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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Tipping culture.
It's crazy how much people defend an absolutely terrible system.
Tipping. A way to continue slavery and make it legal to pay staff below the minimum wage.
Commercials about pharmaceutical pills. "Ask your doctor about taking xyz... side affects can include (everything).
Wild!
This is not "liked by Americans"; the pharmaceutical companies pay to air the commercials.
Opinion signs outside their houses. Like "in this house we support...". I find it weird and unusual.
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.
College sports. Particularly football and basketball.
The rest of the world loves soccer, but nobody gives a hoot about it at the university level.
Threatening to press charges on people....
And being suspicious of everyone.
imperial units
(edit: fahrenheit aswell as celsius are good for certain scenarios so ill omit the former)
Cheerleaders
It's definitely a sport and takes a lot of athleticism. People train from an early age to be on cheer squads.
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.
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.
Peanut butter and jelly
A lot of us were fed this as kids, so it tends to be a comfort food now.
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.
American here. I don't care for ranch dressing. I don't understand why people put it on everything. Rootbeer is AMAZING though. So good.
Also an American and really despise ranch dressing.
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Make ranch dressing with buttermilk. It's SOOOOO much better
HEY ROOT BEER IS DELICIOUS! THEY'RE JUST USED TO DRINKING BEER. (This is a joke i do not mean anything hateful by it. I respect what everyone thinks :)
But you are right, in Germany we have so many different types of beer and I guess people guess root beer might taste like our "malt beer", which is very sweet and without alcohol but still a sort of beer. I tried root beer and think it's just a sort of soft drink. Not my taste but I'm in love with the spicy ginger beer and the well known ginger ale 😋 those aren't what a German would call "beer". (◠‿◕)
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I make my own ranch, which my whole circle enjoys. I’m not a fan of commercially made dressings in general. Love root beer and it’s cousin Sarsaparilla
I've never had root beer but I want to try it. Here in theUK there's "dandelion and burdock" which is of course, made from dandelions and burdock root. A lot of the brands are imitation flavoured, but the best one, Fentimans, contains the actual extracts of dandelion and burdock still, with added pear juice, ginger and star anise and it's sooo damn good. So, I'd be interested in trying root beer as well as sarsaparilla. xP
I don't know. Ranch is so much better. Put it on celery and there you gave heaven.
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I can't stand cherries, they taste like medicine. Kids meds were always cherry flavored. Its possible that meds in Germany were flavored with the root beer plant or a close relative of it. So they equate the taste with medicine.
I'm an American and I hate ranch. I don't mind root beer but it tastes a bit like mouthwash...
My Gram made the best homemade Root Beer!! Every now and then you'd hear a pop after she did a new batch.
Root beer and ranch dressing are less sweet and have different names in Germany. But like they say there, "A farmer won't eat what he doesn't know". Funny how many such foods are perverted by Kraft Foods and then sold in grocery stores as 'American'.
To be fair, root beer, or more specifically the root itself, sassafras, was originally medicine, like many old school soda beverages. Coca Cola even started out as a cough syrup. They just added the bitter "medicine" to soda water with sugar to make it palatable enough to take and a popular beverage was born. And if you think regular root beer is bad, you should try some of it's cousins, like birch beer or the king of acquired tastes, Moxie! No one knows what's in it, just that it tastes like it hates you, and it is awesome when it's chilled really cold.
Mmmmm Birch Beer. Been a long time since I've had that. And yes it is an acquired taste lol.
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Root beer, hate it. Ranch, I usually only eat with pizza
But then some of y'all will eat s**t like marmite & vegemite & be like "YUM! I love salty vegetable paste!" Girl bye.
Ranch dressing is gross, but a good brand of root beer is delicious, especially if you drop in a scoop of vanilla ice cream
I DGAF what anyone says. Some hot wings with ranch... boyyyyyyyy next level s**t right there
With Germans inventing (I'm assuming) jägermeister they don't get to complain about drinks tasting like medicine.
The culture who invented jagermeister thinks root beer tastes like medicine? HA!
Rootbeer taste aquired. Really good poured over vanilla bean ice cream tho. Soda floats are huge here during warm months. Ranch is the shizzznet if you make it right or buy the right brands pre made.
Try root beer. Avoid ranch. It is vile.
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Root beer to me always tasted like mouth wash. But it's nice in a vanilla float. (I suppose that's what the picture is supposed to show...)
I can attest to the reactions of Europeans to root beer and ranch dressing. It's not to their palate. The same with cinnamon. Most Europeans don't like it. I bought a box of fireball candies because we like them, and offered them to French friends who, when they tried them, didn't like the heat of the cinnamon. The French are a one trick pony-chocolate and bread, which we find disgusting.
Cinnamon is very VERY popular in Germany. Now in the Christmas time it's EVERYWHERE! I love Cinnamon on milk-rice. Or porridge.
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I like fake root beer. Like walmart or publix brand in a can. Real root beer is only good for root beer floats (root beer and vanilla ice cream).
And my 15 year old puts ranch on everything. Pizza, chicken...) My 13 year old puts BBQ sauce on everything.
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Root beer is disgusting, I was so excited to try it, but literally tastes like the red cough syrup you'd be given as a kid - i was so disappointed - definitely an acquired taste
Root beer tastes of that one blue oral b tooth paste. I'm British but I was desperate to try it, so when I went to America, I took a big gulp of it, only to screw my face up lol
Both beverages are named after their distinct differences in ingredients when they were first made. Sarsaparilla was made from the Sarsaparilla vine, while Root Beer, roots of the sassafras tree. These days, Root Beer recipes do not include sassafras as the plant has been found to cause serious health issues.
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Garbage Disposals
Just shove that turkey carcass in the disposal and run some warm water behind it
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.
Corn syrup
There is a time and place for it like pecan pies and cheap pancake syrup. But not every where all the time.
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.
They made them blue so they wouldn't be confused with the red ones (cherry or strawberry)
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.
Since casseroles were originally French, maybe she was just cherishing the ancient enmity
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.
Biscuits and gravy
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!
Free public restrooms. I know they're gross but they are nice to have.
Was gonna comment but changed my mind so I'll just say Have a great day pandas wherever you are!
Handicap accessiblity. Old buildings/towns in Europe are nice, if both your legs work.
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.
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.
Americanized Chinese food. No one has us beat in that category.,
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.
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".
Note: this post originally had 33 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
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.
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!
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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.
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.
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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.
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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Now post a thread like this about every other nation, please? I'm sure the Brits will love to learn that they all (allegedly) love beer, blood pudding and Manchester United, for example... Good grief.
French: Boudin sausage , frogs leggs and snails. I mean .... They eat everything. The Dutch and haring (herring) nice and raw is something that makes a few tourists gag too. LOL
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What is if with BP absolutely bashing the US. Like sure its got some problems but these are just petty. I feel like twice a week theres a new “why america sucks” article.
Some of these are ridiculous! People across the world really hate that you don't have to pay for refills and to use public restrooms?? You want us to start charging?? Like WTF?
Bored Panda please stop. Life right now is hard enough without seeing my country and myself bashed for the stupidest stereotypical things.
So, as an American, I can totally understand giving us shite for things like tipping culture, our lack of healthcare, and paying for college. Those are broken systems that don't do 99% of our population any justice. It just makes life harder and it NEEDS to change. By all means, PLEASE be vocal about these things. There needs to be a dialogue on stuff like this. However, can y'all stop with making fun of our food, the use of the imperial system, and waving flags everywhere? Sure, it's all flawed, but those little things are part of our culture. We are just as entitled to our own unique culture as the rest of the world. Rag on us for the things that actually matter and stop nitpicking. Stop looking for literally ANY reason to hate us. Hate us all you want, but make sure it's for a good reason and not something as trivial as our food or our flag being a constant presence within our own borders.
I think all the food and drink stuff does not belong on this list. Every inhabited region of the world have their own drinks and dishes, many of which seem strange to an outsider.
Many of these also apply to Canada, because we absorb so much of that culture through proximity.
And vice versa, as I can attest, having grown up on the border.
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So, why is Lithuania always bashing the United states? Well, could it be that the United States is ethnically diverse? Compared to lithuania, which is 85.6% white, the United States is currently sitting at 63.9% White identified members of the population. Is this why Lithuania or actually just this website, has such a hard-on for bashing the US? Being different is good. Y'all should try it sometime. Oh, you're welcome since our military is leaving 8500 troops in your country in case Russia decides to be a little more aggressive in it's land stealing.
I doubt it's racism, more like laziness with a good helping of trouble stirring
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Same b******t BP has posted over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over. Complete trash now.
I have no idea why you are getting downvoted. I agree-it’s lazy and cruel to bash a country over and over again.Furthermore, BoredPanda censors it’s users and bans them for their different opinions.
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I'm surprised nobody said languages. One of the things I love about living in the US is the number of people I interact with daily from other places. Maybe London, Paris and Berlin are the same, but I spet time working in different cities in Europe, and there's no comparison. NYC has people from the whole world, and yes there's authentic Chinese restaurants there. My university in Virginia has 180 languages spoken on campus. I had friends in uni from Russia, Jamaica, Tajikistan, Turkey, Japan, China, Nigeria, Estonia, Colombia the list goes on. It's why I can curse at you in 15 languages. Best part of the USA, imo
I usually skip this c**p because been there, heard that, over and over. However I'm announcing my boycott of Lithuania and all things Lithuanian. Including my expensive tour where I had planned to spend tons of money. It'll be a hardship of course but.......
You fuckwads at bored panda can shove your F*****G site up your goddam Lithuanian slavic pig a******s. F**k you and everyone that looks like you.
I’m an American, and I don’t really mind the anti-Americanism. If it comes from the traditional sources of anti-Americanism: British classism, French elitism or USSR (now Chinese CCP) deflection of their own injustices; then so what? I’m sure the dinosaurs were condescending of the early mammals too. If its based on valid criticisms of our economic system, our foreign policy arm-twisting and aggressions: bring the truth (with facts, not just sanctimony, please). It was input from the wider world that made us great in the first place (e plurabus unum, and all that), and there should never have been a cut-off point.
These aren't all things as like, most are things we hate but can't change
Can we just stop these America vs The rest of the world stuff?? No one cares except Americans and I don't think they're that into it either.
We're not. We're really not. there's a whole world, yet even the haters on America center their worldview on ... .America.... I remain baffled. Something about Uruguay for a nice change?
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Aren‘t the last ones positive? Someone was confused, but I like that there was something good in this one.
Self righteous hypocrites? I think you should read your comment and look in the mirror. When one only looks at the negative, and yes we have a lot, then that is all people see. Let's talk about the BILLIONS of dollars and aide the US has sent to Ukraine. the U.S. has transferred military and non-military aid worth $54.43 billion to the government of Ukraine. An estimated $54.43 billion plus the White House’s new request for $37 billion would bring the total cost of U.S. involvement in Ukraine to $91,430,000,000. Does that sound like a country that deserves to be bashed to you? That is just a current, single and relatable example that even a simple minded person can comprehend.
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Piggy, most Americans are aware of this, and do not expect, nor wish for the "world to revolve around us". Really. Honestly, I'd guess most Americans who are on BP would love to learn about other countries and stop seeing these US-centric posts all the time, but BP (a Lithuanian site) posts these all the time, because it generates clicks. Take your complaint up with Bored Panda.
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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.
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... 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.
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... 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.
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... Now post a thread like this about every other nation, please? I'm sure the Brits will love to learn that they all (allegedly) love beer, blood pudding and Manchester United, for example... Good grief.
French: Boudin sausage , frogs leggs and snails. I mean .... They eat everything. The Dutch and haring (herring) nice and raw is something that makes a few tourists gag too. LOL
Load More Replies... What is if with BP absolutely bashing the US. Like sure its got some problems but these are just petty. I feel like twice a week theres a new “why america sucks” article.
Some of these are ridiculous! People across the world really hate that you don't have to pay for refills and to use public restrooms?? You want us to start charging?? Like WTF?
Bored Panda please stop. Life right now is hard enough without seeing my country and myself bashed for the stupidest stereotypical things.
So, as an American, I can totally understand giving us shite for things like tipping culture, our lack of healthcare, and paying for college. Those are broken systems that don't do 99% of our population any justice. It just makes life harder and it NEEDS to change. By all means, PLEASE be vocal about these things. There needs to be a dialogue on stuff like this. However, can y'all stop with making fun of our food, the use of the imperial system, and waving flags everywhere? Sure, it's all flawed, but those little things are part of our culture. We are just as entitled to our own unique culture as the rest of the world. Rag on us for the things that actually matter and stop nitpicking. Stop looking for literally ANY reason to hate us. Hate us all you want, but make sure it's for a good reason and not something as trivial as our food or our flag being a constant presence within our own borders.
I think all the food and drink stuff does not belong on this list. Every inhabited region of the world have their own drinks and dishes, many of which seem strange to an outsider.
Many of these also apply to Canada, because we absorb so much of that culture through proximity.
And vice versa, as I can attest, having grown up on the border.
Load More Replies... So, why is Lithuania always bashing the United states? Well, could it be that the United States is ethnically diverse? Compared to lithuania, which is 85.6% white, the United States is currently sitting at 63.9% White identified members of the population. Is this why Lithuania or actually just this website, has such a hard-on for bashing the US? Being different is good. Y'all should try it sometime. Oh, you're welcome since our military is leaving 8500 troops in your country in case Russia decides to be a little more aggressive in it's land stealing.
I doubt it's racism, more like laziness with a good helping of trouble stirring
Load More Replies... Same b******t BP has posted over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over. Complete trash now.
I have no idea why you are getting downvoted. I agree-it’s lazy and cruel to bash a country over and over again.Furthermore, BoredPanda censors it’s users and bans them for their different opinions.
Load More Replies... I'm surprised nobody said languages. One of the things I love about living in the US is the number of people I interact with daily from other places. Maybe London, Paris and Berlin are the same, but I spet time working in different cities in Europe, and there's no comparison. NYC has people from the whole world, and yes there's authentic Chinese restaurants there. My university in Virginia has 180 languages spoken on campus. I had friends in uni from Russia, Jamaica, Tajikistan, Turkey, Japan, China, Nigeria, Estonia, Colombia the list goes on. It's why I can curse at you in 15 languages. Best part of the USA, imo
I usually skip this c**p because been there, heard that, over and over. However I'm announcing my boycott of Lithuania and all things Lithuanian. Including my expensive tour where I had planned to spend tons of money. It'll be a hardship of course but.......
You fuckwads at bored panda can shove your F*****G site up your goddam Lithuanian slavic pig a******s. F**k you and everyone that looks like you.
I’m an American, and I don’t really mind the anti-Americanism. If it comes from the traditional sources of anti-Americanism: British classism, French elitism or USSR (now Chinese CCP) deflection of their own injustices; then so what? I’m sure the dinosaurs were condescending of the early mammals too. If its based on valid criticisms of our economic system, our foreign policy arm-twisting and aggressions: bring the truth (with facts, not just sanctimony, please). It was input from the wider world that made us great in the first place (e plurabus unum, and all that), and there should never have been a cut-off point.
These aren't all things as like, most are things we hate but can't change
Can we just stop these America vs The rest of the world stuff?? No one cares except Americans and I don't think they're that into it either.
We're not. We're really not. there's a whole world, yet even the haters on America center their worldview on ... .America.... I remain baffled. Something about Uruguay for a nice change?
Load More Replies... Aren‘t the last ones positive? Someone was confused, but I like that there was something good in this one.
Self righteous hypocrites? I think you should read your comment and look in the mirror. When one only looks at the negative, and yes we have a lot, then that is all people see. Let's talk about the BILLIONS of dollars and aide the US has sent to Ukraine. the U.S. has transferred military and non-military aid worth $54.43 billion to the government of Ukraine. An estimated $54.43 billion plus the White House’s new request for $37 billion would bring the total cost of U.S. involvement in Ukraine to $91,430,000,000. Does that sound like a country that deserves to be bashed to you? That is just a current, single and relatable example that even a simple minded person can comprehend.
Load More Replies... Piggy, most Americans are aware of this, and do not expect, nor wish for the "world to revolve around us". Really. Honestly, I'd guess most Americans who are on BP would love to learn about other countries and stop seeing these US-centric posts all the time, but BP (a Lithuanian site) posts these all the time, because it generates clicks. Take your complaint up with Bored Panda.
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