Unanswered Questions I Have for America

About a six months ago I wrote a post expressing some unanswered questions I had for Australia. There were a few things that I still didn't quite understand (and let's be honest, I still question most of them). I figured it was only fair that I also write about some of the things that puzzle me about America. Some of these I've always wondered, but some have come about from living in Australia. So let's just jump right into some of the unanswered questions I have for America:

1. Why is it called the World Series if only America participates? This one makes me scratch my head quite a bit. If the only teams participating are from America, why is it called the World Series? I understand that baseball has branched out to other countries such as Japan and Australia but if only the teams in the MLB are fighting for a spot in the World Series... Why is it just not called the MLB Finals or something?

   

   
   

2. Is the 1 cent coin still necessary? Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Belgium, Finland, Ireland, etc. have all given up the one cent coin. It takes approximately 1.8 cents to make each penny. So the country is literally losing money for every coin it mints. I get there are sentimental values attached to the coin, but we got rid of the 50 cent piece... it's probably time to do away with the penny as well. Just round up or round down on a purchase when paying with cash and no one will know the difference. Kind of like that credit card that rounds up your purchase and sends the couple cents into your savings account.

   

   
   

3. Why does everyone seem to complain about gas prices being so expensive? I must admit, I was one of those people. Yup, I thought gas prices were absolutely ridiculous when I lived in America. But let me let you in on a little secret. Gas prices in America are FRIGGIN CHEAP AS! Seriously! I started skipping for joy when I filled up for $0.92/Litre the other day. Does that sound cheap to you? If it does, you aren't very good at maths conversions. There are approximately 4.56 Litres in a gallon. So I was filling up for about $4.19/gallon. That was with my petrol discounts! A few days later, petrol was back up to $1.10/Litre. GAS IN AMERICA IS CHEAP!!! (please tell me your secret so I can bring it to Australia!)

   

   
   

4. Why aren't Americans required to vote? Or better yet, Why do people complain about who is elected even though they didn't vote? I've really been struggling with this one. I've been trying to understand the Australian political system better, and in doing so, I try to link it back to similarities with the American system. Australians are required to vote. This to me doesn't sound very democratic. It should be a person's right to choose if they want to vote or not along with who/which party they want to vote for. But the more research I've done, the more I don't think its such a bad idea. In the last presidential election, of the 2.35 million individuals who were eligible to vote only 1.29 million actually voted, a 57% turnout (source). From the research I've done, the problem lies with those who educate themselves on the issues but do not vote because they feel that there vote will not matter or people just can't be fussed going to vote. I guess requiring everyone to vote may result in a bunch of people just voting for whoever gets the most airtime or the candidate who aligns with their political party but isn't that what is pretty much going on anyways? Or start fining people for not voting like Australia, which may force them to educate themselves on the candidate (technically you are fined for not attending, nobody checks if you actually vote).

   

   
   

5. Why aren't Girl Scout Cookies sold all year round? Do I even need to elaborate on this one? Those things are like little slices of heaven. And can they please be sold in Australia? The closest thing to Girl Scout Cookies here are Mint Slice, and they're like Thin Mints on crack... delicious! But I would appreciate the variety.  Online ordering with international delivery would be nice. Girl Scouts, work on this ASAP. 

   

   
   

I feel like a lot of the other questions I get asked frequently are stereotypical American questions that I can easily answer but these have been a few of the questions I get a little tripped up on. Even though I may not fully understand all that is American, I have been very blessed with the opportunities growing up in America presented. 

If anyone has any answers to the questions, please let me know in the comments below! Also, if you have any unanswered questions for America, leave a comment, and I'll try my best to answer them! Be sure to read up on the Unanswered Questions I Have for Australia. 

And until next time...

Stay Curious!