Non-Americans Are Revealing "Weird" Things About The US That Americans Don't Know Are Strange
A bit ago, redditor @rickyjones75 asked, "Non-Americans who have been to the US: What is the weirdest thing about America that Americans don't realize is weird?" The responses were passionate and very specific. Here are just 21 examples that stood out:
1. "Coffee all the time. I got a tattoo in Barcelona and was completely embarrassed when I asked the artist if he wanted a coffee from next door. He told me, 'Oh no, I have to keep working.' He thought I wanted to go sit with him for a while."
2. "Putting the real estate agent's face on the for-sale signs."
— toastehmonstah
"Hahaha, I love this one. Would never have thought it to be different elsewhere — an American."
— sweatpants122
3. "It's big. Like, really big. I'm from the UK. And two years ago, I did Route 66. Even taking the interstate (so not the actual Route 66, but you get the idea), it took four days of 12+ hours driving to do it. It's goddamn huge."
— cairfrey
"I recently went to Yellowstone with my wife, and we drove about 16 hours straight to get there.
While we were there, we chatted up a European couple who thought we were lying about our drive....
I remember one saying, 'Why did they feel the need to exaggerate such a ridiculous lie about driving????' as they walked away."
— ImmaZoni
4. "How easy it is as an outsider to make friends. You guys are nice as hell. I moved here, back at the start of 2024. I've got my small group of friends back in New Zealand and thought I'd have trouble making new ones. But Americans have been some of the friendliest people I've met."
— Dungleinthejungle
"If you're from somewhere else, that's instant intrigue, and you'll have no shortage of Americans wanting to chat with you and befriend you. ☠️"
— 1776_MDCCLXXVI
"I was on a solo trip, lying on the beach somewhere in Florida. A man with a sun shelter near me saw I was burning the f up. He invited me over to his shelter. I was hesitant to accept, as I knew it was common for Americans to extend an invitation without expecting you to accept. So I first declined politely while having a chat. After he kept encouraging, we hung out for a bit, drank a couple of seltzers from his cooler, and had a great time.
I'm not an outgoing person by nature, but I really appreciated how I still met many people like this while I was there. Never had experiences like that here in Europe."
— ghee
5. "The options when ordering food. I thought it was a TV joke! I feel naughty asking to swap chips for mash, but you guys can request pretty much anything!"
6. "How enamoured you are with British culture and people. I was invited to a BBQ in a public place by someone that I met because he liked the T-shirt I was wearing. I felt like some sort of celebrity! I'm an average guy, but everyone wanted to chat with me."
"I've traveled extensively and have met many other nationalities. Whilst in their country, I've been made to feel welcome in almost all. But how I was treated once my accent was heard in the US was on another level.
Thank you for making me feel so welcome. I've had several amazing trips to the US. They hold a very special place in my heart."
— bungle_bogs
7. "They have those angry sinks that chop stuff."
— Mind_Extract
"I worked at a multi-national company. Besides my truck, the garbage disposal was the thing most people wanted to see."
— dakotafluffy1
"Mine is branded the Insinkerator. 😏"
— moneybagsukulele
8. "I went there for university. And, honestly, Americans just do a lot of little things that are generally nice. Holding the door open, smiling if you make eye contact while walking, randomly saying a quick greeting, etc. Random compliments too, and I never got the vibe that people were just making them up like some of my friends who haven't been will say. If someone complimented someone's clothes, hair, or whatever, it seemed like they meant it. They just didn't seem to hold back the random thoughts and said them out loud. I didn't even really notice the door holding thing after the first few days. But when I returned to my country, I missed it lol. Not that I ever expected someone to hold the door even in America. But the absence of it and the quick smiles were surprisingly noticeable back home."
9. "The work culture is crazy. I worked there, and some people just…don't take time off. They are basically on call all the time, evenings, weekends, or whatever."
11. "How nobody uses the sidewalk. Like, I was told not to bother walking to a place because XYZ is too far away for walking. Turns out it's like 500m [or 0.3 miles] down the road. Why bother using the car for that? Oh, now I remember. Because the sidewalk just stops in the middle of nowhere. Funny how that works."
12. "Didn't realize (at least in NYC) that they still use swipe-and-sign for credit cards. The server took our card, and we followed him to the server station. Because in Canada, they either bring the machine to you or you pay at the desk. This was 2017, and we hadn't had to sign for a bill in about a decade. Everybody in the Bubba Gump thought we were the weird ones."
— SoNotTheCoolest
13. "For me, what was shocking was how sweet a lot of food was. I mean things I would never expect to be sweet, like bread or mayonnaise. Also, the size of portions of food. I sometimes was not able to eat half of the portions I was served. And how nice people were. It was a really amazing thing."
15. "The tax isn't automatically added to the price shown in shops, restaurants, etc. If I only have a dollar in my pocket, I'd like to see straight away what I can buy for that dollar without trying to find out the tax rate and calculating it."
— Casey_19
17. "Wearing shoes inside is straight up freaking unhinged. I love the moment I get home, take my socks off, and wiggle my bare feet. Always being in shoes is beyond me, let alone going on your bed and stuff while wearing them."
Catherine Falls Commercial / Getty Images
18. "The gigantic open spaces everywhere. SO. MUCH. SPACE."
— Murmurmira
19. "Flags everywhere. There was one on a pole above a coffee shop doorway, but the American flag was so large it draped low enough to bop me in the eye as I exited. I'm 5'4". In Walmart's school supplies section, there were so many American flags of different sizes and materials. And that was like…in May. I can't imagine what the Fourth of July is like."
21. Finally, "Ranch dressing obsession."
What's the oddest thing about American culture that you've encountered? Let us know in the comments or anonymous form below!
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"You and I could come down and drive into the farm area, stop and buy a dozen Deering eggs and take them home and have them for breakfast, and I think that was probably particularly important during World War I," historian Arva Moore Parks said in the audio tour. "He was able to supply not only himself but his workers also." Inspired by European designs, the gardens feature mazes, terraces, fountains, and more. Inspired by 17th- and 18th-century Italian and French villas, the Vizcaya gardens feature a variety of scenes, from a garden theater to multiple paths and mazes, intended to highlight and enhance the native South Florida flora surrounding the estate. The original layout of Vizcaya featured over 180 acres of subtropical forests. Today, that number has gone down to 50 acres. In 1987, President Ronald Reagan hosted Pope John Paul II at the estate. On September 10, 1987, President Ronald Reagan welcomed Pope John Paul II at Vizcaya, where the two conversed while exploring the gardens and the estate. Atop a garden mount is the Casino, a focal point of the gardens. Located at the top of garden mounds designed to block the reflection of water ponds into the main house, the garden casino — Italian for "little house" — was a space where Deering and his guests could take in the garden views or enjoy the subtropical weather without being in direct contact with the sun. Inside the building, a painted ceiling depicts heavenly images. Underneath, bathrooms and other now closed-off areas hide under decorated ceilings. Originally, the casino overlooked a water park part of the estate, where gondolas would be launched, a crucial part of Deering's vision for Vizcaya. Today, the water park no longer exists, and the land is instead taken up by a Catholic church, hospital, and schools after the Deering family sold part of the property to the Catholic Diocese of St. Augustine in 1946. The opposite side of the estate was once used for clandestine entertainment; now, it is a café. While today a café sits underneath the mansion, the space served as a leisure center during Deering's stay. The rooms were filled with billiard tables, bowling alleys, and leather chairs. Hidden underneath the billiards table was also a roulette table, which Deering often used when his college friends visited the estate. The mansion, which opened at the peak of the Prohibition era, also had a decent supply of liquor, which Deering smuggled into the estate and hid in secret bars and cellars. The swimming pool is half-covered, providing relief from South Florida's relentless sun. Tucked next to the leisure rooms underneath the main house is the half-indoor swimming pool, in which Deering is said to have only swum once. Designed as the main entry point to the mansion, the east side of the mansion opens up to a stone barge in the Biscayne Bay. When he first moved into his winter home in December 1916, Deering arrived by sea on what he intended was the front entrance to Vizcaya. Opening up to the Biscayne Bay, the waterfront side of the property features a stone barge, a sculpted structure that acts as a breakwater and protects the main house from changing tides and waves. Today, the mansion hosts private events and has become a local staple for Quinceañera pictures. Purchased from the Deering family by Miami-Dade County for $1 million in 1962, Vizcaya today operates as a museum open to the public and for private reservations. The estate is often the background of Quinceañera pictures from Miami's large Hispanic population. Walking around the gardens, I saw multiple young women dressed in extravagant gowns posing in the many stunning locations of the estate. Along with being a photographic hot spot, Vizcaya also hosts private events, from Miami Swim Week runway shows to floral-decorated weddings in the gardens. Today, the estate remains an icon of Miami, a city that many would often relate to modern luxury rather than the old and classic wealth on display in Gilded Age -style mansions like Vizcaya.
