FINALLY! So glad to see you guys do this (Southern California here btw). So proud of you for getting Lawrence's attention and so glad he was so receptive. Shows you what a great guy he is. Thanks for all the entertaining content (:
"It should be out at the same time as ours" - yeah, about that. I'm experiencing abnormally long rendering times, but I expect my video to be up shortly. Stay tuned.
James is loving his new PC said it cut the Render time down a lot! I loved this video and I totally Agree the edit was awesome! It was a pleasure chatting with you briefly in the Beesley Discord Server Laurence awhile back and I have been excited about this for months! Thanks so much, I know everyone is going to love it! I can't wait to see your version next!
If you live in an area with a large Indian population you'll get lights on houses and fireworks for Dwali just before Halloween. It's the pre pre game in Northern Virginia.
Precisely! Here in my hometown, I generally stay clear of the Walmart within the city limits, because I will invariably pay $5-6 more in sales tax vs. shopping at the Walmart in the county for the EXACT same items! Now that dollar amount is for a large amount of exact same items. For 1, 2, or 3 items, the amount is usually $1-2 dollars more in sales tax. Oddly enough, the county Walmart will also have the exact same item for a completely different price all together! This usually refers to non-food items and is only a price difference of a couple of dollars less. Important to note, these 2 Walmart's are literally 15mins away from each other! (Well maybe 20mins if it's rush-hour 😅)
Don't forget that the collection of taxes is different between states also. For example, 1 state may have an income tax that keeps sales taxes lower than in another state while that other one doesn't and has higher sales taxes. Or 1 state may tax some items that another state doesn't. For example, Idaho has a sales tax for food while Washington doesn't. 1 set tax across the country just wouldn't work. I try to explain it like the EU. Each country sets up it's own rules, taxes, etc, as long as it doesn't conflict with the overall rules of the EU that they've agreed to follow. They all pay in a tax to the EU ruling body while setting their own tax laws within their countries. Likewise, each state sets its own laws and taxes, as long as they're abiding by the overarching Constitution.
Christmas is much bigger than Thanksgiving as it goes on through New Years Day. I watch Lost in the Pond regularly. I enjoy Lawrence's comedic approach.
I agree completely! Now if they could just add in The Office Blokes, well...I do think world peace could be achieved! :) Hmm...perhaps I'm getting a little ahead of myself on that, lol...but in any case, would be great to see all my fave UA-cam limeys all together! ;)
As others have mentioned sales tax can be very confusing as they differ by state and in some cities there is an additional city tax. Here in New Hampshire we have no sales tax on goods, but we have a 9% sales tax on food in restaurants and anywhere food is consumed on the premises, but none on takeout orders (food consumed off premises).
I think that americas way of adding the sales tax at the register is good. That way, we know exactly how much the government is getting. I feel like in the UK, any raise in sales tax, would be hidden in the overall cost of the item. I think that whole “taxation without representation” thing (the reason we bowed out on Britain in 1776) really informed our collective psyche in the USA
It is really important to tip at a bar. $1 per drink/service is fine. Or if you receive coinage for change, always give that to the bartender. You will usually get better service and might get stronger drinks.
Worth noting that Thanksgiving is *always* on a Thursday, meaning it is automatically a 4-day weekend for anyone not working in retail/service or transportation jobs -- making it the biggest travel week of the year. It is fairly common for even large families to plan huge get together for that week, for that reason. Some rotate locations each year (eg. one sibling hosts each year), others go to one place every time (eg. a family cabin in the mountains)
My family has several Thanksgivings because of Thanksgiving with my close family and the doing it again with my cousin's family by marriage and then my dad's brother is a separate event. So, we have a Thanksgiving lunch with my grandma and dinner with my cousin's family and then dinner again on Saturday with Grandma, uncle, his new wife, ex wife, and daughter. It's a lot really.
There have been plenty of times I didn’t get a 4 day weekend. In fact I have worked Thanksgiving Day most years. There are other professions like hospitality, emergency services, media and banks that work that Friday. I’m currently working for the government and I didn’t get that Friday after TG off.
@@anndeecosita3586 very true, I should have mentioned emergency as well! I don't get many off, sometimes even the day of and sometimes not. The others may depend on the area
@@anndeecosita3586 absolutely correct. It really is up to the organization you work for and what their demand is. It can also change from year to year. I worked for one manufacturer who gave us the Friday off the first year because they were ahead of schedule, but the next year we were behind so we were working. Nothing automatic about it unless it is in your benefits package.
Sells tax varies from state to state. I live in Oregon and we have no sells tax. What you see on the tag is what you pay. Love seeing Lawrence on your show.
You are correct, Thanksgiving is very big here but nothing tops an American Christmas. You cannot go down one street without seeing at least 50% of the homes decorated on the exterior, candles in all the windows, etc. It is quite beautiful. Every town decorates their town center in some way. . Most of them have huge trees with a tree lighting ceremony for everyone to attend. They have hot cocoa stands, snacks, Carolers, etc. every street in my neighborhood goes out at 5 PM and they place small white bags with sand in the bottom and candles in them all around the front of the property so when you drive down the street it’s like you are on an airport runway. It is beyond beautiful. I have two Aunts that lived in England and I visited them. I love your country… But there are some differences for sure. From Norwood, Massachusetts, we wish you both a beautiful Holiday!❤
Regarding American patriotism, when at a sporting event and the US national anthem is played, almost everything comes to a halt and the US flag is saluted. I was at a weekly stock car race, and the track announcer, who had a decidedly British accent, pointed that out. It was so obvious, the welding in the infield stopped; the air tools stopped; people who were walking around, having visited the concession stands stopped. It's so American, I didn't realize that the rest of the world is not the same.
One of our holiday traditions is driving around looking at the Christmas lights. Many displays get turned on Thanksgiving night. Just north of us (about 12 miles away) one man (family?) decorates the entire side of a mountain and puts up a new message every year! My town has a State Highway as our Main Street and I am told we are the only town that decorates a State Highway.
I'll share a Thanksgiving experience. Several times I went to a group Thanksgiving that included someone from Australia. He had lived in the US for several years and lived all over the country. One time he said "You all have no idea how weird this is. Basically your entire country sits down and eats the same meal on the same day. That's really weird, especially for such a large country." He told us there were foods associated with holidays in other countries, but not a complete meal with a specific main course and all the side dishes and desserts, with some regional variations like sweet potatoes vs white potatoes.
Oh yeah!! There's a whole block of houses decked out with lights and other displays all synced up to a radio channel. It's sooo awesome! And no,Thanksgiving is in no way bigger than Christmas. Love the collaboration! You're all so great.
Regarding sales tax, this is charged by the state or smaller jurisdiction. However, prices are often advertised on a national basis. Kind of hard to state an included price that might vary depending on where the purchase is made.
It's great that success has made Laurence more generous. A lot of successful UA-camrs go the other direction. He gains nothing from a collab with a lower viewership channel, but did it anyway.
When we were small our Mom and Dad would take a night and drive us around looking at all the Christmas lights on the houses and we also have Christmas parades and where I live in the US most little churches have Christmas programs to tell the Christmas story in the bible and pass out bags of goodies to everyone. 🎄⛄🥰🇬🇧🇺🇸
The cool thing about both of these shows is your undeniable love for America. We are not perfect, nor are we the goofy stereotypes held by many Brits and Europeans.
Patriotism in America originally was influenced by the noble, heroic, ingenuous principles reflected in the US Constitution. With some of those principles slowly withering away, patriotism is increasingly muted in today's US.
Dark side of the free refill. The average cost to order vs supply is astronomical. On the supply side the syrup flavoring, CO2, water and cups+lids is estimated about $0.50 per initial order due to it all being purchased in bulk. Now the restaurant charges anywhere from $3 and up for that order of pop, so offering free refills (of which the average customer gets maybe 1-2 more) means that the restaurant still profits from the initial sale. This info coming from a former employee of a convenience store.
I think the way that Thanksgiving is often bigger is that often a majority of your extended family (aunts/uncles, adult cousins and their kids, etc) are present for the whole day, and often the whole 4-day weekend. For Christmas, a lot of families spend Christmas morning/day with immediate family, but not so much extended family. Probably because the gift situation could get pretty intense if all the extended family were there as well.
I just commented and said sort of what you said about Christmas Day. Many of us do spend that day with immediate family. I also told them that many of us do a “Boxing Day”. We just don’t call it that. And it’s not a national holiday. My Mom would get together with friends, certain family members that she hadn’t seen in awhile and we didn’t see on Christmas Day and have like a party eating leftovers and give gifts etc. She didn’t go to work the day after Christmas she would take her vacation during that time.
Getting all of my aunts, uncles and cousins from just my mom's side of the family would require renting a hall. It would take hours to hand out all the gifts if you spent a couple minutes per gift and everyone only got one thing. I can't think of a single holiday where my entire family was all in one place at the same time (the most I see in one place at one time is at weddings or funerals). It's just not feasible most of the time.
My family has always done three Christmases. There's Christmas morning with the immediate family, later on Christmas day with my mother's side of the family, and a day near to Christmas day with my father's side of the family...
We have entire neighborhoods that have massive Christmas displays with lights, various Christmas scenes, music, etc. People take their kids to these neighborhoods every year.
i follow both you guys and its so neat that your working together Most of us Americans are so curios about you brits Its like your our more civil brothers lol
Having the sales tax added on at the cash register is annoying, but it's rarely more than half of what you pay in VAT. The highest I've ever seen is 8.5 percent, except in a few places where they have a lot of tourists and charge more in restaurants and hotels. And the highest I've encountered for that is 14 or 15 percent.
Wow. Fantastic collaboration. All 3 of you at the same time. So much fun. Just one thing about the sales tax -- I think you guys know that every U.S state is different in terms of sales tax assessment and amounts . . . and often the county and/or city are different. Therefore it would be challenging for national, regional, or even state-wide chain stores to mark all items for the individual locale. But easy to mark up the tax price at checkout. It's not a big deal in the U.S.
I would also suggest that part of it is due to America's higher competitive pressures. With many sources for a product, Americans grow up learning to look for the best price, so shopkeepers respond by leaving off the tax to make their prices look lower than competitors'. I'm guessing it wasn't that way in colonial times, but once some vendor first had the idea, everybody else had to adopt the practice to remain competitive, so now it's institutionalized.
Great video. Christmas is bigger as the prep and overall display / festivities are bigger and last longer. Thanksgiving only lasts longer depending on how long the leftovers last.
Thanksgiving is big here in Utah, but Christmas is way bigger. I would say probably 50 to 60 percent of the homes in this area are decorated for Christmas. Main Street in my local city is decorated with lights, for a couple of blocks, for Christmas, and it is very beautiful.
I would have to agree with this as a fellow Utahan. Christmas is definitely bigger here. Lots of lights and decorations on the main streets and homes, Christmas music everywhere. There are even a few people with homes/property on the upper bench of the mountains who will put an enormous star or tree (or whatever) made out of lights on the mountain above their property that can easily be seen from several miles away. It's pretty cool.
The major reason that sales tax isn't rolled into the advertised price is that every community has a different rate. There are thousands of different jurisdictions with different taxation rules and in any specific place you might be subject to multiple sources of taxation. Where I am, there's a city tax, a county tax, a state tax, and a "Regional Transportation District" tax, which get added together for the total sales tax. Go out into a part of the county that isn't within city limits and you lose the city tax. Go north to the next state and there is a flat state sales tax. And depending on jurisdiction, different things may be taxed at different rates. So some places don't tax food unless it's served in a restaurant, for instance. With national sales of many products, if you publish a book (for instance) with a standard price, you can put that on the cover and leave the taxation issues to each location, where the people actually know what is going on. An advantage of adding sales tax is that government doesn't get to hide as much of their bite out of your budget as it does in a VAT regime. Also, if the sales tax rate is 9% (which is toward the higher end in the US), and the next town over has a rate of (say) 6%, you can make purchasing decisions (or decisions on where to live) on that basis.
Great point. In New York State, for example, food and shoes under $110 are exempt from sales tax. In NYC, there's no food tax at all, unless it involves alcohol, prepared meals, sweets or sodas. So many different rules in various jurisdictions.
The thing about sales tax is that is varies depending on where you are shopping. It is some for the state, some for the city, and possibly some for the county. It can be different at shops across the street from each other depending on district lines. So is just easier to add it at the register.
Yay!! 🥳 Hey Laurence!! 👋🏽 Great to see y'all here!! Tipping even bigger today due to past couple years, expectations!!! Everything went up except WAGES!! 😭
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday and every year we travel to Florida to visit my extended family. I would say that Christmas is probably the biggest holiday here and I usually spend it at home in Virginia with my immediate family. We decorate the house a lot more at Christmas, inside and outside.
Hee! James, your northern accent grows noticeably stronger when chatting with Laurence! I didn't expect that. Not only is it easy to get used to Sales tax; it is also easy to *lose* being used to it. I live in Oregon now, which has no sales tax. And in spite of the fact that I grew up with sales tax, I was still badly thrown when I stopped at a fast food place for lunch in Washington state, just over the border, and they charged me more than a dollar for my dollar meal! Outrageous! So yes, it's easy to acclimate both to sales tax and to its lack.
@@katw3070 Huh? Oh! I think maybe you thought I meant they charged me a dollar in tax? No, no, no. I just meant I handed over a dollar for my "dollar meal," forgetting that it would be a dollar plus change. I don't remember exactly how much it was: probably $1.05 or something like that. Nothing at all unreasonable; I'd just grown used to paying nothing at all for sales tax.
FWIW, tipping at a bar is usually a dollar per drink. Unless you’re getting table service in which case, 20% on top of the bill is customary just as if you were having a meal with table service.
Christmas is way bigger to people in my life, as it's spent with many more relatives than Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving tends to be just a few hours with closer family. Sales tax is also nowhere near as high as VAT, so it's not too big of difference (unless buying a pretty high priced item).
Thanksgiving is huge, but I’d have to give the edge to Christmas. One thing that helps Christmas to have the edge is the massive consumption nature of Christmas gift giving.
I've been watching Lost in the pond for ages and I love him and his wife. I just started watching you guys this year and I love you guys too. Please collaborate more often. You guys are awesome. Sending love from Detroit Michigan
Christmas Lights are big even here in Hawaii but honestly the Mega displays are maybe 1 or 2 per town. The newspaper publishes addresses for families to do drive by tours. But most houses just put up lights on the eaves and/or front doors.
From what I've heard our American tip system is supposed to put the customer more in charge of the service they get. You tip according to how well you like the service. The sales tax being added on after is to make sure you know how much extra you are paying. The thought is your less likely to want to raise the tax if you know how much you are already paying.
Love Laurence, love the colab. You guys should do a "10 differences between the UK, and the UK". Talking about the things that have changed there since he left.
Well. It's because of the Beesleys that I found "Lost in the Pond". Absolutely love both channels. Lawrence's sarcasm is off the charts! Ha.. I always thought that Englins people were all that way. But i don't see it with the Beesleys..
I'm pretty sure free refills originated with coffee at sit-down restaurants, decades before Taco Bell existed. They may have been one of the first major fast-food chains to offer free refills on fountain pop, though.
Every once in a while a survey is done about having 'sales tax included in the price', as the question. The 'included' side always loses out, although the percentage has been slowly climbing - but it's still a definite minority. I think the reason is a subtle difference in the 'socio-political psychology' between Brits & Yanks. In the U.S., Americans are, generally, patriotic and flag-flying folks, *but* ... most of us have an inbred suspicion of government, just in general, and so if they're going to be taking so very much of our money (which a *large* majority of Americans feel is _absolutely_ true!) - well, we want to know about it when it happens! Many of us just figure that if we're not getting smacked with it every time ... they'll just be bumping it up constantly - an extra half-percent added on now, another half-percent added 8 or 10 months from now, another half-percent added 6 or 8 months later, again ... 'ad infinitum'! Hard to do that when the tax is *right there* when you are checking out! I think Brits like to *complain* about government-spending and taxes, but kinda figure "well, if they need it, they need it!" That kind of attitude is *so very foreign* to most Americans!
Christmas is a time to be a kid again. It when you can believe in wishes and surprises. It’s my favorite time of year when I make my friends and family happy because I found the perfect gift.
In the 80's 10% was normal. Somewhere in the 90's it became 15%. I was shocked to hear a few years ago on a talk show that 20% is the standard now, but as a person in my 50's I'm curmudgeon enough to say I'm not going higher. I give 15% =/- 5% based on if service is very good or very bad.
@@johnp139 In the sense that it literally used to be gratuitous (ie extra), and did not factor into pay, perhaps (I'm not sure what data we have from 100 years ago about customer satisfaction). In the sense that a person's very livelihood depends on getting tips, yes it does improve service in the same way that someone putting a gun to your head might. But, if you think it's not used to pay service people below minimum wage, I encourage you to read your state's labor laws about tipping and then consult the department of labor's historical data. If a bonus is used to pay someone's wages in lieu of paying them wages, then it ceases to be a bonus and just becomes wages.
The quickest way to make sure you don't drink too much when at a bar is to not tip the waitress for the 1st round. You'll be Lucky if any of them come by your table the rest of the night.
The only thing I’ve found that is bigger in Thanksgiving is the Feast. Though they’re generally pretty close, there’s a lot more at thanksgiving just because that’s pretty much the focus of it. Whereas there’s a lot more to prep and focus on with Christmas.
Thanksgiving has become more about extended family all in one place, whereas I think Christmas seems to skew more towards immediate family in the morning, then they visit one or more sets of grandparents later in the day. So in that way Thanksgiving is a bigger gathering, IMO.
LOL--Laurence does indeed live in the midwest because he calls soda pop "Pop". On the west coast we all call it "Soda". I always fly my American flag outside my front door. Every single day. And the Star Spangled Banner can make me tear up like nothing else. :)
In almost every city\town there is a street called Candy Cane Lane for Christmas. Every house is fabulously decorated, sometimes Santa giving out candy canes. You can park and walk or drive through. It is quite the experience.
The sad thing about Christmas in the US is when you work retail like I do, Christmas loses it meaning. It is a very stressful time for me and I spend my time wishing it was over. So I am very thankful for Thanksgiving. I don't have to cook anymore, my daughter does that. I just get to spend time enjoying family and friends, and being thankful that I live in this wonderful country.
Omg, for Christmas decorations, there is a court directly behind me that has a train that is elevated and goes around the entire court. It’s pretty awesome.
Thanksgiving is a feast day sprint. Christmas is a marathon. Usually I would have only one thanksgiving dinner. But now I live more unconventionally and have 1-3 dinners with different Branches of family. This year was the first time I ate with a particular branch and I've been sick ever since. Miserable cold. And, yes, it's a COLD.
Glad you guys got to do a collaboration with "UA-cam Sensation" Laurence Brown. Laurence has got this youtube creator thing down pat, witty, thoughtful, and easy to listen to.
FINALLY! So glad to see you guys do this (Southern California here btw). So proud of you for getting Lawrence's attention and so glad he was so receptive. Shows you what a great guy he is. Thanks for all the entertaining content (:
"It should be out at the same time as ours" - yeah, about that. I'm experiencing abnormally long rendering times, but I expect my video to be up shortly. Stay tuned.
Will ALWAYS wait patiently for your videos!!
No worries then, Lawrence. Don't mind waiting. Cheers from Tennessee
Also, fantastic edit, guys!
No worries Laurence. Tech can be frustrating sometimes
James is loving his new PC said it cut the Render time down a lot! I loved this video and I totally Agree the edit was awesome! It was a pleasure chatting with you briefly in the Beesley Discord Server Laurence awhile back and I have been excited about this for months! Thanks so much, I know everyone is going to love it! I can't wait to see your version next!
Halloween is the pregame. Thanksgiving is the opening act. Christmas is the main event. New years is the after party
Good description of Holiday Season!
If you live in an area with a large Indian population you'll get lights on houses and fireworks for Dwali just before Halloween. It's the pre pre game in Northern Virginia.
Sales tax (6%) is much lower than a 17% VAT tax. Americans are more hostile to taxes.
To make it extra confusing, the amount of sales tax varies state to state and even sometimes by city or county
Precisely! Here in my hometown, I generally stay clear of the Walmart within the city limits, because I will invariably pay $5-6 more in sales tax vs. shopping at the Walmart in the county for the EXACT same items! Now that dollar amount is for a large amount of exact same items. For 1, 2, or 3 items, the amount is usually $1-2 dollars more in sales tax. Oddly enough, the county Walmart will also have the exact same item for a completely different price all together! This usually refers to non-food items and is only a price difference of a couple of dollars less. Important to note, these 2 Walmart's are literally 15mins away from each other! (Well maybe 20mins if it's rush-hour 😅)
Don't forget that the collection of taxes is different between states also. For example, 1 state may have an income tax that keeps sales taxes lower than in another state while that other one doesn't and has higher sales taxes. Or 1 state may tax some items that another state doesn't. For example, Idaho has a sales tax for food while Washington doesn't. 1 set tax across the country just wouldn't work.
I try to explain it like the EU. Each country sets up it's own rules, taxes, etc, as long as it doesn't conflict with the overall rules of the EU that they've agreed to follow. They all pay in a tax to the EU ruling body while setting their own tax laws within their countries. Likewise, each state sets its own laws and taxes, as long as they're abiding by the overarching Constitution.
Yes, sales tax amounts vary from county to county in my state (Texas).
That’s the reason the sale price does not include the tax: because the sales tax rates are different from county to county.
Christmas is much bigger than Thanksgiving as it goes on through New Years Day. I watch Lost in the Pond regularly. I enjoy Lawrence's comedic approach.
Thanksgiving is the “warm up” to Christmas, plus it puts you in the attitude of gratitude leading into Christmas
The Beesleys reacting to Lawrence's videos is great but the three of you actually interacting together...fantastic! It's like the Super Friends!
Lol I loved this comment
I agree completely! Now if they could just add in The Office Blokes, well...I do think world peace could be achieved! :) Hmm...perhaps I'm getting a little ahead of myself on that, lol...but in any case, would be great to see all my fave UA-cam limeys all together! ;)
@@TLL1969 I would love to see a collab with Diane next. Currently a Collab with Courtney won't be possible since she's going to America. Pfft
@@TLL1969 agreed office blokes are amazing
I loved that cartoon when I was a kid!
As others have mentioned sales tax can be very confusing as they differ by state and in some cities there is an additional city tax. Here in New Hampshire we have no sales tax on goods, but we have a 9% sales tax on food in restaurants and anywhere food is consumed on the premises, but none on takeout orders (food consumed off premises).
Yay! Congrats on the collab! Loving both your channels.
I think that americas way of adding the sales tax at the register is good. That way, we know exactly how much the government is getting. I feel like in the UK, any raise in sales tax, would be hidden in the overall cost of the item. I think that whole “taxation without representation” thing (the reason we bowed out on Britain in 1776) really informed our collective psyche in the USA
Reminding the taxpayers they are paying the tax is a consideration. Including VAT into the listed price lets the victims forget.
It's also more expensive with VAT since it's added at every level of production.
Love you all! ❤️
It is really important to tip at a bar. $1 per drink/service is fine. Or if you receive coinage for change, always give that to the bartender. You will usually get better service and might get stronger drinks.
Worth noting that Thanksgiving is *always* on a Thursday, meaning it is automatically a 4-day weekend for anyone not working in retail/service or transportation jobs -- making it the biggest travel week of the year. It is fairly common for even large families to plan huge get together for that week, for that reason. Some rotate locations each year (eg. one sibling hosts each year), others go to one place every time (eg. a family cabin in the mountains)
My family has several Thanksgivings because of Thanksgiving with my close family and the doing it again with my cousin's family by marriage and then my dad's brother is a separate event. So, we have a Thanksgiving lunch with my grandma and dinner with my cousin's family and then dinner again on Saturday with Grandma, uncle, his new wife, ex wife, and daughter. It's a lot really.
@@shaninnmarie Sounds busy - and delicious!
There have been plenty of times I didn’t get a 4 day weekend. In fact I have worked Thanksgiving Day most years. There are other professions like hospitality, emergency services, media and banks that work that Friday. I’m currently working for the government and I didn’t get that Friday after TG off.
@@anndeecosita3586 very true, I should have mentioned emergency as well! I don't get many off, sometimes even the day of and sometimes not. The others may depend on the area
@@anndeecosita3586 absolutely correct. It really is up to the organization you work for and what their demand is. It can also change from year to year. I worked for one manufacturer who gave us the Friday off the first year because they were ahead of schedule, but the next year we were behind so we were working. Nothing automatic about it unless it is in your benefits package.
Sells tax varies from state to state. I live in Oregon and we have no sells tax. What you see on the tag is what you pay. Love seeing Lawrence on your show.
Richmond, VA has a tree and building lighting on the news around 6pm. They flip a switch and the whole skyline lights up for the holidays.
You are correct, Thanksgiving is very big here but nothing tops an American Christmas. You cannot go down one street without seeing at least 50% of the homes decorated on the exterior, candles in all the windows, etc. It is quite beautiful. Every town decorates their town center in some way. . Most of them have huge trees with a tree lighting ceremony for everyone to attend. They have hot cocoa stands, snacks, Carolers, etc. every street in my neighborhood goes out at 5 PM and they place small white bags with sand in the bottom and candles in them all around the front of the property so when you drive down the street it’s like you are on an airport runway. It is beyond beautiful. I have two Aunts that lived in England and I visited them. I love your country… But there are some differences for sure. From Norwood, Massachusetts, we wish you both a beautiful Holiday!❤
50% for tipping?! You got bamboozled Laurence!! hahaha
In most states there is no sales tax on food shopping or cloths shopping
Lawrence called it pop, Midwest style, those of us in the NYC call it soda.
Regarding American patriotism, when at a sporting event and the US national anthem is played, almost everything comes to a halt and the US flag is saluted. I was at a weekly stock car race, and the track announcer, who had a decidedly British accent, pointed that out.
It was so obvious, the welding in the infield stopped; the air tools stopped; people who were walking around, having visited the concession stands stopped. It's so American, I didn't realize that the rest of the world is not the same.
This was great! Getting the 3 of you chatting is so cool. I’d love to see more content like this. 🎉
One of our holiday traditions is driving around looking at the Christmas lights. Many displays get turned on Thanksgiving night. Just north of us (about 12 miles away) one man (family?) decorates the entire side of a mountain and puts up a new message every year! My town has a State Highway as our Main Street and I am told we are the only town that decorates a State Highway.
I'll share a Thanksgiving experience. Several times I went to a group Thanksgiving that included someone from Australia. He had lived in the US for several years and lived all over the country. One time he said "You all have no idea how weird this is. Basically your entire country sits down and eats the same meal on the same day. That's really weird, especially for such a large country." He told us there were foods associated with holidays in other countries, but not a complete meal with a specific main course and all the side dishes and desserts, with some regional variations like sweet potatoes vs white potatoes.
😮
😂
Lawrence seemed to mention free refills are given just in fast food restaurants. My experience is that almost all restaurants give free refills.
and then there's the occasional one that charges for every single refill and we are pretty sure that's highway robbery
Hello from Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Sales Tax can vary by City, let alone County or State. Food is not included in most States.
As to pay toilets, I beleive that they were outlawed as a Civil RIghts measure.
Oh yeah!! There's a whole block of houses decked out with lights and other displays all synced up to a radio channel. It's sooo awesome! And no,Thanksgiving is in no way bigger than Christmas. Love the collaboration! You're all so great.
Britain will always be our big bro and we need to keep our relationship as strong as possible
Regarding sales tax, this is charged by the state or smaller jurisdiction. However, prices are often advertised on a national basis. Kind of hard to state an included price that might vary depending on where the purchase is made.
It's great that success has made Laurence more generous. A lot of successful UA-camrs go the other direction. He gains nothing from a collab with a lower viewership channel, but did it anyway.
So fun to see you both together! I’d love to see more!
When we were small our Mom and Dad would take a night and drive us around looking at all the Christmas lights on the houses and we also have Christmas parades and where I live in the US most little churches have Christmas programs to tell the Christmas story in the bible and pass out bags of goodies to everyone. 🎄⛄🥰🇬🇧🇺🇸
Taxation without representation......main reason so we know what the actual cost of the taxes are. VAT is confusing to us.
WOW! Two of my favorite youtube channels rolled into one! Fantastic!!!!!
The cool thing about both of these shows is your undeniable love for America. We are not perfect, nor are we the goofy stereotypes held by many Brits and Europeans.
Patriotism in America originally was influenced by the noble, heroic, ingenuous principles reflected in the US Constitution. With some of those principles slowly withering away, patriotism is increasingly muted in today's US.
Actually, almost all restaurants in the US have free refills on both soft drinks and water.
Both fast-food and sit-down restaurants.
Dark side of the free refill. The average cost to order vs supply is astronomical. On the supply side the syrup flavoring, CO2, water and cups+lids is estimated about $0.50 per initial order due to it all being purchased in bulk. Now the restaurant charges anywhere from $3 and up for that order of pop, so offering free refills (of which the average customer gets maybe 1-2 more) means that the restaurant still profits from the initial sale. This info coming from a former employee of a convenience store.
I think the way that Thanksgiving is often bigger is that often a majority of your extended family (aunts/uncles, adult cousins and their kids, etc) are present for the whole day, and often the whole 4-day weekend. For Christmas, a lot of families spend Christmas morning/day with immediate family, but not so much extended family. Probably because the gift situation could get pretty intense if all the extended family were there as well.
I just commented and said sort of what you said about Christmas Day. Many of us do spend that day with immediate family. I also told them that many of us do a “Boxing Day”. We just don’t call it that. And it’s not a national holiday. My Mom would get together with friends, certain family members that she hadn’t seen in awhile and we didn’t see on Christmas Day and have like a party eating leftovers and give gifts etc. She didn’t go to work the day after Christmas she would take her vacation during that time.
Getting all of my aunts, uncles and cousins from just my mom's side of the family would require renting a hall. It would take hours to hand out all the gifts if you spent a couple minutes per gift and everyone only got one thing. I can't think of a single holiday where my entire family was all in one place at the same time (the most I see in one place at one time is at weddings or funerals). It's just not feasible most of the time.
My family has always done three Christmases. There's Christmas morning with the immediate family, later on Christmas day with my mother's side of the family, and a day near to Christmas day with my father's side of the family...
We have entire neighborhoods that have massive Christmas displays with lights, various Christmas scenes, music, etc. People take their kids to these neighborhoods every year.
Cool to see you guys do a video with Lawrence. Great job you two!
i follow both you guys and its so neat that your working together Most of us Americans are so curios about you brits Its like your our more civil brothers lol
Having the sales tax added on at the cash register is annoying, but it's rarely more than half of what you pay in VAT. The highest I've ever seen is 8.5 percent, except in a few places where they have a lot of tourists and charge more in restaurants and hotels. And the highest I've encountered for that is 14 or 15 percent.
Wow. Fantastic collaboration. All 3 of you at the same time. So much fun. Just one thing about the sales tax -- I think you guys know that every U.S state is different in terms of sales tax assessment and amounts . . . and often the county and/or city are different. Therefore it would be challenging for national, regional, or even state-wide chain stores to mark all items for the individual locale. But easy to mark up the tax price at checkout. It's not a big deal in the U.S.
I would also suggest that part of it is due to America's higher competitive pressures. With many sources for a product, Americans grow up learning to look for the best price, so shopkeepers respond by leaving off the tax to make their prices look lower than competitors'. I'm guessing it wasn't that way in colonial times, but once some vendor first had the idea, everybody else had to adopt the practice to remain competitive, so now it's institutionalized.
This is great! Excellent job on this collaboration, and I hope you can do more. Love you all.
Great video. Christmas is bigger as the prep and overall display / festivities are bigger and last longer. Thanksgiving only lasts longer depending on how long the leftovers last.
Thanksgiving is big here in Utah, but Christmas is way bigger. I would say probably 50 to 60 percent of the homes in this area are decorated for Christmas. Main Street in my local city is decorated with lights, for a couple of blocks, for Christmas, and it is very beautiful.
I would have to agree with this as a fellow Utahan. Christmas is definitely bigger here. Lots of lights and decorations on the main streets and homes, Christmas music everywhere. There are even a few people with homes/property on the upper bench of the mountains who will put an enormous star or tree (or whatever) made out of lights on the mountain above their property that can easily be seen from several miles away. It's pretty cool.
The major reason that sales tax isn't rolled into the advertised price is that every community has a different rate. There are thousands of different jurisdictions with different taxation rules and in any specific place you might be subject to multiple sources of taxation. Where I am, there's a city tax, a county tax, a state tax, and a "Regional Transportation District" tax, which get added together for the total sales tax. Go out into a part of the county that isn't within city limits and you lose the city tax. Go north to the next state and there is a flat state sales tax. And depending on jurisdiction, different things may be taxed at different rates. So some places don't tax food unless it's served in a restaurant, for instance. With national sales of many products, if you publish a book (for instance) with a standard price, you can put that on the cover and leave the taxation issues to each location, where the people actually know what is going on.
An advantage of adding sales tax is that government doesn't get to hide as much of their bite out of your budget as it does in a VAT regime. Also, if the sales tax rate is 9% (which is toward the higher end in the US), and the next town over has a rate of (say) 6%, you can make purchasing decisions (or decisions on where to live) on that basis.
Great point. In New York State, for example, food and shoes under $110 are exempt from sales tax. In NYC, there's no food tax at all, unless it involves alcohol, prepared meals, sweets or sodas. So many different rules in various jurisdictions.
The thing about sales tax is that is varies depending on where you are shopping. It is some for the state, some for the city, and possibly some for the county. It can be different at shops across the street from each other depending on district lines. So is just easier to add it at the register.
Yay!! 🥳
Hey Laurence!! 👋🏽
Great to see y'all here!!
Tipping even bigger today due to past couple years, expectations!!!
Everything went up except WAGES!! 😭
Okay, now I need The Beesleys, Lost in the Pond, and Kabir Considers together and I'll be happy for the rest of my life.
Millie has a beautiful smile! More please. ❤
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday and every year we travel to Florida to visit my extended family. I would say that Christmas is probably the biggest holiday here and I usually spend it at home in Virginia with my immediate family. We decorate the house a lot more at Christmas, inside and outside.
Hee! James, your northern accent grows noticeably stronger when chatting with Laurence! I didn't expect that.
Not only is it easy to get used to Sales tax; it is also easy to *lose* being used to it. I live in Oregon now, which has no sales tax. And in spite of the fact that I grew up with sales tax, I was still badly thrown when I stopped at a fast food place for lunch in Washington state, just over the border, and they charged me more than a dollar for my dollar meal! Outrageous! So yes, it's easy to acclimate both to sales tax and to its lack.
That much sales tax doesn’t sound right at all.
@@katw3070 Huh? Oh! I think maybe you thought I meant they charged me a dollar in tax? No, no, no. I just meant I handed over a dollar for my "dollar meal," forgetting that it would be a dollar plus change. I don't remember exactly how much it was: probably $1.05 or something like that. Nothing at all unreasonable; I'd just grown used to paying nothing at all for sales tax.
@@elkins4406 yes, that’s what I thought you meant. Sorry, I misunderstood.
Great Collab! Colorado here. Props for the D.U. hoodie, btw.
really cool to see you guys interacting, i love both your sites. 👍👍
FWIW, tipping at a bar is usually a dollar per drink. Unless you’re getting table service in which case, 20% on top of the bill is customary just as if you were having a meal with table service.
Christmas is way bigger to people in my life, as it's spent with many more relatives than Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving tends to be just a few hours with closer family. Sales tax is also nowhere near as high as VAT, so it's not too big of difference (unless buying a pretty high priced item).
Thanksgiving is huge, but I’d have to give the edge to Christmas. One thing that helps Christmas to have the edge is the massive consumption nature of Christmas gift giving.
I've been watching Lost in the pond for ages and I love him and his wife. I just started watching you guys this year and I love you guys too. Please collaborate more often. You guys are awesome. Sending love from Detroit Michigan
Christmas Lights are big even here in Hawaii but honestly the Mega displays are maybe 1 or 2 per town. The newspaper publishes addresses for families to do drive by tours. But most houses just put up lights on the eaves and/or front doors.
Important to note that certain states don’t have sales tax on certain things. For example, my state doesn’t tax food at the grocery store
First!! Great collab yall!!!
Remember that in most states there is no sales tax on food purchased at the supermarket. VAT is so much higher than sales tax!
No, here in the US, Christmas is WAY bigger than Thanksgiving! Christmas is almost like a month long event while Thanksgiving is just one day.
Enjoyed the collab with Laurence!!! Great to see & hear each other's reactions. Well done.
Love the collab-you should definitely do it again!
Two of my favorite UA-cam channels linking up. Good chat!
From what I've heard our American tip system is supposed to put the customer more in charge of the service they get. You tip according to how well you like the service. The sales tax being added on after is to make sure you know how much extra you are paying. The thought is your less likely to want to raise the tax if you know how much you are already paying.
I saw the thumbnail on the Lost in the Pond video first and said, "Wait! Isn't that the Beelsleys?!" This was awesome.
Definitely, definitely, do more of these Collaborations.
Love Laurence, love the colab. You guys should do a "10 differences between the UK, and the UK". Talking about the things that have changed there since he left.
What an awesome video. Hopefully there are more to come in the future. Love the internet sensation.
Well. It's because of the Beesleys that I found "Lost in the Pond".
Absolutely love both channels.
Lawrence's sarcasm is off the charts! Ha.. I always thought that Englins people were all that way. But i don't see it with the Beesleys..
There was a Fish and Chips shop in U.K. that cooked KFC in the same oil. Yuck!
I'm pretty sure free refills originated with coffee at sit-down restaurants, decades before Taco Bell existed. They may have been one of the first major fast-food chains to offer free refills on fountain pop, though.
Yay!! A great collab!
Nah. . . Christmas is the big holiday here in the US. Here we drive around and look at houses decked out with lights. 🙂
Great collaboration.
Every once in a while a survey is done about having 'sales tax included in the price', as the question. The 'included' side always loses out, although the percentage has been slowly climbing - but it's still a definite minority. I think the reason is a subtle difference in the 'socio-political psychology' between Brits & Yanks. In the U.S., Americans are, generally, patriotic and flag-flying folks, *but* ... most of us have an inbred suspicion of government, just in general, and so if they're going to be taking so very much of our money (which a *large* majority of Americans feel is _absolutely_ true!) - well, we want to know about it when it happens! Many of us just figure that if we're not getting smacked with it every time ... they'll just be bumping it up constantly - an extra half-percent added on now, another half-percent added 8 or 10 months from now, another half-percent added 6 or 8 months later, again ... 'ad infinitum'! Hard to do that when the tax is *right there* when you are checking out!
I think Brits like to *complain* about government-spending and taxes, but kinda figure "well, if they need it, they need it!" That kind of attitude is *so very foreign* to most Americans!
Christmas is a time to be a kid again. It when you can believe in wishes and surprises. It’s my favorite time of year when I make my friends and family happy because I found the perfect gift.
In the 80's 10% was normal. Somewhere in the 90's it became 15%. I was shocked to hear a few years ago on a talk show that 20% is the standard now, but as a person in my 50's I'm curmudgeon enough to say I'm not going higher. I give 15% =/- 5% based on if service is very good or very bad.
It's because it ceased to be a gratuity and became a way to legally pay employees below minimum wage...
@@garrettwilson4754 No, it’s to improve service, which it does.
@@johnp139 In the sense that it literally used to be gratuitous (ie extra), and did not factor into pay, perhaps (I'm not sure what data we have from 100 years ago about customer satisfaction). In the sense that a person's very livelihood depends on getting tips, yes it does improve service in the same way that someone putting a gun to your head might. But, if you think it's not used to pay service people below minimum wage, I encourage you to read your state's labor laws about tipping and then consult the department of labor's historical data. If a bonus is used to pay someone's wages in lieu of paying them wages, then it ceases to be a bonus and just becomes wages.
y'all are fantastic 😁
LOVED THIS!!!!!
The quickest way to make sure you don't drink too much when at a bar is to not tip the waitress for the 1st round. You'll be Lucky if any of them come by your table the rest of the night.
Lawrence, ask for ice tea. Free refills for tea, also.
Thanksgiving is for sure not as big as Christmas here in America. It’s a great time and most people see it as like the start of the holiday season !
The only thing I’ve found that is bigger in Thanksgiving is the Feast. Though they’re generally pretty close, there’s a lot more at thanksgiving just because that’s pretty much the focus of it. Whereas there’s a lot more to prep and focus on with Christmas.
Thanksgiving has become more about extended family all in one place, whereas I think Christmas seems to skew more towards immediate family in the morning, then they visit one or more sets of grandparents later in the day. So in that way Thanksgiving is a bigger gathering, IMO.
LOL--Laurence does indeed live in the midwest because he calls soda pop "Pop". On the west coast we all call it "Soda".
I always fly my American flag outside my front door. Every single day. And the Star Spangled Banner can make me tear up like nothing else. :)
In almost every city\town there is a street called Candy Cane Lane for Christmas. Every house is fabulously decorated, sometimes Santa giving out candy canes. You can park and walk or drive through. It is quite the experience.
Loved this collab!!! I can’t believe it finally happened ❤
The sad thing about Christmas in the US is when you work retail like I do, Christmas loses it meaning. It is a very stressful time for me and I spend my time wishing it was over. So I am very thankful for Thanksgiving. I don't have to cook anymore, my daughter does that. I just get to spend time enjoying family and friends, and being thankful that I live in this wonderful country.
You can get a different job.
Omg, for Christmas decorations, there is a court directly behind me that has a train that is elevated and goes around the entire court. It’s pretty awesome.
Thanksgiving is a feast day sprint. Christmas is a marathon. Usually I would have only one thanksgiving dinner. But now I live more unconventionally and have 1-3 dinners with different Branches of family. This year was the first time I ate with a particular branch and I've been sick ever since. Miserable cold. And, yes, it's a COLD.
Damn so many people been getting sick in November and December an we are not even done with the year. Pfft
Glad you guys got to do a collaboration with "UA-cam Sensation" Laurence Brown. Laurence has got this youtube creator thing down pat, witty, thoughtful, and easy to listen to.
Loved it!!
I'm ecstatic to see you and Laurence doing a collab. Two of my favorite channels! This should be great.
Awesome to see the collaboration. Nice to see Lawrence in a more candid situation, too!
Christmas is the biggest Holiday in my experience. Christmas has a big feast, decorations, a tree, music, movies, and presents.