On Reddit, changfukaana and Shelleton8 asked non-Americans to spill the weirdest thing they experienced in America and something they thought was fake that turned out to be true. Here are the greatest replies.
1. Discovering wacky inflatable tube men actually exist.
2. Distributing mail in mailboxes instead of letterboxes.
"A co-worker of mine visited the U.S. from the U.K. and exclaimed, 'Oh my god! You have a mailbox! Just like in the movies!'" —anonymous
3. Saying, "Hey, how are you?" as a greeting.
"The thing that I found really weird is that you guys say, 'Hey, how are you?' and you don't actually mean it. It seems more like a greeting." —SarapMilk
4. Eating pumpkin pie as a dessert.
"Pumpkin pie. WTF! That is not a dessert! What the hell, America? It is PUMPKIN-flavored. Who has vegetables for dessert? The texture is real weird." —eqbufirynbcfuyoxiw
5. Seeing lawyer ads all over the place.
View this photo on Instagram
"All the commercials for lawyers. On the side of the road, in television, in hotel rooms...and so so many pharmaceutical ads!" —hn-t
6. Enjoying enormous turkey legs at fairs and parks.
View this photo on Instagram
"As a Canadian, the raptor-sized turkey legs sold at amusement parks. LOL." —Phalty
7. Realizing Dolly Parton's theme park is real.
View this photo on Instagram
"Dolly Parton has her own theme park in Tennessee. I thought it was a joke." —panda_1996
8. Discovering kid beauty pageants are a thing.
"Kid beauty pageants. I don't understand it." —kjoro
9. Seeing the huge gaps in our public toilet stalls.
View this photo on Instagram
"I was absolutely blown away to discover the toilet door gap." —throwawaytomato
10. Spotting so many flags everywhere.
View this photo on Instagram
"We got porch flags, roof flags, yard flags, flags to frame and hang on your wall, flags on your shirt, flags on your pants, we got little mini flags to stick on your car, we even got flags to wrap your dead folk in when you bury them, and don't get me started on flag tattoos." —ask_me_if_Im_lying
11. Hearing the way surfers speak.
"I thought it was a rumor, but no. Surfer dudes actually speak like that." —Hasetate
12. Being bamboozled by the sheer amount of after school activities we offer.
"In American movies, schools have a fuck ton of extra curricular activities and clubs. Basketball, football, swimming, cheerleading, chess, and a lot more." —Tanerer
13. Experiencing all the honking.
"The honking. I thought it was a movie stereotype, and then I went to New York." —violetzinc
14. Buying milk that comes in a gallon.
"They have milk in gallon cartons! When I visited America, I went to a supermarket for some breakfast stuff, like cereal and milk. All they had was milk in gallons! Who could possibly drink that much milk? I asked for a smaller carton, and the lady who worked their just laughed at me." —memesalwaysdie
15. Only using toilet paper to wipe.
View this photo on Instagram
"It's common in America to only use toilet paper to clean yourself. Bidets aren't really a thing, I guess!" —BlueBubbleMaker
16. Clapping at EVERYTHING.
Picture this: You’re 31. You just married your soulmate and are on your way to your beautiful honeymoon.The plane lands in Bora Bora, as it touches the ground your wife begins clapping. She’s an airplane clapper. You get on a plane right back to America and you never speak again.
"Americans like to clap at random times. I was watching a movie in the USA and people liked what happened, so they started clapping in the middle of the fucking movie." —monkeyboi08
17. Eating spray cheese.
View this photo on Instagram
"America sells cheese in an aerosol spray can. I genuinely thought that was a hoax." —yeniza
18. Drinking out of red Solo cups.
"When I was younger and at college parties, the Swedish and Norwegian exchange kids would need a minute to process the fact that we do, in fact, use red solo cups at parties and, no, they aren't just a thing from movies." —Sanguinetti
19. Saying, "Wooooo!" to indicate excitement.
"You all say, 'Wooo' a lot." —elbrado
20. Heating water in the microwave.
"Some Americans boil water in their microwaves, not in a kettle." —Pabblete
21. Seeing steam rise from the ground in cities.
"That steam actually comes out the ground in New York. I thought that was just a movie thing." —redisthemagicnumber
22. Spotting all the Jesus billboards.
View this photo on Instagram
"That there are advertisements all along the roads promoting Jesus." —oscartesta
23. Going to drive-thru ATMs.
"Drive-thru ATMs are a thing. Thought it was a myth!" —batsicle
24. And finally, eating canned spaghetti.
View this photo on Instagram
"You can buy canned spaghetti. I found it really insulting because I'm Italian." —Perfectionig
