Guest guest Posted November 24, 2004 Report Share Posted November 24, 2004 Why do Americans do everything differently? If the British write the dates logically, with the day first, followed by the month and then the year, why do the Americans have to confuse the order? Just to be different from the British? Why don't they reverse it completely by writing the date with the year first, then month and lastly the day? If the British drive on the left side of the road, why do Americans drive on the right side? Thank God that they cannot drive upside down. Or do they, in parking lots----with dates? American cars run on gas instead of liquid fuels! And they are filled in gallons instead of litres! Naturally, a British gallon is 4.5 litres, while an American Gallon is 3.79 litres! And it is paid for with dough! Just imagine buying Gas with dough!! Favour and Honour are spelt without the U. So why don't they call it 'hor' instead of hour? Or will that word remind them of someone else? And that also, every hour!! Imagine saying, " I'm going to stop working at 5 hors! " Columbus discovered the Caribbean Islands, Venezuela and Panama, and yet why do Americans call him the discoverer of America, instead of crediting Vespucci? Another great mystery is why are they called Virgin islands? Is there such a thing in America? And I don't mean Islands! Why do Americans call them Indians, then change the term to American Indians, and then when the real Indians arrive, they call them Indian-Americans? Why do they call it a World super bowl championship and world Basketball and Baseball championships, when the only country that plays them is the US? Why do Americans call Football - Soccer, and why do they call Rugby - Football? Why in America after a phone call they hang up instead of down? And lastly, why do they call themselves American, when all they actually mean is people of the US, even though, The US is just less than 25 % of America. How come they forget Canada, Mexico and the whole of South America? Kishore Shah 1974 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 25, 2004 Report Share Posted November 25, 2004 i will start this mail agreeing with kishore -- yet the following are possible explanations --- logical date -- Jan 8, 2004 gets converted to 1-8-2004 the key difference in americana vs english is simplification ? e.g., color - gas is the abbreviation for gasoline - dough is slang and not coloquial - colour is not pronounced as hour but color - english spelling has a science like the mantras of indian languages which we don't understand fully eg., dough vs cough in the geography texts here vespucci is credited as the discoverer of america -- but wasn't it columbus who first came to the americas <<Why do Americans call them Indians>> if i am correct -- columbus or whoever had set out to go to india and accidentally discovered americas -- so he /they were hung up on india -- they called the native people indians -- red indians because of the skin tone -- just like the blacks are called african americans in modern america the politically correct term for red indians/american indians is 'native americans' -- infact calling them indians is considered derogatory now indian americans is logical just like asian americans, latin americans, mexican americans etc << Why do they call it a World super bowl championship and world Basketball and Baseball championships, when the only country that plays them is the US?..>> here i agree with you cent percent -- it is very very annoying when they call them world championships -- <<And lastly, why do they call themselves American, when all they actually mean is people of the US, even though, The US is just less than 25 % of America. How come they forget Canada, Mexico and the whole of South America>> america is north america, central america and south/latin america -- i think it is global domination and it has a nice ring too-- for how would 'united states of american' sound ? what say thou ? ashok 1984 Shah wrote: Why do Americans do everything differently? If the British write the dates logically, with the day first, followed by the month and then the year, why do the Americans have to confuse the order? Just to be different from the British? Why don't they reverse it completely by writing the date with the year first, then month and lastly the day? If the British drive on the left side of the road, why do Americans drive on the right side? Thank God that they cannot drive upside down. Or do they, in parking lots----with dates? American cars run on gas instead of liquid fuels! And they are filled in gallons instead of litres! Naturally, a British gallon is 4.5 litres, while an American Gallon is 3.79 litres! And it is paid for with dough! Just imagine buying Gas with dough!! Favour and Honour are spelt without the U. So why don't they call it 'hor' instead of hour? Or will that word remind them of someone else? And that also, every hour!! Imagine saying, " I'm going to stop working at 5 hors! " Columbus discovered the Caribbean Islands, Venezuela and Panama, and yet why do Americans call him the discoverer of America, instead of crediting Vespucci? Another great mystery is why are they called Virgin islands? Is there such a thing in America? And I don't mean Islands! Why do Americans call them Indians, then change the term to American Indians, and then when the real Indians arrive, they call them Indian-Americans? Why do they call it a World super bowl championship and world Basketball and Baseball championships, when the only country that plays them is the US? Why do Americans call Football - Soccer, and why do they call Rugby - Football? Why in America after a phone call they hang up instead of down? And lastly, why do they call themselves American, when all they actually mean is people of the US, even though, The US is just less than 25 % of America. How come they forget Canada, Mexico and the whole of South America? Kishore Shah 1974 ------------------------------ Website: www.mgims.org ------------------------------ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 25, 2004 Report Share Posted November 25, 2004 i will start this mail agreeing with kishore -- yet the following are possible explanations --- logical date -- Jan 8, 2004 gets converted to 1-8-2004 the key difference in americana vs english is simplification ? e.g., color - gas is the abbreviation for gasoline - dough is slang and not coloquial - colour is not pronounced as hour but color - english spelling has a science like the mantras of indian languages which we don't understand fully eg., dough vs cough in the geography texts here vespucci is credited as the discoverer of america -- but wasn't it columbus who first came to the americas <<Why do Americans call them Indians>> if i am correct -- columbus or whoever had set out to go to india and accidentally discovered americas -- so he /they were hung up on india -- they called the native people indians -- red indians because of the skin tone -- just like the blacks are called african americans in modern america the politically correct term for red indians/american indians is 'native americans' -- infact calling them indians is considered derogatory now indian americans is logical just like asian americans, latin americans, mexican americans etc << Why do they call it a World super bowl championship and world Basketball and Baseball championships, when the only country that plays them is the US?..>> here i agree with you cent percent -- it is very very annoying when they call them world championships -- <<And lastly, why do they call themselves American, when all they actually mean is people of the US, even though, The US is just less than 25 % of America. How come they forget Canada, Mexico and the whole of South America>> america is north america, central america and south/latin america -- i think it is global domination and it has a nice ring too-- for how would 'united states of american' sound ? what say thou ? ashok 1984 Shah wrote: Why do Americans do everything differently? If the British write the dates logically, with the day first, followed by the month and then the year, why do the Americans have to confuse the order? Just to be different from the British? Why don't they reverse it completely by writing the date with the year first, then month and lastly the day? If the British drive on the left side of the road, why do Americans drive on the right side? Thank God that they cannot drive upside down. Or do they, in parking lots----with dates? American cars run on gas instead of liquid fuels! And they are filled in gallons instead of litres! Naturally, a British gallon is 4.5 litres, while an American Gallon is 3.79 litres! And it is paid for with dough! Just imagine buying Gas with dough!! Favour and Honour are spelt without the U. So why don't they call it 'hor' instead of hour? Or will that word remind them of someone else? And that also, every hour!! Imagine saying, " I'm going to stop working at 5 hors! " Columbus discovered the Caribbean Islands, Venezuela and Panama, and yet why do Americans call him the discoverer of America, instead of crediting Vespucci? Another great mystery is why are they called Virgin islands? Is there such a thing in America? And I don't mean Islands! Why do Americans call them Indians, then change the term to American Indians, and then when the real Indians arrive, they call them Indian-Americans? Why do they call it a World super bowl championship and world Basketball and Baseball championships, when the only country that plays them is the US? Why do Americans call Football - Soccer, and why do they call Rugby - Football? Why in America after a phone call they hang up instead of down? And lastly, why do they call themselves American, when all they actually mean is people of the US, even though, The US is just less than 25 % of America. How come they forget Canada, Mexico and the whole of South America? Kishore Shah 1974 ------------------------------ Website: www.mgims.org ------------------------------ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 25, 2004 Report Share Posted November 25, 2004 i will start this mail agreeing with kishore -- yet the following are possible explanations --- logical date -- Jan 8, 2004 gets converted to 1-8-2004 the key difference in americana vs english is simplification ? e.g., color - gas is the abbreviation for gasoline - dough is slang and not coloquial - colour is not pronounced as hour but color - english spelling has a science like the mantras of indian languages which we don't understand fully eg., dough vs cough in the geography texts here vespucci is credited as the discoverer of america -- but wasn't it columbus who first came to the americas <<Why do Americans call them Indians>> if i am correct -- columbus or whoever had set out to go to india and accidentally discovered americas -- so he /they were hung up on india -- they called the native people indians -- red indians because of the skin tone -- just like the blacks are called african americans in modern america the politically correct term for red indians/american indians is 'native americans' -- infact calling them indians is considered derogatory now indian americans is logical just like asian americans, latin americans, mexican americans etc << Why do they call it a World super bowl championship and world Basketball and Baseball championships, when the only country that plays them is the US?..>> here i agree with you cent percent -- it is very very annoying when they call them world championships -- <<And lastly, why do they call themselves American, when all they actually mean is people of the US, even though, The US is just less than 25 % of America. How come they forget Canada, Mexico and the whole of South America>> america is north america, central america and south/latin america -- i think it is global domination and it has a nice ring too-- for how would 'united states of american' sound ? what say thou ? ashok 1984 Shah wrote: Why do Americans do everything differently? If the British write the dates logically, with the day first, followed by the month and then the year, why do the Americans have to confuse the order? Just to be different from the British? Why don't they reverse it completely by writing the date with the year first, then month and lastly the day? If the British drive on the left side of the road, why do Americans drive on the right side? Thank God that they cannot drive upside down. Or do they, in parking lots----with dates? American cars run on gas instead of liquid fuels! And they are filled in gallons instead of litres! Naturally, a British gallon is 4.5 litres, while an American Gallon is 3.79 litres! And it is paid for with dough! Just imagine buying Gas with dough!! Favour and Honour are spelt without the U. So why don't they call it 'hor' instead of hour? Or will that word remind them of someone else? And that also, every hour!! Imagine saying, " I'm going to stop working at 5 hors! " Columbus discovered the Caribbean Islands, Venezuela and Panama, and yet why do Americans call him the discoverer of America, instead of crediting Vespucci? Another great mystery is why are they called Virgin islands? Is there such a thing in America? And I don't mean Islands! Why do Americans call them Indians, then change the term to American Indians, and then when the real Indians arrive, they call them Indian-Americans? Why do they call it a World super bowl championship and world Basketball and Baseball championships, when the only country that plays them is the US? Why do Americans call Football - Soccer, and why do they call Rugby - Football? Why in America after a phone call they hang up instead of down? And lastly, why do they call themselves American, when all they actually mean is people of the US, even though, The US is just less than 25 % of America. How come they forget Canada, Mexico and the whole of South America? Kishore Shah 1974 ------------------------------ Website: www.mgims.org ------------------------------ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 26, 2004 Report Share Posted November 26, 2004 equality for all and humility -- another of cherished american values ) btw who coined that species name and what year -- i wonder ? wasn't the english ? after they lost the war ) ashok 1984 Shah wrote: No! Seriously, Ashok. I have always wondered. How come America, the great America, which is the fairest of all nations, the greatest of all things on earth, the wisest, the strongest and the most beautiful, has lent its august name to such a lowly creature as the Periplaneta Americana. I hope you know what Periplaneta Americana means. (Hint: It does not mean that the Americans have engulfed the planet.) Kishore Shah 1974 Re: Periplaneta Americana > Oops !! > > renuka says -- > > " I told you " > > why did i think they were less of jokes and more of critiquing ?? > > renuka was right -- again. > > anyways -- for the confused like me -- those are the plausible explanations. > > ashok 1984 ------------------------------ Website: www.mgims.org ------------------------------ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 26, 2004 Report Share Posted November 26, 2004 equality for all and humility -- another of cherished american values ) btw who coined that species name and what year -- i wonder ? wasn't the english ? after they lost the war ) ashok 1984 Shah wrote: No! Seriously, Ashok. I have always wondered. How come America, the great America, which is the fairest of all nations, the greatest of all things on earth, the wisest, the strongest and the most beautiful, has lent its august name to such a lowly creature as the Periplaneta Americana. I hope you know what Periplaneta Americana means. (Hint: It does not mean that the Americans have engulfed the planet.) Kishore Shah 1974 Re: Periplaneta Americana > Oops !! > > renuka says -- > > " I told you " > > why did i think they were less of jokes and more of critiquing ?? > > renuka was right -- again. > > anyways -- for the confused like me -- those are the plausible explanations. > > ashok 1984 ------------------------------ Website: www.mgims.org ------------------------------ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 26, 2004 Report Share Posted November 26, 2004 equality for all and humility -- another of cherished american values ) btw who coined that species name and what year -- i wonder ? wasn't the english ? after they lost the war ) ashok 1984 Shah wrote: No! Seriously, Ashok. I have always wondered. How come America, the great America, which is the fairest of all nations, the greatest of all things on earth, the wisest, the strongest and the most beautiful, has lent its august name to such a lowly creature as the Periplaneta Americana. I hope you know what Periplaneta Americana means. (Hint: It does not mean that the Americans have engulfed the planet.) Kishore Shah 1974 Re: Periplaneta Americana > Oops !! > > renuka says -- > > " I told you " > > why did i think they were less of jokes and more of critiquing ?? > > renuka was right -- again. > > anyways -- for the confused like me -- those are the plausible explanations. > > ashok 1984 ------------------------------ Website: www.mgims.org ------------------------------ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 26, 2004 Report Share Posted November 26, 2004 Like every one else I also did a bit of web search to get to the bottom of this matter. The answer to the mystery of how America lent its apt name to this creature is evident in my culled information which follows. cheers Muthukumar (1985). The American cockroach, Periplaneta americana is the largest of the common peridomestic cockroaches. Forty-seven species are included in the genus Periplaneta, none of which are endemic to the U.S. The American cockroach, P. americana, was introduced to the United States from Africa as early as 1625. The American cockroach has spread throughout the world by commerce. This cockroach is found in shady areas. The number of times an American cockroach molts (changes skin) varies from six to 14. The American cockroach is white immediately after hatching then becomes a grayish brown. The American cockroach is an omnivorous and opportunistic feeder. It consumes decaying organic matter but since the cockroach is a scavenger it will eat most anything. American cockroaches can become a public health problem due to their association with human waste and disease. Their presence in these habitats is of epidemiological significance. Cockroaches can disseminate a number of human parasitic diseases. Cockroaches are also aesthetically displeasing. They are annoying and, when abundant, they are also destructive. Many times people overreact to the presence of these cockroaches. Often, removal of these outdoor cockroaches from the house is all that is needed for control. > No! Seriously, Ashok. > > I have always wondered. How come America, the great America, which is the > fairest of all nations, the greatest of all things on earth, the wisest, the > strongest and the most beautiful, has lent its august name to such a lowly > creature as the Periplaneta Americana. I hope you know what Periplaneta > Americana means. (Hint: It does not mean that the Americans have engulfed > the planet.) > > Kishore Shah 1974 > > Re: Periplaneta Americana > > > > Oops !! > > > > renuka says -- > > > > " I told you " > > > > why did i think they were less of jokes and more of critiquing ?? > > > > renuka was right -- again. > > > > anyways -- for the confused like me -- those are the plausible > explanations. > > > > ashok 1984 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 26, 2004 Report Share Posted November 26, 2004 Like every one else I also did a bit of web search to get to the bottom of this matter. The answer to the mystery of how America lent its apt name to this creature is evident in my culled information which follows. cheers Muthukumar (1985). The American cockroach, Periplaneta americana is the largest of the common peridomestic cockroaches. Forty-seven species are included in the genus Periplaneta, none of which are endemic to the U.S. The American cockroach, P. americana, was introduced to the United States from Africa as early as 1625. The American cockroach has spread throughout the world by commerce. This cockroach is found in shady areas. The number of times an American cockroach molts (changes skin) varies from six to 14. The American cockroach is white immediately after hatching then becomes a grayish brown. The American cockroach is an omnivorous and opportunistic feeder. It consumes decaying organic matter but since the cockroach is a scavenger it will eat most anything. American cockroaches can become a public health problem due to their association with human waste and disease. Their presence in these habitats is of epidemiological significance. Cockroaches can disseminate a number of human parasitic diseases. Cockroaches are also aesthetically displeasing. They are annoying and, when abundant, they are also destructive. Many times people overreact to the presence of these cockroaches. Often, removal of these outdoor cockroaches from the house is all that is needed for control. > No! Seriously, Ashok. > > I have always wondered. How come America, the great America, which is the > fairest of all nations, the greatest of all things on earth, the wisest, the > strongest and the most beautiful, has lent its august name to such a lowly > creature as the Periplaneta Americana. I hope you know what Periplaneta > Americana means. (Hint: It does not mean that the Americans have engulfed > the planet.) > > Kishore Shah 1974 > > Re: Periplaneta Americana > > > > Oops !! > > > > renuka says -- > > > > " I told you " > > > > why did i think they were less of jokes and more of critiquing ?? > > > > renuka was right -- again. > > > > anyways -- for the confused like me -- those are the plausible > explanations. > > > > ashok 1984 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 26, 2004 Report Share Posted November 26, 2004 Like every one else I also did a bit of web search to get to the bottom of this matter. The answer to the mystery of how America lent its apt name to this creature is evident in my culled information which follows. cheers Muthukumar (1985). The American cockroach, Periplaneta americana is the largest of the common peridomestic cockroaches. Forty-seven species are included in the genus Periplaneta, none of which are endemic to the U.S. The American cockroach, P. americana, was introduced to the United States from Africa as early as 1625. The American cockroach has spread throughout the world by commerce. This cockroach is found in shady areas. The number of times an American cockroach molts (changes skin) varies from six to 14. The American cockroach is white immediately after hatching then becomes a grayish brown. The American cockroach is an omnivorous and opportunistic feeder. It consumes decaying organic matter but since the cockroach is a scavenger it will eat most anything. American cockroaches can become a public health problem due to their association with human waste and disease. Their presence in these habitats is of epidemiological significance. Cockroaches can disseminate a number of human parasitic diseases. Cockroaches are also aesthetically displeasing. They are annoying and, when abundant, they are also destructive. Many times people overreact to the presence of these cockroaches. Often, removal of these outdoor cockroaches from the house is all that is needed for control. > No! Seriously, Ashok. > > I have always wondered. How come America, the great America, which is the > fairest of all nations, the greatest of all things on earth, the wisest, the > strongest and the most beautiful, has lent its august name to such a lowly > creature as the Periplaneta Americana. I hope you know what Periplaneta > Americana means. (Hint: It does not mean that the Americans have engulfed > the planet.) > > Kishore Shah 1974 > > Re: Periplaneta Americana > > > > Oops !! > > > > renuka says -- > > > > " I told you " > > > > why did i think they were less of jokes and more of critiquing ?? > > > > renuka was right -- again. > > > > anyways -- for the confused like me -- those are the plausible > explanations. > > > > ashok 1984 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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