# Random “Why don’t we have this in the US” thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 20, 2023, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-why-don-t-we-have-this-in-the-us-thread/987294 "2023-07-20T09:15:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2023, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-why-don-t-we-have-this-in-the-us-thread/987294/61 "2023-07-21T16:24:59Z")
Of course, the root cause of all American complaints about change is the ridiculous system you have where taxes aren’t included in prices. Other countries don’t worry about carrying a pocketful of metal because our prices are nice and round. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2023, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-why-don-t-we-have-this-in-the-us-thread/987294/62 "2023-07-21T16:32:29Z")
No argument from me on that one. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2023, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-why-don-t-we-have-this-in-the-us-thread/987294/63 "2023-07-21T18:34:30Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > Roundabouts. Traffic circles. They _are_ starting to catch on in the US - there are a good half dozen I know of in the Atlanta area - but they’re not as common as on the other side of the pond. About 25 years ago, I took a driving vacation in Ireland, and quickly realized how much more efficient roundabouts are, compared to four-way stops. Massachusetts, to. The problem is that people in NJ and MA very often don’t obey the rules for driving in Traffic Circles/Rotaries\* . In England and Ireland they do. I used to think they were getting rid of traffic circles in the US. Several of the most notorious ones I knew had been replaced. But they keep building more. \*Massachusetts doesn’t have “traffic circles” It has “rotaries” ---
**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:** [July 21, 2023, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-why-don-t-we-have-this-in-the-us-thread/987294/64 "2023-07-21T18:41:43Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I used to think they were getting rid of traffic circles in the US. Several of the most notorious ones I knew had been replaced. But they keep building more. My understanding is that there’s a technical difference between a traffic circle and a roundabout; a traffic circle is a set of T intersections onto a circular road (which may be controlled by stop signs or even stoplights), while a roundabout is built with curves going into and out of it, to allow traffic to flow more freely, and which use only yield signs. But, that said, I suspect that the terms often get used interchangeably. That said, it’s the _roundabouts_ which are being adopted in many places in recent years: traffic engineers feel that they help traffic to move better, and reduce the incidence of severe accidents at intersections: when you get accidents at roundabouts, they are typically low-speed side-swipes, rather than higher-speed t-bones when someone runs a stop sign or a red light. I don’t doubt that, though, for drivers who have little or no experience using them, a sudden influx of new roundabouts seems to lead to confusion and lack of knowledge regarding their effective use. > **[The difference between roundabouts and traffic circles](https://www.reiner-law.com/legal-blog/2015/june/the-difference-between-roundabouts-and-traffic-c/)** ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2023, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-why-don-t-we-have-this-in-the-us-thread/987294/65 "2023-07-21T18:53:13Z")
Getting back to the topic of stuff not available in the United States, I’d like to be able to purchase [long eggs](https://www.danaeg.com/our-products/long-eggs/) here, though I haven’t seen them for sale anywhere. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2023, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-why-don-t-we-have-this-in-the-us-thread/987294/66 "2023-07-21T18:53:23Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > the ridiculous system you have where taxes aren’t included in prices It’s not a system. It’s lots of different systems. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2023, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-why-don-t-we-have-this-in-the-us-thread/987294/67 "2023-07-21T18:56:13Z")
A custom, then. There’s no law preventing retailers from including taxes in the price, is there? ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2023, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-why-don-t-we-have-this-in-the-us-thread/987294/68 "2023-07-21T18:57:53Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I’d like to be able to purchase [long eggs](https://www.danaeg.com/our-products/long-eggs/) here, though I haven’t seen them for sale anywhere. I am both disturbed and intrigued by these… ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2023, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-why-don-t-we-have-this-in-the-us-thread/987294/69 "2023-07-21T18:58:56Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > There’s no law preventing retailers from including taxes in the price, is there? No, but no motivation for them to make their prices look higher. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2023, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-why-don-t-we-have-this-in-the-us-thread/987294/70 "2023-07-21T19:01:06Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > There’s no law preventing retailers from including taxes in the price, is there? Technically there’s no law requiring a retailer to _charge_ tax. The retailer must _pay_ the state, however. At one point most of my sales were not taxable. I had one item that was taxable, so I marked its price up a bit and paid the state six percent of whatever small amount of money I’d made selling the item. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2023, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-why-don-t-we-have-this-in-the-us-thread/987294/71 "2023-07-21T19:17:51Z")
I liked the Japanese hot-and-cold vending machines – tins of juice and soda on one side, tins of hot coffee and tea on the other. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2023, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-why-don-t-we-have-this-in-the-us-thread/987294/72 "2023-07-21T19:17:52Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > > > I’d like to be able to purchase [long eggs](https://www.danaeg.com/our-products/long-eggs/) here, though I haven’t seen them for sale anywhere. > > I am both disturbed and intrigued by these… FYI, [here’s a video](https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4g1zsq) of them being prepared in a factory. There are other videos describing how one can make them at home, but they seem to be kludgy. I’d prefer to buy them already cooked. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2023, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-why-don-t-we-have-this-in-the-us-thread/987294/73 "2023-07-21T19:48:27Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > No, but no motivation for them to make their prices look higher. And customers should push back. It’s a matter of honest labelling - if the price tag on something says $9.99, then you should pay $9.99 and not a cent more. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2023, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-why-don-t-we-have-this-in-the-us-thread/987294/74 "2023-07-21T19:52:10Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > if the price tag on something says $9.99, then you should pay $9.99 and not a cent more. And if there isn’t a price tag? Seriously. I was in a little shop that sold “art”. Everything from hand drawn notecards to dining room tables. Not a price on anything, which actually made it fun to look at things and attempt to guess the price. ---
**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:** [July 21, 2023, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-why-don-t-we-have-this-in-the-us-thread/987294/75 "2023-07-21T20:18:02Z")
> [@SCAdian](#): > > I liked the Japanese hot-and-cold vending machines – tins of juice and soda on one side, tins of hot coffee and tea on the other. They have some amazing vending machines. Here is a video of a “museum” of them that I found fascinating. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/gzxW3B3_Pak/maxresdefault.jpg "Why These Old Japanese Vending Machines Are Genius") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzxW3B3_Pak) ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2023, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-why-don-t-we-have-this-in-the-us-thread/987294/76 "2023-07-21T20:18:57Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Seriously. I was in a little shop that sold “art”. Everything from hand drawn notecards to dining room tables. Not a price on anything, which actually made it fun to look at things and attempt to guess the price. You have to admit that places like that are the exception, not the rule. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2023, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-why-don-t-we-have-this-in-the-us-thread/987294/77 "2023-07-21T20:38:22Z")
Certainly. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2023, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-why-don-t-we-have-this-in-the-us-thread/987294/78 "2023-07-21T21:34:52Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > If you don’t believe me, try folding a dollar so that it’s smaller than a quarter. A US paper bill is 155.96x66.3x0.11 mm, or 1137 mm^3. A dollar coin is 26.49 mm diameter by 2 mm thick, or 1102 mm^3. So, very close overall, except the coin has much worse packing density since they’re generally loose. The bills stack nicely alongside other bills. And of course the coin is 8.1 g instead of ~1 g. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2023, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-why-don-t-we-have-this-in-the-us-thread/987294/79 "2023-07-21T21:43:26Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > > [@Tzigone](#): > > > > You feel differently, and that’s fine, but don’t act like people are unreasonable for having different preferences than you have. > > It’s not that they have “different preferences”, it’s that they conjure up out of whole cloth this image of people being weighted down by coins. They use ridiculous hyperbole in place of argument. Yeah it’s not like any Americans ever travelled or lived in other countries. How could we possibly have an informed opinion? Oh yeah that’s right, now I remember. I lived in Germany for a few years and always had a ridiculous amount of coins in my pocket. No thanks. ---
**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:** [July 21, 2023, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-why-don-t-we-have-this-in-the-us-thread/987294/80 "2023-07-21T21:43:40Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > > > I’d like to be able to purchase [long eggs](https://www.danaeg.com/our-products/long-eggs/) here, though I haven’t seen them for sale anywhere. > > I am both disturbed and intrigued by these… I both do and _don’t_ want to see the chicken that laid them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-why-don-t-we-have-this-in-the-us-thread/987294.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-why-don-t-we-have-this-in-the-us-thread/987294.md?page=5)