People Share 30 Things That They Think Are Normal In Europe But Horrific In America

my house was built in 1677

Favorite metric system quote is by Josh Bazell. “In metric, one milliliter of water occupies one cubic centimeter, weighs one gram, and requires one calorie of energy to heat up by one degree centigrade—which is 1 percent of the difference between its freezing point and its boiling point. ... Whereas in the American system, the answer to ‘How much energy does it take to boil a room-temperature gallon of water?’ is ‘Go f**k yourself,’ because you can’t directly relate any of those quantities.”

This! When I was a nanny in the US, the family I worked for was always nagging me for using public transport. I never unederstood what the big deal was.

And then we have our beloved bored panda censure... s**t!

Rested and healthy employees = higher productivity. Who'd have thought?

What???

Or, at least partially in Germany, leaves it with a neighbour.

I'd rather not have muddy footprints/ dirt from outside around the house.

They should make this a European thing.

I think they meant: While it is normal for Europeans to speak at least one language other than their mother tongue, Americans are not expected to speak any other language than English.

At least where I live in Germany it’s NOT usual to be naked in parks or bathing naked in crowded places, except they’re designated as nude areas. Topless is tolerated in most urban parks, if you don’t Walk around. Otherwise it’s a "Public nuisance", which is an administrative offense and is punished by a penalty fee.

Seen as lazy, huh? So the management only have standing desks?

Of course not. I am on VACATION.

In the UK we normally describe properties as 1 bed, 2 bed etc. and give a separate count of other rooms. Studio is normally used to describe rooms of mixed use. So a 1 bed studio apartment will normally be a combined kitchen, living and sleeping space with a separate bath- or shower-room.

I remember one work trip where I was in Germany, just over the border from France. All the staff were French and commuted across the border daily. Hell, we even went back across the border for lunch each day!

I love being Scottish, I love living here, the people (mostly), the accepting and open culture, the sarcastic swearing humour, that we can take the piss out of ourselves - but I don't feel the need to fly a flag on my doorstep or cover myself in Scottish symbols and scream about my freedom and rights and chant some verse every morning - im sure there are plenty of Americans who also think that the stereotypical over the top patriotic American is as odd as outsiders do - but they do tend to be the loudest

Fun fact: These are all things that Unions achieved and next the government made them law. Some Americans would go bat shyte crazy over that. "The government has no right to force 25 mandatory vacation days on me!!!!"

Absolutely, what's acceptable in Spain wouldn't fly in Denmark and vice versa. All countries have their own cultures. The first time, years before the internet through reading American magazines, I came across 'Europe' being referred to as a homogeneous whole I was extremely confused. I was also highly entertained by all the adverts stating 'Everyone in Europe is using this product' for something I'd never seen in my life.

It prevents them from copying you card information and using them to commit fraud by buying stuff online with your creditcard information. In fact I think we ought to memorise the control numbers on the back of the card and then remove them for the card. Having them there is like writing the pin code on the card with a marker, it is just making abuse way too easy.

This is Rule 1 of the London Underground

True. Topless is normal.

You mean normal portions.

What people don't realize is, in the eyes of the government, the average American is just another species of livestock.

Haha yea I was in for a treat when I got hungry around Italy and was served this tiny sandwich with one piece of meat.. I know we americans overdo mostly everything, but cmon man. It was like two bites

It shouldn't be so confusing, as it is the rational thing to do. Unless you live an extremly active lifestyle like being an athlet or have a physically demanding work, no one need all that food. All it will then do is either get wasted when half of it is thrown out because you cannot eat it, or it will contribute to an obesity epedemic. Having the portion size adjusted to the average person rather than the extreme cases is just a so much better solution.

What about eating until you're full instead of trying to finish everything?

I KNOW, whenever i go to any restaurant i cant finish my food, everyones like "do you want an appetizer? do you want dessert?" like fam the meal is more than enough thanks

Americans are drowning in their own fat because of fork in mouth disease.

When I was in Germany from Texas food portions were great. I do remember the 1st time I went to McDonald's and they had fill line on cup. Not much ice but I always have to say here in the states 'easy on the ice" I don't wanna watered down drink". Salads were bland because seemed most places had just olive oil for dressing. When eating salads at home I loved I think Knoor packets mixed with olive oil and water which are awesome. I remember in Frankfurt they opened native American restaurant which served rattlesnake. I had eaten before but never at a restaurant and still haven't seen it here in Texas as I don't think it's legal to kill them. I was fascinated by the food options in Europe and the authenticity. French fries with mayo is great but I don't like the Mayo here in the states anymore unless I order some from Europe that comes in a tube like toothpaste which tastes way better plus creamier. I do remember ordering fish and got the whole thing cooked including eyeballs.

I believe this is targeting the fast food area of America's food not actual localized home cooked meal portions. In a family house hold if there were big portions they're usually because you either have a big family or a big gathering happening which in turn help give you leftovers so you will have sometimes food during the week if cooking is hard. Most times, most American portions are relatively smaller than what you would get at a restaurant or a fast food joint hence, usually getting a to go being normal. Portion sizes in restaurants can differ depending on where you're at in America also big company vs family owned just like any other place. It's just like how food portions differ between different households. and don't get me started on fast food meat versus actually good meat that you get from a local farmer or butcher or when you grow it yourself or hunted for your family vs fast food that's a whole different process especially since they don't use true meat anyway that much anymore.

i cant say much here i love food and could eat all day. its my deadly sin.

Teeny weeny portions in Michelin restaurants.

When I eat out I take half of it home for a second meal next day..lost 30 pounds 🇺🇸

I eat less than the serving size to eat normal portions since they’re so big here

My spouse and I have rejected the standard quarter pound burger for the smaller choices, as these used to be considered a single serving.

Right under this comment is an advertisement for family meal deals at a restaurant.

Normal potions. And even those can be pretty big. I don't knwo why someone would either stuff themselves with 300calories in one sitting or have half the food end up int the trash, but it's just wrong.

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I am in the Netherlands and almost every kid I know does some kind of extracurricular sport. There are also special subsidies to make sure every kids even from low income families can participate. But we dont tend to get obsessive parents here.