cultural differences galore
welcome to watchmojo.com and today we’re
counting down our picks for the top 10
things Europeans find strange about
America
before we begin we publish new content
every day so be sure to subscribe to our
channel and ring the bell to get
notified about our latest videos for
this list we’re looking at things that
are prevalent in America but that are
done differently in Europe of course
Europe is a large place and we
understand that not all of the customs
practices or habits we’re listening will
feel odd to all Europeans in all regions
number 10 how are you of course there
are regional variations on the question
how are you in Europe but the words how
are you as a greeting is a relatively
foreign concept to many Europeans in
America asking how are you is expected
to be followed with a short and concise
find thanks the asker is simply being
polite it almost never expects an honest
or lengthy response it’s simply a way to
say hello however ask a European the
same question and they may actually get
into it as this is rarely used as a form
of greeting overseas number 9 the
measurement system – most of Europe and
most of the world for that matter the
United States use of the Imperial system
is simply mind-boggling most of the
world has adopted the metric system but
the United States remains one of the few
areas of the world to stick with
Imperial of course there are a few
exceptions for example the Imperial
system is still widely used by the
British
despite metric being the official system
with Imperial units still commonly used
for things like speed road signs
distance weight and volume however a
large majority of Europe employs the
metric system and to them things like
feet and miles are completely foreign
concepts number 8 pharmacys acting as
convenience stores in America pharmacies
and convenience stores are basically
interchangeable you can walk in get a
prescription filled and pick up some
beer and cigarettes while you wait in
many areas throughout Europe and the
rest of the world cigarettes and beer
are a huge no-no in pharmacies in fact
before the mid 2000s many European
pharmacies were extremely strict even
relatively harmless things like
ibuprofen and vitam
were hidden behind the counter while
many areas of Europe have opened up the
availability of drugs it’s still
extremely rare to see cigarettes and
alcohol right beside the prescription
counter number seven strict alcohol laws
when it comes to alcohol few countries
are as strict as the United States not
only is alcohol relatively cheap in
Europe especially wine but Europeans are
also much more relaxed when it comes to
alcohol regulation the mandated drinking
age in America is 21 and some states
banned those under 21 from entering bars
even if they’re not drinking in
Washington possession of alcohol under
21 may even land you in prison on the
other hand some countries in Europe like
Denmark and France do not have a legal
drinking age and the minimum age for
purchasing alcohol can be as low as 16
pollak drinking is also often acceptable
despite being widely forbidden in the
United States number six
American patriotism patriotism
is rampant across America flags are
proudly hoisted on houses and lawns
national anthem is sung at events and
some even take great pride in their
weapons another hallmark of the American
Constitution that feels alien to many
outsiders while Europeans undoubtedly
love their respective countries of
origin the patriotism is nowhere near
the fever levels exhibited in the States
national identity just doesn’t seem to
carry the same weight while certain
types of American patriotism may be on
the decline in today’s political climate
it’s still ungodly a facet of American
life for which there is no European
equivalent number 5 expensive
post-secondary education quite frankly
post-secondary education in the United
States is ridiculously expensive
according to college board tuition
ranges between a modest thirty-five
hundred dollars a year for a public
2-year College 225 thousand dollars for
a four-year out-of-state – nearly 35,000
for a private non-profit not including
room and board these prices would be
faint inducing for most Europeans in
places like Austria Denmark and Germany
tuition is completely free for domestic
students while other countries like
Belgium France and Italy provide tuition
for less than a thousand dollars a year
of course there are some expensive area
like the United Kingdom where tuition
can cost around nine thousand pounds a
year which equates to roughly twelve
thousand US dollars number four the
health care system this is a potentially
controversial difference but a
difference nonetheless universal health
care varies between European nations
with some being publicly sponsored and
others publicly provided but the fact
remains that practically all of Europe
is covered under the umbrella of
universal health care countries like
Austria France Italy and the Netherlands
among many others are covered under
universal health care America does not
have such a system in place with some
even calling the idea of universal
health care socialized medicine coverage
has increased under the Affordable Care
Act and as of 2017 92 percent of
Americans had some form of health
insurance but only time will tell what
the future holds for health care in
America number three such little
vacation time vacation time is certainly
a touchy and controversial subject in
America many Americans do get paid
vacation but the allot of time is
relatively limited usually two or three
weeks and annual paid leave is not a
right that many Americans enjoy US law
does not guarantee a single day of paid
vacation or paid public holiday and as
reported in 2012 only 77 percent of
private employers even offer paid
holidays countries in the European Union
must provide their workers at least four
weeks of paid vacation every year some
countries including France Luxembourg
Sweden and Austria can allow up to seven
weeks or more vacation when including
paid public holidays
number two prices displayed without tax
if a European tourist finds themselves
in an American Walmart they may find
themselves a little confused when they
go up to the cache and discover that the
price is higher than what they read on
the tag that’s because American stores
display their prices before tax some
states like Oregon and Montana do not
have a state sales tax but some states
can add an additional six or seven
percent onto your bill in the EU all
prices must be displayed with the
inclusion of taxes and other additional
charges so the price at the cash always
equals the price on display before we
unveil our number one
here are some honorable mentions number
one tipping eating out at a restaurant
is an extremely different beast in
Europe than it is in America not only
are the portion sizes much smaller but
also the server’s aren’t constantly
checking in on you and you’re not
expected to leave a tip however if you
feel like your service was simply
magnificent and worthy of a little
something extra a tip of five percent is
more than sufficient however American
servers often rely on tips to make a
living and leaving a tip as high as 15
or 20 percent it’s generally expected
not tipping your waiter is seen as a
highly offensive gesture we’ve all seen
Reservoir Dogs do you agree with our
picks check out these other great clips
from WatchMojo and be sure to subscribe
and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos
welcome to watchmojo.com and today we’re
counting down our picks for the top 10
things Europeans find strange about
America
before we begin we publish new content
every day so be sure to subscribe to our
channel and ring the bell to get
notified about our latest videos for
this list we’re looking at things that
are prevalent in America but that are
done differently in Europe of course
Europe is a large place and we
understand that not all of the customs
practices or habits we’re listening will
feel odd to all Europeans in all regions
number 10 how are you of course there
are regional variations on the question
how are you in Europe but the words how
are you as a greeting is a relatively
foreign concept to many Europeans in
America asking how are you is expected
to be followed with a short and concise
find thanks the asker is simply being
polite it almost never expects an honest
or lengthy response it’s simply a way to
say hello however ask a European the
same question and they may actually get
into it as this is rarely used as a form
of greeting overseas number 9 the
measurement system – most of Europe and
most of the world for that matter the
United States use of the Imperial system
is simply mind-boggling most of the
world has adopted the metric system but
the United States remains one of the few
areas of the world to stick with
Imperial of course there are a few
exceptions for example the Imperial
system is still widely used by the
British
despite metric being the official system
with Imperial units still commonly used
for things like speed road signs
distance weight and volume however a
large majority of Europe employs the
metric system and to them things like
feet and miles are completely foreign
concepts number 8 pharmacys acting as
convenience stores in America pharmacies
and convenience stores are basically
interchangeable you can walk in get a
prescription filled and pick up some
beer and cigarettes while you wait in
many areas throughout Europe and the
rest of the world cigarettes and beer
are a huge no-no in pharmacies in fact
before the mid 2000s many European
pharmacies were extremely strict even
relatively harmless things like
ibuprofen and vitam
were hidden behind the counter while
many areas of Europe have opened up the
availability of drugs it’s still
extremely rare to see cigarettes and
alcohol right beside the prescription
counter number seven strict alcohol laws
when it comes to alcohol few countries
are as strict as the United States not
only is alcohol relatively cheap in
Europe especially wine but Europeans are
also much more relaxed when it comes to
alcohol regulation the mandated drinking
age in America is 21 and some states
banned those under 21 from entering bars
even if they’re not drinking in
Washington possession of alcohol under
21 may even land you in prison on the
other hand some countries in Europe like
Denmark and France do not have a legal
drinking age and the minimum age for
purchasing alcohol can be as low as 16
pollak drinking is also often acceptable
despite being widely forbidden in the
United States number six
American patriotism patriotism
is rampant across America flags are
proudly hoisted on houses and lawns
national anthem is sung at events and
some even take great pride in their
weapons another hallmark of the American
Constitution that feels alien to many
outsiders while Europeans undoubtedly
love their respective countries of
origin the patriotism is nowhere near
the fever levels exhibited in the States
national identity just doesn’t seem to
carry the same weight while certain
types of American patriotism may be on
the decline in today’s political climate
it’s still ungodly a facet of American
life for which there is no European
equivalent number 5 expensive
post-secondary education quite frankly
post-secondary education in the United
States is ridiculously expensive
according to college board tuition
ranges between a modest thirty-five
hundred dollars a year for a public
2-year College 225 thousand dollars for
a four-year out-of-state – nearly 35,000
for a private non-profit not including
room and board these prices would be
faint inducing for most Europeans in
places like Austria Denmark and Germany
tuition is completely free for domestic
students while other countries like
Belgium France and Italy provide tuition
for less than a thousand dollars a year
of course there are some expensive area
like the United Kingdom where tuition
can cost around nine thousand pounds a
year which equates to roughly twelve
thousand US dollars number four the
health care system this is a potentially
controversial difference but a
difference nonetheless universal health
care varies between European nations
with some being publicly sponsored and
others publicly provided but the fact
remains that practically all of Europe
is covered under the umbrella of
universal health care countries like
Austria France Italy and the Netherlands
among many others are covered under
universal health care America does not
have such a system in place with some
even calling the idea of universal
health care socialized medicine coverage
has increased under the Affordable Care
Act and as of 2017 92 percent of
Americans had some form of health
insurance but only time will tell what
the future holds for health care in
America number three such little
vacation time vacation time is certainly
a touchy and controversial subject in
America many Americans do get paid
vacation but the allot of time is
relatively limited usually two or three
weeks and annual paid leave is not a
right that many Americans enjoy US law
does not guarantee a single day of paid
vacation or paid public holiday and as
reported in 2012 only 77 percent of
private employers even offer paid
holidays countries in the European Union
must provide their workers at least four
weeks of paid vacation every year some
countries including France Luxembourg
Sweden and Austria can allow up to seven
weeks or more vacation when including
paid public holidays
number two prices displayed without tax
if a European tourist finds themselves
in an American Walmart they may find
themselves a little confused when they
go up to the cache and discover that the
price is higher than what they read on
the tag that’s because American stores
display their prices before tax some
states like Oregon and Montana do not
have a state sales tax but some states
can add an additional six or seven
percent onto your bill in the EU all
prices must be displayed with the
inclusion of taxes and other additional
charges so the price at the cash always
equals the price on display before we
unveil our number one
here are some honorable mentions number
one tipping eating out at a restaurant
is an extremely different beast in
Europe than it is in America not only
are the portion sizes much smaller but
also the server’s aren’t constantly
checking in on you and you’re not
expected to leave a tip however if you
feel like your service was simply
magnificent and worthy of a little
something extra a tip of five percent is
more than sufficient however American
servers often rely on tips to make a
living and leaving a tip as high as 15
or 20 percent it’s generally expected
not tipping your waiter is seen as a
highly offensive gesture we’ve all seen
Reservoir Dogs do you agree with our
picks check out these other great clips
from WatchMojo and be sure to subscribe
and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos
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