GrrlScientist is an evolutionary biologist, ornithologist, aviculturist, birder and freelance science and nature writer. A native of the Pacific Northwest, she relocated from Seattle to NYC with her parrots after earning a BS in Microbiology (emphasis in Virology) and PhD in Zoology (Ornithology) from the University of Washington. In NYC, she was the Chapman Postdoctoral Fellow at the American Museum of Natural History for two years, pursuing part of her "dream" research project by reconstructing a molecular phylogeny of the parrots of the South Pacific islands. GrrlScientist and her five parrots are currently relocating to Germany, where she will continue writing her blog while also writing a book and learning German. (Meanwhile, her parrots will continue to nibble on her extensive personal library.) If you appreciate GrrlScientist's writing, you can help pay her living expenses by hiring her to "blog" your conference, speak at your club or write articles for your publication (or by clicking on the Paypal button below). If you read an essay on this blog that you especially enjoyed, please nominate it for inclusion in 
tags: Only in America, cultural observation, humor
A friend sent me some interesting cultural observations regarding the odd and ironic behavior of Americans .. of course, I had to share it with you.
Only in America ..
- Only in America .. can a pizza get to your house faster than an ambulance.
- Only in America .. are there handicapped parking places in front of a skating rink.
- Only in America .. do drugstores make the sick walk all the way to the back of the store to get their prescriptions while healthy people can buy cigarettes at the front.
- Only in America .. do people order double cheese burgers, large fries, and a diet coke.
- Only in America .. do banks leave both doors open and then chain the pens to the counters.
- Only in America .. do we leave cars worth thousands of dollars in the driveway and put our useless junk in the garage.
- Only in America .. 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 America .. do we buy hot dogs in packages of ten and buns in packages of eight.
- Only in America .. do we use the word 'politics' to describe the process so well: 'Poli' in Latin meaning 'many' and 'tics' meaning 'bloodsucking creatures'.
- Only in America .. do they have drive-up ATM machines with Braille lettering.
- Only in America .. can a homeless combat veteran live in a cardboard box while a combat pretender lives in the White House.
Humanities & Social Science
Brain & Behavior
Comments
You could spend a lifetime debunking this list. For a start, how many disabilities are there which still allow you to skate? Dozens doubtless, with or without special equipment.
Posted by: csrster | June 9, 2008 7:46 AM
Not that I order cheeseburgers often, but the few times I have I did large size it and have a diet coke :o)
Maybe I've been infected by the 'merican meme.
Posted by: Chris' Wills | June 9, 2008 12:57 PM
Funny list, but:
80% of the list could apply to any European country as well.
Posted by: Cecile Weekly | June 10, 2008 5:28 AM