30 “Obvious Signs” To Identify An American In The Crowd, According To Non-Americans

An estimated 700 million tourists traveled internationally in 2022 between January and September, which is more than double (+133%) the number recorded for the same period in 2021.

As the sector rebounds from the pandemic, we can once again go abroad (or have people visit us) and observe the peculiar ways of foreigners. This gives us insight into the world's cultural diversity, helping us understand how people from different backgrounds interact and behave in various environments.

One of the most talked-about nationalities is American. Due to the United States' global status, they are one of the most-traveled-to countries (5th) and biggest tourism spenders (2nd) on the planet.

So when recently Redditor Ermland2 asked other platform users to reveal what are some of the tell-tale signs that someone is from the US, many contributed. Continue scrolling to check out the submissions and upvote the ones you agree with. Let's see which is the most accurate!

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30 "Obvious Signs" To Identify An American In The Crowd, According To Non-Americans From what I've been told by European friends and travellers, our complete and utter lack of an indoor voice.

KevMenc1998 , Nick_Paschalis Report

Final score:

228points

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Pensive_Panda 1 year ago

Yep. Can confirm.

68points

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30 "Obvious Signs" To Identify An American In The Crowd, According To Non-Americans An Italian told me that Americans walk confidently in the wrong direction.

MagazineOk6401 , borodai Report

Final score:

216points

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Pensive_Panda 1 year ago

OMG. Too true. And funny af.

74points

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30 "Obvious Signs" To Identify An American In The Crowd, According To Non-Americans In Salzburg I went to grab something from the drug store. As I was checking out I said hello to the cashier (thinking there was very little difference between how I said it and how Austrians say it). She immediately started speaking to me in English and I asked her how she knew I spoke English.

She deadpan stared me in the eye and goes "hellloooo". I just about died laughing since I'm a very stereotypical friendly American that says hello exactly like that. One of my favorite memories from that trip.

Ted_Dance_Son , DragonImages Report

Final score:

213points

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Persephone hates Pomegranate 1 year ago

I just tested this on me, an American. I realized I do this too.

63points

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30 "Obvious Signs" To Identify An American In The Crowd, According To Non-Americans They're wondering why everyone is speaking German. In Germany.

I wish I was making that up.

ComesInAnOldBox , gstockstudio Report

Final score:

206points

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SilverIsGold 1 year ago

I am an American, and I can confirm that I would not ever make the mistake of this

128points

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30 "Obvious Signs" To Identify An American In The Crowd, According To Non-Americans A smile on their face for no particular reason. Being friendly and encouraging even to strangers.

WorldlyPhilosopher , westend61 Report

Final score:

204points

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Lolly Gagger 1 year ago

They so are! When we were doing our travels it was always the Americans the were breaking the ice, starting the conversation, joining in, random hello when sitting nearby. I must say, as someone starved for adult, human interaction (and, hence, wastes a lot of time on BP) I love that.

159points

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30 "Obvious Signs" To Identify An American In The Crowd, According To Non-Americans When they claim to be 1/8 German, 1/8 Irish, 1/16 Scottish 1/16 Spanish, 3/8 French and 1/4 Canadian

Bean_Earth_Society , TonyTheTigersSon Report

Final score:

202points

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Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 1 year ago

You forgot the 1/32 Native American.

181points

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30 "Obvious Signs" To Identify An American In The Crowd, According To Non-Americans I’ve always observed my US friends like to point at stuff while walking and say what it is….

We were out walking around Amsterdam recently and they were like ‘hey look it’s a smoke shop’…. ‘Oh look a sex shop’…. ‘Oh hey, it’s a prostitute’ …. ‘Look at the canal’…. ‘Wow it’s another prostitute’….. ‘another canal’ etc etc

It was like watching Netflix with Audio Descriptions turned on

Thecoolbeans , baffos Report

Final score:

192points

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JoMeBee 1 year ago

Ok, this is kinda funny, especially the Netflix analogy. And I can't argue the sentiment; we do like to hear ourselves a lot...

96points

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NOT wearing Speedos at the beach.

And for this, I’d like to thank American men!

LongLegzLizzie Report

Final score:

181points

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XenoMurph 1 year ago

You prefer men NOT to wear speedos? Well ok, but it'll scare the wildlife.

105points

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30 "Obvious Signs" To Identify An American In The Crowd, According To Non-Americans Assuming something is about america on the internet because it isnt declared otherwise

saimerej21 , Nuwanhaha Report

Final score:

180points

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Lakota Wolf 1 year ago

But, but, whenever anyone NOT from America sees a story/comment about someone being offensive, or a weird thing they don't understand, they assume it's American XD

122points

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#10

If someone asks how far away something is, an American will tell how you long it takes to get there as opposed to a physical distance.

Hour-Average8401 Report

Final score:

177points

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Pensive_Panda 1 year ago

Definitely true. Been in Cali all my life & we always speak in terms of time rather than distance. Our traffic is SO bad, we really need to determine/discuss how long it will take to get somewhere.

103points

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#11

30 "Obvious Signs" To Identify An American In The Crowd, According To Non-Americans According to the CIA- when training to be a spy- you have to unlearn how to lean. Americans tend to lean on things when standing still.

chonesmcskidds Report

Final score:

176points

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JoMeBee 1 year ago

Huh, that's kinda interesting to hear the more subtle tells. Most of these are obvious and frequently discussed, but I've never heard this before...

114points

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#12

Definitely the wit. I'm Asian, and I've talked to a lot of Americans, and one thing I've noticed about them is their sense of humor. I also watch a lot of American movies and have seen many humorous videos and memes from them, which is one of my favorite things ever lol. They're hilarious!

o_ojou Report

Final score:

169points

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Mara Is… Trying 1 year ago

Why thank you!

97points

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#13

30 "Obvious Signs" To Identify An American In The Crowd, According To Non-Americans To quote a Latvian woman I met at a hostel: you hear them coming like the thunder.

More often than not, if they’re talking and laughing louder than everyone else, they’re American.

Edit: I love my American neighbours! Sorry if I sounded rude. Canadians are also pretty loud when we get going.

MCRN_Lopez , engy91 Report

Final score:

155points

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Pensive_Panda 1 year ago

Hockey!!

45points

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#14

In Europe - being afraid to go to the ER or doctor's, anticipating a massive bill, even after you try to convince them that it's basically free.

firefoxgavel Report

Final score:

139points

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Vermontah 1 year ago

Americans have become homeless because of medical bills. Can't pay? The bill collector will take your house, your car, your savings . . . and if you die they harass your family for money.

165points

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#15

30 "Obvious Signs" To Identify An American In The Crowd, According To Non-Americans When I lived in Europe, people said only Americans eat while walking. I’d be eating a bagel or something on the way to work or class and multiple people asked if I was American lol

Fatigued_Otter , svitlanah Report

Final score:

138points

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Zedrapazia 1 year ago

Not true, I've seen people walking and eating at the same time too in Switzerland where I live, Germany, Austria, Italy and Croatia. Even saw a guy buttering his jelly toast in the bus, then running out with it in his mouth.

15points

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#16

Y'all

pineapple_crush_ Report

Final score:

137points

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a penguin 1 year ago

All y’all

97points

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#17

30 "Obvious Signs" To Identify An American In The Crowd, According To Non-Americans They want ice in their water.

gianna_in_hell_as , poungsaed_eco Report

Final score:

134points

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Sherry Moore 1 year ago

What is the big deal with wanting a COLD drink. Try it in the summer it's amazingly good

29points

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#18

30 "Obvious Signs" To Identify An American In The Crowd, According To Non-Americans One American I've met was a bit stereotypical in some regards. He was on a biking tour from Sweden to Palestine, had an unusual beard, huge white teeth, was extremely friendly and a bit loud, and he literally carried a bucket of peanut butter with him because he said that was the most efficient way to carry energy for his travel.

I was an intern at a software company that just got bought by a huge American company (Warner I think) and one time some executives were visiting, walked through our office complimenting all the developers loudly and then disappeared again.

My general impression of Americans I've met in person is that it's difficult to see what you guys really think and feel, because you seem to hide it behind a layer of aggressive cheerfulness. So when I see someone radiating that, I expect them to be from the US.

Netcob , bark Report

Final score:

133points

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Nea 1 year ago

‘Aggressive cheerfulness’ is about right

156points

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#19

30 "Obvious Signs" To Identify An American In The Crowd, According To Non-Americans British man once told me he knew I was American because I was wearing a baseball cap backwards.

Vhasgia , JulieAlexK Report

Final score:

130points

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Pensive_Panda 1 year ago

Every. Single. Tine. LOL

39points

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#20

Using mm/dd/yyyy.

SuvenPan Report

Final score:

128points

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censorshipsucks 1 year ago

except when referring to "fourth of july", ironically.

130points

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#21

When they say “Europe” and it could mean anything from Venice to Doncaster.

neevel-knievel Report

Final score:

125points

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Marcos Valencia 1 year ago

Well, right now we're saying "Americans" and it could mean anybody from Maine to California.

239points

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#22

30 "Obvious Signs" To Identify An American In The Crowd, According To Non-Americans Drive from one shop to the next even if it is 50 meter by walk

maldobar4711 , Wavebreakmedia Report

Final score:

117points

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censorshipsucks 1 year ago

it's because they are not sure what 50 metres is, and they are worried it might be 5.4 miles.

171points

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#23

I think they are generally friendly people, easy to talk to, accessible and welcoming. Would love to visit America. There is something quite old fashioned about the type I am speaking about. Hospitable, warm, helpful.

TheInvisibleWun Report

Final score:

114points

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Sheila Stamey 1 year ago

Visit the southern part, especially NC, I can vouch for at least one Friendly Panda you might find there! But when you say the southern US, it's pretty big. My friends from overseas are usually astounded by the distance just from the airport to my house and the need for a rental car just to get around with any ease. If you want to explore a small town, like the one I live in, that's probably doable on foot, idk myself as I am mobility disabled. But people are really nice. I once had my postman, instead of having my mail in the box at the end of the street, come to my house and check on me because he hadn't seen me out and about per usual. For Christmas, he got cookies and a good gift card that year!

64points

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#24

30 "Obvious Signs" To Identify An American In The Crowd, According To Non-Americans I worked as a cashier in a touristic place in Paris, I always recognised Americans because they were kinda friendly to me and they always left tips.

Aterakel , RossHelen Report

Final score:

109points

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ᶜʰᵃᵒᵗⁱᶜ ˡᵉᵍᵃˡ 1 year ago

is tips just an American thing?

59points

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#25

30 "Obvious Signs" To Identify An American In The Crowd, According To Non-Americans An inordinate amount of small talk (unprompted).

muppetpastiche , pondsaksit Report

Final score:

104points

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CGZ 1 year ago

Small talk is like noise that requires effort and comes with consequences.

4points

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#26

30 "Obvious Signs" To Identify An American In The Crowd, According To Non-Americans If they introduce themselves with the state that they’re from instead of just saying USA. That’s what my European friends always say haha.

Petty_Mayonaise , Enric Cruz López Report

Final score:

104points

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IamMe 1 year ago (edited)

We do that, because the states can be very different from each other. Culturally, linguistically, geographically, everything. So, someone from, say, the bayous of Louisiana, is going to be very different from someone from, like, Utah. Or, like, New Jersey and California. Completely different places.

123points

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#27

30 "Obvious Signs" To Identify An American In The Crowd, According To Non-Americans Dunno in all context, but Americans in Europe stand out with their ceaseless optimism and enthusiasm.

waitwhatahok , ollyi Report

Final score:

99points

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Caro Caro 1 year ago

But ... that's just nice! I'd rather have that than a grumpy person :)

92points

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#28

30 "Obvious Signs" To Identify An American In The Crowd, According To Non-Americans Retail worker here, not living in the US. I can generally spot an American because they greet me with "hey how are you?"... and since I usually have the standard "tired from life" retail worker expression at first I thought they were mocking me so i didn't know how to react. Took me a while to realize they weren't really expecting an answer lmao.

Mind you, might just be my personal experience but it's happened too many times for it to be a coincidence.

8Eriade8 , seventyfourimages Report

Final score:

97points

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Paul Macdonell 1 year ago

Asking someone how they are is a polite greeting. I find Europeans can learn a lot from (North and South) Americans when it comes to politness. Some Americans are rude, as with any nationality, but mostly I find Americans genuinely friendly.

70points

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#29

30 "Obvious Signs" To Identify An American In The Crowd, According To Non-Americans Amazed by things which are more than 200 years old, presumably because they don't have many things that old in the USA.

Quite often on the heavy side weight-wise (sorry!)

Hand-held fans, maybe because air conditioning is very common in the USA.

Dusepo , Unai82 Report

Final score:

90points

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Alex Martin 1 year ago

I still remember being on a tour in Italy, we were in the older part of a city and they were talking about the "new" bridge and how it was built in the 1400s. That new bridge is older than the European presence in the Americas. It's older than the Inca, built during the height of the Aztecs. And that bridge was built by your ancestors. How can we not be amazed by that?

120points

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#30

30 "Obvious Signs" To Identify An American In The Crowd, According To Non-Americans Extremely white bleached teeth.

6bfmv2 , Rafael Rocha Report

Final score:

64points

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Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 1 year ago

Only the ones who can afford dental. And a Passport. And a ticket and a hotel, you get where I'm going...

129points

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Note: this post originally had 61 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.

What do you think ?

Rocco MZ 1 year ago

I'll add that I live in an American town very popular with European tourists and we can spot you a mile away, we just don't judge you for it. Our town is actually know for how much we embrace tourists. Many times I have ended up talking to a foreigner and given them tips about what else to do and see and have often befriended them and taken them on walking tours to show them things they may not see as a tourist. Imagine just being nice to the people helping to feed your economy.

32points

Natalie H 1 year ago

You sound awesome Rocco! 👍💖

1point

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R. H. 1 year ago

I found Venice itself a Karen.

0points

spirit wolf 1 year ago

Imagine if it was the other way round.... double standards!!! It's pathetic.

As an expat who adopted this country as home, I've found nothing but kind hearted and genuinely nice people. These posts are disgusting and gotten out of hand. I'm leaving bored panda.

凜Kat순아 1 year ago

This comment has been deleted.

-3points

Leo Domitrix 1 year ago

The tone on every US article is "ew, yuck" but if it's anywhere else, "oh, how quaint". And if anyone's traveled at all ----- people are people anywhere. It's unfortunate, but true. Been many times outside the US in Canada, Latin America, Europe, and it's pretty much... everyone's got their traffic, their crazy stuff, the food that someone else can't think of without gagging, some excuses to make for their nation, it's the same same same. The only thing that changes is the language it's done in, in my experience.

26points

I'm going to post this again. I can spot an American tourist, a Dutch tourist, an Indonesian tourist, a,a,a,a bla bla bla miles away. So frigging what. I've met many a******s on my travels - from all countries. I have found Americans to be positive and polite. You are welcome here anytime Leo.

23points

Sue From Michigan 1 year ago

"Americans are too friendly" is such a bizarre complaint.

22points

Just Tim 1 year ago

Aggressively friendly

12points

Amanda Schmidt 1 year ago

It would be bothersome if you aren't culturally accustomed to it. I'm an American and I can see our constant GOOD VIBES ONLY attitude is exhausting and can come off ingenuine. It would seem very strange, if you aren't used to it.

3points

Vix Spiderthrust 1 year ago

The word is "intrusive".

MimSorensson 1 year ago

If there are complaints, that’s not really what the complaint is directed at. Nobody dislikes people for being friendly, surely that’s obvious, there are other connotations.

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30 “Obvious Signs” To Identify An American In The Crowd, According To Non-Americans

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