What’s totally acceptable and completely normal in one country might get you some funny looks elsewhere. Or, in other words, welcome to Planet Earth where there are loads of different countries and cultures that are bound to blow your mind when you travel.
This time, we’re looking at the differences between the United States and the United Kingdom. Even though both countries have a ‘special relationship’ (not to mention a rocky initial history together), far from everything is the same there. Hopping ‘over the pond’ means traveling a large distance both physically and culturally, too. Like you'd expect when going to any new country when you fly abroad.
Redditor TownImmediate9060 went on r/AskReddit and wanted to find out what’s socially acceptable in the US but would be horrifying in the UK. The thread went viral and the responses made us seriously realize the extent of the differences between the two allies. Check out some of the best answers below and remember to upvote your fave ones, dear Pandas.
#1
Making tea in a microwave.
Image credits: fantsukissa
#2
Paying more than the price you see on a price tag in a shop due to taxes. WTF just put how much it costs!
Image credits: gibsterminator
#3
Politicians mentioning religion when campaigning
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Britain continues to use soft power to spread its influence abroad. Its cultural impact is off the charts. Just consider how influential the Harry Potter books, musicians like Ed Sheeran, and football entities like the Premier League really are.
They’re known and respected globally. As such, the UK’s able to draw in plenty of tourists (global pandemic notwithstanding because it’s hit everyone badly) and students from abroad because it remains at the forefront of people’s minds.
#4
Chatting casually at the lift.
Image credits: Maleficent_Chance
#5
Anything taking over an hour to get to being a "short trip"
Image credits: Drakeskulled_Reaper
#6
Addressing a stranger as ‘Sir’
Image credits: UnsaddledZigadenus
However, research shows that the confusion and uncertainty around the long-term effects that Brexit, the UK’s exit from the European Union, will have slightly dampened the country’s influence abroad.
Meanwhile, the British Council found that it’s actually culture, not politics, that deepens the ties between the UK and the US. And it’s culture that’s going to play a vital role in the future of both nations as well.
#7
Greeters in supermarkets. Just feels fake.
Image credits: smokingthegateway
#8
Overworking. It's rewarded and encouraged in the U.S., but during my time in the U.K. my colleagues were horrified by the long hours and lack of holidays that was the norm in the U.S.
Image credits: CuriousAboutLife0
#9
I’ve learned from my British friends that you have to be very careful giving peace signs. If you have your hand facing a certain way, it’s like a “f**k you” in the UK basically, whereas in the US it doesn’t matter which way it’s facing really. Several years ago I sent them a picture with me doing an “incorrect” peace sign and they were appalledETA: The offensive version is where your palm is facing inwards
Image credits: Hawkholly
“Culture and history were the two top rated factors contributing to the UK’s attractiveness among American respondents, with 43% identifying ‘cultural and historic attractions’ as a major draw and 42% identifying ‘history,’” the British Council explains what it discovered in its research.
#10
An $800, four-block ambulance ride.
Image credits: jeff_the_nurse
#11
Huge portion sizes. Kids meal in U.S is like a adult meal in U.K.
Image credits: Revolutionary_Ad5901
#12
My (British) partner & I (American) were in London, running late to meet our friends. Just as we get to the tube station, I see our train has just pulled in; we haul ass across platform and I yell, “HOLD THE DOOR.” Someone does, we make the train, I don’t see a problem. My partner, by contrast, is mortified. This was 4-5 years ago & he is still mortified. Apparently we were meant to just...let the train leave? Without us?? & wait for the next one???
Image credits: Ok-Cryptographer8906
Despite some of the more superficial cultural differences between the US and the UK, both nations appear to care about pretty much the same issues.
“The research showed a high degree of shared concern about global issues among young people in both countries with poverty, extremism/terrorism, and climate change as the top factors chosen by young people in both the US and UK,” the British Council found. “The research suggests the relationship between the two countries is at root a cultural as much as a political phenomenon, and viewed in those terms it is indeed special.”
#13
A rubber in England is not the same as a rubber in the US.
Image credits: Butwaip
#14
Driving everywhere.In the UK it's perfectly normal to have your kid walk to school and walking to the shops to do your shopping.
Image credits: X0AN
#15
Gaps in bathroom stalls
Image credits: 8xxx5
Ironically, the actual term ‘special relationship’ sees very little use in the US, primarily being a British way of categorizing the tight bonds between the two nations. However, this doesn’t change the fact that both countries are very much skipping along arm-in-arm, primarily admiring each other’s cultural output (leaving politics a secondary concern).
#16
When somebody says you should come to their house sometime, actually going by their house sometime.
Image credits: Overall_Dependent_43
#17
Americans will ask 'How ya doing?' but not really expect an answer.
Image credits: thefirstdetective
#18
Not wanting to call for an ambulance if hurt
Image credits: EdgeofaBlade998
Redditor TownImmediate9060’s thread about the differences between the US and the UK was a roaring success. It got more than 67.7k upvotes in just over a week. What’s more, the thread got over 51k comments which just goes to show that the OP hit the nail on the head and chose a niche topic that plenty of folks were interested in.
The thread also got over 300 awards, proving that TownImmediate9060’s fellow Reddit users really appreciated them asking the question in the first place.
#19
Saying “hello” when you pass people.
Image credits: Interesting_Shock788
#20
Telling me how much the tip is going to be.
Image credits: dumbdoogy
#21
Asking new neighbors, "Have you found a church yet?"
Image credits: boganvegan
What’s your opinion about the relationship between the US and the UK, dear Readers? What, in your opinion, makes this relationship between the two special? What do you think are the main cultural differences between Americans and Brits? Let us know what you think in the comment section below. We’d absolutely love to get your take on this, especially if you’re currently living in the US or the UK.
#22
Responding to work emails while on leave/vacation.
Image credits: rekharai
#23
high fructose corn syrup
Image credits: itssteveninnit
#24
"Bum bag", not "fanny pack".
Image credits: VapoursAndSpleen
#25
Bragging about how expensive something was.In the US "this is a $100 shirt" ...smug face
In the UK "can you believe I got this whole suit for £25!" ...smug face
#26
Spray on cheese#27
Chanting the acronym of your country at any given opportunity.#28
Cashiers being forced to stand... give them a chair you masochists#29
Healthcare that bankrupts you
Image credits: chhurry
#30
Asking for a tour of their house. *SHUDDERS*#31
Not horrifying but pausing a show or event to ask members of the military to stand up for an applause would be weird over here.#32
The fake enthusiasm that everyone knows is fake but everyone buys into and plays along with.I'm Irish but work for a company that has a very large UK client and a very large US client and I don't really see that fake enthusiasm coming from the Brits. You might get the odd person but everyone will just think they're a wanker where as with the yanks it's on a whole other level. Gets pretty dry when absolutely everything is "awesome".
#33
When my Brit friends were visiting, they were horrified when the waiter took their credit card to swipe back at the terminal. This made them REALLY uncomfortable.#34
Driving a massive lifted truck#35
Refuse a drink to a grown-ass taxpaying 20 year old#36
Putting dye in your meat. Like wtf#37
A lot of ice in drinks. My grandfather visited Ireland and asked for ice in his drink. He said the people at the restaurant were confused and gave him two ice cubes.#38
Labelling the winner of a sports tournament that only your country plays as ‘World Champions’Calling Football ‘Soccer’
#39
Talking about money. It's a bad habit of our never to discuss wages.#40
Chatting with a stranger on the street. I do it all the time. My best friend is English. It horrifies him.I said “how do you meet new people, like to date?”
“Oh, we get positively trashed in a pub and then it can happen.”
#41
Talking so loud that everyone within 100 meters can hear what you are saying.Whooping. Just don't Chad, you aren't on a bucka-roo now.
Listing your positive qualities like you are in a job interview, but in a normal conversation. You must only speak ill of yourself.
#42
Saying someone has a lot of spunk#43
Offering full-time employees anything less than 28 days of paid holidays per year - it's not only socially unacceptable - it's illegal!#44
New mothers going back to work almost immediately after giving birth, because they don’t have paid maternity leave#45
How much sugar is added to US food v UK food.#46
Looking around someone's house and complimenting things#47
As I found out is done in another thread the other day "eating sandwiches without butter on the bread" being from the UK this horrifies me.#48
All of these are super low hanging fruit.I'd say, being very sociable with strangers.
Most conversation I've seen down here in cornwall is started when there's a car crash and people are gossiping about it or you live in a small town/village and you know the people around you.
Going to america and having someone strike up a conversation while I'm minding my own business or when im trying to go somewhere was strange for me.
#49
Iced tea#50
Naming your child Randy.British people ITT: wait, people don't really name their child Randy, do they?
Americans: what's wrong with Randy?
#51
Always horrified by the ads - both the content and the recurrence! Bloody hell, all your TV has like an ad a minute#52
Maybe not “social” acceptance but in the US you can turn right on a red light. No turning left on a red light for us Brits.#53
As a Brit in the US, this is a fun one!Pharmaceutical adverts on the TV are still weird af to me
The length and frequency of commercial breaks in general on TV is shocking
Low hanging fruit, but anything relating to child beauty pageants just makes me feel physically sick
Here's a nice one: taking 20+ minutes to help a complete stranger who is struggling with something. The amount of times a total stranger has stopped to assist me or someone I know? Y'all really make my heart melt!
#54
I don’t know how common it actually is there, but going fucking wild at the cinema during a hugely popular film like Avengers: Endgame or a Star Wars film. There’s a bunch of videos on YouTube of the audience reactions to various big franchise films and I don’t know how anybody lasts more than a few minutes in that room.When I saw The Force Awakens, like two people half-heartedly cheered when the title screen came up and then someone immediately told them to shut up.
#55
When someone says, 'make yourself at home' actually making yourself at home#56
Coming from the perspective of a British guy, your style of customer service. Not universally, but very commonly, it’s way too over the top for us.#57
Not pronouncing the 'h' in 'herbs'.#58
Cutting lines for things, I’ve seen some people when going to Disney world trying to cut lines for random reasons. Queueing in the uk is like our national sport#59
When waiters/waitresses start clearing plates when some people at the table are still eating. In the UK this is so rude and you wait until everyone is finished#60
strangers asking "where" not if you go to church.#61
Yelling at customer service staff#62
That whole thing where American kids pledge their allegiance to the flag. That is completely weird and scarily totalitarian to us Brits.#63
Calling "Where's Wally" "Where's Waldo".#64
I was in Japan once and there was a vending machine selling beer outside my hotel room.So, being British, I bought a can and went to the elevator where I shared an excruciating couple of minutes with two American business men. They were horrified at my early day drinking, and I at their willingness to express this.
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