Irrational dislikes

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Robert Porter said:
I have an irrational dislike of idiots. I truly believe it should be legal to hunt and kill them for sport. I am not speaking here of people that are disabled or mentally challenged. I am talking about people that willfully remain ignorant and could care less. And banjo's, I hates banjo's I does! Oh and my current irrational dislike is heavy bass in a car that actually makes my teeth vibrate when they are next to me at a traffic light. I really think they ought to be legal to shoot as well.
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I kind of think the same about people who take their mufflers off of their cars or their motorcycles. Why make these little peanut motors so noisy? (To put that into perspective, the engines I dealt with when I was in the gas turbine industry had starters that could put out 600 horsepower)
 
swampyankee said:
...all of which are islands, meaning that drivers have to do something obvious, like take a ferry, to go from a country driving on the correct side of the road to one driving on the wrong side.
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Allow me to correct you.

all of which are islands, meaning that drivers have to do something STUPID, like take a ferry, to go from a country driving on the HOMICIDAL side of the road to one driving on the SAFE side.

UK and Japan drive on the left
Italians Greeks and Saudis drive on the right
 
pbehn said:
Allow me to correct you.

all of which are islands, meaning that drivers have to do something STUPID, like take a ferry, to go from a country driving on the HOMICIDAL side of the road to one driving on the SAFE side.

UK and Japan drive on the left
Italians Greeks and Saudis drive on the right
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I've never had a problem with any of them.

Canadians, now.....
 
swampyankee said:
I've never had a problem with any of them.

Canadians, now.....
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I drove in a lot of countries, almost all Western European ones and many middle east ones plus Mexico and Japan. Some accidents no one can avoid, like a car hitting you at the lights. Most accidents however can be avoided with good defensive driving and care. Italy was the place I found it hardest to drive safely. On a motorway you are constantly tailgated and have people fill the space in front. If anything happens ahead you will hit it because you cannot see it soon enough. My wife was with me for three days on holiday driving in Italy and was glad to reach the relative sanity of Austria she was completely relaxed on German Autobahns because the drivers know what they are doing there even when they are all doing 110 mph.
 
pbehn said:
I drove in a lot of countries, almost all Western European ones and many middle east ones plus Mexico and Japan. Some accidents no one can avoid, like a car hitting you at the lights. Most accidents however can be avoided with good defensive driving and care. Italy was the place I found it hardest to drive safely. On a motorway you are constantly tailgated and have people fill the space in front. If anything happens ahead you will hit it because you cannot see it soon enough. My wife was with me for three days on holiday driving in Italy and was glad to reach the relative sanity of Austria she was completely relaxed on German Autobahns because the drivers know what they are doing there even when they are all doing 110 mph.
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I so miss the Autobahn. I so miss people that are not too lazy to use turn signals. I so miss having less people texting and driving.

I so miss...:lol:
 
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pbehn said:
The Dutch always had an extraordinary talent for having a small accident on the approaches to Schipol airport every time I flew from it. Never serious, just a bump between two or three cars that produced a tailback long enough for me to be in danger of missing my flight. I have no doubt that since I stopped working in Northern Europe they will keep their eyes on the car in front.
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No, rest assured that they still do that, and not only on the road to Schiphol, but also on the Moerdijk, towards my work..
 
DerAdlerIstGelandet said:
Mike, you are arguing with a Canadian about the history of the formation of this country.
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Yup and how many "Americans" know the actual history of America beyond the sanitized mythology presented in school history books and many don't even know that
True or False?
The story: "In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue" and became the first person to discover America.

The story: The Salem witch trials consisted of killing "witches" by burning accused women at the stake.

The story: On July 4, 1776, a group of prominent men signed the Declaration of Independence, an important document in the formation of the United States of America.

The story: Puritan Pilgrims left England and traveled to the United States for the advancement of religious freedom.

The story: Mrs. O'Leary's cow kicked over a lantern and started the Great Chicago Fire.

The story: The radio broadcast of H.G. Wells's War of the Worlds was so realistic that it caused mass hysteria throughout the country.

The story: The cowboys of the Wild West were mysterious white men who worked alone.

The story: The Alamo was a battle of American grit and independence. (Warning don't dare answer this one in Texas)

The story: In 1775, Paul Revere took a midnight ride across the East Coast, yelling, "The British are coming!"

The story: The Emancipation Proclamation, issued by Abraham Lincoln on the grounds of moral rectitude, ended American slavery.
 
mikewint said:
Yup and how many "Americans" know the actual history of America beyond the sanitized mythology presented in school history books and many don't even know that
True or False?
The story: "In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue" and became the first person to discover America.

The story: The Salem witch trials consisted of killing "witches" by burning accused women at the stake.

The story: On July 4, 1776, a group of prominent men signed the Declaration of Independence, an important document in the formation of the United States of America.

The story: Puritan Pilgrims left England and traveled to the United States for the advancement of religious freedom.

The story: Mrs. O'Leary's cow kicked over a lantern and started the Great Chicago Fire.

The story: The radio broadcast of H.G. Wells's War of the Worlds was so realistic that it caused mass hysteria throughout the country.

The story: The cowboys of the Wild West were mysterious white men who worked alone.

The story: The Alamo was a battle of American grit and independence. (Warning don't dare answer this one in Texas)

The story: In 1775, Paul Revere took a midnight ride across the East Coast, yelling, "The British are coming!"

The story: The Emancipation Proclamation, issued by Abraham Lincoln on the grounds of moral rectitude, ended American slavery.
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I'll lett the Canadian handle this...
 
Thorlifter said:
I don't know if this is an irrational dislike or an OCD thing but all my money has to face the same way. If I'm in a line with people and I'm handed a bunch of cash as change I have to put it in my pocket until I have time/privacy to go through it to make sure it's facing the same way.
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I do the same with bank notes, and also have the oldest/most creased at the front
 
There is a bridge on the border between Guyana (drive on the left) and Brazil (drive on the right) that has some nice crossovers to swap sides
 
If you want to drive any German crazy especially a bar man/woman just put your beer down on the bar and not on the mat (decal) that they gave you.
 
mikewint said:
Yup and how many "Americans" know the actual history of America beyond the sanitized mythology presented in school history books and many don't even know that
True or False?
The story: "In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue" and became the first person to discover America.

The story: The Salem witch trials consisted of killing "witches" by burning accused women at the stake.

The story: On July 4, 1776, a group of prominent men signed the Declaration of Independence, an important document in the formation of the United States of America.

The story: Puritan Pilgrims left England and traveled to the United States for the advancement of religious freedom.

The story: Mrs. O'Leary's cow kicked over a lantern and started the Great Chicago Fire.

The story: The radio broadcast of H.G. Wells's War of the Worlds was so realistic that it caused mass hysteria throughout the country.

The story: The cowboys of the Wild West were mysterious white men who worked alone.

The story: The Alamo was a battle of American grit and independence. (Warning don't dare answer this one in Texas)

The story: In 1775, Paul Revere took a midnight ride across the East Coast, yelling, "The British are coming!"

The story: The Emancipation Proclamation, issued by Abraham Lincoln on the grounds of moral rectitude, ended American slavery.
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Without cheating, here are my answers as a non-American

The story: "In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue" and became the first person to discover America.

No, there were already people living on the continent. There had already been people that had sailed to the continent, as far back as the Vikings.

The story: The Salem witch trials consisted of killing "witches" by burning accused women at the stake.

I confess I thought that was the facts more or less

The story: On July 4, 1776, a group of prominent men signed the Declaration of Independence, an important document in the formation of the United States of America.

That didn't happen?

The story: Puritan Pilgrims left England and traveled to the United States for the

advancement of religious freedom.

I thought they got on the mayflower for that reason

The story: Mrs. O'Leary's cow kicked over a lantern and started the Great Chicago Fire.

Who is Mrs O'Leary?

The story: The radio broadcast of H.G. Wells's War of the Worlds was so realistic that it caused mass hysteria throughout the country.

I never believed that story, though I believe there was some reaction

The story: The cowboys of the Wild West were mysterious white men who worked alone.

Maybe the fur trappers from 100 years prior?

The story: The Alamo was a battle of American grit and independence. (Warning don't dare answer this one in Texas)

I thought it was the story of a group of lawless opportunists that were trapped by the Mexican army

The story: In 1775, Paul Revere took a midnight ride across the East Coast, yelling, "The British are coming!"

Another one I thought was true

The story: The Emancipation Proclamation, issued by Abraham Lincoln on the grounds of moral rectitude, ended American slavery.

It would be nearly 100 years before slavery was eradicated
 
so the truth about paul revere......

He was of French extraction.

Paul Revere's father, Apollos Rivoire, was a French Huguenot who immigrated to Boston at age 13 and Anglicized his family name before marrying a local girl named Deborah Hitchbourn. Born around 1734 and one of 11 or 12 children, Paul never learned to read or speak French, though he did fight against Apollos' former compatriots during the French and Indian War.

A silversmith by trade, he sometimes worked as an amateur dentist.
Revere used his skills as a craftsman to wire dentures made of walrus ivory or animal teeth into his patients' mouths. In 1776 he unwittingly became the first person to practice forensic dentistry in the United States: He identified the body of his friend Joseph Warren nine months after the well-known revolutionary died during the Battle of Bunker Hill by recognizing wiring he had used on a false tooth. Contrary to popular legend, Revere did not fashion a set of wooden dentures for George Washington.

He was also known for his art.
When he wasn't smithing or dabbling in dentistry, the multitalented Paul Revere produced some of the era's most sophisticated copper plate engravings, creating illustrations used in books, magazines, political cartoons and tavern menus. One of his most famous engravings is a sensationalized and propagandist depiction of the 1770 Boston Massacre, based on a painting by the Bostonian artist Henry Pelham. Its widespread distribution helped to fuel growing resentment toward the British army and government.


He led a spy ring.
According to the Central Intelligence Agency, Paul Revere founded the first patriot intelligence network on record, a Boston-based group known as the "mechanics." Prior to the American Revolution he had been a member of the Sons of Liberty, a political organization that opposed incendiary tax legislation such as the Stamp Act of 1765 and organized demonstrations against the British. Beginning in 1774, the mechanics, also referred to as the Liberty Boys, spied on British soldiers and met regularly (in the legendary Green Dragon Tavern) to share information.

The well-known poem about him is inaccurate.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's 1861 poem about Paul Revere's ride got many of the facts wrong. For one thing, Revere was not alone on his mission to warn John Hancock, Samuel Adams and other patriots that the British were approaching Lexington on the evening of April 18, 1775. Two other men, William Dawes and Samuel Prescott, rode alongside him, and by the end of the night as many as 40 men on horseback were spreading the word across Boston's Middlesex County. Revere also never reached Concord, as the poem inaccurately recounts. Overtaken by the British, the three riders split up and headed in different directions. Revere was temporarily detained by the British at Lexington and Dawes lost his way after falling off his horse, leaving Prescott—a young physician who is believed to have died in the war several years later—the task of alerting Concord's residents.

His most famous quote was fabricated.
Paul Revere never shouted the legendary phrase later attributed to him ("The British are coming!") as he passed from town to town. The operation was meant to be conducted as discreetly as possible since scores of British troops were hiding out in the Massachusetts countryside. Furthermore, colonial Americans at that time still considered themselves British; if anything, Revere may have told other rebels that the "Regulars"—a term used to designate British soldiers—were on the move.

A borrowed horse served as his worthy steed on the night of April 18, 1775.
Not only is it unlikely Revere owned a horse at the time, but he would not have been able to transport it out of Boston across the Charles River. It is believed that the Charlestown merchant John Larkin loaned him a horse, which was later confiscated by the British. According to a Larkin family genealogy published in 1930, the name of the lost mare was Brown Beauty.

His military record was less than stellar.
Four years after his midnight ride, Paul Revere served as commander of land artillery in the disastrous Penobscot Expedition of 1779. In June of that year, British forces began establishing a fort in what is now Castine, Maine. Over the next few weeks, hundreds of American soldiers converged on the outpost by land and sea. Although the outnumbered British were initially prepared to surrender, the Americans failed to attack in time, and by August enough British reinforcements had arrived to force an American retreat. Charged with cowardice and insubordination, Revere was court-martialed and dismissed from the militia. (He was acquitted in 1782, but his reputation remained tarnished.)

He went on to become a successful businessman.
After the American Revolution, Revere opened a hardware store, a foundry and eventually the first rolling copper mill in the United States. He provided materials for the historic frigate USS Constitution, which played an important role in the War of 1812 and is the world's oldest floating commissioned naval vessel. He also produced more than 900 church bells, one of which still rings every Sunday in Boston's King's Chapel. Revere Copper Products, Inc., is still in operation today.

He had a lot of kids.
Revere fathered 16 children—eight with his first wife, Sarah Orne, and eight with Rachel Walker, whom he married after Sarah's death in 1773. He raised them in a townhouse at 19 North Square that is downtown Boston's oldest building, first constructed in 1680 after the Great Fire of 1676 destroyed the original home on the site. Eleven of Revere's children survived to adulthood, and at the time of his death at the ancient (for that time) age of 83, five were still living.
 
parsifal said:
Without cheating, here are my answers as a non-American

1 The story: "In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue" and became the first person to discover America.

No, there were already people living on the continent. There had already been people that had sailed to the continent, as far back as the Vikings.

2 The story: The Salem witch trials consisted of killing "witches" by burning accused women at the stake.

I confess I thought that was the facts more or less

3 The story: On July 4, 1776, a group of prominent men signed the Declaration of Independence, an important document in the formation of the United States of America.

That didn't happen?

4 The story: Puritan Pilgrims left England and traveled to the United States for the

advancement of religious freedom.

I thought they got on the mayflower for that reason

5 The story: Mrs. O'Leary's cow kicked over a lantern and started the Great Chicago Fire.

Who is Mrs O'Leary?

6 The story: The radio broadcast of H.G. Wells's War of the Worlds was so realistic that it caused mass hysteria throughout the country.

I never believed that story, though I believe there was some reaction

7 The story: The cowboys of the Wild West were mysterious white men who worked alone.

Maybe the fur trappers from 100 years prior?

8 The story: The Alamo was a battle of American grit and independence. (Warning don't dare answer this one in Texas)

I thought it was the story of a group of lawless opportunists that were trapped by the Mexican army

8 The story: In 1775, Paul Revere took a midnight ride across the East Coast, yelling, "The British are coming!"

Another one I thought was true

9 The story: The Emancipation Proclamation, issued by Abraham Lincoln on the grounds of moral rectitude, ended American slavery.

It would be nearly 100 years before slavery was eradicated
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2: They largely were, and were an example of thousand of similar cases throughout Europe at the time.

3: That's when the Declaration of Independence was published. It was signed somewhat earlier

4: Well, somewhat true but radically oversimplified: the Puritans, especially the part of the Puritans of which the Pilgrims were members, also demanded religious exclusivity. Some of the first executions in New England were for violations of their religious practices.

5: It was a story spread as an anti-immigrant slur. Today, it's Hispanics; then it was the Irish.

6: There was little documented reaction. People were no more gullible then than now.

7: Cowboys were low-grade laborers. Some were white, some were black, some were Hispanic.

8: He started but got caught quickly. Revere was famous before -- the company is called "Revere" because it was originally his.

9: It legally confiscated property of people in rebellion, as that was within the power of the executive branch, just as non-judicial confiscations of property by police are today.

It's not so much that the stories are wrong, but they're deliberately oversimplified. It's not quite a lie, as one could argue the Lost Cause myth is.
 
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