
Those Crazy Americans: a boy's point of view - kposehn
http://blog.thansys.com/2014/03/07/crazy-americans/
======
aaronem
He's got a point about sheets and blankets. I've never understood the appeal
of tucking a top sheet in at the foot of the bed; I sleep with my feet
sticking out of the covers, lest they sweat.

He's also got a point about showers, or at least about the timing thereof; I
generally take two a day, one in the morning and one when I get home. Not
since childhood, though, have I seen a bath as a place to relax, or indeed had
a bath at all; the purpose of a shower is to get _clean_ , which rarely takes
more than ten minutes, fifteen if I also need a shave. On the other hand, as I
understand it, Russian culture includes, or has included until recently, a
tradition of social bathing, and perhaps I'd feel differently about bathing
had I origins in such a culture; in the United States, no such tradition has
ever existed.

And, as far as the adulteration of vodka goes, we do it because we're all
lightweights! In the United States, being able to drink a big glass of
straight vodka and not end up vomiting or passed out on the floor (or both, in
any order) makes you an alcoholic; perhaps our Puritan ancestors are to blame
for this, as for so many other things, but it's generally true nonetheless.

~~~
srean
Indeed! One of the first thing I do in a hotel room is jail-break the bed.

~~~
foobarian
I understand the not wanting to tuck the top sheet, but I don't understand the
lack of a top sheet underneath the duvet. I don't think it's a US thing
either, I grew up in Eastern Europe and the top sheet has the important
hygienic role of protecting the duvet from getting dirty. I couldn't imagine
sleeping without a top sheet, directly under the comforter.

~~~
aaronem
The article author mentions sleeping under a duvet encased in a sheet; perhaps
that serves the same role as does a sheet between body and comforter -- I
assume the encasing sheet he's talking about is removable for washing in the
same way what we call a duvet cover would be.

------
martin-adams
The beautiful thing about experiencing different cultures is that it will
allow you to open your mind about how things can be done differently. You'll
walk away either feeling more reassured about how you have grown up doing
something, or you'll learn something wonderful.

Being from the UK I do most of those. I sit here in my slippers, ready to go
do bed under my duvet where I'll get up and eat my cereal, have a shower and
head to work without a hat.

If you want to know about something crazy us Brits do, we're the only country
to cause our national grid issues by simultaneously turning on a kettle to
make a cup of tea at the end of EastEnders.

[http://www.bbc.co.uk/britainfromabove/stories/people/teatime...](http://www.bbc.co.uk/britainfromabove/stories/people/teatimebritain.shtml)

~~~
aaronem
I'm curious where he was in the United States that hats weren't de rigeur for
very cold weather; I never saw anyone wear a hat in my Mississippi boyhood,
but that's because it never dropped below forty (Fahrenheit) there. Here in
Baltimore, when it gets cold out, _everyone_ wears a hat who's going to be
outside for more than five minutes at a stretch; I found it weird at first,
but quickly discovered that, like a scarf, it's the only thing that makes
sense when the temperature outside is measured in single digits.

~~~
mitchty
He said New York.

I know here in Minnesota almost nobody goes outside without a hat. Then again
weather that will cause frostbite under pants will somewhat ensure sane
dressing practices.

And I don't know anyone that walks barefoot in their house. And I tend to take
a quick shower before I go to bed, because it seems stupid to go to bed
without taking a shower, you're the most dirty then. I also tend to wash
before going to the bathroom too for the same reason. I get funny looks for
both of those revelations to my fellow americans, but after I explain they all
agree it makes more sense.

------
jhwhite
I'm from the south and we call our meals breakfast, dinner, and supper. For
the morning, midday, and evening meal respectively. But the timing was
apparently the typical American times. 8am, noon, and 5-6pm.

~~~
steverb
I was raised in the south with the understanding that dinner refers to the
largest meal of the day. Typically coinciding with supper, except on Sunday
when we ate dinner at lunch time.

Never had dinner at breakfast, but we did occasionally have breakfast for
supper.

Culture is weird,

------
Dewie
10\. Americans that have graduated from prestigious universities will mention
that fact at any opportunity.

~~~
twic
But they will refer to this university as a "school".

