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Non-Americans share completely normal things in their country that would 'shock' Americans

From rollercoaster streetcars to "prison festivals," the world certainly has a lot of thrilling variety to offer.

Julio Toro/Youtube

The planet—and the people in it—are endlessly fascinating.

Think the multiverse is just for Marvel movies? Travel the world and you’ll think differently. Each country is like its own little ecosystem, with characteristics and quirks that are completely foreign to those who’ve never been there.

Upworthy has covered many stories of uniquely American quirks that have caused visitors to do a double-take, but this time, were flipping the script, thanks to a Reddit user who asked:

“What’s something totally normal in your country that would shock most Americans?”

Take a tour around the globe with some of our favorites below:

“On Saturday nights, there is a rollercoaster cart that drives around town, drifting, doing donuts, going super fast while playing music. It’s the shape of a worm so they call it 'El Gusanito.’ It picks people up like every other block and it costs 25 cents to ride. There are no limits to how many people get on per cart. I even saw a stray dog catch a ride once. It’s so unsafe but super fun.” —Ecuador

  - YouTube  www.youtube.com  

“When people die, we put up little posters - printed obituaries - on the walls of buildings all around town and close to places the person liked to frequent. They have a little picture of the person, their date of birth and death, and a message of mourning from the family.”—Bulgaria

“It’s totally normal to sit naked in a sauna with your coworkers after work. Anywhere else that’s an HR panic button.” —Finland

 ask reddit, travel, non-americans, americans, culture, comparing cultures, japan, finland, germany, canada, spain Not just coworkers—family, friends, strangers, kids… media2.giphy.com  

“Having to pay for public restrooms.” —France 

 ask reddit, travel, non-americans, americans, culture, comparing cultures, japan, finland, germany, canada, spain Imagine having to go so badly but being out of euros.  parisjetaime.com  

“Walking around in public in bare feet. Very common to see supermarket shoppers and such with no shoes on, and no it’s not a class thing, all kinds of people do it. Not beating the hobbit allegations I guess.” -New Zealand

 ask reddit, travel, non-americans, americans, culture, comparing cultures, japan, finland, germany, canada, spain Anything hobbit-esque can't be wrong. Photo credit: Canva

“The whole bagged milk thing seems to really freak them out.” —Canada

  - YouTube  www.youtube.com  

“Our pharmacies only sell medicine, no snacks, makeup or random stuff. First time I visited the US I thought I was in the wrong store.” —Germany

 ask reddit, travel, non-americans, americans, culture, comparing cultures, japan, finland, germany, canada, spain But what if you need pain meds AND mascara?!Photo credit: Canva

“Taking your shoes off to go inside of schools.” —Japan

@lindokorchi

Here’s the rule for taking off your shoes in Japan. #lifeinjapan #japanlife #japantravel #japan🇯🇵 #livingabroad #japanesehouse

“Whole family lives together indefinitely. In a home the size that would fit a starter family in America, they have their grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc. and they all take care of each other.” —Spain

 ask reddit, travel, non-americans, americans, culture, comparing cultures, japan, finland, germany, canada, spain Imagine how this would affect childcare.Photo credit: Canva

“A man walking along a street with a massive machete is no cause for alarm and wouldn't even get an eye raise.” —Jamaica

  - YouTube  www.youtube.com  

“Prisoners make food, furniture, and other goods that you can buy at ‘prison festivals’ they hold outside the prisons themselves. These festivals have a variety of attractions and are popular with families and children” —Japan

 
 @javadiscover Could this Japanese ‘prison festival’ really be an accurate representation of life behind bars? #documentary #documentaries #japan #japanese #prison #prisoner #prisonlife #prisoners #jail #incarceration #behindbars #japaneseculture #fyp #fypシ #fypシ゚viral #foryou #foryoupage #foryoupageofficiall ♬ original sound - Java Discover 
 
 

"Boyfriends and girlfriends (or partners) sleeping together at each other's houses from about age 14-15 yrs old. Parents would rather have this than kids sneaking around and getting into bad situations.” —Denmark

Nicole Iris GIFfrom Nicole GIFs
 

And last but not least…

“Anything without rice is just a snack no matter how big the portion is.” —Philippines

 ask reddit, travel, non-americans, americans, culture, comparing cultures, japan, finland, germany, canada, spain Honestly…where's the lie? media0.giphy.com  

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History (Education)

How a clever French museum director secretly saved the Louvre's artwork from Nazi plunder

When the Germans arrived, they were shocked to find the Louvre emptied of its treasures.

Mariordo (Mario Roberto Durán Ortiz) (left), public domain (right)

The "Mona Lisa" and thousands of other art pieces were hidden around France during WWII.

People can often feel when war is brewing, and some take precautions just in case. A combination of political unrest, bombastic language and sabre-rattling from leaders, on-the-ground shifts in military presence or police activity and other indicators can signal that war is imminent, and in the 1930s, Jacques Jaujard saw the writing on the wall.

The deputy director of French National Museums foresaw Germany's invasion of France before the war even started, and he knew what was likely to happen when they arrived. The Nazis would plunder France's museums and loot the world's art treasures from the Louvre, but Jaujard wasn't about to let that happen. Major artworks started being evacuated from the Louvre in 1938, the year before the war even started.

- YouTubeyoutu.be

On August 25, 1939, Jaujard closed the Louvre for three days "for repairs" and put out and all-hands-on-deck call to pack up the thousands of pieces held in the Louvre—paintings, drawings, statues, vases, tapestries, and more—and put them in hiding. Museum curators, guards, students of the Louvre School, and even employees of a nearby department store helped with the effort.

It was no easy task. Transporting art treasures is an art in itself, since changes in humidity and temperature can damage them.

"They had to improvise, because nothing on such a grand scale had ever been attempted before — and the Louvre was, and remains really, probably the biggest museum in the world,” James Gardner, author of The Louvre: The Many Lives of the World’s Most Famous Museum, told the New York Post.

And it all had to be done in secret, without anyone who might inform the Germans catching wind of it. According to The Collector, between August and December 1939, two hundred trucks transported the Louvre's 3,690 paintings and thousands of statues and antiquities. The "Mona Lisa" was among the treasures evacuated, of course. She left the Louvre cushioned in velvet in an ambulance 10 days before the Germans arrived.

mona lisa, louvre, art, world war twoToday, the "Mona Lisa" sits safely behind glass at the Louvre.Victor Grigas

Throughout the war, the infamous smiling lady would be moved six times to abbeys and chateaux in the French countryside and a small museum in southern France, each time in a temperature-controlled armored van.

“The ‘Mona Lisa’ was like a resistance fighter who’s always trying to stay one step ahead from the approaching German army,” Gardner told the New York Post.

Items from dozens of other museums were also moved and spread throughout France, hidden in castles, chateaux, and abbeys in remote areas where they weren't likely to be discovered by Nazi invaders. Thousands of pieces all had to be categorized, catalogued, and dispersed.

the louvre, art museum, franceThe Louvre was first built in 1793.Benh LIEU SONG

When the Germans finally arrived at the Louvre, they were shocked to find it almost completely empty. They stared at frames with no art in them and some reproductions, such as a plaster copy of the Venus De Milo.

Thankfully, Jaujard and the Louvre's art also had a German ally on their side. Count Franz Wolff-Metternich was a German art historian appointed by Hitler to oversee France's art collection. Metternich, however, was not a member of the Nazi party and apparently did not want to see the world's greatest works of art fall into the hands of art-loving war criminals like Hermann Goering and Joseph Goebbels. Jaujard wrote in his diary that Metternich almost seemed relieved to find the Louvre empty when he arrived in 1940. Throughout the war, he used every means at his disposal to keep the art pieces safe while managing to avoid suspicion that he was trying to prevent them from being looted by the Nazis.

- YouTubeyoutu.be

The clandestine conspiracy to keep the Louvre's treasures safely away from Hitler's clutches worked. Though the Nazis stole thousands of pieces of art during the war, largely from Jewish families' private collections, they were unsuccessful in finding and taking the art that Jaujard and his colleagues had hidden.

In 1944, Jaujard was appointed Director of the French Order of Arts and Letters and helped establish the French Commission on Art Recovery. He would later become Secretary General of the Ministry of State in charge of cultural affairs. For his services during the war, he was awarded the Medal of the Résistance and named a Commander of the Legion of Honor.

Not too shabby for a man who dedicated his life to preserving and protecting the world's most beloved artwork.

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Pop Culture

Fans are in stitches after woman's wildly incorrect, whimsical 'Wheel of Fortune' guess

The show took a turn for the bizarre.

@Rick_Life_Coach/X

Can you solve this "Wheel of Fortune" puzzle?

Is there any game show that allows contestants to royally embarrass themselves on national TV quite like “Wheel of Fortune”? There’s always someone going viral for taking a big swing and missing on a phrase that seemed pretty apparent to the casual viewer. And when you take a big loss on a “Wheel of Fortune'' word puzzle, there are a lot of folks shaking their heads at home. More than 8 million people watch the game show every night.

The latest victim of the wheel is Gishma Tabari from Encino, California, whose fantasy-inspired whiff of a common phrase earned her a lot of groans and some support from those who thought her imagination was inspiring. The 3-word puzzle read: “TH _ _ RITI _ S _ GR _ E,” and Tabari offered the answer, “The British Ogre.” The guess surprised host Pat Sajak, who responded, "Uh, no.” Tabari must have missed that there was a space between the R and the E in the puzzle, so ogre would have had to be spelled with 2 Rs.

She also probably wasn’t aware that England isn’t a place known for its ogres.

The correct answer was: “The Critics Agree.”

 

The answer inspired a lot of activity on X, where people couldn’t believe someone could come up with such a fanciful answer to a puzzle with such a straightforward solution.

      

Michael created a lovely Photoshop image of what could be the British Ogre.

 

Not everyone had a problem with the guess.

  

The incorrect guess is an opportunity for the world to learn that ogres aren’t a significant part of English folklore. Sure, there are characters in English myths and legends that have ogre-like qualities, such as Grendel from "Beowulf," the monstrous creature that terrorizes the mead hall of King Hrothgar. There’s also the Boggart, a mischievous spirit much like a hobgoblin and trolls, which appear in some English tales although they originate in Scandinavia.

If you’re looking for ogres in Europe, France is the best place to go.

The word ogre is of French descent and comes from the name of the Etruscan god of the underworld, Orcus. Orcus is a large, ugly, bearded giant who enjoys consuming human flesh. Ogres are primarily known for eating children, which they believe will give them eternal life.

As for “Wheel of Fortune,” the show will undergo significant changes over the next few years. The show’s host, Pat Sajak, 76, has announced that he is stepping down from the show at the end of the 2024 season after hosting it for 41 years. In September 2024, radio host and “American Idol” emcee Ryan Seacrest will take over the hosting spot.

Seacrest says that changes to the show will be minimal once he takes over.

“With this game show, it’s such a success and has been for generations,” Seacrest said in a new interview with People. “You don’t mess with it, just don’t mess with it. Just get out of the way, say ‘good evening,’ and let’s play.”


This article originally appeared last year.

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Culture

Retired San Francisco couple moves to France, finds ‘too much grief’ in land of wine and cheese

Turns out, even with your cat in tow, expat life can leave a lot to be desired.

RM21 at Dutch Wikipedia

One hopes that this representative image of a cat in a shipping box is not an accurate depiction of Suzette's adventure.

When circumstances drive you to leave the land of your birth to try and make it in a new country, there are important and daunting challenges. These include finding housing, arranging for medical needs, and procuring a good piece of celery that doesn't wilt over sadly when you hold it up. Martinis will also factor heavily in your mind.

Joanna McIsaac-Kierklo, 74, and her husband Ed Kierklo, 75, had a retirement dream: leave San Francisco with their Birmin cat Suzette and start fresh in the charming streets of France. They wanted the “bon vivant” life. A year later, they’re waving the white flag and booking a ticket back to California with a list of complaints that reads more like a parody of expat privilege than actual hardship.

“I miss frozen yogurt… I miss my friends… I miss my apartment.”

— Joanna McIsaac-Kierklo

The French dream that came after the English dream

For Joanna and Ed, who retired from lucrative careers and traveled the world extensively, picking up and moving wasn’t new. In the waning days of the pandemic, they leveraged the equity in their California home, got themselves vaccinated, and gave life in London a chance. They didn't go alone, though. Their Birmin cat, Suzette, came too, to the tune of over $4,000. That adventure lasted 11 months before they came home. No word on what Suzette's return ticket cost.

It wasn’t long before they dreamt of Europe again, this time to stay. They imagined a life full of baguettes, wine, and village charm. So, back into the carrier went Suzette, this time for an extra $5,000. But after arriving in Nîmes, a quaint city in Southern France, Joanna and Ed quickly found expat life wasn’t the vacation they’d pictured. “Every single day it was something more devastating than the day before,” Joanna told CNN.

An aerial view of N\u00eemes, France.The lovely city of Nîmes, in Southern France, where we're told the celery leaves something to be desired. Ymblanter

French cuisine is celebrated, but Joanna quickly grew disenchanted. “People go, ‘Oh my god, the French food is so fabulous,’” she said. “Yeah, if you want to eat brie, pâté, pastries, and French bread all day long… but who eats like that?” Seeking fresher options, she turned to the market. “You pick up a piece of celery, and it falls over,” she complained, decrying the “limp” state of French greens.

“We gave it a year here. And we just said, ‘Too much grief and no joy.’ There’s no fun. We’re struggling every day.”

— Joanna McIsaac-Kierklo

The couple’s frustration reached a boiling point. Between government paperwork, language barriers, and their limited French, Joanna and Ed felt a world away from the lifestyle they’d imagined. “I honestly don’t think we could have put in any more effort to acclimatize to the French way of life,” she said.

Friends? Oui. Friendships? Not so much.

Adjusting to a new social scene in France was another challenge. Used to the easy-going connections of San Francisco, Joanna found French locals polite but reserved. “I haven’t talked to one person here in three months,” she admitted. “They’re nice people,” she said, “but they’re also very private. It’s a hard shell to break.”

via GIPHY

They’d left home to find community and new perspectives, only to feel more isolated as time wore on.

The retirement dream doesn’t always go as planned

Joanna and Ed aren’t alone in their struggles. For Kate and Dan Morse, a dream retirement in Portugal turned unexpectedly complicated, despite careful planning. They made it three years before returning to the U.S., realizing that expat life came with unique challenges, even in a beautiful location.

“It's not as easy to be an expat in Portugal as people seem to think,” said Kate Morse, 71. While the couple loved Portugal’s natural beauty, affordability, and rich history, they found it difficult to navigate banking, healthcare, and local customs without fluency in Portuguese.

"When you can’t defend yourself and make yourself understood, you’re vulnerable."

— Kate Morse

Although they’d learned some Portuguese, communicating in a crisis—or even managing their finances—was frustrating without native-level skills.

The Morses’ experience highlights that, for many would-be expats, adjusting to a new culture can mean confronting unexpected limitations and reconsidering priorities. Like Joanna and Ed, they realized that sometimes, the comforts of home and a supportive community make all the difference.

Au revoir, French fantasy—hello, Plan B

Unlike many immigrants, Joanna and Ed had a fallback. Learning from their London experience, they held onto a rent-controlled apartment in San Francisco. Now, after a year overseas, it’s time to head home. “You’ve got to have a Plan B,” Joanna said.

Looking back, Joanna has no regrets about trying life in France. But she reminds would-be expats that the basics—good produce, friends, and familiar comforts—can be easier to come by back home.

“Moving to France for a slower life sounds wonderful,” she said, “but we learned the not-so-pleasant side very quickly.”

No word yet on what Suzette's trip home will cost.

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