• AgentStarling@lemmy.ml
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    3 months ago

    Sugar in hot drinks by default. Asking for coffee-no-sugar seems to trigger incredulity. At least this was my experience in the South. New York is another country altogether, no eyebrows raised there.

  • Twofacetony@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    The firearm culture, and how normalised it is.

    I went into a Walgreens in Chicago, and waited in line behind two other people. There was a cashier free but the person in front of the line was waiting to be called. The guy behind the person in front politely said, “ma’am, the cashier is free” ‘I’m waiting to be called” was the response.

    So the guy behind her just walked past her, and she pushed him and said, “Careful buddy, you’ll get shot for doing something like that”

    I was taken aback at how quickly a simple discourtesy escalated to shooting someone. It just blew my mind that shooting someone over queue jumping was verbalised, and seemingly normal to each other.

  • lime!@feddit.nu
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    3 months ago

    everything is chlorinated. i get painful rash if i ingest chlorinated water, so basically everything was undrinkable. this was also true for soft drinks the time i visited Vegas, so my options for hydration were extremely limited.

  • leadore@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    In many of the responses I can tell which part of the US they visited by the things they list as weird. It’s funny that they think the entire country is like some particular city or area.

  • Cruxifux@feddit.nl
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    3 months ago

    I’m from Alberta Canada. I’ve worked up North in camp jobs, and have been working in the trades with the rowdiest people our country has to offer.

    Every time I’ve been to the states I’m shocked at how aggressive a large portion of your population is willing to talk to people. Every time I’ve gone there I’ve had at least one negative aggressive interaction with one of your citizens. I’m a large man with a beard and tattooes up to my neck, I’m a pretty intimidating looking dude paired with the Canadian politeness we’re known for. I do not understand how this keeps happening. And I see you guys do it to eachother too! It’s fucking wild.

      • Cruxifux@feddit.nl
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        3 months ago

        I’ve been to Montana, Texas, Florida, Seattle, and Tennessee and Las Vegas most recently. Also worked at a tourist town with lots of Americans for several months in Canmore and the Americans there seemed to have a similar attitude.

        • pimento64@sopuli.xyz
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          3 months ago

          You’re pretty much just missing Mississippi, New Jersey, and Boston and you’ll have made a complete circuit of all the places with the most assholes. Hard luck.

      • subtext@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        Yeah it’s very surprising to me as well. As a life-long resident of one of the states mentioned, having lived in both major cities as well and small-medium towns, I don’t think I’ve experienced this “aggression”

        • macrocarpa@lemmy.world
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          3 months ago

          Sometimes the base level of aggression or the base level of inflection is way higher than what you’re locally tuned for.

          Anecdotally I have found even business conversations with people from the US to be over the top. Especially through the sales cycle. There is a lot of hype that I need to adjust for in comparison to vendors in the UK, Europe and Asia.

          It’s not a bad thing, it’s a social standard. I probably appear quiet reserved and shy by comparison.

    • some_guy@lemmy.sdf.org
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      3 months ago

      Go fuck yourself. /s

      Just kidding, but yeah, we suck as a people. But I’ll be friendly to ya when you land in my neighborhood.

      • Cruxifux@feddit.nl
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        3 months ago

        It should be pointed out that MOST Americans I met were not like that. But it’s a large enough amount that it’s always been a noticeable difference from home.

        • captainlezbian@lemmy.world
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          3 months ago

          As an American I think it’s largely that we generally suck at dealing with negative emotions. For many that means bottling it up and being kind anyways, but we have the assholes and you learn to walk away, or clap back, or whatever works for you and they just get angrier at being dismissed. They aren’t mad at you, they just suck and we’re bad at helping people not suck, especially since they tend to love guns

      • goldenbug@fedia.io
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        3 months ago

        I give you my silly example. We were on a work trip with a college. We were talking in English. I said something like: I wanna try a hash brown! Never had one.

        This dude replies to a conversation he wasn’t part of: THEY ARE JUST POTATO! very angrily.

        Yeah… I know… Turns out I love potato

    • paddirn@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      I grew up in a home where we just never thought about wearing, or not wearing, shoes in the house. Like, we obviously didn’t track mud all over the place if our shoes were that dirty, but if we were wearing our shoes inside, nobody said anything or cared, it was just whatever. Married a Kenyan who put her foot down and was like, “Are you crazy?” It’s apparently a big thing elsewhere in the world. In Kenya alot of roads aren’t paved, things get dusty, and it’s just common sense that you don’t walk all over the house with dirty shoes, so I get it from that perspective.

      • kautau@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        Yeah that’s a huge part of it. Few Americans (me included) frequently walk outdoors on anything but sidewalks or paved roads in their normal day to day travels. When I go hiking I take those shoes off before I get back into the car, but my daily driver boat shoes which rarely touch actual dirt? I don’t have a problem leaving those on in most places, my house included. Same I imagine for Americans where their job is construction or something where your shoes are dirtied, talk the work shoes off when you get home, but it’s fine to wear more casual shoes

    • CoggyMcFee@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      Do I just live in a weird bubble? I live in the US and I am rarely at someone’s house who doesn’t remove their shoes nowadays. I certainly grew up wearing shoes at home, but that’s changed significantly over the past 20 years or so.

      • SSTF@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        Anecdotally this is also my experience. I grew up with shoes off in the house, but even up to the early 00’s it seemed to be a cultural outlier in the US.

        These days I think the majority of people who I go over to visit have a shoes off rule. Seems like the split is between the older half of millennials and up shoes on, and younger half and down shoes off for the most part.

    • shalafi@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      Only place I’ve live where this is taboo is Chicagoland. And that’s to be expected with the muddy snow.

      Here in the South we usually don’t have carpets, no reason to take our shoes off.

      • zcd@lemmy.ca
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        3 months ago

        Thinking that there is no reason to take your shoes off is the most American thing in the world. There is poop, pee, puke, pollen, pollution, parvo and prions out there, among other things.

        In Japan the entryway of a house is usually a step lower than the rest of the house. It is considered part of the outside, where the shoes stay, as well as all of the dirty things from the outside that are on the shoes. And symbolically, your troubles from the outside world are not brought into the house either. It’s a major faux pas to wear your shoes in the house past this step and bring all that shit inside. Interesting contrast

        • 8000gnat@reddthat.com
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          3 months ago

          yep, living in San Francisco made me a shoes off indoors guy, for every p you listed*

          *except for prions. mmmm, delicious prions

      • makingStuffForFun@lemmy.ml
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        3 months ago

        Ever walked into a public toilet? Well, that piss is now all over your floor at home.

        As is spit from the street. Remnant dog poo, bird poo, etc etc.

        Take your shoes off. Please.

      • AmbiguousProps@lemmy.today
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        3 months ago

        It’s not carpets that I take my shoes off for - it’s so I don’t track public bathroom and outside street debris into my house.

      • RBWells@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        Yeah. No carpets, dogs coming in and out. I only take mine off if they are legit muddy, it’s a lost cause, I am not going to make everyone take off their shoes. We aren’t eating off the floor. I am also willing to sit on the ground outside, turn cartwheels, etc. Really just not that paranoid about dirt.

        Up north I understand everyone has carpets.

        Some places there is much more sitting on the floor.

        It seems situational to me.

        Nobody is putting their shoes on the furniture though, they are putting them on the floor.

    • danjoubu@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      As an American, it drives me crazy. Then there’s those heathens who lay on the bed with shoes on!

      • weeeeum@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        American of asian descent, absolutely ludicrous! It would perhaps be more forgiviable if all of the floors were furnished in hardwood and tile, but they’ll wear shoes even on carpet! Immediately after entering one of these heathen’s houses, I long for the soft, lucious, kempt, carpets of my own abode, compared to the repuslive, stiff, flat and even crunchy carpets of my white friends. Frankly it offends me, deeply. I must slap my friends silly before entering my home to remove their filthy clogs.

        • octopus_ink@lemmy.ml
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          3 months ago

          That was a joy to read.

          I’m sorry to tell you I am one of those people, as is my family. Every so often I have a moment of clarity about it, but it doesn’t last long.

      • bobs_monkey@lemm.ee
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        3 months ago

        I wear my street shoes inside except winter. Both my work boots come off regardless. Also have house slippers. But I’ll be damned if me or someone put their shoes on a bed, or even a couch for that matter.

        • corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca
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          3 months ago

          Both my work boots come off regardless.

          No one asked, but now I need to know: when would you only take ONE work boot off?

      • 200ok@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        Sooooo comfortable!

        As soon as I get home, all of my outside items are exchanged for comfy inside items. It’s like a physical form of masking.

        • some_guy@lemmy.sdf.org
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          3 months ago

          Yeah, I just got home and switched to loose running shorts (it’s hot here at the moment). Why would I wanna stay wearing jeans when I can relax?

  • nutomic@lemmy.ml
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    3 months ago

    I only stopped there for transit on a flight to Mexico. Just before boarding my flight I was told that I need a visa for the US, which is extremely weird because normally airports have transit zones where you don’t need any visa. But apparently the US is special, so you actually have to enter the country before going right back into the airport. This nonsense made me miss my flight.

    Also I remember in the airport there was a security guard doing nothing but shouting nonstop that it’s not allowed to carry water. Why not simply put up a sign?

    • tigeruppercut@lemmy.zip
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      3 months ago

      China did that to me too, except I didn’t miss my flight. After getting off the plane they made us go through immigration and when they asked how long I was staying I said about 3 hours. Stamped my passport with a 1 day visa haha

    • Badabinski@kbin.earth
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      3 months ago

      W.r.t. water bottles, I think it’s because people don’t look at or think about the signs that are often posted. A loud person yelling specifically at you is much more likely to make someone stop and ask themselves if they have a water bottle.

      I’m definitely not defending it, but that’s my take on the matter. The whole water bottle thing is just security theater anyways.

      • nutomic@lemmy.ml
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        3 months ago

        Or you guys like to be shouted at. There is no other country that does this.

        • stringere@sh.itjust.works
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          3 months ago

          You’ve been here. So you’ve witnessed first hand our lack of social cohesion. We’re not a civilized people. We’re barely above feral and deeply ensconced in tribalism. Capitalists did a great job gaslighting this country into this situation where we’re aware of their abuse but somehow still manage to blame one another instead of the abuser. The Business Plot didn’t fail, it bided its time and rolled out slowly and surreptitiously.

        • Badabinski@kbin.earth
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          3 months ago

          I definitely haven’t been shouted at in any of the European airports I’ve been in (from memory, KEF, HEL, AMS, MAD, BCN, NCE, and BER, so not super representative of the continent), so to me, it seems like an American phenomenon. I haven’t been to Canada enough to know what it’s like there. It’s also somewhat recent. I’ve been flying for 25ish years now, and I feel like the yelling has only been happening for the past, I dunno, 5-7 years?

          As others have said, I don’t think it’s that we like being shouted at. We just have a large number of people who are, uh, “ruggedly individual,” to put it in nice terms. Those people don’t really think about others enough, so you have to yell at them to get them to pay attention to the world around them. I’m the type of person that looks up the rules before I leave and makes sure I have all of my shit out of my pockets before I even enter the security line to ensure I don’t reduce the efficiency of the security checkpoint. I often feel a bit exasperated with the people who don’t think about others in those situations.

          As a means of dealing with it, I’ve found that smiling, making eye contact, and nodding at the TSA agent doing the yelling makes them less likely to yell at me while simultaneously making me feel a bit less frustrated—expressing nice feelings and trying to show some common humanity with the people I’m interacting with makes it harder for me to feel angry. Not saying that’d work for everyone, but it’s helpful for me.

    • ryathal@sh.itjust.works
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      3 months ago

      The US doesn’t do sanitized transport because there’s not really a need in most airports. The vast majority of passengers are Americans or coming into America. It’s also self reinforced, because once others learn they stop doing layovers in the US. It might make sense for a few large airports like Atlanta, JFK, and LAX.

    • Skullgrid@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      Just before boarding my flight I was told that I need a visa for the US […] This nonsense made me miss my flight.

      I WOULD HAVE FUCKING LEFT IF YOU’D LET ME ASSHOLE

      • nutomic@lemmy.ml
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        3 months ago

        Not like that, they didn’t let me board my flight from Europe to Texas. Even though I had a connecting flight to Mexico few hours later. Why can’t they have a visa free transit zone like every other country in the world?

        • Skullgrid@lemmy.world
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          3 months ago

          I only stopped there for transit on a flight to Mexico. Just before boarding my flight I was told that I need a visa for the US, which is extremely weird because normally airports have transit zones where you don’t need any visa. But apparently the US is special, so you actually have to enter the country before going right back into the airport. This nonsense made me miss my flight.

          Not like that, they didn’t let me board my flight from Europe to Texas. Even though I had a connecting flight to Mexico few hours later.

          I am no longer on your side. if your journey is :

          European country X -> Somewhere in the US -> Texas -> Mexico

          Then of course you’re going through security controls, etc etc. You’re going from the international processing and flights part of the airport to the domestic flights part of the airport, which is the zone where any asshole in that country can travel in, so you’re properly entering the US. Of course you need proper clearance and visas and all that.

          I initially assumed your journey was

          Non US country-> Somewhere in the US -> Mexico

          which you’d be completely right

        • stringere@sh.itjust.works
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          3 months ago

          So they can rob noncitizens using asset forfeiture laws. Never travel in or through the US if you need to transport large sums of money or valuables.

          Actually, the better advice is never travel in or through the US. I wish that were an option for me.

        • MrsDoyle@sh.itjust.works
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          3 months ago

          A couple of times I’ve travelled Air NZ route that goes London-Auckland via LAX. The plane has to stop to refuel I guess. All the passengers are forced to queue up to be fingerprinted and have their eyeballs scanned, while a security guard walks up and down screaming “STAY IN THE LINE!” Then they’re herded into a lounge barely big enough to hold everyone (first class passengers have their own little pen next to the toilets). Apologetic air crew distribute apples, crisps and bottles of water. For hours. Through a glass wall is a view of the rest of the airport: shops, cafes, bars, space to stroll. But hey, at least you get to not miss your flight, and the US is safe from Kiwi tourists.

          I don’t know if they still do this, I avoid the route.

          • Badabinski@kbin.earth
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            3 months ago

            LAX is also just the worst fucking airport. I remember feeling shocked the first time I flew to LAX. I thought that a city like LA would have a nice, efficient airport, given how much traffic that airport gets and how much money LA has. It’s been 10 years since I was last there, but I wouldn’t be surprised if LAX was just as dingy and disorganized now.

            I’m sure the whole security theater bullshit would occur no matter what airport you flew through, and I don’t know if the experience would have been any nicer anywhere else. I just don’t like that airport, I’m in a bad mood, and I want to complain about things on the internet.

          • BlueÆther@no.lastname.nz
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            3 months ago

            did london via LAX as well. This was my only experience of the US:

            Arrive LAX and do the whole enter the US customs, the agent asks if anyone has had access to my baggage to which I answered “everyone here with security access”. The shit head was not impressed and let me know.

      • tlekiteki@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        3 months ago

        i dont obey bullshit signs. like there are still signs demanding i wear mask in a restaurant, but nobody cares.

        its a diff story if someone gives me a hard time: `sure if it|l make you shut up´

      • Death_Equity@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        We read, just not posted signs without a skull on it or something cool like that.

        If it is important they would put it on a hat.

        • Stovetop@lemmy.world
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          3 months ago

          I’d also say sign fatigue (plus general fatigue) is a thing. When you go to an airport security line there’s like these giant signboards stood up like the 200 Commandments, each with a mix of pictures and walls of text of for things you’re not allowed to bring on a plane. Or some things you can check and not carry on or you can carry on and not check. And you’re also expected to know all of that while you are in transit, stressed, and maybe also sleep deprived.

          Too many signs to properly pay attention to them all.

  • YurkshireLad@lemmy.ca
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    3 months ago

    I never understood the need to display multiple US flags in your yard. We get it, you live in america. You love America. We get that too. Are you afraid someone will think you no longer wish to be American if you took your flags down?

    • BlanketsWithSmallpox@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      Funnily enough this is exactly how people think including our house.

      I took mine down when Roe v Wade was overturned and the Progress Pride flag went up. I had been considering putting the American Flag back up recently if Democrats start winning again.

      People from every country like to pretend that patriotism isn’t a natural part of living but will stick their heads so far up their own asses when talking up all their food, culture, teams, or any other number of arbitrary things.

      And while there has been some divergence in Patriotism vs Nationalism, they’re essentially the same damn thing but with better connotations for one now lol.

      https://www.dictionary.com/e/patriotism-vs-nationalism/

      • KillingTimeItself@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        3 months ago

        And while there has been some divergence in Patriotism vs Nationalism, they’re essentially the same damn thing but with better connotations for one now lol.

        ok to be clear, nationalism is generally a hinge point in a fascism/authoritarian political party. Patriotism is just being proud of the country you’re a part of. A lot of people are very patriotic about their states, or sports teams. Brits especially.

    • Vanth@reddthat.com
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      3 months ago

      It took me (an American) going to Ireland and Northern Ireland to realize how odd the excessive flag waving is. Still odd, but those two have the US beat.

      • corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca
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        3 months ago

        But the Republic and Northern island need to fly those flags so you know where you are and whether it’s been taken over.

        Okay, maybe not, but when I was in America for a few years we decided the ridiculous fixation was so people knew that they hadn’t been taken over … again.

      • bjornsno@lemm.ee
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        3 months ago

        Currently live in the Republic of Ireland and I have no idea what you’re talking about? Were you here on Saint Patrick’s Day? There’s a significant amount of Palestinian flags in windows here for pretty obvious reasons but other than that I don’t think I’ve seen a flag since, again, Paddy’s day.

    • beansbeansbeans@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      I think for some it’s a mix of patriotism and having poor taste in decor. I know people who also have American flag swim shorts, sunglasses, etc. Also, it’s not exclusive to America. My British side of the family (especially the ones who’ve met the former Queen) have a weird amount of UK flag decor too, ranging from clock faces, throw pillows, and even an armchair covered in a giant union jack.

      • tetris11@lemmy.ml
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        3 months ago

        As long as it’s the UK flag, and not the English flag, I’ll give them a pass. Stay clear from anyone in an England flag, drunk or sober, football or naught.

    • MimicJar@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      You know what’s a funny one? Flag pins. Every politician in America, take a look, they will ALL be wearing a little American Flag pin, always.

      I have to assume other politicians in other countries don’t always wear a pin of their country.

    • greenskye@lemm.ee
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      3 months ago

      Honestly I assume most people with an American flag in their yard are racist trump fans these days

    • jpeps@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      The flag patriotism and intense praise of military action was a lot for me. I remember going to a mall, and seeing what would typically be reserved as disabled parking was instead veteran parking?? And then the cinema in the mall loudly advertising its discount for veterans as well. We do have a general discount in my country too, but it’s not so… intense. Like no one else has to know it’s happening because it’s more of a state benefit than it is a form of patriotism.

      Neighbourhoods in general are what I found the strangest when I stayed in the States. Flags everywhere as you say, but also just the intense size, and the lack of walkability (the kurb drops felt massive compared to my country). Beyond that I remember walking for around 20 minutes through a suburb and counting upwards of 10 different company logos on rubbish bins. This neighbourhood seemingly had 10 different bin days rather than one centralised service.

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    3 months ago

    I’m Canadian. I went to a concert in Michigan (Third Eye Blind) and half the crowd had some article of clothing with the American flag on it. Not really that weird, but it’s more than I’m used to seeing Canadians sporting Canadian flag clothing.

    • Death_Equity@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      We do love our flag, especially post 9/11. Michigan is definitely a place where you would see more American flags than average. If you were in San Francisco, you would see far less.

    • FierySpectre@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      In Belgium mostly the only time you’ll see anyone with the flag on some piece of clothing is at some international (sports) event.

  • Kraiden@kbin.earth
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    3 months ago

    Electric kettles (or hot water jugs depending on where you are) are just not a thing there. Apparently it has something to do with your 110v AC system. They don’t boil as fast, and so never really took off. Just a little factoid that blew my mind, considering how commonplace they are everywhere else.

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      3 months ago

      They do exist here, just not very common. But in my family at least, every person has one in their kitchen. We are big tea drinkers though. I use mine a lot to heat broth for Ramen.

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      3 months ago

      LOL, we has 2 and have never used them. One is at camp, where we have a gennie, and we sold the other at the flea market.

      The only hot drinks we make are coffe and we have 3 machines for that. If we need hot water to cook, we heat it on the stove top. I just can’t see why we would want one. Am I missing out?

      • Kraiden@kbin.earth
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        3 months ago

        They’re faster than the stovetop by a lot over here, so if you’re boiling a lot of water multiple times a day (for tea, coffee, ramen, and whatever else) they’re super convenient.

        If you’re not making many hot drinks (or have better machines for that) I’m not sure how much use they are.

        As for cooking, I know for myself, when I make something like rice, I boil the water in kettle first, and it definitely saves me a couple minutes. A few minutes doesn’t sound like much, but it all adds up. Another commenter says that they’re actually not that much slower over there, so it might be worth timing one compared to stove top?

        • Stovetop@lemmy.world
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          3 months ago

          A lot of things are faster than me.

          In my defense, my left leg hasn’t been as good since I took a tumble off my bike into a gutter outside of Fuzhou a few years back.

        • villainy@lemmy.world
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          3 months ago

          They’re significantly faster than boiling water on the stove here in the US too.

          I have an electric kettle because I’m a tea drinker. Not gonna lie though, it did take a while before I realized I could just generally boil water in the thing. One day, looking directly at the kettle while I filled a pot with water, the dusty light bulb in my head finally lit up. 😅

    • Death_Equity@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      We aren’t big tea drinkers, so we only need hot water for food preparation.

      The coffee machines make their hot water for coffee. If you don’t use a coffee machine to make coffee, you might use an electric kettle or the microwave if you are derrainged.

    • BedbugCutlefish@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      It’s not that much slower. Our 20a outlets give 2,400w, while yours gove 3000w. And, it’s still faster than a stovetop kettle. Its more that we don’t make hot tea very regularly, while drip coffee was the dominant hot drink for so long.

    • AngryishHumanoid@reddthat.com
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      3 months ago

      I mean, they sell them at Costco, I’d hardly call that unknown. They’re less common because most people just don’t need them.

  • Album@lemmy.ca
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    3 months ago
    1. The intense income disparity.

    2. Healthcare bills.

    I suppose these are cliche topics but as a non-american non-tourist the first thing that has stood out to me is that the highs are so incredibly high, and the lows are so incredibly low. Being a Canadian, it’s not like we don’t also have income disparity…but the gap is not as insane. The rich in the US have yachts that are 100’s of millions of dollars, and the poor literally carry their kids on their backs while selling fruit on the side of the highway. You can see both in the same day.

    Also I don’t think Americans truly understand that you can get weeks of hospital care in Canada and not even receive a bill. Like a month in a private hospital room and i paid for a phone bill, a wifi bill, and some parking fees. In the US if you even so much as flash your eyelashes at a doctor you get a bill for hundreds of dollars.

    • shalafi@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      Drive through rural Mississippi. The wealth gap is nuts just from what you can see on the highway.

    • HelixDab2@lemm.ee
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      3 months ago

      I’m getting my shoulder repaired next week (I completely tore my supraspinatus tendon, wooo…). It’s going to cost me $16,000. That’s relatively cheap in the US; if I had insurance (which I don’t), I’d have to have surgery done in a hospital, and my insurance would be billed >$30k. I’ve looked into medical tourism, but I just don’t have the time; if it was still 80% torn, I could fly to Spain or something, pay cash, take 2-3 weeks to recover, do touristy shit, fly home, and still come out ahead. Unfortunately, once a tendon is fully separated, you need to address it ASAP.

      And, BTW, I’m very, very lucky that I have $16k in a 401(k) that I can withdraw in the first place; if this had happened to me 10 years ago, i would have just lost partial use of my right arm for the rest of my life.

      …And why don’t I have insurance? The only insurance available to me costs >$500/mo., and the annual deductible (the amount I have to pay before insurance covers anything aside from routine care and prescriptions) is $9000. My costs would be almost identical if I had the only insurance that’s available to me.

      EDIT - OTOH, it’s generally a little faster for people in the US to get non-emergency care. E.g., if my supraspinatus was torn, but not completely separated, I would generally have a longer wait for surgery in the UK or Canada than I would in the US. But that’s a pretty small positive for the US system compared to a huge ton of negatives.

      • corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca
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        3 months ago

        My auntie had 4 major surgeries to overcome a situation she found herself in. It was serious ICU and ER stuff.

        She’s been there a month now, recuperating, and once she’s fully tapered off the morphine she can go home with a visiting nurse.

        Only expenses so far are vending machines when she wants some Peak Freens.

    • andrewta@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      While I agree with the essence of what you are saying. I want to say, if you have insurance the “bill” might be hundreds, but my share might only be 20 usd, if anything at all. If my “bill” was thousands, I might see my share be a couple hundred usd at most. It is possible for it to be far less then a couple hundred.

      The other thing people don’t mention is, if I honestly can’t pay my share. I can walk into the billing office at the clinic /hospital and explain I honestly can’t afford my share. The hospital will bill the insurance what they can, then look for extra funding. Most hospitals have a charity fund. It is based on my income. If I am broke and make crap wages, my share might be reduced to 0 usd.

      Should we have a better system? Yes, but many times there are real options out there.

      • Album@lemmy.ca
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        3 months ago

        As a Canadian it’s insane to me to have a bill at all after going through some sort of health ordeal the last thing you need is a big scary bill with something to do.

        if I honestly can’t pay my share. I can walk into the billing office at the clinic /hospital and explain I honestly can’t afford my share. The hospital will bill the insurance what they can, then look for extra funding. Most hospitals have a charity fund. It is based on my income. If I am broke and make crap wages, my share might be reduced to 0 usd.

        So the ask here is for someone who already need to work every waking moment, and then just lost a bunch of hours being hurt/sick, to then spend their time explaining multiple times to the billing dept that they cant afford it (this is degrading) and then their bill MIGHT be reduced but it also MIGHT go to collections and which further goes to damage the individual by hurting their credit. just seems like a burden on the poor.

        But yeah i mean its a difference in systems. I think about how canada builds it into taxes - everyone pays in at a rate consistent with their income levels and benefits similarly - but the US way is donations. And I hope that works too. It seems to work from what i’ve seen so far. but it seems like a round about way to get it done.

        • andrewta@lemmy.world
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          3 months ago

          I basically agree with what you are saying, just to clarify, it isn’t asking multiple times or explaining multiple times. The one time I had to ask for help, I talked to one person. They looked and said, don’t worry about the bill.

          But yeah we do need a better system.

          • Album@lemmy.ca
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            3 months ago

            I appreciate having your first hand insight and appreciate the convo

      • corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca
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        3 months ago

        User fees invoke a chilling effect on care usage, especially preventative care.

        And when you’re seen as a cash cow and as a patient, there can be a conflict of interest.

  • No1@aussie.zone
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    3 months ago

    Seems to have deliberately taken the opposite path of anything British:

    • Drive on the wrong side of the road
    • The light and power switches are upside down
    • Weights & measures. Imperial? Ha!
    • Screw your English dictionary. Ima put z’s everywhere, drop the letter u and randomly pronounce words like buoy so you think there’s an animal in the water over there

    It kinda makes me laugh to think about it as just anti-British 🤣

  • KillingTimeItself@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    3 months ago

    as an american i would like to make the presumptious statement of “it’s like, pretty normal actually”

    please yell at me in the replies, i thrive on confrontation.

  • JackGreenEarth@lemm.ee
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    3 months ago

    I’ve never been there, but apparently you guys don’t have blackberries, and have grape jam?

    • villainy@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      We definitely have blackberries. We don’t really have blackcurrants though, may be thinking of that?

      • Vanth@reddthat.com
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        3 months ago

        Yep, currants took a hit because they were a vector for a pine tree infection that rocked our logging industry and led to a ban on currant growing like a hundred years ago. Currants aren’t banned at the national level anymore.

        And even through that, we have had creme de cassis as a liqueur that a decently built out bar would have.

    • QualifiedKitten@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      We absolutely have blackberries. In my neck of the woods, there’s apparently 2 species of blackberries, one of which is highly invasive. I was going for walks about a month ago, specifically routed to pass by as many wild blackberries as possible, and they were very delicious!

      • HelixDab2@lemm.ee
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        3 months ago

        I avoid anywhere with blackberries and raspberries when they’re in season; that’s where the bears tend to hang out, and I’m not super keen on surprising a bear when I’m out hiking.

        Surprised a family of bears (sow and two yearlings) trying to walk out of my basement last week in the dark. That was not fun.

      • JackGreenEarth@lemm.ee
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        3 months ago

        Do you have blackberry jam? Or is it a different berry I was thinking of?

        Edit: it’s blackcurrants, isn’t it?

    • Death_Equity@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      Grape jelly is more popular than jam, but we have both. Grape jelly is kind of an essential foodstuff in a lot of houses for making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, which is a common food for children.

    • MegaUltraChicken@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      We’ve definitely got blackberries and blackberry jam, but grape does tend to be the norm in a lot of areas. I prefer raspberry myself.

    • Vanth@reddthat.com
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      3 months ago

      We have both blackberries and grape jam. Though grape is more likely to come as a jelly rather than a jam.