Great Britain is a country of centuries-old traditions, and some of them might seem strange
to foreigners.
But the Brits aren’t in a hurry to change something just because the rest of the world
does it differently.
Welcome to an English home, and be ready for a surprise in almost every room!
Double faucets There are separate faucets for hot and cold
water in Britain.
When they first appeared, boilers were used to heat water, where the bacteria, Listeria,
would thrive.
People were at risk of getting infected when they used the hot water, while the cold was
pure and could be used for drinking.
To avoid an outbreak of listeriosis, authorities forbade mixing the hot and cold water.
The time of old boilers passed long ago, but separate faucets can still be found there,
mostly in older homes.
Wondering how they wash their hands?
The Brits kid that they’ve gotten used to moving their hands very quickly between the
two faucets.
If you don’t have this skill, you can mix the water in the sink – which is good for
conserving it too.
Another option is to buy a special attachment that mixes the water.
Water laws In 1965, still another rule about water was
accepted.
The tap with hot water has to always be installed on the left side, when it’s possible to
do so.
This is done for people with poor sight, who might not see where it is and get burnt.
Electricity in bathrooms You won’t find outlets in the bathroom.
The voltage in Great Britain is higher than in North America, and in order to avoid an
electric shock, there are even pull-string light switchers there.
They’re totally safe, no matter how damp it is.
British safety rules also demand that you shouldn’t be able to plug something in an
outlet when you’re in the water.
That’s why there are outlets in the kitchen, where you have contact with water, but don’t
get into it.
Other countries have different rules, but they might not be as safe.
Plugs The plugs themselves are different; they have
3 pins instead of 2.
Power outlets have an “on” switch, which is good, since you don’t have to unplug
the device after charging it; simply turn off the outlet itself.
But if you forget to turn it on and start charging your smartphone at bedtime, you might
just oversleep.
Washing machines in the kitchen Washing machines are tucked in the kitchen,
because – you guessed it, there are no outlets in the bathroom.
British homes are usually smaller than North American ones, and detached or semi-detached
houses often don’t have separate laundry rooms, or even dryers.
To dry clothes, they hang them outside on clothes lines.
Reverse switches Switches in Britain are reverse: you need
to flip them down to turn the light on and flip them up to turn it off.
Where does this tradition come from?
Nobody knows.
It’s just a convention.
Interior doors What could be so unusual about doors?
Well, they don’t open to the perpendicular wall, but to the parallel wall.
It might seem strange, but it’s good for privacy: nobody will see you without clothes
on if you’re changing and forget to lock the door.
Carpeting Wall-to-wall carpeting can be found anywhere
in the house; sometimes in the bathroom too.
If you buy or rent a house, this won’t even be mentioned in the ad, there’s not usually
another option.
Closets As common houses are normally small, there
isn’t much free space for full-size closets.
People try to use every square foot to tuck them in, like the place under the stairs,
which are usually pretty steep.
Windows Windows are opened either out, up, or down,
but not inside.
It makes sense if you have a small room, but just think about how you’d wash the windows.
Victorian windows usually have only one glass pane, and you can’t change them to modern
ones, since old buildings should remain untouched.
The Brits also don’t use curtains, only blinds, which are very thick and have several
layers.
Air Conditioning There aren’t often air conditioners in British
homes, since the temperature in summer doesn’t usually get too high.
That’s why windows are used for ventilation and have built-in air circuits so that fresh
air can get inside, even when windows are closed.
Can you imagine what kind of air leaks they have?
That’s why special long pillows that prevent drafts are in great demand.
Covered-up windows There are hundreds of old houses in Britain
with covered-up windows.
If this isn’t strange, than what is?
Well, it also has a reasonable historic explanation.
The window tax, introduced in 1696, levied a tax on property owners based on the number
of windows they had.
The more windows the house had, the more tax the owner had to pay.
Usually, it was the rich who had larger houses with more windows, so the government thought
it was a brilliant way to make them pay more taxes.
Poor people with fewer than ten windows were exempt from the window tax altogether.
Those people who couldn’t afford to pay the higher taxes, or who had dozens of windows
in their big mansions and wanted to economize, would build over the windows.
When the tax was canceled, people were probably so used to the darkness that they didn’t
bother to remove the bricks from the windows.
Cold inside houses It’s usually very cold in British homes
during the cold season.
Heating fees are high, and the Brits prefer to wear layers of warm clothes, rather than
receive huge bills.
Some people turn the heat off for a whole night and take a hot-water bottle to bed.
The government even had to decree that it shouldn’t be colder than 64 F inside.
Pipes on the house front Another detail that strikes strangers is that
water and sewer pipes aren’t underground, but attached right to the front of the house.
This is also part of an old tradition when plumbing was much simpler.
Garbage cans Garbage cans stand close to the main entrance,
as if they were the owners’ pride.
The true reason is far more practical though: this is done for the garbage collectors' convenience.
In the 19th century, people used to burn their waste in the backyard, and ash-collectors
would take the ash that was left after burning.
By the 20th century, the amount of waste got bigger, and too much ash would be left over.
Ash collectors were wasting too much time getting to the backyard.
That’s why authorities changed the waste policy, and obligated people to put their
garbage cans in front of the street door for quick collection.
Small Yards There’s often not much space in the backyard
for a garbage can anyways.
Some British houses on the main streets of the town are only a dozen feet wide and have
a super narrow backyard.
But still, they cost much more than houses on side streets.
The reason is quite simple: everybody wanted to live on the main street, no matter how
small the house is.
They still do!
Mail delivery Front doors have special slots for the mail,
and letters and newspapers fall right to the floor of the entry.
If there’s no slot, the mail is tucked under the front door.
You remember that episode in Harry Potter when dozens of letters from Hogwarts flew
through that slot inside the house?
Now you have an idea of what I’m talking about.
Milk doors Old houses also have special tiny doors for
milk.
They seem strange now that you can go to any supermarket and buy milk that stays fresh
for months.
But until the middle of the 20th-century, dairy factories delivered milk right to the
buyers’ houses.
People would leave empty bottles on the porch or behind a special milk door that used to
open both from the inside and the outside.
I think that’s still a great idea!
And finally this bonus: Remember when I spoke about Wall to Wall Carpeting earlier.
Well there’s a special pond near London, where if you drop your wallet into the water,
the carp fish there will pass the wallet around to each other and then toss it out of the
water back at you.
It’s called “Carp-to Carp Walleting”.
I’m sorry.
I couldn’t help myself.
Back to Britain, which of these strange details impressed you most?
Maybe you’ve noticed others?
Let me know down in the comments!
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