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Our cultural differences are what make us unique, and they’re what bond us with others alike. What we see as ordinary always depends on people, place, and context and surely it will differ from one person to another.

That becomes super obvious when we leave the comfort of our home behind our back and go on vacation. Ask travelers how often they've been in uncomfortable social situations, had weird conversations, and found themselves strangers in a foreign land, and they will tell numerous stories.

Now this Ask Reddit thread has recently gained a lot of attention, amassing a whopping 28.3k comments and 27.8k upvotes. “What things do Americans like and the rest of the world not so much?” someone asked and people started sharing their own experiences, impressions and stories that show us once again just how relative things can be.

#1

30 Things Americans Seem To Like, But The Rest Of The World Not So Much Tipping culture.

It's crazy how much people defend an absolutely terrible system.

chewwydraper , Sam Dan Truong Report

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Sandra Monk
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Tipping. A way to continue slavery and make it legal to pay staff below the minimum wage.

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    #2

    30 Things Americans Seem To Like, But The Rest Of The World Not So Much MM-DD-YYYY Date format 😅

    javapyscript , Leeloo Thefirst Report

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    lilylynx
    Community Member
    2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I've never understood this, because doesn't it make sense that it would go shortest, middle, longest edit: longest to shortest makes a lot of sense as well

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    #3

    30 Things Americans Seem To Like, But The Rest Of The World Not So Much Commercials about pharmaceutical pills. "Ask your doctor about taking xyz... side affects can include (everything).
    Wild!

    Live_Ad_455 , Melany @ tuinfosalud.com Report

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    JoJo Anisko
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This is not "liked by Americans"; the pharmaceutical companies pay to air the commercials.

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    #4

    30 Things Americans Seem To Like, But The Rest Of The World Not So Much Opinion signs outside their houses. Like "in this house we support...". I find it weird and unusual.

    BittenOnion Report

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    Mad Dragon
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    We have a “Love is Love” sign in our yard, but only because a few houses down from us has a sign that’s pretty much the opposite meaning.

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    #5

    30 Things Americans Seem To Like, But The Rest Of The World Not So Much College sports. Particularly football and basketball.

    The rest of the world loves soccer, but nobody gives a hoot about it at the university level.

    Scrappy_Larue , football wife Report

    #6

    30 Things Americans Seem To Like, But The Rest Of The World Not So Much Flags. So many American flags everywhere.

    justmyfakename , Pramod Kotipalli Report

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    #7

    30 Things Americans Seem To Like, But The Rest Of The World Not So Much Walking inside the house with shoes on.

    ignviliam , Sladjana Karvounis Report

    #8

    30 Things Americans Seem To Like, But The Rest Of The World Not So Much Threatening to press charges on people....

    And being suspicious of everyone.

    agingercow , Icons8 Team Report

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    #9

    30 Things Americans Seem To Like, But The Rest Of The World Not So Much imperial units
    (edit: fahrenheit aswell as celsius are good for certain scenarios so ill omit the former)

    Kirby_zzz , Ag PIC Report

    #10

    30 Things Americans Seem To Like, But The Rest Of The World Not So Much ICE. Filled till the brim before you pour any drink.

    locoliga , Truong Dat Report

    #11

    30 Things Americans Seem To Like, But The Rest Of The World Not So Much Cheerleaders

    liebe_rootBete , Rajiv Perera Report

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    Don't you wish you knew
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    It's definitely a sport and takes a lot of athleticism. People train from an early age to be on cheer squads.

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    #12

    30 Things Americans Seem To Like, But The Rest Of The World Not So Much Driving everywhere. Anywhere you go, you go in a car.


    But I suspect for many, other options are so rare they don't think about them even if they do exist.

    MXXIV666 , Aleksandr Popov Report

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    April Caron
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Soooo accurate! I work 50 minutes away from where I live (41 miles). Public transit isn’t an option. Even for close shopping… it’s not an option. The nearest bus line is 4 miles away.

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    #14

    30 Things Americans Seem To Like, But The Rest Of The World Not So Much Peanut butter and jelly

    FlyBuy3 , Giorgio Trovato Report

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    Mad Dragon
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    A lot of us were fed this as kids, so it tends to be a comfort food now.

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    #15

    30 Things Americans Seem To Like, But The Rest Of The World Not So Much Root beer and ranch dressing. I brought some to Germany and had my friends try it and they said the root beer tasted like medicine. They politely tasted the dressing with a celery and said "hmmm, interesting" but the look on their faces was that it was terrible ha.

    nargleflargle , American Heritage Chocolate Report

    #16

    30 Things Americans Seem To Like, But The Rest Of The World Not So Much Garbage Disposals

    Just shove that turkey carcass in the disposal and run some warm water behind it

    celtic1888 , Max Vakhtbovych Report

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    Sad Panda
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    You can’t put bones, meat, eggshells, or very fibrous fruits and veggies into the disposal. You can break the disposal or damage sewer lines.

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    #17

    30 Things Americans Seem To Like, But The Rest Of The World Not So Much God damn delis. At least out of all the places I’ve traveled to the US by far has the best delis. I don’t know if I can live somewhere without a great Jewish or Italian deli.

    facobi8356 , Kyle Mackie Report

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    #18

    Corn syrup

    __Piggy___Smalls__ Report

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    Susan Reid Smith
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    There is a time and place for it like pecan pies and cheap pancake syrup. But not every where all the time.

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    #20

    30 Things Americans Seem To Like, But The Rest Of The World Not So Much This used to be much more prevalent in the US but food coloring. When I moved from Japan to the US, I was surprised at how colorful their foods were.

    These days Americans are now more keen to organic natural stuff so I see it less but it took me a while to realize that blue raspberry is not a real thing.

    AwesomeAsian , Viktor Talashuk Report

    #21

    30 Things Americans Seem To Like, But The Rest Of The World Not So Much My mother [British] thought casseroles were weird and disgusting. Once her British friend came to visit, and asked that we not go to a restaurant "where all the food is mixed together in an awful jumble."

    I love most casseroles.

    MazW , sheri silver Report

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    sofacushionfort
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Since casseroles were originally French, maybe she was just cherishing the ancient enmity

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    #22

    30 Things Americans Seem To Like, But The Rest Of The World Not So Much My sister is visiting the US from Europe and sent me a picture of a small coke and asked "why is it so big?" I could see old glory flapping in the wind, boys.

    botaxel499 , Pixabay Report

    #23

    30 Things Americans Seem To Like, But The Rest Of The World Not So Much Biscuits and gravy

    WayneH2O , Ray Shrewsberry Report

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    Marie Dahme
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    And you’ll get a bunch of different variations of somebody’s granny made it only a certain way…so that’s how you know it’s authentic! Bacon grease? Sausage? Strong black coffee? Just never say you made it from a powdered mix!

    Summer Mason
    Community Member
    2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    We make ours from bacon grease. It's amazing. And also f this list. Biscuits and gravy have a long American history behind them, and one of the few good things that came from American slavery.

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    Nannychachi
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    You take that back! You take that back right now! I love my WV style pan gravy and homemade biscuits slathered with real butter on top!

    Nizumi
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Yorkshire pudding and gravy. Pierogis and gravy. Gnocchi and sauce. It's all a variation on a theme.

    LeeAnne B
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I have never had this, it's not a thing in South Africa. Those things on the plates are scones.

    BeepBeepBoopBoop
    Community Member
    2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    there's actually a difference! American biscuits are normally made with buttermilk, and aren't sweet, but buttery and flaky. Scones can be served with fruit, but you'd never see that with an American biscuit. (this is all according to Google in my own words haha) Pillsbury makes canned biscuits, if you could I'd recommend looking them up and maybe trying them!

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    Blackheart
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This originated from making food from ingredients that were easily stored without refrigeration, and from being poor.

    Susan Reid Smith
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    They are also a way of making meat and the flavor and fat from the meat go further.

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    les
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    i had an american friend staying with me that wanted biscuits and gravy for dinner. i dont think he enjoyed his hobnobs and bisto cos he didn't ask again

    ToGo
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Are they like savoury scones? If so, they're fantastic with gravy.

    BeepBeepBoopBoop
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    they are! They're flaky and buttery, cuz they're normally made with buttermilk. Glad to see someone on here not saying that they sound gross haha

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    Apatheist Account2
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Those don't look like biscuits, aka cookies - more like bread rolls or puff pastry.

    Lupita Nyong'heaux
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    in america, these are biscuits. from that geico commercial, i've learned that what brits call biscuits, we call cookies. here, bread rolls and puff pastries are not only different from this picture, they are different from each other. lol

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    BasedWang12.7
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    bruh. biscuits and sausage gravy..... If you havn't had it, you cant say a damn thing. its FIRE

    David Hopkins
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I've been eating biscuits and gravy for over 75 years. Even now, I have them at least once a week.

    Skull Tastic
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I'm from the US. I wanted to make chicken fried steak for my friends while visiting Canada. Went to a few stores searching for cube steak. Apparently they do not sell it here.

    MrsWelton
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Being an American in Canada can be both an amazing, and frustrating experience. I've been here since 2012, and I'm still regularly pissed off being unable to buy certain items I could when I lived in the USA.

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    Callie Ge
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    But that’s not a biscuit, it’s a cross between a scone & an English muffin

    Molly Block
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Um, I don't see any gravy. Dangit. Now you've got me wanting biscuits and gravy! I know I have a can of sausage gravy here somewhere..... Annnnnd off I go to make breakfast!

    Celtic Pirate Queen
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    One of my husband's favorites. It's practically it's own food group (the way I make it) and we have it for dinner about once a month.

    Baali Venomax
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    That is a bun. It is bread. It is not a biscuit. A biscuit is a cookie. If you asked for that in the UK, you'd get given a weird look but you'd get cookies with gravy.

    Mrs.Pugh
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    That is a biscuit. We're not talking about the UK, we're talking about America.

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    Steve Robert
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Good biscuits and sausage gravy, with some Tabasco, is a perfect breakfast dish

    Mary Kelly
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    oh, but beans on toast is good?...and, btw, what an inconsiderate way to start the day: loaded up with a bunch of a*s fuel!

    Dust
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    These are making me question if I’m a true American

    Lupita Nyong'heaux
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    they're biscuits. google pillsbury biscuits and/or popeye's (or any american chicken place) and biscuits.

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    Phasmainmachina
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I hear this in songs, and read about it, and I have no idea what it’s about.

    Scott Crosby
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I used to make fun of a work colleague because he didn't even need to cut the bread on his dry sandwiches to fit in his Tupperware breakfast container. That's Germany... they put fried eggs on their pizza.

    Mrs. EW
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Don’t ever dis biscuits and gravy. I even veganized them, because I couldn’t live without them.

    Brenda Spagnola-Wilson
    Community Member
    2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I use a mix only to increase the amount. There is never enough country gravy from the drippings so I add a Pioneer gravy mix and doctor it to taste better

    Falcon on Dizzy
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    remember, this is about American things. in America, those are indeed biscuits. we also have French fries (not chips)

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    #24

    30 Things Americans Seem To Like, But The Rest Of The World Not So Much Free public restrooms. I know they're gross but they are nice to have.

    vebidib774 , Sung Jin Cho Report

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    Don't you wish you knew
    Community Member
    2 years ago

    Was gonna comment but changed my mind so I'll just say Have a great day pandas wherever you are!

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    #25

    30 Things Americans Seem To Like, But The Rest Of The World Not So Much

    Handicap accessiblity. Old buildings/towns in Europe are nice, if both your legs work.

    botaxel499 , AbsolutVision Report

    #26

    30 Things Americans Seem To Like, But The Rest Of The World Not So Much
    24 hour stores. I was in Chicago working with a colleague from Switzerland who suddenly realized around midnight that he needed a network cable to configure a mobile router for a job the next morning.

    I told him that I'd meet him in the hotel lobby to drive him out to Walmart.

    He was happily surprised, as he had forgotten about the US's famous chain of Walmart stores.

    botaxel499 , Caique Morais Report

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    Amy
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    24-hour Walmarts are not a thing anymore since covid, at least where I live.

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    #27

    30 Things Americans Seem To Like, But The Rest Of The World Not So Much

    Bankruptcy laws. It's a major reason why America has historically had some of the highest rates of small business growth and entrepreneurship. America is one of the most forgiving countries when it comes to personal and corporate bankruptcy (student loans notwithstanding).

    Comparatively, European countries are much more pro-creditor which severely hampers any sort of investment that's even somewhat risky.

    facobi8356 , Scott Graham Report

    #28

    30 Things Americans Seem To Like, But The Rest Of The World Not So Much
    Americanized Chinese food. No one has us beat in that category.,

    botaxel499 , Drew Taylor Report

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    Wolf Wolf
    Community Member
    2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I might get downvoted, but... Kind of wish people would stop complaining about "Americanized" Chinese food. Lots of dishes were invented by Chinese-Americans way back in the early 1900s because of the war. It may not be authentic Chinese food, but it is authentic Chinese-American food.

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    #29

    30 Things Americans Seem To Like, But The Rest Of The World Not So Much Bumper stickers

    Back2Bach , Mathias Reding Report

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    James016
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    See a fair few in the uk but we are more of a “baby on board” sticker nation

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    #30

    30 Things Americans Seem To Like, But The Rest Of The World Not So Much I'd like to say optimism, even if it's blind sometimes. The CAN DO attitude is extremely strong. I would also put belligerence up there for better or worse. That "Get the f**k out of my face, I'm not paying for / doing that" attitude. Whether you actually can or not, the American culture makes you feel like you can really do anything. Again, it's a double edged sword but you'll seldom find an American who's just going to lay down and take someone's s**t or heed someone who says (to your aspirations) "You can't".

    facobi8356 , Brooke Cagle Report

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    #31

    30 Things Americans Seem To Like, But The Rest Of The World Not So Much Free soda refills at dine-in places

    Lostarchitorture , Francesca Hotchin Report

    #32

    Corn dogs?

    RScribster Report

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    Couldnt_find_a_decent_name
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    OMG I LOVE CORN DOGS! I used to consider them a luxury because I only ever got to eat them at my grandparents house.

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    #33

    Marching bands. If you’d played the flute in a marching band at my school you would have gotten pelters but in the US you can become a state hero.

    Fuzzie_Lee Report