Redditoru/Frosty-Ad3575recently turned to the ‘Ask Reddit’ community, seeking to learn what things people consider obvious signs that someone is American. Netizens’ answers covered everything from the way people stand to how they greet each other, among other things, so scroll down to find them and see what might give away that a person comes from the United States.

This post may includeaffiliate links.

MM-DD-YYYY date format.

Someone Asks “What’s An Obvious Sign That Someone Is American?” And 30 People Don’t Hold Back

Claiming to be of a certain nationality (e.g. Irish), but can’t even locate the eponymous country on a map.

Someone Asks “What’s An Obvious Sign That Someone Is American?” And 30 People Don’t Hold Back

They’ll use any form of measurement other than metric. Freedoms per eagle is a popular one.

Someone Asks “What’s An Obvious Sign That Someone Is American?” And 30 People Don’t Hold Back

They assume everyone knows about american geography, politics, news etc. but they know nothing about any other country.

Someone Asks “What’s An Obvious Sign That Someone Is American?” And 30 People Don’t Hold Back

Aggressively white teeth.

Someone Asks “What’s An Obvious Sign That Someone Is American?” And 30 People Don’t Hold Back

Referring to ‘Europe’ as if it were a country.

Someone Asks “What’s An Obvious Sign That Someone Is American?” And 30 People Don’t Hold Back

I’m Canadian and the biggest giveaway to me that someone is American is simply in their spelling. For example, we would spell it “the colour grey”, and Americans would spell it “the color gray.” We use paycheque instead of paycheck, and neighbour instead of neighbor. Our vernacular is very British.

Someone Asks “What’s An Obvious Sign That Someone Is American?” And 30 People Don’t Hold Back

Talking about the extortionate cost of healthcare and the struggles of navigating the health insurance system.

Someone Asks “What’s An Obvious Sign That Someone Is American?” And 30 People Don’t Hold Back

When asked where they’re from. They instantly say the state not the country.

Someone Asks “What’s An Obvious Sign That Someone Is American?” And 30 People Don’t Hold Back

When I lived in Estonia, a local once told me that if anybody smiled and said hello unsolicited on the street they knew “that person was either drunk, crazy or an American.”I laughed and said, “In this case, it might be all three!”

Someone Asks “What’s An Obvious Sign That Someone Is American?” And 30 People Don’t Hold Back

Not to be rude or offensive as I am American and this, but we are fat.

Someone Asks “What’s An Obvious Sign That Someone Is American?” And 30 People Don’t Hold Back

Someone Asks “What’s An Obvious Sign That Someone Is American?” And 30 People Don’t Hold Back

Someone Asks “What’s An Obvious Sign That Someone Is American?” And 30 People Don’t Hold Back

They talk loud. Very loud.

Someone Asks “What’s An Obvious Sign That Someone Is American?” And 30 People Don’t Hold Back

Apparently the CIA trains American agents to not lean on things if they go undercover in foreign countries because Americans lean on anything they can while standing around.

Someone Asks “What’s An Obvious Sign That Someone Is American?” And 30 People Don’t Hold Back

Shorts and running shoes.

Someone Asks “What’s An Obvious Sign That Someone Is American?” And 30 People Don’t Hold Back

Someone Asks “What’s An Obvious Sign That Someone Is American?” And 30 People Don’t Hold Back

Immediately asking someone what they do for a living when meeting them. Our jobs and work are our entire identity.

Someone Asks “What’s An Obvious Sign That Someone Is American?” And 30 People Don’t Hold Back

To me - it is the habit of choosing convenience over all else (note that my observations are mostly of people who consider themselves middle class). Small example - if you need to wipe down your kitchen counter, Americans always reach for a paper product while back in India, it would always be a cloth towel. Reason for Indians to use cloth - it is reusable and hence, economical. Americans using paper - it is more convenient. Transport - wait a half hour extra for train or drive… the Americans in my group always chose to drive and the Europeans and Asians chose public transit. Lunch at work - most Americans in my group but lunch every day, even if it is a simple deli sandwich. Most non- Americans bring homemade lunches. Now I don’t make value judgement about how people spend their money but the way they gravitate towards convenience first and only then consider finances, environmental impact, etc.

Someone Asks “What’s An Obvious Sign That Someone Is American?” And 30 People Don’t Hold Back

At least in Finland, I find them as quite friendly, easy to get with and genuine. They aren’t afraid to ask questions if it is not clear to them and say the things that matter. Of course shoes, laughter and the way they carry themselves without thinking much about what others would say.

In the touristy cafe-restaurant I worked at:1. If they asked me for the nicest spot we had2. If they asked me my recommendation without seeing the menu first3. I would walk to the table, and they would say right away “hey how are you doing?”. This one threw me off a lot at first. Why is this person asking me how I’m doing?? I’m just there to take the order. I got used to it, and I think they found my awkwardness to it cute.4. They would ask my name when I greeted them and took their orderNB I’m Northern European

Someone Asks “What’s An Obvious Sign That Someone Is American?” And 30 People Don’t Hold Back

I was told, “Americans carry water bottles around like they’re worried they’ll never have access to clean water ever again.”

Someone Asks “What’s An Obvious Sign That Someone Is American?” And 30 People Don’t Hold Back

They typically only speak 1 language.

Someone Asks “What’s An Obvious Sign That Someone Is American?” And 30 People Don’t Hold Back

I’m half Italian and my biggest pet peeve with American culture is Americans are averse to walkingInb4 “American cities aren’t walkable”. That’s true to a point, but Americans a big country. There are still walkable places and even in the instance where something is, people prefer to drive. I used to walk 30 minutes to class from home and people thought I was crazy.I also used to be an Uber driver. Many people I picked up were college students that didn’t want to make the 10-15 minute walk from the off campus dorms. I’ve had friends ask to drive to places that are only 10 minute walks. It’s kind of pathetic.

Someone Asks “What’s An Obvious Sign That Someone Is American?” And 30 People Don’t Hold Back

They cut their food, then switch the fork to their right hand and put the left under the table while eating.XL shirt on an average guy (6 ft 172 lbs / 1.82m 78 kg) also trousers with enough room for another person.

Someone Asks “What’s An Obvious Sign That Someone Is American?” And 30 People Don’t Hold Back

Making casual conversation with random strangers.

Someone Asks “What’s An Obvious Sign That Someone Is American?” And 30 People Don’t Hold Back

Good taste in music, intolerance of monarchy, and near cult-like worship of pizza.

Expecting to drive to everything.

Someone Asks “What’s An Obvious Sign That Someone Is American?” And 30 People Don’t Hold Back

Baseball cap… even on an infant riding in a pram.

Someone Asks “What’s An Obvious Sign That Someone Is American?” And 30 People Don’t Hold Back

Continue reading with Bored Panda PremiumUnlimited contentAd-free browsingDark modeSubscribe nowAlready a subscriber?Sign In

Continue reading with Bored Panda Premium

Unlimited contentAd-free browsingDark mode

Unlimited content

Ad-free browsing

Dark mode

Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber?Sign In

Everyone is ignoring what OP actually asked and giving subtle signs that someone is American. Here’s an obvious one: they have an American accent.

See Also on Bored Panda

They’re super friendly to complete strangers on public transportation.

Some of the coolest friends I have but damn do they use time to express distance like oh I am 10 minutes away from you and they mean driving not walking nor biking which annoyed the hell out of me at first.

I’m from Ireland, we get a lot of American tourists and you can spot them a mile away. It’s not just clothes but their demeanour. Everything is “awesome.”

Ask for ice in their water.

Someone Asks “What’s An Obvious Sign That Someone Is American?” And 30 People Don’t Hold Back

They ask for a side of Ranch.

They call ‘Royale with cheese’ as a ‘Quarter pounder’.

My friend went to Germany recently, and what people said about Americans is you can spot them a mile away because they’re the ones wearing pajamas in public. Apparently in other countries, at least Germany, they dress a little more formal and in less baggy clothes than we do in America.

Someone Asks “What’s An Obvious Sign That Someone Is American?” And 30 People Don’t Hold Back

Wearing shoes indoors. Gross.

The have a weird way of measuring temperature.

Walking and eating. Ain’t nobody in America got time to just eat, gotta be doing something else too or you’re wasting time.

Ironically enough, Americans are the least bigoted people and are the most hospitable of any culture.The only caveat is that they are often taken advantage of and things can turn to s**t pretty quickly.Also, everyone trolls Americans for having as much love and respect for their own country and culture as anyone else has for their own countries and cultures.It’s almost as sensitive as talking about politics and religion.

Going to a nice restaurant, the theatre, opera, and people wearing long shorts, sneakers, and getting told they can’t come in. (Seen it happen loads of times). In Florence (Italy), in a local restaurant renowned for their tripe dishes. The loud American table asked for gluten free pasta, all ordered cokes, and didn’t like any of the (amazing) food. One of the parties walked out crying because the waiter was “rude.” S**t like that.

Americans in Asia (where I live) have an unmistakable and utterly misplaced air of entitlement that has to be seen to be believed.If you’ve never witnessed main character syndrome up close then take a holiday to Asia and observe Americans in action.

They don’t realize just how beautiful America’s landscape is. They travel all over the world to see beautiful far away places but meanwhile, in their backyard, they have breathtaking areas.Talk to any American and the last place they wanna travel is around America, one of the most beautiful places on earth.HOW DO THEY NOT KNOW?

Americans will bus their own fast food table. In other countries, people will leave their trash.

Modal closeAdd Your Answer!Not your original work?Add sourcePublish

Modal close

Add Your Answer!Not your original work?Add sourcePublish

Not your original work?Add sourcePublish

Not your original work?Add source

Modal closeModal closeOoops! Your image is too large, maximum file size is 8 MB.UploadUploadError occurred when generating embed. Please check link and try again.TwitterRender conversationUse html versionGenerate not embedded versionAdd watermarkInstagramShow Image OnlyHide CaptionCropAdd watermarkFacebookShow Image OnlyAdd watermarkChangeSourceTitleUpdateAdd Image

Modal closeOoops! Your image is too large, maximum file size is 8 MB.UploadUploadError occurred when generating embed. Please check link and try again.TwitterRender conversationUse html versionGenerate not embedded versionAdd watermarkInstagramShow Image OnlyHide CaptionCropAdd watermarkFacebookShow Image OnlyAdd watermarkChangeSourceTitleUpdateAdd Image

Ooops! Your image is too large, maximum file size is 8 MB.

Upload

UploadError occurred when generating embed. Please check link and try again.TwitterRender conversationUse html versionGenerate not embedded versionAdd watermarkInstagramShow Image OnlyHide CaptionCropAdd watermarkFacebookShow Image OnlyAdd watermark

Error occurred when generating embed. Please check link and try again.

TwitterRender conversationUse html versionGenerate not embedded versionAdd watermark

InstagramShow Image OnlyHide CaptionCropAdd watermark

FacebookShow Image OnlyAdd watermark

ChangeSourceTitle

You May Like“The Coconut Oil Hair Story”: 30 Of The Darkest Stories People Have Posted OnlineRugile Baltrunaite30 People Share The Creepiest Thing They’ve Heard A Family Member Say: “Jaw On The Floor”Indrė Lukošiūtė30 “Cheap Versions” Of Things That People Swear Are Better Than The “Luxury” OnesMindaugas Balčiauskas

Rugile Baltrunaite

Indrė Lukošiūtė

Mindaugas Balčiauskas

Curiosities