# Perceptions about USA from non-Americans that Americans might be surprised to learn **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 13, 2015, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perceptions-about-usa-from-non-americans-that-americans-might-be-surprised-to-learn/719918 "2015-05-13T06:28:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2015, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perceptions-about-usa-from-non-americans-that-americans-might-be-surprised-to-learn/719918/201 "2015-05-14T19:03:12Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > We’re all ears. You’re not trying to butter us up, are you? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2015, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perceptions-about-usa-from-non-americans-that-americans-might-be-surprised-to-learn/719918/202 "2015-05-14T19:04:54Z")
> [@Anne\_Neville](#): > > Well, most African-Americans don’t _know_ anything more specific than “Africa” about where their ancestors came from. Slaveowners didn’t always keep such careful records on such things. Our history classes are heavily biased toward things that happened in Europe or America, so they might not learn in school where the African slaves came from. I have heard that African-Americans visit Africa and say things like “I am home now”, and that annoys actual Africans sometimes. It’s understandable, and just a difference in the context they’re talking about. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2015, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perceptions-about-usa-from-non-americans-that-americans-might-be-surprised-to-learn/719918/203 "2015-05-14T19:07:03Z")
> [@Arch\_Trout](#): > > I agree with you on cheese but some of the craft beer coming from the States these days is some of the best stuff in the world. > They have some great I.P.A.'s. > I know it’s easy to scoff at Miller Lite etc but that’s not a representation of what they truly have to offer. > I find their obsession with ice to be odd, there’s ice machines in every hotel/motel on veyr floor; at Walmart I was asked if I wanted to buy ice when I checked out my cases of soda and beer; the fridges in my rented villas have all dispensed ice. > They love ice. > Ice. True, “American Cheese” is bland. But America makes some great cheeses. We do like ice. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2015, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perceptions-about-usa-from-non-americans-that-americans-might-be-surprised-to-learn/719918/204 "2015-05-14T19:09:58Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > You’re way too religious. That’s my perception. You won’t find another developed first-world country that’s as religious as the US. Italy. Turkey. And honestly the USA is not that religious. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2015, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perceptions-about-usa-from-non-americans-that-americans-might-be-surprised-to-learn/719918/205 "2015-05-14T19:13:44Z")
Turkey is a secular state, and while it’s more religious than most of Europe, it’s far less religious than the US. [55%](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_Turkey) of Turks identify as “extremely” or “somewhat” religious, versus [69%](http://www.gallup.com/poll/159050/seven-americans-moderately-religious.aspx) of Americans. > [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > 😕 64% of the popular vote went against Cameron, 62% against Harper, and 54% against Abbott. Yes, but they received more votes than anyone else. The problem with the electoral college is that you don’t need to do that to win a US election. If you get into the way legislative seats are apportioned, [the problem is even worse](http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2013/05/16/why_the_gop_lost_the_vote_but_gained_house_seats__118430.html). ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2015, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perceptions-about-usa-from-non-americans-that-americans-might-be-surprised-to-learn/719918/206 "2015-05-14T19:19:12Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > You say that… wait 'til you wake up bleary-eyed in the morning and head over to your coffee maker (which you use, of course, in the spirit of embracing a truly American morning experience) and the [carafe has markings on it](http://cache.coffeehomedirect.com/images/medelco-gl312-m.jpg) representing “cups”. You are informed that you should put 1/4 cup of ground coffee in the basket up top for each 2 “cups” of water. But these cups are not cups. They’re coffee cups. If your carafe doesn’t easily fit under the water faucet it may occur to you to use the [_measuring cup_](http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTA2NlgxNjAw/z/gEcAAOSwcwhVQXKA/$_57.JPG), the glass beaker that you’d use when following a recipe. But those cups are cups. The cups on the coffee carafe aren’t the same kinds of cups at all. There are cups and then there are cups and not all cups are one cup, even when their capacity is described and delineated in cups. and that’s not even counting _D-cups_. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2015, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perceptions-about-usa-from-non-americans-that-americans-might-be-surprised-to-learn/719918/207 "2015-05-14T19:31:54Z")
> [@racepug](#): > > No argument from me on this. None whatsoever. Apologies to any employees of Mars/M&M or Hershey’s that are reading this but “Merkan” “choklit” just doesn’t compare to the best stuff from other places. I mean, it’s not even a competition. True, but it’s better than the worst stuff from other places, which tastes more or less like those cheap “choclaty” easter bunnys. America has plenty of great chocolate (even found in the grocery store)- Ghirardelli , Endangered Species, Taza, Scharffen Berger, Green & Blacks, Alter Eco, Dagoba, etc. Even Sees, Godiva and Dove are better than average. Better than Cadbury. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2015, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perceptions-about-usa-from-non-americans-that-americans-might-be-surprised-to-learn/719918/208 "2015-05-14T19:34:23Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > A > > Not by any of the definitions I know and Hell no, respectively. Turkey is First World. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2015, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perceptions-about-usa-from-non-americans-that-americans-might-be-surprised-to-learn/719918/209 "2015-05-14T19:37:19Z")
> [@wguy123](#): > > It seems there is a lot of that going on. “Your Bud Lite sucks compared to our best beer”. “Your yellow cheddar sucks compared to our farmland hand made cheese”. Maybe folks from outside the US don’t realize we have things other than the mainstream, mass-market products. Do bland, generic products not exist outside the US? Or is everything small-batch, hand-crafted and exquisite once you escape the bounds of bland ole USA? Yep. Apples to Oranges. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2015, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perceptions-about-usa-from-non-americans-that-americans-might-be-surprised-to-learn/719918/210 "2015-05-14T19:40:40Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Yep. Apples to Oranges. Now it has switched to “Our bland is better than your bland”. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2015, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perceptions-about-usa-from-non-americans-that-americans-might-be-surprised-to-learn/719918/211 "2015-05-14T20:22:05Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Roll grass? What does that accomplish? Cutting it periodically I can see, but rolling it? (I assume with some sort of push-roller contraption?) Rolling a heavy weight over the grass makes the lawn even and level. Juat a joke about how Europe and the USA view time differently. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2015, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perceptions-about-usa-from-non-americans-that-americans-might-be-surprised-to-learn/719918/212 "2015-05-14T20:29:09Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Hasn’t really been true for a few decades, except in the truck markets and that’s changing pretty rapidly as well. Yeah, I have a buddy who has a twin-turbo, direct-injection 3.5L V6 in his Ford pickup. That’s a long way from lazily slapping a V8 in there. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2015, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perceptions-about-usa-from-non-americans-that-americans-might-be-surprised-to-learn/719918/213 "2015-05-14T20:35:14Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Turkey is a secular state, and while it’s more religious than most of Europe, it’s far less religious than the US. [55%](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_Turkey) of Turks identify as “extremely” or “somewhat” religious, versus [69%](http://www.gallup.com/poll/159050/seven-americans-moderately-religious.aspx) of Americans. So is the USA. Re Turkey: Islam is the largest religion of Turkey with 99.8% of the population being registered as Muslim… Turkey is officially a secular country with no official religion since the constitutional amendment in 1924 and later strengthened by Atatürk’s Reforms and the appliance of laïcité by the country’s founder and first president Mustafa Kemal Atatürk at the end of 1937. However, currently all public schools from elementary to high school hold mandatory religion classes which only focus on the Sunni sect of Islam. In these classes, children are required to learn prayers and other religious practices which belong specifically to Sunnism. …In the most recent poll conducted by Sabancı University, 98.3% of Turks revealed they were Muslim.[9] Of that, 16% said they were “extremely religious”, 39% said they were “somewhat religious”, and 32% said they were “not religious”.[9] 3% of Turks declare themselves with no religious beliefs.[9] vs The majority of Americans (71%) identify themselves as Christians and about 23% have no religious affiliation.[3] According to the American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS) of 2008, 76% of the American adult population identified themselves as Christians, with 51% professing attendance at a variety of churches that could be considered Protestant or unaffiliated, and 25% professing Catholic beliefs.[4][5] From your poll: 40% “very” vs 16% “extremely religious” 29 “Moderately” vs 39% 31% “non” vs 32% Seems to differ on the definition of “very” vs "extremely " See this: > **[Gallup Poll](https://books.google.com/books?id=HWsfJAQALT8C&pg=PA82&lpg=PA82&dq=what%2B%25%2Bof%2Bamericans%2Bare%2B%22extremely%2Breligious%22&source=bl&ots=fMxoMOOJHl&sig=Z2NXhP3fX3tP_hFwA8SRDjNIv3Q&hl=en&sa=X&ei=TAVVVYGbMtL6oQTTuICYCQ&ved=0CDsQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=what%20%25%20of%20americans%20are%20%22extremely%20religious%22&f=false)** > > As the only complete compilation of polls taken by the Gallup Organization, The Gallup Poll is an invaluable tool for ascertaining the pulse of American public opinion throughout the year and for documenting changing perceptions over time of crucial... where \*\*only 8% \*\*of Americans called themselves “extremely religious” vs 16% Turks. Overall, Americans are about as religious as Turks, but in \*\*NO \*\*“public schools from elementary to high school hold mandatory religion classes which only focus on the Protestant sect of Christianity. In these classes, children are required to learn prayers and other religious practices …” As for Italy (wiki): \*According to the 2005 Eurobarometer poll, 74% of Italians “believe there is a God”, 16% “believe there is some sort of spirit or life force” and 6% “do not believe there is any sort of spirit, God, or life force”.[8] Religious practice is still high in Italy, when compared to the average European country. The Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) found in 2010 that 32.0% of the population went to church, mosque, synagogue or another house of worship on a weekly basis\* vs > **[Why Nobody Wants to Go to Church Anymore](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/why-nobody-wants-to-go-to_b_4086016)** > > I counsel church leaders within every denomination in America, having crisscrossed this country for nearly two decades counseling congregations as small as two hundred in attendance to churches averaging nearly 20,000 in weekly attendance. _Clearly, the Church is dying. … According to the Hartford Institute of Religion Research, more than 40 percent of Americans “say” they go to church weekly. As it turns out, however, less than 20 percent are actually in church._ ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2015, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perceptions-about-usa-from-non-americans-that-americans-might-be-surprised-to-learn/719918/214 "2015-05-14T21:39:40Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Yes, but they received more votes than anyone else. The problem with the electoral college is that you don’t need to do that to win a US election. Even moving the goalposts there, there’s the UK in 1874, 1923, 1951, and 1974, and Canada in 1925 and 1957. Australia has the permanent coalition on the right, so whether Tony Abbott had the most votes there in 2010 kind of depends on how one counts. ---
**Author:** ![mistymage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mistymage/32/459_2.png) [@mistymage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mistymage)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2015, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perceptions-about-usa-from-non-americans-that-americans-might-be-surprised-to-learn/719918/215 "2015-05-14T21:40:30Z")
Coming out of lurkdom to say: 1. In America we refrigerate both our eggs and our cheeses for the most part (I do know some people who leave either or both out). 2. One thing I read years ago that caused quite a heated discussion: in America we wash our dishes and rinse them. Several UK people (on two different boards) said they didn’t rinse their dishes. Something to do with the water taps not mixing so I guess not wanting to rinse in just hot water (which is the only way I do rinse). 3. Here we don’t have neighborhood grocery stores everywhere as compared to the UK. Our neighborhoods in suburbia are just houses and more houses so you end up having to drive a few miles to do any shopping. I think it’s been mentioned we don’t have very good mass transit either. Large cities do but smaller ones and towns generally don’t. So in some places it can be difficult to shop so we end up doing large shopping weekly or fortnightly vs daily fresh stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2015, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perceptions-about-usa-from-non-americans-that-americans-might-be-surprised-to-learn/719918/216 "2015-05-14T22:51:04Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > I’d like to add one common perception that I think is unfair: that most Americans have never been outside their own country. I think one way that this reflected on the internet is that many Americans seem genuinely excited to be talking to someone not from America, whether it be from Australia, England, New Zealand or elsewhere, whereas non-Americans just take it in their stride that of course different people come from different places, and it’s not particularly noteworthy. The unworldliness can get a little annoying when you hear the same lame antipodean jokes for the umpteenth time - and this particular board is by no means the worst offender; I and a bunch of Australians I know left one board because we just got sick of the dumb jokes by otherwise pleasant and intelligent people who should have known better - but you find yourself biting your tongue and nodding and smiling that yes, we do have many farms here, and that yes, Australia is full of many dangerous animals, and only occasionally wanting to ask “Haha, you’re American! Are you a cowboy? Do you have a six-gun?”. ---
**Author:** ![Septima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@Septima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Septima)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2015, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perceptions-about-usa-from-non-americans-that-americans-might-be-surprised-to-learn/719918/217 "2015-05-14T23:11:40Z")
-Americans buy milk, orange juice and other stuff that should not be in plastic jugs in plastic jugs. What’s up with that? -Americans do NOT know how to take money for things. Seriously, you guys do NOT know how to assign value to your own time and effort. -The commercials. I brought my laptop to Florida, and overnight it turned into a screaming, flapping, all-singing hellbeast. How do you guys put up with that? -Americans seem to worship your politicians like gods. It’s seriously weird, creepy and glorious to watch an american election. -Americans are just more fun, somehow. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2015, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perceptions-about-usa-from-non-americans-that-americans-might-be-surprised-to-learn/719918/218 "2015-05-14T23:18:07Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Rolling a heavy weight over the grass makes the lawn even and level. > Juat a joke about how Europe and the USA view time differently. Americans view 100 years as a long time and 100 miles as a short distance. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2015, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perceptions-about-usa-from-non-americans-that-americans-might-be-surprised-to-learn/719918/219 "2015-05-15T00:28:08Z")
> [@The\_Angry\_Badger](#): > > OK, I’ll give you that - I’ve been hearing interesting things about the craft beer scene for a while now. Not yet had the opportunity to try any, though. > The mainstream market, though, is still pretty poor - I was shocked a few weeks ago to discover that Bud Lite is the most popular beer in the US. > Admittedly the UK isn’t much better (I think Carling is the most popular, which is pretty awful stuff) but there are still a lot of decent beers around that you can get in pretty much any pub you can go to. Ironically, most of the big macrobreweries that make the sex-in-a-canoe American beer that y’all (rightfully) disdain are owned by [Europeans and South Africans](http://drinkamerican.us/who-owns-what-beers/)? The only mass-market brewery that is still American-owned is the Boston Beer Company. I don’t drink beer, so can’t really express a opinion, but I understand Sam Adams is considered pretty good. > [@carnivorousplant](#): > > 🙂 > > All this talk of cheese and chocolate. Perhaps I never not been exposed to a quality product, but I cannot be terribly excited by either. You poor bugger. You have been deprived. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2015, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perceptions-about-usa-from-non-americans-that-americans-might-be-surprised-to-learn/719918/220 "2015-05-15T01:35:22Z")
> [@Septima](#): > > -Americans buy milk, orange juice and other stuff that should not be in plastic jugs in plastic jugs. What’s up with that? > > -Americans do NOT know how to take money for things. Seriously, you guys do NOT know how to assign value to your own time and effort. I don’t know what either of these things mean. Can you elaborate? What is supposed to be in a plastic jug and what isn’t? And what do you mean about not knowing how to take money for things? I deal with Americans all the time who happily take money from me. > [@](#): > > -Americans seem to worship your politicians like gods. It’s seriously weird, creepy and glorious to watch an american election. I think this is just a misunderstanding. We’re not worshipping our politicians during our elections. We’re worshipping ourselves. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perceptions-about-usa-from-non-americans-that-americans-might-be-surprised-to-learn/719918.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perceptions-about-usa-from-non-americans-that-americans-might-be-surprised-to-learn/719918.md?page=12)