Reddit user Knight_William asked:
"What is the most "american" thing you've seen?"
Listen y'all...
We really aren't doing ourselves any favors out here in the world, my fellow Americans.
I'm going to skip over the more terrifying answers (not to overlook them, but because that deserves its own article or two ... or ten) and focus on some of our more benign bro-behaviors.
You're still probably going to have a headache or serious case of second-hand embarrassment by the end. :
Nothing More American Than Money
Make It Rain Money GIF by SpongeBob SquarePantsGiphy"Hispanic guy in a domestic pickup truck selling all sorts of flags:"
"USA flag, MAGA flags, confederate flags"
"Gay pride flags, BLM flags"
"POW/MIA flags."
"Takes cash, card, apps and crypto."
"There's nothing more American than making money. He's living that American dream, in my opinion."
- status_two
"He plays on both side 💪🏻 respecting the hustle 😂 "
- SwanGrouchy6005
Everything On Wheels
trailer park GIFGiphy"I live in a prefab home, ie a trailer, on a dead end road. In my driveway there's an El Camino and an old Mustang. I feel like we're 'Murica-ing pretty hard around here."
- Sudzkng
"Ah yes, house is on wheels and the cars are on blocks."
- charlie2135
"I'll have you know everything is on wheels, thank you very much. And the transmission in the mustang is only slightly broken."
- Sudzking
Multi-Tasking
"I always called this guy 'the ultimate sports fan' - I met him at Monday Night Football at the dome in Minneapolis."
"Go to hit the head, but they're all full so we're in line waiting. Taking a leak is this guy:"
- "Peeing no-handed"
- "Talking on cell phone pressed ear to shoulder"
- "Smoking a cigarette (still allowed then)"
- "Using his hands to do a scratch off lottery ticket"
"Amazing."
- willmaxr
It's The Same
Confused Kevin James GIF by TV LandGiphy"I grew up in a very popular Canadian tourist town."
"The number of Americans who are confused by our money is ridiculous. Only Americans could be confused by a currency that uses the same names and denominations as their own."
"I know most of you are cool, but damn your Karens are on another level."
- dinkfloyd
"I bet $5 U.S. that our Karen can take your Chantal"
- gemstun
Boom Go The Cannons
new orleans love GIF by NBAGiphy"I just left an NBA game and there is no more pure American joy than when they bring out the plastic cannon to shoot the t-shirts 3 sizes too large."
"I mean, we want our teams to win and all but for one brief second we all have a chance at greatness. A chance at a new world with a new shirt."
"And when that monkey mascot pumped his fist and shook his head as the cannon pivoted in my direction I knew. I knew I had a chance to realize the American dream: That balled up t-shirt."
"As the shirt arched towards me some lil sh*t kid with weak ambitions and even weaker grip got thrown out of my way. In that moment everything I've strived for was realized."
"Some say the American dream is a big house or a fancy car. You'll get all sorts of different answers if you ask...but if you go and see... stand as witness to the glory... you'll see the epitome of American happiness is catching a balled up T-Shirt shot from a t-shirt cannon at a major league sporting event right here in the US of A ."
"Proud to be an American!"
- chucklesbtoken2
Hurricane Control
Angry Forrest Gump GIFGiphy"People gathered to shoot at hurricane Irma."
- Aderlaker
"Please tell me you're joking…. Shoot the hurricane, with bullets? I'm ashamed to be the same species as those people."
- Jayhawks190
"I'm not joking it was on the news. Florida, of course. They ended up actually shooting their guns at it."
- Aderlaker
This Trifecta of Terrible
Comedy Central Mm GIF by WorkaholicsGiphy"I didn't see it myself, but my boss and his best friend (who works for him) told the following story where I work:"
"They were at a charity golf event during which a girl in a bikini had an AR-15 with a special attachment on it that enabled it to fire golf balls."
"Instead of teeing off, she would shoot your ball toward the green, and then you had to play from wherever it landed. The girl couldn't shoot, they said, but no one cared because everyone was drunk and her bikini barely existed."
"Alternate alternate: my own hospital bill for $46,892."
- 14338
Bacon
Food Nom GIF by The Last Man On EarthGiphy"While on vacation at an All Inclusive resort: saw a woman at the breakfast buffet. She made a bacon and egg croissant-wich. No problems with any of that..."
"But the sandwich had to be 8" tall with all the bacon and egg and cheese she stuffed in it. She took SO MUCH."
"To eat, she opened her mouth so wide her jaw must have unhinged. She then proceeded to start stuffing the sandwich in her mouth by jamming it in with her fingers… literally poking more and more in her mouth like she was trying to swallow it whole."
"Our entire table just stopped eating and stared in disbelief."
"Her husband had at least 32 pieces of bacon on his plate and was complaining that the buffet had ran out of bacon. Of course they did, the couple took enough for several FAMILIES, much less two individuals."
"They were from Texas."
- Pinkiepie1111
High Caliber Fun!
Mickey Mouse Disney GIFGiphy"Was in Disneyland Florida in the Epcot Centre and this handlebar-moustached American was loudly professing about the merits of a 50 caliber round."
"As a British person, it just seemed stereotypically American that someone would be discussing guns at a theme park."
- TheSortOfOkGatsby
See, I live in FLORIDA so none of this surprises me and most of the responses didn't even seem that abnormal. What does that say about my life? Me?
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But if you think the US is whack, imagine how people from other countries see us. MrNoName_ishere asked:
Non-Americans of Reddit, what confuses you the most about America?
Let’s begin with the bathrooms, shall we?
Kid had it coming, tbh.
“Why is there space under THE BATHROOM STALLS???”
ARandomRamen
“I was at a wedding once and my friend was taking a sh*t and some small child tried to crawl through the space under the stall wall and my friend was so shocked he reflexively kicked the child's face.”
DishwashingWingnut
Good question.
Giphy“Why everybody when talking about income calculates how much a person makes in a year instead of monthly like we do in my country?”
Serial-healer_94
“Just convention. It's how we're used to hearing about it. Also, different jobs pay differently. So I get a check every month, but I think my dad gets one every other week. Some people get them weekly, others on other schedules. Discussing it by year makes it pretty easy to divide up by your own pay periods.”
OptatusCleary
We all sound like news reporters, apparently.
“From England here. I grew up in a county called West Yorkshire, a semi-rural, semi-urban, working-class county which, along with the rest of Yorkshire, seems completely unique when compared to the other English counties. There is so much slang, grouped and contracted contractions (wouldn't - 'wunt', shouldn't - 'shunt') and the accent here isn't always understandable. Yorkshire slang, especially that spoken by the older generations, sounds and looks like a completely different language, even more so when spelt phonetically.
It never ceases to amaze me how easy it is to understand the majority of Americans. They speak with so much clarity, non-specific slang and the accent just helps. It reminds me of the news reporters.”
OghmaInfinium4E201
America, explain!
“Why is one Kansas, and the other not Ar- Kansas?
Edit: also, why is Worcester pronouced [Whooster], not Wor-cester? I studied in MA and this still baffles me.”
Tomchoioh
“Arkansas comes from the Osage people. Kansas comes from the Kaw, or Kansa, people. They are unrelated words.
A Google search shows that the last S is Arkansas is silent, as it's a plural word, and French explorers/settlers dropped the S on a plural—la fille vs. les filles, pronounced "la fee" and "lay fee" respectively.”
LaLionneEcossaise
You know, the weird thing about growing up here is how normalized all of these weird things become.
Nothing wrong with living with your parents.
Carey Mulligan Snl GIF by Saturday Night LiveGiphy“I don't know if this is just about America or most 1st world countries but why is living with your parents a bad thing or laughable.”
Iknowthisischeesy
“In the US, it's seen as being a failure because you can't pay for your own housing.
I agree with you though, living with your parents isn't bad. I lived with my parents (mostly) until I was 24 and my parents housed my grandma for years, which I thought was sweet.
If you've got a good, supportive family, there should be no problem with helping each other.”
Neo_Basil
Sweden is much more sensible.
“How your blood/alcohol limit for what counts as drunk driving is so high. 4x as high as Sweden’s.”
FriedCosmicPasta
“That's a bit of a simplification and it depends upon where you are. In my state of Washington, between .02 and .08 is 'officer's discretion' as to whether you're arrested for DUI.
Also, if you have a CDL (commercial license) the limit is .04 regardless of the vehicle you're driving.”
Halomir
It’s all about aesthetic here.
“It confuses me how come American-style homes are so tidy outside. I am always amazed when I use Google Streetview to "stroll" around some random road in the U.S. I wonder why and how the houses and backyards look so clean, with newly-mown bermuda grass and well-painted roofs and walls.
I can't help but compare this to my country (which is a developing one). I'm thinking what's wrong with our citizens such that when I use Streetview on our streets, they're usually filthy. "Ordinary" American-style homes can only be found in high-class villages and subdivisions here.”
Prashant-Sengupta
Maybe all of these confusing things aren’t so bad.
So many life paths, so little time.
its always sunny in philadelphia job GIFGiphy“As someone from India, the possibilities many Americans feel they have is both confusing to me and admirable. I'm 28 and I already feel the rest of my life is going to work on a rigid schedule. Most people here have very less risk taking ability."
"But I read of American stories like this guy's who worked as a masseur for a year, then as a swimming coach, then suddenly got into law school and become a lawyer. After hitting his 40s, he got interested in programming, so he became a programmer! Reading biographies of famous American businessmen brings out many such stories.”
Throway3451
We get a bad rep sometimes, but we’re usually pretty chill.
“How nice and friendly most Americans are. I did a roadtrip all across United-States in 2011 with 3 friends. In any city we were visiting, the second we would unfold a map, 2-3 persons stopped and asked us if we needed help. In the end of the trip, we would fake unfolding the map to actually ask people for directions. It worked everytime.
Much love from Canada! Those news networks do not show how cool our southern neighbors are!”
Veegatron
Leftovers aren’t really a thing in foreign restaurants.
“Why are the portion sizes so big??????”
Goddess_emily_k
“A lot of us take home leftovers from resturaunts. It's pretty rare to eat the whole meal at once. People generally complain less about having too much that too little.”
Peterstigers
Voltage
"The lack of electric kettles."
TheTallC**t
"Our electric outlets have lower voltage so it takes longer for the kettle to heat up than yours does, so the marginal benefit isn't as great. I have one though, just not as snappy as ones I've used overseas."
bedwetter_gogetter
Space Chase
"Valet parking. Why would I want some stranger messing with my car? I can park my own car thank you very much."
Fl3g1a5
"Since everyone here drives, finding parking in a dense area can be a massive pain in the a**, so people who can afford it will park valet because they can just drop it off at the curb right in front of where they're going. That said, I agree with you and never park valet, not just because I'm not rich but also because f**k you, stay out of my car!"
masqu-the-turtle
Socks Too?
tired maya rudolph GIF by The Academy AwardsGiphy"Should I take off my shoes or not."
honest_yo_yourself
"Just ask. It’s 100% normal to simply say 'Do you want me to take my shoes off?'”
LargePanda9643
State by State
"Every state works so differently, they could've been different countries without needing a president. I have understood what you guys have been trying to teach me. But the laws are so different, the taxes are so different (but still confusing), the education system is more or less the same (mostly autonomous and free till high school). I mean states have most of the power."
"I live in India but here central government has most of the powers (which sucks) and the central government can make a state ruled by a different party look bad by misusing their powers, But that is hard to do in the US. I mean US is kinda good but confusing if you move between states."
CanDull89
From Canada...
"The news portrays Americans as a bunch of ignorant, gun-toting rednecks. But when I travel in the US, they are really nice, friendly and helpful. My car broke down while leaving the Mount Rushmore parking lot and I couldn't get it started again. I must have had 30 other people offer to help in any way possible."
"Either by letting me use their cell phones to call someone, or look under the hood for the trouble or offer me a ride. I was thankful to everyone. I came away with a good feeling about Americans and turned a bad problem into a not so bad problem. Thanks from a Canadian."
Age-Zealousideal
Age Matters
"You can get a gun licence at 18 but need to be 21 one to buy alcohol."
Uncil_Ben_kenobi
"You can also be drafted and die for your country at 18! But god forbid you have a drink."
bluebonnetcafe
Menu Options
"It's been a long time, but I remember thinking how weird the menu choices were in restaurants, especially in LA. Like the options were either super healthy or super unhealthy, you couldn't have a mid-range meal. One restaurant in particular, pretty much everything was deep fried unless you wanted a salad."
crystalrrrrmehearty
NC-17
"Showing the most horrible violence is totally ok, but if someone accidentally show a nipple then everyone loses their g**damn minds. It's like people needs to be sheltered from seeing natural body parts for reasons nobody seems able to specify, and it's honestly confusing as f**k."
Tjodleik
Real Kindness
Be Nice GIFGiphy"How nice, friendly and welcoming the vast majority of Americans are. The 24/7 news portrait quite the opposite."
TheManWhoClicks
Working Life Away
"The work ethic. All the Americans I know are so successful and have made such good choices with their careers, and I guess maybe it's because there aren't the kind of safety nets in the US that I am privileged enough to have in Europe, but it exhausts me just thinking about it. I suppose I'm not confused, just kind of envious but also a bit sad because it seems stressful?"
fluffofthewild
So for all of y'all non-Americans reading this, wondering why our country is so weird--I couldn't tell you, because I don't know either.
Then again, there are plenty of UK things that I don't get. Like the fact that grilled cheeses don't exist there. It's very heartbreaking.
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