It appears this one has been doing the rounds. The question originally posed was, “What is something that’s normal in your country, but weird for the rest of the world?”
It’s a little hard to answer, because how do you know what isn’t normal elsewhere? So I thought I’d put together a few things and see how they stack up across the world.
From: Daily Mail
- Eat our national animal – which, if you were wondering, is the kangaroo
- Dual flushing toilets – we have two buttons on our toilets, a half flush for #1s and a full flush for #2s (to help conserve water)
- Going barefoot – everywhere
- Egg, pineapple and beetroot on burgers
- And on that, free BBQ facilities in most parks (and you often have to go early to get one)
- Long service leave – work 10 years with the same company and get 2 months extra paid holiday (note: I’ve never achieved that, lol)
- Driving long distances to commute to work (eg 100km / 62 mile each way)
- We’re pretty laid back – for example, we refer to our Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, as ScoMo
- It’s very common to be asked to “bring a plate” when you go to someone’s place for a barbie (BBQ) – it means bring a plate of food to share
- We sit in the front seat of a taxi (cab)
From: Buzzfeed
What is normal for you that the rest of us might think weird?
February 10, 2021 at 11:19 pm
Ooo we have dual flushing toilets as well!
Although it’s super early and I can’t really offer you an example of what is common in Canada that isn’t elsewhere? Maybe taking your shoes off when entering a house? 🤷♀️
February 11, 2021 at 9:13 am
Easy for a lot of us, we aren’t wearing shoes anyway 😉 Although a lot of people ask you to take shoes off here, and we usually ask if the owners would like us to before entering.
February 11, 2021 at 9:47 am
Haha we do the same! But we need shoes to go anywhere. Especially in the winter 😂
February 11, 2021 at 9:50 am
Oh my gosh, I wear shoes every waking moment of the day in winter… and we don’t have snow!
February 11, 2021 at 1:08 am
Normal here:
It is winter and our temps are 61-80 degrees F.
Other than that, this is Florida and all is different, in all ways.
The thing I find weird about your part of the world is that you eat Vegemite.
February 11, 2021 at 9:20 am
Aussie winters are those temps in our northern towns. I loved those winters! (I used to live in north Queensland).
I love vegemite. I eat it with everything (egg on toast, salad sandwich, a spoon!).
February 11, 2021 at 1:13 am
Here in SoCal:
#2 – we have those kind of toilets in newer courthouses and a few other public places. Do you have those toilets even in private homes?
#7 – depending on where a person lives and works, it might take 2 hours just to drive 30 miles at certain times of the day. So we measure commutes by time more than by mileage.
February 11, 2021 at 9:18 am
Dena, we’ve had dual flushing toilets since the 1980’s and it is was legislated that any new toilet must be dual flush, so nearly all homes have them. It’s only old places that don’t, like our last home, built in 1969, which had single flush until we replaced it.
In our capital cities, we also have peak hour horror (when I lived in a big city it used to take me a bit over an hour to travel 24km / 14 mile – but that was 20 years ago, I imagine it is way worse now). But now I live in a town where peak hour means a delay of 10 mins, but people drive huge distances to commute.
February 11, 2021 at 4:10 am
This is a great list! Our national animal in the US is the eagle, and it’s a protected species, so no eating of that one. The barefoot thing is definitely not the norm here, and almost all public places have rules about not even entering if you’re not wearing shoes. The long service leave is something I’m sure everyone would appreciate here (but is completely nonexistent), and sitting in the front seat of a taxi is something that’s just not done. Otherwise, a lot of those things are fairly common here (minus the beetroot on a burger).
I hate to think of what US Americans are known for . . . probably talking loudly on cell phones in public places (something I hate), among other things. We’re not looked upon favorably by a significant portion of the world because of selfish habits like that.
Something I think is really odd here is that we have safe-to-drink tap water just about everywhere, and yet people are obsessed with buying bottled water—which, in many cases, is just bottled tap water sold in cheap plastic bottles for convenience. I’m thankful for the trend (finally!) of people carrying a refillable glass or aluminum bottle to eliminate at least some of the waste.
February 11, 2021 at 9:23 am
We cull our kangaroos in many places, so it only makes sense we eat them (they are really tasty and very high in protein, more than a beef steak). And you should try beetroot on a burger – yum!
We tend to drink from a tap, or take a reusable bottle of water with us. Bottled water is used, but not on a normal day-to-day basis. Usually when needed (like when the Barbarians have school excursions and you don’t want them to lose their expensive metal water bottle!).
February 11, 2021 at 4:56 am
We have some of those dual-flush toilets here now. And there are grilling facilities in some parks so you don’t have to bring your own grill, though I don’t know anyone brave enough to use them.
I remember taking a taxi from the airport when I was there, and naturally I got in the back seat. The driver didn’t say anything until I got to my hotel.
Does Kangaroo taste like chicken?
February 11, 2021 at 9:24 am
Haha, funnily roo doesn’t taste anything like chicken. It’s a strong flavour and not really like any other meat. But I really like it. There is also croc and emu on menus and in butchers, but I haven’t tried them.
February 11, 2021 at 5:53 am
That was fun, Anita. Yes, all of those sound unusual but not odd at all. Almost sensible.
February 11, 2021 at 9:26 am
I don’t think we have hard to understand traditions. In some places of the world (like Norway – or one of Nordic countries – they put their babies outside in their prams in winter to sleep!).
February 11, 2021 at 6:52 am
I’ve seen #2. They have a couple installed at one of the schools I sub at. Considering how California is always on the edge of a drought, we should have more of them.
We don’t do barefoot too much (unless one is at the beach), but flip-flops and sandals are popular. I see pineapple on burgers sometimes. It’s usually a “Hawaiian” burger.
Many parks do have BBQ grills or pits. And while we don’t “bring a plate”, we do have potlucks where everyone is to bring something.
So, we’re not that different, after all. (The other things are not things that are things in the US.)
February 11, 2021 at 9:28 am
I’m surprised the dual flush toilets aren’t more common considering we’ve had them for close on 40 years. Thongs (flip-flops) are hugely popular here as well because in summer the ground is too hot to walk on barefoot a lot of the time (melts the roads).
February 11, 2021 at 9:38 am
There’s a joke that in Colorado, people will pay more for a mountain bike than a car 🙂 I don’t know, I still see some pretty expensive cars driving around!
I agree with Lynda about bottled water. We have some of the best water quality in the country, and people still offer bottled water to guests around here. Well, back when it was okay to have guests, anyway!
My husband would love the barefoot lifestyle! We have a policy here, though: no shirts, no shoes, no service.
February 11, 2021 at 9:41 am
And I see some pretty expensive mountain bikes, lol. Not as much as a car, though.
Wow, I hadn’t realised you would offer bottled water inside your own home! That would never happen here.
There are places with dress standards, and it tends to be the bigger the city, the stricter the standards.