# 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:** 6
**Author:** ![racepug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@racepug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racepug)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2015, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perceptions-about-usa-from-non-americans-that-americans-might-be-surprised-to-learn/719918/101 "2015-05-13T17:35:58Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > All your food isn’t just too sweet, it’s too sugary. Chocolate cakes should taste like chocolate. Then again, chocolate should taste like chocolate. 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. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2015, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perceptions-about-usa-from-non-americans-that-americans-might-be-surprised-to-learn/719918/102 "2015-05-13T17:38:49Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Not by any of the definitions I know and Hell no, respectively. Duly noted, then. **racepug** : Not even Ghirardelli? ---
**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 13, 2015, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perceptions-about-usa-from-non-americans-that-americans-might-be-surprised-to-learn/719918/103 "2015-05-13T17:59:46Z")
> [@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. For some reason (I guess cuz it costs less) we use Milk Choklit a lot. And Milk Choklit unsurprisingly tastes like sour choklit milk. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2015, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perceptions-about-usa-from-non-americans-that-americans-might-be-surprised-to-learn/719918/104 "2015-05-13T18:14:48Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > … you do realize that Europe and Asia are on different continents, right? I could never quite get this. Europe and Asia are part of the same landmass, how do you figure out where the line is? Arabs and Iranians are Caucasian, Asian Russia divides from European Russia, I think, at the Urals, but there is kind of a large plain south of where the Urals end that is hard to discern where “Europe” becomes “Asia”. I guess that must be why they call it the Midwest. > [@Acsenray](#): > > Real artisanal English cheddar, like you get from Neal’s Yard—Montgomery’s or Keen’s cheddar, for example—is like filet mignon. American cheddar is comparatively a Slim Jim. They’re pretty much not even in the same category of food. There are two common brands of cheddar from the US that surpass the rest. One is Cabot, from Vermont, the other is Tillamook from Oregon. There are cheddars from Wisconsin that have actual flavor, but they are absurdly expensive compared to Tillamook or Cabot. > [@Quercus](#): > > Everywhere except uniforms of professional sports teams, that is. Sarcasm? ---
**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 13, 2015, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perceptions-about-usa-from-non-americans-that-americans-might-be-surprised-to-learn/719918/105 "2015-05-13T18:31:25Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > There are two common brands of cheddar from the US that surpass the rest. One is Cabot, from Vermont, the other is Tillamook from Oregon. There are cheddars from Wisconsin that have actual flavor, but they are absurdly expensive compared to Tillamook or Cabot. Cabot and Tillamook are still not anything approaching real English farmhouse cheddar. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2015, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perceptions-about-usa-from-non-americans-that-americans-might-be-surprised-to-learn/719918/106 "2015-05-13T18:37:42Z")
> [@Scougs](#): > > Two observations, mostly from this board. > > 1. Using brand names for everything. It’s not a plaster, it’s a Bandaid. It’s not sanitizer, it’s Lysol. It’s not aspirin, paracetamol or ibuprofen, it’s Advil or Tylenol. I’m sure there are lots and lots of others which I can’t think of right now, but it always jumps out me reading the board. What do you call the action of using a machine that, using a fan-created vacuum, cleans a carpet? ---
**Author:** ![Teach-me-not](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a4c791/32.png) [@Teach-me-not](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teach-me-not)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2015, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perceptions-about-usa-from-non-americans-that-americans-might-be-surprised-to-learn/719918/107 "2015-05-13T18:38:02Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > But it’s a fair point nonetheless. > > Europeans regard us as repressed, puritanical and prudish. Many Asians (and especially Muslims) regard us as libertines and hedonists. > > So, which is it? Lots of Indians too, especially older, conservative ones. I remember someone complain about why the TV show was called _Friends_ when every character in it sleeps around with every other character. 😛 There’s also the view that all societal ills were recent imports from the West, in particular America. Depending on the particular person, the said “ills” might include homosexuality, divorces, remarriage, women wearing skirts, perceived or real decline of religion, and any women empowerment. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2015, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perceptions-about-usa-from-non-americans-that-americans-might-be-surprised-to-learn/719918/108 "2015-05-13T18:41:23Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > What do you call the action of using a machine that, using a fan-created vacuum, cleans a carpet? Vacuuming, whether it’s on carpet or another surface, but I’ve had American coworkers who called it hoovering. Always makes me think of someone floating around the house going bzzzzzzzzz… whoopawhoopa (that’s when they change direction)… bzzz… ---
**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 13, 2015, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perceptions-about-usa-from-non-americans-that-americans-might-be-surprised-to-learn/719918/109 "2015-05-13T18:44:58Z")
Are you sure you’re not thinking of British coworkers? I’ve never heard any American use the term. ---
**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 13, 2015, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perceptions-about-usa-from-non-americans-that-americans-might-be-surprised-to-learn/719918/110 "2015-05-13T18:45:20Z")
I’m under the impression that “Hoover” used generically is largely a British usage. In America we say vacuuming or sometimes sweeping, although the latter is strange to me. ---
**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 13, 2015, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perceptions-about-usa-from-non-americans-that-americans-might-be-surprised-to-learn/719918/111 "2015-05-13T18:49:22Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > How often does one encounter the Pledge of Allegiance? > [@Procrustus](#): > > City council meetings, functions at the local school, and for students, and their teachers, every damn day… Your average foreign visitor might never encounter it, though, even during a long visit. And no one, students included, can be compelled to say it: [West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Virginia_State_Board_of_Education_v._Barnette) ---
**Author:** ![racepug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@racepug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racepug)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2015, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perceptions-about-usa-from-non-americans-that-americans-might-be-surprised-to-learn/719918/112 "2015-05-13T18:50:32Z")
> [@Rilchiam](#): > > Duly noted, then. > > **racepug** : Not even Ghirardelli? I remember buying Ghirardelli chocolate in these tubes when I was a kid. Liked 'em a lot, I did. But it’s still crap compared to chocolate from other places. Heck, I saw a show a while ago where a Spaniard was making these BEAUTIFUL artful “eggs” out of sumptuous dark chocolate. What he was making looked like it should be placed in a display and have people pay to just _look_ at it. Our stuff? Just something to shove down your throat until it’s time for your next meal. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Angry\_Badger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b38774/32.png) [@The\_Angry\_Badger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Angry_Badger)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2015, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perceptions-about-usa-from-non-americans-that-americans-might-be-surprised-to-learn/719918/113 "2015-05-13T18:50:34Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > I’m under the impression that “Hoover” used generically is largely a British usage. That used to be the case, when Hoover was a major brand and if you had a vacuum cleaner, it was probably a Hoover. That’s not really the case now, and the naming convention is now slipping back into ‘vacuum’. I’m not sure how popular Hoover are these days - do they even still make vacuum cleaners? Maybe I should **google** it. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Ispolkom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e47774/32.png) [@Ispolkom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ispolkom)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2015, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perceptions-about-usa-from-non-americans-that-americans-might-be-surprised-to-learn/719918/114 "2015-05-13T19:03:44Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Real artisanal English cheddar, like you get from Neal’s Yard—Montgomery’s or Keen’s cheddar, for example—is like filet mignon. American cheddar is comparatively a Slim Jim. They’re pretty much not even in the same category of food. Real artisanal American cheese is also great. I’d compare Hook’s five-year cheddar to an artisanal English cheddar any day. On the other hand, bland plastic cheese from Sainsbury in Britain tastes pretty much like bland plastic cheese from Cub Foods in the U.S. You have to compare apples to apples. ---
**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 13, 2015, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perceptions-about-usa-from-non-americans-that-americans-might-be-surprised-to-learn/719918/115 "2015-05-13T19:12:45Z")
May I also recommend Maytag Blue Cheese, made right here in the USA, which is out of this world? [http://www.maytagdairyfarms.com/aspx/welcome.aspx](http://www.maytagdairyfarms.com/aspx/welcome.aspx) ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2015, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perceptions-about-usa-from-non-americans-that-americans-might-be-surprised-to-learn/719918/116 "2015-05-13T19:18:58Z")
> [@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. It is, for now. But while I wouldn’t [call this a death spiral](http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2014/11/24/budweiser_sales_decline_americans_now_drink_more_craft_beer_than_bud.html) it is certainly dropping like a stone. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2015, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perceptions-about-usa-from-non-americans-that-americans-might-be-surprised-to-learn/719918/117 "2015-05-13T19:25:41Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Vacuuming, whether it’s on carpet or another surface, but I’ve had American coworkers who called it hoovering. Always makes me think of someone floating around the house going bzzzzzzzzz… whoopawhoopa (that’s when they change direction)… bzzz… Total sidebar: A few years ago, I was playing Dungeons & Dragons at a big gaming convention in Ohio. Our gamemaster was from the Netherlands (though he’d been living in the US for a number of years). We were fighting some opponents who were able to fly (and yes, hover). The gamemaster consistently mispronounced “hover” as “hoover”. which, of course, painted a very different mental image. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2015, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perceptions-about-usa-from-non-americans-that-americans-might-be-surprised-to-learn/719918/118 "2015-05-13T19:31:32Z")
> [@Mr.Miskatonic](#): > > It is, for now. But while I wouldn’t [call this a death spiral](http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2014/11/24/budweiser_sales_decline_americans_now_drink_more_craft_beer_than_bud.html) it is certainly dropping like a stone. Currently, in Alaska, Colorado, Oregon and Washington, when you say “Bud”, you are no longer talking about “beer”. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2015, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perceptions-about-usa-from-non-americans-that-americans-might-be-surprised-to-learn/719918/119 "2015-05-13T19:36:54Z")
I read somewhere that the British think 100 miles is a long way and the Americans think 100 years is a long time. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2015, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perceptions-about-usa-from-non-americans-that-americans-might-be-surprised-to-learn/719918/120 "2015-05-13T19:44:19Z")
I’ve traveled around Europe a fair bit and lived in Germany off & on a bit. The bread, cheese, beer & various sweets aren’t that different. It makes me LOL when I hear “American food is too sweet.” No, it’s not. I don’t know what tourists are buying and eating but the junk food & restaurant food in Europe is identical to junk food & restaurant food in the states. You guys practically live on those sweet sugary danishes & tarts & things. Don’t get me started on marzipan & Nutella. Both are so disgustingly sweet I can’t stand them. I’ve bought and eaten chocolate in Belgium. Ho hum. Same stuff & many times the price. You pay for the ambiance, I guess. Bakers in Europe apparently have no problem leaving all their food products out and letting flies, bees, wasps & whatever else crawl all over it and expect people to actually buy it. Yuck. If you want rock hard bread that disintegrates into crumbs when you try to eat it and so hard it tears up the flesh on the roof of your mouth, great - just buy a loaf of french bread and leave on the counter for a few days until it becomes what we consider only suitable for feeding the pigeons and squirrels. I wish America would go metric though. It’s silly how when the government tries to take any sort of unilateral action or make some change it means that Hitler and the holocaust are just right around the corner. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perceptions-about-usa-from-non-americans-that-americans-might-be-surprised-to-learn/719918.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perceptions-about-usa-from-non-americans-that-americans-might-be-surprised-to-learn/719918.md?page=7)