ADVERTISEMENT

The United States and European countries sometimes feel worlds apart. And it’s a natural thing for different nations to develop unique cultures, systems, and institutions. But once you start traveling a bit more broadly, you start comparing your destinations. Each place has its upsides and downsides, but the differences can be striking at times.

Redditor u/TREE__FR0G, an aspiring herpetologist, asked people to share the things that are completely normal in most places in Europe but would seem very strange to someone living in the US. Scroll down to see what the internet thinks are the biggest differences between Europe and the US.

#1

40 Normalized Things In Europe That Are Unknown In The US, According To The Internet Providing healthcare to sick people without bankrupting them.

EXXPat , Andrea Piacquadio Report

Add photo comments
POST
Karmageddon
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If anyone tells you how difficult Universal Health Care is to do, remind them that only 35/36 of the largest economies can make it work.

View more commentsArrow down menu
RELATED:
    #2

    40 Normalized Things In Europe That Are Unknown In The US, According To The Internet Prices already includes taxes

    Badass-19 , Ron Lach Report

    Add photo comments
    POST
    Jane No Dough
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Should be this way everywhere, so no one's surprised by the full cost. I know what is taxable and how much tax where I live, but not where I travel.

    View more commentsArrow down menu
    #3

    Nudeness.

    No, we don't all walk around naked all day.

    Yes, we have nude beaches. Yes, on most regular lakes where people go swimming, you most likely see their little kids running around nekkid. Yes, most saunas are "nude only". Yes, you see boobs, a*s and penis on TV (like, if there's a movie and the situation "demands" it). Yes, we have sex education where they use books with images of naked humans in school.

    It's just a body. And no, nude doesn't mean "sex!!1!".

    kant0r Report

    ADVERTISEMENT

    A major peculiar aspect of life in the States is the existing tipping culture. As we’ve explained on Bored Panda recently, one of the issues with the way the culture exists in its current form is that it tricks some consumers into paying more than they planned to. In essence, Americans are falling victim to tip inflation or tipflation.

    As a result, some customers might decide to boycott some chains or local restaurants, preferring to go elsewhere, where they feel less pressure to tip extremely generously. If tipping is mandatory, it’s not really tipping, now is it? It’s just a hidden tax—one that might not be reflected in the menu.

    #4

    40 Normalized Things In Europe That Are Unknown In The US, According To The Internet I’m a project manager in the US and it baffles me that my European team gets an entire month off in the summer.

    I’m over here saving my vacation days incase I get sick.

    smileysarah267 , Mateusz Dach Report

    ADVERTISEMENT
    #5

    40 Normalized Things In Europe That Are Unknown In The US, According To The Internet dd/mm/yyyy

    whiskeyman220 , Ketut Subiyanto Report

    Add photo comments
    POST
    SingingCatMom
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    SO sensible and completely logical. Also, meters, kilometers, degrees Celcius. It is just plain stupid that the US clings to imperial when nearly all the rest of the world is on metric!

    James016
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Being British I use some weird combo of both metric and imperial. I know my height in feet and inches and my weight in kilograms

    Load More Replies...
    Carbonel
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Yep, we are so… I’m going to say flexible… in the UK with out measurements. Heigh & weight of a person = feet, inches, pounds and stones. Height and weight of objects = kg & cm. Weight of recipe ingredients; could be either. Milk = pints. Distance and speed = miles and mph but general measuring of length or area = m/km.

    Aiw Aiwou
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I understand with area. Convering square miles to yards is painful

    Mario Strada
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Yeah, you guys use "stones". WTH is that about? Is it because of Stonehenge? I think the Imperial system sucks, and I am glad your guys in the UK use metric most of the time, but stones?

    Mario Strada
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Thank you. I'd love to know how that figure came to be. Was there a stone somewhere that the folk around used as a unit, like "I weigh about 5 of those rocks"?

    Andy Cran
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    was you at school during 70's and 80's then? I'm a GenX'er we got taught both due to decimalisation,I also often do the "combo"....lol I'll measure in both for the same job eg length cm X width inches 😆😆😆

    James016
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    In the 80s. I was born in 77. Fahrenheit is just completely alien to me.

    Rens
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I live in the UK and they're still talk about weight in stones, I get very frustrated and I always have to convert it to kilograms like any civilized European person would.

    Wm Paul Robinson
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Confused as hell, as had two maths teachers. One obsessively Metric, and the other obsessively Imperial. I'm still confusticated in both, and 12 years in France still hasn't helped with metric! The American Imperial measures also differ in some things than British Imperial. Ah the joys of weights and measures.

    Tee Rat
    Community Member
    1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Talk to drug dealers they know the conversions from gram and kilogram to ounces and pounds better than anybody here

    Norah Reilly
    Community Member
    Premium
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I agree with the need for us (in the U.S.) to go metric, but PLEASE, PLEASE STOP CALLING US STUPID! It's no wonder nations can't seem to get along if this type of pettiness is readily practiced by others.

    Aiw Aiwou
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Opposite to stupid - you all are math geniuses. Converting cubic yards to cubic miles is a work for quantum computer, not human brain.

    Quarryville
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    They were calling the decision not to use metric 'stupid'; not the citizens of the US.

    Johnnynatfan
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Why is it stupid? It works for us. Why does it bother you? Does affect your life so much that it matters?

    XenoMurph
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    It doesn't bother us, we just comment on it like we would bad parking or bad grammar. It's illogical to hold onto imperial exclusively. I live in UK, and here most people use both, but only the old brexiter luddites refuse to use metric.

    Johnnynatfan
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Well I can see why in th UK it wouldn’t make sense considering that pretty much most of the country uses metric but in the US we use imperial and if you tried to use metric or European style date format it wouldn’t make sense to anyone. And yes it does bother some Europeans as they don’t just comment on it but are genuinely offended by it as if it has any bearing on their lives

    Pamela Blue
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    It certainly matters in industry and business. One of NASA's biggest disasters was when they didn't realize that parts from other countries were produced in metric and stuck them on the craft using imperial tools. Not a good ending. Big boom.

    Aiw Aiwou
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Mars Climate Orbiter? Textbook disaster when you start studying SW engineering

    Ethereal Canvas
    Community Member
    1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    It matters because you export movies, series, tv shows, you're on youtube & we happen to watch the stuff, books too while we're at it. & every darn time there's a unit of measure, like how tall a chareacter is or how far a distance something is, or how many degrees something is, I haven't the vaguest idea what was just said. Was that tall or short? Far or close? Hot or freezing? There is no logic to your units, no easy way to learn them. So we Google once or twice, but when it's everywhere, it started to be supremely annoying and tiring.

    KingsRaven
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    There is plenty of logic to see units. You just don't know them. They are not particularly hard to learn. If I can learn the conversions to metric you can learn the conversions to imperial.

    Little CJ
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Ya, everyone and their dog is 2 meters tall, bananas for scale are about a decimeter and the real world hurts. Metric sounds good on paper because it was made for paper, hands on the grass it's a pain. Didn't Britain come up with standard? Long Live Standard Units!

    censorshipsucks
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    it does affect us... most software is made in the states and when we try enter dates etc in a normal fashion, the moronic software "corrects" it to american format. e.g. 1/6/2023 is june, but the software thinks it is january.

    Suzy Creamcheese
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    There's this little icon that usually looks like a gear. If you click it, it'll take you to the program settings, where you can change the date format to suit you. I know, novel idea, right?

    Johnnynatfan
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Take time to change your settings and stop bitching. If you’re buying a product made in the US and you have to take a few seconds to ale some small changes I don’t really think that is such a big deal.

    Andy Cran
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    most tech now asks which format settings you prefer before anything else in a setup so yeah what's the problem with some people,it's not rocket science 😁👍

    m.w.
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Explain to me, if you will, where do I change it in keepassxc app. Because the author went apparently dumb.

    Bob Brooce
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Bananas for scale is just a nonsensical internet meme. Real men measure things in Smoots, which s probably the most neglected system of all.

    iseefractals
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Unless you're sorting any kind of data....and then it's absolutely useless. Calendrer is divided into months (that's why it's at the top of the page) then, you have the days of the month, all of it grouped together by year. Have any type of files, sales, receipts, appointments, orders, shipments, all of it organized into 12 files, grouped by MONTH. At the end of the year, those 12 files are grouped by YEAR. It's about organization. Fully on board about metric though. Anyone who's ever tried to bake or build anything with any consistency will be hard pressed to argue against metric.

    Wick E. Scratch
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I find that, for sorting data that has data, or for organization of files where the date is in the filename, that YYYYMMDD works best

    StumblingThroughLife
    Community Member
    1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Admittedly, in the UK, both are used, to a certain degree. Not on most food labels, though. It can also depend on the (older) age of a person. We still use Stones and Pounds (as a choice between that and g/kg) on weighing scales, and many use Feet and Inches re: height, as well as inches still used in bras (and on numerous clothes) sizes. I suppose it will eventually fade out completely. BTW, was I downvoted for saying 'Stones'? Since when do facts get downvoted??

    Andy Cran
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    oh us Brits have some lovely imperial named measures...... stone,kit (10stone) ,cran (37.5gallons) often from differing trades ,those cited are from fishing industry

    V Michael Lazar
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    So, 100 second in a minute. 100 minutes in an hour. 10 hours per day. And is the current month Frimaire or Germinal?

    Sinister Murder
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The Americans also use meters, only they first work it to a foot standard. The official definition of a foot in the US is in meters (0,3048 meters).

    David A Miller
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I'm American. The Imperial (I know it as "traditional ") system of weights and measures are no longer defined by their own standards in the Bureau of Weights and Measures. They are defined by their metric equivalents. There is no reason to mess with success. The conversion promised in 1976 died on the vine and there is no incentive to enforce global standardization just for the sake of a foreign bureaucracy.

    GadgetGirl
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The older generation is still trying to cling to the revolution. If Europe wants us to, it must be bad.

    A. Starhawk Hunt
    Community Member
    1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Nothing imperial about dates. I’m American and use the mm/did/yyyy format. But when I lived overseas, I used the Dd/mm/yyyy format. For me personally, mm/did/yyyy is comfortable as I have spent the majority of my life stateside. However, outside of critical concerns (think Y2K, if you’re old enough), what does it matter? There are plenty of people out there who don’t use the Gregorian calendar, so who’s right?

    Kaylee Zeller
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I watch so many people from different countries and read so many fanfics about them that I'm actually getting really used to the metric system. Football fields are still a really good way to make me understand long distances though. Which I find funny since I don't even like football (rugby 🏉, not soccer)

    Allen Packard
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    We don't really care about the rest of the world. Only our government does. They like to send our tax money everywhere but here.

    The Shark
    Community Member
    Premium
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This is a largely pointless argument, but boredom prevails. I wholly agree with the metric system and the logic behind it despite being raised with the imperial. However, I do disagree with the measurement of temperature, only in the case of weather. The logic behind the measurement makes sense, boiling/freezing point of water, though with weather, fahrenheit is much more practical for temperature given the difference 10°F makes to how people experience weather. 81°F = 27.222°C, 91°F = 32.778°C. The low end is often considered comfortable, but the high end frequently is not. In this case, the round numbers as opposed to repeating decimals is a more practical measurement. With 90°F = 32.222°C, that 1°F of change becomes impractical in terms of people relating to how it feels outside, despite the atmosphere and human body being mostly comprised of water.

    Bradinius Prime
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Well, it would be really hard to convert because that means we would have to convert all of our regulations that associate either measurements, and other things. Ergo, it would be too much of a hassle to switch to the metric system.

    Julian Slate
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    My hot take: we should use Metric to talk about what things are and imperialism for how things feel. Ppl are so caught up on the fact that imperial is mathematically bs that they forget it communicates intuition better. Like in F, 0 is rlly cold, 100 is rlly hot, celcius can't do that. Metric is better for communicating things objectively, and imperial is better for communicating things subjectively

    dbildbo
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    O° C is literally freezing. As an engineer, Metric just makes so much more sense to me. I have to use both.

    KingsRaven
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    As an engineer I find imperial temperature better for non calculations.

    Ole Peder Amrud Hagen
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    How does degrees in celsius not convey meaning to someone who's used to it, do you think? Your argument makes no sense.

    Andy Cran
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    a rule of thumb (that's an interesting phrase to look up,quite disturbing in origin) I use for Celsius to Fahrenheit is 16c is 61f to get a rough idea, UK weather is often done with both c/f

    Chris D'Asta
    Community Member
    1 year ago

    This comment has been deleted.

    Ste Llou
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    UK is on Imperial too. The more I see about the US the more it feels like they never got fully independent....😬

    Miranda Prince
    Community Member
    1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Yeah. It's just the US, Myanmar and Liberia using the imperial system now. It's f*****g embarrassing.

    Fresh Big
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Not just the US, also those great powerhouses Liberia and Myanmar.

    Nykky
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I'm not even in imperial for size measurements. I like comparisons to everyday objects because I have a hard time with size estimates

    R.A. Haley
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    It's not stupid. It's ornery and cranky. If everyone would quit climbing up our backside about it, we might change.

    Bryan With A Why
    Community Member
    1 year ago

    This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

    Well all the other nations don't have freedom of speech so we really dgaf about their backward thinking. Meters and kilometers have their use but the rest is extremely subjective.

    Ambry Petersen
    Community Member
    1 year ago (edited)

    This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

    Metric was invented by micro managing commies. Most Americans are highly resistant to being micro managed. The US measuring is much less confusing.

    Mat Hall
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    ISO8601 (yyyy-mm-dd, as used in Japan) is even better - you don't even have to know it's a date in order to sort it, just do it alphabetically.

    Tucker Cahooter
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I'm a programmer so I use yyyy-mm-dd routinely. Even Excel can't screw that one up

    Jeremy James
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    What do Excel and incels have in common? Assuming something is a date when it's not.

    Dekker451
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    DD-MM-YYYY certainly makes more sense than MM-DD-YYYY, but I actually prefer YYYY-MM-DD and I use that format in my personal files. It just makes more sense to me to start with the longer time periods, then narrow it down.

    Tee Rat
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    It was mm/dd/yyyy when I got here and no I don't have an alibi.

    Andy Frobig
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    It's funny, anyone who's been in the military can handle this, and we don't celebrate July 4th, we celebrate the 4th of July, so what's our problem?

    Lene
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I do underatand that Americans use m/d/y because it's how they say it (ex. March 21st 2023). But in my country, Denmark, we say it as OP mentioned (ex. 21st of March 2023). So.... I don't really mind how Americans do their dates as long as they make sure it's clear that they are Americans/using American terms. It can get really confusing otherwise.

    Mojo Flizash
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I really don't see why this is problem. It makes sense both ways.

    ThatBlackNightingale
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    American here, idk why but I sounds so professional and old when you like say "the 4th of October 2023" ratter than "October 4th 2023". Just my opinion

    Will Cable
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    As someone in the UK I'll admit I use them all depending on the thing being measure. Smaller things usually mm, a car length I'd usually use feet and inches. When it comes to a website date that has to be input I'm never sure what the site wants.

    Sand Ers
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    For some bizarre reason, cars dimensions are always reported in inches in the US. I have no idea how long "186 inches" is, so I always have to convert to feet. Everywhere else seems to report them in mm, which is even less logical.

    agi
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I also like and use the one where the numbers that chance most often are in the beginning or end. So dd/mm/yyyy or yyyy/mm/dd. But I do see the logic in mm/dd/yyyy als well. It simply goes the lowest changeable number to the highest. 12 months/28-31 days/(hopefully) infinite years.

    YoKon93
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Doesn't matter??? Someone arranges to meet you at an agreed location at 09:00 on 07/09/23 .. so, when do you arrive?

    Load More Replies...
    Redhead Canadian Panda
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Yyyy/mm/dd makes the most sense in terms of finding things in chronological order.

    Paloma Vita
    Community Member
    Premium
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    It might be sensible, and as a French woman living in Canada, it took me a while to get used to mm/dd/yyyy. But when naming files/versions on a computer, it groups all files from the same month together, so it works for me now.

    Margaret Weaver
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    How did the US ever work out clocks? Minutes, then hours, then seconds would be bloody confusing for me.

    Jen Sullivan
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    It is not logical. It should be yyyy-mm-dd so the dates are sorted correctly.

    Sarah Tyrrell
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I go yyyy/mm/dd for easier file naming convention. But makes more sense than mm/dd/yyyy.

    Sally Miller
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I have PTO to be used for both sick time and vacation time. When we are out for medical reasons, surgery and such, we have to burn 40 hours of pto then short term disability kicks in at 60% of our pay to a maximum of 12 weeks. PTO cannot be taken until you have accumulated enough hours. It may take up to 6 weeks to accrue enough hours to take one day off.

    alli
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Much harder when putting things in chronological order though.. month and year are most important so they should be on the ends where it's easier to see at a glance

    Jonathan Jacques
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Why should we be like everyone else. Thankful we don't use only metric system.

    Ryan Smith
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    If I give you a paper calendar and tell you to look up June 19, what's the first thing you do: turn to "19" or turn to "June"?

    wfnb1
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    YYYY/MM/DD Makes more sense but we don't use that either 🙄

    Mario Strada
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I have switched to YY-MM-DD as it helps organizing photos and documents really well on computers (and computers translate into that format anyway, except for Linux which counts seconds from the time Linux was built). Since I grew up in Europe and moved to the USA, I just cannot bother to remember the "correct" way. Screw it. YMD is an excellent way to date things.

    Lauren Baker
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I am half Canadian and half American but live in the US, so I see it written both ways. After filling out 6 pages of my driving logs when I was getting my license, I realized I put the dates in dd/mm/yyyy format. At that point, I was like f*** it, they'll figure it out, because there was no way I was re-doing it lol.

    Levi Owens
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I'm gonna defend the U.S. on this one. If spoken aloud, we would say December 17th, 2022, right? Not 17 December, 2022. Therefore we annotate it 12/17/2022. That's not weird is it?

    Marie Clear
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    As a US citizen, yes, I'm ashamed we're still using imperial - along with Liberia and Myanmar (really, they're the only other 2). But if you write dates dd-mm-yyyy, your files won't sort as nicely on your computer sorting by month first is better. Actually, yyyy-mm-dd is best for filenames to properly sort chronologically, but sorting by month then day really isn't "stupid." It's just not as common.

    Stay Off My Lawn
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I use several date formats, depending on the document or file type. I do recommend that folks use dd/mmm/yy for writing checks and dd/mmm/yyyy for signing contracts.

    Spittnimage
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    You (Europe) do it your way, we'll do it ours. We don't follow your rules.

    David
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Not unheard of in the USA but much less common. But like the metric system I am used to doing it either way.

    MR
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    It should be yy/mm/dd because that's how numbers work.

    m.w.
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The least precise on the left, the most precise on the right.

    Fun Fan
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    You guys, over there, are very creepy with this shít......

    Gabriela Cink
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    It is super confusing in cross region teams. Also I don't understand calendar with starting day as sunday. What's the origin?

    Sinister Murder
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Someone f****d up there. Sabbath, Saturday, should actually be the last day of the week and, hence, Sunday the first. My best guess is that it's a Roman sun worshipping thing to have Sunday as the pinnacle of the week. And when the Roman Empire became Christian probably it seemed easier to keep the Sunday.

    Noyfb noyfb
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The military, maybe because clear coordination with allied nations is critically important, uses the format 25Dec2023, which can be understood by anyone, whatever their preferred format. Spelling of the months in different languages is a small complication.

    Eledore Massis
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Never ever use / because that tells me you are using american notation. dd-mm-yyyy or mm/dd/yyy plz.. or just go ISO yyyymmdd nothing in between.

    Cerridwn d'Wyse
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Oddly my preferred method is year month date because if you do it that way and you're using it in a way that it needs to be sorted it will sort itself properly. No other way will sort and get it right

    Mint Sauce
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Let's start with the shortest timescale event, days, and then the next longest timescale event, months, followed by the longest timescale event, years!!!! America: We'll put the middle one first, the first one in the middle and leave the last one, last cus two outa three ain't bad.

    Phil Green
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    It is remarkable that a federal republic clings to "imperial"! Imperial is rooted in the word "empire".

    View more commentsArrow down menu
    ADVERTISEMENT
    #6

    40 Normalized Things In Europe That Are Unknown In The US, According To The Internet Bathroom doors with no gaps

    P1nk_barbie , Max Rahubovskiy Report

    Add photo comments
    POST
    YoKon93
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    What is weird is naming a room without a bath, a bathroom. That's not standard in Europe.

    View more commentsArrow down menu

    Another big issue for many Americans living in the US is the abhorrent healthcare system. It’s not just a question of opinion, though. The system is very inefficient, incredibly expensive, and markedly worse than in other developed nations. It’s a major issue that ought to be solved.

    ADVERTISEMENT

    The Peter G. Peterson Foundation explains how the US spends more on healthcare per person than other wealthy countries around the world. This came to an average of $12,555 per person in 2022, the highest among developed nations. The second-highest spending was recorded in Switzerland, standing at $8,049 per person. Now compare that to the average for OECD countries (excluding the US) which is $6,414 per capita. 

    #7

    40 Normalized Things In Europe That Are Unknown In The US, According To The Internet Decent public transportation.

    Milnoc , Guvluck Report

    ADVERTISEMENT
    #8

    40 Normalized Things In Europe That Are Unknown In The US, According To The Internet Tips are optional

    OldandBoldDude , Iain Farrell Report

    Add photo comments
    POST
    Ruth
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Tips in the USA have gotten way out of hand. Even if you are picking up carry out, many places still expect you to tip.

    View more commentsArrow down menu
    ADVERTISEMENT
    #9

    40 Normalized Things In Europe That Are Unknown In The US, According To The Internet Walkable cities

    TenNinetythree , Zen Chung Report

    Add photo comments
    POST
    Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa)
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Portland, Oregon, Boston Massachusetts, New York City. There are a few who have it figured out. The rest of the country is living in the dark ages if Mid 20th century car centered life.

    View more commentsArrow down menu

    Meanwhile, Germany spent $8,011 per person on healthcare in 2022. The Netherlands spent $7,358, Belgium clocked in at $6,600, France stood at $6,517, and Sweden shelled out $6,438 per person. Ireland spent $6,047, slightly below the OECD average. As did the United Kingdom ($5,493 per person) and Italy (merely $4,291 per person).

    All in all, healthcare prices in the US are roughly twice as big as the average. However, this does not mean that Americans get healthcare that is ‘twice as good.’ There’s an issue with how these funds are utilized. For one, there’s a lack of competition between hospitals, which has led to administrative waste and inefficiencies in the entire system.

    ADVERTISEMENT
    #10

    40 Normalized Things In Europe That Are Unknown In The US, According To The Internet taking an ambulance without a worry in the world

    ShadowLancer128 , Artem Saranin Report

    Add photo comments
    POST
    Sven Grammersdorf
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I'm pretty sure anyone taking an ambulance ride has at least one thing to be worried about

    View more commentsArrow down menu
    #11

    40 Normalized Things In Europe That Are Unknown In The US, According To The Internet Online bank transfers. Americans get all excited over stuff like Venmo but I can send money to anyone via my online banking app for free.

    mamamia1001 , Anete Lusina Report

    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT
    #12

    Cashiers having chairs

    ColdCookies144 Report

    Add photo comments
    POST
    Turnip and a Frog
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Cashiers in the US stand all day? I had no idea. What do the trade unions have to say about this?

    View more commentsArrow down menu

    “The United States spends over $900 per person on administrative costs—four times more than the average of other wealthy countries and about the same as we spend on preventive or long-term healthcare,” the Foundation notes.

    Furthermore, the American healthcare system leads to worse health outcomes (e.g. life expectancy, unmanaged diabetes) than in other wealthy countries.

    ADVERTISEMENT
    #14

    40 Normalized Things In Europe That Are Unknown In The US, According To The Internet 6 weeks vacation 

    nomadProgrammer , Vincent Gerbouin Report

    Add photo comments
    POST
    Mabelbabel
    Community Member
    1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    UK NHS worker. I get 30 paid annual leave days (when I started it was 20, but you get additional days added depending on years of service). Plus bank holidays-christmas, boxing day, new years day, spring and summer Bank Holidays, 2 days at Easter. If I'm on call during a Bank Holiday, I get a day in lieu. Sick leave-6 months at full pay, 6 months at half pay, then onto statutory sick pay. Discretionary compassionate/family leave (if someone suddenly drops dead, family crisis etc, at the discretion of your line manager). There's a lot of research showing that shorter working weeks are actually more efficient and productive. Then there's maternity leave (a year) and paternity leave, and also adoption leave (if you adopt, it's considered similar to maternity leave)

    View more commentsArrow down menu
    #15

    40 Normalized Things In Europe That Are Unknown In The US, According To The Internet The hugest mindf**k for me is the maternity leave. An entire, paid year?! I get that they can channel more money into that stuff since the US has military needs paid for, but that’s still pretty impressive.

    DogsArePrettyCool4 , Kristina Paukshtite Report

    Add photo comments
    POST
    OhnoI’vebeencensored
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The issue isn’t the US’s military budget, although this is higher than is typical in Europe. The issue is that US government is hamstrung by ‘conservatives’ who are simply misogynists who won’t recognise that maternity leave is hugely beneficial for mother and child, and that supporting mothers results in better long-term economic outcomes.

    View more commentsArrow down menu
    ADVERTISEMENT
    #16

    40 Normalized Things In Europe That Are Unknown In The US, According To The Internet Go to the grocery store on your bicycle.

    Walking from shop to shop in the city centre.

    GreenButterfly1234 , Salo Al Report

    Add photo comments
    POST
    Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa)
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I live in Portland, Oregon and haven't driven a car in almost 20 years. I have a dedicated shopping bike I use one a week and all winter. It's the bike with fenders. I can carry two shopping bags home at a time and that's how I control my spending.

    View more commentsArrow down menu
    ADVERTISEMENT
    #17

    40 Normalized Things In Europe That Are Unknown In The US, According To The Internet Taking your own shopping bag(s) to the supermarket.

    Totally normalized in all European countries as far as I know. Or buy a (firm) shopping bag at the store if you don't have one with you.

    All those plastic bags in US stores, so small that it can only hold two cans of milk so you see customers with a dozen plastic bags for their groceries.. unthinkable in Europe.

    Shrooma111 , Laura James Report

    Add photo comments
    POST
    Ruth
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Many people in the USA take their own bags to the grocery store also.

    View more commentsArrow down menu
    #18

    40 Normalized Things In Europe That Are Unknown In The US, According To The Internet Not wearing shoes in our homes.

    carlamaco , Mikhail Nilov Report

    Add photo comments
    POST
    Sea Squirrel
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I'm from the Netherlands and most people I know don't mind if you wear shoes in their homes. It's a personal choice, not a cultural thing.

    View more commentsArrow down menu
    ADVERTISEMENT
    #19

    40 Normalized Things In Europe That Are Unknown In The US, According To The Internet Mayo with french fries.

    I’m in the US but have cousins in Holland. They introduced me to to this years ago and it’s pretty awesome.

    Robhow , Gustav Lundborg Report

    ADVERTISEMENT
    #20

    40 Normalized Things In Europe That Are Unknown In The US, According To The Internet Coalition governments

    MistaLuvcraft , Ricky Esquivel Report

    Add photo comments
    POST
    Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa)
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    YES!!! Seriously I am so sick of a two party system! Democrats and Republicans BOTH suck! How did we get stuck with this BS?

    View more commentsArrow down menu
    #21

    Work Life Balance

    Going to Europe and then coming back to Texas and visiting our corporate offices in Dublin, London, Paris.

    Yes the European working hours are different. But it seems there’s more of a balance and respect for personal time and medical time or absence. Vs in America working yourself to the bone.

    Also the absence of Tipping, and availability of metro and being able to conveniently walk where you need to get to. 1 mile in Europe feels shorter than the 1 mile walk in USA hahaha sidewalk availability and lack of parks to cut through etc.

    JeezBelieveThat Report

    Add photo comments
    POST
    YoKon93
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This is very noticeable. Most Europeans have a far greater respect of the life part of the Work Life balance, and so this is seen reflected in cultural norms and often laws. (For example, try to go shopping in Germany on a Sunday or see the consequences of non-emergency work-related 'phone calls outside standard office hours.)

    View more commentsArrow down menu
    ADVERTISEMENT
    See Also on Bored Panda
    #22

    40 Normalized Things In Europe That Are Unknown In The US, According To The Internet trains

    Complete_Spot3771 , Laura Meinhardt Report

    Add photo comments
    POST
    Chris D'Asta
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    We have trains. Yeah, this country is backward as f**k but we have goddamned trains.

    View more commentsArrow down menu
    #23

    40 Normalized Things In Europe That Are Unknown In The US, According To The Internet The right to roam.

    It's glorious to be able to hike across private land when you grow up used to signs saying "Trespassers will be shot."

    suzycreamcheese260 , Gagaz Adam Report

    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT
    See Also on Bored Panda
    #24

    40 Normalized Things In Europe That Are Unknown In The US, According To The Internet Unlocked phones.

    When I lived in the US it was hard for me to get around the idea that I couldn't use the phone that I bought with AT&T with a SIM card from T-Mobile. In Europe I interchange my SIM cards with zero problems. I can even change my provider and keep the same number and of course the same phone.

    TravellingBelgian , Tim Samuel Report

    #25

    40 Normalized Things In Europe That Are Unknown In The US, According To The Internet Legally enshrined right to online privacy

    Quegyboe , Mikhail Nilov Report

    Add photo comments
    POST
    LillieMean
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I'm curious how this differs from eu legislation. For example, the app store must clearly state how data is collected and how it is used. Sites can be prohibited from collecting data and the use of cookies can be adjusted manually. Apps can be denied access to, for example, the camera, messages or gallery if you want.

    View more commentsArrow down menu
    ADVERTISEMENT
    See Also on Bored Panda
    #26

    40 Normalized Things In Europe That Are Unknown In The US, According To The Internet Roundabouts. They're like the rotary phones of the road - Americans look at them in utter confusion and wonder where to dial.

    phamkethanh , Kelly Report

    Add photo comments
    POST
    Ruth
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Roundabouts are becoming far more common in the USA.

    View more commentsArrow down menu
    #27

    Biking, public transportation, walking in the city, basically not living life centered around driving a car.

    portlandsmith Report

    Add photo comments
    POST
    Sven Grammersdorf
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The United States has an extremely low population density. When you live 25 miles from the nearest Walmart and there's nothing in between except corn and soybean fields, you need a car.

    View more commentsArrow down menu
    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT
    See Also on Bored Panda
    #28

    Police treating civilians with respect

    DaisyDog2023 Report

    Add photo comments
    POST
    moggie63
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    There's a video currently doing the rounds on YouTube about UK police arresting an autistic teenager, respect is the last thing being shown.

    View more commentsArrow down menu
    #29

    Mandatory recycling

    lotusblossom520 Report

    ADVERTISEMENT
    See Also on Bored Panda
    #31

    40 Normalized Things In Europe That Are Unknown In The US, According To The Internet E-government, being able to do 99% of the things needed online.

    Xtasy0178 , Los Muertos Crew Report

    Add photo comments
    POST
    Bored Templar
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This one is also not true. It depends on the country. Some countries in Europe are still very, very bureaucratic

    View more commentsArrow down menu
    ADVERTISEMENT
    See Also on Bored Panda
    #32

    40 Normalized Things In Europe That Are Unknown In The US, According To The Internet More people are day drinking in Europe than I have ever seen in America.

    CamilaHelena , Ron Lach Report

    Add photo comments
    POST
    Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa)
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Please come visit us on the West Coast. Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, and LA know how to day drink.

    View more commentsArrow down menu
    ADVERTISEMENT
    See Also on Bored Panda
    #34

    40 Normalized Things In Europe That Are Unknown In The US, According To The Internet Inter country travel. I don't even live on the main European land mass. I live on a European island. But I can fly to most European countries in under four hours. And it's not a million euro to do so.

    Low_Engineering8921 , Pixabay Report

    ADVERTISEMENT
    #35

    Having your washing machine in your kitchen.

    angrycupcake11 Report

    Add photo comments
    POST
    Gustav Gallifrey
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    European houses are small, often no room to incorporate separate laundry room.

    View more commentsArrow down menu
    ADVERTISEMENT
    #36

    40 Normalized Things In Europe That Are Unknown In The US, According To The Internet Paying to use a toilet.

    Yak-5000 , Ondosan Sinaga Report

    Add photo comments
    POST
    Sven Grammersdorf
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    "The Committee to End Pay Toilets in America, or CEPTIA, was a 1970s grass-roots political organization which was one of the main forces behind the elimination of pay toilets in many American cities and states." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Committee_to_End_Pay_Toilets_in_America

    View more commentsArrow down menu
    #37

    40 Normalized Things In Europe That Are Unknown In The US, According To The Internet Well, in some countries, having a monarchy (UK, Denmark + the Faroe Islands, Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Spain, Leichtenstein, Monaco, technically also Andorra and Vatican City) or even a quasi-monarchy (Romania, Serbia, where the monarchies have a sort-of-official role while still being a Republic).

    Also, having a religion tax (which you can opt out of if you formally leave the Church or other religious organisation if there's an option for it to go to a non-Christian one), in Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Spain (as a choice of where your tax goes, doesn't change the overall amount) and some cantons of Switzerland. And having a particular state or established Church (England, Scotland, Denmark, Faroe Islands, Iceland) or national/"people's" Church (Sweden, Norway).

    palishkoto , JR Bradbury Report

    Add photo comments
    POST
    VM37
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Serbia doesn't have a monarch. They do have members if the ex Royal family (Karađorđevići). But they have no power or status. They are in exile so to speak

    View more commentsArrow down menu
    ADVERTISEMENT
    #38

    Electric kettles.

    The4thJuliek Report

    #39

    being able to tilt open your windows

    in usa your windows only open like doors, i couldnt imagibe living in a house lacking such basic features as tilting open the top of the window

    wojtekpolska Report

    ADVERTISEMENT
    #40

    Not really an unknown concept but letting cats go outside and roam around. It's just the norm in the UK.

    Bedzzzz Report

    Add photo comments
    POST
    SingingCatMom
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    A majority of veterinarians in the UK now recommend keeping cats indoors. Also,the UK does not have coyotes...who would just as soon kill your cat than look at it.

    View more commentsArrow down menu
    ADVERTISEMENT