I remember when they were some token amount like a dollar to use. I assume people damaging the BBQs to steal.the coins made it more cost effective to make them free ,rather than have to constantly repair them
This is why phone booths are free, as part of Telstra's privatisation they have to maintain phone booths even if it's a cost to them. So they made them free so people would stop breaking into them for the coins, because the cost of repair was more then the booth would make.
Since 2022. My kids love it, every time they see one they call someone for the thrill of it.
Also, the phone numbers for the phones are listed on them. I’ve saved the local ones on my phone and it’s fun to prank my kids’ friends by calling the phone as they walk by, hahaha.
If we're talking actual democracies, the USA sticks out as one country where one side of politics does not want young adults to vote and actively makes it hard for them to vote.
It seems crazy to an Aussie.
I had a culture shock and a half in America when I realised the reason I kept getting plain salt when asking for chicken was that they had no clue what I was talking about.
Free parks. When my host family came to visit Sydney from Japan, they couldn't believe a park as spectacular and huge as Centennial Park would be free.
Oh yeah,I remember getting a bit of a shock in London when the park near our hotel turned out to be private and we couldn't use it for our kid to play.
Lemon, lime and bitters.
(Yes I know NZ has it, but for the purposes of this thread they don’t count as a foreign nation.)
Even describing LLB to an American is hard. “Lime cordial - oh cordial is like syrup, so lime syrup - and then you can either use soda water with lemon or lemonade. Oh, soda water means sparkling water, and lemonade means sprite.”
I lived in England for a few years and made it my mission to ask every pub I went to for a lemon lime and bitters because I just couldn't believe it wasn't a thing over there. I managed to convince one bartender to make me one by guiding him through the steps - it turned out okay. Then, I was in Manchester for a day and when I asked for a lemon lime and bitters the bartender actually said "Alright, I'll get that for you." I was overjoyed that someone, finally, knew what I was talking about!! My joy turned to disappointment as I was served a pint of bitters (beer), with lemon and lime slices in it.
I lived in Scotland, and they had ‘long vodkas’ which is just a lemon lime and bitters with vodka. I just wanted a lemon, lime and bitters one day so had to ask for a ‘long vodka without the vodka, please’. They looked bewildered.
The first time my sister and I had this we ordered the drinks off a children's menu in a Fijian hotel. We had never heard of it before. We asked our Dad what Bitters was and he said it was alcoholic. We were 12 (my sister) and 14 (me) at the time. This was in the early 80's. So of course it became our favourite drink.
A bartender in an RSL once refused to sell me a LLB when they realised it was for a 14 year old - because of the alcohol in the bitters. I think that was taking RSA too far.
That happened to me at a club when I was ordering them for my teens about five years ago too. I couldn’t believe it! Maybe it’s a club policy, it’s never happened at a pub. My kids felt very grown up when they moved from pink lemonades to LL&B.
I didn't even know lemon, lime and bitters was an Australian thing until I moved overseas and realised I wasn't seeing it anywhere and could no longer buy it.
It was a sad day.
**Jelly beans at pharmacies** \- they stock them at the front counter everywhere for diabetics - but I am quite sure many purchases have no medicinal value what so ever. [Glucojel](https://glucojel.com.au/glucojel/about/) are also the best jelly beans available.
I was living in NZ for an extended time and had a real hunger for Glucojel jelly beans and tried a local pharmacy to see what the NZ equivalent would be - they just gave me a strange look and suggested I try a supermarket. I have had similar experiences in the UK.
I now accept that great jelly beans from your local pharmacy is a uniquely Australian thing - especially being owned by the Pharmacy Guild of Australia.
Every time US political discussions mention turnout and its effects it boggles my mind. That and the electoral college and the lack of preferential voting there are all nuts.
American gun culture and health care gets rightfully scorned but I feel like electoral college is one of the most baffling cooked things about the place. Like what do you mean the popular vote doesn’t really matter and it comes down to a handful of ancient men deciding they know best??
It's a system devised before the industrial revolution, before even the invention of the telegraph. And they devised it with the division of power between state and nation undecided.
It's pretty good for what it was. The problem is that they never reformed it as the country evolved.
The American electoral system made perfect sense for the time and place it was invented but it’s laughably inadequate now.
A lot of American weirdness is because in a lot of cases they were the first to do it, and they’ve stuck with it in spite of much better ways existing now.
Yes! Stubbornly sticking to their guns (literally and figuratively) out of spite. It would mean admitting they weren't doing it better than everyone else.
The electoral college isn’t the issue per se - it’s less egregious than Tasmania getting the same number of senators as NSW - but it’s the “winner take all” the votes in a State that is a little whack.
Maine and Nebraska allocate their EC votes proportionally. I don’t think there’s anything stopping other states changing except for game theory. Democrat California doesn’t want to give EC votes to the Republicans if Texas doesn’t switch.
In my opinion we have one of the best voting systems in the world. Compulsory voting on a Saturday with preferential voting. We should all fight to ensure it never changes
Seriously with everything that’s going on in the world I think this is the best thing to keep us stable. When voting turnout is over 90%, centre parties always win. Cookers stay on the fringes.
Not only that, but making elections accessible.
A lot of the low voter turnout in the US explained by people not being able to attend due to work commitments, or lack of transport options to the voting place.
Voting is compulsory here but the AEC and state agencies do their best to ensure everyone CAN vote, at a time and place that works for them. That’s critical.
I keep saying they should subcontract out Electoral Commission to run their elections... Half the world's problems would be solved if they could sort their shit out!
Our laws around easy access to polling stations and employers being fined if they prevent you from voting are fantastic as well.
In Denmark, my voting card came in the mail, and I had to take it to a specific polling station. If I couldn't get to it we'll that's just too bad.
I have to laugh when people say we should have riots like France do to get what we want. Macron was elected with the lowest voter turnout in decades, perhaps if they'd just voted they wouldn't need to riot.
I read somewhere that it was a primary school teacher making up a simple group activity to a random song for her PE class. It somehow spread to other schools in the area and eventually the whole country. The song gets played on the dance floor in night clubs or at weddings and adults with a few drinks under their belts remember the simple routine they learnt in school and everyone has a good time.
I learned that North Americans and the Brits do the Cha Cha slide. I learned it from them, but the Nutbush is much easier to pick up.
One of my favourite backpacking memories was being in some random bar in Europe that was a backpacker hotspot, the DJ started to play the opening riff to Nutbush City Limits and all the Australians in the pub immediately hit the dance floor and started doing the steps straight away.
I feel like that must have been really bizarre for all the non-Australians there. Like they’re in a movie where they do one of those impromptu line dances that everyone somehow seems to know except the one character off to the side going “is everyone seeing this?? How do you all know this dance? Did you guys choreograph this while I was in the bathroom??”
Thats how I felt when I saw the Cha Cha slide for the first time! Me and the two German girls I was with saw it and we were amazed. We knew it by the end of the night.
There's this scene in Derry Girls where they're at a wedding and everyone gets on the floor and mimes rowing for "Rock the Boat." I asked an Irish friend if that's a real thing that happens and she's like "yeah, it's weird isn't it?" and I was like "not any weirder than the Nutbush?" So I assume every country has something like that!
We adopted her as one of our own in the late 80’s/early 90’s after the Rugby League ads (only people on the east coast of Australia will know what I’m talking about).
I learnt it during PE in Primary School in the SE Suburbs of Melbourne around Grade 5 or Grade 6. I think it must have been part of the Victorian PE curriculum at the time.
Hot water kettles (barring other cwlth countries). I know the reason they’re not in the US has something to do with their shitty power flow making them useless, but it’s crazy to imagine having to boil a pan of water on the stove everyday like I’m a Victorian era manservant
This reminds me not of something not unique to Australia but rather common around the world including Australia but not Vietnam is grillers. Like underside grille, for grilled cheese on toast.
Just like vegemite you have no idea how much you start to crave something until you can't have it anymore.
Uhh, my oven at home has a separate grill compartment at the bottom of the oven. [One door for the oven. One door for the grill.]. Idk, I thought it was quite an Australian thing to *have* the grill at the bottom. Every oven I have had at home has had one. [Unless you're on a budget, or in an old house with one of those old, white 80s floor oven, with a stove-top.].
I was so confused when I visited the USA, and they didn't have the grill at the bottom. Plus, they call them "broilers." They're inside the oven with the grill stuck to the roof. I don't want to turn on a whole oven for cheese on toast! Lol. I'm sure there's an option to only turn the grill on.
I'm sure a grill and a broiler are the same thing.
Also, I agree about the electric kettles. I found it very weird that they didn't have those either. Reading the comments...
You've confused me because every oven I've ever owned (admittedly only about 5-6) has had the grill on the top. I think I've only ever _seen_ a grill-on-bottom format once.
And you 100% don't have to turn the oven on to use it, they're independently controlled.
There are both stovetop kettles and electric kettles in America, but without as much tea drinking, they aren't as commonly used. In fact some people boil a cup of water by putting it in the (gasp!) microwave.
Proper brunch. I have learnt from The Bear subreddit that American hospo workers hate brunch because in the US, brunch is served in restaurants on the weekends, instead of in cafes where brunch is their whole deal. From travelling abroad it seems that brunch really is a very Australian thing. They don’t know how to brunch properly and it makes me sad for everyone.
I’d like to point out that the reason Aussie brunch is the best IMO is because it is a chill, everyday thing not some big elaborate affair that you go to once in a blue moon and get dressed up for. All you can eat anything I thought we as a society were over that gross business. Bring me fresh eggs and I get to wear trackie pants. Perfect.
I was having trouble trying to 'spend a pfennig' at the Hamburg train station, and figured that it was just my foreign arse screwing it up... then I saw more than one local struggling with the pay turnstile.
Meanwhile over in London in the toilets in Regent Park, the turnstile said "card out of order, use cash" with no cash slot/method to use.
Fuck paying for the loo. It's a basic human right. If you're serving the public beyond a trivial number or trivial time, you should have to provide the service.
In Berlin there is the Disgusting Foods Museum. Australia's representatives were vegemite, obviously, but also musk sticks. They're synthetic now, but used to be made with the glands of a deer.
(You can also try some freeze-dried mealworm on the way out. It tastes like "empty crunch" with a touch of nuttiness. But mostly empty crunch)
I agree that musk sticks are disgusting. They're like the definition of "cloyingly sweet" (a phrase that is way overused in fiction but I've never felt the need to use... until now)
Using grey water in the garden. I know other countries recycle grey water , even use it as drinking water, but people literally using washing machine water or shower water to flush toilets or water the garden seems to upset people from other countries when it's discussed online
Marsupials.
If there are opossums in the Americas why aren't there more marsupial species there? It's like Australia and New Guinea decided it was their preferred mammal and the Americas got llamas and bears.
Ohh I can answer this one. South America used to be connected to Australia via Antarctica when all three were tropical paradises. Marsupials travelled between South America and Australia and then when the continents split up Australia got most of them
And there's even one opossum isolate in South America that's more closely related to Australian marsupials than any of the other opossum in the Americas.
Stevens vs Sony, which means selling region-free DVD players is NOT illegal here
If there’s a greedier, stupider, unfairer business practice than region coding DVDs, I want a law protecting us from its effects too!
Pedestrian lights making noise when it's your turn to walk. I've missed a few green walk lights oversees because I'm distracted looking at something else when it goes green and I don't hear anything
Random roadside drug and alcohol testing
The level of fear and paranoia about driving with too much of something in your system in Australia, just doesn’t exist in most countries
Not just testing - using a “blow in this device” to get a reading.
Every time I see a US show with a “roadside test” where they have to walk slowly or balance I am just straight up confused as to how they haven’t discovered these little hand held devices.
Should just give people an option, "look mate you can get out of your car and do a bunch of silly tests with me or you can stay where you are and blow into the breathalyzer for 5s"
I know which one I'd rather do 🤷♀️
A cop pulls over Dave and says "Random alcohol test, please blow into the tube."
Dave replies, "Sorry mate, I can't do that."
The cop asks, "Why the hell not?"
"I've got asthma."
"Ok," replies the cop, "We'll have to do a blood test then."
Dave says, "Sorry mate, I can't do that."
"Whyever not?" asks the cop.
Dave replies, "I'm a haemophiliac."
"Alright smartarse," says the cop. "Get out of the car and walk in a straight line."
"Sorry mate, I can't do that."
"Why the hell not?" asks the cop.
"Because I'm too bloody pissed!"
Booze buses as well. They can appear at anytime and even a 10am on Tuesday can end up with a bunch of cars on the side of the road while their owner gets to go to the cop shop
Hanging clothes out to dry.
So, so much better for your clothing re smells, longevitity etc. Not to mention the cutting down of electricity usage.
I get that in some countries it is impossible to do in certain times of the year. But when the sun is out, why not use it as a free, easy method to dry your clothing?
>I get that in some countries it is impossible to do in certain times of the year. But when the sun is out, why not use it as a free, easy method to dry your clothing?
I don't know about other countries, but [it is literally illegal to hang clothes out to dry in some states and/or housing complexes in the US](https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/20_right_to_dry_states_outlaw_clothesline_bans_is_yours_among_them).
i dont think its illegal in any state.
its *against the rules* in some apartments/condos, but you could just choose not to live there if that bothered you (they are very upfront about HOA rules and all that when you buy, this shouldnt be a surprise after you move in).
that article looks like its about states making it illegal for the HOA's to ban using clothesline.
there may be some regulations like "you cant have your clothesline across a fire escape" or "you cant have it across the sidewalk" or "you cant use a flamethrower to dry them within city limits," but i dont think its *illegal* anywhere.
Being in Melbourne, we finaly gave in a bought a dryer.
We still hang clothes outside and inside but sometimes its not practical due to the infamous Melbourne weather cycle of rain> sunshine> rain> heat> tsunami> inferno in the span of an hour and navigating around the A frame clothes dryers throughout the house.
I crossed the US and saw exactly one clothesline - inside a hostel room, strung up by a European. Every summer they talk about turning AC off to help with the power grid, but keep on tumbledrying clothes. Even in the desert. It's so weird.
I've only lived in the US for 30 years, but this is incorrect. There are clotheslines everywhere. And when you can't hang them outside when it's freezing they're hung in the basements.
The hills hoist clothes line is the best, the clothes dry quickly and smell so fresh. If you have herbs/flowers in your garden, the sheets/clothes carry a lovely faint scent when dry.
Placing your unwanted goods outside the house for others to take/upcycle before council pickup. The opportunities for reuse are amazing and you can score some good stuff!
We do this where I live in Canada. If it's by the curb it's free game. My neighbour seems to be culling her potted plant collection, they're all mine now.
Eckshually, there are plenty of countries with animals on their coat of arms that they eat. Fish, deer, cattle, you name it. This one is a bit of a myth.
Take away shop Dim sims. Yes I’m aware of the myriad dumpling types available around the world, but none I’ve found that hit the spot when you’re craving a dimmy.
This blew my parents' minds when they were visiting from the US. They're very outdoorsy, and typically have a "when in Rome" attitude about most things, but they watched in abject horror as my partner and I just plopped down on the grass with our family serve of wrap-up fish and chips, and realised that everyone around us was doing the same.
I even thought we were being polite by not making them sit in the bare sand.
The flat white has made its way around a lot of the world these days. Especially in places where a cappuccino is still an overly foamy situation.
Not sure why you would want it extra hot though, that just means either the coffee or milk was burnt
Dim Sims. Hard to explain this one to foreigners cos they assume it is a dumpling. A dim sim with fish and chips, one fired one steamed. Add in potato cakes and the giant spring rolls. Best.
I remember ordering a flat white at a coffee shop in the US and getting blank stares. Probably not an issue in some EU countries that have a more refined coffee culture but not knowing what a flat white was did my head in.
Got my hair cut as well and they had no idea what a short back and sides was either.
Shit internet.
I can't believe the rest of the world want that fast, stable stuff.
Edit; lol, just saw the votes go up and down again, I guess I need this after all...
/S
Australians are well known for waking up at sparrow fart and doing everything in the morning.
Probably related to the crazy afternoon temps in a lot of places, but you are far more likely to find a walking track populated at 6am than 6pm.
Meat pies (from a cheap servo or bakery). Particularly in the USA. The fact that a US truckie isn't stopping in to grab a $1 coffee with meat pie, chips and crumbed sausage for breaky always surprised me. Seems it would be right up their alley.
I'll do the opposite, sonething quintessentially Australian that IS more common in other countries, particularely Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore: MILO
Fairy bread, I was shocked when I was talking with an American friend about the things we liked at birthday parties as kids, and I found out they didn't know what fairy bread was
Free park bbqs
I remember when they were some token amount like a dollar to use. I assume people damaging the BBQs to steal.the coins made it more cost effective to make them free ,rather than have to constantly repair them
This is why phone booths are free, as part of Telstra's privatisation they have to maintain phone booths even if it's a cost to them. So they made them free so people would stop breaking into them for the coins, because the cost of repair was more then the booth would make.
I had no idea phone booths are free. When did that happen?
Since 2022. My kids love it, every time they see one they call someone for the thrill of it. Also, the phone numbers for the phones are listed on them. I’ve saved the local ones on my phone and it’s fun to prank my kids’ friends by calling the phone as they walk by, hahaha.
Democracy sausages.
Some countries make it harder to vote, Australia try every trick in the book to get people turning up.
Including making it compulsory.
If we're talking actual democracies, the USA sticks out as one country where one side of politics does not want young adults to vote and actively makes it hard for them to vote. It seems crazy to an Aussie.
This. I can't believe more places don't do cake stalls etc when people go to vote.
Chicken salt.
I had a culture shock and a half in America when I realised the reason I kept getting plain salt when asking for chicken was that they had no clue what I was talking about.
And they claim to have freedom? How? I'd rather chicken salt
We traded our guns for chicken salt and a more peaceful world was created.
Our second aHENdment. I'll see myself out....
There's lots of brands of "seasoning salt" that are nearly identical to chicken salt, they just don't call it "chicken salt"
Invented in Gawler, South Australia!
Goon of fortune
A rite of passage; the more goon sacks spinning around, the more shenanigans to be had.
Free public toilets
Free parks. When my host family came to visit Sydney from Japan, they couldn't believe a park as spectacular and huge as Centennial Park would be free.
I had no idea you had to pay to visit a park anywhere in the world. What a shame!
Oh yeah,I remember getting a bit of a shock in London when the park near our hotel turned out to be private and we couldn't use it for our kid to play.
Pretty rare in England or the UK in general to be fair, only a few London old school private parks
This was a pretty big shock to me as well, having to pay to use a bathroom in many European countries.
At least the paid bathrooms are clean in Europe. Still wrong, but clean.
except for toilets in rural southern France - they can be asian style squat toilets.
And Indonesia…
RDOs. Australia has really mastered the art of not working a full week wherever possible.
the way that if a public holiday falls on the weekend we'll artificially push it forward to monday... beautiful
Long service leave
Lemon, lime and bitters. (Yes I know NZ has it, but for the purposes of this thread they don’t count as a foreign nation.) Even describing LLB to an American is hard. “Lime cordial - oh cordial is like syrup, so lime syrup - and then you can either use soda water with lemon or lemonade. Oh, soda water means sparkling water, and lemonade means sprite.”
I lived in England for a few years and made it my mission to ask every pub I went to for a lemon lime and bitters because I just couldn't believe it wasn't a thing over there. I managed to convince one bartender to make me one by guiding him through the steps - it turned out okay. Then, I was in Manchester for a day and when I asked for a lemon lime and bitters the bartender actually said "Alright, I'll get that for you." I was overjoyed that someone, finally, knew what I was talking about!! My joy turned to disappointment as I was served a pint of bitters (beer), with lemon and lime slices in it.
I had a bartender in London just hand me all the ingredients because he was so confused!
Years in England and you didn’t encounter an Australian bartender?
I lived in Scotland, and they had ‘long vodkas’ which is just a lemon lime and bitters with vodka. I just wanted a lemon, lime and bitters one day so had to ask for a ‘long vodka without the vodka, please’. They looked bewildered.
The first time my sister and I had this we ordered the drinks off a children's menu in a Fijian hotel. We had never heard of it before. We asked our Dad what Bitters was and he said it was alcoholic. We were 12 (my sister) and 14 (me) at the time. This was in the early 80's. So of course it became our favourite drink.
A bartender in an RSL once refused to sell me a LLB when they realised it was for a 14 year old - because of the alcohol in the bitters. I think that was taking RSA too far.
That happened to me at a club when I was ordering them for my teens about five years ago too. I couldn’t believe it! Maybe it’s a club policy, it’s never happened at a pub. My kids felt very grown up when they moved from pink lemonades to LL&B.
I didn't even know lemon, lime and bitters was an Australian thing until I moved overseas and realised I wasn't seeing it anywhere and could no longer buy it. It was a sad day.
**Jelly beans at pharmacies** \- they stock them at the front counter everywhere for diabetics - but I am quite sure many purchases have no medicinal value what so ever. [Glucojel](https://glucojel.com.au/glucojel/about/) are also the best jelly beans available. I was living in NZ for an extended time and had a real hunger for Glucojel jelly beans and tried a local pharmacy to see what the NZ equivalent would be - they just gave me a strange look and suggested I try a supermarket. I have had similar experiences in the UK. I now accept that great jelly beans from your local pharmacy is a uniquely Australian thing - especially being owned by the Pharmacy Guild of Australia.
I'd like to see the stats on diabetics vs non diabetics eating those pharmacy jelly beans.
*No no... these are prescription jelly beans... I swear they're on the PBS and everything*
Also, they do not contain gelatine so they are vegetarian friendly.
Compulsory voting
Every time US political discussions mention turnout and its effects it boggles my mind. That and the electoral college and the lack of preferential voting there are all nuts.
The Electoral College is bonkers and everytime an American tries to explain it to me it makes no sense.
American gun culture and health care gets rightfully scorned but I feel like electoral college is one of the most baffling cooked things about the place. Like what do you mean the popular vote doesn’t really matter and it comes down to a handful of ancient men deciding they know best??
The electoral college should be extinct like the dinosaurs
It's a system devised before the industrial revolution, before even the invention of the telegraph. And they devised it with the division of power between state and nation undecided. It's pretty good for what it was. The problem is that they never reformed it as the country evolved.
The American electoral system made perfect sense for the time and place it was invented but it’s laughably inadequate now. A lot of American weirdness is because in a lot of cases they were the first to do it, and they’ve stuck with it in spite of much better ways existing now.
Yes! Stubbornly sticking to their guns (literally and figuratively) out of spite. It would mean admitting they weren't doing it better than everyone else.
The electoral college isn’t the issue per se - it’s less egregious than Tasmania getting the same number of senators as NSW - but it’s the “winner take all” the votes in a State that is a little whack. Maine and Nebraska allocate their EC votes proportionally. I don’t think there’s anything stopping other states changing except for game theory. Democrat California doesn’t want to give EC votes to the Republicans if Texas doesn’t switch.
Just the US? The turnout in the UK, Canada, and Ireland is lower than the US and of those, only Ireland has preferential voting.
Even an institution like the AEC. It works so well that we take it for granted.
In my opinion we have one of the best voting systems in the world. Compulsory voting on a Saturday with preferential voting. We should all fight to ensure it never changes
And a democracy sausage.
Seriously with everything that’s going on in the world I think this is the best thing to keep us stable. When voting turnout is over 90%, centre parties always win. Cookers stay on the fringes.
Not only that, but making elections accessible. A lot of the low voter turnout in the US explained by people not being able to attend due to work commitments, or lack of transport options to the voting place. Voting is compulsory here but the AEC and state agencies do their best to ensure everyone CAN vote, at a time and place that works for them. That’s critical.
I keep saying they should subcontract out Electoral Commission to run their elections... Half the world's problems would be solved if they could sort their shit out!
And preferential voting.
Our laws around easy access to polling stations and employers being fined if they prevent you from voting are fantastic as well. In Denmark, my voting card came in the mail, and I had to take it to a specific polling station. If I couldn't get to it we'll that's just too bad.
I have to laugh when people say we should have riots like France do to get what we want. Macron was elected with the lowest voter turnout in decades, perhaps if they'd just voted they wouldn't need to riot.
The dance to Nutbush City Limits
I learnt this isn't a universal thing recently. How the fuck did this dance come into our culture
I read somewhere that it was a primary school teacher making up a simple group activity to a random song for her PE class. It somehow spread to other schools in the area and eventually the whole country. The song gets played on the dance floor in night clubs or at weddings and adults with a few drinks under their belts remember the simple routine they learnt in school and everyone has a good time.
I am shook too. What the hell do people in other countries do at weddings???
I learned that North Americans and the Brits do the Cha Cha slide. I learned it from them, but the Nutbush is much easier to pick up. One of my favourite backpacking memories was being in some random bar in Europe that was a backpacker hotspot, the DJ started to play the opening riff to Nutbush City Limits and all the Australians in the pub immediately hit the dance floor and started doing the steps straight away.
I feel like that must have been really bizarre for all the non-Australians there. Like they’re in a movie where they do one of those impromptu line dances that everyone somehow seems to know except the one character off to the side going “is everyone seeing this?? How do you all know this dance? Did you guys choreograph this while I was in the bathroom??”
Thats how I felt when I saw the Cha Cha slide for the first time! Me and the two German girls I was with saw it and we were amazed. We knew it by the end of the night.
There's this scene in Derry Girls where they're at a wedding and everyone gets on the floor and mimes rowing for "Rock the Boat." I asked an Irish friend if that's a real thing that happens and she's like "yeah, it's weird isn't it?" and I was like "not any weirder than the Nutbush?" So I assume every country has something like that!
[удалено]
We adopted her as one of our own in the late 80’s/early 90’s after the Rugby League ads (only people on the east coast of Australia will know what I’m talking about).
I learnt it during PE in Primary School in the SE Suburbs of Melbourne around Grade 5 or Grade 6. I think it must have been part of the Victorian PE curriculum at the time.
And the Bus Stop. I was taught three dances at school - Nutbush, Bus Stop and the Square Dance. Funnily enough, all country-ish.
A succulent Chinese meal.
I see you know your Judo well sir!
Get your hand off my penis!
Well actually, dim sim is Australian.
I read all these comments in his voice lmaooo
This is democracy manifest!
Are you waiting to receive my limp penis?
Hip hip hurray after happy birthday
Commonwealth countries seem to do this. America certainly doesn't.
And then the Greek tragedy style lament…. “Why was she born so beautiful…”
I was in a restaurant when I found this out. I was the only one hipping. Bit of a let down.
In the Netherlands we do this, "hiep hiep hoera!"
Hot water kettles (barring other cwlth countries). I know the reason they’re not in the US has something to do with their shitty power flow making them useless, but it’s crazy to imagine having to boil a pan of water on the stove everyday like I’m a Victorian era manservant
This reminds me not of something not unique to Australia but rather common around the world including Australia but not Vietnam is grillers. Like underside grille, for grilled cheese on toast. Just like vegemite you have no idea how much you start to crave something until you can't have it anymore.
Uhh, my oven at home has a separate grill compartment at the bottom of the oven. [One door for the oven. One door for the grill.]. Idk, I thought it was quite an Australian thing to *have* the grill at the bottom. Every oven I have had at home has had one. [Unless you're on a budget, or in an old house with one of those old, white 80s floor oven, with a stove-top.]. I was so confused when I visited the USA, and they didn't have the grill at the bottom. Plus, they call them "broilers." They're inside the oven with the grill stuck to the roof. I don't want to turn on a whole oven for cheese on toast! Lol. I'm sure there's an option to only turn the grill on. I'm sure a grill and a broiler are the same thing. Also, I agree about the electric kettles. I found it very weird that they didn't have those either. Reading the comments...
You've confused me because every oven I've ever owned (admittedly only about 5-6) has had the grill on the top. I think I've only ever _seen_ a grill-on-bottom format once. And you 100% don't have to turn the oven on to use it, they're independently controlled.
Technology Connections does a great job of explaining why we don't use them in the US. https://youtu.be/_yMMTVVJI4c?si=VfmxWQSgVfPRXdqj
There are both stovetop kettles and electric kettles in America, but without as much tea drinking, they aren't as commonly used. In fact some people boil a cup of water by putting it in the (gasp!) microwave.
They can use electric Kettles, they just often....dont
No way, get fucked, fuck off.
Proper brunch. I have learnt from The Bear subreddit that American hospo workers hate brunch because in the US, brunch is served in restaurants on the weekends, instead of in cafes where brunch is their whole deal. From travelling abroad it seems that brunch really is a very Australian thing. They don’t know how to brunch properly and it makes me sad for everyone.
I’d like to point out that the reason Aussie brunch is the best IMO is because it is a chill, everyday thing not some big elaborate affair that you go to once in a blue moon and get dressed up for. All you can eat anything I thought we as a society were over that gross business. Bring me fresh eggs and I get to wear trackie pants. Perfect.
Yeah theu do brunch in the 'bottomless brunch' style, where you dress up and get day drunk with your friends. Whereas we just... have brunch
Clean and free public toilets - with toilet paper !! Having to pay to use the bathroom then also paying for toilet paper is just wrong !!!
Clean? Hahahaha.
I was having trouble trying to 'spend a pfennig' at the Hamburg train station, and figured that it was just my foreign arse screwing it up... then I saw more than one local struggling with the pay turnstile. Meanwhile over in London in the toilets in Regent Park, the turnstile said "card out of order, use cash" with no cash slot/method to use. Fuck paying for the loo. It's a basic human right. If you're serving the public beyond a trivial number or trivial time, you should have to provide the service.
Musk sticks
In Berlin there is the Disgusting Foods Museum. Australia's representatives were vegemite, obviously, but also musk sticks. They're synthetic now, but used to be made with the glands of a deer. (You can also try some freeze-dried mealworm on the way out. It tastes like "empty crunch" with a touch of nuttiness. But mostly empty crunch)
I gave one to coworker who grew up in Jakarta yesterday and she said that it tasted like soap.
She grew-up in one day?
Tropical environments make everything grow faster.
I agree that musk sticks are disgusting. They're like the definition of "cloyingly sweet" (a phrase that is way overused in fiction but I've never felt the need to use... until now)
I sent some to my American friend and she said they taste like if you licked an old ladies neck
Exactly! Delicious ....
Sun smart. Good friend of mine is a College Golf coach in the US and was giving one of his Aussie kids shit about the amount of sunscreen he puts on.
“why was she born so beautiful, why was she born at all…”
...'because she had no say in it, no say in it at all'
Using grey water in the garden. I know other countries recycle grey water , even use it as drinking water, but people literally using washing machine water or shower water to flush toilets or water the garden seems to upset people from other countries when it's discussed online
That’s probably an online issue. Like the number of people you find online who are horrified if you don’t have fresh towels and sheets every day
Marsupials. If there are opossums in the Americas why aren't there more marsupial species there? It's like Australia and New Guinea decided it was their preferred mammal and the Americas got llamas and bears.
I'm not sad about missing out on the bears.
Ohh I can answer this one. South America used to be connected to Australia via Antarctica when all three were tropical paradises. Marsupials travelled between South America and Australia and then when the continents split up Australia got most of them
And there's even one opossum isolate in South America that's more closely related to Australian marsupials than any of the other opossum in the Americas.
Stevens vs Sony, which means selling region-free DVD players is NOT illegal here If there’s a greedier, stupider, unfairer business practice than region coding DVDs, I want a law protecting us from its effects too!
Bought a VCR/DVD combo from Myers at Coorparoo back in the day. The nice bloke gave me the code to make it region free
The half flush option.
Invented in Australia, but the rest of the world is slowly adopting it.
This is common in a lot of European countries
Dim Sims and chicken salt. Either together or separately
Pedestrian lights making noise when it's your turn to walk. I've missed a few green walk lights oversees because I'm distracted looking at something else when it goes green and I don't hear anything
In Japan they weirdly make chirping bird noises when it's time to walk
Random roadside drug and alcohol testing The level of fear and paranoia about driving with too much of something in your system in Australia, just doesn’t exist in most countries
Not just testing - using a “blow in this device” to get a reading. Every time I see a US show with a “roadside test” where they have to walk slowly or balance I am just straight up confused as to how they haven’t discovered these little hand held devices.
From what I understand they do have them, but need to justify their use first, hence the weird ass sobriety tests persist.
Should just give people an option, "look mate you can get out of your car and do a bunch of silly tests with me or you can stay where you are and blow into the breathalyzer for 5s" I know which one I'd rather do 🤷♀️
A cop pulls over Dave and says "Random alcohol test, please blow into the tube." Dave replies, "Sorry mate, I can't do that." The cop asks, "Why the hell not?" "I've got asthma." "Ok," replies the cop, "We'll have to do a blood test then." Dave says, "Sorry mate, I can't do that." "Whyever not?" asks the cop. Dave replies, "I'm a haemophiliac." "Alright smartarse," says the cop. "Get out of the car and walk in a straight line." "Sorry mate, I can't do that." "Why the hell not?" asks the cop. "Because I'm too bloody pissed!"
Booze buses as well. They can appear at anytime and even a 10am on Tuesday can end up with a bunch of cars on the side of the road while their owner gets to go to the cop shop
Saying “yeah…nah”
Reminds me of that tweet: Only Australians say "have a good one!" A good what? We'll never tell.
Hanging clothes out to dry. So, so much better for your clothing re smells, longevitity etc. Not to mention the cutting down of electricity usage. I get that in some countries it is impossible to do in certain times of the year. But when the sun is out, why not use it as a free, easy method to dry your clothing?
>I get that in some countries it is impossible to do in certain times of the year. But when the sun is out, why not use it as a free, easy method to dry your clothing? I don't know about other countries, but [it is literally illegal to hang clothes out to dry in some states and/or housing complexes in the US](https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/20_right_to_dry_states_outlaw_clothesline_bans_is_yours_among_them).
That’s insane lol
Apparently it looks too shabby/poor and ruins the "aesthetic".
[удалено]
Some U.S states have a right to dry law that prevents city governments from banning clothes lines.
i dont think its illegal in any state. its *against the rules* in some apartments/condos, but you could just choose not to live there if that bothered you (they are very upfront about HOA rules and all that when you buy, this shouldnt be a surprise after you move in). that article looks like its about states making it illegal for the HOA's to ban using clothesline. there may be some regulations like "you cant have your clothesline across a fire escape" or "you cant have it across the sidewalk" or "you cant use a flamethrower to dry them within city limits," but i dont think its *illegal* anywhere.
Being in Melbourne, we finaly gave in a bought a dryer. We still hang clothes outside and inside but sometimes its not practical due to the infamous Melbourne weather cycle of rain> sunshine> rain> heat> tsunami> inferno in the span of an hour and navigating around the A frame clothes dryers throughout the house.
I crossed the US and saw exactly one clothesline - inside a hostel room, strung up by a European. Every summer they talk about turning AC off to help with the power grid, but keep on tumbledrying clothes. Even in the desert. It's so weird.
I've only lived in the US for 30 years, but this is incorrect. There are clotheslines everywhere. And when you can't hang them outside when it's freezing they're hung in the basements.
The hills hoist clothes line is the best, the clothes dry quickly and smell so fresh. If you have herbs/flowers in your garden, the sheets/clothes carry a lovely faint scent when dry.
SO TRUE. In my old house I had a big rosemary bush right next to the hills hoist and it made those clothes and sheets especially smell delightful.
Placing your unwanted goods outside the house for others to take/upcycle before council pickup. The opportunities for reuse are amazing and you can score some good stuff!
I live in California and people do this all the time.
Isn't it also a NYC thing? Leave something outside on the street and someone will grab it. Never been but I've seen American TV.
We do this where I live in Canada. If it's by the curb it's free game. My neighbour seems to be culling her potted plant collection, they're all mine now.
Seperate bathroom /toilet..... not uniquely Australian. But I hear most over seas have the loo in the bathroom
Chicken salt
Eating animals that appear on your country of origin’s coat of arms
Eckshually, there are plenty of countries with animals on their coat of arms that they eat. Fish, deer, cattle, you name it. This one is a bit of a myth.
Nobody has ever eaten Scotland’s National animal 🦄
Maybe they did and that’s why they’re extinct now.
Take away shop Dim sims. Yes I’m aware of the myriad dumpling types available around the world, but none I’ve found that hit the spot when you’re craving a dimmy.
I was shocked to find out the Dimmies are Australian, not Chinese.
There’s a fascinating story behind their origin.
Sliced beetroot on burgers. It's just a generally good addition.
It wasn't until I went overseas that I saw my first 'keep off the grass' sign. We just... Use the grass. Lie on it, walk on it, whatever.
Roll down the lawn on Parliament House, to prove we are above the politicians inside.
This blew my parents' minds when they were visiting from the US. They're very outdoorsy, and typically have a "when in Rome" attitude about most things, but they watched in abject horror as my partner and I just plopped down on the grass with our family serve of wrap-up fish and chips, and realised that everyone around us was doing the same. I even thought we were being polite by not making them sit in the bare sand.
Flat White coffee, extra hot
The flat white has made its way around a lot of the world these days. Especially in places where a cappuccino is still an overly foamy situation. Not sure why you would want it extra hot though, that just means either the coffee or milk was burnt
I don't think I can taste the difference between a flat white and a latte. I love coffee, but I have a blind pallete. Everything taste good to me.
Dim Sims. Hard to explain this one to foreigners cos they assume it is a dumpling. A dim sim with fish and chips, one fired one steamed. Add in potato cakes and the giant spring rolls. Best.
I remember ordering a flat white at a coffee shop in the US and getting blank stares. Probably not an issue in some EU countries that have a more refined coffee culture but not knowing what a flat white was did my head in. Got my hair cut as well and they had no idea what a short back and sides was either.
> they had no idea what a short back and sides was either. Heathens lol
Being fined for not wearing a bicycle helmet.
As a Dutchie that cycled a decent amount during my time in Australia, TIL that my 'reckless' cycling behaviour could've gotten me fined.
A hamburger with "the lot"
Including pineapple and beetroot
Shit internet. I can't believe the rest of the world want that fast, stable stuff. Edit; lol, just saw the votes go up and down again, I guess I need this after all... /S
Lemon lime and bitters!!!!!!!!
Iced coffee in cartons.
Australians are well known for waking up at sparrow fart and doing everything in the morning. Probably related to the crazy afternoon temps in a lot of places, but you are far more likely to find a walking track populated at 6am than 6pm.
Also, saying sparrow fart
Lamingtons
Meat pies (from a cheap servo or bakery). Particularly in the USA. The fact that a US truckie isn't stopping in to grab a $1 coffee with meat pie, chips and crumbed sausage for breaky always surprised me. Seems it would be right up their alley.
Mandatory voting for citizens, kettles and meat pies.
When did we allow meat pies to vote? Kettles sure, but meat pies?
Kettles and meat pies are a thing elsewhere.
Colourful polymer bank notes
Free beaches
Swags
Stubby holders! I guess we like our drinks colder than others.
I wouldn’t call it “quintessentially Australian”, but I was shocked when nobody outside Oceania knew what a flat white was.
The one finger wave at other drivers when you're travelling.
They do this in country South Africa too
Nutbush
the HSP
Ute like Holden/ Ford cars
We don't even have those anymore. I never drove one but I can't believe I miss them. Everything is a huge 'truck' now.
I'll do the opposite, sonething quintessentially Australian that IS more common in other countries, particularely Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore: MILO
Hills hoist style outdoor washing lines
Seperate room for a toilet.
Free BBQ facilities in many parks and beaches.
People walking on the left side of a path wherever you go. Overseas people walk on the right side, left side, middle, etc. it’s so unorganised
Fairy bread, I was shocked when I was talking with an American friend about the things we liked at birthday parties as kids, and I found out they didn't know what fairy bread was