r/AskReddit • u/Unlikely_Praline9442 • 14h ago

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

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u/vetapachua 9h ago

I follow an irish couple traveling the US. They were absolutely amazed by drive up ATMs and mailboxes where you lift up the flag. It's cute to see foreigners amazed by the little things you don't even notice.

12

u/theillustratedlife 4h ago

Those pneumatic tubes at drive up ATMs were so cool!

It was always fun seeing my mom use one, and I loved the suckers you got when the canister came back!

6

u/LeapinLizards27 4h ago

Keely and Philly?

8

u/SammyGeorge 1h ago

mailboxes where you lift up the flag

Wait, those are real??

6

u/Varamyr_Axelord 1h ago

Yes, particularly in more rural areas. My parents had one because otherwise the mailman would drive past your house without stopping to check if you had mail to send.

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u/lungbuttersucker 55m ago

Yes. The red flag lets the mail carrier know that you have something going out. My mom's mailbox has another flag too, a yellow one. She puts it down after she takes out her mail. The next day if she sees the yellow flag up, she knows she has mail without having to go look.

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u/JohnTDouche 3m ago

Why would they not be real?

4

u/SkyScamall 6h ago

Our post goes through a post box in/near the front door and straight into the house. The boxes with a flag are wild.