The Great Canadian Toronto or Queens Quiz

kool maudit · #1 Posted **Feb 17, 2021, 1:19 PM**

holy fuck am I bored these days

but do it quick and intuitive if you're gonna take a crack.

(thought about this after quasi-derailing one of the image threads for a second)

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

if everyone gets them all right then I have to move back to Canada.

niwell · #2 Posted **Feb 17, 2021, 2:22 PM**

A very welcome distraction from the usual! Here's my off the cuff guesses - there are a few tells I looked for, though very possible I've gotten some wrong.

1. Queens
2. Queens
3. Toronto
4. Toronto
5. Toronto
6. Queens
7. Queens
8. Queens
9. Queens
10. Toronto

Zeej · #3 Posted **Feb 17, 2021, 2:22 PM**

Let's do this.

1. Queens
2. Queens
3. Toronto
4. Toronto
5. Toronto
6. Queens
7. Queens
8. Toronto
9. Queens
10. Toronto

biguc · #4 Posted **Feb 17, 2021, 2:25 PM**

1. Queens
2. Queens
3. Toronto
4. Queens
5. Queens
6. Toronto
7. Toronto
8. Queens
9. Queens
10. Toronto

MolsonExport · #5 Posted **Feb 17, 2021, 2:28 PM**

Kings
Jacks
Jesters

actually cool idea for a thread.

My guesses:

1. Queens
2. Queens
3. Toronto
4. Toronto
5. Toronto
6. Queens
7. Queens
8. Toronto
9. Queens
10. Toronto

Do one for Brooklyn vs. Mile-End/NDG (harder given french signage)

kool maudit · #6 Posted **Feb 17, 2021, 2:30 PM**

You guys are good -- very good -- but not perfect!

niwell · #7 Posted **Feb 17, 2021, 2:43 PM**

I'm thinking #4 may actually be Queens. That's the toughest one for me as there are some very distinct 50s era inner-suburban Toronto aspects, but a few things that don't make sense.

kool maudit · #8 Posted **Feb 17, 2021, 2:49 PM**

Aaand.... it's 100% for niwell. But I can stay in Sweden.

I thought number 9 would catch more of you, but not only did I leave a little map showing, but I guess there is something NYC-ish showing as well.

No. 4 is tough. I thought no. 8 was too; it's a weird area of Rego Park by Forest Hills.

No. 10 has the religious sign, but even I can just somehow see that it's Canada in some particular way.

Innsertnamehere · #9 Posted **Feb 17, 2021, 2:50 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by niwell

I'm thinking #4 may actually be Queens. That's the toughest one for me as there are some very distinct 50s era inner-suburban Toronto aspects, but a few things that don't make sense.

#4 is Queens. You can tell by the crosswalk style.

My guesses:

1. Queens
2. Queens
3. Toronto (Eglinton?)
4. Queens
5. Toronto (Kingston Rd)
6. Queens
7. Queens
8. Queens
9. Queens
10. Toronto (Danforth? Maybe Bloor? I don't recognize those solar panel towers)

The only one I'm not almost certain on is #9.

kool maudit · #10 Posted **Feb 17, 2021, 2:51 PM**

I'm scanning Mtl/Brooklyn, but it's gonna be things like St. Leo and Lachine vs. Sheepshead Bay and Bensonhurst if it comes to anything. Central Brooklyn and Montreal are too particular.

Maybe some Griffintown and Williamsburg condo scenes...

kool maudit · #11 Posted **Feb 17, 2021, 2:52 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Innsertnamehere

#4 is Queens. You can tell by the crosswalk style.

My guesses:

1. Queens
2. Queens
3. Toronto
4. Queens
5. Toronto
6. Queens
7. Queens
8. Queens
9. Queens
10. Toronto

Nailed it. And yeah, 10 is Bloor West.

lio45 · #12 Posted **Feb 17, 2021, 2:53 PM**

Doing it very quickly and without thinking too much:

1) Not sure, but looks like a great city!
2) Guessing Queens (from the style of the traffic light)
3) Guessing Toronto (from the style of the traffic light)
4) Those houses are ugly, so guessing Toronto (sorry

)
5) Guessing Queens, don't know why exactly (the style of the median?)
6) Guessing Queens based on the style of the houses
7) Guessing Queens based on the traffic light
8) I couldn't help but immediately notice the street is called "Cromwell Crescent" so I'm guessing Toronto just based on that (not that I want to cheat, I just couldn't un-see it)
9) Guessing Queens, not sure why
10) I just HAVE to default-guess that it's the American location of the two, just based on the huge ad for God

The three ones I'm the most sure of are the three traffic-light based guesses, so FYI, kool, you could have put black rectangles on the traffic lights and you'd have made it much harder.

lio45 · #13 Posted **Feb 17, 2021, 2:55 PM**

I actually knew #10 was a trap...! Just too obvious.

kool maudit · #14 Posted **Feb 17, 2021, 2:56 PM**

If there is anything this thread underscores, it's that I have a strange blindness for traffic lights.

lio45 · #15 Posted **Feb 17, 2021, 2:57 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by kool maudit

Aaand.... it's 100% for niwell. But I can stay in Sweden.

I have been to Brooklyn once (Manhattan a few times) but never ever set foot in Queens, and went to Toronto only twice in my life, and the most recent of the two visits was 21 years ago. I'm pretty sure I'm the worst performing SSPer so far but I was at a significant disadvantage!

niwell · #16 Posted **Feb 17, 2021, 2:58 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by kool maudit

Aaand.... it's 100% for niwell. But I can stay in Sweden.

I thought number 9 would catch more of you, but not only did I leave a little map showing, but I guess there is something NYC-ish showing as well.

No. 4 is tough. I thought no. 8 was too; it's a weird area of Rego Park by Forest Hills.

No. 10 has the religious sign, but even I can just somehow see that it's Canada in some particular way.

Insertname nailed it with the crosswalk style in 4 - the houses threw me off as my best friend lives in one that looks very similar in South Etobicoke.

The Rego Park one looked just a bit too manicured and the street slightly too narrow to be Toronto, though thought it could potentially be somewhere off the Kingsway area. Plus the burglar bar / slam gate exterior door or whatever they are called are extremely rare here. The Hakim Optical sign in #10 was more of a tell than the weird religious one.

The traffic light style in #9 was a big tell for me, and the street looks a bit too narrow. The commercial strip is very Toronto looking though.

kool maudit · #17 Posted **Feb 17, 2021, 2:59 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by lio45

I have been to Brooklyn once (Manhattan a few times) but never ever set foot in Queens, and went to Toronto only twice in my life, and the most recent of the two visits was 21 years ago. I'm pretty sure I'm the worst performing SSPer so far but I was at a significant disadvantage!

Well I have always thought that they are unacknowledged twins in a lot of ways, hence the thread

kool maudit · #18 Posted **Feb 17, 2021, 3:00 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by niwell

The Hakim Optical sign

I was thinking of that in Maps, but forgot to black it out in the screenshot editor!

megadude · #19 Posted **Feb 17, 2021, 3:01 PM**

Nice idea. I thought of doing something like this about a year and a half ago, but for intersections around major cities, but was too lazy.

lio45 · #20 Posted **Feb 17, 2021, 3:01 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by kool maudit

If there is anything this thread underscores, it's that I have a strange blindness for traffic lights.

Back when I was in a serious relationship with a Yankee I was often in Albany to visit potential revenue properties as I was considering moving to the other side and it was the closest city of importance, it's during those visits that I eventually noticed how those narrow yellow New York Style traffic lights have a very distinct look (and started to find them somewhat appealing/exotic, believe it or not). So it's likely me that has a strange affinity for that particular style of traffic light. Anyway, as I thought, I nailed all three of the traffic light based guesses!