25 things you wanted to know about Ireland

I may very well make this a 2-post day, but I figured I'd start with some fun facts about Irish life:

1) Teachers are way more lenient about cancelling class here than they are in the states. If they get to the classroom and not enough people are in it they'll just send you home. I was supposed to have 3 hours of classes today but wound up with just one.
2) People here pronounce the letter H as "hache".
3) While we're on the topic, good humor is called HB here. Or Hache Bee as they say. Noone can tell me what that stands for.
4) Lays potato chips are called Walkers
5) The main brand of potato chips here is called Tayto. As a result, Tayto has pulled a Kleenex. Everyone calls any brand of potato chips Tayto.
6) All vacuums are called hoovers, even if they're not made by hoover. Hoover is also a verb.
7) All outlets have on and off switches. To make an appliance work you have to plug it in, flip the wall switch, and then turn on the appliance.
8) Electric kettles are the greatest invention ever. Especially because...
9) Ireland consumes the most tea per capita of any country in the world. I'm down to 2 cups a day, but I had been doing 3 or 4.
10) Sandwich bread is bigger here. It's just all together taller. As a result:
11) Sandwich bags are larger. This is nice. But,
12) Toasters are not taller. the top of your bread will usually be untoasted.
13) General sandwich bread come in two varieties: white or brown. Brown is whole wheat.
14) I still have no idea how the showers work. You pull a string at some point to make the boiler heat the water. Our is always pulled. The shower will not start without it. However, only so much hot water is heated a day, so if you're not on of the first 3 (this is an estimation) people to shower that day your shower will be cold. This is all theory. Sam and I still don't have it figured out.
15) Traffic circles are everywhere. And they're named. Much like the squares in Boston.
16) Traffic circles are dangerous. Especially on bikes.
17) As much as I thought pale-ness would be embraced in Ireland, it's not.
18) All young women use fake tanner. They go overboard. They are orange.
19) Soccer is called soccer.
20) Football is Gaelic Football. Not quite sure how this one works yet...
21) All Irish people associate California with The Hills (a show on MTV)
22) They love American comedies, especially ones we don't like, like 2 and a half men.
23) They sing when drunk
24) They are aware that everyone thinks Irish people are alcoholics, and they do nothing to squash this "rumor".
25) Cider is alcoholic. The cider of choice is Bulmers. It's like beer except that it tastes good. It's on tap at every bar in Ireland and it's produced in England. It can also be found in pint bottles, so that it can be poured over ice in a glass. This is very refreshing.


More fun facts to come some day soon! Oh, one more:

26) The beer is not warm. No matter what anyone tells you, it's all about forty some-odd degrees. Even Guinness.