50 Weird & Confusing Facts About British Life & Culture

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- Hello everyone, and welcome back to English With Lucy.

Today I'm very hot, and it's only 19 degrees.

We're gonna talk about that later.

Today I'm going to talk to you about

50 weird and random facts about British culture.

Now this lesson's more of a fun one.

It's going to be great for your listening practise

and if you want to improve your pronunciation

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Right, let's get started with the video.

Fact number one.

Tea is by far the most popular drink drunk by Brits.

Maybe you knew this, but apparently we drink

165 million cups of tea every single day.

Bananas!

I've drunk no tea today.

It's not my favourite, I don't hate it,

I'll have it if I'm offered, but yeah.

Number two, on our main TV channels,

that's channel one and two and quite a few others,

they're run by the BBC and we don't have any adverts.

This is because we pay a licence fee

and I think it's over 100 pounds a year,

but basically we have to pay.

If we have a TV we have to pay it,

even if we don't wanna watch the BBC.

Now I kind of like it because I like ad-free TV,

but I also don't want the BBC

to tell me whether I can have a TV or not.

Number three, queues are incredibly important to us.

If you push into a queue, if you queue-jump,

you will be universally hated in Britain.

Doesn't make sense.

Comment below if queues are important in your country,

because I went to Spain and I lived there for a while,

and people did not respect queues.

When I lived in Spain I remember being in a bank

and some lady thought that her problem

was more important than my problem,

and she just pushed in and was like

sorry, this is an emergency.

I was like, in Britain that would never happen!

Number four.

Please, sorry and thank you basically dominate

all of our social interactions.

It's so ingrained into our brains

that we often bump into things

and then apologise to the inanimate object.

Like I have whacked my shoulder on a door

and said "Oh, sorry", and then felt really stupid

and British, at the same time.

But yeah, just a simple task

like passing the salt at a dinner table.

"Sorry, please could you pass the salt?

"Thank you, sorry, sorry, excuse me please."

Honestly, we say it about eight times.

Number five.

When you greet a friend in the U.K.

you don't normally shake their hand.

You don't normally shake their hand.

Normally you give them one kiss on the cheek.

If you've recently been in the rest of Europe

then you might give two kisses by mistake

and say "Oh sorry, I've just got back from France.

"Just got back from Spain."

And if you're feeling very masculine

and you're with another very masculine person,

then even though you know them very well

you might still shake their hand,

but that's only if you're very very masculine.

Number six.

When the sun comes out,

because it doesn't come out so often,

we make the most of it.

In 15 degree heat we will wear sandals, mini-skirts,

strappy tops, bikinis,

and we will get very very sunburned as well.

The day after a sunny day, everyone is red.

It's terrible.

Also, our houses are not designed to cope with the heat,

as I'm experiencing right now.

It's 19 degrees outside and I am absolutely dying.

Number seven.

British cuisine, well our most known dish

is probably the Sunday roast,

or beef and Yorkshire puddings.

However, we actually voted for our national dish

and we voted for a chicken tikka masala,

which is an Indian dish.

Number eight, if you are on public transport

it is highly expected that you give up your seat

for an elderly person or a disabled person.

And if you don't do it, people will tut at you.

This is a very British thing.

People just go (repeated tutting).

But we don't like to be too direct.

Sometimes we muster up enough courage to say

"Excuse me, that person needs that seat",

but we're not gonna be too confrontational about it.

And if we are ever confrontational with someone

on public transport, we spend the next week

coming down from the adrenalin and replaying the situation

in our head, telling our mates about it.

It's a big deal.

Number nine, our humour can be quite difficult to understand.

We love sarcasm, we have quite dark sense of humour.

We can be quite dry, so we can say things without smiling.

I love the British sense of humour

but it can offend people sometimes.

Sucks to be them.

Number 10.

The majority of museums in London are free.

And we do actually use them quite a lot.

There's been a big increase

in Brits trying to do cultural things,

which I think is great.

Hasn't quite reached me yet,

but I did go to the museum in my village last year,

so that was great.

Number 11.

If you are invited to the home of a British person,

if they are providing a meal or a party for you

then you are sort of expected to bring some sort of gift.

Normally a bottle of wine, some flowers or chocolates.

If you don't bring a gift,

we wouldn't say anything about it

but we would silently judge you.

Number 12.

We are absolutely obsessed with our animals here,

by animals I mean pets.

We put our pets before our own children sometimes.

We are dog and cat crazy.

Number 13, as soon as the sun comes out

we leave work, when it's a good time to leave work,

normally five o'clock, and we go straight to a pub garden.

We don't go inside the pub,

we go straight to the pub garden

or if there's no direct route to the garden

then we will march through the pub directly to the garden.

We love a pub garden.

In fact when I finish this video,

I'm going straight there with my neighbour.

14, that brings me onto our drinking culture.

It's quite bad but it's getting better.

It's very normal to see some very very drunk people

on Friday and Saturday nights,

and Sunday nights if it's a bank holiday,

which means we have the Monday off work.

But millennials, our younger generation, are drinking less,

which is a very good thing,

and binge-drinking cases are going down.

Number 15.

If we hold open a door for you, which we probably will,

we expect a thank you.

However, if somebody holds a door open for us,

and it's actually at a really awkward distance

so we have to kind of walk faster

and they have to wait for ages holding the door,

both parties hate this situation

but we still say thank you and we still do it,

because, I don't know why.

It's polite!

Number 16.

We are, hmm, this is divided.

Some of us are very polite drivers

and some of us are very rude.

The polite drivers will probably let you through

but they will expect a thank you.

We live for that thank you wave.

Sometimes people just lift a finger and that's enough.

I just like the acknowledgement.

I'm a polite driver.

Polite drivers also love to tut and shake their head

at impolite drivers who have not thanked you

for letting them pass.

(repeated tutting)

Number 17.

In many cultures around the globe

women want to have lighter skin,

but in the U.K. we want to have darker skin.

Well, not all of us, but a lot of us like to use

fake tanning products to make our skin darker.

I must admit I have got some on today.

I'm a very light shade of orange, on my knees particularly.

Yeah, we don't have much sun,

we don't get much chance to tan,

and having a tanned complexion, I think,

is almost a sign of wealth.

Like you've been on holiday recently.

I just think I look healthier with a bit of a tan

but you might not agree.

Number 18, we are very divided over the Royal Family.

Some people think it brings in loads of tourism and money.

Some people think that they spend way too much money

and there's never really been a study to show

whether they bring a profit or loss to the country.

So it's a funny one, we just don't know.

Number 19, the weather in summer can never be guaranteed.

So we don't actually go on holiday

in our own country that much.

We do, but we can't guarantee

it's gonna be a sunny beach holiday.

A couple of years ago my family and I

went away to Cornwall, to a beach resort,

and there was not a single day of sunshine.

It poured it down the entire time

and we just said never again.

We will always go abroad now.

Number 21.

We like to thank the bus driver when we get off the bus.

In London, on the school bus, anywhere,

it's pretty normal to say "Thank you", as we get off.

My school bus driver was absolutely amazing.

He actually used to buy us all Easter eggs.

A whole school bus of children, he was lovely,

his name was Roger.

I hope I get to see him again.

Number 22.

Dinner is often our biggest meal of the day,

I'm talking about evening dinner.

We have a fairly heavy breakfast, a light lunch

and then a heavy dinner,

and we normally have breakfast between seven and eight,

lunch between 12 and one,

and dinner between six and seven normally.

Number 23.

"How are you" and "You all right" are not genuine questions.

If we say "Hi, you all right,"

I don't actually expect you to answer saying

"Well, actually, no I'm not, my goldfish died."

I just expect you to say "Yeah yeah, you all right."

And that's it.

Top quality interaction.

Number 24.

Our population is incredibly diverse.

In London, for example, in 2011,

when they did the census that they do every 10 years,

44.9% of the population were white British.

That means London, as a city, is so diverse

and it's something that a lot of us are really proud of.

However, if you go up to the north east,

93.6% of the population were white British.

So it's not evenly distributed.

Number 25.

We care a lot about where you stand on an escalator,

and we will tut and shake our heads

if you stand in the wrong place,

and I always see tourists do this.

You have to stand on the right

and you have to leave enough room

for busy rushy people to overtake you.

Otherwise, they won't say anything

but they'll stand there and tut

and maybe even say "Excuse me, excuse me!"

Just be prepared.

26, we drink beer and cider in pints.

Sometimes we drink a half pint

and our beer is sometimes served warm.

Not lagers, but our British ales,

we serve them at room temperature,

and that can be shocking for some people.

27, we are terrified of wasps.

The most serious, straight-laced person

is likely to cause a massive flap and go (screaming),

if a wasp comes.

I was in a church, watching a wedding ceremony

the other day, and a wasp came and it was absolute carnage.

And, of course, all the women had flower decorations

in their hair, which just made it all the more hilarious.

I just observed and thought I'm gonna put this in a video.

Number 28.

Our winters are really dark.

In the peak of winter, the sun doesn't come up

till past nine, and it goes down just after three.

It means that you can go into the office

and leave the office, without seeing sunlight.

It is really quite intense.

29.

Carpets are a key feature in our houses,

and I'm not sure how I feel about this.

Carpets in a bedroom, okay,

but in a lot of old-fashioned houses

we have carpets in the bathroom,

which I don't think is hygienic,

and it shocks quite a lot of people

when they come over here.

We also have carpets on the stairs,

which are really really hard to clean.

I know that when I design my own house

I won't be having so much carpet in it.

Number 30.

Our plugs are different.

We have a three pronged plug

which is different to the European plugs,

so make sure you bring an adaptor with you.

Let me see if I have a plug.

God, I'm so hot.

Yeah, this is our plug.

It's a three pronged plug, and this is an earth prong.

Tom Scott has got a really good video on this.

This is gonna be one of two times

that I recommend his videos in this video.

I think he's got a video explaining that,

and it's a really good one, so I'll link it down below.

I am gonna mention another of his videos later on.

31.

Our society really doesn't prioritise religion.

Church attendance and membership numbers

have been falling drastically.

In the 1930s, church membership was at 30%

and now it is at 10% or lower.

A lot of people just go to church on really important events

like weddings, Christmas and maybe Easter.

Number 32.

We often have separate taps, or faucets,

as you might call them, for hot and cold water,

especially in old-fashioned houses.

This is where I talk about Scom Tott (laughing).

This is where I talk about Tom Scott's video.

He's got a really really good video

explaining why this is, 'cause I've always wondered

because I've always grown up with

having to choose between boiling hot water on my face,

or freezing cold water on my face,

and just thinking why can't we just mix them.

We do have mixer taps now,

but it was something to do with the tanks

that stored hot water.

They couldn't legally be mixed with drinking water,

hence why hot in one, cold drinking water in another.

Again, it's something I have in my house right now

but when I move into my own house

I will be making sure that all taps are mixed taps.

Number 33.

We drive on the left, but we walk on the right.

So you must drive on the left-hand side of the road

but you must go up the escalator on the right.

Number 34.

When something is in fashion,

all women end up wearing the same thing

even if it doesn't suit them.

I've had so many friends come over from abroad

and say oh my God, everyone is wearing the same thing.

And I hadn't noticed it before but it is true.

I remember there was a fashion of like

quite see-through black leggings, and they just,

they didn't look good on anyone,

but everyone seemed to wear them

with the wrong coloured underwear underneath.

Number 35.

When we're 18, we are sort of expected, by our parents,

to move out and start our lives.

In a lot of countries, people will stay with their parents

till they're well in their 30s.

Here, we just wanna get out as soon as possible

and our parents want us out as soon as possible.

If we go to university, we go at 18

and we normally go to a university

that's quite far from our own home.

However, if we're going to start a job straight away

then yes, we might stay with our parents a bit longer.

It is becoming more common

to move back in with your parents

after you've finished university.

That's something that I did for six-ish months

when I was starting my business after graduating.

Number 36.

Our university fees are high.

Very very high.

For U.K. residents, nine grand a year,

grand is pounds, thousand pounds, 9000 pounds a year,

and for international students it can be much much higher.

Number 37.

We have ice cream trucks that drive round our villages

playing a tune, like a little dingy-bell tune,

and it's the most exciting sound as a child.

I never had it 'cause I lived in a rural village

but when I went to the park or to see friends,

I remember hearing this noise and being like ah,

the ice cream man.

But I think my friend's mum told her

that the ice cream man only played the tune

when he'd run out of ice cream,

which I think is the meanest thing ever.

Number 38.

We don't use our car horns that often.

They are for angry emergencies.

Or just emergencies, not necessarily angry ones.

I went to Bali last year, or the year before,

and they just used them all the time to say hello

and to nudge people.

No.

Over here, car horns are quite a big deal

and if someone beeps their horn at you

you spend the rest of the car journey getting over it.

I've had one car horn ruin my entire day.

39.

Car drivers hate cyclists and cyclists hate car drivers.

It's a war on the road at the moment.

Cycling has increased massively in popularity

and car drivers are not happy about it.

40.

Our supermarkets are very big

and they have a huge range of pre-prepared food,

so ready meals, to cook in the microwave.

I've been to lots of other countries

and I've never seen the range that we have,

apart from, perhaps, in America.

41.

If we live in a city

we tend to totally mind our own business.

We don't talk to our neighbours.

We maybe stretch to a hello sometimes.

And you really don't get to know people

outside of your own friend group

and your social activities and work.

In a village, however, it's completely different

and you have quite a hard time protecting your business.

If you tell a secret to someone the whole village will know.

I kind of like it though.

Number 42.

We find it incredibly rude if somebody talks on their phone,

loudly, on public transport.

And the best example of this

is the train going to and from Luton Airport

and Gatwick Airport.

You can see, before it arrives to Gatwick,

everyone's just sitting in silence,

and then as soon as you've gone past it

it's just filled with tourists that don't know

our society rules, just talking really really loudly

to their mums, saying that they've arrived safely

and all of the British people looking like,

they're talking loudly on public transport, what do we do.

43.

Our tabloid gossip newspapers are disgusting.

They are terrible.

They lie so much, but we all secretly read them.

I can't say all of us,

but many of us will secretly read the Daily Mail.

44.

In the countryside, especially,

we have milk delivered to our doorstep in bottles

and it's something that I'm very passionate about.

I'm really passionate about supporting our local milkman

and supporting our local dairy farmers.

I get my milk delivered on Monday and Thursday

and I love it, it's amazing,

we always have fresh milk at the door.

45.

We generally tip 10% in restaurants

and we prefer to tip it in cash

'cause then we know it goes directly

to the waiter or waitress.

However, some restaurants, especially London restaurants

or chain restaurants, will already add a service charge

to your bill, which is normally 12.5%,

and some of us will get very angry about this

and we'll ask for that to be taken off

and will, instead, give cash directly

to the waiter or waitress.

Because we know that they are not on the best wages

and those tips form a big part of what they earn,

and yes, yes I do that.

46.

We're very indirect.

Instead of saying, "I don't like it", we would say

"Well I don't hate it."

Or, "It's not my cup of tea."

Yeah, we just hate being straight to the point.

We don't like offending people.

But it can be very very confusing for people

who aren't from here.

47.

Most Sundays we have a meal called a Sunday roast.

We normally have it in a pub or our mum will cook it for us

and oh, it's the best meal in the world

and everyone's favourite Sunday roast

is their mum's Sunday roast,

and their mum's Sunday roast is supposedly better

than any other Sunday roast.

But everyone says that.

But my mum's genuinely is the best.

48.

Although fish and chips are really famous here,

I would say that going out for a Chinese

and going out for a curry, are way more popular.

We do that way more often.

Fish and chips, I probably have it once every two years.

Fish and chip shops have declined in quality.

Number 49.

We will do literally everything in our power

to avoid the most minor awkward situation.

I was walking with my friend the other day,

she is quite awkward,

and she had a plastic bag full of shopping.

She saw someone she knew, the bag broke and emptied out,

but instead of stopping to pick it up,

which would mean she would have to talk to this person,

she just carried on walking with an empty bag.

And I just thought that is peak British there.

Number 50.

Women seriously underdress for the weather or nights out.

On New Year's Eve you will see women in like bikini tops

and tiny dresses, bare legs, strappy heels.

But they don't necessarily get cold

and this is a phenomenon we like to call the beer blanket.

Once you have enough beer in you, you can't feel the cold.

Right, those are my 50 random weird

and just a bit quirky facts about British culture

and British life.

I hope you enjoyed them.

Don't forget to check out Audible.

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And I shall see you soon for another lesson.

(imitates kissing)

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