Lost in the Pond | British accent. American life.

British Halloween Ain't Got Nothing on America

2020-10-31T10:48:00.001-04:00

Sometimes when I look back on my life in Britain, it seems like it all happened to someone else. As if I didn’t actually grow up constantly surrounded by red post boxes, Cadbury bars, and Noel Edmonds. A lot of how I lived my life back then is not how I live it now. Take, for instance, Halloween.

As a child of 80s Britain, I used to love trick or treating. In England, this specifically meant dressing up in something monstrous like Dracula fangs, ghost sheets, or eighties fashionwear. And we’d go around the neighborhood, regaling residents with the words “the sky is blue, the grass is green, can you spare a penny for Halloween?”... or just "trick or treat" if the person had vacant eyes.

The point is, we went door-to-door—kind of like how politicians do in a final effort to lose voters. Except we were children; our only fundraising goal was to raise money for football stickers. Most people generously gave sweets, sure. Sometimes even their last Rolo. But I was mostly in it for the money: the ten pence coins, twenty pence coins. Occasionally, even fifty pence coins. And if you caught her on a good day, Aunt Sophia would dish out the holy grail of legal tender: the one pound coin. That was like breaking into Fort Knox, but then so was entering her house, which had four Rottweilers.

As I recount these memories so many years later, I worry that Americans might think I've made the whole thing up. For a country so widely associated with the acquisition of money, America rarely, if ever, gives it to Halloweeners. And don’t get me wrong; now that I’m fully grown up, I don’t really have a stake in any of this. Especially now that I’m not a vampire… hahahaha… sorry.

But as I stand today on the other side of the door, I can’t help but think that a deeply important memo got Lost in the Pond. Watch the video to find out more.

5 Ways British and American Mail is Very Different

2020-10-28T12:07:00.001-04:00

To whom it may concern, I’m Laurence and I’m on a quest to uncover all of the memos that Britain and America lost in the pond and one of those memos pertains to… well, memos. With Christmas, not to mention one country’s national election, on the horizon, both countries’ postal services are about to enter the busiest period of the year.

But amid the ambience of cardboard, paper, and broken vases, postal delivery is very different on one side of the Pond to the other. And I can already hear Uncle Toby, whose Christmas cards mysteriously get lost in the Pond, typing something like “Americans say “mail” and Brits say “post”, I know that! But that ain’t the half of it.

Whether we’re talking about the delivery system, the branding, or the size of your package, here are five ways British and American mail is very different.

How Much of the U.S. is Actually Parallel with Britain?

2020-10-17T14:52:00.004-04:00

Hello, I’m Laurence and I’m on a quest to uncover all of the memos that Britain and America lost in the Pond and one of those memos pertains to... our place in the world.

And I don’t mean each country’s political standing. I literally mean our place in the world, our coordinates, our latitude and longitude.

On October twenty-fifth, Britain’s clocks go back by one hour - precisely one week before US clocks do the same. Growing up in Britain, this was always a strange time for me, because on the Monday I’d turn up to school before the teachers. But it was also a strange time because it started to get dark really early.

Thanks to a combination of Britain’s latitude and the tilt of the earth, the sun would set as early as 3:40pm in my home town of Grimsby. For context, Chicago enjoys about forty minutes extra daylight on or around winter solstice.

Anyway, all this talk of latitudes got me thinking. The U.S. is a big place. So how much of it is horizontally parallel with—that is on the same latitude as—mainland Britain?

Instinctively, you might imagine, for example, that London and New York are fairly parallel, right? But are they? If you could fly due west from Britain in a giant plane whose wing span measured the length of Britain itself, which US cities would you actually intersect? How many Americans, going about their daily lives, would see this admittedly terrifying vehicle over their heads, and post it to Instagram?

To find out, join me by clicking play.

11 US National Parks That Dwarf Britain's Largest

2020-05-20T18:55:00.003-04:00

In these strange times, I've been missing the great outdoors. When all this is over, I plan to visit as many national parks as possible. This might be easier in Britain, where I don't have to cover as much land. After all, America boasts 11 national parks that Dwarf Britain's biggest. Watch the video to find out which ones made the list.

6 Things America Does Smaller Than Britain

2020-05-19T21:13:00.005-04:00

As the old saying goes, everything’s bigger in America—from its cars to its roads to its yards to its homes to its trees to its streets to itself.

But what if I told you that some things are smaller on this side of the Pond? That despite boasting the world’s largest pencil, wind chime, rocking chair, knitting needle, crochet hook, pitchfork, golf tee, yardstick, dutch clogs, mailbox, birdcage, American life is filled with objects and concepts whose British counterparts are big enough to trigger small spine syndrome.

And so today, in what I hope will be the first part in a series, here are six things America does smaller than Britain.

Names I Only Encountered After Moving to America

2020-04-30T11:31:00.000-04:00

This week, after realizing that America boasts a distinct lack of Gemmas, it also occurred to me that the country does boast a long list of people's first names to which I was once unaccustomed—so I compiled the best ones into my latest video!

I had enormous fun making this one. The concept had been something I'd had on the back-burner for years—always putting it off because I feared someone by the name of, I don't know, "Braylen" would fail to see the funny side. So, thank you to the nation's Braylens. And Zacharys. And Kendras. And Tarahs.

If you hear your name in the video, your next quest is to share it on social media with the message, "I made the list!" Enjoy.

50 British Vs American Word Pronunciations

2020-04-25T11:11:00.002-04:00

Today, we're going "old school" on Lost in the Pond with a rapid-fire comparison of how me and my American wife pronounce certain words.

Of course, given the wide field of pronunciation differences, there would probably be scope for multiple videos like this, but fifty seemed like a nice round number for now.

As stated in the video, the pronunciations you're about to hear won't entirely represent those of all Americans or all Brits, since regional varieties of English exist within each country. But they are a good indicator of how the wife and I talk to each other.

Watch the video below, and feel free to leave a comment below.

8 Words Britain and America Use Very Differently - Part 3

2020-04-23T11:28:00.000-04:00

I've talked extensively about the different words Britain and America have for the same meaning, but what about cases where they use the same word with a different meaning. As a second sequel to last month's video, here are eight more such words.

The lead word to this video—"Derby"— was chosen very specifically to coincide with what would have been the upcoming Kentucky Derby, a popular horse racing event here in the United States. While the event has been postponed due to COVID-19, I decided to throw my hat into the ring nonetheless.

If British-American language comparisons were a game of Top Trumps, the word "Derby" would be among the most sought-after of cards. Not only does each country offer a different pronunciation (British English treats the first vowel like that in "sergeant" and American English like that in "Kirby"), but both sometimes use it to mean different things.

This should not overshadow the fact that certain definitions are common to both countries. For instance, both Britain and roughly thirteen U.S. states count "Derby" among their list of place names, while the notion of "derby" as a horse race—or a race in general—is observed on either side of the Pond.

But in Britain, the word denotes local sports encounters between two teams from the same city, such as the Manchester Derby between City and United. In the U.S., a derby hat is more-or-less what the British refer to as a bowler hat—made famous by Charlie Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy, and internet sensation, Laurence Brown.

Watch the video below to get a load of the other seven words up for scrutiny, and don't forget to leave a comment.

6 Happily Surprising Things About Living in America

2020-04-20T09:24:00.002-04:00

Amid the ongoing COVID-19 lock-down, a title such as "6 Happily Surprising Things About Living in America" almost feels like a work of surrealism, as if it doesn't quite belong, or as if its writer somehow failed to "read the room".

But to me—and I reiterate this within the video itself—it's important that I reflect on America's many revelations for the very reason that I wish, one day, to be surprised by them again.

Before living in America, my relationship with the U.S. had been informed exclusively by the things I saw on television or read in Stephen King books (mercifully, New England residents aren't marauded by a malevolent clown).

But fiction very often omits the finer details. The movies had me believe that Americans were brash, fast-talking go-getters; that sports fields left no room for soccer; and that national parks were the sole property of John Wayne.

When I stepped foot off that plane all those years ago, I walked into a world that was as unfamiliar as it was astonishing. Reflecting back after more than a decade, here are 6 happily surprising things about living in America.

Thanks for watching! Let me know in the comments below if you were surprised by any of the things I was... err... surprised by.

Britain's Skyscrapers Ain't Got Nothing on America

2020-04-15T20:58:00.000-04:00

Everything is bigger in America, and skyscrapers are no exception. Here's a look at how Britain's skyscrapers ain't got nothing on America.

7 Outdoor Objects I Never Saw Before Moving to America

2020-04-12T20:55:00.000-04:00

While going stir crazy in my apartment, I noticed I was starting to miss the little, mundane aspects of day-to-day life - right down to the nondescript objects most of us take for granted. With that in mind, here are 7 outdoor objects I never saw before moving to America.

British Pet Culture Ain't Got Nothing on America

2020-03-28T20:48:00.000-04:00

At times like this, let's restore the internet to its original purpose: animals. In tonight's video, I take a look at how British pet culture ain't got nothing on America.

5 Ways British and American Meal Etiquette is Very Different

2020-03-22T20:35:00.000-04:00

We've talked about the different foods between Britain and America, not to mention the words we use to describe them. But what about the etiquette both countries employ at the dinner table? Here are 5 Ways British and American Meal Etiquette is Very Different.

5 Clothes Items I Only Wore After Moving to America

2020-02-27T20:21:00.000-05:00

My move to America came with many firsts; including changes to my wardrobe. Here are 5 clothes items I only wore after moving to America.

4 Ways British and American Houses Are Very Different

2020-02-26T20:06:00.000-05:00

There are considerable differences between Britain and America when it comes to houses. The buildings in which we live drop subtle and not-so-subtle clues as to how both countries went their separate ways. Here are 4 ways British and American houses are very different.

5 U.S. States With Way Colder Winters than Britain

2020-01-27T18:43:00.000-05:00

Growing up in England, I used to moan if the temperature so much as dropped under ten degrees Celsius. Imagine my surprise after moving to the U.S. state of Indiana, where this routinely happens. And parts of America make Indiana look like a tropical paradise. In this video, I take a look at five U.S. states with way colder winters than Britain.

Comparing British and American Hot Chocolate

2019-12-09T12:01:00.000-05:00

For this week's tasting, Tarah and I compare British and American hot chocolate with a bonus entry thrown in for good measure. But which hot chocolate will win?

Laurence Brown is a British writer and YouTuber who somehow convinced the city of Chicago to let him in. He is an English Language graduate from Lancaster University and a passionate word etymologist, with a particular interest in British and American neologisms. Since moving to the United States, he has become increasingly curious about Britain's historical influence on American culture and about America in general.

5 American States with the Most English Ancestry

2019-12-03T11:28:00.001-05:00

America is made up of a wide variety of ancestral groups. For the sake of time, I'll not list them all here. Rather, I’m going to home in on one ancestral group in particular: my own. You see, as of the 2000 U.S. census, a whopping 24 million Americans self-reported having English ancestry; that is, having descendants who originated wholly or partly in England. The question is, which states have the most. In my first video of the Vlogmas season, I took a look at 5 American States with the Most English Ancestry.

Why Don't Americans Celebrate Guy Fawkes Night?

2019-11-04T11:17:00.002-05:00

I recall fondly the British Guy Fawkes Nights of my youth. However, little did I know it at the time, but the 2008 iteration of Guy Fawkes Night would be my last for a very long time. You see, five days later, I moved to the United States of America, where it quickly became clear that no such celebration existed. The question I have to day is "why don't Americans celebrate Guy Fawkes?" Watch the video to find out why this isn't such a daft question after all.

5 American States With Way More Rain Than Britain

2019-10-31T12:38:00.002-04:00

Being from Britain, I happen to know a thing or two about rainfall, given as we are to moaning at the first sight of drizzle. Indeed, Britain is world renowned for its overcast skies and saturated cobble streets, with the situation so critical, the nation boasts more than one word for umbrella.

We look with envy to our American friends across the Pond, and yearn like a faded ice cream van for the sunshine and beaches of the United States. After all, why do you think Florida is the non-European place Brits visit the most? Britain, nay, the United Kingdom has to put up with an average annual rainfall of 33.7 inches, not to mention 133 days of precipitation. And that’s just the average. Americans would surely shudder at the thought of so much rain!

Or would they? The answer to that would be a very large “no” were you to ask residents of Rochester, New York, who’d probably laugh at you, pat you on the head, and say “that’s adorable”, citing their average of 167 days—the highest in the nation. Indeed, owing partly to a phenomenon called lake effect rain, Rochester is joined by the likes of Buffalo, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh. Now, of course, you could rightly argue that these precipitation counts don’t include total inches and are also swayed by the more famous phenomenon of lake effect snow. And to that I say “fine.”

But there are places within the US—entire states even—that blow the UK average out of the water. That’s even in the absence of snow—particularly in states that face considerably more rain than the UK’s 34 inches.

The American climate is highly diverse. Unlike Florida, not everywhere gets to call itself the “sunshine state”. And so, without further ado, watch the video below to find out which states have way more rain than Britain; the first will make you question your very existence.

8 U.S. Cities That Took English-Naming to a New Level

2019-10-27T10:48:00.000-04:00

Hello, I’m Laurence and I’m on a quest to uncover all of the memos that Britain and America lost in the pond and one of those memos pertains to place names. All across America, there are places bearing the mark of countless other cultures, including Native American, French, German, and Spanish.

But of particular interest to Lost in the Pond are the towns and cities named after those of my homeland. Up and down New England, and various states across the land, the United States is peppered with English namesakes, such as Boston, Massachusetts, Manchester, New Hampshire, and England, Arkansas.

Invariably, such names were given by English settlers, who sought to both honor their home cities and to colonize the New World. And while the YouTube algorithm wouldn’t look kindly on me if I addressed all 28 billion cases in one video, there are a very select few that went above and beyond with the whole naming convention thing.

You see, recently, something quite extraordinary came to my attention, and I can’t believe I hadn’t noticed it until now. I was just enjoying another typical Friday night trying to figure out whether or not the census bureau was right to classify Delaware as part of the south, when I realized something funny about that very state. Delaware’s capital of Dover was located... in Kent County.

Now, not only is Dover, Delaware named after the famous town on England's south-east coast, but that very same town is located in the English county of Kent. In other words, the two cities shared the same county name. So excuse me while I add that to the pub quiz! What are the chances?

Actually, it turns out they're fair-to-decent.

You see, after doing a bit of digging, I discovered that Dover, Delaware, was not alone. Up in America's north-east, there exists a handful of other Englishly named cities that bear the same county name as their English counterparts. Sure, U.S. counties might be less generous with the “shire” suffix and English counties might not let you know they’re counties by adding on the word “county”, but keep this in mind: “shire” comes from Anglo-French to mean - you guessed it - county. So Warwickshire, for example, is just another way of saying Warwick County. By the way, there used to be one of those in Virginia.
And so, without further ado, here are 8 cities that took English-naming to a whole new level.

If you liked this video, don't forget to subscribe to Lost in the Pond on YouTube!

WATCH: British Versus American Clothing Terminology

2019-09-10T12:18:00.001-04:00

With the autumn upon us, what better time to take a look at the clothing terminology of Britain and America? Here are seven word differences on that very theme.

British Versus American Drinking Terminology

2019-08-28T23:40:00.000-04:00

Hello. I’m Laurence and I’m on a quest to uncover all of the memos that Britain and America lost in the pond and one of those memos involves drinking. Now I’m not talking about the empty bottles of 17th century mead that passengers of the Mayflower inevitably chucked into the Pond. I’m talking about the language of drinking, the words both countries utilize to express, albeit with slurred speech, the drinks we quaff and the effects they have.

With that in mind, here's a video looking at the differences between British and American drinking terminology.

5 British-American Word Differences I Learned Living in the US

2019-08-26T16:51:00.001-04:00

It turns out there are literally hundreds of obscure word differences between Britain and the United States. And in some cases, you just might have to spend a little time immersed in the other's culture, as I have, to discover them. Here are 5 British-American word differences I didn't know until I moved to the United States.

Why Does America Do Free Refills?

2019-08-16T20:13:00.000-04:00

When I moved to America from Britain all those years ago, there were many culture shocks; but one that probably affected my weight more than any other was the notion of free refills. As someone with absolutely no will power, I found myself quickly piling on the pounds. So I wanted to know more. When did the practice start? And who was responsible?