American Reacts to UNEXPECTED Things About the UK

As an American there are endless things about the UK that I don't understand or know about, but that is exactly why I am very excited today to learn about these unexpected things about the United Kingdom. If you enjoyed the video feel free to leave a comment, like, or subscribe for more!

[@trevordance5181]

As a retired postman I can tell you that virtually everyone is entitled to have their mail delivered to a letter box in their house even in remote areas. Delivery routes are worked out to allow for the time and effort it takes the postman/woman to do this. Having your mail delivered through your front door is a lot more secure and helps guard against mail theft, identity fraud, and nosy neighbours wanting to see what sort of mail you receive.

[@adamcashin4021]

Near where I used to live there's a village that has no street names. Every house is either a Number or Name; but the numbers don't run consecutively, the order appears random (might be the order they were built), which would explain why some numbers don't exist. Always wondered how the postman dealt with this

[@MrGreendew2]

The only issue I would say is dogs 😂😂 amount of near heart attacks I've had when a dog is on the other side of the letterbox

[@trevordance5181]

@@MrGreendew2 I was a postman for 35 years and never once was bitten by a dog. I did a mixture of town and rural deliveries too over the years. I must have had an angel looking after me!

[@clivenewman4810]

As a postman of 36 years,I have lost count of number of times I have been bitten by a dog.My worst attack left me requiring 27 stitches.

[@oddpoppetesq.3467]

​@@adamcashin4021 the postman would get used to the quickest sequence/route the houses are in and the guys in the depot will put the mail in a certain order, or he might do it himself. At least that's the most logical way to do it than zipping back and forth like a yoyo

[@no-oneinparticular7264]

A letterbox also prevents mail theft . Most things in Britain correspond to safety and /or hygiene.

[@jamesdignanmusic2765]

And - unlike the crazy system they have in the US - large parcels won't just be dumped on the porch.

[@smartchip]

@@jamesdignanmusic2765 yeah, I have heard of porch pirates, the videos are hilarious,

[@cyberash3000]

@@jamesdignanmusic2765 they still do that here in the uk the other day I opened my door to find my washing up bowl I'd ordered just sat there on my doorstep

[@DoomsdayR3sistance]

@@jamesdignanmusic2765 That still happens in the UK, many delivery drivers don't care, even if something requires signature, they will just dump it by the front door, in plain sight. I once went to go get a coffee at a local cafe and found as I opened the front door to leave, the £2,500 Graphics Card I had ordered a few days before just dumped by the front door, they didn't even knock either. Admittedly, it came sooner than I had ordered it, I wasn't expecting it to turn up until a few days after that.

[@Nikki-yn7yv]

Royal Mail don’t leave parcels on the doorstep they re deliver or you have to pick it up from your local post office but Amazon don’t care they leave it anywhere

[@mandywarren8566]

Our postman’s name is Robert and when he has something that won’t go through the letterbox, he’ll ring on the door and we have a lovely chat. I know about his family and that he has a knee problem. He greets the animals and is a lovely chap.

[@rachaelchambers3310]

My dad just retired as a postman, and the community he delivered, for over 10 years, threw him a retirement party as he was seen as an important person there ❤

[@claudiaphillips7063]

The post person is always important. We were quite upset when our post lady retired.

[@Lightbringer04]

A good postman is worth there weight in gold 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿👌

[@helenlyman1422]

Hi, Brit here. Got a bit more insight into a few bits for you; Letterboxes - reduces theft/fraud etc, but also our front gardens (yards) aren't as large as American ones, so there's not as far for the postie (mail person) to walk, some roads it's illegal to stop on (so pausing to put letters in a mailbox isn't an option), and our roads are a lot narrower than yours (so going round a slow moving/paused mail van isn't an option). The postie will find somewhere suitable to park, get out, and get some exercise Electric switches - I get that it's odd if you're not used to it, but if you switch off a device at the socket (rather than putting it on standby) it reduces the electrical consumption, it's also a safety feature (children get their fingers in everything) Washing up bowls - a lot of British kitchens are too small for more than one sink, so if the sink is full of dirty dishes and you need to wash some produce it makes it quicker and easier to access the sink (lift the whole bowl out), additionally, waste disposal in sinks is almost unheard of here, so a bowl catches any debris to be disposed of properly House names - when writing the address it would look like this; House Name Road Name Village/Town County (our equivalent of state) Post Code (our equivalent of zip code) Hope that's helped you understand the hows and whys a bit better

[@qlyck8937]

British business here. I can expand on Helen’s answer here a little bit - Letter boxes - like Helen says, a postal workers do have to get a lot of exercise. I’d say the majority of their work is walking. They will park up somewhere in the area, and you will see them go to the back of their vans, and load all the letters (and sometimes parcels) into a red bag (Royal Mail Red can be spotted a mile away). They will then post the mail on foot and it will probably be around 50 houses before they return to their van and move on to the next area. Our postal system is operated by Royal Mail which is regarded as quite a respected government run organisation in the UK. And as I said, they are known for their Red. I could look out of the window out of the corner of my eye, and see that they are near by. The letterboxes themselves are pretty robust usually. There are normally two metal slats (one outside, and one inside) that the mail passes through, and the hinges are strong (again, usually). So you hear when your mail arrives also. If you have playful dogs however (especially if they are still puppies) then you do need to train them that mail is good and not to attack it. When my dogs were puppies, I was quite proactive in coinciding their walks with the postman being in the area so that they are introduced to them and understand that they are not a threat. Sometimes you find that untrained dogs think the postman/woman is an intruder. Switches - We go to the US quite a lot as a team because of what we do (ironically we handle e-commerce/merch for KZbinrs, maybe we should meet ;)), and wall sockets are always amusing to me the other way round. I put my phone on charge and I feel like I’m forgetting something. It’s weird as a Brit not to press the switch. If I were to plug something in (I’d say we plug more things in generally than Americans do), I would just flip the switch out of force of habit. Washing up bowls - To be totally honest, I don’t entirely agree with this one being on the list. Whilst they do exist and more so than in the US, they are not very common at all. Firstly, the majority of homes will likely have a dishwasher in 2024, however if my dishwasher were to break down, and I had to wash up by hand for a couple of weeks, then I’d just use the sink as it is. I think washing up bowls are quite d fashioned and something my grand mother would have used. Definitely not very common (or at least not in 2024). Address - I generally agree with Helen, however I would argue that counties are not the equivalent of states. I’d say that falls upon regions. For instance, East Anglia, West Country, East Midlands etc, which have multiple counties within them. We would never include the region in the address though.

[@little_moth]

My whole street doesn’t have a front garden, the doors open on to the street

[@steveknight878]

A plastic bowl in the sink is useful. It means that you can pour the contents of any dishes/cups/mugs down the sink (between the bowl and the sink), and rinse the plates off again straight into the sink. Also you use less water. And you get fewer breakages of glasses and china, because the bowl is plastic and so softer than the sink itself.

[@georgehaytack6916]

it is very useful! if you have one of the extremely common "contractor" stainless steek sinks is all to easy for it to be damaged or even pierced when doing cutlery directly in the sink. The plastic bowl prevent the stainless steel sink being damaged. It also significantly helps keep the washing up water hotter for longer. If you have a very expensive ceramic "butler sink" the last thing you want is to damage the glaze on it. Neither do you want your crockery clanking about in it - ceramic on ceramic. Again using a plastic bowel in the sink mitigates this. Finally - it gets rid of all issues with missing/badly fitting plugs which allow the water to drain away when you don't want it to. Think of it as a semi disposably plastic "liner".

[@unisophia]

and you can bring the bowl to the table, collect the dishes and bring it to the sink safely, I presume… instead of taking them by hand.

[@kayhoward8723]

It's to protect your delicate China and glassware as sinks are earthenware or stainless steel, so dishes and glassware can be chipped or cracked

[@liamburns8554]

As a british person I must say by he plastic bowl has always irritated/confused me! It is a terrible uk custom!

[@mrsmunchin]

I’ve never used a washing up bowl. Most people I know don’t use them.

[@cpmahon]

When I was a paperboy we put the newspapers through the letterbox as well. I was jealous when I saw American kids just throwing the paper at the house. You also learnt that if you wanted decent tips at Christmas, you pushed the paper all the way through and definitely closed the gate!!!

[@grahvis]

I remember way back, one woman had a rather aggressive dog. As soon as the paper entered the letterbox, it would be yanked through by the dog.

[@LouLou10000]

Yeah, lucky householders getting soggy wet newspapers if you don't have an extensive house with a porch or the throw misses the target lol

[@MrBulky992]

Some householders with excitable dogs find that their pet has ripped up their letters and newspapers! Some letterboxes have a cage inside to catch letters and prevent them falling on the floor and to protect them from naughty dogs. Parcels which will fit through the letterbox are also delivered that way.

[@smartchip]

Your a good lad,

[@tonys1636]

Used to hate at times delivering the papers to houses that had 3 or 4 daily papers plus various magazines such as Country Life or Tatler as often wouldn't fit through and one had to ring the bell and wait for someone to open the door. (often a Maid). Hated Monthly publication day as the bag was three times as heavy. Only had 30 houses on the round but was over 7 miles long going out of the village and had 3 farms on it. The cycle ride kept me fit plus the 9 mile ride to school after.

[@jasonsmart3482]

What is nice about our posties is that they are part of the community especially in smaller towns and village. Most people who are home all day know the postie and it feels so much more of a personal service than it did when i lived in the USA.

[@kdog4587]

Our postie dresses up as Santa around Christmas for the kids and we always talk when he shows up, I completely agree :). My grandad was a postman for 50yrs and was very much a part of the community fabric :)

[@hatjodelka]

This! It's very often posties who notice something amiss, for example elderly people not greeting them etc. For many isolated older people their posties are regular human contact. I don't live in a rural area, I'm in inner London but I always have had a great relationship with my posties over the decades. They also know they can always use my loo if they're caught short. They provide a great public service.

[@pixelpawzgaming]

Yush exactly and as a uk local myself. I rather have the posties knock on my door to deliver parcels plus my dog (english bull terrier) Symphony enjoys the head pets from the regular posties as they know he’s postie friendly ☕️

[@victoriamyatt1709]

Its also nice to get the postie a pressie or a tipple (alcoholic drink) for Christmas.

[@boneythelynx8884]

Yes and have time for everyone, sharing a chat with old people or return a lost dog. Posties are superheroes

[@denisemackay1411]

Our postie is called Pauline, she will often stop for a chat when she delivers post. Also she will open our front door and drop stuff inside. She knows everyone in our village. It’s a good way to check on older people who are on their own.

[@Arbalest_487]

Hi Tyler! I'm an American whose family has always used what we call a dish pan in our kitchen sinks. It's made of a Tupperware like plastic. The advantages are that you use less water (while soaking), the water stays warm longer and your dishes don't damage the sink. We also now put a soft plastic raised mat with drainage holes at the bottom of the sink for collecting the dishes we are ready to rinse off.

[@TimpBizkit]

I just use them so I can rinse off down the side without tipping the water away or diluting it with cold. Also good for the plates that have lots of gravy on so the water doesn't get filled with gravy quickly. Of course if you have a fancy double sink with a mini sink for rinsing there is less need of one, but they are still useful.

[@bloozee]

My grandparents sink was made of a kind of concrete.

[@shirleywolfenden7651]

@@bloozee 21:48 8

[@jaccilowe3842]

The kitchens in the UK don't always have room for a double sink and the bowl enables you to lift it out if necessary with the washing up in it, so someone else can get to the water and the sink. Also it is quieter and safer for glassware (a lot of old houses only had stone sinks) Maybe it's a throwback that we still use a bowl!

[@jonathanwetherell3609]

Also it saves on water.

[@HeatherMyfanwyTylerGreey]

Some detergent scratches and dulls stainless steel sinks as well as other reasons I have read. It also reduces chipping of china,

[@SGABlencathra]

Yes indeed. I have a ceramic sink and using a plastic washing up bowl definitely saves my glasses and plates etc from chipping.

[@Lily_The_Pink972]

And we wash up differently. We fill the bowl with hot soapy water, start off with glassware and move onto dirtier items. We don't wash under a running tap.

[@unicornicefoxxi7111]

my grandma used to use a bowl in the sink i remember sitting on the floor as a young kid and doing the washing up then she would take the bowl after i was done take it to the sink poor out water and then rinse of the suds and then she would dry them and i would help her than put the dishes and stuff away .. but my mum was like pffff screw a bowl i have the sink why do i need a bowl and we never had a bowl in the sink .. and when i moved out and into my place i never have had a bowl in my sink and besides that dishwashers are more common by the time i was setting up my home so ive always used a dishwasher only thing my kitchen sink is used for is rinsing the dishes b4 they go into dishwasher or for handwashing clothes or for filling up a bucket to do the mopping . ( but i do own a washing up bowl its just never used for that its used for things like cleaning skirting boards or for dipping my bike inner-tube in to see where the puncture is or for a nice place to soak my feet in after a long day on my feet or other such like uses or when i was very ill the bowl would be used to be sick in or it was used as a portable sink when i had my motorbike accident and was paralysed so nurses/partner could wash me)

[@shmuelparzal]

The on/off switch on the socket is there as a compulsory safety feature. Tom Scott has made a very informative video on his channel about the safety features of British plugs and sockets, and why we have them

[@gillcawthorn7572]

The plug can be left in the socket ,turned off or not . It`s not necessary to switch off .

[@ASavageEye]

@@gillcawthorn7572 True but its still safer to switch it off for a number of reasons. One being child safety if they start messing with it and pull it out while the current if flowing and electrocute themselves. Sure it would only be a tiny shock but for a child thats still a lot of pain. The second is power surges. If the switch is off and there is a surge your appliance is safe but if you leave the switch on it could blow. I know that one from experience when my laptop was fried because I left it plugged in with the switch on. An expensive lesson to learn.

[@swordablaze9259]

Tom covers so many interesting and random things - love his channel!

[@mikestrohm3271]

@@ASavageEye Actually that should not happen, if you look at the positive and negative terminals on the plug they are black close to the plug and then become brass metallic. This means that if you partially pull the plug out then you cannot electrocute yourself as the black parts are insulation. In fact the length of the insulated part is designed so that the pin is not contacting any power source when the plug is pulled out beyond the black insulated part of the pin. this is also why the earth pin is so much longer that the +ve and -ve pins.

[@ASavageEye]

@mikestrohm3271 I'm.not sure why you are saying any of that, it has no bearing on anything I said

[@ChrisGBusby]

Washing up bowls are great shock absorbers. They also mean you can put things in to soak, lift the bowl out onto the side then still have the sink usable.

[@louiseglasgow]

Our postcodes (like zip codes) are much more specific than USA and mainland Europe ones. They narrow the space down to a small number of houses. So it's easy enough for a post person to find the house within that. In the past before postcodes, the postmen just needed to learn the route. Also, house names with no number are in rural areas and so it's not a city name but a village name or similar, so it's a small-ish area that is covered.

[@jirokoshibailey2052]

Whilst true, area (like la1 to la13) are regional (la = Lancashire, s1-19 = Sheffield etc) and living in a tower block the last part of the post code is the same for the entire block

[@FreeThinkingTruther]

I think the main reason for us having a letterbox over a mailbox is the fact that most of our houses don't sit on huge pieces of land, if the post man had to walk 500yards up and then back down a driveway, I think post boxes would be more common, you usually only see them on gated properties where access isn't available.

[@kevb044]

For me, the reason I use a washing up bowl is because they're made of plastic, which always feels more forgiving than say a metal sink when putting in glass items to wash

[@judithrowe8065]

Yes. It also means that metal utensils don't scratch the sink, and if a glass breaks, it's easier & safer to dispose of the pieces without touching them. And it uses less water- metered here in the UK.

[@Bowleskov]

I use mine because I can still rinse or drain down the side of the bowl as needed without needing to either pollute my cleaning water or drain the sink midway. Obviously in America they tend to have Bigger kitchens so can fit a double sink for that purpose.

[@rpmillam]

It was used to reduce the water used as the old sinks held 2+ gallons of water.

[@Whiteshirtloosetie]

Plus along with reasons other people mention with a bowl all the stuff you are washing off sinks to the bottom of the bowl and not the sink. So not messing around unblocking the plughole. Lift the bowl out and despose of with ease. Plus it saves on fuel bills.

[@adamcashin4021]

I don't use one anymore as I have a dishwasher now; so washing in the sink is limited to one or two items I desperately needed. But when I did wash everything by hand I found the bowl useful as you could leave dishes in their to soak and then remove the bowl to use the sink if you needed it. Also the bowl was a little taller than the sink overflow so taller bulky items could be totally immersed in water

[@mandolinic]

The washing up bowl saves a *lot* of hot water, and our energy is really expensive here. Filling up the bowl uses maybe 1/2 of the water to fill up the sink to the same level. Also, when you realise that you haven't emptied the dregs of a cupsof tea or coffee from a cup, you can just pour them into the sink beside the bowl, keeping your washing water cleaner. The bowl usually keeps itself clean, but now and again you might need to rinse it off.

[@sarahhiggins1515]

As a Brit who has never had a washing up bowl, you just don’t fill up the sink to the level you would fill up a bowl - its the same amount of water. It doesn’t need to be a high level because you use a cloth that gets water all over the item. We also have a much smaller sink attatched to it that we use for quick emptyings or rinsing. I also saw someone say how the plastic is safer for glass items than a metal sink but you just don’t let the glass touch the sides - it doesn’t need to.

[@mandolinic]

@@sarahhiggins1515 Clearly, your mileage may vary 🤔

[@AlSnoopsReid]

@@sarahhiggins1515 Unfortunately, we're not all as perfect as you Sarah. Us normal souls can sometimes misjudge distance when cleaning our glassware, hence the safety aspect of using a plastic bowl. Plus,of course, those of us who live in older houses, or have smaller kitchens, don't have the luxury of a double sink layout.

[@sarahhiggins1515]

@@AlSnoopsReid it's not that hard.. you just carefully submerge it in the water then lift it out and do the rest of the cleaning with the cloth. It doesn't have to be held under water whilst cleaning. As for the double sink I understand some people don't have them but they really don't take up much more room. We had a tiny kitchen when I was younger that having 2 people in there felt like a squeeze but still had a double sink. The main sink was perhaps a bit smaller than the average single sink

[@fayesouthall6604]

It’s saves wasting water.

[@Nikki-yn7yv]

Yep I’ve I’m British and live in the UK but have lived in the US as my husband is American and I could never understand down the drive mailboxes , anyone could just steal your post and or parcels seems crazy to me , our post people do a lot of walking probably a much healthier job here than in the States where u al seem to drive whatever you do and wherever you go

[@truxton1000]

I lived in Norway for 37 years before moving to UK for over 20 years now. In Norway they have the same letterbox system as US, but they are placed in a natural location together maybe 10-20 of them so it's very quick for the postman to deliver, probably takes 10% of the time compared to UK as no need to walk and walk to all the houses, so it saves a lot of money money. And they do not deliver large parcels to that does not fit in the letter box, you get a note and need to collect at the post office, efficient and avoids deliveries to houses that no one is at home anyway. I have never heard that theft from letterboxes was ever a problem i Norway. And anyway in the UK parcels are left in front of doors ALL the time, I see it daily. But not a big problem with theft in the UK either, from these parcels left for everyone to see. But yes, I get it UK is VERY conservative and they would NEVER change any system regardless if other countries have much better systems.

[@jamiemoss3633]

It's a federal crime to steal mail in the U.S.

[@truxton1000]

@@jamiemoss3633 So what, still people will do it. Anyway I don’t think the penalty should be any less if it was not a “federal crime” as stealing from a person is at least as bad. Maybe USA think it’s more serious if it’s “federal”??

[@melanielloyd812]

Our posties also provide are an invaluable service in the UK especially outside big cities where they are part of the community, know people and keep an eye on any vulnerable people. Not all posties go above and beyond their letter posting duties but many do and are valued for it. I always give my postie a Christmas bonus for delivering my letters safely all year and keeping an eye on me as he knows i'm disabled and goes out of his way to be helpful. For instance, if a delivery is left outside he will put it into a safe box for me, knock the door and let me know..

[@oktrevor2010]

Letter boxes are secure, postmen are brilliant, switches isolate electrical items when not in use and reduce fires, travel broadens the mind, Nuff said.

[@Tarantio1983]

On point 1, our railway system is so much more than "The Tube". Like most towns are connected to other towns by a train line and the trains are fairly frequent. One summer, I had 4 weeks of holiday and TOIL to be taken ... So work forced me to go on holiday, thus I travelled England to visit friends. I have travelled from Hastings (East Sussex) to Exeter (Devon) {far south east to far south west of England}, it took 6 hours. Then from Exeter (Devon) to Ashington (Northumbria), it took only 6 & ½ hours. Then from Ashington (Northumbria) to London, it only took 5 hours. Then from London back to Hastings, it only took 2 hours. Then in Exeter I travelled everywhere by bus and paid only a tenner for a 1 week ticket that let me travel the entirety of Southern Devon I was there, the same went on in Ashington for all of Northumbria! And in London I just stuck about £25 on an Oyster Card and paid about a fiver for travel each day! Because I booked the train tickets from Hastings to Exeter, Exeter to Newcastle, Newcastle to London, and London to Hastings in advance with a Network Rail Card I paid only £180 for all the tickets. I even got boosted to first class on the trains to and from Newcastle because there was a special travel deal on sale to visit the city!

[@lindyashford7744]

0H, I forgot, in Britain we do not think taxis and cycles are public transportation…. There are some cycle schemes but they are not that great, and are run within individual cities, by private companies.

[@wereleopard58yepihavetwo2]

I live in Hampshire, my mum is from Inverness. We justhas to change in London. It was about 13hrs in a sleeper.

[@claire6795]

Devon was cut off in Beechings cuts to the railway line - north Devon suffered terribly, the older friends here remember dropping off goods, grown flòwers, farm produce to the local train station to send it to LONDON. Even tourists have had to rely on car use. Sad.

[@yodaami]

The uk used to be so much better connected in the 1960s. The beeching report and subsequent destruction of lots of rural railways have messed up the village connections. There are 2 stations within walking distance of my home that are derelict. Now have to catch a bus ( and it is 2 hourly) to the nearest station.

[@susanwinn4478]

The Metro is what the subway is called in Newcastle

[@tightropewalkergirl6485]

The British are pretty well travelled, we all know loads of people that have been to Australia etc - I guess it’s because we’re a traditional ‘sea faring’ nation

[@avaggdu1]

It helps that a lot of Brits have relatives overseas and English is a commonly used language, not so much because we're "sea-faring" but because we're colonists.

[@stewedfishproductions7959]

Only about 42% of Americans have a an actual passport and (unlike the UK), they are not guaranteed almost a month of 'paid holidays'... In fact they are lucky to get two weeks off and usually unpaid.

[@lizcollinson2692]

And maybe a bit conquering.

[@avaggdu1]

@@lizcollinson2692 Conquering tends to go hand-in-glove with colonisation - people tend to object to you squatting on their land otherwise.

[@lucyj8204]

Also we get longer paid holiday - you can take two weeks at a time so longhaul feels worthwhile.

[@DruncanUK]

Hahaha - The "Tube" or London Underground only covers London, not the whole of the UK. Britain has an extensive rail system the covers most of the country, it is also clean, reliable (mostly) and comfortable. But it is not part of the underground! I loved how you said "Ah - I understand now!" yet still had it upside down. 😂

[@personalcheeses8073]

And incredibly expensive

[@DruncanUK]

@@personalcheeses8073 compared to what?

[@avaggdu1]

Some of us crazy folk even have trams that are a huge step away from the archaic view of them and make trains look like cattle trucks. They're far more reliable, regular, comfortable, cheap, safe (inasmuch as any public transport is 'safe'), convenient, modern and quiet. The only downside is their range of coverage. I'm not sure that taxis (they're private cars for hire) and bicycles (with the possible exception of rental bikes) count as public transport.

[@stevehaddon151]

​@@DruncanUK flying!

[@cayde7207]

@@personalcheeses8073 Expensive how ? I can travel from one side of London to the other for a price cheaper than a bag of chips 😂 When visiting Manchester to see family they have the Tram which is even cheaper than travel in London and acts like a bus and train combined… Even without an Oyster Card it’s still relatively cheap… so I’m not sure where you’ve gone to find it so expensive unless you’re using the National Rail which can be expensive unless you look correctly, for example I travel via Avantiwest West Coast for around £25 two way ticket from London to Manchester open ticket… you just have to find the deals and go at the correct times, booking ahead also helps.

[@hanskneesun123]

There's a story from the 1980's about a letter being sent to Britain from Australia with no address, just a name and a hand drawn outline of the British isles with an X in the rough location of where they wanted the letter delivered, a postal worker recognised the name and it was hand delivered to the correct address with no issues.

[@lounolastname4477]

That is not true

[@annettemoore7264]

I'm a Brit, years ago my friends parents emigrated to Australia, she didn't want to go so they bought her a beautiful little 19th century cottage covered in ivy and roses a called it Pooh Corner. ❤

[@gdj6298]

My apartment looks out onto a pleasant bit of grass where all the other residents come to empty their dogs. I've been thinking of getting a fancy sign made with 'The House at Pooh Corner'......

[@tonystroud6652]

House names work in the UK because we have post codes, usually a combination of numbers and letters like ABC 8XY. This identifies the town/village and narrows it down to a couple of streets. A letter with just a house name and a postcode will be easily delivered. There is no need for anything else, like a city or county.

[@geoffpriestley7310]

You want try a post code in North Yorkshire I use to repair Central heating and it didn't work but what 3 words is magic for finding out ot the way farms

[@samanthagibson5791]

It's normally one or two letters that link to the area or a large town in the area, then one or two numbers referencing a smaller town or section of a town then a gap before a one number two letter combination which is specific to a street or part of a street, depending on lenght.

[@texbankuk]

I've lived in rural Ireland before postal codes were invented only big cities like Dublin had basic postal district codes like D6 plus the district name town or village Outside of Dublin the Post would be addressed to the county/village or town then in our location it would be the hill name and person lots of permutations but generally you had to pick up your mail from the post office in the Main street rarely got any delivery direct to our property as it sat on the top of a half mile unmade lane! With no signage.. All the family had to wear Wellington boots almost year round to get up that route and we had a busy dairy farm next door hence also having cattle on the lane also with their mess.

[@DrewGJackson]

Just this last week I received post that had just my name and postcode on the envelope and it was delivered to my address. Either there’s only one person on my street with my name or it’s proof that I receive a lot of mail. 😂

[@xhogun8578]

Post codes are rubbish in rural areas. My house just has a name and the post code takes people 1/4 mile away. Always have to provide additional information for parcel deliveries. A friend's postcode takes people to a different valley with no direct connecting road. Post is okay as the local postie will know each house and who lives there.

[@jamesdignanmusic2765]

Public transport (not "transportation") is pretty good in the UK. It's not known for being punctual - buses and trains will often be a few minutes late - but other than that it's good. For a Brit going to the Canary Islands is like an American going to Cancun or the Bahamas. With house names, most of them also have numbers, but quite a few houses in small towns or villages will have a name. "J. Smith, Tudor Gables, Church Lane, Newtown".

[@emma-spookyghost]

Hi Tyler, regarding the house names and postage, there are also examples of Royal Mail managing to deliver letters with little more than a description 😂 For example a letter being delivered to the correct person below: "The sender had simply addressed it to Katrina Davis [sic], noting that she lived in a shed “near a village 21 miles from Land’s End, as featured on BBC2 Simon Reeve Cornwall programme”." There are several examples of this and whilst I don't recommend posting like this (Royal Mail staff have enough to do as is), it's something I do find amusing :)

[@rachelhenderson2688]

Royal Mail staff are used to it. Also, we had books of all the streets in a town or village. Somebody would know.

[@miaschu8175]

For me, using a washing up bowl is more economical and practical. Those of us with bog-standard sinks can find them a bit big to fill with hot water so that they're deep enough to soak pots and pans. Also, if you want to run the cold tap for a drink, or you need to pour away cold tea down the sink before washing the mug, you can because there's a bowl, so it doesn't need to go into the hot, soapy water. Lastly, sinks in the UK don't have the scary waste disposal thing that you see in US shows (I don't know if they're really ubiquitous there). So, instead of just taking out the plug, you would put the plug strainer over the plughole before pouring out the used water from the washing up bowl. If any food bits were scrubbed off of plates or saucepans, they wouldn't then go down the drain. The picture used in the video is not especially typical of the size of sinks in the UK; it was pretty small - perhaps because it was a double sink. If I had a sink like that, I wouldn't bother with a washing up bowl, but I would put a tea towel or similar on the bottom, as glasses are more liable to break in hard sinks

[@mumo9413]

Taxis are not public transport, they're private hire!

[@Richiecandylover]

In my area with Amazon Prime I can often get my orders the same day, and they also deliver groceries the same day. Postmen have always walked, they often drive to an area and deliver by foot to all houses, no matter the weather

[@caroledwards3465]

Yes and they normally wear shorts even in winter lol

[@Richiecandylover]

@@caroledwards3465 Yes they always wear shorts, but saw that you have to run just to hit their targets and often they don't eat or eat while driving just to hit targets

[@wessexdruid7598]

When I lived in the deep countryside, they drove a post bus.

[@B-A-L]

I often get items from Amazon Japan via DHL faster than items from Ebay UK via Royal Snail! The slowest deliveries from Japan i have had have all been handled by Royal Snail or Parcel Farce!

[@AJ-hi9fd]

Even if Amazon delivered immediately I would buy anything from them.

[@tonys1636]

Using a washing up bowl is a hangover from the days of having a Belfast sink ( 2ft x 3ft x 10" ceramic/stoneware sink) in the kitchen. Before most of us had a dishwasher or fitted kitchen. That sink was often used to bathe the Baby as well.

[@kirstygunn9149]

My first bath as a baby was in a bright orange washing up bowl, because I was so small ( I was under 5 lbs full term) and my mum didn't want me to slip or catch my head on the taps in the kitchen sink. there are photos of me in this little bowl my mum thinks I look cute,I think I looked like a hairless cat ,or a plucked chicken.

[@SMNC-mf4fb]

We call a washing up bowl ‘the basin’ in Northern Ireland or Atleast we do In Belfast.

[@kp7032]

I still have the ceramic sink I removed from our 1930s flat; it makes for a great flower container

[@SMNC-mf4fb]

@@kp7032 you can buy them in most salavage sites here in Belfast and a lot of people use them as planters. My Nan only has a balcony for her apt so she has one for her flowers. (:

[@cazyaz523]

We have a double Belfast sink and a dishwasher. They are popular but can stain/break so you want to use a bowl to wash up in if you can’t use the dishwasher.

[@MrBulky992]

Another reason to use a plastic washing-up bowl, apart from protecting delicate crockery from impact with the harder surface of a metal or porcelain sink, is the fact that many homes in the UK only have or had a single sink in the kitchen. Last century, this was often made of very hard porcelain. When the plug is inserted in the sink to hold the hot soapy water to wash the dishes, the waste pipe is no longer accessible so the contents of, for example, half-drunk cups of coffee cannot be disposed of. With a washing-up bowl, the water pipe in the sink is still open and available for that purpose and liquid waste can be poured into the gap between the bowl and the sink so that cups etc can then be washed. In the USA when you are finished with a regularly used electrical appliance, you have to unplug it to isolate it fully from the supply. In the UK, you can leave it plugged in but switched off, ready for the next use. You simply switch it on instead of plugging it in. In such cases, there is nothing extra to remember. Most chargers have light indicators in any case to show that they are charging: I would always check those at the start of charging no matter which country I was in.

[@kerrydoutch5104]

Aussie here. The switch on the electric power outlets is for safety because UK and Australia voltage is 230v vs 120v in the US. We have them here too.

[@leeriches8841]

I was baffled at your reaction to Brits going on holiday to Thailand! It's incredibly common. My mother goes every year and has done since 2006, sometimes takes my little sister! They often go on two holidays a year, Thailand and usually Dubai or New York. This simple fact has made me appreciate our little islands location a lot more.

[@ianm42yt]

You should know about the Canary Islands, because if one of the volcanoes has a major eruption, half an island could slip into the sea, and the resulting tsunami would wipe out New York a few hours later.

[@gillcawthorn7572]

Providing he knows where New York is 😅

[@Isleofskye]

@@gillcawthorn7572 Is it near New Amsterdam?

[@gillcawthorn7572]

@@Isleofskye Somewhere round there. If it`s known that it isn`t in the Netherlands ,it`s a bonus.😄

[@Isleofskye]

@@gillcawthorn7572 New Amsterdam being,Gill? 😀

[@gillcawthorn7572]

@@Isleofskye Oh dear ,why did you mention it if you don`t know where or it is?

[@Aloh-od3ef]

Most sinks in the UK are made from stainless steel. A washing bowl/ bucket is used to protect your sink from being scratched from the metal knifes and forks 😉

[@ianstratford1914]

And the bowl can be lifted out to refill the kettle.

[@sarahhiggins1515]

But you don’t need to put those items into the sink. They don’t ever have to touch the sides. You hold the item and use a cloth to clean it with the water.

[@Isleofskye]

@@sarahhiggins1515 I regret to inform you Sarah that any possible long-term relationship between ourselves is never going to happen, if you don't allow the rice or other items that were cooked in the saucepan to be filled with hot water and fairy liquid to soak, for later final cleansing. At least neither of us , use a bowl so there may be a chink of light ahead of us:)

[@sarahhiggins1515]

@@Isleofskye Don't worry I leave things to soak just not in the sink 🙃

[@Isleofskye]

@@sarahhiggins1515 That's more promising Sarah. The only thing that can ruin our future is if you like Soaps, Talent Shows, Ballet, Opera, ITV, Circuses, Funfairs or live outside The M25, Cats, Shopping, or Chatting on The Phone for more than 3 minutes. Anyone one of the aforementioned HAS to be a Yellow Card and 2 or more and, sadly, for me, it's Doom and Gloom and , wistfully, imagining what might have been...

[@richardwaddington2038]

The washing up bowl (which isnt a bowl its made to fit in a normal rectangular sink) AFAIA , came about as most families in the UK got an expensive bone china or porcelain tea service as wedding presents . These were very expensive and very delicate so to prevent chipping on the hard kitchen sink services you washed them in a plastic bowl within the sink .

[@matthill3293]

As Brits, we're always shocked when someone says our public transportation services are good because we constantly moan about them. I dread to think what it must be like in the USA.

[@Spiklething]

I think the reason for the washing up bowl is because many homes in the past only had one kitchen sink. If you filled the kitchen sink up with hot water to wash the dishes, and then find a mug or a cup that is half full of left over tea or coffee, where are you going to pour it away if the sink is full of water? The toilet? If you are using a washing up bowl you can pour the left over drink into the gap between the bowl and the sink. Nowadays many homes have two sinks in the kitchen.

[@bookwyrmroo5704]

In my experience, many homes now only have one kitchen sink, and most don’t have a utility room. I imagine it varies a bit by region and if you live in an area with lots of new builds.

[@torreyskidd]

can confirm! im a 23 year old Brit and have been to the Canary Islands 4 times 😊 ive also been to Spain, Greece, Turkey, France and Canada! its not uncommon for Brits to leave the country for vacation

[@Isleofskye]

Don't go to Morocco unless you are in a large group and do not want to be followed by 20 young boys,wanting your money and 20 older Men trying to sell you something that you neither want nor need:)

[@robward367]

Except the UK Brexity folk of course! #humour

[@AJ-hi9fd]

@@robward367bugger off, I love Europe but I don’t want to be controlled by the EU unelected commission.

[@unicornicefoxxi7111]

except us brits dont call it vacation we call it a holiday :-) hehe and i have also traveled most of the world only 4 places left in the world ive not been to and want to go to thats vancouver/canada , america , australia and singapore .. otherwise i have literally been to every other country in the world

[@torreyskidd]

@@unicornicefoxxi7111 i know but holiday to americans is like Christmas/Easter so wanted to make sure he understood my comment properly :)

[@richardbrown8966]

If she thinks a washing up bowl looks like a bucket, she needs her eyes testing.

[@magzb2642]

Bless the postmen/women and we've always had honest ones.❤

[@truxton1000]

Regarding the mail through the door in UK yes, it creates MORE work for the postman. But as this is a British tradition, and of course to break a tradition would be IMPOSSIBLE to change the mail through the door will stay. As I am from Norway and there we have certain places where all the letterboxes is located in the same place the postman just turn up in car and fills up all the letterboxes in a short time, saving walking from house to house. I recon it would take at least ten times longer for a UK postman to do a round compared to in "normal" countries. Well I guess they get very fit with all that walking... but it of course cost much more.

[@iallso1]

Before moving to NZ I had visited the usual European destinations France, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Greece, and the Canary Islands. I had also visited Canada, the US 3 times and Cuba twice. Turkey, Singapore and Hong Kong in Asia, Egypt in Africa, and Australia and New Zealand. Since moving to NZ we have added Italy and Japan along with a further 6 trips to Australia. We still have plans to visit other Pacific Island nations and Hawaii before we get too old to enjoy the experience. It is important to experience other cultures, you grow from these experiences, become more tolerant of other people and the way they do things.

[@shmuelparzal]

Without a washing-up basin, there's always the inconvenience that you might accidentally unplug the sink, which I have done countless number of times whenever I did not have a basin. Having a basin in the sink means that you can have all kinds of things moving around in the basin, and you don't have to worry about accidentally unplugging the sink

[@miaschu8175]

I thought that was just me! I don't care how ugly they are - a washing up bowl is a must!

[@mattymaddog67]

I have worked as a postman/manager for 35 years . House names are pretty common in the uk and you would need extra training to do a rural delivery were a lot of old houses had names rather than numbers . But after doing a delivery round for 8 -12 months I knew every customers name and would know what they worked and where to leave parcels so they were secure etc. They would give me tips at Christmas and offer alcoholic drinks (got drunk on my first Christmas delivery) I would check on the elderly customers and once found a confused old guy in a ditch early morning . Took him home and rang his family. The sorting machines could identify a person through IA learning so a mr b brown with a certain postcode let’s say Newcastle would get his mail , as the system had previous letters to B Brown at 15 Sunderland way Newcastle NE2 4BA so with very little information the system could determine where B Brown lived. Back in the eighties when I joined it was purely down to posties like me thinking I know a B Brown lives at such and such address .

[@Joanna-il2ur]

My husband and I lived in a house in an Oxfordshire village called Jessamine Cottage for a couple of years. We perpetually got mail for a man who lived in Jessamine Cottage in a different village over thirty miles away. I asked the postie and he told me they only look at the first line. I found the other house, sent the mail on to the guy there and asked me if he ever got our mail. He thanked me, but said he’d never had ours wrongly delivered.

[@frankparsons1629]

Just a thought about washing up bowls. I'll bet this dates back to even Georgian times (250 years ago) when there was no running water and it was collected from a well or later a stand pipe in the street serving quite possibly the whole street. As piped water became more common households would only have one tap outside in the back (cobbled) yard so again a bucket of water was fetched and taken indoors. As indoor taps became more usual but in country areas not until the late 50s, the water was then indoors but it was still in a bucket as when you wanted hot water it had to be taken to the range to heat up and perhaps in a bucket hanging over the fire. All through the centuries the bucket moved the water to and fro. Letting the tap run the cold water into a sink was of little use if you wanted to heat it up. So it would be natural to have a bowl/container in the sink so the water could be moved easily. I remember in the 60's when we lived in the country, an old dear lived across the Common and she was a friend of my Mum. She had no services whatsoever, no water, no sewerage, no electricity, no gas (there still is no gas in the countryside, unless you use gas canisters and they weigh a ton). If I called in to see her, and there was a bucket of water in her porch I'd carry it indoors for her, if the bucket was empty I'd walk up the lane to the well, fill the bucket and take it indoors for her. If there was no bucket in the porch I knew she was using the water in the bucket, simple system. In the 50s Mum had old school friends who lived in the town, they had one tap in the scullery, a tin bath hanging outside in the yard, no electricity but being in the town they had gas lighting. Water was heated on the gas stove in a kettle which whistled when the water boiled. Remember when early sinks were the Belfast type, they were more then twice the size of modern sinks so if you were washing up just a few things you wouldn't waste valuable water that had taken you ten minutes to cart indoors and then heat up, you'd pour it into a (smaller) enamel bowl in the sink. Over time sinks became smaller and the bowls were then plastic. Old habits die hard though.

[@emeraldscorpio]

I lived in Tampa, a city of 1m people and was shocked it didn't have a train network. I come from a small town in Scotland pop 75-80k and we have 8 train stations lol

[@rachealbrown2166]

Popular places for many Brits to holiday are really anywhere on the Mediterranean Sea including Turkey, Egypt and Tunisia. Many of us also take short breaks in a huge range of European cities - Prague, Vienna, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Venice, Istanbul, Copenhagen to name a few. We also get much more paid holidays so plenty of time to travel.

[@0utcastAussie]

Re: The washing up bowl It's a throwback that's remained relevant today. (Kitchen) Sinks used to be quite large and took a lot of hot water to fill to be useful. That hot water had to be boiled and then carried to the sink so the bowl made perfect sense. It also helps protect the crockery from chips as the sink used to be made out of a marble style substance.

[@Battyuk66]

Made me smile the bit about protects the dishes or mugs etc from getting chips, not in my house with my husband lol.. 😂 We have gone through so many dinner sets because he is heavy handed and chips they regularly..

[@ChrisSmith-xh9wb]

THe sinks were larger in the past as they were used for washing laundry, but using them for a few dishes and cutlery without a bowl would have been uneconomic. The habit of using a bowl stuck after large sinks were replaced with washing machines.

[@GPA_Karting]

6:00 thats part of the problem, what's wrong with a bit of walking? Houses here are mostly terraced and semi detached, houses aren't spread apart and postmen only cover specific areas daily, they have "routes" , they either walk the routes if its a built up area with lots of housing or they drive in rural places then post through doors. I don't understand your "convenience for the postman" thing.. its literally there job 🤦‍♂️🤣

[@nicholasr82]

The socket thing is much safer in the uk than in an always on American type. Kids at a young age won’t get electrocuted if they stick something into the uk socket for 1. that it can be switched off and 2. nothing can be pushed into the power connectors (bottom two holes in the socket) if the top one is not inserted at the same time. There is a safety flap on the bottom two that remains closed if the top section is not engaged. The bowl for washing dishes stops the dishes hitting the hard sides of a sink and prevents breaking, it also keeps water hotter for longer, it uses less water to fill and it protects the sink as they are not cheap in the uk. It’s also much quicker to fill a bowl than a big sink.

[@dark_dragoon126]

Also the uk has almost double the voltage in our sockets

[@potterlover96]

I've lived in the UK since birth and I still sometimes forget to turn on the outlet and then get confused why something isn't charging 😂 also yes you can drive the entire length of the Britain in less than a day (one estimate back in 2011 was that it would take just short of 16 hours) so Amazon can get places quickly

[@Jkk55]

The plug outlet switch is for safety keeping little fingers from harm. The washing up bowl is a must in my house the cutlery would scratch the sink also you can use the bowl whilst poring liquids down the sink. Thank you for your videos I learnt a lot about America from you ❤

[@Lily-ey9tn]

I used to live in one of the UK National Parks (very rural). The house was named 'Low Green Cottage' and was so rural it didn't have a street. You would just write the house name, village name and the Post Code. It's fairly common - I wouldn't have even thought anyone would see it as unusual

[@neilmarkwick1724]

It is also common for people from the UK to have short breaks / long weekends in European Countries as we have a network of low cost airlines. I'm watching your video in Porto, Portugal as I had a long weekend off. My return flights to / from the UK were £58 total but you can find flights for much less than that!

[@scottdonaldson4471]

We also get far more paid vacation time ...

[@yourrightimsooosorry884]

Why would you leave mail in a box that any Tom, dick or Harry could take when ever they feel like it!!!🖖😁

[@isoldedoyle3483]

I’ve never heard it called a washing up bowl but rather a washing up basin. As it is plastic it saves on breakages in the sink and would have been used a lot years ago when people could not afford to replace chipped or cracked crockery.

[@musingartisan]

As an ex newspaper delivery guy, in rural areas we have mail boxes. But in "urban/sub urban" areas 90% of our front doors open straight onto the "sidewalk", so there is no walking up and down drive ways etc. Posties can just walk up and down the street will just walk down the sidewalk easily putting your mail through the door.

[@Thurgosh_OG]

As a former Postie who covered urban and rural deliveries, many rural homes still had a letterbox, only a few had a mailbox as they didn't think they were secure.

[@He1IoStuff]

I would love a video of you just on google earth looking at the uk and how dense all of the towns, cities, villages are. Theres lots and lots of countryside especially down the middle of it but It would be fun having you see what villages look like, how different towns look like aswell as the contrast between them and the cities. Everywhere in the uk has tons of history and local stories and I feel you looking around and searching town and village names would be a really fun video idea :)

[@Becca-Louise]

Purpose of the washing up bowl is you can put all your dirty dishes in it, but then lift the bowl out when you need access to the taps to fill up the kettle for example :)

[@wobaguk]

The kettles they dont have :). Also Amazon US seems to be full of 'washbasin dishpans" which seem to be exactly washing up bowls, so SOMEONE is using them.

[@avaggdu1]

Fortunately the UK is catching up to the US with mixer and monobloc taps so washing up bowls are disappearing where they belong. I can't stand them, but I understand why people with old-fashioned kitchens still cling on to them.

[@wobaguk]

When you have a double sink I see the solution, but just having a mixer tap, I would still want to lift out the bowl if I wanted to wash dirt off my hands or strain vegetables.

[@sandracraig]

I'm in Scotland UK I live in a flat and our postman climbs four storys to deliver our letters to twelve families in the building every day,.

[@phoenixheart79]

Public transport quality in the UK really depends on where you are. In London, it's fantastic, you can get anywhere you want quickly and efficiently. Go to rural Shropshire and well... two buses a day, one out of the village in the morning and one back in in the evening. In short, if you're in a UK city absolutely look at public transport. If you're not, give it a second, third or even fourth thought lol

[@phoenixheart79]

Just to add: house names. My parents house is just a standard semi-detached home and has a name. The name simply replaces the number in the address, so it's "housename, street, town, county, postcode (zipcode in the USA)" Also, some homeowners name their house in addition to a number, but that's unofficial and not used in the address.

[@LiqdPT]

By contrast, that village, or even larger towns, in the US wouldn't have busses at all.

[@pattyx984]

Previous amazon worker here, we have same day amazon prime delivery here. If you live in or near any of the major cities there will always be a huge amazon fulfilment centre within a few hours drive of you. (Easier to accomplish than in the US, as it only takes 12 hours ish to drive the entire length of the country) So, if you order before a certain time of day and your item is in stock at a close by warehouse, it will be delivered that same evening, usually around 9-10pm.

[@EdDueim]

House names are not uncommon but we also have postcodes which pinpoint the location. A friend of mine found on an old map that a stream behind his house was known as "Hellpool". Immediately had a sign made; "Hellpool House"

[@avaggdu1]

Thank goodness he didn't live in Pissy Beds near Doncaster.

[@EdDueim]

@@avaggdu1 Could have opened a retirement home.

[@avaggdu1]

@@EdDueim I don't think life expectancy is high enough in Doncaster to need one.

[@carolh4119]

I've visited USA, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka, Dubai, France, Netherlands, Italy, Greece, Belgium, France, Spain, Portugal, Cyprus, Gibraltar, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Wales, Scotland, Ireland - several of these counties more than once. UK is truly a hub for travelling.

[@elaineb7065]

*cries in Brexit & EITAS*

[@tanyabarker4406]

Letter box is the name for it in Australia and New Zealand as well but they are at the gate of the property not in the door of the house. Mainly because in the UK houses are most often built very close to the foot path, “ side walk” to you. Houses have names but also numbers, not names exclusively.

[@AstoranSolaire]

UK houses most definitely can have exclusively a name. There isn't a single house in my village that has a number.

[@allandavis8201]

I don’t know about other towns in the United Kingdom I have to agree that our public transport system is excellent. The reasons for having a switch on plug sockets (power outlets) is that a) you can switch it off when not actually in use and save on electricity charges and b) you can turn it off so that the risk of an appliance shorting out and causing a fire is greatly reduced, and it can extend the life of an appliance because it is not drawing power to it, even things like television sets with a standby mode draw current, and again that helps to reduce the risk of an electrical fire. A washing up bowl is useful in many ways, but primarily it reduces the amount of water used to do your washing up, the amount of water you use is reduced so in turn that reduces the amount you pay to the water company.

[@timglennon6814]

In the U.K. you can get same day delivery with some Amazon orders. Houses with just names are very few and far between in the U.K.

[@no-oneinparticular7264]

And the Co op

[@patchday6750]

Amazon delivery in my rural area normally next day.. And where Iive lots have names on houses.. Very quaint 🙂 a town wouldnt work as too many 😬

[@simonupton-millard]

All the houses in my village only have names, but beleve its the age of the buildings most of our village is older than the idea of giving a house a number

[@sooskevington6144]

Really? In the English town where I grew up there were, and are, whole streets of houses with just names. Also many more streets where the houses have name and number and in both cases the names were either applied when the houses were built or became customary as a means of distinguishing/identifying the house for convenience years, in some cases centuries ago.

[@astrecks]

Many houses used to be built with Belfast sinks, which are pretty large. A smaller separate bowl was more economical, especially if you needed to boil water to wash dishes. Washing up bowls are less common these days.

[@knightwish1623]

In Germany most homes have a double sink and draining board (not made of wood it's just called that in English) as one stainless steel unit. The farthest sink from the draining board is used for washing the dishes the second sink has clear water in it to wrinse off the soap suds. Then placed on the draining board to dry. You can also have a drying rack to hold the crockery upright so that the water drains better/quicker.

[@amyw6808]

It’s the same in UK.

[@mumo9413]

In the UK we have, trains, buses & trams as public transport. With online timetables & season tickets, subsidised for students, free pass for pensioners. However, for a family of 4 it can work out more expensive than driving.

[@flamingteapot9464]

As someone with mobility problems I really appreciate letter boxes.being able to deal with my post without having to go outside in my wheelchair in all weather is great.

[@Attirbful]

Its the same in Germany. In the cities, a mailman is most usually on foot and has a hand-cart with the presorted mail. From one house to another, he walks about 8 yards (especially in major cities, where houses are built right next to each other forming entire blocks of houses)… and often, several dozen people live in the same house, so they will have a system of mailboxes in the lobby or outside the door (it is the same in American cities!). It would actually be a lot more work for them to take cars and drive from house to house to get out, walk to the mailbox, back to the car and go on to the next house… In smaller towns, mailmen will travel by bike (today, E-bike) with a large container for the mail in in and drive from house to house (everything in close proximity). There are few locations/addresses that are all by themselves out in the boondocks (such as large farms etc.) and the mail will be delivered there by car. Still, no mail boxes anywhere. Some people have some for fun (such as if they have nostalgic feelings for a USA stay), but they are not commonly used.

[@140cabins]

In the UK, you might still have an American-style mailbox if your front door is a long way from the road - I live in the countryside and farms often have them. Also if you have animals running around and don't want them (a) getting out, and/or (b) attacking the postman.

[@barrycarey7521]

The kitchen bowl, has multiple uses, it is used for food preparation when scraping the skin off vegetables, so when you’ve prepared everything it can be dumped into the food recycling bin, obviously is is smaller than the sink so uses less water to half fill it but what people have neglected to mention is that is made of plastic which is a thermal insulator so actually keeps the water hotter for longer instead of the ceramic or metal sinks that dissipate the heat quickly. Because of the fuel cost to heat the water and the fact many people are on water meter many use a bowl to save money on the washing up. The bowl can also be used as a bucket away from the sink to was your windows, wash your shoes of after football . When the freezer has been blocked up with ice a bowl of hot water was regularly used to defrost it quicker. Some also use it like a bucket to soak clothes in overnight to remove stains . So it has multiple uses .

[@mariemitchell3680]

Several times, our's has been used for making wallpaper paste

[@joosyjulie]

Washing your hair in the sink. Clean out the bowl, then fill it with hot water. Place the filled bowl on the drainer side. Hang hour head over the sink, use a jug to scoop clean water from the bowl to wet your hair. Add shampoo, lather then using the jug scoop out CLEAN water to rinse.

[@iandeare1]

A major reason is to prevent chips, and breakages, to crockery from the old, heavy stoneware, Belfast sinks

[@blondebrandy]

I use the dish washing water to pour on my plants. I have 2 sinks the other sink has a bowl for rinsesing the dishes used for anything, including plants. I try never to waste anything.

[@iandeare1]

@blondebrandy : soap isn't neccesarily bad, it depends on the soap. It was a commonly used insecticide for aphids etc. Generally speaking on systems that recycle, plants seem to thrive on grey water, as it's called, presumably nutrients, and trace elements, in the left over bits of food etc.

[@timglennon6814]

It’s very good exercise and keeps you fit being a post person in the U.K. The forgetting to turn the switch on an electric plug socket, I think it quite common with people up and down the U.K. I’ve done it plenty of times. 😆

[@anthonyyarwood9558]

It's postman or post woman, not post person

[@Thurgosh_OG]

@@anthonyyarwood9558 or Postie, we're happy to be called that.

[@jackguntrip969]

What most Americans don’t seem to remember is that the Uk is a lot older than America. US is about 250 years old whereas the Uk has history dating to ,like, the year 200 and such. Houses with names are usually far older. Take The Burrow from the Harry Potter series, it’s along those line. Letterboxes are more convenient, if something is too big for it, the post person would just knock on the door or leave it there(sometimes both). It’s not really inconvenient for them either. The Royal Mail at least walks in predetermined areas that would cover maybe 50 houses, bigger companies like DHL or DPD (even UPS and USPS at times) will use a van then; those tend to be the bigger items that need someone to collect them and provide a signature if the sellers require it. Thirdly, plugs. They have on off switches for convenience more than anything, some items cannot be left powered on or on charge; having the ability to simply cut the power to that item means you don’t need to unplug the item until you need it and you can also leave the plug in the socket,the lack of power to it means there’s no chance of fires. Furthermore, the designs of the plugs are much better. The Uk runs on around 240V as opposed to the US 120V meaning the fire chances are higher, showing the need for the switches. The sockets have three holes; two are the actual power pins like the US ones. The third is a safety “flap”. With the plug having three pins; the longer top one can push the “flap” out of the way and unblock the lower two holes allowing power to flow should the power be turned on at the switch. If you didn’t have this third piñon your plug, you would not be able to plug anything in. If you’ve ever heard of someone jumping something metal in a plug, this prevents this. I hope this helps a few people understand a few of the things mentioned in the video.

[@alexbernard8907]

Not all UK born citizens use washing up bowls, I for one don't use them

[@jettser17UK]

True, I've just rejected one offered to me last week having stopped using them last year. I find it space limiting and encourages pile ups!

[@geekexmachina]

Letter boxes are also a bit more secure as its not likely you will have your mail stolen. Also the Mail service is seen as a public service. on the issue of names it is common for farms to have names eg Yew Tree farm, Lower croft farm, similar with manor houses and halls. Town houses may have a name plus a number eg Rosewood cottage, 4 Birch street. Im told in the USA this maybe true of ranches and stuff like that "The Carter ranch". As for the post getting to the adress the important bit is the post code (zip code) which gives the location within 40 houses or so. And most named houses would have a street name even small country lanes have a name

[@elisabethpedersen7893]

Could be a mecca for a pyromaniac maybe......

[@seanmc1351]

hi tyler, the plug outley has more safety features, you cant quite see it on picture, but if you look at the 3 slots, the top one is dark, this being, that there is access, the bottom to slots which look light which is where the main power is looks lighter, this is because they have stutters that close of those slots, so children cant poke something in, you need to look at a video about the UK plug design and they both go hand in hand for safety

[@_starfiend]

Look up Tom Scott

[@psychosoma5049]

I’m 40 and never learned to drive (I suffer from seizures so am not allowed) and the transportation in greater Manchester is awesome for me 3:01 The best thing about letterboxes is people can’t just take your mail out and steal it, but if you life in a flat usually there’s post boxes in the lobby for each flat that are accessed with a key. In a house you can buy a cage to go behind the door so the mail is protected from pets. 6:34 12:23 we don’t have garbage disposals so the bowl is meant to try to filtrate the amount of crap going down the sink but most people (obviously this woman) just dumps everything down the drain….

[@finneyonthewing804]

Well said, all my points made but in one post - chapeau!

[@audiocoffee]

tower block flats have letterboxes. I live in a low-rise flat and I (and my five neighbours) all have letterboxes. some places have mail boxes - but not all! it varies depending on the location/build of the property.

[@slightlymaddog]

Transportation here in the UK is RUBBISH !!!! Like, it's actually terrible !!!!

[@spooky13bufu51]

Mail-box's are not a good or I should say practical system in the UK. Important documents could end up getting taken like bills reports, credit/debit card info, among other things too. So the Letterbox is a much safer way to keep that info out of the public's reach. Unlike the Mail-box in the USA. Where anyone can walk up and take your mail and you are basically fucked. In a sense.

[@nigeldewallens1115]

When I lived in my home country! You used to put your name, then the house name, then the street, town or village and then county and then post code. Having post delivered has always been the norm to your letter box! its the same here in France! If you live into the countryside, you do have a letter box that can take a medium sized parcel too!!

[@The.Android]

Plastic bowls in sinks are important especially if you have original old or reproduction enamelled sinks which can chip or scratch easily. Even metal aluminium sinks can get scratched from sharp knives etc so plastic bowls help protect and prolong the life and appearance of your sink.

[@richt71]

The canary islands are like the Hawaiian Islands. They're (mostly) extinct volcano's that have created land many thousands of years ago. Most are mild year round. They belong to Spain but have a local government. Locals seem to have a love/hate relationship with Spain having lived on Lanzarote for a few years.

[@SapphireRavenmoon]

Because of it's location in Europe the Uk is very accessable for traveling to a lot of places (if you have the money that is) a common British family holiday might involve going to Spain or one of the canary Islands with an affordable package holiday, and it's pretty common for most Brits to have traveled to at least a few different countries. Personally I've been to Spain (multiple times), Lanzarote and Tenerife (Canary Islands), France, Italy, Malta and Mauritius, though Mauritius was a special trip as my Mum and Step-dad got married out there

[@georgefuters7411]

Switched outlets cut down the risk of electrocution of inquisitive toddlers. Wash basins prevent dishes coming in contact with a sink that's been contaminated by washing chicken, prepping meat or cleaning soil off vegetables. Most Brits holiday in Europe every year, particularly in the Mediterranean but most will look to having a holiday in Africa, India, far East, Australia, new Zealand and even the US (if we're feeling brave😂🤣😂) at some point in their life. Snobs often give their houses names whether there is an actual house number or not (then complain their Amazon deliveries are taking too long 🙄🥴) Most aristocratic houses have the same name as the estate they're in., But a house name with a post code will actually find they get their mail delivered!

[@yourrightimsooosorry884]

The washing-up bowl is to soak items while the sink is free to wash other things

[@kippercsg]

Traditionally, British kitchen sinks only had one basin, not the extra middle one. And we wash up by filling the sink with hot water, rather than constantly running the tap. The bowl is so you can still pour liquids from dirty cups down the drain, rather than dumping it into your clean hot water. (These days most kitchens do have the "middle sink", but we kept the bowl out of habit) We also don't have garbage disposals in our sinks, so the bowl makes it easier to discard of any food waste that would otherwise block the drain.

[@anita6761]

Do you live in a dark deep hole

[@helenbailey8419]

Dun roamin is a popular name🤗🤗

[@yourrightimsooosorry884]

And " dunrentin"

[@stephenwhite345]

I got told as a kid "dun roamin" was a popular house name for retirees. I've been told by house owners this is very true

[@cindycliff70]

Re washing up bowl, I have got one, but don't use it. I just use the sink. Our electric system is far superior to the US. I have been to Florida and Calfornia and I was shocked at how poor the electric sockets were (hanging off the wall etc..) If you are too stupid to press the socket switch on, just leave it switched on! It is designed as a safety feature. The one thing I find frustrating is that we can't have an electric socket in the bathroom because of safety. Very annoying!! I wouldn't like the mailbox thing that the US has, can't anybody access your mail?^

[@angiemack5325]

When I visited America I was confused about your white gravy served at breakfast with sausages and potato cubes and scrambled egg?..😂🤔🤔 what all that about ?.. our gravy is brown .. and we don’t serve it with biscuits 😂😂

[@paullewis2413]

One of the main reasons many people in the U.K. don’t vacation (holiday) in their home country is the unreliable weather. Because there are so many grey damp days, particularly in the North where Summers are short, they like to escape to places where the weather will normally be more reliable Another reason of course is that the infinite variety of Europe is so easily accessible.

[@tenniskinsella7768]

Weather getting better in summer all the time I actually hate very hot weather it isn't always sunny abroad I've been to Italy when the hotel.got flooded People make too much of our bad weather

[@paullewis2413]

@@tenniskinsella7768 I did say “will normally be more reliable”. Naturally you can’t guarantee good conditions no matter where you go. I once spent a week in Amsterdam in July and it rained every day, in fact that city gets more wet days than London.

[@margueritejohnson8373]

My address in England is: Old Bakery Cottage, Church Street, Then the town name. The house is in the centre of the town and was, in fact the bakery until around 100 years ago. It’s about 450 years old, but not the oldest in this small town. I’ve also lived in houses called: Broadwater, Longsdale and Crossways Cottage.

[@MaggieTheCat01]

3:25 The tube is an underground system that covers London only. The rest of the country has regular, overground trains. Washing-up bowl: I prefer them because I’m less likely to chip my crockery if I bash it against a plastic bowl. Holidays: there aren’t many countries to which a Brit won’t venture.

[@mumo9413]

Electric cookers! They have their own separate electrical switches (outlets) I was always brought up with gas hob & oven. 1st week at middle school, cooking lesson. I was wondering why my dessert wasn't heating up😅, then, the teacher came past & turned on the switch😂

[@cazyaz523]

Our home has a name and not a number. It’s never had a number. We are rural. The address goes: House Name Road/Lane name Town/City Postcode (or Zipcode as you call it) It works.