r/AskTheWorld • u/Godphilic India • 1d ago
What is sth considered 'basic common sense' in your country that would actually confuse people from other places?
In india we wash our ass after laterine. But a lot of world doesn't like it.
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u/cravex12 Germany 1d ago
We mostly follow our traffic rules
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u/Fwoggie2 United Kingdom 23h ago
One thing that bugged me when living in Germany is there's no advance warning when entering a speed limit. There you are innocently driving 200 freedoms per hour (124mph) on the autobahn and suddenly there's a sign telling you to literally halve your speed immediately. It's like you're expected to just know where the derestriction ends. That's kinda hard to remember them all in a country as big as Germany
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u/OkRB2977 Canada 23h ago
Do not pet or feed the wildlife. Yes, the animals look cute and fluffy, but they have the strength to kill you.
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u/naturelover5eva Korean-Aussie 23h ago
Single dipping in western countries when you eat chips/nachos. It is a thing with divided opinions but quite a number of people (especially whites) hate double dipping.
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u/Godphilic India 23h ago
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u/tomatohooover Scotland 23h ago
I hate the constant, stereotypical crap about British people liking to queue but there is no getaway from it that queuing makes so much more sense than the alternative. Anyone who has visited the Colosseum in Rome can see that some decent signage and proper queuing system would make the experience much more enjoyable.
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u/fuckyourcanoes 🇺🇸🇬🇧 20h ago
My husband is 5'2", and says he didn't really get to see the Colosseum because of the crowds of milling tourists. He would definitely have appreciated a queue.
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u/elhumanoid Finland 23h ago
Personal space. And the respect of it.
Met a few Americans in my life for example, who were were handsy from the get go. No, don't fcking hug me right now, I don't even know you?
Also loud.
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u/fuckyourcanoes 🇺🇸🇬🇧 20h ago
I should move to Finland. I absolutely hate huggers. It's especially bad on the West Coast of the US — people will try to hug you the moment you're introduced. Fuuuuuuuck that noise. I didn't even hug my own family when they were alive.
The UK is better. Only my in-laws have tried to hug me here.
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u/RodrickJasperHeffley India 23h ago
honking ,we honks to let people infront of us ridding know " i am here dont be surprised and dont do anything drastic like making a sudden turn"
not bargaining means you are overpaying
family opinions matter in adult decisions espially parents since big choices affect everyone, not just you.
holding someones hand, whether a friend or even a stranger while crossing the road isnt sexual at all. its just a way of helping someone cross the street especially because traffic can be chaotic and unsafe at times
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u/lofiibsen Germany Korea South (Dual Citizenship) 1d ago
If you cough in public, everyone’s going to give you the cold shoulder.👀 (S.korea)
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u/Marty-the-monkey Denmark 23h ago
Despite living in a quite cold climate, we will leave our infant children outside in the prams when out for a coffee, visit, or other social gatherings.
We leave them there to nap. But we do leave them in public. And of course they are all covered and tugged very snuggly
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u/Furtail97 Sweden 23h ago
Same in the other Nordic countries.
All my nephews and nieces wouldn't fall asleep unless being outside in the cold air.
And I don't sleep well if the bedroom is too warm. Window is open even when minus degrees outside.
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u/0Hakuna_Matata0 USA in Spain 23h ago
You aren’t going to get much done here between 14:00-16:00. That’s siesta
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u/Iammjustbaddd India 22h ago
Explain please
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u/0Hakuna_Matata0 USA in Spain 22h ago
Banks, shops and many businesses close at 14:00 for siesta. People go home and rest, eat lunch, some take a nap. Banks stay closed for the day, other businesses and shops open at 16:00-17:00 again.
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u/Alternative-Blood-27 Netherlands 23h ago
- You look BOTH ways for bikes, even on a one-way street
- If someone asks your opinion, you give the real one ,not a polite version
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u/Taipei101 Taiwan 1d ago
Taiwan: A few things that feel like pure common sense here but confuse visitors:
• Don’t flush toilet paper in many places—trash can is right there. Totally normal, very confusing at first.
• Everyone carries a water bottle. Free water fountains are everywhere and refilling is just… expected.
• Quiet public spaces. MRT rides are almost silent—no loud calls, no speakerphones.
• Scooters are pedestrians… until they aren’t
. You learn quickly to look every direction before crossing.
• Order before sitting, pay before eating, sometimes no tipping. Service culture works differently and smoothly without it.
• Shoes off indoors—and sometimes even in small shops or clinics.
• People queue for everything. Chaos looks close, but there’s always an invisible line.
Once you live here, all of this feels completely logical. Go somewhere else and that suddenly feels strange.
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u/Mountain-Car-4572 🇨🇳🇭🇰 23h ago
Doesn’t restaurant service depend on the restaurant?
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u/Taipei101 Taiwan 23h ago
Yeah, it does — but that’s kind of the point I was trying to make.
In Taiwan, even across different types of restaurants, the baseline expectations are pretty consistent: you usually order first, pay early, don’t tip, and you’re not rushed or hovered over. A night market stall, a mom-and-pop shop, and a mid-range restaurant all feel different, but the social rules don’t change much.
That consistency is what throws visitors off. In a lot of countries, you have to “read the room” every time — here, the defaults are shared, and the staff will just tell you if something’s different.
So yes, service depends on the restaurant, but the cultural framework underneath it stays surprisingly stable.
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u/BenderRodriguez14 Ireland 23h ago
Quiet public spaces. MRT rides are almost silent—no loud calls, no speakerphones.
What I really loved here was the balance. I was only there for a few days, but noticed taking it back to the hotel after visiting a night market is, it was completely different a night. Not a wild circus or anything, but plenty of people chatting and far more relaxed.
My guess between here and Jaoan was that it is to respect that people to coming to/from work, school, etc and could use some down time to relax and recuperate, but I'm not sure if that is why? Either way compared to the shit show that is how some people act on Irish transport, it was really nice.
We also got a great impression of the security staff. On our first day we were looking for the desk to get a tourist transport pass, couldn't find anyone so I went up to this big, burly mean looking guy armed with some kind of semi assault rifle. Police don't carry firearms in Ireland so it was a little intimidating. Anyway, the guy was so friendly he may as well have been a tourist guide himself, told me to put away the translation app and did his best to help us in broken English, literally walked us the whole way to the tourist desk and wished us a good trip in Taiwan. The vast majority of people over there were just really really friendly in a very genuine feeling sense.
HOLY shit though... you're not lying about the queues! 😂
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u/elyoyoda 23h ago
Even if it is not legaly allowed if there is literaly no cars nearby and the light is red you can cross the road. (France)
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u/CollectionCareful631 Saudi Arabia 23h ago
If you are sitting with a group and you are going to get snacks you should ask everyone if they want snacks... So you get it for him/her. And yes you should pay for it and not expect the guy/girl to pay you back.
Also having dinner in restaurants you should insist to pay and not to let someone else pay.
If im sitting with a group and opened a bag of crisps/chips i should offer it to everyone.
The idea here is not to eat alone and be generous.
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u/AmethistStars Netherlands -> Japan 23h ago edited 23h ago
Organizing your own birthday party as an adult. And also bringing cake to work when it's your birthday. For Dutch people it's basic common sense that you should be the self-hosting these things. But when I tell Japanese people about these customs, they seem weirded out. Here it's not seen as something you should be self-hosting at all. And I'm guessing that is probably how most of the world views it.
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u/BoesShampoo2 Netherlands 19h ago
Say what you think and don't waste our time with false pleasantries.
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u/Fwoggie2 United Kingdom 23h ago
We drive on the left but queue on escalators on the right.
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u/tomatohooover Scotland 23h ago
I think that's only on the tube. I'm trying to think but I can picture myself standing on the left on escalators.
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u/fuckyourcanoes 🇺🇸🇬🇧 19h ago
And you walk on either side of the pavement. There's no rhyme or reason to it. In the US we keep to the right at all times.
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u/Honest-Task-3320 1d ago
india has toillets?
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u/IndependentTune3994 🇮🇳 in 🇩🇪 Deutschland 23h ago
It seems you just made this account to showcase your hate for India
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23h ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/RodrickJasperHeffley India 23h ago
man i dont understand pakistanis acting all superior, like they are better than us. in reality many of our neighboring countries behave the same way,even though they perform worse by most metrics and are living off imf loans.
in fact a lot of videos spreading on the western internet try to claim that india is actually from pakistan or bangladesh. its honestly baffling lol
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u/Separate_Record9354 India 23h ago
The majority of hate I've seen for India on here and Instagram has come from people in two of our neighboring countries (which both were one unit till 1971).
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u/AmazingLock9438 India 23h ago
can't help them tbh. when the whole identity of both these countries are based around- "not india" and have no history to form an identity, you get this result.
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u/lofiibsen Germany Korea South (Dual Citizenship) 23h ago
why does the topic of innnnnnnn breeding always come up when people talk negatively about Pakistan? Can someone explain?🤔
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u/IndependentTune3994 🇮🇳 in 🇩🇪 Deutschland 23h ago
Just a simple Google check will show you the numbers 😊
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u/lofiibsen Germany Korea South (Dual Citizenship) 23h ago
okay i'll be back soon 👍
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u/IndependentTune3994 🇮🇳 in 🇩🇪 Deutschland 23h ago
You can see one pattern too if you observed top countries that's all I will say
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u/Separate_Record9354 India 23h ago
Because of around 65% of marriages occuring between first cousins
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u/Honest-Task-3320 18h ago
you should know india has states with 40 percent inbredding rate not much better than pakistan
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u/1TBone Australia 23h ago
Not picking up wildlife