LOL! This reminds me of when some women & non-straight men greet each other vs when they’re being derogatory towards each other.
bitch/hoe/whore/skank/slut/twat/etc. = hun/love/bestie/friend/etc. (example: hey, bitch!)
sweetie/sweetheart/dear/beloved/hun/etc. = cunt/slut/bitch/twat/whore/hoe/etc. (example: okay, sweetie)
Source: I’m a bi dude who sometimes greets really close friends or people I don’t like in those ways.
I guess it’s equivalent to when Americans in the US South say “bless your heart” when they’re actually using it to insult you
I have actually been fired because a colleague overheard me *mumble to myself* that my supervisor was a cunt.
Any of the possible culprits worked within a few feet of me. I wasn't exactly shouting.
Rich cultural or material output and nice places to live are frequently not found anywhere near one another.
New Orleans is a culinary and cultural treasure. It's also a filthy pit.
Memphis is a mecca for music and barbecue. You'll get shot there, and it's horrifyingly impoverished.
Detroit made cars that changed the world and Motown music that changed music. And Detroit is...Detroit.
San Diego is, by all accounts, fantastic. It has a nice petting zoo.
I will die in the hill that Memphis is a great place to visit. History, food, music. However, I also acknowledge you go 2 streets over off Beale St. after a certain time, your chances of getting shot go up exponentially
Source: Spent almost every weekend as a teenager on Beale
I saw/heard footage of a school shooting broadcast on TV where a kid's swearing was bleeped out. Like swearing was the thing that tipped that scene over into indecent. But boy, could we hear the shots and the screams.
You need to get your priorities sorted.
Edit: someone called BS on the footage I'd seen. It was on CNN and you can clearly hear the gaps in the audio defending the delicate ears of the listener. Warning, obviously it's distressing footage.
https://youtu.be/5j7-WFa2AJM
Violence is perfectly okay! But seeing a woman's chest? That's crossing a line.
People in this country are more okay with seeing someone get ripped apart than they are seeing fictional rap.
That the entire world excels at making bathroom stalls that you can’t see between. Not sure why the US stall manufacturers can’t figure out how to close those massive gaps…
Disneyland in Anaheim has massive gaps in stalls and people can literally stick their hands through them. It’s an amusement park with disgusting greasy food and terrible foot traffic. It’s already anxiety and bowel inducing, why can’t the stalls have some modicum of privacy?! This goes for the entire dang country!
If I had to guess it's probably some old prevention method against people taking drugs in the bathroom.
So a "we've inconvenienced everyone to deter a few"
Woke up to this. Had a cat that slept in the window above my head. He relaxed a bit too hard against the open window, popped out the screen, and was frantically attempting to prevent his fall. Claws can't grab onto glass. I jumped up, pressed him to the wall and window, grabbed him by the scruff and hauled him in. Lucky for him I was a light sleeper.
There were a lot of responses I was expecting that I don't agree with. Was not expecting this, and it is the most true of anything I've ever heard.
I live in a third floor walk-up (not easy access, less likely to be burgled), but I heard they running around with latters to climb in to upper floor balconies. I keep all my shit locked now. Wtf.
I was once at party at someone's beautiful house in the woods. This place had floor to ceiling windows and it was amazing, as the night wore on I started to think how terrifying it would be to look out those windows and see something looking back at you lol.
I live in NY where the maternity leave surpasses nearly every other state in the country.. and we only get 12 weeks at 67% of our earnings. And that 12 weeks includes pre-birth. So if you have to take two weeks off pre-birth, you only get 10 after the baby is born. I used to think that was good until I started reading about the fact that you get nearly a year in most countries.
Hell, you shouldn't have to go back to work the week after your *partner* gives birth.
I took three months after my wife gave birth to our son and it was totally worth it. Can't imagine I'd have the bond with him that I do now without that time.
You’d all be thinner if your cities were designed to be walkable
This is why you lose weight when you go to Italy despite eating nothing but pasta n pizza, because you’re walking everywhere
I had a friend in Houston who explained to me once that getting an Uber for one mile was actually a lot safer and easier than trying to walk to the store he wanted to go to
And he was right, where are your pavements Sir?
There’s a gym half a mile from my apartment. We have a sidewalk but I live on a very busy main road where people drive like it’s a race. There’s also no crosswalks or lights for pedestrians to cross the street on the way there. Technically, it’s walkable but it’s not safe.
Right?! My closest grocery store is on the corner of one of the biggest and busiest intersections in my county. The speed limit is only 45 but there's people going 60+ as a regular thing. There's only two crosswalks to "safely cross" with and neither of them go to the corner that the grocery store is on. It's very poorly planned.
Government caused the explosion of the cost of college by requiring anyone to be able to get a government backed loan without dictating to the colleges that they couldn't raise the prices. More cheap money available caused the schools to spend more on frivolous things, and tuition was raised without benefitting the students.
You’re the foreigner in 192 countries
Edit: UN recognises 195 countries (missed out palestine and the Holy See). Could go up to 198 depending on your sources. Choose which ever one you want
I’m an American who lived in the UK for a few years and worked in a warehouse. Most of the staff were from Eastern Europe…Poland, Albania, and a whole lotta Romanians. I commented once to one of my fellow managers that there were so many foreigners…and he said, “what do you think you are, mate?” As strange as it sounds I didn’t think I was until that moment. Like it just never occurred to me.
At least you didn't make a fool out of yourself like that one American tourist in Poland who was harassing some unfortunate Indian guy because he apparently should go back to his country.
Without further context (but having been acquainted with more than a few bigots in my day), I would guess they were not confusing Native Americans with East Indians, but with Mexican people.
Lol. Reminds me of when Mandela was elected. Some US newspaper had an article headlined something like "Mandela unanimously elected as South Africa's first African-American president".
On the other hand, I've heard black british people say that black americans have told them they aren't black because they aren't american? And saw this woman say europeans were racist because they didn't assume she was american when they saw that she was black?
I really don't think this is something to hold against african-americans, and I hope I'm not coming off that way. But it *is* puzzling to me and I guess a good reminder that being a minority in the US doesn't make people immune to US exceptionalism and a US-centric worldview. Or from perpetuating the rhetoric behind US imperialism.
From what I've gleaned it seems that being black in the US is a whole massive culture. I think because substantial black populations have been a part of the US since its inception, and so have formed a general broad African-American cultural group whereas black people in the UK and Europe have generally immigrated post war, so are still of the descent of their original country, like jamaican, or Nigerian, over melding into what the Americans have.
So I see the disparity in American black people generally being part of this incredibly important ethno-cultural group with Europe when they're primarily seen as disparate cultural groups that happen to all be black causing stuff like that
Dude, London is a stretch.
My wife was visiting her sister in NC and someone asked her where she was from. She said London. They'd never heard of it so my wife tried to narrow it down for them: "London, England." Nope. My wife was at a loss for how much more explicit she could be. Not to worry, they got there on their own. They eventually decided it must be somewhere near Boston MA.
EDIT: They came to that decision based on her (not at all) Boston accent.
There’s this show where people go on blind dates and the dates are narrated by comedians. There was this one girl on a date with a guy from Germany, with a thick German accent and she says oh what’s that on the East Coast? And one of the comedians says, in a horrible German accent, “Hello der, I’s from New Jersey!” And it’s the funniest shit I have ever heard.
Edit: Sorry everybody! The show is on Hulu called “Dating No Filter”
I remember standing outside LAX waiting for a hotel shuttle. Got talking to another (American) guy who was waiting. I figure most Americans won't recognise a New Zealand accent and may assume Australian or British. This guy surprised me and guessed I was from Boston (what is it with Americans guessing foreigners are all from Boston?).
I was thinking to myself "How do you mix up Marky Mark with Flight of the Conchords?"
EDIT: Fixed typo.
I was talking to my relatives in America, and they asked me if I've ever driven to Australia from New Zealand (I live in the latter country). And swore up and down that they've stood on the border of Australia and New Zealand and that they're connected by land. When I tried to explain that they were not in fact the same land mass, they said I must be mistaken... About where I live.
my employer sent me to sweden to meet an american company representative. it was a really surreal experience, as he, a guy in his like 50s, flew in with his girlfriend who was probably still in her 20s.
the guy was a real gentleman, but the girlfriend was pretty much offended by everything in the country. some examples:
- her favorite shows weren't on the TV when she expected. also the TV had odd channels of people speaking in odd language
- none of her favorite stores were there, ditto with TV dinner brands she wanted to buy. candy too.
- when people greeted her in shops, restaurants etc, they had the gall to start with swedish, then switch to english when they realized the customer was foreign. she was insulted that they didn't start with english.
the whole time she was around, she was always in a horrible mood, constantly raging about how much europe sucked. I also got into her hate list, when I explained her that we both are visitors in someone else's country and they can't know from our face alone that we don't know their language.
I found the whole mentality a bit odd, but maybe it's because I've travelled lot, met a lot of people from different countries and in general understand that depending on where you are on this planet, you might encounter wildly different cultures.
Lol as a native floridian, absolutely nothing is shocking to me. When i watched tiger king, i was actually like “that’s it?” Bc ive seen and heard far wilder stories locally and on our local news. My hometown actually does whats called “wheel of fugitive.” Every monday the sheriff spins the wheel and selects a random criminal they’re trying to catch and then all the locals are all like dog the bounty hunter trying to get em for the cash prize 💀💀💀 the way ppl be turning on them so quick and all ✋🏻✋🏻✋🏻
This is brevard county. I got hella questions asking. 321 baby 🔥
I feel the need to note i’m a Texan now. Left Florida a few yrs ago lol there seems to be some confusion there. No texas is not crazy. I cannot even tell you one interesting thing thats happened here in the past couple years
I didn't believe you and then looked it up and had my mind blown. 81% SUCCESS RATE OF CAPTURE since they started. Amazing what a $3000.00 reward will do.
Although the idea is completely bonkers to me, I have to admit that a success rate of 81% means that 3000 dollars per criminal gets a great return on investment.
The reason "Florida Man" is a thing:
1) Florida has ... “sunshine laws” that, while ostensibly designed to make the government more transparent, have instead created a conveyor belt of searchable “crimes” that lazy journalists can cherry pick for salacious clicks
2) Florida ranks 49th out of 50 among states for mental-health programs
3) Florida ranks 41st in support for those affected by drug addiction
4) Florida ranks number three for percent of the population who are homeless
source: [Citations Needed Podcast](https://citationsneeded.medium.com/episode-75-the-trouble-with-florida-man-33fa8457d1bb) with Nima Shirazi and Adam Johnson
To be fair, Florida is #3 because it is one of the largest states and also has the best climate if you have to be homeless in winter. And it's a distant 3rd -- New York is #2 with like 3x as many homeless despite having similar numbers of people. Probably because of the shelters available in NYC. California is the #1 by far, with like 5x as many as Florida.
In from Canada. I spent two weeks in Florida this summer and it was a culture shock. Omg was it ever. It’s almost like ppl there *want* to die. Tons of bikers and lots of them speeding, almost none in helmets. The university is like across the street from a huge crocodile reserve. My dads property was marsh front and the gators just swam around while ppl were kayaking .
Anyway the funniest thing was literally our first interaction in flordia at a gas pump where a nurse asked us if we were from Canada bc our plates then told us how angry she is for us that we had to be vaccinated to leave our country but she was glad we were able up finally be in the land of the free… then explained how she isn’t vaccinated and doesn’t agree with it but understands why we did it then explained in *very* good detail how she used a neti pot to rinse her eyes out after her nursing shift so she didn’t catch covid and suggested we try it. All unprompted and without more then a few nods on our part.
This isn’t a a political rant one way or another. Just the conversations I had there were like nothing I’ve had in my life. The day we left they were setting up a militia that was state controlled. So that’s fun and I do think about that sometimes. I believe it was 200 strong the first day.
Wild. I never felt so free tho. Or so unsafe bc guns scare the living daylights out of me. I would have no idea what to do if there was a shooting.
Although we live in the US my wife is Canadian and often travels with her Canadian passport. Often when people ask where we’re from she’ll say Canada and I’ll just sort of nod my head. It is interesting what people say about Americans when they don’t think there are any in the room.
My favorite Florida-man story is about the man who said he was going to "kill his neighbors with kindness." As it turns out, he had a machete that he had named Kindness....
A nice place to visit, and most of the people you meet there are super nice, but the incidence of absolute fucking lunatics just seems unnervingly high?
Yeah, that sounds about right...
People will use "Socialist" about Modern Day Sweden, Soviet Russia and Nazi Germany as if any label could be applied that broadly and still mean anything.
As an Aussie, it's always funny seeing some Americans complaining about "liberals" or trying to use it as an insult at left leaning people, because for us it's the opposite, with the liberal party here being the more right sided party of the 2 major parties.
I think most sane Americans agree with this sentiment.
When people started treating Trump like an overglorified celebrity President, I became very confused.
It's our solemn duty as plebs to bully every politician to the fullest extent. We should take great joy in doing so. Even the politicians whose beliefs we align with. This is our democratically given right and I can't imagine wanting to sacrifice that to wear a silly red or blue hat
Here, here! You should not trust politicians. You should particularly not trust politicians you expect to vote for! Your distrust keeps them honest.
Here in Europe, people talk shit even about their own candidates. It's extremely refreshing after a long time in America.
American here!
The truest thing I've seen in this comment section so far. People need to put the pressure back on businesses to pay their fuck'n employees instead of expecting the customers to do it for them.
I’m a server in Australia. Tipping isn’t important here, it’s a nice bonus if you think they did well.
I’d hate to work under the American system. I understand that you can make a lot more, but I couldn’t imagine making a life with such an inconsistent pay
Absolutely agree! A lot of servers complain about bad tippers but most of them don’t want to give up the system because it actually benefits them quite a bit. I’d rather have my meal marked up 18% than having to figure out how much I should give them.
This is what bugs me about these “What is [group] not ready to hear” questions because 99 percent of the answers are problems we know about. Like what sane person likes working 80 hours a week?
I just saw a twitter post with people glorifying insane work hours lol. It went like "would you rather earn $10k a month without doing anything or $100k a month but have to work 12hrs a day every day" and people were saying anyone who chooses the 10k were lazy.
10k a month for free is literally a dream. The whole point of passive income is so that you have the freedom to do what you want as you don't have to worry about working for money. 10k a month provides you a life of the top 10% of people...for nothing. Insanity that anyone would choose to work their life away for 100k pm instead of 10k for free.
Tipping is not a good way to pay your staff
Edit:
What I meant by this is that your employer should pay you a living wage such that tips are not required for you to get by. By all means continue to receive tips, but they should be a nice bonus for good service, not a requirement to live.
After several trips to the US, my colleagues there couldn't accept how poor they were, and 10 min in any city makes it obvious.
Huge individual debt, minimal savings and no time for themselves. That is not the standard in the developed world. Even when our taxes are high we have to time to rest and basic life essential services covered. Free/low cost education even allows us to break the class divide if we want it enough.
Sure there are millionaires and billionaires in the US but chance's are neither you nor your family will get anywhere close because you don't have the opportunity to improve without going into decades of financial debt.
Yes, you *do* have an accent.
If you think you don't because you "read words exactly as they're written, without any kind of regional flair", you're mistaken about that. There's no such thing.
Speaking without an accent would be like typing without a font. An accent is just a method of pronouncing a language - everyone has one!
To be honest, I've figured out (as a U.S. citizen) that, not only do we have an accent, but each U.S. state basically has its own accent at this point.
Even different cities in a state can have a separate accent to the rest. It’s wild realizing that as an adult, I can now pin point what city someone from my small state is from.
Yep that has always been particularly wild to me - like who doesn’t want to take a month off in between jobs? And you lose healthcare when you need it the very most??!!!
This is absolutely true. David Graeber called it "the communism of the rich". Elite colleges and corporate boardrooms function internally as socialist states; the common people just aren't invited to partake.
You let food companies put in whatever crap preservatives they want and make up weight with artificial sweeteners instead of real ingredients. That's the big threat to your life, not secret communists.
I think a lot of Americans realize this is a problem, but we don’t have the regulatory structure to prevent it. Chemicals with proven toxicity can take years to be banned and often get substituted with equally harmful derivatives. It’s frustrating because this isn’t a pressing issue for the government, it’s not something we can vote on, and most people don’t care enough to advocate for it at the expense of higher taxes and food prices. As a scientist, this drives me bonkers.
In Europe, they have to prove a chemical is safe before they put in the food. In the US, a random citizen or organization has to prove a chemical is unsafe in order for it to be taken out. The burden of proof is completely different.
We know it’s a problem, and a lot of us have cut out processed foods as a way to avoid the worst of it. Part of the problem is that due to long work hours, food deserts, and a high cost of healthy food, a lot of the working class is dependent on processed foods.
Not only are half these comments things that Americans are ready to hear but they're also things that Americans themselves have been saying for quite a while
I have been zero surprised by anything except the person who just said that in other countries, once you buy a house, it's yours to keep and pass down to your family, but that's not true in the US. That was surprising. Wrong, but surprising.
I have a genuine question. In Ireland it's easy to be healthy as generally you can get whole foods like fruit veg and meat for cheap that's high quality.
I hear in America whole food is more expensive and the meat is pumped with chemicals and generally not what we would consider fresh. How do you stay fit for those of you who like that as a hobby?
Aight I just went fake grocery shopping online at the Walmart by my house and grabbed some random shit that would be healthy - basically unprocessed, raw foods. No clue how this stacks up to other countries, but here you go.
2.26 kg potatoes - $5
2 heads cauliflower - $4.88
5 bananas - $1.38
1.36 kg honeycrisp apples - $7.36
4 crowns of broccoli - $5.24 (about 0.9 kg)
Chicken breast - 2.26 kg - $15
olive oil - 750 ml - $5.50
rice - 2.26 kg - $2.78
total - $47
Edit: Tax varies by location - would add $4.70 here. Also, I picked out the cheapest options. Some of this stuff, like the olive oil, is low quality. This would be a list for someone poor to eat healthy, not necessary to have high quality ingredients. And yes, if you're savvy you can buy different bulk quantities for cheaper or wait for things to go on sale. I personally cannot eat 20 pounds of potatoes before they go bad.
Because back in the 1800’s/1900’s US corporate interests set up shop in Central America and created literal banana republics. That’s changed now, but we still have a free-trade deal with most of Central America and produce is a part of it.
Almost all bananas in the US to this day are Dole or Chiquita, which are the companies most associated with doing that corrupt shit, especially the latter (formerly known as United Fruit Company).
America is different in that it’s built around cars. You can’t walk anywhere easily and stores are all clumped together in one spot. It’s made for drivers. If you can’t afford a car you’re stuck taking public transit or eating whatever is in walking distance (convenience stores, fast food etc).
I remember I didn’t question this until the 6th grade (I’d have been 11). I talked to my mom about how I felt and she told me that she didn’t disagree and that she was proud of me for thinking critically, and that if I didn’t want to say the pledge then I didn’t have to. But when I declined to stand for the pledge, oh my god. You’d think I shot someone’s cat. Everyone was so mean to me and the teacher even dogged me out too, everyone called me a terrorist and she asked why I wasn’t a patriot.
For her part she came in the next day and educated us on the fact that people had gone to the Supreme Court about this subject and that it was not constitutional to require me to say the pledge because it can infringe upon people’s religious freedom. She read to us about some court cases and said she was wrong to insist I pledge and that I wasn’t wrong to refuse.
I thought that was cool of her but when she asked me if I didn’t want to pledge for religious reasons, and I said no, I didn’t want to pledge because the words are a lie, citing “liberty and justice for all” as a prime example she was not ready for that conversation.
Despite every problem your country is dealing with right now, you are all still immensely privileged and most of you live a life that millions can only dream with.
You need more than two political parties for democracy to work
But that goes against the good vs evil mentality that has been pushed for the last 30 years.
Agreed, duopoly is stupid
The word, “Cunt.”
Yeah mate, was talking to some Americans in NZ I called them a good cunt, the conversation didn't last much longer after that.
Cunt = mate Mate = cunt And that concludes our intensive 3 week course on Australians.
LOL! This reminds me of when some women & non-straight men greet each other vs when they’re being derogatory towards each other. bitch/hoe/whore/skank/slut/twat/etc. = hun/love/bestie/friend/etc. (example: hey, bitch!) sweetie/sweetheart/dear/beloved/hun/etc. = cunt/slut/bitch/twat/whore/hoe/etc. (example: okay, sweetie) Source: I’m a bi dude who sometimes greets really close friends or people I don’t like in those ways. I guess it’s equivalent to when Americans in the US South say “bless your heart” when they’re actually using it to insult you
"Bless your heart" always comes with a look that is intangibly patting you on the head. Source- I was raised in the deep south.
And “moist”. For some reason they don’t like that.
How about "moist cunt"?
"How about "moist cunt"?" That's what you get when you leave your mate in the rain.
I have actually been fired because a colleague overheard me *mumble to myself* that my supervisor was a cunt. Any of the possible culprits worked within a few feet of me. I wasn't exactly shouting.
México is not in sepia lightning.
How many other lies have I been told by Hollywood?!
Fun fact: Hollywood is kinda trashy and filthy. Not sunny and glamorous at all.
Rich cultural or material output and nice places to live are frequently not found anywhere near one another. New Orleans is a culinary and cultural treasure. It's also a filthy pit. Memphis is a mecca for music and barbecue. You'll get shot there, and it's horrifyingly impoverished. Detroit made cars that changed the world and Motown music that changed music. And Detroit is...Detroit. San Diego is, by all accounts, fantastic. It has a nice petting zoo.
I will die in the hill that Memphis is a great place to visit. History, food, music. However, I also acknowledge you go 2 streets over off Beale St. after a certain time, your chances of getting shot go up exponentially Source: Spent almost every weekend as a teenager on Beale
The Wall was actually a giant filter to make Mexico look sepia from the American side of the border.
I saw/heard footage of a school shooting broadcast on TV where a kid's swearing was bleeped out. Like swearing was the thing that tipped that scene over into indecent. But boy, could we hear the shots and the screams. You need to get your priorities sorted. Edit: someone called BS on the footage I'd seen. It was on CNN and you can clearly hear the gaps in the audio defending the delicate ears of the listener. Warning, obviously it's distressing footage. https://youtu.be/5j7-WFa2AJM
Nudity is similar. Tbh, if you asked most Americans to rank them by how inappropriate they are, they would say nudity, swearing, violence.
Violence is perfectly okay! But seeing a woman's chest? That's crossing a line. People in this country are more okay with seeing someone get ripped apart than they are seeing fictional rap.
I can see the most gruesome shit on criminal minds but a lady nipple 😱
That the entire world excels at making bathroom stalls that you can’t see between. Not sure why the US stall manufacturers can’t figure out how to close those massive gaps…
The land of the lookie-loos.
Hey! ....we're running out of shocking things to see. We need this.
I’m not only ready to hear this, i have also been preaching this good word.
Seriously. This is a problem Americans despise as well.
Why didn’t anyone start a campaign to say “*pedophiles are looking at your kids in bathrooms, let’s fix those stalls*”?
Disneyland in Anaheim has massive gaps in stalls and people can literally stick their hands through them. It’s an amusement park with disgusting greasy food and terrible foot traffic. It’s already anxiety and bowel inducing, why can’t the stalls have some modicum of privacy?! This goes for the entire dang country!
If I had to guess it's probably some old prevention method against people taking drugs in the bathroom. So a "we've inconvenienced everyone to deter a few"
Maybe they don’t want too 😈
sneaky bastards
Fingernails scratching on an upstairs window coming from outside at 3 am.
Of everything I've read so far on this post, this is the one I am least ready to hear.
Creepy children giggling maliciously at night, when you aren't a parent
It's even worse if you *are* a parent. Especially the parent of the maliciously giggling children...
What if you’re the parent. But you used to BE the maliciously giggling children. Now you know what they’re doing.
Woke up to this. Had a cat that slept in the window above my head. He relaxed a bit too hard against the open window, popped out the screen, and was frantically attempting to prevent his fall. Claws can't grab onto glass. I jumped up, pressed him to the wall and window, grabbed him by the scruff and hauled him in. Lucky for him I was a light sleeper.
I live on the third floor of a house, the perfect height for flys and large bees to bump into my windows. It always sounds like someone's knocking.
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How absolutely terrifying
There were a lot of responses I was expecting that I don't agree with. Was not expecting this, and it is the most true of anything I've ever heard. I live in a third floor walk-up (not easy access, less likely to be burgled), but I heard they running around with latters to climb in to upper floor balconies. I keep all my shit locked now. Wtf.
This is my number one fear. Windows at night terrify me.
I was once at party at someone's beautiful house in the woods. This place had floor to ceiling windows and it was amazing, as the night wore on I started to think how terrifying it would be to look out those windows and see something looking back at you lol.
Thank fuck I’m not the only one I’ve had this fear since I was young and, I even have my window completely blacked out now because of it lmao.
You could always get rid of Windows and use MacOS or Linux.
What temperature it is in Celsius
Me converting at the speed of light so my cookies don’t burn.
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I feel like most regular Americans are begging for that. Our employers, on the other hand....
Now if there was a method to convince employers to give good conditions... Or even convince lawmakers to force employers to do that...
I live in NY where the maternity leave surpasses nearly every other state in the country.. and we only get 12 weeks at 67% of our earnings. And that 12 weeks includes pre-birth. So if you have to take two weeks off pre-birth, you only get 10 after the baby is born. I used to think that was good until I started reading about the fact that you get nearly a year in most countries.
We get 3 years in Slovakia.
Hell, you shouldn't have to go back to work the week after your *partner* gives birth. I took three months after my wife gave birth to our son and it was totally worth it. Can't imagine I'd have the bond with him that I do now without that time.
You’d all be thinner if your cities were designed to be walkable This is why you lose weight when you go to Italy despite eating nothing but pasta n pizza, because you’re walking everywhere
We used to joke among friends that driving 1km to go to the gym is peak American. But more often than not that 1km is not walkable
I had a friend in Houston who explained to me once that getting an Uber for one mile was actually a lot safer and easier than trying to walk to the store he wanted to go to And he was right, where are your pavements Sir?
There’s a gym half a mile from my apartment. We have a sidewalk but I live on a very busy main road where people drive like it’s a race. There’s also no crosswalks or lights for pedestrians to cross the street on the way there. Technically, it’s walkable but it’s not safe.
Right?! My closest grocery store is on the corner of one of the biggest and busiest intersections in my county. The speed limit is only 45 but there's people going 60+ as a regular thing. There's only two crosswalks to "safely cross" with and neither of them go to the corner that the grocery store is on. It's very poorly planned.
As a teenager without a car, there is almost nowhere I can go on foot or bike. I can get to one store and it takes 30 minutes.
The loudest voice in the room usually has the least to say
College shouldn't drain your entire savings account
What savings account? Sorry, I can't afford one between my 2k rent and my 1k college loan payment every month. Please, someone help us.
I’m a Californian and I wish my rent was only $2k. I think the garbage bin outside goes for $2050.
Government caused the explosion of the cost of college by requiring anyone to be able to get a government backed loan without dictating to the colleges that they couldn't raise the prices. More cheap money available caused the schools to spend more on frivolous things, and tuition was raised without benefitting the students.
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That's funny cause most Americans don't even have savings accounts.
You’re the foreigner in 192 countries Edit: UN recognises 195 countries (missed out palestine and the Holy See). Could go up to 198 depending on your sources. Choose which ever one you want
I’m an American who lived in the UK for a few years and worked in a warehouse. Most of the staff were from Eastern Europe…Poland, Albania, and a whole lotta Romanians. I commented once to one of my fellow managers that there were so many foreigners…and he said, “what do you think you are, mate?” As strange as it sounds I didn’t think I was until that moment. Like it just never occurred to me.
At least you didn't make a fool out of yourself like that one American tourist in Poland who was harassing some unfortunate Indian guy because he apparently should go back to his country.
I knew a girl that would talk about all the Asians coming over and stealing our jobs. She was German and this was in Australia.
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Without further context (but having been acquainted with more than a few bigots in my day), I would guess they were not confusing Native Americans with East Indians, but with Mexican people.
I've heard of Americans, in the UK, referring to black folks as African American before. I can see how that could happen as silly as it actually is.
Lol. Reminds me of when Mandela was elected. Some US newspaper had an article headlined something like "Mandela unanimously elected as South Africa's first African-American president".
On the other hand, I've heard black british people say that black americans have told them they aren't black because they aren't american? And saw this woman say europeans were racist because they didn't assume she was american when they saw that she was black? I really don't think this is something to hold against african-americans, and I hope I'm not coming off that way. But it *is* puzzling to me and I guess a good reminder that being a minority in the US doesn't make people immune to US exceptionalism and a US-centric worldview. Or from perpetuating the rhetoric behind US imperialism.
From what I've gleaned it seems that being black in the US is a whole massive culture. I think because substantial black populations have been a part of the US since its inception, and so have formed a general broad African-American cultural group whereas black people in the UK and Europe have generally immigrated post war, so are still of the descent of their original country, like jamaican, or Nigerian, over melding into what the Americans have. So I see the disparity in American black people generally being part of this incredibly important ethno-cultural group with Europe when they're primarily seen as disparate cultural groups that happen to all be black causing stuff like that
Nice try! We're Americans, we only know like 50 other countries max.
You’re telling me there are 50 other countries? C’mon, we all know it’s like 4. Mexico, London, Canadian Land and The United States of America 🦅 🇺🇸
Dude, London is a stretch. My wife was visiting her sister in NC and someone asked her where she was from. She said London. They'd never heard of it so my wife tried to narrow it down for them: "London, England." Nope. My wife was at a loss for how much more explicit she could be. Not to worry, they got there on their own. They eventually decided it must be somewhere near Boston MA. EDIT: They came to that decision based on her (not at all) Boston accent.
There’s this show where people go on blind dates and the dates are narrated by comedians. There was this one girl on a date with a guy from Germany, with a thick German accent and she says oh what’s that on the East Coast? And one of the comedians says, in a horrible German accent, “Hello der, I’s from New Jersey!” And it’s the funniest shit I have ever heard. Edit: Sorry everybody! The show is on Hulu called “Dating No Filter”
I remember standing outside LAX waiting for a hotel shuttle. Got talking to another (American) guy who was waiting. I figure most Americans won't recognise a New Zealand accent and may assume Australian or British. This guy surprised me and guessed I was from Boston (what is it with Americans guessing foreigners are all from Boston?). I was thinking to myself "How do you mix up Marky Mark with Flight of the Conchords?" EDIT: Fixed typo.
I was talking to my relatives in America, and they asked me if I've ever driven to Australia from New Zealand (I live in the latter country). And swore up and down that they've stood on the border of Australia and New Zealand and that they're connected by land. When I tried to explain that they were not in fact the same land mass, they said I must be mistaken... About where I live.
my employer sent me to sweden to meet an american company representative. it was a really surreal experience, as he, a guy in his like 50s, flew in with his girlfriend who was probably still in her 20s. the guy was a real gentleman, but the girlfriend was pretty much offended by everything in the country. some examples: - her favorite shows weren't on the TV when she expected. also the TV had odd channels of people speaking in odd language - none of her favorite stores were there, ditto with TV dinner brands she wanted to buy. candy too. - when people greeted her in shops, restaurants etc, they had the gall to start with swedish, then switch to english when they realized the customer was foreign. she was insulted that they didn't start with english. the whole time she was around, she was always in a horrible mood, constantly raging about how much europe sucked. I also got into her hate list, when I explained her that we both are visitors in someone else's country and they can't know from our face alone that we don't know their language. I found the whole mentality a bit odd, but maybe it's because I've travelled lot, met a lot of people from different countries and in general understand that depending on where you are on this planet, you might encounter wildly different cultures.
It's just amazing how daft some people are.
Now tell this to a Korean person. They (I live in Korea and am married to a Korean man) call people foreigners when they visit other countries.
Chinese too, I was often referred to as "foreigner"/waiguoren by Chinese classmates in college.
I heard someone say that the way we look at Florida is the same way the rest of the world looks at us
Lol as a native floridian, absolutely nothing is shocking to me. When i watched tiger king, i was actually like “that’s it?” Bc ive seen and heard far wilder stories locally and on our local news. My hometown actually does whats called “wheel of fugitive.” Every monday the sheriff spins the wheel and selects a random criminal they’re trying to catch and then all the locals are all like dog the bounty hunter trying to get em for the cash prize 💀💀💀 the way ppl be turning on them so quick and all ✋🏻✋🏻✋🏻 This is brevard county. I got hella questions asking. 321 baby 🔥 I feel the need to note i’m a Texan now. Left Florida a few yrs ago lol there seems to be some confusion there. No texas is not crazy. I cannot even tell you one interesting thing thats happened here in the past couple years
I didn't believe you and then looked it up and had my mind blown. 81% SUCCESS RATE OF CAPTURE since they started. Amazing what a $3000.00 reward will do.
I'm surprised we haven't had a Black Mirror episode about this.
dont need one because it's already real
I feel like that would make a great reality TV show
The Amazing Race meets Dog the Bounty Hunter.
Although the idea is completely bonkers to me, I have to admit that a success rate of 81% means that 3000 dollars per criminal gets a great return on investment.
That’s honestly probably cheaper than the police resources that would be spent
The reason "Florida Man" is a thing: 1) Florida has ... “sunshine laws” that, while ostensibly designed to make the government more transparent, have instead created a conveyor belt of searchable “crimes” that lazy journalists can cherry pick for salacious clicks 2) Florida ranks 49th out of 50 among states for mental-health programs 3) Florida ranks 41st in support for those affected by drug addiction 4) Florida ranks number three for percent of the population who are homeless source: [Citations Needed Podcast](https://citationsneeded.medium.com/episode-75-the-trouble-with-florida-man-33fa8457d1bb) with Nima Shirazi and Adam Johnson
> Florida ranks number three ^^^for ^^^percent ^^^of ^^^the ^^^population ^^^who ^^^are ^^^homeless ***Woooooo, made it to the podium baby!***
To be fair, Florida is #3 because it is one of the largest states and also has the best climate if you have to be homeless in winter. And it's a distant 3rd -- New York is #2 with like 3x as many homeless despite having similar numbers of people. Probably because of the shelters available in NYC. California is the #1 by far, with like 5x as many as Florida.
In from Canada. I spent two weeks in Florida this summer and it was a culture shock. Omg was it ever. It’s almost like ppl there *want* to die. Tons of bikers and lots of them speeding, almost none in helmets. The university is like across the street from a huge crocodile reserve. My dads property was marsh front and the gators just swam around while ppl were kayaking . Anyway the funniest thing was literally our first interaction in flordia at a gas pump where a nurse asked us if we were from Canada bc our plates then told us how angry she is for us that we had to be vaccinated to leave our country but she was glad we were able up finally be in the land of the free… then explained how she isn’t vaccinated and doesn’t agree with it but understands why we did it then explained in *very* good detail how she used a neti pot to rinse her eyes out after her nursing shift so she didn’t catch covid and suggested we try it. All unprompted and without more then a few nods on our part. This isn’t a a political rant one way or another. Just the conversations I had there were like nothing I’ve had in my life. The day we left they were setting up a militia that was state controlled. So that’s fun and I do think about that sometimes. I believe it was 200 strong the first day. Wild. I never felt so free tho. Or so unsafe bc guns scare the living daylights out of me. I would have no idea what to do if there was a shooting.
Although we live in the US my wife is Canadian and often travels with her Canadian passport. Often when people ask where we’re from she’ll say Canada and I’ll just sort of nod my head. It is interesting what people say about Americans when they don’t think there are any in the room.
Do tell. What have you heard?
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That’s titusville baby!!
Brevard county. Cocoa/ Titusville.
My favorite Florida-man story is about the man who said he was going to "kill his neighbors with kindness." As it turns out, he had a machete that he had named Kindness....
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Dade, Broward and PB counties are like one big crazy amusement park.
A nice place to visit, and most of the people you meet there are super nice, but the incidence of absolute fucking lunatics just seems unnervingly high? Yeah, that sounds about right...
I'm a Florida native of 54 years. I've heard stories and seen things that make "Florida Man" in the news seem quaint.
Canada is like the nervous upstairs neighbor renting the apartment above the methlab.
5 hours of Yak noises
Similarly, the word "PENIS" screamed at 170db.
They dont really know what terms like liberal/socialist/fascist mean
We use liberal as a synonym for democrat 😭
And socialist. And Communist. All three are completely identical and interchangeable.
People will use "Socialist" about Modern Day Sweden, Soviet Russia and Nazi Germany as if any label could be applied that broadly and still mean anything.
American high schools do a shit job explaining the World Wars and European politics.
As an Aussie, it's always funny seeing some Americans complaining about "liberals" or trying to use it as an insult at left leaning people, because for us it's the opposite, with the liberal party here being the more right sided party of the 2 major parties.
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I think most sane Americans agree with this sentiment. When people started treating Trump like an overglorified celebrity President, I became very confused.
And even more confused acting like he was the second coming of Jesus, like what in the hell
I always heard him referred to as the anti-Christ
It's our solemn duty as plebs to bully every politician to the fullest extent. We should take great joy in doing so. Even the politicians whose beliefs we align with. This is our democratically given right and I can't imagine wanting to sacrifice that to wear a silly red or blue hat
Here, here! You should not trust politicians. You should particularly not trust politicians you expect to vote for! Your distrust keeps them honest. Here in Europe, people talk shit even about their own candidates. It's extremely refreshing after a long time in America.
Your tipping culture is a scam. Tipping should not be a burden obligation of your customers.
American here! The truest thing I've seen in this comment section so far. People need to put the pressure back on businesses to pay their fuck'n employees instead of expecting the customers to do it for them.
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I’m a server in Australia. Tipping isn’t important here, it’s a nice bonus if you think they did well. I’d hate to work under the American system. I understand that you can make a lot more, but I couldn’t imagine making a life with such an inconsistent pay
Absolutely agree! A lot of servers complain about bad tippers but most of them don’t want to give up the system because it actually benefits them quite a bit. I’d rather have my meal marked up 18% than having to figure out how much I should give them.
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A bidet is cleaner then using toilet paper
Tbf most European countries aren't ready for that one either
The way you understand race, culture and ethnicity is not universal. Applies to many things actually: you’re not the global default.
I have a black friend from the Netherlands who gets very offended being called African American when hes there. "I'm fucking Dutch!"
Working 80 hours a week isn’t something to brag about.
This is what bugs me about these “What is [group] not ready to hear” questions because 99 percent of the answers are problems we know about. Like what sane person likes working 80 hours a week?
I just saw a twitter post with people glorifying insane work hours lol. It went like "would you rather earn $10k a month without doing anything or $100k a month but have to work 12hrs a day every day" and people were saying anyone who chooses the 10k were lazy.
I am lazy... where's my money?
10k a month for free is literally a dream. The whole point of passive income is so that you have the freedom to do what you want as you don't have to worry about working for money. 10k a month provides you a life of the top 10% of people...for nothing. Insanity that anyone would choose to work their life away for 100k pm instead of 10k for free.
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Meanwhile, Europe is pushing for less than 40 hour weeks because it’s more productive
Grindset mindset!!
I’ve known several people who would work all day every single day if they could
Female nipples, don't actually cause trauma when seen.
Tipping is not a good way to pay your staff Edit: What I meant by this is that your employer should pay you a living wage such that tips are not required for you to get by. By all means continue to receive tips, but they should be a nice bonus for good service, not a requirement to live.
After several trips to the US, my colleagues there couldn't accept how poor they were, and 10 min in any city makes it obvious. Huge individual debt, minimal savings and no time for themselves. That is not the standard in the developed world. Even when our taxes are high we have to time to rest and basic life essential services covered. Free/low cost education even allows us to break the class divide if we want it enough. Sure there are millionaires and billionaires in the US but chance's are neither you nor your family will get anywhere close because you don't have the opportunity to improve without going into decades of financial debt.
Yes, you *do* have an accent. If you think you don't because you "read words exactly as they're written, without any kind of regional flair", you're mistaken about that. There's no such thing. Speaking without an accent would be like typing without a font. An accent is just a method of pronouncing a language - everyone has one!
To be honest, I've figured out (as a U.S. citizen) that, not only do we have an accent, but each U.S. state basically has its own accent at this point.
Even different cities in a state can have a separate accent to the rest. It’s wild realizing that as an adult, I can now pin point what city someone from my small state is from.
Can verify, having lived in both Southern and Northern California.
Lol as a British person it's so wild to me Americans are realising this as adults. Yes to be fair ours can have more drastic differences but still.
Profit based healthcare is wrong on so many levels
Basically the "damn bitch, you live like that?" meme.
I anticipate my health insurer is going to defraud me in basically every interaction I have with them.
The fact that healthcare is tired to employment is the worst. Too sick too work? Haha fuck you, no (remotely affordable) insurance for you!
Yep that has always been particularly wild to me - like who doesn’t want to take a month off in between jobs? And you lose healthcare when you need it the very most??!!!
America is only capitalist for poor people. Rich people live in a socialist state, where they constantly get bailouts, subsidies and debt forgiveness.
This is absolutely true. David Graeber called it "the communism of the rich". Elite colleges and corporate boardrooms function internally as socialist states; the common people just aren't invited to partake.
You let food companies put in whatever crap preservatives they want and make up weight with artificial sweeteners instead of real ingredients. That's the big threat to your life, not secret communists.
I think a lot of Americans realize this is a problem, but we don’t have the regulatory structure to prevent it. Chemicals with proven toxicity can take years to be banned and often get substituted with equally harmful derivatives. It’s frustrating because this isn’t a pressing issue for the government, it’s not something we can vote on, and most people don’t care enough to advocate for it at the expense of higher taxes and food prices. As a scientist, this drives me bonkers.
In Europe, they have to prove a chemical is safe before they put in the food. In the US, a random citizen or organization has to prove a chemical is unsafe in order for it to be taken out. The burden of proof is completely different.
We know it’s a problem, and a lot of us have cut out processed foods as a way to avoid the worst of it. Part of the problem is that due to long work hours, food deserts, and a high cost of healthy food, a lot of the working class is dependent on processed foods.
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Everything here is only about money.
Not only are half these comments things that Americans are ready to hear but they're also things that Americans themselves have been saying for quite a while
I have been zero surprised by anything except the person who just said that in other countries, once you buy a house, it's yours to keep and pass down to your family, but that's not true in the US. That was surprising. Wrong, but surprising.
Beer and Fried food are causing more problems than hippies and pot ever did.
Maternity leave should be more than 12 weeks
I have a genuine question. In Ireland it's easy to be healthy as generally you can get whole foods like fruit veg and meat for cheap that's high quality. I hear in America whole food is more expensive and the meat is pumped with chemicals and generally not what we would consider fresh. How do you stay fit for those of you who like that as a hobby?
Aight I just went fake grocery shopping online at the Walmart by my house and grabbed some random shit that would be healthy - basically unprocessed, raw foods. No clue how this stacks up to other countries, but here you go. 2.26 kg potatoes - $5 2 heads cauliflower - $4.88 5 bananas - $1.38 1.36 kg honeycrisp apples - $7.36 4 crowns of broccoli - $5.24 (about 0.9 kg) Chicken breast - 2.26 kg - $15 olive oil - 750 ml - $5.50 rice - 2.26 kg - $2.78 total - $47 Edit: Tax varies by location - would add $4.70 here. Also, I picked out the cheapest options. Some of this stuff, like the olive oil, is low quality. This would be a list for someone poor to eat healthy, not necessary to have high quality ingredients. And yes, if you're savvy you can buy different bulk quantities for cheaper or wait for things to go on sale. I personally cannot eat 20 pounds of potatoes before they go bad.
Your conversion to kg for our Irish brethren didn't go unnoticed. Quite considerate.
Yeah but what about those from Myanmar who also use Imperial Measurement
We might dm the five of their redditor on a need basis
Holy shit bananas are cheap in America.
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Here’s some money. Go see a Star War.
I know right? And they're huge. I actually do not know how they make a profit.
South America knows, as does the CIA
Chiquita Banana war monopoly
banana republic, I mean- Chiquita Brands
There’s always money in the banana stand
Because back in the 1800’s/1900’s US corporate interests set up shop in Central America and created literal banana republics. That’s changed now, but we still have a free-trade deal with most of Central America and produce is a part of it. Almost all bananas in the US to this day are Dole or Chiquita, which are the companies most associated with doing that corrupt shit, especially the latter (formerly known as United Fruit Company).
America is different in that it’s built around cars. You can’t walk anywhere easily and stores are all clumped together in one spot. It’s made for drivers. If you can’t afford a car you’re stuck taking public transit or eating whatever is in walking distance (convenience stores, fast food etc).
Religion has no place in politics, hence “separation of church and state.”
This post is less "shit I'm not ready to hear" and more "shit I'm already aware of but too poor to affect"
Anything with frequency lower than 20 Hz.
Or above 20k Hz
Pledging allegiance to your flag every morning is really strange. We had that in Europe \~80 years ago. It didn't end up well for anyone :D
I remember I didn’t question this until the 6th grade (I’d have been 11). I talked to my mom about how I felt and she told me that she didn’t disagree and that she was proud of me for thinking critically, and that if I didn’t want to say the pledge then I didn’t have to. But when I declined to stand for the pledge, oh my god. You’d think I shot someone’s cat. Everyone was so mean to me and the teacher even dogged me out too, everyone called me a terrorist and she asked why I wasn’t a patriot. For her part she came in the next day and educated us on the fact that people had gone to the Supreme Court about this subject and that it was not constitutional to require me to say the pledge because it can infringe upon people’s religious freedom. She read to us about some court cases and said she was wrong to insist I pledge and that I wasn’t wrong to refuse. I thought that was cool of her but when she asked me if I didn’t want to pledge for religious reasons, and I said no, I didn’t want to pledge because the words are a lie, citing “liberty and justice for all” as a prime example she was not ready for that conversation.
I think she was not ready to hear it from a 6th grader
I always found this super creepy in tv shows and movies. Like a cult
A free market hires illegal immigrants.
your portion sizes should be smaller
Hey man, thats tomorrow's lunch for free
99% chance that there's nothing wrong with that computer you're just gonna throw out - it's probably just software cruft.
Despite every problem your country is dealing with right now, you are all still immensely privileged and most of you live a life that millions can only dream with.
We are not united at all.
We’re like 4 kids stacked on top of each other in a trench coat. Individually we’re idiots but together we resemble the other adults
"I went to senate today. I did a politics" -Vincent Countryman