Rachel Kiley
Everyone knows that Americans have a reputation among citizens of…most countries for not being particularly knowledgeable about anything outside of the United States—although there’s certainly an argument to be made that many Americans are even lacking in that knowledge.
It would be great if we could buck the stereotype, but the number of idiotic things people from the U.S. say to folks in other countries or visiting from other countries has proven to constantly hinder that progress.
To prove that point, non-American Redditors are sharing the weirdest things Americans have said to them, and it turns out most of them are downright cringe-worthy and fully based out of ignorance. Who could have guessed??
1.
“Do you still like, drive horses to get around in Europe?”
2.
You can’t be from country that doesn’t speak English, you are white!!
3.
“Ah, you’re from Denmark. Where in Canada is that again?”
4.
“Do you have color television in Germany?”
5.
“I love the African-American culture here!” — said in Cape Town, South Africa.
6.
A middle-aged American was surprised to find out Venice was so old (and an actual city for centuries), and not built in the 20th century for tourist purposes.
7.
When I visited a friend in the US they told me about this amazing furniture shop they had there called IKEA. I’m Swedish.
8.
The typical stuff. Do you have cars /trees/dogs/in Germany. Another favourite: Is Hitler still alive?
9.
“Wow you speak American very well for a foreigner.” Thanks lady, I’m Canadian and “American” is the only language I know.
10.
You’d be amazed how many Americans don’t realize that the “4th of July” isn’t an international holiday.
11.
An Austrian friend and I were told about about this magical thing they have in America called Fireworks and how we should go see it at least once in our lives.
12.
I was asked if France is part of the United Kingdom. When I tried explaining to him what the United Kingdom is, he told me England is no longer part of the UK because of Brexit.
13.
I once had an American tell me I need to try the “real” Gouda cheese they have in the US because everything else was fake Gouda… I’m Dutch and actually lived near Gouda.
14.
She kept asking which month I was in (kept insisting it must be June) and couldn’t seem to wrap her head around the idea that it was simultaneously December and summer in the southern hemisphere.
15.
Englishman, living in the US for 15 years now. I’ve been asked a lot of bizarre things but one of the best was someone who asked what language we speak in England, and how long it took me to learn English when I moved here.
16.
I’m British, was travelling in the States. Got talking to a guy at a bar while we’re waiting for service, and he recommended I try a pint of Guinness while in the US. He informed me they don’t sell Guinness in the UK.
17.
When the Americans came to visit us, we had a welcome party for them at a friend’s place. That friend had a dog, and at some point, he gave the dog a command in German. The dog obeyed, and one of the American kids asks how we managed to teach German to the dog. He wasn’t joking either, he seemed convinced that all pets are somehow born with the knowledge of the English language, but all other languages need to be taught to them.
