this post was submitted on 12 Apr 2024
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What things are ubiquitous in your life, that might not be for someone else? (pawb.social)
submitted 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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I was watching a video the other day that mentioned the cassava plant, and how it's a staple food in many parts of the world. I may have had it once or twice, but for some people it's something they eat every day. This got me thinking - how many things do I assume that everyone else in the world must come in contact with and take for granted, because they're so ubiquitous in my life? It's very easy to take a self-centred view, and particularly when you assume that we live in a totally globalised world. But the experience of life for someone elsewhere may be completely different.

One silly example, in the UK nearly every house would have an electric kettle for brewing hot drinks. But a lot of countries don't.

What items, food, clothing, buildings do you have that other people may never come across in their lives?

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[–] [email protected] 12 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Trams. Half of the world is urbanised, but I don't think big portion of the world's cities have trams.

Asparagus is almost as big a hype here as I assume cherry trees are in Japan.

Kale is also a big thing here, but I think many folks have access to kale, so I'm not sure about this one. People sometimes gather with a handcart full of alcohol and music, going on a tour to a place where they eat Kale (Kohlfahrt).

Döner, obviously.

Bottle deposit explains more of a non-existence of bottle littering.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago

Getting drunk and eating kale sounds fun! And I wish more places had trams - there are a few cities in the UK with them but not enough.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 7 months ago (2 children)

Pretty much everything. The world wide median per-capita household income is less than 3k USD per year. It is easy to forget how insanely wealthy we are in western Europe.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago

I recently read that rather than "global south" and "global north," some people opt for "global majority" and "global minority." I like that, it reflects how I've always tried to think of it.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 months ago

Cost of living varies too though, in many countries that amount would let you live well.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 7 months ago (1 children)

.22LR rounds and shells. Everywhere.

Being a rimfire cartridge, I'm always bringing duds home in my pocket and placing them wherever. Or, I get home from camp and unload to clean something, there's another. They're tiny and roll off tables and countertops. When my kids go to camp they pick up shells and splatter them all over the house.

Plus, when shooting semi-auto they pop and fly everywhere. .22 shells are the glitter of the shooting world.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago

Wow, seeing bullet shells would be very strange here. Occasionally you might find a shotgun shell in a farm where pheasant shooting has taken place but that's about it

[–] [email protected] 7 points 7 months ago (3 children)

I live in Atlantic Canada so the obvious answer is anything snow-related.

Maple syrup. We always have at least one can in the house.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

Growing up in Norway, I didn't believe it when my dad told me when I was 5 or so that there were people in this world who'd never experienced snow.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago

There are people who spend their whole lives never seeing the ocean or sea too. Mind-blowing when you consider the world's mostly made up of water.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago (2 children)

Can? Your maple syrup comes in cans?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Yep in Ontario too. You just punch a hole into it to drizzle out of. Perfectly normal. I sent my friend in South Africa some and she said she never tasted anything like it.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago

It's even better if you punch two holes, diametrically opposed. A big one for pouring and a small one for venting. Perfect drizzles everytime without the sudden "gulps".

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago

Yup although to be fair it's a Quebec brand that my parents bring whenever they visit. ;) the little fancy glass bottles are too damn expensive.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Slippers. It's weird to me how people go barefoot or wear socks inside the house.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I've always changed depending on the weather. Slippers in the winter, socks 80% of the time and barefoot when it's (occasionally) warm enough. Is wearing slippers just what you grew up with, or is there a reason?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago

Yeah it’s just a culture thing. I grew up wearing slippers at home all the time, so I’ve been doing it my entire life.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Something I noticed on vacation once as a child was that the house we stayed in only had a bath, no shower. I’ve always been a shower lover and hated baths. It genuinely is one of the only things I can remember about that vacation, it was so frustrating to me!

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 months ago

My house only has a bath, no shower, not had one for 15 years outside of hotels (and even then I request a bath if possible).

[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

In the Oregon Trail episode of Tasting History with Max Miller (YouTube), he mentioned a root plant kind of like an onion that natives showed to some trail followers. It was a major staple of their diet, and I can't even remember it's name.

Update: it's "Camus root"

[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago (1 children)

The camas root? https://www.fs.usda.gov/wildflowers/plant-of-the-week/camassia_quamash.shtml

Common camas bulbs were considered a delicacy by the Native American tribes within the range of the species including the Blackfoot, Cree, and Nez Perce. Bulbs would be steamed or pit cooked for one to three days breaking down complex carbohydrates into ample amounts of the sugar fructose. A full one third of a bulbs cooked weight becomes fructose when prepared in this fashion. Native Americans would dry out the cooked bulbs and grind them into a meal. The meal was used in variety of ways. At times it would be mixed with water to form a batter and then cooked like a pancake. Often the meal would be mixed with water and formed into large bricks and then cooked and stored for future use.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago

Correct. I looked at the video to check.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago

Malt vinegar for French fries.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 months ago

Art supplies

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago

Love

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago

Toilets and toilet paper are everywhere.