Some random differences between the US and Europe spotted last week...:
- Drive-trough anything
- Pharmacies(!)
- Banks (think Lay-Z-ATM...)
- Spotty GSM coverage (if you're lucky)
- SUVs with 1 person inside
- TV Ads
- Frequency (all the f&*%ing time!)
- Ads for prescription medicines on MTV (last half of each commercial is dedicated to "fine print" listing potential side-effects)
- Imperial vs metric
- bottle sizes (hey, even UK, the has 0.5 L bottles; US has 20 FL Oz (591 mL))
- mph (vs km/h)
- Warnings about anything that can go wrong if you are completely dumb (see below)
... oh - and would you rather shop from a company that is committed to service, or """committed"""?
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haha, "committed"
Posted by: Agnar Ødegård on June 11, 2003 12:47 AMActually, you should drive through Pennsylvania some time, we have drive-thru strip joints. Also, Vegas is famous for a drive-thru wedding chapel.
Posted by: Eli Sarver on June 11, 2003 01:54 AMDidn't Texas outlaw drive-thru liquor stores not too long ago?
Posted by: Phil Ringnalda on June 11, 2003 04:29 AMDrive through liquor stores are a really american invention. If I have to get my ass out of my SUV, then I don't want to do it! God bless America!
Oh, and misuse of quotation marks is a huge pet peeve of mine. People use them as a way to emphasize a word, which aside from being totally incorrect, makes them look very stupid. Just open the yellow pages if you want to see thousands of examples of quotation mark misuse.
about TV ads for medication, I fondly remember seeing an add recently for some sort of anti-anxiety medication (I forget the brand). It talked about how it relieved social anxiety and let people feel comfortable in public and meeting new people. However, the last part of the commercial was the listing of side effects, which included things like diarrhea, excessive sweating, dizzyness, nausea, and a whole host of other unpleasant effects. Somehow I doubt that I'd want to go out and meet new people if I was feeling like that!
Posted by: sam on June 11, 2003 06:43 AMNot sure if the Yanks invented the drive through liquor store or not....but drive thru for beer/liquor is all over Australia. Much more common in Oz than the US of A. In fact, I wish there were more in the US.
Posted by: Sean on June 11, 2003 06:56 AMThey do have 1- and 2- liter soda bottles here. I think in some places they even have 3-liter size. (Just picture your poor teeth rotting after drinking 3 liters of soda. yecch)
Posted by: valerief on June 11, 2003 03:52 PMOne other difference (that I missed when I was working in Europe) - 24-hour stores!!!! To me it seems that everything closes in Europe at 1700 during the week and in some places all weekend. When am I supposed to get any shopping done? I would be lost without my 24-hour CVS pharmacy near my house.
Posted by: valerief on June 11, 2003 03:54 PMDrive-thru liquor stores are certainly not illegal in Texas, yet. I live in East Texas and I see them all over the place. Such convenience!
Posted by: eliot on June 11, 2003 05:49 PMHey dude!
Pretty awesome your blog!
Come visit mine "Get out" blog!
See u later!
Insane Girl
"America. Different...."
Anders Jacobsen's blog: Doing some American field studies... (July 23, 2003 04:03 PM)
"I'm off to Houston, Texas, tomorrow morning to go to my friends wedding. Time to dig out a cowboy hat and snake skin boots...? "