USUAL in your country but NOT anywhere else.
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put down knife after cutting your food, move fork to dominant hand
what the fuuck
Thats "American style", while keeping the fork in the non-dominant hand is "European style". Allegedly, it dates back to when meals were served "service à la française", which is when all courses are brought out at once, which is obviously the more common method of home cooking. Restaurants started doing "service à la Russe", which is where courses are brought out one at a time.
With service russe, you have new sets of silverware with each course (or they are arranged in order), so if you are eating a course that doesn't need a knife, you won't be given one, and you'll have your fork in your dominant hand. If you need a knife, that goes in your dominant hand, and you leave it there for the duration of the course.
With service française (or regular home cooking), you just have one set of silverware, and you only use the knife when you need it, so you might switch your fork to your dominant hand when you are done needing the knife.
For example, in America, no one eats a steak switching hands for every bite (cause that would be dumb and inefficient), and in Europe, you probably wouldn't eat a meal that doesn't need a knife with a knife in your dominant hand (cause that would also be dumb and inefficient).
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Lots of countries have bagged milk
East Germany used to have them but they disappeared during the nineties and good riddance as well!
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what is that you usually do or see in your country or area but is weird to do in other area you have traveled or vice versa??
like it is unusual to wear footwear indoors in asia.Well, you don't wear shoes indoors in any of the Nordic countries.
We have pineapple and banana and kebab and salad on pizza¹. Apparently it is considered weird.
¹ not the same pizza, obviously. That would be weird.
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The societal problems if the US has been covered by others, but here are some culture shock ones I've experienced, in no particular order:
- still use personal checks
- put down knife after cutting your food, move fork to dominant hand
- drive through everything, including alcohol purchases
- horse and buggy on highway
- doorknobs instead of handles
- almost everyone has air conditioning, so doors and windows stay closed in summer
- double hung windows
- carry water bottles everywhere
- gas stoves and ovens are by far more popular than electric by a good margin
- in sink garbage disposals
A lot of these are really regional (alcohol drive-throughs, horse and buggy, air conditioning, gas appliances) . I think it's been years since I saw anyone write a check for anything, though, with the exception of something to put into a birthday card. Horses also aren't allowed on highways, but they are allowed on country roads that people drive pretty fast on.
Double hung vs single hung windows it not something I would have noticed, but I suspect you are right.
Doorknobs, I dont know why we seem to like them. I guess the only benefit vs handles is that you won't snag your clothing on them when walking by. That doesn't beat the convenience of being to open a door using your elbow while carrying something.
The water bottle thing is relatively recent thanks to all of the companies somehow becoming trendy.
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Italy: always offering (and accepting) food or drinks while visiting. It’s impossible and/or incredibly rude to pass by a friend’s house without getting at least a coffee or a glass of water.
Netherlands: cold lunch. Traditionally, you’d have only one hot meal a day, and lunch would be sandwiches. I don’t mean to say that sandwiches don’t happen in other countries, but that hot lunches are basically unheard of in NL.
US: everyone has one or multiple cars. Walking to the grocery store means you are basically destitute. (That was quite the culture shock!)
The Italian food thing is pretty common in many cultures, I’ve seen it in a few countries myself and it’s big deal here in Lebanon. My own parents used to be livid about me bringing friends over and not offering anything to eat when I was younger. It’s a part of my culture I’m a bit resistant to doing, I don’t know, it’s pretty intuitive if it’s time to eat or not, and if someone’s dropping by between meals I am totally fine not setting the whole ass table. Maybe a beer or coffee (the good stuff, it’s a nice thing to share) nowadays.
The Dutch food thing has zero resemblance to my culture but it is in line with something I’ve read before about western (at least the description I read was western) food habits. Going completely off the top of my head here. As far as I remember, historically you had one heavy meal and everything else was a smaller meal. I think I was looking up “dinner” vs “supper”. The impression was that the word “dinner” was originally for the big meal of the day, and that “supper” was for a light meal at the very end of the day. “Breakfast” is more of literally breaking a fast than it is a whole meal and lunch referred to a small mid-workday meal.
So I think the idea of temperature might be connected to the size or heaviness of the meal in your Dutch thing.
Or maybe my nerves are completely cooked after work and this is more word salad than word coherent comment.
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Two front doors for a single terraced 2 bedroom house.
OK, that's a new one. Pics?
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Thats "American style", while keeping the fork in the non-dominant hand is "European style". Allegedly, it dates back to when meals were served "service à la française", which is when all courses are brought out at once, which is obviously the more common method of home cooking. Restaurants started doing "service à la Russe", which is where courses are brought out one at a time.
With service russe, you have new sets of silverware with each course (or they are arranged in order), so if you are eating a course that doesn't need a knife, you won't be given one, and you'll have your fork in your dominant hand. If you need a knife, that goes in your dominant hand, and you leave it there for the duration of the course.
With service française (or regular home cooking), you just have one set of silverware, and you only use the knife when you need it, so you might switch your fork to your dominant hand when you are done needing the knife.
For example, in America, no one eats a steak switching hands for every bite (cause that would be dumb and inefficient), and in Europe, you probably wouldn't eat a meal that doesn't need a knife with a knife in your dominant hand (cause that would also be dumb and inefficient).
I wonder are there cultures where you hold the knife in your non-dominant hand because switching the fork around always seemed inefficient.
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what is that you usually do or see in your country or area but is weird to do in other area you have traveled or vice versa??
like it is unusual to wear footwear indoors in asia.Own a musket for home defense, since that's what the founding fathers intended. Four ruffians break into my house. "What the devil?" As I grab my powdered wig and Kentucky rifle. Blow a golf ball sized hole through the first man, he's dead on the spot. Draw my pistol on the second man, miss him entirely because it's smoothbore and nails the neighbors dog. I have to resort to the cannon mounted at the top of the stairs loaded with grape shot, "Tally ho lads" the grape shot shreds two men in the blast, the sound and extra shrapnel set off car alarms. Fix bayonet and charge the last terrified rapscallion.He Bleeds out waiting on the police to arrive since triangular bayonet wounds are impossible to stitch up, Just as the founding fathers intended.
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what is that you usually do or see in your country or area but is weird to do in other area you have traveled or vice versa??
like it is unusual to wear footwear indoors in asia.Ireland: chicken fillet rolls, spice bags
Scotland: deep fried pizzas, macaroni pies
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what is that you usually do or see in your country or area but is weird to do in other area you have traveled or vice versa??
like it is unusual to wear footwear indoors in asia.wrote last edited by [email protected]Hearing gunshots in the wild and not giving a shit. I came straight out the woods, not even off a trail, and there was a young couple by the creek. Having a .22, though really wimpy, didn't want to frighten them. Not the sort of place you typically see other humans. Also, I look like a well-outfitted homeless guy when hiking. I waved and smiled, walked up to introduce myself.
The were super nice. "Sorry if I worried you. I was popping beer cans down the creek and I never fire any other direction." "Oh! That must have been you we heard!" Given how sound carries over water, I must how sounded like I was very close. No worries.
LOL, how many non-Americans would hear gunfire in some lonely woods and not run like hell?
We're rednecks, or redneck adjacent, so it's plenty safe to assume we know how to be safe. Shooting is a brutally Darwinian sport for dumbshits. -
Well, you don't wear shoes indoors in any of the Nordic countries.
We have pineapple and banana and kebab and salad on pizza¹. Apparently it is considered weird.
¹ not the same pizza, obviously. That would be weird.
People don't wear shoes indoors in any civilised country. Only Americans do that.
Pineapple and kebab on pizza is available in Germany too, although I think it may be illegal in Italy.
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Well, you don't wear shoes indoors in any of the Nordic countries.
We have pineapple and banana and kebab and salad on pizza¹. Apparently it is considered weird.
¹ not the same pizza, obviously. That would be weird.
Taking your shoes off is expected in some parts of America, almost unheard of in other parts. Chicago? Shoes off. Florida? Why?
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In Canada, people do not run from the rain... if they are out and about and it starts raining, they just ignore it, they don't walk faster, rarely improvise coverage, etc
In Venezuela, my country of origin, people run from the rain like it's lava falling from the sky
Huh, thought everyone ran from the rain. I usually have a hat if I'm outside so the rain doesn't annoy me.
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Tipping as a social obligation when eating at dine in restaurants which in turn allows the waiter to be paid less by the employer and theoretically lowers menu prices.
Yeah, but many servers make serious bank. You won't find those people bitching about tips. Worked IT at a payroll firm, frequently saw the numbers.
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Civilians openly carrying handguns
Still haven't seen this, even in open-carry states.
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I wonder are there cultures where you hold the knife in your non-dominant hand because switching the fork around always seemed inefficient.
This whole conversation is weird to me. Fork in my dominant hand and knife in the other. Never seen anyone put their knife down or switch grips.
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Pavement princesses. The North American Man
's gender affirming vehicle.I lnow multiple dudes that work as box throwers in Walmart warehouses that drive $100k trucks, trucks that will never see any kind of work that's appropriate for their size. Might haul a few 2x4s from home depot every once in a while.
They want to own a home, but they're making massive payments on a huge truck instead.
You sure? Making that kinda money doesn't give you the credit for a $100K vehicle.
Working at Lowe's was eye-opening. Those princesses rolled in daily, but a great many were hauling massive loads on a trailer. They just don't put construction crap in their pristine bed.
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2024
Police- 1270
Mass shootings- 500ish (actually a down year)
While I agree we need police reform, let's be accurate.
Both problems need extensive work.
Mass shootings are likely now what we all imagine. I think most of us are imagining the left side of this chart. And I'd say the leftmost three sources are hardly conservative.
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Own a musket for home defense, since that's what the founding fathers intended. Four ruffians break into my house. "What the devil?" As I grab my powdered wig and Kentucky rifle. Blow a golf ball sized hole through the first man, he's dead on the spot. Draw my pistol on the second man, miss him entirely because it's smoothbore and nails the neighbors dog. I have to resort to the cannon mounted at the top of the stairs loaded with grape shot, "Tally ho lads" the grape shot shreds two men in the blast, the sound and extra shrapnel set off car alarms. Fix bayonet and charge the last terrified rapscallion.He Bleeds out waiting on the police to arrive since triangular bayonet wounds are impossible to stitch up, Just as the founding fathers intended.
Close enough
Welcome back, Kevin McCallister
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Hearing gunshots in the wild and not giving a shit. I came straight out the woods, not even off a trail, and there was a young couple by the creek. Having a .22, though really wimpy, didn't want to frighten them. Not the sort of place you typically see other humans. Also, I look like a well-outfitted homeless guy when hiking. I waved and smiled, walked up to introduce myself.
The were super nice. "Sorry if I worried you. I was popping beer cans down the creek and I never fire any other direction." "Oh! That must have been you we heard!" Given how sound carries over water, I must how sounded like I was very close. No worries.
LOL, how many non-Americans would hear gunfire in some lonely woods and not run like hell?
We're rednecks, or redneck adjacent, so it's plenty safe to assume we know how to be safe. Shooting is a brutally Darwinian sport for dumbshits.I live in City/Suburban (its like within a city but no tall buildings), and I hear what sounds like fireworks all the time and nobody gives a shit. And sometime I hear "fireworks" going off in rapid succession like pop pop pop like idk maybe its fireworks, maybe its gunshot, who knows. Just another day.
️(Yes, this is USA, its a liberal city, so its not the hillbillies)
