Cultural Differences – Live Laugh Love Do

People Share 21 Really Weird Things

admin — Fri, 25 Jul 2025 15:54:14 +0000

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Article created by: Oleg Tarasenko

People often say “my house is my fortress”, but sometimes they mean completely different things by these simple words. Especially when people who are not quite familiar with their traditions or beliefs come over to their house.

For sure, traditions are simply wonderful, but there are particular situations when what is completely familiar to one person seems absolutely strange and weird to another. This, by the way, concerns not only traditions, but also religion and culture.

There is a popular thread on Reddit where people discuss the strange things they had to do in other people’s houses in order to comply with the owners’ cultural or religious requirements. The thread is quite extensive – to date it has over 33.4K upvotes and over 16.0K different comments.

Bored Panda has compiled a curated list for you with the most interesting and weird things from this thread. By the way, we also have our own tradition – everyone who reads the list must vote for their favorite items, and even better – leave a comment. So, traditions are traditions – they need to be obeyed, if you know what we mean…

More info: Reddit

I used to have a job that rented a lot of houses and properties in Southern California. Part of my job was meeting with property owners and to close a deal with them. One day I go to this man’s house in laguna Beach, as in his house was ON the beach. I was meeting with an insanely wealthy but also insanely nice Asian man who I had met a couple of times before and we had somewhat of a work type relationship. As i begin to bring up the deal to be made, he suggests we walk to the beach first, (I was ready to get home, it was Saturday) so we start walking, talking about life etc. He then proceeded to hold my hand, interlocked finger style, for the whole walk. I was originally wielded out by it but when I brought it up to a coworker he said it’s just a part of their culture. He also made me wear his personal house slippers to be allowed entry into his home. Just cultural differences but it still cracks me up that the most romantic beach walk I’ve ever had in my life was with an 75 yo something man millionaire.

blowhardyboys86 , Joshua Ganderson Report

I was kicked out of a elementary school friend’s birthday party because another friend and I played “witches” in her treehouse. She was Southern Baptist. There was a literal cauldron in her treehouse, I stand by my decision.

erineestevenson , DaPuglet (Tina) Report

When meeting my Finnish fiancées’ family, I was invited to a sauna with her brother. No clothes allowed. 10/10 would sweat with my boy again

MadRadInnit , Pilar Report

I don’t play with this group anymore, but had 3 “friends” who would regularly come over to game. I was the first of us to own a house, so it made sense for me to host.

One Christmas, the group all brings Christmas gifts for each other. They didn’t tell me they were exchanging gifts at my house, and no one got a gift for me either. I was sad because I realized then that I wasn’t their friend but rather a tool for them to play D&D.

Panwall , Sue Thompson Report

When I lived in Antwerp (Belgium), I once was stopped by an elderly, woman on the street. She was asking for help inside her house. Guiding me through a house where the temperature was way too hot, she stopped at every radiator and asked me to turn them down. In the end we went to the kitchen, where some jewish women and children were watching me silently while I was putting all the burning gas stoves on a low heat. Then she showed me out, thanked me and closed the door.

In Antwerp there is a big community of hasidic jews, I can imagine this was during sabbath.

laurens-t , nafrenkel88 Report

I grew up in a highly Mormon area, so most of my friends in school were Mormon, and I was occasionally invited into their more intimate Holiday celebrations for example.

One year, they gave me bags of food and drove me to a random house, then told me I had to go in and Deliver the bags to the people inside (A big family who currently have no means of financial support) as a secret Santa.

It was a wonderful gesture, but I felt really awkward being asked to do this in a stranger’s house, but they asked me to do it for the expressed reason that I was a stranger, and they wouldn’t know who had donated the food.

sezah , Bennilover Report

Went to a friends house for dinner a lovely meal. The whole family cleaned their plates of food then turned them over and ate dessert on the back of their plates like it was the most normal thing in the world. I copied them just to be polite.

Argybargyass , Jonathan Rees Report

I went over to my friends house to play D&D in high-school, and my friends mom mad lunch for the 7 of us. It was really good. We were just playing D&D and eating tacos, and after we all finished the lunch, everyone started pulling out cash. I was super confused.

My friend turned to me and asked, “Do you have your $5?”

So apparently we were supposed to pay for the meal. I was incredibly embarrassed. One of my other friends ended up paying for me. I never played D&D at that house ever again…

Edit: This happened in SoCal. They were just a standard American household as far as I was aware. The food was homemade. D&D is Dungeons and Dragons. It’s a role-playing game. Also, I can confirm that my friend was not taking the money. I literally saw him give it to his mom.

Songovstorms , Gunnar Wrobel Report

As a Greek, i had to challenge the house host to a sword duel because he was a Turk and i had the moral obligation to do so

captain_snake32 , last Report

I work for the ambulance service and I was asked to take my shoes off before attending to their mother in cardiac arrest. Politely reminded them that there was a time and place

phoenixfeet72 , Ravi Kotecha Report

I was prohibited from going to the lobby of the house or get out of the room without giving a warning first because I was prohibited to meet the wife of the host since I am a man. I was 10 years old by the way.

ward_-_ , Felicity Rainnie Report

I used to mentor a girl from Uganda. I walked in on her family discussing the marriage of their daughter (older sister of my mentee) to the son of the other family. They were debating how many cows and dollars she was worth. Women are not allowed to be in the room when it the trading happens. It was my first day as her mentor and I walked in the front door and suddenly I was smack dab right in the room with a bunch of huge guys that were having the discussion of this girl’s worth. It was bonkers.

KDWWW , Luigi Guarino Report

My family is Catholic, Im not. They believe in God but really only go to church once in a while and just wanted me to believe and be a good person as the bare minimum. I’m not religious but I humor them.

Anyways, once when I was younger, There was a kid whose father was friends with my father and my dad and I got asked to come over for dinner. Sounds fine. There are other people there for dinner too. My dad and I thought it was weird. Prolly a dinner party and he forgot to mention.

Meet the guy’s son. Cool kid at first glance. Massive gamer, has modern consoles (for the time) gaming PC, had a Scar L airsoft rifle. We hit it off. Same with the other kids.

Then in the middle of playing, the guys son turns off the TV and ps3 and starts telling us, “alright guys, gather around and we’re gonna do a quiz on the word of God and talk about why you should be saved by praying to him and following his teachings.”

I’m like “nope.jpg” and fake a stomach ache to get out of it. Go to the bathroom and the guys son tells me “hey don’t want you feeling left out.” Then proceeds to slide me the packet; yes packet, and a pencil from under the bathroom door and he tells me “make sure before you come out, you finish it and turn it in so I can check it.”

Luckily, my dad faked a call from my mom saying she wasn’t feeling well and went to grab me. We both got out hella quick. Turns out, it was all some sort of recruitment thing going on for a church of this specific sect of Christianity or something. My dad felt off after being told that he was going to be taught the true values of God and he was expected to force/teach these values to his family. At the time, it all felt like a fever dream.

Never could find that kid on FB or any other social media. So maybe he never existed at all haha.

Insanefox32 , Savio Sebastian Report

I went over to a friend’s house for a sleepover and when I changed into my pajamas her mom started demanding I put something else on and throw my pajamas out. I was really confused, she was yelling about how my pajamas were sinful and bore signs of the devil! I ended up just calling my mom to take me home because I was so uncomfortable, but that woman just kept scolding us for allowing me to wear satantic symbols.

The symbols on my pajamas? Peace signs. She said they were broken crosses, so clearly a sign of the devil.

usernameemma , David Geitgey Sierralupe Report

Late to the game, but here goes.
I had a friend growing up whose parents didn’t allow any snacks in the house. Every time he invited me over to spend the night, I was expected to bring boxes of snack food because it could be allowed if brought in by an outsider.
And yes, his parents would partake, too.
So there was junior high school aged Higestache bringing boxes of snacks for an entire family to have a ‘cheat night’ at my expense.

higestache , Andrew Malone Report

Dated a Lebanese guy.. On Christmas we had to drive around and visit all the aunts and uncles and sisters and brothers and so on.. At the first house I was offered a glass of coke and I kindly refused (coke makes me bloated and I wee a lot). I was told by my boyfriend that’s it’s rude. I had to finish each coke at every house, and if I finished it too soon, I would get a refill. I almost died that day. Also all the woman were mostly standing in the kitchen, did not really mingle with the men.

mickyburton Report

My friends father was a Geordie and his grandad was Scottish. Each hogmanay it was my job to leave their house and re enter bearing a gift of coal. This was my task as I was the only one there with dark hair.

So that’s a thing.

Edit: spelling of Hogmanay.

GabberZZ , Laurence Arnold Report

When the host has been saying grace for 5 straight minutes and we’re all still holding hands in a big circle as if we’re trying to summon a spirit, it feels pretty weird.

Bizarre_Protuberance , Anja Pietsch Report

Must have ice cream after dinner, even a spoonful was enough. My friend invited me for a sleepover and his dad took out a small bucket of ice cream, turns out they have a separate freezer just for ice cream. Friend’s mom didn’t want any so she just took a spoonful from her husband. His dad would offer me ice cream whenever he can. We went for a drive and his dad saw a Dairy Queen we went there and spent an hour inside trying every kind of ice cream they had.

His mom wasn’t any different but it was with making sure the meal was balance, doesn’t matter if you ate a dozen fried chicken but you better eat a lot of vegetables with it.

I thought that they probably grew up poor and ice cream was a luxury his dad never had and maybe his mom wasn’t able to eat much.

My paternal grandma was unwilling to let a guest go home without eating anything.

illogicalfuturity , Alper Çuğun Report

i am reminded of the story on Reddit where a girl went to her boyfriend’s parents’ house to meet them, and they had a ritual where they gather around a table and savagely consume an entire orange, skin and all. She didn’t do it, and she upset the entire family. I think it’s my favorite story from Reddit.

frauleinsteve , JaeHun LEE Report

I once went to have dinner with a girl from uni who came from a super nice but very religious family. Her dad turned out the be the pastor. Absolutely no problem being silent while they’re praying before dinner, however after dinner the whole family got their bibles out, and asked me politely, which my favourite verse was so we could read it together. Eh…?

Qihai7 , George Bannister Report

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When the Supremes Met the Beatles » PopMatters

admin — Mon, 30 Jun 2025 04:38:39 +0000

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Much has been written about the Beatles’ August 1965 visit with Elvis Presley in Los Angeles. What has not been extensively explored is the meeting between the Beatles and Detroit’s hit makers, the Supremes, only nine days before the Beatles met Elvis.

Even though half of the group’s members have been dead for decades and the band broke up in 1970, the Beatles remain the biggest musical act ever. Their music has been continually broadcast around the world since 1963. This time frame encompasses 12 US Presidents (Beatlemania was already taking off in Europe before JFK’s assassination), a moon landing, three major wars, the Space, Computer, and Information Ages, a royal wedding and divorce, the end of the Cold War, the reign of six popes, and the advent of the Internet.

The Beatles have sold over 600 million albums. Their 2000 album of hits became the biggest-selling album of the decade. The Beatles still hold the record for most Billboard number one singles (20), most number ones in a year (six in 1964), most top five hits by any group (29), most top ten hits by any group (35), and, recently, the longest period between first and last top ten hits debuts. The debuts of “I Want to Hold Your Hand” and “Now and Then” span nearly 60 years. In the Digital Age, Beatles songs have streamed in the billions, including “Here Comes the Sun”, which has 1.539 billion streams and is climbing daily.

The Beatles’ closest competitors during the 1960s are often erroneously noted as the Beach Boys and the Rolling Stones. By the numbers, neither group qualifies for the title. The Beach Boys had four number ones, and the Rolling Stones had eight. Second only to the Fab Four was a three-piece girl group from Detroit: The Supremes. The original Supremes, Diana Ross, Mary Wilson, and Florence Ballard, scored an astonishing 12 number-one singles and easily became the most successful American band of the decade. By the end of 1964, the rivalry between the two groups for chart supremacy was called “The US Battle Royal”.

The Supremes Hit the Charts First

Like the Beatles, the Supremes started as a quartet. The group began when Florence Ballard, then a high school junior, met two members of a group called the Primes, Eddie Kendricks and Paul Williams. Ballard formed a sister group called the Primettes, featuring herself, her friends Mary Wilson, Barbara Martin, and Diane (later “Diana”) Ross. At their start, the Supremes performed equal leads on songs.

In July 1960, the Primettes, then a quartet with Barbara Martin, won a contest at the Windsor-Detroit International Freedom Festival and decided to pursue a record deal. Through Ross’ neighbor, William “Smokey” Robinson, they acquired an audition with a local label, Motown Records. Founder Berry Gordy, though reluctant at first, signed them in 1961. Gordy only did so on the condition that they change their name. It was Ballard who chose the name that became synonymous with the Motown Sound: The Supremes.

The Supremes hit the charts years before anyone outside of Liverpool heard of the Beatles. In 1962, their debut album contained their first hit song and the last recorded with Martin. The song, “Your Heart Belongs to Me”, was written by Smokey Robinson and reached #96 on the Billboard Top 100. Martine left to raise a family soon after, and the Supremes became a trio.

The Fab Four loved the Motown sound enough to cover three songs (“You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me” by The Miracles, “Please Mr. Postman” by the Marvelettes, and “Money (That’s What I Want)” by Barrett Strong). The Supremes, in turn, covered the Beatles’ “Eight Days a Week”, “You Can’t Do That”, “Michelle”, “Can’t Buy Me Love,” “A Hard Day’s Night”, and “Yesterday”.

On the surface, the groups had quite a bit in common: Both were from working-class, urban environments. The Supremes were from the Brewster-Douglass Public Housing Projects in Detroit. Three of the Beatles (Paul, George, and Ringo) likewise grew up working class near a Liverpool street named “Penny Lane”. Both groups’ debut albums were similarly titled, Meet The Supremes and Meet The Beatles. Both groups were beloved by millions of Americans after their appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show.

It would be natural, then, that the mutual esteem the Supremes and the Beatles held for each other would be evident in their first meeting. Alas, this was not the case. By all accounts, the meeting was an uncomfortable drag.

The Supremes Rendered Speechless

According to Mary Wilson, the two supergroups first met at the Warwick Hotel in August 1965. The Beatles had the day off, as August 16 was the make-up date in case their historic concert at Shea Stadium was rained out the previous evening. The weather on the evening of August 15 was clear, so the Beatles played the show.

From the outset, cultural differences between the two camps became apparent. The Supremes were deeply religious; the Beatles were not. Diana Ross was raised a Baptist. Mary Wilson was a committed born-again Christian, and Florence Ballard sang in her church choir.

In contrast, the Beatles disdained religion at the time they met the Supremes. In less than a year, John Lennon would inspire mass protests in the American South by remarking that his group was bigger than Jesus. (George Harrison later led the Fab Four to become devotees of Indian philosophy, particularly Hinduism and the Hare Krishna movement.)

All four Beatles would become vegetarians, whereas the Supremes wore fur coats. The Beatles, known for their innovation in the studio, asked the Supremes how they achieved the famous “Motown sound. .The Supremes could not answer them, as America’s biggest hitmakers lacked the technical insight, did not play the instruments on their hits, and, crucially, did not produce their records.

In reality, the reason for the distinction was that Berry Gordy recruited the best jazz musicians in Detroit. Hitsville’s backing band, the Funk Brothers, was far more responsible for the Motown sound than any of the label’s singers.

Their images were different, too. The Supremes were African American women during the Civil Rights Era, constantly under pressure to act professionally. They were packaged as a wholesome, family-friendly pop group designed to appeal to white audiences. The Beatles were outspoken, cheeky rockers who honed their craft in strip clubs in Hamburg, Germany.

Another rift between the groups was drugs and alcohol. The Beatles took them, but the Supremes did not. While individual members of the Supremes might have smoked cigarettes and both Ross and Ballard later struggled with alcohol addiction, there’s no indication they did so publicly. The Beatles openly smoked and drank.

The fact that all four Beatles were smoking marijuana by the time they met the Supremes likely played into the uncomfortable atmosphere. The Beatles were introduced to cannabis by Bob Dylan the year before and had, by that time, incorporated it into their lyrics. Their drug use wasn’t just limited to weed, though. John Lennon and George Harrison took LSD for the first time in April 1965 and were using it habitually by the time they met Diana Ross, Mary Wilson, and Florence Ballard. Ringo Starr would try acid within two weeks of meeting the Supremes, but Paul McCartney would hold out until 1966.

After long periods of silence, the meeting ended 30 minutes later. Both groups left disappointed. The Supremes were unimpressed with the Beatles, and the Beatles simply couldn’t believe the Supremes were so square.

A Reach Across the Divide

Members of the two supergroups would later reconcile. By 1968, Florence Ballard had been replaced by Cindy Birdsong, and the Beatles had stopped touring. In January that year, the newly-christened Diana Ross and the Supremes performed in London at The Talk of the Town Club. In the audience was Paul McCartney.

McCartney met the Supremes after the show and congratulated them. By all accounts, this meeting was more amiable. McCartney later made hit records with two Motown artists, Ebony and Ivory (1982) with Stevie Wonder, and the 1983 song “Say Say Say” with Michael Jackson.

Tragedy would befall both groups. In 1976, nine years after Cindy Birdsong replaced her, Florence Ballard died at just 32 of coronary thrombosis. She lies at rest in Detroit Memorial Park East.

The leader of the Beatles, John Lennon, would be murdered in New York City just four years later, in 1980. A memorial to Lennon called “Strawberry Fields” remains in Central Park, New York.

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