When studying or learning about different countries and cultures, many Americans find themselves fascinated and/or perplexed by some of their customs and traditions.
Up to and including Canada having their Thanksgiving celebrations in October, Guy Fawkes night in England, or spitting on the bride for good luck at Greek weddings.
Many of these same Americans who scoff at the very idea of these customs might not stop to think that the tables can be easily turned, and visitors from abroad often find themselves in an equal state of confusion at some of our customs and traditions.
Redditor thunderpower1999 was eager to hear which American customs foreigners found to be the most baffling, leading them to ask:
"Non- Americans, what is an American custom that you find unusual or odd?"
The Only Thing More Ridiculous, Are Most Of The Candidats
"I find the length of your election campaigns so crazy."- Olivia123321
Presidential elections seem to be some sort of two year affair. It's out of control.
Most Meteorologists Would Agree
"My friend from India once asked me (an American) to explain Groundhog Day to her."
"I had no explanation- it’s just weird."- marmosetohmarmoset
Groundhog Day Winter GIFGiphySlowly Becoming Extinct Though...
"The waiter taking your card away to pay."- Vlakob
Trick Or Treat!
"I’ll never forget when a college schoolmate from China asked me 'is it true that you have a holiday where children dress up and go around asking for candy?'"
"I had never thought about it before but all I could say was 'yes, I guess we do…'"- EverLong0
They Think That's Strange, Ask Them What They Think About Our Health Care System...
"The Canadians I worked with in the oilfield were blown away by all of the television commercials for medicines."- rufneck-420
Happy Mental Health GIF by Jimmy ArcaGiphyGobble Gobble!
"Pardoning a turkey at Thanksgiving."
"Cracks me up every time, and I've lived here 20 years now!"- sandithepirate
Strange Isn't Always Bad
"Let me pull the Uno reverse card on this."
"I am an immigrant, living in the US for a very long time."
"Getting your leftovers to go at the restaurants was a surprise to me."
"But my reaction was, 'yeah, why is that not the norm?'"
"Rather than “Americans are strange'."- BobTheInept
When You Think You Have Exact Change...
"Not including tax in the price tag."- klc81
The Simpsons Animation GIF by FOX TVGiphySo Much For Camaraderie...
"The obsession with college sports…and in some places even high school or middle school!"
"I just came back from a work trip to Texas and one of my colleagues told me the football stadium for his daughter’s middle school held 20,000 people!"- Speedbird223
Valuing Children? The Very Thought!
"That new parents, especially fathers, are expected to show up to work within days of having a newborn."- kellygrrrl328
How Long Have You Got?
"Some things I found strange in America:"
"Lack of recycling bins everywhere."
"That homeless people have tents everywhere like streets (Washington really surprised me)."
"Ice filled to the brim of the cup."
"Anything and everything having a tipping option."
"Tipping in general."
"Tax not included in the price."
"Massive lawyer billboards on every highway."- effypom
The Office Yes GIFGiphyCivic Duty, But No Civic Holiday.
You have holidays for everything but a day off for election is too much
Just Plain Gross
"Child beauty pageants."
"Just stop it."- LoadedGull
It should be said that most Americans are equally confused, if not downright horrified, by many of the abovementioned customs.
Which begs the question, what keeps us living here?
Perhaps Americans desire to stay put, in spite of a heavily flawed electoral process, a convoluted healthcare system, and winter being dictated by a groundhog's shadow is the strangest American custom of them all...
Who among us hasn't wondered about how our rich buddies have made their fortunes?
Some people work really hard actually.
They're in an office or in the field all day and night.
They have their noses to the grind.
And yes some people just collect an inheritance.
That's ok too, but how do you make it bigger?
Redditor h3llofaRide wanted to hear about how the rich make a living, so they asked:
"What does the wealthiest person you know do for work?"
My rich friends are all investment people.
They know when to buy and sell.
It's a gift.
Fancy Services
Coding Looney Tunes GIF by Looney Tunes World of MayhemGiphy"The wealthiest person I know (and hang out with regularly) built a company (IT services) and then sold it for several hundred million dollars."
"He now runs a company that does the same kind of IT services in a different field. (He figured out a winning business formula and is just repeating it in a different market)."
omniumoptimus
Name It
"A family friend retired after being a COBOL programmer for 30 years. About 2 years after his retirement, a company came to him and said 'Name your salary' and he requested around $1.5 million/year. He was hired on the spot and still works there."
bbbbbthatsfivebees
"A family member worked at various companies, he told me this is very common. It's not obscure programming languages, just that they know what's going on. And don't let anyone else near it or something."
chabybaloo
Oink Oink
"Pig farmer. I kid you not. He's my father's old friend. I visited him once when my father and I were passing through the state. He lives in a modest classic farmhouse with his wife, both in their seventies. I mentioned I was starting a school in West Africa as we were catching up."
"A few weeks later I got a text asking how much it would cost. I told him 40k, thinking it was really nice of him if he wanted to send a few dollars."
"I got a check for 40k. I thought it would take me years to raise that. I'm typing this from Sierra Leone because he also paid for the house I thought would take years to raise funds for."
LadyCordeliaStuart
That Dude
"It's a guy I work with. He started with one Jimmy John's franchise and turned it into 10 franchises. Ran them for 10 years then sold them all and dumped the money into the stock market and real estate. He did this all while working as an airline pilot, currently still working at the airline. This dude owns and flies his own private jet on top of all that."
OT-35
Every day...
Proliferate Charlie Chaplin GIF by nounish ⌐◨-◨Giphy"Inherited a small factory from his father. Developed it into a huge nationwide company. Still goes to work there everyday despite being worth hundreds of millions."
ShipJust
Factory work. That is where so much greatness begins.
On the Road
Happy Go Crazy GIF by DAF Trucks NVGiphy"Truck driver. Starting his own trucking company."
Apprehensive-Crow-96
"Tons of money in the trucking business. An owner of one in my city drives a Porsche 918."
ForgottenPercentage
In the End
"Own their own conveyor belt business. Makes almost 2 mil a year after it’s all said and done."
TakeMe_To_Eisengard
"I was a control systems engineer who started contracting on the side. Now I build out crazy manufacturing systems like this. All it takes is getting one project to build a conveyor system and if you end up good at it then boom, you build conveyor systems for the rest of your life. Conveyor systems are actually really expensive and complex in the manufacturing world."
PleasantProgram7572
Life-Changing
"Both in tech. A friend is in a company about to IPO and is VP level so will do well there. Her husband just sold his company (gaming company) to the biggest gaming company in China for, as she put it 'life-changing money.' Both are very intelligent, super nice, and crazy hard-working. They worked for it, and it couldn't happen to nicer people."
BonePGH
The Little Things
"I was a fly fishing guide for many years, and one of my regular clients year after year owned a factory on the East Coast that is one of the top suppliers of O-rings and small plastic machine parts in the world. I never asked how much they made obviously out of respect. But they always tipped absurd amounts ($1500 was my biggest tip for 3 days) they flew private and drank and shared $600 bottles of wine like they were nothing."
The_Kinetic_Esthetic
Let's Play
gamer GIF by TotorialGiphy"He's the founder and CEO of a very successful games company. I met him over a decade ago when the company was successful but nowhere near what it is now. He's also one of the most approachable and friendly people I've ever met, to the extent that it sometimes feels like an act."
Lauantaina
Games and gaming.
Who knew?
Can I count all of my hours of Nintendo for tax exemptions?
When visiting a foreign country, many people like to hide the fact that they are tourists, and make every effort to blend in with the locals.
Even so, most tourists can't help but do a few things that locals seldom or never do, such as taking selfies in front of historic monuments, buying cheesy hats and T-shirts, or going to notoriously crowded places.
If doing these things will more than likely make them stick out like a sore thumb, it also won't exactly put them in harm or danger, as most tourists at least have the good sense to read a blog or guidebook instructing them on how to stay safe while traveling.
The most savvy travelers know that the best place to get advice on what not to do when traveling abroad is not online or in a book, but directly from the locals.
Redditor PM_ME_UR_DOGS_FEET was eager to hear the opinions of people around the world as to what tourists should avoid doing when visiting their country, leading them to ask:
"What should people absolutely not do when visiting your country?"
Moo!
"If you are hiking through the Austrian mountains with a dog, put it on a leash."
"The cows will hurt you if they feel threatened."
"In general, don't disturb the cows and keep away from them."- annadaso
Cows Alps GIF by MeinMontafonGiphyNot All Creatures Are Cute And Cuddly...
"Approach wildlife, especially when they’re with their offspring."
"The amount of idiot tourists I’ve seen outside their cars within mauling distance of a bear or moose is mind boggling."-GingerMeTimberMate
"Do not touch the bison."
"I don’t care that they’re herbivores and look fluffy."
"They are incredibly strong and will kill you if they’re in a bad mood."- hartywhalers
Bison Yellowstone GIF by Nat Geo WildGiphyNo One Needs To Blend In That Much!
"I live in Barbados."
"Don't wear camouflage."
"It's illegal unless you're a part of the Defense Force."- durants
They Call It The Outback For A Reason
"Don't go for a drive in the outback without making sure you're properly prepared if you get stuck."
"There's a reason you see so many abandoned cars on the highways out there."- thethreekittycats
Back Of The Line!
"UK here."
"Always queue."
"Even if there isn’t a queue, just look around politely and ask whoever’s around if they’re queueing."
"I know this reads like a joke but it really isn’t."
"There’s always a queue, and tourists always ignore it, and that’s usually why tourists get a bad rap in the UK."-fearthe0cean
Literal Red Flag Alert!
"If you're not a strong swimmer, please don't wade out into our ocean expecting that you'll be okay."
"If you want to swim at our beaches, stay between the flags where there are lifeguards on duty."- nightlightened
The Beach Summer GIFThat Some People Would Actually Need A Warning...
"Don't do the Nazi greeting."
"In fact, just don't do it anywhere."
"But especially not in my country."
"Police will arrest you for it."- Mad_Moodin
Or Stand Still In Them For That Matter...
"Don't walk the bicycle lanes."- valthorgallifrey
Be Selective When Sight Seeing
"Don't go to Hollywood expecting something."
"Also, don't spend tons of money just to see famous people's homes on one of those bus tours."
"You should go to all the cool museums around LA though, those are pretty neat."
"And the beaches aren't too bad either."- jgeradsfdh
hollywood GIF by American IdolGiphyIt's Just Plain Rude
"Don't touch the King's guard."- EmperorOfNipples
Or Any Busy Street Anywhere...
"If you’re visiting Brazil, specially a big city, avoid using your smartphone while walking on the streets, as you become more prone to being robbed."- DistantLandscapes
Not the Most PC Name If You Really Think About It
"Order an ‘Irish Car Bomb’ shot."
"Doesn’t exist here, and the name has roots in The Troubles, a dark time in our history that people north and south of the border who are still alive lost people to."- TheIrishninjas
Irish Cream Beer GIF by DrSquatchSoapCoGiphyNot All Canadians Are So Friendly...
"If you come across Canada, don't ever dare touching our geese, thanks."- ClickWorthy69420
Many tourists enjoy going off the beaten path and veering from the most famous and heavily visited places.
But before straying from the path, it couldn't hurt to get advice from a local on just how far to stray.