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Something happened to me today that i felt needed to be shared and hopefully prompts people to join in with anecdotes on the funny stuff tourists ask you or just say.
First let me preface my own story with some background information, I am a support worker from scotland my job involves me supporting people with learning disabilities get the best from their lives. Because im only 20 i was put into visiting support mainly with young guys who go to different clubs and sometimes just want to go out for today. Today i was with a young guy who is 20 like myself who i'll refer to as tom (not his real name).
Today tom decided he wanted to go to South Queensferry which most scots will know is on the south side of the firth of forth and sits underneath these two bridges:
![[image loading]](http://www.billycurriephotography.co.uk/images/The_Forth_Road_and_Rail_Bridges.jpg)
[[the suspension bridge is the road one and the meccano like structure is the rail bridge for those who dont know]]
Anyway tom and myself arrive in south queensferry and are walking around the town just about to stop for some lunch when two tourists (who i think are canadian? possibly american i cant be sure) stop me.
They start talking about how lovely scotland is even though theres some wicked winds throwing rain in their face, i agree and continue chatting politely with them when they mention the bridges. and the converstion goes something like this:
Tourists:"These bridges are lovely very iconic looking"
Me:"Yeah they're pretty nice"
Tourists: "what i dont get is if these are the forth bridges where can we find the first second and third bridges?"
me: "sorry?" *looking confused*
Tourists: " the first second and third bridges do you know where we can find them"
me:" uhhhh" *convinced im being trolled by 2 savvy tourists* "there is no 1st 2nd and 3rd bridges"
Tourists: "oh" * i know realise they are serious *
me: "they're called the forth bridges because the span the Firth of Forth"
feeling a little embaressed they kinda mumbled a thanks and left.
....tourists.
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Yeah, they must be really clueless not to know something that would only be obvious to someone who lives there.
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OP Has never said something stupid.
True story.
User was warned for this post
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That's a perfectly reasonable mistake to make. Shame on you, OP.
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Takes the cake for most useless thread ever.
Actually, maybe just he OP is bad.
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On June 22 2012 01:03 Lightwip wrote:
Yeah, they must be really clueless not to know something that would only be obvious to someone who lives there.
They had a map for the area (north edinburgh/south queensferry) that labelled the body of water the bridges crossed as the firth of forth i wouldn't go to the niagra falls and ask why the maid of the mist is called such or go to barcelona and ask why they built a really long bench.
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As long as I dont get asked where the all the mooses and polar bears are, Im happy to help.
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I could see this as someone trying to make a joke or a pun, but clearly it wasn't. My grandfather sometimes says things that are obviously wrong but only meant to be as a joke or play on words - though it may not appear that funny, perhaps that's what these people were trying to do and you just completely misread facial expressions and body language.
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On June 22 2012 01:05 Felnarion wrote:
OP Has never said something stupid.
True story.
I don't think that's the point here -.- He's not really making fun of them but just sharing his awkward moment with tourists. I mean I've helped people find streets that were right in front of them. It's nothing new but I'm pretty sure there are quite funny anecdotes about tourists out there, which the op is trying to bring out by talking about his own experience.
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On June 22 2012 01:03 Lightwip wrote:
Yeah, they must be really clueless not to know something that would only be obvious to someone who lives there.
Agreed lol.
OP, "fourth" and "forth" are called homophones, meaning that they're words that sound very similar to one another, yet have different meanings.
Chances are, they heard the name of the bridge, but didn't see the name written out (or, quite simply, misread it). They obviously aren't familiar with the native attraction (as they're tourists), so it's probably not the rarest misconception in the world.
Is this just going to be a "making fun of foreigners" thread, because they don't understand things as quickly as natives, in home countries?
On June 22 2012 01:08 huStl.e wrote:Show nested quote +On June 22 2012 01:03 Lightwip wrote:
Yeah, they must be really clueless not to know something that would only be obvious to someone who lives there. They had a map for the area (north edinburgh/south queensferry) that labelled the body of water the bridges crossed as the firth of forth i wouldn't go to the niagra falls and ask why the maid of the mist is called such or go to barcelona and ask why they built a really long bench.
Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo.
+ Show Spoiler +http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffalo_buffalo_Buffalo_buffalo_buffalo_buffalo_Buffalo_buffalo
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On June 22 2012 01:03 Lightwip wrote:
Yeah, they must be really clueless not to know something that would only be obvious to someone who lives there.
First reply takes the cake. I thought this was going to be clever and genuinely funny, but I didn't even smile. For shame, OP.
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this seems to have derailed quite quickly.
The point of the post and thread was just to share some funny things tourists may have asked or said to you.
For people getting all pissy about it i was incredibly polite to them and infact i have never tried to make any tourist who doesn't understand how to get from a to b or asks a question about the area feel stupid, because thats a dick move. I quite regularly take photo's for tourists (me taking photos of them at landmarks when they ask) and try to be helpful in giving directions.
gj at nosediving something i perhaps thought could become an amusing thread though
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How can people's mind be that twisted. Op's not making fun of anyone just talking about his experience with tourist making an honest mistake, and how funny it can sound or seem when you're native from the region. I'm French from Paris, I can tell you dozen of these but for one to actually believe I'm making fun of tourists or calling them stupid is seriously twisted.
People on TL should seriously stop trying to read between the lines and just read what's written, no need to play the smart ass "I got your hidden message" guys.
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So I was talking about javascript with my mechanic, and he totally didn't know the difference between 0, null, undefined and false. What a maroon.
Edit: If the point of your thread wasn't to make people who didn't know something that shouldn't be terribly obvious to them look stupid, why end the post with "...tourists"? The point of the OP is to tell a story about a stupid question some stupid tourists asked, except the question wasn't all that stupid, so now you're getting mocked a bit. I think that's a reasonable response.
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All the questions I'm getting from tourists are about where the nearest coffeeshop is.
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Stop bitching at the OP. Its not that easy a mistake to make, if they had even once glanced at a map or a road sign in the area, or looked up the place they were going, they would have instantly realised what up. Either that or they didn't know that fourth =/= Forth.
And he wasn't even nasty about it.
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My one tourist story just makes me look like the moron. In NYC an older couple, who clearly didn't speak much English, asked me where the "Sport Authority" was. I thought it was a rather odd question, but i was in a rush, so i just pointed them to where "Sports Authority" was, a sports goods store. It hit me like 20 seconds later that they obviously meant "Port Authority" the main bus hub in the city. So i sent some nice old people from like Greece to a place to buy a basketball when they probably needed to catch a bus...
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Hmm, I don't think I've ever been personally asked anything silly. I do like tourist-watching at the Mall of America when I'm there though, and overhearing complaints about the temperature/snow in the winter.
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Lol @ people not being able to jokingly share humorous and harmless misunderstandings. Clearly, there's no bad intent within the OP. The author doesn't imply that these tourists are bad or ignorant people, but what they said was funny regarding the circumstances.
And by the way; if I was one of the tourists, I would reflect over why two bridges would be called the "fourth bridges" since obviously only one of them can be the fourth. : )
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So I am in Amsterdam as some friends invited some other friends. We are at some pub on the no.1 square for pubs/clubs.
I don't like busy places very much and it was very crowded inside with loud music that makes any worthwile conversation impossible anyway so I go outside for a bit.
There was some ad board near the side of the square advertising the achievements of some third world country development charity.
So some English/Bitish tourist approaches me and asks me if I can read 'that'. So I say 'yes it's about how many people die of malaria and how much many people are saved, bla bla'. So his next question is 'Where is pub X?'
I couldn't really help him but I had a vague idea that that pub was indeed on that square. So he walks away and I walk away from that board. Then I start to think how funny his question was. Then it dawns on me that that board must have been in English and he saw I read English so he figured out he could ask me. Pretty strange someone would think I wouldn't be able to speak.
British tourists in Amsterdam... But who knows what the 'Firt of Forth' or whatever is?
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EPT
