Get Premium
Dark mode theme is available exclusively for premium users. Learn more about the benefits of subscribing.
No fees, cancel anytime.
Dark Mode 
No fees, cancel anytime 
then open in external browser
and click "Open in External Browser" 
“Free Toilets Everywhere”: 30 Interesting Facts About The US People Understand Only After Visiting
With the internet, it seems that you can learn about everything you wish. And that's partially true — you indeed can learn a lot online on various topics. Yet, sometimes there are things you can only fully comprehend in real life.
Like certain cultural aspects of a country — it's one thing to read about them online, but it's a whole different thing to experience them in reality. Today, we prepped you a full-blown list of things that you can comprehend only after visiting the United States. So, let's jump in to see what they are, shall we?
More info: Reddit
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
How amazing the national parks are.
Mel in Georgia 5 months ago
It's one thing we're so blessed with. DON'T MESS WITH OUR PARKS, TRUMP!
RELATED:
#3
Distances -- No, you cannot go to New York City, Disneyworld, the Grand Canyon, and Yosemite in a week.
We don’t have to tell you that traveling is not only fun, but also a meaningful way for a person to spend both their time and money. In fact, Eric Weiner in this National Geographic article argues that traveling should be considered “an essential human activity.”
He explains that it’s not natural for humans to be sedentary, because “travel is in our genes.” After all, ever since the beginning of humanity, since hunter-gatherer times, moving has been inherent to people.
#5
How so many people are so poorly educated.
#6
When I visited the USA for the first time I was absolutely shocked at the amount of homelessness. I’d never in my life seen anything like it and I’ve traveled to third world countries. It was really confronting and unbelievably depressing.
Also they still use faxes.
Back in the hunter-gathering days, people moved out of convenience, for safety. With humanity evolving, more purposes of traveling opened up. Now, people travel for work, for relaxation, for exploration, and many other reasons. And all of them are equally significant.
Traveling brings a lot of benefits to one’s life. For instance, it can open up career opportunities that wouldn’t be possible if a person stayed in one place. Or language learning in a cultural setting, instead of simply doing it theoretically. Not to mention personal growth and lasting memories.
#7
Appetizers in restaurants are often enough for a main course.
There are truly breathtaking natural places and amazing indie musical scenes.
Also people are a lot nicer than we Canadians usually think. .
#8
The variety of American cuisines and dishes, such as diffetent barbewue tyoes, Tex-Mex, Cajun, Carolina seafood boils, Maryland crabcakes, etc.
Avoid fast food and chains, go for the real stuff.
#9
Free toilets everywhere.
There’s also another benefit of traveling – learning about cultures and gaining appreciation for diversity. At the same time, some people shy away from traveling to certain countries because they believe they know too little about the culture. They’re scared of getting negative attention from locals due to their cluelessness about certain important things.
But do you really need to be a country’s cultural expert before going there? Well, technically, you do not. The thing is that every country is different, which means that not every country has strict cultural rules they expect even of tourists. Yet, reading up about it at least a little before visiting a place is always helpful - better to be in the know than be completely oblivious.
#10
That virtually all tourist attractions, including museums, are free in Washington DC.
#11
I think even people who live here underestimate the geographic diversity of the country. The Northeast and Southwest almost feel like different planets, let alone different regions.
LooseSeal's $10 Banana 5 months ago
Too true. I (a white man from the South) often feel that I have more in common with black people from the South than with people from other areas. We use the same idioms, eat the same foods, share local traditions, etc.
Simultaneously, sometimes you can’t simply learn certain things about a country without visiting it. Some things become apparent only by practice, not theory. Let’s take items on today’s list as examples.
Granted, all of them are solely about the United States, but we just didn’t want to jump around from country to country and decided to focus on only one place. The fact that there’s a whole viral Reddit thread about this exact topic helped us to fulfill this vision.
#14
How much country isn't populated. I thought there would just be people everywhere but just mainly on the coast(s).
Nikki Sevven 5 months ago
In some areas, you can drive for hundreds of kilometers without seeing another human being (not where I live, though). Population density map of the US: https://maps.geo.census.gov/ddmv/map.html
#15
There's an overabundance of advertising nearly everywhere you go.
Nikki Sevven 5 months ago
Some states are working to change this. Vermont, for example, has banned billboards altogether, which makes driving through Vermont much better as you can focus on the uninterrupted scenery.
As the submissions in this list reveal, apparently, there are plenty of things you can’t fully comprehend before setting foot in the US. Like the distances between places – you can understand they aren’t short, but only when you have to travel them, it daunts you how great they really are.
Similarly, with sizes of things, from packages to houses – it’s something you have to witness firsthand to understand, no retelling will ever do it justice. Without spoiling much else, we leave you to learn about the rest of the things yourself. Just don’t forget to upvote and maybe share additional examples, if you have any!
#16
Things are big. Cars. Houses. Buildings. I don’t mean tall buildings. I mean very, very wide. They take up lots of space. I never noticed it until I visited other countries when I was around nine and saw how small cars and buildings and homes were. Especially Japan.
Mel in Georgia 5 months ago
Big yards, too. It's pretty ridiculous, but we love our big green lawns.
#17
I've lived overseas for almost 20 years, and what I've noticed is that in America, when you see someone being a d**k or disturbing others in public, the surrounding witnesses often band together and speak up or take action to call out the offender/get authorities involved etc.
When I've witnessed d*****h behavior in other countries (around Europe and Asia), people tend to stay quiet, mind their own business and not get involved.
For example: We were in Spain, and there was a drunk homeless guy going around a cafe, asking people for money. He fell into a lady holding her baby at one table. Her partner asked the homeless guy to leave, and he wouldn't leave them alone.
He started picking a fight with the partner, making a scene, then he pretended to have injured himself and demanded money from this couple.
No one did or said anything! Even the staff at the cafe where this took place. They all just ignored this drunk man harassing this family.
#19
People really are that fat.
Nikki Sevven 5 months ago
As a postmenopausal woman who has gained visceral fat that's impossible to dislodge, I feel like a supermodel when I go out in public. Some of the obesity issue is due to stupidly large portion sizes, some to lack of nutritional education, and some to poverty.
#21
I found the class divides between upper and lower class to be rather apparent. One person seems totally normal then you talk to someone else who speaks as though they haven’t learned to read.
#22
That the roads are poorly maintained.
Jonas Fisher 4 months ago
In a country as large as the US, that's a situational observation. Some roads are excellent, some are crappy.
#23
The amount of choices we have in the grocery store are incredible. That and the amount of food waste.
#24
You won’t get shot as you leave the airport.
#25
How many religious billboards are around. I didn't realize it until we had family visiting from overseas.
ETA reference as to some of their locations, as it seems a lot of people have not been subjected to them.
https://83fortruth.org/billboard-locations/.
#26
The massive gaps in the bathroom cubicle doors!
K_Tx 4 months ago (edited)
I don't particularly like the gaps but unless the door is seriously out of place, you just do your thing and go. It cracks me up when people from other places talk about their nud3, topl3ss, etc. beaches or walk around in barely-there clothing while whimpering about a door gap. There is typically NOT someone trying to peak at you. If you meet someone's eye while they or you are indisposed, smike and wave... and add sixty seconds to your throne time.
Uncle Schmickle 4 months ago
As long as there ARE doors on the cubicles. When I lived there in the early '70s, some toilets didn't even have doors ! Horrible.
Lady Chelsea (LadyChelseaoftheVoid) 4 months ago
its allegedly so to check for o******e victims
Beth Wheeler 4 months ago
Yes and we hate them! It's great when you go into a stall that doesn't have gaps in the doors.
SchadenFreudian Psychology 4 months ago
The various businesses involved in setting up restrooms cut corners and go cheap as much as they can. They’re too stingy to spend the money to make nicer restrooms.
nottheactualphoto 4 months ago
If the restroom is too nice, you might spend too much time there. Get back to work!
Load More Replies...
#27
Every pedestrian will wave at you when you drive by and you must wave back, it doesn't matter if you know each other.
I'm exaggerating but still.
#28
The REAL USA isn’t like what social media, movies, and the news portray.
Neighbor to neighbor, people get along and are kind to one another. Very few cops shoot black or brown people for sport. People don’t walk around toting guns waiting to k**l each other. There are very few riots.
It’s huge and spread out. City to city and state to state is different culturally and otherwise.
Kids don’t shiver in fear all day waiting for a school shooter to k**l them.
Michael Largey 5 months ago
"Very few cops shoot black or brown people for sport." Even if true, a few is too many. And the horror is how many people are indifferent or even supportive of it. "Kids don’t shiver in fear all day waiting for a school shooter to k**l them." As a teacher, I can tell you that it is never completely out of the mind of students and staff - and rightly so.
#29
How scrumptious my Aunt Edith’s blueberry grunt is, especially when hot off the stove and topped with fresh whipped cream from my cousin’s dairy farm near Skowhegan.
Explore more of these tags
What do you think ?
Susie Elle 4 months ago (edited)
I would love to visit the States, especially the deep south and the northwest/west
Pheebs 4 months ago
Honestly, every region has great things to see and do.
Load More Replies...
Uncle Schmickle 4 months ago
The number of American flags . We don't do this in Oz and I haven't seen it in Europe.
Mel in Georgia 5 months ago
I asked this question to a widely traveled European. He said that we were remarkably polite drivers. That was a surprise to me!
Pheebs 4 months ago
We have our jerks, but for the most part people want to get from A to B with as little hassle as possible so mostly follow the driving laws. I say mostly, as most of us have a slightly heavy foot for the go pedal.
Load More Replies...
Roberta Surprenant 4 months ago
After visiting Europe, I truly realized how exceptional the USA is. We can travel 3K miles (or more) with common language, laws, and currency.
Becky Samuel 4 months ago
Both are eaually correct. There's no point getting shouty about common usage.
Load More Replies... Susie Elle 4 months ago (edited)
I would love to visit the States, especially the deep south and the northwest/west
Pheebs 4 months ago
Honestly, every region has great things to see and do.
Load More Replies... Uncle Schmickle 4 months ago
The number of American flags . We don't do this in Oz and I haven't seen it in Europe.
Mel in Georgia 5 months ago
I asked this question to a widely traveled European. He said that we were remarkably polite drivers. That was a surprise to me!
Pheebs 4 months ago
We have our jerks, but for the most part people want to get from A to B with as little hassle as possible so mostly follow the driving laws. I say mostly, as most of us have a slightly heavy foot for the go pedal.
Load More Replies... Roberta Surprenant 4 months ago
After visiting Europe, I truly realized how exceptional the USA is. We can travel 3K miles (or more) with common language, laws, and currency.
Becky Samuel 4 months ago
Both are eaually correct. There's no point getting shouty about common usage.
Load More Replies... You May Like From Famously Dangerous To Surprising, Here Are 50 Destinations That Solo Women Travelers Didn’t Find Safe 39 Travel Facts From Around The Globe The Best Travel Shows To Fulfill Your Wanderlust Needs
Ilona Baliūnaitė
Žydrūnė Trukanavičiūtė
Viltė Domkutė
Related on Bored Panda
