07-07-2025
American tourists on holiday in Rome discover 'genius' invention - but it leaves Europeans reeling
A group of American tourists on holiday in Rome have gone viral after praising a European invention as 'genius' - only to discover that locals can't stand it.
TikTok user Mallory Burford, whose account has racked up more than 1.5 million likes, shared a video showing the moment she and her friends came across the now-controversial tethered bottle cap.
In the clip, Mallory unscrews the top of a plastic water bottle and exclaims: 'One thing that has surprised us about Europe is the caps don't come off, so you don't lose it.'
The bottle in question features a tethered lid - a design where the cap remains attached to the bottle after opening, rather than being completely removable.
As her friend leans in to add: 'Literally genius', Mallory turns to the camera and urges her home nation to catch up, exclaiming: 'Come on America!'
But while the group is clearly impressed, Europeans were quick to shoot down the enthusiasm.
The video's comments section quickly filled with unimpressed locals pointing out that the design is not as beloved as the tourists might think.
'We actually hate it in Europe' wrote one person - a remark that received more than 60,000 likes.
Another agreed: 'Nobody in Europe likes it. Not a single person.'
Someone else chimed in with: 'It's one of the most annoying things in Europe.'
And one unimpressed commenter said: 'Dude. It's about the environment, not helping stone heads not lose their caps.'
Another simply declared: 'WE HATE IT'.
The tethered cap design was introduced following a 2019 European Union directive aimed at tackling plastic pollution.
From 3 July 2024, all non-returnable plastic drinks bottles with a capacity of up to three litres must have caps that remain attached after opening.
The reasoning behind the rule is environmental. With around 400 million tonnes of plastic produced globally each year, the EU hopes the tethered caps will reduce litter and prevent plastic tops from ending up in the oceans or scattered across landscapes.
Unlike other materials, plastic never fully breaks down. Instead, it disintegrates into smaller and smaller particles, known as microplastics, which can contaminate soil and water.
These microplastics can then enter the food chain, and have been linked to serious health concerns including endocrine disruption and even cancer.
While the rule is aimed at reducing waste, it hasn't gone down well with many consumers, particularly in the UK, where social media erupted with complaints when the tethered caps began appearing on supermarket shelves.
Not everyone is against the idea, though. One defender wrote under Mallory's post: 'The people that find them annoying don't have the cognitive ability to rotate the bottle so the cap isn't in the way.'
Still, it seems the verdict in Europe is clear, no matter how 'genius' Americans think it is.
Although Mallory and her friends were impressed by what they deem to be an intuitive design, their fellow Americans have a reputation for being shocked by seemingly trivial features of UK life.
An American woman recently revealed the one everyday British word that's so offensive in the United States, she claims she wouldn't even dare say it aloud.
Amber Kacherian, a popular TikToker with nearly a million followers, has been visiting the UK and regularly posts about her culture shock experiences, from slang to baffling food labels.
The word in question is a British slang term for a cigarette - fag - a word which, in the US, is exclusively used as a slur against gay people.
Brits flocked to the comments to share their disgust at the design, which is relatively new to the UK
'I can't even say the word on here or I'll get cancelled,' says Amber. 'Let's just say it's a horribly offensive slur that you will never, ever hear come out of my mouth.
'It's 'flag', but without the L. But please don't ever say that word in America. Probably just don't ever say it anywhere, ever, just to be safe.'
Amber explains how she discovered that the word is also used in Britain to describe a variety of meatball, thanks to faggots, a famous UK meat product.
Filming herself in front of an image of the packaging of Mr Brain's Six Pork Faggots, she asks her UK followers: 'For my friends in the UK, my question is: what is the fascination with this word? Why does everyone love using this word?
'Does it mean something else in the UK? In America you cannot say this word ever, but in the UK they're just casually throwing it on packages of meatballs.'
