Seven things that are common in the US, but almost unknown here

Blogger minskblog, who was born and raised in Minsk but spent most of his life on the road, talks about American peculiarities: “Our lives are full of things that we take for granted. Many details surround us since childhood, and we cannot even imagine that familiar things can look completely different. When you first come to the USA, you begin to be genuinely surprised by many details and habits that locals do not pay any attention to.”

In the middle of the 20th century, scientists found out that fluoride prevents tooth decay by reducing the leaching of mineral salts from tooth enamel. Since then, water in the USA has been fluoridated to prevent tooth decay in the population. The effect is noticeable after a month of using such water, teeth become whiter and stronger, we really lack such a practice.

Every year, over 20 million food grinders are manufactured and sold in the USA. The average American cannot imagine his life without this device, while the average resident of the post-Soviet space does not suspect its existence. The grinder allows you to grind absolutely all kitchen organic waste and flush it down the drain. As a result, there is no smell from the kitchen bin, only dry inorganic waste goes into the trash.

Almost all premises in the USA are equipped with air conditioners, and this is done at the construction stage. Unlike personal split systems, duct air conditioners do not cool the stagnant air in the apartment, but take in and simultaneously cool fresh air from the street. The room maintains a comfortable temperature and humidity, while the air remains fresh.

A brilliant invention of American marketers, completely unknown to us. Instead of remembering a bunch of numbers of dozens of companies, Americans simply remember their names, and commercial numbers look like 1-800-ABC-DEFG. Instead of letters, you can choose any word - for example, the number of a law firm can look like 1-800-JUSTICE. Moreover, a call to a 1-800 number is always free for the subscriber.

Potatoes are usually bought in sacks or buckets from old ladies at the market. With the advent of large chain stores, it became possible to buy washed potatoes by weight. In the US, for several decades now, people have been buying potatoes individually, each wrapped in plastic and marked with a barcode. This variety is called Idaho, and John Kerry gave such potatoes to his Russian colleague Lavrov at the Geneva-2 conference.

Disabled people in the USA are considered full members of society, all the necessary infrastructure has been created for them: smooth sidewalks, lowered ramps, lowered buttons in elevators and on traffic lights. Public transport is equipped with air suspension, thanks to which the bus tilts to the level of the sidewalk. As a result, the disabled person easily gets inside without any help.

In the US, there are virtually no road signs as we understand them. Almost all road signs are written in letters, so that any idiot who has mastered the Latin alphabet can understand them. No bricks, yellow diamonds with white borders, or red triangles - everything is written in words: "yield to pedestrians", "speed limit 50 mph", "pedestrian crossing", and so on.