For example, I'm a white Jewish guy but I've adopted the Japanese practice of keeping dedicated house slippers at the front door.
For example, I'm a white Jewish guy but I've adopted the Japanese practice of keeping dedicated house slippers at the front door.
American, here. Got a bidet, and I am never going back. The fact that this isn't standard in American households is disgusting.
Oh so true! Before I visited Japan for the first time I thought having shit left on my ass is just a normal thing. But later I also visited Morocco and they have a bucket of water on the toilet so you can wash yourself. It seems it's only in Europe/America where people don't wash themselves after pooping.
There are bidets in many countries in Europe too. In Spain, most houses have them, and I'm pretty sure it's the same thing in France and Italy.
They have been disappearing in France, sadly, because people couldn't afford the space…
I'm adding integrated bidets to all our toilets in our oncoming renovation though.
I like the integrated ones much more anyway. I got one for our second toilet from my fiance for my birthday, she's a keeper :D
I got one just around the time that toilet paper was getting yanked off shelves at lightning speed, and it has ruined me for public toilets.
Peasant toilets. Hideous.
Love my bidet. I feel so clean and it’s so nice.
I got a bidet but then I read you have to turn it off at the connection to the water (at the bottom/back of toilet) every time or eventually the gasket can wear out and it will explode and the water will just go and go and go. If that happened at night or when noone is home you'd have major water damage!! I thought you could just use it with the trigger. Do people really actually fully stop the water every time? I uninstalled mine because I don't think I can reliably remember to do that.
Been using a bidet for several years, and that has literally never happened. I think you might have gotten bad info.
The T-adapter? That's not mechanically complex and should literally last forever if made out of the correct materials and isn't touched all the time. It should be no more fault prone than the connection to the toilet.
A misaligned thread or a washer not fitting quite right might be an issue from a bad install. That's an easy fix though and you should see a leak before things go catastrophic.
If your really looking for piece of mind I'm sure there are t adapters that can close themselves down in certain failure states.
I set all my digital clocks to 24hr mode, something I picked up after living in Europe. Would never go back.
Likewise. I just found it much easier when trying to schedule my day. Not having to account for the switch from 12-1 makes the math simpler.
I actually use some metric when measuring around the house for projects, especially for anything shorter than an inch. I can't be bothered to figure out 1/16 of an inch...it's easier in mm.
Drinking cheapest vodka possible chasing it with cheapest bear possible, then fight, sing, fight again, vomit all over the place, and fall asleep face down in a bowl of salad?
It's done all over Europe. They also have a fancy 1 that's nice because it doesn't look like a lower case l. I'm not positive that the 1 is used outside France though but it's the standard in France. https://ielanguages.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/davidsno.jpg
Yep, we do that too. It's called a Serif, though it being a French word I'd guess you know that.
When you indicate the number 3 with your hand, which fingers do you hold up?
Thumb, index, middle fingers?
Middle, ring, pinky (small finger) fingers?
Index, middle, ring fingers?
I heard Germans do it one of these ways, English does it another, and Americans does it yet another way. Don't know if it's true, but I think I saw that in some movie. Maybe Inglourious Basterds by Quentin Tarantino?
I swap between 1) index, middle, and ring and 2) thumb, index, and middle because I was raised with 1) but learned to do 2) while learning American Sign Language, as 1) in ASL means the letter W.
I’m a redneck American who says y’all, and calls people cunts a lot. We have so much to share
Happy to have more of the y'all in English English, but personally I'd like an uptake in youse.
As someone who has lived both in Pennsylvania and Kentucky, y'all just sounds and feels better than youse.
Is youse a thing I'm Pennsylvania and/or Kentucky? I was thinking a la the land of the free, home of the brave (Scotland)
Stretching. I think this originally came from southeast Asia, its so far back that its hard to discover. But I stretch every single morning. As a Native American I need that to limber up so I can dance, which I enjoy doing.
Sleeping on a thin futon laid out on the floor (Japan / Korea). And riding a bike or e-bike everywhere (Netherlands), even though US cities and infrastructure are hostile to humans
oh man. im so the opposite. I got a higher bedframe so getting up and down is even easier.
I would LOVE the house slipper bit. I've suggested it so many times. Wife and kids just won't go for it. Wife says it's rude to ask a guest to take off their shoes. I disagree but she just can't see my point or view. If you want to enter my house, show respect and take off your shoes to keep my house clean.
What's rude is bringing disgusting bacteria (E Coli, etc) and potentially-toxic chemicals into somebody else's house by not taking your shoes off. There's just an objectively-right and wrong answer to this one.
I just don't get it lol. Whenever I enter someone's house for the first time I ask "would you like me to take my shoes off?".
It's not that hard, and especially obvious if they have light colored carpet
I have multiple guests slippers at the door with internal shoe cleaner also to hand, but that's mostly for show as we clean them anyway. Regular guests eventually get to choose there slippers and we'll get what ever they want.
I'm sorry, what do you mean by "internal shoe cleaner"? My wife and I have "inside shoes" (not really slippers) with a small shoe rack / bench next to the door, but we're trying also to get slippers for the guests because so many of them usually ask if they should remove their shoes when they see us doing it. I'm having issues choosing the right slippers because I don't want that using a slipper that many other people have used becomes a hygiene issue. I know that in most cases it's not, but I don't want guest to "feel" like it may be. How do you deal with that?
My wife is from a shoes off in the home culture so our home is like that. Before I met her I could go either way on it.
One time when she was away I put my shoes on our bed and sent her a picture of it just to tease her. Hehe
I heard Koreans use metal chopsticks and bought pack home. Took some time to learn how to use those but so much easier when I can put those in dishwasher.
I hate metal chopsticks. Maybe I'm a bad Korean. I just find that they don't grip as well.
Is this what you mean by Korean spoon? What is better about them? I really love the ceramic spoons you get with Chinese soup, those are great for stews.
Yes there are several things I like:
Yeah, the Japanese ones are the easiest to use, but if you want to show off then using Korean ones is the ultra hard version. You get used to it though quite fast.
I've learned from the Japanese phrase 'itadakimasu,' which is said before eating as a way to thank the person that prepared the food. I think in the west, a lot of us grew up learning to say things like grace before a meal, but that is too religious for me and gives God credit for peoples' hard work instead. I love the idea of ritualistically thanking the people who actually made the food. It was one of the things I appreciated while studying there that has stuck with me.
In my culture its common courtesy to thank a person after the meal, either the one who made it, brought it, or paid for it. But only if they're present. It ain't a ritual. Same-ish thing.
From the USA: wearing a white t-shirt under my shirt or t-shirt. Helps preventing sweat stains under armpits. Really hot in the summer though
In the SW USA in summer it can get 117F (47C) and let me tell you, my dude, 100% cotton is still hot as hell.
I don't know this for sure, but to me it seems like the whole suit and tie and jacket thing was a northern European tradition and eventually an eastern USA tradition where it's cold. That shit don't work in the desert, and those who continue to claim "professionalism" and maintain such stupid customs are fools, in my opinion.
I'm not middle eastern but those dudes have the correct answer to the desert. I really wish the thawb would catch on in the Sonoran Desert of the southwest USA.
just before the reddit strike there was a thread on /r/askhistorians about wearing layers in hot climates specifically referencing some cowboy-type TV shows. the historians were talking about how linens and even properly woven wool are a lot more comfortable in heat than cotton.
I have some linen and I can see it being the case but the cuts/styles are not to my liking. Maybe I will have some tailored one day.
I just bought bed linens for the first time. It is really breathable but a but scratchy so far.
I have been sleeping on linen as much as possible for ages. I have pieces from a few sources and I've never found them scratchy. Not sure why as everyone else has the same comment. My actual "sheets" are just yardage from a fabric store at the heaviest weight I could find and it was pleasant immediately. I do have one cushion case that's kind of scratchy, I probably wouldn't want to sleep on sheets like that.
Apparently it gets softer with laundering so just throw them in every time you do a wash I guess.
You got your linen bed sheets at a fabric store? Maybe I'll take a trip to my local fabric store and see if I can feel them. Agreed about the wash thing. That's why I'm sticking it out, hoping they get softer over time.
I got them at an online retailer. Extreme discount. I took a gamble as I thought it might not actually be linen at the price. Especially wide enough to make sheets. Don't forget it shrinks.
Worthwhile going to a store to feel all what's available, different weights, weaves etc. There might be a clothing or upholstery oriented place that has more useful. For textile-industry, do not expect meaningful online presences. A lot of fabric stores have a website from 1997. A few 200px photos of stacks of fabric, a list of random brand names, a phone number and an address. Call them and tell them you are interested in linen for drapery, sheets & upholstery and they will tell you if have have that kind of thing and if not where to go. But it is a touch and feel business so actually going is better.
Also the word "linen" is used to mean a lot of things. some of which contain no linen. you want "100% linen" and knowing about weights will help https://www.onlinefabricstore.com/makersmill/linen-fabric-product-guide/
I sew, and I wouldn't even bother looking for linen in your local fabric stores. Most everything is going to be mixed with rayon and too narrow for sheets. That's especially true if your local fabric store is Joann. I can recommend some online retailers, but my usual go-to in the past has been Ukrainian linen, and... uh, you know.
For your current sheets, it will take time for them to soften, but if you wash them on hot and tumble dry them, they'll soften faster. There are multiple types of linen, and there's a variety called softened linen where it's been basically been beaten to soften the linen fibers and simulate wear. Linen that hasn't been softened just hasn't gone through that process and will be scratchier.
those who continue to claim “professionalism” and maintain such stupid customs are fools, in my opinion Not if you have AC at 65 everywhere! /s
Same here. I'm immune compromised and masks are a blessing.
I used to get sick once a month and now I've not been sick since before covid.
I'm a big white guy but I wear sarongs all the time, having grown up on Java and wore them as a kid. Soooo comfortable and versatile.
Sounds perfect for a desert climate. Another custom/fashion I wish would catch on in the hot desert of the USA.
I was what I think we would now call a "weeb" in my junior/senior year of high school, and had studied Japanese culture before making a short trip over there in the summer. One of the things I learned was that blowing your nose in public is seen as bad manners, and it really stuck with me. When you think about it, it is pretty gross to loudly blow snot into a tissue (bonus points for carrying a handkerchief!) in front of others, like (as an American) we'll just do this at the dinner table without batting an eye.
To this day, I try not to blow my nose in public places or in front of folks if I can avoid it, because it has grossed me out ever since learning how Japanese culture perceives it.
Wtf? That is super gross. I'm Canadian and I don't know anyone who would do it at the dinner table. I've seen my boss do it at his desk but he turns to face the corner next to his desk first.
Ime most people go to the washroom to do it, or at least make sure they're not near anyone else.
I'm American and I don't think anyone in my social circle would blow their nose at the dinner table. Yours might just be gross.
What do you think you're supposed to do after rating spicy buffalo wings that make your nose run?
Sure there's some settings where you don't do it (or do it quietly). Many restaurants are also loud enough that you won't even hear it unless you're listening to it.
Or, you’re an American who lives in a country/continent where there are a wide variety of people outside of your little bubble who have different backgrounds and different cultural norms that you’ve very likely never considered.
See, I can be demeaning too!
See, I can be demeaning too!
Good thing you explained what you were going for because it was kind of hard to follow.
You made an assertion about all americans:
like (as an American) we’ll just do this
and someone wished to dispute it based on their own experience.
You described a behaviour as gross and indicate that it is common in your social circles. How is it demeaning to says that your social circles are gross? @htrayl is agreeing with you
It seems to me to be worse manners to just leave your snot as leaking out or making you sniffle. Better to get it over with rather than make people listen to that for minutes to hours.
I adopt representing 3 with thumb, index, and middle finger (German?), Instead of the usual index, middle, ring. This is easier for teaching my little girl as her hands muscle aren't fully developed yet and have a hard time controlling her ring finger.
It looks oddly asymmetrical, like weight is missing from one side but otherwise it's good for your hand I suppose.
Yeah, it look weird. Guess that's by it's not as popular, but while seeing my baby develop, I saw that they developed control over thumb and index, then middle. So, it's the quickest way to teach them to count up 3.
I've started doing it all the time now as well, as it's valid ASL and we have two hard of hearing children, one of which communicates primarily with sign.
I use my index finger and my pinky with my middle finger curling around my ring finger. As a white foreigner, I show them horizontally on the east coast of the US like an E and vertically on the west coast like a W to try to fit in better. ;)
I am not Jewish, but I have adopted the practice of placing stones/pebbles on my parents' gravestone each time I visit.
It stays. It looks like a purposeful embellishment. For my own family's purpose, it acts as a physical record of me visiting often (because extended family is judgemental and believes that I am not visiting at all).
I've always used high beams as a thank you/I'm letting you pass/bro, your headlights are off, depending on the context.
Here in Germany it's common to quickly flash your hazards when you're on the highway and enter a traffic jam to signal the person behind you "Watch out, I'm slowing down and won't accelerate again"
We started doing so here in Singapore. Even our public busses flash hazard lights twice to convey a thank you sometimes now. In the context of someone giving way to you.
But on a highway when there's a sudden slowdown in front, we turn on the hazard lights to convey "dude slow down the dude in front is being weird". Especially useful when there's torrential downpours.
Not sure, haven't been in any that I've driven so far. Our cars always have some lag between the latest tech and what's actually being sold for some reason (tho arguably it's getting better).
Single flash of hazards to thank someone is common in Brussels traffic, there are a lot of very selfish drivers on the road who never let anyone merge in. Haven't seen it outside of here, maybe because people are usually a bit more polite or zipper merging works as it should.
Common in all of Belgium to put hazards on to warn people behind you that there is a traffic jam up ahead. I really like that passing the baton system.
Also single flash of high beams to notify someone you've seen them and they can cross or pass where they'd otherwise not have right of way. While you should always be as predictable as possible, sometimes doing it wrong resolves the situation faster for everyone.
I also always raise my hand as a thanks when someone stops to let me use a crossing (I have the right of way as a pedestrian but I still feel like sending people a thank you for observing the rules correctly). Did that when walking in Brussels this morning out of sheer habit, realized that is probably actually pretty unusual for a big city. My small town habits are betraying me.
A few jump to mind.
I say No Worries quite a lot.
I use chopsticks as much as a fork at home.
I take my shoes off inside.
I'll order a Pint.
Chopsticks I do use whenever they are easier (noodles, salad) and also for eating potato chips. I leave my shoes on though, we have dogs, it's a lost cause. Roomba runs about 3 hours a day.
I was raised in an extremely conservative Southern Baptist Christian tradition, but I often recite the Hail Mary and/or the first line of the Shema (in admittedly very poor Hebrew) when I pray. There's something about knowing that the same prayer has been prayed by millions and millions of humans through history that makes me feel more connected.
I don't get the hail mary. The our father would be baptist acceptable and should have been recited for longer given its in the bible specificallly.