I UHHH WHAT ?!?! LEARNING ABOUT AMERICAN CULTURE BECAUSE MY WIFE AND I WANNA TRAVEL THERE

THIS REALLY SURPRISED ME.. SOME STUFF WASNT TOO FOREIGN TO ME BUT SOME STUFF TOTALLY BLEW MY MIND !!
SUPER INTERESTING TO KNOW THO AND ITS MADE ME EVEN KEENER TO LEARN MORE

[@MsCatstaff]

One thing about the tipping, in most states, the servers are paid LESS THAN minimum wage because it's expected that they'll make up the difference in tips. Federal minimum wage is currently $7.25/hour - unless you're in a "tipped" position, in which case, minimum wage is $2.13/hour.
If you should visit the South (and a bit into the Midwest, this is much less a thing in the Mid-Atlantic and New England regions and I'm not familiar with areas west of the Mississippi) you will almost certainly run into the beverage called Sweet Tea. And yes, the name is VERY descriptive. It's iced tea (there's that ice thing again!) that I swear is 50% sugar by volume. I grew up in Connecticut but spent a few years in various Southern states as an adult and did that ever take me by surprise the first time I had it!
Fried foods... these can also vary by region, and yes, the South and the Midwest are the big "fry everything and anything because we can" regions. For my own personal favorite fried foods, one you can find all over the place (at least in the frozen foods section of a grocery store) is the Corn Dog - a hot dog on a stick, dipped in a cornmeal batter and fried. Very popular state-fair type food. Some places even offer corn dog nuggets, mini corn dogs without the stick that you just get a half-dozen (or more) of in a serving. Then there's my hard-to-find favorite, a thing called Pizza Fritte, which I've pretty much only seen at fairs in Connecticut and New York - it's a fried disk of pizza dough about the size of a paper plate, topped with tomato sauce and Parmesan cheese, or alternatively topped with a cinnamon/sugar mix if you're in a dessert mood.
Oh yeah, a couple other weird things about the US - for some reason, we refuse to join the rest of the world in using the metric system. And we also insist that our version of football is the only game with that name, and that "soccer" is the proper term for what everyone else on the planet calls football.

[@Tribblepuppy]

Music is a big part of the American culture, and nowhere is this more true than with Country Music. Country music was the backbone of the south and the early western settlers. It told a stories of people and loves lost. My suggestion is for a group you listened to about 3 months ago, Home Free. Give a listen to their cover of Man Of Constant Sorrow, and then their cover of the Johnny Cash hit song Folsom Prison Blues. This group is real Americana. Thanks!

[@timhutchinson8485]

Fried pickles (pickled cucumbers) are a thing, but they’re not “everywhere”. More of a novelty appetizer at some restaurants. The AC thing didn’t make sense to me, but maybe he phrased it weirdly. We use AC in summer, but never in cold weather. And I certainly wouldn’t set it to “blaring”.

[@kensmith2829]

For sales tax, it's due to how our country is designed. Each state is basically its own country. So each state has its own laws and taxes it can levy. And in each state, each county has its own tax that it adds on. And to make it even worse, some bigger cities have their own tax as well.
So basically, it would be a nightmare for any business that has locations in multiple areas to try to keep track of it all for pricing. A store like Walmart would have a helluva time, especially considering all the national advertising it does.

[@dreadogastusf3548]

I nominate for best answer on the Sales TAX question.

[@dreadogastusf3548]

Tipping 25%?! Maybe. If I had a fine meal with excellent service. The customary percentage has risen over the years. Way back, early 1960's 10% would be fine. By 1980's 15 % became the custom. And around this time, hold on to your hat, better retaurants began adding a small note on the menus. "An automatic gratuity will be added for tables of 6 or more." Currently some people are saying 20% is proper.
All the above applies almost exlusively to restaurants.
But these amounts are only ...suggestions. People feel free to go over or under the mark for a variety of reasons. A table of me & my friends might tie up a table for hours and not buy much. But we'll tip heavy because the server can't make money off the table with people just sitting.

[@cargosquid]

If you make it to Central Virginia, I'll buy dinner and show you around, depending on our schedules. Be aware, summer is HOT in southern US, especially along the Gulf Coast. Sales tax is state based and is a percentage of total price. Your system seems great. Loved it when I was in Sydney. Sales taxes are why we still have pennies. Sales taxes are NOT VAT taxes. We don't have a national sales tax at all. And before you come, make sure you understand HOW BIG the US is. You have an advantage coming from Australia instead of Europe. You're used to a larger nation.

[@AnnaMarie66]

Come during the 4th of July!! Major Patriotic time with Flags flying everywhere 🥰🇺🇸

[@arwynOG]

(California here) We were planning a babymoon and looked at it as a last trip just the two of us. would be relaxing for me as a preggo & would be fun to get away. We ended up having to cancel so never did get that trip but we were looking forward to it. Would have also been the first vacation in a while.. still haven't had much of that (see point two on the video lol)
The loud voice thing is a personal choice I think. I am a soft spoken American and know many like me. I am regularly reminding my son to use his inside voice. My mom on the other hand is 100% that loud American
I'm editing as I'm watching, sorry, but the cab thing is so interesting about Australia/NZ. I might have been rude without realizing it when I went to NZ then.. whoops! I'm just shy and would rather sit in the back.
you intrigued me with the vegemite. I came across it while in NZ when staying with friends and it just did not look good or smell good (from what I remember.. this was 17 years ago lol) you said it so I'm going to ask: how are you supposed to eat it?

[@jolenewitzel7919]

That's my America. My fav fried food depends on what I am hungry for being if it's pickles or cookies. We'd love you to visit. Plan on visiting just 1 part of the states ( like south, west, east etc). So far I see the only thing to mess you up will be the taxes and tips. You will enjoy it here.

[@VonSchnitzelCrumREACTS]

Im so keen to visit ! i think we would go for a whole month so we can travel around abit as well. Yep Taxes and Tips will take some adjusting to but thats ok 😊

[@jolenewitzel7919]

@@VonSchnitzelCrumREACTS it would take a month just to visit the west where I'm from.

[@djkotowski]

For dates, I've always been a fan of YYYY/MM/DD format. It's easier when working in software, too, as it makes the dates sortable.

[@AnnaMarie66]

Fried chicken or wings at huge & mozzarella cheese sticks 😍

[@kensmith2829]

Best fried food would have to be wings. From Buffalo, of course.

[@cherylc1093]

Missing from the list is our standard measurement system. Most of the world is on the [way more logical] metric system.

[@maelgwyn100]

Red Cups = Beerpong!!

[@Larrybird696]

Deep fried Oreos fucking slap

[@marsle13]

pay for servers and bartenders in America is 2.13/hr. Period.

[@VonSchnitzelCrumREACTS]

Woah what ?!?!?!? That is insane

[@dreadogastusf3548]

"The workers are better when they are hungry." Some capitalist.

[@cargosquid]

You haven't had deep fried chicken?

[@Calumetto]

Not one reply. Okay. Message received and comment deleted.

[@dreadogastusf3548]

I must have missed something.