The Foods People Won't Eat Even If They Were Offered For Free
Reddit user Judgemental_Squirrel asked: 'What food aren't you eating even if it was free?'
Over the years, I've gotten a little more adventurous with my menu options.
I recently added pepper a decade ago.
I've also been dabbling in hot sauces as of late.
But I am bias against a lot of food.
My stomach is a coward.
And I'm ok with that.
Redditor Judgemental_Squirrel wanted to hear about the foods that turn many people's stomachs, so they asked:
"What food aren't you eating even if it was free?"
Cow. Cow tongue. Cow stomach.
Why in the world?
Not that I don't eat steak but... I can't even think about it.
Not even with a free tank...
"Gas station sushi."
kirinmay
"For sushi use the 200-mile rule. If there isn't a body of water where the fish could have been caught recently, it's probably a bad idea. I wouldn't even get fresh sushi in Kansas unless I caught the fish myself."
Bahnd
Just Bland
"Shark fin."
Podzilla07
"I attended a wedding and the family paid for the food at an after-wedding dinner. I didn't know what it was, I didn't learn of the immorality behind it until after, that being said, it wasn't remarkable in any way and is in no way worth what they do to the sharks."
xfocalinx
"Not defending shark fin's soup, it's pretty bad the way it's prepared but where have you been eating it that it's bland? I'm Asian so I've eaten it at a bunch of weddings, its standout feature is how rich it is both in taste and texture."
LoreCriticizer
WHAT?!?!
"I’ve lived in New York my whole life and came to South Carolina for vacation ended up moving down here because I loved the weather. I learned that they apparently LOVE Mayonnaise and BANANA SANDWICHES!!"
"Miss me with that friggin' crap WHAT!?"
Yunloveme
"This is a dying sandwich down here, too. I grew up with them and enjoy them, but it's becoming less common. I think it must have started as a poverty food or something. They are good, though. Sweet and tangy." ~ Ritz527
"Banana and mayonnaise sandwiches came about during the times when food was more scarce (WWII). My grandmother loved them!"
Excusemytootie
Spoiled
"Suspiciously lukewarm milk. I am extremely paranoid about spoiled milk."
Melomius
"The smell of warm/hot milk is disgusting. When I have to make a huge batch of Mac and cheese at the school I work at, I have to wear a mask during the heating up of the milk/butter."
"Nothing like filling up a kitchen with the odor of vomit. Ugh. I refuse to eat Alfredo sauce and NE clam chowder for the same reason."
KitchenWitch021
Sorry Danes
"Lutefisk. No offense to the wonderful people of Sweden/Norway and I genuinely like most other Swedish/Norwegian cuisine but not that."
"Edit- changed from Swedish to Scandinavian to Swedish/Norwegian thanks to the new knowledge about it from helpful Redditors. Apologies to Danes and anyone else who was offended by Lutefisk being labeled as Scandinavian."
HelenAngel
I go back and forth with fish in general, so a fish I can't pronounce... never!
Anything But This!
"Balut."
DesignerString6620
"On Today’s episode of 'F**k That!'"
"My friend said 'It’s great! Just pop the top off and sprinkle a little salt, drink the soup, and then eat the rest.' No."
omega_frog
"This. I could probably eat damn near everything, everyone else named, but hell no to this! And doing a quick skim, I’d actually probably tried half of the stuff, that’s been posted here."
Eupion
After Effects
"Pickled fish... tapeworms."
"Edit: I probably should have said 'Pickled fish because of tapeworms.' Buying them from a store is probably safe but buying/getting them from a bar or a person may not be. My uncle got tapeworm from pickled Walleye. One of two things need to be done beforehand, 1. bring the meat to 'a temp' (I don't remember) which sterilizes it but doesn't cook it, or 2. freeze for 2 days."
hatchetman208
Bad Harvest
"Edible Birds Nest. The high demand causes the nests to be harvested while still in use resulting in uncountable deaths of chicks and unborn swallows."
CaptainCloudyL
"Nearly all the edible bird's nest on the market is farmed, not harvested wild. Nesting houses are often built in urban areas for the swiftlets to settle in, while wild populations are left relatively untouched."
"The overharvesting you mention was a problem around 2 decades ago when immature nests in caves were destroyed to meet demand, but urban farming today has allowed populations to rebound and stabilize. After all, it's not in the farmers' interests to destroy swiftlet chicks which would become moneymakers for them next season."
LostTheGame42
LOATHING!!
"Liver, I cannot for the life of me get past the horrible taste and the horrible smell, I can't."
mikeyeli
"I tried eating liver before because I read that they’re a good source of iron. I then stopped and would rather take iron pills. I don’t eat any organs food like liver, gizzard, intestine, and all that. Those food are easily found in my country."
mznh
"Hell, yes. I LOATHE any kind of liver and have a special hatred for foie gras. Not only the method is horrible, but the texture is also even more revolting than regular liver."
"And yes, I've tried multiple times, from multiple animals and in every preparation under the sun because a lot of people go 'But you haven't tried it made THIS way.'"
Duochan_Maxwell
Bad Texture
"Gizzards. I'm not a gristle gal at all."
biggesttoot
"I love gizzards but I don't think I would ever call them gristly. Chewy as leather for sure though!"
orangestegosaurus
Lord No!
"Durian."
leafbaker
"Hot garbage fruit. When I was living in China, about 10 meters from my apartment’s entrance there was a durian stand and a stinky tofu stand side by side. Never needed coffee in the morning to wake up properly."
kuridono
Well, my stomach is unsettled.
I'll skip dinner for now.
Do you have anything to add to the list? Let us know in the comments below.
The big 3-0. For some reason, turning 30 years old has become a very scary thing.
The past two years in particular have been very strange one's to turn the milestone age. Cosmopolitan interviewed a few people who turned 30 turning the pandemic.
One person said:
"Turning 30 is the point at which we're pressured to feel it 'all coming together.'"
Because no one had anything to do on their birthdays, and their once vibrant lives were on pause, that quarter-life crisis feeling wasn't as heavy. They were able to let go of the things they thought they needed in their 20s.
We went to Ask Reddit to learn more about what those things were that needed to change once you hit that magic number.
Redditor Tbonewiz wanted to know:
"What something you should never do after age 30?"
Here's some of Reddit's best suggestions.
Maintaining friendships as an adult.
"Expecting passive friendships to happen. F*ck me, friendship takes a lot of work to build as an adult. Back in school you had excuses to see each other regularly. As an adult you have to construct those scenarios. And if you feel bad that someone hasn't reached out to you in a while then sometimes you gotta suck it up and reach out to them or else you could just end up not talking ever again."
"My friends and I are getting better at actually scheduling things instead of just saying 'we should get together soon!' to each other over and over again until we die."
"I've learned my lesson enough that when someone says 'we should hang out!' I respond with, 'Ok I'm free Saturday, want to get lunch?' I find some people are so bad about waiting for someone else to take initiative so I just do it now. I'm too old and impatient to wait for someone else to do it."
"I tried scheduling a coffee meetup with a coworker who lived nearby. After the 7th cancellation (don't know why I tried so many times) I got the hint."
"She still says that we should get together and catch up. 'Sure, you bet!' I say and forget all about it."
"Forgot to mention that she has a toddler so most of the excuses were doctors appts which seemed legit. Guess that's why I tried till it got ridiculous."
- Luneowl
Keep moving.
"Quit exercising."
"F*cking insane how long it takes me to recover now. At 27-29 I was recovering so damn quick."
"That soreness is motivation for me to stick to it."
"This is a big one. You see those 70 year old's running and hiking like they are still 30. Keep your bodies moving people."
"Move it or lose it."
"Can't quit if you don't start!"
"In 34….after 6 months of heavy exercising my recovery times are the same as my early 20s. The slow recovery times are mostly a symptom of being out of shape rather than age, until like 50."
"I'm 69. My reward for living so long is a pair of twin grandbabies, now 9 months old. They've turned out to be a very efficient squat-training regime, with the added benefit that they automatically up the ante over time by gaining weight."
"They're almost 20lbs each, now; caring for the two of them all day is, I calculated, about 4 squats per hour per baby. It adds up!"
"Note to expectant grandparents: do the work now and get ahead of this game."
Learned from experience.
"Leave the house without peeing first."
"Or going to sleep. Just go now so you don't have to wake up at 3am to pee."
"I have gotten all the way out to my car and thought, nope.... Lemme go back in and pee just in case! Hah!"
- MiLaydee
"The day you leave the house without peeing is the day you get pulled over in your car and have to hold it in while being lectured about speed limits."
"I once had to pee as my train was coming, but I was only about 25 minutes from my destination and would've had to wait a long time for the next one. So I just hopped on without peeing."
"The train had some kind of malfunction about 15 minutes in, and we ended up stopped for well over an hour. I have never had to pee that bad in my life. 0/10 would not recommend, the risk isn't worth it people!"
- jimsmisc
Fill up your tank, always.
"Think that you will actually fill up your gas tank the next morning before work. Don't kid yourself."
- NadiaElm
"I feel personally attacked."
"That's morning guy's problem!"
"F*ck that guy, I'll ruin his day."
"I tried finding the article, but there's some research that says our brains actually consider our future selves as different people, which is part of why we procrastinate."
"Exactly 'it's other guy's problem.'"
"I'll look for the article later, it's that f*cker's problem."
- scsm
Things That Are Normal Where You Live But Crazy Anywhere Else | George Takei’s Oh Myyy
People divulge the things that are normal where they live but crazy anywhere else.#Reddit #BestOfRedditFor more of the latest trending news, Reddit stories, ...Internet arguments in general really.
"Getting in arguments on Reddit, because 90% if the time you will be arguing with some punk-a** 17-23 year old."
"Make your case and walk away."
"You cannot argue on Reddit. You can state fact or opinion, but anything more is a waste of time."
- scw55
"For me, sometimes just typing the comment up and then deleting it without hitting post is enough for me. It gets it out of my system but doesn't further escalate the situation."
"Soooo much this. The best part is they have all this crazy life experience at 13."
"And they all think they are the first ones to learn about logical fallacies and so they try to use the terms against you but they do it incorrectly."
"We all did, it's just a few decades ago no one would listen to our BS for more than a few seconds. Now there's a worldwide megaphone you can tap into at any moment."
You are more than your productivity.
"Feel guilty about work. F*ck that sh*t."
"Remember, you are just a number. If you were to die on a Monday, they would have your position filled by Wednesday."
"I was about 33 when my passion for work went to 0 and I started not caring what they do. I focused more on my personal life and those in my life. Work was just that thing I do for a paycheck."
"Same with me, right down to being 33 years old."
"A switch just flipped after 2020... I busted my a** for 12 months straight, got put on multiple projects, expanded my scope of work, mentored new hires, etc. Got a solid year-end review but nothing that's distinguished myself from anyone else who was phoning it in."
"Yep, I had 6 years of excellent reviews but there was always an excuse for low raises and no promotions. 'we only get so many (promotions) as a company' or 'we are re-organizing' or 'the merger just happened so its a bad time' and so on."
"This is exactly why we have the 'work 3 years at a job then switch companies' mentality. It's the only way to properly get a raise/promotion."
"Indeed. Something that helps me reduce the amount of f*cks I give:"
"In 1 billion years, will anyone or anything give a sh*t about this? 100 years? 1 year?"
"No one lays on their death bed and says they wished they had spent more time at the office."
Go to the doctor.
"Skip routine health check-ups."
"So if I never got em in the first place I'm good to go, right?"
"I'm low key afraid to go see what's wrong with me. Nothing is hurting or anything, but I just know they're gonna be like 'you should be dead.'"
At some point, it's worth it.
"Move without movers."
- MNJayW
"Used movers for the first time a year ago. 0 regrets, I will use them again lol."
"Cost ~$400 for some college kids to move my crap and drive the truck. I hate moving so much that using movers deletes a solid chunk of the associated pain."
"Watching those two young men hoist our couch up and trot it down the stairs into the truck with little effort convinced us to always hire movers. It would have taken us a long time to move the couch and then we would have been exhausted afterwards."
"It's really worth the money."
- bunnyrut
30 isn't old.
"At age 30 you should never think age 30 is old."
"This, I'm mid 30s and I still think I'm a kid and I'm ok with that."
Who cares? You shouldn't.
"Caring about what people think you should or should not be doing at 30."
- nyle2
"Came here to say this. I'm actually healthier as a 35 year old than I ever was as a 25 year old and can actually do stuff I couldn't do in my 20's."
"As a struggling 26 year old this is so nice to hear."
"At a certain point I realized what you should or shouldn't be doing is all just relative to what actually makes you happy. I looked around at some of my friends and a lot of them had kids and got married in their early 20s. Some of them were blissfully happy and some were miserable."
"The ones that were happy were the ones that actually wanted to do that and not because it's what was expected. It became completely apparent to me that doing what people expect will never make you happy. Everyone's different and there is no one path to happiness. Just gotta find your own way and not worry what anyone else has to say."
"Yep, 30s are so much better than your 20s. Whoever said your 20s were the best years of your life was talking out their a**. Your 20s are the worst. Way too much pressure, no money, and an all round slog."
"30s things begin to click into place."
- JxY1989
"I always tell people this. Like I know there is science behind it because our frontal lobe doesn't finish developing until our mid 20s but honestly, for anyone reading, it really does feel like you wake up one day and say, "you know what, I really don't give a fu*k anymore." That's why I don't believe in anyone marrying before 25. The person I was in my 20s is not the person I am in my 30s. I wouldn't want to marry that person. I'm way more chill, and accepting now."
It's no surprise that the older we get, the wiser we become.
"Just wait til you hit 40. I didn't really feel like I had this whole adulting thing down til about then."
We are all just trying to figure out why we are startdust traveling through space on a giant floating rock and what we are going to do with our short time here.
Only you can decide what is right for you.
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Most of us have that one thing they strongly object to doing.
Any attempt at trying to convince a person to do something they are apprehensive about is futile because at the end of the day, we all have our kryptonite, and we will avoid confronting it at all costs.
![](https://www.redditstatic.com/desktop2x/img/renderTimingPixel.png)
Those who are brave enough to take a leap may come out on the other side a champion. And good for them.
But a majority of non-risk-takers are perfectly fine with perpetuating their comfortable existence without enlightenment that may never come.
Curious to hear from strangers online, Redditor alskjdhf asked:
"What will you never do, not even once?"
When it comes to sharing a life with a significant other, these are things Redditors hope to avoid.
Reproducing
"As a person who did reproduce - I'm very happy with my decision but it is so much fucking work, not at all something you should do by accident. Use birth control people! I recommend IUDs, they are about as close to foolproof as it's possible to get."
– Voctus
Thrill-seekers live off of adrenaline, but these Redditors are comfortable in opting out of adventure.
Spelunking
"Cave exploring- not sure if that's what it's officially called but when people wedge themselves into tiny spaces underground in caves to go and have a look."
"Just nope. No way. Why do people do this?"
Exploration Gone Bad
"Yup, I'm pretty outdoorsy and adventurous but spelunking frightens me for some reason. That became worse when I heard about the Nutty Putty cave incident. If you don't know what it's about basically a guy got stuck in a very narrow opening and because of the complicated location of the said opening they couldn't get him out. Rescuers could see his legs but were helpless. He eventually died but it was deemed too dangerous to retrieve his body so they just left it there. The cave is now closed to the public and the opening was closed shut."
The Defective Cord
"Bunjee jumping. A broken rubber took me into this world, a broken rubber is not taking me out of it."
Extravagant Indulgences
"Buy a mansion or a super expensive car. Even if I had the money. I feel it's just for ego inflation while there is people that don't have a healthy place to live and get a packet bus to work everyday."
– melanke
There are enough horror stories out there to keep people from being in altered states.
Confession From An Addict
"Heroin. It ruined my life for about half a decade. It ended my relationship with someone I loved more than anything. I still have dreams where I'm addicted and in withdrawals again. Recovery from opiate addiction is an awful, painful, and non-linear process. I hate myself every day for being an addict. I hate that I didn't get help sooner, and that it had to get as bad as it did for me to change. I'm not sure I'll forgive myself for it for a very long time, if ever."
– vanohew
I remember watching an episode of Fear Factor or something similar where a contestant faced their arachnophobia by letting a tarantula crawl on his face.
Watching that alone gave me such high anxiety.
It's a hard "nope" for me, and not even a couple thousand bucks would make me allow an eight-legged monster to chill on my face and lay thousands of spider eggs in my eyes and nose.
We all know we don't have endless time on this earth, so we prioritize things that we want to do while we are around. We create bucket lists and dream boards and imagine all the endless possibilities for adventure. Often, those bucket lists include dangerous acts like sky diving or deep sea exploration.
But what about things you would never do in your lifetime. Not for any other reason other than it being too fear inducing or too dangerous. We went to Ask Reddit to find out what those wild adventures are that just aren't worth the risk.
Some folks also shared that they made some serious life decisions that were important to their health and well being. Trying dangerous substances or staying on top of their weight loss was important and they never wanted to take that risk again.
Redditor machine1892 asked:
"You all know what a bucket list is, what is on your 'f*ck no, not ever list'?
Let's find out what people are just not willing to do.
Exploring the depths of the unknown is just too unknown.
"Cave diving or underground not fully explored dark tight tunnels. The movie 'As Above So Below' and the real life tragedy of 'Nutty Putty Cave' was enough for me to add that to my f*ck no list."
- kbee1313
"A real caver once told me that for every 1 hour you travel into a cave, it will take them 4 hours to drag your busted up @ss out of there if something goes wrong."
"I'm a caver and one black humor mantra I've heard before is 'Don't worry, help is just 3 days away!' due to the difficult nature of cave rescues."
"That said, there are incredible teams of cavers who will do everything possible to rescue people and animals from cave-related incidents. I have a whole book covering the past few decades of cave rescues."
"Dunno if you will have seen this, but there's an old American emergency/911/sh*t happened kind of show in which 4 open water divers on air go 30ft down, and the instructor tells them to avoid entering the cave around that level both in briefing, and signs to surface, and 3 of them don't and go into the cave."
"Instructor alerts people at surface, seconds away, there is a trained cave rescue diver on scene by chance, he is in within 2 minutes, and saved one of them."
"Literally, they are less than 35 ft from surface, less than a minutes travel into the cave, and only one survives, despite having a guy right there, with lights, trimix and the right training."
"Dive talk covered it at one point."
If you're claustrophobic, this is definitely off your bucket list.
"A submarine or anything else bad for a claustrophobe."
"lol I worked on subs for 4 years….it's cool once, then it's just cramped, tiny and annoying."
"Son was a Navy Nuc on a ballistic missal sub. Said he was too busy working, eating or sleeping to be claustrophobic. I got to tour the sub once. I am extremely proud of him but thought he was crazy."
- joeeda2
The ocean can destroy you.
"I absolutely fear the ocean and I won't go out farther than 6ft lmao. So I'd never go on things such as cruises or boat trips. It also doesn't help that I can't swim."
- Rroscoco
"I'm VERY comfortable in the water, but even I still fear the ocean. I live in Hawaii and swim, board, fish, kayak treasure hunt, etc., all things ocean-related and love every second of it but man the ocean will destroy you. People die here all the time. An experienced surfer died here a couple weeks ago in an area considered a calmer area. A couple of days ago another girl fell off the rocks and drowned. If you do not respect the ocean, you will die."
"There were 3 rescues today at a popular bodyboarding beach in my town. Only 2 survived."
"Have a family member teach you how to swim. It is worth it, trust me. A lot of my friends 20-25 years old just recently learned how to swim so don't feel embarrassed."
I am absolutely petrified of regular boats, but I've been on a few cruises (after a lot of convincing) and they're actually great. It feels more like walking around a mansion that has waterslides and all you can eat buffets than a boat"
"Yeah, and ships these days have enough stabilization that you'll almost never feel any waves unless you're in incredibly rough seas, which the captains will avoid as much as possible anyway."
That early 2000s game show is nightmare worthy.
"Those Fear Factor games where they put a sh*t ton of spiders or other scary creatures on top of you while you lay there. Yeah, that's a huge f*ck no from me."
"The ones where they make you eat a whole lot of stuff that's not just weird or another culture's food (i.e. crickets/tripe) but is actually seriously unhealthy ... like drink a litre of rancid oil... are far worse, to my mind."
"I always said the prize money from that show was to cover medical bills because there's no way people were 100% okay afterwards."
"That's actually why the show got cancelled. They made a girl drink donkey semen and the network finally said 'enough.'"
- Cleeky
"Not even kidding, one of the most popular shows in the UK is where we send celebrities to live in the jungle for three weeks and do exactly this to them! And the celebs who go on it LOVE IT!"
The Best 'Actually, You're Speaking To The Boss' Experience | George Takei’s Oh Myyy
Keeping off the weight.
"Become obese again."
"I was obese for almost 10 years of my life, but I decided to lose the weight in my early 20s. Feels great to be active and healthy."
"I'm here with you. Was 250 at my largest, I've since lost over 70 pounds and am in my mid-twenties. It feels great to look great, which I expected, but it feels better to just feel healthy. I wanted to lose weight more for vanity reasons, now I care way less about those and just love being healthy. I'm not at my goal weight but I feel amazing and it's such a huge contrast. So congrats, I'm really happy for you!"
"That's how I feel. At my heaviest, I was at 235 and I'm down to 202, but it's not even the weight loss that keeps me going. For the first time ever I actually craved working out when I went on vacation for a week and couldn't. The vacation was fun, but damn my body went back to aching at the end of it. If I don't stretch I get really bad pain from sitting down for work."
- pyewhackette
"Maggot cheese."
This cheese is called Casu Martzu. It's a sheep's milk cheese that has living larva inside.
"Those who do not wish to eat them place the cheese in a sealed paper bag. The maggots, starved for oxygen, writhe and jump in the bag, creating a "pitter-patter" sound. When the sounds subside, the maggots are dead and the cheese can be eaten."
"Somehow, there is a hint of sadism behind this paragraph."
- iridisss
"Almost 9 years clean off heroin, I sometimes get questions from people from people about what it's like and I always tell them 'it's the greatest feeling in the world and it'll ruin your life.' Now I don't care how good it felt because going through the withdrawal is one of my greatest fears. Also the lifestyle is absolute misery."
"Congrats on being clean, fellow Redditors."
"Congratulations! 10 years sober from those vile substances. Whenever I think about how my life was I feel sick to my stomach."
Space travel.
"Space. Too many ways to die a slow, painful death. Plus the pooping thing. I never knew how much I liked pooping on Earth before I learned how you have to poop in space."
"Gravity is your friend on the toilet. In zero G (free fall technically?), there's nothing to pull the poo away from your butt. There are supposed to be toilets that use fans to help with separation, but... they aren't flawless."
"Also, there's the quote, 'After it starts getting full, you have to put a rubber glove on and pack it down.'"
"Back in the early days, you had to poop in a bag filled with bactericidal liquid and KNEAD the poop and liquid together, so things are improving, but I don't think they'll ever improve enough for me."
- ppardee
No need to ruining a relationship.
"Having an affair."
"Cheaters ruin lives."
Power to those who like this type of thing.
"Running a marathon. Or training for one. Anything that ends in thon is just a big no for me."
"Toyotathon?"
"Running for the sake of running... omg, just the thought of it make me want to die of boredom. I don't mind running if it's part of something, like there is a soccer ball involved, but to run just to run? Kill me."
- ipsok
How do people not just start tearing up instantly?
"Eat a onion like a apple."
"My son is a toddler, and the other day I was cutting up an onion. He thought it was an apple and felt mad I was depriving him of it. I let him take a bite. He paused for a second, looked me right in the eye, then kept chewing. Monster."
- 708dinky
This is just too extreme, but somehow people still do it.
"Have you ever seen the videos of that mountain climb thing in China where there is literally just like a 2x4 board nailed to the side of a mountain and people have this little handrail to hold on to while they inch their way around...."
"My butthole is puckering right now just thinking about it... There is just no way in hell ever."
"Agreed."
"And some mountain climbers sleep during their climb. Like, they'll shove a few nails in the rock, hang a tent, and sleep while dangling off the side of a mountain."
"That's a nope from me."
It's a huge commitment, and it's not for everyone.
"Having kids."
"I have a son and I love him more than anything. But I would never ever have another kid, ever. The amount of love and time and patience you need to have and give them, the nights where you barely sleep 2 hours, the days when he gets sick and that makes you worried sick too... and he's not even a teenager, I heard that brings its own challenges. I just couldn't do it for anyone else but my son."
"And I really hate it when I tell people how hard it is and what sacrifices you have to make and whatever else and they assume I don't like my kid or resent him or something..."
"(And if its 2035 and you're reading this: I love you, son)"
Though there are plenty of people who have done these things, there are good reasons to avoid them. Especially for those choices that were life threatening or deadly.
What's most important in your life is finding what is meaningful for you and doing what makes your life worth living.
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It's always best to learn as much as you can about a place your visiting. Rules are constantly changing through every time zone.
When I visited London I was shocked and elated that I could drink on the streets. Just out of the bottle.
In America you'll be in handcuffs and in the drunk tank before you finish "Cheers!" That's why it's imperative to get acquainted with the American ways before you arrive. America can be strict.
Save the headache.
Redditor PosseaDaBoss wanted people to know about the in outs of being on American soil by asking:
In the United States, what should you never do?
God bless America, land that I love. But Lord don't cross her, she can be feisty. America does have a unique connection to rules and more often than not visitors find themselves in a culture shock. Which can be entertaining.
Money Back
"Don't try to bribe cops when you get pulled over. I had some Argentinian friends immediately pull out their wallets and start pooling their cash when they got pulled over once. Fortunately someone in the car noticed and told them to put it away immediately."
No Roaming
"I thought this was an obvious one, but my German exchange student would very casually walk on/through people's properties, even going so far as to walk up to their houses in the middle of the night. This is a huge no-no unless you need help, just casually walking around on people's properties would make them think you are looking to rob the place."
By the Rules
"Make the assumption that you know the law. Our local laws change drastically from state to state. If you buy weed for example, it may be illegal to drive ten miles west into another state."
"There is no "may" about it. Since marijuana is still illegal on the federal level, transporting any amount of THC, even medicinally marked packaging, is a felony. Transporting any controlled substance across state lines carries a minimum of 5 year sentence and a nice little trafficking badge on your record."
Hands Up
"Get into a fist fight. In some places that isn't a big deal. Here it has significant legal issues. And the other guy might be carrying and you could get shot. Just walk away."
Straight Face
"As a Canadian crossing the border to the US, don't act fun or funny with the border patrol. Give them your passports, tell them what you're doing and such. They're harda**es."
- cappo40
In others countries people can just meander through other people's backyards? Like... really? Ok. And yes, do not play games with any kind of law enforcement. They really have to sense of humor. Read on...
Pay Up
"Don't try to cheat the IRS. They will screw your life into oblivion."
bad buzz
"Usually you should never openly drink alcohol in a public space such as the right-of-way, a park, etc. It's illegal here and getting arrested will really harsh your buzz. Not that people don't get around this by using water jugs or other opaque containers, but it might be an unpleasant surprise if you're used to more liberal drinking laws."
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From the USSR
"Assume personal space distance is the same as your country. Depends on where you come from, but Americans are stereotyped as being used to more personal space than some countries. Our Russian foreign exchange student was kinda weirded out by how far people stand apart at bus stops, etc, and was a little hurt after people scooched away from him on the bus, in class, etc because "Hey we are all friends here so lets be breathing the same air."
Twice the Size
"Don't misunderstand the massive scale of the country. You will not be able to visit Vegas, Disney World, and the Statue of Liberty in a single one week trip without taking several planes. The 48 contiguous United States is nearly twice the size of the EU, by area. It is freaking massive and a lot of it is really far apart. In some states, you can drive for 8+ hours and not leave the state. Like, we have states the size of some other countries."
- zbeezle
YOU CAN DO THAT!!
"You can't leave your baby unattended while shopping etc. like in some Scandinavian countries, you will get arrested."
"Wait, YOU CAN DO THAT in some places? Like I wouldn't necessarily be worried about my baby being stolen, but they're basically little suicide machines."
It sounds like we may not be the most fun country to be wandering through. Don't get me wrong, I'm an American and I love it here but we need to loosen up a bit. Let's get crazy.
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