July 14, 2017 • 40 mins
We all know the American places in America (Cleveland is one). But where should a US citizen go to feel at home abroad? Will and Mango visit a wee America (in Brazil?!), tour the territories, and look for the Kentucky in Japan’s KFCs. Featuring Doug Mack.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Guess what mango? What's that? Will? So I was looking
up little American influences around the world, you know, like
how in Japan a hot dog is called a Hota
dog oo, but a corn dog is called an American
dog oo. I love that. What else you got? Potlucks
are called American parties in the Netherlands, and one of
my favorites, brass knuckles, are referred to as an American
fist in France. But the thing I wanted to tell
(00:21):
you about was this little town in Brazil called Americana.
So basically, when the Confederacy lost the Civil War, about
twenty thousand Confederates fled to Brazil, where they established two colonies.
There was New Texas and Americana. But what's crazy is
that it still has this touch of America there. You
can spot rocking chairs on porches, families still speaking English
(00:41):
with a Southern drawl, and they still make sweet potato
pot This has all been passed down since the eighteen sixties,
that is yeah. But it got me wondering, if we
ever decided to leave America, what's the most non American
American place out there? Is it? Another country is a
US territory and what is it that makes America America?
(01:02):
I mean other than corn dogs. Of course, let's die
in hei their podcast listeners, Welcome to Part Time Genius.
(01:28):
I'm Will Pearson and as always I'm joined by my
good friend man Geshot Ticketer, and today we're talking about
the most American places in the world, at least ones
that just so happened to be located outside the US.
That's right. We're gonna look at some foreign places that,
for one reason or another have a very distinct American feel.
And we're also going to explore a few offshore territories
to see which parts of the States have rubbed off
(01:49):
on them and to help makes sense of these somewhat
mysterious locales. Will be talking with Doug mac author of
the book That Not Quite States of America Now. Doug
spend a year touring the US territories and came away
with all kinds of amazing information about the parts of
our own country that many of us tend to forget
even exists. I'm super excited to talk to him and
for a question today, we've also got a couple of
part Time Geniuses calling in from Washington, d C. We're
(02:12):
gonna hear their thoughts on living in a city that's
got quite a chip on his shoulder and thanks to
it's not quite status. Yeah, DC residents are not shy
about their frustration with the Federal District's lack of statehood.
I mean, for almost twenty years now, the motto on
their license plates has been taxation without representation. Compare that
to what most states put on their plates and you'll
get a sense of how heavily the whole not a
(02:32):
state thing weighs on them. I know. Most states use
the space to brag about their accomplishments, like Ohio's plate
touts as the birthplace of aviation, and Utah uses the
plate to boast that they have the greatest snow on earth.
How did you Utah determine that it has the best
snow in the world. It seems pretty subjective. I mean,
who's to say there's is the greatest. I know, it's
funny because states get away with ridiculous statements like that
(02:54):
all the time, like Virginia is for lovers. Come on, now,
it was a very scientific study. So and it's the
same with Utah. Fact checkers have shown that it isn't
the driest or the fluffiest or the most abundant snow,
but they called their unique mixture of snow the best
on Earth. Nut. When you try to think of a
country that's most like the United States, what comes to
(03:16):
mind first? Oh, it's got to be our neighbor to
the north, right exactly, or at least in theory. I mean,
Canada is likely the place the average American would say
they'd feel most at home. And that's partly because most
Americans have a really positive view of Canada. So last September,
a poll from NBC and The Wall Street Journal showed
that seventy percent of Americans surveyed viewed Canada favorably. Well,
(03:36):
only three percent had a negative view of Canada. And
by the way, those were the highest ratings in the poll.
People like Canada more than any other person or entity
they were asked about. That's pretty incredible. But I mean,
I don't know who those three percent are, because I
can't imagine anyone actively dislike in Canada. Everyone knows they're
pretty much like the nicest people on Earth. Plus their
land of great comedy like Lorne Michaels and Antha be
(04:00):
of Kids in the Hall. That's right, I was gonna
say kids in the hall mainly just kids in the hall, right,
So what's not to like? But you know what's funny,
Remember how much love Canada got The night of the
two thousand and sixteen election. As the votes were talied,
there were all these reports about Canada's immigration side crashing
due to a stampede of less than enthused Americans. But
what's interesting is that it wasn't just a two thousand
(04:20):
sixteen phenomenon. Every election year, thousands of Americans on both
sides of the all threatened to jump ship to Canada
should the quote wrong candidate win. Yeah. Well, the underlying
thought is clearly that even if life in Canada isn't
the same as life in the US, it's close enough. Yeah,
hopping the boarder to Canada's apparently the plan be for
lots of Americans, or at least they pretend it is.
(04:42):
It's kind of a if things go south, I'll go
north mentality. But the reality is it's a whole lot
harder to immigrate to Canada than most people think. Even
if you have a job in Canada, even if you're
married to a Canadian, becoming a citizen can be time
consuming and requires a crazy amount of paperwork. But even
setting aside the faculty of becoming a citizen, there's still
the question of whether living in Canada would really feel
(05:05):
comparable to life here in the States. Is Canada all
that American? Really? I mean, don't get me wrong. There's
a great deal of crossover, but it's hardly a one
to one. Yeah, Canadian culture isn't too far from what
we find state side. And the food, for the most part,
isn't that exotic that they do have stuff like poutine
flavored potato chips and camel meat apparently. Yeah, I don't
think that sounds very American. Because we share the same continent,
(05:28):
our economies, environmental concerns are intertwined. But yeah, there would
definitely be some growing pains involved for American transplants. For example.
According to Canadian Business, buying stuff online is much more
of a challenge in Canada than it is in the US.
I like that you go straight to shopping as the
litmus test for whether it's a place feels truly American.
But okay, what makes e commerce worse in Canada is
that the spotty WiFi not exactly. In fact, Canadians are
(05:51):
more likely to have access to the Internet than residents
of any other G twenty nation, and that includes the US.
Canadian citizens have long since embraced the digital age, but
Canadian businesses are a totally different story. Fewer than half
of all Canadian companies have websites, much less the ability
to sell their products online. Well, that would definitely be
a route awakening for many Americans. And I think the
(06:11):
weather in Canada would be an even rude ruin. I
don't want to blow your mind here, Mango, but it
gets pretty chilly in Canada. Yeah, that's a good point.
There are parts of the US that experienced some freezing
cold winters, but that's true of all of Canada. In fact,
Canada vised with Russia for the title of coldest country
in the world. The average daily annual temperature in the
Great White North of bombing twenty two degrees fahrenheit. Yikes.
(06:34):
Just thinking about that makes me I want to reach
for the firm of stat though. But I'm glad we're
touching on climate. That's one of the major points of
departure you're going to run into with any stand in
for the States. Yeah, our location and the sheer size
of the continental US allows for a lot of diversity
in terms of geography and climate. That's an aspect of
life in America that's tough for a lot of regions
to match, even if they do have same day delivery
(06:56):
from Amazon. But I think the biggest obstacle in trying
to find another country that feels American is the history itself.
What do you mean by that, Well, a country's history
and the sense that it's shared by the people who
live there. That's a large part of what makes the
place feel like home. Countries like Canada and Australia have
similar histories of European colonization to that at the US.
That's maybe part of the reason they feel more American.
(07:17):
Does still, all the specifics of those histories and the
cultures they spurred are very different, and it's those kind
of details that really seem to help us identify ourselves
as Americans. Yeah, that sounds right to me. I mean,
imagine in America where the people didn't feel a swell
of pride when they spotted the Statue of Liberty or
feel a twinge of childhood nostalgia when they heard notes
from Yankee Doodle. Could you ever really say a place
(07:39):
like that felt American. Well, plenty of people wouldn't be
so lofty and describing what makes America America. I mean,
it's not for nothing that we have the largest economy
in the world. Americans like to spend money, and we
have tons of options for where to spend it. See,
it all comes back to shopping. It really isn't escapable.
I mean, look at fast food, for better or worse,
it's becomes synonymous with American culture. So any stand in
(08:02):
country worth its salt would have its fair share of
golden arches. Now, it's no surprise that the US leads
and the total number of McDonald's restaurants at about fourteen thousand,
but there are a few countries that are gaining ground. China,
for instance, has around two thousand McDonald's, in Japan nearly
three thousand, who they're really catching off. In fact, US
sales now only account for about thirty one percent of
(08:24):
McDonald's total revenues, according to Investipedia. The rest comes from
countries that are fast adapting to American taste. And it's
not just burgers. The KFC chain has become ubiquitous in
Asian markets. Yeah, I get that. I mean KFC has
been steadily expanding in both Japan and China for the
past decade. China has even overtaken the US for a
number of total KFCs more than Oh wow, so as
(08:47):
Kentucky Fried Chicken more Chinese than American. Now, well, it's
actually more Japanese. Oh really, how's that for one thing?
KFC's mascot, Colonel Sanders, is hugely popular in Japan. He's
emphasized in all the marketing, the employee uniforms, even in
his trademark below tie. They even have a Colonel mascot
costume with a big emoji style head for the customers
to take selfies. Right, it's a little bit creepy. I mean,
(09:09):
he was also the founder, right, a real person. It's
sort of like if Disneyland had employees wearing big Walt
Disney mask prowling the park instead of Mickey Mouse. Thankfully,
that's something even the international Disney parks have avoided doing.
But it does get me thinking, could Disney theme parks
be some of the most American places in the world. Well,
you might be onto something there. Last year, Branding Magazine
pulled nearly five thousand people between sixteen and sixty five.
(09:31):
They asked them to evaluate the patriotism of two hundred
and forty eight U S brands. Any idea who was
at the top of the list. I'm gonna go on
a limb here and say Disney. That's right. In fact,
nine percent associated the Disney brand with US patriotism. Yeah,
a steady exposure to American brands and entertainment has gone
a long way toward making other parts of the world
feel a little more American, for better for worse. In fact,
(09:54):
that's even true of our own offshore territories, which are
their own unique mixes of island native and modern American CA.
Very true. But before we get into the strange, not
at all straightforward world of US territories, what do you
say we check in with our DC residents for an
all American quiz. Let's do it. So, who do we
(10:16):
have on the line today? Mango? We have Drake and
Don who are both DC residents, and in a strange coincidence,
both of them have traveled to nearly all fifty states.
Oh wow, yeah, So let's start with you. Well, you've
been to forty nine states, is that right? That's right?
So which one is missing on the list? I have
not been to North Dakota yet. To North Dako is
gonna say Hawaii or Alaska. So what do you have
(10:38):
against North Dakota. Well, uh, if you think about everything
that's cool to visit in the Dakotas, whether it's Rushmore
or Deadwood or Rapid City, that's all South Dakota. All
of our North Dakota listeners are going to be so
angry after hearing this could get definitely yeah yeah, all right,
(11:00):
Well that's still pretty impressive. And don I think you've
been to what is it? Yes? All right? And what's
missing on your list? So what's missing is Wyoming and
Alaska has somebody that has visited North Dakota. You haven't
lived until you've had dinner in bis parks like that?
(11:21):
All right? Well, actually, Drake, you're also in the process
of striking off another list, and that is visiting every
Major League baseball park in America. Now, how many of
you hit at this point as of a few days ago? Wow? Okay,
all right? Twenty six out of how many are there? Thirty? Okay? Okay,
well done? All right, Well, let's get to it. We've
(11:43):
got two d C residents here to play a game
and what's the game called mango. It's a little quiz
called d C or not d C. All right, so
we'll read a statement about Washington d C. If you
think it's true, you'll say d C. If you think
it's false, you'll say not d C. Not that confusing,
all right, So you'll be working as a team. We
thought DC residents need to stick together and all of
their anger over not being a state, So we're gonna
(12:05):
let you collaborate, you guys, ready, that's good, All right,
let's do it. Question number one, It wasn't until nineteen
sixty one that DC residents got the right to vote
in presidential elections d C or not d C. I'm
not sure the date, but that sounds right. What do
you think, don Uh, I don't know why it would
have been nineteen sixty I'm gonna go not d C. Actually,
(12:28):
I think I think we've been able to vote presidential longer.
He's deferring. He's such a gentleman, but unfortunately is Dent
them the right? Yeah, and they first exercised that right
in the nineteen elections. So Don was actually thinking along
the right lines of like, why would it be nineteen
sixty one? When it wasn't exercised until sixty four. So
(12:50):
I think we should give him half a point for
like putting that reasoning together. So let's let's do that.
So just like DC is half that's right, that's right,
all right? Not not even all right? Question number two.
Underneath DC there's a semi secret metro line that runs
congressmen and staffers between the office buildings. That is true,
(13:11):
all right, absolutely, yep. What's it called. It's called a
Capital Subway system and it makes over two runs a day. Wow. Okay, alright,
so they have one and a half points so far.
Let's see what happens next. Question number three. When Nixon
accepted the gift of two pandas to DC's national Zoo,
he returned the favor by sending them a pair of
(13:32):
r C A speakers and a collection of Danny K
records d C or not DC. It's just dumb enough
that it might be true. I don't know. That sounds
like it. That sounds like a tacky, tacky American thing
to do. Who is it, Danny? Kay? Yeah? Is that
not the jam you were listening to before you just
(13:53):
turned off the eight track? I'm gonna go d it's
actually not d C. Nixon actually sent them a gift
that was way tack here a pair of muskox named
Milton and Matilda, and according to the New York Times,
they weren't exactly quality cattle. Milton in particular was complaining
of post nasal drip, a cough, and his hair seemed
to be falling out on arrival. What a sweet gift. Okay, alright,
(14:17):
I sensed the stormback. They've got three questions left, alright,
Question number four. While Washington, d C. Isn't a state,
it does have a listed state flower, the American Beauty
Rose d C or not DC. You know what it sounds.
It sounds to me like it's probably right. Yeah, you're right,
d Here we go. Two questions left. The first Showbiz
(14:39):
Pizza opened in Washington, d C. In ninety. Vice President
George Bush joined Spain's ambassador to cut the ribbon at
the opening ceremony. D C or not DC? Where does
this stuff come from history books? Or not? That's true?
All right? I think I think Don should probably agree
(15:01):
with you. Let's see correct, all right? To finish up
strong for the big prize, here we go, Question number six.
Spiked Dog callers were invented in Washington, d C. By
famed dog breeder Gareth Winchester to make his Bassett hounds
look more intimidating. D C or not DC, I'm going now,
(15:25):
I'm going correct. Who is Gareth Winchester? We don't just
say that name of Well, okay, so how did these
guys done. Our contestant's got a stunning four point five
out of five. So not only will they get the
note to their mom or boss from us sing their praises,
but we're also sending them a vintage Republican Congressional cookbook
(15:46):
filled with delicious American recipes fans of any political party
can enjoy. So congratulations Don and Drake. Thanks for joining
us on Part Time Genius. A right, thank you, guys.
(16:10):
You're listening to Part Time Genius and we're talking about
the most American places in the world. So mango, we've
been focusing on places that somehow feel American despite being
outside of the United States. But before the break, you've
touched on the topic of u S territories. Yeah, the
territories are like these incredible scattered American gems that are
sadly overlooked by most of US. Puerto Rico is the
most famous by far of the five inhabited US territories,
(16:33):
the other four being the US Virgin Islands, which is
also in the Caribbean, plus American Samoa, Guam, and the
Northern Mariana Islands in the Pacific. They're also about a
dozen uninhabited islands that also technically count as American soil.
All right, so there are five of them. That is
not something I could have told you before. And I
feel like we need a way to commit them to memory.
And you know how much I likenemonic devices, mango. Can
(16:55):
we just take a minute to come up with a
good way to remember all five. That's a great idea. Yeah, okay,
So we go by population size from largest to smallest.
That gives US Puerto Rico, Guam, US Virgin Islands, American Samoa,
in Northern Mariana Islands pg u a n I was
kind of hoping it would make a word thereself. All right, Well,
(17:17):
let's think about this then. How about let's see p
g u a piguan. That's not a word, all right,
Pancakes grow under a nice tree, and nice trees one word,
by the way, said, don't call me out on that
pancakes grow under a nice tree. That's how you remember.
Oh that's good. Or maybe pickles get ugly after man.
(17:39):
I was gonna say knife thing, but that's supposed to
the k or gnawing, which social g Stefid's silent less.
How about pickles get ugly after negotiations. Negotiations, Yeah, negotiations
will wear anyone down. I was going to suggest neglect there. Yeah,
if the negotiation is just fun here to picture and
(18:01):
easier to remember. All right, good point. Okay, I think
we both nailed it, but we know our listeners are
smarter than we are, So let's make this a kind
come up with a better mnemonic for how to remember
the five U S territories and will award our favorite
three with part Time Genius t shirts. Just send your
entries along with your mailing address to part Time Genius
at how stuff Works dot com, or you can find
us on Facebook or Twitter. I can't wait to hear
(18:23):
from them. Okay, back to the territories. Okay, we should
note that we're following Doug max lead on this by
kind of broadly grouping them all together as territories, but
the logistics are a little more nuanced than that. Right,
A territory can either be organized or unorganized, and also
incorporated or unincorporated. And then there are Puerto Rico and
the Northern Mariana Islands, which are officially commonwealth rather than territories.
(18:46):
It's all maybe a little too nuanced for us to
get into here. Yeah, I know. They're all these distinctions
that are used to describe the extent to which the
Constitution and federal laws applies, well as whether a place
is fully considered part of the U s. It's it's
actually kind of a big mess. You can really tell
that the territories were required without any solid long term
plan for them. I mean, all but nineteen of the
(19:07):
current fifty states started out as US territories, but that
path to statehood has never seemed like a serious option
for places like Guam in the Virgin Islands, right, Which
isn't to say that the US claimed and without any
rhyme or reason. Though, Yeah, why do we start grabbing
up offshore territories anyway? I know America was young, scrappy
and hungary to borrow a phrase from Hamilton's, but we're
looking for ways to assert ourselves as a full blown
(19:29):
empire in the eyes of the rest of the world.
But that seems, I don't know, sort of impractical. Well,
we definitely did want that seat at the big boy table,
and expanding the country's boundaries certainly got us closer to
that goal. But there was actually a more practical reason too.
And you're gonna like this one, but back in the
early eighteen hundreds, our farming game wasn't so strong yet
Here in the States. We were producing tons and tons
(19:50):
of tobacco and cotton, but at the expense of the soil,
which was fast losing all of its nutrients. Yeah, I
guess George Washington Carver was still quite a few years off,
so crop rotation wouldn't have be and in vogue at
the time. That's right, while we were exhausting the soil,
and since industrialization was still a ways off, it was
becoming a very big problem for our fledgling economy. So
what's a young growing nation to do but start mining
(20:12):
bird poop from the barren islands off its short Wait,
that's why we have this territory, well many of them. Yeah,
these remote islands had been flyover spots for seabirds for
thousands of years. All those years of daily deposits allowed
for some pretty hefty build ups of atria rich fertilizer.
I'm not kidding, and that's what American farmers needed. So
Congress passed the Guano Islands Act in eighteen fifty six,
(20:35):
and we started calling DIBs on all the unclaimed islands
we could find. That is practical and kind of gross, yeah,
but it also doesn't explain why we've continued to hold
onto these territories. I mean, we aren't exactly hard up
for fertilizer anymore, and my friends in the guano mining
industry tell me the work has dropped off significantly over
the past two hundred years or so. I get that
nations aren't chomping at the bit to give up land.
(20:57):
There's only so much of it in the world, after all,
But there has to be more to it. I think
it has a lot to do with what the US
got an addition to copious mounds of bird poop. When
a nation claims territory, it doesn't just get land itself.
It gains possession as the surrounding waters for miles and
miles in all directions. That means Carte Blanc access to
fishing and undersea minerals and shipping lanes. Well, not to
(21:18):
mention the opportunity for tourism. That's big business for the
territories today, one of the reasons they feel so American
in some ways, even though their official status is a
little shaky. Yeah, that was one of the things that
jumped out to me while reading Doug max book. A
few of the U. S territories are total tourist magnets,
but it isn't always the people you'd expect to be visiting.
Like take the Virgin Islands for example. Unlike the Guanda
(21:40):
Rich Islands, the U S spot d s from Denmark
in the early nineteenth century. Today, Dane's flocked to the
US Virgin Islands to get a taste of their country's
colonial history. In fact, there's a weird dichotomy on the
islands and that Danish tourists largely visit for the historical
attractions like museums and tours of old forts, while American
tourists visit mainly for the beach is in the duty
(22:00):
free shopping. Well, we have established that Americans love shops,
but it's a little sad to hear Americans mostly think
of the territories as Beachfront mall right, and in some
cases they're not so much shopping destinations for Americans as
they are for international tourists who want to feel American.
You're thinking of Guam, I'm guessing exactly. Aside for the
local population, Guam is almost entirely made up of Navy
(22:22):
and Air Force personnel and an endless dream of tourists
from Russia, China, Japan, even Korea, And for the sake
of survival, the people from Guam have really had to
cater to this foreign crowd. There's this great part in
Doug max book where he describes visiting Guam and running
across an outback steakhouse, and it's just this really surreal
moment where he's outside the States looking at this Australian
(22:43):
themed US chain restaurant with a big glowing sign that
reads America's favorite steakhouse in Japanese. It was the steakhouse
was in Japanese. That's great. That reminds me of how
perhaps Blue Ribbon was rebranded in China for luxury markets
and sold for like eighty dollars of bottle because not
only was it American, but it won a Blue ribbon,
and yet Zima Gould can't get any international love despite
(23:06):
having that golden the title. I'm not sure that's what
the gold stood for. But of all the territories, Guam
really stands out for catering to a particular breed of tourists,
those who want to experience all the cliche excess of
US culture without actually visiting the States. And I mean
it sounds like those visitors get exactly what they're after.
Just listen to Duck's description of one of Guam's shopping districts.
(23:28):
If you're so inclined, in the course of a single afternoon,
you can rent a canary yellow Chevy Mustang or a
Harley Davidson, dress up like a cowboy and fire machine
gun at wild West Frontier Village, et a burger at
the Root sixty six Pub and Club by a bulk
size bag of your favorite beef turkey from the dedicated
section at the Souvenir Shop, and pose with the Statue
(23:49):
of Liberty with a baseball field in the background, before
ending the day with a Las Vegas style magic show
replete with white tigers and dancing show girls with feathery
head dresses. That just makes me feel patriotic. Yeah, that
really does sound like America, or maybe just Vegas. But
the territories do have places that are purposefully set up
to feel like mainland America. But what about the people
(24:09):
who lived there. I know that, with some exceptions, they
are American citizens, but do they seem like Americans right? Well,
we know they've got the shopping thing down path, but
maybe we should also take a look at the aspects
of history and culture that we talked about earlier. I
think those will really be deciding factors for what territories
can be considered places that truly feel American. But before
we get into that, let's break for a quiz. So,
(24:41):
our guest today is the author of this terrific book
we're discussing the not Quite States of America. After realizing
just how little he knew about the United States territories,
he set off on a globe hopping quest, covering more
than thirty thousand miles to see them all, and he's
here for us to ask him questions about every single
one of those miles. Doug mac Welcome to Part time Genius. Hi,
thanks for having me. So tell us how this book
(25:03):
idea came about and how long it took to make
it happen. I mean, thirty thousand miles is no short
track to to see all of these places. It's certainly not. UM.
So I have a degree, bachelor's degree in American studies. UM.
But in four years of study, we never even once
talked about the US territories. You know. We talked about
history and and politics and literature and all this stuff
(25:26):
about the States, though specifically right. Um. And then just
a few years ago, UM, I was with my wife
on a Saturday morning and she collects all the state quarters,
and she was putting a new quarter in her portfolio,
and uh, she kind of said late, looking on, there
are these quarters for the for the territories, and went,
oh right, we have territories, um, which is kind of
(25:50):
the response I get to every from everyone when I
say able book with territories. It's oh right, territories. That's
that's the thing. Um. And so that sort of sparked
this idea thought, you know, this is this is supposed
to be area of expertise, right, American studies, UM, all
this history, and did a little bit googling. I thought,
you know, this is these are really interesting places I
should go see them myself. UM. And and no one
(26:12):
had really written this book before, which is another thing
that you were about as a writer, is has anyone
already written this um? And turns out the answer is no.
And so was was your travel to any one of
these places more surprising than others? Yeah? So all of
the territories have a really interesting combination of what we
would think of as sort of like familiar American culture um.
(26:34):
And then and then their own region, right, So like
the US Virgin Islands. One of the very first things
that I saw as we're driving in from the airport
was there's a big baseball stadium with a big poster
saying they're going to be some major league stars appearing
in a couple of weeks. Um. You know, you kind
of expect that as in part of the USA. But
then a couple of blocks away was a big cricket
(26:55):
ground um and the use Origin Islands are part of
the West Indies crick team, which is one of the
most successful cricket teams in the world. Um. And so
you don't think of any part of the USA as
being you know, a cricket hotbed much less being both
a popular spot for baseball and for cricket, and so
there are a lot of things like that across the
(27:16):
territories where um, you know, there is something familiar and
then something completely differently. Now you you write a little
bit about um, you know they're thinking and the various
territories on the possibility of statehood, but in general, were
you surprised at the feelings from place to place on
on the idea of of achieving statehood. Yeah, well I was.
(27:36):
I was surprised by sort of the level of complexity
on that because there's no caught and dried answer, right so,
and and it varies from place to place. You know,
Puerto Rico certainly has has the biggest debate, met a
lot of people who were very strongly in favor of
becoming independent nation. They want nothing to do with the USA. UM.
(27:57):
Plenty of other people want to become a state. And
you know, certainly they have the population and then everything
that you know, they would fit right in. Um, I
think they would be about twenty ninth or so um
population wise. So yeah, it's it's it's really complicated, and
it's all it's always changing as well. So for example,
Guam right now has an independence moving movement that's starting
(28:17):
to get to pick up some steam. Um. But again,
even there, do you still have some people who wanted
to keep things the same and you have some people
who who want state hit. So um, there's there's not
really an easy answer there. Yeah. Now, which of these
territories would you say, if you had to pick one
to say is the most American? What would you say?
Possibly Guam they have the world's largest kmart. Um. Yeah.
(28:40):
I took a tour of the island with with a
military Veterans motorcycle club. Um and um they have amazing barbecue.
That's that's very much their own, their own thing. Um
with a particular marinee that's it's kind of unique to
to the Mariana Islands and Guam um and um. Man
(29:02):
just really felt felt familiar in American to me, but
also like it had some of these uh cultural differences
that that I don't get certainly where I live in Minneapolis,
But that too felt very American right that there, that
there's all these different people and traditions contributing to this
broader story of the U. S A. All right, well,
(29:23):
um mango, what game are we playing with Doug today?
Because Doug wrote the not quite States of America. We're
saddling him with a game called the not Quite Brilliant Quiz.
All right, so we've scoured newspapers and media headlines for
the phrase not quite something, and we want you to
fill in the blank. But to help you out, we'll
give you a rhyming clue as well. This is one
(29:43):
of more and more complicated games. So no pressure, Yeah,
no pressure at all. But are you Are you ready
to play? Doug? I think so? Okay, here we go.
All right, so question number one. I'll give you the
clue first, the answer rhymes with an abbreviation for corporation.
The answer rhymes with an abbreviation for corporation, all right.
(30:03):
And in Atlanta Journal Constitution story headlined speeding man had
alien doll passenger. The driver clocked in at eighty four
miles per hour or not quite blank speed? Yes, yes,
one for one? Okay, clue for number two. This answer
(30:25):
rhymes with the title of a Monty Python Broadway musical. Okay,
the question is the New Yorker titled a movie about
a Jackie. Oh wanna be not quite blank? Oh that's right,
Camelot right, yeah, And it rhymes with spam a lot.
Well done, two for two. Alright, question number three, there's
(30:46):
two left. Here we go. The clue is this answer
rhymes with how you describe a monkey named George in
a city a m car review the paper called a
new automobile fast but not quite blank furious. Yeah, it's curious.
(31:09):
I'll thank my my toddler daughter in her book collection. Alright,
last one here, This answer rhymes with spam gurglar, which
isn't a word that makes sense. Okay. The question is
a New Jersey radio station referred to a man who
tried to rob a Burger King as not quite blank. Uh,
(31:32):
it's probably not Ronald McDonald. That will be a hamburgler. Yes,
well don alright, so how did Doug you mango? So
Doug one incredible four four, which wins our hard earned admiration,
which is also known as our number one best not
quite Prize. Alright, congratulations Doug, and thanks so much for
being on part time genius. I hope all of you
(31:52):
will check out not quite states dot com to find
out about Doug's book tour. On August first, he'll be
in New York. August second, he'll be in Boston. But
you can see on the website for his other stops.
Safe Travels Doug, and thanks a lot for writing a
great book. Yeah, thanks for having to appreciate it. So
(32:22):
we were talking about all the things that make the
not quite states of America feel like the real thing.
So what's the scoop on the local Well, I think
one of the main similarities to people's state side is
that people in the territories have this really strong sense
of sharing the load. There are these really tightly knit
communities of families and friends that look out for one
another despite having to constantly compete for resources. In some cases,
(32:44):
this is especially true of American Samoa, which is one
of the less developed, not as touristy territories. American Samoa
is an interesting case, and it is the only inhabited
territory that's neither incorporated nor organized. It's actually the least
American territory in a legal sense. But on the other hand,
the locals have a culture that closely mirrors part of
the mainland lifestyle. And what do you think about Well,
(33:04):
for one thing, American Samoans love football, and they're really
good at it too. American football, of course, so Christian
missionaries introduced the locals to rugby a long time ago,
so when American television brought the NFL to the region,
many players made the switch from a European pastime to
a more American one. In fact, there were twenty eight
NFL players of American Samoan descent at the start of
(33:25):
the two thousand fifteen two thousand and sixteen season. They've
really taken to it, and that's awesome. I've also heard
their avid web surfers because the internet speeds are crazy fast.
They're like faster than they are here on the mainland.
Oh and another really telling fact about American Samoa is
its military enlistment rate. It is pretty high, isn't it
the highest? I mean, American Samoa has the greatest enlistment
(33:46):
rate and casualty rate of any U S territory or state. Wow,
that is incredible. Yeah. And the craziest part is that
the American Samoans are only considered American nationals, not full citizens.
So they are fighting and all too often dying for
a that doesn't even recognize them as its citizens, which
is kind of heartbreaking. Yeah, that is heartbreaking, especially when
you consider how strong the sense of patriotism is they're like,
(34:08):
apart from a shared love of football and fast food.
By the way, there are two McDonald's on the island.
The people that really take pride in being American. But
what's the difference between being a national and a citizen.
It's confusing, So I'm gonna quote Columbia law professor Christina
Duffy Ponza here. Congress originally refused to give the inhabitants
of the new territories citizenship, but the court decided that
(34:29):
they weren't quite foreigners either. Eventually, the State Department came
up with the label nationals, and while simons chose to
stay nationals at some point to protect their cultural identity,
it also meant they can't get civil service jobs in
the US, or vote here, or help their families immigrate,
even if they've served in the military. But on the
other hand, clearly there's a sense of shared history and
(34:51):
the territories that makes them feel more connected. Unlike somewhere
like Canada or Australia, which have broad similarities to US
and a bit of crossover. The territories are active parts
of American history. They were the sites of some key
battles in many of our wars, including Saipan in the
Northern Mariana Islands, which was the bloodiest twentieth century battleground
anywhere in the US, and today they still serve as
(35:13):
strategic outposts for the military, healthing as monitor potential threats
from overseas well. That's a great point. So mainland Americans
have a tendency to overlook their connection to the territories,
but the people who live there could never be accused
of ignoring American identity. I mean, with few exceptions, there
isn't even a major push for independence or autonomy within
the territories. Most seemed perfectly content, proud even to maintain
(35:35):
their connection to the US, even if it hasn't treated
them completely fairly in the past. That's right. Puerto Rico
definitely stands the best chance of achieving statehood and seems
the most eager to do so, but even that's uncertain
and not likely to happen anytime soon. There are a
few factors on its side, though, specifically the population and
the sheer size of its land mass. It's much bigger
than the other territories, and it's actually larger than Delaware
(35:57):
and Rhode Island as well. It's also home over three
point five million people, which is ten times the population
of all the other territories put together. Wow. Yeah, And
the size alone helps lend an American feel to Puerto Rico.
Like we mentioned earlier, the mainland US is big, which
gives it a lot of diversity in terms of climate
and geography. Puerto Rico is the only territory that's big
enough to have entire sections that look and feel completely
(36:21):
differently from one another, complete with their own local vibes
and cultural quirk. That definitely helps Puerto Rico feel more American.
And while I hate to steer us back to shopping,
I really want to mention that Puerto Rico is home
to just about every American brand you can think of,
including Macaroni Grille, Costco, Sands Club, Cheesecake Factory, even at
the first Macy's department store outside the Conno US. Wow.
(36:43):
So another taste of the American experience for tourists, right. Well,
that's the thing. Doug Max suggests that unlike Guam or
some of the other more crossly commercial parts of the territories,
Puerto Rico feels extra American because those are the locals taste,
not the tourists. That is interesting. I know it tells
us that the reason Puerto Rico was home to the
highest concentration of walmarts in the world is not because
(37:03):
it's trying to appeal to outsiders with American taste. It's
because they're trying to peel to Americans, or, in other words,
to themselves. I like that. Still the most American places
in the world, So those are in America. Is that cheating? Well,
it's something we could all probably stand to remember more
often until we can easily rattle off the territories and
their capitals like we do for states. I'm going to
(37:25):
have to give us a pass. But one case where
cheating is never tolerated, the part time genius backed off.
What do you say? Well, all right, bring it on.
H So. Shoichi Yokoi, a Japanese sergeant during World War Two,
(37:46):
was stationed in Guam when the war ended. The only
problem he didn't know the war ended and hidden the
Jungles for nearly twenty eight years. He survived on a
diet of frogs, rats, and other small animals. So what
happened when he was finally found by a couple of
hunters in nineteen seventy two, he was allowed to return
to Japan and live out the rest of his life
as a celebrity. So what are some of the most
(38:07):
American places in the States? Going by name alone, there
are quite a few cities worthy of the title, including
three named Independence, two named Freedom, and a whopping nine
named Liberty, not to mention the ones that crib directly
from the country's names, such as American Fork, Utah, American
Falls City, Idaho, and American Canyon, California. Do you know
(38:27):
in two thousand thirteen, Samoa Air started a very un
American policy where they started charging people airfare based on
their weight. Well, their weight and their luggage is weight.
And when people were furious about it, they just countered, well,
you'll pay less for your kids. So, according to Thrillist,
in the mcguro neighborhood of Tokyo, aspiring Japanese cow pokes
and stetson and wranglers line dance to the sound of
(38:50):
Brad Paisley at the Little Texas Honky tonk Bar. You
know what a sucker I am for wranglers and honkey
talk bar. I know you are, so I hate to
say it, but I've got to give it to you
for this episode. Well, I'm thrilled to have won this week,
but I don't have to be the only one. Listeners,
remember to send your submissions for our Territoriesnemonic contest. There
are big prizes on the line. And that's it for
(39:10):
today's episode of Part Time Genius. Thanks so much for listening.
(39:32):
Thanks again for listening. Part Time Genius is a production
of how stuff works and wouldn't be possible without several
brilliant people who do the important things we couldn't even
begin to understand. Christa McNeil does the editing thing. Noel
Brown made the theme song and does the MIXI mixy
sound thing. Jerry Rowland does the exact producer thing. Gabe
Bluesier is our lead researcher, with support from the Research
Army including Austin Thompson, Nolan Brown and Lucas Adams and
(39:54):
Eve Jeff Cook gets the show to your ears. Good job,
eves Se
Guess what mango? What's that? Will? So I was looking
up little American influences around the world, you know, like
how in Japan a hot dog is called a Hota
dog oo, but a corn dog is called an American
dog oo. I love that. What else you got? Potlucks
are called American parties in the Netherlands, and one of
my favorites, brass knuckles, are referred to as an American
fist in France. But the thing I wanted to tell
(00:21):
you about was this little town in Brazil called Americana.
So basically, when the Confederacy lost the Civil War, about
twenty thousand Confederates fled to Brazil, where they established two colonies.
There was New Texas and Americana. But what's crazy is
that it still has this touch of America there. You
can spot rocking chairs on porches, families still speaking English
(00:41):
with a Southern drawl, and they still make sweet potato
pot This has all been passed down since the eighteen sixties,
that is yeah. But it got me wondering, if we
ever decided to leave America, what's the most non American
American place out there? Is it? Another country is a
US territory and what is it that makes America America?
(01:02):
I mean other than corn dogs. Of course, let's die
in hei their podcast listeners, Welcome to Part Time Genius.
(01:28):
I'm Will Pearson and as always I'm joined by my
good friend man Geshot Ticketer, and today we're talking about
the most American places in the world, at least ones
that just so happened to be located outside the US.
That's right. We're gonna look at some foreign places that,
for one reason or another have a very distinct American feel.
And we're also going to explore a few offshore territories
to see which parts of the States have rubbed off
(01:49):
on them and to help makes sense of these somewhat
mysterious locales. Will be talking with Doug mac author of
the book That Not Quite States of America Now. Doug
spend a year touring the US territories and came away
with all kinds of amazing information about the parts of
our own country that many of us tend to forget
even exists. I'm super excited to talk to him and
for a question today, we've also got a couple of
part Time Geniuses calling in from Washington, d C. We're
(02:12):
gonna hear their thoughts on living in a city that's
got quite a chip on his shoulder and thanks to
it's not quite status. Yeah, DC residents are not shy
about their frustration with the Federal District's lack of statehood.
I mean, for almost twenty years now, the motto on
their license plates has been taxation without representation. Compare that
to what most states put on their plates and you'll
get a sense of how heavily the whole not a
(02:32):
state thing weighs on them. I know. Most states use
the space to brag about their accomplishments, like Ohio's plate
touts as the birthplace of aviation, and Utah uses the
plate to boast that they have the greatest snow on earth.
How did you Utah determine that it has the best
snow in the world. It seems pretty subjective. I mean,
who's to say there's is the greatest. I know, it's
funny because states get away with ridiculous statements like that
(02:54):
all the time, like Virginia is for lovers. Come on, now,
it was a very scientific study. So and it's the
same with Utah. Fact checkers have shown that it isn't
the driest or the fluffiest or the most abundant snow,
but they called their unique mixture of snow the best
on Earth. Nut. When you try to think of a
country that's most like the United States, what comes to
(03:16):
mind first? Oh, it's got to be our neighbor to
the north, right exactly, or at least in theory. I mean,
Canada is likely the place the average American would say
they'd feel most at home. And that's partly because most
Americans have a really positive view of Canada. So last September,
a poll from NBC and The Wall Street Journal showed
that seventy percent of Americans surveyed viewed Canada favorably. Well,
(03:36):
only three percent had a negative view of Canada. And
by the way, those were the highest ratings in the poll.
People like Canada more than any other person or entity
they were asked about. That's pretty incredible. But I mean,
I don't know who those three percent are, because I
can't imagine anyone actively dislike in Canada. Everyone knows they're
pretty much like the nicest people on Earth. Plus their
land of great comedy like Lorne Michaels and Antha be
(04:00):
of Kids in the Hall. That's right, I was gonna
say kids in the hall mainly just kids in the hall, right,
So what's not to like? But you know what's funny,
Remember how much love Canada got The night of the
two thousand and sixteen election. As the votes were talied,
there were all these reports about Canada's immigration side crashing
due to a stampede of less than enthused Americans. But
what's interesting is that it wasn't just a two thousand
(04:20):
sixteen phenomenon. Every election year, thousands of Americans on both
sides of the all threatened to jump ship to Canada
should the quote wrong candidate win. Yeah. Well, the underlying
thought is clearly that even if life in Canada isn't
the same as life in the US, it's close enough. Yeah,
hopping the boarder to Canada's apparently the plan be for
lots of Americans, or at least they pretend it is.
(04:42):
It's kind of a if things go south, I'll go
north mentality. But the reality is it's a whole lot
harder to immigrate to Canada than most people think. Even
if you have a job in Canada, even if you're
married to a Canadian, becoming a citizen can be time
consuming and requires a crazy amount of paperwork. But even
setting aside the faculty of becoming a citizen, there's still
the question of whether living in Canada would really feel
(05:05):
comparable to life here in the States. Is Canada all
that American? Really? I mean, don't get me wrong. There's
a great deal of crossover, but it's hardly a one
to one. Yeah, Canadian culture isn't too far from what
we find state side. And the food, for the most part,
isn't that exotic that they do have stuff like poutine
flavored potato chips and camel meat apparently. Yeah, I don't
think that sounds very American. Because we share the same continent,
(05:28):
our economies, environmental concerns are intertwined. But yeah, there would
definitely be some growing pains involved for American transplants. For example.
According to Canadian Business, buying stuff online is much more
of a challenge in Canada than it is in the US.
I like that you go straight to shopping as the
litmus test for whether it's a place feels truly American.
But okay, what makes e commerce worse in Canada is
that the spotty WiFi not exactly. In fact, Canadians are
(05:51):
more likely to have access to the Internet than residents
of any other G twenty nation, and that includes the US.
Canadian citizens have long since embraced the digital age, but
Canadian businesses are a totally different story. Fewer than half
of all Canadian companies have websites, much less the ability
to sell their products online. Well, that would definitely be
a route awakening for many Americans. And I think the
(06:11):
weather in Canada would be an even rude ruin. I
don't want to blow your mind here, Mango, but it
gets pretty chilly in Canada. Yeah, that's a good point.
There are parts of the US that experienced some freezing
cold winters, but that's true of all of Canada. In fact,
Canada vised with Russia for the title of coldest country
in the world. The average daily annual temperature in the
Great White North of bombing twenty two degrees fahrenheit. Yikes.
(06:34):
Just thinking about that makes me I want to reach
for the firm of stat though. But I'm glad we're
touching on climate. That's one of the major points of
departure you're going to run into with any stand in
for the States. Yeah, our location and the sheer size
of the continental US allows for a lot of diversity
in terms of geography and climate. That's an aspect of
life in America that's tough for a lot of regions
to match, even if they do have same day delivery
(06:56):
from Amazon. But I think the biggest obstacle in trying
to find another country that feels American is the history itself.
What do you mean by that, Well, a country's history
and the sense that it's shared by the people who
live there. That's a large part of what makes the
place feel like home. Countries like Canada and Australia have
similar histories of European colonization to that at the US.
That's maybe part of the reason they feel more American.
(07:17):
Does still, all the specifics of those histories and the
cultures they spurred are very different, and it's those kind
of details that really seem to help us identify ourselves
as Americans. Yeah, that sounds right to me. I mean,
imagine in America where the people didn't feel a swell
of pride when they spotted the Statue of Liberty or
feel a twinge of childhood nostalgia when they heard notes
from Yankee Doodle. Could you ever really say a place
(07:39):
like that felt American. Well, plenty of people wouldn't be
so lofty and describing what makes America America. I mean,
it's not for nothing that we have the largest economy
in the world. Americans like to spend money, and we
have tons of options for where to spend it. See,
it all comes back to shopping. It really isn't escapable.
I mean, look at fast food, for better or worse,
it's becomes synonymous with American culture. So any stand in
(08:02):
country worth its salt would have its fair share of
golden arches. Now, it's no surprise that the US leads
and the total number of McDonald's restaurants at about fourteen thousand,
but there are a few countries that are gaining ground. China,
for instance, has around two thousand McDonald's, in Japan nearly
three thousand, who they're really catching off. In fact, US
sales now only account for about thirty one percent of
(08:24):
McDonald's total revenues, according to Investipedia. The rest comes from
countries that are fast adapting to American taste. And it's
not just burgers. The KFC chain has become ubiquitous in
Asian markets. Yeah, I get that. I mean KFC has
been steadily expanding in both Japan and China for the
past decade. China has even overtaken the US for a
number of total KFCs more than Oh wow, so as
(08:47):
Kentucky Fried Chicken more Chinese than American. Now, well, it's
actually more Japanese. Oh really, how's that for one thing?
KFC's mascot, Colonel Sanders, is hugely popular in Japan. He's
emphasized in all the marketing, the employee uniforms, even in
his trademark below tie. They even have a Colonel mascot
costume with a big emoji style head for the customers
to take selfies. Right, it's a little bit creepy. I mean,
(09:09):
he was also the founder, right, a real person. It's
sort of like if Disneyland had employees wearing big Walt
Disney mask prowling the park instead of Mickey Mouse. Thankfully,
that's something even the international Disney parks have avoided doing.
But it does get me thinking, could Disney theme parks
be some of the most American places in the world. Well,
you might be onto something there. Last year, Branding Magazine
pulled nearly five thousand people between sixteen and sixty five.
(09:31):
They asked them to evaluate the patriotism of two hundred
and forty eight U S brands. Any idea who was
at the top of the list. I'm gonna go on
a limb here and say Disney. That's right. In fact,
nine percent associated the Disney brand with US patriotism. Yeah,
a steady exposure to American brands and entertainment has gone
a long way toward making other parts of the world
feel a little more American, for better for worse. In fact,
(09:54):
that's even true of our own offshore territories, which are
their own unique mixes of island native and modern American CA.
Very true. But before we get into the strange, not
at all straightforward world of US territories, what do you
say we check in with our DC residents for an
all American quiz. Let's do it. So, who do we
(10:16):
have on the line today? Mango? We have Drake and
Don who are both DC residents, and in a strange coincidence,
both of them have traveled to nearly all fifty states.
Oh wow, yeah, So let's start with you. Well, you've
been to forty nine states, is that right? That's right?
So which one is missing on the list? I have
not been to North Dakota yet. To North Dako is
gonna say Hawaii or Alaska. So what do you have
(10:38):
against North Dakota. Well, uh, if you think about everything
that's cool to visit in the Dakotas, whether it's Rushmore
or Deadwood or Rapid City, that's all South Dakota. All
of our North Dakota listeners are going to be so
angry after hearing this could get definitely yeah yeah, all right,
(11:00):
Well that's still pretty impressive. And don I think you've
been to what is it? Yes? All right? And what's
missing on your list? So what's missing is Wyoming and
Alaska has somebody that has visited North Dakota. You haven't
lived until you've had dinner in bis parks like that?
(11:21):
All right? Well, actually, Drake, you're also in the process
of striking off another list, and that is visiting every
Major League baseball park in America. Now, how many of
you hit at this point as of a few days ago? Wow? Okay,
all right? Twenty six out of how many are there? Thirty? Okay? Okay,
well done? All right, Well, let's get to it. We've
(11:43):
got two d C residents here to play a game
and what's the game called mango. It's a little quiz
called d C or not d C. All right, so
we'll read a statement about Washington d C. If you
think it's true, you'll say d C. If you think
it's false, you'll say not d C. Not that confusing,
all right, So you'll be working as a team. We
thought DC residents need to stick together and all of
their anger over not being a state, So we're gonna
(12:05):
let you collaborate, you guys, ready, that's good, All right,
let's do it. Question number one, It wasn't until nineteen
sixty one that DC residents got the right to vote
in presidential elections d C or not d C. I'm
not sure the date, but that sounds right. What do
you think, don Uh, I don't know why it would
have been nineteen sixty I'm gonna go not d C. Actually,
(12:28):
I think I think we've been able to vote presidential longer.
He's deferring. He's such a gentleman, but unfortunately is Dent
them the right? Yeah, and they first exercised that right
in the nineteen elections. So Don was actually thinking along
the right lines of like, why would it be nineteen
sixty one? When it wasn't exercised until sixty four. So
(12:50):
I think we should give him half a point for
like putting that reasoning together. So let's let's do that.
So just like DC is half that's right, that's right,
all right? Not not even all right? Question number two.
Underneath DC there's a semi secret metro line that runs
congressmen and staffers between the office buildings. That is true,
(13:11):
all right, absolutely, yep. What's it called. It's called a
Capital Subway system and it makes over two runs a day. Wow. Okay, alright,
so they have one and a half points so far.
Let's see what happens next. Question number three. When Nixon
accepted the gift of two pandas to DC's national Zoo,
he returned the favor by sending them a pair of
(13:32):
r C A speakers and a collection of Danny K
records d C or not DC. It's just dumb enough
that it might be true. I don't know. That sounds
like it. That sounds like a tacky, tacky American thing
to do. Who is it, Danny? Kay? Yeah? Is that
not the jam you were listening to before you just
(13:53):
turned off the eight track? I'm gonna go d it's
actually not d C. Nixon actually sent them a gift
that was way tack here a pair of muskox named
Milton and Matilda, and according to the New York Times,
they weren't exactly quality cattle. Milton in particular was complaining
of post nasal drip, a cough, and his hair seemed
to be falling out on arrival. What a sweet gift. Okay, alright,
(14:17):
I sensed the stormback. They've got three questions left, alright,
Question number four. While Washington, d C. Isn't a state,
it does have a listed state flower, the American Beauty
Rose d C or not DC. You know what it sounds.
It sounds to me like it's probably right. Yeah, you're right,
d Here we go. Two questions left. The first Showbiz
(14:39):
Pizza opened in Washington, d C. In ninety. Vice President
George Bush joined Spain's ambassador to cut the ribbon at
the opening ceremony. D C or not DC? Where does
this stuff come from history books? Or not? That's true?
All right? I think I think Don should probably agree
(15:01):
with you. Let's see correct, all right? To finish up
strong for the big prize, here we go, Question number six.
Spiked Dog callers were invented in Washington, d C. By
famed dog breeder Gareth Winchester to make his Bassett hounds
look more intimidating. D C or not DC, I'm going now,
(15:25):
I'm going correct. Who is Gareth Winchester? We don't just
say that name of Well, okay, so how did these
guys done. Our contestant's got a stunning four point five
out of five. So not only will they get the
note to their mom or boss from us sing their praises,
but we're also sending them a vintage Republican Congressional cookbook
(15:46):
filled with delicious American recipes fans of any political party
can enjoy. So congratulations Don and Drake. Thanks for joining
us on Part Time Genius. A right, thank you, guys.
(16:10):
You're listening to Part Time Genius and we're talking about
the most American places in the world. So mango, we've
been focusing on places that somehow feel American despite being
outside of the United States. But before the break, you've
touched on the topic of u S territories. Yeah, the
territories are like these incredible scattered American gems that are
sadly overlooked by most of US. Puerto Rico is the
most famous by far of the five inhabited US territories,
(16:33):
the other four being the US Virgin Islands, which is
also in the Caribbean, plus American Samoa, Guam, and the
Northern Mariana Islands in the Pacific. They're also about a
dozen uninhabited islands that also technically count as American soil.
All right, so there are five of them. That is
not something I could have told you before. And I
feel like we need a way to commit them to memory.
And you know how much I likenemonic devices, mango. Can
(16:55):
we just take a minute to come up with a
good way to remember all five. That's a great idea. Yeah, okay,
So we go by population size from largest to smallest.
That gives US Puerto Rico, Guam, US Virgin Islands, American Samoa,
in Northern Mariana Islands pg u a n I was
kind of hoping it would make a word thereself. All right, Well,
(17:17):
let's think about this then. How about let's see p
g u a piguan. That's not a word, all right,
Pancakes grow under a nice tree, and nice trees one word,
by the way, said, don't call me out on that
pancakes grow under a nice tree. That's how you remember.
Oh that's good. Or maybe pickles get ugly after man.
(17:39):
I was gonna say knife thing, but that's supposed to
the k or gnawing, which social g Stefid's silent less.
How about pickles get ugly after negotiations. Negotiations, Yeah, negotiations
will wear anyone down. I was going to suggest neglect there. Yeah,
if the negotiation is just fun here to picture and
(18:01):
easier to remember. All right, good point. Okay, I think
we both nailed it, but we know our listeners are
smarter than we are, So let's make this a kind
come up with a better mnemonic for how to remember
the five U S territories and will award our favorite
three with part Time Genius t shirts. Just send your
entries along with your mailing address to part Time Genius
at how stuff Works dot com, or you can find
us on Facebook or Twitter. I can't wait to hear
(18:23):
from them. Okay, back to the territories. Okay, we should
note that we're following Doug max lead on this by
kind of broadly grouping them all together as territories, but
the logistics are a little more nuanced than that. Right,
A territory can either be organized or unorganized, and also
incorporated or unincorporated. And then there are Puerto Rico and
the Northern Mariana Islands, which are officially commonwealth rather than territories.
(18:46):
It's all maybe a little too nuanced for us to
get into here. Yeah, I know. They're all these distinctions
that are used to describe the extent to which the
Constitution and federal laws applies, well as whether a place
is fully considered part of the U s. It's it's
actually kind of a big mess. You can really tell
that the territories were required without any solid long term
plan for them. I mean, all but nineteen of the
(19:07):
current fifty states started out as US territories, but that
path to statehood has never seemed like a serious option
for places like Guam in the Virgin Islands, right, Which
isn't to say that the US claimed and without any
rhyme or reason. Though, Yeah, why do we start grabbing
up offshore territories anyway? I know America was young, scrappy
and hungary to borrow a phrase from Hamilton's, but we're
looking for ways to assert ourselves as a full blown
(19:29):
empire in the eyes of the rest of the world.
But that seems, I don't know, sort of impractical. Well,
we definitely did want that seat at the big boy table,
and expanding the country's boundaries certainly got us closer to
that goal. But there was actually a more practical reason too.
And you're gonna like this one, but back in the
early eighteen hundreds, our farming game wasn't so strong yet
Here in the States. We were producing tons and tons
(19:50):
of tobacco and cotton, but at the expense of the soil,
which was fast losing all of its nutrients. Yeah, I
guess George Washington Carver was still quite a few years off,
so crop rotation wouldn't have be and in vogue at
the time. That's right, while we were exhausting the soil,
and since industrialization was still a ways off, it was
becoming a very big problem for our fledgling economy. So
what's a young growing nation to do but start mining
(20:12):
bird poop from the barren islands off its short Wait,
that's why we have this territory, well many of them. Yeah,
these remote islands had been flyover spots for seabirds for
thousands of years. All those years of daily deposits allowed
for some pretty hefty build ups of atria rich fertilizer.
I'm not kidding, and that's what American farmers needed. So
Congress passed the Guano Islands Act in eighteen fifty six,
(20:35):
and we started calling DIBs on all the unclaimed islands
we could find. That is practical and kind of gross, yeah,
but it also doesn't explain why we've continued to hold
onto these territories. I mean, we aren't exactly hard up
for fertilizer anymore, and my friends in the guano mining
industry tell me the work has dropped off significantly over
the past two hundred years or so. I get that
nations aren't chomping at the bit to give up land.
(20:57):
There's only so much of it in the world, after all,
But there has to be more to it. I think
it has a lot to do with what the US
got an addition to copious mounds of bird poop. When
a nation claims territory, it doesn't just get land itself.
It gains possession as the surrounding waters for miles and
miles in all directions. That means Carte Blanc access to
fishing and undersea minerals and shipping lanes. Well, not to
(21:18):
mention the opportunity for tourism. That's big business for the
territories today, one of the reasons they feel so American
in some ways, even though their official status is a
little shaky. Yeah, that was one of the things that
jumped out to me while reading Doug max book. A
few of the U. S territories are total tourist magnets,
but it isn't always the people you'd expect to be visiting.
Like take the Virgin Islands for example. Unlike the Guanda
(21:40):
Rich Islands, the U S spot d s from Denmark
in the early nineteenth century. Today, Dane's flocked to the
US Virgin Islands to get a taste of their country's
colonial history. In fact, there's a weird dichotomy on the
islands and that Danish tourists largely visit for the historical
attractions like museums and tours of old forts, while American
tourists visit mainly for the beach is in the duty
(22:00):
free shopping. Well, we have established that Americans love shops,
but it's a little sad to hear Americans mostly think
of the territories as Beachfront mall right, and in some
cases they're not so much shopping destinations for Americans as
they are for international tourists who want to feel American.
You're thinking of Guam, I'm guessing exactly. Aside for the
local population, Guam is almost entirely made up of Navy
(22:22):
and Air Force personnel and an endless dream of tourists
from Russia, China, Japan, even Korea, And for the sake
of survival, the people from Guam have really had to
cater to this foreign crowd. There's this great part in
Doug max book where he describes visiting Guam and running
across an outback steakhouse, and it's just this really surreal
moment where he's outside the States looking at this Australian
(22:43):
themed US chain restaurant with a big glowing sign that
reads America's favorite steakhouse in Japanese. It was the steakhouse
was in Japanese. That's great. That reminds me of how
perhaps Blue Ribbon was rebranded in China for luxury markets
and sold for like eighty dollars of bottle because not
only was it American, but it won a Blue ribbon,
and yet Zima Gould can't get any international love despite
(23:06):
having that golden the title. I'm not sure that's what
the gold stood for. But of all the territories, Guam
really stands out for catering to a particular breed of tourists,
those who want to experience all the cliche excess of
US culture without actually visiting the States. And I mean
it sounds like those visitors get exactly what they're after.
Just listen to Duck's description of one of Guam's shopping districts.
(23:28):
If you're so inclined, in the course of a single afternoon,
you can rent a canary yellow Chevy Mustang or a
Harley Davidson, dress up like a cowboy and fire machine
gun at wild West Frontier Village, et a burger at
the Root sixty six Pub and Club by a bulk
size bag of your favorite beef turkey from the dedicated
section at the Souvenir Shop, and pose with the Statue
(23:49):
of Liberty with a baseball field in the background, before
ending the day with a Las Vegas style magic show
replete with white tigers and dancing show girls with feathery
head dresses. That just makes me feel patriotic. Yeah, that
really does sound like America, or maybe just Vegas. But
the territories do have places that are purposefully set up
to feel like mainland America. But what about the people
(24:09):
who lived there. I know that, with some exceptions, they
are American citizens, but do they seem like Americans right? Well,
we know they've got the shopping thing down path, but
maybe we should also take a look at the aspects
of history and culture that we talked about earlier. I
think those will really be deciding factors for what territories
can be considered places that truly feel American. But before
we get into that, let's break for a quiz. So,
(24:41):
our guest today is the author of this terrific book
we're discussing the not Quite States of America. After realizing
just how little he knew about the United States territories,
he set off on a globe hopping quest, covering more
than thirty thousand miles to see them all, and he's
here for us to ask him questions about every single
one of those miles. Doug mac Welcome to Part time Genius. Hi,
thanks for having me. So tell us how this book
(25:03):
idea came about and how long it took to make
it happen. I mean, thirty thousand miles is no short
track to to see all of these places. It's certainly not. UM.
So I have a degree, bachelor's degree in American studies. UM.
But in four years of study, we never even once
talked about the US territories. You know. We talked about
history and and politics and literature and all this stuff
(25:26):
about the States, though specifically right. Um. And then just
a few years ago, UM, I was with my wife
on a Saturday morning and she collects all the state quarters,
and she was putting a new quarter in her portfolio,
and uh, she kind of said late, looking on, there
are these quarters for the for the territories, and went,
oh right, we have territories, um, which is kind of
(25:50):
the response I get to every from everyone when I
say able book with territories. It's oh right, territories. That's
that's the thing. Um. And so that sort of sparked
this idea thought, you know, this is this is supposed
to be area of expertise, right, American studies, UM, all
this history, and did a little bit googling. I thought,
you know, this is these are really interesting places I
should go see them myself. UM. And and no one
(26:12):
had really written this book before, which is another thing
that you were about as a writer, is has anyone
already written this um? And turns out the answer is no.
And so was was your travel to any one of
these places more surprising than others? Yeah? So all of
the territories have a really interesting combination of what we
would think of as sort of like familiar American culture um.
(26:34):
And then and then their own region, right, So like
the US Virgin Islands. One of the very first things
that I saw as we're driving in from the airport
was there's a big baseball stadium with a big poster
saying they're going to be some major league stars appearing
in a couple of weeks. Um. You know, you kind
of expect that as in part of the USA. But
then a couple of blocks away was a big cricket
(26:55):
ground um and the use Origin Islands are part of
the West Indies crick team, which is one of the
most successful cricket teams in the world. Um. And so
you don't think of any part of the USA as
being you know, a cricket hotbed much less being both
a popular spot for baseball and for cricket, and so
there are a lot of things like that across the
(27:16):
territories where um, you know, there is something familiar and
then something completely differently. Now you you write a little
bit about um, you know they're thinking and the various
territories on the possibility of statehood, but in general, were
you surprised at the feelings from place to place on
on the idea of of achieving statehood. Yeah, well I was.
(27:36):
I was surprised by sort of the level of complexity
on that because there's no caught and dried answer, right so,
and and it varies from place to place. You know,
Puerto Rico certainly has has the biggest debate, met a
lot of people who were very strongly in favor of
becoming independent nation. They want nothing to do with the USA. UM.
(27:57):
Plenty of other people want to become a state. And
you know, certainly they have the population and then everything
that you know, they would fit right in. Um, I
think they would be about twenty ninth or so um
population wise. So yeah, it's it's it's really complicated, and
it's all it's always changing as well. So for example,
Guam right now has an independence moving movement that's starting
(28:17):
to get to pick up some steam. Um. But again,
even there, do you still have some people who wanted
to keep things the same and you have some people
who who want state hit. So um, there's there's not
really an easy answer there. Yeah. Now, which of these
territories would you say, if you had to pick one
to say is the most American? What would you say?
Possibly Guam they have the world's largest kmart. Um. Yeah.
(28:40):
I took a tour of the island with with a
military Veterans motorcycle club. Um and um they have amazing barbecue.
That's that's very much their own, their own thing. Um
with a particular marinee that's it's kind of unique to
to the Mariana Islands and Guam um and um. Man
(29:02):
just really felt felt familiar in American to me, but
also like it had some of these uh cultural differences
that that I don't get certainly where I live in Minneapolis,
But that too felt very American right that there, that
there's all these different people and traditions contributing to this
broader story of the U. S A. All right, well,
(29:23):
um mango, what game are we playing with Doug today?
Because Doug wrote the not quite States of America. We're
saddling him with a game called the not Quite Brilliant Quiz.
All right, so we've scoured newspapers and media headlines for
the phrase not quite something, and we want you to
fill in the blank. But to help you out, we'll
give you a rhyming clue as well. This is one
(29:43):
of more and more complicated games. So no pressure, Yeah,
no pressure at all. But are you Are you ready
to play? Doug? I think so? Okay, here we go.
All right, so question number one. I'll give you the
clue first, the answer rhymes with an abbreviation for corporation.
The answer rhymes with an abbreviation for corporation, all right.
(30:03):
And in Atlanta Journal Constitution story headlined speeding man had
alien doll passenger. The driver clocked in at eighty four
miles per hour or not quite blank speed? Yes, yes,
one for one? Okay, clue for number two. This answer
(30:25):
rhymes with the title of a Monty Python Broadway musical. Okay,
the question is the New Yorker titled a movie about
a Jackie. Oh wanna be not quite blank? Oh that's right,
Camelot right, yeah, And it rhymes with spam a lot.
Well done, two for two. Alright, question number three, there's
(30:46):
two left. Here we go. The clue is this answer
rhymes with how you describe a monkey named George in
a city a m car review the paper called a
new automobile fast but not quite blank furious. Yeah, it's curious.
(31:09):
I'll thank my my toddler daughter in her book collection. Alright,
last one here, This answer rhymes with spam gurglar, which
isn't a word that makes sense. Okay. The question is
a New Jersey radio station referred to a man who
tried to rob a Burger King as not quite blank. Uh,
(31:32):
it's probably not Ronald McDonald. That will be a hamburgler. Yes,
well don alright, so how did Doug you mango? So
Doug one incredible four four, which wins our hard earned admiration,
which is also known as our number one best not
quite Prize. Alright, congratulations Doug, and thanks so much for
being on part time genius. I hope all of you
(31:52):
will check out not quite states dot com to find
out about Doug's book tour. On August first, he'll be
in New York. August second, he'll be in Boston. But
you can see on the website for his other stops.
Safe Travels Doug, and thanks a lot for writing a
great book. Yeah, thanks for having to appreciate it. So
(32:22):
we were talking about all the things that make the
not quite states of America feel like the real thing.
So what's the scoop on the local Well, I think
one of the main similarities to people's state side is
that people in the territories have this really strong sense
of sharing the load. There are these really tightly knit
communities of families and friends that look out for one
another despite having to constantly compete for resources. In some cases,
(32:44):
this is especially true of American Samoa, which is one
of the less developed, not as touristy territories. American Samoa
is an interesting case, and it is the only inhabited
territory that's neither incorporated nor organized. It's actually the least
American territory in a legal sense. But on the other hand,
the locals have a culture that closely mirrors part of
the mainland lifestyle. And what do you think about Well,
(33:04):
for one thing, American Samoans love football, and they're really
good at it too. American football, of course, so Christian
missionaries introduced the locals to rugby a long time ago,
so when American television brought the NFL to the region,
many players made the switch from a European pastime to
a more American one. In fact, there were twenty eight
NFL players of American Samoan descent at the start of
(33:25):
the two thousand fifteen two thousand and sixteen season. They've
really taken to it, and that's awesome. I've also heard
their avid web surfers because the internet speeds are crazy fast.
They're like faster than they are here on the mainland.
Oh and another really telling fact about American Samoa is
its military enlistment rate. It is pretty high, isn't it
the highest? I mean, American Samoa has the greatest enlistment
(33:46):
rate and casualty rate of any U S territory or state. Wow,
that is incredible. Yeah. And the craziest part is that
the American Samoans are only considered American nationals, not full citizens.
So they are fighting and all too often dying for
a that doesn't even recognize them as its citizens, which
is kind of heartbreaking. Yeah, that is heartbreaking, especially when
you consider how strong the sense of patriotism is they're like,
(34:08):
apart from a shared love of football and fast food.
By the way, there are two McDonald's on the island.
The people that really take pride in being American. But
what's the difference between being a national and a citizen.
It's confusing, So I'm gonna quote Columbia law professor Christina
Duffy Ponza here. Congress originally refused to give the inhabitants
of the new territories citizenship, but the court decided that
(34:29):
they weren't quite foreigners either. Eventually, the State Department came
up with the label nationals, and while simons chose to
stay nationals at some point to protect their cultural identity,
it also meant they can't get civil service jobs in
the US, or vote here, or help their families immigrate,
even if they've served in the military. But on the
other hand, clearly there's a sense of shared history and
(34:51):
the territories that makes them feel more connected. Unlike somewhere
like Canada or Australia, which have broad similarities to US
and a bit of crossover. The territories are active parts
of American history. They were the sites of some key
battles in many of our wars, including Saipan in the
Northern Mariana Islands, which was the bloodiest twentieth century battleground
anywhere in the US, and today they still serve as
(35:13):
strategic outposts for the military, healthing as monitor potential threats
from overseas well. That's a great point. So mainland Americans
have a tendency to overlook their connection to the territories,
but the people who live there could never be accused
of ignoring American identity. I mean, with few exceptions, there
isn't even a major push for independence or autonomy within
the territories. Most seemed perfectly content, proud even to maintain
(35:35):
their connection to the US, even if it hasn't treated
them completely fairly in the past. That's right. Puerto Rico
definitely stands the best chance of achieving statehood and seems
the most eager to do so, but even that's uncertain
and not likely to happen anytime soon. There are a
few factors on its side, though, specifically the population and
the sheer size of its land mass. It's much bigger
than the other territories, and it's actually larger than Delaware
(35:57):
and Rhode Island as well. It's also home over three
point five million people, which is ten times the population
of all the other territories put together. Wow. Yeah, And
the size alone helps lend an American feel to Puerto Rico.
Like we mentioned earlier, the mainland US is big, which
gives it a lot of diversity in terms of climate
and geography. Puerto Rico is the only territory that's big
enough to have entire sections that look and feel completely
(36:21):
differently from one another, complete with their own local vibes
and cultural quirk. That definitely helps Puerto Rico feel more American.
And while I hate to steer us back to shopping,
I really want to mention that Puerto Rico is home
to just about every American brand you can think of,
including Macaroni Grille, Costco, Sands Club, Cheesecake Factory, even at
the first Macy's department store outside the Conno US. Wow.
(36:43):
So another taste of the American experience for tourists, right. Well,
that's the thing. Doug Max suggests that unlike Guam or
some of the other more crossly commercial parts of the territories,
Puerto Rico feels extra American because those are the locals taste,
not the tourists. That is interesting. I know it tells
us that the reason Puerto Rico was home to the
highest concentration of walmarts in the world is not because
(37:03):
it's trying to appeal to outsiders with American taste. It's
because they're trying to peel to Americans, or, in other words,
to themselves. I like that. Still the most American places
in the world, So those are in America. Is that cheating? Well,
it's something we could all probably stand to remember more
often until we can easily rattle off the territories and
their capitals like we do for states. I'm going to
(37:25):
have to give us a pass. But one case where
cheating is never tolerated, the part time genius backed off.
What do you say? Well, all right, bring it on.
H So. Shoichi Yokoi, a Japanese sergeant during World War Two,
(37:46):
was stationed in Guam when the war ended. The only
problem he didn't know the war ended and hidden the
Jungles for nearly twenty eight years. He survived on a
diet of frogs, rats, and other small animals. So what
happened when he was finally found by a couple of
hunters in nineteen seventy two, he was allowed to return
to Japan and live out the rest of his life
as a celebrity. So what are some of the most
(38:07):
American places in the States? Going by name alone, there
are quite a few cities worthy of the title, including
three named Independence, two named Freedom, and a whopping nine
named Liberty, not to mention the ones that crib directly
from the country's names, such as American Fork, Utah, American
Falls City, Idaho, and American Canyon, California. Do you know
(38:27):
in two thousand thirteen, Samoa Air started a very un
American policy where they started charging people airfare based on
their weight. Well, their weight and their luggage is weight.
And when people were furious about it, they just countered, well,
you'll pay less for your kids. So, according to Thrillist,
in the mcguro neighborhood of Tokyo, aspiring Japanese cow pokes
and stetson and wranglers line dance to the sound of
(38:50):
Brad Paisley at the Little Texas Honky tonk Bar. You
know what a sucker I am for wranglers and honkey
talk bar. I know you are, so I hate to
say it, but I've got to give it to you
for this episode. Well, I'm thrilled to have won this week,
but I don't have to be the only one. Listeners,
remember to send your submissions for our Territoriesnemonic contest. There
are big prizes on the line. And that's it for
(39:10):
today's episode of Part Time Genius. Thanks so much for listening.
(39:32):
Thanks again for listening. Part Time Genius is a production
of how stuff works and wouldn't be possible without several
brilliant people who do the important things we couldn't even
begin to understand. Christa McNeil does the editing thing. Noel
Brown made the theme song and does the MIXI mixy
sound thing. Jerry Rowland does the exact producer thing. Gabe
Bluesier is our lead researcher, with support from the Research
Army including Austin Thompson, Nolan Brown and Lucas Adams and
(39:54):
Eve Jeff Cook gets the show to your ears. Good job,
eves Se
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