American Reacts to UNEXPECTED Things About the UK

As a retired postman I can tell you that virtually everyone is entitled to have their mail delivered to a letter box in their house even in remote areas. Delivery routes are worked out to allow for the time and effort it takes the postman/woman to do this. Having your mail delivered through your front door is a lot more secure and helps guard against mail theft, identity fraud, and nosy neighbours wanting to see what sort of mail you receive.

A letterbox also prevents mail theft . Most things in Britain correspond to safety and /or hygiene.

My dad just retired as a postman, and the community he delivered, for over 10 years, threw him a retirement party as he was seen as an important person there ❤

Our postman’s name is Robert and when he has something that won’t go through the letterbox, he’ll ring on the door and we have a lovely chat. I know about his family and that he has a knee problem. He greets the animals and is a lovely chap.

A plastic bowl in the sink is useful. It means that you can pour the contents of any dishes/cups/mugs down the sink (between the bowl and the sink), and rinse the plates off again straight into the sink. Also you use less water. And you get fewer breakages of glasses and china, because the bowl is plastic and so softer than the sink itself.

When I was a paperboy we put the newspapers through the letterbox as well. I was jealous when I saw American kids just throwing the paper at the house. You also learnt that if you wanted decent tips at Christmas, you pushed the paper all the way through and definitely closed the gate!!!

Hi, Brit here. Got a bit more insight into a few bits for you; Letterboxes - reduces theft/fraud etc, but also our front gardens (yards) aren't as large as American ones, so there's not as far for the postie (mail person) to walk, some roads it's illegal to stop on (so pausing to put letters in a mailbox isn't an option), and our roads are a lot narrower than yours (so going round a slow moving/paused mail van isn't an option). The postie will find somewhere suitable to park, get out, and get some exercise Electric switches - I get that it's odd if you're not used to it, but if you switch off a device at the socket (rather than putting it on standby) it reduces the electrical consumption, it's also a safety feature (children get their fingers in everything) Washing up bowls - a lot of British kitchens are too small for more than one sink, so if the sink is full of dirty dishes and you need to wash some produce it makes it quicker and easier to access the sink (lift the whole bowl out), additionally, waste disposal in sinks is almost unheard of here, so a bowl catches any debris to be disposed of properly House names - when writing the address it would look like this; House Name Road Name Village/Town County (our equivalent of state) Post Code (our equivalent of zip code) Hope that's helped you understand the hows and whys a bit better

Our postie is called Pauline, she will often stop for a chat when she delivers post. Also she will open our front door and drop stuff inside. She knows everyone in our village. It’s a good way to check on older people who are on their own.

What is nice about our posties is that they are part of the community especially in smaller towns and village. Most people who are home all day know the postie and it feels so much more of a personal service than it did when i lived in the USA.

The on/off switch on the socket is there as a compulsory safety feature. Tom Scott has made a very informative video on his channel about the safety features of British plugs and sockets, and why we have them

Hi Tyler! I'm an American whose family has always used what we call a dish pan in our kitchen sinks. It's made of a Tupperware like plastic. The advantages are that you use less water (while soaking), the water stays warm longer and your dishes don't damage the sink. We also now put a soft plastic raised mat with drainage holes at the bottom of the sink for collecting the dishes we are ready to rinse off.

Our postcodes (like zip codes) are much more specific than USA and mainland Europe ones. They narrow the space down to a small number of houses. So it's easy enough for a post person to find the house within that. In the past before postcodes, the postmen just needed to learn the route. Also, house names with no number are in rural areas and so it's not a city name but a village name or similar, so it's a small-ish area that is covered.

The kitchens in the UK don't always have room for a double sink and the bowl enables you to lift it out if necessary with the washing up in it, so someone else can get to the water and the sink. Also it is quieter and safer for glassware (a lot of old houses only had stone sinks) Maybe it's a throwback that we still use a bowl!

For me, the reason I use a washing up bowl is because they're made of plastic, which always feels more forgiving than say a metal sink when putting in glass items to wash

I think the main reason for us having a letterbox over a mailbox is the fact that most of our houses don't sit on huge pieces of land, if the post man had to walk 500yards up and then back down a driveway, I think post boxes would be more common, you usually only see them on gated properties where access isn't available.

Letter boxes are secure, postmen are brilliant, switches isolate electrical items when not in use and reduce fires, travel broadens the mind, Nuff said.

Washing up bowls are great shock absorbers. They also mean you can put things in to soak, lift the bowl out onto the side then still have the sink usable.

The washing up bowl saves a lot of hot water, and our energy is really expensive here. Filling up the bowl uses maybe 1/2 of the water to fill up the sink to the same level. Also, when you realise that you haven't emptied the dregs of a cupsof tea or coffee from a cup, you can just pour them into the sink beside the bowl, keeping your washing water cleaner. The bowl usually keeps itself clean, but now and again you might need to rinse it off.

Our posties also provide are an invaluable service in the UK especially outside big cities where they are part of the community, know people and keep an eye on any vulnerable people. Not all posties go above and beyond their letter posting duties but many do and are valued for it. I always give my postie a Christmas bonus for delivering my letters safely all year and keeping an eye on me as he knows i'm disabled and goes out of his way to be helpful. For instance, if a delivery is left outside he will put it into a safe box for me, knock the door and let me know..

I'm a Brit, years ago my friends parents emigrated to Australia, she didn't want to go so they bought her a beautiful little 19th century cottage covered in ivy and roses a called it Pooh Corner. ❤