IX 
THE 'UNITED STATES 
Finally, for the benefit of those who have successfully adapted 
themselves to all the strange environments herein discussed, 
there is attached a final word concerning that welcome time when 
you return to the United States with victories and strange expe- 
riences behind you. Lest you unwittingly violate local taboos, 
we include the following advice for visitors to the United 
States by W eare Holbrook in This Week magazine* : 
“Americans usually open a conversation by asking, ‘Well, 
what’s new?’ It is not necessary to reply to this except by 
saying, ‘Well, what’s new with you?’ 
“The monetary system is rather confusing. Regardless of 
their denomination, five, ten, and twenty-dollar bills are all the 
same size. A nickel (worth only five cents) is almost twice as 
large as a dime (worth ten cents). Two dollar bills are tabu 
and the natives are extremely superstitious about them. 
“Listen patiently when veterans of the first World War tell 
you how much tougher things were in their day. Remember 
they had to listen to the Spanish-American War veterans, who in 
turn had to listen to the Civil War veterans. 
“In some parts of the United States, eggs in powdered form 
are unobtainable, and you will have no choice but to eat them 
directly from the shell. However, it is always advisable to 
♦Through an unfortunate error, these excerpts were erroneously 
ascribed to another author in the first edition of Survival on Land and 
Sea. 
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