Why Are These Useless Things In Our City?
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- čas přidán 19. 06. 2024
- There are many useless things in any city - here's the Prague collection. What's not useless?
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0:00 What's Useless?
0:35 City Park - Ruined
1:01 Traffic Sign
1:36 Museum of Tourism
2:12 Traffic Barrier
2:41 Bench With(out) View
3:06 Sponsor of Video
4:03 Fountain
4:43 Public Toilet
5:37 City Hall's QR Code
6:04 Speed Bumps
6:50 Remove Graffiti App
7:43 ATMs
8:37 Lochness Monster
9:23 What About Your City?
Thank you for your support!
Janek Rubeš & Honza Mikulka, Prague based journalists
#HonestGuide
Honestly that sign not to enter the walk way makes sense when you see the path is directly connected to where cars travel, not to mention the passage way has a reasonable width that could potentially confuse someone. It may not be common, but certainly plausible.
There are also scooters and motors. They are going to fit in the walk way perfectly.
We do not only have cars on the streets.
@@mrShot94 not too mention there are a multitude of small European cars built with narrow roads in mind. 💁
Also just generally...someone would definitely try it. At least that way when they get stuck or caught for damaging something, they can't claim they didn't know they weren't supposed to drive through there.
@@noahgonzalez5589 my Fiat 500C wants to visit.
Yes when I saw that car there I was thinking the same lol
1:18
It's not useless, it's in the extention of a street, and people with motorbikes (or very small cars) would definitely try it.
Additionally it's there to be able to charge the idiots that try with something. Otherwise the city couldn't even do something about them, since they could just say "well there was no way I could see it's not allowed, there's no sign!"
One time in my city one lady tried to enter to the subway with her car by the stairs. She thought it was an entry to a underground parking lot. So, yes, people can be that stupid.
@@vaderjohnson1525 Warsaw?
@@wiewioraa8 nope. Santiago, Chile
@@vaderjohnson1525 there was a woman in Warsaw who did same😂
Hi! I'm a city planner. I just want to say that benches are not only there for people to enjoy the view. Instead, benches are scattered around to give people with disabilities and elderly people places to sit and rest. So the benches are not useless :)
Nobody's saying the benches themselves are useless, but the exact location and position they're in are.
They could still be placed in a way where they don't immediately face a wall for instance.
That's just bad planning at that point.
Edit: If you're a city planner and actually defending such stupid things like benches facing walls because "elderly people can still sit and rest on them", then I'd kindly ask you to switch your mindset or if that's not possible, your career.
Or for tired or hungry tourists and more generally, for people tired of doing exercise or looking for a spot to read something.
In South Australia near where I live there is an intersection with traffic lights on a major highway that leads directly into a dead end followed by a wheat field where a suburban development was supposed to take place. Right beyond that is a series of 'sculptures' that cost the council many thousands of dollars and were built with some high minded concept but in reality it's a row of rusty scrap metal. Further on in Gawler they just tore down a public toilet that had a beautiful historic tile mosaic on it. They tore down the toilets but left the portion that contained the mosaic, then REMOVED THE MOSAIC and put a photo of the mosiac in its place. Then there is the old lady who wants to demolish her crumbling old house but cannot as the small stone fence out front has 'heritage status' and cannot be removed to let the machines in despite the fact that the lady still has spare supplies left over from the construction and can rebuild it in it's original condition so we have a probably soon to be uninhabitable house on our main street for no reason.
6:05 i would guess the speed bumps are pre-terrorism and the vases are post-terrorism with the pedestrian zone being implemented after that, but just a guess, no concrete information. (see like the anti vehicle barrier... concrete.... sorry)
They can remove the bumps then
@@vikibelanova5148 why would they? It doesn’t hurt anyone and they’d have to spend money to do it. Just leave it there and forget about it lol
@@vikibelanova5148, they could also remove the bad kidney during a kidney transplant surgery then.
Man, that BR graffiti *has* been cleaned. There's a limit to how much you can do without damaging the stone and making it look even worse
The point is that app is a marketing bullshit by Prague councillors. Locals keep reporting graffiti all the time. Nothing gets ever cleaned.
@@Darwinek Cool, but the point is lost when the graffiti in the video has, in fact, been cleaned
Prague is a city, not a museum. Stones wear out. Then you replace them. That way you keep the craftsmen in business who can keep the city alive.
@@nicbrownable 🤦♂
@@Darwinek So, I installed the app after it was in this video, and I have reported 6 pieces of graffiti in the last 8 days.
Every single one has been dealt with within 1 working day.
I'd snap a picture of the most useless thing in our city however I don't think the city council would appreciate their photo being shown across the world.
So that's the most pointless YT comment ever.
I think the benches without a view are a lot more useful than some people working in the city hall ...
1:13 *NO,* it is *NOT!!!* It's for all vehicles!
And yes, I totally see myself riding my motorcycle thru this passage. If not for this sigh, _of course..._
Fun fact, benches are made not for "views" but for rest. And I did rest on that very same bench you showed, it's fullfilled its purpose quite well.
Re: The last one (aka The Loch Ness Monster) the black cable with the blue stripe is called "Blue Line" and is used for supplying water. (Obviously other utilities may also have been provided)
Been a while I haven’t watch your channel. And today it gives me every reason again to save up as much, once this bloody pandemic is over, I must make that trip to Prague!
Same, man
Is there a pandemic? My gosh, where, how many people died?
I love you guys, I really do. But, do you know what's useless? That you keep saying cash is not needed in the city. I have lived here for nearly two years, so have thoroughly explored, and as soon as one goes out of the tourist area, one will find many, many places which accept cash only... What''s ironic, is that those places are usually far, far away from any ATM 😂
"...those places are usually far, far away from any ATM" So those ATMs are useless anyway :D
Concerning the uselessness of ATMs: is it worthwhile to have some small change, for instance for public toilets or the occasional cup of coffee (which as a bonus gives access to toilets in bars)? At home, I only use cash, and in most countries, most things may be bought using cards. However, I find I tend to use cash for some very small purchases such as a cup of espresso. For countries whose currency is the euro, this is no problem, as I always keep a stash of euros. For other currencies used more rarely, it would be best if cash was totally unnecessary. I'm thinking of countries like the Czech Republic, Hungary and Croatia (although the latter switches to euro next year).
For the curious: The QR code goes to a website with a video of someone's arm with the QR code on it, which they then scan and are sent to a rickroll. The site then redirects you to a rickroll.
Did i ever mention that, THIS IS THE BEST CHANNEL!
Agreed
Yes
I don't have very many useless things in my city, but in Canberra, Australia we have a useless Prime Minister that abandons his country during the biggest bushfire in recent history, refused to assist the public for over 8 months during the pandemic, tried making himself look like a family man by having his wife interviewed instead of him, buying nuclear submarines that will be a plague when it comes to retiring them in the future, upsetting the French (more so than usual, I know, it's easy to upset them but... meh) making it a terrorist act to bully because he kept being bullied online by the people that he is serving, stripping us of our freedoms...
Yes, leaving the country while it burns is enough for me to want him gone but to double down on gas power plants and usage of gas when it's the most expensive that it's ever been and we are running out is... ugh.. he's basically a problem for national security.
5:08 You didn't wait 15 minutes... or the people walking across the street froze in time.
🤣🤣🤣🤣. Hawkeyes……
Back to the future
They did a lap around the block.
He once mentioned this in a Czech interview. The WC isn't working for months even years..
Love just how positive Janek sounds even when talking about useless things😊😂👏
08:00 Not true, most hostels only accept cash, and every transaction with your card costs a small fee, while a single withdrawal from a normal ATM will cost €2 at most.
also doctors and tattoo artists etc.
01:20 Yes, can imagine someone driving through that place. Can even imagine a car/ motorbike parked there. The "high cultural" standards of the business owners in the historical Prague center are notorious.
Yes!!! A lot of the things on this video aren't useless
That road sign is for all vehicles as well, so it makes sense when you think about smaller ones like bicycles or motorbikes
I've reconstructed the QR Code using screenshot from 5:48 and it's just a RickRoll
Hey Jan, caught you off guard Friday at the bottom of Prague Castle stairs. 😂
Been watching your videos for years now. Keep up the great work.
9:31 i don't have insta so i just mention a few things which is useless in my town, Budapest:
1. new handball arena. Hungary hosted handball WC 2022. we fell out during the group stage, the WC is over and this gigantic arena stands there empty. it can only be use for handball games and nothing else.
2. athletic arena under construction. Bp. gonna host an ahtletic world cup so there has to be purpose built stadium. I take a bet that it going to be as useless as the formentioned handball arena after the athletic WC. and also it going to block the smogy air to leave the city over the Danube.
3. house of destinies (sorsok háza). it has been built for years now, but hasn't been open. just standing there. no visitors. nothing.
4. the whale (bálna) shoping center. there's very few shops inside. no one really goes there, most of the places for stores are empty and never been rented out
I was just about to write a very similar list to yours! But wanted to also include the new MOL tower (in the era of home office we build an office complex on the sandy river bank of all places), + all stadiums for NB2-3 teams with a capacity in the thousands while the actual number of supporters visiting these matches barely reach a couple hundred. And they are ugly as hell...
Found this a real dis-honest item!!! 4:54 shows the time 1311 at 4:58 the time shows 1316 and "15 minutes later" at 5:26 the time shows 1318. Great show and keep up the good work!
Are you saying that those 4 people on the left did not just freeze during 15 minutes before crossing the street? 😮
The Graffitis in Prague are not mostly done by tourists... For sure a lot but Prague have. a (for the size of the city) very big and active local Graffiti scene.
The cost of removing the hardware from past advertising on poles is one of the reasons they are there. Not useless. Not wasting city funds on removal is functional. And unfortunately there are stupid people driving cars. The post that raise will rise during a robbery to keep pedestrians safe from fleeing cars. I have witnessed this. Do your homework.
As a currency collector, What if you need Czech crowns as a souvenir? ATMs arent that useless after all then 😂
1:08 That tunnel cat fit so many smart cars and motorcycles so it kinda makes sense
To be fair on that little park. If the 'developer' opens it up and someone slips, he will have to have insurance... He will have to maintain it as well.
Maybe get the council to work with him (and secure him against public liability Insurance etc), and open it up...?
Every time I watch this channel, it triggered my desire to return to Prague --for a longer stay next time (I hope it's possible)🥰
I am visiting Praha this week for my honeymoon. This destination chosen 100% because of yall. Thank you so much. I saw the strange bundle. My wife and I both were puzzled about what that was. As far as useless things. In North Carolina we have a tunnel through the mountains that leads to no where
Have fun on your honeymoon man! How long you in Prague?!
@@jezzaRTW 10 days. We sandwiched it between 3 days in both Rome and Budapest. Thank you so much for the well wishes
You guys make such good content !! I love your videos . Hope you bring back the places for great beer video back on the channel 😃✌🏼
To be fair, the euronet atms aren't useless to locals. After covid hit, many places that accepted card now only accept cash (*cough* tax evasion purposes *cough*). And if your Czech bank doesn't charge you for withdrawing from other banks you withdraw money without fees. Only downside is they give you multiples of 1000 only
Aaaah finally the answer to the last thing ! Our offices are next to it and it puzzled everyone in the office !
Awesome vidéo btw
A city car, like a Fiat 500 could try to fit through that pedestrian walkway, especially since it is flanks by streets. Sign = necessary.
The most useless thing in our city would be the politicians. They've been around for more than 2 years and serve almost no purpose. Worst thing is that it's not easy to dispose of them. They just keep coming back. Help?
7:43 well, paying with card would be a problem soon in Prague. With ending EET some the restaurants went to "cash-only" again. Maybe the tourists won't be affected by this, but the government may will (tax frauds, cuts, etc.). I would be extra careful with those "tourists restaurants".
Maybe, Janek and Honza, could you please take a look on this matter? I believe there are lot of honest restaurants in Prague, but you know :) thx
EET is gonna end ? Damn, that's a good news for dishonest places, and less for the people living there as it means less taxes invested back in the city :(
We have a traffic lights that always stay red 24/7 on a right turn only street, where you are allowed to ignore the red traffic light if you want to turn right.
Also there's one traffic light that stays 24/7 green, doesn't even turn red for pedestrian, because there are none, but i forgott where it was and if it is still there. 2013 it was afaik and for over 20 years.
In The Hague, A street where cyclists gets sandwiched between Tram rails and parked cars.
We also have near a hospital a pole that elevates and destroys cars. People don't read warning signs on that small road.
The Hague has a mall with stores. But nobody goes there
At this rate I think I can be a tour guide for my family if we ever visit Prague 😁
I always used to marvel at the audacity of people who'd just rock-up in Prague, plonk down a shed and open a very unsanctioned food or knick-knack stall. I used to think that must surely be the quickest way of getting the city authorities to leap onto your arse and lay down the law. But now you've shown me some of the unintentional and oft overlooked administrative wonders of Prague, I think these people feel fairly confident they have more-than-good odds of getting away with it. Who is going to notice yet another shed in the city centre? At least until it's been there long enough for locals to notice it, and by the time they have the itinerant entrepreneurs have already probably absconded with their ill-gotten gains.
Every major cities in the world should have people like you guyz. KEEP SAFE!!
Me and my dad love your videos, thanks for making them!!!! Love from Finland!!
following you from the stream international or whatever channel it was... one day will drink beer with you, love Prague love HONEST GUIDE!
I have been looking for a place to stay in the Lucerna building/complex. I want to go to Prague, so I can stay in ONE PLACE and do it all from eating to movie to shopping!! Then sit on a patio and look out! (don't laugh, I'm disabled, so for me....this is like a land locked cruise ship I can navigate and enjoy without the pain of moving around, though I will ride the paternoster!) Just seeing that one building complex, made me say "I can enjoy Prague without having to be out all day and it will be a unique vacation!" (I sadly have to rest a bit each day, which is often difficult with hotels as it seems they have not got to the room by the time of my afternoon mandated rest!). Anyway, I hope I can become one of the things that DOES BELONG, with the help of having everything I could wish in one spot! Thank you for your videos!!
Glasgow has bridge pylons for a rail bridge over the river clyde from central train station that were built in the wrong place
Lol
😳😳😲
5:07 The girl with beige beanie and black backpack walking by
Honest Guide: Claims 15 minutes have gone by
5:11 Same girl crossing the street 20 feet behind
DISHONEST GUIDE????
Regarding the ATMs, I would still recommend to exchange some money. I went to Cafe Grand Orient that was recommended on this channel and they were cash only. And since I didn't want to keep the waiter, well, waiting, I went to the nearest ATM which was unfortunately Euronet...
Was that before the pandemic? Since Covid-19, I don't think there's anywhere in Prague that is cash only, even the Vietnamese stores take card payments now.
@@Beckford4000 I was there on 7th of January this year. Maybe they had terminal error, don't know.
Many hostels are cash-only, and so are many stores outside of the tourist-only parts.
Too bad! Euronet is the worst of all the rip-off ATMs. If you have to change money, go to the Kaprova Ulice Exchange. It's on the corner of Kaprova street. Go to the left around the Mikuláš church just off the Old Town Square. The building front is blue. Their rates are better than the banks. I was in Prague last fall (2021), and I never had any trouble paying with my Dutch bank card anywhere. I was staying in the Žižkov area, which is not exactly a tourist hotspot.
A good restaurant on the Old Town Square is Mincovna, where coins were minted. You get 200 grams of goulash there instead of the paltry 150 grams served in most restaurants. (I want 250 grams! Maybe even 300, it's so good!) Or follow Železná street off old Town Square, and turn left on Kamzíkova. The street narrows, but keep going till you see U Červeného Páva. I agree with Honza. U Červeného Páva serves the best Czech goulash I've ever tasted! You can also take a walk up Dlouhá (long street) off the Old Town Square to one of the city's Lokal restaurants. Excellent food at very reasonable prices, and friendly service. Try Lokal's svíčková! Thank you Honest Guide for these recommendations! It's a good sign when you see more local people eating in these places than tourists.
Even some bank ATMs are bad. Some will require a 200 CZK fee for withdrawals which is dumb. Also, never accept an ATM's conversion. Always press decline / withdraw without conversion.
Seen the famous two in the pub today '' u Kata'' keep doing the great job and of course drink pilsner beer along :-) Hope to see some more new videos of different cities in the Czech republic
that sign not to enter the apian walk way is very important. in my country even with such signs you will struggle with motor bikes in that walk way unless police is stationed there. Also it serves well for law and order, incase of accident prosecution in court on that walk way. you can not deny that there is no sign post
I'm going to make a shirt with Janeks face on it to wear whilst walking the streets of Prague ....
Do you know that "Stop sign" means that not only cars, but also motorcycles and bikes canot go in that passage. yah, cyclists usually dont know that to, but that sign means "no go" even for them.
Be sure almost all the cyclists know this very well. They just ignore it.
my village near Prague has got a children's playground. How is that useless you ask? well, recently they built a second, bigger one with more fun stuff, and this one was built behind an old shop inbetween some trees so it's permanently dark there.
I watch your videos from Rochester NY. So interesting! Thank you for great content.
Does anyone know some similar channel about different country?
I love Honest guide, but I would learn about others countries too, not only my own country
I don't think I have ever used my American credit card there. Just find a Czech bank ATM, decline the conversion (use your bank rate) and if they have some nutty fee, just cancel and find another machine. Just make sure you have enough cash on hand so you are not left in a pinch.
Mid way through the scammy ATM section I get a scammy pop up add interrupting the video.. .
"I was so shocked when I received this text and had to go straight to a cash machine...."
At that point I hit skip advert (sorry honest guide) and wasn't sure it had worked as there was an ATM filling my screen ;-)
Also happy dog in background was v distracting!
The ATMs aren't completely useless, while paying with a card is possible everywhere, my bank charges a 1.7% fee on all foreign currency transactions, however I can get money from an ATM without paying the fee and get a pretty good exchange rate if I choose the option of letting my bank and not the local ATM do the currency conversion.
I totally agree. On top of that there are still places or situations where you definitely need cash.
Hi Janek, Cafe Orient (Dum u Černe Matky Boži) do not accept cards, at least it didn't last week as i visited them. Fortunatelly, round a corner there is a KB ATM, that won't rip you off as some of these mentioned in your videos.
congrats on the 1M, well deserved!
That sign is not just for cars... 1:20
This channel deserves billion of subscribers
5:07 That was not 15 minutes. The girl with the puffy hat and the backpack only got halfway across the street.
You are so clever
Nice catch!
@@treasuretim3 dont take the vaccine
It’s true! We filmed the Czech version first: czcams.com/video/G0OI06wVvSE/video.html
There was really no need to wait another 15 minutes for the English version, hope you can forgive us this one 🙂
@@HONESTGUIDE thanks for the answer and that makes complete sense. 😊 But you gotta admit, it was a good eye for Nason to notice. 🤷♀️😊
Honestly my city(New Delhi) is so big that I can't fathom where to begin taking a picture of
What?
🇮🇳 ❤ I hope to see you soon
1:19 from my point of view there is no curbe so by the law you can go there. It make sense to put up a sign.
In most cities the button next to the crosswalks are completely useless.
There's a road that connects a motel and if you are turning on to the road its basically just pot holes after pot holes and really needs to be fixed I mean like really it's been like that for years and should be fixed.
Thanks for the informative videos. Really want to visit Prague and see your lovely city.
About paying with a card in Prague: I was in Haje in 2 restaurants/pubs, neither of them accepted cards... I had to get cash from an ATM :(
Modry Zub at Andel does not take cards either.
Following you for a long time. Should visit your country/city in august,i hope that i will be able to say thank by buying you a few beers. Thanks for your work. Keep safe
There's a place in Prague that doesn't accept card The Ice Pub, they have also an ATM inside, what's pretty frustrating, as it definitely for tourists, and not a place that a recommend for tourists to go.
1:28 is not uselles, that sign means "forbidden access for all vehicles/no access to all vehicles", that is, bicycles, scooters, motorcycles, not only cars.
you are doing great, you made me to love czech by your fantastic videos, thank you
I think that those speed bumps might have been there from before they blocked the road.
Still, sad that they don't use the traffic barriers. Perhaps they just realized that there were no real use for them. Not that too many people drive on the roads, but that there is a lot of frequest traffic by the people living there.
"Electricity", and Janek is touching it 😅. Love you guys
Really like your videos man. Watching it from South Africa.
Congrats to the people at 5:06 for walking 5 meters in 15 minutes.
Unless they came back to that same point with two new friends, annd ask for the two person in front to came back too.
Hum. Which of those is most likely?
Using a credit card from the USA can be expensive. The answer is so easy. Buy travelers checks and cash them at the point of sale or AT A BANK. YES THERE ARE BANKS HERE!!!!!!!!!! Ive only gotten money from banks when I visited. I never noticed the atms and only noticied one cash exchange by the train station. If you never look for a cash exchange you usually dont notice them.
Plus not everyone who arrives to Czech Republic has an effect card payment option, so it's cheaper with cash, even with a big convertion fee
7:40 - well, i got lucky and probably went to the ONLY place in Prague that DON'T accept cards hahahah (and was REALLY close to a touristic street and the main bridge!)
So many contracts for useless things given to companies connected to city managers and politicians. So many things have gotten better but still a lot more to go....
We used ATMs in Czechia, since our austrian bank charges us per transaction. So withdrawing cash is cheaper than paying each time by card. Of course we avoided these rip off ATMs you warn people about
You need a new bank.
@@kwikdahl It's not the bank but the card processing machine. Most machines will automatically charge you a small fee to make up for the exchange rate loss on their behalf. If you look at your bank statement it will look something like this;
Currency: 30,00 CZK
Rate: 0,04064151 Mark-up: 0,02 EUR
Thank you jarek for you commitment and help. As well beautiful evening. Céline and Philippe Garneau
In Australia we have useless parking signs also it is very confusing such as loading zone and no stoping zone
6:02 it seems that the site is either being hacked frequently or they just let people put whatever they want there.
Now there's a video of someone that tattooed the QR code on his leg while someone else scans it and gets rick rolled.
6:59 I wouldn't be surprised if it was done by a brazilian, just be happy that it wasn't "huehuehue" or "trololol" that was written.
that blue stripe on the pipe @9:02
I think that stands for potable water
Come here in Varna, Bulgaria and you will have material for new videos for the next couple of years! :D
I knew some of these things bu some were new. 😀
Btw. as the covid restrictions are being lifted slowly, will you be doing some videso of streets and what one can do there? (as you did isomething liek that in the past)
Diky
Janek, it's it true that some smaller bars/pubs are only cash only? Including U Hrocha?
Yeah, there are still some that accept only cash. It's not the majority of course, but I wouldn't go as far as to claim that you don't need cash in Prague city centre ever.
Traffic Barrier : The "poles that can Elevate" are called PILOMAT
Anyone else understood the cheeky hint infront of that useless international coffee shop 9:35 ? 😂
I wonder if České Budějovice has an app for the graffiti. That would be quite use if they actually follow through.
Great work. Very watchable
Thanks
5:02 -> 5:12 same lady in the background passed Janek. Sure, "It's been 15 minutes.", more like DISHONEST GUIDE >:-)
Unusual and interesting topic, well presented. ☺👍🏽
Congratulations on 1 million subscribers 🎉👏🎊
You may wonder about some signs, You may think they are unnecessary or even dumb. But they are not. People are idiots and if You didn't forbid something, even impossible or stupid, they will do it just because... If something is not prohibited, it's allowed. So... There is Your answer
Visiting in three weeks. So can’t wait your guides are brill.
1:17 that sign doesnt mean "no cars" it means "no vehicles" so also bikes are not allowed to pass. which kinda makes sense there. too many people drive reckless with their bikes, guess the sign is there for a reason!
Please explain to us about the golem of Prague. And Judah Loew Ben Bezalel. Aka the Maharal of Prague. Is there a place that I can visit . As the birthplace of the golem.