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34 Strange Habits and Traditions That Suggest the United States Is, In Fact, an Island

Land of the free. Home of the brave. Country of the odd

34 Strange Habits and Traditions That Suggest the United States Is, In Fact, an Island

January 19, 2024

From the looks of these, it seems like America is one big contrarian. It looks around at the rest of the world and thinks, “Naw, we’re gonna do things our way. Even if every country other than Liberia and Myanmar uses the metric system, we’re sticking with Imperial, baby!” (Cue the gunshot sound effect.)

34

Income Taxes

People outside the U.S. think it's crazy that Americans have to file their own taxes. OPOL Many non-U.S. countries have taxes prepared by their revenue agency. For example, in Japan you get a postcard with your earnings and taxes owed and withheld. You only have to reply if there is a problem. CRACKED.COM — Source

33

CRACKED.COM UN 60 Americans' 5g obsession with college sports IS BAFFLING TO EUROPEANS. We couldn't CARE LESS ABOUT THEM. i I — Source

32

CLEARANCE AMERICANS ARE TERRIFIED OF STRANGER DANGER, A FEAR NOBODY ELSE UNDERSTANDS In other countries it's not abnormal for a stranger to greet, hug, or pick up a child they don't know. A server at a restaurant moving an unruly child in a stroller into a designated room without asking the parent's permission would not be given a second thought. CRACKED.COM — Source

31

PLANNING A SHOWER? YOU'RE PROBABLY FROM THE UNITED STATES. BABY SHOWERS ARE PRIMARILY AN AMERICAN TRADITION. IN MOST OTHER CULTURES, IT IS CONSIDERED BAD LUCK TO CELEBRATE A NEW BABY BEFORE НЕ OR SHE IS BORN. CRACKED.COM — Source

30

HOW CAN THEY BE WORLD CHAMPIONS 9 с Patriots Cubs TH Warriors FOR WINNING A NATIONAL LEAGUE CRACKED.COM — Source

29

GRACKED COM Americans, want to freak out friends from other countries? TURN RIGHT ON RED To nearly everyone else in the world, a red light means you STOP and don't go until it turns green. They find it shocking and weird that Americans seem to ignore red lights and just go anyway. — Source

28

ICY DRINKS are a strange concept to many outside the U.S.A. Some claim it's the expense, others say it dilutes the beverage, but more than a few cubes in a drink is an American thing. GRACKED.COM — Source

27

Dear Americans, sandwich bread is supposed to be paired with jams, bacon or ham to bring out its flavor. It makes no sense for you to put fructose in every one of them to make your bread unnaturally sweet. CRACKED.COM — Source

26

As foreigners, we can't fathom why some Americans wear shoes indoors. Some of us even came to the conclusion that that either your streets are squeaky clean or your floors are filthy. CRACKED.COM — Source

25

A SERIES 2003 Americans are very familiar with these mostly green, 24 same size U.S. bills. adidas 106285 JK 432 RESERVE UNITED SYSTEM STATES Alans Escola SAVE TENDER SYSTEM TSTATES PRIVATE Kll ENOTE IS LEGAL TEND BEBTS, PUBLIC AND A GALIC LIGAL Rim AND OVUS ORD e Escobedo Caha of the United States. THE GRO of the United Since People from other countries might find them hard to distinguish. How come? ALL DEB15.70 ROTERO 20 20 - - BROW M. и 12 200 100 20 100 200 100 50 ... 00001 PE MEN 50 10000 - bord Farm 100 20 - — Source

24

- Innua WITH ROMP TRUMP - H - SEXT RUMP TH 9 MP RUMP the alco national the AND STANDS WITH TRUMP STAN Australians don't understand why Americans constantly go to politicians' rallies during election campaigns. Aussies only rally to get rid of politicians! RESIGN, DICKHEAD Start TO PROTECT 522 DE EAN OUR - BRY CHII DREN LAR CRACKED.COM — Source

23

TO VISITORS, IT'S HARD TO GET USED TO THE FREE REFILLS PRETTY MUCH EVERYWHERE. can herm an - it January WITH CAFFEINE 793ENFROY ACTIVE FREE B O MUG Brisk C - and PEPSI S ROOT ВССК WATER ss IS JUST RY AWAY. In many countries, those are very rare -usually, you have to buy a new drink. CRACKED COM — Source

22

The culture of people openly carrying guns in public is a shocking concept to people from non-gun countries. They only ever see things like that in action movies! CRACKED.COM — Source

21

CRACKED.COM Why does the President take his oath of office on a Bible? It would be more logical if it were the US Constitution, the thing that he is promising to preserve, protect and defend. — Source

20

There's absolutely no reason for many 9:00-5:00 jobs to be ONLY from 9:00-5:00. 9 10 8 11 7 12 6 5 1 4 2 3 9 10 8 11 7 12 6 5 1 2 4 3 There's nothing special about 9:00-5:00 that makes a person more productive than 10:00-6:00 or 12:00-8:00. GRAGKED.COM — Source

19

Garbage Disposals

CRACKED.COM Only the U.S. has widely adopted in-sink garbage disposals. insinkerabord food waste disposer Because of how much water they use and the burden they put on sewage systems, in-sink garbage disposals are really unpopular outside the U.S. For example, nearly half of U.S. households have in-sink garbage disposals, but only 5% of U.K. ones do. They used to be banned in Japan and Australia, and still are in Austria, Portugal, and the Netherlands. — Source

18

America is one of the only countries that refrigerate eggs. WHY? ASABE A EN on 1234 be 1450 Because the FDA makes HOT anca us Fresh Form Eggs XL GOOSS ADE A EGGS wash off the hen's natural Tras coating that protects the egg from salmonella. CRACKED.COM — Source

17

Americans are extremely obsessed with their flag. The U.S. is pretty much the only country where flying a flag year-round is common. In France, the flag is associated with aggressive nationalism and the far right. In the UK, flying a flag outside your house would be kind of embarrassing - it's just not done. In Germany, the flags on the parliament building are almost the only ones flown, by anyone. CRACKED.COM — Source

16

Unlike many other countries around the world, America doesn't officially embrace the tradition of napping. It's a cultural expectation in places like Italy, Spain, Greece, the Philippines, Nigeria & others, but viewed as slacking here. CRACKED.COM — Source

15

Stores open 24-7 are a thing in the U.S. and Asia, but not Europe. WAL* MART SUPERCENTER Open 24 Hours Food Center Pharmacy Optical 1-Hr. Photo Tire & Lube F For example, in Germany, opening on Sundays is against the law in most cases, and late-night stores have started appearing only recently. In Austria, most shops can't work more than 66 hours a week. In France, pretty much the only 24-hour stores are a few pharmacies, and in Switzerland, the only late-night options are vending machines. CRACKED.COM — Source

14

The U.S. is 1 of only 4 countries in the world that does not require paid maternity leave. The U.S. ranks last among developed countries when it comes to paid parental leave. While many U.S. companies offer paid parental leave, the United States is the only advanced country without a federal law mandating it. CRACKED.COM — Source

13

Individually, Americans use more cocaine than any other country. The percentage of users in America is only a tenth of a percent higher than Brazil, but Americans use 36% of the world's cocaine, compared to Brazil's 18%. CRACKED.COM — Source

12

Most of the world uses the A series of paper sizes; doubling in size but maintaining the same aspect ratio throughout. Neat. 841 845 A1 GOLD 594 x 841 AO reamstime 1189 841x1189 A3 297 . 420 A2 420 x 594 A5 - A4 207 -210 . AS Meanwhile, the US only uses two sizes of paper: Letter, and Legal, which is slightly longer than letter-sized. GRACKED.COM — Source

11

America is one of the few countries where soccer is not the most popular sport. The map shows the most popular sports in every country. The color green represents soccer. Rather ironic considering the US Women's Soccer team has won the World Cup three times, more than any other country. CRACKED.COM — Source

10

The United States is the only modern democracy to elect its president via Electoral College CRACKED COM — Source

9

THERE ARE MORE TIGERS PRIVATELY OWNED IN THE US THAN TIGERS IN THE WILD WORLDWIDE. ESTIMATED TALLY ESTIMATED TALLY I IN THE WILD IN US CAPTIVITY 3,890 5,000 And only 6% of the tigers in the United States are held in accredited facilities. CRACKED.COM — Source

8

CRACKED.COM American portion sizes are abnormally huge. Food servings are 40% to 80% larger in American cities than in European ones. op When adopting 95 an a typical American diet or moving to America, people from other cultures gain significant amounts of weight. — Source

7

America incarcerates more of its citizens than Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Switzerland combined. x 2. The U.S. incarceration rate is 698 per 100,000 people. In Finland, it's 55 per 100,000. Sweden: 57 per 100,000. Denmark: 67 per 100,000. Norway: 75 per 100,000. Switzerland: 84 per 100,000. http://www.prisonstudies.org/highest-fo-lowest/ CRACKED.COM prison_population_rate?field_region_taxonomy_tid=Al — Source

6

Think America's obsession with bacon is skyrocketing? You're thinking of China. Between 1975 and 2013, Chinese pork consumption grew an average of 5.7 percent per year. U.S. consumption lagged way behind with a negligible 1.3 percent. And now the Chinese eat six times as much pork as the U.S.: 54 million tons per year, compared to 8.6 million in the States. CRACKED.COM http://www.agweb.com/article/united_states_vs_china_who_eats_more_bacon/ — Source

5

40% of Americans believe in creationism. The worldwide average is 28%. CRACKED.COM http://ncse.com/news/2011/04/polling-creationism-evolution-around-world-006634 — Source

4

Portugal, Spain, and even France have higher divorce rates than the United States. Divorce rate in the U.S.: 53% France: 56% Spain: 61% Portugal: 68% CRACKED.COM http://www.therichest.com/rich-list/world/worlds-10-most-divorced-nations/ — Source

3

In America, 84% of households have washing machines and 80% have dryers. In China, 80% of households have washing machines and 10% have dryers. The Chinese prefer to line-dry their clothes. http://www. washingtonpost com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/03/AR2010090305875.htm/ CRACKED.COM euromonitor typepad com/hles/ingredients-trends-in-powder-detergents-a-bright-clean-future.pdf — Source

2

The U.S. spends twice as much money on its students as the Slovak Republic, yet the two countries score about the same on tests. The Slovak Republic spends $53,000 per student. The U.S. spends $115,000. Yet both countries scored about the same on the Programme for International Student Assessment in 2012. In fact, Slovak Republic scored a little better. http://www.theatfantic.com/education/archive/2013/12/ CRACKED.COM american-schools-vs-the-worid-expensive-unequal-bad-at-math/281983/ — Source

1

37% of Americans skip going to the doctor or refilling prescriptions because of the cost. In Great Britain and Sweden, that number is 4-6%. $ A hip replacement costs $80,000 in the U.S. and less than $14,000 in Europe. Nexium costs $215 in the U.S. and $20-60 in Europe. http://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2014/ CRACKED.COM 05/30/no-the-us-doesnt-have-the-best-health-care-system-in-the-world — Source

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