Re: AAA: Ask America Anything
Posted: Sat Feb 05, 2022 9:07 am
Our excess deaths have been firmly in the negative for more than two years... so yeah.
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?
In Argentina I was sniffed out as an imposter when I didn't know who Sargento Cabral was.Utisz wrote: ↑Sat Mar 19, 2022 8:19 amAnother 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).Utisz wrote: ↑Sat Mar 19, 2022 8:19 amAnother 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 wrote: ↑Sat Mar 19, 2022 8:19 amAnother 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.)
Mostly asking for shits and giggles.Senseye wrote: ↑Sat Mar 19, 2022 5:16 pmI'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).
"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.starla wrote: ↑Mon Mar 21, 2022 12:35 amEasy. 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 wrote: ↑Sat Mar 19, 2022 8:19 amAnother 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.)
You mean the phrase "Uncle Sam"?Utisz wrote: ↑Sat Mar 19, 2022 8:19 amI 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?)
If that's not your title on LinkedIn, you're doing yourself a disservice.Roger Mexico wrote: ↑Fri Mar 25, 2022 11:39 pmYou mean the phrase "Uncle Sam"?
I know, but I'm a professional history nerd.
Madrigal looked it up at some point. She's no fun.(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.)
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.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.)
I suck at explaining stuff but ok.