Your city STILL isn't unique

[@Timbeon]

I've got an interesting one for you- wacky local car dealership commercials. Turns out most of them just buy scripts from the same Orlando, FL marketing agency, so you've got a pretty high chance of seeing the same basic weird commercial from car dealerships all across the US and Canada.

[@JJMcCullough]

Wow really

[@mostreal907]

That’s wild!

[@Timbeon]

@@JJMcCullough Yup, Gravitational Marketing is the name of the firm, if I remember correctly

[@shawn.the.alien423]

@@JJMcCullough here in East Tennessee, we have a unique car dealership...Farris Motors, run by the annoying yet hilarious Jason Farris (the dealer fooooor the people!). I suggest looking him up on KZbin.

[@codylove2212]

@@JJMcCullough Look up "It's a crime to pay more than a dime," you'll find dozens of dealership ads from different places

[@Kellan__they-them]

The "local weirdo" phenomenon has always struck me as quite sad, because in three of the places that I've lived, our "local weirdo" was someone with clear mental illness who was simply put out on the street because their family abandoned them and the local shelter or mental institute deemed them well enough to be on their own and they didn't have space for someone who "only" suffered from severe schizophrenia, dementia, etc. Our "local weirdos" were usually homeless, and their "weirdness" was probably the only thing keeping them taken care of by people who would donate to a local "celebrity" as it were. Although on a brighter note, in a fourth place I lived, our local weirdo simply liked dressing as a wizard and carrying a bright pink suitcase with him. He was eccentric but quite sweet when I spoke to him in line at the grocery store.

[@enraptured6700]

Agreed, in my town, the "local weirdo" was a guy who had braided Barbie Dolls into his hair and clearly had Tourettes, based on his vocal and physical tics.

[@NakAlienEd]

My hometown "Local Weirdo" wore a chainmail shirt made out of soda/beer can tabs and ranted about conspiracies to people on the bus.

[@antwandadon2341]

Not really a weirdo from what I can remember but this guy in my midsized Texas hometown wore a hat that was full of lights and had a living weasel or lemur just chilling on his shoulders.

[@michaelboyle7281]

I'm pretty sure I was becoming the local weirdo when I was homeless and on meth and heroin (and as any local weirdo yes I do have some mental problems, but I did stop believing I was Jesus Christ, so I;m not to far gone mentally.) But I would ride around on a skateboard and play a mini pink electric guitar that I had, and even had a mini amp I could put in my backpack so I could actually play in public. I also would steal tons of art equipment so whenever I sat infront of stores to ask for change I'd either be dong artwork, trying to play punk/metal on my little guitar, solving rubik's cubes (been a hobby of mine since I was a child), or doing magic tricks witha deck of cards (also another chldhood hobby) all as ways to try to make money, rather than stanfdng around doing nothing special and asking for money. But alas, people usually dnt care whatever talent you have and ignore you more, and the only way to reliably make money was just to ask for change, whch I always found funny because people hate that the most, yet it works much better than the other ways. Oh yeahh, when I was 16 and homeless I used to offer to do backflips for spare change, but no one ever cared to see the backflip. Hope this gave some insight on the subject, apoligize for the light rambling

[@1stdragon123]

One of the "local weirdos" in my city was exactly this. He figured out people gave him more money, eventually he got an apartment and cleaned up on his drug use and got the proper medical care and now still walks around in his old weird homeless outfit to continue getting paid as it pays better then most jobs. Edit: he plays smash bros melee in his free time and is pretty good.

[@FrankJames]

you're spot on, JJ, I too have always been suspicious of CCWRs (Crazy Crap-on-the-Wall Restaurants)

[@taffingtonboathouse5754]

I don't trust any crap on the wall unless it's at my city museum

[@BlastedRodent]

I always considered those transit maps more of a shorthand for the city itself than a claim that the map was unique. They are compact, graphically pleasing maps of a place that double as being intimately familiar to people who live there as part of daily life. Often they also hint at the geography of the place. I have lived in Stockholm and Copenhagen and was never under any illusion that either city’s transit map was a unique graphic design (they are obviously copies of London’s, the OG and the only one who can actually lay claim to being a design icon), but seeing the lines, the station names and the shape (Stockholm is an hourglass, Copenhagen is a hand) instantly triggers memories of living in either city, places, people and routines, and I think that’s valuable even if the graphic design of either map is obviously unoriginal and every European city of any size has one.

[@jazzy4830]

The London tube map actually is the original, with the others either having been suggested free of charge by the same artist later or being based on it after it’s runaway success.

[@williamtoner8674]

well put

[@caveman314]

Exactly. It’s no different than displaying artwork based on a city’s street map, or the outline of a state. Each one is unique and recognizable to someone from that place.

[@davidrogers8030]

Jay Foreman described them as 'like a city flag'.

[@IIAOPSW]

@@jazzy4830 Except of course for New York, which continues on in the fight against angular lines and non-geographical depictions. Call it a strange hill to die on, but at least we know its a hill!

[@ICVRXS]

Having recently moved from the US to Sweden, I have been introduced to the interesting phenomenon that is O'Learys "American" restaurant. It's interestingly decorated with Americana sports memorabilia, has sporty logos and graphics, and they play sports on the televisions, but it also has that dark green interior with dark wood and gold accents that you'd see in one of those fake Irish pubs in America. The name itself speaks to how it also seems to sort of want to be an Irish pub as well in spite of the fact that, if you've ever been to a sports bar and an Irish pub, you'd know they have pretty conflicting vibes from one another. It's so bizarre because it's a Swedish interpretation of American culture filtered through an American interpretation of Irish culture. They also have the blandest "guacamole" on the planet.

[@ericktellez7632]

offering terrible fake Mexican in their restaurant? Seems like they are doing the American restaurant concept correctly then.

[@arisardar6018]

We have a similar situation in Finland. About 10 years ago, mixing the sports bar with an Irish bar with the theme of American sports culture was the big thing in Finland. Ruined many of my favorite bars.

[@AxelGage]

Inexplicably, it's a Boston sports themed bar.

[@aliciabergman1252]

Yup and I pronounced it O’Larry’s for quite a while.

[@KtnClls]

I vaguely remember a cutout of Tom Brady outside the O'Learys in Gothenburg

[@jerotoro2021]

One ironically common thing I noticed is the "world's largest X", usually found in towns and smaller cities. It's easy to come up with something that no one's ever built a giant version of, then build a giant version of it, even get it certified by Guinness as the "world's largest X", in an attempt to generate tourist draw and local pride for a small community.

[@8monday0110]

drive anywhere in australia and youll find "worlds largest ____" im not even sure why but its always some random town with a servo and maybe 3 houses who act like theyre the paris of rural victoria

[@artemisiakyrell7727]

Don't tell the rest of the yanks this but us aussies are obsessed with building giant statues of random shit, the big banana & the big pineapple being eminent examples although there are many, many more

[@frozencatcake]

​@@8monday0110yes this is true frfr

[@BOABModels]

All of those maps for public transit were based on the London Underground map designed by Harry Beck. He based the designs on electrical circuit layouts. He also wasn't much of a businessman and designed many other cities' maps in his spare time for free! The excellent KZbinr, Jay Foreman, just did a couple of videos about the whole process.

[@merrymachiavelli2041]

Exactly! I was watching that bit and thinking like "Sure, I agree...but _we_ were first!" Also, the idea of not representing the network in a way that was geographically accurate _was_ quite ground breaking at the time, although I somebody else might have thought of it eventually.

[@Bryzerse]

@@merrymachiavelli2041 Yep! At least London is special!

[@magscorner]

Lol I kept thinking he was surely gona mention it during that segment xD

[@katetranscribes]

@@merrymachiavelli2041 and NYC gets to be a little unique for bucking the trend and sticking with a geographically accurate map-when you’ve got a grid system, turns out it’s actually useful to keep things spacially accurate

[@dougpatterson7494]

@@katetranscribes what is also very common in “new developments/suburbia” at least in Canada, is the attempt to “buck the trend” of city design and seem unique by not continuing the logical grid design and building unnecessary curves and dead end roads with confusing names.

[@SophiaDalke]

The thing about bubble tea is that because it's a relatively new phenomenon overall (literally invented in my lifetime) it didn't spread at a uniform rate. In the 90s and early 2000s it was an exotic thing you really only found in big coastal cities and virtually unknown in the Midwest or South. Sure, it's ubiquitous now (thankfully), but it was kinda unique back when I was a teenager.

[@holygooff]

It's only a thing since a few years in my W-European city.

[@saberur66]

It’s still not a huge thing in cities and places that don’t have a large Asian population. However if you go into suburbs with large Asian populations you’ll probably find a bubble tea store, tea store, and other necessities that you might find in larger cities.

[@AsukaLangleyS02]

Not thankfully, tapioca freaking SUCKS!!!!!!

[@ahwhite2022]

I just want give all of you a hug for calling it “bubble tea” and not “boba.”

[@dannymars]

Has been a popular feature in larger Australian cities for at least 25 years.

[@skipads5141]

Interesting fact: The U.K. considers the subway map as one of the great inventions of the entire nation. London did have the first underground transit and the stylized map was actually invented for it. (The famous Tube Map)

[@יוסףאריהקהן]

I think London has a very justifiable pride as they were the first to do it and they were an inspiration for many others. Harry Beck also helped design the Australian metro, IIRC. That said, I think it's fine for people to identify with the transport map in all cities. It is an icon of the city is a very real sense

[@NoFuqinIdea]

"You should always be suspicious of the authenticity of businesses that have a bunch of stuff on their wall." ...we have a Mexican Restaurant in my hometown in germany that has a giant Buddha-Statue standing on the window. Always cracks me up.

[@jmckenzie962]

Damn that's hilarious. That'd be like having a Chinese restaurant with a statue of a Maori warrior

[@javihernandez2755]

Here in my town (middle sized city near Madrid, Spain) we have a pub called Anubis (like the egyptian god), but with the logo being some sort of buddhist samsara, and then decorated inside with native-american totems and hawaiian flower rings... Very messed up 😂

[@janmeyen8227]

For some reason I've noticed a lot of places selling Chinese and Mexican food as of late pretty much every city I go to. Seems it's become the latest variant of "anything you want" fast food joints, following being able to get fried chicken and doner at a pizza joint.

[@alyssa2796]

There’s a cute little teriyaki joint me and my boyfriend go to frequently that is run by VERY devout Christian Japanese people. You know how there’s like a white woman Christian culture where there’s a bunch of cursive Bible quotes everywhere? Well this is completely different but almost like that in a way.

[@thatslegit]

thats very mexican ngl, i live in southern arizona to confirm. mexicans indulge in others cultures to the same level like america with there anime stuff

[@ukeman1143]

Murals. My city is supposedly "Known" for having a bunch of murals, but go to any city or downtown area that has recently gotten a re-vamp, and you'll find a collection of "sophisticated" and "deeply meaningful" murals all over. My city still might be special though, because we fit all of our murals into a 5-6 block by 5-6 block area, and they fit the laid back vibe well, unlike some places.

[@potentialcaroozin2385]

Is it wynwood lmao

[@ukeman1143]

@@potentialcaroozin2385 no where is that

[@Quietbut_Deadly]

@@potentialcaroozin2385literally proving the point that it’s not something unique to a specific city

[@deandredunbar9618]

We recently got a 100 foot mural of prince lol

[@1313stjimmy]

Is you city Chemainus?

[@FiendishStormForce]

I finally understand why you wouldn't drink the tap water when you visited England! We're raised to basically divide the world into "drink the water" countries and "don't drink the water" countries, and it never occurred to me that some people might take a city-by-city approach.

[@heartycoffee4754]

yeah that approach doesn’t work in America lol i mean the water where i live is amazing and comes from limestone aquaifers, but the others cities in my state have terrible water

[@zachsmcl]

I live in a small town with amazing water quality. Drive 8km or 20 minutes south and it tastes like metal and is MILKY WHITE when you turn on the hot water. Whitewater, wisconsin, very aptly named, literally has white water. I had to replace my Britta tap filter every 2 months when I lived there

[@coscorrodrift]

in spain we go on a city by city/ area basis. Generally in the east/south coasts people drink bottled water and in Madrid or the north people drink tap water. It's not as generic as areas as some of the biggest water bottlers are from places in the south (Lanjarón, near Sierra Nevada) or the East ( Font Vella - Sacalm, near Girona). It's probably more accurate to say that coastal cities where the mountain ranges are far away have bad water quality while cities with nearby mountain ranges have good quality water. maybe it's not that and it has to do with the nature of the mountains and how rich in calcium or those kinda minerals the mountain ranges /soil are made of

[@realevilcorgi]

We consider England a "don't drink the water" country unless it's London

[@tomfrazier1103]

Morro Bay, California is a famous "Don't drink the water" locale. It just tasted wierd.

[@SpiderMan-du1jf]

I was always told that the water in St. Louis was the cleanest because the Budweiser brewery decided that it would be cheaper to use tap water to brew their beer instead of there own; so they decided to upgrade the public tap filters to their standards allowing better water and cheaper beer

[@applerunner]

I was always told it may not be the cleanest but it is the best tasting because it is optimized for brewing.

[@PSIponies]

Yeah! I was always told that too

[@sc1338]

Greenville SC and Denver have the cleanest tap in the country

[@KanyeTheGayFish69]

Lol, doubt Budweiser would still be treating the water for that many people today

[@sexygeek8996]

Their beer is so bad that it wouldn't matter how clean the water is.

[@michaelzhuhovitsky3889]

A comment on the previous video on this topic hit close to home: every mid size city started calling itself a "tech hub".

[@jamesrodriguez8981]

I think something that should be mentioned is when someone from where you live makes it “big”. I remember ten years ago people talked about Taylor Swift being from here which meant a lot to us since four years prior in 2008 Reading PA was declared the poorest city in the US and then to see this person make it out of here and make it big was inspiring. I think an important thing to do is to read into the person before you go around saying that they were from this poor area and made it “big”. She was actually from the ritzy suburbs of Wyomissing which is near Reading and she went to the school they have as well instead of the urban, underfunded, gritty school in the city. She was already rich she just wasn’t famous which was the difference.

[@skipads5141]

And the world rarely associates them with where they come from unless it's a staple of their routine, like Bill Burr & Boston.

[@stevethepocket]

Famous people pretending they're from whatever major city is closest to where they're actually from is another whole thing and it drives me bananas. Doesn't matter whether the city is more glamorous than the small town they're really from or decidedly less, you'll never hear some A-lister say they're from Podunk, Iowa.

[@SingingSpock]

I’d like to add another perspective. I don’t disagree with the main point of the video about the lack of uniqueness, but I’d like to add that these things often *are* important in their individual manifestations in each city. Sometimes it’s in very tangible ways, e.g. a river often will quite literally define the basic geography of a city, and the specific shape of it will have a daily impact on how people move around the city. Other times it’s in more soft, cultural ways, e.g. every big city has its local weirdo, but this is *our* local weirdo. My friend used to make and sell local-themed t-shirts and I bought one that’s just our most recognizable “skyscraper” (it’s not that tall). It’s not actually unique to Fresno, but anyone who lives in Fresno knows it. These elements *can* create a communal identity, even if that identity isn’t too different from other similar cities.

[@awogbob]

Yup

[@Pencilman246]

Good point. Most cities have a waterfront, but the built-up waterfronts are usually cool places for visitors to hang out. Doesn’t have to be unique to be interesting. I know Austin had a particular local weirdo who is well documented and memorialized downtown. It’s kind of nice that even though most cities have these things, people take pride in their version of it. Lots of cities have famous bridges but only NYC has the Brooklyn Bridge. My city has a not-so-famous bridge over our poor excuse for a river but it’s a fun local symbol.

[@mediocrestu8238]

A cool communal identity based on consumerism and buildings. Not actual community like making sure everyone is housed and fed

[@longiusaescius2537]

@mediocre stu well we could have states still be like little countries but 'highly expensive plant war'

[@mediocrestu8238]

@@longiusaescius2537 50 little countries all run by the same owning class that runs the big one doesn't really seem much different but sure

[@popezosimusthethird269]

Your City Isn't Unique checklist EUROPEAN EDITION : - the pedestrianized area half the city wants to see expanded, half wants gone entirely - "it's so hard to find a parking spot" - neighbourhood named after a wall or a gate that hasn't been here for centuries - very small remnants of the aforementioned wall or gate - high-rise suburb built in the 50s or 60s with a whimsical name (bonus points if it has then turned into the impoverished crime-ridden problem area of the whole metro area) - ruins from the old church that was tragically destroyed in a fire - experimental modern building that doesn't fit with the rest of the urban fabric - statue of a historical figure riding a horse (bonus points if most people can't really pinpoint when that historical figure lived or why it even is an important historical figure) - the castle or what remains of it (it's on a hill so you get a great view of the whole city when you go there!) - the marketplace where there no longer is a market taking place (bonus points if it was an indoor market hall that got demolished "after the war") - large avenue named after a 19th century politician everyone only knows of because of how many things are named after him - local government building named after a local 19th century or early 20th century politician no one remembers - the film festival - antique market in autumn - the one place where you can get the local dish, not the version we sell to tourists, I'm talking about the real deal - sneaky street art that has the same aesthetic across the town made by the elusive local street artist (may or may not have been commissioned by the city itself, artist is most likely not from the city itself) - big party parachuted politician who claims to be from here because their grandparents lived there so that's where they spent their holidays

[@tvguts]

The thing about Rivers was something I realized recently too! I moved from Atlanta GA (a city that cropped up around a railroad junction, so no rivers) to a city with a river and thought it was super duper cool to live so close to water. After thinking about it, I realized that most cities in the US seem to be built near rivers and ATL was apparently in the minority! Weird!

[@drumraider]

As ive gotten older and in recent years as many people have been moving to Texas, I've noticed people doing this with cities in Texas. They always mention "the Riverwalk" and how happy they are to live by the water. I'm from Chicago, but live in the desert southwest so I get liking living by the water; but they think Texas is the only place with river cities when they tell you about it after they move there.

[@Daniel-jm7ts]

Most cities in the world are building y a river or coast. Having a access to drinking water and having a connection for trade and transportation isn't unique at all. It would actually be more weird for a city not to have any body of water near it and now thinking about it I can't think of any

[@drumraider]

@@Daniel-jm7ts Phoenix, AZ is a pretty good example, there's a small lake, but made after construction of a Dam iirc. Las Vegas also existed prior to the creation of Lake Meade, though it certainly would never have become a city without the Hoover Dam

[@rossnelson2522]

Atlanta has a fairly large river that runs directly through it

[@txgsu43]

When we are talking about objects of city pride (as opposed to corporate or business objects), it is less about the existence of the objects and more about the uniqueness and connection we derive from that object. Other cities have transit maps, but that is our transit map. Other cities have area codes, but that is our area code. Other cities have waterfronts, but that is our waterfront.

[@chilliecheesecake]

Bingo.

[@Friek555]

Exactly!

[@aliciabergman1252]

Yes! This is why I found this video a little irritating. Just cause you value something doesn’t mean you think it’s so unique. All those things make up the city that you love and that’s why they are special ❤

[@EmiliLuciaOfficial]

Literally who think their city train map is one of a kind. It just represents which city it is!! Not the design.

[@VinTheDirector]

It’s kind of like saying a person isn’t unique just because other people also like hiking/listen to reggae/play volleyball/dye their hair pink/are into RPG games/etc.

[@addictiontocars]

I laughed out loud at the waterfront thing, I have lived in 3 cities in the UK and the 'not enough is being done about the water front' happened everywhere.

[@XEveryoneLovesEmilyX]

I feel like just because waterfronts are common, doesn't mean developing them isn't important. It's like a town square and parks. Most cities benefit from having these places where people can meet and enjoy their free time.

[@edwinmadrigal7652]

Same thing here in Cleveland, Ohio!

[@NamelessProducts]

@@edwinmadrigal7652 I feel like Cleveland has a legitimate problem though. I lived in Florida for 15 years and visited some of the American south, and the waterfront is extremely accessible no matter where you go. You're just constantly around the water and in sight line of the water.

[@edwinmadrigal7652]

@@NamelessProducts fair, i definitely agree cleveland needs to do something. I was just shocked to hear this isn’t only a cleveland issue, being a clevelander we are made to feel that all the issues our city faces are unique to only our city since it’s perceived as the worst in the nation

[@idha39]

I live in the desert and our waterfront is merely an afterthought of industrial concrete waterways that used to connect factories to it now surrounded by the city center

[@djstonedog]

My city's "local weirdo" sadly passed away last year and the outpouring of love in the media and especially on social media for him was very touching. #RipMelvis

[@finnt9041]

My city's local weirdo recently got a serious head injury from the police who were being a nuisance to him

[@AudreyRose93]

Ours did too. He got hit by a car. Tbf, he walked out into traffic a lot, thinking the cars would stop for him. He was a self-hating Native dude who hated literally everybody but thin white women, painted his clothes, wore daisy dukes and would let his junk hang out in the summer, carried his guitar everywhere, and once tried to give me a used pair of woman's panties. He also accused my mom and her friend of dealing drugs while they were talking outside with coffees.

[@djstonedog]

@@AudreyRose93 that's very sad indeed. Thanks for sharing. Ours was a very old Chinese man who would dress up to impersonate Elvis and wander through the tourist and nightlife districts entertaining folks with his guitar and dance moves. What he lacked in talent he certainly made up for with charisma and charm. He could sometimes be a bit of a pest but on most occasions he was a welcome disruption amongst all the hustle, bustle and chaos of the city. Many times he 'serenaded' me and my friends at our tables whilst we were out drinking or dining. He is actually dearly missed by our community and by the time of his passing he had taken on almost legendary status, particularly amongst the independant local media and social scenesters.

[@franzferdinand5810]

Same here. RIP Arnol. He got a big graffiti painting (Eindhoven, Netherlands)

[@hakol5938]

“You should always be suspicious of crazy-crap-on-the-wall restaurants!” 6:31 **smash cuts to JJ’s crazy-crap-on-the-wall studio** 😂 Just kidding JJ, fantastic content as always!

[@tnaoro]

6:26

[@baconsarny-geddon8298]

"crazy, unpredictable weather" has to be another thing that EVERY city seems to see as "part of [my city's] unique essence".

[@LiveFreeOrDieDH]

Yup. JJ discussed this in his previous video.

[@Warriorcats64]

Never heard anyone in San Francisco say that.

[@MrFram]

Except cities do have more/less variance in weather than others

[@scottjs5207]

@@resd8619 Yeah, getting to hear about how tornado alley is, hearing someone say it's not that unique makes me kinda question it. It's unique to that specific region based on what type of weather patterns it sees. It is unique in that sense. But you're not going to have the same weather in Seattle as one would have in New York, cause the cities feed off of very different geography.

[@JackOLanternBob]

The west coast where I am from has cities with actually predictable weather that is different in different cities. LA is dry and sunny, Seattle is always rainy, and Portland is rainy but not as bad as Seattle

[@allieren]

I’ve been a travel nurse for about 4 years now and have worked in cities on both coasts and between. I have definitely found that cities are more common than they are different. I find that regional foods can be a distinguishing feature as well as ethnic cuisine just based on the predominant immigrant cultures. I am from Grand Rapids, MI and one thing I’ve noticed that isn’t in either video is murals. Grand Rapids, especially my neighborhood, is really pushing how cool and unique and funky certain neighborhoods are because of the growing trend of street art in the form of murals. While I they are really cool (I like looking at them more than blank sides of buildings), they aren’t unique by any means. I’m currently living in the Boston area for work, and they’re everywhere. Just like they were when I lived in Burlington, VT and Santa Rosa, CA

[@Ianmccor]

Happy to see J.J. consider me a friend. One thing I'll add to my highlighted comment: there are a number of sports teams listed in the Mascot DB that are called "River (mascot)". The Appalachian League in baseball has two such instances of cities thinking being near a river makes them unique: The Elizabethton River Riders (near the Watauga River) and the Pulaski River Turtles (near the New River). Oh and the league has another team called the Johnson City Doughboys.

[@fixpacifica]

Sacramento River Cats baseball team.

[@sheeksquatch]

Charleston River Dogs as well. But Charleston has two rivers on its borders and quite a few others in the immediate area.

[@theryanhollis]

Many people have the assumption that they are special or unique because JJ called them a friend, however in reality JJ calls everyone “friend”.

[@maxgustafsson7802]

The transit map point is actually because all the transit maps were based on the London map, which was redesigned by an electrical engineer to move away from geogrphical accuracy. Jay Foreman has a wonderful video on it, one of his most recent.

[@williamhamilton1154]

It’s a great video. I feel like Jay Foreman and J.J.‘s content compliment each other very well. Edit: I was just fixing a spelling error.

[@seraph644]

The Irish pub segment reminded me of my shock when a Korean-American friend told me all of our local sushi/bento/ramen shops are run by Korean immigrants

[@ダニエル-x5d]

I remember last time JJ made this video, the comments were full of "Awesome video! But my city/university has *insert supposedly unique thing*". It's always funny to see that everyone thinks this video doesn't also apply to them.

[@reda84.]

My city has the most well preserved roman theater in the world and is the reason the netherlands had orange (now red) in its flag I'm from Orange, France and I'd say that makes it pretty unique lol

[@CorvusCrai]

@@reda84. yeah I feel like the „supposedly unique things” are only supposedly unique when seen in American cities. Europe and other „old” continents have much more history and lots of unique, sometimes ancient architecture. Like every city has „tunnels”, but Paris has the catacombs - which are tunnels. Pretty fun to see people give their ideas tho :)

[@xway2]

@@reda84. Roman theaters are of course a common feature around the Mediterranean, but yeah yours looks more preserved than many others.

[@T-minus-infinite]

@@CorvusCrai Almost every European city has catacombs.

[@CorvusCrai]

@@T-minus-infinite that is entirely not true, not many european cities have actual, relevant catacombs (in size or history). There’s a few more important ones, like the catacombs of Malta or Milos but none have a history as rich as those in Paris, and none as are sprawling. Paris doesn’t say claim have the only catacombs, but they certainly have the most unique and historically relevant ones.

[@remen8021]

just a comment about the "We have the best water" thing, I think it's mostly because each city's water supply has its own impurities in it that people who live their get accomsted to, so when they go to another city the water could taste bad to them because it has different impurities that they aren't used to.

[@matturner6890]

Live *there

[@danielmorton1606]

I think it's a confluence of things- city campaigns to use tap, cities genuinely having better water than surrounding poorer communities with smaller budgets, and what you were saying. It helps that a city will have cleaner water shortly after they upgrade a system.

[@franziskavonkarma7390]

I think there was an actual survey done to determine who had the best tap water. Give me a second and I’ll look up who it is.

[@itslooigi]

@@franziskavonkarma7390 u okay?

[@appa609]

I'm Chinese. I'm used to traveling to a new place and experiencing its local food and culture. Once on a roadtrip we made a pitstop in Sarnia and had lunch. I asked my friends what Sarnia cuisine was like and they laughed at me.

[@firebanner6424]

Must be weird coming from a place where every region has extremely distinct local cuisine to a place where local cuisine is a rarity.

[@annoyedbipolar7424]

@@firebanner6424 well that's a bit of a loaded statement with a lot of different responses. (But I would say America is more homogenous than your average country in regards to foods)

[@ten.seconds]

@@annoyedbipolar7424 Chinese food do have a province by province identity. Even in America, usually the Chinese name of the Chinese restaurant (that isn't translated over to the English name) would hint at a province or city, and along the regular homogenous Chinese food menu there'd be a couple items that is from that specific region. Kind of like how sushi places opened by Koreans would have Korean fried chicken and kimchi on the menu. (Not saying Japan or Korea doesn't have a bunch of different identities, like kushikatsu and whatnot from Kansai Japan, I'm just more familiar with Chinese cuisine)

[@skipads5141]

Did you treat yourself by going over to Port Huron to compare?

[@afroabroad]

@@firebanner6424 This is someone who has never been to Shanxi.

[@alexking8679]

This may not be as big in large metropolitan areas, but definitely in medium sized to small rural towns. The county fair is often regarded as such an incredible local event that you can't find anywhere else, but all of the food stands and rides quite literally travel from county to county for these events.

[@idha39]

My city which actually holds Americas (the continent) biggest fair: 🙂

[@alexking8679]

@@idha39 what city is that? I would love to go some time. Fair food is worth traveling for

[@idha39]

@@alexking8679 Feria de San Marcos! Aguascalientes, i no longer live there but that was a DEFINING feature of the city, and a beautiful fair

[@lyspaere]

@@idha39que su feria es un primoooonnnn

[@janmeyen8227]

You'll find those same rides at church/ethnic fairs in major metros. NYC, Boston- see the same stuff I do at the NY State Fair and Big E when they have their Italian or Greek church festivals and the like. All the stuff typically comes from the same rental companies

[@pre-debutera6941]

Tbf, the whole "boba tea" thing was uniquely a west coast thing until recently, my city in Georgia never had one until about a year ago.

[@robgronotte1]

I've lived on the west coast for years and have barely seen them myself.

[@geealion]

Yeah, I grew up near Sacramento and there was one place that opened in the 90s that sold “tapioca balls” in their drinks, but it wasn’t until c. 2010 that boba really started moving in.

[@karl_margs]

I think a big reason people think there are all these tunnels under cities is that's what we see in media. A lot of "sewer" scenes are often filmed in conduit runs of industrial facilities because you can actually walk around in them. Until you get to main trunk lines, most sewers aren't big enough to fit into let alone stand up in. PS - love JJ Go!

[@jhudsu1]

most college campuses have steam tunnels, I assume most multi-building campuses have them too and we just hear about the ones under colleges because college students are exceptionally predisposed to go into steam tunnels for no reason

[@marcherswithmunchies9414]

Every mid sized and large city has some kind of botanical garden conservatory. They are always nice and cool to see but regardless they are in every major city. There were a set of designers at the start of the 20th century that designed and built these. Also frank Lloyd wright houses turned into museums. These are two places I will never not see on a trip advisory page and still go to.

[@s.s6499]

Oh yes - and they're probably flooded with tourists.

[@catsrmylyf]

What I don't get is why so many of those "botanical garden/conservatory" things don't showcase any local/native plants. It just seems like such an easy way to add educational value, local character, and a "unique" factor to an otherwise fairly ubiquitous tourist attraction. (I'm sure some do, but I've been to many that don't.)

[@rachel_sj]

@@catsrmylyf You’ll probably wanna dig around a local university’s website to see if they have a program dedicated to biology/diversity of native species in a given state/region. If not a local university, then definitely a natural history and/or science museum might be of help when learning more about species biodiversity of wherever you’re going to!

[@rachel_sj]

@@s.s6499 I think it depends on the Frank Lloyd Wright house. I think a lot more people are willing to visit Taliesin or Falling Water vs the 1-2 FLW more hidden homes in my city (Minneapolis)

[@bennyboiart7781]

@@catsrmylyf I’d imagine it’s because one could theoretically learn about local plant life just by stepping out one’s door, whereas going out to behold specimens of flora from far off parts of the world in person would be (and for many, still is) beyond the means of an average person.

[@oneil317]

Our Michigan hometown "iconic" statue is of a civil war soldier that we call "Billy Yank." A local historian was the subject of much derision when it was brought up on a historical walking tour that the city fathers picked it out of the Sears catalogue around the turn of the century.

[@jameszak6884]

You use a couple of symbols of Chicago's transit system in your section about public transit, but Chicago's transit map actually *is* fairly unique since the grid system combined with the way a city limits map actually fits quite nicely onto a standard poster size means that Chicago's transit map actually is geographically accurate, and not stylized

[@t.wcharles2171]

But isn't Chicago mostly grids.

[@godihatethisplace2773]

@@t.wcharles2171 yes and he said grid system

[@godihatethisplace2773]

@@t.wcharles2171 "since the grid system combined with the way a city limits map size"

[@t.wcharles2171]

@@godihatethisplace2773 you could have just used one reply but no matter because Chicago is grids it's easier to make into a rail map.

[@godihatethisplace2773]

@@t.wcharles2171 well i posted one thing and wanted to add another so naw im not gonna edit id rather just make you read more things and ive already forgot this topic and no longer care or remember what i said, have a good one

[@alysshart7522]

Here are more things that basically every city or mid-size college town has: quirky hobby shops that sell board games and model kits, candy stores with a whole wall devoted to "wacky" soft drinks, and overly earnest home decor boutiques that sell supposedly unique linens, candles, and table accents.

[@JJMcCullough]

Excellent examples

[@pushslice]

can we pls sniff out if those candy/soft drink shops are in fact sourced from a "kit", just like the Irish pubs mentioned in JJ's vid? I've seen enough of them to be fairly convinced they are...

[@JJMcCullough]

@@pushslice I have no doubt that the big candy companies probably just sell these supposedly eccentric and exotic candies directly to these stores, as much as they try to project an image of having hunted them down in the streets of Europe.

[@jacobyspurnger8488]

10:48 decidedly a bad idea if you're visiting Flint Michigan

[@megans.1504]

Neat video! It got me wondering why we tend to think something needs to be unique for us to be proud of it or for it to be worth talking about. The fact that a thing exists elsewhere doesn't take away from the fact that it exists here, and at the same time it's useful to recognize that something is part of a wider pattern and not a unique point of interest. Kinda hard to find that balance sometimes.

[@BrianRocksNow]

I've been through 43 continental states in the US. In each state, I have at least driven through 2-3 of their largest cities. I often tell people it's not really worth their time to visit each one unless they have specific places in mind (the Alamo, River Walk, Manitou Springs, the Bean, etc). To me, they all look like a bunch of giant silver boxes encased in cement with a coffee shop and pizzeria on every corner.

[@Redrally]

And the endless suburbs

[@bookisland6515]

san antonio representation 🙌

[@AoiRyuko]

When I found out that Indianapolis was called circle city because of its monument circle, a roundabout with a monument in the center, I was very confused. I used to live close to Mexico city and was more familiar with the Angel of Independence, so monument circle did not seem so unique to me.

[@PizzaManager101]

Yeah they exist anywhere from Rome to Cincinnati lol

[@callmeonkeshiasphone]

Hahaha

[@roxynano]

I live in Indianapolis and I didn’t know that Monument Circle was the reason for my home city to be nicknamed Circle City. It doesn’t surprise me if other cities have other things similar like Mexico City.

[@PizzaManager101]

@@chukotka6224 Yeah there’s one around the garfield statue: source, I live there lol

[@cityraildude]

Hey J.J. this is interesting. I live in Sydney, Australia. I've travelled to many parts of North America, and I can tell you that the tap water ranges from pretty good to disgusting. I haven't been to Vancouver, but I can't understand how Memphis makes the list of places with the best tap water. Out of all the places where you can drink the tap water (excluding places where you can't), Memphis has the worst tap water in the world which I have tasted. It is absolutely disgusting. In Sydney, no body says that the weather here is weird, except we say that about Melbourne, although at some times, our weather can be quite erratic at sometimes when it's more than 30°C and sunny, when out of the blue, rain clouds appear and it starts raining, and the temp. Drops by like 10-15°C, but somehow, our weather is supposed to be more "normal" than Melbourne's. Also, I think Sydney is unique in that it never snows in the city, but it does snow within 50 km of it occassionally. As for having a river side, that's not necasserily universal, not even in North America. Don't get me wrong, most cities in North America would have a riverfront, but not in the west of the USA, or other deserts around the world. There are entire countries where there are no rivers, let alone the cities in them. I think one place that's unique in that regard is Alice Springs, Australia, where the river only rarely ever has water in it, and the riverfront is famous for being a dry river front, but I don't know how that compares to other cities around the world. Back to tap water, there actually are objective lists that actually objectively rank the quality of tap water around the world, and Vancouver is pretty high on that list, so yea, when it comes to Vancouver, there's actually some truth to it, but not necessarily the other cities though. Thinking that your city is unique because of its metro map, is, however, foolishness. What is, however, uniquely North American is calling trams "streetcars", metros "subways" and not having a specific word for trolleybuses (a trolleybus is a bus with overhead wires)

[@davybear4116]

"Drink the tap water, you'll be fine" the last thing he ever said after drinking Flint Michigan tap water.

[@tippytoes2358]

I understand Phoenix waters tastes bad according to every KZbinr doing vids on Phoenix. Someone said it tastes like fertilizer.

[@porkypine602]

@@tippytoes2358 greensboro, north carolina had some pretty nasty tap water it tasted like stale water and pennies

[@alexteixeira8211]

When I went to Montreal I stayed in a 200’year old building and that tap water was sooo metallic I could barely brush my teeth with it. I could tell the difference when I got back to Vancouver right away

[@forbiddenfursona]

@@porkypine602 you guys have drinkable tap water?

[@pqrs_987]

@@porkypine602 I live in GSO right now, and don't have any complaints about the water... Although I do use a filter because I don't like the taste of tap water pretty much anywhere

[@Furniture121]

As a weatherman that has lived coast to coast in Canada, I have learned that every city/region things that "if you don't like the weather, wait 5 minutes" is unique to where they live. Prairies folk imagine that the coasts have entirely predictable weather, just like the coasts imagine prairie weather is entirely predictable.

[@jaredpajama8821]

I never heard that one a day in my life in Southern California, then I moved around the south and heard it every where I went.

[@pmc_]

To be fair, some coastal cities have pretty damn predictable weather. For example, San Francisco doesn't really have... weather. The fog's the only real change of weather that happens; precipitation or temperature change is a big event.

[@PanzerMan332]

But places like Los Angeles do have that weather that *is* quite predictable. I grew up there before moving to North Carolina. I've seen days go from sunny to rainy to sunny again in a half an hour, get frosty cold days of pollen during Spring and scorching hot days of sun in the winter. Opposed to LA, where you'd almost never turn on the heat in your car, and see rain maybe 3 times a year. More than just my anecdotes, there are scientific reasons for the stable weather there.

[@scottjs5207]

Isn't Canada slightly less varied than the US as far as weather patterns go though? I know you have an extension of the great plains midwestern weather, though it's never as severe as us with Tornados and your west coast is just like the American NW, and the Laker effects on the East. Which is dramatically different from always dry southwest and then we've got deserts, the deep south, anything related to the Rockies or the Appalachians and then there's Florida... Though we do also share a tundra region as well as far as weather goes. We're got cities in each...

[@scottjs5207]

@@jaredpajama8821 Basically, I hear it from others about my area rather than bragging about it to the world. Texans don't like it as much in Philly cause it gets humid in the summer and super cold and icy in the winter, then I just laugh as I remember my time in Northern Michigan where snow didn't give a crap what you thought...

[@matthiasice]

Having lived in 5 different US cities of various sizes (Richmond VA, Savannah GA, San Diego CA, Raleigh NC, and Salt Lake City UT), I've heard a ton of people talk about how good their X Culture food is or how good all the breweries are. Some are legitimately unique to the region, like I love all the different BBQ styles out there. Having lived in these different places, it really is cool to find what's truly unique about them.

[@1Spacecore]

San Diego has the best beaches hands down. Don't really care about the food (even though the food here is good).

[@leontrotsky7816]

Irish pubs used to exist in the UK. They were in areas that had a lot of Irish immigrants and were basically exactly the same as regular pubs, except for the customers. The "fake Irish" pubs with all the bric-a-brac and the complete menu of "Irish food" started to spring up around the 1990s.

[@chrisamies2141]

living in West London during the 1990s we were privileged to have both - backstreet pubs that served the Irish community, and 'fake Irish' places on the high streets.

[@KtT-sn8cy]

I doubt Irish pubs are nearly as popular, Americans see them as unique because pubs aren’t really a thing there

[@suijen2]

A lot of these things are not things that make the city unique, they're things that are unique within the city. There's usually only one waterfront, town weirdo, or metro map, etc.

[@gottfriedneuner3721]

I currently live in Lodz, Poland, and that city is very interesting in that it actually does not have any river at all. That's a wholly man-made situation though. It used to be there were at least 7 streams in the area (the name of the city even means "boat" in Polish and it still is on the city's coat of arms), but they all got built over and rerouted during industrialization in 19th ct. Which is also when most of the city was built. People sometimes even forget that there was an earlier town here that existed since the middle ages.

[@craigmiller1870]

A street in the downtown area turned into a pedestrian only street. Also a lot of "college towns" seem oddly similar with the same offbeat unique stores and old fashioned college sport bars.

[@d3athmak3r3]

The pedestrian only street is fun because it is a new (and good) trend.

[@PoseurGoth]

@@d3athmak3r3 It's not necessarily new. It falls in and out of favor, and there used to be many more of them. The main thing that determines the success of one appears to be how many college students are in an area. It's why Burlington Vermont's has been so successful for such a long time. City Beautiful has a really good video about them.

[@gregoryferraro7379]

I would think the people of Flint, Michigan are under no such pretense that their city's water is the best.

[@JJMcCullough]

Are you saying their water has not improved since the scandal about it?

[@MarjaMariachi]

@@JJMcCullough It hasn't improved. And in an ironic twist, Flint isn't unique in being a city with a serious water crisis: Jackson, Mississippi has joined them, albeit theirs is a failure of the water-treatment system instead of lead seepage.

[@Eibarwoman]

@@OakIslandPictures Not to mention Benton Harbor, Michigan... which has the same issue as Flint with lead.

[@RariettyC]

This is truly embodied by how much either Vancouver or Toronto stand-in for NYC or other big American cities in movies and shows. I will say it's always extremely funny to spot Canadian companies, logos, signs, or license plates that wouldn't be likely seen in the US in the backgrounds of shots, but, otherwise, everything else is not that different.

[@dannyhershtal1247]

I'm from Toronto and I was once watching a movie at a downtown theatre that supposedly took place in Seattle. It was a bad movie and everyone was already groaning about how it was obviously filmed in Toronto when on of the characters runs down a small side street and someone shouted "hey that's where I parked!"

[@randommage1]

i feel like this wasn’t mentioned, but i could be wrong: a lot of these things started in one city/region and eventually spread nation/worldwide so thats why people uniquely relate to them in their area, bc they popularized it first. the bubble tea section and vancouver is what made me come to this realization, as a non-resident I remember Vancouver and SF having bubble tea shops years and years before it was popularized nationwide, because of their relatively high asian populations!

[@josephmendoza5660]

So I am from San Antonio and our "unique" thing is there isn't much to do here. We even have saying "keep San Antonio Lame" as opposed to our neighboring city's "Keep Austin weird". The funny thing is I think our waterfront area(Riverwalk) is actually the nicest I seen of any city. I do a lot of traveling and it seems to be the nicest one. PS out of all the place I have driven Nashville seems to have the best drivers.

[@ClementinesmWTF]

The San Antonio River Walk is actually unique though as it’s the prototypical river walk-probably not the very first, but definitely the most prominent as a stand-alone destination. Places like Chicago and even the Woodlands and OKC have tried creating their own versions which, while still nice, don’t live up to the OG.

[@weirdlanguageguy]

@@ClementinesmWTF I was at the OKC river walk a few months ago, and it was very dirty, full of all sorts of nasty garbage. I'd expect San Antonio's is probably in better condition, considering how relatively renowned it is

[@jacobshallenberger5213]

I laughed out loud when you said “secret tunnels” because that’s one thing my city is KNOWN for, because you can actually get down in them, and the city turned some of them into a tourist trap. Welcome to oklahoma

[@infamoussphere7228]

I'm surprised he didn't mention that some of those tunnels are literally bomb shelters - either for WW2 or for nuclear bombs. Helsinki has a big network specifically for nuclear warfare. On the other hand I think Switzerland's nuclear bomb shelters that are mandated to be in every building are a specific Swiss thing.

[@anthonygillette]

I literally know two things about Oklahoma, native genocide and that my grandfather-in-law has had 4 cows killed by local teens in the past year (they’re pretty sure it’s racially motivated) So now I know three things

[@illogicalgarage8641]

@@infamoussphere7228 wow identical to literally every place, woah.

[@jagoandlitefoot]

the "revitalized waterfront" trope is very much true of DC, haha. there was a very funny post in the r/washingtondc subreddit recently from a teenager whose parents were scared of letting them go to the wharf for a concert because they were concerned it might be a dangerous area - the comments were mostly full of people saying "the most dangerous people you have to watch out for at the wharf are the ones who'll charge you too much for a burger"

[@statesecretmusic]

Haha, immediately thought of The Wharf and Navy Yard in general when he mentioned complaining about revitalized waterfronts

[@mrentity2210]

On point 1 (transit maps) - they all look like that because of one man who re-designed the London Tube map on his own time. You can go watch a fairly recent Jay Foreman video about it (two, actually). Before that guy they were a bit all over the place, and most of the modern conventions didn't exist. New York continues to insist on having a weird one, so they might be best-placed to have a t-pillow of it.

[@funfunfun275]

"The lack of public transit" is also a massive trope despite almost all transit systems around the world not being used by the people who claimed they'd use it.,

[@lovellderrick]

You think that people around the world don't use public transport? I've spent too many hours wedged under someone's arm on an overcrowded train to take that statement seriously. This is a very confusing comment. Try visiting any city (outside of North America) and reassess your comment.

[@erraticonteuse]

I spent years trying to figure out if LA's subway system was real or an ironic joke locals would make about LA. I have now ridden on LA's subway and judge it to be fairly average.

[@funfunfun275]

@@lovellderrick I'm talking about North America and yeah once you get out of the really bad cities like New York or Toronto you get a lot of cities where the major issue is always "public transportation" when in a city like Calgary we have public transport but don't need any more than we have since it is still primarily a driving city.

[@TBH_Inc]

3:30 don’t forget underground bomb shelters! Some cities have a network of shelters, typically dating back to the Cold War. NYC reportedly only started removing signs labeling them in 2017. Also common in Europe and Korea, likely other places as well.

[@TheAlexSchmidt]

I've seen the "Fallout Shelter" signs although being pedantic those aren't supposed to protect you from bombs, just any fallout which comes downwind from them.

[@suspicioususer]

Another one would be local music venues. I remember trying to buy tickets for a show at The Fillmore only to see there were other venues also called The Fillmore all over the country. I also noticed this when "House of Blues" keep popping up in different cities on tour dates and tour T-shirts

[@ShaqPlaque]

Also "The Orpheum" or "The [City Name] Performing Arts Center" (abbreviated to _PAC)

[@Pencilman246]

The original Fillmore, Fillmore West and Fillmore East certainly were unique iconic venues but apparently Live Nation has diluted the brand.

[@pansexualdickhaver6878]

@@ShaqPlaque yup here in Nashville we have Tpac. Tennessee performance arts center lol

[@pansexualdickhaver6878]

@Oak Island Pictures as someone who use to be a promoter, I worked with live nation quite a bit and I just want to say FUCK LN lol they’re one of the greediest companies I’ve ever seen. They fuck over artists and venue owners on the daily. They don’t really *own* the venues necessarily but they have contracts with artists labels and venue owners that basically monopolize the promotion business.

[@jmdibonaventuro]

Crystal city outside of DC is a good example of the tunnel myth. While DC itself has sizable amounts of tunnels for things like the Metro, Smithsonian, and Utilities, Crystal City has an entire underground plaza essentially. Most of Crystal was built in the 1960s as a Suit-and-Tie Defense Contractor Area, and many of the buildings connect to an underground shopping center and parking lots with shops catering to the Business Professional residents of the area. It’s a really cool thing to walk through, and I highly recommend it if you’re in DC and have the time.

[@LazyCat010]

Grew up in Alexandria. Crystal City always seemed futuristic in that retro-future style that still held some sway in the 70s

[@kahlil9925]

This is an interesting video because when I went to Vancouver once a decade ago I loved it in part because it reminded me of where I was from (Los Angeles). However, there are so many things in this video LA doesn't claim - good water, good transit system, never seen those jesus statues or doughboy statue, etc.

[@ilovesecondhandsmoke]

Reading through other comments, here’s a couple more we don't claim: a “waterfront” (the LA river lol) which is largely ignored compared to other major cities, a botanical garden (the Arboretum and the Huntington are not in the city of LA), and murals because they never last and are always tagged over… but hey, our weather is almost always great. A couple of ubiquitous things to add, though: FOOD HALLS (not to be confused with food courts) and citywide bike share systems! They are everywhere.

[@ibloedel]

how about that one building with really eccentric architecture. It seems every city has their own "Weird building that sticks out like a sore thumb but everyone loves and is on all of the city postcards and merchandise" you know, that one.

[@rogerknights857]

Seattle has an antique triangular building just south of historic Pioneer square that may have been owned by Trump’s grandpa. It was once a “house of joy,” and is pointed out to tourists as such, but nevertheless is not celebrated on postcards, etc.

[@alexreid1173]

Some things I’m fairly certain are largely unique to where I grew up: 1. A ridiculous number of flying pig statues 2. Putting a weird chili that contains chocolate, cinnamon, and allspice on hot dogs and spaghetti 3. Streetcars that nobody would ride until they made it free 4. The children’s museum is in an old train station for some reason?? 5. Jerry Springer, our former mayor, was a major proponent of turning the train station into a museum… 6. Our version of the Nutcracker ballet has a 6’4 guy dressed as a hippo with a pink tutu

[@siahsargus2013]

Repurposed old train stations are common unfortunately. I hate that they are common. Only half of the beauty of a train station is held within the architecture

[@jmac356]

Where did you grow up?

[@PASH3227]

Chili shows me you're from Cincinnati! Please tell me I'm wrong.

[@SrirachaChugChallenge747-jq7by]

Cincinnati. I am also from Ohio, but i live in the state capital

[@alexreid1173]

@@SrirachaChugChallenge747-jq7by Yup. I also live in Columbus now! But grew up in Cincy.

[@CathodeRayKobold]

The local food rivalry. Pat's vs Geno's, Popeyes vs. Church's, Nathan's vs. Feltman's, Any of several dozen deep dish places in Chicago--you name it. Every city has a pair of these or more, and they're often right across the street from each other.

[@bob_._.]

LOL, Popeye's vs Church's isn't a local rivalry for worst fried chicken; they're national chains.

[@karlshorstzwei]

In the Valley of the Sun, it's Sonoran hotdogs.

[@rachaelgomia9907]

Cincinnati: Skyline or Gold Star (or other non-franchise chili restaurant.)

[@ianflood1]

And the sad (or great if you’re a local) thing is that in almost every case both are overhyped, way too expensive, and not as good as smaller places nearby.

[@fixpacifica]

I read somewhere that only tourists go to Pat's and Geno's in Philadelphia.

[@2f_2c]

The most defining thing about my city is that it used to be a war zone but it's still not the most unique because every other city around us has been warzones at around the same time, as it turns out.

[@natowaveenjoyer9862]

Is it Ulster, by chance?

[@bookisland6515]

i feel like the metro map is just a nice memento of a city you live in or visited. when u put the picture of the pillow with the dc metro lines on it i immediately recognized it because i’m familiar with it, i feel like thats the special part of it! not about the design features

[@SupaKoopaTroopa64]

I've never lived in a city with any of these, except the local weirdo. To me, many of these do seem unique. Also, I'd add Japanese friendship gardens to this list.

[@TheMysteryDriver]

Really? Even small cities/large towns have a lot of these things, of course not all.

[@vidcas1711]

I live in a small Midwestern city, and I wish we had a Japanese friendship garden. Or even just an indoor conservatory. We do have a regular botanical garden, so there’s at least that.

[@mat9739]

@@TheMysteryDriver Quebec city only have a lot of Irish pub, and it is pretty much all.

[@evanmccarthy9500]

Bridges are one thing that should be celebrated as unique. Due to unique geology, engineering and geographic concerns when building them. In my opinion obviously

[@dangehret1349]

There *are* cool things that make certain cities unique. For example, New York may not be unique for having the cleanest water per se, but it has one of the most interesting public water transportation systems in the world. It's not as catchy, but there are some hidden gems that keep the world interesting. Love the video JJ, keep it up!

[@manzell]

How about the opposite: Things we thought were normal throughout the country but it turns out are distinct - for eg, I grew up in Seattle and assumed that "Teriyaki Joints" were absolutely everywhere in every city.

[@m2pt5]

I don't know about everywhere, but every mall I've been to near me has a teriyaki place called either Sakkio or Sarku. (A quick google tells me Sarku is the parent company, and they are the leader in Japanese quick service restaurants in the US.)

[@manzell]

@@m2pt5 I only see 1 outside of Seattle? In any case, Japanese teriyaki is an entirely different dish, the teriyaki I'm taking about have Korean roots.

[@LucasS6]

Chicago with hot dog places, most of which the costumers don't even know the name of. Same with Honolulu and poke places.

[@fixpacifica]

@@manzell Ha, now that I think of it, when I lived in Seattle (actually Bellevue) in the '80s, I always would go to a teriyaki place on my way home from work to get something for dinner. Yeah, I haven't noticed those elsewhere. I was too unsophisticated to notice whether it was Japanese or Korean teriyaki.

[@BVoshol]

It's super common now, but I thought everywhere had square pizza. Turns out that is Detroit style pizza that was actually pretty local until the late 2000's

[@OptimusPhillip]

It's funny, just the other day I watched a video by Jay Foreman detailing how pretty much every public transit map nowadays is a direct copy of the London Underground map.

[@stevenc.6502]

The "beloved local weirdo" peaked with Emperor Norton of San Francisco and has declined since.

[@sandorfarkas2364]

I also grew up with the “cleanest water” myth. While I realized it was a myth pretty quickly after moving out, it was still hilarious to hear how proud the Viennese are of their water. They will go to great lengths to related stories about Emperor Franz Josef or Sisi loving the Vienna tap water. Some will even bring the infamous mayor Karl Lueger into the conversation. How was the tap water? It tasted quite metallic.

[@XEveryoneLovesEmilyX]

I'm Austrian and my people loves to make a "speacialty" out of EVERYTHING. A lot of it is marketing and doesn't reflect what Austrians think about this stuff in general. There are museums about an endless amount of "special, meaningful, important stuff" along with a matching kind of chocolate praline or pastry (Mozartkugel, Salzburger Nockerl etc...). Never heard about Viennese water tho....in my mind the water thing was reserved to one of the many bath towns. That being said i love our tap water, it does taste a lot like minerals, other water tastes boring to me now😂

[@prion42]

Maybe it tastes metallic now because Austria got rid of the emperor.

[@talos_the_automaton2329]

It’s interesting, because Atlanta is near the Chattahoochee river, and it is not really sentimentalized in the city’s identity. It is a great recreation area that is well preserved, but even the main bridges that go over it we just call the I-75 bridge or the I-285 bridge. I guess part of it is because the river is not navigable by most ships until beyond Columbus (100 miles south).

[@MegaBrokenstar]

The river one is weird to me. I grew up in Chicago, and I actually had the opposite experience. I assumed every city of remotely decent size had robust public transit, at least one team in every pro sports league, and most certainly a large and defining body of water. Even as a young teenager, one of my first questions when we moved to the city I’ve lived in since was “what’s the body of water there?”. I wanted to know what the waterfront scene was like here.

[@karpi470]

While the statues and markers aren't all the same, WWI memorials are also pretty common in German cities.

[@jazzy4830]

Most European countries have lots and lots of war memorials, it’s just notably WW1 in Germany because they know they can’t really justify memorialising their role in the sequel😅.

[@SirBenjiful]

The World Wars scarred most European countries much more severely than the USA, so it makes sense that they would have more meaningful monuments and a generally stronger cultural memory of it. WWI deaths: Germany: ~2.5 million, ~4% of the population USA: ~120,000, ~0.1% of the population WWII deaths: Germany: ~5.7 million, 8.2% of the population USA: ~429,000, ~0.3% of the population

[@skirata3144]

@@jazzy4830 I'd say there are a lot more WWII memorials than WWI memorials in Germany from my experience living here. It's usually seen as very important to memorialize and remember what happened during those years, although there are sadly quite a few bastards who'd wish to forget and deny.

[@uzizho7829]

One thing I'd like to point out about the water thing is that, as long as a source of water isn't too bad, you can pretty much innoculate yourself against mid-quality water. Much in the same way that taking trace amounts of poison can eventually allow you to develop an immunity to the real deal, you can eventually develop an immunity to bad-ish quality water by consuming trace amounts of the microbes in said water over a long enough period of time. Your body can get so effective at at dealing with those specific microbes from that specific water source, in fact, that drinking higher quality water than you are used to can make you sick. While the higher quality water will have less microbes in it all together, they will be different strains of microbes than your body is used. Your body, expecting to have to combat a certain kind of germ its already become hyper-competent at fighting and instead recieving an entirely different kind of germ, will overreact in trying to deal with the situation. Usually by giving you the runs, so you can expel the unexpected microbes as quickly as possible. This is probably where the myth of "my city has the best water" comes. Because after a certain minimum level of quality is reached, good water starts to be "whatever you're used to" rather than "what's the objective best".

[@babydactyl]

If there's one thing I can hold onto that's unique about my hometown, it's the SkyMart in Morristown, Tennessee. It's stated that only one other place in the world has something like it, and it's in Germany. The SkyMart is essentially an overhead sidewalk area to our downtown, and even though there's not many storefronts up top (though there very well could be if the right walkable infrastructure was built around it and created demand for it) it still offers a really nice area to walk and enjoy. So many graduation and prom photos are taken there, it's taken as cliché around Morristown.

[@azrr8]

There are many other midsize cities that put in “skywalk” networks in the 1960s-1970s. Spokane, WA comes to mind.

[@babydactyl]

@@azrr8 where at? is it still up?

[@youtubehandlesareridiculous]

Another award-winning video! In my opinion, I always interpreted the city subway map/river map as a a common format to just display your city. Kind of like how you can get souvenir shirts with the name of the city and flags. Some cities might advertise there rivers in a unique way, like here in Chicago we joke about it being so polluted the army corps of engineers had to reverse it in the early 1900s or how we dye it for St. Patrick's day. Maybe I'm too sheltered about what other cities think of themselves. Oh and we also totally relate to the subway thing, the El is very famous (locally at least).

[@montanawalker8819]

To be fair, the El was fairly historical and was also pretty unique at the time it was built in the US

[@ErikNilsen1337]

I worked for a small plumbing company in Orange County, CA, for nearly a year. Here it's the opposite: everyone complains about how uniquely hard their city's water is. (I would test the water myself. Some cities' water had hardness levels of 18 grains, which is indeed very hard.) We got a lot of business installing water softeners.

[@JeanieD]

Sounds like a lot of Florida. RO systems sell like crazy here. A lot of smaller towns & unincorporated parts of counties have no public water/sewer system, and the well water we have is atrocious to drink and turns everything rusty.

[@dogvom]

10:20 I'm from Regina, a more or less flat city with no natural advantages. It's built on a muddy ditch called Wascana Creek, with an average depth of 16 ft. The creek is the site of the Albert Street bridge, the longest bridge (840 ft) built over the shortest span of water (3 ft) in the world. The territorial (and later provincial) capital should have been at Qu'Appelle, a charming town in the scenic Qu'Appelle River valley, where people ski in the winter. The only reason Regina got the nod was that Edgar Dewdney, the Lt-Governor of the Territories, owned the land. Because there were no native trees, every tree in Regina had to be hand-planted. The grounds of the Legislature (the largest provincial or state legislative building in the British Empire) were beautifully landscaped, and the part of Wascana Creek it was next to was dredged wider and deeper to form Wascana Lake, which is really more like a large pond. It looks nice, though. As for Regina's water, in the summer it smells like cabbage and tastes vaguely like broccoli, mostly because of the algae bloom in Buffalo Pound Lake, where we pipe it in from. The algae also produce trihalomethanes, which are not really good for you. I am always amazed at how wonderful and sweet other places' water tastes compares to ours.

[@SamueltehG33k]

"Drink the tap water anywhere on this continent you'll be fine." - JJ MEXICO: O_o

[@teatowel11]

Flint

[@rebootmyth8753]

I know J.J.'s talking about US and Canadian cities - I thought I'd compare this to my own in Singapore... :) - Public Transit Maps - I think most of the maps take inspiration from the London Underground (KZbinr Jay Foreman covered this). One notable thing about Singapore's system map was that it was recently re-done to be more *aesthetically pleasing* by making one of the lines (called the Circle Line) actually circular. - Tunnels - well Singapore's kind of young so there's no history of massive tunnel systems. But we're certainly building many underground facilities. There ARE tunnel tours of some of the old ones we did / do have, though - so that part's pretty spot on. - Pizza and Bubble Tea - these are foreign fads so we don't expect it to be specific to the city. One reversal is that the McDonald's in Singapore is actually quite popular for selling new burgers from time to time. (KZbinr Mike Chen covers this) - Insta-Pubs - crap-on-the-wall restaurants - they're always marketed as foreign here... - Hobo Jesus Statues - thankfully no - can you imagine how spooky these would look to passers-by at night?! - Local Weirdo - I'm sure if they're given more attention, every city will have some? Sky-High Rent though... yup! - Water quality - I don't think Singapore ever claimed ours taste better. We process much of ours from raw water from our neighbours up north. Compared to many neighbouring cities, we do find it so much more convenient that our tap water is potable. - Cities on rivers/coasts - Yup. Majority of cities are located on coasts and rivers because that's where the commerce is, traditionally. All the more so for Singapore. - Waterfront - Pretty much; we reinvigorated our river-front a while back and it continues to be a place to send the spenders and tourists. - Dough-boy Statues - Singapore was a British Crown Colony during WWI, so instead we had a Cenotaph commemorating the event, which Singapore wasn't sending our boys to. The losses from WW2 was more significant for my city.

[@alexhaowenwong6122]

One thing Singapore has that no other city does: its own military

[@dandadamo4299]

My grandfather is one of those old guys who designed a subway map. NYC in 1964, it's a good story. His claim to fame for his map was that previously the map had been color coded by which company ran the train, not by which line you were taking.

[@Rynosaur94]

This actually makes me appreciate the city I am from, New Orleans, even more, as very few of these apply to it, and I feel it actually is quite unique.

[@8-bitnicolai5]

I was actually thinking of New Orleans as a big exception when I was watching this. Almost every city has street musicians, but nowhere near as many, and almost all of them are actually incredible let alone decent, and they all have their specific style of jazz that they play (some traditional, some evolutionary). And that's just one thing.

[@LiveFreeOrDieDH]

Of all places that I have been to, NOLA is probably the #1 place I want to visit again!

[@bjs301]

Yeah, a few towns really are unique, and NOLA is one of them.

[@Anubisdream1]

You are absolutely right. I’ve always considered NOLA a treasure that must be preserved because it truly is one of the few truly unique places in America. Of all the places in America I’ve travelled to it has the most unique qualities of any of them.

[@vitaminluke5597]

Υοu know уοu're from [my city] when a bad driver cuts уοu off while уοu're on the way to waterfront, but then [normal weather phenomenon] happens! Only in [my city]!

[@nate_storm]

Or the classic “The weather in [insert city, state, or region] is so bipolar!”

[@vitaminluke5597]

@@nate_storm Funny enough, the city I live in (in SoCal) prides itself for consistently sunny weather. Then again, so does every SoCal city.

[@benf340]

Now I’d love to see a video about some cities with genuinely unique things

[@jacobluna305]

The Bridge at 11:47 going over the Ohio River in Cincinnati which is shown in this video is very much loved here. It was the first bridge built in the city and the engineer designed the Brooklyn Bridge. It is the most beautiful in the entire city too.

[@claudiobeachball]

Lol I thought that bridge looked mighty familiar, as a Cincinnatian.

[@sheeksquatch]

Yeah the bridge is nice but the chilli is why I go to Cincinnati.

[@jacobluna305]

@@sheeksquatch yeah that makes Cincinnati unique lol

[@dancledan]

I've had friends visit from big cities who want to see what Cincy has to offer, so I take them downtown to the Banks or Newport. We have a decent time, but they usually remark on how tiny it is and how they have dozens of the same things that Cincy has, followed by "you should come to NYC/Chicago/etc. and see how many options we have!" I'm never really sure how to respond, since I have been to their cities before and have never really felt like the extra options really added much. At the end of the day, hanging out with friends at a bar is more about hanging out with friends and less about having options on which bar to be at.

[@cardenova]

The cleanest water thing is actually the one thing that did got me. I was actually very offended and honestly shocked when a new yorker refused to drink water from a water fountain in our building saying “Manhattan has safe water but not NJ” 😂 Glad to know we’re all told we have the “cleanest water”

[@deloop]

Ah but it's kind of true. For instance, Hoboken is just across the water from NYC but has notoriously bad water due to a subpar water utility, which has broken and requires locals to boil their water repeatedly. I think this points to what others are saying that the gross water is as much of a trooe as the clean water. I wonder though if any cities or towns are known for mediocre or ok water?

[@cardenova]

@@deloop well my point isn’t that my water is gross I’m sure it very well it is. My point is that I was TOLD growing up that we had one of the cleanest waters in the world lol. That’s why I was shocked. As for Hoboken, I’ve never heard of their issues but I wouldn’t doubt it.

[@infamoussphere7228]

in Australia we aren't told that the water isn't clean, it's more that some places have worse tasting tap water than others. Adelaide has very hard water as it's down the bottom of a river system and so it can damage your clothes and apparently doesn't taste very good, although it's completely safe to drink. Safe isn't the same as "tastes nice", there's some water that's safe but tastes very chemically because of how it's been purified.

[@FukaiKokoro]

My area gets it water from glaciers on Mt Shasta as I'm aware. It's the same water that is used in crystal geyser bottled water.

[@teucer915]

My fairly small city, on a river, prides itself as the "Hill City" because downtown is surrounded by seven hills. We talk about "the seven hills" sometimes. Most neighborhoods in town are named after what hill they're on. Except the original city limits only included five hills, and when they expanded to the modern boundaries they added more than two others. (I live in Fort Hill, for instance, which is not among the canonical seven.) It turns out that in hilly areas, claiming to have exactly seven of them is remarkably common, and comes from old-timey civic fathers wanting to compare themselves to Rome.

[@sufikabir8405]

You should maybe try doing an international or continent/region specific version too now that you've covered North America. Something like European city centers or markets not just in Europe but in countries colonized by Europeans as well and the similarity reflected on a global scale.

[@idnwiw]

Agreed, but the only thing that is different in Europe from the here presented things is that we all have the "best tasting" tab water - as cleanliness is a given nobody would brag about

[@mightnotmagic]

The water thing is half true. It's recommended not to drink tap water when traveling because while the water is clean, it can have bacteria in it your body isn't used to. So you can easily get sick from it. It's still just as clean as any other water but different bacteria.

[@TheKraken5360]

Its interesting to hear you roll your eyes at transit maps. This video comes on the heels of a video by Jay Foreman in which he expresses his great interest and fascination with transit maps. Its just funny to hear two KZbinrs that I follow express two very different opinions on such an obscure subject.

[@KapustaCuber]

Re: Irish pubs- being from Boston, we have lots of them and also attribute to them to our immigrant community. I went to Copenhagen in 2017, and to my surprise the Irish pub in their airport was Boston-themed. The furthest I’d ever been from home, and I was staring at a wall of Tom Brady memorabilia and “the departed” stills, etc. It was a completely different level of surreal inauthentic restaurant for me.

[@brandonking1737]

Just a few thoughts on these: Transit maps aren't popular because the MAP design is unique. They're popular because the SYSTEM design is unique. A transit system is highly dependent on the geography of the city, and therefore becomes a great way to represent the city as a whole since it both has a practical and aesthetic purpose. Particularly if the city has a dense network with lots of lines and a large ridership, the maps represent a unique representation of an important system used daily by residents and visitors. I think waterfronts are liked not because they're unique, but because it's just aesthetically nicer to be by a body of water. People like water, so to see a waterfront with dilapidated businesses or a backed up highway seems like a waste of superior land. And I don't live by an ocean so I would like to be near it when I visit a place that is built by the ocean. And personally I love iconic bridges. There's one in Frankfurt, one in Luxembourg, and like 3 in Rotterdam that I explicitly went out of my way to visit and see since they were pretty unique and really nice. But I'm also a massive civil engineering and city planning nerd so I probably care about these sort of things than the average person.

[@williamstewart3774]

i think transit maps are cool, and cities with good public transportation should flaunt it. my city has a pathetic excuse for public transit and should be made to feel bad about it

[@Silrielmavi]

I had the opposite experience with water in my town growing up in California, we were constantly hearing about how the water was contaminated(again) and to bring water bottles to school instead of drinking from the water fountains.

[@geealion]

Was gonna say! I think in California the water thing really is the opposite, since our water situation and politics are so dire here

[@LNER4771]

On the subject of Doughboy statues, a lot of American towns that played a sizable role in the American Civil War tend to have statues erected commemorating their soldiers. A lot of these were just customizable concrete statues that organizations like the Grand Army of the Republic would raise money and order to set up in the local park or cemetery. My home town even has a concrete Abraham Lincoln statue situated in the GAR section of the cemetery.

[@MasterGeekMX]

Even here in Mexico City we have our own "irish pub". Paddy O'Horan near Plaza Universidad is my favourite. But one thing I can say for sure is that our public transport system graphic design is unique because each station has a little icon representing the place and it uses a custom font designed by canadian designer Lance Wyman. We still use the colorfull lines tho.

[@whitefoxtoast1830]

Was gonna say the same thing, I'm also from Mexico City and I'm 99% sure no other cities have a public transport system with icons for each station! Ps: They were created back in the 60's, most of the population was illiterate back then, so giving each station a little icon was a means of making the subway system accessible to them

[@MasterGeekMX]

@@whitefoxtoast1830 Hey! What part of the city? I'm from north-east Coyoacán, currently living in southern Iztapalapa

[@PizzaManager101]

@@whitefoxtoast1830 Yknow i never thought about that aspect of it, super interesting! And kinda showcases how amazing the economic development that’s happened is, especially in regards to education.

[@headshot8888]

I'm sure there are Mexican restaurants in Ireland.

[@EriniusT]

I never knew the fonts were unique, that's cool

[@jaretttheberge4279]

Unless your river caught fire, Cleveland is the only city allow to brag about their river.

[@Miipmiip]

I have to add castles , at least in Europe. Everywhere I've been there's been at least one castle in the major / famous cities and they're all praised as one of a kind and used as a source of tourism souvenirs etc.

[@KtT-sn8cy]

A lot of the famous ‘castles’ in European countries aren’t even genuine castles, like there are just very fancy houses like Neuschwanstein castle (Germanys most famous ‘castle’) which was built in the 19th century