Brit leaves Americans shocked after highlighting cultural difference of what counts as ‘near’

Americans and Brits are in heated debate over what counts as 'near'.

Ah, it's not even Christmas yet - which brings the annual debate about Yorkshire puddings and crackers - and Brits and Americans are at it again.

Those on either side of the pond have taken to social media to argue what the correct way to use the word 'near' is.

Prepare yourself for a geography lesson:

TikToker Manbrose - who goes by the username @manbrose_usmc - took to the platform to respond to a video originally created by Melody Snook.

In Snook's video, she acts out telling an American where she lives in the UK, joking they would ask if Bournemouth is 'near London' to which she replies: "No."

However, Manbrose - an American - disagrees and he's even 'crunched the numbers on this' to argue his case.

TikTok/@manbrose_usmc

Really doing his homework, Manbrose looks at the distance between Bournemouth and London on the map and works out it would take two hours and 10 minutes to drive between the two locations.

He continues: "For context, I grew up in a place called Pensacola Florida.

"Now, in Pensacola Florida, you can get in your car and drive for 13 hours without ever once doubling back and still be in Florida."

Even if Manbrose took the shortest route, it would still take him 'over 12 hours'.

TikTok/@manbrose_usmc

To really hammer his point in, Manbrose goes back to a map of England and locates 'the town that is the furthest away from London' he could find, called Berwick-upon-Tweed.

The TikToker can't help but note it's 'the most British sounding name' he's ever heard 'for anything'.

Well, Manbrose reveals Berwick-upon-Tweed is still only 'just over six hours from London'.

So the American resolves: "So, by American standards, your whole country is near London. As far as I'm concerned, all of England is just a suburb of London."

However, some Brits weren't too happy about this.

TikTok/@manbrose_usmc

The video has amassed over two million views and 300,000 likes, with people flooding to the comments to weigh in on their definition of 'near'.

One TikTok user, named Full English, wrote: "Q: Is Los Angeles near New York? A: Yes, because the moon is further."

Another added: "Yea by American standards. But funnily enough the UK is not America."

A third commented: "By that standard Paris is a suburb of London. It’s closer than Berwick."

However, a fourth resolved: "American in the UK here. You are correct. It’s all near London, don’t let them lie to you!"

Topics: Social Media, TikTok, UK News, US News

Poppy Bilderbeck

Poppy Bilderbeck is a Senior Journalist at LADbible Group. She graduated from The University of Manchester in 2021 with a First in English Literature and Drama, where alongside her studies she was Editor-in-Chief of The Tab Manchester. Poppy is most comfortable when chatting about all things mental health, is proving a drama degree is far from useless by watching and reviewing as many TV shows and films as possible and is such a crisp fanatic the office has been forced to release them in batches.