"Was that my phone?!"

Before reading, enjoy this short commercial:

Communication is an essential part of human society and technology allows us to facilitate communication at a degree once thought impossible.  But are there side effects to always being “on call”?  Who suffers?

Isn’t it interesting that with the ring of a phone, life stops for a moment?  Conversations are cut short, activities are stopped, and all attention is directed toward the ringing.  Rarely does a person just let their phone ring without at least checking the caller ID to see who it is.  In most cases, the person on the phone is given preferential treatment over those who are physically in the room.

This is most clearly witnessed when you go to the store.  Doesn’t it bug you when you’re at the cashier’s desk and the phone rings?  The employee will usually answer it and then the person at home (probably sitting in their pajamas) has in essence jumped the line and is receiving answers to their questions.  Why do we focus on the person miles away instead of the one right in front of our faces?

Back in the old days before caller ID and voicemail, a phone left ringing was unheard of.  “Who could it be?”  “What do they want?”  And if you didn’t get to the phone before the caller finally gave up, “Oh no! What if they don’t call back?!”.  Perhaps this is the root of our devotion to the caller; we can see and talk to the people who are with us at our leisure, but the person on the phone is outside our “control.”

I like the commercial that I put at the beginning of this post because it shows how we exhibit the same behavior with texting.  We can be completely oblivious of the world around us, because our focus in on a conversation with someone far away (and frankly, how serious are conversations that take place via  text?).

The next time you find yourself being a slave to a ringing phone or a texting conversation, think “Really?”.

How many milliliters are in a 12oz can of Coke?

This might seem an odd question, but nevertheless a very easy one to answer.  Yes, you could look it up online, but wouldn’t it be quicker to pick up your nearest pop can?

Have you ever noticed how in America we seem to be very accommodating of measurement systems we don’t use?  For example, our banks’ signs will tell us the temperature in both Fahrenheit and Celsius, food packages almost always have ounces and grams, and, to get back to the original question of this post, pop is often measured in ounces and milliliters.  Why do we do this?  Is it just to accommodate those from other countries?  Or is it for our own scientific community who prefers the Système international d’unités?  Is there another audience?

I will admit that the U.S. is practically the only holdout on the old Imperial System, but our society is nowhere near the brink of become “metric.”  In fact, I would argue that the use of “miles”, “inches”, “gallons”, and all the rest make up an important part of our unique cultural identity.

It’s interesting to note that as soon as you leave the U.S., you will not see Imperial units on packaging in other countries.  Even in our close neighbor of Mexico, beverages will be listed only in milliliters and the bank will give you the temperature only in Celsius.  Frankly, this seems to make more sense; the units of measure are those used by the society. 

Some say, “Why can’t the U.S. be like everyone else and adopt the Metric System?”  I say, “Why can’t the U.S. be like everyone else and only display the units of measure that people actually use?”

(In case you were wondering, the answer to the question of this post is 355mL.  In Europe, pop cans are 330mL, but we’ll save that discussion for another day…)

Welcome to Kulture Shockz!

Hello and welcome to Kulture Shockz!  Despite the unorthodox spelling of this blog, my goal is to foster a unique discussion of culture in the United States and in countries around the world.  To do this, I will draw upon current events (see the links at the right to find some of my favorite news websites) as well as my own personal experiences and perspectives.  I'd like this blog to be interactive, so I encourage you to comment (respectfully) on my posts.  Also, if you have an idea for a topic you'd like me to discuss, please contact me via the button at the top of the right column.

That being said, I guess I should introduce myself.  My name is Casey and I am from the Great State of Minnesota.  I've always had a great interest in culture and have been able to experience many different ones throughout Latin America and Europe.  I hope that my perspectives will be of interest to you.