Parts of American culture that have never really been imported outside the US

prod

In Communist Europe all waiters are given company limousines and paid in Krugerrands.

Dave Matthews Band?

Shooting a couple of dozen of your school chums has never really crossed over to this side of the pond.

wikipedia:

The Fountainhead eventually became a worldwide success
...
Atlas Shrugged ... went on to become an international bestseller

http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/worldwide/story/0,9959,615157,00.html

Next!

gun shows

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1a/Houston_Gun_Show_at_the_George_R._Brown_Convention_Center.jpg/800px-Houston_Gun_Show_at_the_George_R._Brown_Convention_Center.jpg
http://www.novatownhall.com/blog/graphics/gun_show_chantilly_lg.jpg
http://whtm.acc-tv.com/images/whtm/news/vidcap_billboard0423.jpg

What do you mean by sport? Okay, maybe American football isn't that popular outside USA, but even a place like Finland has an American football league, as small as it may be.

Your original post said that Ayn Rand hadn't "made a big impact outside the US", not that she was completely unknown outside of the USA. I'm not denying that American Football might have a fringe following in other countries, but compared to the spread of rock 'n' roll, coke 'n' pepsi, jeans, etc. you can't really say it's taken the world by storm.

What does "international bestseller" mean? Because I've studied philosophy and the social sciences, and I've never heard any mention of Ayn Rand from others than Americans.

(x-post)

Okay, fair enough.

Shooting a couple of dozen of your school chums has never really crossed over to this side of the pond.

Except that someone in Finland did just that last autumn. I'm hoping it was a singular case and not the beginning of a trend.

my impression of ayn rand is that she made kind of a splash internationally at the time, but only in the u.s. did she really inspire several generations of libertarian asshattery.

leaf peeping?

What does "international bestseller" mean? Because I've studied philosophy and the social sciences, and I've never heard any mention of Ayn Rand from others than Americans.

maybe it's because she's not a philosopher, just a shitty semi-contemporary novelist, and English is not the native language of your country

I think libertarinism in general is quite unpopular in Europe at least.

(xx-post)

also as should be obvious, that list of 'most popular books in america' consists primarily of books that for one reason or another have reached a wide audience of relatively youthful readers and/or have a lot of fanboys/girls

Ayn Rand has exported outside of US Borders as far as Canada. See: The lyrics of Rush.

Do other countries have the same insanely poorly planned suburbs the US does where there are no sidewalks and you have to drive 10 miles to get to the nearest grocery store?

maybe it's because she's not a philosopher, just a shitty semi-contemporary novelist, and English is not the native language of your country

Yeah, but in America she seems to have lots of followers who dig her because of her philosophical ideas and not her literary value. And lots of other American novels and philosophy have been translated to Finnish (as well as other European languages, of course) and have had a big impact here.

http://www.coastaltown.nildram.co.uk/jim/gun_show_chantilly_lgw.jpg

Do other countries have the same insanely poorly planned suburbs the US does where there are no sidewalks and you have to drive 10 miles to get to the nearest grocery store?

No sidewalks? Where are you supposed to walk?

Yeah, but in America she seems to have lots of followers who dig her because of her philosophical ideas and not her literary value.

if you did a poll in America checking her name recognition, you'd probably get less than 35%. the number of people who are really into her 'philosophy' is dwarfed by the number of people who like her books as 'literature' or simply because it makes them feel good about being narcissistic.

You can't. When I was a kid I would have to walk over people's front lawns to get to the nearest store as cars honked at me and swerved out of the way. This helps explain the obesity problem.

Seriously?! That sounds absurd.

if you did a poll in America checking her name recognition, you'd probably get less than 35%. the number of people who are really into her 'philosophy' is dwarfed by the number of people who like her books as 'literature' or simply because it makes them feel good about being narcissistic.

Okay, whatever, my point was that she seems to be an influential writer (whether as an novelist or as a philosopher) in the US (and maybe other English-speaking countries) who is virtually unknown in Continental Europe.

americans think sidewalks are for scary people who can't even afford to ride the bus. there was some suburb (in virginia, i think) that passed an ordinance a few years ago requiring sidewalks be installed in all these subdivisions that didn't have them (because kids were getting hit by cars or something), and the people in the subdivisions flipped the fuck out at the thought of strangers being able to walk past their homes. (then they probably all went to the next gun show to stock up.)

gun shows

deep fried twinkies

^^^ not sure that's even out of MN yet, to be honest

xpost:

i mean, seriously, for your average suburban american, the idea of having to walk anywhere is threatening and bizarre. that's why half of suburbia is parking lots.

http://www.egge.net/~savory/friedmars.jpg

decent mexican food

jokes about canada

ignoring soccer

creationist theme parks

"tossing the pigskin"

men's league softball

Seems like the suburbian American idea of public and private space is very different from the European one. No wonder suburban kids in the US hang out in malls, if they don't even have sidewalks to loiter on.

There aren't that many real suburbs in the US ... people just call anything that's not a city "the suburbs". I grew up in the suburbs of NYC and there are sidewalks, trains, buses, etc.

Most places with no sidewalks, etc., are exurban or rural kinda places, and it's not too surprising that they aren't all that well developed.

keg parties in cornfields/gravel pits (<---- I just sort of assumed that Euros don't have kegs party and that everyone else is too poor or something)

Okay, whatever, my point was that she seems to be an influential writer (whether as an novelist or as a philosopher) in the US (and maybe other English-speaking countries) who is virtually unknown in Continental Europe.

but you're just wrong. yes, she has influenced a small number of people who happen to have been important in government, on the right-wing side, but she is a very very tiny element in american culture writ large.

My mom's never really made much of an impact outside of the U.S.

i mean, seriously, for your average suburban american, the idea of having to walk anywhere is threatening and bizarre.

I realise this is a little hyperbolic but it is pretty freaking sad, as well. Aussies are as lazy as the next bastard and we have some car congestion probs too, but there's as big a movement of ppl getting about on foot, bikes, trams, etc.

The idea that public transport and walking is strictly for poor/scary/homeless people is just... I don't know what to say.

clear pie

freedom

grits

true grit

the balls to stand up to a dictator

Hershey's chocolate

What the hell are grits, anyway? There are aspects of American culture that have never been imported to other parts of AMerica

corn mazes

xp that was not an answer to your question

corncob gruel

i had real maple syrup growing up in northeast ohio. it's pretty good syrup here. most of this part of the state is wooded so it is readily available. i also liked the fake stuff growing up too.

i lived in new england for 9 years and real vermont syrup was everywhere, it was great. but even diners in new england often use "pancake syrup"

you can get maple syrup in pretty much any big french or english supermarket. bordeaux even has a skate shop called "sirop d'erable" - https://www.yelp.de/biz/sirop-d-erable-bordeaux

also the majority of maple syrup is produced in canada

i almost feel like fake syrup goes best with fake waffles. eggos + corn syrup just makes more sense.

"but even diners in new england often use "pancake syrup"

in the diner i go to in town you have to ask for the "real" syrup. costs extra.

all the good stuff that i buy here at the supermarket is local mass/vermont stuff. it's awesome.

i would take you guys to all these sugar house breakfasts if you visited. yuuuuuuuum.

https://70c97aaea282a207d81b-f84eee09323602e80e90b9678fa5fc9b.ssl.cf5.rackcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Sugarhouse.jpg

maple syrup on snow. is that a thing in europe yet?

https://scontent.fbed1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/11066788_10206041636937595_3606791368384939557_n.jpg?oh=cb7cb2a36af572de6376b754a021764c&oe=59093F51

also the majority of maple syrup is produced in canada

― Islamic State of Mind (jim in vancouver), Tuesday, January 17, 2017 3:25 PM (five minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

right. it is actually hard to find real VT or other US maple syrup in regular grocery stores. even in whole foods it's mostly canadian stuff

quebec mafia iirc

not that hard in nyc, so i guess im glad i didnt move

maple syrup > rent

yeah, big syrup is no joke.

http://america.aljazeera.com/multimedia/2015/4/canada-syrup-cartel.html

"Of all the states, Vermont has the largest appetite, with the average resident consuming almost 11 pounds of maple syrup per year. The national average is significantly less, almost registering half a pound."

Obsessed w maple syrup. Love it with yoghurt. Lol

it's so good on oatmeal. or any hot cereal.

this is a reverse question. every five years or so someone on ilm reminds me that grime existed. it only existed in the states for about five minutes when people bought a dizzee rascal album (mostly the college crowd i don't know how many hip hop fans bought it) and played it twice. kinda like the streets. everyone here was really just waiting for a new prodigy album to buy. anyway, is it hyper-regional now or is grime a thing anywhere outside the u.k.?

it's arguably more popular now in the US than it ever has been!

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/may/31/british-mcs-stormzy-jammz-little-simz-krept-konan-novelist
http://www.nme.com/blogs/festivals-blog/grime-invasion-of-america-769756

etc

Pro-life terrorism.

i will take your word for it, tracer hand. i know there are people who still like drum & bass in the states. i don't know who they are, but i'm pretty sure they exist.

at least 4 college radio stations across 3 different cities i've lived in all have/had drum & bass hours on the schedule

(u.s. cities obv)

The very first episode of Spooks (Not called Spooks in the U.S.) that I watched was about anti-abortion bombings. But, to be fair, the anti-abortion Brits were led by an American.

Talk about far-fetched.

Pro-life terrorism.

otm. this is strictly a US cultural phenomenon. and in typically US fashion, there are plenty of people who make money off it.

beloved los angeles college radio station kcrw used to go hard on jungle/dnb nights in the 90s

best dj sets i heard at that time because vancouver was musically lagging by a decade at that point

scott i share your skepta-cism

There's an actual root beer thread but this is where we talked about root beer last month so eh.

I bought a fizzy drink in the local Chinese supermarket, not knowing what it was, but the can looked kind of Dr Pepper-like so I figured why not. Opened it, familiar smell, kind of like Germolene... wait, didn't I have a drink which tasted of Germolene last month too?

Oh yes. I appear to be drinking Chinese root beer, more or less. https://starkravingblog.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/wonderful-world-of-root-beer-watsons.html

(My can just says 沙示, but even if it had said Sarsae I don't think I'd have made the connection to Sarsaparilla, though it might have made me think of Sarson's vinegar which might have dissuaded me from buying it...)

I was in China for ten years before I tried Sarsae. It's like rubbish watered down root beer. I did live on Watson's soda water for a year or two though. I never did get over the absurdity of the only manufacturer of American-style soft drinks being the nation's biggest drugstore chain.