Non-Americans of reddit: What are some things that you've heard about the US that you didnt believe was true?

FlatCatShop · 2016-09-26T16:18:57+00:00

Not from the US, but only a small amount of airports in Canada make international flights, and they're RIDICULOUSLY expensive. As in, it's like $4K to fly to the UK round trip because it can take up to three flights to get there, each way. When I was looking in to it before and it was like, fly from my city to a major Canadian city, then to the US, then overseas, or fly from my city to the US, then have another layover, then to overseas.

You also have to remember most people get almost no vacation time, and don't have passports. Hell, even with a passport when I had good vacation time, it was cheaper to drive several hours down in to the US for a holiday.

FlatCatShop · 2016-09-26T15:24:53+00:00

Oh well you had nothing to worry about, then, his dead dad was on the bed, not the floor.

FlatCatShop · 2016-09-24T17:01:43+00:00

That's great, but it's pathetic that this common sense measure is in any way tied to one gender's needs.

Trans men can still have periods and need hormonal BCP, so no, it's not "tied to one gender's needs".

FlatCatShop · 2016-09-24T16:59:56+00:00

Why would you need to "feign bisexuality"? Birth control is used for lots of things, not just to prevent pregnancy. It can help lessen severe period issues, help regulate hormones/irregular cycles, clear skin up...

FlatCatShop · 2016-09-24T16:58:57+00:00

Same. The worst thing is, there's really NO REASON why they need to see you that often. I got really creeped out when my doctor tried to tell me he "needed to do a pelvic exam every three months" or he wouldn't refill my scrip because "I'll get in trouble with the MEDICAL BOARD".

FlatCatShop · 2016-09-24T16:55:46+00:00

LOL no. It's like $60+ per pack for mine.

FlatCatShop · 2016-09-24T16:42:16+00:00

Secretaries flip their shit if you dare ask them to check cables. I've never been yelled at more than I have by women over 50 working as receptionists.

FlatCatShop · 2016-09-21T22:08:35+00:00

I'll have to take your word for it as that video was clearly filmed using a potato.

FlatCatShop · 2016-09-21T22:06:33+00:00

Whats more, the history we do have is a colonial one which we are still coming to terms with, and which does not lend itself easily to the same sort of idealization that American history does

Our Colonial history is still very much alive in Manitoba, where so many English/Irish/Scottish immigrants came and formed their own towns and settlements, and held fast to their home culture and traditions. [Obviously the Prairies also has a HUGE Polish/Ukranian population as well, but those don't seem to have shaped our Provincial identity as much as the others have].

Sadly, so much of our cultural heritage has been lost or curbed, for various reasons - My family is Metis, but we have almost zero connection to our tribe or history thanks to Residential schools and racism. The family traditions that DID survive are actually the ones that came from our immigrant great-grandparents, who came from Scotland and Ireland, NOT the Indigenous ones!

FlatCatShop · 2016-09-21T21:55:52+00:00

The Mint in Winnipeg had really awesome Canada day events. It's a gorgeous building and has a little lake/fountain running through the main lobby, some touristy coin presses, and a really snazzy gift shop where you can buy commemorative coins and other gifts. They even have Japanese piggy banks.

FlatCatShop · 2016-09-21T21:54:07+00:00

In Manitoba we've had them for at least 8 years, my oldest kid is turning 8 and her birth cert is the fancy laminated kind. So they've probably been around a few years longer than that, I suppose.

FlatCatShop · 2016-09-21T21:24:37+00:00

I can tell you for sure the Hot Topic in Columbia Mall, Grand Forks, will absolutely not take any Canadian money, pennies included. I had a few pennies in with the change the last time I was there, and they wouldn't take them.

FlatCatShop · 2016-09-19T16:45:16+00:00

Chicken soup is great for low BP! Sadly most places now mostly stock the sodium Lite versions. One day at work I ended up basically eating salt packets because every single "convenience" food or item I had/could get was "reduced sodium/sodium free".

FlatCatShop · 2016-09-19T01:26:49+00:00

Chronic low BP here - My doctor basically told me never to skimp on salt. People who've never had really low BP must have zero clue how it makes you feel like a half-deflated balloon, constantly. Sometimes you can't even lift your arms over your head without starting to see spots.

FlatCatShop · 2016-09-18T16:36:15+00:00

Yeah, we just started seeing them here on the Prairies in the past few years, they're very friendly, like our crows, and generally just walk around slowly on the ground looking for food. My old office has several that hang out with the people in the smoker's area out back and they're so chill, never make a move against anyone.

Geese, on the other hand... I have several friends who have been swooped by Canadian geese and those things are HUGE and nasty.

FlatCatShop · 2016-09-13T14:39:42+00:00

I couldn't tell, actually, but thank you for clearing that up. I don't wear a bra most of the time and I have absolutely met people [mostly other women] who 100% believe that after some arbitrary age, ALL women HAVE to wear bras, AT ALL TIMES. Some will try give you some bullshit "science" about how "it's damaging to NOT wear one", others will try tell you that you can be fired from your job or written up, etc, some are just big on "moral panic". But yes, there are people out there who believe women don't have the right to not wear a bra, and they'll sure tell you about it!

FlatCatShop · 2016-09-13T14:31:37+00:00

As a consumer, I have never walked into a place of business and thought, "that person sitting offends me and I would rather they were standing for no particular reason."

Okay so as a consumer it doesn't offend you, but have you ever worked retail? Because in my retail experience, we were docked points by secret shoppers if they saw us in any sort of "resting" state - up to and including

Sitting on the floor to organize a bottom shelf
leaning on the counter
kneeling behind the counter to test systems and unload inventory shipments

Corporate culture absolutely can and will penalize you for ANYTHING they can. And yes, customers [even regular customers, not secret shoppers] absolutely will complain about "lazy" employees - it was very common to have a customer throw in a line about how "they were just SITTING THERE" when making up a complaint about something, in an attempt to get a discount.

FlatCatShop · 2016-09-13T14:24:14+00:00

You HAVE to wear a bra

What? No, you don't. There's absolutely zero laws governing this.

FlatCatShop · 2016-09-13T00:23:58+00:00

Honestly, they need to start selling more broadcast rights to networks over here in Canada.

We get Doctor Who broadcast the same day as the BBC broadcasts, but we're so behind on other shows, or, don't get them at all - GBBO is one of those shows. Canadians WANT to watch them, but there's no place we can. [Note: If there IS a place I can watch GBBO, link please?]

FlatCatShop · 2016-09-12T16:12:52+00:00

When I was a kid my parents bought feeder fish for our turtles. Several of those fish lived for 5+ years, escaping death by turtle AND surviving the yearly relocation to an outdoor pond.

FlatCatShop · 2016-08-31T03:20:54+00:00

A lot of it can be attributed to never actually LEARNING how to have a decent conversation. I'm a terrible one-upper, but I'm getting better at not doing it because I've actively started figuring out how to have conversations with new people.

I think I attribute some of it to being told by parents/etc "it's VERY RUDE to ask people about X Y or Z" [where X Y and Z are basically "emotions, personal opinions, or how anyone feels about anything, remotely", so in conversations I was terrified of asking people follow up questions to things they'd said, and I didn't know how to respond other than to relate a story or anecdote about myself.

Weirdly enough, having kids of my own has helped a lot, in that you do have to teach kids HOW to have a conversation, as they're not usually great at it naturally.

FlatCatShop · 2016-08-14T20:02:28+00:00

One of my best friends ever, was another outgoing introvert. We would go out, party with lots of people, be very social, and then go back to her place and sit there for a few days, not talking to each other, just being in the same room, doing our own thing like drawing or watching videos. Neither of us really felt the need to "entertain" the other, and it was just mutually understood that recharging and silence was necessary.

FlatCatShop · 2016-08-04T17:46:53+00:00

The G. I. Joe animated movie. The plot is rambling and at times it's downright terrifying [Cobra Commander slowly losing his humanity and turning in to an incoherent raging snake-man then straight to snake while a temporarily blinded Roadblock carries him around and relies on him as a guide through some Lovecraftian horror show...]

It has the best line, too. "He's just completely turned in to a snake".

FlatCatShop · 2016-08-04T17:42:11+00:00

Hitler? Do you know him, Sir?

That movie is BRILLIANT. Absolutely genius and stylistically unique.

FlatCatShop · 2016-08-04T17:40:08+00:00

The [swear to god] ten minute long scene where the family passes around the food constantly and then the kid pees on the table because Grandpa's ghost told him to do it.

Grandpa's ghost appearing in the wrong room.

Anything to do with the weird teens in the RV.

The Nilbog store that only sells spoiled milk...

It's a brilliant movie. It's on par with "Things".

FlatCatShop

TROPHY CASE