If you’ve ever strolled the streets of Amsterdam, you probably noticed the city’s unique architecture. Houses are narrow, tightly stacked in rows, and almost entirely fronted with windows. And if your walk happened to take place at night, you might also have peeped into living rooms and kitchens belonging to numerous Dutch families. Why? Because never closing the curtains or blinds is common in Dutch culture, and many people don’t even have them. This “nothing to hide” attitude has historical roots in one-time religious beliefs about honesty and trustworthiness, as well as the fact that uncovered windows let light — and a sense of spaciousness — into the city’s tiny dwellings. But it also makes it so that passersby can see the interiors of others’ homes. In many other cultures, these spaces would be considered private. Not by the Dutch. What’s considered private — and what’s public — differs across.