American Reacts to the Strangest Things About Americans (according to Brits)

[@EchoGhost10100]

It's mind-boggling how America has all of these school shootings and refuses to do anything about it. When I went to school the only thing I really worried about was grades or social anxiety - not being shot. And the pledge... yeah, it feels very culty. For a country that talks so much about freedom, you don't look very free from an outsider's perspective

[@SweetLotusDreams]

There's plenty of freedom in the US if you are a millionaire. For anyone else, not so much.

[@markwilson7013]

Worse is its a pledge to a flag, not the country. Seems like a moot point until you realise it was invented by a flag company to sell more flags 😂 That's peak capitalism right there 😅

[@hypervortex5930]

yeah in england it took 1 major school shooting for the entire country to pretty much unilaterally have a massive crackdown on gun control and have had no such incident since. i for one feel a lot more free

[@markpolo97]

The big problem with the gun laws is that the right to keep and bear arms is enshrined in the Constitution. Unlike, say, the German Constitution (Grundgesetz), which literally is amended every year, or the British Constitution, which is a nebulous idea related to the sum of British jurisprudence (if I understand correctly), the U.S. Constitution has an extremely high bar to make changes. It requires a 2/3 vote of both Houses of Congress (or 2/3 of states request it, with a Consitutional Convention following). Afterwards it has to be approved by 3/4 of state legisatures, or 3/4 of the state Constitutional Conventions. That's very simply not going to happen any time soon, with the current state of political division. Some limitation through background checks, licensing, and the like, sure, but the basic fact of the "right to keep and bear arms", which "shall not be abridged" is going to trump most more radical efforts.

[@rennnnn914]

@@markpolo97 arms doesn't have to be guns though. The US could limit arms to longswords and spears if it was serious about gun control.

[@LB-my1ej]

I find that Americans are very accepting of anything their country tells them to believe. They accept the terrible healthcare system, the terrible employment culture, the lack of paid holidays or maternity benefits, gun control and a whole plethora of other things that would not be tolerated in most other first world countries

[@paulgreen758]

sadly its not a 1st world country in the sense we know

[@Philippakis52]

Is the U.S.A a first world country

[@paulgreen758]

@@Philippakis52 I dont believe it is in the sense people that we who live in a 1st world country would know.police crime, drugs, shootings, is off the scale, they lead the world in 2 things, Most people in prison and Most people homeless

[@RCassinello]

@@Philippakis52 Yes. The definition of "First World Country" is the USA and countries allied with it. Likewise, the definition of "Second World Country" is Russia and countries allied with it. A "Third World Country" is one neither allied to America or Russia. There are certain connotations which come with these terms, especially "Third World", but technically Switzerland, Ireland, Finland, etc. are all "Third World" countries.

[@TianRunty]

​@RCassinello first world etc is defined by living standards and economy etc, not alliances

[@kaymaylai83]

We had a school shooting once, Dunblane in 1996, as a country we were so horrified the government passed legislation on tighter gun control and thousands of guns were handed into the police and destroyed. It is a ferment hope that we will never see this again in our country.

[@HenryTinker]

It's shocking how there seems to be this disconnect for a lot of Americans. Many don't seem to realise that if there are less guns, less people will be killed. I guess it's because of how much money the industry makes, so people aren't encouraged to be critical of it. It's dystopian that school shootings are normal there.

[@decrulez]

It’s important to note it was the people who pushed for regulation. Americans have fetishised guns far far too much for it to happen.

[@BenBallard13]

Whilst this was terrible an event, it actually ruined tens of thousands of people's livelihoods, affected families because of a primary loss of income, closed down businesses. It destroyed hobby sport shooting and ruined potential future careers as professional competition shooters (mine included). You're also forgetting the Hungerford shooting before that too... Although that was rifles and shotguns. They didn't ban those though.. Why? Because doing so would affect the upper classes and donaters to the lawmakers and government pockets. Governments don't make certain laws to protect the people - they make them to protect themselves and their own self interests.

[@QueenMonny]

Australia did the same thing when Port Arthur happened. The changes may not have happened immediately, but Port Arthur was the impetus.

[@Nicci82]

The bulletproof plates you can buy for small childrens school bags and having to teach them what to do if a shooter comes into the school and opens fire is absolutely horrifying to me.

[@ashhabimran239]

I remember a Shorts video of a Brit who got arrested for having a knife in public, and the comments were full of ignorant Americans complaining about how strict and unfree the UK laws were and that carrying a knife is legal and normal in America, and they had the nerve to say they're grateful for their freedom and grateful that America doesn't have such laws

[@annettemaxwell3816]

I m from England. I refuse to discuss gun ownerhip with Americans. It's just a waste of time. They will argue , until the cows come home, why you should own a gun. This is dispite, all the shootings. Especially shootings in schools. Guns, Religion and politics are just topics. I will not hold a conversation, with when it comes to Americans.

[@stylesforever1297]

@@annettemaxwell3816100%. We’ve had one horrific school shooting at Dunblane and within one week the law was changed !

[@theriddick2735]

It should be horrifying to ANY civilised Westerners.

[@theriddick2735]

​@@annettemaxwell3816Ditto. It's a second amendment issue but times change. Cattle had the right of way in the US but Americans would think that ridiculous today.

[@iandickson7699]

I lived in the US for 18 months as a kid. I did the pledge, and even at 7 was like "this is bonkers". As an adult, it's a sign of insecurity if a country is sensitive about it's flag or rulers. Confidence is quiet :-)

[@lalaj5831]

I found the pledge weird when I was in kindergarten. I did it because I had to but it felt bizarre.

[@Valfara770]

The funny thing is, if you do some research into how the pledge was invented and why: Turns out it was done to sell flags... With the pledge every school needed a flag. Just let that sink in...

[@BenBallard13]

If your national identity is massively entwined with a piece of material dyed pretty colours - you need to change your national identity.

[@donnabert]

You're really over thinking this,

[@lalaj5831]

@@Valfara770 capitalism strikes again

[@keithalanbaker535]

I find it utterly bizarre that the average American has no idea what goes on in the rest of the world outside of it's own country.

[@mattybrunolucaszeneresalas9072]

And the average citizen of your country does?

[@keithalanbaker535]

@@mattybrunolucaszeneresalas9072 Definitely more than the Americans do

[@seldom_bucket]

@@mattybrunolucaszeneresalas9072 yes, the rest of the world is far more aware of international issues and places.... that's why he commented it.

[@bookvee]

@@mattybrunolucaszeneresalas9072 We get visitors to the museum regularly who were under the weird ideas that england is some oliver twist themed theme park, that The entire uk speaks very good "American" for a part of france, and that in a surprising number of cases, Hitler was japanese and that germany was on America's side against japan, who had inexplicably taken over most of europe, so yeah....

[@MK-fc2hn]

​@@missprimproper1022Having read your ignorant list, I assure you they won't miss you one bit. You did them a favour!

[@ellisvoss3292]

Freedom isn't being able to walk around with a gun, It's being able to walk around without the need for one

[@reeseprince8]

Well said

[@arnodobler1096]

Freedom for which you need a weapon, or think you need one, is not freedom!

[@kirstyroth6671]

❤

[@Shellytrifle.]

💯

[@kathytoy5055]

Need a T-shirt.

[@eleayafrost7951]

Circumcision is uncommon in Europe, as a standard thing. It's usually only done for religious purposes, not done "just because". Neither of my sons are circumcised, as I don't believe in mutilating children.

[@seldom_bucket]

It's so crazy they are allowed to mutilate children like it's normal... it's the same thing as someone starting a new nonesense religion and tattooing 'god' on children's privates 😓 We have it in the uk as there is a lot of islam here

[@MrBizteck]

When I lived in the US .. my American GF genuinely screamed and was FACINATED with my .... ahem .. friend ..it was the first time she saw an uncircumcised todgger.

[@mattybrunolucaszeneresalas9072]

That’s all great. But what does that have to do with anything?

[@lukespooky]

​@mattybrunolucaszeneresalas9072 it was discussed in the video and they're commenting on it

[@MsKaz1000]

can't help thinking of that poor kid in Canada when the Dr stuffed up and basically cut his penis off then compounded their mistake by trying to force raise him as a girl

[@Strato5]

As a brit who lived in the us for a few years. I got in trouble plenty of time for not pledging alligence to a foreign country's flag and being made to stand up and do it myself to prove I was. Looking back these days I can't help but feel disgusted at my teachers for it.

[@SilverMKI]

Ironically forcing students to say it is against the 1st ammendment. Even more ironic that as a Brit I know more about it than your American teachers :D

[@donnabert]

Wow. You must have had an easy life if something so minor bothers you so much, Holly crap,

[@SilverMKI]

@@donnabert easier than having your fundamental rights abused?

[@donnabert]

Blimey! A British troll!! Also, as you were not an american citizen you had no fundamental rights, Dah doy, @@SilverMKI

[@davidpowers9178]

​@@donnaberthomie as an American if I was in a foreign school I'm not pledging to crap. I give them that same right. It's odd that I'd expect a foreigner to pledge allegiance to a different country.

[@DannyTheManInBlack]

As a Brit who's visited America 3 times, what always threw me was taking something to the tills in a shop with my money ready only to be charged more, because the tax isn't included in the price. In England the price on the label is with tax included

[@nicolanobili2113]

It's the same all over Europe. And at least in part of Asia.

[@DrasticSkuba]

​@@nicolanobili2113Where in Asia is like that? I've only been to a few places, but I've never seen that here

[@nicolanobili2113]

@@DrasticSkuba I've been to Thailand, for example, and in this respect it is exactly like in Europe. Oh, and the Asian part of Russia

[@B-A-L]

Yeah, I got caught out by the tax thing in America when I bought a ring in NYC for 100 dollars and had to pay 110 dollars for it!

[@lesjolissouvenirs7751]

Entièrement d'accord avec vous.

[@Trueo9re]

Kettles aren't just for making a cup of tea. It's a way of getting hot water quickly without having to stand over a pot waiting for it to boil, when an electric kettle does it much faster.

[@kathytoy5055]

I'm from Canada where it's common to use a kettle, but because of the difference in electricity supply, it takes about the same amount of time to boil a kettle as it does to boil a pot of the same amount of water on an electric stove.

[@DSP16569]

Kettles with the european 230V boils water often faster (Heating the Water with approx 2.000W) while the US 100V needs near double the time (approx 1.200W). Maybe a reason why using a Propan gas stove or a Microwave is more often used.

[@Trueo9re]

@@DSP16569 Urgh, that's a pain in the bottom. No wonder their coffee pots have a stay warm feature.

[@jamesn0va]

​@@DSP16569Americans get 230v into their houses its just split by standard. They can get 230v appliances if they should want

[@hypsyzygy506]

Tea should be made with boiling water, or water just off the boil, to bring out the flavours. Coffee should NOT be made with boiling water, as that would bring out more bitter flavours.

[@0x2A_]

The thing I find a bit unnerving about the pledge allegiance to the flag is that it reminds me, a little too much for comfort, of a that one German guy from 80 years ago.

[@LindenTV2023]

He was actually Austrian

[@thomasbarchen]

​@@LindenTV2023The Terminator is Austrian

[@0x2A_]

@@LindenTV2023 Surprised I forgot that. If I change it there will be people who don't get it though, I assume anyway. Could also get technical and say that he was German because he renounced his Austrian citizenship and gained German citizenship but yeah he was Austrian born.

[@LindenTV2023]

​@@0x2A_hope you don't think I was being an arse. Being a journalist I like being specific I'm sorry

[@0x2A_]

@@LindenTV2023 No no it's fine! I can accept that I am sometimes wrong, rare for this platform I know, and don't mind being corrected.

[@rickbuc]

I find it a bit odd when an American says “really, we can’t be the only country that doesn’t have practice drills in school for shootings”. In the last 120 years Canada has recorded less than 80 mass shootings, and a very small percentage of that is in schools. In the USA mass shootings average over 600 per year.

[@reeseprince8]

Pretty sure Australia had 1 mass shooting at a school and that was the end of guns in Australia simple as that

[@sooskevington6144]

I would say that it is a frightening phenomenon as well as a scathing criticism of US culture & society that active shooter drills are a necessity in US schools.

[@x_violette_x7713]

⁠@@sooskevington6144I would say the existence of ‘bulletproof backpacks’ intended for young children really hit it home for me. There is no way as a Brit I would wish to raise children in a place where that is even worth considering inventing, regardless of how popular they are or how common the eventuality actually is. The US is fine for a visit, but you would have to pay me an unfathomable amount of money to actually live there.

[@sooskevington6144]

@@x_violette_x7713 Visiting the US is more than I am willing to do,

[@x_violette_x7713]

@@sooskevington6144 That’s quite fair. I honestly don’t blame you. I think a visit for me may also depend on area. There is no way I would be comfortable spending any sort of lengthy holiday in an ‘open carry’ state, though New York on the other hand, certainly the area I visited, was rather pleasant for a short break.

[@eddieboy4667]

As for healthcare. I’m 67. Recently broke my arm falling down stairs at the park. Took the bus for free to the hospital. Got x-rayed, a cast put on. Two further x-rays and finally an operation to put a plate in. Total cost. ZERO!

[@maxjjackson]

@eddieboy4667 That's not strictly true. You may not have been denied necessary medical attention until you could either prove your financial wealth, or go into ruinous debt and sign your house, business and firstborn child away in order to pay the bill you're presented in the recovery room - a system of payment for services rendered as delivered. Cash on delivery, if you will. In reality you've been thoughtfully and systematically contributing to your medical bill for every single paycheck every single week of your whole life since your 16th birthday. You didn't even notice that 3% deduction every week but after 50 years that's a lot of weeks and a lot of 3 percents. Your lifetime of National Insurance contributions may not be a suitcase full of cash under your bed but you've been diligently making partial advance payments on lay-away for your whole life. The medical attention you received wasn't free at all - you just weren't required to pay in full in one payment at the time of your medical need. Free at the point of service isn't free - but it's also not a predatory profit-led financial industry disguised as healthcare. I'm glad your arm is fixed.

[@rexex345]

As a brit, the guns thing has always felt a bit uncomfortable. Here, guns are a tool or for sport, but the general rule that our gun control defines is that simply, the one target you shouldn't ever be having in your crosshairs is another human being.

[@donnabert]

You think it's fun to shoot stuff. That's odd.

[@rexex345]

@@donnabert my local scouts troop has easier access to bolt actions than bows. Aside from that the routine of using a rifle on a range is quite therapeutic for my normally overstimulated brain.

[@annedunne4526]

Pledging allegiance to the flag is weird to anyone outside the USA. We're all patriotic but that's like being in a cult for us.

[@Aluithil]

The worst bit of that is it's inherently capitalistic: American flags weren't selling, so the company making them made pledging to a flag A Thing. It worked.

[@deborahgabrilsen3691]

Most countries pledge alengece to their country and a National Anthem to their country. In UK it's for our Monarch

[@mikewhite4464]

Talk for yourself I think all countries are siht including my own

[@AHVENAN]

​@@deborahgabrilsen3691I have never in my life been asked to make any sort of pledge to my country, I am still very patriotic and I would gladly put my life on the line in defence of my country if I absolutely had too, but noone has ever asked me to make a pledge of allegiance, and American kids do it every single morning in school, that IS like a freaking cult!

[@charliecroker7380]

@@mikewhite4464 Ain't that the truth.

[@micade2518]

"The US is gigantic" is absolutely no valid explanation for having to drive very long distances. China is equally gigantic, and they have an excellent high speed train network, as well as Europe! The US is still in the Stone-Age as far as transport infrastructures are concerned!

[@mattybrunolucaszeneresalas9072]

Stone Age? What are you talking about? The transport infrastructure state of the art. Besides, China only has a sophisticated high-speed train system in the north east. probably down the coast as well in and around Hong Kong in Macau. But that’s it.

[@prod.sr7186]

@@mattybrunolucaszeneresalas9072 no its not, it really isnt state of the art. europe has state of the art transport infrastructure.

[@jemmajames6719]

So is the Uk, going backwards fast.

[@Mykst]

@@mattybrunolucaszeneresalas9072 Troll detected. I see you replying to a number of comments like a bot.

[@arnodobler1096]

​@@mattybrunolucaszeneresalas9072state of the Art 😂😂 🛤

[@t.a.k.palfrey3882]

PS: you missed the point about the "driving crazy distances" thing. It will still take 15 hrs to drive non-stop from SW England to NW Scotland. Most people, in the UK and elsewhere in Europe, just wouldn't consider such a drive. If going from one town/city to another, they'd take the train.

[@davidjackson2580]

Indeed so. If I needed to travel further than it takes to drive in a couple of hours or so, I probably wouldn't drive. Even a two hour drive is something I consider a very long way and rarely do it, unless I really need to. I certainly wouldn't drive from SW England to NW Scotland. There is a good rail connection.

[@lesleyhawes6895]

Or even fly!

[@nobbynobbynoob]

Although, from 2022 onward I increased my driving miles dramatically due to the unreliability of the rail system (those pesky frequent and disruptive strikes, and dubious service at times even absent the strikes).

[@PolarBear4]

As a general rule, if I'm going to another city then I'd take the train. If I needed to be somewhere more rural I'd drive. I don't need to spend hours stressing over driving to London (and somehow parking) when I could get on a trail, relax all the way there (and back) and not have to worry about parking. I was meant to get the train to Manchester a few weeks ago for a gig but there was a train strike so we ended up driving instead which was annoying! And more expensive comparing petrol to train tickets.

[@lesleymay8006]

Really? I'd much rather drive, nor do I live near a station

[@Senefer]

Honestly, as a Swede working remotely as a freelancer I often has interacted with companies from other countries for work. Sure, there might be a bit difference between other countries (such as how many days paid leave you have or how long your parental leave is) and Swedish law when it comes to rights of the workers but not that much. It was only with American companies that I constantly encountered shocking things. Many of them was just so mindboggling that I in one interview asked if they thought I was stupid. From low pay that is excused as “competitive” where you are supposed to compete with the people you are supposed to work with to get higher pay, to no paid leave (often excused as something you have no right to have because you don’t work full time), no paid parental leaves among. One company who was developing and A.I wanted to hire me to read and correct the Swedish and they told me I would get less pay per hour because the A.I did the translation which means that it did majority of the job. I asked them if they were insane and told them that means that I should work less hours, not get paid less per hour. It became even weirder when it turns out it was a fulltime job so apparently it wasn’t less work for me, it was just less pay. That these companies are bragging about those things as well is just weird. I also remember an article here in Sweden reporting about Disney’s CEO firing a lot of workers because they need to save money and the reporter just mentioning very casually at the end that the CEO earned 24-27 million dollars a year. Here in Sweden a CEO would earn around 99.588 dollars a year. If the CEO had just lowered his pay with 2-3 million, he could easily have paid all the workers yearly salary and kept them all hired. That would be a common solution here in Sweden as firing workers would make it harder for them to hire in the future as they don’t care about their workers and only see them as numbers. A company with good reputation will do better in the long run. That is apparently not even a consideration in most cases in U.S.A, at least not for larger cooperations, which I just find alien.

[@hypsyzygy506]

Twenty years ago the company I worked for was taken over by another company. The CEO (who had been in the job for only 5 years) left with a $50 million bonus.

[@scragar]

Americans were going nuts when the president of Nintendo took a pay cut and no bonus in order to help the company survive after the failure of the Wii U. There were amazed that the president of the company wouldn't just fire staff and pay himself a bigger bonus. It's like americans live in Bizaro-world where everything is similar but opposite in a way that makes no sense.

[@BillCameronWC]

I used to feel really sad/angry when the news reported yet another massacre of schoolchildren/teachers in a school somewhere in the US. When I came to understand better the laws on guns there I’m still sad/angry, but have come to the conclusion that if Americans themselves seem to regard such outrages as just one of the things that happens from time to time and no way are they going to accept stricter laws on gun possession then I really saw no point in even thinking about it much any more, as if Americans REALLY cared they would do something about it.

[@MayYourGodGoWithYou]

And of course the latest mass murder by shooting being in Maine, reports vary from 18 to 25 dead and over 60 injured, apparently the state is urgently reconsidering gun laws.

[@DyslecticAttack]

​@@MayYourGodGoWithYou they always "appear" to do so. Yet nothing ever comes from it. Every state gets a "maybe we should change this" moment after the tragedy, especially with protests from those afflicted, or those taking the moment to voice their opinions. Yet not a single one of them actually change anything sensible. They'd rather propose to train teachers to carry and defend the children or to make limitations on the children to "prevent" another tragedy. But they never actually change anything about gun laws. Hell, after a mass shooting at a concert years back there was a change, and that's the only one I can remember. And the change was to ban a type of magazine from being privately owned. Because the magazine supporting semi-automatic firing was clearly the main problem. So yeah, I don't have hope that they'll change anything anymore. They have dozens if not hundreds of these instances every year, but they have yet to act, and I don't dare to hope that they ever will.

[@maxjjackson]

Americans measure car journeys in distance, 500 miles? No problem. Brits measure car journeys in time. Two hours? Nope, we'll wait to see them at Christmas.

[@sirkermy]

I feel like that's because our roads are so busy and small compared to America. So it takes longer to travel.

[@dewflower7298]

We do time also in Canada. 10h drive to grandmas or 30min to grocery store.

[@raindancer6111]

​@@sirkermyAlso because our roads are busy and narrow it makes driving more tiring due to the constant high level of concentration needed. No setting cruise control and just rolling on open highways for us, even our motorways need you to be on high alert.

[@sirkermy]

@@raindancer6111 Exactly, I drive for a living and after 4 hours I need a long break

[@mattybrunolucaszeneresalas9072]

Given the average speed of an interstate is 60 mph or higher, miles could just be the same as

[@segazora]

The whole circumcision thing is wild to me. Your first thought when your baby is born shouldn’t be ‘when can we perform surgery on his genitalia?’

[@pureholy]

What I find odd is a lot of these parents are very religious so they are effectively saying, this child, made by God is defective and we have to fix that because God made him wrong.

[@jennyh4025]

According to some US parents, agreeing to this procedure is part of the standard form package parents to be get in the hospital. Some even get those forms during labour to sign! That’s unethical, but supposedly true in some hospitals in the USA.

[@chsparkle]

I've sometimes seen comments where older Americans are furiously offended at the idea of NOT circumcising their grandkids, for some at least, it's something they hold very dear. As a Brit, it's really hard to understand it, most men here are only really likely to be circumcised for medical reasons (excluding the religious communities).

[@dmgroberts5471]

@@jennyh4025 Yeah, but all American "Healthcare" is unethical. Putting someone into debt that will cost them their house, because they broke their leg, is not "first doing no harm."

[@jennyh4025]

@@dmgroberts5471 For someone, who lives in a European country, the US healthcare system is disturbing (to put it mildly). Our system may not be perfect, but we don’t have to be afraid to wait for months for acutely necessary care or go into debt to pay for (standard) healthcare (which here includes everything to keep you able to work, even basic dental care).

[@HappyHammer69]

There was a country that did a pledge of allegiance. It was back in 1939.

[@jenniferharrison8915]

Yes! 🙋

[@Greenwood4727]

check out the Bellamy Salute they used to do before 1939

[@MayYourGodGoWithYou]

What's more, in 1939 they even used the same ''salute'' when they both pledged allegiance to their respective flags.

[@MayYourGodGoWithYou]

@@Greenwood4727 I've photos of the US STILL using the Bellamy salute in the 1950s, possibly not as common as earlier but there are still images out there.

[@SpookiCooki]

A country that does this other than the US is North Korea.

[@NikkigandCo]

Believe it or not 😂 we don’t just use the futuristic water boiling device (aka kettle) 😂 for tea.. pasta, cup noddles.. anything that requires boiling water.. it is much more convenient to boil a kettle of water than spend half an hr waiting on a pan boiling on the stove.. we even use it when we need something sterilised.. so much faster 😂

[@georgehelyar]

Technology connections did a good video on it. It's actually one of the most efficient ways to boil water (other than induction), so I use it to boil water to cook with. I put a bit in the pan and boil the kettle, then pour the water into the pan. It is both faster and cheaper. In the US, 110v means their electric kettles have half the power though, and take twice as long to boil, so they use microwaves and have to worry about superheated water

[@sooskevington6144]

Tyler, you don't hear about mass shootings in other countries because they do rarely happen outside the USA. A quick comparion for you to make: add up how many school shootings have happened in USA since 1996 which, I believe is when the last one occurred in the UK.

[@Timbothruster-fh3cw]

Europe is known for not reporting things that happen there, so I doubt it!

[@sooskevington6144]

@@Timbothruster-fh3cw I live in the UK. The last school shooting here was at Dunblane in Scotland in 1996 and the last mass shooting was in Cumbria in Northern England in 2010. Both were most definitely reported THIS side of the Atlantic although probably not in USA

[@jbird4478]

@@Timbothruster-fh3cw Where in the world did you get that nonsense from?

[@AnnekeOosterink]

@@Timbothruster-fh3cw babe, I'm assuming you're either 11 years old max, or wearing a tinfoil hat. Hope you get better.

[@Timbothruster-fh3cw]

@@AnnekeOosterink I bet you just believe everything the media tells you about guns violence when it's just them trying to get big ratings, the truth is the government is behind most of them to push gun control to disarm us so they can seize our possessions!

[@Michael-yq2ut]

On holiday an American seriously asked me if we, in the UK, celebrate independence day on the same date they do, I felt stupid having to explain it to him.

[@thomasbarchen]

He probably didn't understand even after you explained it to him.

[@Michael-yq2ut]

@@thomasbarchen yeah he looked very confused

[@MrDaiseymay]

WHAT PUZZLES ME, IS THAT THE CANADIANS DO TOO.

[@rattywoof5259]

You could have played him along and said we call it 'Good Riddance Day'.

[@jonevansauthor]

To be fair, we did get rid of the Puritans and it wouldn't be unreasonable for us to celebrate for that reason. But I enjoy Guy Fawkes Night more. :)

[@AutieDino]

The pledge is seriously weird - if you transposed it to a country like NK, the USA would be out of its mind and calling it out for weirdness

[@DSP16569]

And at the only time the Germans done the pledge to their Government and Flag everybody called us Nazis.

[@ShizuruNakatsu]

As someone who is against nationalism, authoritarianism, and all forms of blind loyalty and allegiance (such as blindly following orders, believing everything your government tells you, etc), as well as being against all forms of brainwashing, programming, and conditioning of children in *any* way... Yes, it is very weird... If I was born in the US, I simply would have refused to participate. I always had my own mind, even before I was old enough to go to school. I questioned everything, whether it came from my parents, teachers, friends, or society. I was always about individualism and freedom, so I never would've allowed someone to try to indoctrinate me into some flag worshipping cult with blind loyalty to any nation/state/government. I suppose it's lucky I wasn't born somewhere like North Korea...

[@terranaxiomuk]

Parallels can be drawn with NK and USA.

[@broccoli4002]

kettle, mug, tea bag, steep it then add milk. (Controversially brits 😜) NEVER EVER use a microwave to heat the water and it makes it taste weird , like when you reheat a brew , tastes strange.

[@terranaxiomuk]

@broccoli4002 Microwaves ruin tea. Using a microwave is controversial. Microwaving anything ruins the flavour.

[@danny1ft1]

Employment law is one I find bizarre, not being given 28 days paid holiday as a right and the fact being sick means you still go to work most the time.

[@mattybrunolucaszeneresalas9072]

Depends on the job/employer.

[@jonevansauthor]

They don't even get ten days as a right. There's no annual leave in the US at all. Some states have some, but it's not national law.

[@allenwilliams1306]

@@mattybrunolucaszeneresalas9072 That's the most bizarre thing about it.

[@tigeriussvarne177]

Union busting did a great job in the US. To bad if nobody is fighting for workers rights, but "they just want a piece of your paycheck" and "we are like family here" seem to have done the trick.

[@mattybrunolucaszeneresalas9072]

@@tigeriussvarne177 I’m not sure what you’re trying to say

[@silvrfruit]

Allowing politicians to draw up electoral boundaries is the one that really gets me. It’s such a huge conflict of interest. Truly bizarre.

[@Joanna-il2ur]

The British system of having civil servants do it within basic parameters has always struck me as a much better idea.

[@Ramtamtama]

@@Joanna-il2ur often based on historic and cultural areas. 650 constituencies of roughly the same population, with 90%+ of them being relatively uncontroversial in shape. All polling stations opening and closing at the same times, with standard rules across them, rarely more than a 10 minute walk from any given address. Pop in on your way to or from work, on your lunch break, when walking the dog, or when nipping to the shops, yet some people still say they didn't have the time.

[@Joanna-il2ur]

@@Ramtamtama I’ve voted by post for over ten years. Even easier.

[@Sekusamu]

I think that kettles are a lot more prevalent in Canada than in the USA. It's not just for tea. There's instant oatmeal, Cup Noodle, instant coffee, Cup O Soup, couscous, etc..

[@101steel4]

They just use tea as an excuse. Most of them don't even know what a kettle is.

[@TheJaxxT]

I was in America for 3 weeks as a 14 yr old, on a school exchange. The pledge of allegiance in the school is what stuck out to me the most too. I stood up with everyone out of respect, but I didn’t put my hand on my heart (not my flag) and I obviously didn’t know the words. But I did find it really odd. That’s just not something we do in England. Pledging allegiance to a non sentient piece of fabric is just strange to me!

[@shaunw9270]

You fail to see the point. They aren't pledging allegiance to a piece of fabric as you put it. They're pledging allegiance to their country ; their flag represents their country. Perhaps we should do the same in England with the Cross of StGeorge or the Union Flag. It's not strange, it's patriotism.

[@TheJaxxT]

@@shaunw9270 I don’t fail to see the point at all thank you. I know why they do it. It’s just very strange to me why they choose to do it every morning to a flag. Why not “pledge allegiance to the country of the USA” and not “to the flag” The fuck is the flag gonna do?

[@kjdempsey]

@@shaunw9270they’re the only country in the world that does it. It’s weird and odd

[@TheJaxxT]

@@kjdempsey thank you! But clearly we “fail to see the point”

[@kathryndunn9142]

Yeah totally it's fabric like you said like putting a piece of toilet paper on a rope and honoring it. Stupid

[@seldom_bucket]

I have a genuine question, in school shootings if a child is injures and receives medical care who covers that? I just hope there is no possible way a family could go through that and also end up bankrupt, it would be like the saddest joke i'd ever heard.

[@shaunfarrell3834]

Suspect they still have to pay. Saw a programme some years ago about adult victims of mass shootings in the USA who were either bankrupt from the cost of care after they were shot or suffering as they couldn't afford the care.

[@LeSarthois]

Given that several US soldier veterans end up as homeless because of long-term injuries and untreated PTSD, or the fact that the NY Firemen that worked on the 9/ II say they no longer or never received care for their health issues... I think that sadly, most kids in the case you describe don't receive (enough) care.

[@B-A-L]

I have a similar question: If a family in America was burned in their homes due to an arson attack we know their taxes pay for the fire service to put the fire out, the police to investigate the arson attack, the courts to convict the perpetrators and the prison service to lock them up but who pays for the treatment of the family's burn injuries?

[@christinec642]

​@bradleybrown8428 it's actually "reckon" so doesn't come from recommend. It means to think, believe or consider. Also can refer to calculate (as in arithmetic).

[@anta3612]

From our perspective the notion of freedom (as understood in the US) has spilled over/morphed into a sense of entitlement.

[@jenniferharrison8915]

Entitled to grow rich and step on each other and other countries, ad nauseum!

[@GenerationNextNextNext]

As a minority in the USA, I completely agree.

[@davidhall7811]

When I was 18 I worked summer camp for the boy scouts of america. Every morning they would have a flag raising ceremony and every evening they would bring down the flag. One of the other staff members took offence that I wasnt saluting the flag. When I pointed out its not my flag it blew his mind, even more so when I pointed out he was pledging his allegiance to a piece of cloth.

[@stevetheduck1425]

Have saluted a flag when raising in the morning, and lowering at dusk. I had to join the armed forces to gain this privilege, and I can tell you, everyone became sensitised to that exact time of day, and would avoid all flags at those times, like the plague. - basically, we had work to do, and a country to defend, so we didn't waste time on ceremony.

[@razornaut]

Went to the US for the first time this year. We decided to visit New York. It was excellent; we had a great time. However, there were aspects that we did find odd. If I lived there permanently, it might get to me. As we were tourists - guests of the US - I was perfectly happy to accept what would be totally unacceptable in the UK. Firstly, and I'm not breaking any new ground here, but nothing is as it is priced. I noticed this would cause problems with other tourists (I assumed German, though could well have been Swiss or Austrian); they had clearly calculated the price in their heads and were faced with a completely different, higher price at the till (sales tax, of course) and were very confused and started to get visibly agitated. The issue was compounded by the cashier not understanding the "problem" (not their fault; why should they?). This is unusual for Europeans. The price is the price shown, and if the price is different at point of sale, the shop would have legal issues. The same goes for the tipping culture. I am not ignorant, so it didn't annoy me when being requested a gratuity before any service was given, but it isn't the norm nor expected in the UK; a tip is usually reserved for above and beyond service. The prescription drug commercials were very pervasive. I found them comical, to be honest. If i had a heart problem, I would prefer a doctor advise me on suitable medication, not some creepy ad insisting I tell my doctor about the drug. My GP is the professional, with many years of education and experience; I am the layman, and rely on my doctor to treat me competently, not a drug company wanting a profit.

[@wizardsuth]

We have tipping in Canada too, but it's generally done after a service is provided, and the amount tends to vary with the quality of service.

[@lorie76yt]

I can see being momentarily annoyed because tax added on is something they don’t do - but it’s a very small percentage and it’s not like it’s the most obscure bizarre thing that’s impossible to figure out what on earth could be happening, to the point where are you are getting agitated 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@razornaut]

@@lorie76yt you do know what agitated means, yes?

[@lorie76yt]

@@razornaut I do, and while I find it annoying that you’re being so pompous for no good reason other than to scratch that pompous itch, I’m not agitated by it - well, then again, maybe I am a little agitated, since I took the time to reply to you 🤷🏻‍♀️ 😄

[@razornaut]

@@lorie76yt that's fair. I was being a douche, but your initial reply was a bit odd. All I can do is comment on what I saw. I didn't say I had a problem with VAT added at the till, only that they did. Either way they were the ignorant ones, not the cashier, not you, not me.

[@sarahealey1780]

Wow if that school had tried to call me about my child not saying the pledge of allegiance that would have been a hell of a conversation 😮🤯

[@GenerationNextNextNext]

If they ever did that, you can talk back to the teacher and tell them it goes against your beliefs and they are not allowed to force your child to say the pledge of allegiance.

[@Hreowsian]

In the US 100 years is considered a long time ago, however in the UK 100 miles is considered a long distance.

[@billythedog-309]

How very, very, very original.

[@seldom_bucket]

My favourite quote about usa and uk, that and 'two nations divided by a common language'

[@davidmalarkey1302]

Most Americans don't engage their brains before opening mouths they are just willfully ignorant.

[@phoenixheart79]

I vaguely remember a Time Team special where they were in the USA and ended up uncovering a graveyard. They were all very excited by this and when asked by the Americans if they'd ever seen anything like this someone replied along the lines of 'No, we're not allowed to dig up sites this young as they're still consecrated ground and in use...'

[@seldom_bucket]

@@phoenixheart79 😂 that's amazing. I don't think that's a great explanation though, makes us brits look like we get excited at digging up consecrated land 😂😂

[@jerry2357]

A point about pharmaceutical advertising. In Britain we do have advertising for over-the-counter drugs like painkillers, cold remedies etc. because we're making the decision about whether to buy them or not. But if it's prescription medicine, then we trust our doctors to prescribe the best remedy for us. Advertising for prescription medicines would be pointless.

[@TychoCelchu]

The voltage in the US is half of what it is in the UK. That means that an electric kettle takes longer to boil in the US. Another thing that we use kettles for is hot water bottles, which I believe aren’t as popular in the US. They’re a cheap and simple way to warm up part of your body. Women also find that they can help with menstrual cramps.

[@BlackWater_49]

3:00 Yeah, as a German that whole being told to do the pledge of allegiance in school thing gives me strong 1930s vibes. Actually at the very start of our first history lesson on America our history teacher translated the pledge of allegiance and changed it slightly so it would fit our country and without any context whatsoever told us to all recite it together. I flat our refused.

[@dib000]

Kettles are not just for tea it's for veg, potatoes, pasta, rice, couscous litteraly everything. Saves so much time.

[@leec6707]

Soaking the blanket in boiling water after the doggie has thrown up.

[@vallara1974]

The one thing that seems really bizarre to me, being from Germany, is the campaign funding system when it comes to elections. I hear a lot of people being really fed up with the 2 party system in the US and it seems to me that a big factor in the continuation of that is that you have to raise such an incredible amount of money to even have a chance to get into a position of influence in the political system. In Germany for example, and I am sure that is true for many other places as well, there are strict rules about what amount of money can be raised and spent on campaigns (quite little compared to US), where the money can come from and so on. It seems very PTW to me in America.

[@MrBulky992]

It's the same in the UK and one occasionally hears of politicians who have fallen foul of the regulations (and sometimes politicians or candidates falsely accused of it in order to make political capital). There are limits on expendure for general elections at both the national and there may be scope for a few loopholes there. I have also heard of parties trying to trsnsfer funds surreptitiously from an underspend in one locality to allow an overspend in another locality (not allowed). Apart from campaigning funds, you must also pay a deposit to the authorities if you wish to stand for election. If you fail to secure a certain proportion of the vote, you lose your deposit otherwise it is returned. The idea behind the deposit is to discourage "joke" candidates, single issue candidates and cranks but it doesn't seem to work as we have, for example, the Monster Raving Loony Party, Lord Buckethead (a man in fantasy costume with a bucket over his head) and Count Binface (a man in fantasy costume with a rubbish bin over his head) standing for Parliament in the most high profile constituencies, alongside some prominent Government minister! It's a bizarre spectacle when they line up for the announcement of the election result. I'd love to see that happen in the USA.

[@jonevansauthor]

@@MrBulky992 I mean, duck ponds aside we don't have anything like the problems the US have. Campaigns are limited to six weeks IIRC and about £8,700 (legally). The difference is that a politician might fall afoul of the legislation, whereas in the US they just circumvent it and get away with even worse stuff like gerrymandering. Also, yes, I'd love to see the MRLP equivalent in the US, they'd be bound to have some great characters.

[@arnodobler1096]

Donations to politicians and parties is free speech in the US. SCOTUS More Money, more speech?! 🤔

[@sooskevington6144]

Not only the astronomical costs, but the sheer length of political & election campaigns in USA is mind-boggling to British people. In USA the campaign for a general or presidential election drags on for many months. Here in Britain, from the election being called for to the new parliament taking its seat is all done within one month.

[@Joanna-il2ur]

@@MrBulky992 The Monster Raving Looney Party was started in the sixties by David Sutch, aka Screaming Lord Sutch, a pop star, originally as the Teenage Party. Lemmy from Motörhead was in his band at one point.

[@stewedfishproductions7959]

In Wikipedia, under the title 'Prevalence of Circumcision', you will find that America is one of the higher percentage countries to circumcise males as a 'matter of course', whereas in Japan for instance, only 1% of males are circumcised. It is not undertaken in the UK unless requested and/or carried out for religious beliefs, medical issues/complications or done because of parental choosing! But not the norm... EDIT: Tyler, just BEFORE you looked up the reason/s WHY America has such a high rate of circumcisions, my British "CYNICAL SIDE" had immediately thought, it HAS to be for the 'Almighty Dollar' and when you started to read out the 'reasons', I was smiling about the BUSINESS part of the US Health system - start making money from the young..! 😎

[@AlBarzUK]

Most Brits don’t agree with genital mutilation.

[@lauraholland347]

My dad moved to the US when I was at university- when I found out my half brother did the pledge of allegiance to the flag was very shocking to me- the idea you would have a flag in the classroom, was also completely alien.

[@roguekiller23231]

One thing I recently found out (Is it true?), Here in UK we have something called an MOT on cars, which checks them every year to make sure they are safe to drive. But in US they don't have anything like this, so you can drive some really dangerous vehicles on the road.

[@CherylVogler]

It depends on the state. Most states do require an annual inspection which can also include an emissions test when you get new license plates or tags. Sometimes if the car is newer you can get a two-year license so only have to get inspections once every two years.

[@katywalker8322]

​@@CherylVogler, think even the strictest us tests are far more lax than the UK test. You can find the UK MOT test online if you fancy reading what is checked

[@melanierhianna]

And the German TüV test is far more strict than the UK MOT one.

[@Kahnugo]

The primary reason for boiling water in a kettle is the high efficiency. When you boil in a pot or in the microwave you lose significantly more energy (energy not going in the water). As a side effect this typically leads to shorter heating time (a 1000W microwave might effectively heat water at 600W, while a 1000W kettle might effectively heat it at 900W and thus gives hot water faster for the same effect).

[@jerry2357]

On the other hand, American electricity is at 110 V, so a kettle would take longer to boil over there. It's easier to have a high powered kettle with a 230 V supply.

[@YogZab]

@@jerry2357 Also, natural gas is very inexpensive and widespread whereas electricity can be much more expensive in the States.

[@marydavis5234]

@@YogZab my electric bill is $100.00 a month for a two story house, that has four bedrooms and two bathrooms and l am from the US.

[@AlBarzUK]

Yes, the wattage is the crucial bit.

[@jbird4478]

@@jerry2357 Yes, though you can get the same amount of power with less voltage. It just requires higher current, and most US homes aren't built for that. I've looked into this once, and companies actually do distribute slightly different versions of the same kettles in the US and Europe. You can get 3000W kettles in the US, but an average one is going to be 1100W, because high wattage will blow the fuse in many homes. So yes, typically they do take longer.

[@llamagirl2679]

I think driving long distances in the US is mainly due to the lack of good public transport that covers the whole country and your domestic flights are so expensive. Even travelling to Europe which is as big as the US, I have flown from London to Paris for £9 and £19 to Spain so it's far more affordable here.Great video as always Tyler.

[@jujutrini8412]

Our train systems are much better on this side of the pond.

[@Fluffnugget78]

Electric kettles aren't just for tea! Boiling it for 1 minute in a kettle via waiting god knows how long for your pasta pan to heat up is a game changer.

[@D33Lux]

LOL. I thought I was the only person who did this. It takes 1 or 2 mins in a kettle, 8-10 mins on the stove.

[@mareiketje4899]

@@D33Lux Not if you have an induction stove though.

[@SilverMKI]

Used to think the same until I got an induction hob and can boil a pan of water way quicker than in the kettle.

[@may51973]

​@@mareiketje4899still faster. When boiling pasta I pre-heat the water on a kettle and then it goes to the induction oven. Much faster

[@melanierhianna]

@@mareiketje4899A kettle will be quicker than an open pan due to physics. Sticking a lid on makes a BIG difference. It’s all about partial pressures…

[@kimwilding8444]

Just for clarification, you can have a gun in the UK (there is a gun shop literally in view of my window right now) people have them in the country for hunting and people have them for target practice - we just have incredibly rigorous gun licencing rules.

[@VampiraVonGhoulscout]

We do have Bonfire Night, but it has nothing to do with any kind of independence. It's about Guy Fawkes. I see the confusion with the fireworks though.

[@junebillings9450]

Nuked water changes the taste of lots of things, not just tea. Its the same for "instant" things like, coffee, soups, pasta etc. We also use kettle boiled water to shorten the cooking time of vegetables, rice and things before the pan boiling.

[@PolarBear4]

Yeah. I was going to say that boiling water in a pan is fine. Boiling water in a microwave makes it taste... flat? I'm not sure how to describe it other than using water boiled properly makes me tea feel lighter than if it's been reheated in the microwave/using water heated that way. And yeah, kettles are for more than tea! They cut the time down with so much stuff if it involves hot water.

[@Sgt.chickens]

​@@PolarBear4flat is pretty accurate. Microwaves cook things by moving the water particles around to generate heat. (Simplifying it but it works) So when its used to heat water. The heat isnt spreading out from a source thermally. Its being created by exciting the particles. Which effects their structure in a different way

[@drsnova7313]

​@@Sgt.chickens All you said is complete waffle. No, microwaves don't "move water particles around". And "excited particles" and "heat" are basically synonyms. And unlike when heating food, which is a collection of very different things, absorbing microwaves differently - with (almost) pure water, it is completely irrelevant how you heat it. If you think hot water from the microwave tastes different, then that's either in your head, or you need to clean your kettle.

[@Sgt.chickens]

Try making a Tea that hasn't been brought to a Rolling boil mate. Microwaves do it unevenly. so it tastes like shit every time. its also a massive waste of electricity. @@drsnova7313

[@XPLOSIVization]

Yes heating the water in the Microwave for a cup of tea or coffee changes the taste alot, It actually tastes quite terrible compared to a electric kettle, Im not sure why and dont understand the science behind the why, But after my kettle broke and i started microwaving water for my tea, I can confirm id rather drink toilet water than microwaved water

[@ren_dhark]

I'm not British, but Green Tea should not be brewed with boiling water, but between 70 and max. 90 degrees C / 158-194 degrees F for up to 2 minutes usually in order to not destroy it's aroma. If you're brewing a whole teapot you could let the boiling water cool down for round about 10 minutes if you have no way to measure it exactly. Boiling water is for black tea, white tea may be even less hot, some teas are even brewed with melting ice cubes.

[@MsKaz1000]

my kettle has 4 heat settings 40,60,80,100

[@PolarBear4]

@@MsKaz1000 Same. I've got a fancy kettle where I can set the temp.

[@SliceOfDog]

20:47 - For clarity, mass shootings across Europe are rare but occasionally happen, maybe a couple of times a year I'll see on the news (in the UK) that there's been some incident somewhere. No particular nation sticks out, but they pop up across the continent, usually with victims in the single or low double digits. School shootings specifically are incredibly rare. I can't think of the last active school shooting in Europe. There was an awful one a decade or so ago I think in Denmark where a children's camp was attacked, but otherwise I'm drawing a blank. Sadly, what I can say is that if I see a news story about a mass shooting (including school shootings) in America, it no longer surprises me at all. If I see any European country/city name attached, I feel completely differently about it. Not because I don't care about American lives - I have a lot of American friends and love a lot of American culture - but because it doesn't even seem like news anymore. American shootings are "Dog bites man", while European shootings are "Man bites dog".

[@balthazarasquith]

I remember when the football /soccer team moved from Wimbledon to Milton Keynes getting renamed MK Dons. People still aren't over it, was well over 20 years ago 😂😂😂

[@theriddick2735]

Because it's not just a team you support, it's pretty much a religion passed down for generations. Well, it was, until you grow up and realise those foreign / ethnic millionaires don't actually care about your club, your town / city, or you. They would rather you keep your opinions to yourself and just hand over your cash so they can send to their own countries, making our people and nations poorer.

[@evdweide]

Gun control isn't just a difficult subject because of "freedom". It's also an incredibly profitable industry, and in the USA corporate profits are always considered more important than the well-being of the citizens. That's also the reason for the state of the health care system (and why it's not regulated like in the rest of the modern world), the zoning laws which keep cars driving far distances (which keeps bot the car industry and the oil industry happy), and quite a few others.

[@beeurd]

I nearly moved to the US when I was about 13... I was fully planning to refuse to say the pledge of allegiance. 😅 One thing that I wouldn't believe if I hadn't witnessed it with my own eyes while looking at schools over there is the way that when the school bell goes students just get up and walk out of class without being dismissed by the teacher. "The bell doesn't dismiss you, I do" is a common UK teacher phrase.

[@Timbothruster-fh3cw]

So what? Kids are ready to get the hell out of there,

[@jujutrini8412]

@@Timbothruster-fh3cw It is considered impolite to do that in the UK. There is still a deference to elders and authority for children in the UK.

[@Sgt.chickens]

​@@Timbothruster-fh3cwI see a lot of videos from US schools. Obviously its not like its normal but. In the UK if you had kids screaning and ignoring the teacher for the whole class in high school. Those mothefuckers would be in hot shit. Almost nobody would try that shit here. And youd probably get punched up by other kids who find it cringe.

[@Timbothruster-fh3cw]

@@Sgt.chickens What does that have to do with getting up as soon as the bell rings?

[@woofbarkyap]

disrespecting the teacher @@Timbothruster-fh3cw

[@j.apenrose7896]

Australian here! We often bag out America for having awful healthcare/government aid, etc, and in Australia we tend to be pretty proud of how good our situation is. I'm currently in a situation where, thanks to medical expenses, I have to decide between paying for medication or groceries, depending on what appointments I have on a given week. There is a real danger of saying "well, at least we're not as bad as America," but people still end up homeless here due to medical expenses. Was trying to sort out health insurance, and discovered that nothing covers my specialist appointments. So basically, bad luck if you end up chronically ill, particularly if you're relatively young like myself without a supportive family to fall back on.

[@kortanioslastofhisname]

It's very common for foreign children who only temporarily live in the US to be forced to say the pledge of allegiance based on everyone I've met who was in that situation. I was in that situation myself as well.

[@Carlzz92]

It's nice to see you take these on board and actually be interested in the other points of view. Like most countries the US does have it's issues. Microwaving water for tea is the most unforgivable I'm afraid 😂

[@anta3612]

Something we don't think about much in the UK: there are a significant number of children in the US that die because their parents are unable to access health care. I lived in the States for a few years and knew one such family (they had a one year old with a very serious health condition). Tragically sad. 😢

[@101steel4]

Or through being shot. Number one cause of death to American children, apparently.

[@mattybrunolucaszeneresalas9072]

Uhh because that’s not true? At least not any more than the rest of the developed world

[@anta3612]

@@mattybrunolucaszeneresalas9072 I hear things have somewhat improved since the introduction of the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) in 2010. Still that's shockingly recent. An even more shocking fact is that there are Americans who are against Obamacare (the bill has

[@Raven44453]

​@@mattybrunolucaszeneresalas9072 wow you really don't know much about the rest of the world do you , either that or you just like being contrary

[@mattybrunolucaszeneresalas9072]

@@Raven44453 I do because I’m from there ?????

[@rogoth01themasterwizard11]

just to provide some extra context to the 'independance day celebrations': it's more talking about the fact that Americans assume that everybody else around the world also celebrates 4th July and find it strange when people say that they don't, because it's been so ingrained into the populous how 'great' the US is and how everyone 'loves' the place that it's beyond comprehension for many that the world actually doesn't view it that way and that most people couldn't care less about the US independence day, it's less to do with the actual celebrations themselves and more that Americans try to push their views and actions onto others and chastise people for not following American customs etc.

[@captainnik]

heating water in a microwave is oddly very dangerous. but also its not just tea that makes an electric kettle useful, there are instant noodles, soups, snacks, gravy, desserts, hot chocolate. i have always also found that boiling a kettle full of water then putting that into a pan to boil pasta is also significantly faster than boiling a pan of water from cold too (which also makes it cheaper)

[@dominicbuckley8309]

20:38 School shootings. They simply do not happen in most countries. During the period 2009-2018, there were 288 incidents in the US. In the same period, there were only 40 in the whole of the rest of the world: these occurred in 17 countries, of which only 5 countries experienced more than two shootings. *The other 180+ countries in the world had NO shootings during this ten year period.*

[@janethartford6239]

Canadian here. In the early 2000's an American employer was in setting up shop in the city that I was living in. Come July 4th the Canadian employees got together and purchased provided a cake with the American flag on it and some American flags, trying to make the trainers, who were there an American national holiday, feel at home. Everything went well until the trainers tried to make all the Canadian employees stand up and say the pledge of allegiance!

[@Dan-kb2oz]

The lack of kettles in America is bizarre. It's like not having a toaster or a microwave. And it's not just about whether you drink much tea, we use them for making coffee and other hot drinks like hot chocolate or a lemsip if you've got a cold. They're also used to make instant gravy and sauces like cheese sauce and sparsely sauce etc to pour on food. And we just call them kettles these days, not electric kettles. As it's very rare that anyone uses the old type of kettle you put on the stove, which ironically is like Americans boiling water in a pan for all those things. It seems like something from before there was electricity to us in the UK and probably most of Europe.

[@marydavis5234]

We have coffee makers in the US and you can act make hot water in it, you don’t put the coffee grounds in it,

[@Dan-kb2oz]

@@marydavis5234 Everywhere that isn't a third world country has coffee makers, machines, percolators etc. We have a Nespreso machine which uses coffee pods. A kettle is useful for just making a single mug of coffee or if you're making a flask to take on a journey. Which come to think of it now aren't flasks another thing you don't have in the US or am I making that up? Thought I saw it on this channel. But just spoon a couple of tea spoons of instant coffee into a mug, pour water from the kettle and add milk to taste. Plus any other hot drinks and sauces mentioned. What do you do to make a mug of instant hot chocolate? Do you not have instant gravy in the US, and if so do you have to make it in a pan? We just pour gravy granules into a jug, add boiling water from the kettle and stir. Of course sometimes proper gravy is made from meat juices whilst cooking, but instant gravy and sauces are quick and convenient for most. Seriously, even if you're not really a tea drinker, it's really odd to not have a kettle in the UK and I suspect a lot of Europe.

[@marydavis5234]

@@Dan-kb2oz my coffee maker is a Kerig coffee maker, it make one cup of coffee at a time, as I’m the only that drinks coffee in my house..

[@marydavis5234]

@@Dan-kb2oz You are definitely making a lot of things in your comment, we have thermos for coffee and hot chocolate , we don’t call them, flasks, here in the US,flasks are for alcohol only.

[@CherylVogler]

I don't know anyone myself in the U.S. who has an electric kettle. I do see them in the stores though, so they are readily available. I have a stove-top kettle which works fine for boiling water. I actually wouldn't have room on my counter for an electric one anyhow, what with the coffee maker, toaster oven, microwave, air-fryer, blender and Kitchen-Aid mixer! Also the counter-top ice maker because the one in the freezer stopped working!

[@sharonmartin4036]

There was a school shooting in Dunblane, Scotland in 1996, but in reaction to this, by the following year, Parliament had banned private ownership of most handguns, as well as semi-automatic weapons, and required mandatory registration for shotgun owners. There have been no school shootings in the U.K since then that I am aware of.

[@Lily_The_Pink972]

No more school shootings, but there have been other major gun related incidents such as Derek Bird's killing spree in Cumbria and Raul Moat.

[@sharonmartin4036]

@@Lily_The_Pink972 Correct, thank you.

[@catlover132]

​@@Lily_The_Pink972True, but thankfully such events are still rare in the UK.

[@johnpmchappell]

@@catlover132 To be fair, they were always rare, but as I mentioned in another comment, Hungerford and then Dunblane, changed the landscape around firearms almost overnight.

[@Robbiewestoby]

I'm from England, And love Learning about the US, and how the US and others reacts to us happy lot in the UK.

[@Rougelesss]

Also on a less serious note, having to keep eggs in the fridge is weird to me as a European. From what I understand, in Europe, farmers are not allowed to clean eggs that are supposed go into supermarkets, because eggs have a natural protective layer of wax that keeps them good for weeks on end. So they'll get sorted into "clean enough to be sold" and "too dirty to be sold" - dirty shelled eggs will go into processed foods, where no one cares if it's a not pretty egg. And as a result you buy eggs in Europe that have a """"best""""" before date, usually dated around 4-5 weeks after purchase, that usually last longer than that. While in the US, egg shells will get cleaned and therefore they'll go bad real quick.

[@ThieflyChap]

We keep eggs in our fridge. Honestly, I don't see anywhere else we could keep 'em, not without risk of being broken anyway.

[@freddieb3537]

​​@@ThieflyChapwe have a little egg holder cabinet on the kitchen window, or just leave them in the tray on the bread bin. In Ireland

[@jennyh4025]

@@ThieflyChapbut if you’re European, you have the option/choice to store them inside or outside of fridge. In the USA you have to keep your eggs in the fridge because they spoil very fast otherwise.

[@Rougelesss]

@@ThieflyChap I keep mine in the fridge too mostly because it keeps their shelf life even longer. But I can also choose to not put them in the fridge if I don't have space (I have a small single person fridge). Like I said in my original comment, eggs are often dated to be eaten within ~4-5 weeks from when you buy them, but they'll most likely be fine in 6-7 weeks still, and if you keep em in the fridge maybe even 8-9 weeks. - Granted, you probably only wanna use those eggs for things like cake where you can make sure they're cooked all the way through.

[@AnnekeOosterink]

Yup. Though if you put them in the fridge anywhere, you need to keep them there. If you put the eggs with the protection layer in the fridge, the condensation will remove that protection and you can't keep them out of the fridge afterwards.

[@natsukiilluna6324]

As a German...the fact that the pledge of allegiance is still done... is extremely scary...

[@edenmoon8275]

Drive through banks and pharmacies, Getting a mega portion of food and then taking the rest home in a box, Driving everywhere, Not realising that the amount a family pay in health insurance is way more than what would be taken out as tax to pay for a national health programme and their children would get EVERYTHING free. Repeating that they live in a free country when there are 52 other free countries in the world.

[@TrudyBusterKittyMadness]

The strangest thing for me and ive been to the US many times, is the lack of awareness of the rest of the world. Even the most uneducated Brit probably goes to Europe, at least once a year on holiday so have some connections with the world as a whole.

[@francesfavre4722]

Prices: what you pay is not what's on the ticket. They say it's because the sales tax differs from state to state, but why can't they just make correct tickets? Also the tipping for everything, a couple of dollars a day for the cleaner in my hotel room, and at least 20% added to a restaurant bill. Are these people not paid?

[@jenniferharrison8915]

No they are not paid! 🤨 In Australia the ticket price is the final price, the 10% GST is included and itemised, a tip is an optional extra only for great service!

[@L4NC3_L0T]

Tbh, as a german seeing that "pledge of allegiance" in school always gives me some real heavy 1930s vibes... You know, THAT time when we had the loud speaking guy with his toothbrush moustache in charge ? Kinda like THAT.

[@jonntischnabel]

On Monday i sliced through 4 fingers on my left hand. My middle finger had a severed tendon. I went to AnE, and was transferred to a hand unit in Derby. Within 3 hours, I'd had 3 xrays, seen a consultant, had my operation, and was on my way home, with meds, a new appointment for check up, physio booked, and a sick note. All this cost nothing. ❤❤

[@judithrowe8065]

Regarding circumcising babies, very few European doctors would do a medically unnecessary procedure on a child. It's mutilation of a healthy baby. Let adult men decide if they want bits chopped off their bodies. You also have the death penalty, which no civilised Western nation has. US has very weird attitudes to life and death issues, which UK (and Europe) has pretty well sorted out.

[@jonevansauthor]

It's commonly done in the UK by terrible parents and doctors willingly do it and aren't really fighting against it. It's disgusting. :(

[@judithrowe8065]

@@jonevansauthor I imagine it's done privately. It's also done without consent (obviously). Same as US vets dock dogs tails and ears for fashion- outlawed in UK & most of Europe. A cruel country, very little animal welfare.

[@ianz9916]

@@judithrowe8065 To equate docking dogs tails and ears for fashion reasons with circumcision shows you have very little understanding of the subject. Circumcision isn't done to make the genitals more aesthetically pleasing. There are health benefits to the procedure. To say it is without consent implies that parents don't make decisions regarding the health care of their children throughout their childhood. There is a very good reason for doing this as a baby rather than waiting until adulthood. A baby has not yet developed nerves in the genitalia and circumcision is a very minor procedure that doesn't require anaesthetic much like an injection. For an adult it is a major operation. No Doctor in the UK would consent to "mutilating" a baby. This kind of hyperbolae is perpetuating a lie based on a lack of knowledge.

[@judithrowe8065]

@@ianz9916 Thank you Doctor Google. A very selective choice of 'facts'. And some (especially US) parents do think of it as a cosmetic procedure, as well as those following outdated religious practices.

[@Echodolly6]

The most bizarre American thing is that they think they're the most free country in the world when many of the countries of the developed world enjoy more freedoms than the USA. The UK is by no means not the most free, were not even in the top 10 most free but the UK ranks more free than the USA.

[@stevebeever2442]

Yeah yanks are so free they even have to pay the American government tax when they don't even live there. They are so free the government own their asses

[@Timbothruster-fh3cw]

So you won't get thrown in jail for offending someone's pronouns?

[@katywalker8322]

​​@@Timbothruster-fh3cw, no you won't. Do it repeatedly and deliberately as harassment might, but that is harrasment

[@Timbothruster-fh3cw]

@@katywalker8322 Ok, but why do you have to have a license for a TV?

[@katywalker8322]

@@Timbothruster-fh3cw just to subsidise the bbc in theory. In practice, just another tax.

[@kacollins2620]

I'm American, but I'm also black and I stopped pledging allegiance to the flag in Middle or Highschool after I learned more about the history of how America treats people like me and how America treats their veterans. My grandfather was a veteran and black, so watching his experiences and how the VA treated him and my grandmother after he passed away definitely made me reconsider blindly pledging allegiance. That doesn't mdan I want to over throw the government or anything, but I realized shouldn't be giving my full support to a system that won't care for its people.

[@MayYourGodGoWithYou]

Don't know about British but I grew up in New Zealand and now live in Ireland. There are a lot of things that are unbelievable by the standards in New Zealand or Ireland as well.

[@TheGrandy123]

9:40 regarding the "driving crazy distance". personaly my friends and I were suprised not because we did not know about how big the US is but more about the train use. In france, if you have to drive more than 2/3 hours you will consider using train. It is rare to have people driving long distance especially if you go about of France. We will use train/flight. We wont drive as much as americans.

[@Jamie_D]

I've also heard that kids who used their right not to say anything, being bullied, mistreated etc even by teachers if they didn't do the culty pledge.

[@jenniferharrison8915]

Sounds like Russia!

[@nolajoy7759]

I am Australian and old enough to remember having to stand to 'God Save The Queen' in cinemas and singing it at the weekly primary school assembly ( before we had our own national anthem. ) No hand on heart or pledges though.

[@davidestabrooks1641]

We did in school too I'm from Nova Scotia

[@jonevansauthor]

I had to in Scouts in the UK, but it was the god bit that bothered me. We also were forced to sing hymns at school, was is the really bad bit. I don't think they enforce the religious bit so frequently anymore but we do still have religious schools for some reason. It's depressing.

[@0utcastAussie]

Yeah but should it be Advance Australia Fair, Waltzing Matilda or Up there Cazaly ? To me it should be Waltzing Matilda !

[@0utcastAussie]

@@jonevansauthor Awww. Didn't you believe "Morning had Broken" or Jesus wanted you for a Sunbeam as you sang Kumbaya ?

[@jonevansauthor]

@@0utcastAussie no because even as a small child, I wasn't that gullible. Sorry if you were hoodwinked, that is why they target children though so you shouldn't feel bad about it.

[@paulknox999]

Sport is a business designed to make someone really rich, healthcare is a business designed to make someone really rich, churches are businesses designed to make someone really rich, THE US is a business designed to make someone really rich. I think I am seeing a theme developing here.

[@dougmurphy1777]

I learned from another American youtube channel that electric kettles are available in the US. However, they're slower to boil there because the USA only has 120 volt electricity, compared to the 230 or 240 volts you find elsewhere.

[@AlexaFaie]

Also regarding kettles, I don't drink tea or coffee, but an electric kettle is a cheap necessary household appliance because it saves so much energy (and money) vs boiling water in a pan. We use it primarily to boil the water to add to a pan to cook pasta, rice, potatoes, noodles, vegetables etc. But its also a good back up to have in case your boiler dies unexpectedly as at least then you can get hot water to have a wash with!

[@lucienangel7075]

Hey, I'm a Brit! This year I went on my first trip to the US, to LA specifically. I think there's a couple of things that I thought was weird, the biggest ones being crossroads. We don't really have them here, because we have the good old roundabout. It took me a while to get used to the fact that there is a literal timer that counts down when you are allowed to walk lmao. Another thing I felt odd was the fact there are so many food stalls on the sides of pavements. This might just be because I was going to a convention (Anime Expo!) but they just seemed to be everywhere, hot dogs wherever you go. Usually we don't have any food on the side of pavements because we just go in the stores or there is like designated areas where food trucks park up like at a plaza area. This was a fun video, I pretty much agreed with all the points given and was like, yeah those are odd to us. Have a good one ^^

[@jonevansauthor]

We have countdown timers on pedestrian crossings in London now and they're great - but I couldn't tell you if they work the same way as they do in LA except they definitely don't let you cross the M25 or a similar road. Which I've experienced in Las Vegas a lot and it's terrifying (use the footbridges there... they have escalators anyway).

[@mattybrunolucaszeneresalas9072]

When I was in London there were some cross streets and food stalls. Not a lot but they existed. They have the odd traffic circle here and there in the US

[@jonevansauthor]

@@mattybrunolucaszeneresalas9072 yes I don't think 'food trucks' is actually different. My understanding is you can't just park them anyway and setup business in the US, same in the UK. It's just everything here is older, so the space where you'd want a moving food van is usually taken up with a pub or a restaurant making them redundant. But they're all over the place in markets, at events, and there are even lots and lots and lots of 'street food markets' which is where they flock together like velociraptors and you can go and stare at lots of slightly weird, niche foodstuffs and fail to make a decision about which is worth trying. Then you get something simple like a soup or a sandwich because you're confident it'll be edible :D

[@YogZab]

@@jonevansauthor I am sure they need permits and get them!

[@mattybrunolucaszeneresalas9072]

@@jonevansauthor true

[@susanpearson-creativefibro]

I am one of those shocking individuals (an English person that doesn’t like tea) but still have a kettle for several other purposes. The reason they will not have taken off is that the electricity is a lower level so the same kettle would take longer to boil in the USA.

[@MrBulky992]

... but no longer than a pan of water and probably less time?

[@clivenewman4810]

You are not alone,I don't like tea either.

[@jamesgornall5731]

We had a mass shooting in 1997 in Scotland, it led to the outlaw of handguns and access to other firearm more restrictive

[@st0rmforce]

The thing Americans don't understand about that, is that it wasn't a case of the government deciding to confiscate all the guns, but that the majority of people were vocal about it and pushed the government to ban them. Americans have an adversarial relationship with their government, whereas we have slightly more of an employer-employee type relationship with the prople WE elect to represent us

[@RichWoods23]

7:38 "In the UK, about 20% of males are circumcised." That figure seems far too high. But then we see in the next paragraph, which Tyler doesn't read, the statement that the figure is 8.5%, with no explanation for the discrepancy here. Ah, wait, the explanation is on the first line: *Generative AI is experimental. Info quality my vary.* Yeah, best switch AI off in Google. It's misleading and therefore useless. I'd say that the 8.5% figure is more likely to be correct, since it's closer to the percentage of the population who are from Muslim or Jewish families.

[@SystemCoder]

Hearing you speak about what you thought as a kid about saying the pledge of allegiance, is exactly how I (and a fair few others) felt about having to say the school prayer every week at assembly in northern ireland

[@Herr_U]

In europe if we need to travel more than a 2h ride we generally just take the train, or a long-distance bus. If more than 8-12h we fly... unless we actually need the car or the roadtrip would end up cheaper than travel+rent. The crazy long car travels are even weirder when you say "because america is so big!" because to us that sounds like a perfect place to build a high speed rail system.

[@MetalRocksMe.]

OMG having a kettle is NOT just about drinking tea!! You can also use them to get boiling hot water quicker for other uses, I mainly boil the kettle for hot water to aid cleaning etc.

[@101steel4]

Exactly, I don't drink tea but use mine daily.

[@jonevansauthor]

I mean, I could put water in a saucepan and boil it for my pasta or rice, but then I could also occasionally take a banknote and put it in the fireplace and then spend several minutes just watching it (because it's a waste of both time and money). So yeah, it's not for tea and coffee, it's for every situation in which you boil water and not wasting time or money. The funny thing is, Americans do have kettles they just use ones on hobs if they want one. Bless their hearts.

[@Joanna-il2ur]

I always do it when making pasta. Just turn the burner on and boil the water in the kettle. It easily saves five minutes which I can usefully use for wine.

[@MetalRocksMe.]

@@Joanna-il2ur same, making pasta boil the kettle, making noodles boil the kettle, cooking from scratch and need water to get my gravy started boil the kettle. I rarely drink tea…

[@micade2518]

About the "Pledge of allegiance", I'd recommend this excellent novelette "The Children's Story" by James Clavell ... that demonstrates the mechanics of manipulation.

[@lisascott7482]

I am Canadian with a British background. You really must have tea properly boiled, steept in a China pot, covered by tea cozy, and served in a China cup with sauser. This taste is so different, awesome and incomparable. You need to try to truly appreciate and understand.

[@wolfyowiefae1754]

The concept of a mega church is mind boggling to most other places. Most places do not have mega churches around

[@timothyallan111]

My favourite thing with the US drug ads is the acres of small print and side effects they have to read incredibly quickly at the end to prevent them getting sued - usually ending with the side effect of death, just to cover all bases 😂Although, the thing that is most striking for Brits is just how many ads you have during a tv programme.

[@jonevansauthor]

Wait, I've seen American TV broadcasts, there are programmes between the adverts? I thought it was 100% adverts. :D But yeah, explains why their hour long shows are about 42 minutes in the UK :D

[@B-A-L]

Half the American drugs ads I've seen they spend most of the time telling you why you shouldn't take the drugs if you have certain conditions.

[@thehellyousay]

It's a far shorter list to enumerate what is sane and normal about Americans, than it is to enumerate what is psychotic and bizarre.

[@cr10001]

In New Zealand we tend to have electric jugs (rather than kettles) for making tea, coffee and hot drinks. There's no functional difference other than the shape, both have a heating element immersed in the water or built into the flat bottom of the jug so heat transfer to the water is maximised. And they usually have a switch that trips automatically as soon as steam comes off. The microwave or a pot on the stove would only be used if the jug was broken.

[@pollyparrot8759]

We have them in the UK too but we just call them jug kettles to differentiate between them and the squat, round variety.

[@duncancallum]

Once upon a time we had jugs for boiling water in Australia. kettles now.

[@josiecoote8975]

I think the electric kettle (or lack of) situation is because the US voltage is much lower than the UK's so electric kettles would take ages to boil.

[@martinnyberg71]

3:22 That ”putting your hand over the heart”-bit is fairly modern. I had reason to look up the 1976 Olympics (Mark Spitz, Gunnar Larsson et al.) and during the prize ceremonies American athletes did *_not_* do that. As the president of a college student organisation during my years at an American university, the by-laws said meetings should start with the pledge. I did, of course, not join in.

[@B-A-L]

The hand over your heart thing is supposed to be for the pledge of allegiance not the national anthem. It's now become an excuse for bigots such as Donald Trump to claim Americans not being patriotic such as the gymnast Gabby Johnso who stood respectfully with her hands by her sides after just winning gold for her country whilst her teammates did the hand of heart thing.