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40 Embarrassing Facts About the US of A That Each Deserve Their Own Star on the Flag

Factory-farmed facts!

40 Embarrassing Facts About the US of A That Each Deserve Their Own Star on the Flag

October 31, 2024

Like everything in the U.S., we’re pumpin’ out the facts! Our vast production line is right out of a How It’s Made episode, and our warehouse is stacked to the brim with tasty little tidbits for the brain.

Here, our severely under-qualified forklift driver just knocked over this entire stack right now!

40

Number of Cars in the U.S.

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

39

CRACKED.COM Only the U.S. has widely adopted in-sink garbage disposals. insinkeraborg food waste dispose 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.

38

BREAD To visitors from other countries, American bread tastes like cake. That's because manufacturers add a ton of high-fructose corn syrup-the stuff is so cheap there, thanks to corn subsidies. Some people think American bread tastes better. Others think the sweetness makes it incompatible with any kind of topping. GRACKED.COM

37

The rehearsal dinner is a huge part of any wedding, right? Sure, having one is a long-standing tradition (it's from the 19th century)- but only a tradition in the U.S. CRACKED.COM

36

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

35

CRACKED THE U.S WORKS WAY TOO MUCH. INSURICARE A adidas | I SERVICE Americans work almost 25% more hours than Europeans, 137 more hours per year than the Japanese, and 499 more hours per year than the French. Americans retire later, and take fewer vacations than most other countries. — Source

34

CRACKED ASKING WHAT DO YOU DO? Asking about someone's profession is a common American icebreaker, but is considered insulting or possibly classist in countries like The Netherlands. If the dinner party guest says lawyer or janitor are you going to treat them differently? — Source

33

The culture of people openly carrying guns in public is a shocking concept to people from non-gun countries. They only ever see things like that in action movies! CRACKED.COM

32

People outside the U.S. think it's crazy that Americans have to file their own taxes. OPOL Many non-U.S. countries have taxes prepared by their revenue agency. For example, in Japan you get a postcard with your earnings and taxes owed and withheld. You only have to reply if there is a problem. CRACKED.COM

31

Advertisements for prescription drugs are allowed in the U.S. 091 of SAS NATURALLY Want many PRESCRIPTION ONLY MEDI Absorbent KEEP OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN Your doctor is supposed to be the one to tell you what you need. Advertisements for prescription drugs are considered unethical and illegal in almost every country. CRACKED.COM — Source

30

erat GT PHARMACY It comes as a shock to a lot of US visitors that they can find cigarettes, booze and even guns in your local pharmacies. In their homelands' pharmacies, they can only get products that make them feel healthier, not worse. CRACKED.COM — Source

29

Medical Costs

1 in 5 Americans didn't seek medical treatment they needed during the pandemic CRACKED COM And it's not surprising why: cost. Nearly 20% of Americans didn't receive needed medical care because they couldn't afford it. — Source: EurekAlert!

28

Every year, Americans eat around 14 billion HAMBURGERS That is more than 440 burgers every single second. CRACKED — Brent Hofacker/Shutterstock
HuffPost

27

CRACKED.COM 73% of adult Americans believe in heaven Only 62% believe in hell. (The survey did not immediately offer a definition for either.) — Source: PEW

26

Cocaine

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

25

Nude Beaches

Americans care way too much about nudity. Being nude is still seen as taboo to Americans. Most Europeans don't really care. They let it BEACH all hang

24

Mounties were created to fend off dumb Americans. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police were created in part as a response to the shenanigans of Americans trading illegal whiskey along the border between the two countries CRACKED.COM — British Empire / Grunge

23

Circumcision

Almost 80% of American boys are circumcised. In Europe and South America, however, this number averages below 20%. CRACKED.COM — Source

22

GRACKED SITTING IN THE BACK OF A CAB. In many countries, sitting in the back of the cab/Uber/Lyft is considered offensive and elitist, so riders sit in the front passenger seat. To be fair, most American cabbies would prefer you sit in the back too. — Source

21

TWO PARTIES There are ten political parties represented in Israel's parliament, the Knesset. The Bundestag in Germany has six. Eleven in the Oireachtas in Ireland. Brazil's Chamber of Deputies has 28. New Zealand? Seven parties. South Africa's Parliament? Thirteen. GRACKED.COM — Source

20

AMERICANS ARE MOSTLY MONOLINGUAL. Only 20% of students in the USA study a foreign language as compared to 90% of European students. Geroun Langen- scheidt German Spa scheidt Langen- CRACKED.COM TRA ITALIAN — Source

19

GRACKED ATHLEISURE ISN'T COOL EVERYWHERE ELSE. TRANSBORED Sure, stylish sportswear outside of the gym is trendy, but in Japan, most of Europe, and elsewhere, wearing sweatpants, leggings, flip flops, and even baseball caps in public is disrespectful. — Source

18

GRACKED THANKSGIVING IN THE U.S. IS WEIRD! Canada has an even older Thanksgiving than the U.S., and most countries who celebrate Thanksgiving do so in early October, to give thanks for the last harvests. The U.S. holds it way after the harvest, and is the only one that involves Pilgrims. — Source

17

GRACKED AMERICAN DATES ARE CONFUSING. 12 17 18 19 24 25 Americans write the month, the day, then the year, but pretty much every other country writes the day first, then the month, then the year. So 06/03/1985 is June 3rd, 1985 in the U.S., but the 6th of March, 1985 everywhere else. — Source

16

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

15

ELECTIONS Text UNITED to 30330 BID N In the U.S., races often start more than a year before the actual vote. In most other countries, campaigns last only a couple of weeks. The longest election campaign in Canadian history lasted 78 days. In the UK, a political party can't spend above a set amount in the year before an election. CRACKED.COM — Source

14

ICY DRINKS Other countries chill drinks, and they throw in a couple ice cubes, but visitors to America are baffled by the tradition of filling a glass with ice and then trickling a tiny bit of liquid around it. Many think they're being cheated. They're somewhat mollified, though, when they learn about the American tradition of free refills. GRACKED.COM — Source

13

Warren G. Harding

Warren G. Harding had a gambling problem. Не once lost the entire White House china set in a poker game. CRACKED.COM http://millercenter.org/president/harding/essays/biography/4 — Source: 22 Facts That Shatter Your Image of American Presidents

12

The American Revolution Majority Most American colonialists didn't support the American Revolution. Loyalists outnumbered the American Revolutionaries, who never held a majority. CRACKED.COM — Source: Museum for the American Revolution

11

Less than half of Americans cremate their dead. In highly populated countries like India and Japan, the cremation rate is almost 100%. This leaves more land open. CRACKED COM — Source

10

American Sleep Schedules

On workdays, 53% of Americans get fewer than seven hours of sleep. Those numbers are considerably lower in other Western countries - 39% in the UK, 36% in Germany, 30% in Canada, and 29% in Mexico. CRACKED.COM — Source

9

Most of the world uses the A series of paper sizes; doubling in size but maintaining the same aspect ratio throughout. Neat. 841 541 A1 594 594 x 841 AO cometime AZ 1189 841x1189 A3 297 - 420 A2 420 x 594 A5 - A4 207 -210 AT AL Meanwhile, the US only uses two sizes of paper: Letter, and Legal, which is slightly longer than letter-sized. GRACKED.COM — Source

8

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

7

THERE ARE MORE TIGERS PRIVATELY OWNED IN THE US THAN TIGERS IN THE WILD WORLDWIDE. ESTIMATED TALLY ESTIMATED TALLY I IN THE WILD IN US CAPTIVITY 3,890 5,000 And only 6% of the tigers in the United States are held in accredited facilities. CRACKED.COM — Source

6

Coaches

In most states in the U.S., the highest-paid public employees are college football and basketball coaches. FOOTBALL COLLEGE PRE SIDENT LAN COACH - CALLESE ... SOCIAL COLLEGE MED SCHOOL PRESIDENT DEAN FOOTBALL has TMACK MED SCHOOL COACH CALCA CHANCELLOR FOOTBALL MED SCHOOL BAGKETBALL WE SCHOOL BASKETBALL COACH COREM COACH DEPT CHAIR FOOTBALL DEAN MASHOTBALL BASKETBALL CRACK ENT COACH FOOTBALL BASKETBALL COACH FOOTBALL MED SCHOOL FOOTBALL COACH* COACH FOOTBALL PLASTIC COLLEGE COACH BASKET COACH SURGEON FOOTBALL FOOTBALL Sell FOOTBALL COACH POW FOOTBALL Chair COACH COACH Mell FOOT State COACH BALL BASKET. BASKETBALL FOOTBALL COACH BALL COACH BASKETBALL COACH Clack COACH BASKETBALL COACH — Source: 29 Ways America Is Super Weird, Compared To Other Countries

5

When shopping in America, consumers end up paying more money than what's on the price tags because the tax is added at the checkout point. In the EU, tax and other additional costs must be added to the total value before any payment is made. Otherwise, consumers have a right to request a complete refund of the excess charges. CRACKED.COM — Source: 15 Things About Life In The U.S. That Are Super Not-Normal

4

Thomas Jefferson brought his 19-year-old slave James Hemings to Paris in 1784. Jefferson wanted Hemings to learn how to cook French food. CRACKED COM

3

The incarceration rate in the US is the highest in the world, but not all states lock up their peaple at the same rate. Louisiana has the highest inca

2

CRACKED YOU'RE FROM THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. Travelers saying they're American implies that only the U.S. should be considered America. From North to South, there are 38 American countries. — Business Insider / Travel Off Path

1

OF AMERICA OF AMERICA UKITED STATES $1 DKITED $1 More than 2 million Americans live on less than $2 a day. CRACKED.COM — Source

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