EVEN MORE U.S. AMERICAN THINGS THAT DON'T EXIST IN FRANCE

I love talking about French versus American cultural differences on this channel so here I'm getting into eight I don't think I've ever covered before. These are interesting U.S. American things that we commonly find in the United States that don't exist in France, or at least not on the same scale. French culture and how we do things in the U.S. are very different, so let's get into it.
⏩Check out these videos!⏪
➨ More American concepts that don't exist in France: • More American concepts...
➨ 5 Things that are NOT FREE in France but ARE in the U.S.: • 5 Things that are NOT ...
➨ Very normal French things that would never work in the U.S.: • Very normal French thi...
👕 / / M E R C H: bit.ly/3wl6RZa
👜 / / SHOP MY FAVES: www.amazon.com/shop/ouiinfrance
eGuide: 75 BEGINNER FRANCE TIPS for a STANDOUT TRIP: bit.ly/3gzSWY5
💵 SUPPORT MY CHANNEL: ko-fi.com/ouiinfrance
💌 SIGN UP FOR MY NEWSLETTER (and get a FREE guide of DOs & DON'Ts for travel to France): bit.ly/3p790nK
📖 Get my BLOGGING FOR BEGINNERS eBOOK: bit.ly/2SuesFD
SUBSCRIBE TO MY CHANNEL: kzbin.info?s...
How did I end up in France? My backstory: • Why I moved from the U...
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
Salut! I'm Diane, an American who has lived in France since 2012 and the creator of the blog/KZbin channel Oui In France. My channel's focus is "Everyday French life and beyond." I make videos on French culture topics, France vs. US culture comparisons, food, travel, language, and give you my thoughts about what it's like living in France as an American in the Loire Valley. Thanks for being here and if you enjoy this sort of thing, please share with friends and subscribe!
❤️ / / B L O G
Oui In France: www.ouiinfrance.com/
▶️ / / F O L L O W
👍 Facebook: / ouiinfrance
📷 Insta: / ouiinfrance
▶️ *HEALTH, FITNESS & FOOD 💪
Wildgrain ($10 off + free croissants): bit.ly/3yJ0hhP
Red Light Therapy: bit.ly/32cn0Wk
Cocofloss ($10 off): rwrd.io/vppclyh?s
▶️ TRAVEL ✈️
Plum Guide: prf.hn/l/78alGDJ
Send My Bag ($5 OFF): bit.ly/3q5wHh1
Chrysalis Cardi (multiway garment): bit.ly/3kHh9MT
Wise (formerly TransferWise): wise.prf.hn/l/78YJB4x
▶️ FASHION 👚
Everlane: www.everlane.com/r/b8kn5j
Encircled: bit.ly/2YK0mxj
Nisolo: nisolo.uvwgb9.net/DV0Kvq ​
Disclosure: The description box contains affiliate links where I may make a small commission on purchases made through my links, at no additional cost to you.

[@teriwittig2190]

Being from America, I have seen skunks many times. But after moving here, I thought I was losing my mind when a hedgehog just randomly wandered up lol I thought maybe somebody had lost their pet and then learned that they are wild here and now I look for them everywhere because they are adorable!

[@AutoReport1]

And they eat snails and snakes. The alternate standard European name of the hedgehog (iggle) comes from a word meaning snake eater.

[@mariebambelle7361]

Haha ! I juste found a hedgehog nest (with a mother and her 3 kids) in my greenhouse ! So common in the countryside !

[@_brandixx]

😂😂

[@yannsalmon2988]

They eat slugs as well, so it’s good to have one in the garden. By the way, hedgehogs in France are classified as an endangered species, so it’s against the law to harm them.

[@teriwittig2190]

@@AutoReport1oh wow!! Good to know

[@chateau7]

I live in the U.S., and I still don't get get flavored coffee creamers either - yuck! (They're usually deadly sweet or totally wipe out any coffee taste.)

[@OuiInFrance]

Way too sweet for me!

[@davenwin1973]

I have older family members who just add milk to their coffee. As a late 70's into the early 90's kid, flavored coffee creamers did not exist. I'd see select types as a young adult. Being a shopper for other people, I have only paid attention to the coffee Creamer selection in large numbers, and amazed at the huge selection. Nestlé and International Delight have the market for coffee Creamer. There's a limited selection of plant based coffee Creamer. I'm in NW Indiana, and other than Aldi, Strack and Van Til, Jewel Osco (Albertsons), Meijer, and Walmart are the stores for grocery shopping. Except for Walmart Neighborhood Market stores, Walmart and Meijer to me are Supercenters, as they're full line grocery and full line general merchandise, though 2 Walmart stores by me are the older general merchandise stores with limited selection of food.

[@jelliebean2680]

I agree! Italy and Sweden are similar to France as well. They don't have all those creamers. Just milk and heavy cream.

[@paulbadics3500]

Thats the whole point because the coffee is crap

[@pubsapass1214]

@@paulbadics3500 Yes ! With a good coffe, no need to add a chemical cream 👍

[@a.humphries8678]

I miss France and the people of France!❤ 🇫🇷

[@hufflepuffjoh]

License plates in France aren't random, there's a logic to them. They go in order. You change the central number from 001 to 999. Then you change the letters on the right, from AA AB ... AZ BA... all the way to ZZ, only skipping SS (for obvious reasons). And then you change letters on the left side the same way (skipping SS again, but also WW which is for temporary plates). Right now plates are around GR/GS letters on the left. (And note that letters I O and U are not used)

[@uweinhamburg]

Just read your comment, before placing a question about it, thanks for your explication. Here in Germany the system is very similar. A regional code (from 1-3 letters), a central number and a random combination of letters at the end, where the registration office may be willing to help you to get your initials or such. For the last letters there are also limits like SS, SA, KZ (concentration camp), HJ (Hitler youth) and so on. LOL, i have ticked so many KZbin boxes now, i hope they do not block my entry... 🤣🤣

[@somethingclever1128]

For number 1, old licence plates used to incorporate the department number as a full part of the plate. When the plate designs were updated to the current system, departments stopped being part of them - there was a huge debate and people are very attached to their department number, and as a compromise, you can put the dept number on the blue side of the plate - but it technically isn't part of the licence plate number like it used to be.

[@yannsalmon2988]

Département number have also their importance in French culture for « driver skills level information ». I’m joking but some departments really have the reputation of… ahem… not having the best car drivers. You’ll often hear telling about a car driven by a road jerk : « of course, he’s a 75 » (75 is Paris department’s number). This prejudice can get pretty far, mind you, because I’ve witnessed people being more suspicious about buying an used car coming from one of those departments or people voluntarily licensing their car in a less prejudiced department to avoid vandalism.

[@noefillon1749]

@@yannsalmon2988 Don't forget the 13 by the way

[@chrisenchemin7183]

@@noefillon1749 And don't forget the 69 where, every time you are on a three-lane highway, you see so many cars driving in the middle lane without overtaking anyone (Except maybe the invisible man's invisible car.)

[@noefillon1749]

@@chrisenchemin7183 I didn't know this. I live in Lyon (have been for 2.5 years) but don't really drive there.

[@dougsundseth6904]

"Khaki" as a word is originally a British import from Urdu, where it means "dust-colored". It originally referred to a range of brown colors (usually locally produced) used for uniforms in India. Sounds like it has undergone significant semantic drift in both English and other languages.

[@solaccursio]

here in Italy khaki is a kind of military olive green, exactly as in France.

[@billps34]

@@solaccursio It's the same in the UK. Americans are the odd ones out here.

[@sirena7116]

I was going to comment the same that the word Khak means essentially sand coloured.

[@nco1970]

The same in France. Borrowed from the British when the French Army change the royal blue (very discreet...) to a dust color. And it stuck to designate the color of the uniforms. But it is not "khaki" that is written but "kaki". It lost the "h".

[@mosborne9878]

In some NA rural areas Polecat is a pseudonym for skunk. Apparently it is derived from a European name for several odiferous Mustelids found in Europe.

[@michaelwhite2600]

I’ve never been a fan of bumper stickers . I have my tag in a University alumni frame. That’s where it begins and ends with me. I would be afraid to display my political views in fear of my car being vandalized or perhaps making me a target because I’m not with the party of guns and violence. I just got back from France last night. I woke up and found your awesome video! Thank you! ❤️

[@craigtrademark]

This past January, I spent 3 weeks in Paris. I would say that my spoken French is above average, but far from perfect. The ONE time someone responded to me immediately in English was after trying to order a cold brew (in January) in a coffee shop. (It was on the posted menu!) 🤣

[@Spidouz]

I don’t know for sure, but I believe Kahki in France actually comes from the military color, which was olive green at the time to be less visible in the wild. Later on, the army used a camo pattern (camouflage), but the olive green color known as kahki was popular and stick. However, not all military use the same color because they have to adapt to the wild color. That’s why military deployed in sandy areas such Middle East have sand color cloths. That’s maybe where the sand light brown American kahki comes from, while the green wild in France was olive green. It’s just a supposition, but I’m pretty convinced in France kahki is olive green because it does reference the “military green” (vert armée).

[@leenam.4578]

Rfkaffkfajafffffkkkkhfkaafhafkkffakfkfaafffkkffffakfoffffkfkjfkkak

[@etienne8110]

The original kakhi came from british occupied india. Where the color was for brown-red military cammo in arid regions. Then it meant military cammo, so beige, green, blue, brown etc... all were kaki. And for some reasons only one color stuck for each country ^^ for us it was the brownish Green, probably because the other label was vert caca d oie (goose shyte green), not a very commercialy catchy label. 😂

[@solaccursio]

but it's accurate, goose "material" is exactly that colour!! 😁😁😁😁😁😁@@etienne8110

[@etienne8110]

Political public advertising is strictly controlled in France. There are specific place only where you can stamp political posters and only during élection time. Otherwise it is forbidden. This is to avoid someone to just pay to put up his posters everywhere. So for the sake of equity, all candidates gets the same surface to use, for the same duration, and are not allowed to pay to do more. Same goes for airing time on tv/radio, all candidates get the same time during elections (outside of elections is a mess like america, with the wealthiest candidates getting more time on air..)

[@filiaaut]

There are definitely still people stamping political posters wherever they can find around election times. I do not think they are paid to do it, it's probably volunteers, but I live close to a free notice board, and around election time, there are new posters basically everyday, on top of the competitor, disliked candidates have their faces drawn on or ripped by locals, it's entirely separate from the official posters near the polling places. I'm guessing it is much easier to control the air time on television and radio than to try to catch random campaigners stamping posters at night.

[@etienne8110]

@@filiaaut some are paid (there was an investigation on the far right candidate Zemmour paying people to stamp posters in 2022 for ex) It is still illegal when done outside of the places meant for this very purpose. Benevoles or not, they could be arrested if caught in the act.

[@JD987abc]

Hey Diane. You are an excellent educator. Never knew the hedgehog was not in NA. It’s Sunday here in Caen and I just really experienced a major cultural difference. Absolutely nothing was open today, not even the small Casino store. Where as in the states, one can always find a supermarket or a wawa opened. And restaurants weren’t open either. Good thing I had some cheese, sliced ham and toast home as it served as my supper. Please keep your excellent work coming. Joe. B

[@andrelam9898]

Back in the 1970's and 80's stores in the Netherlands closed around midday Saturday and didn't open till midday Monday. If you needed something badly... you had to get it from friends of family as there was nothing open. Most stores closed 5 pm every day except for one "shopping night." Times have changed. Most big chain grocery stores in Europe are now open at least 9 - 21. Not all smaller grocery stores are open late, but you can definitely get groceries in a descent sized town till at least 7 pm. Also open most Sundays all day, maybe slightly earlier closing time.

[@patrickcardon1643]

Sunday mornings the smaller supermarkets (and now also some larger ones) tend to be open. The Carrefour Market I got next door is open till 12:30. After that it's lunch time and on Sunday you know it's gonna drag out :D

[@smoker_joe]

10:50 : It's more for people who don't like coffee. When you really like coffee, you don't add all that junk.

[@Xmanga01]

Actually egg whites' powder exist in France but it's generally only avalable for profetionals (catering services, etc.) It's called Ovasil

[@historianlaura]

In the uk khaki is green too. Has military roots.

[@tedrich2343]

Thank you for taking the time to respond to my comment about having to make disclaimers about your viewpoint. I get it. I think that there are people who are innocently ignorant, as are all of us as we start to experience other cultures. When I found out that Islamic countries consider Thursday and Friday, or Friday and Saturday, as the weekend, my first thought was "Is not having Saturday and Sunday as the weekend, even a thing?" However, when you consider that Friday is the day of worship (as opposed to Saturday or Sunday), it makes perfect sense. These discoveries (for me) are the fun ones because you hadn't even considered it as something that MIGHT be different in different places. As you mentioned, lack of ice for water or a soft drink in Europe, is NOT because they don't know how to make ice or want to "cheat" you; Europeans actually PREFER room temperature drinks. (Some people like chocolate vs. vanilla and no one asks "why?" The United States is a large country that is culturally diverse, even if you don't consider diversity from immigration. Is it "correct" to say "pop" or "soda"? Is it a water fountain, a bubbler, or a drinking fountain? I use these examples because they are obvious. But there are many other regional and more subtle differences that you don't discover until you are immersed in the culture and that is what you do. I grew up in New York, went to college and lived in St. Louis for six years, and have lived in Minneapolis, Minnesota since 1979. The first time I heard someone ask me for a "rubber binder" at work, I just stared at the person in total miscomprehension, until they reach around me and picked up a rubber band. Again, I thought, wow - isn't "rubber band" a universal English word? Then there are the those who are stupidly ignorant. The most cringe-worthy is when Americans (I've heard this more than once), are quoted a price in Euros, and ask "How much is that in REAL money?" This is not only ignorant, it is insulting, and of course, Euros is the "real" money in Europe and US Dollars are not legal tender in Europe. These are the people who expect everything in a different country should be identical to what they know "back home." I'm not sure that I understand why those people travel in the first place (unless "forced" to travel for work). In addition to innocent ignorance and stupid ignorance, there is an innate cultural bias in all people. This means that people believe that their way of doing things is the "natural" way it should be. Again, there is innocent bias and stupid bias. As you travel to different countries, you begin to realize that your way of thinking is unconsciously biased, which is not bad if you begin to realize that your thinking, decision making, viewpoints, etc. are determined by the environment in which have lived and that naturally, people from other environments are influenced by their own experiences. When I was in Belize, I asked how cold it was in the winter and quickly found out that differences in temperature mean nothing when it's the same all year long. As a Minnesotan, I'm used to variances from minus 20 F. (-30 C.) to 100 F. (38 C.). Stupid bias is the most dangerous. These are the people that see different viewpoints, but insist that different means wrong. These are the people who cannot understand why ANYONE would put vinegar on Fries instead of ketchup. Why would anyone use Metric instead of Imperials because 5,280 feet in a mile is so much easier to understand than 1000 meters in a kilometer? Many of these people have never even traveled outside their home state, much less to a "foreign" country where they don't even speak English! Even those Brits speak funny English, called gas "petrol" and fries "chips." Why don't they know better? The most dangerous version of this is religion for people who insist that their religion is the "right" one and everyone else should be religiously converted, enslaved, or killed. How any wars have been waged in the name of religion. Diane, these are the people who write the comments that attack you. As an expat, you will frequently be looked at as "different" by some French people, and a cultural traitor by some Americans ("Why would anyone even WANT to live in France, when they could live in the US"?). I would advise you to not take it personally, but it IS personal and I would get upset by those comments too. However, your REAL audience are the people who appreciate your bi-cultural experience, the amount of psychic energy it takes to thrive in a different country, your observational skills (I read a comment by someone in France, who complimented you on your observations that he took for granted). You have a passion, not just for learning, but for teaching and that's great. The only thing you can do is to focus on your numbers. If your views and subscribers go up, you are doing the right thing, regardless of negative (or positive) comments. I can't imagine that many people continue to follow you who don't appreciate cultural differences -- although perhaps they are more vocal. On the other hand, please don't stop reading and responding to comments, because your need the feedback (professionally and personally). You could copy and paste some pre-written text, whenever you feel a need to respond to the haters. Congratulations on sticking with it! You are doing a great job.

[@OuiInFrance]

HI again, just a short reply here to say thanks again for your kind words. Rude, nasty people get 0 attention from me. You said "I would advise you to not take it personally, but it IS personal and I would get upset by those comments too." That's the thing, by stating "disclaimers," it frees me from caring about comments like those. Win win! ;-)

[@Vaelios3292]

TV shows time can be weird in France because we don't have as many ads (us has usually 10 minutes ads for 20 minutes show I think), which means TV show are usually 20 to 40 minutes long. But when they are broadcasts on French TV, it usually take less than an hour or half an hour, and we get the weird times. Vanity numbers always got me confused when I was a kid, I thought it was a joke on American TV show. But I'm old enough to have known texting with a classic phone keyboard, so I understand how practical this is!

[@wesleyshelby8163]

The snails in France really intrigued me. Hahah the arrondissements of Paris really do form the shape of a snail or shall I say escargot. I accidentally stepped on one because it was dark outside😢 I’d see them in the morning on my way to l’école

[@micheleparadis2808]

Not only in France. In Québec, khaki is an army green as well. Also, in French, the color greige is a mix of grey and beige. You call it light taupe.

[@mfcq4987]

Regarding political bumper stickers, politics is a very divisive subject in France, it can break down relationships, including within families. Personally, I remember leaving in the middle of a New Year's Eve at my father's house because he had invited members of his wife's family who continually made racist and far-right remarks. I never spent New Years at my father's house again (and it's been at least 30 years). If everyone openly displayed their political opinions on their house or their car in France, the country would be in flames and blood...

[@OuiInFrance]

Politics divide families in the US as well. ;-(

[@jacquelineprugar4324]

Another informative video! I so appreciate all of the nuances of French life that you share with the public. Everything you present is so interesting!

[@OuiInFrance]

Thank you so much!

[@MrJohnmoumoute]

In France, for a good coffee, you take a horseshoe, and it must float in the cup😁☕That means it's quite strong.

[@lcxb8575]

Also known as "military strength." The way coffee is meant to be. (Too bitter? Add salt.)

[@luciuslucifer9455]

Here in Belgium we say " Un vrai café d'adulte " . Belgium being influenced by french and german/dutch culture means we have the best of both world . I love strong french coffee w/o cream in the morning and more sugary for afternoon with a cake or some biscuit ( speculoos/biscoff is king here ) like in germanic/scandinavian countries ( Fika ? I always forgot the name sorry neighbors friends XD ). Can't stand wimp US brand coffee ( Starbucks is worse than cat piss ) @@lcxb8575

[@BrokenBackMountains]

Khaki came from the British army battledress. It originates in India (British Indian army)and originally meant dust or dusty in Urdu.

[@HobbiesHobo]

Funny, in Canada in the 70's, KHAKI was clearly "Army Green" then sometime after that in the 80's it switched to "Tan", now either nobody knows or it means either color. haha and as a side note "Dark Brown" is now called "Dark Earth", it doesn't end. It's just marketing I think.

[@markbernier8434]

It was army green at least as far back as WW I. I was pronounced "Khar key" as well till the Yankee influence after WWII.

[@roberttradd1224]

Thank you so very much Diane, i really appreciated your channel. This is fantastic information. . Looking forward to your next video

[@gubx42]

As a French, I am impressed of how observant you are of French culture. Everything you say is so obvious to me, and I mean it in a good way. For example, I didn't realize until now how ubiquitous "Corsica Ferries" stickers are, all these small details I never thought about because that's just how things are. By making comparisons, it also gives an interesting insight on US culture.

[@OuiInFrance]

Thanks so much!

[@jacquelinebucar9485]

Another good video Diane!

[@jelliebean2680]

Wonderful content! I'm a new subscriber and thoroughly enjoy your videos Diane!

[@OuiInFrance]

Yay, that makes me so happy. Thank you and bienvenue!

[@yaowsers77]

The skunk thing really surprised me! I love these videos!

[@camicri4263]

Did you read the ingredients on the coffee creamers? It's not real food! Unfortunately! Thank you Diane, interesting! Blessings 💞

[@jenniferdignan8507]

I switched to using heavy cream for my coffee several years ago because of this. I do buy my pumpkin spice creamer during the fall but only the Natural Bliss brand.

[@OuiInFrance]

I drink my coffee black but I've gotten a bunch of emails over the years from people asking about coffee creamer so it's certainly something people miss. Glad you enjoyed the video!

[@FRanceSource]

So funny. Am guilty of having a France related plate. Always appreciate these conversations. Merci.

[@OuiInFrance]

You are so welcome!

[@terryhutchings7701]

I just moved to Nice and was looking all over the place for the coffee creamer, lol. I thought I was just not seeing it. Good to know, but quite frankly the French organic milk is so creamy, I don’t miss the artificial stuff at all.

[@nevillehollisbrown]

Bonjour ! In France we used to have letters in our phone numbers. But they slowly disappeared between 1960 and 1980. The first 3 letters were for the neighborhood. Today these letters are hidden behind the numbers (for landlines). So the numbers have still a meaning but we have forgotten that. I hope my English is comprehensible.

[@s.p.8803]

They're still here, on mobile phones also.

[@dougbrowning82]

In the old US system, the first two letters were the telephone switching office prefixes. Each office had a distinct name and prefix.

[@ericcitlaltepetl]

In fact they disappeared around when globalization came in, because letter marking was different on traditional French phones than on imported phones with Bell style marking. I remember to have been really surprised when I started to use my first Nokia 3310 mobile phone to type text because some letters where not located where I expected them to be as on my France Telecom landline phone. Differences were O (the letter), Q and Z where located on 0 (the number Zero, how convenient to remember), while the other letters were on the same numbers. So there was never four letters on the same number, contrary to the Nokia with MNO on 6 PQRS on 7, WXYZ on 9 and space and punctuation on 0.

[@nevillehollisbrown]

@@ericcitlaltepetl Merci ! It makes sense!

[@nevillehollisbrown]

@@s.p.8803 Of course, but they don't refer to neigborhoods anymore.

[@CJ-Photo]

I knew I liked you! I'm from NJ too but moved to WA state...and now considering retiring to Nice. Thanks for all your info!

[@cyrilroux7830]

Encore une vidéo très instructive ! 😊 Merci à toi

[@J0HN_D03]

*I love this new list. It's original!* 👍🏼

[@dirkdemeirleir264]

There are vanity plates in Belgium, they cost 1000 euro…

[@susannahallanic1167]

2 other things you will notice almost immediately when you visit France, traffic lights will not be suspended in the middle of a intersection nor on the far corner across from you. They are going to located on the white line corner where you must stop when the light indicates stop. Also Right of way means the side street has the right of way, not the major rode. The only exception is IF the side street has a yield or stop sign for the traffic on that side street.

[@OuiInFrance]

Yup, so important to know this. I talked about it as a major heads up in my driving in France video!

[@andrelam9898]

I grew up in the Netherlands and emigrated at age 12. Things that stood out then that would still stand out today: Indeed (dead) skunks along the road. We'd smell them and sometimes see the sad remains. Later on camping trips I've had up close experiences when they walked right through our camp site (literally under our camping chairs). Quite cute... just don't startle them. In general there are no large animal seen in the Netherlands except for a few select nature areas so seeing Deer along the roads and other wild life is always "very American." Lately I've seen a few flocks of Turkeys on roads near my house. France has more open space than the Netherlands, but I don't know if large animals like deer are ever seen crossing roads. Another "very American" thing is "drive thru service" be it fast food, beverage, in some states alcohol... that's something that isn't see in Europe as we whole. One final thing that I experienced driving "out West" in Idaho was tumble weed rolling across the road. I saw it plenty in Road Runner cartoons, but I had never seen it myself as I live in the North East. It was exciting to see that it was real.

[@OuiInFrance]

Interesting! Thank you for sharing. ;-) I've never seen tumbleweeds either!

[@etienne8110]

Oh they do.. Be it deers, hares, wild boars etc... We even have a specific roadsign for areas where a lot of accidents happened.

[@alainjarjar2820]

Je confirme que nous avons des animaux sauvages, il y a une dizaine d'années j' ai eu un accident de vélo en allant au travail avec un sanglier qui a traversé la route, j' ai fait un soleil par-dessus le guidon.🫤

[@scronx]

Interesting material. Where are you from in Joisey? I grew up in Fanwood and lived in Plainfield 7 years, Brick briefly.

[@OuiInFrance]

Somerset County originally

[@ChatonQuiMiaule]

When I lived in the US, I used half-and-half in coffee, and I now wonder if that's equivalent to French crème liquide (which can be bought in containers up to 1 liter). And, yes, the only place in France where I've seen egg yolks etc. available separately is supplies for restaurants, pastry chefs etc. For some reason they are not marketed toward individual customers.

[@michaelmedlinger6399]

Hi, Diane! I see some people have already mentioned this, but „polecat“ was commonly used for skunk when I was growing up in Texas. Interesting thing about the egg whites - I don‘t remember ever seeing that in the States, but that may be because I never looked. Vanity plates - you can customize your license plates in Germany to some extent. All start with a letter code (1-3 letters) that shows where your car is registered, but you can choose the rest of the number with certain limitations. Coffee creamers - I liked to get them when I visited my parents in the States, but the coffee in the States is so bad you can only improve it with the sweet creamers. 😂 In Germany, you can buy what is called coffee cream; it is a type of evaporated milk that has a higher fat content (usually 10%, sometimes a little higher), but there are no flavorings in it.

[@sylvain3243]

Fun fact: In France, persimmons are called kaki, but they are neither beige nor olive green.

[@etienne8110]

Because it is the japanese name for the fruit. Same pronunciation but no correlation with the khaki uniform color coming from india.

[@gerboise604]

For phone numbers it used to exist when I was a kid (I'm from 2000) but nowadays it kinda stopped:) And for the skunk, the closet thing we have here in France is a Putois d'Europe (which is a wilde ferret) that's why we often call skunk, Putois even tho it's a moufette

[@patrickcardon1643]

But the Americans didn't have the 36 15 lol 😁

[@cynodont7391]

Most people in France know the "Putois d'Europe" but its domesticated variant, the ferret ("furet" in French). Wild «furets» are probably not that rare in France but people do not notice them because, unlike American skunks, ferrets are small, fast and afraid of humans. Most people will only see them when they quickly cross the road in front of their car. Most of the time, the encounter is so short that you cannot identify them with certainty.

[@solenegicquel6577]

Pour les numéros qui restent en tête, il y avait quand même la pub de 118-218 ! 😄

[@sylc6688]

To display political bumper stickers in France is the best way to get your car keyed or damaged lol.

[@OuiInFrance]

Good point!

[@emmanuellegd4515]

Being French and living in Spain, I know how funny it is to compare products, habits and stuff between these 2 countries... I really keen on listening your comparisons and sometimes laugh when I recognise some typical behaviors.... You're always right🙂🙂

[@thomasor7920]

I did not know that France did not have customized plates. I am from Belgium and we do have them (just the letters/numbers, not the theme).

[@sirena7116]

You can sort of customise your plates in Germany. The first combination of lettres and or numbers is assigned, but the last 3 are your choice.

[@GorgieClarissa]

I had to look up the whole khaki thing.... because I find this to be interesting. I guess... khaki comes from hindustani, where it originally meant ''earth-toned''

[@berkeleyfuller-lewis3442]

On my 11 trips to France, I could NEVER find either Peanut Butter or Maple Syrup. (Later trips did occasionally turn up the dreaded "JIF" brand [imported] but that was it!) Also in France, most "grownups" don't drink milk (except in café au laits, etc.) . . . and -- except if you're near a good local organic dairy -- I found it hard to find FRESH, good whole (SINGLE pasteurized, refrigerated) milk to drink. What IS generally available is ghastly-tasting "Ultra-Pasturized" glop-- in room-temperature mylar boxes. UGH. However, I'm the first to say that EVERYTHING ELSE in France (IMHO) IS infinitely better, especially "food-wise." (Not to mention health care, transportation, education, elder care, day care, etc. etc. ad infinitum). I've always been a "bureaucracy freak" myself, and actually ENJOY how VERY well organized France is!

[@SCGMLB]

Regarding license plates, in the US in many states we use a "plate to owner" system, meaning that when you sell a car, you remove your plate and the new buyer puts on a plate they already have or they obtain a new plate (and number) from their state's department that registers motor vehicles. In France, do the registration numbers and plates stay with the car for it's entire life or do they get a new number each time a new person registers it?

[@davenwin1973]

I'm going to comment on the US portion. I'm in Indiana, and license plates are like you said, are registered to the owner. Now when my paternal grandmother moved to Arizona in 2000, unless she was wrong, she said that in Arizona, plates are registered to the vehicle, and not the owner. So she said that when you sell your vehicle, that the plate follows the vehicle with the new owner. She passed away in 2013 at age 81.

[@chlore2amine]

In France licence plates stay with the car.

[@jeromemckenna7102]

In the early days of television, shows were often 15 minutes in length. It was only in 1963 that the national network news shows went to 30 minutes from 15. I am age 72, so I can remember these.

[@nco1970]

The color is not usually written "khaki". It has lost the "h" when borrowed from the English and is "kaki". Which is an issue by itself because kaki is also a fruit.

[@MissNCGirl]

When I was young, I would hear skunks be referred to as polecats. I just assumed it was an old-fashioned word for skunks. I just looked it up. The article states that because skunks don't live in Europe, the first English speakers in the South didn't know what they were and mistook them for a species in Europe.

[@OuiInFrance]

Super interesting and makes sense. Merci!

[@davidmusset3435]

Oooh eggnog I love that, I’ll have to find a recipe to make some since it is unknown here

[@lionelschmitt6657]

Très bonne vidéo, j'ai appris plein de choses. Cela dit, il me semble nombre de ces things don't exist in the rest of the world et pas uniquement en France.

[@OuiInFrance]

Definitely true! I always hit things from the U.S. vs. France angle here on my channel since that's my reference point and lived experience. But they're definitely not just U.S. or just France specific things. Glad you enjoyed the video! Merci !

[@hichembenaissa]

L'autocollant " in raclette we trust" est aussi commun

[@nco1970]

The license plates in France changed a few years ago. Before it was 4 digits 2 letters and the number of the "département" you lived in. When they move to the new id which has no geographical meaning, they allowed people to add the "département" number of their choice in the little square. Most people in France request the "département" they have emotional ties with, often where they were born.

[@chrisenchemin7183]

We do not have egg whites or coffe creamers because food is a real and serious thing here. Eggs are eggs and coffee is coffee.

[@yuriythebest]

4:00 I'm actually more surprised it's still common to mention "tv schedules" at all and that those still exist and people use them

[@OuiInFrance]

true, on demand is so popular but yup lots of people watch regular ol' tv

[@fabulouskangourou]

Actually some french companies used to have catchy phone numbers jingles on tv ! But a agree it's absolutely not something usual. An example everyone know in France : kzbin.info/www/bejne/apW9nWWXrpKKlaM

[@etienne8110]

The kakhi confusion comes from the military use. At first it was a beige colour for combat in arid zones in india. Then people in france started calling military green "vert kaki" = kaki green. Funily, this kakhi green could be military green, olive green or even cammo green depending on the military use... And overtime it became just kaki with the green being implied and designing the military green.

[@wudgee]

In the UK khaki (pronounced more like karkee) is more of an army light green. Beige is beige. Not sure creamers are that big a thing in the UK though you can buy it. I see fewer hedgehogs here in France than I did in the UK but know they are here. Never thought of programme timings, if a programme is 37 minutes long then then next one would surely be whenever convenient! Egg whites, how odd, but I can see their use. Don’t recall seeing that in the UK or France. Interesting video.

[@yannsalmon2988]

French TV programs schedules is now a total mess. When I grew up in the 70’s and 80’s, they were right on time : News at 8 p.m. then the evening show or movie at 8:30 p.m. sharp. But at the time, there was way less commercials and always between programs, never in the middle of one. TV channels then started to had as much commercials as they could between the evening news and the main attraction. To do so, they inserted countless extremely short programs (weather report, comedy snippets, home tips and tricks, etc.) to multiply commercial breaks between them. Now movies start between 9 to 9:30 p.m. and most of the time they don’t even start at the scheduled time written on tv programs anymore, that’s totally random. Accuracy was important at the golden age of home vhs for people that wanted to record a program, but now with Replay TV they don’t care anymore.

[@yannsalmon2988]

Also, one thing that pisses me off is that a lot of tv channels now don’t even bother to try to put commercial breaks strategically. They start in the middle of a scene or even a sentence, then resume where they left off like nothing happened. That’s particularly annoying when they do that in the middle of U.S. tv shows that are originally conceived with pauses in the story to insert commercial breaks… logically you’d think French Tv channels would have been smart enough to use those scheduled pauses for their own commercials, but nope ! Instead let’s cut right in the middle of Chandler’s wittiest joke…

[@yaowsers77]

Haha I'm going to get a vanity plate the next car I get and I'm in NJ, so thanks for letting me know!

[@gabrielbattais4185]

for the political signs/stickers it's pretty easy to explain, we as citizen learn at a very young age that politicians are liars (liers ?) and that no one should trust any of them as they just follows their own interests, if you have the same interests as them (if you're wealthy) you vote for the right wing, if you're less lucky you try to avoid the right wing and vote for someone who'll lie more to get elected and go for the wealthiests interests anyway (with some left laws if they try to get reelected) and sometimes we have to fight to keep social rights but this has almost nothing to do with who is president, every president try to increase the wealth of the wealthy and being right or left wing is just used to know how much they'll try to hide it. so yeah nobody show their political affiliation because nobody support a politician enough to be in conflict with friends or familly, we don't vote for anyone but against the worst and the worst politicians never actually try to win as their role is to secure the others position

[@caroleballereau8403]

I don't know if you've mentioned it before, but what strikes me the most in the US is the huge display of the American flag everywhere! We don't do that in France, or very little - like when there's an international soccer competition for example :) But you won't see the flag for the sake of it.

[@dqan7372]

In the US, polecat can refer to skunks, black-footed ferrets, or weasels in general.

[@m.g.6321]

"Mouffette" word originated from French Canada (Québec) since the animal is also common there. Maybe that's why Europeans arent familiar with the word. I also heard french people use the english word "skunk" (but pronunced "Skonk") to talk about this animal.

[@timotheelegrincheux2204]

I remember as a kid and teenager in the 1950s and 1960s phone numbers consisted of a word plus a 4-digit number, where the first three letters of the word corresponded to numerals on the phone dial. Examples would be: TEMple 6 (836-6..., UNiversity 4 (864-4..., PARkway 4 (727-4..., and so on. These would be somewhat easier to remember, but the disadvantage is that there were not enough words available to correspond to all the three-digit series at the beginning of a phone number. Also, in those days you had to pay so much by the minute on a long-distance call. Nostalgia is not as great as it used to be.

[@timotheelegrincheux2204]

Now I recall that many years ago in France at the movie theater there was a series of commercials that attendees were forced to watch. A certain phone number was cited, BALZAC something or other. Was there a similar phone number system in France at that time, I wonder?

[@gerypeixocarn1150]

there are white eggs in big superstores like Auchan or Leclerc, but not in small supermarkets...

[@yagi3925]

Thanks for this video. Vanity license plates are impossible to obtain in France (just not a legal option) but it's worth noting that they exist in several other European countries: I'd mention Austria and Belgium on top of my head but there's probably more. As for skunks, I'd like to mention a (somewhat) similar animal (in size): squirrels. It's pretty common to see squirrels in parks in North America, at least in my travel experience, but they're almost non existent in the parks of European cities. You'd be able to catch a glimpse of one or two if lucky but nothing like the "droves" of squirrels that you have in the USA.

[@samaval9920]

UK has native red & US gray squirrels.

[@Irulan10]

Hi Diane! You know what? I had never realized that our mobile phones still had letters under the numbers on their virtual keypad, I thought that was a lost feature of our "ancient" button phones.

[@s.p.8803]

They're still present everywhere, but not necessarily used to spell phone numbers like in the US.

[@lcxb8575]

The letters under numerals are a holdover from the days when people would text before smart phones.

[@michaelmedlinger6399]

@@lcxb8575You can go back much farther into the past! The numbers were originally there because phone numbers in the States used to start with three letters that identified the exchange and referred to the part of the city/area you lived in. They were the equivalent of what is today the first three numbers in US phone numbers, which is why US numbers always have the format XXX-XXXX. Just as a made-up example - your phone number at one time might have been MAN-5555, where the MAN meant Manhattan. This was dropped so long ago that I don‘t remember ever using it (and I‘m rather ancient!). Cellphones have messed this up completely, of course, but I certainly do remember when you could see roughly where a person lived in a city (or in the case of my home town, which was quite small) even the town because the phone numbers all had the same first three numbers.

[@Irulan10]

@@lcxb8575 I know. I was there 😁. And at the time, I knew the location by heart. Not any more...

[@fabulously695]

In the U.K. khaki is a slight green, but they are also beige trousers

[@Mysthe75]

I wouldn't really compare the US creamers and the lait concentré, concentrate milk is usually the base of a creamer, but with many different things added

[@bilong92]

I'm in Canada and i feel like khaki still can mean army green! but i guess beige wouldn't surprise me either. it feels like it means pants that aren't jeans.

[@feraudyh]

Here's another category of products you can find in the USA but you will have much more difficulty finding in France: Chemicals from hardware stores. The example that comes to mind is isopropyl alcohol. This is a useful solvent. If someone can tell me I'm wrong, I'm all ears. You see there are many KZbin videos with explanations of how to do things in the US, and the ingredients are so hard to find here.

[@harukaru84]

you can probably find isopropyl alcohol in pharmacies. as least thats where it is sold in my country (another EU member) this specific chem is highly regulated, because some scammers used it to make alcoholic drinks. it is also very expensive in comparison to regular medical alcohol, that you can buy at the supermarket.

[@feraudyh]

@@harukaru84 I tried without success

[@harukaru84]

@@feraudyh maybe you can find it online, from a simple google search it seems they do sell in pharmacies, but also french amazon has it, and some other online stores. even a reddit thread answered the question that you can find it in pharmecies

[@GS-el7ry]

For the TV shows starting at strange hours. This is due to timing on advertisements regulation.

[@patrickchambers5999]

I guess I have a vanity plate that was randomly assigned to me by Illinois. The first three are letters that just happened to be my initials and the four digits turned out to be a significant day in my life. The time I got my plate was a time that thousands of other got the same letters. Years later the issuing letters got up to WGN ****, which happens to be a well-known radio and tv station.

[@OuiInFrance]

Wow that's crazy luck!

[@trebor12081208]

Can you please do geography vid please explaining department/province?? What is equivalent of department in usa? Province in usa???

[@desertdweller8520]

I live in Portugal and can get a box of refrigerated egg whites here at the local organic store.

[@shinyshinythings]

Something that has puzzled us as Americans is the complete lack of ready to use chicken or vegetable broth in grocery stores. We lived in Spain before moving here, and it was common there and very high quality, but here it’s impossible to find, at least anywhere we have shopped to date. (Funnily enough this includes Auchan, which also exists in Spain under the name AlCampo, and has broth for sale there, just no here. I guess no consumer demand here.)

[@OuiInFrance]

Speaking of that, I JUST saw chicken broth (not bouillon cubes you add water to) in a container the other day in my regular supermarket. It was right next to the cubes. First time!

[@mariebambelle7361]

We don't have coffee creamers because we don't cream our coffee 😉

[@DenisSolaro]

if you wanted something that tastes like hazelnut or pumpkin spice milk shake with tons of sugars, why not just add that flavoring into a glass of milk and leave the poor innocent coffee alone? Over here coffee has that coffee aroma you were looking for in the first place. Which is why you don't add anything into that coffee. Unless you hate coffee and wanted to mask the taste, which is the Starbucks philosophy, and it's not very popular in my part of France/Italy

[@santamanone]

I suspect the original “khakis” in the US had been Army green (usually referred to as “olive green” or “olive drab”here) but had faded to a tan over time.

[@golfermurphy]

Love you video's I am Canadian I speak french and have spent time in France and USA I find that find that French culture and Canadian are closer that France and USA. By the way there are no skunks in Newfoundland .

[@kerouac2]

I am very happy that all of the things you listed are not available in France. Who needs skunks? However, I wish we had colibris (hummingbirds) here..

[@santamanone]

Eggnog as a flavor for coffee? I’ve never seen that here in the US. Eggnog has always been a stand alone drink (although often spiked with alcohol) I’m old enough to remember when there weren’t all these flavored creamers here either. You had three choices for your coffee: 1) black, 2) with milk, or 3) with cream. (although even back then Half & Half was around)

[@SCGMLB]

In Quebec, half-and-half is known as crème moitié et moitié.

[@OuiInFrance]

Interesting that it's a literal translation

[@SCGMLB]

@@OuiInFrance There are a few other literal translations in Québec. If you say “Merci” to a person, the common response is “bienvenue”.

[@abigailgerlach5443]

Khaki comes from a military uniform. There are actually several different colors of khaki from mud brown to green to beige depending on the environment a soldier is serving in. I think it goes back to the British army serving in India.

[@TheGabygael]

I doubt eggnog is a thing in France anyway (it isn't in Belgium, we have a translation for it(lait de poule) and it might actually be something that is done in France but I've never seen it traditionally portrayed in french media as part of a Christmas tradition) as a kid I thought it was actual chicken's milk, what does it actually taste like, is it genuinely good and comforting or is it "old lady" flavoured like a lot of traditional Christmas things (I Belgium old, mainly Flemish, ladies would have a glass of advocaat around Christmas it's a thick ochre liqueur made with eggs, it tastes nice but is way to sweet to drink the whole glass)

[@susanbartone1347]

so I’m a good old Catholic girl, and I enjoy my faith, but having said that when I moved from the state of Michigan to the state of North Carolina boy was I surprised. Now I moved here to North Carolina 1996 so it’s not like I moved decades, and decades ago. I also moved to Raleigh the capital city. when you drive around Raleigh, or on the outskirts, trying to visit some of the small towns, it’s not uncommon to see signs on a gas station or signs on someone’s lawn promoting Jesus. Now I’m all for the guy, Jesus! But it’s comical when you’re driving around in, now with GPS, you can take these adventure trips and not get lost and you turn the corner and you see a large sign that says Jesus loves me or hallelujah. Amen. One day many years ago I think before GPS and googles maps. I was driving and was in a small area that was rural on a road. I knew I would just bump into the highway and I’d be fine. But on this back rural Road, I looked up and I saw a pretty large billboard way up high, saying something like, how you lost just ask Jesus for help. So driving in my car, I looked up to the roof and I said, OK Jesus, I have no clue where I am can you help me find a Hiway well needless to say at this recording. I am safely on my front porch, so yes, Jesus help me get found hallelujah. Amen. Hallelujah.

[@gerypeixocarn1150]

coffee creamers are banned in all of Europe

[@punditgi]

Diane est magnifique! 😊

[@klozass]

I'll check but i'm pretty sure i've already seen bottles of egg whites in a carrefour supermarket

[@OuiInFrance]

Hi there, yup, once in a while you'll find egg whites (and other more rare products) usually in big cities. There was a UK company that had their egg whites in a carton at a handful of stores in Paris a few years back. The point I was trying to make is that liquid egg whites aren't a common product in France (not that you won't find them anywhere ever at all), which stands in sharp contrast to the US where they're a known entity you can find them in every store's refrigerated section.

[@CathyS_Bx]

A fortunate country contains no skunks. Here I am, living in the darn Bronx, in a leafy neighborhood called Riverdale, and the skunks rule. I've been awakened in the middle of the night by skunk essence! As for egg whites, imho they exist for making meringue only. Anyway, France and Les Etats Unis: Vive la difference!

[@santamanone]

To the best of my knowledge skunks aren’t found anywhere outside North America. And “polecat” is a common name for them in rural America.

[@marktubbs8033]

Hmmm, funny, because I've heard skunks called polecats here in TN. Mostly by older folk.

[@OuiInFrance]

Seems to be a regional term!

[@Bettyspannphoto]

I love France- we come here often- but one difference that baffles me are showers. Why is there either no shower door, or a half shower door with no way to keep water from going everywhere. I always feel like I’m shin something wrong. Sounds goofy, but would a French bathroom video be inappropriate or have I missed it ?

[@OuiInFrance]

There are definitely a bunch of bathroom differences including the one you pointed out with showers. You'll find a lot of what you mentioned, but the good thing is completely enclosed showers and curtains exist as well. My shower at home here has a glass door that completely closes and my in-laws have a tub with a full shower curtain so I'm not sure what the "norm" is these days. But I (and my North American guests) have had a few culture shock moments when we've traveled around France. The best (worst?) was a Paris apartment where the shower drain was right next to the toilet and the curtain just kind of came around. The floor was the shower (no separate area) so when you showered, water got all over the floor. Technically you could have showered on the toilet!

[@ybreton6593]

de ce que vous parlez ce sont des salles de bains à l'italienne

[@BrandonLeeBrown]

I have seen plenty of bumper stickers in Belgium and in the Netherlands. Maybe not many political ones, but those that are in a local dialect or say something like, "Children Have No Brakes." In Belgium I have seen political posters and signs, but I haven't paid much attention to them. One I remember said, "Choose a Banana", which was some political reference during an election in Belgium. The telephone in the video has letters by the numbers, but they are not the same as on an American phone. I've never noticed much cream for coffee in Europe, just milk. In America, many years ago, cream used to be popular, but has been overtaken by milk and creamers. A girl from South Africa said she really likes the half and half ( half cream, half milk coffee creamer) in America.

[@chiarac3833]

I drink organic half and half if I'm having coffee. I will drink it black before I use those "creamer" products. All those chemicals and sugar, no thanks.