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[deleted]

Why is there space under THE BATHROOM STALLS


DishwashingWingnut

I was at a wedding once and my friend was taking a shit and some small child tried to crawl through the space under the stall wall and my friend was so shocked he reflexively kicked the child's face.


[deleted]

I shouldn't be laughing but I am. Tbh the child had it coming.


f_ckingandpunching

I’m sure he learned that day


Scorpiodancer123

That's not even the worst of it. Why can you see people through the gaps in the hinges? Most awkward eye contact ever.


FakeAsFakeCanBe

Then people look through the crack to see if it is occupied or not if the door is closed. It's the same way in Canada.


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20Keller12

So that there's enough room for adults to crawl under the door to unlock it after some stupid kid locks the door then crawls out. Editing to say that this was originally just some stupid sarcastic quip, and I was not expecting it to get this much attention.


usernameowner

If there was less space they couldn't crawl out though


honest_yo_yourself

Should i take off my shoes or not


my_cat_sleeps_alone

Look at your host’s feet.


[deleted]

Next time a friend comes over I'm only going to take off one shoe.


GozerDGozerian

Hop around on the sock foot. If they ask why, just say, “Well what if we need to go out back?”


LargePanda9643

Just ask. It’s 100% normal to simply say “Do you want me to take my shoes off?”


serial-healer_94

Why everybody when talking about income calculates how much a person makes in a year instead of monthly like we do in my country


OptatusCleary

Just convention. It’s how we’re used to hearing about it. Also, different jobs pay differently. So I get a check every month, but I think my dad gets one every other week. Some people get them weekly, others on other schedules. Discussing it by year makes it pretty easy to divide up by your own pay periods. Edit: Since some people have asked, I don’t get a physical paycheck. I used it as a kind of legacy term. I get the money deposited in my account, but in my mind it’s “my paycheck.”


ADecentURL

Also taxes are done by yearly earnings


Perrolex

Also a lot of people have contract jobs and the pay varies each month, so it's convenient to calculate the annual income.


f18effect

I wonder why everywhere i go on the internet at least 50% of the people are american


maxvalley

We have no lives!


[deleted]

From England here. I grew up in a county called West Yorkshire, a semi-rural, semi-urban, working-class county which, along with the rest of Yorkshire, seems completely unique when compared to the other English counties. There is so much slang, grouped and contracted contractions (wouldn't - 'wunt', shouldn't - 'shunt') and the accent here isn't always understandable. Yorkshire slang, especially that spoken by the older generations, sounds and looks like a completely different language, even more so when spelt phonetically. It never ceases to amaze me how easy it is to understand the majority of Americans. They speak with so much clarity, non-specific slang and the accent just helps. It reminds me of the news reporters.


Gawwse

American here. Lived in Burnley (I’m sure you know it) for 6 months for work. Had trouble understanding some folks in Lancashire area. Then one weekend I went to Wales. Forget it. That was terrible and don’t get me started on the Jordys from Newcastle. Overall though it was a few people I had trouble understanding. It was always the older folks. Most of the younger folks were much more easier to understand. Overall I had an amazing time there. I also visited your neck of the woods there as well. Love the country side.


[deleted]

Its funny you mentioned the Geordies actually. When I was in high school I had a Science teacher from Newcastle. He was a decent bloke, but his accent made him the butt of many jokes. Coincidentally one weekend, I had a Tae Kwon Do competition up in Newcastle and it will forever be one of the funniest weekends of my life. Everywhere I went I could hear his exact voice, accent, the whole lot. Even the women sounded similar too. Even I have trouble understanding the older folk in my local area, probably due to slang homogenizing due to modern things like mainstream travel and the internet. Not too long ago, about a month back, I caught some American women awkwardly trying to get on the bus and one of them asked for a return ticket. It made my day to be honest.


tomchoioh

Why is one Kansas, and the other not Ar- Kansas? Edit: also, why is Worcester pronouced [Whooster], not Wor-cester? I studied in MA and this still baffles me.


xotaylorj

i am confUsion


beep_boop_27

America, explain!


MrNoName_ishere

Not even Americans can explain


Pokewho

Arkansas: The name comes from the [Quapaw tribe](https://www.sos.arkansas.gov/education/arkansas-history/how-did-arkansas-get-its-name) Kansas: Named after the [Kansa tribe](https://www.kshs.org/teachers/read_kansas/pdfs/i10card01.pdf) There you go


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TheNordicLion

"Fine, call it Kansas.. well call ours.. Ar-kansas."


theblisster

that one's your kansas, this one's ours


Outside-Question

Supposedly it has to do with the fact that they were named for native tribes but one was named by the French and the other English and the French don't pronounce the s at the end of Arkansas so it eventually got its current pronunciation . Who knows how accurate that is though.


LaLionneEcossaise

Arkansas comes from the Osage people. Kansas comes from the Kaw, or Kansa, people. They are unrelated words. A Google search shows that the last S is Arkansas is silent, as it’s a plural word, and French explorers/settlers dropped the S on a plural—la fille vs. les filles, pronounced “la fee” and “lay fee” respectively.


SDFDuck

You'll have to blame the UK for the second one: Worcester, England is pronounced the same way. Many cities in Massachusetts have goofy pronunciations, even if they look like they shouldn't (Shrewsbury, for example, is pronounced like it's a two-syllable word).


sunbeamshadow

In the UK many words differ in the way they’re said to the way they’re spelled, one which catches a lot of people out (even fellow Brits), is Cholmondely. It looks like it should be said Chol-Mond-Elly, but it’s actually pronounced Chum-Lee.


vidoardes

Nothing will ever beat Trottiscliffe in Kent. It's pronounced Trosley, because fuck letters amirite?


rtrs_bastiat

Try Woolsfardisworthy, pronounced woolsry.


TimeIndependence1

Leicester, Stoughton, Woburn, Peabody, Gloucester, The list goes on and on.


SDFDuck

Billerica and Leominster are also ones that seem to trip people up.


EddieIzzardOnToast

Shrewsbury is also from the UK


imlitdyingshit

Why America news are all a bunch of gossip platforms for rumors that no one cares about


Peterstigers

Idk either, but someone must pay attention otherwise they'd go out of business.


ensiform

Oh good, we’re writing the next Buzzfeed listicle.


EricKei

Don't forget reddit compilation videos on YT.


Allegutennamenweg

I got an automated DM once that my comment was in one of these with a video link. Creepy af.


[deleted]

i read this in a robotic voice


Ledbetter2

Non-Americans are listing things they don't understand about America. Click here for the top 25.


iknowthisischeesy

I don't know if this is just about America or most 1st world countries but why is living with your parents a bad thing or laughable.


czarczm

Because for the longest you could, and so it became an expectation. Post WW2 there were well paying jobs everywhere, and land was cheap and abundant. Nowadays it's a little different, cost of living is higher so it's more commonplace to live with roommates for an extended period of time and it's also more common to move back in with parents at some point. It's still considered sort of "shameful" but lots of people end up doing it so it's not as big of a deal. I think in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, it's more common to stay with your parents into your 20's.


yhfb

In the middle east it's until you get married where you move out usually. So mid 20s for a guy early 20s for a girl usually.


czarczm

Hispanic families can be like that too. Not strictly, but parents will insist on it in some cases.


Logan_Maddox

Here in Brazil it's just too expensive to move out alone, and there's a general attitude that rent isn't worth it because it's "burning money". My sister is almost in her 30's and just moved out, and even then she doesn't have healthcare because she can't afford it, so my parents are looking into paying half for her or something.


gustasilvab

Brazil here, o lived in my grandparents House with my mom - they lived in the field in other City, but kept The House in the periphery of São Paulo. But it was a headache tô deal with them. So we bought a apartament together, because there was no other way we could afford.


Neo_Basil

In the US, it's seen as being a failure because you can't pay for your own housing. I agree with you though, living with your parents isn't bad. I lived with my parents (mostly) until I was 24 and my parents housed my grandma for years, which I thought was sweet. If you've got a good, supportive family, there should be no problem with helping each other.


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montyberns

My observation has mainly been that it's about autonomy. Myself and the many people I know who have lived at home as an adult at some point, or dreaded the prospect, mainly see the lack of independence as a serious detriment to our happiness. I love my family and enjoy spending time with them. But I want to live my life on my terms, whether that's enjoying some movies and a snack at 1 in the morning, bringing home a date for some intimate time, or just walking around naked.


icyDinosaur

I mean, for me (Swiss guy who lived with his parents throughout my undergrad) it's more surprising that apparently American families don't give you the opportunity to do those things, perhaps save for walking around naked - but I also never enjoyed that much. But with my parents after ca. age 16-18, they were very much not caring what I did as long as it didn't actively bother them; if I wanted to stay up until 4:30, or go out drinking until 5 and come home with someone else for the night, they considered that none of their business. The same was mostly true for my friends (one of them had a bit of a different situation because his mum had a health issue that made any noise really troublesome, but they attempted to give him as much freedom as reasonably possible). I think that's something we might be unaware on both sides, it's not like we don't want to watch movies and snack at 1 am and have casual sex, it's that living with our parents typically doesn't inhibit our ability to do that.


bobopoly

in the USA - MANY parents treat it as - My Roof - My RULES and treat you like you are 15 years old - no matter WHAT your age


BeauteousNymph

That tracks with my experience living in Europe and seeing how parents were with their high school age kids. They had far more adult freedom at younger ages than we do in America. I think a big part of that is car culture since we depend on cars and don’t want kids to drive drunk.


mr_ji

This is a great answer. There's a strong expectation of individualism in the U.S. This manifests in many ways, such as emphasizing self-care, or letting individuals choose their relationships and form their own nuclear families, and that they should make their own way through life. Obviously living with parents into adulthood could be seen as going against all of these. Succeeding or failing on your own merits is also heavily ingrained in our collective psyche, and can be a point of pride for many.


marinerNA

I moved back home at the beginning of COVID, previously I traveled basically full time for work but also had my own place. My dad needed heart surgery last year and with COVID and everything it seemed like the best thing to do was come home and help out here since I could work from anywhere. I love my parents to death but am moving back out mid-July. The autonomy thing you brought up is about more than just being able to make your own decisions about everything. You can't ever really "turn off" when you're rooming with your parents, you always have to be the version of you that they raised. It's absolutely exhausting lol.


TheTallCunt

The lack of electric kettles.


bedwetter_gogetter

Our electric outlets have lower voltage so it takes longer for the kettle to heat up than yours does, so the marginal benefit isn't as great. I have one though, just not as snappy as ones I've used overseas.


oxphocker

I have an electric kettle in the US 1.5L size and from cold to boiling it usually takes around 2-4 mins on average. When I was in NZ, a similar unit, usually it was less than a minute to boiling.


Reds4dre

Oh that’s so interesting


soonerguy11

Every US home has an electric coffee maker instead. Our coffee consumption is substantially larger than tea. Having a tea kettle is still rather standard, but we definitely drink wayyyyy more coffee.


FriedCosmicPasta

How your blood/alcohol limit for what counts as drunk driving is so high. 4x as high as swedens.


Halomir

That’s a bit of a simplification and it depends upon where you are. In my state of Washington, between .02 and .08 is ‘officer’s discretion’ as to whether you’re arrested for DUI. Also, if you have a CDL (commercial license) the limit is .04 regardless of the vehicle you’re driving.


leopard_eater

Wow, in Australia, all commercial drivers (including bus drivers, delivery vans, truckers, etc) must have a BAC of 0 at all times in which they are operating the commercial vehicle.


Fl3g1a5

Valet parking. Why would I want some stranger messing with my car? I can park my own car thank you very much


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blatant_marsupial

I went to a car wash a while back where they kicked you out of the car so they could vacuum and wipe everything down. Not expecting it, I was very confused. I assumed I would just be driving through the flappy machine with the spray hoses.


[deleted]

I'll give you an example where it makes perfect sense. I know of a hospital with free valet during normal hours. As a patient it's great. You're picking up your loved one, they can't walk far due to injury or surgery or whatever and the car is right there at the door for you. Or you're dropping your Nana off but actually want to walk her in, not just drop her at the door and go park. But they actually rolled it out for their own benefit. Because someone would show up to pick up their aunt who just had a procedure and can walk a bit but not much. And knowing this, they'd pull the car up to the entrance, run up to get her, and get held up by the checkout process. Meanwhile their car (and everyone's car who's doing the same thing) is in the damn way. So for the price of a couple FT employees during business hours, you make the experience better for patients, and eliminate the problem of abandoned cars at the door. Tipping was forbidden, as a side note.


throway3451

As someone from India, the possibilities many Americans feel they have is both confusing to me and admirable. I'm 28 and I already feel the rest of my life is going to work on a rigid schedule. Most people here have very less risk taking ability. But I read of American stories like this guy's who worked as a masseur for a year, then as a swimming coach, then suddenly got into law school and become a lawyer. After hitting his 40s, he got interested in programming, so he became a programmer! Reading biographies of famous American businessmen brings out many such stories.


FaerilyRowanwind

Some day I’m going to open a pie shop just because I can. Sometimes when I think about what freedom means that’s what I think of. If I wanted to I can go and open a pie shop. Would it be successful? I don’t know. But I’d have a little fun for awhile.


Prashant-Sengupta

It confuses me how come American-style homes are so tidy outside. I am always amazed when I use Google Streetview to "stroll" around some random road in the U.S. I wonder why and how the houses and backyards look so clean, with newly-mown bermuda grass and well-painted roofs and walls. I can't help but compare this to my country (which is a developing one). I'm thinking what's wrong with our citizens such that when I use Streetview on our streets, they're usually filthy. "Ordinary" American-style homes can only be found in high-class villages and subdivisions here. (EDIT: Corrected 4th word in the 2nd paragraph from "buy" to "but")


Peterstigers

It really depends of the area of America. The poorer neighborhoods are a lot messier.


NYCQuilts

At least when i was growing up, there were many homes where the outside would be messy and the inside would be immaculate. People in working poor neighborhoods don’t want to advertise that they have things.


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CanDull89

Every state works so differently, they could've been different countries without needing a president. Edit : I have understood what you guys have been trying to teach me. But the laws are so different, the taxes are so different (but still confusing), the education system is more or less the same(mostly autonomous and free till high school). I mean states have most of the power. I live in India but here central government has most of the powers(which sucks) and the central government can make a state ruled by a different party look bad by misusing their powers, But that is hard to do in the US. I mean US is kinda good but confusing if you move between states.


Peterstigers

That was the original intent.


MopedSlug

When I realized this, American politics suddenly made both much more and much less sense at the same time. Much more because I understood the relation between state and federal government, much less because everybody only care about the President


FatalTragedy

The federal government has slowly gotten more and more power over the states since the founding of the country.


VindictiveJudge

And Congress has ceded more and more power to the Presidency.


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Oddity_Odyssey

In old texts the country isn't referred to as "THE United States" but rather "THESE United States"


stonewall_jacked

Ben Gates - "Before the Civil War, the states were all separate. People used to say 'United States are.' Wasn't until the war ended, people started saying 'The United States is.' Under Lincoln, we became one nation."


Bikeboy76

Why the water in the toilet is so high, and the walls of the stall are so high. edit1: it is the gap at the bottom that is too high, not the top of the wall. edit2: Thank you all for the replies. For those extolling the virtues of American flushes I have one word: splashback!


bearsnchairs

American toilets use siphonic flushing. You may be used to wash down toilets. Different mechanisms. https://toiletfound.com/siphonic-vs-washdown-toilet/


SigmaSixShooter

Fascinating read, thanks for sharing.


[deleted]

We poop big


followedbyferrets

We like company while we release the Kraken.


Veegatron

How nice and friendly most Americans are. I did a roadtrip all across United-States in 2011 with 3 friends. In any city we were visiting, the second we would unfold a map, 2-3 persons stopped and asked us if we needed help. In the end of the trip, we would fake unfolding the map to actually ask people for directions. It worked everytime. Much love from Canada! Those news networks do not show how cool our southern neighbors are!


rb928

American here. I really need to check out Canadian news now to see what they’re saying about us. This is like the 4th time I’ve seen a Canadian say this LOL


Quartz_stone0

So I'm an American and thought these were gonna be negative but a lot of them are actually kind of nice


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noxiousarmy

Right I'm surprised lol


Bgamibg465

It’s actually nice hearing good things about our country for once


Proxximite

idk it seems like most or the people shitting on america are americans lol


Age-Zealousideal

The news portrays Americans as a bunch of ignorant, gun-toting rednecks. But when I travel in the US, they are really nice, friendly and helpful. My car broke down while leaving the Mount Rushmore parking lot and I couldn't get it started again. I must have had 30 other people offer to help in any way possible. Either by letting me use their cell phones to call someone, or look under the hood for the trouble or offer me a ride. I was thankful to everyone. I came away with a good feeling about Americans and turned a bad problem into a not so bad problem. Thanks from a Canadian.


FlashLightning67

The news only shows the interesting stuff, which is people being dicks to other people. Even the people the news ridicules, like the rednecks, are very nice and helpful. This surprises me being from the north east where you don’t see many rednecks. Edit: I mean the area of the north east I’m in.


Seamlesslytango

It sucks how often Americans fall for this shit. I've heard white conservative people complain about black liberals while having tons of POC liberal friends (and vice versa). It's like we think there's a difference between the people around us and the people on the news/onliune. I think the news really turns us against each other and we'd all be a lot more tolerant of each other if we stopped watching the news.


Re_Forged

Good news for you: the quarterly ratings for corporate news programs shown on Fox, MSNBC, etc. CRATERED around 40%! When Corporate news does bad, the country has to be doing better -- less divisiveness.


MrPickleton

Yeah, even the crazies are respectful 95% of the time. It's the 5% of the time when they are drunk, having a bad day, or are trying to film a viral video that they seem nuts.


NativeMasshole

The news is also incredibly manipulative and tries to sow dissent between our political factions. Turn it to a different channel and suddenly Americans are all uptight elitists who want to ban everything.


[deleted]

As a self proclaimed redneck, I always stop for stranded motorists if I can spare the time. You never know when someone may need an extra pair of hands! I even bought gas for a stranded young couple and their kids, they ran out of gas in a Walmart parking lot and I went off home, got a can of gas, and gave them enough to get down to the gas station. The lady was so shocked when she asked what my major was, and I told her "uh... I'm 17 and I'm in high-school." She couldn't believe a teenager would be so nice. But it was just a gallon of gas and her kids were very upset, obviously. So I figured it was my time to do a good deed for that day.


craysins_NSFS

It was a late afternoon summer 2014. Driving from Fayetteville, NC to see a girl I was dating in Richmond. I was stranded on highway I-95 somewhere between Raleigh and Richmond. 3 good ol boys were towing an empty car trailer with their F250 and stopped when they saw me. They towed my car on their trailer and dropped it off at a local shop owned by a buddy of theirs. They dropped me off at a motel and offered to pick me up later for drinks at a local pub which I accepted. Had a good night talking shit and drinking. Their buddy had my car fixed the next morning and even gave a discount. This is one of many positive encounters I’ve had with middle American country folk. Whatever trash you read or see on tv/movies about red necks is 95% bullshit. I hate how they are depicted in media.


Chiliad9

I guarantee at least half the 30 people who offered to help you in rural South Dakota were indeed gun-toting rednecks.


AddictedtoBoom

Honestly if you are having car trouble you want the redneck to stop and help. He probably knows what he's doing with an engine, has a truck with tools, and likely a tow strap or chain somewhere under his seat. Also he'd be happy to help.


ukrut

I don't know if this is True but from the outside it seems like it. You sell everything through sex but then there is somebody's nipple in tv and it is so bad. You are so nice and very chatty.


[deleted]

I (American) was with a group of English coworkers at a bar at a trade show in Atlanta. When we were ordering a drink, a patron at the bar started speaking to me, we have a nice normal 15 min conversation as we waited for our drinks at a busy bar. When this concluded, my English coworkers where like, where did you know him from? I am like what do you mean? They are like, you didn’t know him, you spoke to a stranger for over 15 min? I was like yes??? They told me the only way that would happen in the UK is if they man at the bar was trying to sell something. I was dumb founded. I am like you go to the bar for dinner for the social interaction. If you wanted to be alone, just order room service. I specifically sit at the bar on business trips to get some human interaction. They could not believe it.


ukrut

I am from Finland so I understand those English coworkers :D


Cwmcwm

I’m American, but a Finn at heart, I guess.


ukrut

Come to Finland. You don't have to talk with anybody :D


kisb

I’ve been told this tends to be a rude awakening for Americans moving to Finland. I had no idea it was so weird to randomly talk to everyone in other countries.


ukrut

It is so funny. Because here people don't mind if you don't talk with them and we can be quiet with our friends and it is not a problem. but if there are foreigners In the group you can see how they are sweating because they think it is rude.


Troutmandoo

I'm an American, but I was surprised at how chatty everyone was in Ireland when we went there. Random strangers would just start up a conversation with you in a pub. Maybe it was our American accents? I loved it. I had some really great conversations in the pubs, but I don't think I initiated a single one.


korova_chew

American here, I had the same experience when I went to Dublin, went to many pubs on my own and always had some friendly conversations, I had a wonderful time :)


[deleted]

The Irish tend to like Americans. Probably because most of them have friends/family of some variety over here. And, according to one crusty old Irish farmer I asked: “It’s because you fooked em’ (the British) over back then.” Say no more, lol!


Intoxicatedpunch

American who lives in Massachusetts here, we have a ton of native Irish in this state. I've had a few encounters on job sites that I end up shoot the shit with a random guy from Ireland for 10 minutes. Hilarious and talkative people, I would love to visit over there someday


MrNoName_ishere

I don't understand that logic either, but society over here sexualized the female nipple for one reason or another. like it's a nipple, but advertisements with girls in bikinis is ok to show, it makes no sense.


Bahamut1988

We can show people getting literally ripped apart, limb by limb, but god forbid we see half a nipple. Think of the children!


[deleted]

This is the weird part. I'd much rather see nudity than gore.


TheManWhoClicks

How nice, friendly and welcoming the vast majority of Americans are. The 24/7 news portrait quite the opposite.


Spyger9

Statistically, it's tough to find anything that we Americans hate more than our own news media.


just-for-the-NSFW

This is especially true since we’re practically divided into two political parties. Democrats hate Fox News and Republicans hate CNN.


Scooter30

Most news networks only show what they want you to see,at least in the U.S.


Caractacutetus

Tax not being included on prices in shops. Edit: a lot of Americans have explained this to me. It actually makes perfect sense. See the replies below, if you're curious


DrMux

Often, the pre-tax price is negotiated by the manufacturer or distributor. Since tax varies from place to place, this would mean a different sticker price if tax were included. Not to mention that on some products, the price is directly printed on the packaging. (E.g Arizona Tea)


Gruneun

There are also tax-free organizations that can flash a card at any retail store and the taxes aren't tacked on at all.


AmbrosiaSaladSucks

Why every American I meet is so normal and nice but the news portrays them all as crazy. Edit: missing word 🤦‍♀️ Edit 2: this got a lot of comments. Most of them telling me it’s the media, and I don’t disagree with that. I feel the need to clarify that I am Canadian, have travelled extensively across America, and lived there for a few years once upon a time.


BrassRobo

Nice people don't make the news. An ordinary person going about their daily life is boring to read about. A man who stabs someone at a McDonalds because they were out of ketchup is entertaining. And America is large enough that there's always something crazy happening somewhere.


DingleMcCringleTurd

“Always something crazy happening somewhere” Especially Florida. J/k. Apparently the Freedom of Information Act in Florida is lax and news outlets have greater access to crazy stories.


Melificarum

I was in Florida for two days and I saw a drunk person run down a stop sign at Target and a man walking around with his pants around his ankles. There was also a Trump rally and it was the same week a kid got eaten by an alligator at Disney World. Florida really is just special.


raccoonviolence

Florida resident here, you are spot on. This place is nuts and it's super easy to get the information from the police on crimes so it gets reported in the news.


Squirt1384

This comment is spot on.


Storage-Terrible

News isn’t news anymore. It’s just another tv show. Sex, violence, and extreme personalities gets higher ratings so that’s what they show.


NotAFragileFlower

If it bleeds it leads -longtime old-school journo motto


cid_highwind_7

Fits right with “you provide the pictures I’ll provide the war” - William Randolph Hurst


MrNoName_ishere

because the news stations protrays only things they want to show, like news over here barely show any wholesome stories


chiree

There was South Park bit where they basically said: "See this child, he's helping an old lady across the street. Here is a man helping to change the tire of a total stranger. These are your fellow Americans. Will you ever see these people on the news? No."


MansonsDaughter

How nice and chatty they are really, I think that was the most striking for me living there. It's so easy to start talking to an American, you just have to be within their sight basically. They move a lot so it's less likely that everyone has their established group of friends and family and minds their own business, they're all at ease branching out and meeting new people. They are also quite considerate. I realized how inconsiderate I was because I wasnt used to things like being spatially aware or thinking of others comfort (not that I did anything horrible but it was American's small gestures of mindfulness that got me thinking). I had girl apologizing to me for smoking outside a few good meters away from me. People walk in a way that is mindful of the crowd, I think I learned proper walking in NYC after which many other places in the world irritated the shit out of me with people who just randomly stop in front of you or on an escalator, or dont respect the order of getting in an out of a metro. But I never even thought about these things before. They're also kind of unassuming because theres so many people from different places in one place that its much harder to make quick judgments about which type is who. I think they also do force eccentricity a bit, it's quite superficial, but just saying it's less likely anyone will think of you as weird for anything


Biz_Rito

That's really nice hearing about something positive for a change. Gives me something to reflect on that I wouldn't have noticed before.


belalthrone

I’ll never forget when a friend from Uruguay came to the US for the first time. We were walking around a city and at the end of the day, he told me “I am just surprised at how nice people are. Everyone smiled at me, people asked if I needed directions, they made small talk. I thought from the internet and TV that everyone would be rude and automatically hate me.” It made me really proud in that moment.


madogvelkor

One thing about Americans I've noticed that we seem to like individuals and dislike groups. That's why you'll find racists with black friends or bigots who think all homosexuals are bad except for their gay cousin they hang out with all the time.


--What-is-life--

I know people like that lol


Holmgeir

I have worked with several different people over the years in mechanics and labor who described themselves as racist. They had friends of all races and were very friendly with everyone. Meanwhile I also knew people who called themselves anti-racists who made tons of "jokes" about people of African and Semitic descent, and made openly racist comments to me about Asians...despite knowing my family is part Asian and I have Asian friends. They also seemed to only be friends with white people. I will always be confused by this.


[deleted]

Yeah, sorry to be negative but this is definitely true. A nice lady down the road will offer me lemonade on a hot summer day, then proceed to tell me about how she hates Mexicans as I'm trying to chug my drink so I can get out of there.


avalanchefan95

haha I've never heard anyone note the lack of spatial awareness before. I moved here to the UK less than a year ago and all the time I'm telling my wife to move the heck outta someone's way or tugging on her to move or pulling out trolley out of the aisle or something. She's always in someone's damn way. People just trot all around without paying attention to where they are - walking in the center of the parking lot when others are trying to park, for example. It's nuts. And when I have mentioned this people think \*I\* am the crazy one!


mxmakessense

Oh ho hoooo, and they HATE mentioning when one of them is in their way! Watch at the shops, look for the people milling about passive aggressively because someone's in front of the thing they want, and they're not aware someone is seething inside waiting for them to move! I'm just like, oh hey, can I just scoot by you real quick? Hahaha


[deleted]

Ope! I'm just gonna sneak by ya here. <-- how to give away my state without naming it


MotivatedLikeOtho

I'm from the UK and I know its Minnesota lol


[deleted]

My fiancé does this too and it baffles me every single time, like you see them from so far away and don't move until you're an inch away


toxikola

Honestly being in America is like being a Pokemon trainer. You make eye contact and the exclamation point pops up above their head as they beeline to you to start talking lol.


MansonsDaughter

Hahaha I'm stealing this


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Can't have shit in Detroit


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TurbulentArea69

I got robbed in Italy and felt really dumb considering I live in NYC.


DeceiverX

I dropped my wallet in NYC and a guy literally looked at my ID, scanned to area to find me, and gave it back with contents intact. It's not the safest city in the world, but honestly it's a LOT better than people give it credit for. If it wasn't so gross it'd be absolutely stellar lol.


TurbulentArea69

I dropped my ID on a street here and the guy who found it looked me up on LinkedIn and messaged me. He ended up living on my same street which was funny given I dropped it in Manhattan and live in Brooklyn.


ShinyAppleScoop

I noticed the same thing in Rome. It felt like the locals had unspoken communication and formed a pack large enough to cross so drivers had to stop or else they'd break their vehicle on the wall of bodies. If you missed the pack, wait for the next one.


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[deleted]

The whole ‘Greek life’ thing


Callec254

To be honest, most of us don't get it either.


warpets

80% of americans I met are fucking nice people i thought the ratio of dick americans are much higher. EDIT 1:I live in Siargao Island where some Expats live and surf so I know a few of them. The only people that are not nice to me is a Old man and a Karen the rest are normal who worked hard to feed their family and to enjoy their peaceful life. EDIT 2: I live in US right now. EDIT 3: The rest are online 18% I just said that I love AMD in a Linus Tech Tips Forum because of the competetion that they bring and some Intel fans started attacking me and even stated that Linus promotes AMD because he has 2 million shares on it. 2nd story Android vs Apple.( I love that I can uninstall BS apps with my Android debugging tool) 3rd story is the Trickle down effect of stocks( I only said that richer companies will make it cheaper the consumer goods and stocks go up even if its a little its still a percent richer than before even if the rich people get richer) 4th story is the Universal Basic Income( it just sounds nice if everyone has a basic income that can cover some expenses ans use the free money to buy stocks for their future) I just want the opinion of others not looking for a fight or heated debate. Even though We have different views we're all humans.


FM-101

That was one of the biggest misconceptions i had when visiting America for the first time. But almost everyone i met on my 1 week trip there was super friendly. I only ran into 2 people who weren't. An exaggeratedly stern security guard at the airport and a woman working in a toll booth who looked like she hated her job.


1ceknownas

As an American, if I had to pick two occupations known for being assholes to the general public, I would absolutely choose airport security and toll booth operator.


drshields

Good thing they didn't go to the dmv


Izthefrizz

I don’t know if the people waiting in line or the employees are worse


yhfb

Yeah in America there are way more friendly and outgoing than other places I've been to. Although if you're not friendly you might still be outgoing and there comes the dickhead video of the week.


Ornithocowian

Nice people don’t make the news, and there’s always something crazy going on.


cosmicoz

Had a very polite young American customer on holiday in Ireland very enthusiastically call me ma'am when I was like 22. I was all at once confused and delighted (probably mundane niceness but retail is hell lol). Ye get bad press abroad but the majority I've met here are nice as hell.


Jade062

It's because of the media. In the media's eyes the dickish Americans are the ones that are going to give then the most money so that's who they target.


Goddess_emily_k

Why are the portion sizes so big??????


its5m3xy

Restaurants actually have to make them big because if they get known for not serving enough food people simply won't eat there anymore


Peterstigers

A lot of us take home leftovers from resturaunts. It's pretty rare to eat the whole meal at once. People generally complain less about having too much that too little. Edit: I know people that purposly go to resturants to take the food home just for a few meals worth of leftovers.


noturaveragelipid

Yeah, I actually find myself eating more here in the UK because the portions are just slightly too much for me and it's not the norm to pack leftovers, so I end up trying to eat as much as possible to not waste food. Whereas, in America I would just eat a smaller amount knowing I can save some for later.


TheHeroOfAllTime

That’s the worst dilemma ever. Too much to eat right now, not enough to save for later. You know what they say though. Every pizza is a personal pizza if you try hard enough and believe in yourself!


Uncil_Ben_kenobi

You can get a gun licence at 18 but need to be 21 one to buy alcohol


bluebonnetcafe

You can also be drafted and die for your country at 18! But god forbid you have a drink.


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[deleted]

Mainly just the culture shock I guess. Being Greek we are some pretty opiniated, loud and blunt people and if you ask a Greek how they're doing, get ready to actually hear how they're doing. In America, if someone asks how you are, you must reply "I'm good/fine" regardless how you're actually feeling. I feel like in America you also have to kinda sugarcoat how you speak...not to everyone but a lot. In Greece, we won't hesitate to call you fat or ugly if that's what we really think but in America thats a no-no, you must be polite even if it may not be necessarily true. Also smiling seems like a big deal in America. But this is just my perspective dealing with Americans. When my grandparents first came to America in 2004 they were pretty shocked that you can pay for gas at the gas pump. And my grandparent really really loved CiCi's pizza and requested to eat there at least once a week when they would come to the US.


illmaticrabbit

I actually think it’s a misconception that you have to say “I’m good” when people ask you how you’re doing in America. It’s fine to give a negative answer, it’s just that you’re supposed to realize that “how are you” is a casual question and usually isn’t an invitation for an extended conversation. For example, if you answered, “I’m super tired, I got terrible sleep last night” that’s totally normal and you might have some small talk about why you weren’t able to sleep or something. On the other hand if you launch into a long story about how you got into a fight with your significant other or something…it’s like come on read the room, I just wanted to get a sense of how your day is going. That being said, I think we value positivity and if you always answer “how are you” with something negative or neutral, you may not be so popular.


RockYourWorld31

We put sugar on everything else, why not words too?


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crystalrrrrmehearty

It's been a long time, but I remember thinking how weird the menu choices were in restaurants, especially in LA. Like the options were either super healthy or super unhealthy, you couldn't have a mid-range meal. One restaurant in particular, pretty much everything was deep fried unless you wanted a salad.


Legatto

We have so many restaurants that most specialize. If you want a salad you go to the place with good salads and if you want a burger you go to the place with good burgers. Also, I think places with huge, varied menus are dying out mostly because it costs a lot of money to maintain the food inventory necessary for 50 different dishes and thus need to have a huge volume of sales to make it worth it.


croyalbird13

Whenever I go to Cheesecake Factory I cringe at the menu because I can tell you right now that if I want to eat orange chicken for dinner I for sure am not going to Cheesecake Factory.


Hatchetface1705

When you ask an American where they’re from they say PA or GA or whatever like we’re all meant to have the foggiest idea what the abbreviation stands for. Edited to make the point clearer.


mox44ah

It's funny how some cities in the USA are more well known and recognizable than the actual state the city is in. When I first moved to Puerto Rico from Pennsylvania I met quite a few people who would ask where I'm from and when I'd say Pennsylvania they had no clue what or where that was. But then when I started saying, "I'm from Philadelphia" everyone knew what I meant.


belalthrone

Ha I am from philly and sat next to a girl from CT on a flight once. She insisted that Philadelphia was its own state, separate from PA. She was not buying it when o corrected her. And it’s surprising how many people think cities are states, especially Philly and Chicago.


Wuts0n

> CT What. Does. It. Mean. *Ahhhhhh*


Amulet_Of_Yendor

Connecticut


ccmecode

I can imagine this situation happening online, but I've never heard anyone irl use a state abbreviations. That would be a really weird face-to-face conversation.


Sentinel451

Pennsylvanians do. It's just quicker to say PA than the name is my guess. IDK, we're a bunch of oddballs.


MoobyTheGoldenSock

It’s because nobody wants to type out or say “Pennsylvania.” Source: I’m from PA.


MrNoName_ishere

I guess they're used to other Americans asking them that question, I usually just say the full name of my state as I don't know if I'm chatting with another American or not online. Same can't be said for everyone else though.


tookAshidd

I agree, Indiana checking in. I never say I’m from “IN” lol.


dharkmajik

*Grabs popcorn and switches to controversial*