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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.
Yes, that is the exact point of the post. Most houses in the UK have very little drywall.
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Depend on what country we are talking about. Most houses in Sweden from late 70's onwards has lots and lots of drywalls. That is 1 family homes - apartments was later on the drywall stuff.
Load More Replies... Yes, I did not realize that drywall wasn't very popular across the pond until I joined BP..
drywall is for creating office cubicles or offices in open plan buildings... also ceilings in newer houses (but not flats/apartments).
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It's called 'balloon construction.' Because the US has lots of forests and ample supplies of gypsum (what drywall is made of) and it is inexpensive and very quick to build, it is the prevailing form here. Will it last as long as the primarily stone houses in Europe or the amazing wooden ones in Asia? No.
brick, rock, concrete, glass, steel. Maybe book a ticket overseas sometime.
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I am absolutely stunned at the inputs on...wait for it...building materials. Could we agree that different regions of the world utilize different materials? Could we also maybe meet in the middle and realize the extreme variance in construction ages? Yeah, stone and brick can be excellent insulators...and also are not suitable for a recent construction in an earthquake-prone area of the U.S. Maybe it's just me...boggles my mind how uncivil some comments can get. There is a larger world out there; each portion having their own histories, stories, and tendencies. We would all be the wiser to keep that in mind when posting on BP or elsewhere. Apologies...my rant is done, I'll take whatever downvotes/criticism comes my way.
Nope. My home is 1941 = not a scrap of drywall. T & G walls and ceilings.
This is mostly because U.S. buildings weren't mostly built 400 years ago like they are in the uk
In the U.S., drywall (Sheetrock), is common because it is easy to install (we love to remodel our living spaces), is fire retardant, and is inexpensive relative to plaster or brick. Our house design would radically change if it were all done with brick, stone or cement.
Depends on the city you live in. This is really a new construction thing. My house was built in 1924, there is no dry wall in my house. The walls are plaster.
Yeah, drywall is cheaper, less labor-intensive, more insulating, and less prone to cracking.
It is or was cheaper, but nothing more. Same labor intense, because you still have to fill in cracks and polish it and it makes way more dust than finishing brick walls. It has zero insulation properties and is VERY prone to cracking. We think you all live in cardboard boxes.
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Isn’t the downfall here that they get damaged easily and need to be replaced/repaired? It wouldn’t need to be a factor if they were made of something more durable originally.
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Here (Central Europe) We mostly make them of concrete or bricks. Older houses in cities have all walls made of stone (like 500+ years old) or on countryside it was combination of stone, wood and mix of ground and hay (like mask for wooden interior walls and fasade on wooden houses 'cause emperor Joseph II. wasn't big fan of fire hazard buildings, but wood was so cheap :)) if you want see some pictures of these countryside houses, you can google words like "roubenka" (made of wood), "poloroubenka" (usually wood+stone) or"hrázděný dům" (wood+stone+special mix of ground, hay and some other materials). Now, most people here lives in houses with solid interior and exterior walls made of concrete or bricks. New buildings sometimes use drywalls in flats, but people still prefer materials that are more soundproof and less fire hazard (privacy is n. 1 here, so we aren't very fond of hearing our neighbors when they spent their time in bed with their lover or know their daily routine).
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Is drywall the same as we (UK) call stud walls? If so, how else would they make walls that don't have to be load bearing?
Drywall is also used in load bearing walls- just thicker boards inside the walls (with drywall over top).
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Fridge with ice dispenser built in
We do like our cold drinks and our convenience. So, I guess I do resemble this comment.
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
One of those giant containers of orange ball food.
Note: this post originally had 35 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
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
