If you grew up watching American movies, you probably have a certain image of the United States—a land where dreams come true, everyone’s chasing success, and patriotism runs deep. But hey, there’s so much more to the US than what Hollywood shows us!

Today, we’ve put together a collection of intriguing, funny, and even surprising things about life in America that might catch you off guard, make you laugh, or leave you wondering if everything you knew was just movie magic. So, Pandas, let’s dive into the real deal!

#1 A Normal Education In America

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#2 Bulletproof Backpack Inserts

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#3 This Is America

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America is a place full of quirks that can feel completely foreign to outsiders. From the suspiciously big serving sizes to tipping for a cup of coffee to even just how people go about their lives, the experience of being in America can be a real shocker for visitors and new immigrants.

And while some things don’t fully make sense until you’re actually there, these posts give you a fun glimpse into the quirks of American life. They might not prepare you for everything, but they’ll definitely show you a unique side of the States.

#4 America’s Response To The COVID-19 Global Pandemic All Boiled Down To One Picture

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#5 Only In America Would A Restaurant Display On The Wall That They Don’t Pay Their Staff Enough To Live On

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#6 Not Sure If This Belongs Here But In My Opinion, This Is The Real Problem With America

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When it comes to food, it seems like bigger is always better for Americans. Whether it’s a pizza or a soda, the portion size is often double what you’d get in other countries. So, what’s considered a large soda in Europe might just be a medium in the States.

#7 It Finally Happened. I Was Prompted To Tip At The Airport Self-Checkout Station

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#8 America: A Nation Of Many Layers

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#9 The Bill For My Liver Transplant – Welcome To The USA

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Apart from their supersized food, Americans have a reputation of being fans of sugared beverages as well. If you are planning on visiting the US, prepare for a lot of flavored sodas and sweet iced teas.

Compared to countries like Italy, where people sip on small, strong espressos, or Japan, where green tea is the norm, US drinks are super sweet and come in sizes that could last all day.

#10 Just Got My $39k Hospital Bill For Having A Stroke At 34

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#11 Never Forget… To Buy Things

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#12 What’s The Point Of Putting A Paper Lid If There’s Plastic Under It?

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On top of this, they have truly become successful at being able to do things quickly, especially when it comes to food. There are many fast food places in the States that come with drive-thru features. But that’s not simply it.

There are even drive-thru pharmacies, banks, and coffee shops. In other countries like Spain, people usually enjoy sit-down meals with friends and family. To these people, the concept of taking a cup of coffee through the window is quite alien.

#13 “Not Medically Necessary”

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#14 Is It Like That Right Now In America?

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#15 United States Of Convenience

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While tipping is a common practice in many countries, it is practically a requirement in the States. And no, you can’t skimp on tips—15-20% is the expected norm at restaurants.

On the contrary, in countries like Japan, there is an actual cultural principle not to tip anyone, and a good number of European nations include the gratuity within the bill itself.

#16 I Had To Pay $39.35 To Hold My Baby After He Was Born

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#17 On Hold With Covered California For Over 11 Hours Because They Canceled Our Health Insurance

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#18 What My School Gave Its Teachers For Teacher Appreciation Week. Seven Starburst And A Square Foot Of Bubble Wrap. Score

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Medical bills in the US can be shockingly high compared to countries with universal healthcare, like Canada or the UK. In those places, most people do not have to pay for doctor’s visits, surgeries and staying in the hospital, because this is financed by the state. Here, on the other hand, a simple visit to an emergency department could lead to a bill that runs into hundreds of thousands of dollars.

#19 A Gun Store And A Daycare Center Sharing The Same Building. God Bless America

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#20 Got Charged 9k For A Doctor To Tell Me It Was Just Period Cramps, And After Going To Another Doctor It Was A Ruptured Ovarian Cyst

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#21 Anti-Theft Gates On Laundry Stuff And Chocolate

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When it comes to holidays, Americans don’t get much vacation time. With an average of just two weeks of paid vacation, they might feel rushed to squeeze in their trips. Compare that to countries like France or Germany, where five to six weeks of paid holiday is the norm. So it is no surprise that Europeans are said to go globetrotting more often.

#22 The “Hotdog” Served At My High School

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#23 Cool

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#24 Drove To An Urgent Care To Have My Throat Looked At, Got To An Exam Room, And Learned They Were Only Doing Telehealth Visits When They Wheeled This In

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When living in the US, it is usually hard to get around without a car unless you are located in a major city like New York or Chicago. On the other hand, when people go to places like India, Bangladesh or other Asian countries, they find and enjoy superb public transportation facilities such as railroads, buses and three-wheeler vehicles.

#25 $12,000 Worth Of Cancer Pills

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#26 This Lady Resting On The Apples At Walmart

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#27 Subscription To Everything, Including Life’s Essentials

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#28 This Bill Is Crazy

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In the end, America is a land of unique customs and habits that can leave outsiders both amused and bewildered. Which of these quirks did you find the most amusing? Was it the supersized portions or the drive-thru culture? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

#29 Thank You, America, For Your Awesome Bathroom Privacy

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#30 One Of The Most Expensive Cities In The USA (Las Vegas). They Took Out The Bus Waiting Seats So No Homeless People Slept There. Welcome To America

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#31 $100 Worth Of Groceries

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#32 Obesity Rates In The USA vs. Europe

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#33 Alabama Banned Abortions

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#34 My School Bag Check Line

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#35 Bathroom Passes. Each Circle Represents One Pass. We Get One Of These Papers Per Semester. To Get More, We Have To Arrange An Appointment With The Administration

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#36 $250,000 Porsche 911 GT3 RS With A Student Driver Sticker

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#37 This Year, Give Your Special Someone The Gift Of Accessing The American Healthcare System

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#38 Can We Ban This From Our Beaches

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#39 I Was Forced To Throw Away Bags Of Bread While At Work. There Is A Homeless Shelter Two Miles From Where I Work. All Of This Food Wasted

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#40 They Gave Us Rocks As A Reward. It’s Juneteenth And We Were Given Rocks As If That Could Ease Our Suffering (Amazon Dsp Drivers)

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#41 Bank Of America Is Slowly Draining My Savings Account Because I Don’t Have Enough Money In My Account

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#42 First Child Support Payment In Three Years. I Asked My Ex Why He Paid Only Fifty Cents, And He Showed Me The Receipt Where He Paid $300. The State Of Michigan Kept $299.50 In Fees

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#43 Imagine Going To A Baseball Game And Having Feet Beside Your Face

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#44 Meanwhile, In California

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#45 My Local Grocery Chain Sells Individually Shrink-Wrapped Potatoes At $1.29 A Piece

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#46 Paid Leave By Country

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#47 FedEx Showed Its Appreciation For Its Essential Employees With This And A $2 Pay Cut. Thanks, FedEx

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#48 The Guy On The Left Has Had A Slew Of Signs Like This

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#49 Pay For Your Own Sidewalk?

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#50 Florida Teacher Here. This Is Our School’s “Library” Now

Florida passed a law that said no books can be displayed in a school until they’ve been reviewed and approved by an appointed team. If a teacher shows a book that has not been approved, they could be charged with a felony.

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#51 Sith-Fil-A Here In The Texas Heat

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#52 America In 4 Words

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#53 Starbucks Mobile Orders Make Store Customers Wait Longer, While No One’s There To Pick Up The Coffees

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#54 At A Gas Station In Rural Southern Indiana

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#55 Classic America

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#56 In Chicago For Work, Paying $65 A Night For Parking, Wake Up Ready To Go To Work, All My Equipment Is Gone

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#57 Alabama, Ladies And Gentlemen

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#58 Here’s What $1,000 Looks Like In The USA

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#59 A Fine American Education

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#60 You Peel The Sticker Off To See The Original Price Of $1.99. In Hawaii, Prices Are So Much Higher, But This Is The Next Level

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#61 Proof I Live In Chicago

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#62 This Classy Individual Climbed On Our Porch To Steal Our Flag Today. Then Promptly Threw It Into A Mud Puddle

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#63 Does Anyone Else Hate That We’ve Normalized Not Putting Back Your Cart? I Just Find It Lazy (In The US)

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#64 “We Don’t Know Your Address”

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#65 Came For Boxer Briefs. Everything Is Locked Up. I Had To Track Someone Down Just To Get These Unlocked

I pointed at a 10-pack and said “The 10-pack in medium” and they grabbed a 6-pack… Of course, I didn’t check (which adds to my mild infuriation) just because I thought they saw and heard. They were both the same price so it only made sense. Didn’t realize until I got home. Thought it was fine cause I had to get tums, to find the same thing… And find another associate. Finding someone took about 5 minutes. The funny thing is they just hand it over right after and let you take it to the front.

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#66 This Is The Line In My Local Target Because They Only Allow Self-Checkout

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#67 My Town Defaulted On Our Only Free Public Charger’s Electricity Bill

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#68 I Was Caught Off Guard By This. I Don’t Understand The Point Of This Other Than A Money Grab. I Was Able To “Skip Just This Once” For Free

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#69 Get A Look At These Stickers

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#70 Got An Eviction Letter For Being 15 Minutes Late Paying My Rent. Look At These Fees

$180 just for writing an eviction letter? Like seriously? You had to write it once and I bet it was years ago. You have copies just lying around!

So, my $1,479 of rent after all these charges and the late fee really means my rent is $1,988. Why is it a bank can tell me I can’t afford a $900 mortgage but $2000 for rent? Nah, you got this bro. Two-bedroom dumpster fire with a drywall missing. This isn’t the luxury apartment that’s advertised, so why charge luxury prices?

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#71 After You Cross The Road In Some American Cities, You Get This. No Sidewalk On The Other Side. Why

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#72 Cut My Finger And Got 4 Stitches. This Is Why Americans Avoid Hospitals As Much As Possible

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#73 Screw You, USA Today

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#74 Lady Goes To Self-Checkout, Makes The Attendant Unload Her Cart, Scan, And Bag Each Item

Note that she had way more items than you should for self-checkout, and a recommendation was made by the employee that she consider going to the standard checkout, which had nobody in line, and she refused.

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#75 I Have An Autoimmune Disorder. This Is The Amount Of Bills I Received For A Single Diagnostic Test Due To Insurers Negligence And A Clerical Error. US Healthcare: Do Better

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#76 Happy Halloween? Found In My Kids’ Bucket

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#77 Received This In My Work Email. Only In America

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#78 Only In America

The sticker says: “Do not tailgate me. Antisocial gun-toting sociopath behind the wheel. Please just go around”.

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#79 A Final Warning To Protestors In The Mall Of America

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#80 This Should Be Illegal

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#81 They Are Going After Halloween

“Attention Satanic Socialists. This is the home of the patriotic Christian family. We work hard and pay taxes. We do not celebrate satan’s day. We do not give away free candy to lazy entitled freeloaders. No handouts. Welcome to America. If you want candy get a job. And find Jesus.”

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#82 Just Alabama Things You Find In Tires

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#83 Got A Knife That Says USA. It Broke, And Then I Realized It Said China On The Back

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#84 My Psych Ward Shower Drain Says Fiat. You Can’t Escape Advertising

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#85 Having To Pay To Wear Shorts At Walmart During A Heatwave In Maine

We are experiencing some crazy heat in the 90’s with high humidity. Today alone the heat index is forecasting 110°F. $2 a day to wear shorts during a heat advisory is disgusting. This is the Walmart in Augusta, ME.

Also, check out the bottom where they are no longer providing CUPS for water during the summer. I won’t generalize Walmart as being out of touch but this particular location sure is.

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#86 Only In America

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#87 Went To A Drive-Thru And They Were Using An AI Instead Of A Person To Take Orders (It Was Basically Like A Glorified Automated Phone Call)

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#88 The Gift I Got From Work For “National Thank You Day”. I Feel Truly Insulted

I also work in finance so I had to expense the invoices for this lavish gift set last week so I knew it was coming.

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#89 Sat Behind 1st Class On A Flight Out Of The Richest County In America & Every Screen Was On Fox News

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#90 Oh, How Patriotic

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#91 Just Chillin At The Coffee Shop

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#92 US Church Can Sell Fireworks Tax-Free

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#93 Tipping Culture Is Getting Out Of Hand

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#94 Asked To Tip On Amazon Order

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#95 Got Our Groceries Delivered To Our House Today To Save Us From Going Out. In The End, We Had To Go To Walmart So They Could Open This Sucker With Their Special Key

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#96 Living In A 3rd World Country, It’s Crazy To Me That This Is Legal In The US

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#97 Yikes

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#98 Eat Local (We Live In North America)

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#99 Made In USA?

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#100 I Can’t Trust The Country Of Origin Now

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#101 American Airlines Changed A Friend’s Flight To Spain. The Change Added A 7-Hour Layover In Chicago And Removed Almost $100 From The Value Of The Trip. No Refund Or Voucher Was Issued To Her

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#102 I Saw This As “Teach Your Kids To Accept Ab*se From Their Future Employer”

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