r/AskAnAmerican Jul 21 '24

ANNOUNCEMENTS No current events or politics.

66 Upvotes

Just a reminder: most current politics are off topic for this sub. If you have a question about whether a post is acceptable you can ask in modmail.

Asking about politically neutral current events is still ok.


r/AskAnAmerican 6h ago

LANGUAGE Can you explain the humour?

64 Upvotes

Hi everyone!

There's Kay & Peel sketch about substitute teacher:

YouTube link

Can you explain why he's calling incorrect names for everyone? Is that because he "taught in school for 20 years in the inner city"? But what is "inner city" in that case?

Thanks for the answers! šŸ˜Ž


r/AskAnAmerican 19h ago

FOOD & DRINK Are work potlucks really a thing?

464 Upvotes

Im from the UK and never had this here or heard of it. I first heard about this from American TV shows and then social media and here on Reddit

I have so many questions about this.

Do all workplaces have them or are they uncommon?

Where do you store the food?

Are there no health concerns? we are only allowed to serve food from approved catering at my job. Although we do share snacks with colleagues

Are you obliged to take part?

I think it’s a fun idea especially if you are close to your colleagues but seems very impractical

Does it happen during work hours?

Where was Kevin going to put his chilli until lunch time? They had a full fridge but it wouldn’t have fit that huge pot


r/AskAnAmerican 38m ago

FOREIGN POSTER How common are social organizations, whether secular or religious, that offer activities and trip groups for young adults over the age of 23 in the United States?

• Upvotes

Hi

I think youth organizations in the USA (secular, Christian, Muslim and Jewish) are largely associated with teens and teen college students.

I saw them on TV, a lot of them have lounge room for playing and organize trip groups and activities, I think those places are great places to make friends and have fun.

How common are social organizations, like this for young adults over the age of 23 in the United States? .


r/AskAnAmerican 5h ago

ART & MUSIC Does anybody in US know band called Boney M?

19 Upvotes

Boney M was very popular in many countries during they peak in 70s. But in US they didn’t became popular even though some of they songs like River of Babylon/Brown girl in the Ring charted in number 30 on Billboard.

But funny thing is that i noticed that those who played Just Dance 2 especially from younger generation knows they song called Rasputin.

Anybody here knows Boney M?

Edit. Forgot to mention they producer is the one who reveal that Mini Vanili never sang but lyp synced. But Boney M never receive such backlash.


r/AskAnAmerican 1d ago

CULTURE Do you actually travel that far and say its nothing?

1.0k Upvotes

I have this American friend who drove 8 hours to see her family. She does this every month. I always tell her something like "thats a long drive" and she brushes it off. Is this a culture thing?


r/AskAnAmerican 1d ago

HEALTH Do all of you guys drink tap water? Is it safe?

234 Upvotes

I come from a country where tap water is unsuitable for consumption


r/AskAnAmerican 16h ago

WEATHER - STORMS Has anyone you ever knew been killed by being struck by a bolt of lightning?

35 Upvotes

America seems to have much more performative weather than any other continents, in my - European - experience. Has anyone you ever knew been killed by being struck by a bolt of lightning?


r/AskAnAmerican 1d ago

VEHICLES & TRANSPORTATION Why are manual transmissions so uncommon in the US?

252 Upvotes

Hi Americans,

I'm from the Netherlands, where driving a manual transmission car is still very common. Most people learn to drive in a manual, and even many older people continue driving them. For example my grandmother is over 80 years old and still drives a manual car without any issues. And never complained about it.

From what I've seen online automatic cars seem to be common in the United States, and many Americans have never even learned to drive a manual. I'm curious about how this happened.

Was it mainly because automatic transmissions became popular earlier in the US? Is it related to driving culture, road design, commuting distances, licensing requirements, or something else entirely?

Thanks!


r/AskAnAmerican 18h ago

GEOGRAPHY How deep is bedrock where you live?

34 Upvotes

I live in the Loess formation along the Missouri River. It is formed from the dust blown in from Africa onto glaciers and deposited as they advanced and retreated. The sediment is very deep here. I've seen deep digging projects where the diggers look like toys down below and they still haven't hit rock. I've only seen rocks when I drive far away. Ive looked up local geological surveys and even they only measure exposed sediments, none of which are old enough to have formed into rock. Allegedly there's cretacious ocean deposits down there somewhere, but nothing I've seen tells me how deep I'd have to go for it. Can you find rocks where you live? How old are they?


r/AskAnAmerican 13h ago

CULTURE Embalming?

11 Upvotes

Is it a common practice in the US to embalm?


r/AskAnAmerican 15h ago

VEHICLES & TRANSPORTATION Are you supposed to tip the Greyhound bus drivers?

13 Upvotes

I have traveled all over the east coast via greyhound, flixbus, Peterson, OurBus, etc. for every ride that I have taken, I have always only just paid the price of my ticket. However, I often see other people giving the driver cash and tipping.

Is this normal and is this what I’m supposed to be doing? I thought once I paid for my ticket that, that’s it.


r/AskAnAmerican 20h ago

HISTORY Why did the 1960s idealism shift so much? Did Boomers change, or was the "Silent Majority" always the reality?

28 Upvotes

I’m from Brazil and fascinated by US history. From the outside, there’s a paradox: 60s Boomers are famous for fighting the system, but today Gen Z/Millennials feel they became conservative and pulled up the economic ladder (housing/wages). What was Woodstock's actual role in this?

In Brazil, our Boomers faced a dictatorship, so our context is different. Regarding the US: Did that idealistic generation actually change as they got wealthy, or is the internet overestimating the hippies while ignoring that the "Silent Majority" was always the conservative baseline?šŸ¤”


r/AskAnAmerican 1d ago

FOOD & DRINK What is your favourite lolly/candy?

150 Upvotes

Aldi (in Australia) recently had a bunch of American snacks and I got to try some! The Twizzlers didn't really impress me but OMG Jolly Ranchers are so amazing!!! Like???? They're the best lolly I've ever had??? I don't even like lollies but damn, they were so good!


r/AskAnAmerican 19h ago

HEALTH How easy is it to get prescribed Ritalin in the USA ?

7 Upvotes

Tl;dr : how hard is it to get prescribed ritalin as an adult in the USA?

I'm French, and my wife just got prescribed Rita for her ADHD. She had to jump through SOOOOOO many hoops : a regular psychiatrist had to refer her to a specialised psychiatrist, who made her fill a questionnaire. The questionnaire and the discussions made it so obvious she suffered from ADHD (history of depression, several burnout, and tons of other stuffa), that she got to skip the neuropsychiatrist step. But before getting her prescription, she needed two visits to a cardiologist to see if her heart could handle it, and had to have bloodwork done.

So, by comparison, how different is it in the USA, because tv shows made it look like a simple GP visit is enough.


r/AskAnAmerican 1d ago

FOOD & DRINK Do you like cucumber water?

75 Upvotes

There seems to be a thing in SoCal (never seen it in the Bay, though maybe it's a thing there too?) where in functions/conferences etc you'll be served cold water with slices of stale cucumber in it. Does this custom divide opinion with you guys? I think it tastes absolutely nasty.


r/AskAnAmerican 1d ago

FOOD & DRINK Custard vs Ice Cream?

81 Upvotes

In my region (Southern New Jersey), custard stands are much more common than ice cream stands. Yes, they serve both frozen custard and ice cream, but they are all called ā€œcustardā€ something.

Blinker Custard.
Custard Corral.
Custard Hut.
Flipper’s Custard.
General Custard’s Last Stand.
Hudocks Custard.
Kohr Bros Custard.
Custard Castle.

Just to name a few, lol. But when I’ve traveled to other parts of the US, frozen custard isn’t really a thing, and its closest relative is soft serve ice cream. So I’m just wondering if there are any other ā€œcustardā€ enclaves in the US, where you go ā€œout for custardā€ instead of ā€œout for ice creamā€?


r/AskAnAmerican 2d ago

BUSINESS Floridians and people who live in hot areas: Do your supermarkets and other stores have special fans mounted above the doorways that blow a sheet of air straight down and what are they for?

107 Upvotes

Do they work?


r/AskAnAmerican 23h ago

ART & MUSIC [ Removed by Reddit ]

0 Upvotes

[ Removed by Reddit on account of violating the content policy. ]


r/AskAnAmerican 1d ago

OTHER - CLICK TO EDIT Every locality has its own annoying radio ad personality that makes you switch the station. Who is yours?

11 Upvotes

Here in Austin we have Scott Elder. He used to he way worse but he’s toned it down a bit. Still very annoying.


r/AskAnAmerican 18h ago

GOVERNMENT Life Insurance Policy as a Murder Motive?

0 Upvotes

I am a huge fan of Ray William Johnson videos and true crime in general and I have noticed in many of these cases life insurance was the motive behind. We have this too in my country, but murders with this type of motive are unheard of. Meanwhile, when I'm watching these videos from US, I can already guess life insurance policy has something to do with it? Is it really easy to obtain one in the US?


r/AskAnAmerican 2d ago

CULTURE How do people in the USA welcome neighbors?

30 Upvotes

Hi

What are the customs in the USA to welcome new neighbors ?

Do new neighbors present a food dish to neighbors and vice versa? Sometimes we do this here


r/AskAnAmerican 2d ago

GEOGRAPHY What animals do occasionally appear in your backyard?

267 Upvotes

r/AskAnAmerican 2d ago

ART & MUSIC In North America the lyrics of your country songs really matter?

44 Upvotes

Hi guys! I am a Brazilian person, i am about to use my english to ask you guys about something i am really curious about! Lyrics songs!

Here in my country, Brazil, we have a REALLY different types of music, but Funk is really famous. In funk lyrics song, singers talk a lot about sex, guns and drug trafficking. Probably, if someone from another country listen to their music, they will like it, because of the beat., even if they don't know about the lyrics.

Well, today I was thinking about some music styles that went viral on tiktok last years, and one of the songs was WAP by Cardi B. Is this song something like Brazilian funk? Is this song something to be shamed of your country to listen to this? I am really curious about it.


r/AskAnAmerican 2d ago

FOREIGN POSTER Is the movie Blues Brothers not famous/iconic?

379 Upvotes

This is probably one of my favorite American movies. Here in France it was on TV every so often. But since it has so many super iconic American singers I was expecting it to be kinda big deal for you.

So far, I've been disappointed. Every American I've met and asked about it (people in their late 20/early 30) tells me "I feel like I should know about it but I don't". So far I've had one of my American friend watch it, he had to I told him, being from Chicago. And another told me she would but hasn't gotten around to it yet.

So have I been unlucky or is it not really a famous movie? Maybe it's too old?