More American Confusion??

[Worst Case Scenario]

If you guys call Crisps – Chips, and Chips – French fries, and Jam – Jelly…… What do you call Jelly?

And why do I keep seeing cars in American TV shows that seem to have (something that looks like )a combination lock just above the door handles?

It’s a slow day and I’ve been pondering these things.

[inkh3art3d]

if you are talking about the gelatin-based dessert that is not spreadable on toast (actually, that sounds tasty) we call it gelatin. There’s a brand name that has worked its way into our brains, though. We tend to call it Jell-o. Even if it’s an off brand.

We also do have something we call “jelly.” Jam has fruit pulp, while jelly is strained and just the gelatin/fruit juice/sugar mixture.

The car thing is simple. We’re idiots that fall for marketing ploys. If you forget your keys, or if you can’t access them, just punch in the code and you’re in! Most people I know don’t use it. It’s not standard on many models. It’s in the more premium car packages. It was popular around the mid-2000s. Keyless entry is starting to gain traction now. You can use your smartphone or a little device that comes with your keys to stand a couple of feet away and unlock your car without pressing buttons or using an actual key.

 

 

[cameraclicker]

If you guys call Crisps – Chips, and Chips – French fries, and Jam – Jelly…… What do you call Jelly?

And why do I keep seeing cars in American TV shows that seem to have (something that looks like )a combination lock just above the door handles?

Jelly is jam without the little bits of fruit, just a homogenous spread.  Jam contains bits, or fruit pulp as Emileeself stated.  Her description is better than mine, though I don’t think Jello is part of what you are asking since it hardens and can be cut into cubes for dessert.

My car has the combination lock over the door handle.  It also has keyless entry.  The combination lock is useful when the car is at the dealership and they have the keys.  You can use the combination lock to open the doors and drop your stuff, before going into the dealership to collect the key.  I think I have used it twice in 12 years.  Ford declined to build the car we ordered, so we canceled the order and purchased the one we have off of another dealer’s lot.  It had a TV screen, VCR, leather, and a bunch of other stuff we didn’t care about like the combination lock, but it cost less than the one we ordered.

Everything I have driven in the last many years has had keyless entry.  Several of the last bunch have had keyless ignition, too.   One unlocked the doors every time the fob got near the car!  Some have a button to press to start or stop the engine, as long as a key fob is near.

It is more than just Americans.  I had a rental Volkswagen for a few days and it was all tricked out too.

I should probably add that to me, a boot is something you put on your foot, and the storage area for things in your car is a trunk.  😉

[Bill]

Those combination locks have been around on Ford/Lincoln Mercury cars since the mid-70’s.
Back then they really never worked very well, probably due to people not using them. They were typically equipped on cars that had the deluxe or luxury options installed. I remember seeing them a lot on Lincoln Continentals and Town Cars.

Good Idea, but the technology just did not support it very well making them very un-reliable.

[Worst Case Scenario]

I didn’t even realise they were combination locks, that was just my best attempt to describe them. We are always told the cars in the UK are more expensive than the rest of the world because we like to have a higher spec, but I don’t think any cars here have combo locks. I’ve only seen them in movies. Keyless entry and ignition is pretty usual on new cars here.

Any Yanks want to try and guess what we have to pay for Petrol?  Which reminds me, what do you call gas?

[nesgran]

Why in the name of all that is holy would you want a combination lock on your car? Locker yes, car seems like a ridiculous idea!

I think they call it gas.

As for making cars more expensive, it isn’t hard given what Ford charges you for a pick up which has suspension from the middle ages and an engine which would have seemed nice in the 70’s. If the Brits hadn’t been so stubborn and decided to do everything literally opposite of what the French do the cars would have been cheaper. Left hand drive cars are cheaper on average.

[cameraclicker]

In North America gasoline is usually just called gas and is purchased from gas stations.  Left hand drive cars are probably cheaper because there are so many of them.

[EyeDocPhotog]

So, we have an au pair from Germany living with us here in NYC. In fact, since my daughter was born some 7 years ago, we’ve 4 au pairs (some stayed longer than the standard year). We’ve had one Swede, one Polish and 2 from Germany.

Each had their own quirks, but they all had a common habit with our cars – they would drive fairly long distances with nearly an empty tank! We have a Honda Civic (that the au pair may drive herself), along with a BMW and a Volvo which are for trips with my daughter. In all 3 cars, my wife and I have become accustomed to seeing the orange “low gasoline” light on the dash so often, we began thinking it was a normal thing.

It wasn’t until we RAN OUT OF GAS one day that we finally set a house rule – if the gas guage is below 1/2, the only place anyone may drive is to a gas station.

Each of the au pairs told us the same – petrol is so expensive it is common to drive only when necessary and a full tank is almost NEVER required.

[cameraclicker]

LOL!  I’m in Toronto.  Gas at Costco is usually $0.05 less than at regular gas stations.  I filled up there this morning.  They have three long lines of cars waiting for an available pump.  This morning an SUV in the middle lane ran out of gas while still six or seven cars from the pump!  That must have happened before because the attendant produced a can and they took a minute at one of the pumps, between cars, to fill the can.  Then they walked to her car.  Gas was $132.9 per litre for regular 87 octane.

We usually keep a fairly full tank to protect ourselves from power outages and also to keep condensation to a minimum.  The penalty is dragging around the extra weight in stop and go traffic.

[nesgran]

I always get amazed that all of the eastern bloc has better petrol than the US although you can still buy 80 octane petrol over there. The regular stuff over here is 95 octane and the good stuff 97-99 depending on where you fill up

When I was 18 and had just gotten my first car (a 1988 Volvo 240 in white, hey I was living in Sweden!) I rarely filled up more than half way as I had petrol nicked a couple of times out of it despite having a locking lid. Not filling up properly is silly though as you will have to do it sooner or later anyway.

[Worst Case Scenario]

In North America gasoline is usually just called gas and is purchased from gas stations.

I knew that petrol is called gas, or gasoline. But what do you call the stuff that is piped into you house to run the heating? We call it gas.

 

[emf]

I think they call it propane?

I always wonder why they never have washing machines in their apartments. On sitcoms that is.

[fautox1977]

Worst Case Scenario, do you live in America?

[EyeDocPhotog]

the gas to heat your home is called “natural gas” which is a fossil fuel formed from many layers of buried plants, gases and ‘other stuff ‘ (mostly the dinosaurs) which were exposed to intense heat and pressure over millions of years. It’s generally found next to, or nearby, large petroleum deposits.

 

[EyeDocPhotog]

natural gas is mostly methane (CH4) with a potpourri of other hydrocarbons mixed in – the most important of which is a man-made foul odor recognizable by just about anyone worldwide as a “potentially deadly gas leak.” Natural gas is odorless in it’s native form.

[Author]

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