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Top comments mentioning products on r/AskAnAmerican:

u/Zola_Rose · 1 pointr/AskAnAmerican

I enjoy it, especially if it's a bit more creative than showing up at a numbered campsite. I'd really, really like to backpack up to a mountain lake, and camp the night there, but have yet to do that.

There are a few different ways we've gone about camping, in my family.

My favorite is taking a boat out on one of our lakes, loaded up with camping gear, and basically picking a beach. We once found a spot that had a creek and small waterfall just a bit inland from the lakefront. We set up tents (my parents have a 2-bedroom tent that's pretty cool), coolers, we have a little griddle, cooking utensils for the fire, a collapsible picnic table, beach chairs, and my step mother is a bit ... squeamish? so we have a "shower" that warms in the sun, and a little bathroom thing for her (which I totally used, despite my disapproval). We listen to music, boat/ski/jetski, swim, tan, and basically just socialize and cook good food. Usually steaks on the grill, potatoes and/or corn on the cob in foil in the pit, and my dad makes a mean breakfast hash on said griddle. I had two siblings growing up, so we were never bored. And of course, we always pack out what we pack in.

We've also loaded up pack horses and hiked out in the hills/mountains (White Clouds, and either the Sawtooths or the Tetons, I don't remember which) - tent, chairs, cooler, necessities. I was a kid on those trips, so activities usually consisted of my parents hanging with their friends, while all of us kids caught butterflies, searched for forts, and made s'mores.

In the past we've gone to some cool places near Yellowstone, and other campgrounds/national parks in Montana. Usually they have bathroom facilities on site, so there's not as much "roughing it". We've gone RV "camping" a time or two as well, usually with extended [older] family.

As an adult, camping with friends means we'll usually stick to a national park or lakefront campgrounds, near beautiful sites or good hiking. Again, everyone brings their own tent, some might bring musical instruments, stereos (iphone docks more often now), coolers with goodies & drinks, lanterns/flashlights, maybe a hammock, and so on. My favorite was at a lake/campground near Libby, which had bathrooms, and a little restaurant/bar/supply shop on site - so we could camp, swim all day, do a bit of fishing, then retire to the "lodge" to play pool and enjoy a cold beer. Not roughing it at all, but a memorable experience.

One time, at a music festival, we "camped" in a cargo trailer with the ramp propped slightly open and a giant memory foam mattress in the back. We had a makeshift awning that was pretty convenient too. Just necessities (except the bedding), a small grill, two portable fans, drinks, and clothes. Seemed more secure than either leaving our tent vulnerable or having to store shit in our vehicle everyday.

Some prior sites: Priest Lake, Round Lake, Garfield Bay/Sam Owen, Palouse Falls, Yellowstone, West Yellowstone, Lake Powell (on a tri-level houseboat! Does that count?), Lake Koocanusa, Flathead Lake, Columbia River, and so on.

My camp supply list (when on a "comfort" camping trip) includes:

>Lanterns (solar & battery), flashlights (head mount is dorky but convenient), extra batteries, phone charger battery pack, paper towel, toilet paper, wet wipes, hand sanitizer, citronella stuff/bug spray, garbage disposal bags, coolers (foodstuffs + drinks), a goose down sleeping bag (Cabela's - my SO and I can zip ours together. It's nice), foam bedding mat, pillow, blanket, & a 3-4 person tent. Sunscreen, chapstick, hiking boots, sneakers, an old school tape player/radio boombox, s'more supplies, really good sausages, fire stuff (it ranges: usually firewood, lighters, and I always have a spare extinguisher), 2 camp chairs, first aid kit with bandages, antibacterial cream, alcohol swabs, glue, pain reliever, etc., a good knife, utensils for cooking & eating (usually disposable/recyclable for me, but my parents have a "tub" of camping utensils/old dishes), extra socks, sweatshirt & jacket, gloves, a spare tarp, rain gear, rope, shovel, means to keep food off the ground in bear country, and tons of water, etc. We almost always have a gun or two as well, especially in bear/cougar country. Whatever I don't haul in can stay in the trunk of the car/truck. Which is often close by.

u/NeviniTambay · 2 pointsr/AskAnAmerican

>How is education in your country?

It's complicated. Please keep in mind that what follows is directly from my experience from going to public and charter (primary and secondary) schools, and public community college/university. My experience is also limited to the following states: Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri, Kansas, Montana, and Wyoming.

First, everywhere I have lived, education has always been the means to a job/career. No more and no less. The humanities and the arts are generally seen as knowledge for the sake of knowledge (or mere "hobbies"), and thus are only really pursued by people from the higher socioeconomic backgrounds, or anyone lucky enough to get a "full ride" scholarship, or anyone who qualifies for loans from the federal government based on financial need and academic merit. Non-STEM people are the academic "second class" who aren't really taken seriously until they are successful (read: millionaires).

Primary school is very general and is usually focused on learning how to read, write, and do basic math, along with social interaction.

Secondary school is also very general and usually has a focus on social studies (history and government), math, science, and English, but students can begin to follow their own direction by choosing from a variety of elective classes to take. These electives are limited to what is available based on the school's budget, what teachers are available, and what the demand is for particular courses. Some schools require that students take language electives and art electives. Some schools offer technical and professional electives. This phase also includes taking regular standardized tests (both from the state level and national level) in reading, math, and science.

As far as I know, the requirements for admission to an accredited college or university vary wildly, but most require a minimum SAT (980) or ACT (21) score and a minimum high school GPA (usually 3.0 on a 4 point scale). Some also require that people take specific courses in high school. Some also require essays. Some also require letters of recommendation. The for-profit schools usually only require someone who is able to pay (or get loans) and occasionally demand that their applicants have a high school diploma or G.E.D.. Tech schools (job training you pay for) requirements also vary widely, but are generally incredibly flexible and can be as minimal as completing an interview.

Once at the post-secondary level, quality of education is difficult to quantify. Each school has its own professors with their own research focuses and specialties. A few schools (including public ones) have been criticized for grade manipulation (in both directions). The trick is to find the school that is focused on what you want to learn and go there. More and more post-secondary schools are partnering with industry representatives to tailor the curriculum to industry needs, but that is usually limited by location (i.e. universities in California teach a lot of tech because they partner with Apple and Microsoft while universities on the east coast teach a lot of finance because they partner with investment firms and banks). Most people assume that the schools on the coasts are the best, but, again, there isn't an unbiased, controlled way to quantify that assumption.

People who do get to post-secondary education have a variety of ways to pay for it. The ones who appear the most exceptional on paper (or are good at sports) get full scholarships that pay for all of their expenses. The ones who apply to the federal government, show academic merit, and financial need (based on family income) can get access to grants, scholarships, and loans. For everyone else, scholarships are available for a variety of qualifications, but are more competitive. There are scholarships for women in STEM, people who have blue eyes, people who wear duct tape dresses to prom, people who like archery, people who intend to enter a certain industry, single mothers, and first generation college students, to name a few. For those who don't qualify for, don't get, or don't apply for scholarships, they either get their family to pay for their education or they hold a job while going to school.

I personally believe that knowledge is a right and should be freely available to anyone who seeks it, but I understand how and why our current system works the way it does, and what benefits such a system affords. The internet is also helping in this respect by making loads of information available for free, but sometimes a good teacher/guide can make all the difference (and not everyone in the U.S. has access to a computer, let alone the internet). People who are smarter than me are working on it, though, so I’m pretty optimistic that we’ll soon find a balance between individual merit, industry, correcting systematic inequities, collective intellectual progress, and paying for it all. Go team!

>Have you heard about our lord and saviour Synthwave?

No. I mostly listen to the radio in my car and Pandora. I occasionally find new music on YouTube and through friends, but it is usually specific to a single artist or band, not really a whole genre. I don't really focus much on music either (I don't like concerts or "live" versions of songs, I don't go out of my way to follow any specific band, and I don't buy merchandise or cds).

>Did you know that it snows in Iran and we have ski resorts?

Yes. This is the first photo I ever saw of Iran. I was writing a paper on Persepolis and had trouble connecting some of the story with my mind image of Iran (sand), so I looked up "Tehran mountains" and got this image. Those mountains look a lot like the Rocky Mountains, but the Tehran is so much more expansive and cluttered-looking compared to Denver (and it looks like Tehran is right up against the mountains, while Denver is several miles from the Rockies).

Let me know if you have more questions for me or if I need to clarify anything! Thanks for the info!

u/xynix_ie · 3 pointsr/AskAnAmerican

Haha glad I made your day mate. For growing google Earthbox. At my house I have a pool and enclosure with brick pavers. The edges of the enclosure are Earthboxes. I have a watering system that I can automate, a series of hoses that I got at Home Depot. I've cut them, spliced them, and created a drop in for each box. I simply turn the dial for that main valve and everything is filled with water. When I go on vacation or am gone I use the automated do-hicky and can set a 5 minute water time for instance which fills the reservoir up.

Start with like 1 or 2 boxes. Follow the instructions. Start with maybe Jalapenos. I live in South Florida so our seasons are wonky. Get a farmers almanac and see what your seasons are. Right now I'm growing strawberries, several varieties of tomatoes, corn which I really only use to make my own corn meal, cucumbers, and a couple types of peppers Habanero, Jalapenos that I can - I grow two types, a mild one for jellies and the hot AF ones, then I always cycle at least one Tabasco plant because I blow through that sauce fast and need to keep a constant cycle of aging. Every 6 months or so I'm adding a dozen jars of fresh concentrate to my stack of aging and fermenting Tabascos. Then of course bell peppers because we eat those constantly.

I love cooking by the way, in case you couldn't tell, nice to meet a fellow kitchen lover. In this house we do food. On weekends the Food Network is on and we're cooking if the weather sucks and we're not at the beach. Regardless one day is a cooking day. You name it we make it, from making our own sausages to smoking meats. I smoke my own bacon and slice it so that's a couple hour project a month. Stuff like that. We don't watch normal TV, it's just background noise. My wife and I often cook together as a team. I invite friends over and have them help me cook. Chop this, saute that, it's a fun adventure.

I've traveled the world looking for good food when on business trips. 70+ countries and I eat fucking anything. Fried cockroach? Fuck yeah! Stinky head cheeses in Paris? Fuck yeah! 2 month dry aged pork in Barcelona? Fuck yah!

My travel for business has given me the opportunity to also take cooking courses in places like Paris, Nice, Tuscany, Rome, Naples, Belgium, and of course New Orleans where I'm from. Those experiences have really helped me define the flavors I love, helped develop my palate so I'm not afraid to eat anything, and mostly taught me how to blend flavors to make something spectacular and get a compliment I often get of "Best I've ever had!" from a simple 4 blended mushroom soup to a more complex boeuf bourguignon. Some of my food is in my posts by the way.

Tell ya what though. My smoker isn't a fancy bullshit shiny object. It's a simple Weber barrel smoker. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001I8ZTJ0/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Read the 2nd review on that by a guy named Harry Soo. Then Google his name.

I think a lot of people focus on the equipment rather than the taste. Does it smoke? Good, then done. Tweak the vents a bit, let that fucker run for 12 hours, perfect brisket.

If you have the space it's not intimidating to follow Harry Soo's advice on that smoker in that review. $400 and some good meat and you'll be smoking like a champ in a matter of months. Go to your butcher or your grocery store and ask them for a pile of fat scraps. Put that on the smoker for 12 hours and repeat for 3 days. Season it well, the fat drippings will seal the gaps and give you a better smoke. Don't be afraid to fuck up the first few times. I made mistakes early on with wood choices. Took me 3 tries to finally make a damn fine brisket.

Also never ever in 100 years smoke fish in the same thing you smoke meat in. Anyway have fun. If you need any tips let me know! Food is my life..

u/nvkylebrown · 2 pointsr/AskAnAmerican

I just ordered a new (pricey lithium ion) battery for my motorcycle from Amazon. Same product, prices from 3 different vendors:

Amazon: $165
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00X8UYBFY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Revzilla: $206
https://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/bike-master-lithium-ion-battery-dlfp-51913

Batteries Plus: doesn't offer that battery, but will sell me a lead battery with half the cranking amps for $179
https://www.batteriesplus.com/battery/motorcycle/bmw/k1600gtl/1600cc/2014#finder-box-top

Amazon has $40 lead batteries, if I wanted to go that way.

Buying from Amazon isn't always the best option, but it very often is, and often by a pretty hefty margin.

I've recently ordered some other stuff from Revzilla that I couldn't get from Amazon, fine. But Revzilla isnt' telling me when it's going to arrive, a very basic thing that Amazon is excellent at.

So, in my book, Amazon is winning because they are better, most of the time, not because they are somehow cheating. That Jeff Bezos gets rich is ok with me, he should experience success for offering a better customer experience and better prices.

u/MoShootr · 4 pointsr/AskAnAmerican

Where I live, it's basically standard homeowner equipment, as common as owning a socket wrench set.

When you live in a rural area within the United States, you're going to encounter wildlife. Nine times out of ten, wildlife is harmless and leaves you and your property alone. But not always. In those instances, you can deploy all kinds of deterrents, but there are always a few rare critters that are far more determined than their brethren - and at that point, you need an effective (and ethical) means of dispatching them.

Then there's always the possibility of aggressive critters of the two-legged variety.

In either case, the biggest factor is this: Help is NOT just around the corner. The old cliche "when seconds count, help is minutes away" is 100% reality out here. Oh, and help isn't just minutes away, it's many minutes away. Double digits, at the quickest. Maybe even an hour or more, depending on conditions. You are effectively on your own.

Basically, the best quote I've ever heard about firearms comes from a local Missouri lawyer and advocate, who literally wrote the book on Missouri self defense law, and actually helped write the laws we have.

To paraphrase: "You may never need a gun. But, when you need it, you really need it, and you need it right now."

Bonus Question: No. If people are carrying properly, in accordance with what is considered best and prudent practices, I should never know.

u/TheGrog · 1 pointr/AskAnAmerican

Have lots that I like. What heat level do you like? I'll list some favs from hottest to not. I don't really like hotter then these.

https://www.hotsauce.com/melindas-naga-jolokia-hot-sauce/ Hot and still tastes good

https://www.hotsauce.com/historic-lynchburg-tennessee-whiskey-habanero-hot-sauce-with-jack-daniels/ Good heat and great taste for a more general almost bbq sauce use. Kind of similar to the wild turkey habanero sauce which is also good.

https://www.hotsauce.com/el-yucateco-salsa-picante-de-chile-habanero-green-8oz/ For mexican food, lots of mexican resturants have it and I love it. Good kick, use this and cholula is my favorite.

https://www.amazon.com/Son-of-Zombie-Wing-Sauce/dp/B07G9PPPNJ/ref=sr_1_204?keywords=hot+sauce&qid=1550072100&s=gateway&sr=8-204 This makes some amazing wings with good heat but not completely overwhelming.


..and Texas Pete will always hold a place in my heart, great for breakfast burritos. A lot of those sauces are actually cayenne pepper sauces I'm trying to see if I can find a new one for things like breakfast burritos.

u/Daishi5 · 3 pointsr/AskAnAmerican

I think this question is something that people assume they know, but few people have real answers.

When it comes to immigration, there has been a very strong recent change on the matter by Democrats:
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/04/15/americans-views-of-immigrants-marked-by-widening-partisan-generational-divides/
>Between 1994 and 2005, Republicans’ and Democrats’ views of immigrants tracked one another closely. Beginning around 2006, however, they began to diverge. In October that year, the partisan gap between Republicans and Democrats grew to 15 percentage points. Since then, the share of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents saying that immigrants strengthen the country steadily increased, from 49% then to 78% now, while the share with this view among Republicans and Republican leaners has shown little change (34% then, 35% today).

Democrats now think that immigrants strengthen this country, but this is a recent opinion for them. Unfortunately, Pew does not track the opinions on illegal immigration in this article back before 2013, which means it doesn't capture if this change was also about illegal immigrants. I believe it does, but that's a guess.

For comparison, I found this article on the immigration debate in the 90s. I believe it shows that Democrats have recently changed their opinion on illegal immigration and that this is a new policy. However, while it shows that immigration was highly debated, it lacks any clear polls on Democratic opinions.
https://web.stanford.edu/group/SHR/5-2/dittgen.html

There are probably at least two reasons for the change, one honest and one cynical.

First, research shows that immigrants eventually end up as economic net positives.
https://clas.berkeley.edu/research/immigration-economic-benefits-immigration

Second, the crass reason. In 2001 there was a book predicting an "inevitable demographic majority" that would put the Democrats permanently in power. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0036QVPEU/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

Since the article was published, the pundits have gone back and forth on whether the book is right, but over and over the book comes back up in major media. When the Republicans win, the "emerging democratic majority" is either unreliable, or too far away in the future to count on. When Democrats win, the majority is here and we never have to worry about Republicans again (until they win again, then the pundits think the sky is falling anew.)

A series of articles through the years to demonstrate that this book and its prediction is repeatedly brought up, and thus people are probably aware of it:
2016
2015
2014
2012
2011
2010
2009

TLDR: The support of illegal immigrants is mostly recent and is driven, like a lot of things, by the partisan political divide. The Democrats are supportive of all types of immigration today, and they have very good valid reasons for it, but also a belief that immigration will give them political power.

u/throwdemawaaay · 37 pointsr/AskAnAmerican

I mean, honestly it's hard to take your question seriously. You very clearly simply haven't looked at what's available, but still wanna come here to laugh at the stupid americans that don't know bread.

You're just wrong. Crusty bread is everywhere in the US.

Walmart sells rye flour: https://www.walmart.com/search/?query=rye%20flour&cat_id=976759&typeahead=rye%20fl and spelt flour: https://www.walmart.com/search/?query=spelt%20flour&cat_id=976759&typeahead=spelt

They also sell baguettes and some other rustic style loafs, though in general for more artisan style bread you'd be better going off going to someplace other than walmart. Walmart is all about cheap and high volume stuff.

This is one of the most popular bread cookbooks in the US: https://www.amazon.com/Flour-Water-Salt-Yeast-Fundamentals/dp/160774273X

I've been to Ken's bakery many times, and can assure you they have nice very crusty bread: https://kensartisan.com/bakery

Here's another regional chain that's popular up here: https://www.instagram.com/grandcentralbakery/

As you can see, plenty of crusty breads of all styles.

You'll be able to find similar bakeries in any city larger than about 50k people, and pretty often even in smaller towns.

Sliced sandwich bread exists for that exact purpose: it's easy to toast, and is a great for making some styles of sandwiches. Crusty rustic loaves are not somehow universally better, that's just *your* preference.

u/w3woody · 1 pointr/AskAnAmerican

I know how popular Guns, Germs and Steel is in trying to explain America's rise--by theorizing that geography and resources were the prime motivators to America's rise. But I find that explanation lacking given how many other places in the world have resources that rival the United States but which are not superpowers. (Otherwise, the world's superpower would be the nations of the Sub-Saharian Africa.)

I personally subscribe to Victor Davis Hanson's theory offered in "Carnage and Culture" (Wikipedia link), which proposes a different theory: that the western culture of individualism proves to be a very lethal one as more minds are permitted to spend more time thinking of more lethal ways to conduct warfare. Individualism also allows more minds to consider more ways to solve different problems--and ultimately (a) wealth is driven by knowledge (since a resource can't be exploited unless you have the know-how to exploit it), and (b) warfare is driven by both knowledge and resources provided by that wealth.

America, being better at the sort of individualism which spurs innovation (by allowing anyone with a good idea to try to peddle his ideas for money), has thus become a richer country per capita, and has a much more effective and lethal fighting force than any other country.

u/disgustipated · 2 pointsr/AskAnAmerican

Just a bit of mid-twentieth century history based on my father's experiences in World War II. He was in the OSS and part of Operation Halyard.

The Serbian villages and farmers saved the lives of many Allied flight crews shot down over Nazi-occupied Yugoslavia. Over 500 airmen were rescued in secret. It's really an amazing story.

Without getting into politics, the US soldiers (my father included) spoke very highly of General Draza Mihailovich, and many soldiers protested to the US government to intervene after Tito took over; he later executed Mihailovich.

The stories I've heard from my dad, as well as those that have been published, tell of some pretty selfless and heroic acts carried out by the Serbian people in their effort to help save lives.

u/[deleted] · 4 pointsr/AskAnAmerican

Class: A guide through the American Status System by Paul Fussell is a good (and humorous) book on the subject. Our American class system is tricky to navigate and is sometimes invisible, but it's definitely there. One of the silliest national lies we keep telling ourselves is that we're a class free society and it's easy to become rich and make money.

u/wee0x1b · 5 pointsr/AskAnAmerican

About 100 years before that, the guy who got the word "barbecue" into the English language was floating around the Caribbean watching islanders cook meat and fish on wood racks set around a smoldering fire. So it could also be them... :-)

BTW, the guy's name was William Dampier. Absolutely fascinating life. He's also responsible for around 80 other words being in our language, things like chopsticks, avocado, sub-species, etc. First guy to go around the Earth three times. Buccaneer, map maker, naturalist, sometimes pirate. Mentioned by name in Gulliver's Travels, and his nautical charts were in use as late as WWII. Helped inspire Robinson Crusoe. Was the reason Captain Bligh and Fletcher Christian set out on their voyage to get breadfruit.

If you're into that sort of thing, there's a very excellent book about him: https://www.amazon.com/Pirate-Exquisite-Mind-Naturalist-Buccaneer/dp/042520037X/

u/cardinals5 · 4 pointsr/AskAnAmerican

Honestly, I think most foreign students will be all right; college campuses are their own unique environment, and in most major cities (which is where I'm sure you'd probably want to study), foreign students are pretty common so there'd be nothing to really worry about. I could see Arab students having some worries, but even then I think it would be a bit of a stretch in most parts of the country.

----
Favorite cookbooks:

  • The Food Lab by J. Kenji Lopez-Alt
  • How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman
  • Flour Water Salt Yeast by Ken Forkish

    Those are the three I use pretty regularly. I have a few more but I use them for specific dishes or as reference for flavors (Ratio being a fine example of this).

    Favorite dishes (I'm restricting this to ones I can cook myself):

  • Spinach ricotta gnocchi with pesto
  • Tomato-sauce poached cod with roasted green beans
  • Pulled pork shoulder
  • Roasted chicken with rice and toum
  • Acorn squash soup
  • Arancini
  • Shepherd's Pie
  • Mussels with garlic and white wine
u/Martingale-G · 2 pointsr/AskAnAmerican

This is a huge question, if I were you, I would do a combination of reading the book "American Nations"

And to get a better political understanding(which does in general inform culture quite a bit), read this report https://hiddentribes.us/

It's well regarded, long, but very very good. I think the report is fascinating.

u/gwent_nod · 2 pointsr/AskAnAmerican

So an Xbox One 1TB is £230 on Amazon making it $100 more than it would be in the US. That said, in a high street shop, it would be £240, making Amazon the clear choice here.

Being a top shelf brand-name piece of electronics from an American company is going to guarantee a better price on an Xbox in America than just about everywhere else though, the same is true of the iPhone, etc. So lets look at something more mundane: ballpoint pens. The same 50 pack goes for $15.66 on Amazon.com and £7.94 making it actually several dollars cheaper in the UK. (The RRP on those pens is £11, putting the high street price just about in line with the American Amazon price.)

u/CupBeEmpty · 4 pointsr/AskAnAmerican

Swearing when a teacher was in earshot or directly at a teacher? Detention. Our detention meant you had to stay after school and help the janitors clean which I think was a pretty decent punishment, not that I liked it overmuch.

Swearing amongst other students out of earshot of a teacher? No problem.

Bonus: Middle school was definitely stricter, high school was strict but I am positive that a lot of teachers just overlooked casual swearing unless it was in class or at them. There was plenty of swearing in the lunchroom and common areas that I guarantee teachers heard but no reaction. College... HA. I could probably have dropped F-bombs in class and no one would care. It might have been an issue if I swore directly at a professor or was aggressive. Though with my advisor who I worked in his lab with two other students... rude talk definitely happened both by him and us. But, by that age we all knew how to keep it relatively professional.

Here is a fascinating and accessible book on the subject.

u/elangomatt · 2 pointsr/AskAnAmerican

I love giardiniera on pizza as well as long as it is added after baking and not before. If it is baked with the pizza then the giardiniera gets cooked and looses the crunchiness. I too prefer the hot variety as well since I prefer the peppers over other veggies. My favorite brand is Chicago Johnnies https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00BQ4VQ8Y though Marconis is fine too.

u/BananerRammer · 2 pointsr/AskAnAmerican

A lot of people mentioned the show, but there is an excellent book that I read a few years on the topic.

It goes quite a bit more into depth than the TV show does with a chapter for each state. There are some really interesting stories about how various borders got there, especially in the Eastern States, where you had a mix of overlapping colonial charters.

u/TaylorS1986 · 2 pointsr/AskAnAmerican

> but it's important to remember that in a very real sense, pre-revolution British history is also American history. We may not emphasize that part of the narrative in many history classes (I think that's a mistake), but the transference of fundamental ideas and attitudes in politics and culture is undeniable.

The best book on this is Albion's Seed by David Hackett Fischer.

u/itsamillion · 3 pointsr/AskAnAmerican

> Even the bulk of the popular culture that Britain enjoys now, in music for example, arose in the melting pot of the US, not Britain

I'm not sure what's popular in GB now, but if this is true, it doesn't disprove my point. Over the years, the US has established its own culture, and has become its own country, both literally and figuratively. And that culture has definitely been influenced by many different others--the 'melting pot'--but it still was borne, originally, of GB.

If you're not convinced but you're interested in this topic, check out this awesome book, Albion's Seed.

u/shwag945 · 2 pointsr/AskAnAmerican

I don't know but I have been waiting for most of my life for something like this to happen.

Amazon Link. I initially had some trouble finding them but not that much anymore. I think they are pretty good.

u/novangla · 4 pointsr/AskAnAmerican

Different regions of America were settled by different groups with different values, and those haven't gone away. I highly recommend the book American Nations, which is an accessible overview of the differing histories of the 11 major cultural regions.

I study colonial history and even as early as the 1600s, New England cares about education and community welfare more than anywhere else, New York City is diverse and driven by finance, the Southern backcountry is violent and fiercely independent, and the Southern tidewater is driven by inequality and reputation/personal honor.

u/mistamo42 · 8 pointsr/AskAnAmerican

For a deeper look at how this came to be, and the more regional nuances than just north and south, I suggest reading American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America. It's a fascinating, easy, read.

u/galacticdude7 · 1 pointr/AskAnAmerican

The Book by Mark Stein is one of the most fascinating books I've ever read.

u/Independent · 1 pointr/AskAnAmerican

> It goes with our affectation of a society without class distinctions. Whether we really lack class distinctions is another matter.

Affectation is the right word. I highly recommend Paul Fussell's book Class to any that think the US doesn't have defined and inferred status systems. It gives a funny and irreverent look to the topic of the social classes in the US.

u/AMZ88 · 1 pointr/AskAnAmerican

> When they're burned...even better!

BEHOLD

u/tunaman808 · 1 pointr/AskAnAmerican

Not entirely on topic, but... after the Revolutionary War, a lot of states voluntarily gave up their westward colonial claims. The colonies of Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia once went all the way to the Mississippi River (map). "Georgia" once included almost all of present-day states of Alabama and Mississippi. But people up north (especially abolitionists) became worried that such "mega-states" would one day dominate US politics. Thus, there came a general consensus that "new" states (those founded after 1802, or thereabouts) should all be (roughly) the same size. There are exceptions - Texas, of course, came about through conquest. And local geography came into play several times. Utah has that odd "notch" in its northeast corner because of the Uinta Mountains: it was thought that settlers in the area would be better served by being part of Wyoming, instead of the Utah government figuring out how to build telegraph wires and government buildings on the other side of the mountains.

There's a book (and a documentary TV series based on the book) called How the States Got Their Shapes. I found the book to be tedious and poorly written, which is sad, given how interesting the subject matter actually is. For example, each state is one chapter, and each chapter has sections about their northern, southern, eastern and western borders. He might spend a lot of time talking about how Georgia got its western border with Alabama, for instance. But then, in the chapter on Alabama, he'd almost copy-and-paste the bits from the Georgia chapter to talk about Alabama's eastern border. I mean, I don't know how else you'd actually write something like that, but the way he wrote it isn't it. There normally wasn't even any context, like how Georgia and Alabama might have disagreed on the subject... just copy, paste and condense it down a bit.