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!

@Elouera HAHAHAH... We're they from Essex, Kent, Herts or London by any chance?

*Were! I'm not an animal.

This thread makes me want cake.

I’m not living in the UK at the moment. In a language class where I was the only Brit I was met with disbelief from a range of nationalities when I said that no, we didn’t all stop for tea and cake at 4pm.

They find tea with cold milk hilarious. And me drinking tea hilarious as it’s such a cliché.

And they refuse to believe that every Christmas we don’t all sit down watching an obscure British film called Dinner For One. Because they all watch it every year and think we do too. They have not heard of It’s A Wonderful Life and don’t really believe that’s the nearest thing we have to it.

@Burntmybiscuits - I’m a Brit but have a fair few Aussie friends who think using a washing up bowl is weird - they’re like, “just use the sink!”

@CaribouCarafe - I love a fishfinger , mayo and spinach sandwich .

So much unexpected mentioning of cake on this thread! Im just going to torment you all by posting the cakes I made yesterday, although made with ITALIAN buttercream, so not very British. I didn't eat them at 4pm either, but DID have one with tea. Yorkshire Tea.

I think a significant amount of Brits don't rinse their dishes. I am British and nobody I know rinces. I only started doing it after a stint abroad and observed other cultures rinsing.

Not rinsing dishes is a brit thing. Might also be a generational or class thing. From when washing up was done in a bowl in the sink.

And carpeted pubs...

And now most of them have been modernised with hard floors, you can't hear yourself think

British binge drinking. We're just not balanced about alcohol at all. My dh just doesn't get it - he's a glass of wine with dinner person, just one good one, every night, like the typical European he is.

Holidays and the nonstop talk about them.

That there constantly has to be tea

I lived in a flat once that not only had a separate room for the toilet and one for the bathroom (so had to touch the toilet door handles after doing the business in order to get to the bathroom to wash hands 🤢) but they were also carpeted!!! Glad I'm not there any more...

don't understand the British aversion towards single storey homes.

Not enough land.

How do Australians say cinema then?

It would be interesting to hear where people are from, making these observations. For instance, who is it who finds our sandwiches funny?

The weird thing about making tea in an office - that you have to make tea for everyone and not just yourself !!

Agree, washing up bowls and not rinsing is a British thing. And it's horrible!

Just use the sink! I'll never understand why a smaller bowl helps in any way.

How do you find Asian weddings? They tend to last 3 days

I wondered that.

Actually I have never understood the point of washing up bowls either. We didn't have one in our house growing up. They always seem to get slimy and it's just an extra thing to wash.

One British trait I've become aware of since becoming good friends with an American, is "good natured ribbing" of people that we actually like.

I alway rinse as does everyone I know. Never had a washing machine in the kitchen. Does that mean I'm not British?

God this thread makes me want tea and cake

DrManhattan how can you pay for fuel first? I never know how much I'm going to need to fill my tank

Anything and everything between two slices of bread makes a sandwich! Chips, crisps, fish fingers, banana..

And yes, the birthday cake parcels are weird. Just serve the cake!

The drinking is phenomenal. I've never been so gobsmacked to see a bloke down 10 pints and still being able to walk. I'd be hospitalised.

The use of the word pudding to encapsulate anything that falls into dessert category in the rest of the world.

Miles, yards, feet ...get metric already ffs

I miss carpeted pubs.