Lawyers Break Down The Hardest Client They Ever Had To Defend In Court
Everyone is always looking for a lawyer. It can be difficult to find and settle on one; there are quite a few reasons why lawyers don't take certain cases. There could be no money to be made from your case, first and foremost. Other lawyers could have rejected the case or the statute of limitations could have expired. The case could just be weak.
This isn't to say that lawyers take open and shut casework, but they certainly don't want to take on clients who will make their lives more difficult, either.
After Redditor gallimimus asked the online community, "Lawyers of Reddit: Who was your hardest client to defend in court?" people shared their stories.
"One of my clients..."
One of my clients stabbed a McDonald's employee through the drive-thru window and when he was arrested they found four grams of powdered morphine in his sock.
"Had a woman..."
Had a woman charged with violating a no-contact order. The order said that she wasn't to come within 100 yards of her ex's house. Cops pull up to ex's house and she's standing in the front yard, waving her arms and screaming.
I was wracking my brain for something to argue to the jury as a reason to find her not guilty. Didn't really come up with much.
"The owner..."
Workplace accident caused the death of a worker. I represented the company, defending against charges of negligence, various health and safety violations. The owner clearly didn't take safety seriously and constantly complained about how this was hurting his business.
"My hardest clients..."
I do family law. My hardest clients are the ones that low key alienate their children from an ex over personal feelings. They don't see it or why the behavior is a problem and they are usually very unlikeable people. Don't get me wrong, I have repped bad people who still manage to be likeable, but not these walnuts.
"And this was all after refusing..."
Got a DUI client who had kicked his trial date down by almost two years. Had a history of DUI but had cleaned up his act until this one.
His story: he was sitting in his car waiting for a ride when he got picked up, no keys in the ignition, talked to the cops by opening the door, no way he could have hoped to drive the thing.
Cops' story: keys were in the ignition and the window was down. No one disputing that he was wasted.
His case was winnable but for one thing - he couldn't close his damn trap shut on the stand. If I asked him the time, he told me where his watch was made and what the name of the clerk was who sold it to him. Classic mouth-diarrhea sufferer.
His friends were his other witnesses, and I couldn't have asked for better ones. The police were the prosecutor's witnesses, and I poked holes in their testimony left and right. The case was far from an airtight acquittal, but I had more than enough reasonable doubt to win...
...except for my client. Who revealed on the stand that it was his fourth DUI - when, as far as anyone on the jury was concerned, it was his first. Then he couldn't keep his story straight on how he talked to the cop - opening the window vs cracking the door (makes a difference because the key would have had to be in the ignition for the windows to roll down.) And if I tried to rein him in, he went off on another tangent.
And this was all after refusing to plead to a stipulated first offense, which would have been fines and traffic school - instead, he torpedoed his own case, got convicted, got something like 60 days in jail and a ton of costs, and I got frustratingly close to a win.
"One of the kids..."
Lawyer here. I don't normally do litigation, but as a pro bono project (and for some experience doing a different kind of law), I served as guardian ad litem for these two kids stuck in a high-conflict child custody dispute. "Guardian ad litem" basically means that the court-appointed me to represent the kids whose parents are fighting over them (this is oversimplifying slightly). In other words, I didn't represent either parent, but both parents wanted me on "their side" since my opinion of the case would be influential with the judge.
It was a complete s*** show. Both parents were low income, basically living off of various forms of government assistance. Each had several other kids with other partners. The mom said that the dad sold drugs and that both kids were conceived via assault (and the dad was recently out of prison for sexual assault); the dad said that the mom is a prostitute who neglected the kids (and there were various reports from the kids' school that corroborated this). One of the kids (the sister) was super cute, but the other (the brother) called his sister a hoe in open court and said he hated her.
Luckily the parents agreed to a joint custody arrangement before it went to trial. This experienced confirmed for me 1000% that I do not want to be a litigator, especially in family court.
"The guy who told the judge..."
The guy who told the judge he was going to strangle me in front of jury if he didn't remove me from his case.
"Somehow..."
Client showed up drunk for a preliminary hearing on DWI. Had him wait in hall, told the judge he was out there. I didn't mention he was drunk. Somehow convinced the judge to continue prelim based on the total creative concoction. If he'd come in the judge would have locked him up for public intoxication and been hot at DWI sentencing. Maybe the judge remembered his pre-bench days just gave us a break.
"In the end..."
I was defending in a DUI case where the guy argued that the reason there was alcohol in his blood is that the cops used alcoholic hand sanitizers when arresting him and the alcohol was on his skin where the needle went... due to the ethical code of the bar association, I had to ask several questions about this from an expert witness who had 20 yrs of medical experience, the witness kind of understood why I had to ask these insane questions; nonetheless I felt like a moron.
In the end, I could still get a better sentence than his plea deal.
"Clients who keep breaching..."
Clients who keep breaching their restraining orders or mutual no-contact orders. I'm a family lawyer, so I'm not defending them when they're charged for it, but those charges then mess with their careers or get brought up later when we're trying to figure out parenting.
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I've embraced the single life.
It's been a decade, so I really had no other choice.
And I can tell you there are plenty of pros to the situation.
When we're single, it seems like we're addicted to focusing on the cons.
But if you start by appreciating yourself more, the pros list grows.
Not watching rom-coms is a big one for me.
And, of course, having a plethora of pins and voodoo dolls of your loved ones and their partners.
I kid. A little.
Redditor thunderchild10 wanted everyone to count all the ways not having a life partner is great, so they asked:
"What's the best thing about being single?"
Money!
That's my favorite part.
I just spend it on me!
Peace Out
Sneaking Out Betty Cooper GIF by Lili ReinhartGiphy"You can leave family functions on your own terms."
bruteski226
"I’m a huge advocate of the Irish exit. Why do you need to say goodbye to everyone if you know you’re going to see them again in a few days."
Aeokikit
No Food Sharing
"I can eat whatever I want for dinner. I don't have to consider anyone else's opinions. I can plan out whatever I want."
lady_laughs_too_much
"Legit one of my concerns. I have what I call a peasant’s palate… I like simple meals, and I will easily eat the same thing over and over again. I made a chicken and broccoli casserole thing on the weekend and ate that for four days in a row. Sometimes I have chips for dinner. I’m happy with my weird menu, and I’m not looking forward to accommodating someone else."
ReadySetTurtle
Ah, yes... silence
"Peace and quiet."
Earnastus
"This is the big one for me. I spend all day listening to people talk, often distressed. So it's nice to come home to quiet. No more talk. Just the ambient sound of my local neighborhood, markedly muffled by double-glazed windows and soundproofed walls."
"The occasional quiet grunt from my dog. The quiet whirl of the refrigerator motor. My own thought as to why it's spelled refrigerator, but when we shorten it, we put a d in there, and make it fridge. The sound of me typing these thoughts on the keyboard in front of me. The quiet eeeeeeeeeeeee of my tinnitus backed all of it. Ah, yes... silence."
OzzieBloke777
So much space...
"Of all the perks I think the best one has to be getting the bed all to myself."
Salsa1212
"My partner and I sleep in different beds and I would 100% recommend if you have the space. Started out when we were working different shifts, stayed because we both had AMAZING sleeps."
TheFalseLion
"Can confirm. Haven't had the bed to myself in 7 years. Have upgraded to sharing with the partner AND toddler now. King-sized bed never seemed so small."
Friendly_Grocery2890
Everything!
Happy Well Done GIF by Top TalentGiphy"Loads of things. Mostly around being able to act exclusively for your own betterment without having to consider anyone else."
monkeybawz
The list just gets longer and better.
Just Me
free freedom GIFGiphy"That you can do whatever TF you want without having to answer to anyone."
CapG_13
Anxiety Free
"Not living in fear that my relationship will fall apart."
"God bless anyone who is going through this. It sucks really hard when you try to make things work but you just don't get enough assurance from your partner."
MaybeNot_MaybeYes
"After a few years of marriage, I actively did everything to make my relationship with my ex fall apart. Granted he was abusive and I was terrified that he would kill me for asking for a divorce because he frequently told me that he would, so I just made his life as uncomfortable as possible until he was the one who asked for a divorce."
TwirlyShirley8
Calm Entrance
"Knowing exactly what to expect when you come home and open the front door."
P4S5B60
"Holy s**t, this resonates. I'm recently divorced and I can't explain how much anxiety I had when coming home and opening the door. The even keel of the emotional landscape now is pure bliss."
boltershmoo
"Saaaaame. That moment I would hear the garage door open when my former partner was getting home: most anxiety-inducing moment/sound. I would go into panic mode: hell did I clean enough/do enough/be productive enough so that I don’t catch some shi**y attitude from the partner."
kusava-kink
Focus
"Not being a slave to someone else’s emotional state."
90sTVGuru
"Deada**, this is the first time I’ve been able to focus on my emotional state in forever! My mental health has never been better. And I was even able to wean completely off of SSRIs. My ex was quite literally one of the biggest triggers of my anxiety and depression."
jets3tter094
"As someone who is recently single, this is a big one. Sometimes I felt like my partner's emotional state was too chaotic for me and I was a sponge to it. Not being a slave to it anymore has made my anxiety calm down a lot."
chubberbubbers
You First
Look At Me Reaction GIF by WWEGiphy"You get to put yourself first. Take care of yourself. You're your own biggest fan, and the only one you've got. 100% learn to love yourself."
happier_days
Well sounds like some of us should embrace being alone.
Apparently, it ain't all that bad.
Do you have anything to add? Let us know in the comments below.
Too many of us were told to grow up or that it would be wrong to continue to enjoy the things that made our childhoods worth remembering.
But now as adults, some have figured out that there's nothing wrong with enjoying a nice bowl of sugary cereal while watching those Saturday morning cartoons. Quite frankly, it feeds the soul.
Redditor iStoleurvalor asked:
"What is 'for kids' that you continue to thoroughly enjoy as an adult?"
Outdoor Playtime
"Playgrounds in general. Since becoming a dad, I can bring my kids to the playground and have fun with them on the slides, swings, monkey bars; most things."
"I wish there were public/free adult-sized playgrounds. It'd probably encourage us to get out a lot more. It feels like everything geared for adults nowadays charges admission, and it's not cheap."
- densetsu23
The All-Fours Climb
"Going up the stairs on all fours will always be fun."
- Curious-Kaylee
"I’m a huge advocate for climbing stairs on all fours, but I’m now imagining how horrifying it would be to see that in a public setting, lol (laughing out loud)."
- metallic_buttcheeks
"'LOOK OUT, KIDS! SHE'S COMING!'"
"*kids screaming*"
- KeepCalmSayRightOn
"I need to try this. But the only steps I regularly take are at work, lol (laughing out loud)."
- tittilizing
"I race up the stairs at work on all fours to assert dominance."
- JoshPlaysUltimate
Animated Movies as an Art Form
"Animated movies in general. I can still enjoy them. When I've had a rough day or if I'm just feeling down, I can put on something wholesome, funny, or nostalgic and it makes me feel better."
- catching_signals
"'Emperor's New Groove' is my favorite feel-good movie."
- Compulsive-Gremlin
Sticker Collections
"STICKERSSSSS."
- ObviouslyKatie
"F**K YES."
"Never enough stickers. I had a s**tty childhood (like most of us) but stickers always made me happy, especially the fuzzy ones. Suddenly understanding why I'm still bonkers for stickers."
- limeporcupine
Gotta Catch 'Em All
"Pokemon. Started with Red when I was five and haven't stopped since. Doubt I ever will. If anything, my enjoyment of Pokemon is becoming more childlike."
- The_Prezzy
In Cracker Form
"Goldfish. It's hard to resist when my niece is having them for a snack. I make a big show about me being a shark and eating them just so I can have some."
- Drew-
"I really thought you meant actual fish at first..."
Travelerofhighland86
"Fish are friends, not food."
- Phoneking13
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
"Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. Of course, it isn't solely for kids, as he made each episode with a mind towards parents watching them with their children, but he's so wholesome and kind, so deliberate and thoughtful with everything that he put on the show."
- Puddnhead_Wilson
"I’d never watched it before and my husband wanted to watch the Tom Hanks movie. But he wanted me to see the real Mister Rogers first. So there we sat, two adults over 30, watching episodes of Mister Rogers. And I loved it!"
- Ankylowright
Favorite Stuffies
"I remember a Reddit post from several years ago where this guy who was in the army or Marines or whatever gushed about his plush Magicarp. He even sent a picture of the Magicarp next to an automatic rifle."
- Mind101
"I'm almost 40 and not ashamed to say I still have my teddy bear, Wally, my mom made when I was two. His arms are lopsided, his ears are wonky, and he is made from upholstery fabric from a 70s couch cushion, but I love that dude."
"I did eight years in two branches of the Marines and Army and did three deployments, and you bet Wally was with me. Either stuffed in a pack or seabag, but he was there because I needed him."
- Jaymakk13
Gotta Love Disney
"Disney animated movies."
"I am a big, mean-looking 40-year-old man. I drove to work listening to the soundtrack to 'Moana.'"
- mkicon
"Second big, mean-looking 40-year-old man here. I may or may not have sobbed on my way to work while kind of singing the soundtrack to 'Encanto' this morning through my tears."
"I'm with you, bro."
- SHABDICE
Who Lives in a Pineapple Under the Sea?
"Not me, but my 55-year-old dad still loves SpongeBob. He'll wake up on a Saturday morning and have his juice and breakfast while watching Spongebob."
- Hwetapple
"Dude, same. Almost every time I go over there, he's always watching SpongeBob. He recently found out he gets Boomerang on his Roku, so he's just been watching 'Tom & Jerry' and 'Loony Toons.'"
"I also love those cartoons so I'm definitely not talking s**t."
- Theren_Alister_XIII
Chocolate Milk, For Sure
"Chocolate Milk."
- Toy_Guy_in_MO
"Who says chocolate milk is only for kids?"
- transformers03
"Ice cold chocolate milk is amazing."
- SigridBaginnses
Skipping Down the Sidewalk
"Skipping. If you haven't skipped in a while, do it. You'll realize how much faster it is than walking, and how much more ground you cover."
- trx0x
Coloring
"Coloring."
"Not with craft paper and high-end pencils adult coloring, either."
"Nope. With a 'Moana' coloring book and the 64-count Crayola box."
- TheSquishyPaleDuke
They'll Never Go Out of Style
"I cannot stop making summer camp-style knotted friendship bracelets out of embroidery floss."
"It keeps my hands busy while I'm working/watching TV/traveling and I don't get sucked into my phone."
"Now I just leave piles of bracelets everywhere."
- andtheIToldYouSos
Breakfast of Champions
"Breakfast cereals... all of the fruity, sugar-filled candy-like cereals. It is totally my weekend treat. Nothing during the week."
"Fruity pebbles (Dino bites now. Post changed the recipe a while back) is totally my jam. Who doesn't like destroying the roof of their mouth on some Cap'n crunch?"
- hammerraptor
These are great reminders of some of the good things we had in our childhood, but it's an even more important lesson that there's no harm in doing something for our inner child every once in a while, maybe even every day.
People Who've Won A 'Lifetime Supply' Of Something Explain How Long It Actually Lasted Them
When a lifetime supply of something we like is offered in the form of a contest, it's safe to say that most of us would try our luck and enter the contest for a seemingly infinite amount of that desired thing.
But we have to wonder, when they say, "lifetime supply," do they mean a literal lifetime, or do they actually mean a conservative, well-rationed, short lifetime?
Redditor LordFrieza8789 asked:
"Redditors who have actually won a 'lifetime supply' of something, what was the supply you won? And how long did it actually last?"
Altoids and Burritos
"Not me, but my Grandpa won a lifetime supply of Altoids back in the early 2000s."
"They sent him a box with like 200 tins in it, and that was it. I remember when we went to his house, he gave me like a dozen of them."
"Also, when the Moe's opened up near me a couple of years back, my brother staked out overnight with some friends because the first 100 customers got a year's supply of burritos."
"They gave him a card that could be used for one free burrito a day for a year. I think he went every day for three weeks straight and hasn't gone back since, lol (laughing out loud)."
- CarsenAF
The Year of Pizza
"Not exactly lifetime, but I once won a 5000 euro one-year voucher at a pizza place, and it lasted the full year. I spent the last 75 euros on the very last day."
- nillekeks1
"That's a LOT of pizza."
- TheSarcasmChasm
"You have no idea. I ate every pizza they serve, every snack, everything on their menu at least five times."
"I was also invited to a lot of parties that year."
- nillekeks1
A Classic Swap
"My hometown has a minor league baseball team. I won a year’s supply of Pepsi from beating a mascot in a race at the ballpark when I was seven."
"I didn’t realize the prize was Pepsi until I won (I just wanted to meet the mascot, Scout!) and I hated soda as a kid."
"So when Scout handed me my first six-pack of Pepsi as my prize, I said, 'Well, that’ll last me the whole year because I won’t drink it,' and my parents forfeited my prize to the second place kid."
"The park gave me a t-shirt instead and a baseball frame for the picture I got with the mascot instead, so I think I came out on top."
- not_addictive
No More Hunger
"When I was a kid, I won a lifetime supply of meat from a large butcher shop in my hometown."
"My dad put my name in one day and a few weeks later we get a call telling us we won a custom BBQ pit and a monthly supply of meat and supplies for life."
"We got the pit a few days later, and every month we’d get a foam ice chest of various beef cuts, sausages, and steaks, a couple of dozen sodas, a bag of charcoal, lighter fluid, and a bag of whatever veggies they had around or something."
"We were really poor at the time, so this was exactly something that could help the family out in enormous ways. My dad would have a BBQ every weekend, sometimes several times a week."
"I remember sometime afterward, realizing that I hadn’t felt hunger in days or even weeks, and that was so unusual for me."
"For years, we continued to get the monthly supply. There was even one point when the amount of meat and sodas we got doubled. We were having a hard time keeping up, but that’s a good problem to have."
"I remember near the time I was going to high school, we got notified that the butcher shop got bought out by a larger national chain, and the parent company just wanted to cut us a check to end it all. We gladly accepted. The check was for like $10k or something like that."
"By that time, my parents had gone to school and got their degrees and got better-paying jobs, so the free supply of food was just a bonus."
"Looking back, that win helped us out a lot when we were poor. I can imagine the savings my parents gained from not having to buy as much food, which was scarce as it was. We became happier and a little fatter, as well."
- watabby
The Gift That Keeps on Giving
"I won a lifetime supply of printer paper from a Canadian retailer based on an internet contest with the purchase of a Konica Minolta."
"I won, and I realized quickly that I don't need that much paper. They were sending me two reams a month."
"I moved and never updated my shipping address, so someone out there is getting free paper."
- GhostLandsTramp
Free Flights
"Ryanair (a European budget airline) awarded its millionth passenger 'free flights for life.'"
"After nine years, they reneged on the deal, so she took them to court. The Judge awarded her 60,000 euros to buy her own flights (Her legal costs were more than three times that, but Ryanair had to pay those as well)."
"Given the relatively low cost of Ryanair flights, 60,000 euros will probably buy her at least six flights per year for the next 50 years."
- GrumpyOik
An Absolute Win-Win
"I won a year of free Choolaah. It’s a fast-casual Indian restaurant."
"They give a year of free food (via a coupon book with 52 cards for free meals) to the first 100 customers at any location. I saw that the line was short on the way to work and called everyone in the office to get in line."
"We had all our business meetings at Choolaah for a year, with the company paying for meals when people ran out of coupons, didn’t have them, or we hired anyone new."
"The food was perfect because if you ate vegan, paleo, gluten-free, or any combination there was something on the menu you could eat. We still use them for company catering because everyone likes the options."
- teacamelpyramid
In This Economy?
"I won free groceries for 'life' at my local grocery store in a raffle. They give me a digital $100 gift card once a month, which is wonderful. However, it doesn't even cover a week of groceries."
"It will end when the total given has reached $10,000. I've got about $4000 left."
- like_to
Party Time
"Not necessarily 'won,' but I bought a lifetime membership at one of my favorite nightclubs/concert venues early in the pandemic. They released a limited amount as a pandemic fundraiser and they went fast and will likely never do something like it again, so it feels a bit like I won."
"It came with free entry plus-one, coat check, and two drink tickets at every event at the venue (even sold-out ones) for life."
"A couple of years out, I’ve gotten more value than the cost, I’m still on the list for every event, and most of the staff there know me (partly cuz I’m there a lot and also cuz I tip well on those drink tickets). I’ll often just drop by for random events/artists I’d never heard of or dip in for a half hour at a sold-out event with a $50+ door cover just to say hello to some friends."
"I imagine someday the venue will close up shop and my lifetime membership will close with it."
- maddiewantsbagels
Good Manager Energy
"I took my kids to a pizza buffet place when they received a free kids meal coupon for good grades. The cashier mistakenly charged us for the meals."
"When the manager came out to correct the transaction, I said he could just return the coupon and not worry about it."
"He gave us an entire stack (about 50) of unused coupons that were attached together like a checkbook. We got free kids meals until they obviously reached the age limit."
- psgrue
Quantity Over Quality
"My parents did twice in a relatively short period of time. The first was at a fair when I was in high school. They advertised it as a lifetime supply of ice cream sandwiches."
"They ended up giving us 100 boxes all at once. Right there on a warm July day. My mom was only able to collect at the end of the day so there weren't even that many people to hand them out to."
"We got home and had about 60 left after giving away as much as possible and throwing out what didn't fit in our freezer."
"I played lots of sports so I ate a lot and my parents just said I could eat as much as I wanted any time I wanted. I went through 60 boxes in a couple of months. That was a good time but not so good for my weight."
"The second was when they bought an expensive microwave about a year later and won a five-year supply of microwave popcorn. Basically, the same thing happened."
"We got a huge box with like 200 packages and I was told to eat as much as I wanted."
"After living in a house that smelled like popcorn for a few weeks, my parents just threw the rest in the garbage."
- discostud1515
An Excellent Plan
"Not a lifetime supply but my aunt won a 60-second haul at our local grocery store, where you grab as much as you can in 60 seconds and it’s yours. There are obviously rules and limitations, no meat, dairy, or fresh goods."
"This woman took her arm and literally swiped out their entire aisle of coffee. She had a plan going in there, which I guess was coffee, dog food, paper towels, and toilet paper."
"Which honestly, that’s a good plan with the limits they had. Nobody in my family had to buy coffee for at least a year. (We all survive off coffee in my family.)"
- juelbaby
"The way I would DEMOLISH the spice aisle."
- f**k_you__shoresy
The Final Call
"This happened in the late '90s. A local bar ran a wet t-shirt contest where the girl who won would win a lifetime of free bar drinks at the bar. They also had cash prizes for second and third place. I don't remember how much, but it was a lot at the time."
"The result was a packed bar, tons of girls entered, and tons of guys spent money. My friend's girlfriend at the time, now his wife, won first place. She was stoked. He was excited."
"Within a couple of weeks, the building was condemned and torn down."
"Turns out the owners of the bar knew that the building was going to be condemned and just wanted to have one last party."
- pilot4hire70
Long Live the Cat
"18 years ago, we won a lifetime of vet visits for my cat."
"They expected to give it to someone with an old pet, not a new kitten."
"The cat’s still alive. The Vet Clinic has moved and rebranded four or five times, but they’re still honoring the award."
- aegis_526
A Beautiful Family Tradition
"My grandparents were gifted a lifetime subscription to 'Reader's Digest' as a wedding gift. They were offered that, or some other magazine that went out of business a decade later so they made the right call."
"Being a frugal family, that subscription was utilized fully. After Grandma and Grandpa were done with each issue, it would be passed along to siblings and their kids with this little round-robin thing they did (sharing photos and updates of what everyone was up to, passed along in a manilla envelope and when it came back to you, you remove your items and put new ones in)."
"They had been together for 62 years when Grandpa died, but RD honored the subscription an extra decade until Grandma passed."
"I forgot how much was paid for it, but I'm certain the gifter got their money's worth."
- Just_call_me_Marcia
While lifetime supplies may not always be all they're cracked up to be, some of these stories were incredibly wholesome and reminded us just how kind people can be.
Traveling the world can be a highly enlightening experience.
It opens us up to various cultures and customs that can only expand our wisdom of the capabilities of what people can achieve while also reminding us that we are all the same.
And while there are common practices that are shared by different nations, there are some things that Americans seem to excel at more than in other countries.
Curious to hear exmples of these, Redditor Tannerman1 asked:
"What does America do better than most countries?"
North America provides everything in abundance.
It's A-maize-ing
"Turning corn into things that are not corn."
– Aeekio
"When you have this much corn, what else do you do with it?"
– Beautiful-Page3135
"Being from Illinois please do something with all this corn."
– LordofTheFlagon
Maritime Airbase
"Aircraft carriers."
– Tubbaaoo
"I think the stat is something like the US has half of all the large carriers in the world right now. I do know in WW2 by the end of 1944 or 45 they had more escort carriers in service than most countries had naval ships commissioned in the country's entire history."
– FLABANGED
The Great Outdoors
"National parks, we also have amazing state parks and local parks."
"Before anyone starts no you having woods too isn't the same thing."
– Dull-Geologist-8204
"I’m not sure the very idea of a National Park would be a thing if not for ol Teddy Roosevelt, and the United States making them the thing they are."
– NicksAunt
Americans are very social people that have no qualms reaching out to a stranger.
Sometimes, that's a real good thing.
"Chatting, I’m from a European country where most people will avoid talking to stranger. But you can literally talk to anyone you met in the street in the US and most of them are willing to talk."
– FloorSad3826
Forming A Bond
"People in many parts of the US do talk. I’m from the US and I’m kind of introvert, but I’ve actually have grown to love it as I’ve gotten older. I’m a white guy in a mostly black neighborhood and I f'king love going to the grocery store. We have this awesome little actual grocery store and everyone talks to me. It’s basically the friendliest place I’ve ever been."
"There’s an old dude who just starts spouting off with trivia questions to anyone who will listen. I responded with the answer to one and he was like, “How the f'k did you know the answer to that?'”
“I’m a biologist.”
"He and I are basically best friends now."
– sloppy_biography
Three Guys Walk Into A Bar...
"I have had this experience. The only people who would talk in pubs in London were an Irishman, a Lebanese fellow, and the Nepalese bartender. There’s a joke in there somewhere. They were super cool cats, too. Oh, and the guy I chatted with in a bar in Paris, also Lebanese. None of the locals would speak more than a few words."
"Americans? We’ll talk half an hour to a wrong number."
"Side note: Does anybody know if everyone in Lebanon actually knows everybody else? It has now happened twice that I’ve met people on different continents who knew each other’s siblings."
– Lemur-Tacos-768
The Germany Connection
"I met a chatty lady in Germany once and when I told her she was a friendliest person I’d met in Germany she said very quickly: 'Oh, I’m not from here, I’m from Sweden.' Then we both laughed loudly and got the side eye from the Germans."
– Syd_Vicious3375
When it comes to certain American activities, it's no contest.
Just To Be Frank
"Hot dog eating contests"
– First_Ad5835
"I was going to say that the champion of the Nathan’s Famous contest is Japanese, but I looked it up & Joey Chestnut is the current reigning champion."
– sagitta_luminus
Americans Are Globally Recognized Due To...
"Dominate media and pop culture around the world. Nobody else comes close to the US in this regard."
– DougyTwoScoops
Accommodating Everyone
"I haven't been in a lot of countries, but from my limited experience, it's the Americans With Disabilities Act."
"I have a lot of complaints about it, but I can still say that using public transportation doesn't require me to walk down or up 40 steps, with the alternative being walking . 3 miles to find an elevator that can fit one person at a time and moves so slowly it's barely usable."
– oneofyrfencegrls
What You Didn't Know
"Ironically enough science. The US has more Nobel Prize winners of all other countries combined. And here's the key thing: many of those researchers were immigrants, or at least didn't have family going back to the Mayflower."
"Also this will really sound ironic: tolerance for other cultures. The US is among the most diverse nations in the world. The most iconic American cultural icons are ultimately a mix of local and international traditions. Asiatic countries are super duper racists, but we call them 'xenophobic.'"
"Agriculture. The US is a behemoth when it comes to agriculture and agriscience. The biggest issues is cultivating for logistics instead of taste. Those yield however come with technologies other nations find repugnant and so ban American imports to protect domestic agriculture."
"Charity. Americans as a whole donate more to charities than any other nation, and on a per capita basis as well. Most Americans probably see ads or donation boxes on a daily basis."
– WiryCatchphrase
I'm not sure if it's a good or bad thing but American establishments can dish out sizable portions of food for what dining patrons pay for.
Some entrees at restaurants are enough for sharing and ordering one main plate can be an economical option to allow room for a variety of other dishes–including dessert–without breaking the bank.
Go big, or go home, right?