Why There’s An Empty Skyscraper In The Middle Of Times Square

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  • Опубликовано: 16 ноя 2024

Комментарии • 859

  • @cloudkitt
    @cloudkitt 2 года назад +1145

    I think a writer came up with the "S&M to M&M" line and worked backwards to make an episode from there

    • @markmh835
      @markmh835 2 года назад +71

      And the same writer came up with the line Mickey Mouse vs. Dickey Houses. Clever guy. (Definitely a dude.) 😁👍

    • @renderproductions1032
      @renderproductions1032 2 года назад +5

      @@markmh835 the description says it was “Adam Chase”, so yes.

    • @maxpowr90
      @maxpowr90 2 года назад +14

      Tucker Carlson still wishes M&Ms were into S&M.

    • @zes3813
      @zes3813 2 года назад

      wrgg, nos cuht gina s cxu or not, say, can say any nmw and any s perfx

    • @fredricharllee2018
      @fredricharllee2018 2 года назад

      @@maxpowr90 those cartoons would be hilarious....

  • @ericolsen7957
    @ericolsen7957 2 года назад +1618

    One thing I learned about Times Square that I thought was interesting was that the billboards are possibly illegal because of the Highway Beautification Act of 1965, which limits billboards to 1,200 square feet along highways and while Broadway and 7th Ave are not highways, in 2012 the government passed a law to also include “urban principal arterial routes."

    • @andychow5509
      @andychow5509 2 года назад +151

      They might be grandfathered in.

    • @SeedSnatcher
      @SeedSnatcher 2 года назад +103

      @@andychow5509 In Austin, billboards are illegal but there's a bunch of grandfathered ones. This case probably works the same way

    • @lrdxgm
      @lrdxgm 2 года назад +71

      If anyone thinks either Broadway or 7th ave classifies as "principal arterial", then they either never been at Times Square or never seen a principal arterial route anywhere, including the two urban freeways on the Hudson and the East river banks..

    • @youngscrappyhungry4570
      @youngscrappyhungry4570 2 года назад +14

      Times Square a highway?? Nowadays it’s a suburban mall.

    • @Wallyworld30
      @Wallyworld30 2 года назад +12

      The Highway Beautification Act was created by Lady Bird Johnson. First lady to Lyndon Johnson. Lyndon Johnson is one of America's most underrated Presidents.

  • @bluebird6039
    @bluebird6039 2 года назад +995

    Worth noting that the original facade was stripped in the 60s by allied chemical so even if all the billboards were removed it would not look like it did in 1904.

    • @bluebird6039
      @bluebird6039 2 года назад +71

      @Anel Zukic Times Square in particular has lost nearly everything within the square proper.

    • @EternalResonance
      @EternalResonance 2 года назад +10

      this video didn't explain why its now mostly adorned😑 click baited. sooooooooooo annoyed.

    • @EternalResonance
      @EternalResonance 2 года назад +7

      you dont have to have one or the other. you can rent out space and have signs. they haven't told us why they dont rent it out.

    • @bluebird6039
      @bluebird6039 2 года назад +59

      @@EternalResonance Nobody wants an office with no windows and renting out the building with discounted rates because of the lack of windows is more trouble than it’s worth.

    • @rogan6947
      @rogan6947 2 года назад +19

      @@bluebird6039 Not sure about US building codes but here in New Zealand you must allow a certain amount of natural lighting into an office space for it to be habitable. I assume the US has something similar and therefore having tenants in a building with covered windows would be illegal, and zoning wouldn't allow it to be used for anything else like manufacturing.

  • @rogan6947
    @rogan6947 2 года назад +1058

    Not sure about US building codes but here in New Zealand you must allow a certain amount of natural lighting into an office space for it to be habitable. I assume the US has something similar and therefore having tenants in a building with covered windows would be illegal, and zoning wouldn't allow it to be used for anything else like manufacturing. For anyone claiming he didn't answer why it isn't rented out still.

    • @Sammie1053
      @Sammie1053 2 года назад +184

      There's a chance NYC/the state of New York has a law like that, but I can almost guarantee that's not a law in the US.

    • @RabbitsInBlack
      @RabbitsInBlack 2 года назад +81

      LOL. NYC has all kinds of laws. NYC also has all kinds of loop holes. Got to learn how to think outside that box.

    • @mysteryman7877
      @mysteryman7877 2 года назад +46

      The city or state would make that law, not the federal government. NYC regulates how much sunlight has to hit the streets (skyscrapers have to buy air rights from neighboring properties and set their facades back as they rise), so they likely have something about the interior, too.

    • @Snowshowslow
      @Snowshowslow 2 года назад +14

      Buuuut... Couldn't you put in something like a light shaft in the middle? And some shallow light sources on the corners or something? It shouldn't be hard to create apartments with not so great lightning that barely doesn't break code but enormous earning potential nonetheless, due to the location. I'm normally not an advocate of creating crappy housing, but in a city where housing is such an issue it seems such a waste...

    • @hyperspeed1313
      @hyperspeed1313 2 года назад +27

      Definitely not in Texas. My office space doesn't even have a window on my floor

  • @JonathanFantasy
    @JonathanFantasy 2 года назад +2901

    TLDW; the building is essentially just being used as a big billboard because it's more economical.

    • @theparagonal
      @theparagonal 2 года назад +188

      Once again proving modern capitalism is the best way to divide scarce resources.

    • @chandlerdeslatte3148
      @chandlerdeslatte3148 2 года назад +27

      @@theparagonal you are a very smart boy

    • @lindzeesouperocd7558
      @lindzeesouperocd7558 2 года назад +81

      @@theparagonal I have poop stains in my underwear

    • @mf--
      @mf-- 2 года назад +28

      @@theparagonal it should have the lowest rent because it doesn't have windows.

    • @vincedurden6446
      @vincedurden6446 2 года назад +8

      That's only a quarter as interesting.

  • @craigjensen6853
    @craigjensen6853 2 года назад +503

    "I'd walk a mile for a Camel" -- my uncle does every day, it's about a half mile to the gas station from his trailer park and he lost his license years ago after his 6th DUI. Except I think he switched to Newports.

    • @ileutur6863
      @ileutur6863 2 года назад +49

      Yea that does sound like something a newport smoker would do

    • @atimholt
      @atimholt 2 года назад +27

      Kinda funny that walking a mile is supposed to be a big deal. Guess it would be for a smoker.

    • @EternalResonance
      @EternalResonance 2 года назад +1

      this video didn't explain why its now mostly adorned😑 click baited. sooooooooooo annoyed.

    • @AndrewAMartin
      @AndrewAMartin 2 года назад +7

      @@EternalResonance You need to learn some comprehension skills, and stop replying to everyone's comments with the same idiotic comment.

    • @WouldntULikeToKnow.
      @WouldntULikeToKnow. 2 года назад +10

      @@EternalResonance stop spamming the comment section. Get a life

  • @diskoverio1020
    @diskoverio1020 2 года назад +326

    When I see weird things in the corporate world of US, I know that Disney is always involved.

  • @vishal111shah
    @vishal111shah 2 года назад +292

    The puns, the innuendo, the punches!! what an awesome episode this one was!!

  • @vipahman
    @vipahman 2 года назад +1483

    OMG, this episode is so full of innuendo that I'm blown away. Awesome script writing!

    • @wli2718
      @wli2718 2 года назад +40

      i see what you did there.

    • @EternalResonance
      @EternalResonance 2 года назад +18

      this video didn't explain why its now mostly adorned😑 click baited. sooooooooooo annoyed.

    • @EternalResonance
      @EternalResonance 2 года назад +6

      you dont have to have one or the other. you can rent out space and have signs. they haven't told us why they dont rent it out.

    • @reuben3588
      @reuben3588 2 года назад +19

      @@EternalResonance I assume he meant it was more profitable to have it empty

    • @steveg5122
      @steveg5122 2 года назад +23

      @@EternalResonance Heat. all the wiring for the signs creates heat, and the building is not square footage heavy

  • @sterlinsilver
    @sterlinsilver 2 года назад +102

    I do kind of miss old times square. Not the seedy bits, but more the animated neon signs. They were works of art

    • @worldcomicsreview354
      @worldcomicsreview354 2 года назад +16

      Piccadilly Circus in London was the same. Once unique and interesting, now just a bunch of giant TV's

    • @NotChicoAndPico
      @NotChicoAndPico 2 года назад +13

      I miss the seedy bits too though.

    • @AlphineWolf
      @AlphineWolf Год назад +1

      @@NotChicoAndPico it was what gave it its charm?

  • @WezWesley
    @WezWesley 2 года назад +159

    The people who named time square had no sense of geometry

    • @PickleRicksFATASSCOUSIN
      @PickleRicksFATASSCOUSIN 2 года назад +18

      RUclips will never get rid of these trashy ass comment bots...

    • @TheKewlPerson
      @TheKewlPerson 2 года назад +10

      Times hourglass-shaped thing just doesn't ring as well

    • @nicholaslau3194
      @nicholaslau3194 2 года назад +1

      Not if you curve spacetime

    • @jullit31
      @jullit31 2 года назад +5

      @@TheKewlPerson Times Polygon would have been cool though...

    • @Nhatanh0475
      @Nhatanh0475 2 года назад +2

      Well to be fair "Square" can meant a lot of thing not just about the shape.

  • @andychow5509
    @andychow5509 2 года назад +120

    The "asbestos" warning may also explain it. If they had to renovate it, the cost may outstrip any discounted future cash flows. There are a lot of buildings like that actually, stuck in limbo. A building I used to work in had two levels of shopping malls underground. It flooded one year, and they condemned it and never reopened those levels. It's been more than a decade. Prime real-estate right in the center of the financial district. It's really strange.

    • @gizzmo952
      @gizzmo952 2 года назад +3

      This would be happening to the twin towers right now if they hadn't been destroyed, they used asbestos in the entire buildings in both towers.

    • @patbak235
      @patbak235 2 года назад +10

      There's a whole skyscraper abandoned in New orleans because of asbestos last I checked it was for sale for 440000$

    • @willofdodge1
      @willofdodge1 2 года назад +3

      There's asbestos in every building from 1950 to 1980.

    • @HnvyCat
      @HnvyCat 2 года назад +1

      @@patbak235 wait thats so cheap

    • @HnvyCat
      @HnvyCat 2 года назад +2

      how bad of a financial decision would that be...
      but owning a skyscraper

  • @donaloflynn
    @donaloflynn 2 года назад +82

    I just realised that I've never given any thought to why Times Square is so named or the fact that it clearly isn't a square!

    • @the.abhiram.r
      @the.abhiram.r 2 года назад +7

      any intersection between broadway and another avenue is named a square (south of upper west side)

    • @donaloflynn
      @donaloflynn 2 года назад +6

      @@the.abhiram.r Really? That’s absurd! There are so many other words (like place for example) that can give the concept of an open space without wrongly defining its shape.

    • @thelazyrabbit4220
      @thelazyrabbit4220 2 года назад +3

      @@donaloflynn i think it wants to convey that it will lead to four roads converging since square has 4 sides. in my mother tongue any crossroads between 2 roads is called a "charrasta" independent of the shape of road

    • @joao3547
      @joao3547 2 года назад +4

      A square is also a plaza

    • @donaloflynn
      @donaloflynn 2 года назад +10

      @@joao3547 A plaza is what Times Square actually is. Thanks for reminding me of the right word! Calling it a square is silly. I don’t agree that they’re the same thing.

  • @jahamesalome4877
    @jahamesalome4877 2 года назад +20

    it actually has random shit in it. ive been up to the ball and stopped on a few floors. theyre all random shit like furnature or office supplies

  • @merrittn6397
    @merrittn6397 2 года назад +9

    I worked for Warner Bros Studio Stores when Warner Bros built their Times Sq store. I, along with other managers helped to open that store. They held a Grand Opening, "Bugs on Broadway" and I got to meet Chuck Jones. We got to go up to the upper floors, they were basically used as stockroom space, most of the windows were covered by the billboards. It was great while it lasted!

  • @MaximNightFury
    @MaximNightFury 2 года назад +252

    What an intro to a semi-family friendly video

    • @tookay4ever
      @tookay4ever 2 года назад

      That’s what I call EDP445s channel ☠️☠️☠️

    • @metro-v8
      @metro-v8 2 года назад

      so not halal mode

    • @khka2178
      @khka2178 2 года назад

      This is why it is "semi" family friendly channel!

    • @JZH10000
      @JZH10000 2 года назад +1

      @@sosexyimsexy3210 ah yes semi family friendly
      I remember when spam bots posted links to other RUclips videos and free in game coins for whatever was popular. But I guess we live in 2022 the year of sex normalization.
      Go sell them malware infested nudes bad bitch show the patriarchy who's boss

    • @adog3129
      @adog3129 Год назад

      honestly i didnt see any of those puppets having sex. not sure how they're supposed to

  • @vampirehawkgirl
    @vampirehawkgirl 2 года назад +50

    Times Square really is just the ad break of NYC huh

    • @sosexyimsexy3210
      @sosexyimsexy3210 2 года назад

      Only for fans over 18 years old. girl in perfect BODY G BUNNYGIRLSS.SITE cup milk god & perfect erotic body constriction god Toro face transcendent beautiful sister like a famous model
      tricks I do not know
      Megan: "Hotter"
      Hopi: "Sweeter"
      Joonie: "Cooler"
      Yoongi: "Butter
      So with toy and his tricks, do not read it to him that he writes well mamon there are only to laugh for a while and not be sad and stressed because of the hard life that
      is lived today.
      Köz karaş: '' Taŋ kaldım ''
      Erinder: '' Sezimdüü ''
      Jılmayuu: '' Tattuuraak ''
      Dene: '' Muzdak ''
      Jizn, kak krasivaya melodiya, tolko pesni pereputalis.
      Aç köz arstan
      Bul ukmuştuuday ısık kün bolçu, jana arstan abdan açka bolgon.
      Uyunan çıgıp, tigi jer-jerdi izdedi. Al kiçinekey koyondu wins taba algan. Al bir az oylonboy koyondu karmadı. '' Bul koyon menin kursagımdı toyguza albayt '' dep oylodu arstan.
      Arstan koyondu öltüröyün dep jatkanda, bir kiyik tigi tarapka çurkadı. Arstan aç köz bolup kaldı. Kiçine koyondu emes, çoŋ kiyikti jegen jakşı dep oylodu. # 垃圾
      They are one of the best concerts, you can not go but just seeing them from the screen, I know it was surprising
      💗❤️💌💘

    • @randomplanenoob
      @randomplanenoob 5 месяцев назад

      yes

  • @Goxilla
    @Goxilla 2 года назад +15

    btw that building is owned by Jamestown L.P. a german (based) fonds management company. At some point the walls of One Time Square were the most expensive advertising space in the world. The building was part of many assets in a real estate fonds and the original plan was to sell it once the fonds was liquidated but prices for advertising on that building skyrocked and they kept that building within their company

    • @ALifeOfWine
      @ALifeOfWine 2 года назад

      What are "fonds"?

    • @chattphotos
      @chattphotos 2 года назад +1

      @@ALifeOfWine Probably the new lexicon for the Fonz cryptocurrency

    • @kevinschultz6091
      @kevinschultz6091 2 года назад +2

      @@ALifeOfWine - in doing a brief internet search, it's not actually a typo (as I first thought), but seems to be a central European term for "fund". Looks like it generally refers to companies that invest and manager real estate - might be a close relative of a REIT, maybe?

    • @termitreter6545
      @termitreter6545 2 года назад

      @@kevinschultz6091 There is no specific connection between "fund" and real estate. I think its basically just a german, and maybe french term for fonds.

    • @flp322
      @flp322 2 года назад +2

      @@termitreter6545 Fonds is the German (among other languages) word for fund. I'm guessing the top commenter didn't know the correct translation and/or thought the word is the same in English.

  • @andywagnac5255
    @andywagnac5255 2 года назад +60

    I actually got the Nebula/Curiosity package in December because of this series! So happy to see you hard work really paying off !

  • @Likeomgitznich
    @Likeomgitznich 2 года назад +78

    Fun fact: everywhere broadway intersects an avenue, there is a “square”

    • @this51man
      @this51man 2 года назад +17

      Columbus Circle has entered the chat

    • @MitchellBPYao
      @MitchellBPYao 2 года назад

      Now i know before I go

    • @the.abhiram.r
      @the.abhiram.r 2 года назад

      street**

    • @Likeomgitznich
      @Likeomgitznich 2 года назад +3

      @@the.abhiram.r nope. just the avenues.

    • @Likeomgitznich
      @Likeomgitznich 2 года назад +6

      @@this51man technically broadway doesn't intersect an Avenue at Columbus Circle, since that's where 8th Ave ends and Central Park West begins. Even notice how on the other side of Central Park the road isn't "Central Park East", it's just a continuation of 5th Ave? Shits weird AF haha

  • @shingshongshamalama
    @shingshongshamalama 2 года назад +27

    HAI: "Here's a video about bricks."
    Also HAI: "I got a bunch of famous youtube celebrities to pay me to break laws for chuckles."

  • @erictaylor5462
    @erictaylor5462 2 года назад +6

    3:05 My grandmother smoked from the time she was 14 until she was in her 60's. In the end she couldn't walk 100 feet (.019 miles) from her bedroom to the kitchen.
    Watching her die of emphysema has kept me from smoking for my entire life.

  • @avace917
    @avace917 2 года назад +10

    Sometimes I really miss 80s/90s Times Square. There was a weird charm to it. And of course the video game arcades were magical

  • @ThisIsntmyrealnameGoogle
    @ThisIsntmyrealnameGoogle 2 года назад +40

    Another banger, I love these history lessons, I always learn something new while it ties into my favorite topic of skyscrapers and New York City

  • @yamiangie
    @yamiangie 2 года назад +15

    You know I had looked that the building last time I was in the city and wonder if who'd rent office space in a building covered in signs like that.

    • @donaloflynn
      @donaloflynn 2 года назад +5

      I'd have thought it was perfect for a company looking for relatively cheap central NYC office space. It not having many (any?) windows must have made it cheaper than neighbouring buildings.

  • @BrHck
    @BrHck 2 года назад +5

    6 minutes video and I still don't know why the building is empty

  • @xMegaVideos
    @xMegaVideos 2 года назад +10

    I’m wondering what will end sooner; the Nebula discount or my WinRar 30-day trail period.

  • @WezWesley
    @WezWesley 2 года назад +33

    Everyone loves the idea of pissing your pants while watching a giant wall

    • @attackofthelumbie9029
      @attackofthelumbie9029 2 года назад +2

      Especially when surrounded by strangers

    • @sosexyimsexy3210
      @sosexyimsexy3210 2 года назад

      Only for fans over 18 years old. girl in perfect BODY G BUNNYGIRLSS.SITE cup milk god & perfect erotic body constriction god Toro face transcendent beautiful sister like a famous model
      tricks I do not know
      Megan: "Hotter"
      Hopi: "Sweeter"
      Joonie: "Cooler"
      Yoongi: "Butter
      So with toy and his tricks, do not read it to him that he writes well mamon there are only to laugh for a while and not be sad and stressed because of the hard life that
      is lived today.
      Köz karaş: '' Taŋ kaldım ''
      Erinder: '' Sezimdüü ''
      Jılmayuu: '' Tattuuraak ''
      Dene: '' Muzdak ''
      Jizn, kak krasivaya melodiya, tolko pesni pereputalis.
      Aç köz arstan
      Bul ukmuştuuday ısık kün bolçu, jana arstan abdan açka bolgon.
      Uyunan çıgıp, tigi jer-jerdi izdedi. Al kiçinekey koyondu wins taba algan. Al bir az oylonboy koyondu karmadı. '' Bul koyon menin kursagımdı toyguza albayt '' dep oylodu arstan.
      Arstan koyondu öltüröyün dep jatkanda, bir kiyik tigi tarapka çurkadı. Arstan aç köz bolup kaldı. Kiçine koyondu emes, çoŋ kiyikti jegen jakşı dep oylodu. # 垃圾
      They are one of the best concerts, you can not go but just seeing them from the screen, I know it was surprising
      💗❤️💌💘

  • @lukemiller539
    @lukemiller539 2 года назад +11

    It was the local government that stopped the fireworks because it was so dangerously low - not because the idea of the ball was cooler.

  • @thehumblescience
    @thehumblescience 2 года назад +22

    I watched your documentary The Colorado Problem on Curiosity Stream and it was awesome! Hope to see more feature length documentaries from you!

  • @BriManeely
    @BriManeely 2 года назад +69

    The "peep show" joke is maybe the low-key funniest joke I've ever heard

  • @oleksandrbyelyenko435
    @oleksandrbyelyenko435 2 года назад +37

    Cheddar, TheB1M, and now Wendover Prosuctions....
    It is like the hypest theme currently.
    I was actually watching one just before this one
    P.S. okay this video is on a different topic.

    • @khka2178
      @khka2178 2 года назад +6

      @Just Dope Yes, the same fax of your birth certificate, your mama tore when you were born.

    • @sosexyimsexy3210
      @sosexyimsexy3210 2 года назад

      Only for fans over 18 years old. girl in perfect BODY G BUNNYGIRLSS.SITE cup milk god & perfect erotic body constriction god Toro face transcendent beautiful sister like a famous model
      tricks I do not know
      Megan: "Hotter"
      Hopi: "Sweeter"
      Joonie: "Cooler"
      Yoongi: "Butter
      So with toy and his tricks, do not read it to him that he writes well mamon there are only to laugh for a while and not be sad and stressed because of the hard life that
      is lived today.
      Köz karaş: '' Taŋ kaldım ''
      Erinder: '' Sezimdüü ''
      Jılmayuu: '' Tattuuraak ''
      Dene: '' Muzdak ''
      Jizn, kak krasivaya melodiya, tolko pesni pereputalis.
      Aç köz arstan
      Bul ukmuştuuday ısık kün bolçu, jana arstan abdan açka bolgon.
      Uyunan çıgıp, tigi jer-jerdi izdedi. Al kiçinekey koyondu wins taba algan. Al bir az oylonboy koyondu karmadı. '' Bul koyon menin kursagımdı toyguza albayt '' dep oylodu arstan.
      Arstan koyondu öltüröyün dep jatkanda, bir kiyik tigi tarapka çurkadı. Arstan aç köz bolup kaldı. Kiçine koyondu emes, çoŋ kiyikti jegen jakşı dep oylodu. # 垃圾
      They are one of the best concerts, you can not go but just seeing them from the screen, I know it was surprising
      💗❤️💌💘

  • @AcridDragoon
    @AcridDragoon 2 года назад +23

    Petition for Sam to start twice as interesting

    • @flp322
      @flp322 2 года назад

      Just watch four HAI videos in a row

    • @AcridDragoon
      @AcridDragoon 2 года назад +1

      @@flp322 modern problems require modern solutions

    • @adog3129
      @adog3129 Год назад

      that would be way too interesting

  • @yass123
    @yass123 2 года назад +8

    As a New Yorker, I can't remember the last time I went to Times Square. It might have been 20+ years ago to watch MTV's TRL.
    I remember reading about that Disney moved a building on 42nd street in the 90's. Might have been to build that movie theater.

    • @armadillolover99
      @armadillolover99 2 года назад +1

      I work on Broadway and the last time I went to Times Square in 2017, I went to Nintendo World because it was the only place in the entire state that had the Nintendo Switch in stock at the time and I really wanted to play Zelda Breath of The Wild

    • @Anon54387
      @Anon54387 2 месяца назад

      Makes sense. There's really nothing one needs for day to day life there that can't be gotten elsewhere in the city. I bet Las Vegans rarely if ever go to the strip.

  • @kaivoormolen1825
    @kaivoormolen1825 2 года назад +4

    1:04 I love the spelling of Conittekock on the map and 'Hoeren Eylandt' around the same place, meaning 'Whore Island' in Dutch.

    • @warpnin3
      @warpnin3 2 года назад

      Very interesting map; I studied it for a few minutes.😄
      Groeten uit Rotterdam!

  • @mateoleon1796
    @mateoleon1796 2 года назад +59

    how do you manage to make videos on such interesting topics all the time? I literally put all your videos on "watch later"

    • @Jehty_
      @Jehty_ 2 года назад +7

      Wikipedia

    • @sirBrouwer
      @sirBrouwer 2 года назад +1

      He pays Brian from Real Engineering for doing the thinking work.

    • @renderproductions1032
      @renderproductions1032 2 года назад

      @@sirBrouwer |-o-| true

    • @adog3129
      @adog3129 Год назад

      they take suggestions. someone out there knows a good factoid, and pretty much all the research in the videos is a wikipedia page.

  • @DigitalCasm
    @DigitalCasm 2 года назад +10

    This is the funniest video by Half as Interesting / Wendover productions I've ever seen. I laughed out loud at least 2 times. And that's at least 4 more times than I usually laugh during his videos.

    • @User31129
      @User31129 2 года назад +1

      It's been 6 days and no one has commented "Good joke!" So I will throw you a bone

  • @MKNYC_
    @MKNYC_ 2 года назад +11

    Absolutely brilliant episode, you have described times square perfectly

  • @artofzehan9218
    @artofzehan9218 2 года назад +6

    the "dickey house" gag made me scream audibly

  • @cypriotmappers5342
    @cypriotmappers5342 2 года назад +6

    I started watching the video next to my family on high volume. regretting it now .lol

    • @arc8218
      @arc8218 2 года назад

      Oof 🤣🤣

  • @hawkeye5955
    @hawkeye5955 2 года назад +5

    "Beloved by tourists and behated by locals"
    As a New Yorker, this is 100% accurate.

  • @alli_mode
    @alli_mode 2 года назад +3

    This is the second video ive watched in the last half hour with "spider-man: turn off the dark"

  • @sheephearder8643
    @sheephearder8643 2 года назад +3

    “S and M to M and M” joke is fucking gold!

  • @differentfins
    @differentfins 2 года назад +3

    Even though I live in the 🇨🇦 wilderness, NYC is my second home. I've spent more time living there than any other city. I used to work in Times Square 😉, I am very comfortable being in NYC.
    I ❤ NY

  • @DangNguyen-xx3zi
    @DangNguyen-xx3zi 2 года назад +16

    So dumb question, can someone explains to me how the news ticker in 1928 work without computers?

    • @zanizone3617
      @zanizone3617 2 года назад +7

      I second that. It had a conveyor belt so the light bulbs... Moved around? Still how did they "wrote" the message on it?

    • @skua675
      @skua675 2 года назад +14

      I don't know how it actually works, but I can imagine how it might have with the tech of the time. Imagine every exterior light bulb has a switch on a panel indoors arranged to correspond to its position outdoors, so the top-left switch controls the top-left light for example. These switches must default to an off position whenever not actively being pressed. Next, you've got a big wooden pegboard. You stick pegs in the board to match the message you want to show. Lastly, you put the pegboard pegs-side-down and slide it across the switch panel.
      Like I said, no idea if this is how it actually worked, it's just a way that it could work with no computers or even diodes.

    • @CCLFan1
      @CCLFan1 2 года назад +35

      I was curious too so I looked it up. They had big metal cutouts of letters that they placed on a conveyor belt. When the metal parts hit the light bulbs, the light bulbs would light up for a moment before being disconnected.
      Then since the conveyor belt ran around the whole top of the building, the lights were turning on and off fast enough that it looked like the text was scrolling across the zipper.

    • @Random3716
      @Random3716 2 года назад

      Probably a lot of wire and relays

    • @donaloflynn
      @donaloflynn 2 года назад +3

      That's not a dumb question. Nobody who writes a dumb question realises that it's dumb, so no question starting with "dumb question but" is ever dumb!

  • @Kane69022
    @Kane69022 2 года назад

    I love that Michigan in your game show ad is just a big lake

  • @khka2178
    @khka2178 2 года назад +2

    Last time I was this early, there was no channel named Half as Interesting!

  • @olefella7561
    @olefella7561 2 года назад +74

    The fact that we get free videos on RUclips by Half as Interesting is truly a gift 👍👍

    • @abubeker1704
      @abubeker1704 2 года назад +3

      Ehem Ehem, Documentary? 6 minute long Documentary?

    • @johndough5192
      @johndough5192 2 года назад +1

      It’s content lol, that’s what youtubers do.They...................make.................content. That’s the entire purpose of this site lmfao.

  • @PhilipLuckey
    @PhilipLuckey 2 года назад +18

    Adolph Ochs’ last name is pronounced “Ocks” not “Oaks”. Ochs made money publishing the Chattanooga Times (in Tennessee) in the late 1800s, and used his profits from that paper to buy the New York Times.

    • @089qwe1
      @089qwe1 2 года назад

      It’s a German name, though, and it’s pronounced like “oaks” in that language.

    • @PhilipLuckey
      @PhilipLuckey 2 года назад +1

      @@089qwe1 Perhaps it’s pronounced “oaks” in Germany, but in Tennessee and New York he and his family pronounced it “ocks”. (I met his granddaughter; she used “ocks” when talking about her grandfather Adolph Ochs.)

  • @DGFishRfine1
    @DGFishRfine1 2 года назад +2

    I feel like 20% fewer jokes would make this video about 50% better. Just let Wendover Wendover and I'll be happy 🤷

  • @skypig
    @skypig 2 года назад +1

    I'm so excited for the crime spree series, it looks so good

  • @jtridexter
    @jtridexter 2 года назад +3

    3:15 🤣🤣🤣Sexual Assault, this made me crack up.

  • @michaeld8304
    @michaeld8304 2 года назад

    Jesus I've never seen a more apt description of times sq, nice intro.

  • @JosephJohnson-gu5fw
    @JosephJohnson-gu5fw 2 года назад

    The shade to Spiderman: TOTD was gold

  • @Roxor128
    @Roxor128 2 года назад +8

    I can think of a use for that building's interior: A datacentre. Racks of computers won't care about not getting any sunlight, and you can use one of them to run the signs. That's one computer, not one rack. You're just playing back video files, not analysing scientific data. It's hardly a heavy-duty load. Just outfit one machine with a bunch of graphics cards and run DisplayPort repeaters out to the billboards.

    • @Blaqjaqshellaq
      @Blaqjaqshellaq 2 года назад +1

      Maybe that would be useful for the New York Stock Exchange!

    • @j.casalino
      @j.casalino 2 года назад

      Amusingly, if you look through the sides of the red stairs/TKTS booth, there's a bunch of power equipment and control systems underneath and a highly outdated Windows PC running it. Oh, the possibilities.

    • @danieldaniels7571
      @danieldaniels7571 2 года назад

      I’d like to see a Japanese style capsule hotel there

  • @RobbbbC
    @RobbbbC 2 года назад +1

    The peep bit was phenomenal, bravo!

    • @sosexyimsexy3210
      @sosexyimsexy3210 2 года назад

      Only for fans over 18 years old. girl in perfect BODY G BUNNYGIRLSS.SITE cup milk god & perfect erotic body constriction god Toro face transcendent beautiful sister like a famous model
      tricks I do not know
      Megan: "Hotter"
      Hopi: "Sweeter"
      Joonie: "Cooler"
      Yoongi: "Butter
      So with toy and his tricks, do not read it to him that he writes well mamon there are only to laugh for a while and not be sad and stressed because of the hard life that
      is lived today.
      Köz karaş: '' Taŋ kaldım ''
      Erinder: '' Sezimdüü ''
      Jılmayuu: '' Tattuuraak ''
      Dene: '' Muzdak ''
      Jizn, kak krasivaya melodiya, tolko pesni pereputalis.
      Aç köz arstan
      Bul ukmuştuuday ısık kün bolçu, jana arstan abdan açka bolgon.
      Uyunan çıgıp, tigi jer-jerdi izdedi. Al kiçinekey koyondu wins taba algan. Al bir az oylonboy koyondu karmadı. '' Bul koyon menin kursagımdı toyguza albayt '' dep oylodu arstan.
      Arstan koyondu öltüröyün dep jatkanda, bir kiyik tigi tarapka çurkadı. Arstan aç köz bolup kaldı. Kiçine koyondu emes, çoŋ kiyikti jegen jakşı dep oylodu. # 垃圾
      They are one of the best concerts, you can not go but just seeing them from the screen, I know it was surprising
      💗❤️💌💘

  • @FinancialShinanigan
    @FinancialShinanigan 2 года назад +3

    I actually watched the Spider-Man musical on the mezzanine level lol

  • @laurenconrad1799
    @laurenconrad1799 2 года назад +1

    I also love the bow tie shape at west 72nd street and the one just a few blocks south at Lincoln center and at Union Square and the Flatiron building. New York is the city of bow tie shapes. Lol

  • @-AirKat-
    @-AirKat- 2 года назад

    “Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark”
    Now there’s something I haven’t heard in a while

  • @gtbkts
    @gtbkts 2 года назад

    Wow. I missed this when it came out. Thanks for the awesome content!

  • @themole4369
    @themole4369 2 года назад +20

    Still seems an odd reason to me. Just because the outside of the building is more valuable than the inside, doesn't mean there's no value on the inside that could be added to the advertisement profits. Sure you'd have no windows for your offices but given the general land value in Times Square you'd think someone would be prepared to pay something for office space in that area.

    • @oneminuteofmyday
      @oneminuteofmyday 2 года назад +15

      I Googled it. The interior is severely dilapidated and would take extensive repair and remodeling to bring it up to current building codes. Due to that, the owners decided to leave it basically empty and just do the advertising on the exterior. You would think the profits from the exterior would pay for the interior work, but apparently not.

    • @Utonian21
      @Utonian21 2 года назад +2

      Yeah, it seems like a waste. Why not take advantage of the entire property?

    • @filanfyretracker
      @filanfyretracker 2 года назад +5

      @@Utonian21 a storage facility would be a good call, those need no windows and and really almost no climate control.

    • @samshelton6640
      @samshelton6640 2 года назад +3

      My conspiracy side assumes that the CIA, NSA, etc have secret offices in there.

    • @adog3129
      @adog3129 Год назад

      @@samshelton6640 that would be the dumbest place to put a secret office. jesus christ. they have multiple underground bases that the public is allowed to know about but they have to put secret offices in a skyscraper that everyone is looking at

  • @LouisSubearth
    @LouisSubearth 2 года назад +2

    I went to Times Square, and when I saw 1 Times Square in person I was greeted by a Genshin Impact ad.

  • @LarryFish3rman
    @LarryFish3rman 2 года назад +2

    This was a great episode!

  • @NickCBax
    @NickCBax 2 года назад +1

    Seems like this’d make some ideal storage units.

    • @texaswunderkind
      @texaswunderkind 2 года назад +2

      Unimproved storage space in Midtown Manhattan goes for $5 a sq. ft. per month, so it could easily be worth several million dollars a year. I can assure you the owners are doing exactly that, and that the content creator didn't bother to do any research.

  • @givrally
    @givrally 2 года назад +1

    6:20 So nice of you to promote other RUclipsrs, Sam NotFromWendover !

  • @qolspony
    @qolspony 2 года назад +1

    Wow. I did not even know that was a building. I thought it was a stand with signs on it. And the Times News building was on 35th Street as I know it until it moved across the street from Port Authority..
    Being in Time Square in the 70s/80s as a young child was like being in the ghetto. So this was my least favorite area growing up.

  • @MrPopples72843
    @MrPopples72843 2 года назад

    I CANT WAIT FOR THE NEXT EPISODE OF THE CRIME SPREE

  • @kymmzej9173
    @kymmzej9173 2 года назад

    Lol @ the annoyed security guard

  • @capbarker
    @capbarker 2 года назад

    That security guard is probably more annoyed that he's the only person stuck inside an asbestos-ridden building

  • @3braincelled-spaceboss451
    @3braincelled-spaceboss451 2 года назад

    "A skyscaper smacked square in the neon seizure district" - Half as Interesting 2022

  • @5710fpilot
    @5710fpilot 2 года назад

    Omfg! The analogies and innuendos! Where has this writer been? 🤔 🤣😂 keep it up!

  • @JasonZakrajsek
    @JasonZakrajsek 2 года назад

    What a timely “Turn Off the Dark” reference.

  • @MinecraftRespaw
    @MinecraftRespaw 2 года назад +2

    i really don't understand what's the deal with times square, i never wanted to visit and i don't know why people wants to travel to see a street with builds and screens with ads on it

    • @NotChicoAndPico
      @NotChicoAndPico 2 года назад

      I feel like the same applies to any tourism focused on cities? Like, even if they're actually more interesting than times square, it'd still be, at most, some mildly interesting oddity than you'd only really should look at in passing rather than visit for it.
      Like, let's take Amsterdam, as it's one of the more popular European destinations.
      Sure, you got the red light district, but so what? Prostitutes aren't that difficult to find, this place just has it more concentrated and presented better.
      Then there's all the weed-related stuff, but it's not like you need to travel to a different country just to get high.
      Don't get me wrong, the city is nice, especially with the fantastic integration for bicycles, but it's just a city in the end, and they aren't all that terribly interesting.

  • @YouAreBreathing
    @YouAreBreathing 2 года назад +1

    I can't wait to visit Times Square when I visit New York City next month.
    I'll even wave to the lonely security guard.

  • @CSLucasEpic
    @CSLucasEpic 2 года назад

    That one tall empty building in Norh Korea: "Finally, a worthy opponent."

  • @EduardoRubioLogan
    @EduardoRubioLogan 2 года назад +2

    2:58 Eddie Murphy Beverly Hills COP!

  • @kharimarquette
    @kharimarquette 2 года назад

    Kwisagik Trail, which became most famously known as the Albany Post Road.

  • @sebbes333
    @sebbes333 2 года назад +3

    4:44 Why not use BOTH the interior AND exterior?

  • @livewellwitheds6885
    @livewellwitheds6885 2 года назад +1

    fuck that ad is so true. I've actually walked a mile for a pack of smokes lol

  • @mablaba3629
    @mablaba3629 2 года назад

    Well that opening hit me like a dump truck 💀😂

  • @FinnishArmy
    @FinnishArmy 2 года назад +1

    What are the chances someone sees and ad in time square and thinks “Oh perfect, I needed that.” Like how are these ads even paying for them selves? They don’t right?

    • @NotChicoAndPico
      @NotChicoAndPico 2 года назад

      That applies to most ads though. It's not about seeing an ad and thinking 'I want that' since that barely ever happens. It's about repeatedly flashing the information into your brain so that it sticks, and next time you're shopping for whatever, the brand that advertised and stuck in your head will feel more familiar, even if you don't 'remember' the ad specifically.
      Makes it somewhat difficult to calculate the effectiveness of an individual ad, but ad campaigns as whole can generally be seen as successful or not without that much issue.

  • @__init__
    @__init__ 2 года назад +1

    It's weird they don't just knock the whole thing down to get more billboard space in there, if there allowed to cover the whole building like that they might as well just get rid of it.

  • @tigerseye1202
    @tigerseye1202 2 года назад +2

    This doesn't explain why the building is empty though. Even if the outside is worth more then the inside, can't you make *even more* money by also renting out the office space?

  • @marcwenger9424
    @marcwenger9424 2 года назад

    I'm waiting for the full length Wendover Productions documentary about puppets doing it. Not HAI or regular Wendover, but full on demonetizable documentary full of stock images!

  • @skn9895
    @skn9895 2 года назад

    Morphing Mickey Mouse into Dickey House has got to be the most perverse thing ever...😜

  • @ct6852
    @ct6852 2 года назад +2

    They should use it for karaoke or something. Or hukkah. Or escape rooms. Should be something silly and fun.

  • @dodo-ux4po
    @dodo-ux4po 2 года назад +17

    Why not just still use the interior as office space/rent and also use the exterior for ads? Considering infamous NY housing/rent prices, wouldn't that be beneficial for everyone involved?

    • @jxl180
      @jxl180 2 года назад +5

      No one would want to rent space with zero windows .

    • @quarksarranged
      @quarksarranged 2 года назад +6

      @@jxl180 nope. Every single room would fill. The issue would be the light pollution.

    • @dodo-ux4po
      @dodo-ux4po 2 года назад +7

      @@jxl180 In New York? I definitely disagree. It's not uncommon in NY to find flats with no windows or blocked windows. And the building is in the middle of the damn Times Square, the flats would be sold in a heartbeat I'm sure

    • @Nhicki
      @Nhicki 2 года назад +4

      Yeah I feel like that was glossed over, a bit disappointing really when that would be the first logical question to pose. just because the exterior would be the main source of revenue doesn't mean you don't want to maximize profits, but I'm sure there's a good reason, we just weren't given it in the video..

    • @0Clewi0
      @0Clewi0 2 года назад +1

      @@jxl180 if it's not as expensive as other things around, yeah people would live there.

  • @jamesscott9081
    @jamesscott9081 2 года назад

    You plugged your crime spree show but didn't tell us where we can watch it! Im interested!

  • @Llorx
    @Llorx 2 года назад

    The worse New Years eve I lived was in NY. You feel like a canned tuna with all those people squeezing you.

  • @thoperSought
    @thoperSought 2 года назад

    2:36 _"a giant new sticker that..."_ wait, what??
    oh, _"a giant news ticker"_

  • @mg42000
    @mg42000 2 года назад

    Loved that first episode! Without giving any spoilers, Sam's lack of reaction was hilarious 😂😂

  • @fuzzyegghead
    @fuzzyegghead 2 года назад +1

    The photo of the soldier kissing a nurse on VE day is not harassment or assault.
    If you lived in the time period or understood the situation you would understand.

  • @ritabratakabiraj6867
    @ritabratakabiraj6867 2 года назад +1

    Hi! Wendover Productions.

  • @Splifflore
    @Splifflore Год назад

    That intro was wild lol

  • @saltedfish3724
    @saltedfish3724 2 года назад +4

    Once again i really, really want to see something that's on nebula and would happily pay the subscription but am unable to, because the only accepted payment option is a credit card. Those are not as popular around the world as they are in the USA. I really hope that one day i'll be able to pay with paypal or something.

  • @calebhumphrey8220
    @calebhumphrey8220 2 года назад

    That was a savage intro

  • @diracraj1
    @diracraj1 2 года назад

    I come for the jokes and innuendo. I end up learning something new.

  • @janedoe8185
    @janedoe8185 2 года назад

    After this video was uploaded, I'm willing to bet that skyscraper is no longer empty.

  • @luigicp12
    @luigicp12 2 года назад

    The annoyed security guard 😅

  • @ljphoenix4341
    @ljphoenix4341 2 года назад +3

    As a Nebula subscriber, it is 100% worth the price. All the original content on there from some of RUclips's best educational creators, with extended cuts of videos that you see on YT, with no ads, it's great! Plus the access to Curiosity Stream makes the price of an annual plan that much better

    • @adog3129
      @adog3129 Год назад

      if you see ads on youtube, you're using it wrong