r/AskAnAmerican • • Jul 21 '24

ANNOUNCEMENTS No current events or politics.

67 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 • • 2h ago

CULTURE What are some businesses in America that have a cult-like following?

31 Upvotes

3 I can think of are Costco, In-N-Out and Trader Joe's


r/AskAnAmerican • • 3h ago

FOOD & DRINK Fellow Americans, how do stores in your state describe large quantities of things?

11 Upvotes

Here in Texas, it’s very common to see things described as “Texas-size” instead of family-size or “party-size.” Do other states do something similar?


r/AskAnAmerican • • 15h ago

CULTURE Is 🤣 considered sarcastic or rude in the US?

93 Upvotes

I’m from China and recently had a funny misunderstanding on Reddit.

Someone answered a question I posted, and I replied with something like “Oh, thank you for the information 🤣.” I genuinely meant to thank them! In my experience, we often use 🤣 just to express laughter or friendliness, so I didn’t think much of it. But the person thought I was being sarcastic and even assumed I’d downvoted their comment (which I hadn’t). We cleared things up, but now I’m curious. Do Americans generally see 🤣 as sarcastic or rude? Or does it just depend on the context?

I’m still learning these little cultural differences, so I’d love to hear your thoughts!


r/AskAnAmerican • • 14h ago

CULTURE Do you think European films should get wider distribution in the US, on par with how American films are distributed in Europe?

22 Upvotes

​

I'm from Poland, and I've noticed a big imbalance: Hollywood dominates European cinemas and streaming, while European films rarely get a wide release in the US. I know subtitles and marketing budgets play a big role, but I don't think the gap reflects quality. Hollywood remade my favorite film, the Swedish A Man Called Ove, as A Man Called Otto, and I personally think the original is better. Meanwhile, Andrzej Wajda's The Promised Land is a cult classic across Europe, but as far as I know it's much less known in the US. What's your experience: how easy is it to find European films where you live, and would you watch more if they were easier to find?


r/AskAnAmerican • • 7h ago

ENTERTAINMENT Does anyone else still watch The Waltons? What’s your opinion of it today?

5 Upvotes

I wanted to give some attention here to one of my favorite TV shows of all time even as a Gen Z What’s everyone’s opinion of The Waltons?

If you watched it growing up—or discovered it later—what stayed with you? A favorite character, a particular storyline, or simply the atmosphere?

I’m especially curious whether your opinion changed as you got older. Do you enjoy it more now, or does it feel too sentimental for your taste?

Because I personally believe everybody should give this show a chance if you haven’t seen it. It's one of the best comfort shows out there next to Gilmore girls

And if you’ve never watched it, what impression do you have of it?


r/AskAnAmerican • • 1d ago

CULTURE Is it weird or inappropriate to call stranger “hey dawg”, “dog/dawg”?

144 Upvotes

I’m not an native English speaker, and I don’t live in the US or any western countries where people speak English but in Asia, but I do surf Reddit a lot and I mainly play online games with people over there in the US and we talk with each other.

I notice they texted and called me using “dawg”, “hey dawg”, “nice, dawg” a lot. I feel like it’s the same version of “bro”, or ”hey bro.” I find that expression cute

But I wonder if I could use the same expression, “dawg”, “hey dawg” to a stranger English speaking person in real life I meet like the way people use ”bro”


r/AskAnAmerican • • 1d ago

FOOD & DRINK Is beef the most popular choice of meat in the US?

86 Upvotes

I don’t live in the US but in Asia, and from the internet I have an impression that all that Americans eat is beef, and steak, and beef hamburgers, followed by maybe chicken, while pork is not much eaten at all.

While here in Vietnam my country, pork is most commonly eaten, then followed by chicken or fishes or anything else before beef because beef is very expensive here and not very commonly eaten unless it’s a treat or a special day


r/AskAnAmerican • • 1d ago

CULTURE Sending money is kinda annoying?

62 Upvotes

I’m from the UK and have travelled to the US several times, visiting California, Nevada, Washington DC, Virginia and Maryland.

Back home, I’m used to bank transfers without worrying much about which service someone uses. In the US, with Venmo, CashApp, PayPal and Zelle, I’m curious:

Do you have to ask people which app they use before paying them?

Is getting someone’s username or payment link a hassle?

Have you ever been unsure whether someone still uses an old payment account?

Do you use multiple apps because different friends prefer different ones?

I’m curious whether this is genuinely annoying or just something you get used to. What’s your experience?


r/AskAnAmerican • • 16h ago

EDUCATION Do you personally know of any student-athletes in College earning significant money through NIL?

3 Upvotes

I know that especially in the really popular sports like College Football and Basketball there are news of star players earning millions through NIL.

And I am curious as to the earning power of other student-athletes in other sports like volleyball, tennis, gymnastics, swimming, etc.

Do you personally know of any college student-athletes, whether friends, family or classmates, who have earned decent money through NIL?


r/AskAnAmerican • • 1d ago

CULTURE Do you wear pyjamas out the house?

24 Upvotes

On a recent AITA about a teenager wearing pjs to school, was surprised how many adults in the comments said they wear pjs out the house all day. Around me, you’d only occasionally see pjs late at night at the supermarket, never during the day.

So if you do wear pjs out, do you get changed into clean pjs and if so, why pjs and not other loungewear?


r/AskAnAmerican • • 1d ago

FOREIGN POSTER Do you actually tell the waiter to re-do your food until it's to your liking?

360 Upvotes

I'm from Southeast Asia, in almost every restaurant after you ordered something from the menu, you are supposed to just accept the food in whatever condition when it arrives at your table, quickly finish it and leave the place for the next patron.

My first time visiting the US, I was actually surprised when the waiter checked up on me not once, but twice after the food arrived at my table. Is that just a courtesy call like when someone ask you 'How's your day?' even though he is not really genuinely interested about your day, or am I really entitled to requesting a re-do of my dish if it's not to my liking and not be seen rude doing so?


r/AskAnAmerican • • 2h ago

GEOGRAPHY When talking about US beaches, why does nobody take into consideration the USVI?

0 Upvotes

There's plenty of "US beaches suck compared to X country" arguments everywhere.

But why does nobody ever mention the USVI? it's literally American Caribbean. Or am I missing something?


r/AskAnAmerican • • 1d ago

OTHER - CLICK TO EDIT Will you dislike it if strangers address you as grandpa, grandma, brother, sister, aunty or uncle?

227 Upvotes

In many Asian countries, it is normal for people to address other strangers in public as grandpa, grandma, brother, sister, aunty or uncle.

For example, if an old lady is struggling to cross a road, we may say 'Grandma, do you need help to cross the road?'

Or if we see a middle-age man who is working in a shop, we may ask 'Uncle, do you sell fruits here?'

Or if we see a young lady drop her purse while walking, we may call her 'Sister, you have dropped your purse.'

But I think this custom is not practised in USA (America).

I am curious to know how Americans feel if they addressed like that in public.

Will you dislike it if strangers address you as grandpa, grandma, brother, sister, aunty or uncle?


r/AskAnAmerican • • 1d ago

LANGUAGE Why did Cajuns in Louisiana mostly lose French and shift to English, while French Canadians in Quebec maintained it?

101 Upvotes

I recently learned that the vast majority of Cajuns and Louisianans with French last names are overwhelmingly monolingual English speakers today. ​Why did Louisiana French disappear so quickly over just a few generations, whereas Quebec managed to preserve French as its primary language? What political, social, or historical factors caused such a dramatic difference in language survival between the two regions?


r/AskAnAmerican • • 1d ago

GEOGRAPHY Do you consider Chicago to be a part of "Middle America"?

62 Upvotes

r/AskAnAmerican • • 15h ago

CULTURE Do Americans typically have strict boundaries to how much access you have to one another in early dating?

0 Upvotes

By this I mean how often/how much you text, how long you meet up for dates, how considerate they are early on. I understand that women might be more restraint for safety reasons but the men I’ve gone out with seem very reserved too. This is in NYC.

Is there typically a ‘we don’t owe each other anything’ approach to dating?


r/AskAnAmerican • • 9h ago

CULTURE Do people actually say "soda"?

0 Upvotes

I've only ever heard that in movies and shows so I thought it was just something people in films said. I live in Ohio and I've only heard people say "pop", never soda. I've heard people call all types of pop "coke" but idk, that's really rare I think. At least where I live, it is

Edit: Sorry if I upset anyone over asking this! I was drinking a can of pop and someone in my TV show asked for a bottle of Soda which made me make this post. Just curiosity!


r/AskAnAmerican • • 21h ago

VEHICLES & TRANSPORTATION Do American Airlines randomly assign seats even when booked together unless you pay extra?

0 Upvotes

I keep seeing controversial posts about parents/couples asking strangers to move on a plane so they can sit with their families and the response is always "they should have paid extra to select their seats."

I've flown a lot with my husband, both domestic in Australia and internationally and every time we've booked both tickets at once we've always been seated together by default, never chosen our seats we just let the airline pick. Paying extra for seat selection is usually to guarantee a specific seat like window or front of plane, emergency exit, etc.

I saw a parent on TikTok say they booked their tickets together but were still assigned separate seats, and people said its still expected to pay extra to sit together which is wild to me. Is this really a thing for US airlines?


r/AskAnAmerican • • 2d ago

LANGUAGE I was mindblown watching a clip of Sandra Bullock speaking fluent German. Do Americans ever get mindblown by a foreigner speaking English?

101 Upvotes

Videos of American celebrities speaking foreign languages fluently are always a big deal in Europe and get millions of views. I'm curious if there's an opposite phenomenon in America?


r/AskAnAmerican • • 2d ago

SPORTS How do you guys choose what NFL team to support?

140 Upvotes

I live outside the US, but was interested in American football and wanted to support a team. My family has a link to Kentucky, so I thought I would support the state football team, only to find out not all states have a NFL team, and in fact 28/50 states actually don't!

So how do Americans without a state team choose who to support? And for those of you who do have a state team, what made you pick them? Was it location, who your family supported, a logo you liked etc?


r/AskAnAmerican • • 2d ago

HEALTH Do you guys ever run of out bed space at hospitals?

183 Upvotes

I live in Jamaica and we have free healthcare but with the high demand, hospitals resources are limited.

I was wondering if anyone in the states ended up going to the ER and had to wait all night for a bed or whats the procedure if you are to be admitted.


r/AskAnAmerican • • 2d ago

EDUCATION Is a "pilgrim school excursion" to Plymouth Rock or Jamestown common?

41 Upvotes

I've heard someone from the East Coast describe a trip like this, and I was wondering if it's universal.


r/AskAnAmerican • • 2d ago

CULTURE What languages are in your area / you see a lot?

49 Upvotes

I don't know how much this varies across the states. To clarify, I'm asking for what languages you see on the back of pamphlets or instructions with multiple languages. What languages are considered prominent enough that even though you don't speak them, you get advertisements in that language just because of your area. Not counting English.

Personally I see Spanish, French, and sometimes some Russian or Japanese up here.


r/AskAnAmerican • • 1d ago

GOVERNMENT Americans whose parents never registered you with the government, what has your experience been like?

0 Upvotes

I have heard of people whose parents – for ideological or religious reasons – never recorded their child's birth with the government. I am wondering how they were able to navigate the modern world subsequently.