Get Premium
Dark mode theme is available exclusively for premium users. Learn more about the benefits of subscribing.
No fees, cancel anytime.
Dark Mode 
No fees, cancel anytime 
then open in external browser
and click "Open in External Browser" 
50 Of The Funniest Things Americans Have Been Told By People From Other Countries
Interview With Expert
As an American who’s lived abroad for over 4 years, I can confidently say that everyone has an opinion on my home country. No matter where I go, I’ll be met with assumptions, stereotypes, political commentary and sometimes, just genuine curiosity. Yes, we love peanut butter. No, not everyone is rich. And yes, you probably do know more about the U.S. than most Americans know about your country. That’s just what happens when your nation is unavoidable in the media!
But this can also lead to some hilarious encounters. Americans on Reddit have recently been recalling the funniest comments people from other countries have ever made about the U.S., so we’ve gathered the best ones down below. From questions about the American diet to assumptions that we all know one another, enjoy scrolling through these silly stories. And keep reading to find a conversation with Angela Hanyak, an American living in Germany!
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Not me specifically, but when I was in Afghan an obnoxious Marine was going on and on about how much better America is compared to the rest of the world (his first time leaving the continental US so how would he know).
A British soldier looked at him dead in eyes and said “I’m not going to argue with someone whose country is younger than my doorknobs”. I FELL OUT.
Lost Panda 8 months ago
British troops were the best to work with, then the Canadians, but the Brit humor was powerful XD
Slapdash1 8 months ago
Lol, you fat bąstards couldn't defeat a bunch of zips in pajamas running around the jungle. You ran from Afhanistan in the same kind of panic you ran from Saigon.
Load More Replies... RELATED:
#2
A French guy once told me, “You know, I think Americans hate taxes because they get nothing from them. In France they give us things.”
It’s not funny but I’ll never forget it.
quentariel 8 months ago
This is the reason why Finnish are mostly content about the high tax rate, we receive services that are worth more than the tax we pay. Also our taxes are progressive and it makes the whole thing feel fairer.
Roland Nijveld 8 months ago (edited)
And otherwise there are huge protests. Americans just let it happen and do nothing.
Load More Replies... Jac Carr 8 months ago
This is why many Americans lie to themselves about the tax rates in Europe being ridiculously high apparently; I pay 18% and get free healthcare. I know some countries are higher than that but many are not
Bartlet for world domination 8 months ago
Right? I pay twice as much but it isn't about tax rates, it's about net income vs cost of living.
Load More Replies... K Barnes 8 months ago
Here in Canada we get many wonderful things from our taxes, and some are wasted on poorly managed programs and abuses. Doesn't stop conservatives from b******g to the moon and back about their taxes while conveniently forgetting their visit the the library each week, their camping and picnics in our wonderful parks, their roads being drivable despite the freeze/thaw cycle destroying them, their kids being in great schools, and I don't know... the free healthcare.
turk 8 months ago
This ties in with all the Americans who think a the country should be run like a business, so they elect a (failed) businessman. And of courses, it's an utter disaster. That's because the government should not be run like a for profit entity. It exists to provide services to its citizens, not to make money.
nottheactualphoto 8 months ago
Governments are not businesses. They should not be run like businesses.
Load More Replies...
TCW Sam Vimes 8 months ago
Ya, same here from Germany. We sure pay a lot of taxes, but free healthcare and education amongst many other things soften that blow a lot. Plus, no crazy evangelical gun nuts that want to overthrow the government, always a plus. Or not having to worry that my kid gets shot in school
Beachbum 3 months ago
This is so true. I have no idea what my taxes go towards. Like give us an accounting of where all our money goes too. I pay unemployment, I have never been on unemployment, I pay social security all my life, I d**n well be able to do draw it when I turn 65 or whatever the age is that we get to retire
#3
A British friend of mine called southern sweet tea “the most vile, disturbing, horrific swill ever created. Please bring another pitcher.”.
nottheactualphoto 8 months ago
"This is inedible muck! And there wasn't enough of it!" -Sir Henry
Rob D 8 months ago
Southerner here. DO NOT drink it by the pitcher. ... It likely had several cups of sugar.
Catlady6000 8 months ago (edited)
My mom's sweet tea was 2 heaping cups of sugar per quart.
Load More Replies...
Kat Alison 8 months ago
It IS vile, disturbing, and horrific. Like most things about the southern U.S.
To learn more about this topic, we got in touch with Angela Hanyak, an American expat and blogger currently based in Frankfurt, Germany. She was kind enough to have a chat with Bored Panda and share some of the funniest things she's heard people say about the United States.
"I live in Germany, and Germans are always asking me how Americans live with such bad bread," Angela says. "They're absolutely appalled at the white sandwich bread that is common in the United States. Here in Germany, there are so many bakeries selling freshly made bread, and Germans love darker breads made with rye flour. I guess this is less of a stereotype and more of an experience from their travels to the U.S. I can't tell you how many times I've heard that they loved their visit to the United States but hated the bread."
#4
It wasn't said to me directly but i read somewhere that eariler this year when tiktok was down in the US a bunch of users migrated over to RedNote and for a couple days there was a basically unmoderated cultural exchange between US and Chinese users asking each other questions, and my absolute favorite question I saw a Chinese citizen ask of an American was "why do you eat like your healthcare is free?".
#5
A Persian man that I worked with did a redneck impression. He said "I'm an American and I like guns and Jesus" in a perfect southern accent.
#6
“You are the richest country in the world, surely you have universal healthcare?”
That put me in such a laughing fit that I bruised a rib. Doctor’s bill after insurance was only $27,680.
Sam Trudeau 8 months ago
In Canada that's a vet bill. And yes, that means I can compare US human healthcare to Canadian animal healthcare
Kat Alison 8 months ago
Hey, I didn’t spend that money. So I shouldn’t be robbed by our politicians in order to pay it. Make Congress pay it out of their own money.
Load More Replies...
TotallyNOTAFox 8 months ago
Well better than having this pesky socialism, look how that failed in Germany since 1883! /s
Anony Mouse 8 months ago
Another boring repetitive post. Y’all never get tired of these do you?
Aside from the bread, Angela says she's often asked why people drive such big trucks in the United States, and how they even fit on the road. "I'm used to large trucks and SUVs, but now that Europeans have pointed it out to me, I can't unsee it when I'm back home," the expat shared. "The trucks really are so big! You rarely see personal pick-up trucks in Europe, so I understand why this is a little confusing to them."
#7
I was told by a German colleague that the US was the “nicest third world country” he’s ever been to.
Christos Arvanitis 8 months ago
More third world every day with the moron in the white house... but not so nice either
Derek Sandoval 8 months ago
First off. A third world country is just one that wasn't allied to either the Axis or the Allies. Has nothing to do with economic status. There is no second off.
Nea 8 months ago
Hey! One, its wrong to call any country a ‘Third World Country’ and two, being from one of the countries from the Global South, I am offended that they are calling USA as one of us, forget abt them being the nicest.
Load More Replies...
Paul Gerrard 8 months ago
Kim kardashian loves america because it makes her believe she is intelligent
#8
I was at an airport and was in line at a Wolfgang Puck Express. A Japanese man was ahead of me and saw the margarita pizza and asked for one slice. The worker said sorry but it’s sold as a whole pizza. The man was incredulous and turned to me and jokingly said “This is why Americans are so fat” and left. I then ordered that same margarita pizza.
Lost Panda 8 months ago
I have yet to find anywhere in Japan that sells by the slice. I will say their sizes are a lot smaller (with a large not being the size of an American medium), but not a single slice.
Taro Obanagi 8 months ago
Travelling in India I stumbled across one chain that sells slices I don't know if it's Indian or international it was called La Pinoz. Saw them in two cities five states apart.
Load More Replies...
Paul Gerrard 8 months ago
My wife and i share meals in america. And we still dont clear the plate..
K Barnes 8 months ago
I'm still working on teaching my husband that one meal is enough for both of us. He always says he's worried he'll still be hungry (he used to be a huge eater 15 years ago) so better get his own, then eats half the meal. We go for pizza and he insists 2/3 of a whole pizza might now be enough for him, we better get 2, then we eat less than 1 pizza. Sigh.
Load More Replies...
GPawesomeness 8 months ago
There are a lot of places in the US that sell pizza by the slice but an airport restaurant? 💲
Jrog 8 months ago
Anyone not in the US. In most of Europe you go to a pizzeria with friends, everyone gets their pizza of choice.
Load More Replies... #9
I’m in Paris with my wife and we booked a professional photographer for an hour. He kept telling us his favorite thing about America was that there was a CVS on every corner.
I said to him the best part about Paris is that there is not a CVS on every corner. It was a funny moment.
Snazzy Smurf 8 months ago
Lol. Don't forget about the Walgreens across the street from the CVS. CVS is the only place I know that gives you a mile long receipt for purchasing one item.
Patrick H 8 months ago
Sure, but they're also the only place that automatically skips the paper receipt and sends me a digital receipt instead. Most other places that have the option will either ask me every time, even if I have a membership, or only give me the option of paper or paper & digital.
Load More Replies...
Uncle Panda 8 months ago
They tried to open a Starbucks inside a Starbucks but the whole thing kept rebooting.
Next, we asked Angela if she thinks the stereotypes many people around the world believe about the U.S. are actually true. "I think that a lot of [them] are born of a little bit of truth," she told Bored Panda. "I've heard snide comments about Americans and guns or Americans needing their big screen TVs. And, of course, these are stereotypes, but there is a kernel of truth to them. I think Hollywood plays a huge role in how people view the United States, for better or worse."
#10
When I studied abroad in Germany, my host family told me “We bought lots of peanut butter for you. We know Americans need peanut butter.”
I do love peanut butter, but I had definitely never heard that stereotype before!
winterwidow87 8 months ago
Reminds me of the time i studied in France and my host family told me they made carbonara just for me. It was the most atrocious carbonara ever, but it was such a lovely gesture i ate it with the biggest smile.
Mel in Georgia 8 months ago
My dad was stationed in S. Korea in the 60s as a liaison to the S. Korean army. They would always make him try and eat weird (to him) things. (Balut - ugh!) One night my dad turned the tables, serving peanut butter, pickled pigs' feet, hot dogs, root beer, and lots and lots of American whiskey. He said it was quite the evening!
Marianne 8 months ago
This is because peanut butter is almost non-existant in Germany and I just think it's so interesting that it's such a staple in America.
Auntriarch 8 months ago
Everyone seems to have a jar in UK these days, but I don't think people eat it so often.
Load More Replies... Lost Panda 8 months ago
My mother-in-law made me a spam onigiri for lunch everyday when we were visiting on holiday because Americans love spam. I do, but it's probably not because I'm American XD
nottheactualphoto 8 months ago
I love Spam because it's full of salty, fatty, porky goodness!
Load More Replies...
Cronecast AtTheRisingMoon 8 months ago
I thought the same thing, that is so kind because it’s not common in Germany. They were trying to be hospitable! I wanted to hug the post.
Load More Replies...
SirWriteALot 8 months ago
When I visited Canada for a while the mom I was staying with always made me jam sandwiches in the morning. I never understood why they tasted kind of weird. Years later, when I learned about PB&J, it clicked :-D
Rednose 8 months ago
When I was a US exchange student in Germany in the early '80s, peanut butter wasn't at all available in Germany. So PB was a very welcome item in "care packages" from home. Conversely, Nutella wasn't yet available in the US, and so was gladly received in reverse care packages after our return home.
pcs6tvrcc5 8 months ago
I lived in France for a summer. One guy in our group bought a small jar (for like $9.00). We shared it with our French friends, who didn't really care for it. That day was also the first time I had almond butter and I'll admit, I prefer peanut butter.
Daddy’s Girl 8 months ago
I studied in France and we had to find an “American“ grocery store to find peanut butter.
#11
My wife's Swedish cousins thought they could go explore both New York City and Los Angeles in a single weekend.
Auntriarch 8 months ago
How much exploration would you manage in just one of them in a single weekend?
Robert T 8 months ago
Well I had one night on Long Island, and I managed to see the Empire State... in the distance! Work trip - saw more of the office I was visiting and the airports. Spent longer in Dallas and were taken out for the evening by a colleague.... and visited a bar on a street I'd stayed on a few years before! LOL
Load More Replies...
Lowrider 56 8 months ago
Many Europeans don't realize how big the USA is. Heck, I think there are probably Americans who don't know how big the USA is
winterwidow87 8 months ago
Distance between New York City and Los Angeles is 3935,74 km. If i'd travel this distance in Europe i'd be visiting several countries.
David 8 months ago
um, that is longer than the distance of Paris to Moscow, which is 2500km.
Load More Replies... SirWriteALot 8 months ago
Americans also think they can visit the Louvre in the morning and take pictures of the leaning tower of Pisa in the afternoon.
Evan Connolly 4 months ago
I've been to Los Angeles. You couldn't even see everything in a whole week.
#12
Australian guy when I was said it’s weird they use the term petrol instead of gas for filling up their car… “Why do you call it gas? It’s a f*****g liquid mate”.
CertifiedCatServant (he/him) 8 months ago (edited)
ITS SHORT FOR GASOLINE NOT LIKE THE STATE OF MATTER Edit: sorry I got a tiny bit worked up
Binky Melnik 8 months ago
It’s also a petroleum product. He has a point, you know. 😉
Load More Replies...
Bill Swallow 8 months ago
Why use two syllables when one will do? Also, we use 'hood' instead of 'bonnet'.
nuberiffic 8 months ago
But you also say "horse-back riding" instead of "horse riding" and "Tuna fish" instead of "tuna"
Load More Replies... 
Skara Brae 8 months ago
Petroleum means rock-oil, because it comes from rock in the ground. So, calling it petrol is as misleading as gas for gasoline. The word gas was once used for lamp and heating oil.
badger 8 months ago
where do you think petrol comes from if not out of the ground?
Load More Replies...
Mook The Mediocre 8 months ago
And a cúnt comes from Scúnthorpe, in England.
Load More Replies...So what's the best way to actually understand the United States and its culture? "Take a regional approach: the Deep South has its own food and music cultures, just like the upper Midwest does," Angela suggests. "And Texas is a cultural entity in itself!"
"The U.S. is such a big country, that the best way to actually learn about its culture is by focusing on one particular part of the country at a time," she continued. "If you're looking for a place to start, I think some of the best cultural cities in the U.S. are New Orleans, Nashville, Milwaukee, Kansas City, Chicago, New York, and San Francisco."
#13
A waiter in Prague asked where I was from. I told him Boston. He said, "Oh, I have a friend named Tomas Dvorak in Wyoming. Do you know him?".
Leekier 8 months ago
“That’s in Yorkshire? My great gran came from Easinton; do you know it!” I did google it; I think she meant Easington, there’s one near Hull, about 100 miles away 🤦🏼♀️
Load More Replies... 
Petra Schaap 8 months ago
about every "foreign" co worker ive ever seen in Belgium. Oh you are from Holland? My cousing lives in ... (some small village in the middle of nowhere)
Sam Trudeau 8 months ago
"I'm from PEI." "Oh you must know my friends they live in Vancouver" "Yeah..."
tori Ohno 8 months ago
Europeans actually don't understand that if you drive for 3 hours, you're not in another country. My American friend who moved to Germany can attest to that.
Sue 8 months ago
Nothing wrong with that. Just different experiences. I think it's amazing to be able to visit different countries in such a short amount of time.
Load More Replies...
Trisec Tebeakesse 8 months ago
Not that unusual. I'm from Boston, and I know a dude in Plovdiv. Bonus points if you even know where that is!
Karl der Große 8 months ago
I had a friend who was almost named this. His first name was "Thomas."
#14
A French guy asked me if we really put ranch on everything. I said, “Yes, even salad,” and he stared at me like I’d just admitted to living in a dumpster.
Sue User 8 months ago
Am i the only one who chooses the dressing that goes with the meal/ salad ? Salad with mushroom and bacon: bleu cheese, salad with beets and cottage cheese: french, etc. Never ranch on salad. I will use as dip on occasion.
Load More Replies... David 8 months ago
only in the Midwest and certain parts of the South. It is not common here in NYC
Madeleine Christiansen 8 months ago
I once asked for ranch on a salad when I was in France and it was like I was asking them how big the next meteor would be that landed on Earth.
Huddo's sister 8 months ago
From what I understand, ranch is basically what we use on potato salad in Australia. It is good on that, but I've never thought to use it for anything else.
Auntriarch 8 months ago
I absolutely love it. Unfortunately I can't get the sachets of mix here but I found a recipe on the wonderweb. I don't like the ready made stuff though.
LauraDragonWench 8 months ago
I haven't eaten Ranch dressing in 30 years and I'll continue not eating it. I prefer making my own dressing, thank you.
#15
Theres an air bnb on my street. I was walking to my car one day and these 3 youngsters (freshly 21 )were staring at me as my wife and I were walking out to my car. 2 of them looked away and one kept staring at me so I gave him the "wassup" head nod. Like "keep it moving." The kid yells out "aye bruv! You wanna give us a ride to the pub?" And it made me laugh pretty hard. I was driving passed the bar anyways. So I said yeah hop in. We only spent about 5 minutes in the car. They were telling me "this place isn't like everybody says huh? I haven't seen a single gun the whole time I've been here!" That's when I had to let them know people with guns don't want you knowing they have guns. We don't walk around with them in our hand all day. He asked if I owned guns and I laughed and said "there's a gun in this car right now. You think I'd let 3 punk kids in my car without one? I'm from the ghetto.".
Jac Carr 8 months ago
I can't even comprehend living in a world where randos get to walk around with guns strapped to them
turk 8 months ago
For some reason, "I'm too scared to leave the house without a gun" became in their mind, "I'm a tough guy because I have a gun".
Load More Replies...
Ace 8 months ago
Yeah, the whole story sounds a little contrives, and I'm nit at all sure what point they're trying to make with it.
Load More Replies...
Paul Gerrard 8 months ago (edited)
I wonder if americans could understand the feeling of freedom knowing guns cant be in a car, unlocked in a house or on their body. And to know their kids arent exposed to weapons at bars, clubs, school or college.
TCW Sam Vimes 8 months ago
Guns in the US are just plain crazy. No US citizen will ever truly comprehend how absurd their adoration for those horrible things really are. Even if they stand for more gun control, not a single American i know (and I know quite a few) would abolish them. Despite all reason and plenty of examples worldwide how insane it is.
nottheactualphoto 8 months ago
This American does not adore guns. At the same time, I understand - unlike certain Donnies I could name - that the law applies to me.
Load More Replies... Wang Zhuang 8 months ago
Very true, makes sense. In many cases, you don't know who's carrying or not. That's why you have to get a concealed carry permit if you want to walk around with a gun. Flashing it around could get you in trouble, depending on where you are
Roland Nijveld 8 months ago
So basically the whole reason someone is carrying is because someone else might be? Do you realise how stupid that sound? Don't you rather have a situation where you wouldn't need one because no one has one? I'm 39 and I've yet to see a gun on any other person than a cop. Someone having a gun is literally the last thought I would have about someone.
Load More Replies...
For Work 8 months ago
I went to a Christmas craft and antique sale at a church two years ago and was mortified that a man wearing cowboy boots with his jeans tucked in, suspenders, a leather hat like Indiana Jones and a gun on his hip in the parking lot. This was on a small island of hippies with a church that focused on the poor and animals- the kindest folks. He was upset he was not allowed inside the church to shop with his gun ON HIS HIP while little kids are running around all hyped up on baked goods with that thing at their eye level. What a t**t.
Array Index Out of Bounds 7 months ago
Me and my buddy were hitch-hiking through Oregon when a father and son picked us up. We were sitting in the back when the father asked if we had a gun. We said no, then he lifted up a gun and said " good, because I do!". Then he gave us twenty dollars.
Finally, Angela added, "No country is a monolith, and that's certainly true for the United States! There's plenty of culture there, but yes, there's also a lot of stuff to roll your eyes at."
#16
While in Japan a young lady that had visited the states stated she was dumbfounded by the amount of land used for parking lots.
GPawesomeness 8 months ago
Multi level garages are a much better use of land.
Load More Replies...
Janelle Collard 8 months ago (edited)
Especially in California. Sometimes the freeways are *also* parking lots. 😁
Laura Gillette 8 months ago
Same, it's awful. Stupid Big Oil suppressing the construction of public transportation.
Nicole Weymann 8 months ago
Not "used", rather "wasted". Judging from comments on BP it seems wild that you have to hike across acres of pavement on your way to the next Walmart entrance - in a place that's infamous for being unwalkable.
BeKind&Rewind 8 months ago
The fact that global warming is an issue and yet we put concrete over EVERYTHING
Erik Biesemeier 8 months ago
Yeah, but that doesn't mean you need to make all surface parking lots. Doesn't matter where the cars were made. (BTW most Japanese brand cars in the USA were made here not imported.)
Load More Replies... #17
Was at the Grand Tetons and a bunch of Korean older men asked if I was Mormon. I replied no sorry we’re not from here. They all started giggling and go we’re not from here either.
It was so adorable and we all got a good laugh.
Petra Peitsch 8 months ago
I love, how asian people are starting giggling, hearing/seeing something amazing for them. It's kinda cute.
Laura Gillette 8 months ago
Why would Mormons be at the Grand Tetons? I thought they were in Wyoming, not Utah.
#18
This wasn’t to me directly but I’ll never forget seeing a viral tumblr post where someone said “I was today years old when I learned that Country Roads Take Me Home is in fact not your national anthem.” (Not the exact wording because I can’t remember but I thought it was hilarious).
Sue 8 months ago
Better than Star Spangled Banner. Many US citizens have tried to get America the Beautiful chosen instead.
Load More Replies...
Lost Panda 8 months ago (edited)
When I was a young airman, we would go to the bars and karaoke a lot. This song and "You've Lost that Loving Feeling" would get all the service members (Navy and Army included) belting it out
Marianne 8 months ago
Fascinatingly, this song is an evergreen at the Munich Oktoberfest. I know all the lyrics and just love the song, but I have no idea who thought it would be fitting for a Bavarian cultural event.
TotallyNOTAFox 8 months ago
Though the cover by "Hermes House Band" is probably more famous than the orignal John Denver version here in Germany
Load More Replies...
Dusty's mom 8 months ago
West Virginia claimed it. Lucky ducks. So much better than our modified drinking song that grates on my ears.
Deborah Joanne 8 months ago
Toots and the Maytals got it right. 'West Jamaica mountain mama. .'
Sven Horlemann 8 months ago
The first John Denver Song I learned on guitar. Uh, that is a long time ago.
#19
I used to live in Chicago. When I traveled outside the country, I’d tell people where I lived and more than one person pantomimed firing a machine gun along with sound effects, like it was still prohibition and Al Capone was running things.
Reset Game 8 months ago
Compared to the person currently in the white house, Al Capone was definitely more respectable.
George Costanza 8 months ago
Not sure it has to do with Al Capone. Chicago has a huge amount of d**g-related and gang-related shootings and murders today. Not from 100 years ago.
Nikole 8 months ago
You realize the Capone stuff still involved gangs though, right? That’s what he ran. Also, we don’t have a “huge amount”. Our percentages decrease even more from year to year.
Load More Replies... TotallyNOTAFox 8 months ago (edited)
The pre-M1 variants of the Thompson are called CHICAGO Typewriters for a reason...
turk 8 months ago
I was in Russia in March and a man in the pub there was mortified I was from Chicago (actually, just east in Indiana, but I say Chicago because no one knows where the hell Indiana is), and asked me (through my wife's translating) how I could live there when people are shot when they leave their homes. He was serious. And yet, Chicago isn't even in the top 25 for violent crimes in US cities.
Roland Nijveld 8 months ago
That's because it's only so called first world country where guns are normal. The rest knows better not to have it
Alyce 8 months ago
Yeah. They rely on cars, knives and pipe bombs in the restnof the world👍
Load More Replies... TCW Sam Vimes 8 months ago
Isn't Chicago still the city with the highest murder rates in the US?
#20
Do you have any permanent houses?
This man I knew in college - was from rural Kenya. Apparently your temporary house was constructed of wood. Folks that had gained enough wealth no longer had a wooden house.
Bill Swallow 8 months ago
Heck, I have seen 10 story office buildings and 18 story apartment blocks going up in Northern Virginia that have wooden frameworks. (I got some pictures of the skeleton of the apartment block during construction clearly showing the vertical supports not perfectly aligned to vertical. If you sighted up along them, they looked like a crooked cow path. Made by a drunken cow. I thought the pictures might come in handy for the investigation after the d@mn thing collapsed.)
TCW Sam Vimes 8 months ago
Building those cardboard boxes in hurricane zones without a cellar always seemed crazy to me....and still does. I know, you can rebuild them with less money than a stone house, but why the f would you reenact the thre piggies and the Wolf fairy tale in real life?
Sue 8 months ago
The houses made of wood (actually particle board) were mostly destroyed during Hurricane Andrew in Miami. If you live in one of those houses, it is only slightly more durable than the one shown in the photo. A toddler can put his fist through the interior walls. Last I heard, they weren't supposed to be building them with particle board, but I see them all over the rest of Florida. The banned the few mobile homes left in Miami, but there are tons of them throughout the rest of Florida, especially on the coasts.
Bill Swallow 8 months ago
Oh, and for the record - the farmhouse I grew up in was built in 1834 as a coach stop on the old Forbes Road in PA. It was made of solid stone, walls about 18" thick. (A frame section was added on roughly 100 years later.) Here's a picture - House-Fron...3006cd.jpg 
Elaine Reed 8 months ago
In New Zealand wooden houses tend not to collapse in our frequent earthquakes, as the frame has flexability. The concrete or stone buildings are potential traps unless built to the new ground isolating codes. This is why so few deaths in Christchurch first earthquake. Everyone at home, in wooden houses. The deaths in second quake tended to be in older concrete buildings, which collapsed.
Sue 8 months ago
It won't outlast you in a tornado or even a hurricane. You might not last either. Even if you don't get a direct hit, even a small hall in the roof will allow rain to seep in & your roof will slowly fall in.
Load More Replies... Huddo's sister 8 months ago
Well wooden houses are generally cheaper here in Australia. To build that is, not necessarily at sale. Also weatherboard houses are actually transportable to another place on a truck.
#21
My friend and I asked an Austrailian guy at our local bar why he was dressed so fancy and he said "I'm not American, when I go out I don't dress like..." and gestured to us wearing hoodies and jeans.
DeShotz 8 months ago
How much do you want to bet that OP was mistaken and the guy actually was from Austria? LOL
Jac Carr 8 months ago
Having never seen a well dressed Aussie, I think you're right ;-)
Load More Replies... Wang Zhuang 8 months ago
Oh really? So Aussies usually dress up when they go to bars? I wonder why I haven't seen them looking so fancy in some of the bars I've been around Asia
Huddo's sister 8 months ago
Slacks and a button down shirt (usually short sleeved) is about as fancy as the men get, women will often be more dressed up.
Load More Replies... George Costanza 8 months ago
BS. Aussies are NOT classy. That one dude might have been, but go to a fancy neighborhood in the US and you'll see the same.
antoinette maldari 8 months ago
Probably wearing slides, another standard for American Dress to Impress barwear (PS, I heard that slides are actually jailhouse shower shoes)
Load More Replies... Huddo's sister 8 months ago
Most pubs will have a no shoes, no service rule actually. In bars in the city you have to wear dress shoes often.
Load More Replies... Paul Gerrard 8 months ago
And americans wonder why in paris, rome etc they get spoken to in english before they even speak. They look american.
#22
I am the foreigner in this case.
My uncle gaslit me for years regarding the meaning of Red and Blue states. I was about 4 years old during the 2000 election and we had family dinner once a week, before dinner we'd usually watch tv. And at the time the big thing in the news was about George Bush's victory in the election. And they'd show all the infographics.
So I asked my uncle why some places were blue and others were red. And he told me that in the blue states you were allowed to wear blue, but not red, and vice versa. And he kept that s**t going into my teens. As a non-American i never really cared to look into it, and obviously as a 4 year old i didnt understand the concept of a political party, so i just took him at face value.
Fast forward to 2010, i'm now 14 and my family goes on vacation to Florida. And i'm walking around seeing people wearing both red and blue. We go to a restaurant and I ask the waiter why people are wearing both, when its only legal to wear one or the other. My mother was mortified.
Sue 8 months ago
Trumpsters are move violent than Bloods & Crips. I didn't see those two gangs attacking the capitol.
Load More Replies...
Marianne 8 months ago
Yeah, but honestly, why is the conservative party red? The whole world uses red for socialism and you guys just turn it around. Whenever I see an infographic about elections in the US, I have to concentrate hard to understand who is who. And also you have elephants and donkeys, and both of them are blue and red, how am I to understand who owns which??
Sam Trudeau 8 months ago
In Canada, Red is good and blue is bad (in terms of flag, blue literally doesn't belong in our country) while in USA blue is good and red is bad
Load More Replies... Janelle Collard 8 months ago
Not OP's fault unc lied to her + nobody ever told her differently.
#23
"Why do you chat with every cashier?" Asked incredulously by one of my German exchange sons.
Look, kid, the job sucks, it's underpaid and idiot corporate wanks insist on forcing them to stand.
The least I can do is be pleasant.
Ace 8 months ago (edited)
It's much more common to exchange a few polite words in France and Switzerland - the Germans are known for their rudeness when shopping. But nowhere in Europe do they insist on the cashiers standing up all day.
Original Kinkster 8 months ago
You mean, minding our own business is rude?
Load More Replies... Michael Largey 8 months ago
To take her mind off her aching feet since they won't let her sit down.
Roland Nijveld 8 months ago
I seriously can't understand why anyone would accept a job like that. Especially knowing that it doesn't go like that in other counties
Load More Replies...
Petra Peitsch 8 months ago
Yaps, we are not really chatting over here. We say hello-thanks-have-a-nice-day-too. In change, they are not underpaid and can sit as long as they please.
Paul Gerrard 8 months ago
But the inane chatter from the staff is so non genuine. Always ends with have a nice day !
Leekier 8 months ago
I’m in the uk and chat with shop assistants all the time but it’s a proper conversation
Load More Replies... Kat Alison 8 months ago
Maybe I should move to Germany. I hate having to chit chat with every person I encounter.
Evan Connolly 4 months ago
I think the idea with cashiers standing is that it might simply be more ergonomic.
#24
Saying I had an angry sink because it had a garbage disposal in it.
LauraDragonWench 8 months ago
I absolutely adore the phrase "angry sink" - it'd be nice if I could possibly remember it for future use. 😂
Anthony Elmore 8 months ago
"Careful, the left switch turns on the light above the sink, but the left switch just makes the sink angry." And let's be honest, who DOESN'T immediately panic when they make the sink angry and flip the switch back as an apology.
Load More Replies... #25
When I was thirteen I was in Paris with my (French ) friend and we went to the Paris McDonald's. Just before we take our food to the table to sit and eat, I do the "mom-grab" and take as many napkins as I can fit into a handful. My friend says, very alarmed and aggressive
"MICHAEL!! THIS IS A RESTAURANT! NOT YOUR HOUSE!!".
Paul Gerrard 8 months ago
Americans are way behind the world in terms of waste. You cannot buy plastic products or supply them. Its illegal. No plastic bags, straws, plates and plastics generally are obsolete. Recycling not landfill. Waste is minimised.
Alyce 8 months ago
I find this difficult to believe, but JIC, do your taxes subsidize recycling? Cause that's why lots of the US doesn't have it. No centers because they aren't financially sustainable.
Load More Replies...
Lsai Aeon 8 months ago
I keep the same stash in the center console of my truck. You never know when those at the drive through window will forget
Load More Replies... #26
Freezing cold day in Maryland. Friend from Ukraine - “You think this is cold?”.
nottheactualphoto 8 months ago
Maryland doesn't get all that cold. Northern Vermont gets cold, especially at the top of a mountain.
Bill Swallow 8 months ago
Heck, our farm was in southern Pennsylvania, not far from Maryland. But we were almost 3,000 feet above sea level, and on top of a ridge as well. I can remember having to go out and repair the gutter cleaner in our dairy barn in Minus Thirty Degree Fahrenheit weather. I think that might just qualify as cold even for Ukraine.
Load More Replies...
Matt Blakeley 8 months ago
I'm from Colorado. Freezing cold in Maryland is my light jacket weather.
Laura Gillette 8 months ago
Was standing around with friends outside in Northern Virginia in November, and one friend, who was visiting from Las Vegas, suddenly whined, "OH MY GOD, WHY DO PEOPLE LIVE HERE, IT'S SO COLD." It was in the low 50s.
Marvin Radding 8 months ago
When I was a kid and took the bus to school, there were two kids my age who always seemed to dress lightly for the cold weather. Other parents saw these kids and reported them to CPS. CPS came and investigated, but closed the investigation when it was learned that the kids were raised in Alaska.
Janos Schumacher 8 months ago
I'm from MN. The coldest I've seen is -64F. Ukraine is basically summer to me, even during their winter. I know cold. Anything over -20 is open coat weather. Don't want to overheat.
#27
An International Student (from Malta) and I were hanging out at the "Smoker's Lounge" aka the place in front of the dorms where people smoked. A raccoon popped out of one of the trash cans, and he freaked out and said that the animals in North America were the size of monsters.
Lady Eowyn 8 months ago
What size animals live in Malta? Serious question, if he thought a racoon is the size of a monster.
Jac Carr 8 months ago
I live in Malta; we don't really have wild animals other than rodents
Load More Replies...
turk 8 months ago
I was married in Malta in 2022. The only large animals I saw were the animatronic dinosaurs they had around Valletta because the latest Jurassic Park was filmed there.
#28
My Chinese dorm-mate sometimes struggles with English so when she walked in on me cooking completely hand-made enchiladas, she was surprised and asked what it was. when I told her and demonstrated how to do it, she beamed, started bouncing in excitement and said, "I didn't know you liked the brown people food!"
it was genuinely adorable and we both laughed XD.
I guess she had never heard the word 'Mexican' in English so she just improvised XD.
Uncle Panda 8 months ago (edited)
I live in a land of meat and potatoes. I can get them at home. When I travel, I want anything but, which I generally think of as 'food cooked by brown people,' and start drooling in anticipation.
#29
I have caused several incidents as a foreigner living in the US, if that counts? Including not understanding the protocol for when your car is stopped by the police for speeding. Apparently you are meant to stay seated, put on the interior light and put your hands on the dashboard. Not what I did: I leapt out the car and asked what the matter was. I couldn’t tell who jumped more, me or them. When very angrily asked if I’d never been stopped for speeding before, I replied “no, we just have speed cameras do that back home.” They didn’t take that well, either.
As for general hiccups, more than I can count. When I first arrived, I tried to plan a road trip to Texas. I was quite shocked to learn just how much of a distance that was… also quickly stopped calling my underwear “knickers” when I saw the horrified looks and way it made everyone quickly turn with whiplash speed to our black colleagues.
Jac Carr 8 months ago
Unless it's a literally car chase, you don't get stopped for speeding in my country either; it's all digital
Dragon mama 8 months ago
We could easily do it that way but a traffic stop is just the excuse they use to try to grab you on additional charges. The police brag about how they use "routine traffic stops" to find all sorts of other crimes. It's disgusting.
Load More Replies... Binky Melnik 8 months ago
Now *I’m* feeling like a foreigner. What on earth do knickers hafta do with black folks? The only connection I can make is that the Knicks basketball team likely has quite a few black players on it, as most basketball teams do, but I’ve never heard of them referred to as “knickers.” Can someone explain, please? Thanks!
Petra Schaap 8 months ago
im still planning a t shirt that says "upsetting Americans since 1998" the things Ive said and done, esp when tired 😂😂😂
Oliver 8 months ago
Lived in the US all my life and never heard you’re supposed to turn the light on.
Huddo's sister 8 months ago
Knickers is a much better word than panties, but I'm guessing OP is a male :)
Sally Duncan 4 months ago
Not sure why the word "knickers" has anything to do with any colour of skin???? In the UK, your lower underwear is called KNICKERS, they're not "pants" or "panties"
Paul Gerrard 8 months ago (edited)
US law enforcement confuses me. Every two blocks seems to be a different Sheriff, state police etc...nd they are all so poorly coordinated. Little to no technology. The fact you even have proof of insurance is a foreign concept. Cops car cameras know if the car is unreg. The know the driver history ss you drive past. 10+ a second. And you get d**g and breath tested. No silly roadside issues. A real scientific test. No opt out. If you refuse its a far higher conviction.
Tropical Tarot 8 months ago
In Florida when you sign your driver's license, it states you consent to sobriety tests.
Load More Replies... GPawesomeness 8 months ago
An Italian friend was driving us around when we were in Tuscany, drove past one of those cameras and was distraught about having another strike on his record. He had to explain what just happened.
#30
I was in spain, and a very loud irish man told me that i was “very quiet for an american”.
Cronecast AtTheRisingMoon 8 months ago (edited)
I once had a Norwegian man ask me where I was really from because “ you speak English so well for an American “. He was, of course, speaking flawless English himself.
Petra Peitsch 8 months ago
Irish are the USA people of Europe, when it comes to loud speaking.
#31
Are cheerleaders real? - teenager in London in 2006. Cheerleaders were in movies but they had no idea if that was a real thing. It was a charming conversation as a teenager.
Tussilago 8 months ago
For me that seems like a very outdated tradition where girls in exposed clothing performes more impressive then the boys but no money and no fame in that. I have hard tiime seing how cheerleading would work in Sweden, except maybe as a sport of its own.
quentariel 8 months ago
In Sweden cheerleading indeed is it's own sport. As well as in Finland and probably other countries too. Teams compete with routines and get scored in artistic and technical skills. It's much smaller in scale though. But if anyone tells you they do cheerleading, we usually assosiate it with competitive dancing with added gymnastics and cheering, not cheering for sport teams (although that still excists, but less and less).
Load More Replies... George Costanza 8 months ago
Sadly they're real. They serve no actual purpose, but they're real.
El Dee 8 months ago
Is it STILL a thing tho? Seems creepy to have school age girls in revealing outfits..
A_UserHere 8 months ago
dude, these days the uniforms are normal, I dont know what YOUR watching but at my high school they dont wear revealing stuff, just the school insignia and colors with a skirt, and shirt
Load More Replies...
Tim Gibbs 8 months ago
I am told that more people are injured doing cheerleading than any other sport?
nottheactualphoto 8 months ago
I believe that's true for girls and young women.
Load More Replies... nottheactualphoto 8 months ago
Cheerleaders are real, but to me (American) they often seem like strange visitors from another planet.
Paul Gerrard 8 months ago
Sexist role playing. In Australia females play football of sll codes. Any sport..Not twerking and performing for males
Deep One 8 months ago
I'm guessing here but I wonder if it was originally just a way to include girls back when they were not allowed to play sports. The other possibility is that seeing scantily clad girls got the boys testosterone up and made them more aggressive. Or finally it just added show during lulls in playing while teams rested or switched sides or whatnot. Maybe all of the above.
#32
Not said but done: when an international student took her top off at a public pool and unintentionally created quite a scene.
Paul Gerrard 8 months ago
Yeah americans are often very prudish for their outspoken views. Swearing and nudity arent well accepted..
#33
Had some visitors from Japan, and they asked if they could swing over by the west coast for an afternoon. I explained to them that it was about 3000 miles away and would take several days to drive there.
Marianne 8 months ago
This is just bad geography knowledge. Even if people underestimate the size of the USA, they should have seen a world map before and have a concept of continental size.
Tim Douglass 8 months ago
A lot of people nowadays only see maps on their phones. They see local streets and directions, but no grand context. They may have seen a world map at some time, but honestly, that's not even a given any more. I know people who have no idea how two neighborhoods in their own town lie in relation to one another, but have frequently driven between and around both of them.
Load More Replies...
Paul Gerrard 8 months ago
We hear this idea loads in Australia from tourists. It shocks many to fly lax across america ito canada in 2.5hrs. To fly Sydney west across the country towards europe is closer to seven. And there is next to nothing under you for 95%.
Owl Tree 8 months ago
I have friends who are Czech and have lived their entire lives in Prague. They visited my late husband and me in Florida a few years back. My home is about 60 miles from the closest Gulf of Mexico beach. They were astounded because they thought that all beaches in Florida were within walking distance. One day we drove them over to the Atlantic and they said that the state of Florida was wider than their entire country.
Christina Keenan 8 months ago
I had British friends who thought they could just swing to Mt. Rushmore over a weekend.
#34
My Chinese roommate told me, "In America, if some is enough, more is always better.".
#35
French guy at a bar in Paris would not believe that we had more varieties of beer than just Budweiser or Bud Light. I tried explaining that there was a bar where I lived with probably 50 beers on tap made just in my small midwestern state alone. Could not convince him that there are thousands of craft beers in the States. .
Andi 8 months ago
UK calling -- sorry to say but some of the best and prize winning craft beers are from the USA made by people who love what they do as much as any european ... like Americans themselves - don't judge on just the ones they export .....
Leekier 8 months ago (edited)
I can see why they export them though; keeping the good stuff for themselves
Load More Replies... David 8 months ago
there are over 11,000 craft breweries in the US and about two dozen major cheap brands. I live in New York, north of NYC, the big brand is Keystone Light, not Bud Light
Shaggy 8 months ago
Jesus, Keystone?? You guys need to up your game. I live in CO and cannot gag down even one, The Rocky Mountain Spring H20 is just tap water basically. (yea I have been on the tour) Not to mention the Rocky Mountain s***s you get after.... oof..
Load More Replies... Petra Schaap 8 months ago
yes, America has great beers, chocolates and cheese. Dont stare yourself blind on the commercial s**t. Greetings from Belgium.
nottheactualphoto 8 months ago (edited)
Belgium is the wonderland of beer. One day I'd like to take a self-guided Drսnkard's Bicycle Tour. It's a small, flat country with hundreds of good breweries. Edit: Jeebnis, BP!
Load More Replies... Laura Gillette 8 months ago
My French cousin once took a bottle of Virgina-made wine back to France, took the label off, invited all his friends over, and asked them all to guess where the wine was from. They all guessed regions all over France. When he told them it was made in Virginia, they almost fell out of their chairs. 🤣
Huddo's sister 8 months ago
Why is it always the s**t beer that is a major export? Is it just because it's cheap? Big exports from Australia are Fosters and Carlton Draft, but only bogans really drink them here.
Paul Gerrard 8 months ago
American beer is ok. Loads of variety. Same can be said for so many countries. Even chinese beer is pretty good. Always drink the local beer. And bud in a can is nothing like on tap. It took me years to learn American light beer is lower carb (not much). In many countries a light beer means low alcohol
Kat Alison 8 months ago
Anheuser-Busch gives all U.S. beers a bad reputation. I promise we have some other beers!
#36
I had a friend come over from Belgium and she was shocked, saying "there is so much wildlife up close!" The wildlife in question? Squirrels and deer we passed by when driving...She couldn't believe that our area had so much more wildlife that she wasn't seeing (bears, coyotes, beavers, etcetc).
She also didn't understand how dangerous tornadoes were.
Bill Swallow 8 months ago
If their only image of America comes from TV and movies, they could easily have the notion that there is no urban wildlife.
Load More Replies...
Julie S 8 months ago
There was a nature programme on recently called "The Americas" and I was surprised by how much different wildlife there is in America. It must be so cool.
Huddo's sister 8 months ago
My sister and I were pretty excited to see squirrels when we went to Canada. We don't have them in Australia and had no idea they were just around the place and came pretty close to you.
Petra Schaap 8 months ago (edited)
she doesnt sound very clever honestly. I dont believe this.
Jane Doe 8 months ago
My nephew's wife is from a European city. She came to my house in a Pennsylvania suburb. While in my living room, the squirrels sat on one windowsill and deer watched us from the other window. "What if they come in?" Me: "they probably won't. I never thought about it. They are just there."
Load More Replies... AndreiV 8 months ago (edited)
Compared to Americans they are geniuses :) and i am not even Belgian to defend them :)
Load More Replies...
#37
I briefly lived in Russia in 2003 and went to the mall with a friend. When there, we saw someone my friend knew and we started talking (in Russian) about whatever. Guy asks where I'm from, says I sound British, and I said I'm from LA. In English, he suddenly says "Ah! Los Angeles! For shizzle my ni***r!" The hardest 'r' in the history of 'r's. I was like, whoa, whoa, let's never say that again, shall we?
Paul Gerrard 8 months ago
Years back i was on a bus in las vegas and speaking to my wife i referred to our son..as that boy...Immediately some african american took offence. I later apologised that my reference to my son as my boy didnt consider the racial issues i had never considered where i was from am sure she had experienced. We had a nice talk..
For Work 8 months ago
Lived on the island of Crete for awhile and there was a crew of young Greek kids breakdancing to old school hip hop and loudly speaking every single word. My husband and I choked on our coffees. They have no idea that it's a cruel word and it's only kosher if used by black people.
#38
While being transported from the airport to the hotel in Morocco, the cab driver said “American?” To which I responded “yes.”
His response:
“Ahhh yes. Bill Clinton.”.
Marianne 8 months ago (edited)
Yeah, we also get that as Germans. "Germany? Great! FC Bayern, Mozart, Eine kleine Nachtmusik!"
Gunnar Strandt 8 months ago
Not really.....more Oktoberfest, Rammstein and Autobahn
Load More Replies...
Roland Nijveld 8 months ago
The amount of times the first thing people said was: Johan Cruijff after finding out I'm Dutch
Load More Replies... Pandarosa 8 months ago
Same, Aussies get kangaroo, Steve Irwin, shrimp on the barbie, everything kills you. Which is all true 😉
#39
A guy from the UK I know loves to refer to Americans as melon farmers. Melon farming imbeciles. Doesn't know what some object I refer to is? Must be some kind of weird melon farming contraption. Where have I been the last few days? Must have been tending to my melon farm. I wish I had a backyard instead of a dumb asphalt apartment parking lot? Ah, I must be missing life back on my melon farm
It's really really weird.
Jac Carr 8 months ago
Is this a Die Hard reference? When it was shown on TV, mf***er was dubbed as melon farmer
Ronane Lloyd 8 months ago
I wondered the same thing! My hubby is English and he says it and it's DEFINITELY from Die Hard.
Load More Replies... 
OneHappyPuppy 8 months ago
Do tell, in a way that goes about the BP sensors because I'm clueless. And I've watched the movie an n amount of times
Load More Replies... Binky Melnik 8 months ago
Why does he think so little of melon farmers? Did a melon farmer once hurt him? What a weird thing to latch on to!
nottheactualphoto 8 months ago
Melons are really good, but it's hard to find a ripe one at the supermarket.
Load More Replies... Laura Gillette 8 months ago
Oh no. I was actually considering growing melons this summer. Maybe I shouldn't.
Ace 8 months ago
I suspect it's just that one guy - never heard anything suggesting such a connection
Auntriarch 8 months ago
Me neither but I'm really tempted to start using it
Load More Replies... 
P R 8 months ago
Is there only one climate in Arizona? Flagstaff vs Phoenix
Load More Replies...
#40
I told someone who wanted to visit both coasts in a couple days, "It takes like 8 hours to fly from one side of our country to the other."
He answered, "Do American planes not fly as fast as other countries'!?".
David 8 months ago
well we had a post earlier about NYC to LA, which is just over 6 hours. On the 48 continuous states, 7 hours is the longest flight time for direct, however if you add in Alaska or Hawaii you can get way longer
nottheactualphoto 8 months ago
Atlanta to Honolulu is 9 hours, if you can get a nonstop.
Load More Replies... Lady Eowyn 8 months ago
So many people in European countries don't realize just how big the U.S. is.
Roland Nijveld 8 months ago
Yeah. From NY it takes longer to LA than to London or Paris
Load More Replies...
PrettyJoyBird 8 months ago (edited)
And thats non stop direct no delays layovers ect. Vegas to Maui is 9 hours. Los Angeles to Oahu is 9hrs. Dallas to Maui, Hawaii was 10 hours.
Kris Tyler 8 months ago
If they could make flying in the US more miserable they would fo shizzle
Paul Gerrard 8 months ago
And excepting very major airports a transit airport adds more time. Security, connections, waiting, delays. But the USA has a kot of airline choices
David Jeffery 8 months ago
Yeah, this is something like being in Victoria, then wanting to visit Perth for the afternoon. It's the other side of the country and, while it only takes 4hrs to fly there, it'll take you three to five days to drive. Just use Google maps for God's sake
Auntriarch 8 months ago
A friend was considering emigrating to Australia in the 80s, as a secretarial office worker. The lady on the phone said she would need to be able to type 100wpm on a manual typewriter. Josette asked if they didn't have electric typewriters in Australia and put the phone down. It was probably just a high bar set to get the "best" people, but she did make me laugh.
#41
My 6-year-old cousin from the mountains of Zakopane, Poland visited Philadelphia awhile back.
We were driving them around and he says to his mom, in Polish, “Woooow I had no idea how rich everyone was in America. Look at how big their houses are!”
She translated to us, and we were like… what lol. And then he said, “I just don’t know why they need so many doors and windows for their houses”.
He was looking at our row homes. He thought a block was one big house. When she explained to him that they were all separate houses he was like “….oh.”.
Michael Largey 8 months ago
In many Philadelphia neighborhoods there are row houses where all the houses on the block are identical and joined together with no space in between, looking like one big building with many doors and windows. That may have been what the Polish visitor was observing.
PFD 8 months ago
Sure but not only do terraced houses exist here in CEE, there are huge estates of tower blocks and so on. And even ordinary family houses are very often split into flats. If anything, I'd have expected the kid to have problems grasping that entire houses would belong to just one family. This one's quite odd.
Load More Replies...
Zelda McLink 8 months ago
When I lived in an apartment block, my five year old niece came to visit and excitedly told everyone that Auntie Zelda lived in a huuuuuuge house and EVERYONE has their own bedroom door!
#42
A Chinese exchange student in college could not grasp the concept of “yo mama” jokes. He ran into the room in nothing but a towel and yelled “YO MAMA F**K BAD HEHEHEHEEEE” and shimmied off.
Scarlett O'Hara's Ghost 8 months ago
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
Load More Replies... #43
My coworkers all wished me a "happy holiday with my family" before st Patrick's day..... I am not Irish just the only white person on the team 😅.
Philly Bob 8 months ago
If people can pretend to be good at Christmas then I think pretending to be Irish on Paddy's Day it so far fetched.
#44
Was at a pub in Italy with a friend and some of the guys found out we were American. Proceeded to take shots with them toasting ‘to the Ohios!’… we’re not from Ohio lol.
Geoffrey Scott 8 months ago
When you are speeding, and from Michigan, one is too many.
Load More Replies...
Jac Carr 8 months ago
Nah, they just don't care for specifics; Ohio is in America so it'll do
Load More Replies... #45
My brother had a college roommate from Yemen he brought home for Christmas one year. It was really snowy and he wanted to go out and do some "cookies" took us awhile to figure it put, but he meant donuts in the van. Like 20 years ago and I still laugh.
Huddo's sister 8 months ago
It was for me as an Aussie in Canada! At home I had only been 'to the snow' twice in my life and it wasn't actually snowing, so I was pretty awestruck, especially the day I spent walking around in a small town when it was actively snowing.
Load More Replies... #46
A Japanese person once told me that the US is "enviably wide.".
#47
I was telling a group of Czech people about a time I drove to Manhattan, and one of them asked me if that was possible because it's an island. I let her know that it has bridges.
David 8 months ago
many bridges, 17 vehicle bridges (11 connecting to the mainland), 4 train only bridges and 4 vehicle tunnels (2 connecting to the mainland) and 11 train tunnels. It's an island, but its off the coast of the mainland, the shortest distance is 90 meters from the mainland. The High Bridge has been around since 1848 and is our oldest bridge, at that point the distance from Manhattan to the mainland is only 152 meters across.
Huddo's sister 8 months ago
Fair question. In Australia, you can drive to Phillip Island for example, but not Kangaroo Island. If there are no islands with bridges where they live it's a fair assumption that you can't.
Paul Gerrard 8 months ago
There are many places visitors should never drive. London city, paris, rome. NY has to be on that list
#48
I've had Irish guys in a cafe tease my sister and me for being California girls who want almond milk for their lattes. The whole restaurant laughed because honestly it was pretty funny and true.
When I went to St. Lucia, the cab drivers would ask where I was from and when I said California, they would say "Kobe Bryant! The Governator!" 😂
Edit: For more context, the Irish guys worked at the cafe in Dublin and we were on their turf.
nuberiffic 8 months ago
Yep. Weird how much crime you can get away with if you're really good at sports
Load More Replies...
Emilu 8 months ago
What am I missing re. almond milk? It’s a common request here; like soy, or skim, or… so many milks…
Huddo's sister 8 months ago
Common in Australia too. Not the case when I went to Canada. I asked for lactose free because that's what I usually get at home, then almond etc or any 'other' milk options but all I was offered was 2%, which I think is what we call light milk here. Only place I found milk I could drink was Starbucks, and I only ventured in there at the end of the trip because it seemed like the only cafe open in Niagara Falls in winter. At home I avoid it like the plague!
Load More Replies... #49
I used to work in a kitchen at a Mexican restaurant and two of the cooks (they were brothers) were learning English. They were in HS at the time so they were learning a lot of slang too and they thought it was very weird how we say “I feel you” when you agree with somebody. Every time I say it now I can’t help but think how weird it actually is lmao.
Binky Melnik 8 months ago
I agree with them. I’ve never said it myself because “I agree!” is so much less weird than seemingly admitting to or claiming sexual a*****t. What’s wrong with “I agree”? Why do we need silly slang? It’s one thing to coin an expression when one doesn’t exist, but it’s another entirely to come up with nonsense when we’ve got at least one way to say it already.
Ace 8 months ago
The whole point of slang is to invent new terms that only those in the know will understand, be that for generational, socio=political or geographic reasons. It's a way of excluding the foriegners, the old people, the posh gits, whatever group you choose to regard as "not us".
Load More Replies...
#50
A Japanese man told me that American men can crush apples with their bare hands.
He asked me if I could. He seemed like he really wanted me to say yes. I probably can't, so I honestly said I never tried in order to avoid disappointing him, I guess?
Luckily neither of us had an apple on hand.
Huddo's sister 8 months ago
There are some people who can halve an apple by hand. You have to sort of twist it. I don't think I've ever managed it, but I have seen others do it, so maybe that's what they were thinking of?
#51
I did an exchange trip to southern Germany when I was in high school and one of the day trips was to go visit the local elementary school.
Soooooo many kids asked us why we weren't fat and asked if all Americans really had guns. One kid asked if we all lived in NYC. They were really cute but yeah there was some hard stereotyping there lol
Likewise my brother's exchange partner (also from Germany) saw all the squirrels around our house and went "Ah! RATS!".
Annik Perrot 8 months ago
That's because squirrels in Europe are not grey but reddish, like foxes.
Ace 8 months ago
Many of them are closer to black in some areas, but yes, the dominant species on the continent is the Red Squirrel. The UK though has largely been overrun by the American Grey Squirrel, which, for a variety of reasons, not least a specific disease immunity and a more flexible diet, have pushed the reds to the brink of extinction in all but a few protected pockets.
Load More Replies...
Hey Kat 8 months ago
When I visited friends in Germany about 15yrs ago, the very first question they asked me was if all cops were fat and ate donuts. Having lived in Iowa, US my whole life, I can say I have never seen a cop eat a donut. They also were excited that I was from Iowa. I'm thinking, um it's Iowa, surprised you even have heard of it. But then they said Slipknot.
#52
The way they talk about American cheese, as if that's the only type of cheese we have in the US. The actual process used to make "American" cheese was actually invented in Switzerland.
Ace 8 months ago (edited)
True. But they didn't have the gall to try and sell it as if it were real cheese though. In the UK when I was a kid we used to sometimes have "processed cheese" which would include your "American". It was cheaper and would keep much better in the pantry (before we had a fridge) but we always understood that it was not actually cheese, Edit: there was a later time when it had to be described on labels as "cheese food" but I think even that is disallowed nowadays, and quite rightly so.
#53
A Belgian once told me she had no interest in visiting the U.S. because she liked nature and open spaces. A Belgian!
Petra Schaap 8 months ago
again, i cant believe someone said this. When we (europeans) think of the USA we think of wiiiiiide open spaces. Secondly, Belgium is more than Brussels. We have some very nice nature here where you can easily get lost in.
#54
This doesn't quite fit the question, but my husband is from England. Straight up Cockney. Back in the day, whenever someone (myself included) would ask him why he came to the US, his answer was always: "To drink your beer and f**k your women". Somehow it always resulted in him making a new friend instead of a bar fight. And he got a wife out of it. Lol.
Ace 8 months ago
Probably born out of a reaction to US soldiers posted in Britain from WW2 onwards, who were famously "overpaid, oversexed and over here".
Bill Swallow 8 months ago
And the Yanks' reply was that the only problem with the Brits was that they were 'underpaid, underequipped, and under Montgomery'.
Load More Replies... 
#55
The "Americans eat {X}" can be quite entertaining. Apparently we all eat chipped beef for breakfast.
nottheactualphoto 8 months ago
A Scottish friend was in a restaurant in the US, and asked the waiter for shіt on a shingle.
#56
The endless number of people on the internet who think we don’t have electric kettles available for purchase at any department store or even regular grocery store.
Marianne 8 months ago
This is because so many Americans heat up their tea water in the microwave.
Charles McChristy 8 months ago
I has to do more with the difference in voltage. Our electric teapots aren't as efficeint as those who use 220-240 volts. That's why we mainly use stove top or the microwave.
Load More Replies... CertifiedCatServant (he/him) 8 months ago
My house actually has one since my parents drink tea like there’s no such thing as another beverage
Elio 8 months ago
That's weird. I bought one that has multiple temperature settings. It's very neat.
Huddo's sister 8 months ago
Those are the best ones. Mine also has a tea-basket you can use to actually steep a pot of tea in it too.
Load More Replies... Anony Mouse 8 months ago
Or good beer. Or decent chocolate. Or any cheese other than Kraft singles. Or bread without sugar (the weirdest one of all).
Charles McChristy 8 months ago (edited)
Hmmm, tell me you don't know what's going on over here without actually saying it. We literally have over 11,000 craft breweries, and have several types of cheese and bread. Most people don't eat Wonderbread with American cheese, lmbo. As with most places in the world we have a lot of variety. Most likely more than you since we are a melting pot of cultures.
Load More Replies... #57
When my British friend came to visit me, in the US, we passed a school bus while riding around town and he was shocked and enthused they existed. I thought it was cute that he was so excited over a school bus lol.
Jan Rosier 8 months ago
I've seen those yellow busses over here, in Belgium. Usually producing fumes like hell, and being used as a novel way to transport bridal party, and friends and family, from the townhouse to the church and then to the pary venue.
#58
“I didn’t think squirrels were actually real, huh.”.
Kyra Noelle 8 months ago
I had to Google; they do have squirrels in Europe so not sure what the surprise is.
#59
I always see these questions for other countries, and it's normally Americans saying the goofy thing, but it goes the other way sometimes. I had an Irish woman tell me Louisiana smells because a bad wind is funnelled down from Canada between the Rocky and Appalachian mountains.
#60
It wasn’t about America but I had a German friend who had never heard the word cajun out loud so he confidently ordered the “cahuun”chicken.
Binky Melnik 8 months ago
I did the same when I got a new doctor, a Dr Kajita. I showed up and asked for doctor “kuh-HEE-ta,” and the lovely Japanese lady said “I’m Dr kuh-JEE-ta.” While I was trying not to pass out from all my blood rushing to my face, she laughed and said most people make the same mistake. Whew!
Mreoww 8 months ago
People made the exact same mistake about my name, too. I too have gotten used to it.
Load More Replies...
Sam Trudeau 8 months ago
Cajun actually is a mispronunciation of "Acadian", from Acadia. Similar to "Injun" being a mispronunciation of "Engine" in wild west movies
geezeronthehill 8 months ago
Now ask them to pronounce 'Puget'. I've heard at least 5 variations over the years.
Auntriarch 8 months ago (edited)
Logical mistake. I definitely heard a DJ saying the football club name as Aston Veeya.
Khavrinen 8 months ago
It has to do with where American English borrowed the word from. Words from Spanish pronounce a "J" like an "H", but Cajun is actually a mutation of "Acadian", after a group of French settlers who came to the state of Louisiana after being expelled from Nova Scotia in the 1750s. "A-ca-dian" slid into "A-ca-jun", then the "A" dropped off.
Load More Replies... What do you think ?
DeoManus Argentem 8 months ago
This doesn't really fit, but it's cute and funny - I was renting a car to a little old French lady (visiting the US) and got to asking about insurance coverage, she look puzzled for a bit and exclaimed, "OH! In case I kiss someone's a*s?" (Accidentally rear-ends someone is my assumption)
Papa 8 months ago
I was amused by the posts about visitors who planned to visit places on opposite sides of the US in a short time, while some non-Americans here love to say that people from the US don't know anything about geography in the rest of the world.
Nichole Harris 8 months ago
Ikr.... Like so I don't know the difference between Slovenia and Bosnia, you think you can see the statue of Liberty and the golden gate bridge in one day 😂
Load More Replies... 
Martha Hill 8 months ago
Please GET RID of all advertisements that take up the entire screen (farming game). They are annoying and I can't find the 'X' to delete them. They make me leave your site, and think twice about returning.
Parmeisan 8 months ago
I'm Canadian, but this is too good not to share. I was on a school trip, so picture two 18-year-olds sitting on a bench in France, backpacks plastered in the Canadian flag sitting next to us. A man walks up to us, smoking a cigarette. He says "Canadian?" We nod. He continues "Quebec?" (the mainly French-speaking province of Canada). We shake our heads. Our French is middling, so we don't attempt much more than that. "Canadian?" he repeats, confused now. Nods. "Quebec?" Shakes. He takes the cigarette out of his mouth, says "Trash", spits on the ground, puts the cigarette back, and walks away. 😂
nottheactualphoto 8 months ago
Flight Director. Fire Department. Full Duplex.
Load More Replies... DeoManus Argentem 8 months ago
This doesn't really fit, but it's cute and funny - I was renting a car to a little old French lady (visiting the US) and got to asking about insurance coverage, she look puzzled for a bit and exclaimed, "OH! In case I kiss someone's a*s?" (Accidentally rear-ends someone is my assumption)
Papa 8 months ago
I was amused by the posts about visitors who planned to visit places on opposite sides of the US in a short time, while some non-Americans here love to say that people from the US don't know anything about geography in the rest of the world.
Nichole Harris 8 months ago
Ikr.... Like so I don't know the difference between Slovenia and Bosnia, you think you can see the statue of Liberty and the golden gate bridge in one day 😂
Load More Replies... Martha Hill 8 months ago
Please GET RID of all advertisements that take up the entire screen (farming game). They are annoying and I can't find the 'X' to delete them. They make me leave your site, and think twice about returning.
Parmeisan 8 months ago
I'm Canadian, but this is too good not to share. I was on a school trip, so picture two 18-year-olds sitting on a bench in France, backpacks plastered in the Canadian flag sitting next to us. A man walks up to us, smoking a cigarette. He says "Canadian?" We nod. He continues "Quebec?" (the mainly French-speaking province of Canada). We shake our heads. Our French is middling, so we don't attempt much more than that. "Canadian?" he repeats, confused now. Nods. "Quebec?" Shakes. He takes the cigarette out of his mouth, says "Trash", spits on the ground, puts the cigarette back, and walks away. 😂
nottheactualphoto 8 months ago
Flight Director. Fire Department. Full Duplex.
Load More Replies... You May Like 30 Famous Inspiring Quotes By The World’s Greatest Someone Asked, "What's An Incredibly American Thing Americans Don't Realize Is American?", Here Are 68 Of The Most Accurate Answers 84 Australian Slang Words To Help You Finally Get What Your Aussie Friends Are Talking About
Akvile Petraityte 🇺🇦
Aivaras Kaziukonis
Neilas Šurkus
Related on Bored Panda
