understandable.

[@queenslanddiva]

@@tkps indeed

[@thelibraryismyhappyplace1618]

South Africa also follows the UK way on this.

[@mikeparkes7922]

It's worldwide. Americans think the whole world is (or should be) like America, whereas America made itself different from the rest of the world, and had been for (at least) hundreds (if not thousands) of years before America existed.

[@juliebeans7323]

I have a gaming friend in England, and one in Alaska (U.S.A state for those who don't know { yes i'm looking at the americans}) - We have had the debate about the correct floor labelling several times - it's funny as.

[@RacerX888]

As a Canadian, I had Americans in Texas ask me if we had igloos in Canada and if we had internet. This was about 6 years ago. The funny part is that Canadian cities are generally so much farther advanced than US cities, its like going back to American Graffiti times when we travel in the USA, LOL.

[@shotintheface]

You're in Canada therefore You're Americans. You have no room to talk.

[@dallynutkat3252]

Lol 😊. I am a dual Canadian and South African. The first time we visited our Canadian family (father's side) , they were amazed that my mother (the South African parent) could drive. When asked why, they said they had assumed we all ride elephants to school / work etc. And if we couldn't find an elephant, we just walked.....It was an interesting vacation...20 years later, I now live in Canada but in a very small province and there is still a lot of confusion when they see that I am a white South African ! But in all my travels, the Americans have definitely been the most ignorant, sorry!

[@raycardy4843]

This says a lot to me about the standard of education in the US!! They really ought to teach kids that there is more to the world than just America! 🤔🤔

[@Robert-gs6cr]

American s are not even taught about the geography of the US let alone the rest of the world

[@baronmeduse]

Being English I'm struggling to express myself in American, but I am doing my utmost to try. I simply dream of making it to the U.S. to try out those ...'cars' I believe they're called. We go about on penny-farthings wearing top hats, so you can imagine my envy. I also hope to see a 'supermarket' rather than the ordinary mediaeval markets we have to suffer. One day.

[@frankboff1260]

Lucky you. I’m in Outback, Queensland, Australia. No medieval markets here mate just a kangaroo hop into the bush for some bush tucker.

[@NuclearFridge1]

And what is this magical power called "electricity", which is of course only available in America... 🤪

[@jacquelinevanderkooij4301]

😂😂😂😂

[@stanislavbandur7355]

@@frankboff1260 At immigration office they usually ask about criminal records, are they still needed to go there XD (joke)

[@frankboff1260]

@@stanislavbandur7355 Being a criminal is the number 1 prerequisite for politics too. I wish I was joking…

[@uknowispeaksense7056]

It's a bit over 750km from Cairns to the tip of Cape York Peninsula. I had been camping and fishing up there for a couple of weeks just before the wet season so it was very hot and humid. When I was driving home, I got to the outskirts of Mossman about 60 km north of Cairns I saw a guy sitting on the side of the road with a pushbike laying down beside him and he looked a bit heat stressed. I pulled over and offered him some water and to take him where he wanted to go. He said he was cycling to Cape York! I said I don't think he's up to it because its such a long way and the wet season is coming. He said, "Well, America is so much bigger than your little country, so it can't be too far!" I just said, "Righto! Good luck, mate. Enjoy the ride." He probably died.

[@littlecatfeet9064]

Oh God

[@glennllewellyn7369]

On holidays in Perth (America’s Cup races) Mum and I came across an American about ride across the Nullarbor to Adelaide. Mum, being concerned, asked about his equipment. We were shocked to see a small satchel of tools and a small backpack. In 2019 exiting a flight in Johannesburg South Africa was chatting to a young pretty American lass “I’ve booked a room in Soweto” I looked around, blinked a bit. Are you sure? I asked. Probably dead.

[@nicolasinvernizzi6140]

Today i learned that there is a place in Australia called Mossman. i will treasure it in my memories along with Batman in Turkey.

[@uknowispeaksense7056]

@@nicolasinvernizzi6140 Mossman is a great place. The Mossman Gorge is a must see and there's a couple of great little coffee shops on the main road in town.

[@cazgreene3055]

Maps. Globes. Guide books. Apparently not a thing for some travellers. 😂

[@leapingkitties]

When I visited New Zealand, many people asked if I were American, as they sidled away from me, when I clarified I am Canadian, they all came forward and all was fine. At first I thought I thought I was over reacting, but it happened time after time.

[@nikiTricoteuse]

No. Not overreacting. Here in Aotearoa we see Canadians sort of like distant cousins. There's kind of an expectation that we'll like you and will probably have stuff in common. With obvious exceptions, Americans are a bit like the rude overbearing colleague who will ask you questions and either, not listen to the answer or, tell you why the answer is wrong. Or ask you to do something and tell you why you're doing it wrong, while boasting about how much better everything is in the US of A when, as is patently obvious to the rest of the world, it is not. Oh, and the racist ones also think we'll be OK with their racism. Yeah, nah.

[@tatters2072]

We always thought the stories of Americans sewing Canadian flags on the backpacks when travelling in Europe, was a bit of a stretch, until we met a couple who had done so. They were travelling on a train in the UK, and on realizing that we were real Canadians (no flags on our stuff), they had to admit to their charade. The flag thing is real, folks.

[@ktkat1949]

@@nikiTricoteuse Canadians tend to think of UK, Oz, NZ, South Africa and other Commonwealth countries as all part of the 'family'. Americans are too busy telling everyone they live in the greatest country in the world and that they kicked the English out. Look at the countries that were settled by the British and became independent without a bloody revolution. Peaceful, well organized, sane and then look at the USA. Who got the better of the deal?

[@nikiTricoteuse]

@@ktkat1949 Absolutely! I sometimes wonder if some of the things we find strange or needlessly complicated in the American legal or political system are just their determination to NOT do things like those bloody Brits. While it took the rest of us a couple more centuries to throw off the yoke, l like to think we took the best of old Blighty and improved on it.

[@markimrie3616]

New Zealander here. I went to highschool as an exchange student. I once got asked if you could wade through the water to Australia at low tide. The ironical thing is we were standing on a balcony in Honolulu overlooking the island of Molokai'i which you could see, but would have no chance of wading across too.🤯

[@iainjohnson1235]

1. As an exchange student in NY from the UK. I was complimented on my English as I was apparently thought to be Ukraininian. 2. working a part time hotel job in a hotel in Scotland an American guest claimed her TV was broken because she couldnt find an American news channel.

[@cmmndrblu]

Yup. As mentioned somewhere here I, an Englishman, was asked by an American to translate what a Scottish friend had said.

[@JustMe-sh8nd]

@@cmmndrblu Well that's not that crazy.. Scottisch have a really big accent tho. Now i am Dutch so maybe a little harder for me to understand because Englisch is not my first language.

[@gerardmontgomery280]

@@JustMe-sh8nd Nah mate. I'm from Northern Ireland and live in England and I can have trouble with some Scottish accents. To be fair though my accent also gives people trouble. I grew up speaking English, we just speak it faster than most.

[@uingaeoc3905]

@@gerardmontgomery280 Because you think quicker.

[@djdeemz7651]

"Hi im Iain from eastern europe "

[@Twenty_Six_Hundred]

The other day i watched an American Marine react to an ANZAC day video. He was mind blown we have an Airforce... Also zero idea we fought in the Pacific. I mean how can you be in the military and not know anything about your closest allies.

[@themoviehobbit355]

I find that pretty disrespectful actually 😑

[@harryhodge1160]

Same he was a bit of a clown in thinking that the US was the only country doing anything in the pacific while the English, Anzacs, Chinese, and Russians were fighting japan while fighting on other fronts

[@michaellind9650]

Sorry you had to speak to a marine. The next time get yourself a box of crayons. Those are great for marines, serve as both entertainment and a snack 🤣. Sorry, love you marines. Love former soldier AND sailor

[@B-A-L]

Most Americans don't even know that the day after Pearl Harbour Japan attacked Hong Kong and Singapore but then again they probably don't even know where they are!

[@sharpshooter_Aus]

I seen that, and another one who was mind blown we served in Ww1 and 2, I was like farrrrrrk meeeee mate.

[@Andy-ju8bb]

I was in New Zealand about 13 years ago. I booked on a Lord of the Rings tour, and one of the stops was where Hobbiton had been filmed. A lot of the set was still there, but nowhere near how good it is now. Anyway, the group I was in included an American couple. The dad asked the tour guide where the hobbits were. It took us about ten seconds to realise he was being serious. He expected to see actual hobbits.

[@mikeparkes7922]

Kinda sad, isn't it? They wouldn't believe you if you told them the truth, either. Cheers.

[@paddington1670]

I had dinner at the restaurant in Wellington across the street from Saruman's tower set. My cousins apparently got to see it being built all the way to the dismantling process state that it was in. I was blown away by the whole thing, being a nerd, but my cousins were like yeah whatever, lol. This is pre movies though, so they hadnt come out yet and there was no hype for how awesome they were. I also threw up on the winding road out of Wellington, but i remember it tasting ok on the way back up, kudos to that restaurant actually.

[@shivaunwhite1077]

Surely that can't be true.

[@teodora5377]

No freaking way??? What? This is, by far, the most ridiculous anegdote and deserves more thumbs up. 🤣

[@jevvvNZ]

Tip for anyone who is asked the same thing: The hobbits are hibernating. They're an endangered species so we aren't allowed to disturb them.

[@valentinanino8292]

you know as someone who is american and lived here my whole life and in TENNESSEE of all states ( there are 50 by the way america) it is so very sad to see how ignorantly stupid we are as a country. I am watching these videos and literally want to cry as i sit and answer simple questions correctly and other americans answer them wrong or not at all i have to force myself not to drop to the floor dead. I want to take a minute to say thank you for these videos I hope people continue to make these videos because my country (united states) needs a wake-up call. The fact a lot of the american people are this (and in not sorry for saying this ) stupid it is very sad and we literally are the axx end of the mule/donkey and i have felt this way for a while but now for the world to be able to show us how dumb we are with videos i love it because maybe if some of our people see this the open minded ones will understand how this country is a prison there is not american dream anymore. Sadly for others (the ignorant/dumb/closed minded) or whatever terminology anyone wants to use they are just to far gone and will never wake up and continue to be the ones who just say what they believe is what is right and as a southern bell let me just say bless their hearts because they will never know anything other than hate. I want to move to another country because there is nothing good about this castle satan lives in apart from some scenery, some of the parks, and some food places that is it

[@annalieff-saxby568]

It's not stupidity, it's *ignorance* - wilful ignorance, often. The best solution imo, is to demand that every US prison provides a full-time education, from pre-school to doctorate, to its inmates.

[@stevet19600609]

I'm from Germany. During my stays in US I didn't have had any negative experiences. I guess it is because my contact persons who were well educated engineers. The problem is education and information. During my stay I watched about 5 TV screens in a restaurant with several programs but NO international news or broadcasts. At schools geography about the whole world should be a must. For teachers it's so easy now to get information preparing lessons - Google makes it possible.

[@kriskay5020]

I've meet and dealt with many people from North America(USA, Canada and Mexico) and from experience Canadians are just cold Aussies, Mexicans are pretty chill and the Americans are weird mix of happy-go-lucky people who are eager to learn about EVERYTHING or a borderline cult member with their of USA vs The World mentality. But as I said that just my personal experience. Edit: I should mention I'm an Aussie

[@jaybea365]

Hey! Assiues are in fact just warm Canadians, who don't have to deal with 600+ lb bears, but must accept that virtually ever native species might secretly want to kill you, and has the ability to do so.

[@leandabee]

Canadians, cold Aussies, 🤣🤣🤣

[@EL_Duderino68]

@@Malaka-r9p Hey I live in Adelaide. What do you mean?

[@mikeparkes7922]

@@leandabee Being born in Canada and raised in Australia, he's pretty accurate (certainly if they're from BC or Ontario, especially).

[@leandabee]

@@mikeparkes7922 yes I know. I follow a couple of Canadian youtubers, I know how cold it gets, I just thought it a very funny comment 😄

[@NebraskaGonvilleJones]

Aussie here; When I was on a road trip in the US we were about halfway between Nashville and Memphis - both cities of course in the same small state. We pulled into a designated information centre for the region just off the road and asked the middle aged, very pleasant attendant for some advice about what to check out in Memphis (about 90km down the road) she said with the upmost southern sincerity; quote “well I’ve never been to Memphis but did go to Nashville once for school so can’t help you out sorry” 😳

[@serif392]

Oh Lorrd! That's just so insular.

[@joaocanabrava8500]

You would have more luck finding out about Memphis the lost ancient Egypt city.

[@jamesfrench7299]

Is It any wonder with all those states with multiple counties in each. Many probably never venture out of their county.

[@mattcecil6692]

That sounds a hell of a lot like sarcasm by the attendant I'm sorry to say.

[@ietm1806]

I am sure all over the world there are people who never travel far from their home

[@jamesbothoms6009]

My personal favourite was when deployed to the US whilst I was in the RAF, one of my lads with a really strong Dundonian accent starts chatting to a checkout lady in a supermarket. “Wow you sound just like the Queen”, she declared, the rest of us present fell over laughing and that poor lad earned a new nickname of Liz, which stuck with him the rest of his RAF career.

[@FuSiionCraft]

Dundonian accent ? What's that ? A new accent I will not be able to fully comprehend like the Scottish one ? lmao

[@ioim1985]

wow i had to search internet to know about Dundonian accent, i live in London for the last 20 years and love other accents around uk, especially scottish have a great accent for me at least, although i struggle to understand them but they are kind and speak slow when they meet people from other part of the country or foreigners like me.

[@migsg7238]

@@FuSiionCraft There is no @sScottish Accent@ like the rest of the UK accents are very regionalised. A dundonian accent mean from the Dundee accent in Scotland. I am from the Edinburgh area and my accent is very different from Dundee area, as we are both different from Glasgow, Aberdeen, Ayrshire or the highlands etc.. Same in England with London, Manchester, Liverpool, West Country etc, all very different accents.

[@MONKEH1510]

@@FuSiionCraftAh yes, ‘The’ singular Scottish accent 😂😂 How appropriate that this comment should be made on a video about ignorance 😂😂😂 Dundonian is, one of many, Scottish accents.

[@serobesehightower4041]

Eh dinnae sound like the queen

[@indianjanesmith]

Positive story: I once met an American in NZ who was gobsmacked by the prospect of driving on the left. I think he didn't even know before arriving that NZ drives on the left. To make matters worse, he had to drive my friend and me around - both of whom come from countries with a similar driving structure as NZ (India and Indonesia)..we had a great time teasing him about his ignorance. But not once did he say that this way was the wrong way or that the American way was the "right" way. And it took him barely an hour to get used to the change. Really great dude and nothing like many of the Americans portrayed in the stories here. It takes all kinds to make up our world..if nothing else, at least the ignorant Americans are making us laugh 🤷‍♀️😂

[@KKimmu88]

In Malaysia & Singapore also we drive on the left too.

[@jasonfox6013]

When I was a child my grandfather once told me that common sense is not so common, that has stuck with me my whole life and he is so right much love from New Zealand bud

[@JokeCubed]

These videos remind me of that episode of How I Met Your Mother where Robin wants to be an American, so Barney quizzes her. She gets a question wrong, and when he tells her she's wrong she tells him to 'shut his stupid face.' Then Barney replies with "Not only are you wrong, but you are belligerently sticking to your guns and insulting me in the process. You ARE an American." It's not the stupidity that's the problem. Ignorance can be forgiven. It's the narcissistic self-confidence that goes along with it.

[@tallthinkev]

"Why can't you speak English properly, were you learn it?" "ENGLAND!" Happened to me.

[@awoodward37]

When I was in America, I was told that I had a nice English accent. Guess what I was told in England? They liked my American accent.

[@mariabolt3881]

Once in USA being bored that someone said that "You have an accent," I said, "How dare you! I speak The Queen's English!" Confused, and obviously trying to work out if I was going to attack she replied. "But I'm am American?" Still makes me smile. I did go onto explain that she also had an accent to my ears.

[@goulash75]

To be fair, if you're a Geordie or Scouser they would have a point. :D

[@interestedbystander196]

*where did

[@l1277]

@@awoodward37 I'm guessing you're Canadian?

[@ohauss]

On my first trip to the US, I had a connecting flight from London-Heathrow and our route took us past the south tip of Greenland. An American lady next to me said "That's Greenland? But it's covered in ice! I thought it was all green!" I thought by myself "Congratulations, lady, you fell for a 1000 year old marketing campaign...."

[@marywinning7430]

Zimbabwean here - ex Rhodesia. I, with my mother, was on a day tour in Rome (Italy) looking at the catacombs and there was an "older" American couple in front of us. The female turns to the male (they were not married - you could tell) and says "Harry, how did they get them bulldozers down here!" We just collapsed from laughter

[@Lalitaditya100]

Ahh yes , a fellow Zimbo !!!

[@lannalisa2925]

You laugh, but this Is tragedy ... I'm italian, and this Summer 2023 a lot of foreign 'tourists' were caught WRITING their names on the Colosseum! And then excusing themselves by saying ' I didn't Imagine It was so very old....' Not only americans by the way.... Ignorance (and rudeness) Is everywhere

[@robertmoffett3486]

@lannalisa2925 Thank you for pointing that out. It's tiresome how so many people think Americans have a monopoly on ignorance. Having lived in NewYork City for almost 70 years, I've met dummies from myriad countries. Perhaps more stupid Americans can afford to travel

[@rotkatzeredcat4284]

@@lannalisa2925 aaah!

[@sugoruyo]

On the subject of Americans being impressed at how well the English learned to speak English in England: In Canary Wharf in London which is full of financial companies, I was riding an escalator to an underground mall to get some lunch. This escalator starts in the lobby of a big American investment bank. Two guys, an Asian and an American are starting behind me, obviously working for that company and going to lunch too. The American tells his Asian colleague how, in his hotel room last night, he turned on the TV and saw an address by the queen. He said he was impressed she spoke such good English but her English needs a bit of work, she "still has kind of like an accent". The Asian dude and I almost keeled over from laughter. The Queen of England's English was... sub-standard for this American.

[@mikeparkes7922]

Yeah. That always gets me, as Americans learned English...from the English! The fact that THEY have an accent (along with spelling and pronouncing words differently and thus their own and unique "English" dictionary) is from their influence from other countries' immigrants. Most Americans from 100 years ago sounded more English, not at all like they appear in "period" movies and tv shows.

[@drayner2517]

That is mind blowing. So ignorant for someone who, presumably, is well educated.

[@haardo]

@@mikeparkes7922 Funny thing is, the american english is closer to the original english spoken by the brits. The so called british accent was developed by the upper classes to sound more snobbish and to differentiate them from the common folk.

[@redwarpy]

It is rather sad that people do not realise their country's origins as being Colonised by the British and therefore speaking English was the norm.

[@rivertam7827]

@@haardo American English isn't closer to "original English", it's closer to certain aspects of English that was spoken/ written in Britain at the time of American colonisation. Original English sounds a lot more Germanic lol 😂

[@paulcommerford8636]

On a visit to Minnesota a waitress said that she had heard my friend and I talking and was curious as to where we were from (Australia & UK). For fun I said "have a guess". Her first guess was Illinois. I then said that she was cold and that we were from further away. She came back with Oklahoma, then Florida and then Arizona. I gave her a hint and said that we were both from English speaking countries but not the US. With a look of victory on her face she said "I know, you're from Hawaii!".

[@Shimmering_rain]

She doesn't even know that Hawaii is a state? I'm an Australian and I could probably name all 50 states.

[@that_bloke_kiri]

hahaha its that obama effect

[@ruthgiles8926]

​@@that_bloke_kirimore like the Trump effect. These people are why he got elected.

[@that_bloke_kiri]

@@ruthgiles8926 its sought of cute ignorance though, the fact that she racked her brains all through your meal shows effort, and a willingness to learn.. you corrected her though?

[@schrempskynate8944]

​@ruthgiles8926 As a Canadian, may I say that Biden is a moron and only idiots voted for him, imho.

[@kaiying74]

Dumbness is universal, don't feel bad bro. As a counterpoint, I worked for a US Company for 10 years- speaking with US colleagues all day every day. I cannot think of anything for this meme. They were smart, well educated, funny guys & gals.

[@dlittlester]

I'm Canadian, and I know a few of them, but here's one: I was in Yorkshire, England at a very old town, and visiting a Tesco Express supermarket to buy a few things to take back to my B&B. The only open till was self serve and at the time I wasn't sure how to use it, so I asked one of the staff to help. He said to me "You're not American. You must be Canadian." I nodded, and asked him how he knew. He replied "Because you said please and thank you." Now let me say that I have a lot of American friends who certainly didn't give this young man this view.

[@mrsstaff78]

Did you go to Skipton? that’s a very old Yorkshire town very popular with tourists.

[@dlittlester]

@@mrsstaff78 Unfortunately, no. I passed through it but didn't stop. I did spend a few hours in Settle though, which I enjoyed. Maybe next time, if there is one.

[@MrMartinSchou]

2:20 - the weirdest thing about the US date system (month-day-year) is that they'd freak out if you called it July the 4th (month, date as they're used to) rather than the 4th of July (day, month).

[@Blanchy10]

I worked on exchange in South Lake Tahoe, 1st bar a guy asked me how it felt to be in a free country! I'm from Australia

[@MickH60]

Its sad really, its a form of brainwashing, and its swallowed hook line and sinker...

[@purpleguy319]

"Very restricting"

[@glennllewellyn7369]

“Very restricting”

[@swanvictor887]

hope you told him the UK no longer sends convicts to Oz....they prefer Rwanda, apparently.

[@BestFriendsWhoLiveTogether]

I’m English, but my mum was Canadian and when her friend went to the USA when he was in his 20s, he went to a club and they were like, “This is a fake ID.” He asked what made them think that and they said “It says your from ‘Canada’. That’s not a real place.”

[@LadyHeathersLair]

Dear Geezus.

[@wendy5290]

Whoa. The US education system= major fail. I think Canadians are quite like our other "cousins" (New Zealanders). 🇦🇺

[@ostekuste3646]

I’m American, and by my late 30s had travelled to all continents except Africa and that cold one😬. They are on the list. I live in eastern Tennessee and it amazes me how many people I am neighbors with have never been anywhere. I always get asked if I was traveling for work or military. Nope, just want to see and enjoy the world. The first trip overseas I took in my 20s was to Ireland, and my mother was terrified for me because she thought I was going to a third world country and was going to die😂

[@anthonyfloyd5759]

As an irishman that cuts me deep☹️

[@imperialdebauchery5988]

​@@anthonyfloyd5759 You know what's funny? After all the blood and trouble that lead to that impression, you've got the British military back in the Republic.

[@TheBomberman122]

I lived in TN for a little while, and I understand what you mean. The people that live there, live there forever, have kids there, their kids live there forever, and so on. Nobody in the south actually travels outside the south

[@alicemilne1444]

@@imperialdebauchery5988 What are you talking about?

[@swanvictor887]

@@TheBomberman122 this may sound cruel....but, that's somewhat of a relief...!!

[@annarantanen3813]

I was an exchange student in germany years ago. I met this american girl who, just like me, wanted to learn german. In fact german was her major at university. She told me she tried to remember how she learned english so it would be easier to learn german. I said I thought english was her mothertongue. She said "Yeah, that's why it's so hard to remember". As a finn I have studied several languages since the elementary school but at that moment I was at a loss for words.

[@cazzle80]

Aussie here. Around 96/97 the US navy pulled into port in my hometown as they have done for many years. While hanging out with friends after school at the train/bus station which was located close to the ship we heard some of the sailors talking about how amazed they were at how good our english was & that our public transport system seem to be really developed too *sigh* 2 of our group were very tempted to go up to the speaking their 2nd languages (portuguese & italian) 😛

[@cathryncavaney5070]

Freo. right?

[@cazzle80]

@@cathryncavaney5070 Yep, cookie for you 🍪🙂

[@jamesfrench7299]

Actually our public transport is better than the locals give it credit for. Overseas visitors think it's very good while the locals constantly complain. It's not perfect and there's room for improvement but were doing really well compared to other world systems. There was a New Yorker who did an analysis of Sydney's suburban rail system on KZbin and considered it up to standard compared to his city's train system.

[@ToeCutter454]

@@jamesfrench7299 that's because our public transport here in the US is worse than walking...

[@andrewkent650]

I was gonna guess Newy. Freo would have been next.

[@patrickburke8888]

I’m an Aussie and had moved to Chicago with my family to live back in 85. Just after starting high school there one fellow American student in one class asked if we had kangaroos hopping down our streets. Being the smart ass I am I replied they were so tame we (young students) were able to hop to school on their backs and in their pouches. His reply was “that’s neat!”. Teacher overheard and let out a giggle before correcting him that kangaroos are mainly found in the wild and they are not ridden to school. Teacher and I had a good laugh after that.

[@eliasaltenberg]

This hurts, as an American who does stay informed on international politics, culture, etc. I apologize for the idiots these people had to deal with.

[@bertrandleroux4133]

It's not your fault. The system want you to be ignorant so that you don't revolt.

[@psibug565]

I thought i didn’t have a story until I remembered the time my Mum and I visited Niagara Falls and went to the Canadian side which was easy. Going back however had a big customs station checking everyone. The customs agent took our old school 1990’s large blue British passports examined them and then spoke to us in Spanish. Being hopelessly mono lingual Englishmen we looked back, baffled. So he said “Do you speak English?” Both of us chorused back to him “We are English!” Needless to say the customs check went quickly after that. Still would of liked to be a fly on the wall when his co-workers talked to him later.

[@djmhyde]

i went trough a similar situation, i'm brazilian, and traveling trough USA very often pepole speak spanish to me when i tell where i'm from, but i can understand these pepole, since Brazil is in Latin America surrounded by spanish-speaking countries and portuguese itself (especially the brazilian variant) looks a lot like spanish, but is still funny!

[@inquisitive6786]

Would of💀

[@tatters2072]

There's an added element to this - putting a Spanish speaking customs agent on the Canadian border.

[@giuliobaecker5476]

@@tatters2072 😂

[@AbsoluteAbsurd]

@@tatters2072 lmao

[@michaelversace456]

I was in California for work and while waiting in line a lady heard my accent and asked where in England I was from. I said I was Australian not English. She then asks me "How did your country recover after Hitler?" This followed by an argument that Australia is not in Europe and that Hitler was from Austria and not Australia. She was one enlightened door knob.

[@boxsterman77]

Confused Australia with Austria.

[@kerim.s8801]

I remember when Germany annexed Australia in 1938. Don't lie. (Just kidding)

[@toenailandthebedsores6682]

Wait.... she was from California.... a state that not that long ago was being governed by an Austrian. Does that mean she thinks Arnold Schwarzenegger is from Australia?! 🤣

[@michaelversace456]

@@toenailandthebedsores6682 I've literally had Americans tell me that I am a liar and that Australia doesn't exist.

[@AndyMmusic]

I live in California but I'm originally from England, with an English accent. I have had Americans ask me if I'm Australian - even after saying I sound very English!

[@stephaneconstant7661]

In 1984 in saint joseph MO, I was watching Bastille day news report on TV channel. The young guy next to me, by the way from CALTec, was intrigued and asked whether it was the French independance day. Well…it took me looong minutes of historical lecture to explain France was never a colony…

[@lesjolissouvenirs7751]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@xx_Deveny]

I’m from the Netherlands and I used to work in a restaurant. One time an American tried to pay me with dollars, when I told him we didn’t except dollars he was very surprised because he thought that everyone wanted dollars because, according to him, dollars are the best currency. After that he tried to pay with pesos even though he had euros in his wallet. And almost every time I’ve met an American, they always ask why I’m not wearing wooden shoes 😂

[@that_bloke_kiri]

Kenyan here, what is with the americans and the dutch wearing wooden shoes?

[@Emiline1]

I witnessed the same thing in South Africa. When the bartender told this guy that his dollars were useless, he couldn’t believe it and kept insisting and arguing how American dollars were better than Rand. 🤦🏼‍♀️

[@shotintheface]

With all the legal drugs and prostitution I'm sure the Netherlands is crawling with brainiacs.

[@TheSecretChateau]

I witnessed the same thing in Dublin Ireland. The American in front of me in a queue in a souvenir store was furious that the server refused to take his American dollars. The server kindly asked if they had Euros. The American said it was ridiculous and insulting that American dollars were not accepted. He said America ruled the Western world, that US money was accepted everywhere on the planet and that he was going to sue the store for not accepting his money.

[@shotintheface]

​@@TheSecretChateaustill enjoying being occupied by England. LMAO.

[@stevemisog]

I once had an USAF airman ask me "Do you Britsh guys celebrate the 4th of July too?" Dumbfounded I answered, "Er no. Would you celebrate a war you lost?"

[@jollybodger]

I had someone ask me this once too, I replied with, "Yes, we celebrate not having to support the treacherous underdeveloped colonies anymore" He either was so dumb he believed me, or realised his mistake and just went along with it. I hope for the latter but fear it was the former.

[@rattywoof5259]

We could always celebrate it as "Good Riddance Day"

[@Panbaneesha]

I feel for that German student. I'm German, and I visited the US around 1990. The two questions I heard several times were if we had electricity in Germany and if Hitler was still in power. Also if I rode a horse to school and didn't I think America had some great cars, like BMW, Porsche and Mercedes.

[@valentinvas6454]

You should have said: Sadly we only have shitty cars like Dodge, Chevrolet and Cadillac because we export all the Porsche and BMW to the states.

[@paulevans5455]

As an Australian who travelled to the USA many times to ski and hired vehicles to get from resort to resort, I was gobsmacked by this question. A lady at a hire car company asked me how long did it take to learn to drive an American car ? I was puzzled by this , before I could answer she went on " it must be very difficult for you to change how you drive, because your cars are so different and you drive on the wrong side and so few cities to drive in" I left it at that and smoked the tires on the way out, at the time I was in my fifties.

[@michaelcliffe562]

Dunno... doesn't sound THAT ignorant to me to be honest. I mean you do drive on the left in OZ and there are definatly more cars with manual transmission than in the US I would say..

[@indianjanesmith]

​​@@michaelcliffe562yeah, but the left is not "wrong", just different. Many countries drive on the left and have right-side steering wheels. I live in one of them. Assuming that her way is the "right" way - that's definitely ignorant and myopic

[@indianjanesmith]

I once met an American in NZ who was gobsmacked by the prospect of driving on the left. To make matters worse, he had to drive my friend and me around - both of whom come from countries with a similar driving structure as NZ (India and Indonesia)..we had a great time teasing him good-naturedly. But not once did he say that this way was the wrong way. And it took him barely an hour to get used to the change. Really great dude and nothing like many of the Americans portrayed in the stories in this video/comments

[@jacquelinevanderkooij4301]

As a dutch. We went to several countries who drive on the 'wrong' side. Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand. You do not have to learn it, but your brain has to adjust on it. Takes a few days. In NZ the first thing moving in the car were the screenwiper. We had to wait 5 minutes of laughing when happend. Still have tears in my eyes thinking about that 😂😂😂

[@lortee5916]

I am a german student and went to an amarican highschool as part of an exchange programm for students. At first i thought it was wierd that a lot of teachers thought i was unable to speak english. Big shock we learn english in school but what was even more shocking to me was that the german teacher in his german class tryed to tell me i am speaking my own language wrong and that i am still following Hitler as he is still our President.

[@isabelledrevet5913]

😂😂😂

[@Nothin-but-the-blues]

Na, da hast du ja noch Glück gehabt. Ende der 80er wurde ich verdächtigt, ein Nazispion zu sein und angezeigt. Das 'besorgte' Volk war schon hinter mir her! Zum Glück waren der Sheriff und seine Deputies historisch besser informiert! Wurde dann ein recht feucht-fröhlicher Abend im lokalen Pub.

[@tetsuan25]

Oh dear God!!!

[@philipprichardt8057]

My nephew tried to correct my wife, a philologist, on pronunciation. He was three years old.

[@david4real125]

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@muddlesindahouse]

I stayed in America with an American English TEACHER, lovely sweet lady (I am a Teacher too) BUT she kept asking if I was making up words, I had to use a dictionary to prove some words I used were real English words. I can remember the words efficacy, didactic and WHINGE were questioned and had to be proven. What hope has the average kid if your High School English teachers don't have a reasonable amount of vocabulary?.... She probably would have asked me what that word means too.

[@autohmae]

Somehow I'm most amazed by efficacy and didactic as they are specifically related to teaching. So this means she has limited knowledge of the English language and clearly not reading any literature related to her field of teaching in general. What education system produces such results ? And then gives them a pass on tests, etc. Sometimes people joke, their is a certain type of Chinese characters called: Simplified Chinese, so maybe we should just call American English: Simplified English.

[@cireenasimcox1081]

I spent a few years in China teaching at a University there. A small group of Americans arrived from some Christian "University". I was about to go into my lecture room one day when one came up and said "Oh great, glad I saw you before I went into class. You know that Hitler guy? What war was he from, First or Second?" At Xmas the faculty had a Xmas party. Each of the Foreign staff had to get up & sing a Xmas song from whichever country we were from. We all got up and did a little kid's song or a funny song etc. Then the Yanks got up, stood to attention in a line, put their hands on their hearts and sang the American Anthem! In China! Talk about a Cringe Factor!! Every other Foreigner in the room got up and walked out because we needed to disassociate ourselves from this spectacle; and so did quite a few of the Chinese, because...uh, it was China ffs! This almost fuelled an International Incident. I was there when Obama got voted in the 2nd time and the night the results came through I opened my door to find a huge crowd of students - not my own - blocking the stairway all the way down. They were the students of one of the Americans who had told them they all had to wear black armbands next day in class!! They were all ready to go & protest at the Student Union. That made the 2nd time an International Incident was narrowly averted. But it certainly wasn't the last time. In the end it was the rest of the Foreign teachers who threatened to walk when we realised this contingent wasn't there to educate - but to make Christian converts!! Once again...in China ffs!! There are times when ignorance is not bliss...it can have real world consequences.

[@tkps]

@@cireenasimcox1081 From what you've said they were not just ignorant but arrogant. That reminds me of the really old days when Christians used to swan off to places they decided were heathen & needed their help to become civilised. I had no idea there was a form of it still going on.

[@mrsleipner2911]

@@tkps I live in Sweden. I meet american missionaries quite often (not during COVID ofc) in my little town. They are trying to convert swedes to the mormon faith. They look quite weird and unique when they strut around in their black suits, white shirts and a slick black backpack, around town. Flippin them off works the best.

[@JB-yb4wn]

@@cireenasimcox1081 Just like the stupid creatard Yank who went to North Korea to preach the bible. Spent a couple of years in prison and was eventually released on health issues (I am sure the US government paid some money under the table for his release).

[@paulmccarragher4106]

Worked in a Rental place in Sydney Australia where we rented Winnebago's for travelling. I am Australian by the way. Am American couple and their kids came in and wanted to hire a van for the long weekend to drive to Perth. Right. I tried to explain to them that a long weekend would not be enough time as the distance was about 4000kls and between 42 and 60 hours drive depending on speed and condition of the road. No way they said dragging a map out its just a short trip. I tried to explain to them that no it was 2450miles or 4000ks so they called the manager and complained that I was telling lies so they couldn't hire a van and when it was explained to the manager he told them the same thing I did and that he would gladly hire them the vehicle if they wanted to drive. They stormed out saying we had ruined their whole holiday, idiots.

[@esmeraldagreengate4354]

My neighbour had a similar conversation with her in laws, they were from the U.K though. They were coming for a holiday and were under the impression that they could drive from Melbourne to Brisbane and back in one afternoon 🤦‍♀️ they thought Australia was the same size as England we sent them a picture of England compared to just Victoria.

[@ktkat1949]

@@esmeraldagreengate4354 My ex husband who was English but immigrated to Canada. He had an aunt come to visit. He lived on the BC coast. They asked her what she wanted to do that day. She said 'let's motor down to Niagara Falls for tea'. She would not believe how long it would take to 'motor to Niagara Falls' LOL

[@valentinvas6454]

If you work in an electronic goods store you get questions of this caliber constantly no matter the country haha. I had several people asking for 4G phones because they think 5G phones will harm them. An older gentleman wanted a cordless phone that doesn't work with battery (I still don't know what else could power it then) And once a small family wanted to buy some gaming gear for their son and after like 10 minutes they've chosen a nice pair of headphones, gaming mouse and keyboard then suddenly the mother turned to me and asked: "And how can you play video games with these?" And I was like: Well you have to buy a console or a strong enough PC. Then they said it's not okay and they don't want to spend that much so they just left their shopping cart in the middle of the store.

[@jaynegale3508]

My folks met tourists who thought they'd base themselves in Alice Springs and do day trips to the various coasts of Australia.

[@ceegee-60]

Why can’t Americans conceive that there are other ways of doing things other than the way they do them???🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

[@amajinjams6966]

A guy I once talked to who was from the U.S asked where I lived. So I told him "I've been living in Malaysia for the past few years". Then he asked which state Malaysia was in. I honestly had no idea what to say.

[@thechase4314]

Simple : in Solid state

[@stanislavbandur7355]

@@thechase4314 great

[@danielbartonicek5116]

You´re one of the few Americans i know, that are soooo open minded and actually takes some lessons from these types of videos. Big up brother, love your content. :)

[@danamiscamble5084]

I sell Mandala style art online, and I use social media to promote it. Talking to this person on Instagram about my art and prices etc. So I asked them what currency do they use. This person said dollar... just dollar. After talking for a bit more I eventually had to ask them what country they are in because they could not understand. They said they where in the USA. Then I had to explain that in Australia, we use dollar as well and that there is a price difference, and that the Australian and USA dollar are not the same. They still didn't get it.

[@Squashed8Ball]

It’s a shame they didn’t offer to buy something; you could have just accepted payment in USD instead for a tidy little mark up.

[@temitopeej8407]

You want to know what is really stupid? I was asked to take TOEFL (Test of English as a foreign language) as a student transferring to a US college from England.