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26 Trivia Tidbits About America’s Worst Habits and Policies

These facts are giving America an intervention

26 Trivia Tidbits About America’s Worst Habits and Policies

September 21, 2024

Don’t get us wrong. America has a ton of great qualities. But we also don’t want to be delusional. We have things we can work on — and learn from — too. And once we do, we’re sure we’ll do them better than anyone else in the world. That’s American exceptionalism, baby!

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CRACKED.COM Only the U.S. has widely adopted in-sink garbage disposals. insinkeraborg food waste disposer Because of how much water they use and the burden they put on sewage systems, in-sink garbage disposals are really unpopular outside the U.S. For example, nearly half of U.S. households have in-sink garbage disposals, but only 5% of U.K. ones do. They used to be banned in Japan and Australia, and still are in Austria, Portugal, and the Netherlands. — Source

25

There are almost as many cars in the U.S. as there are people. The average for all 50 states is 910 cars per 1,000 citizens. The numbers for the European Union countries are much lower-587 cars per 1,000 citizens. CRACKED.COM — Source

24

GRAGKED.COM Drugs are more expensive in the US than other nations. A month's supply of diabetes medication Januvia costs $168.61 after discounts in the US. Canada pays the next highest price ($68.10), which is not discounted and still $100 less. — Source

23

America is one of the only countries that refrigerate eggs. WHY? ASABE A to on 1234 but 1450 Because the FDA makes HOT acc us Fresh Form Eggs XL GOOSE ADE A EGGS wash off the hen's natural Tray coating that protects the egg from salmonella. CRACKED.COM — Source

22

In the US, the number of vacant houses are six times greater than the number of homeless people. USA Europe Homeless 3.5 million 4.1 million people Vacant 18.5 million 11 million houses The ratio in Europe is less than half that. CRACKED.COM — Source

21

Americans are extremely obsessed with their flag. The U.S. is pretty much the only country where flying a flag year-round is common. In France, the flag is associated with aggressive nationalism and the far right. In the UK, flying a flag outside your house would be kind of embarrassing-it's just not done. In Germany, the flags on the parliament building are almost the only ones flown, by anyone. CRACKED.COM — Source

20

The United States is the only nation that hasn't ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which means that American children may be treated by the criminal justice system as adults, including being arrested and serving life sentences. CRACKED.COM — Source

19

CRACKED COM There are currently three countries that do not use the metric system-Burma, Liberia, and the United States. 2 a 81 LI 10FEET 3m s 3 Many U.S. industries have been slow to adopt the metric system, but it is becoming standard in certain areas of science, medicine, and government. — Source

18

Unlike many other countries around the world, America doesn't officially embrace the tradition of napping. It's a cultural expectation in places like Italy, Spain, Greece, the Philippines, Nigeria & others, but viewed as slacking here. GRAGKED.COM — Source

17

The U.S. is 1 of only 4 countries in the world that does not require paid maternity leave. The U.S. ranks last among developed countries when it comes to paid parental leave. While many U.S. companies offer paid parental leave, the United States is the only advanced country without a federal law mandating it. CRACKED.COM — Source

16

Individually, Americans use more cocaine than any other country. The percentage of users in America is only a tenth of a percent higher than Brazil, but Americans use 36% of the world's cocaine, compared to Brazil's 18%. CRACKED.COM — Source

15

The United States is the only modern democracy to elect its president via Electoral College CRACKED COM — Source

14

CRACKED.COM American portion sizes are abnormally huge. Food servings are 40% to 80% larger in American cities than in European ones. op When adopting 35 an a typical American diet or moving to America, people from other cultures gain significant amounts of weight. — Source

13

Navy's too loud: permanent damage.

GRACKED THE U.S. NAVY IS PAINFULLY LOUD. The U.S. Navy's loud pinging and metallic shrieking noises can cause permanent hearing damage to sea animals if they're louder than 210 decibels. — Source

12

ICY DRINKS are a strange concept to many outside the U.S.A Some claim it's the expense, others say it dilutes the beverage, but more than a few cubes in a drink is an American thing. GRACKED.COM — Source

11

RELIGION Fordain anderson blish this come 6 INTIN GS - 2 RIP Among developed countries, America is the most religious. A study by the Pew Research Center found that wealthy countries tend to be less religious. Some of the most religious countries are Senegal, Ghana, and Pakistan, while some of the least religious are Japan, Germany, and Australia. The U.S. is an outlier. GRACKED.COM — Source

10

THE GOVERNMENT DROPPED 300,000 MOSQUITOES ON GEORGIA. They wanted to know if yellow fever could be weaponized. It was 1955, and the U.S. government wa — Source

9

Testing nuclear bombs in the U.S. has killed over 10,000 Americans The U.S. government had 1,000 nuclear tests in Nevada, with another 67 in the Marshall Islands. The tests caused cancer, resulting in a very low estimate of the fatalities being in the thousands. CRACKED.COM — Source

8

It would cost you $2,350 to renounce your U.S. citizenship PASSPORT PASSPORT d States The U.S. has the highest fee in the world. It hiked the fee from $450 in 2014. CRACKED.COM — Source

7

The largest population of tigers in the world is in the USA. With an estimated 5,000 tigers, the U.S. captive tiger popula- tion exceeds the ар- proximately 3,200 ti- gers in the wild. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Source

6

Come on, Arkansas… Mass murder is mass murder.

GRACKED THEIR AGE ALLOWED THESE SCHOOL SHOOTERS TO WALK FREE. In 1998, Mitch Johnson and Andrew Golden killed 4 children and 1 adult at a middle school in Jonesboro, AR. Since Johnson was 13 and Golden was 11, their sentence was juvenile detention until they turned 21. They're the only school shooters in the U.S. who were allowed to walk free. — Source

5

Homeless war veterans

Over 12% of homeless adults in the U.S. are war veterans. CRACKED.COM — Source

4

Many teachers in the U.S. work part-time jobs during the summer or even after school due to their low pay. Despite this, they are often obligated to s — Source

3

IT'S A MYSTERY FOR NON-AMERICANS WHY COLLEGE TUTION FEES IN THE U.S. ARE SO DAMN EXPENSNE. H44GO74LT IA OTHER DEVELOPED COUNTRIES LIKE GERMANY DON'T E — Source

2

CRACKED WEARING SHOES IN THE HOUSE. The rule is household to household in the U.S., but it's considered rude and offensive in most of Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Canada. — Source

1

Americans use 36.5 billion rolls of toilet paper each Year. That's 1/5 of all the TP in the world, even though the U.S. makes up only 4% of the global population. CRACKED.COM — Source

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