I'm American. Ask me anything.

[Edwardoka]

Why do American houses have yards and not gardens?

They don't use the metric system, obviously

 

[perplexed]

Where do American drama/film producers get those special squealy tyres from to put on the cars?

Particularly noticeable in the cop shows where the hero pulls up to the already taped off crime scene and the tyres squeal?

Also on a car theme, why do they never lock their cars when leaving them? 'Specially in the old films which pre-date 'zapping' 'em remotely over one's shoulder?

 

[figbat]

Why do Americans have a preference to emphasise the second syllable of longer words, rather that the first and third? Example:

caRIBbean vs CAribBEan
conTROVersy vs CONtroVERSy
kiLOMetre vs KILoMEtre (lots of British people have adopted the American one here)
hiROshima vs HIroSHIma

 

[figbat]

Where do American drama/film producers get those special squealy tyres from to put on the cars?

Particularly noticeable in the cop shows where the hero pulls up to the already taped off crime scene and the tyres squeal?

And the tyres squeal on gravel and other unmade surfaces too.

 

[figbat]

Where do American drama/film producers get those special squealy tyres from to put on the cars?

Particularly noticeable in the cop shows where the hero pulls up to the already taped off crime scene and the tyres squeal?

And cars with remote locking that do a 90s arming 'bleep'.

 

[Chris S]

Have you ever seen a bear in the wild?

^^^^ and did you live to tell the tale?

No

 

[MichaelW2]

Why does it only rain in the USA when a nasty crime is being committed?

 

[glasgowcyclist]

Also on a car theme, why do they never lock their cars when leaving them?

And why is it people get into their cars with no keys in their hands and are able to immediately start the engine and drive off? Does everyone leave their keys in the ignition?

 

[matticus]

If it's someone else's car, the keys will be on top of the sun-vizor.

 

[Profpointy]

Where do American drama/film producers get those special squealy tyres from to put on the cars?

Particularly noticeable in the cop shows where the hero pulls up to the already taped off crime scene and the tyres squeal?

My Uncle visited the US on a few business trips in the 70s and he noticed enough to comment on his return that car tyres really did squeal like in American cop shows even when people weren't going fast. It seems that the tyres and suspension of US cars of the day were really shyte, even compared to British paragons of performance like the Marina or Allegro

 

[woodbutcher]

If anything is possible, is it possible for anything to be impossible?

The law of possibility is not responsible for you , you are responsible for it . Therefore if you decide that some thing is impossible , that is what it will be

 

[anothersam]

Where do you prefer living?

Here, else I’d grab my passport and book steerage back to what for me is the old world.

What could the British learn from Americans? (nice can of worms for you to wrestle with)

- How to put screens on windows to let fresh air but not bugs in.

View: https://youtu.be/Nbbhz6ovRUc

- That houses don’t have to be on ladders.

New heights in social distancing

Half baked

- Just because the US is having a rough patch, you can get by without royalty.

The Firm

Not going anywhere just yet

Do Americans wrestle with cans of worms?

First, thank you for saying “cans” rather than “tins”. It shows a certain cultural sensitivity.
We don’t wrestle with cans, but staple guns are not out of the question.

View: https://youtu.be/KXuL5jzGrRQ

Why do American houses have yards and not gardens?

Do a thread search for “maieutic method”. I’ll wait.

They don't use the metric system, obviously

Stapled nailed it in one sense, though Quora goes into more detail. They need to start paying me for clickthroughs.

Also, note that we have yard sales (as opposed to boot sales), and garden parties.

View: https://youtu.be/rFugRFKqjFg

why do they never lock their cars when leaving them? 'Specially in the old films which pre-date 'zapping' 'em remotely over one's shoulder?

And why is it people get into their cars with no keys in their hands and are able to immediately start the engine and drive off? Does everyone leave their keys in the ignition?

If it's someone else's car, the keys will be on top of the sun-vizor.

You might as well ask why nobody says goodbye before hanging up the phone.

View: https://youtu.be/APUQeQalRsU

Life in the movies has only a shaky correspondence with RL. That said, we are all taught how to hotwire a car in high school: it’s a life skill.

Why does it only rain in the USA when a nasty crime is being committed?

To make it harder to track the villain?

Why do Americans have a preference to emphasise the second syllable of longer words, rather that the first and third? Example:
caRIBbean vs CAribBEan
conTROVersy vs CONtroVERSy
kiLOMetre vs KILoMEtre (lots of British people have adopted the American one here)
hiROshima vs HIroSHIma

I scored about 50% on that. Feel free to dive into this. As one wise person on StackExchange put it, “I can’t explain an unknown individual’s reasons for pronouncing words a certain way.”


View: https://youtu.be/4fzpdDe2Jog

Practice makes PER-fect.

The law of possibility is not responsible for you , you are responsible for it . Therefore if you decide that some thing is impossible , that is what it will be

It sounds like someone’s been reading Aspire Magazine.

 

[Edwardoka]

Why is it called Madison Square Garden when it's neither square nor a garden, being instead a cylindrical indoor arena?

Do New Yorkers have a reputation for being so grumpy because the city never sleeps?

 

[Rusty Nails]

First, thank you for saying “cans” rather than “tins”. It shows a certain cultural sensitivity.
We don’t wrestle with cans, but staple guns are not out of the question.

Manners maketh Man. We Brits are known for it.

I wasn't sure whether worms came in cans or tins in the US. I would never drink a tin of beer, but neither would I buy a can of baked beans.

 

[Rocky]

What is it like to be a (flying) bat?