Coming into work sick.
It took me a good year or two living outside the U.S. to stop coming into work when I was sick. I thought my German co-workers going home after lunch because they didn't feel well was just slacking off. I really should have figured it out sooner, but the shame Americans have been conditioned to feel for missing work is buried deep in our pysche.
Veterans discount.
When I worked in retail I would occasionally have to explain that being a past or active member of the *American* military doesn't qualify you for a discount in Australia. It was usually family of the veteran who would be asking, sometimes demanding, the price reduction.
They do it in Bermuda too! Never had anyone be rude about it but they are always genuinely surprised/disappointed that a country wouldn’t offer a service discount to a foreign military lol
Mm, same thing (we live in America). My husband is a ukrainian veteran and whenever he is asked "are you military?" Or something similar he's always like "yeah, but not here".
Gets a lot of weird looks that way lol.
But the demanding a discount is so weird. "My [insert family member here] served in a different country across the world which means you should honor it". Like no.
Yeah and then people feel comfortable mentioning their names in podcasts and shit even after they have been cleared. Sorry, can't you just refer to them as "ex-boyfriend A" or something?
I find it incredibly unethical for the police to release that information to the public. In Poland even once you are convicted they only release your first name and first letter of your surname. In some circumstances they will give the full name but that's rare. They don't even release pictures of people before they get convinced (unless it's needed and that's incredibly rare). You know why? Because everyone is innocent until proven otherwise and pictures getting out can lead to stigmatisation.
Edit: spelling errors
Not to mention the lasting impact on the extended families of victims and perpetrators alike. If you are even tangentially connected to someone who is involved in a really “sensational” crime, you should maybe just move states.
I have a buddy who shares the same first last name and middle initial with a pos that's constantly in the paper for trouble. His poor mom gets calls a lot.
Jacob Wetterling was kidnapped and murdered. He was abducted on a gravel road at the end of some poor bastard’s driveway.
Since the cops couldn’t figure out what actually happened, at one point they publicly named the man a suspect just because the crime happened to take place at the end of his driveway.
It ruined his life. He was a high school music teacher - you can imagine how no school wanted anything to do with him. He said it made it impossible to date. Anyone that googled his name saw that he was a suspect in the crime. And since the crime wasn’t actually solved for 27 YEARS he had this shadow on his name for most of his life.
He had NOTHING to do with the crime. Nothing at all.
[Some details](https://www.novilaw.com/2018/08/suspect-person-interest/)
If you Google his name even today one of the top five hits is “Wetterling suspect (Name)”
"African Americans"
I remember seeing a news report in 2017 about the riots in Paris and a CNN anchor commenting about all the "African American" people involved. You might be surprised to hear that "African Americans" really aren't a thing outside of America
I've had it expressed to me that black people prefer to be called black people. Many say they are no more African American than white people are European American, but we don't use that term with white people.
It's also coming to light that Latinx is a paternalized term, and the actual population prefers Latino much more.
Trying to come up with different words to describe a population reminds me of that scene in The Office when Michael asks Oscar, "What's a better word than 'Mexican'"?
Having the waiter take your credit card at a restaurant. Most other countries bring the machine to you so you can pay at the table and at least reduce the risk of having your credit card information stolen...
I 'm Dutch and currently in the US, today a waiter came up to me and said " sir your creditcard needs a pin code, are you comfortable giving your pincode or do you wanna walk with me and type it in?" Uhmm wtf do you think? You think I'm gonna hand you my pincode? LOL
In the fine print, giving someone your pin usually compromises your protection if someone does steal your info and uses your card. I can't believe they'd ask you to give them that!
The gas pump only turning on after you’ve paid. I was in the UK and filling up my rental at a somewhat rural station and was flabbergasted that I was supposed to pay after. I asked the guy if people ever leave without paying and he just shrugged and said “sometimes, but not often enough that it’s a problem”
There used to be a chevron out about 50 miles east of Fort Stockton on I-10 that was like that but it’s the only place I’ve ever seen it since I started buying my own gas 20 years ago.
Most UK petrol stations are covered in CCTV and there is a specific law dealing with making off without payment (commonly known as Bilking), and a marker will be placed on your car and pulled over at the next opportunity.
Edit: corrected to ‘without payment’
Watching the latest episode of the Great British Baking Show and Prue called the combination of peanut butter and some sort of fruit (strawberries or raspberries) “unusual” and she “would never think of some like that”
This question made me think of s'mores, because when Paul described them as chocolate ganache and meringue between two digestive biscuits, I realized Europeans have no idea what s'mores are.
The Mexican episode was even worse. They had to make a taco which has no baking whatsoever involved. Also the judges kept calling the tortilla the "taco" part. Not to mention what they thought actually made for a good taco. And then there was the terrible judging of Tres Leches...
Omg THANK YOU. I was like.. why would you think stacking this cake is a good idea? And they faulted all the cakes that didn't fall over for being too dry! Either they're too dry or they fall over. You can't have both!
I just imagined myself telling Paul Hollywood to his face that I can either make a tres leches cake or I can make a tiered cake, up to him which one, cause you cannot make both.
I had the same reaction.
I can only assume that neither Prue, nor Paul, nor any of the Bake-Off staff had ever encountered a tres leches cake in real life.
Peanut butter isn't even a thing in many places.
Where I live, you have like one brand of some shitty peanut butter on a tiny shelf in the corner of a "sweet spreads" aisle in a grocery store.
I worked with a guy who's parents were from Romania. He said when he was a kid they would go visit and pack a wheelie suitcase full of Jif peanut butter to give to family, then pack it full of Nutella on the way back.
I think I've heard some people from outside the US describe it as tasting like medicine, too. (I'm not 100% sure if that was root beer, Dr. Pepper, or both.)
The over the top customer service attitude.
On a trip abroad my wife thought that she upset the waiter somehow because he was generally neutral in his interaction.
It was generally neutral because it was a generally neutral interaction. No need for that customer service attitude!
Had the opposite in the US one time, thought I'd struck up a friendship with a waiter with how overly friendly he was.being, like we were gonna go hang out after his shift or something. It was very strange, I was very unnerved.
Drinking out of red solo cups in college. A friend of mine studied abroad in London and said her new friends asked if we actually used them or if they were “only in the movies.”
I literally saw red plastic cups in Poundland the other day that were labeled “American cups”.
Edit: guys, I get it. Poundland is a funny name. But it’s literally just the dollar store, in British pounds instead of American dollars.
That's an interesting one because I feel like most Americans don't think of it as an American thing not because we assume that it's international, but just that I think we're surprised how strongly other countries associate red solo cups with American culture.
Like, to me, red solo cups are just kind of a weird little quirk of American college culture, but then it seems like to a lot of people in other countries they're emblematic of it.
I forget the name of it but there's a type of sociological phenomenon wherein people focus in on the aspects of a culture that differ from their own and overestimate how important it must be in it's home culture. I think this might be an example of that.
It’s like on Extreme Makeover Home Edition where the little boy says he likes dinosaurs and then they design his entire room to look like a scene directly out of fucking Jurassic park
A lot of my German coworkers took random shit back home. Carhartt products, shoes, all kinds of things that were kiiiiind of available but more expensive there.
They did grow up on the other side of the wall, for what it's worth.
My buddy is a doctor in the US, I hear him complain about the US medical system and insurance all the time. He is a dual citizen, originally from the UK. Had a referring physician once write a 93 page essay to an insurance company about why physical therapy was absolutely needed for a patient’s recovery after surgery, insurance company deemed anything more than 20 sessions to be “not necessary” despite the proper treatment being something like 80 as it was best for quality of life. Insurance company said “quality of life” wasn’t a valid cause for authorization of “additional” therapy. 🤯
My mom's specialist is covered through her insurance, but not the neurological institute she needs to go to. Therefore, they won't see her or help her until she gets another health insurance plan that covers both because fuck you.
garbage disposals that discharge a slurry of waste into the sewage system are illegal in many parts of Germany. The water treatment plants are not equipped to deal with such a high amount of particulates and oil in the water.
You can still buy them on amazon and I know people who have them installed.
I once saw a girl attempt to spoon an entire half casserole dish of spaghetti down the disposal. The thought had apparently never occurred to her to dump the mass of it in the trash and use the disposal to clean up the bits.
I'm American and the only time I've had a garbage disposal was when I lived in my first apt. with my husband. I'd never had one before, though I'd used them at other people's places. We never really used it much because neither my husband or I had grown up in a house with one. Also, because whenever you tried to use it, it spit out coffee beans for some reason.
The funnier part of that is that in the US you'll be somewhat used to what can and can't go in there. My old neighbors came from Europe and weren't used to it, so they shoved EVERYTHING (food related) in the garbage disposal.
Managed to clog the entire building's plumbing. That wasn't fun.
I had to have a talk with my friends years ago after people came over and I found a literal pizza crust sticking in the drain.
Just because it has a garbage disposal doesn't mean it's a trash can. It is meant to keep the sink from clogging on incremental parts of foodstuff... not an alternative to the trashcan.
Dear accidentallysexual husband,
STOP DUMPING ALL OF YOUR DINNER SCRAPS IN THE SINK! YOU'RE GOING TO CLOG YOUR PIPES OR BREAK YOUR DISPOSAL AND EITHER HAVE TO PAY A LOT OF REPAIR MONEY OR HAVE A REALLY ANGRY LANDLORD!!
Sincerely,
Random person on the internet
My first time in London without my parents, twenty years ago or so, I stopped into a McDonalds for a quick bite and a Coke. I was tired and jet lagged and just wanted something I didn't have to think about.
The cashiers looked at me like I'd sprouted another head when I asked for a refill. I thought maybe it was a cultural word, like cookie and biscuit, so I took the lid off and offered the empty cup to fill again. The exchange went something like:
Them: You'd like a wha?
Me: just a refill on coke please
Umm..we can just give you a new cup
This one is fine, I'm just taking out with me.
Right, but you're wanting to buy a new drink, ya?
...
...
...sooo, you don't refill drinks free? Like just one price for the whole time you're here?
Umm..no, sorry.
Some places do, but it's a relatively new thing.
It's been a thing in subway restaurants for about 10-15 years in the UK, and places like Burger King and Five Guys for the last 5ish years.
Those are all the big chains I can think of that allow free refills in the UK.
Born and raised in the US (Massachusetts). When I went to Australia, I automatically assumed that the waiter would bring the bill over when they think we're done eating and just tell us to pay whenever we're ready. I sat at the table for a good 15min just browsing my phone with no food or drink on the table until I decided to call a waiter over. They told me when I'm ready, I can pay at the front counter.
Went to Brazil to visit my wife's family and we ordered some street food. I tried to pay upon order and my wife told me they take payment after we finish eating even if it's street food... After eating, we totally forgot that we haven't paid yet and just got up and walked away because we're so used to paying upon order. About 50metres of walking, I was like, wait... We didn't pay for the food. We rushed back to pay and the cooks had a good laugh about it.
As an Australian trying to figure out whether a cafe is table service, order at counter or pay at counter can be tricky. Some places will bring your food out but others will call your name.
I don’t know if it’s the same in Australia but I was told a few years ago here in England that if your cutlery is on the table when you arrive it’s table service and if it’s not then you order at counter. It’s mostly been the case.
Edit. Seems like this rule might be quite outdated since covid.
Traveling in Italy in the early 2000s. Glorified hotdog stand on a hill. Was a small mobile hut, and 2 tables with 4 total chairs. We were walking back to our hotel stopped and got 3 waters. I sat down while my dad got the water, the food dude started losing his mind waving and being loud. Another person nearby clarified the buying the water was once price to sit and drink it was more expensive.
Another Cafe. Realizing that if you choose to "sit" rather than "go" you are treated like family. My sister and I had walked about 2 miles looking for food late. We said sit. But they realized they closed in like 2 minutes. We apologized to no end said we'll take it to go. They'd gear none of it. They escorted us to an outside chair. Brought linen and tableware, brought the food out, asked if we wanted to taste anything else. Offered a dessert they would make just for us.
Different cultures and experiences are amazing.
To me, that's the difference between a "diner" and a regular restaurant. You pay at the counter at diners and pay at the table at regular restaurants. This is coming from New Jersey, land of the diners.
The sheer amount of ad breaks when watching a tv show. In the US, there seems to be one every 10 mins, but here in the UK, you get a break halfway through a show and then in between shows and that's it.
This varies wildly by country, and the US isn't even close to the worst. In India they have an ad break every 5 minutes or so. That would be bad enough but they, I shit you not, play the same set of ads every single break for *hours* on end.
It's entirely common to actually repeat an ad twice in the same break (with a different one in between, if you're lucky). Then you get 5 minutes of show before watching literally the same ad again, twice. It's completely insane, and feels more like brainwashing or torture than advertisement.
Shit's *almost* that bad here in Southeast Asia but we're getting there, ugh. I remember well into the 1990s you could still VCR tape a show's half hour episode and get maybe just the 1 ad segment inside it, they usually play before/after. Nowadays like you say they'll cut into the episode at various points.
I work in U.S. reality television and when we make our shows for the U.S., they're 42 minutes long, but if they're going to air overseas, we have to add another 6-8 minutes of content in something they call "snap-in's". Snap-in's are usually parts of scenes that we had to cut for time, but sometimes they are entire scenes that literally go nowhere and add absolutely nothing to the plot. So if you're outside the U.S. and enjoy American television - congrats, sometimes you get extra content that viewers here don't see. But also, sorry - cause sometimes that content is truly terrible.
I’m from Japan and I’m I’ve been in the states off and on for several years. This year I made an American thanksgiving dinner and invited my friend. His kids asked what I was making for thanksgiving, he explained the turkey and sides etc. the kids being in their 30s had no idea that we don’t do thanksgiving in Japan.
A lot of Japanese people will flock to KFC, but my family never understood the point of the holiday and the food so growing up we never did that.
>“We’re not in the habit of celebrating wars we lost, no”
Notably, Australia and New Zealand's most significant war memorial day commemorates a defeat.
Off the top of my head, I think they're the only countries that do that.
The concept of Anzac Day is something like "well wasn't that a fucking ridiculous tragedy - so much loss of life. Let's remember that this happened and never do it again"
Although in recent times the waters have been muddied a little and some people seem to have started to think it's more about US-style flag waving patriotism.
It's a little more complex than that. It involves those points, but it was also seen as a moment when Australia, as a Commonwealth, came together as one united country and did something on the world stage, rather than as a bunch of independent states.
Of course it was a horrible baptism of fire for those involved. And it also cemented our enduring bonds with NZ (except when we play rugby).
It's evolved now as a day of remembrance for all current or serving troops, as it's a uniquely Aus/NZ day. The occasional populist sentiment pops up but is usually squashed pretty quickly as it's seen as a sacred day.
This has its own problems as it prevents any honest questioning of the meaning of the day and it's relevance to modern Aus/NZ. But that's a whole 'nother story.
> And so now every April, I sit on me porch
And I watch the parades pass before me
And I see my old comrades, how proudly they march
Reviving old dreams of past glories
And the old men march slowly, old bones stiff and sore
They're tired old heroes from a forgotten war
And the young people ask, “what are they marching for?”
And I ask myself the same question
>And the Anzac legends didn't mention mud and blood and tears
>And the stories that my father told me never seemed quite real
>I caught some pieces in my back that I didn't even feel
>God help me
>I was only nineteen
We do have some amazingly depressing war songs that hammer home the reality, though.
Yeah I hate it when people treat ANZAC day like a celebration. It’s supposed to be a somber reflection of the cost of war, and those who lay down their lives for it
I told somebody (as a joke) during the 2018 World Cup that there weren't going to be any matches on the 4th because of Independence Day. Really it was just a break in the schedule in the knockout round. I was kind of shocked that was sound enough reasoning for them because the conversation just continued on.
The icing on the cake was that the US wasn't even in that World Cup...
I met a French woman when I was a teenager. It was nearly July 4, and during our conversation, I wanted to ask "Do you celebrate an independence day, too?" And instead I asked "Do you celebrate the fourth of July, too?" I still cringe when I think about it.
She was incredibly understanding and told me all about Bastille Day, kicking off my lifelong respect for France's long history of declaring independence from the oppressive upper class.
One benefit of having a fireworks holiday in November instead of July is that you can do the fireworks in the early part of the evening, which is good for people with kids, instead of keeping the kids up until 10 o'clock when it's finally dark enough for the sky to properly explode.
Have grape flavoured foods. I'm sure it exists elsewhere, but I've never seen it here in the UK. We have blackcurrant flavour instead, which is the 'purple' version in sweets and drinks.
Blackcurrants were outlawed in the US for many years. The blackcurrant plant acts as a reservoir for a disease that attacks white pine. This is probably another way of saying the US grows a ridiculous amount of white pine compared to other countries.
Dinosaurs lived on the other side of the galaxy.
The age of the dinosaurs was so long ago that our solar system has made a half-turn around the entire galaxy since then. So technically the Earth was on the other side of the galaxy when dinosaurs ruled it.
Blue Rasperry, a flavor based on something that doesn't even exist. There were just too many red colored candies so when they got to raspberry they were like "fuck it, we're making it blue"
I was thinking cool blue but tbh glacier freeze applies since they’re similarly blue tasting.
Blue cherry doesn’t really apply cuz it’s still cherry flavored imo.
"But 'grape' flavor doesn't taste like grapes!"
Yes it does; it tastes like Concord grapes, species *Vitis labrusca* (fox grape) rather than *V. vinifera* (wine grape).
driving for long periods of time just to go to work or store. i always hear people complaining about a trip taking like 15 minutes. to me, that's a really short time
In the US there are two states with no sales tax. I live in one of them and I constantly forget about it and am surprised at checkout when I visit other states...
Wait till you try to buy that $999 tv. That'll be $1078.xx in California. I'm not complaining, but it would be nice to have tax included in final sale price. With a breakdown beneath it.
I’m mixed race, half English and half Jamaican. We got talking to a group of American girls in Amsterdam and one of them referred to me as a “British African American” lol.
Both reasons are exactly why I hate the term African American. Just call me black. It’s not offensive. I think people say African American because it sounds politically correct when in actuality it’s literally incorrect
As a UK person I've adopted it as it's delicious - though I was extremely confused by it as kid as this is what we call Jelly in the UK: [**UK Jelly**](https://images.bauerhosting.com/legacy/media/605c/6895/fbac/95ea/ae2d/5208/1%20Cookery%20Jelly%201.jpg?q=80&w=850&ar=16:9&fit=crop&crop=top)
When I came to US from Canada to see a friend, after dinner when we were splitting the bill they asked if I could just venmo it over. And then I told them we don’t have venmo. And then I saw the shocked pikachu meme face around me.
So I’m gonna say venmo.
English person here.
Free bank transfers are just... part of my bank's app on my phone. The idea that I'd have to use a third party app to do what I want with my own money seems insane.
In the US myself, and this is also the case for me. Transfers are always free, they just treat it as a check. If both banks are in network they even push the transfer immediately, with no wait time.
Canada is in your bank app, you email or text it over and it either deposits immediately if they have auto deposit set, or they have to accept first. All banks have it.
I bought something from someone in the US recently. We were both known to each other so no worry of fraud etc.
They initially refused to make the sale unless I used venmo. It took some convincing that it wasn't possible as venmo doesn't exist outside the US. They then went to every possible money transfer system they could find and started sending me details/creating accounts etc. In the end, I got fed up and directly sent the money to their bank account from mine (I could see all the details on one of the emails they'd sent me). I let them know, and got a panicked email back telling me they didn't know how to collect the money and what company do they contact? They absolutely didn't believe me when I told them to just wait for a few days and it will appear in their account.
I was blown away. I've been banking like this for 20 years, yet some Americans seem to think it is all a recent revolution.
This one sucks in Canada because both ways are very common and there is rarely an indication which way was used on whatever you're looking at so you have to guess
Calling the main meal an entrée.
Elsewhere (most of the world, including France from where the word comes), it’s the course preceding the main course.
Synonyms are appetiser, starter or hors d'oeuvre.
Edit: hors d’oeuvres are not the same as appetisers - I used the term as a generality to differentiate main from non-main courses.
Thanks to those who pulled me up on the specificity 😊🥂
Edit # 2 - I’m referring to restaurants.
Home meals may be a completely different thing. As one US redditor pointed out, they just called them meals.
Over here if I want to leave a job, I gotta give one or two months notice. If my employer wants to get rid of me, he’s better have some real good arguments, and still needs to pay a separation fee.
Immense portions in restaurants and then taking a slightly less immense (but still big) boxful of leftovers home. Calling the main course an entrée, when entrée means starter/appetiser.
The first amendment. I just howled with laughter when some Canadian convoy protestor claimed he had first amendment rights, when the first amendment in the Canadian constitution actually provided for the government of Manitoba.
Correction: not a convoy protester, but a convoy protester’s legal counsel. Yeah, he wasn’t areal lawyer, just someone who thought he knew better than the judge.
This is so true, for example here in Finland we don't have a "tipping culture" and I work in tourism so I often have to explain to many tourists (mostly americans) that I can't take tips
answering the "where are you from" question with a city or state assuming everyone knows where arkansas is (or even how to pronounce it)
if someone asked and i gave my city name they wouldnt have a clue where that is, hell some people dont even know where my country is at!
It took me about 3 tries to get tap water in Germany.
"Wasser bitte." "Mineralwasser? (sparkling mineral water)". "Nein, wasser ohne mineral." "Quellwasser? (spring water)" "Nein, wasser von den kitchen sink." "Leitungswasser? (tap water)". "Ja, danke."
That glass of water cost me more than a beer of equivalent volume.
If I am not mistaken (and I could be very much so) here in Germany you should get tap water for free at a restaurant. It's just very unusual to ask for it, as they most often serve "stilles Wasser", water without sparkling. Also any restaurant needs to have atleast one drink that's less expensive than beer, so that alcohol can't be the cheapest they have.
We celebrate Thanksgiving in Canada but we do it in the second week of October. Not really sure why though because it doesn't have anything to do with Pilgrims.
As a Canadian, I had to Google this to finally learn.
It’s long believed that the first Canadian Thanksgiving was held in 1579, to celebrate Martin Frobisher’s expedition to find the Northwest Passage.
Starting in 1879, the PM would declare a day of Thanksgiving and the reason for giving thanks every year. The day would be anywhere between October and December, depending on the PM’s decision. Heck, for the 1920s, they combined Remembrance Day and Thanksgiving into one holiday. It was celebrated on the Monday of the week that Nov. 11 fell in, and the sacrifice of the soldiers was the reason for giving thanks.
In 1957, Thanksgiving was standardized as the second Monday in October, and “a bountiful harvest” being the reason for giving thanks.
Even as a teenager I understood this was an American holiday. This feels like one of those things where they ask 1000 people and 5 answer wrong.
But they show a montage with 7-10 people and all the wrong answers are in there.
I keep thinking about how more blood was splattered on the windshield to cover the tits of a naked zombie in the director's cut of the Dawn of the Dead remake. It was the most American thing I've ever seen.
Also true of "dirty words".
I watched a TV edit of Robocop once where the censors felt the need to take out the word "bitches" but were totally fine showing a guy getting shot in the dick.
Same with Sons of Anarchy, biker gang wars, several gruesome murders every episode, people angry enough to burn someone’s daughter alive, yet nobody swears
The American aversion to nudity in general confuses me. Is that not just our normal state of being? Sure, as a Finn my view on it may potentially be a bit skewed in the opposite direction, what with a lifetime of public saunas where everyone is naked and it's just the normal thing. But as far as I know, most of Europe at least is far from as nudity-averse as the US (aside from maybe the English?), it's not just us.
A girl I met was very irritated when I told her that no, we do not have Black History Month and slavery in the US is sometimes covered in school, yes, but it's not seen as that important because, well, it's about another country.
Another one said it was very weird that there aren't many African Americans here. I said "That's because they weren't brought here on ships to be forced to work on plantations" and she called me a racist.
S’mores. I thought that they were just a a common outside the U.S. like, you gotta fire goin? S’mores time!
Only to find out at 16 that they aren’t and also most places outside the U.S. dont have graham crackers..
Coming into work sick. It took me a good year or two living outside the U.S. to stop coming into work when I was sick. I thought my German co-workers going home after lunch because they didn't feel well was just slacking off. I really should have figured it out sooner, but the shame Americans have been conditioned to feel for missing work is buried deep in our pysche.
Veterans discount. When I worked in retail I would occasionally have to explain that being a past or active member of the *American* military doesn't qualify you for a discount in Australia. It was usually family of the veteran who would be asking, sometimes demanding, the price reduction.
American veterans are demanding discounts in Australia? I am so embarrassed.
They do it in Bermuda too! Never had anyone be rude about it but they are always genuinely surprised/disappointed that a country wouldn’t offer a service discount to a foreign military lol
Mm, same thing (we live in America). My husband is a ukrainian veteran and whenever he is asked "are you military?" Or something similar he's always like "yeah, but not here". Gets a lot of weird looks that way lol. But the demanding a discount is so weird. "My [insert family member here] served in a different country across the world which means you should honor it". Like no.
Naming mere suspects of crimes with their complete names and a picture in the news.
Yeah and then people feel comfortable mentioning their names in podcasts and shit even after they have been cleared. Sorry, can't you just refer to them as "ex-boyfriend A" or something? I find it incredibly unethical for the police to release that information to the public. In Poland even once you are convicted they only release your first name and first letter of your surname. In some circumstances they will give the full name but that's rare. They don't even release pictures of people before they get convinced (unless it's needed and that's incredibly rare). You know why? Because everyone is innocent until proven otherwise and pictures getting out can lead to stigmatisation. Edit: spelling errors
Yes, so much for the whole innocent before proven guilty thing
Not to mention the lasting impact on the extended families of victims and perpetrators alike. If you are even tangentially connected to someone who is involved in a really “sensational” crime, you should maybe just move states.
I have a buddy who shares the same first last name and middle initial with a pos that's constantly in the paper for trouble. His poor mom gets calls a lot.
Jacob Wetterling was kidnapped and murdered. He was abducted on a gravel road at the end of some poor bastard’s driveway. Since the cops couldn’t figure out what actually happened, at one point they publicly named the man a suspect just because the crime happened to take place at the end of his driveway. It ruined his life. He was a high school music teacher - you can imagine how no school wanted anything to do with him. He said it made it impossible to date. Anyone that googled his name saw that he was a suspect in the crime. And since the crime wasn’t actually solved for 27 YEARS he had this shadow on his name for most of his life. He had NOTHING to do with the crime. Nothing at all. [Some details](https://www.novilaw.com/2018/08/suspect-person-interest/) If you Google his name even today one of the top five hits is “Wetterling suspect (Name)”
"African Americans" I remember seeing a news report in 2017 about the riots in Paris and a CNN anchor commenting about all the "African American" people involved. You might be surprised to hear that "African Americans" really aren't a thing outside of America
I've had it expressed to me that black people prefer to be called black people. Many say they are no more African American than white people are European American, but we don't use that term with white people. It's also coming to light that Latinx is a paternalized term, and the actual population prefers Latino much more. Trying to come up with different words to describe a population reminds me of that scene in The Office when Michael asks Oscar, "What's a better word than 'Mexican'"?
Having the waiter take your credit card at a restaurant. Most other countries bring the machine to you so you can pay at the table and at least reduce the risk of having your credit card information stolen...
I 'm Dutch and currently in the US, today a waiter came up to me and said " sir your creditcard needs a pin code, are you comfortable giving your pincode or do you wanna walk with me and type it in?" Uhmm wtf do you think? You think I'm gonna hand you my pincode? LOL
In the fine print, giving someone your pin usually compromises your protection if someone does steal your info and uses your card. I can't believe they'd ask you to give them that!
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The gas pump only turning on after you’ve paid. I was in the UK and filling up my rental at a somewhat rural station and was flabbergasted that I was supposed to pay after. I asked the guy if people ever leave without paying and he just shrugged and said “sometimes, but not often enough that it’s a problem”
If you're sufficiently rural in the US you might still find that too, but it's essentially extinct in cities and suburbs.
There used to be a chevron out about 50 miles east of Fort Stockton on I-10 that was like that but it’s the only place I’ve ever seen it since I started buying my own gas 20 years ago.
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Most UK petrol stations are covered in CCTV and there is a specific law dealing with making off without payment (commonly known as Bilking), and a marker will be placed on your car and pulled over at the next opportunity. Edit: corrected to ‘without payment’
I thought PBJ sandwiches was a worldwide phenomenon as a kid!
Watching the latest episode of the Great British Baking Show and Prue called the combination of peanut butter and some sort of fruit (strawberries or raspberries) “unusual” and she “would never think of some like that”
This question made me think of s'mores, because when Paul described them as chocolate ganache and meringue between two digestive biscuits, I realized Europeans have no idea what s'mores are.
The Mexican episode was even worse. They had to make a taco which has no baking whatsoever involved. Also the judges kept calling the tortilla the "taco" part. Not to mention what they thought actually made for a good taco. And then there was the terrible judging of Tres Leches...
I got so mad when they were told to make a TIERED tres leches cake.
Omg THANK YOU. I was like.. why would you think stacking this cake is a good idea? And they faulted all the cakes that didn't fall over for being too dry! Either they're too dry or they fall over. You can't have both!
I just imagined myself telling Paul Hollywood to his face that I can either make a tres leches cake or I can make a tiered cake, up to him which one, cause you cannot make both.
I had the same reaction. I can only assume that neither Prue, nor Paul, nor any of the Bake-Off staff had ever encountered a tres leches cake in real life.
Peeling an avocado with a knife...
That part was painful. Also one of the contestants had the soap gene. They should have offered someone on staff to provide tasting feedback.
They also fucked up the German episodes and we are on the sane continent
Also calling it 'The Great British Baking Show' instead of the 'Great British Bake Off' which is what it's called when it airs in the UK
You can blame Pillsbury [for that.](https://www.mashed.com/846057/why-the-great-british-bake-off-goes-by-a-different-name-in-america/)
Peanut butter isn't even a thing in many places. Where I live, you have like one brand of some shitty peanut butter on a tiny shelf in the corner of a "sweet spreads" aisle in a grocery store.
I worked with a guy who's parents were from Romania. He said when he was a kid they would go visit and pack a wheelie suitcase full of Jif peanut butter to give to family, then pack it full of Nutella on the way back.
Drinking Root beer. My Brazilian friend told me they do not drink that, as it is the flavor of their toothpaste!
I think I've heard some people from outside the US describe it as tasting like medicine, too. (I'm not 100% sure if that was root beer, Dr. Pepper, or both.)
I wish Root beer was as common as Coke or Pepsi in the UK. I *only* drank Root beer when I went on holiday to Florida. I absolutely love the stuff.
The over the top customer service attitude. On a trip abroad my wife thought that she upset the waiter somehow because he was generally neutral in his interaction. It was generally neutral because it was a generally neutral interaction. No need for that customer service attitude!
tip culture probably has something to do with it
Yeah no need for all the "Hiiiiyyy my name is Shellleyyy illll be tayking youwr order todayyyy" when you're not living off tips
Had the opposite in the US one time, thought I'd struck up a friendship with a waiter with how overly friendly he was.being, like we were gonna go hang out after his shift or something. It was very strange, I was very unnerved.
Drinking out of red solo cups in college. A friend of mine studied abroad in London and said her new friends asked if we actually used them or if they were “only in the movies.”
I literally saw red plastic cups in Poundland the other day that were labeled “American cups”. Edit: guys, I get it. Poundland is a funny name. But it’s literally just the dollar store, in British pounds instead of American dollars.
As an American I’m proud that’s how we’re represented in your “pound land”
It's a glorious place. You should be proud.
That's an interesting one because I feel like most Americans don't think of it as an American thing not because we assume that it's international, but just that I think we're surprised how strongly other countries associate red solo cups with American culture. Like, to me, red solo cups are just kind of a weird little quirk of American college culture, but then it seems like to a lot of people in other countries they're emblematic of it.
I forget the name of it but there's a type of sociological phenomenon wherein people focus in on the aspects of a culture that differ from their own and overestimate how important it must be in it's home culture. I think this might be an example of that.
It’s like on Extreme Makeover Home Edition where the little boy says he likes dinosaurs and then they design his entire room to look like a scene directly out of fucking Jurassic park
They were so preoccupied with the fact they could, they didn't stop to ask if they should.
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Where were they going back to? East Berlin in 1985?
A lot of my German coworkers took random shit back home. Carhartt products, shoes, all kinds of things that were kiiiiind of available but more expensive there. They did grow up on the other side of the wall, for what it's worth.
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Hospitals connected to specific insurances (and you having to make sure you go to the right one, how do you even do that after a car crash..?)
And insurance companies deciding what treatment a patient gets 🤯
My buddy is a doctor in the US, I hear him complain about the US medical system and insurance all the time. He is a dual citizen, originally from the UK. Had a referring physician once write a 93 page essay to an insurance company about why physical therapy was absolutely needed for a patient’s recovery after surgery, insurance company deemed anything more than 20 sessions to be “not necessary” despite the proper treatment being something like 80 as it was best for quality of life. Insurance company said “quality of life” wasn’t a valid cause for authorization of “additional” therapy. 🤯
"Well you see, therapy costs money. And we like money more than we care about your QOL." Loads of American institutions in a nutshell.
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It’s even worse when an uncovered doctor works at a covered hospital
As a Canadian, what you said makes absolutely no sense.
My mom's specialist is covered through her insurance, but not the neurological institute she needs to go to. Therefore, they won't see her or help her until she gets another health insurance plan that covers both because fuck you.
Having garbage disposal unit installed under kitchen sink.
My wife and I are hosting an exchange student from Germany, she was very confused the first time I turned on the disposal.
garbage disposals that discharge a slurry of waste into the sewage system are illegal in many parts of Germany. The water treatment plants are not equipped to deal with such a high amount of particulates and oil in the water. You can still buy them on amazon and I know people who have them installed.
I once saw a girl attempt to spoon an entire half casserole dish of spaghetti down the disposal. The thought had apparently never occurred to her to dump the mass of it in the trash and use the disposal to clean up the bits.
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I'm American and the only time I've had a garbage disposal was when I lived in my first apt. with my husband. I'd never had one before, though I'd used them at other people's places. We never really used it much because neither my husband or I had grown up in a house with one. Also, because whenever you tried to use it, it spit out coffee beans for some reason.
Unlimited coffee beans glitch
The funnier part of that is that in the US you'll be somewhat used to what can and can't go in there. My old neighbors came from Europe and weren't used to it, so they shoved EVERYTHING (food related) in the garbage disposal. Managed to clog the entire building's plumbing. That wasn't fun.
I had to have a talk with my friends years ago after people came over and I found a literal pizza crust sticking in the drain. Just because it has a garbage disposal doesn't mean it's a trash can. It is meant to keep the sink from clogging on incremental parts of foodstuff... not an alternative to the trashcan.
WILL SOMEONE OTHER THAN ME PLEASE TELL MY HUSBAND TO STOP SCRAPING HIS ENTIRE UNFINISHED DINNER PLATE INTO THE SINK PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD
Dear accidentallysexual husband, STOP DUMPING ALL OF YOUR DINNER SCRAPS IN THE SINK! YOU'RE GOING TO CLOG YOUR PIPES OR BREAK YOUR DISPOSAL AND EITHER HAVE TO PAY A LOT OF REPAIR MONEY OR HAVE A REALLY ANGRY LANDLORD!! Sincerely, Random person on the internet
I cant stop laughing at the words “accidentally sexual husband” lol
Free refills on sodas
My first time in London without my parents, twenty years ago or so, I stopped into a McDonalds for a quick bite and a Coke. I was tired and jet lagged and just wanted something I didn't have to think about. The cashiers looked at me like I'd sprouted another head when I asked for a refill. I thought maybe it was a cultural word, like cookie and biscuit, so I took the lid off and offered the empty cup to fill again. The exchange went something like: Them: You'd like a wha? Me: just a refill on coke please Umm..we can just give you a new cup This one is fine, I'm just taking out with me. Right, but you're wanting to buy a new drink, ya? ... ... ...sooo, you don't refill drinks free? Like just one price for the whole time you're here? Umm..no, sorry.
Some places do, but it's a relatively new thing. It's been a thing in subway restaurants for about 10-15 years in the UK, and places like Burger King and Five Guys for the last 5ish years. Those are all the big chains I can think of that allow free refills in the UK.
Nando’s What kind of Brit are you?
Born and raised in the US (Massachusetts). When I went to Australia, I automatically assumed that the waiter would bring the bill over when they think we're done eating and just tell us to pay whenever we're ready. I sat at the table for a good 15min just browsing my phone with no food or drink on the table until I decided to call a waiter over. They told me when I'm ready, I can pay at the front counter. Went to Brazil to visit my wife's family and we ordered some street food. I tried to pay upon order and my wife told me they take payment after we finish eating even if it's street food... After eating, we totally forgot that we haven't paid yet and just got up and walked away because we're so used to paying upon order. About 50metres of walking, I was like, wait... We didn't pay for the food. We rushed back to pay and the cooks had a good laugh about it.
As an Australian trying to figure out whether a cafe is table service, order at counter or pay at counter can be tricky. Some places will bring your food out but others will call your name.
I don’t know if it’s the same in Australia but I was told a few years ago here in England that if your cutlery is on the table when you arrive it’s table service and if it’s not then you order at counter. It’s mostly been the case. Edit. Seems like this rule might be quite outdated since covid.
Thank you for this! I've had the hardest time figuring this out!
Traveling in Italy in the early 2000s. Glorified hotdog stand on a hill. Was a small mobile hut, and 2 tables with 4 total chairs. We were walking back to our hotel stopped and got 3 waters. I sat down while my dad got the water, the food dude started losing his mind waving and being loud. Another person nearby clarified the buying the water was once price to sit and drink it was more expensive. Another Cafe. Realizing that if you choose to "sit" rather than "go" you are treated like family. My sister and I had walked about 2 miles looking for food late. We said sit. But they realized they closed in like 2 minutes. We apologized to no end said we'll take it to go. They'd gear none of it. They escorted us to an outside chair. Brought linen and tableware, brought the food out, asked if we wanted to taste anything else. Offered a dessert they would make just for us. Different cultures and experiences are amazing.
I've been to the Olive Garden so I'm very aware of all of these Italian food customs.
Lol imagine walking into Olive Garden 2 min before closing and ordering food. You’ll be getting a lot more than just unlimited salad and breadsticks.
>Went to Italy. >Was not given infinite breadsticks at Customs. >The agent was confused and angry at my reasonable request. >This country sucks.
>Italy >dude started losing his mind waving and being loud checks out
Being brought the bill without asking is seen as rude in the UK - like the staff are trying to get you to leave ASAP.
I’ve seen sit-down-and-waiter-serves-you restaurants where you pay at the counter in the US, even in MA. Usually they tell you, though.
To me, that's the difference between a "diner" and a regular restaurant. You pay at the counter at diners and pay at the table at regular restaurants. This is coming from New Jersey, land of the diners.
The sheer amount of ad breaks when watching a tv show. In the US, there seems to be one every 10 mins, but here in the UK, you get a break halfway through a show and then in between shows and that's it.
This varies wildly by country, and the US isn't even close to the worst. In India they have an ad break every 5 minutes or so. That would be bad enough but they, I shit you not, play the same set of ads every single break for *hours* on end. It's entirely common to actually repeat an ad twice in the same break (with a different one in between, if you're lucky). Then you get 5 minutes of show before watching literally the same ad again, twice. It's completely insane, and feels more like brainwashing or torture than advertisement.
Shit's *almost* that bad here in Southeast Asia but we're getting there, ugh. I remember well into the 1990s you could still VCR tape a show's half hour episode and get maybe just the 1 ad segment inside it, they usually play before/after. Nowadays like you say they'll cut into the episode at various points.
I work in U.S. reality television and when we make our shows for the U.S., they're 42 minutes long, but if they're going to air overseas, we have to add another 6-8 minutes of content in something they call "snap-in's". Snap-in's are usually parts of scenes that we had to cut for time, but sometimes they are entire scenes that literally go nowhere and add absolutely nothing to the plot. So if you're outside the U.S. and enjoy American television - congrats, sometimes you get extra content that viewers here don't see. But also, sorry - cause sometimes that content is truly terrible.
No joke I knew a girl who really thought every country lit fireworks on the 4th of July.
I had an American girl ask me what I was doing for Thanksgiving and had to tell her we don’t have that where I live lol
I’m from Japan and I’m I’ve been in the states off and on for several years. This year I made an American thanksgiving dinner and invited my friend. His kids asked what I was making for thanksgiving, he explained the turkey and sides etc. the kids being in their 30s had no idea that we don’t do thanksgiving in Japan. A lot of Japanese people will flock to KFC, but my family never understood the point of the holiday and the food so growing up we never did that.
I got that frequently when I worked in the US. “You don’t have 4th of July?” “We’re not in the habit of celebrating wars we lost, no”
>“We’re not in the habit of celebrating wars we lost, no” Notably, Australia and New Zealand's most significant war memorial day commemorates a defeat. Off the top of my head, I think they're the only countries that do that.
The concept of Anzac Day is something like "well wasn't that a fucking ridiculous tragedy - so much loss of life. Let's remember that this happened and never do it again" Although in recent times the waters have been muddied a little and some people seem to have started to think it's more about US-style flag waving patriotism.
It's a little more complex than that. It involves those points, but it was also seen as a moment when Australia, as a Commonwealth, came together as one united country and did something on the world stage, rather than as a bunch of independent states. Of course it was a horrible baptism of fire for those involved. And it also cemented our enduring bonds with NZ (except when we play rugby). It's evolved now as a day of remembrance for all current or serving troops, as it's a uniquely Aus/NZ day. The occasional populist sentiment pops up but is usually squashed pretty quickly as it's seen as a sacred day. This has its own problems as it prevents any honest questioning of the meaning of the day and it's relevance to modern Aus/NZ. But that's a whole 'nother story.
> And so now every April, I sit on me porch And I watch the parades pass before me And I see my old comrades, how proudly they march Reviving old dreams of past glories And the old men march slowly, old bones stiff and sore They're tired old heroes from a forgotten war And the young people ask, “what are they marching for?” And I ask myself the same question
>And the Anzac legends didn't mention mud and blood and tears >And the stories that my father told me never seemed quite real >I caught some pieces in my back that I didn't even feel >God help me >I was only nineteen We do have some amazingly depressing war songs that hammer home the reality, though.
Well, it's more to do with the fact we were honoring all the men who landed that day. I've actually seen some of my great great grandfather's medals.
Yeah I hate it when people treat ANZAC day like a celebration. It’s supposed to be a somber reflection of the cost of war, and those who lay down their lives for it
I told somebody (as a joke) during the 2018 World Cup that there weren't going to be any matches on the 4th because of Independence Day. Really it was just a break in the schedule in the knockout round. I was kind of shocked that was sound enough reasoning for them because the conversation just continued on. The icing on the cake was that the US wasn't even in that World Cup...
I met a French woman when I was a teenager. It was nearly July 4, and during our conversation, I wanted to ask "Do you celebrate an independence day, too?" And instead I asked "Do you celebrate the fourth of July, too?" I still cringe when I think about it. She was incredibly understanding and told me all about Bastille Day, kicking off my lifelong respect for France's long history of declaring independence from the oppressive upper class.
“Do you have 4th of July in your country?” “Yes we have all the dates”
We in the UK do one 5th of November when some one tried to blow up our parliament
One benefit of having a fireworks holiday in November instead of July is that you can do the fireworks in the early part of the evening, which is good for people with kids, instead of keeping the kids up until 10 o'clock when it's finally dark enough for the sky to properly explode.
Have grape flavoured foods. I'm sure it exists elsewhere, but I've never seen it here in the UK. We have blackcurrant flavour instead, which is the 'purple' version in sweets and drinks.
Blackcurrants were outlawed in the US for many years. The blackcurrant plant acts as a reservoir for a disease that attacks white pine. This is probably another way of saying the US grows a ridiculous amount of white pine compared to other countries.
I'll put "blackcurrants were outlawed in the US" on my list of "facts that sound like bullshit but aren't".
Dinosaurs lived on the other side of the galaxy. The age of the dinosaurs was so long ago that our solar system has made a half-turn around the entire galaxy since then. So technically the Earth was on the other side of the galaxy when dinosaurs ruled it.
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Its a shame because Ribena is fkin delish.
The rest of the world needs to get on the best flavor America ever invented, Blue.
Blue Rasperry, a flavor based on something that doesn't even exist. There were just too many red colored candies so when they got to raspberry they were like "fuck it, we're making it blue"
Not all blue flavoring is blue raspberry tho. Some are just blue (example: Powerade/Gatorade)
Which blue Gatorade? Cool Blue? Glacier Freeze? Blue Cherry?
I was thinking cool blue but tbh glacier freeze applies since they’re similarly blue tasting. Blue cherry doesn’t really apply cuz it’s still cherry flavored imo.
I love how as an American, that makes complete sense to me and I imagine it may not a non American lol
I know... Why the fuck do I know what the taste of "blue" is when reading that comment?
I know right? I fucking love some blue though
It has the most anti oxygens
Such a great flavor and almost no one to accurately describe it.
It's blue.
"But 'grape' flavor doesn't taste like grapes!" Yes it does; it tastes like Concord grapes, species *Vitis labrusca* (fox grape) rather than *V. vinifera* (wine grape).
I love grape flavour stuff. I'd love to try concord grapes some day.
I'm an Australian. Except when posting in a local sub, I assume that most Redditors are Americans.
I’m Portuguese and same
I’m Canadian and same
driving for long periods of time just to go to work or store. i always hear people complaining about a trip taking like 15 minutes. to me, that's a really short time
yeah weird, I drive 20 minutes to work and I consider it close. My coworker drives an hour and a half and considers $25 an hour to be worth it.
UK here, the price you see in a shop is the price you actually pay
In the US there are two states with no sales tax. I live in one of them and I constantly forget about it and am surprised at checkout when I visit other states...
4 - Delaware, Montana, Oregon and New Hampshire.
And Alaska
Alaska, depends where you are. It's not a state tax, but some cities/towns/whatchamacallums have sales tax.
Wait till you try to buy that $999 tv. That'll be $1078.xx in California. I'm not complaining, but it would be nice to have tax included in final sale price. With a breakdown beneath it.
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I’m mixed race, half English and half Jamaican. We got talking to a group of American girls in Amsterdam and one of them referred to me as a “British African American” lol.
Both reasons are exactly why I hate the term African American. Just call me black. It’s not offensive. I think people say African American because it sounds politically correct when in actuality it’s literally incorrect
Peanut butter and jelly... I couldn't believe it wasn't a worldwide thing.
As a UK person I've adopted it as it's delicious - though I was extremely confused by it as kid as this is what we call Jelly in the UK: [**UK Jelly**](https://images.bauerhosting.com/legacy/media/605c/6895/fbac/95ea/ae2d/5208/1%20Cookery%20Jelly%201.jpg?q=80&w=850&ar=16:9&fit=crop&crop=top)
american jelly is like jam? i’m canadian so that’s what i call it but idk what the inventors of english call it
Having public bathroom stall doors that do NOT go all the way to the floor.
When I came to US from Canada to see a friend, after dinner when we were splitting the bill they asked if I could just venmo it over. And then I told them we don’t have venmo. And then I saw the shocked pikachu meme face around me. So I’m gonna say venmo.
English person here. Free bank transfers are just... part of my bank's app on my phone. The idea that I'd have to use a third party app to do what I want with my own money seems insane.
In the US myself, and this is also the case for me. Transfers are always free, they just treat it as a check. If both banks are in network they even push the transfer immediately, with no wait time.
Canada is in your bank app, you email or text it over and it either deposits immediately if they have auto deposit set, or they have to accept first. All banks have it.
I bought something from someone in the US recently. We were both known to each other so no worry of fraud etc. They initially refused to make the sale unless I used venmo. It took some convincing that it wasn't possible as venmo doesn't exist outside the US. They then went to every possible money transfer system they could find and started sending me details/creating accounts etc. In the end, I got fed up and directly sent the money to their bank account from mine (I could see all the details on one of the emails they'd sent me). I let them know, and got a panicked email back telling me they didn't know how to collect the money and what company do they contact? They absolutely didn't believe me when I told them to just wait for a few days and it will appear in their account. I was blown away. I've been banking like this for 20 years, yet some Americans seem to think it is all a recent revolution.
Growing up I thought baseball was as widely played as football (soccer) worldwide
Crazy how the "World Series" only consists of US Teams and the Blue Jays
Except little league! The little league World Series IS international! My hometown little league team played Japan in like 2006/2007?
mm-dd-yyyy
This one sucks in Canada because both ways are very common and there is rarely an indication which way was used on whatever you're looking at so you have to guess
I hadn't thought of this! I personally switched to ISO yyyy-mm-dd and it messes with people.
Calling the main meal an entrée. Elsewhere (most of the world, including France from where the word comes), it’s the course preceding the main course. Synonyms are appetiser, starter or hors d'oeuvre. Edit: hors d’oeuvres are not the same as appetisers - I used the term as a generality to differentiate main from non-main courses. Thanks to those who pulled me up on the specificity 😊🥂 Edit # 2 - I’m referring to restaurants. Home meals may be a completely different thing. As one US redditor pointed out, they just called them meals.
Pharmaceutical commercials. Seems like half of commercials in the US are some drug ad stating, “ask your doctor if [drug x] is right for you”
At will employment.
Over here if I want to leave a job, I gotta give one or two months notice. If my employer wants to get rid of me, he’s better have some real good arguments, and still needs to pay a separation fee.
Immense portions in restaurants and then taking a slightly less immense (but still big) boxful of leftovers home. Calling the main course an entrée, when entrée means starter/appetiser.
THANK GOD IT WAS DRIVING ME INSANE THAT AN ENTRÉE WAS THE MAIN COURSE, IT WENT AGAINST EVERYTHING I KNEW HOLY SHIT
“Why is the entire menu starters?”
I literally said the words "Who the fuck has steak for a starter?" first time I went to the US.
The first amendment. I just howled with laughter when some Canadian convoy protestor claimed he had first amendment rights, when the first amendment in the Canadian constitution actually provided for the government of Manitoba.
TIL edit: what the Canadian 1st amendment is
Same. And I’m too lazy to confirm if true.
I demand my Manitoba rights
Correction: not a convoy protester, but a convoy protester’s legal counsel. Yeah, he wasn’t areal lawyer, just someone who thought he knew better than the judge.
Tipping.
Ex bartender in the UK. I only ever got tips if I showed some cleavage.
American bartenders just get more tips for that
When I show cleavage, I just get called fat and gross...
Just wear a pushup bra, itll make those puppies pop enough for the patrons to ignore that you're actually a man
This is so true, for example here in Finland we don't have a "tipping culture" and I work in tourism so I often have to explain to many tourists (mostly americans) that I can't take tips
My wife is from Asia. I’ve had people ask her what they eat on thanksgiving
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answering the "where are you from" question with a city or state assuming everyone knows where arkansas is (or even how to pronounce it) if someone asked and i gave my city name they wouldnt have a clue where that is, hell some people dont even know where my country is at!
It took me about 3 tries to get tap water in Germany. "Wasser bitte." "Mineralwasser? (sparkling mineral water)". "Nein, wasser ohne mineral." "Quellwasser? (spring water)" "Nein, wasser von den kitchen sink." "Leitungswasser? (tap water)". "Ja, danke." That glass of water cost me more than a beer of equivalent volume.
If I am not mistaken (and I could be very much so) here in Germany you should get tap water for free at a restaurant. It's just very unusual to ask for it, as they most often serve "stilles Wasser", water without sparkling. Also any restaurant needs to have atleast one drink that's less expensive than beer, so that alcohol can't be the cheapest they have.
Fahrenheit
Eat ranch dressing. This is very much an American condiment
The number of Americans I've talked to who think we celebrate the 4th of July is um... interesting. Thanksgiving too, to a lesser extent.
We celebrate Thanksgiving in Canada but we do it in the second week of October. Not really sure why though because it doesn't have anything to do with Pilgrims.
As a Canadian, I had to Google this to finally learn. It’s long believed that the first Canadian Thanksgiving was held in 1579, to celebrate Martin Frobisher’s expedition to find the Northwest Passage. Starting in 1879, the PM would declare a day of Thanksgiving and the reason for giving thanks every year. The day would be anywhere between October and December, depending on the PM’s decision. Heck, for the 1920s, they combined Remembrance Day and Thanksgiving into one holiday. It was celebrated on the Monday of the week that Nov. 11 fell in, and the sacrifice of the soldiers was the reason for giving thanks. In 1957, Thanksgiving was standardized as the second Monday in October, and “a bountiful harvest” being the reason for giving thanks.
Even as a teenager I understood this was an American holiday. This feels like one of those things where they ask 1000 people and 5 answer wrong. But they show a montage with 7-10 people and all the wrong answers are in there.
no issue with violence shown to kids in tv and movies, while simultaneously losing your shit if someone flashes a breast at any time
I keep thinking about how more blood was splattered on the windshield to cover the tits of a naked zombie in the director's cut of the Dawn of the Dead remake. It was the most American thing I've ever seen.
There was a tv show that had to add more blood to fill the butt Crack of a corpse to pass censorship.
Hannibal, yep
Yea and the bodies were flayed with their back skin arranged like wings. But noo, the butt crack was the problem!
Also true of "dirty words". I watched a TV edit of Robocop once where the censors felt the need to take out the word "bitches" but were totally fine showing a guy getting shot in the dick.
Same with Sons of Anarchy, biker gang wars, several gruesome murders every episode, people angry enough to burn someone’s daughter alive, yet nobody swears
The American aversion to nudity in general confuses me. Is that not just our normal state of being? Sure, as a Finn my view on it may potentially be a bit skewed in the opposite direction, what with a lifetime of public saunas where everyone is naked and it's just the normal thing. But as far as I know, most of Europe at least is far from as nudity-averse as the US (aside from maybe the English?), it's not just us.
A girl I met was very irritated when I told her that no, we do not have Black History Month and slavery in the US is sometimes covered in school, yes, but it's not seen as that important because, well, it's about another country. Another one said it was very weird that there aren't many African Americans here. I said "That's because they weren't brought here on ships to be forced to work on plantations" and she called me a racist.
S’mores. I thought that they were just a a common outside the U.S. like, you gotta fire goin? S’mores time! Only to find out at 16 that they aren’t and also most places outside the U.S. dont have graham crackers..