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HAL's UK / USA Mega Thread.

HAL9000

HAL9000

Lifer
It's occurred to me recently that I create a lot of threads about things I notice about the USA that are different from my local area, that perhaps I don't understand or don't recognise, so rather than doing this in the future (and to stop people getting irritated with the number of threads I create) I thought I'd make one mega thread where I can ask USA related questions, but equally you could ask UK related questions if you so wish.

Similarly there are threads the certain members post in (possibly to excess) about their chosen subject, look at the Pony thread as an example. So here's mine.

I realise I'm not the best liked member of the forum, but please keep the trolling and or personal attacks to a minimum, maybe just PM me any insults you feeling like hurling.

Question 1: Why do Americans call adverts commercials?.... Lots of things are commercial, adverts often advertise commercially available products... but adverts aren't commercials..? I don't get it.


This thread was a good idea. Personal insults are not needed in this thread. You don't like the topic? Stay out of the thread. I'm hopeful that Hal keeping the difference questions in here will eliminate a lot of the negativity in other threads. -Admin DrPizza

Question: 31/05/2012 What's the deal with the homeless drinking from brown paper bags?...
 
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Crono said:
Okay, now I'm certain you are way too obsessed with this stuff, and are possibly trolling.
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I'm quite obsessed with this stuff, I just notice little differences everywhere, I also love semantics, I ask this stuff to my friends in the UK, why people in the UK act the way they do or speak the way they do, so I act the same on here with the USA.

busydude said:
In before the personal insults.
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Just.

rudeguy said:
douchebag
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rude... guy.
 
Oh I know Americans are fat. But why do British people have bad teeth and look like they have a perpetual bad cold (red nose).
 
zoiks said:
Oh I know Americans are fat. But why do British people have bad teeth and look like they have a perpetual bad cold (red nose).
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Never seen the red nose thing.

The teeth is a pre-war stereotype, that for the majority no longer rings true.
 
AKA: Hal's condensed mega troll thread to rule them all!

I'm all for that, as long as you promise to keep the trolls in this thread alone.



as for question 1: I have no idea. I go back and forth between the two, as I grew up with "commercials" and I find the term kind of silly; but I also find the term "advert" worthy of much scorn.

I try to stick to "ad"
 
Why do British people think they're "civilized". I would think that after invading so many places, they'd be considered "uncivilized".
 
oh sorry...I thought busy was calling for insults.

Its for the same reason that we call shows soap operas. That language was made up back in the days of radio. Back in what...the 30's? Advertising was much different than it is now.
 
HAL9000 said:
I realise I'm not the best liked member of the forum, but please keep the trolling and or personal attacks to a minimum, maybe just PM me any insults you feeling like hurling.
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LoL.

Are you certain that you aren't Canadian?

:hmm:

Edit:
I do believe that I managed to timewarp the 3 following posts!

😱
 
ElFenix said:
bookmark this:
http://www.etymonline.com/

and every time you feel like asking one of these sorts of questions here, go there first. and then don't post here.
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Solid, and I do often look up the etymology of words, but the etymology of commercial is not really helpful in this situation.

Edit: Good site! That answered my question, but i'll inevitable have more so this thread will still be useful.
 
zoiks said:
Why do British people think they're "civilized". I would think that after invading so many places, they'd be considered "uncivilized".
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Civility is subjective.

rudeguy said:
oh sorry...I thought busy was calling for insults.

Its for the same reason that we call shows soap operas. That language was made up back in the days of radio. Back in what...the 30's? Advertising was much different than it is now.
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Soap operas is a really good one too, never thought about that. :hmm:

zoiks said:
Not sure about the pre-war stereotype. I saw and noticed that fact for myself.
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Well of the two of us you are on your own there. It may just be that we don't have this obsession with perfect teeth that americans seem to have, most kids don't have braces here unless they need them for some corrective reason rather than some cosmetic reason.
 
HAL9000 said:
Civility is subjective.



Soap operas is a really good one too, never thought about that. :hmm:



Well of the two of us you are on your own there. It may just be that we don't have this obsession with perfect teeth that americans seem to have, most kids don't have braces here unless they need them for some corrective reason rather than some cosmetic reason.
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soap opera is because detergents used to sponsor the whole show. TV shows didn't used to be 21 minutes long. They were a whole half hour or hour and one company sponsored it.
 
rudeguy said:
soap opera is because detergents used to sponsor the whole show. TV shows didn't used to be 21 minutes long. They were a whole half hour or hour and one company sponsored it.
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Love it, that's a great fact.

P.S. Shows are half hour or an hour in the UK (On the BBC anyway)

irishScott said:
It was originally "commercial advertisement". We stuck with the fist word instead of the 2nd. *shrug*
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It's never made sense to me, because advertisement means that in any context, commercial means something completely different in all other contexts.

It's like calling a swimming pool a swimming rather than a pool when abbreviating it.
 
Why are UK people so obsessed with how they stack up against America? Can't you just be happy in your area and agree to disagree?
 
Question #2: Why do you all still insist on calling it a "Kingdom" when you haven't had a king since George VI?
 
gorcorps said:
Why are UK people so obsessed with how they stack up against America? Can't you just be happy in your area and agree to disagree?
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We don't stack up against America, you are the biggest super power on the planet, we lost our empire and super powers status eons ago.

We're pretty happy being who we are.
 
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