30 Non-Americans Who Tweeted Their Confusion About America
It’s no secret—the rest of the world looks at how peculiar American culture can be and wonders if it’s even real.
‘Cause let’s face it—even if it looks fine for us, that doesn’t mean that having police patrol your school, paying for a ride to the hospital, and calling the toilet “restroom” when we all know very well there ain't nobody going there to have a rest shouldn’t raise a brow for others.
So this time, we are looking at what American things make our fellow non-American friends scratch their heads in simple, yet very spot-on questions below. Our dear American Pandas are also welcome to help separate what’s real, what’s rumors, and what only happens in movies in the comments! And after you're done with this post, check out our previous one with things Americans do that require an explanation for non-Americans.
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Even though Americans and Europeans share many things, like commitment to democratic principles, a strategic alliance, and some of the highest standards in the world, there are still some very notable differences between them.
A 2016 study done by Pew Research Center was very revealing in that respect. First of all, it showed that Americans are more likely to believe they control their own destiny.
The research showed that a staggering 57% of Americans disagreed with the statement “Success in life is pretty much determined by forces outside our control.” The percentage was higher than in any other European nations polled.
The second interesting thing the Pew poll showed is that “Americans prioritize individual liberty, while Europeans tend to value the role of the state to ensure no one in society is in need.”
When it comes to religion, it turned out that over half in the US (53%) say religion is extremely important in their life, which is nearly double the share with the same view in Poland.
In France, for example, only 14% consider religion a very important aspect of their lives.
My public school required it, and you'd better have a good reason for it.
I think this depends on school policy. The one i went to allowed magnets but not stickers. Though no one i knew of completely "blinged out" their locker. The most customization I personally saw was a rude magnet
Yes, and sometimes mail does get stolen even though it's a federal offense.
Nobody dares to steal mail from an America's mailbox because, you know, guns
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The best thing about those mailboxes is not that you get your mail delivered into them. It's that you can put all your outgoing mail into them and the mailman picks them up when he delivers your things. That's what the little "arm" is for on the side of the box. when you put it up, it means you have outgoing mail to be collected. The mailman will put the arm down when he takes your mail and delivers the new stuff.
Oh my God, that's amazing! I wish we had that in the UK.
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I've never had my mail stolen. If packages fit in my mailbox they will put them in there too.
It is a federal offense to even touch someone else's mailbox. Quite a few advertising companies have received hefty fines for tucking brochures behind the flags of mailboxes or placing them inside.
No it isn't. Is a violation of federal statutes to interfere with the delivery of the mail. You aren't going to jail for bumping into someone's mailbox or opening a letter that was misdelivered to you as long as you either return the letter to the postal service or its rightful owner. The crime is when you stop the Letter Carrier from doing their job or stealing the mail.
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I was a part-time rural mail carrier, and my route had several hundred mailboxes. I had to drive the vehicle from the British side, and most all the boxes were single-family. Yes, mail theft is a problem...also for Amazon, UPS, and FedEx. I live in the foothills of two large mountain ranges (Southern Rockies) and they use Cluster Boxes here where perhaps 20 to 50 addresses share a large Metal box. They are constantly getting broken open. The cluster box we would have to use is 5 miles away...so we rent a box at the post office, which is so close to home I could walk or ride one of my horses (but don't LOL). BTW--our post office and Walmart have hitching posts and water for your horse if you decide to ride on down.
They have hitching posts at stores in central PA too - for the horses and buggies.
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All they will get is junk mail, no one steals bills. But Porch Pirates for UPS deliveries is quite a problem.
They used to steal credit card bills, to get the number
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The US government OWNS the mailbox. If you are not the addressee and someone opens the mailbox and takes something they have broken federal law. You do not want to screw with the Post Office. They do have inspectors who do investigate them, they are officers and they can and do cross state lines. More drug dealers have been taken down by the Post Office than any other individual group. They work in concert with all other federal agencies.
Generally those types of boxes are there because they are on a "mounted" route, which can have near to a thousand deliveries on them sometimes. They are convenient for the mailman because they don't have to get out of the truck unless there is a package that won't fit in the box, allowing those massive routes to get delivered in good time. Source: Currently a mailman
Those of us in high-crime areas get locking mailboxes, where you can put mail in through a slot, but you need a key to get it out of the box.
why steal mail like please some one steal my water and electric bill so you can pay it for me do it i know you want
No... Most of us here (netherlands) have a opening in our frontdoor. Letters fit true it, small packages too.
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Personally, I think it is better to have a slot on the door of the house so that important mail cannot be stolen because it would already be in the house.
That seems like a great way to break into a house. All you'd need would be a tool to reach through the slot and unlock the door from the inside.
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Y'all have never heard of Mailbox Baseball have you? This is an actual game usually in the back roads where kids (sometimes adults) will drive at high speeds and have someone hanging out of the window. They hit the mailboxes with baseball bats. Was a menace until some Farmers may or may not have started filling mailboxes with concrete and putting those on either side of their real mailboxes. Injures people but the sport of 'Mailbox Baseball' has decreased in some area's.
Of course we do. It is done for the convenience of the US Postal System. It is more efficient in some areas to deliver the mail that way, especially in rural areas. That being said, there are still places where the mail is delivered to the house. It depends on where you live and the postal route in that area. Source: my father was a Letter Carrier for 30 years.
Yes, they do times two. It is, however, if you get caught, a federal offense
In areas of Texas there is a big bank of locking mailboxes for the street. Mail still gets stolen
A friend of mine put an empty death certificate in his mailbox, never got stolen mail since.
It is a federal offense. Mail system is taken very seriously. No one is supposed to be taking or putting in things from it. One of my favorite things about living here.
Yeah, we do. But most of the time, in apartments or complexes (condos, etc.) we need a key or something to open our mailboxes. And who would just steal mail? I mean, ya get a letter from aunt Loretta. Who's interested in reading that? Packages get stolen all the time, but not really mail or letters or anything.
People in cities and suburban areas generally don't have these. It's more of a rural thing.
i have always wanted to have one of those American mail boxes we have to leave a plastic box outside as we cant have post put through the door. not as nice as a proper mail box
At least here in California, we don't have post boxes anymore except at the post office. The boxes at the end of drives are usually in more rural areas and are much more convenient for the mail carriers. In the suburbs at least, the post boxes are attached to the home, usually on the front of the house or porch. If I have outgoing mail, except for packages, I clip it to the outside of my mailbox. Carriers cannot remove things from inside the box, legally.
Credit card companies used to send "courtesy" checks hoping you would transfer the balance from another card. Someone once stole the checks from my mailbox and suddenly I had 25000 on my bill. It took a long time to get that cleared up.
Only in more rural areas. In the cities mail is supposed to be delivered into the mailbox or slot up by the door.
Too often, but some end up being shot so it's sort of like a game.
I leave a package in my mailbox with anthrax just to catch that lowlife who's been stealing my mail.
I’ve seen a lot of those in Utah when I visit my cousins but not here in Las Vegas by what I’ve seen
How do y’all get mail? Seriously are the people they chose for questions that daft?
we have one big one at the end of the street with sections that lock
In the neighborhood I grew up in, most of the mailboxes were on the porch.
Not in any neighborhood I've ever lived in. A metal box with a flap attached to the house near the front door is typical here.
it was peddled as a healthy snack for children. It is disgusting. I share your disbelief that any sane person would eat it
I think that's a regional/generational thing. And yes, its not uncommon
Some do. We don't talk about those heretics....those mad, mad heretics....
Note: this post originally had 34 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
The weird part is that someone would give a rat's ass about Americans microwaving water or how they eat bacon. Apparently no one has the same questions about Russians, Chinese, or even Lithuanians. Give it a rest Panda.
I think it's becase more people around the globe see American movies or TV shows than they see movies made by Russians, Chinese, or Lithuanians.
Rule the world. Good joke.
You'd think if someone watches a person heat their water in the microwave, they'd go, hey that looks easier than what I'm doing, and try it.
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yeah, americans basically rule the world. that's why everybody knows about everything happening in america first before most other things. america is just a big influencer country so we see more american things that anything else
American movies and TV shows are widely seen around the world, which is why they wonder if certain things they see are real or not.
That's because the ability to act in ridiculous ways can be found everywhere, but nobody outside of the states see it as something to be proud of
BP is obsessed with America, Instagram vs real life, and Disney princesses.
And cats, but nobody get tired of those and for good reason.
And also with illustrations about modern society problems.
We have had most of these questions before as well. I know we might not see as much of other countries different cultures but all the more reason to share about questions and answers about them. Please Bored Panda do a different country to the US!
Lucas Good response!
U mad? Boiling water for tea in the microwave is fucking weird
Frankenfrog haha
The price of being famous. Or infamous.
I think Bored Panda is pretty western culture centric, nothing wrong with that, it's just the states is perhaps the biggest influence on western culture.
sorlag110 haha
Because the whole world sees Americans microwaving water on TV and in movies. If my culture aimed to entertain the whole world, I would at least make sure that the characters in my movies don't do absolutely ridiculous and unhealthy things like, for example, microwaving water. It serves no point whatsoever in the movie plot and looks silly.
Excuse me, what is unhealthy about microwaving water? It's heated. And setting a kettle to boil never does much for any plot I ever saw. I happen to have a kettle ready to put on the boil at any given moment, but there are many who heat water in the microwave for a quick cuppa.
I would venture to say not very many homes have a kettle to boil water unless they are tea drinkers. We are a coffee culture for the most part. I microwaved waved water yesterday for a rare cup of tea.
Deborah Chapman love
half of those things are also done in europe and south america.....
i thought so too, it's not just americans. it happens most places. like the pb & j, and prom
Do Americans actually have that violent bullying culture at schools, with football players and cheer leaders on the social top and geeks on the bottom? Or senior students bullying first-graders? Please, tell me it's all a movie thing!
It's not as openly expressed as in movies, but unfortunately yes. Bullying is a huge problem. Most schools "anti-bullying programs" are some posters and maybe a talk about how bullying is bad every month or so. I remember in seventh grade I was just the kid everyone hated for no reason. It got pretty bad and I was already dealing with some stuff that comes with growing up, but I know the bullying was a huge part of it. I know of lots of other kids who have had to deal with bullying too. It's really sad, but the whole social cliques and bullying thing is very real.
If you believe t.v. English boarding schools are even worse and it's taken for granted.
Never mind movies, there's enough in the news about that. But boarding schools everywhere tend to have the same problems.
It used to be that way, but luckily nowadays our social tiers are topped SJWs and LGBTQIA activists. Strangely enough, the switch from physical bullying to psychological bullying has not really reduced the number of suicides or school shootings. That said, when I was a youth long ago, bullies of all types were soon ganged up on by people who refused to take the abuse anymore, and quite often by brave individuals who stood up for themselves.
Jim Ellington good
It's a movie thing. Bullying exists somewhat but most groups leave each other alone. My kids just finished high school, and similar to when I was in school, you didn't really interact with popular kids unless you were in their group, and they didn't pay attention to non popular kids.
Are you implying that this is just an American thing? That's just nonsense, humans are the same everywhere and bullying is universal.
Tv is not reality
No, it's for real. Not in every school, of course, but it does happen.
Michael Capriola Jr. good
A senior bullying a first grader would be ridiculous. An 18-year old vs a 7-year old? No.
Movies exaggerate it quite a bit.
Yeah most public schools specifically, the teachers don't give a rat's ass and a lot of bullying actually stems from racism/sexism/homophobia/ableism which the teachers don't want to admit. for example, people are often bullied for being "weird" when the "weirdness" in question (generally things like being quiet, struggling in some classes and doing great in others, not making friends easily) are common traits among neurodivergent people.
its not sorry to say
It's not!
Yes. It's common in all cultures. There will be cliques. THere will be Alphas. There will be victims. Is it as "bad" as the movies? Probably not *everywhere*, all the time, but... Yeah. It's real.
I think some of these have to do with a word meaning different things in different countries. Jelly in Europe, for example, I'm pretty sure is what we in the US would call Jello (which is a brand name of gelatin that caught on as the general term for that item). So, yea, we don't eat peanut butter and gelatin. Our jelly is a spread closer to jam but made from fruit juice instead of the fruit.
My jam (I am American) is made with the fruit. Jelly is made without seeds. Gelatin is Jell-O, or an additive to fancy desserts... So I figure we should call it "Fruit Goop" as my sister did!
Look who we elected for president. Sadly, we Americans love a good bully.
J JAM -
Wait.... do Americans really think Covid19 is not real?
Some people yeah but hopefully they just die off. Natural selection
only in Florida
Republicans, yes. And texas...
Im not American but I find this post so rude and idiotic.
I couldn’t finish I think they chose the stupidest people they could find to ask questions about American culture. Some of these questions are flat out idiotic
CatWoman312 yes
Yup, we really do all of that stuff. At least some of us do all of that stuff. The mom shut up thing varies from person to person. I didn't do it but my son unfortunately did. Question: what's the problem?
They're not problems. It's just curiosity when in other places people do different things. Not worse or better, just different. Also it's interesting to learn that something you do in a way can be done diferent. For example, I also keep my medecins in the bathroom and never wondered why (Oh!). Wanting to know about another person or culture is wanting to love it. ;)
I really don't get the endless fascination here with American behavior. You can play this both ways. Do Australians really call ketchup "tomato sauce?" Apparently so. Do Americans give a fuck? No. Aussies are cool and can call shit whatever they want
I mean America deserves to be ridiculed ngl (for the record I am in fact an American)
I really don't get most of these questions, they are just normal everyday things, not anything hard to imagine or out of the ordinary.
Maybe they're asked by people to whom these things are neither normal, everyday, or ordinary.
My only question is why did American's vote for a bell end like Trump?
Because the other end of the bell was Hillary Clinton.
The electoral college screwed us over is why
This is a good question. It mostly has to do with how Obama was as a president. We tend to swing from liberal to conservative and back again in election years.
No. Our electoral college did..a whole other bunch of b.s..
Matthew Smith love
I have one: do Americans really live in dilapidated or unfinished houses? In the movies or on TV you so often see them living in houses that either have the stud walls exposed, or, if they move into another house, the wallpaper will be peeling off the walls, and they just leave it like that through the entire movie or season.
Yeah, sometimes
No. If someone were to do that, it would be odd.
Not at all! I'm american. I live in maine. It's common to see folk living in half fallen houses..stud walls..we have to heat our places and it's very expensive. This dude was born with privilege. I wasn't..not were most everyone I knew...
Some poor have to. Americans are either wealthy or very poor.
As a foreign exchange student I was completely weirded out by how american high school movies were actually mostly accurate: students are openly ranked by "popularity", the sports coach doubling as history teacher, the cop car circleing the school, the hysteria around prom queen, teenagers going to jail or wearing electronic bracelets, the cafeteria seating by castes (jocks, nerds, mean girls... the lowest rung even ate on the floor, even though there were available seats 0o), sports and clubs being more important than actual classes, the motivational posters everywhere... everything was real. Only the crazy parties were not :-(
Oh I beg to differ! Lol! Not so much now but in the 90s..we rocked the house!
All normal things!
I really expected some top notch questions on this thread. Most of these are just a dig for Americans. And a lot of them happen all over the world.
Ok, 2 questions: 1. Is this going to be posted every week? and 2. Are any Americans answering these questions?
This is my first time seeing and yes, I am answering some
Second here...
Marilyn Bojanowski haha
I tried, but a lot of mine were deleted. APparently, telling what Americans do is only allowed if BP agrees it's what Americans do? Ironic that I grew up just as much in another culture, and another country. *sigh*
That is... concerning.
Idk about the posted every week but I just made a comment answering all 30 questions
Jessica A what
Very Interesting! Thanks for the replies All!
One thing I've seen many non-Americans ask is if we really have 2-3 months of summer break. The answer is yes.
Well, the schoolchildren do, adults get maybe a week off.
I feel very qualified to answer these questions, because I lived in the USA for over 20 years, but I have also lived on several other continents, and I am well versed in the strange way of Americans! :o)
Ok as an American: 1: Some of my friends have no-shoes houses, but generally people can wear shoes in the house. 2: Yeah some people eat peanut butter and jelly but it's not as common as it is in media (also it's not allowed in some schools because of nut allergy rules) 3: Yeah, mostly high schools and colleges but school mascots are common. 4: Yes. One time I accidentally put my retainer in the garbage disposal. 5: Yeah cereal is a good quick breakfast 6: Yep, not in all schools but it's very common 7: I don't think people do this but I'm not sure, my house has a tap that dispenses hot water so we don't need to 8: Not in my school (I go to a private school) but in lots of schools. 9: Again, not in my school but it's pretty common 10: Not at my school but yeah that happens, Girl Scouts also has the pledge of allegiance 11: Of course how else can I be ✨ fabulous ✨ 12: Yep, sometimes but not always. I'm running out of space so ill make a second comment
22: Some people dip the crust in ranch but I don't know anyone who puts ranch on pizza that would be disgusting 23: I don't think so, I sure don't but I'm not an adult yet so. 24: Only the rude ones. 25: Yes they're doctors that do doctor things with your eyes. Doctors for your eyes. Eye doctors. 26: Yes 27: A lot of American homes don't have fireplaces, and if they do, it's a fake gas one, so real fireplaces are kind of exciting. 28: Yeah some people do, it kind of sounds stupid 29: Most schools do that, I'm not sure why 30: Yes? what do you guys say?
13: yes, but mostly no one steals the mail. one time I saw a donkey eating mail from a mailbox though 14: Yes but it's disgusting and celery is awful 15: Yeah is this not a thing elsewhere???? 16: yes do you eat it with a fork?? what kind of soggy ass bacon can be eaten with a fork? 17: Yes and its ridiculous 18: Sometimes, I call my friends parents by their first names or just "[friend's name] mom/dad/parent" 19: Yeah I think its to get the persons attention or make it clear youre asking a question? idk man americas weird we had an orange for a president for 4 years 20: Not really. The main situations where someone would refer to themselves by a last name would either be stuff like "mr. brown" or "dr. Smith", or sports I guess? 21: Maybe some people do, probably at prom but the only school dances I've been to were in middle school and everyone just ate cupcakes im running out of space again so ill write a third comment
All yes
I think I’m just weird because I don’t do most of these things... or they’re just in movies- no idea mates.
Most of these questions were pretty stupid
Articles in the past, with the same topic, as stupid as they are, at least had interesting questions, but this is just crap
Sorry I find most of these if not all really stupid. Yes we Americans do different things that other countries dont do, and its made to sound like what people do in England, China or any other country is not strange to us. Like eating something called spotted dick, at least in America most of us know not to put a dick with spots on it in our mouths. These are always just so rude
America doesn't have roll on deodorant. That spun me out when I visited...
Yeah we do!🤣 It's just not as common as stick.
Do american really have no pin codes or biometrics linked to their money. Like anyone can just take your card and go buy a house.
No. We do
No. There's a considerable amount of security in using a card. We use pin codes and biometrics when visiting a bank.
At least half of these are not even close to being typical American things, and that's my opinion as a non-American.
Well..as an american..they are all yes for the majority of us!😂
As an American, a lot of these things are pretty typical
This must be the 20th version of the same post. Enough already.
Also, I know that American school year begins in mid August like the Northern European countries because of the climate and tο us in the early September
Ahhh good. Its been a few days since we made fun of Americans. I was starting to think the world started to care about other shit. I'm so glad we have post #12,789,566 being snarky about us.
Rebecca Page -
Do Americans really comment to answer year-old questions that are reposted from another website?
Truth Monster & Kat Hoth~ Thank you! Nice to see the Panda Spirit revitalized!
most of them asking these questions are dum b americ unts only
I Just read it on BuzzFeed
This is just stupid.
Andy Pants lol
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Do Americans ever finish a mouth full of food before speaking? Doesn't seem to happen on TV or movies.