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45 Things That Are Normal In The US, But Seem Bizarre In Other Countries Shared In This Online Group
The United States of America is the land of the free and full of opportunities. It is one of the largest economies in the world and it has always amassed people for the life one can create there. But, like every country, it has its own way of functioning and the people living there have their own culture. And if you are also attracted to this country and would like to travel to the United States or you are planning of moving there, you should expect to encounter things you‘ve never seen before or things done differently to what you are used to.
A few days ago, Reddit user Ymij asked people to share some things Americans don‘t realize exist only in the United States. And people had a lot to say. The post got more than 10k answers and Bored Panda gathered a list of some of the most upvoted responses.
More info: Reddit
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#1
GoFundMe being an acceptable replacement for a health care system
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#2
Literally being too poor to go to the doctor, but have too much income for any kind of assistance
Terilee Bruyere 3 years ago
THIS! I remember a time that my dad had gotten laid off and my mum was dealing with health issues. They were simply down on their luck and filed for food stamps. Due to their Canadian pension they only qualified for $18 in food stamps a month and made too much to have health insurance, just adding to the health issues.
#3
Tipping as a wage subsidy. Many countries don’t have tipping and those that do generally tip a small amount for good service.
Also displayed prices not including taxes or other fees.
#6
The pledge of allegiance. If you tell people here that in America they make kids stand up and recite some prayer to a flag every single morning, they'll look at you like you just grew a third arm.
Karl Baxter 3 years ago
We’d call that indoctrination in the UK. I remember speaking with an elderly Italian man who was a child when Mussolini came to power. He told me they were forced to do similar things at school.
#7
I want to say for-profit prison systems.
These things are f***** up. If the state doesn't keep up the prisoner quota they gotta pay a fine to the company they owns the prison.
So this basically makes them try to keep existing prisoners
#10
Having the restaurant take your credit card - in most countries it's considered impolite to disappear with the card as they might write the digits down to charge extra later. Therefore they normally bring a portable terminal to your table so you can keep the card in eyesight and have the (optional) tip actually charged when the card is run and not added after the fact.
#11
The Imperial System, Fahrenheits, massive ad breaks. I swear i watched US Television once and i nearly had time to go take a s*** before the adbreak ended. And i'm one of those people that play on their phone while on the throne
#12
I am from Europe and I have never seen in supermarkets scooters for people that are so obese they can't walk by themselves.
#14
Waiting like 8 weeks after your elections till the new guy comes in to power is pretty f****** weird
#15
Massive gaps on all sides of toilet cubicle doors, like why even bother with a door at all when people can see through so easily
Biana Vacker 3 years ago
i know- you can literally stare someone in the face while they are going to the bathroom
#16
Flags. Everywhere
Pezor Zass 3 years ago
How else can they keep up the illusion that they live in a country worth celebrating?
#17
This may be a shot in the dark but product prices not including tax when they’re displayed? Like if something says it’s $10 and you only have $10, what’s with the surprise tax at the till?
#18
Your toxic grind working culture. I find that Americans define their entire personality around their profession. It all feels so shallow and hollow way of living. Like I work so I can do the things I enjoy ( pre covid) I don't work because it defines me as a person.
#19
Absurdly long election campaigns. In most countries I've been to election campaigns last a month or two, in the US they seem to go for a full year.
Biana Vacker 3 years ago
we get sooo many ads too; they're literally everywhere and most of them are attack ads with questionable information
#20
College sports, people do not care about nor have college sports like we do here.
Pezor Zass 3 years ago
it's disgusting the amount of money my school spends on sports, and we're not even remotely a sporty school
#21
Food portion sizes... In EU you get food portions you can finish and are generally calculated to be pretty much fill/satisfy you over the entire meal.
When I go to the US I can fill myself up with half of the appetizer
#23
The use of the words junior, sophomore and senior in school. I don't think I have ever heard these outside of an American TV show or movie.
Kanishka Patel 3 years ago
Yeah it is pretty weird. Why not just say 9th, 10th , 11th, and 12 grade? Seems much more simple. I am going to be in high school next year and I am Indian but I live in America. I am used to saying junior, sophomore, etc. but my mom finds it really confusing. This seems so unnecessary.
#24
I can't speak for the whole world, but having elections on a weekday seems crazy to me. We do it in the weekend so that people are off work anyway.
#25
A single pool of paid time off that you use for both vacation and sick leave. Therefore having to forego vacation to keep a bank of leave just in case you get ill.
#26
People constantly thanking god for every day occurrences
#27
Those commercials featuring some sort of drug or medication. With the typical closing where the narrator states "Side effects includes blah blah blah...Discuss with your doctor about blah blah blah"
#28
Tipping, most other places actually pay their waiters/waitresses and tippings just for extremely good service or rounding up.
Nikki Hilton 3 years ago
Already noted. Pay everyone a living working wage (NOT $7.50/hr). Do away with tipping.
#29
Having to drive everywhere. I'm 27-years-old, not from the US and never learnt to drive. I've also never felt like I needed it.
#30
It's pretty funny watching Americans moan over their super-cheap petrol prices. "But we drive everywhere, cars are fundamental to our society". Yep, same here in Australia, too. Your fuel is still incredibly cheap.
#31
Garbage disposal units in sinks. I've been to nearly 20 countries, and I've never seen one.
Andrew Gibb 3 years ago
One of the primary concerns of using garbage disposals is that it puts excess strain on local wastewater treatment centers. All of the food solids in the wastewater must be filtered out. Those solids are used to create fertilizer or are sent to landfills.
#32
Longer ad breaks in the Muppet Show.
The UK version had two minutes of extra content in every episode due to restrictions on the amount of ads you could play on British TV.
That's 240 minutes of extra Muppet content that most Americans never saw.
Fred and George Weasley 3 years ago
the UK has limited ad amounts. theyre regulated, so you can only have 12 minutes of ads per hour. obviously in the US im guessing its not the same
#33
Playing the national anthem before sporting events. There may be a handful of other countries that do, but in much of the world it's only played for international matches.
Alexis draskinis 3 years ago
I still dont understand why its played. Its a sporting event, a game, nothing more. Im a baseball fan & i can care less about it being played. I want to watch the game.
#34
Your identity politics used to be just in America, then it spilled out like a burst sewage pipe.
#35
Red solo cups. My european cousins asked me if parties in the us really had those red cups.
angie but who cares 3 years ago
yuppp they taste better for some reason just like a grilled cheese tastes better cut
#36
Bumper stickers. They’re a lot less common in Europe anyway, not sure about the rest of the world.
#38
Free refills at restaurants
SimplySarcastic40 3 years ago
one of the things i missed living 9 years abroad was this right here...i drink a lot of water. only water, but a lot of it and having to ask for refills of water and getting side-eye was something i never got used to.
#39
Stores like Wal-Mart where you can buy everything that are open all the time. Groceries, alcohol, plants, medicine, tires, toys...
The first time I went to Germany on a work trip it was a bank holiday and everything was closed.
I live in Jerusalem now and there is a separate store for everything.
Terilee Bruyere 3 years ago
I'm in the bible belt. Alcohol can be bought 24/6 here (no sales on Sunday) at Walmart but the actual pharmacy is not open at night.
#40
Girl Scout cookies?
#41
Graham Crackers.
Remember when I picked up a friend's mother and her friend at the airport, fresh from the US. One of them was like 'They don't have Graham crackers here?' I'm like nah mate we have crackers for everyone.
#42
Parking lot size. I’ve been to about 20 different countries, all over the place, and I have never seen a standard Walmart sized parking lot anywhere out of America.
Theoretical Empiricist 3 years ago
You can also thank our tragic shadow of a public transportation system and how far we're spread out. In may instances, driving (and therefore parking) is the only option.
#43
Buscuits and gravy. This conjures up images of having a plate of cookies smothered in a sauce made from the the meat juices of a roast.
#44
I wanna say jaywalking. Like, in Europe, you can pretty much cross a road wherever you want but when I visited America there seemed to be this weird sense you were being judged if you walked out into an empty road. Maybe just me idk.
Ulrike Sponagel 3 years ago
There is some sort of debate whether jaywalking is or isn’t frowned upon in Germany - many people believe that the Germans are sticklers for traffic etiquette when it comes to walking across a street on a red light, and, indeed, Germans will stand even when it would be safe to cross - for the sake of setting the right example for any nearby children. So, it might be the same everywhere.
#45
It always surprises me when someone from another country has never heard of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
What do you think ?
Carrot dude 3 years ago
Here, I'm just going to copy Vunn's comment on a similar post from about a month ago: "Does this really need to be covered once a month?"
Nevits Yibble 3 years ago
Evidently it does. There's an obsession here with this s**t. I've never seen anything like it
Load More Replies...
Vincent Philippart 3 years ago
This! I wanna learn weird things about Bhutan or Estonia.
Load More Replies...
Ryan Deschanel 3 years ago
The existence of Home Owners Associations. Why would your neighbours have any right to decide whether or not you can grow an edge, build a fence, or paint your shutters ? By the way, why do you never have edges, fences and shutters? Do you not need privacy and sleep too?
Carrot dude 3 years ago
Here, I'm just going to copy Vunn's comment on a similar post from about a month ago: "Does this really need to be covered once a month?"
Nevits Yibble 3 years ago
Evidently it does. There's an obsession here with this s**t. I've never seen anything like it
Load More Replies... Vincent Philippart 3 years ago
This! I wanna learn weird things about Bhutan or Estonia.
Load More Replies... Ryan Deschanel 3 years ago
The existence of Home Owners Associations. Why would your neighbours have any right to decide whether or not you can grow an edge, build a fence, or paint your shutters ? By the way, why do you never have edges, fences and shutters? Do you not need privacy and sleep too?
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