25 Things That Visitors Will Find Most Surprising About The United States | BRITS React

OB Daz, Gaynor and OB Aidan react to 25 things that visitors find surprising when traveling to the USA.

Instagram: officeblokedaz

[jeffreyphipps]

Most Americans don't eat Fast Food that often - it's expensive. Gymnasiums, on the other hand are MUCH cheaper than in Europe.

[jasonstacy]

That particular Walmart was most likely in Canada. Maybe Quebec.

[BobsYourUncle]

7:05, False, you can go to any public hospital and be treated.

[firefighterchick]

To clarify each state has its own National Guard branches of the Army and Air Force.
They are trained as the regular Army and paid by the Federal government.
The governor of each state uses them for state deployments like disaster relief and they can be nationalized by the federal government and deployed.

[ESUSAMEX]

The US has a military and each state has its own national guard as well.

[TheAcgtrs]

Sales tax can change from county to county

[japcar]

Yes! Go to a Penn State game. Great experience.

[raamjames]

I saw a stat a few years ago, if you take away the top 3 cities, the rest of the country experiences the same amount of violent crime per capita as Switzerland.

[NomyJackson]

I lived at home until 23 and most of my friends lived at home until they graduated from college, as well

[amberlon]

In the 1930s, the Oklahoma and Texas national guards fought over a bridge over the Red River

[BobsYourUncle]

5:54. False. It is not insanely easy to buy a gun.

[solace]

lol you guys are so normal and hinged unlike so many reactors who are bamboozled about sales tax and yea it can be different a within a few miles.

[jeffreyphipps]

Sales tax, in some states, is different from one class of item to another. For example, some types of foods (basics) have no tax. Many pharmaceuticals have no tax. Electronics do have tax (often maximum state sales tax. Also, school items for children at the beginning of the school year may temporarily have the tax lowered or removed.

[johnlovett]

It’s not insanely easy to get a gun, of course the difficulty will vary state to state but this image of just walking in and buying a gun is overblown.

[craignickum]

Misleading on military. The military is Federal. Each state has National Guard that can be activated in an emergency or by the Federal government in war.

[geraldvelez]

Yes, zoning laws and restrictions do exist. After all, who, in their right mind, would want to live next door to a business? Public transportation in cities is usually great. As the United States is so very expansive in size, everyone's not cramped together as in the UK. Therefore, most Americans greatly prefer to take their own cars and drive to where they'd like, when they'd like. This, instead of waiting for a bus or a train and being tied to their schedules. Our gasoline is also so much cheaper than what is charged overseas. One point, if I live a mile or so away from my nearest neighbor, how could public transportation ever be a "thing"?
The prices marked on items do not include the sales tax. However, in Europe/UK, where items are marked, the included sales tax is easily twice of what is charged in the United States. I've got no idea as to how "insanely easy' it is to purchase a gun in the States. I'd even take a wild guess that it's a whole lot easier to purchase a knife in Britain, though. We see evidence of that ofttimes enough on the news.
Many Americans carry something called "health insurance". Yes, we have medical insurance through our employment. Jobs are plentiful enough and one of the factors that comes into play when looking for one, is the level of medical coverage that comes along with a prospective job. For those self-employed, or that have jobs without insurance, you can get it privately - much like life insurance, house insurance, auto insurance etc. For those persons over 65, a small amount comes out of that person's monthly Social Security check to cover their health insurance. People over 65, as well as military veterans already have medical insurance. The vets get it free (of course, as they should). There's also services in place (Medicare and Medicaid) to cover all costs for those below a certain level of income. Believe me, no one is paying out un-Godly sums due to medical procedures or going bankrupt in the process of doing so. One big secret is that if, for whatever reason, a person/family cannot pay, the hospital will either work out a plan for payment stretching out years or just outright let the debt go. There are also none of those obscene waits to even see a doctor, as there are in the UK. I can call and make a appointment with my doctor (not a new one, each time) and be in his office generally within the week. My little son had cut his fingers so that I thought he might need to get the cut stitched. I phoned up the doctor and was told 'come right in'. We were back home in about an hour and I just gave the doctor $50 instead of filling out forms. That certainly would be a dream in Britain, wouldn't it!
One last point, I can basically post whatever I'd like online without being subject to arrest. I have no need to fear the police coming into my house to arrest me and literally cart me off to jail. Americans, have free speech. What is it, 2000+ people in the UK this month, already arrested and carted away to prison within a day, for the "sin" of saying "hurty words" in an online comment section - such as this one? Housewives sentenced to over a year's prison time (not jail - prison!). I would easily guess that's a bit more threatening than a MacDonald's burger and fries.

[DB-qqqn]

The, "walmart pharmacie" is most definitely in Quebec as, "pharmacie" is the French spelling.

[jeffreyphipps]

Pharmacy - is the norm in the US. The ie you saw there was missing an s on the end because the sign refers to two parts of pharmaceutical products in a SuperWalmart.

[VineVitumEt]

A lot of mom and pop restaurants and food trucks in the States only accept cash.

Also, five U.S. states do not have a sales tax. They are Oregon, Alaska, New Hampshire, Delaware, and Montana.

[CinesterCharlie]

"24 Hour Walmarts" We had it all.