10 bizarre American tradition that’ll get your head spinning
Certain strange customs are found in almost all countries and that’s what makes them unique. Here’s the list of Top 10 weird customs and traditions followed by Americans:
10. Huge gaps in toilet doors
The excessively large cracks in the stall doors in public restrooms make it uncomfortable for people especially foreigners in America to use them. Though these gaps help in better cleaning and in ventilation but who would want to have such less privacy.
9. Pumpkin chucking
Pumpkins are used as an ingredient in almost all sweet and savory dishes in America. But a surprising fact is that in Delaware, a contest is held annually where winners are decided by the length a pumpkin travels. This time-old ritual also uses air cannons, catapults, torsions, and trebuchets. Isn’t it quite similar to La Tomatina of Spain?
8. Rare Vacations
Who doesn’t like enjoying vacations? But Americans are workaholics. In fact, in America, taking vacations is treated as a sin. It’s indeed totally bizarre workaholism. It’s quite common when vacations combine up like a month or even more.
7. Flags everywhere
Everyone loves their motherland but Americans love their flag more than anything. In fact, in a 2017 report from the National Retail Federation, it was found that 65% of citizens owned a U.S. Flag. In almost every block, street, or even a rural road, you’ll find few flags flying high and that’s a great symbol of patriotism.
6. The National Hollerin’ Contest
Hollerin’ was a highly developed form of communication over long distances before the invention of telephones. Hollerin’ was a highly developed form of communication over long distances. This contest started in North Caroline in 1969 and continues since then.
5. Drinking from Red Solo Cups
Red Solo Cups are considered to be the symbol of college keggers and backyard barbecues but these cups are rarely seen elsewhere in the world. The cups are quite unique cause one can’t tell what you are sipping due to their color. It’s even spillproof and easy to hold.
4. Nenana Ice Classic
Ice accumulates to more than a meter deep on the Tanana River in Alaska during the winter. In 1906, six people in the city of Nenana bet on the exact time on the exact day that the ice would break in the spring. A decade later, another similar event happened and since then, this became an annual tradition. A “tripod” (with four legs) is placed on the ice and is connected to a clock. When the ice breaks, it stops the clock, and the winner is declared and he gets the hefty prize money.
3. Presidential Turkey Pardons
US presidents have been presented with a Thanksgiving turkey since the 1940s and occasionally, they have spared the bird’s life by officially pardoning it. Though a crime is pardoned but no one knows the crime turkey committed. It was made a permanent part in 1989 by George Bush Senior.
2. Cherry Pit Spitting
46th International Cherry Pit Spitting Championship, held at the Tree-Mendus Fruit Farm in Michigan in 2019 is indeed a weird one but has simple rules, eat and spit the cherry seed as far as you can by curling tongue.
1. Sun Dance
This ceremony is not just brutal and torturous too. Though it’s banned but is still practiced in secret. Sun Dance involves four days of fasting and then piecing on the chest with a skewer and then connecting it to a pole. This pole is termed as Tree of Life. It is considered a sacrifice for the benefit of family and community. Isn’t it horrific?
