I eat whale blubber and club baby seals...

[Nasturtium 500]

If you say "washroom" in the USA they look at u silly too!!

Oh I know! hahaha I have done that more than a few times.

Also I get the: "####### is pop?" look.

Yeah, I have now trained myself to say 'rest room' instead of washroom. You want to know something funny - they said 'Washroom" on the Andy Griffiths show the other night - so it did used to be used in the US as well!! It was in context of taking a bath. I was so totally surprised.

Sprailenes - you are right, it absolutely makes sense! Now, did the 'change room' also have lockers? Because if it had no lockers it couldn't be a locker room, could it?

Well, it has lockers. But I still knew it as a change room.

Pop and washroom are regional terms... so if you get that look/confusion, then you've moved beyond where it's used in the USA and have encountered someone who either lives under a rock or has never traveled.

[Sprailenes 47]

Mostly people from PA/NJ/NY area have asked me. I think I heard from someone that in the midwest they use the word: "Pop" still.

[Krikit 1,163]

If you say "washroom" in the USA they look at u silly too!!

I get that all the time too. Especially when you ask them in a restaurant. Everyone here calls the laundry room the washroom. Now I just ask for the ladies room.

[SpiritAlight 1]

"CButt"

Bahaha!

That cracked me up.

Hey Mephys, butter tart is also similar to creme a la sucre or is it sucre a la creme (excuse my laziness for not adding the accents)....and the trat add the tart part, where the Quebec delicacy makes no excuse for itself. Just pure and total sweet satisfaction. Yummmm....it has been too long.

Butter tars in Vancouver, where I discovered them, had raisins. I took pleasure in zinging them out car or bus windows. Cooked raisins suck.

About and aboot...what is it with this fascination?

In all my travels in the U.S. since the age of baby, only upon moving here did I get asked to say that word by a fellow team sailor.

I was so puzzled that I just said the word without asking why.

He replied, "Hey, you say it 'right'!"

Huh?!

Whah-evah!!!

Hmph.

Silliness abounds.

If you have ever spoken to someone from Baltimore, you'd find it challenging to understand their accent.

Hee, hee. I have heard people say boot instead of boat there.

Please watch if you need some comic relief...stay tuned for the kittens you feline fans!!!

It never ceases to surprise me how little geographical knowledge the general public has.

You must have all seen that show where the Assie dudes visit the U.S. make up stories, and set up on street corners and test the public...

Stand by for clip.

He posts a world map and asks people to point out where the U.S.ians think they should invade next, etc. and to pick out certain countries.

Here is one of a series of this hilarious and all made up CNNN:

Enjoy!

On hockey: I only am interested in playing the game for fun and leisure.

I have never been interested in watching professional sports.

Why watch when one can do!

And so...

the very first telephone conversation i had with my then-future-husband (who knew?? haha), he was shocked to hear that a Canadian, yes a Canadian did not know some score of some big game.

I really should have listened to the red flag that went up then.

Sigh...

I will go back to clubbing baby seals and eating their hot blubber now.

Edited August 27, 2008 by SpiritAlight

[SpiritAlight 1]

Here are some more parts:

(I love the guy in the pink!)

There are so many "good" ones.

[DeadPoolX 9]

RE: "Pop, Washroom, and Change Room"

As someone else said on here, "pop" (in reference to soda) is a regional issue. Some areas of the U.S. refer to it as "pop" while others call it "soda" and some merely call all of it "Coke." I tend to call it "soda," since that's how I've always heard it, but I don't know if that's how Texans usually say it. My parents were from New York, so perhaps some of the terminology I use might differ from the average Texan. A good example is what Canadians call "running shoes." In the U.S., the southern states (including Texas) generally refer to these as "tennis shoes" while the northern states call them "sneakers." I've always called them "sneakers."

The term "washroom" was actually first used in the United States, but for some reason or another, it slowly faded away in favor of "restroom" or "bathroom." Apparently, "washroom" caught on at some point in Canada and never left. Those who're older in the U.S. might remember it being used, but I'd say anyone who's 50 and under today probably wouldn't recall it. I've never referred to the "laundry room" as the "washroom," so that's a new one to me. I've just called it the "laundry room" or the "utility room."

I've never heard "change room" used instead of "locker room" but if I had, I could figure out what it means. The phrase "to change" suggests that one will change their clothing. If they did something different, like change into a frog or a mountain lion, that would be highly unusual. However, the term "locker room" is what's common in the United States, since places where people change clothing generally have lockers to store the other set of clothes.

[iteachkids81 1]

I don't know if I am weird or not but I also like raisins in my cinnamon rolls.. preferably the golden raisins.. my mom always put raisins in hers...

I miss her cinnamon rolls

she would make them almost every week on Thursday when she would bake her bread and buns and she would also make a big pot of soup.. mmm, those were the days, my friends.. we would come home from school and the whole house would smell like baked bread...

my mom used to bake all the time too. home made bread, pizza, cinnamon buns, banana bread....

come home from school and the kitchen was full of bread on every counter and 3/4 of the table....

I miss those days. I wish I could have been around to actually bake with her (she died when I was 16... never got to learn how to make the bread, even tho i have the recipe.....)

good memories tho.

and i do make her cinnamon buns with raisins in them too!

[iteachkids81 1]

RE: "Pop, Washroom, and Change Room"

A good example is what Canadians call "running shoes." In the U.S., the southern states (including Texas) generally refer to these as "tennis shoes" while the northern states call them "sneakers." I've always called them "sneakers."

I have always referred to sneakers as sneakers.

Funny story from when I taught kindergarten in NYC. I always took the kids to the washroom. its not a bathroom at school, there is no BATH in there. and it isn't a rest room, you aren't there to rest! LOL so I taught them to ask to go to the washroom, or I said that we were lining up to go to the washroom. When they got to grade 1 next year (yes grade one, not first grade!LOL) the teachers automatically knew which kids were from my class because they would ask to go to the washroom.

[DeadPoolX 9]

RE: "Pop, Washroom, and Change Room"

A good example is what Canadians call "running shoes." In the U.S., the southern states (including Texas) generally refer to these as "tennis shoes" while the northern states call them "sneakers." I've always called them "sneakers."

I have always referred to sneakers as sneakers.

Funny story from when I taught kindergarten in NYC. I always took the kids to the washroom. its not a bathroom at school, there is no BATH in there. and it isn't a rest room, you aren't there to rest! LOL so I taught them to ask to go to the washroom, or I said that we were lining up to go to the washroom. When they got to grade 1 next year (yes grade one, not first grade!LOL) the teachers automatically knew which kids were from my class because they would ask to go to the washroom.

I was surprised to find out that in Canada, you don't refer to 9th through 12th Grade the same way we do in the United States. My wife said you just call it "Grade 9, 11, 10, and 12." I've always known them as my "Freshman, Sophomore, Junior and Senior" years in high school. Coincidentally, college classifications are done the same way as well.

There's another one, actually: College. When I first met my in-laws, my wife told me to say "university" instead of "college." I found that odd, since I've always said "college" and that generally means the same thing as "university" in the U.S., but apparently, it has a different connotation in Canada.

It's just sounds funny. No one (except pretentious a-holes) actually say "I'm attending university!" No matter where you go, from Harvard to some community college, everyone seeking education past high school says, "I'm going to college!"

Edited August 27, 2008 by DeadPoolX

[Reba 2]

college in Canada refers specifically to community colleges. Universities are institutions of higher learning. With higher tuitions.

[Sprailenes 47]

But university tuition in Canada is about the price of Community College down here

Its a joke..about the insane cost of education in the US...you don't need to get out your fact books and correct me.

[Mephys 2]

I was surprised to find out that in Canada, you don't refer to 9th through 12th Grade the same way we do in the United States. My wife said you just call it "Grade 9, 11, 10, and 12." I've always known them as my "Freshman, Sophomore, Junior and Senior" years in high school. Coincidentally, college classifications are done the same way as well.

There's another one, actually: College. When I first met my in-laws, my wife told me to say "university" instead of "college." I found that odd, since I've always said "college" and that generally means the same thing as "university" in the U.S., but apparently, it has a different connotation in Canada.

It's just sounds funny. No one (except pretentious a-holes) actually say "I'm attending university!" No matter where you go, from Harvard to some community college, everyone seeking education past high school says, "I'm going to college!"

Yeah there are some differences. And in Quebec it's even different than the rest of Canada. Junior school (Primaire in French) we say First grade to 6th grade. Then we switch to High school (Secondaire in French) and its gonna be 1st grade to 5th grade

So it goes like this

Junior: 1ere annee, 2ieme annee, 3ieme annee, 4ieme annee, 5ieme annee, 6ieme annee Primaire

High school: Secondaire 1, secondaire 2, secondaire 3, secondaire 4, secondaire 5

Which actually totals 11 years of school, I guess if we count Preschool (Maternelle) then it's 12 years.

Then college (CEGEP in Quebec) you do either a 2 years general program in order to be accepted in a University, or a 3 years technicial program to become a technician in something (Which is what I did) So I graduated from College but never went to University. And besides no one can attend University after High school without going through College.

[vanee 13]

There's another one, actually: College. When I first met my in-laws, my wife told me to say "university" instead of "college." I found that odd, since I've always said "college" and that generally means the same thing as "university" in the U.S., but apparently, it has a different connotation in Canada.

It's just sounds funny. No one (except pretentious a-holes) actually say "I'm attending university!" No matter where you go, from Harvard to some community college, everyone seeking education past high school says, "I'm going to college!"

That's one I struggle with. My husband told me that in the US, it sounds pretentious to say that you went to or are going to university. In Canada, though, you call college college and university university. Nothing pretentious about it -- it's like calling apples apples and bananas bananas.

I went to both college and university, and I think and mean 2 different things when I use each word. How can I call a banana an apple when there's a word for banana to show that you're talking about a banana and not an apple? I'll have to if I don't want to sound pretentious, but it's crazy to me that using the right word sounds pretentious and I have to use a word other than what something is to avoid coming across wrong.

Imagine if you had to call both pencils and pens pens because the word pencil sounded pretentious. That's how it feels to me. Saying bathroom instead of washroom is much easier -- it's just a different word for the same thing.

[Mephys 2]

That's one I struggle with. My husband told me that in the US, it sounds pretentious to say that you went to or are going to university. In Canada, though, you call college college and university university. Nothing pretentious about it -- it's like calling apples apples and bananas bananas.

I went to both college and university, and I think and mean 2 different things when I use each word. How can I call a banana an apple when there's a word for banana to show that you're talking about a banana and not an apple? I'll have to if I don't want to sound pretentious, but it's crazy to me that using the right word sounds pretentious and I have to use a word other than what something is to avoid coming across wrong.

Imagine if you had to call both pencils and pens pens because the word pencil sounded pretentious. That's how it feels to me. Saying bathroom instead of washroom is much easier -- it's just a different word for the same thing.

Exactly...anyways why would it be pretentious, they say " I went to college at University of Illinois" for example....it still implies university anyways...

[DeadPoolX 9]

There's another one, actually: College. When I first met my in-laws, my wife told me to say "university" instead of "college." I found that odd, since I've always said "college" and that generally means the same thing as "university" in the U.S., but apparently, it has a different connotation in Canada.

It's just sounds funny. No one (except pretentious a-holes) actually say "I'm attending university!" No matter where you go, from Harvard to some community college, everyone seeking education past high school says, "I'm going to college!"

That's one I struggle with. My husband told me that in the US, it sounds pretentious to say that you went to or are going to university. In Canada, though, you call college college and university university. Nothing pretentious about it -- it's like calling apples apples and bananas bananas.

I went to both college and university, and I think and mean 2 different things when I use each word. How can I call a banana an apple when there's a word for banana to show that you're talking about a banana and not an apple? I'll have to if I don't want to sound pretentious, but it's crazy to me that using the right word sounds pretentious and I have to use a word other than what something is to avoid coming across wrong.

Imagine if you had to call both pencils and pens pens because the word pencil sounded pretentious. That's how it feels to me. Saying bathroom instead of washroom is much easier -- it's just a different word for the same thing.

I know and understand that's how it feels to you, but to us -- to Americans -- it feels the same way when someone says "I'm attending university" instead of "I'm going to college." To us, it all means the same thing. The "right word" is subjective, after all.

I'll be learning to make a clear distinction between "college" and "university" since I'm now living in Canada. That feels very wrong to me, but it's how things operate here, and I accept that.

I think a lot of this has to do with the differences between American and British English. I've noticed that countries with much stronger ties to the UK (such as Canada and Australia) will not only differentiate between "college" and "university," but make statements such as "I'm attending university" or "I'm going on holiday." Granted, the latter is one I haven't heard too often (it seems to be more common in the UK and Australia than in Canada), which is good, since that phrase really drives me up the wall.

I hate it -- hate it! -- whenever someone says, "I'm going on holiday." It's moronic. You can't go on a holiday. A holiday is something that occurs on a set day or series of days, such as Thanksgiving or Christmas. Those are holidays. You don't "go on them." Maybe you'll get a day or two off work for a holiday, but that's hardly enough time to visit a country that's half-way across the world, now is it?

You can, however, "go on a vacation" during those "holidays" or any other time as well. That makes a lot more sense, doesn't it? To say, "I'm going on a vacation!" Yes! You can take a vacation, but can't take a holiday!