What are some strange American customs?

[Hebalobia]

Voting Republican. This is surely the most bizarre of American customs.

[Soldati Senza Confini]

Well we use the metric system. We just don't use it outside of science a lot.

Seriously, most cars I've owned in the U.S. come with both miles and kilometers in their speedometers and other tidbits such as bolts and nuts. However, for construction and roads we use miles. And even if we were to switch to the metric system it'd take decades before we fully convert the country to metric.

I'm an immigrant who's used to both systems, mind, but I can get why they use it still instead of switching over.

Cars in the USA and Canada have both because the odds are non-trivial that someone will be driving their car from a country that does metric to one that doesn't (or vice versa). It's not because Americans think about their speed in metric or because Canadians think about their speed in Imperial.

It's definitely stupid and useless. Seriously, kids in the USA waste so much time converting shit in non-metric units. You know how much time we spent learning about conversions in metric? It was basically "so k means 1000 times, which means that 1 km = 1000 m". This was a lesson that took 10 minutes. Probably less.

I don't disagree with most of these things, although most of the drive-thru service was more of a convenience thing.

I have also never seen a drive thru liquor store myself :/

I'm also curious as to what you deem "large cars".

The convenience thing is pretty unnecessary and generally weird. Granted, the lack of a wholly integrated bank system where you can put money into your bank at an ATM or use Interac to pay for shit from your bank account at the cash register is also weird. I mean, I've gone to do banking with my partner and he always has to talk to a teller. I only have to talk to a teller when I'm exchanging some change or dealing with some issue regarding my account. If I want to add money to my bank in Canada, it's either done electronically or I cram it into an ATM whenever I want.

Granted, Japan's banking system is mostly stupid too.


Oh, and by "large cars", I mean like 90% of the cars in the USA. SUVs and all are just ridiculous. Going to North America after a year in Japan, the first instance of culture shock was the size of the cars. Many of them are at least twice as large as they need to be.

We don't really spend a lot learning the Imperial system. I think I had it down in like an hour.

I do remember having issues with both systems at first to understand distances (4000 miles is a lot as well as 4000 kilometers, but 4000 kilometers are less than 4000 miles, for instance).

The banking thing is a bank-to-bank basis. I use a bank which lets me do everything online with an online banking account. So I don't have to see a teller to do most things and I've also gotten used to the convenience of Customer Support.

As for "90%" of cars. I don't find it such a huge issue. I mean the extra space is useful for me, to be fair. Granted, some people buy shit way too big, but when you need it it's nice to know there's big enough cars to accomodate your needs.

[Soldati Senza Confini]

1. Food in restaurants in the US is served in larger portions. However, it is definitely common (and acceptable) to take a doggy bag and eat the rest of your food later.
2. Just because you've only seen white Americans doesn't mean there are only white Americans. Also, this isn't a cultural thing.
3. ...not usually, they don't.

1) They definetly eat more than us and take bigger bites of food

2) I will take your word for it as this information is secondary

3) I have seen many of them, they use the shoulder to hold the phone and use their other hands to type/ write, it is something i never could do comfortably this has to be common among americans as i have seen 6 americans do it in a span of 2 years and i have met 15 Americans in my life

That is common damnit. Hell I am an immigrant and I can do it.

Perhaps is the fact you just don't know how to do two things at once?

As for the food bit, I eat big portions too. However, I keep within my diet.

[Hanryo]

It's still considered okay to fly the confederacy flag... And white police officers can get away with the murder of black people, children even.

It's only considered okay in your own house.

Clearly you have never lived in the South or a rural, conservative area. People display it on their cars all the time.

Whether or not it's considered socially acceptable depends on your location. It's pretty much considered a badge of idiocy in an urban coastal city (but I've seen it there too, albeit much less frequently).

[Soldati Senza Confini]

It's only considered okay in your own house.

Clearly you have never lived in the South or a rural, conservative area. People display it on their cars all the time.

Whether or not it's considered socially acceptable depends on your location. It's pretty much considered a badge of idiocy in an urban coastal city (but I've seen it there too, albeit much less frequently).

I live in Texas. Granted I don't live in the fuck out of nowhere mid-Texas.

[Dakini]

Cars in the USA and Canada have both because the odds are non-trivial that someone will be driving their car from a country that does metric to one that doesn't (or vice versa). It's not because Americans think about their speed in metric or because Canadians think about their speed in Imperial.

It's definitely stupid and useless. Seriously, kids in the USA waste so much time converting shit in non-metric units. You know how much time we spent learning about conversions in metric? It was basically "so k means 1000 times, which means that 1 km = 1000 m". This was a lesson that took 10 minutes. Probably less.


The convenience thing is pretty unnecessary and generally weird. Granted, the lack of a wholly integrated bank system where you can put money into your bank at an ATM or use Interac to pay for shit from your bank account at the cash register is also weird. I mean, I've gone to do banking with my partner and he always has to talk to a teller. I only have to talk to a teller when I'm exchanging some change or dealing with some issue regarding my account. If I want to add money to my bank in Canada, it's either done electronically or I cram it into an ATM whenever I want.

Granted, Japan's banking system is mostly stupid too.


Oh, and by "large cars", I mean like 90% of the cars in the USA. SUVs and all are just ridiculous. Going to North America after a year in Japan, the first instance of culture shock was the size of the cars. Many of them are at least twice as large as they need to be.

We don't really spend a lot learning the Imperial system. I think I had it down in like an hour.

I do remember having issues with both systems at first to understand distances (4000 miles is a lot as well as 4000 kilometers, but 4000 kilometers are less than 4000 miles, for instance).

Doesn't matter. Any time spent converting that bullshit is time wasted.

The banking thing is a bank-to-bank basis. I use a bank which lets me do everything online with an online banking account. So I don't have to see a teller to do most things and I've also gotten used to the convenience of Customer Support.

Maybe, but the USA still lacks the wonderful convenience of interac everywhere.

As for "90%" of cars. I don't find it such a huge issue. I mean the extra space is useful for me, to be fair. Granted, some people buy shit way too big, but when you need it it's nice to know there's big enough cars to accomodate your needs.

It's unnecessary and guzzles more gas than necessary for most purposes. Seriously, approximately 0.1% of SUV owners require a SUV.

[Soldati Senza Confini]

We don't really spend a lot learning the Imperial system. I think I had it down in like an hour.

I do remember having issues with both systems at first to understand distances (4000 miles is a lot as well as 4000 kilometers, but 4000 kilometers are less than 4000 miles, for instance).

Doesn't matter. Any time spent converting that bullshit is time wasted.

The banking thing is a bank-to-bank basis. I use a bank which lets me do everything online with an online banking account. So I don't have to see a teller to do most things and I've also gotten used to the convenience of Customer Support.

Maybe, but the USA still lacks the wonderful convenience of interac everywhere.

As for "90%" of cars. I don't find it such a huge issue. I mean the extra space is useful for me, to be fair. Granted, some people buy shit way too big, but when you need it it's nice to know there's big enough cars to accomodate your needs.

It's unnecessary and guzzles more gas than necessary for most purposes. Seriously, approximately 0.1% of SUV owners require a SUV.

I just related distances in a matter of seconds and had enough time to spare to write that sentence, I'm not entirely sure what you mean by "time wasted".

Not all organizations are interac-based, although many organizations are moving from paper and person-to-person to electronic transactions. All I can say is that it really depends on the bank you deal with, not dependent upon country.

Depends on who you talk to. I don't see the bad thing about owning a SUV as the owner of one myself.

[Hanryo]

Clearly you have never lived in the South or a rural, conservative area. People display it on their cars all the time.

Whether or not it's considered socially acceptable depends on your location. It's pretty much considered a badge of idiocy in an urban coastal city (but I've seen it there too, albeit much less frequently).

I live in Texas. Granted I don't live in the fuck out of nowhere mid-Texas.

I've never been to Texas, but I've lived up and down the West Coast in both rural and urban areas, as well as the Deep South. I've seen it almost everywhere, but most prevalently in rural areas, the South, and Southern rural areas.

That's not to say it's plastered everywhere, but it was hardly an uncommon sight for me in some places.

And I would add that the US is hardly unique in this - all countries have some minority contingent of idiots running around waving symbols associated with bigotry or fascism.

[Dakini]

Doesn't matter. Any time spent converting that bullshit is time wasted.


Maybe, but the USA still lacks the wonderful convenience of interac everywhere.


It's unnecessary and guzzles more gas than necessary for most purposes. Seriously, approximately 0.1% of SUV owners require a SUV.

I just related distances in a matter of seconds and had enough time to spare to write that sentence, I'm not entirely sure what you mean by "time wasted".

Convert 3.1560 miles to inches. Go.

You know how long it takes to convert 3.1560 km to cm? Move the decimal over five places.

Not all organizations are interac-based, although many organizations are moving from paper and person-to-person to electronic transactions. All I can say is that it really depends on the bank you deal with, not dependent upon country.

Uh... you can use interac and deposit money at an ATM for every bank in Canada. That's just normal. Banking in the USA is backwards.

Depends on who you talk to. I don't see the bad thing about owning a SUV as the owner of one myself.

So because you have a gas guzzling car that's too large for your needs, it's totally necessary and fine to own one?

...right.

[Soldati Senza Confini]

I just related distances in a matter of seconds and had enough time to spare to write that sentence, I'm not entirely sure what you mean by "time wasted".

Convert 3.1560 miles to inches. Go.

You know how long it takes to convert 3.1560 km to cm? Move the decimal over five places.

Not all organizations are interac-based, although many organizations are moving from paper and person-to-person to electronic transactions. All I can say is that it really depends on the bank you deal with, not dependent upon country.

Uh... you can use interac and deposit money at an ATM for every bank in Canada. That's just normal. Banking in the USA is backwards.

Depends on who you talk to. I don't see the bad thing about owning a SUV as the owner of one myself.

So because you have a gas guzzling car that's too large for your needs, it's totally necessary and fine to own one?

...right.

5.07909 kilometers. Next question?

Although I stand corrected, the explanation to that is because banking in the USA is outdated, not backwards. You had a 5-organization venture in the 1980s which resulted in the bank system in Canada. We're just beginning to get used to electronic transactions because people here in America are weary of technology.

I never said it was necessary and fine to own one. I said that, depending on who it is, sometimes a SUV is necessary. I use it, the space is convenient for what it's worth.

[Nervium]

Having a great moral panic every now and then.

It's not exclusively American, but man, does American media love to throw oil on the fire.

[Yumyumsuppertime]

Ebonics aside

Excuse you, I've heard white folks all over NYC also say that.

Speaking of baseball, I find it curious how most Americans would gladly watch NFL match-ups consisting of two teams based thousands of miles away, but will only watch the World Series if their hometown team is involved.

No clue. I won't watch NFL if it's under my bedroom windows. I hate football.

Or in the sentence "I have to ask: Do you ever understand when I'm joking?"

Perhaps you should invest in better jokes. They aren't funny.

Really? I think that you can get me on originality (I essentially stole that from "Futurama"), but not humor.

[Benuty]

Having a great moral panic every now and then.

It's not exclusively American, but man, does American media love to throw oil on the fire.

We have to since 24 hour news outlets can get incredibly boring.

[The Princes of the Universe]

Having a great moral panic every now and then.
It's not exclusively American, but man, does American media love to throw oil on the fire.

We have to since 24 hour news outlets can get incredibly boring.

Maybe their very existence is the problem.

[Benuty]

We have to since 24 hour news outlets can get incredibly boring.

Maybe their very existence is the problem.

Well you could time travel, and assassinate Ted Turner to prevent CNN from coming into existence. The effects for social progress might be radically altered however. So pick your card carefully.

[The Princes of the Universe]

Maybe their very existence is the problem.

Well you could time travel, and assassinate Ted Turner to prevent CNN from coming into existence. The effects for social progress might be radically altered however. So pick your card carefully.

Talking him out of creating CNN would probably be a smarter move.

[Katganistan]

So they're strange because you say so?

No because to put it the simplest terms, they are not like us.

There movies are strange, the food they eat is strange, they like to eat food without spice and cannot tolerate spice, they cannot drink water, which is not boiled ten times over and can only drink packaged water, some of them drink pepsi/coke with their food, In short their customs are a little strange

Well goody for you. We think that movies abut gods and godesses dancing around singing are different from what we're used to, but we're not provincial enough to declare them 'strange' and 'weird' and 'incomprehensible.'

And if there were proper water treatment in your country, we'd drink it untreated without getting sick. Just because you've a tolerance for the bacteria in your water doesn't mean someone from a different continent has.

[Imperialpowersofkorea]

No because to put it the simplest terms, they are not like us.

There movies are strange, the food they eat is strange, they like to eat food without spice and cannot tolerate spice, they cannot drink water, which is not boiled ten times over and can only drink packaged water, some of them drink pepsi/coke with their food, In short their customs are a little strange

Well goody for you. We think that movies abut gods and godesses dancing around singing are different from what we're used to, but we're not provincial enough to declare them 'strange' and 'weird' and 'incomprehensible.'

And if there were proper water treatment in your country, we'd drink it untreated without getting sick. Just because you've a tolerance for the bacteria in your water doesn't mean someone from a different continent has.

That just furthers my argument, you cannot take the American and ride with him over to khardung-la on a bike, there is nothing you can do with the American. I think politeness and courtesy are the best ways to deal with them, at the end of the day they are just different

[Katganistan]

No I find them strange, I find all foreigners to be a little strange, it is not a bad thing to be strange, there is no equivalent word I can describe.

No from what I have seen and from my deductions, they are not able to eat some kinds of masalas, seriously, they even have stomach problems after eating spicy food, there digestive systems are not as strong as ours, The American cannot drink water from anywhere or eat anywhere for he is not used to such things, it is a thing I have seen, the Americans carry packaged water or boil their water and cool it. It is a fact not generalizing here, they call stomach problems caused by spice delhi belly.


Also all foreigners are strange but Americans like the other people from the west and maybe Arabian people are a little more in the strangeness scale as it is difficult to understand their customs and it would be rude to ask them

Okay, that's bullshit. Why? Because I eat chana puri here, and rogan josh, and Thai food, like pad kra prow. I have no problem with spicy food. What I might have a problem with if I were to visit India is the lack of clean water to drink, and apparently, the xenophobia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_supp ... n_in_India
http://thewaterproject.org/water-in-crisis-india
http://water.org/country/india/
http://thediplomat.com/2014/04/indias-w ... er-crisis/
http://www.unicef.org/india/Final_Report.pdf

So it's not just "poor Americans" who can't drink the water -- there are all sorts of agencies trying to make sure your own people don't die from lack of sanitary drinking water.

[Katganistan]

To be fair to him, though, the thread is called "What are some strange American customs?"

Ketchup in scrambled eggs.

That's just gross.

[Nanatsu no Tsuki]

No I find them strange, I find all foreigners to be a little strange, it is not a bad thing to be strange, there is no equivalent word I can describe.

No from what I have seen and from my deductions, they are not able to eat some kinds of masalas, seriously, they even have stomach problems after eating spicy food, there digestive systems are not as strong as ours, The American cannot drink water from anywhere or eat anywhere for he is not used to such things, it is a thing I have seen, the Americans carry packaged water or boil their water and cool it. It is a fact not generalizing here, they call stomach problems caused by spice delhi belly.


Also all foreigners are strange but Americans like the other people from the west and maybe Arabian people are a little more in the strangeness scale as it is difficult to understand their customs and it would be rude to ask them

Okay, that's bullshit. Why? Because I eat chana puri here, and rogan josh, and Thai food, like pad kra prow. I have no problem with spicy food. What I might have a problem with if I were to visit India is the lack of clean water to drink, and apparently, the xenophobia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_supp ... n_in_India
http://thewaterproject.org/water-in-crisis-india
http://water.org/country/india/
http://thediplomat.com/2014/04/indias-w ... er-crisis/
http://www.unicef.org/india/Final_Report.pdf

So it's not just "poor Americans" who can't drink the water -- there are all sorts of agencies trying to make sure your own people don't die from lack of sanitary drinking water.

I think Dakini tried to explain that to him. It's not that Americans have poor health or bodies, it's that period, if you're not used to the bacteria and other things in water from a place you're never been to before, you will get sick. Your body is not used to it. Why do foreigners drink bottled water when they visit Mexico? Because of that.

[Fartsniffage]

Okay, that's bullshit. Why? Because I eat chana puri here, and rogan josh, and Thai food, like pad kra prow. I have no problem with spicy food. What I might have a problem with if I were to visit India is the lack of clean water to drink, and apparently, the xenophobia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_supp ... n_in_India
http://thewaterproject.org/water-in-crisis-india
http://water.org/country/india/
http://thediplomat.com/2014/04/indias-w ... er-crisis/
http://www.unicef.org/india/Final_Report.pdf

So it's not just "poor Americans" who can't drink the water -- there are all sorts of agencies trying to make sure your own people don't die from lack of sanitary drinking water.

I think Dakini tried to explain that to him. It's not that Americans have poor health or bodies, it's that period, if you're not used to the bacteria and other things in water from a place you're never been to before, you will get sick. Your body is not used to it. Why do foreigners drink bottled water when they visit Mexico? Because of that.

I drink bottled water in Spain....

[Nanatsu no Tsuki]

I think Dakini tried to explain that to him. It's not that Americans have poor health or bodies, it's that period, if you're not used to the bacteria and other things in water from a place you're never been to before, you will get sick. Your body is not used to it. Why do foreigners drink bottled water when they visit Mexico? Because of that.

I drink bottled water in Spain....

Why?

[Zorga]

As an american: the pledge. I hate it...it is creepy and it pledges to the "state".

Our nation is by the people for the people...not the government or the flag.

Another thing is ketchup on eggs...ewww.

[Katganistan]

Except that it IS an American custom, where large populations have become American and shared the custom.

Is it too difficult to understand that America is a multicultural nation?

Multicultural means different cultures living side by side in the same nation, not one big vat of bits of other cultures called "American".

Right? Been here? No? Because you're making that pretty obvious with every line you type.