Info on American States?

[Greylock]

And when the weather man says "chance of flurries" there is a run on milk and bread in the stores, for some strange reason. One time it really did snow, the Blizzard of 93 dropped about a foot of snow in Birmigham, shut the city down for a bout a week. We just don't deal with that often enough to have the resources on hand to adress itIt seems that's true of any state in the south.

People do that here in North Carolina as well... And our "snow budget" is gone after one or two good snows (meaning those where you actually have to pull out the salt trucks and maybe, just maybe, the plows).

I live in Tennessee and grew up here. Always saw this and heard the news people comment. Imagine my surprise when I moved to Illinois then Wisconsin and saw folks there doing the same thing. It just doesn't get bandied about.

The south stops at the Mason-Dixon Line.

The line doesn't, however, extend far enough west. Where it ends what I like to call the Bratwurst Line starts.

 

[wingsandsword]

I was going for the McDonald's we all loath and hate today. I'm think the restaurant started by the brothers was different.

To expand on what was said before, the McDonald brothers started a small resturant in San Bernadino, California in 1940, which they converted to a new format they'd come up with in 1948, essentially inventing "fast food" by streamlining the entire ordering and preparation process and sharply reducing the menu to a few items to provide uniform meals quickly and efficiently.

Ray Kroc was a milkshake mixer salesman who had sold several machines to the McDonalds and was very intrigued by their phenominal popularity, and eventually in 1955 was allowed to open a franchise in Iowa. By 1961 Kroc bought the company outright, although the McDonald brothers were allowed to keep their own resturants (although in an oversight, they forgot to keep the rights to the names to their resturants, so they refused to license the McDonalds name back from Kroc and changed the name). Kroc promptly ran them out of business by opening a McDonalds right by their store and taking their customers.

Since the point of this thread, I think, is to help explain the US to a foriegner, I think it's fair to say that McDonalds "Food" is not an accurate representation of casual American cuisine. Most of my friends won't eat there, or eat there sparingly at best. You're not going to get a good burger and fries from a fast food place (okay, Wendys is the best you'll get from a major worldwide chain, but it still isn't anywhere nearly as good as the real thing). McDonalds runs through raw name recognition, the ubiquitousness of being just about everywhere, and it's really popular with little kids. Please do not judge us by that place.

 

[Dagger75]

California is part of the USA? Really? You sure?

Kidding, only because most of the calls I get for work are from California. I have learned 2 things you might find interesting, nobody in California has any idea what a Zip Code is. How they get mail I will never know. Also, like England anything over a 15 minute is to long a drive. It takee me that long to drive to work.


Florida is also a NORTHERN state. There are way more people from up north than from the south. But the nice thing is you can order a grinder, sub, hoagie or po boy and will get what you want.

Didn't read the whole thread, just wanted to post.

 

[Aeson]

Better than some of the jerks we have here... I think we got transplanted yankees here.... (not to mention lots of mexicans)

We have lots of transplants also. Many Yankees, a lot of Mexicans. One of the things I've heard about Georgia is most evryone is from somewhere else. Of all the gamers I've gamed with only about 3 or 4 were from Georgia.

 

[Aeson]

I live in Tennessee and grew up here. Always saw this and heard the news people comment. Imagine my surprise when I moved to Illinois then Wisconsin and saw folks there doing the same thing. It just doesn't get bandied about.

They freak about the snow here also. I think it could be very dangerous in the south because we don't get much, many would not have experience driving in it.

 

[Stormborn]

They freak about the snow here also. I think it could be very dangerous in the south because we don't get much, many would not have experience driving in it.

Wait...people DRIVE when it snows? No they don't, thats a lie, why do you lie?

Kidding, but honestly in Birmingham if it snows 1/4 inch no one goes anywhere.


And No, the South does not end at the Mason Dixon Line. It ends around South Carolina, the rest of you people are too close to "up north" to count. Guilt by association.

 

[BiggusGeekus]

You know, maybe we should make stuff up for the non-USers. Like we tell them that the Washington Monument is made entirely from cheese and on Tuesday we all paint our noses green. Any TV they see where we don't have green noses has been photoshopped.

Think it'll work?

 

[Greylock]

They freak about the snow here also. I think it could be very dangerous in the south because we don't get much, many would not have experience driving in it.

Well, my remark was about the much ballyhooed "grocery run" Southerners make fun of themselves for making, and the fact Yanks do it to.

BUT, since you point it out .... Yankees have a hard time adapting to Southern winter driving. It's very different driving on slick ice that refreezes every damned night. Those raised on pack-ice and six inches or more snow have much trouble.

 

[Aeson]

You know, maybe we should make stuff up for the non-USers. Like we tell them that the Washington Monument is made entirely from cheese and on Tuesday we all paint our noses green. Any TV they see where we don't have green noses has been photoshopped.

Think it'll work?

How about we're all great in bed. Our Actresses actually have breast that big.

 

[The_Universe]

We have lots of transplants also. Many Yankees, a lot of Mexicans. One of the things I've heard about Georgia is most evryone is from somewhere else. Of all the gamers I've gamed with only about 3 or 4 were from Georgia.

I think the same is true of any reasonably large metropolitan area. I think the Washington, DC area has it the worst for "people are all from somewhere else," though. Though I'm certainly biased, I think there are actual statistics that illustrate that DC has one of the largest american "transient populations" in part because at least 1/3 of the people "in power" change every two years, so the industries that support them must constantly shift to support the new overall ideology, etc. Add a large american military presence (with people shifting in and out of stations in the area very frequently), consultants, and all the normal populace shifts that accompany a big business area, you've got DC. I've lived here for 2 years, and only met 2 people who are actually from the region, and both of them are actually from Maryland.