People Share Which Things Are 'Normal' In Their Country But Strange Everywhere Else

People Share Which Things Are 'Normal' In Their Country But Strange Everywhere Else
Kangah/Getty Images

It's easy to feel like an outsider when you travel out of the country. The customs people have, which might have been taught to them since a young age, can be difficult to pick up. How you hand money to a cashier, how to hail a taxi, or even when it's appropriate to hold a door open for someone can all have different contexts in various countries.

Reddit user, u/ojlol2, wanted an idea of the world around them when they asked:

What is normal in your country but seems weird to the rest of the world?

More For Protection Than Posterity

Being middle-class with a property having a 6' wall, electric fencing linked to an alarm, automated gate and garage doors (with security clamps over the gate motor to prevent theft of the motor), security gates over every door, burglar bars, and a house alarm system with infra-red sensors linked to armed response with a reaction time of under 3-4 minutes.

Claidheamhmor

South Africa?

EM_doc

Yep.

Claidheamhmor

We Can't Pick A System And We're Fine With It

Everyone rags on the US for using imperial, but can we talk for a second about how weird we are here in the UK for using both inconsistently?

You buy a pint of milk or beer, but a litre of coke and 25ml of whiskey

People know how many miles to the gallon their cars get, but you buy fuel at pence per litre.


You watch the weather forecast and the temperature is in Celsius but the wind speed is in miles per hour

Most people can tell you their weight in kilograms, and their height in feet, and if they can't give you kilograms they can probably give you stone instead, which is even older than pounds, which nobody uses as a unit of measurement, probably because of the confusion between lbs and £...

It's a glorious mess.

Koras

What About The Man-Sized Bunny?

In my friend's country, Easter is when gangs of boys roam the countryside, pouring water over girls and beating them (gently) with sticks. The girls then have to thank them for it.

I thought that was pretty weird.

Edit: She's from Slovakia

himit

Meet My Son, Erick The Redd. He's Outside.

Leaving your baby alone outside for their nap, even if it rains or snows.

e_ph

Sparta?

ClavicusNitrus

Norway but it's common in all of Scandinavia. That's how we create Vikings.

oalsaker

How Else Are People Supposed To Know?

We have matrimonial ads in newspapers and sites to find grooms and brides which I think don't happen in western countries and they find it strange. The ads are mostly published by parents. It's like tinder supervised by parents.

boss_bj

India?

Matt872000

Make Some Noise For The Best Lecture You've Ever Heard

In university we thump the tables to "applaud" our professors. Instead of actually applauding. Or doing nothing.

During my exchange semester everyone not from Germany was looking at me confused why I did this.

Toffelhunter

Nothing Too Stiff

A short while ago they stopped selling alcohol after 10pm. At some stores you couldn't even get non-alcoholic beer. What's weird tho is that wine is not considered alcoholic drink so you can buy it anytime.

Welcome to Moldova ;)

SergiuNegara

Don't Let The Heat Get You

Strangers sitting totally naked skin to skin in a steamy room heated to +80 to +100C... and us having competitions on who can last the longest in there.

SinisterCheese

I miss Finland. ❤️

devvie78

Improvised Home Security

Putting broken glass bottles on the walls around your house so burglars cant jump it and rob you. I moved to Canada and they don't even have walls around the houses!

jvcscasio

All of Latin America!

EnanoMaldito

Honestly, It's Our Own Fault We Don't Have Nicer Restrooms

The cracks that are just wide enough to be able to see in and out of public restroom stalls. (United States) I've heard it's thought of as weird since many other countries enjoy the luxury of privacy.

B1yPhon3

How else would you know if the stall is occupied though?

Seriously though, as a European having to visit the US ~twice a year, pooping in the US is stressful.

EquilateralCircle

99.9% of the time it's fine. And then one time when you are in mid poop bliss with your phone out, you get a weird feeling. So you glance up and see an Eye silently peering at you through the crack. eye contact is made and the Eye does not look away. You feel like ages pass but it's really just a second and you yell out something like "what the f-k are you doing!?!" And the Eye leaves. You jump out of the stall but nobody is around anymore. The Eye waits for the next unwary visitor.

avalisk

People Divulge Whether They Could Go Without Sex In A Relationship

Clay people kiss on a yellow floor, against the letter E in a clay version of the word SEX
Mathieu Stern on Unsplash

Until we're in a situation, we'll never really know how we'll react.

I have been in this scenario, though.

Sex matters. And people rarely want to admit how much.

But sex isn't a lifetime guarantee.

It fades, as does love.

It's important to speak about it.

It can be a fixable situation.

A relationship without sex may not be the end of the world, but it's definitely a sign that something is off.

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People Share The Moment They Realized Their Friends Were Actually A-Holes

Two women holding up daisies
Photo by Sam McNamara on Unsplash

An important contributor to our overall health and happiness is the quality of our friendships.

We may not have a lot of friends, but the more important factor is the depth of those relationships.

But we've all had one of those friends who turned out not to be a very good friend at all.

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The Most Common Mistakes People Make When Choosing A Life Partner

Couple in love
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No one wants to be alone.

But that doesn't mean we should settle when it comes to choosing a romantic partner.

When people rush into things without letting love flourish, it could lead to problems down the line that can inevitably lead to difficult breakups.

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People Share Their All-Time Favorite TV Sitcom Couples

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Photo by Jonathan Borba on Unsplash

Among the many reasons people watch, and rewatch, sitcoms is to imagine your life was more like the one you were watching.

Being able to afford a two-bedroom apartment in Greenwich Village on a line cook's salary, somehow always having the comfortable sofa available at your favorite coffee shop whenever you pop in, or having your best friends always available at your beck and call whenever you need them.

For the romantics, however, it's wishing you could have a romance like you've seen on television.

True not all sitcom romances are exactly the sort that makes you go all aflutter (Were Ross and Rachel actually on a break? And don't even get me started about Ted and Robin.)

Other sitcom couples are so captivating, though, that we would have given anything to be at their wedding... or at the very least go to their home for dinner every Friday.

And this includes plutonic couples, as there is nothing more heartwarming than a lasting friendship.

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