20 Things Only Americans Do (And Think It's Normal) 

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We aren't obsessed with working, we just can't afford to not work.

As a Brit I have tipped good service in restaurants or told taxi drivers to keep the change. But we do have a minimum wage that applies to staff in all jobs so when I do tip it’s for good service not to help a hard working member of staff to be able to eat or keep a roof over their heads.

My God, the Kardashians give a whole new meaning to the word SHALLOW

Tipping culture is weird to me. Where I live, we can throw a few extra bucks in if the service was extraordinary, but our waiters certainly don’t rely on it in order to make a living.

When I was in school in the mid-sixties everyone was saying in 10 years the country would switch to metric. So we were taught about metrics. Now 5 decades later, there is no talk of switching.

I thought someone would’ve mentioned our obsession with celebrities and fast food.

It’s insane to me that people pay for a ride on the ambulance 😂

I guess the price of drugs in this country is so high because we have to pay for all that advertising.🤣

It's pretty impossible to explain to me, a European, that you stick to writing month before date when you call your own national holiday " the fourth of July". But there's more thing I really don't understand lol

Not mentions in video and i find this most crazy about USA. Beauty contest for 6 year old children. Put make up on small kids and make them look like adult is insane.

Also for me, often when I ask someone living in the US about distance, the reply I get is in time units, also assuming they mean in a car. "How far away is the airport?" "30 minutes..."

Pharmacy's in the US, stay away from food if you can. Convenience stores and pharmacys charge insane food prices, especially if no grocery exists in walking distance for most of the area residents.

One of the many things I miss about living in Oregon is that there is no sales tax there. Moving and needing to pay 7.25% sales tax now is.... depressing

To be fair, since my youth I had opportunities to visit other countries, and cultures, and been fascinated by them. And every country, and even region, it seems to me, has their own quirks. Some that make sense to me, some that don't. As always thank you so very much for the videos. Also being a native Californian, with many Latino friends and neighbors, (and a Canadian mother,) I learned early on that "America" goes from Cape Columbia, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada to Cape Horn of the Chilean islands.

Well, here in Italy we used to have something like the "Pledge of allegiance" for schools and some other public environments. It was during our fascist dictatorship.

Do more places it'd be cool to see the norm around the world

You could include: spending hundreds of dollars on Christmas gifts of which 50%+ are regifted, returned or put into storage

I hate it that I never have any idea how much a visit to the doctor is going to cost. I constantly get bills that I have no clue what it's for. I'm never given the opportunity to say no thank you, I'd rather die. And a 15 minute visit to an empty emergency room at 4 am when a doctor talked to me for a few minutes cost $1200 and the last time I went to a clinic outside the country BVI, I was there for 2 hours being treated and even given my meds and it cost me $15.

In the '70s, our teachers told us that we were being taught the metric system because by the year 2000 everyone in the world would be using it instead of the imperial system... I was working at a convenience store when soda companies started making 2-liter bottles. My customers and co-workers complained that the bottles were not "lighter" at all, but maybe even heavier...

The voting age went to 18 because 18 year olds were being sent to Vietnam. The drinking age went back up to 21 because too many kids died in drunk driving accidents.

I'm Brazilian, - Here we learn that there are only one big continent called America. - We also vote before drink: We vote with 16, but can only drink (and drive) with 18. - We also use shoes inside - We also small talk with strangers (Too much and too loud, to be honest) - Don't complain on your sales tax. Its wonderful how simple your tax system are compared with ours - Healthcare is 100% free for everyone. Ambulances are also free

One big bad thing missing: Company bosses earn often 200x more than a normal worker in US, which is completely insane.

As an Usan, I have never once thought, nor would I ever think it impolite if a homeowner asked me to take off my shoes; nor have I met anyone who's thought this way. I almost always ask as a courtesy, but would never think the person picky if I was asked to take my shoes off. Their house, their rules. That one's just false. If you have a problem with that, it's on you, not the culture.

As a non-American do, yeah, I can agree with almost every point on this list. Except for the first one. Even when for all official stuff we will say "Verenigde Staten" or just "VS"(just the literal Dutch translation for United States, in more casual conversations "Amerika" is much, much more common. No one will ever travel to de VS, we all travel to Amerika. During the last World Cup back in 2022, Oranje beat Amerika. And in my experience, it's not that different in most countries I've been.

Nice, this is a great lesson on Interculturalism that I wasn't expecting, but positively adore. There's quirks that we Irish do that would mystify everyone!

This whole video is making me feel ( as a non American ) like America is another planet

The tipping in this country has gotten insanely crazy. And I think that the military obsession is crazy also.

In Canada we have the metric system but due to our proximity to the United States and the fact that people over 60 grew up under the imperial system it hasn't been fully embraced. This is how most Canadian use the systems: Temperature: metric Driving speed: metric Gasoline buying: metric Driving distance: metric Measuring short distances: imperial Grocery shopping portions: metric Personal height: imperial Personal weight: imperial Measuring for building things: both Baking and cooking: both

Fun Fact - The rings of the Solo cups actually serve a purpose as they offer measurement lines for different types of drinks and ingredients for mixed drinks.

I think South Korea, Singapore, and Japan might have the workaholic grind culture problem like the US does.

I'm from Brazil, and honestly, most of these are also true here. Baby showers and gender reveals are annoyingly common, bathroom stalls are insanely large, pharmacies are full of beverages and snacks, we can vote at 16 and drink at 18, many restaurants offer free refil, tipping 10% or more is an automatic reflex, prescription drugs are all over TV No wonder we're also Americans 😂

7:39 / 22:51 in Australia we don't tip, and waiting staff don't usually expect it, because they are paid a livable and reasonable wage for their Service, and they are not ripped off by employers, without support from State and federal government.

American schools: " have food fights " Everywhere else: WTF

I'm Aussie, yeah, so imagine my shock when I walked into the CVS in Fishermans Wharf to discover an entire section dedicated to booze.

#20 is debatable. Nations in the American continent don’t call the United States “America”, but all the other countries I visited or lived in does. They often say “US”, but when talking about traveling, they often refer to the US as “America”.

Most places have sales taxes; it's just included in the price shown. This is/was a strategy implemented to vilify taxes and to make retailers look better.

The 40+ hour work week is much less about being workaholics (in fact a significant number of workers don't actually do very much work in a typical week, though admittedly many others work very hard), it is more about that we are expected to and generally unable to afford not to.

It still bugs me that we still can't get some kind of health care without insurance companies and having a medical bill that breaks you leaving you in financial dire.

I feel like I've seen this video 10 times already.

"But Doctor, I want because I saw happy people playing tennis and sailboating in the sunshine on a TV ad!!" The only value those ads have for me is the hilarious side effects. I actually saw this one time, not sure of the exact wording but pretty similar to this: "May cause liver damage requiring a transplant."

Pharmacy with groceries. We've definitely adopted that here in southeast asia. Some groceries close late nights while some pharmacy run 24 hours 5 to 6 days a week.

In my country (Trinidad & Tobago) it's actually illegal to wear camoflage unless you're a soldier or police officer. It's taken to ridiculous lengths too when even baby clothes are seized by local customs if it's camo. Removing your shoes is also something we do but it's not mandatory, it's simply considered good manners to ask whether the person is okay with shoes on/off (esp where carpet or rugs are involved). But the strangest thing I've seen Americans do is keep their shoes on when hanging out on their beds (or worse, someone elses) I don't know if that's just a movie thing or not because if it's real, it's REALLY gross.

I’m sorry, we work too much? People in Japan literally sleep at work 😂

You forgot, putting marshmallow in sandwiches. AND selling it in a tub big enough to bath a baby in. (Thanks, Bill Bryson). And putting peanut butter and "jelly" [in my country we call it "jam"] in the same jar. Pardon me for being foreign, but . . .ick.

Pharmacies that sell Groceries are also in Canada too, which helps when they are closer than the grocery store

#17: A few years ago, on a Walgreens trip, I was shocked when I saw ground beef in the fridge.

The thing I found coming from the UK was portion size of meals the USA ..meals are very big and generous...

I would imagine you don't see much camouflage in Europe outside a Sabaton concert

Not only US call USA America, obsessed with military and leave tips. I also noticed that Americans have high mattresses, have fixed showers and have giant washing machines. Also only Americans and Canadians distinguish one from each other

I want to go back to the days when pharmacies had lunch counters and soda fountains. Like Mr. Gower's place in It's a Wonderful Life.

Who else yelled “F**K YEAH!” In the first clip?😂 Edit: I think it’s hilarious that I am an American, and when the peanut butter thing came up? I actually have a jar of extra chunky Skippy natural Superchunk right next to me… AND I eat it with a spoon! 😂

America : the greatest country in the world. Except for all the much better ones.

Awesome! Very good for people who are NOT living in America, to learn about the culture, as we do about all other cultures as well. Thanks Mojo!

I'm Namibian, and truth be told the US is really an odd country, from my point of view ofcourse. So confusing and different

In our defense, the UK also uses the imperial system in some cases. I have a few friends from the UK who tell me that street signs still measure speed in mph. But the rest is 100% true! Especially the freaking going bankrupt for medical bills thing. I have decent insurance and I'm still terrified to even go see a doctor because I still have to pay a good amount of money.

Freedom is when the government fears the people, tyranny is when the people fear the government.

The thumbnail is how you know this company is Canadian

Say Irish American, Chinese American, African American etc. Here in Australia we just say Australian.

In the Philippines, we have whats called the “Panatang Makabayan” which is actually way longer than the Pledge of Allegiance even in the revised version that was enacted around the 2010’s, and you raise your right hand instead of putting it on your chest which the latter is only done for the national anthem so many kids’ right arms would hurt after a while after reciting.

When a friend asked me how far away we drove to pick them up at the airport, I told him we lived about two hours away. There is no need to convert miles to kilometers. Travel time is a more useful descriptor of distance.

My crew and I flew to Portugal, had an amazing dinner and left a tip. The matradee chased us down the street (he was the only one working that was fluent in English) "Sir. Common in the US but not here. It is considered an INSULT. You have essentially told my staff the food and service was so poor that you cannot pay your bills or feed your family" I had never heard such a response. He returned the tip

My friend is a sergeant in the army and said 98% of people just go cos they didn't know what they wanted to do.

#4: As an American, it has long been a serious pet peeve of mine that prescription drugs are advertised everywhere to consumers. The ads are very annoying. I wish they'd get rid of them, but what can I do? Prescription drugs should be advertised to doctors and healthcare facilities. They're the ones who decide what drugs I get. I don't see how advertising to end consumers benefits anyone. They're wasting their time & money advertising to me, I just go with whatever drugs my doctor recommends.

Tipping is ridiculous in the U.S. 18% is the expected minimum. Pay restaurant workers a livable wage.

I need to move out of the USA asap.

*thumbnail* Danny Devito: "So anyway, I started blasting."

When I had my very first job as a waitress in USA- Ohio, I made a “salary” of $1.50 cents per hour, PLUS TIPS. It was 1977 but even back then we REALLY depended on our tips!!! 😢

I have lived and worked in Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Singapore. These countries all have a formal flag salute at school in the morning. (I taught school in Indonesia and Vietnam.)

The bathroom doors here in America are so weird. We know what the solution is, yet everyone has just agreed to be uncomfortable.

When I become an adult, I will have a no shoe rules in my house. I will have a shoe area at my front door.

I haven't watched the video yet but the thumbnail alone earns a like. 😂

A very good video. It's nice to see a video looking at the U.S. while knowing something about the rest of the world. (I'm Canadian.)

*My mother went to the US about 5 years ago for a holiday and was shocked that they sell alcohol and cigarettes in pharmacies. it's crazy.*

As a random person in the comments, I know it may not matter. I would like to share my opinion on these things, though, as a 23-year-old American who has had it rough growing up. America may seem great to some, and horrible to others. It really depends on the topic. (Forgive me for the length, if you decide to read this.) 1. - As a person who has grown up on the Imperial system, as arbitrary as it can be, I have a very hard time understanding the metric system. They attempt to teach us in school, but it's ultimately pointless as we still are expected to use the Imperial System most of the time. Trying to change that on a nationwide level would have to be based on phasing it out gradually as many people would have a hard time adjusting to such a dramatic change in measurement systems. 2. - Our healthcare system causes a few things: extreme debt we may never see paid off, avoiding treatment because even the smallest thing can incur a large hospital bill, people driving themselves to the hospital/doctor/etc. when they are injured/hurt/sick, the expectancy of people to just try not to get hurt. My friends didn't have Band-Aids at their house because they were just expected to not get injured (we were kids that ran around and got scrapes from playing outside. We needed Band-Aids.) We are forced to ignore our health because the debt may be worse in the long run - at least in our minds. 3. - Months before days makes sense in my head, but I was raised with this system. I truly can't say anything about this. 4. - Seeing ads for prescription drugs is annoying. As person who is on mental health medication, it's also infuriating how wrong advertising companies portray the illnesses of myself and people I know. I feel it also can lend to people self-diagnosing and going to their doctors for things that they do not actually need. 5. - When you're a kid, you just say the Pledge of Allegiance. It's normal. But when I got to high school, I was particularly done with it. Having to pledge your allegiance to your country everyday is creepy and controlling. 6. - I was spoiled growing up in one of the few states that doesn't have sales tax. It is incredibly annoying when going to another state and realizing you don't have enough to pay for something when the initial price tag says you can (It was annoying as a kid going on field trips and only having a small amount of money.) I wish the price tag we saw would be the price of the thing. I find sales tax stupid. 7. - Gun ownership has killed so many people because people are irresponsible and just plain horrible, yet we keep them. As a person who grew up in the time of school shootings, it was honestly horrifying. I know at least 2-3 times we got out of school early due to shooting threats. We had drills a couple times a year called Intruder Alert Drills - closing a classroom door, turning the lights off, and finding a spot where windows can't see you. In my senior year of high school the Parkland Shooting happened. When I was at lunch one day the lights went off and we were in an inner part of the building, so there were no windows. We all were horrified. One of the girls I knew dove under a table. Once the lights went back on, the people overlooking lunch wanted us all to clean up and get ready to go to class. It was almost silent and nobody moved. It took a few minutes to calm down. 8. - I don't have much to say about making small talk to strangers. 9. - The work "grind" makes it hard for me to find a job (on top of ridiculous application and interviewing practices.) My mental health and physical health are not great, and I don't want to be stuck somewhere that I could have a breakdown/anxiety attack. Yes I'm not making money, but I really don't know if I can handle most work. I did when I had my first job, but that was because I enjoyed my job and it was rather easy. Sadly the company I worked for closed at the start of COVID in 2020. 10. - Peanut butter is good. I have no complaints. The biggest problem is for people who have peanut allergies, like one of my older cousins. 11. - Wearing shoes inside depends on whose house you're at. Sometimes they prefer you keep your shoes on, some prefer you to take them off at the entrance. I feel rude sometimes when I'm at a friends house and want to take off my shoes. I just assume it's me getting too comfy or something (I'm also a weirdo that sometimes sits on the floor even though there is couch space because I don't want to intrude.) 12. - Red Solo Cups - I've definitely had countless events/parties where we've used them. There's even a song from 2011 by Toby Keith about them. It's all very silly for something that is just a cup. 13. - I don't care for the military, but I certainly acknowledge what they've done in the past. Some members of my family have been in the military, and I'll certainly give credit to my grandfather for assisting with handling the deceased from the Jonestown Massacre when they made it to the US. Some people use the military as a way to bring order and stability to their life, while some go in because they want a chance to afford school or other stuff. People should not have to join the military to afford schooling. 14. - Tipping should not be expected, but living wages should be. I agree that I should be paying you for doing work instead of paying for the service AND tipping the poor souls who are stuck earning the majority of their money from the generosity of randos. 15. - We are spoiled by the free refills. I have no objections. It's nice. 16. - I have opinions on voting and drinking separately, but I don't have an opinion on being able to vote before drinking. I don't drink and no one in my family does. I do see the danger of not allowing somebody to do something and then them being more likely to go out of their way to get it illegally/against others' permission. 17. - Pharmacies carrying multiple goods can make it easier on a person if they need to pick up medicine or hygiene products without having to go to the grocery store separately. The only downside is the limitation of products offered at pharmacies. 18. - Bathroom stalls are quite uncomfortable, but it does sometimes come in handy to see feet underneath. Not that we shouldn't use occupied signs rather than being able to peak under while someone just tries to go to the bathroom. That would be much nicer. 19. - Gender reveal parties are ridiculous. Baby showers were helpful in expecting mothers getting things they will need/might need for when the baby(ies) arrive. Gender reveal parties should not be that hyped up for saying if your kid is going to be a boy or a girl to a group of people. Just make an announcement online or by texting. Or just wait till the baby arrives and love it regardless of gender. 20. - Americans typically like abbreviations or finding some way to say something easier. I definitely think it's silly since we are part of the American continents, but I really can't say anything since I call us America too (for the most part.)

Sticking to the Second Amendment like its gospel.

Peanut butter might be one where USA choses a bit healtier , if the altenative is nutella? ;-).

Yep here in the US healthcare isn't a basic human right, its a profit margin. And if you can't pay it they will tank your credit and garnish your wages.

The Pharmacy "Groceries" thing has creeped in to Canada too over the past 10ish years

I've also seen that when abroad, you ask people where they are from, they will tell you, from Spain, Italy, Argentina, etc. But Americans will say Texas, Arizona, Wisconsin...

I’m in the US and work four day work weeks, you just have to work longer days to get your 40 hours in which I don’t think a lot of you guys are down for 🤷🏼‍♂️

as an American, I find it really weird that people wear shoes inside....I grew up always taking my shoes off. And also, if it's my house, then my rules; take your shoes off.

Lol at pharmacies carrying groceries…. It’s necessary in some places. When I was in college, I lived in a downtown area that only had one grocery store that you could get to on foot. I basically lived on Walgreens food. It was so expensive, but cheaper than the chipotle that closed at 4PM. Protip: Nice! (Walgreen’s house brand) Macaroni and cheese, although it shouldn’t seem that different from Kraft, is almost entirely inedible. Just go for the brand name.

Here in Australia sales tax is federally regulated and uniform. The legislation requires that any advertised price includes tax so that what you see is what you pay

There are so many strange things we see in the United States. The greatest is our common language that separates we, the British and the States.

Pharmacies in Canada are starting to have groceries, toys, clothes and school stuff. Especially Shoppers Drug Mart :) A few of these are happening in Canada too

I turned 18 in January. Graduated high school that June. Voting n drinking we’re legal at the time. Voting stayed at 18. But drinking slowly went back up to 21 - but I was legal to drink all thru college.

Most American phrase ever (used everywhere) is "I appreciate you / I appreciate that"

In the Netherlands peanut butter is quite popular also. Today I discovered a store that are specialized in peanut butter.

One thing to note is we do spend a lot on our military but that's because countries like China have forced entry requirements and they pay almost nothing to those individuals. They don't have to spend as much. Meanwhile, we pay for your food (BAS), housing (BAH), schooling, and medical/dental.

In the UK, people usually refer to it as 'America'. While there are aspects of America that I like, I've never seen a society as OBSESSED with race. It's weird to see political activists, media talking heads, celebrities, and even brainwashed students stoking division between people and making everything about privilege or "supremacy" or a hierarchy of "oppressors and oppressed", instead of wanting to come together. I feel for the ordinary Americans who are tired of that.

I was in a severe accident when I was pregnant with my son. An elderly woman ran right into us at 55mpg. Despite the bruising all over my stomach my baby boy was perfectly healthy. I had to ride in a ambulance, and it was around $1,000 with insurance🙃 thankfully the woman had to pay for all my bills. But America's health care system is a JOKE. Everything is about money here.

This should be retitled, "Just 20 of the millions of things that make America better than any other country in the world"

I'm impressed. This video is much better than the old ones (the ones everyone and their dog is reacting to...) about this topic.

I'm pretty sure when they talk about "the low cost of... fountain drinks" they mean the cost to the restaurant, because at most places a small size cup of mostly ice with some soda costs more than a 2 liter bottle of soda from a grocery store. And before the US had widespread free refills, we already had the Big Gulp, Super Big Gulp, Double Gulp and other 44 ounce or larger drinks, so the free refills are not what lead to our obesity. :-)

In Europe, we have pharmaceutical sections in the stores that sell over-the-counter drugs like aspirin, paracetamol (also known as Tylenol in the USA), diarrhoea and constipation medication, and hayfever medication. Some of the bigger stores have pharmacies inside of them that sell prescription drugs. Your main pharmacy thar your prescriptions go to might end up being inside a really big store if it's the nearest one to the GP you go to, and then you have to enter the store to be able to gain access to the pharmacy entrance, or it might have an entrance from the outside and from within the inner confines of the very large store. I don't know if it's just my friends specifically, but my Irish friends tend to speak about their military a lot and quite highly. There's, like, war memorials, and tons of war museums there. I get the impression the Irish are also quite military centric, although it could be a false impression that I'm getting. My friends say the Irish military is famed for its neutrality. I like Americans are stereotyped as both lazy and overworked as if those two things aren't contradictions. Americans have practically perfectly healthy work life balance compared to slaves in third world countries or compared to Japan. It's pretty much only Europe that has reasonable hours.

Of all these, #8 is the only one I'm envious about. What´s not to love about being able to have a quick chat with a stranger?

Gender surprise parties have been happening in Australia for as long as I can remember hearing about them, they may have even started here, but it's definitely not just Americans that do it

The National Anthem hasn't been cited in schools for years now.

Apparently Watch Mojo knows nothing of Japan. The Japanese work up to 70 hours a week with barely a day off. My dad quit his job so he could be home to help my mom when my big sister was born. It was easier than asking for days off to help.