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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.

#1

30 Things Americans Seem To Like, But The Rest Of The World Not So Much Tipping culture.

It's crazy how much people defend an absolutely terrible system.

chewwydraper , Sam Dan Truong Report

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Sandra Monk
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Tipping. A way to continue slavery and make it legal to pay staff below the minimum wage.

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#2

30 Things Americans Seem To Like, But The Rest Of The World Not So Much MM-DD-YYYY Date format 😅

javapyscript , Leeloo Thefirst Report

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lilylynx
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I've never understood this, because doesn't it make sense that it would go shortest, middle, longest edit: longest to shortest makes a lot of sense as well

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#3

30 Things Americans Seem To Like, But The Rest Of The World Not So Much Commercials about pharmaceutical pills. "Ask your doctor about taking xyz... side affects can include (everything).
Wild!

Live_Ad_455 , Melany @ tuinfosalud.com Report

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JoJo Anisko
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is not "liked by Americans"; the pharmaceutical companies pay to air the commercials.

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#4

30 Things Americans Seem To Like, But The Rest Of The World Not So Much Opinion signs outside their houses. Like "in this house we support...". I find it weird and unusual.

BittenOnion Report

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

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.

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#5

30 Things Americans Seem To Like, But The Rest Of The World Not So Much College sports. Particularly football and basketball.

The rest of the world loves soccer, but nobody gives a hoot about it at the university level.

Scrappy_Larue , football wife Report

#6

30 Things Americans Seem To Like, But The Rest Of The World Not So Much Flags. So many American flags everywhere.

justmyfakename , Pramod Kotipalli Report

#7

30 Things Americans Seem To Like, But The Rest Of The World Not So Much Walking inside the house with shoes on.

ignviliam , Sladjana Karvounis Report

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#8

30 Things Americans Seem To Like, But The Rest Of The World Not So Much Threatening to press charges on people....

And being suspicious of everyone.

agingercow , Icons8 Team Report

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#9

30 Things Americans Seem To Like, But The Rest Of The World Not So Much imperial units
(edit: fahrenheit aswell as celsius are good for certain scenarios so ill omit the former)

Kirby_zzz , Ag PIC Report

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Linnea
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's good for intuitively knowing what the temperature feels like. 100 degrees? Hot as hell. 50 degrees? Medium temperature. 0 degrees? Just don't go outside. At all. The closer you get to 100, the hotter it is, and it makes for easy knowledge by thinking of it as a percentage of the 'maximum' (100). Also, the perfect indoor temperature is 69 degrees which is another point in its favour lol.

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Id row
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Meanwhile, Brits be like, "That bloke must've weighed 28 stone!"

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

True that. If someone says '84 kg' to me, I have to take my socks off to work out what that is in stones...

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Gabby Ghoul
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

When I was in elementary school we were taught the metric system as it looked like widespread adoption in the USA was imminent and then .... it just petered out. I still had to know SI units at Uni for chem or physics, though.

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

It's get even weirder when you realize there are different ways to measure divisions of an inch. Theres the one most folks know that us 8ths, 16ths, 32nds, ect ect. There's another that is quasi metric that divides an inch by 10 so you have 10ths, 100ths, 1000ths, and (here's the messed up one) 10ths of a 1000th.

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

It is odd when you consider their monetary system is decimal/metric...

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

yeah youd have thought they'd have kept the stupid original british thing of shillings, pence, guineas and pounds, which had a similar 1:12 ratio.

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Andrea Stone
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

FFS I’m 55 years and remember having to learn the metric system in elementary school because “someday the US will use the metric system”. My daughter, now 26, was told/taught the same thing. I’m familiar with grams/milligrams/kilos/and cubic centimeters due to my career as a nurse. It’s so much easier with pretty much everything being base 10. I’m not too good at Celsius though

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

I love celsius because I can go to people who use Fahrenheit and say “It’s 10 degrees, I should probably put on a sweater”

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

It really is a no-brainer to use the same units. Remember one of the space projects that didn't work because most of the measurements were metric and the American's were in inches?

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

The US uses the US Customary system which has important differences from the Imperial system. The metric system and US customary systems are both taught in US schools and used in the US. Like the picture, most products in the US have both systems.

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

Keep in mind that the United States was once a British territoire outre-mer. 😀

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Hypoxia Smurf
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Imperial units are a long-established tradition. Remember 'tradition' means submitting to the habits of dead people. ;)

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Clint Carter
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1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Speak for yourself. I understand the metric system, but I prefer the proportionality of the imperial system. Feet and inches are more proportionate than meters and centimeters. Fahrenheit is based on human comfort levels instead of water freezing and boiling levels. Pounds and ounces give a more accurate representation than kilograms and grams.

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Phasmainmachina
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I’m in my late 60’s, I grew up with imperial measurements, but when I started working in print and design, there was a mixture; paper dimensions were mostly metric, ie A3, A4, A5, and Envelopes as well, plus there were points, em’s, etc for typesetting. But then there’s American paper dimensions - the A/B/C paper sizes are supposed to be an international standard, but no, America has to screw around with it and have theirs based on imperial dimensions. WHY?

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K. David Ladage
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I was promised that we (the United States) would be metric when I grew up. That was 40+ Yeats ago, and I am still waiting. Not happy about this, I assure you.

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

I have a bigger issue that the standard for imperial units differs from that used in other countries. Both gallons and pints are smaller. I can just about convert pounds and ounces to kilos in my head, but trying to work out volume measurements just leaves me confused. And I'm not touching fluid ounces with a 20 foot barge pole!

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Apatheist Account2
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's just what one is used to. In the UK, we know that 5 and below is cold, 10 is chilly, 20 is pleasant, 25 is hot, and anything 30 or over is too hot. I'd have to convert it back to work out if 80 was too hot.

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

Hey I may not know how to use the metric system but I do know those calipers up there will measure the width of a human hair!

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

Well, almost. The ones pictured are plastic and not graduated (I think thats the correct word) to measure that small.But there are calipers that will measure that small and smaller. The precise version like the one above is called a vernier caliper and can measure to 0.0005 of an inch. The average human hair is around 0.004 of an inch There's another type that is similar but has a dial to indicate thousanths. Not quite as precise though. Wow, I nerded out there for a moment.

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Justin Trouble
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Invented by the British, don't know why we hang to this fractional system.

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Let’s Go Brandon
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I’m torn on this. On the one hand, it just makes sense if you grew up using it because saying it’s 100 degrees outside means it’s hot, but saying it’s 40 means it’s cold. But measuring things, especially distances, would be so much easier if we used Metric.

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

Okay see the thing with measurement systems is that when you grow up with one, you get used to it. I know how the Imperial system works and what it feels like. Intellectually, I know how the Metric system works. But I have not got a clue what it feels like, and I'd struggle to adjust. And I'm used to feeling out measurements. So please, no the US should not try to change to the Metric system.

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

We have the imperial system because a) it would be too expensive to change all of the signs and everything and b) most students are taught in the imperial system and it's not up to us which one we learn, so we grow up on the imperial system so it's normal for us.

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

What even is Fahrenheit tuned to cuz celsius is tuned to freezing, kelvin is tuned to absolute zero, what's Fahrenheit then?

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

Paulio: Herr Fahrenheit had the very logical and practical idea of avoiding negative numbers. Zero degrees was the coldest it got in Germany the year he made his thermometers.

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Scott Crosby
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

As my mother always said, "Just because your friend jumps off a bridge, doesn't mean you need to follow his example:" Changing from units that allowed the construction of bridges and cathedrals in the Middle Ages just so you can count on your fingers, and choosing the circumference of the planet as a basis for your measurements does not make it the best possible system. As Einstein said, "Everything is relative. I'm glad you're not mine."

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

While the metric system is simple, due to being base 10, the units chosen as the standard measurements are so far apart from each other that it becomes very confusing. For instance, it’s much easier to say that a person is 6 feet 2 inches than saying 1 m, 87 cm. Plus, the Fahrenheit system is one that is based on human comfort. Celsius measures the difference between water freezing and water boiling. But about halfway to water boiling air temperature would be fatal for most humans. Where I live, it’s much easier to say that it will be in the 20s in winter, 50s in the fall and spring, and 80s in the summer. As opposed to saying it’ll be -5 in the winter, 15 in the fall and spring, and 30 in the summer.

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

lol? how is it easier to say "6 feet 2 inches" instead of "187 cm" or "1,87m"? even the short form is just 1,87. how is that hard? you cant be serious 😂

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#10

30 Things Americans Seem To Like, But The Rest Of The World Not So Much ICE. Filled till the brim before you pour any drink.

locoliga , Truong Dat Report

#11

30 Things Americans Seem To Like, But The Rest Of The World Not So Much Cheerleaders

liebe_rootBete , Rajiv Perera Report

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Don't you wish you knew
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's definitely a sport and takes a lot of athleticism. People train from an early age to be on cheer squads.

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#12

30 Things Americans Seem To Like, But The Rest Of The World Not So Much 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.

MXXIV666 , Aleksandr Popov Report

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April Caron
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

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.

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#14

30 Things Americans Seem To Like, But The Rest Of The World Not So Much Peanut butter and jelly

FlyBuy3 , Giorgio Trovato Report

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Mad Dragon
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

A lot of us were fed this as kids, so it tends to be a comfort food now.

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#15

30 Things Americans Seem To Like, But The Rest Of The World Not So Much 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.

nargleflargle , American Heritage Chocolate Report

#16

30 Things Americans Seem To Like, But The Rest Of The World Not So Much Garbage Disposals

Just shove that turkey carcass in the disposal and run some warm water behind it

celtic1888 , Max Vakhtbovych Report

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Sad Panda
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You can’t put bones, meat, eggshells, or very fibrous fruits and veggies into the disposal. You can break the disposal or damage sewer lines.

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#17

30 Things Americans Seem To Like, But The Rest Of The World Not So Much 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.

facobi8356 , Kyle Mackie Report

#18

Corn syrup

__Piggy___Smalls__ Report

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Susan Reid Smith
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

There is a time and place for it like pecan pies and cheap pancake syrup. But not every where all the time.

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#19

30 Things Americans Seem To Like, But The Rest Of The World Not So Much Waffles with chicken

glori-hallelujah , Tim Toomey Report

#20

30 Things Americans Seem To Like, But The Rest Of The World Not So Much 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.

AwesomeAsian , Viktor Talashuk Report

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Brenda Spagnola-Wilson
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They made them blue so they wouldn't be confused with the red ones (cherry or strawberry)

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#21

30 Things Americans Seem To Like, But The Rest Of The World Not So Much 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.

MazW , sheri silver Report

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sofacushionfort
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Since casseroles were originally French, maybe she was just cherishing the ancient enmity

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#22

30 Things Americans Seem To Like, But The Rest Of The World Not So Much 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.

botaxel499 , Pixabay Report

#23

30 Things Americans Seem To Like, But The Rest Of The World Not So Much Biscuits and gravy

WayneH2O , Ray Shrewsberry Report

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Marie Dahme
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

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!

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#24

30 Things Americans Seem To Like, But The Rest Of The World Not So Much Free public restrooms. I know they're gross but they are nice to have.

vebidib774 , Sung Jin Cho Report

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Don't you wish you knew
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1 year ago

Was gonna comment but changed my mind so I'll just say Have a great day pandas wherever you are!

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#25

30 Things Americans Seem To Like, But The Rest Of The World Not So Much

Handicap accessiblity. Old buildings/towns in Europe are nice, if both your legs work.

botaxel499 , AbsolutVision Report

#26

30 Things Americans Seem To Like, But The Rest Of The World Not So Much
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.

botaxel499 , Caique Morais Report

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Amy
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

24-hour Walmarts are not a thing anymore since covid, at least where I live.

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#27

30 Things Americans Seem To Like, But The Rest Of The World Not So Much

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.

facobi8356 , Scott Graham Report

#28

30 Things Americans Seem To Like, But The Rest Of The World Not So Much
Americanized Chinese food. No one has us beat in that category.,

botaxel499 , Drew Taylor Report

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Wolf Wolf
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1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

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.

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#29

30 Things Americans Seem To Like, But The Rest Of The World Not So Much Bumper stickers

Back2Bach , Mathias Reding Report

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James016
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

See a fair few in the uk but we are more of a “baby on board” sticker nation

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#30

30 Things Americans Seem To Like, But The Rest Of The World Not So Much 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".

facobi8356 , Brooke Cagle Report

Note: this post originally had 33 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.

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