Culture: Two nations divided...

[ShirleyT]

I get it; it's a favorite game here in our resort town...

A popular bumper sticker - "If it's tourist season, why can't you shoot them?"

[doubleh]

I just joined the forum a couple of days ago and ran across this topic today. I read all thirteen pages it was so interesting. I learned a lot about the UK and even some things about the US.

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

Read the first 4 pages then jumped to the end.

Best Brit TV show? Dr Who of course. Quick-to the Tardis!

Most of the language diffs have been made. I still see vise/vice used in the blacksmith forum. I use a vise at work, and there are lots of vices in Las Vegas. I caused our Australian friends to giggle when I was around 12, when I said that I was "stuffed" after eating dinner. It means having sex in OZ. One thing that I have noticed is that we Americans are pretty uptight when it comes to sex / nudity compared to our friends in Europe, UK, and OZ. You won't see any page 3 girls in the local newspapers here. And even though we have the first amendment radio stations censor songs that are played. Our second amendment rights have spawned some business in this area. Tourists can go to some of our gun stores, and rent a machine gun, and they do quite well.

Food. I am from CA and NV, so I grew up with lots of different types of food. In between San Francisco, and Sacramento , where I grew up, we had large populations from Asia, Latin America, and everywhere else. I grew up on basic American fare along with burritos, fajitas, won tons, fondue, lasagna, pizza, perogies, Kim Chee, birds nest soup, etc. I love food, so living near Las Vegas now gives me opportunities to get my curry fix, or any other hankering I may have taken care of. BBQ differences. Most places it means pork, in Texas it means beef. I try to eat at local places now instead of the chains.

Can't say we had much in the way of regional fare where I grew up, other than maybe the shrimp cocktails, or Dungeness crabs down on Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco. That area was so diverse that it was like a worldwide food court everywhere you went.

Found a cooker to do rosin potatoes while going through my folks estate. I remember Dad telling me about having them in South Carolina, so I may have to try some out. Rosin potatoes are cooked in pine tree rosin. Melt the rosin in the cast iron pot, and drop the potatoes in. They sink when they are raw, and float to the top when they are cooked.

Edited September 18, 2010 by BIGGUNDOCTOR

[hivemind]

OMG, I did forget 'pop'! 'Pop' is what the elitist yokels here (you know, the ones who feel they have to dress up to go to Walmart) call 'soda'

http://popvssoda.com:2998/

Where I live in Central NY, it's soda. Go three hours west to Buffalo and it's pop.

[UKRay]

http://popvssoda.com:2998/

Where I live in Central NY, it's soda. Go three hours west to Buffalo and it's pop.

Over here it was just 'fizzy drink'. I can't remember any other name for it. I even called my sister, who is famous for having an amazing memory for each and every one of my childhood misdeeds, and she says the same. Isn't that odd. I knew the word 'pop' but never used it.

When I was a kid growing up in the 1950s and 60son the south coast of England, we used to have bottled lemonade delivered to the door. The 'Corona' lemonade guy had a whole range of flavours (okay, make that flavors - LOL) including dandelion and burdock, cherryade, ginger beer and a weird cola. It must have been quite cheap too or we wouldn't have had it. Does anyone else remember this? Did you get lemonade deliveries where you come from?

Ray

[dirtclod]

Ray we grew around the same time 50's and 60's. Around here the only thing that was ever delivered was the mail and daily paper if you got one. As far as cold drinks you would be asked if you wanted a cold drink or Coke that was what ever thing was called no matter the brand.

We had and still have orange, grape, root beer. But the best one when i was growing up was a chocolate drink in a bottle that you had to shake up before you drank it it ( and it wasn't a Yahoo ) but i can't remember the name. We had small Coke's 6 ounce bottle and Big Coke's 10 ounce bottle. The little ones cost 5 cents and a big one was 7 cents and went up to 10 cents.

[rdb]

In Massachusetts, we called it Tonic, not soda, not pop, not fizzy drink. It was Tonic, until you got closer to NY, and into Conn, then it became Soda. NOBODY in the USA called it Tonic accept us.

Having been a Carbonic Engineer (Soda Jerk) in my younger days, I get where we called it tonic. Coke syrup, was a staple at the pharmacy, even prescribed by doctors for young children ills. The other local bottled drink was Moxie. Coke and Moxie were the biggest drinks available in the 5 cent vending machines. Both of them had been sold in the pharmacies as Tonics...for what ailed ya.

[Art]

I think it was Chocola, haven't seen it in a while.

Art

Ray we grew around the same time 50's and 60's. Around here the only thing that was ever delivered was the mail and daily paper if you got one. As far as cold drinks you would be asked if you wanted a cold drink or Coke that was what ever thing was called no matter the brand.

We had and still have orange, grape, root beer. But the best one when i was growing up was a chocolate drink in a bottle that you had to shake up before you drank it it ( and it wasn't a Yahoo ) but i can't remember the name. We had small Coke's 6 ounce bottle and Big Coke's 10 ounce bottle. The little ones cost 5 cents and a big one was 7 cents and went up to 10 cents.

[tonyc1]

It's only in recent years that it's been called soft drink here in Tasmania. We always referred to it as cordial (and still do here at home) and that term covered all the bottled soft drinks. I know elsewhere Cordial is the syrup that is mixed with water but here at home we call it water cordial. The names of Pop and Soda are never used unless you're having scotch and soda.

Tony.

[celticleather]

Ray

I remember Corona, in all its flavours, delivered to your door every week by the 'Corona Man'. It had a clip-on cap that would keep the 'fizz' in.

I went out for a drink with my daughters a couple of weeks ago, and one of them asked for a Corona. I said that I didn't know it still existed . . . and then found out that it's now a Mexican lager beer! I must get out more!

Terry

[Luke Hatley]

Ray

I remember Corona, in all its flavours, delivered to your door every week by the 'Corona Man'. It had a clip-on cap that would keep the 'fizz' in.

I went out for a drink with my daughters a couple of weeks ago, and one of them asked for a Corona. I said that I didn't know it still existed . . . and then found out that it's now a Mexican lager beer! I must get out more!

Terry

Terry when you get the Corona...........be sure and get the wedge of Lime to put in it..

[cem]

It's only in recent years that it's been called soft drink here in Tasmania. We always referred to it as cordial (and still do here at home) and that term covered all the bottled soft drinks. I know elsewhere Cordial is the syrup that is mixed with water but here at home we call it water cordial. The names of Pop and Soda are never used unless you're having scotch and soda.

Tony.

It's always been soft drink in Western Australia and cordial is the syrup mixed with water or in the case of my young niece drunk straight if she can get away with it (talk about a sugar high). Pop isn't used here either, soda is used for soda water which some older folk drink though I reckon it tastes like fizzy vinegar and scotch is only mixed with coke.

Clair

[gary]

Ray,

I'd forgotten about the Corona man until you mentioned it. His visit was a highlight of the week. And you got money back on the bottles so they could be re-used - as kids we used to go round and find any discarded bottles so we could make a profit. If I remember correctly, 'discarded' had a broad interpretation.

We did have ginger beer that my Dad made from a 'ginger beer plant' he kept in the shed - the most exciting drink around as you never knew when one of the bottles would explode if he got the mix wrong. Sort of non-alcoholic Russian roulette.

Gary

[UKRay]

'Liberating' returnable bottles and cashing them in was a full time occupation and a major source of income for some kids where I came from. Two enterprising idiots even started liberating them from round the back of a shop and taking them into the same shop for a refund... That didn't last long!

I like the idea of coke syrup being a universal panacea, Dave. My dear mother wasn't so gentle. We used to be given a particularly foul tasting cough medicine called 'Obridges' every time we looked a bit 'peaky'. It was amazing how quickly you recovered if there was any chance of another dose....

I wonder if they still make that stuff? I haven't seen it for years.

Does anyone remember when some cough mixtures contained enough chemicals to make you high? I remember being on a bus one winter, sipping the stuff out of the bottle to combat a tickly cough. I got completely stoned and missed my stop! You could buy that stuff over the counter too! LOL

Ray

[TigerPal]

Your Obridges sounds about like the infamous Hadacol tonic which was available in the US during the early 50's. It was allegedly 100 proof alcohol, with some honey and various vitamins stirred in. It was taken off the market because of its alcohol content, and million of kids were thankful for that LOL. According to some tales, the first batches were mixed in a woodel barrel, using an outboard motor as the stirrer! And the name supposedly came from the makers comment "well, I hadda call it something".

[roo4u]

i watch alot of bbc america...graham norton is hilarious they dont have shows as evil and funny on us tv.....one of my favorite actors is robson green...ill watch anything he is in. fav writer is val mcdermid, her books are so well written. robert palmer, musical genius, r.i.p. i dont have too much trouble with the slang because usually can decipher based on context, though fanny is an interesting one. i find it interesting the difference in accent from different parts of england...some are so mild you can hardly tell.

[ferret]

Does anyone remember when some cough mixtures contained enough chemicals to make you high? I remember being on a bus one winter, sipping the stuff out of the bottle to combat a tickly cough. I got completely stoned and missed my stop! You could buy that stuff over the counter too! LOL

Ray

Used to know a re-enactor who put "benolyn" in his home brew, most of us would avoid it unless realy desperate and/or drunk.

[tonyc1]

Some horrible home administered medicines when I was a child were Cod Liver Oil, Brewers Malt and another chunderous brew was called Scott's Emulsion. I hated showing signs of sickness when I was little, I really did!!!

Tony.

[Azaz]

One South African delicacy I have not seen in the USA is jam / preserves made from watermelon peel - is it made anywhere here?

The closest I can think of is pickled watermelon rind. Hope this helps.

[Sticky]

When i was a kid we use to have the van come to our street which sold Lowes pop.

When it came round you would here all the other kids in the street shouting "The pop mans here"

Ice cream soda was my favourite:)

[UKRay]

I'd forgotten all about ice-cream soda. That stuff was amazing. Can you still get it and does it still taste the same?

Talking about childhood reminded me of things like gob stoppers, aniseed balls and Blackjacks. You have to go to a specialist sweet shop to find those now, but back in the day they were everywhere - staples, you might say!

Language is a funny thing. The Brits will know exactly what I mean by jelly but I'm not sure how this might translate elsewhere? Jello maybe? Anyway, back in the 1950s, my mum used to have a selection of jelly moulds (one was shaped like a rabbit). She would make a milk jelly white rabbit on a green jelly base for birthday teas. Anyone remember milk jelly made with evaporated milk? I haven't seen evaporated milk for years either - or condensed milk, the really thick gloopy stuff. I used to like condensed milk in coffee.

A lot of the old stuff has vanished from the shelves. Okay, much of it was probably dangerous but somehow nobody died... or maybe they did!

Ray

[tonyc1]

I'd forgotten all about ice-cream soda. That stuff was amazing. Can you still get it and does it still taste the same?

Talking about childhood reminded me of things like gob stoppers, aniseed balls and Blackjacks. You have to go to a specialist sweet shop to find those now, but back in the day they were everywhere - staples, you might say!

Language is a funny thing. The Brits will know exactly what I mean by jelly but I'm not sure how this might translate elsewhere? Jello maybe? Anyway, back in the 1950s, my mum used to have a selection of jelly moulds (one was shaped like a rabbit). She would make a milk jelly white rabbit on a green jelly base for birthday teas. Anyone remember milk jelly made with evaporated milk? I haven't seen evaporated milk for years either - or condensed milk, the really thick gloopy stuff. I used to like condensed milk in coffee.

A lot of the old stuff has vanished from the shelves. Okay, much of it was probably dangerous but somehow nobody died... or maybe they did!

Ray

Yes, they're not common now, those sweets. We still have jelly quite often especially with ice cream or Pavlova. And my wife wants to know how you make cheesecake without evaporated milk and as far as condensed milk goes I can still eat spoonfuls of it easily. I like to be around when the boss makes mayonnaise and I can scrape out the milk tin. I haven't had a milk jelly for over 50 years and had forgotten all about them. We do have now and again Junket and sometimes Blancmange though. We still sometimes have Sago or Tapioca which isn't very common these days!

There are a lot of good edibles from the past that aren't consumed now.

Tony.

[RooLeadGirl]

Jelly here is actually preserves.. Grape, Strawberry, raspberry etc..

http://media-files.gather.com/images/d269/d692/d744/d224/d96/f3/full.jpg

You can also get "goobers" hehe which is jelly and peanut butter already mixed up!

http://doncrowson.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Downtown-WFSU-Pledge-Drive_Mar202010_0474.jpg

as far as the Jelly you are talking about we call it Jell-O.. something we like to do in the US is make Jello shots... you make up the jello with vodka and put shots in small plastic cups and than take them later after they set. yummm!!!!

http://happylotus.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/jello1.jpg

we still have condensed and evaporated milk... People here drive rediculously large vehicles lifted up so high that you have to use a step ladder to get in. We do have amish and they go around town with their horse and buggies.. Depending on where you live in the country you will have a different "accent".. and regionally different words are used.. (like soda and pop) I grew up and it was called pop.. unless it was orange.. than it was orange soda. no idea why.

i am jealous of the accents in teh UK! I want one lol. I dont know if anyone has seen the "charlie bit my finger" youtube video, but apparently its in the top five.. if two american kids were doing that... it would of never gotten 10 views. But because that cute little boy has such an adorable accent he skyrocketed to stardom!

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

Hey RooLeadGirl is Utah Vodka like the Utah 3.2% beer ? You must be bootlegging that in from Mesquite, cause you folks in Utah are not supposed to be drinkin that firewater.

I am currently werkin in LaVerkin Utah. Pretty scenery, but nothing to do, not even in StGeorge. We call the folks with the lifted trucks, and other redneck things Utards.

As to sweetened condensed milk, it is available in the baking section of the supermarkets. I just used a bunch to make 6 pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving.

For me I grew up with soda, or soda pop. Some folks just use Coke as a general term for carbonated sugary beverages.

[RooLeadGirl]

Hey RooLeadGirl is Utah Vodka like the Utah 3.2% beer ? You must be bootlegging that in from Mesquite, cause you folks in Utah are not supposed to be drinkin that firewater.

I am currently werkin in LaVerkin Utah. Pretty scenery, but nothing to do, not even in StGeorge. We call the folks with the lifted trucks, and other redneck things Utards.

As to sweetened condensed milk, it is available in the baking section of the supermarkets. I just used a bunch to make 6 pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving.

For me I grew up with soda, or soda pop. Some folks just use Coke as a general term for carbonated sugary beverages.

I'm from Ohio. We moved out here 2 years ago. I must say these crazy Utard (we say that too) mormons are rediculous about drinking! bar here closes at 12:30.. who does that!!!! beer is 3.2.. all shots are measured.. no more than one shot per drink etc etc.

You can get regular liquor from the liquor store. Actually not a very well known fact because you have to ask.. but when you get up to the counter you can ask and purchase everclear... 4.99 a bottle here. Thats usually what we buy. When you go to the resturaunt they wont allow you to get a drink unless you order food.

just crazy stuff! if you have a friday night or sat. night free. head down to mesquite to eureka.. best seafood buffet.. ever