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The United States has plenty of pros and cons, just like any other country. However, you can’t deny America tends to have more of each and some of them are turned all the way up to 11 on the weirdness scale. Like having the police patrol your school, writing the date in a weird way (let’s not even talk about the Imperial measurement system), and having full-on smear ads against political opponents.

Welcome to the Wonderland that is the USA. And what better way to learn about the bizarre things that Americans think are completely normal than by asking non-Americans for their opinions? That’s exactly what one Reddit user (who told Bored Panda that they wish to remain anonymous because of all the attention they're getting) did in a viral thread that got more than 50.9k upvotes and over a whopping 38.9k comments. Scroll down, have a read, check out our in-depth interview with the original poster, and upvote the weird things that happen in the US that left an impact on you, dear Pandas.

#1

40 Things Only Americans Think Are Normal Bankruptcy because you went to the hospital

canesfan09 , David Syzdek Report

#2

40 Things Only Americans Think Are Normal Talking about their freedom as if they're the only country in the world who has it...

zohan360 , Denise Krebs Report

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mph seti
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We have to convince ourselves we're better constantly, because deep down, we know we aren't.

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#3

40 Things Only Americans Think Are Normal Gratuitous violence in entertainment is normal. But show one boob and people lose their s**t.

danno49 , miramax Report

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mph seti
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Puritans / fundamentalist Christians did this s**t. Public executions = Fine. A naked body = The DEVIL! To be fair, this is something we inherited from medieval Europe...You guys just outgrew it, and we haven't yet.

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The redditor who posted the thread in the first place told us that they usually don’t hang out in the crowded default subreddits. “Either the thread gets too big for a conversation or it goes unnoticed in a sea of similar topics. In hindsight, it's not strange it got so much attention, Reddit is very diverse but a US-centric view is still dominant, and everyone wants to weigh in. Lots of people just wanted to vent, some had a strong political opinion, and some just wanted to ridicule the US.”

According to the Reddit user, they made the thread “on a whim” after they saw a comment by a redditor who was surprised to learn that not everyone has police officers at school.

“I did hope that starting this topic would end up in a couple of people sharing that kind of information among each other, because the US is going through some [crap], and it helps your morale to know that alternatives do exist.”

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They continued: “Some people took it as a competition of which country is better, but it was intended without any kind of nationalist feelings, more with an idea of people defining things among themselves vs. how things are shown to be in schools and TV shows, in and outside the US.”

#4

40 Things Only Americans Think Are Normal When you are 18 years old, you can be shipped to a foreign country to kill humans, but you are not allowed to drink alcohol.

K_51 , Fort Rucker Report

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Richard Brown
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I laughed when Will Smiths son wanted to celebrate his 18th birthday in the UK because he would be allowed to drink legally!

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#5

40 Things Only Americans Think Are Normal Ambulance rides costing money seems pretty absurd to people from other countries

Meemesfourdayz , Paul Townley Report

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mph seti
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Paying for healthcare (or internet access, IMO) is absurd. There's a reason all the smart countries socialize things. the US easily could too, if we started putting actual people before the wealthy and their profits.

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#6

40 Things Only Americans Think Are Normal Paying people less than minimum wage. How is it a minimum if it's legal to pay less than that?

NZLion , 401(K) 2012 Report

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Jo Choto
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The US always has exemptions to such laws, and the whole service industry thrives on it.

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One thing that the redditor did expect to see in the thread but was surprised to hear so many voices speaking against it was the “circumcision of infant males for non-medical, non-religious reasons but rather as a default procedure.” The redditor added: “Parents who decide against circumcising their newborn child but don't know how it works and what to teach their kid: there's a WikiHow!”

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The thread shone a light on a lot of problems in the United States and suggested that these things need to change. “The things that got repeated most in the thread were division of ethnic groups, gun culture, military drafting and continuous warfare, cop culture, nutrition issues, corporate lobbying... and wearing shoes in the house,” the OP explained.

#7

40 Things Only Americans Think Are Normal Wondering if you're sick enough to call that ambulance or if you should just risk ubering it.

Medical bankruptcy after you're charged $200,000 for a week long hospital stay and now you're homeless.

Being mentally ill and getting hospitalized by others for your own safety, but then getting a massive bill for it that you cant pay (which will totally help the suicidality right?)

Choosing between food and medicine.

Deciding that it's less expensive to just go into palliative care and die instead of fighting a disease like cancer.

As you can see I really hate the american medical care system.

greffedufois , Tomás Del Coro Report

#8

40 Things Only Americans Think Are Normal Turning scientific information into a political discussion.

everythihghurts , U.S. Embassy Phnom Penh Report

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Vorknkx
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

When scientists talk, politicians should shut their mouths and listen, period.

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#9

40 Things Only Americans Think Are Normal Archaic, unhelpful standard units of measurement.

JSanzi , franchise opportunities Report

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Martti Laurson
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3 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In 1983 canadian airplane had a lucky escape when fuel was calculated in pounds not kilograms. 1 kg is 2,2 pounds. So more than half of the fuel was missing.

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“It's not as if all those comments came from non-US redditors, a lot of the criticism was from US citizens with genuine concern and investment in their future and their surroundings. Combine that with getting active and finding each other, just as widespread protests are helping to create a framework of solidarity, I think change is already happening if you just keep at it,” they said.

“I saw a lot of people from outside the US who feel racism or racist police brutality are a typical US thing. It sure looks like there's a structural issue, but please don't use the US as a way to shift blame because ‘they're worse,’ to get out of examining the same structural issues in your own locality,” the redditor added.

#10

40 Things Only Americans Think Are Normal Putting a ton of sugar in products like bread.

TheThingsWeMake , Doug Waldron Report

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Jo Choto
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It really shocks me whenever I travel back to the US just how loaded all the food is with excess sugar and salt. Bread tastes almost like cake.

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#11

40 Things Only Americans Think Are Normal Gun ownership.

only7inches , Paul Sableman Report

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mph seti
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Many Americans are afraid all the time. It's a horrible habit, and our media/politicians reinforce it. It stems from the fact that our country was founded on genocide and slavery, IMO. White people fear BIPOC revenge that's never going to happen, and gun companies own the right wing of the government.

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#12

40 Things Only Americans Think Are Normal Having only two parties: Republicans and Democrats. I know there are some smaller parties, but the system is stacked against them.

level 1 K_51 , Pom' Report

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Electric Ed
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

When you think about it, this turns out to be the root cause for so many other problems. If not all of them.

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While the US thinks a lot of weird things are normal, the one that isn’t giving us any peace and quiet is that Americans write the date as mm/dd/yyyy. So, why exactly do Americans write the date by putting the month before the day?

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Of course, it seems completely logical to somebody who’s grown up with this system and uses it every single day of their lives. Nothing could be more natural, in their opinion. But from an outsider’s perspective, it looks downright weird and illogical. And the US is the only country in the world that does things this way.

There are several theories about this. One of them is that in certain cases, it’s more convenient to know the month first rather than the day. For instance, when somebody asks you when your birthday is, it’s more useful to know the month first to get your bearings right before zoning in on the exact day.

#13

40 Things Only Americans Think Are Normal Not putting the final price on the tag. I'm not sure whether it's still like this, but a few years ago one never knew whether the $1.00 item in McDonald's or Burger King is actually $1.00 or maybe $1.08.

TitanicBeta , JJBers Report

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Hans
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It is absolutely ridiculous that not the final price tag is put on products. The European Union now rules that any taxes and mandatory fees need to be put up front. Thing like flight ticket = 30 EUR but then having to pay mandatorily for seating are ruled illegal. The opposite in the US. I have literally seen: hotel room: 200 USD/night. + mandatory resort fee, 30 USD, + mandatory service fee, 40 USD, + mandatory gratuity, 12,5% + local tax 4,1% + state tax 3,7% (number from my head). Thus, this really is a ~325 USD hotel room. No comparison possible.

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#14

40 Things Only Americans Think Are Normal Date Order (MM/DD/YYYY)

-Sinister-Shadow , InvestmentTotal.com Report

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Electric Ed
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

YYYY-MM-DD, please. Its an international standard, unambiguous, and sorts alphabetically. And equally uncomfortable for everybody :)

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#15

40 Things Only Americans Think Are Normal Portion sizes.

pourmewhineoh , Jerry Huddleston Report

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Goth Nurse
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

While living in Texas (I am Finnish) I saw huge people and huge portion sizes, rarely a healthy option available. It was unbelievable how big the portion sizes were!

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Another theory is that American colonists inherited the monthly date format from the British Empire. In time, the British moved over to the European style where you put the day first, then the month, then the year. While Americans stuck with the old-school format.

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Oh, and in case you’re wondering, the International Organization for Standardization claims that putting the year first, then the month, then the day is the internationally accepted way to represent the date. To make things even more confusing, the US military uses the dd/mm/yyyy format for correspondence but it switches to the mm/dd/yyyy format when corresponding with civilians. Does that sound like a lot of info to take in? You bet! And that’s just one of the weird things that Americans think are normal.

#16

40 Things Only Americans Think Are Normal The plot of Breaking Bad being about a science teacher getting cancer and worrying about leaving his family with massive medical debt when he dies.

FeFiFoShizzle , imbd Report

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Hans
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The inefficency (do not mistake for ineffectivity!) of the US healthcare systrem combined with a missing social net is indeed unchallenged.

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#17

40 Things Only Americans Think Are Normal My maternity leave was an unpaid 6 weeks, and I had to fight them on not shorting me because I went past my due date and didn’t keep working until the day I went into labor.

robot_cupcak3 , sergio santos Report

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Brittania Douglas
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not to mention the hospital bill after having your baby. Like children aren't expensive enough without having to either pay for an at home doula\midwife, or a hospital birth.

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#18

40 Things Only Americans Think Are Normal American flags everywhere. I traveled throughout Europe and the Caribbean and I usually only saw their flag on government builds and here and there. Where as here in the USA the flag is like Franks Red Hot. We put that s**t on everything. Magnets, churches, cars, condoms, every front porch, and street lamp. #murica

Gaby , Gaby Report

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MikeyG
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It does surprise me that the USA can be so proud of their flag and history, when their history is actually quite shameful and very short. A country less than 250 years old that seems to just ignore the native american history before that just astounds me.

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#19

40 Things Only Americans Think Are Normal Doing the pledge of allegiance in the morning at school

flavener , John Beagle Report

#20

40 Things Only Americans Think Are Normal Identifying as your heritage instead of your nationality. Americans will say that they’re Italian, German, polish, etc. when they don’t speak the language and have no real connection to those countries anymore.

In other parts of the world people just identify with the country they were born in or have lived in for a significant amount of time regardless of their ancestry.

bluegreentree , IrishFireside Report

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Jo Choto
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yeah, Americans love telling everyone what nationality they think they are, and then when they hear about foreigners, they tell them to go the hell back where they came from. Go figure.

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SirPatTheCat
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I mean, I don't think it's fair to generalize everyone like that...America is such a melting pot of people that it's hard to have much an identity if you just say you are American. Plus even though some people do say that they or this or that without any connection to the county or culture, most people do have some connection. I'm the third generation of people in my family to live in America (grandparents immigrated) and we still eat the food, participate in holidays, and visit the country since it has lots of my family. I even speak a little bit of the language and am planning on learning more (and it's a HARD one to learn). It's the same for my other half too, even though I'm 4th generation on that side. You can't really assume that all of us are judgemental, hypocritical racists, can you?

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ADHORTATOR
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I can understand this...I am French, with german, italian and slav ancestors

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Nia Loves Art
Community Member
3 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

When Americans say they are Irish or Italian or whatever, they don’t literally mean that is their nationality. They are just referring to their heritage/ancestry, and other Americans understand fully what they mean.

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Leo Domitrix
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Um... my mom's from another country/culture. I was raised with many of those values, the language, etc. Ergo, I identify with it. It's personal experssion for me.

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Jibek Mechler
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It’s because ‘American’ isn’t an ethnicity. People are usually very proud of their multiple cultures, being both American and black/Chinese/Pennsylvania Dutch

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Pseudo Puppy
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Jibek, as a "bitsa" (bits of this, bits of that) myself.... I love your mix!! <3

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Nomadus Aureus
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In my country where we have 20+ ethnic groups (and live our lives speaking and using our own language instead of the official one) we're doing the same. Its extremely frustrating tying to explain it to foreigners that just because the country has been named after the largest ethnic group, it doesn't mean everyone is it.

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Troux
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I can imagine you struggle with that one! Some Americans think it's absurd that Europe and Asia each have several languages. Born simple and they want it to stay simple.

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Kathy Guillemette
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I always say that I'm an American but my family came from other countries, and I'll name them. But I never say that I am this that or the other, I am only American.

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Sandra Llewelyn
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I always find that odd, African-Americans, Irish-Americans etc., almost like being American isn't good enough.

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Pseudo Puppy
Community Member
3 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's actually a defense mechanism AGAINST bigotry of days gone by. eg "Oh you're a dirty Italian?!!??".... "no... I'm Italian-AMERICAN. I / my family came from Italy, but I'm AMERICAN".

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Meyer Weinstock
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My ex-wife's family: yeah, we're Italian. What part of Italy are we from? Brooklyn!!!!!

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Vaida Kuodytė
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Sadly, no. People will have been born and spent their entire lives in my country, and deny any relation, and demand locals to speak "their" language instead of learning ours :D.

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Luigi
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Identifying with your country is bad... no wait it's good! Wtf boredpanda.

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Lizard Gaming_YT
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Also I am bilingual, I can speak Chinese and I go to Taiwan every year, that is where my family is form even though I am born in the U.S.

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Rage Racer
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

America is a large cultural melting pot with the only natives being the Native Americans. Its a given you are American but where do you hail from is generally want people want to know when they ask.

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Jana Boardman
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

There's a difference between heritage and birth country. We don't say that we're FROM a country, but our heritage may be mainly from another country. As us outside the US, we will say that we're American, and may add that our forebears came from wherever.

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Jan Peters
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

What? Turks living in Germany for three generations typically feel more Turkish than Germans. Turks in the first generation in the US will try to be as American as possible!

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Thunder
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I’m Dutch but I’m 5% German and probably 1% English. See, I do that too

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Nubmaeme
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It wasn't always like that. At one time, we were simply Americans. Somewhere along the line, identity politics came into play and now we're anything but simply Americans.

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Jim Kang
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

People from other parts of the world seem to lack a little opens to differences when it comes to Americans. While I’m the first to point out the idiosyncratic habits of Americans, many people seem to forget just how big our country is. Also how many different people settle here from every part of our world.

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Liesa Yopp
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This one drives me INSANE. You are American. Period. Being proud of your ancestry is perfectly fine. Needing to feel like a special snowflake to the point of drilling down every single part of your identity is absurd. Accept yourself for who you simply are, be comfortable in your own skin, and you'll be happy. You don't need all of the ridiculous titles for that.

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Nia Loves Art
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If by drilling down you mean doing genetic testing/ tracing family history to learn more about your ancestry I don’t see how that is a bad thing or makes someone a snowflake. Genealogy is an interesting and educational hobby that derived from curiosity.

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Jessica A
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Well, we were formed as a "melting pot'; it's part of our national identity.

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Michael Hill
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In Britain, many are their country of ethnic origin first and British last. In Scotland, Wales and N Ireland, they are also them first and very rarely British.

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Lara Harris
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

What? The UK is made up of 4 separate countries that's why. We are an amalgamation of countries. Identifying as Welsh, still identifies you as British and from the UK. Saying you're Irish in the US does NOT identify you as American.

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Dippin Dot
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This comes from when we had immigrants flooding into our country by the ship-full. There was a sense of camaraderie when you met someone from your home country (like how now it's about which state you are from). It also became a topic for those who didn't want to "thin out" their bloodline and chose to marry someone with the same background as them. There are still these biases today... either based on race, religion or what-not.

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Alex K
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

yes they love to tell everyone their ancestry but get offended if you ask them first.

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Stargazer66
Community Member
5 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That's because in Europe the countries are homogenous. The US was founded on migration to the New World from all over. And these different groups tended to settle in certain areas of the country. Wisconsin for instance has a high percentage of people from the Netherlands that settled there. In Boston MA you have the Irish. In NY you have Italians and Jews and they settled together forming neighborhoods where everyone spoke the same language. We have 'Chinatowns' in California, NY for instance.

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Stephanie Dallier
Community Member
2 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

As an American, my theory on this, is that since so many nationalities immigrated here to begin with, let alone now, it was/is a way of holding onto your heritage and its history. The United States of America is still very much an infant in comparison to the rest of the world. We have a very short history. So we still feel and in some cases have “roots” in whatever countries we claim to be from. A good majority of us are mutts born in the United States with no historical roots going back longer than 247 years, if that. Which isn’t very long. I may not be right. But that’s just my take on it.

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C. S.
Community Member
2 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This often happens because the US is so big that our heritage plays a big part in regional culture and is a huge factor as to why your family ended up where it did. I'm from the upper Midwest where we eat schnitzel, drink beer, celebrate st. Nicholas, and had newspapers written in German until the late 1980s. With such a huge national culture it is easier to identify with your local culture which is often influenced on the heritage of the region.

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Uncle Schmickle
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yes, I found this quite strange when I lived in the USA for 4 years in the early '70s. People would notice my accent and ask me where I came from, and I said Australia. They replied " but where are you really from " ?

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Ger Tus
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The Native Americans should have had better immigration laws

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Peter Clark
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I like to refer to myself as an American mutt. A mix of lots of different things, although all northern European I will admit.

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Eddie
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

But it's considered racist for not recognizing hyphenated Americans.

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Lara Harris
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Honestly this drives me up the wall. I'm Irish. Americans telling me they're Irish is f*****g annoying. No, you're not. Your grandparents /great grandparents were Irish, they left to give you the opportunity to BE AMERICAN, most likely risked they're lives for it. You're second/third/fourth generation American. And that s**t you claim is Irish and use to celebrate Ireland with ISN'T IRISH.

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Carrie Roettger
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I always say I'm a Texan first and am American next. If I say anything about my heritage I say my ancestors were French. I have no reason to claim that I personally am French because my ancestors were.

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Steve
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I am white but if you want to go down this road. I am Austrian, German, Irish, Swiss with a hint of English.

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Carmen Honacker
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I also like answer like "I am 1/8 Irish, 3/8 Italian, etc. How do you have that stuff down to that minute detail, when you generally can't even point out where said countries are on a map

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steve acra
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's usually used as an explanation of your tastes, like why I love sauerkraut.

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Heather Hayllar
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I think it's totally laughable when I hear "you are an Alien" when you are on the same planet!!

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Lisa Chambers
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Some of us know our origins and we celebrate them. It is called a family tradition. As time goes by, less and less of the original language is taught.

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Fred Burrows
Community Member
3 years ago

This comment has been deleted.

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Kitten
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I can understand this, but for me if I do this, it’s because I don’t want to lose the other half of my heritage. I feel like it’ll be lost if I just ignore it.

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Beatriz Branco
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Why someone would say I'm african american? Nobody says I'm mexican american, greek american... We're all just americans

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Thalia Lovering
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have experienced the opposite. I have met people who were just born in America (as in they had no American ancestors) and yet they identified themselves as Americans. I wouldn't do that. If my parents were Greek but I was born in the US I would identify myself as Greek.

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Id row
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I've been here for generations, but still have relatives in Scotland and England. I'm not going to deny my heritage because of where I was born. I'm American, yes, but I'm also Irish, Scottish, English and Polish. If that offends you, that's your problem.

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BeazleBug
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Well, if you asked and I told you I was Pennsylvanian, you'd be confused...plus to this day immigrants to this country tend to "flock together" and stay that way because integration doesn't really exist here.

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BeazleBug
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3 years ago

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Meyer Weinstock
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yes, the family left the Kingdom of Prussia in 1837 and the Kingdom of Bavaria in 1866...and left Wisconsin in 1940. Still, here in CA, we still say, "Yes, we're German. I was born in Berlin." "Mother, you were born in Berlin, Wisconsin! Stop it, already!" Grrrr....

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Karen Johnston
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

America is too young for that. As I've said in a previous post, we're rather like adopted children. We want to belong to a culture. We'll get there as the generations go by, and we've had those heritages diluted.

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lara
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We have a culture. Just because Europe doesn't approve doesn't mean anything.

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Anna Martin
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

IMO ...it's bc American's really have no sense of connection outside of America and romanticize their heritage. Usually, the Southern states will say, "I'm Texan" but my experience has been the East coast where being Italian, or Polish is bigger than being a New Yorker. Very interesting.

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William Clark
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's called liberal identity politics. Blame democrats and race baiting liberals. They started this c**p. If we call ourselves Americans first, we're screamed at as being racist.

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Eva Bryson
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I talk about my heritage to show respect to my ancestors. I talk about my nationality to show respect for my country.

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lara
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Well, that is a result of "politically correct thinking" as though if your ancestors came from another country you are supposed to think just like them.

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#21

40 Things Only Americans Think Are Normal Had some American colleagues in Norway asking us how we celebrate 4th July

kevkippers , m01229 Report

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Richard Brown
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Happens a lot. America seems to think the world is separated into 2 parts. America and Not America, yet.

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#22

Big glasses of water WITH ICE at restaurants. I live in Texas usually and I drink ice water like 24/7. It’s a good habit here, especially in Summer. When I was in Europe I would get the smallest glasses of luke warm water that I had to ask for more every ten seconds. I felt annoying! Aren’t y’all thirsty?! Or am I missing something?

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HelgaMaria Gehrmann
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yes, we are just as thirsty as everyone else;) But why should ice-cold water (especially) help against thirst? I have never understood (so do many people) why there are tons of ice in every drink. Especially when it is hot, it is totally counterproductive to drink such ice-cold drinks. It is much healthier and more effective against thirst to drink only slightly chilled drinks (directly from the fridge or 1/2 ice cubes max. ;) However, lukewarm water is rather unusual in restaurants ... unfortunately bad luck

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#23

40 Things Only Americans Think Are Normal Toilet cubicles, where people not only can peek, but an adult person could crawl into your cubicle, there is so much space under the "door".

TitanicBeta , Michael Coghlan Report

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Jo Choto
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And the cracks between the frame and the door means you can quite easily see in the cubicle from outside.

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#24

40 Things Only Americans Think Are Normal Willingly putting yourself massively in debt for a college degree.

I come from a place with free university education (which has its own drawbacks of course), and the fact that you can make such a huge, life-altering decision at 17 is considered normal over there, that seems downright bizarre to me.

I_hate_traveling , barnyz Report

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Sabienn
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Sadly, in Holland this is now normal to.... If you're parents aren't super rich, you have to get a loan to be able to pay for college. College isn't as expensive in Holland as it is in the USA, though

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#25

40 Things Only Americans Think Are Normal The enabling customer service culture.

It’s created excessive portions in restaurants, created Karen, gives way to a disposable attitude towards products, and generally gives a sense of entitlement where most people start adding it to their list of rights.

srocan , UPC Media Relations Report

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Troux
Community Member
3 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yes I always felt this was a weird business model.

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#26

40 Things Only Americans Think Are Normal When I was there during the last election I was shocked at how phrases like ‘well they have the black vote’ or the ‘Latino vote’ came up all the time on the radio. Obviously it’s not racist but it’s just something that would never come up in my country. Like, why would latino people all vote for the same person?

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Pamela24
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not all but when you have an openly racist candidate (not trying to point fingers...Trump...) it makes sense that majority of POC would avoid voting for that person.

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#27

40 Things Only Americans Think Are Normal Actively avoiding healthcare visits/checkups because if there's something wrong and you don't have the money to pay for treatment, then you'd rather just not know

KingAceNumber1 , Yuya Tamai Report

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WilvanderHeijden
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And that's insane. The sooner you start treatment on an illness the less it costs to cure. Seems that the basic rule of any maintenance schedule for machines is impossible to apply on humans in the US. That's what you get when your health care system is for profit instead of for everyone.

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#28

40 Things Only Americans Think Are Normal This one is more on the positive side, because I think we could learn some from it.

Talking and sharing your life with complete strangers. I have met quite a few americans so it seems the norm that you share and engage with strangers in public. The bus, train, parks etc. And then you go on your way.

In Denmark you'd be a "freak" if you did that.

WuuutWuuut , Ben Grey Report

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Pixie
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Actual question: Why do you want to share your life with strangers on the street? I know I feel very uncomfortable if that happens to me (luckily seldom). Like, what am I to do with what you told me? I don't know you, I don't know if I like you, I don't know what you need as response...

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#29

40 Things Only Americans Think Are Normal Asking everyone “what do you do?” when you first meet them. I live outside the US and realized there are some people I’ve known for years and I still don’t know their job. I think in the US jobs are a bigger part of a person’s identity than in some other places.

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Jo Choto
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yeah, what job you have, implying what kind of salary you make, and people really care what kind of car you drive as well.

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#30

The one that always shocks me (I’ve an L1B so I spent quite a bit of time in the last couple of years living & working in the USA - although back home in U.K. right now) is the whole ‘thank you for your service’ military thing. The military is treated like some sort of god level being. It first struck me at Seaworld when they would make all service personnel stand up. In the U.K. the military guys (a) wouldn’t do it and (b) would be embarassed. In most cases they would be actively told not to do it so they don’t get identified - the fear the IRA stoked still runs deep in the processes in the military of the U.K.

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Brittania Douglas
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Another thing regarding military is how actively they recruit. I've never seen it in the past 17 years in the UK, but in the US soldiers go into schools to recruit, do talks, tell you how you get a career or can pay for college after military service, etc. Twice I was practically harassed in high school by recruiters because of my good grades.

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#31

40 Things Only Americans Think Are Normal Side effects on medication adverts.

Friggin hilarious to us Brits.

With James' Hayfever meds, I can get through the day with ease!

Side effects may include:

Loss of sight

Loss of hearing

Loss of sense of smell

Coma

Headaches

Fever

Vomiting

Diarrhoea

Loss of consciousness

and death.

level 1 typicalcitrus , Jonathan Rolande Report

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mph seti
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is because we allow pharmaceutical companies to advertise prescription drugs directly to the people.

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#32

40 Things Only Americans Think Are Normal American Corporations have convinced us our work culture is totally normal.

Nesyaj0 , Jesús Corrius Report

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Ami Temi
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The sad thing is, working more and having no employee rights, doesn't mean you have more money on the long run or that there's more productivity. Countries like Germany and Belgium have a very high productivity, but in less work hours and with better conditions. People have more time for their families, have days off and don't need to fear for their job or their lives when they're sick because of a social security system that works. I think the USA is a bit like Japan: they too, work an insane amount of hours, but one doesn't get more done in those hours. A Dutch woman wrote a book about that system and how it gives you a burn-out, for example. We certainly work just as hard as Americans, but the system is smarter and fairer. It's like with education, we pay less, but our Masters are equally as good as your American ones.

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#33

Attack ads against political opponents, ads for law firms or lawyers. These kinds of ads are illegal and considered unethical in our country. Also expecting a teenager to be out of the house by the time they're 18. I live in Southeast Asia. There's no stigma about living with one's parents. Most of the time, there will be three generations living in one house.

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chi-wei shen
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I am the youngest of 5 sons and it was expected that I stay at home in order to take over and care for my parents in the future.

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#34

40 Things Only Americans Think Are Normal not owning kettles and MICROWAVING their water for coffee/tea

gibbylewd , Chris Lawrence Report

#35

Non-necessary, non-religious circumcision.

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#36

Having second mortgages on a house. Taking massive loans they can't possibly pay off and buying stuff with it that decreases in value over time such as cars.

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Troux
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"But I absolutely need this car because my car is 5 years old so it's basically dead." This myth and competition is such a waste of money and resources.

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#37

40 Things Only Americans Think Are Normal Shoes inside

SpohieAuz , Architectural Digest Report

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Jo Choto
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

There's a lot of cultures that keep shoes on inside. Not just the US.

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#38

Extra large bottomless cups for cola or soft drinks.... you could bathe in those....

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#39

40 Things Only Americans Think Are Normal being able to vote before reaching the legal drinking age

level 1 dingdongimprblywrong , hjl Report

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Hans
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Having a voting system where you can become president without getting the majority of votes.

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#40

A flag in every corner of a classroom, and Americans being very patriotic to the stars and stripes. Other countries barely give a poop about their flags

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Scagsy
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If you fly the flag in the UK you are generally looked upon as a far-rightist unless there's a football tournament on

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