British Couple Reacts to Things Americans Do That Confuse The Rest Of The World

[@dawnsoger2934]

I also disagree with the statement that we “don’t like to travel”. We do! But, there is a lot to do here and the costs to travel out of country are often unaffordable.

[@alyupde9337]

I’d add some places here people go back to again and again because they love it like Vegas or Cali or New York.

[@adriennetisme]

My passport cost around $150 in '09.

[@sdube001]

I love to travel, and have been to 3 European countries. But the cost of going from the US to France is wayyyyyyy more then from England to almost any other European country. When you travel in the US, which I have quite a bit, if you're okay with driving, the cost is gas and a place to sleep...plus whatever attraction you may be going to.

[@MonaLyssa33]

I'm a stereotypical introvert who does not like to leave her house, but I would definitely travel more if I had more time off and made more money.

[@Katchatiger]

We love to travel and most people I know have been across the pond or elsewhere...we have a beautiful huge country to explore though

[@mdsh00]

I disagree with the video where they say "Americans lack the desire to travel." Yes on average there's less holidays a year but it's also very expensive to travel to Europe or Asia because of distance. The other thing is that we have every kind of climate and geography within our borders.

[@hawx00145]

Agreed...I travel alot...just not outside the Americas, sometimes just within the country...the saying is true that all you need for a good vacation is Florida lol

[@CaptainFrost32]

Also, we don't need specialized inoculations against regional diseases. We also have greater flexibility in healthcare domestically than purchasing traveler policies for international venues.

[@xjarhead1999]

I agree with you. Not only do we have the climate but we kind of have almost every cultural experience also. Why travel and spend lots of money when you can have the same experience here. I also think one of the reasons we don't want to travel the world is due to how things are shown to us. It's basically told we don't want to travel to other places because it's not as good as home or dangerous. I'll ignore the part where I believe that most people just can't afford to travel out of the country. Most don't even know how to get a passport.

[@erikawilliams9558]

I would love to travel but i can't afford it, even within the usa

[@Elevatedzebra96]

And we can still go to Hawaii without a passport 🤷‍♀️

[@Laurynlc55]

I don’t lack the desire to travel I lack the funds to allow me to travel 😂

[@MsSmith-nb2yn]

😊😂

[@rachelfriend3780]

Definitely!

[@MayhemsMother23]

In Europe you can drive for 2 hours and visit multiple countries. I drive for 2 hours not only am I still in America but I’m still in my home state 😩

[@FNJ720]

Exactly!! I’d love to see the world!

[@seawrightstudios]

Amen to that. I would love to travel, but no money, and not enough time off.

[@jaybea365]

Every time I see one of these, 'Things only Americans do', or 'how to recognize an American abroad' etc, I sigh, shake my head, and mutter softly to myself, "You guys do remember that Canada is a country, right?" Of course I can't really blame the world, I mean Canada is basically what you get when the USA and England have a baby, and let it be raised by a French nanny.

[@ponderosapondhomestead4344]

That’s a good way to explain Canada.

[@evankubont3112]

I burst out laughing at this. It isn't wrong🤣

[@watercolorsinbloom]

😆

[@cassieperkins2193]

I laughed way too hard at this!!

[@tinalettieri]

Haha, the thing is, "Unitedstatesian" is so unweildly especially to Unitedstatesians who love to shorten words. It's pretty normal in Italian, however.

[@furryblue6377]

I'm Aussie, but like America, we are very large countries. In the US as in Australia, we can drive 24hrs in a straight line and are still in the same country. Yes we have states, but passports aren't required to travel across state lines. We can go on holiday 3,500km away from home and still be in our own country.

[@TH-eb5ro]

Yes and in larger countries, the people, scenery, and even food are also very different.

[@furryblue6377]

@@TH-eb5ro Absolutely! Tropical rainforest, to vast desert, to snow. One coast is lush temperate, mountain ranges, with the densest population in the country... The opposite coast, sandy and flat with it's own completely unique plants & animals, and only a small section with true urban areas. Even the lingo has it's own nuances and unique definitions.

[@wickedone6476]

America is interesting in the fact that you can typically tell what state they are from based on the accent and the food and social norms also vary from state to state except in places that are close to the borders like Kentucky Virginia Tennessee and West Virginia but the farther into each state you go the more things change. Going to a different state is almost like going to a different country depending on how far away that state is. With us having different time zones that also makes it feel like going to a different country in some ways.

[@CynthiaPrice79]

@@TH-eb5ro yes. The US contains /all/ climate biomes found throughout the world, so you really don’t need to leave unless you’re looking to gain some culture. Even then, a lot can be found here. It takes approximately 18 hours to drive from San Diego, CA to Seattle, WA. It takes about 3-4 days to get halfway across the country from California.

[@kacysmith18]

Passport aren’t needed in America either 😂only if your going to another country

[@Locke99GS]

Re: The fruits and veggies; The video I think references corner stores and gas stations fruit and veggie sections. In proper grocery stores, we have multiple ailes or whole sections of the store dedicated to fruits and vegetables. I've never before heard anyone say that a non north american grocery store had more of anything than a north american store. I'm calling BS on that one.

[@traci4187]

Depends on where you live and what store you go to. Larger-size grocery stores tend to have larger produce sections. That being said, most grocery stores have a produce section that take up about 1/10 of the store space.

[@Corinthians1614]

Yah same. We have a giant fresh produce section at all the grocery stores around here!

[@evalynnchristiansen9430]

I agree -- most of our supermarkets have huge produce sections. I've rented self-catering places in several countries in Europe so I've visited quite a few stores, and have never found the variety of fresh foods that we have in the USA.

[@susanhenderson3369]

Disagree. Although we have an aisle or section dedicated to produce, we have 11 other aisles with processed food. In many countries produce is bought daily from street vendors. I don't think they are talking about corner stores or gas stations.

[@Locke99GS]

@@susanhenderson3369 So? We have a whole section dedicated to fresh produce. So what if there is more processed food? That doesn't mean the fresh food isn't available - it has no bearing on fresh produce at all.

[@ladyamber2766]

There is a different KZbinr I watched that was coming to the US for the first time for a week, and somehow thought that he could see the two seaboard ends of the country from top to bottom in that time. The number one surprising thing about the US is just how big the country really is. Keeping that in mind, a vacation in our own country doesn’t mean that we don’t see something new. Very few people have been to all 50 states, and most states are large enough to get to see more than maybe a city in that vacation.

[@furryblue6377]

We get that in Australia too. I remember someone asking the best places to visit other than the capital cities, they were intending to visit them all, but wanted to know what to do with the rest of their 10 days holiday to make the most of the rental car and self driving holiday. Yeah, if you're driving yourself, you ain't even seeing each state... 15,000km to visit all the cities.

[@MrTak44]

Was it drach I know he want to do that.

[@buckybawllz6233]

Yeah most people will not be able to visit every country, the us is so big it's expensive to fly to another coast

[@Rainy1dae]

People in the eastern part of America really have no concept of how incredibly large the western states are.... So it's not really a surprise that people from other countries can't fathom the size of America.

[@buckybawllz6233]

@@Rainy1dae who are you talking to in the east??!!

[@StokesCheri]

As a trucker that's been to 48 states, Canada and Mexico, I can tell you that every state and region are vastly different. And with UK about the size of our state of Wyoming, Switzerland 7x smaller than Colorado, France half the size of Texas, Germany about the size of California, Spain only slightly larger than Montana, Italy only slightly bigger than Idaho, etc., it's like your European backyard. Plus we have all the immigrants from all over the world coming to us, bringing their food and culture. 😘🤣 And as Americans, I can tell you that we ALL hate drug commercials!! 🤬🤬🤬

[@emmajumet7367]

Yes! Drug commercials are the worst. They're like: This drug is proven to reduce migrane days by 50%. Side effects may include increased blood pressure, low blood sugar, new or worsening depression, (5 hrs later) heart attack, and possible death. Talk to your doctor about getting this drug today!

[@zekepentecost2393]

@@emmajumet7367 you it's absolutely ridiculous. Side-effects are wise that what they treat. But they buy them anyway.

[@emmajumet7367]

@@zekepentecost2393 I'm kinda confused about your comment.

[@zekepentecost2393]

@@emmajumet7367 I'm sorry, yup and worse. Dang phone. I agree with you 100%

[@untitledproduction5153]

Yeah the legal drinking age in the US is 21 but that doesn't stop us 😂

[@sin7368]

you two are quickly becoming one of my favorite channels to watch

[@_Sj330]

Definitely

[@Shan_Dalamani]

Sorry, not mine. Here's some advice: Please use subtitles. I could barely understand you and had to turn off the video.

[@simply_meee123]

@@Shan_Dalamani definitely one of my favorites. I can understand them just fine!

[@billgreen1861]

@@Shan_Dalamani you see that "button" that reads 'cc' on your screen it means "close captions" you can turn it on yourself or go to settings. Glad I could help.

[@Shan_Dalamani]

@@billgreen1861 When the captions don't make sense, it doesn't help. Thanks for trying. Just accept that there are some people whose voices and speech patterns grate on my nerves and I choose to avoid them. No reply is necessary or wanted.

[@AngelA-qi1br]

It took me 20 years at my job to get 5 weeks vacation in the US. The rest of the world, particularly Europeans, just have to travel a couple of hundred miles to be in another country. We have to fly over an ocean just to get to Europe. Anyway, we have such a diverse climate and topography and we do have millions of people who's ancestors came from almost every country in the world. The world is here.

[@shilohauraable]

Boarding pets is very expensive in the US, too. So if you have more than 1 pet and no house sitter to care for them, it costs a fortune between plane fare, lodging, eating & pet boarding!

[@erikawilliams9558]

Different states can feel like different countries sometimes...

[@frankiek2269]

Angel A. Yeah we have a lot of natural sites and modern to visit, but Europe and Asia have a lot of historical sites. Would love to be able to afford a trip out of country.

[@jessesolomon6894]

I worked for 2 years to get a week off

[@Cashelda]

@lazarus921 you're correct as the Italian food in Italy versus the U.S. tastes totally different; it is much lighter, fresher, and tastes better.

[@raymondnelson8943]

As for the prescription drug thing. When I was growing up, 1960s and 70s, in the US it was illegal to advertise prescription drugs. Big Pharma lobbied the government and it is now legal. I agree with you. Not a good idea.

[@erickaklippert8983]

Furthermore, back in the 70's it was legal for cigarette companies to advertise on television. Now it is illegal for cigarettes to be advertised because it would encourage kids to smoke, but its ok for prescription drug commercials to tell kids "if you take this drug you will be happy all the time, just ask your doctor for it". Kind of destroys the free speech argument, its just a matter of greed and lobbying on the part of the pharmaceutical companies.

[@ms.one-town901]

@@erickaklippert8983 I couldn’t agree with you both more. Greed is the name of the game now. I’m so sick of prescription drugs being pushed down our throats (literally) for every symptom there’s a disease. For every made up disease there’s a drug. No cure because it doesn’t make big pharma rich. So sad!! 😤😠

[@LJBSullivan]

I kinda like it. If something is available to treat your condition, ask your doctor about it. Not all Drs read up on the newest medication.

[@AntonioRivera28]

@@LJBSullivan and then you get money a few years later from the class action lawsuit for taking the thing you asked your doctor about. win/win

[@TheRapnep]

@@LJBSullivan Exactly!

[@MLeibs]

It’s impossible for you two to be more adorable than you are 😊 Love from our family in Chicagoland ♥️

[@bronwin3638]

I can watch the original video if I want to see it without any interruptions. I come to your channel to listen to your reactions. Frequent pauses are not only expected, but welcomed.

[@williamhogge5549]

Unless its music... If I'm a fan of the song, I'm wanting you to hear the flow, how the song "goes", to properly appreciate it, and then a longer reaction at the end.

[@grumblesa10]

@@williamhogge5549 Yes, songs are written to be heard in their entirety. This also allows the viewer/listener to build their own opinion. Comments afterwards; if the reviewer wants to replay portions and talk about it-perfect.

[@ScorpioQueen1195]

As someone who is from America, we would love to have longer vacations, even if it's within the country. We are highly over worked which is why we are so stressed out at young ages. I'm only 26 and I already have joint and muscle issues from working so much.

[@joshualiquori8237]

Over-Worked, Under-Paid, Under-Appreciated

[@bbb462cid]

@@joshualiquori8237 I have not had a vacation in five years. A European company owns my firm now- can't say which, that's one of the rules and no I'm not a secret agent, this is more common than many people think- and even _they_ are unhappy with the amount of time we get off...yet I have not been able to take an actual vacation in five years. It's called greed. One co-worker of mine is actually _criticized_ for the amount of time he schedules for vacations, and the guy works so much overtime that even when he takes a week off in a month, he actually only loses a day or two, becasue our PTO system says that if you work OT, you use the OT hours first (straight time regarding pay, too) first, instead of PTO. So the guy works 100 hours in two weeks, that's half a week's PTO he is _forced to retain_ but they still get unhappy with the vacaction time he takes. Explain THAT to me with a straight face!

[@trishteevee1512]

Americans don’t have enough time off or make enough money to travel extensively although we would love to. And passports are expensive.

[@karenfries170]

Many of us in America would love to travel abroad, but first have to fly long- expensive- distances to those countries. Once we get there, we have minimal time to stay due to our comparatively short vacay days. As an RN, I had to work for the same employer more than 10 years before getting 3 weeks off. And, by then I had a lovely little daughter who would have also required a ticket, a newly built house, and newer car. And, my wages barely kept up with the true cost of inflation, making an exotic vacation to Africa, Morocco, etc even less of an option....

[@shell6829]

31 years old. American. Had to have knee surgery in January; almost am finished with therapy. Will have to have knee surgery on my left leg when my right one heals.

[@mhammer3186]

7:50 there are no border checkpoints between states. How you know you’ve come to a different state is the giant sign aside the road with the state’s name and a state travel center shortly after (at least on major highways)

[@gwenj5419]

Depends on the state There are some checkpoints going into CA. They used to check for produce coming in to control fruit fly infestation of crops. Now they usually just wave everyone through.

[@catherinebenton3637]

@@gwenj5419 well most of America dont claim California LOL

[@incognitonegress]

@@catherinebenton3637 ma'am...that's Florida and NY

[@fightinphillies1461]

The mile marker changes.Sometimes, the roads can also change slightly as it was paved by the other state.

[@crystalferriere1330]

@@catherinebenton3637 and the rest of us don't claim them ☺

[@lholford1966]

When I was in elementary school in the 70s, we were taught metric with the intention of America converting to metric. States even added metric information to road signs and food labels. It fizzled out within a few years, though. Some items still stuck, such as soda is sold in 2 liter containers.

[@lookoutforchris]

The US has been metric for ages. Only people that are in service or menial jobs don’t know this. We signed the Treaty of the Metre in 1875. The inch was redefined on the meter in 1866. We are an integral part of the metric system. Everything is officially metric but dual labeled for consumers. All medicine, military, industry, science, and commercial metric. Regular people just don’t notice it because they’re ignorant. When was the last time you got an injection in anything other than cc? Or medicine in anything but mg? The military does everything in km, they say klicks to be cute. I could go on but it’s tedious. The US is the same as the UK or Canada. Official metric but unofficial things like baking or carpentry still use traditional units but everything you buy is dual labeled. When will this meme die?

[@memyoldie]

@@lookoutforchrisWhen the average American starts using metric in daily life and can use it without needing a conversion chart. It’s not a meme but a reality for the vast majority of average Americans.

[@MaryofMayberry]

It was taught and dropped where I grew up because the teachers did not understand it either

[@grumblesa10]

@@memyoldie Do you have a wrench or socket set? Metric. Ever bought a 2L soda, 500ml or 750ml bottle of something? Metric.

[@johnmangan5729]

Was the same way in schools in the 60s; we were told that america would soon all be metric - DID NOT Happen. Some items are gradually changing. I now own both Metric and Imperial wrench sets. And yes, definitely need conversion charts. Having worked in building military equipment, much of the designs are still in imperial units. Have NEVER heard of a 2"x 4" piece of wood in metric units. So, it all depends on the industry and circumstances which unit is used. It was actually quite disappointing that NASA and its subcontractors could miss Mars because of using different units of measure.

[@357Addict]

Remember, 50 States, many of which are the size and population of countries in Europe. If people could travel to 49 other countries without a passport, they would not have them either.

[@apollokokkinokapelo9547]

Not to mention very large natural barriers - the oceans. You can build tunnels under small bodies of water. The Atlantic or Pacific Oceans? In addition - what is the intent of the travel? Amusement parks? Wilderness? Here in Arizona we have mountain, lakes, deserts, huge forests, and an insanely large canyon. Just in this one state we have Flagstaff, which gets cold and has a lot of snow, and we have Yuma - a city in the Sonoran Desert (which is 100,000 sq miles in size) where it can hit over 120degF in the summer (Lake Havasu City holds the Arizona record; 124degF, Death Valley in California has the world record of 134degF). Warm oceans (southeast US), cold ones (western US), a national park that is 1200 sq miles in size (3000 sq km) (Yosemite)... Florida has an underwater state park. Any climate from subtropical to tundra. The size of things boggles some Americans, too. The COUNTY I live in, Maricopa County in Arizona, is larger than several US STATES - Rhode Island, Delaware, Connecticut, Hawaii, New Jersey, Massachusetts, New Hampshire. To drive (east-west) across the county, at speed limits anywhere from 55mph to 75mph, takes over two hours. Just driving from the east to west sides of the Phoenix metro area is an hour (Apache Junction to Goodyear, although you could make a case for Gold Canyon to Buckeye...).

[@357Addict]

@@apollokokkinokapelo9547 Arizona is almost as nice as Idaho :)

[@sewerrat7612]

States are starting to make it so you can't travel by plan without a passport now though

[@uhn-uh-bash-id-lee-k-ran]

@@sewerrat7612…really, do tell??? Which states are requiring a passports???

[@sewerrat7612]

@@uhn-uh-bash-id-lee-k-ran Federal starting the program currently you can't get on a plane in nj without either a passport or a new type of ID only know because I had to cancel vacation plans to see family because dmv couldn't fit me in for new ID

[@jasonweible2834]

"Does that mean you can travel state-to-state on a photo id?" - Millie. There is no restrictions at all to go state-to-state. You don't need an ID to do it. If you are driving across state boarders you will need a driving license of course but the license could be one from any state. They are valid anywhere in the US.

[@tiffanyest85]

I think she meant flying.

[@dragonrune6800]

@@tiffanyest85 Millie is meaning crossing the border between states. In EU, they have to show papers even going between countries although they are now a "union". For Americans, we can cross state borders and keep on driving. For flying, we have to show ID for security reasons, nothing more. Before the TSA, we only needed ID to pick up the correct tickets.

[@lauraannzumwaldearriola3566]

I think people forget also that there are extreme differences in climate and scenery in the US alone. Florida is way different then California or Washington state. So to stay in the US to travel is like being able to visit England then Germany all within the same week. Size of the continent matters a lot.

[@Awetfrog85]

Only need Id if your driving or flying. If you a passenger in a car you don't need anything. (Long as you don't get into some police trouble of course) even then. You just need name and birth so they can look you up. Don't have to carry it on you

[@bluebee5266]

* borders

[@LacyLane1050]

I was taught the metric system in the 7th grade. We were told that the USA would convert to the metric system within 20 years. That was 43 years ago. However mechanics and other professions may use metric tools.

[@LacyLane1050]

@Shannon R They were trying to globalize us even back then. It was very easy to learn. Much easier than Algebra 😉

[@Sheryljanefan]

When I was in school (60's-70's), we kept hearing we would be converting to metric system. Never happened. Then when I was teaching elementary grades (80's until 2017) we did teach the metric system within our measurement units. along with customary measurements (US). Students grasped the metric system more easily overall but of course, we had to really focus on the US system they would use that in everyday life.

[@Ogrematic]

American cars use standard, foreign cars are metric, so you have to have both in your toolbox.

[@bunzeebear2973]

@@Ogrematic Old American cars use standard. The newer ones it could be a mix. It is not a big deal, one wrench fits or another fits tighter. Wood size is still imp. measure referenced even if the factories have metricized 1/2"=13mm. Just so long as the guy measuring and the guy cutting is USING the same measure. It don't matter. If one speaks English and the other Swahili, then there is a problem.

[@cricketcrocker]

Jimmy Carter want to change us to the metric system.

[@kathyharmon2093]

We can travel to any other state without showing ID and no passport needed😊 I live in the Midwest and I do not particularly like to fly it is about a17 hour drive to Florida by car, I’ve driven it many time’s, it is much further drive to the west coast so I fly there, the US is a lot larger than what a lot of people realize 😊

[@robertharris6092]

Most americans dont even have a passport.

[@kathyharmon2093]

@@robertharris6092 43% have passports

[@jasonmicron]

@@kathyharmon2093 Which means 57% don't have passports. Which is 'most'. And I live in Houston, drove 17 hours to Orlando a few years ago. No stopping except for fuel and coffee. Glad there is another road warrior out there like me haha

[@ashleyrocha1028]

We are driving to Florida from Arizona and it’s a lovely 30 hour drive. Lol

[@jasonmicron]

@@ashleyrocha1028 And over half of it is just getting across Texas

[@ScarlettM]

4:20 - I didn't read that study, but as a former waitress of 5 years I disagree. Good customer service is definitely more rewarded. There is also some guilt tripping going on - if you are a very nice and go above and beyond for your clients, they just feel it's rude to leave a small tip. There are exceptions, of course, but where I worked (Italian restaurant) - good service = more money.

[@lindajohnson4204]

But if someone's base pay is less than $3 an hour, it is worse than rude to let them spend their time waiting on you, and not pay them enough so that they can generate a living income.

[@throatwobblermangrove8510]

@@lindajohnson4204 In general, the waitresses I've heard comment on this have said they prefer to be paid in tips, because the good ones get paid more than the bad ones, and the good ones get paid a lot more than they would if they just received a standard wage. Our DMV would be a good candidate for people who should get paid in tips. They might actually work a little better.

[@Nezumis]

Used to know a girl who worked at a slightly up scale BBQ restaurant as a waitress. She would routinely bring home $350 to $400 a day. An atypical slow day would still have her bringing home nearly $250. And for those who don't know, in a six hour shift, $250 comes out to nearly $42 an hour.

[@ponytailalogginalong6605]

@@Nezumis Where in the hell is THIS place?

[@Nezumis]

@@ponytailalogginalong6605 It's somewhere in Phoenix, AZ. I can't remember the name of the place, but it's pretty common for waiters to make decent money. The average waitress at the local IHOP will bring in roughly $200 a day on an eight hour shift. That's $25 an hour. My roommate's daughter worked there as a first job out of high school.

[@wholovesyababy5574]

The reason school is off for 2 months in the summer harkens back to when America was an agricultural society. Kids were needed to work on the farm. Even though there are so many cities now and America is highly industrial, the two months off in the summer remain. This has nothing to do with the vacation time workers get because that summer break was not initially intended as a vacation.

[@catstreat9434]

Also, teachers don't get paid during the summer. It's not a vacation.

[@shaynehofstetter2869]

Alot of schools don't have air conditioning so school in the summer would be unbearable.

[@JaimeDornanLady]

@@catstreat9434 Actually, it may be different from state to state, but in my state, teachers are able to choose how they’re paid. They can get paid only for the mos. they work (& make more money during those mos. & none during the summer break), or they can get paid year round (making less each month). Either way, they still make the same amt., it’s just dispersed differently. Also, some teachers elect to teach summer school to make more money.

[@ginnyjollykidd]

Kids from rural areas still help harvest, and they have off school still to do that.

[@ginnyjollykidd]

@@shaynehofstetter2869 Funny you should mention that. Indeed my schools let out in the first week of June. One year, we had a horrendous winter plus a teachers strike (for much - deserved increased pay). First I was bored out of my gourd when classes weren't open still in February, I think, and when the strike was over, we had to make up the school days, and it was nearly the end of June when we finally finished. There was no air conditioning because they didn't need to. But I think they changed that after that year, and I started seeing A/C units (the big units from Trane) in every classroom. Edit: every scorching day in June (heat _plus_ humidity!) I would complain, "It wasn't my fault!" indeed complaining about how tortuous the weather was without air conditioning in the classrooms was. And open windows didn't help. There was no good way for air to flow, and it was just too hot anyway.

[@lornaduwn]

The reason the drinking age was tied to highway funds was because of the high rate of teenage drunk driving incidents. The age was lowered to 18 in the mid 1970s in most states but by 1984 studies showed that it had led to many more accidents do to drunk driving.

[@fakecubed]

US uses both Imperial and Metric units side-by-side. It just depends on context, and we generally use whichever makes the most sense in that context. Grams are used all over the place when it comes to food. Liters too, but not as much. Distances and temperatures, we use Imperial, because these units make more sense from a human perspective. A mile is essentially 1000 paces. 0-100 Fahrenheit is basically the temperature range of the temperate climate that most of us live in. A lot of volume measurements are basically just based on food and drink portions, which makes sense for cooking and serving. People like drinking a pint of beer. People like to drink a cup of coffee. The size of the spoon you'd use to stir your tea, that's what you'd use for measuring ingredients when baking. We have no problem switching over to metric for scientific calculations. The military uses metric for interoperability with allied nations. Metric has that multiples-of-10 thing going for it, but that's about it. The units aren't very intuitive and are generally based around obscure scientific measurements that regular people have no context for. A lot of times they have either far too much precision or not enough, in the human experience. Imperial measurements are designed around division by 2 and other prime integers, which is easier for splitting things up, and even architectural projects. There's a reason why there's 360 degrees in a circle, not 1000. It just divides easier by more numbers. That's the same reason we have 36 inches in a yard, 36 is divisible by 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 12, and 18. Useful! So, personally, I think it's a hard sell to get Americans to switch over. We've had plenty of experience with both systems, but nobody here is seriously trying to switch us over completely to one or the other. We just take the best of both worlds.

[@harrythehermit3685]

The drinking laws vary across states, although the age 21 thing is in place. Some states allow underage drinking when parents are present, etc. It varies from state to state. Besides... making something "illegal" does not guarantee 100% compliance.

[@deadly_mir]

Same as driving ages, legal sexual ages, gun laws/ages and marriage laws in each state. Which is why it can get very confusing for not only people outside of the US but those who live here too.

[@Brandi6666]

Huh. No way. They be a fool to serve underage.

[@jerridcook8811]

@@Brandi6666 when I was living in Green Bay, Wisconsin in the late 90's I was allowed to drink at 16 while I was with my Mom and Stepdad at any bar we went to.

[@katrinaleebaldwin4660]

@@jerridcook8811 I was going to say the same thing. Wisconsin you can drink as long as you are with your parent or legal guardian

[@VorpalBunnysRevenge]

It used to be 18 or even 16 in places until the Federal government tied highway funding to setting the drinking age to 21. That's too much money to give up, so of course there's widespread compliance because there's cash on the line.

[@Thatnonpopularkid]

You can travel from one state to another freely like driving from one city to another. Don't need to show an ID or passport of any kind. Just drive on through wherever you want to go.

[@timothyconnelley6099]

I love seeing how other countries see us. It's very interesting to me.

[@TheRapnep]

I don't. They usually see the US as inferior to them and arrogant. I wouldn't spend a penny visiting Europe. Snobs. Arrogant enough for you? 🇺🇲😁

[@dustinbrandel59]

Totes

[@jayjuniperjen8404]

Something I learned recently is also how much Americans drive vs the rest of the world. Things are often more spanned out with infrastructures that require you to drive to get anywhere. I think drinking and driving might be a bigger issue here and having a higher drinking age may help lower drinking and driving car accidents

[@Erica.S.1111]

Yes, you also made me realize that with everything spaced out more, it costs us more to go anywhere, and depending where you live, you almost HAVE to have a car in order to be anything other than struggling. So add gas, insurance, maintenance etc of just having a vehicle because without it you might not be able to even have an income. I believe life in general and the day to day for americans probably costs more, limiting our ability to have those funds to see the places we want to see. Ugh pack on not having or getting or being able to afford time off from work or even paid vacation time, and we're all stuck in a stupid cycle of overwork and stress. 👍

[@stevestrickland8019]

As to passports, remember the US is about as large as the EU and you can travel for thousands of miles without needing a passport. For that matter, prior to 9/11 we didn't even need passports to travel to Canada or Mexico. With that much of North America open to nearly anyone, why would you get a passport unless you were leaving the continent (and not even then if you were going to Hawaii).

[@lauranichols945]

I also didn’t need a passport then to visit the Bahamas.

[@zornanrichards]

You can travel only a few hours in Europe and you will be in a different country, different language, different customs. US you can drive for a days and still be in the country. Same with Russia.

[@andie22311]

@@lauranichols945 exactly what I was thinking. I have traveled to Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, and St. Thomas from the US without a passport

[@MannyBrum]

@@andie22311 Puerto Rico is part of the US.

[@davedammitt7691]

@@MannyBrum kinda/sorta...

[@wilshade]

When the voting age became 18 in the 1970s, many state legislatures, wanting to make a new voting block happy and dropped the drinking age to 18. HOWEVER, the result was a significant spike in teen deaths from car accidents caused by intoxication. So much so that two major groups led the call to re-raise the drinking age to 21. Mothers Against Drunk Driving aka MADD for obvious reasons. The 2nd group was THE INSURANCE companies. Because of the money they were shelling out in settlements.

[@kewlenjo219]

I'm glad you mentioned this. To add, my understanding for why we can drive or have guns earlier is because many states are rural and often the kids on farms would need to be able to drive and shoot a gun to help and be safe on the farm. City kids, not so much, but they keep the laws uniform it seems. Not sure why voting and joining the military or marriage is at 18.

[@ryanjacobson2508]

The drinking age was dropped because Boomers wouldn't shut up about being drafted into Vietnam yet not being able to legally drink.

[@moonshadow--1207]

Yes and it is a very good reason. Teens are stupid. Drunk teens behind the wheel if a car are recklessly stupid. I'm assuming most teens in England don't go racing down rural back roads after a 5th of Jack Daniels to crash head on into a car driven by a mother with her three children killing them all including themselves.

[@georgeroberts4702]

the drinking age was dropped to 18 because we argued if we could be drafted and die for this country at 17 we should be able to drink.

[@elise85391]

I agree with the other people from the US in the comments section about vacations. There are so many things to see in the US, and getting to any other countries besides like Canada and Mexico is not only expensive, but the big time changes make it hard on your body too. If you're in California going to England, I believe it's an 8 hour time difference, and a hell of a flight. I have a large extended family, and most of them live within a few hours of each other aside from my immediate family. So we would always spend a lot of vacation time every year going to the opposite side of the country to see relatives instead of going on other kinds of trips. Because our family lives so far away, we'd only see them once or twice a year, and if we took vacations elsewhere we'd never get to see them

[@michaellind9650]

I remember when I was in the navy and flew back home from yokosuka japan to Michigan. I would be in the air 12 hours and land 2 hours before I took off. And would have to leave over a day before I had to be back just to get there in time

[@lorir5728]

True about the food. I usually can get three meals out of one food dish at a restaurant. I always take stuff home.

[@joyphillips1821]

The drinking age was changed because there were too many accidents caused by people who were 18-21 which in the US is the college years. Even now, in most places, you can't rent a car to drive till you are 25 unless you are married.

[@christineperez7562]

Yet you can fight for the country.

[@stephenodell9688]

With many 18 year olds still in school it became to easy for younger kids to get the booze. I feel that any one with an active service ID card they should be able to to drink near their basis

[@bunzeebear2973]

Renting a car is not the same as DRINKING. One requires a valid bank account that has money in it. The other requires immediately.

[@Hiraghm]

nonsense.

[@EvaSnyder]

You should consider the ice issue when it comes to cup size. Even though the US cups are bigger they are filled with ice so there is less actual soda in them. I had a friend who would order their drinks without ice because they felt the ice was the restaurant cheating them out of a full cup of soda.

[@bluferio]

I do this, mainly because I don't like super cold drinks but also don't want to be cheated either.

[@kenyonmoon3272]

On the other hand, most places offer free refills

[@beernmetal6964]

Yeah, but there's free refills literally EVERYWHERE! Also, with the large amount of ice, the rate of melting is delayed due to the drink being closer to 32F. The extreme cold also helps retain the dissolved C02 in the beverage, thereby making it enjoyable for longer.

[@aprilvoecks5877]

@@beernmetal6964 I find the opposite to be true. Even if it melts only a little, it changes the flavor of the soda for the worse. I hate diluted sugar water flavor.

[@TheRapnep]

You just have to say no ice and you'll get a full glass of soda. The person chooses how they want it.

[@SayKyleNotCow]

I wouldn’t say Millie was confused but merely sticking up for the individual rights of her fellow human, thus re-confirming she’s a legitimate honorary American 😂😂

[@jeffl9167]

I so enjoy you two. Thanks for making so many videos and please keep it up.

[@scottdean2199]

Having worked in the restaurant industry and known many wait staff for various levels of restaurants (diners to five star), the Cornell study is bunk. Tips aren't random, and there are things you learn to do as a waiter that will increase your tips and things you do that will decrease your tips. A good waiter will make significantly more in tips than a poor or even average waiter, and the higher class the establishment the larger the difference becomes.

[@janew4609]

No one is made to tip. It’s a gesture reflecting the service, so tip what is felt to be appropriate. Servers do not get a minimum wage, so a tip helps.

[@annep.1905]

I agree. I can't see a waiter working at, say, Cracker Barrel making the same kind of money as a waiter at a five star restaurant in D.C. or the snooty portion of NYC.

[@JB-3794]

Tipping is expected at high end expensive restaurants too, not only at places that have cheap food, as you say. No one tips at McDonald's and other fast food places, and they have cheap food. The better high end restaurants are more selective when hiring wait staff. They try to hire the best because they want to offer more polished service and need to attract wealthy people. Sometimes famous wealthy customers get ratted out when they are poor tippers. And sometimes a celebrity will be in the news for leaving an extravagant tip. What would be nearly unforgivable is customer who demands a lot of time, attention, special requests, etc, and leaves no tip.

[@CaptainFrost32]

@@janew4609 Servers do get a minimum wage, just lower than other industries.

[@CaptainFrost32]

@@annep.1905 the customer turnover at Cracker Barrel would be faster, so there is a greater volume served, leading to a chance that a good waitress will outperform the posh restaurant counterparts. Also, more likely to have a trucker crowd with per diems who appreciate quality and speedy service.

[@Youdontunderstandmoney]

No worries about pausing, it's a reaction video after all! Millie's confusion about the drinking age is perfectly understandable. And yes, in my state, the driving age is 16, you can marry/join the military/smoke/own a rifle at 18, and legally drink at 21. Love you guys!

[@JustMe-gn6yf]

The drinking age in Texas was 18 in 1978 for me and since I didn't graduate until I was 19 I was able to go to any bar in Dallas buy any type of alcohol my entire senior year, I had some fun times but really it wasn't a big deal

[@brianabc83]

The federal law for smoking is 21 I believe.

[@Arctic37]

@@brianabc83 yeah I'm pretty sure it is. Was changed from 18 to 21 in a lot of states like 2 or 3 years ago.

[@scubadiva1519]

@@brianabc83 vaping as well and owning a handgun.

[@flamerollerx01]

In many states you can actually get a special provisional license to drive as young as 14! Most people don't know about this, because it is exceedingly difficult to accomplish and kids just don't have many reasons to drive that young. Hell, many people don't get a license for many years after they turn 18! My nephew is 21 (22 in july) and he doesn't have a license, though he does have mild cerebral palsy and would have quite the effort to get it.

[@tmanknoll9702]

Interesting history fact: The idea of "cheese in a can" came from the US trying to come up with food products that could make it across the atlantic to help the UK during the world wars. It then stuck around as a conveinent novelty.

[@paulmvalexander26pa]

History is a fantastic thing ain't it

[@sharminperkins8046]

I am an American 5th grade teacher. I get a lot of days off! 2 months in summer, 2 weeks at Christmas, 1 week for Thanksgiving, 1 week for spring break plus I get 5 days from the state to take as I please.

[@zabecartowsky4724]

The drinking age was lowered for a few years; however, there were more deaths from drinking and driving. The drinking age was raised and the mortality rate for 18-21 year olds went down.

[@Tomoyo2201]

fair but that has a lot to do with education on the matter.....also sudden exposure to it i think......i am german so i was allowed to drink low alcohol content drinks from the age 16. here in rural germany i was surrounded by my parents my older sister and just people that already knew alcohol and they would let me nip and try things....i never was really drunk until my besties 19 birthday which also had a lot of older teen and young adults there so teen don't really drink alone they are allowed to test their limits but they are supervised....i know this can be different in cities where teen go to clubs and such but all in all it can and does work (also children/teen have the stupid habit of doing exactly what they are told not to do so it's not like the teens in america don't drink thats just teen live)

[@karengerweck3574]

When I was in high school the drinking age was 18. There were many kids who had turned 18 before graduating from high school which made alcohol readily available to much younger students. I think that may have been one of the reasons for the push to raise the drinking age.

[@daniby9894]

I think that there's a huge difference between having a drink, drinking and getting wasted (binge drinking). There's no middle in America... it's either one extreme or the other...

[@charlottedyer9052]

You don’t have to stop at state borders. I enjoy watching your reaction videos, especially the ones with both of you!

[@tanyamckinnon5376]

Some states make you stop if you have a boat...like from Nevada to California

[@rjohnson80100]

Remember when you can go to Canada with just your birth certificate. Pepperidge Farm remembers...

[@zodiac_blue9116]

Paying wait staff less, the business likes that, it also keeps food prices down which draws more customers. The wait staff loves getting tips at good popular restaurants, they can make way more money than being paid a normal hourly salary. Also, it does help to improve the service provided.

[@juniorjohnson9509]

Worked different seacoast resorts during the summers growing up. As a waiter, had I been stuck with just the hourly pay for the time, I would have made about $400 a week, but with being primarily on tips, I made over $1000 a week.

[@user-uj8dh7gf4g]

“Because we want to be respectful”. ……how refreshing!

[@journeywithjan4388]

As a retired teacher, we are only paid for 180-183 days a year, depending on your schools contract. For most now, that pay is split between 12 months. So, all those days off that we get are unpaid days. Think of it this way. Do kids get taught by teachers when on holiday, breaks, and summer vacation? Teachers arent paid either! Teaching was not a well paid profession while I was teaching. Salaries, in Washington, did get better after I retired in 2016.

[@kathleenmckeithen118]

Salaries are at the bottom in Alachua County, FL. The University of Florida, which pays no property taxes, or even an impact fee for all of the property they aren't taxed on, cranks out new teachers constantly. Consequently, the School Board of Alachua County pays low teacher salaries, uses them, spits them out, and just hires newbees from recent UF graduates. This is one of the Florida Education System's best kept from the public secrets.

[@biscuit2075]

In all the low skilled jobs here in the states I dont think you get any vacation time, ive been working various jobs for roughly 20 years and I have yet to get any vacation time. Ive heard of it but anytime anyone complained about the lack of vacation time they were fired.

[@susanlbk]

I must be missing something,that amount of days would be school days (Monday-Friday) from the beginning of September through the end of May, now minus Thanksgiving, Christmas, spring, Easter break, national holidays and inclement weather days off and up to 3 months off for summer break. What are teachers not getting paid for? I'm not being sassy, my last of 5 kids has 2 more years to go and I've 7 grands in school, so I'm a bit confused here, lol.

[@elenaspeaks8817]

@@susanlbk Teachers do not get paid for the 2-3 months of summer break between school years. Usually they have to split their pay checks into smaller amounts to stretch through the summer, or pick up a summer job to pay the bills until they start again. Also, any lesson planning and curriculum development that occurs in preparation for the next school year, and professional development they go to in the summer is unpaid.

[@charlonmayhall3361]

@@susanlbk we do not get paid for the time we are not working. Teachers are only hired for a certain amount of days. The rest of the year I have to work another job to pay bills.

[@GT-ry1cv]

Before 1984 the drinking age was set by state and it was either 18, 19 or 20 in most of them. Then Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) kind of forced the government to do something about drunk driving. One part of this was the Federal Government held infrastructure funds from the states until they raised the limit to 21. It took about 4 years for all states to comply.

[@rhiahlMT]

The drinking age was lowered in the 1970s from 21 down to 18, based on state choice. It was a result of the Vietnam War where the complaint was they can be drafted, go to war but not order a beer. I was allowed to drink at 18. By the time I had gotten out of the Army in 1977 they were taking the age back up in different states. Those who were allowed to drink at age 18 were grandfathered in as they turned 19 and 20. By 1984, if your state did not have a minimum drinking age of 21, you'd lose Federal Highway dollars. Yes, MADD had a hand in it, but a lot of state had already put through laws raising it back up.

[@copyjim81]

I might suggest that they do a little research on MADD and how it came about, as well as the decrease in deaths due to drunk drivers. Unfortunately there still are so many that drink and drive that we still have way, way to many innocent deaths on the highway. As for the can’t drink but you can… (fill in the blank), yeah, these are true, but that does not mean that it is a good idea to lower the drinking age. Alcohol has a lot of problems that those other things you can do younger don’t have… Oh yeah, and if you are in the military… you will find a way to drink if you want to. Just don’t get stupid with it.

[@AF_1892]

Mom said in late 70's in TX it was 17 yrs. Bc that was the age they let guys enlist. Been 21 however that is why highschool girls date college boys and they buy the booze for parties. If it is a football TX championship party very common to have the dad with a shotgun out on the edge of land. He radios out to party host COPS! And we have few minutes to run and hide. I have a passport but its rare. Don't need it. Edit: we scatter through barbwire and cactus. I remember wearing a "Tommy H all terrian gear" shirt. That and thorn bushes. Maybe rattle snakes. My sister was wearing platform shoes and one broke! She was a cheerleader so untouchable. I ran like track star I am and eventually she caught up. We hid like Vietnam soldiers cops sweeping flashlights across. Edit 2: in TX you are married you can buy booze.

[@corystanish]

The thing this video overlooks about American vacation days is that they're not generally differentiated from all other paid time off; I get 21 days per year, which is pretty good for the US. But it's all one pile that I have to dip into if I'm sick, or there's some other emergency of any kind. Especially for people who have kids, those days get eaten up very quickly.

[@user-gk3lu1gg9t]

And the narrator suggested that we don't get as many vacation days because we enjoy working...uh no lol

[@xjarhead1999]

I think it's not differentiated because it's the same everywhere. I get no sick days. My job has no personal days, sick days, or anything of the sort. There's no such thing as an excused absence at my job. I hit 20 years with my company this year and I got to schedule 17 days vacation. If I am sick and have to miss work for a day or two then I receive a hit each day and have to worry about falling in the disciplinary guidelines. If my sickness is bad then I fall under my companies accident and sickness guidelines but it has to be something that also falls under the Family Medical Leave Act. I'll still receive a hit, but just 1 for the entire time I am out. My wife is on the other extreme. She earns something like 1 and 1/2 days of sick leave/personal time off each month. that time can accumulate and can be used anytime during the year. She also gets 10 days of vacation each year. That gives her 28 days off a year.

[@SPACEB0YZER0]

Yep, I would gladly take more vacation days…

[@tcsam73]

The last time I had a private sector job that differentiated between sick days and vacation days was back in 1995. Then, about a year after I started there, they redid the time off structure and told us instead of getting 5 days of PTO and 3 days of sick time a year, suddenly we got 10 days of time off we could use any way we wanted. When I asked for clarification, the HR monkey tried to act like we had the "freedom" to use those days as sick days or vacation days, any way we wanted. I learned to hate HR at that job. It took 25 years, but I finally got a job that had sick days and PTO separate. There are many things I hate about this job, but that benefit alone will keep me here.

[@paulmvalexander26pa]

At least you got em, I have 10 days vacation and 2.5 days sick almost 3 a year

[@screenquilx5073]

I think the only time Americans switch MM/DD/YYYY to DD/MM/YYYY is when we say "The Fourth of July" for our independence day. That is the only day I think we say it that way.

[@xarkos]

Something that often doesn't get mentioned in regards to tipping that I'd like to clarify for any non-Americans out there, at least in regards to restaurants. First, fast food, no tip. Tips are generally reserved for wait staff and there is no wait staff at a fast food joint. Tips already on the bill. This is something that you generally only see in a very high end restaurant or /maybe/ a mid-range quality restaurant if you have a large number of people on the same bill. In those cases you'll see a line labeled "gratuity" that is typically an 18 or 20% tip that is already added on to your bill. At most restaurants however the tip isn't built in and you're simply expected to either leave cash or add it on to the bill if paying with plastic. In this case, 15 to 20% is considered typical, but that might be adjusted higher or lower depending on the quality of the service. It's also far more common when leaving cash to just round up to the nearest dollar rather than leave any change, unless you paid the bill with cash in which case you might leave the loose change you got back as part of the tip. Alternately you give a certain amount of cash and tell the wait staff to keep the change, indicating that the remainder is the tip. When paying with plastic though it's more common to either see an exact percentage as the tip or see that percentage get rounded up so the total bill with the tip is an even dollar amount. Also, when eating at a buffet style restaurant it isn't uncommon for the tip to be lower than normal simply because the wait staff is perceived to be doing less for you since they're only refilling your drinks and cleaning off the finished plates. For that matter, one of the best ways for wait staff to get better tips is to make sure you always have something to drink and glasses are never empty without a new drink waiting for you, but, to do this without being a constant nuisance that's always at the table asking if anyone needs a refill. And related to that, when at the bar, $1 per drink is typically standard unless it's a very expensive bar, then consider somewhere between 15-20% of the total bill for the night as a tip depending on quality of service and quality of the drinks if you're drinking cocktails.

[@kewlenjo219]

And we tip pizza delivery guys either when we order via phone by using the credit card or when they show up and give them cash. For other food delivery we also tip them but usually as part of the bill. People also tip hair stylist, bellman, doormen, and grocery delivery people.

[@jenniferpearce1052]

All good points! Also...not every state has servers paid less than minimum wage. People always say that, but it depends on the state.

[@danbryant2792]

Tips automatically on a bill are usually only for parties of 6-10 or more

[@blueboy4244]

and if you are with a couple friends.. and one puts down a 25 percent tip - you can be sure they had been a waiter or bartender or something in their past

[@jenniferpearce1052]

@@blueboy4244 I waited tables and I usually tip 15...unless I'm in a state where servers make less than minimum wage. That loophole of allowing less than the minimum on the assumption a person makes tips is just garbage.

[@mrschurch1979]

The states aren't different countries (though sometimes it seems like it), so you don't need papers to move from one to the other, though you do need your license to drive that trip or to buy alcohol or tobacco during the trip. Also, a big contributing factor to not traveling internationally is the huge variety of places to go IN the country! The US is so incredibly diverse, both culturally and geographically, you'll never run out of things to see without having to go somewhere else. With sales tax, those taxes are actually much lower (generally speaking) than the VA taxes in other countries. I'm lucky to live in one of the lowest taxed areas in the country, with a total sales tax of 8.25% (state and local combined), no state income tax, and very low property taxes (don't know the actual rates there). All told, the government gets less than 15% of my entire wage. I hope to be able to send you two a few things soon for your unboxing videos. Now I know you want fridge magnets, I know what to shop for.

[@JoannaN-573]

Sounds like you’re in Texas.

[@Hiraghm]

yes, they are. American States are sovereign republics. We are the equivalent of the EU. You don't need papers to pass between States because the U.S. Constitution (aka the ruler of the US) says you don't. The 17th amendment is an abomination that needs to be repealed (along with the 16th)

[@kmess2383]

Texans we are.

[@Elizabeth-rq1vi]

I was confused with that part as a Canadian we don’t need a passport to travel within our country either. To travel from one area of England to another a passport isn’t needed so maybe it’s the size of our countries that makes them think we would or should.

[@lavondabland3179]

Okay I've been a waitress for over 20 years and it is very nice when someone leaves you a big tip and tells you what a great job you've done it makes your day and half the time it makes your rent.

[@donjackson5522]

If wait staff were paid a proper wage, tipping would not be necessary.

[@lavondabland3179]

@@donjackson5522 yes you are technically correct. However customers would pay a lot more for the food, and servers would end up making less. I work in a great place now and it's hard work but I'm good at my job I take pride in my work and I make pretty good money on average, well above the proposed 15$ minimum wage. On the other end say working at Denny's you make a lot less so I don't know what would work for everyone.

[@sharonpopolow6874]

@@lavondabland3179 Same here, I work as a waitress in a very high volume bar in Atlanta. It's very hard work, but with so many people served each night I work, I make more than the living wage. The tipping system works for me. I'm fortunate, but also feel bad for my fellow servers at diners & restaurants that don't have the same earning capacity and their employers don't look out for their welfare by paying them properly.

[@marciejade1408]

@@donjackson5522 if people would cook at home more they could stop complaining about tips!

[@kylietasker50]

Tips stands for To Insure Promt Service shouldn't tip normal Service

[@kensilva2695]

When I use to have vacations, theres so much to see and do in my country so my vacations were spent here. I did go to Cancun once. Had a great time.

[@toddsonnier3763]

People very rarely note that the sales taxes in the US are much, much lower than most of Europe charges VAT

[@kylemcdonald6873]

Please don’t apologize for pausing and talking during the videos! That’s why we’re here, to witness your reaction. You are the channel, not the video. The uninterrupted, non-Beesley version is available elsewhere. I love what you do, don’t change!

[@Buffykos]

I absolutely agree! I would love this video no matter how long it is, as long it is listening to your comments!

[@sergent40]

I ran a bar in the late 80s early 90s, and even though the owner paid $2 higher than minimum wage tips were a big part of our salaries. Everyone usually got tips but to make sure that it was fair to everyone we pooled our tips and divided them at the end of the shift. The staff was usually 8-10 depending on the day of the week. Thursday - Saturday the tip cut ran $2-300 each. Sundays about $50-100 and Monday - Wednesday $75-150. We always said pay your bills with your check and live on your tips. We also had a superstition about tips that always seemed to play out. We said "Always tip like you wanted to be tipped."

[@Willowtree82]

I don't like tip pooling because I was always worried about people being dishonest

[@dianes5762]

@@Willowtree82 No reputable place has tip pooled since the eay 70's except very busy clubs. Frankly those bartenders are too busy and making too much money to even think of stealing. Any place else pulling that crap should be told " No ty" to their job.

[@sergent40]

Well, as I said this was the late 80s early 90s it was a unique club with a unique owner who paid us more than minimum wage. I will tell you that in 94 just before I left a couple of the Djs complained about the tip pooling so the owner said cut them out let them keep their tips and don't give them a cut. That lasted about a month before the 2 started complaining they weren't making as much money. I left due to a family medical issue and never went back so I have no idea what happened after that.

[@AntonioRivera28]

ive always purposefully avoided working for places that pooled tips. it was never ok with me that the lazy servers make as much as the good ones. it's still a thing done. my friend works at a place that does it and he's always bitching about it

[@chrisbiblarz4604]

This video randomly came up on my feed today…. What a treat! You two are so sweet together and soooo likable. Good going! Also, I live in Los Angeles…totally American. Subscribed! 💚

[@scottdean2199]

There is an old mindset in the US that if your company can do without you for a week it can do without you permanently. It was common advice to make yourself irreplaceable by being the only person capable of a vital function, but the downside is that if you aren't there to do your job it stops other people from doing theirs. There was also the mindset that if the company was going to promote someone, they would prefer to promote someone who was willing to sacrifice their time for the company over someone who took time for themselves. These attitudes are changing, but culture moves slowly.

[@annep.1905]

A large part of working so hard is the Protestant work ethic, but pagan practices did take over, and are much worse. I'd like to go back to Christian business practices.

[@cynthianewton3987]

Very true. I'm 50 - we were raised that way!

[@robertewalt7789]

Millie, the public schools are open only about 180 days. The teachers have only a few more days for their instruction and planning. No documents required to cross state lines, no border formalities at all. I used to cut through another state every day. I remember my primary school teacher telling us the metric system was coming…in the late 1950’s.

[@robertewalt7789]

Not only ads in TV, magazines, etc., the pharmaceutical business spends a lot of marketing to the doctors.

[@landail5681]

As an American who's moved to the UK, please let me point out another major issue that Americans working nowadays have to deal with - the mindset that wanting to be treated fairly by your workplace, to have a healthy work / life relationship, is lazy and literally un-Christian, which makes it un-American, because Christ help you if you can't pay your 10% tithe to the tax-free mega church you attend every Sunday like good Americans do. 🙄 They don't bother teaching mental health in the Bible Belt, because psychology is never mentioned in the Bible. So please Anne P., let's not go blaming those who don't attend The First Self-righteous Church of Christ's work ethic for why you've never left the county of your birth. It's a huge problem in the US that Big Business pays good money via lobbying in Congress to make sure American workers don't get as many workers rights, and that more is left "for the company / Union to provide" than here in the UK. Perfect example for you: my father worked for 34 years at a company before it went suddenly bankrupt, then found out that the owners had paid themselves and the operating costs of the business with the retirement 401Ks of their workers. No one was arrested, nothing the worker's Union could / would do, except for the state stepping in to pay a pension for anyone who had been there for 35+ years. So, at the age of 56, my father had to go find another job and build up a retirement fund from scratch because his (non-Pagan, very Christian) bosses screwed over a whole workforce to keep their bills paid. The man couldn't stop working until he turned 70, just to keep HIS bills paid.

[@Georgianahaven684]

Just discovered you guys a week ago and have been binging your videos ever since!!! Love this channel, can't wait for you guys to reach 100k!!!!

[@zacheryvorse8130]

Easily my favorite KZbinrs on the platform! But don't burn yourselves out trying to make good content, you are human after all.

[@snakebite6x6x6]

In my state they tried to raise wages a few years back...to bring wait staff's wages up to match the average wage for the area. The wait staff rejected it after a couple months because they made a lot more money through tips than they did with the wage raise. As far as your question about Teachers, at least at the school I work at, Teachers get most of the Summer off along with Christmas break (10ish days Dec-Jan), Winter break (1 week in FEB) and Spring break (1 week in Apr). Although I work at the school I am not a teacher, so my Summer vacation consists only of the month of July.

[@shellyfox863]

I am in Canada. I recall using the Imperial system while in school. The year after I graduated we switched to the metric system. During my last year in school we had a whopping 60 minute session on how the new system would work. Most of us my age and older basically use both systems. I am to this day more comfortable using inches for measurement. On the other hand am so used to liters. Confusing. lol

[@yogibearstie]

I lived in Canada during the conversion and the big rule is don’t try to compare liters to quarts, just understand what a liter is. Then in the US the school was obsessed with memorizing the conversions, and of course it failed.

[@ceciliajacobs5346]

I am 67 and I still fall back to the Imperial Systems from time to time

[@piratefemme6080]

There is actually an hilarious flow chart about "how to measure like a Canadian" and it's very true to form. I am comfortable with both up to a point. Kmh great, mph no. Am I measuring volume anything but baking? Metric. Baking? Cups. Meters great, yards no. Is it smaller than a meter? Either, though if you are describing verbally, you'll likely report in inches. Farenheit???? Wtf??? No. My weight, pounds. Grocery shopping kilos/grams.

[@miaschu7614]

In the UK, I still think in pounds and pints for food and drink, but in centimetres and metres for length. Except when it's measurements of the body for clothes - for example, I know my bra size in inches! I can easily use both metric and imperial and convert between the two. It's when I'm confronted with American recipes using US imperial measurements, or cups, that I pause. Just use a set of scales! 😄

[@davehelms1398]

There was a group called MADD, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, who campaigned in the 80's to raise the drinking age to 21, there main point was that most kids turned 18 while in high school and most began driving at 16, thus the rate of teenage drunk drivers was higher than in most countries. A few notorious deaths driving home at high school proms made the news and MADD lobbied the federal government to raise it. Between WWI and the Vietnam War, most states allowed drinking at 18 as if you were old enough to be drafted, you were old enough to drink.

[@glennjones6004]

That's when I joined "DAMM" Drunks Against Mad Mothers.

[@JaimeDornanLady]

While I understand their point, I 100% agree with the fact that if you’re old enough to join the military & fire a gun, you should be allowed to drink! That said, I also believe that if you want that choice, you need to show the responsibility that is required to be drinking!

[@danicegewiss862]

A friend of mine was killed drunk driving in high school. We all went to her funeral. She wasn't old enough to drink, but drinking laws are loosely dealt with.

[@ponytailalogginalong6605]

@@JaimeDornanLady I was just going to say, if you're military, they should waive that law for them, but not otherwise.

[@sykotikmommy]

@@ponytailalogginalong6605 I think our laws should be more like in Europe, but make sure the laws regarding drunk driving are strictly enforced. I served in the army and always felt the law was wrong, for 21 to be the drinking age. I remember when that was all being changed. Heck, I was a freshmen in high school while it was 21 in Delaware, but still 18 in New Jersey. There were seniors that would drive to Jersey, just to legally drink.

[@throatwobblermangrove8510]

I was stationed in Germany with the Army long ago. While there, I took my family on one of those "three countries in three days" tours, where we took a bus through Austria, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. I now live in central Texas. That entire trip wouldn't have even gotten me out of this state. It's just not physically possible to travel to different countries when the distances are that disparate. For years, I've heard the saying that in the US, 100 years is a long time and 100 miles is a short distance, while in Europe the opposite is true. And you don't travel from state to state with a photo ID. A photo ID is not required to move from one state to another. That 1st Amendment argument for drug advertisements doesn't hold water. They have banned television advertisements of tobacco products for more than 50 years, including the "Joe the Camel" ads from the 1980s because the cartoon character was deemed to target children. If the 1st Amendment held here, those wouldn't have been banned. Also, if you pay attention to beer commercials, you'll notice that they never show anyone actually drinking because that's banned. I'm surprised the narrator missed the fact that the term "soccer" was actually coined by the Brits, which is really what makes it hilarious that some of them get so offended when Americans call it that. www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2010/06/the-origin-of-the-word-soccer/

[@qtdeshina]

If you're flying from state to state, you do need a federal photo ID. If you're not flying then you do not need an ID (I.e. travel by car or train)

[@keywestconch8]

I also live in Texas. You can drive for 3 hours and still be in Dallas. Trying to get to the coast or any other part of Texas is exhausting.

[@christihorowitz7589]

Well put

[@phubble1877]

@@qtdeshina you only need federal ID fly state to state if your state does not verify citizenship before issuing a state driver's license, not all do.

[@ralphfoster6283]

Yes you need a photo I’d to drive from state to state. It’s your drivers license.

[@alexandriaescue2783]

Teacher is the U.S. here! It varies depending on where you teach but here is how my district works. We start school the beginning of August to the end of May. We are given 5 days for “fall break in October, 10 days in December for Christmas, and 5 days in March for spring break. For summer break, we are off for 2 weeks in June and about a week and a half in July. (During those summer “weeks off” we have to go to school to prep classrooms.) We also only get paid for 10 months of the year. Hope this helps! Love your videos!

[@annpachini2155]

Talking about the legal age, I remember when my son was in the Navy one of his officers was making a speech and he laughed and said “consider these young people are responsible for million dollar equipment but let them go home and they aren’t trusted to drive the family car”. Everyone laughed but it’s so true

[@thekowboymom2710]

Can operate million dollar equipment but can't rent a hotel room or rent a car. My oldest was Navy. Hooyah

[@sykotikmommy]

I was finance in the army and had worked in the cash cage some. Therefore I had, on an average day of counting funds, millions flow through my fingers. Yet, when I got out and applied to banks, I was told no, based on my lack of a credit score. 😤

[@MichelleJohnson-tg5lx]

@@sykotikmommy damn:(

[@005uz345]

Most surveys of waitstaff has found that they rather be tipped, as they make more than any of the proposed hourly rates would pay them. Also, many tips are in cash which may or may not get reported to the Government for income tax purposes.

[@Hiraghm]

dodging taxes is yet another reason to support tipping.

[@pattihiggens510]

To try to clarify the prescription drug part of this - the ads merely are saying "there MAY be help for you out there - Ask your Doctor" - so you go and discuss it with your Doctor and they will usually do testing to determine if the medicine you are asking about is safe for you to take or if it will do any good for your "problem". The info in the video you were watching gives the impression that all Americans have to do is ASK and VIOLA - you get it. That is NOT the case - Dr. are very careful when determining what medicine they give you and what they say NO to - The biggest determination "window" for Doctors to check on your problem and what they may give you for it is a Blood Test which can tell them A LOT about what your system is doing etc.

[@hawx00145]

Tbh my family including myself never asked the doctor for a specific medication, we just get what he/she prescribes...maybe except OTC, but we usually decide when we are at the pharmacy not before.

[@kerrischuh8000]

We travel, occasionally outside the US. But it is over 2000 mile from where I live to the other side of the US and there is so much to see.

[@armelind]

To me, the USA way to write calendar dates is like how you would look for something on a calendar. When you look at your calendar, do you see the year, month or the day first? My calendar is on the wall open to the page of March. Next, I look at the days to determine which day of March I need. And the year is last because we know that.

[@Amantim]

Exactly! You don't search for the day before you know which month of the day that you're looking for.

[@jd-zr3vk]

My father wrote day, month, year.

[@timveenstra4071]

But really, isn't the first thing you need to know "which calendar?" As in... which year? Therefore: yyyy-mm-dd. "The year is last because we know that". If that's true, then it doesn't need to be stated. If you are going to include it, shouldn't it be first?

[@armelind]

@@timveenstra4071 I told you my justification for reading the date I was always told to. You can justify your own way. The calendar is on the wall opened up to the month. Then we look for the day and the year is last. I know why you think your way is best. But it isnt the way we learned.

[@timveenstra4071]

@@armelind I am American. I know it's the way we learned, and we'll probably never change. It's just when I stop to think about it, I don't think there is good sense behind it.

[@danylleedson7170]

As teachers, we do get a lot of time off in the summer. A lot of teachers work through the summer, teaching summer school, getting training, fixing our classrooms, planning for the next year and teaching at summer camps. Last year I got about 2 weeks off because there was so much work to do during the summer.

[@MS-hw9ev]

Both my parents were teachers, good ones, and didn't expect praise for preparing to do their well-compensated jobs properly.

[@danylleedson7170]

@@MS-hw9ev I am so happy for your parents. You must have been a joy to raise. 💖

[@m_piper]

Honestly, some of these things that we do differently drives me crazy too lol. I disagree with the video that we don't want to travel outside of the US. I would LOVE to travel internationally. But my husband and I don't have a lot of PTO and buying tickets for a family of 4 is expensive. I can travel around the US for cheaper and I can see more in our short amount of vacation days that we have.

[@marywood6001]

TIP stands for To Insure Promptness. It is an incentive for the server to do well. Alsomost food servers are often underpaid the minimum wage. However when I was in London in 1975, 15% was added to our bill at the Hotel restaurant and to room service. Back then in the US the average tip was 8%.

[@dbarnes544]

When I was a sophomore in high school our state lowered the drinking age to 18. Americans don't handle their drinking very well. It was later raised to 21. Service staff are badly paid. $2.00 an hour not so long ago. The wait staff depend on tips. The military age is 17 with parental consent. American's do travel a lot. Just not out of our borders. It takes me 6 to 7 days to travel from the NW US to the southern US (Alabama) Size. It makes a difference. Vacation time. If you start a job, the standard is 1 week vacation after the first year. From there it varies. 2 weeks after two to 5 years of employment. And with many jobs they won't let you take all your vacation at once. Getting more than 2 weeks off at one time is unusual in most American jobs.

[@questioneverything55]

Americans or kids? Many countries overseas have a huge problem with alcoholism, go spend some time in parts of Ireland or Scotland.

[@wickedone6476]

Speak for yourself everyone I know can handle their liquor just fine.

[@fluffywhitewulf3119]

Depends on how you drive. My boyfriend is a truck driver made it to very top of the left corner in a day from Texas.

[@fluffywhitewulf3119]

@@wickedone6476 depends on the person especially a younger feller at age 15. Not all 15 years olds can hold their liquor. Maybe you can. Talking about most population.

[@sabotage151]

I heard the brain doesn't fully develop until much later - 24 years old. Abusing alcohol before your brain fully develops can lead to permanent brain damage. Then again, so does playing football. Maybe, we want people to be dumbing down...

[@jessmcilwain1073]

For the “Americans don’t have a desire to travel” is inaccurate, it is more so to say that they cannot afford to, don’t have the time too, or would prefer to travel within the states/Canada/Mexico. As for the ice there’s two factors in it. On the business side if you have more ice there is less beverage in the drink. Think of the movie “Cocktail” in reducing overhead while making the customer perceive they’re are getting a lot. The second part of it is that the majority of the states are 🥵 HOT and/or humid from (southern states) late March through late October reaching 100+F (40~C) and desert states like those west of Texas can get to 120+F 50C. Having an ice cold drink helps a lot. (That’s also the reason why homes have Air Con).

[@paulmvalexander26pa]

Being in a desert state I'd prefer not to have a cold drink, I like being alive.

[@killinspecialist1965]

@@paulmvalexander26pa I live in a desert too but don't agree, cant have a hot drink feels like toture in summer with 110 degree weather. Every drink HAS to be cold here or people end up dying and while I know its possible I've never heard of someone dying from a cold drink lol

[@paulmvalexander26pa]

@@killinspecialist1965 not necessarily a hot dri k just not ice cold, I work alot outside in the heat and coworkers I have and had made the mistake of cold drinks while working only once. It'll cause you to get sick.

[@killinspecialist1965]

@@paulmvalexander26pa what kind of sick

[@vivians9392]

Mostly, it is the large land mass. In Texas, it takes many hours to travel from the Gulf Coast to the Pan Handle. ( From Houston, the farthest place I travel north in one day is to Dallas, around 245+ miles.)

[@caw7007]

We also have a huge country to explore! I have only 4 states to go until I’ve been to all US States. 💖🇺🇸

[@garymonaghan7196]

I love it when you guys pause. That way you’re not missing out on what they’re saying and this is a review anyway so we want to hear from you that’s why we watch I want to know your opinions

[@Tony2Sweet]

Lots of servers make a lot more money earning tips than they would being paid more by the restaurant. Many people are generous with their tips and when you wait on 30+ tables a night assuming you get at least $10 pet table, that's a good living. Of course it depends on where you work.

[@Dinahstie]

For vacation, (at least here in California) you will have to "earn" your vacation time by working with the company for a certain amount of months, days or hours, it's not just a gift from the corporation. That and most places I've worked, vacation is not paid, it is seen as "days not worked" and therefore "days with no pay" so taking a vacation is a financial loss. This principle will also applies to being sick, workers normally get very few paid sick days and after that you are on your own financially and have a higher risk of being fired, which is why so many Americans come into work incredibly sick. The vacation also applies to teachers during the summer months. Yes it can be considered "vacation" but unless they are teaching summer school, they will get no pay for that time because they are "not working". I have many teacher friends that will take part time jobs in the summer to make ends meet. Then a couple weeks before the school year starts they have to prepare their curriculum for the new school year, so the "summer vacation" really isn't much of a vacation at all.

[@LJBSullivan]

If you've been a teacher after a few years your curriculum is set. Not that hard to get prepared especially for little ones. However that said covid threw a wrench in everything.

[@darlenemiller6856]

Historically, summers off were not intended as a vacation. They were a time for the children to help on the farm as the growing season ramped up.

[@shawnaaustin3396]

@@darlenemiller6856 but growing season is normally spring 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@darlenemiller6856]

@@shawnaaustin3396 the school year has changed over the years. We didn't go back to school until well into September when I was in school, but even I am not old enough for the days when families need their children home to help.

[@shawnaaustin3396]

@@darlenemiller6856 yes when I went to school in the 80’s, we started in September as well.

[@marcelineabadeer2513]

Aside from offering little vacation time, many US companies -- often smaller ones -- discourage employees who are lower down on the food chain from using the little time they have. When an employee in this type of company wants to schedule time off, they can face criticism, backlash or refusal from a boss or employer for requesting to use their vacation time when they wish to, as though it's an insult or aggression toward the company or people you directly work with and shows you to not be invested or loyal enough to move up within the company. In a retail environment, it can be the store manager who can't take time off if they are always on call and aren't able to secure someone to fill in for them during that time. It's a very toxic occurrence and often a result of nothing more than the upper management valuing sales/productivity over workers' needs at any cost and lower management wanting to appease the demands of upper management to look better and get ahead in a company. Some companies will roll over unused vacation time into the following year or pay an employee back for unused time at the end of the year but most don't and the employees who work in the type of environment which discourages them from using their vacation time are shit out of luck if they succumb to the pressure and/or demands placed on them by their job.

[@katicreighton]

This. This is what people need to see. We do not choose these things. They were chosen for us and we're negatively impacted when we choose to use the little we're given.

[@missmo3451]

Well said

[@BubbleleeBubblesareBubbleleeng]

I work at a place like this. They will try to make you work with a fever and vomiting, no joke. If you don't put your foot down and tell them "No, I'm not coming in", they will tell you that you have to stay.

[@marigeobrien]

That so blows. I hate the way corporate America has devolved. We need unions back again. It's not that they don't value workers' needs. It's that they don't value workers, period. You're right. It is toxic. The only consolation is knowing that, for those companies, because people keep leaving, it costs them more to hire new people than to give workers the benefits they were promised. They're greedy and stupid and usually don't last long.

[@LJBSullivan]

That's very true I have 80 hours saved but can't use more than 30 hrs a week. Well I need that extra 10 hrs pay. So I use it for a day here and there

[@johexxkitten]

Never seen your channel before, spotted the Millers in the back! I'm in Wickersley/Bramley! *Badly sings neighbours theme*

[@mordeys]

The drinking age change happened 3 months before my 18th birthday. Now at 20 I had bought and paid off my first car, married, had 2 kids, bought a house and had been at the same job 6 years. But still wasn't "mature" enough to drink a beer.

[@bunzeebear2973]

Cuz you had kids. Only a "foo" does that.

[@tauronicodemus8300]

Good on you for being a responsible Man.

[@mordeys]

@@tauronicodemus8300 was that directed to me or the other commenter?

[@cindyking4654]

There is no tax on food sold in grocery stores, however, “hot prepared food” is taxable. Sales tax isn’t just different in different states, it varies county by county, so if you visit, for instance, California, it may be different in Los Angeles than it is in San Francisco. I can see it would be confusing.

[@AnnieAnnieBuckwheatCakes]

In Hawaii all food is taxed. For EBT/food welfare rules the 'hot prepared food' rule applies. Food, rent & medicine are taxed in Hawaii. Its called the General Exise Tax. It's a tad over 4%.

[@timjames1709]

All depends on where you are.

[@dragonrune6800]

Utah has a food tax when you purchase food. I wish they would remove it; I think it's ridiculous.

[@rebeccacook8020]

Alabama has sales tax on food. The only thing I can think of that isn't taxed is labor.

[@realShadowKat]

Sales tax can different depending on WHERE you are in my city. The shopping mall has a whopping 12.5% sales tax. A store off property is 8.5% and in the next city, quite literally across the street, is 7.25% Also, groceries are taxed here at 1.25% statewide minimum. And our state taxes gasoline/diesel after all the other taxes are included, so we're literally taxed on the tax.

[@kristadavis2825]

Also, the traveling thing, most people I know love vacations. I live in Texas and it took us 4 days to go move to Montana for work. We then had family take two days to meet us and we spent two weeks traveling back home in our RV so we could explore Yellow Stone and a variety of things in multiple states on the way home. Almost all of the vacations I went on as a kid took 1-2 days to even drive to the other state.

[@fluffywhitewulf3119]

Thats not a lot of time for vacation. Vacations are like a week long or two

[@jasonmicron]

I'm also a Texan. I 100% understand that it takes 1-2 days to even get to your vacation destination when you have to drive. At least Houston has Astrowo---- oh wait.

[@MaggMoppArts]

I am a secondary teacher. We do get time off, 2 months at summer (ish... A lot of that is trainings and plannings and setting up the classroom time) , and a week in Spring, a week for Thanksgiving, 2 weeks for Christmas break. Some states have a long weekend in the Fall as well. "Fall Break" BUT.... We are paid for 10 months, although it's split among the 12. (Some states give an option to get paid 10 or 12 months, some only pay 10 and teachers often find a summer job to get by) So technically, we are just off work for the two months..... That we are doing trainings and getting ready for the next school year, with some relaxation in between.

[@azcowboy1963]

I'm going to shed a bit of light on the drinking age topic. Driving at 16 =yes. It is true that America attempted to federalize the drinking age to 21 years of age. The handful of states that were 18 were told by the federal government that either change to 21 or lose federal funding for road repairs. Vermont gave the federal government the middle finger and told them to keep their money because they refuse to raise the drinking age from 18 when that is the legal age of military drafting. This topic always sparks debates everywhere and in my experience many if not most Americans agree that one or the other has to change.

[@jd3422]

Vermont increased the drinking age to 21 in 1986.

[@Kim.Miller]

That finger got chopped off six years later 🤣

[@kevintuer1821]

There really isn't much debate if you are a mature adult who is using rational thought. The requirements to be a good soldier are not the same as the requirements to be able to handle the responsibility of drinking alcohol. To safely drink alcohol you must be able to take FULL RESPONSIBILITY for your self and ALL of your actions when you are drinking alcohol - meaning you must have the FULL maturity to RECOGNIZE AND REGULATE your limits. EVERY DECISION YOU MAKE, TO START DRINKING, TO KEEP DRINKING AND EVERYTHING THAT COMES AFTER YOU MUST BE ABLE TO ANSWER FOR. However, to be an effective soldier you must be able to perform physically AND FOLLOW ORDERS - PERIOD. These two activities , being a good soldier and being a responsible drinker have TOTALLY different requirements with regard to maturity and WHO IS PERSONALLY RESPONSIBLE. I am a 60 year old combat veteran and i have had my struggles with ETOH, I know what I am talking about. The whole " if you are old enough to die for your country than you are old enough to have drink" is just an ignorant statement. The same goes for the voting argument. The qualifications to a responsible and informed voter are COMPLETELY different than the requirements to be an effective and good soldier. Therefore, to keep saying "if you are old enough to die for your country you are old enough to vote" is simply NOT TRUE no matter how virtuous and "smart" you think it makes you sound. Anyone who really thinks about it will quickly realize that people who run around saying that just sound stupid and clearly don't know what is involved in fulfilling these disparate roles in our society. It isn't that we should LOWER the drinking age, or that the US congress (ignorant, destructive and self-serving as usual) should have lowered the voting age during the draft - as the Mr. Beesely correctly pointed out the brain isn't even fully developed and matured until sometime after AFTER age 21( I am also retired from the University of Michigan in neuroscience). We should RAISE the driving age to 18 at a MINIMUM as our youth today are maturing at a RETARDED rate, and raise the drinking/voting/marriage age to at least 25. We have far too many CHILDREN involved in otherwise ADULT activities they neither understand nor can they take nor INTEND TO TAKE ANY responsibility for.

[@IChIDH]

@@kevintuer1821 bullshit. The average 18 year old can handle a bit of alcohol better than they can handle being in a fucking war. Do you hear yourself? I can tell you never served because you don't understand a thing about what it takes to be a soldier.

[@hkonyt797]

This comes from my teenage memories from 30+ years ago, so look it up for accuracy, if you're so inclined. I plan to as well. In the 80's MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) was VERY active: TV commercials, rallies and marches, events and programs at schools, testifying before Congress, etc. It was a potent lobby and with good cause. Deaths of young people due to drunk driving had reached an all-time devastating high (so MADD said and I'm inclined to believe). The tragic stories were legion. Raising the drinking age was studied and raising it to 21 (rather than say 19 or 20) apparently made a very significant difference in the number of driving related deaths and accidents. It was seen as very paternalistic to take this federal, but a federal law was unsuccessfully pushed for. In the end states were "incentivized" to change their laws through threatened loss of federal funding. Some had said back then why not raise the legal driving age as well as a means to reduce youth fatalities and accidents, but family farms (there were MANY more of them back then) said they couldn't function if their teens couldn't drive the trucks and other farm equipment. If memory serves... DWI accidents and fatalities were very common in the 70's and 80's. Everyone seemed to know or at least know of one person who had been impacted by one. If raising the drinking age has eliminated that epidemic, I can't be upset with it.

[@redheadgeek9225]

The dating system.....I'm an Army veteran, and to cut down on confusion between U.S. and international dating systems, the U.S. military writes everything down as 9March2022, or 9Mar22, or 09MAR22. I've seen various combinations like that, but the military puts the day number first, spells out or abbreviates the month, then puts the year. This helps so Americans and foreigners can easily understand the date quickly.

[@bambamnj]

Sale Tax - Yeah we are just use to it over here so basically my method is to always calculate 10% more and then I know I am safe and should have enough money. Most places in the US the sales tax is less than 10%, so if you purchase something for $149.00 you need to make sure you have $15.00 more or a total of $164.00 and you should be safe. It makes the math a lot easier, using the 10% rule.

[@msfeistybabe]

Yeah, it sucks if you have to move from a state with no state tax and around 7% Federal to a state with 3-4% state tax & 9% Federal!! Ugh (Pretty sure that's what it was about 6 years ago when I was in Arkansas for a year).

[@marybranham5235]

Tipping started as "To Insure Promptness." The tip used to be placed on the edge of the table, and the customer would remove money whenever the server took too long. That's old history. Nowadays, waitresses are not paid minimum wage, and the custom is that each server is supposed to make up the difference by their own efforts.

[@Nan-Elle]

I used to be a waitress at several restaurants; and I sent my son to a private university with my earnings! I always tip well now, like most former servers do.

[@kathleenmckeithen118]

I taught school for at a low salary for 33 years retiring June, 2021. I tip well because I know what it is to put your whole heart, and a lot of your own income into your work. The least I can do is tip hardworking people well for what they do.

[@tinalettieri]

My mom was a doctor. Old fashioned family practitioner who did it all but she taught me to never leave less than 20% at any level establishment. She impressed upon me that any honest work is honorable and the "workman is worthy of his wage" which for servers includes tips.

[@kathleenmckeithen118]

@@tinalettieri I agree with you !

[@bloodrain1776]

@@tinalettieri do you tip the repairman too?

[@tinalettieri]

@@bloodrain1776 no. I don't live in a tipping society.

[@rmorris2447]

In the US, every company is different on how many days off they allow. Some companies offer separate sick days and vacation days and other companies offer Personal Time Off which combines everything and gives you one pool of days off to work with. Each state may have different laws as well requiring a specific amount of time off. Most companies offer more paid days off the longer you work for them. I currently am getting 28 days off per year because I have worked for 8 years at this company. When someone starts at my company they get 18 days off. it goes up a couple days every 5 years. So when I have been at my company at 10 years then I will be up to 30 days off per year. I do not get separate sick days so I am on the pooled days system.

[@richardcollins7909]

A lot of counties/states should offer sick days. From where I'm from and work, the daily (or nightly) shift can go from 8 hours to 16 hours. Which 16 hours being the maximum. Depends on the "boss". But that can be deteriorating and can lead to bad health. Quite a few of Americans are over worked. And it's not good. Physically or mentally. :/

[@Deanstanley]

"In the US, every company is different on how many days off they allow" I don't know why these type of videos always fail to mention this simple point. I'm a 40 year old male who gets 38 days per year off, including holidays and excluding sick days. I know a large number of people and my paid time off is not unusual.

[@cassandrabrown5191]

Also just because a company offers time off it doesn't mean it will be approved especially if you want all days together many companies will deny your vaca

[@JeffBishop_KB3QMT]

A good waiter/waitress takes home a whole lot more money in tips than do the poor ones. I remember people walking into restaurants and asking for a specific waitress because she treated them so good. Compared to the rest of the world it is an odd practice, though we think nothing of it.

[@robertewalt7789]

I’m an American from NJ, but I don’t like the tipping culture. I think the manager is responsible for the food, the decor, and the service.

[@grantnichols2093]

I still do that. Another thing Americans do is we know the servers name, and use it, if we have been to that restaurant more than once.

[@WE__BTS]

False. There is a movement to change it bc it is so unjust. Also rich ppl tend to tip worse. Also racism and sexism can affect it. It is a terrible system

[@RealSimsHouse]

I remember an old coworker was crappy as hell, but got more tips then me. I'm a middle aged mother & she was a people hating high schooler. I would have to help tend to her customers & mine, & she would get a big tip.

[@bunzeebear2973]

I work in the construction trade and I NEVER GET A TIP. I got to work for every cent.

[@empice2k]

American Military writes the date as YYYY/MM/DD, which I continue to use since I got out.

[@kimwilliams8834]

When I was waiting tables during college I would average about $22 an hour. This was when minimum wage was 575. Because I worked the hours at 10 o’clock at night to 6 o’clock in the morning I always got the bar crowd after the bars closed and then I got the morning crowd who were waiting for the transport van to work the coal mines. I always cleaned up and made way more in tips than a regular salaried employee at any other place.

[@ReaIJackhammer]

I'm glad someone else says ths because I worked the restaurant industry and the tipping complaint pisses me off. Not really talking about this video but when people servers don't get enough money with tips. The girls would pull at least $200 a night wnd I've seen them pull $600 a night, and then when they "only" got $200 again they'd complain about their minimum wage not being enough.

[@RebekahEdvalds]

I have to say, some states pay their waitstaff minimum wage or more (~$15/hr) but we’re still expected to tip in these states. My friend makes $90/hr bartending because he makes at least minimum wage plus a lot of tips. Other states pay $2/hr so they really rely on tips there. Every state is different!

[@spikedodson3194]

Go ahead don't tip, I dare you to back after and continue your non tipping ways.😈

[@smorlan5828]

I do remember wen i was a waitress here in Oklahoma i was paid $2.15 + tips omg so yes i ALWAYS tip UNLESS the service is HORRIBLE (which was only twice i can honestly remember doin)

[@TheTalkingTreeEmporium]

Bartenders always make more than servers....horrible analogy

[@frenchfriar]

I found the bit about the drinking age very interesting because I live in Tennessee. I turned 18 on June first of 1979, and Tennessee raised the drinking age on my birthday from 18 to 19. This happened each year until I reached 21. Many of my school friends with earlier birthdays than June 1st turned legal on their birthdays and illegal again on June 1st. But by 1981 everyone was legal on their 21st birthday. When I visited Europe, I was surprised by the warm drink thing. I don't mind not having ice in my drink, but I do expect to have soda refrigerated. Drinking warm sodas and beer was so bizarre.

[@JeremyShipley929]

In Pennsylvania if something is considered a necessity item like food or clothes there's no sales tax.

[@miaschu7614]

I can travel for under 2 hours on a plane, from the UK, and land in another, warmer country, with a different language, customs and traditions. If I were in America, I'm guessing the same time on a plane would take me to another state in the US. So, it's not just vacation time that limits international travel, but distance. Although, the two are linked. If I were ever to go on holiday in America, I would have to decide on whether to spend my time in New Orleans and the south, with its vibrant music and food scenes, or New America in Autumn, with its natural scenery of colourful trees, mountains and lakes. The country is too big to see both. But if an American came to the UK, they could see the lochs of Scotland, experience both the modern and historic sites of London, enjoy the craic in Northern Ireland (or Ireland) and climb Snowdonia in Wales. Distance really changes your perspective.

[@sarahlesliem21]

What/where is New America?! I'm American and this geographic location sounds foreign to me 😜 perhaps maybe you mean New England? (the northeast corner of America along the Atlantic coast beginning in nyc/CT)

[@robertharris6092]

Wtf is "new america"

[@amymalone3995]

So true! I have a trip to Scotland in September (from the US) and the guide I have booked was telling me about how small Scotland really is. I'll get to see a bit of the country in 10 days. Here in the US you can't see a lot in 10 days. I could drive for a whole day here from Michigan and only be one or two states away. Lol

[@MissMolly75]

It takes 5+ hours to fly from coast-to-coast here in America, and it's a 3 hour time difference and expensive. It's a 40 hour drive, usually done in 4-5 days of driving for the average person. There's so much to see, but most Americans haven't even seen their own country. The expense, plus not having the time off work to do it.

[@emmajumet7367]

New America? Do you mean New Jersey? New York? New Hampshire? New Mexico? Is it a town in the US? Is it somewhere not in the US? I know I'm not great at anything geography related other than simple things like "that is a mountain" but I'm really confused and am actually asking for an answer.

[@Deadcntr]

As far as vacation days go. Here in America we often are forced to accomplish the same amount of work. We usually have to work twice as hard when we return to work. To make up for the days we missed while on vacation. So we feel like vacation is punishment.

[@msfeistybabe]

Some of my jobs I had to make up work (if it was a position I didn't share with others), but at no time did I feel my vacation was a punishment!! I couldn't wait to go lol :) But then again I'm also someone that at the jobs I was given a 30 minute lunch break I took 30 minutes... if given 2 breaks 15 minutes each, I used them. I worked hard on the clock but if I was supposed to get time off (even with breaks being on the clock still) I took my time off. Why kill yourself for your company when you already work hard & often even your managers/supervisors don't give a crap, much less the company owners themselves!!

[@chasejackson7248]

People are still working when you take vacation at most places, so not many people will have to work harder when they get back.

[@ccchhhrrriiisss100]

For my first post-college engineering job, I had a total of 21 days of vacation (plus seven "sick days"). After one year, this increased to 28 days. Unless otherwise planned, some of those days were required to be the weekdays between Christmas Eve and New Year's Day. Growing up, my dad always had 30 days (plus one week) paid vacation. My neighbor is a programmer who works for Google (in Mountain View, California). Last month, he told me that his vacation time will now be at 20 days per year (plus up to 10 sick days). However, once he returns to work on-site, he will still be working from home two days per week.

[@matthewteague623]

I'm fortunate enough to get five weeks vaca, and more sick time than I'll ever need, but I've also been at the same company for over 25 years.

[@ccchhhrrriiisss100]

@@matthewteague623 - Nice! My dad saved up over a year of vacation/sick time when he retired. So, he effectively took a year off at full pay/benefits. My company used to stack vacation and sick days -- accumulating quite a bit. That stopped not too long ago. So, I really have to use most of my vacation each year OR accept a lump sum compensation for (most of) it.

[@msfeistybabe]

@@ccchhhrrriiisss100 Unfortunately a lot of companies will "let go" someone who has been there for a large amount of time, especially if they accumulated time off like that. They find a "valid reason" that they need to make them leave... so they got full use of them for all that unpaid/unused time and then let them go so they don't have to pay them when they retire!! It sucks!

[@sarahlesliem21]

You don't need to show ANY ID to cross state lines within the US. You just drive, there's no state border guards or checkpoints. Usually there's a sign on the side of the highway (motorway?) that says "Welcome to ___!" or sometimes "[state] Governor _ welcomes you to __!" and very easy to miss. That's it. At least for show.... we're very "united" :p