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!

My husband thinks the no sockets in the bathroom thing is weird too, as well as most safety stuff. Like when I go around shutting the doors at night, he thought it was to stop burglars (how? Can't they open doors? If they got through the front door, an unlocked bedroom door is hardly going to be an issue.) When I told him it was for fire, he said it was better to leave them open so we could hear the fire...

I gasped out loud at his parents house because they had extension cables plugged in each with about three multisocket things coming off them, plugged one into the other. None of them had a notion that it was a fire hazard.

They think it's funny that I am always panicking about safety (but they worry constantly about "dirt" and "illness" stuff that I find silly eg doing the garden without gloves - I find it relaxing, they think it's gross.)

And sarcasm. My husband still doesn't get it when I say stuff like "wow, what a smart guy Boris Johnson is, shaking hands with people with coronavirus." He'll reply like "that's not smart though, it's dangerous."

Yeah, no shit.

Crosswords and word puzzle type things, my husband doesn't get how I can find them remotely interesting.

And rice pudding.

The Victorian houses I've lived in all had sash windows so they slid up or down rather than opening in or out. There's a lot of sash windows in the UK but sadly some people replace them with horrid UPVC ones.

I think a lot of British people can be overly meek.
You see a lot of threads where someone is violating the posters rights, e.g. Parking over their drive for example.

All the advice is on how to deal with it 'politely', the nuclear option is 'write a note'.

If stuff like that happened here in Ireland, the transgressor would get roared at, and go away when a flea in their ear. So no one would dream of doing it in the first place.

The British expectation to go through life without ever having to assert yourself, impossible. The poster usually says at some point 'but I don't like confrontation'. Hmm, no one 'likes' confrontation! But it's part of life!

That's just an example, but it always makes me perplexed.

Gravy

When we moved here my oldest was 6, he cried at his first school dinner as they poured “soup” all over his food, rendering it inedible to him (SEN by the way, not just fussy)

(But mama, WHY did the nice lady put soup all over my food, WHY?!)

Yeah. I guess we non brits are not that scared of electricity. When I first came and lost my adapter my things were plugged in with chopstick sticking out at the top hole😂

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

Completely forgot about this one.. Didn’t know this was a thing until I moved here and didn’t see it in any of the European countries we visited. I thought it was cool but became annoying after I kept forgetting to flip the switch or the kids have turned it off without my knowledge.

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.

In my case it's probably down to having had a mother who would, if still alive, now be in her nineties and to whom electricity was a bit modern and scary. (Slight exaggeration, but anything that wasn't universal when you were a child does have that sort of feeling about it. Like t'internet maybe )

James Bond and Carry on films- both very British

The Union Jack flag being a symbol of veiled racism rather than something to be proud of

Planning laws eg telling you what kind of windows you can have- very strict compared to other countries

Lack of red tape to set up a business- lots of trades don’t need licences that would be required in other countries

Lots of people not having any photo ID eg if they don’t drive and don’t have a passport

Golden I promise no electricity has randomly jumped out of the plug and bit me yet

Yeah. I guess we non brits are not that scared of electricity. When I first came and lost my adapter my things were plugged in with chopstick sticking out at the top hole😂

Where's my rubber mat and wooden broom handle?!

Golden I promise no electricity has randomly jumped out of the plug and bit me yet

Yet. Just you wait ...

• Gravy

When we moved here my oldest was 6, he cried at his first school dinner as they poured “soup” all over his food, rendering it inedible to him (SEN by the way, not just fussy)

(But mama, WHY did the nice lady put soup all over my food, WHY?!)*

Yes! My husband loves his food covered in gravy (or sauce) at home. I’m not a fan. My husband will even call it dry if it’s not absolutely covered. I could understand if he was planning to eat it up using bread, but he doesn’t.

I had to read my husband parts of the ramen noodle thread. Could not believe that anyone would make a ramen noodle sandwich. How is that food.

How your name can identify your class
The general obsession with class
Carpets(they are grim)
Carpets in pubs
How a house is an investment and not just a house you live in

Oh gravy. I loathe gravy and I'm treated as some sort of weirdo because of it. despite the fact that I've not liked or had gravy for over 30 years, my family still cannot fathom it. Neither can friends, in laws or anyone else I come across.

I'm a Brit who hates gravy!

Insisting on absolutely not wanting ID cards, as this is not a police state! You then only need 10 other stupid things that are a pain in the backside to prove your ID. In a lot of cases at work, too, it would be much more convenient to have one simple rule that applies to all rather than everywhere inventing their own convoluted workarounds.

@Goldengroveunleaving 😂
That top hole isn't even wired. It's a safety (yet another one!) which unlocks the actual wired holes.
Safe. But wouldn't put a fork down there. Wooden stick to unlock, then ram in the european plug. Done.

We love gravy in this house! I did grow up with lots of sauce meals though so that's maybe why. Meat, dumpling/rice/potato, sauce.

Insisting on absolutely not wanting ID cards, as this is not a police state! You then only need 10 other stupid things that are a pain in the backside to prove your ID. In a lot of cases at work, too, it would be much more convenient to have one simple rule that applies to all rather than everywhere inventing their own convoluted workarounds.

And don't forget that it's all just to collect all the data about them! You know. The data which government already has🤦😂

*That top hole isn't even wired. It's a safety (yet another one!) which unlocks the actual wired holes.
Safe. But wouldn't put a fork down there. Wooden stick to unlock, then ram in the european plug. Done. *

I know you're right really, as that's what my "electrically knowledgeable" contact explained to me. But you know how it is, you just can't get over the feeling that it's actually very hazardous

I thought that the reason why we don't have electric sockets in the bathroom as they do in other countries is that we have a much higher voltage which can deliver a fatal shock. Countries using lower voltages don't have this issue. I am prepared to be corrected on this however

I'm British (English) and very few of these apply to me or my family.

No washing up bowl
Keep shoes on inside (this is a class thing and much debated on here and is 50/50)
Sash windows (old house) so neither in or out
No carpet downstairs or in any loo or bathroom.
We eat with the children at 7 most of the time. When they were younger they'd ear with the au pair as we were still at work.
I have mixer taps in the kitchen. Non mixed in the bathrooms.
I am British, well travelled and very well aware of countries and cultures outside of the UK.
Most European countries have far stricter shopping hours than here. Ever tried to find an open supermarket in France Spain Italy or Greece on the first Sunday of your holiday!?!
Our weather is very changeable It's also very wet hence the door mats and heating coming on and off.

Other points

We love gravy. But it's just sauce. The french eat a lot too!!

Houses in older European cities are also small.

Much of our timings are based around daylight and farming hours. In Southern Europe it is very hot and people sleep in the afternoon and stay up later. The siesta is worked around for school work and shops. We don't need to sleep in the afternoon so go to bed earlier.

Things that's don't make sense to you make perfect sense here when you apply a bit of logic.

Thank goodness the world is a varied and wonderful place. I can't wait for this lockdown to end so we can visit more of it and discover the idiosyncrasies between nations.

In my case it's probably down to having had a mother who would, if still alive, now be in her nineties and to whom electricity was a bit modern and scary. (Slight exaggeration, but anything that wasn't universal when you were a child does have that sort of feeling about it. Like t'internet maybe wink)

We all had those mothers/grandmothers though! My own mum grew up in rural New Guinea - the street lights when she was on trips to Australia when she was small have always stuck with her, she said they were just so dazzling and bright and magical, she thought it was a fairy tale. She and her brother then kept their uncle up all night in the hotel they were staying in when she was about three because they were fascinated by the flush toilet and stayed up half the night watching what happened when it flushed.

I guess it’s just how different countries approached risk over the years, and you get used to what you’re told is safe/acceptable. The rules around electrical outlets in bathrooms are so very OTT to me.

Things that's don't make sense to you make perfect sense here when you apply a bit of logic.

Some do, some definitely don’t...

I thought that the reason why we don't have electric sockets in the bathroom as they do in other countries is that we have a much higher voltage which can deliver a fatal shock. Countries using lower voltages don't have this issue. I am prepared to be corrected on this however
I checked and it seems to be 230 here and 220 where I am from. That's not such a big difference? Or is it?