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Look away, patriots

31 Trivia Tidbits About America’s Worst Habits and Policies

April 21, 2024

There’s obviously a lot of great things that come out of the U.S. With movies, TV and music, it’s safe to say that ‘Merica is a trendsetter in most things related to pop culture. Sports are definitely up there, and it does pump out a ton of cars and food, too. Basically, there ain’t nothin’ more ‘Merican than blastin’ some Taylor Swift in your Chevy at a drive-thru after a football game and before the newest Marvel flick.

Now that we just recapped all of the gold, here are a bunch of things that are basically the exact opposite…

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31

INEQUALITY When it comes to income, the U.S. is one of the most unequal countries in the world. In 2014, for example, it ranked #1 (China has since overtaken the US). Some part is due to how America has the most wealth in total. That same year, the US had 41.6 percent of all the wealth in the world, making it the richest country. GRACKED.COM — Source

30

INDOOR SHOES You might be confused by the custom people in some countries have of taking off their shoes as soon as they enter a house. Those people find the absence of that custom even weirder. American floors must be filthy, they assume. Either that or American streets must be squeaky clean. GRACKED.COM — Source

29

ELECTIONS Text UNITED to 30330 BID N In the U.S., races often start more than a year before the actual vote. In most other countries, campaigns last only a couple of weeks. The longest election campaign in Canadian history lasted 78 days. In the UK, a political party can't spend above a set amount in the year before an election. CRACKED.COM — Source

28

American Bread

BREAD To visitors from other countries, American bread tastes like cake. That's because manufacturers add a ton of high-fructose corn syrup-the stuff is so cheap there, thanks to corn subsidies. Some people think American bread tastes better. Others think the sweetness makes it incompatible with any kind of topping. GRACKED.COM — Source

27

COLLEGE LOANS xx STOP R.I.P. T. the Price OUR of our DR FUTURE Even keeping to where student loans are necessary, there's a big difference in how the U.S. and other countries handle them. In America, you'll be hounded to pay back loans even after declaring bankruptcy. In the UK, your student debt is completely written off if you have not repaid it in 25-35 years. CRACKED.COM — Source

26

Parties

TWO PARTIES There are ten political parties represented in Israel's parliament, the Knesset. The Bundestag in Germany has six. Eleven in the Oireachtas in Ireland. Brazil's Chamber of Deputies has 28. New Zealand? Seven parties. South Africa's Parliament? Thirteen. GRACKED.COM — Source

25

CRACKED YOU'RE FROM THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. Travelers saying they're American implies that only the U.S. should be considered America. From North to South, there are 38 American countries. — Source

24

CRACKED ATHLEISURE ISN'T COOL EVERYWHERE ELSE. TRANSBIDRED Sure, stylish sportswear outside of the gym is trendy, but in Japan, most of Europe, and elsewhere, wearing sweatpants, leggings, flip flops, and even baseball caps in public is disrespectful. — Source

23

CRACKED ASKING WHAT DO YOU DO? Asking about someone's profession is a common American icebreaker, but is considered insulting or possibly classist in countries like The Netherlands. If the dinner party guest says lawyer or janitor are you going to treat them differently? — Source

22

FOR TRIPS OF LESS THAN ONE MILE... 70% OF AMERICANS WILL DRIVE. 70% OF EUROPEANS WILL WALK, BIKE, OR USE PUBLIC TRANSPORT. CRACKED.COM — Source

21

Circumcision

Almost 80% of American boys are circumcised. In Europe and South America, however, this number averages below 20%. CRACKED.COM — Source

20

Sleep

On workdays, 53% of Americans get fewer than seven hours of sleep. Those numbers are considerably lower in other Western countries - 39% in the UK, 36% in Germany, 30% in Canada, and 29% in Mexico. CRACKED.COM — Source

19

Less than half of Americans cremate their dead. In highly populated countries like India and Japan, the cremation rate is almost 100%. This leaves more land open. CRACKED.COM — Source

18

Riding in the back of a taxi is inherently American. BUT LOS DI In Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, and Scotland, taxi drivers will consider you rude if you don't sit in the front seat. GRACKED.COM — Source

17

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

16

There are almost as many cars in the U.S. as there are people. The average for all 50 states is 910 cars per 1,000 citizens. The numbers for the European Union countries are much lower-587 cars per 1,000 citizens. CRACKED.COM — Source

15

Prescriptions

CRACKED.COM Drugs are more expensive in the US than other nations. A month's supply of diabetes medication Januvia costs $168.61 after discounts in the US. Canada pays the next highest price ($68.10), which is not discounted and still $100 less. — Source

14

In most states in the U.S., the highest-paid public employees are college football and basketball coaches. FOOTBALL COLLEGE PRE SIDENT LAN COACH - CALLESE ... SOCIAL COLLEGE MED SCHOOL PRESIDENT DEAN FOOTBALL has TMACK MED SCHOOL COACH CALCA CHANCELLOR FOOTBALL MED SCHOOL BAGKETBALL WE SCHOOL BASKETBALL COACH COREM COACH DEPT CHAIR FOOTBALL DEAN MASHOTBALL BASKETBALL CRACK ENT COACH FOOTBALL BASKETBALL COACH FOOTBALL MED SCHOOL FOOTBALL COACH* COACH FOOTBALL PLASTIC COLLEGE COACH BASKET COACH SURGEON FOOTBALL FOOTBALL Sell FOOTBALL COACH POW FOOTBALL Chair COACH COACH Mell FOOT State COACH BALL BASKET. BASKETBALL FOOTBALL COACH BALL COACH BASKETBALL COACH Clack COACH BASKETBALL COACH — Source

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13

In the US, the number of vacant houses are six times greater than the number of homeless people. USA Europe Homeless 3.5 million 4.1 million people Vacant 18.5 million 11 million houses The ratio in Europe is less than half that. CRACKED.COM — Source

12

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

11

Americans have more faith in hard work than people from other parts of the world. A Pew survey found that 73% of Americans said hard work is very important to getting ahead in life. Among the other 44 nations surveyed, a median of 50% had the same response. CRACKED.COM — Source

10

The United States is the only nation that hasn't ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which means that American children may be treated by the criminal justice system as adults, including being arrested and serving life sentences. CRACKED.COM — Source

9

CRACKED COM There are currently three countries that do not use the metric system-Burma, Liberia, and the United States. 2 4 81 LI 10FEET 3m 4 3 Many U.S. industries have been slow to adopt the metric system, but it is becoming standard in certain areas of science, medicine, and government. — Source

8

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

7

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

6

Cocaine

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

5

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

4

Soccer

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

3

Elections

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

2

Tigers

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

1

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

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