A bathroom sign and a large billboard for a lawyer.
Americans who haven’t spent much time abroad are probably unaware of the culture shock many people feel when they travel to the good ol’ U.S.A. The interesting thing is that it provides people who live in the U.S. a unique perspective on the American way of life that we may not notice otherwise.
People love many things about the United States, whether it’s the freedom to start a business, its gregarious people, the world-class entertainment, or it's movies or theme parks such as Disneyland or Universal Studios. People also love visiting the U.S. because of the country’s amazing national parks.
However, as in any country, America does have some unique quirks that separate it from the rest of the world. People who come to America are usually taken aback by the large portions you get at restaurants, the brazen commercialization of everything, and the fact that we love having plenty of ice in our drinks.
A group of non-Americans who have recently visited the country sounded off on some of the “strange” aspects of American life that people born here may overlook. They did so in response to a Reddit question on the Productivity Cafe subforum: “Non-Americans who have visited the US: What’s the strangest thing about America that Americans don’t even realize is weird?”
Here are 15 things non-Americans find “strange” about the country that those born in the U.S. probably don’t realize are a little weird.
1. Bathroom stalls
"It's always the first time you head to the bathroom at the airport right after you land and see how the stalls are. You might not even be legally in the country yet and you're already having the most awkward sh*t of your life."
"Coming from a civilized northern European country.....the f**king public bathroom stalls! That is some weird and frankly disturbingly primitive design and aesthetic choice to force people to interact with."
2. Tax and tip
"Having to add tax to grocery prices and tipping at restaurants!"
"Absolutely infuriating, and the original point of tipping to reward exceptional service is completely lost. People should be paid by their employer for working."
"I'm not against the tax, but I can't stand the lack of transparency. I need to see the final price on the shelf, not at checkout."
A server carrying a tray of food.via Canva/Photos
3. Terrible walkability
"How un-walkable it is. What do you mean it’s easier to drive 10 mins than walk 5?"
"The horrific lack of sidewalks in my town minimizes where I can safely walk. It's infuriating."
4. The brashness of its culture
"How big and brash everything is. I used to drive from Ontario to Michigan. The highway in Canada was just farmland. The second I crossed the border there were big, loud billboards everywhere. With all uppercase letters, it felt like yelling. 'EAT HERE!' 'SHOP NOW!' The portions are huge. The number of fast-food restaurants in a one block radius is huge. Everything just feels so big and loud."
5. The homeless population
"It's shocking to see so many homeless people and drug addicts everywhere, it's worse than many third world countries."
"People convinced themselves that shutting down the state hospitals was the compassionate thing to do, then they went about their lives patting themselves on the back, ignoring the consequences. Even today, the groups that want to feel like they are helping are really just enabling further human suffering. It's very sad, but the solutions that other countries find perfectly reasonable (essentially committing people against their will) Americans are resistant to."
6. Americans are loud
"I live in a Canadian tourist town frequented by U.S. tourists. They are so incredibly loud everywhere; restaurants, museums, galleries, on the street. They always stand out. It's like the entire country is hard of hearing. It's very unpleasant for the rest of us. I have a friend who worked for an American cruise ship line. He had to quit because he could not stand how loudly the U.S. passengers spoke. Americans should be told this. It's very unpleasant."
7. Gas station commercials
"The ads blasting [at] you at gas stations stress me out so much that I have to leave the vicinity."
"Legally, every Gas Station has to have a mute button for this! It’s usually not labeled, but I just press buttons until the video is muted. Works everytime!"
8. Huge portion sizes
"The portion sizes! My 2 daughters and I learned to only order 1 entree. And we are all big eaters."
"Some restaurants here won't let you split an entree. Or they will charge you extra to split it. Absolutely everything is monetized."
9. The number of guns
"In states like Texas? It is best to assume they are. I have lived in 7 states and this is the first one where I see open carry everywhere I go. Nothing like Denny's after church with being strapped."
"I've had a customer accidentally leave their gun behind at a RESTAURANT before."
10. Paper plates
"I found Americans using paper plates in their own homes very strange."
"I am American and only used them for picnics and don't understand how many people use them exclusively, either."
Fruit on paper plates.via Canva/Photos
11. Pharmaceutical ads
"I always hear from foreigners that it’s weird we have ads for medications… And I can’t stop thinking about it. Because it is freaking weird."
"Ask your doctor about... Shouldn't the doctor be asking me?"
"Advertisements for medicines. They come across as really cheesy and bizarre/shonky. In the UK, it just wouldn't need to be advertised. If you need it, your healthcare professional gives it to you, and if you don't need it, you don't need to know about it. You wouldn't base your medical care decisions on what has been advertised at you."
12. Litigation
"The result is there are so many rules concerning what you may not do in case you hurt yourself."
13. Cinnamon rolls
"I don't know if it's still a thing but when I visited in the '90s, there were cinnamon rolls everywhere, even in Taco Bell. And i loooved them omg. Everywhere my mum and I went we ordered cinnamon roll thingys and ate them until the last day if the trip where we turned totally sick of cinnamon, like the very smell made us nauseous. They don't seem to exist in Australia...or maybe they do in specialist bakeries... but after that trip I did not eat one again. And i never see these delicious desserts in any Hollywood movies or Netflix TV shows. So even now, I wonder if I dreamt them...."
14. The sheer number of flags
"Flags, flags everywhere. I get it at government buildings, maybe international sporting events. We do it there too. But I feel there’s no spot I can stand in public without at least one flag in eyeshot. Or even on clothing. There also seem to be a lot of secondary flags besides the main US one, I assume for state?"
"Not necessarily that weird but you guys sure love that flag. It’s god damn everywhere."
15. Ads for lawyers
"The first thing I noticed was all the billboard advertising for compensation lawyers. Almost no other type of advertising. Like, I knew that suing people was a big thing in the US. I just didn't realise that most of those cringy ads would be on giant billboards. I suppose it's not something that makes it to a tv series."