Curiosity about life in another country is a reasonable thing, and enough British pop culture has spread throughout the world to pique many people's interest.
Reddit user u/-Chris-P-Bacon- asked:
"What's something you always wanted to ask a British person?"
Yes. Plumbed in near the sink usually. England is a small country, we don't have room for massive houses and extra rooms just for laundry. Unsure of why basements never took off here though, I'd love a basement. Too damp maybe?
Can you live without water? Air? We have had wars over Tea! Our tanks have a hot water boiler in then to make tea. Something good happens? Tea Someone dies? Tea Just been in an accident? Tea
You can tell a lot about someone how they make/take their tea.
NEVER underestimate tea!
18.
How do you feel about Americans hijacking the name "Football" for a game that is clearly not football?
Slightly irksome, however, knowing the rest of the world names it correctly I get a small smug smile when I think about it.
17.
Yeah yeah yeah, we all love our Doctor Who and Coronation Street...what are the crappy TV shows that don't make it overseas?
Wait, they show Coronation Street in the US?
Corrie is the crap tv...
16.
As a British person: why do people put plastic tubs in the sink? I can't think of any reason why someone would do it.
EDIT: Apparently I was unclear, I am British. A bunch of people saying I'm American, even the British think the British are weird.
I've asked this before and started a war. Here you go:
They don't often have double sinks or 1 1/2 sinks like in the US, Aus/NZ so you put the dishes in the plastic tub maybe with water - and you can still run water (eg: for rinsing) without it going into the dishes water.
Leaves the sink free to pour cold tea down (either the most British reason or the most sacreligious reason)
To save water, back when basins were massive concrete things or porcelain you saved water filling up a smaller bowl.
It protects the porcelain sink from the cutlery.
It protects the glass from the metal sink.
If you suddenly need your sink you can pull the whole plastic tub out and voila! Sink is free!
Honestly, I got so many answers it exhausted me. Most of them were like WHY WOULDNT YOU??
Almost certainly worse.
AFAIK It's to do with different perceptions over here and across the pond. Here we don't really care what our teeth look like so long as they work, but from what I've seen the States are all about that dazzling Colgate white sheen.
So if it ain't twinkling it's considered unhealthy, hence the stereotype. There are probs other explanations but this is the only one I've heard.
C*ckwomble. My ex's boyfriend tried to threaten me when I blocked her having split up with her but he called me a c*ckwomble and I almost pissed myself laughing.
Haddock is a personal fav, but cod and plaice are good too
10.
What is the appropriate response to "Youalright?"
I moved to London about 18 months ago and I still can't figure out how to respond other than making a vaguely positive guttural noise.
The correct interaction is
'Alright.'
'Alright.'
Neither is actually a question, it's just a greeting.
The idea we're obsessed with tea. I only have 4 cups a day, bathe in it once a week, have like TWO shrines in my bedroom, that hardly constitutes an obsession...
Your tanks had to be outfitted with tea kettles to stop soldiers from messing stuff up trying to make tea.
Much like the Galil had to be outfitted with a bottle opener to stop soldiers from breaking their magazines opening beer bottles.
We had to make another power station to cope with the fact that we all get up and make a cup of tea at the exact same times
8.
You claim to be all about the metric system, but when I visited you everything was in "miles", "stone", and "pints". Why do you lie?
We started the change over but it was really boring so we gave up halfway
6.
If I go to the UK (I'm American) will people like my accent or think I sound stupid? I have a very basic American accent, not anything crazy like a southern accent or a Boston accent
Edit: When I say basic American accent, I guess that's my opinion. Just sounds very not special to me. I have a New England (Massachusetts) accent, but not a Boston one.
You’re louder than you think. It’s the volume not the accent.
Not even a little bit
4.
What does the UK think of America. Are we just war obsessed maniacs with eating problems?
The general stereotype of Americans is self-absorbed, delusions of grandeur, thinking their country is the best on earth, etc. The US political system is also very close-minded and skewed; what you would consider 'leftist', everyone else considers centrist.
3.
Why isn't cricket popular in England? Even though the world cup has started British media doesn't seem to be covering much about it
because it went behind Sky's paywall
No coverage on free-to-air tv = Collapse in (youth) interest / viewership
2.
What blend of tea do you drink the most? As a tea lover from the US (proper tea, not southern sweet tea) I'm also curious what the most popular over there is.
Everyone is saying brands (Yorkshire Tea is the best one btw) but in terms of blends we tend to prefer black tea, especially as our 'general' tea is usually a blend of Kenyan, Ceylon, Assam, Darjeeling etc
1.
How's the health situation over there in reality? Do you pay for anything out of pocket? Ever have trouble getting medical attention when you need it?
NHS is free (well tax but ya know).
Don't pay for anything on the NHS apart from prescriptions (it's something like £8 for literally anything you are prescribed, a set price).
No trouble when you compare it to other countries.
Depends what you mean by medical attention. Getting an appointment with your local GP might take a few days, if you happen to live in an area that is underserved. But if you need an ambulance it's going to show up for free as soon as humanly possible.
