I am so glad this was a late post in this thread! Please explain this business of beetroot on hamburgers.
raw?
cooked?
pickled?
sliced?
shredded?
incinerated with a creme brulee torch?
Seriously. Inquiring minds want to know.
Sliced (just the one slice) and ummmm pickled? However it is when it comes out of the tin 
Seriously try it one day, it’s yummmy.
Do you put ketchup on pizza too? That’s about the same level of weird.
Well, I am a firm advocate of pickled beet technology. However, the way I make them they are so strongly flavoured that I have a hard time understanding what benefit this would have to a burger. I would be afraid of overpowering anything else on there, including the meat and the bread.
It could be because “jelly” means different things in different parts of the world. To me, “jelly” is a desert, made from gelatine. It is formed in moulds, sets, is very wobbly and is revolting. The idea of that in a sandwich with peanut butter sounds quite nauseating. I understand though that “jelly” can also mean what I would refer to as “jam” i.e. sugary fruit preserves such as strawberry, raspberry and apricot jams, which I can envisage in a sandwich with peanut butter without feeling ill.
The beetroot doesn’t overpower the other ingredients. It complements them nicely. I agree with calm kiwi. It’s yummy.
Hm. I usually say “thank you” when taking money from customers and again as they leave the store. When giving back change I usually just state the amount of change. Oh well, I’m an oddball anyway.
I have never been given pre-sweetened ice tea in a restaurant here, or anywhere I’ve been for that matter, besides someone’s own house. Usually there is sugar in packets on the table, and Sweet-n-Low, maybe Equal or some other brand, so you can choose the kind of sweetener you want. I usually use the pink packet, but sometimes I’ll just drink it unsweet.
I’m 24 and it’s been that way as long as I can remember, at least here and all the restaurants I’ve been to…
There are more than a few here in the US who agree. You need only spend some time in countries where tipping is as you describe it to see how superior this is.
I’m on my way to NZ this weekend, and the lack of US-style tipping will not be the least of its charms.
A “custom” I found strange during my first trip there was the tendency of people giving directions to mislead with hand motions. Kiwis are among the most friendly and helpful folks on planet Earth, so it was never difficult to get directions. But they would often accompany words such as “Now, just past the panelbeater’s shop, turn left…” with an outward motion of their right hand. It was actually just a series of honest mistakes, and not a national custom.
In Pakistan - eating anything with ketchup, using “Muslim toilets,” spitting pan juice anywhere in public.
In US - ketchup with eggs, wearing shoes inside a home.
This will take a bit of explaining: I’m still weirded out by how casual men and women are with each other in the US. In Pakistan and in Pakistani communities abroad who (attempt to) preserve local customs and traditions and values (like mine), there are many rules about the respectable interaction between men and women. Because we all here consider ourselves respectable families, we adhere very closely to these rules. I often have to consult my mother and sister to make sure I don’t do something stupid/untoward. Suffice it to say that in a segregated society like ours (men socialize mainly with men, women with women; in gatherings men and women separate and associate with their own sex), the casualness of men with women (and vice versa) can be somewhat strange.
WRS
Interesting. Can you give a couple of examples?
You could just as easily be talking about West Hollywood, but I think with differenct conotations.
A few things I noticed in travelling:
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Order a tuna salad in Europe and they open a small can of tuna, dump it on a plate and that is it. Not at all the USA version of tuna salad. And if you order a tomato salad, that is exactly what you get, a plate of nothing but tomatoes…no salad, no dressing, no nothing.
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Movie theaters in Germany sold ice cream bars at the beginning of a movie (women would walk up and down the aisles seeling them) but no popcorn to be seen. I have heard this has changed a bit in the past few years.
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in German bars, you drank and drank and then paid your tab on the way out. Sounds good in theory, but you try to figure out if you had 6 or 7 beers when they present you with the bill…lots of fleecing of drunks going on there.
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and horror of horrors, the men who wear sandals, but also wearing black socks! Ugh.
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and at least in Germany, a guy I knew from a local gym for months once asked me if I was in a car wreck. I said no and asked why. He had seen my jock and assumed it was some kind of theraputical brace. It was then that I realized none of the guys who went to the gym wore any kind of protective undergarment…just their usual colorful bikini undershorts.
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a nice cultural thing I noticed in Gemany was the tradition of the afternoon coffee and piece of cake. Didn’t matter if you were 19 or 89 years old, male or female, it was normal to have your afternoon Kuchen und Kaffee.
I’ve only heard of fish and chips made of cod or at the very least Tapia.
Some seattle places will tramp it up using salmon though. But proper fish and chips is Cod.
Nut uh! 
Maybe it’s just my Scottish roots speaking but:
Aesiron: you want me to say cock. I know. Well I won’t. I’ve accepted penis into my life. Penis. (I really shouldn’t push my luck with the jokes, since a horrendous, crippling spelling error is imminent…)
Hunter Hawk: Not yet - it’ll be a while yet. Trying to lose some Christmas/Thanksgiving/Halloween/summer BBQ weight first, then I’ll go get a treat. I don’t walk by the Totem as much right now, since I’m trying to cut back on the Slushies from the 7-Eleven across the way 
Well, I still go down to the Locks, but on the side by the Lockspot. Lockspot doesn’t tempt me much. Bleh. Chewy old cod.
Was my intent that obvious when I linked to this thread?
I proofread your post at least three times, looking for a typo but didn’t see one. Bah.
You bang on the door and yell, “I have to pee! Can I come in?” 
At least that’s how we do it in my house. I will freely admit that my family are savages, though.
I live in Saudi and travel to Europe and Asia a lot so I am always bumping into (and screwing up!) some local custom.
In Saudi, you can put the fingertips and thumb of your right hand together and wave it at someone. This is “Wait a minute” or “Patience!” Doing the same thing with your left hand is “Up yours.” Ugly mistakes can be made with this one, especially as the gestures are usually used in traffic.
France is closed for August. I don’t do a lot of business there but it seems that calling anywhere in France during August is pointless.
In Holland, a lot of grocery stores don’t give away bags. You either bring your own or buy one at the checkout. (Encourages recycling.)
In Thailand, the “odd” customs are so numerous that it is like a whole different world. I’ve been married (to a Thai) for almost 20 years and we still have the occasional “Huh? WTF?” moment.
For starters: Fat is not always a bad thing. Men, especially if they are successful, are expected to be somewhat fat.
Kids are constantly being traded around the extended family. A kid may live with parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, or some combination of these. It seems to be a very casual thing.
Thais, especially women, have a very different attitude toward money. Credit cards are odd things that some people will accept instead of money. Currency is OK, but real money is gold, butter-yellow, 24 karat and in substantial chunks. There is no sentiment attached to gold given to her. She may trade it off the next day for other gold she likes better. This can cause the occasional bit of friction.
Regards
Testy
In Canada traffic lights are horizontal, not vertical as in the US. Green on the left, then amber in the middle and red on the right.
In Turkey, and I think other Middle East countries, showing the sole of ones shoe is an insult, so sitting with one leg crossed over the other, or with one’s feet not firmly on the floor is a serious breach of manners.
In Scandinavia hard liquor is only available at government-run booze emporiums. (I got the impression that purchasers would be asked to sign a pledge not to have fun with the stuff.) In Finland the stores would close around noon on Saturday and would not open until Monday, which meant long lines of thirsty Finnish men anxiously waiting to get inside and tank up for the weekend.
Even more amusing was the habit of using soft-sided briefcases as liquor tote bags. An obviously blue-collar Finn lugging a briefcase making glass bottle clinking against glass bottle sounds was always good for a laugh.
In Denmark and Sweden count on getting herring and mussels on your pizza.
I just want to say…I tried it. I was making a hamburger and remembered the beetroot and horseradish pickle I had in the fridge. Even with the horseradish it didn’t overwhelm it. It was just like a particularly interesting relish. I’m having it again.
Now I have to go to Australia to see how they do it at McDonalds.
Well, I’ve been in Japan for such a long time now that I don’t even think twice about any of these things anymore, but to a first time visitor they might seem odd:
- Absolutely NO tipping WHATSOEVER
- Pay your restaurant bill at the register by exit (the waiter will leave your bill at your table towards the end of the meal)
- No toilet paper in public restrooms (they sell it in vending machines - bastards)
- The “Japanese” style toilet, which is not much more than a hole in the ground
- Every single person on the staff greeting you everytime you walk into a shop/restaurant
- Public baths - sitting down on a small stool to wash instead of standing in a shower
… I guess there’s tons more, but as I said, I’ve grown so familiar with everything I hardly notice it anymore.