Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

The Most Obvious Signs That Someone's An American

Tourists
man and woman standing beside concrete seawall looking at beach

Whenever we visit a foreign country, we always want to try and blend in with the locals.

But be it our clothes, our accents, or just our scared, vacant expressions, sometimes, blending in is simply impossible.

Particularly for Americans.

Indeed, American tourists have several unfortunate stereotypes associated with them, which people all over the world can spot instantly.

No matter how hard Americans may, or may not, try to hide it.


Redditor Ermland2 was curious to hear what people considered the telltale signs someone was American, leading them to ask:
"What’s an obvious sign someone’s American?"

It's All In The Greeting.

"In Salzburg I went to grab something from the drug store."

"As I was checking out I said hello to the cashier (thinking there was very little difference between how I said it and how Austrians say it)."

"She immediately started speaking to me in English and I asked her how she knew I spoke English."

"She deadpan stared me in the eye and goes 'hellloooo'."

"I just about died laughing since I'm a very stereotypical friendly American that says hello exactly like that."

"One of my favorite memories from that trip."- Ted_Dance_Son

"‘Hey, how are ya?'."- vorifo2709·

"Che Strano"!

"An Italian told me that Americans walk confidently in the wrong direction."- MagazineOk6401

kevin hart running GIF by ADWEEKGiphy

Can't Deny This One...

"They want ice in their water."- gianna_in_hell_as·

Just A Turn Of Phrase

"'How's your day going?;" or 'how are you doing?' in completely random circumstances."- KanyeWest_Official

"Incredibly loud but incredibly friendly."- Caozpox

Captain America Lol GIF by mtvGiphy

Sometimes They Do Actually Put Their Money Where Their Mouth Is

"I worked as a cashier in a touristic place in Paris."

" I always recognized Americans because they were kinda friendly to me and they always left tips."- Aterakel

Asking Questions They Don't Want The Answer To

"Retail worker here, not living in the US."

"I can generally spot an American because they greet me with 'hey how are you?"

"And since I usually have the standard 'tired from life' retail worker expression at first I thought they were mocking me so I didn't know how to react."

"Took me a while to realize they weren't really expecting an answer lmao"

"Mind you, might just be my personal experience but it's happened too many times for it to be a coincidence."- 8Eriade8

"When I lived in Spain, the barista at Starbucks immediately knew I was American because how polite I was."

"I asked him how he knew I was American and he told me, 'In Spain, we don’t usually respond with ‘Good, and you.’ Americans are so polite whereas Spaniards will just say ‘Give me my coffee'."

"So, I stopped responding nicely and baristas wouldn’t speak to me in English anymore."

"Culture clash!"

"I just want to clarify and say that my story only really applies to a niche people in Spain."

"This does not represent the whole country."

"Just a few rude bad apples."

"For the most part, people in the country are nice and people in the city too."

"The barista was simply remarking on Americans and our penchant to be overly polite."

"Customer service have to deal with a lot of rude and unkind people, same in America."- Agitated-Coyote768

Adventure Time Coffee GIF by hoppipGiphy

What Are You Smiling At?...

"The gentle grins you give to strangers if you make eye contact with them as you pass by, at least in the Midwest."

"Was not well received in Germany."- Vkazioa

...And What Are You Looking At?

"Eye contact."

"Maybe a smile and a 'how’s it goin?'"- A_Man_Who_Writes

Keep Your Distance

"How much personal space they give themselves."

"Americans like at LEAST an arm's length."- Zonerdrone

Get Away No GIF by Kathryn DeanGiphy

"When You're Not Strong, I'll Be Your Friend..."

"According to the cia- when training to be a spy- you have to unlearn how to lean."

"Americans tend to lean on things when standing still."- chonesmcskidds

It's All About The Volume

"To quote a Latvian woman I met at a hostel: you hear them coming like the thunder."

"More often than not, if they’re talking and laughing louder than everyone else, they’re American."- MCRN_Lopez

The Truth Behind The Grin

"One American I've met was a bit stereotypical in some regards."

"He was on a biking tour from Sweden to Palestine, had an unusual beard, huge white teeth, was extremely friendly and a bit loud, and he literally carried a bucket of peanut butter with him because he said that was the most efficient way to carry energy for his travel."

"I was an intern at a software company that just got bought by a huge American company (Warner I think) and one time some executives were visiting, walked through our office complimenting all the developers loudly and then disappeared again."

"My general impression of Americans I've met in person is that it's difficult to see what you guys really think and feel, because you seem to hide it behind a layer of aggressive cheerfulness."

"So when I see someone radiating that, I expect them to be from the US."- Netcob

Snl Smile GIF by Saturday Night LiveGiphy

Of course, not everyone is ashamed of being an American, and will make no trouble hiding it.

Then again, even if they did, they most likely wouldn't have been able to fool anybody...

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Alex Cooper singing 'Take Me Out to the Ballgame'
@MBDChicago/Twitter (X)

'Call Her Daddy' Host Alex Cooper Gets Brutally Booed At Wrigley Field After Painfully Off-Key Singing

If there's one thing that all baseball fans can come together about, it's the importance of their traditions—and songs.

In the seventh inning at Wrigley Field during a match between the Cubs and the Cardinals, popular Call Her Daddy podcast host Alex Cooper was invited to sing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" and brought two backup dancers with her.

Keep ReadingShow less
Linda Yaccarino
Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

X CEO Resigns Day After AI Chatbot Grok Praised Hitler In Alarming Series Of Antisemitic Tweets

Linda Yaccarino—the former NBC Universal executive who later took the reins at X—stepped down as CEO of billionaire Elon Musk's platform after two years on the job just a day after Grok, the platform's AI chatbot, went on antisemitic rants and openly praised Adolf Hitler.

Grok issued deeply antisemitic responses on Tuesday following a reported software update that encouraged the bot to embrace what developers described as the “politically incorrect.” Taking that directive to heart, Grok responded with a series of disturbing posts that included praise for Hitler and even a statement expressing its aspiration to become a “digital version” of the Nazi leader.

Keep ReadingShow less
Black and white photo of a falling spider.
Photo by CHUTTERSNAP on Unsplash

People Divulge Their 'Rare' Phobias That People Refuse To Believe

I am a SEVERE claustrophobic.

I have struggled with this issue for decades.

Keep ReadingShow less
Ted Cruz
Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images

'The Onion' Rips Ted Cruz With Brutal Headline After Yet Another Vacation During Texas Disaster

The satirical news site The Onion had social media users cackling with its brutal headline mocking Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz for once again being out of the country when Texas was hit by another deadly natural disaster.

Cruz faced considerable national backlash after he flew to Cancún while millions of people went without food and water as a result of the February 2021 Texas power disaster. At least 246 people were killed directly or indirectly; some estimates suggested as many as 702 people were killed as a result of the crisis.

Keep ReadingShow less
Elon Musk and Grimes
Kevin Tachman/Getty Images for Vogue

Elon Musk's Ex Grimes Calls X Platform A 'Poison' And 'Theatre' After Social Media Hiatus

Claire Boucher—who performs and creates under her stage name Grimes, but prefers her birth name or just "C" offstage—recently returned to her musical persona's social media accounts after taking a hiatus for her own well-being.

Once extremely active, she noted on X in April:

Keep ReadingShow less