To ask overseas folk what British quirks they think are weird/funny?

[Burntmybiscuits]

Us Brits are always on our high horse, making light humour over the habits of other countries (particularly the U.S!), so I thought it would be funny to see what people overseas find 'unique' about us!

That is absolutely disgusting and revolting and will spread salmonella everywhere. Your food hygiene is non existent
I wash chicken too, so does the rest of my family?
Obviously you have to keep the chicken low to avoid splashes and keep it contained low in the sink. We’ve never had any illness from it
I thought everyone washed chicken!

PenoPencil

We had windows like that in our military quarter. If you were a bit heavy handed you could unleash the whole window

I first heard of Dinner for One from my German friends. Apparently it is a New Years Eve tradition to watch it every year in Germany. I have now watched it with said friends on a number of NY Eves and it is very funny. I'd recommend it.

I had a French pen pal in the 80s, we met up years later he said back then they called the English 'Roast Beef' as we eat it all the time. They also think we have very strange food habits particularly gravy on ice cream 😂

I wash chicken as well just have to be really careful and spray the sink and the surrounding worktop. No biggie! Never had any issues from it

The loquacious Northerner is a character based in solid truth DailyMail.

We will talk to anyone with a head, and in any situation - public transport, shop queues, doctors' waiting rooms etc etc etc .

It is very common for two strangers , say on a bus, to start up a conversation - often about very personal and intimate matters eg "lady problems" and for someone three seats behind to lean forward and put their two penn'orth in, causing someone on the opposite side to offer their experiences, too.

By the time you get off the bus everyone and his dog will be offering their opinion of the best treatment ("Rub it with the cut edge of half a raw potato"), and describing what happened to their Noreen when she went to the doctor's with it ("Eeeee - it were like summat off American Horror Story - the doctor had never seen anything like it.").

A good time is had by all.

Oh, one more.

Do not find all the beige food on the Sunday roast plate appetising at all. And as someone who dislikes sauces, there is just too much gravy.

Paying for fuel after you have put it in your car. In the USA you pay first
There are very few places in the US where we have paid first for fuel. Sometimes we have done that at night in the US when buying fuel.

@LivinginSilves I’m a chef and yes it is more risky to wash it but in my own kitchen where I’m in control and know that I’ve cleaned everything properly? I’ll take the risk

@NotEverythingIsBlackandwhite I've never ever bought fuel in the states without paying first.

1. Weddings for two reasons - Evening / afters invites and cash bars... we pare down the guest list to afford to supply the number of people invited
2. Washing machine in the kitchen. I know space is limited in most homes, but why not have it in the bathroom at least?
3. toasted sandwich - toasting the bread then adding the filling?
4. The missing ‘snip’ on the petrol bowser.. so you don’t have to stand there pressing down to confine the flow of petrol. If my tank is empty, I end up getting cramp in my hand.
5. cooking with gas... for me, that’s for cooking BBQs with. We’ve even changed over to an induction hob. (But I do like gas heating!)

I always thought the point of a washing up bowl was twofold. In the absence of mixer taps you can get the water to an ok temperature. And when youve finished washing you can rinse to the side of the bowl in clean water.

My canadian friend couldnt understand jacket potatoes with filling. The filling is the potato she said. I respectfully disagreed.

My danish in laws thought it was odd that we didnt carry my dads coffin at his funeral. And they thought our wedding was very short because there were no dreary songs that have 16 verses between each course in addition to crap entertainment

Poor grammar being so commonplace and accepted.

"Would of"
Your/you're
No punctuation on signs

YY to the cards, I didn't know this until joining MN actually. I appreciate being enlightened on the subject, helps me understand English relatives. On a similar note - all the x:s in texts and letters. I think it's bizarre, I honestly find it hard to judge the tone of them.

One thing I find amusing is that the British (at least the English, there is, I think, some differences between the different parts of the UK on this but I'm not sure) often talk loudly about their sense of humour, diffidence, stoicism in the face of adversity, ability to take the piss out of themselves and each other etc. On this very thread there are already people ready to take offence and just have a quick browse on MN to see how "brit-bashing" threads normally go . But the self-image of a relaxed, self-deprecating people remains!

there is just too much gravy.

There is NEVER too much gravy.

Going out half-naked in the middle of the winter. I'm from a cold country, but nobody would try that. When it's chilly you wear a jacket. All pubs and clubs have cloak rooms though.

The prudishness. Like today's thread where people think it's really weird to get naked and actually wash themselves before going for a swim in a public pool. In Scandi countries you would have big signs up everywhere telling you that you need to wash yourself, properly, not with your swimsuit on.

SAHMs and part time working. It is normal and expected that after having children, the dad will carry on as before, whle mum gets a little part time school hours job only, to do all the childcare and housework. In my culture both parents would share the burden, and SAHMs are very rare. And shools are operating with the assumption that both parents are working, not that there's one available at any time.

Oh and my danish girl guide colleague thinks its strange that we have whole shops devoted to greeting cards and wrapping paper.

Why do you wash chicken? Do you wash all other meats too?

Surely if you cook your chicken, bacteria will be killed, washing it first will spread them no matter how carefully you are. But why please?

The classics
Birthday cake wrapped in napkins
Two-tiers of wedding guests (we don’t invite every co-worker or distant acquaintance, but everyone invited gets a nice meal)
Washing up bowls (never lived in a home
That didn’t have two sinks side by side in the kitchen)
Rounds (who could possibly drink that much)

School uniforms (generally only done at impoverished schools here)
Tea rounds at work (everyone gets their own here and most office kitchens have a high heat tap that provides perfect temperature water instantly)
Holidays with people you aren’t incredibly close with
The obsession with sun. (We covet shade and pile on the spf, but it is much brighter and hotter here.)

I don’t know anyone who washes their pots in the sink anymore, straight in the dishwasher.
I had a friend from an Asian background and she gipped when I offered her a banana sandwich.

Cards... Why do you love them so much. My office signs a card for each birthday and weddings, babies etc etc. We are over 30 people in the office so nearly once a week I sign a card. Everyone knows it's coming. Why why why.

Taps...why separate hot and cold.

Never saying what you mean directly. I spend so much energy trying to figure out what people are saying.

Have been living in the UK 5 years now.

Re Washing Machines in Bathrooms.
Building regulations prevent there being a power point in the bathroom.

That's not true, they just need to be 3 meters away from zone 1.

Let's not forget the land. Every little bit is fenced off. Where I am from we can roam (obviously within reason). We can go to forests even if they are privately owned, pick mushrooms and fruit and enjoy the nature. Same with wild (unused) fields.

@StrictlyAFemaleFemale your Danish friend would be amazed that in Thailand they have shops just devoted to gift wrap. No cards, just boxes of a myriad shapes, sizes and colours and papers and trims to jazz them up for any conceivable event. I marvelled at this and was told that Japanese gift wrap stores are even more amazing.

Here’s some of the things my US in- laws have commented on that they found odd-

Doing ‘rounds’ when out for drinks
Eating beans with toast - beans are supposed to be a side not a meal!
Boiled eggs eaten in egg cups with soldiers
No sockets in the bathrooms for hairdryers etc
Thanking bus drivers
Getting the bus at all rather than driving
It being perfectly acceptable to have one bathroom in a house.
No ad breaks on BBC, MIL misses ads apparently!
Oh and our tv news is too serious and boring!