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People Break Down The Double Standards They're The Most Tired Of Seeing

People Break Down The Double Standards They're The Most Tired Of Seeing
Photo by Julien L on Unsplash

Nobody is better than anybody else. Why is that such a difficult concept for so many people? One person doesn't get a pass for certain things that another person would be scolded for "just because."

Even in family dynamics, double standards are at play. Why should sons get a later curfew than daughters? Why can't a man vacuum? HOW are we still having these conversations?

It's time to break down the constructed hierarchies that have been imposed upon society. Let's get it all out there, so that we're all aware, so we can do better.

RedditorWistfulNightSkywanted to discuss the most unfair issues we all face on the daily, by asking:

What double standard are you tired of?

One of the worst places where double standards are constant is in the hospitality industry.

Take my time...

email GIFGiphy

"My principal taking days to read and reply to my emails, if ever, VS me being told at 8 in the morning that I should have known something because he sent me an email at 10 in the evening the night before."

- mljb81

"bend"

"Politicians who come up with dumb to asinine laws, and vigorously enforce them upon all of the regular citizens, but somehow find ways to exempt themselves from being subject to the same obligations to keep and follow them, as we are."

- Winter_Ad_1742

"Easy. Big corporations and the rich, using legal bribing through lobbying to "bend" the rules in their favor more and more as time passes."

- Sanquinity

Bullies

"Defending yourself. The fact that someone can punished for defending themselves when no one else would, in my experience worse, is bullsh*t to me. Example a former bullied kid that punched back and got screwed."

- Refurbished_beast

"In my case, I got beaten up, didn't retaliate at all. Bully had rich parents who supported the school. So I was the one who got in trouble as I allegedly swore and instigated it, meaning him beating the crap out of me was apparently self-defense."

- SecretSquirrel2204

Speed Racer

"Speed limit laws bother me the most on this. You're telling me, on a road on which there are no cyclists or pedestrians, that I have to drive 25mph, but the mayor can drive 40mph to a press conference that he's late to and abuse the privilege of a police escort. See: NYC Vision Zero.

"They also use this law to increase red light cameras. For further context: in NYC a yellow light means "slam your brakes now"/"stop now" more than it does "slow down"/prepare to stop as it does in other parts of the country. Meanwhile a counter study (I will try to find he source later) showed that increasing the length of a yellow light by something absurd like one or two seconds would decrease the amount of red light violations significantly more effectively because people would have adequate time to stop while still allowing for a flow of traffic."

"Obviously, it's all a money grab. Meanwhile the mayor regularly is caught on camera flaunting this traffic regulation when he finds it inconvenient. It's infuriating. NYC has enough congestion as it is, so knee-capping people when they can finally move is just insulting."

- life_is_punderful

Finding the Best

Job GIFGiphy

"Entry level jobs" that require experience."

- Arctinii

"They think it weeds out the ones with no experience, but it just gives them candidates who are prepared to exaggerate or lie."

- CptUnderpants-

How does one acquire experience without being given a chance to earn it? Quite the conundrum.

Check the Clock

Seth Meyers Time GIF by Late Night with Seth MeyersGiphy

"Your boss getting angry if you're a couple minutes late but then expects you to have no problem regularly staying on 2+ hours after your shift is meant to end."

- Entire_Ad9420

People Describe Their Best Chance Encounters | George Takei’s Oh Myyy

Are chance encounters really serendipitous or is it part of some grand master plan? While we may never have an answer for why we come to meet certain people ...

Liars

"To borrow from Matt Haig: people being ok with mental illness until someone shows symptoms of one."

- guyinspace

"100%. People like to talk about being cool with it, act all understanding, and then get super hostile if someone with untreated mental illness shows up. They don't mind it when they can't see it, but can't handle it when they actually see it in action."

- ApophisRises

All out Assault

"Customers being able to verbally and sometimes physically assault workers while the worker just has to stand there and take it or they'll be fired."

- lydiaj02

Nurse here. Almost every single one of my colleagues has been physically assaulted at some point in their career. We are often discouraged by upper management not to press charges or contact the police. We're also often asked what we could have done differently."

- tbaymama

In my Mouth

"Why is dental insurance different from "health insurance" aren't teeth part of my overall health wth!!"

- talwen69

"The dentist lobby game is strong. They've pushed for decades to not be considered part of the health industry and they've banked because of it. Sure I understand it's a specialty, but my teeth are attached to my skull."

- onlythetoast

The Bad Dipper

"My boss dipping out on a Thursday afternoon to go get messed up at the golf course, but I ask for one Friday off every few months and he's like AAHHH CMON MAN I NEED YOU TO BE A TEAM PLAYER!!"

- fixingbysmashing

Just Wait

"I have to be exactly on time for an appointment or risk a fine and no appointment. Yet a doctor can make you wait hours sometimes without even a "thank you for waiting" or "sorry about the wait." ~ cutiegirl88

"I can't stand that. Then, they only spend maybe five minutes with you tops. I have asked to do video or phone check ups, and was given a big no, but it's not like they even look at you these days. Why can't we do that on vid chat?" ~ Rightfoot27

Against the Norms

"Some people I know who are strongly against gender norms told me that I shouldn't have a say in my wedding since I'm a man… and that my fiancé alone makes the decisions It was pretty freaking confusing." ~ vajapocalypse

"This sounds a lot like my husband and me. I've always been a planner and my husband is very laid back, but we planned everything together. People always say it's the bride's day, but that's such BS. Our wedding was done on a low budget, but it was themed to Star Trek vs Star Wars and in a planetarium. So it really felt like we were planning a costume party more than anything lol." ~ Tiki108

Swipe Never

"The tinder attitude of "impress me," and "I have standards," "Be funny," "Don't be boring." "Meanwhile person is boring." ~ solvent_causis04

"All. The damned. Time. There's also "I just want someone to travel with and get lost on trips with." Yeah, I wish I had a lot of money too. Oh wait, you don't have a job?" ~ OPossumHamburger

Lawless

Donald Trump Water GIF by Election 2016Giphy

"Politicians being able to openly violate the law and nobody does anything." ~ TheGrandExquisitor

The Star Effect

"Star student athletes are nearly untouchable. If they make the school look good the school will almost never take action against them." ~ HonoraryCanadian

"As evidenced by the fact that at my college, several of the football "stars" would literally just park wherever they wanted and never get towed/ticketed. I'm not talking about things like parking in the faculty lot, or where you don't have a pass. I'm talking things like parking on the sidewalk in front of the student union, after driving over a curb and 20ft of grass to get there." ~ ender4171

Calling HR

"How it's perfectly okay for a potential employer to ask your salary expectations even before an interview, but a candidate asking what the job pays is somehow a red flag for HR and a big no-no. Like, if all the employer cares about is what I will cost them (before learning anything else about me), then I should be able to freaking ask too. But no, I'm branded as only caring about money. And you don't you corporate prick?" ~ CrieDeCoeur

For the children...

"When company's say they are family friendly but don't want you to work from home or help with child care." ~ Pewcachan

"Mine's championing "work-life balance for everyone in the country" while also dragging us back into the office for no freaking reason. Working from home saves me an entire work day worth of commute each week. Leave me be!" ~ obscureferences

Plastics

"Consumers are expected to curb the use of their plastic waste and carbon by corporations and regulatory bodies alike while Nestlé will destroy a natural habitat to make bottled water in plastic bottles and dump the waste into your grandma's urn if its affordable." ~ Aledeyis

Being Me

Confused Excuse Me GIF by GIPHY NewsGiphy

"Struggled with social interactions growing up. Half of my life was people telling me not to take things so personally. The other half was being told to conduct myself a certain way so I don't upset people." ~ Cuesport77

Learn about it...

"People that say 'don't worry about what other people think, be yourself' but make judgments about people based on behavior they don't understand. If you don't understand something, ask about it. Learn about it. Talk about it to gain an understanding. I wish more value was placed on learning/understanding people's intentions vs what you see on the surface. And don't say things unless you really mean them." ~ wheresmywang710

Nows we know better. I hope. Be a better boss and a better person. So we can be a better society.

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Bow WOW!: The Smartest Things People's Pets Have Ever Done

Reddit user CoreyMatthews asked: 'Pet owners of Reddit, what are some examples of your pet doing something that made your realize how intelligent they are?'

A cat and a dog lying down next to one another.
Photo by Andrew S on Unsplash

We all love our pets.

And be it a dog, cat, parrot, or turtle, we all like to think our pet is cuter and smarter than everyone else's.

Most of the time, that is purely owing to our unending love for them.

But every now and again, we might witness our pet do something truly extraordinary, leading us to believe that our pet truly is the smartest animal on earth.

Redditor CoreyMatthews was curious to hear about the times people were truly blown away by the intelligence of their pets, leading them to ask:

"Pet owners of Reddit, what are some examples of your pet doing something that made your realize how intelligent they are?"

Talk About Coordination!

"I watched both my cats sit in the hallway and roll a ball back and forth between them gently and on purpose."

"They both know how to open doors."- TurbulentStep4399

The Real Truth About Cats And Dogs

"I had a cat that learned to turn on my radio so I would think the alarm was going off and get up to feed him."

"He and my dog would also team up on me in various ways."

"The most memorable was when I had gotten a little water pistol to squirt the cat when he got on the kitchen counter."

"I always kept the water pistol in the very back corner of the kitchen counter."

"I got home one day, and the water pistol was chewed to pieces on the floor."

"It was too far back on the counter for the dog to have reached it by herself (and it’s not the sort of thing she would normally have liked to chew on), so the only explanation is that the cat climbed onto the counter, pushed the water pistol across the counter until it fell on the floor, and then convinced the dog to chew it up."- TheBat3

More Than Most People Can Say About Their Children!

"My 6 month old kitten will alternate bringing his mylar ball to me or my husband to throw--taking turns."

"He plays fetch better than my dog did."

"He puts his toys away at bedtime."

"I have a small basket that we keep his toys in."

"At bedtime, I'll tell him, 'Let's pick up your toys' and he will get any toys that hasn't been eaten by the couch and drop them in his basket."

"No hard balls/toys as he can't pick those up with his mouth."

"I pick up those."- Danivelle

cat playing GIFGiphy

The Female Of The Species...

"I had two Shelties and one large dog bed."

"The female Sheltie did not want to share the bed with her brother, so whenever he was lying on it she would go to the door and start barking like crazy at … nothing."

"He would leap up barking and race to the door to guard the house alongside her and as soon as he got out of the dog bed, she would run back and curl up in the middle of it."

"He never caught on."- NoNefariousness104

Always On The Lookout

"My dog greeted me at the garage door when I got home."

"He then had me follow him to my daughters room, then my sons room, then the front door."

"My mother in law had picked up the kids."

"He was telling me that 'this one and this one are gone and went that way'."

"Let’s go get them!'”- YourFriendInSpokane

Asking Permission Never Goes Unnoticed

"I had a blue heeled mix that was crazy smart."

"Two of many examples:"

"He was occasionally allowed to eat table scraps off of a plate but was never allowed to beg."

"He had to wait until the plate was put on the floor."

"One day I was caught up working on my laptop and had put the scraps from my dinner on the couch on a plate next to me."

"An hour or so went by and I saw him pick up the plate off the couch and put it on the floor so he was allowed to eat it."

"He slept in my room and was getting up in years."

"One night after I was settled in bed he let me know he needed to go outside, thinking an older bladder, I got up to take him out."

"Instead he went to the kitchen and turned to look at me."

"Curious I followed him."

"Same thing , he went to the family room and waited for me."

"When I turned on the light, he went to an end table near the TV where one of my teenagers had left an uneaten piece of fried chicken."

"He stood and stared and it and then turned to me and I swear he asked if he could have it."

"I laughed and took the meat off the bones and put it in the floor for him, after which we both went back to bed."

"How he knew that chicken had been left there is beyond me!"

"I could share dozens of stories like this."

"He was as smart as most humans I know."

"I will miss him forever."- JCKligmann

dog human eating GIFGiphy

Peeing With Purpose

"My mom's cat had a urinary infection."

"So he peed a tiny bit in the bathroom sink and waited by it for my mom to see it."- HyliaSerket

Everyone Wants A Little Attention Every Now And Then...

"A small thing, but my cat will paw at my hand when he wants to be petted."

"The first couple times it happened, I didn't think anything of it, until I realized one day that he basically had me trained/conditioned to pet him whenever he nudged or pawed at my hand."- Square-Raspberry560

And You Thought All They Could Do Was Change Colors

"My chameleon will look me square with both eyes and make a chomping movement with his mouth when he’s hungry."

"He’ll also pat at the glass if he wants to come out."

"He’ll hold a grudge, calculate ways to go or get what he wants."

"One of my Boas will only look at me when hungry."

"She had a go at caudal luring whilst doing it the other day."

"Like 'look, dude, I know you bring the food'."

"I’m hungry, look I’m even trying to lure you to give me some food'."

"It worked."- Ugglug

Giphy

A Kind Gesture Is Never Forgotten

"My brother’s cat, Coconut."

"We live 2,600 miles apart."

"The first time I met her, I gave her a little pink fuzzy kitty toy."

"2-3 years later was the next time I was able to visit her again for the 2nd time ever."

"She immediately disappeared & came back with this filthy, dusty, brown toy that had obviously been hidden away somewhere."

"We dusted it off & it was the toy I had gifted her years before."

"She remembered me."

"My brother said he had never seen the toy again until that day."

"She’s also very precious with her toys & will leave them outside his bedroom door as bribes."- emilyyancey

Innate Obedience

"When she was a baby I said, 'Go get your toy!' in the same pitch I always do."

"Never trained her with that phrase."

"She went a grabbed her toy and came back."

"I tested her again the next day and the next day."

"She went to her toy pile and brought back a toy each time."

"She picked up the phrase by herself."

"She's also the first dog I've had that looks at planes in the sky when they fly overhead and recognizes dogs on TV even on mute."- Spare-Bread8416

Get The Tissue Ready...

"I have two cats and a dog."

"A little backstory about my dog:"

" I don't know anything about dog training."

"I wasn't even thinking about adopting a dog but it seems like it was one of those things that 'meant to be'."

"My sister found him on the street at a winter night."

"We thought he was lost and there is an owner looking for him."

"Because where I live we have so many strays and you wouldn't see many 'specific breeds', they are just strays and specific breeds have an owner 99% of the time."

"So we took him home and start to search for the owner but it was obvious that poor dog went through some sh*t."

"And we learned about his story from an animal society; that he had a few owners but all of them left him to the streets because he was barking a lot (we haven't heard him barking even once during that time), he was peeing everywhere (he did it once and that was probably because he was nervous of being in a new environment and that was it), he wasn't listening at all (we had 3 cats at that time and I said no one time when he tried to run at them and that was it, never did it again)."

"And we learned that he has been in the shelter twice with big wounds."

"And I said I'm not going to let him go through more, he stays with us."

"He learned how to let me know he needs to go out all by himself."

"He learned to pee on the pads all by himself on the days that I can't take him for a walk."

"He learned to give me my slippers when I come home all by himself because I wear slippers when I get home."

" He learned how to clean his face by watching cats doing it."

" I still don't know how to train a dog other than a few basic stuff."

"He just learns."

"That's been a really long comment."

"So I'm going to leave that how I know my cats are clever for another time."

"Thank you for reading my sweet dogs story."

"I'm glad to have him and I don't know who was lucky about all those; me or him."- LittleBitOff2Day

dog pies GIFGiphy

Never underestimate your pets.

As sometimes you have no idea of the things they might see or notice.

Making it all the more important to give them the love and attention they deserve.


A baby's hand holds an elderly woman's hand
Photo by Rod Long

Aging is a reminder that the end is near.

But life is constantly finding ways to expedite the aging process.

So many variables contribute to our looks... it's almost shocking.

Redditor sabletoothtiger_ wanted to hear about the things that can cause us to age rapidly, so they asked:

"What instantly ages someone?"

Weight.

My flipping and flopping with my weight has aged me.

It never gets easier to lose too.

Lack of Sleep

Wide Awake Insomnia GIF by MOODMANGiphy

"Lack of sleep."

Yasmin947

"Can confirm. I have an aunt who looks older than my grandmother because she regularly gets 3 hours of sleep a night while my grandmother will fall asleep anywhere."

SCG414

Farewells

"Grief, nothing ages you like Grief."

TheGreatGrappaApe

"My brother died 2 years ago, I aged so much since and now look older than some friends of mine who are 15 years older than me. On top of not sleeping well due to autoimmune issues, I notice new grey hairs every day. Grief, lack of sleep, stress. I have the trio and it's just awful. Losing a sibling is a nightmare, especially at a young age. My deepest sympathies."

ScissorsOfJealousy

Flare-Ups

"Back pain. You can't move like a young person if your back hurts."

AdWonderful5920

"I went from being active and spry to barely able to move and in constant pain. It changed so much about my personality as being active and sporty was a huge part of who I was. I also gained some weight."

"I’m way better now and not in constant pain, but there is always a risk of flare-ups now so while I can exercise and be active, it’s always in the back of my mind and I can’t do it with the carefree attitude I once did."

"I also believe it makes me susceptible to other aches and pains as the nerves all connect so sometimes a flare-up sends pains to other extremities such as my hips or shoulders. If there was one thing I could go back and change in my life, it would be to prevent the back injury."

nononanana

Seemingly Healthy...

"F**king cancer. Have watched my brother-in-law age 30 years in a month."

imapassenger1

"I have been a witness to this many times. '30 years in a month' is an accurate measurement."

WimpyZombie

"This hits close to home. My (seemingly healthy) uncle was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer two weeks ago. Within the last two weeks, his body has completely broken down. So sorry for everyone here who has had to see loved ones go through this."

JosjeAB

"My mom had breast cancer (in her 50’s) like 7 years ago. All her hair turned gray and she looked frail and old for a couple of years through treatment. After the cancer was gone, her hair all grew back brown again and she looked like she did before. It was really weird."

a-ohhh

From the Top

American Horror Story Fx GIF by AHSGiphy

"Hair loss. Not me personally but I used to work with a guy who I swore was like 35, and he was 19. Poor kid."

Kaiserhawk

"When I have an interview, I let my baldness show a little bit. I look older, and I'm taken more seriously by recruiters that way."

lord_machin

Keep It

Nft Child GIF by Pudgy PenguinsGiphy

"Buccal fat removal."

arieljoc

"Surprised this wasn't higher up. People with baby cheeks don't realize how well they will serve them thirty years down the line when their buddies who teased them for it look like Skeletor."

Burly_Bara_Bottoms

Deep Breaths

"Stress."

gablamegla

"When I was younger and first entered the real world I remember working with a white-haired woman that had an always tired look about her. She had a picture of her daughter on her desk, young, blonde, that looked so incredibly much like her I mentioned it once. Turned out that wasn’t her daughter, but was her prior to her going through the FBI academy."

F_is_for_Ducking

Work of the Devil

"Troubleshooting printer problems. I swear these devilish machines only exist to trigger me to smithereens."

Philitt

"A couple years ago I decided to officially give up on having a personal printer and only use the one at the library because when it f**ks up, it's someone else's problem. I still have my old printer and I've considered dropping it off my roof for fun."

Painting_GatoI

"Had the opportunity to throw one out of a third-story window. The absolute joy I felt watching that a**hole machine soar through the air and smash to smithereens was the best kind of natural high. It's been 15 years, and I still get goosebumps thinking about it."

Natural_Garbage7674

Bad Relations

My Big Fat Fabulous Life Kiss GIF by TLCGiphy

"Having a spouse that contributes nothing to your relationship and allows your family to slip further and further into debt without caring that you're all only a couple of bills away from bankruptcy."

Xmenenslaver

Life is just an endless well of aging.

No cream is coming to save us.

Woman in herbal bath
Photo by Anthony Tran on Unsplash

We've all been held to some unexpected beauty standard at some point, like how to properly and less comfortably wear that shirt, or how we should cut our hair, or that our teeth should be whiter.

In addition to being inundated with these messages that we are not good enough or beautiful enough naturally, we're also confronted by advertisement after advertisement of the latest tool, makeup, primer, machine, or supplement that will make us that much more attractive.

And some of the beauty hacks that are suggested to us are, quite frankly, really weird.

Wondering what others had heard of, Redditor Quintowne asked:

"What is a beauty standard you can't believe people actually like?"

One Word: Photoshop

"Clearly photoshopped pictures and weird posing angles."

- chemistryofacarcrash

Suspicious Teeth

"Overly perfect veneers."

- doublexxchrome

"One of my Facebook friends already has good teeth but then she went and got veneers. Now her teeth are just...too big and too BRIGHT."

- HeathenHumanist

The Nose You've Seen Somewhere Before

"Every nose looking exactly the same."

- Blitzkriek

"Thank you from all the non-standard nose people."

- hyperfat

"And ski slope or button nose. They are cute but not everyone’s face is meant to have that type of nose and it doesn’t look good on everyone. It sucks seeing so many young girls on TikTok get nose jobs and all have the exact same nose."

- DepressionBarbie_

The Over-Inflation... Of Lips

"What people do to their lips is wild to me."

- Purples_A_Fruit

"I came here to say the over-inflated lips with the ostrich lashes combo. It’s so much."

- GamerMomm

Gaunt Chic

"Buccal fat removal."

- Groundbreaking-Duck

"Yes! The buccal fat is there for a reason. It instantly ages them. They look gaunt."

- Icy_Attempt_300

"Yes. There's a difference between a chiseled face and a gaunt face."

"Peak Angelina Jolie, Taylor Hill, Monica Bellucci, etc. have chiseled faces."

"Anya Taylor-Joy, Bella Hadid, and others who underwent unnecessary buccal fat removal surgeries just look gaunt."

- RainyDayReader_999

Questionable Eyebrows

"Stupid eyebrows that look like perfectly angled stencils are a shade way too dark for their complexion. Like blonde girls with two black geometric boomerangs on her forehead."

- montanagrizfan

Dislike Big Butts

"Butt implants. Just looks nasty as h**l."

- PureDeidBrilliant

"I just saw one in the wild without all the filters that normally accompany it. It was so weird. Like a flesh diaper that should have been changed hours ago."

- yellowmew

Too Dramatic Eyelashes

"Giant eyelashes that will make you take flight if you flutter them fast enough."

- T*tsMcGhee99

"My husband hates the long fake eyelash look, and he asked me why women wear them when men don't particularly like them."

"I thought it would be funny, so I told him it's not about impressing men but about asserting one's dominance on another woman."

"He believed me and now tells all his friends that it's an 'alpha-female' thing, hahaha."

- Striving_Hermit

A Little Too Perfect

"The overly sculpted beard trend. You know when the beard is trimmed and looks like it was outlined in concealer? Neatening up is nice but a sudden pale line as a border around your stubble... looks like it was airbrushed on and not touched up."

- hecatemoonshadow

"Thank you for putting into words what I could never put my finger on. It's that weird barbershop ad look. Too weirdly 'perfect' looking to be attractive."

- dzzi

Dozens of Miss Piggys

"I’m from Stockholm. A lot of girls, particularly from rich areas, like to use so much fake tan that they are orange, and bleach their hair from what was usually dark blonde to platinum blonde."

"Then they style it to make it voluminous (which is easy to do because their hair is dead from all the dyeing) and apply lots of make-up, which typically includes black mascara or fake lashes."

"So, a lot of girls here bear a striking resemblance to Miss Piggy. There’s nothing wrong with looking like this, I just don’t understand it."

- WhereMyEelAt

"No One's Neck's as Incredibly Thick as Gaston!"

"Those grossly buff guys on all dating shows. They all look like Gaston from 'Beauty and the Beast,' and I hate it so much. I don’t even watch those shows, but the lack of variety is appalling."

- toedplatypus

Flat... Teeth?

"Grinding canine teeth flat. A dentist once took me aside and told me that he could grind mine down, flat, and make it a really good smile."

"I said, 'No, thanks,' but was thinking, 'Why in the f**k would I do that?!'"

- Bardez

Laminated Eyebrows

"Laminated, combed-up, thick a** eyebrows. Why."

- comoshnyee

"Yes! This is the one I was going to say. It is such a strange beauty trend to me that I've noticed in the past couple of years. Granted, I do come from a time when eyebrows were plucked into a high arch."

"I think people should just leave their eyebrows be for the most part. I can understand plucking, waxing, or trimming very bushy eyebrows or a uni-brow, but combing the hairs straight up and plastering them to your forehead just doesn't look good."

- KrustyKohn

Follow the Leader

"The fact that a huge portion of the world's population has successfully brainwashed itself into thinking that the Kardashians/Jenners are the epitome of beauty to the point that many are willing to imitate whatever moronic thing they do to their bodies is just wild to me."

- Tough_Stretch

Standing Out from the Crowd

"Any plastic surgery that makes random women look like they're all related. At one point, we'll all start to think thin lips and big noses are hot solely because they'll stand out in a sea of copy/paste people."

- Intelligent-Guide-48

"It’s called the 'Instagram face' and it’s a legit phenomenon that is being studied by psychologists. It’s doing so much harm to people’s self-esteem and self-concept. We aren’t all supposed to look the same."

- InsomniacYogi

These certainly were some surprising trends, and some of them seem to refuse to go away, as much as many people dislike them.

But beauty standards have a way of coming and going, so by the end of next year, who knows what will be considered beautiful and trending then?

The norther Bavarian town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber
Roman Kraft/Unsplash

Those who have traveled to Europe or interacted with Europeans may very well know they do things very differently and vice versa.

The differences between our different cultures can include idiosyncratic behavior, preferences, or attitudes.

And while we can very much appreciate these differences, there are certain customs that can be major head-scratchers.

Curious to hear examples of what those can be, Redditor a_m42_ asked:

"Americans, what is something that Europeans have/do that makes no sense to you?"

Getting from point A to B can vastly different.

It's A Driving Thing

"I'm Canadian, but it's always baffled me that some Europeans consider a half hour's worth of driving a long time. That wouldn't even get me out of the area I'd consider local."

– TwoFingersWhiskey

The Size Of A Country Matters

"Lol, I moved from Germany to the Netherlands. The Netherlads are so small that the longest you could actually drive from one point to another is 4 hours, otherwise you would cross a border."

"When I was a child I used to go to my grandparents' house every weekend. They only lived an hour away so the way was short to me."

"My boyfriend is Dutch and he told me be barely ever saw his grandma growing up because she lived so far away and they never visited her because of the long way. She lived 1 1/2 hours away."

– finilain

Concerned Swiss

"My coworkers from Switzerland came out to Denver and I took them over to Glenwood Springs, which is about a 3.5 hour drive and after about half an hour they’re like 'are you okay to drive? Do you want one of us to drive for a bit so you can rest?' I drive two to ten hours to go camping with my husband and two dogs at least two or three weeks a month, so this was just a normal weekend to me, but they were acting like I was some kind of crazy person lol."

– Beautiful_Jacket6358

Things at home aren't always what they seem as they are in the US.

Magic Windows

"It's not that it doesn't 'make sense,' but the first time I saw those windows that can be moved a bunch of different ways, you would have thought I was seeing a rabbit being pulled out of a hat, that's how amazed I looked."

"Tilt and Turn Windows."

https://youtu.be/LT8eBjlcT8s?si=AiDUT2KXLvkD3l8L

– Weird-Traditional

Temperature Control

"I don't know if you know this, but many European windows also have a winter mode. When the handle is 45 degrees up, they open up just a tiny bit (1-2mm), to provide some small amount of air circulation, but not too much to not lose warm air inside."

– Plukh1

Breathing Space

"us Germans are obsessed with ventilation. even in the middle of winter, we'll periodically slam our fancy tilt windows open. problem with the tilting or slight opening is it can lead to condensation with low temps and thus lead to mold. and we are obsessed with preventing mold."

"anyways, make sure the air in your room stays good, it makes all the difference."

– dispo030

Just A Place To Sleep

"In Germany, apartments don't normally come with a kitchen. It's purchased/installed by the Tennant. Sometimes you luck out but not usually."

"Edit.. Because this comment blew up, here is an article talking about it."

https://alisajordanwrites.com/2018/08/06/apartments-dont-come-with-kitchens-in-germany/

– Widegina

The Kitchen Stays

"When we sold our house recently, a german woman viewed it and said "this is lovely kitchen. Will be shame to see it go" i was like go where?"

"She was so excited when i said we werent taking the kitchen anywhere. Me and my husband were so confused.. she thought the house was a real catch because of it and was really shocked when the estate agent said that nobody takes their kitchens with them! Odd."

– Big_Strength7344

We all act a certain way, but these types of behavior can be jarring to Americans.

Now, See Here

"Idk if its all Europeans but Germans have a real big problem with staring like I owe them money. Also paying to use the bathroom in public spaces."

– Neat_Serve730

You Got That Look

"Lol we do stare a lot. When I went to study in the uk one of my professors asked me during a tutorial whether he was saying wrong things because apparently I kept staring at him, I didn’t even notice it haha"

"Edit since apparently it’s causing a bit of confusion: a tutorial is not the same as a lecture, in a tutorial you’re around 15 people in a small room, it’s much more intimate and easier to notice if somebody’s staring at you (which evidently was not just looking at him to show you’re paying attention but much more unnerving)"

– BatmanButDepressed

We Can't Handle The Truth

"I’m from the Midwest and my family is from the Netherlands. So the society that wouldn’t dare offend you in any way and the society that has no problem dropping truth bombs on you. It’s rough."

– philophilo

"The (in)famous Dutch straightforwardness or directness. We have been taught to tell it like it is. We will be polite and civil about it, but we have no time for beating around the bush when a problem has to be resolved. That being said, some of my countrymen use it as an excuse to be rude a**hats."

"Just say 'Ken jij het beter dan, pannekoek?' and be done with it."

– SmilingDutchman

I'm not sure if this is a thing but the first time I went to Paris, I found it very odd that my soft drink was served without ice.

This happened at three different establishments where I asked for a Coke and was presented with the soda can and an empty drinking glass.

When I asked for ice from the server, he scoffed, returned with one ice cube on a spoon and proceeded to pour the drink from the can onto the ice and into the glass.

Are you kidding me??

And he left with the spoon and the partially-melted ice cube. I didn't even get to keep that, so I was talking about leaving a lousy tip, to which my friend who was with me said the French don't tip.

It was definitely a culture shock day for me as a very young traveler.