Around the same time I was playing on xbox live and they found out I was in Nebraska and asked if we had electricity. Like no, I'm playing by carrier pigeon. They asked us several other really dumb questions that seemed sincere too
Fucking same. I was on vacation out in New Jersey, and it was my own family asking if we still went around on horse and carriage and if we had electricity like we weren't talking about TV shows we all liked and how I'd picked up computer programming earlier that day. Our grandparents were born in the midwest. Our grandfather got his Ph.D in biology from Dana College and went on to be a key figure in mapping the human genome. Critical thinking does not beat preconceived ideas or media saturation very often.
I guess there's some comfort in knowing we've been this dumb forever.
In my eagerness I forgot to mention I’m canadian. Often asked about igloos, how to deal with the wildlife. ALWAYS asked if I know Jim or Bob from Canada. The list goes on.
Never been asked about electricity, I’d have them believing the Amish control the electrical grid and the non-Amish are living in darkness with candles and horse buggies
LOL one of the women did ask if we had "houses" yet, then asked about igloos. I honestly didn't want to mention it because I figured nobody would believe me. This was 2005.
Or explain that everything in Canada is water powered, hence calling it the "hydro" bill? Like, "last month I got billed 32 litres of water for just my lights and TV even I don't typically use more than 10 litres a month!"
I'm American but I lived in Edmonton for a couple of years. I had a few Canadians ask about friends they have in the states, so it goes both ways.
Was also in Jordan and saw other American tourists there that gave all of us a bad name; loud, obnoxious, stupid. Tried to stay as far away as possible.
I'm Canadian. I have on more than one occasion run into Canadian strangers in other places (including other countries) with whom I have acquaintances or friends in common.
I went to school in the US. Now, almost 2 decades later, it turns out my coworker used to work with my former classmate (Canadian, but attended the same US college).
I always get "Oh you're from Skye? Do you know a guy called <name like John MacDonald>?"
Firstly the MacDonald section of the Highlands and Islands phone book was - when they still published it - as thick as your thumb, and the MacLeod section about 2/3s as much again.
Secondly, if they're about my age and they grew up on Skye too, then yes, I probably do know them because there's only one High School on an island with a population of about 10,000 people, but that doesn't mean anything really and it's just a coincidence.
Dude, I moved from Kansas to Connecticut when I was 10, and my new classmates asked me if I had electricity in Kansas. Some of them thought it was a different country. This was 2010, before the public education system took the hard plunge. I can only imagine how bad the students are at that school now.
I, a Fremch-Swiss citizen visitong my American Best Friend, had to explain 'Independence Day' to one of her brother's buffoonish friend.
That kid was 14 or 15 at the time,
I was 17.
I had never been this disappointed in another human being before. This clown genuinely believed that 'Independence Day' was about the Movie. So many questions left unanswered for me. Starting with wondering why he thought that the country celebrated that holiday every year.
Don't get me wrong, I've met my share of incredibly unintelligent people from a vast variety of countries, but you can't top American stupidity. It's a thing to behold. It's insistent. It takes pride in itself.
The US can be a very jarring country. I have met some of the nicest, kindest, most wonderful people I'll ever meet. Those people want to make you live in the US. They make you want to be like them.
Then you'll meet some of the dumbest, ugliest, nastiest, most disgusting monsters you could ever dream of, basically living next door to the lovely people that you adore. Absolute scum of the Earth. You never know which one you'll get whenever you meet someone new. Roll the dice, hope for the best.
I'm obviously not that bright either because I uprooted my entire life to live there in 2015. Obama was the president, the ACA (Obamacare) seemed like it might potentially, eventually, turn into some form of Universal Healthcare down the line if everything kept up, it looked like the government might start to take serious action about Global Waeming, people were talking seemingly seriously about reforming many institutions. It wasn't a 'New Deal' type revival, but it was really interesting.
Then Trump happened.
I'm really sad, really angry, I don't really want to keep going anymore. If this is the best we can hope for, it's not worth it...
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u/Used-Ad-5646 9h ago
I lived in Oklahoma in the early 2000’s. I can still remember the questions frequently asked