My Toughest Challenge Yet.. Attempting to Locate This 1920's Traveller's Photograph.
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ก.ย. 2023
- Geo Detective is back and it is most certainly with a bang.
This was by far by toughest challenge yet. It's always automatically harder when the photo was taken 100 years ago because we don't know how much things have changed, but this one really did throw more than a few spanners.
I'd only been defeated once before going into this one, and even that one was within 5 miles. Could we see my first failure here? Sit back, relax, watch this rollercoaster of a journey unfold and you will find out.
PS. Apologies for taking so long with this one. Had lots of life stuff going on this summer to accompany this gruelling challenge. It won't happen again!
![Can I Locate The Street In This Harrowing 1980's Public Information Film? [GEO DETECTIVE #21]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/_Jw3aQmiMC8/mqdefault.jpg)
![Can I Locate The Street In This Harrowing 1980's Public Information Film? [GEO DETECTIVE #21]](/img/tr.png)
SPOILERS:
Cheers for your patience with this one everyone. Plenty more of these to come in the coming months. Do quickly drop this one a like if you enjoyed.
Finally, I realise I placed the pin in slightly the wrong place when I watched the edit back. I’m gonna amend that on Google Earth.
You can pin the obs icon in the visible portion of the taskbar tray in the bottom right.
Press on the up arrow, click and drag obs down next to the clock and then youll have a clear visual icon if it is actually recording or not, as if it is a red dot will appear on the top right on the icon itself.
lol or he can get a second monitor lol OBS on one, recording screen on the other
@@Girasole4ever
How do you submit photos I may have an old one that you will like
"are we recording?"
You should go for a job with the CIA, blindfold, with Rain or Zi8
i think the anti climax was also due to the realisation that the island looked so beautiful then and has now been battered and bruised so much that it just looks like a shell of itself
I think you’re right! Pretty sad..
Both from the natural disasters but also corruption and foreign influence. The suffering has been significant.
The historical difference between french occupied haiti and spanish occupied dominican republic is staggering and sad.@@johnsona6428
Haiti still need help to this day, and you can donate to multiple organizations if you want to help them.
It tends to happen to places full of Africans
Tom’s meltdown at the “four sided dome” had me crying with laughter. 😂
SAME LMAO. I'm in tears right now. "WHERE'S THE KEY?!?!"
These videos are gold. I imagine the money made from them would be enough to pay for the therapy that making the videos would cause him to need. Almost a win-win of sorts.
I could feel his frustration, whoever made that photo without a key is a massive troll.
@@zengrathI had to pause to check the wikipedia article when I saw this and someone has fixed it
I love how someone has obviously seen this video and gone to the wiki page for the roof shapes and annotated the names for the roof types under the image that didn't have it when poor Tom was struggling away.
this is hilarious
It was added the day the video was released. Obviously by a fan.
Hopefully it'll help some other poor old chap in their search for roof shapes
It doesn't even say 4-sided-dome. This should be the new way to call these.
...and it was 'Cloister Vault' as Tom found but thought it was underground. haha
So crazy to think about going on an international vacation from Sweden to Haiti in the 1920s. That is a big event even today.
Well I can see a Swede going to the Dominican in 2023, so a Swede going to Haiti in 1923 seems reasonable enough. Between 1915 and 1934, Haiti was occupied by the US and had roads and other infrastructure like public buildings constructed. That could be the reason for some of the buildings seen in the first photo
@@colatf2Didn't ask.
Today they would kill you if you sat there. They evolved backwards into animals. At some places in Haiti they slaughter people on the streets and eat their hearts :x
@@GoGoErrek Didn't ask you to say "Didn't ask"
P pm
Wow, that moment you moved the camera to the harbor and suddenly we could see how all the hills and water lined up. Wasn’t expecting that. Congratulations!
I know this isn't you fault but the way this showed up as the first comment ie basically spoling the whole video is so annoying. 😅 TH-cam just loves to do that.
@@thespankmyfrankhe didn't spoil the location though 🤔 or he spoiled that Tom eventually found it but I wouldn't expect anything less from him 😂
@@thespankmyfrankYeah same for me, bit annoying 🥲
@@thespankmyfrank Oops, sorry it got spoiled for you. To be fair, nearly all the top comments are spoiling he found it, and he usually wouldn't upload the video if he hasn't found it. At least my comment doesn't spoil the location like some of the top comments do 🤷♂
@@thespankmyfrank Don't read the comments before watching, that should be obvious
This one was just kind of sad. Everything that made the image distinct and beautiful is gone, and the world of that picture no longer exists. Still an incredible find though Tom. Well done.
that is the history of the world, nothing lasts forever.
When I saw the picture of the destroyed presidential building I really felt bad. Haiti has had such a tough run as a nation.
I don't know, the fact it was the hills that provided confirmation of the location is a fitting reminder that the world does not belong to humanity and there's a certain beauty in that. Once our individual stories are over, the marks we leave behind will fade, but the place we once lived will continue without us.
exactly this ^ @@Stuzo2
I actually find some sort of bittersweet beauty in that; your adventures are your own and can only have happened in those moments in time. They are unique and you had to be there to experience it.
My favourite series on TH-cam! Please more of these Tom!
Fr I could watch these all the time
All day!
Agreed! It's so nice to follow the process, especially on the harder ones. Finally finding the place feels so rewarding.
Impressive Tom! Your perseverence paid off.
I really enjoyed this one. I actually live in Haiti. I recognized the second photo as the presidential palace mostly because of the statue. It is the statue of the liberator of Haiti Toussaint L'ouverture. I never expected to see Haiti pop up on here. Nice job Tom!
is it the same statue as it was back then?
The statue that comes up in Google looks a lot different
@@joelh9581 I don't know about that particular statue. But there are many very similar statues scattered around Haiti.
I'm finding old images (1920s era) of "The Statue to Dessalines", which looks quite similar to the one in Toms photo, where the figure has his saber raised, etc. He's wearing a hat that makes his head look like a little girls hairdo.
@@glenmiller1437That could be, the statue is pretty far away so I can't tell who exactly it is. I have seen very similar statues of L'ouverture
There are actually multiple pictures of the church from the 1920s and they match your photo exactly. Mustve been rebuilt multiple times. Good job!
That random "Chocolate Hole" cracked me up😂
It isn't easy to make a sad geo detective video but this one got me for sure. I remember the 2010 earthquake well, but to see buildings that stood for at least 90 years completely gone ande demolished to the point where you immediately dismissed it? It hit hard.
Same here. I remember the earthquake, but I never realized how hard it must have hit.
knew that white building in photo 2 immediately. told my bf. he wasn't impressed.
Honestly thought this one would be impossible. I shouldn’t have doubted you! Well done.
Haiti in 1921 must have been quite an adventure, just getting there. From far across the globe nontheless.
It definitely took longer but at least Haiti was probably much safer back then than it is today.
@@Hhutuberdefinitely safer
This one is almost philosophical, you know. Makes you realize fading away is unavoidable
I cannot tell you how much I enjoy seeing you've posted a video - all of your content is 10/10.
Fully agree!
Incredible you called out the "French Style" of architecture without knowing it was Haiti, which of course used to be a French colony
12:20
you found the Kindlifresserbrunnen (kids eating fountain) here in Berne, Switzerland! Nice one. 😊
The thing I think you missed right from the start was the style of the man’s hat. In the 1920s that hat was not likely to have been worn in Europe. I’d have ignored Europe and started with the Middle East, Africa and West Indies. Just because of the hat. But I’m more knowledgeable about clothing styles and dress codes of the past than on geography.
I used to work with a woman who dressed as if it were the late 40s and early 50s every day. Some people dress out of sync with the world around them, so while it likely is true, it's not certain.
If you're Swedish, Spain would probably count as exotic enough to wear an explorer's hat during your holidays. 🌴😉🌴
@@RFC3514 You are correct (maybe less exotic these days, but it used to be). There is a comedy film about Swedish tourists going to exotic Spain called Sällskapsresan (1980).
The "colonial hat" struck me at first, and I thought "an Englishman in Singapore". I was surprised to learn it was nothing of the kind!
Not certain, but people were also much more conforming at that time. @@mytube001
You gave this guy and his family a pretty incredible gift. Well done.
I love this series thanks for continuing it!
The Great Aunt's painting was of Pont Neuf, Paris. Very accurate representation. Just so you can eventually update your spreadsheet to within a few miles!
Wow. Wow. Wow. This is undoubtedly one of the best videos you have ever made, on par with all your straight-line missions, and it's a shame how few views this has gotten.
SPOILERS BELOW:
The final realisation of where the location is was absolutely brutal and pretty bone-chilling to be honest. I don't think there could have been a single place on earth that would have had more of a punch in the face impact than realising Haiti is the first picture.
It's absolutely wild how much Haiti gets forgotten about (by me as well, I'm no better) by being an extremely poor and unlucky country in a region that is relatively full of wealth in comparison to where the majority of the poorest countries are located on earth.
This video will stick in my mind for many months. Thank you Tom for your perseverance you legend.
Excellent perseverance! The pith helmet says that it had to be somewhere tropical. Gentlemen of a certain social class wouldn't have worn them in warm European places.
How sad to think that most of the things in the photos are now damaged or destroyed 😢
The helmet was an obvious telltale. I'm actually disappointed Tom didn't take it into a consideration in the first place. I presume wearing that somewhere in Europe would look a bit comical, even in 1920es.
@@damyr Very comical indeed. I thought the only correct place to wear them (Colonial Helmets is the term) was by an Englishman in a British Far-East colony, like Singapore. Padded with cork to exclude heat from the brain
My exact idea as well. I wrote a similar comment.
I love the random things you found along the way.
Yet again another fun to watch video. Keep it up 🕵️🌍
Wow cheers Chris 😊
Nice jesture wealthy Chris
Definitely not expecting Haiti. Definitely the toughest one yet especially with pretty much all the major clue buildings already destroyed by natural disasters. Your perseverance proves itself once again Tom
You know you're in deep when your best clue is that one of the few landmarks are most likely no longer standing.
ngl when i saw the white buliding in the second pic my mind went straight to the presidential palace in Haiti
As someone from Bern, it was so funny to see you discover our famous "chindlifresserbrunnen" (child eater fountain) 🤣🤣🤣
20:18. "A few days later" when the date shows 2 months has past haha. Fantastic job!!
That's actually insane dedication and an insane find, hats off to you Tom
That feeling of excitement in the exact moment where things start to click! Congrats Tom, love the series
It was like a scene from a detective movie
That was incredibly impressive, especially due to the changes, well done!!!
I was really gutted to hear about the earthquake destroyed so much! I remembered it but somehow seeing this picture and the beautiful palace and cathedral destroyed, made it more real. I wonder what would the Swedish old chap think if he knew, 100 years later than him, the palace would go down along with many many lives.
Excellent solve! Could the "child holding a bell" be Jean-Jacques Dessalines, emperor of Haiti between 1804 and 1806? In an old statue of him, he seems to be holding the same pose.
Yeah, just made a similar comment, didn't see yours. The plinth looks the same and the raised hand too. The other hand, however, does not. Still, I do think it is the one.
Pretty sure it's the old 'Statue to Dessalines on the Champ de Mars, Port-au-Prince' (the image at NYPL Digital Collections looks extremely similar) - the Champ de Mars is right across from the national palace, so it should fit. The statue looks to be holding something different, but the pose, the base and the location all match. A different page says the statue was later moved to Gonaives, a different location in Haiti.
A guy from Haiti said in the comments that it's a statue of Toussaint L'Ouverture
@@michaelwisniewski6047 Dunno, but I can't find an image that's convincing enough. Not one with a remotely similar plinth, for example. The Desalines statue, on the other hand, has the exact same plinth...
The caption says "This statue, which is of hollow metal with a flag of painted tin, is an ugly object, and ought to be removed." which is a pretty funny commentary.
I saw the palace at the start and thought "Huh, that looks like the Haitian Presidential Palace" then forgot about it until you realised.
I was really interested in that earthquake as a kid.
Also, I kinda thought it looked super colonial. Straight streets, all so gathered around the port.
Why don't you use reverse image search after finding the place to check if it would have helped at all?
You getting angry when Google was being no help at all, was quite cathartic. After wanting to throw my laptop out of the window when asking a similar question of what a thing was and constantly getting results that weren't correct to the point you are wondering is Google taking the pi ss out of you.
I feel like most people don't know the extreme destruction the 2010 earthquake caused in Haiti.
One of the best geo detective videos so far! What a sombre ending though, guess it shows how ignorant we can be in the developed world the fact that no one would even consider that it could be such a place and to see how the buildings got destroyed made me feel real sad.
That was an incredible watch. I love the older photos. Amazing work!!
What a find! And what a way to continue the series.
There seem to be 2 tall radio masts in the distance in photo #1 (just above the guy's topi pith helmet). if that is in Haiti, then the Radio Haiti transmitter (HKK Port-au-Prince) didn't start up until 1935 according to Wikipedia. Fascinating search !
I was surprised he didn't (at least in the vid) look into what those would be
They're more likely to be for long-range communication, not broadcast radio. Which would make sense for the 1920s. Perhaps the radio towers were reused for broadcast radio from 1935?
They look like a pair of tall guyed steel-lattice monopole antennae of a type used for medium wave transmission from the 1930s - a bit like the pair of 700’ Droitwich transmitter towers in UK that were built in 1934. Only one of the towers is a transmitter, the other is a passive reflector apparently.
You are probably right in saying that they were most likely first used for long range radio-telegraphy, as I don’t think Haiti had an undersea cable link at that time.
I loove this series so much! I need more of these!!
This is the only series on YT that I never let myself miss an episode. Well, this and the straight line missions. Thanks for all the great videos, Tom, and well done!
I always try to play along with these and find them myself. I spent most of my time on the Croatian coastline and found a few very close matches. One of my first instincts was Havana/Port au Prince but after investigating, I was certain that it couldn't be right with the modern positioning of the ports and the buildings. Eventually, after around an hour, I gave up and let you do the work for me haha. Good find!
I love how you use the layout of the hills and mountains to affirm your decision. Great job and looking forward to more of these!
Tom, this is my favorite series by far. I'm honestly not quite sure why, but please keep these coming, they're so god damn gooooood
I was quite certain that even a Swedish guy from the 1920s wouldn’t wear what looks like some kind of pith helmet in Spain or Italy or a similar place. But I have to admit my confidence imploded when you came up with the Spanish Civil War theory near the end of the video...
Been waiting for another episode of geo detective.
Love this concept!
30 minute video just flew by. Great job! The moment you checked the mountains and I could tell right away they were going to match was beautiful.
It’s crazy how varied your content is… but each video you post hits the mark! I look forward to your next video and holding out for your next mega adventure!
A yes, a classic number 14 roof!
Incredible episode. Thank you for your perseverance on it!
*EXCEPTIONAL!! Please, more videos like this Tom. :)*
Brilliantly captivating yet again. Well done Tom
This series is a testament to the ongoing enshittification of Google Search.
Nice work! Love the wee local and historical tidbits we get to learn as we go, ta!
For some reason 'Europe' didn't match with that Tropical Helmet the person was wearing. I just could not imagine anyone walking around in Europe in this kind of helmet, but who knows what the fashion statements were in 1920. My first thoughts were India and I did a little search for more Tropical places (Guadalcanal, Tonga, ...).
Well done! Very well done!!
Good one Tom! Really appreciated this! Well done and congratz!
this is the series that got me into this channel, you never disappoint tom
Well done. That was very impressive, your tenacity and keen eye got you to the spot again.
One for the books! Great detective work Tom
In the second photo he is stood next to the rail tracks that must have led to the stone sheds.
Awesome! This is my favorite GeoWizard series! I hope we get to see more of these detective videos in the future! Great find!
Now that deserved a thumbs up, big time! Well done... and what a joy to watch....
Finally, through your many mentions that the toughest geodetective round is being attempted by you, was waiting for this for a long time ❤
The statue of a "child holding a bell" is, I believe, a statue of Jean-Jacques Dessalines.
This has to be the best yet Tom, some great skills... not to mention patience. Love this series
im just so enjoyable to watching you solving the puzzle bit by bit by bit !and bingo!
This was absolutely incredible. I cannot believe you managed to find that. Great work!
Congratulations to the newly wedded man!
These are always so impressive to watch
The patience required for these is out of this world !! ❤
Great work Tom. Great series as ever
Tom's reaction to those unhinged sculptures was class
Your pain in this video was quite enjoyable. Thanks Tom!
finding this was definitely worth getting onto a watchlist! great work
Its mindblowing how you can find these places with such little information. I do not understand how you have so much paitience. I really enjoy watching your process, its inspiring. Cant wait for the next video in this series, man.
Absolutely love your videos ❤️
Love love love love these Geo Detective sessions.
You take the time and really get into the nitty gritty. It's very satisfying watching your persistence/stubbornness prevail no matter what. That's what I really like about your pinpointing urban world vids, too (any chance of any more of those?)
Cheerz! :)
I love the Geodetective content. Much more of this please!
It was so big on the news, that there was this huge earthquake in Haiti, that people were suffering. But seeing how such a beautiful country was so horribly destroyed just kind of makes me feel even sadder for the country than already... I think this was a beautiful video to show how places might feel completely different now compared to the past. Irak or Iran might be interesting as well
I’m amazed! Fantastic
Just came across your channel. Hell mate, you're persistent. I loved the way you pulled all the little threads and they lead nowhere but you didn't give up.
Powers of deduction and dedication made you come out on top.
A really great and interesting video, I'll definitely be watching again.
I really enjoyed this video. Would love to see more videos like this!
yay Were back geodetecting!!! cant wait for you're next mission
This series is so entertaining - I love it
13:20 "Where's the key?!" This is my life in a nutshell. I've never identified with a video so much in my life.
What a wonderful episode
I watched the entire thing already and I am really impressed
I'm proud of you and your perseverance.
Kudos.
A subtle thought that is in error may yet give rise to fruitful inquiry that can establish truths of great value.
Such grit, Tom. Great work. The modern shantytown slums are a hard reminder of how damn lucky most of us are.
you put an incredible effort to find the exact location(s)! You did a great job! I personally thought the second photo was shot somewhere in India.
I thought I would have a 'play along' crack at this one once you had shown the pictures at the start and went right down the rabbit hole of it being Bombay / Mumbai and even had some ship names for what the wreck might have been. I was looking in the direction of 'Back Bay' Mumbai. I was wrong...but I was glad that you did mention the cathedral in Mumbai along the way as being a contender during your search :-) The pith helmet and tropical vibe sent me down the India route. Whew!...what an epic search that one was for you.
Every time I see this series, I think of the photo I got in a box lot decades ago of some naked sailors standing on some naval ship smiling at the camera, during what may be WWI. My amusing photo wouldn't be at all useful for Tom to try to guess the location (since it's on a ship in the middle of some ocean), but the image is such a mystery to me, and I'd love to get more of a story about who they are and what sort of mission they were on.