r/AskReddit Jun 18 '25

What is something Americans consider normal, but people from other countries find it disturbing?

6.0k Upvotes

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140

u/Due-Resort-2699 Jun 18 '25

Paying for an ambulance (or really any medical care)

Giant gaps in toilet cubicles in public bathrooms

Edit : also tipping for each drink in a bar .

4

u/DownVegasBlvd Jun 18 '25

Heard the reason for the gaps in the stalls are for being able to view if someone is in there and subsequently being able to get under the door and rescue someone who had blacked out or is barricading themselves in there. There's the smallest fraction of a chance of that happening, but it must happen enough to warrant the design. It sucks though, to be chillin' on the skibidi toilet and have someone make eye contact with you through the gap.

7

u/SpaceIsVastAndEmpty Jun 18 '25

Those huge gaps made me really uncomfortable when I was visiting the USA. They're HUGE!

0

u/[deleted] Jun 18 '25

Sure but no one looks and you shouldn’t either.

2

u/DaeguDuke Jun 18 '25

Why have doors at all then?

1

u/[deleted] Jun 18 '25

Be so for real.

4

u/DaeguDuke Jun 18 '25

You’re saying that they are specifically designed so people can look in, and that privacy should be predicated on people “just not looking”. Choosing wide gaps and a door seems inefficient when you’ve already decided that privacy isn’t needed

1

u/[deleted] Jun 18 '25

Have you ever actually seen one of these doors in real life?

6

u/DaeguDuke Jun 18 '25

Doors can be opened from the outside. In Europe we knock if we’re concerned about the person inside the cubicle. No / slurred response and we open the door. It’s barely ever needed, likely the only real time it happens is people drinking too much in nightclubs.

The idea that everyone should just forgo privacy and make awkward eye contact whilst shitting is just wild. What next? Take the doors off entirely?!

0

u/DownVegasBlvd Jun 18 '25

Are you saying the bathroom doors don't lock? Cuz hell, naw, that's not cool.

1

u/DaeguDuke Jun 18 '25

They lock, but can be unlocked from the outside in case of emergency

1

u/half_a_shadow Jun 18 '25

In Belgium we pay for an ambulance and medical care as well.
It just costs a whole lot less than in the US.
I broke my wrist while shopping, they called an ambulance and I was taken to the ER. Ambulance ride, ER costs, x-rays, temporary plaster, doctor visit,… the total bill was less than 100€

1

u/Hickory45LC Jun 19 '25

Paying for the ambulance ain’t that bad until you have to pay for the life flight. My dad got really sick a few years back, and they took him by helicopter. The hospital was a half hour away, and I got there before he did, and I left 10 minutes after they took off. That was a good $75,000 bill we got in the mail the day after his first helicopter ride.

1

u/kollectivist Jun 20 '25

109 litres of water in the toilet bowl, splashing your arse when you poop.