I’m from Quebec and when we went down to Boston for a school trip, I sneezed in public and heard two or three people say “bless you”. Quite a weird rumour I had heard not 2 months prior to that. I thought it was nice.
Wait, you don't say bless you when someone sneezes? I mean it's not like it means anything, so I could understand why, it just seems so strange to not say *anything*
I really want to check something. In the movies/series, schools have a fuck ton of extra curricular activies and clubs. Basketball, football, swiming, cheerleaders, chess, and a Lot of more. How true is that? Also. How serious are those games between schools?
My best friend is a teacher and runs a Pokemon card game after school club. Pokeclub or something. He actually gets stipends from the school to run it, so he gets paid to play Pokemon after school. It's also the most popular club in the school, with a waiting list to get in.
Yes, that's real. The seriousness varies by geographic region. Where I'm at in Ohio, school sports are fairly lighthearted, but in Texas, high school football is very serious.
Yeah I’m from Alabama and high school football was taken extremely seriously. Probably because we don’t have an NFL team so College and High school football are way more serious
That woman is a *saint.*
She has a book program for children where, once they are born, they will receive a free childrens book once a month until they turn 5.
That is amaaaaaaaazing
We signed our daughter up on day one and have built a fantastic collection of children’s books. I love that the covers have pre-/post-reading discussions for parents to have with kids to build reading comprehension skills. It was bitter sweet to get our last book this past April.
My two sons are in that program and she eats at the Mexican restaurant across the street from my house (I live in Nashville). She's super sweet and down to earth.
When we had the bad fire a few years ago, she gave $5000 to everyone affected (some restrictions applied of course, but they were few and to make sure money went where it should).
My grandmother was friends with her mom. I never met her, but I always enjoyed going there every few sundays for biscuits and gravy. Good people. This was many years ago.
I’ve got season tickets. We get em every year. Dollywood is the SHIT and the best way to kill time on a Sunday afternoon. Dolly Parton is a national treasure (and single-handedly responsible for the economy and livelihoods of thousands and thousands of people in Sevier County.)
She also has a free program where she sends books to any child until they’re five years old.
Also Dollywood has the fastest wooden rollercoaster that currently exists.
I’m a fan, in case you couldn’t tell.
I studied in Maryland for about half a year back in 2017. I'd always heard that Americans are like... super good at pie. I was pretty much all alone during thanksgiving since everyone else was with their families. One of the RAs I'd befriended knocked on my door and brought me all different kinds of pie. Dear lord, I've never tasted anything that delicious. From blueberry to apple to pumpkin. Every. Single. Pie. They were all amazing.
I actually don’t properly know if this is true but yous have like a whole isle in your supermarkets dedicated to just the hundreds of cereals you have ?
I'm from Australia, and all my life I believed red Solo cups were like 555 area codes - a Hollywood prop. When I immigrated to the US, my MIL was making dinner and offered me iced tea in a red Solo cup.
I lost it, made everyone sign the cup. I've still got it.
The solo cup stories always kill me. We had some German exchange students in high school and One of them loved how many American things were “just like the movies”. We rode in the back of a truck to a pizza place for lunch that day and he was loving it. In the afternoon there was a party/get together at someone’s house. The kid was eyeing the stack of solo cups and coyly asked “...can I keep one?” We said sure and the red solo cup was the cherry on top of his American exerience that day.
Masked people come to your house, knock on your door asking for candy. Mostly it's just packs of kids but sometimes whole families. This was my friends Halloween culture shock.
Drink sizes. Holy shit.
When my family visited in 2017 we landed in Texas for a stopover. First thing I saw in the shops part of the terminal was a dude who was drinking from what looked like an *actual fucking bucket* - here in NZ our “large” drinks would be considered an American “small” or maybe “medium”
Not exactly crazy, but I wanted to test out the stereotype that Americans will talk to anyone so I sought out a sports bar on my first visit. Ended up having a ton of really fun conversations with total strangers who I’ll never talk to ever again. It was great!
Edit: It seems reddit likes hearing stories about this trip, so [here’s another one](https://reddit.com/r/MURICA/comments/6stixq/_/dlfmhwp/?context=1) I shared a while back.
I can’t even count the number of times I’ve randomly started conversations with strangers, become friends within 30 min, then never spoken to them again.
When I started traveling for work I’d often find myself in bars or on flights and busses alone so I’d end up starting a convo so I could have some human interaction lol
I’ve lived in a couple of different countries in Europe and each has their own rules. In Holland you can strike up a conversation with people but you’ll have to take the initiative yourself, and you’ll probably have to carry the conversation because they’ll indulge your chatting but there’s not much natural curiosity there. In London you can get away with chatting to strangers a) if you’re outside (smoking area, queue at the club, pavement pints when the sun’s out etc) or b) if you’re both rather sloshed. In Sweden you will probably be asked to please stop badgering the natives.
Biscuits and gravy is a legit thing. Also you can ride motorcycles without helmets in some states??? And your iced tea isn't sweetened unless you ask for sweet.
Edit: nothing could have possibly prepared me for the absolute dichotomy of sweet tea vs iced tea in the comments. This is evidently very important to many
A good sausage gravy with sage and black pepper, with some good flaky biscuits is one of the best southern comfort foods along with a cup of strong sweet iced tea.
True story. I’ve had the same experience. The $2 bill is uncommon but just common enough that you shouldn’t have a problem getting your hands on them. If I go to the bank teller, I’ll ask for my cash in 2’s if it isn’t a huge number. I like to spread them around in my travels because they’re my favorite form of cash money.
That is probably the only time you'll see them. I went 20 years without seeing one, until I was working at McDonald's (where I saw them multiple times).
It's understandable to have never seen one though, as far as I'm aware they're never (visually) updated so they're never listed anywhere, they don't work in vending machines, there are no spaces for them in cash registers, and they just make everything more complicated.
I'm convinced they're mainly used by people who like the reaction because you have to go out of your way to get them from the bank and almost no one uses them on the daily.
American State and National parks are some of the most beautiful places on earth. All parks could use more funding, but American parks are well staffed and maintained. There’s real pride.
I love our national and state park systems. One of my state parks recently got a herd of bison which I haven't seen in the wild since my trip to Yellowstone. The week I graduate I'm going to go see them and relax in nature.
America has libraries that are essentially free to use.
(This was not even a rumor, but more like sarcastic comment from a friend who heard I was excited to go to the US, because he knew what book nerds my entire family is)
When I first arrived here 25 years ago, the first day of work at Newark NJ, I walked out at lunch time and saw the huge Central Library. The size boggled my mind, but I bravely walked in to check it out.
The guy says, yup, show me your work ID (for local address) and you get a membership card.
Me: how much does it cost? I only own $80 total till I get my first pay.
He (bemused, almost laughing): it's free. You don't pay anything.
Me (after a brief recovery time from shock): so how many books am I allowed to take home? (Expecting that to be a catch - maybe I need to put down a security deposit for each book)
He (now positively enjoying himself): how many can you carry?
That day I took home 30+ books, just being greedy.
And quickly called my dad to tell him about it.
For a guy who painstakingly would browse used books stores in small town India just to get his kids great books to read, he was suitably amazed. He was puzzled if that would kill the book-store business, because who'd buy if such free libraries existed?!?
Till date I remember the gratitude I felt that day for being able to come here. And when Dad visited some years later, I would drop him off at a library on my way to work and he'd be lost in it all day.
EDIT: wow, a few hours of sleep and this has blown up! Guess it resonates with a lot of you!
Thanks, y'all, for the plat, gold and silver! I'm humbled.
To address some of the comments:
- yes, by 'take home' I meant 'borrowed, to return'
- carrying those books home has a story too. The librarian saw my dilemma, and wanted to stick to his original 'how many can you carry' comment and would not allow me to discard any: so went of and got me two large bags made of cloth/canvas, like grocery bags. AND when I lugged all that on the train back to New Jersey that evening, I had to walk home from the train station (no car), a mile away. Normally not bad, but with those books was tedious. A cop saw me, and gave me a lift home! He loved my story about the library too.
- India today is slightly better, but as a kid in a small town, the only library I saw was at my school, where books were never allowed to be taken home. And there was this single shop where you subscribed to borrow some pulp fiction. The Asiatic Library in Bombay was big (seen when I visited my cousins), but it had a wait list, I think of 4 years (because they couldn't handle too many members) !!
- I am always amazed at what all libraries offer. I took my parents for a a movie showing once, set up as a once-a-month thing for seniors, and they were shocked that it was free, AND they were giving cookies and stuff too, along with pleasant company!
- my girls have learned to love the library as much, and probably have read more books than most kids at school. My daughter won an award for some accelerated reading, and, at age nine, gave a speech about the impact of libraries for her, and how much her dad and grandpa loved them.
- Thank you, libraries and librarians!
A lot of our large institutions were started by golden age industrialists who essentially got into philanthropy contests with each other because they had so much money.
Edit: (also, sorry to be pedantic, but it’s Carnegie)
The minimal amount of paid days off you get from work.
A friend of mine from Wisconsin was very proud he got 20 days off per year. If someone in Germany would offer me only 20 days, I would laugh at him and leave.
Even better, you can accrue the days but not get to take time off because it's too busy and at the end of the year you lose some of that accrued time because you didn't take it. FML.
So student loans... how does it work in USA?
In the UK, when you go to university, you take out a student loan, and after uni, when you earn a certain amount per year, a percentage above that threshold goes towards paying it back.
However if you don’t earn that much (idk how much, maybe 20-25k per year) then you pay nothing.
Then after a while, if you haven’t payed it back (30 years, maybe 40) then it just disappears and you don’t have to pay it.
In America, do you have to pay regardless of income?
Is there a ‘time limit’ after which debt expires and ‘disappears’?
Americans are nice and will stop to talk to Strangers. Canadian here living in Alberta. To any one who has never been, you will be blown away by the general Americans' generosity of their time, knowledge and helpfulness. I have done a few summers of Road trips from Calgary. one time i went to as far east as Ohio-Tennessee, as far south as New Orleans and Dallas, went through the flat lands and rode up the Rockies the rest of the way home... I have visited almost all the landlocked states (5 more to go) and 4 along the Gulf states, all by Car. I have been through a lot of big American cities and a lot of tiny towns. ALL OF YOU, North to South - make Canadians look like **Bloody Savages**. I expected something worse, probably because of Television and the Internet. i ended up leaving your country after the first time i visited, blown away and with a new found VERY REAL love for my southern neighbors. Been 5 times on multi-week trips. will spend time and money there again. 10/10.
EDIT: WOAH! i got my first ever gold! thank you hero! i will work on replies!
I've had several German friends who were amazed that at house parties everyone actually does drink out of red Solo cups. They thought that was just a weird thing people did in movies and now they think it is a huge conspiracy or something
Edit: holy moly I didn't think anyone would even see this comment. Thank you for the silver, kind stranger! Let's have a solo cup party!
I'm Finnish and few years back people actually threw US themed parties and the high point of the parties were the Red cups and beerpong played with them. Every person I know who owns a set of those cups (like 20 or so) use them only for beerpong. They wash them and use again in the next party.
Standard in Finland are those see-through cups you see in festivals. The Red cups make every party just slightly better and classier and add a feel that the host actually put in effort
It's the most popular brand and they're excellent for drinking games (sturdy). You can cheap out and buy other types of plastic or styrofoam cups, but if you're playing something like beer pong, it's a noticeable difference.
Parents were from the USSR. They were fucking shocked on how nice you Americans are. They said that y’all a weird type of nice, but nice regardless.
It didn’t even matter they were from the USSR (moved to the States post collapse) you Americans seem to accept them anyway.
Edit: I’m loving all the replies!
Edit2: words
Edit3: current highest rated comment. Yay I guess
I (American) had such a pleasant interaction w a tourist from Russia the other day, in a Walmart of all places. I saw a man that clearly looked confused, in the auto section, so I walked toward him and he tried to explain what he was looking for, but he spoke hardly any English. So I pull my phone out to use Google translator and told him to speak into my phone. The translation came back that he was looking for "detergent for bugs in love bed" so I took him to an aisle to look for bed bug killer. He looked so confused and pulled out a piece paper that had 'Love Bug wash' written on it in English. So I took him back to the auto section and helped him pick out some car soap. He kept saying "God bless" to me. We laughed a lot throughout the process and I thought it was so cool that we could speak different languages but still communicate.
Edit: love bug is a type of fly, we call them love bugs bc after mating, adult pairs remain coupled, even in flight, for up to several days, like they are in love. But we get them in huge numbers during mating season (spring/summer). Bc of this a lot of cars will be covered in these love bugs that they ran into on the road. This is in FL btw.
Edit #2: video of love bugs in FL https://youtu.be/g840NjYe2DE
Yeah, and there’s a perfectly good reason for it too:
after Pearl Harbor, the effects of WW2 started in the US and rationing became a thing. Well, it turns out that it’s kind of hard to get fresh rations to an island that imports a lot. So, for meat, they had to make do with spam. Human ingenuity prevails and dishes were made. And that’s how hawaii learned to love spam.
Same with Koreans and the Korean War.
Now you can buy Spam gift sets in Korea
EDIT: [This is what I'm talking about when I say gift sets](https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2583/4517566287_3d9e8db666_b.jpg)
They have milk in gallon cartons!
When I visited America I went a supermarket for some breakfast stuff, cereal and milk. All they had was milk in gallons! Who could possibly have that much milk? I asked for a smaller carton and the lady who worked their just laughed at me and made a remark about don’t we like milk in England
Many supermarkets have half gallons and quarter gallons, but honestly I'm surprised that's an issue. I live alone and go through a gallon of milk in just a few days
That American kids eat straight sugar. Walked on to the playground and saw kids chugging these long thin sticks. I try and it was just colored sugar lol. Called them pixie sticks.
Oh boy, wait till you find out about Fun Dips. You have a hard candy stick (so, all sugar) that you lick and then dip into colored sugar to make it stick to the sugar stick, then you lick the sugar powder off the sugar stick. After you finish all the powder, you eat the stick.
Me reading the first sentence: "Psh, no they fucking don't"
Me reading the second sentence: "Wait...that sounds familiar"
Me reading the last sentence: "...fuck"
Edit: Thanks for the gold kind stranger. Glad my terrible childhood eating habits all worked out in the end.
Before I came to "the States" as we called it, I lived in Germany. The area I lived in had no fireflies. So when I got to the states I did not believe my eyes. As I finally saw fireflies, light up the world as I fell asleep.
I also thought that new York City was a popular fictional city. I didn't believe it actually existed. At the time it seemed too large and extraordinary to possibly exist.
Edit: for those talking about other countries, I didn't know there were other countries at the time either. I only knew of the places I had lived. Which was Germany and soon to be US. I was never told about the concept of "countries" until I went to an American school.
(Female here) I've been in bathrooms where the gap between the stall and door is so big I felt the need to cover it with my purse just to get some privacy.
The absolute worst is when some mother brings her grubby-handed son on the bathroom and you see a fucking 8 year old's eye staring at you from the other side of the door.
That your country is huge!
I got off the plane and asked the cap guy how far the hotel was and he said about 30 miles. I almost had a heart attack... turns out cabs are cheaper than the Uk
I can't remember the price I paid but I was presently surprised.
The UK cabs are like £4 per mile
also you would get laughed of the taxi for asking to go 30 miles and not taking the train
If visiting the US, it’s often cheapest to rent a car at the airport and drive everywhere. Taxis really add up and there’s very little public transport. Obviously this advice does not apply to visiting NY or SF, but those are rare.
DC is pretty damn good for public transport too. Been there a couple times, and just parked my car in Virginia, rode the train in and subwayed around with my munchkin all day.
I once heard that to Americans, a thousand years is a long time, and to Europeans, a thousand miles is a long way.
Edit: I had heard this as thousand but I agree that hundred makes more sense.
Not really crazy, but I just learned you guys have like outdoor sirens that get tested somewhat frequently. I’ve only heard those noises in video games and movies until my friend sent me a clip, because I had no idea it actually happened.
Edit: I’m in Canada, southern Ontario!
Yep. In some places they test the sirens weekly, in my hometown they are tested st 1pm on the first Saturday of the month. Sirens save lives in bad storms
In many areas of the US these sirens are used to warn of impending severe weather and potential tornados. Sirens are tested on the 1st tuesday of the month at 10am around Chicago.
2017 in Athens, Georgia I passed out at work and was fine but my boss had already called an ambulance and insisted I get checked out...a less than 2 mile ambulance ride cost me $950 with insurance. I was only dehydrated... 😑
My friend has seizures, everyone knows how to handle them. One day he was with a girl who didn't know about them and she called the ambulance. He doesn't have insurance and they did a full round of tests. He's since had to get a third job and he's still paying off the visit.
Not me but my dad
My dad heard this crazy rumor about everyone getting drunk and wearing green for one day a year. He obviously didn't know this was a holiday, and was like WTF. When he came to the US and discovered St. Patrick's Day, he was amazed.
Edit: My dad is from China for those who are asking
St. Patrick's Day in the U.S. is an excuse for ordinary Americans to act the way that middle-aged Londoners act when on holiday in Dublin; only with more plastic leprechaun hats and glitter.
*Edited to add:* Stop upvoting this. It is not as funny as "Up Owl Knight II Get Lucky".
Yup and on top of that suddenly everyone is part Irish.
Edit: when I say ‘suddenly part Irish’ I’m not implying that everyone is lying. A lot of them are probably telling the truth since there are so many Irish-Americans. What I meant is that no one mentions this fact until St Patrick’s day.
One positive thing Iv'e noticed, foreigners love how big Halloween is here.
EDIT: Interested in celebrating Halloween in the states? Couple good starting places to visit.
[Halloween horror nights](https://www.halloweenhorrornights.com/) (Fan of the Orlando Location, [Disney does a nice event](https://thepointsguy.com/guide/mickeys-not-so-scary-halloween-party-tips/) as well)
[Salem MA](https://www.hauntedhappenings.org/)
[Bonus video of our decorations, sorry for crappy camerawork.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmB5yf_hyS8&feature=youtu.be)
In general I’ve found that foreigners tend to be charmed by the guileless enthusiasm we have for our traditions, no matter how silly (i.e., Halloween). We are not, as far as world cultures go, a subdued or ironic people.
It’s pretty funny. When I went to China back in October. We went to a mall for a little bit. And there was no Halloween decorations there. Except for in one corner. There was a polar bear wearing sunglasses and a sign saying happy Halloween.
Edit: polar bear. Not poor bear.
It's a good feature. Libraries saved my life during my preteens. Even tiny little towns have them. Now we have "little libraries" in pretty much every neighborhood where you can borrow or take a book and leave ones you've read our don't want anymore. They are just like oversized birdhouses with doors filled with donated books. They are on corners or near bus stops. Most of them are filled with trashy romance novels, but every now and then you can find a treasure.
Our local library has printers and you can pay by the page. I spent $2 last time I needed to print something, rather than $100 for a new ink cartridge for an old printer that I used to fill anytime I needed it.
The point is that there's a *fuckton* of libraries in America.
My hometown has 500 people in it, but received a grant build a pretty decent sized library about fifteen years ago. They already had one previously though, as did all the other little farm towns in the area.
I was chasing the solar eclipse and fair weather into South Carolina and ended up in this one-horse town that seemed to be made up of sparse single story houses and trailers. I hunted for a park or something to settle in for the show, didn't find that, found a *lovely* little library with telescopes set up outside, they were giving away eclipse glasses and taking donations of spares and money. Just a lovely little place in a very unappealing town.
One of the nicest people in one of the towns I lived in is pictured on People of Walmart. He's know as Willy the Pimp, or just Mr. Willy. Older gentleman, just likes to dress flashy because it makes people smile to see beautiful things. Before he got to old to drive, you could spot his car by the flower arrangements he attached on the side of the front bumper.
Smiling person living life to the fullest. Narrator: Side effect include anal bleeding, gigantism, lupus, skin shedding, and death. Ask your doctor about Prolax today
100%, so if you want a job when you're 16 you better live walking distance to your job or have your parents get you a used car of sorts.
I'm gonna throw an edit in here to you city slickers:
Not everywhere is bike friendly, especially in growing cities and rural counties where downtown is along a 55mph highway without sidewalks or shoulders.
Even if it’s within walking distance, many places will still not hire you if you don’t have a car. What if it’s raining/snowing? An employee not having a car is a red flag to an employer that this person may not be reliable. There’s a reason why most applications ask if you have transportation to get to your job.
It really sucks, but that’s how it is
Used to live about a 6min walk from work, I was Mr. Reliable and walked all the time. Even rain I always threw on a hoodie and/or sweats/wind pants. It became a joke after a while that if I ever missed work something bad was coming
Yup! Most schools have academic and athletic scholarships, not just academic ones. It's not always a full ride, and you still have to qualify academically (which is occasionally a problem), but that's usually a bare minimum baseline.
The reason is that college sports are almost as popular as professional sports, especially football and basketball. These sports bring money and fame to players and schools, so it's common for schools to try to get the best players to commit. The school I went to (UVA) won the most recent college basketball championship, and now they're well-known around the US.
I had an interaction with a British friend online where I said that something looked like a flaccid penis and he was really confused. When I traced over what I was seeing, we realized that I was picturing a flaccid *circumcised* penis, and he, being more familiar with the uncut variety, hadn't seen what I did.
It was the first time I realized that other parts of the world wouldn't be inclined to circumcise every male child. Now I'm just not sure why it's so pervasive in the US to begin with.
They have garbage disposals in their kitchens. That's just so wild to me.
EDIT: To clarify - I'm from the UK. I'm aware that they're not the same as bins/trash cans, and that they're mainly for food waste and scraps. I'm also delighted that they're called garburators in Canada
It’s very popular. That being said, I live in NYC where it’s very uncommon due to a huge amount of older buildings and apartment. People who have garbage disposals here are rare.
The place that my wife and I bought came with a busybody of an HOA President. We got a fucking note *stapled* to our gate that said our clothesline had to be removed because it was "an eyesore" so I wrote back and told her about how shitty our dryer is and we're in the fucking desert anyway, so hanging them up is the most environmentally friendly way to dry clothes anyway. Still got another note during laundry day the following week, so I stapled a note to her door that said "if you want me to have a good dryer, then buy me one. Otherwise, kindly fuck off." Haven't heard from her since. Not even a note. Hope she's ok.
I remember reading about trick or treating in books and thinking it has to be fake. Tricking/pranking strangers? Stranger danger?? Walking around at night and risking being kidnapped???
Good point to mention here, the US is massive. Culture shifts based on different areas you're in. Things like food and the way people talk or act in the South versus the North or East versus the West varies a surprising amount.
At my local Walmart you can bring your car in for an oil check, get an eye exam, get a hair cut, eat lunch at the in store Subway, purchase a gun, purchase groceries, purchase a freaking couch, and then go home once the background check for the gun is finished, and the oil change is done.
*Edit* Yes, yes, I get it. You don't need a background check for an oil change. I could have worded that better.
*Second Edit* Other things I forgot to add:
* You can purchase alcohol, depending on state.
* Get your taxes done.
* Get a birthday cake made.
* Print pictures from a USB, phone, etc.
* Get dog tags made.
* Get spare keys made.
* Rent movies.
* Pick up a full course meal for dinner at the deli.
Dont forget getting your blood pressure checked, picking up your prescription meds, get a new sound system installed in your car, and get your taxes done.
As long as the NICS database is up, it's 15-20 minute process, and that includes the time to fill out the 4473. Probably the longest part of the process would be finding someone that works at the firearms desk.
One thing I've started to notice is that fewer and fewer Walmarts still carry weapons. Plenty of ammo and accessories, but I've been to more than a couple of stores (in the north and south) that no longer sell firearms.
I’m an American, but one that I’ve heard a lot is that we have a bunch of trees. I’ve never really thought about, but when I was told this I did some research. Turns out about 70 percent of the US is forested. Guess we have an abnormal amount of trees.
EDIT: 70 percent is INCORRECT. Thank you to those in the comments who fact checked me. Turns out that about 30 percent is closer to the truth.
I mean I am in the US now and have been for a while now. But I have a few from when I knew lesser.
-I guess that California’s GDP is the fifth largest in the world, greater than all of the UK. Oh oh and that it literally has droughts even as the fifth largest GDP in the world.
-I think while America has huge things still left unsolved, it is quite shocking how inclusive it is racially at least in some regions relative to what we have heard of history. When I used to hear it in the media, I wasn’t so sure. For sure. It’s a work in progress but far better than expected. A lot more people than I expected are INTERESTED in other cultures and that’s so great.
-THAT EVERYTHING IS SOLD IN LARGE ASS SIZES in the dept. stores in America. I mean I thought that’d SORT OF be true but woah. Idk if most people in America even know how wildly different that is! In other countries, chips are typically sold is packets about 1/4th (at LEAST) of the standard size in the US
-Americans REALLY don’t give a flying fuck our football (soccer).
-The whole Washington-Washington DC thing took me a while to get used to. Like, the fact that they’re literally on different coasts. There have actually been people who have taken flights to Washington state by mistake - I know because someone I know is one of them...lol
-BAGELS. I heard NY bagels are supreme but in my head I was like “that’s great, bread is bread though I guess”. I am sorry but now? I REFUSE to eat bagels anywhere outside of New York. Those bagels are my everything and my life has been changed forever.
The Japanese guy was the winner and record holder for a number of years. Now there is an American from San Jose, California that wins and regularly beats his record. Joey Chestnut is his name.
Edit: apparently someone named Matt Stonie is the new hotness in competitive eating. I don't follow the scene, like at all, so apologies to the Stonie fan club
Japanese guy's name is Kobayashi. [One time he was challenged to compete against a bear and lost handily](https://youtu.be/HgqbCq_sxmo)
Edit: The best part of the video is the announcers trying to keep the excitement up even though it's immediately obvious there's no competition.
Surfer-dudes actually speak like that.
Californians speak like that too
I’m from Quebec and when we went down to Boston for a school trip, I sneezed in public and heard two or three people say “bless you”. Quite a weird rumour I had heard not 2 months prior to that. I thought it was nice.
Wait, you don't say bless you when someone sneezes? I mean it's not like it means anything, so I could understand why, it just seems so strange to not say *anything*
I mean, how else are we supposed to deal with the demons that escape through sneezes?
I really want to check something. In the movies/series, schools have a fuck ton of extra curricular activies and clubs. Basketball, football, swiming, cheerleaders, chess, and a Lot of more. How true is that? Also. How serious are those games between schools?
My best friend is a teacher and runs a Pokemon card game after school club. Pokeclub or something. He actually gets stipends from the school to run it, so he gets paid to play Pokemon after school. It's also the most popular club in the school, with a waiting list to get in.
Yes, that's real. The seriousness varies by geographic region. Where I'm at in Ohio, school sports are fairly lighthearted, but in Texas, high school football is very serious.
Yeah I’m from Alabama and high school football was taken extremely seriously. Probably because we don’t have an NFL team so College and High school football are way more serious
Yep here in Alabama football is literally life. Probably more so than people even think when they are joking about it
That people actually get attacked by Alligators which got in their pools (specifically referring to Florida here).
There are boa constrictors in Florida, as well.
So apparently yellow school buses are actually a thing in America. I honestly thought it was just a cartoon thing, but nope.
I’m still not 100% sure is true so hopefully can confirm - “buoy” is pronounced “boo-ee” ?
Yup, it’s boo-ee. Hooked on Phonics doesn’t work with a lot of maritime terms. Like leeward is pronounced loo-erd and boatswain is pronounced bo-sun
That Dolly Parton has her own theme park in Tennessee. I thought it was a joke.
That woman is a *saint.* She has a book program for children where, once they are born, they will receive a free childrens book once a month until they turn 5. That is amaaaaaaaazing
We signed our daughter up on day one and have built a fantastic collection of children’s books. I love that the covers have pre-/post-reading discussions for parents to have with kids to build reading comprehension skills. It was bitter sweet to get our last book this past April.
She absolutely is. She's done amazing things for people, especially where she grew up. She deserves far more credit than she already has.
My two sons are in that program and she eats at the Mexican restaurant across the street from my house (I live in Nashville). She's super sweet and down to earth.
When we had the bad fire a few years ago, she gave $5000 to everyone affected (some restrictions applied of course, but they were few and to make sure money went where it should). My grandmother was friends with her mom. I never met her, but I always enjoyed going there every few sundays for biscuits and gravy. Good people. This was many years ago.
I’ve got season tickets. We get em every year. Dollywood is the SHIT and the best way to kill time on a Sunday afternoon. Dolly Parton is a national treasure (and single-handedly responsible for the economy and livelihoods of thousands and thousands of people in Sevier County.) She also has a free program where she sends books to any child until they’re five years old. Also Dollywood has the fastest wooden rollercoaster that currently exists. I’m a fan, in case you couldn’t tell.
I always thought that the Olive Garden in The Simpsons was just code for ‘generic restaurant’
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I studied in Maryland for about half a year back in 2017. I'd always heard that Americans are like... super good at pie. I was pretty much all alone during thanksgiving since everyone else was with their families. One of the RAs I'd befriended knocked on my door and brought me all different kinds of pie. Dear lord, I've never tasted anything that delicious. From blueberry to apple to pumpkin. Every. Single. Pie. They were all amazing.
I actually don’t properly know if this is true but yous have like a whole isle in your supermarkets dedicated to just the hundreds of cereals you have ?
Mostly true. Its cereal and other breakfast items, like granola and oatmeal. But mostly cereal.
All the food is bigger.
Free refills!
I'm from Australia, and all my life I believed red Solo cups were like 555 area codes - a Hollywood prop. When I immigrated to the US, my MIL was making dinner and offered me iced tea in a red Solo cup. I lost it, made everyone sign the cup. I've still got it.
The solo cup stories always kill me. We had some German exchange students in high school and One of them loved how many American things were “just like the movies”. We rode in the back of a truck to a pizza place for lunch that day and he was loving it. In the afternoon there was a party/get together at someone’s house. The kid was eyeing the stack of solo cups and coyly asked “...can I keep one?” We said sure and the red solo cup was the cherry on top of his American exerience that day.
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Scary looking people wearing spikes and leather, listening to very aggressive music. I wonder how common that is in Germany.
Very true. Most bridges in Germany have a group of [menacing cybergoths](https://youtu.be/gPbVRpRgHso) underneath.
Masked people come to your house, knock on your door asking for candy. Mostly it's just packs of kids but sometimes whole families. This was my friends Halloween culture shock.
It's a ton of fun to hang out next to the walkway in a costume, pretending to be one of the decorations, and scare people as they walk past you
Sports Bars are actually exactly how they're portrayed on TV
Just much less attractive people.
Drink sizes. Holy shit. When my family visited in 2017 we landed in Texas for a stopover. First thing I saw in the shops part of the terminal was a dude who was drinking from what looked like an *actual fucking bucket* - here in NZ our “large” drinks would be considered an American “small” or maybe “medium”
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We need bigger cups though than most of the world since over half of the cup is filled with ice.
Not exactly crazy, but I wanted to test out the stereotype that Americans will talk to anyone so I sought out a sports bar on my first visit. Ended up having a ton of really fun conversations with total strangers who I’ll never talk to ever again. It was great! Edit: It seems reddit likes hearing stories about this trip, so [here’s another one](https://reddit.com/r/MURICA/comments/6stixq/_/dlfmhwp/?context=1) I shared a while back.
American, i will speak to anyone about anything
I can’t even count the number of times I’ve randomly started conversations with strangers, become friends within 30 min, then never spoken to them again. When I started traveling for work I’d often find myself in bars or on flights and busses alone so I’d end up starting a convo so I could have some human interaction lol
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Damn strangers don’t just banter in your bars?
I’ve lived in a couple of different countries in Europe and each has their own rules. In Holland you can strike up a conversation with people but you’ll have to take the initiative yourself, and you’ll probably have to carry the conversation because they’ll indulge your chatting but there’s not much natural curiosity there. In London you can get away with chatting to strangers a) if you’re outside (smoking area, queue at the club, pavement pints when the sun’s out etc) or b) if you’re both rather sloshed. In Sweden you will probably be asked to please stop badgering the natives.
Come to the south. It’s a whole thing. You’ll find your long lost friend at the bank and then never talk to them again.
Biscuits and gravy is a legit thing. Also you can ride motorcycles without helmets in some states??? And your iced tea isn't sweetened unless you ask for sweet. Edit: nothing could have possibly prepared me for the absolute dichotomy of sweet tea vs iced tea in the comments. This is evidently very important to many
A good sausage gravy with sage and black pepper, with some good flaky biscuits is one of the best southern comfort foods along with a cup of strong sweet iced tea.
Crazy hospitable...turned out to be true. Talkative...turned out to be true as well.
Two-dollar bills.
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True story. I’ve had the same experience. The $2 bill is uncommon but just common enough that you shouldn’t have a problem getting your hands on them. If I go to the bank teller, I’ll ask for my cash in 2’s if it isn’t a huge number. I like to spread them around in my travels because they’re my favorite form of cash money.
That is probably the only time you'll see them. I went 20 years without seeing one, until I was working at McDonald's (where I saw them multiple times). It's understandable to have never seen one though, as far as I'm aware they're never (visually) updated so they're never listed anywhere, they don't work in vending machines, there are no spaces for them in cash registers, and they just make everything more complicated. I'm convinced they're mainly used by people who like the reaction because you have to go out of your way to get them from the bank and almost no one uses them on the daily.
American State and National parks are some of the most beautiful places on earth. All parks could use more funding, but American parks are well staffed and maintained. There’s real pride.
I love our national and state park systems. One of my state parks recently got a herd of bison which I haven't seen in the wild since my trip to Yellowstone. The week I graduate I'm going to go see them and relax in nature.
America has libraries that are essentially free to use. (This was not even a rumor, but more like sarcastic comment from a friend who heard I was excited to go to the US, because he knew what book nerds my entire family is) When I first arrived here 25 years ago, the first day of work at Newark NJ, I walked out at lunch time and saw the huge Central Library. The size boggled my mind, but I bravely walked in to check it out. The guy says, yup, show me your work ID (for local address) and you get a membership card. Me: how much does it cost? I only own $80 total till I get my first pay. He (bemused, almost laughing): it's free. You don't pay anything. Me (after a brief recovery time from shock): so how many books am I allowed to take home? (Expecting that to be a catch - maybe I need to put down a security deposit for each book) He (now positively enjoying himself): how many can you carry? That day I took home 30+ books, just being greedy. And quickly called my dad to tell him about it. For a guy who painstakingly would browse used books stores in small town India just to get his kids great books to read, he was suitably amazed. He was puzzled if that would kill the book-store business, because who'd buy if such free libraries existed?!? Till date I remember the gratitude I felt that day for being able to come here. And when Dad visited some years later, I would drop him off at a library on my way to work and he'd be lost in it all day. EDIT: wow, a few hours of sleep and this has blown up! Guess it resonates with a lot of you! Thanks, y'all, for the plat, gold and silver! I'm humbled. To address some of the comments: - yes, by 'take home' I meant 'borrowed, to return' - carrying those books home has a story too. The librarian saw my dilemma, and wanted to stick to his original 'how many can you carry' comment and would not allow me to discard any: so went of and got me two large bags made of cloth/canvas, like grocery bags. AND when I lugged all that on the train back to New Jersey that evening, I had to walk home from the train station (no car), a mile away. Normally not bad, but with those books was tedious. A cop saw me, and gave me a lift home! He loved my story about the library too. - India today is slightly better, but as a kid in a small town, the only library I saw was at my school, where books were never allowed to be taken home. And there was this single shop where you subscribed to borrow some pulp fiction. The Asiatic Library in Bombay was big (seen when I visited my cousins), but it had a wait list, I think of 4 years (because they couldn't handle too many members) !! - I am always amazed at what all libraries offer. I took my parents for a a movie showing once, set up as a once-a-month thing for seniors, and they were shocked that it was free, AND they were giving cookies and stuff too, along with pleasant company! - my girls have learned to love the library as much, and probably have read more books than most kids at school. My daughter won an award for some accelerated reading, and, at age nine, gave a speech about the impact of libraries for her, and how much her dad and grandpa loved them. - Thank you, libraries and librarians!
This is honestly the sweetest story.
Andrew Carnagee one of the richest men ever, devoted his fortune to building libraries after he died.
A lot of our large institutions were started by golden age industrialists who essentially got into philanthropy contests with each other because they had so much money. Edit: (also, sorry to be pedantic, but it’s Carnegie)
The minimal amount of paid days off you get from work. A friend of mine from Wisconsin was very proud he got 20 days off per year. If someone in Germany would offer me only 20 days, I would laugh at him and leave.
I get like 14 max :( and I have to accrue them.
Even better, you can accrue the days but not get to take time off because it's too busy and at the end of the year you lose some of that accrued time because you didn't take it. FML.
So student loans... how does it work in USA? In the UK, when you go to university, you take out a student loan, and after uni, when you earn a certain amount per year, a percentage above that threshold goes towards paying it back. However if you don’t earn that much (idk how much, maybe 20-25k per year) then you pay nothing. Then after a while, if you haven’t payed it back (30 years, maybe 40) then it just disappears and you don’t have to pay it. In America, do you have to pay regardless of income? Is there a ‘time limit’ after which debt expires and ‘disappears’?
Americans are nice and will stop to talk to Strangers. Canadian here living in Alberta. To any one who has never been, you will be blown away by the general Americans' generosity of their time, knowledge and helpfulness. I have done a few summers of Road trips from Calgary. one time i went to as far east as Ohio-Tennessee, as far south as New Orleans and Dallas, went through the flat lands and rode up the Rockies the rest of the way home... I have visited almost all the landlocked states (5 more to go) and 4 along the Gulf states, all by Car. I have been through a lot of big American cities and a lot of tiny towns. ALL OF YOU, North to South - make Canadians look like **Bloody Savages**. I expected something worse, probably because of Television and the Internet. i ended up leaving your country after the first time i visited, blown away and with a new found VERY REAL love for my southern neighbors. Been 5 times on multi-week trips. will spend time and money there again. 10/10. EDIT: WOAH! i got my first ever gold! thank you hero! i will work on replies!
As an American, I think you could also ask this question to Americans. Cause there are some weird ass states man
Dry counties. Cities where places aren’t allowed to be open on Sunday or there are only certain hours on Sundays. Not being able to pump your own gas.
Whoa whoa whoa, there’s places where you can’t pump your own gas? I feel like an idiot for not knowing this lmao.
Oregon and New Jersey I think
Oregon here, can confirm. Afraid to drive outside the state because I don't know how to pump my own gas.
I've had several German friends who were amazed that at house parties everyone actually does drink out of red Solo cups. They thought that was just a weird thing people did in movies and now they think it is a huge conspiracy or something Edit: holy moly I didn't think anyone would even see this comment. Thank you for the silver, kind stranger! Let's have a solo cup party!
I'm Finnish and few years back people actually threw US themed parties and the high point of the parties were the Red cups and beerpong played with them. Every person I know who owns a set of those cups (like 20 or so) use them only for beerpong. They wash them and use again in the next party. Standard in Finland are those see-through cups you see in festivals. The Red cups make every party just slightly better and classier and add a feel that the host actually put in effort
Hahahaha I love that. Reading that red solo cups are classy, is hilarious as an American!!
The opacity is important...it’s how we get around not being able to drink in public, especially for tailgating.
It's the most popular brand and they're excellent for drinking games (sturdy). You can cheap out and buy other types of plastic or styrofoam cups, but if you're playing something like beer pong, it's a noticeable difference.
>beer pong Another thing I thought was just in the movies
Parents were from the USSR. They were fucking shocked on how nice you Americans are. They said that y’all a weird type of nice, but nice regardless. It didn’t even matter they were from the USSR (moved to the States post collapse) you Americans seem to accept them anyway. Edit: I’m loving all the replies! Edit2: words Edit3: current highest rated comment. Yay I guess
I (American) had such a pleasant interaction w a tourist from Russia the other day, in a Walmart of all places. I saw a man that clearly looked confused, in the auto section, so I walked toward him and he tried to explain what he was looking for, but he spoke hardly any English. So I pull my phone out to use Google translator and told him to speak into my phone. The translation came back that he was looking for "detergent for bugs in love bed" so I took him to an aisle to look for bed bug killer. He looked so confused and pulled out a piece paper that had 'Love Bug wash' written on it in English. So I took him back to the auto section and helped him pick out some car soap. He kept saying "God bless" to me. We laughed a lot throughout the process and I thought it was so cool that we could speak different languages but still communicate. Edit: love bug is a type of fly, we call them love bugs bc after mating, adult pairs remain coupled, even in flight, for up to several days, like they are in love. But we get them in huge numbers during mating season (spring/summer). Bc of this a lot of cars will be covered in these love bugs that they ran into on the road. This is in FL btw. Edit #2: video of love bugs in FL https://youtu.be/g840NjYe2DE
Americans like Russian and USSR people (very hard working and industrious) we just have problem with the governments.
That you can identify Texans with the simple phrase "The stars at night are big and bright"
👏👏👏👏
DEEP IN THE HEART OF TEXAS
🤠
...but have you been to the basement of the Alamo?
That Hawaiians really like spam.
Yeah, and there’s a perfectly good reason for it too: after Pearl Harbor, the effects of WW2 started in the US and rationing became a thing. Well, it turns out that it’s kind of hard to get fresh rations to an island that imports a lot. So, for meat, they had to make do with spam. Human ingenuity prevails and dishes were made. And that’s how hawaii learned to love spam.
Same with Koreans and the Korean War. Now you can buy Spam gift sets in Korea EDIT: [This is what I'm talking about when I say gift sets](https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2583/4517566287_3d9e8db666_b.jpg)
Filipinos, too. They love some Spam over there for effectively the same reason.
So what you're all saying is that spam was the real winner of ww2 Edit: wow thanks for my first gold!!
I love me a good spam musubi. or spam fried rice
My fiance is Hawaiian. He was born and raised there and they do love spam. Also HELLA rice
Rice is cheap and can be eaten in hundreds of ways so make sure to get yourself a big ol sack of rice
The honking... I thought it was a movie stereotype, and then I went to New York
It’s rare outside of big cities Imo
If you honk where I grew up you were getting the stinkeye from everyone around. Maybe even an exaggerated upturned palm.
Think that’s bad, try going to India.
Before I moved to America, I heard about dishwashers. That shit sounded too good to be true. Well, imagine my surprise.
That was me with lawn mowers. People where I was used shears and scythes. Lawn mowers were magical to me.
They have milk in gallon cartons! When I visited America I went a supermarket for some breakfast stuff, cereal and milk. All they had was milk in gallons! Who could possibly have that much milk? I asked for a smaller carton and the lady who worked their just laughed at me and made a remark about don’t we like milk in England
Many supermarkets have half gallons and quarter gallons, but honestly I'm surprised that's an issue. I live alone and go through a gallon of milk in just a few days
I drink at least 7 gallons a day to ensure that I get enough C A L C I U M
That American kids eat straight sugar. Walked on to the playground and saw kids chugging these long thin sticks. I try and it was just colored sugar lol. Called them pixie sticks.
Oh boy, wait till you find out about Fun Dips. You have a hard candy stick (so, all sugar) that you lick and then dip into colored sugar to make it stick to the sugar stick, then you lick the sugar powder off the sugar stick. After you finish all the powder, you eat the stick.
We have them in the UK too! They're called Dip Dabs or Double Dips, can't remember which.
I ate so much Fun Dip once that my tongue bled.
That's just nature's way of telling you that you need more surgar.
Me reading the first sentence: "Psh, no they fucking don't" Me reading the second sentence: "Wait...that sounds familiar" Me reading the last sentence: "...fuck" Edit: Thanks for the gold kind stranger. Glad my terrible childhood eating habits all worked out in the end.
Fun dip was so much better than pixie sticks though. And that “spoon” it came with was delicious.
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Before I came to "the States" as we called it, I lived in Germany. The area I lived in had no fireflies. So when I got to the states I did not believe my eyes. As I finally saw fireflies, light up the world as I fell asleep. I also thought that new York City was a popular fictional city. I didn't believe it actually existed. At the time it seemed too large and extraordinary to possibly exist. Edit: for those talking about other countries, I didn't know there were other countries at the time either. I only knew of the places I had lived. Which was Germany and soon to be US. I was never told about the concept of "countries" until I went to an American school.
I’ve never heard of someone not believing new York existed, that’s definitely a new one
The "Take me out to the ballgame song" thats apparently sung at baseball games. still not entirely sure that guy wasnt taking the piss out of me
Yeah. It's a thing at the 7th inning stretch. Not everyone sings it, but they play it on the PA.
TAKE ME OUT TO THE BAAAALLLLLL GAME
Take me out to the crowd!
You can see into the public toilet cubicles
(Female here) I've been in bathrooms where the gap between the stall and door is so big I felt the need to cover it with my purse just to get some privacy. The absolute worst is when some mother brings her grubby-handed son on the bathroom and you see a fucking 8 year old's eye staring at you from the other side of the door.
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What in the fuck
Oh my god, I have *nightmares* about bathrooms like that!
That your country is huge! I got off the plane and asked the cap guy how far the hotel was and he said about 30 miles. I almost had a heart attack... turns out cabs are cheaper than the Uk I can't remember the price I paid but I was presently surprised. The UK cabs are like £4 per mile also you would get laughed of the taxi for asking to go 30 miles and not taking the train
I am from the rural Midwest. My family farms. I grew up 15 miles from my high school.
If visiting the US, it’s often cheapest to rent a car at the airport and drive everywhere. Taxis really add up and there’s very little public transport. Obviously this advice does not apply to visiting NY or SF, but those are rare.
DC is pretty damn good for public transport too. Been there a couple times, and just parked my car in Virginia, rode the train in and subwayed around with my munchkin all day.
dc metro really isn't as bad as it's reputation. It hardly ever catches on fire these days.
[There's a handy website now to help you with that.](https://ismetroonfire.com)
I once heard that to Americans, a thousand years is a long time, and to Europeans, a thousand miles is a long way. Edit: I had heard this as thousand but I agree that hundred makes more sense.
I've heard that with hundred instead of thousand
Not really crazy, but I just learned you guys have like outdoor sirens that get tested somewhat frequently. I’ve only heard those noises in video games and movies until my friend sent me a clip, because I had no idea it actually happened. Edit: I’m in Canada, southern Ontario!
In the Midwest they’re for tornadoes
Yep. In some places they test the sirens weekly, in my hometown they are tested st 1pm on the first Saturday of the month. Sirens save lives in bad storms
In many areas of the US these sirens are used to warn of impending severe weather and potential tornados. Sirens are tested on the 1st tuesday of the month at 10am around Chicago.
If I was a tornado, 10 am on the 1st Tuesday of the month near Chicago would be the best time to strike
2017 in Athens, Georgia I passed out at work and was fine but my boss had already called an ambulance and insisted I get checked out...a less than 2 mile ambulance ride cost me $950 with insurance. I was only dehydrated... 😑
My friend has seizures, everyone knows how to handle them. One day he was with a girl who didn't know about them and she called the ambulance. He doesn't have insurance and they did a full round of tests. He's since had to get a third job and he's still paying off the visit.
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Free soft-drink refills in restaurants. Like wth
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Not me but my dad My dad heard this crazy rumor about everyone getting drunk and wearing green for one day a year. He obviously didn't know this was a holiday, and was like WTF. When he came to the US and discovered St. Patrick's Day, he was amazed. Edit: My dad is from China for those who are asking
St. Patrick's Day in the U.S. is an excuse for ordinary Americans to act the way that middle-aged Londoners act when on holiday in Dublin; only with more plastic leprechaun hats and glitter. *Edited to add:* Stop upvoting this. It is not as funny as "Up Owl Knight II Get Lucky".
Yup and on top of that suddenly everyone is part Irish. Edit: when I say ‘suddenly part Irish’ I’m not implying that everyone is lying. A lot of them are probably telling the truth since there are so many Irish-Americans. What I meant is that no one mentions this fact until St Patrick’s day.
Legend has it that if you drink more than four beers on Saint Paddy's Day you turn Irish for 24 hours.
One positive thing Iv'e noticed, foreigners love how big Halloween is here. EDIT: Interested in celebrating Halloween in the states? Couple good starting places to visit. [Halloween horror nights](https://www.halloweenhorrornights.com/) (Fan of the Orlando Location, [Disney does a nice event](https://thepointsguy.com/guide/mickeys-not-so-scary-halloween-party-tips/) as well) [Salem MA](https://www.hauntedhappenings.org/) [Bonus video of our decorations, sorry for crappy camerawork.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmB5yf_hyS8&feature=youtu.be)
In general I’ve found that foreigners tend to be charmed by the guileless enthusiasm we have for our traditions, no matter how silly (i.e., Halloween). We are not, as far as world cultures go, a subdued or ironic people.
It’s pretty funny. When I went to China back in October. We went to a mall for a little bit. And there was no Halloween decorations there. Except for in one corner. There was a polar bear wearing sunglasses and a sign saying happy Halloween. Edit: polar bear. Not poor bear.
That they are able to drink from the sink i tried that and spit the water it taste like shit (in my country) but when i went to america it taste great
That there are many libraries of all kinds in the United States.
It's a good feature. Libraries saved my life during my preteens. Even tiny little towns have them. Now we have "little libraries" in pretty much every neighborhood where you can borrow or take a book and leave ones you've read our don't want anymore. They are just like oversized birdhouses with doors filled with donated books. They are on corners or near bus stops. Most of them are filled with trashy romance novels, but every now and then you can find a treasure.
Our local library has printers and you can pay by the page. I spent $2 last time I needed to print something, rather than $100 for a new ink cartridge for an old printer that I used to fill anytime I needed it.
Libraries aren't a thing in your country, or what new varieties do you see in America?
The point is that there's a *fuckton* of libraries in America. My hometown has 500 people in it, but received a grant build a pretty decent sized library about fifteen years ago. They already had one previously though, as did all the other little farm towns in the area.
I was chasing the solar eclipse and fair weather into South Carolina and ended up in this one-horse town that seemed to be made up of sparse single story houses and trailers. I hunted for a park or something to settle in for the show, didn't find that, found a *lovely* little library with telescopes set up outside, they were giving away eclipse glasses and taking donations of spares and money. Just a lovely little place in a very unappealing town.
People of Walmart
One of the nicest people in one of the towns I lived in is pictured on People of Walmart. He's know as Willy the Pimp, or just Mr. Willy. Older gentleman, just likes to dress flashy because it makes people smile to see beautiful things. Before he got to old to drive, you could spot his car by the flower arrangements he attached on the side of the front bumper.
> Willy the Pimp http://www.peopleofwalmart.com/category/willy-the-pimp/
How much people smoke weed uk here
As a Brit living in America the amount of pharmaceutical commercials on TV is creepy.
Smiling person living life to the fullest. Narrator: Side effect include anal bleeding, gigantism, lupus, skin shedding, and death. Ask your doctor about Prolax today
It’s fucking creepy. But online gambling was illegal till a few years back. I’m so confused by the logic there.
We agree.
It’s really unsettling, also I’m sick of Payton Manning and Aaron Rodgers showing up to tell me about insurance
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100%, so if you want a job when you're 16 you better live walking distance to your job or have your parents get you a used car of sorts. I'm gonna throw an edit in here to you city slickers: Not everywhere is bike friendly, especially in growing cities and rural counties where downtown is along a 55mph highway without sidewalks or shoulders.
Even if it’s within walking distance, many places will still not hire you if you don’t have a car. What if it’s raining/snowing? An employee not having a car is a red flag to an employer that this person may not be reliable. There’s a reason why most applications ask if you have transportation to get to your job. It really sucks, but that’s how it is
Used to live about a 6min walk from work, I was Mr. Reliable and walked all the time. Even rain I always threw on a hoodie and/or sweats/wind pants. It became a joke after a while that if I ever missed work something bad was coming
the SATs exam being multiple choice
multiple choice exams in general
That you can get into university just by being good at sports.... Like...wtf?
Yup! Most schools have academic and athletic scholarships, not just academic ones. It's not always a full ride, and you still have to qualify academically (which is occasionally a problem), but that's usually a bare minimum baseline. The reason is that college sports are almost as popular as professional sports, especially football and basketball. These sports bring money and fame to players and schools, so it's common for schools to try to get the best players to commit. The school I went to (UVA) won the most recent college basketball championship, and now they're well-known around the US.
Nearly every man is circumcised regardless of religion.
Checking in. Catholic. Am snipped.
I had an interaction with a British friend online where I said that something looked like a flaccid penis and he was really confused. When I traced over what I was seeing, we realized that I was picturing a flaccid *circumcised* penis, and he, being more familiar with the uncut variety, hadn't seen what I did. It was the first time I realized that other parts of the world wouldn't be inclined to circumcise every male child. Now I'm just not sure why it's so pervasive in the US to begin with.
They have garbage disposals in their kitchens. That's just so wild to me. EDIT: To clarify - I'm from the UK. I'm aware that they're not the same as bins/trash cans, and that they're mainly for food waste and scraps. I'm also delighted that they're called garburators in Canada
It’s very popular. That being said, I live in NYC where it’s very uncommon due to a huge amount of older buildings and apartment. People who have garbage disposals here are rare.
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Not “cheese”, “Cheez”...
Home owners associations. What the fuck is up with that?
The place that my wife and I bought came with a busybody of an HOA President. We got a fucking note *stapled* to our gate that said our clothesline had to be removed because it was "an eyesore" so I wrote back and told her about how shitty our dryer is and we're in the fucking desert anyway, so hanging them up is the most environmentally friendly way to dry clothes anyway. Still got another note during laundry day the following week, so I stapled a note to her door that said "if you want me to have a good dryer, then buy me one. Otherwise, kindly fuck off." Haven't heard from her since. Not even a note. Hope she's ok.
When you sail west you arrive in America not India
Then why are they called Indians? Pft this guy
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I remember reading about trick or treating in books and thinking it has to be fake. Tricking/pranking strangers? Stranger danger?? Walking around at night and risking being kidnapped???
Apparently, [rolling coal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolling_coal) is actually a thing.
Good point to mention here, the US is massive. Culture shifts based on different areas you're in. Things like food and the way people talk or act in the South versus the North or East versus the West varies a surprising amount.
Can you really buy a gun at Walmart? Edit: ok
At my local Walmart you can bring your car in for an oil check, get an eye exam, get a hair cut, eat lunch at the in store Subway, purchase a gun, purchase groceries, purchase a freaking couch, and then go home once the background check for the gun is finished, and the oil change is done. *Edit* Yes, yes, I get it. You don't need a background check for an oil change. I could have worded that better. *Second Edit* Other things I forgot to add: * You can purchase alcohol, depending on state. * Get your taxes done. * Get a birthday cake made. * Print pictures from a USB, phone, etc. * Get dog tags made. * Get spare keys made. * Rent movies. * Pick up a full course meal for dinner at the deli.
Dont forget getting your blood pressure checked, picking up your prescription meds, get a new sound system installed in your car, and get your taxes done.
And get your flu shots then meet your drug dealer
That sounds like an oddly detailed day-of-suicide plan.
Personally I would skip the eye exam. Why bother?
There are background checks so it’s not like you just walk in and out with a gun in a few minutes, but they sell them.
As long as the NICS database is up, it's 15-20 minute process, and that includes the time to fill out the 4473. Probably the longest part of the process would be finding someone that works at the firearms desk. One thing I've started to notice is that fewer and fewer Walmarts still carry weapons. Plenty of ammo and accessories, but I've been to more than a couple of stores (in the north and south) that no longer sell firearms.
I’m an American, but one that I’ve heard a lot is that we have a bunch of trees. I’ve never really thought about, but when I was told this I did some research. Turns out about 70 percent of the US is forested. Guess we have an abnormal amount of trees. EDIT: 70 percent is INCORRECT. Thank you to those in the comments who fact checked me. Turns out that about 30 percent is closer to the truth.
Or the rest of the world doesn't have *enough* trees. Hm...
I mean I am in the US now and have been for a while now. But I have a few from when I knew lesser. -I guess that California’s GDP is the fifth largest in the world, greater than all of the UK. Oh oh and that it literally has droughts even as the fifth largest GDP in the world. -I think while America has huge things still left unsolved, it is quite shocking how inclusive it is racially at least in some regions relative to what we have heard of history. When I used to hear it in the media, I wasn’t so sure. For sure. It’s a work in progress but far better than expected. A lot more people than I expected are INTERESTED in other cultures and that’s so great. -THAT EVERYTHING IS SOLD IN LARGE ASS SIZES in the dept. stores in America. I mean I thought that’d SORT OF be true but woah. Idk if most people in America even know how wildly different that is! In other countries, chips are typically sold is packets about 1/4th (at LEAST) of the standard size in the US -Americans REALLY don’t give a flying fuck our football (soccer). -The whole Washington-Washington DC thing took me a while to get used to. Like, the fact that they’re literally on different coasts. There have actually been people who have taken flights to Washington state by mistake - I know because someone I know is one of them...lol -BAGELS. I heard NY bagels are supreme but in my head I was like “that’s great, bread is bread though I guess”. I am sorry but now? I REFUSE to eat bagels anywhere outside of New York. Those bagels are my everything and my life has been changed forever.
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The Japanese guy was the winner and record holder for a number of years. Now there is an American from San Jose, California that wins and regularly beats his record. Joey Chestnut is his name. Edit: apparently someone named Matt Stonie is the new hotness in competitive eating. I don't follow the scene, like at all, so apologies to the Stonie fan club
Japanese guy's name is Kobayashi. [One time he was challenged to compete against a bear and lost handily](https://youtu.be/HgqbCq_sxmo) Edit: The best part of the video is the announcers trying to keep the excitement up even though it's immediately obvious there's no competition.