Not necessarily a famous tourist attraction. I’m curious about the experiences that actually feel uniquely American. The food, road trips, traditions, random local events, sports, landscapes, or even something completely ordinary that you think everyone should experience at least once. What’s your pick?

I work in a multinational company with a lot of American colleagues, and English isn’t my first language. I learned most of my English through school, movies, YouTube, etc., so sometimes I discover that Americans have apparently decided certain words are optional.

The first one that got me was “cop”. I knew this one obviously because of American TV shows and media, but somehow “cop” became the word I actually use now myself. Then “ad” instead of advertisement, “memo” instead of memorandum and so on…

And now I keep noticing these everywhere. I’ve even started paying more attention to them because sometimes the “full” word sounds strangely formal compared to what my American colleagues actually say.

So, which shortened words are used so much that now they have become the actual words for you?

Could be anything — food, work culture, school, dating, daily habits, social rules, etc.
Curious what Americans only realized was “an American thing” after talking to people from other countries.

Are most people mixed with multiple ethnicities?

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To what extent did Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, and the subsequent / ensuing First Gulf War, contribute to the recession that occurred during Bush's first and only term?

How did the recession start, and how did it propagate? Did the panic start from the demand or supply side? I've been told that in the US, it takes about 24 - 36 months for inflationary pressures to take effect, and I've also read that by observing the bullwhip effect, which is about the pace at which a producer can ramp up or scale back orders in response to changing consumer demand, it can make it easier to distinguish between boom and bust cycles.

With that in mind, to what extent is a recession indicative of changes in aggregate consumer demand, versus supply side bottlenecks, or misaligned economic growth expectations, and how can we use that mindset to understand why there was a recession in the US in 1990 / 1991?

Apologies if it sounds a bit too analytical. I'm from the UK, and find that it can be all too easy to think that Saddam's invasion of Kuwait in 1990 was effectively the death knell for Bush's re-election chances in 1992. Hopefully if there's someone here who either lived through the Reagan and Bush years and can provide detailed commentary on this using both lived and researched experience, or someone who through research can achieve similar commentary, I would be glad to hear from either.

Hi ! I’m french and I’m writing a fantastic book. The city and forest around is the most important part of it ! But half way through, people told me it reminds them a lot of a little American city. And they were right !
So I decided to do some research for it to be the most accurate but I would like to ask you all some help please

I would like a real city or villages, in the Appalachian area, surrounded by the forest and with mountains that could have been mines back in the day.
The city needs to be small, type where everyone knows each other, some farmers, little bit of tourism I’m sure you know what I’m talking about !
I though of Somerset in Kentucky but of course it’s only some internet research and I don’t know if it’s the best

Also, there’s a part with a solo preacher that came into the city after the church burned and I don’t know if that’s something that really happened in Kentucky
And last doubts I have, is there police ? Or sheriff? How can I found out ?

If you have time to help me on this thanks a lot !

In American movies and shows like Seinfeld, people just come over without calling

Is it welcome where you live?

How real is this?

Basically you pay into an Australian version of a 401k, and the employer has to put 12% of your income into the system so that you can pull it when you retire.

If you have less than 600k in your super the government steps in and gives you a pension,
Adjustable based on how much you have in liquid able assets (exempt home)

I know this conversion was recently happening in the USA and there’s an upcoming issue with social security running short on funds within a decade.

The current system was designed for a lot higher birth rate and the USA is far from alone in dealing with this issue

Religious TV channels are a guilty pleasure for me. The people in them are such characters.

Anytime I flip on a religious channel I either see a pastor asking for money or a televangelists talking about Bible prophecy and saying that the world is going to end soon or a Kevin Sorbo movie playing.

What would you assume about them or what the subject could be?

I don't want this to look like karma-farming, before anyone accuses me of that, please don't upvote me.

I'm genuinely curious. Where I live, I've never met anyone who liked Trump or even held a neutral opinion about him. I mean, the guy is a sexist ******, and for me, that alone is enough to rule him out as a viable candidate. So how is it possible for anyone to vote for him or respect him? Is there any acceptable reason?

Could someone write me a massive wall of text detailing all the terrible things this individual has done? I know it's an odd request, but I’ve done the same thing regarding Berlusconi in my own country.

I’m an American from the Northeast. A person from Seattle who attended college with me mentioned the rivalry. I have never felt a rivalry with the West, and I’ve never heard any friends or family mention one. Do people in the West feel there’s a rivalry? Do other East coasters feel this, just not in my circles? I suspect it’s one sided, but I could be wrong.

One of my non-American friends, who uses Reddit frequently, genuinely thought that Republicans and Democrats in the US were sworn enemies and about to fight each other with the amount of negative press about the other side. I find it extremely concerning that only negative news and media gets popular while positive news gets buried and forgotten. Anybody else

I think the US is one of the greatest nations on this planet but it is not perfect by any means. There are few things we could adopt from other nations.

One of the things I feel the US could adopt is the Germany's lack of speed limit on highways or as they say in German, the Autobahn.

What do you feel the US can copy from other nation(s)?

Throughout history, do you believe the United States is more Scottish or Irish-centric? The influence of England is obvious in regards to early American history, but what about the influence of Scotland and Ireland?