On 05 20, Dave Sill wrote:
# Peter Samuel <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
#
# >On Thu, 5 Oct 2000, Dave Sill wrote:
# >>
# >> >It's like comparing America
# >> >to Australia. Why do America have to make everything back-to-front
# >> >for us?
# >>
# >> Such as?
# >
# >I'll bite that one. Here's my short list off the top of my head.
#
# Brett implied that the US was intentionally being different. I think
# your examples are perfectly typical international differences.
#
# > - we each drive on different sides of the road
#
# US and Canada do it one way. UK and Australia do it the other. There's
# no clear international standard.
Ahh, but the reason the US drives on the other side of the road is because
the UK doesn't!
It makes life hell for kids who have been taught to look right, left, right
again....
# > - we tell time differently, eg quarter past 9 vs quarter after
# > nine
#
# Same difference.
can someone please tell me what Quarter of nine means, is it a quarter til,
quarter past?
# > - North American light switches are up for on, but in Oz they are
# > down for on.
#
# They toggle, for Peter's sake! If it's dark, flip the danged switch
# and see if it gets brighter. Sheesh. :-)
Actually, this one got me too.... I thought the bulb was out
# > - Australian power points (or power outlets if you don't know what
# > I'm talking about) all have switches on the outlet itself, not at
# > the wall.
#
# Oh, that's *handy*...walk into a room and fumble behind the furniture
# looking for the light switch. Gee, I can't imagine why we put them on
# the wall...
No, Power outlets, not light switches... the power outlets have switches at
the outlet...
# > - typically, North Americans have a North American centric view of
# > the world, while people in Oz tend to be, on the whole, more aware
# > of the rest of the world. (I know, a sweeping generalisation and North
# > Americans have improved greatly since I first encountered them on
# > mass in 1978).
#
# Of course we have a North Amercian centric view of the world: we're
# the most powerful and important country in the world. If we were a
# backwater like Canada or Australia, we'd be paying a lot more
# attention to other countries like the US, too.
Oh, and US citizens are about as arrogant as the French
;)
--
Justin Bell
