"What's an unspoken rule on a first date?"
EyeContact, And Not With Your Screen...
"Your phone is not part of the date."- Wonderful-Note9289
"Don't be on your phone the whole time."
"And don't talk about your ex."- HoW-LoNg-DoCtOR-YES
Think Very Carefully Before That Second Round
"Don’t drink too much."- drivethruhell
"Had a date like this."
"Within the first 90 minutes they had taken like three shots, and were on their third drink."
"I understand wanting to calm your nerves, but damn."
"The whole 'you need to play catch up LOL' isn't as cute as you think it is."
"We did not go on any other dates."- mothershipq
Drink GIFGiphyThere Is no Scent More Intoxicating Than Your Own...
"Have a shower beforehand."- Porriz
"And take it easy with the perfume/cologne."
Your date shouldn't smell you before they see you."- imnotlouise
No One Likes A Moocher...
"Don't order any extras plates to eat at home with your mom when the other is paying."- lil_wavey999
Always Be On The Same Page...
"Both should know it is a date."- mosquitohater2023
"I met a woman at an out of town festival through a friend of mine that she was hooking up with."
"She ended up taking too many shrooms and I spent an hour with her helping her to feel calmer."
"She is a traveling nurse and was going to be in my city in a few weeks so we exchange numbers and when she gets in town she asked if I want to get some sushi."
"Happy to make a new friend, we meet up, talk a lot about my friend that she’s hooking up with telling funny stories about him."
"Eventually it comes up that I’m leaving the next day for a 3 week trip to Europe with my girlfriend and she screams, 'I thought this was a f*cking date!'"
"Reeeeaaallly awkward."- redmoskeeto
Dating Wtf GIF by MaxGiphyBe Open And Transparent...
"Not a rule but never make the other person carry the conversation."
"You're both here to make an effort and give each other the respect."
"If you both want different things then let it be said after."
"No need to hurt someone's self-respect for your ego."- Arkjump
"Be there with honest intentions and nothing else."- S-Vagus
Or At Least Be Willing To Share
"Don’t order 3 full meals."- WinkMartindale
"AND expecting him to pay for all of it."
"I mean sure if you want to take some home for your mom, you pay for that yourself."- Widowhawk·
GiphyBe Prepared For A Lack Of Shared Interests...
"Leave the coin collection at home, wow her with that on the second date."- IronLion11·
Choose Your Activities Carefully
"Don't go to the movies or a fancy dinner on your first date if you don't already know this person."
"The movies is a place where you sit in silence for 2 hours staring straight ahead."
"That does not give you any opportunity to get to know the other person."
"A sit down dinner can be perfectly fine, but if you know within the first 10 minutes that you have no desire to spend any more time in this person's presence, you're stuck through the rest of the meal."
"First dates should always be intentionally short with an option to extend."
"Coffee, froyo, drinks, things that can turn into an hour of talking or 'would you like to grab a bite to eat?'"- baltinerdist
Get Your Emotions Under Control
"Don't excuse yourself to go to the bathroom and then accidentally think about your ex while in there, have to fight back tears, and then come back to the table after way too long, with puffy red eyes."
"Whoops." - Reddit
Sad That 70S Show GIF by LaffGiphyJust Be Open And Honest... To an Extent...
"Don't: Unload on your date about your trauma."
"Gotta keep that sh*t under wraps until at least date 5."
"Do: Be yourself, unless your whole personality teeters on your traumatic history--in that case, self-deprecating humor will suffice until you can successfully abandon all hope and sit in your car for an hour to cry afterward."-Deep-Essay-4829
A Conversation Is A Two-Way Street
"Usually when asked a question I’d answer it and then hit her with a 'what about you?'"
"To ensure that I wasn’t dominating the convo."
"Let the other person speak."- bumboclawt
... NOPE...
"Bring an egg, uncooked, in your pocket."
"Casually let it fall out at the end of the date."
"This establishes you as a breadwinner, who else has the money to just carry eggs around in their pockets?"
"When your date, inevitably, wants to know more about the egg just shrug it off."
"You're not here to brag, your egg does that for you."- wearywarrior
Broken Heart Love GIF by Share It AgainGiphyIf there is one rule absolutely everyone should follow when going on a first date, it's not being beholden to rules, spoken or unspoken.
After all, the best romances are often the ones which happen organically.
Love cannot be forced.
Redditor Specialist-Anybody3 wanted to discuss the aspects of life Americans found ordinary that others don't. So they broached the question:
"What things are normal for Americans but weird for non-Americans?"
We Americans have some funny ways to live.
And everybody notices.
Privacy First
toilet creeping GIFGiphy"Large gaps above, below and between the bathroom stalls..."
KimPTM
"Holy Jesus this! So nice to poop in private in Europe. I have no idea why the US does this!"
hhgfryhjkoo
Travel Tips
"If you drive for five hours in the United States, you’re pretty much still in the same place. If you drive for five hours in Europe, everyone’s talking funny and the cheese is different."
KaimeiJay
"In the US, 100 miles is nothing, 100 years is a lot. In Europe, 100 miles is a lot, 100 years is nothing."
"The stone retaining wall for the front of our property (here in Germany) is dated 1846, and it's nothing special. Many of the houses in the old part of our small town are 1300 and older."
insainodwayno
Dates...
"Writing the date format as mm-dd-yyyy instead of dd-mm-yyyy."
silkybow-
"This actually worked to my advantage. I’m a Brit and moved to the US when I was 20. I’m not a big drinker but was still mad I couldn’t get a beer. Then I realized that my DOB on my driving license would be read backwards making it appear I was a few months older and therefore 21. It never got turned down and I used it a lot."
UncleKodeia
"I work 911 dispatch. We have to write it at work as yyyy-mm-dd. Don't know why, but we do."
TheUnconfirmedk1ll
Mental Gymnastics
"Having to mentally add sales taxes on everything you buy. In Europe 9.95 means paying 9.95."
AaronBenne
"I thought we had this problem in Canada but I didn't realize just how much worse it was in the US until I moved here. In Canada, we have a VAT based tax so in Ontario, you just add 13% to the price to find the final price. Annoying, but not complicated."
"In the US, your sales tax changes based on your location increments smaller than a zip code because tax jurisdictions and zip codes were made separately. You have to basically use the exact address to figure out what tax jurisdiction you're actually in. It's practically impossible to know what actual tax you're gonna have to pay unless you've shopped there before or look it up."
BuccellatiExplainsIt
Nonsense
cbs wow GIF by Big BrotherGiphy"The fact that an 18 year old can drive and buy a gun while still being considered too young to drink alcohol."
Monika396
Some "rules" make no sense to many of us.
Years and Years
back to school college GIF by Rodney DangerfieldGiphy"Paying for college for 30 years after you graduated."
pingerlol
"That happens in England now, as well."
"But agree, for most developed countries, the idea of having an educated population is seen as a good thing that benefits everyone and should be affordable."
dannydevon
Attachments
"Attaching medical insurance to employment. One shouldn’t have anything to do with the other."
jimjamjimmerson
"Also, having a co-pay when you are covered, and a limit on what is paid. So, people are discouraged from seeking treatment early and for preventative care and can get financially ruined despite having coverage. It is a disgrace."
NameOfUserOfReddit
"I know, I've always thought that was odd. That is one thing I will never understand, America's healthcare system. How can your job be linked with your healthcare?"
BabySham8
Control
"HOAs like wtf. No other people who don't pay your mortgage telling you how to maintain your home."
throw_away_17381
"I've always thought this was the dumbest s**t. It's usually the fancier neighborhoods too. If I ever strike it rich, I'm buying a plot of land in the middle of nowhere and doing whatever the hell I want with my house. What's the point in having all that money and a house of your own if you decide to move somewhere where your property isn't under your control?"
Notthesharkfromjaws
'Hey, you need surgery'
"Seeing a possible serious medical problem with yourself and going 'ehh.'"
xx_Fiddler_xx
"I straight twisted a testicle. Since I didn't know this was possible, and I grew up on a farm so apparently my pain tolerance is pretty high, I thought it was no big deal."
"11 hours later is when I finally got off work and decided to go to urgent care."
"A total of 16 hours before I went in for surgery. I haven't gotten all the bills yet, but the one I did get has a doctor charging me $500 just to tell me I needed surgery. Not for the ultrasounds, or the surgery itself, or the follow-ups. Just to tell me 'hey, you need surgery.'"
"The worst part is, this is after the bill was run through 2 insurance programs."
StrayAI
Security
the mystery files of shelby woo nicksplat GIFGiphy"My friend attended his cousin's high school graduation in LA a while ago and he had to go through metal detectors and all that, as if he was going through airport security. So I guess metal detectors at school."
yeetgodmcnechass
We Americans are an interesting people.
Do you have anything to add? Let us know in the comments below.
Redditor cigarandcreamsoda wanted to discuss house rules. So they asked:
"What is a non-negotiable rule in your house for everyone?"
Rule #1 in my home... you MUST be able to listen to Adele.
That is all.
Clear the Way
GIF by America's Funniest Home VideosGiphy"Don't put stuff on the stairs. Almost died once. Never again!"
kaidomac
"Same with the burners on the stove when not cooking. Too many grown adults were slapping flammable things on it like it was a coffee table."
ki113r116
Shame
"The one rule in my dad’s house is one that he won’t tell you: don’t poop in the upstairs bathroom. The shame of having to ask him for a plunger is just not worth it."
goshpenny
That’s us with the downstairs bathroom. My parents only replaced the one upstairs when they bought the house. The one downstairs is old af and cheap as hell so it’s not gonna flush your logs. My cousin found out the hard way once and flooded the bathroom in the middle of the night."
Kyubey4Ever
Stay Empty
"One side of the kitchen sink stays empty! We have one of those two-basin stainless sinks and it drives me absolutely bonkers when I have to remove and stack dishes just to get water to make coffee in the morning."
Rokhnal
"I grew up with an empty sink and one side of the counter was where dirty dishes got stacked. My wife declared this abnormal and that dirty dishes had to live in the (one-hole) sink."
eljefino
"My roommates are constantly amazed at how little space dirty dishes take up on the counter when they're rinsed and stacked properly."
RokhnalPrivacy
"Knock first! Bathroom, bedroom or study room. Knocking is a slowly forgotten art of respect."
karmawhobiiih
"Totally. We don't lock any inside doors (in case something happens to you and someone needs to get in for help), so we enforce the knock and wait for the ok to enter. We do it when we want to go into my son's room too. He deserves privacy and respect like us as his parents do."
ginan385
Be Gracious
The Loud House Food GIF by NickelodeonGiphy"Help cleaning up the dishes after a meal is graciously appreciated. But, don’t even think about putting my knives or pans in the dishwasher. I will happily hand wash them myself."
PeachPreserves66
Don't be lazy. Clean a DISH!
No Feed
lunch dog cooking GIFGiphy"Don’t feed my dogs, anything. I don’t care how cute they are looking at you."
stickystarz
"fish, fish"
"Don't tap on the aquarium glass."
Kangaroodle
"I had a big aquarium and I actually trained my fish to all congregate at one spot by tapping on an area when it was feeding time and saying 'fish, fish.' Now whenever I need them to be in a particular spot I just tap to wherever I want them to be and because they associate tapping with treats or feeding time, they don't find it scary or stressful. Visitors also love to see me call my fish over by simply tapping and/or saying 'fish, fish.'"
Creative_Recover
Clothes On!
"Minimum pants (underwear) at the dinner table. Remarkably something you have to enforce quite often with small children."
Capable-Dream6768
"My nephews, were they were little, would let you know they were done eating by stripping right there at the table lol. No warnings. That was their way to let us know they were ready for a bath lol."
jdbrizzi91
Pranks
"Don't f**k around with someone when they are asleep. If someone is asleep, they're off limits, no messing with/pranks and no waking up without good reason. It wasn't until talking to my friends who had siblings who would pile things on them, move the bed, wake them up in the middle of the night (just general sibling hijinks) And realized how important the 'leave sleeping family members alone' was in our house growing up."
Yaboijustlikesgoats
Be CLEAN!
Disagree Clean It Up GIF by NOW WE'RE TALKING TV SERIESGiphy"If you pee on the toilet seat clean it up!!!
"I am a single parent with 2 boys, I know I'm not the one peeing on the toilet seat but apparently they don't either."
Southern_Anything_39
Your house, your rules! The end!
What are some rules you grew up with or enforce in your home or apartment today? Let us know in the comments.