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We all make fools out of ourselves every now and then. Nobody is safe from that unwelcome sense of anxiety once you realized the thing you just said makes zero sense. But things that leave your mouth, whether IRL or online, do stay there, oftentimes forever.

And there’s a whole corner of Reddit, r/S***AmericansSay, dedicated entirely to the mission of collecting the stupidest, funniest, and sometimes embarrassing cases of people being so convinced they know better when they couldn’t be further away from the truth.

So let’s ready ourselves for the ensued hilarity, ‘cause we are about to have a fair share of it, trust me.

#2

“Who Was The First Country On Planet Earth To Ban Slavery? That’s Right, America”

“Who Was The First Country On Planet Earth To Ban Slavery? That’s Right, America”

Aironwood Report

There’s an abundance of scientific evidence that shows humans are poor judges of their own abilities, whether it’s their sense of humor or grammar. In fact, psychologists believe that we are more blind to our own failings than we realize. This idea comes from the 1999 study in which David Dunning and Justin Kruger from Cornell University, New York, tested if people who lack skills and abilities are also more likely to lack awareness of their lack of ability.

#3

You're On The Internet, Which Is American

You're On The Internet, Which Is American

Nulligravida Report

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Sum Guy
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The internet has helped us see how much of a total s**t show the USA is... they can't hide behind the propaganda machine we call movies

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The results of the tests led the authors to the interpretation that accurately assessing one's skill level relies on some of the same core abilities as actually performing that skill. It led them to the conclusion that the least competent maybe suffering a double deficit.

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#6

Well Allocated Funds

Well Allocated Funds

lNoahl Report

“Not only are they incompetent, but they lack the mental tools to judge their own incompetence,” Kruger and Dunning thought. During the course of four individual tests run on participants, the scientists discovered that “People who scored in the lowest percentiles on tests of grammar, humor, and logic also tended to dramatically overestimate how well they had performed (their actual test scores placed them in the 12th percentile, but they estimated that their performance placed them in the 62nd percentile).”

#7

Pridemonth

Pridemonth

unknown Report

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Cath Homer
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Homosexuality is illegal in Liberia. Maybe it was deliberate? *reaching*

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#8

'People Who Leave Their Phones Set To Military Time Are War Criminals'

'People Who Leave Their Phones Set To Military Time Are War Criminals'

reddit.com Report

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Rick
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I was older than I would EVER care to publicly admit when I learned that “military time” I often heard referred was not some secret, complicated way of working out the time you’re only privy to having served in the army but simply the reading of a 24 hour clock.

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Dunning shared his impressions in an article for Pacific Standard: "In many cases, incompetence does not leave people disoriented, perplexed, or cautious. Instead, the incompetent are often blessed with an inappropriate confidence, buoyed by something that feels to them like knowledge." The phenomenon is known as the Dunning-Kruger Effect and most of us have surely encountered numerous cases of it in real life.

#9

Go To Panama, This Is America

Go To Panama, This Is America

Pontoisien Report

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Hans
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I would be tempted to argue that THIS is the virtual, borderless world....

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#11

“More People Use Imperial Than Metric”

“More People Use Imperial Than Metric”

Corporal-Porpoise Report

#13

People Engaging Me In German Because I Look German

People Engaging Me In German Because I Look German

Mr_-_X Report

#15

Where Does It Say In The Constitution Or Any Of The Amendments That Eating Is A Human Right?

Where Does It Say In The Constitution Or Any Of The Amendments That Eating Is A Human Right?

Liam_Noble Report

#16

"More People Know About Our Smallest State Vermont Then The Amsterdam"

"More People Know About Our Smallest State Vermont Then The Amsterdam"

Particular_Edge2308 Report

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Ryan Deschanel
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"SHUT UP ! DON'T PROVE ME WRONG YOU FILTHY INFERIOR FOREIGNER!!!!!"

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#17

“We Will Never Rewrite The Constitution”

“We Will Never Rewrite The Constitution”

reddit.com Report

#18

Your Haircuts Are Un-American

Your Haircuts Are Un-American

3Squareheadz Report

#20

Hmmmmmmm

Hmmmmmmm

Classic-CJ Report

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Eslamala
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Sure, just like "america" celebrates other countries' independence day 🙄

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#21

Why Is Munich Spelled "München" On Signs In Germany?

Why Is Munich Spelled "München" On Signs In Germany?

Merlin428bretz Report

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Marianne
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Munich citizen here. I can confirm that we do, in fact, write signs in our own language. We are crazy people!

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#22

“...your Hip Would Break Because Their Medical Staff Is Garage...”

“...your Hip Would Break Because Their Medical Staff Is Garage...”

ThatMusicKid Report

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Luther von Wolfen
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I know people who have travelled to other countries to get medical/dental care because the air fair and other expenses plus cost of treatment were cheaper than in US. It is literally true.

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#23

Do You Guys Have Refrigerators?

Do You Guys Have Refrigerators?

anotherwankusername Report

#24

"Offended By Our Patriotism, Wattpad Girl?"

"Offended By Our Patriotism, Wattpad Girl?"

KWAKUDATSU Report

#25

The Titanic Is Just A Movie, Right?

The Titanic Is Just A Movie, Right?

unknown Report

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Rick
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Canadians also think Star Wars was completely made up so I wouldn’t worry too much about what they think.

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#27

“I Am In Rhode Island”. “Nice, Ever Been To The USA Before”?

“I Am In Rhode Island”. “Nice, Ever Been To The USA Before”?

reddit.com Report

#28

Biden's America

Biden's America

unknown Report

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Rick
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

*Random person falls down in Greece* “Biden’s America”.

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#29

"At Least American Toilets Aren't Just Holes In The Ground"

"At Least American Toilets Aren't Just Holes In The Ground"

RogueArtemis Report

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Ryan Deschanel
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Doesn't Angel Merkel just pee in the Spree ? Doesn't the queen's butler empty her chamber pot in the Thames every morning ?

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#30

What Does He Care? He's Not A Us Citizen, He's Not Effected

What Does He Care? He's Not A Us Citizen, He's Not Effected

sandiercy Report

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Foxxy (The Original)
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I didn’t realise that the US was global, oh wait, they do have the World Series which only the US plays in. so I guess it makes sense lol.

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#31

Would Love To See Some Of These Countries Try To F With Us

Would Love To See Some Of These Countries Try To F With Us

louckak Report

#32

“The White House Is Bigger Than All The Countries You Named”

“The White House Is Bigger Than All The Countries You Named”

theelleintraveller Report

#33

"I'd Rather Receive False Information..."

"I'd Rather Receive False Information..."

Theemuts Report

#35

Commie Divas

Commie Divas

Gerceval_ Report

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N G
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Ugh, this doesn't belong here. "Soccer" is a British word. Yes, the Americans took it and ran with it (no pun intended), but it originated in Oxford in about 1890. Americans didn't invent it.

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#36

(Sad) Mistake A North Korean Flag For A Texan Flag

(Sad) Mistake A North Korean Flag For A Texan Flag

GriffinFTW Report

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Gemma
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Plot twist: they're holding a sign denouncing Kim Jong-un.

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#37

But We Can Pock Whatever Doctor Or Healthcare Insurer We Want! We Win

But We Can Pock Whatever Doctor Or Healthcare Insurer We Want! We Win

Mr_-_X Report

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Luther von Wolfen
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We can pick whatever doctor or hospital we want to be in debt to for the rest of our lives!

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#38

“They Started Faking An Accent”

“They Started Faking An Accent”

ArkhamKnight342 Report

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troufaki13
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Some people believe that the Earth is 2000 years old. This one thinks it's 200 yo apparently

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#39

"[...]although My Ancestry Dna Gives Me Zero Italian Dna On My Dad's Side, I'll Stick With Being 1/4 Italian!"

"[...]although My Ancestry Dna Gives Me Zero Italian Dna On My Dad's Side, I'll Stick With Being 1/4 Italian!"

azulhombre Report

#40

"It's Amazing To See How Few Countries Know That "Soccer" Is The Correct Term"

"It's Amazing To See How Few Countries Know That "Soccer" Is The Correct Term"

Andros1510Ro Report

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troufaki13
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

According to Americans, football is not a game played with a ball and feet, but with a "ball" and hands. Well, OK then...

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J. F.
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Football is called so in the US because the "Egg" is one foot long - wouldn't work with the metric system that's in use everywhere else

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Les Izmore
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Football is so much better name for the sport where you kick a ball than the one where you carry and throw it

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Hans_not_the_real_Hans
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

There is a sport called "Handball". You throw and run with a ball and throw it into a goal. So for me American Football should be called American Handball! Or American Rugby...

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Ryan Deschanel
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

There are just different words for the same thing... That's how languages work sometimes... But this self-centered moron assumes their way is the "correct" one for some reason...

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MistyCat
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

FOOTBALL. Many kids have teased me because I call football by its correct name. Suck my nonexistent d**k, you tiny-minded bitches.

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Raura Chiang
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Even in Chinese, it’s still called football, just written in Chinese characters! LOL

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kjorn
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Football makes more sense... you know... FOOT+BALL.

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Hans
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

When you get all the data and still draw the wrong conclusions...

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M O'Connell
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's probably because of "Australian Football" which frankly, is better than American Football.

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Christopher Walkies
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Strangely proud to see Ireland represent. Like Australia, we call it soccer as we have our own weird and wonderful football.

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Penny Fan
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Even fewer people know that "soccer" was upper-class slang for "Association Football". Like rugby is sometimes known as "rugger"

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Foxxy (The Original)
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We call it soccer because we already had sports called football established in Australia. We have Aussie rules football (AFL) and Rugby (NFL).

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Robert T
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Well that pretty much sums up why - football is used in all countries except for those who have another sport which is also named football, and they then call it soccer to avoid confusion.

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PurpleUnicorn
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The reason Ireland uses "soccer" is because"football" refers to gaelic football, which is more like Australian rules (which is why Aussies use "soccer"). ergo the US uses "soccer" to differentiate from American football...l

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Raccoon
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I say soccer, because I am from the US, but if someone asks me about football I would ask if they mean American football or football. Also when I type soccer this comes up: ⚽️ When I type football this comes up: 🏈 Why?!?

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Nixxy
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Neither soccer or football is correct term. They are equal

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May Day
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I thought of a sarcastic comment but doubt the person would understand it, considering their level of education.

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Ian MacFarlane
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Teams in the American Major Soccer League call themselves "Football Clubs." That's what the "F C" after their official names means.

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Jen Cook
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Just want to point our the difference in actual foot contact with the ball with American & Canadian football vs everywhere else football, America and here in Canada, it's illogical by comparison.

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TheHappyBookCat
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You kick a ball with your foot. The term football clearly doesn't make sense, right?

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Timmy Pillinger
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

English Southwestener: it's Association (soccer) Football, not Rugby (Rugger) Football. Either term is understood. Odd really, since soccer is pretty much the only football where you cannot pick up the ball.

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I I
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

yeah lets call a game that was first played in another country soccer because yanks call rugby football

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Damo Lee Park
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Both are right. It's actually Associated Football. Just like League is actually Rugby League Football, and Union is actually Rugby Union Football. And like League and Rugby got shortened, Associated Football got shortened to Soccer.

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John Fahlman
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

https://www.britannica.com/story/why-do-some-people-call-football-soccer#:~:text=One%20of%20the%20best%2Dknown,that%20soccer%20is%20an%20Americanism.

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Steve Haigh
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Whilst Japan takes the word for football from "soccer" their league is the JFL (Japan Football League) so officially they have it correct even if they never use that word outside of the name of the league.

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Dónal Ó Murchadha
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Soccer is a slang word from England. In the same way that rugger is slang for rugby, soccer is slang for as(soc)iation football.

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lenniee
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In Greek its ποδόσφαιρο (Podosfero) but it translates to "foot sphere"

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Nikki Owens
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Well, "sphere" and "ball" are synonymous, so it's still the same thing. :)

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Zoe Vokes
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I didn’t know Australia and Southern Africa called it Soccer. I thought it was only America.

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brukernavn340
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I find it interesting though, that most of non-British English speaking countries, use "soccer".

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person (i think)
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

There are more countries that say “soccer” than I realized! I thought it was only in America!

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Steve
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Serious question, where did the name "Soccer" even come from?

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Nikki Owens
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Technically not wrong. Soccer is the more *specific* name of the game, while football is a generic term used for whichever is the most popular form of "ball kicking" game in any given country. In Australia & New Zealand, for example, football refers to rugby, which is our most popular form. In the US, football refers to gridiron, which is the most popular form there. It's just that in most countries, soccer is most popular, so that's the game that gets designated as football. Interestingly, this mirrors the historic use of the word "corn", which originally referred to whatever grain was the principal cereal crop of any given region. So "corn" in Western Europe used to mean wheat, while in Eastern Europe it was rye, and in the New World (America) it was maize.

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𝔹𝕖𝕝𝕝𝕒
Community Member
2 years ago

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Football is football. Soccer is soccer. Idk why so many countries call soccer football.

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#42

Is Mediterranean A Slur To Italians?

Is Mediterranean A Slur To Italians?

big-black-ramarro Report

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Rick
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I’m actually going to start using this! “Ugh, you’re *so* Mediterranean”.

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#43

Are We Acting Like That's Not Possible?

Are We Acting Like That's Not Possible?

DoUEvenCloudDistrict Report

#44

"American Deaths Are Worth More"

"American Deaths Are Worth More"

zzvu Report

#45

European Countries Don't Have Elections As They Are Too Poor To Pay For The Patent Rights

European Countries Don't Have Elections As They Are Too Poor To Pay For The Patent Rights

StrammerMax Report

#46

Wait Other Countries Didn't Have To Sing Their National Anthem Everyday At School For 12 Years???

Wait Other Countries Didn't Have To Sing Their National Anthem Everyday At School For 12 Years???

reddit.com Report

#47

The Real Heros Are The Ones Who Served The Us Military

The Real Heros Are The Ones Who Served The Us Military

A_Cat_Named_Frank Report

#50

My Ancestors Are American And They Came From America

My Ancestors Are American And They Came From America

reddit.com Report

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Ryan Deschanel
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Maybe they are a 100% pure native american with a French surname and the Quebec province is a myth ? No. Definitely not. They are just an ignorant idiot.

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#51

Europe Is A Country

Europe Is A Country

unknown Report

Note: this post originally had 80 images. It’s been shortened to the top 51 images based on user votes.