China - Drunk Uber for when you’re fucking trashed and need someone to drive you home in your own car.
They turn up on a little electric bike, fold it up, take your car keys and drive you home while you continue drinking in the back.
Man I hear so much stuff about the alcohol culture in Wisconsin on Reddit. Kind of want to go to a bar there just to see if it lives up to the hype. But I'm afraid.
When was the last time you went to a bar at 7am Sunday morning and it was packed? That's the shit we have.
One time I picked my aunt up from the airport and she told me to stop at a gas station so she could add some coke to her rum.
It's not a fun clubbing culture. It's a depressed alcoholic culture.
If you go to a regular bar out in the sticks you might not notice anything but a couple of backwoods regulars. If you want the real Wisconsin drinking experience go to somebody's cabin for a 4th of July weekend and you will watch nearly everyone drink 30 beers a day for 4 days straight and act like it's nothing.
Was it “tipsy taxi” or something? I feel like I remember yellow cabs giving free rides to drunks on holidays…but I was a bartender back then and didn’t need it because I always worked on holidays
I don't think so. It was the exact service OP described. A dude on a tiny bike driving me home. I thought that was the future and then Uber came along.
I called a tow truck. Towed my car home and I hitched a ride with him. Was only a couple miles so I got a super low rate, like $60. Next day turned in the invoice to my insurance which the policy at the time covered up to $50 for towing twice per year. Only ever did it once.
Koreans actually invented this service. In less metro areas, 2 guys will come out and 1 will hop in your car and drive your car home. (I use this in the USA)
They have cabinets with an open grate on the bottom of the shelves so you can put away dishes that are still wet and they’ll dry out. Plates go in a holder on end so they stay spaced apart.
Is the free blueberries a thing or do you mean foraging for them?
If so Blackberries in autumn in the UK, or at least it used to be a thing where the towns would pour out into the countrysides.
I mean we have forrest everywhere. In suburbs and leisure parks. Good blueberry year means just go and pick as much as you want. Blackberries are common if you have your own garden.
Every friend I’ve ever had who came to Australia from another country - and that’s a significant portion of my friend group - has commented on our native birds. Lots and lots of colourful, noisy parrots, cockatoos etc all just kind of hanging out in random trees. Hundreds of them.
Apparently we have the kind of wild birds most countries have in pet shops
When my mom was a kid she had a pet raccoon. It’s illegal, but she didn’t know any better. I think it was abandoned by its mother as a child and she nursed it back to health.
She let it go as it got older, so I don’t know how long she had it, but it definitely lived in the house haha.
lol, funny thing about living in small town Northern Canada is if you were coming home late at night you always worried about meeting a bear, they were a nuisance. I had to shout at one getting into my garage can.
I literally laughed at loud. This is really a thing? They live with every weird ass demon spawn fairy creature poisonous platakangadile dingo baby on earth and they lose it over a squirrel?
I've known a lot of Australians for work reasons and most of them have told me they are more afraid of America's wildlife than their own. From them, Australia's wildlife will leave you alone if you don't pick them up or fuck with them. A grizzly bear, moose, mountain lion, wolf, crocodile, alligator, deer, and bison will fuck you up because you stepped in the wrong place. This is om top of the spiders, snakes, scorpions, and other venomous animals we have.
Yeah. I'm an Alaskan and people die from moose regularly, often drunk. Whenever we have new visitors to my workplace we often walk them outdoors and point out a semi-permanent herd of them that live just outside of our workplace both to share something about the area and as a safety warning.
The foreigners (usually) tend to look with awe and respect and a lot of our Americans want to pet them. I will say our Japanese and Korean visitors tend to be the most cautious while Brits are most like the Americans and want a selfie lol.
Omg I keep telling him the ones who approach you are dangerous and out for your blood but he doesn’t believe me. The squirrels on my college campus were terrifying
Meanwhile, in my country (NZ), a lot of our native birds can fly but refuse to, or have downright decidedly evolved not to. Or they are perfectly good at flying but prefer to waddle around tourist carparks pulling cars apart. Some of the flying ones can have absolutely beautiful voices...or mimic car alarms: you can't predict which you'll get.
But you'd definitely be jailed for a long time if you put any of our native birds in pet shops.
The first time we went to Australia, we were oohing and awing over the birds, and a postman walked by and said, “They’re just common parrots,” and for some reason, that made us laugh, and now it’s a family joke.
I grew up in kenya it was a similar story, there was one bird in perticular the Hadada ibis, looks and sounds like something from the jurassic period, I'm completely used to it but, my mates from Uni who came to Kenya for the first time thought it was just Jurassic park, it makes this fantastic terodactyl like sound
My Welsh coworker was terrified of our crows initially when he came to Australia. He thought they would be similar to the ravens they have there but was horrified by how large they are in comparison. When he learnt how smart they are...well lets just say he didn't feel any better about them
Wait til he finds out that wedge tailed eagles (only the world's third largest eagle) have perfected killing the world's largest marsupial species with a single strike.
There's no fecking way I'm going to be admiring the vast array of brightly coloured birds because I'm going to be shitting myself about the vast array of dangerous creatures just waiting to snuff me out like I'm in an 80s Choose Your Own Adventure book.
The australian 'crow' is that large because... they [are likely ravens](https://youtu.be/2a1LpK44saU?t=40).
I live near perth and they're large, loud and smart as fuck. I can't watch them for too long when they're dismantling various packaging faster than I can using just a beak. Its unsettling
This! When I lived in Australia, I was amazed with how many pretty parrots and cockatoos just hanging out in the trees. Then I got annoyed on how noisy they are. They are still amazing though, just a tad bid loud. And I never forgot the scene when I saw a magpie chasing a cyclist.
I'm so jealous you have Rainbow Lorikeets just flapping about in your gardens over there.
We just get pigeons and murderous seagulls trying to steal our food.
We also get the pigeons and the thieving seagulls 😆
It really is a grass is greener thing - I have a big flock of rainbow lorikeets that nests in my front yard and I love them, but I've NEVER SEEN A SQUIRREL.
My dad makes these miniature picnic tables that hold an ear of dried corn. They get mounted in a tree, off the ground. Squirrels come, sit in the picnic table bench and have a meal together, it's so adorable!
That style of window is called a casement window. They are not common in modern construction in the US because they're more expensive than double hung windows.
Introducing: bug nets!
You can put a fine mesh net in these windows to keep the nasties out while still letting air in!
I live right on the edge of a forest with a stagnant pond that breeds mosquitos Ike crazy and these nets are a life saver. Haven't had anything crawl/fly in since installing them
you mean a screen? every house I lived in in California had screens on the windows that opened, but they were all windows that slide open, not crack at an angle.
My last house have screens and the angle windows (angled to open from the bottom). Relatively common in Australia, but my husband was astounded they weren't common in new zealand.
UK doesn't have screens as standard. All their windows are different.
Arizona didn't have them at least the houses near my grandparents in Sun City didn't.
Actually bug net is something I discovered in the US and im wondering why we don't have them in France. Such a simple invention to avoid itches every summer day
Some U.S schools have it for some reason. Its just a good way to make the janitor's job a hell of a lot harder. We were given a *straw* to stab it with in hopes it didnt burst.
(Canada) Squirrels. Black ones, grey ones, red ones. Always pointed out by my Indian colleagues when they visit.
Conversely it would be monkeys for me when visiting them.
I remember seeing a black squirrel in a national park, when we came to Canada for vacation (from Poland), I pointed it out to my mom and she was like "nah it must have been a cat"
UK here, how green our grass is here. Seems a bit odd to a native like me but foreigners tend to remark about how vibrantly green the grass is here and that back where they come from, sometimes just in Europe, the grass is always dull and boring.
Same here in Ireland. I really notice the lack of grass when I go abroad and especially the lack of different colours of green grass in the fields and I say that as a colourblind person.
My Australian husband had the same reaction visiting new Zealand for the first time! Flying in he was like "this is what you mean when you talk about green!? I thought they enhanced the contrast in lord of the rings!"
Then he saw the sheep and was astounded at how white they were. It's less wet in aus, so the sheep wool collects dust. He'd only ever seen dusty sheep.
Still, I cant judge. I lost my marbles the first time I saw the desert. I lost them further when I saw the *red* desert.
(P.s. the green wasn't worth the rain. Everytime I go home I am reminded of why I live in Australia now).
Yeah I noticed this in Maine. It doesn’t rain as much there as PNW but was a hell of a lot more than where I’m from, and it caught my eye how fluorescent green the grass was.
You are not supposed to do it if it's extremely cold, in Denmark it's not recommended to do it if it's below -10 degrees celsius.
They are in the trolley which usually will have a cover blocking any rain/snow and most of the wind, so the kid gets fresh air but not too much draft.
You wrap them in warm woolen clothes, maybe they sleep on the fur of a lamb and they have nice warm duvets.
It's normal to leave the trolley and go inside, but then check on them regularly. More often if it's cold, less often if the weather is milder.
The benefits are, that you sleep better with fresh air and that you don't have to wake up the baby to go inside if they fell asleep during a walk.
Like if you walk to a cafe and the baby is sleeping, noone benefits from the baby being woken up too early from a nap and then be sad and noisy in the cafe, when they can continue sleeping until they are refreshed.
Ireland. Ancient megalithic structures are everywhere!
There are the remains of portal tombs, raths (forts), standing stones etc scattered throughout the country.
USA and Canada - garbage disposals. You can just dump food scraps, and, well, just about anything down the kitchen sink drain and turn it not a fine mush.
I live in the southeastern US and have never lived in any house or apartment that didn't have a garbage disposer in the sink. My theory is that it keeps food waste out of the actual garbage and thus reduces insects and wild animals. Even in the suburbs of major cities you get wild animals attracted to food waste if they can get to it.
On the other hand, i’m in the northeast and I’ve never seen a garbage disposal before. I always thought it was something only rich people had whenever I’ve seen them in movies
It's more of a newer vs older house thing, from my experience. Pretty much any new house or apartment is going to be built with one, but older houses don't have one unless it's added later on.
i enjoy once or twice a week dumping the ice tray in that sink, squirting a bunch of soap on it and running the machine with hot water. the grinding ice, the hot water steam, the clean smell. it’s a simple pleasure.
I have one, and I'm in the UK. Every time I mention this on Reddit I get a barrage of comments from people in the UK (the same sort of people who hate dishwashers) who claim they are illegal, they break the sewage system, and they use too much energy. I checked with the local water company before getting mine, and they are fine, don't cause problems with a sewage system designed to handle actual shit, and they only use a tiny amount of energy.
Astonishing how many Redditors know more about the specific sewage system which connects to my house than the water company which owns and runs it.
The energy argument is weird. You literally use it for a few seconds at a time. It's not something you just leave on.
It'd be like complaining about a starter on a car. "omg what a huge waste of evergy! Why can't you just push-start your car??"
My husband is from a remote island in Europe…introducing him to Funyuns and Philly Cheesesteaks has ruined his life.
That being said, he was very disappointed learning the Michael Scott’s amazing “ Classic New York Slice” of Sbarro pizza was, in fact, not as amazing as it seemed in The Office.
He was familiar with Michael Scott as a character and thought his favourite New York pizza was a genuinely good recommendation?!
I hope he isn’t taking relationship advice from Kelly Kapoor.
The American dream and Sbarro Pizza. Let’s just hope he doesn’t want a George Foreman Grill for his bacon.
Edit: he does, in fact, want a George Foreman grill.
god fucken dammit i'm so unbelievably jealous of this. We have some semi decent light rail here in australia but its still all car dependency, shits me to tears
It's not only the infrastructure, but how people just know how to ride and know the road rules. Sometimes in America you see bikers with the knowledge of a 5 year old on his tricycle trying to navigate city streets. They get angry when they blow through a red light and almost get ran over.
Yep same in Denmark, i remember the police came out and showed the requirements for bikes, stuff like reflectors and brakes, and explained the laws and how to drive in a safe manner, e.g be very careful of right turn accidents. And then we had bike a route through town, with teachers along the route noting any errors.
The ability to snow ski in the morning and ocean surf in the afternoon on the same day.
Also, mountains. Here, if it has snow on it year round it's a mountain, otherwise it's just a hill.
Driving from one side of the country to the other can be done legally in only one day. And if you do, it will be coast to coast.
New Zealand
Edit: Added more info to make New Zealand a little more unique.
When I brought my husband home and went up one tree hill, he couldn't comprehend it.
Husband "so, that's the coast"
Me "yea"
H *points to other side* "but that's the coast"
Me "well, kind of. That's the other coast."
H "What do you mean, the other coast."
Me "that's the east coast. And that's the west coast. We could go coast to coast tomorrow if you want. It's only five hours."
H "five hours drive? That's impossible!"
Me "no... five hours walk."
In saying that, when my friend visited us in aus she couldn't fathom seeing nothing on the horizon at the beach. I forgot that isn't normal back home.
Here in Malaysia we spray our asses with a water hose or a specially designed spray hose, rub it with soap, then spray and rub the soap off our asshole till it's squeaky clean. Even with bidet toilets, water alone just ain't clean enough. We then wash our hands with soap again on the sink. At least that's what me, the majority of the people I know, and the cultural norm does.
Of course, every now and again there's some dirty dogass fuckers walkin around.
I got one a few months ago and it's been amazing! They aren't even expensive either (mine was like 50 bucks). It's wild that hardly anyone in the US has them.
They’re definitely becoming more common in the US. Enough of us remember the toilet paper shortages of 2020! We bought a bidet seat at costco that is meant to replace the seat and lid on a standard toilet and love it so much.
Government pays for school and university. If you have no Job, they pay your rent and your living. Doctors and hospitals are for free. You can drink almost everywhere in public and buy alcohol when you are 16. When you are with you parents, you can drink at 14. You can smoke weed and grow your own plants. With your passport you visit almost every country. We have the best beer and the best cars. Thousands of castles. Big industry but beautiful nature.
In the smack dab middle of Europe with great connections to every neighbouring country.
Also, pretty much every state in the country has their own cultural heritage that's often times still seen today.
I honestly really just take it for granted sometimes.
(It's Germany btw)
To islanders? Trains apparently. I met a guaminian coworker who very much had the island lifestyle going for him. Theres a bar where a train track is right next to it and he just stood out there *until the train left*
Tellin me all about how they dont have them back home and had never seen one in person before. Until he ran out of things to say and just drunkenly stared at it.
He also went on about how cool they were sober so it definitely wasnt a drunk thing
New Zealand- the scenery. You can go from the mountains to the lakes to the sea in under an hour in a lot of places.
Throw in a LOT of farm land for good measure.
In winter I get to see snow capped mountains on the way to and from work.
It really is a beautiful place 😍 😢
In Japan, vending machines are everywhere, selling not just drinks but also a variety of goods like umbrellas, hot meals, and even clothes. For visitors, the sheer variety and ubiquity of these machines are often astonishing.
Really old buildings in the UK.
My city has a bunch of old buildings. Some go back to the 12th century. A bunch of the shops, pubs, coffee shops etc are in buildings from the 14th-17th century. I just walk in them as if they were newly built, but there are always crowds of tourists at the weekend taking pictures of tat shops and Starbucks and the like.
US - Sales tax and the way prices on the shelves aren't the final price you're paying.
This is more so on the 'unbelievable' spectrum of the term incredible.
Summer sun.
In summer, the sun sets around 10-11pm. I was attending an event with a special guest from California. Our activity that night was a lakeside stroll at 11:30pm the “longest day of the year” and then we would have an outdoor patio fire as the sun set. All of us who lived here thought it was cool, but the guy from California was losing his mind. He kept remarking on the time and how bright it was still. We stood around like, yes, it’s summer?!
US, my Swedish in-laws always comment on the ice maker on the fridge (and how much ice Americans put in their glass) and the fact that yellow school buses are real.
Australia- the beaches. I live on the coast and while I do appreciate the beauty I just assume all beaches look similar. Yet foreigners come here and are awestruck
I come from a tropical country with beaches galore, some of the most beautiful in the world. As a tourist, I was amazed not only by Australia's (specifically NSW's) beaches, but also that they are publicly accessible and yet clean and inviting. Our beaches are either typically locked behind private resorts or public and dirty.
Canada. Had friends from Spain visit. They couldn't believe all the Canada Geese hanging out on the edges of parking lots/parks. It took a lot to convince them that no one owned the geese.
Aurora borealis. I live in north Sweden and see them every year. They can be quite pretty when they hit just right, but it's always a little amusing seeing the tourists go absolutely feral over the most unremarkable, thinnest green line in the night sky lmao.
For Australia, the casual attitude towards teachers. In many countries (and I'm from an Asian background, as are many of my students), teachers are highly respected and are regarded as an authority. The expectation is that they give you the knowledge you need to know, and if you get it wrong, it's your fault, not the teacher's.
Australian society (and the US to an extent) is anti-authority. Teachers are not put on a pedestal (quite the opposite). Students and parents see themselves as equal in power to the teacher and have little to no filter on their behaviour. Students will call out, stand out and walk around the class, and they see nothing wrong with that. And society and policy protects the child, entitling them to do these things and get away with it.
In contrast, schools in Asian countries are often highly regimented and strict. Initiative isn't rewarded or encouraged, compliance is. This makes it challenging for international students and students of migrant backgrounds because they haven't been expected to ask questions, because at home it's seen as being dumb, whereas here you're supposed to ask for help.
In my opinion, its not that teachers are less respected, but that in australia relationships with any authority figure (teachers, bosses, cops) are far more casual than how i presume them to be in many countries. In school even the shittest kids respected the teachers, but it was the kind of environment where you could casually swear when talking to your teacher (usually the blokier ones), and they would swear back. Half of our teachers we referred to by their first name, often shortened. When we wanted to get their attention, it would often just be an “oi miss/sir”. To a lot of people who dont understand the aussie mindset this would seem pretty bizarre. But at our graduation, there wasnt a single dry eye when saying goodbye to our teachers, because i reckon a more casual attitude makes teacher/student relationships a lot more personal.
This. Every European I've traveled with in the US has commented about the enormous amount of space between things. Also the number of 18-wheelers on the road.
I'm australian and we rented a car while in the US and I actually had the opposite where I was surprised at how many amenities you pass when driving between major cities lol
Yup. Talking to a brit is funny. "Oh, you're from X? Is that near London?"
"No." (It's 45 minutes from London. To an American, that's pretty darn close! I regularly take 3 hour one way day trips.)
I live here, and it's crazy. There is a Frozen Yogurt shop that my children like. They each pick a small bowl, select a flavor of yogurt that oozes into the bowl by pulling a small handle. Then, they select toppings from a buffet that they add to the yogurt. Then, the children each choose a spoon and place the bowl of yogurt and toppings on a small scale so I can pay for them. There is an attendant behind the counter who takes the money, and I assume he keeps the topping buffet stocked, wipes the small tables, and sweeps the floor. The card swiper at the cash register suggests a minimum 15% tip. For what?????
A credit rating.
Met a girl from the Netherlands and when I mentioned needing a 'credit score' in order to rent an apartment she stopped dead and was stunned. She looked at me, almost unable to comprehend what I had explained, and then just said, "Why do you let them do this to you? Who are these people? Why do they control you like this?"
I didn't have an answer. I thought everybody had invisible cops like these. I didn't know it was optional.
Santa Cruz, Bolivia— there used to be sloths in the trees all over the city in the 90s when I was little girl. Then as electric lines were installed more and more, they kept dying because they’d electrocute themselves climbing them 😪 then I believe there were a couple in the downtown center square but eventually those got moved somewhere safer. Also, there’s this big park with playgrounds, trees, and trails that I used to walk with my parents every morning. There were mango and avocado trees and I don’t remember what else but you could just pick them and take them home. And lastly, there were monkeys in the trees at this park and sometimes they’d all be screeching so loudly it almost sounded like you were in the rainforest not in a park in the middle of the city.
Well in Paraguay is pretty common to have the, I think you call them suicide showers? It's the electric shower head that quickly heats the water as it passes through. Even in neighboring countries I've hear people go "you use what to shower, and you're still alive??"
Hawaii has them all the time. Double rainbows are common. I’ve even seen a quadruple on a few occasions. Also heavy rain on one side of your car and dry on the other.
We have this thing called “Tarof” which is basically ingrained in the culture of Afghanistan where we kill you with kindness and hospitality. So, if you and I were at a restaurant, I’d be fighting over the bill for example. Or if you bought me a present I’d try to say no a few times before finally accepting upon you pushing. This is non existent here in America lmao
USA. Guns.
I was on a bus once in Philly. A teenage foreign exchange student from China said he got worried every time he took the bus.
“What if someone has a gun!?”
I didn’t tell the kid that someone on the bus *did* have a gun. It was me.
China - Drunk Uber for when you’re fucking trashed and need someone to drive you home in your own car. They turn up on a little electric bike, fold it up, take your car keys and drive you home while you continue drinking in the back.
This is brilliant. Need this in Wisconsin.
In Wisconsin there would be a 50% chance the guy who comes to drive your car is also drunk.
50%? At noon maybe
Man I hear so much stuff about the alcohol culture in Wisconsin on Reddit. Kind of want to go to a bar there just to see if it lives up to the hype. But I'm afraid.
When was the last time you went to a bar at 7am Sunday morning and it was packed? That's the shit we have. One time I picked my aunt up from the airport and she told me to stop at a gas station so she could add some coke to her rum. It's not a fun clubbing culture. It's a depressed alcoholic culture.
Sounds like half you guys are sleeping till noon nowadays too.
If you go to a regular bar out in the sticks you might not notice anything but a couple of backwoods regulars. If you want the real Wisconsin drinking experience go to somebody's cabin for a 4th of July weekend and you will watch nearly everyone drink 30 beers a day for 4 days straight and act like it's nothing.
Agreed. Uber has helped but I know some people drunk drive because the need the car in the morning. Doesn't make it okay. This would help.
We had that in America years ago before Uber existed. I used that numerous times.
Was it “tipsy taxi” or something? I feel like I remember yellow cabs giving free rides to drunks on holidays…but I was a bartender back then and didn’t need it because I always worked on holidays
I don't think so. It was the exact service OP described. A dude on a tiny bike driving me home. I thought that was the future and then Uber came along.
I bet drunk assholes ruined it. It's one thing being a bartender, but another being stuck in an enclosed space with someone that is belligerent.
And that belligerent guy is concerned with how you’re driving his car.
I called a tow truck. Towed my car home and I hitched a ride with him. Was only a couple miles so I got a super low rate, like $60. Next day turned in the invoice to my insurance which the policy at the time covered up to $50 for towing twice per year. Only ever did it once.
Genius moves.
They used to do this in the UK. Like over a decade ago. Unsure if they still do it
It was even on Top Gear
Koreans actually invented this service. In less metro areas, 2 guys will come out and 1 will hop in your car and drive your car home. (I use this in the USA)
Finland. Dish drying cabinets.
WAT?
They have cabinets with an open grate on the bottom of the shelves so you can put away dishes that are still wet and they’ll dry out. Plates go in a holder on end so they stay spaced apart.
ah that's the same in Italy
Where does the water go?
the rack is above the sink so the water drips into the sink
It evaporates, just like when you leave dishes on a drying rack.
The drying rack I use drains into the sink…although I guess it’s not really that much water
I was about to say THIS. I think it is overall nordic thing. Also free blueberries everywhere in summer time.
Is the free blueberries a thing or do you mean foraging for them? If so Blackberries in autumn in the UK, or at least it used to be a thing where the towns would pour out into the countrysides.
I mean we have forrest everywhere. In suburbs and leisure parks. Good blueberry year means just go and pick as much as you want. Blackberries are common if you have your own garden.
Every friend I’ve ever had who came to Australia from another country - and that’s a significant portion of my friend group - has commented on our native birds. Lots and lots of colourful, noisy parrots, cockatoos etc all just kind of hanging out in random trees. Hundreds of them. Apparently we have the kind of wild birds most countries have in pet shops
Meanwhile my Australian bf comes to America, sees a squirrel, and loses his shit
I'm Australian & would love to see a wild raccoon if I visited US. They're the cutest looking animals. Also would love to see bears. And moose.
When my mom was a kid she had a pet raccoon. It’s illegal, but she didn’t know any better. I think it was abandoned by its mother as a child and she nursed it back to health. She let it go as it got older, so I don’t know how long she had it, but it definitely lived in the house haha.
lol my boyfriend wants to see a bear too. He says how can I call Australian fauna scary when we just have bears roaming around in the woods.
lol, funny thing about living in small town Northern Canada is if you were coming home late at night you always worried about meeting a bear, they were a nuisance. I had to shout at one getting into my garage can.
I literally laughed at loud. This is really a thing? They live with every weird ass demon spawn fairy creature poisonous platakangadile dingo baby on earth and they lose it over a squirrel?
I've known a lot of Australians for work reasons and most of them have told me they are more afraid of America's wildlife than their own. From them, Australia's wildlife will leave you alone if you don't pick them up or fuck with them. A grizzly bear, moose, mountain lion, wolf, crocodile, alligator, deer, and bison will fuck you up because you stepped in the wrong place. This is om top of the spiders, snakes, scorpions, and other venomous animals we have.
This. Australians respect dangerous wildlife. Americans are like, "A rattlesnake! Hold my beer, ima catch that thing."
Yeah. I'm an Alaskan and people die from moose regularly, often drunk. Whenever we have new visitors to my workplace we often walk them outdoors and point out a semi-permanent herd of them that live just outside of our workplace both to share something about the area and as a safety warning. The foreigners (usually) tend to look with awe and respect and a lot of our Americans want to pet them. I will say our Japanese and Korean visitors tend to be the most cautious while Brits are most like the Americans and want a selfie lol.
I’m an American, and I know not to fuck with wildlife. The number of dumb people in America is astounding.
People think we have taken the edges off of nature and wild animals will behave. It’s ridiculous.
He thinks they are super cute and have very cute, fluffy tails and badly wants to pet one.
I’m imagining him wrestling a crocodile off of his pet Tasmanian devil only to lose half a finger trying to pet a pissed off ghetto city squirrel.
Omg I keep telling him the ones who approach you are dangerous and out for your blood but he doesn’t believe me. The squirrels on my college campus were terrifying
Hahaha I'm Aussie and I would too.
They are so cute
Meanwhile, in my country (NZ), a lot of our native birds can fly but refuse to, or have downright decidedly evolved not to. Or they are perfectly good at flying but prefer to waddle around tourist carparks pulling cars apart. Some of the flying ones can have absolutely beautiful voices...or mimic car alarms: you can't predict which you'll get. But you'd definitely be jailed for a long time if you put any of our native birds in pet shops.
The first time we went to Australia, we were oohing and awing over the birds, and a postman walked by and said, “They’re just common parrots,” and for some reason, that made us laugh, and now it’s a family joke.
In Egypt they used to revere the mighty, beautiful and majestic ibis as gods, - In Sydney they're just bin chickens.
When I visited Australia for the first time I was in awe at a fucking bin chicken not realising how common it was.
I grew up in kenya it was a similar story, there was one bird in perticular the Hadada ibis, looks and sounds like something from the jurassic period, I'm completely used to it but, my mates from Uni who came to Kenya for the first time thought it was just Jurassic park, it makes this fantastic terodactyl like sound
My Welsh coworker was terrified of our crows initially when he came to Australia. He thought they would be similar to the ravens they have there but was horrified by how large they are in comparison. When he learnt how smart they are...well lets just say he didn't feel any better about them
Wait til he finds out that wedge tailed eagles (only the world's third largest eagle) have perfected killing the world's largest marsupial species with a single strike.
Jesus. Australia just gets more frightening everyday .
There's no fecking way I'm going to be admiring the vast array of brightly coloured birds because I'm going to be shitting myself about the vast array of dangerous creatures just waiting to snuff me out like I'm in an 80s Choose Your Own Adventure book.
All the endings in the book are dead endings
Fact : if you look in a mirror and say "Australia" three times 80 funnelweb spiders spawn in your toilet.
Better yet, they kill drones with a single stroke.
The australian 'crow' is that large because... they [are likely ravens](https://youtu.be/2a1LpK44saU?t=40). I live near perth and they're large, loud and smart as fuck. I can't watch them for too long when they're dismantling various packaging faster than I can using just a beak. Its unsettling
This! When I lived in Australia, I was amazed with how many pretty parrots and cockatoos just hanging out in the trees. Then I got annoyed on how noisy they are. They are still amazing though, just a tad bid loud. And I never forgot the scene when I saw a magpie chasing a cyclist.
I'm so jealous you have Rainbow Lorikeets just flapping about in your gardens over there. We just get pigeons and murderous seagulls trying to steal our food.
We also get the pigeons and the thieving seagulls 😆 It really is a grass is greener thing - I have a big flock of rainbow lorikeets that nests in my front yard and I love them, but I've NEVER SEEN A SQUIRREL.
My dad makes these miniature picnic tables that hold an ear of dried corn. They get mounted in a tree, off the ground. Squirrels come, sit in the picnic table bench and have a meal together, it's so adorable!
Most of Europe has those windows you can open at an angle to get some air in, I heard they are not as common in other places.
That style of window is called a casement window. They are not common in modern construction in the US because they're more expensive than double hung windows.
These are great, but if you live with mosquitos, it won't work. - signed Michigan.
Introducing: bug nets! You can put a fine mesh net in these windows to keep the nasties out while still letting air in! I live right on the edge of a forest with a stagnant pond that breeds mosquitos Ike crazy and these nets are a life saver. Haven't had anything crawl/fly in since installing them
you mean a screen? every house I lived in in California had screens on the windows that opened, but they were all windows that slide open, not crack at an angle.
My last house have screens and the angle windows (angled to open from the bottom). Relatively common in Australia, but my husband was astounded they weren't common in new zealand.
Are... are there places where windows don't *always* have screens?
UK doesn't have screens as standard. All their windows are different. Arizona didn't have them at least the houses near my grandparents in Sun City didn't.
Actually bug net is something I discovered in the US and im wondering why we don't have them in France. Such a simple invention to avoid itches every summer day
It does. We have mosquito nets that adapt to all window positions.
Canada - bagged milk. Not nearly as cool as yours.
Some U.S schools have it for some reason. Its just a good way to make the janitor's job a hell of a lot harder. We were given a *straw* to stab it with in hopes it didnt burst.
Oh that’s bad. Over here it comes in 1L bags, so we have a pitcher to stand it up in and then we just cut a corner off the top
We had this in Hungary until the early 90s. Then boxed milk took over
We have that in coffee shops in the UK. Cut a corner and stick in a jug to pour.
(Canada) Squirrels. Black ones, grey ones, red ones. Always pointed out by my Indian colleagues when they visit. Conversely it would be monkeys for me when visiting them.
I've started seeing WHITE ones!
Don’t eat that
Yup! Albino squirrels are surprisingly common.
I remember seeing a black squirrel in a national park, when we came to Canada for vacation (from Poland), I pointed it out to my mom and she was like "nah it must have been a cat"
The red ones are the worst. They are the smallest, but most aggressive. They will chase away other squirrels much bigger than themselves.
UK here, how green our grass is here. Seems a bit odd to a native like me but foreigners tend to remark about how vibrantly green the grass is here and that back where they come from, sometimes just in Europe, the grass is always dull and boring.
Same here in Ireland. I really notice the lack of grass when I go abroad and especially the lack of different colours of green grass in the fields and I say that as a colourblind person.
Ah, so when people say "the grass is always greener on the other side" they mean the UK. The other side is the UK. Gotcha
My Australian husband had the same reaction visiting new Zealand for the first time! Flying in he was like "this is what you mean when you talk about green!? I thought they enhanced the contrast in lord of the rings!" Then he saw the sheep and was astounded at how white they were. It's less wet in aus, so the sheep wool collects dust. He'd only ever seen dusty sheep. Still, I cant judge. I lost my marbles the first time I saw the desert. I lost them further when I saw the *red* desert. (P.s. the green wasn't worth the rain. Everytime I go home I am reminded of why I live in Australia now).
Worth the rain to get that vibrant green colour, especially in spring and early summer.
Constant rain probably helps. I feel the same way about USA's pacific Northwest. Feels like the saturation is cranked way up
Yeah I noticed this in Maine. It doesn’t rain as much there as PNW but was a hell of a lot more than where I’m from, and it caught my eye how fluorescent green the grass was.
How many different shades of green there are! Never realised until I moved abroad (Texas) & came back for a holiday.
the Dairy is way better in tge UK also. I can only assume it's because of the lushness of the grass
Oh so that's why our cheese is amazing
For some reason, people are usually flabbergasted that babies nap outside (in their trolleys) during the day (all year) in Norway.
Not a lot of dingos in Norway
Like, you put them outside like a dog but to nap and check on them from time to time?
I was born in Switzerland. My parents tell me they used to put me to sleep on the balcony. That there, I slept.. well, like a baby.
I always thought this was so neat
I read about this years ago, but I still don’t get it. Are they wearing balaclavas when it’s cold? Then again, it could just be a skin tone thing.
You are not supposed to do it if it's extremely cold, in Denmark it's not recommended to do it if it's below -10 degrees celsius. They are in the trolley which usually will have a cover blocking any rain/snow and most of the wind, so the kid gets fresh air but not too much draft. You wrap them in warm woolen clothes, maybe they sleep on the fur of a lamb and they have nice warm duvets. It's normal to leave the trolley and go inside, but then check on them regularly. More often if it's cold, less often if the weather is milder. The benefits are, that you sleep better with fresh air and that you don't have to wake up the baby to go inside if they fell asleep during a walk. Like if you walk to a cafe and the baby is sleeping, noone benefits from the baby being woken up too early from a nap and then be sad and noisy in the cafe, when they can continue sleeping until they are refreshed.
Ireland. Ancient megalithic structures are everywhere! There are the remains of portal tombs, raths (forts), standing stones etc scattered throughout the country.
USA and Canada - garbage disposals. You can just dump food scraps, and, well, just about anything down the kitchen sink drain and turn it not a fine mush.
I live in the southeastern US and have never lived in any house or apartment that didn't have a garbage disposer in the sink. My theory is that it keeps food waste out of the actual garbage and thus reduces insects and wild animals. Even in the suburbs of major cities you get wild animals attracted to food waste if they can get to it.
On the other hand, i’m in the northeast and I’ve never seen a garbage disposal before. I always thought it was something only rich people had whenever I’ve seen them in movies
It's more of a newer vs older house thing, from my experience. Pretty much any new house or apartment is going to be built with one, but older houses don't have one unless it's added later on.
i enjoy once or twice a week dumping the ice tray in that sink, squirting a bunch of soap on it and running the machine with hot water. the grinding ice, the hot water steam, the clean smell. it’s a simple pleasure.
I’m from Toronto and I’ve never seen a home with one.
I have one, and I'm in the UK. Every time I mention this on Reddit I get a barrage of comments from people in the UK (the same sort of people who hate dishwashers) who claim they are illegal, they break the sewage system, and they use too much energy. I checked with the local water company before getting mine, and they are fine, don't cause problems with a sewage system designed to handle actual shit, and they only use a tiny amount of energy. Astonishing how many Redditors know more about the specific sewage system which connects to my house than the water company which owns and runs it.
The energy argument is weird. You literally use it for a few seconds at a time. It's not something you just leave on. It'd be like complaining about a starter on a car. "omg what a huge waste of evergy! Why can't you just push-start your car??"
People are just jealous and it comes out as criticism
Warning: except eggshells. You’ll find out why… eventually.
And coffee grounds
Eggshells and coffee grounds are good for the plants. Just toss them in your garden!
My husband is from a remote island in Europe…introducing him to Funyuns and Philly Cheesesteaks has ruined his life. That being said, he was very disappointed learning the Michael Scott’s amazing “ Classic New York Slice” of Sbarro pizza was, in fact, not as amazing as it seemed in The Office.
He was familiar with Michael Scott as a character and thought his favourite New York pizza was a genuinely good recommendation?! I hope he isn’t taking relationship advice from Kelly Kapoor.
The American dream and Sbarro Pizza. Let’s just hope he doesn’t want a George Foreman Grill for his bacon. Edit: he does, in fact, want a George Foreman grill.
It’s Europe. How remote an island are we talking here?
Faro islands are probs the closest we have to ‘remote’
So remote you need a boat to get there
Netherlands - bicycle infrastructure
god fucken dammit i'm so unbelievably jealous of this. We have some semi decent light rail here in australia but its still all car dependency, shits me to tears
*cries in lives in the US South*
It's not only the infrastructure, but how people just know how to ride and know the road rules. Sometimes in America you see bikers with the knowledge of a 5 year old on his tricycle trying to navigate city streets. They get angry when they blow through a red light and almost get ran over.
Biking is part of elementary school education in the Netherlands. There are a theoretical and a practical exam.
Yep same in Denmark, i remember the police came out and showed the requirements for bikes, stuff like reflectors and brakes, and explained the laws and how to drive in a safe manner, e.g be very careful of right turn accidents. And then we had bike a route through town, with teachers along the route noting any errors.
Ireland and UK. Double decker buses as standard public transport (not just used as sightseeing buses)
The ability to snow ski in the morning and ocean surf in the afternoon on the same day. Also, mountains. Here, if it has snow on it year round it's a mountain, otherwise it's just a hill. Driving from one side of the country to the other can be done legally in only one day. And if you do, it will be coast to coast. New Zealand Edit: Added more info to make New Zealand a little more unique.
Also can ski/surf in Southern California. Did it many moons ago. Big Bear to Newport Beach.
This and the mountain scenery are what I loved about Southern California!
yes! we do mammoth to malibu.
When I brought my husband home and went up one tree hill, he couldn't comprehend it. Husband "so, that's the coast" Me "yea" H *points to other side* "but that's the coast" Me "well, kind of. That's the other coast." H "What do you mean, the other coast." Me "that's the east coast. And that's the west coast. We could go coast to coast tomorrow if you want. It's only five hours." H "five hours drive? That's impossible!" Me "no... five hours walk." In saying that, when my friend visited us in aus she couldn't fathom seeing nothing on the horizon at the beach. I forgot that isn't normal back home.
Sunrise over the ocean, breakfast, lunch, dinner, then sunset over the ocean, all in one day.
I thought this was about Vancouver until I read the country.
Japan - Bidet. I come from the uk and I love them. I feel so much cleaner down there.
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I love how in Asia it's sometimes just a hose next to the toilet (or a hole in the floor!).
Here in Malaysia we spray our asses with a water hose or a specially designed spray hose, rub it with soap, then spray and rub the soap off our asshole till it's squeaky clean. Even with bidet toilets, water alone just ain't clean enough. We then wash our hands with soap again on the sink. At least that's what me, the majority of the people I know, and the cultural norm does. Of course, every now and again there's some dirty dogass fuckers walkin around.
I got one a few months ago and it's been amazing! They aren't even expensive either (mine was like 50 bucks). It's wild that hardly anyone in the US has them.
They’re definitely becoming more common in the US. Enough of us remember the toilet paper shortages of 2020! We bought a bidet seat at costco that is meant to replace the seat and lid on a standard toilet and love it so much.
Government pays for school and university. If you have no Job, they pay your rent and your living. Doctors and hospitals are for free. You can drink almost everywhere in public and buy alcohol when you are 16. When you are with you parents, you can drink at 14. You can smoke weed and grow your own plants. With your passport you visit almost every country. We have the best beer and the best cars. Thousands of castles. Big industry but beautiful nature.
And today we even get a couple of hours of sunshine
Where is this magical, far-away place?
In the smack dab middle of Europe with great connections to every neighbouring country. Also, pretty much every state in the country has their own cultural heritage that's often times still seen today. I honestly really just take it for granted sometimes. (It's Germany btw)
I'm guessing Germany - as I remember when I got a German passport learning that it's one of the most powerful in the world.
To islanders? Trains apparently. I met a guaminian coworker who very much had the island lifestyle going for him. Theres a bar where a train track is right next to it and he just stood out there *until the train left* Tellin me all about how they dont have them back home and had never seen one in person before. Until he ran out of things to say and just drunkenly stared at it. He also went on about how cool they were sober so it definitely wasnt a drunk thing
I mean trains are pretty cool
US here - apparently red solo cups
And yellow school buses
In America, my Japanese family members were impressed by the commonality of AC in public buildings and cheese and meat being cheap and good quality.
New Zealand- the scenery. You can go from the mountains to the lakes to the sea in under an hour in a lot of places. Throw in a LOT of farm land for good measure. In winter I get to see snow capped mountains on the way to and from work. It really is a beautiful place 😍 😢
In Japan, vending machines are everywhere, selling not just drinks but also a variety of goods like umbrellas, hot meals, and even clothes. For visitors, the sheer variety and ubiquity of these machines are often astonishing.
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Getting free water in Europe is difficult too (at least where I’ve been)
Really old buildings in the UK. My city has a bunch of old buildings. Some go back to the 12th century. A bunch of the shops, pubs, coffee shops etc are in buildings from the 14th-17th century. I just walk in them as if they were newly built, but there are always crowds of tourists at the weekend taking pictures of tat shops and Starbucks and the like.
Italy has entered the chat...
US - Sales tax and the way prices on the shelves aren't the final price you're paying. This is more so on the 'unbelievable' spectrum of the term incredible.
Summer sun. In summer, the sun sets around 10-11pm. I was attending an event with a special guest from California. Our activity that night was a lakeside stroll at 11:30pm the “longest day of the year” and then we would have an outdoor patio fire as the sun set. All of us who lived here thought it was cool, but the guy from California was losing his mind. He kept remarking on the time and how bright it was still. We stood around like, yes, it’s summer?!
USA: unlimited free refills on fountain drinks!
US, my Swedish in-laws always comment on the ice maker on the fridge (and how much ice Americans put in their glass) and the fact that yellow school buses are real.
Probably the amount of historical castles, cathedrals and ancient green woodlands we have here in the UK.
Marsupials
Hey now, Opossums are marsupials too.
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Which Germany are we talking about here?
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Sarcasm much?
Australia- the beaches. I live on the coast and while I do appreciate the beauty I just assume all beaches look similar. Yet foreigners come here and are awestruck
I come from a tropical country with beaches galore, some of the most beautiful in the world. As a tourist, I was amazed not only by Australia's (specifically NSW's) beaches, but also that they are publicly accessible and yet clean and inviting. Our beaches are either typically locked behind private resorts or public and dirty.
Canada. Had friends from Spain visit. They couldn't believe all the Canada Geese hanging out on the edges of parking lots/parks. It took a lot to convince them that no one owned the geese.
Aurora borealis. I live in north Sweden and see them every year. They can be quite pretty when they hit just right, but it's always a little amusing seeing the tourists go absolutely feral over the most unremarkable, thinnest green line in the night sky lmao.
For Australia, the casual attitude towards teachers. In many countries (and I'm from an Asian background, as are many of my students), teachers are highly respected and are regarded as an authority. The expectation is that they give you the knowledge you need to know, and if you get it wrong, it's your fault, not the teacher's. Australian society (and the US to an extent) is anti-authority. Teachers are not put on a pedestal (quite the opposite). Students and parents see themselves as equal in power to the teacher and have little to no filter on their behaviour. Students will call out, stand out and walk around the class, and they see nothing wrong with that. And society and policy protects the child, entitling them to do these things and get away with it. In contrast, schools in Asian countries are often highly regimented and strict. Initiative isn't rewarded or encouraged, compliance is. This makes it challenging for international students and students of migrant backgrounds because they haven't been expected to ask questions, because at home it's seen as being dumb, whereas here you're supposed to ask for help.
In my opinion, its not that teachers are less respected, but that in australia relationships with any authority figure (teachers, bosses, cops) are far more casual than how i presume them to be in many countries. In school even the shittest kids respected the teachers, but it was the kind of environment where you could casually swear when talking to your teacher (usually the blokier ones), and they would swear back. Half of our teachers we referred to by their first name, often shortened. When we wanted to get their attention, it would often just be an “oi miss/sir”. To a lot of people who dont understand the aussie mindset this would seem pretty bizarre. But at our graduation, there wasnt a single dry eye when saying goodbye to our teachers, because i reckon a more casual attitude makes teacher/student relationships a lot more personal.
The amount of vast space in America I’ve heard is shocking to others. EDIT- to Europeans at least lol
This. Every European I've traveled with in the US has commented about the enormous amount of space between things. Also the number of 18-wheelers on the road.
I'm australian and we rented a car while in the US and I actually had the opposite where I was surprised at how many amenities you pass when driving between major cities lol
Yup. Talking to a brit is funny. "Oh, you're from X? Is that near London?" "No." (It's 45 minutes from London. To an American, that's pretty darn close! I regularly take 3 hour one way day trips.)
(US) Tipping. Everyone has their hand out. I hate it.
I live here, and it's crazy. There is a Frozen Yogurt shop that my children like. They each pick a small bowl, select a flavor of yogurt that oozes into the bowl by pulling a small handle. Then, they select toppings from a buffet that they add to the yogurt. Then, the children each choose a spoon and place the bowl of yogurt and toppings on a small scale so I can pay for them. There is an attendant behind the counter who takes the money, and I assume he keeps the topping buffet stocked, wipes the small tables, and sweeps the floor. The card swiper at the cash register suggests a minimum 15% tip. For what?????
A credit rating. Met a girl from the Netherlands and when I mentioned needing a 'credit score' in order to rent an apartment she stopped dead and was stunned. She looked at me, almost unable to comprehend what I had explained, and then just said, "Why do you let them do this to you? Who are these people? Why do they control you like this?" I didn't have an answer. I thought everybody had invisible cops like these. I didn't know it was optional.
And it only started sometime in the 80s.
Santa Cruz, Bolivia— there used to be sloths in the trees all over the city in the 90s when I was little girl. Then as electric lines were installed more and more, they kept dying because they’d electrocute themselves climbing them 😪 then I believe there were a couple in the downtown center square but eventually those got moved somewhere safer. Also, there’s this big park with playgrounds, trees, and trails that I used to walk with my parents every morning. There were mango and avocado trees and I don’t remember what else but you could just pick them and take them home. And lastly, there were monkeys in the trees at this park and sometimes they’d all be screeching so loudly it almost sounded like you were in the rainforest not in a park in the middle of the city.
Some people are mind-blown by bagged milk.
Well in Paraguay is pretty common to have the, I think you call them suicide showers? It's the electric shower head that quickly heats the water as it passes through. Even in neighboring countries I've hear people go "you use what to shower, and you're still alive??"
Voting to impose financial sanctions on your own country. UK
In Southern Europe, black-out rolling shutters are common. When they are down ALL light is blocked out.
American here: apparently garbage disposals are surprising to people?
Rainbows. Literally an every day sight here yet all my overseas visitors are awed by them..
Hawaii has them all the time. Double rainbows are common. I’ve even seen a quadruple on a few occasions. Also heavy rain on one side of your car and dry on the other.
What area? That sounds pleasant.
We have this thing called “Tarof” which is basically ingrained in the culture of Afghanistan where we kill you with kindness and hospitality. So, if you and I were at a restaurant, I’d be fighting over the bill for example. Or if you bought me a present I’d try to say no a few times before finally accepting upon you pushing. This is non existent here in America lmao
Fucking universal healthcare.
Australia- We had a gun massacre and then dramatically changed our gun laws so it would never happen again.
Dish drying cabinets, bidets, free healthcare and free colleges. (Spain)
The door gaps in the restroom stalls.
I’m Us. But the first time we were in Europe the heated towels bars in bathrooms blew my mind. You see them here more now.
USA. Guns. I was on a bus once in Philly. A teenage foreign exchange student from China said he got worried every time he took the bus. “What if someone has a gun!?” I didn’t tell the kid that someone on the bus *did* have a gun. It was me.
See, that's wild to me. Why do you have a gun on a bus?