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92 Things Americans Are Used To That Look Weird To The Rest Of The World
MAY 6, 2021

92 Things Americans Are Used To That Look Weird To The Rest Of The World

Mantas Kačerauskas
Liucija Adomaite
Mantas Kačerauskas and Liucija Adomaite
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The truth is in the eye of the beholder. For Americans, this means endless free refills, red solo cups and supermarket aisles dedicated to an entire kingdom of cereals, sour and crunchy, salty and sweet, family boxes and portion size. For Europeans, this is something they only see during Netflix TV series while shamelessly devouring entire seasons on rainy Sundays.
But in order to find out what cultural differences really stand out as major when comparing the American lifestyle and the rest of the world, one has to look at what people themselves have to say. So we compiled a list of the best answers that reveal what’s totally normal in the US but looks very out-of-this-world in other countries below.
If you have something to add, please hit us in the comment section! And in case you’re in the mood for more culture shocks, check out our previous article on an American living in Italy who shares the incredible USA vs. Italy culture differences she has experienced.

#1

92 Things Americans Are Used To That Look Weird To The Rest Of The World
The idolization of politicians. They are public servants, similar to a courthouse clerk or a city hall coordinator. They are not rock stars. You dont need to scream their name, buy their merch, fully commit your life to them and believe everything they say. Just... treat them like public servants. Sure, they get power and position, but hold them accountable when they abuse it. Dont let corporations and politicians take over, the political system is created by the people, FOR the people. It just... boggles the mind.
Koenigseggalicious
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204points

#2

92 Things Americans Are Used To That Look Weird To The Rest Of The World
Bankruptcy because you went to the hospital
canesfan09, CDC
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180points

#3

92 Things Americans Are Used To That Look Weird To The Rest Of The World
When you are 18 years old, you can be shipped to a foreign country to kill humans, but you are not allowed to drink alcohol.
K_51, Diego González
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176points

To find out more about what an American living abroad had to say about cultural differences, Bored Panda reached out to Kacie Burns, actor and dancer from Canton, Michigan, who has been documenting her daily adventures after moving to live in Florence, Italy. Kacie has a whopping 479.6K followers on her TikTok, where she has amassed 12.9M likes for her fun and lighthearted videos.

Having lived in Europe for quite some time now, Kacie has confirmed that American culture is really different from European in so many ways. “Everything from what they eat to how they dress to what they value to culture/society norms—and then it differs even further when you look at the cultural differences between different European countries,” Kacie told us.

#4

92 Things Americans Are Used To That Look Weird To The Rest Of The World
Gratuitous violence in entertainment is normal. But show one boob and people lose their [minds].
danno49
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175points

#5

92 Things Americans Are Used To That Look Weird To The Rest Of The World
Why the big amount of flat-earth and antivax people?? Is your education system not doing well??
MiguelRc1
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172points

#6

92 Things Americans Are Used To That Look Weird To The Rest Of The World
Date Order (MM/DD/YYYY)
-Sinister-Shadow, Behnam Norouzi
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150points

She also said that she experienced “major cultural shocks living in Italy, but I know that if I visit or live in any other European country, I'll experience different culture shocks there as well.” The biggest lifestyle and mindset difference Kacie sees is “the old saying, 'Americans live to work, while Europeans work to live.' It's so true.”

#7

92 Things Americans Are Used To That Look Weird To The Rest Of The World
Being concerned when anyone speaks a language you can't understand.
I live in India and we have 22 language here, with multiple dialects of the each language.
SparkySparkiBoomMan, Eric Prouzet
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140points

#8

92 Things Americans Are Used To That Look Weird To The Rest Of The World
Actively avoiding healthcare visits/checkups because if there's something wrong and you don't have the money to pay for treatment, then you'd rather just not know
unknown, Martha Dominguez de Gouveia
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129points

#9

92 Things Americans Are Used To That Look Weird To The Rest Of The World
That women only get about 6 weeks off work after having a baby and it's most likely to be unpaid.
-Aucuparia-, Juan Encalada
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126points

She added that in general, “Americans are constantly on the go—constantly working, constantly moving, constantly striving for the next best thing, which is great for its own reasons, but I've also found that because of this, Americans are much more stressed, much more overworked, and much more burnt out compared to Europeans.”

#10

92 Things Americans Are Used To That Look Weird To The Rest Of The World
Portion sizes.
pourmewhineoh, Léo Roza
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125points

#11

92 Things Americans Are Used To That Look Weird To The Rest Of The World
Having police patrol the school
alexis0292, Jack Finnigan
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124points

#12

92 Things Americans Are Used To That Look Weird To The Rest Of The World
Pledge to the flag in class
r93gd4dg1t, Jon Sailer
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123points

Kacie recounted that when she moved to Italy, one of the biggest culture shocks she experienced was “how Italians take time during their day to slow down and relax, whether it be closing the store for 3 hours in the afternoon to go home and spend time with family or having mandatory paid vacation weeks by law, no matter your job.”

Having said that, the actress and TikToker added that it also has its negative connotations “but in general I've found they make enjoying their life a priority. It's definitely something I've gathered is similar as a whole in Europe as well!”

#13

92 Things Americans Are Used To That Look Weird To The Rest Of The World
American flags everywhere. I traveled throughout Europe and the Caribbean and I usually only saw their flag on government builds and here and there. Where as here in the USA the flag is like Franks Red Hot. We put them on everything. Magnets, churches, cars, condoms, every front porch, and street lamp. #murica
doughydonuts, Jon Sailer
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117points

#14

92 Things Americans Are Used To That Look Weird To The Rest Of The World
Putting a ton of sugar in products like bread.
TheThingsWeMake, Jan Antonin Kolar
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114points

#15

Registering to vote. As a Canadian, you're automatically enrolled when you turn 18 and get a notice where your polling station will be for every election.
wbajl
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111points

#16

92 Things Americans Are Used To That Look Weird To The Rest Of The World
Prescription drug ads encouraging people to ask their doctor about the drug being advertised.
unknown, Sharon McCutcheon
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108points

#17

Not using the metric system. Counting in football fields/moon landings instead... I don't get it.
ligvigfui
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108points

#18

92 Things Americans Are Used To That Look Weird To The Rest Of The World
When I was there during the last election I was shocked at how phrases like ‘well they have the black vote’ or the ‘Latino vote’ came up all the time on the radio. Obviously it’s not racist but it’s just something that would never come up in my country. Like, why would latino people all vote for the same person?
Adam-West, History in HD
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106points

#19

92 Things Americans Are Used To That Look Weird To The Rest Of The World
Having only two parties: Republicans and Democrats. I know there are some smaller parties, but the system is stacked against them.
K_51
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101points

#20

92 Things Americans Are Used To That Look Weird To The Rest Of The World
Ambulance rides costing money seems pretty absurd to people from other countries.
Meemesfourdayz, Jonnica Hill
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100points
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