Killswitch - BANNED FOR LIFE

So by your logic our side of the road is proper, as germany drives on the right side.



I drew an arrow pointing at the UK.

CunningStunt

Damnit, I wondered who'd pick that up

XD2

It may not be the most common definition for the word, but you stated that British is not a race followed by an insult. So I was just pointing out British is a Race.

If I am honest i just wanted to join in I can't see that it's really important.

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Sarah_Jayne

Time to look up the definition of ' ;) '

Though..over here often they do have 'British' on under the race area because that area is often for nationality rather than race.

Killswitch - BANNED FOR LIFE

It's ok, I don't blame you, or the whole fail country of UK. I blame the tubes.

CunningStunt

Interestingly, when I was in Japan, I was pleasantly surprised they drive on the correct (LEFT) side of the road.

Here's a history lesson, it's a blast....zzzzzzz

In days of old logic dictated that when people passed each other on the road they should be in the best possible position to use their sword to protect themselves. As most people are right handed they therefore keep to their left. This practice was formalised in a Papal Edict by Pope Benefice around 1300AD who told all his pilgrims to keep to the left.

Nothing much changed until 1773 when an increase in horse traffic forced the UK Government to introduce the General Highways Act of 1773 which contained a keep left recommendation. This became a law as part of the Highways Bill in 1835.

Reasons to travel on the right are less clear but the generally accepted version of history is as follows: The French, being Catholics, followed Pope Boneface's edict but in the build up to the French Revolution in 1790 the French Aristocracy drove their carriages at great speed on the left hand side of the road, forcing the peasantry over to the right side for their own safety. Come the Revolution, instincts of self preservation resulted in the remains of the Aristocracy joining the peasants on the right hand side of the road. The first official record of this was a keep right rule introduced in Paris in 1794

OK, that explains the UK and France but what about the rest of the world ?

Britain's imperial expansion (all of the pink bits on old maps) spread the keep left rule far and wide. This included India, Australasia and much of Africa (Although many African countries changed to the right later when they became independent).

France also had quite an empire after the revolutionary wars and the keep right rule spread through much of modern day Europe and to colonies such as Egypt. The connection with the USA is thought to be General Lafayette who recommended a keep right rule as part of the help that he gave the Americans in the build up to the war of Independence. The first reference to keep right in USA law is in a rule covering the Lancaster to Philadelphia turnpike in 1792.

But what about Japan ? well in the 1850's Gunboat diplomacy forced the Japanese to open their ports to the British and Sir Rutherford Alcock, who was Queen Victoria's man in the Japanese court persuaded them to adopt the keep left rule.



Enter the MOTORCAR !

Very early motorcars followed the principle of a horse driven carriage and the chauffeur was seated in the middle. Once the owners of the vehicles realised what fun they were to drive they wanted their wife/companion to sit with them so the decision had to be made, which side !

The side of the steering wheel followed the tradition in the country so that the first cars (Benz in Germany) were left hand drive as they drive on the right. The major exception to this was that racing cars were almost always right hand drive because it was better suited to circuit racing. In the USA Pierce-Arrow were an example of this and in Europe, most pre 1950 Italian Sports cars are Right Hand Drive, including all pre 1956 Lancia's. Remember also that every Bugatti is Right Hand Drive.

I know of only 2 cars with a centre steering wheel. The prototype Amphicar and the current McLaren F1 (There are one or two other differences between these vehicles, I think top speed comes into it, but I would summarise by saying that the F1 is not best suited to use in a river !!)

And so to the future. Despite Euro-pressure the consensus is that Britain, or any other Drive on Left country, will never change. Two reasons, traffic density make the switch impractical (the last time it was successfully done was in the 1950's with less than 10% of current levels, and, probably the main reason, good old Sir Rutherford Alcock ! The Japanese are the worlds largest car producers, they need to produce vehicles for their own market and need to export so will always produce left and right hand drive vehicles thereby guaranteeing a supply for the rest of the world.

Babaganoosh

Why does everyone ignore the land mass issue? It's about knowing your region. The reason Europeans can identify more countries than Americans is because there are more of them in their area. Most Americans can find the major countries of the world.

Here's an example. I have a friend in Latvia. He can point out all of the countries that used to make up the Soviet Union. Can most Americans? Hell no. If we didn't spend a few weeks talking about the collapse of the USSR when I was in college I certainly wouldn't be able to either.

He can point out Texas, California, "Floria" and Kansas on a map.

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Babaganoosh

I think it's been clearly established here in this thread that the UK does some funny shit. ';)'

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emjay

Even the Brits refer to the terrorist attacks in 2001 as "nine/eleven"...

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uno

The problem is also the fact that a large portion of americans probably can't point out WV or Oregon on a map.

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Libertine

The UK has far more people than any of those states, has a far higher GDP, and is the 6th biggest trade partner of the US - not to mention the obvious history the two countries have together.

Not being able to find countries like Lithuania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Albania, etc. on a map is understandable (if somewhat ignorant) for an American. Not being able to find the UK, France, Brazil, Indonesia, Australia, etc. is not.

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Dood

In St. Thomas USVI they drive on the left side of the road and from the left side of the car, at least all of the cars I saw there drove like that.

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Babaganoosh

Again, land mass and proximity. I'll make sure to bring up GDP at the next What the Average American Knows committee meeting and see if I can get things changed so you'll feel validated. Keep your chin up, little guy.

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borked

Quite amusing derailment - always guaranteed on a US vs Them thread!

And fwiw, the OED says about race:

So the North American GFY race can just stfu and accept that it makes no sense to say MM/DD/YYYY

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Babaganoosh

FWIW even the American code monkeys use YYYY-MM-DD. That's the only format that has ever made sense to me. I've actually written that on checks before after being stuck on a huge project. I'm sure you can relate.

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aniloscash

same reason we use pounds not kg

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StariaDaniel

Actually it would be 1.895,00 in Europe. Using a , for both thousand seperator and decimal seperator would clearly leed to many errors in transactions

That's actually only used as a dialect - most people would say "Zwanzig nach Zwei" which would be "Twenty after 2" - but that's also only used on informal occassions and only for 5/10/15/20/etc.

14:23 would be like "Vierzehn Uhr dreiundzwanzig" "fourteen hours twentythree" ...

True, use it for all electronic data, allthough the "official" date format is dd.mn.yyyy here.

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HomerSimpson

this is true...

also if the company is in Canada and they send me a check with just $
they think it's CAD and I need to bust my balls to assure them that its USD...

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Libertine

So what you're basically saying is that the average American is an ignorant fool who only knows things that are big and around the corner?

I suppose you might be right.

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yoeleven

well it looks like they had some kind of hand in educating you as you're speaking their language

munki

I heart this thread

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bbobby86

history lessons...

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Sarah_Jayne

btw...cosmetic dentistry is one of the fastest growing industries in the UK. So, the toothbrush thing is out of date and frankly lame.

What I will never get it the championing of ignorance. Rather than excusing away not being educated why not aim to change it?

SpicyM

British is not a race. Its a nationality. Yeah, there is a German race.. but not British. Great Britain consist of several countries.. You are wrong because you dont use your brain..

ArsewithClass

The most popular language in the world.....
English!


2 of the largest counties in the world speak English!

Driving began on the left, why change such a straight forward thing?

The SAS, the best of the best! We go in, shoot them up & get out! No one dies apart from the bad guys!

One of the smallest counries in the world, yet still remaining one of the richest, one of the most talented & most definately a country that would that would stand up & defend or help the needed or the correct.


England, Scotland, Ireland & Wales, the UNITED KINGDOM, the land of hope & glory.
English "god & my right".


Damn I love my country!

ArsewithClass

Great Britain which has the English race. The earth the human race.

Im British, like a Canadian is canadian, a USA guy is American, however, they are part of the same continent, North America.

Babaganoosh

I bet.

I wasn't attempting to champion anything. I was pointing out that no matter how self-important the Brits feel, there really isn't any reason for the average American to have any idea where they are on a map.

Joe Sixpack works a 9-5 shift at a local factory, shop, office, restaurant. He has no family outside of the US. He probably doesn't even know anyone outside of the US. The global economy means very little to him. He's busy trying to support his family. He couldn't care less where the UK is. If he knew where the UK was he wouldn't be any better off.

Those of us who work online are considerably more aware of the rest of the world. If you're a local plumber with a family, you have no reason to give two shits about the rest of the world. He probably thinks you're ignorant for not being able to fix your own kitchen sink.

This started because of some twink's "Spot the UK" on a map remark, as if it had some kind of relevance.

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Sarah_Jayne

So what factory does he work at that doesn't have any foreign investors? What car does he drive that he fills with fuel that had no foreign involvement at all? Just because they are ignorant to the relevance of the world to their lives does not make it true.

If I can't fit my kitchen sink then I am indeed ignorant of that and I should probably attempt to learn some handy skills. That is a personal failing of mine and not excused away. Patting them on he head and going 'it is okay you are so ignorant because you live in huge land mass' is just silly.

Babaganoosh

I'm not sure what any of that has to do with not being able to find the UK on a map. I need to put gas in my car today. I'm not sure where the fuel came from. Even if I did, I'm not sure I would be able to find that country on a map. Do you think they will still let me buy the fuel? I'm betting they will. Will not knowing where the fuel came from prevent my car from burning the fuel? Somehow I doubt it.

There are LOTS of domestically owned manufacturers that don't have foreign investors. Why would an average laborer give a damn who is an investor anyway? That's just silly. He doesn't CARE. You've lost touch with the average blue collar worker. He's worried about making ends meet, feeding his family and who he's going to have on his bowling team this year.

People aren't completely self-sufficient. If anything is wrong with the kitchen sink that's more than a drip or a clogged drain I call a plumber. We called one about a month ago for a broken drain pipe in the basement. Does that make me ignorant? We're getting ready to replace an upstairs bathtub. Because I am so ignorant I am going to call a plumber to do that as well.

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Libertine

You're not just championing ignorance, you're championing the worst kind of ignorance: willful ignorance.

If Joe Sixpack is planning to have a job in ten years, he'd better be working in a sector not susceptible to job losses from outsourcing. Planning that requires some knowledge of the world and the global economy.

If Joe Sixpack ever wants to start his own company, being aware of foreign markets and competition can mean the difference between failure and success.

If Joe Sixpack has family or friends in the military, knowing a bit about the world will help him distinguish between truth and bullshit during the next election, when America is quite likely to still be stuck in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Does Joe Sixpack worry about immigrants taking his job? He might want to be aware of what effects specific government measures would have on immigration, and how those would affect his local job market.

If Joe has absolutely no ambition in life, doesn't mind voting for politicians who harm his interests, and doesn't care about unemployment, then no, knowledge of the world has no benefits for him. Then again, that would make Joe a moron, someone destined to spend his life at the bottom of the barrel.

On the other hand, if Joe does have ambitions and plans in life, then knowledge will definitely help him.

What you appear to be arguing is that Joe has a low-paid job that doesn't require much knowledge, and that Joe therefore doesn't need that knowledge. However, you fail to take into account that Joe likely would prefer to get a better job, for which knowledge actually would be useful or even necessary.

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Darkland

Unfortunately it seems in this day and age ignorance is a way of life for multiple reasons. Education and technology being among the biggest contributors. I have read some amazing reports on the subject. As well as having two children in school, I have learned and researched the subject for several years.

Education: While it can not be completely at fault, I think it sets precedent for everything that follows.

1. They no longer teach cursive writing in schools. What little they do write, it is all in print form. Everything else is done via computer. I know kids 17 to 20, my son included, who do not and can not sign their name. I had to fight with my son to start doing it, he insisted that nobody needs to know that and printing his name was just fine.

2. When I was growing up, you were never allowed to have a calculator in school. It wasn't until high school when you entered complex math or science classes that they were allowed. Now they are required school supply items for junior or middle schools. We were always made to do the calculations by hand, long form. They aren't taught that anymore. A machine does it for them.

3. The next biggest problem is that schools, and this goes with number 2, teach kids to rely to heavily on technology and the internet. See more on this below.

Technology:I have believed for a longtime that technology retards brain growth in areas of information retention and intelligence.

1. All cellphones have contact lists. You program in the number, associate it to a name, store or save that information, forget information. When I was a kid, before cellphones, I had all the numbers to my friends memorized as well as relatives, etc. Today most people can't tell you what their friends numbers are, they have to have their phone tell them what it is. Once my son needed to call someone but his mom had the phone and was out. I asked him what is the number, call from my phone. He didn't know. Ever ask friend for another friends number only to have them tell you, "Hold one while I pull it up."?

2. The big one, and relevant to this topic more than the rest, is the internet. The internet it a vast wealth of information, anything you need to know is there and only a few keystrokes away. When information is so easily available it becomes less valuable. For me, being raised and educated the way I was, use the internet to expand my level of intelligence and knowledge or education. But those who have been raised on the internet use it as a storage medium for information rather than using the brain for this purpose.

Why learn and retain information when it can be looked up at anytime and as often as necessary? Throw any one of todays youths into a library and they are completely lost. They can't compute that type of antiquated information gathering.It requires them to use their brains and problem solving skills to hunt down the information. Why use your brain when you have google and the internet to do all the work for you?

Dependence on the internet over traditional means of gathering information also comes with a myriad of other problems. The vast wealth of information makes people experts on everything. Why? Because I looked it up or read it on the internet. Everyone has the ability to put information on the internet whether it is correct or not. This unreliability or disinformation can lead to the degradation of facts or actual events, perceptions of life, ideals, beliefs, history, science, etc.

-----------------------------------------

Simply put, why use your brain or retain information when you have a medium other than your brain to do it for you. These things are being taught in school and is welcomed by a vast majority of the population.

Ever watch the movie Idiocracy? It is funny but scary and TRUE. It inspired me to create my avatar. Ignorance is on the rise.

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Babaganoosh

You're like a yapping little Chihuahua or Pomeranian. You're cute at first but you get annoying after a while. Someone needs to put you outside.

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Pixelbucks Eric

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Libertine

Another benefit of knowledge and education is that there will be less chance of coming across like some inbred cowfucker, like you are doing now.

Did that suffice to take the discussion down to a level you can comprehend?

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Babaganoosh

Honestly I get tired of you trying to turn every discussion into some deep, intellectual debate. You're incapable. You're a fraud. You're just another idiot posturing on a forum. I chose to ignore your yammering and from past experience with your type I know that really gets your "knickers" in a bunch.

I really hope you address your severe inferiority complex sometime. The existence of the UK means nothing to the average American. The UK is irrelevant to most of us so not only can we not find it on a map, we don't give a shit where it is and likely never will. Deal with it.

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CunningStunt

Killswitch - BANNED FOR LIFE

They're just bitter that they once were "motherland" but got to gay for us, so we rebeled, owned their crumpet eating asses, and now a hundred years later they drop to their knees and suck our dicks if we tell them too.

For the next hundred years, the UK, and every other country will still be America's bitch and guess what, they won't like it then either, but in reality, they still suck, haha.

Libertine

Deep, intellectual debate?

It's called "using arguments", you dimwit.

Perhaps I should point out that I'm not actually from the UK. I merely abhor willful ignorance and anti-intellectualism.

That thing in your skull, your brain, isn't just there for decoration. Not using it isn't a reason for pride, it's a reason for shame.

No matter how much you dislike it, being ignorant isn't a good thing - something you're fully aware of, since you felt the need to point out several times that YOU of course do know where the UK is.

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Babaganoosh

I don't know if you realize it or not but I can't control what Joe Sixpack knows. I was merely trying to point out that an American not being able to locate the UK on a map doesn't mean jack shit.

I don't know how much more clearly I can state my point. You think that being able to locate more countries on a map somehow makes you superior. Frankly I think that is a stupid attitude. You can work an atlas. You're the man!

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rvn

I prefer ISO 8601 date format (YYYY-MM-DD), everyone can understand it. And because I am a developer of an affiliate program (in my sig), every of our webmasters has to use it

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rogueteens

no i couldn't. i can find Kansas though which was my point, Suffolk and East Sussex are English counties which basically relate to your states. i wasnt asking you to locate a small area in one one of those counties but lets try, Can you find Hastings in East Sussex? You should, its the site of one of the most important battles in history. I'm sure you'll have no trouble finding Hastings on a map as i'm quite sure that you'd have been taught this in school wouldn't you? ;)

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rogueteens

:d :d :d

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Libertine

Not being able to locate the UK on a map means that when someone's children reach age 9 or 10, he won't be able to help them with their homework anymore - because they've moved on to subjects that are too advanced for him!

It's elementary school material, for fuck's sake.

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CunningStunt

How did that troll manage to threadjack to this extent? Too thick to butt out.

So, the consensus is, I am right, the day should be at the start.

Thank you. Please change the American standards system (ASS).

Sarah_Jayne

This thread reminds me of high school when if you studied for a test and did well somebody somewhere in the class who didn't bother to crack a book open would try to make fun of you. Yes, fine, be uneducated but those of us that did crack the books aren't going to tell you it is okay.

Sarah_Jayne

How can they even get past the story of the pilgrims without knowing there they sailed from?

CunningStunt

a. England
b. Cuba
c. Hawaii
d. draw a potato