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

What! UK bathrooms have no sockets? Really?
That explains a lot of movies. (We've got F-breakers for bathroom sockets.)

@prettypebbles so true! It's amazing what is regulated and how in different countries. I'm always amazed that I can buy ibuprofen by the hundreds (literally) in Canada and marijuana, but can't buy booze in corner stores in certain provinces.

Re: US Sales Tax - it is far more complicated than changing by State. It can change even within a County. E.G. I lived in Cook County but just outside Chicago. In Chicago (within walking distance of my apartment) you had to pay Sales Tax on furniture rental and double sales tax on sugary drinks, neither of which applied in my "town".
I also owned a kettle - but it took longer to boil - I bought mine from Woolworths. Finding decent tea bags was harder.

@Nannewnannew I totally agree! I remember visiting the states on several occasions and being shocked at how clean it all was!

Who are these disgusting litterbugs in the U.K.!!!?

I want to know why France seems to close down so early. Trying to get a restaurant after 9pm is impossible yet in Spain people are arriving at packed restaurants with children at 10.30pm.

On American make over shows the kitchens look like they are out of the 80’s.

England - the customs around funerals. Why do they seem to take so long? Why do people angst over whether they should or shouldn't go?

Tbf I feel like MN could be warping my understanding of English funerals but the above is so alien to me.

I recently watched a documentary about child development where a 3 year old was sent out on his own to buy sushi in downtown Tokyo. He had to walk a far distance, maybe half a mile crossing busy roads going in a dark underpass and over a level crossing. Apparently it’s part of a ritual called ‘First Errand’ which establishes feeling of confidence and independence in the child. How on earth though can parents bear to do this? Even if the child can cross roads competently at this age there is no way to stop the child being abducted if they were unlucky enough to meet the right person. Is Japan so much safer than london? I’d worry about my 8 year old doing that trip tbh.

Also there’s a Buddhist tradition where babies get yelled at by sumo wrestlers to make them cry- it brings luck apparently 😳

I loathe washing up bowls but I agree that they're mainly a hangover from when people only had single sinks

Most people I know still only have one sink. Even in newly fitted kitchens people often choose those traditional Belfast/butler sink styles.

if someone hands you a cup with liquid still in it while you are washing you either leave it until the next wash, or tip the liquid out somewhere else.

That’s not what it’s for tho, it’s for 2 reasons. 1) rinsing while you are washing. So you have a basin of soapy water, wash dish, then rinse suds off down the side of the basin from the tap, then put on drainer. 2) much less water used so better for the environment. Filling a butler sink is a massive waste of water for a few dishes.

I don’t know why people find this so baffling or disgusting.

@prettypebbles God yes! I lived in Japan for a couple of years, and would sooner poke myself in the eye than jaywalk, so conditioned am I.

My friends think I'm odd (let's not get started on what my mother thinks of the bum gun I had installed on my conventional Western toilet. One day, I will be able to afford a fancy Japanese one).

I would love a bidet, but bathroom is too small. They are great for washing feet in, too. Why can't you buy disinfectant liquids (Dettol, Savlon etc.) in France?

@Bookridden

Is it true that Americans don't have kettles?

No it isn't, on sale in most places like Target, Walmart.

America:

That so many people are opposed to free healthcare even though it would manifestly improve their lives in almost all cases

That most people don’t have kettles, and make hot drinks in the microwave 😱

That portions are so huge. I’m a greedy person, but portions in most restaurants seem explicitly designed to be more than a person could reasonably eat in one sitting.

In a similar vein, why are the cups so big?

UK is so over populated and land is expensive plus builders want to squeeze as many houses in as possible

All the more reason why UK houses should have basements! Make maximum use of the space available.
And they should have screen windows too. Just because we don't have particularly hot summers, it doesn't mean we don't have flies. And moths, daddy-longlegs, beetles, wasps etc. It would be nice to open a window without having to let the local wildlife in.

@QueenOfLabradors

Youngest sister is an expat in the US. Don't get me started about the saga of trying to find an electric kettle for her English Breakfast Tea that is compatible with their electricity supply.

This is why many Americans make tea in the microwave. And always that shite Liptons crap that tastes like piss.

@PerseverancePays

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 !

1. Because the land the house is built on costs more than the house itself so they cram as many houses into the land as possible. Hence minimal space for loads of cupboards.

1. Because it rains a lot here and the basements would fill up with water.

We used to live overlooking a beach so Xmas for us would be a fishing trip, then swimming and a bbq unless we'd seen sting rays or sharks in the bay, that wasn't often though.

@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?

German friends like to examine their efforts before flushing it away.

Couple of answers to the USA queries - sales tax is by state so varies, retailers mark items for the whole country not by state so don't include the tax.

Americans tend to use hob kettles because electricity is only 110v and an electric kettle takes ages to boil thus - I took a dual voltage travel kettle when I moved there as exh hadn't been able to find any (he went ahead) and gave up on it after one day.

Japan: the working culture! Specifically working long hours and never leaving early. The social pressure to remain at your desk while the boss is still there baffles me.

@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!

I know that the reason is because of different tax rates but with the advent of electronics it can't be so hard for different rates to be programmed in different states. I think the practice dates back to prices on sticky labels.

I think most medical professionals would agree there are a lot of benefits to be derived from regularly getting up close and personal with your movements, as it were.

Clever Germans. Vorsprung durch Technik, and all that.

There are very, very many reasons that people own guns in America. Please take it as stipulated that I think guns ought to be significantly more controlled than they currently are, and that many types of guns should be outlawed entirely, but, here are some of the key reasons:

1. Libertarianism. The idea that the government shouldn't get to tell law-abiding citizens what to do. They think access to weapons is a kind of civil right and prohibition is government over-reach. They believe any crime committed with a gun should be prosecuted, but owning a gun shouldn't be.

1. Personal protection. Common phrase: "If guns are outlawed, only criminals will have guns." In some places, and more than you might think, there is a light police presence and personal protection is far more individual than in the UK. However, this is still a common belief in, say, a reasonably policed suburb.

1. Hunting/sport. The former includes people who actually hunt animals; the latter people who just enjoy shooting guns.

1. Anti-governmentalism. This is a more radical extension of #1, and is the idea that government shouldn't have control of all hard power. This is of course obviated by the existence of, say, tanks and helicopters, but you are where you are.

1. General cultural affinity. Long heritage of guns and gun-ownership.

--
As for kettles, yes, it's about the voltage. Also, coffee not tea is the typical hot drink of choice, and most people have a coffee maker.

As for sales tax, yup, about the localities (not even state-to-state--sometimes town line to town line).

As for ovens...I don't know? I think ovens are pretty straight-forward here, even high-tech. They're often a different aesthetic (more country kitchen, much less Scandi), but they're just as advanced as most British stoves/ovens, if not more so.

@MrsKoala Ah, you see I've never lived in a house without a double or 1.5 sink, so that's why washing up bowls are anathema to me. And I do totally see why you'd have one if you have a huge single sink which needs lots of water to fill (these incidentally strike me as very attractive but not very practical, for this very reason). I have a standard sized sink with a second half sink next to it, so no need for a washing up bowl (and I don't have a dishwasher, so I'm never washing up only a couple of things).

@BlueThistles True ! 🤣

but the shows I'm talking about are the 2 brothers one, where one does up the house, one takes the couple round other houses to buy.