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 ›
The old wives' tales.
They are the stories of legend.
I think we all need a big DEEP Google dive though.
Where did they originate?
WHO ARE THE OLD WIVES!
You don't hear about them as much anymore.
It's like science and logic are suddenly a thing.
But they sure are a good way to keep your kids and their behavior in line.
Redditor the_spring_goddess wanted to discuss the tall tales we've all been fed through life, so they asked:
"What is an old wives tale that people still believe?"
"Wait an hour to swim after eating."
What a crock!
So many summer hours wasted.
I want revenge for that one.
Say Nothing
Giphy
"An undercover cop has to tell you he's a cop if you ask him."
LonelyMail5115
"Pretty much most advice when it comes to cops are old wives tales. I’m not even a cop but most of the advice you hear is pretty off."
I_AM_AN_A**HOLE_AMA
Say Something
"That you have to wait 24 hours to report someone missing."
Severe_Airport1426
"I really think this one is important and should be the top regardless. As it’s a piece of advice that needs to be relearned and the only way to do that is through awareness."
crappycurtains
"This used to be true. I think they changed it after some guy named Brandon went missing back in the '80s or '70s. You used to have to wait 24 hours if the missing person was an adult because they had 'a right to be missing' and then everyone realized that was stupid and stopped doing it."
AlbinoShavedGorilla
Body Temps
"That drinking ice cold water after eating oily foods will solidify the oil and permanently remain in your body. I informed my coworker that if your body temperature ever reached that point, you’d have bigger problems than weight gain."
chriseo22
"Oh, I have a cousin who 100% believed this. One of those guys who believed every early 2000s internet rumor and old wives tale. One night I chugged a big glass of ice water after dinner and he started freaking out and saying my guts were gonna harden."
"I sarcastically told him to drive me to the hospital if that happened. Obviously, nothing happened and the next morning I said something like 'Thanks for being on standby in case my guts filled with hardened oil.' He just walked off muttering under his breath."
apocalypticradish
Arms Down
"When I was pregnant, I was told by young and old alike that I should NOT raise my arms above my head or exert myself in such a manner because it could cause cord strangulation to my unborn sons and daughters."
Fatmouse84
10 Years Actually
Unimpressed Uh Huh GIF by Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Giphy
"Chewing gum stays in your stomach for 7 years."
"I remember accidentally swallowing a piece of gum when I was a kid in like 1995 and just accepting my fate like welp, gonna have this in my stomach til high school I guess."
Gecko-911
I was so afraid to sallow my gum when I was young.
This tale is haunting.
High/Low
Hungry Debra Messing GIF by Will & Grace
Giphy
"You can tell the sex of the baby by how you carry."
LeastFormal9366
"Pregnancy certainly wins awards for the most old wives tales. So much absolute BS was repeated to us by everyone we talked to."
IllIIIlIllIlIIlIllI
The Cursed
"If you’re a woman and you wear opal jewelry but opal is not your birthstone (October), you’ll never be able to have children, or will be widowed, or just generally have bad luck or something. You can counteract this by having a diamond in the same piece of jewelry as the opal, though."
"I have a nice opal ring that my parents gave me years ago, and I’ve had other women give me this 'advice' unprompted more than once when I’ve worn it. I have absolutely no idea where it started, but I’m pretty sure this little chunk of silicate rock has no concept of what month I was born in, let alone of how my reproductive organs work."
SmoreOfBabylon
Stay In
"Going outside with wet hair will make you get pneumonia. Or an earache. Or maybe arthritis. Depends on which old wife you listen to."
"Jokes on them - I haven't blow-dried my hair in decades and usually leave the house with wet hair in the morning. On winter mornings, the tips of my hair get frozen. No ear infections or pneumonia or arthritis yet."
worldbound0514
Dreams and Facts
"You never make anyone up in your dreams you've seen everyone in your dreams somewhere else before and never make anyone up entirely."
"How would you possibly prove that to be true? My partner adamantly believes this and tells me this 'fact' whenever I have a dream about someone I've never met before."
mattshonestreddit
"My late wife used to tell me that before she met me she would have dreams of standing at an alter on her wedding day but could never see the guy's face, no matter how hard she tried. After meeting me the face was filled in with mine. Don't know if it's true but one of those things I like thinking of every now and then when I miss her."
Darthdemented
Cracked
Getting Ready Episode 2 GIF by The Office
Giphy
"Some people still believe cracking knuckles causes arthritis."
Choice-Grapefruit-44
"There's a doctor (Donald Unger) that cracked his knuckles a couple of times a day for 60 years, but only on one hand, just to prove it. Both hands remained exactly the same."
MacyTmcterry
I love my knuckles.
Do you have any tall tales to add to the list? Let us know in the comments below.
