6 hours ago, tdflightsim said:

Okay, if Jersey is so great why did they need a NEW Jersey?😁😏

 

They couldn't think of a name so copied. 😁

Come to think of it, theres quite a few American places named after British places.

Just Googled it, loads of them.

Sad to see many iguanas have died in Florida with below freezing temperatures. First time there in a long time.

Here in England we’ve had it cool and mainly overcast for a few weeks now. But since the 10th of January my station hasn’t recorded an air frost and given my latitude of 53°N that’s something. Winds have been from the east for a couple of weeks - very unusual. Not long to spring.

For you Americans it’s easy to convert C to Fahrenheit. Double it and add 30. So 5°C =41 °F 

2 hours ago, Ray Proudfoot said:

Sad to see many iguanas have died in Florida with below freezing temperatures. First time there in a long time.

Here in England we’ve had it cool and mainly overcast for a few weeks now. But since the 10th of January my station hasn’t recorded an air frost and given my latitude of 53°N that’s something. Winds have been from the east for a couple of weeks - very unusual. Not long to spring.

For you Americans it’s easy to convert C to Fahrenheit. Double it and add 30. So 5°C =41 °F 

Idk why our boiler in England keeps freezing lol. 🥶 

4 hours ago, martin-w said:

 

They couldn't think of a name so copied. 😁

Come to think of it, theres quite a few American places named after British places.

Just Googled it, loads of them.

Example, my home town, Bedford, UK appears in many of the ex Dominion countries: Australia, Canada, South Africa and even in the USA

5 hours ago, martin-w said:

 

They couldn't think of a name so copied. 😁

Come to think of it, theres quite a few American places named after British places.

Just Googled it, loads of them.

Yes,  the Brits and other Europeans have been around a lot longer than the formal USA.  At 250 yrs old, the USA is relatively young.  I've heard it said that people in Europe have shoes older than the USA.🙄

Woke up to a balmy 18°f/8°c.  I'll take it.

7 hours ago, martin-w said:

Come to think of it, theres quite a few American places named after British places.

Yes, well, most of the first settlers were English themselves, so just named a town after where they were from.

46 minutes ago, tdflightsim said:

Yes,  the Brits and other Europeans have been around a lot longer than the formal USA.  At 250 yrs old, the USA is relatively young.

Ahhh, yes, America is "young".  I used to hear this a lot from people when I lived in Europe.  The fact is, America is the oldest *continuous* Republic in the world, and actually one of the oldest nations, period, when you consider that our borders haven't changed in hundreds of years.  

Other countries try to claim being the oldest Republics, but if you dig deeper you find that although they might have called themselves a Republic or Commonwealth, in truth they were still monarchies and had a feudal system.

Dave

1 hour ago, tdflightsim said:

I've heard it said that people in Europe have shoes older than the USA.🙄

🤣

6 hours ago, dave2013 said:

The fact is, America is the oldest *continuous* Republic in the world, and actually one of the oldest nations, period, when you consider that our borders haven't changed in hundreds of years.  

How about San Marino?  A continuous Republic for over 1700 years after it was established in 301AD.

Noel

3 hours ago, birdguy said:

How about San Marino?  A continuous Republic for over 1700 years after it was established in 301AD.

I've come across this claim as well.

First, there's no real proof that San Marino was an actual republic back in 301AD.  The history of that early period is murky and there are many unknowns and uncertainties surrounding events that far back, even for the Roman Empire.

Second, the city-state was ruled by an assembly of the heads of the richest and most powerful families, not by the ordinary people who elected their representatives.  Over time, this assembly was replaced by a grand council controlled by a few rich families.

The oldest existing true republic is the United States. 

I find the existence of some of these tiny "countries" like San Marino in Europe to be downright silly.  Liechtenstein is another silly "country", along with the Vatican and Monaco.  These tiny regions have very small populations and couldn't exist without the support of the larger, more powerful countries that surround them, and they certainly couldn't defend themselves.  I can name another place that absurdly claims to be its own country, but I'd get into trouble.

Even my own State, Tennessee, with 7.5 million people and a GDP of 423 billion dollars, wouldn't be much of a country on its own, and I'd never advocate that it should be. 

Dave

10 minutes ago, dave2013 said:

Even my own State, Tennessee, with 7.5 million people and a GDP of 423 billion dollars, wouldn't be much of a country on its own

Yeah, well, I live in Texas. It used to be its own country. 😄 

The age of a civilization's culture has nothing to do with how long the local council has been meeting. 

When you go to Europe and stay in a building or house built in the 1500's, and visit other buildings built in the 1200's, you know the culture is OLD. That 250 years is respectable, it really is, but it doesn't hold a candle to the Pyramids, for example.

Hook

1 hour ago, dave2013 said:

along with the Vatican

It is extremely small and landlocked, but considering its influence in the world, I’d say it punches well above its weight:

Here's the article related to that picture @Mike A posted above:

Why Medieval Nobles Wore Shoes with Foot-Long Toes - Good Old Days

I'd definitely wear some pointy shoes!

Another custom that symbolizes wealth and status in different cultures is letting your pinky finger’s nail grow long; it shows you don’t need to do manual labor.

4 hours ago, dave2013 said:

I find the existence of some of these tiny "countries" like San Marino in Europe to be downright silly.

I don't think the people who live in these countries think it's downright silly.  And if they were to read your post they would be highly offended.

As for the Republic of the United States I could apply some of your comments to it but that would get the thread closed as being too political.

Noel

4 hours ago, dave2013 said:

along with the Vatican

The Vatican City is the world’s richest country by GDP per capita, yet it has no army. Protected by faith, diplomacy, and the Swiss Guard, this tiny city-state survives through global influence, wealth, and divine politics instead of military might.

Norl