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Our cultural differences are what make us unique, and they’re what bond us with others alike. What we see as ordinary always depends on people, place, and context and surely it will differ from one person to another.
That becomes super obvious when we leave the comfort of our home behind our back and go on vacation. Ask travelers how often they've been in uncomfortable social situations, had weird conversations, and found themselves strangers in a foreign land, and they will tell numerous stories.
Now this Ask Reddit thread has recently gained a lot of attention, amassing a whopping 28.3k comments and 27.8k upvotes. “What things do Americans like and the rest of the world not so much?” someone asked and people started sharing their own experiences, impressions and stories that show us once again just how relative things can be.
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#1
Tipping culture.
It's crazy how much people defend an absolutely terrible system.
Sandra Monk 3 years ago
Tipping. A way to continue slavery and make it legal to pay staff below the minimum wage.
RELATED:
#3
Commercials about pharmaceutical pills. "Ask your doctor about taking xyz... side affects can include (everything).
Wild!
JoJo Anisko 3 years ago
This is not "liked by Americans"; the pharmaceutical companies pay to air the commercials.
#4
Opinion signs outside their houses. Like "in this house we support...". I find it weird and unusual.
Mad Dragon 3 years ago
We have a “Love is Love” sign in our yard, but only because a few houses down from us has a sign that’s pretty much the opposite meaning.
#5
College sports. Particularly football and basketball.
The rest of the world loves soccer, but nobody gives a hoot about it at the university level.
#9
imperial units
(edit: fahrenheit aswell as celsius are good for certain scenarios so ill omit the former)
#11
Cheerleaders
Don't you wish you knew 3 years ago
It's definitely a sport and takes a lot of athleticism. People train from an early age to be on cheer squads.
#12
Driving everywhere. Anywhere you go, you go in a car.
But I suspect for many, other options are so rare they don't think about them even if they do exist.
April Caron 3 years ago
Soooo accurate! I work 50 minutes away from where I live (41 miles). Public transit isn’t an option. Even for close shopping… it’s not an option. The nearest bus line is 4 miles away.
#13
Big trucks
#14
Peanut butter and jelly
Mad Dragon 3 years ago
A lot of us were fed this as kids, so it tends to be a comfort food now.
#15
Root beer and ranch dressing. I brought some to Germany and had my friends try it and they said the root beer tasted like medicine. They politely tasted the dressing with a celery and said "hmmm, interesting" but the look on their faces was that it was terrible ha.
#16
Garbage Disposals
Just shove that turkey carcass in the disposal and run some warm water behind it
#17
God damn delis. At least out of all the places I’ve traveled to the US by far has the best delis. I don’t know if I can live somewhere without a great Jewish or Italian deli.
#18
Corn syrup
Susan Reid Smith 3 years ago
There is a time and place for it like pecan pies and cheap pancake syrup. But not every where all the time.
#20
This used to be much more prevalent in the US but food coloring. When I moved from Japan to the US, I was surprised at how colorful their foods were.
These days Americans are now more keen to organic natural stuff so I see it less but it took me a while to realize that blue raspberry is not a real thing.
Brenda Spagnola-Wilson 3 years ago
They made them blue so they wouldn't be confused with the red ones (cherry or strawberry)
#21
My mother [British] thought casseroles were weird and disgusting. Once her British friend came to visit, and asked that we not go to a restaurant "where all the food is mixed together in an awful jumble."
I love most casseroles.
sofacushionfort 3 years ago
Since casseroles were originally French, maybe she was just cherishing the ancient enmity
#22
My sister is visiting the US from Europe and sent me a picture of a small coke and asked "why is it so big?" I could see old glory flapping in the wind, boys.
#23
Biscuits and gravy
Marie Dahme 3 years ago
And you’ll get a bunch of different variations of somebody’s granny made it only a certain way…so that’s how you know it’s authentic! Bacon grease? Sausage? Strong black coffee? Just never say you made it from a powdered mix!
#24
Free public restrooms. I know they're gross but they are nice to have.
Don't you wish you knew 3 years ago
Was gonna comment but changed my mind so I'll just say Have a great day pandas wherever you are!
#25
Handicap accessiblity. Old buildings/towns in Europe are nice, if both your legs work.
#26
24 hour stores. I was in Chicago working with a colleague from Switzerland who suddenly realized around midnight that he needed a network cable to configure a mobile router for a job the next morning.
I told him that I'd meet him in the hotel lobby to drive him out to Walmart.
He was happily surprised, as he had forgotten about the US's famous chain of Walmart stores.
#27
Bankruptcy laws. It's a major reason why America has historically had some of the highest rates of small business growth and entrepreneurship. America is one of the most forgiving countries when it comes to personal and corporate bankruptcy (student loans notwithstanding).
Comparatively, European countries are much more pro-creditor which severely hampers any sort of investment that's even somewhat risky.
#28
Americanized Chinese food. No one has us beat in that category.,
Wolf Wolf 3 years ago (edited)
I might get downvoted, but... Kind of wish people would stop complaining about "Americanized" Chinese food. Lots of dishes were invented by Chinese-Americans way back in the early 1900s because of the war. It may not be authentic Chinese food, but it is authentic Chinese-American food.
#30
I'd like to say optimism, even if it's blind sometimes. The CAN DO attitude is extremely strong. I would also put belligerence up there for better or worse. That "Get the f**k out of my face, I'm not paying for / doing that" attitude. Whether you actually can or not, the American culture makes you feel like you can really do anything. Again, it's a double edged sword but you'll seldom find an American who's just going to lay down and take someone's s**t or heed someone who says (to your aspirations) "You can't".
#31
Free soda refills at dine-in places
#32
Corn dogs?
Couldnt_find_a_decent_name 3 years ago
OMG I LOVE CORN DOGS! I used to consider them a luxury because I only ever got to eat them at my grandparents house.
#33
Marching bands. If you’d played the flute in a marching band at my school you would have gotten pelters but in the US you can become a state hero.
What do you think ?
Loki’s Lil Butter Knife 3 years ago (edited)
Oh boy, I thought I missed it but it’s time for BoredPanda’s weekly America is a backwater cesspool and all Americans are slack jawed yokels post. Honestly though, BoredPanda staff, this is just getting incredibly nasty and sad now. I’m originally from Scotland and now live and work in the US, and am starting to find all the US bashing on this site tiring and disturbing. It isn’t funny or cute— it’s plain lazy and pure clickbait. You have good writers with fascinating backgrounds- use them and do better. You are starting to lose a lot of readers with articles like this. What is happening to this site anymore. From the constant censorship to banning people for different opinions…users don’t feel welcome here.
Kermit 3 years ago
I could not agree more! It's not fair to us Americans! We are not nearly as bad as people think. It's just the bad ones you hear about!
Load More Replies...
M Kawai 3 years ago
OMG 98% of these submissions are so stupid. Enough with the US bashing already. Totally giving me the impression Lithuania is a bitter bully country. Quit tarnishing your site with this type of dribble.
Chucky Cheezburger 3 years ago
I agree. This isn't everyone in the U.S. And what's up with trying to rag on the food? Peanut butter and jelly? Biscuits and gravy? Yeah, they may not be your thing, but there's alot of food from other countries that they just love, but sounds just god awful.
Load More Replies...
Debs Bee 3 years ago
Contrary to the media narrative, we Americans generally love our country and are grateful to live here. It's a vast, beautiful diverse place with mostly warm, wonderful, caring people. We aren't Europe or Asia nor do we wish to be Europe or Asia. As I have stated repeatedly, I come to this website to be amazed and amused by the content, not to have my country or my politics bashed. I respect the cultures of other countries and would appreciate the same courtesy.
Emie N. 3 years ago
I agree with you that MANY Americans are warm and kind-hearted people. And of course we're not all the same. However, at the same time, MANY of us are disappointed in our government.
Load More Replies...
Loki’s Lil Butter Knife 3 years ago (edited)
Oh boy, I thought I missed it but it’s time for BoredPanda’s weekly America is a backwater cesspool and all Americans are slack jawed yokels post. Honestly though, BoredPanda staff, this is just getting incredibly nasty and sad now. I’m originally from Scotland and now live and work in the US, and am starting to find all the US bashing on this site tiring and disturbing. It isn’t funny or cute— it’s plain lazy and pure clickbait. You have good writers with fascinating backgrounds- use them and do better. You are starting to lose a lot of readers with articles like this. What is happening to this site anymore. From the constant censorship to banning people for different opinions…users don’t feel welcome here.
Kermit 3 years ago
I could not agree more! It's not fair to us Americans! We are not nearly as bad as people think. It's just the bad ones you hear about!
Load More Replies... M Kawai 3 years ago
OMG 98% of these submissions are so stupid. Enough with the US bashing already. Totally giving me the impression Lithuania is a bitter bully country. Quit tarnishing your site with this type of dribble.
Chucky Cheezburger 3 years ago
I agree. This isn't everyone in the U.S. And what's up with trying to rag on the food? Peanut butter and jelly? Biscuits and gravy? Yeah, they may not be your thing, but there's alot of food from other countries that they just love, but sounds just god awful.
Load More Replies... Debs Bee 3 years ago
Contrary to the media narrative, we Americans generally love our country and are grateful to live here. It's a vast, beautiful diverse place with mostly warm, wonderful, caring people. We aren't Europe or Asia nor do we wish to be Europe or Asia. As I have stated repeatedly, I come to this website to be amazed and amused by the content, not to have my country or my politics bashed. I respect the cultures of other countries and would appreciate the same courtesy.
Emie N. 3 years ago
I agree with you that MANY Americans are warm and kind-hearted people. And of course we're not all the same. However, at the same time, MANY of us are disappointed in our government.
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