12 strange etiquette rules from around the world

In Italy, while it’s still generally considered polite to allow a woman to go through a door first, that rule goes away when it comes time to enter a restaurant. By heading in first, the man can be the one to talk to the host and get a table.

Find out here which polite habits restaurant staffers secretly dislike.

In Australia, it’s customary for waiters to offer to sprinkle Parmesan cheese on your Italian dishes. In Italy, it’s not. In fact, it’s considered downright rude to ask for it, especially if you’re eating pizza. That’s because the cheese is seen as incompatible with pizza, much the way you might think ketchup shouldn’t go on salmon. That said, if a waiter does offer you extra cheese on a dish, it’s perfectly fine to accept it.

Love cheese? Try this pasta with two-cheese sauce recipe.

When in India, avoid eating with your left hand because the left hand is seen as disgusting, as it’s normally used for wiping in the bathroom. The same is true for countries in the Middle East and parts of Africa.

Read on for more times when you shouldn’t use your left hand.

But guess what? If you’re in Great Britain, the left is important – you should only pass the port in that direction. Passing the dessert wine to the right is considered a breach of etiquette. So is forgetting to pass the port, period. But don’t worry. If you do forget to pass the port, the person who’s waiting for it may remind you, “You know the Bishop of Norwich? He’s a good chap, except he always forgets to pass the port.”

Shaking hands would seem to be the polite way to greet someone, and yes, it often is. However, when in Russia, do not offer to shake hands in a doorway; always enter the room first, or have the other person come fully outside. It’s said that the ‘house spirit’ lives in a home’s entryway, and crossing over it for a greeting would be bad luck.

Check out these etiquette rules even experts don’t follow anymore.

It’s perfectly fine to eat finger foods with your hands in Australia, and in some countries, eating with the hands is actually encouraged. However, that’s not the case in Chile, where proper etiquette requires eating everything with a fork and knife.

Are you washing your hands properly? Find out here.

If you’re travelling to Greece, Turkey, Macedonia, Montenegro, Bulgaria, the Ukraine, Morocco, Egypt, or Beijing, please note that the plumbing may not be designed for flushed toilet paper, and restrooms will have special waste bins to place used toilet paper instead. Failure to heed this bit of toilet etiquette could lead to clogs and even floods.

When you’re squeezing past people to take your seats in a theatre, you probably turn away from the people who are seated. In Russia, this is considered rude. Instead, you’re expected to show your face, meaning you’ll probably look them right in the eye as you squeeze through.

In Russia, Greece, Iran, Sardinia, and parts of West Africa, a thumbs up gets a thumbs down, as it’s also the equivalent of flipping someone off.

In Korea, when one of your elders offers you a drink, the proper etiquette is to receive it with both hands, and then turn your head away as you take your first sip. It’s a show of respect, and respecting one’s elders is taken seriously in Korea.

Don’t miss these signs you’re actually too polite.