This and that - observations from everyday American life

Beautiful white teeth

I know this isn't new and everyone knows it, but it is noticeable with all the white teeth. It's not that I'm uncomfortable with smiling with my not perfectly white teeth, you just need to read the relevant information about the dangers of bleaching, it's the clear difference between rich and poor that becomes so clear. I took public transport buses in various places. Maybe coincidence, but the buses I was on were mostly used by black people. And often these were people from poorer backgrounds. This can also be clearly observed in the teeth that are not always white, or hardly any teeth at all.

Lorries/Trucks and trailers

A quick research into why there are no European trucks in the USA that I know of and why the trucks with their “snouts” simply look different than those in Europe revealed new knowledge for me. To put it very briefly and simply, the design in Germany is due to the fact that the permissible overall length of trucks was precisely regulated after the Second World War, whereas in the USA it was essentially not. As a result, European truck manufacturers have adapted to designing the European market with driver's cabs in which the engine is located under the driver's cab. The whole article can be found here:

https://www.galaxus.de/de/page/warum-eigentlich-haben-die-lastwagen-in-den-usa-eine-so-lange-schnauze-27694

After waiting for the bus for a whole hour on a road busy with a lot of trucks, I can now confirm that there are hardly any noise insulation requirements for the trailers and probably also for many other parts of the trucks. When a truck rushes past without a container on the trailer, the entire rear end jumps in the air and rumbles. There also seem to be a lot of “Hamburg Süd” containers.

Liquor stores

Without having done any detailed research, I will offer my brief observation on the sale of alcohol in the USA. Since my student exchange with Rotary in 1987/88, I knew about the peculiarities of alcohol in the USA. Here are a few memories from my exchange year:

As a Rotary exchange student, I was of course not allowed to break the four “No-Ds” (no drinking, no driving, no dating, no drugs - I have to say, to ease my conscience, that I have betrayed them all). I vividly remember a first drive through the Pennsylvania countryside with classmates I barely knew and the short stop in the middle of nowhere when the trunk lid was opened and everyone got a cold beer to drink (all under 21!). Beer was drunk again and again at a number of celebrations and meetings. I can't remember where this came from or who provided it - it was just there. As an exchange student, I never got to see the inside of a liquor store. In my memory, these always had a somewhat run-down, never-inviting charm.

And here we come full circle: During our entire time in North Carolina, it was completely normal to be able to buy beer and wine in the supermarkets. In Kentucky and Tennessee I would have been able to spend entire days visiting different distilleries. It was only when I tried to get beer in the supermarket in the New England state of Massachusetts (and later in New Jersey) that I was told that this was only possible in the state in specially designated liquor stores. So after shopping in the supermarket, we head to the next store - again with a certain atmosphere. But at least I had a short conversation with most of the people who worked there.

Public libraries

There it is again: the country with such different facets. In the middle of the traffic there is a sign for the nearest public library. And because I love it as much as public transport, I kept going to a few public libraries in different places. And lo and behold, the “local community” with its various notices and announcements always plays an important role. And there are books on all (important) topics available (or can be ordered). Magazines and newspapers and of course free internet access can also be found. These observations make me happy. However, I also hear this statement every now and then: “In Florida they are getting rid of all the truth!” (The governor there, Ron Desantis, is probably an ultra-conservative Republican).