It’s no secret that America stands out from the crowd. There are so many little quirky American things that the rest of the world just can’t wrap their heads around. Like the word "y'all," red solo cups, free refills, and bulk shopping, to name just a few.
So when someone asked the non-Americans of Reddit what's the craziest thing they’ve heard about the greatest country in the world that turned out to be true, the question was destined to become a hit. 56.9K upvotes later, the thought-provoking inquiry generated some very surprising answers. Let’s take a look at the best ones so far down below.
To all the non-American Pandas out there, share more of these rumors-turned-facts in the comment section below!
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America has libraries that are essentially free to use.
(This was not even a rumor, but more like sarcastic comment from a friend who heard I was excited to go to the US, because he knew what book nerds my entire family is)
When I first arrived here 25 years ago, the first day of work at Newark NJ, I walked out at lunch time and saw the huge Central Library. The size boggled my mind, but I bravely walked in to check it out. The guy says, yup, show me your work ID (for local address) and you get a membership card.
Me: how much does it cost? I only own $80 total till I get my first pay.
He (bemused, almost laughing): it's free. You don't pay anything.
Me (after a brief recovery time from shock): so how many books am I allowed to take home? (Expecting that to be a catch - maybe I need to put down a security deposit for each book)
He (now positively enjoying himself): how many can you carry?
That day I took home 30+ books, just being greedy.
And quickly called my dad to tell him about it.
For a guy who painstakingly would browse used books stores in small town India just to get his kids great books to read, he was suitably amazed. He was puzzled if that would kill the book-store business, because who'd buy if such free libraries existed?!?
Till date I remember the gratitude I felt that day for being able to come here. And when Dad visited some years later, I would drop him off at a library on my way to work and he'd be lost in it all day.
That you can get into university just by being good at sports.... Like...wtf?
As a Brit living in America the amount of pharmaceutical commercials on TV is creepy.
I never really thought about it but I just realised that we don’t have that issue. It is actually illegal to advertise prescription medicine.
There’re so many customs that Americans use without too much thinking. But when traveling around the world, some of the cultural differences become quite obvious.
While tipping is not a matter of choice in the US, people in Japan and South Korea see that as an insult. That’s partly because workers are proud of their jobs, and they get decent pay for whatever it is that they do.
There’s nothing wrong about being a tiny bit late in the US. But in some countries, that would be totally inappropriate. If you’re fashionably late for a meeting in Germany or Netherlands, locals are likely to think that you don’t value their time as much as your own.
“Athleisure,” while a popular choice of fashion for the day-to-day business, is viewed as distasteful in many European countries. For example, Italians never miss a chance to laugh at tourists wearing flip flops or denim shorts for restaurant dinner. The sloppy appearance can be understood as disrespectful.
Injured people try to avoid getting ambulances called for them
That the prices on their products are without tax and you get the tax when you pay
Like here the tax is already like, in the price. If it costs 1€ you pay 1€.
I find this extremely confusing. And I really hate the staff tipping concept, too.
In an area, you're subject to a f*ck ton of different laws. There's laws that apply to the whole country, laws that apply to individual states, laws that only apply to counties, laws that apply to individual cities, and then I think, different areas within a city. In England, no matter where you are, all the same laws apply, with very rare exceptions. Homeowners associations as well. What a load of [crap]. Land of the free, but your neighbour can tell you what colour your f***king fence can be.
Well, it’s difficult to govern such a large country from one small district (DC), so you have to delegate from the federal government to the individual state governments to the county governments to the city governments. The more local you get, the more specialized the laws become as they’re tailored to issues and situations specific to the area. However, that does open areas up to corruption if the wrong people manage to gain some power. You know, like the whole f*****g country because of the deranged orange baboon throwing his feces around the Oval Office right now (who I did not vote for, so do not blame me).
That women only get about 6 weeks off work after having a baby and it's most likely to be unpaid.
That people will just suffer through an injury or illness because they can’t afford health insurance.
Americans are nice and will stop to talk to Strangers. Canadian here living in Alberta. To any one who has never been, you will be blown away by the general Americans' generosity of their time, knowledge and helpfulness. I have done a few summers of Road trips from Calgary. one time i went to as far east as Ohio-Tennessee, as far south as New Orleans and Dallas, went through the flat lands and rode up the Rockies the rest of the way home... I have visited almost all the landlocked states (5 more to go) and 4 along the Gulf states, all by Car. I have been through a lot of big American cities and a lot of tiny towns. ALL OF YOU, North to South - make Canadians look like Bloody Savages. I expected something worse, probably because of Television and the Internet. i ended up leaving your country after the first time i visited, blown away and with a new found VERY REAL love for my southern neighbors. Been 5 times on multi-week trips. will spend time and money there again. 10/10.
There are a lot of crazy things in US from an european point of view, but I totally agree with this post. I found Americans very nice, gentle and caring people. Before going there, I immagined to find rude and aggressive people :)) Too many bad movies! The first time I arrived in Philadelphia my english was not very good, and sometimes I wandered looking for some shop, or the subway or whatever... and I remember men or women that tried to help and listen me patiently. I still feel gratitude for those who made me feel welcomed and safe. Philadelphia is still in my heart! I left the USA in 2011 and I don't know if that's still the case.
Drink sizes. When my family visited in 2017 we landed in Texas for a stopover. First thing I saw in the shops part of the terminal was a dude who was drinking from what looked like an actual f***ing bucket - here in NZ our “large” drinks would be considered an American “small” or maybe “medium”
Employees can get fired ‘at will’. No warning, no performance review plans, nothing, just straight up fired.
The extent of the tipping culture is frankly shocking to me.
Not really a rumour but your houses are made of mostly air and drywalls. I think that's pretty crazy
The way houses are build in the USA is crazy. It’s no wonder they’re all flattened in a tornado / hurricane. And yet they cost so damn much to buy!
That public transport is almost nonexistent in many smaller towns, which makes it a necessity for teens to have their own cars.
Yeah, it's not just not having no public transport. There are a lot of places (I lived in one) where there are no sidewalks, so you can't even walk from one place to another. And if you live in a small place, you can't get a taxi or anything else to come out and pick you up. If you don't have a car, it's almost impossible to get around in the USA. And it's not just small towns. Even big towns have no transportation infrastructure.
American State and National parks are some of the most beautiful places on earth. All parks could use more funding, but American parks are well staffed and maintained. There’s real pride.
Not exactly crazy, but I wanted to test out the stereotype that Americans will talk to anyone so I sought out a sports bar on my first visit. Ended up having a ton of really fun conversations with total strangers who I’ll never talk to ever again. It was great!
Sure. About 1/3 of people you meet in America will talk to anybody, about anything. We may be crazy but we're friendly. :)
The minimal amount of paid days off you get from work. A friend of mine from Wisconsin was very proud he got 20 days off per year. If someone in Germany would offer me only 20 days, I would laugh at him and leave.
That higher education can cost upwards of $50,000 per year
This, and the cost of medical care in the US, is something I will never understand. Claiming to be the greatest country but basically living off of the poorest of citizens. How come nobody's actually bothered?
Private prisons. I thought it was some sort of "haha the US is a dystopian hell hole" exaggeration joke the first time I heard it was a thing. I had to look it up to believe it because I was 100% sure the person was just trying to [mess] with me when he said he was serious.
I never understood why people in American TV series lost their house and job just because they got really sick.
Then I found out that it can happen in America.
They have those angry sinks that chop [crap]
But in its natural kitchen habitat, it is quite common. Be careful with spoons near the deadly American angry sink chop
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Garbage disposals are amazing and help reduce landfill waste since its processed with the sewage instead. Some places even process the leftover organic matter ("cake") into fertilizer.
I assume you're talking about a garbage disposal? For food waste that would otherwise go to a landfill? Without one we had to empty the garbage can about every other day (and yes, we recycle). It's usually only once every 5-6 days with one.
The sounds that garbage disposals make is unsettling, lol. I've seen too many horror movies to ever want one. I always imagine dropping something in, having to reach in for it and then it comes to life.
That's why you use a tool and not your hand to get it
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The worst is being startled by accidental turning one on in an unfamiliar kitchen!
Oh! An angry sink! Oh my goodness, i am dying!! Is it a garbage disposal??
you mean the rest of the world doesnt have garbage disposals?
Indeed :) We don't have grease in our sewer system and leftovers get turned into compost.
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Garbage disposals aren’t a thing everywhere? Why??? Garbage disposals are great!
They're called garbage disposals and it saves a lot of frustration with clogged sinks.
Compost heaps and recycling. Sinks very rarely clog as only water goes down the plug hole as they have metal slotted holes preventing c**p going down the sink.
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LMAO! This is known as a waste disposal or garbage disposal for organic matter. We have these because our sewer systems were not built 500 years ago and thus can handle such things...and in fact are designed for it. For real horrors...search "septic system"...
Yes, because all of Europe is using sewers from the middle ages. *eyeroll*
Load More Replies...How deeply religious and patriotic it is in contrast to Europe.
Literally anything about what goes on in Florida.
2017 in Athens, Georgia I passed out at work and was fine but my boss had already called an ambulance and insisted I get checked out...a less than 2 mile ambulance ride cost me $950 with insurance. I was only dehydrated..
The amount of sugar y'all put on EVERYTHING. I spent only 2 weeks in the US and I couldn't take it. Even the portion sizes are colossal, I felt that in a month with this lifestyle I'd probably drop dead, my heart wouldn't be able to take it
That they actually do wear shoes indoors, I thought it was just a movies thing (less hassle filming), but no.
That American kids eat straight sugar. Walked on to the playground and saw kids chugging these long thin sticks. I try and it was just colored sugar lol. Called them pixie sticks.
The freaking flag thing man, here we barely have one per school, or even government building.
Well, knowing some Americans, they might forget what country they’re in
That you can rack up 100,000$ upward in debt easily through student loans.
Note: this post originally had 86 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
Why do Americans call themselves German, Irish, Italian, Greek and so on, just because one of their ancestors comes from that country (yes, you are all immigrants), but you neither know more than a word from that language and you have absolutely no knowledge about the country, the culture, the people, the food (really, what you call Italian or German food is just an abomination)?
I agree, this is very strange for me, claiming to be a part of culture that you have no connection to, don't know anything about and have only experienced through Americanised versions of their food
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A fun game can be to look up "Florida Man (your birthday)." There are endless insane news articles.
"florida man bored calls 911 to talk about hitler florida man threatens family with coldplay lyrics" last year I looked it up and it said "watch florida man vapes semin"
Load More Replies... I had lived many places in the world, including in Europe, Africa and parts of Asia, but moving to the USA was the biggest culture shock of my life. After 23 years, I got used to a lot of things, but I have to say, I'm very happy to be living back in Europe again.
What really blows me away is how much BoredPanda users are emphatic about knocking one country. We are as diverse as many of the countries you claim, there’s a variety to American that gets glossed over by such a finite list. Shame on a website for abusing and crowd sourcing a list targeting a single group of people. Especially with what the world is going through.
Wait. Really. Two posts on how much Americans suck in a week? Can't we shift it over to GB or something?
Take a seat and relax. This will make you feel like a hobo drug addict going cold turkey after a 15 year hard drug habit. If you want to stop the posts then try initiating universal healthcare, taking guns off the streets by making it illegal to carry outside your home/property, stop the religions from ruling and make your elections actually democratic by closing the electoral college. That would be a good start .
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I find it interesting that the only negative articles (this one did have a few positive things) about countries focus on solely the US on BP. I would be curious to see another country in the spotlight
Hey look another post about slamming Americans, how original. Pick another country please.
I will tell you that a) the HOA sucks b) college is very, very, very expensive c) patriotism is real
We also are refusing COVID-19 testing for everyone except adults who need to be hospitalized. The only thing free is the testing, but in order to get a test you have to pay for a doctor's appointment which costs money, and none of the treatment is free, unless you have insurance that covers all or some of it.
Tired of the "America is awful" posts. Every country has good and bad stuff. How about writing about the good parts for a change. This is getting old.
Probably because there's an endless supply of stories about how s**t the country is. :)
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Thanksgiving. Is the holiday where you celebrate the genoside of native americans? Also: Guns..
Thanksgiving is not an exclusively American thing, we have it in Europe (although it's not a red day on the calendar) and east Asia as well. It's a celebration of the harvest and the food.
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More America-bashing content. Although, this time it was not as bad as the one from before (which assumed the earth is only composed of US vs. EU). Now, let's have topics about other countries, this could turn educational if we add diversity to the original concept.
There's a difference between bashing and legitimate criticism of insane policies that are very much harmful for their citizens. Not every negative criticism is "bashing" and it's healthy to be able to tell the difference
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Reading these (and the comments) makes me wonder how Americans think Europe works. Get on it, Bored Panda!
More than likely Europe as a whole is not targetable. I could tell you what I know about a few countries, but I don’t think of Europe as a unit. There’s French, Finns, Germans etc.
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Yo why are people hating on American citizens?? We're powerless people in a powerful country. Stop the hate and F*****G HELP US
Please. Literally begging on BoredPanda. Don't know what else to do. The situation is so s****y that drug use/suicide rates/domestic violence/mental health issues are EXPONENTIALLY INCREASING in self-isolation. We're being left to die.
Load More Replies... To counterbalance other comments, I say keep these posts coming! It's great to put them in their place and make them face the truth that the USA is nowhere near great and is going to be doomed forever because the eilte will never let this s**t change and their propaganda will keep the dumb ones voting to be ++++ed in the a*s.
Well, at least people think we are friendly...but yeah, you had better be healthy and already educated, children all born already, if you want to move to America. If you are sick, pregnant, or a student...you are going to be just as broke as the rest of us if you move here.
Most other countries live the " American dream" while we are stuck with an orange as our leader
All countries are different and that's what makes them great. Some of these things that are being pointed out are seen as a positive and some of them are just surprising. I am sure that this would happen if you asked Americans about other countries.
As an American, I find your reactions funny. Yes all this stuff is real, but we are used to it. But I do get that it is weird to others.
I get it,usa sucks...I will still visit usa one day.I don't care what bp says,thank god there are other sites who have much more balanced views on things
I don't think this article was meant as pointing out bad things.
Load More Replies... Why do Americans call themselves German, Irish, Italian, Greek and so on, just because one of their ancestors comes from that country (yes, you are all immigrants), but you neither know more than a word from that language and you have absolutely no knowledge about the country, the culture, the people, the food (really, what you call Italian or German food is just an abomination)?
I agree, this is very strange for me, claiming to be a part of culture that you have no connection to, don't know anything about and have only experienced through Americanised versions of their food
Load More Replies... A fun game can be to look up "Florida Man (your birthday)." There are endless insane news articles.
"florida man bored calls 911 to talk about hitler florida man threatens family with coldplay lyrics" last year I looked it up and it said "watch florida man vapes semin"
Load More Replies... I had lived many places in the world, including in Europe, Africa and parts of Asia, but moving to the USA was the biggest culture shock of my life. After 23 years, I got used to a lot of things, but I have to say, I'm very happy to be living back in Europe again.
What really blows me away is how much BoredPanda users are emphatic about knocking one country. We are as diverse as many of the countries you claim, there’s a variety to American that gets glossed over by such a finite list. Shame on a website for abusing and crowd sourcing a list targeting a single group of people. Especially with what the world is going through.
Wait. Really. Two posts on how much Americans suck in a week? Can't we shift it over to GB or something?
Take a seat and relax. This will make you feel like a hobo drug addict going cold turkey after a 15 year hard drug habit. If you want to stop the posts then try initiating universal healthcare, taking guns off the streets by making it illegal to carry outside your home/property, stop the religions from ruling and make your elections actually democratic by closing the electoral college. That would be a good start .
Load More Replies... I find it interesting that the only negative articles (this one did have a few positive things) about countries focus on solely the US on BP. I would be curious to see another country in the spotlight
Hey look another post about slamming Americans, how original. Pick another country please.
I will tell you that a) the HOA sucks b) college is very, very, very expensive c) patriotism is real
We also are refusing COVID-19 testing for everyone except adults who need to be hospitalized. The only thing free is the testing, but in order to get a test you have to pay for a doctor's appointment which costs money, and none of the treatment is free, unless you have insurance that covers all or some of it.
Tired of the "America is awful" posts. Every country has good and bad stuff. How about writing about the good parts for a change. This is getting old.
Probably because there's an endless supply of stories about how s**t the country is. :)
Load More Replies... Thanksgiving. Is the holiday where you celebrate the genoside of native americans? Also: Guns..
Thanksgiving is not an exclusively American thing, we have it in Europe (although it's not a red day on the calendar) and east Asia as well. It's a celebration of the harvest and the food.
Load More Replies... More America-bashing content. Although, this time it was not as bad as the one from before (which assumed the earth is only composed of US vs. EU). Now, let's have topics about other countries, this could turn educational if we add diversity to the original concept.
There's a difference between bashing and legitimate criticism of insane policies that are very much harmful for their citizens. Not every negative criticism is "bashing" and it's healthy to be able to tell the difference
Load More Replies... Reading these (and the comments) makes me wonder how Americans think Europe works. Get on it, Bored Panda!
More than likely Europe as a whole is not targetable. I could tell you what I know about a few countries, but I don’t think of Europe as a unit. There’s French, Finns, Germans etc.
Load More Replies... Yo why are people hating on American citizens?? We're powerless people in a powerful country. Stop the hate and F*****G HELP US
Please. Literally begging on BoredPanda. Don't know what else to do. The situation is so s****y that drug use/suicide rates/domestic violence/mental health issues are EXPONENTIALLY INCREASING in self-isolation. We're being left to die.
Load More Replies... To counterbalance other comments, I say keep these posts coming! It's great to put them in their place and make them face the truth that the USA is nowhere near great and is going to be doomed forever because the eilte will never let this s**t change and their propaganda will keep the dumb ones voting to be ++++ed in the a*s.
Well, at least people think we are friendly...but yeah, you had better be healthy and already educated, children all born already, if you want to move to America. If you are sick, pregnant, or a student...you are going to be just as broke as the rest of us if you move here.
Most other countries live the " American dream" while we are stuck with an orange as our leader
All countries are different and that's what makes them great. Some of these things that are being pointed out are seen as a positive and some of them are just surprising. I am sure that this would happen if you asked Americans about other countries.
As an American, I find your reactions funny. Yes all this stuff is real, but we are used to it. But I do get that it is weird to others.
I get it,usa sucks...I will still visit usa one day.I don't care what bp says,thank god there are other sites who have much more balanced views on things
I don't think this article was meant as pointing out bad things.
Load More Replies...