As an English man I've been to France before, never to Paris but to the south to a place called Beziers. It was wonderful, I stayed in a near by village with a family who were so hospitable and welcoming and treated my like one of their own and so did everyone else in the village, it was an amazing experience and I was sad to leave to go back to England. The England-France rivalry will always be there, but there is nothing wrong with a bit of healthy competition. Deep down they are not just our neighbours like other European countries, they're family (the aunt we didn't like but nonethless family who we love). Anyone who takes this rivalry so seriously to say we hate each other on either side is an idiot. In this new up and coming world/Europe, we're the best each other have got in crazy continent and we should remember and respect that it took over a thousand years to achieve this close alliance.
+Daniel Ockerby I've been to France three times, once a skii trip which absolutely lovely. The instructors were a bit half-hearted and cold but it was a beautiful place. The second time was on a French exchange, and my person was bloody awful, never spoke a word to me but when he came here he loved talking to my damn cat in English -.- Anyway, the school was nice, the people weren't. His family was nice but a little strict, I guess. The third time was Paris. The most overrated place in the world, maybe you have to be there at night to appreciate it? :/ got pick-pocketed and that's probably the most exciting thing that happened. And yes I agree with the friendly competition thing, though I do think they're a bit backwards in some respects, and they really ought to cheer up a tad.
Paris Syndrome isn't a testament to the Japanese, it's indicative of how they live in a bubble. Admittedly Tokyo is spotless and the trains are incredibly well run, but artifice is part of modern Japanese culture and if you break that surface you can be met with a very passive aggressive entrenched behaviour that is very wearing. Paris isn't great but I'm not surprised it's a cause of distress to the likes of Tokyoites.
The way I've heard it, a large part of the issue is the romanticisation of Paris in Japanese culture. Apparently Paris is considered and portrayed to be the height of culture and sophistication, to the point where Japanese tourists genuinely expect it to be something otherworldly. And, of course, it isn't. I doubt very much those same people would have such a bad reaction to, say, India or Brazil.
@@fosphor8920 Well Paris can be amazing, but it's also a gigantic tourist trap, and if you haven't done your research on how to properly experience it, you have yourself to blame that you spent 10h in queues, accosted by street sellers, had a shitty overpriced hotel and shitty overpriced food.
The British Empire is much much older and did much more war. The US is too recent so they only get the recent credit. Russia was on the other side of the world so not much happened with them.
i mean like. it was the scortch earth tactic of the russians that killed alot of napoleons men. since their tactic of surviving the winter was pillaging the cities. but that didn't work since russia did it themselves in advance of the french arrival
@@Tekkit98 But the Grande Armée was more of a European military at the time, since half of that army consisted of non-French soldiers, like Germans, Italians and Spaniards.
I'm Australian, and i have to say that when i went to Europe, my favourite country way easily France, it was so amazingly beautiful, the culture was so vibrant, the people wonderful and the food is simply beyond words, however i must admit i do enjoy the odd French joke :)
@@lucruijter3027 You know that almost all people living in Australia descended from european ancestors right? This person probably has dutch great great grandparents or maybe even more generations back.
in history class I had the odd tendency to pick a favorite nation to bet on to win the wars. In ancient history I always went with Assyria and in more recent times I had France. ...did pretty damn well.
It is just another WWII thing: France was considered to have the most modern military and (despite of that) got overrun by the Wehrmacht in 1940. The british troops at Dünkirchen were never seen as cowards though... So much for the truth behind stereotypes: I've met beautiful british women, had some good lunches and rather pleasant encounters on that rainy island; I've met sober russians, unpunctual germans and diligent italians too.
+11Kralle I think in the world wars the English were described as lions led by donkeys. But yes, stereotypes can be fun as long as you remember they're most likely to be inaccurate.
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That didn't even make sense. I worked in Paris. I took a spontaneous train to Paris because I was done with school and I realized I would need money in Paris so I bluffed my way through a job interview as a waitress (I barely spoke any French) and got hired. Next day my boss realized I was useless but he and every client admired my guts so I could keep the job and I could live with him and his family during the summer because of my lack of housing. After that no one can convince me Paris sucks.
Hardly, but I've been in Paris for about 13 months of my short 20 year old life, on three different occasions and haven't regretted a single day there. People were friendly (as far as city people are really friendly - I'm from a city as well, so I'm used to it though), passionate about their culture and as long as you show interest and effort, they're more than willing to help you out. The architecture is beautiful, there are lots of museums and the tube system is really easy. I love it!
Fun fact about the Battle of Waterloo, only about a quarter of the soldiers were actually British. Half the force were Prussian and the other quarter were a mix of soldiers from Holland and small German states like Hanover, Brunswick and Nassau. So I wouldn't call it a British victory really, a victory nevertheless. But Wellington would never have won if it wasn't for Blücher(he was the Prussian general) : )
@Jafroboy Obviously they are talking about all states, nations, regions that had existed where modern day France is now. Just like Britain didn't exist until about 100-200 years ago, but 'british history' goes back thousands of years.
I think he was referring to the spelling. If one is writing in British English, it should be spelt Americanised. The use of the zed is an American conceit, which is sadly used somewhat universally among most spellchecking programs.
Thanks mate ! I'd love to fly over to Australia, I've heard how genuin people in Aussie and if you live in Sydney you should have a coffee at the Metro St James !
@1Kazis1 I think it's remembered more as a French defeat than a British victory. If you asked most people (at least here in the history ignorant US) they might say ".... the British? maybe" but with no certainty
Paris is a shock to the rest of France.....always has been . So I can imagine the poor Japanese tourists must have quite a shock themselves. This being said.....what a fantastic city !!!
I'm French and I see nothing from with British sense of humour, I like it ! I'd agree that here in France our humour is way different but not bad aswell. We love to tackle our good old ally/ennemy British folks ! It's just fair game and in my pov no disrespect ! Love and Fun boys :)
I recommend you check out "Wasabi", which is everything I adore about French cinema. Or at least that portion of French cinema involving Jean Reno and Luc Besson.
@manhunt48 Dude, the normand duke was a vassal of the French king. He had french vassal outside of normandy who joined him as their duty. So the army was: normands (mix of french and vikings), "pure" french from normandy and "pure" french from outside normandy (i.e. kingdom of france.
Paris is indeed pretty tramautising. Getting out by train or airport is like arriving in a post-apocalyptic sci-fi setting where civilization is on it's way out.
Alright, well have to say that good humour is definitely present on both sides of the Channel. I personnaly love British humour, this is one of my favourite shows in the world! And I also very much like French humour. The whole making fun part is just funny really ! I've lived and worked in Cornwall and nobody ever said anything hurtful to me (but it's true I'm also Breton, so you know, Celtic Brotherhood). French people tend to be a bit more spitey. But no hatred on either side.
@GGSDavejones You are right - ish... The old guard where pushed out of Plancenoit by the Prussians at about the same time the Anglo allies where advancing having just broken the middle guard... This is why I said "offensively" deployed :) They did however hold their positions against the allies to allow a french withdrawal - the officer your thinking of is Lord Hill... The old guard are difficult i am not 100% about Plancenoit but I know they weren't involved in the middle guards attack.
Hi guys, to be french citizen, there is many possibilities. -Born in france (whatever parents nationalities, if the child born in france, he's french citizen) -Have at least one french parent -Wedding with a french -And finaly, you have to live and work in France for 7 years minimum (I'm not sure it's 7 years but think so) and then you can ask to have french citizen (but there is few people who have it by this way) After to just live in france you have to be European citizen (Shengen) or a visa.
P.S. Irony is by its very nature subtle and subjective. Without a thorough appreciation and understanding of its usage in the English language, it's perfectly possible that someone might fail to detect it.
Out of the capitals of Europe, I've been in Paris doesn't rank as high as many others even though it was a fun place. Both Berlin and London are more fun to me. But then again I'm an anglophile half german:D.
To some extend you could say that at war there are "winners", everyone has lost. Violence and death are horrible things ! Our past must clearly help the Humans to move forward and seek global peace
@rank666 Oh boy. The point of Waterloo was to force the British and Prussians to surrender before the Russians and Austrians arrived. They were in Belgium so Napoleon went in to Belgium. The battle was just about killing, not conquest.
It is known to occur to people who aren't Japanese as well, but not nearly in the same numbers. Japanese people are the ones that made the syndrome popular because of how many of them got afflicted by it.
@Vehementi We can say the same about the British army given how fast they betrayed their French allies to run away to Dunkirk and sail back home away from the Germans.
Good job you can read. "Preferred by the OED", you'll read if you can summon the attention span, the foremost historical British authority on the language.
well to be fair all media portrays paris as a clean and rich area. but its a kip and theres so much litter and really poor areas around their football stadium
Irony comes in many different forms. In the broadest sense, any statement with an actual meaning which differs from its initially ostensible meaning is ironic. This was ironic, because in making the comment, though he appeared to be mocking the French, Fry was in fact mocking traditional English patriotism just as much (if not moreso). And that's my whole point: we mock other people, but we are able to mock ourselves too.
That was a FUNNY war to learn about when I studied in Mexico. France invaded Mexico to force the country to pay the damages to a french pastry shop destroyed years earlier in the Mexican war of independence.
That is why citizenship is separated from nationality. Living in a country can make you a citizen but it will not change your genetics. There aren't any particular Dutch attributes i am aware of so i think the personality means even less there than the average.
@1Kazis1 and another fun fact,Wellington was of Irish descent. And in retrospect all major wars won by the British in the last 200 years was won with alliances they formed during the conflict, so they deserve credit for their tactical and diplomatic stratergies, focusing allies to overwelhm their enemies. So the Battle of Waterloo was a British victory with support from European allies.
Not really. Americans call universities college because the first such institutions were small and resembled Oxford and Cambridge colleges, which are older than the idea of universities and continue to exist.
Two days before Waterloo Blucher was ridden over by French cavalry after Napoleon whipped him and his army and sent them running for the Rhine. They only came back because Wellington said he would make a stand. The Waterloo campaign is rather complicated but the simple fact is; British infantry defeated the Old Guard, Napoleon's finest troops who had never been broken before. So Stephen is right.
Would the English ever shut up about beating Napoleon. It took the armies of Britain, Austria, Spain, Russia, The German States and the Italian States to best him fgs. And France was in tatters after the revolution when he seized power. He even had you beat at Waterloo until the Prussians turned up. If it had been a fair fight he'd have won without a doubt.
+Matthew Williams I never said it wasn't a British victory. I'm just saying you couldn't beat the army of a country battered by a 10 year revolution by yourself. All thanks to the military genius of Napoleon. Yet the English (And American for some strange reason) media always portray Napoleon as some hot-hotted half-witted midget. He wasn't even that small! hahah
+Conal Quinn Actually, the Prussians didn't exactly get to the battle of waterloo, it was the rumour of their approach that made the french give up. before that, there were many, many hours of battle where 210 thousand french troops, with the best artillery and cavalry of the time, were unable to beat just over half that number of (mostly) british troops. It wasn't a crushing victory for Wellesley's force, more of an embarrassment that napoleon couldn't beat him despite having most of a day, and a vast numerical advantage. there's speculation that napoleon himself was not commanding due to illness but i don't believe there's evidence either way. as for the overall napoleonic war, the british military was the largest driving force against the french, and i'm not counting the failed attempt at invading russia because cold weather is not an army belonging to any one nation, though that was a massive waste of resources and hugely affected the overall war.
We are a very emotional people, and very quick to take offense to non offensive remarks. Not sure if that trait is in any way unique or original to America, but that is how we are.
how about. Neither side accomplishes their objective? But side A inflicts 50% more casualties on side B. My point is, theres always some margin by which they could measure victory.
I'd imagine pickpocketing would come as a huge surprise to the Japanese. I've heard people in Japan will frequently leave their stuff on a table and go to the bathroom, in order to mark their spot, and it isn't an issue. Meanwhile they warn you to not even turn your head in a park in Paris. Put something down on a park bench and take your eye off it for a second and someone has run by and taken it.
Depends what your watching in my experience, I remember being angered by Chris Rock announcing to his audience once "i've been all over the world and the US is the best country there is" (not a direct quote). But then I saw American Dad the other day and when Stan opens his phone book to find he has no friends, Roger then laughs and says "your like America, the Guy" (again not a direct quote). The only British comedian I can think of who praises the UK is Al Murray, and he is being ironic.
I would say a reasonable amount is between 5 or 6. That would have to be with the modern life span though so about 9 if it was up until the current point.
@randomsamno9 I think I should point out at this point that I am not actually English :p But yeah, it seems to me that the British hate towards France is tongue in cheek and nothing more.
@hobs You have a point but it wasn't really what i was talking about: it's not a matter of who was wrong, who did awful things etc... here we're just talking about a mathematical number: how many victories/losses? Of course, there are wars where the winner is ambiguous, but be honest not many, and for 99% of them western countries have the same conclusions. For example even Wikipedia US (i know lol) recognize the fact that france won the Algerian war, even if people usually think the opposite.
that wouldnt count as a draw. that would be loss to the people who failed to complete whatever military objective they were attempting. While the opposing side sucessfuly prevented them, thus winning.
Oh sorry yes I didn't get the irony, because that is how we do spell Americanized. Makes a lot more sense now. I also forgot you call Zee's Zed's so that gave me a good laugh. Zed.. :p
I think it was Warren Buffett that said: "it takes 20 years to build a reputation and just 5 minutes to ruin it".
"I think it reflects well on the Japanese myself."
Brilliant.
As an English man I've been to France before, never to Paris but to the south to a place called Beziers. It was wonderful, I stayed in a near by village with a family who were so hospitable and welcoming and treated my like one of their own and so did everyone else in the village, it was an amazing experience and I was sad to leave to go back to England. The England-France rivalry will always be there, but there is nothing wrong with a bit of healthy competition. Deep down they are not just our neighbours like other European countries, they're family (the aunt we didn't like but nonethless family who we love). Anyone who takes this rivalry so seriously to say we hate each other on either side is an idiot. In this new up and coming world/Europe, we're the best each other have got in crazy continent and we should remember and respect that it took over a thousand years to achieve this close alliance.
+Daniel Ockerby I've been to France three times, once a skii trip which absolutely lovely. The instructors were a bit half-hearted and cold but it was a beautiful place. The second time was on a French exchange, and my person was bloody awful, never spoke a word to me but when he came here he loved talking to my damn cat in English -.- Anyway, the school was nice, the people weren't. His family was nice but a little strict, I guess. The third time was Paris. The most overrated place in the world, maybe you have to be there at night to appreciate it? :/ got pick-pocketed and that's probably the most exciting thing that happened.
And yes I agree with the friendly competition thing, though I do think they're a bit backwards in some respects, and they really ought to cheer up a tad.
Well said! 👌🏼
Every French person I've ever spoken to says don't go to Paris, go to South of France.
Paris Syndrome isn't a testament to the Japanese, it's indicative of how they live in a bubble. Admittedly Tokyo is spotless and the trains are incredibly well run, but artifice is part of modern Japanese culture and if you break that surface you can be met with a very passive aggressive entrenched behaviour that is very wearing. Paris isn't great but I'm not surprised it's a cause of distress to the likes of Tokyoites.
Dom Edwards What do they do if they come to India or Brazil?
Shiva Srinivasan They don't XD
The way I've heard it, a large part of the issue is the romanticisation of Paris in Japanese culture. Apparently Paris is considered and portrayed to be the height of culture and sophistication, to the point where Japanese tourists genuinely expect it to be something otherworldly. And, of course, it isn't.
I doubt very much those same people would have such a bad reaction to, say, India or Brazil.
I was in Paris about 10 years ago. Never been back, only regret not choosing another place to spend my holiday...
@@fosphor8920 Well Paris can be amazing, but it's also a gigantic tourist trap, and if you haven't done your research on how to properly experience it, you have yourself to blame that you spent 10h in queues, accosted by street sellers, had a shitty overpriced hotel and shitty overpriced food.
...but then, we got the cane out of the cupboard and we gave him a damn good thrashing.
doesn't matter if it's true or not, that's an amazing line!
feel like the british take credit for alot of victories. but mostly it is russia and US who does shit.
The British Empire is much much older and did much more war. The US is too recent so they only get the recent credit. Russia was on the other side of the world so not much happened with them.
i mean like. it was the scortch earth tactic of the russians that killed alot of napoleons men. since their tactic of surviving the winter was pillaging the cities. but that didn't work since russia did it themselves in advance of the french arrival
@@Tekkit98 But the Grande Armée was more of a European military at the time, since half of that army consisted of non-French soldiers, like Germans, Italians and Spaniards.
I love it when Stephen sometimes quotes the Simpsons in one breath and (say) Aristotle in the other.
The way Fry spoke that sentence was the most English thing I've ever seen.
I'm Australian, and i have to say that when i went to Europe, my favourite country way easily France, it was so amazingly beautiful, the culture was so vibrant, the people wonderful and the food is simply beyond words, however i must admit i do enjoy the odd French joke :)
Jared van der sluys ..... You are dutch!!! Hallo van der sluys, nederland is veel beter.
@@lucruijter3027 You know that almost all people living in Australia descended from european ancestors right? This person probably has dutch great great grandparents or maybe even more generations back.
@@qlv2580 i know... But vandersluys without spaces...... It hurts my dutch heart
If you are European, France is usually the least favorite country for many.
in history class I had the odd tendency to pick a favorite nation to bet on to win the wars. In ancient history I always went with Assyria and in more recent times I had France.
...did pretty damn well.
It is just another WWII thing: France was considered to have the most modern military and (despite of that) got overrun by the Wehrmacht in 1940. The british troops at Dünkirchen were never seen as cowards though... So much for the truth behind stereotypes: I've met beautiful british women, had some good lunches and rather pleasant encounters on that rainy island; I've met sober russians, unpunctual germans and diligent italians too.
+11Kralle I think in the world wars the English were described as lions led by donkeys. But yes, stereotypes can be fun as long as you remember they're most likely to be inaccurate.
si a Dunkerque les Anglais ont été lâche!
Dear 11Kralle - This is Herr Kerner of the Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz. This comment has been brought to our attention for containing information about an unpunctual German citizen. I kindly request you to share the personal data of this individual so appropriate action can be taken in the interest of our country. With kindest regards, D. Kerner, BfV.
11Kralle they just didnt have the manpower and as much of the equiqment such as theyre tanks but yeah theyre equiqment was better
Spec
I think he might have just met me.
...Tschuldigung.
I love Alan's gut reaction: "The miserable bastards..." LOL
Paris, most overrated city in the world. And I'm french...
Definitely one of the smelliest.
Statalyzer lol no try the congo
+respite and nepenthe try India
Nah, loved it...and I stayed at a dive of a hotel....but fuck sake why is the Louvre closed at tuesdays.
>guy mad he doesn't live in Paris
Little does Hugh Dennis knows, that Japanese medical system also is in love with suppositories.
That didn't even make sense.
I worked in Paris. I took a spontaneous train to Paris because I was done with school and I realized I would need money in Paris so I bluffed my way through a job interview as a waitress (I barely spoke any French) and got hired. Next day my boss realized I was useless but he and every client admired my guts so I could keep the job and I could live with him and his family during the summer because of my lack of housing.
After that no one can convince me Paris sucks.
Hardly, but I've been in Paris for about 13 months of my short 20 year old life, on three different occasions and haven't regretted a single day there. People were friendly (as far as city people are really friendly - I'm from a city as well, so I'm used to it though), passionate about their culture and as long as you show interest and effort, they're more than willing to help you out. The architecture is beautiful, there are lots of museums and the tube system is really easy. I love it!
"But then we got the cane out of the cupboard and gave them a damn good thrashing" hahahahahaha XD
387 BC?
Surely it's only meaningful to speak of "France" after the Treaty of Verdun (843), or the Battle of Soissons (486) at the earliest.
And we love you for that and the fact you can laugh about yourselves !
Fun fact about the Battle of Waterloo, only about a quarter of the soldiers were actually British. Half the force were Prussian and the other quarter were a mix of soldiers from Holland and small German states like Hanover, Brunswick and Nassau. So I wouldn't call it a British victory really, a victory nevertheless. But Wellington would never have won if it wasn't for Blücher(he was the Prussian general) : )
"Yes, but we got the cane out of the cupboard and gave him a damn good thrashing..."
Stephen Fry just made my day, lol.
@Jafroboy Obviously they are talking about all states, nations, regions that had existed where modern day France is now. Just like Britain didn't exist until about 100-200 years ago, but 'british history' goes back thousands of years.
I still miss Benny Hill.
The little nod at the end!!
I think he was referring to the spelling. If one is writing in British English, it should be spelt Americanised. The use of the zed is an American conceit, which is sadly used somewhat universally among most spellchecking programs.
Thanks mate ! I'd love to fly over to Australia, I've heard how genuin people in Aussie and if you live in Sydney you should have a coffee at the Metro St James !
"Isn't that fabulous?" lol
@1Kazis1 I think it's remembered more as a French defeat than a British victory. If you asked most people (at least here in the history ignorant US) they might say ".... the British? maybe" but with no certainty
Paris is a shock to the rest of France.....always has been . So I can imagine the poor Japanese tourists must have quite a shock themselves.
This being said.....what a fantastic city !!!
I'm French and I see nothing from with British sense of humour, I like it ! I'd agree that here in France our humour is way different but not bad aswell.
We love to tackle our good old ally/ennemy British folks ! It's just fair game and in my pov no disrespect !
Love and Fun boys :)
I second you dear fella german ! Love from France !
Love the way Stephen says "Damn good thrashing."
I recommend you check out "Wasabi", which is everything I adore about French cinema. Or at least that portion of French cinema involving Jean Reno and Luc Besson.
@manhunt48 Dude, the normand duke was a vassal of the French king. He had french vassal outside of normandy who joined him as their duty. So the army was: normands (mix of french and vikings), "pure" french from normandy and "pure" french from outside normandy (i.e. kingdom of france.
Paris is indeed pretty tramautising. Getting out by train or airport is like arriving in a post-apocalyptic sci-fi setting where civilization is on it's way out.
Neighbors often hate each other at least a little.
Alright, well have to say that good humour is definitely present on both sides of the Channel. I personnaly love British humour, this is one of my favourite shows in the world! And I also very much like French humour. The whole making fun part is just funny really ! I've lived and worked in Cornwall and nobody ever said anything hurtful to me (but it's true I'm also Breton, so you know, Celtic Brotherhood). French people tend to be a bit more spitey. But no hatred on either side.
@Sanglyon Thanks, but that question wasn't addressed to you.
@GGSDavejones You are right - ish... The old guard where pushed out of Plancenoit by the Prussians at about the same time the Anglo allies where advancing having just broken the middle guard... This is why I said "offensively" deployed :) They did however hold their positions against the allies to allow a french withdrawal - the officer your thinking of is Lord Hill... The old guard are difficult i am not 100% about Plancenoit but I know they weren't involved in the middle guards attack.
If we could just have the last ten seconds as a loop, that would be lovely.
@1Kazis1 A fact that many people tend to overlook. It's good to know that I'm not alone in my knowledge of Napoleonic warfare.
I swear that was Fry's Melchett voice at the end.
@Teufelsnachbar667 Did your grand-dad have this syndrom when he marched down the Champs Elysees, mate?
Hi guys, to be french citizen, there is many possibilities.
-Born in france (whatever parents nationalities, if the child born in france, he's french citizen)
-Have at least one french parent
-Wedding with a french
-And finaly, you have to live and work in France for 7 years minimum (I'm not sure it's 7 years but think so) and then you can ask to have french citizen (but there is few people who have it by this way)
After to just live in france you have to be European citizen (Shengen) or a visa.
I'm going to be very 'pissed' the day I realize I've seen every QI clip on youtube.
if its tactically and strategically inconclusive, measure it in attrition.
For some reason I cant play/view the TH-cam clips anymore on my PS3, any advice?
P.S. Irony is by its very nature subtle and subjective. Without a thorough appreciation and understanding of its usage in the English language, it's perfectly possible that someone might fail to detect it.
Out of the capitals of Europe, I've been in Paris doesn't rank as high as many others even though it was a fun place. Both Berlin and London are more fun to me. But then again I'm an anglophile half german:D.
The Benny Hill bit was hilarious XD
To some extend you could say that at war there are "winners", everyone has lost. Violence and death are horrible things ! Our past must clearly help the Humans to move forward and seek global peace
A bit of General Melchitt in the end :)
@rank666
Oh boy. The point of Waterloo was to force the British and Prussians to surrender before the Russians and Austrians arrived. They were in Belgium so Napoleon went in to Belgium. The battle was just about killing, not conquest.
"but then we got the cane out of the cuboard and gave him a damn good thrashing"
Best words ever spoken by an Englishman.
@AnimeFortune Funnily enough the French army is the army with the most victories credited to it.
It is known to occur to people who aren't Japanese as well, but not nearly in the same numbers. Japanese people are the ones that made the syndrome popular because of how many of them got afflicted by it.
The spell checker in the comment box always corrects my newzealand spelling to an americanised version.
Sorry. The pastry war? Hahahahahhaha
That is truly excellent. Congratulations sir.
@Vehementi We can say the same about the British army given how fast they betrayed their French allies to run away to Dunkirk and sail back home away from the Germans.
Good job you can read. "Preferred by the OED", you'll read if you can summon the attention span, the foremost historical British authority on the language.
well to be fair all media portrays paris as a clean and rich area. but its a kip and theres so much litter and really poor areas around their football stadium
@PT8475 Yes the whole episode was leading up to that point!
Irony comes in many different forms. In the broadest sense, any statement with an actual meaning which differs from its initially ostensible meaning is ironic. This was ironic, because in making the comment, though he appeared to be mocking the French, Fry was in fact mocking traditional English patriotism just as much (if not moreso). And that's my whole point: we mock other people, but we are able to mock ourselves too.
*Sneering Imperialist perk chosen* xD
I've always liked the Japanese, they always seem quite sensible.
That was a FUNNY war to learn about when I studied in Mexico. France invaded Mexico to force the country to pay the damages to a french pastry shop destroyed years earlier in the Mexican war of independence.
That is why citizenship is separated from nationality. Living in a country can make you a citizen but it will not change your genetics. There aren't any particular Dutch attributes i am aware of so i think the personality means even less there than the average.
@1Kazis1 and another fun fact,Wellington was of Irish descent. And in retrospect all major wars won by the British in the last 200 years was won with alliances they formed during the conflict, so they deserve credit for their tactical and diplomatic stratergies, focusing allies to overwelhm their enemies. So the Battle of Waterloo was a British victory with support from European allies.
Not really. Americans call universities college because the first such institutions were small and resembled Oxford and Cambridge colleges, which are older than the idea of universities and continue to exist.
Two days before Waterloo Blucher was ridden over by French cavalry after Napoleon whipped him and his army and sent them running for the Rhine.
They only came back because Wellington said he would make a stand.
The Waterloo campaign is rather complicated but the simple fact is; British infantry defeated the Old Guard, Napoleon's finest troops who had never been broken before.
So Stephen is right.
Would the English ever shut up about beating Napoleon. It took the armies of Britain, Austria, Spain, Russia, The German States and the Italian States to best him fgs. And France was in tatters after the revolution when he seized power. He even had you beat at Waterloo until the Prussians turned up. If it had been a fair fight he'd have won without a doubt.
+Matthew Williams I never said it wasn't a British victory. I'm just saying you couldn't beat the army of a country battered by a 10 year revolution by yourself. All thanks to the military genius of Napoleon. Yet the English (And American for some strange reason) media always portray Napoleon as some hot-hotted half-witted midget. He wasn't even that small! hahah
+Conal Quinn ... But he lost.
mikeykm1993 And we won...
+Conal Quinn Fry played Wellington in Blackadder the Third. It's one of his lines.
+Conal Quinn Actually, the Prussians didn't exactly get to the battle of waterloo, it was the rumour of their approach that made the french give up. before that, there were many, many hours of battle where 210 thousand french troops, with the best artillery and cavalry of the time, were unable to beat just over half that number of (mostly) british troops.
It wasn't a crushing victory for Wellesley's force, more of an embarrassment that napoleon couldn't beat him despite having most of a day, and a vast numerical advantage. there's speculation that napoleon himself was not commanding due to illness but i don't believe there's evidence either way.
as for the overall napoleonic war, the british military was the largest driving force against the french, and i'm not counting the failed attempt at invading russia because cold weather is not an army belonging to any one nation, though that was a massive waste of resources and hugely affected the overall war.
We are a very emotional people, and very quick to take offense to non offensive remarks.
Not sure if that trait is in any way unique or original to America, but that is how we are.
how about. Neither side accomplishes their objective? But side A inflicts 50% more casualties on side B. My point is, theres always some margin by which they could measure victory.
I'd imagine pickpocketing would come as a huge surprise to the Japanese. I've heard people in Japan will frequently leave their stuff on a table and go to the bathroom, in order to mark their spot, and it isn't an issue.
Meanwhile they warn you to not even turn your head in a park in Paris. Put something down on a park bench and take your eye off it for a second and someone has run by and taken it.
ever heard of the Gauls?
Depends what your watching in my experience, I remember being angered by Chris Rock announcing to his audience once "i've been all over the world and the US is the best country there is" (not a direct quote). But then I saw American Dad the other day and when Stan opens his phone book to find he has no friends, Roger then laughs and says "your like America, the Guy" (again not a direct quote). The only British comedian I can think of who praises the UK is Al Murray, and he is being ironic.
@Paladynae
You forget to mention the Belgians, Dutch and Italians.
Well one experience with one family certainly characterizes an entire metropolis
You want to be traumatized by weirdness, come to Japan. I am up to my neck with it. Strange and peculiar bunch.
I would say a reasonable amount is between 5 or 6. That would have to be with the modern life span though so about 9 if it was up until the current point.
387 BCE...? Surely you'd want to start at the Treaty of Verdun, or the Battle of Soissons at the earliest...
Draw a battle, similar causlaites, neither side able to gain victory and then they both withdraw.
I think that reaction isn't just specific to Japanese people.
They may have won some battles, but they tend to always lose the wars...
@randomsamno9 I think I should point out at this point that I am not actually English :p But yeah, it seems to me that the British hate towards France is tongue in cheek and nothing more.
@hobs You have a point but it wasn't really what i was talking about: it's not a matter of who was wrong, who did awful things etc... here we're just talking about a mathematical number: how many victories/losses? Of course, there are wars where the winner is ambiguous, but be honest not many, and for 99% of them western countries have the same conclusions. For example even Wikipedia US (i know lol) recognize the fact that france won the Algerian war, even if people usually think the opposite.
he wasn't great enough to realise that Invading Russia was a bad idea
Wellington wouldn't have won without blücher, and even more so vice versa.
@Lyvetacus Nothing man, it's just expectations vs. reality. You go to France expecting Amelie and get The Fifth Element.
@DomWeasel Thank you for saying that.
Very well done!
That's an awesome story!
I wouldn't say that they were that friendly. Edward was certainly more sympathetic to Hitler than George.
Always annoys me when people say the French are terrible at war and forget that one of the greatest military leaders of all time was French.
@punkmanjon Nice! lol are French girls "really accessible"?
Well, now that I know Stephen considers The Princess Bride to be "excellent" I'll have to watch it twice as often.
@math581 You mean current british food or traditional?
that wouldnt count as a draw. that would be loss to the people who failed to complete whatever military objective they were attempting. While the opposing side sucessfuly prevented them, thus winning.
Given how friendly the royal family were with him it could of happened that way had he played his cards right.
Oh sorry yes I didn't get the irony, because that is how we do spell Americanized. Makes a lot more sense now.
I also forgot you call Zee's Zed's so that gave me a good laugh.
Zed.. :p
lol we got the cane out of the cupboard and gave him a damn good thrashing...i love that man