I often wonder what it would be like to read travel guides about the United States written for foreigners. I suppose unless I learn other languages, I would be limited to those from English speaking countries. But I’d love to know what a Japanese or French guidebook says about traveling in America. Do they remind you that football isn’t really football and soccer is? Do they offer advice on how to deal with native New Yorkers? I bet there are lengthy explanations about the various tipping scenarios. America is such a diverse nation, I’d feel uncomfortable reading any generalizations about our culture and behavior. But there probably are valid statements that can be made. Just look at all the coffee drinkers and hamburger eaters. Memepool recently linked to a U.S. and Canada travel guide written for a British audience. Poking through, I found some interesting items. The Other Comments section of the Connecticut description reads “Most American states are divided into counties for administrative purposes. According to one source, Connecticut is divided into towns; another source says Connecticut has counties but they serve virtually no administrative purpose.” Connecticut does have counties, and they do have an administrative purpose, but not to the extent of a larger state like California. California’s Other Comment is “Several sources such as guide books and brochures state that it is illegal to run out of petrol in California. This appears in fact to be a myth, as far as I can determine. I can find no mention of any such law in the official California Driver’s Handbook. It would appear that it is illegal to run out of petrol on some lengthy bridges, but this law is not unique to California.” Hmmm. Massachusetts, the other state I’ve lived in, has no Other Comments. Hmph. The page about the Major Cultural and Practical Differences Between the UK and the USA/Canada describes “Typicalville, USA”. Worth a read. My favorite section was about traffic: “Everyone obeys the speed limits in town because they know the police will stop them if they don’t.” I guess I don’t live in Typicalville. There’s second page, also worth a scan, of other differences. “Whereas it is quite common to have to share a table with one or more strangers at a fast food restaurant in the UK, this is just not done in the USA and Canada.” And I never realized that our many wooden houses look temporary to visitors from the UK. Weird. Regarding television “The constant advert breaks make the viewing of a programme with any kind of a plot almost impossible.” Wow. To me that’s like saying it’s impossible to read a newspaper with all those darn ads in the way! It’s neat that someone took the time to put this site together. It covers many other topics I have not had the chance to read.