Every country has something they’re best at. For the French, some say, it’s the wines. Japan, according to some, produces the best cars. When it comes to the U.S., people abroad are most impressed by its technological achievements and entertainment. At least, that’s what official research claims.
But what about the people on the Internet? What do they think about The United States of America? Recently, one person asked other netizens: “What is something The United States of America does better than any other country?“, and nationals, expats, and guests didn’t hesitate to share their takes. “I live in America, say it loud, it’ll make you proud,” James Brown sang. And these people, it seems, really took that to heart.
Bored Panda reached out to the Redditor who asked others what makes America so great, and they kindly agreed to have a short chat with us. Read our conversation with u/RedskinPotatoes26 below!
#1
I was born in Europe and moved to the USA as a young teen. The U.S. gets assimilation really well. Like- you become part of some group fairly quickly and there are many to pick from. In Europe we had two boys in school, one from the US and one from India. Those kids got picked on for years and years. They never ever were going to be considered to be one of us. And never will.
The U.S. has this thing where if you play a sport and win as a team, or get through something difficult together like a math competition or a science lab, or play in a band that sounded good- suddenly you are one of everyone else. I had never experienced that before. It felt… good.
The U.S. has this thing where if you play a sport and win as a team, or get through something difficult together like a math competition or a science lab, or play in a band that sounded good- suddenly you are one of everyone else. I had never experienced that before. It felt… good.
39points
#2
Cultural assimilation.
Pretty much any thing you can think of from anywhere in the world, we've got it here, somewhere.
Mexican, Japanese, Chinese, Nigerian, Korean, French, etc.
If you like the food, music, literature, religion, whatever ... you can find it here.
Pretty much any thing you can think of from anywhere in the world, we've got it here, somewhere.
Mexican, Japanese, Chinese, Nigerian, Korean, French, etc.
If you like the food, music, literature, religion, whatever ... you can find it here.
33points
#3
Space exploration. Voyager is the first interstellar space probe in history, launched 47 years ago and still sending back data. Nobody builds em like NASA.
We did the first rendezvous in orbit, the first human missions to the moon, the first reusable space shuttle, the only planets in this solar system we weren't the first to visit are Earth and Venus, we currently have a helicopter and two nuclear powered rovers on Mars, and as we speak we're building the core segments to the first lunar orbiting space station and a nuclear powered helicopter thats going to Titan.
There are two agencies in America who's reputation around the world is unimpeachable: the National Parks Service, and NASA.
We did the first rendezvous in orbit, the first human missions to the moon, the first reusable space shuttle, the only planets in this solar system we weren't the first to visit are Earth and Venus, we currently have a helicopter and two nuclear powered rovers on Mars, and as we speak we're building the core segments to the first lunar orbiting space station and a nuclear powered helicopter thats going to Titan.
There are two agencies in America who's reputation around the world is unimpeachable: the National Parks Service, and NASA.
29points
The Redditor u/RedskinPotatoes26 is an American and a proud one, at that! "For as long as I have been alive, America has been on this pedestal as one of the greatest countries in the world, [and] I wanted to explore that theory," they told us in a message.
When asked what they think are the areas the U.S. excels at, they claim it's technology. "I believe America is the most innovative country in the world. Almost everything you use today was invented in America. The automobile, planes, [the] cell phone, Amazon, Netflix, and Twitter were all invented here in America," the Redditor says.
#4
The US is unmatched by anyone in the world in two things:
1 - Landing people on the moon and returning them safely to the Earth.
2 - Putting cheese like products in spray cans.
1 - Landing people on the moon and returning them safely to the Earth.
2 - Putting cheese like products in spray cans.
27points
#5
As a European, my answer to this is stand up comedy, Male, Female, White ,Black, whatever you mention America has just the most incredible people in the world of standup.
I feel it genuinely is America's true art form, its the best part of U.s culture for me.
I feel it genuinely is America's true art form, its the best part of U.s culture for me.
26points
#6
I'm an American living in Canada.
I can tell you with no uncertainty that Americans are just better at hamburgers.
I hate the stereotype, but it's true. Even the places here that are allowed to cook their meat to temperature (Canada has strict rules about meat handling, so most places just cook them all 'well done') don't really understand all of the other stuff that's supposed to go on a good burger. Whole wheat bun with kale is just f*****g gross and I've seen it more than a few times. America just has the right mixture of ignorance of consequences, indulgence, culture, and availability of ingredients that hamburgers are just... better.
I can tell you with no uncertainty that Americans are just better at hamburgers.
I hate the stereotype, but it's true. Even the places here that are allowed to cook their meat to temperature (Canada has strict rules about meat handling, so most places just cook them all 'well done') don't really understand all of the other stuff that's supposed to go on a good burger. Whole wheat bun with kale is just f*****g gross and I've seen it more than a few times. America just has the right mixture of ignorance of consequences, indulgence, culture, and availability of ingredients that hamburgers are just... better.
20points
And the Redditor isn't far off. The United States was actually one of the five most innovative global economies in 2023. In fact, America was just behind Switzerland and Sweden, according to the WIPO's Global Innovation Index.
Many Americans also think that the U.S. is one of the greatest countries in the world. People from other nations hold the U.S. in high regard in several different fields.
A Pew survey found that 75% of people from 23 other countries think the USA has the best military. They also rated American entertainment, technological achievements, and universities the highest.
#7
Hollywood movies. American blockbuster movies are popular all around the world. No other countries produces movies of the same degree of spectacle and quality.
19points
#9
Disability protections and accommodations. The ADA is the worlds golden standard and it's not even remotely close.
15points
Tourists love America, too. The World Economic Forum's Travel and Tourism Development Index (TTDI) ranked America the #1 destination in 2024. Tim Leffel, author of the book and online resource The World's Cheapest Destinations, explained to the BBC that it's probably about how many different things the U.S. can offer.
"The USA is blessed with more variety of landscapes and interesting cities than any country on the planet, from mountains, desert, tropics, swamp. New Orleans, New York City, Santa Fe, Alaska, and Florida are more different than most countries are," he claimed.
#10
Junk food. Endless varieties of potato chips, pretzels, popcorn, corn chips, highly manufactured near-food things like like Pringles, Cheetos, Funions, and Bugles, everything dusted with a flavor-mimicking complex mix of synthetic flavor and color powders.
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14points
#11
Advertising. No... I hate this, but seriously. We advertise like no where else. And the level of detail because of lax consumer protection laws is insane.
12points
#12
Can't believe no one has said CONSUMING. Food art clothes cars jewelry. We live in extreme excess. Buy it. Don't like it? Throw it out. Buy something else. We waste food, gas, energy, medical services, water to the extreme.
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11points
#13
Second chances. A lot of our most successful people bounced back from failure. In east Asia, business failures typically don't get second chances, so you can't really learn from failure. You either have to start off with all the wisdom that others learn from having tried and failed, or you have to be really lucky.
This sort of culture around business makes entrepreneurs risk averse compared to the US, so the US is also better for risk taking in new business concepts and models in a way that many other cultures are not.
This sort of culture around business makes entrepreneurs risk averse compared to the US, so the US is also better for risk taking in new business concepts and models in a way that many other cultures are not.
10points
#14
The United States takes in the most immigrants from foreign countries.
The US is also the most generous country in the world and donates the most money to various medical and nonprofit organizations compared to anywhere else globally.
The US is also the most generous country in the world and donates the most money to various medical and nonprofit organizations compared to anywhere else globally.
10points
#16
Startups. It is so difficult to build a startup style company is many other countries. In the US it is surprisingly easy to start a company. First off the way the US government supports startups is so much better than other countries. There are various federal and state programs offering grants, loans, and tax incentives specifically designed for small businesses and startups. But really it is that the regulatory environment is so much more flexible and less bureaucratic, which makes it easier to start and scale a business.
Due to our culture and government we also have a ton of venture capital, with places like Silicon Valley being major hubs for investors looking to fund new ideas. There's also a huge pool of skilled workers, especially in tech and business, thanks to top universities and research institutions.
Something else that is undervalued is the culture here strongly emphasizes entrepreneurship and innovation. Taking risks is encouraged, and failure is often seen as just a step on the way to success. That is not something you’ll see in most other countries.
On top of all this, the US is a massive and wealthy market, giving startups a big customer base right from the start. There are also tons of accelerators, incubators, and mentorship programs available to help startups grow. Advanced tech and physical infrastructure make it easier for startups to operate and scale quickly.
The US just f***s when it comes to startups.
Due to our culture and government we also have a ton of venture capital, with places like Silicon Valley being major hubs for investors looking to fund new ideas. There's also a huge pool of skilled workers, especially in tech and business, thanks to top universities and research institutions.
Something else that is undervalued is the culture here strongly emphasizes entrepreneurship and innovation. Taking risks is encouraged, and failure is often seen as just a step on the way to success. That is not something you’ll see in most other countries.
On top of all this, the US is a massive and wealthy market, giving startups a big customer base right from the start. There are also tons of accelerators, incubators, and mentorship programs available to help startups grow. Advanced tech and physical infrastructure make it easier for startups to operate and scale quickly.
The US just f***s when it comes to startups.
9points
#17
Lawyer advertising for every problem imaginable. When can I sue lawyers because I wasn‘t entitled to compensation?
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7points
#18
Cybersecurity. I just recently learned that the United States of America is the top gold standard in all things cybersecurity. I was actually a little surprised.
Entertainment.
Americans love to be entertained. We spend more money on entertainment than anybody anywhere. That's all kinds of entertainment from movies, music concerts, amusement parks and even smaller forms of entertainment like movie theaters, bars and night clubs, bowling alleys, laser tag, and even food videos.
Entertainment.
Americans love to be entertained. We spend more money on entertainment than anybody anywhere. That's all kinds of entertainment from movies, music concerts, amusement parks and even smaller forms of entertainment like movie theaters, bars and night clubs, bowling alleys, laser tag, and even food videos.
5points
#19
Soft power. No country does it as well as the US. Despite its many shortcomings, people are drawn to the US. Films, TV, music, food, it’s got such a magnetic pull.
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5points
#20
Spreading its idea of culture / propaganda. I think pretty much every country in the world knows what and where the US is. Some countries have never even been heard of depending on where you are, but everyone know what 'Murica is and what it stands for. Television series, food chains, movies, aspirations, food, products, cars, land of the free, their cultural identity is widely known.
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5points