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27 Folks All Over The World Reveal Their Equivalent Of “One Mississippi”
Every country in the world is different and filled with unique folks. That’s why the cultures, styles of dressing, and behavior vary, even from one tiny region to the next. What you probably didn’t realize is that something as normal as counting can also vastly differ.
Characters in movies and television often say “one Mississippi, two Mississippi” and so on when they want to count slowly, but did you know this method varies worldwide? That’s why the global citizens in this list are sharing their style of slow counting.
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#1
Scotland here. I use one elephant, two elephant. This is despite the fact elephants are rarely seen roaming through the glens, the rolling heather, or the streets of Auchtermuchty.
Karl der Große 4 months ago
There was a theory that gained a lot of traction about two decades ago that the famous Loch Ness monster photo was actually a circus elephant taking a bath.
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#2
In Danish we have "One case of beer, two case of beer" not even kidding.
Somebodys grandmother 4 months ago
And a case of beer is 30, former 50... so it is NOT those silly 6 you show...
It might seem weird that people use the name of a place or an animal as a way to count. These words and phrases actually serve as placeholders to be able to accurately count time. Rather than fumble our way through by trying to count the seconds, these words are designed to help us do it without having to think about it too much.
The practice of using placeholders like "one Mississippi" is documented as early as 1960. It was originally used by people while playing games. Other interesting uses were by photographers who couldn’t see their watches in the darkroom. They could then measure time by speaking these words at a conversational rate, thereby understanding how many seconds had passed.
#6
Easy.
One! ah ah ah ah aaaahhh.
Two! ah ah ah ah aaaahhh.
Three! ah ah ah ah aaaahh.
Michael Largey 4 months ago
"Name you favorite literary Vampire." "The one on Sesame Street." "He doesn't count." "I assure you that he does."
It’s interesting to see how many counting variations exist across the world. The word or phrase is often created to suit the place it is being used in. For example, a popular counting placeholder in England is the phrase “Piccadilly one, Piccadilly two.” Longer words like this are often better suited to counting because of the time it takes for people to pronounce them.
Animal names are also popularly used for counting. The most common one seems to be ‘crocodile,’ which is used in England, France, and even Poland. Nobody would actually like to count crocodiles, but as a technique to pass time, it’s probably one of the best options yet. Just like that, chimpanzees, elephants, and hippos are also used.
#7
As a New Yorker, I count
“One Muthaf*ckah, Two Muthaf*ckahs…”.
#8
I actually grew up in Mississippi, and as a child I just assumed other people used whatever state they lived in. Was shocked to find out otherwise haha.
#9
I just listen to the tinnitus. One *EeeEeeEEeeeE* Two *EeeEeeeeEEeeeE*.
It is often shocking to realize that something you considered so normal and commonplace in your country could be completely different in another place. The same goes for these counting systems. It’s confusing to imagine why each place uses different phrases to count the same passage of time.
This is because language and culture vary from region to region. People incorporate different styles of talking based on what they see in their daily lives and their lived experiences. Even the Internet and social media can influence what people feel most comfortable with. That’s how these counting methods evolve and change from country to country.
#10
'Enentwintig, tweeëntwintig, drieëntwintig ' (21, 22, 23 in Dutch).
#11
Brit here.
Naturally, we use the time honoured tradition of 'one God save the King,' 'two God save the King', etc, etc.
#12
If you're not in the U.S., you have to use metric terms. One milliminute, two milliminute.
Edit: I forgot about Canada. One maple leaf, two maple leaf.
These placeholder words for counting are just a small example of how people are different all across the globe. There are even greater differences that exist between us that make us unique and interesting. Unfortunately, there are some people who can’t accept this and put other folks down for not being from the same cookie-cutter mold.
Instead of fighting over our differences, we should appreciate how fascinating each of our cultures is. There is always so much to learn and do differently that we’ll never run out of interesting things to try. One of the best places to start is by trying out some of these fun ways to count.
#13
In Chinese it’s 1-2-3-4, 2-2-3–4, 3-2-3-4 and so on. You usually stop what you’re doing at 10 and repeat .
#14
Australian here - Not sure where it came from but as kids at school we'd say "one cat and dog, two cat and dog..".
#15
I am American but I usually did alligator, one alligator, two alligator.
geezeronthehill 4 months ago
It's allowed. There's probably forty'leven ways to count seconds across the continent.
The next time you play a game with your friends and need to count the time, why don’t you use one of these cool placeholders? Sure, it might confuse the heck out of all of the players involved, but it might also start an interesting discussion about different ways of doing things all across the world.
Do you have any more examples of different methods of doing the same thing across the globe? If so, we’d love to hear from you.
#16
Here in Japan we just elongate the numbers like
“I-chi, Ni-i, Sa-n, Shi-i, Go-o, Ro-ku” etc.
#18
Brazilian here.
We say: *Um indiozinho, dois indiozinhos..*
(One indigenous toddler / Two Indigenous toddlers )
It is so cute!
Please dont ask me why people do that lol. I left the country over fifteen years ago though. So a GenZ may have a different answer.
DON'T QUOTE ME ON THAT. DON'T MAKE ME SOUND OLD LMAO.
#19
In India, we say “tick tick one, tick tick two….”.
#20
In Quebecois french we have "Un bateau bateau, deux bateaux bateaux." I don't know if France french uses the same.
(One boat boat, two boats boats. The x on bateaux is mute.).
#21
Canadian here, I learned the one Mississippi, but also "One steamboat, Two steamboat.."
Funny side fact: I live near a river in eastern Ontario which is also named Mississippi. Just not the same one.
#22
Brazil here: Um elefantinho, dois elefantinhos, três elefantinhos...
(one little elephant, two little elephants, three little elephants...).
#25
One locomotive, two locomotive, etc.
This one stuck with me from watching a Lamb Chop episode when I was a kid.
#26
When I was growing up it was "One Mississippi..." Which was odd because none of us knew where that was.
#27
Did anyone else learn to spell Mississippi with the chant: “M-I-crooked letter, crooked letter, I, crooked letter, crooked letter I, humpback humpback I.”.
JayWantsACat 4 months ago
I learned through a sing-songy spelling, EM-eye-ess ess EYE-ess-ess EYE-pee-pee-EYE. Basically just spelling it out but kind of with a rhythm.
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Rick Murray 4 months ago
Having had to stand in the corner plenty of times as a young child, I count seconds as "one aaand two aaand three aaand four aaand...". Even now, when I'm thinking about it I'm usually good within about two or three seconds in a minute. If I'm not thinking I lose count and just start picking numbers at random.
XenoMurph 4 months ago
I'm 52, I've never needed to time things in this manner. I have no mississippi uses.
Auntriarch 4 months ago
I was told to count chimpanzees. But my resting heart rate is between 59 and 62 beats per minute so I generally use heartbeats if I need seconds. Which is rare.
Load More Replies... Rick Murray 4 months ago
Having had to stand in the corner plenty of times as a young child, I count seconds as "one aaand two aaand three aaand four aaand...". Even now, when I'm thinking about it I'm usually good within about two or three seconds in a minute. If I'm not thinking I lose count and just start picking numbers at random.
XenoMurph 4 months ago
I'm 52, I've never needed to time things in this manner. I have no mississippi uses.
Auntriarch 4 months ago
I was told to count chimpanzees. But my resting heart rate is between 59 and 62 beats per minute so I generally use heartbeats if I need seconds. Which is rare.
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