Hannah Riley
What are some things that would be considered socially acceptable in Australia but would horrify people in the United States?
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For starters, their animals are definitely horrifying, so anything to deal with those will pass the test!
But really, Australians have a very different set of cultural norms they abide by that would probably freak out a lot of Americans. I’m sure Aussies have opinions about some of the weird things we do in the US too. Imagine how embarrassed you would feel freaking out about a tiny spider!
Recently people responded to the question:
What would horrify Americans but is completely normal to Aussies?
And here are some of the most interesting answers.
1. Their hatred of Starbucks.
“I greatly offended an American by telling him that Starbucks failed in Australia and the corporation had to close all the non-franchisee stores because we hated it. He looked at me incredulously and said “What? You don’t like good coffee there?” And I was like “No, the opposite, Starbucks wasn’t good enough for us” — but he kind of looked at me disgustedly and didn’t really want to hear the full explanation of the immigration of Italians in the 1950s who started up cafes and brought over coffee culture.” —moonrabbit
2. BBQs Everywhere.
“The fact that we have free BBQs everywhere — beaches, parks, sports fields. And they don’t get ruined by the public.” —Michelle Browning, Facebook
3. Giving people nicknames they didn’t agree to.
“Assigning people nicknames that they don’t want. In America, if someone asks you to call them by a certain name, it is rude to go ahead and shorten or change that just because you feel like it. Sorry, but no.” —francescanorrisv
4. Eshays.
“I’d pay good money to watch an American get introduced to an essay.” —Rachel Kiln, Facebook
5. Not enough fear of dangerous animals.
“Our playful relationships with our deadly creatures, as you might recall from watching Steve Irwin. At one point, it got so bad that the state of Western Australia made it illegal to stand on a dead whale because people were boating out and standing on them so they could pat the great white sharks — I’m not even joking!”
6. Teasing people non-stop.
“Taking the piss out of one another as a sign of affection and respect. Americans can’t stand being made fun of. It’s why most Aussies prefer the Brits.” —Luke Shaddy, Facebook
7. Being terrified of the sun from a young age.
“Having to wear hats to recess and learning about the dangers of skin cancer in class because of the thin ozone layer.” —pandahugzzz
“No hat no play, no school today.” —kendallstewart73
8. Everywhere is nature’s toilet.
“Pissing wherever you like.” —Liz Baker, Facebook
9. Flipping on and off the power.
“We turn our power outlets on and off with a switch. So we can turn them off when we’re not using them.” —Little Vegemite
10. Vegemite everything.
“Vegemite toast for brekky, Vegemite sarnie for lunch, and some good ol’ Vegemite ‘n’ noodles for tea.” —Beth McHenry
11. A totally different tipping culture.
“The fact that it’s 100 percent normal to not tip your waitstaff a single cent. And literally no one gives a shit. You just pay for exactly what you ordered and then leave.” —Josh Brigg, Facebook
“Americans are always appalled by the fact that nobody leaves tips.” —Mary Win, Facebook
“Not having to tip because our workers get paid a living wage.” —Stephanie O’Shea, Facebook
12. More lenient with their terms.
“Using the word cunt as a term of endearment, i.e. mad cunt or top cunt, etc.” —Tyla Hurry, Facebook
“It’s such a good word, and Americans are really uptight about it.” —btbpaints
13. People are barefoot everywhere.
“Walking barefoot everywhere! It’s so gross.” —Claudia Campbell, Facebook
14. Mixing weed and tobacco.
“I know they hate that we do that.” —Courtney Storck, Facebook
“Yeah, baccy cones blow their minds.” —Sarah van Donkelaar, Facebook
15. Overusing Ketchup.
“Drenching your chips in tomato sauce.” —Imogen McLeod, Facebook
16. The sausage sizzle.
“Using a plain piece of white bread for hot dogs.” —Christelle Quillien, Facebook
17. Use of the metric system.
“Is it not clearly our ‘flagrant’ use of the metric system? How absolute dare we make sense of things around us? Even after 42 beers.” —Alisha Salmon, Facebook
18. Drinking a “shoey”.
“The fact we drink alcohol out of our shoes.” —Ella Casanovas, Facebook
“Shoeys are rank and I know Americans would just hate them.” —Sarah Lowe, Facebook
19. There’s a misconception that they ride Kangaroos?
“I speak to a lot of Americans on a live streaming platform. They are absolutely disgusted by the fact that we do not actually ride kangaroos. I just had to point this out.” —Erika Meagan Dooley, Facebook
20. And finally, their annual leave policy.
“Taking four weeks annual leave they only get two so they think it’s extravagant getting that much time off.” —Fiona Price, Facebook
“Don’t forget our long service leave too — try explaining that to anyone.” —Anne Berry-Smith, Facebook
H/t: Buzzfeed
