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!

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

Sorry that was unnecessarily snarky when I reread your post and you were specifically talking about bending down.

I suppose they’re like anything else. You know they’re there; you don’t bump into them usually. Similar with the veluxes I have in my bedroom - they’re at ideal head bumping height but you know they’re there and so mostly you don’t.

My grandparents lived on “schemes” in glasgow that were designed not just to house people but create and support communities

This is the exact opposite of the truth!

Castlemilk- 40,000 people one pub when built.

This comment is a good example of the OTT Health and Safety mentality in the UK.

Plugs in bathrooms. weeps quietly at lack of plugs in bathrooms

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...
I agree.
I have a chain on the handle😂 Before that I actually walked out, closed the window, walked back in, locked it😂

@Nighttimefreedom the class identity obsession os absolutely fascinating, but I think that deeper discussion might not be the right thing for a light-hearted thread. As you see that already moved a mood a bit. But if you start a new one, I will happily join in because it is indeed an interesting topic!

I rarely every open the inward opening windows all the way. Only for cleaning. They tilt, which is much safer and totally sufficient for airing.

OmgThereAreNoPlanesAboveMeNow
You're right, not the place for it. I've loved hearing what is funny about the brits. The most consistent is our use of washing up bowls. Literally had no idea.

Plugs in bathrooms. weeps quietly at lack of plugs in bathrooms

Was quite bemused by this at first until I realised you meant electrical plugs - I've always had plugs in my bathroom, they're just round, black and made of rubber with a chain attached

You can't fit tilting or sliding windows in Georgian/Victorian/Edwardian houses of which there are 1000s here.

Why can’t you fit them in those houses?

On the matter of windows, when I first moved here after windows that opened inwards, we have complicated windows that have safety catches at each side. One needs three hands to manage to open them. I have lived here for 19 years. It still irritates me.

On the matter of children. My childhood was early to bed. But then our whole family went to bed early. We started school at 7am. Finished at 12.30pm (kindergarten) dad came home for lunch which was our main meal.

Our family ran a Pension and we had a wonderful English young woman that lived with us, worked in the Pension, and taught us English in the afternoon after school. She was fantastic and while I'm in my 50s now, she taught me so much about English culture. Some of which was amusing. She also found our ways of life quiet, but the most striking difference for her was the family unit and how it was very different for her. She was with us until I was 19. Still stay in touch with her now. She is 68.

I used to say 'I am taking a bath' she would say, 'Where are you taking the bath to?'

Yes why can't you fit tilting windows? They don't take extra space? Or do they?

This thread used to be fun.....

Was quite bemused by this at first until I realised you meant electrical plugs - I've always had plugs in my bathroom, they're just round, black and made of rubber with a chain attached

Sorry yes! Electrical outlets. The Fear Of Electricity is the main one for me. Solve that and I’ll be resigned to inefficient windows and weird (to me) wedding etiquette.

On the subject of wooden floors v carpets, as @SerenDippitty said, wooden floors are very noisy for your neighbours if you don't live in a detached house. If you live in an old terrace with poor noise insulation between the houses then un-carpeted floors / stairs would make you a very bad neighbour.

Oh, and on the topic of carpet in kitchens / bathrooms, I have never seen carpet in a kitchen, but we have carpet in the bathroom. This is because I don't like bare feet on cold tiles or lino and that is the only room other than the bedroom where I tend to have bare feet. :)

😂 the plug confusion is so cute😂

'Unless you live in a detached house, bare floors can be very noisy. I don’t have carpets downstairs only in the bedrooms.'

Most people in Germany live in flats (not all with great soundproofing either) and carpets are still out of fashion. People have floorboards, laminate or fake laminate, parquet, sometimes cork tiles. There are odd complaints about noise, I suppose, but people are much more tolerant of normal levels of neighbourly noise in general here.

No outlet things on German baths either.

When I first came to Germany the tilted windows (Kipplüftung) were a marvel to me. We currently live in a place (presumably listed, actually) with very old-fashioned ones that don't do it - double windows that open inwards like doors. No bumping accidents here. (I'm not keen on kippen/anklappen anyway tbh). I've just remembered the palaver of reaching outwards and fiddling with those catch things to close English windows. We also need fly screens as we live in an area with a lot of midgies in the summer.

The Fear Of Electricity is the main one for me.

Didn't know this was specifically British until this thread but I certainly have it . It was drummed into me as a child never to push or pull (electrical!) plugs in or out without ensuring the switch was off first. Much more "electrically knowledgeable" people than me do so all the time - the reason why it isn't a problem has been explained to me, but I'm having none of it!

Having guests buy their own drinks at parties. Still getting used to that one.

Having on-off switches on plugs is also something one does not frequently encounter in other countries.

I wonder if the Fear of Electricity people are of the generation who grew up with the grisly public information films? It would explain it.

This is one thing I do struggle to adjust on. I still regard German plug sockets with suspicion. In our current flat there are two directly between the two sinks in the bathroom in which I have put socket covers, much to my German dh's amusement.

The obsession with gardens. I grew up in singapore with a garden and we never ever used it.

(They are obv at a higher level than said sinks, so over rather than between, but still )

Having on-off switches on plugs is also something one does not frequently encounter in other countries.

Didn't know this - I would be in an agony of indecision working out how to deal with it . Probably standing on a rubber mat and using a wooden broom handle

I was envisaging windows like this, rather than ones that tilt at the top.