When you live in a country as large as the United States it must be hard to imagine what it’s like living on a tiny island smaller than Wyoming. It would be easy to just say, "well everything is bigger in America," and that probably is true but here’s a few comparisons. Here are 7 notable differences between America and Britain.
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Water Water Everywhere
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Photo Credit: D_L_Alberto
You have the Great Lakes, we have erm, puddles in comparison. You have Lake Superior at 32,000 square miles, whereas the UK’s largest inland body of water is Lough Neagh at 148 square miles in Northern Ireland.
You Take the High Road, I’ll Take the Low
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Photo Credit: Jordan Burniston
US Route 20 is 3,365 miles long and stretches from Newport, Oregon to Boston, Massachusetts. The longest UK road, the A1, connects London and Edinburgh and runs for 410 miles.
Frequently asked questions
I Can See for Miles and Miles and Miles
America’s tallest building is Chicago’s Willis Tower (previously Sears) with a height of 1,451 feet. The UK record is currently held by number 1 Canada Square, more commonly known as Canary Wharf, although this is actually the name of the area rather than the building. Willis Tower will be eclipsed by One World Trade Center and 1 Canada Square will be overtaken by Shard London Bridge when they are both finished in 2013 and 2011 respectively.
Because They Are There
The highest mountain climbers can reach in Britain is 4,409 feet, the peak of Ben Nevis in Scotland. US mountaineers can scale 20,320 feet of Alaska’s Mount McKinley.
Up, up and Away
London Heathrow (40.2M) is the world’s busiest airport in terms of international passenger traffic whereas the highest US ranker on this classification is New York’s JFK (15.6M) at number 16. JFK is also beaten by London Gatwick (19M).
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The Ruling Classes
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Image source: jpxf.com
Britain has the Queen as Head of State and a Prime Minister heads the government. Parliament is bicameral with the lower House of Commons and the upper House of Lords. The commons is 650 elected members who have to sit for re-election every five years. The Lords are a mix of hereditary peers, life peers, bishops and judges. America has the President who heads the Executive, The Legislature (Congress and The Senate) and The Judiciary. We don’t have anything really to compare with state governors but each county has a Lord Lieutenant who is a personal representative of the Queen.
Baby Boomers
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Image source: latimesblogs.latimes.com
The UK has a population of roughly 62 million compared the US of over 300 million. Now, that’s a BIG difference... but remember, we all live on an island the size of Wyoming, which has a population of 568,000...
I hope this has given you a little insight into our little patch of the world. If I have dispelled any misconceptions like there are Americans who know someone who lives in London and think we will know them even if we live in Glasgow, then my work is complete. Were there any surprises here? If you've ever lived in both the US and the UK, what differences stood out in your mind?
Top Photo Credit: susantee.tumblr.com
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