#1 “There Has Never Been Another Nation That Has Existed Much Beyond 250 Years”
The [Stuff] Americans Say subreddit has been around since 2013 and has amassed nearly 800K members. The group’s goal is to call out amusing and shockingly ignorant comments that Americans make online, but of course, it’s all done in good fun.
To find out how the community has been since the last time we featured it on Bored Panda, we got in touch with one of the group's moderators. "Not much has changed," the mod says. "Trump and his administration (former and present) were already treated as 'low-hanging fruit' here (and in any case, there are many subs dedicated to stupid things Trump and his entourage say, so we want to avoid duplication)."
"There are more posts about things like ICE and tariffs (though most ICE posts tend not to be very lighthearted, so [many] don't make it past pre-moderation)," the mod added.
#2 "Tarrifs Will Bring Some Prices Down Hopefully, Like iPhone. And Samsung Phone $1000-$1200 Is Ridiculous"
We also asked the moderator what advice they would give to Americans who want to avoid being featured on their page. "Don't assume everyone understands US cultural references (TV shows, fast food chains, measurements, date formats, currency etc.)," they told Bored Panda. "You'll find examples of this on our sister sub r/USDefaultism too."
"In particular, don't say, 'I'm Irish/Italian/German/whatever' unless you're an actual citizen. You should clarify that you mean 'heritage,' otherwise you risk the wrath of your (claimed) countrymen," the mod warns.
#4 "How Do People In England Feel About America Celebrating Today??? Is Wimbledon Their Way Of Snubbing Their Nose At Our Holiday???"
Finally, the moderator shared some suggestions for how Americans can educate themselves about the rest of the world. "Look for foreign news sources (e.g. BBC, The Guardian, Deutsche Welle, France 24, Telesur, etc., which have pages in English) to get different points of view about current events and foreign cultures, as well as how US culture and politics are perceived abroad."
It’s no secret that the United States is a global powerhouse. The nation is home to the largest economy in the world, and culturally, it’s considered one of the most influential countries as well. The US is the planet’s fourth largest producer of film, and the world’s largest producer of music. You can ask plenty of people around the globe what their favorite movie, television show or song is, and there will be a chance that their response came from the United States, regardless of their native country or language.
#6 "While In Germany I Found An Aldi. The Aldi Is Nothing Like An American Aldi"
As a young nation, the United States has done incredible things in less than 250 years. But with great power comes great responsibility. And when you’re the third most populated country on the planet, all eyes are on you. So you better be prepared to be held accountable by your audience.
Everyone deserves to be held accountable for their mistakes, and the internet is a wonderful place to learn and grow! It’s just unfortunate that the most ignorant voices are often the loudest. And in the United States, there are simply more people in general than almost any other country. So with a large population comes a greater amount of people who probably shouldn’t have access to social media.
Now, let’s break down some of the most common assumptions people around the world make about Americans. One is that we’re absolutely terrible at geography. Now, it’s estimated that only about half of the country’s population can actually label all 50 states on a map. And one survey found that 44% of Americans can’t correctly identify EU nations on a map.
So perhaps it’s true that Americans aren’t the best at geography. But plenty of Europeans probably can’t identify more than a handful of American states either. So it might not be fair to dunk on Americans for their geographical knowledge (or lack thereof).
Something else the world loves to criticize Americans for is being monolingual. While it’s true that you can certainly make your way through the American school system without becoming fluent in another language, students are typically required to study a foreign language for at least two years in high school. Meanwhile, data from the US Census Bureau found that 22% of Americans actually don’t speak English at home. So it’s not exactly fair to paint the whole nation as monolingual.
#14 On A Map About Which Way European Traffic Lights Are Walking, "Idiotic Icons" Guy Gets A Good Point Made Against Him
This next assumption about the United States doesn’t have to do with intelligence, but it’s certainly something that the rest of the world likes to clown on us for: being unhealthy and/or overweight. It’s true that 40% of the nation is considered obese, according to the CDC. However, when it comes to the most obese countries in the world, the United States ranks 19th. And in the United Kingdom, 28% of adults are considered obese. So while this is certainly an issue in the US, it’s not the only nation that is struggling with an obesity epidemic.
It’s easy to assume that the United States is full of ignorant people when that’s all you see online. But in reality, the nation has plenty of brilliant, innovative individuals. Futura published an article celebrating the greatest scientific advancements from the 20th century, and many actually came from the good old USA. They noted that the country was home to the first successful organ transplant. And who can forget NASA putting the first man on the moon in 1969?
