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30 Things That Are An Integral Part Of An American House, As Assumed By Non-Americans In This Online Group
Now that we live in such a global environment, there is nothing weird in admitting that we’re influenced by various cultures. Naturally, by being interested and learning about other countries' customs, habits, foods, and other things, we learn about their everyday life, and how it’s similar or different from our own. One of the most interesting, often talked about and compared places is the United States. Having this in mind, Reddit user @u/Ryrylx was curious to find out what are some of the things that non-American people have noticed and now are convinced that these items are in every American house.
Whether it’s picked up from shows or movies or seen in one of their travels, users online were quick to provide their answers to the question that received almost 48K responses. While some people reminded everyone of some American “classics” such as peanut butter or the variety of dressings and sodas found in one’s fridge, other users were fascinated by the garbage disposal installed in the sink and “washing machines where you put everything in the top”.
What are some of the things that you think every American has in their home? Leave your suggestions in the comments down below!
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Laundry dryer. In my country almost everyone dries their laundry on a wire outside, so the concept of a dryer is baffling to me. I only see them in American Movies & shows. Do majority of you have it or not?
Probably every house has both but it depends on where you live and the time of year whether you can line-dry or not. Where I live I can technically line-dry all year but can't do so when it's windy and dust is blowing.
Air conditioning
Depends on where you live. I grew up in WA state, and it's not common there. I also lived in Alaska; no one has it in their homes. Where I live now, you wouldn't survive summer without it.
Every American household have a drawer full with random s**t (died batteries, screws, shoelace etc)
That garbage disposal thing I always see in shows and movies
Edit/update: In ten 10 hours, I've gotten nearly 20k upvotes and 317 replies. Some of you dudes and dudettes have very passionate opinions about your garbage disposals, I love it
The proper use of a garbage disposal is for those food scraps that inadvertently gets in the sink during food prep or clean up. So convenient to turn on the tap. Run the disposal for a moment, and the mess is gone, theoretically won't clog the drain. Most food scrap should go in the compost at best, bin at worst, but it is nice to not have to muck about with cleaning a nasty drain strainer for the bits that make it to the drain.
Drywall....lots of drywall
I mean, it's not like we have stacks of drywall just laying around the house. They're usually hanging around the walls and ceilings.
Fridge with ice dispenser built in
We do like our cold drinks and our convenience. So, I guess I do resemble this comment.
Same! I also live in a desert, so staying hydrated is important in the long summer months.
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Not usually after a few years. But this is not as common as people think. I only know a couple people that have them.
Load More Replies... Not here. Just one more thing to break, and I don't put ice in my drinks and our tap water is fine.
Me too I drink tap water, our town water is from a local underground source and very nice. We have a filter to cut down some of the calcium.
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I have one and use it very rarely because I don't typically drink anything with ice except for cocktails.
Ours doesn’t have the dispenser, but it does have an automatic ice maker inside. Really depends, though, some of these dispensers can clog up (especially if you’re on well water and not hooked into the city lines) or just stop working pretty easily.
I don't like them only because if the water line breaks, it makes a real mess.
the ice maker in our fridge has been broken for so long. that i just use a ice cube tray, just for cooling my bong hits.
I've never had one, but I'm poor. I use ice cube trays I fill and freeze.
The reasoning is that you don't have to open the door to get ice or water, therefore this saves energy costs. We have one on our current fridge and we never use it.
I lived for most of my life without a water/ice dispenser in the fridge. We bought a new house 4 years ago & the fridge that came with it had one. It's great for getting a glass or pitcher full of ice in the summer, and we do use the filtered water a lot for cooking, but tbh, I could live without it. If we need to buy another fridge, I'll probably skip the ice/water dispenser.
You're damn right we like our drinks and beer ice cold. Warm beer makes me want to puke just thinking about it.
Bought a new fridge about 5 or 6 years ago and didn't even look at the ones with the ice dispenser. It's just another thing to fix. Growing up, my mom was always getting her fixed. She eventually just stopped repairing it. And now, it seems every time I turn around, my MIL is always getting hers fixed. I keep my water dispenser in the fridge anyway. That's all I drink so, I really don't need ice.
Hey, now... I worked hard to have one, lol I grew up with an old refrigerator we had to defrost once a month, lol Yes... I live in Southern CA and we like endless ice here, lol
Eggs *in* the fridge
Isn't it because in the US they wash the protective layer off before sale?
A gallon of milk in the refrigerator
Yeah, we in the U.S. never have warmed up to shelf stable milk, and milk does go well with the cereal mentioned in another post.
A dog !
Cereal
There is not any cereal in the photo. One a bag of 'Cereal Toppers', not sure what it is
A garage fridge. Filled with beer and frozen boxes of c**p from Costco.
A dishwasher.
A dishwasher cycle can often be more conservative of water than hand washing and rinsing. A gallon or two versus quite possibly many more!
Oh oh, the washing machines where you put everything in the top! This fascinated me when we visited the states. They’re huge!
and they suck too...because they frequently go off balance in the spin cycle.
Just a literal block of cheese just chilling in the fridge. I'm certain they woke up randomly at 3am and go 'Omg cheese sounds good right now.'
Always have cheese n the fridge and peanut butter in the cupboard
A musket for home defence, just as the founding fathers intended.
I’m convinced almost every american has a mountain of pillows on their bed
We have a mountain of stuffed animals instead of pillows. Much more cuddly.
Apparently americans are rather fond of Pickles and Peanut Butter. Is that a fair assumption to make?
Edit: I meant either or not both at the same time. ☠️
Those f*****g red disposable beer cups
Plastic bags
Alternatively, an ever increasing pile of reusable and paper bags when people forget certain places have banned plastic bags.
Something that is individually wrapped that doesn’t need to be individually wrapped
Compared to Singapore?? LOL They would individually wrap grapes if they could LOL
An outside porch. Basketball net. Basement. Walk in closet. Top loader washing machine . Triangular college flag. Outside post box. Bedroom window that teenagers come and go by at night. Front doors which aren’t locked.
This OP thinks we still live in a 1950s sitcom and not a capitalist dystopia over here.
A garbage shredder thing in the sink
Industrial quantities of soda
Blueberry breakfast pancake mix
Assorted boxes from Amazon
Dad's ugly comfy chair
Coupons
A thermostat
EDIT 1: the thermostat I’m referring to is the little dial attached to the wall in every American movie and house I went to while visiting.
EDIT 2: to those asking what the alternative is
A reverse cycle air conditioner we turn on when we’re no longer comfortable.
If it gets hot we turn it on and select cold
If it gets cold we turn it on and select heat
EDIT 3: I’m aware some people call these “heat pumps” but no one calls them that where I live
"A thermostat" is a rather obscure inclusion. It's the logical component of a heating/cooling system to prevent them from running out of control. Not much different than those in refrigerators, ovens, space heaters. etc. Heating/cooling systems might be more apropos here...
Hot pockets
They used to taste better than they do now. I suspect the manufacturer swapped out good ingredients for cheap s**t to increase profits, and basically ruined a good thing.
Someone with diabetes
Diabetes is a human malady. It doesn’t care about artificial lines drawn on maps.
HUH??? What kind of people wrote this thread? Where do they come from? It's like saying most USA houses have a toilet. DUH. Most of the things mentioned here are available in the modern western world. They may look a little different but that's about it. Oh GOSH ... you have a washing machine? I mean really. Sheesh
Since turnabout is fair play: I watch a lot of British crime dramas. From these I've learned that every house in the UK has a collection of transferware dishes displayed on a china hutch. Also, everyone is having an affair, and it leads to a lot of murders.
And a butler. I’m fairly sure. And, possibly, a massive candle stick.
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I feel like most of the things on this list could be in any house in any country. The only one I would consider "American" is the waste disposal in the sink, not that I think every American has one but more I have not seen or heard of one in any other country.
I'm from america I only have about a quarter of those things that the entire rest of the world has. So here is my assumption based off tv and movies that every house in Europe has. Turnips
Unless these are answers from the 3rd world this is a ridiculous thread.
A handegg that father and son can play catch whilst having a father/son talk.
Ahh yes, the American hand egg as opposed to the European testicle boing boing that can neither be thrown nor kicked with any accuracy. Also, let's not forget the futballers who deserve an Academy Award every time someone hurts their feelings and they end up rithing in pain on the pitch until they're healed by the magic sponge...or a yellow card.
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I would like to point out to a lot of the commenters here that the list does not say that these things are ONLY found in American homes.
I have 24 from the list (live in the US). Edit: gotta get me a musket
I'm American and have very few of these things in my house. It constantly baffles me how people can understand that diversity exists within their own country, but simultaneously believe Americans are a bunch of clones who think, behave, eat, drink, etc. exactly alike.
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Other than the gun, the waste disposal, and a sofa facing a studio audience, many homes in Europe have these
HUH??? What kind of people wrote this thread? Where do they come from? It's like saying most USA houses have a toilet. DUH. Most of the things mentioned here are available in the modern western world. They may look a little different but that's about it. Oh GOSH ... you have a washing machine? I mean really. Sheesh
Since turnabout is fair play: I watch a lot of British crime dramas. From these I've learned that every house in the UK has a collection of transferware dishes displayed on a china hutch. Also, everyone is having an affair, and it leads to a lot of murders.
And a butler. I’m fairly sure. And, possibly, a massive candle stick.
Load More Replies... I feel like most of the things on this list could be in any house in any country. The only one I would consider "American" is the waste disposal in the sink, not that I think every American has one but more I have not seen or heard of one in any other country.
I'm from america I only have about a quarter of those things that the entire rest of the world has. So here is my assumption based off tv and movies that every house in Europe has. Turnips
Unless these are answers from the 3rd world this is a ridiculous thread.
A handegg that father and son can play catch whilst having a father/son talk.
Ahh yes, the American hand egg as opposed to the European testicle boing boing that can neither be thrown nor kicked with any accuracy. Also, let's not forget the futballers who deserve an Academy Award every time someone hurts their feelings and they end up rithing in pain on the pitch until they're healed by the magic sponge...or a yellow card.
Load More Replies... I would like to point out to a lot of the commenters here that the list does not say that these things are ONLY found in American homes.
I have 24 from the list (live in the US). Edit: gotta get me a musket
I'm American and have very few of these things in my house. It constantly baffles me how people can understand that diversity exists within their own country, but simultaneously believe Americans are a bunch of clones who think, behave, eat, drink, etc. exactly alike.
Load More Replies... Other than the gun, the waste disposal, and a sofa facing a studio audience, many homes in Europe have these
