I slurp my ramen. It's how my family eats at home.
While Americans think it's rude to slurp loudly, it is encouraged in Japan.
As a matter of fact, it's considered rude NOT to slurp.
But there is also a practical reason behind the warranted practice – the Japanese slurp hot noodles to avoid burning the tongue.
Allowing the air to rush in through through slurping cools down the temperature of the noodles – which is more favorable than the unsatisfying flavor of cooled noodles in the bowl that have thickened from soaking up water.
Slurping means it's delicious!
So don't come for me when I slurp my ramen. I'm just giving compliments to the chef.
Wondering about different cultural customs, Redditor "sackofpotatosacks" asked:
"What is normal where you live but would be considered crazy anywhere else?"
Come Back Now, You Hear?
"In Australian rural towns we all had our back doors unlocked; and friends are allowed to go through the back door and make themselves a cup of tea/coffee while they wait for you to get back from whatever you were doing."
Stay As Long As You Like
"Apparently being in a restaurant for hours and hours and only eating in 1% of the time. We talk for hours before and after eating here, so we don't leave right after eating. Everyone I knew from other country found it strange."
The Line Of Shame
"In the Eifel, Germany, on the night of May 1st, people paint a long line from one house to another. The line means that someone in these households is having an affair. Every year several relationships break up because of this. I love it."
Garden State Rules
"I live in NJ and it's illegal here for you to pump your own gas/fuel. All stations are full service by law. I believe Oregon is the only other state in the USA that has this law."
– joey_r00
Crowded House
"still being in the same house as your parents after marriage. also with kids."
The Best Quality Rice
"Today (in Japan) over a hundred people lined up (staggered for social distancing) at 9:00 am on a Saturday. First one hundred get a ticket. At 10:30 we all line up again. One at a time we draw a number; 1 to 5. Then we go over to a big basin of the best quality of rice and take as many scoops as the number we drew. You are encourage to make each scoop heaping. This is not a food bank thing (I hope) just the promise of 'good rice' draws a crowd."
Living With Baboons
"I live next to a game reserve in South Africa. It's not that surprising to hear baboons in your back yard, or spot a rhino 10 meters from your fence."
"One time a whole troop of baboons ran over our roof. It's only corrugated iron and we all sh*t our pants."
It's Called "Systembolaget" In Sweden
"The government has monopoly on any alcohol above 3.5% and can only be bought at one store dedicated to it."
"Also Finland. Can't even order alcohol from web stores..."
– sissichu
Norway And Sheep
"In Norway it's normal to release two million sheep (read: two million sheep) into the wild, mostly unsupervised, where an estimated 100,000 of them die to either injuries, illness or predators, with the farmers crying and complaining (usually only to that last one), and then repeat the same process again the next year, and every year after that."
"Does Norway kind of have a f'ked up and moronic sheep farming practice? Yes, yes we do."
A High School Tradition
"In my hometown, it was totally normal to say and write on your car, 'Go bust a nut!' during high school football season. My high school's mascot was the acorn."
Perfectly Bilingual
"My city is EXTREMELY bilingual, everyone speaks both English and French. You'll hear people speak both languages in conversations quite often, sometimes in the same sentence. In stores, most of the time, people greet you with both languages and you reply in one of them, which tells them which language you prefer to talk in. They go 'Bonjour, Hi!' And you say Bonjour back if you want to continue in French or Hi if you rather speak English. It's kinda crazy."
Land With No Boundaries
"Where I used to live in Manitoba, nobody had fences, mainly because when the properties were divided up, the town planners left space that belonged to the town behind all of them, that was just a strip of forest and Canadian shield. So almost nobody put up fences because it cut off their view & access to what was essentially a super cool nature trail network throughout the town. Everyone knew once you hit mowed grass, that belonged to someone. Us kids barely ever went anywhere on foot via roads or sidewalks, we always took the trails (we rode bikes on the roads though, there were too many rocks on the trails for a regular kid's bike)."
"Of course, living in a forest had some unintended consequences. We frequently had bears, so I remember when I wasn't even 5 yet being taught what to do if I saw a bear. And two separate years we had a mountain lion, which was a lot worse. The town would hire someone to trap and relocate these animals but it always took a while. I remember watching a bear lying down under the crabapple tree in our front yard just eating all the windfall apples for ages, not a care in the world."
Chips In Your Sandwich
"I live in Dublin and when we tell people who live in America that we put crisps in sandwiches they laugh at us. Just try it mate. It's so good."
Younger Legal Drinking Age
"Drinking alcohol for the first time when you're around 14 y/o. In Germany, it is legal to buy beer and wine when you're 16. So the majority of parents don't see it as a problem when the first drunk experience happens a few years earlier. Actually it is hard to find a teenager here that never tried alcohol before."
– myrjxm
Reserving A Spot
"Putting a chair in the road to reserve a parking spot. Not only do people do it, but people respect people who do it."
Class Participation
"Starting college, meeting your class on week 1 and then having introductory sauna the next week, boys and girls all drunk & nekkid. Finland :3"
Legalities
tractor drifting GIF
Giphy
"People who are 12-14 driving tractors on the roads in rural Ireland. The legal minimum age is 16, but most farmers don't really care.
EDIT: I didn't realize that this is a rural thing. Still comes as a shock to urban people though."
Keeping it Cool
Many (but not all) Germans restricting themselves to exactly one hot meal per day. I've heard sentences such as:
"No I can't, I already ate warm at lunch"
"I tried so hard to find a breakfast place that sells cold food"
"Let's just eat bread, I've had hot lunch"
"You can't eat two hot meals, that's too much"
I still don't get why it has to be no more and less than one hot meal? And why do breakfast pancakes not count as hot food?
The Road Menu
"Picking up roadkill for your table. Gotta temp it first, but if it's fresh or new and frozen, it's good."
"The only problem with roadkill is the meat is often ruined due to internal organ damage. If the stomach or intestines are ruptured, it's game over. And anywhere the vehicle hit or it impacted the pavement hard, there will be bruising that will ruin it."
4 times a day
"Experiencing 4 seasons every day. Jacket on, jacket off, it's sunny but it's raining, freezing and windy, then it's hot again... I like to wear shorts and puffer jacket combos for both extremes. Tasmania."
Feet to Earth
"Some people not wearing any footwear to observe a festival, for nine days, even if they go out. India, during Navratri. Though there is no naked baba.
There are few saints who live their lives nude, the point is that they have enough will power to not get erection even if they come in close quarters with women.
They are called Brahmchari or eternal celibate."
- manjeete
Minty
thumbs GIF
Giphy
"Driving over the mountains and shouting "mint sauce" out the window to the sheep....
Wales.
(And fellow welshys... Don't lie..you know you've done it)."
- vad2004
being a woman
"As a female:
1- Not having to move out of my parents' house unless I get married.
2- Obtaining a degree is a must, but working is a complete option. Also if I choose to work, I don't have to share my income with my spouse.
3- I get the superiority in lines so I don't have to stand in long lines with men. Which happens rarely anyway because women don't run errands in here."
- Nrnr_nr
Melbourne
"In the next 16 days there will be two public holidays in my city.
Both of which are to recognize different sporting events.
One of those sporting events is taking place 2000 odd kms away.
The other is taking place in my city - though with very few attendees because of 'Rona restrictions.
Gotta love Melbourne."
Freedom Calls
"Calling an uber instead of an ambulance or going to work while sick during a pandemic.
Gotta love freedom."
"I never had a problem calling in sick in the USA... Always got a "no problem man, get better soon"... Now calling in sick in Japan... My boss wants to know which hospital I'm going too and a direct call back afterwards with an update on my condition. They usually pressure me to come back in to work afterwards too... And yes this happened during Corona when I had a fever."
Yummy?
"Apparently to eat minced meat raw (seasoned and on bread). Obviously you keep it in the fridge until you eat it. And you'd have to eat it rather quickly after you bought it."
"Here in France it is called "filet américain". It's raw minced beef, with pepper, salt, a raw egg yolk, some herbs, raw minced onions. Add Tabasco or similar as you wish. Often served with french fries."
- Bipi7
Time and Tyme again....
"Calling a water fountain a "bubbler", calling an ATM a Time Machine, REAL tailgating, cheese on apple pie, and wearing foam cheese on your head."
- alexbx77
"YES was hoping most for this right here! Fellow Wisconsinite represent! Can confirm since childhood have heard ATM as Tyme, though never understood why, it was just a word everyone used.
Also cheese curds (what's that? Well there's variations, a not so simple ball of cheese or the more common a baked or fried ball of cheese) DEEP FRIED everything State Fair.
Also Chicken and waffles."
Hexes and Taxes
"Being a witch/medium is an official job, meaning you need a permit, your profit is monitored and you pay taxes.
When killing a pig, raw skin covered in salt is the first food consumed, as it is considered a delicacy.
We also fill the pig's small intestine with a mixture of meat, rice and garlic and put it in the oven for about an hour. Yum!
Many people believe that if you look at a baby for too long, you can unknowingly put a curse on it, which will make it cry until you pour holy water on the child and pray to make the curse go away. Parents are an exception, they can not curse their own child."
Free for all....
Happy Oprah Winfrey GIF
Giphy
"Free Sundays (Germany) Everything, literally everything is closed on Sundays which is amazing cuz everyone (except from the most essential like doctors, firefighters and the police) have a free day which is awesome!!"
Across the Land
"Driving 3 hours at 100km/h and still being in the middle of nowhere (Australia). In parts of Europe you'd have crossed 3 borders in that time."
TAG
"Drinking beer bottles while driving and left-hand lobbing them over the car to try to hit speed limit signs.
It's called "sign tag", my 60 year old aunt is the county champion. Southern Indiana."
The Facade
"A royal house with no power, no authority, is an absolute money sink and only exists for status and nostalgia. The Netherlands."
"I assume you are talking about the UK. But the money sink thing doesn't hold up when you look at it.
The royal turn over all the profits from all the land then own to the state in exchange for their living expenses being paid. And the provides from this land comes to much more than the expenses. And this ignores the impact of the royal on tourism (Yea it's not happening at the moment, but still)."
- Hops77
Kreepy Khristmas
"In Austria around Christmas/St Nicholas time we have events called "Krampusläufe" where people, mostly young (drunk) men dress up as demonic devil-like creatures called Krampus with fur suits, creepy masks and cow bells and pull of shows that include lots of fire, smoke, witch burns etc while mainly Ramstein plays in the back. They also like to whip people in the audience with cow tails. And hell yea we enjoy the show while getting drunk on hot punch. We even bring our kids along."
Street Boom
"Every Last Tuesday of the year people make fire and literally blow up everything on the city streets. It's called "Charshanbe Soori" -
Delicacy
"In the north of Portugal we have a very typical rice dish that's made with the chicken or pig's blood. It´s very delicious but I met people for other countries that call us vampires."
"I think most countries in Europe have some dish that's made with blood, it's mostly the Americans who get grossed out."
Wheels on the bus
back to school television GIF
Giphy
"Only having a snow day if the buses can't physically get to school, or the temperature is -40° F or below without wind chill. (I'm from northern Wisconsin)."
Praying for $$$
"Where I live, it is normal for about 15% of the population not to work and get paid by the government since they are praying to God and that's important too. Off course, the rest of the ppl pay for them. Forget them and their God. The holy land."
Croc Days
"Alligators. Just... everywhere. I live in a swampy area of Florida, and it's pretty normal to come across alligators in small ponds, ditches, around pools, or just chilling in a parking lot. I've nearly tripped on alligators more times than i'd like to admit. Thankfully they're pretty chill and won't really bother you unless you mess with them or go near a nest. The police are even trained to deal with rogue alligator calls."
In Cincy
full house eating GIF
Giphy
"In Cincinnati we eat spaghetti noodles topped with a soup-like chili and a 1/4 pound of shredded cheddar cheese.
And it's delicious."
- wss1252
Hunter OGs
"During hunting season, the real OGs would sell venison jerky for $5 a small ziplock on the school bus. My bus had 2-3 hunters any given year, some was more tender, some was seasoned better, some were just bigger bags. It was awesome and I bet they made bank."
Passing Through
"Cougars walking through my yard most nights. We live in a forest with a lot of cougars (estimated 200 within 10 miles) and since we live near the edge and don't have dogs, the cougars use our yard to pass through.
It's not a big deal unless one of the males walks under our window. They stink really strongly and will wake you up with the stench."
- Baeker
Afterlife Party
"Every now and then we dig up corpses of our loved ones, bring 'em through the village where they lived for a visit, change the tissues they where covered in (several layers) with new ones and put them back in the grave and all that while partying. Madagascar."
Cheese It
"Putting a block of cheese in your hot chocolate. It's quite good actually. Check out this reaction video: https://youtu.be/KcxxYY-1MVQ. Colombia."
Tradition
"Hungarian villages: the slaughtering of a pig is kind of a ceremony with family and friends being invited, the day is taken up by work (preparing the meat, making products out of the different parts) and the evening is feasting. Literally almost every part of the pig is used. My mother told me that the day afterwards they are the cooked brain with the crunchy ears."
- gs_batta
Cannibal Win
Warrior Princess Win GIF
Giphy
"In the rural Midwest USA, lots of bars have meat raffles. Not sure if they do that anywhere else but I always thought it was weird."
Traffic Issues
"Kids, as young as 10 years old, driving. The police don't really care much, and you see primary schoolers driving themselves and their siblings to school. Nope, most of them aren't orphans, their parents are just.... extremely free here.
Traffic accidents are the leading cause of death here unsurprisingly. I think it's a real shame that people are so careless. Saudi Arabia 😳 some other middle eastern countries are the same, though."
Shoeless Joes and Janes
"People walking around barefoot. its way more common in beach suburbs, but even in suburbs 20km+ away from the beach you will see people (especially young people) walking around super markets and shopping centers with no shoes on. and not because they cant afford them. Australia."
- uduneven
- People Divulge The Best Compliments They've Ever Received - George Takei ›
- People Explain Which Practices Are Completely Normal In America But Strange Everywhere Else - George Takei ›
- People Break Down Which Things Are Not Terrible Or Great But Perfectly Average - George Takei ›
- People Break Down Their Most Shameful NSFW Moments - George Takei ›
- Americans Break Down The Weirdest Things About Europe - George Takei ›
- People Explain Which Things Are Considered Normal Around The World But Weird In America - George Takei ›
For many childhood memories are overrun by living nightmares.
Yes, children are resilient, but that doesn't mean that the things we see as babes don't follow us forever.
The horrors of the world are no stranger to the young.
Redditor -2sweetcaramel- wanted to see who was willing to share about the worst things we've seen as kids, so they asked:
"What’s the creepiest thing you saw as a kid?"
Serious Danger
"Me and my best friend would explore the drainage tunnels under the Vegas area where we grew up. These were miles long and it was always really cool down there so it was a good way to escape the heat of our scorching hot summers. We went into this one that goes under the Fiesta casino and found a camp with a bunch of homeless people."
"Mind you we are like 11 years old lol. And we just kept going like it was nothing. It wasn’t scary then but when I look back at it we could have been in some serious danger. Our parents had no idea we did this or where we were and we had no cellphones. We could have been kidnapped and never have been found."
oofboof2020
Waiting for Food
"I was at a portillos once when I was 12 and I was waiting with my little brother at a booth while my parents got our food. This guy was standing with his tray kind of watching me then after a couple of minutes he started to walk over really fast not breaking eye contact with me."
"He was 2 feet from the table and my dad came out of nowhere and scared the s**t out of him. He looked so surprised and just said he wanted to see if I’d get scared or not. He left his tray full of food near the door and left. My folks reported him but we never went to that location again since we found a better one closer to home."
nowhereboy1964
Captain Hobo to the Rescue
"When I was a pretty young teen, my friends and I were horsing around in San Francisco and started hanging out to smoke with some homeless guys. Another homeless dude came up and began aggressively trying to shake us down for anything (money, smokes, a ride, drugs- all of it) and wouldn’t take no for an answer."
"We got in over our heads and could tell this guy was now riling the other 2 guys up and they were acting like they wanted to jump us. Some grandfather-looking old homeless man appeared out of nowhere and yelled at us to get the f**k out of here- nice kids like us don’t belong down here at this hour!!"
"Captain Hobo saved our lives that night. My parents sincerely thought we were at a mall all day lol."
FartAttack911
Survival
tsunami GIF
Giphy
"I was 7 and survived the 2004 tsunami in Thailand. Witnessed the wave rise way above the already massive palm trees (approx. 40ft?) and my family and I watched/heard the wave crash into the ground from a rooftop."
faithfulpoo
These Tsunami stories are just tragic.
On the Sand
Scared The Launch GIF by CTV
Giphy
"We were a group of kids who went to swim in a local lake. And there was a dead body on the beach with their hands raised and their legs bent unnaturally that local police just took out of the same lake. I've never put my foot in these waters again."
oyloff
Be Clever
"I was walking to school and I was about 5 or 6 years old and some guy pulled up beside me in his car and asked if I would get in. He also offered me sweets to do so. I said no. The creepy bit was when he calmly said ‘clever boy’ to me, then drove off. I’ve never even told my parents or anyone else about this as it would most likely freak them out."
OstneyPiz
Bad Jokes
"Dad's side of the family pranked me by burying a fake body on our back property and had me dig it up to find valuables. Was only allowed to use a lantern for light. They stuffed old clothes with chicken bones. Sheetrock mud where the head was... Random fake jewelry as the treasures... I was like maybe 10 or 11.. I remember digging up the boot first and started gagging because it became real at that point."
Alegan239
YOU
Who Are You Reaction GIF by MOODMAN
Giphy
"Woke up to find my little brother staring at me in the dark, asking, Are you really you?"
PrettyLola2004
Siblings can really be a bunch of creepers.
No one should talk to others in the dark though.
Not all pet owners have the same relationship with their pets.
While anyone who decides to become a pet owner, or pet parent as some say, love their pets equally, some never ever let them leave their side.
Taking their pet with them to work, running errands, even on vacations.
Many pet parents even allow their pets to share their bed with them when going to sleep.
For others though, this is where a line is finally drawn.
Redditor Piggythelavasurfer was curious to hear whether pet owners allowed their pets to share their bed with them, as well as the reasons why they do/don't, leading them to ask:
"Do you let your pet sleep in your bed? Why/why not?"
The Tiny Issue Of Water...
"Absolutely not."
"I have fish."- Senior-Meal3649
Everyone Gets Lonely Eventually...
"I adopted an eleven year old cat the day before Halloween."
"She has mostly lived in my closet since I got her, and she hasn’t been too interested in coming out."
"Last night, she came out of my closet and jumped up on my bed, and crawled under my covers and curled up by my feet to sleep."
"I was so happy!"- YellowBeastJeep
The Comforting Reminder That You're Not Alone...
"I recently lost my Greyhound but I used to let him sleep on my bed with me."
"The company was nice and he was no trouble to have on my bed."- HoodedMenace3
Hungry Cookie GIF by De Graafschap Dierenartsen
Giphy
What Do You Mean Allow?
"I have no choice."
"She is a cat, cats do whatever they want."- Small_cat1412
"He lets me sleep in my bed."- Poorly-Drawn-Beagle
Wouldn't Have It Any Other Way
"I carry my old boy upstairs to bed every night."- worst_in_show
Hug GIF by The BarkPost
Giphy
Who Needs An Alarm Clock?
"I let my two cats sleep with me."
"They're so full of love and just want cuddles all the time."
"And so do I."
"We've all developed a lil routine."
"Get to bed, oldest sleeps on my feet to keep them warm, youngest lies in my arm while I lie on my side (she the little spoon), then when I snooze my alarm for work in the morning the youngest paws at my face and meeps loudly to wake me up."- GhostofaFlea_
Whose Bed Is It Anyway?
"Yes."
"They're also kind enough to let me squeeze into whatever space they've left for me."
"Although I do get a few dirty looks off them."- Therealkaylor
"I found this tiny kitten screaming her head off under a car."
"Would not come out."
"Got some food and some water in dishes."
"I stood by the tire so she couldn't see my feet."
"She got curious about the food and water and started gobbling it down."
"I thought she would bolt when I squatted down."
"She was too busy eating."
"I grabbed her by the nape of the neck and all four legs went straight out and she tried to scratch me to death."
"I got her in the door and tossed her toward the couch."
"She ricocheted off the couch as if she was a ping pong off a table and I lost sight of her."
"I put out food and water and a sandbox and did not see that kitten for three days."
"On the third day, I came home and she was on my bed pillow."
"I thought she would bolt when I came near, but she didn't."
"I wanted to sleep so I tried to scoot her little butt off my pillow."
"She would not go."
"I put my head down to sleep and that is the way it was from then on."
"She ran the roost."- Logical_Cherry_7588
sleepy kitten GIF
Giphy
Sleeping Is A Prerequisite...
"No, he's a cat and he cannot keep still during the night."
"He walks across the headboard, opens the closet doors, jumps into the windows and rustles the blinds, etc."
"If he would sleep he could stay, but alas, he's a ramblin' man."- Spong_Durnflungle
Saying No Just Isn't An Option...
"'Let'."
"Lol."
"It's a cat's world and I'm happy to be on her good side."- milaren
Felines Only!
"The cat does, the dog doesn't and the horse certainly does not either."- Xcrowzz
Angry Tom And Jerry GIF by Boomerang Official
Giphy
Is That My Hair On That Pillow?
"My dog is perfect."
"She comes up, cuddles til we start to fall asleep, then gets down to sleep on her bed so she doesn't get too hot."
"Jumps back up in the early morning for wake up cuddles."
"The hair everywhere is the only downside but she is so cozy, what can you do."- HoodieWinchester
It is easy to understand how some people are able to fall asleep more easily knowing their friend and protector is there, in bed, with them.
Though we can't blame others who don't want to run the risk of being scratched or bitten in the middle of the night either...