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People Share 30 Things That They Think Are Normal In Europe But Horrific In America

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We often read of things that are totally normal in America but look super crazy to the rest of the world. Like free refills, medical debts, the sheer portion sizes, you name it. But hey, the place and time is everything when it comes to which things we view as typical and which ones raise our brows.

So this time, we are setting our eyes on Europe and the weird customs, things, and manners people in its 44 countries have that look totally crazy to Americans. “What's considered normal in Europe but horrific in America?” someone asked on AskReddit, and 12.7k comments followed.

We picked some of the most telling and thought-provoking responses that prove European countries are also home to a bunch of weirdos!

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#1

People Share 30 Things That They Think Are Normal In Europe But Horrific In America Old things. Houses especially. "Someone died in this house" yeah no s**t Sherlock, this house has been here more than your country

flawed_yet_fun , Mike Report

Final score:

261points

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#2

People Share 30 Things That They Think Are Normal In Europe But Horrific In America The metric system

rmbl88 , pxfuel Report

Final score:

255points

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#3

People Share 30 Things That They Think Are Normal In Europe But Horrific In America Taking the bus. There is so much stigma around public transport in the US, especially busses, and in Europe it's just a totally normal way to get around because nobody wants to deal with driving and parking in a big city.

Also from an employer's perspective: 25+ vacation days minimum for all employees and unlimited sick days. The absolute horror.

Zack1018 , Pofka Report

Final score:

254points

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#4

Songs with swear words being broadcasted on the radio, or swear words not being covered with a beep tone on tv. It’s always felt weird to me that Americans are all about being free and freedom of speech but then again they are scared of some stupid words.

Elisiana12 Report

Final score:

244points

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#5

People Share 30 Things That They Think Are Normal In Europe But Horrific In America Pro union laws. Pro worker labour laws. Mandatory paid vacation days (including fines for companies if the workers don't take their vacation days or get them payed out. They NEED to actually leave work legally for around 25 days per year).

AgarwaenCran , Alex Kotliarskyi Report

Final score:

217points

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#6

People Share 30 Things That They Think Are Normal In Europe But Horrific In America Letting kids go to school or walk around the neighborhood by themselves without supervision.

A Dutch family moved to the USA and their kids went to school on their bikes like they always do, after a while the police showed up on their doorstep and child protective services letting them know they’re being irresponsible and to not do that again.

ik101 , Elizabeth Report

Final score:

214points

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#7

People Share 30 Things That They Think Are Normal In Europe But Horrific In America Mailman doesnt leave packages unattended on your porch. He eather gives you it on the doorstep or you go get it at the post office. Much less infureating than getting it stolen or thrown accros your yard by a mailman...

haberg6 , MobiusDaXter Report

Final score:

188points

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#8

People Share 30 Things That They Think Are Normal In Europe But Horrific In America Taking of your shoes when getting home.

Fliggan , Cade Martin Report

Final score:

186points

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#9

People Share 30 Things That They Think Are Normal In Europe But Horrific In America I don't know if this would horrify Americans as I've never heard it discussed, but where I live in Europe (Luxembourg), voting is mandatory and you can get fined for not voting in an election. You can still spoil your ballot, so you don't have to decide between lesser evils if you don't want to, but you have to make the effort to go to the polling station or submit a postal vote. It guarantees a high voter turnout and by extension more representative elections, coupled with a proportional voting system so we're not locked into a two-party mess like the UK or the US - not that it's without its issues of course, but I think it's an improvement.

MrLuxarina , Santeri Viinamäki Report

Final score:

179points

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#10

People Share 30 Things That They Think Are Normal In Europe But Horrific In America Being expected to know another language other than English.

Coygon , Thirdman Report

Final score:

176points

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#11

At least in Germany, nudity. No one cares if you're naked, no one thinks you're a sex offender, no one thinks it's even sexual to be naked unless you're actively having sex, and no one makes it weird.

You can be naked in public parks to soak up sun, on beaches, swim naked in lakes. Saunas are all naked, mixed sex areas in spas and saunas are naked with no issues and in general, it's just not an issue.

climbmea Report

Final score:

171points

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#12

People Share 30 Things That They Think Are Normal In Europe But Horrific In America From what I’ve heard, allowing retail workers to sit. I’ve heard it’s regular for people to be sitting in Europe as cashiers, but in the us it is seen as lazy. Only store I know of that allows it is Aldi and that’s because it helps their cashiering metrics.

whovian1087 , Wolfmann Report

Final score:

163points

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#13

You don't have to answer your phone on vacation.

Final score:

159points

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#14

People Share 30 Things That They Think Are Normal In Europe But Horrific In America The number of rooms in the description of apartments. 1 room in the US usually means 1 bedroom, a living room ,and separate kitchen. Was shocked when I realized it means everything inside one room in most European countries

coolth3 , Bromford Report

Final score:

152points

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#15

People Share 30 Things That They Think Are Normal In Europe But Horrific In America Open borders.

Starfuri , pxhere Report

Final score:

149points

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#16

Not being super patriotic.

Bladeteacher Report

Final score:

148points

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#17

Long paid parental leaves and month long holidays (vacations).

sammacias Report

Final score:

144points

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#18

People Share 30 Things That They Think Are Normal In Europe But Horrific In America Oh man... europe has so many different countries. Something that is completely normal where I live could be frowned upon as soon as I cross the next border. But in general we tip for good service, not bc we have to. A rude waitress won't get tipped by me. Also we usually remove our shoes before we enter a home. And yep, "free" healthcare.

ghost882 , Lee Haywood Report

Final score:

134points

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#19

People Share 30 Things That They Think Are Normal In Europe But Horrific In America Not giving your debit/credit card to your server but doing it yourself

Ok-World-4822 , HLundgaard Report

Final score:

128points

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#20

People Share 30 Things That They Think Are Normal In Europe But Horrific In America Sitting a foot away from a complete stranger and then completely ignoring them.

skelebabe95 , TheOtherKev Report

Final score:

127points

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#21

People Share 30 Things That They Think Are Normal In Europe But Horrific In America Americans get so bend out of shape over naked children running around the beach.

On every beach in Bulgaria I've been, naked children is the norm, women sunbathing in monokini is considered absolutely normal, while naked men are okay only in the nude sections of the beaches. And every beach has a nude section.

gerginborisov , Charlottees Report

Final score:

124points

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#22

Smaller food portions

Sharp-Run-8670 Report

Final score:

122points

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#23

Not enrolling your kid in extracurricular activities. In Europe, some kids are enrolled in a sport or club and the older ones are mostly responsible for getting there and figuring out their schedule. In America, some parents are so obsessed with kids sports that the whole family's existence revolves around it, or they get judgemental when they hear that a kid isn't involved in any sports or clubs.

cookiecutterdoll Report

Final score:

114points

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#24

People Share 30 Things That They Think Are Normal In Europe But Horrific In America Not doing small talk.

Thundechile , Tim Douglas Report

Final score:

101points

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#25

Putting mayonnaise on french fries instead of ketchup.

actuallynotvictoria Report

Final score:

89points

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#26

People Share 30 Things That They Think Are Normal In Europe But Horrific In America Almost every car having a manual transmission. when i visited ukraine, i only saw rich people with automatic cars

_doofus25_ , Rutger van der Maar Report

Final score:

87points

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#27

People Share 30 Things That They Think Are Normal In Europe But Horrific In America Charging for water at a restaurant.

dpstreetz , Pixabay Report

Final score:

86points

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#28

Bidets? I was born and raised in the US and I think they're efficient and far more hygienic than TP, but apparently most other dudes in this country think it's gay to clean up after your business is done lol

Final score:

83points

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#29

People Share 30 Things That They Think Are Normal In Europe But Horrific In America In Germany, looking for a apartment doesn't automatically mean it will come 100% with a kitchen. 90% they don't have them in and you have to buy them yourself.

Ok_Context_732 , Marco Verch Report

Final score:

79points

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#30

People Share 30 Things That They Think Are Normal In Europe But Horrific In America Underage drinking seems more of a crime in the US - in most cases of a kid is caught with alcohol in the UK it's just confiscated and poured away. Strictly speaking the age you can drink alcohol is really low as well, so long as you're home with a parent I think it's like 5/6. When you're in a restaurant you're also allowed low percentage alcohol like cider with a meal so long as you're with an adult.

AugustineBlackwater , Ketut Subiyanto Report

Final score:

78points

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#31

People Share 30 Things That They Think Are Normal In Europe But Horrific In America Doesn't apply to every european country, but prison sentences are a lot shorter. Life in prison without parole is extremely rare and many countries do not have such sentences. For example the maximum sentence here in Finland is called "Life in prison" but the avarage time spent in prison before release is 13-14 years for them.

xzamuzx , pxfuel Report

Final score:

40points

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#32

Having an electric kettle.

FudgeFlat4966 Report

Final score:

39points

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#33

People Share 30 Things That They Think Are Normal In Europe But Horrific In America Not tipping your server in a restaurant.

mawisu , pxfuel Report

Final score:

37points

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#34

People Share 30 Things That They Think Are Normal In Europe But Horrific In America Paying for bathrooms.

CreeperDude6 , Cherubino Report

Final score:

36points

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#35

People Share 30 Things That They Think Are Normal In Europe But Horrific In America Being completely naked in a sauna (mixed men and women)

Savingsmaster , KSchlott Report

Final score:

36points

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#36

People Share 30 Things That They Think Are Normal In Europe But Horrific In America As a Czech person, my American wife was blown away that we let kids in pubs or bars.

earstorm , Alexander Popov Report

Final score:

34points

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#37

People Share 30 Things That They Think Are Normal In Europe But Horrific In America Men on scooters. Apparently here in the USA I get made fun of... What?!! Even Mexico and London dudes on scooters is normal

zerinsakech1 , Denniz Futalan Report

Final score:

34points

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#38

People Share 30 Things That They Think Are Normal In Europe But Horrific In America Kissing greetings.

lolppjoke , Joint Hometown News Service Report

Final score:

32points

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#39

People Share 30 Things That They Think Are Normal In Europe But Horrific In America Leaving your baby to sleep in a stroller outside. Be it at home on the balcony/garden or outside a restaurant.

Line_ben , Den Nation Report

Final score:

30points

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#40

People Share 30 Things That They Think Are Normal In Europe But Horrific In America Uh, where do I start? German here, living in the US. How about TV tax? I bet americans would go bonkers over it lol. I mean, so do Germans, but - wait for it, it's a classic - "what can you do?"

Mission-System2590 , Victoria Borodinova Report

Final score:

26points

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#41

People Share 30 Things That They Think Are Normal In Europe But Horrific In America Some countries in Europe have church taxes (the state collects money through the taxation system and hands a slice of it over to the national church) and/or state-paid clergy.

CiderDrinker , paolabsantos Report

Final score:

20points

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#42

People Share 30 Things That They Think Are Normal In Europe But Horrific In America The amount of people who still smoke. Especially smoking in restaurants restaurants. Nothing like sitting in a beautiful cafe and having someone at the table next to you light up just as your food arrives.

Also putting tobacco in weed.

Absurdity_Everywhere , pxfuel Report

Final score:

14points

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Liucija Adomaite

Liucija Adomaite is a creative mind with years of experience in copywriting. She has a dynamic set of experiences from advertising, academia, and journalism. This time, she has set out on a journey to investigate the ways in which we communicate ideas on a large scale. Her current mission is to find a magic formula for how to make ideas, news, and other such things spread like a virus.

Liucija Adomaite is a creative mind with years of experience in copywriting. She has a dynamic set of experiences from advertising, academia, and journalism. This time, she has set out on a journey to investigate the ways in which we communicate ideas on a large scale. Her current mission is to find a magic formula for how to make ideas, news, and other such things spread like a virus.

Austėja Akavickaitė

Austėja is a Photo Editor at Bored Panda with a BA in Photography.

Austėja is a Photo Editor at Bored Panda with a BA in Photography.

What do you think ?

Susie Elle 3 years ago (edited)

Gotta say that "things normal in Europe" means you take more than 40 very different countries together. Example; The Netherlands doesn't have bagged milk at all, we don't allow underage drinking in the general sense and we don't leave kids in strollers outside. We're one of the few countries that use diseases as swear words, though :)

90points

Trisha Chase 3 years ago

The same could be said for the United States. People love to generalize Americans, but the truth is we're vastly different from one another. I notice a lot of ignorance from Europeans about the differences in Americans. Like someone made a southern Texas joke towards me and I had to explain I'm from the east coast. It seems like they forget how big America really is.

30points

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Nannerdog 3 years ago

Don't leave us hanging, Susie, tell us a swear word! :) Lol just joking. It's so cool to learn about the Netherlands.

17points

Cat Crazy Lady 2 years ago

And maybe one day you'll use covid as a swear word. Gotta ask about the stroller thing..was that mentioned here? If so I missed it. Who the hell leaves their child in a stroller outside.. =/

6points

Meami 2 years ago

Agreed! Even in a single country in Europe, some of these things are specific to certain areas. The same is true in the US. Something that might be horrific in one part of the country is widely accepted in another. Naked kids at the beach, for example. No big deal where I'm from - although the beach is pretty cold so you don't see many. :)

3points

Bored Seb 3 years ago

As an european who spend so much time in the states I just can't see the US as one country... there are so much differences depending on where you are... and I'm so just tired of those meaningless comparison...

50points

Martha Meyer 3 years ago

This is even more true for Europe. They are lumping 40 different countries into this comparison.

26points

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Cynthia Wilkins 2 years ago

Have your read the book "American Nations" by Colin Woodard by any chance? It talks about exactly that. The author basically breaks down the US (and I believe Canada as well, though it's been a while, so I'm not sure) into 11 different "nations", with distinct dialects, values, etc.

2points

Frannie Kaplan 2 years ago

It's socialist nonsense that always gets posted on bp

-3points

blugeagua 3 years ago

Yep, too many different states, accents, culture, laws, etc.

-3points

Robert Buxwin 3 years ago

About half of these are just cultural differences that aren't "Horrific" one way or the other, and some even reflect badly on the Europeans, not to mention the whole "not all of Europe, but n a few places..." thing. So basically, the author is full of s**t.

40points

Frozengeckolover 2 years ago

A lot of them were innacurate too.

10points

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Bonnie Smalling 2 years ago

Thank you! I’m so tired of these one sided American articles! Many of these were just ridiculous. 🙄

6points

Teresa Stabler 2 years ago

Definitely not horrific. Just different.

0points

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Susie Elle 3 years ago (edited)

Gotta say that "things normal in Europe" means you take more than 40 very different countries together. Example; The Netherlands doesn't have bagged milk at all, we don't allow underage drinking in the general sense and we don't leave kids in strollers outside. We're one of the few countries that use diseases as swear words, though :)

90points

Trisha Chase 3 years ago

The same could be said for the United States. People love to generalize Americans, but the truth is we're vastly different from one another. I notice a lot of ignorance from Europeans about the differences in Americans. Like someone made a southern Texas joke towards me and I had to explain I'm from the east coast. It seems like they forget how big America really is.

30points

Load More Replies...

Nannerdog 3 years ago

Don't leave us hanging, Susie, tell us a swear word! :) Lol just joking. It's so cool to learn about the Netherlands.

17points

Cat Crazy Lady 2 years ago

And maybe one day you'll use covid as a swear word. Gotta ask about the stroller thing..was that mentioned here? If so I missed it. Who the hell leaves their child in a stroller outside.. =/

6points

Meami 2 years ago

Agreed! Even in a single country in Europe, some of these things are specific to certain areas. The same is true in the US. Something that might be horrific in one part of the country is widely accepted in another. Naked kids at the beach, for example. No big deal where I'm from - although the beach is pretty cold so you don't see many. :)

3points

Bored Seb 3 years ago

As an european who spend so much time in the states I just can't see the US as one country... there are so much differences depending on where you are... and I'm so just tired of those meaningless comparison...

50points

Martha Meyer 3 years ago

This is even more true for Europe. They are lumping 40 different countries into this comparison.

26points

Load More Replies...

Cynthia Wilkins 2 years ago

Have your read the book "American Nations" by Colin Woodard by any chance? It talks about exactly that. The author basically breaks down the US (and I believe Canada as well, though it's been a while, so I'm not sure) into 11 different "nations", with distinct dialects, values, etc.

2points

Frannie Kaplan 2 years ago

It's socialist nonsense that always gets posted on bp

-3points

blugeagua 3 years ago

Yep, too many different states, accents, culture, laws, etc.

-3points

Robert Buxwin 3 years ago

About half of these are just cultural differences that aren't "Horrific" one way or the other, and some even reflect badly on the Europeans, not to mention the whole "not all of Europe, but n a few places..." thing. So basically, the author is full of s**t.

40points

Frozengeckolover 2 years ago

A lot of them were innacurate too.

10points

Load More Replies...

Bonnie Smalling 2 years ago

Thank you! I’m so tired of these one sided American articles! Many of these were just ridiculous. 🙄

6points

Teresa Stabler 2 years ago

Definitely not horrific. Just different.

0points

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