Something seemingly normal can always appear weird to others. And when it comes to cultural habits, it’s easy for them to go unnoticed, especially if you’ve grown up with them all your life. Recently, an online discussion group took a fun look at some weird things Americans do without a second thought.
1. Co-Opt the Term America
Bizarrely, United States citizens have co-opted “America” as a catch-all to describe their country. Many people chalk it up to old-fashioned American arrogance; after all, the United States comprises 50 states that are part of the greater Americas region. Has anybody asked Brazil if they would like to use the term “America?” After all, they have just as much a right to the word as the U.S. does!
2. Tip Extensively
Can we finally all agree that the United States’ insistence on supporting a culture of excessive tipping is backward? No other country in the world relies on tipping to pay wages. “It makes no sense to underpay workers in food and expect the customer to make up for it,” explains one woman. “It should be the business’s responsibility to have fair pay for workers.”
3. Pharmacies Being One-Stop Shops
In Europe, going to a pharmacy means entering a store that only contains over-the-counter and prescription drugs. In the United States, walking into a pharmacy means entering a de facto grocery store, where thousands of household items, food products, and toys are sold. It’s bizarre; why don’t American pharmacies focus on pharmaceuticals exclusively?
4. Enjoy Gigantic Restaurant Portions
In many European countries, people practice “portion control,” which few Americans can relate to. Why are food portions so excessive in the United States? I rarely finish my meals at sit-down restaurants when I visit the U.S., and when I do, I feel super guilty,” laments one European traveler.
5. Eat Bread With Lots of Sugar
In various parts of Europe, Subway’s sandwich chain is prohibited from marketing their fresh bread as bread due to its high sugar content! As a result, Subway is forced to sell their bread as pastries. The American insistence on cramming as much sugar as possible into their bread is confounding and doesn’t help reverse the U.S.’s reputation for being an unhealthy nation.
6. Wear Swimsuits
It’s no secret that many countries worldwide are less bashful than the United States. Some European countries don’t require bathing suits to be worn on public beaches, which starkly contrasts the beaches in the United States. It’s illegal for women to be topless on public beaches, making much of Europe wonder why the U.S. is so embarrassed by its women.
7. Knowingly Go Into Debt for Education
Arguably the most weird thing Americans do is knowingly put themselves in debt to get a higher education. The issue of secondary education costing Americans so much over the years is a point of contention among many people. It doesn’t make sense: you take on massive debt to better yourself, then spend the rest of your life paying it off! Higher education is infinitely more affordable in other parts of the world and is often free.
8. Use Currency That All Looks the Same
Other countries realize how silly it is to have currencies of the same size, shape, and color. Obviously, this leads to logistical challenges. For example, how would a blind American citizen be able to differentiate between different nominations? Most nations use different colors and sizes for their bills to ensure no mistakes can be made for accessible reasons.
9. Have Gender Reveal Parties
Many countries are baffled by the phenomenon of soon-to-be parents hosting grandiose gender reveal parties. Americans are the only people who have these parties, as the rest of the world is content not to contribute to the social media-driven culture driving society today.
10. Accepting a Terrible Work/Life Balance
Most Americans work 40 hours per week, 50 weeks a year, in exchange for two weeks of vacation. Compared to the rest of the world, the American work/life balance is awful. Here in Australia, it’s the law for employers to give all permanent employees four weeks paid annual leave,” reveals one man. Some employers give more than that, and some also pay “Leave Loading” which is an incentive to get you to take your paid leave because it’s an accruable entitlement, and if someone leaves after ten years without taking a holiday, you have to pay them for 40 weeks on the way out the door.
11. Use Tons of Ice
Americans dump ice cubes into their glasses like it’s going out of style, and it’s a direct result of the country’s superior plumbing and water system. Many Europeans aren’t used to such flagrant disregard for poor ice cubes since drinks served overseas are served with minimal ice. It leads to an interesting question: Why do Americans demand their glasses and cups be filled with ice? It seems wasteful!
12. Our Date Format
I distinctly remember being utterly confused when I booked flights with European airlines before a trip overseas; their date formats are backward! Of course, I quickly realized the error of my thinking: In actuality, the United States is backward in this regard. I don’t know why we insist on being different than the status quo, and in this case, I think we’re doing it all wrong!
13. It’s Legal To Advertise Prescription Drugs
Europeans are consistently blown away by one aspect of American culture whenever they visit the United States: it’s legal to advertise prescription drugs here. This practice is heavily regulated overseas, but in the United States, companies can create advertisements for any medication they want, as long as they spend two-thirds of their commercial listing all the horrible potential side effects.
14. Flag Adoration
Regardless of where Americans stand politically, most citizens must admit that the United States’ adoration of its flag is borderline weird. “Your obsession with the flag is something that I can’t ever wrap my head around,” reveals one visitor. I could go months in Australia without seeing our flag, but in America, people seem to be bowing down to it.
15. Use the Imperial Measuring System
Countless U.S. government decisions baffle the average American and the country’s insistence on not moving over to the metric system (along with the rest of the world) is one of the most headache-inducing. The U.S. stubbornly sticks to the imperial measuring system for reasons beyond most people. The rest of the world routinely pleads for the United States to come to its senses.
16. Endure Endless TV Commercials
Unfortunately, endless commercials are something Americans are used to. In an average 30-minute television show, viewers can expect to endure up to ten minutes of ads, which understandably shocks the rest of the world. In many other countries, television commercials take a back seat to the content, from sitcoms to sporting events.
17. Take Leftovers Home
One of the great American traditions is bringing home the part of the meal that wasn’t finished in the restaurant home with you to finish eating the next day. This is called eating leftovers, which baffles many people unfamiliar with American culture. In many parts of Europe, to-go boxes and bags aren’t offered in restaurants because the portion sizes are far more sensible; nobody needs them!
18. Receiving Free Refills
It’s no surprise that Americans love their complimentary refills. Whether it’s soda or other drinks (let’s be honest, it’s just soda), Americans aren’t shy about requesting multiple refills when dining out at their favorite restaurants. To visitors from other countries, this behavior is puzzling. Free refills don’t exist in Europe, mainly because Europeans don’t want to put hundreds of ounces of sugar water into their bodies every time they eat out.
19. Use Excessive Water
From complimentary glasses of water in restaurants to the massive amount of water the average American toilet uses each time it’s flushed, the United States loves wasting water. This practice is undeniably weird; water is a finite resource, so logic says we should conserve as much of it as possible.
20. Accept Sales Tax on Everything
Despite most Americans being wholly against being taxed by the government, nobody speaks up about the sales tax levied on nearly every item a person buys. No other country willingly accepts sales tax the way Americans do. Even fundamental utilities and perishable food items are taxed, which is less prevalent in European countries.
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