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Perfectly documented warning stickers for everything is such a British thing. Together with fused plugs and on/off switches for every socket. As a foreigner who

Perfectly documented warning stickers for everything is such a British thing. Together with fused plugs and on/off switches for every socket. As a foreigner who lived in London for a few years I believe the UK leads the world in self-deprecation. No country complains about itself more while being so absurdly well-organized.

Twirrim 2y ago
I think, in part, because we don't have the same level of experience with how things are elsewhere.
arp242 2y ago
The "Elderly People" road signs win for me: https://c8.alamy.com/comp/2GYPJR6/an-elderly-people-roadside-warning-sign-in-the-uk-2GYPJR6.jpg https://c8.alamy.com/comp/2GYPJR6/an-elderly-people-roadside... The first time I saw one of these I stopped to take a picture. It just seems the most ridiculous thing to warn people about, as if somehow "elderly people" can't cross the road.
- devmor 2y ago
  I'd saw we need them in the US, but no one walks here - and by the way people ignore the warning signs for children, I assume it'd have no effect anyways.
- usrusr 2y ago
  They can and they will and when you run them over because you where going at the speed limit minding your own WhatsApp nobody will come to your rescue blaming the victim for jaywalking. You might consider them redundant because elderly people can also cross the road where there aren't any signs, but then few warning signs aren't.
- delta_p_delta_x 2y ago
  > It just seems the most ridiculous thing to warn people about, as if somehow "elderly people" can't cross the road I don't understand this mindset. Do people not walk where you live, or do you not have elderly care homes? I've been to _multiple_ countries and nearly all of them with some uniform signage standard warn motorists about elderly and children crossing.
  - potato3732842 2y ago
    I think the point is that elderly people are fairly sentient so you don't have to worry about them doing dumb things like darting out in front of a semi truck like you do with kids so there's no reason to warn drivers about a high density of them since they behave like normal pedestrians if perhaps a bit slower.
    - gtr 2y ago
      I think it's more to warn a motorist to be mindful of slow moving people. And older people do occasionally fall over too.
  - chasd00 2y ago
    Naples FL needs signs like these. Only it’s to warn motorists of elderly people attempting to pilot Lamborghinis and other ridiculously powerful sports cars. It’s surreal to see valet have to help an 80 year old out of a aventador and the step up the curb to the door of a restaurant.
gerdesj 2y ago
"while being so absurdly well-organized." I note a z in organized ... I do get where you are coming from: My mum used to joke about a fictional sign that said "Please do not throw stones at this sign". Some of our signage is absolutely laughable. We do have road signs that proclaim: "New signage" or "New road system" etc. The locals know what has changed already and non locals are encountering it for the first time anyway, so why bother. Across the entirety of the UK, our road signage is pretty rock solid. There may be a few degenerate cases but all sharp corners have chevron warning signs and they do save lives.
- JadeNB 2y ago
  > We do have road signs that proclaim: "New signage" or "New road system" etc. The locals know what has changed already and non locals are encountering it for the first time anyway, so why bother. I'm not sure it's as absurd as it sounds. Do you look at the signage you pass every day? I suspect I don't. When they put in a new stop sign near where I live (in the US), things were less safe for a long time because people consistently drove through it without slowing. Since this was not a consistent problem with any other stop sign nearby, I believe it was not willful disobedience but people so used to there being no stop sign there that they literally didn't see it. (Even with literal neon pennants on it, people kept driving through it anyway, but you'd at least sometimes see people skid to a stop partway through the intersection, presumably as their brains caught up. And eventually it penetrated locals' consciousnesses, and now they stop.)
  - gerdesj 2y ago
    Fair point. "Do you look at the signage you pass every day?" - I do and so does my sodding car and it still annoys me when it gets the speed limits wrong! I accept I'm not everyone and noting and warning about change is a good idea. We do have a lot of signs and I'm pretty sure I've seen signs warning about upcoming signage (not really 8) I'm happy to report that I've driven in several US states (mostly FL, including around and in Miami and Orlando) and found it pretty straight forward. "Right on red" is pure genius and "four way pass in turn" is not, especially when multiple lanes are involved!
- 2y ago
cjbgkagh 2y ago
Organization and complaining about disorganization stem from the same source, an intolerance to disorder.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
petesergeant 2y ago
> No country complains about itself more while being so absurdly well-organized. I’ve noticed Australians seem to have a similar issue: they decry the Nanny State at home, but all the ones I’ve met abroad complain about the current location being insufficiently nannified. Often both complaints in the same conversation. Finally: Italians. I thought a trip from Milan to Rome was going to be like a trip through Somalia the way the Italians I know describe their country. In fact, everything seemed to work exceptionally smoothly, although whenever I bring this up I’m told that I simply didn’t venture south enough.
- robinhouston 2y ago
  That’s not my experience of Australians at all! The Australians I’ve met (through working for an Australian company) all seem to love their nanny state, and genuinely don’t understand how anyone could see anything undesirable in it.
  - petesergeant 2y ago
    Somehow the same country that venerates Ned Kelly
    - smackeyacky 2y ago
      You only have to watch one episode of Aussie Dash Cams to see how we Australians feel about authority. Freedom for me, but cheering when someone else gets caught by the police when they are breaking the law. It’s an odd dichotomy. I don’t hate it but we do seem to lack self awareness with a slightly English style.
  - potato3732842 2y ago
    Because you're meeting the ones so content they don't leave. All the things people are saying here about Australians are the same complaints Americans in the west have about Californians.
  - cookie_monsta 2y ago
    It might be useful here to give a current example or two of Aussie nanny statism, just for context

Twirrim 2y ago

I think, in part, because we don't have the same level of experience with how things are elsewhere.

arp242 2y ago

The "Elderly People" road signs win for me: https://c8.alamy.com/comp/2GYPJR6/an-elderly-people-roadside-warning-sign-in-the-uk-2GYPJR6.jpg https://c8.alamy.com/comp/2GYPJR6/an-elderly-people-roadside... The first time I saw one of these I stopped to take a picture. It just seems the most ridiculous thing to warn people about, as if somehow "elderly people" can't cross the road.

devmor 2y ago
I'd saw we need them in the US, but no one walks here - and by the way people ignore the warning signs for children, I assume it'd have no effect anyways.
usrusr 2y ago
They can and they will and when you run them over because you where going at the speed limit minding your own WhatsApp nobody will come to your rescue blaming the victim for jaywalking. You might consider them redundant because elderly people can also cross the road where there aren't any signs, but then few warning signs aren't.
delta_p_delta_x 2y ago
> It just seems the most ridiculous thing to warn people about, as if somehow "elderly people" can't cross the road I don't understand this mindset. Do people not walk where you live, or do you not have elderly care homes? I've been to _multiple_ countries and nearly all of them with some uniform signage standard warn motorists about elderly and children crossing.
- potato3732842 2y ago
  I think the point is that elderly people are fairly sentient so you don't have to worry about them doing dumb things like darting out in front of a semi truck like you do with kids so there's no reason to warn drivers about a high density of them since they behave like normal pedestrians if perhaps a bit slower.
  - gtr 2y ago
    I think it's more to warn a motorist to be mindful of slow moving people. And older people do occasionally fall over too.
- chasd00 2y ago
  Naples FL needs signs like these. Only it’s to warn motorists of elderly people attempting to pilot Lamborghinis and other ridiculously powerful sports cars. It’s surreal to see valet have to help an 80 year old out of a aventador and the step up the curb to the door of a restaurant.

gerdesj 2y ago

"while being so absurdly well-organized." I note a z in organized ... I do get where you are coming from: My mum used to joke about a fictional sign that said "Please do not throw stones at this sign". Some of our signage is absolutely laughable. We do have road signs that proclaim: "New signage" or "New road system" etc. The locals know what has changed already and non locals are encountering it for the first time anyway, so why bother. Across the entirety of the UK, our road signage is pretty rock solid. There may be a few degenerate cases but all sharp corners have chevron warning signs and they do save lives.

JadeNB 2y ago
> We do have road signs that proclaim: "New signage" or "New road system" etc. The locals know what has changed already and non locals are encountering it for the first time anyway, so why bother. I'm not sure it's as absurd as it sounds. Do you look at the signage you pass every day? I suspect I don't. When they put in a new stop sign near where I live (in the US), things were less safe for a long time because people consistently drove through it without slowing. Since this was not a consistent problem with any other stop sign nearby, I believe it was not willful disobedience but people so used to there being no stop sign there that they literally didn't see it. (Even with literal neon pennants on it, people kept driving through it anyway, but you'd at least sometimes see people skid to a stop partway through the intersection, presumably as their brains caught up. And eventually it penetrated locals' consciousnesses, and now they stop.)
- gerdesj 2y ago
  Fair point. "Do you look at the signage you pass every day?" - I do and so does my sodding car and it still annoys me when it gets the speed limits wrong! I accept I'm not everyone and noting and warning about change is a good idea. We do have a lot of signs and I'm pretty sure I've seen signs warning about upcoming signage (not really 8) I'm happy to report that I've driven in several US states (mostly FL, including around and in Miami and Orlando) and found it pretty straight forward. "Right on red" is pure genius and "four way pass in turn" is not, especially when multiple lanes are involved!
2y ago

cjbgkagh 2y ago

Organization and complaining about disorganization stem from the same source, an intolerance to disorder.

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

petesergeant 2y ago

> No country complains about itself more while being so absurdly well-organized. I’ve noticed Australians seem to have a similar issue: they decry the Nanny State at home, but all the ones I’ve met abroad complain about the current location being insufficiently nannified. Often both complaints in the same conversation. Finally: Italians. I thought a trip from Milan to Rome was going to be like a trip through Somalia the way the Italians I know describe their country. In fact, everything seemed to work exceptionally smoothly, although whenever I bring this up I’m told that I simply didn’t venture south enough.

robinhouston 2y ago
That’s not my experience of Australians at all! The Australians I’ve met (through working for an Australian company) all seem to love their nanny state, and genuinely don’t understand how anyone could see anything undesirable in it.
- petesergeant 2y ago
  Somehow the same country that venerates Ned Kelly
  - smackeyacky 2y ago
    You only have to watch one episode of Aussie Dash Cams to see how we Australians feel about authority. Freedom for me, but cheering when someone else gets caught by the police when they are breaking the law. It’s an odd dichotomy. I don’t hate it but we do seem to lack self awareness with a slightly English style.
- potato3732842 2y ago
  Because you're meeting the ones so content they don't leave. All the things people are saying here about Australians are the same complaints Americans in the west have about Californians.
- cookie_monsta 2y ago
  It might be useful here to give a current example or two of Aussie nanny statism, just for context