Pointless: Capital cities that celebrate New Year when London does, or later

[@liamwalsh4008]

As a quiz geography specialist, I found watching this to be rather like being waterboarded.

[@seantodd8875]

Yes, this was painful

[@moobslikejagger5653]

Almost word for word my reaction, absolutely excruciating.

[@ge3kg1rl86]

"New york" *facepalm*

[@catandfishfc]

And then Rio 😂😂😂

[@anttibjorklund1869]

my reaction exactly.

[@sushifornico]

Of course! lol

[@mdavh2582]

All of the first 4 are facepalm

[@Pww642]

New York WAS briefly the capital of the US, so she does have an argument to make....

[@JoeBleasdaleReal]

Jim had been waiting to say “Caracas” for so long 😂

[@leopold7562]

Oh dear god. This should've been so simple! As soon as I saw it, I thought, "Basically any country in the Americas, pick a capital and you should be good." So when Belfast came out, I thought, why? It's not going to count because Northern Ireland isn't classed as a country in its own right and surely Dublin would've been safer? And then Helsinki... Why??? The ONLY country in mainland Europe that even qualifies is Portugal! And then to follow, New York and Rio, not even bloody capital cities! I honestly thought I was on course to see a 600 pointer. So thank you, Jim, for restoring my sanity!

[@tillydaley3235]

I slapped myself when she said New York

[@justmanic9673]

I understand though why she might have said that under pressure, New York ball drop is so famous. She likely wasn't thinking

[@lewdogzombies]

Geography isn’t everyone’s cup of tea mate, also New York is a pretty big city so she assumed it was the capital

[@reececollison5101]

@@lewdogzombies considering Geography is one of the most common topics on Pointless, one would assume you’d brush up a bit on your geography before going on 😂

[@sie4431]

​@@lewdogzombiesEveryone isn't on a TV quiz show though

[@terryliu9015]

Smh New York isn’t even the capital of New York state

[@reececollison5101]

“I’m gonna keep it very simple and say Belfast” Famous last words ...

[@TheSpotify95]

Northern Ireland is not a sovereign state that is a member of the UN in it's own right - that would go to the United Kingdom, whose capital city is London. And since London is in the question itself, London would be ineligible and score 100 points, anyway.

[@JalandharShere]

Richard should not be explaining why its not the correct answer before anyone else answered? What if someone was going to say Edinburgh but because Richard explained you cant have capital cities of scotland, northern ireland and wales

[@RacingAtHome]

Yeah. I had Belgrade in mind and would have been screwed if I had gone before him.

[@Kestrel342]

Belgrade isn't in the UK, I don't see why that would've made a difference! But yeah, they're ahead of us by an hour so would have been wrong for that reason​@@RacingAtHome

[@flyingpanhandle]

they don't explain any more like this i think

[@danielt8449]

"Belfast, Cardiff and Edinburgh will never count" *screams in nationalism 🤣

[@taofanarchy96-renzomaracas14]

Alex Salmond: *triggered*

[@sayethvexus8332]

Cardiff and Edinburgh might count one day, but if Northern Ireland leaves the union, it will almost certainly be to join the Republic of Ireland, and so Belfast will still not count!

[@remoosecode7558]

English nationalism: bad Scottish nationalism: good 🤡🤡🤡🤡

[@danielt8449]

@@remoosecode7558 you are the only person who said that 🤣🤣🤣

[@remoosecode7558]

@@danielt8449 cope, gnat.

[@callumarmstrong9320]

If these were the contestants in the second round I don’t even want to know what the ones knocked out in round 1 would’ve said.

[@GordonHugenay]

My they're geography experts that failed on a stupid pop culture question...

[@Czeckie]

is the objective to have as lowest number as possible?

[@funkstermango]

Yes, you want to give the correct answer that the smallest number of those surveyed in advance (or preferably none) have given. At the end of each round the team with the highest score leaves.

[@selinor5782]

No. Not all that much like QI.

[@technospyform1578]

It's pretty much reverse FF

[@gboldero1]

​@@technospyform1578 But in family feud the answers just have to be popular not correct.

[@gnu_andrew]

@@gboldero1 yes, and the questions are different to reflect that. Pointless has questions which lead to a known set of possible answers. Family Feud/Fortunes has more open-ended questions like "Name something you take on holiday" and I imagine some of the survey results are consolidated into single answers.

[@scotts8926]

Really wish they would publish the full answer lists somewhere. I guessed Montevideo and I will sadly go to my grave never knowing its score.

[@highstakes1235]

Probably 10 or so

[@basilbrush9075]

I reckon it's better than Lima, which was the crushingly curious one i was after

[@Sim0n98]

I went Petoria

[@CorinMusic2012]

@@Sim0n98 Would have been an incorrect answer.

[@DodderingOldMan]

Ha, that's interesting, I went for Montevideo too.

[@rawlinsonboy]

I'm totally lost for words, ooh dear ooh dear

[@mick3765]

Terrible sound quality turned off after a minute.

[@samkestrelfilms8652]

It's the whole thing for some weird reason

[@slateflash]

I was thinking Caracas and then Jim said it

[@chezzamc2287]

Reykjavik I would have said

[@lux1469]

Kingston I'm going for

[@lux1469]

wow i look like i just went to the pointless answers bit :s

[@WilliamRobinson-bb6mr]

Washington DC would have been my answer. That or Lisbon.

[@Haris1]

Monrovia

[@joblesswideo-fb7nj]

Or Lisbon

[@carlainyonga7009]

Watching this on New Year's Eve 2023!

[@greggydude]

I wonder if 'London' would have been an incorrect answer...

[@EclipseGameplay]

Yes

[@stevenmaddock494]

Fits all the criteria as far as I see. But it wasn't one if the top 3 so doubtful.

[@alcesmir]

Why would the answer be incorrect? It fits all the criteria mentioned. It's possibly pedantic, but not wrong.

[@haunter4708]

It's not even pedantic. It's just 100% incorrect. "At the same time as London" clearly refers to an entity that isn't London.

[@alcesmir]

Maybe it's my mathematical background, but in terms of logic the question asked is akin to "Give me a positive integer with 2 as a prime factor". Obviously this is true for all positive even integers, including 2 itself. To expand on pedantry: An even more on point formulation in mathematics, the question asked is equivalent to the mathematical statement: x (x∈S) is a representative for an equivalence class with some equivalence relation (~), find an element y such that x is equivalent to y (y∈S such that y∼x). y=x trivially fulfills x~x. In this case x is London, a representative for the equivalence class "capitals with London's time zone". The question that should be stated if you want your interpretation is: find an element y∈S, y≠x such that y~x. Or "give another capital at the same time as London".

[@MrWidmerpool99]

Jim proves what you can achieve if you occasionally read a book.

[@misterhamez]

New York is my capital

[@MissKoalaFace]

misterhamez it's not the capital of your sovereign state as recognised by the UN, which they clearly used to define capital.

[@ManlyStump]

It's not the capital of anything! New York state's capital is Albany.

[@milliemmn]

(i think it's a reference to a song but with the words changed around, they're not being serious)

[@rihana21x]

It's a joke, like "England is my city"

[@ManlyStump]

How is that a joke?

[@sparkyshore3543]

I misread the question and would've gone with Johannesburg. Given the chance to correct myself I went with Reykjavik.

[@Midgemu]

Ouagadougou- Burkina-Faso

[@cyanmanta]

You know, I'm pretty sure there's a city in Mexico, but I can't remember what it's called...

[@haba_15]

Jim and Felix restore some faith in humanity

[@terranceparsons5185]

No one ever says Ottawa for these capital city rounds

[@adamg3485]

Like Australia people think capital Sydney and its Canberra that’s not right for this question but a comparison

[@jackmellor5536]

I think the question confused the contestants. It confused me for a bit, too, when it came to time zones. After working out the time zones I would say Port of Spain.

[@alisdairmckenzie]

I get the Dublin/Belfast error - I still have to pause when thinking which one is in and which one isn't. I feel he wanted to say the other...

[@tay2229]

We shouldn't be so hard on them for being lousy at geography. It's not as if they are on a televised quiz programme or anything...

[@lewdogzombies]

Belfast: Capital of Northern Ireland but NI is not considered a country Helsinki: Capital of Finland but celebrates the new year before London New York: Celebrates the new year after London but is not a capital city Richard: “I like how you’ve all been wrong for different reasons” 😂😂😂 Rio: Celebrates the new year after London but it’s not a capital city Caracas: Capital of Venezuela and celebrates the new year after London. Scores 3 points Lima: Capital of Peru and celebrates the new year after London. Scores 10 points

[@abbyalphonse499]

To be fair, Rio de Janeiro only stopped being the capital in the 60s

[@liamwalsh4008]

@@abbyalphonse499 Well that's practically last week. That woman in her 30s clearly didn't get the memo yet that the capital was moved to Brasilia 25 years before she was born. Totally understandable.

[@LouisEnright]

I know I sound stupid but would Beijing be one? 😂 Because they celebrate new year on a later date (usually February).

[@nbartlett6538]

A bit *too* clever probably.

[@HarbingerIV]

Would not that be wrong as they "Do not celebrate new years eve" then? If they celebrate a different date they are excluded from the category.

[@jazzx251]

I think that would be allowed - and would get a big round of applause

[@_Shadbolt_]

It wouldn't be no, because they're talking about the Gregorian Calendar. The Chinese new year is a different system so wouldn't be allowed.

[@Huggieg1]

It's 4715 in the Chinese Calendar. So technically they're almost 2700 years early for celebrating each new year.

[@SoloTravel101]

Fuckin hell! I could have got so many. Mexico City, Dublin, Lisbon, Guatemala City, Washington DC, Buenos Aires.

[@_Shadbolt_]

So frustrating isn't it!

[@kindmulberry7196]

Tegucigalpa, Managua, La Paz, Ottawa

[@Xhenix]

I don't know what's worse, their answers or this video's stuttering.

[@geoffroi-le-Hook]

There's no L in St Kitts. (Or Nevis, for that matter.)

[@t_albino]

Geography nerd here, but I know when you're in that studio and the heat is on, the pressure mounting...its so easy to slip up!

[@stevevasta]

Er -- they couldn't think of Washington DC??

[@Maffoo]

I'd have said Dublin or Lisbon, but no idea what else. Do a lot of web development work on timezones though and they're usually the ones listed as GMT. Also, is the video encoding completely screwed up on this? Seems very jumpy and glitchy

[@Maffoo]

Oh just realised it's "...or later", that gives a load more options. Still would've screwed up

[@jez9999]

Santiago came to mind for me.

[@tibsthefox]

I'm just over here in Dublin like -_-

[@sushifornico]

Why is no one saying Dublin or Lisbon?

[@Botafogoplayground]

Indeed!!!

[@Connie_TinuityError]

Because they're the two highest scoring answers, see 6:30

[@KingGambler1983]

Yes the contestants are stupid but the 100 people polled beforehand couldn't have been much brighter. Less than 40 managed to come up with Dublin even though it should be totally obvious. Perhaps our schools need to start teaching capital cities and where they are located.

[@janmaciejewski6129]

I think when the 100 people are quized, the less intelligent ones opt to choose common answers in the minute whilst smarter ones don't mention those and try to think of obscure ones so no-one gets a pointless answer - hence why there's very rarely a 100 scoring correct answer

[@AlexFerguson-z8f]

Ireland tends to get overlooked a surprising amount when it's a "quick, think of a nearby country!!" type question. That it's ended up top here is likely testament to the number of people who've picked wrong answers. Like mixing up their east and west. Which happened here too, but the studio contestants have the advantage of being able to profit from others' mistakes. "Oooooooh. _Other_ way from Helsinki, then!"

[@liamwalsh4008]

*Fewer. Fewer than 40. Yes, I know. I'll see myself out.

[@hughtube5154]

Depends where they polled. If they asked people in the southern hemisphere / Asia / mainland Europe then 38 isn't bad. If the answers all came from the UK then oh dear.

[@NOAHisEpic1]

Port-au-Prince? (Dodgy spelling?)

[@stuartofblyth]

That was my choice, too.

[@_Shadbolt_]

It would certainly count!

[@oreomonogatari]

I would've gone with Ottawa

[@Luke-qr7pm]

Ouagadougou or Quito would be my answer

[@manudude02]

My immediate thought was Kingston.

[@Dalesmanable]

The ignorance of contestants never ceases to amaze me. So few seem to prepare by learning the repeat subjects such as countries, capitals, US states and capitals, and chemical elements.

[@sweiland75]

No love for Ottawa :(

[@_Shadbolt_]

Haha - ask the average Brit what the capital of Canada is, you'd be met with blank stares of people boldly proclaiming "Vancouver" haha. We're not used to the Capital city not being the main attraction!

[@Connie_TinuityError]

Mark Shadbolt South Africa has the exact same problem. It literally has 3 capital cities yet neither of them are the largest city there.

[@sweiland75]

@@_Shadbolt_ But the Brits know loads about America. So much for being a Commonwealth member!

[@_Shadbolt_]

@@sweiland75 I think most people would probably say New York or LA to be honest.

[@Alto53]

@@sweiland75 if makes you feel better I as a Brit have been learning your provinces and territories :p

[@njerzynek]

why is it not st kits and Nevis???

[@efren7592]

Someone didn’t watch “I STILL KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER”!

[@user-wq6hr9xi2n]

Easy way to remember time zones: With Britain at the centre of the map (because when establishing international timezones everything was made relative to GMT (British time)), everything to the left is behind Britain, and everything to the right is ahead. This is because the earth spins anticlockwise/from left to right if looking at side view like on most maps.

[@Connie_TinuityError]

** Marmite ** Spain is to the left yet it's one hour ahead

[@palermothegoalgod-wd2wp]

What if you were facing south....ah didn't think that through eh 😂

[@user-wq6hr9xi2n]

@@Connie_TinuityError this is the one exception I guess. Spain is sort of south of UK and only bit of it is to the left/west. I guess they must have just copied the rest of Europe which is totally to the right/east of UK

[@user-wq6hr9xi2n]

@@palermothegoalgod-wd2wp true haha Have to be looking at earth from the side like the view shown on most maps

[@BryanLikesCandy]

Ancient Rome had timezones; hardly a modern invention, let alone British. And it's called UTC.

[@MatthewPlato91]

God what a bunch! Except Jim and Felix, I like them.

[@chrisst8922]

Can you imagine the Americans doing this. USA: Africa.

[@KingGambler1983]

Can't believe Mo Salah appeared on Pointless!

[@Sensabaugh]

I'm embarrassed by this

[@mjsicinski]

Ouagadougou: birthplace of Deedee Magadoodoo.

[@serendipitousillicit734]

St Johns, Kingstown, Georgetown, Managua, St Georges, Basseterre, Port Au Prince, Asuncion. I don't even know if these are the right time zones, but I do know all the capital cities.

[@arunsreenivasan2074]

Serendipitous Illicit add Port Of Spain as well

[@basilbrush9075]

Aren't you a clever one!

[@GelatinousPineapple]

Castries was my answer! (y)

[@unemiryune9322]

I had 'Caracas' from the first minute and almost spit my tea when Jim said that xd

[@antix995]

Id have said Bogata

[@petercasnocha5340]

Nick Matthews Bogota maybe

[@kateg9437]

That was mine too, Asunción would also be pretty good, probably

[@KenFullman]

This is one of those moments I found it embarrassing to be British. Are average Brits genuinely just as bad as the Americans when it comes to geography. First two that popped into my head were Montevideo and Paramaribo. I know they're right but it would have been nice to know if they were pointless.

[@Tjs736]

Beijing because they don’t celebrate new year until February 😅

[@jasongoodacre]

Wow, three people who can't name a capital city west of London. Absolute morons.

[@Uebeltank]

Madrid?

[@jasongoodacre]

@@Uebeltank Try any South American capital city. I think Madrid is only just west of London.

[@Uebeltank]

​@@jasongoodacre Most capitals west of London work, except that Madrid is UTC+1 in order to share timezone with France.

[@jasongoodacre]

@@Uebeltank yeah good point London is behind most of Europe. Iceland or Ireland would be ok.

[@Zach90888]

Does Beijing count? Because their new year is about a month after

[@wvvw4036]

I would have said Kinshasa

[@rodrigomarinho1807]

Basically name any American capital city.

[@Lkenneally]

Would Dublin be one ??

[@DJHGaming]

yes i think so because it is not part of the united Kingdom and it is the capitol of ireland

[@jhfh3112]

They showed Dublin was the highest scoring correct answer at the end

[@Lkenneally]

ITubaUTuba I am Irish 🇮🇪

[@Connie_TinuityError]

Liam Kenneally See 6:33

[@liamwalsh4008]

@@DJHGaming *capital. It's a city, not a building in Washington DC named after a hill in Rome.

[@rossmarshall628]

A wud go for Reykjavik

[@palermothegoalgod-wd2wp]

San salvador or La Paz for me

[@manawearblack]

Accra in Ghana

[@superlegendary]

Is it just me or does Mike actually look like he himself is from Helsinki?

[@djtforever1414]

Belmopan!

[@RickyPro888]

I'd say Bogota or Montevideo if I was there

[@S4RC45T1C]

Roseau, (cap of dominica)?

[@Graphhics]

Brasilia!

[@TheTradge]

This was painful to watch 😂

[@rosemaryjones5550]

Dublin duh

[@stevenbraico470]

Mexico City

[@Autumnrainfall99]

Accra

[@Master55K]

I know America is behind us so I would have used that logic and gone with countries near by. I would have said Ottowa or Mexico City

[@DJ.V-W]

Capital city!!!

[@liamwalsh4008]

@@DJ.V-W Those are both capital cities, amigo.

[@DJ.V-W]

@@liamwalsh4008 I would slate you for replying to a comment I made three years ago, but you're so right. I must have been half asleep when I wrote that, I'm actually quite good at geography

[@judepower4425]

She thinks Paris is a country and "i" is a consonant ....

[@MegaPepsimax]

Wrong video lol

[@jottenuytten8591]

Dom in dutch means stupid 😂

[@moluther2826]

Dutch is funny

[@benthewheel30]

Why isn’t London correct?

[@TheSeafordian]

Read the question.

[@mnm1273]

@@TheSeafordian The question doesn't exclude London.

[@alzeNL]

WHAT THE F**K

[@saiyerugara2629]

😂😂😂 Oh my days fam!

[@bullseye1784]

I don’t get how Helsinki is wrong. They’re ahead of London by two hours so they celebrate New Years 2 years later than London, which is what the question was looking for. I also don’t get how Washington DC is right, because they celebrate New Years 5 hours earlier than London ?? Maybe I’m just dumb.

[@paulan7375]

?? You’ve got that the wrong way around lol. Helsinki celebrates it before London because it’s ahead and Washington after London because it’s behind So at 12 midnight London time it’s already 2am in Helsinki (+2 London) and 7pm in Washington (-5 London)

[@bullseye1784]

@@paulan7375 oooh yeah oops

[@JasmineSurrealVideos]

I would have said Lisbon or Paris.

[@paulan7375]

Paris is ahead by one

[@pcsmush]

wtf....these supposedly intelligent people. Not to be one of those people that shows off but straight away names like Kingston, Santiago and Brasilia were going around my head. Jesus

[@_Shadbolt_]

You should apply to go on the show!

[@MyPumpkin00]

well, I immediately thought of Caribbean capitals, like Roseau or Castries, but I'm a huge Geography freak

[@pcsmush]

You don't even need to be a 'Geography freak' to be able to name at least one. You have good knowledge though I bet both of those were pointless (I'm not re-watching to find out if they were lol :p).

[@MyPumpkin00]

If I wanted to take part in Pointless and knew nothing about Geography, I'd, well, at least learn a few obscure capitals from several different parts of the world... Unlike those people

[@Cruithneach]

It's quite common to have pretty dim contestants on quiz shows - they're often selected for comedy value

[@Sundae_Times]

New York isn't wrong just for not being a capital city - it's also five hours _behind_ London.

[@paulot4646]

5 hours behind London means they celebrate New Year 5 hours after. Washington dc would have been correct

[@liamwalsh4008]

Good one. And you had plenty of time to think about that before writing your comment and making yourself look like a complete fool, too.

[@aliceevans2180]

I'd say Budapest?

[@emilierapportmunro7595]

They're an hour ahead of London, just like Helsinki

[@hollandr71]

Torshavn

[@constructbiggerplays]

Found another fool, I'm afraid.

[@alexmarr409]

No, sorry Fareos count as a part of Denmark

[@hollandr71]

DundonianRider I realised after constructbiggerplay's comment about another fool. My bad. :)

[@hollandr71]

Instead I'd go for Karachi, the capital of Pakistan

[@liamwalsh4008]

@@hollandr71 And you'd be wrong a second time. But why not just keep thwacking balls, sooner or later one of them's bound to find the fairway.

[@thomascombo4449]

Nuuk

[@davincicod1]

Thomas Combo Greenland is not a country :(

[@rossmarshall628]

David yeah it is lol

[@_Shadbolt_]

It's not counted as a sovereign state in this quiz. Therefore its capital is Copenhagen, which is east of the UK and therefor would celebrate before. So it wouldn't be an answer. Same basic logic as "Belfast" not being accepted.

[@liamwalsh4008]

@@rossmarshall628 No, it's not, you halfwit. If you're going to correct someone try doing some research first to ensure you aren't spewing nonsense.

[@BroskiRIP]

Hmm, first guy saying Belfast was right. Embarrassing they cheated him out of it.

[@AlexFerguson-z8f]

This trolling, or extreme brainfart?

[@liamwalsh4008]

No he wasn't, you bell end. Try listening to the rules next time.

[@liamwalsh4008]

The only embarrassing thing around here is your monstrous incompetence when it comes to listening to the required parameters for the answers.

[@liamwalsh4008]

@@AlexFerguson-z8f It appears he struggles with simple tasks, like listening to the rules.

[@anthonybubb7282]

Northern Ireland is not a sovereign state, so Belfast is not a correct answer

[@teclo1057]

didnt understand richards reason for not allowing belfast

[@_Shadbolt_]

Because they count the UK as one country in this quiz as they only count sovereign states as accepted by the UN. And Belfast doesn't have its own UN seat, only UK, and the capital of the UK is London.