Amateur sleuths love an unsolved mystery.
Crimes that have eluded detectives and forensic experts for decades – some even for centuries – remain an obsession for people who want answers and a sense of closure that justice can still be served.
Closed cases may not be as fascinating, but they should still provide a sense of relief.
Wanting to give these cases the spotlight, Redditor PinV928 asked:
"What are some SOLVED mysteries?"
There was closure for these cases involving missing persons and murder.
The McStay Family
"The McStay family disappearance and murders. In February of 2010, the McStay's, a family of 4 (Mom Summer, Dad Joseph, and sons Gianni and Joseph jr) seemingly vanished from their home- abruptly. A carton of eggs was left open on the counter and the family dogs were still outside in the backyard. The scene was eerie, and complicated because the home the McStays lived in was in the process of being renovated- so a 'neat and orderly' home wasn't the norm at this stage. It appeared there was missing furniture and the usual mess that comes with construction (some freshly painted or redone surfaces mixed with older versions). From the outside- it appeared the family just took off. Neighbor had surveillance that captured what appeared to be the bottom of the family SUV leaving the driveway."
"Since they were living in California, the border to Mexico wasn't far and authorities found footage of what appeared to be the McStay's walking into Mexico with their two little boys in tow. The family SUV was found abandoned in a mall parking lot near the Mexico border. 3 years passed before the bodies of the McStay's were found buried in shallow graves in the California desert. The bodies appeared to be in advanced decomposition and there were signs of blunt force trauma. A sledgehammer was also found buried with one of the bodies. Chase Merritt, a business partner to Joseph McStay, was arrested and charged with their murders on 11/5/2014. His trial was delayed for years until 2019. He was sentenced to death. Motive: Chase had a gambling addiction and had been and continued embezzling money from the business. His DNA was found in the McStay's abandoned vehicle. He bludgeoned this beautiful family to death for money."
"ETA link with more info - https://people.com/crime/mcstay-family-murders-killer-sentenced-death/"
Screenwriter's Alleged Suicide
"The Case of Adrienne Shelly - screenwriter for Waitress. Husband came home to find her hanging in the shower - ruled suicide."
"He insists she was happy and would never kill herself promoting another view of crime scene where they found a shoe print that matched a construction worker in the building."
"Sure enough the construction worker went to rob her and thought he killed her so staged a suicide when the hanging ended up being the actual thing that killed her."
Abducted Japanese Girls
"In the 1970s, a number of Japanese citizens disappeared from coastal areas in Japan. After many years it was found out that North Korea had abducted them."
"North Korean abductions of Japanese citizens"
"Most of the missing were in their 20s; the youngest, Megumi Yokota, was 13 when she disappeared in November 1977, from the Japanese west coast city of Niigata."
A Baby's Death
"The death of Azaria Chamberlain - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Azaria_Chamberlain"
"She was a two-month old girl who disappeared while camping with her parents near Uluru. Prosecutors successfully tried her mother for murder and father as an accessory. During the entire ordeal it was insisted by her mother that Azaria was taken by dingoes, native wild dogs in Australia. This was disregarded, as before this there were no records of dingoes showing any hostility towards humans or causing any attacks or fatalities nearby."
"Several years later, an unrelated search not far from the campground found a child's coat, of the exact brand and description Azaria's mother gave to the police, in an area littered with Dingo dens. The parents conviction was overturned and the case was established that in reality, she had been taken from her parents tent during the night, killed and eaten by dingos."
The Attack On Dan Rather
"Dan Rather was attacked and beaten on a New York street by two men who kept demanding, 'What's the frequency, Kenneth?' He was rescued by a doorman, and the two guys got away. For years, no one knew who they were."
"Then a man invaded NBC Studios and killed a stage hand. When captured, he explained that the networks were beaming radio messages into his head. He wanted to know the frequency they were using so he could jam the signals. Dan Rather was shown a mugshot and positively identified his attacker."
"Here's a New York Times article on it."
The water kept these mysteries unsolved for years.
Antoine deSaint-Exupery
"The disappearance of Antoine de Saint-Exupery, author of The Little Prince, who was also a French reconnaissance pilot during World War II."
"In 1944, he took off on a reconnaissance mission from Corsica and never made it back, and there was never any evidence of what might have happened to him and his plane."
"Finally, in 1998, a French fisherman pulled up his net and found wrapped in it a silver bracelet engraved with Saint-Exupery's name, and in 2004, a diver searched in the area and found the remains of his plane, which had apparently been shot down by a German fighter after all."
People Share The 'Dirty Secrets' That Their Bosses Don't Want Customers To Know
More Than A Century Later
"The Erebus and the Terror were found a few years ago. The two ships were part of an artic expedition and dissapeared 150 years ago."
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin%27s_lost_expedition"
Icy Grave
"1947 an British South American Airways aircraft named Star Dust disappeared, it's last message was simply 'STENDEC.' After an exhausting search, no trace of the aircraft was found. For years conspiracy theories and talk of Alien abduction circulated."
"Till 1998, when mountain climbers on a remote mountain found an engine, pieces of metal, and clothing at the bottom of a glacier on the side of Mount Tupungato. Turns out the aircraft got caught flying the wrong way in the jet stream while it was flying at night and using a system of timing when to start their decent. Being in the jet stream reduced their airspeed in relation to the earth and they smacked themselves straight into the side of a mountain, after which an avalanche covered the wreckage. The wreckage took decades to flow down the side of the mount with the glaciers. The glacier preserved the wreck so well that 50 years later the recovery team found identifiable remains, personal items, and could read serial numbers on the engines. Amazing one of the landing gear tires was still inflated, and that teams continued to visit the site for periodically as more of the aircraft, cargo, and remains of passengers are still emerging from the ice."
The Windsor Hum
"Residents of Windsor (Canada) have been saying they could hear a hum coming from across the river in Detroit for the better part of a few decades. Well turns out that when a steel producer turned their furnaces off recently (when they were closing up shop) the Hum stopped. People had no idea what the noise could be until the factory closed."
"Edit: also a little fun fact; Zug Island (where the factory was located) was mentioned in Robocop and was also the destination of the SS Edmond Fitzgerald before it sank."
Where The River Runs
"Devil's Kettle Falls: A stream separates into two sections, one continues normally the other spirals deep into a hole. All sorts of things were thrown down the hole in an effort to discover where the water went. Ping pong balls, various dyes, it was even rumored that someone stuck an old car down there. Eventually someone came up with a clever idea, they measured the total water flow above and below the falls and discovered they were similar enough to deduce the two streams join back up relatively quickly."
We'll Never Let Go, Jack
"Where is the Titanic? (Most people don't realize that half of the people in the world grew up when the ship's location was still a complete mystery. Now, it's old news."
– SyzoBAZ
There were logical explanations for these seemingly otherworldly phenomena.
What The "Bloop?"
"The Bloop"
"In 1997 a really weird and loud noise was detected underwater and everyone was all 'WTF was that?.' In 2012 it was determined it was an iceberg breaking and/or rubbing against the seabed."
Misinterpreted Legend
"El Dorado or the lost city of gold turned out to be a mistranslation. It was just the name of some guy that got mistranslated to the name of a city."
Fake Tears
"Weeping Jesus statue in India mystery. Apparently a Jesus statue started crying and all Christians along with Hindus started to drink it. It turned out to be sewage. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weeping_crucifix_in_Mumbai"
The Prophet Hen Of Leeds
"A hen was laying eggs with messages like "Christ is Coming" and people thought the world was ending. Turned out the farmer was actually writing on the eggs herself, and then reinserted it back into the chicken. edited for gender of the farmer."
For Christ's Sake
"The tomb of Jesus' previously unknown brother turned out to be a hoax to try to sell the tomb of a nobody for a lot of money."
The North Atlantic Vortex
"Bermuda Triangle / devils sea... a triangle shaped section of ocean where airplanes and boats were known to disappear."
"Apparently most stories were embellished, and there is so much traffic that goes through the area it's actually a very small amount of vessels that go missing (percentage wise)."
The "Terrible Hand"
"What Deinocheirus looked like."
"When I was a kid in the 80s, all that was known were the bones of the arms with enormous claws. Hence its name, 'terrible hand.' They were mostly shown grasping a small car because they were so freaking huge. The rest of the animal was a complete mystery. Was it like a giant Allosaurus, one that'd make the T-Rex look like a puppy in comparison? A few years later it seemed more likely to be ostrich-like and an omnivore. Either way, given how rare it is for fossils to form at all, I was convinced I'd die never knowing what this dinosaur actually looked like."
"Then surprisingly in 2014, they found more bones and it was just the weirdest thing."
The Pioneer Gravity Anomaly
"Space probe wasn't accelerating away from Earth the way we'd predicted, but it didn't get noticed until the probe got way the f'k out there."
"Next space probe gets launched, gets way out there, same thing happens. WTF? How does acceleration not work right? Does gravity just change really far away?"
"Turns out the heat from the radioactive death generator was all coming off the same side of the space probe, and the extra particle radiation gave a 'thermal recoil force' resulting in an extra acceleration of -- no kidding -- about 0.000000000874 m/s2."
"Over enough distance, it all counts."
– Laceogra
Closed cases and logical explanations are all well and good, but there is one phenomenon that continues to plague me.
Where do missing socks go? Seriously. It's a common occurrence where I'm left with a lone sock and the other is never caught in the lint trap or lost in the pile. They just vanish without a trace, I know I'm not alone in this.
Solving that mystery is not about having closure or putting my mind at ease so I can sleep at night.
I'm just tired of repeatedly buying new pairs of socks just because one sock goes rogue. Is it a New York laundry thing? Who knows?
But please enlighten me before I give up on socks and go with Crocs all the way.
Life is beautiful.
But life is really damn arduous.
Every day we're witness to the unfairness of it all.
That can cause some deep internal struggle.
And then that's why people change.
Sometimes for the worse.
Redditor Brianna6871 wanted to compare notes on what makes us all... over it, so they asked:
"What has caused you to become bitter?"
Becoming bitter is easy. I try to fight against it.
Loyalty is overrated...
Happy Season 5 GIF by The OfficeGiphy"Being with my company for 8 years then finding out new people that I trained make more than me."
km8907
"If it makes you feel any better, this is very common. Loyalty is overrated. The more you stay, the more they take you for granted. I also made the same mistake."
sensiferum
K.I.T
"Attempting to stay in contact with friends and then realizing they wouldn’t do the same for you once you stop."
Snowgoosey
"I agree. I used (and still do, to some extent) to have the mentality of 'don't make it into a competition, if you care about someone- contact them!'" And I did. But after 10 times of being the one initiating the conversation I just wonder if they'd bother to do the same."
"Each time they say 'I've been meaning to call you!' and they never do. And I'm talking good friends who share history together, not someone I met a month ago at the gym. I still love them of course, but this bugs me and leaves a bitter taste whenever I think of them."
Michelle_Evelyn
Hard Pills
"Expectations. I had these expectations about how life was supposed to go, how I was supposed to be. Life didn't work out that way, and I know it was my own doing by having those expectations, but I'm still bitter about it."
edgarpickle
"I find that going from 'promising and intelligent young person' to 'average middle-aged man' has been a hard pill to swallow that snuck up on me. I will say that having a young child and great partner still gives me lots of joy and hope."
GarconMeansBoyGeorge
Burned Out
"Working in healthcare."
RemoteForeign3300
"Worked a decade in healthcare, seven years in the military and three as a civilian. Every professional I ever met, from the doctor on down to the nursing assistant, was burned out and sick of seeing patients. It was amazing I stayed as long as I did."
BroScience4LYFE
"Yes, I feel like part of me changed drastically because of this. Don't get me wrong, I really like to work in a hospital but sometimes it make me lose faith in humanity."
Yeny356
Life
Angry Aubrey Plaza GIF by Parks and RecreationGiphy"Aging and realizing that good, kind people suffer and die far more often than the sh**heads of the world."
Josephdirte
Aging is a good thing but can be sad. Who doesn't miss the past?
Nothing to do...
I Have No Idea Reaction GIF by MTV Movie & TV AwardsGiphy"After realizing that hard work is not fairly rewarded. Someone else who is lazier and/or less competent can get something that you wanted/deserved, and there's nothing you can do about it."
kofed62181
The End
"The death of my wife."
Pitbull60usa
"I’m with you. My husband died 3 years and 4 days ago at the age of 42. It’s not just that your favourite person and best friend in the world is gone. It’s that everything you thought would be your future is gone too."
"Cancer f**king sucks."
Intelligent-Low6442
"Dude I'm so sorry I couldn't imagine. Just know she wouldn't want you to be bitter at the world. She would want you to be happy, easier said then done but do some s**t for you man maybe take a trip or something."
"Nothing will ever change the pain, but shaking life up might at least mix it up with other emotions. All the love!!"
knowledge-is-power91
The Past
"Realizing my childhood trauma left me unable to form meaningful relationships and now I have to invest a crap ton of money and time to maybe (!) achieve some sort of progress and peace. I envy the people who grew up with loving parents and have the confidence to choose good friends, partners and look at life with hope."
whatdrivesme_insane
Worse and worse...
"The unshakable hopelessness that the world is only getting worse and worse. No matter what we do to try and better ourselves financially will be met with some new corporate bullshi**ery that will knock us back down. I'm losing my motivation to keep pressing forward. I just want to retreat into my apartment and do what makes me happy until I die."
"Working on my masters in education right now, and as much as I want to teach in school, all the horror stories I see all over the place are making me wonder if this is the right choice. It really feels like I'm jumping into a bureaucratic hellhole, but I've invested this much time, money, and energy into this career that I have to see it through."
Cedrico123
Trust Fail
"My ex cheated on me. My job told me a bunch of lies to get me in the door and now I feel mistreated. Housing is a nightmare and landlords just take your application money and give the place to someone else. It feels like everybody is just out for themselves and I can’t trust what anyone says. I’m tired."
exhale358
Oh Humanity
Good Night No GIF by Robert E BlackmonGiphy"People."
JimAbaddon
"The general public has gotten so much worse over the years. I really dislike having to interact."
NCBadAsp
Life can certainly get us down. Even if we try squeezing the lemons into lemonade, you tend to get some pulp in your eye.
Do you have any experiences to share? Let us know in the comments
People Divulge The One Secret That Would Change The Way People Saw Them If They Found Out
Everyone has a secret–a shameful history, an embarrassing tendency, or a life hack they want to keep to themselves.
Whatever it is, secrets can either completely destroy one's reputation because of a regretful past or make them venerated for an admirable act done anonymously to avoid praise.
These mysterious qualities keep you from fully understanding who your friends really are.
Do you truly really know your boss, the person you've looked up to all your life, your child, or even your spouse?
What would happen if you discovered something about them that wasn't intended for you to find out?
Curious to hear from strangers online, Redditor Difficult-House6853 asked:
"What’s a secret that would change how the people around you look at you if they knew?"
If you think you know everyone in your little community, you have another think coming.
Former Group Member
"I was in a cult for a couple years."
– Sleepy-Spacemen
The Escape Plan
"All of my friends and family are Jehovahs witnesses, they think I am but I plan to leave. 85% of them will shun me when I leave."
– Allegedlystupid
Complete Christening
"Our house was the first one on our street to be built. My husband and I had sex in every single house on our street while they were under construction. I imagine our neighbors would look at us differently if they know we’d f'ked in their house before they even had a chance to."
– MediocreMerkin
The discussion people have with themselves can be startling.
The Passive Confidante
"People think that I’m a good listener, and that just makes them say things to me that they really shouldn’t. I’m only listening because I don’t want to be rude, not because I care. Don’t tell me your family secrets, please."
– A_Guy_From_The_ME
Inner Dialogue
"My intrusive thoughts. Holy sh*t sometimes i surprise myself on how gnarly i think in just a second."
– MaybeNot_MaybeYes
All The Vulernabilities
"How incredibly terrified I am nearly all of the time. I'm not confident, I don't think I'm in control any more, I don't think I can do this. And still, here I go"
– Bron_3
Let's play trivia with the people you think you know well.
Lawbreaker
"I’m a convicted felon. Nothing violent, a white collar crime."
– PhotographIcy600
Easily Detached
"I have a very hard time liking/growing fond of people, even after knowing them for years. I could just drop all contact with them and not miss them at all. Was like this even as a child, all the way to now…"
– Infinite_Ebb_2856
More Than Meets The Eye
"I’m a janitor. But I’m worth over a million dollars because I own real estate."
– Flashy-Weather3529
Everyone is entitled to keeping secrets.
But has anything good ever come as a result of revealing something you've kept close to yourself?
I have. Coming out while I was in college made me feel like a heavy burden was lifted once I received an outpouring of love and support from friends and family.
What changed was not only their perception of who I truly was, but also how I viewed them.
I regretted having underestimated them–thinking they wouldn't embrace me for who I am as a person–when the exact opposite wound up happening.
I do acknowledge that everyone does not have the same experience.
I've been very lucky and I count my blessings for all the love surrounding me in my life.
Due to the nature of the discussion, this article contains movie spoilers.
There's nothing quite like sitting down to watch an incredibly good movie with equally great company and food.
But the movie can become a particularly special experience if it's surprising in some way, like having a unique plot twist.
Redditor Gooderzk asked:
"Which movie has the best plot twist?"
The Prestige
"'The Prestige.' It seems so obvious when I rewatch it, but when I first saw it I was blown away. The ending was a big shock to me, as well."
- kee80
"I love how the movie tells you exactly what will happen in the opening scene, and you spend the whole movie letting yourself get fooled exactly like it said, but then the prestige happens."
- OldManHipsAt30
Inside Man
"'Inside Man' is a good movie like 'The Prestige.' It tells you what is going to happen at the start and there’s so much sh*t going on for the rest of the movie you absolutely forget they ever did that until you get to the end."
- ImmoralModerator
Frailty
"I would never call it my favorite, but I always thought its twist elevated a would-be schlock story into something memorable."
- ArthurBonesly
Primal Fear
"When I read the question, 'Primal Fear' is the first thing that popped into my head. Great movie with a great twist at the end."
- archie905
Saw
"Yeah, it's gross, but 'Saw' had a great plot twist."
- MlecznyHuxel99
"Not only is it a great twist, it’s not at the end, either. There’s one movie, the twist, and then allll the fallout afterward. It doesn’t just twist and fade to black."
- Randvek
"That plot twist redeemed it for me. I just wasn't enjoying it, and then bam, 'What the h**l did I just watch!?!'"
- jackfaire
Arrival
"'Arrival' has an incredible twist and is probably my favorite movie of the last 20 years."
"The twist holds up incredibly well on repeat viewings. That's the sign of a good twist in my opinion. The bad ones (including some mentioned here IMO) tend to invalidate a lot of the movie. Great twists add layers of depth to previous events."
- doktarr
Cabin in the Woods
"Well, the entire movie is one big twist; 'Cabin in the Woods.'"
"Not spoiling it. It must be watched blind, but, totally worth the watch."
- valeran46
Oldboy
"Hard to find the Korean version, but in my opinion, 'Oldboy' is a must-watch if you can find it. It’s English subtitled but nothing could prepare me, lol (laughing out loud). Don’t watch the remake, only the original version."
- Striball
The Sixth Sense
"'The Sixth Sense' was such a big deal that the director is still able to make big budget flops over and over again anytime he wants to."
- PMYourTiny
Gone Girl
"Am I the only person that wanted to jump into the screen and strangle that woman???"
- themissrebecca103
"Just from watching that movie I've had this hatred for the actor that played the chick, she did such an insane job of depicting her character that now I just cringe at her face in other movies."
- Crazy-visit-5078
Se7en
"'Se7en.' I was not expecting that ending and will never watch that movie again."
- FreshStarLiving
Parasite
"I went from, 'Hey, this is a really fun and entertaining movie, but why is it up for an Oscar,' to 'Holy f**king mother of God' in about five seconds flat, lol (laughing out loud)."
- MissPinkieB
Shutter Island
"'Shutter Island' is an obvious pick."
"Probably the greatest plot twist I've ever seen, at least on par with 'The Sixth Sense,' in my opinion."
"And it gets even crazier when you realize that Andrew Laeddis was faking his delirium at the end because he wanted to be lobotomized. He had fully 'come back' to his normal cognitive capacities but simply couldn't live with the guilt over what he had done."
- washington_breadstix
Crazy, Stupid Love
"I was taken by surprise during the twist in that movie."
- 0rangePolarBear
Book of Eli
"I wasn't expecting the twist. But if you rewatch the movie, you actually see it's shown since the beginning. D**n, Denzel Washington can act."
- Khaos_Gorvin
For those who love a movie with a solid twist, this list is a great place to start. In the meantime, for those of us who have seen these films, it might be time for a rewatch.
It's not surprising that each country is different, with various beliefs and rules, but what is always eye-opening is what one country will deem a basic necessity, another will deem an expensive, even allusive, luxury.
Americans in particular are often perplexed by the luxuries that Europeans are able to enjoy on a daily basis, which Americans would not be able to have without paying a premium.
Redditor Specialist-Metal-458 asked:
"Americans, what do Europeans have every day that you see as a luxury?"
Required Vacation Time
"My husband (we’re Canadian) did his post-doc in Finland; when he was signing his contract, they said, 'You’ll get six weeks paid vacation and you HAVE to take it.'"
"He was shocked. He had friends elsewhere doing post-docs who were doing 14-hour work days, six to seven days per week, and with no vacation, let alone PAID vacation."
"One of the years when he was nearing the end of his cycle, HR reached out and in a panic said, 'You have 3.5 days that you HAVE to use,' unbeknownst to us. So, we booked a trip for an extended weekend away."
"I miss that. And it’s something we both negotiate when starting new jobs; rather take a bit of a lower salary with more vacation time."
- ahope1985
Paid-Paid Vacation
"Six weeks vacation, extra pay just for vacation (at least in Germany), government healthcare."
- Royal_Acanthisitta51
"Wait. Is that paid... paid vacation??"
- a**lly_ExpressUrself
"Yes, lots of companies give half a month extra pay for vacation each year. Some also give half a month's extra pay for Christmas. It's like, 'Here's some extra money for you to have a nice vacation or a nice holiday.' It's quite common for larger companies."
- DnDVex
"I am an American who is now living in Sweden and a Swedish citizen, and I will never NOT be amazed that I have the legal right to four continuous weeks of paid vacation during the summer. THE LEGAL RIGHT."
"Literally amazing."
- ingenfara
Affordable Drinks
"This is only really true for Southern Europe, but cheap wine by the glass, cheap coffee, and pastries."
"Cafes in the US are marketed as very trendy and if you want a pastry and a coffee, you should be ready to pay eight to ten dollars. In most of Italy, Portugal, and Spain, you can get coffee and a croissant for three euros (approximately three dollars)."
- kulkdaddy47
Particularly Affordable Wine
"Where I live in Spain, the standard price for a glass of wine in a cafe or every day (non-fancy, equivalent of a diner) restaurant is 80c - €1. In a restaurant, I’ll usually order a half liter for about €4 (That’s 2/3 bottle of wine)."
"Soda and bottled water are more expensive. Soda is usually €1.20-1.60."
- KimchiMaker
"At Denver International Airport last month, I paid $23 for a glass of wine that I know would cost about $7 per bottle at Costco. Probably €4 per bottle in Italy. It was like getting robbed in broad daylight without a gun, but I get really nervous before flying."
- Missmoneysterling
Slower Living
"Time! I spent time abroad in Italy for school, and there was just so much less of a 'rush' everywhere. Oftentimes the latest person to my classes were professors. Everyone really took their time and I didn't really feel the bustle of constantly 'going' somewhere when I was there."
"I mean, dang, the village my apartment was located in shut down for a few hours in the afternoon so the shopkeepers could go have lunch. It was wild."
- SpaceMush
University-Bound
"Affordable universities… our daughter is going to university in Scotland. Our US friends always respond with shock at the 'luxury' of going overseas for school until I tell them it’s half of the cost of an equivalent US college. That includes travel expenses."
- Crafty-Arachnid6824
Accessible Public Transportation
"This blew me away traveling in Europe. It doesn’t matter where you are, even if it’s some middle-of-nowhere farm town, you’re never far from a train station, and you can just hop a train and go anywhere you want."
"I would love to have that here, but noooo, we only have rail links between some major cities, and since I live in a more rural area, I have to drive four or more hours everywhere. In Europe, all I had to do was drive 20 minutes to a train station and then just chill on the train for a few hours. It was great!"
- SirTophamFat
Well-Balanced Work
"An American friend of ours was gobsmacked that I have a well-paid, head of department level job, don't work unpaid overtime, and get 33 days paid holiday a year, with eight days of public holiday on top."
- Major_Twain
Extensive Travel
"They can travel between different countries in Europe without spending days driving or flying."
- WhimsicalGrenade
"And without border controls or checkups! I can just sit in a car here in Germany and drive to France and all the other EU countries, just realizing I’m in another country because of the traffic signs."
"Once I sat in a Train and slept in, after like 30 minutes I woke up, got off the Train, and realized I’m in Enschede, Netherlands. (Living in NRW, so pretty close to the border). I was like Hm, okay, I've got 50€ in my pocket, so I decided to visit a coffee shop and walk a bit through the City until the next Train in the right direction arrived. Like I’d do in every other City while traveling by train."
- DisguisedAccount
Publicly Acceptable
"Being able to walk around town with a beer is awesome."
"Public transportation in non-huge cities is also awesome."
- ooo-ooo-oooyea
Bathroom Conditions
"Bathroom stalls that actually go to the floor. I don’t need to know what shoes the guy taking a s**t next to me has on."
- maxncheese67
"Don't forget the intentional gaps on the doors."
- jensbert
E. All of the Above.
"Healthcare. Life work balance. Walkable communities. Great train service."
- zunzarella
Legitimate Sick Days
"I recently read a post about an American residential doctor who couldn't afford to take a vacation because they had to spend it on sick days."
"Not going to lie, my brain short-circuited at that a bit. Was a doctor supposed to come sick to a hospital full of other sick people to avoid personal financial penalties?"
- HQMorganstern
Paid Parental Leave
"Paid parental leave. I had used all of my leave with my first kid, so when I had another kid a year and a half later, I was back on my feet teaching in under six weeks."
"Dogs get better treatment than working mothers."
- ElegantGoose
The Need of a Car
"Not having to use a car every single time that you leave your house... For a lot of people, you have to go drive somewhere to safely take a walk... This place can be a h**l, and it is numbing."
- _aelius
It's All About Perspective
"As a European, I'm amazed how you guys (Americans) are looking at certain things I consider basic needs as luxuries."
- FridgeParade
As the final Redditor pointed out, it's terrible to think that Americans see what others view as basic necessities as a luxury that they can only dream of having.