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Cars and guns. Flags and freedom. Fast-food and air-conditioning. That’s what the United States is all about—or at least the stereotypical version of America, according to the internet. No matter how hard people try, it looks like there are some stereotypes that Americans just can’t shake.

Whether because of pop culture or anecdotal experiences with tourists, some foreigners have a very clear-cut picture in their minds of what American everyday life is like. Even though it actually varies so much. And redditor Pfl2020 wanted to find out what exactly non-Americans think that Americans can’t live without.

Check out some of the most interesting responses to their thread and remember to give the ones that you relate to a big ol’ upvote as you scroll down. We’d also love to hear your opinions on what you associate Americans with, dear Pandas. And if you’re from the US, share your thoughts and feelings about these stereotypes in the comments.

For instance, I personally associate Americans with extremely warm and friendly people, delicious homecooked meals, great education, excellent four square skills on the playground, flags, and… powdered donuts (yum!). I’m pretty sure there are unfriendly Americans out there, but I’ve yet to meet one in person. (They could be a myth conjured up by jealous Canadians.)

#1

The belief that they’re more free than the rest of the world.

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Foxxy (The Original)
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Definitely NOT. Every country has there issues but for a western country the US has some serious big issues that aren't as prevalent in other western countries.

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#2

The believe that America is the greatest of all democracies while it is just another empire on its way down...

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cybermerlin2000
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

America isn't a democracy. It's a 2 party voting system with 2 angry old retirement aged men arguing and fighting with each other and regardless of who gets in, they go by rules and examples from their younger years that are no longer relevant, out of touch and out of date. Worse of all is that when someone becomes president that is actually able to do the job, they are treated so badly and hated that they throw their hands in the air and say "Screw you guys, I don't know why anyone bothers" Remember, these senile old farts shouting at everyone for petty reasons can press the red button and nuke the country just to get rid of the people they don't like. The only reason Trump didn't do it is because someone had the forethought to swap the red button for a blue on and not tell him. I bet he was hunting high and low for the red button.

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Philly Bob Squires
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Having someone be able to be a senator or congressman for 60 years doesn't help. They need term limits on all positions and stop making it a lucrative career. That may be a good start. Except those who could change it would never vote themselves out of a lifelong lucrative career! Perpetual chaos.

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WilvanderHeijden
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The US isn't a democracy but a representative democracy, which means that even if someone elected by an overwhelming majority of the popular vote, a tiny part of the population (538 electors) gets to decide who will be the next president.

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Dietmar Pichler
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

For me, the US is still a country with the feature of having Royalty. It seems there are families doing senat and stuff for a hundred years. I dont think, that kind of skill is inherited :D So in the end, it is always the same people - not much of a choice there...

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OrangeChicken
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I mean, we are relativly stable right now... I just hate that we are so easy to make fun of, and that the american stereo types are that we are, dumb, that we all love guns, that we deep fry everything, and that we all eat a disgusting amount of food. Some peeps are like that, but most of us aren't. I know that the rest of teh world knows this, and I'm not against you making fun of us (we do that all the time tbh) but I'm just making a point. nobody hates America more than americans, and nobody loves america more than americans.

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J. F.
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

There are only two options to vote for - and both sides have opposite opinions. In Germany we have 6 parties in the parliament and more parties to vote for.

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Ruth Beaty
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And again, the US is not a democracy, it is a republic that has democracy. Mostly...

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Luther von Wolfen
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Once again....US is not a democracy; it's a republic. The oldest and largest democracy is India.

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J-A Laine
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Depending on how you define things, there are many jurisdictions that can lay claim to this coveted title. Iceland and the Isle of Man both have interesting claims to democracy. Each has a parliamentary body that is over 1,000 years old, making them the longest standing democratic institutions in the world. But Iceland only got its independence in 1944 from Denmark — and while it is self-governing, the Isle of Man is not a country.

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Mary Rose Kent
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I always wondered what it would take to knock us off of our perch, and now I know: 🍊🍄💩

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Dorothy Cloud
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

No, I don't believe we are the greatest democracy. Especially now with our new leadership!

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Dorothy Cloud
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I, for one, do not believe that. Especially now with our new leadership. There is no democracy left!

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Steve Cruz
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The Electoral College has appointed THE WORST Presidents by overriding the popular vote.

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Paul Davies
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And now watch it when it starts going down at a great rate of knots now that the PC lefty brigade is taking over the White House!

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shado
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

... just look to their latest election debacles for proof of that!

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Przemek Mikitiuk
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And Middle Africa is democratic mostly for black, and south America is mostly democratic for Latino.....................

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Hugh Walter
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

". . . on its way down" . . . and they haven't seen it yet.

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John Louis
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Ask someone to name one thing that another country does better than the US. If they cannot they are not true patriots but are in love with their own ideals.

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Melvin Dragvelk
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Wrong. First off we are not a Democracy, we are a Constitutional Republic. And yeah with dementia Joe coming into office we will backslide for the next four years but then we will grow even stronger when enough people realize how terrible the Democrats really are.

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Aragorn II Elessar
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I hope you realize that Biden was elected to office because people realized how terrible the Republicans are.

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Porto DaMartinica
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3 years ago (edited)

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Them comments gonna be spicy on this one *popcorn intensifies*

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CbusResident
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3 years ago

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On our way down? Tell me Europe, what exactly is your plan for NATO and Putin if the USA stops funding NATO, hmmmm??!!!

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Danielle McHenney
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3 years ago

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Name a country not on its way down. If we are so bad why are we called into other countries for military protection

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Astrid Nineor
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Cause your government spend all your money on the army and none on your inhabitants?

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#3

30 Things Americans Can't Seem To Live Without, As Observed By Non-Americans Medical debt

victorianfolly , Tyler Report

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Idan York
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not just medical debt, but serious debt of many kinds. Everything paid on credit or loan, and people working just to pay interest while being "1 paycheck from the street" while the government will not help you if you get in financial or medical trouble, are hungry or face eviction.

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It’s best to think of cultural stereotypes as incredibly rough guidelines that sometimes help us navigate life, but you should never think that they’re completely accurate representations of reality. Life’s too complex and deep to be summed up in a couple of throwaway phrases.

Not all Americans are overweight, own a gun, only speak English, and tip their waiters all the time. But does the country have a problem with obesity? Yes, it does. According to the CIA, 36.2 percent of all Americans were considered to be obese in 2016. And the US ranked twelfth in the world by obesity. But it would be unfair to ignore that in such a vast country there are plenty of fitness enthusiasts and healthy eaters out there, too.

#4

A sense of superiority and a denial of the truth of their own history.

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IlovemydogShilo
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I am English and I am ashamed of MY country's sense of superiority and a denial of the truth of their own history. Especially concerning the slave trade and the way they treated the Irish during the Irish famine.

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#5

30 Things Americans Can't Seem To Live Without, As Observed By Non-Americans Fast food. I remember watching a piece about how fast food is sometimes the cheapest option for poor families. They literally can't afford to eat healthily.

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wandile dludlu
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The fact that even their fast food is worse... there is this show on youtube where they compare Uk and US fast foods from the same brand. example: chips in the UK have potatoes, vegetable oil, salt... in the US, it has 11 other ingredients.

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#6

30 Things Americans Can't Seem To Live Without, As Observed By Non-Americans Flags. You really care about showing off flags. Pro tip: Any place with lots of flags has a national identity crisis.

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Awkward Manatee
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I mean, this flag site is probably a memorial/grave to veterans so yeah, this specific picture might be a tad offensive. However, as an American, I really don't understand why everyone is so obsessed with American flags. Although uh I'll take that flag over,,, certain,,, other flags that show up in the south :(

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Some stereotypes are nearly perfectly true, however. Like how much Americans love cars. They're not the only ones, though. The US really does have a car obsession and ranks fourth on Planet Earth by the number of motor vehicles per capita, but it falls right behind—you’ll never believe it—New Zealand. That’s right, our loveable Kiwis own more cars, on average, than Americans do. Who needs eagles when our hobbit protagonists could have headed to Mordor in a Volvo?

Plenty of Americans really can’t live without cars because they rely on them for their day-to-day lives. Those who argue against this would point to the fact that, in 2019, Americans also took a whopping 9.9 billion trips on public transportation. Which sounds very impressive...

...Until you realize that there were 328.2 million people living in the US that year and that they'd each end up using public transportation just over 30 times each, on average. All year. So there's some truth to the stereotype about loving cars after all. But it's not the entire story. Nor the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Not by far.

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#7

The goddamn Imperial System of Units.
I don't even live in the US but a lot of content on the internet is American and it annoys me when I need to multiply miles by 1.6 to get kilometers.

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Dominika Juillet
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

omg yes, this is terrible. I've been here over five years and I still can't get used to it. :"My god, the temperature is over 100? are we FRYING TO DEATH??"

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#8

30 Things Americans Can't Seem To Live Without, As Observed By Non-Americans A car. In European countries, it’s pretty common that you can get anywhere by public transport, but I haven’t heard about any properly functioning public transportation besides New York’s subway.

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Jolee Koop
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My friends are always confused when I tell them how there isn't any public transport in most of the US. They didn't understand why Uber was doing so well in the US, well thats why. You need a car to get anywhere and most people can't afford one

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#9

30 Things Americans Can't Seem To Live Without, As Observed By Non-Americans Bumper stickers informing others of their opinions.

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Candace Fitzpatrick
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And on t-shirts. If I wear a t-shirt with a graphic on it, it’s a band name or beer merch (because I get those free from work lol)

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#10

High Self confidence. Good thing in most people. Bad thing in flat earthers and antivaxxers

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Cynthia Bonville
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That is not all of us, just the loud ones. You really only see the loud ones.

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#11

30 Things Americans Can't Seem To Live Without, As Observed By Non-Americans Material consumption. This is true in most places but from my observation it seems to go to another level in America. Everyone spends so much time discussing the latest thing they bought and how great it is.

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#12

30 Things Americans Can't Seem To Live Without, As Observed By Non-Americans Insurance. If they get sick without it, they're [screwed]. Meanwhile, if I have an health issue in Europe, I'll get free assistance in case of emergency and pay a small fee (usually between 30€ and 70€) for a routine visit.

Zek_ , looseid Report

#13

30 Things Americans Can't Seem To Live Without, As Observed By Non-Americans A house. Even if you can't afford it. No flat — a house. Big house with two living rooms: one for family, one for ????

Iseult-benoit , daryl_mitchell Report

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Foxxy (The Original)
Community Member
3 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Maybe I am just privileged coz I could never live in a unit or apartment. I don't need 2 living rooms though. Just an extra room to clean lol.

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#14

Mentioning someones race/culture/sex etc. constantly

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Helen Haley
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The history of the US is steeped in race/culture/sex atrocities. I think it is an attempt at over correction.

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#15

Overly-fat-saturated and sugary foods.

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#16

War? Jk but I read somewhere in all layout history you’ve only had 17 years when you weren’t at war with someone or the other

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David K
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Some say that the USA is a culture of war rooted within a widespread ethos that uses military force in pursuit of self-interests. The truth is however that the USA has been continuously at war since the earliest days of its existence as a nation and the political, economic, cultural, and moral costs and consequences of war have reduced the USA's moral authority, political stability, and economic viability. Way out? I don´t know the right answer. Perhaps the USA must establish itself as a “culture of peace” by pursuing a new set of cultural ethoses.

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#17

News telling them who to be angry and outraged with this week.

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#18

30 Things Americans Can't Seem To Live Without, As Observed By Non-Americans Air-conditioning. That's usually the first complaint that American migrants have in Germany.

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MikeyG
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

(Not) a fun fact: The USA consumes more energy each year for air conditioning than the rest of the world combined, and in fact more electricity for cooling than the entire continent of Africa uses for ALL purposes.

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#19

30 Things Americans Can't Seem To Live Without, As Observed By Non-Americans Guns, walmart, and deep friers

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#20

30 Things Americans Can't Seem To Live Without, As Observed By Non-Americans Soda pop. Spent some time in the southwest. Everyone had these enormous refillable beverage containers they would refill with soft drinks multiple times a day. While I agree it is important to stay hydrated, the jugs i saw held 1.75 quarts, and that much fountain drink could contain more than 200 grams of sugar.


LOUDCO-HD , Mike Mozart Report

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Helen Haley
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Caffeine. It is the only reason any of us are awake. We don't take vacations, and our sleep patterns suck. Ergo, caffeine obsession.

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#21

30 Things Americans Can't Seem To Live Without, As Observed By Non-Americans Garburators, garbage disposal. Every time an American was house hunting on House Hunters International, the Americans always wanted a garburator and would be disappointed if the kitchens didn't have one.

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Awkward Manatee
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have never heard the word Garburator before and uh wow I like it much better than garbage disposal.

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#22

Fahrenheit... it’s such nonsense. Celsius is where it’s at!

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Martha Meyer
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I think both of these systems are equally arbitrary. That's why scientists use Kelvin.

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#23

30 Things Americans Can't Seem To Live Without, As Observed By Non-Americans A credit card. Not sure why people use it over there, possibly because of their weird credit system that seems to be so essential to their lives, or because of their even weirder mindset of liking to spend money they don't have. Probably both.

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aj B
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The system is an issue, first car I bought was told no credit score, aka living within your means was a red flag and I'd need a cosigner.

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#24

30 Things Americans Can't Seem To Live Without, As Observed By Non-Americans Ice. What's the deal with ice machines and them being such a big deal in any TV show or movie set in a hotel or motel?

halfshoe , Mike Mozart Report

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Foxxy (The Original)
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

These people must live somewhere with a cool climate coz we have ice machines all over the place from petrol stations, supermarkets and bottle-o's etc

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#25

30 Things Americans Can't Seem To Live Without, As Observed By Non-Americans Paper plates. Used in your own home? That’s quite bizarre to me.

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#26

Military.

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#27

Loans or debts of some sort, especially in their younger years. And i think Americans literally can't live without insurance.

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Helen Haley
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We'd love to live without loans and debt, but for the majority, if you want a job you need a car which needs a loan. You want a job that pays an almost living wage? You need an education, for an education, you need a loan.

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#28

30 Things Americans Can't Seem To Live Without, As Observed By Non-Americans Red solo cups, they are such an American thing

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#29

30 Things Americans Can't Seem To Live Without, As Observed By Non-Americans Cheddar cheese, and jumbo everything

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IlovemydogShilo
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Cheddar cheese is a big deal in the UK too. After all it comes from the town of Cheddar in Somerset, England.

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#30

Automatic transmissions.

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Kirsten Kerkhof
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I drive a car with manual transmission (I'm in Europe), but I have no problem with automatic transmissions. They just make driving easier and more inclusive. Similarly, IMO there are no brownie points for being able to drive a manual. It's just a car. Drive what works best for you.

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