As a non-American, what American things do you find strange or confusing?
Believe me, it's confusing to us too.
In a very, very general way of looking at things, this is also a geographical issue. Countries that do socialized healthcare well are, again, small and densely-populated, because it's easier for municipal and state governments to generate enough tax revenue to cover medical costs (which have always been high and are getting higher every year). If you're the mayor of Bumblescuzz, Alabama (Population: 43), though, you'll never have enough taxpayer revenue to cover the costs of a full hospital + staff, so the issue is "corrected" by for-profit industry.
Canada is a large, sparsely-populated country that uses the socialized healthcare model, and, as a result, our hospitals have years-long waiting lists, ERs are packed to the gills, doctors are hideously underpaid, healthcare quality is the among the lowest in the first world, and, on average, 41 cents from every dollar we make goes to the government (the highest in the G7), obliterating our private industry and sending our economy into a nosedive. :'(
My head canon for healthcare being bad is that whoever’s in charge of the US healthcare system is that he’s secretly in cahoots with the ceo of McDonald’s
Joking of course
Unless….
Thank you.
Not a joke, they really are in cahoots with each other. Otherwise how will people here get sick and have to give pharma it's deserving dollar?
This becomes darkly hilarious if you're aware of what just happened to a major American healthcare CEO over the past few days...
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I lurk around a few blogs on t'net covering the events and the aftermath of that hit (chaotic and absurd). It seems to be having a similar effect as Shinzo Abe's TF2 Scout weapon hit a while back.
I also came across people's nightmarish deaings with health insurance companies too over in the US. It's really really difficult to feel sorry for this particular CEO, or any of them really!
I also came across people's nightmarish deaings with health insurance companies too over in the US. It's really really difficult to feel sorry for this particular CEO, or any of them really!
Boy howdy.
As an American, I'll stay out of this, lemme just say: We don't know why we do this shit either.
Small edit: The imperial system is sheer ornery cuss bullishness, now and forever.
As an American, I'll stay out of this, lemme just say: We don't know why we do this shit either.
Small edit: The imperial system is sheer ornery cuss bullishness, now and forever.
I deleted a comment because I'm not brave enough...
Well...I reckon some of that notion springs from less and less actual poverty or struggle in media, 70's television and film often showed that side of life. Zip forward to the 90's-2000's and the cast of Friends don't have money problems, and American Idol promises fame and fortune to any random citizen with unsung (to-be-sung?) talent with the most dominant ratings in modern TV history.
Like most of the world, a small portion of the population have most of the money, most of the free time, most of the luxury. Healthcare doesn't offer more robust service than say, the NHS in the UK, despite the enormous financial demands. I've tended bar from time to time, you get cuts and injuries from kegs and whatnot, no one goes to the hospital. I once helped an old woman who had cracked her head on the sidewalk after a tumble, she screamed at me not to call an ambulance, couldn't afford it. Helped as best I could, which wasn't much, and saw her home.
I'd never say we're worse off, surely other countries are active war zones right now, but the surest way to live well as an American is to be born rich. Statistically, that's how most wealth is transferred.
We've always had winners, and we make sure you know their stories. Most folks lose though, it's just how the system works, and we don't talk about that.
I deleted that and I'm sorry for it. I forgot exactly what I put down. 'a necessary rant' I was making. I'm self aware of my very own flaws..
Your comment sounded fine. I don’t think there was anything wrong with it.
Hey, I'm always worried about that sort of thing, no worries.
I'm evil, am I?
I don't think so???
It's just stupid philological shit, don't take mind into my mindless mantra please. I'm just some rando on the net.
I like your messages. They’re fun to read.
I read that apparently politeness towards retail workers in store isn't inherent.
I mean tourists find it weird when workers are being offended when they don't say hello back after they welcomed the client.
I mean tourists find it weird when workers are being offended when they don't say hello back after they welcomed the client.
OK, I’m diving back in — if any actual Americans want to check my homework, please do.
The word “biscuit” was chosen specifically for that savoury food because it originates from Creole cuisine, which was heavily influenced by the French. Using the word “biscuit” to refer to the sweet food was actually coined internationally after that point.
(Here in Canada, we use both biscuit and cookie for the sweet food. Fun!)
On a more cultural note, though, North Americans associate taking their shoes off with relaxation and privacy. A visitor to your home won’t take their shoes off, because they usually aren’t planning to stay.
In the U.S., the word “biscuit” refers to something else — a buttery, savoury pastry baked fresh and served as a side dish to fried foods, emblematic of Southern American cuisine. It isn’t anything like what they a cookie (a sweet, often-packaged dessert food), so they have to differentiate between the two. Southern American food isn’t really served outside of the U.S., so “biscuit” suffices everywhere else.
The word “biscuit” was chosen specifically for that savoury food because it originates from Creole cuisine, which was heavily influenced by the French. Using the word “biscuit” to refer to the sweet food was actually coined internationally after that point.
(Here in Canada, we use both biscuit and cookie for the sweet food. Fun!)
Most American breakfast foods are either pre-prepared or made specifically for speed, because they all have to rush out to their big Wall Street jobs in the morning. French toast (as we in North American know it) requires more than one dish to cook, so it’s more of a restaurant food.
Taken literally, this is actually more of a UK thing, but “meat and potatoes” is shorthand for to a standard American diet, here.
It’s the literal best pizza on the Planet Earth, and you’re paying for immediacy. Most New York pizzerias constantly have slices ready for you to buy ASAP, so you don’t have to order a full pie when you’re in a rush to catch a Broadway show (unless you’re a Seinfeld character).
Ketchup, in a derogatory sense, is typically used to either cover up the taste of bad food or make high cuisine more palatable to unrefined taste buds. Mayo is a bland, neutral condiment, so people use it as a point of general insult when referring to one’s culinary tastes. Very few people actually dislike these sauces in a non-accusatory setting.
Digimon came out the year after Pokemon in English-speaking territories and had a similar name and concept, so general audiences kind of conflated the two. These days, everyone knows the differences.
In the 2000s, when most people adopted the Internet, the Sonic series was releasing a string of poorly-received instalments, and became associated with generally low-quality or gimmicky gameplay. The character’s popularity with children and neurodivergent people also made it easy to mock.
This is a new thing — more millennials and zoomers work from home, live in cities (where they can access all their services within walking distance), or simply choose not to drive and have all their needs brought to them, which the Internet age has made possible.
Hershey’s, the biggest American chocolate brand, lobbied specifically for the creation of these laws to maintain low production costs. All other American chocolatiers benefit from them, and Americans have been conditioned to like that taste, so there’s no demand to change it.
You likely live south of the equator, whereas America is north of it. The seasons swap on either side of the line, because it divides the earth evenly on a horizontal axis. (And, more granularly, because that’s the centre of where our planet rotates.)
It depends on the environment, and the U.S. has several. Generally speaking, in a dry, warm climate like Arizona or California (where that media you’re watching is filmed), people keep their shoes on because the chance of them tracking something into the house is lower. In wetter, colder areas like Michigan or New York, they’ll take their shoes off and wear socks indoors.
On a more cultural note, though, North Americans associate taking their shoes off with relaxation and privacy. A visitor to your home won’t take their shoes off, because they usually aren’t planning to stay.
In America, customer-facing workers are always subservient to the customer (because the customer is the one paying their wage), so it isn’t necessary to thank them any more than you’d thank a vending machine or something. Nice people still will, though, and outright rudeness is still a faux pas.
It is, a lot of Americans are big fat porkers.
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I am aware that retail workers are technically getting their salary from customers but I think they are worth more than vending machines.
in terms of the public transit thin people are talking about, it very much depends on the city. most extant public transit in the US is either the barest minimum concession for only those too poor to afford a car, or it's a relic of the era before the car lobbyists tricked the country into destroying our own infrastructure. the US is comically corrupt when it comes to accepting bribes openly from corporations, it sucks.
im from one of those cities that was always just too dense to actually build too much car infrastructure so our public transit isnt terrible. i know how to drive but i haven't owned a car for years. if you cant tell i kinda hate car culture lol.
im from one of those cities that was always just too dense to actually build too much car infrastructure so our public transit isnt terrible. i know how to drive but i haven't owned a car for years. if you cant tell i kinda hate car culture lol.
There seems to be an aversion towards public services which seems odd. No funding for leech programs like public health! But yeah, let's give good pal Musk a few hundred million cuz why not, dude's funny. Also, the obsession with guns. And for a country that has "United" in the name... it ain't shown as quite united.
By the way, we call 'mericans "estadounidenses" so... "unitedstatians" ? Cuz America is a big place with many countries.
But going for strange and confusing.... Trump.
By the way, we call 'mericans "estadounidenses" so... "unitedstatians" ? Cuz America is a big place with many countries.
But going for strange and confusing.... Trump.
OK, now it’s my turn to ask a question. Every time I’ve ever spoken to an American who grew up gaming on a PC, they were always from the Midwest. A lot of them didn’t have dedicated gaming consoles, and didn’t even know anyone who did! So, for any Americans reading this, my question to you:
In the U.S., do you feel that console gaming was more of a coastal thing up until recently? If you’re from middle America, were you and your friends predominantly playing games on PC? I’d love to hear your thoughts — I’m really curious about this!
In the U.S., do you feel that console gaming was more of a coastal thing up until recently? If you’re from middle America, were you and your friends predominantly playing games on PC? I’d love to hear your thoughts — I’m really curious about this!
I never got consistent answers on this. And when I do, it’s either:
1- answered in extremes
2- answered very defensively, like they’re “proving” something
3- both
But I’m sure you’ll get level-headed replies here
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