The (wiki) United States of America

[walterick]

I might be the only one who gets a kick out of this...

But I was browsing travel websites and ran across wikitravel. Something drew me to the United States entry. I was completely engaged with the entry. There is something about reading a write-up on the country I live in that I found intriguing. If anyone else wants to know what the United States are like (from a largely European perspective, from what I can gather) take a look at this:

http://wikitravel.org/en/United_States_of_America

I actually took the time to read most of it. I even learned a few things

And just tell me if I'm a dork.

[zrfraser]

you're a dork...Just kidding I read stuff like this all the time so just tell me if I'm a dork...

Z

[natatbeach]

the "wiki" line of knowledghe is all inpout from different people adding thier facts and two cents---which is what makes it really interesting... that's why they have those little edit buttons at the end of every verse....(had to edit because I forgot to say...)


...you're a dork

[Asylum Steve]

I might be the only one who gets a kick out of this...

Don't flatter yourself, Rick. Many of us here like wasting time on the web looking for marginally interesting things...

Seriously, I'm a sucker for this kind of stuff, too (I probably spend most of my "library" time in the reference section, heh heh). I didn't spend a lot of time on the site, but I thought what I read was well thought out and well written.

A few things that tickled me:

"Language English, Spanish (spoken by a sizable minority), Hawaiian (in Hawaii)..."

Listing Hawaiian of all things as a third national language. Heck, everyone knows dat Brooklynese is our thoid language... :thumbsup:

"Other traditional elements of United States culture include Hollywood films, country music, blues, jazz, rock, rap, pop music, baseball, and fast food..."

Uh, Adina. Notice they mentioned baseball, NOT football...

"Prior to the popularity of personal cell phones, pay phones were ubiquitous on sidewalks all over the United States..."

Ubiquitous, eh? Exactly which foreigners is this being targeted to?

"Engaging the services of a street prostitute puts one at a very high risk of an embarrassing arrest and/or being robbed..."

Boy, don't I KNOW it! Uh, just kidding... :ihih:

"An increasing number of resort areas are known as gay-friendly; these include old standbys like Fire Island, Key West, Provincetown, Saugatuck, and newer hotspots like Asbury Park..."

Asbury Park? Ya know, I always wondered about that Bruce Sprignsteen... :wink5:

"In rural areas, alcohol is mostly served in restaurants rather than dedicated drinking establishments, but in urban settings you will find numerous bars and nightclubs where food is either nonexistent or rudimentary..."

Who are they trying to kid? Guess they've never been to a redneck bar. Those are DEFINITELY "dedicated drinking establishments"! BTW, the thing that I hate the most about urban nightclubs is the nonexistent or rudimentary food... :shocked:

"It is generally considered inappropriate to join a table already occupied by other diners, even if there are unused seats available...."

Not so! In fact, I've found this is one of the best ways to get free food... :lol:

[adina]

"Other traditional elements of United States culture include Hollywood films, country music, blues, jazz, rock, rap, pop music, baseball, and fast food..."

Uh, Adina. Notice they mentioned baseball, NOT football...

:lol:

Oh please. Obviously this is not an OFFICIAL report. Just something someone with too much time on there hands and probably doesn't leave his house for fear of alien invasion cooked up in order to trick those unsuspecting Americans.

[walterick]

Good, glad to hear I'm not the only dork on board then

The one thing I found most interesting is that people outside the US think of us as a diverse country. I always assumed other nations looked at us as nation of cowboys, fiercly independent and (sometimes) arrogant in our ways. It was nice to see our diversity acknowledged and to see this country described as effectively "hard to pigeonhole." That goes with my experience of this nation, anyway.

And if somebody sat down at a table I was already sitting at, I'd probably spit at them till they left

[SmartWombat]

The even funnier (or scarier) is the CIA world Factbook (https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications...ook/index.html)
The information in it was laughably inaccurate and biased.
I don't know which was worst - if they believed it, or wanted the rest of the world to believe it.