I read this article on a Finnish paper about how brits wash their dishes by hand, here's the gist of it, translated:
Have you ever seen a Brit wash dishes by hand?
The sight can be stomach-turning. The dishes get shoved into the sink, then a bit of water and dish soap is splashed over them. The items are scrubbed with a sponge, but not rinsed. Glasses, plates, pans, and pots—dripping with dirty dishwater and soap suds—are lifted out to dry or wiped with a tea towel and put straight into the cupboard.
I last witnessed this shocking dishwashing in Scotland. Usually I try to look away or ignore it, but this time I really didn’t want to get sick from the dirty, lukewarm dishwater or end up licking soap.
Together with two Swedish tourists, we staged an intervention and cheerfully volunteered to do the dishes. Our British hostess insisted it wasn’t necessary.
Oh, it definitely was.
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I had not heard of this, so I was wondering if this thing was common?
If so, I'd file this in the same category as some Americans leaving their shoes on in the house – baffling.