Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Break Down The Things That Are Normal In Their Country But Weird In Another

People Break Down The Things That Are Normal In Their Country But Weird In Another
Angela Compagnone on Unsplash

Traveling beyond our border countries is a great way to experience different cultures.


While there are many things we have in common with people from around the world, there are as equally–if not more–customs and protocols that can be jarring.

Curious to hear from those who've seen how those in other parts of the world live, Redditor ElizaPaukova asked:

"Which is normal in your country, but strange in another?"Want to "know" more?

People's interactions with animals depend on where they live.

What's Hopping?

"Getting your car smashed in by a kangaroo one day, then having your suspension wrecked by a wombat two weeks later."

– QuantumTopology

Foul Fellows

"Being terrified of common neighbourhood birds every spring."

– Pseudonymico

Arach-NO

"Spiders the size of softballs that live in your house and are good at getting rid of bugs."

– I_hate_people69

A Tame Transport

"Bagged milk and riding a moose to the store."

– kotaska-

These foreign concepts may take a while getting used to.

Unattended Little Ones

"leaving babies outside!"

"It is common to put babies to sleep in a stroller and leave them in the garden or balcony, even outside a café (if you can sit next to the door or windows, so you can see the stroller)."

– PossiblyTrustworthy

They Tell Us When To Go

"Calling traffic lights 'robots.'"

– Upset-Sea6029

What's In A Name

"We call randoms mate and our mates c*nts."

– Skydome12

Effective Meds

"Custom meds. I recently found out that in most countries, you can't just go into a pharmacy / drug store with a prescription and have the pharmacist prepare a set of pills / ointment / cream for you."

"I used to have severe dandruff problems, went into a pharmacy and asked for something. The pharmacist asked how severe / for how long / what kind of shampoo I have and how greasy my hair is and told me to come back two days later. She handed me a container with a cream-like substance in it which just had a handwritten label on with saying '[My name] - Dandruff Shampoo'. I paid the equivalent of $4 and was told to use it twice a week for no longer than a month."

"Never had any problems with dandruff since. I made a post about it in r/tifu about how I'd been neglecting my dandruff problems for years while it had such an easy fix and people kept PMing me about the brand of the drug. Everyone was incredulous that the pharmacist made the shampoo for me, and I found out that this isn't the norm in a lot of countries."

– Corvus_Manufaktura

Bottoms Up

"Bringing the leftover alcohol you brought to a party home. I live in Norway and a beer is anywhere from £3 to £5. Hard liquor is atleast £40 per litre, but for something that doesn't taste like hand sanitizer it's around £50-60."

– jespersolost

Birthday Ritual

"Celebrating birthdays while sitting in a big circle in the living room, eating small blocks of cheese, little sausages and pickles, then going home on your bicycle."

– Vonne_F

Varying states of undress do not phase certain people in other countries.

Barefootin'

"Doing P.E barefoot, I'm from South Africa and moved to Scotland 3 years ago as I left the changing room they were like 'you forgot your shoes my guy' and I was like 'oh yeah, you guys wear shoes for p.e?' And the guy said 'Uhm of course' then I realised they were indoors majority of the time which was f'king bonkers to me because p.e in South Africa is done on the grass, outside and stuff and shoes were optional unless you were doing a sport or something."

"I mean even during sports events some people do that sh*t barefoot like long jump or high jump or even running and I feel like I run faster barefoot than with shoes so if I did a race I would always go 'alright well I'm up time to get my shoes off.'"

–jaknuggetf'k

Comfy In The Buff

"Nudity among strangers."
"I'm Finnish."
"#sauna"

– LupusCutis

Shoe-Free Zone

"Walking around bare foot, or in your pyjamas."

– Genderless_mystery

Not tipping will still be very confusing to me when traveling abroad.

I caught myself leaving a tip for the excellent service at a restaurant in Japan, and remembering the country–and most other parts of the world–do not accept tips.

Yet, their service was exceptional compared to that of the servers at some establishments in the US–where service is incentivized with the promise of a tip. Go figure.

Want to "know" more?

Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.

Never miss another big, odd, funny or heartbreaking moment again.

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Donald Trump
Samuel Corum/Getty Images

Trump Dragged After Firing Off Panicked Posts Blaming Everyone But Himself For GOP Losses On Election Night

President Donald Trump was widely mocked after sharing a flurry of posts on Truth Social after it became clear that Democrats were crushing Republicans across the country during yesterday's election.

Democrats won significant victories in races around the country, particularly in Virginia, where Abigail Spanberger became the first woman to the win the governorship in the state's history, and in New York City, where Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist, successfully took on the establishment to become the first South Asian, first Muslim, and first millennial mayor-elect.

Keep ReadingShow less
students in classroom
Maskot/Getty Images

Mom Dragged For Melting Down Over Daughter's Puberty Lesson After Ignoring School's Permission Slip

Delta Ozzimo, a self-identified sex workers' rights activist, sounded off on social media after her pre-teen daughter came home with worksheets depicting basic female anatomy.

Ozzimo, whose right-wing posts include ethnocentric and racist language, initially gained some sympathy for her outrage. The mother claimed she wasn't given a chance to consent to her fifth-grade daughter's participation in a Planned Parenthood-led sex education unit by her school.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Seth Meyers discussing Donald Trump
@MarcoFoster/X

Seth Meyers Responds To Trump's 'Truly Deranged' Personal Attack Against Him With Hilarious Takedown

After President Donald Trump lashed out at late-night host Seth Meyers on Truth Social over the weekend and called him a "truly deranged lunatic," Meyers responded to Trump’s “ranting and raving” about him with a damning supercut on his program.

Trump apparently tuned in to Thursday night’s episode of Late Night with Seth Meyers, where Meyers poked fun at the president’s complaints about Navy aircraft carriers using electromagnetic catapults instead of traditional steam-powered ones. Meyers joked that Trump "spends more time thinking about catapults than Wile E. Coyote."

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @rootednjoyy's TikTok video
@rootednjoyy/TikTok

Girl's Hilarious Reaction To Getting Divisive Candy For Halloween Caught On Doorbell Cam

In the '80s and '90s, kids were raised with the understanding that they got what they got, and they should say, "Thank you," for what they received. This was true for birthdays, holidays, and trick-or-treating on Halloween, even if they got candy they wanted to throw away the instant they turned the corner.

But kids today are much more communicative about what they like and don't like, and they can be brutal in their bluntness.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Marjorie Taylor Greene
ABC

MTG Just Admitted The Awkward Truth About The Republican Healthcare Plan On 'The View'

Speaking on The View, Georgia Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene spoke about sparring with House Speaker Mike Johnson over healthcare—and revealed that the GOP does not have any replacement for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) despite what Johnson and her fellow congressional conservatives tell the public.

Democrats have continued to reject Republicans’ proposed continuing resolution to keep the government open without considering an extension of the premium tax credit that helps subsidize health insurance for people earning between 100% and 400% of the federal poverty level.

Keep ReadingShow less