Things AMERICANS Who’ve Never Traveled Don’t Know About the World...

[@mvl71]

The whole "traveling abroad" thing is a bit unfair. I live in the Netherlands, a tiny country. If I brake too late when driving home I come to a full stop in Belgium. If you live in Luxembourg and you get distracted you might miss your country altogether.

[@DallasMike424]

Funny. I’m stealing what you wrote.

[@Victor-mk5pp]

Hahah goeie comment, groeten uit België maat.

[@nickinportland]

Hahah love that

[@duma0238]

Lol.

[@HedelTorres]

haha... true.. i'm in Canada... you can drive a week and still be in Canada... sadly, it's cheaper for me to fly to England than to Vancouver... so most Canadian travel outside the country than inside... no competition in our airlines... :(

[@aceofspades9503]

Some things I realized while traveling abroad and just talking to people: 1) Americans are loud, which is part of why they are seen as obnoxious. The American indoor speaking voice is, in certain parts of the world, way louder than what the locals consider appropriate. 2) People in a lot of other countries know who the current US president is and have opinions about them. I was surprised by this, because I personally couldn't tell you who was in charge of most countries. But in 2016 while traveling, everyone I talked to had to ask my opinion about Trump and the election. 3) People from the EU and Australia are absolutely incredulous about how little vacation time Americans get. 4) People from countries that have free healthcare are astonished by how much Americans pay for theirs, and the comparatively poor service we get. Like, open blank faced astonishment. 5) A lot of people don't realize how homogenous the US really is and how difficult it is for us to travel abroad. If I were to fly from New York to Los Angeles, I would see a slight difference in lifestyle and culture, but not a massive one. For someone in the EU though, they could drive for a couple of hours and wind up in a place that speaks a different language, has different architecture, and has a completely different culture. The US just doesn't have that perspective. Traveling overseas is expensive, and is beyond the means of many Americans. Even if they can afford it, our limited vacation time away from work means that we can't spend much time anywhere. This is a big part of why the US has such a limited world view.

[@boxsterman77]

Yeah. We are loud. I lived in Europe for 3 years and I could always spot (or hear) a fellow American. We walk through the world with confidence. On one level, it's commendable. But it's dark side is that it can become arrogance. I think your points are spot on. The closest things American come to experiencing the diverse cultures and architecture styles is by going to Epcot Center. LOL. Believe it or not, some Americans think that qualifies for being wordly.

[@johnsaunders2109]

@@boxsterman77 but whats to be arrogant about? You are by far the least advanced first world country !!

[@earllaboissonniere1543]

Well done!!!

[@earllaboissonniere1543]

Well done.

[@donvielenio8956]

@@johnsaunders2109 Let him think about it in his "vacations"

[@sunpowerguru3993]

America's young people are OK with the metric system. Our kids all carry 9mm handguns and deal their drugs in grams!

[@Magrat_Knoblauch]

xD That's the kind of humour I live for :D

[@paganphil100]

It's the same here in the UK (except that they all speak with "Asian" accents).

[@vickikendricks]

I'm an American and that's hilarious Lol!

[@deeas6518]

After spending much time in British pubs, I was shocked to learn a pint wasn't 500ml

[@benghazi3754]

There is a joke that goes: "The imperial measurement system is so inefficient that even American drug dealers are switching to metric"

[@markust2749]

Travelling abroad in the US is a bit different than in the Europe. Living in Finland I can take a 10€ ferry to Tallinn and be there in 3 hours. Within a day I can get to Russia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Poland, Sweden and maybe even Norway and all of these trips are going to cost less than 50€ if travelling with a group

[@grimp53]

I can travel to 4 different countries in one afternoon on my bicycle.

[@MrMilkman02]

@Aussie Pom Quebec is closer than France, but still almost 4,400km from where I live.

[@randycarter7841]

In 3 hours I can't even leave my state of Texas

[@Ome99]

*>Mentions Africa* *>Shows a picture of an elephant from India* Well done

[@lordkiwi355]

MrMigraine but you get the point

[@IgorRockt]

Well, he WAS talking about the image the US-Americans have from Africa - and honestly, how many of them do you think would be able to distinguish an African elephant from an Asian one? (Hint: look at the ears, that's the biggest giveaway - and yes, I actually learned that at school back in Germany as a kid already. ;-) ). As such, it was a PERFECT picture to prove his point! :-P

[@WKRP187]

What did you want them to show??? Some slaughtered poached elephant family with the ivory tusks missing???Some pictures of African children(slave)labor in the factories they're forced to work in... Maybe some pics of forced labor in the blood diamond mines with missing limbs??? I thought pic of elephant was way to nice

[@briancurtis888]

I think that was the point. To illustrate that Americans had the wrong idea of what africa looks like.

[@ilyapopov460]

>Talking about Jews in France and Britain. >Shows picture of Putin, meeting Jews leaders in Russia.

[@natalieholeman146]

As prior military that was stationed in Germany for 6 years, I can certainly agree with most of the comments. What I considered really appalling was that most of the young military would almost never leave the American military areas except to travel to another American military area. They also considered their was nothing the people had to offer except beer and beer festivals. They considered their was no reason to learn the language as EVERY German could speak English fluently and only talked in German to annoy them. I personally loved my time in Germany. I only wish I had more money so I could have traveled more. I also wish the 1st Gulf War had not occurred when it did because I really wanted to see the Passion Play in Oberammergau. The food, the Christmas Markets, the free concerts, the museums, the walks in the woods and volksmarsch (what is the plural?), just talking with people and find out different views and ideas. I actually pitied those military that did not join in on the culture.

[@vickikendricks]

Natalie Holeman Former military here you are so right... I was stationed in Korea and lived off base my supervisor was so afraid of leaving base just to come to my house for fear of being lost. She could've just used her GPS but she said she didn't speak Korean... too funny!

[@RagingGoblin]

@Ksch Koff Wow, someone's irrationally angry and self-centred. Bad day, mate?

[@RagingGoblin]

I don't know. Sadly, you deleted your other two comments. What do you mean by aired 'this stuff on the radio', and what does being a southern American have to do with living in Germany?

[@RagingGoblin]

You may tell whatever you wish to whomever you like if it pleases you, friend. But I think you're a bit mistaken about something. While most Europeans belittle Americans a fair bit, mostly because Europeans tend to be a bit more open-minded due to easier travelling opportunities, the only real problem most have is with the US's government. I don't want to make this thread about politics, but it's a fact that both Bush Jr and Trump are people I personally wouldn't have trusted to clean my cars -- much less running for the presidency. It doesn't help that they verifiably lied on dozens and dozens of occasions, especially concerning everything related foreign policy -- and these kinds of things get around. A tendency to meddle (Mideast), as well as dubious moral standards, make for a poor mix and a poorer impression. Many European countries feel alienated that these kinds of presidents keep getting elected, and -- personally and only speaking for myself -- I think it's rather scary how resilient these people are to minor and major scandals. Like this video explained, there are some very glaring differences between Europe and the US (weapons, freedom of speech, security, work, social environment), and I'm not saying one is strictly better. Morals and ethics are often a matter of weighing up and thus come down to philosophical and/or historic traditions. But despite how queer or weird some American customs or circumstances may seem to us over here, there is no hatred for the American people -- why would there be?! Sure, Americans aren't universally beloved, but nobody is. Look at Europe: the Austrians make fun of the Germans, the Germans make fun of the Dutch and vice versa, the Dutch and the Belgians love to tease each other, and occasionally we all like to mock our favourite frog eaters. I don't know what you listened to exactly so I can't possibly be sure but maybe you're a bit thin-skinned or testy when it comes to people having negative and/or strong opinions about the US?

[@LeilaDRalph]

Plural von Volksmarsch = Volksmärsche. Even thow I´m German and have no idea what that is XD

[@Krawurxus]

So everyone thinks they're the real heroes of WW2? Well as a German, let me tell you... oh. oooooooooh...

[@mayonnaise1271]

So Germany was a hero in WW2?

[@Krawurxus]

So you caught the meaning, but not the self-depreciating humor behind it I see.

[@Tastatur13]

Are we the baddies?

[@lindylou4378]

Now that one DID make me laugh, People were getting a little serious,

[@PortooCalia]

aaaaaaw! :)

[@amilo0001]

As a British person who has visited the US several times, I'd just like say how much I enjoy the differences between our two countries - that's what makes travelling there so much fun. Hopefully next year some American friends will be visiting the UK for the first time and we will have the pleasure of showing them around. I'm sure that they will enjoy discovering the differences too.

[@coopersheridan73]

Hey, only if there’s a chick fillet nearby

[@hesky10]

@@coopersheridan73 don't pronounce it the French way or you'll get funny looks, we pronounce the last t in fillet, we speak English not French after all

[@johnsaunders2109]

Americans can't afford to travel despite being ' the richest nation on Earth' Its the difference between Corporate and personal wealth !

[@austinhernandez2716]

@@johnsaunders2109 also, some Americans don't even get a vacation. I know a lot of people that work at a local sawmill. I know the owners of it because my uncle works on their 5000 acre property and I go to his house there a lot. Well the employees there have to work 60 hours/week, and only get 1 week of vacation and it's the same week every year. The pay there is low too. My brother only got paid $9/hr. The family owners meanwhile are rich.

[@RaghnaidAnnaNicGaraidh]

I was educated in Australia, and pretty much we heard about the American revolution was "Yeah, so, the Americans had a hissy fit and that's why the English were forced to come here a few decades later..." (I'm paraphrasing, of course).

[@CanadianMonarchist]

Well that's basically what happened.

[@kristofferheby4573]

Im Danish and my Teatcher didn't even know what happend

[@AR-ws1gr]

Stay subjects vs be free men?

[@AR-ws1gr]

Like other revolutions they had high hopes. Many did not come to fruition. Still it was an interesting experiment. Interesting to compare with other revolutions.

[@unknowndane4754]

I can relate to what Kristoffer said, in the Danish context the American war for independence really changed nothing about our situation, it didn't really weaken our rival Britain and we had no part in it. If you hear about it it's mostly during English lectures where the history materials is from an English speaking country's perspective (i.e. UK or US)

[@jayr6637]

You forgot to include that most of the rest of the world considers the American format of writing dates as MM/DD/YYYY to be idiotic!

[@mimori8]

yeah that gets really confusing for me. For example when a website says 01/04/2017, I think: do you mean the 1st of april or january the first?

[@tirpitz19]

It's not idiotic,it's just different.On the other hand,when you are the last one on earth to make the change,than yes,i admit is idiotic.

[@nekroneko]

It's infuriating is what it is. If Americans like MM/DD so much, then they should adopt YYYY/MM/DD format and not MM/DD/YYYY. It has no flow to it at all, it's completely illogical. Then again, they love confusing ways to measure things so it should come of no surprise.

[@jayr6637]

+nekroneko "they should adopt YYYY/MM/DD format" That's ISO date format, except they use dashes instead of slashes. I deal with Americans in my work, so I use ISO format. It annoys some people, but no-one ever misunderstands :)

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

I completely agreee on YYYY/MM/DD, it makes sense and goes from big to small. Helps sorting stuff. And that comes from someone who is used to DD/MM/YYYY

[@Funkestech]

When they say the US doesn't use metric, they are referring to the general public. Scientists and engineers use the metric system.

[@StreakyBaconMan]

I don't think ANY scientist or engineer would use imperial nor have they for a very long time, even since before metric was officially adopted in many places. Officially the US uses imperial measurement - the government says our units of measurement are imperial and is only one of three countries to have governments that officially use imperial. There are plenty of countries where the general public use imperial measurements for most things, while officially the government says they are metric - the UK for example will still measure their speed limit in MPH rather than kilometers per hour even though officially they're under the metric system.

[@TheJazzoide]

One theory claims that high ranked Romans used the Greek number, but teached the roman numbers to the simple citizen to make math more difficult for them and therfor less capable of counting... Try XXIX + VII x XI or 1'9''9/16 + 5''1/4 x 4 1/8... it will take a bit more time than 38 + 63 x 7,5

[@briancrawford8751]

+Funke Motor You'll find that American drug addicts have a surprisingly intuitive understanding of the Metric system.

[@bethumswarship1055]

I’m a middle school Math teacher. One of the units I teach involves converting between Metric and US Customary. It’s likely only a matter of time before the USA finally switches over.

[@straymutt2504]

Our medical field uses both

[@charlessands6933]

I Love the metric system, and it isn't confusing.

[@Swissswoosher]

Farenheit on the other hand...

[@Rottnwoman]

My job in 1974 was converting Australian Government contracts from imperial to metric. NOT the best job I ever had but I loved metric from day 1. I will never forget that there are 4.54609 litres to an imperial gallon! EVERYTHING was done to 5 decimal places. No computers then.

[@Rottnwoman]

@@Swissswoosher Imperial in general is NUTS!

[@spiderman4x]

I remember being taught both systems in school. I use metric when brewing beer.

[@Rottnwoman]

@@Swissswoosher Just really RANDOM. Who would decide that freezing is 32° and boiling is 212? Irrational 😂

[@ottomattick3711]

The Revolutionary War is "barely a footnote" for Brits because the imperialist British waged so damn many wars between the fall of the Roman Empire and the mid-20th Century that it really is hard to keep track of them all.

[@DavePotts]

Trust me the only ones that matter are the ones that were fought against the French :-)

[@Mlork972]

As a French i agree ^^

[@pshuckle7488]

We're pretty tsundere with the French. They stole our holy grail, we give them wooden rabbits and "forget" to use it to infiltrate... Wait wrong reality.

[@snowcrest7863]

Dave Potts...…….No We don't "trust" you.

[@davidgreen5099]

In all fairness, everyone needs a hobby.

[@jaredgillenwater4221]

Well of course the British don't often think of the American Revolution, or really learn about it as more than a footnote! And no, this is not a, "Because they lost," thing. It's because for the U.S. that was a major point in history. For Britain, it was just one of many revolts against them to leave their rule. It happened a lot in Europe. So why would one stand out when it was a common occurrence?

[@janesmith7243]

I know, right? I didn't expect many other people to care!

[@pablorey9203]

American revolution was really important. May be their greatest gift to the world.(and may be the last one) Just like the -british- industrial revolution, or the french revolution. Three revolutions to begin a new era. And I am not pro american at all, just the opposite. But I am just the opposite of a pro american, because the influence of america is just the opposite of what it was with their revolution. Please forgive my poor english.

[@pludoxp9]

I completely agree with you, we learn about the prohibition and colonisation surprisingly enough due to the fact they were one of a kind situations but as you said the American Revolution was just another revolt in the empire

[@AtarahDerek]

I would think it would stand out as the only *successful* revolt. But mostly they blame us for causing the French Revolution. Even though almost all of us opposed it, including Lafayette. Jefferson was the only one in favor of it, and that was only because he intentionally limited his understanding of what was happening to the same level of understanding that a Berkeley student has about life in general.

[@pablorey9203]

blame ??

[@gnm20090725]

Well when you live in Europe and can cross 5 borders in 5 hours it's pretty easy to travel "abroad"

[@dcarbs2979]

Someone took their time going through Leichtenstein!

[@xUdieToox]

Gabe Carreon if i drive for 5 hours, i would still be within the borders of my home state of Florida, so yeah agreed.

[@dcarbs2979]

It can also be VERY difficult to cross borders in 5 hours in Europe. Mostly thanks to the bottlenecks at Dover and M25 which you will be doing well to get through in just 5 hours!

[@landonh4295]

Ask a truck driver about waking up in Texas and driving 11 hours in the same direction then going to sleep that night still in Texas

[@dcarbs2979]

@@landonh4295 Needs to put more effort in ;-)

[@Luke-pk9fe]

As a American who has traveled extensively I can tell you whenever I travel within the United States I'm always surprised at how much all Americans have in common with each other. And I can tell you that anytime I travel abroad when I return home I am always a little more grateful for the exceptionalism of the United States

[@frederick4367]

When you can fly from the UK to Paris for $20 on a budget airline, then why not. Cheaper than a taxi in NYC.

[@Celisar1]

Fred Erick Highly exaggerated.

[@frederick4367]

I flew both ways round trip for under $40 total. No exaggeration at all.

[@Celisar1]

Fred Erick I have to take your word for it.

[@tubelev]

@@Celisar1 i flew Hamburg London last year for 9,99 € one way via Ryan Air

[@paulmakinson1965]

20€ for the Ryanair ticket, then 100€ for the luggage and the extras. Hahaha!

[@link2442]

In the US you only get a few days vacation for the year, and even then some of the employers would make you feel guilty in taking them. They under hire people and at the same time make one person do the work of 3

[@MrLudvig01]

That is why other peoples have labor unions.

[@charliealexander5603]

@@MrLudvig01 Labor unions are a dirty word here.

[@mirpurijournal8451]

Nice body

[@AK-vr8el]

It's a big cultural difference because most Americans view countries that have longer vacations or limited work hours as lazy. No offense but most Americans just have the "time is money" motto ingrained in their DNA, myself included. We're an "Atlas Shrugged" people.

[@sega_kid4288]

@@AK-vr8el yeah time is money here because we are overworked and underpaid.

[@cataderian]

You kind of imply that Americans don't travel abroad because they don't want to. Truth is they can't afford it. Most would love to see and experience this great big multi-cultural world we live on, but we are living paycheck to paycheck. Most people seem to think that Americans are all rich, but all the wealth is in the hands of very few.

[@agnieszkachodkiewicz7795]

Well, someone made a fair point in comments above, that for Americans to travel abroad means travelling thousands of kilometers, probably by plane, but if I, as a European, want to travel abroad I can for example get in the car and drive for about an hour.

[@CrazyMazapan]

Daaaaarling, that's just an excuse people from the U.S. tell themselves. I'm from Argentina. We keep jumping from economic crisis to economic crisis and even I, a lowly teacher, have managed to save and travel abroad AND to Europe. And we're far from everywhere. So there.

[@mykull666]

There is a very large portion of U.S. citizens that live in fear of other races, religions, and cultures. Those same people won't even go to certain cities or neighborhoods in the U.S., so they definitely aren't gonna pay a bunch of money to travel abroad to places that terrify them even more. About the only time those people leave the country is if their church is footing the bill for them to ram their religion down people throats or they're in the military.

[@theultimatereductionist7592]

+cataderian This video, like all videos which just spout the creator's personal opinions & biases, is worthless.

[@niawithredlips3785]

As an American I will help explain why we are in fact so poor. It's not that we dont make money, it's that we are expected to spend on certain very expensive things. Very expensive degrees, cars, rent, bills, cost of living and taxes. Which usually leaves the average citizen with basically nothing left over.

[@zucicciu58]

I've had the opportunity to travel widely over the course of 50 years and I have never encountered any problem whatsoever, despite being an American. The key is that I try to learn as much as I can about the country I'll be visiting (suggestion: "Kiss, Bow, or Shake Hands" by Morrison/Conway) and once I arrive at the destination I treat everyone with respect. I remind myself that it's their country, their way of life and I have no business telling them what to do or criticizing their politics or religious practices. And, they are under no obligation to know how to speak English, even if they are fluent with it. I try to learn a few phrases, at the very least, try to use them and look ... vulnerable, and without exception, people have stepped in to 'rescue' me from my self-inflicted embarrassment by engaging in conversation in English! Funny experience ... 2019, Sydney, Australia, [notable establishment], souvenir store ... the cashier asked us what part of Canada we came from. We looked at him a bit confused and clarified we are Americans. He was stunned, apologized and added that we did not behave like typical Americans (loud, rude, arrogant, insensitive ... a-holes (his words)), and thanked us and wished us well.

[@bernhardwidmer886]

You have my respect Sir, it is so rare to see your understanding of respect and behaviour from a US Citizen.

[@bushmanPMRR]

You sound like you have a respectful attitude and try to learn about where your'e going. I'm an Englishman, now living in Ireland but whenever we have traveled abroad we've made the effort to at least learn Please, Thank You, Yes , No oh yes and also 'beer' ;-) We always found that doing this and being respectful of the locals feels to have helped us quite a bit, which in turn gives us a better holiday experience. It also leaves the locals hopefully thinking that not all 'Brits' are drunken football hooligans! ;-)

[@Chris-hx3om]

@@bushmanPMRR You are to be complimented. It is indeed very rare to find citizens of USA with your attitude. I'm an Australian, and (until covid19) I worked in all manner of different countries, from Japan to Nigeria, from New Zealand to the USA, from South Africa to Iceland. Not only have I worked in many different countries, but I also worked with the people of many of those countries. Your attitude is the right one, and I also do as you, treat the people with respect, and always be aware, this is THEIR country, and never complain because 'it's not like home', embrace being somewhere different.

[@kaka1981kokuson]

@@Chris-hx3om hello from iceland 🇮🇸

[@colinmayes5892]

Could you please become an instructor and teach other visiting Americans how to behave. Thank you

[@shinetilly]

I know this video was posted a year ago but I had to add my perspective. I’m an American who has not traveled outside the country (can barely afford to visit another state let alone another continent) but I knew these facts. Just because I’m not privileged enough to travel doesn’t mean I am ignorant of the world.

[@gregorythoman8281]

But many many Americans are completely ignorant of the world.

[@saulgoodman7221]

Gregory Thoman Now take the ratio of knowledgeable to ignorant of the USA vs the knowledgeable to ignorant of the world. Who do you think would win? There are billions of world travelers. We only have two adjacent countries. One of which I can not visit, or wish to right now anyway. Seems like the world is hating on us anyway. We are not all ignorant hicks.

[@ritwikreddy5670]

@@saulgoodman7221 you don't need to travel to get knowledge. But can't be blamed, media is the culprit for showing only some sides of the dice.

[@EvilTwin123]

Get a van. Planet fitness membership. There. Housing + showers. Now go see the U.S.

[@Snyde70]

Same as the rest of the world Sarah. Ignorance has little to do with poverty and privilege. Your education and media are largely to blame.

[@alexbenkowilliams]

My typical day: 1. Go to Austria for shopping 2. Go to Czech Republic for a swim 3. Go to Hungary for a dinner 4. Come back to Slovakia (All these countries are about 20- 30 mins away.) This is can be done in ONE day...

[@INdiverCT]

WOW!! cool!

[@PowerSpirit50]

Maybe I should work in Norway and get paid more.

[@dickvarga6908]

Concert in Poland?

[@tjallingappelhof2055]

Yes lol

[@lmaoroflcopter]

As someone who's going to be excluded from freedom of movement with bloody brexit. I'm so jealous. I sometimes commute to France or Germany for a few hours just to go to a meeting, head to Eire for a week to do some work there. The fact it's even possible to do so is incredible. I'm absolutely gutted we're leaving the EU.

[@imallearsru]

The Canadian army was set to enter and liberate Rome but were ordered to wait for the Americans, so they sat and waited till the Americans arrived with the press and watched as they filmed the American forces entering and liberating Rome.

[@crpth1]

During the peace conferences after WWI. Several diplomats referred to US as the "traveling salesman! One doesn't need to be a genius to understand why? LOL 😂

[@chuckscott4661]

Canadians, always doing as they’re ordered. 😆

[@jeffreybarker357]

Happy to be among the 50% of Americans who HAVE traveled abroad. I love my country but traveling is a must. Seeing how other people live is eye-opening.

[@theramblinmahoney2316]

Some people simply don’t have the means, I’ve traveled a few times and loved it but I’ll never hold it against someone who hasn’t experienced it. These two US vids I watched are actually pretty biased.

[@markfoster1520]

I feel I'm 'traveling abroad' here!......& I don't appreciate it!

[@Jinkypigs]

Yeah. And might prevent the blossoming of so many idiotic supporter for another crybaby trump lookalike.

[@boxsterman77]

YEP! It does do very different things all at once. 1. It reveals that many of the things you believed were either common place and customary or rare are just the opposite in another country. And while doing that it 2) reveals that through all the different approaches, styles and customs there is a discernible thread of shared experience.

[@Riayz0]

I am an American and I been to the Mexican and Canadian borders and I am going to see the Bahamas from the tallest building in Miami and I have trips to uk France Belgium Italy San Marino and the Vatican planned so I’ve dodged that bullet

[@Dsdcain]

I paused the video to comment. Yes I am an American. I have traveled outside the US. I think the biggest reason 50% haven't gone abroad is down to cost. In Europe and the UK you can drive to other countries, or fly very inexpensively to many places in Europe. I wonder how many regular UK citizens (read not rich) have travelled to the US. A transatlantic flight costs quite a bit of money relative to say a holiday flight from UK to, oh say Greece. In the US what a lot of Europeans pay for foreign flights (in continental Europe) is comparable what an American would pay to fly across the country. As for why they don't go to Canada or Mexico I don't know. Though the times I went to Canada, outside Quebec, it felt American, polite, but not much different than the US. Oh well that's my thought. If it's mentioned in your video, well I should have waited. *:-)*

[@Trevor_Leach]

Dsdcain exactly true. I’ve been to Canada and Mexico. Canada just feels like America, and Mexico is not a place you want to go to very often. Even in the tourist areas it felt sketchy

[@freelanceopportunist559]

Dsdcain Im from Australia, and we're a very well travelled country, so.....its got more to do with Americans living in their own bubble , than the cost.

[@michaelg8593]

It is costs, it boils down to "why take a flight to Europe when I can just drive or fly to somewhere in the U.S I have not been to"

[@lordoftheunderpants6075]

Freelance opportunist ya I agree it has more to do with your priorities. If you want to travel you will. If you don't you won't.

[@Dsdcain]

Freelance opportunist Oh yes of course the bubble how could I forget. By the way how many times have you flown to the US from Australia?

[@TofranBohk]

It's a heck of a lot easier for a British person to travel to three or four different countries than it is for an American or a Canadian. European countries are a lot smaller and closer together.

[@leebee5361]

Oh, well done!!.. so you've actually at least LOOKED at map, then???

[@limpnjen]

This is false.

[@psk1w1]

If you are British, you can travel between four different countries without leaving Britain - England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland. And, just for some extra fun, the semi-independent Channel islands and the Isle of Man. Of course, the Brexit mania currently rampaging across the UK might make it a little less 'united' and more 'untied' some time soon

[@--enyo--]

Probably still easier than it is for an Australian. But still around 60-70% have been overseas.

[@johnp139]

John Saunders that’s because the isn’t anything IN Australia!

[@Vikkin1218]

I have no clue why would metric be confusing You only divide and multiply by 10 on the x power (so 10, 100, 1000 and so on) while in imperial 12 inch is a feet, and 3 feet is a yard and other useless unites

[@johnv6781]

The big problem for us (and in reverse you changing to imperial) is the fact that anything even for us becomes such an odd number in metric or it's such a HUGE leap. Like 77°F is 25°C. I watched a youtube video on why America doesn't change to metric and the simple point is that all original British colonies (which are SOOOOOO many) started out using the imperial (which the name makes sense instead of what we call it (standard) and eventually you just wanted to do things the lazy way and not have to think about anything and just go with a base 10 measurement. Of course that last bit about lazy was a joke and not meant as an insult to anyone. But as is stated (i don't know if in this video or the other) most still think of height in feet and other things like distance and temperature in meters and celsius.

[@johnv6781]

@@freddyy5672 be fair, he pointed out in the video that it's not the "whole" world. There are 2 other holdouts.

[@FlibbidyFleu]

Metric is not confusing at all, the guy said it in the video because he was speaking on behalf of U.S. citizens that he has never met and considers dumb. We actually do use and manufacture using the metric system in the U.S. but we still have plenty of old equipment that uses the imperial system, that's why you need two sets of tools in the U.S. In my opinion the imperial system is a better system (actually both are flawed) but everyone wants metric because 10's are "easy" and fractions are "hard". It honestly isn't the issue in the U.S. that it's made out to be. It's not like we are asking foreign manufacturers to make their products in the imperial system. My car for example uses 100% metric parts.

[@johnv6781]

@@FlibbidyFleu actually i wasn't talking about metric itself being confusing. If you aren't raised or work somewhere that you're constantly using the conversion from standard to metric, it is very confusing. When someone talks about how far something is in meters or kilometers it means nothing to me as i have no frame of reference. Same goes when someone talks about it being soo hot when it's 35°, to me that's just above freezing. Once again i have no common knowledge of what that is. So that's where my point is, that majority of the common American citizen most likely will have a hard time converting at this point.

[@FlibbidyFleu]

John v I agree that it's confusing to keep track of the different conversion formulas although each one individually is pretty simple. Celsius always throws me but the system makes sense: water freezes at 0 and boils at 100, in fact I really like the idea that metric base units in general are based on real world dimensions of actual things. The bigger issue for me has to do with the division of metric measurements by three which leads to an irrational (infinite) number, in most cases 3.3333 works, but things can get out of wack when dividing measurements in a incremental system.

[@sm5574]

To be fair, most Americans have visited other states in the union, which is not the same as visiting another country, but in terms of distance travelled it is very comparable.

[@SuperLn1991]

"Even the french prefer to talk about their near-mythical resistance" well, never say that to my grand mother: a huge part of her family (included her 17y old brother) where resistant and were killed. French people are very thankful for american, brithish and canadian' s help, and we will always remember that. But being always called coward (we won so many battles and war in the past), hearing them forget about our help for their independance, forget that many french women were raped by american soldier who though they should thanks them with sexe, tha t a part of France was libarated by the french resistant before american arrived, that the D day was a success also because the french resistance prepared it by destroying german's camp, bridges, cleaning somes cities and provided them information, seriously it can be a little bit annoying for us to hear that.

[@cjheaford]

GeorgianaDarcy I am American, and I know full well that there would have been no Independence without French intervention and support.

[@kikiv1993]

If you helped Poland in 1939, there probably would not be a war.

[@Chrysobubulle]

France and United Kingdom had been traumatized by the Great War. Lets not forget that all the battles from the western front took place in France, defiling the country, villages and fields being utterly destroyed and contaminated by weapons and chemicals. French people didnt want another war, they were still recuperating from the previous one.

[@kikiv1993]

The eastern front is largely the area of the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, where Poles stood on both sides and had to shoot only because they were under different annexation.

[@chucku00]

Chrysobubulle * recovering Méfie-toi des faux amis, mon ami.

[@iamTheSnark]

More guns than people. Hmm. I like the Netherlands better. We have more bicycles than people.

[@dfuher968]

The Snark, u also got to slap down the moronic new US Ambassador for his lies and Fake News claims, that was so awesome! And I was soooo jealous. We got a brainless golddigging bimbo, who has only shown her face once since getting here for 1 brief interview, and she was only capable of repeating a handful of Trump lines regardless of the question. Even if we got the chance, theres no fun slapping down some1 so monumentally stupid for lies, when she would probably not even notice it, she was that vacant.

[@sweatt4237]

Which is why you will come crying to us if anyone decides to invade you(which would be easy)

[@waynecarversr6375]

I'm glad 23andMe estimates 14% of my DNA comes from Netherlands.

[@aisuru01]

You say "us" but are you personally going to help out any country? Even if you're in the military that doesn't mean you're going. You don't get the option of deciding where you're going. If you do, you're not doing the fighting... sooooooo... shaddup.

[@sweatt4237]

The Netherlands will undoubtedly call the US for help in times of war. You are being willfully ignorant while attempting to be clever.

[@OMGUKILLKENNY2]

As far as WW2 is concerned, the USSR were the main force for defeating the Germans while the Americans were the main force beating the Japaneses.

[@buggsy5]

The US kept the UK free from Germany due to all the food/supplies/munitions supplied throughout WWII. Without the massive convoys, using ships mostly built in the US, the UK would have been starved into submission. The US troops were also instrumental in freeing most of the occupied/conquered countries. Whether Russia would have been able to defeat the Germans on their own is unknown. By the time Russia entered the conflict, both Germany's sea and air powers were mostly wiped out - mostly by the US and Great Britain.

[@blopblept9360]

@@buggsy5Russia was strongly supported by the United States. So no, or with much greater losses.

[@chocolatestick2340]

@@buggsy5 Wait, Russia fought against Germany till 1941, the USA startet their ground offense in 1944...

[@buggsy5]

@@chocolatestick2340 Wrong. The Soviet Union and Germany were partners (compact of Molontov-Ribbentrop) until Germany invades Russia in 1941. By the fall of 1942, the US had troupes in North Africa, as well as making air attacks. Long before this time, the US had favored a full scale assault on Germany, but the UK convinced them that it was not feasible. So prior to 1942, the US's involvement in Europe was mainly supplying armaments, munitions and food to the Allies. The Soviets did not make any inroads into Eastern Germany until well after D-Day. If I recall correctly, it was in January 1945, about the same time the Allies invaded Western Germany.

[@bron9674]

Don't forget the Australians in Asia and Pacific!

[@carolynmayo9991]

I have been to 6 continents in my life, and I came away from each country with a new respect for those different countries. I read about the countries before I left to prepare myself. I learned how to say “please and thank you” to the best of my ability. These small gestures were appreciated by citizens I met. My life became much richer because of my travels. I realize the trips can be and are pricey. But I saved up to go to a specific location, and I was never disappointed. I cannot travel any more and there are several places on my Bucket List I will only see on /in documentaries. Go People! Go!

[@benjaminmarker]

To quote my fellow countryman Hans Christian Andersen "At rejse er at leve" meaning; To travel is to live. Greetings from Copenhagen.

[@heidishmidi]

These America videos always leave me feeling a bit triggered 😅 I’ve been into Canada but otherwise have never left the country. In a few weeks we are going on a road trip totaling 34 hours of driving that will get us through 5 of these 50 states. We will cover 3,450 km for $275. If we fly instead, it will take 14 hours of flying time plus the time to commute from the airport to the city of our actual destination (neither our hometown or our destination have airports) so that adds an additional 3.5 hours. The cost for this is $1,352 (not including paying for checked bags and airport food or renting a car for the commute). So for five times the expense, i can cut my travel time in half. For this reason, many Americans do road trips instead of flying. Since road trips require more time to get to/from and vacation time is limited, it’s the really fortunate ones who get to leave the country with any regularity. I would love to travel abroad. Its not American superiority and ignorance that keeps me from traveling, it’s finances.

[@yareyare_dechi]

lol at least you have a neighbour you can drive to. i live in australia. (i could drive the same distance and still be in the same state) and literally need to get on a boat or plane to get to another country. interestingly (or i think so at least) we never use the term "abroad" in australia its always 'overseas"

[@--enyo--]

You realise that there’s other countries out there that are relatively isolated but people still travel, yeah? Australia basically isn’t close to anywhere. But still 60-70% of people have been overseas.

[@spaceman081447]

TO: heidishmidi RE: "I would love to travel abroad. Its not American superiority and ignorance that keeps me from traveling, it’s finances." My sentiments exactly! If a ever hit the lottery for, say, six-figure money, I would take several long and detailed around-the-world trips.

[@matthewhowes2978]

heidishmidi In America the price of petrol is fantastically low. Check prices in Europe. 14 hours for that flight seems ridiculously long, are you sure?

[@heidishmidi]

matthew howes the 14 hours wasn’t for a single flight. The tickets i looked at all included multiple layovers, so I just took the time from departure to final arrival plus two hours needed to get through security, etc. Where I live the closest (small) airport is an hour away so that one sends people via puddle jumper to another bigger airport 4 hrs away and from there you can connect to bigger flights, also going to bigger cities, where you can then catch your last flight to your smallish final destination. In the case of the trip I referenced above, you’d also need to add on 3.5 hrs of driving time to get to/from the airports. All in all a monstrous and expensive hassle with comparatively little time savings.

[@Gourgandise]

I remember a day in 2000 or so (when online chat rooms were a thing) I got laughed at by Americans dudes for not knowing who Oprah Winfrey was. I didn't dare telling them I had no clue who that Jerry Seinfield was either. I guess they thought American TV was watched by the entire world. 20 years later that memory still makes me smile.

[@drkronaizl]

You didn't dare bringing up someone you didn't know, to talk about how you didn't know them? Seems like you know them.

[@Gourgandise]

I knew his name and face because I saw him in an article of the richer actors in Hollywood (at the time, his salary was crazy big bucks compared to others), but I had never seen Seinfeld. I don't even think it ever aired in France to be honest...

[@PapiVodka]

What a boring childhood you had

[@Gourgandise]

As an adult, I find that Oprah is just an average TV host and an actress and Seinfeld bores me to death. So... I don't think I missed much actually.

[@stevemorrill1524]

Gourgandise: "I got laughed at by Americans dudes for not knowing who Oprah Winfrey was. I didn't dare telling them I had no clue who that Jerry Seinfield was either." Well, I'm American. Never saw Oprah or Seinfield, though I knew who they were, sort of. Then again, not owning a television sort of limits me in that regard.

[@thatswhatshesays]

I'm an American who's visited 65+ countries. I am also a teacher who gets 11 weeks off per year, which gives me TIME to travel. And I don't have kids, which gives me MONEY to travel. The typical American gets about 2 weeks off per year, with many companies frowning if they take the two weeks all together. Travel to other countries is also quite expensive--not like a typical Brit who can get a cheapy beans on toast trip to Greece for a couple of hundred quid. Not to make excuses for my compatriots, but that does explain a lot of it. I think most people love to travel, but you've got to have the time and money to do it.

[@SysterYster]

Holy crap... you Americans only get 2 weeks off a YEAR!!! Shite... we get 4-5 weeks off, 12 if you're a teacher (plus some days here and there). That's so unfair!

[@SysterYster]

kira6947 That's ridiculous! :O

[@firstnamelastname6016]

And mothers hardly get any maternity leave

[@firstnamelastname6016]

Syster Yster 😳 I'm leaving America if I have a child

[@SysterYster]

First name Last name You're welcome here. :)

[@SethinBerlin]

I'm a traveler. I live overseas. To be fair, most of these things aren't things you discover just going on vacation

[@ItsAsparageese]

Yeah, I get the premise of the video/title but I agree that understanding of these concepts is largely not reliant on travel experience. I know plenty of well-traveled people who are shockingly ignorant about a lot of these things, and I've never had the privilege of international travel but still found all of these facts to be at least cursorily familiar. 🤷‍♂️ (Still love the video, though, because 1. It's nice to know this is a source of reality checks for many other Americans, and 2. I 💚 our Fact Boi lol.)

[@cqtaylor]

Most Americans don't travel abroad because most Americans can't afford it. It's not like Europe, where there are almost five countries boarding a country, and going abroad is just a train ride away. So chill.

[@jasontuley284]

cqtaylor *cough *cough Canada *cough *cough

[@cqtaylor]

@@jasontuley284 I visited Canada once - nice country! Been to Mexico too. :-)

[@hogosbazvarakh9220]

Jason Tuley the US is big, man. Would probably take as long for me to go to Canada as it would for somebody in Spain to go to Russia.

[@cqtaylor]

@Wisewoe Tiswell This is the Internet in a nutshell. I (being an American) said Americans don't travel because most of us can't afford it, then you (someone living in Iceland) proceed to tell me I'm wrong and then your final paragraph states, "The problem is more your labor system doesn't allow people to take time off." What does my "labor system" provide? Income. What does income provide? The purchase of goods and services. If Americans don't have the disposable income (earned from a "labor system") for travel, then we aren't gonna be able to take flights to Japan, Iceland, or Morocco. With limited funds, you have to prioritize your life. If higher education isn't subsidized by a government, if healthcare isn't subsidized by a government, and unemployment rates are relatively higher than that of Iceland, then your average American won't be able to afford trips to go snorkeling along the Great Barrier Reef or eat couscous in Morocco. That's not even taking into account the loss of travel money from exchange rates: presently, its $1 US to .88 on the Euro! We're basically saying the same thing, yet you still manage to warp our similar statements into discord. I've visited 12 countries in my life, speak two languages, and am well aware that those who talk about "valuing the experiences that come from traveling" tend to almost aways be educated. And their education comes from access to money to grant them their education, and - let's be realistic - their jobs. "Global enlightenment" comes from money: being able to afford the plane ticket, and the education that teaches you to drink red wine with beef, white wine with fish, and sparkling water for your expensive salads. The vast majority of Americans would love to travel, if given the chance, but they can't afford it.

[@hogosbazvarakh9220]

Wisewoe that's not to say that some Americans don't want to travel outside of their comfort zone. I mean I've travelled a lot, but many don't even consider it because they are in financial insecurity. The US government isn't very wise with its spending and when most people worry about their 20 thousand in school debt or getting an infected cut to have to spend millions at a hospital then travel's pretty low down there.

[@calangoamorfo1729]

ok but why did they used a image of an asian elephant while talking about africa? XD

[@banon9573]

I was wondering that as well.

[@freeinformation9869]

LOL

[@diceman199]

Because somebody just said get me stock footage of an elephant?

[@stephencheramie3169]

calango amorfo because the Asian elephant can carry more coconuts over a longer distance . Monty Python

[@whocareswho]

+stephen cheramie What is the airspeed of an unladen elephant?

[@desktopkitty823]

Americans who never travel abroad also think there are huge differences from one state to the next. I have parents from different countries, who themselves have family members in other countries, which resulted in me spending my childhood having lived in several different places from Japan to Texas. One time when I was going to high school in Texas, a girl who had lived in Texas her entire life described Oklahoma like it was some kind of other foreign nation. I told her, "I've been to Oklahoma. It's not that different from Texas." And she demanded that I was wrong and that Oklahoma was vastly different from Texas. Well, I hope she never travels to Iceland, Japan, or England or she might die of a heart attack from the shock.

[@danielgallagher4251]

Desktop Kitty well, Oklahomans and Texans hate each other so maybe that’s why but overall I agree. You usually have to travel two or three stars in order to get a change in culture

[@blakgumshoo]

@@danielgallagher4251 Yeah, you won't get very far telling a Texan that their state is the same as California (or vice versa). But you can't tell me otherwise that North and South Dakota are two totally different states with two totally different cultures.

[@danielgallagher4251]

I would agree, but there are states with shockingly different life styles and cultures even though they share a border(Louisiana and Alabama ie).

[@CrazyMazapan]

I agree. I've travelled extensively about the US and one thing that never fails to amaze me is how uniform the country really is.

[@mischellyann]

daniel gallagher, Louisiana and Alabama don't share a border.

[@trevormillar2755]

"I know all about Africa, I've seen every Tarzan movie they ever made" - Dan Quayle

[@unseasonedsalad]

As a South African, who has to drive for HOURS to find an area with no buildings or just one race (we are called the rainbow country for a reason!)

[@GeoFry3]

Sound legit. Saw Indian Jones (Egypt) the last Samuri (Japan) Escape from LA (Kalifornia)

[@benzeneau1]

you fail to mention, that the high rate of gun ownership in Switzerland might be due to the fact that they do have conscription there and, that everybody is required to take their gun home and participate in (i don't know how many) exercise sessions per year.

[@camper1749]

Also in more rural parts they are forced to own weapons due to bear attacks.

[@maurobobo6923]

@Campers I don't know from where you come from, but... I think there are by far more bears in the US than Swiss... :-) Most probably you meant BEER (drinkers) attacks... :-D

[@camper1749]

Uhh no, in rural swiss villages, they are forced by law to own guns. I didn't say there were more bears in the US, I am from Romania.

[@shi01]

There is no such law in Switzerland, i can tell you. Nowhere in switzerland you are obliged to have a gun and there are hardly any bears in switzerland anyway. Actually if there is ever a bear sighted in switzerland it's all over in the swiss newspapers because it's that rare.

[@camper1749]

I didn't say it was a law. Ok then my friend must have lied to me or made a joke I didn't catch on to.

[@bfree2read]

On a cruise trip in Europe I was seated at dinner with a small group of older Australians and they asked why Americans travel so rarely outside the USA. I explained that vacation/holiday time is not required by employers and even if paid it is generally only for 2 weeks. So much of their vacation time is reserved for visiting family who are often scattered across the country. Cost is also a factor. If you don't live on one of the coasts it is generally quite expensive to travel overseas. The third reason I have heard by coworkers, friends and family is that America is so large and diverse that they would quite like to explore in country first with additional trips to Canada and Mexico. So trips outside America are generally lower in priority which is really very sad. Americans would be much better if we did travel more - and would hopefully be kinder and more humble.

[@mischellyann]

No, it's not sad. People have the right to be interested in what they want. Also, travel costs really aren't that bad. People just want to spend their money on other things, which is again their right.

[@newbris]

I think the suggestion is that people don't always know what they are missing.

[@ChiaraBells]

I also feel like most people from Europe don't know that plane tickets from the US to Europe are WAY more expensive than the other way round; not sure what it's like if you want to go to other places.

[@quabledistocficklepo3597]

Elizabeth S, "Americans would be much better if we did travel more - and would hopefully be kinder and more humble." You mean like Germans?

[@archaic9525]

'America is so large and diverse that they would quite like to explore in country first'. And from that kind of misconception curiosity shuts itself down. You can travel 5000 miles in the US and yet you will find the same squared-street city, happening to have skyscrapers in its center, the same stores implemented at the same place entering the area, suburbs and projects altogether organized the same way, the same language is spoken, the same tv programs and the same currency run the air, etc. In Europe you have a new culture, architecture, language, art, history every few hundreds of kilometers, the same in Asia; this is what these non-travelers dont get: things can be very different to what they are capable to imagine. What you describe are curiosity-lazy people, usually these are arrogant and assertion-provider characters. I by this do not mean that EVERY non-traveller is to store in this drawer, only those who give your argument.

[@PrivateDncr86]

I am an American, and I would like to travel, but I'm struggling to stay financially solvent as it is...there are so many costs to consider...ALL THE TIME :(

[@MrLudvig01]

As it is in most other countries. - 'I think it is life.....

[@Li.Siyuan]

As a Brit, I do feel sorry for you. Genuinely. You (the USA) need to do two things: a. Get rid of the Electoral College system that keeps the real winner of presidential elections out, and b. Reform the employment laws to give people the right in statute to at least four weeks paid holiday a year to catch up with the rest of the civilised world. I wish you luck but don't hold out much hope of this happening any time soon because of the extreme views of your two main parties.

[@tchrisou812]

Where are you from TJ?

[@pr0xZen]

Being able to travel is great. But making ends meet should always come first. Don't use credit for extracurricular activities unless your economy can truly, actually handle it.

[@qdllc]

CDO - The real winner did win. Candidates don’t win based on popular vote. They must get at least 270 electoral votes to win. They know this going in and accept it as it’s mandated in the Constitution. The Electoral College forces a candidate to appeal to a broad variety of voters. Without it, a candidate could focus entirely on the needs of densely populated areas and win every time...no consideration for rural citizens.

[@IamthNight]

I can barely afford to drive to work everyday let alone travel to another continent.

[@prant8998]

Yes, and you have to ask yourself why the, powers that be, want most people to live life on the edge that way.

[@Akkalia]

Assuming you live in the USA, you can visit two countries without leaving your continent. Signed an island nation

[@larsmonsen88]

@@Akkalia Alot more than that:P

[@MagnumCreed]

@@Akkalia Yes but that distance is far grander than visiting different countries in U.S. to be honest, each of our states is like another country.

[@ibfreely8952]

Enjoy car dependent slavery

[@pookatim]

America isn't multicultural, it is multi-ethnic.

[@AnarchoPinkoEuroBr]

Yep. And Brazil is largely neither, just multiracial. xD

[@3506Dodge]

It's a series of regional cultures.

[@squarerootof2]

multicultural and multi-ethnic = shithole

[@cranezilla1016]

America is multi bigot.

[@aguy3082]

@@cranezilla1016 lol maybe because we don't live in a country with a population that's 90%+ one race.

[@bergson10]

Metric system is based on water: 1 liter= a cube 10cm side, and weights 1 kg. Water freezes at 0 degree and boils at 100. The imperial system is a crazy idea.

[@TheHua89]

D.B. S. I haven't heard the water comparison before. Interesting, thanks. I might also add base 10 mathematics had a bit to do with it. Cheers from Canada 😀

[@ibrahimyilmaz4861]

TheHua89 I was wondering why you are so polite. The last sentence showed me why. Greetings from a Turk

[@camohawk6703]

we use the freedom system here in Murica.

[@tommyfred6180]

mate the imperial system is based on body and things from farming. yes its a lot less sensible than the metric. but it was sensible in the preindustrial world.

[@lycian123]

Nope. Because water, pressure and temperature vary greatly and even the definition of 'water' can be many things, it is an unreliable direct method of comparison. The base unit of distance is how long light take to travel in a certain time which is then divided into a more manageable unit. So it's light, not water that gives the metric system it's original reference. Simple when you think about it!

[@oskarkeyser]

Americans do a lot of travels. So this must be wrong. Popular destinations the last century is Vietnam, Korea, Iraq, Afganistan, Libya, Somalia, Kosovo, Panama....

[@ianpotter2128]

Nice list of wars.

[@donjohnson7189]

You forgot ALL of Europe and Japan

[@stevetaylor9846]

You mean there's oil in Kosovo?

[@mick776gold]

US army as travel agent.

[@donjohnson7189]

@@mick776gold Don't forget the Airforce the Marines and the Navy. All fantastic groups. 😉

[@nickyfield137]

Makes me think of 'In Bruges' "Are you from the States ?" "Yep, don't hold it against me" "I'll try not to...just try not to say anything too loud or crass"

[@coopersheridan73]

Funny, because it makes me think about WWI and WWII, and how the allies only won because we decided to join in for fun🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

[@ntalikerman1]

@@coopersheridan73 In WW1 German submarines sunk “Lusitania” and “Vigilantia” in the Atlantic killing a lot of Americans. And actually in WW2 Germany declared war on the US after Pearl Harbor.

[@arrbek2359]

Thank you for recognising the Armenian Genocide

[@cliftonfameree4436]

What?

[@henriktheonly3874]

It's sad that some countries still deny it, tbh.

[@jipster2020]

I'm English and live in the USA, and though many of these points are true, they aren't really put in to context. The USA is big - not Africa big, but still really, really big. It might not look like it on a map when you drag your finger from Chicago to Detroit because it's an inch on paper, but that's a 5 hour drive without traffic. If you think of what else the rest of the world REALLY knows about the USA that isn't some crap in a movie, it's on a par with what most people here know about Europe. Americans (and I mean Americans from the USA - I know it's a continent, but it's easier to say than keep repeating "US citizens") constantly ask me about England, and many can recite their family lineage and are very proud of it. This is at least from my experience in the Midwest, and as stated, the USA is BIG, so I have no idea what it's like in other areas. Most tell me they'd love to travel, and especially to Europe, but as other people have stated in other comments, the USA has no legal requirement for an employer to give anyone a single paid day off, and they also live on a different continent. 4000 miles isn't a cheap travel trip. They may be missing out on a lot of things, but the USA is a truly beautiful and diverse place, and from my experience, the people themselves are still the best thing about it. If anything, I'd recommend people come here and see what the USA also has to offer - just MAKE SURE YOU GET TRAVEL INSURANCE !!!

[@3506Dodge]

What is travel insurance?

[@jipster2020]

It's insurance specific to travelling to another country, kind of like car insurance but it will cover any any unexpected mishaps or unforseen circumstances depending on the level of cover you get. Basic level coverage, for example, can cover you for medical bills should you have an accident, up to a certain cost. Higher levels of coverage can cover theft of your possessions, loss of luggage, flight cancellations & possible hotel costs if there are cancellations, legal fees if you get in trouble, and higher medical costs (if you have an accident). As always with a "just in case" insurance, read the small print to make sure you know what you're paying for and what's covered, but remember that every country has their own laws and it doesn't mean that if you break your leg that a hospital will fix it for free just because you're on vacation. You could end up with a massive invoice without insurance, especially in the USA. Even requiring an ambulance will cost you money.

[@3506Dodge]

Why is that especially important for non-Americans visiting america?

[@Joolsiejool]

Thank you! I rarely see nice comments about Americans and travel! I want people from all over the world to come and experience America for what it is and not just what they see in media and movies. Europe in particular seems to look down upon the U.S and think they know everything there is to know about us and what it's like being an American. In turn I think this affects how most Americans feel about foreign travel and are afraid of going to other countries and being publicly labeled as "American" (especially in Europe), as "terrible Americans" we're supposed to be ashamed of our country when we travel abroad. I've experienced this myself in Europe no matter how hard I tried to blend in and speak the language.

[@cliftonfameree4436]

Thank you for this! I'm glad you're able to experience this beautiful place!

[@LordBitememan]

It's a pity Americans and folks from abroad can't get together more often. They have a lot to bond about. One tried and true passtime your typical American engages in is to complain about the things the American government does. And one tried and true passtime your typical European engages in is to complain about the things the American government does.

[@BozHogan]

LordBitememan ;D

[@johnlord4557]

I don't complain about the U.S. government or what it does. Doing so would be a waste of time and effort, as well as pretty pointless. There are plenty of other people doing that anyway, as well as complaining about anything else they can think of. Life is too short. Local news? Foreign news? Any TV programs? Also pretty pointless. Local weather forecasts being about the only exception. They're actually relevant.

[@blondwiththewind]

Mr. BiteMeMan ... Haha!! Well....I've got to agree with you on that one. Perhaps the folks in the USA and Europeans should do more video phone calls :D

[@tonyflamingo3444]

i mean we have a fruit as our president or at least a president with an intellegence of one but that might be pushing it

[@rolandz3485]

Ha

[@walttrotter535]

I've travelled a great deal and the best advice I can give is to NOT put it off 'til you retire. I did most of my travelling before I was 40. Im 62 now and have health issues that make it very difficult. I have friends who had grand plans to travel once the kids were up and out but health issues hit.

[@TheSplendidCaucasion]

it would be really awesome if more people knew that the U.S.A. is not a democracy but actually a REPUBLIC.

[@aaron-qb3my]

Oligarchy*

[@Fivegunner]

What is a jury duty? What is elections?

[@bernges7228]

those two don't exclude each other :D

[@jonathanjones770]

It's both, dude. It's a democratic constitutional republic

[@Big_Loo]

And a FEDERAL republic at that.

[@jimfindley1004]

I don't speak for all Americans but i don't plan to travel to other countries because it's extremely expensive and i really can't afford it

[@shinnam]

I'm sorry you can't afford it, wish I could afford a ticket for you. I learned so much about myself and the world when I left the US. One of the main things is that the US isn't "#1" at everything, and US policies towards other countries can be awfully brutal. Before the Iraq invasion, there was a lot o fnews information to show that there were no WMD's and it was really about oil,but that didn't make it into the US media. Maybe Venezula is the next Iraq.

[@rodneysmart9774]

It all depends.

[@Tim_Shu]

@Jeri Brown speak for yourself 😂🇳🇿

[@andyc8508]

If you really want to travel abroad volunteering for some charity or foreign aid organisations is a legitimate option (if you don't have a criminal record involving theft, fraud or violence)

[@jaredfontaine2002]

$200 to $300 one way flight to Paris...

[@nugget3084]

My american friend wants me to say that the USA saved my country (the netherlands) in WW2 So yesterday our conversation went like this: Me: we are learning about ww2 in history class My friend: aha, and who saved you again? Me: The Soviet Union, Great Britain and Canada My friend: ;-;

[@rewrew1036]

Nugget brilliant 👍

[@Captiiva]

Yeah, you win. The USA did nothing in the war. Keep talking smack about people you do not know, and rewriting history. Just an fyi though, the US lost over 400 thousand troops fighting WW2... but do not let me interrupt your fantasy.

[@codysagod]

Captiiva The poster was specifically referring to their country, the Netherlands, so I’d say they know what they’re talking about. Not to belittle 400,000 American deaths, but why don’t you compare that to 20,000,000 Russian deaths in WWII? Or compare a percentage of the population lost in WWII to any of the other countries? Or look up how much money the U.S. made selling weapons and supplies to both sides in the years WWII was being fought before the U.S. joined in? Or ..... well, you get the idea.

[@Captiiva]

yeah, i get the idea. Are you really trying to use russian casualties as a comparison? That is just sad. If you do not think the million Americans who sacrificed did not help save Netherlands... you know what, you win. You guys want to bash America, go right ahead, cherry picking facts does not change history.

[@mrschimmel]

Sovjet-Unie in Nederland? Ik hoorde wel over dat de Polen ons hielpen, maar de Russen hoor ik nu voor het eerst

[@bruced6543]

You just said that because Europe is so small that it's common for people to travel over the borders all the time; that would be like me driving to Massachusetts or New Hampshire in terms of distance

[@godlovesyou1995]

But the chinese, japanese, australians and canadians travel overseas. Its just arrogance and ignorance really

[@KeithGadget]

What makes you think Europe is small? It meets Asia at the doors of the Middle East and also North Africa.

[@bruced6543]

@@KeithGadget I meant the countries in the continent not the continent itself, sorry that wasn't clear

[@KeithGadget]

@@bruced6543 you realise the countries make the continents? Cyprus, Russia, Iceland, Greece, Portugal are all Europe. Yes there are countries so small you can drive through them to another country in a hour, but there are countries it would take 24hrs to drive across. Many many island nations that the realistic option to get there is flying. Be mindful that not all US states are large. Bottom line, as an example I’ve only known 2 people to drive from the UK to south Spain/Portugal, everyone would really fly. Personally I’d fly if the distance were greater than 300 miles 🤣😂

[@johnsaunders2109]

@@godlovesyou1995 and lack of money! America is Number One in Corporate Wealth but well down in personal wealth !

[@aclstudios]

So I'm gonna lecture everyone about the traveling thing, about some points that have not been made in the comments. "BUT WHAT ABOUT AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND??" gets brought up a lot, since both share no borders (being islands), and people from those places travel a lot. You have to remember, those countries treat their workers way better. Minimum wage is way higher than in the USA, and they get paid way more on average over there. They also have way more time off than we do. And of course, don't charge the insane fees at their airports, travel agencies, etc. that a post-9/11 USA does. All of those factor into why it's hard to travel coming from the USA. ALSO: a lot of us are raised to be xenophobic by our families. It sucks, but it's really hard to undo this line of thinking.

[@AnarchoPinkoEuroBr]

Also. as a Brazilian: those two countries have single-payer universal healthcare (like my own and five other 'third world' Latin American countries...), don't circumcise their boys at birth, use the normal system for dates and higher education there isn't as unbearably expensive (in Brazil there are free Universities, both funded by the Federation and the states, not sure about Australia and New Zealand).

[@sallyannerenolds5499]

Actually, Australia shares a maritime border with New Guinea which 99.99% of Australians are unaware of. Indigenous people of both countries have freedom of movement because of family ties. There is also a maritime border with Indonesia. Both are in the Torres Strait.

[@GLazarus604]

Correction: Canadians think in a sort of hybrid system like the British. Canadians use kms for distance but feet and pounds for height and weight, though on our gov’t ID it shows cms and kilos.

[@Luubelaar]

Australia officially uses metric, but we still often refer to a person's height in feet and inches, and so on. So we use a weird mish-mash too.

[@spazzen]

@@Luubelaar That's only often because older people frown at you if you say your height in cm. Its never on official documents though and i don't know anyone under the age of 60 who couldn't tell you their height in feet and inches, but I also know most people have no Idea how to convert between the systems, they merely know their own height in feet and inches. Also mothers are always talking about their babies in pounds and ounces, might as well tell me it weighs the same as a stack of pancakes for all it means to me.

[@38josue91]

For a British person to visit Spain is like for a New Yorker to visit Illinois. European people just don't get how big the United States really is.

[@ethelmini]

But the US is one of most popular destinations for Brits. Spain is a destination for a long weekend to many of us.

[@Endoptic]

@@ethelmini But they tend to only visit certain big cities that don't even require driving. For most places, cab fare would be insane to move around much at all, and subways don't exist because that'd be even more insane in costs to produce or maintain. I've been noting EUs flipping kilometers as longer than miles even, somewhat recently...

[@jayteegamble]

@@ethelmini We have a new English pharmacist at work. She told us her plans for the weekend were to drive to the Grand Canyon with her kids. We were like "Um, there's no way you can drive there and back in 1 weekend." Minneapolis to the Grand Canyon is 1600 miles. It's like London to Istanbul. Her logic was that we are in "the Midwest" and the Grand Canyon is in the Midwest so it can't be that far away.

[@TheRealDrJoey]

@@jayteegamble The Grand Canyon isn't close to ANYTHING, except, of course, the Grand Canyon!

[@Musketeer009]

@@TheRealDrJoey Isn't the Grand Canyon close to the centre of the Earth?

[@kevynekicklighter7960]

The USA is so huge that it swallows 2 Europes whole. Just visiting relatives across the country you can travel further than from London to Rome. The USA is one federal run country, but we are a nation of 50 states (think of the UK and England/Scotland/Wales/Ireland). Each region of the country is also like a nation in itself, with it's own dialect and cultures. It's why Americans don't need to travel outside the USA, it's a pain getting ACROSS the country! Nearest large city to me is 158 miles away. It's just 70% the width of my state. Now think about the distance between London and Rome. It's ONLY a 19hr 1,100mi drive. Where I live to LA? It's a 34hr 2,300mi drive in comparison (it actually takes 3 days to get there by car, because humans have to fight traffic/eat/sleep/goto the bathroom). The UK proper? It's the size of Alabama only. When I visit relatives up North, it IS like visiting another country. They prefer different drinks (they prefer coffee; I'm a Southerner I drink tea by the gallon. Even Brits don't drink as much tea as Southerners do!!!). Their restaurants don't understand "Coke" means Coca-Cola OR Pepsi, it's a generic term in the South, not a specific brand (unless asked specifically as Coca-Cola). We speak English but dialects are different. My grandma called a couch a davenport, and I was like "huh?". If you want grits you learn to take it with you, as you'll only find Cream of Wheat, instead (YUCK! Baby food!). The grocery store doesn't have things you take for granted (ham hocks for green beans, for example). They'll have Lutefisk, though (Soapy fish!). You get homesick even in your own country (country music has enough songs about cities, to ensure you WILL be homesick!!!). That's how different our regions can be. Just going to SC a state away? I learn to bring my own favorite tomato based BBQ sauce, as parts of South Carolina use mustard for their BBQ (bring sugar too, as they tend not to sweeten their tea, either. Or better make your own, as they put baking soda [to preserve it] in their tea religiously, too). These videos don't seem to understand that the USA isn't one big England or Germany. Each region (and even some states) are nations in itself.

[@Sweetbrightness]

Very well put!!

[@galoglaich3281]

Uk consists of scotland wales england and a small corner of the island of ireland known as northern ireland,the rest of the island is the republic of ireland which is a sovereign independent state.

[@tomwithey711]

Wrong. And a dialect is nowhere close to a different language, of which you'll find several within that distance between London and Rome or any other place in Europe. Also the US is 200 years old. We have churches and other buildings that were 1000 years old before Benjamin Franklin started breast feeding.

[@ken61175]

USA swallows 2 Europes whole? Typical ignorance. Europe (as a whole) compared to USA is about the same size, with Europe (as a whole) being slightly larger than the US. If you however you were thinking that UK = Europe or using a flat map and failed to realise that what you see is a willy nilly result of just applying a curved landmass on a flat surface then yeah it's understandable why you'd think they way you do. That being said, if you really want to compare US to Europe then you should look to the EU, where it is made up of independent countries with a federal type central govt, but with less central authority than the US federal govt. BTW across the rest of the world? Coke = Coca Cola. Nothing else. The closest to a generic term that covers both would be cola. You may call it Pepsi these days, but it was originally sold as Pepsi Cola in the rest of the world.

[@DaimonAnimations]

In Mexico nobody thinks they U.S. was the savior of WWII, Mexicans believe it was between England and Russia. Americans was just a support role but it wasn't the main power behind it.

[@DallasMike424]

Yes, the same Mexico who didn’t think the Japanese or Germans were evil enough to fight. Right. Things would be a lot better if Mexico quit sponging off the United States.

[@MonkeyButtMovies1]

No, you're thinking of Americans

[@theodorbutters141]

What about all the foreign aid that the Russians used to fight the war that came from the US? One third of all the trucks used by the Red Army were american made, not to mention huge ammounts of food and ammo, costing $600B in today's money or around how much we currently spend per year on our ENTIRE military. And that's just foreign aid, you're not taking into account the Pacific war or the fact that without the constant delivery of supplies from the US on a massive fleet of ships, England couldn't survive cut off from the rest of the world by german u-boats. Sure, Russia endured the ultimate sacrifice, but without support from the US, the allies could not win unless you somehow take Japan out of the equation, and even then the chances Russia and England could survive on there own were pretty slim.

[@ricardosoto5770]

True, but the price in blood was paid by the Russians. The Pacific was basically an American Show, with sone Aussi and Brit help.

[@competence5324]

Wait you mean the Mexico who would have had a military alliance with Germany it wasn’t for the Zimmerman note being intercepted and countless civilian ships being sunk by the Germans in WW1, I’m sorry the United States only joined after all the countless offenses against American interest. I think Otto Von Bismarck said it best “The Americans a very lucky people. They are bordered to the north and south by weak neighbors and the east and west by fish” that statement still stands true today tbh

[@martinarbaiza5730]

You forgot something else, Latin Americans are not all Mexicans. Greetings from the other side of the Americas, Argentina.

[@mukson_pautinka3413]

You are saying these things about European versions of WW2 as if they are wrong. The brits helped with supplies fought in the sea and temporarily occupied the luftwaffe whilst the Soviet Union stood up against the biggest assault absorbed and decimated the German army. If anything the USSR crippled the Nazis and deserve most of the credit, not the Yankees that arrived once Germany was on the run, and along with Britain and their allies rushed through an undermanned France only to than claim they were the saviors

[@snowcrest7863]

Maxim......We've all heard that Fairy Tale...……..

[@DerSenat]

Maxim i agree with you

[@chimpchillin2908]

But Americans didn't fight in the European theater we fought the Japanese you know the guys you didn't fight we crippled an entire nation in under a month we dropped a bomb and slaughtered 2 cities to stop the casualties being suffered and to bring Japan to a knee after that we start diverting more units to the other front but our battle was with Japan.

[@vixendoe2545]

I have been fortunate enough to have been able to travel. Most of Canad, Israel and Palestine. I have learned that people are people no matter where you go.

[@agcons]

It would behoove some people to realise that citizens of geograhically large countries have much further to travel, with much higher costs, than citizens of smaller countries if they wish to travel outside of their countries. As a Canadian who lives three time zones away from the rest of my relatives, I'll bet that I've travelled a vastly larger number of kilometres than most Europeans on my annual visits over the last 18 years - all of it without leaving Canada. My most frequent "international" visits have been, unsurprisingly, to the United States.

[@johnnypopper-pc3ss]

agcons How many miles ? 🤣

[@kenlee5015]

agcons same here, in reverse of course. I've visited Canada many times while living in Seattle, but it's too expensive to travel internationally by plane.

[@agcons]

Miles? What are these "miles" of which you speak?

[@4besideyouintime]

i don't think the point was about distance, but experiencing other cultures. as vast as usa might be, some european countries can be way more multicultural (despite being very small) just because of the different influences different empires had on them over the milleniums (which is easy, since usa isn't that old of a country in comparison)

[@conorrooney2669]

agcons I don't know the stats but I'd be confident that countless more Europeans have visited America than the other way around.. Europe has hundreds of cultures and languages, US/Canada has one

[@ariel3703]

Of course the British wouldn't focus on the American revolution...they LOST custody of entire continent. From my knowledge of British wars, next to the loss of Ireland, that's one of the biggest wars they lost recently. I'd be pretty embarrassed about that if I were England. Where as in America it is the event that created our country, so you know, it's a little important to us. Just saying.

[@blitzofchaosgaming6737]

Actually the Brits controlled very little of the Continent. The Brits only ever owned 8% of the United States land, and 28% of the states that are in the US. It is one of the things they tend to forget. In fact the oldest city in the US is St. Augustine, Florida which was a Spanish colony.

[@tomr4722]

Yeah, they only had the eastern seaboard basically. They lost that. They kept Canada.

[@vladutcornel]

We are so used to vacation abroad that when I told my family I was going to vacation in another city that is not on the seaside or the mountains, the only question was "WHY?". It turned out to be one of the best vacations I ever had.

[@numberpirate]

Yay for using the word vacation vs holiday.

[@user-fr4cg2xj2w]

Adrian-Cornel Borină ya because it’s like an hour away

[@modisp]

Hahahah I can understand you. Lithuania is very small. Unless its vacation at parents in countryside its usually abroad :D

[@Dunny2k]

Holiday*

[@frostyblade8842]

thank you

[@kenfrank3782]

My wife and I traveled for 2 yrs in the USA plus parts of Canada, side trips to Mexico and Europe. One thing to remember and to put this in perspective is - the British Isles consisting of England, N. Ireland, Scotland and Wales - is just a bit smaller than our state of Alabama. California- north to south- covers, if superimposed on the east coast , the state of Georgia all the ways up to Massachusetts. All of Europe would fit very comfortably between the Mississippi River and the Rockies. Is it a shame that Americans don’t travel outside of America more -- Absolutely!!! But you can’t really fault us that much cause the USA is massive My major beef with the USA is that we have gotten to the point that with our 2d & 3rd tier cities and smaller that they are starting to look/ feel alike with all the same fast food chains and other franchises.

[@Lleanlleawrg]

Makes sense until you remember a lot of people outside the US visit it.

[@zucicciu58]

@John Saunders America's minimum wage is poverty level, with just a few exceptions. Most employees, if lucky, get only 2 weeks of vacation/yr. The education system fails to account for most other countries and cultures, let alone basic skills (e.g., notice the 'eloquence and elegance' of the comments), etc. Worst of all, Americans cannot relate to the events in Italy of the 20s-30s or Germany of the 30s; therefore, we are months away from repeating history.

[@jamesguitar7384]

Point of information M'Lud , Europe is actually bigger than the United States of America . No need to debate this , just look it up . Actually , as an addendum , Siberia is bigger than the USA. I suppose people confuse Western Europe with Europe.

[@ocelblack9823]

@@jamesguitar7384 Geographic size vs population. All of Siberia has less people than many counties in the US. And that is meaningless. There are no 3 countries in 5 days tours that will make you more familiar with anything but sleep deprivation. As long as your interaction with the local people is controlled by a tour guide you will get a false impression. Regardless of where you go people are people and the majority feel like the way they live is the "proper" way and expect the rest of the world to be just the same. I was lucky enough to spend 50+ years working with normal people in 35 different countries, one thing we could all agree on was that the problem with the world was all political posturing by politicians looking for power. The "Ugly American" just like the "ugly Brit" or "ugly Dutch" is not welcome anywhere. Don't be an "ugly American".

[@henkwilliemadriannusvander1955]

"Brits barely remember the Revolutionary War..." So do most Americans....

[@AdZS848]

Ummm... You do every year on July 4th

[@ringozeitgeist]

I don't remember much about it myself. I was so young at the time...

[@RannonSi]

@@AdZS848 I'm guessing that the point might be a bit tongue-in-cheek. As in sure, you celebrate it but how much of it do you really remember/know outside of the cultural stories/propaganda (in opposition to proper history)

[@BobZed]

Ah, fun with generalizations. As an American who has traveled to almost every continent, I can assure you that you can easily travel to a couple dozen countries without ever discovering their gun laws or gun ownership rates. And I aspire to never having any first-hand knowledge of the court systems in any foreign country. Various other info here is nearly non-discoverable from travel, unless you include trips to the local library.

[@winklgasse]

Or.... You know.... Just take an interest in the place you visit......

[@Lilliathi]

I mean, gun laws are pretty clear usually. If you come to the Netherlands and see a gun in the hands of anyone that's not a cop, you should probably give the latter a call.

[@pieterveenders9793]

@Jeri Brown I think it was a sarcastic remark, he meant that under normal circumstances you're hopefully not going to find out which countries do have a high rate of civilian firearms posession, by having one of the aforementioned firearms pointed at you. The only developed country where there's a likelyhood of that happening is the US, but not anywhere else.

[@BobZed]

@@winklgasse My wife and I have done a bunch of traveling and have taken multiple guided tours. We have visited 6 out of the 7 continents. Often, when the guide isn't handy, the other people on the tour will ask us to explain stuff because they know we have read up. So... we're reading up and it seems like Frommers, Fodors and Lonely Planet don't have any info on guns. Well that's strange.

[@ChristopherM720]

Others have pointed this out but when you can stay within your country and go to Arctic areas (Alaska), tropical (Hawaii), mountainous (Colorado), beaches (Florida/Texas) and a global city (New York/LA), you don't need to go abroad. You don't have to change currency, drive on the wrong side of the road (as they see it), get a passport or worry about global roaming on your mobile. Americans are odd...but one heck of a diverse nation

[@Nitro1970]

Travelling is more than just experiencing different climates, and scenery, a huge part of it is experiencing a new culture, etc

[@O-plaat]

So no historical buildings for you?

[@Football5198]

Samantha odd? Europeans aren’t? Ha! You evidently haven’t noticed that we have many more ethic groups here than Europe....why not mention that? Doesn’t fit the agenda.

[@katherinerichardson2273]

That's one of my favorite things about the USA. How diverse or climate is.

[@katalbinson6562]

Shiva Richmond We have plenty of historical buildings, except dem dumb Yeropean libtards woodn’t consider dem old.

[@badguy1481]

Hey...In our area, "going abroad" means leaving the county.

[@johnsaunders2109]

I doubt if that's a joke !!!!

[@carolgage4569]

It isn’t mentioned that sooooo many U.S. residents are poor and broke. Millions of us do not have the funds, and likely never will, to go anywhere. Certainly, we would LIKE to.

[@hkw242]

People in Europe are aware that the majority of the people in the US is poor and/or broke. I'm german and I've never been outside of europe in my whole life. But I still do know a lot of things about other continents and countries. The video mentioned traveling or not-traveling as a reason for knowledge. It's partly true, because while travelling you'll get a first hand impression. But on the other hand, there are so many sources of knowledge, it's ridicolous to say one has to travel to know about the world. I haven't met many people from the US personally. Most of them where stationed soldiers (which where fun to talk to), elderly couples (slighty irritating, because they had strange assumptions about germany and europe in general, but still somehow charming) and students (mostly snobby brats or rude drunks, bragging and boistering all the time, even aggressive and yet still claiming they would get offended by the socialist germans that all where nazis (pretty stringent, sigh) ). Plus a whole lot of disrespectful, ignorant and stupid comments in the net, sometimes full of sheer hate. So, my impressions about americans are more on the negative side. But I'm capable to realize that even if i face a million of hate speech comments, it's still a small minorty of roughly 320 millions people in the US. And I'm capable to still be interested in the US and it's culture and people. Just whish more people from the US I face in real life or net would be more aware that there is more to the world then just the US. If you ever get the chance, you're heartly welcomed in germany. Even if we might not share the same opinions. Best whishes.

[@dfuher968]

Kitty Love, what a perfect comment. That is sadly also the experiences Ive had with most Americans, I have met, especially those snobby brats, u mention, Ive met waaaay too many of those. But like u, I realise, thats not the entire US population. And yes, it is unfair to judge an entire country based on those few hundreds, 1 might have met. I try to keep an open mind, after all we too have our share of jerks, morons and smug bastards. The only thing, I cant be objective about, is Simon Whistler's point 5, coz I have been told to my face too many times, how grateful we should be for being saved by the Americans, and how we should be cow-towing to them, coz we still owe them for coming to do all the fighting and saving us useless Europeans, who were incapable of fighting for ourselves. I know, thats not u, Carol Gage, and I have met a few Americans, who were better informed. But try as I might, as this comment section shows, there are way too many Americans, who have this ignorant opinion about WWII in Europe, and the only thing, that makes me more mad, is when they also start denying the Holocaust.

[@DengRobertDeng]

Only 7% or 8% percent (41 million) of Americans live in poverty

[@angelearichardson5555]

No American thinks "you know what? I'm never going to leave the country! That sounds like so much fun!" . It's simply too dang expensive. In Europe, another country is a car ride away. In America another country is a super long, super expensive flight away.

[@Kiki-cs8xv]

I agree that it's not a fair comparison. New Zealand is surrounded on all sides by the ocean, yet New Zealanders took 3 million trips overseas in 2018 (that's the equivalent of 2/3 of our population). So far as I can see, the lack of international mobility of Americans has less to do with geography and more to do with lack of funds and lack of time off work.

[@tank4969able]

While you're right about the expense, you're not exactly right about the mindset. There's literally millions who think exactly like you just described and with nationalism spreading it's becoming more and more a thing. Many American's wonder why in the hell we would want to leave this country at all, even for a vacation. :/

[@hydrolito]

If you lived in Detroit you could cross bride or Tunnel to Windsor Canada, or if in El Paso Texas a bride to Juarez, Mexico. Some Southwestern places could walk across with no bridge. Obviously Gulf of Mexico between Southeastern parts and Mexico.

[@randomslavicguy2166]

Did i heard WWII? So let me tell you about this country named Poland...

[@allanpatterson7471]

Harsh days I knew a fellow who refused to speak at all for his internment in Poland.

[@merrittmarcus13]

I forgot about King George III until one of these videos this year. He isn't even mentioned in a lot of history about the war. To be fair, a huge number of Americans think of Americans the same way the rest of the world does.

[@johnsaunders2109]

King George was not an Absolute Ruler, he was subject to Parliament! He had more power than a modern monarch, but he was not personally responsible for policy like Americans seem to think !

[@sophierobinson2738]

john saunders Most of us don't think of him at all after history class is over.

[@johnsaunders2109]

@@sophierobinson2738 No. You Americans have a weird view of History, so perhaps that's just as well !!

[@fialee8]

Please be fair with statistics... number of guns by population is not fair. A better metric is % of gun owning population. Per a study, the US have "... super owners consisted of an estimated 7.7 million Americans and owned between eight and 140 guns each." This specific population skews the guns divided by population stat.

[@lordoftheunderpants6075]

Why does it matter?

[@kenlee5015]

fialee8 Agreed, also add statistics regarding types of "legal" gun owners such as, farmers, hunters, sportsman and as you eluded to collectors. The US has a large population not living in urban centers needing protection from predators for their livestock as well as themselves.

[@randomleagueoflegendsthres1034]

+alex gustin It matters because if a person generalizes a group of people because of a small percentage of people makes that person look like an idiot. That would be like saying, "There are gangs and violence in the cities of 'this' country. Everyone in that country is in a gang and are violent." See how stupid that logic is? "There are terrorist in 'this' country. Everyone from there is a terrorist." "There are gun hoarders in 'this' country. Everyone from there is a gun hoarder." "There are still slave owners in 'this' country. Everyone from there is a slave owner."

[@Primalxbeast]

alex gustin Well, saying there are more guns than people makes it sound as if most people own guns when only about one third of America adults own guns.

[@PervySage13]

You can find articles that say half of America's guns are owned by 3% of the population.

[@giorgigogolashvili3097]

I think anyone who doesn't travel is missing out

[@GoodVideos4]

Many people also don't want to travel.

[@smokeydoke100]

A big reason that we don't like to travel is that our transportation system sucks. Flying is expensive, cramped and intrusive. We only have one nationwide rail system, and that's slow and unreliable with old, outdated vehicles. And like our rail system, buses only travel domestically, and frankly, you're likely to end up sharing a seat with someone who's either drunk, strung out or hasn't bathed in a month.

[@michaeldally8532]

That elephant when you talk about Africa is from a completely different continent!!

[@stefanmuntean5289]

Probably 90% of the world doesn't get the difference, sorry

[@merrittmarcus13]

Depends on how you define continent. Lol

[@donaldgoodinson7550]

@@stefanmuntean5289 You are wrong.More than 10% of the population live in Africa and India and they would know the difference.

[@davidchiles5331]

What??? there is a African elephant and a Indian elephant, get your facts right

[@kingmobmor7656]

And so the guy riding it as well?

[@larrydixon8117]

I'm from Switzerland and 40 years old and I have traveled to over 40 countries. All my friends have already traveled outside of europe. I was already in south- central- and north america. All over western and eastern europe, africa and asia. These days you can fly to the usa or to asia for 700 us dollars so not expensive. Seeing the world and speaking more than 1 language is the best education that you can get. I understand that some people are broke but I really hope that one day you will be able to see the rest of the world. Different architecture, language and cuisine and culture. My next trip will be to south africa.

[@MrEricSir]

As an American who loves traveling to other countries I've always found it enlightening to find that not only are my stereotypes often wrong, but the stereotypes others have about me are often wrong as well. But that's fine! You can't learn anything without awkward moments now and then and neither can anyone else.

[@martiansyrup4331]

Never left America, knew all of these

[@Vagus32000]

#9 is why I probably will never travel outside the US. Tyranny at it’s finest

[@bernges7228]

@@Vagus32000 Well how are you supposed to form an opinion for yourself then?

[@craigbenz4835]

He pretty much convinced me to stay in the U. S. I can't believe his goal was otherwise.

[@leebee5361]

And what? That we now know that you watch a lot of telly??? Well, I'm sure THATS a revelation!!!

[@j.a.weishaupt1748]

Adam Vagus *its

[@hemidas]

Why, oh why did I had to look at the comment section?

[@4besideyouintime]

to experience multicultural stupidity

[@Troglodyted]

Your opinion is wrong!!!! Reeeee!!!!

[@PrincessNinja007]

My favorite type of exchange going on in the comments: "If you never leave the country, you'll never interact with people from other places!" proclaim the Dutchman and Aussie, in unison, to the American.

[@nathanmckenzie904]

Because this is where the fun is

[@Dorianin1]

Ciara...the vast majority of both of those nations have passports, and travel extensively. Same as most developed nations...save one. Guess which one?

[@jochenstacker7448]

I don't quite understand trial by jury. "Should we leave the trial to qualified professionals with decades of experience?" "Nah, just gather some random people of the street and have them decide".

[@sm5574]

There has been a push (though not a strong one) to move to a system of professional jurors. These would be people with no special status (i.e., lay people), but they would at least understand the law well enough to not fall for lawyer tricks, and they wouldn't be tempted to vote guilty just to get back to work.

[@catatonicbug7522]

The point of a jury is to avoid the judgements of those in power, and otherwise potentially corrupt. Getting 12 semi-random people to listen to both side tell their stories before making a decision means that the people making the judgements are from similar life circumstances as the defendant, and not some private-schooled, pompous blow-hard with a personal agenda.

[@sm5574]

@@catatonicbug7522, I understand the point of a jury system. I'm saying that there are problems with its implementation. Also, I am not saying that having professional jurors would be perfect, but you seem to be under the impression that they would be law school students, which is not true. It would just be another government job, like the lady at the DMV who takes your picture for your driver's license. The difference is that they would have rudimentary training in law procedure (along the lines of watching legal-based KZbin channels and such). Thus, we're talking about typical working-class people.

[@jochenstacker7448]

@@catatonicbug7522 the whole problem I see with that, is that these people might not understand a very complex case and can be persuaded by a professional waffler who doesn't try the case on evidence but emotional flimflam. Would you have scientific papers reviewed by housewives and dentists?

[@carllarsen]

they're not supposed to be random. they are supposed to be your peers. sadly, that seldom happens.

[@juliomonterojr]

??? I thought the 🇺🇸 is a republic ???

[@ralphlongo1975]

Which is why they don't have actual free speech, and we do :D

[@mikitta47]

@@thomasb4838 Define that, please. How do we resemble Cuba?

[@EvelynElaineSmith]

The US is a federal republic as are countries like Mexico and Germany.

[@wumps-gaming]

@@EvelynElaineSmith no America is a constitutional republic

[@meglukes]

gary musser jr We are both constitutional and federal. Also democratic and republican at the state and local level with ballot items, but only republican at the national level because individuals don’t vote on federal laws.

[@CamoKing2012]

The USA isn't a Democracy!!!! It's a constitutional Republic if you are going to spout off about things make sure you get your facts straight.

[@jordanw5833]

Chrisopher Mercill I think he’s just generalizing “free” countries as democracies for the sake of this video, easier than getting into technicalities. Most people just generalize free countries as democracies.

[@Football5198]

Truth Chris!

[@zer0luv]

That maybe true, but ask most Americans we consider ourselves part of a democracy.

[@kenappleton136]

That is a petty argument and sounds like one of those things a person may say to appear smarter than he really is. A foreigner may be excused for considering the U.S.A. as a democracy since we call ourselves a democracy, the media calls us a democracy and the politicians call us a democracy. I think I'll stick with calling us a democracy, it's easier for us simple people to say.

[@Xcm-yg1vv]

Literally everyone thinks the U.S claim WAYYYYY to much glory for ww1 and 2. Even most Americans who study those wars that ive talked to.

[@ricardosoto5770]

WW 1 could have been won without the US. WW2 maybe not. The Pacific war was mostly an American show, and the European war while mostly a Russian show, need a lot of US help, less in the military sense and more in form of money and raw materials supplied by the US. The Germans could have tried to fight the UK and the URSS to a stalemate without that US help.

[@koskey06]

If Americans could drive 24hrs and visit like 5 diff country's.... we would. Instead we would just go through 3 states...

[@VikingBoi88]

Depending on which state, you probably wouldn't even drive through half a state in 24 hours in Australia. And even given our distance from the rest of the world, I'd hazard a guess that Australians are (if only slightly) more well travelled than Americans.

[@FrarmerFrank]

Well, the States of the U.S. Federation and even the city,counties,tons and municipalities within are technically independent of other and can be radically different from what you expect

[@jonjon1452]

Bet not travel through Texas that’ll take half of your time away lol

[@LordKitchenersKitchenUntensils]

Knew this video would cause a comment war between Americans and the rest of the world...

[@lilaclizard4504]

Of course, America thrives on war & creates it at every opportunity it gets!

[@balamstudios]

Americais the entire continent from Canada to Argentina, because America is the entire continent, not just USA.

[@Mtho_Dude]

What? Americans and war? But that never happens 😒

[@lilaclizard4504]

balamstudios who still uses the 5 continent model of Eurasia, America, Africa, Australia, Antarctica when describing where people are from?

[@breannamay8800]

swamidude, in Spanish countries they call them Unitedstatesian

[@mickvonbornemann3824]

that's because they get bugger all paid holiday leave.

[@fasteddie406]

To be fair to yanks on the travel abroad issue, it is surrounded on 2 sides by oceans making journeys longer, Canada to the north is fairly similar and nowt but poverty to the south. If a yank wants to go skiing he has the Rockies a Brit has to travel abroad. If a yank wants the sun he has Florida a Brit has to go to Spain etc point is USA has more to offer plus budget holidays don't exist as travelling abroad thx to distance over oceans.. Ryan Air just don't do NY to Amsterdam for£29.

[@aaron-qb3my]

Mexico has far more to offer than poverty.

[@jessthehuman]

Australia is even worse - we're so far from everywhere other than the tip of SE Asia & NZ. But we don't have ANY countries we can access via land. At least in the USA you have Mexico and Canada.

[@bunzeebear2973]

Also, just as a bonus...Everywhere uses the same currency and has the same laws and the same language so "Where is the toilet?" is easy to communicate. Otherwise to know French, or German, or Swedish, or Polish, or Italian, or Greek, or Bulgarian, orTransylvanian or Egyptian or Spanish or Portuguese (because you could run across people that do not speak and other tongue but their home country....it could be a bugger for your day.

[@paulmakinson1965]

I have met Americans skiing in Switzerland, where I work. They tell me that it is cheaper to fly there than stay and ski in the US! And Switzerland is way more expensive than the Italian Alps or Austria.

[@danskrista]

Yeah but going to Mexico or Canada doesn't make much sense to Americans when for a lot less you can go to Arizona or North Dakota, get a similar experience and you don't need a passport.

[@mitzy123]

I get 28 paid vacation days in UK plus national holidays but my colleagues who work for the same company in the US get 10 days so that is a major factor. There are no such minimum paid vacation day laws in America that give you more incentives to travel and broaden your horizon

[@uni4rm]

@@Tolpuddle581 America actually suffers from workaholics, not anti-work...which, doesn't make any sense. If you were anti-worker you would run out of employees pretty quickly. Even when we have vacation, we don't often take it and prefer to work.

[@Jskierka2295]

Okay, but to be fair, the reason many Americans don't travel often is because it's super expensive. A 'cheap' plane ticket to London is like $600. Its much cheaper just to travel within America, which has enough of a variety of enviornments and culture on its own for most of us. End of rant

[@TryptychUK]

I live in a house that is older than their country. It's arrogance and ignorance, as always

[@cosmonauthal7651]

Kurt Pedersen okay so is this comment suppose to make me want to come to Europe?

[@memesneverdie3826]

To somehow imply that California, Texas, New York, and Florida are exactly the same because the United States as a whole is young is nothing short of pure ignorance or stupidity. Ironically it proves that you aren't well traveled in the States the same way Americans aren't well traveled in Europe.

[@markeclord]

600$ is a lot? Well then. 2 weeks vacation from Europe to USA costs about 4000€. While here 4000€ is equal to what? 1 year of apartment rent.

[@PortooCalia]

well I have done a quick search and you can find as low as 250-300 euro round trip if you are open to adjust dates. I'm not saying you don't have a point, but that it's not that much. And the diversity you are talking about, that's environmental. culturally, you will find the same differences within one European country itself. But still, travelling abroad doesn't have to mean visit Europe. Just another country. The Americas have over 30 countries. Just visit one of those. Mexico, Canada and the Bahamas should have cheap tickets.

[@MrWolffighters]

Regarding a right to trial in the US, only 2% go to an actual judge and jury, overwhelmingly it's decided by a plea bargain. If everyone exercised their right to trial the criminal justice system would be broke.

[@ethelmini]

In Britain, and I'm sure elsewhere too, you have the right to trial by jury more than is suggested. The number of a country's citizens locked up in prison could well be the underlying factor

[@jonnunn4196]

And sometimes the state can have so weak evidence that it gets thrown out by the judge before going to the jury or alternatively they decline to prosecute knowing that it would happen. But perhaps a more useful comparison since most people won't get first hand experience as a defendant, would be roughly how often would a citizen of the UK be summoned for jury duty? (And other countries.) Most Americans can directly relate to jury duty summons.

[@maldegaar]

Queue a John Oliver video

[@Morna777]

You can drive to France. For us an international trip is prohibitively expensive for a lot of us.

[@clickrick]

You could point to a similar cost of travel for Australians, but they travel abroad far more than most Americans do.

[@Endoptic]

@@clickrick They live on an island...that's almost entirely a desert...full of and surrounded by things that want to kill them. They're also surrounded by relatively VERY foreign cultures. They have to hop the globe just to join the rest of the English speaking world.

[@jonnunn4196]

For someone single or a couple without kids, It's not so much the airfare price (check the prices for April, May, and October instead of during the summer) ; but getting enough days off for the trip to be worthwhile while still having a job to come back to.

[@marusak72]

Without going abroad you never step out from the treadmill, thus international trip will be prohibitively expensive for your entire life.

[@hiker0100]

In a way, you can drive to France from the USA. (St. Pierre et Miquelon, French overseas department off the coast of Newfoundland)

[@kellym3610]

I’ve been to Europe. England, France, and Germany. Many people were mean and treated me like I was stupid, so why would I want to travel there again? By contrast, I spend 2 years traveling through South Africa and Botswana and the people were amazingly kind and welcoming.

[@SuperMadsr]

Thanks for that we pride ourselves in being friendly. I am a South African. Stayed in Botswana for a few years.

[@darklightcyborg1105]

Hey, Simon...! May I share with you something: Although it's something ABSOLUTELY UNIMPORTANT, it is also "something", that almost ALL PEOPLE living in "Latinamérica" (from the North of México, all the way down to ANTARCTICA) find ABSOLUTELY ANNOYING and nonsensical about U.S. Folks: Why, why, why, WHY IN THE WORLD, when you refer to yourselves, or to ANYTHING related to the "United States of America", you say "America", "We, Americans", "American People", etc., etc., etc...?!?!? The thing is, The CONTINENTAL United States, is located ONLY IN *NORTH* AMERICA (and not even on all of it, remember, you share it with Canada & México). To the South of "North" America, there are dozens and dozens of Independent Countries, with different Races of People, Philosophies, and many Languages (being Spanish and Portuguese the 2 main ones). The point is, I live in Santiago, Chile, FIVE THOUSAND MILES AWAY from you people...! So, when someone from the U.S. autorefers itself, speaking about "some big National problem" (for example), and then broads what he/she says to "ALL AMERICAN PEOPLE", well... We just can't help it, but to find that plain HILARIOUS...! Please, take note that, under NO CIRCUMSTANCES are we making fun of whatever problem / predicament / circumstance you people could be in a given moment, but PLEASE: The other day, I heard something about "Coal Prices rising (somewhere in the U.S.)", and then someone shouting "The American People WILL NOT TOLERATE (blah, blah, blah...)"... And... We cannot help but to laugh at that "shouting Person" , thinking to ourselves "what in God's Name that could have ANYTHING to do with US, Chileans (or Bolivians, or Argentinians)...??? And well, that resumes it. it's just NONSENSICAL. xD (On a side note: If for whatever reason (can't come with any "logical" one) you don't like to speak about "U.S. Peoples", you could at least say "Northamerican Peoples"...) :)

[@darklightcyborg1105]

And on another (little) sidenote: Many Chileans are actually GRATEFUL to President D. Trump, because, as he had previously promised, during HIS VERY FIRST DAY in the White House, he DISMANTLED that VICIOUS and CORRUPT (so-called) "Free" Commerce Treaty, that past U.S. Administrations were "cleverly manipulated" to IMPOSE upon us. I'm taking about that DAMNED "Trans-Pacific Free Commerce Treaty" (simply referred as "T.P.P."). And just as that, you have it. :)

[@conniecrawford5231]

All right,I’m a very old senior citizen who attended grad school in Hawaii in the 196Os after it became the 50th state in 1959.I even got to watch Jack Lord film the pilot for”Hawaii 5-0” in the late 1960’s. I started working in the tourism industry in Hawaii and had my own agency and tour operation on the Mainland for 40 years. The Golden Age of Travel existed I think 1960-1980’d when countries, states, airlines cruise ships, offered free travel to licensed travel professionals ( now vloggers get the “comp “ perks). I still travel but I pay for it- I’ve visited 118 countries including many that existed under other names or are now free of the USSR. Traveling to Soviet held countries during the Cold War was always somewhat risky -your camera or film could always be cofiscated for no reason! Diceytimes!

[@seang3019]

You have earned my admiration, and that's just for seeing Jack Lord film the Hawaii 5-0 pilot.

[@conniecrawford5231]

John Saunders How did you miss the fact that I said travel was free( “ comp” or “ non revenue”)to certified travel professionals who made money for the airlines, cruise lines, hotel chains, etc? Look at all the travel bloggers who are creating revenue for theme parks, cruise lines, destinations, etc. Do you not understand how “ comps” work in any of industry? Disney, for example, give perks like free admission,discounted cruises, etc .to its own cast members.

[@conniecrawford5231]

John Saunders I got into tourism while I was teaching at the U. Of Hawaii- I worked to get free airfare between Hawaii and the Mainland. Being a licensed travel professional gave me perks that being a college prof never would.Teachers got free textbooks - travel agency ownership gave me over a million free air miles ( usually first class) and free hotel rooms and free admission to theme parks, attractions, and museums. Being a travel agent didn’t pay well but the free travel was what agents wanted. For agency owners, the travel benefits were better yet!

[@conniecrawford5231]

John Saunders You don’t know me at all. I founded an educational field trip corporation that took hundreds of thousands of student al around the world to study, perform or learn about other cultures and ways of life. I had 60 employeees spread over dozens of countries plus hundreds of local resource persons on the ground. How many people have you sent abroad? None! I was the biggest supplier of educational experiences, taking American high school students on extensive visits abroad. Education and tourism have been my life, so you are talking to the wrong person. Did you get to work with President Mandela or Steve Irwin personally? Then shut up! My students had experiences most people can only dream of?

[@barneymiller7894]

Travel to pretty much anywhere can be basically dirt cheap or totally free, but freedom does not equal safety. How many risks you want to take?

[@jeannebouwman1970]

We (the netherlands) give a lot of credit to the canadians out of all peoples since they were central in liberating the netherlands

[@jeremiefaucher-goulet3365]

And we were in WW2 from the beginning, unlike our southern neighbors. We're just too modest to brag about it.

[@ceoyoyo]

There are 70 tulip friendship gardens across Canada, built to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII and the first annual gift of tulips from the Netherlands to Canada.

[@jeremiefaucher-goulet3365]

@Robert Bradshaw Only an American would say that. The rest of the world knows WW2 started in 1939, not 1941.

[@alicebruce6399]

Love from Canada 🇨🇦

[@Snyde70]

I'm sure you would have done the same for us. We like you too.