"In The UK, Not Doing This Is Punishable By Death": 18 Common "Tourist" Behaviors That Would Send People Into Comas In Their Home Countries
Culture shocks are bound to happen when you travel to a new place, and it can sometimes be hard to know if what you're doing may be perceived as rude, insulting, or even just a little weird, especially if it's considered "normal" where you're from. Recently, redditor u/Auelogic asked the r/AskReddit community to share the things that are "taboo" in their country but completely fine in others. Here's what they had to say.
1."In Alaska, you can be put in a phone registry to pick up a road-kill moose off the side of the road. It's considered a super lucky phone call, as even the worst road kill moose has hundreds of pounds of good meat. Everyone is normally stoked for you if you get this call, and during the day, people will usually honk and cheer while driving past you as you're getting the dead moose. I never realized the weirdness of all of this until explaining the excitement of road kill moose to some friends in San Diego."
"I was a police officer in a mid-Atlantic state, and we had a deer list. Whenever we got dispatched to a dead/dying car-struck deer, we'd ask dispatch to call the next name on the deer list, and some guy would eventually show up in a pickup and toss the deer in the bed. We'd fill out a tag for him so he wouldn't get dinged for having a deer carcass out of season, and that'd be that."
2."Sitting on a desk or table. In Māori culture, it's insulting to plonk your arse on a surface where food might be prepared."
3."Mowing your lawn or other noisy activities on a Sunday."
"Germany?"
"Yes."
4."Talking to a stranger on public transport."
"I would tell friends and family visiting me in NYC that if they needed directions in the subway, almost any New Yorker would gladly offer assistance and probably walk them to the platform stairs. Under all other circumstances, the best move was to avoid eye contact and read a book/magazine."
5."Standing next to a stranger closer than six feet, unless the lack of space forces you to stand that close. Google 'Finnish bus stop.'"
6."I just went to Germany for the first time (I'm from the US). My colleague (from Germany) went to grab me a glass for my beer, and I said I could just drink it from the bottle. You could almost hear a pin drop when about 10 Germans spun around to stare at me. One of them said, 'That's a WHEAT beer. It must be drank out of a glass!'"
7."Men who are friends or family casually holding hands in public. It'll never happen here. I notice it's very common in the Middle East, India, and Egypt. It's a safety thing, as I understand, and how to get across busy streets."
8."Giving someone a job in an area they didn't specifically study. For example, if they studied computer science engineering but worked as a financial analyst. In the UK, I had colleagues who studied arts and worked in finance. That'd never happen in Portugal."
9."Eating horse meat in the US. Apparently, this is relatively common in France or Italy but would be greeted by horror here."
"A lot of people in my entourage are staunchly disgusted by horse meat. You can buy it here in France. It is pretty alright, honestly, but it is still terrorizing to most folks."
10."Waltzing in someone's home wearing shoes."
"I'm Canadian and have been living in the US for a decade now. I will never get used to this. My floors are always cleaner than whatever invisible sludge is on the bottoms of your shoes."
11."Female breasts on regular television."
"I'm an American who studied abroad in Northern Ireland. I did not know boobs were allowed on TV in the evenings until I was watching late at night with a bunch of old ladies.
They found my utter shock hilarious when a reality TV show had a topless girl. Not that I was offended; I was just very surprised to see it on prime-time television."
12."Not offering a cup of tea to anyone entering the home, including servicemen. In the UK, not doing so is punishable by death."
13."The c-word. It's a HUGE insult here in the US, but it's barely a swear word in the UK and practically a term of affection in Australia. (I might be stereotyping a little here, though)."
14."Celebrating your birthday before it's actually your birthday."
"Never congratulate a German before their actual birthday! I have lived abroad for more than a decade, and still, if somebody does that to me, I feel scandalized."
15."Talking about money in France."
16."In my country, openly discussing politics is taboo but normal elsewhere."
"I kinda wish that was true in the US. I at least wish having it become your personality was taboo. Definitely on the yard signs."
17."Children being naked. In the US, people would lose their shit and call CPS over a young child not wearing clothes in their backyard or on the beach. In Europe, it's considered pretty standard for kids six years old and younger."
"My mom's family comes from Greece, and little kids don't wear swimsuits at the beach there. As an American, I was raised to be scandalized by this, but really, we're the weird ones, treating all nudity as somehow sexual."
18."Foraging or even walking through private land (safe passage). In many countries, foraging on private property is quite acceptable if you only take small amounts, as well as safe passaging (hiking through private property but not staying there). But in the US, even WALKING onto someone's personal property without express permission can get you shot. And taking something? Omg, you have a death wish. Foraging isn't permitted on most public lands either. 'Take nothing, leave nothing' is the rule. Every European person I have told this to is stunned."
What might be considered "taboo" in your country but is completely normal elsewhere? Tell us in the comments or fill out this anonymous form!
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.
