Cultural differences! Parents reveal the habits from other countries that leave them baffled – including the UK’s use of a ‘washing up bowl’ for dishes and gaps in US public toilet doors
- Anonymous woman, from UK, revealed what baffles her about other countries
- Took to Mumsnet and questioned why gaps in toilet doors are so wide in America
- Many told how lack of storage and tumble dryers in UK was biggest bugbear
People from across the globe have revealed some of the habits and customs that baffle them most about other countries.
An anonymous UK-based Mumsnet user sparked the discussion by questioning why the gaps in toilet doors are so wide in America and why tax can’t be included in the price.
It wasn’t long before the initial post was inundated with comments, with many eager to contribute their own bugbears about other nations.
Among the most popular responses included bemoaning the lack of storage and tumble dryers in the UK, and why kettles are so difficult to find in America.
People from across the globe have revealed some of the habits and customs that baffle them most about other countries. Pictured, stock image
An anonymous person, from the UK, took to Mumsnet and initiated a thread on things that baffle her most about other countries – including why there are such wide gaps in toilet doors in America
One person posted about the UK: ‘How has it ended up that pretty much everywhere else drives on a different side of the road? Why was this not sorted out soon after cars were invented?’
While one person from the States took issue with everything from the lack of ‘significant storage’ to well-disguised lights and use of washing up bowls.
‘No closets! Or significant storage,’ she penned. ‘I don’t know if it’s just me, but why are light fixtures /lampshades that don’t show the bulb so hard to find? I hate the inquisitorial glare of the light bulb every time I flip on the overhead light!’
‘Washing-up bowls – what’s wrong with using the sink?’
One person from America told how they have always been baffled by the lack of ‘significant storage’ in the UK (pictured)
Another took issue with the nation only washing their bedding and cleaning the toilet ‘once a fortnight,’ while a further questioned the lack of fans and air conditioning in the summer.
‘I will never understand this and it puts me off staying anywhere but my own home in the hot months, and no one else seems to be bothered by the heat and are just happy to sweat?’ wrote one. ‘Or have just one fan for a whole house? And staying in a hotel with no AC and a duvet, omg I could cry.
‘Everyone goes on about global warming, but you mention a fan and suddenly no one needs to own one as apparently it’s only hot two weeks of the year?’
A further, who lives in the UK but is not originally from the country, also complained about the ‘lack of tumble dryers as standard.’
Another commented on why the UK and other European countries lack fan and air conditioning – despite the heat now lasting months (pictured)
And when it came to confusions noted in the US, people didn’t hold back either – with toilets and air con being the most common topics.
‘Air con in American restaurants set at 16 degrees in the Summer. If I ate in a UK restaurant that cold I would complain and ask them to put the heat on,’ wrote one, while a second asked why the toilets look like they’re about to overflow.
He recalled: ‘I remember thinking “if I flush that, it’s going to flood the place”. There’s hardly any water in British toilets.’
A third asked why Americans write dates backwards, adding: ‘Why have month and then the date instead of what everyone else around the world does?’
One person recalled: ‘When I lived in the US in 2008…I hunted for weeks for a kettle and eventually found one in a chemist’ (pictured)