5 things tourists find most surprising about Britain

Portia Arthur

November 4, 2015 3:12 PM

From the size of our apples to our love of Indian cuisine

Great Britain

Britain can be a strange and confusing place for tourists.

In an Ask Reddit thread, many tourists described what shocked them the most about visiting the UK.

From the size of our apples to our exquisite etiquette, here are the things about Britain tourists find the most surprising:

1. How small our fruit are

Apparently fruit in England is inferior in size to that of the rest of the world.

"One apple in the US is like two UK apples," a Reddit user wrote. "I went through a lot of apples."

2. Our love of Indian cuisine

Replying to someone who said they were surprised about how much Indian food there was in London, another wrote: "Not just London. Practically every high street in the UK has at least one [Indian restaurant].

"That's the great thing about having an empire. When your food is sh*t, just go out and acquire other people's."

According to one claim, the extremely popular chicken tikka masala originated in a restaurant in the west end of Glasgow.

3. How similar London is to the US

One tourist was surprised about how similar London is to the US.

"Like some weird mirror image of the States," they wrote. "Like the TV commercials. The candy in stores. The styles of cars and the way people dress.

"It's all familiar, none of it is exotic. But it's different in a subtle way."

4. Pop-up urinals

Many Reddit users were envious of the UK's pop-up urinals, which cater to the needs of those leaving the pub late at night.

5. How we greet each other

Most confusing of all was the way we ask "are you all right?" as a way of saying hello. The question started a debate about how to properly reply.

"You are always 'fine'. Never more. Never less," one Redditor explained.

"You could have lost all your family in a car crash, or just won the lottery... but still you remain, 'fine'."

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Portia Arthur