May 2, 2016
EP. 121 — American Customs The Rest Of The World Thinks Are Weird
Though they often seem to be lacking in self-awareness, Americans are well-acquainted with their own stereotypes. Yes, we get it; we’re loud, we’re brash, we’re fat, we love NASCAR and think everyone should speak gosh darn American. These stereotypes in a way are almost self-imposed. We see ‘Team America’ and we assume that sardonic parody of patriotism is how the rest of the world views us, but that’s not always the case.
There are tons of stereotypes about Americans we have no idea about because they’re things that are so normal to us we don’t even notice them. Take cheese, for example. We LOVE cheese, and sure, other countries love it too, but to an Easterner, cheese is a gross, spongy, smelly alien substance. We know our political system is definitely on the wacky side of things, but do we even comprehend how our election looks to the rest of the world, nervously praying Donald Trump doesn’t get the nuclear codes?
On this episode, we’re joined by a few foreigners to talk about all the weird things we do as Americans, but have no idea about. Cracked editor-in-chief Jack O’Brien is joined by Japanese comedian Aiko Tanaka and British comedian Katia Kvinge to talk about our weird food culture and our even weirder dating culture. Later, Jack is joined by Cracked editor and resident Canadian Mark Hill to talk about why American technology lags far behind along with our politics.
Footnotes:
6 Ways US Elections Look Insane To Non-US Citizens: http://goo.gl/sBRH9L
18 Simple Ways Other Countries Are Just Better Than America: http://goo.gl/n8DdqW
19 Ways Americans Don’t Realize Life In America Isn’t Normal: http://goo.gl/LtRu9k
Deep inside us all behind our political leanings, our moral codes and our private biases, there is a cause so colossally stupid, we surprise ourselves with how much we care. Whether it’s toilet paper position, fedoras on men or Oxford commas, we each harbor a preference so powerful we can’t help but proselytize to the world. Guest host Soren Bowie will be joined by Cody Johnston, Michael Swaim and comedian Annie Lederman to discuss the most trivial things we will argue about until the day we die. This next LIVE episode of The Cracked Podcast will be on Saturday, May 14th at 7pm at the UCB Sunset Theatre in Los Angeles. Tickets are $5 and on sale here: https://goo.gl/znDZRH
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