American Reacts to Why British Cities Make No Sense

[@annamae859]

You probably missed the joke because you don't have that brand of Cheese in USA, it's called Cathedral City.

[@jvgreendarmok]

The packets with the "CATHEDRAL CITY" name on them do appear in the video.

[@jean-lucpicard5510]

​@jvgreendarmok He had 3 packs as well. That stuff ain't cheap, 5 quid a pack in Tescos.

[@andrewcarter7503]

To give our American host some leeway, he may not have recognised it as cheese as it wasn't in a squirty can.

[@annamae859]

@@andrewcarter7503 no he knew it was cheese, he just didn't get the joke. No need to stereotype.

[@ThegirlfromU.N.C.L.E]

Map Men are great, it's a good rabbit hole to explore. Try why British place names are hard to pronounce. Glorious silliness 😊

[@eddiehawkins7049]

I can't believe that Frome is the most mispronounced place name.

[@mericet39]

@@eddiehawkins7049 indeed - anyone knows that Frome is pronounced 'Portsmouth'

[@eddiehawkins7049]

@@mericet39 If it was in Norfolk it probably would be.

[@nicksykes4575]

The reason for the cheese, is the brand name.......Cathedral City. The quiz is a parody of an actual tv quiz between universities that's been on tv since the 1960s, called, unsurprisingly, University Challenge. Did you catch the fact that the two students were them?

[@highpath4776]

Only just noticed the contestant names - presumably Jay has all the misspellings of his surname !

[@azzajames7661]

I still prefer the Young Ones😂🤣

[@PiousMoltar]

I'm actually really glad you brought up the drum roll thing. How DID they record him without the drum noise? Interesting.

[@Isleofskye]

Thanks for listening to our "Map Men" recommendations as you have opened up a veritable Treasure Trove of Wit, Information, and Entertainment. There are many about London and its 32 Boroughs, Place Names, and Tube/Subway stations, in particular. ENJOY, My Friend1'-

[@paulkitching1623]

I suppose that 78 cities isn’t too bad considering the length of the whole of England and Scotland is only about 800 miles and can be done in a day. I had a friend who did it on bicycle, although it did take him longer than that, lol.

[@dees3179]

You have to be careful that you do your day in the correct direction. Get it wrong and you’ll be in the sea instead of on land. (Known colloquially as ‘going in the drink’.)

[@georgebarnes8163]

you forgot about the other part of the UK than you can not cycle to

[@paulkitching1623]

@@georgebarnes8163 apologies George, I did indeed, which was very remiss as my Grandmother’s family came from NI.

[@watcherzero5256]

Yeah, though if you went by the foreign definition of every town with a population larger than 50,000 there would be 175 in England alone.

[@primalengland]

Map Men is one of the greatest channels. Endless fun and rambunctiousness.

[@robertburton9325]

You, sir, can have an up vote for using the word rambunctiousness!

[@primalengland]

@@robertburton9325 Thank you. Would that this were Scrabble.

[@duffman18]

Unfortunately it's not endless, cos they always take quote a long while to make new videos, but that's probably why the videos are so fantastic, because quality is better than quantity and they clearly put a lot of time and effort into making them.

[@primalengland]

@@duffman18 You know what they say. “If something’s worth doing………….”.

[@lynnhamps7052]

Love these guys...quintessentially British 😊 they put so much effort into their videos too that sometimes get missed, where the definition of Mayor was written, there were other daft definitions they'd made up too and the long list of the things said to be more important than changing the city criteria, needs to be paused on and read, it's hilarious...😄✌🇬🇧

[@George_Climbs]

Agreed - love their attention to detail. And I especially agree with not saying "just" when ordering tap water.

[@danielgardecki1046]

I don't like these guys as they call places like London a city, just like every other newspaper, magazine, TV channel, KZbin channel etc Constantly spreading myths about small places being big, and big places being small. However this video is the best video they've ever done, as they've finally explained to non-Brits, and 99% of the UK population themselves, what a British city is.

[@Demun1649]

@@George_Climbs Nothing, in the entire world, is "JUST" anything. Everything has value, apart from Trumpanzee and his supporters. And the gun lovers, who prefer to have a monthly school massacre to being adults.

[@monicawarner4091]

​@@danielgardecki1046 • Did you miss the part of the video where they said that London was not a city? (It's around the 2.28minute mark) They went on to explain that Greater London contains the City of Westminster and the tiny City of London. They also explained in the video that population size has no bearing at all on why an area has city status.

[@zosemabubble7825]

I live in Reading and it bloody pisses me off that we haven't been granted city status, despite several bids. We should get it on royal connections alone - the current Princess of Wales, future Queen Catherine, was born here (in the Royal Berkshire Hospital) FFS .... what more do we have to do?? 😤😤😤

[@iwanevans5778]

Have a big enough population probably

[@ianmayes8072]

Yes, but Reading? !!

[@watcherzero5256]

Rest of the country knows its just a London suburb. :)

[@justinegibson4349]

I live 8 miles from Ipswich Town and 9 miles from Colchester City, Britain’s first city! 🇬🇧 Hadleigh, Suffolk, our little town (it’s more like a village but we have a Guildhall so we’re called a town) was originally built in the 1400’s. So much history here, we love it 😊

[@pogleswife7572]

Hi, I'm from Ipswich and my niece lives in Hadleigh and her mum in Burstall. I went west when I was 21 to Somerset but Suffolk is still my home

[@panoramicflea]

Very informative. I often wondered why the town where I live, which has a cathedral isn't classed as a city.

[@TheSeafordian]

Guildford has a cathedral but isn't a city, Brighton has no cathedral but is a city. Cathedrals are nothing to do with it.

[@davidmacgregor5193]

Elgin in Moray, Scotland has a ruined cathedral, their football team is called "Elgin City", but Elgin is not a city, it is a town. Brechin in Angus, Scotland is another example, Brechin has a cathedral, their football team are called "Brechin City", but Brechin is a town, not a city.

[@Ramtamtama]

Guilford City, Reading City*, Southwell City, and Craigavon City *not to be confused with Reading FC

[@thatcedric]

Only 76 cities? We're the same size as Idaho. 🙂

[@rachaelbullmore48]

@JJLA Reacts: here's a little tip that might bring you some joy. Next time you watch Map Men and there are little sections where they look at sources or definitions, pause the video and read around - there are so many little jokes and easter eggs. As an example in this video, look at the definitions around "mayor". I love your reactions to Map Men and Jay Foreman's channels - these are two of my favourites too for their sense of humour. (yes, I'm British so I am keeping that 2nd u in humour)

[@Stuffed_Cat]

I particularly liked "Moth: Rubbish butterfly", "Medal: Thing you get if you're a really brave dog", and "Meddle: Things kids do to stop janitors and fairground owners getting away with it".

[@jometcalf8991]

I live in Reading. We are not bitter at all. Well just a little bit.

[@stephenlee5929]

Is that the City of Reading?

[@Ibis117]

I'd be bitter if I lived in Reading, too.

[@harryjohnson9215]

I did not expect to see my town of luton appear

[@callumking2152]

Wahey, another Jay Foreman video! The Map Men are brilliant. I really hope you watch some more of them.

[@Nettsinthewoods]

I love this channel, it’s enlightening, very 😊funny, gentle and well mannered

[@philbaker4155]

Kingston upon Hull was originally called .. The Kings town upon the River Hull

[@PiousMoltar]

2:48 you should read all the other "dictionary entries" on screen there. They're all very silly.

[@spruce381]

Your reaction vids are funny and informative. Thanks.

[@garymoore2898]

There are many towns and villages in the UK but only a relative few have the “city” label.

[@ed_ward_1430]

Who noticed that the name 'Salisbury' added to Lord Salisbury's picture is an adaptation of the Sainsbury supermarket logo (identical design, colour and typeface)?

[@jackie6343]

❤❤❤❤❤❤ love this video 😅

[@andrewcarter7503]

Another great reaction video. You clearly enjoy this very British deadpan humour. You mentioned you were here as a student. You should come again while we're still vaguely recognisable as the Britain you experienced.

[@kayreeve.author]

Wow! I grew up in Gillingham Kent and always new Rochester as a City, plus the collection of towns as The Medway Towns. My uncle put the weather vane on top of Rochester Cathedral many years ago. I had no idea Rochester lost it's city status!

[@DarkMatter1992]

We have an Ipswich in Australia too, near Brisbane, ours is a city.

[@MellonVegan]

11:08 If you use the German definition of a Großstadt (literally great/large/big-city, which is usually translated to city, as opposed to the other kinds of Stadt, which are usually called towns), that number is actually pretty much on the dot. The defintion would be by population and population only (100+k, in this instance). So imo, the number isn't too weird. The distribution, however, is. Edit: 12:58 I walked right into that one, didn't I? xD

[@samanthahadwin]

He has a plate of Cathedral City cheese!!! It is an excellent sharp cheddar cheese!!! They have included different cheese based dishes like Mac&Cheese that is absolutely amazing!!!

[@Barlofontain]

I'm from Paisley, in west Scotland, it has a cathedral, a university and was an industrial powerhouse in the 19th century (where Paisley Pattern comes from).... yet it is still not a city It is however the largest town in Scotland, which I think is better

[@lawomega1]

Well if the beautiful town of paisley ( and believe you me it is beautful) has a cathedral it must be a city.

[@monicawarner4091]

​@@lawomega1 • You clearly haven't watched the video.

[@duffman18]

​@@lawomega1 watch the video. A cathedral doesn't make a place a city, in the UK. It actually has literally nothing to do with that.

[@mattsmith5421]

Preston didn't have to do anything to "put itself on the map" it's where the first ever motorway was built. I live 8 miles away and didn't even know it had become a city until about 10 years later.

[@alan-]

Maybe Preston should focus on connecting to the internet instead of city status.

[@primalengland]

Me neither…. I’m in Chorley. Is there a toll bridge in Leyland?

[@mattsmith5421]

@@primalengland not that I'm aware of I live next to there

[@primalengland]

@@mattsmith5421 I have a friend in Leyland. Last time I went there a pot-hole claimed my front near side tyre. It’s also bloody confusing.

[@Darren-sl7rp]

​@@alan-well my Internet is perfect thanks. Has been for years. No idea where you got that idea from.

[@PiousMoltar]

12:55 The joke here is that it's basically exactly the same in Germany

[@nicksykes4575]

They didn't specify whether it was Newport Pagnall Services, North or South bound. For more comedy, scroll through that list of 8007 more important things.

[@joefair1137]

Ipswich is a great place btw, Ed Sheeran lives in the area. Loved living there.

[@alejandrayalanbowman367]

In the US I have come across cities that comprise just a few roads and have a smaller size and population than this Spanish village where I live now.

[@angelesk9382]

That buzz roll is a mystery 🙃

[@SamThredder]

the fact there was no mic(s) on it and the snare wires are perfectly audible even when the drum is flat on a table (that wouldn't even make the snares rattle that much) and the fact his sticks arent even doing a buzz roll motion makes me think it was just a crafty edit

[@Ramtamtama]

You may have noticed there were 2 Bangors on the list. That isn't a mistake. There are 2 Bangors with city staus - Bangor in Wales (TI) and Bangor in Northern Ireland (2022), which are pronounced differently

[@georgeL56426]

The map men are extremely funny very interesting and informative video

[@Isleofskye]

You have to top me:) I said they were funny, interesting, and informative. lol

[@SamThredder]

Oh man. The Map Men really have their obscure references down. The girls at the bottom of the page of the Reading city booklet thing are pop duo Daphne & Celeste who infamously opened the main stage at Reading Festival in 2000 and then got everything in sight thrown at them. I was there. "YOU GUYS ARE MEEEEAN"

[@highpath4776]

can someone help me with that list of Cathedral places that are not cities (Hackney / Hammersmith and Fulham - are they some kind of wind-up or are there bishoprics of those areas I am unaware of ?

[@danielgardecki1046]

They're on a wind-up. I assumed they had counted, but clearly they haven't.

[@highpath4776]

@@danielgardecki1046 Fulham is Home to the Bishop of London ( which I think is St Pauls in the City )

[@michaeldowson6988]

I grew up in a Canadian village without a mayor. We had a reeve - the president of the village council. Our electoral districts are called ridings.

[@garyrigby21]

Biggest cities in the UK - London, Birmingham, Glasgow, Liverpool, Leeds. That's the Top 5 largest

[@martinbynion1589]

Not "Monty Python" vibes, just "English humour" vibes. 🙂

[@Why-D]

Ha, the one guy in Lincoln claimed, it was a city, because of the cathedral. If I would see him onesmore, I would tell him something!

[@xolotlnephthys]

It is a city because of the cathedral, there's nothing really else for Lincoln.

[@Why-D]

@@xolotlnephthys it is a nice cathedral, a good museum, a university but the reason is just this list.

[@georgebarnes8163]

Bangor recently obtained city status, never a city but a large town

[@vaudevillian7]

The cheese in front of him is called ‘Cathedral City’…

[@Ipswich2171]

Im from ipswich wooo!! Alot of history there!

[@helensmusings]

The size of some cities is almost comedically small when you think my 'small town' is 33,000 population and doesn't even have its own council, well it used too, but with redrawn boundaries it lost it

[@vanburger]

But there are 100s more large towns. Some big enough to be cities, yes like Reading & Bournemouth.

[@psychoticgamr]

even though Bournemouth is a town, i would class it as a small city as 519,000 live here

[@highpath4776]

@@psychoticgamr A) Are you including Poole and Christchurch in that ? And are not 300 000 of them over 70 years of age so ready to kick the bucket next year ?

[@Isleofskye]

You did miss the "8007" *** other things they listed at the end which were hilarious if you got some or most of the references. *** Don;t worry,there weren't 8007:)

[@danielgardecki1046]

For anyone who wants to argue - All my figures are from the *Office for National Statistics* the government agency, and only official source for UK statistics. The *15 biggest cities in the UK by population:* 1 - *Birmingham - 1,140,525* 2 - *Leeds - 798,786* 3 - *Glasgow - 635,640* 4 - *Sheffield - 589,214* 5 - *Manchester - 555,741* 6 - *Bradford - 542,128* 7 - *Edinburgh - 527,620* 8 - *Liverpool - 500,474* 9 - *Bristol - 465,866* 10 - *Coventry - 379,387* 11 - *Cardiff - 369,202* 12 - *Leicester - 354,036* 13 - *Wakefield - 351,592* 14 - *Belfast - 342,560* 15 - *Nottingham - 337,098*

[@lottie2525]

I live in the City of Norwich (two cathedrals). Our signs into the city say 'Norwich - A Fine City' to which someone once added an L after the A and changed the F into a P making it 'Norwich - Alpine City'. If you know Norfolk, our county, you'll know why this is funny. Totally flat 🤣🤣

[@andrewchapman4267]

I think Norwich is on the only hill in Norfolk isnt it? 😂

[@rlfk71]

Haha i literally live and work in Medway, we try and get our city status back every year and we still have never got it back. We get knocked out every time its pretty hilarious. All we needed to do was fil a bloody form!!

[@bikeanddogtripsvirtualcycling]

re the city / cathedral thing. did you know that Liverpool has two of them. one of them is one of the largest cathedrals in the world whilst the other is known locally as Paddy's Wigwam due to the shape.

[@machendave]

Cathedral City Cheese is named after the City of Wells, nr Cheddar, Somerset

[@weejackrussell]

South Yorkshire has two cities: Sheffield and Doncaster. Doncaster only got city status last year.

[@22seanmurphy]

Hi my friend, first i think that your a really intelligent guy and at times you say things that I've not heard of and I'm 60, in the UK yes obviously there are

[@PiousMoltar]

Well, for a while, having a Cathedral WAS what defined a city. But that's not been the case for a long while. Also, I'm talking specifically Church of England cathedrals. Catholic ones don't count.

[@PiousMoltar]

Oh and the tiny city of St Davids in Wales, well, although they joke it was made a city for no good reason, it DOES have a massive and beautiful cathedral. So it's kind of like it should have been one of those ancient cathedral cities all along, like Wells or Ely. So it makes sense to me. I'm just surprised it wasn't a city before 1994. But I guess that's the thing. It probably should have been. And now it is. Problem solved.

[@jasoncallow860]

At least the definition of mashed potato was unambiguous. I enjoy unambiguous vegetables like... tomato... oh wait...

[@nonilogical4752]

As someone from dunfermline, i still have no idea why they give it city status, and i dont know if its because iv been here too long but it is dire.

[@jimbo6059]

Note what the cheese is called "Cathedral City".

[@Waterford1992]

2:59 That is because the brand of cheese is Cathedral City and they are about to talk about Cathedrals in Cities... Get the joke yet?

[@richardfarish3634]

In the UK. A town must have a market place, a city must have a cathedral.

[@duffman18]

Nope. Watch the video. Here in the UK, whether a place is a city or not has nothing to do with whether it has a cathedral. That's a complete myth. What it's actually about is whether the monarch at the time declares a place to be a city. There's tons of cities WITHOUT cathedrals, and there's tons of places WITH cathedrals that AREN'T cities.

[@fionagregory9147]

Most Brits know this.

[@pedanticradiator1491]

No they don't

[@Smoneey]

Did you not just watch the video?

[@what-uc]

There are 32 cities with Lord Mayors or Lord Provosts which could be considered the top tier of cities

[@davidwallin7518]

Canterbury being one.

[@xAshesxElitex]

Southend got it's city status due to a polititian getting killed. That polititian had been in strong support of Southend getting city status and it was done in his memory.

[@stewartjones2370]

Dunfermline used to be the capital of Scotland

[@tom_4615]

Yeah there’s a lot of people from towns in the uk and if you asked them where they were from they’d know you wouldn’t know where like “fleet” was so they’d just say their county name or they’d say “just outside of x city”

[@lesleycarney8868]

He had a plate of cheese on the table because one of the most popular cheeses in UK is called Cathedral cheese.

[@bubba842]

Cathedral City is what it's called.

[@JoannaHammond]

In the UK, population has nothing to do with being a city.

[@lawomega1]

Only can be classed as a city if it has a cathedral,

[@JoannaHammond]

@@lawomega1 Did you watch the video? A cathedral has nothing to do with it.

[@danielgardecki1046]

@@lawomega1 You're 134 years behind the times

[@monicawarner4091]

​@@lawomega1 • Still wrong! Try watching the video!

[@duffman18]

​@@lawomega1 Nope. Watch the video. Here in the UK, whether a place is a city or not has nothing to do with whether it has a cathedral. That's a complete myth. What it's actually about is whether the monarch at the time declares a place to be a city. There's tons of cities WITHOUT cathedrals, and there's tons of places WITH cathedrals that AREN'T cities.

[@gillcawthorn7572]

I have a feeling that it was something to do with being in the EU. I vaguely remember European statements that if a place was a only town ,it would be considered as too small to attract investment from industries that would otherwise come to the UK In Europe, any larger place was a city and a town would be considered as not much better than a large village . ??

[@rainyfeathers9148]

I think you'll like their video on boroughs, shenanigans🤣

[@highpath4776]

did you notice the presenter's photos from their days at university?

[@ronaldor9377]

We Gurkhas Nepalese are always proud of our ancestors..even now nobody can defeat us..proud of our ancestors

[@johnperkins4611]

Could someone tell Khan the description of mayor?

[@PiousMoltar]

America has smaller cities than the UK. In some US states, each county seat is officially a city. Some of these counties have hardly any people whatsoever. I'm talking Nebraska or the Dakotas or something. So you have "cities" with a population of like 7 people.

[@lkrnpk]

Yeah but as they said then they have incorporated government of some sorts… but turns out in Britain it is basically by monarch’s decree

[@grahamgresty8383]

What do you mean, the church photo wasn't real? That was St Muscles down the east end!

[@Isleofskye]

You want some, Guv'nor:( *** *** No problem if you don't....

[@azzajames7661]

With a population of 65 odd million, 76 odd cities is okay, as America has a population of near on 400 million so maybe have the need for more cities?!

[@RedemptiveChief]

You should read the other definitions in the mayor definition graphic😂

[@nathanowen2082]

I’m from Chelmsford. We have the second smallest cathedral in the UK. And invented radio. Took until 2012 to get city status. Southend got given their city status after their member of parliament was murder by a Islamic extremists.

[@demonic_myst4503]

Yea its fine be ause uks historical geographicl terms were based on who ran the area like county meant ruled by a count kingdom meant ruled by king barony ruled by a baron medievil terms were not size based but feudal terms

[@andrewcarter7503]

And just to add to the confusion, Bristol is both a city and a county, having been awarded a county charter in 1373, it retained this status until 1974 when the county of Avon was created and absorbed Bristol. However, the people of Bristol thought Avon was stupid and ignored it until the government gave up and abolished Avon in 1996, regranting unitary authority- and thus county status - back to Bristol. Bristol has always been proud of this admittedly pointless quirk and so in gratitude agreed with the rest of the country that despite being the 11th biggest city in the country, it would only ever host mediocre to rubbish football teams.

[@GroovingPict]

yeah, 74 seems very low for a place like the UK; even here in Norway we have over 100 cities

[@fionagregory9147]

A city has a cathedral.

[@pedanticradiator1491]

Not necessarily

[@Smoneey]

Bro watch the video

[@enemde3025]

NOT a phone book. A road atlas. The CITY OF LONDON is only 1 mile square. It has it's own laws and police force.

[@tmb8807]

Two possibilities with the drumroll: either it's real (would not be _that_ surprised; Jay is irritatingly talented), or the screen is split and Mark talking is from a different take.

[@odin741]

At least he picked the best Cheddar cheese to put on the table! Mmmmm!!!

[@ENGBriseB]

Portsmouth only Island City in England. Cornwall only has one City. And 2 Cities in London.

[@kirstenfrostholm8063]

I go a bit of topic here and yet maybe not.. Have you heard of Eurovision? It is a big song competition that happens every year since 1956 (only one year has been cancelled and that was 2021 because of Covid19) I would love to see your reaction to Eurovision There are many videos of Eurovision on KZbin but I recommend "Ultimate Guide to Eurovision 2022" (there is a 2023 version but 2022 is the best in my opinion) Geography Now have also made a video about Eurovision but that is from 5 years ago so it is a bit out of date

[@alan-]

Please don't react to Eurovision. Being both pointless and shamelessly crap, it doesn't need any coverage at all.

[@mattsmith5421]

@@alan- the concept and history, yes maybe. Any of the actual songs definitely not lol

[@kirstenfrostholm8063]

Well 162 million people in 2023 worldvide disagree with you 😉

[@alan-]

@@kirstenfrostholm8063 Never underestimate the number of morons.

[@hannahbell7420]

I think if you have a Cathedrial in your Town then it becomes a city..

[@pedanticradiator1491]

Not since the 19th century

[@leowalless9328]

What's that book? The dictionary with the definition of mayor in it, it looks hilarious

[@oliversherman2414]

Ironic how the capital city is technically not a city 😂

[@namarien31416]

Madrid, also being a capital, is not a city either 😅

[@oliversherman2414]

@@namarien31416 lol 😆

[@gnome_child]

76 cities, but 700+ towns in an area 3 times smaller than texas. And the uk is around 3x more densely populated than the us

[@BP-kx2ig]

Monty Py-THON

[@wizzerdsuntzu]

What's going on? History and definition!

[@liamblack2574]

I live in Rochester and people are still raw about it

[@clareking4434]

Going to a city means parking is an expensive nightmare, food is more expensive and rent is stupid.

[@TSOMTSOMTSOM]

Just 1 in Cornwall.

[@dalemurray6834]

4:46 you do need to read the dictionary, many jokes missed. also 12:47 read some of the government things to do.

[@DemonPig666]

Hey I'm from wakefield

[@wizzerdsuntzu]

One day every place in the country will be a city. Then where will we be! ( including Reading)