We recently asked the BuzzFeed Community and Australia at large to reveal what things are socially acceptable ~Down Under~ that would horrify Americans? Here are some of the best responses:
1. Mixing tobacco with weed.
"I know they hate that we do that."
—Courtney Storck, Facebook
"Yeah, baccy cones blow their minds."
—Sarah van Donkelaar, Facebook
2. Teaching kids to be terrified of the sun from a young age — and for good reasons.
"Having to wear hats to recess and learning about the dangers of skin cancer in class because of the thin ozone layer."
"No hat no play, no school today."
3. Not tipping waitstaff.
"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
4. Our 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."
5. Inventing nicknames for your friends that will haunt them for their entire lives.
"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."
6. Our nonsensical love for all animals — no matter how deadly.
"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!"
7. The culture of eshays.
"I'd pay good money to watch an American get introduced to an eshay."
—Rachel Kiln, Facebook
8. Insulting your nearest and dearest as a token of your love for them.
"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
9. Communal BBQs that don't get destroyed.
"The fact that we have free BBQs everywhere — beaches, parks, sports fields. And they don't get ruined by the public."
—Michelle Browning, Facebook
10. Using parks, streets and gutters as ~nature's toilet~.
"Pissing wherever you like."
—Liz Baker, Facebook
11. Switching off power points whenever you see one left on.
"We turn our power outlets on and off with a switch. So we can turn them off when we're not using them."
12. Our excessive use of "cunt".
"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."
13. Our liberal use of tomato sauce.
"Drenching your chips in tomato sauce."
—Imogen McLeod, Facebook
14. The fact that we don't 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
15. Our 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
16. The classic sausage sizzle.
"Using a plain piece of white bread for hot dogs."
—Christelle Quillien, Facebook
17. Tinned spaghetti.
"Spaghetti in a can."
—Maddie Mcgale, Facebook
18. The esteemed 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. Hanging a wine bag off a washing line and turning it into a drinking game.
"Goon of fortune."
—Christen Hughes, Facebook
20. Our love of beetroot and pineapple.
"Beetroot on burgers."
—Joey Carlson, Facebook
"Pineapple on pizza."
—Rachel Fox, Facebook
21. Our bare feet.
"Walking barefoot everywhere! It’s so gross."
—Claudia Campbell, Facebook
22. Vegemite. Of course.
"Vegemite toast for brekky, Vegemite sarnie for lunch and some good ol' Vegemite 'n' noodles for tea."
—Beth McHenry
23. Hocking a loogie on the pavement.
"Spitting out phlegm — years back, I saw an old lady slip on it. It's a disgusting habit."
—Lyn Mcleish, Facebook
24. Guzzling straight from the tap.
"Drinking from tap water, which is a big flex to Australians."
—Anthony Cadman
25. "Ya mole".
"The use of 'Ya mole', which sweeps a heavy connotation of distrust and does not at all pertain to small ground dwelling mammals."
—Alisha Salmon, Facebook
26. The sheer amount of annual leave we're offered as a standard.
"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
27. Referring to the bathroom as "the toilet".
"Ask anyone in America where the toilet is — they will be horrified!"
—Aunty Martha, Facebook
"Imagine if you asked an American where the nearest dunny was?"
—Emma Slide, Facebook
28. And finally, the fact that we'll turn just about any beloved Aussie meal into a packet of Shapes.
"Our ability to bikkie-fy whatever flavour takes our fancy."
—Belinda Walters
Are there any habits you think we missed? Let us know in the comments below!
Note: Responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.