10 Things Americans Do That Confuse All Other Countries

[Music] better sit down for this one ten things Americans do that baffle the world the u.s. is known as the land of the free and the home of the brave but it is also home to some customs that are very confusing to foreigners do you know which habits you should leave in the u.s. before heading out on your travels check out this list of things Americans do that confuse the rest of the world it'll help you avoid some awkward situations abroad will tell you everything in a moment but before we do make sure you click the subscribe button and turn on notifications now you'll be one of the first bright ciders to watch our videos counting down from number ten no metric system now the rest of the world is familiar with meters for measurements kilograms for weights leaders for volume and Celsius for temperature but not the US ah only three countries in the world still use the Imperial system of measurements Myanmar Liberia and the US now the US did try to convert to the metric system once before and here's a short history lesson to tell you what happened the US Congress passed the metric conversion act of 1975 in 1975 of course and the u.s. metric board was established to coordinate and plan the increased use of the metric system in the United States the Act however was voluntary and well the u.s. metric board tried to implement this system the American public largely ignored their efforts by 1982 plans to convert to the metric system were dead though the US might not recognize the metric system as their official measuring system it is quietly used in the background winners are familiar with 5k races some wine comes in a 750 milliliter bottle and American cars are manufactured with almost all metric measurements and advantage to this mix between the Imperial and metric systems is that traveling Americans have a greater knowledge of systems of measurements inching ahead here's number 9 customizing restaurant orders in America it's customary to request substitutions additions or changes to a menu order if you don't want fries with your meal you can switch it for a side of mashed potatoes or veggies some foreign cultures that take great pride in their cuisine might consider it impolite if an American wanted to make substitutions order a different sauce or ask for an item to be left out of a dish some restaurants in the u.s. also refuse to make any substitutions or additions unless there are dietary restrictions or food allergies so if you're an American planning a trip abroad this might be a good time to brush up on your foreign dining etiquette number eight vacation time Americans like the rest of the world dream of taking a break from work unfortunately Americans have very little time off compared to the rest of the world after a year of work employees in Australia and the European Union have a mandatory 20 days paid vacation time and that is the minimum some employers give workers 25 days instead of 20 around the world Austria guarantees workers the most time off with 22 paid vacation days and 13 paid holidays for a whopping total of 35 days off a year Austria is closely followed by Portugal Germany and Spain on the other hand it seems that American workers get the fuzzy end of the lollipop 30 percent of American workers have 5 to 9 days off annually 38 percent have 10 to 14 days and 16 percent have 15 to 19 days eight percent have less than five days and a lucky 2% have over 24 days this means that the vast majority of Americans only have 10 to 14 days of vacation since there's no law in the u.s. to say that vacation time is mandatory one out of every four Americans doesn't get a single day off work number seven can I get a to-go box please some Americans only eat out on special occasions others frequent restaurants several times a week according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics the average American household spends $3,000 on dining out every year a common American custom is to ask for a to-go box for their leftovers however if you do this in a foreign country it might be frowned upon asking for a to-go box is a common practice given that portion sizes tend to be much larger in the US than in other parts of the world food portions in America have doubled or tripled over the last 20 years and not all Americans can eat a huge amount of food in one sitting many cultures believe that food is meant to be eaten as soon as it's ready and that taking it to go will spoil its quality in France for example many restaurants will not box up food some European diners have been raised to believe that it is impolite to leave any food on a plate in some countries asking for a doggie bag and not eating everything on your plate might be seen as a rude gesture the equivalent of failing to say thank you number 6 tipping in America given that waiters earn a small wage it is customary to leave a 15 to 20 percent tip in Europe and most Asian countries the service charge for Restaurant dining is already included in the bill tipping in countries like China and Japan is practically non-existent you might want to tip your tour guide in China but in other industries it could be seen as impolite it could even be illegal if you're an American on your travels check each country's tipping etiquette to avoid any awkward situations and there's your tip for today number five alcohol laws some 18 year old Americans wonder why they aren't old enough to drink alcohol but are old enough to enter into the military that is a good question most countries in the world have a legal drinking age of 18 or 19 years old the US along with countries like Sri Lanka Samoa and Kuwait has a legal drinking age of 21 so if you're traveling to the US and you're under 21 don't expect to be able to buy a beer the drinking laws are strict and you need identification to buy alcohol and proof you are of age number for variety of goods foreigners are amazed by the variety of goods sold in American supermarkets and pharmacies foreign supermarkets are mostly designed to offer food and a few home necessities American super stores like Walmart offer a huge selection of food furniture car items home-improvement tools and clothing they're designed to be a one-stop shop for customers but the vast amount of choices of toothpaste or shampoo might be bewildering to an outsider according to the Food Marketing Institute US supermarkets used to carry around 9,000 grocery items in the 1990s versus 40,000 to 50,000 now and pharmacies also carry a lot more than just medicine some US pharmacies can be like many shopping malls where you can shop for medicine and groceries print your digital photographs buy a gift for someone purchase alcoholic beverages if you're over 21 and get office supplies [Music] number 3 thumbs up Americans might think that giving someone the thumbs up is a universally positive sign meaning well done or everything's good but don't use this just here in Australia Greece or the Middle East as it's a rude way of telling someone to get lost you might think that pointing at something is okay but not in China that gesture is considered to be very rude or perhaps you might be rocking out your favorite song and making horn fingers but in countries like Brazil Colombia and Portugal aren't fingers are used to tell someone that their wife is cheating on them though boy if you're traveling it's best to communicate verbally and avoid hand gestures as they're bound to offend someone number two being extremely patriotic we hope that everyone feels a good sense of patriotism toward their country some avid Americans take their patriotism to another level a lot of foreign countries reserved the use of their national flag for official government buildings but in the u.s. you see the flag everywhere you might see flags being flown in government buildings fast-food joints in regular houses on cars and on lapel pins the American flag can also be seen on shirts pants and bikinis the national anthem is sung at sports games and students learn the Pledge of Allegiance from a very early age other countries like India have strong rules about the display and use of the national flag some foreigners find this strong focus on patriotism curious number one sales tax an aspect that confuses most foreigners visiting the United States is sales tax they might be confused when they take an item to the register only to find that it costs more than advertised in Europe sales tax has already added to the price displayed on the price tag in the u.s. it gets added at the register to make things even more confusing sales tax is imposed by the individual US states not the federal government this means that a shirt might cost you fifteen dollars in California but the same shirt might be cheaper in another state the individual states might also have local city or county sales tax so shopping in a state doesn't guarantee that the sales tax will be the same across the board Americans are used to this crazy system and might automatically overestimate the price of an to account for the sales tax but unless foreigners have great math skills or have done their research shopping in the u.s. might be confusing to say the least we hope this video saves you from some really awkward situations now do you know other things Americans do that are confusing to foreigners have you been in one of these confusing situations tell us all about it in the comments and don't forget to click subscribe to stay on the bright side of life [Music]

Channel: BRIGHT SIDE

Views: 2,032,312

Rating: 4.4481287 out of 5

Keywords: Americans, tipping in the USA, american rules, american traditions, facts about US, Sales tax america, Alcohol laws america, travel to America, American law rules

Id: pGaIC3gQ1vE

Length: 11min 42sec (702 seconds)

Published: Wed Aug 22 2018