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“Shoes on or off?”, you might wonder stepping into someone’s house. Well, it depends on where that house is located: if it’s somewhere in the US, for instance, walking inside with outside shoes might not be that big of a deal, but doing that in Japan is likely to be frowned upon.

This is just one example of how the same situation might be viewed very differently in different locations; and there sure are many more. Members of the ‘Ask Reddit’ community recently discussed such situations, after one of them asked netizens what is considered a taboo in their country but absolutely fine elsewhere. If you’re eager to learn something that might be good to remember when visiting one country or another, scroll down to find redditors’ answers on the list below, and feel free to share what are some things considered taboo in your own country in the comments.

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#1

“Mowing Your Lawn On A Sunday”: 30 Taboo Things Other Countries Don’t Think Twice About Lobbying. We call it corruption or bribes in Iceland.

fridgehawk , Mikhail Nilov Report

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DE Ray
DE Ray
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1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I so wish the US could get away from this. But I honestly don't see it in my lifetime. The corruption is baked into the system, as it is - maybe in 30-40 years.

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#2

“Mowing Your Lawn On A Sunday”: 30 Taboo Things Other Countries Don’t Think Twice About In Alaska you can be put in a phone registry to go and pick up a road kill moose off the side of the road. This is considered a super lucky phone call as even the worst road kill moose has 100’s of pounds of good meat. Everyone is normally stoked for you if you get this call also and if during the day time people will normally honk and cheer driving past you getting the dead moose. I never realized the weirdness of all of this till explaining the excitement of road kill moose to some friends in San Diego. .

Next_Emphasis_9424 , hitbug Report

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Mia Black
Mia Black
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1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Afaik in Germany only hunters are allowed to take road kill for food and the veterinary still had to check it if it's safe to eat.

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#3

“Mowing Your Lawn On A Sunday”: 30 Taboo Things Other Countries Don’t Think Twice About Sitting on a desk or table. In Maori culture it's insulting to plonk your a**e on a surface where food might be prepared.

TooOldToBePunk , Pavel Danilyuk Report

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Some things in the world are pretty universal, that’s true. However, one can’t argue that most things we say, do, or experience differ not only with each country but with each region or household, even; what is completely normal in one might be considered out of line in another.

Such out-of-line things are usually considered taboo – “a subject, word, or action that is avoided for religious or social reasons”, as dictionaries describe it. And they can relate to any and every thing there is, from food to periods, and beyond. According to the person who started the thread, redditor ‘Auelogic’, even such a seemingly humdrum thing as chewing gum can be a taboo in certain places.
#4

“Mowing Your Lawn On A Sunday”: 30 Taboo Things Other Countries Don’t Think Twice About Universal healthcare

asfacadabra , Kaboompics.com Report

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Tobias Reaper
Tobias Reaper
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1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I don't understand why so many yanks are opposed to this its nice to have to worry about how much it costs to go in an ambulance or get treated at hospital. Its absolutely scandalous how much you have to pay for things And health insurance being linked to you job that just takes the p**s.

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#5

“Mowing Your Lawn On A Sunday”: 30 Taboo Things Other Countries Don’t Think Twice About Not offering a cup of tea to anyone entering the home including servicemen.
In the UK not doing so is punishable by death.

Captain_Parsley , Ahmed Aqtai Report

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Nathaniel He/Him Cis-Het
Nathaniel He/Him Cis-Het
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1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have black teas, yellow teas, green teas, purple teas, red read and more. if drink the teas in the correct order then later on in the day I am pissing a rainbow.

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“In my country, there are many minor taboos, like the idea that selling gum is frowned upon. This made me curious about what other taboos exist in different countries,” the OP told Bored Panda in a recent interview, sharing why they decided to ask this particular question.

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Discussing the netizens’ answers, the OP shared that they were interesting to read, especially as they related to numerous different countries. “I’ve learned a lot from this,” they admitted.
#6

“Mowing Your Lawn On A Sunday”: 30 Taboo Things Other Countries Don’t Think Twice About As an iranian, where do you want me to start?

Hungry-Calendar-5532 , sina drakhshani Report

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#7

“Mowing Your Lawn On A Sunday”: 30 Taboo Things Other Countries Don’t Think Twice About I just went to Germany for the first time (I’m from the US). My colleague (from Germany) went to grab me a glass for my beer and I said that I could just drink it from the bottle, and you could almost hear a pin drop when about 10 Germans spun around to stare at me. One of them said “….. wafflekween, that’s a WHEAT beer. It must be drank out of a glass!”.

wafflekween , Darlene Alderson Report

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#8

“Mowing Your Lawn On A Sunday”: 30 Taboo Things Other Countries Don’t Think Twice About Child marriage (thank god).

Piece-of-Whit , Pixabay Report

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It’s safe to assume that the redditor wasn’t the only one who learned new information while browsing the list, as while we might be well-familiar with things that are considered taboo in our country, we might also be completely oblivious to what we shouldn’t say or do elsewhere.

That’s because our morals and values, as well as our mindset, tend to be shaped—or at least, largely influenced—by the culture we find ourselves in. As one TED speaker put it, “We all see the world through cultural glasses.”
#9

“Mowing Your Lawn On A Sunday”: 30 Taboo Things Other Countries Don’t Think Twice About Foraging or even walking through private land (“safe passage”) -

In many countries foraging on private property is quite acceptable if you are only taking small amounts, as well as safe passage (hiking through private property but not staying there).

But in the USA, even WALKING onto someone’s personal property without express permission can get you shot. And taking something?? Omfg you have a death wish.

Foraging isn’t permitted on most public lands either. “Take nothing, leave nothing,” is the rule.

Every European person I have told this to is stunned.

Remarkable-Escape267 , www.pexels.com Report

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Simon Chen
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1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Then this person has not been to germany yet. Walking trough someones garden here is not something normal. You will not get shot, most likely, but people are not very excited about it either. That is why we have fences and hedges....

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#10

“Mowing Your Lawn On A Sunday”: 30 Taboo Things Other Countries Don’t Think Twice About USA: eating horse meat. Apparently this is relatively common in France or Italy, but would be greeted by horror over here.

Ulfhethinn09 , Pixabay Report

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Nathaniel He/Him Cis-Het
Nathaniel He/Him Cis-Het
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1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Used to be common in the UK. Gained popularity in WW2 as beef was rationed, horse meat wasn't. Also became unknowingly common not so long back when horse meat was found in Iceland beef lasagnes.

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#11

“Mowing Your Lawn On A Sunday”: 30 Taboo Things Other Countries Don’t Think Twice About Standing next to a stranger closer than 6 ft, unless the lack of space forces you to stand thay close.

(Google "Finnish bus stop".).

AavaMeri_247 , Lucas Prado Report

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The aforementioned TED speaker, a cross-cultural expert and a rocket scientist, Julien S. Bourrelle, suggested that people tend to view the behavior or emotions of others through their own cultural glasses.

“The lens through which your brain sees the world shapes your reality,” he said, which explains why people might be surprised to find that something that seems completely normal to them is considered taboo in other places of the world.

That’s why lists as such can be not only fascinating, but useful, too, as not knowing that something is considered taboo when visiting a foreign country can create some rather awkward situations.

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#12

“Mowing Your Lawn On A Sunday”: 30 Taboo Things Other Countries Don’t Think Twice About Being gay

MahWahf , Monstera Production Report

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#13

“Mowing Your Lawn On A Sunday”: 30 Taboo Things Other Countries Don’t Think Twice About Any kind of physical punishment for children. Maybe not exactly a taboo, rather downright illegal, but it’s shocking how normalised using physical punishment is in so many parts of the world.

digl3tt , Yan Krukau Report

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Cammy Mack
Cammy Mack
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1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

For the right age, and the right temperament, there's absolutely no harm with a little swat on the bum. This is not beating, just light reinforcement. It is not always appropriate, though. Discipline takes many forms. Kids get away with murder these days.

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#14

“Mowing Your Lawn On A Sunday”: 30 Taboo Things Other Countries Don’t Think Twice About The word “c**t”. It’s a HUGE insult here in the US but it’s barely a swear in the UK and practically term of affection in Australia. (I might be stereotyping a little here though).

disgruntledhoneybee , Helena Lopes Report

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Ace
Ace
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1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not really true. Yes, it can be, carefully, used between friends, but use it as a real insult it's still pretty much as 'strong' a swearword as is possible.

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If you enjoy browsing content about cultural differences and life in different parts of the world, you might like this list of funny illustrations that depict the cultural differences between the East and the West, too. You might also want to consider viewing these stories about the biggest culture shocks people have ever encountered.

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#15

“Mowing Your Lawn On A Sunday”: 30 Taboo Things Other Countries Don’t Think Twice About Waltzing in someone's home wearing shoes.

Frick-It_Ralf , Erik Mclean Report

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LaserBrain
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1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I grew up in Japan and I still find it mildly shocking if someone walks into a house with their outside shoes on.

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#16

“Mowing Your Lawn On A Sunday”: 30 Taboo Things Other Countries Don’t Think Twice About Any form of nudity shown in public. Americans sexualize everything, so nudity here is far more taboo than in France, for example.

ChewingGumPubis , Ximena Mora Report

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Cathy Roberts
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1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Which is dumb, right? It's a human body. We were all assigned one at birth.

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#17

“Mowing Your Lawn On A Sunday”: 30 Taboo Things Other Countries Don’t Think Twice About Mowing your lawn or other noisy activities on a Sunday.

OctoMatter , Magic K Report

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#18

“Mowing Your Lawn On A Sunday”: 30 Taboo Things Other Countries Don’t Think Twice About Being a bubbly positive person in eastern europe = you're crazy and delusional and lots of red flags

being not bubbly positive person in USA = something is wrong with him avoid him.

Jazzlike-Society5358 , Andrea Piacquadio Report

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#19

“Mowing Your Lawn On A Sunday”: 30 Taboo Things Other Countries Don’t Think Twice About Breaking spaghetti.

AdElectrical8222 , Pixabay Report

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Mrx Mrx
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1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I mean why would you? You're not throwing Sushi in a blender and eat them with a straw.

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#20

“Mowing Your Lawn On A Sunday”: 30 Taboo Things Other Countries Don’t Think Twice About Not exclusive to my country, Sweden, but we have draconic d**g laws here.

You can be dead drunk in the streets and ppl won’t bat an eye, but if you smoke weed you’re treated as criminal.

Sadeg-Power , Motoki Tonn Report

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Hans Georg
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1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We legalized weed in Germany. I do not care about people smoking weed, but the smell is awful and does not belong in public places or on playgrounds.

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#21

“Mowing Your Lawn On A Sunday”: 30 Taboo Things Other Countries Don’t Think Twice About Children being naked. 

In the US, people would lose their s**t and call CPS over a young child not wearing clothes in their back yard or on the beach. In Europe, it’s considered pretty standard for

Hubble_Bubble , Sebastian Voortman Report

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1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not really 'standard' in most of Europe. You might see it occasionally with very young children on the beach, but it's far from the norm.

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#22

“Mowing Your Lawn On A Sunday”: 30 Taboo Things Other Countries Don’t Think Twice About Men who are friends or family casually holding hands in public. It'll never happen here.


I notice it's very common in the Middle East India, and Egypt. It's a safety thing as I understand and how to get across insane streets.

Spiritual_Lemonade , Chris F Report

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1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Love it and wish it were a thing in the US, rather than the toxic masculinity.

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#23

“Mowing Your Lawn On A Sunday”: 30 Taboo Things Other Countries Don’t Think Twice About Female breasts on regular television.

irishpwr46 , JESHOOTS.com Report

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#24

“Mowing Your Lawn On A Sunday”: 30 Taboo Things Other Countries Don’t Think Twice About In my country, discussing mental health openly is taboo, but accepted elsewhere.

DaintyOrya , Mental Health America (MHA) Report

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#25

“Mowing Your Lawn On A Sunday”: 30 Taboo Things Other Countries Don’t Think Twice About Belgium: call them “French fries” and get effed up!
(Also: there is no such thing is as “a Belgian waffle”. You are likely referring to a Brussels waffle and not knowing there are quite a lot of different kind of waffles in Belgium.).

GuardPerson , Dzenina Lukac Report

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Gavin Johnson
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1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I met a Belgian who loved to talk, you should’ve heard that Belgian Waffle……

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#26

“Mowing Your Lawn On A Sunday”: 30 Taboo Things Other Countries Don’t Think Twice About Talking to a stranger on public transport.

Moist_Haggis , Cleyton Ewerton Report

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Nathaniel He/Him Cis-Het
Nathaniel He/Him Cis-Het
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1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I read books on public transport. A sign meaning leave me alone. People still ask me what I am reading, then go on to tell me their life story.

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#27

“Mowing Your Lawn On A Sunday”: 30 Taboo Things Other Countries Don’t Think Twice About Abortion, divorce, not "paying back" your parents even when they were deadbeat.

FewExit7745 , Nataliya Vaitkevich Report

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1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In Australia, it's becoming increasingly clear that even though a hospital or clinic may say they provide abortions, privately the board members/leadership will cancel or withhold the service because of their personal beliefs. It's a huge issue that is only now being covered in the news.

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#28

“Mowing Your Lawn On A Sunday”: 30 Taboo Things Other Countries Don’t Think Twice About Atheism.

toxicwasteinnevada , Tima Miroshnichenko Report

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#29

“Mowing Your Lawn On A Sunday”: 30 Taboo Things Other Countries Don’t Think Twice About Public displays of affection are taboo here, but normal elsewhere.

GentleKyrielle , Katie Salerno Report

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1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Ok in most European countries up to a certain limit, cross that limit and people will stare and comment.

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#30

“Mowing Your Lawn On A Sunday”: 30 Taboo Things Other Countries Don’t Think Twice About Celebrating your birthday before its actually your birthday.

halbesbrot , Adrianna CA Report

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