r/IWantToAskAnAmerican

Hello Brit here, I have a random question. I see a lot of US food content and whenever I see someone using 'pickled onions' it always some cut up large onion. I was wondering if you guys had picked onions like we do; as in a jar of small bitesize silverskin onions?

American culture was my idol a few years ago. 2020-2024, I was going back and forth whether to pull the plug and do the move. With all the politics, I wonder if the opinion is shared with the population or not. It made my dig my heels in and not want to associate. Want to hear from people there, do you have anything against the people of canada?

If so, what? And what would it take to bridge that gap?

EDIT: Just read the answers, you're all awesome!

Hi ! 😊
I’m French, and I’ve always wondered about this :
As Americans, are you aware of how much your culture is present all over the world thanks to films and TV series ?
Let me explain :
I grew up in the 90s, and like many people of my generation, I was raised on American culture because in France there were tons of sitcoms being broadcast :
The Nanny, Full House, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Friends, and many others !
Not to mention movies like Home Alone, Mrs. Doubtfire, Jingle All the Way… which portrayed a certain image of life in the United States that completely fascinated me ! (The parades, the end-of-year festivities, New York, etc.)

I know people often say that we French are snobbish about our own culture, but personally and I think I’m not the only one I was absolutely fascinated by the United States !
Sometimes even by really silly details :
for example, those huge refrigerators in every house. When I was little, that was something you just didn’t see in France !
Or everything related to school life ! The school buses, the clubs, the social « hierarchy » with the different cliques. Even today, I still wonder what was exaggerated for cinema and television and what wasn’t !
Thanksgiving also fascinated me a lot.

Anyway, all this to say that seeing the United States so much through movies and series really contributed to making me fascinated by the country and its culture in general.
The first time I saw actual Americans when I was little, I was like « 😮😮😮😮 Real Americans ! »
I know it might sound silly. 😅
So the question I’ve been asking myself is :
are you aware of this ?
When you yourselves watch films and series, do you think the same thing (for example, those who don’t live in New York when you see New York in movies and shows)?
I know someone could reply, « Well, you’re French and you live in Paris, how do you feel about people imagining Paris as a postcard ? »
But the thing is, I think it’s fair to say that kids in the United States ( at least in the 90s it might be different today with social media ) didn’t grow up exposed to French culture the way we were exposed to American culture in France !
I don’t think our films and series were broadcast over there ! ( And given how bad our series are, you’re not missing much ! 😅)
That’s why I feel like, as French people, we have a more « drawn/painted » vision of the United States ( even if it’s probably idealized too, since it’s seen through the lens of movies and series ).

Sorry for this long message ! But I’m really excited at the idea of talking about this topic ! 😊

I mostly just hear trash talking and gossip about america through the media, but what's something about America that you're genuinely proud of?

Where is the level of shame? How can you call this country moral when it slaughtered hundreds of innocents?

And no -I do not want to hear whataboutisms. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/us-investigation-points-likely-us-responsibility-iran-school-strike-sources-say-2026-03-06/

Bigotry, grifting, and ignorance are all publicly celebrated and encouraged. The country is implicated in war crimes overseas. You have a disastrous administration leading the nation. Sports gambling has run amok within a large share of the population.

You can say '' I am proud to be an American''. OK. Fine.

But are you really proud of what the country is nowadays?

Do you guys know that the general etiquette is to stand to one side ? Just landed back at Heathrow and so far i’m thinking not haha. Lmk!!

EDIT: I mean a moving walkway/sidewalk

How can the United States of America become a more perfect union?

Treat this as an open-ended question.

Up here in Canada the prices for ground beef (converted to USD) at Walmart are:

- for extra lean (90/10) it is $6.57 USD
- for lean (83/17) it is $5.84 USD
- for medium (77/23) it is $4.37 USD

At Atlantic Superstore (a more expensive chain, converted to USD)
- for extra lean (90/10) it is $8.73 USD
- for lean (83/17) it is $8 USD
- for medium (77/23) it is $7.28 USD

what was best year for the USA? And what was the worst year?

Since 1926 to now

Big question I know. there might be multiple years to put for your answer and that’s fine interpret how you want