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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45 Things That Are Normal In The US, But Seem Bizarre In Other Countries Shared In This Online Group GoFundMe being an acceptable replacement for a health care system

GTrav44 , gofundme Report

Final score:

381points

POST

Ulrike Sponagel 3 years ago

☹️😭

67points

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45 Things That Are Normal In The US, But Seem Bizarre In Other Countries Shared In This Online Group Literally being too poor to go to the doctor, but have too much income for any kind of assistance

kaden123drake , Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja Report

Final score:

370points

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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.

68points

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45 Things That Are Normal In The US, But Seem Bizarre In Other Countries Shared In This Online Group 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.

Impossible-Buy-4090 , Wikimedia Commons Report

Final score:

362points

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Nikki Hilton 3 years ago

This! Pay everyone a living wage and do away with tips!

119points

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45 Things That Are Normal In The US, But Seem Bizarre In Other Countries Shared In This Online Group Pronouncing corruption as "lobbying"

GSLaaitie , RJA1988 Report

Final score:

359points

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Lisa Frühauf 3 years ago

Oh, we Germans kinda do that, too, actually 😅

15points

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45 Things That Are Normal In The US, But Seem Bizarre In Other Countries Shared In This Online Group Assuming that everyone on the internet is American until proven otherwise.

Officer_Cat_Fancy_ , Steven Martin Report

Final score:

341points

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Helena R 3 years ago

Everything in American-English too rather than British-English. things that are translated from almost any other language into American-English rather than British-English regardless of the subject matter

8points

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45 Things That Are Normal In The US, But Seem Bizarre In Other Countries Shared In This Online Group 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.

emissaryofwinds , USAG- Humphreys Report

Final score:

309points

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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.

187points

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45 Things That Are Normal In The US, But Seem Bizarre In Other Countries Shared In This Online Group 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

downtimeredditor , Molly Haggerty Report

Final score:

305points

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Pezor Zass 3 years ago

And lobby for laws that put more people in jail

77points

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45 Things That Are Normal In The US, But Seem Bizarre In Other Countries Shared In This Online Group Gender reveal parties

jemariebearimy , highlander411 Report

Final score:

304points

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Spork420 3 years ago

Most Americans think they're ridiculous too tbh.

80points

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45 Things That Are Normal In The US, But Seem Bizarre In Other Countries Shared In This Online Group People who angrily DO NOT WANT healthcare.

spammmmmmmmy , Presidencia de la República Mexicana Report

Final score:

300points

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N G 3 years ago

It's so much more than that. It's not that they dont want healthcare, they dont want to pay for SOMEONE ELSE'S healthcare.

152points

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#10

45 Things That Are Normal In The US, But Seem Bizarre In Other Countries Shared In This Online Group 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.

Broadmin , Unknown Report

Final score:

276points

POST

Johnny 3 years ago

Most places use chip-and-pin where they *have* to take the card at the table since you need to enter your PIN. USA credit card banks decided Americans aren't smart enough for chip-and-pin, so we just have chip and an archaic signature.

26points

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#11

45 Things That Are Normal In The US, But Seem Bizarre In Other Countries Shared In This Online Group 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

Pyanez11 , ilovebutter Report

Final score:

274points

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𝔹𝕖𝕝𝕝𝕒 3 years ago

Yeah, I kinda agree with this one.

52points

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#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.

indigo-wolf Report

Final score:

273points

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Kanishka Patel 3 years ago

This is sad

82points

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#13

45 Things That Are Normal In The US, But Seem Bizarre In Other Countries Shared In This Online Group Medical debt

CIA_grade_LSD , Grant Source Report

Final score:

269points

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Winx 3 years ago

Add "who is paying their debt while also stopping treatment because they can't continue accruing more debt"

6points

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#14

45 Things That Are Normal In The US, But Seem Bizarre In Other Countries Shared In This Online Group Waiting like 8 weeks after your elections till the new guy comes in to power is pretty f****** weird

Snoo61123 , GPA Photo Archive Report

Final score:

261points

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Kanishka Patel 3 years ago

yeah...

47points

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#15

45 Things That Are Normal In The US, But Seem Bizarre In Other Countries Shared In This Online Group 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

digitalelise , Victoria_Borodinova Report

Final score:

259points

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Biana Vacker 3 years ago

i know- you can literally stare someone in the face while they are going to the bathroom

69points

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#16

45 Things That Are Normal In The US, But Seem Bizarre In Other Countries Shared In This Online Group Flags. Everywhere

psyk738178 , WTF Colorado Report

Final score:

254points

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Pezor Zass 3 years ago

How else can they keep up the illusion that they live in a country worth celebrating?

177points

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#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?

ninjapotatoprd Report

Final score:

250points

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Nikki Hilton 3 years ago

Different taxes in different states. But yeah.

75points

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#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.

vietcong420 Report

Final score:

237points

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I am not an addict 3 years ago

Work to live, don't live to work.

8points

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#19

45 Things That Are Normal In The US, But Seem Bizarre In Other Countries Shared In This Online Group 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.

BerserkBoulderer , Unknown Report

Final score:

235points

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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

106points

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#20

45 Things That Are Normal In The US, But Seem Bizarre In Other Countries Shared In This Online Group College sports, people do not care about nor have college sports like we do here.

UnusualLight0 , Unknown Report

Final score:

233points

POST

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

112points

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#21

45 Things That Are Normal In The US, But Seem Bizarre In Other Countries Shared In This Online Group 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

Drumah , Wikimedia Commons Report

Final score:

231points

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Andrew Gibb 3 years ago

the meal in the picture is not an American one.

50points

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#22

45 Things That Are Normal In The US, But Seem Bizarre In Other Countries Shared In This Online Group Unused vacation days

Banana_Gorilla , Unknown Report

Final score:

205points

POST

Aroha 3 years ago

Yeah in my country, if you don't take your minimum of 5 weeks of holiday per year, it will be scheduled for you. Literally your manager will force you to relax :D.

7points

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#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.

No-Soft-3703 Report

Final score:

197points

POST

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.

77points

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#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.

frosty_hotboy Report

Final score:

192points

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Pezor Zass 3 years ago

I'm good with it being a weekday, but it should be a national holiday

108points

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#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.

littleloucc Report

Final score:

185points

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Winx 3 years ago

This is a bad policy because everyone comes to work sick so they can still take vacation days.

39points

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#26

People constantly thanking god for every day occurrences

toshredsyousay6502 Report

Final score:

176points

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Suzy the observer 3 years ago

Way too much religion everywhere and about everything.

51points

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#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"

Noor_awsome Report

Final score:

164points

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BookCrazyTeen 3 years ago

It’s very annoying

47points

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#28

Tipping, most other places actually pay their waiters/waitresses and tippings just for extremely good service or rounding up.

Undisclosed-Fruit Report

Final score:

162points

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Nikki Hilton 3 years ago

Already noted. Pay everyone a living working wage (NOT $7.50/hr). Do away with tipping.

37points

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#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.

FreshNebula Report

Final score:

158points

POST

Pezor Zass 3 years ago

This, bigtime.

37points

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#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.

vacri Report

Final score:

156points

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Viviane 3 years ago

I live in Canada and one of my friends did a cross-country drive via the USA to take advantage of cheaper gas.

21points

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#31

Garbage disposal units in sinks. I've been to nearly 20 countries, and I've never seen one.

TypingLobster Report

Final score:

141points

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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.

48points

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#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.

JeremiahSpankMouth Report

Final score:

140points

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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

6points

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#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.

SkippyNordquist Report

Final score:

134points

POST

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.

35points

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#34

Your identity politics used to be just in America, then it spilled out like a burst sewage pipe.

Consistscent Report

Final score:

122points

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Tammy Hawkins 3 years ago

Can not disagree with that statement

64points

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#35

Red solo cups. My european cousins asked me if parties in the us really had those red cups.

Belgianwafflz Report

Final score:

116points

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angie but who cares 3 years ago

yuppp they taste better for some reason just like a grilled cheese tastes better cut

49points

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#36

45 Things That Are Normal In The US, But Seem Bizarre In Other Countries Shared In This Online Group Bumper stickers. They’re a lot less common in Europe anyway, not sure about the rest of the world.

Random_Machiavelli , dalliedee Report

Final score:

115points

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Deborah Clarke 3 years ago

But, but, but! Don't you want to know what I think?!

10points

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#37

45 Things That Are Normal In The US, But Seem Bizarre In Other Countries Shared In This Online Group Nearly everything about their high schools

Unfair-Act-4499 , Wikimedia Commons Report

Final score:

101points

POST

N G 3 years ago

That's a bit vague. High schools have lessons across the world, are populated with hormonal teens across the world, have school meals across the world - there's certainly a difference in quality here, but it's not a weird American thing. So, everything else...?

35points

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#38

45 Things That Are Normal In The US, But Seem Bizarre In Other Countries Shared In This Online Group Free refills at restaurants

milwaukeeminnesota , James Petts Report

Final score:

97points

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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.

43points

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#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.

windwalker28 Report

Final score:

96points

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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.

33points

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#40

Girl Scout cookies?

iamnotdoctordoom Report

Final score:

95points

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Biana Vacker 3 years ago

THIN MINTS

82points

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#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.

EdwardCosmos Report

Final score:

93points

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Diddlybop 3 years ago

It's discrimination to only give crackers to ppl called Graham ):

63points

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#42

45 Things That Are Normal In The US, But Seem Bizarre In Other Countries Shared In This Online Group 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.

Upstairs_Cow , Walmart Report

Final score:

90points

POST

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.

12points

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#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.

plasmadrive Report

Final score:

87points

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angie but who cares 3 years ago

thats cause we call it somthing else

27points

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#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.

Caughtinjail1 Report

Final score:

84points

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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.

44points

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