Weirdest Things Americans Said To Non-Americans

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mattstaff
Jul 2, 2021 12:00 PM EDT

It's easy to forget just how bizarre some of the things that are considered normal in America, are completely senseless to the rest of the world. Sometimes it takes someone not from your home country to offer that refreshing outside-in perspective that shines a light on the strange nature of a culturally accepted norm you live with on a daily basis. For a similar AskReddit thread check out some of non-Americans biggest culture shocks when coming to America. 

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  • 01
    Rectangle - gingerPB · 2d A middle aged American was surprised to find out Venice was so old (and an actual city for centuries), and not built in the 20th century for tourist purposes G Reply 2.2k ...
    via r/AskReddit
  • 02
    Font - zabraxuss • 2d O1 Award Englishman, living in the US for 15 years now. I've been asked a lot of bizarre things but one of the best was someone who asked what language we speak in England, and how long it took me to learn English when I moved here. G Reply 4 1.9k 3
    via r/AskReddit
  • 03
    Font - AnimalDisco ·• 2d When I visited a friend in the US they told me about this amazing furniture shop they had there called IKEA. I'm Swedish G Reply 4 3.2k 3 ...
    via r/AskReddit
  • 04
    Font - 1 Award I once had an american tell me I need to try the "real" Gouda cheese they have in the US because everything else was fake Gouda... I'm Dutch and actually lived near Gouda G Reply 4 4k 3 + ...
    via r/AskReddit
  • 05
    Font - stoopio-oh · 2d "Wow you speak American very well for a foreigner" Thanks lady, l'm Canadian and "American" is the only language I know 5 Reply 1 2.6k ...
    via r/AskReddit
  • 06
    Font - promunbound · 2d 3 Awards I'm British, was travelling in the states. Got talking to a guy at a bar while we're waiting for service, and he recommended I try a pint of Guinness while in the US. He informed me they don't sell Guinness in the UK. I politely explained that they do indeed have Guinness in just about every pub in the UK. He disagreed, adding that he's never been himself but his son in law went to London on business and told him so. I explained l'd lived in the UK including Lond
    via r/AskReddit
  • 07
    Rectangle - Individual-Gur-7292 · 2d An American asked me if he needed a passport to cross the river Thames as he thought it was the English Channel and that south London was France. 6 Reply 4 204 3 ...
    via r/AskReddit
  • 08
    Rectangle - Alarmed_Scientist_15 · 2d An Austrian friend and I were told about about this magical thing they have in America called Fireworks and how we should go see it at least once in our lives. G Reply 1 5.8k 3
    via r/AskReddit
  • 09
    Font - Dr_McKay · 2d 4 Awards I'd say it's a toss up between: "Is England in London?" "Do you still like, drive horses to get around in Europe?"
    via r/AskReddit
  • 10
    Font - honeywrites • 3d 2 Awards Canadian here. I was 7 and in Florida telling my new also 7 year old friend about our money system. I told her we don't have dollar or two dollar bills they are coins and called a loonie and a toonie. She goes and asks her parents and they told her I was lying. 6 Reply 4 10.6k 3 ...
    via r/AskReddit
  • 11
    Rectangle - Al_Capwned13· 2d "Ah, you're from Denmark. Where in Canada is that again?" G Reply 4 3.7k 3
    via r/AskReddit
  • 12
    Font - Ikm81 · 2d I was in a bar in Colorado and I had 2 guys call me a liar when I said we don't have bears in Australia. Also when I was in England 2 American ladies on a day tour to Stonehenge got stroppy when they couldn't use USD in a shop and then told the tour guide that he didn't sound English because his accent 'wasn't English'. He proceeded to explain and perform all of the various accents from different regions of the UK. It was quite incredible. G Reply 194 3 ...
    via r/AskReddit
  • 13
    Font - MonkeyMode • 2d 1 Award "Why do you brits (I'm not British) call an elevator a lift when it goes both up and down?" I responded that Americans didn't call an elevator a descendevator when it moves down. 6 Reply 1 1.3k 3
    via r/AskReddit
  • 14
    Font - sad_choochoo_train • 2d 2 Awards I live in the southern hemisphere. Talking to an American online in December, and I mentioned it was summer for me. She kept asking which month I was in (kept insisting it must be June) and couldn't seem to wrap her head around the idea that it was simultaneously December and summer in the southern hemisphere. G Reply 4 13.4k 3 ..
    via r/AskReddit
  • 15
    Font - CrazySnekGirl · 2d A friend was dating an American, and a bunch of us went out for a pub meal (UK). Now, there's a stereotype that Americans can be a little loud. And, unfortunately, this was the case with this girl. Literally everyone in the pub was giving her side-eye, but noone says anything because that would be rude. My friend very subtly tries to make her aware of the noise level, and she talk-yells, "oh no, honey. l'm not loud. All y'all are just too quiet! Such a quaint little cou
    via r/AskReddit
  • 16
    Rectangle - MetalObsessed · 3d 3 3 Awards When an American asked me what it's like to have an accent. They thought that they had no accent and their voice was 'default' basically G Reply 1 7.6k 3
    via r/AskReddit
  • 17
    Font - Vertebrae_Viking · 2d 1 Award At customs in LAX: Customs Agent: "Where are you from?" Me: "Denmark" CA:"Sir, please don't lie about your nationality" Me: "Excuse me?" CA: "Denmark isn't a real country, now please tell me your country of origin." Me: "Sir, you are literally holding my passport, which is from Denmark, in your hand. How can you sit there and tell me that my country doesn't exist?!" CA: "Sir, Denmark is a region of Sweden, and not a recognised independent nation" The swedes w
    via r/AskReddit
  • 18
    Rectangle - Nice_Swordfish_69420 · 3d 1 Award "Wait, y'all have IKEA?" Im Swedish 6 Reply 1 7.4k 3 + ...
    via r/AskReddit
  • 19
    Font - InscrutableAudacity · 3d 2 Awards "How long did you take you learn to use metric instead of normal measurements?" He genuinely didn't understand that metric was a system we actually used every day, we weren't constantly having to mentally convert meausrements to feet or pounds to understand how big they really were. G Reply 4 7k 3 ...
    via r/AskReddit
  • 20
    Font - betelgeux · 2d "Ya'll are part of the USA, you just have a different flag 'sall." Umm... no. I assure you Canada us not part of the US. G Reply 4 1.6k 3
    via r/AskReddit
  • 21
    Font - lu_fu • 2d "Spaghetti with eggs kinda weird". "That's a Carbonara"!!! 5 Reply 4 1.4k 3 ...
    via r/AskReddit
  • 22
    Rectangle - Kelly_the_tailor · 2d "Do you have electricity and TV over there in Europe?" Several times. In many variations. G Reply 4 708 3
    via r/AskReddit

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humor Awkward askreddit ridiculous Reddit funny weird culture
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