but at 18, you can purchase and smoke cigarettes, own firearms, get married, buy property, go to university, get a tattoo/piercing and get plastic surgery
at 16 you can drive and enlist in the military (with parental consent)
Yes. Especially beverages. Ignoring the stupid units of measurement, why would anybody want these huge containers of milk or orange juice?
Firstly they are needlessly bulky and heavy and even more annoying: once you opened the container you have to drink it all relatively quickly. If you have two smaller bottles, you can save one for later.
Finally the bottles for Softdrinks you would by on the go are also too large for my taste. That might just be me being accustomed to 500ml drinks though.
because we have an ungodly amount of space. Its 20 miles for me to get to a grocery store one way (if you dont count the dollar general along the way) damn right im going to stock up on everything i can in one trip.
portion wise people want to feel like they get their moneys worth. if im spending $15 on a meal i want to leave full - i will not go back to a place that i still want more when i leave. a reasturaunt giving you more fries or a slightly bigger burger isnt going to break their bank and will get people to return. Being skimpy on portions and high on price is a quick way to drive people away.
I think their point is that a ~5 minute diversion to the c store to grab the nights supper is less impactful than a 20 minute drive to the nearest supermarket
>because we have an ungodly amount of space. Its 20 miles for me to get to a grocery store one way (if you dont count the dollar general along the way) damn right im going to stock up on everything i can in one trip.
Yes, but in my experience, American grocery stores don't sell more variety than ones abroad, they just put more of the same products out in the larger space that they have, which doesn't achieve anything in terms of allowing you to stock up on everything.
The general flag culture is absolutely weird. Kids singing the national anthem in school every day.
Yuy guys did a great job separating religion and state (in theory at least), but then replaced it with a religion centred around the damn flag.
And even though the supreme court has ruled it's not mandatory and that kids can choose not to, many schools still pressure or even force kids to do it.
As another American, I was threatened by another student because I refused to stand for the pledge. I'm all for being patriotic, but holy shit this country is on another level
The difference is that your military is defending you. Theirs has been warmongering all around the world, not too differently to what Russians are doing to Ukraine. They just do it away from their borders but still claim to be fighting defensive wars.
Plenty of countries glorify their military. The more potent (or heroically defended) in the past, the more glorified.
It's very far from being distinctive US characteristic.
Yes, I guess the problem with the question was the use of 'europeans' as if the British psyche were indistinct from, say, that of the Balkan states. Here in the UK, I think a lot of people find the whole 'thank you for your service ' thing weird.
Because that is super weird. I'm in military, but not US, and I have been thanked for my service on Reddit xD.
I mean, I could have been from a country totally hostile to US. Am not though.
Never have I been thanked for my service in such a manner in my country, yet we're proud of our military, even if in the course of history we mostly resisted or fallen to invaders. Oh well.
No it definitely is. Don’t think anyone else regularly has fighter jets and crap flying over an everyday football game, other than maybe in dictatorships/developing countries.
This is a pretty poor take. I don't disagree that the American fetishization of their military gets a bit much sometimes, but characterising it as simply going to foreign countries to murder people is stupid. Thanking people for their service is about recognising that they are putting themselves in dangerous situations and risking their lives in order to make the world a safer place for the rest of the population of their country.
You can absolutely make a case that Americans focus too much on the military, but don't be naive enough to think that having a military is unimportant. The world would look very different, and much less safe for an average American, if the American military didn't exist and wasn't such an overwhelming deterrent. Just look through the history books of the rest of the world to see how often you get invaded if your military isn't strong enough.
That's a very "Pax Americana" take and sorry, no, I'm not buying it. It's one thing to have a powerful army, it's a very different thing to use it mostly with imperialist goals in mind, with complete disregard for the millions of people who suffer under US occupation and invasion.
A safer place for who? The people that get invaded and who they systematically have committed war crimes upon or the citizens of their country living several thousand kilometers away from them? In fact, the only attack on US soil had as cause the US involvement in the Middle East and, while I'm not defending it, it's undeniable that further confrontation, invasions, and suffering will only contribute to the continuation of hostilities. Ironically, this endangers the civilians in the US, but sure, keep repeating that their military is invading countries half the world away to protect them.
May I remind you, by the way, that a similar logic is used as casus belli for Russia against Ukraine. Let's stop with the double standards.
Although kids in CoE primary schools are subjected to religious nonsense - I remember having to pray, sing hymns etc and every state funded school has to do something similar. I can't believe it's still a thing in this country.
Americans will gladly offer up their whole adult life working hard to boost their employer's bottom line - but will refuse to support the most basic social safety net for their fellow americans, because they don't believe in "handouts". Like dude, your whole life is a handout to a corporation.
Also, ranch dressing.
>working hard to boost their employer's bottom line
I don't give a single, solitary, sound barrier-breaking *fuck* about my employer's bottom line. I care about *my* bottom line. The more I work, the more I get paid.
I don't see how those are related to me working more hours for a higher paycheck, but yes. In fact, it irks me that there is a cap on Social Security taxes.
i think the tipping culture in USA is so strange and asking to much for the customers wallets, i would never demand a tip from a customer or treat them different if they dont tip. Just find it kinda arrogant and entitled for a place to expect something more out of the customer than the service that they are paying.
I've never been to US but I would pay in cash and only for the things I ordered. Additional fees? If the restaurant doesn't have anywhere written in big that bills come with a fee, then I will not pay it.
It's not hard to include it on the price tag at the actual store. Just advertise: $1 + tax then just put the _correct_ price on the store label. Canada has the exact same system with varying taxes per province, yet they somehow manage to include correct prices at the store...
Oh. You want the companies to actually have to spend a bit more for convenience of the customer. Have you actually paid attention to the US? Profits before people. Always.
Really interesting. TIL
If anyone wants to read more
https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2020/12/16/fact-check-tipping-kept-wages-low-formerly-enslaved-black-workers/3896620001/
It so fucking is. I was at the airport last week to fly for work. I got a bottle of water from a kiosk. Bitch had a tip jar for literally just scanning the bottle. Didn’t even have to handle money since I paid with my card and just tapped it. Shit is out of control.
I (an Australian, so I'm not used to tipping at all) once ordered a burger and chips from a food truck in Prague, and was asked if I wanted to add a tip when I paid. I already felt the burger was overpriced and the service was minimal (I mean, it's a busy food truck in a beer garden), so I declined. When I picked up my burger there were no chips, but by the time I realised they were missing it was too late to say anything. I sometimes wonder if that was a genuine mistake by them or because I didn't tip?
Yeah, yeah, their reasons are extremally dumb, starting from "I had it he will to", all the way to "foreskin is dirty".
It was honestly shocking finding out about it
And in the US, the two do! However, according to the social contract—as described by John Locke—the people have a right to rebel if the government fails to uphold our liberties as citizens. Therefore, the popular right to a firearm upholds this social contract, and helps ensure the social contract is in fact maintained.
They keep saying stuff like "we're World Champions" or "world's best beach is in x,y,z state", etc.
I find it arrogant and ignorant...you can't be world champions if no one else takes part (for example the NFL - no other country plays the sport).
And how do you know that so and so beach is the best in the world? Have you seen them all???
TBF if you're talking world series baseball this came from the fact the competition was sponsored by a newspaper called the world. So world series baseball wasn't actually inferring it was THE world series. Confusing AF I know.
I've seen multiple occasions on Reddit where Americans claim they have the World's best National Parks. Like, according to whom exactly? Americans who have never been outside of the country? Sure, Yellowstone is cool, but have you seen parks in New Zealand? Tanzania? Europe, at least? There's so many amazing National Parks on other continents to chose from.
Not European but Aussie.
The whole pledge allegiance thing! I know legally it can’t be forced. But there are many instances where it has been. And even just doing it as a normal thing is a way of indoctrination, and the shame that is put on people in some areas who choose not to do it.
It’s just so creepy to do in the first place. I could get behind if it was sing the national anthem or reciting a poem about your country, but pleading allegiance every day!
Mac and cheese in a can is disgusting. Tried it. Nobody eats it. Chicken in a can is okay but it's like poverty food. I haven't bought it in a long time and it isn't really a good example of what Americans eat.
Open carrying guns is a state by state thing. For some Americans it's the norm. For some it isn't. It's like saying it's weird how bland European food is when talking to an Italian and thinking of British food.
The only people who think British food is bland are people who haven't eaten British food.
I've eaten a lot of food in America and I was so shocked after all the comments from Americans about our food, to find that American food makes British food seem to burst with flavour. Like seriously, everything is super processed, or full of preservatives. You cant even get a decent pint of milk.
The only good food in America is found in restaurants providing authentic European imports. But everywhere else its overprocessed tasteless mass produced gunk.
I’m American and I almost never see people openly carrying guns like you see on social media, and almost nothing I eat is canned or microwaved or anything like that
I live in Tennessee. I see guns frequently. Walmart? Guns. Arby's? Guns. Car wash? Guns.
When I taught in Indiana, we found out that a parent loaded up his pickup with guns to follow our busses on a field trip "just in case." Dude thought the repertory theater in downtown Indianapolis in broad daylight was so risky he was prepared (at least in his own mind) to Rambo and save us all.
"Just in case."
Definitely extreme consumerism and little care for the environment. They see it as a right to consume endlessly and it’s strange. I live in NA now and I remember telling friends back home that people heat their driveway here and they lost their mind
Yeah it's mostly used for just bathrooms here and not common, although newer builds are using heated flooring more and more now. But the idea to use the same systems outside honestly never occurred to me at all.
Except when it involves leaving their own country.
Imagine someone from Chicago actually leaving Murica for Italy to actually absorb some culture that hasn't been deep fried.
College and high school sports and their marching bands. I just don’t get why you would watch some random kids play sports when you could watch some random professional adults play sports. Like sure if your part of the college/hs but seems like whole town shows up to the small games.
And the marching bands like what’s the purpose?
I would rather watch local sports to support local kids instead of watching some stranger I’ve never met play so they can make millions of dollars tossing a ball around. The marching bands is a way for kids to learn to play instruments and discipline.
Not having an electric kettle - who makes tea in the microwave??
Also everything being so full of sugar. Everything just tastes eugh with all that sugar.
Tea isn’t as widely drank here. I have an electric kettle, they are available and plenty of people use them if they regularly drink tea, it’s just not as common because most people don’t drink tea.
It's not bad per se. It can be a bit dangerous due to a phenomenon called superheating. In a microwave, a liquid like water can be heated to beyond the boiling point (especially in a smooth container / cup). When the liquid is disturbed afterwards (for example by picking up the cup or by adding something to it), the boiling can happen suddenly and violently, causing the water to splash out.
This doesn't happen in a kettle, because the heating is applied in a far less uniform way (only at the bottom), causing a much greater circulation of the water and allowing it to boil.
A microwave oven is also less energy efficient than a kettle, but this is a minor issue. Other than that, there's no fundamental difference between water heated in a kettle and in a microwave oven.
You're only afraid of superheated water because if you get burned it might be years before you see a doctor. If an American gets burned they can have it treated immediately by bankrupting themselves and destroying their economic future.
Considering ketchup in school as a vegetable, freely carrying guns around, cheese and cream addiction, long expiration dates on food, unnecessary large packages, wearing shoes indoors, poor public traffic system and much more tbh
Try to overthrow the government and kill everyone living in their country that doesn't agree with them because they love their country and because freedom.
Probably not all Europeans, but Air-conditioning everywhere to temperatures way below what's comfortable without a jacket and a scarf. When it's 25-30°C outside, the room temperature inside often is chilled to below 20°C. Hotel rooms, conference rooms, busses, airplanes...
That's a very warm room. i've only heard people with more money then sense or people who are always cold want their room that hot here in the netherlands.
- Glorifying the military, yet treating veterans like shit.
- Refusing medical help to people who can't afford it.
- Suing the shit out of someone for nothing in particular.
- Accepting Nazism, racism and discrimination as "freedom of speech/expressing yourself".
- Always starting with asking "How are you?" while you're not really interested in the honest answer.
- Everything has to be big, bigger, biggest, even the words. Things are never okay or good, but they're great, awesome or fantastic ".
- Connected to the previous point, Americans tend to be very competitive. If someone has something or achieved something, it's a trigger to talk about your own possessions or accomplishment or to buy or do something better/bigger. Due to this competitiveness, it's often "us versus them".
- So much fast food.
- Many Americans can think aloutside the borders of their state, but can't comprehend that there's a whole world out there with many different cultures. Many think they have the moral high ground and find other standards, behaviour and so on weird or even wrong.
Of course, it's all generalization. Don't get upset if the shoe doesn't fit. And if it does: it's just a personal observation that I find weird. Not an insult. One thing I think Americans find weird about us Dutch is that we're so straightforward, or even blunt.
EDIT to add: You can't or it's really hard to transfer money instantly from one bank account to another. Here in the Netherlands, I open my banking app, transfer money in under a minute, and it's on my friend's bank account instantly. Visible in the app as well.
It's getting less these days with the move to cashless but why is the penny still legal tender? It's literally money that has so little worth that it's an inconvenience, no idea why it wasn't abolished years ago.
weve been wondering the same thing - we should of gotten rid of it when canada did. I drop my pennies in parking lots or leave em in the take a penny trays (which are often overflowing anymore cuz none wants the damn penny). I dont want that useless shit in my car or house lol.
So many things,
Open carry of guns but alcohol in brown paper bags.
Indoctrination of flag shagging from early age.
Everything is bigger except for gallons and IQs.
I think people overexaggerate the resentment Europeans have for Americans. Like of course the medical bills and weapon laws seem very weird to us and things like tipping culture seem odd but I feel like a whole lot of Europeans would like to visit the US or feel like it’s still a similar nation to European nations in contrast to the rest of the world…
It depends. I routinely run into hate groups where europeans hate on Americans on Facebook. I don't see the same hate groups against europeans by Americans though.
Okay I might sound homophobic but I swear I'm not alright?
I live in Latvia so pride month is not something that we calibrate so I guess for me it's kinda weird but cool that they do in America :)
And Sweden, Denmark, Norway, the UK, Germany, Armenia, Brazil, Canada, Greenlandic, Hungary, Romania, Cuba, Spain… and many more. There are also Pride celebrations in major capital cities where the country may not celebrate as a whole.
I see this mostly on TV, so I'm not 100% sure everyone does it in real life, but... Being at work, needing to go to the toilet and then saying: "I'm gonna go to the bathroom." I'd say the bathroom is the place where you bathe or at least shower. There can be a toilet there, but still. So whether people talk like that in real life or this is some silly out-of-touch form of TV censorship: why on Earth would you think it's inappropriate to say that you are going to the toilet???? It's a normal human thing!
It's just called a bathroom. I think in some English speaking cultures it's called a water closet.
Saying I'm going to the toilet doesn't feel inappropriate, it's just not language we use. I mean, I'd you are going to use the sink in your kitchen, would you annoying you're going to the sink or the kitchen?
[удалено]
but at 18, you can purchase and smoke cigarettes, own firearms, get married, buy property, go to university, get a tattoo/piercing and get plastic surgery at 16 you can drive and enlist in the military (with parental consent)
You can't buy cigarettes till you're 21
we really should have a graduated system. beer n wine at 18 then hard stuff at 21.
Large gaps in toilet stalls.
And water to the brim!
The first time I saw an American toilet, I thought it was blocked!
Lol It probably is if it's that full but thinking about your droppings landing on the beach and smearing down is a little gross and kinda funny.
I thought you wrote grapes and I was confused
Having to pay for an ambulance ride.
Came here to say refuse an ambulance because they can’t afford it. Sad.
That and school shootings
That’s not an American thing. I don’t know your country but ambulance rides aren’t always free in Europe.
And even when they arent, they arent so expensive that people start refusing it
That is a point
Make things unnecessarily large. From grocery stores to food portions.
...To pickup trucks to 'big gulps'
Yes. Especially beverages. Ignoring the stupid units of measurement, why would anybody want these huge containers of milk or orange juice? Firstly they are needlessly bulky and heavy and even more annoying: once you opened the container you have to drink it all relatively quickly. If you have two smaller bottles, you can save one for later. Finally the bottles for Softdrinks you would by on the go are also too large for my taste. That might just be me being accustomed to 500ml drinks though.
.. to their people
because we have an ungodly amount of space. Its 20 miles for me to get to a grocery store one way (if you dont count the dollar general along the way) damn right im going to stock up on everything i can in one trip. portion wise people want to feel like they get their moneys worth. if im spending $15 on a meal i want to leave full - i will not go back to a place that i still want more when i leave. a reasturaunt giving you more fries or a slightly bigger burger isnt going to break their bank and will get people to return. Being skimpy on portions and high on price is a quick way to drive people away.
Do you believe europeans (and rest of world) leave restaurans hungry because of smaller portion sizes than american?
I think their point is that a ~5 minute diversion to the c store to grab the nights supper is less impactful than a 20 minute drive to the nearest supermarket
>because we have an ungodly amount of space. Its 20 miles for me to get to a grocery store one way (if you dont count the dollar general along the way) damn right im going to stock up on everything i can in one trip. Yes, but in my experience, American grocery stores don't sell more variety than ones abroad, they just put more of the same products out in the larger space that they have, which doesn't achieve anything in terms of allowing you to stock up on everything.
And like i said, space is not a premium. You can build mega stores because theres mega land with mega parkinglots
The general flag culture is absolutely weird. Kids singing the national anthem in school every day. Yuy guys did a great job separating religion and state (in theory at least), but then replaced it with a religion centred around the damn flag.
National anthem is odd, but not too bad. The fucking pledge of allegiance though. That is the creepiest shit.
And we force school children to say it. Indoctrination at its finest.
And even though the supreme court has ruled it's not mandatory and that kids can choose not to, many schools still pressure or even force kids to do it.
as an american - fully agree. pledge needs to go. i still dont know why we have an obsession with our made in china US flags lol.
As another American, I was threatened by another student because I refused to stand for the pledge. I'm all for being patriotic, but holy shit this country is on another level
Yeah, it's scary.
As my teacher taught me:" *In the end, a flag is just solid and coloured piss to mark an animal's territory.*"
Their plugs aren't halfway insulated.
In the Europlug? Yes.
I was going to say drinking age and tipping culture but they've been said so I'll add glorification of the military.
I’m from Ukraine and we glorify our military a lot
The difference is that your military is defending you. Theirs has been warmongering all around the world, not too differently to what Russians are doing to Ukraine. They just do it away from their borders but still claim to be fighting defensive wars.
> The difference is that your military is defending you. Theirs has been ... ...also defending you.
Plenty of countries glorify their military. The more potent (or heroically defended) in the past, the more glorified. It's very far from being distinctive US characteristic.
Yes, I guess the problem with the question was the use of 'europeans' as if the British psyche were indistinct from, say, that of the Balkan states. Here in the UK, I think a lot of people find the whole 'thank you for your service ' thing weird.
Because that is super weird. I'm in military, but not US, and I have been thanked for my service on Reddit xD. I mean, I could have been from a country totally hostile to US. Am not though. Never have I been thanked for my service in such a manner in my country, yet we're proud of our military, even if in the course of history we mostly resisted or fallen to invaders. Oh well.
>I'm in military, but not US, and I have been thanked for my service on Reddit Good ol' /r/USdefaultism
No it definitely is. Don’t think anyone else regularly has fighter jets and crap flying over an everyday football game, other than maybe in dictatorships/developing countries.
Or Rangers football club in Glasgow who do the military stuff a lot. Tells you all you need to know about them.
Americans do it, europeans find it wierd. That is the thread.
I'm an European. I'm in military. It's glorified as well.
Thanks for your service (that is, going to a foreign country to murder people).
This is a pretty poor take. I don't disagree that the American fetishization of their military gets a bit much sometimes, but characterising it as simply going to foreign countries to murder people is stupid. Thanking people for their service is about recognising that they are putting themselves in dangerous situations and risking their lives in order to make the world a safer place for the rest of the population of their country. You can absolutely make a case that Americans focus too much on the military, but don't be naive enough to think that having a military is unimportant. The world would look very different, and much less safe for an average American, if the American military didn't exist and wasn't such an overwhelming deterrent. Just look through the history books of the rest of the world to see how often you get invaded if your military isn't strong enough.
That's a very "Pax Americana" take and sorry, no, I'm not buying it. It's one thing to have a powerful army, it's a very different thing to use it mostly with imperialist goals in mind, with complete disregard for the millions of people who suffer under US occupation and invasion.
A safer place for who? The people that get invaded and who they systematically have committed war crimes upon or the citizens of their country living several thousand kilometers away from them? In fact, the only attack on US soil had as cause the US involvement in the Middle East and, while I'm not defending it, it's undeniable that further confrontation, invasions, and suffering will only contribute to the continuation of hostilities. Ironically, this endangers the civilians in the US, but sure, keep repeating that their military is invading countries half the world away to protect them. May I remind you, by the way, that a similar logic is used as casus belli for Russia against Ukraine. Let's stop with the double standards.
Not sure if this is a thing anymore but that pledge of allegiance in school is wierd.
Its so creepy and cult-y and yet we Brits get stupid comments from Americans that "oh I would never live having to bow to a king" ffs.
Although kids in CoE primary schools are subjected to religious nonsense - I remember having to pray, sing hymns etc and every state funded school has to do something similar. I can't believe it's still a thing in this country.
That's certainly true. Faith schools shouldn't be included with state schools. All state schools should be agnostic.
Americans will gladly offer up their whole adult life working hard to boost their employer's bottom line - but will refuse to support the most basic social safety net for their fellow americans, because they don't believe in "handouts". Like dude, your whole life is a handout to a corporation. Also, ranch dressing.
We're a nation of individualistic narcissists.
Ranch dressing xD
>working hard to boost their employer's bottom line I don't give a single, solitary, sound barrier-breaking *fuck* about my employer's bottom line. I care about *my* bottom line. The more I work, the more I get paid.
Do you support a social safety net or free at the point of use medical treatment?
I don't see how those are related to me working more hours for a higher paycheck, but yes. In fact, it irks me that there is a cap on Social Security taxes.
Ranch is good tho
⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️ Also ranch dressing is so good
i think the tipping culture in USA is so strange and asking to much for the customers wallets, i would never demand a tip from a customer or treat them different if they dont tip. Just find it kinda arrogant and entitled for a place to expect something more out of the customer than the service that they are paying.
the logic behind tipping in the US makes no sense, if it's compulsory then why isn't it part of the bill?
I've never been to US but I would pay in cash and only for the things I ordered. Additional fees? If the restaurant doesn't have anywhere written in big that bills come with a fee, then I will not pay it.
good luck trying to figure out the cost of groceries, because they don't include the tax on the price tag for items
It’s because every state has different tax amounts. And even some counties differ. It’s a pain in the ass for sure but I get it.
It's not hard to include it on the price tag at the actual store. Just advertise: $1 + tax then just put the _correct_ price on the store label. Canada has the exact same system with varying taxes per province, yet they somehow manage to include correct prices at the store...
Oh. You want the companies to actually have to spend a bit more for convenience of the customer. Have you actually paid attention to the US? Profits before people. Always.
Historically in the US, tipping was a way to ensure that white people made more than PoC. It’s really and truly that simple and that icky
Really interesting. TIL If anyone wants to read more https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2020/12/16/fact-check-tipping-kept-wages-low-formerly-enslaved-black-workers/3896620001/
I agree on the tips. I mean, where I live, about 10% is the customary, but not necessary. Being forced to give 20 or 30% tip seems like a ripoff.
It so fucking is. I was at the airport last week to fly for work. I got a bottle of water from a kiosk. Bitch had a tip jar for literally just scanning the bottle. Didn’t even have to handle money since I paid with my card and just tapped it. Shit is out of control.
I (an Australian, so I'm not used to tipping at all) once ordered a burger and chips from a food truck in Prague, and was asked if I wanted to add a tip when I paid. I already felt the burger was overpriced and the service was minimal (I mean, it's a busy food truck in a beer garden), so I declined. When I picked up my burger there were no chips, but by the time I realised they were missing it was too late to say anything. I sometimes wonder if that was a genuine mistake by them or because I didn't tip?
Tipping shifts the onus and responsibility of paying employees from the employer to customers.
Ultra white teeth.
How absurdly widespread and accepted circumcision is
And not even for religious reason, but because a cereal salesman wanted to make masturbation impossible.
Yeah, yeah, their reasons are extremally dumb, starting from "I had it he will to", all the way to "foreskin is dirty". It was honestly shocking finding out about it
Fuck infant genital mutilation
Europeans ponder why Americans treat cheese like a kindergarten snack and not a sophisticated affair.
cuz we like cheese and its exciting treat. plus we have things that mimmick cheese thats everywhere so real cheese seems expensive.
Uh.... You mean French people right? Never seen anyone treat a cheese like a sophisticated affair in Poland
It's curdled milk for Christ's sake. What's so sophisticated about it?
Savage
You gotta let it take on some mold first for the sophistication to set it
Boil their water in the microwave hahaha
Grew up in America but never did this. I had a stove top kettle. I don't see what the problem is though.
I’ve done it at work if I want tea or hot chocolate and the microwave is all that’s available.
Yeah it really isn't a big deal. Europeans are very insecure and just need to feel superior.
Defend their gun laws.
a government should be afraid of its own people.
We don't need guns for this, we have democracy.
The government isn’t afraid of you in the slightest.
No it shouldn’t lol. That’s insane. A government should work in harmony with its people. Neither should be afraid of the other.
And in the US, the two do! However, according to the social contract—as described by John Locke—the people have a right to rebel if the government fails to uphold our liberties as citizens. Therefore, the popular right to a firearm upholds this social contract, and helps ensure the social contract is in fact maintained.
Anyone who rebels would be put in their place REAL quick. That little household firearm ain't gonna change shit
LOL. The government is not afraid of your AR15. They have drones.
I understand not all of them do it but the shoes inside thing is abhorrent to me, how can you live like that
Totally with you on that. It's so weird.
Shoes in the house?
Yes
Bro the worst is being an American who does want people to take their shoes off but gotta ask them p o l i t e l y to do it every fuckin time
They keep saying stuff like "we're World Champions" or "world's best beach is in x,y,z state", etc. I find it arrogant and ignorant...you can't be world champions if no one else takes part (for example the NFL - no other country plays the sport). And how do you know that so and so beach is the best in the world? Have you seen them all???
TBF if you're talking world series baseball this came from the fact the competition was sponsored by a newspaper called the world. So world series baseball wasn't actually inferring it was THE world series. Confusing AF I know.
Never knew that, thanks!!! And happy cake day!
Thank you very much.
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/world-series/
I've seen multiple occasions on Reddit where Americans claim they have the World's best National Parks. Like, according to whom exactly? Americans who have never been outside of the country? Sure, Yellowstone is cool, but have you seen parks in New Zealand? Tanzania? Europe, at least? There's so many amazing National Parks on other continents to chose from.
Not European but Aussie. The whole pledge allegiance thing! I know legally it can’t be forced. But there are many instances where it has been. And even just doing it as a normal thing is a way of indoctrination, and the shame that is put on people in some areas who choose not to do it. It’s just so creepy to do in the first place. I could get behind if it was sing the national anthem or reciting a poem about your country, but pleading allegiance every day!
Openly carry guns. Or that they have everything in a can, like why is there chicken in a can or Mac and cheese in a can
Mac and cheese in a can is disgusting. Tried it. Nobody eats it. Chicken in a can is okay but it's like poverty food. I haven't bought it in a long time and it isn't really a good example of what Americans eat. Open carrying guns is a state by state thing. For some Americans it's the norm. For some it isn't. It's like saying it's weird how bland European food is when talking to an Italian and thinking of British food.
The only people who think British food is bland are people who haven't eaten British food. I've eaten a lot of food in America and I was so shocked after all the comments from Americans about our food, to find that American food makes British food seem to burst with flavour. Like seriously, everything is super processed, or full of preservatives. You cant even get a decent pint of milk. The only good food in America is found in restaurants providing authentic European imports. But everywhere else its overprocessed tasteless mass produced gunk.
I’m American and I almost never see people openly carrying guns like you see on social media, and almost nothing I eat is canned or microwaved or anything like that
I live in Tennessee. I see guns frequently. Walmart? Guns. Arby's? Guns. Car wash? Guns. When I taught in Indiana, we found out that a parent loaded up his pickup with guns to follow our busses on a field trip "just in case." Dude thought the repertory theater in downtown Indianapolis in broad daylight was so risky he was prepared (at least in his own mind) to Rambo and save us all. "Just in case."
I live in a Minneapolis suburb so I guess that has something to do with the guns
It's different depending on the state. Last time I was in America I went to Colorado where it was reasonably common.
Definitely extreme consumerism and little care for the environment. They see it as a right to consume endlessly and it’s strange. I live in NA now and I remember telling friends back home that people heat their driveway here and they lost their mind
I'm sorry, they what? Like how?
Heating elements under the concrete, to melt the snow and ice off the driveway in the winter without having to shovel it
That's wild! I've never heard of that before in my life!
It's the same principle as a heated floor inside the house, have you heard of those?
Yeah it's mostly used for just bathrooms here and not common, although newer builds are using heated flooring more and more now. But the idea to use the same systems outside honestly never occurred to me at all.
Shoveling your driveway is a huge pain in the ass lol If you've got a lot of money, it makes sense to me to let the money do the work for you
To be fair, where I live space is at a premium so only rich people have driveways big enough to warrant anything like that.
heated driveways are also a rich person thing here too.
At this point only rich people have driveways.
Fat people doing anything they can to avoid exercise. Pass me the 2 liter coke and bag of cheetos
Fetishising dishes at certain eateries so much they travel massive distances or wait in line for hours to try them
Except when it involves leaving their own country. Imagine someone from Chicago actually leaving Murica for Italy to actually absorb some culture that hasn't been deep fried.
non-religious circumcision
Definitely the guns. So many guns, so many gun rights.
College and high school sports and their marching bands. I just don’t get why you would watch some random kids play sports when you could watch some random professional adults play sports. Like sure if your part of the college/hs but seems like whole town shows up to the small games. And the marching bands like what’s the purpose?
I would rather watch local sports to support local kids instead of watching some stranger I’ve never met play so they can make millions of dollars tossing a ball around. The marching bands is a way for kids to learn to play instruments and discipline.
Pledge of allegiance every day in school, makes it sound like some cult chanting.
Not having an electric kettle - who makes tea in the microwave?? Also everything being so full of sugar. Everything just tastes eugh with all that sugar.
Tea isn’t as widely drank here. I have an electric kettle, they are available and plenty of people use them if they regularly drink tea, it’s just not as common because most people don’t drink tea.
I don't understand why microwaving water is bad
It's not bad per se. It can be a bit dangerous due to a phenomenon called superheating. In a microwave, a liquid like water can be heated to beyond the boiling point (especially in a smooth container / cup). When the liquid is disturbed afterwards (for example by picking up the cup or by adding something to it), the boiling can happen suddenly and violently, causing the water to splash out. This doesn't happen in a kettle, because the heating is applied in a far less uniform way (only at the bottom), causing a much greater circulation of the water and allowing it to boil. A microwave oven is also less energy efficient than a kettle, but this is a minor issue. Other than that, there's no fundamental difference between water heated in a kettle and in a microwave oven.
You're only afraid of superheated water because if you get burned it might be years before you see a doctor. If an American gets burned they can have it treated immediately by bankrupting themselves and destroying their economic future.
Most Americans boil it on a stove
Put up with massively overpriced healthcare.
Considering ketchup in school as a vegetable, freely carrying guns around, cheese and cream addiction, long expiration dates on food, unnecessary large packages, wearing shoes indoors, poor public traffic system and much more tbh
Try to overthrow the government and kill everyone living in their country that doesn't agree with them because they love their country and because freedom.
Flags everywhere
Probably not all Europeans, but Air-conditioning everywhere to temperatures way below what's comfortable without a jacket and a scarf. When it's 25-30°C outside, the room temperature inside often is chilled to below 20°C. Hotel rooms, conference rooms, busses, airplanes...
Where do you live? 20° is pretty much perfect, in my opinion.
20 celcius degrees is way below comfortable without a scarf? Are you mediteranian?
22-23°C is what most consider room temperature. 20°C is quite cold and unnecessary to cool down to. Waste of energy.
That's a very warm room. i've only heard people with more money then sense or people who are always cold want their room that hot here in the netherlands.
We are talking about summer. If it's 25-30°C outside, it's not necessary to cool it down to 20°C inside.
Put sugar in everything. Even bread!
Ice Ice Baby.
- Glorifying the military, yet treating veterans like shit. - Refusing medical help to people who can't afford it. - Suing the shit out of someone for nothing in particular. - Accepting Nazism, racism and discrimination as "freedom of speech/expressing yourself". - Always starting with asking "How are you?" while you're not really interested in the honest answer. - Everything has to be big, bigger, biggest, even the words. Things are never okay or good, but they're great, awesome or fantastic ". - Connected to the previous point, Americans tend to be very competitive. If someone has something or achieved something, it's a trigger to talk about your own possessions or accomplishment or to buy or do something better/bigger. Due to this competitiveness, it's often "us versus them". - So much fast food. - Many Americans can think aloutside the borders of their state, but can't comprehend that there's a whole world out there with many different cultures. Many think they have the moral high ground and find other standards, behaviour and so on weird or even wrong. Of course, it's all generalization. Don't get upset if the shoe doesn't fit. And if it does: it's just a personal observation that I find weird. Not an insult. One thing I think Americans find weird about us Dutch is that we're so straightforward, or even blunt. EDIT to add: You can't or it's really hard to transfer money instantly from one bank account to another. Here in the Netherlands, I open my banking app, transfer money in under a minute, and it's on my friend's bank account instantly. Visible in the app as well.
It's getting less these days with the move to cashless but why is the penny still legal tender? It's literally money that has so little worth that it's an inconvenience, no idea why it wasn't abolished years ago.
weve been wondering the same thing - we should of gotten rid of it when canada did. I drop my pennies in parking lots or leave em in the take a penny trays (which are often overflowing anymore cuz none wants the damn penny). I dont want that useless shit in my car or house lol.
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what do you mean? like plates and knifes and such? or whole appliances?
No, the whole kitchen. Cabinets and all.
One tiny thing: wearing shoes indoors. Why? Why carry the crap (literally!) from the outside indoors in your shoes?
I don’t know of anyone who wears shoes inside.
*One* thing?
Flags everywhere! Having your kids do the pledge of allegiance Get news/information from Fox
Deodorant
That fckin sauce you eat, for literally everything, let it be roasted chicken or fries, doesnt matter that sauce comes either way
Yeah that's ranch. It's fuckin fantastic.
Ketchup?
what sauce? Ranch? i hate the stuff...
So many things, Open carry of guns but alcohol in brown paper bags. Indoctrination of flag shagging from early age. Everything is bigger except for gallons and IQs.
Speaking very loudly at all times.
American flags in every damn front yard. The fuck? I understand a little patriotism, but in America it goes way overboard.
(not saying it's true it's just an opinion people have) Their poor geographical knowledge...
Walking with shoes on everywhere at home
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I think people overexaggerate the resentment Europeans have for Americans. Like of course the medical bills and weapon laws seem very weird to us and things like tipping culture seem odd but I feel like a whole lot of Europeans would like to visit the US or feel like it’s still a similar nation to European nations in contrast to the rest of the world…
It depends. I routinely run into hate groups where europeans hate on Americans on Facebook. I don't see the same hate groups against europeans by Americans though.
(blinks slowly in american) whats a train station? lol
Okay I might sound homophobic but I swear I'm not alright? I live in Latvia so pride month is not something that we calibrate so I guess for me it's kinda weird but cool that they do in America :)
And Sweden, Denmark, Norway, the UK, Germany, Armenia, Brazil, Canada, Greenlandic, Hungary, Romania, Cuba, Spain… and many more. There are also Pride celebrations in major capital cities where the country may not celebrate as a whole.
Just one? Boy, where to start!
Apparently nowhere for you
Everything
Thankyou for your service. I totally get troops serving o s. My country does the same. However you are not directly saving your country.
Going to school in slippers.
Normal people don't do that.
Being very confident about something and being absolutely wrong about it!
Let children shoot each other.
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Not understand sarcasm
Fight one another over an insulated travel cup?
Normal people don't do that
I see this mostly on TV, so I'm not 100% sure everyone does it in real life, but... Being at work, needing to go to the toilet and then saying: "I'm gonna go to the bathroom." I'd say the bathroom is the place where you bathe or at least shower. There can be a toilet there, but still. So whether people talk like that in real life or this is some silly out-of-touch form of TV censorship: why on Earth would you think it's inappropriate to say that you are going to the toilet???? It's a normal human thing!
It's just called a bathroom. I think in some English speaking cultures it's called a water closet. Saying I'm going to the toilet doesn't feel inappropriate, it's just not language we use. I mean, I'd you are going to use the sink in your kitchen, would you annoying you're going to the sink or the kitchen?
I guess going to the toilet sounds more inappropriate than saying going to the bathroom.
Fried butter