Things Americans think are normal but are actually uniquely American

Non-metric measurements

Step outside the bounds of the US, and you’ll learn that no one knows what miles, pounds (unless you mean the UK’s currency), or Fahrenheit is. Well, maybe Canadians do because they have to deal with us or have spent time in the US. Better catch up on what kilometers mean (roughly 10 for every six miles) and how to measure in Celsius (0 is freezing, not 32). Intuitive, right?





Yellow school bus

I’ll never forget when an Australian friend asked me, “Did you really ride yellow school buses?” Her shock when I confirmed this wasn’t something just in the movies reminded me how American that form of transport is. One kid’s daily commute only exists on another’s television.





Big cups of coffee

Espresso drinks weren’t popularized until Starbucks came about in the '80s. Weird, right? But as we tend to do, we had to make it BIGGER. In most other countries, a 12-ounce — or a “tall” at Starbucks — would be considered a larger size. Servings of eight ounces or less are more common outside the US borders.


Talking loud

Okay, if there’s one thing universally known about Americans, it's that our default volume is…um… a bit elevated. But you don’t realize to what extent until you’re talking at a “normal” level outside the US and realize everyone is giving you the stink eye. That happened to me and a few friends (also from the American continents, so we share this trait), getting straight-up told off the train. Ah, yes, cross-cultural interactions.


“College”

“You mean middle school?” — the French. The rest of the world calls it university, "uni" for short, or however it’s translated in their languages.




Limited travel

US State Department statistics show that only about one-third of Americans have a passport. Most Americans wouldn’t think twice about it, but it’s common across the world to want to explore places other than where you come from. Even if you remove the obstacle of crossing borders, we don’t tend to travel across our giant and beautiful country that much, which is also quite common elsewhere. However, that might be due to wage stagnation and the fact that American vacation time is laughable compared to other developed nations.

Censoring swear words

My goodness, this is an odd one. I mean, we glorify action and violent movies, yet the kids can’t hear an f-bomb or two? You’d be surprised how much less censored TV is in other countries, both the dialogue and the visuals allowed.


Not including tax in prices

This is so annoying, and you don’t realize how abnormal it is until you go abroad. Suddenly, you learn the listed price is precisely what you pay in many other countries. Don't be shocked by menu prices that include tax — oh, and you usually don’t tip outside of America, either. (Although, always check local standards.)


Homecoming

US high school and college (ahem, university) cultures are pretty unique compared to the rest of the world. Homecoming is no different. Although our neighbors up in Canada also do it, most other countries don’t have anything comparable.


Shoes inside the house

This wasn’t something I ever thought twice about (and if it’s raining or I just went hiking, obviously, I leave shoes outside). Then, I began dating a Canadian who always dutifully removed his shoes before entering a home — no matter how many times I reminded him it wasn’t necessary. Friends and acquaintances from around the world have confirmed this is a unique American quirk. I’ve also been asked why characters in US-based sitcoms always wear footwear while sitting on the bed.


Date order

"MM/DD/YYYY" is only the standard in the US. Most other countries use a "DD/MM/YYYY" formula, so when filling out official forms or giving your birth date abroad, make sure you double-check the order!


Lack of kettles

Honestly, I’m surprised an international incident isn’t started every time a British person learns many Americans make tea by microwaving water. Personally, I boil water on the stove, but I'm not sure if that’s considered better. Stereotypically British, but this is more standard in most countries I’ve visited.


Small talk

This varies depending on where in the country you are — New Yorkers don’t have time, and Seattleites are busy implementing our signature “Seattle Freeze." In general, Americans are not only loud conversationalists (see above) but also love chatting with anyone. In most other places I’ve been, depending on how large the language barrier was, small talk rarely went beyond “hi, loyalty card, have a nice day." That’s not to say people aren’t friendly all over the world, but the overarching cultural expectation of conversation just isn’t there.


https://www.msn.com/en-au/lifestyle/travel/things-americans-think-are-normal-but-are-actually-uniquely-american/ss-AA19H0wc?ocid=winp2fptaskbarhover&cvid=68ff9cbc9fbe438bc52c9459e29135bf&ei=5#image=2

Screw Europe and their metric system. We aren't European.

What's it got to do with Europe?

There are only 3 countries in the world (out of roughly 193) that have not adopted the metric system. Burma, Liberia and the US.

It's strange how you hang on to the imperial system which is a leftover from a European country though.

I don't care. It is our custom and i'm perfectly fine with it.

What system do the muslims use? LOLOLOL

It's fine that you are fine with it but deflecting to Europeans and/or Muslims is a weak defensive move that has no bearing on fact.  

There's only a handful of countries that use English as an official language, also.

There's nothing wrong with Spanish or Cantonese; but our custom is our custom.

Likewise, measuring systems. I remember in the late 1970s, when the push was on to convert.

Everyone said, Why? And there was no good answer - only "everyone else does it that way."

That's a good argument for metric fasteners and parts on products sold worldwide. Otherwise, no need.

I have to keep two sets of tools in my box - one, metric, because all my vehicles are Japanese; and one, because all the non-automotive crap I have to repair, has SAE or other American standard fasteners and measurements.

...no yellow school buses in Australia? Or, Europe?

What color do they paint them? Or is it, with car-ownership so taxed and mass-transit so subsidized, they can just get on public conveyances?

How long is THAT gonna last, with Third-World animals coming in by the millions? They like kids...both sexes. Both to play with and to torture. Sometimes even to eat.

No, for a hundred years we've had school buses in rural and suburban and now, urban school districts.

Yellow buses, came about in the 1920s, after research in how to make school vehicles uniquely identifiable. There was a bright yellow color called Chrome Yellow, no one would order a car in that color (well, later, Yellow Cab did in its franchises in major cities) and Chrome Yellow was adopted as the standard.

To this day.

news flash. everything mechanical metric sucks. an american thread is vee shaped allowing a tighter hold. metric is u shaped creating a sloppy bond.

A yellow bus in Oz would give the impression that it's a 'short' bus lol. Mostly public school buses look like normal buses but have SCHOOL BUS front and back.

https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2015/07/us/metric-road-american-story/