18 common things that are actually uniquely American

Step outside the bounds of the US, and you’ll learn that no one knows what miles, pounds (unless you mean the UK’s currency), or Fahrenheit is. Well, maybe Canadians do because they have to deal with us or have spent time in the US. Better catch up on what kilometers mean (roughly 10 for every six miles) and how to measure in Celsius (0 is freezing, not 32). Intuitive, right?

I’ll never forget when an Australian friend asked me, “Did you really ride yellow school buses?” Her shock when I confirmed this wasn’t something just in the movies reminded me how American that form of transport is. One kid’s daily commute only exists on another’s television.

Probably my most unpatriotic trait is my distaste for ice water. Did you know this is not standard elsewhere? Why is this the default at American restaurants? Don’t be surprised if you leave the country and are given refreshments sans frozen cubes.

Espresso drinks weren’t popularized until Starbucks came about in the '80s. Weird, right? But as we tend to do, we had to make it BIGGER. In most other countries, a 12-ounce — or a “tall” at Starbucks — would be considered a larger size. Servings of eight ounces or less are more common outside the US borders.

The US isn’t the only country where this is the case, but we have normalized it to an almost comical level. I mean, why do we drive to the store even if it’s only 10 or 15 minutes away? Okay, if you’re buying a lot, that’s a plausible argument, but in most of our cities, for even the shortest trips, taking the car is the default. This isn’t the case in many parts of the world with functional public transportation.

No, seriously, if it wasn’t obvious above, we are obsessed with our cars. We can’t even be bothered to get out to collect our coffee or food once we reach the destination. We often stay in our vehicles and drive to a little window where we're hand-delivered our lunch, morning cups, etc.

In addition to holding the ice, a lot of countries, especially in Europe, charge for water. Or, if they provide free tap water, they will give you bottled (which they charge for) unless you explicitly ask for stuff from the tap. If they hydrate you free of charge, don’t expect bottomless refills or even one refill without paying.

Okay, if there’s one thing universally known about Americans, it's that our default volume is…um… a bit elevated. But you don’t realize to what extent until you’re talking at a “normal” level outside the US and realize everyone is giving you the stink eye. That happened to me and a few friends (also from the American continents, so we share this trait), getting straight-up told off the train. Ah, yes, cross-cultural interactions.

“You mean middle school?” — the French. The rest of the world calls it university, "uni" for short, or however it’s translated in their languages. 

US State Department statistics show that only about one-third of Americans have a passport. Most Americans wouldn’t think twice about it, but it’s common across the world to want to explore places other than where you come from. Even if you remove the obstacle of crossing borders, we don’t tend to travel across our giant and beautiful country that much, which is also quite common elsewhere. However, that might be due to wage stagnation and the fact that American vacation time is laughable compared to other developed nations.

My goodness, this is an odd one. I mean, we glorify action and violent movies, yet the kids can’t hear an f-bomb or two? You’d be surprised how much less censored TV is in other countries, both the dialogue and the visuals allowed. 

This is so annoying, and you don’t realize how abnormal it is until you go abroad. Suddenly, you learn the listed price is precisely what you pay in many other countries. Don't be shocked by menu prices that include tax — oh, and you usually don’t tip outside of America, either. (Although, always check local standards.)

US high school and college (ahem, university) cultures are pretty unique compared to the rest of the world. Homecoming is no different. Although our neighbors up in Canada also do it, most other countries don’t have anything comparable.

This wasn’t something I ever thought twice about (and if it’s raining or I just went hiking, obviously, I leave shoes outside). Then, I began dating a Canadian who always dutifully removed his shoes before entering a home — no matter how many times I reminded him it wasn’t necessary. Friends and acquaintances from around the world have confirmed this is a unique American quirk. I’ve also been asked why characters in US-based sitcoms always wear footwear while sitting on the bed.

In a seminar in Luxembourg about international education, a British professor told my classmates about this weird ritual in which kids in the U.S. partake every morning. A fellow American stood up to demonstrate, and if going viral in a group chat was a thing, that video definitely would’ve been amongst our international cohort.

"MM/DD/YYYY" is only the standard in the US. Most other countries use a "DD/MM/YYYY" formula, so when filling out official forms or giving your birth date abroad, make sure you double-check the order!

This varies depending on where in the country you are — New Yorkers don’t have time, and Seattleites are busy implementing our signature “Seattle Freeze." In general, Americans are not only loud conversationalists (see above) but also love chatting with anyone. In most other places I’ve been, depending on how large the language barrier was, small talk rarely went beyond “hi, loyalty card, have a nice day." That’s not to say people aren’t friendly all over the world, but the overarching cultural expectation of conversation just isn’t there.

Honestly, I’m surprised an international incident isn’t started every time a British person learns many Americans make tea by microwaving water. Personally, I boil water on the stove, but I'm not sure if that’s considered better. Stereotypically British, but this is more standard in most countries I’ve visited.