Much can be said of the marked – and often hilarious – differences between the US and the UK.
From varying pronunciations of words to vastly different approaches to food, drink, culture and everything in between, it’s clear that just because we share a language, it doesn’t mean everything is universally understandable.
Now, one man has revealed five lies people in the US believe about the UK.
Zach Lincoln, an American who divides his time between the UK and Spain, shared a video with his humorous observations.
Posting on his Instagram account @zachmovesabroad, Zach highlights the lies his fellow countrymen seem to believe.
He says: ‘Disclaimer, America’s huge, not everybody believes these, but they are common.’
First and foremost, Zach says, the biggest lie is that food in the UK is terrible.
He says: ‘Number one, and the most important probably, is that the food sucks.
‘This is bad information, because obviously a country of this size, of this amount of diversity, has so many different cultures influencing its food scene, how could it possibly suck?
‘People think of this World War Two ration-level food scarcity thing, and that’s just so not where this first world country is. Visit, eat, enjoy.’
Second, he explains, is the lie that Britons only drink tea.
He explains: ‘I mean, obviously, people do drink a lot of tea. I love tea, I drink a lot of tea whilst here but there is a huge coffee community.
‘I would say I see probably more coffee for sale out in the wild than I do tea – but I also don’t really trust other people to make me tea unless I’m watching them brew it in a kettle at their house.’
The third lie is that Britons have bad teeth – especially in comparison to Americans.
Zach says: ‘There are people everywhere with bad teeth. I remember this joke popping up a lot when I said we were going to the UK and people would be like, “oh, just, you know, don’t get too close to their bad breath in their mouth.”‘
‘I don’t know where the origin of this bad joke is from but it’s not true.’
Lie number four is that all Britons sound the same and speak with the ‘Queen’s English’.
Zach says: ‘One thing I’ve realised since being here is that you will hear 28 different dialects of English within a small amount of space. It is so varied. Some are more hospitable than others.’
Finally, and perhaps most bizarrely, is that all Britons somehow know the Royal Family.
He says: ‘The last one is my favourite by far because this one has come up so many times in my comments from people talking.
‘Not everybody knows the Royal Family personally.’