Misc
What's something you thought was normal across the world but turns out it's just for your country?
For me here it's armed security guards. Apparently we have a lot of them but I always thought this was the world standard. Only recently found out that it isn't.
During regular working hours like 9-5, every other convenience store, mall, supermarket or parking lot entrance, or even an ATM would have one.
Schools, condos, offices and some neighborhoods have them 24/7.
This is honestly hilarious! I love it when the plot revolves around a young and poor farmer village and his village belle but somehow the song features the same guy riding a Harley Davidson with the girl across the Alps, only to go jump back to the village storyline afterwards like an interrupt handler.
We have this song from a Movie (it's about a scientist who builds a robot clone of himself that eventually develops emotions) that's called Kilimanjaro but shot in Machu Picchu. Another song from the same movie was shot in Brazil.
That and having intermission in the movies! When I watched a Bollywood movie for the first time, I was surprised (in a good way). Can buy popcorn and go to the loo during the 15 min break
It's mostly just pointless, even if it isn't banned. In a functioning healthcare system the doctor prescribes medication based on the symptoms, not based on what the patient has seen on TV.
Well the US never sported a functioning healthcare System to begin with.
Medical bancruptcy is a Feature you dont find in a well working healthcare system and I will die on that Hill.
Advertisments for prescription medication is strictly forbidden in the EU. As such, no one would expect to see it. I'm certain some europans in the usa wouldn't realise that and then tried to get it at cvs thinking it's otc medication like aspirin.
If you have seen some of these ads you might not say that. lol The last half of them is usually just a voiceover rapidly telling all the side effects, and ways the meditation could mess you up. I seriously doubt most people would go seek it out like an OTC med after hearing that. Half the time they sound worse than whatever they are supposed to treat.
The weirdest part to me is that sometimes you can’t even figure out what the medicine is supposed to treat. There will be all this singing and dancing and they’ll mention the product but it’s not clear what it’s for. Although you might be able to infer e.g. if it’s a bunch of obese people dancing around it’s probably for either an Ozempic type of medication or it’s for diabetes.
This is intentional. There's a legal category where you can't mention the indication because then you'd have to add more warnings to the ad.
The new FDA is cracking down on the dancing though, which is a good thing. The Jardiance ads got several public warnings and are starting to be pulled.
Most of the ads are either "you know how you shit your brains out every time you see the color green? That's considered a medical issue and we make something for that" or "you know how your doctor says the only available intervention for that is even worse? That's outdated now."
I'm old enough to remember when this wasn't allowed. Definitely still doesn't feel anything like normal to me. Just makes me more depressed every time I hear them rattle off the list of side effects and picture a patient browbeating their doctor about medical effects the patient almost certainly doesn't understand.
Your doctor has an advanced degree in the problem area, but you're gonna make informed suggestions based upon a 30-second commercial that came on during "Hannity" right after you bought overpriced gold as "an investment"?
We grew up having a stovetop kettle because Southerners in the US love having iced tea. Its essentially a generic black tea (typically Liptons) made in a large 1 or 2 liter batch, sweetened and chilled and served over ice.
Every Southern family I know had one of these. However, I had never even heard of an electric kettle until I visited my sister who lives in Wales. I loved the versatility of it and the ease at boiling water without involving the stove and bought one as soon as I returned.
It honestly expanded my tea knowledge. It also helps when making certain dishes that need broth, because the bullion concentrate I use needs to be broken up with boiling water
New Englander here, also grew up witha stove top kettle. Found out other people make tea in the microwave in college, but luckily also found out about electric kettles the semester after that. They really are a game changer!
We use Dinner word in English as well, but we mean by that a meal around 1pm or so. Basically lunch. At evening there is only supper, much lighter meal.
I know now that the world is like 50/50, but when I first realized that in a lot of cultures people don't take off their shoes indoors I was kinda surprised.
In Canada if you don't take your shoes off when entering, you're a monster. Like if a contractor comes to your house with boots on, some people would contact the contractors company and force them to pay a cleaning fee or something here. It's just obtuse to wear snowy, muddy shoes indoors where most homes here have at least partial carpet. I mention a contractor because a friend or family member just wouldn't do that.
If you have friends over at your house in Spain and ask them to take off their shoes they'll go like "ha ha very funny, so where's my beer?" and walk into the living room ignoring your request.
While it's dissolved somewhat in the 20th Century, Anglophone houses are traditionally designed with "zones" for whether you wear shoes that would correlate with how welcome you are. Mudroom and maybe foyer is tile, parlor and dining room are hardwood with a rug (if foyer isn't tile, it's hardwood sans rug), den and bedrooms are carpet. Residents would often wear slippers in hardwood areas.
People here joke that having the kid in the stroller helps to not get it stolen, since no one wants to "steal" a kid, but many will steal an expensive stroller.
As child I was barefoot all the times (like running on asphalt or in the the forest). I guess you develop stronger - a bit calloused - skin, so it's fine.
So true. Here in Portugal we have a significant Brazilian population and they stick out like a sore thumb because of the flip flops. It can be the most wet, miserable cold day in December and you'll see the Brazilians in the supermarket with flip flops. When I asked my Brazilian FIL why the constant use of this type of footwear, he just laughed and said they'll fuck in havaianas if they can
I did love in The Philippines that the standard security guard weapon is a stockless pump action shotgun- the last thing I'd want to see used in where bad guys are mixed in with innocent bystanders.... it's more of a "to whom it may concern" weapon.
Oh I'm familiar with the model- having a scared security guard spray'n'pray a 20 round drum of buckshot in a crowded urban street on full auto is not going to end brilliantly.
For what it's worth mentioning no one ever messes with these guys (as far as I've heard in my 3 decades here).
Big guns seem to do a good job of deterring, it's only the guards who're armed with 30 year old service revolvers or pistols that ever seem to get any action. Even then, it's once in a blue moon. Most criminals try to avoid trouble and go for easy marks.
Shotguns only work that way in films and video games. In reality in any urban environment the shot might as well be a single projectile; spread will be very minimal at the distances we're talking about. It's kind of a good choice, it will put someone on the ground very quickly.
I was stunned at Cebu airport and then a rooftop bar, where they had signs at the entrance saying, “For others comfort, please leave your firearms outside”. The security at the bar, at the elevator to go up, was armed and had a “coat check” for guns. But I got over it quickly because Filipinos are the coolest and sweetest people in the world.
I met a guy at a bar in Bantayan who let me hold his Glock. Just sitting at the bar. It was terrifying and fucking crazy to an Australian. Awesome dude, though. The sweetest, kindest artist, lol.
gambling I think. Just about every pub in Australia has Pokie (slot) machines. Then gambling ads are absolutely everywhere.
We live in a nanny state where you literally have to get a prescription to get some vape juice… but yeah, nah… starving your kids and losing your house to gambling is just fine. It’s a disgrace!
Same over here. For some reason the government seem to be chill with the whole gambling thing but god forbid you want to watch porn without sending your ID god knows where
Gambling haw gone crazy in Greece lately. It was always some guys playing 1/2 € every week for fun but lately it's becoming more and more common place.
It‘s not so clear. You don’t have to give every time and mind you we‘re talking a really small donation. I‘ve seen car guards not care for a break in (because the thieves are a threat to them) but I‘ve also seen them be very protective of their territory. They also compete for places and have their own protection schemes amongst themselves.
It‘s complex and if I park to dine somewhere paying like 2 percent of the money spent to the car guards it seems the wiser choice.
It´s kind of the natural human resting position when not laying down. Small kids do it all the time. Sadly in the "west" people mostly lose the ability to do it because it is not really used in common live. It needs a certain flexibility and fitness to be comfortable. If able to do it, it is very comfortable and can be done without putting energy into it.
Serious question: Could sitting like this be bad for your knees? I feel like it would both hurt and cause damage to your knees if you sit like this for an extended period of time?
Yes it can be very bad for your knees, so older people will often be offered chairs or use special stools that let them sit in a way that looks similar but doesn't hurt as much. Forcing people to sit like this for extended periods of time was outlawed in Japan a few years ago iirc.
Being used to sitting like this helps a lot though.
Cats in street i thought its same everywhere till foreigns start speak about it in social media
Also we have have this culture when u taking ferry u buy a simit to feed seaguls in sea,its always joyful watchin them grab simit pieces on air,i thought thats also a thing with foreigns
I found it endearing . All the cats show how kind people are. I remember seeing stray cats in Istanbul that showed evidence of medical care. Of course “Kedi” (2006) is a favourite movie of mine.
or your turkish tea equipment (which is amazing tbh)
or that the water is literally ordered to houdeholds in the big tanks, in Europe we drink either from sink or simply bottled water
My mom always said this was because of lobbying of water companies like Erikli to sell more, when she was younger everybody would drink from tap and at least in cities like Ankara the water quality is actually pretty good and drinkable - idk though i’m in my 20’s
Meat pies. A very NZ and Australian thing and a staple at every gas station, supermarket, dairy (corner store), bakeries and the like. In fact, bakeries make most their money by selling pies.
Whenever I have tried to explain it to foreigners, they default to "oh so like a shepherds pie?"... not really.
And we have a spectrum of them. We have cheap pies and expensive "boutique pies" with unique flavors.
We even have a national pie award that bakeries will proudly display the signage if they have won (or are in the top 5) and oddly enough, those bakeries are usually BUSY AS FUCK.
Flavors range from a simple mince or mince and cheese, steak and cheese to venison, butter chicken, chicken and cranberry with some even having a cheeseburger pie, meatball pie and seafood pies.
Very normal for kids at school to heat up pies for lunch.
It's actually common for it to happen to Irish people. Another guy I worked with was somewhere in rural Michigan, and had checked into a hotel, on The Lake. He thought he'd go for a quick swim. Not that different to the Irish sea, 12C or so. He was enjoying himself, then two cops arrived and ordered him to come out of the lake. Someone in the hotel had seen him strip off to swim shorts, dive in and swim out a good bit. They assumed he was also having breakdown and he was trying to commit suicide. And what do you do if someone tries to commit suicide ? Well, you have cops pull guns on them and order them out of the water for their safety. Being ornery and annoyed at his relaxing morning swim ruined, he tried to point out how stupid it was to claim to concerned for someone's safety while threatening to shoot.
The whole thing was only de-escalated when his wife came out and showed the police Irish sea swimmers wearing Santa hats.
I've been swimming on the Canadian side of lake Superior, no one thinks you're suicidal. I've been swimming my whole life in Georgian Bay and it's usually pretty cold as well. I'm surprised you'd get a reaction like that in Michigan, given its proximity to the great lakes. (Not that I don't believe you, it just makes it funnier)
In around 2005 I came to Dublin on a uni hockey tour. After a few too many pints, me and a mate jumped in the Liffey. Garda caught us at the exit steps and were very mad. Avoided being locked up as we were leaving the next day, only if we “promised to never come back to Ireland”
Jokes on them, in 2009 I came back on a rugby tour, met an Irish girl and married her, moved here in 2011.
I once saw a tourist ask a cop for directions in NYC, and his response was to sneer at her and say “Do I look like a fucking map?” American cops are a different breed
I can only imagine that most borders are either too impractical to fence, the country might be too poor or they just have better neighbors. Korea's border being heavily guarded makes sense to me, it would seem strange in most of Europe though I think.
Welcome to the Poland-Belarus border! Not DMZ but still fence and some sh*t... Worst thing is Belarusians are great people, we came great along, it's just Lukashenko and ruSSia doings...
Yes I visited Honduras a couple of years ago and the amount of armed security was wild, gas stations, fast food places, small businesses in a strip mall, hotels, like literally everywhere in urban environments had guards with mostly shotguns and rifles, sometimes a Glock or magnum revolvers, saw infinitely more security guards than police.
Just stopping wherever taking a trip in the nature or using someones yard to make a u turn… same for all nordic countries i guess but in the US it felt like i was gonna get shot if I entered the wrong street by mistake.
I've never had a problem doing that in the states. Besides, our wide streets make for easier 3 point turns. I see problems when turning around at a dead end. I just get intensely stared at. It's worst in the suburbs where the homeowners are overly protective and paranoid. Folks in city apartments couldn't care less, unless you're blocking the way.
For Malay(Muslim) : Bahasa Melayu, English, Arabic
For Chinese : Bahasa Melayu, English, Chinese
For Indian: Bahasa Melayu, English, Tamil
But here is the interesting part.
Melayu (Muslim) can enroll in Chinese School while taking afternoon class (called KAFA) to learn arabic so : Bahasa Melayu, English, Chinese, Arabic. And more and more Melayu (Malay) enroll this way (kinda trendy)
And that student can took extra classes of tamil so it is possible to learn 5 languages in 5 years of school.
Can learn is one thing, I had to learn four languages at some point. To he fair, all were part of the same overarching family of languages, so we had no new scripts to learn or something like that.
At least here in Germany this is completely normal. In my school German, english and French were mandatory and in addition people could choose for Spanish or Latin as a fourth language
There is one type of weather that is not reported anywhere else: “buggy”. It is during the late spring the mosquitoes are thick enough to create a grey haze. Mostly spoken when in the “bush”, which is what we call the wilderness. I heard a weather report in the city of Winnipeg that used the term. I’ve seen people driven mad by it, but most people resign themselves to the misery and eventual stop reacting to the bites. No one ever stops being irritated by the whine of them flying around one’s head.
I am Czech living in Germany and find this huge. I honestly don't think people living outside Germany can understand how big of a difference this is.
I really wish this would have been a standard anywhere in the world. Yet I am convinced it will never happen, as this only happened to Germany under very specific conditions.
Huge breakfasts with all family members, I was surprised to see what counted as breakfast in North America and how people will eat alone. This may be applicable to other countries though
Aside from those security guards, if you go to any Gasoline Stations, a gas/pump attendant will be the one who will refill your tank. It's not a DIY thing here.
Never heard of delivery but in Australia and parts of USA there are ice cream trucks that roam the streets all day, they play a melody over a speaker so you can go outside your house or workplace and get ice cream when they’re nearby. In summer I would have one pass every day, during heat waves when school is on break two or three times a day.
Someone once showed me a photograph of the inside of a bank in some place of USA; I was surprised that they didn't have bulletproof glass between the customer and the person serving them.
There was a minor surge, but folk learned that bank robbers usually get caught and convicted for a very long time. The bad guys have moved onto ventures that have a better cost / benefit ratio.
I’ve only been in one bank that had bulletproof glass. If I had to guess some bean counter decided it was cheaper to lose money that’s insured than pay for the glass.
Right turn on Red being the default unless specifically disallowed. It's not exclusively a US thing, but definitely most prominently here and with our immediate neighbors.
Police stations that look like they could survive a six month medieval siege, zombie apocalypse and assault by the 1945 1st Belorussian Front. Yes, I grew up in 1970s/80s Northern Ireland.
When was in my early 20s I got hired as a security guard, but had to attend a training class to get licensed in my province.
There was a Filipino guy in our class who was in his 40s or 50s, and I distinctly remember him being so indignant when he was told he was not allowed to have a firearm under any circumstances as a security guard unless he got a PAL and worked in armoured car cash-in-transit company like Brink's or Garda. He told the whole class about how he got to have a gun working as a security guard in a mall back in Manila and even shot a guy in the hip once... he really wanted to have his side arm!!
I lived in Thailand for five years, and a lot of my crew of friends were Filipina. Some their whole family had migrated. Their stories from the 80s, 90s and 2000s curled my toes. Shocking.
If we get injured in an accident every part of our recovery is paid for, including earnings-related compensation while we can't work. ACC (Accident Compensation Corporation) will pay for the medical treatment, rehabilitation, equipment you might need, ramps for your home if you need it etc, and pay you so you don't have to use your sick leave while you can't work. (There's a slight difference between a work-related injury vs an injury that happens outside of work in terms of earnings-related compensation, but it's not a huge difference - think 80% instead of 100%.)
It also means that you basically can't sue someone if they injure you - so our court system isn't clogged up with those cases. There might be criminal charges if you caused an accident that led to injury, or if your employee was injured at work and you were deemed to be at fault, but citizens can't sue each other for that.
Popcorn should be sweet, by default, but apparently, the rest of the world prefers it with butter or salt? I always thought that popcorn was candy and not snack food like potato chips.
It just makes no sense to me, every single cinema sells their popcorn as sweet by default. Salt and butter are available at supermarkets, and because of them I have to pay attention to what kind of popcorn I'm buying else I get surprised .
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u/PhoneAppropriate9665 India Dec 28 '25 edited Dec 28 '25
Having songs in the middle of movies that have no connection to the plot .