What Are The Differences Between American And British English?

Are the Brits and Americans really “separated by a common language”? How different are these two versions of English, actually?

Americans often find the way people from the United Kingdom speak and write amusing, and vice versa. The slight variations in spelling, the delightfully silly words used for common objects, and of course, accents. But we also have a lot of questions about the differences between American and British English. How did the same language diverge in such a distinct way? Why do we spell things differently? And what’s the deal with “soccer” versus “football”?