Adventures in Aussieland

Roughly half a year back, I penned an article posing some puzzling questions regarding Australia. There were certain aspects that remained unclear to me (and truthfully, I remain mystified by most of them). I thought it only made sense to also share some of the matters that confuse me about the United States. Some of these have long perplexed me, whilst others have emerged from my time in Australia. So let's dive straight into the unanswered questions I have for America:

1. Why is the World Series named that way when only American teams compete? This question has puzzled me on many occasions. Since the participating teams are exclusively from America, shouldn't the World Series have a different name? I'm aware that baseball has expanded to nations like Japan and Australia, yet if only MLB teams are vying for a place in the World Series... Wouldn't it make more sense to call it the MLB Championship or something similar?

   Image taken from http://goo.gl/iL5IZs

2. Should the 1 cent coin continue to exist? Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Belgium, Finland, Ireland, and others have discontinued the one cent coin. Manufacturing each penny costs roughly 1.8 cents. Therefore, the nation is effectively spending money to produce every coin it makes. Whilst there's emotional attachment to the coin, we've already eliminated the 50 cent piece... it's probably time to retire the penny too. Simply round up or round down when you pay cash and nobody will notice the difference. Much like that credit card product that rounds up purchases and deposits the spare change into your savings account.

   Image sourced from http://goo.gl/xffY0l

3. Why do so many people grumble about petrol costs being so high? I have to say, I was among them. Absolutely, I reckoned petrol prices were utterly outrageous when I was living in the States. But let me share something with you. Petrol in America is RIDICULOUSLY AFFORDABLE! No joke! I was grinning from ear to ear when I filled up for $0.92/Litre the other day. Does that seem inexpensive to you? If it does, you might want to brush up on your unit conversions. There are roughly 4.56 Litres in a gallon. So my fill-up came to about $4.19/gallon. And that was using my fuel discounts! A couple of days later, petrol had climbed to $1.10/Litre. PETROL IN AMERICA IS AFFORDABLE!!! (do let me know how you manage it so I can take the trick back to Australia!)

   Image sourced from https://goo.gl/W07XBU

4. Why don't Americans have a voting obligation? Or perhaps, Why do people grumble about election outcomes when they haven't cast a ballot? This has been something I've grappled with considerably. I've been attempting to deepen my knowledge of Australian politics and, through that, draw parallels to the American system. Australians are obliged to vote. To me, that seems undemocratic. It ought to be an individual's choice whether to participate in elections and which party to support. However, the further I've investigated, the less problematic it appears. In the most recent presidential election, of the 2.35 million eligible voters, merely 1.29 million participated, representing a 57% turnout (source). Based on my research, the real issue stems from those informed on political matters yet abstaining because they believe their ballot won't make a difference, or they simply lack the motivation to go and vote. Perhaps mandatory voting would lead to many casting ballots for whoever receives the most media coverage or the politician aligned with their preferred party, but isn't that already occurring? Or implementing fines for non-participation like Australia does, which might compel people to become more informed about candidates (technically the penalty applies for non-attendance; whether you actually vote isn't monitored).

   Image taken from http://goo.gl/KqFtsC

5. Why can't Girl Scout Cookies be purchased year-round? Do I really need to explain this? They're absolutely divine little treats. And could they possibly be available in Australia? The nearest equivalent to Girl Scout Cookies locally would be Mint Slice, though they're basically Thin Mints on steroids... utterly scrumptious! Still, I'd love to see more options. It would be wonderful to order online with worldwide shipping. Girl Scouts, please make this happen soon.

   Image taken from https://goo.gl/i5102T