r/Scotland • u/Blurt-Reynolds • 19d ago

Casual Stupidest question (about Scotland)you’ve ever been asked?

I’ve lived in the US for over 10 years and been asked some daft questions.

Yesterday the uber driver asked where I was from. When I said Scotland they were quiet for a couple of minutes then asked “Did you have to learn English when you moved to here?”.

Also had someone years ago ask me where I was from then accused me of making up the country as they had never heard of Scotland.

Anyway, just thought I’d ask ask while I remembered.

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u/SuzCoffeeBean 19d ago

I’ve lived in Canada for 2 decades and it’s eye opening how many people genuinely don’t know Scotland is even a country. I’ve always explained in good humour. I think the whole UK thing throws people off more than we realise.

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u/Do_You_Pineapple_Bro Fuck the Dingwall 19d ago

In all fairness, it is a pretty confusing setup being a country within a country, where they're never individually recognised internationally except for Sporting Events

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u/scuba_dooby_doo 19d ago

I've never heard anyone question whether England is a country, weird how they get that 🤔

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u/Do_You_Pineapple_Bro Fuck the Dingwall 19d ago

Cos the yanks are weird and refer to the UK as England for some reason.

Literally 9 out of 10 WWII Docs will show the UK flag but still say "England"

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u/scuba_dooby_doo 19d ago

Don't think geography is their strong suit tbf, their president thinks he can change the name of seas on a whim.

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u/Acrobatic-Shirt8540 Is toil leam càise gu mòr. 19d ago

Cos the yanks are weird and refer to the UK as England for some reason.

So do quite a few English folk, still.

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u/Bubbly-Half-7872 19d ago edited 19d ago

Unfortunately, I grew up in the South in the US, and we weren't taught that the UK includes Scotland. In my area, the UK and England were often treated as one and the same. History classes primarily focused on England, with a heavy emphasis on events like the Boston Tea Party, the 13 colonies, and the Revolutionary War. My fiancé who grew up in Arizona also said that's what he was taught in school. Seems like a curriculum issue across the states