America: land of the free, home of the brave, and apparently, headquarters for habits that make the rest of the world go, “Wait… what?”
If you think apple pie and baseball are the only things making foreigners scratch their heads, think again. Here are 12 everyday American things that are completely normal here but send everyone else into a cultural tailspin.
1. Free Refills
In America, your soda glass is a bottomless pit. In Europe? You finish your Coke, that’s it. Game over. People abroad are baffled that servers keep filling your glass like you’re some parched deity.
Do we really need 64 ounces of Dr. Pepper though? (Yes. Yes, we do.)
2. Sales Tax Shenanigans
Only in the U.S. can you pick up an item marked $4.99 and somehow owe $5.37 at checkout. Americans casually do mental math on the fly while tourists stand there blinking in horror.
Should stores just include sales tax in the price like literally everyone else?
3. Super-Sized Grocery Stores
Abroad: small markets with daily fresh produce.
America: grocery stores the size of airport hangars. You go in for bread, you come out with a kayak, an air fryer, and family-size Cheetos.
What’s the weirdest thing you’ve impulse-bought at a big-box store?
4. Air Conditioning Overload
Step inside any U.S. building in summer and prepare for your eyelashes to freeze. Visitors often bring jackets into malls in July. Americans see A/C as a birthright. Everyone else? Seasonal hypothermia victims.
5. Flags. Everywhere.
Other countries have flags. America is the flag. On lawns, T-shirts, bumper stickers, swimsuits, socks—you name it. To outsiders, it feels like a Fourth of July parade exploded across the nation.
Remember those Old Navy flag tees? Yeah, we all had one.
6. Drive-Thru Everything
Banking. Pharmacy. Coffee. Wedding chapels. Americans will avoid getting out of their cars at all costs. Foreigners marvel at the sheer dedication to staying seated.
Is this efficiency or the beginning of WALL-E society?
7. Tipping Culture
Tipping 20% is second nature to Americans. To tourists? It’s financial calculus mixed with social anxiety. Some countries don’t tip at all. Welcome to America—where dining out means doing math homework.
8. Massive Portion Sizes
“Do you want a small?” hands over a bucket. Foreign visitors regularly post TikToks of American meals that could feed a family of six. To us, it’s called “lunch.”
9. Pharmacy Aisles of Doom
Why buy one headache remedy when you can choose from an entire aisle? Foreigners enter American drugstores and immediately experience decision paralysis.
Also: Why do our pharmacies sell everything from birth control to beef jerky? Riddle me that.
10. Cheerleaders & School Spirit
To the rest of the world, school is where you endure math, not where entire towns show up to cheer on 15-year-olds. Pep rallies? Mascots? Homecoming kings and queens? It’s a teen movie fever dream come to life.
11. Peanut Butter Obsession
In Europe, Nutella reigns supreme. In America, it’s peanut butter or bust. We spread it on bread, apples, pretzels—heck, some of us eat it with a spoon.
Hot take: Crunchy or creamy? (This will divide families.)
12. Smiling at Strangers
Say “hi” to a random passerby in London or Berlin and you’ll get a look that could curdle milk. In America, it’s normal—almost mandatory—to smile, nod, or even strike up a chat in line at Target.
Debate starter: Friendly or fake? Drop your thoughts.
So, What Did We Miss?
We know there are way more weirdly normal U.S. habits out there. Hit the comments with your own “only in America” observations—or call us out if you think some of these are actually brilliant (looking at you, bottomless Dr. Pepper lovers).
And while you’re at it, don’t miss these other spicy takes:
- Things Americans Do That Baffle The Rest of the World
- 10 Overrated Foods That People Pretend to Like (Don’t @ Me)
- 7 Ways People Accidentally Prove They’re Selfish
Debate. Reminisce. Rage. Repeat.