15 Photos That Prove Every Country Is a Whole Different Planet

When we travel, we mostly look at the sights. But aside from the famous places and monuments, there are other things that can impress us. When we plan our trips, we don’t expect our phones to be full of photos of toilets and ordinary umbrellas.

We at Bright Side think that sometimes even the smallest things about architecture and behavior can tell a lot about a country and the people that live there.

If it says it’s running, it’s running.

“At our German company, the janitor always puts out a notice saying, ‘the machine is running.’ She does this so that nobody opens it accidentally. Last Thursday, she forgot to remove the notice. So by 3 PM on Friday, this is what our kitchen looked like.”

If you lose something in Korea, it will be returned to you even if you aren’t looking for it.

“I lost my purse where I had my credit cards and ID. I don’t know where I lost it, so I didn’t even try to find it. 3 months later, a box from the police station came with a piece of paper that said where the purse had been found. It was sent right to my doorstep. I’m shocked by Koreans.”

“I’ve left many Spanish bars because the floor there was sticky.”

“But it makes sense. Before, people would put all sorts of trash in their ashtrays. And after the ashtrays were removed, they started throwing everything on the floor. The waiters never argued, so it became a habit. Now, they don’t do the cleaning to show that the place is popular. So, when you come into a restaurant and see that the floor is clean, it’s either because the place is expensive or because people don’t like it.”

“In Switzerland, they have these signs around parks so that visitors can do proper exercises when they reach certain points on their hike.”

“In Norway, they have little shelters to keep your bike seat dry. Part of why Norway scores so high on the happiness scale.”

“A vending machine that sells fish stock found in Tokyo. They have a variety of options!”

“At Munich Airport, they have cabins you can rent to sleep, work, or when you need privacy.”

The San Francisco airport has an area for your pet to use the bathroom.

In Japan, they have designated rooms for talking on the phone in shared spaces.

This screen says ’relax’ instead of ’wait’ at the airport.

“This Singapore building looks like it was built in Minecraft!”

“Here in Washington state, they have mouth washing stations in the bathrooms of one of the restaurants.”

“The coastal town in Canada I’m in is so rainy, they have an umbrella sharing program.”

“In the Netherlands, a lot of farmers have machines where people can buy fresh milk from the farm itself. It’s cheaper than the supermarket, and gives the farmers more profit for their product.”

The Istanbul airport is so big they have scooters you can rent to cruise around inside.

Tell us about the things you saw in other countries that made you stop and take a photo!