People Are Sharing The "Normal" Things About American Culture That Are Secretly Weird, Even To Americans

The US has a bunch of quirky customs and habits that might seem a bit weird or unusual to people from other cultures and countries around the world.

For example, American society places a strong emphasis on the "hard work" culture that is not as prevalent in other countries.

So, I asked the BuzzFeed Community to share the "normal" American customs and traditions that are actually really weird. Here are the responses:

1."Oh boy, do I have some — just why are we so obsessed over the military? Also, people who just stare at you and look at you like you’re from another dimension when you tell them you’re from another country."

—vampire44

2."It's weird entering the house, still wearing shoes straight off the street. Not bathing or taking a shower daily."

3."To me, a British person, making kids do the flag and salute every morning at school is really weird and actually quite disturbing. They usually look like they're just mechanically parroting a passage with blank faces, with little understanding of what it means, and at an age where they shouldn't be made to pledge anything. I have the same attitude towards reciting prayers and stuff in school in the UK, but I feel like the US takes it to another level."

4."Cheerleaders. Why are there girls wearing clothes that are not appropriate for school doing backflips on a field?"

5."As a foreigner, I used to find it weird that kids would gather at birthday parties to watch the birthday kid open gifts. I felt that some kids could feel bad if they thought other kids gave better gifts. I then realized that it’s actually a way for everybody to celebrate their generosity and for the birthday kid to just enjoy the gifts with their friends! In my country of origin, it is somewhat rude to open a gift in front of the giver, but I have no idea why! What a missed opportunity to simply show appreciation."

6."Pledging allegiance to a flag is really weird and cult-y."

7.Watching videos in public without headphones is just rude. Learn social etiquette. Same thing with holding your phone in front of you while on speakerphone and, while we are at it, quit doing FaceTime in public. Just three total dick moves."

8."The idea that engagement photos and maternity photos are 'must have.' I have a friend who said she didn’t know why she did maternity shoots, 'I don’t know, because it’s America.'

9."Wearing shoes in your house. If you tried to come into my house with those dirt shoes that have walked through every public, piss-soaked gas station bathroom and every spitty sidewalk, we're going to have a problem."

10."As an American: The fact that a private company and a for-profit business can own something as essential as electricity. And they’re allowed to have a complete monopoly so they just charge whatever the hell they want. This shouldn’t be a thing. Electricity should be part of your city’s public utilities. It shouldn’t be something that you can trade in the stock market. The prescription drug ads. These should not exist. If one needs a doctor to approve it, why are you promoting it to us on TV? We can’t just go buy it or tell the doctor what to prescribe. The culture of your work is what defines you, and the idea that if you’re not getting by, you’re just not trying hard enough. No. Hard work doesn’t always pay off, and people shouldn’t have to work themselves to death just to afford rent."

11."The OBSESSION with working long hours. Other countries have proved that more time working does not equal more productivity, and American companies should take note. Americans work too many hours for not enough pay and are insanely burned out. Burnout is a physical, emotional, and mental health crisis that requires real-time to get over. Your job isn't worth destroying your quality of life."

12."The fact that working-class Americans constantly vote in their own worst interest. Destroying their own unions, privatizing everything that was once public and accessible, cutting taxes for the wealthy and corporations, which ensures government services will be underfunded, and vehemently opposing any efforts to make healthcare and childcare affordable and available. Because…freedom, bald eagle, shotgun, beer, pickup truck…or something?"

13."We have large portion sizes in restaurants that other countries look at as gluttony."

14."Guns, tipping, chemicals in food that are banned in most other countries, no healthcare, expensive medicine, advertisements every two minutes in TV shows, the pledge of allegiance, Americans thinking that America is the best country in the world, the flag being everywhere, hoa's, no one questioning where their tax dollars go, Americans thinking that this is the most racist country ever and no uniforms in schools...that's my two cents."

15."How our culture is built around the auto industry instead of more mass transit options. I mean, arguably, our main form of acceptable identification is a driver's license, and some cities and towns are almost impossible to navigate if you don't have a car. And don't get me wrong, I love the freedom to be able to drive anywhere I want to, but it's crazy that we don't have a high-speed rail system for more efficient and safer travel."

16."Going to college is almost a requirement for any regular job these days. I mean, there are colleges everywhere these days. And College Football forget it."

17."Our healthcare system is ridiculous."

18."Driving giant $80,000 pickups when you’re not doing anything in life that requires the daily use of a truck bed."

19."Guns being so accessible and mass shootings just being a regular part of life without changes being made to stop them. The only normal drill a child should do in school is for a fire."

—sunflowersugar

20."Our absolute obsession with Halloween."

21."Rampant individualism. It seems like no one here can comprehend individual sacrifice for the greater good. Everyone genuinely thinks they're the main character who knows everything and cares very little about anyone else. As a Canadian, this is very weird."

22."Tipping culture is wild these days. I get it; people are doing their part as a society, but do I really need to give someone $20 to bring me two hamburgers and some water?"

23."Bespoke ordering. People from other countries order what’s on the menu, but Americans always want a change (extra mayo, a different cheese, etc.). This makes it seem like Americans think they should always get exactly what they want, all the time."

24."How everyone is expected to know English. When we go to other countries, we expect them to know our language. And when people visit or move here from other countries, we expect them to learn English, quickly, it seems so pretentious to me."

25."Asking 'How are you?' when one does not really care about the person or their answer. This behavior would be perceived as insincere and fake from a European standpoint. In the EU, this question usually means one is really interested, and the person is welcome to complain about problems in their life in response."

26."Multigenerational households are not only uncommon but often looked down on. In many, many other countries and cultures, children live with, or at least near, their parents, and aging parents live with their children (and grandchildren). In the States, kids are pushed out at 18 (and seen as failures if they move back into their parents' houses), and the elderly are left to die alone or in terrible 'care' facilities."

27."People ask what your job is when they first meet you. My job is okay — I've had much worse ones — but it's not very interesting, and most people I know feel the same way. And the last thing I want to talk about at a party is work! Plus, it can feel like a sneaky way to figure out how much money someone makes. I lived in Ireland for a few years, and I really appreciated that 'So what do you do for a living?' isn't a standard getting-to-know-you question."

28."How serious people are about their jobs. Having to be somewhere right on time, not taking a break all day and leaving late. Why is it Americans' whole life are their jobs? Why can’t we ever relax???"

29."Greek life at American universities. It occupies such a big part of pop culture. Rush and initiation especially. Also, with Bama rush-related content becoming wildly popular on social media, it pushed what was kind of a weird niche aspect of the American university experience into a wider frame. It’s weird."

30."Americans and their damn speaker phone addiction. As soon as you land in an American airport 100% of the time, you’ll find some self-absorbed person yelling at their phone on the speaker. I guess it’s too hard to hold it to your face and have any amount of respect or privacy."

31."American in Norway. Norwegians use a fork and knife to eat a hamburger. This is one of the situations of, tell me you're an American without saying you're an American. The only ones in the whole restaurant eating the hamburgers with your hands."

What do you think about these strange American customs and habits? Let me know in the comments.

Note: Some submissions have been edited for length/clarity.