13 things that Americans do that the rest of the world just finds bizarre

Over at Reddit, they asked their non-American readers to comment on things they find strange or bizarre about American culture.
Some of the responses referred to oddities that also bother many Americans: TV ads for prescription drugs, or laws that allow 18-year-olds to go to war or vote in elections, but prevent them from drinking a beer. But many of the most frequent comments are interesting, if not eye-opening.
The folks at BusinessInsider.com organized the Reddit material into a list of the “13  Things That Americans Do That The Rest Of The World Just Finds Bizarre.”

Among them:  spending several hours at a time behind the wheel, whether on a long trip or in horrendous traffic; eating countless types of foods with cheese in or on them; being obsessed with straight, ultrawhite teeth – the Hollywood smile; eating so many food items with pumpkin in them; carrying coffee with us everywhere we go.

Some of the responses are much more serious: being able to buy anything at WalMart, including shotguns, all under one roof; and being obsessed with maintaining the status of best country in the world.

Here are my favorites:

Cheerleaders

"...dressing up young girls in short skirts and getting them to dance around and cheer on young men strikes me as odd. Yes I know some people consider it a sport in and of itself but when it takes place on the side lines of another more popular sport I think it's mainly about spectacle." — preparetodobattle

Being obsessed with your alma mater.

"I know this does not apply to everyone but your attachment to your college/university AFTER you have left. The amount of older people I saw on my trip wearing college gear was insane. As well as supporting your college as an alumni. Coming from the UK where a university is used to gain your degree then its a case of thanks for the piss ups, bye!" — Fenrir89

"I get made fun of all the time in Russia for having an attachment to my college. They just don't get the idea of loyalty to the school. I think it comes from two places: sports, and a sense of community." — Ck14

All the pomp and circumstance surrounding prom

"I have cousins who live in the US and just hearing about the number of hoops they had to jump through to ask someone to a dance is hilarious." — Saysthingsfromabush

"In Scotland our equivalents (to proms) are ceilidhs and in school you just go and f***ing dance. Concept of building up the courage to ask someone to a ceilidh is simply ridiculous. 'hey would you like to come and get bruised with me doing some fast dances to violins?' As is tradition. — Reducto_Absurdum