It's almost as bad as breaking your spaghetti.

I think Americano was created by American GIs in Italy during WWI. They diluted espresso with hot water to make it more like traditional American coffee at the time.

There's also evidence of the term Cafe Americano in Central American Spanish.

Australia and New Zealand also have the long black which is like an Americano but you add the espresso over the water to maintain the crema and get a stronger flavor.

• and moka pot at home, which is not espresso, but makes a reasonable approximation for the fraction of the price of a real espresso machine