Londoner fired for telling it like it is

by Jerry Guo on

There’s been a surprising amount of press over the news that woman who recorded the announcements you hear on the London Underground has been fired for posting spoof messages on her website. The voice-over artist, 36-year-old Emma Clarke, has all of a sudden gained worldwide notoriety, with her website brought down by the sheer amount of traffic from people wanting to download the hilarious spoofs.

You can still find some recordings here. Here are some excerpts:

  • “We would like to remind our American tourist friends that you are almost certainly talking too loudly.”
  • “Would the passenger in the red shirt pretending to read the paper but who is actually staring at that woman’s chest please stop. You are not fooling anyone, you filthy pervert.”
  • “Would passengers filling in answers on their Sudokus please accept that they are just crosswords for the unimaginative and are not in any way more impressive just because they contain numbers.

As if to reaffirm her funny take on London stereotypes, the transport administration was too staid to keep her on. Well, ok their statement was surprisingly amusing: “London Underground is sorry to have to announce that further contracts for Miss Clarke are experiencing severe delays,” a spokesman said.

Best Underground Transit In the World Is…

by Iva Skoch on

…apparently London’s, but this is a list compiled by Virgin, a British company, so go figure. Anyone who has ever spent more than two seconds in London’s tube during rush hour must question their sanity.

Don’t get me wrong, I think London has a great and extensive subway system but during rush hour it is a nightmare – packed and no air-con. Plus, it costs 4GBP (about $8) for a single ride, unless you buy an Oyster Card, their version of a pass which is well-worth it but still very expensive.

Anyway, here is Virgin’s Top 11 Underground Transit Systems in the World:

  1. London
  2. Paris
  3. Moscow
  4. Madrid
  5. Tokyo
  6. Seoul
  7. New York
  8. Montreal
  9. Beijing
  10. Hong-Kong
  11. Sao Paulo, Brazil

Out of all of these, my vote goes to the Paris and Hong-Kong subway systems. New York’s is relatively cheap ($2) and easy to navigate, but geez, it looks, smells and operates like something from a third world country!

Secret Moscow Bunker now Open to Tourists

by Neil Woodburn on

Going underground is always a great experience no matter what city you visit.

Cold war capitals like Moscow and Berlin offer some of the very best subterranean experiences around. This is because the safest place if the Cold War ever got hot, was deep underground where the radiation can’t get you.

Now that communism is dead and the world is one big happy place, Cold War bunkers are increasingly coming off the Top Secret list and being transformed into tourist sites.

Take, for example, the newest attraction in Moscow: The Confrontation Cold War Museum. In the old days, this 75,000-square-foot facility buried 200 feed underground was known only as the Tagansky Underground Command Center. And, it was known only by the select few who would scurry there and live off rations for three months while the outside world was scorched by nuclear bombs.

Today, any foreign tourist with $39 in their pocket can now join a guided tour of these facilities. David Holley, of the Los Angeles Times, recently journeyed below the surface to check it out and reports back that the new owners have decorated it with Soviet posters and some outdated communications equipment. Tour guides dress in old Soviet Army uniforms, and visitors are served the traditional rations endured by those on duty here: buckwheat porridge, canned beef stew, and a shot of vodka–proving that some things in Russia never change. Har har har.

Click here for a virtual tour.

Tubemap Wallets Are A Wallet AND A Map

by Willy Volk on

When you first see the Tubemap wallet, you’ll nod your head and mutter, “Of course! Why didn’t I think of that?” So simple it’s brilliant, a Tubemap wallet is an “ordinary” black leather wallet that folds open to reveal a printed London Underground map inside. Not heading to London? Tubemap also makes wallets for the New York subway.

At £35 ($69), the Tubemap seems a little pricey, but if you’re the kind of person who like traveling light, you’ll gladly pay for dual-purpose gear. With space for loads of cash and 8 cards, this will be one wallet you’ll really cry over if it gets snatched.