American Reacts to How The Tube Map Was Made

Embark on a fascinating journey into the creation of the iconic London Tube map as told by Map Men's Jay Foreman. Delve into the history, design quirks, and brilliant mind behind this masterpiece.
Original Video: • The Tube Map nearly lo...
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#TubeMapHistory #AmericanReacts #LondonUnderground

[@graemedoctor7266]

The attention to detail is wild. There's a sign outside Frank Pick's office that says "No Smoking Here- smoke indoors like everybody else"

[@MercenaryPen]

A little detail that you likely won't have picked up on, Frank Pick was played by UK railway youtuber Geoff Marshall and in a detail that I only picked up on when he got a speaking part in the follow-up video, Harry Beck was played by London Transport History KZbinr Jago Hazzard... its worth looking into content from both of them

[@Kestrel342]

Most characters in Jay's videos are played by KZbinrs, on watching this back now I also noticed Jon Gracie from No Rolls Barred

[@FriedlichChiller]

And The Tim Traveller (several times, I think). @@Kestrel342

[@qwertyTRiG]

And Charles Tyson Yerkes is a very familiar name to those of us who watch Jago Hazard.

[@iliketrains3546]

Brunel is also played by TomSka I’m pretty sure

[@vaudevillian7]

The one with ‘backstabbing central’ etc is an Alan Partridge reference - an iconic character of British comedy

[@digidol52]

He's chopping carrots because he'd just talked about early Tube advertising posters "that your middle class friends have in their kitchens". There's one on the wall behind him. The details in his videos are amazing but if you blink you'll miss them.

[@bertrach]

Also, it set up his joke about "cheating" when he used the food processor :)

[@olivertaylor9755]

Actually his moustache wasn’t buried with him. After Charles’ death the moustache was removed and placed to lie in State in Westminster Abbey. Later the then Archbishop of Canterbury proclaimed the moustache had performed several miracles in life leading it to be canonised and later, by more extremist factions, deified. To this day Londoners cannot travel on the tube without some form of facial hair in tribute and at 1pm on the dot all commuters pause for a moment’s silence in deference to the mighty facial hair.

[@grahamholmes9630]

I am surprised the record had to be set straight with this foot note, but on reflection I suppose it there may be some non-British viewers not aware of it.

[@nolajoy7759]

Well I am in the Antipodes but still reflect at1pm when on a train out of respect. No Nair for me!

[@thesunwillneverset]

@@nolajoy7759 How are you travelling by rail at the Antipodes of London? Wizardry?

[@watchreadplayretro]

waxing mine as I read your very words!

[@PiousMoltar]

Quite funny but I find it hard to believe we would give such honour to an American moustache. At best we would ship it off back to America.

[@vaudevillian7]

People doing things because it interests them and not for money is incredibly British. We’ve always been terrible at profiting from our inventions.

[@pomx2900]

We created misery for billions with our "interest" in spices, profit/power never came into? How "British" 😂😂

[@vaudevillian7]

@@pomx2900 the two aren’t mutually exclusive, it’s not a binary, one relates more to government actions and big business of the day and the other relates more to individuals. My ancestors were profitable slaves for the British Empire in the sugar plantations of the Caribbean

[@bertrach]

Just FYI... the people who play Harry Beck and Frank Pick in this video are also KZbinrs who make content on the histoty and transport of London (Jago Hazzard and Geoff Marshall). Geoff also did a series with Jay about the A1.

[@batman51]

You have left out Tim Dunn who is trying to select the best route to Victoria.

[@highpath4776]

@@batman51 quite a few other cameos in here too, I cannot name all of Jay's collaborators.

[@Otacatapetl]

I thought that was Jago.

[@PiousMoltar]

I discovered Jago when he only had about a hundred subs. I could tell he was gonna get big. Same with Auto Shenanigans, they took a bit longer but they're getting there now for sure.

[@lynhewlett1941]

I absolutely love to listen to you , I love your accent and map men . Keep it up ❤❤❤

[@StormhavenGaming]

12:55 You missed the sign next to the door. "No Smoking Here - Please smoke indoors like everybody else" No surprise that you missed it, of course. I've watched the Jay Foreman video several times and this is the first time I've seen it.

[@jonhollandjazz]

not sure if you noticed the no smoking sign outside the office at just before 13:00 - I love the time they put in for quick incidental jokes

[@MrBulky992]

"You missed out Woking" Woking, of course, is not on the London Underground: it's not even in London. Is this a comic reference to the idea that Woking, a busy junction on the main railway network, is the kind of place which might be overlooked? It has applied for city status (like Reading, lampooned in the "Map Men" video about "What is a city?") and been repeatedly rejected, despite having skyscrapers.

[@mericet39]

Oh yes indeedy - just like Map Men, there's a whole load of Unfinished Londons, just as funny, but Jay Foreman is on his own for these. If you hadn't already done this vid I might have recommended them.

[@nolasyeila6261]

That seagull @ 2:13 ...! 😆😆😆

[@vaudevillian7]

Thankfully part 2 is already available

[@michaelhowell1706]

Education is what we need for the children and the beauty queens!

[@geekexmachina]

I always thought the “why does the Chicken criss the road” joke in here is hilarious

[@DavE-bh8lz]

"Harry Beck" is played by Jago Hazzard

[@highpath4776]

Jagos 200000 subs special has each Bec* station (I think all) in it as he references his appearance.

[@philrob1978]

Jay's videos are always great - some great cameos in this one - Geoff Marshall as Frank Pick, with his nonchalant face is very funny. Also, I like that you're genuinely curious about stuff, and aren't afraid to veer off and double check something now and again - you have the right attitude.

[@katashworth41]

There’s a game on my favourite radio show (I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue) called Mornington Crescent based around the Tube. It takes much skill and years of playing to truly understand.

[@highpath4776]

It even takes much understanding to play it skillfully for many years.

[@katashworth41]

@@highpath4776 Nidd is such an easy trap to fall into.

[@stewedfishproductions7959]

And don't forget 'The Lyttelton Arms' _(formerly 'The Southampton Arms')_ pub, opposite Mornington Crescent station, was renamed named after Humphrey Lyttelton. An English jazz musician, broadcaster and keen calligrapher, but better known to us 'ISIHAC' fans as the host for the show... from 1972 until just before his death in 2008!

[@katashworth41]

@@stewedfishproductions7959 partner and I go every time we’re in London (though as we’re moving down next year, going to get a bit more expensive lol).

[@Isleofskye]

That was great and the significance of those last comments is that they came to be and The Circle Line did become Yellow etc:)

[@demonicduck08]

you must be the only person iv'e seen pick up and laugh at a lot of the small jokes in these vids, most reactors cant focus on the info and the jokes, you make my sides split with your laughter thanks for putting these out

[@watchreadplayretro]

Chers JJ and JF!

[@Suprahampton]

Jay Foremans video on London's Tram network is worth watching

[@Dazza5007]

😂Red circle blue line then Jay pauses and says great branding blue circle red line , have you had a few beers 🍺🍺🍺👍

[@rainyfeathers9148]

Hey, he's got Geoff Marshall as Frank Pick🤣

[@jvgreendarmok]

Everyone's talking about Jago Hazzard and Geoff Marshall so I'd like to mention that Charles Yerkes is played by John Henry Falle, a member of an excellent (and now sadly defunct) comedy troupe called The Beta Males that I had the good fortune to see at the Edinburgh Fringe a few years running. 🙂

[@neuralwarp]

That's how you know if your platform is on the Tube or the Mainline. Tube i's have diamond dots; Mainline i's have square ones.

[@highpath4776]

never noticed that , but i will generally take it as correct.

[@ffotograffydd]

To be fair to Frank Pick he was right about people taking tube journeys that would be shorter by foot, and it’s not just tourists! During my commute when I lived in London I’d see the same people queue at London Bridge each day to travel one stop, when it was much quicker to just walk across the bridge! 😂

[@iliketrains3546]

Fun fact: the guy playing the character confused about what train to get presents a TV show called “secrets of the London Underground”

[@roxannecronin8281]

I love how you’re so easily entertained with the British humour . 😂 get in bruv! 👊 🇬🇧

[@Lily-io5ob]

The reason he was in the kitchen with an old tube poster in the background was because he joked vintage tube posters and branding are common posters in Middle Class people’s kitchens 👍

[@stemid85]

I can't wait to see you react to more Jay Foreman.

[@Farleigh1050]

i can

[@alloallie]

New subscriber here ! I've watched this video a bunch of times already (because, funnily enough, I started becoming more interested in metro systems thanks to videos b Geoff Marshall and Jago Hazzard, the guys who play Frank Pick and Harry Beck in this video), so it's always fun to come back to it. A few jokes you may have missed: 1. The poster next to the UERL office says "Back entrance for deliveries and getting fired". 2. Frank Pick has the same pose throughout the video because in all photos of him online, he's doing the same "writing at my desk" pose. LOL ! 3. The whole "Make the Central line red...." comment is actually alluding to the fact that those were the colour changes they did on the map that they use today.

[@DadgeCity]

First time I've watched you, you're great

[@rainyfeathers9148]

That could be Jago Hazzard as Harry Beck. He said he was in some their video but he doesn't show his face in his own videos so we've never seen him before🙃

[@wobaguk]

The glasses are a joke. People sometimes call very thick lens glasses "coke bottle glasses" because they look like glass bottle bottoms. However in the video, it looks like they cut the tops off 2 actual coke bottles and used them as lenses.

[@slug534]

I love your MapMen videos 😊 Thanks!

[@user-ky6vw5up9m]

I have hundreds of the controversial short-lived Tube Map which had the Thames removed.

[@marktubeie07]

05:58 that was clever using 'Geoff Marshall' photo (as Frank Pick) owner of his London Trains KZbin channel !

[@valeriacao510]

Very nice, very funny! Thank you for introducing me to these videos, which I watch both in the original channel and also here, to enjoy your comments! 😊

[@JayneCooney-ym9kp]

I live in burnt oak yeah

[@richardscales9560]

Mornington Crescent .... inevitably

[@searleflesher6689]

The tube maps do change the latest change has been the cross London Elizabeth line running from East to West

[@eannamcnamara9338]

I think the extension of the gospel oak to barking overground to barking riverside is the newest change, but yeah the Liz line is definitely the newest full line

[@highpath4776]

@@eannamcnamara9338 presumably opening of Brent Cross West will bring out another update, normally each update adds a couple more step free etc stations (but rate of them has reduced)

[@marktubeie07]

Again, I'm not sure which is funnier, the map men videos or your reactions, hilarious! Love your vids :)

[@beeurd]

The next part is already done - "What eent wrong with the Tube Map?"

[@beeurd]

Obviously that should say "went", not "eent". (I don't seem to be able to edit on mobile at the moment)

[@Ironage99]

The video inside the video Is by a channel called Map Men, it's very funny I can highly recommend.

[@neuralwarp]

Bank Station is futhher apart than Liverpool Street is from Moorgate.

[@highpath4776]

yes - moorgate is quite a hike from Liverpool St - always a question whether to wait for a train or walk, - and Finsbury Circus is closed (again!)

[@user-vd6qq6uk8p]

JJLA: you missed a joke early on - there are no trains (well one tourist train that runs on the road) or Tube in Ibiza

[@Mark_Bickerton]

The moustache lived on, it survived a number of wives and now lives in a small retirement home in Torquey!

[@laurencefraser]

you asked if there was any meaning to chopping carrots? probably not, beyond that it's taking place in the kitchen. Though you may recall a remark about people having certain pictures in their kitchen a little earlier in the video? Have a look on the kitchen wall when he's cutting the carrots. edit: yes, and the cheating bit.

[@user-ky6vw5up9m]

London’s “Deep Tube” was pioneered by American businessman Charles Yerkes.

[@diamonddave2622]

That's not Frank Pick... It's Geoff Marshall...

[@beeurd]

The real Frank Pick wasn't available.

[@dougalportree603]

We should welcome your comments. But we might not

[@MercenaryPen]

The examples of branding shown are largely modern iterations based on designs from the 1920s

[@karlbmiles]

I gather that the Brits invented the public transportation map, which has been copied in cities everywhere. Once you learn how the map works, you can understand how to navigate in any city.

[@caerphoto]

I love how all the profile pictures on the KZbin comments are black and white.

[@highpath4776]

We need Jago to react to this reaction, if only to kill himself laughing at JJLA's big up of CTY. And answer the question, WHY did UREL fire Harry Beck in 1931 in the first place, did they not need draughtsperson for new lines and revisions for signalling , etce

[@andrewobrien6671]

I despise the London underground map. As someone who uses the tube rarely I find it completely confusing, because it has no relation to street patterns or distance. One station is directly across the road from another, yet if you didn't know that you would take a massive train journey to get between the two if you relied upon the map. Underground staff are also notoriously rude and dismissive that help is practically unavailable. I hate it

[@TomSmith-jp1es]

It's extremely good at it's job though, which is to let you easily work out how to get from one station to another. If you want to navigate the streets, get a street map.

[@highpath4776]

there was a geographical overlay LT did on a bus map of the central part of london ( that might have been the london tourist map or some such thing in the 60s/70s )

[@MrBulky992]

I don't think I would ever get on the Tube to go just one stop in central London. By the time you've negotiated the escalators and underground passages, especially in the newer, deeper lines, plus the waiting time for the train, you may as well have walked the shorter distance on the surface. There's no way any Tube map could show you how far the Tube platform is from the station entrance either. Might your strategy not have been wrong, rather than the map, maybe?

[@gwaptiva]

An unfinished unfinished London review....

[@Farleigh1050]

Haven't even stsrted the video. This is goong to go so horribly wrong, and I know it.

[@Farleigh1050]

10 seconds in and it already has. I cant hear you with my volume downl and you sound like gibberish with my volume up. And your audio level is horrible. I feel bad for the headphone users who have to keep changing their volume when it goes from the loud video to the ultra quiet voice of you.

[@Farleigh1050]

2 ninutes in and it's worse. Now even the captions arent picking up your voice and they arent aff3fted by the volume difference

[@knowlesy3915]

The USA actually sorted this mess out for us so thanks..........Dude

[@Dazza5007]

Maybe I missed the joke 😂

[@michaelpettifar2112]

Stop pausing! Talk before and after made it so boring

[@jennityrell3304]

Are you drunk? 😅

[@katiemilner15]

When someone has thick eye glasses some people in the UK would reference them as “Jam jars” I think that’s why map men’s Harry has jars for glasses

[@user-ky6vw5up9m]

Jam jar also slang for Car.