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!

@Nighttimefreedom - where I live schools start and finish much earlier.
Usually primary school is around 7.45-11.30am, and secondary until maybe 12.30/1pm latest.
It means everyone eats lunch at home. Then the afternoons can be for actually doing something. It makes sense as in winter it gets dark early so time to get outside before then, and summer its nice weather so people head straight from school to swim/bbq/ sports etc.

School doesn't start until 6 years, so most 6+ year olds don't take a nap. Bedtime would be 8/9pm-6.30am on average, so 9-10hrs per night.
Kindergarten 3-6 years is usually only mornings so children can nap at home, but those at all day childcare would be encouraged to nap after lunch.

We always eat the cake at the party .. never knew it goes home in the party bags!! Starting to feel like a foreigner!

I wonder if this is one reason retail is having such a uniquely difficult time in the UK? Consumer behaviour patterns driven not just by the availability of online shopping but by the unavailability of bricks and mortar retail at a convenient time?

It would make sense why high street shops are closing. If you’re closing earlier than what the majority of your consumers need, they will be more likely to get it online. There are very few people I know who want to fight or deal with the crowds on the weekends.

Honestly the idea of ‘British’ quirks is a nonsense in itself. Most of these alleged British traits are white middle class English stereotypes, rooted firmly in about 1975. It fundamentally misunderstands the UK of GB & NI, and how different the constituent countries and regions are!
This thread should be re-named, 90% of the contributions are what are the outdated stereotypes about Britain that other countries hold.

And there it is. Class🤷🏻

It can't be that outdated if it's current experiences 😂

@JassyRadlett I think it's more to do with the pattern of densely populated residential suburbs/towns and commercial centres then located at a distance, and retail models not recognising that family purchasers don't usually have an adult with free time in the middle of the day anymore as two incomes are necessary in many cases. People don't shop much in their home towns or villages because they're simply not there in the middle of the day, so businesses that aren't supermarkets, cafes or post office/banks can't thrive.

In my home country places are less densely populated so you can drive somewhere, easily park close to the shop and pop in for a few minutes to pick up a gift or birthday card or try on a top. Means you can impulse buy more, or just go to browse, as you have the opportunity for something to catch your eye. Here I find it a mission to be planned in advance. I don't go to look but to buy because the time to get there and (pay for!) parking is extra to my day, I'm not ever just passing through the commercial area on my way somewhere.

Oh. And bingo.

Sandwiches make less clearing up at midday particularly if you don't have a dishwasher. Cooking in the evening is enough imo.

I prefer rooms that can be closed off to open plan and it can be a large space to heat and then the family is not all on top of each other.

Why only 6 hours on a Sunday?

If you had lived in the UK before (IIRC) the early 1990s, you wouldn't have found them open then either - I still think of Sunday trading as a relatively new-fangled thing, which really shows my age!

Although British, I didn't live in the UK as a child, and was in fact used to all the shops being shut not only on Sundays but all Saturday afternoon too. It was a revelation as a teenager to come back here and be able to go shopping on Saturday afternoons - I loved it.

Ah, are you from one of those countries that pretend they dont have a class system

A friend of mine was completely stumped by a string light switch in a bathroom.

Mayfayner- Scottish here and we go to all funerals we can too

I have always hated washing up bowls and I'm British. When I was younger my parents used one and it was gross. I thought they had it because they had lost their plug. As soon as I had my own house I had a lovely sparkling sink - and dishwasher too, so not as much need for the sink.

I had to skip to the end so apologies if someone has already clarified this. People don't rinse dishes?

How?

Wash in the bowl / sink, turn tap on and rinse item, put on draining board. Isn't that how everyone does it?

Also. The windows opening out. I assume that has a practical reason like trying to prevent draught?

Surely having windows opening inwards is the bonkers idea? Not only would They take up space but you’d be at risk of banging your head on them and also I’m sure it’s not as aesthetically pleasing to have them open inwards?

I told my husband about this topic and his first words were "they don't rinse"😂😂😂

The very fact that people are playing middle class bingo on this thread is a peculiarly British thing.

It's not that we don't have social strata where we come from, but the class snobbery in Britain especially reverse stuff like I'm-so-working-class-don't-dare-call-me-middle-class petty stuff.... is really something else.

No one on here ever admits to being middle class, but it certainly seems to be a Bad Thing that everyone likes to accuse other people of being. We all want the same things - a solid roof over our heads, a decent education and opportunities for our child and a reliable source of income. Why is wanting more nice things in life so bad you first have to flag-wave about your humble origins in case anyone raises an eyebrow? I know it's complicated (and for the country I used to see as a meritocracy class matters more than any outsiders fully realise) but you know, it really is not the same everywhere.

Wash in the bowl / sink, turn tap on and rinse item, put on draining board. Isn't that how everyone does it?

Scrape everything first (so excess goes in bin not down plughole). Wash in the bowl, from cleanest to dirtiest (changing water if necessary for pots and pans which can be really dirty). Place each item on a tray as you go. Then, under slowly running water, rinse each item and place on rack. Leave to dry itself. Works for me!

@Reginabambina Surely you realise that it is Australia that has large homes, rather than the UK having uniquely small ones? Have you seen how many people in mainland Europe live in apartments with no garden space?

It's a shame that lots of people on here seem to want to sneer and slag off the Brits and repeatedly same the same things, rather than mention little things that they were just surprised about or didn't understand when they first encountered them.

For example I might remark that when I've been to Spain being surprised by how Nesquik type drinks must be really popular because supermarkets seem to have shelves of them, but not then going on to say Spanish parents must like rotting their children's teeth because they give them sugary milk.

The very fact that people are playing middle class bingo on this thread is a peculiarly British thing.

The point is that this is middle class professional people emigrating to a country, socialising exclusively with others of that strata, then pretending the 'British' do this and that. Good to equate middle class with "wanting more nice things in life" though...

Surely having windows opening inwards is the bonkers idea? Not only would They take up space but you’d be at risk of banging your head on them and also I’m sure it’s not as aesthetically pleasing to have them open inwards?

Much improved airflow and allows for screens - vital in warmer places! Windows that open outwards actually block/divert away the airflow rather than enabling it.

Never found them to be more of a bumping hazard than, er, doors....

Never found them to be more of a bumping hazard than, er, doors....

Well it would be quite difficult to bend down and bump your head on the bottom of a door as you stood up.

I know they say the British are peculiar about class, so I'm curious to understand how it works in other countries.
In the UK for example it would be common for a child of parents who work in a blue collar trade to grow up and do something similar, and for children of two professionals like doctor or lawyer likewise. Its not unheard of to do something different but in general.
Also you would have working class areas and housing, and middle class suburbia. Who lives there is largely down to income.
Or is it more peculiar to the brits to say working class people do x,y,z say like big TVs, and middle class people go skiing? But no matter how rich you become you wouldn't transcend your birth class?
A lot of people grow up in working class homes but do well financially and start doing middle class things but would still call themselves working class, even defensively so. Is that the sort of thing?
I find it fascinating.

@PhilipJennings you said it very well.

Surely having windows opening inwards is the bonkers idea? Not only would They take up space but you’d be at risk of banging your head on them and also I’m sure it’s not as aesthetically pleasing to have them open inwards?

They aren’t, because more often than not you would tilt them rather than open them completely. This comment is a good example of the OTT Health and Safety mentality in the UK. The same applies to wearing sandals to school. Generations of children outside Britain have worn and are still wearing this perilous footwear to school with no ill effect.

Well it would be quite difficult to bend down and bump your head on the bottom of a door as you stood up.

How high up are your windows? Or are you sitting on the floor under a window a lot?

In my (UK) house all the windows except kitchen and bathroom are at shoulder height when sitting down. Except the odd little top ones but I’ve never quite got those.

But other countries also have a lot more sliding rather than opening onwards/outwards windows so it doesn’t become an issue. I’ve lived in houses in Australia with both (and with very old outward-opening windows which were frankly a pain in the arse when it came to screens.

Having kitchen windows that opened inwards would be such a gift; they are over the sink and while opening them is easy closing them fully is a pain in the arse and I’m quite tall...