History Main / CrazyCulturalComparison

** Dwarves can't be having with gender. A dwarf is a dwarf, and the tricky part of dwarfish courtship is -- very tactfully -- figuring out what reproductive organs are underneath the leather and chainmail. Then, some cosmopolitan dwarves start wearing skirts and rouge and there's a whole other kind of feminist movement started. Though opinion is split on if it's a better allegory for feminism, gay rights, transsexualism, or if it's just dwarves.

* In ''Film/TheLastStarfighter'', as Alex and Grig fly through the tunnels of an asteroid, Grig mentions that it reminds him of home. That leads to a chat comparing their species' differences in families, dwellings, and games...which inspires Alex on how to [[spoiler:hide as the Ko-Dan Armada goes by, then make a surprise attack on them.]]

* In ''TabletopGame/TeenagersFromOuterSpace'', most player characters will be aliens with whatever strange customs their players can come up with (since there are no "standard" races), so it's fine to play this trope to the hilt. Hilariously, humans get a shot at it too in the form of the "Fake Out" ability; because humans come from Earth, which is the coolest, most interesting, and happening place in the universe, any native human must probably know just how to act, talk and behave in order to be cool, interesting and happening, and you should listen to them if you want to fit in. Thus, if a human tells an alien to wear golf pants, greet the teacher by farting, and always carry a trout, then clearly they must know best. (At least until the alien finds out they've been had.) Another popular one is to tell the cute space babe that humans greet each other by kissing...which can have unexpected consequences.

* In ''LightNovel/KyoKaraMaoh'', Yuuri's unfamiliarity with the fantasy setting results in humorous shenanigans one way or the other, be it what constitutes appropriate male undergarments to [[AccidentalMarriage accidental proposal of marriage]]. His descriptions of Japanese culture often bemuse his advisers. Then, once he's acclimated to Shin Makoku, he's got to greet foreign delegations. Two greeting customs so far have been to flash shiny bald heads, and to stand on one foot with one arm akimbo and the other raised straight above the head while sticking out your tongue.

* ''Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers'' does this on occasion, usually between Japan and America as the creator lived in the US for a few years.
** Example:
-->'''America''': [[TotallyRadical Dude]], why are you taking a picture of a cake?
-->'''Japan''': I have [[JapaneseRanguage compursive]] need to [[JapaneseTourist take picture of everything]].
* ''Manga/{{Gate}}'': A diplomatic meeting nearly ends in catastrophe after the Japanese delegate (a woman) goes for a final handshake with the princess. Except that in the princess' culture, it's how you seal a ''betrothal ceremony''.
** In fact this is a constant problem for all sides. In particular Japan follows modern diplomatic protocol and thus things like proportional response are taken as signs of weakness or incompetence. When Japan blows up a senate building in the Imperial capitol, for example, the Empire's leadership doesn't understand why it would be done while the building was empty.

-->'''Latka:''' As they say in my country, the only thing that separates us from the animals are mindless superstition and pointless ritual.

* ''Series/DoctorWho''
** In the episode "The End of the World", the Mox of Balhoon greets the Doctor and Rose by spitting in their faces.
** [[PlayingWithATrope The Doctor gifts air from his lungs to a few of the aliens.]] These aliens happen to be sentient trees [[BizarreAlienBiology that need carbon dioxide to live,]] Doctor basically gave them a light snack.
*** And yet the only female among them responds with "how ''intimate''".
*** She also picks up on his unusual scent, which is why she's later shown asking her scanner about his species and disbelieving the result.

* ''Series/BabylonFive''
** There's a hilarious example with a race that seals every deal with ''sex''. Ivanova is naturally a little reluctant to do this but also doesn't want to cause an incident. Since the diplomat refuses to learn ''anything'' about lesser cultures due to his belief in [[CulturalPosturing his own culture's superiority,]] she manages to trick him by insisting on doing it the "human way". This involves her dancing around the guy, chanting {{stock phrase}}s from the entire lifespan of a dysfunctional relationship, starting with first meeting and ending with infidelity and "you don't love me any more!" Needless to say, the alien diplomat is confused but accepts it.[[note]]His aide, however, knows exactly what Ivanova has done -- and he is not only amused but chooses not to reveal her deception (at least in part because his boss treats him with the same disdain and rudeness that he shows to everyone else).[[/note]] He does, however, leave her a note reading "[[OhCrap Next time, my way.]]"

** The crew of the ''Enterprise'' causes a faux pas with an alien representative, who leaves in a huff, apparently disgusted by something. Eventually, Mayweather finds out that they find ''eating'' offensive. When asked how they do it, the alien explains that it's the same, but eating in the presence of others is a disgusting act for them.
** Played straight then arguably inverted in another episode, which sees Archer preparing for an elaborate apology involving chainsawing a log. Then we find out the reason he needs to apologize: he brought his pet dog with him, and said dog urinated on a sacred monument.
** They also don't like ''you'' urinating on their sacred monuments. Crazy backwards culture...

** A Cardassian scientist repeatedly snipes at Miles O'Brien, expressing [[DiscriminateAndSwitch surprise that he's a good engineer.]] It's later revealed that her sniping is the Cardassian equivalent of ''flirting'', which Miles doesn't find out until his retorts have her throwing herself at him at and asking him to marry her. This also goes a long way towards explaining why Dukat has such a hard time believing Kira isn't interested in him since from his perspective, she's sending out ''very'' mixed signals by belittling his advances. Meanwhile, [[HoYay Garak and Bashir]] have been bickering over literature for years.
** In another episode O'Brien, Odo, and Sisko have to pretend to be Klingons to expose a Changeling infiltrator on Qo'noS. In addition to altering their appearance, Worf has to tutor them in proper Klingon behavior, which serves as a nice window into the differences between Klingon and human social cues. Klingons do NOT turn away nervously when insulted, and [[NoIndoorVoice they do NOT whisper]]. Klingons also see nothing wrong with punching someone right in the face in response to an insult, though hitting someone with the back of the hand invokes a DuelToTheDeath. Naturally Sisko has by far the easiest time acting Klingon.
* ''Series/{{Firefly}}''
** In the episode "Our Mrs. Reynolds", Mal [[AccidentalMarriage accidentally gets]] ''[[AccidentalMarriage married]]'' [[AccidentalMarriage because what he thought were general celebrations on some backwater planet actually included a wedding ritual.]] [[spoiler:Of course, his blushing bride turns out to be a dangerous con artist who has married and scammed (at least) dozens of other men all across the system.]]

* Discussed in ''Series/RedDwarf''. The crew have woken up with broken legs in casts, and don't remember how it happened. Rimmer, a firm believer in aliens (even though none exist in the Red Dwarf universe) immediately assumes it is this trope, and that breaking their legs (and completing a jigsaw puzzle) was a greeting. The Cat remarks: "I'd hate to be around while one of these guys is making a speech".

[[folder:Web Comics]]

*** Dwarves also have a custom involving paying the parents of the dwarf you marry the sum of what it cost them to raise your new spouse, as part of the (predictably long and complex) dwarf marriage process. This often freaks out humans, until they complete the explanation of the rest of the customs, which include a much larger gift from the parents to the couple to help them get started, and the fact that a dwarf who works for his parents is due wages like any other worker (which can come out to a tidy sum, since it gets paid when they leave the family to start their own). The reason behind it is to ceremonially pay off past debts, and start a new life free and clear. Once this is all explained, then it's just dwarves.

** A personal favorite:

* The most difficult problem for Americans in Japan when dining out is resisting the urge to tip the wait staff when dining out. Americans consider not leaving a tip at all to be extremely rude, while the Japanese consider leaving a tip to be extremely rude. Both cultures see it as sending a message about the wait staff's skill though: Americans believe that it's done to show gratitude for quality service, while in Japan, it's perceived as giving the server charity because he or she is so terrible they'll be out of a job soon and will clearly need the extra money.

* In ''Fanfic/{{Embers}}'' by Vathara, there is a brief comparison of marriage rituals in the [[WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender Fire Nation and Water Tribes]]... including the fact that, in some parts of the Fire Nation, women can kidnap/shanghai a man they like into an impromptu wedding. Sokka finds this startling because in civilized countries (the Water Tribes and Earth Kingdom) it's always the [[AbductionIsLove man that captures the woman.]]

* Frank Herbert
** Played seriously in ''Literature/{{Dune}}''. When Stilgar the Fremen meets with Duke Leto, he spits on the table. As the Duke's men are about to attack Stilgar and probably all be killed, Duncan Idaho tells them to "Hold!" He then thanks Stilgar for the gift of his moisture, spits on the table himself and explains that doing so was a Fremen gesture of respect (since water is so scarce on Arrakis). In the film version, it's the Duke himself, who recognizes the gesture for what it is. In the miniseries, it's Paul.

** Paul also makes a social blunder when first inducted into Stilgar's tribe of Fremen. He is given some water tokens (Fremen currency) but he hasn't mastered how to carry them without them jangling all the time, so he asks his female companion Chani if she would carry them for him. Unknown to Paul, this is a highly romantic gesture in Fremen community, generally only done to your betrothed. Stilgar, however, recognizes that Paul's just ignorant of the custom, and tells Chani to just do it and ignore the romantic implications. (Though she does end up Paul's lover.)

** This was one of the contributing factors to the 1992 Los Angeles riots. Korean-owned shops were targeted because African-Americans were offended by what they didn't realize were Korean cultural norms, such as avoiding eye contact and leaving change on the counter rather than handing it to customers.

* In ''Manga/{{Alyosha}}'', it is an Estolakian custom to kiss lightly in the lips close friends and family as a greeting or to show gratitude. Amerian (sic) and Japanese give it other [[SchoolgirlLesbians meaning]].