# Things Americans don't do that other countries do **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 14, 2017, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-americans-dont-do-that-other-countries-do/791242 "2017-07-14T13:28:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-americans-dont-do-that-other-countries-do/791242/121 "2017-07-15T19:20:23Z")
> [@StarvingButStrong](#): > > Hey, we’ve adopted the metric system. At least for 1 liter and larger sizes of soda. 😉 And wine (750 mL and 1.5L) and liquor (750 mL and 1.75L) and beer (750 mL, though larger are rare). > [@guizot](#): > > 😕 I never said it was illegal, and I know full well that it isn’t. The vast majority of Americans just assume that kids won’t want to drink wine. > > And, of course, for ALL of these things you’ll find communities that do it. The OP is obviously referring to overall trends. Otherwise this whole thread is totally pointless. Err, wasn’t meant as personal. Many people who aren’t you DO think that it is illegal. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-americans-dont-do-that-other-countries-do/791242/122 "2017-07-15T19:28:39Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Can we drop the discussion of the metric vs the US customary systems? Sure, but it’s called the Imperial system. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-americans-dont-do-that-other-countries-do/791242/123 "2017-07-15T20:37:48Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Sure, but it’s called the Imperial system. [No, it isn’t](https://www.google.com/search?q=1+imperial+ounce+in+us+ounces&oq=1+imperial+ounce+in+us+ounces&gs_l=psy-ab.3..33i22i29i30k1.1727.5612.0.5685.29.21.0.0.0.0.282.2989.0j7j8.15.0....0...1.1.64.psy-ab..14.15.2982...0j35i39k1j0i67k1j0i20k1j0i22i30k1.6i8L13Dle5U). ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-americans-dont-do-that-other-countries-do/791242/124 "2017-07-15T20:43:14Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > [No, it isn’t](https://www.google.com/search?q=1+imperial+ounce+in+us+ounces&oq=1+imperial+ounce+in+us+ounces&gs_l=psy-ab.3..33i22i29i30k1.1727.5612.0.5685.29.21.0.0.0.0.282.2989.0j7j8.15.0....0...1.1.64.psy-ab..14.15.2982...0j35i39k1j0i67k1j0i20k1j0i22i30k1.6i8L13Dle5U). Ah yes. I forgot about those wonky US gallons. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-americans-dont-do-that-other-countries-do/791242/125 "2017-07-15T20:50:54Z")
> [@xizor](#): > > America is lagging behind in bidet usage. > [@Shagnasty](#): > > Most Americans don’t take off their shoes when entering a home, even someone else’s like Canadians and the Japanese tend to do. I personally don’t think that is a bad thing in most situations. > [@Okrahoma](#): > > Americans (if right-handed) when cutting up their food, tend to have the knife in right hand and fork in left, cut up the food, then switch hands so that the fork is in the right hand. > > Europeans (including Russians) don’t switch. The fork stays in the left hand. Switching AFAIU is considered uncouth. > [@kayaker](#): > > In the US I notice (and am annoyed by) people in restaurants being in a hurry to place their order, eat, pay, and leave. Once they finish eating they look around anxiously for their check. > > In the Caribbean (and according to my gf, much of Europe) meals are enjoyed in a much more leisurely manner. In the Caribbean especially, a server brings your check only when you go out of your way to request it. > [@Doctor\_Jackson](#): > > Another thing Americans do that irritates the rest of the world - expect American culture to be understood and adopted everywhere. Gee, and all these many years I thought I was an American. 🙂 (I don’t presently have a bidet, but my previous house had one.) I’ll second (or third or whatever) the comment about getting out of the left lane when another car approaches from behind. Not so bad when I lived in MA, but it is absolutely an epidemic in CA. And it’s not because people don’t use their rear view mirrors. They just don’t care. I have a God-given right to be in the left lane no matter what speed I’m going, and even more so if I decide to start texting someone and start weaving around in the lane!! The other thing, of course, is take vacations seriously. I’ve often said: Americans know how to work; Europeans know how to live! ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-americans-dont-do-that-other-countries-do/791242/126 "2017-07-15T23:48:03Z")
> [@](#): > > The other thing, of course, is take vacations seriously. I’ve often said: Americans know how to work; Europeans know how to live! this is one thing I agree on. we’ve consistently learned the wrong lessons from the Japanese. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2017, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-americans-dont-do-that-other-countries-do/791242/127 "2017-07-16T00:03:51Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Can we drop the discussion of the metric vs the US customary systems? What…we strayed too far off the conversation about how to use silverware?? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![StrangeBird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e480ec/32.png) [@StrangeBird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StrangeBird)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2017, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-americans-dont-do-that-other-countries-do/791242/128 "2017-07-16T00:43:13Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > However, I agree that the benefits of the metric are overblown. I still believe that the Fahrenheit temperature system is better for everyday use than Celsius because it is more finely graded. Sometimes it is important to know whether something is 70 degrees Fahrenheit rather than 68 and the Celsius system does a poorer job of that. If we needed a true temperature system, Kelvin would be the way to go but most people don’t need to compare anything to absolute zero. I’m confused by this - if Celsius isn’t finely graded enough then Kelvin has the same problem, since the temp in Celsius is (Kelvin-273.15). ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2017, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-americans-dont-do-that-other-countries-do/791242/129 "2017-07-16T01:09:55Z")
Bleargh. ---
**Author:** ![Okrahoma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90db22/32.png) [@Okrahoma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Okrahoma)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2017, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-americans-dont-do-that-other-countries-do/791242/130 "2017-07-16T01:43:16Z")
> [@StrangeBird](#): > > I’m confused by this - if Celsius isn’t finely graded enough then Kelvin has the same problem, since the temp in Celsius is (Kelvin-273.15). The “not finely graded enough” was when comparing Celsius to Fahrenheit. And I agree with that. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2017, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-americans-dont-do-that-other-countries-do/791242/131 "2017-07-16T02:10:22Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > this is one thing I agree on. we’ve consistently learned the wrong lessons from the Japanese. The Japanese work ethic is not work for 12 hours straight. It’s work for part of 8 hours, then look busy for a few hours because you don’t want to leave work until the boss does. I am fine with the metric system, and use parts of it every day. But I agree that for everyday use, Celsius is the least useful. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2017, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-americans-dont-do-that-other-countries-do/791242/132 "2017-07-16T02:22:37Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > I think he means the use of knife and fork. The European way is to keep the fork in your left hand, tines facing down… I like this. More efficient, and I can feel “cul-chud”. I’m switching tonight. > [@Ludovic](#): > > As an American, no one ever told me the “proper” way to cut and eat, so I shovel the food in with the same hand I held to cut it… Okay, I like this even better. A titch more efficient, though a titch less “cul-chud”. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2017, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-americans-dont-do-that-other-countries-do/791242/133 "2017-07-16T05:33:40Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > > [@Okrahoma](#): > > > > Switching AFAIU is considered uncouth. > > Here it would be judged as childish. This seems odd; it strikes me that the right-handed, tines-up way of gripping a fork involves a more sophisticated grip involving just the thumb and the first two fingers. IIRC, this is what primatologists call a precision grip, in contrast to the power grip in which the thumb opposes three or four fingers as one grips an object laid in one’s palm. The left-handed grip on a fork isn’t exactly a power grip but does seem fairly similar to it. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2017, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-americans-dont-do-that-other-countries-do/791242/134 "2017-07-16T10:00:41Z")
I’m going to throw a new one into the mix - switches on power points. Though I’m not sure to what extent the US is in the majority or minority on this one. As you can see from [this](https://www.bloggeratlarge.com/asia/what-power-adapters-do-i-need-when-i-travel/) set of photos, the world is divided into countries who put switches on power points, and those that don’t. UK/Aus/NZ and from a bit of Googling I suspect most Commonwealth countries do. US and I believe a fair chunk of Asia don’t. It’s surprising how offputting it is when travelling not to be able to turn stuff off at the wall when you’ve been used to doing it all your life. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2017, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-americans-dont-do-that-other-countries-do/791242/135 "2017-07-16T10:01:10Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Ah yes. I forgot about those wonky US gallons. Well, US ounces are bigger, while pints and gallons are smaller by virtue of having fewer of them. But the US numbers are at least base 2, while 160 ounces per gallon is weird (though I guess similar to the UK’s weird long standing non-base 10 pound sterling) ---
**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 16, 2017, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-americans-dont-do-that-other-countries-do/791242/136 "2017-07-16T12:07:47Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > This seems odd; it strikes me that the right-handed, tines-up way of gripping a fork involves a more sophisticated grip involving just the thumb and the first two fingers. IIRC, this is what primatologists call a precision grip, in contrast to the power grip in which the thumb opposes three or four fingers as one grips an object laid in one’s palm. The left-handed grip on a fork isn’t exactly a power grip but does seem fairly similar to it. Chopsticks. ---
**Author:** ![Mnemnosyne](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mnemnosyne/32/3347_2.png) [@Mnemnosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mnemnosyne)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2017, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-americans-dont-do-that-other-countries-do/791242/137 "2017-07-17T01:26:41Z")
> [@Okrahoma](#): > > The “not finely graded enough” was when comparing Celsius to Fahrenheit. And I agree with that. Yeah, I too feel like Celsius isn’t finely graded enough. Also, Fahrenheit just seems to be better when discussing ambient temperature, because the vast majority of comfortably human-habitable temperatures exist between 0 and 100, and places that fall outside that range are automatically known to be extreme. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2017, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-americans-dont-do-that-other-countries-do/791242/138 "2017-07-17T02:00:38Z")
> [@Mnemnosyne](#): > > Yeah, I too feel like Celsius isn’t finely graded enough. Also, Fahrenheit just seems to be better when discussing ambient temperature, because the vast majority of comfortably human-habitable temperatures exist between 0 and 100, and places that fall outside that range are automatically known to be extreme. 0F - damn cold 50F - pretty damn chilly 100F - damn hot 0C - pretty damn cold 50C - very damn hot 100C - damn dead ---
**Author:** ![Bookkeeper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bookkeeper/32/281_2.png) [@Bookkeeper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bookkeeper)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2017, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-americans-dont-do-that-other-countries-do/791242/139 "2017-07-17T02:23:37Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > However, I agree that the benefits of the metric are overblown. I still believe that the Fahrenheit temperature system is better for everyday use than Celsius because it is more finely graded. Sometimes it is important to know whether something is 70 degrees Fahrenheit rather than 68 and the Celsius system does a poorer job of that. If we needed a true temperature system, Kelvin would be the way to go but most people don’t need to compare anything to absolute zero. I’m confused by this argument. You say Fahrenheit is better because it’s more finely graded, but then quote a temperature difference of 2ºF which is approximately equal to 1ºC. What is the point of extra precision if it is not significant? I grew up using Imperial measures originally and then learned metric halfway through school and was an adult when Canada officially switched over. For some things I still find the old Imperial measures more natural, but temperatures are easier in metric. The difference between 20ºC and 21ºC is noticeable, between 68ºF and 69ºF isn’t. And living in a northern climate, having temperatures switch to minus numbers once the snow falls is just simpler to understand. ---
**Author:** ![Weisshund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ba8739/32.png) [@Weisshund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weisshund)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2017, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-americans-dont-do-that-other-countries-do/791242/140 "2017-07-17T02:57:51Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > I think he means the use of knife and fork. The European way is to keep the fork in your left hand, tines facing down. Which means you are eating with your left hand, and only using your right hand for the knife (cutting food or shoving food onto the back of the fork). I believe this is standard in many other countries too. I thought everyone did it this way? No wonder i dont fit in. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-americans-dont-do-that-other-countries-do/791242.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-americans-dont-do-that-other-countries-do/791242.md?page=8)