I was somewhat unsure which thread I should post this in: maybe Bad Journalism, or Stupid People (Tucker Carlson definitely qualifies for both those threads). In the end, I decided to start a new thread: National Differences.

This post is about Tucker Carlson's "Interview with Vladimir Putin and trip to Russia", which begins in this Daily Show clip from 2 minutes and 26 seconds. My reason for writing begins at 7 minutes and 43 seconds. In it Tucker visits a Russian grocery store. He is amazed and impressed by the system of putting a 10 rouble coin into a slot to get to use a shopping cart/trolley, and getting it back when you return the cart. He is also impressed by the wheels of the cart, which lock into the surface of the sloping escalator so that the trolley stays in place without being held.

Having been to the USA several times, including 3 times in the last 18 months, I can confirm that I have never seen either of these pieces of technology there, so American viewers are probably as amazed and impressed as Tucker is. In Europe (the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, France, Austria and Spain, in my personal experience) such trivial technology is completely standard, and has been for over 25 years. The same is true in New Zealand and Australia.

Other differences between the USA and elsewhere spring to mind. In some areas of America, many homes are damaged by tornadoes, hurricanes, floods and wildfires, made much worse by the fact that so many homes are built of wood. In Europe we build our homes of brick, stone or concrete. As a result houses last a long time; the house where I live is over 100 years old, and is still sound despite having been damaged (since repaired) by allied bombing in World War II; in America, a 100 year old wooden house is typically only fit for demolition. American homes typically have only single glazed windows, leading to higher heating and air-conditioning costs and more noise from the street, whereas in most of Europe double glazing is required by law (in Sweden, Norway and Finland triple gazing is required). New houses in Germany are typically built with cavity-insulated bricks (see photo to the right).

Then there are the cars and pickup trucks. In the USA "The maximum speed limit on rural interstate highways is 70mph ... On four-lane divided highways, the limit is 65mph, and on all other highways it's 55mph." [See here.] On much of Germany's autobahn network there is no speed limit, and I have often driven at 125mph where conditions allow. In the USA, however, average engine capacity is around 3 litres (liters for American readers), and 5 litre or more engines are not unusual, whereas the average German car has a 1800 cc engines; the only reason why the average engine size has fallen in recent years is because of the increase in sales of imported cars from Europe, Japan, etc. Why do Americans need 5 litre engines to drive at such low speeds; is there something wrong with the engines in American cars?

These and many other differences suggest that the USA is behind the rest of the world in a whole range of technology. I find this at odds with the fact that America is a world leader in software development, semiconductor fabrication technology and armaments (specifically, smart weapons) design. It seems that the advanced technology that the country develops does not trickle down to every day life, and that people are willing to make do with outdated capabilities and performance.

It is time for the man in the (American) street to insist on better products; they are being shortchanged.