32 Interesting Things That Happen In Different Countries
The funny is in the details.
Published 1 year ago in Funny
We're all alike, but we're also a little different in small, sometimes interesting ways.
Different situations and the details of those scenarios call for different solutions and ways of dealing with things.
So take a look at the differences in where you live vs. how things are done in other parts of the world.
4
Everyone rags on the US for using imperial, but can we talk for a second about how weird we are here in the UK for using both inconsistently? You buy a pint of milk or beer, but a litre of coke and 25ml of whiskey People know how many miles to the gallon their cars get, but you buy fuel at pence per litre. You watch the weather forecast and the temperature is in Celsius but the wind speed is in miles per hour Most people can tell you their weight in kilograms, and their height in feet, and if they can't give you kilograms they can probably give you stone instead, which is even older than pounds, which nobody uses as a unit of measurement, probably because of the confusion between lbs and £... It's a glorious mess.
7
Eating with our hands. In 1969 (the same year the man landed on the moon), Miss Gloria Diaz coveted the Philippines' first Miss Universe Crown. During the preliminary Q&A, she was asked "Is it true that you Filipinos use your hand when you eat?" To which she replied "Why? Do you use your feet?" and went her way to winning the crown.
12
Direct democracy in Switzerland. It often baffles me when I read what the government can pull off in other countries without ever involving the population. Like...yea, you get to elect representatives but it often seems to me that those people then elect someone who elects someone who elects someone...is it really still democracy if you're about five steps removed from the actual decisions?
13
US. Taxes. We have this weird system where the government really kind of knows what we should pay, but they offer us an opportunity to guess and maybe pay the right thing, but if we don't pay the right thing, we get penalized. I remember listening to a podcast where people all over the world were super confused about how the US does taxes. Most other places the government sends you a bill, and you pay it, and you're done.
20
South Africa. Being middle-class with a property having a 6' wall, electric fencing linked to an alarm, automated gate and garage doors (with security clamps over the gate motor to prevent theft of the motor), security gates over every door, burglar bars, and a house alarm system with infra-red sensors linked to armed response with a reaction time of under 3-4 minutes.
22
I teach in Japan, but grew up in America. The other day my students asked me wide-eyed if Americans really wear their shoes inside. I told them yes and that sometimes my dad would cross his legs like this while we sat on the sofa and I could touch the bottom of his shoes. They were super grossed out. “Eew, why would you wear shoes inside! That’s so dirty!” These kids are 2nd graders so it starts pretty young.
31
In the Philippines, it would be people living with their parents. Everybody I know whose parents' homes are in the city choose to live there. With the relatively low wage to cost-of-living ratio, it is not unusual for married couples to share houses with their in-laws. I work remote and I still live with my parents and pay zero rent. Of course, I pay all the bills, feed them and do all the home repairs and chores.
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