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From a fried chicken sandwich using chicken instead of bread, to free refills and no sidewalks, America really likes to do things differently. However, if you’ve never left the US of A, you might think that this is by and large just how things are. So it can be helpful to get an outsider’s perspective, one way or the other.
People online share the things Americans think are pretty normal but would be absolutely weird elsewhere and we’ve gathered the best examples. So get comfy as you scroll through, upvote your favorites and be sure to add your own thoughts and stories in the comments below.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Donate money to the political career of billionaires.
"pLeaSe dOnAte tO mY reElEctIoN"
You're worth $2.5B and I'm trying to save $0.30 on groceries, donate to it yourself, fu**face.
Michael Largey 10 months ago
You don't accumulate $2.5B by paying your own bills.
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Kabuki Kitsune 10 months ago
Federal laws actually make it difficult for a politician to use their own money on a campaign. Specifically, if the candidate is married, then they have to prove that any of the donated money had zero ties to the spouse. When you have 'mixed money', so money that is jointly held by the candidate and spouse, legally, that can't be donated. Well, sort of. There is a way, but it's complicated. If the candidate’s financial interest in an asset is not specified, then the candidate’s share is deemed to be half the value. That's for joint 'mixed money' situations. Basically, it's VERY difficult to self fund an election, so they have to turn to donations to make the process easier.
Michael Largey 10 months ago
What you say may be true if the candidate is accepting Federal funding. But outside of that, the Supreme Court decision Buckley v. Valeo, 424 U.S. 1 (1976) generally applies. It - in part - stated that restricting a candidate's expenditure of his own money for his own campaign constituted an abridgement of his free speech rights since there was no question of a conflict of interest. (Someone else's contribution might constitute bribery, but you can't bribe yourself.)
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RELATED:
#2
I always find the sentence "the likelihood to die in a school shooting is ridiculously low" very irritating.
It shouldn't be low. It should be nonexistent.
Kris 10 months ago
in 2024 there were 83 school shooting in the US in 2024 and more than 488 mass shooting. Being common makes it Normal because they would rather protect the gun than the child.
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Forrest Hobbs 10 months ago
The likelihood of dying in a schoot shooting is indeed very low. Go to school in Canada, Europe, Japan, Botswana, Argentina - any number of far, far safer countries. Anywhere but the USA and a few other countries blighted by severe violence.
quentariel 10 months ago
Shootings and acts of violence happen everywhere, but gun laws make a big difference. I might have died twice if our laws were different. A psycho wanting to hurt people gets much more damage done with gun (not to mention automatic) than with a knife. And threatening people with a grenade shell is just as scary, but gives you relief later when you realise nothing would have happened with it. (And yes, I live in the world's happiest and one of the safest country, I'm just a danger magnet).
Forrest Hobbs 10 months ago
It's not the mass shootings in the US that are the problem. The problem is that on average in the US there's a little over 1 person shot dead every 15 minutes - that's averaged over every hour and every day. Mass shootings and attacks on schools are a tiny part of the total.
Load More Replies... Kabuki Kitsune 10 months ago
Honestly, this is no different than the saying "There is a better than zero chance you will be mauled to death by a penguin. However the chance is never zero."
Maximus 10 months ago
You really wanna compare shooting numbers between Canada and US??? One side clearly upheld gun control while the other kept making excuses to arm the same people commiting those shootings.
Load More Replies... #3
Simultaneously being extremly prudish and sexualized.
JohnCavil:
Americans are the only ones ive ever seen who will sexualize so many things and kind of be obsessed with s*x while also being freaked out when they see a naked body, like at the beach or something.
Like they wont sit in a sauna naked, completely non sexualized, but they will just openly sexualize everyday things.
The shortest shorts and smallest bikinis i've ever seen was in America. Like buttcheeks hanging out at the mall. But show a nipple and they freak out. It's so strange.
Noname 10 months ago
It's also how religion shames women, because it's all woman's fault that men can't control their sexual urges.
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Michael Largey 10 months ago
It's not a contradiction. Prudery is sexualization. Prudes see s*x in just about everything. They are the real s*x addicts.
Noname 10 months ago
In many Arab countries, a women must cover up head to toe for modesty, but it's the Americans who get attacked for being offended if a n****e is showing.
General Anaesthesia 10 months ago (edited)
It's gotten to the point that certain Americans have to compare the US to backward misogynist countries to defend their own religious very unchristian wacko-ry.
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Severus S 10 months ago
Sorry but have you ever met a certain type of Muslim from Syria, Afghanistan or Iraq etc? Iran just lowered the age of marriage to 9 for girls. If they die killing non muslims they get 72 virgins to pleasure them in heaven they, can have 4 wives, take women as s'x slaves, their entire religion is based around s'x. But their women are forced to cover up because they can't control themselves.
Dean H 10 months ago (edited)
You really have no clue about Islam then, what you're describing are cultural issues, not religious ones. Any country can use religion to change society to their own needs. Just like radical Christian conservatives in America.
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Michael P (Perthaussieguy) 10 months ago
Is it true that 'Hooters' restaurants are FAMILY restaurants? That seems strange to me.
Noname 10 months ago
Yes, and can you imagine how weird it is that Europeans claim that Americans are so prudish about nudity that they ignore this?
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Bored Retsuko 10 months ago
Yess! I sometimes see weird stuff on reddit, t-shirts, mugs, baby clothes, bumper stickers with tasteless s€xual references, especially about children. And I immediately know it's from the US.
#4
Go bankrupt paying medical bills.
F*****g insanity.
joomla00:
Very nervous and unwilling to go to the hospital.
HairWhipCEO:
From an American: "Because when we go to the ER, we wait four hours to be seen…for someone to treat us like drug-seekers…and then get charged thousands of dollars for it.
Roxy222uk 10 months ago
The first time I realised that the victims of mass shootings could then end up in debt for the rest of their lives paying for their medical treatment was a day I literally had to take a break from the world. What country with an economy and infrastructure like America would be so heartbreakingly cruel?
Billo66 10 months ago
I went to the ER for 4 years with back pain, 6 hours and sent home like a d**g seeker like you said. I told them I don't want pills just stop the pain. The last time I went I had pneumonia also, while doing X-Rays they found Multiple Myeloma cancer, in my back, right where I said it hurt for 4 years. They could have caught it sooner. Why would I drive all the way to the hospital to get high? I can do that here smh.
Michael Melfa 10 months ago
Truth in what HairWhipCEO said. Last year my wife was doubled over screaming. It's 10pm so we run to the hospital. After an hour in the waiting room with her crying, 5 minutes of drawing blood, another hour in the waiting room. Another 2 hours of being moved between triage rooms which included passive aggressive comments about pain and opiod usage, plus 3 attempts at putting an IV in her (first collapsed and the second was too small?). At 3am she finally got some pain relief and at 3:30 suddenly everyone is nicer with the attitude of "oh look you're not a druggy! Your appendix is about to burst, let's get you in surgery!" Surgery was a 5am, she was in post op and recovery at 6am. They kicked us out of the hospital at 10:30am. So yeah, my impression is you get treated like a d**g user or like it's a restaurant at peak hours and you need to turn over the table quickly.
Peeka_Mimi 10 months ago
Yeah. My daughter who's a preschool teacher, does not have insurance and was recently diagnosed with Stage 2 cancer. We are going to have to do a fundraiser. Grateful I live in a Blue State because at least for now, Medicaid will cover her, until El Naranja Culero cuts it, that is.
Michael Largey 10 months ago
“When a health insurance executive is confronted by a holdup man with a gun, he automatically hands over not only his money and jewelry but also his shirt and pants, because it doesn't occur to him that a robber might draw the line somewhere.”
#5
MM-DD-YY
It's the least useful date format ever.
Anony Mouse 10 months ago
The best date format for filing is YYMMDD. Files sorted in name order are also sorted in date order.
Rick Murray 10 months ago
Four digits for the year, please. We've already bodged around two digit years, and it may come and bite us in the a**e soon as some platforms consider numbers under 30 to be 20xx and numbers 30 and over to be 19xx. Not long to go until we see what ancient bit of software falls over.
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Kendall 10 months ago
When you say it out loud, it's exactly in that order. How does that make sense. That's like saying the phrase "today you are How" is the correct way to say the phrase "How are you today"?
Rick Murray 10 months ago
That's Americans. We'd say "the fourth of July" or the "first of April" or whatever.
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Andrew Keir 10 months ago
Or "12th of December, 1952". These things are ingrained but not necessarily logical
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#6
The evocation of God in politics always seems bizarre to me, especially when the separation of church and state is enshrined in the constitution.
I’ll hear a US politician talking about the economy or some such serious thing, and then suddenly they’re talking about what God wants them to do.
Trillian 10 months ago
Yes. Religion is like private parts. It's fine to have them and use them in consent but don't wave them in my face unless I asked for it.
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Michael Largey 10 months ago
Religion in political speeches serves two vital purposes. Controlling the naive and avoiding a discussion of the actual facts at issue.
Geoffrey Scott 10 months ago
There is no separation of church/state. It is not written anywhere in the Constitution. What we get so horribly wrong, and I have had intense discussions about this with professed Christians, is the ESTABLISHMENT of a religion. No, Doris, we cannot legally have a 'Christian nation', because it denigrates other faiths you decide are heretical. As God shakes his head..
Michael Largey 10 months ago
True. And hey Christians, they had no separation of chruch and state back in Judea and look how that turned out for Jesus.
Load More Replies... Kabuki Kitsune 10 months ago
The separation of church and state is NOT enshrined in the constitution. That is a myth. A popular one, but a myth none the less. All the constitution says is "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." The idea of separation of church and state originated with Roger Williams, a Puritan minister who founded Rhode Island, and was popularized by Thomas Jefferson in 1802. Jefferson used the metaphor of a "wall of separation" between church and state in a letter to the Danbury Baptist Association in 1802. However it is not something expressly stated, or enshrined in the constitution.
XenoMurph 10 months ago
The wording is clumsy, but the intent seems clear. There should be no established or prohibited religion in US politics. Congress shouldn't have a preference
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Crystalwitch60 10 months ago
God is not real lol it’s a work of fiction like the bible is using religion for wars n such is despicable
Lady Eowyn 10 months ago
As an American, this always bothers me. There does need to be more emphasis on the constitutional dictate of separation of church and state.
Pamelot 10 months ago
I am Christian but do find it ironic that our currency says, "In God we trust" but please keep it there. 💗
Michael Largey 10 months ago
Theodore Roosevelt opposed putting "In God We Trust" on the money, saying that he did not want to see the deity's name "on the medium of exchange in saloons and bordellos". He had it removed.
Load More Replies... #7
Thanking cops and soldiers for their service.
bentnotbroken96:
Frankly, it makes me uncomfortable. I am a veteran. I won't wear a pin or a hat that says I'm a veteran. My wife is much more proud of my service than I am. It was a job. It's done now.
Colleen Glim 10 months ago
I’m Canadian. This is weird. Do we thank firefighters or emts for their service? No. No we dont
Beef Brisket 10 months ago
They do this where I live in Canada. Heck, we thank everybody for their service, whether they're a bartender or a veteran or a nurse.
Mari 10 months ago
For me a soldier= firefighter= policeofficer= doctor= nurses= garbage men= gravediggers= any citizen who helps out in the community and takes responsability and helps others to make their lives better.
Dean H 10 months ago
You mean like fight a pointless war in a foreign country, murdering innocent civilians, then coming back home complaining about PTSD to a society that won't even pay veterans for their "service"?
Load More Replies... Peeka_Mimi 10 months ago
I'm a Veteran and I hate it when I'm thanked for my service. Want to thank me? Don't vote for the Orange Putrescence taking away my VA benefits.
Glen Ellyn 10 months ago
I thank those who served AND their families for the sacrifices they ALL made so the veteran could serve.
Phil Green 10 months ago
A very polite young man thanked me for my service, the other day. I explained that he needn't thank me, I made an oath to serve my country, something I did take very seriously, and told him I was also being paid.
#8
Guns. The culture around them. The stubbornness. The ease of availability. The huge number of mass shootings yet no one cares to change anything.
Geoffrey Scott 10 months ago
The 2nd was crafted in 1791. I refuse to accept the framers could have even CONCIEVED of a weapon such as revolver, let alone a weapon that could fire as fast as the trigger is pulled. The elegant solution is to say "You may have as many weapons as you wish, and they will be muzzle loaders". But the "Originalist" as written, views of the Supreme Court seem to make an exception in this case.
XenoMurph 10 months ago
It doesn't mention what TYPE of arms. Allowing handguns, but not allowing cannons, flamethrowers, or RPGs is unconstitutional. Does that go all the way to nukes?
Load More Replies... Phil Green 10 months ago
It is very strange, especially when you consider that those self-same people are all fired up about drag queens reading stories to children. No drag queen has yet done anything illegal, the various weird churches? Sure, so many pedophiles. Guns, so many school shootings. But drag queens? Not a chance.
#9
Flags on lawns, flags everywhere.
XenoMurph 10 months ago
Because it sets up the state as a form of religion. US is hyper patriotic, for so many they struggle to accept any criticism, that there is any better way to do things, that they can be anything other than No1. Ireland also tends to have a lot of flags, but in a very different way. It's a celebration of Celtic culture, music, personality. Ireland thinks it's equal to any country in the world. We tend to enjoy being Irish, and accept other people will enjoy thier cultures just as much. US flag flyers often think the USA is BETTER than, not equal to other nations. That's why it's differnt.
Load More Replies... Michael Largey 10 months ago (edited)
The false patriotism of flag-flying serves to relieve people of their actual duties as citizens.
#10
Taxes being added at the checkout.
I understand the logic behind why that happens, but at the same time it seems to be the sort of thing that could be fixed quite easily if the powers that be wanted it to be fixed.
Roxy222uk 10 months ago
The law in the UK is that the shelf edge price has to be the price that will be paid at the till
Load More Replies... Rick Murray 10 months ago
Same in France. What's marked on the shelf is the complete and total price. It doesn't matter what the tax(es) may be, it is all handled automatically by the till.
Load More Replies... Beef Brisket 10 months ago
Why is this considered America-only? While some product taxes in Canada are hidden in the shelf price (and there are many) the provincial and HST taxes are added at check-out. Many other countries do this too.
Patti 10 months ago
Some areas of the US have no sales tax. Sales taxes are voted on in each city, county or state and used to fund things that the people of each area find important. If we don’t like sales taxes we have the right to move someplace that they have none. We here in Arizona, when we make large purchases like cars will often find a city not too far off with lower taxes.
Pamelot 10 months ago
For example, my state of Florida has NO state taxes. That's why so many move here. 💗
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jacqui L 10 months ago
I think it's so they can hide actual taxes that they pay, they do it with so many hidden taxes and then tell the people "you have the lowest taxes of any country, that's why we can't do universal healthcare" whilst being one of the most highly taxed people. Just my thought.
Shortstuff 10 months ago
Hated this when visiting the States. Think you have a reasonably priced item, go to checkout, and it's not.
Mike Goslin 10 months ago
There are some (very minor) accounting cost savings by calculating tax at the checkout.
#11
Getting served plastic plates in a cafeteria.
She asked for porcelain plates and was looked at like she was crazy.
I have never seen any place serve one use plastic dishes in Germany.
When she explained that we use dishwashers to clean the used dishes in cafeterias the clerk was like, "huh, that doesn't sound like a bad idea".
In general, the amount of plastics used in the USA is just so crazy to me.
Boopsie 10 months ago
We use a ton of plastic. I just moved and the amount used to wrap my furniture was embarrassing.
ninjaTrashPandaBoom 10 months ago
Brought to you by Big Oil. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch and the North Atlantic Garbage Patch. Now microplastics to contaminate your body too!
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Rick Murray 10 months ago
If Germany is anything like France, all that single use plastic stuff has been banned. That's why you get those weird little trays and cups in McDonald's now when you eat in.
#12
Circumcision.
Nyarro:
This country in general is too f**king obsessed about what's going between people's legs.
Torben Møller-Nielsen 10 months ago
Child mutilation at its finest. Why not wait until the person is 18 and let them decide for themselves?
The Doom Song 10 months ago
Here is my question. If baby boys are born with a f******n then why oh why is circumcision a big deal. It is there for a reason. Leave it be.
Craig Reynolds 10 months ago
No sane, adult male is going to allow a knife anywhere near his junk.
Nannychachi 10 months ago (edited)
Retired nurse here. If I had a nickle for every p*nis that I've had to medicate to get the f*reskin pulled back on, I'd have alot of money. When not properly cleaned each day the skin just grows tighter and tighter over the tip until there's nothing showing except the urinary opening. And, sometimes even that's obscured. It's a painful and lengthy process for the patient that can take many days to accomplish. Dementia or an illness makes them incapable of cleaning themselves. Circumcision is the way to keep this from happening.
XenoMurph 10 months ago
You know there's BILLIONS of men out there without circumcision? I'm one. I'm fine thanks. Yes there can be issues. Also issues with eyes. Issues with feet. Issues with lungs. Chop em all off eh?
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Noname 10 months ago
Idk-- I never saw an uncut p***s until I met some European men. I know in the US that it's done for sanitary reasons, which seems strange if you don't wash properly, but men are men and, honestly, the uncut ones tend to have a funky smell because men don't usually wipe after peeing, and the few drops of urine that can't be helped stay under that skin.
WindySwede 10 months ago
or just learn to wash/dry them, thus having not reason to mutilating babies? 🤦♂️🤷♂️
Load More Replies... #13
I don't think they still do it but the pledging allegiance to the flag by school kids.
Big time north Korea vibes.
Michael Largey 10 months ago
I taught for forty years. Every day the pledge of allegiance came on over the school PA. I never said he words or even put my hand over my heart. I don't approve of the wording of the pledge, but more importantly it's nobody's d**n business but mine how I feel about my country.
FlagCityDiva 10 months ago
Yes, it was. I go to a meeting once a month where the pledge is said. Saying the pledge doesn't bother me. However, when I get to the "under God" I don't say that. I don't like putting God into my support of the country. I don't like to hear any mention of politics at church. I don't mind general statements such as asking me to pray for my country. But don't tell me God wants me to vote for a candidate or a bill.
Load More Replies... Jeffery Gorgonzola 10 months ago
Atp I school, I don't bother to pledge anymore. I just stand politely.
Beef Brisket 10 months ago
I don't think the U.S. and North Korea are really an apt comparison. . That's why you don't see anyone trying to immigrate to North Korea... : /
#14
Go fund me for basic health care costs.
Colleen Glim 10 months ago
Reasons why Canada will NEVER be the 51st state! Don’t f**k with my healthcare!
Nikole 10 months ago
There are SO many reasons! Trump and his handlers are insane!
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#15
Caring about school sports. In Europe nobody cares about some high school basket players.
El Cucuy 10 months ago
Unless their kid is on the team, I don't know a single American that cares about high school sports.
Mike Goslin 10 months ago
check out southern and central rural america. I went to high school in a town of 4000, and the high school football stadium (yea, stadium) held 5000, and it was full for every game.
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Carie Wilemon 10 months ago
We support all of our athletes from children, teenagers, Special Olympics… ALL AGES. Why not celebrate your child?
Huddo's sister 10 months ago
It's celebrating a team your child isn't on that's weird.
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#16
Commercial for a minor medical condition like Athlete’s Foot.
*Footage of a happy family enjoying the great outdoors while the overweight Dad smiles because his feet are fungus-free*
Voiceover: Side effects may include:
- Chronic n*b rot
- Impotence
- A**l cancer
- Testicular cancer
- Testicular warts
- Pancreatic cancer
- Heart palpitations
- Athlete’s foot
- Complete collapse of the Central Nervous System
- Rapid weight gain
- Depression
- Psychotic episodes
- Hair loss
- Rapid a**l hair gain
- Your n*b will probably fall off
- No one will like you
- Explosive diarrhoea in public spaces
- Instant death
- Inability to pass to the other side after death, so you may be doomed to roam the Earth as a lost soul for infinity.
Talk to your family Doctor about Footoxicil today!
-.
Scott Rackley 10 months ago
Don't forget bald tires, bad credit, and a whistling sound in your nose
A girl 10 months ago
Personally, an@l leakage and de@th are my major deterrents
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Sylvia Hinz 10 months ago
🤣 This. I am American and I don't understand this. The down votes are probably all Maga.
DeeDee M 10 months ago
I think all of the above everytime I see some b******t medication commercial for "mild to moderate" eczema.
Sarah Belt 10 months ago
Why are there so many of these ads? That and for psoriasis!
Load More Replies... Rick Murray 10 months ago
That's no different to looking up an ailment in a search engine. If you pull on the right electronic strings, everything (itchy eyeball, white line in nail, unexpected sneezes) will end up with you dying slowly and in great pain. So, unless for the lulz, don't look up symptoms online!
Lady Eowyn 10 months ago
Another pet peeve of mine - I do seem to have a lot, don't I? - is self-diagnosis via Dr. Google. There are reputable sites, like the Mayo Clinic or Johns Hopkins, but there is so much more c**p. If you read about symptoms, ask your doctor if there is real cause for alarm.
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Divado 10 months ago
A**l s*x, n*b and nipples. Bored Panda is like some alien nun. Surely no AI can be this sensitive? High censored too. We're gonna need d***s just to read these soon.
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#17
Forcing you to use vacation days when you're ill. Some countries make employers change paid vacation days to paid sick days when you're ill on vacation.
Nina 10 months ago
And you don't have a limited number of sick days either. You're paid sick days until you're back to good health and can work again. Most if not all of Europe has this.
Roland Nijveld 10 months ago
Maximum of 2 years in 1 go in the Netherlands
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Isabel Galvez 10 months ago
In Germany, if you get sick while on vacation, you're not on vacation anymore. They still have to give you the vacation some other time.
Breadcrumb. 10 months ago
When grandma was dieing I had to use my vacation pay to care for her. Only people with union jobs or work for the government get Bereavement. (Canada)
#18
Large gaps above, below, and between the bathroom stalls….
Data1001 10 months ago
Under the door is fine. And I think, helpful -- you can just peek underneath and look for feet so you know if the stall is taken. (Not to mention if some toddler goes into a stall and gets the door closed but can't figure out how to open it, with many of our stall doors, the parent can either crawl under it or tell the kiddo to do so. Side gaps aren't necessary, but every one of us in this country has an unspoken agreement that we will not try to spy on anyone by looking at or into the gap.
Dean H 10 months ago
Isn't that the whole point of vacant/occupied signs on the door lock?
Load More Replies... Kabuki Kitsune 10 months ago
ADA requirement for gaps below the stall doors. Minimum was 12 inches when I worked installing them, though it was changed to 18 inches in 2010. The reason they're there, is in the event of a medical emergency, a responding EMT can quickly slide under the door to reach the person and render aid. Given that some partition construction is robust enough that 'breaking through' the door isn't possible, or easy, this allows quick access to render aid. The gaps between them are a result of how the various doors must be hung. They typically use 'end' hinges, as opposed to flat hinges like regular doors. So the gap has to be there to let the door actually swing. Gaps between partitions and pilasters also are present when 'single' hang systems are used, though you can get away from that if you use 'full height' brackets.
Noltha 10 months ago
I wonder how often the aid is really needed. Here in Europe, I've never heard about anyone dying in the toilet because of locked door.
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#19
Make their government a reality tv show.
BunchesOfCrunches:
[American] elections are just political Super Bowls.
Colleen Glim 10 months ago
Since they have reelected a reality tv star, this is even more true
Nikole 10 months ago
He still just cares about attention. Every day he changes his mind about the tariffs… It’s like watching a child who unfortunately has the nuclear codes. And it’s also a distraction. This is so fúcked.
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General Anaesthesia 10 months ago
Bread and circuses. Thank you Supreme Court and Citizens United.
Crystalwitch60 10 months ago
Well ha ll. opted an Oompa Loompa in a nasty one at that no one else to blame but yourselves 🤷♀️
Lady Eowyn 10 months ago
I really wish I could make sense of this person's comments. The sentence structure leaves me confused. Also, I didn't vote for nastyman. And I have more respect for Oompa Loomas than to insult them like this.
Load More Replies... #20
Advertisements for pharmaceutical drugs.
oceanduciel replied:
It’s weird. Those corporations are so desperate for money they’re willing to sell any meds even if people don’t actually need them. Leave that s**t to doctors.
Scott Rackley 10 months ago
I don't think I've ever asked a Doc about any medication. Doc: Here's what to take and how often, finish the bottle. Me: Sure thing Doc.
Michael Largey 10 months ago
I don't ask my doctor about the medications advertised in tv commercials. I happen to know he earns enough to afford a television set, so he's already seen them.
Load More Replies... nottheactualphoto 10 months ago
A doctor once asked me if I wanted (whatever the pill was, I forget). I said, "I don't know. You're the doctor; you tell me."
ChugChug 10 months ago
In hungary it's ridiculous as well. During lunchtime you listen to the radio and the 5 mins ad block consits of a diarrhea med, cream for athletes foot, urine track infection d**g, next is a cream for bacterial vaginosis and maybe a medication for vaginal dryness. Good for those who wants to diet.
Panda Panda Bo Banda 10 months ago (edited)
This list contains a lot of good points but this isn't one of them. What's wrong with having more information about treatment options for your condition? It's not like the doctor is required to prescribe whatever you ask for. They'll still say no if it's not appropriate. But at least you know. And quite often the doctor will say yes because why not if it might work? Being against this is being in favor of ignorance.
#21
It always fascinates me how cultural norms differ across the globe! I often find it strange to see how large American portion sizes are.
Huddo's sister 10 months ago
This has become common in Australia in the last 10-15 years too. I've never been to America, so maybe they are still smaller than there, but it's such a waste. Yes, you can take it home, if you have something to put it in (not everywhere will) and you have to be going home straight after so it can be refrigerated etc. It also depends what it is whether it tastes good when reheated. A lot of the time things do go to waste in the end, so it would be better to just control the portions more.
Buttrnutsquash 10 months ago
I don't know about this. I've had larger dinner portions in Austria, Poland & Czechia than I ever had in the USA
justagirl 10 months ago
so quick question...how many nuggets do people in the usa get when they get them at mcdonalds? here in china it's 5 but I see a lot of happy meal ads and stuff with 4 nuggets. so...is that just a "kid portion" or is it everything?
Motivated sloth 10 months ago
4 in the kids meals, 6 in the big kids meals, they advertise 10 for adults but I don’t eat there so idk what kind of meals they offer
Load More Replies... Rick Murray 10 months ago
I'm looking at that bowl of chips. I'm *really* looking at that bowl of chips. Dammit, that's it, I'm warming up the air fryer...
Never Snarky 10 months ago
As an American, I find the huge portions disgusting and wasteful. I take home any leftovers but most people don’t and it just gets thrown away.
Serena Myers 10 months ago
A friend had been to visit someone in the US, I forget whereabouts, and he showed me a pic of a meal he'd been served. One PLATE would have fed myself and my husband for about 3 days!
Panda Panda Bo Banda 10 months ago
Because we do doggy bags, while you guys throw food in the garbage.
#22
Leave newborn babies in daycare all day and go back to working full time a few weeks after giving birth.
nipplequeefs:
Working in retail a few years ago, I had a coworker who couldn’t afford to wait even a single week after giving birth to go back to work. She had a medical emergency on her first day back, left in an ambulance, and we didn’t see her again :/
Colleen Glim 10 months ago
Every retail worker deserves a living wage. If we were essential during Covid, maybe you should pay us as such
Chirp 10 months ago
Most times they go back to work because they have to (for financial reasons) not because they want to
Peeka_Mimi 10 months ago
I was working retail when my oldest was born. I got 1 month unpaid leave. Had to leave her with my Nany on her 1mo birthday. It was horrible.
Isabel Galvez 10 months ago
One I read about a woman who got shot in her way to work and still had to go back to work the day after because she had to buy oxygen for her sick child and couldn't afford to stay home.
Kendall 10 months ago
It's not like some moms have a freaking choice. I'm sure a large majority would much rather stay home with their children but there are these pesky things called "bills" that have to be paid.
Beef Brisket 10 months ago
In Canada, millions of moms and dads aren't eligible for a single day of parental leave. I had one of my kids on Saturday, came home from the hospital on Sunday, and Monday morning was in a telephone conference, trying to keyboard with one hand while balancing him on my lap with the other. So again, this isn't just an American thing. Even Canadian parents who are eligible don't receive their full salaries.
#23
Coffee drinks large enough to caffinate a heard of elephants. With enough sugar to trigger a diabetic coma, all on the way to work.
Colleen Glim 10 months ago
There’s coffee. And then there’s something that has coffee in it somewhere. My coffee is as black as my soul
Carie Wilemon 10 months ago
Yessssss!!! I drink my coffee black like my soul 🤣🤣🤣
Load More Replies... #24
"I'm Irish, and my husband is German!".
Cary14:
Or when they define someone's behavior by their heritage, which is 3/4 times removed. He drinks because he's 'Irish'...or some other stereotypical nonsense.
campmonster:
I'm 'Italian!' That's why I'm such a loud asshole and over-pronounce food names like pomodoro and stromboli, but I don't know any verbs in Italian.
The Doom Song 10 months ago
I was born in Scotland. I grew up in Australia. I can tell people I'm Scottish coz it's bloody well true. I also tell people I'm Australian coz I'm a citizen and I grew up here. Not coz my great great great grandfather was scottish
Data1001 10 months ago
Thing is, America doesn't really have its own culture. Sure, there are pockets of the USA which have a strong culture, but the country itself is lacking that. Thus, we take pride in our heritage -- however many generations removed it may be -- and celebrate customs which our ancestors who first came to the country did, even if those customs have long fallen out of favor in the originating country itself. And I'll admit, I like that about the US. As long as the celebration of your culture isn't exclusionary or intolerant/closed-minded/prejudiced, it enriches the rest of us, and many of us will also be happy to celebrate along with you.
Johnny McFearless 10 months ago
Strange, yet there are so many customs and rituals that are so typically American, such as the prom, homecoming, baseball games, thanksgiving, 4th of July celebrations, among many other, that you'd have to be really myopic to see America as a country lacking in it's own culture.
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Michael Largey 10 months ago
As an American, when I spent a week in Belfast, I didn't tell the people there "I'm Irish". I told them "My four grandparents all came to America from here." Stories tell more than labels.
Vermonta 10 months ago
Americans know that no one originated in America. We have a TV show in USA called Finding Your Roots which shows how your family got to America and why. It's interesting. England and France sent criminals and other people they found offensive and sent them to America. People came to America because they didn't like their own country out of fear or poverty.
Lady Eowyn 10 months ago
I'm American. That's it. I have Ukrainian, Romanian, and Lithuanian ancestry, but that's not who I am. And that's not even a subject that often comes up.
Johnny McFearless 10 months ago
If there are any Americans here, could you please explain to this ignorant European what "once/twice/thrice removed" means in your genealogy, and whether or not such genealogical numbering system is equally common in all of your states?
K R 10 months ago
There is an American culture, Australia has a culture as well. Think about your thinking, and stop taking things at face value like other's experiences and comparing them to yours. And if you don't have a "connection" to your heritage, make one. 🙄 how do you think that happens in the first place
Sylvia Hinz 10 months ago
Until pretty recently Europeans live in the same place their great- great-great-great-so on lived. You are Greman or Irish or Italian the same as you ancestors back 1000 years. You don't question your heritage. Americans, other than Indigenous Americans, don't have that ability.
Otto Katz 10 months ago
Americans are told/instructed by their parents or grandparents, the ones who immigrated here, from the time they're born, that they're "insert nationality here", and to never forget it. To not lose the culture that the parents or grandparents were raised in, and to continue it on to honor the sacrifice they made to get them here. So when we say "I'm Polish!", it means we're honoring our grandparents knowing full well we have an an American passport, but are remembering our grandparents who told us never to forget our Polish roots.
Lady Eowyn 10 months ago
No. I was always told by my parents that I am an American. That doesn't mean forgetting or disrespecting the cultures of my ancestors.
Load More Replies... #25
How patriotic you guys are.
When we go watch a football match, the players sign their anthem and that's it.
When I went to this baseball game, they had a special guest to sing the national anthem, flags everywhere, jets, kneeling for the army, etc etc.
Roland Nijveld 10 months ago
Playing the national anthem for 2 teams from the same country is stupid af
Motivated sloth 10 months ago
I think the jets and kneeling for the army is an exaggeration, I’ve never done that. In fact in most US stadiums that would be completely impossible. Are they talking about the players?
April Pickett 10 months ago
That's just us. We like to fly our flag, it helps us remember that we're the greatest country on Earth. (snigger)
PenguinEmp 10 months ago
Exactly. Go to a hockey game or Jay game and it's anthem and then game. Done. No frills
#26
Treating politicians like rock stars and campaign rallies like rock concerts.
Beef Brisket 10 months ago
Or politicians paying rock stars like Beyonce to come to their rallies and pretend to endorse them--like anyone cares what rock stars thingk.
sweet emotion 10 months ago
The flip side - adopting a stance on a politician (or a social issue, even) only because some rock star said you should.
Geoffrey Scott 10 months ago
I may be wrong but DJT, in his first term, orating from a balcony with adoring throngs below gave me T*********h vibes. Is it the same?, I insist it is not. Is it eerily similar? Yes, yes it is.
Tropical Tarot 10 months ago
I can't figure out the blacked out word that starts with t and ends with h.
Load More Replies... #27
Yes places really are *that* car dependent. Often even when you’d think something is close enough to walk or bike the walk can be much longer or more dangerous than you’d think. Many places especially in the suburbs don’t have sidewalks and the road speeds are too dangerous to make walking along the shoulder safe . There’s only a handful of cities in the entire country that have either good public transport or good enough bike infrastructure that you can not have a car without it being a giant hassle.
Colleen Glim 10 months ago
Why do new builds not include sidewalks? Are people not supposed to walk two doors down?
Urbangirlatl 10 months ago
What really gets me it's upscale and even crazy rich neighborhoods with NO sidewalks. They could all afford to put sidewalks in, but noooo. They'd rather walk in the road.
Geoffrey Scott 10 months ago
Just spent some time in Ann Arbor, Michigan (U of M). It seems all pedestrians compete for a 'Darwin award'. Not even looking prior to stepping off the curb. While I admire the "pedestrian has the right-of-way" atmosphere, it goes a bit too far there.
Kabuki Kitsune 10 months ago
It's a size thing. I mean, seriously. Look at the average size of London, when compared to US cities. Jacksonville Florida, for example has a total area of 874.64 square miles (1407 km2) while Greater London has an area of 606.95 square miles. (976.7 km2).
Vermonta 10 months ago
People forget you can drive for days and still be in America
Load More Replies... Mike Goslin 10 months ago
It's a cultural thing. Like the song says "Walking in LA? Nobodies walk in LA"
#28
Kids consuming your entire life. I’m southern European but lived in the US for a long time and children in America act like complete demons compared to the kids in my country lol.
I think Europe makes it easier to include children in everyday society and America doesn’t give any support to children or parents so kids end up being socialized kinda isolated from society besides daycare and immediate family and it doesn’t prepare them to be able to function appropriately and raising kids to be highly individualistic and pandered to seems be the norm in the US. My American friends have zero social life outside of their children but my friends in Europe with kids still maintain friendships and hobbies unrelated to parenthood.
LilliVB 10 months ago (edited)
In part you are probably right, but at least externally it seems that in America you have places kid friendly, where you go almost only with your family and children, and adult only places. While there are even here places that are adult only, most places don't have that distinction. With my child I've been to bars and pubs (and it isn't a place where you go to get drunk, but it offers usually coffee, tea, Sandwiches, some times hot foods etc...), to many different restaurants, even fancier ones, to festivals and concerts (not big scale ones, but still). And I am not/wasn't the odd one, the crazy or irresponsible one. It is just normal to have your kid with you, and usually nobody makes a fuss, there aren't complaints etc. So to European people it seems weird that there are so many places where children aren't allowed at all or where even if it's not forbidden, it's frowned upon a lot.
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Laura Cook 10 months ago
Yeah if we really cared about the kids we’d do something about the d**n guns!
#29
Mandatory tipping culture.
edit: expected tipping culture is a more suitable wording.
Gobbledok:
I was berated and nearly slapped by a drunk American tourist in Mykonos who fundamentally maintained that she tips no matter where in the world she travels, and took great exception when I pointed out it is considered rude to tip in some parts of Asia. She wanted to fight me when I went into her post civil war origins of tipping culture. Should have left that one alone. Heheh!
Torben Møller-Nielsen 10 months ago
Pay a decent wage and let the customer decide if they want to give extra for excellent service.
#30
"You have to file your tax. To do that you need* to use a private service that costs a lot of money. Have the IRS make a free, easy to use service available for the general public? What are we, commies!?"
In Denmark, the tax authority calculates most of it, and you only have to go check that everything is correct. I spend maybe two hours in a year on taxes.
Also, the US is - as far as I know - the only country in the world that expects its citizens abroad to file and pay taxes.
*: I know you can file manually. It seems this is not a good idea.
Ron Man 10 months ago
You don't need to use a private service that costs a lot of money. Most people don't do that unless their taxes are very complicated.
OWL ON A MISSION 10 months ago
I worked for H&R Block, the majority of our customers had simple tax returns, they didn't want to wait to receive their money so they came to us and paid extra to get it in a day or 2.
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ninjaTrashPandaBoom 10 months ago
There are numerous free US tax filing services, but it is still weird that the tax agency has the taxpayer figure out how much they owe. And if you make a mistake...
Load More Replies... Teagan Gatewood 10 months ago
The IRS does not do our taxes because those private services that cost a lot of money, use that money to lobby congress to stop the IRS from using a simple, easy to use form. Yay America!
Rick Murray 10 months ago
The French tax guys pretty much do my taxes, because my employer reports it at the end of the year so I just need to log into the site, check the number is good, add in anything I think is deductable (usually only distance travelled to get to work) and then click on the "declare this" button.
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UKDeek 10 months ago
In the UK, my employer sorts out my tax. A tax code is generated based on my earnings, and my income tax is taken off at source, so I don't have to worry about any of that. This is different to those that are self employed, who have to complete a tax self assessment form, but this is a free service on the Government website.
Panda Panda Bo Banda 10 months ago
I'm an American living in Canada and I sure as hell don't have to pay the IRS anything for what I earn here. I do have to file but my taxes are zero. Double taxation doesn't happen.
#31
Eat in our cars. Driving or just sitting in the car eating. Several European visitors have commented on this, so it must be very strange to them.
April Pickett 10 months ago
Some of us eat in our cars for solitude, taking a break from people, their noise, and coworkers' politics/work habits/gossip.
Oskar vanZandt 10 months ago
I eat in my car while driving between job sites... in The UK. I rarely take a lunch break... I'm self-employed.
Andrew Keir 10 months ago
Watch out for bored police and 'careless driving ' charges, though
Load More Replies... Lady Eowyn 10 months ago
Please, say which country. I try to remember to say I'm in the U.S.
Load More Replies... #32
Ridiculously huge elaborate football stadiums for schools and colleges in areas that are otherwise obviously economically depressed.
I once read that 8 of the 10 biggest stadiums in the world are at US colleges / universities.
rarepinkhippo:
I was a theatre student at a university with a big football program; the primary theatre building was the old tennis locker rooms. And the school had a comparatively large theatre program!
Pandemonium 10 months ago
The highest paid state employee in many states is the state college football coach
Lori Stroud 10 months ago
Same for high school football coaches, especially in Texas.
Load More Replies... Ron Man 10 months ago
Yeah, it's really unfortunate, but sports is a money maker at a lot of schools so they invest in it.
April Pickett 10 months ago
Those Alumni associations work hard fundraising, for their perks
Load More Replies... Peeka_Mimi 10 months ago
My granddaughter's Performing Arts school was previously a High School. They're turning the football field into a theater. I love that. I could care less about sportsball, but I love the theater.
Michael Largey 10 months ago
When Babe Ruth was told that he had made more money that President Hoover, he replied "Well, I had a better year than he had." (Which was certainly true.)
#33
Feet, pounds, fahrenheit, etc.
wtf mate?!
karl matthews 10 months ago (edited)
A stone is 14 pounds. It's still an imperial measurement rather than metric.
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Mike Goslin 10 months ago
America tried to switch to metric in the 1970's. We didn't have the public brain power to pull it off.
Forrest Hobbs 10 months ago (edited)
Look behind the scenes. The US has gone metric. All its units were defined in metric towards the end ot the 19th century. Behind the scenes, almost all US trade is done in SI units, along with all science and engineering. One food packaging US fl oz is 30ml; similarly, the "legal cup" is 240ml - both bigger than the US customary unit. The US survey yard has been retired. The US has gone SI - it's just that there's a "US customary unit" overlay to persuade the population into thinking that it hasn't.
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Breadcrumb. 10 months ago
If it's not measured in foot ball fields or washer machines how do you know? Surely your mom gave you the best Christian home schooling experience.
Crystalwitch60 10 months ago
Well we are metric in uk but I’m 60 lol so I still work in feet inches stones and degrees n to dam old to change it now ty #
Serena Myers 10 months ago
I'm older than you but I can switch between metric and imperial quite easily?
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#34
WHY do you take my credit card at restaurants 😂 here in Canada the machine gets brought to the table to pay.
sugarface2134:
The US has always been behind on credit card stuff. I don’t know why! I first paid at the table in Paris and first saw a tap to pay in Australia. It took, like, 5–10 years to start seeing those things here. So weird.
Colleen Glim 10 months ago
My husband and I were at a high end steak house in Nashville four years ago. When we went to settle the bill, I told the waitress we needed a machine and she looked at me like I had three heads! How is a so called first world country so far behind the rest of the world?
Michael Largey 10 months ago
Because it's cheaper to do it that way and therefore more profitable. And when your credit card information gets stolen at a restaurant, the restaurant owner doesn't lose a penny.
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T'Mar of Vulcan 10 months ago
They already had tapping when I visited London in 2018, but a year later it was everywhere in South Africa. I think I read somewhere that we have the most modern banking system in the world, with the most ATMs, although a lot are being phased out now that you can take money out at Checkers, Spar and Pick 'n Pay (and don't have to pay ATM charges).
Data1001 10 months ago
The restaurants would get in a lot of trouble if your credit card number was ever stolen, so this is just one of those situations where you have to trust that people will do the right thing. It doesn't bother me that the waiter takes my card away when I'm done with the meal. But at many places, you can always get up and go to the register and pay there directly, where you can keep eyes on whoever is handling your card.
#35
Use excessive means to get into debt. Afterpay, Klarna, credit cards for every store/retailer, payment plans etc. In some other countries, if you don’t have the money up front in full then you can’t afford it. I didn’t realize how many people in America have things on monthly payment plans.
Bart 10 months ago
Yes, you have debt for a house or maybe, if you own a business, a car. But everything else, you pay upfront. If you don't, you overpay everything else...
LilliVB 10 months ago (edited)
I agree. It's also probably because here credit scores don't exist. Actually it's a lot better if you aren't in debt at all. To get a mortgage, to rent some houses, to get a loan or whatever, when they check you, not to have any kind of debt it's a huge bonus. In the States you have to get a loan, use your credit cards etc and prove that you can pay your debts to have a good credit scores that allows you to get more debts. For Europeans, really weird.
Load More Replies... Huddo's sister 10 months ago
This is easy to fall into in Australia too. Ads on tv all the time- don't want to wait for tech, use this after pay scheme; got unexpected expenses, use after pay etc. I heard a statistic, something like 40% of under 30s are in debt (excluding uni fees). It's marketed as easier to use credit than saving your own money to buy things and people fall for it. They don't even think about the interest rates or what happens if they miss a payment. And that's without the ease of getting 'store credit cards' etc that the US has.
Motivated sloth 10 months ago
It doesn’t help that businesses practically force you to use it. Apple insurance only covers your phone for a year to get you to upgrade every year? That’s ridiculous, changing my phone is a chore I’d rather not have to deal with, forget doing it every year.
Load More Replies... Roland Nijveld 10 months ago
Almost 39 and never ever owned a credit card. Never had the need for it either
Billo66 10 months ago
I agree. If you have to finance a pizza you might want to tweak your budget a bit.
Billo66 10 months ago
People ask me, "What do you do if you can't afford it?' I say, without.
Load More Replies... #36
I don't hold these things against the yanks, but the big cultural differences I've encountered would be...
Talking openly about money in casual conversation
>"Like, yeah, I pulled a 6 figure bonus this year, so I was able to book that 5 star resort in Jamaica"
Something like would just be seen a wildly arrogant and uncouth in my country.
Also conversation style is so different. Over here, people tend to lead conversations by asking questions. Americans rarely ask questions of their conversation partners, they just lead with whatever they want to talk about.
Americans talk *at* you, rather than talking *to* you.
Ron Man 10 months ago
That's actually wildly uncouth and arrogant here too. The people who do that type of talking are humble bragging about themselves.
nottheactualphoto 10 months ago
Not all that humble IMHO. It's just plain boasting.
Load More Replies... Gwen LeMay 10 months ago
I talk *with * folks not *at * or *to* it seems odd to me because with includes a person to join in the conversation
Michael Largey 10 months ago
How much money someone made can be interesting, even informative. How they spent it seldom is.
Billo66 10 months ago
Some of us are actually quite polite, I'm sorry you've had bad experiences. We see those people too, we don't care for that behavior either.
Load More Replies... #37
This may not be that surprising but as an American, when I travel to other countries, I realize people don’t drink coffee on the go the way we do here. It’s very common for Americans in major cities to walk around with a to go coffee in their hands while they commute to work or walk around to do errands. In the suburbs people tend to have coffee in their car.
Huddo's sister 10 months ago
This is common in Australia too. The older Greek and Italian men are more likely to sit in a cafe all morning, but otherwise we have a lot of takeaway coffee drinkers. We try to use 'keep cups'/travel mugs though.
Oskar vanZandt 10 months ago
Much more common here in The UK than it used to be when I moved here in hte early 2000s...
#38
I’m American and worked closely with folks from England for a while. The biggest difference was they thought Americans way overshare. When we were discussing self-image once, another American mentioned she’d had an ED when she was younger (that was it, no other details). I thought nothing of it. When she wasn’t around, they told me how uncomfortable it made them and they were shocked at how personal that was. I was floored. They should hear my friend groups talk about GYN visits. Lol.
Joe Publique 10 months ago
Surely it's not too hard to understand that work is a professional context and your friend groups are not.
Huddo's sister 10 months ago
I guess Australians are more similar to Americans than we would like then. I sometimes wonder how conversations take the turns they do, but eating disorders, periods, mental health, experiences with abuse, are not uncommon, though not usually with people you just met. I was going to say older people don't do so much, but my mum and I had a conversation with someone in her 60s from our aqua aerobics class last week about her daughter's d**g and mental health problems.
#39
When I had European friends visit for the first time, we took them out to a chain restaurant. They were shocked at the end of the meal when the server brought out to-go boxes. They had finished their entire meal (of huge portions) not realizing we sort of expect to have too much food and take the extra home.
Our multiple-lane interstates were huge and intimating to them and normal to us. The fact that our money is all the same color and has no marks for the blind to read them (one friend is vision impaired.) our grocery stores - just normal Kroger or Walmart - were gigantic to them and they didn't understand why the cashiers had to stand all day when they could just get a chair. They had a blast walking around looking at everything. The sheer size and variety of food, especially like larger sizes of fruits and vegetables.
They thought maple syrup was a fun novelty - IHOP blew their mind - and that marshmallows were weird and kind of off-putting. The fact that we greet and chitchat with strangers, people hold open doors for other people as a matter of course (small town in the South) and all those sort of unspoken acts of politeness we don't think about. Smiling at strangers, waving at neighbors. American flags being everywhere was odd to them too, they kept asking if there was a holiday or something, it was just people's decor. They didn't understand flags in people's yards or houses. How spread out everything is and how long it takes to drive within the same city.
They just pointed out a lot of things we didn't think to prepare them for since that was our normal, and we didn't even notice. Was definitely fascinating.
Colleen Glim 10 months ago
Why are cashiers not allowed to sit? I challenge all of the suits to spend eight hours on their feet
Brian Droste 10 months ago
I went into a local Aldis today. The cashier was sitting on a chair. I looked at the other checkout lanes. They all had chairs also. This needs to be done in all stores.
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Don't listen to me 10 months ago
All those extra large fruits & veggies are totally tastless. It's all water.
nottheactualphoto 10 months ago
I haven't been in an IHOP in years, but I don't think they have actual maple syrup.
Lady Eowyn 10 months ago
Maple flavor. Sometimes even just labeled pancake syrup.
Load More Replies... #40
Answering a city/state/two-letter code as if everyone knows where it is when someone asks 'where are you from' in an international setting.
T'Mar of Vulcan 10 months ago
I live in Johannesburg, which is easily recognizable as being in Mzansi (South Africa - we should just change it to the Xhosa word and be done with it!) But imagine if I lived in, like, East London or Pitsonderwater? (As a child I didn't realize that East London was a city in Mzansi, and always wondered how my parents' friends could afford to go overseas all the time!)
Forrest Hobbs 10 months ago
One problem is that English speakers typically don't understand Xhosa orthography - we struggle enough with French and Spanish.. 😉. Mzansi would be horribly mispronounced.
Load More Replies... nottheactualphoto 10 months ago
CA means Canada. Most people have heard of New York. Most people have never heard of Noank.
Andrew Keir 10 months ago
My aunt was from Auchtermuchty, but strangely nobody seems to know where that is...
Forrest Hobbs 10 months ago (edited)
Auchtermuchty? Isn't that the fictional setting of a BBC Home Service comedy from the 1950s? 😉
Load More Replies... #41
My husband is German and I met him while we still lived in the US. The biggest shock for him (and the other German expat friends I made through him) was people saying "we should hang out sometime" but not meaning it, because they didn't want to schedule a time right then and there.
They also complained about people asking "how are you" and not actually wanting to know/not meaning it, because you're "just supposed to say good, and ask how they are", but I find that pretty ridiculous after living in Germany. People do the same thing here.
The social expectations to not show up right on time to a party or that the guests pay for the birthday girl/boy, instead of the birthday boy/girl treating their guests, was also a surprise.
Colleen Glim 10 months ago
If birthdat person arranged, the expectation is that birthday person pays. Whoever invited is 3xpected to pay unless otherwise agreed on
Huddo's sister 10 months ago
That's interesting. In Australia, if you go out for dinner for someone's birthday the general understanding is you pay for your own meal, even if they invited you. Sometimes they will surprise you and say it's your shout, or one of the guests will cover the birthday person's meal but it's not common. Even if the birthday is at their house, it is likely to be BYO drinks (though more so if the person is under 30) and they just provide snacks and bbq.
Load More Replies... #42
We don't consider driving 3-4 hours to do something/see someone to be far.
Today after work im driving an hour to spend a few hours at a con, then driving an hour home. Next weekend I'm driving 3.5 hours for a weekend getaway with friends, driving 3.5 hours back, and going straight to work. I drive 5 hours to get to my tattoo artist.
Oh and all of those things are still in my state.
Nikole 10 months ago
I consider driving 3-4 hours to be a long trip and I’m pretty sure nearly everyone else does too.
El Cucuy 10 months ago
Absolutely. If I have to drive more than 30 minutes, I will seriously consider whether I need to go to that place at all.
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Rick Murray 10 months ago
Goodness. A 3-4 hour drive is like going in holiday to Cornwall (from Surrey).
#43
As an American who has traveled around Asia, they find it weird that we're always throwing huge high-school parties in Hollywood suburbs.
#44
Wearing their shoes inside the house. Even on their couch and bed. Absolutely disgusting.
Colleen Glim 10 months ago
My mother wore shoes in the house because it was easier on her knees and hips. I prefer to be barefoot regardless of where I am
Data1001 10 months ago
I think the 'no shoes in the house' rule is kinda dumb, actually. I mean, it's fine for you if that's your thing, but being evangelical about it just makes me roll my eyes. So what if you track in germs from the bottom of your shoes? Are you eating off the floor? Of course, if your shoes are dirty, you wipe them at the door, and if they're too dirty to be cleaned by wiping on a mat, *then* you can take them off. But unless you have a pristine carpet that you want to keep looking as new as when you bought it, I don't see the big deal
Shortstuff 10 months ago
You are bringing in dirt, urine, faces and god knows what else on the soles of your shoes. Disgusting.
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Robert Millar 10 months ago
Here in Sweden people don't wear shoes in the house because outer shoes are often covered in snow, slush, mud. Additionally, many floors are hardwood laminate and people don't want a lot of scratches from the grit that is used everywhere.
Ron Man 10 months ago
This keeps popping up, and it's the same person. I don't know anyone who wears shoes in the house.
Data1001 10 months ago
Well, you don't know me, but if you did, you could say you know someone who wears shoes in the house.
Load More Replies... SkippityBoppityBoo 10 months ago
I have a strict "No shoes inside" rule. You're tracking in every single thing you've walked through onto my floors. Urine, faeces from various animals and birds and yes, even humans. I fell over a week ago, and being disabled, I had training for this at the physiotherapy hospital. I have to first get over the initial shock, so stay still, breathe slowly. Concentrate on that. Then do a quick check, how bad is it? Can I get to my sofa to be able to pull myself up? Yes, I can... Okay so flip yourself over into a sitting position and using your hands, get yourself to your sofa and coffee table. Use those to get onto the sofa and into a sitting position. Do another assessment, any injuries? Do you need to call 111, the NHS helpline? Nope, just bruising. Keep an eye on those over the next few hours/days in case they get worse or are a sign of a worse injury. I'm crawling through everything you've tracked in on your shoes which could cause a serious infection, even hospitalisation.
Craig Reynolds 10 months ago
I live in Florida. If you leave your shoes outside at the door, you risk brown recluse and black widow spiders taking up residence. You also risk venomous snakes in your shoes.
Lady Eowyn 10 months ago
I wear shoes inside the house. My friends wear shoes inside the house. But NOT on the furniture!
#45
We have Amber Alerts. This surprised a friend of mine from another country.
Basically, if there is a missing child or an abduction nearby, they will issue an Amber Alert. It goes to cell phones, tvs, radio stations. It will just be broadcast as an emergency message, and they aren't usually expected. They just buzz your phone. Basically, the goal is to get the community involved. They will usually come with a description of the missing person, the perpetrator, and or a vehicle to look out for.
Beef Brisket 10 months ago
Why is this considered "disgusting" as per the title of this article? And many countries have Amber Alerts.
Colleen Glim 10 months ago
And 5hey scare the living hell out of 5hose of us who go to bed with our phones. But it could also save a child’s life so kwitcherbitchin
Lady Eowyn 10 months ago
Why the 5 and not a T? But I agree, it can save a child's life. And at least around here I am also seeing alerts for seniors with dementia/Alzheimer's who might wander off.
Load More Replies... #46
How empty the Western US is. Draw a line running North/South from about 1 degree of longitude West of the North Dakota/Minnesota state line (let's say roughly the 98th Meridian.)
EIGHTY PERCENT of the US population lives EAST of this line.
Now draw another (curvier) line that runs along the spine of the Sierra Nevada and the Cascade Mountain ranges in the Western US. Another FIFTEEN PERCENT of the American population lives WEST of this line, between the mountains and the Pacific Ocean (and most of those people are in California, the most populous state that accounts for 10% of the US population.)
Which means that the vast, middle portion of America - nearly 50% of the lower 48 united states - has about 5% of the population.
But even that doesn't tell the whole story because most of THAT 5% live in the large metro areas: Denver/Front range, Salt Lake City/Provo, Las Vegas, Phoenix/Tucson. If you exempt those areas, you'll find that about 40% of the land mass of the US contains maybe 1 - 2 % of the population.
Back in 2011 I went to a motorcycle rally in Taos, New Mexico. There was a couple from the UK that flew over and rented a motorcycle to go. They had been to the US once before - but they only went to New York City.
They were absolutely astonished by the vast, empty spaces of the West. Places where you could go literally dozens of miles and not see another vehicle or person, or you could go 50 miles or more between towns.
Whenever I have friends from the Eastern US who want to ride motorcycles in the West and ask for advice, my number one piece of advice is: Know your motorcycles range, and know where you're going to fuel up. Don't assume that just because the map shows a "town" that you will be able to buy fuel there. Many "towns" on the map are just a dusty collection of abandoned buildings and maybe a few houses or trailers. And if there's any doubt, NEVER pass up a chance to refuel.
Colleen Glim 10 months ago
I believe those boundaries encompass what is called “tornado alley”. Why would you want to live someplace you would regularly be starting over?
Michael Largey 10 months ago
The western US is not empty. It contains tens of thousands of marvelous and important things. Just not a lot of human beings - which is just one of those marvelous and important things I mentioned.
Panda Panda Bo Banda 10 months ago
And for some reason the flyover states have more government representation!
#47
From what I've heard from folks from out of country - Small talk. Apparently it's not really normal in other places for strangers to just say hi to each other or engage in small talk while doing things like standing in line, after accidentally bumping into each other at the store, noticing that someone is interested in the same thing you are, things like that. Apparently a lot of people compare Americans to golden retrievers and say they're 'ridiculously friendly' because Americans will just..talk to anyone, without any formal introduction.
fyatre:
I realized this wasn’t a global thing when I was in Japan and I’d start conversations with fellow visiting Americans. My Japanese friend was very surprised that I’d do that. Then there’s the ones that have been there a while and actively avoid you because they know what you’re gonna do, LOL.
Huddo's sister 10 months ago
I really varies in Australia. More likely to get small talk when walking down the street in regional/rural areas, but most shop workers will try to engage you when you are at the checkout. Not in a pushy way though, just being polite and filling the time, but sometimes I would prefer they didn't.
Never Snarky 10 months ago
As an American, I love engaging people to talk. It’s friendly and you can meet so many interesting folks.
#48
Why do your kitchen sinks have that terrifying swirling thing that eats fingers?
BayAreaJordd:
As a Brit, I had nightmares about this from that episode of The Simpsons. I grew out of it by telling myself 'at least they don't really exist.' Oh dear.
Huddo's sister 10 months ago
Really, when did that happen? We had one when I was growing up, my grandad put it in in the 70s. We rarely used it by the early 2000s and mum finally got rid of it in about 2012.
Load More Replies... Never Snarky 10 months ago
They only eat your fingers if you are stupid enough to shove your hand down into them. Been using disposals for 50+ years. Never even close to an injury.
justagirl 10 months ago
In japan the "terryifying swirling thing" won't turn on unless the lid is firmly shut. I don't know how it is in america, but i've heard there's a seperate button.
Lady Eowyn 10 months ago
I've always lived places where there is a separate switch for the disposal.
Load More Replies... Caffeinated Ape 10 months ago
Huh. They're fairly commonplace in NZ so it's not something I've ever given much thought to.
Motivated sloth 10 months ago
Everywhere I’ve ever lived has had this. My exes family had to pay to get it removed because it just comes standard.
Load More Replies... #49
Become a pilot and buy a plane.
Easy access to personal aviation - there really is no other country like the US when it comes to that.
While it's not cheap it's cheaper than anywhere else in the world and the government doesn't gate keep it into the ground.
Colleen Glim 10 months ago
Asked the question, why do you need a plane? The average person does not need or can afford a plane
Mike Goslin 10 months ago
In rural america, a plane is a practical thing. It is expensive, yes, but there are plenty of places to land and it saves tons of time. As for the rest of America... Flying a small plane is fun! Most of the small aircraft pilots I know do it for the fun (although most rent rather than buy or build their own)
Load More Replies... Huddo's sister 10 months ago
Possible in Australia too, especially if you live in rural/remote areas. Maybe not buying a plane yourself but at least having access to one. It's much harder to become certified for commercial flights. There was an 18/19 year old with autism that recently has been arguing about whether he can be certified as a commercial pilot. He is fully qualified as a recreational pilot and even did a solo trip all the way around Australia but the board that certifies pilots were claiming his autism made it impossible. Last I heard (after a lot of media attention) was that they 'were reconsidering' it.
Andrew Keir 10 months ago
Too many authorities run scared when considering person with autism; a family member recently qualified as a MD but isn't welcome in OZ / NZ because they don't allow autistics. Strange - it's a spectrum not a disabling mental condition.
Load More Replies... René Sauer 10 months ago
There are whole communities (or at least one that I saw on TV) built around personal aviation in the US. They had a runway in the middle of the neighborhood and every house had their own hangar with a cessna or something in it.
#50
Talking. I took my extended family on a trip to New York (they are Malaysian) and it shocked them that I had multiple 30-40 minute conversations with people I had never met.
Colleen Glim 10 months ago
The thought of having a 30-40 minute conversation with a stranger makes me want to run away screaming.
Huddo's sister 10 months ago
Me too! My mum does it all the time and I just stand there awkwardly or drift off to somewhere else to wait. She's not American, just loves talking (not sure how much is related to her ADHD).
Load More Replies... Panda Panda Bo Banda 10 months ago
As an American, I don't understand this either. Please mind your own business!
What do you think ?
Warren Peece 10 months ago
Bored Panda Staff: "Let's repost this anti-America list every week. It's easier than finding new content. And there are enough suckers who will pay for Premium subscription regardless of what we post."
ninjaTrashPandaBoom 10 months ago
The rest of the world must really, really love reruns. This way too often repeated theme is just a tired retread of all the other "America is weird/bad" posts that are run every single weekend here. There isn't even any new anti-American gripes, just the same old rubbish over and over and over again.
ninjaTrashPandaBoom 10 months ago
*Completely ignoring that pile of fetid excrement comment from the penguin* Hey BP, why not try running something along the lines of "weird things in America that tourists liked or enjoyed"? In my travels I have encountered many weird customs and things in other countries...some good, some bad, some just weird. Would it k**l you to drop the America bashing for once?
Load More Replies... Ron Man 10 months ago
This is the 4th article this week, and it has nothing new. They never do. It's all the same things.
Serena Myers 10 months ago
Apparently, Warren, BP have not yet worked out that they might get more subscriptions if we get what we come to BP for (or used to) such as new history posts, cute kittens and puppies, happy, funny, uplifting, interesting, not same old same old, AITA, celebrity twaddle, karens-on-planes, copy/paste from Reddit/X/Insta?
Load More Replies... Ariom Dahl 10 months ago
Hey, can we have a 'Things that are ordinary, taken for granted or normal in AUSTRALIA that everyone else finds odd? PLEASE! I'll kick off: Today we had a state election in Western Australia. The local school in the town where I live was a polling place. We walked into the grounds, lined up and chatted with everyone else while we waited. After we cast our votes we went to the cake stall and sausage sizzle set up by the P&C to raise funds for the school. In a couple of months we're going to have a federal election so will repeat this procedure. Oh, it's compulsory to turn up to vote. What you write on the paper voting slip (with pencil) is nobody else's business.
Rick Murray 10 months ago
Just to balance things a little - Mac&Cheese. Best damned one I ever had was made in Wisconsin, frozen, shipped over here, and sold in a chain store that does frozen foods and had an "America" promotion going. And proper sci-fi. You guys make things like "The Expanse" and we make... "Doctor Who". Epic national parks - Yosemite National Park is almost as big as Cornwall. Oh, and some truly amazing scenery.
ninjaTrashPandaBoom 10 months ago (edited)
Great start! I would like to add Austin, TX...a wonderfully weird amazing city. The beautiful Pacific Crest Trail (2560 miles, 4120 km) which runs from Canada to Mexico along the US west coast. The gorgeous Appalachian Trail (2190 miles, 3524 km) which runs along the US east coast. American BBQ: Californian tri-tip, Texas brisket, North Carolina baby back ribs. Maryland blue crab cakes. New England lobster rolls. Jazz and blues music from New Orleans, along with amazing French-Creole cuisine. New York-amazing food and culture. Chicago as well! Yellowstone. Death Valley. Denali. The Everglades...just watch out for Florida Man!
Load More Replies...
Sergio Bicerra 10 months ago
I mean... is fun to bash another time from time but this is getting old. Yeah America has their odd things but in my country we haven't got a single president who's not now in jail or in a corruption trial scince the 80's so everyone has their own quirks.
Andy 10 months ago (edited)
To all those complaining about pages like this, you know what know what the page is going to be when you see the headline, STOP CLICKING AND COMMENTING! Every time you click and comment you increase engagement, which tells bored panda these topics are successful and they should create more if the want people to read them. I also find them repetitive, so I usually just don't click on them.
Panda Panda Bo Banda 10 months ago (edited)
Ever notice how the America-bashers in these threads never say where they're from? 😂
Dragons Exist 10 months ago
Welcome back to your daily Everything, And I Mean Everything, About America Fúcking Sucks post, here on Bored Panda - and don't forget to not say words like "high", because it will be censored unless you add an accent to make it "hígh"
Warren Peece 10 months ago
Bored Panda Staff: "Let's repost this anti-America list every week. It's easier than finding new content. And there are enough suckers who will pay for Premium subscription regardless of what we post."
ninjaTrashPandaBoom 10 months ago
The rest of the world must really, really love reruns. This way too often repeated theme is just a tired retread of all the other "America is weird/bad" posts that are run every single weekend here. There isn't even any new anti-American gripes, just the same old rubbish over and over and over again.
ninjaTrashPandaBoom 10 months ago
*Completely ignoring that pile of fetid excrement comment from the penguin* Hey BP, why not try running something along the lines of "weird things in America that tourists liked or enjoyed"? In my travels I have encountered many weird customs and things in other countries...some good, some bad, some just weird. Would it k**l you to drop the America bashing for once?
Load More Replies... Ron Man 10 months ago
This is the 4th article this week, and it has nothing new. They never do. It's all the same things.
Serena Myers 10 months ago
Apparently, Warren, BP have not yet worked out that they might get more subscriptions if we get what we come to BP for (or used to) such as new history posts, cute kittens and puppies, happy, funny, uplifting, interesting, not same old same old, AITA, celebrity twaddle, karens-on-planes, copy/paste from Reddit/X/Insta?
Load More Replies... Ariom Dahl 10 months ago
Hey, can we have a 'Things that are ordinary, taken for granted or normal in AUSTRALIA that everyone else finds odd? PLEASE! I'll kick off: Today we had a state election in Western Australia. The local school in the town where I live was a polling place. We walked into the grounds, lined up and chatted with everyone else while we waited. After we cast our votes we went to the cake stall and sausage sizzle set up by the P&C to raise funds for the school. In a couple of months we're going to have a federal election so will repeat this procedure. Oh, it's compulsory to turn up to vote. What you write on the paper voting slip (with pencil) is nobody else's business.
Rick Murray 10 months ago
Just to balance things a little - Mac&Cheese. Best damned one I ever had was made in Wisconsin, frozen, shipped over here, and sold in a chain store that does frozen foods and had an "America" promotion going. And proper sci-fi. You guys make things like "The Expanse" and we make... "Doctor Who". Epic national parks - Yosemite National Park is almost as big as Cornwall. Oh, and some truly amazing scenery.
ninjaTrashPandaBoom 10 months ago (edited)
Great start! I would like to add Austin, TX...a wonderfully weird amazing city. The beautiful Pacific Crest Trail (2560 miles, 4120 km) which runs from Canada to Mexico along the US west coast. The gorgeous Appalachian Trail (2190 miles, 3524 km) which runs along the US east coast. American BBQ: Californian tri-tip, Texas brisket, North Carolina baby back ribs. Maryland blue crab cakes. New England lobster rolls. Jazz and blues music from New Orleans, along with amazing French-Creole cuisine. New York-amazing food and culture. Chicago as well! Yellowstone. Death Valley. Denali. The Everglades...just watch out for Florida Man!
Load More Replies... Sergio Bicerra 10 months ago
I mean... is fun to bash another time from time but this is getting old. Yeah America has their odd things but in my country we haven't got a single president who's not now in jail or in a corruption trial scince the 80's so everyone has their own quirks.
Andy 10 months ago (edited)
To all those complaining about pages like this, you know what know what the page is going to be when you see the headline, STOP CLICKING AND COMMENTING! Every time you click and comment you increase engagement, which tells bored panda these topics are successful and they should create more if the want people to read them. I also find them repetitive, so I usually just don't click on them.
Panda Panda Bo Banda 10 months ago (edited)
Ever notice how the America-bashers in these threads never say where they're from? 😂
Dragons Exist 10 months ago
Welcome back to your daily Everything, And I Mean Everything, About America Fúcking Sucks post, here on Bored Panda - and don't forget to not say words like "high", because it will be censored unless you add an accent to make it "hígh"
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