15 Things Americans Do that Confuse the Rest of the World

Don’t you sometimes find it confusing when people ask how you are the moment you walk into a shop? Have you ever found yourself in an argument with a friend about measuring that new table you’re going to get for your apartment because you use a completely different measurement system? I guess many of us have gone through the gauntlet of not knowing exactly how much to tip after having a romantic dinner with your significant other.

Different countries have different customs as well as a variety of eccentricities. From the way words are pronounced and spelled to what unit of measurement is acceptable for daily use, every country around the globe has its own way of presenting things. However, most of these tend to agree with each other from culture to culture and from country to country, but when it comes to America, a lot of foreigners and visitors end up baffled and confused about certain practices and customs that seem to be unique in the United States. 

Maybe you have experienced a few of them and have asked your American friends why they are so. In any case, here are some things that may help you along the way as you traverse the tricky trail of uniquely American practices.

# 15 — You Can’t Drink Until You’re 21

Let’s start with the bone of contention among foreign visitors to the US. Americans have strict laws against purchasing and consuming alcohol if you are under the age of 21. If you are, let’s say someone from England, your 18-year-old might be surprised to find out that he or she will not be served any alcohol anywhere. This confuses a lot of visitors who come from countries where they become of age at 18, and that includes buying and drinking a few beers.

#14 — The Metric System VS Imperial System

If you are from Asia or Europe, it would be easy for you to find out how close the nearest restaurant is to your hotel or home because you have grown accustomed to using units of measurement like kilometers, centimeters, and the like. When you fly to the US, however, you may end up confused and struggle to convert your units of measurement to adapt to local units like inches, yards, and miles or having to convert today’s weather from Celsius to Fahrenheit to know if you should bring a jacket out. 

#13 — Prom & Homecoming

Prom is a school event that is common in many countries. It is a chance for students to socialize and kick it back a little from the grueling life of studying. However, what confuses many countries is how big a deal it is to Americans who openly consider and accept it as a teenager’s rite of passage. The amount of effort to ask someone out alone is incredibly amazing, and what we see on TV shows and movies do not really downplay its real life equivalent. Also, aside from prom, another school event called Homecoming has confused many teenagers around the world who are asking what really is it and how is it different from prom?

#12 — Sporting Scholarships

We have all seen it in movies and sometimes the news where a promising student with incredible athletic prowess gets accepted to a university. In the US, it is common for school athletes to be accepted in college because of how good they are at sports. In fact, many of them are even offered scholarships as long as they bat for the right university team. This academic practice is found to be bizarre by many countries mainly because no such program exists in their curricula. 

#11 — Flag Pride

There is not a single piece of sky in the US where you will not see the American flag waving proudly in the wind. While patriotism is another commendable trait of the American culture, what confuses foreigners is that almost every establishment that they visit has the country’s flag present. Whether they are at a restaurant or a strip mall, if there is an outdoor space or a large display wall, chances are, there will be an American flag. Even more confusing to tourists and foreigners is the fact that flags are even hung or displayed at people’s private homes.

#10 — Calling Jam “Jelly”

Whether it’s a point of confusion or just plain happy coincidence, the word “Jelly” seems to be used interchangeably with jam seeing that they have similar consistencies. It’s the interchanging of the use of the word that confuses non-Americans because jelly is generally used in other countries to describe a food product that is made out of gelatin and the homemade fruit preserve used to spread over bread is called jam in other countries. So, to an Englishman, offering him a spread of “Jelly” on his scone might give him the impression that he has unwittingly stepped into the Twilight Zone.

#9 — Gun Laws

In general, gun and ammunition laws in the US are an often discussed subject by many countries around the world. Many non-Americans have been stumped by the fact that generally, anyone can easily buy bullets over the counter and military grade firearms on the internet without any screening process. While there are provisions in the US Constitution provides individuals the right to bear arms, foreigners show an amount of concern and confusion over some clauses in different states that allow, for example, people to openly carry firearms in public. To this day, even concerned citizens and groups in the US itself are fighting for amendments and limitations on the country’s gun control laws after several gun-related tragedies shook the country over the past few decades.

#8 — Price Tags without the Tax

In the US, no matter which shop you go to, you would be surprised to find out that sales taxes are not included in any price tags - which is quite strange given that many countries around the world adopt the practice of including taxes in any product’s tags to do away with the burden of making estimates in your head while in line at the checkout counter. The reason behind this is that since the US has a different set of regional laws governing each state, that would mean that taxes will also vary per state; and in each state, items may cost a little more or a little less than the retail price depending on individual state tax.

#7 — Trick-or-Treating

When we were kids, we were told by our parents never to accept anything from strangers or talk to them. It is a golden rule that any parent applies no matter where they are around the world. But this changes when Americans celebrate Halloween. Indeed, going trick-or-treating is a creative American custom that people across the world copy or envy. Who would not want to dress up their kids in colorful costumes and show off to the other kids? What’s rather odd though is the practice of trick-or-treating itself where parents basically encourage children to ring other people’s doorbells asking for candy. It's contrary to warning them about accepting anything from strangers.

#6 — Super Bowl Advertisement

America has a consumer-driven economy, and it works for them. You may say that the US is an Ad Man’s paradise because all he has to do is to put something up on a billboard or on a TV screen and almost immediately, a product will sell. Speaking of ads, commercials and advertisements during Superbowl season are given so much attention and effort that it is almost an event unto itself. Every year, advertisers would put their best and creative foot forward to show their wittiest and most entertaining pieces of advertisements. What’s even more amusing is how people become emotionally invested in these ads that some of them even rank them in lists and talk about each one over the dinner table like matters of State.

#5 — The Icy Love Affair

Americans love iced drinks. From their coffee to their soda, their cups are almost brimming with ice. While we cannot argue that ice can freshen up a drink, the average American’s obsession with these frozen bits of water confuses many people from other parts of the world simply because they can drastically water down your drink and, at some point, add a little bit of dirt into it if the water used comes from a questionable source.

#4 — Spelling & Pronunciation 

This phenomenon is mostly a bone of contention between the US and their English and British friends. Where countries like England and Australia spell certain words like “Colour,” “Neighbour,” and “Prioritise,” and pronouncing every letter in the word “Fillet,” Americans would argue that their way of pronouncing and spelling words is a universal standard. We can’t argue, though, that dropping a few vowels here and there makes spelling a bit more sensible and practical, it cannot be ignored that they seem to be the only people in the world who have their own standards in spelling and pronunciation as opposed to what’s widely practiced around the world.

#3 — Going Out for Drinks

TV shows like Cheers and How I Met Your Mother seems to have reinforced the American practice of casually inviting friends out for a few drinks at a local bar. In countries like Japan, it is not an entirely alien concept to go out for a few drinks after work. However, casually calling up people to go out is something unheard of in many cultures. In some parts of the world, people get to gather with a drink in hand at parties or special occasions but not on, let’s say, a Thursday night.

#2 — A Classless Society

One of the most endearing qualities of American culture is the virtual eradication of social classes. It may sound absurd in countries that have a hard-line drawn between the wealthy and the poor but in the US, social status is given little to no attention at all and people may “move from one social class to the other” with ease by just upping their performance and pay grade at work. By having this egalitarian way of looking at society, Americans have pretty much plucked out the social stigmas attached to different levels of society.

#1 — Spending for College is a Serious Matter

According to data from the College Board, from the academic years of 2014 – 2015, the average cost to get into an in-State public college is about $23,410.00. Going to a private school would burn $46,272.00 right through your savings. And by private, we are not including Ivy League schools such as Harvard University where a single year can cost you $60,659.00. The cost of higher learning in America is confusingly expensive, and many students who have graduated and have gone on to establish distinguished careers are still paying for thousands of dollars’ worth of Student Loans. Compared to countries like England where the cost of attending a single year at Oxford is only at $13,903, American colleges and universities basically drive students into deep debt even before graduating. In other countries, like Sweden, Germany, and France, it is interesting to note that college education is FREE or – in some cases – partially free; and in countries like Denmark, there are instances that the national government pays for your college education and even provides you with a student allowance.

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Sources:
http://thoughtcatalog.com/natasha-norford/2015/03/18-things-americans-do-that-confuse-the-rest-of-the-world/
https://www.theodysseyonline.com/10-americans-confuse
http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/a33473/things-only-americans-do/

5 Bizarre Forms of Ancient Taxes

Food. Water. Fuel.

As it is, we already complain about the amount of taxes imposed on our necessities, they might as well charge us for the air we breathe. Not to mention the big chunk taken from our salaries every month, for supposed government funds.

But if you could pause and think about it, we should be grateful. Hundreds of years ago, rulers from different parts of the globe found really interesting, and mostly questionable reasons to raise funds. But we can’t really blame them.

It was a time when countries were almost always at war – either conquering a territory or protecting theirs. And tax provided great money for their militaries.

In this video, we’ll give you the top 5 most bizarre forms of ancient taxes. The following may sound funny now, but our ancestors sure made a lot of money out of them.

#5 — Cowardice Tax in England

Yes, there was no free room for cowards in the ancient times.

Despite the wars waging in different parts of the world today, that is still nothing compared to how life was centuries ago - when the world still revolved in conquest. Back then, the unspoken rule was - conquer or be conquered.

Of course, every invasion needs an army. And territories raised their men to fight. Joining the military was not an option but a requirement. It is a service that vassals owed their lord. And if they couldn’t give it, they had to pay.

Formally known as scutage, the cowardice tax was a sort of shield money for those who are not physically, emotionally, or mentally capable of going to war. It was a great way to extort money from nobles, but a chance that even some lowly citizens grabbed.

The first known form of scutage was established in 12th century England, under the reign of King Henry I.

History records show that it started with King Henry asking for a small amount of payment, which increased year after year, with the growing trend of a money economy.

As it was a practice advantageous to both sides, it easily spread to other European countries like France and Germany, although not as widespread as it was in England.

And by the start of the early 13th century, King John was already collecting scutage 300% more than its original worth. He also imposed payment from knights even in the years when there were no wars at all. This abuse prompted a Magna Carta that prohibits the royal court from imposing scutage without the permission of a great council. And by the 14th century, cowardice tax was officially banned.

#4 — Window Tax in England

In 1696, William III imposed an outrageous tax on houses or any other buildings that had more than 10 windows. The tax increased depending on the number of windows - from the flat rate of two shillings to the maximum of eight shillings.

It was meant to be a progressive tax. The idea was that poor families would have smaller houses and thus fewer windows. They would then be taxed less or none at all. The system actually worked for the rural poor, but it failed miserably for those in urban areas, who had to live in large tenement buildings. These settlements, although occupied by several families, were taxed as one whole house.

Imagine how many windows one tenement building has.

Landlords, who of course did not want to carry the burden of paying the huge amount of window tax, passed the problem to the tenants, who were subjected to higher rent.

In a bid to escape or at least lessen their window taxes, homeowners started constructing buildings with very few windows, or have their existing windows boarded up. To which, the government's answer was to lower the minimum number of windows allowed. The initial minimum of 10 windows became 7 starting 1766.

With the increasing population and decreasing number of windows, insufficient ventilation became a big problem. Medical professionals started complaining that dark and damp environments, especially in huge buildings, are possible sources of some diseases. Living close to each other could also easily cause these diseases to spread.

Their continuous campaigning reaped its reward in 1851. The window tax was finally repealed – 156 years after its creation, to be replaced by the more reasonable and still existing house tax.

#3 — Urine Tax, or Vectigal Urinae in Rome

Pecunia non olet. It was a famous saying in ancient Rome, which basically means “money does not stink.”

Back in 1st century AD, under the rule of Emperor Vespasian, urine was valued for its high ammonia content. It was considered the best weapon against dirt, and was widely used to wash clothes, tan leather, and mind you, to whiten teeth.

Back then, the lower Roman classes would urinate in pots, which were emptied in cesspools. While the higher classes used public bathhouses. Urine was collected from these facilities and recycled in various ways to transform into cleaning ingredients.

Emperor Vespasian, having noticed that a lucrative business has been created out of this practice, imposed a tax on people who bought this urine.

Thus the saying Pecunia non olet. Historians say it became famous after a particular conversation between Emperor Vespasian and his son Titus, who had been complaining about the smelly nature of the tax. They say Vespasian then held a gold coin and asked his son if it smelled. Of course, Titus said no, and to this, the emperor replied, "Yet it comes from urine."

Disgusting as it does sound, Vespasian did earn a lot of money from this practice. Because of his ruthless taxation, he was not only able to bring the Romans out of debt but also left a great sum of money for his successor. He was also able to order the construction of many Roman infrastructures, including the iconic Colosseum.

Until today, Pecunia non olet remains famous, to say that the value of money does not diminish just because it comes from stinky means.

#2 — Breast Tax or Mulakkaram in Kerala, India

There is a very long history of repression against women and the less fortunate around the world. And if you're a poor woman, prepare to have the world on your shoulders. This particular tax in Southern India made them feel very small indeed.

In the early 1800s, the caste system in India was at its most oppressive – so much so that both the men and women of the lower caste were not allowed to cover their chests when meeting members of the upper caste. Back then, clothing was a symbol of wealth and prosperity, and wearing one would have been considered disrespectful against the higher caste.

While the men were able to accept this law grudgingly, it was very disadvantageous for women, who were starting to see the merits of covering their breasts, especially when entering religious temples.

In the book Native Life in Travancore, Samuel Mateer explains how this practice ensured that the higher caste continued to thrive while pushing the lower caste to remain in a never-ending cycle of poverty and scarcity.

But a woman from Alappuzha will forever be remembered for changing the course of history, or at least, for giving women the courage to fight this oppression. Legend has it that this woman, named Nangeli, decided to fight the system at the cost of her life.

One day, when the tax collector arrived at her house to collect Mulakkaram, she laid a plantain leaf as usual. But instead of giving money, she suddenly cut off her breasts, put them on the leaf, and offered it to the shocked tax collector. Nangeli bled to her death, but she left a legacy that has been passed on through generations.

They say it was because of the repression women had to suffer during that time, but Nangeli's story never made it to any history books. However, the women of Kerala never once doubted its validity, and will forever look up to Nangeli as their hero.

#1 — Beard Tax in Russia

Back in the 1700s, Russia was led by a young yet legendary royal, in the name of Peter the Great, well known for leading the modernization of Russia.

In a bid to drag his motherland from its pastoral ancestry, Peter went on a year-long voyage across neighboring European countries, like Britain and the Netherlands, to learn about their relatively advanced military and trade techniques.

But when he came back to Russia, he adapted more than just their defense system, but also their fashion sense.

The court celebrated his arrival with a party consist of his most beloved aides and diplomats. Historians say that in the said ball, Peter the Great suddenly pulled out a razor and shaved off his friends’ beards one by one. Such was the court’s respect for the czar that they could only stare in horror at what he was doing.

He then ordered that every man in Russia should shave off his beard, for the reason that the clean-shaven look was what was considered fashionable in Europe at that time.

However, this received a negative reaction from the Russian Orthodox Church, who believed that shaving one’s beard would, in the words of Ivan the Terrible, disfigure the image of man as he was created by God.

This forced Peter the Great to re-consider his actions. Instead of ordering men to imitate his fashion sense, he imposed a yearly beard tax for those who preferred to keep their facial hair. The amount of payment depended on the man's social status. And those who chose to pay received a copper coin with the writing 'tax paid' as proof that they have been granted permission to keep their beard.

Infamous as it was, the beard tax remained in practice until 1772, 47 years after his death.

There you have it, the five most bizarre ancient taxes.

At least now you know that however suffocated you are from all the taxes you have to pay, at least you could freely cover your chest wherever you go, or grow your beard as long as you want to.

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Sources: 

Message to Eagle (Nov. 21, 2016). 10 Most Bizarre Forms of Ancient Taxes: Surprising and Funny. Retrieved from http://www.messagetoeagle.com/10-bizarre-forms-ancient-taxes-surprising-funny/

Handwerk, Brian (April 14, 2016). Feeling Overtaxed? The Romans Would Tax Your Urine. Retrieved from http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/04/160414-history-bad-taxes-tax-day/

The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. Scutage. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/topic/scutage

Medieval Sourcebook: England: The Collection of Scutage, 1159-1195. Retrieved from https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/source/scutage.html

Hill, Bryan (July 12, 2015). Money Does Not Stink: The Urine Tax of Ancient Rome. Retrieved from http://www.ancient-origins.net/history-ancient-traditions/money-does-not-stink-urine-tax-ancient-rome-003408

The Scribe (June 4, 2007). At Least You Don't Pay Tax Urine. Retrieved from ancientstandard.com/2007/06/04/at-least-you-don't-pay-urine-tax...-1st-c-ad

Unni Nair, Supriya (Aug. 28, 2016). Dress Code Repression: Kerala's History of Breast Tax for Avarna Women. Retrieved from: http://www.thenewsminute.com/article/dress-code-repression-keralas-history-breast-tax-avarna-women-48982

Sebastian, Sheryl (SEpt. 12, 2016). Kerala's Casteist Breast Tax and the Story of Nangeli. Retrieved from https://feminisminindia.com/2016/09/12/kerala-breast-tax-nangeli/

Mancini, Mark (March 29, 2014). The Time Peter the Great Declared War on Facial Hair. Retrieved from http://mentalfloss.com/article/55772/time-peter-great-declared-war-facial-hair

Staff of Parliament.UK. Window Tax. Retrieved from http://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/transformingsociety/towncountry/towns/tyne-and-wear-case-study/about-the-group/housing/window-tax/

Staff of History House. Window Tax. Retrieved from http://www.historyhouse.co.uk/articles/window_tax.html