Next in this series, I really think we should cover things that are normal in Czech Republic but weird everywhere else. The number of Simon's tangents will be amazing. 😁😁
Sam's editing really reached a whole new level and I must thank Kevin for the script for giving the opportunity for us to enjoy this glorious work (and ofc Simon's tangent as well).
Just FYI, I think the ban on donating blood if you're British has to do with mad cow disease. I've seen something about people being banned if they received a blood transfusion in the UK within a certain range of years in the 80s/90s
Right. British people who lived in the UK and tourists who traveled to the UK during the mad cow times are prohibited from donating blood in the US as well.
Same ban here in Norway for UK citizens and people having lived in the UK in a certain time frame. That grinding up cows to feed the to cows to save money was a really good idea 😂. Simon Should do a video on it
If you wanna talk about weird vending machines, there was a vending machine in Seattle for almost 30 years which managed to gain an almost mythical status. Nobody ever saw anyone stocking the machine, yet it never ran out of drinks. All of the buttons said "mystery" on them, and it dispensed drinks that were normally unavailable in the US and even some that had been discontinued since the '80s. Sadly it vanished mid-2018
@@sydneyslaughter7163 I seriously wouldn't be surprised if the MSS (china's poor excuse for an intelligence agency) has something akin to the chaos insurgency, considering they have gotten caught red handed working with anthrax and plague on US soil, are highly suspected in dozens of terror attacks, have been caught red handed arming and training cartel sicarios, have been caught dozens of times shipping entire container ships full of fentanyl to Mexico, and they are getting caught using slave labor on goods they export (that has been illegal for the better part of a century) at least 2 or 3 times a month and that is just the tiny fraction we can prove... those idiots being involved in a literal satanic cult like some south park parody wouldn't surprise me one bit at this point...
As an American living in Japan, I might be the demographic for this video... Also - the vending machine right outside your apartment is awesome. The morning after a night out, stumbling out in your pajamas to get a canned coffee (hot or cold) is great.
"And then I imagine, Texas is different". An understatement the size of Texas itself. While traveling abroad, I heard the voice of a fellow American, and before I could go say hi, another person went to them and excitedly said "Are you from America?" The guy said, "No, I'm from Texas." That pretty much sums up a lot of Texans that I know. XD
@@davedavidson8208 I have nothing against them. Most of them are a lot of fun to be around. I found the exchange mentioned above to be really funny, not annoying. Like every other place, a few bad apples give the rest a bad rep. And, a vast majority of the people I know have no issues with Texans, so maybe it's just most of the people in your state find them annoying. I challenge the assertion most Americans find them annoying. Some certainly do find them annoying, but Nothing in my experience with others leads me to believe that most people feel that way.
@@scubaad64 most folks I know don't like Texans because they're pretty much guaranteed at some point, to think they are special because they are from Texas. It's a really weird thing. Meanwhile, most folks from Alaska are very modest. Two rural hard areas that breed different people, one much more unlikable than the other.
There's so many spots in the US that are really strange. I've been all over myself. Seen around two thirds of the states. There are differences in each state on its own even. A lot of them are massive.
@@davedavidson8208and no, there's been a movement for them to secede from the country. They're technically a republic. But still part of the country. Won't work, because of the lack of resources, but it's definitely a different place. Not cocky though, they just follow their own rules.
Vending machines for fresh produce are actually becoming more prominent in Germany. They're typically near a road or intersection with a farm nearby, so the produce is provided by that specific farm. I've gotten all sorts of stuff, from eggs to milk and potatoes from them. It's really cool and circumvents the issue that many small farms don't have the staff or money to run actual stores on their properties. :)
When I'm writing, I normally think about what sort of tangents Simon might go on throughout the episode. Vending machines creating an incest porn tangent was NOT on my radar.
My mom used English with me in a Japanese way, and it was the most obtuse, infuriating thing ever, communication-wise. She'd get angry if I asked for something directly (without showing adequate uncertainty or self-deprecation), she'd expect me to read her mind, and talk about herself in the third person. I studied Japanese for many years, both at home and formally, and while I love and appreciate the language, I will say that it is the most passive-aggressive language, depending on the context.
Exactly right! Besides, who wants Simon's blood? Someone incapable of going on a tangent? Someone who wants to know how it feels to turn a 2 paragraph intro into a 20 minute rant/story-telling adventure just to turn around and blame the guys in the Blazement? 😉😆🤣😘 Nah, we love you, Simon! But seriously, you can keep your vCJD. We're straight... 😆🤣
The vending machine selling cans of iced coffee are something I still miss to this day, 30 years after I lived in Japan. I think for most people Christmas is mostly a secular holiday these days.
I love how Simon unintentionally hires writers and editors who manage to slip in anime references in their work. And I laugh my ass off when Sam shows how big a weeaboo he is
The reason that you can’t give blood Simon is because of the mad cow issues back in the 80s and 90s. People can still be carriers of the prion disease decades after being exposed.
We lived in Okinawa for three years when I was a teenager. There was an ice skating rink that had vending machines for hot chocolate and hot ramen. It was fantastic and a highlight of my childhood.
The gacha machine for the "used panties" shown looked like it was in a random shop. My friend, whom recently got married in Japan, told everyone it was a myth. In M's department store (for adult goods) in Tokyo we found very real used panties which showed pictures of what you could expect including period panties...you're welcome.
There was an itty bitty shop in between akihabara and asakusa that's just crammed full of JAV and lewd toys that had a couple of used panties gacha machines too. Oddly enough I spotted a big gypsy danger just standing on a pile of DVDs and the fact that it just stood out so easily was a surreal experience. Anyways Japan is a hell of a place. Would visit again.
@@Antsylumthe problem (narrowed to only the topical ones) with self checkout seems to be that they're like trying to cram as many people into the area as possible now. Then you got all these dudes like straight ramming their carts into the machines and other people taking up AS MUCH SPACE AS THEY CAN in self checkout. I kinda wish the company minders that stand around to make sure you aren't hiding ipods in a tote, could carry water spray bottles and treat some of the *holes in self checkout like the animals they are
It is the same if you lived in Europe overall, I remember I couldn't give blood because I lived in (West) Germany during the 80s, which there was a mad cow out break. (I do think they did reverse it now)
In the US if you lived in Europe during certain years, not just the UK. They may have relaxed this now though, since if you caught Mad Cow presumably you’d be dead by now….
I want to go to Japan one day because I enjoy experiencing different cultures and think Japan sounds beautiful. They have a rich history and I want to experience it all myself.
If you ever get the chance I hope you do go, I spent a fortnight there in 2012 and it was GLORIOUS. The people are so lovely, the culture is mind-blowing, the architecture is stunning. I would absolutely move to Japan if I ever got the chance ❤
Lived in Japan for 11 years (4 years in Okinawa and 7 in Tokyo). It's super safe, mass transit is great, and the recent/current yen to USD exchange rate is very favorable to Americans. Lots to see and do travel and sightseeing-wise, and the food scene (and vending machines) is just awesome. The Japanese are very polite and friendly, even if there are the occasional belligerent drunken salaryman knob and overly pushy J-cop.
I lived in Oki for a year. I know there's that whole thing in Japanese culture (to be fair, probably not so much in Okinawa) about having an agreeable public face and a more personal private face, but those people were just largely very warm and kind. Goes double the further you get from an American military base. :P
@@modvavet Honestly, you should look at Okinawa as if it were another country. The people of the Ryukyu Islands are of a different ethnic group. They are more like the aboriginals of Taiwan.
@@yishihara55527 agreed. Especially among the older folks, though even when I was there 22 years ago the younger people were noticeably diverging from their elders. I miss it. One of the best years of my life!
Yes Simon, I can confirm you do get a Greyhound ticket when you're released from prison, as far as the money goes that depends on what state you are in and whether you we're in the federal or state system. Also, i can't believe KFC is more popular in Japan, than it is here in Kentucky and the USA is huge, that's why everyone needs a car here! Great video Simon!!
Growing up in Canberra Australia, the local carillon used to play Christmas carols on Christmas Eve. It became a tradition for our family to get take away KFC and have a picnic dinner by the lake while listening to it. Now that they no longer do the traditional carols we have still kept the KFC part going but now we have it while watching Christmas shows on tv
16:19 Simon is spot-on about the Meyers-Briggs. It was created for career placement many moons ago. In psychology, it's proven to not be very reliable as the answers/outcomes will differ depending on what a person is going through at the time, their mood, sense of self, etc.
additionally: Meyers-Briggs tests (like other personality tests) are observational as opposed to predictive. EG: a profession might have a much higher occurrence of a specific meyers-briggs "type" than the general population. However, that does not mean those in the general population with that "type" will, with any consistency, enter that profession or do well in it.
My workplace once gave staff Myers-Briggs for ‘a bit of fun’. Needless to say, the results were used to sideline people who didn’t fit the preferred profile…
It is also often VERY expensive to go outside of the continental US. Unless you are going to canada or mexico flying over the oceans to get anywhere else takes alot longer than just going from one euro country to another.
Sam and the team at the formerly business place now brain blaze. You guys should take all the tangents and throw them into a giant marathon. Just so we have something to show how much random content gets thrown in. There's a reason people enjoy this.
Regarding the questionable content of adult websites and the weird overrun of, shall we say, Alabama-friendly materials-a person from that industry explained to me that while it's nowhere near majority, a considerable number of people consider that extra-kinky and while they do not necessarily harbor such fantasies, adding that little spiciness gets them going. The vast majority skip the plot details anyway so this way they cover both, the kinky and the 'regular' consumers without having to create two distinct pieces of content.
Realism is Bad, Actually - video by zoe Bee, explains extensively with sources. I forget the GDC pulpit that made a very concise point of the same thing. It's interesting because it ISN'T real. Normal functioning people who are NOT addicted to escapism, have a separate mental layer for IMAGERY, information delivered through semiotics. The only reason some basic ideas like innocence is BRANDED onto children, is because moralists USE children as a different kind of material for exploitation, their little objectified plaything that sits nice being all innocent and stuff for their pleasure. This mainstream culture causes "kinks", it can target ACTUAL OBEJCTIFIED HUMANS, like sexism does to women, or it can target violent catharsis in video games, or it can target a cartoon like some Mickey Mouse -looking anime girl labeled as "child". It has nothing to do with the actual expereince of touching a human being and recognizing their consent. The human beings involved in media are the artists and the consumer. The only people who THINK otherwise, sadly are part of the mainstream and DO NOT think, and by all evidence DO NOT recognize consent, like at all in their lives, and are anxious about the fact they don't recognize the lack of it in children. They're the people lynching each other on mere accusation, and then go back JOKING about it.
Simon, I love watching your videos and i love your tangents and humor. I’ve been in a low place lately and watching your videos gets me to laugh. Thank you for being genuinely you ❤️
2:38: 🇯🇵 Life in Japan is different from life in America, and there are some bizarre things that might need to be shrugged off if visiting Japan. 3:40: 🍜 Japan is known for its wide variety of items in vending machines, including hot food. 6:57: 🎄 Japan has a unique culture around vending machines and celebrates Christmas differently. 12:06: 🍗 In Japan, celebrating Christmas with KFC is a popular tradition. 15:37: 😲 The belief in blood type personalities, similar to astrology, is popular in Japan but debunked by psychology. 19:01: 🗑 In Japan, blood type is seen as an important factor in social interactions, employment, and education. Trash cans are scarce in public areas, and eating on public transport is prohibited. 22:34: 🇯🇵 Japanese culture values cleanliness and indirect communication, and women traditionally dress in layers during the summer months to prevent tanning. 26:10: 🤔 Traditional marriage proposals in Japan often involve the man asking the woman to cook for him, but modern women prefer more romantic and less servile proposals. Recap by Tammy AI
Yes Simon at least here in Florida,when released from state prison they give you a greyhound bus ticket and $100 plus any money you may have had earned or had sent to you.
Speaking of the federal prisons (worked there), they will give you whatever mode of transport gets you reasonably to your release address. Bus, train, taxi, plane, whatever. You work with the release coordinator to discuss your plans, tell you your probation officer (you'll be on federal supervision), and verify what address is "home". They'll check this with US Pretrail and Probation and your probation officer whether this is a valid address with a landline phone (your probation officer will check the address in person to verify before your release).
Here in Germany they arrange accommodation and work before you're released so you don't have to pick up old contacts & habits... At least I believe that's how it works, would be interesting to see if recidivism is actually lower.
I was born in the States and now live in Japan. There were a few things that had me twisted when I first got here but have come to appreciate. A dish for everything and only that specific thing for 1 person. Everyone has their own rice bowl, fish plate... Different shoes for different rooms. Smoke inside, talk loud inside, talk softly outside... I can't think of anything ATM, I haven't had my coffee.
That's common in much of Asia, China as well everyone gets a bowl of rice and a plate and then the main dishes are on one of those spinning thingies and you take from there a bit like a buffet. People will order what they want but it's still for everyone so it is discussed, like oh you already ordered the fish, I'll take that then, rather than 6 ordering the same. The variety is nice and between all thr dishes your alwaya guaranteed to have something you enjoy. Thailand similar, bowl of rice plus big pot of curry and everyone takes some and pour it over their rice. I actually love that. I wish it was an option in Europe. You only pay one dish but get to try a whole bunch, and there is rarely dispute on the bill because people will just pay what they ordered.
The thing with Meyers Briggs, along with a good number of “this arbitrary thing = this personality” things, often operate on the basis of confirmation bias. A lot of the information in them are very generalized so that they’re applicable to a large amount of people without much fuss, which makes it easier to buy into as you’re reading into that description for INTJ and saying “that’s meeeeee” even though it’s theoretically the rarest Meyer Briggs result.
The difference being that with Meyers- Briggs, the outcome is based on how YOU, feel about certain situations, how YOU think about stuff, the person YOU are. Not some arbitrary stuff like what blood type you have or the date you were born. They also acknowledge that having 16 "types" does create a limit and depending on how far you scale types are more or less precise. And they also recognize that your type is not a set thing. It's a description of you at that time and can change as you grow, learn and change as a person.
I would love to go to Japan for the car scene, go to Ebisu and try some drifting, but I also know people that want to go for nature and temples and such, others to see some war stuff. Japan, so many reasons to go.
assuming you mean Ebisu race track.. I lived in Ebisu (which is actually about 300klm from the race track) and I can confirm there was no drifting happening there
I am South African and a blood donor. One of the questions we have to answer is about whether you've been in the UK for a certain amount of time in the 90s. It's about mad cow and Creutzfeldt-Jakob diseases.
Texas has a pecan pie shop which has a vending out front selling their products. Which seems weird, until you find out that they close at reasonable hours and the vending machine becomes quite active after they close. When a Texan wants a pecan pie they want a pecan pie.
This Alabamian would 100% appreciate the hell out of a 24h pie machine, holy shite the possibilities. Derby pie! Strawberry rhubarb! Peach! Omg a cobbler vending machine! Blackberry mmm. Might be midnight snack time. 🎉
While I haven't been in Japan for a LONG time, I was born there (military kid). After hearing & knowing about the KFC thing, in which KFC is VERY popular. But I just realized that I do not recall ever having a whole roasted turkey in Japan. Not even turkey legs. 😂
Vending machines seem like something in which the Yakuza would be involved. Control areas, get a piece of each VM in their areas, muscle out any competition. That's a really nice VM you have there, be a shame if something were to happen to it.
A+ I looked up what the Japanese say about my blood type. “In the Japanese blood type personality chart, people with blood type A are known to be highly-organized, particularly precise, and pay much attention to details. They are diplomatic and friendly in nature, so you won’t have a hard time approaching them. They seek harmony among other people, but they sometimes prefer to be alone because of their sensitive nature.” I scanned the other blood types but didn’t find what I was looking for. I didn’t see serial killer in any of the 4 blood types Japan uses. I think finding out if say the majority of serial killers have the same blood type, now that would be interesting and important Science. When a baby is born with that blood type, there could be an agency that keeps an eye on them. Hey, I’d rather my taxes fund the KEEPING AN EYE ON POSSIBLE SERIAL KILLERS AGENCY-yea I know the name needs work, something more secretive-than thousands of more IRS agents.
...this is probably the most un-American and fascist idea I've ever seen someone have, without realizing it. You would support an agency that literally stalks people and passes judgement based on a single biological trait viewed as undesireable...? My man, that was called the SS... that was called stalins secret police... You need to actually use your brain sometime rather than just letting it fall out.
I used MB personality test stuff to learn about how people can view and react differently to the same situations. I'm not dead set on it being any particularly perfect or real thing, but what I've learned about people (because I became more interested in being a better friend, coworker, etc) based on some "strengths" and "weaknesses" listed among these personality types, let me better judge my own and work on being a better person in general. I think all of these pseudo-psyche things can be good tools if used to improve knowledge of how and why people are the way they are, and how to have better interactions with other people based on some very basic ideology about personalities and typical strengths/weaknesses of those personalities. They can't be taken as gospel-truth, though. So much more factors in: upbringing, neurodivergence, past trauma, etc, but it's a good starting point. It certainly helped me learn to be a better extrovert spouse to my introvert wife by forcing me to look critically at my own biases and weaknesses, and then work to overcome them.
I visited Japan 7 or 8 years ago during American Thanksgiving so I could get an extra couple days of PTO for the trip, the vending machines were amazing being able to stop on the corner and get a hot bottle of ginger tea while it was cold and raining was the best. I don't remember seeing many machines that weren't food or drink related though, any other items I wanted I went to a store for.
@@patrickglaser1560 Your two sentences seem contradictory to me. Anyway, there are a handful of countries that celebrate thanksgiving and they don't all do it at the same dates
We did blood typing in science class back in the 70s. As a Seattle-itteI can tell you that We didn't look like that until the early 2000s. And then for some reason people started moving there from all over the country and just putting tents on our street because they couldn't afford to rent anywhere. We have a huge problem with homelessness and most people are not from Seattle that are homeless
It amuses me to watch Simon crumple over the most minor sexual things. It's hilarious to watch them lose their cool because of things that are so vanilla they can't even smell the strawberry. To answer, Simon, the 'used panty' thing is to sniff them, because pharamones do interesting things to people's minds. The reason why school-themed roleplay is so common is because school was a foundational part of the life during most people's sexual development, leading to ingraining of it's themes into people's sex map.
10:45 Denmark here and we have always had our Christmas celebration on the evening of the 24th. The 25th and 26th does not really have any fixed traditions - it’s just holidays you can spend with family and friends. To me it’s always been weird to see how Christmas was on the 25th in the US and UK, while it’s the 24th in most other countries. I wonder why it turned out that way. :)
I remember figuring out the blood type thing as a kid from video game character profiles. I started noticing patterns in character personalities based on their blood types.
Blood type marriages were a thing back then iirc. Which is absolute nonsense and already debunked. I'm glad society has improved a little when it comes to stuff like this. Imagine the family of your significant other rejecting you because of what nlood type you had, yikes
I’ve been living in Japan for half of my life. I’ve definitely waited in the bloody rain for an hour outside of KFC while my husband was at work. They also sell cakes lmao
Part of it is anime... but part of the nerdy desire to go to Japan is that they embrace and use technology at a whole other level. I live in the midwest, a fairly large city but in the midwest. It is just starting to be normal that people have their phones out when walking around for something other than being on a phone call. But there is basically no technology out in the wild. They are just starting to install some video displays for public information along the sidewalks, and the opposition to it is palpable. Half of the ones that were installed have already been removed 3 months later. The idea of going to a country where things look 'futuristic' seems fascinating.
Most of Japan isn't so futuristic though. Depending on where you are, it's a very important to carry cash. Credit cards are more likely in tourist areas. But of course, many places in Tokyo are as futuristic as it gets.
I’m from Alabama. The fact that we just got a Slim Chickens in Athens was huge news lol. And yet, we build rockets too. I swear Alabama gets more weirdly dichotomous every year.
One key thing that everyone forgets about japanese vending machines: THEY ARE CHEAP, THEY BARELY COST MORE THAN THE ONES IN A SHOP, I know it’s hard to imagine not having to shell out £5 for a small lukewarm coke, when you can have a huge variety of hot or cold (icecold) drinks for the same or similar price as in a shop.
What a coincidence that this video is uploaded on very my second day of Japanese Language and Culture class. 😅 Maybe you guys should make a video about America and Britain’s special relationship.
My family and I went to Hokkaido last month. There aren't as many vending machines as in Tokyo, but there were still a lot. Also, cigarette vending machines as well.
The first time I went to Japan I was really surprised how much japanese people smoked and there were so many cigarette vending machines. This was around 2002. Maybe things have changed since then
I love that I can recall some of his tangents from other series now lmao He told the Prisoner-Vending machine story on Casual Criminalist, the episode about the Grayhound decapitation!
Simon, you should visit the state of Colorado; there they take littering pretty seriously, and individuals caught doing it will be fined! The whole state (or so it seemed) was very focused on keeping their state clean and conscientious about nature and preserving it. I absolutely loved the vacation I took there to Fort Collins around 2007 or so. It definitely had its own extremely enjoyable vibe! The mountains are absolutely gorgeous and breathtaking, and there just aren't many places where you can be dying of sweat one minute and then take a short 20 or 30-minute ride up the mountain and get out and play in the snow the next! ♻️🗑️🌞🥵🏔️❄️ With regards to Japan, my daughter (21) is obsessed with Japanese culture and is dying for an opportunity to travel there. She's an amazingly talented artist, mainly focused and disciplined in the drawing and creation of anime and manga characters. 🇯🇵🎎👘👺
24:51 can confirm, japan also understands how incredible the concept of AC is and uses it to its full effect. also, you can’t really blame them when their summers are comparable to those in the american midwest (it’s averaged 95F/35C and 75% humidity this week in missouri, for reference)
Here in Germany we also celebrate on Christmas eve. the day starts out like almost any other until 2 pm sharp and everything goes into lookdown. the 25. and 26. are also holidays. you either visit family or just stuff yourself at home on these days. People eat and drink a lot. then we have 4 days to cure our hangover and food coma until "Sylvester" which is new years eve. I used to donate plasma and they asked if I was in the UK during a certain time (can not remember the correct phrasing) same when you donate blood. I was always wondering why but someone mentionef mad cows desease in the comments so now I know.
The trade off is that people with O- blood are less susceptible to viral infections, and less likely to go bald for some reason, statistically speaking.
On last name wedding thing I always recommend doing what my cousin did when she got married her last name was stone his mothers maiden name was Blacks, they became the Blackstones. Name mashing last names together to make a more powerful name should be the new tradition. If the ones you have dont work find a family member with a last name that does and steal it!
That is an awesome last name smash tbh! Another alternative is just snatching a last name from a favorite media series. I knew a lesbian couple that intended to have the last name Gainsborough bc they love FFVII and I hope to find someone who either would accept the last name Rhapsodos or has a better alternative from something we both love. :D
25:01 This is just plain wrong, the opposite of the reality of working in Japan. It's always super hot inside any Japanese building. Trust me, I cannot get anything done in any office I have worked in. The average office temperature is around 27c and even then people have full suits and pretend to shiver because it's so cold. If the temp drops below 25c there are massive complaints.
Seattle: I haven't visited the city, but I did get to experience the airport recently. Virtually every seat had a large collection of trash beside it or under it, and sometimes in it. Sitting on the floor was pretty much a no-go (most airports you can get away with this). The entire place appeared to be used as a gigantic trash can, it was awful and it stunk in some spots as well. The announcements by Duff McKagan were the only thing the airport had going for it. Nothing against the folks who live there, but I never want to visit that airport again. Flew into Sacramento then and had my faith restored in humanity (kudos Sacramento!!).
Australia use to have KFC Buffets in the 90s, same with Pizza Hut. I have no idea if they were around earlier, still around or not at all, but they were good!
We could learn a lot from the Japanese, and you should definitely visit. Kyoto is a MUST SEE. I love their crazy, whacky TV. I love that there are vending machines on every corner if you need a snack. I love that every store or mall has automatic doors. No push/pull nonsense to catch someone else's germs. I love that many eateries are automats. You enter your order into a terminal with all the details so a middle-person can't muck up your order, and wait to hear your number. I love their version of curry. Mmm, chicken, beef, or pork with a plate of rice and GRAVY.
Hey, Christmas Eve is my birthday! I'm totally OK with family celebrations on my birthday! In my family we celebrate my birthday during the day and go out for lunch Then we switch to Christmas mode and start cooking appetizers, having some cocktails, and nibble and laugh and exchange gifts. It's an entire day of celebration and I love it!
Whoever edits these video's are hilarious 25:12 commercial had me nostalgic until that and I spit my coffee. I see they have multiple things from vtubers, Sailor Moon and to the bear in the big blue house, yeah I remember when my son watched that show. I love the Jojo meme
I feel your pain Simon! I've spent Christmas in Czech and Poland, wonderfully strange experience! Celebrating Christmas a day early feels like cheating ahah!
In ny state when you get out of prison they give you a debit card with 40 bucks plus whatever was on your commissary account and they give you a bus ticket to whatever town you are paroling to. But if you're paroling out of state they'll give you either a train OR an airplane ticket depending on how far it is.
I may have choked to death when Bear sniffed the screen, bringing back memories of doing wake and bake in the kitchen while my kid watched Bear in the Big Blue House.... 🤣🤣🤣☠
So I live in Japan and the ONE thing I will NEVER get used to is the fact that the 18+ section in book stores just has a little divider. You can still 100% see EVERYTHING because it’s not covered at all and in the middle of the store. Sometimes and only sometimes there is a curtain or something similar.
Peters personal shopping list 😂 A pallet of chocolate covered pretzels A hammock of cake A drum of jam A desk of cheez-its Might as well add a barrel of kfc on that list 😅
Fun Fact: The more air conditioners that run in close proximity to one another, like in a densely packed city, the hotter the surrounding air becomes, and the more people run their air conditioning. This leads to a feedback loop where the air keeps getting hotter.
I knew that the used panties from a vending machine myth was going to get a mention 😂 Oh, and fun fact. On the subject of KFC at Christmas. That was started in the 1970s, when the first KFC opened in Japan and the manager of the store heard a group of foreigners talk about how they missed having turkey for Christmas. After a bit of clever marketing (and substituting the turkey for the fried chicken), this new 'tradition' soon took off among the expat community living in Japan and then across the whole of Japan. Though, the practice of Japanese households eating KFC is still quite low. Less than 3% of the population (Japanese & Expats) eat KFC at Christmas.
As far as I could tell, there's one panty vending machine, but it doesn't sell used underwear anymore. I totally didn't go looking for them one time when I was I'm Tokyo. There were probably more in the 80s or 90s, but we're talking about dozens of machines, not something that was terribly common. The same actually goes for some of the other weird ones, though booze and food were absolutely a thing. As for school and sex shop being used in the same sentence... yeah. I once went to a little museum set up by a huge school uniform manufacturer... that had a dress up and photo area upstairs that totally wasn't there to let people act out their fetishes.
Next in this series, I really think we should cover things that are normal in Czech Republic but weird everywhere else. The number of Simon's tangents will be amazing. 😁😁
5h of not actually what the title promised? Count me in!
Greatest beer culture of the world (ex aequo with Belgium)!
Replying so this gets made
Epic blaze episode?
Nazino island, Dyatlov pass, well, why not Prague then!
Sam's editing really reached a whole new level and I must thank Kevin for the script for giving the opportunity for us to enjoy this glorious work (and ofc Simon's tangent as well).
sniffffff ahh
@@ACME_Kineticsikr
Just FYI, I think the ban on donating blood if you're British has to do with mad cow disease. I've seen something about people being banned if they received a blood transfusion in the UK within a certain range of years in the 80s/90s
yup, that's exactly it
Right. British people who lived in the UK and tourists who traveled to the UK during the mad cow times are prohibited from donating blood in the US as well.
It is. The us has a ban on blood transfusion from some British people for the same reason.
Didn't Simon do a video on this? 😂😂😂
Same ban here in Norway for UK citizens and people having lived in the UK in a certain time frame. That grinding up cows to feed the to cows to save money was a really good idea 😂. Simon Should do a video on it
If you wanna talk about weird vending machines, there was a vending machine in Seattle for almost 30 years which managed to gain an almost mythical status. Nobody ever saw anyone stocking the machine, yet it never ran out of drinks. All of the buttons said "mystery" on them, and it dispensed drinks that were normally unavailable in the US and even some that had been discontinued since the '80s.
Sadly it vanished mid-2018
The SCP Foundation finally found a way to contain it
@@sydneyslaughter7163 I seriously wouldn't be surprised if the MSS (china's poor excuse for an intelligence agency) has something akin to the chaos insurgency, considering they have gotten caught red handed working with anthrax and plague on US soil, are highly suspected in dozens of terror attacks, have been caught red handed arming and training cartel sicarios, have been caught dozens of times shipping entire container ships full of fentanyl to Mexico, and they are getting caught using slave labor on goods they export (that has been illegal for the better part of a century) at least 2 or 3 times a month and that is just the tiny fraction we can prove... those idiots being involved in a literal satanic cult like some south park parody wouldn't surprise me one bit at this point...
As an American living in Japan, I might be the demographic for this video...
Also - the vending machine right outside your apartment is awesome. The morning after a night out, stumbling out in your pajamas to get a canned coffee (hot or cold) is great.
I also live in japan and gotta say I’m jealous. My closest vending machine is a half hour walk. But then again my town is VERY inaka.
@@EliotChildress I'm envious - my wife and I are saving up to buy an akiya out in inaka. :)
Simon being blissfully unaware of the lucrative market for used women's underwear is almost adorable
Haha yup.... he's so lovely
I'm jealous. I wish I could return to innocence, and be unaware of this. And the many other insane things I've seen online.
Except it’s not. They were very few of those machines and they’ve been gone for a long time.
@@DanaTheInsane oh I don't mean the machines, I mean the fact that there's a market/demand for them at all. There are websites, etc
Urban myth, surely. It can't be more than a very very minority fetish.
"And then I imagine, Texas is different". An understatement the size of Texas itself. While traveling abroad, I heard the voice of a fellow American, and before I could go say hi, another person went to them and excitedly said "Are you from America?" The guy said, "No, I'm from Texas." That pretty much sums up a lot of Texans that I know. XD
Yeah, really big egos basically. Thats why most Americans view Texans as annoying
@@davedavidson8208 I have nothing against them. Most of them are a lot of fun to be around. I found the exchange mentioned above to be really funny, not annoying. Like every other place, a few bad apples give the rest a bad rep. And, a vast majority of the people I know have no issues with Texans, so maybe it's just most of the people in your state find them annoying. I challenge the assertion most Americans find them annoying. Some certainly do find them annoying, but Nothing in my experience with others leads me to believe that most people feel that way.
@@scubaad64 most folks I know don't like Texans because they're pretty much guaranteed at some point, to think they are special because they are from Texas.
It's a really weird thing.
Meanwhile, most folks from Alaska are very modest.
Two rural hard areas that breed different people, one much more unlikable than the other.
There's so many spots in the US that are really strange. I've been all over myself. Seen around two thirds of the states. There are differences in each state on its own even. A lot of them are massive.
@@davedavidson8208and no, there's been a movement for them to secede from the country. They're technically a republic. But still part of the country. Won't work, because of the lack of resources, but it's definitely a different place. Not cocky though, they just follow their own rules.
Vending machines for fresh produce are actually becoming more prominent in Germany. They're typically near a road or intersection with a farm nearby, so the produce is provided by that specific farm. I've gotten all sorts of stuff, from eggs to milk and potatoes from them. It's really cool and circumvents the issue that many small farms don't have the staff or money to run actual stores on their properties. :)
Better then having staff tend to a stall all day, or the few that just go by some honor system. Makes allot of sense to set up a vending machine.
When I'm writing, I normally think about what sort of tangents Simon might go on throughout the episode. Vending machines creating an incest porn tangent was NOT on my radar.
Given Simon's tangents are the main reason we watch BB - its time to up the weirdness! 😆
My mom used English with me in a Japanese way, and it was the most obtuse, infuriating thing ever, communication-wise. She'd get angry if I asked for something directly (without showing adequate uncertainty or self-deprecation), she'd expect me to read her mind, and talk about herself in the third person. I studied Japanese for many years, both at home and formally, and while I love and appreciate the language, I will say that it is the most passive-aggressive language, depending on the context.
Sounds like Simon need to do another video on Mad Cow disease and the British response to the issue to remember why he`s Banned from donating blood
Was just coming here to say this
@@angerona7366same!
This. Same in New Zealand. My Dad was a regular giver for years until they imposed the ban.
I was in Germany and I can’t donate. The Red Cross come begging the soldiers for their blood every six weeks, not after that!!😂😂😂😂
Exactly right! Besides, who wants Simon's blood? Someone incapable of going on a tangent? Someone who wants to know how it feels to turn a 2 paragraph intro into a 20 minute rant/story-telling adventure just to turn around and blame the guys in the Blazement? 😉😆🤣😘 Nah, we love you, Simon! But seriously, you can keep your vCJD. We're straight... 😆🤣
The vending machine selling cans of iced coffee are something I still miss to this day, 30 years after I lived in Japan.
I think for most people Christmas is mostly a secular holiday these days.
Lol theres over a billion christians.
I love how Simon unintentionally hires writers and editors who manage to slip in anime references in their work.
And I laugh my ass off when Sam shows how big a weeaboo he is
I was happily surprised to see Detective Lunge trying to be Asian thats personally one of my favorite anime scenes
Personality is determined by the electric meatball in your skull. Also Kevin and Danny scripts working to break Simon are such treats.
The reason that you can’t give blood Simon is because of the mad cow issues back in the 80s and 90s. People can still be carriers of the prion disease decades after being exposed.
I've always called the Myers-Brigg personality test horoscopes for business people 😂
We lived in Okinawa for three years when I was a teenager. There was an ice skating rink that had vending machines for hot chocolate and hot ramen. It was fantastic and a highlight of my childhood.
I lived on Okinawa too as a kid!
Well ramen is just dehydrated noodles being rehydrated, it doesn't spoil. Meat is a little different. Necer trusted a vending machine sandwich.
The gacha machine for the "used panties" shown looked like it was in a random shop. My friend, whom recently got married in Japan, told everyone it was a myth. In M's department store (for adult goods) in Tokyo we found very real used panties which showed pictures of what you could expect including period panties...you're welcome.
There was an itty bitty shop in between akihabara and asakusa that's just crammed full of JAV and lewd toys that had a couple of used panties gacha machines too. Oddly enough I spotted a big gypsy danger just standing on a pile of DVDs and the fact that it just stood out so easily was a surreal experience.
Anyways Japan is a hell of a place. Would visit again.
I want a tangent edit compilation now.
They are so creative, think Sam deserves a raise for them alone
9:26 Jen dropping the ‘it’s Heiti and it’s art’ from the office was a perfect drop. Thank you Jen.
Vending machines are great, you get what you want without any human interaction
I wish I could get through life doing things with little to no human interaction 😂
Exactly
You also missing that social distancing Utopia we used to have?😂
Human interaction is a good thing for most people. Maybe you should get checked out for mental illness.
@@Antsylumthe problem (narrowed to only the topical ones) with self checkout seems to be that they're like trying to cram as many people into the area as possible now. Then you got all these dudes like straight ramming their carts into the machines and other people taking up AS MUCH SPACE AS THEY CAN in self checkout. I kinda wish the company minders that stand around to make sure you aren't hiding ipods in a tote, could carry water spray bottles and treat some of the *holes in self checkout like the animals they are
As a Canadian living in Japan, thanks for making this!!!
The rule against british giving blood is a mad cow disease thing. America asks if you were in britain during certain years as well
It is the same if you lived in Europe overall, I remember I couldn't give blood because I lived in (West) Germany during the 80s, which there was a mad cow out break. (I do think they did reverse it now)
Germany has the exact same rule
In the US if you lived in Europe during certain years, not just the UK. They may have relaxed this now though, since if you caught Mad Cow presumably you’d be dead by now….
New Zealand too
In Canada as well
I want to go to Japan one day because I enjoy experiencing different cultures and think Japan sounds beautiful. They have a rich history and I want to experience it all myself.
If you ever get the chance I hope you do go, I spent a fortnight there in 2012 and it was GLORIOUS. The people are so lovely, the culture is mind-blowing, the architecture is stunning. I would absolutely move to Japan if I ever got the chance ❤
I've heard that there are more foreigners in Tokyo than actual Citizens
@@runed0s86
You heard wrong.
About four percent of the Tokyo population is foreign.
Lived in Japan for 11 years (4 years in Okinawa and 7 in Tokyo). It's super safe, mass transit is great, and the recent/current yen to USD exchange rate is very favorable to Americans.
Lots to see and do travel and sightseeing-wise, and the food scene (and vending machines) is just awesome.
The Japanese are very polite and friendly, even if there are the occasional belligerent drunken salaryman knob and overly pushy J-cop.
You left out the deep racism and the fact that no fucks are given when they overwork someone to death.
I lived in Oki for a year. I know there's that whole thing in Japanese culture (to be fair, probably not so much in Okinawa) about having an agreeable public face and a more personal private face, but those people were just largely very warm and kind. Goes double the further you get from an American military base. :P
@@modvavet Honestly, you should look at Okinawa as if it were another country. The people of the Ryukyu Islands are of a different ethnic group. They are more like the aboriginals of Taiwan.
@@yishihara55527 agreed. Especially among the older folks, though even when I was there 22 years ago the younger people were noticeably diverging from their elders.
I miss it. One of the best years of my life!
@@modvavet We call that the "honeymoon" phase. After that, people start noticing the suckage. Were you at Futenma?
Yes Simon, I can confirm you do get a Greyhound ticket when you're released from prison, as far as the money goes that depends on what state you are in and whether you we're in the federal or state system. Also, i can't believe KFC is more popular in Japan, than it is here in Kentucky and the USA is huge, that's why everyone needs a car here! Great video Simon!!
Growing up in Canberra Australia, the local carillon used to play Christmas carols on Christmas Eve. It became a tradition for our family to get take away KFC and have a picnic dinner by the lake while listening to it.
Now that they no longer do the traditional carols we have still kept the KFC part going but now we have it while watching Christmas shows on tv
Our tradition in Melbourne was pizza while watching Carols by Candlelight
The editing in this one is just *chef's kiss*
Even more wonderful job than usual, Samuel!
16:19 Simon is spot-on about the Meyers-Briggs. It was created for career placement many moons ago. In psychology, it's proven to not be very reliable as the answers/outcomes will differ depending on what a person is going through at the time, their mood, sense of self, etc.
additionally: Meyers-Briggs tests (like other personality tests) are observational as opposed to predictive. EG: a profession might have a much higher occurrence of a specific meyers-briggs "type" than the general population. However, that does not mean those in the general population with that "type" will, with any consistency, enter that profession or do well in it.
Meyers- Briggs was created by a housewife and her daughter...
And it was originally created for dating not occupational placement.
I once heard it described as astrology for people who like forms
My workplace once gave staff Myers-Briggs for ‘a bit of fun’. Needless to say, the results were used to sideline people who didn’t fit the preferred profile…
It is also often VERY expensive to go outside of the continental US. Unless you are going to canada or mexico flying over the oceans to get anywhere else takes alot longer than just going from one euro country to another.
Sam and the team at the formerly business place now brain blaze. You guys should take all the tangents and throw them into a giant marathon. Just so we have something to show how much random content gets thrown in. There's a reason people enjoy this.
I like the Japanese schools, I've heard the first few years they teach manner to the kids. That's why the Japanese people are so nice and polite.
Regarding the questionable content of adult websites and the weird overrun of, shall we say, Alabama-friendly materials-a person from that industry explained to me that while it's nowhere near majority, a considerable number of people consider that extra-kinky and while they do not necessarily harbor such fantasies, adding that little spiciness gets them going. The vast majority skip the plot details anyway so this way they cover both, the kinky and the 'regular' consumers without having to create two distinct pieces of content.
That makes sense. I’ll have to let my step-sis know… 🤣
Realism is Bad, Actually - video by zoe Bee, explains extensively with sources. I forget the GDC pulpit that made a very concise point of the same thing.
It's interesting because it ISN'T real. Normal functioning people who are NOT addicted to escapism, have a separate mental layer for IMAGERY, information delivered through semiotics. The only reason some basic ideas like innocence is BRANDED onto children, is because moralists USE children as a different kind of material for exploitation, their little objectified plaything that sits nice being all innocent and stuff for their pleasure.
This mainstream culture causes "kinks", it can target ACTUAL OBEJCTIFIED HUMANS, like sexism does to women, or it can target violent catharsis in video games, or it can target a cartoon like some Mickey Mouse -looking anime girl labeled as "child". It has nothing to do with the actual expereince of touching a human being and recognizing their consent. The human beings involved in media are the artists and the consumer.
The only people who THINK otherwise, sadly are part of the mainstream and DO NOT think, and by all evidence DO NOT recognize consent, like at all in their lives, and are anxious about the fact they don't recognize the lack of it in children. They're the people lynching each other on mere accusation, and then go back JOKING about it.
Simon, I love watching your videos and i love your tangents and humor. I’ve been in a low place lately and watching your videos gets me to laugh. Thank you for being genuinely you ❤️
Brain Blaze Simon is a different than other channels and we love it 😂
I feel like Brain Blaze Simon is just all of a outtakes of him just being himself while filming other videos
@@OhiChicken Lol me too
It's like a reaction video, but instead of reacting to someone else's content he reacts to his own script.
cocaine
Never heard of brain blaze, he's quite funny on business blaze tho
These are so well-written, brilliantly tangent-filled, and amazingly edited. I have nothing negative to say 😂😂
Sam is a true man of culture
the Japanish credits are quite... chefs kiss.
Sam is golden
Horree shittu
2:38: 🇯🇵 Life in Japan is different from life in America, and there are some bizarre things that might need to be shrugged off if visiting Japan.
3:40: 🍜 Japan is known for its wide variety of items in vending machines, including hot food.
6:57: 🎄 Japan has a unique culture around vending machines and celebrates Christmas differently.
12:06: 🍗 In Japan, celebrating Christmas with KFC is a popular tradition.
15:37: 😲 The belief in blood type personalities, similar to astrology, is popular in Japan but debunked by psychology.
19:01: 🗑 In Japan, blood type is seen as an important factor in social interactions, employment, and education. Trash cans are scarce in public areas, and eating on public transport is prohibited.
22:34: 🇯🇵 Japanese culture values cleanliness and indirect communication, and women traditionally dress in layers during the summer months to prevent tanning.
26:10: 🤔 Traditional marriage proposals in Japan often involve the man asking the woman to cook for him, but modern women prefer more romantic and less servile proposals.
Recap by Tammy AI
Damnn this looks pretty summarized. What tool did you use??
What I find fascinating is that japan has the Blood-Type personality belief, while South Korea is really into the 16 MBTI personalities.
I hate this so, so much.
Yes Simon at least here in Florida,when released from state prison they give you a greyhound bus ticket and $100 plus any money you may have had earned or had sent to you.
Came to say this. They will also use Amtrak trains depending on where you are
Speaking of the federal prisons (worked there), they will give you whatever mode of transport gets you reasonably to your release address. Bus, train, taxi, plane, whatever. You work with the release coordinator to discuss your plans, tell you your probation officer (you'll be on federal supervision), and verify what address is "home". They'll check this with US Pretrail and Probation and your probation officer whether this is a valid address with a landline phone (your probation officer will check the address in person to verify before your release).
Here in Germany they arrange accommodation and work before you're released so you don't have to pick up old contacts & habits... At least I believe that's how it works, would be interesting to see if recidivism is actually lower.
I was born in the States and now live in Japan. There were a few things that had me twisted when I first got here but have come to appreciate.
A dish for everything and only that specific thing for 1 person. Everyone has their own rice bowl, fish plate...
Different shoes for different rooms.
Smoke inside, talk loud inside, talk softly outside...
I can't think of anything ATM, I haven't had my coffee.
That's common in much of Asia, China as well everyone gets a bowl of rice and a plate and then the main dishes are on one of those spinning thingies and you take from there a bit like a buffet. People will order what they want but it's still for everyone so it is discussed, like oh you already ordered the fish, I'll take that then, rather than 6 ordering the same. The variety is nice and between all thr dishes your alwaya guaranteed to have something you enjoy. Thailand similar, bowl of rice plus big pot of curry and everyone takes some and pour it over their rice. I actually love that. I wish it was an option in Europe. You only pay one dish but get to try a whole bunch, and there is rarely dispute on the bill because people will just pay what they ordered.
😂😂😂 5 years later I finally understand why I offended a British person! Thanks for explaining 'quite nice'!
If you offended them over that, they are too soft. Not worthy of being called British
Bless your heart
@@nulious 😂😂😂(ya ya, I know) I just wish they'd told me!!! We need a Southern-Across the Pond dictionary!
@@eetadakimasu there's a channel called Lost in the Pond, and it's quite nice.
If you said something is ‘quite nice’ in Australia, it has a similar meaning of not being very impressed.
The thing with Meyers Briggs, along with a good number of “this arbitrary thing = this personality” things, often operate on the basis of confirmation bias. A lot of the information in them are very generalized so that they’re applicable to a large amount of people without much fuss, which makes it easier to buy into as you’re reading into that description for INTJ and saying “that’s meeeeee” even though it’s theoretically the rarest Meyer Briggs result.
Similar to horoscopes. :) and numerology haha.
The difference being that with Meyers- Briggs, the outcome is based on how YOU, feel about certain situations, how YOU think about stuff, the person YOU are. Not some arbitrary stuff like what blood type you have or the date you were born. They also acknowledge that having 16 "types" does create a limit and depending on how far you scale types are more or less precise. And they also recognize that your type is not a set thing. It's a description of you at that time and can change as you grow, learn and change as a person.
I would love to go to Japan for the car scene, go to Ebisu and try some drifting, but I also know people that want to go for nature and temples and such, others to see some war stuff.
Japan, so many reasons to go.
Go for the nerd stuff, leave for the racism.
You into JDM cars?
Goto Japan and try some drifting? There are places that you can watch other people drift.
assuming you mean Ebisu race track.. I lived in Ebisu (which is actually about 300klm from the race track) and I can confirm there was no drifting happening there
Go to Disneyland, it’s wild to see Mickey and Minnie speaking Japanese! 😂😂
I am South African and a blood donor. One of the questions we have to answer is about whether you've been in the UK for a certain amount of time in the 90s. It's about mad cow and Creutzfeldt-Jakob diseases.
As an American, I would like to say that I would love to travel abroad. We don't get the time off to make overseas trips worth it.
It's really a shame you guys have that all work no vacation ideology going on over there.
@@deadzio Lol what? Only in the US. In the EU you get at least 20 but typically 25+ days vacation a year by law. And unlimited sick days.
@@deadzio My boss doesn't decide shit, it's the law.
@@han5vkunlimited sick days lol nice joke
This channel is a beautiful combination of British disposition, low to mid income American perspective, and GOD TIER MEMES. Thx Sam
Texas has a pecan pie shop which has a vending out front selling their products. Which seems weird, until you find out that they close at reasonable hours and the vending machine becomes quite active after they close. When a Texan wants a pecan pie they want a pecan pie.
This Alabamian would 100% appreciate the hell out of a 24h pie machine, holy shite the possibilities. Derby pie! Strawberry rhubarb! Peach! Omg a cobbler vending machine! Blackberry mmm.
Might be midnight snack time. 🎉
@@mostlyvoid.partiallystars you know... If I could get the revenue to start it, it probably would be a pretty good business.
Your editing was superb, Sameru-kun! Lol, great episode!
The editing on this video is on point. Well done.
The editing of that Sears commercial knocked me over. For real laughing out loud. 💀
While I haven't been in Japan for a LONG time, I was born there (military kid). After hearing & knowing about the KFC thing, in which KFC is VERY popular. But I just realized that I do not recall ever having a whole roasted turkey in Japan. Not even turkey legs. 😂
Colonel Sanders is basically Santa Claus in Japan.
Vending machines seem like something in which the Yakuza would be involved. Control areas, get a piece of each VM in their areas, muscle out any competition. That's a really nice VM you have there, be a shame if something were to happen to it.
A+ I looked up what the Japanese say about my blood type. “In the Japanese blood type personality chart, people with blood type A are known to be highly-organized, particularly precise, and pay much attention to details. They are diplomatic and friendly in nature, so you won’t have a hard time approaching them. They seek harmony among other people, but they sometimes prefer to be alone because of their sensitive nature.”
I scanned the other blood types but didn’t find what I was looking for. I didn’t see serial killer in any of the 4 blood types Japan uses. I think finding out if say the majority of serial killers have the same blood type, now that would be interesting and important Science. When a baby is born with that blood type, there could be an agency that keeps an eye on them. Hey, I’d rather my taxes fund the KEEPING AN EYE ON POSSIBLE SERIAL KILLERS AGENCY-yea I know the name needs work, something more secretive-than thousands of more IRS agents.
...this is probably the most un-American and fascist idea I've ever seen someone have, without realizing it.
You would support an agency that literally stalks people and passes judgement based on a single biological trait viewed as undesireable...?
My man, that was called the SS... that was called stalins secret police...
You need to actually use your brain sometime rather than just letting it fall out.
For a moment there I thought you were confessing to being a serial killer. Hasn't Simon taught you to never write down your crimes? 😂
I used MB personality test stuff to learn about how people can view and react differently to the same situations. I'm not dead set on it being any particularly perfect or real thing, but what I've learned about people (because I became more interested in being a better friend, coworker, etc) based on some "strengths" and "weaknesses" listed among these personality types, let me better judge my own and work on being a better person in general. I think all of these pseudo-psyche things can be good tools if used to improve knowledge of how and why people are the way they are, and how to have better interactions with other people based on some very basic ideology about personalities and typical strengths/weaknesses of those personalities. They can't be taken as gospel-truth, though. So much more factors in: upbringing, neurodivergence, past trauma, etc, but it's a good starting point. It certainly helped me learn to be a better extrovert spouse to my introvert wife by forcing me to look critically at my own biases and weaknesses, and then work to overcome them.
I visited Japan 7 or 8 years ago during American Thanksgiving so I could get an extra couple days of PTO for the trip, the vending machines were amazing being able to stop on the corner and get a hot bottle of ginger tea while it was cold and raining was the best. I don't remember seeing many machines that weren't food or drink related though, any other items I wanted I went to a store for.
It's just Thanksgiving... you have to preface the country of origin for everyone else!
@@patrickglaser1560 Your two sentences seem contradictory to me.
Anyway, there are a handful of countries that celebrate thanksgiving and they don't all do it at the same dates
Brits weren't allowed to donate blood because of an outbreak of Mad Cow disease in the '90s, but that ban has now been lifted.
Am I the only one that when I see something completely stupid during my work day I imagine Simon going off on a tangent about it?
We did blood typing in science class back in the 70s. As a Seattle-itteI can tell you that We didn't look like that until the early 2000s. And then for some reason people started moving there from all over the country and just putting tents on our street because they couldn't afford to rent anywhere. We have a huge problem with homelessness and most people are not from Seattle that are homeless
It amuses me to watch Simon crumple over the most minor sexual things. It's hilarious to watch them lose their cool because of things that are so vanilla they can't even smell the strawberry. To answer, Simon, the 'used panty' thing is to sniff them, because pharamones do interesting things to people's minds. The reason why school-themed roleplay is so common is because school was a foundational part of the life during most people's sexual development, leading to ingraining of it's themes into people's sex map.
10:45 Denmark here and we have always had our Christmas celebration on the evening of the 24th. The 25th and 26th does not really have any fixed traditions - it’s just holidays you can spend with family and friends. To me it’s always been weird to see how Christmas was on the 25th in the US and UK, while it’s the 24th in most other countries. I wonder why it turned out that way. :)
I remember figuring out the blood type thing as a kid from video game character profiles. I started noticing patterns in character personalities based on their blood types.
Blood type marriages were a thing back then iirc. Which is absolute nonsense and already debunked. I'm glad society has improved a little when it comes to stuff like this. Imagine the family of your significant other rejecting you because of what nlood type you had, yikes
I watched the whole thing thank you some fantastic insight and great work 🎉
I’ve been living in Japan for half of my life. I’ve definitely waited in the bloody rain for an hour outside of KFC while my husband was at work. They also sell cakes lmao
Yeah, I didn't have room to mention the strawberry shortcake
KFCs in America sell cakes too. Chocolate is most common, but other kinds have been found, too.
UK KFC sells cookies now.
Our local KFC burned down, so they don't sell anything right now... and now I am craving KFC! Dammit Simon!
Karismasu keki.
2:35 - Chapter 1 - Vending machines
9:40 - Chapter 2 - Simon's favourite holiday
13:50 - Chapter 3 - Blood type personality theory
20:30 - Chapter 4 - Everything is clean
24:05 - Chapter 5 - Bundle up for summer
25:15 - Chapter 6 - Weird marriage proposals
Part of it is anime... but part of the nerdy desire to go to Japan is that they embrace and use technology at a whole other level. I live in the midwest, a fairly large city but in the midwest. It is just starting to be normal that people have their phones out when walking around for something other than being on a phone call. But there is basically no technology out in the wild. They are just starting to install some video displays for public information along the sidewalks, and the opposition to it is palpable. Half of the ones that were installed have already been removed 3 months later. The idea of going to a country where things look 'futuristic' seems fascinating.
Most of Japan isn't so futuristic though. Depending on where you are, it's a very important to carry cash. Credit cards are more likely in tourist areas. But of course, many places in Tokyo are as futuristic as it gets.
People actually looking at the world they're walking through, and no one wants bright adverts flashing at them everywhere they go?
Sounds lovely.
I’m from Alabama. The fact that we just got a Slim Chickens in Athens was huge news lol. And yet, we build rockets too. I swear Alabama gets more weirdly dichotomous every year.
One key thing that everyone forgets about japanese vending machines: THEY ARE CHEAP, THEY BARELY COST MORE THAN THE ONES IN A SHOP, I know it’s hard to imagine not having to shell out £5 for a small lukewarm coke, when you can have a huge variety of hot or cold (icecold) drinks for the same or similar price as in a shop.
What a coincidence that this video is uploaded on very my second day of Japanese Language and Culture class. 😅
Maybe you guys should make a video about America and Britain’s special relationship.
1:42 "America is like the size of Europe" - Simon Whistler, 2023
That time when both smallness of brain and smoothness of brain align perfectly...
What would life be without Fact Boy?
Probably about the same 😂😂😂
I'm just kidding though - because I love Simon and ALL his channels!!!
Every time he says 'Fact Boy', I can't help but think about the Fact Sphere from Portal 2.
Fact boi*
I LOVE how many times Simon just looses it over the ridiculousness of it all 🤣
My family and I went to Hokkaido last month. There aren't as many vending machines as in Tokyo, but there were still a lot. Also, cigarette vending machines as well.
The first time I went to Japan I was really surprised how much japanese people smoked and there were so many cigarette vending machines. This was around 2002. Maybe things have changed since then
@@SuperKendoman Not really. Maybe a bit fewer smokers, but still way more than western countries.
I love that I can recall some of his tangents from other series now lmao
He told the Prisoner-Vending machine story on Casual Criminalist, the episode about the Grayhound decapitation!
Simon, you should visit the state of Colorado; there they take littering pretty seriously, and individuals caught doing it will be fined! The whole state (or so it seemed) was very focused on keeping their state clean and conscientious about nature and preserving it. I absolutely loved the vacation I took there to Fort Collins around 2007 or so. It definitely had its own extremely enjoyable vibe! The mountains are absolutely gorgeous and breathtaking, and there just aren't many places where you can be dying of sweat one minute and then take a short 20 or 30-minute ride up the mountain and get out and play in the snow the next!
♻️🗑️🌞🥵🏔️❄️
With regards to Japan, my daughter (21) is obsessed with Japanese culture and is dying for an opportunity to travel there. She's an amazingly talented artist, mainly focused and disciplined in the drawing and creation of anime and manga characters. 🇯🇵🎎👘👺
They used to hold the Speech and Debate state competitions in Fort Collins for Colorado. You're quite correct, it's a really pretty place to visit.
24:51 can confirm, japan also understands how incredible the concept of AC is and uses it to its full effect. also, you can’t really blame them when their summers are comparable to those in the american midwest (it’s averaged 95F/35C and 75% humidity this week in missouri, for reference)
Here in Germany we also celebrate on Christmas eve. the day starts out like almost any other until 2 pm sharp and everything goes into lookdown.
the 25. and 26. are also holidays. you either visit family or just stuff yourself at home on these days.
People eat and drink a lot. then we have 4 days to cure our hangover and food coma until "Sylvester" which is new years eve.
I used to donate plasma and they asked if I was in the UK during a certain time (can not remember the correct phrasing) same when you donate blood. I was always wondering why but someone mentionef mad cows desease in the comments so now I know.
The trade off is that people with O- blood are less susceptible to viral infections, and less likely to go bald for some reason, statistically speaking.
On last name wedding thing I always recommend doing what my cousin did when she got married her last name was stone his mothers maiden name was Blacks, they became the Blackstones. Name mashing last names together to make a more powerful name should be the new tradition. If the ones you have dont work find a family member with a last name that does and steal it!
That is an awesome last name smash tbh!
Another alternative is just snatching a last name from a favorite media series. I knew a lesbian couple that intended to have the last name Gainsborough bc they love FFVII and I hope to find someone who either would accept the last name Rhapsodos or has a better alternative from something we both love. :D
Black stone is also a magician family. I remember seeing Harry Blackstone as a kid.
25:01 This is just plain wrong, the opposite of the reality of working in Japan. It's always super hot inside any Japanese building. Trust me, I cannot get anything done in any office I have worked in. The average office temperature is around 27c and even then people have full suits and pretend to shiver because it's so cold. If the temp drops below 25c there are massive complaints.
We have a KFC buffet here in Utah. There is might actually be 2 of them now that I think about it.
We have quite a few here in North Carolina too
Almost every KFC has a buffet here in Indiana. Simon would be in heaven. 😅
Same here in Missouri. To be more specific, Oak Grove Missouri's Taco Bell/KFC combo restaurant has one.
Illinois has KFC buffets around too, Silly Simon
I wish they had buffets in NY, I’d be in heaven…
Seattle: I haven't visited the city, but I did get to experience the airport recently. Virtually every seat had a large collection of trash beside it or under it, and sometimes in it. Sitting on the floor was pretty much a no-go (most airports you can get away with this). The entire place appeared to be used as a gigantic trash can, it was awful and it stunk in some spots as well. The announcements by Duff McKagan were the only thing the airport had going for it. Nothing against the folks who live there, but I never want to visit that airport again. Flew into Sacramento then and had my faith restored in humanity (kudos Sacramento!!).
I want to go to Japan just for the vending machines 😭
Australia use to have KFC Buffets in the 90s, same with Pizza Hut. I have no idea if they were around earlier, still around or not at all, but they were good!
We could learn a lot from the Japanese, and you should definitely visit. Kyoto is a MUST SEE.
I love their crazy, whacky TV.
I love that there are vending machines on every corner if you need a snack.
I love that every store or mall has automatic doors. No push/pull nonsense to catch someone else's germs.
I love that many eateries are automats. You enter your order into a terminal with all the details so a middle-person can't muck up your order, and wait to hear your number.
I love their version of curry. Mmm, chicken, beef, or pork with a plate of rice and GRAVY.
My family celebrates our Norwegian heritage on Christmas Eve by eating lutefisk and lefse
Blaze me senpai 🥵
lol
Hey, Christmas Eve is my birthday! I'm totally OK with family celebrations on my birthday!
In my family we celebrate my birthday during the day and go out for lunch
Then we switch to Christmas mode and start cooking appetizers, having some cocktails, and nibble and laugh and exchange gifts.
It's an entire day of celebration and I love it!
7:20 wow, this was the most old man like move I have ever seen.
5:20 When i was stationed in Okinawa, I really enjoyed the vending machines that sold alcohol...especially that Mojo...😂
I'm screaming at the "Monster" clip. "Domo. I am Japanese." 😂😂
Whoever edits these video's are hilarious 25:12 commercial had me nostalgic until that and I spit my coffee. I see they have multiple things from vtubers, Sailor Moon and to the bear in the big blue house, yeah I remember when my son watched that show. I love the Jojo meme
I feel your pain Simon! I've spent Christmas in Czech and Poland, wonderfully strange experience! Celebrating Christmas a day early feels like cheating ahah!
In ny state when you get out of prison they give you a debit card with 40 bucks plus whatever was on your commissary account and they give you a bus ticket to whatever town you are paroling to. But if you're paroling out of state they'll give you either a train OR an airplane ticket depending on how far it is.
I may have choked to death when Bear sniffed the screen, bringing back memories of doing wake and bake in the kitchen while my kid watched Bear in the Big Blue House....
🤣🤣🤣☠
So I live in Japan and the ONE thing I will NEVER get used to is the fact that the 18+ section in book stores just has a little divider. You can still 100% see EVERYTHING because it’s not covered at all and in the middle of the store. Sometimes and only sometimes there is a curtain or something similar.
It's exactly the same in Australia you would not be able to donate blood here either and it has to do with the fact that Europe had a mad cow outbreak
Peters personal shopping list 😂
A pallet of chocolate covered pretzels
A hammock of cake
A drum of jam
A desk of cheez-its
Might as well add a barrel of kfc on that list 😅
Fun Fact: The more air conditioners that run in close proximity to one another, like in a densely packed city, the hotter the surrounding air becomes, and the more people run their air conditioning. This leads to a feedback loop where the air keeps getting hotter.
I knew that the used panties from a vending machine myth was going to get a mention 😂
Oh, and fun fact. On the subject of KFC at Christmas. That was started in the 1970s, when the first KFC opened in Japan and the manager of the store heard a group of foreigners talk about how they missed having turkey for Christmas. After a bit of clever marketing (and substituting the turkey for the fried chicken), this new 'tradition' soon took off among the expat community living in Japan and then across the whole of Japan. Though, the practice of Japanese households eating KFC is still quite low. Less than 3% of the population (Japanese & Expats) eat KFC at Christmas.
As far as I could tell, there's one panty vending machine, but it doesn't sell used underwear anymore. I totally didn't go looking for them one time when I was I'm Tokyo. There were probably more in the 80s or 90s, but we're talking about dozens of machines, not something that was terribly common. The same actually goes for some of the other weird ones, though booze and food were absolutely a thing.
As for school and sex shop being used in the same sentence... yeah. I once went to a little museum set up by a huge school uniform manufacturer... that had a dress up and photo area upstairs that totally wasn't there to let people act out their fetishes.
"Horrry shiiiiiit"
💀
ty Sam. I needed that.