Sometimes I wonder if they do that on purpose just to amuse Americans/Australians/Canadians. "Remember to ask to see things in three corners of the continent in an afternoon and watch them explain how unreasonably gigantic the place is. They seem to love it."

On the other hand I did once have to explain to one of my British friends what American TV bumpers meant when they said "nine, eight central." You don't tend to think about time zones when your whole country fits in one of them.