Saturday 29 December 2007

Bits and pieces

Here's a couple of things that were emailed to me. I thought I'd post them for your interest.

This was sent to me by my friend clairey:

Being British is about...

Driving in a German car to an Irish pub for a Belgian beer, then grabbing an Indian curry or a Turkish kebab on the way home, to sit on Swedish furniture and watch American shows on a Japanese TV. And the most British thing of all? Suspicion of all things foreign!

Only in Britain can a pizza get to your house faster than an ambulance. (I remembered this with a smile when I arrived at the lift of a patient's block of flats and a pizza delivery guy stepped out before I got in!)

Only in Britain do supermarkets make sick people walk all the way to the back of the shop to get their prescriptions while healthy people can buy cigarettes at the front.

Only in Britain do people order double cheeseburgers, large fries and a DIET coke.

Only in Britain do banks leave both doors open and chain the pens to the counters.

Only in Britain do we leave cars worth thousands of pounds on the drive and lock our junk and cheap lawn mower in the garage.

Only in Britain do we use answering machines to screen calls and then have call waiting so we won't miss a call from someone we didn't want to talk to in the first place.

Only in Britain are there disabled parking places in front of a skating rink.

NOT TO MENTION..

3 Brits die each year testing if a 9v battery works on their tongue.

142 Brits were injured in 1999 by not removing all pins from new shirts.

58 Brits are injured each year by using sharp knives instead of screwdrivers.

31 Brits have died since 1996 by watering their Christmas tree while the fairy lights were plugged in.

19 Brits have died in the last 3 years believing that Christmas decorations were chocolate.

British Hospitals reported 4 broken arms last year after Xmas cracker-pulling accidents.

18 Brits had serious burns in 2000 trying on a new jumper with a lit cigarette in their mouth.

A massive 543 Brits were admitted to A & E in the last two years after trying to open bottles of beer with their teeth.

5 Brits were injured last year in accidents involving out-of-control Scalextric cars.

And finally... In 2000 eight Brits were admitted to hospital with fractured skulls incurred whilst throwing up into the toilet.



An Aussie ambo friend sent me this link to read:

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/12/22/1198175413377.html


Xf

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Those Idiosyncrasies can be assumed by any western country really. Strange world aye? :)

The statistics on the 'mishaps' were entertaining, amusing, yet somewhat scary - have you ever had to attend any such 'strange' emergencies?

And the story from Melbourne is just sad.

Anonymous said...

Sorry, but the Americans are just as bad if not worse. Not only are all of our goods imported from other countries, so is most of our labor.

Anonymous said...

Not only in Britain. Many of these things happen in America, too.

For instance, the large carry-out meal and the diet drink. Disabled parking spaces at a hiking trail-head. Braille on the elevator buttons in the parking garage. People waiting in their cars next to an open parking space, so that the can catch a parking spot a little closer to the store, when the other car pulls out. Big, hi-def TV with crap to watch.

Unknown said...

at the very least, I can vouch for these being true in the US, too:

"Only in Britain do supermarkets make sick people walk all the way to the back of the shop to get their prescriptions while healthy people can buy cigarettes at the front.

Only in Britain do people order double cheeseburgers, large fries and a DIET coke.

Only in Britain do banks leave both doors open and chain the pens to the counters.

Only in Britain do we leave cars worth thousands of pounds on the drive and lock our junk and cheap lawn mower in the garage.

Only in Britain do we use answering machines to screen calls and then have call waiting so we won't miss a call from someone we didn't want to talk to in the first place.

Only in Britain are there disabled parking places in front of a skating rink."

Xf said...

all

Yep, all true in other places I guess. Bit of fun though.

Unknown said...

Diet coke tastes nicer.

Anonymous said...

>> Only in Britain do people order double cheeseburgers, large fries and a DIET coke.

I do that. And I'm German. And I'm a type I diabetic (hence no real coke for me). And I know I should not have cheeseburgers and fries in the first place.

And I wonder about the 9V battery thing. Can you really get killed that way?