We Asked Americans To React To British Things – They Pretty Much Nailed It

"It’s a fact that no one truly knows how cricket works."

We sent 16 uncaptioned photos that sum up Britain to BuzzFeed offices in LA and New York and asked them to write down the first thing that came into their heads. Twenty-one people replied. This is what they said:

1. Yorkshire puddings

Creative Commons / Via Flickr: ajshepherd

Lauren: Steaming cheesy pots!

Stacey: Bagel volcano things.

Logan: Custard-filled pastries.

Cates: The food of the gods, aka Yorkshire pudding.

Claire: Is this a breakfast food? This looks like a breakfast food. What goes in the middle of that thing? I hope it's for whipped cream. This looks like the perfect vessel for holding an American-sized amount of whipped cream.

Erin C: Those are Yorkshire puddings and they are the tits. You eat them with a Sunday roast and, if you know what's good for you, you fill 'em up with gravy before shoving them into your mouth hole.

2. Boris Johnson, the mayor of London

Leon Neal / Getty Images

Sami: Someone's sad dad.

Lauren: I LOVE THIS GUY. His name is Boris, right? Or something like that. Isn't he the mayor? Great hair.

Alexis: He has straw for hair and needs to deep-condition.

Jess: This is Boris Johnson! I remember when he got stuck on that zip line.

Mike: He looks like the lead in a Lifetime movie on the life of Gary Busey.

Keely: Wow, a member of the Malfoy family boxing!

Cates: This is the whitest man to ever live. No wonder he got elected.

3. WKD Blue

Creative Commons / Via Flickr: cute-is-what-i-aim-for

Sarah: Marketing ploy to get children to drink alcohol.

Sami: Vodka that tastes like a Jolly Rancher candy.

Alexis: In America, we use this to clean windows. IDK what you do with it, but it's probably something WEIRD.

Jess: This is DEFINITELY the first thing you get drunk on when you're a ~cool British teen~.

Kevin: Hmmm, a few of these and I might do some things that I don't normally do.

4. Cricket

Dan Mullan / Getty Images

Here we asked people to (briefly) explain the rules of cricket.

Jess: Two people beat each other on the shins with wooden paddleboards until someone cries. The loser has to speak only in cricket chirps until the next match.

Chelsea: It's a fact that no one truly knows how cricket works. Everyone just acts like they do, and because they do it in a British accent, Americans don't question it. I will say that that red ball that that guy is clearly missing is called a snitch.

Erin C: You put on an embarrassing amount of pads, hit a ball, and run back and forth between two mailbox posts before the ball is fielded and thrown back to the pitcher. Only rich people play it and there's not nearly enough beer-drinking.

Lauren: You hit the ball and then run the bases and you get home runs and BASEBALL RULES!!

Jack: The Batsman stands at 10s and 4s to defend the Wiki. The Bowler's aim is to knock the Hitching Posts off the Wiki (a Bumbler or Double-Bumbler, depending on how many Hitching Posts get dislodged), and the Grab Man is there to return his missed attempts. The Batsman can score points for his side (or Rasher) either by hitting the ball in to one of six Sovereign Chipping Zones and then running between the Wiki and a single post near to where the Bowler throws his Toss (the single post is known as Brian), or by slicing the ball in half with his Bat (hence the shape). The teams change sides when the Bowler dislodges six total Hitching Posts, and games are played for a minimum of 18 days.

5. Morris dancers

Newsfocus1 / Getty Images

Here we asked what people thought these guys were up to.

Krutika: Boxing Day? WTF is Boxing Day?

Mike: Some of your indigenous people performing an ancient ritual.

Jack: These men are British air traffic controllers.

Erin C: They're about to face off against a bunch of men wearing O's on their shirt in the world's most intense game of Human Tic-Tac-Toe.

Alexis: Homeboy in the front needs to get his handkerchief up in the goddamn air – he's clearly behind on the dance steps and is going to throw everyone off.

Stacey: People livin' the dream.

6. Wetherspoon's

Matt Cardy / Getty Images

Sami: Like an all-you-can-eat buffet but only for people eating alone.

Cates: Looks like a decent place to take your parents to when they're in town visiting.

Erin C: This looks like a real boring pub where boring people drink boring beers.

Kevin: Is this where the Red Light District meets fine dining?

Krutika: Cheeky Nando's.

Lauren: Looks boring as fuckkkkkk. Lot of old people.

Logan: Seems like a chill bar. I'm sure that red light is a hint at something, but I don't know what it is. Oh man, is this a strip club? Is this what a strip club looks like in the UK? Why is no one looking at the stage? What is this? This is just a normal bar, isn't it?

7. Nando's

Creative Commons / Via Flickr: mckln

Erin L: YUM. Is this British food? Where's the boiled potato? Where's the weird sauce? This looks like something you'd find in America, in that it involves rice and chicken. What are you doing in the UK, beautiful food?

Cates: I saw a tweet like this that ended with a dude literally fucking a whole chicken so I'm kind of put off by this picture.

Alexis: That chicken had hopes and dreams and now look what you've done.

Chelsea: I guess this looks good? The bread part does. There is a flag in the chicken to declare it part of the British empire, a weird habit that continues after they lost America. ~ZING~

Kasia: Please put it all in my mouth.

Krutika: Archbishop of Banterbury.

Julia: NANDO'S. I miss this place every day of my goddamn wretched life.

8. Pimm's

Creative Commons / Via Flickr: chrisgold

Jack: Yes, please.

Anna: It looks ~summery~ and alcoholic. Would drink.

Erin L: Get this punch inside me now.

Alexis: It looks like sangria, but knowing England, you've ruined it.

Erin C: This drink looks like it tastes like happiness and sunshine.

Jess: Is that kale? This looks like a well-balanced meal.

Logan: This is what it'd look like if you made sangria with iced tea instead of wine. And if that's not what this is, then dibs on that idea because it is genius.

9. The Stoor, Isle of Skye

Mnieteq / Getty Images

Sami: Like if desktop wallpapers were real. This is pretty!

Alexis: Stop lying, this is New Zealand.

Claire: I want to go there and ride a horse through this countryside.

Sarah G: Is that where Elizabeth Bennet has a dream of herself standing on the edge of a cliff in the 2004 version of Pride and Prejudice? I'd like to go there.

Jess: THIS IS SO PRETTY AND I WANT TO GO TO IT.

Erin C: This is in the Highlands of Scotland and it's a prehistoric landslide. I think it's called Old Man of Storr and I really really want to go there please take me there.

Lauren: Game of Thrones. I think this is probably close to where The Hound died.

10. The Magic Roundabout, Swindon

Via othmarstrombone.wordpress.com

Anna: Chaos. This is what hell looks like, I'm pretty sure.

Alexis: This is my nightmare. My actual living nightmare. I hate driving and this is just not OK. I need a drink after seeing this. I'm so high-strung after this.

Chelsea: This is a trap.

Jack: This is clearly what you guys refer to as your A-levels, an intelligence test that decides who gets to rise to the upper levels or power in your society, and who becomes an air traffic controller.

Krutika: British crop circles.

Erin C: This looks like a health class chart about egg fertilization.

11. Prawn cocktail crisps

Creative Commons / Via Flickr: sgrice

Cates: Literally why? Of all the possible flavors, why would you want a fishy-tasting chip?

Keely: Time to set the world on fire.

Logan: Nah. Fuck that. I am not OK with this. No. Nuh uh. Y'all gone too far.

Jess: WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU GUYS.

Jack: I am consumed with jealousy! It is an outrage that America has never embraced prawn, and a national embarrassment!! Please, if you're an American reading this, write your senator today. Together, we can right this wrong!!!

12. A bacon sandwich

Creative Commons / Via Flickr: lambtonwyrm

Sarah: This is the Sansa of bacon sandwiches.

Alexis: Are you trying to hurt my feelings? You're succeeding.

Jess: This is considered a salad in Britain, right?

Chelsea: What? I'm sure it's good but also, have a little dignity, Britain. This seems like a sandwich you make for yourself in college and are too ashamed to tell anyone about even though it's delicious.

Mike: Is that what you call a buttie? Regardless, get in mah belly!

Erin C: Is it seasoned with pig tears, because it's very sad-looking.

13. Portmeirion, Wales

Creative Commons / Via Flickr: arg_flickr

Cates: This is a British town? It looks like it belongs on the Mediterranean coast.

Kasia: I would like to live here and roll around in the grass while posting my good fortune to Instagram.

Jack: Huh, I wasn't aware there was a British Disneyland.

Lauren: This is so cute. Where is this? This is so goddamn cute.

Anna: Those colors are breathtaking. This is in the UK?!?!?!

Stacey: Shut up and take my money!

14. Steph and Dom from Gogglebox

Channel 4

Here we asked what people thought Steph and Dom were famous for.

Sarah: They are famous sign language interpreters for millennials.

Stacey: Being sassy AF.

Cates: Is that the "Your child's called 'India'" woman? You know, the woman Tumblr got obsessed with cause she doesn't like location-based names for kids but clearly she's an idiot because she named her child India?

Erin C: Is this Gogglebox? If so, they're famous for watching TV and talking during the show, which is a thing you don't do in America.

Julia: Complaining and throwing wine at each other.

Jack: Two things: their surprisingly expensive line of iPhone/iPad accessories, and their surprisingly viral sex tape.

15. Mushy peas

Via Flickr: slieschke

Sarah: Guac. No, mushed peas? My taste buds tell me not to chance it.

Alexis: Mushy peas, which you serve with fish and chips in pubs for some reason I will never understand.

Keely: Leftover prop vomit from the set of The Exorcist.

Julia: Mushy peas. I will never understand this.

Krutika: How did you manage to make guacamole bad?

16. The Gherkin

Csfotoimages / Getty Images

Finally we asked them if they knew what this building was called.

Sami: The Boastful Egg.

Alexis: The Gherkin. (I still see dildo though.)

Kasia: It resembles a bullet, but that is too violent, so it's probably something to do with lipstick or a food item.

Jess: Swirling Phallus.

Jack: The Crystal Penetrator.

Claire: Space Tampon?