American reacts to WEIRD Things Only AMERICA Does! Can British understand?

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[gerdpfitzenmayer]

The points aren't only a british thing, they're european. We don't need ice cubes all around the year, only in summer when it's too hot outside. Black Currants are also common in Europe, in german they're called, schwarze Johannisbeere', there are also red ones and white/yellow ones. And kettles are very common to boil water, there are cable bound ones and cable free ones.

[refreshcms]

If you microwave the water for tea in the mug, the mug also gets hot and you can't hold it until the tea gets too cold.

[NannyMcfanny]

If your dared to make a cup of tea in Yorkshire (or almost anywhere in the uk) by boiling the water in the microwave you might actually get deported 😂😂

[KernowWarrior]

When moving to a new house the first thing you unpack is the kettle! This is how important a kettle is to a Brit.

[lincliff]

Years ago in London I used a loo in a theatre and the door had a gap at the bottom. Someone had written "beware of limbo dancers" across the top of the gap.

[MsCheesemonster]

The first thing I remember being taught to do in a kitchen when I was little was to make a decent pot of tea. You have to warm the pot, then put the tea in and then add water that has just that moment boiled. A kettle allows you to add water at just the right temperature. This has nothing to do with hygiene, I think just boiled water from the kettle brings out the flavour of the tea leaves perfectly, and makes a lovely cup of tea. It would never occur to me to offer someone a microwaved cup of tea - it would be like giving someone a badly-cooked meal - like you couldn’t be bothered to do it properly for them.

[katehobbs]

I hate it when you ask for a drink and you get a glass full of ice with a tiny bit of drink in it.

[Blakeariah]

NO KETTLES? THE POINT OF TEA AND COFFEE IS YOU BOIL THE WATER

[t.a.k.palfrey]

I remember, years ago, a colleage from the US visiting Leeds in England, and later asking me why they only put a bit of ice "the size of a contact lense" in his drink. No respectable Brit - and especially a Scot - would put ice with Whisky. BTW, when my oldest son first began school in the US in grade 6, he thought he was being cheated when his pop arrived in a glass half filled with ice. Back home - and just about everywhere else on Earth - free refills are not a thing. He wanted his glass full of pop, not just half. He didn't want diluted Pepsi!!

[johnhigson]

As a Brit, I can confirm that if you ask for water in a restaurant, you will be asked if you want tap, bottle or sparkling water and they do almost exclusively serve it with ice, unless you specifically request it without ice. Also I can't believe the blackcurrant is banned in the US, that's mad. 🤔🤯👌👍

[AmethystRock]

Not having a kettle seems INSANE to me!!! How can you live without a kettle???! I don't have a microwave, I would NEVER give up my kettle 😅

[glenbe]

The date system is not even consistant with Americans. You never hear them refer to 4th of July as July 4th for example.

[tealobsession]

how in Europe we know when someone is occuping a toilet when there are no gaps? On the lock there is a small panel with colors: if it's white/green then its unlocked (means no one should be there) and when it's red means someone is inside. Easy and provides privacy. it's not jsut a portable toilet thing here.

[That_Scots_Guy]

Microwaving water can superheat it, potentially scalding you when disturbed (like being stirred afterwards). Safer to simply use an electric kettle.
I think having 240V in every outlet in the UK made kettles more popular here because we can draw up to 3000W from a single socket, which allows our kettles to boil water much faster than a typical 110V outlet in the US. Also, freeze dried coffee (a.k.a instant coffee) is much more popular here in the UK making a kettle that bit more convenient.

[Nelunda]

Yeah, in Europe you can get tap water in a ~1l jug. They put some peppermint leaves or lemon slices in, but usually no ice. You can share with your friends as anyone around the table can pour the water from the jug into their glass and drink it.

[DoomsdayRsistance]

In the UK, we get tepid tap water, they may ask if you want ice but normally would not include it. A lot of places will also sell bottled water which can be still or sparkling but I think sparkling water is more common on mainland Europe than the UK. In the UK it is a legal requirement that restaurants be able to supply free drinking water to their customers, UK has very high quality tap water, definitely a top 5, if not top 3 for the quality of tap water. Many people in the UK still buy bottled water despite it being proven that UK tap water is actually better than basically every bottled water out there.

[jameslewis]

When making tea getting the right temperature is important. Generally you want to pour the water onto the tea bag as soon as the water has stopped boiling. That's something you can't do with a microwave. Also if you let tea get cold and try to heat it up in a microwave it becomes absolutely disgusting (which is probably the most likely culprit for the shocked face).

[Blakeariah]

in the uk, every restaurant gives unlimited tap water

[maxbarko]

My theory with ice in pop/soda is that you only can take in so much sugar when it is very cold. Otherwise your sense will refuse such an unhealthy amount of sugar. This is also supported by using straws as the liquid bypasses the sweet taste buds on the tip of the tongue.

[Esge]

aside from the obvious of USA not having a strong tea culture, another reason electric kettles aren't common there is becuase they run on 110volts instead of 220 thats in europe, so it also takes longer for the kettles to boil water