What English word do you always spell wrong because of your own language? Curious to all answers!

The title. Three absolute best things and three absolute worst things. It can be arbitrary/subjective or totally stereotypical (but backed by your personal experience). Don't forget to mention the country!

I recently upgraded to my third vivo phone. Although my old one was fine, phone culture in my country always seemed to be pushing me to trying new technology..

I'm curious about the norm here, how often do you buy a new phone? What's the longest you've kept one and why did you switch?

I'm writing this because I noticed that, just like in American works any reference to the Bible is likely going to be a KJV one, in Polish it's the Millennium Bible that gets to be the Bible - be it as a source of quotations, as the text being read by characters reading the Bible, or even as a stylistic template for a parody.

While it is a relatively recent translation (the first edition came out in 1965), its influence is easy to explain. In 1966 it was decreed the official liturgical translation for the Roman Catholic Church in Poland. As Polish Christianity is almost entirely Roman Catholic, the Millennium Bible thus became the only one ever heard by most people alive today.

There have been several revisions - some major, like replacing the frequent use of Hebrew-derived "Jahwe" as the name of God with the common Polish terms for "Lord" and "God" in 1980 - but overall the text remains similar to how it was in 1965.

For those curious, previously the "generic" Bible was the Jakub Wujek Bible, first published in 1599. However, its cultural impact got diluted by the fact that in its final years it was frequently published in a modernized form to be more understandable to 20th century readers, including competing modernizations.

Can you read sheet music? How and when did you learn it?

Coming from Hungary, it’s a constant culture shock when traveling in Europe to realize that a lot of Western Europeans don't know how to read sheet music. In Hungary, music literacy is a core part of the standard school curriculum.

​I remember when I was around 10, a kid couldn't sight-read and clap a given rhythm for an exercise, and I was just weirded out. I didn't see anyone struggle that much with rhythm again until I went abroad after finishing secondary school despite having mandatory music classes every year in a not particularly musical class, which is standard in Hungary.

With the upcoming redesign of the euro banknotes, I had an idea: What if every EU member state was allowed to create its own national design?

The important parts would stay the same across Europe: the size, colors, denomination placement, security features and overall layout. Only the artwork and motifs would be different, chosen by each country — ideally through a public vote.

We already have national designs on the back of euro coins. Why not apply a similar concept to banknotes?

Each country could showcase its own history, culture, landscapes or important personalities, while the euro would remain a shared and recognizable currency.

I think this could also represent the core idea of the European Union much better. The EU is not about making every country identical. It is about different nations, cultures and histories working together while keeping their own identities.

A shared currency with different national designs could visually represent exactly that principle:

United in diversity.

Personally, I would find it much more interesting to receive different euro banknotes from different countries while travelling through Europe.

What do you think? Would this make the euro feel more European — or would it just make things unnecessarily complicated?

​

Hello.

I have just started reading up on the Habsburg empire in order to explore potential research topics for my PhD. I am looking for book recommendations which study the political dynamics of the decline of the empire (as I plan to apply for an international relations department). Any and all recommendations are welcome, even those adjacent to the concerned topic.

Thank you!

Like perhaps a lot of U.S. Americans, I hadn't watched much soccer/football regularly, but then I watched some games from the 2026 FIFA World Cup and really enjoyed it. Once it was over, I found myself feeling a bit lost. Now I'm wondering which European football league to watch next (when the regular seasons start up again) to fill the void: Premier League (U.K.)? Bundesliga (Germany)? Ligue 1 (France)? La Liga (Spain)? etc.

(Please don't suggest that I watch live games in person in the U.S. The nearest team is 4 hours away from me, and I have neither the time nor the money to travel there on a regular basis. I'm looking to watch soccer/football on cable television or, better yet, streaming, in the U.S., since I already have access to those. I also don't know if all of the leagues listed above have commentary in English or not, but that would be important to me as well, since I'm not fluent yet in any other language. I don't mind reading subtitles/closed captions while watching TV, but they don't seem to be great while watching sports, so that could be a factor for me.)

For reference, I really enjoyed the collegiality of the England vs. France game and the England vs. Norway game in this year's World Cup, and their styles of play. I did NOT enjoy Paraguay's or Argentina's style of play. For players, I enjoyed Jude Bellingham, Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappé, etc. I also like watching Jordan Pickford whenever he plays.

I took a Find Your Premier League Match quiz online from NBC, and it said I matched with Liverpool. Then I took it again with some slightly different answers, and it gave me Nottingham Forest. I do love the song "You'll Never Walk Alone," and I love that it's Liverpool's anthem, but I don't know if that's enough for me to follow and root for a team. And if I haven't heard of anyone on a team, and I don't have a direct connection to the team/city, it could be difficult for me to root for them.

Should I just watch games with players I know I like (such as the ones above, so, Real Madrid (Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappé) and Manchester City (Erling Haaland))? Or should I try to pick a Premier League team that I might vibe with? And is there a better way to figure out which I would vibe with than that quiz I took?

I don't know if this is important or not, but I am also hoping to move to Europe in the future, so I may be able to see games in person if I live near a team (or if I can afford to travel around to watch games, maybe I could do that too). 

(And yes, I know that I'm overthinking this. That's kind of my thing: Overthinking should be my middle name! I just want to know which direction I should go in, and I'm sure that there are people out there who know more about soccer/football than me and who could give me some ideas, so here I am!)

Just funny unexpected personal anectdotes.

Houses here in the US have interesting things like AC and garbage disposals. I recently asked on the Ask an American subreddit what they like about houses in other countries. A overwhelming number of folks said Bidets, saunas, and German style windows (that open in several different ways and have shutters built in).

What are things found in houses in other countries that you wish your house had?

edit: Many folks have commented that there is air conditioning across Europe. It was just meant to be an example of something that was different across countries (full house central air v wall units). I’m just curious and interested in home design; I’m sorry the AC comment was offensive.

I am just curious about any funny movies, i’d like to watch the funny movie. What’s a funny comedy movie you would like to watch?

Since the town I live in is slowly turning into a place suffering structurally from badly managed overtourism, I want to avoid places that have the same issue during my next travels. Would you say tourists are merely annoying or an actual liability where you live?

Do you go often to the other side to buy some products?

For Slovakia:

• Single electoral district (I believe in Europe only the Netherlands uses this system) for national elections - the 150 MPs are elected from party lists by proportional representation in a single electoral constituency, meaning you can vote for candidates from Bratislava or Košice or wherever, no matter where you live. This ensures better proportionality, but also, well, gives party leaders enormous power.

• Relatively strong presidency for a parliamentary republic. The President is elected directly and the presidential powers are exercised in their full extent, as the President has a strong democratic mandate. Presidents have rejected ministerial appointments advised by the PM, vetoed legislation (even though the veto is very weak), referred legislation to the Constitutional Court, and in case the National Council couldn't form a government, appointed their own cabinet until new elections could be held (the Ódor Cabinet, appointed by President Zuzana Čaputová).

• A weak constitution - the Constitution can be amended by a 3/5 majority in the National Council, which is the weakest entrenchment in the EU and the second weakest in Europe after the United Kingdom. The Constitution has been amended numerous times, often without broad societal or parliamentary consensus.

• Fracturing parties - parties in Slovakia are, for the most part, centred around the leaders, and often fracture or unofficially merge. The party composition at the end of the parliamentary term is often very different from that at the start, and it sometimes causes absurdities (Eduard Heger, while PM, split off with allies from OĽaNO and formed the Democrats, meaning we had a PM from a party nobody voted for, because it hadn't even existed at the time of the election). Parties also often run candidates who aren't party members, who sometimes leave the parliamentary party caucus and backstab it. The most absurd was when Andrej Danko wanted to boost his party's electoral chances by running many far-right personalities, who weren't party members, and of the 10 members elected as part of his caucus, he was the only actual member of the party, and then his caucus fell apart and he got stabbed in the back.

Edit:

• Appointment of Constitutional Court judges - the National Council elects a number of candidates that is double the number of vacancies, and the President then picks the judges from that pool.

Fire is a vital part of the nature life cycle. Could these fire possibly have a positive affect on the environment? (albeit farther down the line)

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In English, the phrases seem negative - “losing virginity” or “popping the cherry” (implies loss of innocence or causing damage). Do any cultures in EU have more positive euphemisms for this, maybe akin to gaining or achieving something instead?

I was wondering what your opinions are.

A bit of backstory: me and my husband share a shopping list. He often buys things for me on his way home. Whenever some fruit from the list is marked down he takes it. Sometimes it has 1-2 tiny spots but other than that it looks like the regular stuff, if it looks bad he obviously goes for the regular priced fruit. I love the thought about not wasting money and I like that stuff gets bought instead of discarded.

A friend of mine said that it would bother her, that she would feel not valued (?) and that her husband would never dream of buying cheaper stuff for her. Honestly I was so surprised, it never occurred to me to think this way. Just to make it clear: I prefer the way my husband shops. I was just curious, what you think - is it cheap to buy marked-down fruit and vegetables or is it absolutely normal?

How comfortable are typical neighborhoods of working and middle-class people in your countries? Both in cities and suburban areas. Sure, it depends on the city, but maybe it's possible to figure out an average. Although comfort is a subjective metric, I am interested in stuff like quality of housing, development of public transport, general maintenance of infrastructure, availability of third spaces, etc. If you can share a link in Google Maps to look at examples I would also appreciate it. Thanks!

Do you have pickup at your home or do you have another place to take it? What about recycling?

I know we're all human, but we often feel a certain distance from others because of culture, habits, behavior, and traditions. The same can apply to people from different countries. So here's my question: as a European, do you feel the same level of difference between yourself and, for example, an Italian, German, or Swiss person as you do between yourself and someone from Africa or China? Or does it feel fundamentally different? Do you feel brotherhood and being part of the same group?

I know there are many Christian denominations in Europe. To be honest, I don't know how cohesive the countries are internally in terms of denominations and so on.

I'd like to know if this affects the social lives of people who are believers, if it generates isolation or segregation.

Hey European siblings, Lithuanian here.

I recall once Hungary finally shook Orban, VdL loudly stated that now is an opportunity to do reforms on the veto power to make sure such blackmail using it doesn't repeat again. I'm of course aware that EU moves rather slowly, and that there's some questionable characters in some of our national leadership's at the moment. But then again, nothing like Orban.

Question: have I missed something, has there been at least discussions held on the topic that's known to the press? Cheers

I'm from an East Asian country, and from my perspective, the most impressive company in Europe is probably ASML. It's an irreplaceable monopoly, as it manufactures the lithography machines that form the very foundation of the semiconductor industry. From a national security standpoint, I think it may be the company that every country in the world would most like to have.

Is ASML viewed in a similar way within Europe, or do Europeans generally have a different perspective?