# What I've learned about American every day life from tv and movies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 12, 2012, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ive-learned-about-american-every-day-life-from-tv-and-movies/634532 "2012-09-12T19:10:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![April\_R](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@April\_R](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/April_R)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2012, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ive-learned-about-american-every-day-life-from-tv-and-movies/634532/181 "2012-09-21T23:57:53Z")
> [@BMalion](#): > > One light “karate chop” to the neck always puts a man into a long-lasting and completely harmless state of unconsciousness. You know what is funny though, this doesn’t seemed confined to silly American action films or TV. I just saw this on an Anime I was watching, and I had to roll my eyes. It was funny. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2012, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ive-learned-about-american-every-day-life-from-tv-and-movies/634532/182 "2012-09-22T00:10:18Z")
> [@Dallas\_Jones](#): > > \ > I don’t think Canada is a real place. It’s an idea, Lake Wobegon, only colder. You’re right - Canada is mythical. No need for any US Americans to come up here and check it out. > [@Aquadementia](#): > > \ > After a night of sex when fornicators get out of bed they are still in their underwear. “Fornicators”?!? Well, la-dee-da - aren’t we the fancy talker. 😃 I learned from tv that US Americans wear their shoes in the house! I thought it was just an artefact of television studios, but after we discussed it here lo those many years ago, it turned out that a lot of US Americans do, indeed, normally wear shoes in the house. Imagine how my mind was blown! ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2012, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ive-learned-about-american-every-day-life-from-tv-and-movies/634532/183 "2012-09-22T00:22:28Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > I learned from tv that US Americans wear their shoes in the house! I thought it was just an artefact of television studios, but after we discussed it here lo those many years ago, it turned out that a lot of US Americans do, indeed, normally wear shoes in the house. Imagine how my mind was blown! A lot of that depends, of course, on the individual as well as the circumstances. I remember when I was a kid that people who made _everybody_ — including guests — remove their shoes were frequently laughed at behind their backs. Then there’s Americans’ obsessive avoidance of unpleasant odors, so many people keep their shoes on so as not to offend anybody else with foot odor. In my own home, removing my shoes is one of the first things I do when I come home. That’s largely because my line of work keeps me on my feet all day, and getting out of those shoes when I get home just feels darn good. When I’m at somebody else’s house, I take my cue from them. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2012, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ive-learned-about-american-every-day-life-from-tv-and-movies/634532/184 "2012-09-22T02:32:06Z")
> [@Aquadementia](#): > > The most undateable, romantically challenged, hopeless losers have a date every week. > > After a night of sex when fornicators get out of bed they are still in their underwear. American women seldom remove their bras when having intercouse. On the rare occasions they do the couple will have special bedsheets & blankets that leaves the man’s chest exposed, but covers the woman up to her armpits. When she get’s up to leave she’ll take the blanket with her, but leave the sheet covering the man. ---
**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:** [September 22, 2012, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ive-learned-about-american-every-day-life-from-tv-and-movies/634532/185 "2012-09-22T04:48:01Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > You’re right - Canada is mythical. No need for any US Americans to come up here and check it out. > > “Fornicators”?!? Well, la-dee-da - aren’t we the fancy talker. 😃 > > I learned from tv that US Americans wear their shoes in the house! I thought it was just an artefact of television studios, but after we discussed it here lo those many years ago, it turned out that a lot of US Americans do, indeed, normally wear shoes in the house. Imagine how my mind was blown! Do Canadians (okay, _Canadian Americans_, since you clearly have a thing about us claiming the name for ourselves alone,) customarily go sock-footed indoors? I’ve honestly never heard that. Y’all all have heated floors? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2012, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ive-learned-about-american-every-day-life-from-tv-and-movies/634532/186 "2012-09-22T07:32:51Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > Do Canadians (okay, _Canadian Americans_, since you clearly have a thing about us claiming the name for ourselves alone,) customarily go sock-footed indoors? I’ve honestly never heard that. Y’all all have heated floors? Slippers. My relatives from the Great White North wear slippers. Or those socks with the leather bottoms. ---
**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:** [September 22, 2012, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ive-learned-about-american-every-day-life-from-tv-and-movies/634532/187 "2012-09-22T10:18:37Z")
I assume that it became the tradition in Canada because so much of the year they are coming into the house when it’s snowing outside and don’t want to track the snow onto the carpet. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2012, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ive-learned-about-american-every-day-life-from-tv-and-movies/634532/188 "2012-09-22T12:38:30Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > All American couples own our unique L-shaped sheets, and they always use them to cover the male to his waist and the woman to just over her boobs. Even when nobody else is in the bedroom. Those are a holdover from the 50s, when all married American couples slept in separate beds with a dresser and lamp between them. They marketed double-purpose sheets that could be folded to fit either bed. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2012, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ive-learned-about-american-every-day-life-from-tv-and-movies/634532/189 "2012-09-22T13:57:36Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > Those are a holdover from the 50s, when all married American couples slept in separate beds with a dresser and lamp between them. They marketed double-purpose sheets that could be folded to fit either bed. “Ward, you were pretty rough on the Beaver last night.” ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2012, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ive-learned-about-american-every-day-life-from-tv-and-movies/634532/190 "2012-09-22T13:59:13Z")
> [@NoClueBoy](#): > > “Ward, you were pretty rough on the Beaver last night.” Is this a quote from a real ep, or just something made up because of the innuendo pun? ---
**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:** [September 22, 2012, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ive-learned-about-american-every-day-life-from-tv-and-movies/634532/191 "2012-09-22T14:34:34Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > I learned from tv that US Americans wear their shoes in the house! I thought it was just an artefact of television studios, but after we discussed it here lo those many years ago, it turned out that a lot of US Americans do, indeed, normally wear shoes in the house. Imagine how my mind was blown! Actually, the custom in America is to strip naked when you set foot inside the door; but they can’t show that on TV. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2012, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ive-learned-about-american-every-day-life-from-tv-and-movies/634532/192 "2012-09-22T16:37:41Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Actually, the custom in America is to strip naked when you set foot inside the door; but they can’t show that on TV. It’s true. Allow Hank Williams Jr. to explain it: [Buck Naked](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-6Gvp1Xx9I) ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2012, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ive-learned-about-american-every-day-life-from-tv-and-movies/634532/193 "2012-09-22T17:47:24Z")
Nightclubs often keep dance floors well lit. All American hospital receptions are manned by sassy African American women, when young males with embarassing health problems turn up. It used to be a must, that honest plain clothes detectives had served in the Marine Corps. And rule breaking detectives always had an African American police lieutenant/captain. Every young male goes away for Spring Break. Upper class college Frats always have arrogant scumbags as members. ---
**Author:** ![DZedNConfused](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dzednconfused/32/15991_2.png) [@DZedNConfused](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DZedNConfused)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2012, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ive-learned-about-american-every-day-life-from-tv-and-movies/634532/194 "2012-09-22T17:59:24Z")
> [@Lust4Life](#): > > Upper class college Frats always have arrogant scumbags as members. Who get killed by their own troops in Vietnam? _Well actually I don’t think Neidermeyer was in the frat_ ---
**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:** [September 23, 2012, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ive-learned-about-american-every-day-life-from-tv-and-movies/634532/195 "2012-09-23T04:03:09Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > I assume that it became the tradition in Canada because so much of the year they are coming into the house when it’s snowing outside and don’t want to track the snow onto the carpet. Okay, that seems reasonable. But I have literally never heard of this as a Canadian custom. Ignorance fought. ---
**Author:** ![SecretaryofEvil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@SecretaryofEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SecretaryofEvil)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2012, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ive-learned-about-american-every-day-life-from-tv-and-movies/634532/196 "2012-09-23T19:55:40Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > I learned from tv that US Americans wear their shoes in the house! I thought it was just an artefact of television studios, but after we discussed it here lo those many years ago, it turned out that a lot of US Americans do, indeed, normally wear shoes in the house. Imagine how my mind was blown! I watch a lot of Trailer Park Boys and Degrassi, and nobody ever seems to take their shoes off when they go into some else’s home on those shows. Of course on Trailer Park Boys those homes are rarely houses and are instead usually trailers, cars, sheds, or prison. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2012, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ive-learned-about-american-every-day-life-from-tv-and-movies/634532/197 "2012-09-23T20:17:15Z")
I wear my shoes, and I allow my guests to leave them on or take their’s off as they choose, hardwood floors are good that way. ---
**Author:** ![Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8c91f0/32.png) [@Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bam_Boo_Gut)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2012, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ive-learned-about-american-every-day-life-from-tv-and-movies/634532/198 "2012-09-24T02:22:19Z")
Police stations are populated by men in shirtsleeves and scantily clad women. No one takes the old lady seriously when she comes in to the station with the crucial information. The only time a phone goes to the answer machine is when the caller knows the person is actually home listening to the message. Other than that, phones are answered after the first ring. There’s no dress code for forensic lab workers. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2012, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ive-learned-about-american-every-day-life-from-tv-and-movies/634532/199 "2012-09-24T03:01:35Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > Do Canadians (okay, _Canadian Americans_, since you clearly have a thing about us claiming the name for ourselves alone,) customarily go sock-footed indoors? I’ve honestly never heard that. Y’all all have heated floors? You’ve been here for nine years and you’ve missed all the discussions we’ve had of shoes off in the house versus on? 🙂 (Yes, a lot of Canadians have a habit of taking their shoes off as soon as they come in the door. No, we don’t have heated floors - we just have a very messy outside for a large part of the year.) > [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Actually, the custom in America is to strip naked when you set foot inside the door; but they can’t show that on TV. I knew it! ---
**Author:** ![April\_R](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@April\_R](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/April_R)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2012, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ive-learned-about-american-every-day-life-from-tv-and-movies/634532/200 "2012-09-24T03:09:41Z")
> [@Bam\_Boo\_Gut](#): > > The only time a phone goes to the answer machine is when the caller knows the person is actually home listening to the message. > > Other than that, phones are answered after the first ring. > . And that the message machines which record the message out loud so they can be heard by someone in the room, while the message is being left, are super common and not outdated at all. Rarely does anyone have to dial into their message machine and use a code to hear their message, and even more rare is the mythic cellphone voice message. Everyone text messages and does not leave voice mail in America if they use a cell phone. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ive-learned-about-american-every-day-life-from-tv-and-movies/634532.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ive-learned-about-american-every-day-life-from-tv-and-movies/634532.md?page=11)