Reddit user u/DukkerWifey789 recently asked, "What are obvious immediate giveaways that someone is an American?"
Here are the top-voted responses:
1. "When they’re in another country and a local asks them where they’re from, they say their state instead of their country. I’m sorry, but not many people in Brazil know what a 'Delaware' is."
2. "Ranch."
"I stopped at at a steakhouse in Frankfurt, and a salad came with my meal. They asked if we wanted Italian or American dressing. American was ranch."
"And yesterday I learned that Cool Ranch Doritos are called 'Cool American Doritos' in certain parts of Europe, and you bet your ass I’m taking a selfie with a bag when I go."
3. "Requesting ice with their drinks."
"I am an American and was at a restaurant in France. They brought me warm soda in a glass. When I asked them for ice, they brought a tiny bowl of ice with a little set of silver tongs and put two ice cubes the size of sugar cubes into my glass, which melted immediately, lol."
"Are you me? This was my exact experience. We stopped at a little café in Marseilles, and it was sweaty and hot, so I wanted a lemonade and asked for ice. They did this little song and dance with the bucket and popped a single cube into my drink. I watched it melt in two seconds and just quietly said, ‘Merci.'"
4. "A British man once told me he knew I was American because I was wearing a baseball cap backward."
5. "They either carry huge backpacks for a one-day trip into the jungle or carry nothing with them and walk in barefoot. There's no in between."
"Bruh, I've seen people carry huge backpacks just to the office and back. I don't understand the phenomenon, but you're right."
6. "When I was in Austria, one of the locals said you could always tell who the Americans were because they were the only ones jaywalking."
7. "Talking to strangers in public. After living in Germany for two months, I was horrified when a stranger on the bus commented on my shoes."
"Yup! Went to Florida, and when I went shopping I was wearing a skirt, and a girl maybe a few years older than I was commented on how she loved my skirt. Would NEVER have happened in Denmark, that’s for sure."
8. "Flip-flops and sandals: In warm weather, you’ll see Americans wearing leather flip-flops. As a flip-flop connoisseur (I’m Australian), I spot the American-style flip-flops a mile away."
9. "Small talk. I'm not much of a small talk person even as an American, but I tried to be polite and chat with a cashier at a market, and he looked baffled and didn't really know how to reply. Americans will chat with anybody and everybody, especially if you're from the South."
10. "A British lady once told me she knew I was American because I was drinking a Coke straight from the can, without a straw."
11. "VOLUME."
"In a museum in London where everyone is speaking quietly, and then BOOM, an American accent out of nowhere just catches you so off guard."
"You hear most of them before you see them."
12. "I'm an American who works for an international company. Europeans are often amused by how we describe distances. Instead of saying, 'We're X number of miles from that city,' we'll say, 'We're two hours away' or 'That's a four-hour drive.'"
13. "Claiming that they 'don't have an accent,' when literally everybody has an accent."
"I work in a hotel, and anytime I’m talking to the residents and I can clearly tell that they're from America, I always ask them what state they're from. And 99% of the time, they immediately ask what gave it away, and after I tell them it’s the accent, it’s usually followed by, 'I don’t have an accent.' Never fails to make me giggle."
14. "Tipping."
15. "Deliberating whether to go to the hospital after a serious injury."
16. "Before the pandemic, they would have hand sanitizer clipped to their backpack. Not sure that’s still as accurate today."
17. "They try to communicate with people who speak different languages by speaking English really slowly and making way too many hand gestures."
18. "I said 'y’all' when I went to Europe. Immediately outed myself."
And finally...
19. "Covering things with assorted cheeses of the liquid persuasion."
Now it's your turn! What's an obvious sign that someone is American? Comment below!
Note: Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.