OTP (6) -- Cultural Imperialism (both imports and exports)

I'm not sure if this happens to everyone, but whenever I'm here in the UK, I always find things that I wish I could import back to the States on a grand scale.

• I'd bring back the beautiful window boxes which seem to exists absolutely everywhere. They adorn houses, restaurants, and lots of other public buildings. And they always seem to look beautiful, whatever the time of year.
• I'd teach everyone to make tea like they do here -- usually by the pot, and when they pour, they leave enough room for you to add milk without it spilling over the rim.
• I'd introduce pub culture. I ate dinner Friday night at a pub in Edinburgh, and was interested to see all these folks at the same pub: 1) 2 elderly women eating a sandwich dinner, 2) 3 academic types (one was carrying a work by Foucault) discussing something esoteric and sipping pints), and 3) a table of hevily pierced, tattooed, mohawked fellas watching sports and being mildly rowdy. I just LOVE that all these folks felt at home in the same place.

And conversely, there are things which I wish I could bring to the UK.

• I'd bring enough "mixer valves" to install in each and every faucet in the country. That is, the contraption that allows you to mix the hot & cold water before it comes out of the faucet. I get so tired of washing my hands or my face or brushing my teeth, and having to alternate between the cold and hot taps. First you freeze, then you scald, then freeze, then scald, etc. Bleah.