Only in America

[Homicidal_Squirrel]

That's odd. I mean, we have pay lots and valet parking in Ohio, too.

Maybe they were from Akron?

 

[Zombie_Babies]

Maybe they were from Akron?

Hmm ... it's possible. I can't think of any valet parking spots in Akron. I know there's pay lots, though.

 

[Zander]

The OP asked about identifiably American "things" scene in movies/TV. Here is my list based not on films or telly, but on my experience of living in the US, Europe and Asia. I have confined myself to anything that can be perceived directly including audio-visuals. I'm not going to cover intangibles like the educational system (which has already been discussed in this thread).

• Isopropyl alcohol also called rubbing alcohol. You can get it at chemists (= US drug stores) and many people seem to have it at home. It's incredibly useful stuff and I'm surprised it's not common in the UK where I currently live. You can get surgical spirits at chemists in the UK which is similar, but people generally don't know what it is and tend not to have it at home.
• ID. Yes, every country in the world issues ID (though lots of people especially in developing nations don't have any), but in the US, you're asked for it all the time so people normally have some outside their home. Want to buy a drink even though you're obviously of legal age? ID, please. Want to pay for something by credit card? ID, please. Want to enter many office blocks in US cities? ID, please. Inhale? ID, please. Exhale? ID, please. Blink? ID, please. You get the idea.
• Chewy chocolate chip cookies. Go into any supermarket or chemist in the US and you can pick up a pack of chewy Chips Ahoy (they used to come in red packets - do they still?). In Europe, there may be places where you can get chewy choc chip cookies, but they are far from common. It seems that Europeans like their CCC's crunchy. I don't know about elsewhere in the world. In case you haven't already guessed, I miss chewy CCC's!
• Ads on television. Of course, advertisements on television are hardly uniquely American, but the US has a far greater ratio of ads to programme content than other countries. I don't think I've been anywhere else where the title sequence/opening credits for programmes are sandwiched between sets of ads.

That's it for now. If I think of more, I'll edit this post.

 

[frogimus]

Some of my friends from the island kingdom have commented on how entertaining our ads are. To me, the ads are better than the show that's on (but that may be due to my attention span).

 

[Viking Bastard]

Pharmaceutical ads!

We just don't have those. I thought they might be illegal here (like alcohol ads), so I checked. Nope. We just don't have them.

 

[Ahnehnois]

Pharmaceutical ads!

We just don't have those. I thought they might be illegal here (like alcohol ads), so I checked. Nope. We just don't have them.

In many countries (including Canada and a lot of Europe), it is illegal to market drugs to consumers who can't actually buy them (because they are only available by prescription). This kind of marketing is really a problem in the US, because the reason they're prescription drugs is that only trained professionals are supposed to know enough to be able to decide whether to use them.

ID. Yes, every country in the world issues ID (though lots of people especially in developing nations don't have any), but in the US, you're asked for it all the time so people normally have some outside their home. Want to buy a drink even though you're obviously of legal age? ID, please. Want to pay for something by credit card? ID, please. Want to enter many office blocks in US cities? ID, please. Inhale? ID, please. Exhale? ID, please. Blink? ID, please. You get the idea.

Honestly I think this is a post-9/11 thing. Government installations in particular changed radically, and security went up everywhere.

 

[Viking Bastard]

In many countries (including Canada and a lot of Europe), it is illegal to market drugs to consumers who can't actually buy them (because they are only available by prescription). This kind of marketing is really a problem in the US, because the reason they're prescription drugs is that only trained professionals are supposed to know enough to be able to decide whether to use them.

Yeah, I assumed it was something like that here, but apparently not. I suspect, though, that if it started becoming a thing, it would be made illegal for those very reasons.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

Some of my friends from the island kingdom have commented on how entertaining our ads are. To me, the ads are better than the show that's on (but that may be due to my attention span).

That's an interesting observation; I find I actually think the European ads I've seen have generally been more clever and entertaining that most from the US outside of Super Bowl season. Maybe I've only seen the good ones?.

 

[Zombie_Babies]

Personally I'd rather be asked for my ID than be recorded on video everywhere I walked. Granted things are moving in a direction that'll soon see both in play but, for now, showing a sales clerk my license is fine with me.

 

[Kramodlog]

This is so weird. I never was asked for my ID, except if I was driving and the cop wanted to see my driver's license. I think I was carded in only one bar. When I go protesting I sometime leave my IDs at home...

All this facial recognition crap is really troubling, especially considering how criminality has been dropping since the 80s. I blame the media who make it seem like more crimes are happening, making people feel insecure.