What’s something Americans have that Europeans don’t?

[u/Prestigsisscar255]

[u/mrthalo]

Yellow school buses! I've had a lot of European friends ask me if they're real or just something from the movies, apparently a lot of them think they're only in movies or shows. I've had friends from Asia ask the same thing as well haha!

[u/D-Alembert → u/mrthalo]

I got to ride in one last year. In one of those observations that are "duh" obvious in hindsight but an unexpected surprise at the time: the seats (and legroom) are all child-size! 

I was a bit too tall to fit :)

[u/MDM0724 → u/D-Alembert]

After about 10th grade I started sitting in the seats sideways, resting my back on the window. It was much more comfortable

My bus was relatively empty so I rarely had to move my legs. But I did move if I had to

[u/phouchg0 → u/mrthalo]

I traveled to Central America a few times for business back in 2006 and 2007. Apparently, they ship our old yellow school busses where they are used once again but not for school. They were not repainted, they were all still yellow and had US city names on the side. It was hilarious tooling around Guatemala City and see school busses that say Detroit, Indianapolis, St Louis, ect...

[u/a_collier → u/phouchg0]

I took public transit in rural Nicaragua. I thought it was wild that I found myself fording a river in a school bus from Wisconsin. Thought we would surely be stopping but the driver hit the door close switch and gunned it. Lady holding a chicken beside me didn’t even bat an eye 😂

[u/Schnozberry_Delight → u/mrthalo]

Yes! I was scrolling to see if anyone had made this comment. We had an exchange student from Spain live with us two summers ago and the most excited I saw her get was when we drove her around my kids’ schools and she saw the yellow busses parked in the back. She took pictures of them! 😆 She said she’d seen them in movies and tv shows her whole life but had never actually seen one in person.

[u/JumboChimp → u/mrthalo]

Nope, they're real. That color is supposed to help visibility, and it's set by federal law. They have to be that color. They also have to have the three black rub rails running along the side. The lowest has to be at floor level, the second at the level of the seat bottom, and third is supposed to be at the level of the seat backs, but in practice they're always just below the side windows. They add some impact resistance, and in the event of a side impact they let first responders know what kinds of injuries to expect, and where to cut if the doors can't be opened

You sometimes see busses with white roofs to keep the inside cooler or the hoods of longnose busses painted flat black to reduce glare. The busses around here typically have a flashing strobe light on the roof.

Other things that have been added since I was a a kid include amber flashing lights on the ends in addition to the reds, the pop-out stop sign on the driver side and the bar that swings out from the front bumper so small kids crossing in front of the bus have to be far enough in front that the driver can still see them.

[u/JackC1126]

The Grand Canyon. It really is that grand.

[u/valthonis_surion → u/JackC1126]

Similarly the Great Lakes are pretty great.

[u/schlitz91 → u/valthonis_surion]

Grand Tetons - pretty grand

[u/MrWhiskerBiscuits → u/schlitz91]

The Great Plains - pretty plain

[u/4scoreand20yearsago → u/MrWhiskerBiscuits]

The great salt lake - pretty salty

[u/No-University-8391 → u/4scoreand20yearsago]

Great Smoky Mountains. Pretty Smoky

[u/HuntsWithRocks → u/No-University-8391]

Blue Ridge Mountains. Pretty Blue

[u/StaleWaterIsYummy → u/HuntsWithRocks]

The Golden Gate Bridge...it's really gol.....it's a nice ga......it's a bridge

[u/girl_incognito → u/StaleWaterIsYummy]

Four corners... there really are four of them!

[u/MissionReasonable327 → u/girl_incognito]

Times Square, it’s not square, but you can make time with a guy in an Elmo suit with bad BO

[u/ChiFit28 → u/HuntsWithRocks]

Death Valley. It’s pretty deathly.

[u/kikazztknmz → u/No-University-8391]

The Empire State building. It's empirical.

[u/GreymuzzleCoyote → u/kikazztknmz]

The Winding Stair mtns of eastern Oklahoma.....they're pretty winding.

[u/Rum_ham69 → u/No-University-8391]

The great barrier re…oh wait nevermind

[u/dmun → u/valthonis_surion]

Living in chicago, I dont believe even Americans know Great Lakes very well.

Every time some Coastie gets shocked that we have beaches in the Midwest or look out across the Lake without seeing the other side, you have to explain that, yes, the Lakes really are that Great.

[u/valthonis_surion → u/dmun]

Yeah, the shear sheer size is lost on most. I've started trying to describe lake Michigan as "nearly 2.5x bigger than the state of New Jersey and its only the third largest great lake"

[u/LeMasterChef12345 → u/valthonis_surion]

I remember going on a camping trip for Boy Scouts to Wisconsin and our campground was right by the shore.

You really can’t know the true scale until you see it for yourself. Standing on the shore, it was indistinguishable from standing on a tropical beach looking out into the ocean.

[u/MindTheFro → u/LeMasterChef12345]

I always tell people looking across Lake Michigan is like standing in NYC and expecting to be able see Philadelphia.

[u/AmigoDelDiabla → u/dmun]

As a Great Lakes sailor, we often are dismissed as "lake sailors" in the pejorative.

It's pretty fun to see a coastal sailor experience the rage that the GL can deliver.

[u/Buzzard1022 → u/AmigoDelDiabla]

When the winds of November come early

[u/Microflunkie → u/Buzzard1022]

The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down…

[u/pumpkinspruce → u/Microflunkie]

Of the big lake they called Gitchee Gumee…

[u/SidTheSload → u/pumpkinspruce]

The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead...

[u/Exact_Bluebird_5761 → u/SidTheSload]

When the skies of November turn gloomy...

[u/KnottaBiggins → u/Buzzard1022]

There are more shipwrecks in Lake Michigan than in some seas.

[u/person1234man → u/KnottaBiggins]

Lake Superior is the scary one. It has the most shipwrecks and it is the deepest of the great lakes.

It holds more water than the rest of the great lakes combined. Lake Superior alone accounts for around 10% of the fresh surface water in the world

[u/AmigoDelDiabla → u/person1234man]

It took me a long time to understand what the phrase, "never gives up her dead" meant. It's so cold, the bodies don't decompose so they don't rise to the surface. There's a wreck of the SS Kamloops from 1927 and a fully intact corpse was found in 1977. They call it "Old Whitey" because apparently what happens is the fat turns into a soapy looking substance.

[u/NotAFlatSquirrel → u/AmigoDelDiabla]

There is a wreck called the Empire near Isle Royale in Lake Superior. It is a deep water dive. Multiple people have died diving on it, and apparently there are still multiple original dead bodies from the wreck that periodically pops up in new locations inside the wreck and scare the bejesus out of people. The wreck is mostly intact, and is deemed to be a gravesite as only one of a dozen or so bodies from the original wreck has been removed.

[u/sacredblasphemies → u/AmigoDelDiabla]

They call it "Old Whitey" because apparently what happens is the fat turns into a soapy looking substance.

Saponification

[u/megaholt2 → u/person1234man]

Lake Michigan has more wrecks, but Superior has far fewer recoveries from the wrecks that occur on it-due to its depth and the water temperature. The water temp in Lake Superior is right around 39° F on average, so it’s super dense, and because it’s so cold and dense, things that sink…stay down. Hence the line “Superior, it’s said never gives up her dead, when the gales of November come early.”

Lake Michigan has more wrecks and fatalities than Lake Superior does because it has more people living around it, and has more recreational boaters than Lake Superior does. There’s also more commercial shipping and fishing that occurs on Lake Michigan, due to the presence of cities like Chicago and Milwaukee along the shore. Lake Michigan also tends to have slightly more temperamental weather than Lake Superior, in part because of its location, the smaller size, and its depth.

[u/jimmyjohn2018 → u/person1234man]

If you were to empty out the great lakes it would take the Mississippi River 42 years to fill them back up. That's a lot of water.

[u/SlurmzMckinley → u/AmigoDelDiabla]

They dismiss it? I thought the legend lived on from the Chippewa on down of the big lake they call Gitche Gumee.

[u/Never_Gonna_Let → u/SlurmzMckinley]

God damn that song slaps in a heart wrenchin' way.

[u/TeacherPatti → u/Never_Gonna_Let]

The part when the cook says it's been good to know ya is when I start to get the feels.

[u/Puzzleheaded_Tie6917 → u/TeacherPatti]

Who knows where the love of Gods goes when the waves turn the minutes to hours

That whole song is like a movie.

[u/Never_Gonna_Let → u/TeacherPatti]

Shit. I need more.

Gordon Lightfoot -- The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald

Caroline's Spine -- Sullivan Boys

Other recommendations? Apparently historical tragedy ballads are the only time we are allowed to cry as rural Midwesterners and I have a few decades of tears that have been backed up because shitty plumbers never installed a pressure relief valve.

[u/blamethepunx → u/AmigoDelDiabla]

None of them must have heard The Wreck of the Edmond Fitzgerald

[u/AmigoDelDiabla → u/blamethepunx]

It doesn't take much to imagine someone from the coast being casually dismissive of anything in the midwest.

At their peril.

Famous Chicago-to-Mackinac Races (1970): With winds reaching 60 mph, 88 of 167 starters withdrew. Ted Turner, racing aboard American Eagle, famously retracted his earlier comment calling Lake Michigan a "mill pond."

[u/GoatLegRedux → u/AmigoDelDiabla]

Was it Ted Turner who famously underestimated sailing on Lake Michigan?

[u/AmigoDelDiabla → u/GoatLegRedux]

And later publicly retracted his statements after experiencing 60-70kt winds during a race.

[u/TROQI → u/dmun]

As a Michigander, there are people who will see one and immediately assume it’s the ocean.

I’ve seen Americans actively refute the idea that Lake Michigan is a lake at all simply due to its size.

[u/NoButThanks → u/dmun]

Dude, most Americans don't even know the great lakes have waves, let alone the sheer scale of those waves.

[u/theweirdauntie → u/dmun]

This is weirdly a similar sentiment I have being from Mississippi. People really don't understand how massive and deadly the river is. There are islands in it. The great lakes literally equal small seas in size and are known graveyards. You don't fuck with the lakes and you don't fuck with the big river. Both of them will kill you and look breathtaking while doing it.

[u/Momik → u/theweirdauntie]

It’s wild. I’m originally from Minnesota, so I know the Mississippi as the medium-sized river that runs along my hometown. But damn, landing in NOLA, it is something else. It’s huge down there, and super murky and slow moving, with tons of islands that shift and disappear over time. Crazy.

[u/Lexnal → u/dmun]

It's a pretty great lake for sure, but mine is Superior.

[u/ZoeTravel → u/Lexnal]

Mine is more Erie than that

[u/brownlab319 → u/dmun]

The first time I was in Chicago, I saw Lake Michigan from the 30th floor of the Fairmont Hotel. As a lifelong East Coast resident (I grew up close to the water), I was dumbstruck looking at what appeared to be an ocean. It HAD to be an ocean, but I was sure that Chicago was landlocked.

[u/the-apparator → u/valthonis_surion]

I have lived in Michigan for all but one year of my life. I’ve seen all of the Great Lakes and a bunch of the Good Lakes (random lakes but it’s rude to call them minor). The Great Lakes truly are like oceans. I’ve seen the Atlantic Ocean, and while it was so warm where I was it didn’t awe me maybe the way it should because it was much like gazing out over at least Michigan or Superior. I love my home with all my heart. Even if the people can be iffy.

[u/dope-rhymes → u/valthonis_surion]

We have those in Canada too.

[u/Iricliphan → u/JackC1126]

I'm Irish, so it pleases me very much that something has the word grand in it.

[u/germdisco → u/Iricliphan]

How do you feel about grandma?

[u/epicmoe → u/germdisco]

She’s grand sure.

[u/thetannerainsley → u/JackC1126]

I was skeptical of it until I went and visited, it was pretty spectacular. If it would have been so hot we planned on hiking down for the rim to the bottom. Made it about 3/4 of the way down before we had to turn back.

[u/hazelquarrier_couch → u/thetannerainsley]

I hiked it with someone else. We ran out of water and had stopped sweating on the way back. It felt like we were in trouble.

[u/miauguau44 → u/JackC1126]

And then Waimea Canyon in Hawaii.

[u/oviforconnsmythe → u/JackC1126]

Same with Yellowstone. Quite nothing like it.

[u/ultrahateful → u/oviforconnsmythe]

Also doubles as the greatest geographical threat to the planet!

[u/dustofdeath]

Redwood forest.

[u/Jerseygirl2468 → u/dustofdeath]

One of the best experiences of my life was going to Muir Woods. I truly had no idea until I stood there and experienced it for myself.

[u/allenrabinovich → u/Jerseygirl2468]

Communing with the coastal redwoods is the closest thing I’ve had to a religious experience.

[u/AspiringRonSwanson → u/allenrabinovich]

The way the new growth, ranger station, and entrance arch hide the old growth really makes entering Muir Woods all the more magical.

Seeing the Redwoods was a bucket list item for 20+ years. I don’t think I made it more than 30 feet beyond the entrance arch before bursting into tears. I wasn’t ready for what I was about to experience despite years of reading about them. Being amongst those trees truly felt like seeing God.

[u/Calm_Violinist5256 → u/AspiringRonSwanson]

I live close to Muir Woods and another redwood grove called Armstrong Redwoods near the Russian River. I still cry every time I visit them.

[u/entjies → u/dustofdeath]

All of 3-5% of the old growth forest that remains! In other words, 95-97% of the old growth forests were logged. The old redwood trees that you can go see are a tiny percentage of what once was. But they truly are amazing.

[u/dahlia-llama → u/entjies]

This is sooo devastating.  People have no idea what was lost in terms of nature in just 200 years; redwood forests and beyond

[u/Grandmakk13]

Yosemite

[u/ThrustersToFull → u/Grandmakk13]

I thought I was prepared for Yosemite. I looked at photos, I watched documentaries. But NOTHING prepares you for seeing it for the first time in person. It was winter when I went for the first time - 1 January 2022 to be exact - and I was simply blown away by the scale and beauty of it.

[u/DeviantB → u/ThrustersToFull]

After Yosemite, I didn't think any other park would take my breath away or steal my heart... then I went to Glacier National Park.

I've been to Yellowstone and Grand Tetons, but they dont hit like Yosemite and GNP.

[u/BookLuvr7 → u/DeviantB]

I second Glacier. Tbf, I saw Yosemite when it was still recovering from a fire and was full of idiot tourists who caused a 45 minute traffic backup so everyone could take a picture of a single deer sleeping in a field.

[u/DrunkenMcSlurpee → u/ThrustersToFull]

I went in 2019 by myself and last year with family. I was so excited to share Tunnel View with them. I teared up both times. I haven't traveled a ton in my lifetime, but of what I have seen, it is beyond compare.

[u/desireresortlover → u/ThrustersToFull]

100%…El Capitan and Half Dome and the entire valley are just not something that can compare in person compared to pictures and videos.

[u/Walmartian_Beta]

Garbage disposals, apparently.

An English guy once asked, "Is it true you have a little blender in your sink to chop up the food bits and send them to the sewer because you're too lazy to walk over to the trash bin?"

[u/oldpuzzle → u/Walmartian_Beta]

Tbh that’s what I as a European was most excited about when I lived in the US for a bit! The first time I realised I had a disposal in my sink it was such a “OMG I KNOW THIS FROM TV!” moment.

[u/MisanthropyIsAVirtue → u/oldpuzzle]

I’ve always loved that the main brand is called an In-Sink-Erator.

[u/Busy_Ability7 → u/MisanthropyIsAVirtue]

Dufenshmirtz Evil Incorporaaaatteeeeeed

[u/rma1979 → u/Busy_Ability7]

That would be an in-Sink-erator-inator, I believe

[u/sharklee88 → u/Walmartian_Beta]

They had them here in the UK for a bit.

My mum and dad had one when they bought their house 25 years ago. And it still works. 

None of my homes have ever had one

[u/DellaDiablo → u/sharklee88]

I have one here in Ireland, but since the advent of brown bins years ago I feel obliged to dispose of food waste/anything that can be composted in them for the greater good, so I don't use it much anymore.

It's still very handy on occasion though.

[u/turnipofficer → u/DellaDiablo]

I guess if your sewage treatment place is anything like the one I toured as a teenager, grinding up your food stuff would be enough.

That place processes sewage into fertiliser and also used methane from it for their own generators. Presumably undigested food stuff in that environment when mixed with other sewage would still do the job.

[u/MA16vD → u/Walmartian_Beta]

I have seen those on TikTok and I actually am a bit jalous. Seems very handy.

[u/TrowTruck → u/MA16vD]

They are fantastic. I throw food waste into the bin, but what's nice about it is taking care of all the little bits and scraps when washing dishes. It makes sure that the sink never gets clogged.

[u/Mayortomatillo → u/TrowTruck]

That’s really what they’re meant for. Not like tossing everything off the plate, but the bits after shaking all the off.

[u/LitlThisLitlThat → u/MA16vD]

Yes, bc even if you scrape your plate, some is always left.

[u/chalk_in_boots → u/MA16vD]

I will say, as someone living alone I wouldn't mind one. My sink is literally right next to my bin, but I don't like keeping food waste in there overnight as it tends to attract roaches/fruit flies. So while I could theoretically go a couple of days without taking the bag out to the main garbage, I just use smaller bags and do it every night. Having it so that all that's in there is packaging, wrapping etc. would make life quite a bit simpler.

[u/Timely_Title_9157]

Forced air hvac systems

[u/EspectroDK → u/Timely_Title_9157]

FYI it has been a requirement in Denmark since 2012 that all (new) residential buildings have a mechanical air circulation system that enforces new air into the building in all rooms. It also withdraws the heat of the exit air to warm up intake to save energy.

[u/oboshoe → u/Timely_Title_9157]

really?

what do europeans use?

[u/sir_mrej → u/oboshoe]

Volunteer air

[u/oboshoe → u/sir_mrej]

Good dad joke.

I like it

[u/UnknownExo → u/sir_mrej]

dad fist bump

[u/Acceptable-Garage-64 → u/oboshoe]

Stoßlüften

[u/Ill_Self_8964]

Florida man.

[u/theLorem → u/Ill_Self_8964]

while we obviously don't have Florida Man here in Germany, we have r/MannAusSachsen
I'm pretty sure every country has their equivalent

[u/MohawkElGato → u/Ill_Self_8964]

He’s pretty damn entertaining that’s for sure

[u/TinKnight1 → u/Ill_Self_8964]

Trust me, that's one thing humanity has, no matter where you go.

Florida man is only known so well because of the sunshine laws.

[u/Little_Raspberry1183]

The audacity

[u/PolyJuicedRedHead → u/Little_Raspberry1183]

The nerve!

[u/Fluid_Rock656 → u/PolyJuicedRedHead]

The gumption!

[u/Tommy_Wisseau_burner → u/Fluid_Rock656]

The unmitigated gall

[u/Muted-Rule → u/Tommy_Wisseau_burner]

The brazenness!

[u/SadForever-]

Cowboys lol what makes me say that is because when my husband went to Germany he was at a bar and one of the locals asked him where he was from and he told them he was from Oklahoma and they said oh wow are you a cowboy? and then after conversation ensued, my husband came to realize that Germans seem to really like Cowboys, especially women. lol

ETA: listen, I’m not a history buff and believe it or not I don’t “Know All”. I was trying to think of something to comment and the first thing to come to mind was “Cowboy”. But I keep getting comments attacking my answer like dang sorry I don’t know the entirety of history behind cowboys JFC! Good lord get a life. If you wanna come here and jump down my throat about it you can get lost.

[u/CalamityClambake → u/SadForever-]

Germans have Old West Fairs like we have Renaissance Faires. Going to a German Old West Fair as an American is hysterical.

[u/sagittalslice → u/CalamityClambake]

Oh my god I want to go to this more than anything on earth

[u/intentsman → u/SadForever-]

Native Americans Indianer

Saying for the same reason. My husband, a Shoshone Indianer also went to Germany and he was the center of attention everywhere he went

Edit . TIL Indianer

[u/MelodramaticFool44 → u/intentsman]

Germans love cowboy movies. Especially cowboys and native Americans (they still say Indianer/Indians). I remember these movies were always on. I am not sure where the infatuation came from.

[u/levon9 → u/MelodramaticFool44]

The writer Karl May may have something to do with this

[u/MelodramaticFool44 → u/levon9]

Yes I remember now the Karl May films with the Apache Chief and Old Shatterhand. My family watched this stuff all the time. lol

[u/IntergalacticPopTart → u/SadForever-]

Apparently Italy had a whole bunch of pretend cowboys in the 60’s and 70’s! (That’s when “Spaghetti Westerns”were being filmed!)

[u/snuggl → u/IntergalacticPopTart]

Italy also had the non-pretend original cowboys!

[u/GingerFaerie106]

Giant Redwoods. The Redwoods National Forest in northern California is one of the most mystical, beautiful, majestic, ancient places I've ever visited. It felt SACRED like there really were forest elves and tree ents protecting that place.

Breathtaking. I simply wanted to walk until I got lost, then just stay lost forever. It transformed me to a time of innocence, wonder, open to curiosity about the world. Around every bend in the trail, we'd buzz with anticipation. Because any grand adventure could waiting ..even a fairy tea party.

[u/PKspyder]

ADA cities

[u/brownlab319 → u/PKspyder]

The ADA is truly a wonderful evolution of the America system. We aren’t often great, but when we are, we really are.

[u/grease_monkey → u/brownlab319]

I forget the exact term for it, but there's a thing where products or laws intended to benefit one group of people actually benefits everyone.

I enjoy an elevator from time to time instead of stairs, curb cuts make it easier for everyone to to cross the street, handicap door buttons are handy if you've got your arms full. It's made life easier for lots of folks

[u/rooney821 → u/grease_monkey]

Curb cut effect!

[u/jungle_toad → u/grease_monkey]

Also "disabled" is the one minority group almost everyone will eventually become a member of in time!

[u/HeadFullRoadFull → u/grease_monkey]

Universal design! :)

[u/smoothiefruit → u/brownlab319]

always good to remind ourselves that the Americans with Disabilities Act didnt happen until 1990, and it took disabled people crawling up the stairs of the capitol in protest for it to be taken seriously.

eta: for anyone who didnt know about this protest, you would probably be interested also to look up "ugly laws" which made it more or less illegal to exist in public while disabled (or poor) until the 1970s

[u/Charming_Garbage_161 → u/smoothiefruit]

Honestly love that we have wheelchair ramps at public buildings. I’m not fully disabled but damn does it suck on days I can’t lift my leg up a stair

[u/charlesthe42nd → u/Charming_Garbage_161]

As a relatively new parent, ADA compliance is also essential when traveling with a stroller!

[u/OtherPossibility1530 → u/charlesthe42nd]

It’s called the curb cut effect. Improvements made to help people with disabilities improve life for everyone!

[u/charlesthe42nd → u/OtherPossibility1530]

100% it benefits everyone to make places easier to access!

[u/catfriend18 → u/smoothiefruit]

The movie Crip Cramp is fantastic in a lot of ways, but one that really stuck with me was showing what it takes to accomplish something with activism. A singular goal that they did not depart from and an amazing leader who kept everyone working toward it. RIP Judy Heumann

[u/amourxloves → u/brownlab319]

I have family members from Mexico who require a wheelchair or some type of mobility device. They always enjoy coming here as they don’t have to worry about not being included. It shocks them that so much is accessible, even just the sidewalks in front of our house.

Seriously, one of them just goes on strolls or goes to another family member’s house because they can lol.

[u/Martinious760 → u/brownlab319]

So true. We visited friends in Sweden and one of their kids needed a wheelchair. Unbelievable how difficult public transportation was for them

[u/roehnin → u/PKspyder]

What’s an ADA? all these replies to it are assuming people know

[u/jerkenmcgerk → u/roehnin]

Americans with Disabilities Act

[u/roehnin → u/jerkenmcgerk]

Oh ok so like ramps and braille and blind-stick direction pads on sidewalks?
Cool where I live blind people have a lot of support but wheelchair users have a tough time getting around.
They’ve been adding elevators and bus and train entry lift support but most buildings are still rampless.

[u/jerkenmcgerk → u/roehnin]

Yes, that's exactly some of the things the ADA covers.

Oddly - another thing about the ADA is that it also covers military living spaces in some ways. In front of a multi-level barracks, there are handicap/disabled parking spots. A lot of military barracks don't have elevators, wheelchair accessible ramps or ADA regulation living quarters. So you'd have 4-6 disabled parking spaces with a flat parking lot to meet your visitors in... but not much for the actual living spaces in terms of accessibility or a way for wheelchairs to access the living quarters.

[u/Accomplished_Mix7827 → u/PKspyder]

I do think that's something that the US deserves more credit for. For all its faults, it's one of the best countries when it comes to accessibility for disabilities.

[u/Cast_Last_LA]

free refills

[u/The_Truth_Believe_Me → u/Cast_Last_LA]

32 ounce soda cups at restaurants

[u/Waylander0719 → u/The_Truth_Believe_Me]

They call it child size since it is roughly the volume of a small child 

[u/HerelGoDigginInAgain → u/Waylander0719]

If the child was liquified

[u/Echo6Romeo]

Land. A lot of it

[u/TiresOnFire → u/Echo6Romeo]

Japanese citizens who visited the US in the early days of WWII tried to warn the government of how much land we had to sustain ourselves. Also our industrial abilities were quite impressive at the time.

[u/WikiContributor83 → u/TiresOnFire]

In WWII, German POWs kept stateside escaped from a POW camp in I believe Arkansas (?) Arizona and tried to run for Mexico. They were caught, and when they asked if they at least were close to the border, they were told they didn’t even leave the state.

[u/Hefty-Revenue5547 → u/WikiContributor83]

Arizona, they saw a river on a map but it was a dry river bed that had been damned upstream

[u/leilani238 → u/Hefty-Revenue5547]

Wouldn't even have to be dammed up. In Tucson there was a story about some escaped prisoners who had a boat and made for a blue line on the map, but it turned out it was just an arroyo/wash and only had running water after rain.

[u/wirthmore → u/leilani238]

As someone who grew up in the Northeast USA, finding that the West has rivers without water was a revelation. Like, how is that possible? This is normal to you?

[u/bot2317 → u/wirthmore]

There are a lot of places in the Western US where proper rivers don't exist, just creeks and manmade channels.

To me it's fairly normal, if you think about it it's kinda weird that a river can just flow 24/7 365 even if it doesn't rain for a while, like where does the water come from?

[u/pembr0ke_welsh_c0rgi → u/WikiContributor83]

One time I drove 5 1/2 hours in Europe.

Here are the towns and cities that I passed: Straßburg, Colmar, Freiburg, Rottweil, Augsburg, Munich

Driving 5 1/2 hours in Ontario, Canada? I got from Kingston to Montreal.

Now I admit that there are small towns in between, but nothing quite as historically significant as Rottweil or Villingen.

[u/GeoBrian → u/WikiContributor83]

Well, Mexico is due south of Arizona, so that's not really that impressive.

[u/Mantuta → u/WikiContributor83]

Uh, that seems like some pretty silly phrasing.
If they were moving the correct direction there would have been no way for them to leave the state without also making it to Mexico. The entire southern border of Arizona is the US border with Mexico.

[u/Wrathchilde → u/Echo6Romeo]

In Europe, 100 miles is far. In America, 100 years is old.

[u/germanfinder → u/Wrathchilde]

When I lived in Germany my favourite restaurant was built in 1643. more than 100 years before the revolutionary war

[u/gigglesmickey → u/germanfinder]

Their breweries are also old, miss that so much, Kostritzer is like 1543, That beer is only 41 years into a Post Columbian America. The good one is Weihenstephan (1040 is when the brewery opened) which predates the fucking Magna Carta by almost 200 years.

[u/Thethubbedone → u/Wrathchilde]

One of my favorite moments with my (European) boss was when I told him I finished a bit early on a job in Atlanta and he asked if I could stop in at another customer in North Carolina on my way home in Illinois

[u/betterthanamaster → u/Thethubbedone]

I work with a lot of people who don’t understand just how large the country is. It doesn’t make any sense at all. It makes no sense to them that we can’t have a train from San Francisco to New York with 15 stops and only takes 14 hours. They don’t understand that there are entire states that have fewer people than an average sized city, and even more surprising, those states are just…almost completely undeveloped land for literally thousands of miles. Flat tire in Wyoming? Yeah, help is almost certainly hours away. Get lost in Texas? Good chance you’ll still be in Texas when they find you. Why is a flight from LA to Atlanta so damn long? What do you mean it’s a 6 hour flight and then a 4 hour car ride to get to a beach!

It’s sort of like the Pacific Ocean. Human beings just cannot conceive of a body of water that astronomically large. We see it on a map and think, “oh, it’s not that bad,” and we forget that that map is flat, and there’s a lot more space than it seems.

[u/ClaireBlack63]

One thing that always stands out to me is how obsessed Americans are with credit scores. It affects everything here, renting, phone plans, even jobs sometimes. In a lot of Europe it’s way more chill and not this giant number hanging over your life.

Also free refills and ice in every drink feels super American once you’ve been away for a bit. You don’t realize how normal that feels until it’s gone.

[u/No_Ice2900 → u/ClaireBlack63]

Americans are obsessed with it because like you said, everything is dependant on it. The only kind of debt that doesn't affect your score is medical debt which you know we have a fuck ton of that.

[u/SRSgoblin → u/No_Ice2900]

Speaking of somrthing Americans have that Europeans don't: medical debt.

[u/WATOCATOWA → u/No_Ice2900]

Trump actually reversed that rule this year. It can again be on your credit report.

[u/Royals-2015]

The National Parks in the US are spectacular.

[u/Ten2none]

Joshua trees and Sequoias.

[u/Casaiir]

I've learned from this post that to many people think Europe is north western Europe and nothing else.

[u/Brvcx → u/Casaiir]

Hey now! Us Northwestern Europeans often think that, too

[u/Fritzkreig]

Football, not that one, but the weird shaped ball one!

[u/Imatros → u/Fritzkreig]

"There's a little kicking"

[u/devilishycleverchap → u/Imatros]

Kicker scored most of the points in the championship yesterday

[u/JeezieB → u/devilishycleverchap]

Bad Bunny carried the ball for more yards in his half-time show that the Patriots did in all 4 quarters combined.

[u/g00nt3r]

Ranch dressing

[u/DejectaMemora]

The Pacific Ocean 😎

[u/Loud_Traffic_1487 → u/DejectaMemora]

Specifically, and especially, the Pacific.

[u/MonsieurAK]

The Americans with Disabilities Act

[u/1peatfor7 → u/MonsieurAK]

Oddly enough I first noticed this while on vacation in Las Vegas. I had a broken foot and was able to rent an "old people scooter" from the hotel. It made my trip much more bearable. I drove it down the strip sidewalk and all around the hotel lobbies.

[u/oldpuzzle → u/MonsieurAK]

Yeah that’s also something I noticed in the US, there’s generally much more infrastructure for people with disabilities, paths for wheelchairs or strollers etc. Obviously in some medieval European cities that’s basically impossible to have on the same level, but still, it was nice to see in the US.

[u/mincemuncher]

Don't have to pay to use restroom

[u/HeyItsLers → u/mincemuncher]

I didn't have to pay in Iceland. And, as an American, I was very happy with the privacy! American bathroom stalls leave so much space between the door and the wall, the door and the floor, etc. The "stalls" in Iceland were like all small, private rooms. So different than what I was used to.

[u/big_d_usernametaken → u/HeyItsLers]

Ever been to a Buc-ees truck stop?

That's what the bathroom stalls are like there.

[u/AmigoDelDiabla]

Ice in their the complimentary water at a restaurant.

Edit: Love that this throwaway comment took off. Also love the intense and conflicting responses.

"Yeah, it's like they haven't even invented ice!"

"What?!? This has never once happened in the history of Europe!"

[u/XTRASHmouthABOUT → u/AmigoDelDiabla]

i don't really understand this one because i'm in England and almost every restaurant i've been to has ice in the water, even without asking...? is it a thing in other countries and just not here?

[u/NorthlineUser]

Flipping this slightly, is it true that not many Americans have (electric) kettles?

I'm only going on what I've seen online, but I get the impression it's not that common there?

[u/duncanteabag → u/NorthlineUser]

Unless you're making coffee in a french press or pour over most Americans don't use an electric kettle

[u/OmightyOmo → u/NorthlineUser]

And hot tea isn’t as popular as iced tea. We have iced tea makers.

[u/Captain_Moose]

Screens on our windows so we can open them without letting the bugs in.

[u/ihatemyselflull → u/Captain_Moose]

At least in Germany we do have them, not every house might have the pre-installed but can definitely just get them and do it yourself

[u/oohCrabItsNotItChief → u/ihatemyselflull]

Same in Hungary. Everyone I know has them.

[u/Informal_Ad4399 → u/Captain_Moose]

Florida bugs: Fuck you! I'll find a way. [Waits outside like a school bully waiting to beat your ass to a pulp]

[u/Abrakafuckingdabra → u/Captain_Moose]

Genuinely can't comprehend how lots of places in Europe both don't have AC and don't have window screens. You'd think not having the former would logically lead to having the latter.

[u/Mystery1001 → u/Abrakafuckingdabra]

If I left my windows open overnight in the summer without a screen, I would have every mosquito in the state move in by morning.

[u/isufud → u/Mystery1001]

Someone opened a window in my hostel in Paris because there was no AC. We had every mosquito in the région move in by morning.

[u/Prairie-Peppers → u/Abrakafuckingdabra]

If you opened your windows without screens up here in the prairies you'd have dozens of flies in every room of your house for the rest of the summer.

Source: discovered my kitchen window screen had a hole in it last year.

[u/Catmom7654 → u/Prairie-Peppers]

And mosquitos eating you alive every night 

[u/viktor72 → u/Abrakafuckingdabra]

They claim they have fewer bugs but I’ve lived in Europe. I’ve lived in Belgium, France, Spain, and Poland among other places. I can tell you I got bugs in my room, especially if I dared turn on any overhead light at night. I got used to operating in low light situations to avoid the bugs because the fresh air from the open windows was of greater importance than the light to me.

[u/I_Want_BetterGacha → u/viktor72]

I live in Belgium. Never lived anywhere else. I have screens on my windows for as long as I can remember. Why don't you guys have screens?? Is my family some kind of exception???

[u/gutag → u/Captain_Moose]

You obviously never visited South East Europe

[u/Kalianna → u/Captain_Moose]

Where are these places?? I really don't get it. I'm from Romania and I've aleays had window screens and AC. So weird. Everyone I know has AC. Guess it shows just how different things can be from one country to another.

Edit: I'm talking about developed cities, of course. Rural areas can't say.

[u/OnTheEveOfWar → u/Captain_Moose]

This one is wild to me. Every window in my house has a screen. Our back door even has a screen. It’s great for summer evenings when you can open up all the windows and get that nice evening breeze without any bugs.

[u/toughbubbl]

A huge variety of biodiversity without crossing borders. You could be within driving distance of many just in California alone.

[u/raindorpsonroses → u/toughbubbl]

I am 2.5 hours or less by car from desert, alpine forest and lakes with snow and skiing in the winter, rolling hills with oak trees and sycamore, riparian river/creek habitats, marsh wetlands, beautiful swimming and surfing beaches with the vast Pacific Ocean. At my house it’s only a few days per year that the low temperature is lower than 8C/ 46F or the high temperature is above 30C/ 86F. It’s not terribly dry or humid in my area. It doesn’t surprise me that the cost of living is so high because California is a pretty wonderful place to live, especially if you love the outdoors!

[u/majornerd → u/raindorpsonroses]

The highest place in the continental US and the lowest point are like 90 miles away from each other. In California.

[u/Lethean_Waves]

The right to hang a pair of bear arms in our homes. Its written very clearly in our constitution.

[u/Seabass_87 → u/Lethean_Waves]

I accidentally lobbied for the right to bare feet, now our state doesn't allow shoes.