A lot of things differ from country to country—not to mention continents—making some people quite confused about the way inhabitants of the lands far far away live. Whether it’s faucets, windows, or shopping habits they find surprising, some things might simply make no sense for those not used to them.
Redditors recently discussed the topic after one of them posed a question to the ‘Ask Reddit’ community. They addressed the American members of the group asking what is something that Europeans have or do that makes no sense to them, and the respondents had plenty to share. Scroll down to find their answers below and see for yourself whether they do or do not make any sense.
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I'm Canadian, but it's always baffled me that some Europeans consider a half hour's worth of driving a long time. That wouldn't even get me out of the area I'd consider local
A friend i hadn't seen for a long time moved to a town 100km away. In Australian terms, that's practically just around the corner.
Im from Europe myself (uk) and find it strange some people here have carpet in their bathroom. ITS DISGUSTING
Football hooliganism. You'll beat people just for wearing the wrong shirt to the wrong bar. Its a horrendous practice
As an idiot american with 2 parties I only understand left wing and right wing, europeans have a party for everything. It's confusing, but I wish we weren't a 2 party state tbh
It makes sense to me, but it still seems marvelous to me that in France (other places I'm sure, but I learned this in French class) it is common to buy groceries every day. You may wake up and go to the bakery for fresh baked bread, or stop by for fresh produce on the way home to make dinner.
Yes, having walkable grocery stores nearby makes it easier, it seems so much easier to buy 3-4 days or a week's worth of groceries at a time.
I did this in Argentina. I loved being able to just get what I needed every day. Food is always fresh, cuts down a lot on waste, you get a little bit extra exercise, and you can make exactly what you're in the mood for that day.
It's not that it doesn't "make sense," but the first time I saw those windows that can be moved a bunch of different ways, you would have thought I was seeing a rabbit being pulled out of a hat, that's how amazed I looked. Tilt and Turn Windows
Saw that mostly in the UK, having 2 separate faucets for hot and cold water?? What the hell lol? Washing my hands was the worst.
Long long ago, in a time forgotten.... Hot and cold water are kept separate to prevent contamination, cold water comes into the house directly from the mains supply and is safe to drink. Hot water was provided by an Immersion heater generally located in the loft of a house and as it sits there it is considered unsafe to drink. Water bylaws prevent hot and cold from being mixed - this still applies today, water is NOT allowed to mix until is exits the tap.
The cute sounding police sirens. In America the police sirens seem like an urgent, semi-deranged warning to GTF out of the way, like **S**T'S GOING DOWN AND I'M NOT THERE!!!!! MOOOOOOOOVE!!!!!!!!"**
Meanwhile every European police siren I've heard just kind of politely annoy you out of the way. Like "bee doooo bee doooo, pardon me but a spot of bother has occured and I simply must hasten to it, pardon me as I simply must attend to it, pardon me."
And the police cars themselves are so small. American police cars are big and brawny, like they might need to make their own garage door into building. The European police cars I've seen, where they even put the people they arrest? Granted, I've only seen European police stuff on TV so there's probably a lot I haven't seen.
Haha, so I grew up in a town in southern France... the city center dates back a thousand (if not more) years ago, as in many places across Europe. That city is partnered with a big one in kentuky and they gifted a BIG police car to their french cousins. Nice! municipality police was so proud of their shiny BIG AMERICAN car. Butt of the joke : just try and picture that BIG AMERICAN police car manoeuvering in those medieval streets ; the result was hillarious and not efficient at all in cathing wrong doers.
The smoking. I stayed with a host family in France and my 16 year old host sister smoked like a chimney, as did all her friends. Like you're so young. Why?
Why you guys like to put bathroom light switches outside the bathroom?
In Germany, apartments don't normally come with a kitchen. It's purchased/installed by the Tennant. Sometimes you luck out but not usually.
This is usual when the whole building is brand new and you are BUYING the apartment. So you can decide what kind of kitchen do you like. I can imagine that sometimes this might happen with some long-term rent, like 10+ years. Otherwise no one will rent a flat without kitchen.
I’m from the Midwest and my family is from the Netherlands. So the society that wouldn’t dare offend you in any way and the society that has no problem dropping truth bombs on you. It’s rough.
As a Brit living in Germany, I feel this in the feelies. Absolutely takes some getting used to. But now I like it!
No a/c, sure fine, but then no screens on your windows so all the bugs get in? (Not sure if this is all of Europe, but def the UK).
Also no top sheets?
Was just in southern Italy and it was hot as balls but everybody acted like they hate AC.
We’d go out for the day and when we came back, housekeeping had turned off all the AC units.
Driver wore a full suit but every time we got in the car, AC was off. We’d ask him to turn it on and he would but on low. Ask him to blast it and he would for a minute then sneakily turn it back down.
It’s like they’re reptiles or something.
Idk if its all Europeans but Germans have a real big problem with staring like I owe them money. Also paying to use the bathroom in public spaces.
Germans are very curious about other people. It takes a while to get used to the staring! (Speaking as a Brit who is now a Brit/German). It's nothing personal, they are just curious. I like to be considered interesting enough!
Charging for bathrooms and charging for water (at restaurants) are both things that I would have expected Americans to do and Europeans be the ones making fun of it.
You all give us so much grief for having bathroom stall door gaps, and then have a one foot wide piece of glass to keep water in the shower…
Beans on toast.
My British grandma always had a plastic tub in the sink to soak dishes. It seems so weird to have a sink in a sink basically.
To all you Italians: why can’t I have a cappuccino past noon??
The poop shelf in Dutch/Belgian toilets.
Yeah, when I first moved to Germany I was weirded out by this. I thought, what am I supposed to do, drape a flag over it and salute as I flushed it farewell?
It's not that it makes no sense but I've always been curious how carbonated water became the default in many places
England's fascination with large print flowered wallpaper with various colors that don't go together especially when you stand in the hallway and see where all the rooms converge.
Haha!! My MIL is a little bit wild and indecisive. She's had a traumatic life, poor love, but she's done good with the cards she was dealt. When I visited, she was trying to choose a wallpaper for the front room - three very different styles, including one hot pink one with black velvet flocking, one with pink roses and another stripy one (I think). Next time I visited, she had simply put all three up in one rather small room because she couldn't decide. I felt a panic attack coming on when I stepped in there, there was so much to look at! :)
Rent their whole lives. I saw this in Germany. I know it's becoming the norm in the US, too, but it just seemed weird to me the first time I visited 30 years ago that most Germans rented their entire lives and never even thought about buying a house.
If you have German renter's rights, there is simply no reason to own a house, as long as you do not really, really need the additional space. It practically is "your" place. You can do as you want as long as you don't damage the building substance, the landlord can hardly make any demands, eviction is next to impossible without very compelling reasons. Also, even though having increased over the last years, rent is comparably cheap compared to the real estate prices. In most cases, it simply makes no sense to buy, regardless of your income. Also, far commuting (more than an hour of way to work) is rare here, so people want to stay flexible to move when changing jobs.
Do any Europeans have a clothes dryer? Why do I think that’s not standard?
We do, but we're not massively wasteful like Americans. We'll use the dryer if it's pouring with rain in the middle of winter. We won't use it on a gloriously hot summer's day with a gentle breeze where clothes will dry outside in an hour.
It's literally against my rental agreement to hang clothes on our balcony. No one likes the holier then thou bs, you just look like a d**k
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Slightly off topic but, as an Australian, one of the odd things I found in most of the places we stayed in the US was home owners not being permitted to hang clothes to dry on clothes hoists/lines in their backyards
That, the lack of public transport and neighbourhoods not being designed with food shops within walking distance - it's almost like some big petroleum/energy companies wanted it that way... s/
Load More Replies... I've never had one. We have a balcony that is covered. Solar and wind energy is free and clean, after all!
I had one once - nearly never used it. A simple clothesline is much more effective if you are not really in a hurry. Also, when the houses are built solid, you do not have such problems with humidity that you could not hang your laundry in the appartment - many people do. Also, no HOAs that could restrict the use of clotheslines.
Having a clothes dryer adds to your electricity bill and causes more wear on your clothes. Drying your things outside is much more environment friendly and it smells better.
Also a lot of clothes don't do well in a dryer. If cotton/ linen hasn't been treatet properly before the sewing it tends to shrink quite a bit. And silk and whool don't appreciate being dried in a tumbler at all.
Load More Replies... Why use a dryer when you have the wind and the sun. Even covered balconies allow the clothes to dry. US people may have been conned by the power companies. Also so many US housing associations ban hanging out clothes.
We have one but only use it for towels and bed linen. Everything else gets out on racks around the house. Cheaper, quicker, fresher...
Not many - pegging it out on a washing line is more common. But in cities, especially those with cold winters, many places have a dryer.
I only use mine for towels, because I like soft fluffy towels. The rest I just dry on a rack. Cheaper and better for my clothes anyway.
Richer people and families with lot of laudry usually have them. But as I live alone, collapsible drying rack is efficient, easy and free. And you don't need to hang them outside, inside works just as well.
I am to greedy to invest in a machine that damages your clothes + I like my towels air dried
I don't. never needed one, never had one in my 45years of age. Hanging my clothes to dry works perfectly fine
why should I waste my money and a lot of electricity if the sun dries my clothes for free and I also get amazing smelling clothes. There is nothing better than going to bed with duvet and pillow smelling like summer.
I, and everyone I knew growing up had a washer/dryer. European homes tend to be smaller than American. Space saving.
There's usually one in apartment buildings if you have a communal laundry room, but if not then you just hang your clothes up to dry as is
I have my first tumble dryer only now in my latest house. At first I was excited but soon noticed how fast are my clothes deteriorating. Now I only use it for towels and bedding as those are obnoxious to dry in our damp house, the rest goes on a hanger in airing cupboard.
Drying clothes outside on the line is another psychological crack in the walk for Americans. The overall conservative Christian tendencies abhor hanging one's undies outside for anyone to see. Actually, hang-drying is criticized for the effects of solar radiation on cloth; it bleaches it and eventually causes the breakdown of fibers (natural and some synthetics). On the good side is that same radiation from the sun helps to sterilize clothing, eliminating mold growth and bacterial growth. While a dryer is great for bad weather days or when you are in a big hurry, hang-drying is more economical and ecological. Even Americans in the old days (think, grandparents) USED TO DO IT!
I don't have one and never have, 1/ I cannot afford to run one, the electricity is so expensive, 2/ i have no space to put it.
Cost too much to run and are bad for the environment. On nice days, hang it outside; on poor days, use an airer. Haven't owned one for 15 years and then only used it in emergencies for school uniforms!
I used to only dry my clothes outside, having grown up in UK. And why use energy if it’s not necessary ? Until my doctor told me that pollen gets on clothes drying on lines and aggravates seasonal allergies.
They do have dryers. Their washing machines ALSO dry. They're smaller so use smaller loads and you almost have to do laundry daily. And they take forever. When we lived in a fifth wheel, we had one. I love it. Space saver, water saver. Cost the same as a huge washer dryer combo and take up a quarter of the space. Perfect for a small family.
In the American Mid-west (the mid west corn swamps) the drier is needed because of the humidity. those clothes outside won't dry for over a day. have dry brittle cookies? open the package and wait 2-3 days, they'll be so nice and soft because of the humidity
dryers are not a standard in Europe. They are becoming more popular only lately. there's nothing smelling better than freshly dryed clothes in summer breeze ...or in winter frost for that matter :DDD being nostalgic about frosty sock that can literally stand on its own :DDD lol
We used to haul our dirty laundry around the corner to a launderette. It
...made the task much faster when more than one machine was available.
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Northern Europeans that don't have the weather conditions to just hang out their laundry, have dryers. Southern Europeans that have sunshine 350 days a year, don't need it ;)
I'm very much northern European and in all the years I lived in Danmark I never used a dryer.
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I have a washing machine/dryer combo and use the dry function maybe 3 times a year. clothing racks are normal for apartment, and especially in winter, when humidity goes under 40%(inside) it's nice to hang a load of clothes. when I was little we did hang our wet clothes in the old hay barn. it was stiff as a bread, but we just let it hang for a few days and eventually it was dry.
I think most of my friends and family (and others whom I know well enough to talk about such things) here in Finland do, so I would imagine it is pretty much the norm to have and use one.
There is also not often space, as we dont make 8000 > apt and homes here
Absolutely. I have one. Don't use it a lot but it's nice to have the option.
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When living in the UK, had to use the laundromat each week. No room in the tiny flat for a clothes dryer.
I didn't have one until four years ago, and then I had a baby. Now I have to do one load a day to keep up on Mount Washmore, which means wash-dry-fold-put away, every 24 hours. I can't do that by hanging my clothes on a line (not to mention that the space I used to hang my clothes is now lost as it became a nursery), AND I lost the time I used to spend on hanging the clothes and picking it back up.
Love the painting with a broad brush regarding America once again. Anyway, I think it depends on many factors. Especially weather and how many people live in the household. Three kids with one playing sports we went through so many clothes. Was already a full time job to do the laundry let alone to hang everything.
We work too many hours to have time to hang clothes out during the week. Not much leisure time or energy to spend carrying loads of laundry in and out. I've done it and the sheets do smell great... but not a lot of fun rewashing because the birds messed them up
No top sheets on beds.
The first time I experienced "European Style" bedding, I was so confused. When I asked about the top sheet, I was told they only use a duvet. I'm a hot sleeper, so I didn't use it. Ended up sleeping without a sheet over me, which was uncomfortable. But, when in Rome...
Why the hell don’t you guys just serve tap water (if it’s OK to drink) to tables when they sit down? I’m currently in Europe and a handful of restaurants will not even serve you tap water and you have to buy it. This is in many countries too! Wtf it’s free and right there!!!
Note: this post originally had 36 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
Funny how nobody's complaining about 'Euro-bashing' like so many do on similar posts about the US.
But then, have you read all the buts and ifs. It's still a sh!tty post and the comments end up bashing the USA. Maaaan!!
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Oh boy, Europeans getting pretty chippy in this post. Don't worry, BP will have at least 10 posts next week talking about how terrible the USA is.
Interesting! South Africa was colonized Europeans so a few of these are quite common here too! The hot & cold sinks (although that is thankfully phasing out!), the baked beans, fresh produce (we also have loads of markets and traders), glass shower doors. I don't think I've even seen a bug cover thing on a window or door?? We just put on bug spray and we do sometimes have mosquito nets which hang from the roof around your bed. But yeah summer and spring the windows always open, not much AC, only for fancier places and offices (fans and mist sprayers are more common), plastic tub in sink to save water yep.
Very similar is Australia too., though we do have fly screens! Air Cons are more and more common, but they are set at much more sustainable temps than the US seems to use.
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I rather think that is a sweeping overgeneralisation.
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No one mentioned buildings 500 years old? With plumbing to match.
So true - the UK (my homeland) has some of the worst housing stock in Europe. OK, so it's good we won the war and all but some houses should still be knocked down and rebuilt to better standards, and the urban planning submitted to further scrutiny again too!
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Whaaaa? A post where we poke fun at Europe a little bit?? Well, I sure hope BP is okay after this traumatic event. :)
Okay - I will. I have problems with my hands and wrists (from age 7) and actually find knobs easier. This is due to two things (and is purely personal). 1. The angle that my hand goes into when I push down a handle and 2. I actually need to turn a k**b less than I do a handle! There should be CHOICE as people have different hand/wrist issues and the same won't work for each person. 🤷😁
Load More Replies... Every post here: Someone says something; Every comment: But America sucks somehow related to this!
And why no ice? I'd love to own a Manitowac franchise in the EU.
Funny how nobody's complaining about 'Euro-bashing' like so many do on similar posts about the US.
But then, have you read all the buts and ifs. It's still a sh!tty post and the comments end up bashing the USA. Maaaan!!
Load More Replies... Oh boy, Europeans getting pretty chippy in this post. Don't worry, BP will have at least 10 posts next week talking about how terrible the USA is.
Interesting! South Africa was colonized Europeans so a few of these are quite common here too! The hot & cold sinks (although that is thankfully phasing out!), the baked beans, fresh produce (we also have loads of markets and traders), glass shower doors. I don't think I've even seen a bug cover thing on a window or door?? We just put on bug spray and we do sometimes have mosquito nets which hang from the roof around your bed. But yeah summer and spring the windows always open, not much AC, only for fancier places and offices (fans and mist sprayers are more common), plastic tub in sink to save water yep.
Very similar is Australia too., though we do have fly screens! Air Cons are more and more common, but they are set at much more sustainable temps than the US seems to use.
Load More Replies... I rather think that is a sweeping overgeneralisation.
Load More Replies... No one mentioned buildings 500 years old? With plumbing to match.
So true - the UK (my homeland) has some of the worst housing stock in Europe. OK, so it's good we won the war and all but some houses should still be knocked down and rebuilt to better standards, and the urban planning submitted to further scrutiny again too!
Load More Replies... Whaaaa? A post where we poke fun at Europe a little bit?? Well, I sure hope BP is okay after this traumatic event. :)
Okay - I will. I have problems with my hands and wrists (from age 7) and actually find knobs easier. This is due to two things (and is purely personal). 1. The angle that my hand goes into when I push down a handle and 2. I actually need to turn a k**b less than I do a handle! There should be CHOICE as people have different hand/wrist issues and the same won't work for each person. 🤷😁
Load More Replies... Every post here: Someone says something; Every comment: But America sucks somehow related to this!
And why no ice? I'd love to own a Manitowac franchise in the EU.
