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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.

#1

Questions-For-Americans

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

But taking off shoes and socks when you come in is nearly as good as taking off your bra.

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#3

Questions-For-Americans

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

We have them. They are usually part of the cheerleader squad or dance squad. It is a sports thing. We take sports very seriously.

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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.

#6

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

An affective way to make the 'popular' kids feel even more popular.

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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.”

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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.

#8

Questions-For-Americans

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

How else would you call them? Students wouldn't use the teachers first name.

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#9

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

Some schools are more strict than others and require them. My schools didn't require them. We just excused ourselves and went to the restroom when needed.

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#10

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

No. They don't - at least the schools that I went to and my nieces and nephews don't (they are ages 4 - 17). In the past, students were made to recite the "pledge of allegiance" each morning, but I think this is something that has fallen by the wayside.

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#11

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

Some schools don't allow it, but at the schools I went to we were allowed to. It was fun! You can put magnets, quotes, pictures of loved ones.

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#12

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

Yes, and there are usually one or two questions where you have to read something and write a few pages for it.

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#13

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

Yes, and sometimes mail does get stolen even though it's a federal offense.

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

Nobody dares to steal mail from an America's mailbox because, you know, guns

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

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.

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

I've never had my mail stolen. If packages fit in my mailbox they will put them in there too.

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

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.

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

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

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.

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

They have hitching posts at stores in central PA too - for the horses and buggies.

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

All they will get is junk mail, no one steals bills. But Porch Pirates for UPS deliveries is quite a problem.

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

No... Most of us here (netherlands) have a opening in our frontdoor. Letters fit true it, small packages too.

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Better watch your language bud
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

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.

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

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

That’s why we put locks on our mail boxes or you could just sit in the bushes next to the mail box and pepper spray any one that try’s to take your mail

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

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.

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Torchicachu
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3 years ago

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

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.

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

Yes, they do times two. It is, however, if you get caught, a federal offense

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

Only in places with long driveways. Set up a camera and you can catch who steals it. If they do, they could get years in prison for it. So most people don't dare to steal mail because of how serious it is if you get caught.

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

In areas of Texas there is a big bank of locking mailboxes for the street. Mail still gets stolen

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

A friend of mine put an empty death certificate in his mailbox, never got stolen mail since.

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

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.

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

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.

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

People in cities and suburban areas generally don't have these. It's more of a rural thing.

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

Only in more rural areas. In the cities mail is supposed to be delivered into the mailbox or slot up by the door.

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

I leave a package in my mailbox with anthrax just to catch that lowlife who's been stealing my mail.

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b l a n c
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

i've never seen this anywhere, i think it's an older thing. i have mine on my house

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Charlotte Anderson [STUDENT]
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

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

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CatWoman312
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

How do y’all get mail? Seriously are the people they chose for questions that daft?

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

we have one big one at the end of the street with sections that lock

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

In the neighborhood I grew up in, most of the mailboxes were on the porch.

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

@koalamonster. In a big red mailbox or to the supermarket or any place where we can bring mail

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

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.

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

Where I am it's more rural places that have them, in town it's the larger locking neighborhood mailboxes.

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#14

Questions-For-Americans

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Questions-For-Americans

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

What's so unusual with this? I'm Austrian and my children's friends never used my first name.

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#22

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#24

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

I think children all over the world have to feel "slightly suicidal" to do this.

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#25

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

No, we call eye doctors “Optometrists,” and we call Opticians “Opticians.”

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#29

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

most countries do because it has been a part of military training for centuries. They want inshape youth for military service.

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#30

Questions-For-Americans

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