5 Technological Differences Between Australia and the US
1. Electrical Outlets Have Switches
If you're Australian, this should look completely normal. If you're from the US or most other parts of the world, then it might seem weird that electrical outlets have these switches. Outside Australia and the UK, outlets have no switches and are always on.
The main reason for this is cost: it could cost hundreds or thousands more to get switches in power outlets. Are they safer with switches? That is debatable, especially since most devices have on/off switches already.
The funny thing with switches is that it can take a few days to get used to them. I've been told by friends who visited Australia that when they had their phones/laptops plugged in and it wouldn't charge, it took some time to figure out why.
2. Public Toilet Urinals
Photo Credit: urinal.net
The above images show 2 different urinals in Australia. They both contain no separation between each urinal. Most other places have a board to separate urinals like this:
For some, it might be bothersome to urinate in the open where other people can see them, but this doesn't seem to bother most Aussies though. Luckily, cubicles exist for those who feel uncomfortable.
3. Electric Kettles
Okay, this difference is not just between Australia and the US, but the whole world vs. the US.
In the US, they don't have electric kettles. Even if they wanted one, they'd have to do more than just go to their local shops, because most places won't sell them either.
I don't know how people survive over there in the US when they don't have kettles. I've been told that tea just isn't as popular there compared to Australia and other parts of the world. When they do intend to drink tea, they use their stove or microwave to heat water.
4. A Lack of Free WIFI
Thanks to being so isolated from the rest of the world, in Australia, we have more bandwidth quotas than most (if not all) places, so you won't see nearly as much free WiFi when you're out in public.
It's quite common for someone to wander around the city for half an hour before they run into free WiFi. It just costs a lot of money to install underwater fibre links and we don't have the population density to support the costs.
5. Australians Air Dry Their Clothes
Photo Credit: Evil Monkey
Most people in the US use a dryer, whilst most in Australia just air-dry their clothes. It saves money (using the dryer can cost $3) and most importantly, it saves electricity by a lot. Though the one downside of this is life can become a nuisance if it starts to rain.
