# Things you've seen abroad you wish were adopted world wide **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 28, 2021, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youve-seen-abroad-you-wish-were-adopted-world-wide/943094 "2021-05-28T14:31:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2021, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youve-seen-abroad-you-wish-were-adopted-world-wide/943094/243 "2021-06-09T00:20:35Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > Not really. It just dilutes it a bit. (which is fine, I guess, but I’ve just stopped using that button) Sounds like yours is in need of repair. Every dual-flush toilet I’ve used in Europe handled that with no problem. If it didn’t, no one would want to own one. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2021, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youve-seen-abroad-you-wish-were-adopted-world-wide/943094/244 "2021-06-09T01:11:33Z")
I’m not sure what you mean by “only the nationally advertised prices that have nationally advertised prices”. But in any event, I think what @thorny_locust is talking about is this : I get a sales circular from the wholesale club I belong to \*. They have 210 stores in 17 states - that’s a minimum of 17 different jurisdictions with different sales tax rules… But it’s really more - because most states allow counties and/or cities to add their own sales tax. [Here’s](https://smartasset.com/taxes/new-york-sales-tax) a list of sales tax rates in NYS. [Here’s](https://www.sale-tax.com/SouthCarolina)a list for South Carolina. And different jurisdictions tax different items - South Carolina taxes all clothing, clothing under $110 is exempt from NYS sales tax, and from NYC sales tax but not from the Nassau County NY sales tax. So how would you advertise a shirt in this circular including sales tax in the advertised price ? Do you have to print 50 or more different editions and deal with the person who wants to pay the Queens price at the Nassau store? Do you just price it at the highest possible rate including taxes and lose sales to a more local business that doesn’t have to price a T shirt being sold in NYC (where it is exempt from sales tax) high enough to cover SC taxes? And what about online pricing - where the taxes collected by the seller often depend on where the item is delivered, not the location of the warehouse or that of the buyer? It’s very easy to include sales or value-added tax in the price if there is a single rate across the country or if we are speaking of a single store or even a chain with all its locations within a single taxing jurisdiction or stores that don’t advertise prices. It’s not so easy for a regional or national chain that _does_ advertise prices across dozens or even hundreds of jurisdictions with different rates and different rules. ETA \_ I just realized something- when you say " the shelf price was not the same as the register price" are you under the impression that the sales tax is added to the price of the item in the POS system- because it’s not. The entire purchase is added up and the tax is added as a separate line item. \* It doesn’t make sense to talk about franchised businesses like McDonald’s or Burger King because in my experience, those ads always have the caveat of “at participating locations” ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2021, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youve-seen-abroad-you-wish-were-adopted-world-wide/943094/245 "2021-06-09T01:18:14Z")
Nationally advertised price: ‘dollar’ menu & ‘five dollar footlongs.’ ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2021, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youve-seen-abroad-you-wish-were-adopted-world-wide/943094/246 "2021-06-09T01:50:42Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > I think what @thorny_locust is talking about is this You got it. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2021, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youve-seen-abroad-you-wish-were-adopted-world-wide/943094/247 "2021-06-09T01:53:58Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I’d straddle the bowl. But I’m like that. In that case, just pee in the little sink. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2021, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youve-seen-abroad-you-wish-were-adopted-world-wide/943094/248 "2021-06-09T06:00:16Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > For example, in some situations if you are a resident of state A and shop in state B, you are exempt from state B sales taxes -but I’m probably not going to remember/bother doing that for frequent small purchases that i made near my job in state B. I did that once. The seller has to ship it out of state. I bought my sister a xmas gift in Missouri, which I would have to ship myself to Wisconsin. The store charged for shipping, but it was a few cents less than the sales tax I wax exempted from. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2021, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youve-seen-abroad-you-wish-were-adopted-world-wide/943094/249 "2021-06-09T06:34:49Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > **Airport Taxi Booth** - The taxi scam out of a foreign airport is one of the first hassles you’ll deal with and sucks some joy out of the first impression of anywhere you go. At Suvarnabhumi Airport in Thailand they have it figured out. You walk to the booth and tell the person there where you want to go, you pay a standard fee based on distance and they print off a ticket with the destination in Thai. You show it to a cab driver and they take you there, only then do you give them the ticket, they bring it back and get paid. It’s perfect, the local economy is helped out, there are no communication barrier issues, you know you’re not getting screwed, and you know you’ll be dropped off exactly where you’re supposed to go. They need that on Las Vegas. Great idea. Shuttles work like that around here. Of course a small tip is appreciated, especially if you have baggage. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2021, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youve-seen-abroad-you-wish-were-adopted-world-wide/943094/250 "2021-06-09T06:38:21Z")
> [@DavidNRockies](#): > > I think they’ve been tried a time or two in the US, and I’m _sure_ the implementation would be problematic, but I marveled at their convenience and how clean they were. They put in a bunch in SF in the late 1990’s, then San Jose followed, but I suspect they are no longer working. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2021, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youve-seen-abroad-you-wish-were-adopted-world-wide/943094/251 "2021-06-09T06:41:25Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > In Barcelona we had to put our key card in a holder in our room to turn on the lights and air conditioning, which meant that they were off when we left the room. I’ve seen it one place in the US, but it should be in more. I do not like that as when you come back after a long hot day the room is a sauna and it takes hours to cool down. Also I do not like a pitch dark room to come back to. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2021, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youve-seen-abroad-you-wish-were-adopted-world-wide/943094/252 "2021-06-09T06:44:44Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > I do not like that as when you come back after a long hot day the room is a sauna and it takes hours to cool down. Also I do not like a pitch dark room to come back to. You can use any card that you won’t be using that day. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2021, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youve-seen-abroad-you-wish-were-adopted-world-wide/943094/253 "2021-06-09T06:44:50Z")
Disneyworld does that. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2021, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youve-seen-abroad-you-wish-were-adopted-world-wide/943094/254 "2021-06-09T06:51:54Z")
This is unlikely as in CA groceries are sale tax free, mostly. Yes, some cities have a half cent sales tax differential than the next burg over, but you wouldn’t notice the difference. In America, some businesses do this, but there is a problem- rounding. of course a business has to round up, and if you buy a hundred items rounded, you have paid 50 cents too much. People do not like that. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2021, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youve-seen-abroad-you-wish-were-adopted-world-wide/943094/255 "2021-06-09T06:53:18Z")
Next to Noo Yawk. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2021, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youve-seen-abroad-you-wish-were-adopted-world-wide/943094/256 "2021-06-09T07:01:11Z")
> [@Grestarian](#): > > I realized even as I marvelled at them that, in the USA, a pedestrian tunnel would be used as a shelter/toilet for vagrants (at best) or a hangout for drug addicts, or a gauntlet full of thieves or rapists Indeed, that _is_ what occurred. The nicer ones only had litter and urine issues. ---
**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:** [June 9, 2021, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youve-seen-abroad-you-wish-were-adopted-world-wide/943094/257 "2021-06-09T07:12:12Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > You can use any card that you won’t be using that day. That why I always ask for two key cards. One to use in such a situation, should I encounter it; but more often, just to have a backup in my wallet, if I leave a keycard on the desk. Which I have done before. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2021, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youve-seen-abroad-you-wish-were-adopted-world-wide/943094/258 "2021-06-09T07:44:35Z")
I’m sorry to go back to the sales tax thing, but I’m curious how it works at the “dollar store”. In the UK, “pound shops” are common and a lot of the draw of them is not just the low cost but also the convenience: your basket’s cost is the same as the number of items inside. And you never receive back any small change. Of course a lot of this advantage is becoming less significant as society becomes increasingly cashless. But in US dollar stores, are the items actually $1 + N pennies? Does the store indicate this price anywhere (it’s one thing to not display the actual price on every item, but in a store where virtually everything is $1.12, it might be worth putting it on a notice somewhere)? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2021, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youve-seen-abroad-you-wish-were-adopted-world-wide/943094/259 "2021-06-09T08:41:35Z")
I’ve heard legends speak of countries where grocery cashiers are given chairs or stools at the register to sit down in while they do their jobs. As a grocery employee who often has to cashier when the lines get backed up, I’d certainly like to see that adopted here. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2021, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youve-seen-abroad-you-wish-were-adopted-world-wide/943094/260 "2021-06-09T08:48:39Z")
we need legalized Prostitution and the "all day /night " option for said brothels like im told they have in Germany I’m told how it works is depending on where you do it at i its like renting a room in a hotel except a girl (or possibly boy … it wasn’t mentioned in the article or discussion i read ) the higher ones came with food and drinks ect and some had a variety of plans depending on budget … and the workers said it was safer and attracted better clients than street walking and the like ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2021, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youve-seen-abroad-you-wish-were-adopted-world-wide/943094/261 "2021-06-09T10:23:06Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > I’m sorry to go back to the sales tax thing… PLEEZE let the sales tax thing die a merciful death! ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2021, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youve-seen-abroad-you-wish-were-adopted-world-wide/943094/262 "2021-06-09T11:10:39Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > But in US dollar stores, are the items actually $1 + N pennies? Does the store indicate this price anywhere (it’s one thing to not display the actual price on every item, but in a store where virtually everything is $1.12, it might be worth putting it on a notice somewhere)? No, in most dollar stores in the U.S., the prices are low but not just one dollar. Items usually cost several dollars. Part of the problem is that it’s basically impossible for a store to charge just one dollar for most things anymore. Prices have risen enough that nothing is that cheap. Yes, they always add sales tax to the price on the shelf. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youve-seen-abroad-you-wish-were-adopted-world-wide/943094.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youve-seen-abroad-you-wish-were-adopted-world-wide/943094.md?page=14)