John, that is so true!  I discovered the exact same thing when I was in
graduate school in London, living in a building that housed "commonwealth"
post-graduates (and Americans).  The funniest thing was that Americans ended
up asking other Americans, "Are you Canadian?"  Yes, Americans and Canadians
ARE different (as a Canadian friend pointed out to me, the differences are
vast- Canadians say "Kraft Dinner" while Americans say "Kraft Macaroni and
Cheese".)  We also enjoyed playing the "Did you know?" game...i.e., "Did you
know that Peter Jennings (or Bryan Adams, Mike Myers, etc.) is Canadian?" :)


The best twist on all of this is when Americans WANT to be misidentified as
Canadians (such as while traveling in not-so-safe parts of the world- the
Canadian flag patch on the backpack acts as a safety measure.)
> ----------
> From:         John A. Bing
> Reply To:     Museum discussion list
> Sent:         Wednesday, February 10, 1999 5:13 PM
> To:   [log in to unmask]
> Subject:      Re: "Just another state in the Union"
>
> Years ago in London, I went across the street from my office to
> Harrods Department store for a haircut at their basement salon.  I sat
> down in the chair and the barber, aware of my non English look and
> talk, asked me if I was Canadian.  I laughed and said: No, I'm an
> American, but why did you ask?"   His answer fits into the attached
> messages.  He said, If you were Canadian and I asked if you were an
> American, you would be offended.  But if I ask an American if he is
> a`Canadian, he is never offended."
>
> John Bing
>
>
> On Wed, 10 Feb 1999 13:38:00 -0500, you wrote:
>
> >Hear, hear.  And just to make a point:
> >
> >On the sixth day God turned to the angel Gabriel and said "Today I am
> going
> >to create a land called Canada. It will be a land of outstanding natural
> >beauty, it shall have tall majestic mountains full of mountain goats and
> >eagles, beautifully sparkling lakes bountiful with carp and trout,
> forests
> >full of elk and moose, high cliffs over looking sandy beaches with an
> >abundance of sea life, rivers stocked with salmon.."
> >
> >God continued, "I shall make the land rich in oil so to make the
> >inhabitants prosper, I shall call these inhabitants Canadians, they shall
> >be known as the most friendly people on the Earth."
> >
> >"But Lord," asked Gabriel, "don't you think you are being too generous to
> >these Canadians?"
> >
> >"Not really," replied the Almighty, "just wait and see the neighbors I am
> >going to give them!"
> >
> >Feel free to be offended.  I was, at Robert Handy's moronic comment
> >masquerading as "good natured fun".
> >
> >Alex Avdichuk
> >[log in to unmask]
> >
> >"The opinions expressed here are definitely my own, and if you don't like
> >them, get some of your own."
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >Sorry if I sound cranky, but Canadians are extremely proud of being
> >different to Americans.  Not better or worse, different.  As a Canadian
> >living in the US I get downright tired of the patronizing "aren't we all
> >the same?"  Nope, we aren't.
> >Susan J. Wittrup
> >Volunteer Coordinator
> >Tate Geological Museum
> >Casper College
> >Casper WY 82604
> >"Robert T. Handy" wrote:
> >> What?!!!  I thought Canada was just another state in the Union!  Are
> >Canadians different from us?  :=>
> >>
> >> ------
> >> Robert Handy
> >> Brazoria County Historical Museum
> >>> [log in to unmask]
> >> http://www.bchm.org
> >>
>