Top 10 Common Things in the U.S. that Other Countries Find Odd
America is an extremely patriotic country, and they will make sure you know it. The red, white, and blue flag isn't solely reserved for the Fourth of July. You walk down any street in America, and you see the nation's flag perched on a few houses.
No other country seems to be that way.
As an American, I find extremely patriotic Americans overvaluing American life, America, and the values themselves really weird (if that makes sense).
Well, AMERICAN flags aren't bound to be anywhere else. Anyways, I get your point. Here in Sweden, it's the literal opposite, but in my other motherland Lithuania, it's the same situation as in the U.S. (everyone loves their country there).
So many mistakes have been made in collaborative works because of this difference. So many dumb conversions have to be memorized because the ratios between units are completely illogical.
It's prosaic, and it's time we all moved on.
Yeah, Americans love their guns. They like hunting, and owning one just gives them a sense of power and pride, I guess.
I never understood the level of commitment to Halloween that America has. To me, it's just one night of the year when kids dress up and collect chocolates.
To them, it's when grown men and women spend hundreds of dollars on a costume that they only wear once and have parties where they invite an entire town to congregate.
America is a country that loves to commercialize everything, including the spooky holiday where kids dress up as their favorite character and run around their neighborhood collecting candy.
In the U.S., it's seen as odd not to participate in this tradition while other countries find it a bit bizarre.
The best way to classify or list something is from the general to the specific. So, the best way to write dates is Year/Month/Day. This is used in some places and should be universal.
It gives an immediate understanding of historical dates and birth dates. The American way, Month/Day/Year, is half bad. The British way, Day/Month/Year, is all bad.
Yes, even something as simple as writing the date, America has to be different from the rest of the world. While most of the world typically writes it as "DD/MM/YY," America writes it as "MM/DD/YY."
So, for example, the 4th of July in other countries is 4-7-2020, while here in the U.S. it's 7-4-2020. The reason the country does this is unclear, but they probably just have a thing with always wanting to be unique from the rest of the world.
All of America's bills look alike, which can be confusing for foreigners. A lot of other countries have more colorful bills spanning all colors of the rainbow, but America instead has greyish black with a green tint.
We Swedes take pride in different colors depending on the type of bill..., or at least I do.
They look too plain, to be honest. Why couldn't they be red, blue, or yellow?
The thumbs-up gesture is used by Americans to show affirmation, to say 'yes', or to congratulate someone on a job well done. Even though it is used constantly in the U.S., it is definitely not universal.
On the contrary, it is actually equivalent to using the middle finger in countries including Australia, Greece, and the Middle East.
Interesting how it's seen as a negative gesture in other countries.
As soon as autumn hits in America, everyone goes absolutely insane for anything pumpkin flavored. Pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin pie, pumpkin ice cream, and pretty much anything else you can think of is made pumpkin-themed in the fall.
Those from the U.S. have come to expect pumpkin-flavored everything once summer ends, while the rest of the world simply sees them as another member of the squash family.
This has caught on in the UK as well, and it causes a lot of people to flock to coffee shops in October and November. Then there are Christmas-themed coffees and hot chocolates the next month.
The crowds can be huge.
The concept of driving through a drive-thru to get a cup of coffee is a foreign concept to a lot of countries other than America. In most countries, you would at least take the time to park and walk into a shop to get what you needed.
But it's not just coffee. You can get fast food, groceries, liquor, and even make a deposit or withdrawal from the bank without leaving your car.
Trust me on this one. I know a thing or two since Chiefs Kingdom has one of the best spots to tailgate in the entire NFL.
Not only does America have a completely different form of 'football' than the rest of the world (since they call soccer football in other countries), but the U.S. also has some pretty crazy traditions that come along with it. One of these traditions includes tailgating, which involves drinking on the back of pick-up trucks while enjoying a BBQ (another Kansas City staple) in the parking lot outside the stadium.
If you visit anywhere in Europe and ask to customize your meal, especially in places like Italy, they will often refuse any customization request you make. This is because they take pride in their cuisine and believe traditional recipes should not be tampered with.
This is not the case in the U.S., where you can add or take away something from your main meal with no problem. America is more customer-oriented than Europe in this regard.
Imagine going to another country and they don't ask you how you want your steak.
America's drinking age is 21, which is well above a lot of countries' minimum age. With teenagers at 16 drinking in places like Europe, the legal age in Canada being 19 (and 18 in certain provinces), and Australia being 18 - the States definitely have stricter laws when it comes to drinking.
Also, in some states, they don't sell any liquor on Sundays as it conflicts with the Church. It's weird considering that in a lot of other circumstances the U.S. has rather relaxed laws.
Yeah, I'm one of those people that believe if you are considered responsible enough to vote and old enough to go to war to kill other human beings or be killed, you should be able to drink alcohol.
There's nothing pointless about giving thanks to God. It's a nice 'food holiday' too.
Yeah, this is a stereotype about Americans. We love our fast food despite it not being healthy. That's why you can go to any random town and there's at least going to be a McDonald's. No other country eats so much fast food, it seems.
It's kind of a stereotype that's true.
Indeed, especially those full-size SUVs like the Cadillac Escalade or the GMC Yukon.