Things I've had to explain about the U.S.

[luvaLimey 0]

Water towers are up in the air so that when the water is used, gravity will create water pressure to move it through the pipes.

My fiance still curses about the sale tax not being added to the price, and he kept forgetting while he was driving over here that he could, in fact, turn right on a red light.

[eau_xplain 2]

My husband (USC) and I (Filipina) have had lively discussions about why an electoral college gets to have the final say on who becomes president.

[zyggy 9]

Water towers are up in the air so that when the water is used, gravity will create water pressure to move it through the pipes.

My fiance still curses about the sale tax not being added to the price, and he kept forgetting while he was driving over here that he could, in fact, turn right on a red light.

Actually most of the time pumps create water pressure. The purpose of the water towers is to act as a backup in case there is a large drawdown of water that the pumps can't keep up with (such as to fight a large fire) or an emergency (like a blackout turning off all the pumps), there will always be adequate water pressure for fire fighting and public health purposes.

My husband (USC) and I (Filipina) have had lively discussions about why an electoral college gets to have the final say on who becomes president.

The purpose of the electoral college was a method devised by the founding fathers to balance regional interests. During the beginning of our country, the majority of the population lived in a few states in the north. However, the south and smaller states did not want their interests losing clout while electing a president. Basically it was a way to keep the more populus states from having outright control of the presidency. It also keeps the president more focused on the nation as a whole. Without the electoral vote, the presidential candidates would spend their time in only a few states. Lots of projects in smaller states or the people's voices in smaller states would potentially lose out. I mean the 100,000 votes in Wyoming probably wouldn't mean squat to a presidnetial candidate. But 3 Electoral Votes definitely means something..

The system has been that way ever since. Interesting enough, it's each state that determines how their electoral votes get allocated. Two states (Maine and Nebraska) make it so that the winner of the presidential vote in each congressional district get that electoral vote. Then the two statewide electoral votes go to the winner of the state.

If every state did that, Gore would have won in 2000, but Bush would have still won in 2004.

Edited February 20, 2006 by zyggy

[Jaylen Brit 0]

I was with you on the politics thing right up until 'the purpose of the electoral college is...'

[j&js 0]

If every state did that, Gore would have won in 2000, but Bush would have still won in 2004.

Except, what a different place the world might have been if Bush hadn't ended up with the presidency...

[I'm Gone 60]

Except, what a different place the world might have been if Bush hadn't ended up with the presidency...

Yeah, there would be no poor, homeless or sick. Gas would be $1.00 a gallon. Every child would have a father. There wouldn't have been a Hurricane Katrina or 9/11. We would all just sit around holding hands and singing happy songs. LOL

[radacos 0]

"Im probably gonna get beat up for this....but i blame the poor public schools here in Jordan. Now i consider my husband a very bright man, but he didnt study US history in school....so he is always confused on what is a state vs. major city...I know it sounds kind of dumb, but he though detroit was a state...lol...i pulled up a US map on the comp and taught him everything....also the fact that my grandparents are in the next state over (indiana) but it takes 4 hours to get there.....why it costs 100$ for a women to get her hair colored, and u still have to tip....the whole "free refills" on sodas at restaurants boggles him..(most places in jordan serve cans) drive thru banks...so many things, and he hasnt even been in the US yet...its only from things we have talked aout"

Dollface, I surely don't mean to offend, but how much Jordanian history did you study in school? Isn't it the least bit presumptuous to expect people to possess detailed information about foreign places they have never been to?

[kc456 0]

I (non-USC) used to get pretty worked up when offered a "tea" which would turn out to be herbal tea (not black tea). In Russia, that would be called "tisane" or "infusion." I have eventually gotten over it.

[DouglasSheridan 1]

well, I make my husband giggle at least 3 or more times a week with the silly things I get up to.

The best one I have pulled so far, and boy do I feel stupid about this one is the following....

In Belgium we hardly ever experience snow, and when we do, its a tiny amount and never really lays.... so coming to Nebraska was quite an experience as me nor my son has ever seen this amount of snow.

It soon melted after our arrival and hadnt come back until last week, when temps suddenly dropped and snow lay heavy and thick.

We went grocery shopping that day and outside the market a man was shovelling the snow. I looked at his tool and thought long and hard where I had seen it before, when it hit me.... we have tree of those in the garage so I shouted out loud "thats what those weird looking shovels in the garage are for" my husband bursted out laughing.... to make matters worse, in the afternoon, when he'd gone to bed before work, I decided to clear the driveway (an excuse to try one of those shovels out).... after doing so for like two hours!!!! my arms nearly fell off, so clever me ran into the kitchen, and believe it or not, went and got the kitchensalt. With the tiny little shaker I started sprinkling the entire DOUBLE driveway!

After having done, I put the salt on the garbagecan in the garage and forgot all about it..... till my husband woke up and went to start his car and warm it up. He saw the shaker standing there and laughed so hard he nearly wet himself...... how was I to know they use different salt on roads?????

So yes, I have my lill stupid spells..... like asking what the sign DIP stands for, when really as it means is "there a dip in the road!"

Also, numerous times do we get all mixed up with language....... a few days back there was a waterleak so I asked my husband to get me a torch, not knowing its called a 'flashlight', or I ask my Mom in law "do you want this in the bin" rather than garbagecan..... and so on...its all good fun, and I Love seeing my husband giggle like that, puts him in a supergood mood So...my sillyness isnt in vain!

Sheridan

Edited February 21, 2006 by DouglasSheridan

[raphael7546 0]

QUOTE(j&js @ Feb 20 2006, 09:35 PM)

Except, what a different place the world might have been if Bush hadn't ended up with the presidency...

Yeah, there would be no poor, homeless or sick. Gas would be $1.00 a gallon. Every child would have a father. There wouldn't have been a Hurricane Katrina or 9/11. We would all just sit around holding hands and singing happy songs. LOL

LMFAO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[john_and_marlene 162]

my wife often answers me with O O (oh-oh) which is Tagalog for "yes", but it usually sounds more like uh -uh which sounds more like a negative response to me. I've gotten quite used to it, but it's always fun to ask if by that she means yes. She usually chuckles then and says yes. Actually I always know that she means yes, because she has never used the uh-uh term to mean no.

[Jaylen Brit 0]

...We went grocery shopping that day and outside the market a man was shovelling the snow. I looked at his tool and thought long and hard where I had seen it before, when it hit me.... Sheridan

Well I just spit coffee and fell off my chair laughing when I read that the first time

[Velvettt 0]

Oh good, I'm not the only one...

[dollface41601 0]

"Im probably gonna get beat up for this....but i blame the poor public schools here in Jordan. Now i consider my husband a very bright man, but he didnt study US history in school....so he is always confused on what is a state vs. major city...I know it sounds kind of dumb, but he though detroit was a state...lol...i pulled up a US map on the comp and taught him everything....also the fact that my grandparents are in the next state over (indiana) but it takes 4 hours to get there.....why it costs 100$ for a women to get her hair colored, and u still have to tip....the whole "free refills" on sodas at restaurants boggles him..(most places in jordan serve cans) drive thru banks...so many things, and he hasnt even been in the US yet...its only from things we have talked aout"

Dollface, I surely don't mean to offend, but how much Jordanian history did you study in school? Isn't it the least bit presumptuous to expect people to possess detailed information about foreign places they have never been to?

Radacos, I dont know about you, or about Romania, but i do know this, Jordan is a very well developed country, and they do study american history etc....i know in high school in chicago, i studied every darn country in this world.....and by the way...isnt this what this thread is about....laughing about the things our SO needed to get explained to them.....yes it is....so go somewhere alright!!!!!!

[Texanadian 10]

Dooryards, hahaha. Maine is a strange place. I know what you mean about dropping their R's. The first time I heard somebody from Maine pronounce Portland, it sounded like Potelind. On the other hand, I've heard of at least 2 born in the USA Americans who didn't know that Maine was a state.

As a Canadian, I get mixed up over sweet tea. There is no such thing as sweet tea in Canada.

I've never really used air conditioning in cars before (In Canada, you've got about a 50% chance of having a car with A/C and if you do have one, there's a 90% chance it doesn't work from underuse)....So I was under the idea that the MAX a/c and NORM a/c were somehow different in that the MAX mode would use more gasoline and take more power to run. Turns out they do the exact same thing but MAX recirculates the indoor air and dehumidifies it, while the NORM mode takes the hot humid air from the outside and cools it (but doesn't dehumidify very well).

This is a problem in Houston as it's one of if not the most humid cities in the country. We were driving along the highway and I silently moved it over from MAX to NORM....About 5 minutes later we're both sweating in the car. She looks at the knobs and then looks over at me. DID YOU DO THAT? hahahaha.

I had a German boss in Canada that used to tell me all sorts of things about first moving to Canada. Buying a root beer and thinking it was beer. But my favourite was when he kept seeing "gift shops" everywhere. Apparently gift shops are where exterminators buy their poison in Germany. He used to think his neighbours were cheap because if he would go over to visit, they would offer him coffee instead of beer.