1

The rotary phone ring and dialing

For much of the 20th century, rotary phones were a common sight in homes. Anyone who had one can probably still remember the unmistakable loud "_BRRING_… _BRRING_…" sound of the mechanical ringer inside the phone. And the clicking of the rotary dial snapping back into place was another sound you’d hear in just about every household. Calling someone was definitely a whole different experience from the smooth, easy calls we make today.

2

The NBC chimes

Three simple notes (G-E-C) could tell an entire generation that they were tuned to NBC. The NBC Chimes are an audio trademark already ingrained in the collective imagination, and you knew an announcement or some other important cue was coming. Interestingly, NBC actually trademarked the three-note sequence in 1950.

The chimes were originally used by the staff to communicate with each other, and the audience could hear them around 16 times a day, though they’re now used purely as a branding audio logo and are not nearly as frequent.

3

The ice cream truck bell

As a kid, the ice cream truck bell was the sound of happiness. It didn’t matter what we were up to; we’d rush toward it the second we heard the bell and beg our parents to "please, please" buy us an ice cream. It was during the 1950s and ‘60s that ice cream trucks became a familiar sight in neighborhoods and later evolved into a tradition of American summer life . Ice cream trucks still maintain a strong presence in places like NYC, Chicago, and Los Angeles, but they’re not as common as they used to be.

4

The school bell

How could the exact same sound mean excitement or disappointment? The loud metal bell basically ran our entire school day: whether it was classes, lunch, recess, or the end of the school day, we’d hear that jarring "brrriiinnnggg " cut through the hallway, and we knew immediately what we had to do.

School bells have stuck around, but those old mechanical bells we grew up with have mostly given way to electronic bells or buzzers.

5

The dial-up modem

The early days of home internet are pretty funny to explain to younger generations. In the 1990s and early 2000s, before broadband became a common thing, if you wanted to use the internet, of course, you had to give up your phone line. But the real kicker was the sequence of beeps, screeches, clicks, and static-like sounds the modem made to connect to the internet.

The modem wasn’t constantly connected to the internet ; it connected only for those brief moments when you needed to use it for things like sending emails and basic web browsing.

6

The typewriter clacking

Computer keyboards do make noise, but it’s nothing compared to the clacking and dinging of typewriters. For most of the 20th century, typewriters were the norm: iconic novels and other works were written on one of these, and the " clack, clack, clack… ding !" could be heard in every office across the country.

Almost everything you did with a typewriter made noise: typing, returning the carriage, and even correcting mistakes made a series of sounds.

7

The record needle dropping

How can something as simple as the sound of a needle hitting a record inspire a nostalgic smile? The brief, scratchy hiss and crackle it made before the music started is so memorable that it became a staple of an era — a fundamental part of the experience of listening to music at home.

Before streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music, vinyl records ruled the mid-20th century through the 1980s and then slowly gave way to cassettes and CDs. A time when listening to music meant taking the record out of its sleeve, placing it on the turntable, and lowering the tonearm for the magic to happen. Interestingly, vinyl record sales have made a comeback over the last two decades, growing from less than a million units in 2006 to over 48 million units in 2025.

8

The car horn from the driveway

Nowadays, you’d likely get a text message from your friend letting you know he’s outside to pick you up or an alert on your phone telling you the Uber is waiting for you. But not so long ago, that was the car horn’s job.

Today you can even share your live location with someone, and they can know exactly when you are arriving. But in the past, you had to listen for that short beep that meant " I’m here ."

9

The cash register "ka-ching"

These days, when the only sound you may hear is the chime of your Apple Pay or the POS terminal processing the payment, the classic " ka-ching" of the cash register is long gone. But almost every store you went to had one of these mechanical registers for much of the 20th century.

It was a symphony of noises: keys clicking, a drawer opening, and the bell-like "ding" that meant the sale was completed. The term " ka-ching " became slang to imitate the sound of money being made.

10

The TV going off the air

Television didn’t always have 24-hour transmissions. There was a time when a station would sign off for the night after a closing announcement, and you’d be left with a test pattern or static on the screen until it resumed broadcasting the next day. As crazy as it may sound today, television had a beginning and an end, and this sound told you it was time to go to bed.

Starting in the 1980s, especially with the advent of cable TV, many stations began 24-hour broadcasting, and the sign-off slowly became rarer to see.

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.

1

The Cardiff Giant

In 1869, workers digging a well in Cardiff, New York, uncovered what appeared to be a 10-foot-tall petrified man. Locals rushed to see the "giant," paying admission to witness history in the soil.

But, as it turned out, it wasn’t ancient at all. A man named George Hull had buried the statue as a prank and made some quick money from the curious crowd.

2

War of the Worlds Broadcast

This very famous hoax took place on the eve of Halloween 1938. Orson Welles’s radio adaptation of The War of the Worlds aired as if it were breaking news . Many listeners tuning in late thought Martians had really landed in New Jersey.

Some packed up their cars or called the police in panic. Though no invasion occurred, the broadcast became a legend in media history.

3

The Balloon Boy

In 2009, Americans watched live TV coverage of a silver balloon drifting across the skies of Colorado , fearing that a six-year-old boy was trapped inside . The story gripped the nation for hours.

When the balloon finally landed empty, police discovered the child hiding safely at home. His parents later admitted it was a publicity stunt gone wrong.

4

The Feejee Mermaid

In 1842, showman P. T. Barnum unveiled a marvel: a preserved "mermaid" supposedly from the South Seas . Crowds lined up to see the half-fish, half-woman curiosity.

The truth was stranger still. It was the upper body of a monkey sewn onto a fish tail and covered in papier-mâché.

5

The Great Moon Hoax

Readers of The New York Sun in 1835 were astonished by reports claiming that scientists had spotted bat-like people and crystal palaces on the Moon through a powerful new telescope.

The story was pure invention, but circulation went up. By the time the truth came out, the paper’s readership had reportedly increased dramatically.

6

The Crop Circles Craze

When perfect circles began appearing overnight in wheat fields , people talked about UFO landings. The shapes seemed too precise to have been made by human hands.

But, in 1991, two Englishmen confessed they’d used boards and ropes to flatten the crops. While this revelation explained many of the formations, the mystery lives on in popular imagination.

7

Alien Autopsy Film

In 1995, a grainy black-and-white video surfaced, showing doctors dissecting what seemed to be an alien recovered from the 1947 Roswell crash. The footage spread quickly worldwide.

Years later, the filmmaker admitted that the film was staged, using latex models and fake organs.

8

The Manti Te’o girlfriend hoax

Notre Dame football star Manti Te’o captured hearts when he revealed that his girlfriend had died of leukemia . Sports fans wept over the tragic love story.

But reporters later learned that the woman never existed. It was an elaborate online catfishing scheme.

9

The Patterson–Gimlin Bigfoot film

In 1967, a short film shot in California showed a large, hairy creature striding through the woods . Many viewers thought this was real proof of Bigfoot´s existence.

Decades later, one participant claimed it was a man in a gorilla suit, but that claim failed to convince many people who prefer to believe in the existence of this creature.

10

The Drake’s Plate of Brass

In 1936, a shiny brass plate found in California seemed to confirm that explorer Sir Francis Drake had landed there in 1579. Historians called it a priceless relic.

For decades, the plate was displayed proudly, until metallurgical tests in 1977 proved it was modern . It had been made as a practical joke among historians that went too far.

11

Paul Is Dead

The final entry on our list might not be American per se, but it drew much attention on these shores. In 1969, rumors spread that Beatle Paul McCartney had died and been secretly replaced by a double . Fans scoured album covers for "clues" like hidden messages and backward songs.

Paul, very much alive, later joked about it. The bizarre theory became a lasting pop-culture phenomenon.