Results: Few countries in our world are self sufficient and a very few, like the US, could be self sufficient but choose not to. Having everything you need can give you a different view of the world at large and sometimes these views can be quite amusing.
Published on 08/17/2024
I was raised on a small island (the UK) with (at the time) a global empire and a long history of interaction with the rest of the world. Someone born in the US can live a life quite insulated from what happens outside its borders. No threat of invasion (except from Canada) and a somewhat decentralized government compared to most countries. The US has enough political intrigue within its own borders that it tends to leave other countries alone. Some Americans know more about sports history than world history. When it comes to America's relationship with Canada, this insulation can create some amusing perceptions. I hope both our American and Canadian members can take a joke as I share some of these misconceptions. (Thanks to Buzzfeed)
QUESTIONS
GO to COMMENTS
Comments
1.
1.
Here are some misconceptions I became aware of. Which of them do you find amusing? It doesn't really matter if you are Canadian, American or an import.
Some Americans tried to get me to register to vote. And I said, 'I can't vote, I'm Canadian." And they said, 'Well, Canadians can vote.' And I said, 'But not in the United States.' And they said "Why not"?.
28%
590 votes
While working in Massachusetts, a coworker told me his wife was from Canada. I asked which province and he didn't know. She was just 'From Canada".
26%
554 votes
I went to a magic shop in Vegas to buy my kids some magic tricks. The guy behind the counter said he knew a cool one that would be easy to learn, and demonstrated it a few times for me. To do this he said, 'First I'm going to need some coins; hand me 4 loonies.' I said, 'Why would you think I have loonies on me?' He said that I had an accent like the guys on Trailer Park Boys.
22%
460 votes
Other (please specify)
1%
24 votes
Not Applicable
53%
1119 votes
- That should be the minimum qualification
- Yes
- Yes
| Other Answers | Percentage | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| 0.49% | 8 | |
| Winter all year, we live in Igloo d s, and so many more it is hard to remember them all it would be nice to believe it is not as bad these dys. | 0.06% | 1 |
| None of the three amusing | 0.06% | 1 |
| Ain't nuthin' wrong with trailer park boyz | 0.06% | 1 |
| It seems crazy that people don't know about Canada | 0.06% | 1 |
| I think it's sad. not funny. | 0.06% | 1 |
| Kind of funny but more sad | 0.06% | 1 |
| I'm always receiving compliments on my accent. I'm American. | 0.06% | 1 |
| Seeing skis on US car at border to Canada in the summer. | 0.06% | 1 |
| none were amusing. loonies? WTF is that? | 0.06% | 1 |
| AMERICANS IS SO IGNORANT......PROOF ON TELLWUT COMMENTS.......VOTE BLUE..... | 0.06% | 1 |
| I haven't met anyone from the United States. | 0.06% | 1 |
| USA | 0.06% | 1 |
| huh? | 0.06% | 1 |
| See comment on 1a | 0.06% | 1 |
| When asked where she was from she said British Columbia and then the American said Oh I did not know you came from South America And my brother in law was asked do you live in an igoo in winter | 0.06% | 1 |
| All Canadians speak English and French. | 0.06% | 1 |
2.
2.
Here are some other misconceptions I became aware of. Which of them do you find amusing?
I once had a conversation with a woman on the tech support line who could not believe that Canadians had to work on the 4th of July.
32%
679 votes
I worked for a US based multinational company and Canadian employees kept getting invited to meetings in the middle of the night because head office thought they were part of Europe.
26%
545 votes
We tried to rent a U-Haul trailer to drive from Pennsylvania to Nova Scotia. They would not rent it to us because they did not believe you could drive there.
35%
737 votes
Other (please specify)
1%
17 votes
Not Applicable
48%
1008 votes
- Rhode Island
- No idea
- Rhode Island
| Other Answers | Percentage | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| 0.40% | 8 | |
| All Canadians like poutine and they also like maple syrup. | 0.05% | 1 |
| I find them more sad than funny. | 0.05% | 1 |
| All three of the above are both a hoot and pathetic. | 0.05% | 1 |
| I read once about a kid trying to get information on college scholarships in New Mexico and the agency he was talking to said only the US was eligible. He said he was in the US and was told New Mexico was NOT a US state. | 0.05% | 1 |
| Pitiful | 0.05% | 1 |
| Wow....this one really shows how many Americans are ignorant | 0.05% | 1 |
| That's embarrassing | 0.05% | 1 |
| Also sad. | 0.05% | 1 |
| The different accents of USA states are accepted, liked or maybe some discrimination / racism seems to exist? | 0.05% | 1 |
3.
3.
Here are some other misconceptions I became aware of. Which of them do you find amusing?
I transferred to the US for a year on business. Shortly after I arrived, someone said to me, 'Oh, you're from Toronto. Do you know [first name of person.] I knew one person with that name so I said "yes" The response was, 'Yes, that's the guy I spent summer camp with - say Hi when you get back.' I said I would.
29%
612 votes
This is one of my own. The first winter after we retired we spent in Arizona with plans to head south every winter after that. When grocery shopping one day, the clerk asked us "Do you have Christmas in Canada?" My literal answer was "Not any more." which the clerk said was a real shame.
34%
719 votes
On vacation in Florida, a woman asked where we were from; we said Canada, and she asked if that was overseas. She didn't believe that we had driven to Florida.
34%
709 votes
Other (please specify)
1%
15 votes
Not Applicable
47%
985 votes
- In Canada people live very close to the border. In the US there seems to be a 10 mile gap. In WA anyway.
- people are not as friedly across the canadian boarder
- They are very cautious of who they let into Canada but the US couldn't care less who comes across to the States.
| Other Answers | Percentage | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| 0.34% | 7 | |
| I RATHER LIVE IN AMERICA....... | 0.05% | 1 |
| It's cold year round in Canada. | 0.05% | 1 |
| That second anecdote had me laughing aloud! | 0.05% | 1 |
| On a cruise we told Americans we lived just north of Toronto (75miles) They asked us if we still had snow It was July | 0.05% | 1 |
| I didn't find anything amusing, maybe Christmas in Canada | 0.05% | 1 |
| wow, looks like you keep running into ignorant people. | 0.05% | 1 |
| Very sad. | 0.05% | 1 |
| Once at Disney world, a Popeye character asked me where Canada is. | 0.05% | 1 |
4.
4.
Here are some more. Which do you find amusing?
I moved to L.A. when I was 15. At school, one girl asked me when I had moved down there. I told her, 'In the summer.' She then asked 'Oh! Our summer or yours?
27%
568 votes
I delivered a car to the border in Coutts, Alberta. In June. I met a fellow who had snow machines on a trailer. He stated that he was going to Canada to experience the snow. He was going to go 100 miles north, and was sure the ground would be covered with snow. (In June)
30%
624 votes
And finally: I was vacationing in Miami and was approached by a woman asking for donations to a charity, the kind where you charge your credit card with a monthly donation. I listened to her spiel and then politely declined. She looked at me very closely and asked me if I was Canadian. I said yes, how did you know? She laughed and said I was too polite to be an American.
36%
763 votes
Other (please specify)
0%
7 votes
Not Applicable
47%
987 votes
- n/a
- n/a
- Don't know.
| Other Answers | Percentage | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| 0.20% | 4 | |
| CANADAS SUCKS....... | 0.05% | 1 |
| The tird recollectionm isd actually kind fo sad, at least for me as someone in the US. The first ad second bits had me laughing aain! | 0.05% | 1 |
| I needed to fly to Germany and could not get a flight so a student asked me why I don't drive! | 0.05% | 1 |
COMMENTS