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People might not fully understand how deeply rooted some cultural things are until they submerge themselves in a completely different environment. Whether it’s something they miss about home when being abroad or something they wish home had, it only accentuates that no two places in the world are the same.
Both cases were discussed by redditors who revealed things they only realized were very American after going abroad. Their answers covered everything from sugar consumption to healthcare, cars, restaurant service, and everything in between; scroll down to find them below and get acquainted with what some US citizens consider typically American.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
In Ireland right now, it’s cruel that we force our grocery store clerks to stand up for their entire shift. They are allowed to sit in Ireland when scanning items, and I don’t see any good reason why we don’t allow that back home.
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#2
Ketchup. There's only one bottle of ketchup in France. They pass it around from restaurant to restaurant when an American requests it.
#3
The walk-ability of non-American cities is something out of a utopian dream.
Sue Denham 1 year ago
I've noticed American people wanting to drive from one shop to another even when they're 100m or less away, where Kiwis (and , I assume, most nationalities) will park in one place and walk from shop to shop before returning to their car to drive home.
#4
I have dual nationality and live in the USA, but I still travel a lot to Europe.
Why the hell do we pixel women’s nipples on TV? It is a f*****g nipple. We sell arms to kids, and we have violent movies, but we pixel a nipple.
#6
Sugar. When I visited Japan, even some of their sweetest desserts pale in comparison to how much sugar is in American food.
Jrog 1 year ago
Quantity of sugar -or corn syrup- in american food is disgusting for anyone not used to it. On sweets, it's way too much. On the rest of the food, it should not even be there, so why the hell do you put it in? Your breakfast yogurt is sweeter than our cream desserts. Ketchup, BBQ sauce and even tomato sauces taste like candy. Breakfast cereals taste like sugar. Iced tea is basically syrup without any taste of tea. Even canned beans commonly have sugar on the ingredient list.
#7
When I traveled overseas I was surprised at how the public bathroom stalls gave so much more privacy. Like a full door to the floor in most places.
#8
The fact that tax is calculated on top of the price on the tag. I'd assume that every foreigner would think they're getting ripped off at the register because it costs more than the price tag. Every other place I've been, the price is the price. (And coins have numbers on them!).
#9
Tipping. I had a waitress in Okinawa chase me into the parking lot with some change I left on the table.
sunlover010:
Went to Europe and tipped 20% and the servers acted extremely grateful. Like, a weird amount. After a while we finally asked a server what was up with that, and they said that in their country they are paid a living wage so tips don’t really mean much for them. They were very happy even with 10%.
Winnie the Moo 1 year ago
Inhumane to do work like in the service industry (where customers can be very rude and demanding) and not get paid a living wage…
#10
A bizarre obsession with the national flag.
It’s not like countries dislike their own flags—you’ll see plenty of them at political events or international sporting events like the World Cup or Olympics—but they don’t typically fly a 6-foot flag from their trucks or hang them up in their churches. I don’t think most of them have a big national anthem ceremony at their domestic sporting events or have the military jets fly over them.
#11
Obesity.
There are obese people everywhere and obesity is unfortunately apparently on the rise in most Western countries at least, but the obesity rate in the US is particularly remarkable, and not in a good way. I've had the good fortune of traveling to Europe three times in the last three years and I've gone to Brazil every year since 2010 to visit my in-laws. Do I see obese people in Europe and in Brazil? Absolutely, but they are often Americans visiting. And it's interesting because I never really seem to notice all the fit people in Europe and Brazil when I arrive there, but I do notice all the obese people when I return to the US. Very striking.
#12
Lived abroad 7 years. We're LOUD. I can hear my countrymen coming up the street going on about how they just had to pay to use the RESTROOM. :D
#14
Minimum parking laws and garbage public transportation.
Going to Japan and seeing how accessible everything is made me question my whole life. Bikes and trains are just the better option and I'll resent oil executives for the rest of my life for the way they sabotaged the US transportation system.
Sum Guy 1 year ago
The funny thing is that they still do this... remember when California announced plans for a high-speed rail and immediately had Elon talk about the Hyperloop and it being faster and more "cleaner"... California has been struggling to get funding since car companies also wanted funding for their vanity projects which will never be implemented...
#15
When I moved to the UK, my flatmates asked how in movies people would stick their hands in the sink drain and it be ripped apart. I told them about sink garbage disposals and they were very weirded out.
Winnie the Moo 1 year ago
Honest question here: why would you not just throw your leftovers in the trash?
Bernd Herbert 1 year ago (edited)
I asked that myself too. Isn't that like a buffet to rats in the sewers? Here in Germany we have the "Biotonne", a bin where you would only put organic waste in.
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Gustav Gallifrey 1 year ago
You can find them here and there in Australia, but, really, they're a lot more work than just wrapping the scraps and putting them in the bin. And the noise they make! And, if you have so much leftovers/scraps that you really need one of these, maybe you need to look at your cooking and eating habits.
PeepPeep the duck 1 year ago
I had one in Melbourne VIC in my apartment, I turned it on and off to get that American feel. Never used it though, it just seemed like a dumb idea to actually use it when I can scrape scraps into a bin.
Michelle Reynolds 1 year ago
Maybe not recycled exactly, but composted-sure lol
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hitex 1 year ago
I have a garbage disposal but don't use it. I was raised in home wo one & I can say less problems arise when you don't use it
CF 1 year ago
For me, when I lived in a house with a garbage disposal, it was mostly useful for food waste with a high liquid content. As an adult without a garbage disposal I really only wish I had one when Im done with breakfast cereal that I didn't eat all of. Icky feeling to pick the soggy chunks out of the sink drain. I would also be happy to use one with leftover wet cat food bits, as I have a real picky furry a*****e who likes to watch me throw money away. And wet cat food makes the trash can stink well before it is full enough to normally take out from a 3rd floor walkup apartment.
Richienotsorich 1 year ago
We have them too, just not in every house. They're not good for the sewar system either.
John Harrison 1 year ago
Ding dong Europeans have got yet another one COMPLETELY wrong. Garbage disposals are a wonderful convenience. You don't have to use a screen to keep things from going down the drain, and you don't have to worry about clogging your pipes. Scraps that you generate in the kitchen sink while preparing a meal can be whisked down the drain. They reduce the amount of food that goes in your kitchen trash can, which has obvious benefits. Older models are noisy, but in the last 15 years they've reduced to no louder than a soft machinery hum.
Winnie the Moo 1 year ago
Hey ding dong, you do realize that the US has one of the highest polluted waist water in the world because of the garbage disposal right?? Are you too lazy to scrape your scraps in the garbage? And then too lazy to put the trash out?
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Wm Paul Robinson 1 year ago
Dependant on regions we all have different bins for recycling. Some take household/kitchen waste for town composting. True if pushed like here in my adoptive France they will throw it all together for burning, if they haven't the tima or capacity.
Qia Munther 1 year ago
I am swedish, living in sweden but stayed a year in the States. I think it is a marvelous machine
Edison Lima 1 year ago
Where I live people find strangw the notion of throwing TP into the toilet, too. American sewer system must be HUGE, because that would clog everything here.
Jill Bussey 1 year ago
I spoke to a UK friend who had lived in the States for some years. She advised sink disposal units are more trouble than they are worth.
Dee Osbourne 1 year ago
I'm more disappointed that no one made a Doofenschmirtz reference with "in-sink-erator"
#16
Ranch dressing. I guess I was vaguely aware that it was American, but I hadn't realized how much.
If you want to hear a whole pub stop and glare at you, go to Ireland and ask for ranch for your fries.
#17
I remember the Germans all being shocked that to do anything like drinking or smoking you needed to be 21 but to buy a rifle you only need to be 18. Well they were also just shocked you can just go buy a gun in most places here whenever you like pretty much.
#18
Eating so damn fast. It seemed in Europe it’s normal to spend 2 hours at a restaurant, at least every time we sat down it took 2-2.5 hours. In America you’re rushed out of your table as fast as possible so the waiter can make more tips.
#19
Went to Mexico. It was a hot day so we stopped at a bar to grab some cold sodas. They came in glass bottles, so we paid and just left the bar to continue walking. About 5 minutes later, the bartender chased us down and made us pour the soda into paper cups and he took the bottles to return for a deposit.
Realized how much America is a throwaway society.
RavenTheCat 1 year ago
Actually i love Mexico's glass bottle sodas and that's super cool, i really wish we recycled like that ourselves
#20
Pharmaceutical commercials.
Murbella0909:
It scared me so much when I was in the USA for the first time! Is like those happy people doing happy things while someone described the most terrifying side effects ever!
The Scout 1 year ago
I never understood the rationale behind "Please tell your doctor what he should prescribe, after all you know better than he does after seeing a twenty second commercial." Those are medical professionals. They should assign medication by what is needed, not what you saw on TV last night. Ads for prescription drugs simply do not make any sense.
#21
I was born in America, then we moved to Japan from the time I was 4 until I was 8 (my dad was military) when we moved back to America, the first place we went was Dennys. I vividly remember asking my parents why the waitress kept coming to check on us, and if she thought we were doing something wrong because she seemed suspicious of us. As far as I'm aware, most countries outside of the US just leave you be and let you eat in peace. You get them when you're ready. America is very pushy because they survive on tips and need the next table to come along to make sure they can have a livelihood.
#23
Air conditioning so cold in public spaces that you need a jacket. It’s one example of how wasteful we are with electricity.
#24
Yellow school buses. They are all over the US and Canada, but apparently not in the rest of the world.
#25
I didn’t realize how much less common baseball hats were, I studied abroad in Prague and my teacher said that’s a good way to spot an American.
Becky Samuel 1 year ago
They're only really worn in the UK in a uniform dark colour and in combination with a hoodie. This provides instant protection against being identified by cameras in case of an 'opportunity' presenting itself.
#26
Lack of personal space. I was in India and when lineing /queuing up people were so close I thought they were trying to pick poket me. Then I saw they did that to everyone. I'm used to my bubble of space in America.
#27
Constant competition. I realize that competition exists around the world in one form or another, but the concept of “best vs worst”, or “good, better, best” is deeply engrained in the American psyche. Things can’t be simply different, there must be good vs bad.
Bernd Herbert 1 year ago
This is a very good point! Watching all these Highschool Movies as a kid I always wondered, why they had that weird Prom King/Queen thing? At my end of school party we simply got drunk and had a great time.
#28
Whenever I order a soda in Europe and it arrives with no ice in it, a bald eagle dies.
Winnie the Moo 1 year ago
Ugg, I hate it when restaurants put ice in my drinks! It waters the taste down, come on!
#29
Hearing gunshots all the time. My wife and I were in the UK, and there was a holiday happening in one of the boroughs in London (can't remember which one). We were staying in an Airbnb and we asked our host if it was a dangerous neighborhood . We got a look as if we were aliens and she said something along the lines of, "are you scared of fireworks?" My wife and I laughed saying, "we thought they were gunshots." Our poor host looked so horrified at how cavalier we were about how many "gunshots" there were (it was not a lot of fireworks, maybe a bang every 10-20 seconds). We had to explain that it's not out of the ordinary to hear gunshots most days where we live in the US. I hope she's ok and we didn't cause her any permanent damage. She may never visit the US though....
#30
Feeling unsafe when you went outside. deep in germany, even during the anti-american protests, i felt way safer than i ever have in America. I know there are other turbulent places of course, but living here you worry about what unhinged a*****e has a gun and wants to f**k s**t up today. just a few weeks ago my sister was at work at chapel hill in NC when someone went and shot up the science center and she was on lockdown, f****n hiding and just hoping she would make it out to pick her daughter up from school. F**K that s**t.
#31
Is no one talking about health insurance yet? It blew my mind coming to the UK and people go to the same doctor every time. I don't think I ever went to the same doctor twice in the US because of changing insurance so often working various jobs.
Bernd Herbert 1 year ago
I don't even understand that. Why would you change insurances for different jobs? Why would you change doctors for different insurances?
#32
The cost of medication and how easily accessible it is.
The stupid hoops I had to go through to get my prescription in America is so frustrating. I've been on the same medication for well over a decade, and my last refill, my insurance decided to deny it for some stupid reason. Took 3 weeks for them to refill it.
When I was in South Korea, took less than an hour.
Katy Thomason-Stewart 1 year ago
I have certain life long medical conditions - in the UK this makes me exempt from paying prescription charges. I would have been bankrupt and dead long ago if I lived in America!
#33
Free refills on soft drinks. On our study abroad trip to Italy we jokingly called Hard Rock Cafe the US Embassy because that was the only place for it.
Donkeywheel 1 year ago
You went to Italy of all places to go to hard rock cafe ? What’s wrong with these people..?
#34
Eye contact while speaking to people. Americans don't break eye contact easily so depending where you go, I've been told it comes off as aggressive.
#35
I didn’t go abroad to learn this, but I worked on staff for a Very Big International Sporting Event (but not the one with the rings) and we provided lockers with built in combination locks like you’d see in any American public school for journalists to store equipment (computers, cameras etc.) in.
What no one realized was that if you didn’t attend public school in North America, you’ve apparently never seen such a thing before, and the whole “go three times past zero to the right and stop on the first number, turn past zero once to the left and stop in the second number, then back to the right immediately to the third number” is an incomprehensible system.
After a few days of hearing cursing in every language you can imagine, and seeing grown adults brought to tears or rage or both, we ended up assigning a troop of volunteers whose entire job for two weeks was opening lockers for non-North Americans.
Lesson learned!
#36
Root beer is apparently disgusting and an offense to most of the world's palate.
#37
Not american but I'm surprised to not see americans mention going outside dressed like s**t... In France it may take 20 minutes to get ready to go grab something for breakfast or walk the dog, but nobody would go out in PJs or kinda-workout clothes...
Bernd Herbert 1 year ago
For a more detailed study I recommend visiting the breakfast at any large chain hotel in the US.
#38
I was in Germany and had people asking how far I lived from certain American landmarks. They would get a strange, kind of “wow” expression on their face when I told them.
Turns out they were just getting a kick out of the fact I was explaining it by time and not distance.
John Harrison 1 year ago
It makes sense to describe it by time. Ten miles in the city is entirely different than ten miles in the country.
#39
I learned that American fast food is disgusting and way overpriced.
Out in Seoul you can almost guarantee that you'll find a fried chicken and beer place, and barely pay anything for a delicious meal. Korea changed my world on food.
PhaseWitFact 1 year ago
TBF I've been in McDonald's in Spain. It was as gross as the McDonalds here in the US.
#40
Half and half. I watched an American family try to order coffee in London with half and half and the server just kept saying “half what?” and neither side understood what was happening.
What do you think ?
Ren Karlej 1 year ago
I'm NOT reading this I will just make this one comment (beyond saying I like America and Americans). Please stop commenting. Please don't read or click on these threads. The only way to stop them is to boycott them. BP do it because it winds people up and creates a LOT of comments which helps sell their advertising. If we deprive them of this, it won't make it worth their while. Ignore these posts. Boycott them. At least let's try that!
ƒιѕн 1 year ago
Agreed, it's tiring seeing the bash USA post everyday. I just down voted the post and scrolled down here to the comments.
Load More Replies...
Aiden Brough 1 year ago
At least give us a couple days rest before ANOTHER backhanded 'What is wrong with America?" tirade...
John Harrison 1 year ago
Just yesterday, or maybe the day before, BP posted a thread that examined Europe. Many people in the comments said, "Don't worry, Europeans, just give it a day or two and there will be another America-bashing thread." I literally laughed out loud when I saw this pop up.
Anony Mouse 1 year ago
We didn't even have to wait. Half the comments on that thread were "But what about America?". Like I said before, this site is turning into Buzzfeed so slowly they are hoping we don't notice. Pretty soon posts will be "82 things you absolutely need to buy on Prime Day!".
Load More Replies...
Leo Domitrix 1 year ago
DO NOT FEED THE TROLLS. CLick away! Downvote the whole thing. I didn't read this, just wante dto encourage all pandas to be kind to all of us (yes, even Americans).
sofacushionfort 1 year ago
Bored Panda: has the FSB threatened to hack you if you don’t run these weekly? hold up your open palm, tuck your thumb against it, and then close your fingers over your thumb if you need to be rescued.
Invader Zim 1 year ago
Same old stupid a*s posts , wtf ? Get something new and interesting please
Jessica SpeLangm 1 year ago
BP....stop with the "let's bash America" posts. There are many more interesting things to post about on this site and allowing other countries to continually bash the USA when they don't live there is getting EXTREMELY tiring and frustrating.
Mama Penguin 1 year ago
I'm getting tired of these wtf America posts. It was amusing at first but they're getting stale very quickly. It's just the same recycled content.
Rachel Ainsworth 1 year ago
How is "things an American learned while traveling" america bashing? You'll are too sensitive.
Gustav Gallifrey 1 year ago (edited)
Part of the problem is that a lot of the world really wants America to be the leader, the model of prosperity, democracy, well-being, justice, good sense, fairness, and freedom that it claims to be. What we see in these 'US-bashing' threads is perhaps expressions of disappointment at what's seen as failings which, if America was the country it 'should' be, could easily be avoided.
Tracy Wallick 1 year ago
Yeah, Americans want this too. Now imagine how crushing it is to live in this country as it fails to live up to yours and everyone else's expectation, and then having people outside your country gleefully rubbing salt in the wounds.
Load More Replies... Norby Klein 1 year ago
It cracks me up the posts bashing Americans as obnoxious; your comments are so obnoxious! You hate in others what you hate in yourself!
Petra Schaap 1 year ago
Ok ok its a US post but not as bad as all the other ones relax people :-D
John Harrison 1 year ago
... because if it's people from the USA doing the bashing, then it doesn't count? Brilliant, Thom.
Load More Replies...
Ren Karlej 1 year ago
I'm NOT reading this I will just make this one comment (beyond saying I like America and Americans). Please stop commenting. Please don't read or click on these threads. The only way to stop them is to boycott them. BP do it because it winds people up and creates a LOT of comments which helps sell their advertising. If we deprive them of this, it won't make it worth their while. Ignore these posts. Boycott them. At least let's try that!
ƒιѕн 1 year ago
Agreed, it's tiring seeing the bash USA post everyday. I just down voted the post and scrolled down here to the comments.
Load More Replies... Aiden Brough 1 year ago
At least give us a couple days rest before ANOTHER backhanded 'What is wrong with America?" tirade...
John Harrison 1 year ago
Just yesterday, or maybe the day before, BP posted a thread that examined Europe. Many people in the comments said, "Don't worry, Europeans, just give it a day or two and there will be another America-bashing thread." I literally laughed out loud when I saw this pop up.
Anony Mouse 1 year ago
We didn't even have to wait. Half the comments on that thread were "But what about America?". Like I said before, this site is turning into Buzzfeed so slowly they are hoping we don't notice. Pretty soon posts will be "82 things you absolutely need to buy on Prime Day!".
Load More Replies... Leo Domitrix 1 year ago
DO NOT FEED THE TROLLS. CLick away! Downvote the whole thing. I didn't read this, just wante dto encourage all pandas to be kind to all of us (yes, even Americans).
sofacushionfort 1 year ago
Bored Panda: has the FSB threatened to hack you if you don’t run these weekly? hold up your open palm, tuck your thumb against it, and then close your fingers over your thumb if you need to be rescued.
Invader Zim 1 year ago
Same old stupid a*s posts , wtf ? Get something new and interesting please
Jessica SpeLangm 1 year ago
BP....stop with the "let's bash America" posts. There are many more interesting things to post about on this site and allowing other countries to continually bash the USA when they don't live there is getting EXTREMELY tiring and frustrating.
Mama Penguin 1 year ago
I'm getting tired of these wtf America posts. It was amusing at first but they're getting stale very quickly. It's just the same recycled content.
Rachel Ainsworth 1 year ago
How is "things an American learned while traveling" america bashing? You'll are too sensitive.
Gustav Gallifrey 1 year ago (edited)
Part of the problem is that a lot of the world really wants America to be the leader, the model of prosperity, democracy, well-being, justice, good sense, fairness, and freedom that it claims to be. What we see in these 'US-bashing' threads is perhaps expressions of disappointment at what's seen as failings which, if America was the country it 'should' be, could easily be avoided.
Tracy Wallick 1 year ago
Yeah, Americans want this too. Now imagine how crushing it is to live in this country as it fails to live up to yours and everyone else's expectation, and then having people outside your country gleefully rubbing salt in the wounds.
Load More Replies... Norby Klein 1 year ago
It cracks me up the posts bashing Americans as obnoxious; your comments are so obnoxious! You hate in others what you hate in yourself!
Petra Schaap 1 year ago
Ok ok its a US post but not as bad as all the other ones relax people :-D
John Harrison 1 year ago
... because if it's people from the USA doing the bashing, then it doesn't count? Brilliant, Thom.
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