this post was submitted on 28 Oct 2024
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[–] dan@upvote.au 72 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (2 children)

Australia: Consumer protection laws are better than most other countries, even European countries. For example:

  • Products must last as long as a "reasonable consumer" would expect them to last, regardless of the warranty period. For example, at least 5-10 years for large appliances.
  • If there's a "major failure" any time during that period (a big problem with the product, if it stops working, if it differs from the description, is missing advertised features, or you wouldn't have bought it if you knew about the problem beforehand), the customer has a choice of whether they want to have the item repaired, replaced, or return it and get a refund. Customers can also ask for a partial refund based on loss of value.
  • The store you bought the item from must accept returns and warranty claims. They can't tell you to go to the manufacturer.
  • For repairs, returns and replacements of large items (like appliances), the company must pick it up and drop it off for free.
  • It's illegal for a store to not offer refunds (unless the items are second-hand).
  • Products must match descriptions in advertising, including what a sales person tells you. If a sales person tells you the product does something but it actually doesn't, you can get a refund.
  • Businesses get fined for breaking these rules. A chain of computer stores had to pay a $200,000 fine for showing an illegal "no refunds" sign and forcing people to go to the manufacturer for warranty claims, and were later fined $750,000 for doing it again: https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/msy-technology-ordered-to-pay-penalties-of-750000-for-consumer-guarantee-misrepresentations

This applies for digital goods, too. As far as I know, Australia is the only country where you can get a refund from Steam for a major bug in a game regardless of how long you've owned the game for or how many hours you've played. Valve tried to avoid doing this and was fined $3 million: https://www.cnet.com/culture/entertainment/valve-to-pay-3-million-fine-for-misleading-australian-gamers/

[–] SpacetimeMachine@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Agreed except for the archaic rating system for video games. Gonna tell full adults they can't handle seeing a drug in a game that's called by its real name? That's pretty ridiculous.

[–] dan@upvote.au 2 points 1 day ago

Yeah, video game ratings in Australia aren't great. Australia didn't even have an adult (R18+) rating for video games until 2013. Before then, all games rated higher than MA were illegal in Australia. Some games were banned, while others were modified to reduce violence, remove sexual themes, remove drug use, etc.

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[–] Schlemmy@lemmy.ml 9 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (3 children)

Billiard balls and playing cards. Belgium is world leader in both.

Edit: forgot to add pigeons. Belgian competition pigeons are the most expensive in the world.

Edit 2: Belfries. Clock-O-Matic is a Belgian company and world leader in the automation of Belfries. It's not that hard because most Belfries are located in Belgium and France, if not all of them.

[–] Jonnyprophet@lemmy.world 1 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

Damn. This actually makes me want to live in Belgium. If not for the billiards,then for the church bells. If not for those, then for the competitive pigeons... Then the cards. (In that order)

[–] Schlemmy@lemmy.ml 1 points 19 hours ago

slaps on the pigeon shed

Fastest pigeons in the world baby.

But seriously. 1.252.000 euro for a pigeon

https://www.pipa.be/en/articles/update-armando-sold-1252000-euro-total-revenue-joel-verschoot-auction-2400000-euro-19439

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[–] tetris11@lemmy.ml 21 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (9 children)

UK: Crumpets. Crumpets lightly toasted with butter soaking into its pores, and then lightly toasted once more with a slather of Marmite.

These are nothing like pancakes. You bite into the crispy surface and are met with a butter/Marmite infusion that explodes into the back of your mouth, and whilst you're dealing with that sensual assault, your teeth sink into the soft almost creamy texture of the crumpet itself.

They are divine, and are the sole reason I stay in this cold dreary backwater of a country.

[–] SuperApples@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago (4 children)

the sole reason I stay in this cold dreary backwater of a country.

You do know you can get crumpets in any supermarket in sunny Queensland, yeah? You can even get Marmite (but why would you when Vegemite is superior).

[–] vext01@lemmy.sdf.org 1 points 17 hours ago

Vegemite doesn't spread properly and tastes like charcoal.

Change my mind.

[–] tetris11@lemmy.ml 3 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Yes, yes, there there, now...
*smothers face with a pillow whilst making shushing noises*

Australian Marmite is from New Zealand and is not quite the same as British.

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[–] NateNate60@lemmy.world 89 points 2 days ago (8 children)

I will start. I'm in the United States.

Credit unions! Nearly half of all Americans are credit union members. They don't seem to be popular in Europe and Asia. A credit union is a not-for-profit co-operative financial institution that essentially provides all the same services as a bank, except it's run as a democratic institution with directors elected by the customers instead of as a profit maximisation machine for shareholders.

[–] owenfromcanada@lemmy.world 30 points 2 days ago (3 children)

They're common in Canada as well. In my experience, they're much better than larger banks for things like fees and interest rates.

Historically the main advantage of a larger bank was having banks and ATMs everywhere, but lots of CUs have formed mutual agreements for ATM access, and internet banking being ubiquitous has rendered any advantage the big banks have had moot (in my opinion, at least).

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[–] Underwaterbob@lemm.ee 17 points 1 day ago

Say what you will about the chaebols running the country and the rampant corruption, Korean roadworkers are incredibly fast and efficient. There's never some guy standing around doing nothing.

[–] aMockTie@lemmy.world 72 points 2 days ago (7 children)

Not from the US but currently living here. I would say the Disability Act is the gold standard worldwide. The amount of consideration for people with a variety of disabilities that almost universally applies is exceptionally amazing. It's kind of shocking to see the dedication to adhering to that law while otherwise abandoning that portion of the population (e.g. Healthcare, SSDI, etc.).

[–] KoboldCoterie@pawb.social 29 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Incidentally it's a lot easier to take legal action against a business that violates the ADA than to take action against a government that insists on defunding programs like that.

Right, there are people and lawfirms that make all their money going around measuring doorway widths and bathroom counter heights and stuff, because the person who raises the complaint gets a reward.. Sort of like bounty hunters?

[–] magnetosphere@fedia.io 18 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I’ve lived in America all my life. Thank you for this interesting outside perspective. I never would have guessed that the ADA is held in such high regard!

[–] RebekahWSD@lemmy.world 8 points 1 day ago

The ada is amazing. My husband grew up just as it was being put into place and remembers the protests (to get it, not against it). Without it, things are much more difficult. I know there will be handicapped parking, and cutins on sidewalks and bathrooms and stuff wherever we go without having to look it up.

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[–] Kiralani22@lemmy.world 30 points 1 day ago (5 children)

I'm currently living in the Netherlands and I found some awesome, (for me) novel things, like ATMs all being from one company that all the banks in NL share ownership in. That means no matter your bank you dont pay for getting cash. Which is ironic cos I dont need cash as much anymore since non-cash payments are so much more prevalent here compared to Germany, for example.

[–] Fleppensteijn@feddit.nl 16 points 1 day ago (1 children)

It's also fun that we can go to Germany and still get cash out for free whereas Germans have to pay a fee for using their own ATMs.

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[–] DrunkenPirate@feddit.org 52 points 1 day ago (12 children)

Germany: We moved our power creation from 60% coal and atom-driven to 60% wind and solar-driven in the last 6 years. This change is fundamental and can’t be reversed. We stopped our atom plants and have a plan out of coal. Even though our geography isn’t in favor for renewables, our country is dedicated in becoming carbon neutral. This is supported by most of the population and industry. (Yes renewables are cheaper than coal, gas, and atom)

Still open is the transition of heat and cars to electricity. Rather an emotional debate - Germans are car-crazy. The car discussion is similar to the gun debate in the US.

[–] tomsh@lemmy.world 2 points 23 hours ago

Then you will love this documentary. It even mention's Germany a couple of time.

[–] rautapekoni@sopuli.xyz 5 points 1 day ago (1 children)

We stopped our atom plants and have a plan out of coal.

Yeah you folks did this in the wrong order.

[–] Ross_audio@lemmy.world 3 points 22 hours ago (1 children)

Not when you consider the maintenance costs of the plants they closed. Basically of them were beyond original design life.

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[–] Habahnow@sh.itjust.works 21 points 1 day ago (5 children)

By atom, do you mean nuclear energy? Why did you stop the nuclear plant?, assuming that's what you're referring to.

How does this relate to Germany relying using natural gas from Russia, before their invasion of Ukraine? My understanding was that Germany had energy issues at the offset, which I wouldn't expect considering how much renewavles you use

[–] Ptsf@lemmy.world 12 points 1 day ago (4 children)

Honestly, despite all of nuclears many benefits, there's still no good action plan for the significant amounts of substantially dangerous waste it leaves around. Hard to figure out a storage plan for an invisible poison seeping from a rock for the next 50,000 years.

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[–] superkret@feddit.org 35 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (7 children)

Germany. Bicycle parts.
Sure, the market leaders for drivetrain components are Shimano from Japan and Sram from the US.
But look into the higher-priced niches and there's:

  • Bosch, market leader for e-bike motors
  • Schwalbe and Continental, market leaders for bicycle tires
  • SKS, market leader for bike accessories like fenders
  • Ortlieb and Vaude, market leaders for bike bags
  • Rohloff, makes the best gear hubs in the world
  • Pinion, makes the best bottom bracket gearbox in the world
  • SON, makes the best hub dynamos in the world
  • Busch & MΓΌller, makes the best bicycle lights in the world
[–] tetris11@lemmy.ml 4 points 1 day ago

Plus the general accessibility to free bike workshops that seem to be run by various nonprofits.

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[–] shalafi@lemmy.world 54 points 2 days ago (13 children)

US here. I don't think we get enough credit for our anti-smoking culture, and given that Hollywood is a major culture driver...

Even in my poor little town, where the broke and uneducated smoke more, it's getting to be where I'm a little taken aback when I see someone smoking in public.

All this coming from a guy that smoked for 20+ years. The culture shift has been dramatic and I hope we're exporting it.

[–] digdilem@lemmy.ml 2 points 20 hours ago

The UK has seen a stratospheric drop too. Banned from all non-private indoor spaces, taxed through the roof. At least in the South, it's rare to see or even smell someone smoking now, even on TV. Although in some cities it's just as likely to smell cannabis as tobacco.

I don't think you're "exporting it" though - it's not an American initiative. This was a pretty universal shift of "why the fuck do we do this stupid shit?"

[–] velox_vulnus@lemmy.ml 22 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

There are plenty of countries doing better in smoking in terms of relative change, like Peru, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda and Norway, etc - there's a whole lot of them. The net drop in smoking is about 32% in the US, compared to these countries, which have a much higher drop - indicating the effectiveness of their anti-smoking campaign.

In fact, countries like Ghana, Nigeria, Panama, Ethiopia and Turkmenistan are doing really well, with less than 6% of the population smoking.

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[–] red@lemmy.zip 28 points 1 day ago (14 children)

India: what India does wayyy better than others is digital payments. we have what is called UPI this is a open payments interface made by government (rbi) but their APIs can be used by any bank's and any verified third party apps, and all you need to use UPI is just a bank account that's it, and with this we can send money to any bank account through any other bank account with just phone number or QR code, the reciver and sender don't even have to use same app because the backend is same for all, i just have to search for their number and send money, or i just have to scan QR code and send money, and it happens instantly with no minimum limit, this is so widely used that pretty much any shopkeeper keeps a UPI qr code even the ones in smallest and remote villages. infact i dony think I used single rupee in cash since like last 3 years, i don't carry cash anywhere either, this is integrated with popular apps too like uber online food ordering apps , Netflix and basically any app that needs payment. upi is pretty much only reason why India has the most digital transaction in world even more than China and it's not even close.

also public digital infrastructure, pretty much anything government related is done digitally, like our id cards, driving licence, income certificate, and even high school and degree certificate is digitised, infact even our college credits is digitised, like my college credits will be automatically added so it will be seamless to change college in between my degree, and ofc all this is verified cryptographically with an app, so it's not just one pdf which can be forged or something. and recently a law was passed which made the cryptographically verified digital documents legally same thing as physical one's, so now if you have a phone with the app installed ( government made app that store's and verifies documents) and if you have all your documents in that app you are good to go anywhere. this is more than just concinence of not having to carry physical documents because now we can make bank accounts completely online because verification can be done through their APIs and cryptographically. and yeah it was super useful in covid times because we could do appointment for vaccination online in the app and we could get covid certificate digitally.

[–] digdilem@lemmy.ml 2 points 20 hours ago

India has the BRO too.

Watching a guy called Joe Ryan on Youtube at the mo, who's riding a motorbike around the Himalayas. The BRO are building roads there at an incredible rate in the most impossible landscape. I'm genuinely amazed at the scale and adaptability of them and how much they're doing right now.

This is literally changing the lives of those who live in the area, although I do wonder how much this will trigger tourism and change everything as it has elsewhere. But still, those guys can build roads.

[–] velox_vulnus@lemmy.ml 11 points 1 day ago (7 children)

I think you should also highlight how it is different from China's Alipay or similar payment vendor system in Europe and the US - it is a unified payment system, there is little to no fee for transaction, and you're not locked to a eco-system, like Apple, or PayPal. But it is absolutely horrible when it comes to privacy.

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[–] IMongoose@lemmy.world 22 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (6 children)

Falconry is set up really well in the US and several foreign countries clubs are petitioning their government to emulate us.

  • It's difficult to get into on purpose. This reduces impulse buys of raptors by completely inexperienced people which reduces raptor harm.
  • Self regulated for the most part through an apprentice / sponsor system.
  • Clearly defined as a hunting sport with "pet keepers" kept to a minimum as they can lose their license for not hunting. Raptors make shit pets and need to fly and hunt for their mental well being.
  • Wild take of raptors. This is a huge one, pretty much no other country that actually has wildlife protections allows this. Falconry in the US is basically built off of wild take as an exclusion to the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
  • Very difficult to monetize. A falconer cannot use their license to make money. Educational programs can be done but they can't be paid more than gas money and if they are doing more programs than hunting they can lose their license. Doing abatement (using a raptor to chase off pests at an airport for example) is a separate license which requires 7 years as a falconer minimum.
  • Each state has their own club that works with their state government and then there is a national club that works with the feds and other countries.
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[–] Aussiemandeus@aussie.zone 2 points 1 day ago

Playing football in Australia. The Australian version AFL we are the best at it

[–] 0485919158191@lemmy.world 24 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

Recycling. In Sweden we recycle so much that we have to buy trash from other countries!

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