upworthy

food

Culture

Americans share 15 of the coolest things they've seen overseas that they want here. Like, now.

"Taxes filed FOR YOU, and the return just appearing in your bank account."

via Canva/Photos

A train conductor, a bidet, and fries with gravy.

America is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, but it lacks a few things compared to other countries. Why can’t America have a high-speed rail, a healthcare system that won’t bankrupt you, or super cool toilets like they do in other parts of the world? Why are we still tipping on every meal, and why can't you find a decent meat pie anywhere?

The great American experiment has done pretty well for the past 249 years, but we still have some blind spots. It would be cool if a brave politician could one day make America truly great by poaching all the best ideas from around the world and creating the perfect country.

utopia, perfect, country, world, society Pedro Pascal City GIF by The Wild Robot Giphy

A Redditor recently asked people on the AskReddit subforum, “What's one interesting thing you saw in another country that made you think, 'How does my country not have this?" The responses are a great starting point for this hypothetical leader to begin making the improvements we’ve all been dying for. Bidets? Yes, we can! French fries with gravy? Yes, we can! Beer at Burger King? Yes, we can!

We compiled a list of the 15 most interesting things they have in countries that should be implemented in America, like, yesterday.

15 cool things they have in other countries that we need in America

1. Cashiers can sit down

"I was an exchange student in Germany during my Junior year in high school. Right before I left, I had a job as a cashier at a grocery store. When I first went shopping in Germany, I thought, 'THEY GET TO SIT?! WHY COULDN'T I DO THAT?!' The only place that does this in the U.S. now is Aldi, which of course is a German company."

"Corporations: 'It's a slippery slope. If we let cashiers sit, what's next? The federal government will make a law that says that pregnant women get time off, and we have to give them money? Fathers get paid time off, too? We let people stay home if they're sick, without a doctor's note? Employees get more than 2 weeks of vacation per year? We have to pay people enough to afford both food AND housing? Where does it end?!'"

cashiers, cashiers sit, sit down, Germany, standing Why can't they just sit down? via Canva/Photos

2. On-time public transport

"I travelled everywhere in Japan by public transport. My Japanese was terrible, but I could get everywhere with Google Maps because of the utter reliability of the services. I turned up at the station or bus stop and caught the transport that presented itself. The train, which was 5 minutes early, was not my train. The one that was on time on the right platform was the one I needed to catch."

3. Fit-levers on faucets

"I saw something similar in Mexico City, only it was a foot pedal to activate/flush a public toilet. This operation seems so much more sanitary than using a handle to flush a toilet."

"You want two peddles: 1) to lower the seat (it should automatically lift back up unless it has a lid which auto-closes); 2) flush."

4. Coupon crushers

"In 1997, I was in Singapore and saw these things that looked like vending machines. It was a machine that you would take your empty pop can, and put it in this compartment, lift a handle to crush the can. It would then drop down into the machine. Then the machine printed out coupons for businesses in the area. I thought it was genius! I've never seen it anywhere else."

5. Bidets

"More Bidets, pls. My anus can only take so much tp."

"Honestly, every person who has tried it has understood why I love them so much. It’s uncomfortable at first because it’s different, but it really does leave you feeling much cleaner."

bidet, bidets, toilets, cleanliness, toilet paper A bidet.via Canva/Photos

6. Private public restroom stalls

"Public restroom stalls without the stupid gaps in between the doors, and smaller to zero gaps on the bottoms of the doors."

7. Server buttons

"In South Korea, there were buttons on the tables to signal you were ready to order, pay, whatever. It meant no pushy or hovering waitstaff and they were able to chill and relax a bit when no one needed their help."

"In Korea, they have a 'bing-bong' button on your table on a restaurant. If you need something, you press the button, your table number shows up on a screen by the server station, and they come over to your table. Usually, I just hold up my empty bottle or side dish and make eye contact from across the room, and they smile and bring me another one. Otherwise, the servers don't come by and bother you during the meal. It's so so so much better this way."

"We have this at Korean BBQ restaurants in Los Angeles."

8. French fries with gravy

"In Canada, you can get French fries with cheese and gravy."

"We have this in the US. If you're in the Jersey/New York area they're called Disco Fries."

9. Free healthcare

"Basically, your medical bills are paid for by your taxes, so when you go into the hospital, the only thing that ends up costing money is the parking. The drawback can be that there is a waitlist for some surgery (except when it's urgently needed to keep you alive), at this time, medical insurance can pay for it, but it's still not as expensive as in America. Also, depending on the country, your medication is also a fraction of the actual cost. For example, in America a box of medication I have to take would cost me about US$600 a month, here in Australia that same medication only costs me about US $15"

"Socialized medicine is only as good as the people implementing it. If it isn't working properly, that isn't really the concepts fault. It's the people running it."


healthcare, universal healthcare, socialized medicine, health, cost Free healthcare, anyone?via Canva/Photos

10. Traffic light countdowns

"In Germany, the traffic lights go from green to yellow to red like they do everywhere else, but after red, they light up red + yellow together before green. That way people have a head start getting ready to hit the gas and by the time it’s green you’re immediately moving forward. Bothers me more than it should when it just goes from red to green in other countries."

11. The government does the taxes

"Taxes filed FOR YOU, and the return just appearing in your bank account."

12. Beer vending machines

"Beer at Burger King" (One-upper!)

13. Attached caps

"This one's less exciting than a lot of others, but I bought a bottle of Coke in London, and when I opened it, I realized there was a little piece of plastic that held the lid to the neck of the bottle, so you don't have to hold it. I can't believe we don't do that in the US. It's such a tiny little thing, but it feels like a no brainer when you think about it."

"That is due to a new law (an EU law, but a lot of brands have done it for their UK products too). Bottle caps have to be attached to the bottle to prevent them from being littered and to help ensure that they are also recycled along with the bottle."

14. Meat pies

"America, they are just not as big a thing here as they are in other countries. I loved them in New Zealand, in fact, when I was there, they had a fast food joint called Georgie Pie that was absolutely fantastic, also bakeries everywhere, where you could get them too."

15. Clean public toilets

"Clean, modern public toilets. I've been to Japan a few times, and those public toilets are amazing. I need to go back to try the one-way glass wall ones. (On a side note, having been to some Japanese music festivals, it seems that they have no problem setting up mens bathrooms in a way that the women line up looking directly into the men's bathroom. Very odd.)


toilet, public toilet, public bathroom, clean, toilets Clean public bathroom.via Canva/Photos

This article originally appeared in June.

From Your Site Articles
america
CultureJoy
Culture

A family's clever cake cutting hack could completely change how you do birthdays forever

There's a simple reason it's been watched more than 1.8 million times.

Image via Canva

Representative image of a person cutting a cake

There are a few types of people who always show up around the dining room table when the birthday cake arrives. There's the dutiful person who is nice enough to volunteer to cut and serve the cake for everyone. There's the person who begs for the piece with the most frosting. Then there's the person who wants as little frosting as possible.

There's also the party-goer who asks for the little sliver of cake and the guy who has no problem taking a slice as big as his head. Let's not forget the cake pusher whose job it is to make sure you take some extra slices home. "Please take some home so I don't eat it," they beg, patting their tummy.

Making everyone happy during the ceremonial cake cutting is no easy task.

birthdays, birthday cake, life hacks, hacks, how to cut a birthday cake A group gathers around a birthday cakeImage via Canva

But now, a game-changing video on TikTok has completely changed the cake-cutting conversation. It eliminates the cake server, long knife, serving plates, spatula, and replaces it with joyous anarchy.

A TikTok video with over 460,000 likes shows a family celebrating a woman's 20th birthday, and after she blows out the candles, each person takes out a wine glass and scoops up a mound of cake.

It's an easy, streamlined way to make sure everyone gets what they want without having to bother anyone to cut and distribute the pieces. Everyone gets to grab the slice they like and in the amount they desire, without having to negotiate.

It's also a fun way to do things as a group. It would be savage to have a bunch of people scooping up cake with spoons, but with wine glasses, it's fancy.

The only drawback is that this technique really favors the pro-frosting constituency.

@theroseperiod

Happy 20th birthday to my Jules!#twenty#fyp#birthdaycake#wineglasses#tiktokmom

Duff Goldman, "Ace of Cakes" star and executive chef of the Baltimore-based Charm City Cakes shop, told Bustle the idea is genius. "Each person can come in with their own cup and get their own serving — it's a nice communal experience where each person can interact with the cake and each other," he said.

"This is a game-changer," one person said on TikTok.

"This is blowing my mind. Why have I never thought of this?" said another woman, who called it "genius."

"A cake hack that I can get behind," another added. "I will never eat cake another way."

The cake hack is a great idea, but one has to be sure that the cake is at room temperature. This could get downright dangerous if used on an ice cream cake or one with a hard filling. Also, you probably want to avoid using super-expensive Tiffany wine glasses that could easily shatter or eating out of the glass with metal utensils.

Ok, TikTokkers that hack was brilliant, your next challenge is to figure out how to eat pie with a wine glass.

This article originally appeared three years ago.

From Your Site Articles
birthdays
CultureJoy
Culture

Non-Americans share 15 things that left them utterly bewildered when they visited America

The way we just scrape our food into the sink after meals.

Derek Wolfgram/Flickr & Canva Photos

People are sharing the weirdest things that are considered normal in America.

For better or worse, it's easy for all of us to find ourselves in a bubble. We're surrounded by a certain way of thinking, a certain lifestyle, and a certain perspective on cultural norms. We can get caught up in thinking that people outside of our little bubble are weird, or different, and that the strange ways they might do things are flat out wrong or bizarre. This is especially common in the United States. The world, in a lot of ways, is America-centric. Most anywhere we go, people will speak English, accept our currency, and know who Taylor Swift is.

But the truth is that there's a big wide world out there, full of vastly different cultures and ways of life! And have we ever stopped to think... maybe we're the weird ones?

A recent thread on Reddit posed the question: "What is something Americans consider normal, but people from other countries find it disturbing?"

Here are the best responses on things that are normal in the U.S. but considered strange, shocking, horrifying, or just plain weird elsewhere.

1. Portion sizes

america, usa, american culture, europe, culture, americans, europeans, americans abroad, tourists, immigrants, large portion sizes American portion sizes are colossal.Canva Photos

"The portion thing always makes me laugh now since I learned Europeans apparently dont do leftovers from restaurants. I get that if you're used to a restaurant portion being something you always eat all of in one sitting our portions probably seem ridiculous. ... As a big dude who eats a ton just to live, I'm glad our portions are what they are," one user wrote.

2. Garbage disposals in kitchen sinks

"Yeah, it’s wild how normal they seem here, but elsewhere they’re seen as loud, dangerous, or just plain weird," someone commented.

"They also seem to think we dump large amounts of food waste down them when they’re just meant for small scraps," a user added.

Garbage disposals, indeed, are not often found outside of the United States. In fact, they're outright banned in many European countries. The thinking is that encouraging people to scrape leftover food down the drain places additional stress on the sewage system and harms the environment.

3. Prices don't include tax

Foreigners think it's weird when they come to America and a 99 cent item ends up costing $1.06. Differing sales tax across state lines is partly to blame, but users in the thread were convinced that's only an excuse:

"If the cash register knows the price, then the price sticker machine can be set with the same price. It's really that simple," someone wrote.

4. Gaps between restroom stall doors

america, usa, american culture, europe, culture, americans, europeans, americans abroad, tourists, immigrants, bathrooms, bathroom stalls, privacy American public restrooms aren't very private.Canva Photos

Visitors from Europe are used to public restroom stalls that are almost completely enclosed. In America, for some strange reason, we love leaving gigantic gaps between the edges of the door, the floor, and the ceiling. Why? There are a few reasons: It's easier to mop under the stalls this way, and less privacy means it's harder for folks to get away with doing sketchy things in the stalls. But either way, a lot of people don't like it.

"I once cried during a layover in the US because I needed to empty my menstrual cup after 12+ hours of traveling, and you could literally just see into every stall. Plus I need to squat down to do it, and the doors ended at my knees. A random lady saw me panicking and when I said the stalls weren't private enough, she said "awwwwe, are you European?"

5. So. many. commercials.

"I had a British friend ask why were there so many commercials during an episode of Family Guy," one user wrote.

"And the content of those commercials. Apparently it's only American doctors who need their patients to ask about some amazing new medication that has crazy side effects," another added.

6. We get healthcare through our jobs

It always struck me as funny that a country that supposedly loves entrepreneurs and small business owners makes it so incredibly dangerous to leave your job for any reason. It's even more shocking to people from, well, almost any other developed country.

"This job pays like shit and I hate it, but if I quit my essential medication won't be covered until I get hired somewhere else, so I can't risk it!" one user joked.

7. Worrying about the cost of the doctor

At least a quarter of adults regularly skip necessary medical care because they're worried about how much it costs. Visitors from abroad are utterly horrified by the thought of having to consider whether potentially life-saving procedures fit the budget.

8. Cashiers don't sit down


america, usa, american culture, europe, culture, americans, europeans, americans abroad, tourists, immigrants, cashiers Cashiers in America stand all shift long.Canva Photos

People who work the cash register generally sit down in most parts of the world, including Europe. It's more comfortable and ergonomic, and, in fact, there's something called Right to Sit that guarantees this benefit.

In America, cashiers are often forbidden from sitting down while working, which comes as a big surprise to foreigners.

9. HOAs

HOAs exist in some parts of the world, but they are particularly intense in America. It can be a bucket of cold water for people who move here from abroad.

"A client of mine had a sick husband. He unfortunately passed away. She leaves her garbage cans out during this time and begins to get fined by the HOA everyday her cans are left out, and letters posted on her door," one user shared.

10. School children reciting the Pledge of Allegiance


america, usa, american culture, europe, culture, patriotism, pledge of allegiance America loves the Pledge of Allegiance.Canva Photos.

Some countries around the world have their own version of the Pledge of Allegiance. What's extremely rare is a democracy forcing children to recite their loyalty every morning and even face punishment if they refuse.

"Did a student exchange [in the US] when I was 17 and got detention on my first day for not saying it. I didn’t know it, but even if I did… It’s not my country! Tried so hard to politely explain that to the teacher and they wouldn’t have a bar of it," one commenter shared.

11. Our obsession with grass lawns

The love, nay, obsession, with lawns found in the America suburbs is not a global phenomenon. A lot of foreigners find it to be extremely strange, and a little disturbing. But there is a bright side:

"As a married, middle aged man with 3 kids, ill let everyone in on a little secret: Its the only time we get to ourselves... It also is really satisfying. But the actual reason behind why it became a thing is rooted in the classwar and racism like everything else in this country," one user wrote.

12. Declawing cats


america, american culture, europe, european culture, cats, cat claws, declawing animals, cosmetic surgery Cosmetic surgeries on pets are...a choice.Canva Photos.

Optional or cosmetic surgeries on pets are pretty unique to America, all things considered:

"Docking tails, and clipping ears, and dew claw removal on dogs, too! Our miniature pinscher has had all three done to her by her previous owner, and it's just so needlessly cruel. She didn't need any of those surgeries," someone wrote.

13. Wearing shoes in the house

Shoes in the house is not uniquely American, but it's more common here than most other places around the world.

"This is insane and nasty. The city I live in unfortunately has a lot of shit — and I don’t mean from dogs — on the ground. Wearing shoes in the house is disgusting," someone wrote.

Personally, I love wearing shoes in the house—otherwise I'd constantly be stubbing my toes!

14. Circumcision

Again, a few other places around the world perform circumcisions, usually for religious reasons, but America is unique in the way it has become the default choice for almost every boy regardless of religion or background. Europeans, in particular, find this practice extremely strange.

"So glad I didn’t do this to my son. My fiancée’s family gave me serious backlash for choosing not to because all of the boys on her side of the family are circumcised. I simply told them that I am not a barbarian and I don’t care what they think," one user wrote.

15. Sugar in weird places


america, usa, american culture, europe, culture, sugar America loves extra sugar in savory foods.Canva Photos.

A lot of food items on American shelves include tons of added sugar and high fructose corn syrup. You expect to see it in soda, candy, and desserts. But bread? Pasta sauce? Why is there so much sugar in everything?

Sugar is used regularly in America to enhance flavor and work as a preservative, whereas the practices isn't as common in many other countries.

This article originally appeared in June.

From Your Site Articles
americans
CultureJoy
Wellness

Man eats the same $1.25 lunch every day, revealing a rarely discussed perspective on food

Some people just genuinely don't care.

Photo credit: Canva

Can you eat the same thing for lunch every single day?

We all know people's relationships with food varies, but many of us may not realize how vastly that spectrum differs. On one end, we have people whose entire lives revolve around food. On the other are people who genuinely don't care about it and wish they didn't ever have to think about food.

Most of us exist somewhere in the middle, but one man's lunch habits have people pondering exactly where they land on that spectrum—as well as how much their position on it is costing them.

food, yummy, delicious, eating, relationship with food Some of us love food a lot more than others. Giphy

"There's this guy in my office who brings the same lunch to work every single day: one hard-boiled egg, a scoop of rice, and half an avocado," a user on Reddit wrote. "He says it costs him about $1.25 per meal. No snacks, no drinks besides water. Just that. Every. Day."

"At first I thought he was doing some sort of minimalist diet or maybe struggling financially, but nope.." they continued, "he’s just super into optimizing his expenses. Says he’s calculated that this routine saves him over $2,500 a year compared to when he used to eat out. He meal preps it all in bulk on Sunday, packs it into identical containers, and doesn’t seem to get bored at all. Even when we order pizza or someone brings in donuts, he politely declines and says, 'Already got my lunch.'"


from Frugal

The person said they were impressed with their coworker's discipline but they could never do it because they need variety. Then they asked if anyone else goes "this hard with frugal food routines," which got people sharing their experiences with others on the extreme of the "caring about food" spectrum:

"Some people just don’t like food. They just see eating as a necessary bodily function and nothing more. I suspect that might be this guy's secret."

"I'm that guy. I used to do the same for work, and now I'm 71, and I have the identical breakfast, lunch, and dinner Monday through Friday."

"You sound like my vegan great uncle. He's in his late '70s but is healthy as a horse. He wakes up at 5:00 a.m. and walks 5 miles. He then spends 30 minutes chopping his veggies and fruits and preparing his meals for the day. For breakfast he has almond milk, oats, and fruit. For lunch and dinner he has some combination of grilled peppers, vegetables, spinach, tofu, and beans. At night he snacks on Rosemary crackers dipped in olive oil.

My mom said that he told her that he has been eating that same diet for the last 50 years."

food, eating, vegetables, cooking, nutrition Some people eat purely for health and nutrition.Photo credit: Canva

"Some people eat because they have to, not because they want to. You can usually tell because they are ones meal-prepping and eating the exact same thing the whole week. They don't want to think about food. It's the people that say 'if you give me a pill and I wouldn't have to eat, I would take the pill.'"

"I’d even take photosynthesis and have green skin if it meant I could not have to eat."

"100%. Have said before that if there was a pill I could take that was free, 100% nutritionally perfect, never leave me hungry, mean perfect muscle growth, etc, and replaced all my meals but meant that I couldn't eat regular food again, I would take it.

Some people usually agree and some others think I'm completely crazy. It is usually one or the other."

food, eating, pill, meals, relationship with food Some people would take a pill if it meant they didn't have to eat food. Giphy

While there's nothing wrong with enjoying food—cooking is an art, after all—there are several reasons people might want to explore a more detached relationship with it. For one, it can save you money, but it also might help you eat more healthfully. The Cleveland Clinic lists healthy habits and eating less (which most Americans could benefit from) as pros for eating the same meal every day. As long as you're getting some food variety for gut and nutritional health, repeating meals can simplify healthy eating while also saving time and energy.

It's also not a new concept. The ancient Stoics took a moderate and self-disciplined approach to food, seeing it as a simply a means to good health and strength. Eating slowly and mindfully, avoiding gluttony and heavy or expensive foods, and mastering the appetite as a means of self-control are hallmarks of the Stoic approach to eating. Eating the same simple, cheap, but healthy meal for lunch every day is certainly one way to live that philosophy.

food, eating, meals, lunch, food prep Simplifying our approach to food can be healthy.Photo credit: Canva

Some of us go far in the other direction, making every meal a major food event, but there's something to be said for letting food just be fuel sometimes. Letting food be unexciting can be difficult when we have an emotional relationship with eating, though. Kylie Mitchell, a counselor specializing in eating disorders, wrote that as she recovered from her eating disorder, she had to remind herself that "every meal does NOT have to be a gourmet experience." She explained how food becoming boring was a transition for her emotionally:

"As my recovery has progressed, I’ve experienced food become less and less interesting. At first, quite honestly, I felt like it sucked. What once brought me so much joy* didn’t anymore because eating satisfying food was no longer a novelty. I ate satisfying foods every time I wanted them and that brought a lot of positives: a less turbulent relationship with food, ease with eating out, and more brain space to focus on living a more whole life. All these things were good (actually they were fan-freaking-tastic), but the sensational, exuberant, flooded-with-relief feeling I once got when eating was gone. I missed that for a while because for several years eating gave me such a high** that I wasn’t getting anymore.

*it wasn’t truly 'joy' I was feeling though. It was really a sense of control that gave me a short term sense of stability over my mood.

**same as above but replace 'joy' with 'a high.'"

This isn't to say that eating can't or shouldn't be a joyful experience, but rather to acknowledge that our relationships with food can be complicated (especially in the U.S. where we have an abundance of food options). Whether we would choose to eat an egg, rice, and avocado every single day for lunch ourselves, the wide range of perspectives on food means we have a lot that we can learn from one another to create a healthy balance.

From Your Site Articles
food
WellnessHealth
Trending Stories