4 Ways British and American People Are Very Different 

... and it's depressingly true

Nick Hansen... It's true... Ask any British Military member who went to an extended CBN (Chemical, Bio and Nuclear) warfare school.

@Angry Combat Wombat your car? The sidewalk and driveway

*Laughs in Nordic heritages, as strips down to breeches * 'Nice breeze out today!!!'

I went to Kansas City once in November, so I tend to agree with that. And Chicago thinks they have the windy city!

🤣

😂😂 It is a rare day when the wind isn't blowing here in Kansas.

rofl

Here in Kansas, the weather is quite reliable. 2 days ago it was almost 80°F, today the high was 54°. If you don't like the conditions outside, just wait a few days. I haven't seen snow on Christmas ten years. It has snowed in October and in April. 5 out of 10 Christmases in my recent memory have had 50° F temps.

There are two kinds of people. Those who group the world into two kinds of people, and those who don't.

@@sluggo206 there are two types of people in the world: those who can extrapolate from incomplete data

@@lucybronkema6486 Poor Sheldon 😂😂😂😂😂

@@qqq1q1qqqqqqq I don't know anyone named Sheldon? I just heard that joke from my dad. My dad has a shirt that says "there are 10 types of people in the world. Those who understand binary and those who don't."

@@lucybronkema6486 Sheldon Cooper from Big Bang Theory. He couldn't stand it if something was incomplete. It would throw his world into a tailspin.

See: Groundhog Day, which in my region is considered an excuse for a bunch of old German men to get drunk and tell dirty jokes until someone hauls out the current iteration of Punxsutawney Phil. XD

💯 truth lol

Very true, from the Illinois/Wisconsin border.

You must live in the fancy part with roads. Here it's mostly just skeeter and warm beer season.

I've heard the same be true in Illinois but you actually see construction workers and equipment working in Wisconsin

And indiana

@jpoopist: Yes, because he's British. Lol!

The self-deprecation is inimitable. Perfect niche.

He doesn't offend. I like his delivery so much better than Those Two Twits, I mean, Brits.

Right? I love this guy.

To listen to a style of humor, might listen to the older radio broadcasts of the Prairie Home Companion from the state of Minnesota. The original announcer retired some time ago, but that radio series was known for portraying a type of American humor. Passing forward, hope you enjoy it. And your a great observer of people and their country, countries!

He sounds like a stick in the mud. I'm American and I would have thought it was cute. Probably better not to work with him anyway.

Yeah I was surprised to hear that observation, but then when he said he got a 'TMI' response I realized A) he's in the midwest and they're not really known for their humor period, and B) you're not really supposed to make toilet humor _about your own actual excretory experiences._ you're supposed to joke about some other theoretical person shitting himself, a cartoon character having to pee badly and having no access to facilities, or just making a fart noise and laughing about it. when _you personally_ have something coming out of you, I think that's when childhood shame kicks in and you're expected to joke self-deprecatingly about it and hide it all in innuendo.

If so, he really did not have any sense of humour. Sorry :(

I think you just got unlucky, a lot of people here in the us would definetly laugh at that joke

Yup. The informality was probably not appreciated there.

What's surprising is the word "ancestry" and saying you look Spanish. Mostly people say "Where are you from?" and expect the same answer. And saying "You look Spanish" can sound derogatory because of how some Americans tend to view Latin Americans as poor and uneducated. The same person saying both of those suggest they're unusually obsessed with race, more than typical Americans.

Oh my gosh, I laughed out loud at this. I can't imagine being asked this, and you handled it beautifully... Too good.. :D

Heck, I’m American, and that woman’s question was rude. Wow.

@@janjackson7732 You're very kind! Thank you!

@@amandabyrd9349 I'm not going to lie, it was one of the most left field questions I've ever been asked. The other one that left me dumbstruck was I tried to book a room in a hotel only for the desk clerk to tell me: "Sorry, but you don't look gay". There was nothing to indicate that the hotel was gay only and it wasn't in a "gay" part of town. I can only assume that the clerk was making a weird joke. But I walked next door to the next hotel and got a room, forever wondering quite what the precious clerk had meant. Fair enough, I'm not gay, but I'll wonder until the day I die what he expected his clientele to be wearing or if it is actually possible to look "gay". Why does this stuff happen to me?

You're using the temperature as an excuse. It was hot in the '40s and '50s, too, and men didn't dress the way you do. Admit it, you're just a hick.

It was hot in the past too and they didn't have air conditioning, you're just trashy.

That sounds sensible to me! Especially with the humidity.

I did that once. Then I tuned 2.

I wear shorts all year long. I also wear my PJs outside to walk the dog; whether it's daylight or dark. And, now y'all keep this a secret, sometimes I wear a bra, sometimes I don't!!! 🤫🤫🤫 Momma'd whoop me if she knew that part. Nothing wrong with running around in shorts and a t-shirt. As long as you aren't going to funerals and weddings like that I see nothing wrong with it. Well, maybe not for work either, depending on your job. In the humid south, we believe in comfort. High five b-ball shorts guy!!!

lol yeah when i'm paying for something at a store i always throw in a " thanks, have a good one " before leaving, It feels wrong without doing so.

As an American, I kind of doubt that most Americans really mean rote phrases like "Have a nice day" and "How are you?" Those phrases can be translated as "I don't want to lose my job," because you largely hear them from retail workers. I remember reading something that was written by someone who had recently moved here from another country (I can't remember where, this was ages ago that I read this) and she marveled at how this one cashier kept asking her how she was every time she came to that store. Then her dog got sick, and when this cashier asked her how she was that day, she said, "I'm a little sad today," and the cashier replied, "Great! Have a nice day!" Either the cashier genuinely misheard or else that response was supposed to mean, "This information that you're giving me about your emotional state is a little too heavy for a routine exchange between strangers." But that anecdote really resonated me to the point that I remember the basic plot, if not all of the details, all of these years later, because it reinforced my experience of what these rote phrases mean in America. I've never worked retail, but I use these rote phrases when they feel called for and when I mean them at least a little bit--or at least when I don't *not* mean them. I probably wouldn't be capable of forming my lips around the words if I was angry at someone.

Here in America people are very patriotic and they also say have a good day and God bless you very often. That is in the South where I live but I can't say so much for the people living up north because the people I did meet up there for two years in Pennsylvania were not as friendly until you got to know them. They were not the God bless you type of people. If you hear some Southern woman say " well bless your heart!" They are being sarcastic and it is time to run for your life. 😂😂 the people out west are different. The thing I've noticed about the south in the Southeast says that the people are definitely super friendly. I find the people out in the Midwest and especially in Oklahoma very friendly as well.

Montre' Louise Bohon-Harris can’t say “God bless you” up North. Might get sued by the local Atheist club.

@@montrelouisebohon-harris7023 I would agree with all of these generalizations. I especially find the South East to be friendly and polite and very sweet-hearted.

I'd rather he talk about the less well known !)

Most people ignore the different immigration waves. The later Italian crossings are always ignored, until people remember that all the brutal factory jobs in the late 19th century were filled with Italian, Poles, and Russian immigrants.

Yes, there a lot of people (esp. on the East coast) of Italian/Polish/Russian or just generally Eastern European ancestry. I’m one of them!!! Just look at how many surnames are E. European!

As someone who's family came over from Italy , we are important! We invented good pizza! :P

Yeah I’m from NJ and it’s hugely Italian in that whole tristate area and decent amount of Polish.

Yup, many of the Anglo-Saxons were from Northern “Magna Germania”. People moved around Europe an awful lot during Roman rule as travel was for the first time ever, slightly easier and slightly less dangerous. There are like, many 7 hour documentaries about this on youtube.

@Conner Wine Yeah but theres a bit of a difference between 'our whole family migrated here from Germany' and 'yeah all came from germany after living in yorkshire for a few centuries'

So you're actually a Yorkshire pudding, and not a strudel. Guten Appetit.

Witness protection?

@@markkringle9144 I hadn't thought of that!

The bars are closed in Ireland on St Patrick's Day? Ha ha ha. The reason Americans go so much for Cinco de Mayo, St Patrick's Day and Mardi Gras is it's an excuse to drink.

@@sluggo206 It's called St. Patrick's Day for a reason. Now since there are more younger people, the pubs do open but green beer isn't a thing. The pubs have limited hours though.

If you’re from Ireland, you’d say Mum or Mam not “Mom”

​@@isaiahbangura4421 I was born in England I just found that out my biological mother passed away she was born in Afghanistan. I really need help I thought I was born in the US.

​@@isaiahbangura4421 could u help me especially if u were born in Ireland I have been houseless a long time

I’ve also heard that about Paris versus the rest of France.

I live in the UK and find Londoners rude but then again they all seemed to be in a rush at any time of the day

I ended up in the ER the last time that I was in London. The front desk staff were awful, but other folks in the waiting room came to my aide with a cold compress and a barf bag.

Londoners are like New Yorkers I like to think.

I'm sorry you had that experience; I've always found people in London to be very polite, although usually rushing to somewhere other than where I've caught their attention. Please don't be put off.

Beware the Sweatpant People... the next one you see may be YOU!

😂

I once bought a pair of sweatpants and I won't even wear them at home--and I live alone.

Is that the same as Wal-Mart people?

@@eleveneleven572 Not if you only wear them at home.

Never knew that.

Thanks for another tidbit I can use in our American history homeschool curriculum!

Knitted/woven caps of one form or another have been the most popular hat for most of history. It was not until the industrial era that knitted hats were mostly replaced by other materials.

Damn I love history!!

Very interesting. Thank you for that. So - had it not been for the greed and ridiculous restrictions imposed by England at the time, the USA might still have been a part of the Empire - and now the Commonwealth!

That's what some people from Ireland do.

I wonder if that's where I got it from... I spent some early formative years in the Aussie-lands. Y'all have a great country.

Oktoberfest??

@@elizabetheleck1246 Halloween parties, Thanksgiving(Turkey Day) etc.

Exactly. It is about the party and fun! The reason why St Patrick's Day and Cinco de Mayo work is because everyone is invited in to participate. Other ethnic drinking holidays don't really do that. We need more of these.

@@elizabetheleck1246 I guess he forgot to put that in his comment

♥

I'm 98% Chimpanzee. That scares me.

I love that with all that background, you go by Bubba 😂

@@georgesakellaropoulos8162 I thought humans shared 99% of their DNA with chimps, so what's your other 1%???🦄🐲

Or, as an ancient Roman might say in Latin, "E pluribus, unum."

@@jenniferpearce1052 alien.

I love your humor, Lawrence! It brightens my day and I try not to binge too much. Right now, I've needed it a lot. Thanks! Since we moved to AZ from Oregon, our summer clothing has gotten a real workout! Instead of 1 month of over 90 degrees, we have 7 months or more over 90. I love my wool stuff, but they reside in my cedar chest!

Those Vikings, got around. 😊

Same. I can trace my ancestry through both parents to pre revolutionary war colonies. I know I've got ancestors from England, Germany, and Switzerland for sure and I suspect you could find another dozen countries in my family tree. The only heritage that makes sense for me to claim is "American" as the most recent foreign born ancestor came over more than a century ago

I read once that in terms of numbers, the top 3 immigrant groups are #1 German, #2 Polish, and #3 Italian. However some Germans go back 10 generations or more and may not be aware of their ancestry. H Basinhe: This info was from a book published in the mid 40's. The groups you list are from more recent times. In the 1800's and up to the mid 1900's, very few Hispanic, Asian, or African immigrants came here, the vast majority were from Europe. However, in the 1970's this started to change.

I'm from Yorkshire lol. I don't blame them leaving, the weather's terrible.

@@FALslayer LOL!!!

For sure. Those people were practically Targaryens. They would marry their nieces for God's sake -- and marrying a first cousin was practically the rule. Makes for a pretty strange family get-together when your grandfather is also your father-in-law.

There's a song called "I am my own Grandpa".

And Southern families (my uncle & aunt are first cousins)

Yasssss!

It’s classy when rich people do it. Just like theft.

Well said fellow Michiganian/Michigander!

I never actually took conscious note of it, but what you said about your thoughts when buying clothes is so true! I obviously have the "really cold/hot weather" sections of my wardrobe, but for the most part I evaluate it for if I can wear it during the transitional periods of the seasons or if it can layer with other clothes I own to get more use from it.

Pennsylvanian here... I totally relate. I switch out my wardrobe twice a year for winter. The rest of the year, everything else is worn for the rest of the year. I break out winter wardrobe half way through fall and put it away the first time the temp hits 70 in the spring time.

@James Williams - You only THINK you have winter in central Texas. Here in iowa we can have 70 degree swings in temperature over a 24 hour period. We range from 110 in the summer to -40 in the winter. That's not with a heat or cold index.

Living inthe southern middle of Arizona i have pretty much 1 wardrobe that gets Worn out easier, than some, i suppose. summer is march to November then we get faux winter where i add sweaters a hoodie or two maybe a beanie if it rains. 🤷‍♀️😊

Same. I am now 100% Portuguese but was 11% Irish and British before ancestry became useless. So I always celebrate st. Patrick’s Day! LOL

Faith and begorrah ! If it isn't dear ol' Mr. McShivdasani.

Nice!

Aren't we all? Any excuse for a party!

Catherine that means that people in Scotland and Ireland have similar DNA and doesn’t necessarily mean you have that ancestry

That quip is usually used in Wisconsin.

Head a little further north into Canada 🇨🇦 Heat on in the morning, air conditioning by the afternoon, rain/ snow in the evening/ overnight!

@@ANNEWHETSTONE I know the feels sometimes haha

I remember in a suburb of Boulder, Colorado, it could also get really gnarly. Three feet of snow one night, 70 degrees the next day. Not just chaotic, but a major problem because all that runoff melting for the whole day would freeze solid the next night.

This ain't no joke. Seriously you will marinade in your own juices in the summer time and freeze solid in the winter time.

Legit was 110F earlier today 🥵

@@fallen_aether The UK's record temperature is 101.7F set last year about 35 miles from where I work and that was far too hot for me.

Freshfish111 music 🎶 “when the wind comes sweeping down the plain” 🎶 Wrong state, but still applies.

@@themermaidstale5008 LOL!!!! DEFINITELY FIGHTING WORDS!

Most people who are thinkers, do so. It's a sign of intelligence. If you can laugh at yourself, you are a balanced person.

@@georgesakellaropoulos8162 Exactly!

Did you miss where Lawrence made a statement at the beginning that not all Americans are the same - and neither are all Brits? Yes, there are "a few" Americans who CAN do self deprecating humour. (I am not a Brit, despite the U in humour, I am a German, for me humour is a theoretical concept, and I learned BE [British English] at school) But he is also not completely wrong, when he says that Americans (mainly in the midwest) are a little too prudish for toilet humour. Of course, being a Brit he could never say that as bluntly as I can, being a rude German. Yes, some Americans are great comedians - and that includes taking themselves not too seriously! But some are not, some are as humo[u]rfree as their German ancestors.

@@georgesakellaropoulos8162 I totally agree and Americans can come up with some pretty nifty ideas and create some of the most amazing things. I'm analytical & a doer. Americans are very congenial about their inventions and people can't say they're out of their minds or WE ARE. Apple products were invented here and they're great.

@@georgesakellaropoulos8162 Is that what it is? I'm so disappointed in myself for spending all that time and money in therapy when the problem was that I'm intelligent and mentally well-balanced.

And the Australians are hands down way better at nicknames! Trackie daks! Awesome!

@@christinaridder1451 'Trackie daks' is one of my fave Aussie slang phrases 😊 but then I am a bit biased 😅🇦🇺

Why are Aussies wearing sweatpants it's hot there it's always hot there everyone and everything is always melting

@@christinaridder1451 Yes. 🐨 Love Aussie's charming way of abbreviating almost everything: bathers (swimsuit), biccy (biscuit or cookie), brekky (breakfast), dag (geek or nerd), defo (definitely), devo (devastated), chook (chicken), cuppa (tea), tea (dinner), chrissie (Christmas), prezzie (present), footy (rugby or soccer), mozzie (mosquito), no worries or no drama (no problem / it's ok), tinny (can of beer), etc. Had a flatmate from "Straya" & was fortunate to make two long visits down under (inclu. Sydney, Adelaide & Perth). 😚Friendly folks, but more reserved than the typical tourists we see in US. Gained a better sense about my own American sensibility & culture while visiting their beautiful country.🤗 ps When I visited London briefly, my exposure to actual Brits was rather limited. As an anglophile mad about their history, seeing the Queen Mother award the🏆Queen's Cup to the winning polo team🏇 (near Windsor Castle) was the highlight of my visit. Disappointed to discover that most bluebloods that I had admired from afar were very obsessed over ppl's pedigree (vs. their character, intelligence or personality). Stayed w/a lively contingent of Saudi's who were educated at several of their most esteemed institutions & who never quite fit in. (If graceful Kate Middleton was looked down as a commoner to the aristocracy, that makes someone like fellow Cali-girl Meghan Markle {& myself} closer to the bottom of any social strata😭. Had a good time, but ran into more Yanks than locals...all searching for tourist spots. The majority of cabbies, servers, etc. that we encountered were newer immigrants from all over the globe. Met more good ppl from all over the UK, at home while living intvin LA. ✌😏🤙

Did Australia just see a dictionary and go, Fuck it. We are giving everything new names that will make us laugh and not think about giant spiders and snakes that will kill us.

Canada has ' Dollarama ' Sounds like a place where the sweatpants people would shop 😂

Sounds like a brawl.

🤣 it's 'Pound-LAND' you bellend!!!

@@MrHSouthLondon I don't think he thought you actually had an equivalent. I've watched enough Mock The Week to pick it up that it exists, but most Americans probably think of the Dollar Store as an only-in-America type of thing.

Ah yes, Pound Town, another title I use for your mother's place.

Oh man, I feel sorry for anyone who doesnt have authentic mexican food handy.

Get out.

you have to find an English person to marry you first.😂

You must do soas soon as possible, so you can spread the joys of Mexican cuisine with as many people as possible! Especially enchiladas.

Not many Mexican restaurants in the UK. People here refer Indian or Chinese food

I completely agree with you.

I have seen a family wearing pj looking clothes and slippers at a store . One had on a robe , so I think they were actually pajamas . A woman and two female teenagers ! Pretty casual . I was probably over dressed in their opinions ! 😂

Yeah, PJs in public. Which I'm saying now but, drove to town and went through a drive through yesterday with a t-shirt and pajama bottoms. i wouldn't dare step out of the car though.

I agree with you

Yeah, the PJs in public thing is pretty crazy here in the US. And “flip flop” footwear!

unchainedmelody67 my family were hessians rewarded land for their service in South Carolina

That is why we have such a strong fascist streak in our government.

@@Ekkis25 the area around Orangeburg were settled in the early 1700's by 'Germanic' immigrants. German, Swiss .. and everything in between

@@tedmartin5239 well operation paperclip really brough some nazis here. Not those earlie settelers😂

I have some German (as well as British Isles, Dutch, and French) ancestors that were in NY before there was a United States, as well as ones who came in the mid 1800’s. But I’m mostly of Swedish descent, through my great-grandparents who arrived in Michigan in the 1890’s.

A Dedow, Virginian cancels all the others. I don’t know why they don’t have it on the census as a choice.

You left out Mexicans and African Americans ,Indian.. northern Virginia has any and everything..

Hello fellow Virginians! Reporting from central Virginia here.

Born and reared in Virginia. Scottish, English and German.

I'm Virginian, but African American. Don't know my ancestry, though.

That is usually how I respond, when asked my ancestry. "what is your heritage?", they ask. I reply, "I'm Heinz 57". LOL Not had my ancestry done, but there is Dutch, Welsh, Irish, Cherokee (my grandmother's mother on Dad side)Italian (it appears my family was run out of Italy at the start LOL) and possibly German. I have a niece, my sister's daughter, who does have some subsaharan lineage, most likely because my Dad's side of the family was not racist at all, they loved everyone. :)

@@elizabeths50 why would your niece's subsaharan lineage not show up in you as well? Did you mean HER dad's family...

That’s awesome! I’m a mix of northern european, scandanavian, western russian/eastern european, irish, scottish, icelandic(?), etc. i was not surprised to find my ancestry.com was all super white.

Ain't we all? Glorious mongrels, every one.

@JW McCabe Unless you're the last Denisovian, yep.

Only if it was pretty girls doing the tickling.

@@odysseusrex5908 pssh, speak for yourself. I wanna be tickled by mall Santa Clauses!

@@JJStarcade Ha, that's child's play! I want to be tickled insane by 1940's Easter Bunnies!

I think a lot of British people have dry humor. My family is primarily scotch and French so we laughing a lot of things simply because most of us are Scottish..

@@montrelouisebohon-harris7023 really? Many Scottish people here really don't appreciate being called scotch - that's a drink not a person.

I thought the same thing. TY that I’m not alone.

Yes! It’s as though they’re trying to hurry you along.

Yeah, never knew I've been taking silence for granted every time I've talked to someone my whole life! The behavior he described can easily cross the line and be experienced as rudely interrupting me, as far as I'm concerned. I would find it very annoying. Some polite and quiet responses (like, "ahas" or "huh!" or maybe a "yes, I see") peppered occasionally is how I expect people to communicate that they've been listening to me and actually understand what I'm saying. (A) How can they listen if they're talking the whole time? (B) How can they communicate they actually MEAN the words they're using in their responses (like, "yes")...if by the time the conversation has reached the point where their response is meaningful & expected, they've already repeatedly said the same words throughout the whole conversation while I was talking? /end ramble sorry lol 😅✌ _(It's like people who don't want me to say "Happy Holidays" for the first 23 days of December - only "Merry Christmas" allowed!)_ 😂 _(If I use "Merry Christmas" exclusively, every day starting on Thanksgiving, then by the time December 24 finally rolls around....How do I communicate that it's actually Christmas?? The phrase has been rendered meaningless due to constant overuse.)_

Lol!!!

Might be a bit more even

I am a descendent of the sweat pant people myself.

Maybe 15 weeks but sometimes it never seems to change at all. Sunny and mild...Sunny and mild.. which is a reference to LA Story which I think is one of the funniest movies ever made.

My nephew says, "Stretch pants are not a right -- they're a privilege."

Donna, I would like to say how much I enjoyed the composition of your comment. My father always said "buy the best quality you can afford, then look after it!" I have shoes which are thirty years old and jackets (tweed and leather) which I have owned for twenty years or so. My adult children on the other hand seem to be slaves to fashion.

I agree with all you have said, Donna...and I do live in the NY area...and now with so many “Old” stores such as Lord & Taylor closing, it is hard to find more conservative clothing...which I prefer...maybe it’s my “English, Irish, German Background”, but the young people today seem to have little fashion. Sense past yoga pants and a tank top! ☺️💕

1642- Nemo Me Impune Lacessit My mother always told me the same thing! ;)

Same in Dallas.

Check out on-line sites like 6pm, Macy's ( Last Act ) , Sax Off Fifth, Niemans Last Call, Nordstrom Rack. Quality brand clothes and shoes etc. that if shopped on sale can be fabulous deals! Good Luck!

Maybe he loves it , when his plan comes together. LOL

Argument Clinic? That's Room 12A ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-xpAvcGcEc0k.html

I'm from Warwickshire lol

What is his secret?

senility.

@@scottjohnson7244 😂

Doesn't look a day over 900 if you ask me.

@@kathleenmuchka2559 Remember Dorian Gray?

Deprecating. To "defecate" is to discharge feces from the body, where as to deprecate is to to express disapproval of.

@@MrSirwolf2001 - that was the punchline. It went right over your head.

@@tlandry9689 That could be because it isn't funny and only sounds ignorant.

😂😂😂

Lol! Exactly.

Bill Bryson said "The British are the most easily pleased people on earth. Give them a cup of tea and a bun and they are happy".

They dont become American but rather an American citizen.

@@reginafontenot600 semantics. according to the constitution it is the same thing.

gray man where did you get that rot from?

@@docgonzales maybe the Constitution of these United States... Or maybe the countless speeches, sermons, and essays about America being a "melting pot" in regards to ethnicity AND culture... Or maybe just about any half-assed class of "Law 101" stuff. ...you can find "that rot" in a LOT of places. You only need to open your eyes. ;o)

Yes because most Americans living in the UK are here on a temporary basis,I am quite sure if I moved into a road in America I would be described as the Scottish woman at no. whatever

Alsace is German. Even French politicians sometimes accidentally call it Germany. It's one of the territories gained by France after WWII.

@@rooooooby Nah, it was going on long before that. My DNA is French, there is no German. Yet living on the border g-grandmother was a French citizen at one point and spoke German. No French. It's an interesting study if you go back before 1900 "A traveler viewing Alsace today for the first time would never suspect the difficult and stormy past which has plagued this beautiful little country. The fertile plains, the vineyards, and the Vosges mountains on the French side of the Rhine are mirrored on the German side of the valley, extending to the mountains of the Black Forest. The cultures of these two great civilizations, too, mingle here, enrich and reflect each other. Language is a perfect example of this junction OI cultures. Most ihhabitants are at least bilingual, speaking both the local dialect, which is of Germanic origin, and either French or German. Many are trilingual and speak all three languages with equal facility. The situation has seldom been so tranquil, however. Alsace and Lorraine have long been disputed between Prance and Germany. Prized for their location, which is crucial militarily, and for their natural resources, the most important being coal and lron, the two provinces have su££e~ed more than their share of invasions, seizures, and changes of government. As languages, customs, races, personalities, and governments mingle without necessarily integrating, the cultural pattern of the "parent" country lS reflected. A study of Alsace-Lorraine is thus a study of the interaction of the French and the Germans"

I had exactly the same thing happen. My Great-Grandmother was from Alsace-Lorraine but moved to Munchengladbach, Germany as a child. So she emigrated to Germany but was ethnically French. When I took the DNA test I was not at all German, but part French. What is even weirder is that my Great-Grandfather also emigrated from Northern Germany, but was ethnically Scandanavian (Danish). So both of my Grandmother’s parents emigrated from Germany, but neither was ethnically German. Confusing.

@UC0k2XIkpYmF_WU38bu7S6qg Yeah, but my grandmother was French according to the DNA. She just spoke German. That's the border areas for you I suppose.

My mother told me that Alsatians are French part of the week, and German the rest... one being the weekdays, the other being the weekends. Can't ever remember which is which, but it had to do with which country tended to have their businesses open vs closed on weekends.

there's a bit of genius in this comment...

From Monty Python's "Life Of Brian": Brian: No, no, you're all different! Crowd, in unison: YES WE'RE ALL DIFFERENT! Lone individual: _I'm_ not!

Also anywhere in New England.

And in Southeastern North Carolina.

@@YooLookMarvelous Amen! I grew up in Springfield MA, and it's absolutely true.

And here in Oregon. Washington, I think, too.

In Oklahoma as well, honestly just about anywhere in america to be honest, we have weird weather.

Obviously not from San Francisco!

Almost all.mem I know love the Three Stooges and almost all women i know hate it lol

Thank you :) Benny Hill vs Monty Python.

Bakersfield has three seasons: Summer, fog, and flowers. Flowers only lasts a couple of weeks.

If that's the case, I only have 1 "exotic" ancestor (German), and the rest were English, Scottish, and Irish. They cut out pretty early in the game though since I see no new entries to the US since the 1700s.

Chanchito I’m of English descent and not British. My ancestors were here in the early 1600’s before there was a British establishment.

Many people will just describe themselves as "American" in that case.

I have never thought of Germans being exotic before.

I have a lot of English ancestors. The second largest group is probably Dutch--Dutch who came to the US during the time of New Netherland. The latest immigrant ancestor I can find immigrated from Germany to Illinois, dying in 1850. My dad's ancestors before him all lived in western New Jersey for 250 years.