8 Quirky Things Americans Will Never Understand about British People

It’s November. Leaves stick limply to the pavements, it’s suddenly got a bit nippy and absolutely no-one can believe how dark it is. But amongst the doom and gloom, this weekend marks, in our opinions, one of the best nights of the year.

Bonfire Night.

Fireworks, sausages and sparklers! The smell of burning in the air and a chance to wear your mittens. We love it.

However, it seems the rest of the world haven’t a clue about this marvellous weekend. Asking people about firework night, you’ll be asked if you mean the 4th of July. Try chanting ‘Remember, remember the 5th of November’ to an American and all you’ll get is a blank stare and a fair bit of confusion.

This got us thinking. What else do we have difficulty explaining to our beloved friends across the pond? What else just doesn’t translate or they’ve never had the joy of experiencing?

Well it seems there’s quite a list.

So here’s our list of our favourite British things which are a little tough for American’s to understand...

2. The 'x' at the end of a text

But we already knew Americans stereotype us with our hot cuppas. The thing Americans can’t get their heads around is the TV tea pick up.

The fact that our electricity providers will monitor what’s happening on the telly to predict and then provide an extra electrical surge for all those Brits wanting a nice cuppa in the ad break says a lot about us.

They know when we’re about to stick the kettle on.

The largest ever TV pickup was on 4 July 1990, when a 2800 MW demand spiked after the penalty shootout in the England v West Germany FIFA World Cup semi-final and the biggest non TV surge ever recorded was straight after the 1999 solar eclipse.

Isn’t it great that straight after one of the world’s most celebrated eclipses the whole of England simply clapped their hands and announced: “Right, that’s over, who wants a cuppa?”.

Ever texted an American and felt a little sad that they didn’t send you a kiss at the end? Us too.

Americans will never understand the extreme fear you feel when you accidentally send 3 kisses to someone you’ve only just started dating.

How you end your text is a symbol to your relationship, I mean, it was only a kiss...

3. Cheeky Nandos

Oi you, are you gonna Nando?

One of our great British staples. With 339 Nando’s stores in the UK, it's a rite of passage to stand in line and order everyone’s favourite Portuguese chicken. Medium, hot or lemon and herb - your order is part of who you are and who you want to be.

"But what makes it cheeky?"

It’s hard enough that Americans don’t have the word cheeky in their vocab to begin with but this particular phrase baffles even the best.

A favourite expression, it simply describes a quality dining experience...

4. Cheese Rolling

We love sport in the UK. We’ll find any excuse to have a race. From the egg and spoon to a three-legged relay, we know how to get creative. But the most creative thing we’ve ever heard of has to be cheese rolling.

Someone in the past has actually looked at a wheel of cheese and thought, “I’m going to chase that”.

Cheese rolling is a competitive sport - where you have to race the cheese to the bottom of the hill, any way you can. The person across the finish line at the bottom of the hill wins the cheese. Of course.

The cheese can travel up to 30 miles per hour and people will fly down after it. Injuries are common but no pain, no gain.

"The cheese can travel up to 30 miles per hour "

We can think of a few people who would go to extreme lengths for a bit of cheddar.

5. Spotted Dick

Ah, Spotted Dick, perhaps the most hilarious pudding name in the history of puds. We love it when it’s on the pub’s winter menu and even we can’t believe we’re not joking.

With the Great British Bake Off just finishing on the telly, old favourites such as Spotted Dick are back on the table.

Spotted Dick is a traditional British pudding made from suet. It’s stodgy, dense and full of hot plump raisins. Add mounds of custard and you can see why this underrated desert has a place in our history.

6. Beans on toast

“Beans for breakfast?!”*

*Regular reaction in the US of A.

Now, let’s not be too hasty, Americans do have baked beans * cue sigh of relief * but you’re not going to find them on any breakfast diner menu.

To Americans, beans are a BBQ side - they can’t understand why we would even consider having them for breakfast let alone having them on toast (with an optional, but highly encouraged, grating of cheese and Worcestershire sauce) and we can’t understand why they wouldn’t.

But it seems the rest of Britain is with us on this one. There’s a staggering 1.5 million cans of Heinz Beans sold every day within the UK and that’s just one brand. We’ll pop the toast in now.

7. The anger we have about Freddos no longer costing 10p

25p.

Twenty-five of our British pence. They say 10p on the packet!

The recommended retail price for our beloved freddos has risen 2p every year since 2000. Let’s do some maths. That means that by the year 2030 we’re looking at our fave froggy friends being a staggering 38p - which is significantly more than the 20p it would be if it had risen in line with inflation.

It might not seem much. But to us, it’s not just the price. It’s the principle.

Note to the rest of the world: Never bring this up to anyone British. It’s the unspoken rule. We will flare up faster than the big rocket you saved for the end of your firework display. Ka-Boom.

But to us, it's not just the price. It's the principle.

8. Bonfire Night

Remember, remember the 5th of November. Gunpowder, treason and plot.

We’ve been celebrating the death of Guy Fawkes for over 400 years. As the story goes, Guy Fawkes was arrested while guarding explosives that plotters had placed beneath the House of Lords and we choose to remember it by setting fire to fake Guy Fawkes's on many a bonfire.

A failed attempt to blow up Parliament might not sound like cause for celebration but, let’s face it, it’s an excuse to have a party. According to the British Pyrotechnists Association - 20 million people are estimated to attend either a private or public firework display in November.

Everyone puts on their winter coats, hats and (most importantly) gloves for the sparklers, to watch fireworks light up the sky. The air is heavy with bonfire smoke, it smells like sulphur and it’s fantastic.