It's a common misconception...

That we Scotsmen wear kilts at all times.

So why is it still the first thing someone asks me online when they find out I am Scottish? Anyone got a clue? Come on, little help here...

Perhaps it is because of the worldwide stereotype of the Scottish man being mostly garnered from shortbread tins that are punted relentlessly to the people that visit this country. You know the type, they stop you in the street and ask questions along the lines of "What time do the highlands close at?"

Don't laugh. That was actually a question I was asked by an American visitor to Edinburgh Zoo when I worked there. I had to fight the urge to choke the braindead fuckwit.

And that isn't even the half of it. A friend of mine who used to work in the tourist office was once asked by a tourist "When does the castle get taken down for the winter?" I shit you not. What kind of lead based substance would you need to swallow to ask when something as large as this....

Gets taken down for the winter?

I have no idea who said "A country gets the leadership it deserves." But judging by comments from American tourists that I've heard in my time I now realize why George W Warmonger is the leader of the pack. It makes you wonder...

Picture courtesy of Peter N Lewis. Click here to visit his site.