# 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:** 8
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2017, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-americans-dont-do-that-other-countries-do/791242/141 "2017-07-17T03:23:54Z")
I’m puzzled by this American tradition of tromping mud and dirt into their homes and those of their hosts. ---
**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:** [July 17, 2017, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-americans-dont-do-that-other-countries-do/791242/142 "2017-07-17T03:28:04Z")
As an American, I am too. I and most of the people I interact with are shoe removers. I always feel weird keeping my shoes in in someone’s house. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2017, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-americans-dont-do-that-other-countries-do/791242/143 "2017-07-17T03:37:08Z")
Some colleagues and I were in the US recently trying to order beers with dinner, and the waitress was asking what size we wanted, but kept giving them in ounces - which are totally meaningless to us. Saying “A 32oz glass” means nothing to most Australians, particularly younger ones; in the end I just said “bring me whatever size is closest to a pint” - despite knowing that’d be about 600ml of beer. On a different topic, I’ve noticed Americans are very specialist in their roles. A security guard probably knows nothing about the event they’re guarding, just that their job is to stand on the door and make sure the only people who get through are wearing purple wristbands (or whatever). Also, you guys need to A) Learn to make decent coffee and B) Put actual milk in it 😛 ---
**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:** [July 17, 2017, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-americans-dont-do-that-other-countries-do/791242/144 "2017-07-17T03:56:22Z")
I have never been in a place that tells you size of a beer, whatever it is. You just get whatever they give you. I’ve certainly never heard anyone ask. ---
**Author:** ![Archeonomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7cd45c/32.png) [@Archeonomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Archeonomist)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2017, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-americans-dont-do-that-other-countries-do/791242/145 "2017-07-17T04:12:47Z")
> [@The\_Tooth](#): > > I’m puzzled by this American tradition of tromping mud and dirt into their homes and those of their hosts. Maybe they wish to stay on American soil at all times? ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2017, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-americans-dont-do-that-other-countries-do/791242/146 "2017-07-17T04:16:59Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > Some colleagues and I were in the US recently trying to order beers with dinner, and the waitress was asking what size we wanted, but kept giving them in ounces - which are totally meaningless to us. > > Saying “A 32oz glass” means nothing to most Australians, particularly younger ones; in the end I just said “bring me whatever size is closest to a pint” - despite knowing that’d be about 600ml of beer. I have _never_ been to a place where beers are ordered by the size?? That is definitely _not_ an American thing, it sounds like it was just done by whatever restaurant you were at. Where was this? ---
**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 17, 2017, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-americans-dont-do-that-other-countries-do/791242/147 "2017-07-17T04:17:18Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > I have never been in a place that tells you size of a beer, whatever it is. You just get whatever they give you. I’ve certainly never heard anyone ask. Oh come on. There are different sizes at lots of places, and always expressed in ounces, even still in Canada. “Do you want the 18 ounce or the 26 ounce?” for example. ETA: Do you people even order beer? ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2017, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-americans-dont-do-that-other-countries-do/791242/148 "2017-07-17T04:19:30Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > I have never been in a place that tells you size of a beer, whatever it is. You just get whatever they give you. I’ve certainly never heard anyone ask. I’ve encountered it before in the US and Canada, but not very often. A British-themed pub I used to frequent offered a 20-oz. pint, and a 10-oz. “half”; and a local sports bar’s bar menu advertises a 20-oz. pint, and a 32-oz. “schooner.” But as I said, it’s not very common. At my usual sports bar, draft beer comes in only one size: a 16-oz. glass. At it, as in most places I’ve been, all you need do is specify the brand; you don’t worry about the size of the glass. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2017, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-americans-dont-do-that-other-countries-do/791242/149 "2017-07-17T04:25:22Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Oh come on. There are different sizes at lots of places, and always expressed in ounces, even still in Canada. “Do you want the 18 ounce or the 26 ounce?” for example. > > ETA: Do you people even order beer? Yeah. “I’ll have a (whatever)” and then they bring the beer in the size glass it comes in, which may be different for different types but I’ve never been asked to specify the size. ---
**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 17, 2017, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-americans-dont-do-that-other-countries-do/791242/150 "2017-07-17T04:37:12Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > Yeah. “I’ll have a (whatever)” and then they bring the beer in the size glass it comes in, which may be different for different types but I’ve never been asked to specify the size. At most places this is true, but a lot of places have different sizes. Maybe I drink too much. Or often… ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2017, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-americans-dont-do-that-other-countries-do/791242/151 "2017-07-17T04:46:30Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > At most places this is true, but a lot of places have different sizes. > > Maybe I drink too much. Or often… You need to come out here. We could do an empirical study of which watering holes offer different-sized glasses. Besides, it’s been a while since we had an Alberta Dopefest–your presence would be a great excuse to have one. ---
**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 17, 2017, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-americans-dont-do-that-other-countries-do/791242/152 "2017-07-17T04:53:42Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > You need to come out here. We could do an empirical study of which watering holes offer different-sized glasses. Besides, it’s been a while since we had an Alberta Dopefest–your presence would be a great excuse to have one. The house is sold. Shortly I will be a free man! (Laughs maniacally!) :)😃 ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2017, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-americans-dont-do-that-other-countries-do/791242/153 "2017-07-17T07:03:09Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > I have _never_ been to a place where beers are ordered by the size?? That is definitely _not_ an American thing, it sounds like it was just done by whatever restaurant you were at. Where was this? Los Angeles. Had it arise at more than one restaurant there too. ---
**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 17, 2017, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-americans-dont-do-that-other-countries-do/791242/154 "2017-07-17T07:55:10Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > Los Angeles. Had it arise at more than one restaurant there too. Los Angeles is not “the US” any more than Berlin is “Europe.” ---
**Author:** ![Buttercup\_Smith](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buttercup_smith/32/473_2.png) [@Buttercup\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buttercup_Smith)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2017, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-americans-dont-do-that-other-countries-do/791242/155 "2017-07-17T09:56:17Z")
Elect sane, competent, younger and often good looking leaders. ☹ ---
**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 17, 2017, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-americans-dont-do-that-other-countries-do/791242/156 "2017-07-17T10:20:23Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > I have _never_ been to a place where beers are ordered by the size?? That is definitely _not_ an American thing, it sounds like it was just done by whatever restaurant you were at. Where was this? So, I drink a lot of beer. At the places I go there is a huge range of price as well as %ABV. A middle of the road 5%/$5 beer is sold by the pint. A 14% expensive beer is typically available as 4 ounce, 6 ounce, 10 ounce options with varying prices. A few xmases ago I had some Sam Adams Utopias that was 28%ABV. I sipped a few $20 shots. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2017, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-americans-dont-do-that-other-countries-do/791242/157 "2017-07-17T10:28:14Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Yes but the point is in our day to day lives we aren’t constantly doing long division to convert measurements. It’s largely not necessary to convert. My college students couldn’t convert measures. Not metric, not american. About 40% of them had problems with the notion of having more than one unit to measure the same dimensionality. Pointing out that “feet” and “inches” and “miles” are an example of units that you can use to measure the same concept of “length”, and that they had been using them all their lives, caused panicked looks. Any 5th grader in the rest of the world is supposed to be able to convert measures off the top of his head. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2017, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-americans-dont-do-that-other-countries-do/791242/158 "2017-07-17T12:26:40Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > Los Angeles is not “the US” any more than Berlin is “Europe.” I’ve also had it in Las Vegas and Washington DC. And I’d be pretty comfortable basing an experience like that in Berlin as typical of something one might expect in Germany. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2017, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-americans-dont-do-that-other-countries-do/791242/159 "2017-07-17T12:40:52Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > My college students couldn’t convert measures. Not metric, not american. About 40% of them had problems with the notion of having more than one unit to measure the same dimensionality. Pointing out that “feet” and “inches” and “miles” are an example of units that you can use to measure the same concept of “length”, and that they had been using them all their lives, caused panicked looks. > > Any 5th grader in the rest of the world is supposed to be able to convert measures off the top of his head. Wow. college kids? Next up, explain an acre. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2017, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-americans-dont-do-that-other-countries-do/791242/160 "2017-07-17T13:01:27Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > The metric system. > > No excuse they make as to why they haven’t actually holds water. This always stirs up a debate wherever it comes up. I am a machinist, and the metric vs. imperial debate shows up regularly in machinist message boards and YouTube comments, and it is never resolved. Why can’t folks just work with the system they are familiar with and that all of their tooling matches and all of their own suppliers provide, and let the other guys be? I don’t claim that imperial measurements are better than metric, but I do not agree that _all_ usage of metric measurements is superior to the imperial counterparts. Examples: Within the boundaries of normal machine shop work, both are decimal-based measurements. The inch and centimeter are equally suitable: imperial users work in thousandths of an inch (or ten-thousandths if they are really good); metric users work in hundredths of a millimeter. Both work in degrees/minutes/seconds. Drawings are just as easy to work with in decimal imperial units as metric units. The Fahrenheit scale fits weather conditions more conveniently than Celcius: Isaac Asimov stated this in one of his science essays, pointing out that 0 and 100 mark the lowest and highest temperatures you normally would encounter in a European year. Besides, neither is well suited for scientific calculations–in both cases you need to convert to absolute (Kelvin or Rankine) before you can do your science. For woodworking and construction, the fractional inch system has its own elegance since you can dial up or down your precision at any point in powers of two. Many jobs can be done to the nearest 1/4", while others might go to the nearest 1/32". This is something that imperial users take for granted that may not be easily understood by others. Sadly, the feet/yards bit does detract from this elegance. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-americans-dont-do-that-other-countries-do/791242.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-americans-dont-do-that-other-countries-do/791242.md?page=9)