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The United States attracts many visitors. For example, in 2019, over 79 million international tourists came to the country, making it the number-three most popular choice, behind only France and Spain.

But whether we're talking about natural parks or busy cities, there are some "unwritten rules" that everyone should know. And that includes travelers, not just locals. So it pays to do your homework.

For our first assignment, let's go through the comments under a post on the subreddit r/AskAnAmerican, where a now-deleted user asked people to share these customs.

#1

30 Things You Should Never Do In The United States, According To Americans Don’t get sick. Our healthcare will cost you a fortune.

HighDruid , Marcelo Leal Report

#2

30 Things You Should Never Do In The United States, According To Americans Do not cut in line. We are not British, we won't just shake our heads and mutter under our breath. Americans will absolutely start a fight over line cutting. It will become a whole big thing, people will film it on their phones, and boom! There you are all over [internet], getting beat up because you couldn't just wait your turn in line for a few minutes

iamnoking , Melanie Pongratz Report

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Jayne Kyra
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Internet? The original says "Reddit". At least acknowledge when taking content from other sites. Edit: For those confused, I am talking about this specific image where they replaced the word "Reddit" with the word "Internet".

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#3

30 Things You Should Never Do In The United States, According To Americans Don't wear the red hats.

bighead1008 , Natilyn Hicks (Aubrey Hicks Photography) Report

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Thorfin Wolfsbane
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Actually we prefer they wear them. It helps us identify who the easily duped morons are.

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#4

30 Things You Should Never Do In The United States, According To Americans The word c*nt is lot more offensive in the US (and Canada) than in other English-speaking nations. Don’t use it casually

Aceofkings9 , Chandra Oh Report

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Shane S
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Also calling someone a pedo. I see that a lot in British tv and movies and of course it’s an insult, but here it has serious implications. If you call someone that, you truly mean it and it can get someone beat up or attract the attention of law enforcement. It’s never said as an offhand comment here.

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#5

30 Things You Should Never Do In The United States, According To Americans That whole trespassers will be shot thing is not a joke

Tatnatnat , Bjorn Pierre Report

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Leo Domitrix
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Since someone commented: What, nobody ignores fences? LOL. Yeah, no. They do. They also ignore no-jaywalking signs in other places.

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#6

30 Things You Should Never Do In The United States, According To Americans The price marked on the shelf does not include taxes. What you see is not what you pay.

Traegs_ , Phil Aicken Report

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Saico Hipe
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Except in Oregon! I just moved here a few months ago and was pleasantly surprised to find that there is NO sales tax on anything! The price on the shelf/sticker/menu etc. is what you actually pay. It's pretty sweet

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#7

30 Things You Should Never Do In The United States, According To Americans 21 is the Legal Drinking Age. Don't try to reason convince the bartender that it's 18 back "home". It's not that they're being difficult just to be difficult. Their jobs and possibly the liquor license of the establishment (which is super extremely incredibly crazily difficult to get in some places) could be revoked over something as small as this.

huazzy , Michael Discenza Report

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JJ
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I visited the US at the age of 18 and saw a girl my age take a sip of beer from her older friend at a concert. She was led outside. I turned to my bf and said, "This feels crazy to me. Back home I would be legally allowed to buy alcohol and drink myself to coma at the age of 16 and here I couldn't even take a sip if I wanted to." Not that I think it's a great idea to sell alcohol to 16-year-old. It just felt crazy.

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#8

30 Things You Should Never Do In The United States, According To Americans Don't dine at a sit down/table service restaurant and not tip just to make a point.

Not the way things are done in your country? Great! Part of the fun of travel is experiencing other cultures. You should embrace the opportunity to experience our primitive way of life first hand.

changeant , Priscilla Du Preez Report

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Rachel Peterson
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The fact is that it's not just the 'culture' but it's also (mostly?) the fact that servers and waitstaff SURVIVE on those tips because of screwed up laws allowing food service businesses to pay them super-low wages (like $2.00/hour).

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#9

30 Things You Should Never Do In The United States, According To Americans Back in my MMO days a scottish friend of mine went to Atlanta once and called a black guy 'boy'. I guess you just call people boy in Scotland?

Yeah but do not call black people boy. Its perceived as racist / talking down to them and its a good way to get in a fight. Especially in the South

LordMackie , Nico Marks Report

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Wang Zhuang
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yeah, as a black American, I can tell you that calling a black man "boy", however innocent it may seem, can cause some problems. Best to avoid it.

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#10

30 Things You Should Never Do In The United States, According To Americans Don't take selfies at memorials honoring the dead.

I just about threw up from all the selfie sticks at the world trade center memorial in NY.

Osgreat , Axel Houmadi Report

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#11

30 Things You Should Never Do In The United States, According To Americans NEVER pass an unloading school bus. When those stop signs flap out, you've got to wait until those little crotch goblins get off the bus until you even think of moving again. Whether it's hitting a pedestrian child, getting a nasty ticket, or just the absolute looks of disgust you'll warrant, it won't be worth it.

tyfroidfever , Joshua Hoehne Report

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Wang Zhuang
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yes! Many tourists may not realize this, but it's very important. Traffic on both sides of the street must stop when a school bus flashes its lights and the stop sign on the side of the bus pops out. This is to ensure children's safety.

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#12

30 Things You Should Never Do In The United States, According To Americans Don't complain that taxes aren't included in the price. I know it's annoying, but the poor souls who have to work retail didn't set U.S. tax policy.

kinkachou Report

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Dave P
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is due to in the olden days before computerized inventory systems you had to calculate federal, state, and local taxes. It was easier to calculate after total purchase than before. We just havent changed

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#13

30 Things You Should Never Do In The United States, According To Americans If you're driving and get pulled over, DO NOT get out of the car. Roll down your window and wait for the police officer to walk up to your car. Keep your hands visible (resting on the steering wheel).

g00ber88 , Erik Mclean Report

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AlanandLeila Hoyt
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Absolutely. They will think you are coming after them with a weapon or something (which of course does happen). I made the mistake of getting out once and got his gun drawn on me pretty quickly.

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#14

30 Things You Should Never Do In The United States, According To Americans Don’t f**king use racial slurs. Good lord, I work in the service industry with lots of people from China and they’ll just say the N-word with the hard R (or just s**tty racist stuff in general) and will be confused as to why people get pissed off.

While America’s race relations are strained at best, it’s completely unacceptable to voice your racist opinions in public. If you choose to do it anyway, you will be completely ostracized - and any people who are accepting of it are probably s**tty racists themselves. Yikes.

erbarme , Priscilla Du Preez Report

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Potato Panda
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The Chinese guys may have been using the Chinese word “那个” instead of the N word It sounds similar but there’s absolutely no connection

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#15

30 Things You Should Never Do In The United States, According To Americans Treat wildlife with respect, you will see it everywhere and it is generally dangerous or can kill you.

Dont try a selfie with a Bear or Buffalo

Badlands32 , Zdeněk Macháček Report

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ZAPanda
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

shhhhhh don't give it away we are trying to thin out their numbers - dumbasses i mean.

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#16

30 Things You Should Never Do In The United States, According To Americans There's 330 million of us. Saying something like "I heard Americans like/dislike," is almost always going to be met with a grain of salt/resentment

grizzfan , Jan Folwarczny Report

#17

30 Things You Should Never Do In The United States, According To Americans Don't talk down to people in service industries. They work for the company and not for you. They are not servants, and they deserve respect and decency

purecainsugar , Louis Hansel Report

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Dodo
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

From all the US-based stories floating around online, I think it's your fellow countrymen you need to tell this to, not foreigners.

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#18

30 Things You Should Never Do In The United States, According To Americans Don't go to dangerous neighborhoods because you saw them on TV.

Not a foreign visitor, but a naive friend from Colorado came to visit in California and wanted to see the gangs on Crenshaw in South Central L.A. because he'd seen it on some cop show.

Yeah, no, we're not driving through the 'hood so you can take pictures of the thugs and poor people. He's a Latino guy, too, so the last thing I needed was someone thinking he was cruising and looking for a fight.

WellLatteDa , Carlos Report

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Sandeep Jani
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

These are neighborhoods where people live and work hard to survive. This is not a zoo

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RoseTheMad
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Ok but this is disrespectful af - yea the neighborhoods may have a lot of crime/gangs, but in a good amount of cases, the kids in these neighborhoods grow up around that and don't know any different, much like how it is in prison, your gang is also your protection, too. It's actually really sad tbh, and whilst I'm not even American, I do believe more should be done about it to give those kids a better chance in life than growing up a "gangster" .-.

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Two_rolling_black_eyes
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

There's a tourbus company called LA Hood Life Tourz that will fill one up and take you through Compton, Crenshaw, and all of the other neighborhoods you've seen in the movies and music for $85. There used to be several but Hood Life pretty much has a stranglehold on them now. They got that way because its a black owned, almost exclusively black staffed company and they give a good chunk of the $85 to the communities. It has some goodwill that the other companies didn't have. There's still many who feel its exploitation but there's others who see it as the community helping itself.

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Marcellus II
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"But in Brasil I paid for a tour of the Favelas" --- yes, you can do that but mostly because the gangs know how bad for business it is when they kill a white person.

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phil blanque
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

is there a word for cultureexploitationtravel. There should be. It is rampant.. Anybody got ideas?

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Molly
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Same in Chicago, if you see people rolling through red lights to avoid stopping at a certain intersection then you should too.

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DazB
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Pretty much like the tourists in Brazil that want to go for a favela tour

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Thomas Sweda
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Really want to have fun ? Drive through Chicago’s west side, and make varied hand and finger gestures. They love that !

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Angela Jester
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Poor neighborhoods and small Southern towns are not zoos. We're not a tourist attraction.

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

As with most cities, there are places to avoid. Hate that it's true, but it is.

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Tee Witt
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

These areas should not exist where people are afraid of just going through.

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Craig!
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Anyone who has actually lived in bad neighborhoods knows no one will care if you visit. This entry is racist. No one is going to care if you hope off the freeway to go to Walmart in a bad area.

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Valley Girl
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

What? Thugs don't like you to drive down their block and take their photo? Whoda thunk it?

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A
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I wish gps apps would have an option to avoid high crime areas.

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Jp@nda
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Really? So you want it to roll up your windows and lock your doors for you too? Perhaps it can tell you the demographics of the area as well, that might make your choice a little easier

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RU Sirius
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

A country of freedom? Really? The global policeman? Indeed? Ha-ha

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Wang Zhuang
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You kinda deserve what you get it you intentionally go to areas you know are dangerous just to check them out. If you absolutely must go, just be aware of your surroundings at all time.

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John L
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And don't do the same in certain rich neighborhoods, if you aren't white. I went to LA for work and some of the guys I was working with there took me around the rich, famous houses in LA. We only made a short one pass trip highlighting stars houses. The guy driving apologized and said three white guys and a black guy driving around these neighborhoods will get pulled over after a while.

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Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa)
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Creepiest people I ever went were in Hollywood. East LA, Compton, not a problem for me, but Hollywood... So many creepy crack heads.

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CbusResident
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yeah, my fellow white liberal Americans are all 'BLM this!" and 'BLM that' on social media. But where do us white liberal Americans actually live? Would any of us ever actually live in a mostly black-working-class area (aka the hood or ghetto)? 99.9% of the time we refuse to ever really consider it. When it comes to where we live, we're basically as segregated as the white, suburban and rural conservatives.

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LetsGoBrandon
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Don't visit ANY liberal socialist demonrat controlled cesspool! They are ALL dangerous!!

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HarriMissesScotland
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Don't visit Florida because Brandon is here. And the state is ruled by Republican morons. For the 1st time today, DeathSantis lost in his bid to redistrict 1 area into 5. It was to make it easier for Republicans' to vote and harder for the poor and disenfranchised to vote.

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#19

30 Things You Should Never Do In The United States, According To Americans Smell bad. It sounds like a joke, but Americans are really unaccepting of any type of BO. We (probably) won’t actually say anything to you, but we will automatically dislike you.

Wand_Cloak_Stone , Aqua Mechanical Report

#20

30 Things You Should Never Do In The United States, According To Americans I spent a bit of time abroad with people foreign to the US

Pointing is VERY rude! My one friend (from Thailand) would always point to people when speaking about them. It was just very uncomfortable and I didn’t realize it was part of the social structure here until she was doing it everywhere lol. Don’t point at complete strangers and talk about them, you may end up starting a fight

The American South, while known probably to some for being racist, is VERY VERY big into politeness and manners.

Generally do things like hold the door open for others, a cashier may ask you “hi how are you” just answer “good, how are you?” Or “I’m okay, how are you” but whatever you answer remember to return the ask. Always say please and thank you. If you make eye contact with a stranger give a smile and a nod. Unless they say hi, then say hi back. I also tend to end conversations with people by saying “have a good one” if meeting somebody (more of a professional thing) when shaking hands, let the person who initiated the handshake introduce themselves first.

Also Americans tend to be very friendly and will strike up conversations with people, don’t be afraid to chat, just don’t bring up politics

Lordofravioli , Nicholas Jeffries Report

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Britton Raymond
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I am so damn tired of ya'll bashing the American south about racism. We can be talking about fried chicken and you all can still somehow manage to bring up racism. We are talking about manners and the first thing yall bring up is racism. We are not all racist and we are tired of being labeled as such. We do have some racist people down here, but so does every place on the planet.

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#21

30 Things You Should Never Do In The United States, According To Americans Don't sit around for hours in a restaurant after eating. The wait staff get fussy

reddit , kayleigh harrington Report

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Trillian
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

One reason why I hate dining out in the US. The staff will bring the bill the minute they see you chew the last bite. It is so rushed und uncomfortable. Plus it‘s expensive and tax and service are not even included yet.

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#23

Americans are about personal bubbles. If you're a stranger, keep an arms distance when conversing with an American. If you are familiar with them, keep an elbows distance. And lastly, unless you are extremely familiar with them, do not touch except for a handshake. We're like the Swedish, but louder.

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Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa)
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Goes double for braids/dreadlocks/spikes. DO NOT EVER feel someone's hair. Don't even ask. It's crazy rude here.

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#24

30 Things You Should Never Do In The United States, According To Americans Don’t try to make it cross country in a day. Especially during extreme weather

reddit , Clay Banks Report

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King Kashue
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"Especially during extreme weather"? As if it's some remote possibility otherwise but the weather makes it a 0%? It's more 2700 miles. Even driving for literally every single second, "cross country in a day" would require an *average* speed of around 115 miles per hour - that number goes up with stops for gas, food, toilet breaks, etc. The Cannonball run record - i.e., the stupidly illegal trip undertaken by people pouring significant resources into it (at least in the modern attempts) is 25 hours 39 minutes. Literally no one has ever done that in a 'single day.'

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#25

30 Things You Should Never Do In The United States, According To Americans You can buy alcohol in any store in town but you will get the long d*ck of the law if you open that puppy up in public

reddit , Miguel Ausejo Report

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Scagsy
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

What about if it's wrapped in a brown paper bag, like in the movies?

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#26

30 Things You Should Never Do In The United States, According To Americans If you are driving, don't forget that you can make a right turn on a red light, and if you get pulled over by a cop, being friendly/respectful can go a looooooong way

reddit , Mehmet Ali Turan Report

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D K
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

When pulled over by a cop, roll the window down and keep your hands on the wheel where they can see them. Be polite. I would go as far as saying “my license/registration/insurance” or whatever they are asking for are “in my wallet/glove compartment” etc, “may I reach out and get those?”

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#27

30 Things You Should Never Do In The United States, According To Americans Restaurants and stores will take your cards. I know, it is weird. You lose sight of it. If you do not want that to happen have cash prepared.

avocadosoneverything , Clay Banks Report

#28

30 Things You Should Never Do In The United States, According To Americans We Americans love foreign visitors and we will pepper you with questions, ask about your language, culture, almost really intrusive questions. Some might even try to relate to you on some level because we Americans are taught that the United States is a melting pot and we all have distant relatives in other countries. For the Irish, English, Scottish, and German; do not be shocked or offended if an American says "Oh! I'm insert heritage too!"

Kcb1986 , Mimi Thian Report

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Dodo
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If you said 'I have Irish heritage too!' there wouldn't be an issue. The fact that you mostly say it as 'Hey, I'm Irish too!' is the offensive part. You're not Irish. You're American. Your great-great-granddaddy was Irish. (Edit: Changed 'English heritage' to 'Irish heritage' as people really seem to be misunderstanding what I'm saying and this is the only thing I can think might be tripping them up)

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#29

For the love of god please just go the speed limit, and NEVER stop in the middle of the road no matter where you are

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Thorfin Wolfsbane
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In America is best to think of the speed limit as the slowest you can go without being a nuisance.

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#30

30 Things You Should Never Do In The United States, According To Americans A few from personal accounts of people I know.

Do not think it's acceptable to bribe someone in authority. It's not even a joking matter in the U.S. I grew up in a country where it was an unwritten rule that these things could be "negotiated" and there were tell-tale signs to know whether said authority was open to it.

Coworker of mine knows a guy (comes from a European country where this is common place) that was in the U.S and had to be escorted out of a shopping mall because he cat-called a group of girls... who also happened to be underage. Yeah, that's a no go here. Maybe it will be tolerated at a night club, but in public? You'll likely face repercussions. It's just not culturally acceptable. (Note: that's not to say it doesn't happen in the U.S - as I know it's a problem in a lot of major cities).

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