People in the UK drink so much tea (or coffee these days), that breaks in soap operas (such as Eastenders) cause the national grid to be on high alert, due to the incredulous surge of power from so many kettles being turned on at once.
school shootings (being common)
Okay not my country of residence, but you can choose to burn at the 4th hottest global temp of 54C (129F) or you can also freeze at -65C (-85F).
Optionally, you can also enjoy staring directly at the sun as it rises or sets due to the air pollution.
Oh and you can also find this funni river dolphin:
Constant mass shootings.
Proper Poutine
People playing and hearing songs with looped beats and vulgar lyrics through a bass boosted sound system which costed them several months worth of minimum wage to pay for having it on their cars. They generally drive slowly through streets near beaches in order to exhibit their "fancy sound systems" while all the vulgarity plays repeatedly. I guess it's unique from this green-and-yellow country where I live.
I could also say wearing flip-flops and bermudas on a daily basis, or one of the highest usage and dependency of Meta's WhatsApp worldwide, or the country with the most welcome (often too nosy) people. Or, through a more positive lens, the richest land where crops easily grow when you sow something, the highest ecological diversity (especially plants, it's so common to find exotic plants here), the highest climate diversity (you can travel south to meet snow, then travel north/northeast to meet hot climates, without leaving the same country), etc.
UK. Cold and hot water coming from separate taps. WTF? I was once told that it is because hot water boilers used to have their tops open to the outside, which meant the hot water could contain some debris, so it was important to use it only for washing and not let it mix with cooking water. But in bathrooms in some modern builds that definitely don't use that kind of boilers you still get separate taps. I told one of my British colleagues about how it's been bothering me since I moved here and she said "oh yeah, I never realised that I've never seen that in any other country". She also told me that kids are just taught to wash their hands quickly under the hot tap, so that they don't run the water long enough for it to turn scolding hot. WTactualF?
School shootings.
That's actually really tough in this global age. I live in Japan so things like tea ceremony and Shinto practice come to mind, but there are Shinto shrines and practitioners in many places and people do and teach tea ceremony in other places now. Many would call it the home of sushi and, at least for the common types today, it's probably true (though certain methods that led to sushi are thought to come from Viet Nam in the past).
Tanuki exist in other parts of Asia. I assume onsen (hot sprint) monkeys do as well. Maybe something with Wasabi, but I doubt it. I'm not sure, really.
Edit: thought of one: seeing the Iriomote cat in its natural habitat (although that's really hard since they were nearly hunted to extinction for their pelts at one point). Speaking of Okinawan islands, you can also see Taiwan on a good day from the westernmost point of Yonaguni. That was neat. I took a picture with my phone at the time and it's really hard to see anything, but I could see land with my eyes.
There are like 4 days a year everyone just puts their old sofas, broken TVs and other junk outside to be collected by a garbage truck the next day. As this furniture is mostly usable, people in white vans go around to collect the most valuable stuff, which makes up most of the traffic in villages on those days and causes old people to complain about Polish immigrants.
The village children also have a look around if the weather is nice. Village adults don't, not because they are above it, but since there is a genuine risk a neighbour you've known for decades will sue you for stealing; the garbage does belong to them still as the courts have determined.
Edit: Sorry for forgetting the most important part.
High medical bills
Free market Jesus.
Unchecked gun violence by a population against itself
Probably like, 95% of the people in my city are either neutral or supportive of LGBT people. The last 5% are so fucking insane that it's still scary to be LGBT. - (major Texas city)
Edit: I kinda assume this is unique because I'd think most places are either safe (with the occasional heckler) or completely unsafe. Texas seems special because it seems like most people don't care or are supportive, but then you get the nutjob who's entire reality is shattered by the idea that you aren't straight and/or cisgendered and all they can do is get apocalyptically mad about your existence.
Edit 2: oh yeah, on a less depressing note, iirc Texas is like, sorta kinda half canyon. Iirc Palo Duro canyon doesn't really have an end to it, it just kinda.... widens until it becomes part of the normal landscape (I might be thinking of a different canyon though). As such, you could basically consider anything downstream from the canyon as being inside the canyon, resulting in a huge chunk of Texas existing in a canyon!
/start rant
Europe loves to shit on US. Find another country or continent that Europe contrasts themselves from more than US. Popular contrasts:
- Gun safety
- Medical expenses
- Educational expenses
- Workers rights
- Length of history
- Mass transit
- Police brutality
I can't go a day on Lemmy without seeing at least one of the above. Yet, you don't see daily comments on how Europe is better than Brazil, India, Japan, Australia, Canada, Egypt, South Africa, Mexico, etc. Can you imagine if they did that?
News: Man Freezes to Death in Rural Canada
- EU resident: That never happens here because we have have mandatory heater laws or some shit.
News: 5 People Gunned Down and Robbed in Sao Paulo Favela
- EU resident: No idea what that's like to live in that fear since we don't have large pockets of extreme poverty and guns are highly controlled here.
News: Mumbai Police Assault Orphaned Girl
- EU resident: I've never heard of such a thing. Our police are here to protect us and orphanages are considered sacred.
News: Almost 90% of Egyptians Have Electric Power
- EU resident: What a shame that Egypt isn't a developed country.
News: Shoot Out between Rival Cartels Kills 13 Adults, 3 Children
- EU Resident: That's why we don't share a border with the US or genocided the indigenous inhabitants here.
If 9/11 happened tomorrow, you'd see comments like, "What a tragedy. I'm happy I feel safe in Europe because we aren't building bases in the Middle East. The worst thing I have to worry about is if people in Dubai think I'm American when I'm on vacation there."
We get it. You guys are superior. The US has considerable social problems despite its GDP. You'd think you would be a little more grateful about the US helping yall build those fantastic social programs after you guys fucked yourselves up in WWII. Or US subsidizing your military defense, from aircraft carriers, troops, foreign bases, military equipment production, space, to being a nuclear sponge. Y'all be shitting your pants in the Summer and the freezing your asses of in the Winter with Putin if it wasn't for us.
/end rant
Checking under the toilet seat for redbacks.
Most of what an American would call bread, we don't consider bread. Bread is dark. They don't really sell bread in American stores, not sure about western Europe.
Our mustard will make grown men cry and your nose runny. Can be helpful when it's blocked actually.
Pão de queijo
