The United States of America is the “land of the free,” “the house of the brave,” and on occasion, “the center of the universe.” Americans occasionally lose sight of the fact that the rest of the world functions differently from how they are accustomed. Many Americans might be shocked to learn that certain seemingly universally applicable things, such as the design of the cups in their hands and the television commercials they watch, are actually uniquely American phenomena.
Redditors gathered to share all the content that they had discovered to be wholly American. A few Americans might be shocked by what they revealed.
Names For High School Years
From a former Redditor:
The use of the words junior, sophomore, and senior in school. I don’t think I have ever heard these outside of an American TV show or movie.
Not Having Tax Included In The Price On The Display
From Reddiot u/ninjapotatoprd:
Product prices not including tax when they’re displayed? Like if something says it’s $10 and you only have $10, what’s with the surprise tax at the till?
Restaurant Servers Taking Credit Cards Away From The Table
From Redditor u/Broadmin:
Having the restaurant take your credit card – in most countries it’s considered impolite to disappear with the card as they might write the digits down to charge extra later. Therefore they normally bring a portable terminal to your table so you can keep the card in eyesight and have the (optional) tip actually charged when the card is run and not added after the fact. In the US we have to trust it will come back and if the charge doesn’t match what you expect, you file a complaint with the CC company for a correction.
Redditor u/1_art_please added:
Im Canadian and was surprised to still be required to use my signature on credit card receipts in the US. Haven’t done that here since like 2007ish?
College Sports
From Redditor u/UnusualLight0:
College sports, people do not care about nor have college sports like we do here.
And Redditor u/BobBelcher2021:
Heck, even high school sports. One of the last times I was over the border I passed a high school; their football field looked like a university stadium complete with lights, stands, logos, advertising. My Canadian high school had football too but nobody cared about it other than the team and the players’ families.
And Redditor u/doom_bagel:
What is important to realize about this is that most countries have far more developed local sports teams. There are 7 leagues in the English FA, so just about every locality has a soccer team. That doesn’t exist here, but every locality has a high school, and there are hundreds of universities, so Americans get passionate about those instead.
Prescription Drug Commercials
From Redditor u/Noor_awsome:
Those commercials featuring some sort of drug or medication. With the typical closing where the narrator states “Side effects includes blah blah blah…Discuss with your doctor about blah blah blah.”
To which Redditor u/Secretrider replied:
“Hey, Doc, I need a prescription for this drug I saw a commercial for. Yeah, the one that’s meant to treat a cold, but can make you blind, deaf, crippled, anemic, addicted, comatose, and or dead.”
Excessive Medical Expenses
From Redditor u/kaden123drake:
Literally being too poor to go to the doctor, but have too much income for any kind of assistance.
Living Off Of Tips
From Redditor u/Impossible-Buy-4090:
Tipping as a wage subsidy. Many countries don’t have tipping and those that do generally tip a small amount for good service.
A former Redditor added:
It seems so bizarre for me, I live in a place where minimum means minimum. Our waiters get the same minimum wage as anyone else. Even our Uber drivers are required to be paid the per minute equivalent of minimum wage. And tips are in no way to be considered as part of that minimum if they are given. It’s a bonus for a good job.
Red Solo Cups
From Redditor u/Belgianwafflz:
Red solo cups. My European cousins asked me if parties in the us really had those red cups.
And Redditor u/BoseSounddock added:
When I was in Germany in a supermarket, I saw a red, white, and blue display with “American Party Cups” for sale and it was just off-brand solo cups.
Toilet Stall Door Gaps
From Redditor u/digitalelise:
Massive gaps on all sides of toilet cubicle doors, like why even bother with a door at all when people can see through so easily.
Garbage Disposals Coming Standard In Homes
From Redditor u/TypingLobster:
Garbage disposal units in sinks. I’ve been to nearly 20 countries, and I’ve never seen one.
Redditor u/StanePantsen added:
We have them in Canada. We call them garburators.
Cheap Gas
From Redditor u/vacri:
It’s pretty funny watching Americans moan over their super-cheap petrol prices. “But we drive everywhere, cars are fundamental to our society.” Yep, same here in Australia, too. Your fuel is still incredibly cheap.
Inserting Or Swiping Credit Cards
From Redditor u/Lodgik:
I remember seeing commercials years ago about Apple pay, and how you can just tap your phone to make paying easier. I honestly did not understand what the big deal was. Why tap your phone instead of just tapping your bank card? It’s the same thing. It wasn’t until a couple of years ago when I realised that Americans usually can’t use tap on the bank cards to pay for stuff. I realize that tap to pay is becoming more common in the US. But when I made the realization, tap was still uncommon. From what I understand, just recently it began making the transition to “common.”
And Redditor u/Its_Persimmon_Season:
I moved from America to the Balkans and here tap cards are normal, even in countries that are much less developed like Moldova. They always furiously tap my card and when I tell them we don’t have tap cards in America (I have an American card) they are shocked.
