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" 
49 Weird Things In The US That Americans Don’t Realize Others Don’t Consider Normal
In the current sociopolitical climate, the United States gets a pretty bad rap. Whereas 59% of 29 countries in October 2024 thought the U.S. will have a positive impact on world affairs, only 46% of people in the same countries felt the same way in 2025.
On social media, people like to dunk on the U.S. for simple everyday things as well. Those who live in other countries call out Americans' diets, habits, and opinions on almost a daily basis. Recently, we came across a discussion on Threads where non-Americans were sharing the things they found weird when visiting America.
"Non-Americans who have been to the US: What is the weirdest thing about America that Americans don't realize is weird???", @jenny_nuel1 asked. And, as is almost usual at this point, America got a pretty hilarious lashing in the comments.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
I’m Japanese and my observation is
1. Being afraid of guns
2. So many obese people
3. Artificial colors like blue cakes, green drinks
4. Huge drink sizes and food portions
5. Tipping
6. Homeless people everywhere
7. Wearing sports casual clothing like Lululemon everywhere
8. Electing a president with zero human decency
RELATED:
#2
The misreading and illogical allegiance to an 18th Century commitment to the right to bear arms, resulting in countless deaths of innocent children and adults.
Vicki Barlow 4 months ago
Many Americans are appalled by this gun lust and find it illogical. Can some of us move to England?
#3
That they think the world revolves around them
Schrödinger's Douchebag 4 months ago
Brainwashed from birth into thinking they're the "greatest country on Earth" is crazy business.
#4
Abortion bans and shortest parental leave. It's the most inhumane, discriminative, misogynistic thing ever. It's heartbreaking to see a woman who's still bleeding, in pain after episiotomy/C-section, breasts swollen days after labor, crying at her workplace cause she wants to be with her newborn, but still needs to work to pay her bills. And it's inhumane to the newborns to not be able to be with their immediate family, and to be at daycare instead. As a former dc provider it's heartbreaking
Schrödinger's Douchebag 4 months ago
Bodily autonomy should be for everyone. Stop minding what Sarah in a state on the other side of the country wants to do with her teen pregnancy!
#5
Thoughts and prayers apparently being a solution to anything.
Schrödinger's Douchebag 4 months ago
The amount of bible bashers is WILD! Their actions are usually in complete contradiction too!
#6
The healthcare system prices. It's absurd.
Schrödinger's Douchebag 4 months ago
Hospital visits and ambulance rides throw those already struggling into crippling debt. It's sad how easily they exploit their people.
#7
Thinking life is better in the US than anywhere else.
Schrödinger's Douchebag 4 months ago
Again with the brainwashing from birth. Greatest country in the world - what a joke!
#8
Americans get the most propaganda yet believe they are still free. At least the Chinese know their media is propaganda
#9
The whole worshiping the military ‘thank you for your service’ cult. It’s a career, a job, a way to earn money, and they went into it with their eyes wide open. I personally find it cringeworthy.
T'Mar of Vulcan 4 months ago
I think that's a backlash to what happened after Vietnam - young men who'd been drafted (and thus HAD NO CHOICE) had been denounced as murderers and protested against.
#10
My European friends tell me we are SO LOUD which i have witnessed when traveling. Lordy we are loud.
troufaki13 4 months ago
Americans are not the only ones who are loud. Have you met any mediterranean people?? We are very loud!
#11
Today I saw a picture of an American family wearing a « Trump is God » shirt. All of them. We all have our stupids in every country but USA beats them all 😎🤷♀️
#12
Being allowed to drive at 16 and married or enlist at 18 but not drink until 21.
Flags everywhere.
Tax not being included in the price tag.
Kim Kermes 4 months ago
Sales tax varies by state, county, and city. Corporations are too cheap to pay for the computer programming that would fix this.
#13
That walking from one place to another is not normal.
Trisec Tebeakesse 4 months ago
That depends on where you are. Boston? Yes, we walk everywhere. Los Angeles? Not so much.
#14
When I first moved here from Canada, I thought the army recruitment commercials on TV were jokes or a form of satire. I was blown away by how much military propaganda there is in the States.
Jerome Lenovo 4 months ago (edited)
like said : army + religion = fascism. Amerikkka is screwed for a long time. Deprograming brainwashing and p3d0 propaganda is very hard
Virgil Blue 4 months ago
I always thought the mock commercials in Starship troopers were a bit over the top until I realised the US actually had ads lime those and that they were only marginally less overblown.
Tabitha 4 months ago (edited)
Not to mention the amount of money the Feds allocate for the military that could go toward social safety net programs, infrastructure, and other, way more worthwhile directions. People don’t realize that’s part of what brought down the old USSR. The vast majority of funding went to the military budget which was so bloated with c**p I’m amazed it held out as long as it did. So little was going to the people in any form, most importantly social safety net programs and infrastructure, that the economy simply collapsed and couldn’t be fixed internally. Since the USSR was a closed society and therefore not a part of the world’s economy (they locked up their borders and took themselves out of the world market early on), meaning the ruble had no value outside the Iron Curtain, they had a long hard road to travel before they were even somewhat economically healthy again—-after the eighty-odd years since their “revolution”—-on the world stage. Granted, the US is not in that predicament, but we are spending way too much,UHC on the military, which has way too much money already, as evidenced by the money pits that are jets that don’t work properly, warehouse full of supplies that are rotting from age because we have enough already so they merely surplus—-because of the wasteful way government contracts are awarded and government budgets are set—-and other wastes of money that could be better used to improve EVERYONE’S life instead.
TheGreaterDebater 4 months ago
As I said, as a person who has a dad who got wounded 4 times, serving many different tours in multiple countries, and making so much sacrifices, he was still able to become a good man. This is why we bless the military.
Load More Replies...
Sapna Sarfare 4 months ago
India has a small form of recruitment ads too.. but i assume it is not huge as the one in US
Auntriarch 4 months ago (edited)
UK has them too. I would guess that only countries with conscription don't
Load More Replies...
Baba Caine 4 months ago
The American army recruitment is aimed at kids trying to say, do 3 years and we pay for your collage, then send them to get blown up and forced into debt as won't pay medical bills, but still gives them the right to put 60% of there GPA into the military
Apatheist Account2 4 months ago
Ahir Shah: We're always looking for people to join the army! (Try not to think about why....)
Beef Brisket 4 months ago
Well, to be fair, they are kinda expected to protect the world--including Canada, which is only now starting to pay its fair share of contributions to the UN. Even Carney has admitted Canada has been getting a free ride on the U.S. military for decades.
#15
how young and sparsely populated it is as a country. also how un-free it is as a country. you're about 5-10 bad decisions from being outside of the system and bankrupt / homeless with little to no help.
#16
Most of what I notice have been covered, butt I'll add the whole scenery of religious billboards standing next to gun show billboards standing next to adult depot billboards.
#17
The entire condescending attitude towards anything different or not known to them.
The immediate solution to a problem is aggression, compromise, compassion and understanding is seen as weakness
The idea of fairness being evil and unfair (I must get mine and you must suffer)
Schrödinger's Douchebag 4 months ago
Every manchild is so easily triggered, and their solution is show of physical strength. Like ewww.
#18
Calling something "World Famous" when NOBODY outside of the US or even perhaps the city it is in, knowing anything about it.
New York is expert at this.
Pernille 4 months ago
Even BP caters to the US American exceptionalism. The internet is full of US americans that doesn't understand that the rest of the world doesn't live like them, and they get offended when you point it out. I'm not a fan of these lists, but at least they seem to have made most US based pandas discover that there is a whole world out there.
#19
Where I'm from, once you have a seat at a restaurant, you can take all the time in the world to eat, chat, order some dessert and a coffee or tea, chat some more, etc.
In the US, the waiters are lurking around me like sharks, waiting for me to get my last bite so they can throw me the bill, which I am expected to pay right away and leave.
Al Fun 4 months ago
To be fair, this is more perception than reality. Yes, servers sometimes bring the bill without being asked, but it’s totally ok to spend as much time as you want after that. In thousands of restaurant visits I have only been asked a couple of times to leave, and each time the server was profusely sorry because they absolutely needed the table.
#20
Sugar. Literally everywhere.
Kristiina Männiste 4 months ago
They put sugar in god d**n bacon! Bacon!! I actually gagged when I tried to eat it. Silly me thought "maple flavored" means lightly smoked over maple wood or something - no! it means soaked in artificially caramel flavored corn syrup apparently.🤢
#21
How they pay with cards at restaurants. Why are you taking my card away when we could just do this at the table like literally everywhere else??
#22
I’ve lived in America for 15 years and I’m STILL not over the pledge of alliance. It’s just so freaking weird to me to this day
Schrödinger's Douchebag 4 months ago
But drag queens reading to children in a library is indoctrination, right?
#24
Ads for prescription d***s that sound like death threats: “May cause internal bleeding, night terrors, and loss of moral compass. Ask your doctor!”
#25
Three things hit me 1. classifying people as black when they were more white than black, ( like Megan Merkle), 2. Maintaining reverence for confederate generals. 3. Calling the endemic corruption “ lobying”
#26
Being treated like an unwelcome suspect at most incoming airports when arriving as a guest
Mass gun ownership
Dearth of electric toothbrushes
Prevalent beliefs that no other countries have basic amenities or products
The confusion of what an appropriate tip is, and when
‘Chocolate’ that is 🤢🥴🤢🤮
#27
People I know from other countries often mention the monstrous portion sizes at many American restaurants.
#28
Commercials every 2 minutes during a TV show/movie. Huge gaps at bathroom stall doors. Saying 'like' ten times in every sentence.
Spittnimage 4 months ago
The 'like' thing is annoying. Some people even stick it in when writing.
#30
Eating fast food daily. True story, cousin goes back to work, no home cooked meals, just take out 7 days a week.
#31
Other countries people can speak multiple languages. America: 🗣️SPEAK ENGLISH. Nosies
#32
Thinking an American accent = Standard English
Forrest Hobbs 4 months ago
Writing as a standard Englishman, this one remains laughable - I'm absolutely certain I speak standard English, but I also know that there are tens of millions of actual English people who will dispute my claim (I'm fully aware of Wales, Scotland, and various overseas aspects. Apologies to Ireland - it's not my fault). Americans don't even get to join the argument.
#34
As an American who only knows the single family household culture, that still seems odd to me. Lack of community. Doing everything by yourself without help is supposed to be some sort of flex.
#35
- Student loans ( it's interest is higher than the mortgage interest?!)
- People use paper plates at home.
- Lunchables. Seriously? Why is this food for kids
Beef Brisket 4 months ago
Um, they do not typically use paper plates at home, unless they're having a party.
#37
Trailer parks!! Awful and scary!
Shop workers and service workers being surprised when you're nice to them.
Biscuits and gravy
Grits
Not being able to walk safely in urban areas.
#38
It’s so decrepit, crumbling infrastructure, garbage everywhere. Everyone looks miserable.
#39
There’s like, a museum for everything. I absolutely LOVE it, but when I drove through the states for the first time I was so confused by all the signs for all the different types of museums lol.
Kim Kermes 4 months ago
In Joshua Tree, outside the National Park in the southern California desert, we have a museum of crochet in a giant green pepper.
#40
Hotel breakfasts don’t include vegetables
#41
Neverending breakfast cereal aisle in the grocery store. I have been an Australian for over a decade now and the cereal selection in the states is ridiculous!
#42
Talk too damn much. I’m talking the kind just to fill the silence.
#43
The lack of third spaces. We gather in parks and hang out in libraries and stuff, there is just drive-ins and "no loitering" signs. Houses must be overly Huge with all s**t since you have no where to go?
#44
Not taking off their shoes at the door. Using paper plates when it isn’t a picnic in the park
Apatheist Account2 4 months ago
The shoes thing is very variable. Some households in the UK do, some don't. It varies by family.
#45
Why do you still have overhead power lines everywhere, even in big cities, like here near Rockaway Beach in Queens, New York? In Europe, we've had power lines buried for decades. And the phones are only mobile.
#46
How peppy they are, even with absolute strangers. It was very off-putting when I first moved here.
Samantha H 4 months ago
I lived in the USA for 15 years, I found them very friendly, I don't understand why anyone finds it off putting.
#47
I slept through the flight
Woke up as we prepared to land
Saw miles of blocky buildings in straight lines
Thought I'd just been twilight zoned into fuckin Minecraft...that's what USA looks like from the air
Kim Kermes 4 months ago
Fly into Minneapolis/St Paul. Surrounded by rivers, lakes, and tree filled suburbs. Or Palm Springs, with the mountains and deserts and green golf courses. Denver in the Rocky Mountains is impressive. I couldn't like in New York City, either, but I hear upstate is gorgeous.
#48
Drinking water with ice🤔 wearing PJ to Walmart or school🤔 Use fork to eat rice🥲 The tipping culture🤔 The huge portion of foods, even for breakfast menu😂 I think that’s it hahaha but I found this fascinating
#49
They walk into a room, no greetings, no howdy, NO MANNERS! Makes my 🇯🇲 blood boil.
What do you think ?
Susie Elle 4 months ago (edited)
I'd like to balance it with something I really admire from the Americans: y'all are SO passionate and dedicated, and yes, sometimes that also means you're passionate for 'wrong' things, but the dedication you have for the things you believe in blows my mind.
G A 4 months ago
Some of the criticisms are ridiculously petty. They then bring down the level of any serious valid criticism. Paper plate use is hardly at the level of the Trumpanzees ruining the social standing of their citizens worldwide. The US is not seen my many as an attractive holiday destination any more. People these days say 'ugh-no' at the suggestion, almost consistently in my limited experience. It's sad that a large part of the population cut off their nose to spite their face. Worst political decision since Brexit.
JK 4 months ago (edited)
I'm a sad American that will have to endure this horror for who knows how long. I live in the #1 leisure and recreational destination in the US (not NYC) and apparently people like us for our gentle and professional demeanor, accommodations, and crazy good food. I feel for other cities hit by the hostility of the president. Food drives for laid off hospitality workers need help.
Load More Replies...
Anony Mouse 4 months ago
Thinking they need an oversize pickup truck for supermarket trips or to buy glue from a hardware store when they don’t know what a tek screw is.
Tom Brincefield 4 months ago
Phillips head became the standard screw head here decades ago. But Robertson & Torx are used among the professionals more and more.
Load More Replies...
Nicola Roberts 4 months ago
For me, something that I've learned from US news, is about voter registration. Depending on your state's rules, you may only be allowed to vote for the political party you are registered with. This may apply when you vote in: A presidential primary or caucus. Congressional or local office primaries. If you weren’t' aware already, I'm a Brit and I really dislike discussing politics and religion with anyone in polite company. So that fact this information is "registered" is wholly abominable.
Tom Brincefield 4 months ago
Whether this is true is entirely up to the state laws where you are voting. Some allow you to vote in any primary election for any candidate, no matter your declared party.
Load More Replies...
Tamara 4 months ago
I remember the plastic on the couch, never seen that before or after anywhere but in the States
Dane 1 month ago
A lot of this is overt, but fair. The current Administration's antics, the religiosity, the over-the-top xenophobia, etc are all more worrisome, but still spot on. Next year will mark the USA's 250th birthday, and they will make a BIG deal of it! They don't realize that many people in Europe and elsewhere go to pubs older this! Go to schools and churches multiple-times this old! It is true, the US is the know-it-all teenage son of the world, that has many more mistakes to be made before any true wisdom comes through. At least, as an American, I hope it does.
Beef Brisket 4 months ago
Honestly, it's how much Americans HATE themselves! Why?? Sure, you're not perfect--no country is--but you're amazing, friendly people with so many good things about y'all. Yet not a single topic can be discussed, not even squirrels in underpants, without someone needing to pipe up and bash the country you're living in. How did you get sooo brainwashed?
G A 4 months ago
You're going back to the 70s and 80s comedy films for those tropes, aren't you?
Load More Replies...
Baba Caine 4 months ago
I was surprised not to see, they think there money can be used world wide. Or that how dodgy there elected people are, how back water some of there places are or how big there houses are
G A 4 months ago
That was the way in a lot of 3rd world countries when the currency was worth something. That died out 20 years ago or so. Maybe some think it still applies but US currency ain't worth di ck now.
Load More Replies... JK 4 months ago
I couldn't read this thread because it appears that readers here associate the US with trump and maga. HALF of us did not vote for him.
David Andrews 4 months ago
But the majority of those who voted did, and those who didn't vote can be considered to have endorsed his values too. It was no secret what trump and his maga following wanted to do, and by not voting against that, they said they are fine if he wins.
Load More Replies...
kansasmagic 4 months ago
Sometimes I think the world would be a better place if we valued individuality, variety and diversity more than lazy stereotypes. Most of the things on this list are said by (some) Americans about (other) Americans. I read a lot of "liberal" media, and the stereotypes about trailer parks, fast food, etc., are pretty much the same as this. (And many conservative Americans will say the same kind of stuff about cities all being rundown hellholes...).
Susie Elle 4 months ago (edited)
I'd like to balance it with something I really admire from the Americans: y'all are SO passionate and dedicated, and yes, sometimes that also means you're passionate for 'wrong' things, but the dedication you have for the things you believe in blows my mind.
G A 4 months ago
Some of the criticisms are ridiculously petty. They then bring down the level of any serious valid criticism. Paper plate use is hardly at the level of the Trumpanzees ruining the social standing of their citizens worldwide. The US is not seen my many as an attractive holiday destination any more. People these days say 'ugh-no' at the suggestion, almost consistently in my limited experience. It's sad that a large part of the population cut off their nose to spite their face. Worst political decision since Brexit.
JK 4 months ago (edited)
I'm a sad American that will have to endure this horror for who knows how long. I live in the #1 leisure and recreational destination in the US (not NYC) and apparently people like us for our gentle and professional demeanor, accommodations, and crazy good food. I feel for other cities hit by the hostility of the president. Food drives for laid off hospitality workers need help.
Load More Replies... Anony Mouse 4 months ago
Thinking they need an oversize pickup truck for supermarket trips or to buy glue from a hardware store when they don’t know what a tek screw is.
Tom Brincefield 4 months ago
Phillips head became the standard screw head here decades ago. But Robertson & Torx are used among the professionals more and more.
Load More Replies... Nicola Roberts 4 months ago
For me, something that I've learned from US news, is about voter registration. Depending on your state's rules, you may only be allowed to vote for the political party you are registered with. This may apply when you vote in: A presidential primary or caucus. Congressional or local office primaries. If you weren’t' aware already, I'm a Brit and I really dislike discussing politics and religion with anyone in polite company. So that fact this information is "registered" is wholly abominable.
Tom Brincefield 4 months ago
Whether this is true is entirely up to the state laws where you are voting. Some allow you to vote in any primary election for any candidate, no matter your declared party.
Load More Replies... Tamara 4 months ago
I remember the plastic on the couch, never seen that before or after anywhere but in the States
Dane 1 month ago
A lot of this is overt, but fair. The current Administration's antics, the religiosity, the over-the-top xenophobia, etc are all more worrisome, but still spot on. Next year will mark the USA's 250th birthday, and they will make a BIG deal of it! They don't realize that many people in Europe and elsewhere go to pubs older this! Go to schools and churches multiple-times this old! It is true, the US is the know-it-all teenage son of the world, that has many more mistakes to be made before any true wisdom comes through. At least, as an American, I hope it does.
Beef Brisket 4 months ago
Honestly, it's how much Americans HATE themselves! Why?? Sure, you're not perfect--no country is--but you're amazing, friendly people with so many good things about y'all. Yet not a single topic can be discussed, not even squirrels in underpants, without someone needing to pipe up and bash the country you're living in. How did you get sooo brainwashed?
G A 4 months ago
You're going back to the 70s and 80s comedy films for those tropes, aren't you?
Load More Replies... Baba Caine 4 months ago
I was surprised not to see, they think there money can be used world wide. Or that how dodgy there elected people are, how back water some of there places are or how big there houses are
G A 4 months ago
That was the way in a lot of 3rd world countries when the currency was worth something. That died out 20 years ago or so. Maybe some think it still applies but US currency ain't worth di ck now.
Load More Replies... JK 4 months ago
I couldn't read this thread because it appears that readers here associate the US with trump and maga. HALF of us did not vote for him.
David Andrews 4 months ago
But the majority of those who voted did, and those who didn't vote can be considered to have endorsed his values too. It was no secret what trump and his maga following wanted to do, and by not voting against that, they said they are fine if he wins.
Load More Replies... kansasmagic 4 months ago
Sometimes I think the world would be a better place if we valued individuality, variety and diversity more than lazy stereotypes. Most of the things on this list are said by (some) Americans about (other) Americans. I read a lot of "liberal" media, and the stereotypes about trailer parks, fast food, etc., are pretty much the same as this. (And many conservative Americans will say the same kind of stuff about cities all being rundown hellholes...).
You May Like 70 Times People Saw Americans Embarrassing Themselves Online And Just Had To Take A Screenshot (New Pics) Non-Americans Were Not Prepared To Hear That These Unimaginable Things Are True About The US
Greta Jaruševičiūtė
Justinas Keturka
Related on Bored Panda
