Three (little) things the British have right

People are always asking me how things in the UK are different from things in  America.  The truth is, I find the countries much more alike than different.  There are, of course, a few big differences, and many small ones (which happen to be a little less controversial, so we'll discuss those, for now).  There are many obvious things the British do well (i.e. football (soccer), tea and driving on the left), here are a few lesser known strokes of genius:

1.  Two controls for your shower.  The first turns on the shower and controls pressure; the second controls temperature.  This is brilliant because you set your water temperature once and you can turn the shower on and off without messing with it.














2.  Traffic lights that turn yellow before AND AFTER they turn red.  This is handy for drivers because you know the light is about to turn green and can get ready to go (especially here, where pretty much everyone drives a standard).  It is also nice for pedestrians because if the light hasn't turned yellow you know you have enough time to get across before the traffic will be moving.






3.  Cell phones numbers that have a different "area code."   If the first digit of a phone number is a 7, you can rest assured that it is a cell phone number.  Knowing which numbers belong to mobiles means you always know when you can send a text and if you will be paying for the call.

I'm sure there are more I'm not thinking of at the moment, so watch this space...