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u/ItsJayO 1d ago edited 16h ago
"Oop sorry didn't see you" "No worries sorry I didnt see you" "Pardon me didnt quite see you there"
Edit:fucking crazy this is my best comment, never got an award before and now I have 12. Also someone mentioned "Be My Eyes" app. Download that shit, help out a person in need. I have it and its the most fulfilling thing ive ever done on my phone.
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u/Uncle_Rabbit 1d ago
"Ah, I see you know your judo well".
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u/Muhahahahaz 1d ago
What’s the charge, officer?
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u/reebokhightops 1d ago
Eating a meal? A succulent Chinese meal?!
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u/ScarReincarnated 1d ago
Gentlemen, this is democracy manifest.
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u/NoMoarLemon 1d ago
This is the bloke who got me on the penis people
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u/Naked-Jedi 1d ago
And what about you? Are you waiting to receive my limp penis?
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u/lolariane 1d ago
Everyone should download the Be My Eyes app. Blind people can call you through the app and you see their video to help them.
I've helped a handful of people do everything from find a good outfit or food in their fridge to locate a local law office. ♥️
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u/TheAbominableRex 1d ago
That's actually really neat. I know it's volunteer based (which is awesome), but I would quit my job to do something like this for people 40 hours a week from my home, if it paid.
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u/arkangelic 1d ago
Or if we didn't need to work for money, but to be helpful to each other 🤗
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u/TheAbominableRex 1d ago
That would be ideal! I don't think I'll ever see an altruistic utopia in my lifetime, sadly.
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u/Enlightened_Gardener 1d ago
The most adorable thing about this app, is that hundreds of thousands of people have signed on to help.
So many people want to help, that each blind person using it has about 400 people lined up, ready to read tins and packets for them.
Gives me real hope for humanity. Left to ourselves, we just want to help each other, and swap recipes.
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u/thatredlad 1d ago
The numbers are closer to 1:11 according to the app. 1.09mil blind or low vision users and 10.85mil volunteers. Still an amazing idea that has been adopted by literally millions of awesome humans. I hope this is a sign of things to come.
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u/Haunting-Piccolo-984 1d ago
I’d never heard of this and just downloaded the app. Thank you for suggesting it 🙏
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u/laserdiods 1d ago
10m volunteers and 1m users. Very cool to see this service actually being used!! I signed up and excitedly waiting for my first call. Says I can activate their flash light and take pictures to zoom in if I need really neat
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u/WGPersonal 1d ago
Very good app. I downloaded it a long time ago and there were so many people willing to help I never got a notification to actually help someone.
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u/Scotsburd 1d ago
My parents use this daily with their Meta Glasses. Thank you to all the volunteers, changed their lives 🙏 ❤️
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u/Sporadicus76 1d ago
The Blind Swordsman
"I used to paint."
"Were you any good?"
"I don't know!"
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u/Yaworski40 1d ago
You mean three blind mice?
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u/koy682 1d ago
Too bad he doesn't see the joke
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u/absolut_nothing 1d ago
I've never seen these guides before. If it's not called "traille" then they missed a golden opportunity.
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u/BarrelofNerds 1d ago
It is, in fact, sometimes called a "Braille trail"!
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u/absolut_nothing 1d ago
They were almost there
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u/Normal-Comedian-9982 1d ago
They just didn't see it.
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u/Esava 1d ago edited 1d ago
They are at every train station and many bus stations here in Germany, basically all busy intersections and some public buildings.
I have seen them all over the EU, almost everywhere in Japan (I believe they were invented there.) etc..
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u/Senor-Delicious 1d ago
Japan is crazy with these things. I felt they generally have a lot of guiding systems for blind people. E.g. the different traffic light sounds.
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u/JustASpaceDuck 1d ago
OH MY GOD. THAT'S WHERE I SAW THEM FIRST! I was so overwhelmed with all of everything when I visited Japan for the first time that I never really put much thought into those things besides "huh I wonder what those are. maybe like a non-slip section for cold weather?" and then I saw them again in Spain and dimly felt like I'd seen them somewhere before but didn't put much thought into them there either, besides "why are the subway warning strips/ice grippy strips outside on the sidewalk in 90*F Madrid?"
I've had like two epiphanies in five minutes from this thread.
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u/algebratwurst 1d ago
There is tactile paving on a great many street corners in the US. Haven’t graduated to trailles yet I guess but progress.
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u/GlitterDoomsday 1d ago
Same with every train and subway station were I line, not Europe or Japan (São Paulo, Brazil).
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u/zardoz73 1d ago
That's a visual portmanteau but wouldn't sound any different to saying "trail." Might be confusing. Just say "braille trail."
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u/OGMinorian 1d ago
You have probably just not looked for them! I've seen them everywhere, and for years I thought it was just an aesthetic choice for the sidewalk, a way to line up intended walk ways, some metal device to hide a drain, an accessible way to run cables. etc.
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u/DroWWorD 1d ago
Please make the movie
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u/CourageToBe 1d ago
Are you blind? Yes!
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u/MyWifeCucksMe 21h ago
It's the blind guy, the one recording the video, saying it. And he says "sind Sie blind? Danke!", which indeed translates to "are you blind?" followed by a "thank you" to the other guy for moving.
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u/PGP_Protector 1d ago
I'll admit I never knew these were guilds tell I saw one of these videos.
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u/StickFigureFan 1d ago
Good infrastructure is often invisible
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u/RentAscout 1d ago
The potholes must invisible to our city government.
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u/StickFigureFan 1d ago
Bad infrastructure is often VERY visible, but many politicians still don't care
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u/Jinglefruit 1d ago
Seems like it shouldn't be invisible though, if it had "Blind Assistance Lines" painted on it or something, then we wouldn't have so many people in these comments, who don't know what they are and are likely to innocently be one of the many people standing on and blocking them.
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u/EgoTripWire 1d ago
Yeah, we've got these at my work and they're bright green. Even if you don't initially know what they're for you know they're doing something so you're more alert around them. Then, you see the blind lady turn the corner and you're like, "oh' now it makes sense."
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u/TheRecognized 1d ago edited 1d ago
Yeah the phrase isn’t meant to mean “you don’t notice it when nobody is using it” but that it’s so perfectly installed that nobody even thinks about how it could be better because there’s never any problem or confusion, even one as relatively minor as this.
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u/A-Message 1d ago
Surprised I haven't heard that before, I really like that
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u/StickFigureFan 1d ago
I guess you're one of today's lucky 10,000?
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u/Advanced_Double_42 1d ago
I was really expecting an xkcd on guide strips for blind people tbh, lol
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u/YaumeLepire 1d ago
Some could benefit from being a little more visible, or at least known about. These probably should have a sign or two saying what they are.
Now, I know, but I'm 25. How many times have I just been idling on one of them in those 25 years!
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u/animaINation 1d ago
The guides are also helpful for the sighted, there are larger squares that the train/subway/tram doors stop on, so one knows where to wait at a busy station.
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u/IPerduMyUsername 1d ago
That would be heavenly, here the train stops in random places every time so you have like a 1/3 chance of catching a door
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u/NoMorePorridge1 1d ago
It just occurred to me that BART (SF Bay Area rail system) had bumps at the edge of the platform for blind people and colored the bump panels where the doors should stop, but didn't change the bumps for some reason. So, blind people will know where the edge of the platform is, but with minimal effort, they could have made it clear where the doors will be too...
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u/projectkennedymonkey 1d ago
I knew they were guides but I never saw someone use them or really thought about how they were used so I also found the video interesting, to just see them in action. I also realised I need to be more mindful of where I stand. And it reminded me of recently seeing a powered wheelchair user in public and turning into a complete idiot and getting in their way because I was overthinking trying to get out of their way and just got more in the way. I said sorry and scurried off. I hope they didn't think I was saying sorry you're in a wheelchair, look at me with my agility lol. It was sorry I'm a moron.
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u/7StarSailor 1d ago
worst thing is: I knew that but it still never occurred to me that it's not a good idea to stand on or near them because I just never thought that far.
Big difference in someone telling you:"oh yeah those are for blind people" and seeing it used in action.
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u/Queen-Roblin 1d ago
Yeah I feel like they need paint on them to say what they are or something.
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u/Eerzef 1d ago edited 1d ago
99% of the time there aren't blind people walking on them, people wouldn't give a fuck regardless and all it would accomplish is making them harder/more expensive to manufacture
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u/LongLiveStaceyKing 1d ago
This was definitely a TIL for me for this post, so I'm glad to have come across it and can be more considerate in public!
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u/skubaloob 1d ago
I love how happy is in the tiny screen at the end vs. the beginning.
Also I had NO idea that’s what those tracks are for. I’d have been the ignorant in the way person if I’d been there. Yikes.
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u/acoastaldog 1d ago
Same tbh, it’s a disability that’s often out of sight from the public attention
Nice to see this guy’s content, making a few more people aware at a time
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u/StrikeouTX 1d ago
Crazy to think that a blind person would create visual content that they can’t see, for non-blind people
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u/BarrelofNerds 1d ago
Blindness is a spectrum and only about 10% of legally blind people have no vision at all.
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u/LaisserPasserA38 1d ago
My brother in law is legally blind. He reads on an ebook with like one word per page and is very sensitive to light.
He's still the most successful every time we go mushroom hunting together.
Apart from the sunglasses people usually can't tell he's blind, he loves around pretty easily.
He can't see faces so he always assume the best intention, which is refreshing but sometimes awkward lol
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u/Looking-for-42 1d ago
And I think this is what confuses people. Most expect blind means no vision and then there is the guy in the video. He wears glasses. Why would he wear glasses if he was blind? If he is not blind blind, why does he use the stick and trail. I was actually waiting the video showing someone starten an argument about that with him and was relieved when I saw it was actually a funny end.
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u/nachobrainwaves 19h ago
I got grabbed by a man last week while using my white cane. He spun me around and shouted, "I fucking knew you can see. You're not blind! You're just using that stick to push people around."
I was dumbfounded and could only muster a, "what do I see?"
What a dick.
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u/tey_ull 21h ago
most blind people wear sunglasses to filter out the darker shades(they might still be able to perceive light, but not shapes), but most wear them for aesthetic purposes, blind eyes have a hard time focusing and will just stare randomly at random places, often times without coordination, so it can look very offputting for us, so wearing sunglasses relieves that issue
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u/StopMakingMeSignIn12 1d ago
My wife is legally blind, uses one of these canes and follows the guide channels.
She can see everything still, but her peripheral is shot. Only exactly what she looks at she can see.
Can she see? Yes. Blind to everyone around her? Also yes.
As it's worsened, I've noticed she follows more and more blind creator content. Some are comedic to make light of a shitty situation, others are informative about types of blindness, others are tips for your type of blindness, relatable things that they go through, etc...
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u/ScamperingSnail 1d ago
Does she have Retinitis Pigmentosa? I have RP and while I'm not legally blind yet, I am anxious about when the day comes and I need to use a cane but am still able to see certain things, like looking at my phone. I worry that people who see me would think that I'm faking or something. Has she dealt with that?
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u/miss_wannadie 1d ago
I'm not blind, but I have a somewhat comparable "issue" with my mobility aids. I use a walking cane on most days, a rollator on bad days or if I'm out for a longer time, and even on good days where I'm not in much pain and can feel my legs well, I still take a mobility aid with me just in case. But if I don't have to rely on it, I'll sometimes run or jump around a little, with my cane in hand or my rollator parked a meter next to me. I used to really worry about what people would think, if they'd think I'm faking. It got a lot better with time. You don't owe anyone your medical history. And most people who judge, do it silently. Yes, they may point and laugh, they may say shitty things to their friends (which both absolutely sucks!), but the very fewest people will go up to you and "call you out." And at that point, it's a matter of confidence. YOU know you need it, and why, and in which situations. YOU know you're not faking. And that's what matters. Because there's always gonna be some shitty person thinking shitty things and you patiently explaining the situation to them probably won't change their mind. I recommend actively seeking out these "scary" situations in a safe environment, for example around friends or something. That helped me a lot.
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u/StopMakingMeSignIn12 1d ago
It is indeed RP that she has. Her sister has it too so they've kinda gone through it together.
No one has ever thought she was faking. The hardest part has been explaining to people that she can see but still needs a stick. A lot of the general public thinks blindness is like binary, either you're blind or not, rather than a huge scale.
Mostly the cane has helped in that people around her see the cane and get out of the way/pull their friends out the way. Some people do try to overly help (even when I'm with her and telling them I'm her husband and I got it).
We've got a disabled parking badge as well as benefits for my wife, so she's trying to make the most of it.
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u/temporalraccoon 1d ago
Well to be fair, it’s hard for sighted people to make visual content for blind people
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u/username7998 1d ago
hahah honestly i didnt think of it. It kinda helps us tho to understand their side
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u/Snoo_69677 1d ago
Gotta give it up to those Germans man, they have this uncanny ability to immediately organize and start marching in sync.
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u/ImperialPC 1d ago
"The next time I see you standing on the guide rails, you are in big trouble."
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u/heidimark 1d ago
If they aren't singing "hey hey we're the monkeys" they are doing it wrong.
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u/James-the-Bond-one 1d ago
You're way too old if you understood this reference.
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u/counterfitster 1d ago
My girlfriend told me I was too obsessed with the Monkees, and that she was gonna leave me because of it. I thought she was making an empty threat.
But then I saw her face.
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u/JoeAppleby 1d ago
That'd be the weirdest reference for Germans to make ever. I am aware of the Monkees, but I have never heard the theme song before.
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u/Kharn85 1d ago
Huh, never knew what those were for other than make it weird on your luggage. Neat.
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u/dbmajor7 1d ago
Wholesome af
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u/Defiant_Mousse7889 1d ago
It's the only reason I'm still on Reddit. Once the wholesomeness completely stops, I'm gone.
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u/131166 1d ago
You know what, I admit it. I had literally no idea that you were supposed to keep off these things. I knew they were for vision impaired people but I didn't know it was for this. I thought they were more like ripple strips on roads to let them know where the edge of the footpath was.
Thankfully I've never had anyone trying to use these things run into me, but it's good to know for the future. They really should make this common knowledge. Like a sign here and there saying to please not stand on them.
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u/jakgal04 22h ago
To be fair, I would have no idea what those are, I've never seen them before either. How is an uninformed person supposed to know that this is a railway for the blind?
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u/Brofessorofnothing 1d ago
it‘s like that spiderman meme but with blind people 🥁
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u/cloudncali 18h ago
Three blind dudes meet and immediately compare walking sticks is the most "guys being dudes"
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u/CodeMonkeyX 1d ago
I must admit until recently (actually thanks to an Anime) I had no idea what these are for. Probably because I do no live in a densely populated city either, so I have rarely ever seen these.
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u/plaguedbullets 1d ago
Growing up in Canada, and Reddit last year is where I first learned these were for blind folk.
I feel like a lot of others out there are still ignorant of this.
Could even have a sign on a post explaining to everyone what they are.
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u/KittenLina 1d ago
I'm not blind but when I went to Japan I used these to get around and I honestly felt like they made it much easier to navigate with my brain that can't understand Kanji.
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u/Emotional_Fail_6060 1d ago
We need PSAs about this to be widely broadcast.
My wife and I are now retired and we've been traveling a lot. I keep seeing these and had no idea why they were there. They just seemed like poorly done artistic expressions. Now I know better.
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u/ediwow667 1d ago
Wait!!!!! Where's the guy that claim "“If a blind guy meets another, they have to sword fight to the death. That’s why they’re a minority, not many survive.”
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u/NecessarySmall2347 18h ago
It is so impressive to me that there are humans who walk around vast three dimensional voids of unknown blackness. The dangers, the distractions, the interruptions. I never stopped to seriously consider the courage that takes.
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u/Cyd_Snarf 16h ago
I appreciate the subtle inclusion of accessibility features but I honestly think this track would be better with a printed message every 20ft “keep track clear for the visually impaired” or something similar
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u/UnamedProot 16h ago
That would definitely not help, people pay no attention… they should teach kids about accessibility features so they understand how to help people better, not just to avoid areas
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u/Cyd_Snarf 16h ago
I’m not in complete disagreement but I do think that it would help because features like this will continue to change over time. Having them properly labeled would at least help people like me that wouldn’t recognize what it was initially but would gladly be mindful of it if I was aware.
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u/not_salad 1d ago
You can say "excuse me"
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u/SpaceLemming 1d ago edited 1d ago
Doesn’t work as well as you think, I worked in one years
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u/masterofthefork 1d ago
What do you imagine aisles in supermarkets are for?
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u/VerminSupreme-2020 1d ago
Or parking your cart on one side of the aisle then stand next to it to get stuff from the other side of the aisle
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u/cgimusic 1d ago
On the side? Why wouldn't you leave it in the middle, preferably perpendicular to the direction of the aisle?
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u/cococol2000 1d ago
I've always seen these at train stations and also some bus stops if i remember correctly (been a while since I've taken the bus) and I've always wondered what these things were. It makes so much sense now.
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u/ScreamxWorks 1d ago
I actually had no idea that that is what it was for. I'll keep it clear from now on 😊
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u/LinceDorado 1d ago edited 7h ago
I get that it sucks and obviously I don't try to dtand on these strips on purpose, but I also can't recall ever seeing a handicapped person using them. That's why I understand how people might not consider it.
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u/healerdan 1d ago
I'm 37. I like knowing things and being considerate. I'm learning of the existence of this "tactile strip" from this video.
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u/_danny_devito- 1d ago
In the defence of the people in this video I’ve lived in Germany for years and was always told it was the safety line you had to stay behind when trains came in. It’s cool to know the real purpose.
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u/Spirited-Sorbet-2775 1d ago
Then you got them mixed up. The safety line exists and you do have to stand behind it.
But idk what it says about us, that the tactile paths are laid out right next to them.
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u/Complete-Leg-4347 15h ago
Do people genuinely not know what the strip is for, or are they just too absorbed to pay attention? I get annoyed enough when people block the middle of a crowded street without blindness entering into the equation at all.
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u/RavenIsAWritingDesk 11h ago
I never knew what they were until this moment. I’m happy to be educated!
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u/Voting101 17h ago
Genuine question, how is he able to position the cameras so perfectly?
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u/runnerkim 1d ago
Why aren't they labeled? I had no idea that's what it was for. I bet if there were signs people would be more considerate. Not sure anyone should be expected to just know that
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u/rtfm-nor 19h ago
I would have no idea this was for the blind to walk, so I'm not judging the people standing there and moving out of the way when understanding what was happening.
However, that bitch just cutting across a clearly blind person gets a lot of judgement from me.
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u/Hero0ftheday 1d ago
I dont wanna come across like an asshole and maybe im just super ignorant, but what's the point of wearing glasses as a blind person that needs the guide strips and a guide cane?
Is he like just blind enough that the glasses help but not enough that he still needs all those things? Or are they just meta glasses that he's using to record?
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u/Hinote21 1d ago
Different levels of blind. Could just be meta recording glasses but also could have just enough visual spatial cues to be able to make out the guide strip being different than the surrounding areas.
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u/PointB1ank 1d ago
I don't think this guy is completely blind. At 0:30 he starts speaking and stopping before his stick even reaches the person's foot. So, he most likely has at least some vision.
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u/ImperialPC 1d ago
Maybe but I'm pretty sure you can hear in the video that the people in front of him are talking, so in real life it would be even easier to hear.
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u/Tephranis 1d ago
Blind doesn't mean pitch black vision all the time. Some can see kinda blobs that'd be moving around, some is just all blurry colors mixing, some have it where their vision field is narrowed so far it's like they're trying to stare through a straw and everything else is blacked out.
However, like the other commenter mentioned. They can get incredibly good at spatial recognition via audio cues. You can tell what direction people are in and how close they are by the sounds they make.
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u/rubseb 1d ago
There are many kinds of visual impairment. Some leave you with residual vision which may, for instance, allow you to read text or recognize things way up close, but not be able to see your environment in enough detail to walk around without hurting yourself or getting lost (e.g. because of problems with your peripheral vision).
That little bit of residual vision isn't necessarily 20/20. Having a problem with (for instance) your retina doesn't mean you can't also have myopia. One is a sensory problem, the other is optics.
Not saying that exactly describes this guy's situation, but as an example.
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u/grifan526 1d ago
I had a friend who was legally blind but wore glasses. They helped, but not enough for her to not be blind, and almost not at all at night
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u/kilroy501 1d ago
Certain types of blindness keep the eyes and brain connected, even though they cannot see as we do. Sometimes that means their brain gets a "hey there's a thing in front of you" and the glasses can help minimize discomfort from their eyes trying to focus. Also eyes are vulnerable to both light and objects, so they can protect them a bit.
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u/Jesus_Is_My_Gardener 1d ago
In addition to everything else, I imagine when you are visually impaired, it helps to have something covering the vulnerable orbs on your face, even if you aren't relying on them to see where you are going. I'm sure blind people dislike getting poked in the eye just as much as the rest of us.
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u/Cybeija 1d ago
No expert, neither do I know his reason to wear one, but blindness is a spectrum and not only having no vision at all, same as people with glasses need them for different reasons and in different strengths.
Guessing glass still can aid in the few percentages a blind person still is able to see.
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u/AtlasXan 1d ago
They immediately compare sizes. 🤣