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!!!!"

Just finished my month paid holiday. I've done this for 20+ years. It keeps you sane.

Here people can get about 18 months payed parental leave. Usually in perfect time for the babies to start kindergarten.

In Belgium we have a standard of 20 days paid vacation; on top of that most businesses give an additional 12 days paid vacation a year for working 40 hours instead of the mandatory 38 hours - the 'overtime' amounts to one day a month. That mekes 32 days a year. The longer you work for one employer the more paid vacation you have: for every 5 years you get an extra day - 'anciënniteitsverlof'.

I am American, and my last job, I had the max of 198 stored up. I requested days off all of the time, and they always said, "there's nobody to work it", meaning there was no one else to cover the shift. Pissed me off, then they cheated me out of those hours when I had to cash them in...

Glad I live in Canada.

I have a college who was away on maternity leave for 1 1/2 years....

In Denmark we actually have the right to a year paid parental leaves, if we choose

As a teacher in Germany i have 14 weeks of paid vacation.

My daughter is just finishing her 1 year parental leave as their baby turns 1 next month and before she starts work again she will spend a week getting her baby adjusted to being at daycare. They aren't allowed to start until they turn 1. Also daycare, including after school for the two older ones is very cheap so it's not costing her and her partner a lot, not like you have it in the USA

I'm in my current company since a year. A coworker is on maternity leave, has been since, and I only met her once when she came by with her freshly hatched daughter, and that day I was so damned busy and don't really remember anything about her.

Wow. My husband got 2 days off when our baby was born. That's all the PTO he had at the time.

My dad was a union steelworker and had 14 weeks paid vacation.

Wait...25 days...in a row?!

To be fair, with the much higher taxes.... You deserve something good!

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.

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.

Not smiling all the time, too.

what about mayonnaise AND ketchup??

Personally, I dislike automatics. It makes me feel like I'm driving a go kart. If you're going to drive a car...well...drive it!

In Norway you'll get tap water when you ask for water, and that's free.

The only really gay thing I know is falling in love with someone of the same gender as yourself. If cleaning your ass after you've been to the toilet is 'gay' to you, you have some real issues.

That's one of the most stupid things in Germany. The kitchen should belong to the apartment.

in germany you're allowed to drink beer/wine with 14 when you're parents are around, at 16 without them and everything else at 18