25 Things Non-Americans Say Americans Don't Realize Are Unusual, From Drive-Thru ATMs To Billboards For Guns

With millions of planetary visitors traveling to the United States each year, galore are getting a firsthand look astatine American beingness for the precise archetypal time. During those trips, they're discovering that plentifulness of things they've lone heard astir online, seen successful movies, oregon been told by different travelers are really real. For Americans, though, galore of these things are truthful acquainted that we seldom halt to deliberation astir however antithetic they mightiness look to the remainder of the world.

Recently, I stumbled upon a year-old Reddit thread wherever idiosyncratic Wonderful-Economy762 wanted to cognize astir US things that onslaught visitors arsenic amazingly strange, erstwhile they asked: "Non-Americans who person visited the US: What’s the strangest happening astir America that Americans don’t adjacent recognize is weird?"

The thread received thousands of responses. Here are the apical and astir often repeated things that non-Americans accidental radical successful the US don't recognize are unusual:

1. "Had household sojourn from UK. Took them to plentifulness of astonishing places. They spell location and spout connected about: Yellow schoolhouse buses and weird sayings like, 'I don’t springiness a rat’s ass.'"

—astcell

2. "It's ever the archetypal clip you caput to the bath astatine the airdrome close aft you onshore and spot however the stalls are. You mightiness not adjacent beryllium legally successful the state yet, and you're already having the astir awkward crap of your life."

—HugeMcAwesome

3. "Halloween worldly dominates the stores successful August. Why bash radical privation to deliberation astir Halloween successful summer?"

—TeddingtonMerson

5. "How unwalkable it is. What bash you mean it’s easier to thrust 10 mins than locomotion 5????"

—Ashamed-Tap-8617

6. "I recovered it truly unusual that they instrumentality your recognition paper distant erstwhile you wage successful restaurants. I'm gladsome idiosyncratic warned maine conscionable earlier I went that that was mean successful America, truthful I didn't marque a fuss, due to the fact that I'd grown up being told that if idiosyncratic takes your paper away, measurement 2 is that they're going to bash thing dodgy with it, truthful ne'er to suffer show of it."

—stutter-rap

7. "How large and brash everything is. I utilized to thrust from Ontario to Michigan. The road successful Canada was conscionable farmland. The 2nd I crossed the border, determination were big, large billboards everywhere. With each uppercase letters, it felt similar yelling. 'EAT HERE!' 'SHOP NOW!' The portions are huge. The fig of fast-food restaurants successful a one-block radius is huge. Everything conscionable feels truthful large and loud."

—zygotepariah

9. "The sheer discarded of nutrient (and the portions). Holidayed successful Memphis (KFC awful) and New Orleans (great), but past went connected the immense cruise ships. The nutrient was beauteous and plentiful, but astir of the passengers were greedy and wasteful."

—Appropriate-Bad-9379

10. "How large and magnificent quality is, and ⁠dry counties."

—redishtoo

11. "How hard it is to bargain nutrient that is not pumped with hormones and different substances that are not allowed successful different countries owed to wellness risk."

—Wrebbint

12. "I deliberation you know, saying the pledge and each the flags everyplace are weird, right?"

—OkScheme9867

13. "I lived 2 hours-ish from the confederate border, truthful my household and I would transverse into the States erstwhile a period to bargain groceries. Sometimes, we had much American products than Mexican successful the pantry, truthful I got utilized to the sensation and sweetness of everything. My girlfriend, connected the different hand, has ne'er gone to the US, truthful successful the archetypal mates of months we dated, we did immoderate dates wherever she tried some variants of the aforesaid merchandise and judged them. Every azygous clip she commented that she could sensation thing sweet, adjacent erstwhile it was thing not sweet, similar chips."

—Captonayan

15. "I'm ever amazed astatine however polarized radical are successful America. As a Canadian, it's shocking however ethnocentric radical are. Whether they're connected the near oregon the right, oregon whether they're spiritual oregon atheist, Americans you conscionable ever look to deliberation that their peculiar worldview is the lone imaginable answer. Most radical astir the satellite look much introspective."

—StageStandard5884

17. "Advertisements for medicines. They travel crossed arsenic truly cheesy and bizarre/shonky. In the UK, it conscionable wouldn't request to beryllium advertised. If you request it, your healthcare nonrecreational gives it to you; if you don't, you don't request to cognize astir it. You wouldn't basal your aesculapian attraction decisions connected what has been advertised to you."

—Goldf_sh4

18. "Injury lawyer ads EVERYWHERE: billboards, buses, TV, YouTube, etc."

—aubreywodonga

19. "The realization that folks astir you are apt armed."

—HorrorAd4995

20. "The deficiency of spatial awareness. People successful the US thin to inhabit a batch of abstraction (for example, erstwhile they locomotion successful a hallway, a sidewalk, oregon successful the market store) and seldom marque room, adjacent though they intelligibly spot you. It's similar they ain the space. So adjacent though everything is ace huge, you inactive consciousness squeezed successful definite places."

—ForTheChillz

21. "How weirdly spiritual you are. Was successful Canada and everything was mean arsenic soon arsenic you transverse the border, elephantine billboards astir Jesus everywhere."

—Bumblebeezerker

22. "Seeing restaurants that specify not to bring firearms inside. I'm from Canada, and it ne'er occurred to maine that elsewhere, idiosyncratic mightiness bring a weapon to Grandma's day dinner."

—Soft-Wish-9112

23. "The magnitude of oversharing, and however up successful each other's concern radical are."

—Kunjunk

24. "Coworkers from Germany pointed retired to maine however we convey radical for a question erstwhile asking successful a ample gathering oregon forum. Can’t unsee it."

—maj-lax

25. And lastly, "My Italian workfellow was perplexed by our obsession with colleges, particularly sports. In Italy, determination are nary assemblage sports; each colleges are created equal, and you spell to the assemblage nearest you. She thought it was weird to imagination astir going to a assemblage and to obsess astir it years aft you’ve attended it. I’m kinda successful statement with that 2nd part, I find it precise cringey to marque your alma mater your full personality, successful the signifier of Yeti mugs, bumper stickers, etc."

—[deleted]

You tin work the afloat thread of responses connected Reddit.

Note: Some responses person been edited for magnitude and/or clarity.