AAA: Ask America Anything

[jyng1]

Do you feel a lot safer now you lined up at Walmart for your free jelly bean and/or £100 bucks to take the poison vaccine?

It's like training puppies! Or herding sheep - pick your favourite analogy

Our excess deaths have been firmly in the negative for more than two years... so yeah.

[Utisz]

Take that uncle Sam.

I know Uncle Sam, but I don't know Uncle Sam. Wondering how many of y'all know the origin of the phrase without Googling it'? Is it like 100%, like everyone knows?


Another question that was in the back of my mind (mostly for the U.S., but also for Canada or whatever country really): if you had to ask a foreigner a question to figure out whether or not they were born and raised in your country, what would it be? (Not a shibboleth ... not pronunciation based.)

(As an Irish person, such a question would be trivial; I'd just ask something we know from school as gaeilge. But also as an Irish person, I feel like any such question from the U.S. at least I should be able to hazard a guess at. Maybe I'm full of shit though to think that?)

[Madrigal]

Another question that was in the back of my mind (mostly for the U.S., but also for Canada or whatever country really): if you had to ask a foreigner a question to figure out whether or not they were born and raised in your country, what would it be? (Not a shibboleth ... not pronunciation based.)

In Argentina I was sniffed out as an imposter when I didn't know who Sargento Cabral was.

According to legend, Sargento Cabral was a black soldier (made sargeant posthumously) who died in battle against the royalists in Argentina in 1813. The reason he is famous is that he purportedly shielded General San Martín with his own body and saved his life, later saying, "I die happy, my General, for we have defeated the enemy."

We don't really know if he existed, I guess, but it's a patriotic story told to children in school.

What's gaeilge?

[Senseye]

Another question that was in the back of my mind (mostly for the U.S., but also for Canada or whatever country really): if you had to ask a foreigner a question to figure out whether or not they were born and raised in your country, what would it be? (Not a shibboleth ... not pronunciation based.)

I'd just straight up ask them. Is there some reason to beat around the bush? But if the person in question spoke unaccented Canadian English, I would just assume they were born here unless something obvious came up (like them talking about their homeland if it is not Canada).

[starla]

Another question that was in the back of my mind (mostly for the U.S., but also for Canada or whatever country really): if you had to ask a foreigner a question to figure out whether or not they were born and raised in your country, what would it be? (Not a shibboleth ... not pronunciation based.)

Easy. Just ask them to recite the pledge of allegiance. Some young kids would fail in which case I’d ask them who invented peanut butter.

[Utisz]

I'd just straight up ask them. Is there some reason to beat around the bush? But if the person in question spoke unaccented Canadian English, I would just assume they were born here unless something obvious came up (like them talking about their homeland if it is not Canada).

Mostly asking for shits and giggles.

Another question that was in the back of my mind (mostly for the U.S., but also for Canada or whatever country really): if you had to ask a foreigner a question to figure out whether or not they were born and raised in your country, what would it be? (Not a shibboleth ... not pronunciation based.)

Easy. Just ask them to recite the pledge of allegiance. Some young kids would fail in which case I’d ask them who invented peanut butter.

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America ... something something republic ... one nation under God ... indivisible, liberty for all". Something along those lines. I think there's a non-negligible chunk of foreigners who would know it, but a pretty good filter I guess.

Peanut butter: no clue here.

[HighlyIrregular]

"What color is the water at the beach?" Gray if you're an American. I'm just assuming the rest of America is like NY.

[Roger Mexico]

Take that uncle Sam.

I know Uncle Sam, but I don't know Uncle Sam. Wondering how many of y'all know the origin of the phrase without Googling it'? Is it like 100%, like everyone knows?


Another question that was in the back of my mind (mostly for the U.S., but also for Canada or whatever country really): if you had to ask a foreigner a question to figure out whether or not they were born and raised in your country, what would it be? (Not a shibboleth ... not pronunciation based.)

(As an Irish person, such a question would be trivial; I'd just ask something we know from school as gaeilge. But also as an Irish person, I feel like any such question from the U.S. at least I should be able to hazard a guess at. Maybe I'm full of shit though to think that?)

You mean the phrase "Uncle Sam"?

I know, but I'm a professional history nerd.

(Members of the military referring to supply crates stamped with "US" as "packages from Uncle Sam"--later adapted into the iconic cartoon character widely used in war propaganda.)


As far as testing nationality based on trivia, I'm not sure there really is anything like this.

Knowledge of the rules of our more unique sports, maybe.

(I had a British friend in college who would get comedically aggravated about this while watching NFL games, for example. I gather we are pretty much the only people in the world who give a shit about our version of "football", so I might tend to assume anyone who demonstrates familiarity with it must be a fellow American.)

[Utisz]

You mean the phrase "Uncle Sam"?

I know, but I'm a professional history nerd.

If that's not your title on LinkedIn, you're doing yourself a disservice.

(Members of the military referring to supply crates stamped with "US" as "packages from Uncle Sam"--later adapted into the iconic cartoon character widely used in war propaganda.)

Madrigal looked it up at some point. She's no fun.

Was that the WE NEED YOU guy?

As far as testing nationality based on trivia, I'm not sure there really is anything like this.

Knowledge of the rules of our more unique sports, maybe.

(I had a British friend in college who would get comedically aggravated about this while watching NFL games, for example. I gather we are pretty much the only people in the world who give a shit about our version of "football", so I might tend to assume anyone who demonstrates familiarity with it must be a fellow American.)

Hmm, I'm not sure. I think there's a fair few folk who could answer a fair few questions about American football, or what have you. Imma try run off some stuff: 5 downs, need to advance 10 yards to reset, 6 points for touchdown, you get 1 for a kick conversion, 2 for a touchdown conversion. It's like 2 for a free goal, maybe 3. There's like special teams who come on depending on the type of play. One guy is very good at kicking (punting) and there's a reasonable chance he's British. The quarterback is the guy who receives and throws. He retires and un-retires a lot.

I watched that series, can't remember the name, open eyes, full urethras, can't lose. And there's Any Given Sunday and what have you.

A better strategy might be how much to tip X person in Y situation. That shit throws me for a loop. In the movies there's like a smooth handshake and you're don't know if it was 5 dollars or 10 dollars or 100 dollars or whathaveyou.

[Yesterday]

Take that uncle Sam.

I know Uncle Sam, but I don't know Uncle Sam. Wondering how many of y'all know the origin of the phrase without Googling it'? Is it like 100%, like everyone knows?

I suck at explaining stuff but ok.

I originally learned what Uncle Sam is from some old Looney Toons animation depicting a fat guy who was a successful meat entrepreneur that participated in some random war effort but not without cleverly outbidding competition for the contract to do so out of genuine love for white people.

Why? Because he cared that white American soldiers had something tasty to eat: animal flesh. A real role model for young white carnivores to aspire toward. But not like a - you'd better win at soldiering or else - kind of Fatherly way. More non-judgemental and unconditionally supportive like an Uncle.

Samuel, Sam for short - which is friendlier, for it's more personable quality - his was a very noble reputation. As both wealthy middle aged meat tycoon and a fun loving Uncle type, he bore the personification of our high caloric and great American values.

Eventually a clever journalist/cartoonist would depict Uncle Sam in the finest patriotic garb ever: the American flag. Then American government adopted the name and image to subtextually assert superiority within the semiotic revolution of the Western industrialized world.

It supposedly disassociated us from a certain stodgy old foreign hegemony for our cool creativity and hip independence. So not really.

Edit

I mean our linguistic diversity be it words or pictures didn't happen until later is what I am obviously saying.