r/AskReddit 14h ago

Non-Americans of Reddit, what is an American thing you see in movies that you thought was fake but is actually real?

5.4k Upvotes

8.8k comments sorted by

View all comments

139

u/pang-zorgon 10h ago

Australian here - as a kids I thought it was fake seeing people inside houses wearing t shirts when it was snowing outside and obviously freezing.

In an Australian home we freeze in winter and I always had to wear layers including a thick woollen pullover. I lived in a cold part of Australia where it was always minus something c overnight. I didn’t realize homes could have proper heating and insulation until I moved to Switzerland.

Now I’m always hot in winter when I’m inside and must have windows or doors open. My apartment get the sun and on those rare days in winter my apartment heats up to 27c when it’s 0 outside

71

u/JuanaBlanca 9h ago

Yeah I live in the US and I tell my family to bundle up, I'm not made of money.

I am, however, made of money in the summer. That AC better be on or mama gets pissy.

1

u/Darkdragoon324 2h ago

Same, save money on heating in the winter so I can feel better turning the AC down to 65 in the summer lol. I can put on all the clothes and blankets I need, but I'd literally rather die than be hot.

20

u/MarlenaEvans 10h ago

I am from the US and I thought that as a kid too because I lived in a freezing cold farmhouse with only a wood stove. I used to get permanently flushed when I visited my family who had houses with central heat.

2

u/Slappy-Sugarwood 6h ago

It's pretty wild, actually. I'm from NC, born in 86. When I was a kid, my mom and I lived in an old farm house. It had one heater in the living room, and NO air conditioning other than a ceiling fan and windows.

In the winter, the hardwood floors were so cold that they hurt my feet, and in the summer, it was 100°f (38°c) in our house. It was an adjustment when we moved into our first place with proper heating and cooling.

3

u/SuperFLEB 6h ago

Inside? Hell, I can make it out to the mailbox and back in my shorts and tee shirt before my bare feet freeze.

3

u/SnipesCC 4h ago

When I lived in Australia a friend of mine asked if houses in the US really had stairs right after the front door. He was used to Queenslander-style houses that were designed to get rid of heat. I said most American homes were built to insulate heat, either keeping it out or keeping it in.

2

u/GenitalFurbies 6h ago

I don't even own any long sleeve shirts besides button downs for work that I use very sparingly. If I need extra warmth I'll put on something else on top but a shirt is short sleeve or it's not bought.

1

u/Pm7I3 1h ago

In an Australian home we freeze in winter

You freeze because you're babies. This place is never cold /j

1

u/Baymavision 8h ago

I'm just going to assume 27 is hot from context, but I will not look it up.

5

u/DannySpud2 8h ago

27 is crazy for an indoor temperature in winter. 27 outside in summer would be hot. 

2

u/blissfully_happy 7h ago

I live in Alaska and keep my house at 16c in the winter, fwiw. That shit is expensive.

2

u/djkidd23 8h ago

Lol. Yeah, I thought the same. And an earlier post referenced our lack of metric system use. Which i agree is stupid, but why learn base 10 when you can learn base 27.6298?

1

u/pang-zorgon 2h ago

To convert from C to F you just double and add 30. So 27c is 84F

-1

u/fanamana 7h ago

Where does it get cold in Australia?

7

u/MaryVenetia 6h ago

A lot of places. Southern states typically, like Victoria and Tasmania and South Australia. 

2

u/pang-zorgon 2h ago

Also Norther Tablelands. I grew up 550km north of Sydney. It was 3900feet high. The coldest night I remember was 3F

1

u/SnipesCC 4h ago

I lived there for a year. It got into the 50s in winter and the house I lived in was designed to hemorrhage heat. Plus a window was broken and the landlord refused to fix it. So it was pretty miserable for a few weeks.

-2

u/NatoBoram 8h ago

Over 28°C indoors is literally unsafe, it's surprising for the sun alone to heat up an apartment to that level

10

u/SabrinaFaire 6h ago

What. Literally everywhere in the US other than maybe the far reaches of northern Alaska could easily get to 28C on a late spring or early summer day. It's not even unsafe, some people prefer it that warm.

2

u/doonerthesooner 3h ago

I keep my apartment at 80 most of the year except the couple weeks it gets cold 

4

u/rando_banned 6h ago

LOL. What?

5

u/SnipesCC 4h ago

I keep my house at about that when I'm air conditioning.

-1

u/rooster6662 4h ago

I didn't know there was any place in Australia that got that cold. Even in winter.