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Americans have long been exporting their pop culture to the world. With TV shows and movies being among the most consumed global American exports, it's no surprise that US actors and directors are recognized all around the globe. However, for all of us non-Americans out there, sometimes the silver screens get us all dazed and confused. Do American people really drink from those red plastic cups at parties? Do they really wear shoes inside their houses? Is homecoming really such a big thing as movies make it out to be?

But we're gonna need a true expert's opinion on the matter—our Bored Panda readers living in the US! So scroll down below to read all the questions that people had about the things they saw on TV and feel free to share your answers!

#1

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

Living in a college town I can attest that yes they do. It's all anyone talks about, and the traffic jams are awful. High school football here is just as bad.

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#2

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

Its the easiest reference for us and a football field is 100yards or 300 feet or 91.44 meters.

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#3

PaigeImogenxx Report

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

We say goodbye, or something like it. It's an idiosyncrasy of script writing, not Americans.

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#6

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

When my relatives from Ireland come to visit, they love to play with the garbage disposal. Even the people in their 60's think it is hilarious. They refer to it as "the murder sink".

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#7

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#9

disposablefilms Report

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

When I was in school, it was hard boiled eggs. Now they have high-tech baby dolls called Baby Think About it. It is a Life Skills class that teaches you how to be an adult.

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#12

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

The "funeral" is usually in a church and then a burial service graveside.

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#14

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Catlady6000
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is especially true in small towns. The largest parking lot in town is the local teen hangout

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#15

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

Yes, Homecoming is really big here in the US. Celebrating at high school and university.

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#17

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

No, for a simple reason : We don't have blocks. Most of the european roads traces were made during ancient history (Roman empire, etc.), and cities were build when people used horses... So nope, we don't have square architectured cities / countries.

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

Yes - it gives you a quick visual in your mind how far you'll have to walk. A block is on average 300 feet (92 meters).

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

Yes. We use blocks. It isn't a unit of measurement, per se. There is no standard block size. In Manhattan, there are short blocks and long blocks.

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

If I’m giving directions to my house, I can say ‘turn 4 blocks after the fire station’ and they understand that.

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

In the UK we would say "take the 4th turning on the right after the fire station". Basically the same!

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

It's even more common to measure things in how many minutes it takes to drive there.

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

In urban or suburban areas yes. In rural areas we do not.

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

Sometimes. If a house is really close to yours, you can just say, "Oh, his house is only five blocks away, don't worry." If something is really far, and the kid is like "Are we there yet?" Then u can just be like "Only two more blocks."

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

In more rural areas (to my understanding) blocks are not used to describe distances/areas, but in some cities they are.

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

Big city folks do. Not suburbanites or rural people.

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

Yes its the american measurement system, the ameasurecan system if you will. A block is 2/3 of a football field, and 3 football fields equals one metric ton. It works.

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

In cities they do, because, you know, there are. "Blocks". In the country, it's miles or " well, you can't get there from here"! 😆

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

We measure the distance between two buildings in cities by blocks (city blocks are how cities are organized here)

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

We use blocks in town or city, or if you're in the country like me, you give distance by miles or the second drive way on the left. Or turn at the red barn. Or two miles down, second road on the right called Herald or something like that.

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

In England or Greece, directions are given in "streets" -- that pub is five streets over." The spaces between "streets" are "blocks."

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

A block is a tenth of a mile. Our cars measure blocks so it is an easy way of measuring distances less than a mile.

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

All the time! Our city street systems are set up in grid fashion so it's a simple form of measurement and giving directions

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

I can't say. In Texas we measure distance in time. I can't tell you how many miles there are between Dallas and Austin but I know it takes about 3 hours to get there.

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

I’m from the Midwest, and the distance measurement that really confuses me is measuring in miles instead of minutes or hours. Everyone knows how long a minute is, but a mile? Logically you may know but it real life it’s hard to tell

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

It's an easy reference point. A block might be a short block or a long block but it's where a cross street is so if you pass 6 cross streets you've gone 6 blocks. Easy!

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

But if I have to go 3 blocks, is the next the block the 1st one, or is it the one I'm in right now?! Blocks sound so confusing...

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

it's more of a city thing, suburbs and rural areas have more different size blocks

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

I work 3 blocks from home. Why is that weird. A city block is a city block. If it's 3 blocks away it's 3 blocks away. It isn't hard. You walk 3 blocks

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

It's a good way of visualization. Three blocks south means just that. When you say 300 feet south, I'll look at you like you are a space alien. I'm supposed to use a tape measure?

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

If you are walking in a city, do you really know when you have reached a km or a mile?

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

City folk do measure distance by blocks. It makes things very simple when you say "go straight 2 blocks, then take a left go three more blocks and I'll meet you on the corner."

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

yes. city blocks, and just blocks. City blocks are like four regular blocks in size, because the roads are generally layed out in a grid pattern, and each square is a block. :)

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

We measure a street that has blocks by blocks. Not anything else. For everything else we use football fields. 🤪

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

Frustratingly, yes. However, it is not a measure of distance, just reference...as a "city block" is not standard anywhere. Plus, to say "drive four blocks north" is easier to grasp than " drive up to the fifth intersection from here". Also many cities have both lettered and numbered streets, rather than real names, so that is even more confusing as there is no standard there.

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

American blocks are all "equal" 4 blocks = 1 mile. So if you give someone the distance in Blocks then they have an idea of how far it is/ how long it takes... Other countries just aren't built like that.

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

Some parts of the US will say, "It's around the corner" or "Down the street" when it's really 5 miles away.

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

New Yorkers do. My grandmother is from New York and still refers to distances in blocks even though we live in North Carolina now and don’t really have blocks.

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

A lot of our cities are built in grids, so it's easier to say "Go West for four blocks and turn left at the bank". We give more directions based on landmarks than street names.

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

In areas that are vast and empty, like the Great Plains, people express distance in hours. "Denver? Well, thats another 9 hours from here."

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

Yes. Everywhere. Especially in rural areas. We measure farms in blocks. When you buy a house, we measure is quarter blocks.

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

yes, but city block sizes vary between cities, so a block in Portland, OR is not the same distance as in San Francisco. if you travel, it can get confusing.

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

Yeah, cities developed in grids (NYC especially) use blocks. Everywhere else it's usually measured in time.

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

Here in California we measure in "traffic" time as the actual distance is irrelevant here.

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

Sounds about as precise as their weird real measures. Blocks are the same length everywhere, right?

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

Nope! City-specific. A New York City block is street to street and measures 80 meters and there are about 20 blocks per mile N/S and they are 3x longer E/W. In Chicago blocks are also rectangular and twice as long as wide (200m x 100m). In Phoenix blocks are square and 1 block is a mile (1.6k) and only measures from major street to major street (the "little" side streets don't count). It's not really relevant knowing how each city measures blocks as you learn and only need to know how it works where you live or visit and these 3 cities have 12, 24 and 35 hours of driving time to get from one to the other so it's not like they interfere with each other.

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

What is a block? Do you count intersections and then that's the number of block? Like two blocks is the same as second road on the right?

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

That's how I do it. For some reason it is easier to picture "three blocks down on your left". If it's a major road, the little streets don't count. Then we usually speak of it in regard to intersections or traffic lights. I did not realize it, but pp is right that we measure distance in time it takes to drive there. That's kinda silly if you think about it. Of course, this only happens in casual conversation. Generally if something is nearby I will say "It's just a few blocks

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

It only works when you actually have blocks. I normally don't but I'm in a rural area.

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

Only in urban areas. Where it's rural, we measure distance in time. "How far is it to the nearest grocery?" "Oh, about an hour when the weather's good."

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

we do... but some areas have larger blocks than others so we also use the term 'bigger blocks' so the person walking knows it is farther than if we just said a few blocks

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

Yes we do, which is a bad idea in Vegas where they are much longer than the most places.

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

"2 blocks" (meaning 2 intersections) is easier than saying "about 800-1000 ft"

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

Sure! In cities and most towns a "block" is a convenient and local "universally" (meaning most people in the area) understood unit of measurement. Because most of us are raised knowing about how long a "city block" is, it's easy to understand the distance meant when something is described as being whatever number of "city blocks" away. I'm sure other countries have their own ways of communicating local distances, too.

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

Well, we do in towns and cities that have blocks. It's a convenient way to give directions.

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

From my experience, this is mostly a small town thing, but it is a thing. 'Go straight ahead three blocks, hang a left, go two blocks and it'll be on your right with a big red sign' would be typical verbal directions in a small town.

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

The majority of cities throughout North America were designed in blocks - that's why we say it. Easier to know the distance if giving short distance directions. Everyone here knows what Walmart is just 4 blocks away... start saying things like: "oh, it's just 0.2 kilometers", and people get confused.

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

We do it's quite easy when it's a smaller distance to measure.

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

It took me a second to understand why this wouldn't me normal elsewhere, but yeah we measure in blocks since our streets have that square design layout. It's easy to use. When I think about the streets in Poland, I realized why there wouldn't be such a thing like "blocks" since a majority of the streets are quite rounded? curved? I'm not sure about the terminology for it.

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DKS 001
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

as an american: I'm tired of "as in the movies? questions. Just ask straight out. It's getting to the point of being rude. Do you do this/that/and the other "like in the movies"?

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

Why would movie makers invent distance measures? What's the point of using a distance measure that the (intended) audience doesn't get? Anyway, I think it's a typical measure for American towns that so often have a very consistent grid of streets.

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#18

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

Because Americans have been sold the lie (mostly by Nestle, thank you!) that bottled water is better than tap water in some way. In truth most of the bottled water IS tap water.

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#22

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

We do call them Kleenex all the time probably because that brand is what we used.

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#24

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

I think that is to avoid accidental advertising? I'd think that in most (industrialized) countries, the typical bags offered by stores have the store logo all over them...

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#25

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

I guess it depends. My family and friends only do photoshoots for weddings, 18th birthdays (girls), 21st birthdays (boys), or someone's first birthday.

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#26

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

Chicken and waffles is a religious experience. I live in the Midwest and some of the best chicken and waffles in the world is right here in Indianapolis at Maxine's Chicken and Waffles. Another awesome place is in Harlem (where chicken and waffles was invented).

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#28

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

It's ground meat with binders like egg and breadcrumbs, and can also have minced onions and peppers (capsicum), and seasonings that's all mixed together and baked in a loaf pan in the oven. Most people make it with just ground beef, but when I was little in the 70s, in our home it was made with ground beef, pork, and veal, and we had it maybe once a month with homemade mashed potatoes and brown gravy, and a green vegetable. I don't eat meatloaf now. It's not horrible, it's just not my first choice for comfort food.

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#30

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

In the big cities, all you need to do is raise your arm on a busy street. I've lived in NYC almost 30 years now, and no one yells "TAXI!" here. I grew up in a smaller town, though, and in the smaller places, you pretty much have to call a taxi in advance. I never flagged a cab until I moved to NYC.

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