Mildly diverting things a clueless immigrant learnt this week V: the final frontier
by awindram
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- Penny:
Why do a large number of Americans call the one-cent coin a penny? We’re dealing with dollars and cents, not pounds and pence, people! How about we call it a “cenny”, instead? Then we can all spend a cenny – perfect. - The five-second rule:
This week I learnt about the five-second rule. Really, America?! You mucky pups! - A hoedown:
A hoedown in no way involves getting down with hoes – turned out my Pimp Daddy costume was terribly inappropriate. In fact, a hoedown is just a Céilidh with less skipping and fewer Gay Gordons.
There was some research recently that proved the 5-second rule is too short. Germs take a lot longer to jump from floor to dropped cookie, apparently. You’re good for a minute or two.
So my student days of having a five day rule remain a complete no no, then?
I think it depends where the food is dropped as to whether the five second rule should apply. If the area is fairly clean, usually your own kitchen floor, you can get away with it. On the other hand, if that piece of food fell on the floor of a Chinese restaurant in London that was shut down a couple of years ago, after inspectors saw a mouse jumping out of a bowl of sweet and sour sauce, you’d leave it there for sure.
Oooh, I’m so glad you popped back to my blog, I was trying to remember which great UK/Us blog I had read recently. (senior-with-too-many-kids moment).
We must get together!
Thanks so much for your kind comment, Expat Mum. Coming from you that means a lot.
Sorry–I know I’m late to the party on this one, but “a large number of Americans”? I’m pretty sure it’s all Americans. Quarter, dime, nickel, penny. Those are their names.
Thanks for commenting.
To someone such as myself coming from a country whose currency is in pounds and pence, it seems bizarre to call a coin a “penny” when referring to a denomination that’s in cents and not pence. Seems akin to nicknaming someone Bob when their full name is Simon rather than Robert.
As for “all” Americans, I’ll take your word for it. With a blog of this nature that’s based to large extent on me making sweeping generalisations, it’s usually safer to say a “a large number” rather than “all” as you can guarantee once you say “all” someone will comment to say they don’t do or say whatever your sweeping generalisation was. I would note that I don’t hear the term “penny” as much as I would in the UK (possibly because coinage is used less in the US) so on the few occasions it’s been said around me it always strikes me as sounding off – a bit like Americans who say lift and flat rather than elevator and apartment.
” . . . you can guarantee once you say “all” someone will comment to say they don’t do or say whatever your sweeping generalisation was.”
I certainly can’t argue with that. These days we seem to be calling those kinds of people “hipsters.”
I’m a fan of your blog; keep it up.
[…] not want to initiate conversation with the checkout girl, but there was a small tray of pennies (or cennies as Clueless called them) by the till and this piqued Clueless’s curiosity. Clueless was […]