You can see the archived poll results on the Wayback Machine:
https://web.archive.org/web/20221220093741/https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/72604
So what is it?
Is it a flashlight? Is it a torch?
In the uk if you say flashlight people look at you like a depraved pervert thinking you’ve said “fleshlight”. Most dont understand what you are on about.
In the US people look at you like a caveman if you say torch.
I work day in, day out with yanks and spend most of my time speaking to them so my vocabulary has become pretty much americanised/bastardised and I use a lot of american terms.
I flip between flashlight and torch without really noticing but it is good to see others calling them torches.
I know this is a mainly US forum so I’m going to be outnumbered but it’ll be good to see.
Actually…. does this mean there are lots of flashlight freaks in the US compared to elsewhere or is it that there is simply more of them vs the rest of us?
I think the thing is, Americans have much more use for a torch than us brits, for me they are good work tools, and most of my purchases reflect that, single cell floody lights rather than throwers.
I am however, enjoying modding, I used to mess with cars, this allows me to mess whilst staying in the house dealing with my young family.
I’m just grateful I found this great forum with all the friendly faces (virtually obviously).
I will so I never called a flashlight a "torch" until I started posting on BLF! You British have rubbed off on me!
-Garry
My fingers say flashlight (American based forums) but, in my mind I say torchlight (British ruled at some point in our history.)
Well I was talking about some of my new arrivals the other day in the office with two yanks and two britts. They were all confused at my ability to flick between words. I might just have to call them leds
It’s definitely a torch, since it didn’t originally flash 
should be an option for both. i find myself using both randomly
edit: a few others ive notices is bonnet for hood, boot for trunk… you guys say aluminum funny, aluminium… a few off the top of my head :bigsmile:
I’m starting to like my criminal buddies from the land down under more than our friends who friendly fire!
I didn’t realise people in Oz/Nz say torch. I’m happy now 
Cough colony cough :bigsmile:
We just need to teach you that “sidewalks” are pavements, “trash” is rubbish, “trash cans” are bins, “movies” are films, aluminium is pronounced alyou-min-e-um, the driver sits on the right, the rest of the world is metricised, cubic inches are meaningless, leaf springs should only be fitted to commercial vehicles, “commercials” are adverts, engines can evolve, you don’t have to use push rods just because they did at the turn of the last century, its not necessary to come up with a catchy acronym for day to day objects and that burying your power lines is a good idea (i’m actually not convinced about this, you guys get far more power cuts “outages” to you) and you’ll be almost civilised.
In return you can ship over your man verses food chef’s, because I really want a crack at some of that stuff. :bigsmile:
Hmm in the time I’ve spent in the states I agree with them on the side of the road and the turning at red lights.
tarmac is tar or pavement 
i agree with most of the car related statements and burying powerlines and metric system. luckily at my work, they use both just to be a pain in the @$$…
there is a reason i dont buy american cars BTW. although my xterra does have leaf springs in the rear but this is what i like.
Here is the full text, a few pints “beers” is not helping my memory….
John Cleese Letter to USA
To the citizens of the United States of America, in the light of your failure to elect a competent President of the USA and thus to govern yourselves, we hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence, effective today. Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will resume monarchical duties over all states, commonwealths and other territories. Except Utah, which she does not fancy. Your new prime minister (The Right Honourable Tony Blair, MP for the 97.85% of you who have until now been unaware that there is a world outside your borders) will appoint a minister for America without the need for further elections. Congress and the Senate will be disbanded. A questionnaire will be circulated next year to determine whether any of you noticed. To aid in the transition to a British Crown Dependency, the following rules are introduced with immediate effect: 1. You should look up revocation in the Oxford English Dictionary. Then look up aluminium. Check the pronunciation guide. You will be amazed at just how wrongly you have been pronouncing it. The letter ‘U’ will be reinstated in words such as ‘favour’ and ‘neighbour’, skipping the letter ‘U’ is nothing more than laziness on your part. Likewise, you will learn to spell ‘doughnut’ without skipping half the letters. You will end your love affair with the letter ‘Z’ (pronounced ‘zed’ not ‘zee’) and the suffix ize will be replaced by the suffix ise. You will learn that the suffix ‘burgh’ is pronounced ‘burra’ e.g. Edinburgh. You are welcome to respell Pittsburgh as ‘Pittsberg’ if you can’t cope with correct pronunciation. Generally, you should raise your vocabulary to acceptable levels. Look up vocabulary. Using the same twenty seven words interspersed with filler noises such as “like” and “you know” is an unacceptable and inefficient form of communication. Look up interspersed. There will be no more ‘bleeps’ in the Jerry Springer show. If you’re not old enough to cope with bad language then you shouldn’t have chat shows. When you learn to develop your vocabulary then you won’t have to use bad language as often. 2. There is no such thing as “US English”. We will let Microsoft know on your behalf. The Microsoft spell-checker will be adjusted to take account of the reinstated letter ‘u’ and the elimination of ize. 3. You should learn to distinguish the English and Australian accents. It really isn’t that hard. English accents are not limited to cockney,upper-class twit or Mancunian (Daphne in Frasier). You will also have to learn how to understand regional accents Scottish dramas such as Taggart will no longer be broadcast with subtitles. While we’re talking about regions, you must learn that there is no such place as Devonshire in England. The name of the county is Devon. If you persist in calling it Devonshire, all American States will become shires e.g. Texasshire, Floridashire, Louisianashire. 4. Hollywood will be required occasionally to cast English actors as the good guys. Hollywood will be required to cast English actors to play English characters. British sit-coms such as Men Behaving Badly or Red Dwarf will not be re-cast and watered down for a wishy-washy American audience who can’t cope with the humour of occasional political incorrectness. 5. You should relearn your original national anthem, God Save The Queen but only after fully carrying out task 1. We would not want you to get confused and give up half way through. 6. You should stop playing American football. There is only one kind of football. What you refer to as American football is not a very good game. The 2.15% of you who are aware that there is a world outside your borders may have noticed that no one else plays American football. You will no longer be allowed to play it, and should instead play proper football. Initially, it would be best if you played with the girls. It is a difficult game. Those of you brave enough will, in time, be allowed to play rugby (which is similar to American “football”, but does not involve stopping for a rest every twenty seconds or wearing full kevlar body armour like nancies). We are hoping to get together at least a US Rugby sevens side by 2005. You should stop playing baseball. It is not reasonable to host an event called the ‘World Series’ for a game which is not played outside of America. Since only 2.15% of you are aware that there is a world beyond your borders,your error is understandable. Instead of baseball, you will be allowed to play a girls’ game called rounders, which is baseball without fancy team strip, oversized gloves, collector cards or hotdogs. 7. You will no longer be allowed to own or carry guns. You will no longer be allowed to own or carry anything more dangerous in public than a vegetable peeler. Because we don’t believe you are sensible enough to handle potentially dangerous items, you will require a permit if you wish to carry a vegetable peeler in public. 8. July 4th is no longer a public holiday. November 2nd will be a new national holiday, but only in England. It will be called Indecisive Day. 9. All American cars are hereby banned. They are crap and it is for your own good. When we show you German cars, you will understand what we mean. All road intersections will be replaced with roundabouts. You will start driving on the left with immediate effect. At the same time,you will go metric with immediate effect and conversion tables. Roundabouts and metrication will help you understand the British sense of humour. 10. You will learn to make real chips. Those things you call French fries are not real chips. Fries aren’t even French, they are Belgian though 97.85% of you (including the guy who discovered fries while in Europe) are not aware of a country called Belgium. Those things you insist on calling potato chips are properly called crisps. Real chips are thick cut and fried in animal fat. The traditional accompaniment to chips is beer which should be served warm and flat. Waitresses will be trained to be more aggressive with customers. 11. As a sign of penance 5 grams of sea salt per cup will be added to all tea made within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, this quantity to be doubled for tea made within the city of Boston itself. 12. The cold tasteless stuff you insist on calling beer is not actually beer at all, it is lager. From November 1st only proper British Bitter will be referred to as beer,and European brews of known and accepted provenance will be referred to as Lager. The substances formerly known as American Beer will henceforth be referred to as Near-Frozen Knat’s Urine,with the exception of the product of the American Budweiser company whose product will be referred to as Weak Near-Frozen Knat’s Urine. This will allow true Budweiser (as manufactured for the last 1000 years in Pilsen,Czech Republic) to be sold without risk of confusion. 13. From November 10th the UK will harmonise petrol (or Gasoline, as you will be permitted to keep calling it until April 1st 2005) prices with the former USA. The UK will harmonise its prices to those of the former USA and the Former USA will, in return, adopt UK petrol prices (roughly $6/US gallon- get used to it). 14. You will learn to resolve personal issues without using guns, lawyers or therapists. The fact that you need so many lawyers and therapists shows that you’re not adult enough to be independent. Guns should only be handled by adults. If you’re not adult enough to sort things out without suing someone or speaking to a therapist then you’re not grown up enough to handle a gun. 15. Please tell us who killed JFK. It’s been driving us crazy. 16. Tax collectors from Her Majesty’s Government will be with you shortly to ensure the acquisition of all revenues due (backdated to 1776). Thank you for your co-operation and have a great day. John Cleese 0:) J)
Pulsar, I’m with you on that engine, what you need to find though is one of these….
<a href=Photo Storage target=_blank><img src=http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x48/gords1001/IMAG0503.jpg border=0 alt=>
<a href=Photo Storage target=_blank><img src=http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x48/gords1001/IMAG0308-1.jpg border=0 alt=>
<a href=Photo Storage target=_blank><img src=http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x48/gords1001/IMAG0315-1.jpg border=0 alt=>
With the turbo diesel six. 8)
Would be useless around here in Berkshire. I find a 200hp diesel cruiser more suitable when there are motorways everywhere
yeah right… like we get anything like that over here
im hoping someday to get it lifted, a proper exhaust and bumpers, and a snorkel someday on the X though
You guys would be more familiar with my car. 2.5litre, 20valve, 140mph+, less than 7 secs to 60….
……
….
45MPG ……. hahahahahahahahahaha
Sold my fj80. Wasn’t my style. It’s probably one of the best vehicles I’ve owned though. Probably would have kept it, if they had diesels in the US.
with the 20v im guessing a vdub or audi… could be wrong
my last car was a passat glx with the 30v v6, 4motion… loaded to the gills… miss all the luxury of my passat and the 900se turbo i had before it
I drove a rather nice 5l lbw whilst in MT in Feb last year. They do have big diesels but not common