I think the reason we don't have garbage disposals in Germany is that you're not supposed to throw just anything in the drain. We have separate garbage cans for pretty much anything so it can be recycled or proceeded in the best way.

Home is where you can find the light switch in the dark.

As a German planning to move to the US I really adore her videos. And YES, that bathroom light thing happened to me a thousand times. 😂

I've never questioned having the bathroom lightswitch OUTSIDE the bathroom before.. But now that I watch your video.. WHY IS MY LIGHTSWITCH OUTSIDE?! :DD Awesome video! I'm German and I live in the US right now so it's fun to see that it's not only me being confused about the Americans, haha! :)

Siblings turning the bathroom light off? Yeah, of course. I still do that to my wife and will never stop ;-)

haha that outside lightbutton from the bathroom ...i had fun with it when i was a kid

In Australia, we don't have rubbish removal things in our sinks, instead we scrape our plates in the bin.

Die Lichtschalter sind außerhalb des Badezimmers, damit da kein Wasser reinkommt

Yeah my brother always turns off the lights....Brother if you are reading this: Stop that. I hate you for that

I grew up as an only child in germany. I still experienced sitting in a dark bathroom countless times xD

Garbage disposals in the sink are actually illegal in Germany. You're supposed to put all the shit into your wastebin.

Hi, I lived one year as an au pair in the states and noticed so many differences. First: the toilet - in the US there is sooo much water inside the bowl and usually there is a plumper´s helper instead of a brush next to it. Second: walk in closet´s - I loved them! ;-) Third: the way they open the window´s. Fourth: usually in the states you don´t buy bottled water. They use a filter or have a fridge with ice and water dispenser. My host mom did not believe me when I told her that most of the germans drink bottled water. Last summer when I moved to a new apartment and had to buy a new kitchen I made a dream come true and bought a side by side fridge with water and ice dispenser. I love it! I better stop now... I could keep writing and thinking of my second home all day long..... I really miss it. Thanks for sharing those things!

I'm still turning the lights in the bathroom off, whenever my little brother is in there. We want to have fun in germany :D

At my parents house, there is a counter around the bathroom sink (it's all one piece). But the thing is... I can't even put my bathroom stuff on there when I'm at home because my dad would put all those things away and clean the counter... "Ordnung muss sein!"

Don't forget front doors in Germany that can be locked from both sides. If you lock it from the outside and don't leave a key in the lock on the inside, people inside the house can't get out unless they have a key. Now imagine a fire, a house full of smoke, and panicky family members waking up in the middle of the night and running for the front door. I always point to the floor right at the bottom of the door on the inside and tell people that this is where the firefighters will find your body after you knelt on the floor in desperation to grab your last breath of air from underneath the door. German front doors need a better solution.

This Ine time i stayed in the US for a month, and this one time I stood up in my bed to get an overview of my room (cuz I was looking for something) and the ceiling fan banged me in the head! Autch!

I know that in the Netherlands those garbage disposals are illigal, because the sewers aren't made to deal with kitchen waste. kitchen/food waste goes into the (often green) grabage bin and is collected every two weeks to be turned in to composte or being fermented to gas. light switches are on the outside of bathrooms as a safety feature. you can't get shocked when you hit the switch in a steamy wet room. bathrooms have them outside in the Netherlands (shower and bath) but toillet rooms (which in english are weirdly also called bathrooms?) have them inside. bathrooms don't go fully dark though, they have windows :) building code says every room should have a window

Oh my god, you are so right! My sisters always turned the lights off and on when I was in there :D

I love the bloopers !! 😂 LOL everything is very informative! Ty

I'm pretty sure locking interior doors from the outside would be against building codes in the US. Based on fire safety alone, everyone in a building should be able to exit quickly if they need to.

Difference in heating is because difference in building technique, US homes are made of wood constructions and plaster dry wall the German are made of brick and concrete like in most of the Europe. In US it's easy to make ducts since the walls are essentially empty space while it's hard to mount a very heavy radiator, while in Europe it's the other way around...

I guess the reason why we don't have those garbage disposals in our kitchen is that rats like the food in the sewerage and we don't want the rat population to grow. they also say don't throw old food in your toilet... cause the rats could climb the pipes and then you've got rats in your house, searching for food...

I live in Canada and my bathroom light is on the outside too but it not my brother that does it it's my dad😂

The switches for the bathroom is outside the room if their is no window cause you can switch on the light and don't have to enter a dark room.

Most of these are in all of Europe!!!.......

Long time viewer but first time commenter here :D I am German but I have also lived in the US for a year. This brings back so many memories. That's mostly why I watch your brilliant videos in the first place :) Hearing you talk about differences between the US and Germany is so much fun because it reminds me of all the little things ... makes me a bit "homesick" :)

So if you have the built in fridge that matches your cabinets, and it breaks, what do you do if your style cabinet is discontinued?

I laughed so hard at the door stopper! As an adult, I still make them go boing. :D

The missing garbagedisposal, the thing that hacks food as you say, has two reasons: 1) Food down the drain is atracting rats, now in all sewage systems you will find rats, but they have enough to feed without you throwing food down the drain. More food means more rats which is a higher risk to public health. 2) Food (aspecially fat and oil) are a huge problem for the waste water treatment. The attempts to use as less chemicals to achieve a good quality of waste water, so it can be returned into rivers or lakes without endangering the environment are put under pressure if to much food is returned in the sewage.

My siblings never turned off the light... My mother did, hahaha.

it certainyl happens that someone accidentally switches off the light while you´re inside but I still wouldn´t want it inside because in that case you come inside, it´s dark in there and you can never find the switch

A difference I noticed (german living in the US) every house in our subdivision has at least one deck plus patio and backyard and no one ever uses it. We are the only people that actually sit in our yard, eat breakfast on the deck and enjoy sitting outside to get some sunlight. The americans are only in the yard to mow the grass once a week.

Well, there's another thing about Bathroom light switches: In many homes, the bathroom light switches even have a little tiny lamp on them that lights when the lamp on the inside is on, so you can see at a glance, if the light is on in there which means a person is in there occupying the bathroom.

So funny to watch this as a german :D

I am so happy I found this channel. I spent a year in Germany and this is such a great trip to know it's not just me. One huge thing I remember is no closets.

These videos are so interesting!

My siblings didn't turn the lights off. My mom did. She thought it was hilarious.

Toilet disco is part of childhood in Europe :) Difference USA vs Europe (i'm mainly speaking about central Europe Germany, Czech rep. Hungary, Poland...) Toilets i found that in US when You flush water it often rises inside the bowl before flushing also You use waaaaaaay more water than its necessary. Europe when water rises in bowl it means one thing You just jammed Your crapper and soon you'll be flooded by shit.... Walls in homes most of homes in europe are built with bricks, concrete and so on solid materials. In US most of homes have this funny timber frame hold by nails You can literally punch through the exterior wall. My friends built their home this way(in my country we call it Canadian technology house but i don't know why) and we all where like "dude this won't stop not only Russian tank it wont even stop their jeep, your house is sooo going to be flatten by ruskies if war comes" or "You are very eco my friend, your house will disintegrate in next 20-30 years", "aren't you afraid your house is going to fly off with stronger winds?" lol

I'm from Nova Scotia Canada, here it is so common for the light switch to be on the outside of the bathroom, when people visit my sister's house nobody can figure out where the light switch for her bathroom is. (It's inside the bathroom above the toilet paper holder). we found it quite amusing to watch people struggle to turn the light on. Her upstairs bathroom on the other hand, not only has its light switch on the outside of the bathroom, but there's a spare one in the master bedroom. You're quite right in assuming there were many pranks played with those light switches. Lol.

how will you know where is the switch inside the bathroom if its dark?

I'm 22 year old german guy and is still would turn off everybodys bathroom light.

Lockable doors are always lockable from both sides. In fact, many locks just have a knob on the inside of the door so you can always get out even if you have no key, but only people with a key an get in. Similarly, bathroom locks always have a screwdriver slot so in an emergeny you can open the lock with pretty much anything, a screwdriver, a knife, spoon, anything you can grab in an emergency. Front doors in the Netherlands also latch when you close them. It's not locked, but there's no handle on the outside to release the latch. So, you quickly learn to have a key in your hand when you open the door to go outside, so you *know* you can get back in. Lightswitches on the outside is a safety thing; you don't want electrical contacts close to a place where you are creating lots of water vapor. If it doesn't electrocute you when you touch it, it will at least trip the preotection circuit in the fusebox. And yes if you have a sibling you will end up in the dark sometimes, which gives you a perfect excuse to fill their shoes with peanutbutter.

Ceiling fans were in fashion in Germany in the 60s and 70s, but never really caught on and turned out to be a passing fad, like panoramic wallpaper, fake fur rugs, lava lamps and big, decorative water plays.

At my aunts house the bathroom light switch is outside, but everywhere else I know its inside.

Sometimes I turn the lights on and off several times and yell "Diskokacken!". It's pretty funny, from outside...

the light switch for the toilet shows you, whether someone is on the toilet without knocking or entering first. Sometimes the light switch for the guest toilet has an own light to signalize there is someone already in the bathroom.

My house here has heated floors instead of radiators. I still have no idea how to use it hahaha wow it's really cold in my house

lightswitches outside the bathroom exist because the water (damp) could damage older switches causing shortcircuiting. We had this on several occasions, but i don't mind showering in

Great episode! Some more differences that come into my mind: electric sockets (Steckdosen), mailboxes, shutter (Rolladen), building stock (Bausubstanz) in general which is why so many americans can afford an own house

My sister and I used to get into so many arguments because of turning the bathroom light off, it was annoying

Great channel,I love your videos! I grew up in Canada and in our home as a child the bathroom light switch was on the outside,this was a constant source of amusement for me and my brother and sister! lol

Yeah, I always used to turn the lights off when my parents or my sister were in the bathroom because it's very funny lol

Big big difference in US and Germany is the simple Window :)

You forgot rouladen windows! What's a German home without those amazing windows, where you turn the handle up, and you can pull the window so it tilts in, letting in a small breeze. turn the handle down the lock it, and turn the handle to the middle to swing the window open to let a large breeze come in and allow you to stick your head out if you wanted to. Plus the amazing shades with the thick cord that you pull to bring up, or loosen to bring the shades down. If I could, I would hire a German architect to design me the perfect German home.

i think the lightswitcher outside the bathroom sometimes is quite funny. As a child i used to switch it on and off when my Brothers where in there and yell something like "hey! disco-peeing!!!"

I don't believe you didn't mention that in US shower head is stuck to the wall. So inconvenient.

I only know garbage disposals from horror movies, so I think it's very good that we don't have that kind of killing machine in Europe..

Yeah, we did the light switch thing to each other. But it mostly happens accidentally. Like, you are just finished and are leaving and then someone else comes in and once you're out the door, you forget that someone's still in there and switch of the light.

Windows open different too. Can you show us some differences?

Floor heating is also common in Germany as replacement for radiators

The Bathroom lightswitch thing is a relict from times when fuses where not a common thing. The Steam could easyly cause an shortcut and rooms have been heat-insulated by straw in the early days (>> fire hazard). So it was just a safety thing. You most likely find these things in houses older than 70 years. We have that too. The House we live in actually still is insulated with straw. It got some makeovers over the decades, but never a real overhauling. Yeah you read that right ^^

Thank god I don't have the light switch outside of the bathroom, but inside.

My sister has an American house with the light switch outside the bathroom, and Everytime I go over there I always use their other bathroom that has the switch inside the room bc I can't be bothered with children turning off the light.

Just shutting the door doesn't actually _lock_ it; you just can't open it from the outside, because it doesn't have a handle there. Actually turning the key to properly _lock_ the door will push out a deadbolt like the ones you talked about only seeing in the US. Which is also why you still should use the key to lock the door instead of just pulling it shut: Without turning the key it's rather easy to open the door without the key, making it easy to break into your home (and insurance companys usually don't pay unless you've properly locked your door).

Garbage disposals in the sink are actually illegal in Italy and I suspect in most of Europe, that's why you don't see any. The US have very different standards of water treatment: they can dispose of their food garbage in the sink because the water treatment plant downstream from the sink is build specifically for that (or not, many cities in the US just dumped their sewers in the rivers and seas without treatment for a long time). In Italy, that's not the case. Also, many places have separate pick-up of food garbage (biological matter) in bio-material bags (corn-based plastic) that can then be recycled into compost. Or, often, used to regulate the temperature in garbage-based electrical power plants, without the fear of burning plastic and other materials that produce dioxin and other super-harmful chemicals.

My siblings actually did that so often when we were at my grandmothers place because she didn't had a window in the bathroom and I often sat there in total darkness..

my mom actually turns the light off on me in the bathroom every once in a while. she does it by accident not checking to see if someone's inside tho

Garbage disposals are even forbidden in Germany as they clog up the sewage system. Biotonne instead! Another big difference: washing machines! In the US they still use hundreds of liters of water and spin at 300 RPM so that the laundry comes out almost totally wet. In Germany we have these high-tech eco machines that spin at 1400 RPM so the laundry is almost dry. Yet a washing cycle may take up to two and a half hours whereas in the US it usually takes only about 20 minutes.

of course my sister turned off the bathroom lights... even my funny father did it. However, the switch is pretty handy, there' often a little light on it so you can se if it's turned on, hence you're able to see if someone's using the toilet and not bother them with knocking.

My cat thinks the "Sproingy" door stopper is HILARIOUS! He re-discovers it every few days and has to spend several minutes making it go "SPROING!"

I have lived in the US for 2 years but I'm from Switzerland. So here are another few differences that I noticed during my stay in America: - The carpets tend to be very different. In Switzerland and Germany, the built-in wall-to-wall carpets (Spannteppich) are usually pretty thin and functional whereas in the US, you have those really thick, fluffy carpets that you sink into with your feet. I like the American carpets for their softness but I've always felt like they're very unhygienic. If you ever spill a beverage on there and the liquid gets soaked up deep into the carpet... urgh... good luck cleaning that. - Probably THE BIGGEST difference is the way our houses are built. In the US, most family homes I ever saw were wooden. In Switzerland and Germany, houses are usually either built with concrete or with bricks. Personally, I like this German/Swiss style better because the stone walls keep the warm air inside during the winter and during the summer they keep the house coolish. Plus, I've never quite understood why Americans - particularly in the midwest - keep building their houses with wood when there are so many tornadoes every year. - Windows in Europe are usually opened horizontally, whereas in the US, you flick a little switch and push the lower half upwards. - Air-con: I don't know how this is in Germany but in Switzerland, air conditioning is VERY uncommon. Partially, this has to do with environmental reasons. I've often heard Americans say they could never live without an air conditioning. When people in Switzerland are too warm during the hot months, they simply open the windows to let the air circulate or, if it's really bad, they take a cold shower ;-). - Wooden parquet floors seems to be way less common in the US than here in Switzerland or Germany. Maybe they exist in luxurious American houses but personally, I can't remember having seen many. - American homes GENERALLY have a smoke/fire alarm. Again, I don't know how this is in Germany but in Switzerland, smoke/fire alarms are very uncommon. - Also a HUGE difference: almost all stand-alone houses in the US come with a built-in garage or at least a driveway where you park you car(s). In Germany and Switzerland, some luxurious houses have that but the majority does not. Maybe the reason for this is also that the US has soooo much free space. Especially here in Switzerland, we have to be very economical with our space (even out in the countryside) because there's just not so much of it available. - In my experience, many Americans use several blankets to cover themselves at night (especially when it's cold). In Germany and Switzerland, we usually use "Nordic bedding", meaning you've got one thick blanket that is filled up with goose feathers (and usually, people have a summer-blanket and a winter-blanket). In the US, blankets are usually thin and if you're cold, you just stack more blankets on top of the ones you already have. - This might be a very obvious one but voltage is different too. 110 in the US, 220 in Germany. - A lot of American houses have screen doors in front of the actual front door to let the cool air come in but keep bugs outside. In Germany and Switzerland, I've only seen those things on windows but never in front of doors. Mmmh yeah I think this is all I can think of right now ;-)

oh yes.... I guess it happened to everybody: being on the toilet and someone switches the light off... I guess the reason why those switches are outside is because some bathrooms do not have windows.. so it is very dark inside and they give you the possibility to make a light before entering the room... btw this might be another difference: bathrooms without window???

I have no siblings, so no problem with them switching off the light. But it happened that my parents thought I forgot the light and turned it off. From my experience I'd say that in almost every place there is a light for the mirror which can be turned on and off independently - and just from the inside.

I lived in an older house once where the bathroom was actually an add on, so the light switch was outside the bathroom as that light was originally a porch light.

My little brother used to switch off the light everytime i was using the bathroom xD by now he uses it for knocking. But its also helpful if youre in the bathroom, someone else wants to use it and accidentally turns off the light, you give them a shout that youre the one using it and ask them to turn the lights on again :)

I am glad we always had the light switch inside the bathroom. Being used to this caused some embarrassing situation e.g. when I go into the bathroom of friends, loom for the light switch, go outside again, look for it there,.. yeah that happens quite often to me :D The most stupid thing is when it turns out the light switch actually is inside the bathroom and I just couldn't find. Hate that :D

as children we did this bathroom light thing all the time ^^

I'm looking for a recipe for a Homemade cleaner commonly used by Germans. It has a combination of some or all of these ingredients I think? vinegar, soda, lemon, peroxide, ammonia, other? It makes everything sparkle and smell good ( not vinegary). Does anyone here know of it? Thanks in advance for any help!

8.05 describes my childhood perfectly... until I got my phone with a flash light 😂

Germany doesn't have built in closets! :)

Shouting "hey, i'm in here" out of the bathroom is something I got used to ... My brother uses this method to tell me, that I should hurry up ^^ I guess the main reason was to have a light switch with a light in it, so you can see, if the bathroom is occupied without pushing the handle. But unfortunately it is a very good way to drive your siblings crazy.

of course we play this pranks with the light in the bathroom. Even in older age's we switch of the like from outside 😂. But just for a few seconds

I got some funny memories on my head when you talked about the bathroom's light! Actually I have never lived somewhere where the switch is inside, but, you got a point, it's a mess when there are kids in the house!

Food does go in food trash in Norway, not the sink.. (it is used to make bio fuel/diesel) Shower and handles is the same in Norway and Germany. Door to the outside in Norway is different from both Germany and USA by your explanation. Almost no sealing fans in Norway, and the heating is the same as Germany, but Heat Pump (most often in the most used room, the livingroom) Light switches is the same in Germany as Norway (different company make them, so little bit different, but mostly the same) Its a lot cheaper to put the light switches outside the bathroom, and the laws when it comes to electricity is stricter in Europe. And yes, my bigger brother did turn of the light when I was in the bathroom, but I did do it twice back the times he did it, so he didnt to it much)

You're always so enthusiastic. It's contagious haha

My brother would hide away the key to the bathroom and then turn the light off on me even though the switch was inside, right next to the door. It resulte in lots of kerfuffles etc and a couple of times i nearly broke his fingers trying to keep the door shut.

I live in Canada, and the bathroom in my house has a light switch on the outside. My brother used to turn it off when I was in the shower :/

I'm from Germany and in my bathroom I have that "counter" kind of thing :D

i totally used to turn the bathroom light off when my brother was in there ALL THE TIME. was i supposed to let him poop in peace after he ate all my carnival candy? hell no.

I am the bigger sister - turning the light off when anyone is in the bathroom was one of the most satisfying things in my life! hahaha !

What in the US you can't lock your doors (inside the house) from the outside? What do you guys do if you have sneaky roommates or something like that

My parents have a ceiling fan in their living room. they bought it... at their honeymoon in the USA 😂

For me as a German, it seems so weird to use a garbage disposal and just drain your leftover food down the sink :o it's so natural for me to recycle the stuff xD

we have a cieling fan, but its pretty much the only one i've seen in a german home. and i never understood why we have the bathroom light switch on the outside

My brother always switched off the light in the bathroom while I was in it but I confess that I did it too while he was in it 😂

German bathrooms often don't have a standard lock with a key but this little handle you have to turn sideways in order to lock the door. This movement is also translated to a screw-like thing on the outside that shows whether the door is locked or not (i.e. if the bathroom is being used). I don't know if that's common in other countries too.

The power outlets! Sure, they're different due to the different Standards, but the US outlets look like sad Ghosts!

When I was 5 and my brother 10 or 11 he sometimes turned the light off, but then when he is on the toilet I did the same to him

Where do you put your toiletries for the bathroom?

Well, the obviously biggest difference is the air conditioner. With hardly more then 2 tropical weeks a year they make no sense in Germany. I visited Texas in September, and I immediately got a cold from rooms with 18 C, with outside temperatures of 27+ It also shows why the US have a mile to go before renewable energy make sense: There are LARGE energy savings to be done first. From a point of design and efficiency US kitchens are roughly 1980 standard. Try and buy an induction cook top - not much choice. And it is complicated to buy stuff from other countries: Neither size (imperial), nor voltage are compatible. This is a nice defence line against foreign competition.