Your country baffles me...

[nialla42]

I've had this floating in my brain for a while now. We're all pretty much able to watch TV shows from other countries these days, legally or not, and some of us are lucky enough to travel. Then there's news reports that give you a glimpse into life in other countries. What I'm wondering is if you've ever been baffled by why something is the way it

Comments

[graculus]

I know a lot of UK bathrooms (mine included) have a pull-cord for lighting rather than a switch, solely because of the amount of water knocking around in your average bathroom. Likewise it's rare to find sockets actually in the bathroom itself, unless they're specialised ones for things like electric shavers.

The thing that always entertains/perplexes me is the ubiquitousness of the coffee machine in US shows. I guess growing up in a land where kettles are the norm rather than the exception makes it much easier for instant coffee to be both socially acceptable and a damn site easier than all that filter business when you've just got up. ;)

[nialla42]

The house I lived in until I was about 10 had pull cord lights originally. I think that was due to the fact that electricity didn't arrive until around 1930 with the Rural Electrification Agency. My father's a pretty good electrician, so he replaced the pull cord lights with regular lights and switches, though I think the tiny bathroom had a pull cord light for a bit longer

[innocent_lex]

For me, the surprising thing about US homes on telly is always how much space there is. Here, having more than one bathroom (even an en-suite that's only a shower room) puts a house in the 'quite posh' zone. And also having space to have a utility room would back up the posh label - it would show more space than is normal for your average house these days

[khek]

In new england, many of the older homes have smaller rooms and kitchens that aren't anywhere near spacious. Because of that, most people buying old houses in this area either gut the house and redo the walls, or they rip it down and start over completely. My apartment is in a house from 1758, but my part was enovated from a barn/shed in the 20s, and remodeled in the early 50s. It's quite tiny I don't even have space for a table in my kitchen! And yes, the light switches are still outside the bathrooms.)

[kellifer_fic]

In Australia if the house is an older one - you can often find the light switch outside the bathroom so it might have just been something that was done at a certain period in time architecturally.

Oh, I just googled and this makes sense:

In small bathrooms the light switch is often installed outside to minimize the possibility of its operation by someone who's standing in a puddle of water, which might expose them to the danger of a shock. Most building codes require that electrical fixtures be located a certain distance away from a shower or bath.

[nialla42]

I figured it was some sort of safety requirement, at least at first. I'm not sure how well the fictional accounts I've seen are, but many shows that take place when electricity first made it into homes, people were afraid of it and often didn't want to use it. Understandable, as it could kill you, and safety standards in early devices were probably not very reassuring.

[kellifer_fic]

I'd say it's a mostly "older" house thing because you wouldn't have had safety stuff built into the electricity box (surge protectors and the like) so it's not such an issue now.

[el1ie]

Yeah, as pointed out, it's a thing with older houses to have light switches outside bathrooms for safety. Newer houses would have switches and plugs inside, but there are strict codes as to what type of wiring and light fittings and plugs you can have, I think they 'zone' them, for how far away from the water sources they are

[nialla42]

My house has a combo bath/shower enclosure. It's basically a big shower stall that also can serve as a bath. I prefer showers, but there have been a few occasions when I needed a soak (oatmeal baths when I had chicken pox was a big one!), so I have that option

[el1ie]

I've seen people put their washer, dryer, freezer, spare fridge, etc. in the garage and still have room for the cars, as long as they plan it to be large enough or only park one car inside.Again, not many houses have a 'double garage' either and often the single one's, especially those 'built on' to the house have been transformed into extra living spaces, my garage is so tiny that you'd have to let the passenger out of the car before you drove in and then be a contortionist to get out! Naturally, mine isn't a garage any longer - it was a wooden one originally but we had it bricked and couldn't, because of building regs make it any larger, but at least it's still standing now, but it's become a store room and the car lives outside

[nialla42]

The house I grew up in was often called a "circle house" because you literally could run a circle from room-to-room. Enter the living room, turn right to my bedroom, continue in a small hallway that had the bathroom along one side, then to the master bedroom, circle back around to the kitchen (where the back door was located), then a room we used as an office but was probably originally a dining room, then back to the living room

[nialla42]

The one I've seen a few times in the US on TV (and instructions for this type of hookup were included when we got our clothes washer), was intended to be in a garage or even in the house, with the drain using a utility sink. That seemed really odd to me, because I've never actually seen that setup in person.

I guess we all have had to make do with whatever situation we have in our homes, and there are so many more things we have available these days. I always get a laugh over having two electrical outlets in the library's workroom, one for items on a counter top, and the other near floor level for items on the work table. All they needed when it was built was an electric typewriter, so now we have a weird conglomeration of power strips.