The US and Europe (with a few notable exceptions) have much in common. They hold democratic elections, fight for human rights, and are conscious of their carbon footprint. But at the same time, they're an entire ocean apart and geography isn't the only thing separating them.
So we dug around the internet and found a couple of online threads (one and two) where people have been sharing what they believe to be the aspects of American culture that are foreign to the Old Continent. From the popularity of university sports to free soda and coffee refills, here are the most popular submissions to the discussion.
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If you are an American citizen, you can choose to live in just about any climate and landscape that the Earth has to offer, and still be in the same country. Whether you like mountains, volcanoes, the beach, the desert, the arctic, the prairie, the rainforest, whatever, the US has it.
Yes. It's very geographically diverse. I moved from one side of the country to where I am now and I'm seeing animals I've never seen in nature in my life.
I’d say the whole system of National Parks is just amazing! Open 24/7 (unless some weather or gov’t shutdown), maps available, trails laid out, camping spots designated… It’s the most treasured and inderappreciated thing in the US, IMO.
But.....we do have 'national parks' in Europe. We have 15 in the UK. They may not be as grandeur but they're beautiful all the same. All of our National Parks are within spitting distance of most cities so most people can enjoy them. Also we have Areas Of Outstanding Natural Beauty too such as Nidderdale.....
A country that's like 99% unwalkable. Seriously, I've been around the globe and every time I came I became frustrated that I can't just walk to a corner grocery.
There are walkable cities. Generally the ones that were built before the invention of the car. So New York, Boston, New Orleans, San Francisco, Seattle, Portland. The old cities.
The endangered species act, one of the few laws in the entire world that actually enforces protections for endangered animals proactively and retroactively. You could go to prison for destroying some rare flowers. just because those flowers were rare. It’s not perfect, but the ESA is one of the most powerful environmental protection laws in the world, spanning some of the largest area, and very very few countries have something similar.
Space. I can drive 400 miles and still be in Kansas, as it’s 410 miles in width.
That's alwys struck me as weird. We get adverts for over the counter meds, like painkillers or cold and flu medicine but the thought of seeing an advert for something you need to go to the doctors and get a prescription for like adhd meds / anti depresents / antibiotics / heart meds or blood thinners is absolitly mental to me.
I'm from the UK and it looks like the houses in the US are a million times bigger than they are here.
On the up side, amazing geographic diversity. In one country, we have mountains, deserts, tropics, sweeping plains, fertile farmland, tundra, huge beaches, and rugged coastlines.
On the down side, school shootings. Mall shootings. Grocery store shootings. Church shootings. Birthday party shootings. We know another one's coming soon - we just don't know where.
It's a stochastic effect. More guns leads to more gun violence. It's sort of like how back in the old days they used to sell strychnine in d**g stores for rat poison and as a result a lot more people were killed by strychnine poisoning, either by intention or accidental. We banned the sale of the poison and people stopped dying from the poison. Restrict access to guns and less people will be killed by guns. It's actually pretty simple.
So many extracurricular activities in schools. Playing a specific sport or being part of a team isn't something schools offer in Europe. I have cousins who live in Texas, and the fact that their school has tennis courts and a pool blows my mind. Some schools here have small clubs like theater or choir, but the options hardly compare to those offered at schools in the States. Your high school theater plays look like professional productions sometimes.
Fast food restaurants at every intersection and an obesity epidemic.
Florida Man stories. Europe just has 'the English tourist on holiday in Ibiza.'
Florida has interesting protection for alleged crime, that is why the Florida man stories are so entertaining.
Garbage disposal units are installed beneath the kitchen sink.
Diners. Fast cheap American food available at all hours. One of the best meals you will ever eat is American diner food at 2 am.
The Grand Canyon.
A Soviet traveler described it as a mold that could be used to make mountain ranges
Giant superstores where you can buy groceries, furniture, a pet fish and a handgun
THE F**KING BBQ!
Thank the cosmos I live there and travel alot. States seem to have their own twists and specialities and it's all so f**king good I can't decide what I like more.
The Texas BBQ Pit I went to once was an experience.
Before I came here, BBQ meant store bought frozen burgers and sausages on a grill in the garden during summer. One thing I don't miss about the UK lol.
The 4th of July. True fact, in Europe it goes straight from the 3rd to the 5th.
Good Mexican food. It doesn't exist in Europe. I ordered a burrito in Berlin, and it was worse than Taco Bell.
American who lived in Europe for a time. (The Balkans)
Things I have here that I didn't have there:
Cheap gas (yes, it's still quite cheap in the US)
Larger appliances with words on them (my appliances there had graphics on them, the washer had a Half Mushroom Cloud setting)
A zillion kinds of breakfast cereal (when I came back, I routinely got overwhelmed in the grocery store)
Lol, diplomatic immunity
Things I had there, that I don't have here:
There was a produce/meat market that was open every day, that I could walk to, it ruled
Cafe culture
The newsstand sold lots of rowdy porn.
I feel like the price of gas really depends on where in America you are
Turning right on a red light. I think that's still illegal in Germany and most other European countries, isn't it?
The mountains in the Mountain West and the Red Rocks. I’ve lived next to the Red Rocks in Utah and Colorado. I grew up and worked in the Tetons. We’ve lived on the Wasatch, and super close to the Rockies. Europe is so beautiful but the Mountain West is one of the most beautiful regions on earth.
No doubt it's absolutely gorgeous here, I live in Colorado. Europe is no joke either. Also has a variety of beautiful places to visit.
Truck Nuts
At least I haven't really seen them over here in central Europe. Then again also Pickup Trucks are a pretty rare sight in Europe.
Discussion between my brother and me: Me: Truck nuts must only ever be bought as gag gifts for one's too-tough friend. I can't imagine that any dude would ever buy truck nuts for himself. Bro: And THAT is why you were surprised that Trump won in 2016.
Large meal portions.
Note: this post originally had 63 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
Comparing the USA with 47 individual countries with individual language, landscape, culture, cuisines, laws, politics etc is just useless. It doesn't work that way.
ZGutr, every European country has their own states. For example: Germany has 16 states, that are as different from each other as the US states are. But somehow most Americans only know of and about Bavaria, which would be like me saying the whole US is only Texas.
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ugh. i thought it said americans wrote it, not people coming on to make fun of america. dont get me wrong, i know america has countless faults, but some people are proud of their country nevertheless, as anybody would be, and shaming them for that is just not okay. we do have unique, good things, that other countries dont have, and i thought that is what i would be finding in this article. instead, i found more hatred and teasing.
I would love a list about positiv things the US has!
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Yeah, because Europe is one big country. No difference at all between France and Azerbaijan, or Germany and Romania, etc. You might be able to compare USA to Western Europe, as those countries are reasonably comparable, but they're still a lot more different from each other than US states are from each other.
Exactly. And it's *most* European countries - saying (for example) "but [country] has the Mediterranean and Atlantic" when someone says the US has the Pacific and Atlantic is dumb. So some European countries have access to different bodies of water, but none of them have the Pacific and most don't have the Atlantic
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Comparing the USA with 47 individual countries with individual language, landscape, culture, cuisines, laws, politics etc is just useless. It doesn't work that way.
ZGutr, every European country has their own states. For example: Germany has 16 states, that are as different from each other as the US states are. But somehow most Americans only know of and about Bavaria, which would be like me saying the whole US is only Texas.
Load More Replies... ugh. i thought it said americans wrote it, not people coming on to make fun of america. dont get me wrong, i know america has countless faults, but some people are proud of their country nevertheless, as anybody would be, and shaming them for that is just not okay. we do have unique, good things, that other countries dont have, and i thought that is what i would be finding in this article. instead, i found more hatred and teasing.
I would love a list about positiv things the US has!
Load More Replies... Yeah, because Europe is one big country. No difference at all between France and Azerbaijan, or Germany and Romania, etc. You might be able to compare USA to Western Europe, as those countries are reasonably comparable, but they're still a lot more different from each other than US states are from each other.
Exactly. And it's *most* European countries - saying (for example) "but [country] has the Mediterranean and Atlantic" when someone says the US has the Pacific and Atlantic is dumb. So some European countries have access to different bodies of water, but none of them have the Pacific and most don't have the Atlantic
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