1

Driving barefoot

Image: Ashley Byrd

No federal or state law in the U.S. bans driving barefoot. Though sometimes discouraged for safety reasons, driving barefoot is legal in all 50 states (and in most countries worldwide as well).

While police might ask you to put your shoes on during a traffic stop, it’s merely a suggestion, not a legal requirement. In most modern cars, driving barefoot presents no significant safety risks, but it could affect insurance claims. If you’re involved in an accident while barefoot, you might face increased scrutiny from insurers.

2

Riding in the back of a pickup truck

Image: Richard Lu

This is a bit of a gray area. There is no federal law regulating the practice, but some states or local jurisdictions may impose restrictions, often including age limits.

In rural areas, most people won’t bat an eye if you ride in the bed. However, it can be considered a safety risk and may serve as an aggravating factor if you’re stopped for speeding or other traffic violations.

3

Cursing in public

Image: Kristina Flour

While it’s common courtesy not to go around hurling insults and profanity, the truth is no one can legally require you to stop if you are so inclined.

This is because profanity is generally protected speech. However, "generally" is doing some heavy lifting here, as depending on the context, it could be considered provocation or incitement to violence.

4

Sleeping in your car

Image: lucas Favre

It’s not illegal to sleep in your car unless local ordinances specifically prohibit it in certain areas, such as city streets or commercial lots.

Often, it has nothing to do with sleeping whatsoever, as in some places, all overnight parking at rest stops is prohibited or limited to just a few hours. Some Walmart lots might allow it, but that’s a private policy—not a law—and you should check with the local manager to be sure.

5

Eating while driving

Image: Dmitriy Frantsev

There’s no blanket law against eating while driving, though it can be considered a distraction. If it leads to unsafe driving, you could be cited.

Washington State’s distracted driving law bans holding electronic devices and allows extra fines for erratic driving caused by distractions , including eating or drinking . Some states, such as New Jersey, have considered banning it entirely, but most proposed laws are too vague to be enforced clearly.

6

Owning a flamethrower

Image: Tali Despins

Surprisingly, there’s no federal law in the U.S. that bans civilian flamethrower ownership. However, a few states do impose restrictions; California and Maryland have strict laws prohibiting or regulating them.

Some companies even market flamethrowers for agricultural use, like controlled burns or weed clearing. But misuse of a flamethrower can lead to serious legal charges—for instance, arson, reckless endangerment, or other criminal or civil liabilities.

7

Ignoring someone knocking at your door

Image: Aaron Burden

No law requires you to open your door to anyone, including police, unless they have a warrant.

If you're pulled over while driving or stopped on the street, you’re generally required to comply with police instructions. But if you're inside your home with the door closed—and ideally locked—you’re under no obligation to respond at all.

8

Selling homemade food without a license

Image: Museums of History New South Wales

Most states require permits or inspections to sell food commercially. However, many states have "cottage food laws" that allow limited sales of certain homemade goods without a license.

But if you scale up beyond small-batch home production, you’ll likely face a citation—and a hefty fine—from the authorities.

9

Backyard burials

Image: Jennifer Grismer

Believe it or not, there’s no federal law against burying human remains on private property. Many states allow it, provided you have the proper paperwork, such as a death certificate and burial permit. Local zoning laws may regulate factors like location, depth, and proximity to water sources or property lines.

Similarly, pet burials are generally permitted, but local ordinances can vary —so it’s important to check them first.

10

Using a fake name online

Image: Sander Sammy

Unless it’s used for fraud or to impersonate a real person, using an alias on social media or online forums isn’t a crime.

Some platforms may prohibit it in their terms of service, but that’s a civil matter—not a criminal one. Legal issues generally arise only if the alias is used to cause harm, deceive others, or commit financial fraud.

11

Flying the U.S. flag at night without lighting

Image: Shelley Pauls

The U.S. Flag Code suggests that the flag should be illuminated if flown at night, but this is just a general guideline, not a legally enforceable law.

Stricter requirements may apply to government buildings, but for private citizens, the code is purely advisory and symbolic.

1

Woolworth’s

Woolworth’s was the place to buy everything from school supplies and toys to household goods and candy—or even to grab lunch. The first store opened its doors in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in 1879. It was a five-and-dime shop, and the chain soon became one of America’s most recognizable retail names, with over 3,000 stores nationwide at its peak. So, why did it disappear?

With the steady rise of suburban shopping centers and large discount stores, Woolworth’s couldn’t keep up and began a slow decline in the 1960s that culminated in 1997, when it closed its final stores for good.

2

A&P

A&P used to be the spot to get everyday groceries. It began as a tea and coffee business in 1859 and later evolved into one of America’s biggest supermarkets with more than 16,000 stores in the country at its peak. But despite pioneering high-volume retailing, A&P couldn’t stick around.

Over the decades, newer competitors entered the market, and grocery shopping became more and more competitive. Walmart, Target, Aldi, Whole Foods—A&P failed to adapt and filed for bankruptcy twice, first in 2010 and again in 2015, and finally shut down in November 2015.

3

Blockbuster

Blockbuster was the go-to for movie rentals . It dominated the market with 9,100 stores worldwide by 2004, about $6 billion in revenue, and thousands of movies to choose from—it was hard to imagine Blockbuster ever falling, but it did.

The rapid advancement of technology hit Blockbuster hard, with newer options like DVD-by-mail services, Redbox kiosks, and the final blow: streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, and more. All Blockbuster corporate-owned stores closed by January 2014; however, you can still visit one holdout location in Bend, Oregon.

4

Montgomery Ward

Long before Amazon, consumers could buy almost anything from Montgomery Ward from the comfort of their homes , and the company would ship it directly to them. It felt like online shopping before the internet. So why did it vanish?

To adapt to newer shopping habits, Montgomery Ward opened physical stores and started competing with brands like Sears; but once suburban malls and discount stores became widespread in the 1980s, Montgomery Ward couldn’t keep pace and eventually filed for bankruptcy in 1997 and again in 2001.

5

Circuit City

Circuit City started in 1949 and quickly became the source for TVs, stereos, VCRs, video games, and just about every kind of electronics , especially during the 1980s. The company continued growing by the early 2000s, expanding to more than 600 stores, though one controversial decision made it trip and fall.

Circuit City was already struggling to compete with Best Buy and Walmart. And in 2007, it replaced its commissioned sales staff with low-paid hourly workers, damaging customer service—often considered one of Circuit City’s biggest strategic mistakes. By March 2009, the chain was gone.

6

Caldor

There was a time when one trip to Caldor could cover almost everything on your shopping list. Founded in 1951, it became a major one-stop discount department store . By the 1990s, it had grown to more than 150 stores across New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Massachusetts, but in 1995 it filed for bankruptcy. What happened in between?

Big box stores like Walmart and Target were expanding rapidly, and Caldor simply fell behind as people moved toward newer retail formats that combined department stores and supermarkets. Plus, the company took on a lot of debt in 1991, which only made things worse. Caldor finally closed for good in 1999.

7

Borders

Borders is a reminder of a time when buying a book was an experience, rather than just clicking a few buttons online. It opened in 1971 and set itself apart from other modern bookstores. At Borders, you could spend an entire afternoon browsing not just books, but music and DVDs or even grabbing a coffee.

Around 2003–2004, Borders had more than 1,200 stores worldwide , but it failed to adapt to an inevitable growing trend: online book sales. Amazon eventually took over, and Borders couldn’t stay in the game, closing its final location in September 2011.

8

G.C. Murphy

Much like Woolworth’s, G.C. Murphy was a five-and-dime store that sold a little bit of everything and had lunch counters or snack bars where people would hang out. The company opened in 1906, and it operated more than 500 stores by 1976.

But once the traditional five-and-dime model came under pressure from discount giants, G.C. Murphy was forced to adapt. The chain did make some efforts and experimented with bigger stores and different formats, but it wasn’t enough, and G.C. Murphy filed for bankruptcy in 1985.

9

Zayre

Zayre entered the market in 1956 as a classic discount department store that looked more like a warehouse . It was a no-frills, self-service shopping experience with massive stores, wide-open interiors, and exposed ceilings where you could find lots of everyday items like clothing, household goods, or appliances at low prices.

While it was pretty successful, especially across the Northeast and Midwest, Zayre struggled to keep up with giants like Target. It tried to reinvent itself by founding TJ Maxx in 1977, but eventually sold the remaining Zayre stores to Ames in 1988, and the Zayre name vanished by 1990.

10

Service Merchandise

Service Merchandise was founded in 1934 and, unlike typical retail stores, it introduced a strange new concept called the " catalog showroom " in 1960, where display floors showcased single working samples of products, and the actual inventory was stored in an adjacent backroom warehouse. Customers would look at a catalog, place an order, and an employee would bring it to them.

The concept proved successful, and Service Merchandise operated more than 400 showrooms by the mid-1990s. But Service Merchandise’s model meant longer waiting times, and traditional discount stores began offering a faster and easier shopping experience. The company tried to modernize by introducing electronic inventory systems, but it didn’t work out. By 2002, Service Merchandise was gone.

1

Measuring

This is a difference most Americans are aware of: most countries use the metric system rather than U.S. customary units, and most use Celsius instead of Fahrenheit. Countries such as the UK and Canada still use some imperial units in everyday life, but they mainly use the metric system. Another measure that confuses foreigners is the particular way ingredients are measured in American recipes, which often use cups, tablespoons, and teaspoons rather than measurements by weight.

Fun fact: The only other countries that use the Imperial system officially are Liberia and Myanmar.

2

Sales tax

Do you find having to calculate sales taxes annoying? That’s a unique American experience. In the majority of the world, the price you see is the price you pay , because it has the sales tax already added.

Why is it different in America? Sales taxes vary across states , so retailers find it easier to showcase the base price and then calculate the total at checkout.

3

Cutlery use

Many Americans abroad are surprised by the realization that not everyone uses a knife and fork in the same way they do . In fact, no one else does. While most Americans have learned the American style —also called the zig-zag or fork switching method— that involves using the fork in the left hand for cutting and then changing it to the right to pick up the food, European and Latin American countries don’t do this . It might seem like a small difference, but it completely changes the way you eat.

4

Iced drinks

Do other countries not have ice? They do, but they don’t necessarily assume everyone will want it. While serving water and other beverages with ice is customary in America, in many other countries, you need to request it —even during the hottest of summers.

But even if you get ice, many times you will need to specify the amount : the same drink that would be filled with ice cubes in America might come to you with just two or three cubes elsewhere.

5

Date formatting

The U.S. is not completely alone on this one, but there’s a difference big enough to be worth mentioning. The standardized way of recording the date in America is month-day-year , a convention also followed by some Caribbean and Asian countries. But in the rest of the Western world, the conventional format is day-month-year , which can lead to confusion for Americans. In most Asian countries , the most commonly used format is year-month-day .

6

The word ‘American’

In the English language, ‘American’ is the only way to refer to people with U.S. citizenship . Other words, such as ‘Usian’ or ‘Unitedstatian’ have been proposed, but never stuck. This is why many Americans are surprised when other countries —Latin American countries in particular— use ‘American’ for anyone in the American continent , or continents, another big difference. In most European and Latin American countries, there is a different word for U.S. citizens, such as the Spanish ‘estadounidense’ or the Portuguese ‘estadunidense’ .

7

Moving out at 18 years old

This one is not so black and white, but more like a general tendency. Compared with most of Europe, Latin America, and Asia, Americans give serious consideration to the possibility of moving out after high school. Not everyone does, and not everyone can afford it, but it's fairly common.

In other countries, young adults generally move out if their job or education requires it , but they tend to stay at home a few more years if they can.

8

Driving a car as a teenager

America is quite car-centric , especially if you live outside of the big cities. While not everyone can afford to have a personal car —even a second-hand one—, it is common for 16 and 17-year-olds to legally drive their parents’ car, or save for their own.

In the rest of the world, the chances of high schoolers driving themselves to school are much lower, as most countries don’t allow underage kids to get a driving license .

9

Solo cups

Do plastic cups exist outside of the U.S.? They do, but they are not as iconic or as widely used as Solo cups, introduced in the 1970s as a disposable but sturdy cup for parties and events. Many foreigners visiting America are surprised when they realize that solo cups are a real thing , and not something that just happens in movies.

10

Filing taxes

Taxes in the U.S. are not that different from taxes in other countries, except for how they are filed . During tax filing season, thousands of Americans direct their efforts to ensure they have properly reported their income and that their return will match the IRS’s data.

In other parts of the world, however, the one responsible for calculating and filing taxes is the government , while citizens merely corroborate that everything is in order.