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Recently, Reddit idiosyncratic BestPostRead asked, What’s 1 happening you thought was mean successful the U.S. until idiosyncratic from different state said it was weird?" and y'all, I had NO thought immoderate of these things weren't communal astir the world. Here are 57 things radical from different countries deliberation are weird, weird, WEIRDDDD.
1. "How agelong governmental campaigns are. In galore countries, politicians can't actively run but during a acceptable fewer weeks starring up to the elections. Must beryllium nice."
"In Berlin, predetermination posters tin beryllium up for 8 weeks: starting 7 weeks earlier the election, ending 1 week after.
Also, primaries are beauteous overmuch invisible due to the fact that they are wholly party-internal. Each enactment holds interior elections for their members to find their candidates, and past they archer the nationalist astir it.
Sometimes the quality reports from the parties' conventions wherever the predetermination happens, but the wide nationalist doesn't spot predetermination campaigns for the antithetic candidates of a party."
"In Ireland, you're not allowed to advertise authorities connected TV. Each enactment gets a 10-minute slot wherever they tin accidental their bit."
2. "Pharmaceutical commercials connected tv and billboards for lawyers connected the broadside of the road."
"Bright, splashy commercials showing what a large happening this shiny medicine is, specified a bully thing, past velocity talking towards the extremity of the commercialized disclosing the known large broadside effects, things similar precocious humor pressure, death, etc. I disregard them each due to the fact that I loathe commercials of each stripe."
"Pharmaceutical advertisements for medicine drugs to consumers are amerciable oregon highly regulated successful astir each state successful the satellite but the US and New Zealand."
"My hubby is simply a Brit, and helium ever knew that we had cause commercials, but helium is inactive weirded retired seeing large celebrities connected them."
3. Similarly..."I moved to the US from Canada — the openness and magnitude of advertizing for baccy and intoxicant were startling."
4. "And ads for gambling and guns. We person ads for online gambling and sports betting now, but not to the aforesaid grade and not for truthful long."
5. "I ever thought it was polite to astatine slightest grin and motion erstwhile you marque oculus interaction with someone. I learned precocious that not lone bash immoderate cultures find the smiling fake and unnerving, it’s adjacent rude to look strangers successful the oculus successful immoderate cultures."
"As a midwesterner who lived successful Denmark for a while, this was 1 of the biggest differences. I was walking on a way successful the mediate of obscurity Jutland erstwhile I passed idiosyncratic and said 'good morning,' and helium didn't adjacent crook his caput to look astatine me. We could astir apt spot each different coming from a kilometer distant astatine this point, and helium was the lone idiosyncratic I had seen each day. Eye interaction is avoided astatine each costs connected buses, the train, and erstwhile walking. Now that I'm backmost successful the US, erstwhile I walk people, I don't marque oculus contact, and I tin consciousness their eyes connected maine arsenic I locomotion by. It's truthful uncomfortable."
"Talking to random strangers. It’s conscionable not thing different cultures bash much. When I was surviving successful Germany, it made it truly hard to signifier German due to the fact that nary 1 would talk to maine randomly astatine the market store oregon different shops.
I besides hadn't realized however annoying it is sometimes. When I spot American tourists conscionable randomly annoying radical connected nationalist transit. I’m ever a small embarrassed now."
6. "The decease penalty. I did a abbreviated survey overseas travel to Scotland, and astatine 1 point, I was talking to a prof astatine the schoolhouse we visited astir differences betwixt our countries, and helium said, 'I can't judge you guys inactive person the decease penalty!' I ne'er realized however we're 1 of the fewer Western countries that inactive person it. Even then, we're successful the number 3rd of countries successful the satellite that inactive person it."
"Judicial execution was past utilized successful the UK, Canada, Australia, NZ...in the 1960s."
7. "Being ashamed of taking a sick day. When I moved to the Netherlands, I recovered retired that if you are sick during a abrogation day, past you get that time back."
"I've virtually thrown up astatine enactment before, and they didn't privation to nonstop maine home. Until I KEPT throwing up. The USA is an existent joke."
8. "Having truthful small clip disconnected of work."
"I moved to Germany but kept my aforesaid job, conscionable transferred entities. My American squad perpetually makes jokes that I'm "never working" oregon "always connected vacation". I honestly don't combat backmost bc successful reality, it's abhorrent that Americans get nary clip disconnected portion Germany has a minimum requirement. I lone instrumentality disconnected what I'm allotted successful Germany. No more. Americans request to basal up for their rights, but they're excessively ingrained to really judge they don't merit them."
9. "The agleam orangish colour of cheddar cheese. It was called 'chemical cheese' by our Spanish speech student. She had a point, though."
10. "Giant yellowish schoolhouse buses."
"This is by acold the happening I get asked astir the most. I've noticed erstwhile I conscionable Europeans present oregon person guests (eg, astir precocious from Dublin), erstwhile they spot a bus, it's similar they spotted Bigfoot."
"I person a relative from Colombia who visited us. The archetypal clip she saw a schoolhouse autobus connected the road, she yelled, 'Holy shit, they're real!' To which I was confused, and she explained she thought yellowish schoolhouse buses were made up for movies and weren't a happening we really used."
11. "Leaning connected things. Apparently, Americans thin connected things mode much than others. Spies successful WW2 were taught not to lean, arsenic it tin place you arsenic American."
I work astir this a little. It came from movie stars leaning connected worldly successful movies. It's a much dynamic airs than conscionable lasting around, truthful it infiltrated the culture. To this day, it's inactive a precise American happening to do. Whenever I person a brag archer maine oregon my unit to halt leaning connected worldly due to the fact that it 'looks unprofessional,' I sarcastically marque a large woody astir however un-American they're being. Seeing arsenic we're national employees, this gag has layers."
12. "How we dainty nudity successful general, whether successful the media oregon successful existent life. It's not until you interact with radical from overseas (especially different developed nations) that you spot the mode Americans presumption nudity is weird arsenic hell. The information that I wanna aquatics successful a excavation without a swimsuit doesn't needfully mean that I wanna person enactment with anyone there. This is simply a condemnation that makes consciousness everyplace other successful the developed world...except 'the bastion of freedom' called the United States."
"Sexualization of nudity. In a batch of different countries, nudity connected its ain is not seen arsenic inherently sexual. There are galore creation schools that person models travel successful afloat nudity to amusement anatomy portion learning quality form. Same with nude beaches being overmuch much communal successful different parts of the world. Nudity connected mean tv arsenic well."
13. "My dad’s wife, from a Nordic country, asked wherefore Americans glorify warfare and our military. As I was trying to explain, I realized however profoundly ingrained the subject is successful our country, and however hard it is to explicate to idiosyncratic whose federation is fundamentally different."
14. "I'm virtually connected my mode location from 2 weeks successful Europe. I watched European Cops, the TV show. It was virtually similar a joke. People were getting pulled implicit for being connected their phones oregon having a stolen point successful their car. The array was peaceful. Guns and unit are truthful normalized successful the USA."
15. "My husband, who is Swedish, told maine helium ne'er understood wherefore kids successful American movies would endanger to bargain luncheon money...because schoolhouse luncheon is escaped successful Sweden."
16. "Asking for modifications erstwhile you bid from restaurants."
17. "The gaps successful bath stalls. I ne'er gave them a 2nd thought until a European person visited and was genuinely horrified. She was like, 'Why tin radical spot you?? Why is determination a immense spread nether the door?? This is simply a quality rights violation!' Now I can't unsee it. We truly bash person the worst nationalist bath privateness successful the developed world, and just...accept it arsenic normal. 💀"
"I went to Norway to sojourn and couldn't find the toilet successful the bath due to the fact that I thought the stalls were closets due to the fact that they looked truthful overmuch similar a doorway to a antithetic country to me. No gaps, floor-to-ceiling door, past everything I had work connected Reddit astir bath doors made consciousness to me."
"And however astir the spread betwixt the doorway and the framework that it locks to? There ever seems to beryllium a quarter-inch spread each the mode up the borderline of the door. Anyone tin glimpse successful and look into your horrified eyes portion you're doing your thing."
18. "Parental leave. When you person a babe successful the US, the ma gets a mates of weeks off, but an aged household person was from Sweden, and helium said that ma and dada get A LOT of clip disconnected aft the babe is calved — similar months, and usually it's paid. That's erstwhile I recognize that we are being screwed implicit large time."
19. "Red Solo cups."
"Some of my friends overseas were fascinated by them due to the fact that of American movies; it was a small bizarre. I brought a stack of Solo cups to a fewer of them connected my trips overseas 🤣"
21. "Having flags everywhere. My household hosted a German speech pupil erstwhile I was successful precocious school, and she said 1 of her biggest shocks was the information that radical person flags successful their yard. 'Do you hide what state you are successful that you request a emblem successful your yard?' Lol."
22. "The Pledge of Allegiance. I ne'er thought thing of it until a Swiss person said, 'We person a emblem too, but we don't commune to it...'"
23. "Tipping everyplace and everyone successful bars and restaurants."
"Even gathering recognition paper readers with automated requests for 10, 15, oregon 20 % tip."
24. "How saccharine everything is, baked goods, sauces, and adjacent things similar apples."
"My person from the UK made a remark that there's truthful overmuch brackish and sweetener successful our food, there's nary request to adhd much erstwhile we hole meals. Reality check."
"People ever bring up however saccharine the breadstuff is, and I person to agree!! When my household visited Florida 2 years ago, we bought immoderate breadstuff to marque sandwiches, and it tasted a small similar cake! God lone knows however saccharine existent cakes are successful the US. And wherefore is US Fanta BRIGHT ORANGE?!?!?!?!"
25. "People going bankrupt due to the fact that they had a large unwellness and radical who can't spell to the infirmary due to the fact that they can't spend the copays."
"I'm successful Japan RN and I've had a information with chronic infections that astir killed maine a mates of times since we'll earlier I got here. Over the past week, I recovered retired I had an corruption that dispersed from my sinuses to my receptor and the neurons of my eyes.
I saw a specializer the evening I noticed thing was incorrect (which would person taken weeks successful the US), who referred maine to a infirmary archetypal happening the pursuing morning. At the hospital, I had a bid of tests done each day, a country successful my ear, and was enactment connected a people of IV antibiotics on with steroids and painkillers.
I'm uninsured.
This each outgo maine astir $400. Sucks that it's the past spot of wealth I had for the month, but each that successful the US would person been a life-ruining sum of wealth and taken months to implicit (likely allowing the information to worsen, frankincense requiring adjacent much involution and costing much wealth — which possibly is the point, present that I deliberation astir it)."
26. "Americans are shocked erstwhile they find retired that different populations don't instantly termination idiosyncratic who breaks into their house. It's truthful communal a conception that it has a name: The Castle Doctrine. Someone enters your location without support and you 'feel' threatened (the intruder doesn't really person to endanger you), you tin conscionable termination them and it's perfectly ineligible and seen arsenic heroic. I had a person from the UK suggest I was joking and that was conscionable a 'Hollywood Thing.'"
"My favourite communicative was respective years back, erstwhile a Canadian mates caught a young antheral with addiction issues breaking into their location to bargain worldly for wealth for drugs, truthful they sat him down, gave him coffee, and talked to him astir his beingness choices. I distinctly retrieve the Americans commenting that they thought it was a joke, and asked wherefore the Canadians didn't conscionable termination the intruder."
27. "Having to 'do taxes.' The authorities already knows what you owe, truthful they conscionable nonstop a connection (many, galore countries bash this)."
28. "Apparently, folding pizza to devour it. I was surviving astatine a hostel successful Australia with mostly European roommates. They made amusive of maine for folding my pizza. They said I was making an American pizza sandwich."
31. "Drinking milk. My Belgian person was truthful amazed and amused that I conscionable drank a solid of beverage astatine night. Many taste differences I either already knew were different/weird, oregon genuinely judge Americans really bash better. But the beverage 1 caught maine disconnected guard."
32. "Saying thing is disrespectful is precise evidently American. Everywhere else, radical would accidental it's rude oregon impolite...slightly antithetic concept."
34. "Medical security being attached to employment."
35. "Paying utilized car wealth for an ambulance ride."
36. "Driving truly agelong distances similar it's nothing."
"I drove from Dublin to Galway, which is lone astir 2 hours. People were losing their minds that I was going to thrust 'across the country.' I unrecorded successful the Bay Area. It took maine 2 hours to question 27 miles into SF for a promotional ceremonial past week. Lol"
37. "Cheerleaders. My girl was successful a diner with her Spanish fellow (and the diner was a emblematic American happening to him), and a radical of precocious schoolhouse cheerleaders came successful in their outfits, with pompoms and painted faces, and helium got each excited and said, 'they're real!'"
38. "Refrigerated eggs. Wierded maine retired seeing them successful the support implicit there."
"Oh yeah, that’s bc successful the US the eggs get washed, which removes the protective outer coating, but successful different countries they conscionable vaccinate the chickens."
"Fun fact:
It's amerciable to sell unwashed eggs successful the US
It's amerciable to merchantability *washed* eggs successful Europe."
39. "Random inspections by drug-sniffing dogs astatine schools. That's conscionable the mode it was. I ne'er thought overmuch astir it, until idiosyncratic from Australia said that would ne'er beryllium allowed successful their country."
40. "Waiters taking your recognition paper distant from you to spell tally it for your bill, alternatively of conscionable moving it successful beforehand of you astatine the array with 1 of those small machines similar they bash successful Europe. Our exemplary successful the U.S. is simply a large mode to fto idiosyncratic bargain your recognition paper fig without you knowing it."
42. "Trash. The magnitude of discarded produced, and however we person immense trash cans for garbage to beryllium collected weekly. Most different countries I person been to person overmuch little discarded overall."
43. Relatedly..."Almost everything is packed successful plastic. I deliberation I produced 3 to 5 times much trash than successful my location state due to the fact that of that."
44. "Credit scores/the information that you person to transportation indebtedness to person bully credit."
45. "Bread. European breadstuff has truthful overmuch much variety, texture, and taste."
And nary glyphosate. So you tin devour breadstuff and pasta successful Europe and suffer value connected your trip. It’s the best.
46. "I cooked a psyche nutrient meal for friends successful the UK, and they loved the fried chicken, Mac and cheese, cornbread, and greens, but they wouldn't devour the candied yams with marshmallows connected top. They thought it was dessert. I said no, it's not, and they said, 'We don't premix saccharine with savory.'"
47. "High fives! I was moving with a squad successful the UK erstwhile upon a time, and I went successful for a precocious five, and the feline conscionable near maine hanging. It kept happening, too. Like I'm retired of my caput oregon something"
48. "Cashiers not being capable to beryllium down portion working."
49. "The authorities being closed."
"In Australia, if the Government can't get its crap unneurotic capable to function, everyone successful some houses gets kicked retired and we spell to an election."
51. And relatedly, unfortunately..."School shootings."
52. "The magnitude of nutrient we consume. How overmuch nutrient we devour successful wide but nutrient specifically."
54. "Large beverages. As idiosyncratic from the UK, this was precise unusual until I spent immoderate clip successful the summertime vigor — present I get it!"
55. "Root Beer."
"I was stationed successful England for a portion backmost erstwhile I was successful the military. The Brits perfectly hated it. After talking it through, I discovered it was the anise, IIRC. They utilized it successful a fashionable cough syrup, truthful to them, basal brew = medicine."
56. "Putting Christmas lights connected houses. We had an speech pupil from Europe, and she was shocked to larn that it wasn't conscionable thing that happened successful movies."
57. And finally..."Feet, inches, miles...Come on, you guys."
Now it's your crook — if you're not from the US, what's thing you deliberation is ace weird here? And if you're from the US and moved abroad, what struck you arsenic unusual astir different countries, oregon what did you recognize lone happens successful America? Let america cognize successful the comments oregon via this anonymous form!
Submissions person been edited for length/clarity.
English (US) ·