Every country in the world is different and filled with unique folks. That’s why the cultures, styles of dressing, and behavior vary, even from one tiny region to the next. What you probably didn’t realize is that something as normal as counting can also vastly differ.
Characters in movies and television often say “one Mississippi, two Mississippi” and so on when they want to count slowly, but did you know this method varies worldwide? That’s why the global citizens in this list are sharing their style of slow counting.
More info: Reddit
#1
Scotland here. I use one elephant, two elephant. This is despite the fact elephants are rarely seen roaming through the glens, the rolling heather, or the streets of Auchtermuchty.
Image source: No_Salamander4095, Dick Hoskins
#2
I actually grew up in Mississippi, and as a child I just assumed other people used whatever state they lived in. Was shocked to find out otherwise haha.
Image source: Infinite_Average245, Arthur A
#3
Imagine if Canadians said One Mississauga, two Mississauga 😂.
Image source: Doesntmatter1237, TravelScape
#4
Un hippopotame, deux hippopotames.
#5
I grew up in Huntington Beach California so we did one cowabunga, two cowabunga.
Image source: nofilter144, nxtlvlstck
#6
In Danish we have “One case of beer, two case of beer” not even kidding.
Image source: Psyk0se, freepik
#7
‘Enentwintig, tweeëntwintig, drieëntwintig ‘ (21, 22, 23 in Dutch).
Image source: cyclicalfertility, Tara Winstead
#8
Brit here.
Naturally, we use the time honoured tradition of ‘one God save the King,’ ‘two God save the King’, etc, etc.
Image source: BertieDastard, Mike Bird
#9
If you’re not in the U.S., you have to use metric terms. One milliminute, two milliminute.
Edit: I forgot about Canada. One maple leaf, two maple leaf.
Image source: aabum, Stas Knop
#10
In Chinese it’s 1-2-3-4, 2-2-3–4, 3-2-3-4 and so on. You usually stop what you’re doing at 10 and repeat .
Image source: Chinaroos, jcomp
#11
Australian here – Not sure where it came from but as kids at school we’d say “one cat and dog, two cat and dog..”.
Image source: GenXPrince, starmultikharisma
#12
I am American but I usually did alligator, one alligator, two alligator.
Image source: Only_Regular_138, EyeEm
#13
Brazilian here.
We say: *Um indiozinho, dois indiozinhos..*
(One indigenous toddler / Two Indigenous toddlers )
It is so cute!
Please dont ask me why people do that lol. I left the country over fifteen years ago though. So a GenZ may have a different answer.
DON’T QUOTE ME ON THAT. DON’T MAKE ME SOUND OLD LMAO.
Image source: United_Cucumber7746, jcomp
#14
In India, we say “tick tick one, tick tick two….”.
Image source: rxr92, Varun Gaba
#15
Canadian here, I learned the one Mississippi, but also “One steamboat, Two steamboat..”
Funny side fact: I live near a river in eastern Ontario which is also named Mississippi. Just not the same one.
Image source: jacob_ewing, Matheus Guimarães
#16
Uno (brief pause), dos (brief pause), tres (brief pause)…
Image source: CeleryCommercial3509, Kaboompics.com
#17
I just listen to the tinnitus. One *EeeEeeEEeeeE* Two *EeeEeeeeEEeeeE*.
Image source: OttersWithPens, Kaboompics.com
#18
Easy.
One! ah ah ah ah aaaahhh.
Two! ah ah ah ah aaaahhh.
Three! ah ah ah ah aaaahh.
Image source: Lazersaurus, Sesame Street
#19
Here in Japan we just elongate the numbers like
“I-chi, Ni-i, Sa-n, Shi-i, Go-o, Ro-ku” etc.
Image source: Freak_Out_Bazaar, Evgeny Tchebotarev
#20
As a New Yorker, I count
“One Muthaf*ckah, Two Muthaf*ckahs…”.
Image source: snorbalp, Vlad Alexandru Popa
#21
Banana, but I can’t get past 4.
Image source: CirothUngol, Dom J
#22
In Quebecois french we have “Un bateau bateau, deux bateaux bateaux.” I don’t know if France french uses the same.
(One boat boat, two boats boats. The x on bateaux is mute.).
Image source: Cydrius, Gosia K
#23
When I was growing up it was “One Mississippi…” Which was odd because none of us knew where that was.
Image source: Putrid-Operation2694, RDNE Stock project
#24
Iran. One and ah, two and ah, …
Image source: alephsef, Digital Buggu
#25
Brazil here: Um elefantinho, dois elefantinhos, três elefantinhos…
(one little elephant, two little elephants, three little elephants…).
Image source: Arashirk, Pixabay
#26
One locomotive, two locomotive, etc.
This one stuck with me from watching a Lamb Chop episode when I was a kid.
Image source: ShibbyBearz, Mark Plötz
#27
Did anyone else learn to spell Mississippi with the chant: “M-I-crooked letter, crooked letter, I, crooked letter, crooked letter I, humpback humpback I.”.
Image source: missblissful70
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