nav[aria-label="Primary Navigation"] { padding: 0; & ul { list-style: none; width: 100%; display: flex; flex-direction: row; justify-content: start; align-items: start; gap: 30px; padding: 0; & li { margin: 0; } & ul li { list-style: none; } } }

Child Item

Silly questions asked by yanks

Daegerty

A few to get started. Nothing against them by the way but some of the things they say can be amusing.

"Why are there so many African-Americans living in Nigeria?"

"(obligatory question with the assumption that leprechauns are real)"

"Where in Denmark is Amsterdam?"

Find more posts tagged with

Quick Links

Comments

Dan133269

bluewolf wrote: »

Jesus fcuking christ not again

haha I'm actually in stitches here

old hippy

michelledoh wrote: »

No, she actually said OMG i wasn't using text talk! As for my spelling mistakes that was pure laziness my friend!

Bygones

onlyrocknroll

I was standing at a traffic light once with an American friend who asked what the beeping was, I said it was for blind... ... ...

Only joking

veritable

I'm sure it's been said before but Americans don't have a monopoly on saying stupid things. Listen long enough in Dublin, or any part of Ireland, and it won't be long until you hear silly things being said!

ClashCityRocker

Another "friend told me" one....

Friend of mine was in Rome taking a tour. They were at the Colosseum and an American tourist asked the guide if the "Eyetalian" government had any plans to repair it.

As a disclaimer, I would like to add that most Americans I have encountered have been intelligent, friendly and respectful.

metrovelvet

onlyrocknroll wrote: »

I was standing at a traffic light once with an American friend who asked what the beeping was, I said it was for blind... ... ...

Only joking

I recently pointed this out to a sixty five year old Dub who never noticed the beeping.

Shenshen

metrovelvet wrote: »

I recently pointed this out to a sixty five year old Dub who never noticed the beeping.

Good thing that there's also the lights, for the deaf people

metrovelvet

Shenshen wrote: »

Good thing that there's also the lights, for the deaf people

Given his diving record I dont think he notices those either. Good thing Ireland gave out licenses in the post office. It does sometimes appear that Ireland does let blind people drive.

franglan

I spent a J1 one working in Boston in a supermarket. My manager was 1/8 Irish or 1/10 (not sure if thats possible?) anyway he constantly asked me did we have every day items in Ireland. The average questions were:

Do you have dogs? Do you were skirts and socks to weddings, like, you do don't you? Do you all drink guinness? Are the I.R.A all heroes? Is Belfast really dangerous? Are they still fighting terrorists in Belfast? Do you have Biscuits in Ireland? Do you have Ice cream or is it too cold etc......

Fairly annoying......

metrovelvet

Im American and have a very Irish last name. Most of the time this invites questions like 'do you have ten brothers and sisters' and 'do you like to party?'

southsiderosie

metrovelvet wrote: »

Im American and have a very Irish last name. Most of the time this invites questions like 'do you have ten brothers and sisters' and 'do you like to party?'

Haha, I take it you weren't living in Boston, Chicago or New York then?

Neyite

It was not an american, but an Irish person today.

My friend was phoning her consultant, trying to find out what the next stage in her treatment would be:

My friend: "Hi, I called yesterday and was told that someone would call me back regarding my treatment?"
Receptionist: *takes name* looks at computer etc etc... "Em... do you know who you were speaking to yesterday?"
My friend: "No, sorry, I didnt get her name at all."
Receptionist: Em... ok...*thinking* "Was it a blonde girl you were speaking to?"
My friend: "???"

Rented Mule

darsar wrote: »

In Miami;

Me: Sorry (as i stretch across her to grab my drink from the bar)

Her: Wow, Are you Eyerish?

Me: Yeah

Her: Oh my god, totally cool accent. I know a guy from Eyerland. You probably know him, Pat O' Donnell?

This is a classic Irish one as well.

My father was a Policeman in the Chicago. When we would go back to stay with family and friends he would often get 'My bother is a policeman in Philadelphia ......do you know him?'

Rented Mule

bluewolf wrote: »

Jesus fcuking christ not again

I stood next to a kid on O'Connell street (in August of '99) who said that line word for word.

Say what you want ....I have seen it happen.

Le King

lol Irish people are as dim as us. Ignorance and stupidity is universal.

I've met more dim Irish and English abroad than any other nationality.

Rented Mule

crazygeryy wrote: »

ive driven in america.you can turn left on red in lots of states.its something we cannot do in this country under any circumstances so why is that a silly question?

Really ? Name one State that you can turn left on red.

Iron Hide

Handing out leaflets for the City of Culture on St Patrick's street a few years back when a middle aged american couple pointed to their wee map and asked " 'scuse me young man but what time does the Grand Parade start?"

No doubt, its a totally honest mistake that could likely be made by anyone who doesn't know Cork, still didn't stop me cracking up though!!

Reindeer

You, and undoubtedly others, have missed my entire point. Your response is the proof.

onlyrocknroll wrote: »

Some of these aren't that bad

I'm sure you knew what he meant.

Reasonable questions, if someone asked me what colcannon was I'd tell them

It's not that stupid to be unaware that there are different measurements in the US.

It's stupid to ask where you can get Turkish food? I got one in Austin.

TBF most posters haven't been insulting towards Americans and there's been a lot of acknowledgement that Irish people can be stupid abroad often. It's just harmless fun making.

Killer Wench

InTheTrees wrote: »

But I didnt write "half past the hour" did i?

To be fair, the whole "half past the hour" isn't said that way. Usually, the "lf" is left of and it is slurred together to become "hapas10". I've been around plenty of people who've said it and it takes me a sec to decipher their Dublin or Donegal accents.

onlyrocknroll

Reindeer wrote: »

You, and undoubtedly others, have missed my entire point. Your response is the proof.

Ok then, I take it that your point is that these aren't stupid questions from an Irish point of view, but are interpreted as stupid by Americans who lack the cultural context in which they are intended by the asker. And that by analogy Americans who ask what seem to be stupid questions to us, aren't in fact stupid but are simply caught in a cultural misunderstanding.

If that is your point I direct you to this point.

oncebitten wrote: »

When I was on my J1 - 'Are you guys all still fighting like in Braveheart??'

There's such thing as cultural context and understandable naivety, but also such thing as stupidity. I'm not saying that Americans are more stupid than anyone else. Clearly the country that dominated the past hundred years of literature, art and philosophy, and has more Nobel prizes than anyone else is not a country of stupid people.

But sometimes Americans (like everyone else) ask stupid questions, and this thread is just a little good natured fun at their expense.

Killer Wench

I see it as an insulting and silly question asked by fellow Americans to me. I have an Irish first name that most American's can't pronounce; those who have Irish roots, typically know its an Irish name. So, when they hear me say my name, it's usually:

"Oh, did you know that's an Irish name?"

Well, considering that I've had the name my entire life, and every single Irish American likes to point it out, yes I do. But, it doesn't seem to cross their mind that this Brown skinned girl could have Irish ancestry also. I do give props to Irish people. Since living here, whenever people here my name, they ask: "Oh, so you're part Irish?".

crazygeryy

Reindeer wrote: »

You, and undoubtedly others, have missed my entire point. Your response is the proof.

ok maybe i did thats why i replied.enlighten me then.

what exactly is your point?

because most of those questions you posted are are legitimate questions imo.

crazygeryy

Rented Mule wrote: »

Really ? Name one State that you can turn left on red.

damn i made a boo boo didnt i?

its right on red isnt it.its been a while since ive driven there.

oh dopey me.

im sorry about that one mr reindeer lol

Solair

The best "silly person abroad" story I came across was an Australian who decided that AUS$ was a major world currency and instead of taking Euro or US$ on a backpacking trip across remote parts Eastern Europe took a big wad of Dollariedoos and AUS$ cheques and ended up having serious difficulty exchanging them.

I also remember seeing a US guy trying to pay a Dublin bus driver with US$20 bill. "This is a bus, not a bleedin' money changing machine, bud!"

blacktalons

i saw two thick irish gombeens waiting for a revolving door to STOP :pac: in new york, before they entered the hotel:pac:. it kept the hotel staff laughing for a week. the "oirish" are the most laughed at race on the planet :pac::pac::pac:

Capt'n Midnight

Donkey Oaty wrote: »

she was looking for a card in her slot.

Did you give her one

[Deleted User]

crazygeryy wrote: »

sorry but theres so much in that post that doesnt make sense.or maybe im missing your point.
"
"Is it legal to turn left on red here?" - "

ive driven in america.you can turn left on red in lots of states.its something we cannot do in this country under any circumstances so why is that a silly question?

"What is a dime?" -

whats wrong with asking what a dime is?i know i asked it when i first went to the usa, maybe he should have said how much is it worth?is that your point?

"Is it always this sunny?" My response? - "No, we have night as well".

another genuine question.im not getting your logic at all.tourists have asked me do you get a lot of rain here and the answer is we do.is it always sunny in florida well the answer would be yes mainly.

i think( personally )your mixing up being asked downright silly questions with being sarcastic.

I got the point perfectly and that poster is absolutely right. The attitude a lot of Irish people have towards Americans is really hypocritical. So it's perfectly fine for Irish people not to know what a dime is or that American pints are different to Irish pints, yet Americans are the dumbest people in the world for not knowing how to pronounce Tuam and calling the Irish language Gaelic?

I used to work in a hotel in the States and you wouldn't believe the amount of f**king ridiculous questions from the Irish guests. And the American staff didn't laugh in their faces or bitch behind their backs. I really think twice now before writing someone off as an idiot just because they don't know something I thought was common knowledge. Ireland is a really small country, so why should anyone know more than the bare minimum?

Jev/N

blacktalons wrote: »

i saw two thick irish gombeens waiting for a revolving door to STOP :pac:

Some actually do stop though

kowloon

I get talked down to a lot in the UK, I fear we Irish might have a bit of a reputation ourselves.

onlyrocknroll

IzzyWizzy wrote: »

I got the point perfectly and that poster is absolutely right. The attitude a lot of Irish people have towards Americans is really hypocritical. So it's perfectly fine for Irish people not to know what a dime is or that American pints are different to Irish pints, yet Americans are the dumbest people in the world for not knowing how to pronounce Tuam and calling the Irish language Gaelic?

I used to work in a hotel in the States and you wouldn't believe the amount of f**king ridiculous questions from the Irish guests. And the American staff didn't laugh in their faces or bitch behind their backs. I really think twice now before writing someone off as an idiot just because they don't know something I thought was common knowledge. Ireland is a really small country, so why should anyone know more than the bare minimum?

Nobody's laughing in somebody's face or bitching their backs.

If you read through the thread most (of course not all, this is AH) posts have been gentle affectionate laughs at social gaffs.

There's been plenty of acknowledgment that Irish people say stupid things too, plenty of acknowledgments that Americans are an intelligent people broadly, and some posters (including me) have posted examples of Irish people being stupid.

I would say that not knowing how much a dime is worth is less stupid than asking if we're all still fighting "like in Braveheart" though.