I’m Australian and lived in the US for a while. With the petrol, you basically just swipe your card and then pump and then it takes the money off your card. You can opt to go in and pay first if you know you want a certain amount though 😊

As an American I don’t know anyone that heats up hot water in the microwave to drink 😅

As an American I find it so fascinating that non-Americans find microwaving water disgusting, it's always such a visceral reaction for y'all lol. Anyway people here who drink a lot of tea have kettles but many of us just like a cup now and then and it's easier to microwave a mug than to buy a whole different appliance that won't be used often enough to justify the purchase.

Not only do we not hip-hip, some of us sing the birthday song like it’s a funeral dirge. It’s the worst part of birthdays.

Ok as an American. Where I’m from (east coast) we look at ppl who microwave they’re water the same way you do 😂. Also for gas/petrol, that’s only the case when you pay cash. Which like no one does anymore

If you want $20 worth, you give the cashier a 20 and they set the pump to deliver 20. Why does this seem weird. Or, you just use your credit card. Why does it matter how the water gets hot? It's still hot. It still makes the tea. Why is this weird?

American here, worked for a gas station a long time ago... Dealt with a lot of theft issues during the Katrina hurricane. So the idea to pay first is to prevent theft. People point out that you can pay with card or cash and cash is typically cheaper, the reason being is that companies that charge the gas stations a fee for using their credit services, so it's cheaper on the gas station to just take cash than to pay a fee for processing and waiting on card payments. If you know where you're looking for the gas prices, you can guess about how much you want to spend depending if you want to fill your tank, or if you only have enough for the week until your next paycheck you either go in the store and give the clerk the number of the pump you're at, and the price you're putting on it, if you don't pump the entire amount you can come back in for your change (unless you pay with your card it won't matter, you'd do it at the pump), some pumps require you to come into the store to pay prior, this is for theft reasons. The pumps are designed to calculate per gallon how much everything is as it's being pumped. you can clearly read how much you're pumping and the current cost you are pumping into your car, there are people that will pump down to the exact penny and then can pay, but many gas stations have changed away from this option.

I do not understand the desdain for microwaving water. Americans simply don't drink enough tea to justify having an electric kettle most of the time (most people will have a drip coffee maker instead, so unless you have a huge kitchen, its hard to justify taking up the counter space for that and an electric kettle), nevermind that they work slower here. And even if someone here does have one, if you are only going to have one cup of tea or coacoa or whatever, then why bother using a kettle? The microwave does not make the water taste like anything, the whole "superheated water exploding" thing is incredibly rare (my father microwaved his water for instant coffee every day when i was growing up and it never happened) and it cuts down the number of steps required between water out of the tap and tea in your belly lol

Okay you only has to guess the cost if you don't have a card. Also people who microwave water in their cup for tea are crazy.

Sometimes you can only afford to put in $10 or $20 or when using a gas card it's just easier to pay before and have the pump stop automatically when it gets to that amount.

You swipe your card at the pump, and it does a pre-check for an amount determined by the company. Usually, it's something like $150? If your card gets approved, the pump turns on, and you can gas up. Once you hang the handle back up, it sends the actual amount you pumped to the credit company, and the precise amount you spent will be applied to the card. All of that is transparent to the customer - you just wait a few seconds, and the pump turns on. Others have also mentioned you can go into the store and say you want $20 on Pump 9, and the pump will automatically shut off at the pre-paid amount. It's not as complicated as it seems.

As an American in the Midwest, I use an electric kettle for my water but I do know (and are related to) people who microwave theirs because it’s quicker.

American here. We prepay for the gas, we call it here, because otherwise people would leave without paying. It used to be pay after years ago before my time. And only one state here, it's actually a law where they can't pump their own gas. Just looked it up as I forgot where and it's New Jersey.

Idk about all of America but in California, we can just use our card and it’s not charged until you reach the desired amount as you fill your tank.

For gas you swipe your credit card and get charged when the tank is full, or just whenever you decide to stop. If you only want to put $5 you can do that too.

The way Toni goes "Wot?" 🧐 is giving me life 😂 I need all their podcast episodes to come with video!!

Sometimes we add "and many more" after the last "happy birthday to you" but usually it's a dad joke

The best part of the Australian birthday singing is finishing up the happy birthday song with the existential party piece: "why was he born so beautiful, why was he born at all? Because he had no say in it, no say in it at all."

In Canada, it's the same; we pay for it beforehand by selecting "pay at the pump." You can pay after if you choose "pay in-store." The machine will prompt you to select an amount to put in. You only get charged what you use; the machine stops once the tank is full, and you get reimbursed for what you didn't use. You also have the option to select "fill up."

I am Canadian, and back 15 years ago I went to USA. I was driving and driving, every gas station I went to was self serve. I could NOT believe it. In Canada, they were like 90% full serve. I had to actually learn how to do it. Fortunately there was a really nice guy, who taught me how to put gas in my car. But that was such a shocker to me. Now in Canada there is around 50% full serve. Considering how cheap the gas was there, it was worth it.... In Canada, for Birthday's we don't do the hip hip either. But there is the rare celebration, like a sport where we will do it. Personally I love it, and it would be fun to do it with Birthday's.