Things that baffle you about another country

[Soubriquet]

America:-

Why are the gaps in the toilet doors so wide? Do you really enjoy an audience?

Why can’t tax be included in the price? If I want to buy something for a dollar it should be a dollar! Not dollar plus tax!

Australia:-

Still weird that you have Christmas in summer.

Wonder if they have different Christmas songs there.

Can’t see walking in a winter land being a big hit.

More like hiding from a hot heatwave

Air con in American restaurants set at 16 degrees in the Summer . If I ate in a Uk restaurant that cold I would complain and ask them to put the heat on.

@BaliB1 we did have to recite the Pledge of Allegiance (with our hands over our hearts) every morning at primary school!
@Harrykanesrightsock I quite agree, restaurants (and offices) are always freezing in summer.

I remember learning this carol in Australia wadechambers.medium.com/an-australian-carol-for-christmas-day-4f9b4f1babfa . I’ve got various wonderfully tacky decorations with galahs in Santa hats and Santa in shorts and Hawaiian shirts.
My dd is currently living in Holland and discovered that if they say 2.30 they mean 1.30. So rather than half past the hour they mean half TO the hour. Good thing she’s not had a date at half past the hour!

Have been to Germany several times in the last decade: never seen a toilet with a shelf

@SiliconHeaven

The German poo shelf is so they can check for worms. They have a habit of eating raw meat and therefore get them a lot

So what, they place their shit on a shelf so they can inspect it for worms?

To the UK (or, in fairness, Mumsnetters)

What's with the pride at having a dirty house and only washing your bedding and cleaning your bog about once a fortnight?

Would you get a bit of loo roll and wipe poo off your arm/knee/face and think that was adequate? Hopefully not, so why do you find bidets so hilarious?

Why do you think the sky will fall in if your child isn't in bed by 6pm and has had 4 naps?

Why are houses in England built with so little cupboard space, and no cupboard by the front door for coats and shoes? Drives me mad.
When we used to go to the States everyone had a basement the same size as the footprint of their house. That would make such a Difference to our poky little houses !

@ChangeyNameyTimey

Italy

• Why are you so bad at saying foreign names? Making up a fake name / word for every foreigner you know is not cute and funny.

Sweden

• Why do you so strongly oppose any kind of parenting? Adults should make decisions for their children and parents having at least some control of their children is a good thing.

Germany

• Why does your toilet have a shelf?

Italians are bad at saying foreign names?

Yes, because Brits are known all over the world for their prowess at learning foreign languages. (ie they go for the "if in doubt shout" approach.)

Why do you think the sky will fall in if your child isn't in bed by 6pm and has had 4 naps?

I can only speak for myself (and we're not very efficient here, so it's usually 8pm not 6pm), but I enjoy my occasional glass of wine and accompanying crisps so much more if my toddler isn't climbing over me and knocking over the former in a desperate attempt to steal the latter.

@AwaAnBileYerHeid
www.toiletten-tipp.de/tiefspueler-oder-flachspueler

There are two different types of toilet - the old variety went out in the 1990 (GPs regrett this).
Greetings from a worm ridden raw meat eater

France: putting change in a dish on the counter rather than in your hand so you have to scrape it up coin by coin. I assume they think it's more hygienic or something but they still take the money off you in the first place so what's the difference?

@Baycob

Poland - houses/ apartments are advertised by the number of rooms not bedrooms and lots of people use their living room as a bedroom.

Denmark - people leaving their babies outside on the street in pushchairs while they eat inside a restaurant.

I have heard that the idea is that leaving babies out in the cold for a while is supposed to make them hardy and healthy.

Lots of European countries start celebrating Christmas on 24 Dec. It's an entirely separate Christmas Eve celebration, Christmas Day is still 25th December, OP. There are different traditional activities on the 24th and on the 25th.

@HollyGoLoudly1

Oh I know the answer to the American sales tax thing! Also annoyed me and I asked an American friend. Apparently sales tax is set at a state level so companies can't just set a price for the whole country and put a price tag on things. The price is the price, then each state adds it's own tax. Compared to the UK where VAT is the same everywhere, so included in the price.

That's what I've been told anyway and made sense to me, hope it's correct!

This is true. And trues in Canada too all provinces have different sales tax rates.

@prawncocktailpringles

We use the dish too - cheating is more difficult when the money is out in the open. I was ordered to do it that way by my boss. And you avoid accidentally touching the person you are dealing with.

Spain - Having, as an essential figure of a Nativity scene, a man squatting down in the corner and curling out a turd.

The German poo shelf is so they can check for worms. They have a habit of eating raw meat and therefore get them a lot

Japan - Why is your age of consent 13?

@SiliconHeaven

The German poo shelf is so they can check for worms. They have a habit of eating raw meat and therefore get them a lot

Pahaha - those toilets are OLD. No new toilet has that anymore.

Raw meat, yep everyone has it on their roll and they love it.

Things that baffle me since I've lived here for so long: free childcare from the age of 1!!

Italy - why is there nowhere to sit down in Rome? No benches anywhere. I saw an elderly woman being ordered to her feet by an armed guard while sitting on some steps of a museum building. Even the cafes have limited seating with an extra charge with most people standing around eating.

I’m from the UK and hate washing up bowls too.

I'm obsessed with the washing bowl. I would love someone to explain how it is actually used and better than just the sink. Really not being goady, I don't get it. Also it was a huge shock moving here and having the washing machine and tumble dryer (if lucky) in the kitchen!

Can't understand that in many countries you can buy anti biotics freely in pharmacies, despite all the problems associated with over use and medication resistance

So much xenophobia on this thread, my goodness.

On America and guns: I know Europeans always struggle to understand just how vast and truly wild America it's because Europe is so densely populated and built out that it's hard for Europeans to imagine living anywhere you might actually need a gun for survival due to wildlife threats and being too remote to receive police assistance. There are many places in the U.S. where there are bears, elk, mountain lions, wolves etc. that can and will kill you on your property if you don't have a gun to defend yourself. Why guns? Because that was the history of life on the frontier, which was many Americans until fairly recently. Just because it's not a reality in Europe doesn't mean it's no longer a reality in other countries. Do some reading.

@StepOutOfLine

To the UK (or, in fairness, Mumsnetters)

What's with the pride at having a dirty house and only washing your bedding and cleaning your bog about once a fortnight?

Would you get a bit of loo roll and wipe poo off your arm/knee/face and think that was adequate? Hopefully not, so why do you find bidets so hilarious?

Why do you think the sky will fall in if your child isn't in bed by 6pm and has had 4 naps?

I think the U.K. bed time is also linked to weather. In hotter countries it’s too hot for kids to run around during the day, so are out playing latter. Obviously in U.K. this is not the case, even in the summer our evenings get chilly and it’s not that common that we have weeks on end of hot weather like you would say in Spain or Italy.

I also wonder if it’s linked to the fact that our kids start school younger. Surely it makes sense that a 4 or 5 year old needs to be in bed early if they have to be at school for 8.30?

Yep all those people defending themselves from wildlife in the city’s of America

@Highfalutinlootin

So much xenophobia on this thread, my goodness.

On America and guns: I know Europeans always struggle to understand just how vast and truly wild America it's because Europe is so densely populated and built out that it's hard for Europeans to imagine living anywhere you might actually need a gun for survival due to wildlife threats and being too remote to receive police assistance. There are many places in the U.S. where there are bears, elk, mountain lions, wolves etc. that can and will kill you on your property if you don't have a gun to defend yourself. Why guns? Because that was the history of life on the frontier, which was many Americans until fairly recently. Just because it's not a reality in Europe doesn't mean it's no longer a reality in other countries. Do some reading.

Oh please. Why aren't their the same issues with gun violence in Canada then.