Silly questions asked by yanks

barakus · 14-05-2011 10:06AM

Duggy747 wrote: »

Been asked some dingers by all sorts of people with different nationalities but sicne we're chatting about the Yankee-doodles....

Had one guy ask me if I had ever heard of a game called ".........GOOOOOOLF........" as if I went temporarily deaf and dumb.

Another time I was asked had I ever seen a McDonalds before. I had him believing that I didn't and that my primary objective on coming over to America was to buy Hamburgers and send them back home to the family. He was a nice chap so I told him I was only pulling the piss with him.

Not really stupid, more odd. Had a pimp in NY trying to get me to have a "good fùck" with one of his girls. He asked me where I was from and when I told him he said: "Eyer-land!?! Sheet, you gonna have such a good time fùckin' her yo' daddy gonna wake up and say..............sheeeeet, ma' son is having a damn good fùck!!" :pac:

hahahaha brilliant:D

WeeBushy · 14-05-2011 10:20AM

While in a gondola skiing in Andorra 7/8 years ago at this stage:

Stupid America: Hey man, where are you from?
Me: Ireland
Stupid American: Oh wow, I know someone from Ireland. Do you know Steve? Steve from Swords?
Me: Steve from Swords? Yeah I do actually, lovely man. We went went for a pint together last week actually. Said he knew a guy who would be skiing in the same place as me!
Stupid American: Oh my gosh, he must have been talking about me!
Me: Small world, eh?

Also my dad told me a story from when he was backing packing around American when he was in college. He got asked where he was from, he said Ireland. And the guy replied, 'oh, is that up state somewhere?'.

Stupid fcuking Americans.

mikemac · 14-05-2011 10:47AM

WeeBushy wrote: »

Also my dad told me a story from when he was backing packing around American when he was in college. He got asked where he was from, he said Ireland. And the guy replied, 'oh, is that up state somewhere?'.

Stupid fcuking Americans.

That's not stupid

Dundalk is in Maryland, Dublin is in Ohio. If you're going to say Ireland, they might think it's a town somewhere

crazygeryy · 14-05-2011 11:07AM

WeeBushy wrote: »

While in a gondola skiing in Andorra 7/8 years ago at this stage:

Stupid America: Hey man, where are you from?
Me: Ireland
Stupid American: Oh wow, I know someone from Ireland. Do you know Steve? Steve from Swords?
Me: Steve from Swords? Yeah I do actually, lovely man. We went went for a pint together last week actually. Said he knew a guy who would be skiing in the same place as me!
Stupid American: Oh my gosh, he must have been talking about me!
Me: Small world, eh?

Also my dad told me a story from when he was backing packing around American when he was in college. He got asked where he was from, he said Ireland. And the guy replied, 'oh, is that up state somewhere?'.

Stupid fcuking Americans.

see i dont think that at all.and i think thats way to much of a generalisation tbh.i think the majority of silly questions come from americans who are on an organised bus tour and have never stepped outside america before in their lives.

metrovelvet · 14-05-2011 11:29AM

When I used to come over here in the summers people asked me if I personally knew Michael Jackson and if I lived on a ranch like in Dallas. They also thought Disney land was an hour and half drive from New York, didnt realise you had to take a plane there, and sometimes asked me questions which would indicate they thought the US was the same size as Ireland until I had to repeately point out Ireland is the same size as West Virginia, not one of our biggest states.

I remember a few questions about all the coloured people who live in America, must be fun not living in a country where 'everyone looks like your cousin.'

I will try to dig up some more very stupid questions from Irish people that Ive been asked over the years.

smurgen · 14-05-2011 12:26PM

Dean Pitiful Seal 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?

well in think if you know the bare minimum about a country the least you can do is make sure that what little information you have is correct.for example i got friendly with a filipino american girl in santa barbara who said she's never visit ireland becase there was too many terrorist over there.the only thing her and her friends knew about ireland was that we have the ira. they never even heard of dublin if that isn't retarded and stupid i dont know what is.i think american are very insular and lack the curiosity about other cultures many other nationalities have. now not saying every american is like that,met lots of cool very informed individauals too but on average the american are more ignorant to other cultures than the rest of the world

blorg · 14-05-2011 12:52PM

prinz wrote: »

The usual, do we have electricity, telephones, the internet, motorways etc.

Only 20 years ago we DIDN'T have any motorways! Or any substantial non-Anglophone immigrant community.

It isn't just Americans that don't know if we speak English; why should anyone outside Europe know, we are a small country. What language do they speak in (pick a similar sized country in Asia or Africa?)

The confusion as to whether Ireland is still part of the UK happens even in Europe, although they should know better. Outside Europe it is common.

In Iran, interestingly, everyone knows about Ireland and that it is independent but that is mainly because (1) they hate the Brits and think we all do too (they renamed the Tehran street the British Embassy is on Bobby Sands Street after he died); (2) we beat them in football, denying them a place in the 2002 World Cup. Bobby Sands and Shay Given, they all know well.

annascott · 14-05-2011 01:17PM

bodhrandude wrote: »

Playing a session in Taffes, Galway one afternoon and one asked my Japanese friend who was playing the fiddle if she was from Ireland.

She could have been from Ireland. She could have been born here of Japanese parents or grandparents...

annascott · 14-05-2011 01:20PM

blorg wrote: »

Only 20 years ago we DIDN'T have any motorways! Or any substantial non-Anglophone immigrant community.

It isn't just Americans that don't know if we speak English; why should anyone outside Europe know, we are a small country. What language do they speak in (pick a similar sized country in Asia or Africa?)

The confusion as to whether Ireland is still part of the UK happens even in Europe, although they should know better. Outside Europe it is common.

In Iran, interestingly, everyone knows about Ireland and that it is independent but that is mainly because (1) they hate the Brits and think we all do too (they renamed the Tehran street the British Embassy is on Bobby Sands Street after he died); (2) we beat them in football, denying them a place in the 2002 World Cup. Bobby Sands and Shay Given, they all know well.

Why would they name an Embassy Street after 'Slimmer of the Year 1981'...

annascott · 14-05-2011 01:25PM

Dean Pitiful Seal 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?

Isn't it Gaelic? Gaelic football and 'they are speaking Gaelic' Please enlighten me. Being a non Gaelic speaker, what else should I call it?

blorg · 14-05-2011 02:06PM

annascott wrote: »

Why would they name an Embassy Street after 'Slimmer of the Year 1981'...

They are bit contrarian like that, not the most diplomatic of nations although a great bunch of lads when you get to know them (the people, not the government.) They have a big plaque outside the German embassy stating how horrible the German government is for selling chemicals to Saddam during the Iran-Iraq war.

annascott wrote: »

She could have been from Ireland. She could have been born here of Japanese parents or grandparents...

'Tis unlikely though, there are not so many ethnically Japanese Irish citizens. Ireland was extraordinarily ethnically homogeneous until very very recently.

southsiderosie · 14-05-2011 02:37PM

smurgen wrote: »

well in think if you know the bare minimum about a country the least you can do is make sure that what little information you have is correct.for example i got friendly with a filipino american girl in santa barbara who said she's never visit ireland becase there was too many terrorist over there.the only thing her and her friends knew about ireland was that we have the ira. they never even heard of dublin if that isn't retarded and stupid i dont know what is.i think american are very insular and lack the curiosity about other cultures many other nationalities have. now not saying every american is like that,met lots of cool very informed individauals too but on average the american are more ignorant to other cultures than the rest of the world

Quick, can you name the capital of Honduras?

Ireland is a small country, and the only reason why a lot of Americans know anything about it at all is because their ancestors are from there.

After spending almost two years living in Europe, I'm not convinced that Americans are necessarily dumber that other people. We are more sheltered from international news, in part because of geography: the US is the size of Europe, so if you are aware of politics in 'other places' it tends to be California or New York, not Ireland or Portugal. And given what I have heard on Irish radio, and seen of newspapers and cable news in the UK and trash tv and tabloids across much of the continent, Europeans can be just as lowbrow (if not more so) as Americans. The difference is, the rest of the world is far more aware of our lunatics and dirty laundry than vice-versa.

blorg wrote: »

'Tis unlikely though, there are not so many ethnically Japanese Irish citizens. Ireland was extraordinarily ethnically homogeneous until very very recently.

Well given the mix of ethnicities that you see on the streets of Dublin today, and the fact that in the US itself is quite diverse, I don't think that is a silly question. Speaking of silly race-related questions, I'm an American but I'm not white, and when I lived in Dublin the number of Irish people who asked me "but where are you really from" when I told them I was an American was unreal. Have yiz not seen our president?

Flesh Gorden · 14-05-2011 02:47PM

worked for a few months in the tourist office stock rooms back in 07'

Not said to me, but an American phoned the office asking if the ring of Kerry was open on Tuesdays?

When I called in a few months later to see some of the people I worked with
I witnessed an American couple in their 50's get very annoyed at been given directions to Youghal instead of the town they kept pronouncing as Yogal,
even going to the lengths of pointing it out on a map and walking off in disgust from the main desk

BARE International require Irish nationals to take an English test

Most recent one was a lady probably in her 40's from Philadelphia,
not dumb by any means but someone who should have known a lot better then to start praising the IRA and their deeds and what she taught Sinn Fein should do if part of the next Dail

I tried explaining that the country had moved on since those times which fell on deaf ears

I was fairly annoyed by now so I said that my knowledge of Irish history wasn't great as my entire family were of German origin and had been part of the socialist movement in the 30's.

This ended the conversation

metrovelvet · 14-05-2011 02:56PM

southsiderosie wrote: »

Quick, can you name the capital of Honduras?

Ireland is a small country, and the only reason why a lot of Americans know anything about it at all is because their ancestors are from there.

After spending almost two years living in Europe, I'm not convinced that Americans are necessarily dumber that other people. We are more sheltered from international news, in part because of geography: the US is the size of Europe, so if you are aware of politics in 'other places' it tends to be California or New York, not Ireland or Portugal. And given what I have heard on Irish radio, and seen of newspapers and cable news in the UK and trash tv and tabloids across much of the continent, Europeans can be just as lowbrow (if not more so) as Americans. The difference is, the rest of the world is far more aware of our lunatics and dirty laundry than vice-versa.

Well given the mix of ethnicities that you see on the streets of Dublin today, and the fact that in the US itself is quite diverse, I don't think that is a silly question. Speaking of silly race-related questions, I'm an American but I'm not white, and when I lived in Dublin the number of Irish people who asked me "but where are you really from" when I told them I was an American was unreal. Have yiz not seen our president?

I could write a five page response to this. Instead I will sum up: EUROVISION.

Speaking if silly race questions, I am white, and I get stupid questions all the time. 'Are you part Appache?' is one of my favourites.

I even had a taxi driver start talking to me in very bad spanish.

'Whats the weather like in Italy now?'

'You look like you'd get a great tan?

'You didnt get those eyes in this country.'

Ireland is the size of West Virginia. Does everyone here know the capital of West Virginia?

Ireland is a tiny neutral country, why would anyone know anything about it? Do Irish people know anything about Malta? Probably not and thats on the same continent.

blorg · 14-05-2011 03:21PM

southsiderosie wrote: »

Well given the mix of ethnicities that you see on the streets of Dublin today, and the fact that in the US itself is quite diverse, I don't think that is a silly question.

Oh I agree, not a silly question at all, but it seemed to me the PC brigade was jumping down the neck of the guy who posted the story, when it is in fact very unlikely an ethnically Japanese person here is an Irish citizen but more likely a visitor (an ethnically Chinese person would be far more likely to be a citizen.) Not that it is reasonable to expect an American to know this.

On the flip side, asking if there are black people in Ireland (as someone else mentioned) isn't a silly question either- there were in fact very few until quite recently... although I would wonder about the reasons an American would ask that question and would have to suspect they are a bit of a closet racist (I got into more than one conversation with people in rural Georgia starting 'Now I've nothing against black people BUT'...)

Nhead · 14-05-2011 03:33PM

metrovelvet wrote: »

When I used to come over here in the summers people asked me if I personally knew Michael Jackson and if I lived on a ranch like in Dallas. They also thought Disney land was an hour and half drive from New York, didnt realise you had to take a plane there, and sometimes asked me questions which would indicate they thought the US was the same size as Ireland until I had to repeately point out Ireland is the same size as West Virginia, not one of our biggest states.

I remember a few questions about all the coloured people who live in America, must be fun not living in a country where 'everyone looks like your cousin.'

I will try to dig up some more very stupid questions from Irish people that Ive been asked over the years.

Try Punch magazine they used to have some wonderful articles on us 'thick micks'. Most Americans I have met are usually very polite and good craic.

15-05-2011 01:51AM

smurgen wrote: »

well in think if you know the bare minimum about a country the least you can do is make sure that what little information you have is correct.for example i got friendly with a filipino american girl in santa barbara who said she's never visit ireland becase there was too many terrorist over there.the only thing her and her friends knew about ireland was that we have the ira. they never even heard of dublin if that isn't retarded and stupid i dont know what is.i think american are very insular and lack the curiosity about other cultures many other nationalities have. now not saying every american is like that,met lots of cool very informed individauals too but on average the american are more ignorant to other cultures than the rest of the world

Do you know every capital city in the world? I highly doubt it. The thing is, you meet people from Albania and Macedonia and Malta and Luxembourg and they don't expect people to know anything about their country. For some reason, Irish people seem to think Ireland is the capital of the universe. And, BTW, there are plenty of terrorists in Ireland, so I don't see how that girl was wrong.

annascott wrote: »

She could have been from Ireland. She could have been born here of Japanese parents or grandparents...

Absolutely. I have tanned skin and non-Irish features and I'm an Irish citizen with an Irish name, born in 1984. I know several people who are mixed race or Asian and play trad music. There's nothing at all stupid about that question. The Irish people who constantly say things like 'but you can't possibly be from here' are far more ignorant, IMO.

annascott wrote: »

Isn't it Gaelic? Gaelic football and 'they are speaking Gaelic' Please enlighten me. Being a non Gaelic speaker, what else should I call it?

In Ireland, it's called Irish. For some reason, people think you're a retard if you say Gaelic, even though it's called Gaeilge in the Irish language and it's a Gaelic language.

shannon_tek · 15-05-2011 02:03AM

Was working in a hotel and was Standing at reception and 2 americans came in husband and wife. The husband was pretty mad and his first words were. 'Is that your car park outside' there's me thinking a big sign outside saying ***** HOTEL CAR PARK. how could you miss it.

Its a love-hate relationship between me and Americans. Anyone else have that.

shellib · 15-05-2011 03:36PM

Dont know what nationality she was but my boyfriends sister got a phone call last week from a very annoyed women who told her the parcel she was trying to send kept returning to her... When my bfs sister asked her what the address was that she had she replied main street Ireland ha ha!

smurgen · 15-05-2011 03:58PM

Dean Pitiful Seal wrote: »

Do you know every capital city in the world? I highly doubt it. The thing is, you meet people from Albania and Macedonia and Malta and Luxembourg and they don't expect people to know anything about their country. For some reason, Irish people seem to think Ireland is the capital of the universe. And, BTW, there are plenty of terrorists in Ireland, so I don't see how that girl was wrong.

dont know every capital in the world but dublin is ranked as one of the more important cities in the world : "The city is currently ranked 29th in the Global Financial Centres Index and is listed by the GaWC as a global city, with a ranking of Alpha, placing Dublin among the top 30 cities in the world.It is a historical and contemporary cultural centre for the country, as well as a modern centre of education, the arts, administration, economy and industry." - see http://www.theglobalcity.org/wp3/?page_id=551

I think irish people have a pretty good idea of how important we are in the world.dont think the capitals of honduras or malta are as well know as our own capital but thats besides the point. the fact is that alot of the people i met never even heard of dublin and it is one of the more well know cities in the world.also ireland is very safe from a terrorist point of view compared to other countries so the filipino girl saying she didn't want to come to ireland because of the terrorists was retarded.far more likely to be bumped off by a gang member in california than an ira member in ireland id imagine!

For Forks Sake · 15-05-2011 03:58PM

:eek:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XWAuoGg4jY

Ash.J.Williams · 15-05-2011 04:05PM

Wake up people....the modern irish are one of the dopiest nations in the developed world!

Irish Girl: where are you from?
Guatemalan friend of mine: Guatemala
irish girl: Omg is that like in africa?

old hippy · 15-05-2011 04:07PM

smurgen wrote: »

also ireland is very safe from a terrorist point of view compared to other countries so the filipino girl saying she didn't want to come to ireland because of the terrorists was retarded.far more likely to be bumped off by a gang member in california than an ira member in ireland id imagine!

Oh dear.

Ash.J.Williams · 15-05-2011 04:12PM

bodhrandude wrote: »

I remember this cracker from a mate who was travelling on Bus Eireann to Limerick from Galway, as the bus was passing Bunratty Castle he heard an American say, "How convenient to have a castle near a freeway."

no he didn't

old hippy · 15-05-2011 04:14PM

Ash.J.Williams wrote: »

no he didn't

Yeah, think we did this one a few pages back. I guess if you repeat the lie often enough...

Solair · 15-05-2011 04:15PM

I actually find some Irish people shockingly thick and lacking in knowledge about other parts of their own country, never mind overseas destinations.

I remember working with someone from Dublin who was absolutely flabbergasted to discover that there was an airport in Cork. She'd only ever heard of "The Airport".

We were having a chat with a colleague from Belfast one day and she was telling us about how she'd grown up on the Falls Road. My Dublin colleague's response was "Ah it must have been great growing-up down the country with all dem cows and stuff..."

Then a very stuck-up Cork guy I know was actually worried about going to Croke Park to watch rugby as he had heard horror stories about Dublin's Northside and was basically expecting to be carjacked the moment he crossed the Liffey.

Another Cork colleague of mine when someone introduced herself (in a strong Donegal accent) as being from Ballybofey asked her was it strange being down in the Republic!

and I had someone from Belfast ask me if a lot of people commute from Cork to Dublin!!!! When I questioned him a bit further, he actually thought that Cork was a suburb of Dublin and had only a very vague notion that it was "South of the Border"

I remember another incident with Aer Lingus at London Heathrow. We were due on a flight to Cork which had been cancelled and we asked if we could be transferred to another flight. The guy suggested that we fly to Belfast and get the train! I asked him how long he thought that would take and he said "oh, about an hour!"
Clearly they're using ground crew who have no idea of Irish geography.

Also, I have French family members and the number of times that both Irish and British people ask them if they really eat frogs legs or make terrible jokes about garlic is just unbelievable.

If you've ever dealt with the general public you'd very quickly realise that about 30% of any population, be they American, Irish, French, German, British, or whatever, are just completely thick and are confused by everything outside of their own living rooms!

TheBucks · 15-05-2011 04:16PM

^^^^^^^^^^ My God!!!

old hippy · 15-05-2011 04:20PM

Back in the 80s a load of American kids came to stay with host families in Dublin. We brought them to the pub (for that great Irish tradition - underage drinking) and some of the girls from the convent school came along to suss out these exotic creatures. The first question one of them asked our American friends was "And are ye catholic, so?"

The Americans were most bemused by that ice breaker...

For Forks Sake · 15-05-2011 04:20PM

TheBucks wrote: »

^^^^^^^^^^ My God!!!

sssssssshhhhhhh, you'll have the militant atheist brigade after you quick smart

Solair · 15-05-2011 04:21PM

I was in a self-service laundrette in London one evening and these two young Aussi back-packers came over and asked me if I knew how to "get the water to fill up in the big washing machine".

I explained it was a tumble-dryer!

They had put their clothes in and thrown in a scoop of washing powder and closed the door then looked confused at it.

One of the girls remarked that she'd no idea how to do laundry as her mom had always done it for her and this was the first time she'd ever used a washing machine by herself!!!!!

:eek::eek::eek:

Silly questions asked by yanks

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