DAB
12-16-05, 11:50 AM
The long and largely irrelevent rant
Apologies, but using a drop down list on an American website (this one was an online shop) has annoyed me once too often.
Im on a website (which will remain un named <cough> Strategy First) and happily going through the checkout process. I have my debit card ready, its a nice golden one with lots of guarrentees to ensure that I don't get defrauded etc. I put in my basket a copy of Dangurous Waters and then the nice manual. Then its a case of postage and packaging which has (quite fairly) defaulted to the United States
Ah, the welshman says. This isn't a problem - alphabetically the name of my country the UNITED KINGDOM is next to the United States alphabetically. And so he clicks the wheel of his mouse up one to locate the name of his country.
United Arab Emirites.
The Welshman is a touch confused. Does K come before A? (it takes a second for the welshman to check that in his head as K doesn't exist in the Welsh alphabet. But a split second later, he realises. K actually comes after A - but before S.
Anouther Second Pases
Then a brainwave. The Americans have listed the individual countries of the United Kingdom... and so he scrowls up to 'C' to find Cymru. But there is nothing there. He chuckles, remembers that this is an english language website and shifts down to W for Wales.
Still nothing.
Now the Welshman is confused. Just to check, England and Scotland don't appear on the list either - so it can't be that. He even looks under Britain, because you never know when someone might but the option there erroniously. But no, its not under Britain, its under Great Britain.
BUT THERE IS NO COUNTRY CALLED GREAT BRITAIN.
Fourteen seconds of my life wasted...14, One, Four - Un Deg Pedwar.
Why why why.
Summary
Why can't the Americans and the Fins get this right, the name of my country is the UNITED KINGDOM and NOT Great Britain and most certainly not ENGLAND!!!
The Geography Lesson
Great Britain is not a country, it is a geographical term. My name of my country is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Breaking the name up into parts, you get
United Kingdom - This is the political entity.
Great Britain and Northern Ireland - This is a description of where the United Kingdom is and is used to distingish it from the United Kingdom of outer mongolia or some other place. Great Britain is the largest Island on the British Island group. Its name is given in reference to Little Britain that existed 1500 years ago and which is now a part of France The meaning of Northern Ireland is obvious.
On the Island of Great Britain (which is not in itself a state), you have three kingdoms.
Scotland. This is a mountainous territory on the Northern end of the Island. Occupied by a people who seem intent on joining every civil revolt and revolution going, it is actually very beautiful as long as you don't mind being eaten alive by midgys.
Cymru. Known in England as Wales, this is a mountainous area of Western Britain where the people suffer in silance and solidarity with the people of New Zealand - regarding Sheep Jokes. Most people live in the two priniciple cities, Cardiff and Swansea. But to the North and West are some of the most remote regions of the Island - where the local population are ethnicly the last reminents of the pre-Roman britons. People from this region are notably not english speaking.
England. This is a big flat bit of Great Britain, known for its big industrial cities, awful poetry and its love of football.
SO, now you know.
Apologies, but using a drop down list on an American website (this one was an online shop) has annoyed me once too often.
Im on a website (which will remain un named <cough> Strategy First) and happily going through the checkout process. I have my debit card ready, its a nice golden one with lots of guarrentees to ensure that I don't get defrauded etc. I put in my basket a copy of Dangurous Waters and then the nice manual. Then its a case of postage and packaging which has (quite fairly) defaulted to the United States
Ah, the welshman says. This isn't a problem - alphabetically the name of my country the UNITED KINGDOM is next to the United States alphabetically. And so he clicks the wheel of his mouse up one to locate the name of his country.
United Arab Emirites.
The Welshman is a touch confused. Does K come before A? (it takes a second for the welshman to check that in his head as K doesn't exist in the Welsh alphabet. But a split second later, he realises. K actually comes after A - but before S.
Anouther Second Pases
Then a brainwave. The Americans have listed the individual countries of the United Kingdom... and so he scrowls up to 'C' to find Cymru. But there is nothing there. He chuckles, remembers that this is an english language website and shifts down to W for Wales.
Still nothing.
Now the Welshman is confused. Just to check, England and Scotland don't appear on the list either - so it can't be that. He even looks under Britain, because you never know when someone might but the option there erroniously. But no, its not under Britain, its under Great Britain.
BUT THERE IS NO COUNTRY CALLED GREAT BRITAIN.
Fourteen seconds of my life wasted...14, One, Four - Un Deg Pedwar.
Why why why.
Summary
Why can't the Americans and the Fins get this right, the name of my country is the UNITED KINGDOM and NOT Great Britain and most certainly not ENGLAND!!!
The Geography Lesson
Great Britain is not a country, it is a geographical term. My name of my country is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Breaking the name up into parts, you get
United Kingdom - This is the political entity.
Great Britain and Northern Ireland - This is a description of where the United Kingdom is and is used to distingish it from the United Kingdom of outer mongolia or some other place. Great Britain is the largest Island on the British Island group. Its name is given in reference to Little Britain that existed 1500 years ago and which is now a part of France The meaning of Northern Ireland is obvious.
On the Island of Great Britain (which is not in itself a state), you have three kingdoms.
Scotland. This is a mountainous territory on the Northern end of the Island. Occupied by a people who seem intent on joining every civil revolt and revolution going, it is actually very beautiful as long as you don't mind being eaten alive by midgys.
Cymru. Known in England as Wales, this is a mountainous area of Western Britain where the people suffer in silance and solidarity with the people of New Zealand - regarding Sheep Jokes. Most people live in the two priniciple cities, Cardiff and Swansea. But to the North and West are some of the most remote regions of the Island - where the local population are ethnicly the last reminents of the pre-Roman britons. People from this region are notably not english speaking.
England. This is a big flat bit of Great Britain, known for its big industrial cities, awful poetry and its love of football.
SO, now you know.