The Weirdly Lucrative Business of Searching for Old Jeans

Поділитися
Вставка
  • Опубліковано 23 лип 2024
  • For 50% off with HelloFresh PLUS free shipping, use code 50HAI at bit.ly/3K5FpY0
    Get a Half as Interesting t-shirt: standard.tv/collections/half-...
    Suggest a video: halfasinteresting.com/suggest
    Follow Sam from Half as Interesting on Instagram: / sam.from.wendover
    Follow Half as Interesting on Twitter: / halfinteresting
    Discuss this video on Reddit: / halfasinteresting
    Video written by Ben Doyle
    Check out our other channels: / wendoverproductions
    / jetlagthegame

КОМЕНТАРІ • 573

  • @Meg_A_Byte
    @Meg_A_Byte 11 місяців тому +2794

    Props to HAI for getting an appointment to film a 7 second clip of old jeans.

    • @namm0x326
      @namm0x326 11 місяців тому +175

      ikr. I love how he just randomly pulls some incredible production value out of his hat these days, and treats it like it's nothing.

    • @ethanchapman1776
      @ethanchapman1776 11 місяців тому +123

      I like to think that Amy flew across the country just for that shot, although I'm guessing she was in LA on other business already.

    • @ebubeawachie
      @ebubeawachie 11 місяців тому +73

      What makes you think there wasn’t a 15 minute clip for the upcoming video on the logistics of denim archeology on Wendover?

    • @vigilantcosmicpenguin8721
      @vigilantcosmicpenguin8721 11 місяців тому +21

      Maybe Amy just really wanted to see the jeans exhibition and wanted to get a tax write-off on it.

    • @acacia7268
      @acacia7268 11 місяців тому +3

      Sneaking suspicion Amy is a Swiftie by the bracelets and having recently been in LA (for the end of the tour leg??)

  • @jonathanbyrdmusic
    @jonathanbyrdmusic 11 місяців тому +761

    My uncle traded his jeans for priceless antiques in Russia in the 70s. Now I’m using acoustic insulation made from shredding jeans. Value is weird.

    • @canonip3000
      @canonip3000 11 місяців тому +18

      Jeans were luxury in the Soviet union

    • @kitefan1
      @kitefan1 11 місяців тому +42

      I didn't travel internationally until the 90s but I remember people telling me that even though I didn't smoke if I went to some places I should bring the my customs limit of American cigarettes for tipping if I went various places.

    • @jonathanbyrdmusic
      @jonathanbyrdmusic 11 місяців тому +39

      @@kitefan1 my dad traded a pack of cigarettes for an East German border guard's hat pin AT THE CHECKPOINT. The whole family was in the car.

    • @kitefan1
      @kitefan1 11 місяців тому +6

      @@jonathanbyrdmusic Awesome. Unfortunately I did not travel then.

    • @vigilantcosmicpenguin8721
      @vigilantcosmicpenguin8721 11 місяців тому +19

      I'm using insulation made of shredded priceless antiques.

  • @ninjasuperman9538
    @ninjasuperman9538 11 місяців тому +1365

    The thought that some dudes pair of jeans that he shit himself in then threw down the mines is now available for appointment viewing is just amazing to me

    • @dollybelfiore7628
      @dollybelfiore7628 11 місяців тому +35

      lol... I had envisioned a stack of old jeans sitting on a rock next to a stack of old newspapers! ...when you've got nowhere to go... & you got'sta GO! 😰💩😅

    • @JohnDoe-my5ip
      @JohnDoe-my5ip 11 місяців тому +31

      How does your opinion change if they’re jeans that a skeleton wore for a century between a mine collapse and an excavation?

    • @ZOCCOK
      @ZOCCOK 11 місяців тому +7

      ​@@JohnDoe-my5ipeven better 😂

    • @geosultan4
      @geosultan4 11 місяців тому +27

      I believe it's mostly because those mines got really hot, so they'd take off their jeans in the hottest areas. Though the question of why didn't they retrieve them does make you think...

    • @MineZilla123
      @MineZilla123 11 місяців тому +23

      They would often have spares to change if they ruined, ripped, or otherwise needed to change and would forget or not care enough to grab them to get them repaired or if they were too far gone for working anymore, since they spent most of their time down there working longgg shifts

  • @YoungGandalf2325
    @YoungGandalf2325 11 місяців тому +1473

    I know that gold/silver miners in the 1800s often went bust, but I didn't think that they literally lost their pants in the mines.

    • @Merennulli
      @Merennulli 11 місяців тому +177

      They used dynamite in mines back then. Dynamite going off in a mine is going to scare the shit out of you, so you need a second pair of jeans just in case.

    • @dabbinghitlersmemes1762
      @dabbinghitlersmemes1762 11 місяців тому +168

      They probably kept work pants on site, you show up and get changed at 6:30 and start working. That's how my (mining-unrelated) dirty job goes. Totally believable that Dave (that idiot) dropped the old pants-rack down the mineshaft.

    • @JohnDoe-my5ip
      @JohnDoe-my5ip 11 місяців тому +30

      I’m pretty sure they’re basically grave robbers digging out the remnants of those who died in mine collapses…

    • @MineZilla123
      @MineZilla123 11 місяців тому +62

      Miners often would abandon their pants down the shafts and change into a different pair if they got messed up or ruined somehow, and they forgot to bring them up to repair or didn't care. They would be down there so long they spent most of their time down there. Made sense to have spares. So they aren't just from dead miners remains lol

    • @dkaloger5720
      @dkaloger5720 11 місяців тому +5

      They are often found near dynamite stockpiles so I assume they had spares .

  • @YaleStewartArt
    @YaleStewartArt 11 місяців тому +438

    I'm actually shocked that you omitted the distinguishing feature of the crotch rivet. Levi's originally placed a rivet there, but eventually removed it because people kept burning their dicks after sitting around a fire for a while. I can't recall exactly when they got rid of it, but it certainly didn't last too long.

    • @jpe1
      @jpe1 11 місяців тому

      Any man who burned his penis on the crotch rivet was very well hung indeed! Even the scrotum would likely be safe, usually it was the perineum that would be burned, the crotch rivet went where the two inseam seams intersected, several inches below the bottom of the fly.

    • @adi96adi
      @adi96adi 2 місяці тому +1

      Wow, that is pretty neat 😂
      They'd have to be pretty close to the fire tho I'm guessing. Or maybe the riveting in general was just different. I was near a campfire recently and don't think I felt any hotter around the rivets

  • @ericcarabetta1161
    @ericcarabetta1161 11 місяців тому +297

    Back in the 80s, one of my dad's friends used to buy all the jeans at yard sales and Goodwill for pennies, and then resell them in Japan for ridiculous amounts of money. Ah, the good old days.

  • @moenadim7352
    @moenadim7352 11 місяців тому +299

    Hey they should call them "Indiana Jeans"

    • @yukimoe
      @yukimoe 11 місяців тому +72

      HEY YOU MISPRONOUNCED UENO

    • @kingace6186
      @kingace6186 11 місяців тому +5

      You're a legend for still commenting it.

    • @perfectworldbeholder
      @perfectworldbeholder 11 місяців тому +4

      ​@@yukimoeHe really got me on that one, he knew I would call him on it. I got outplayed

    • @Pyth110
      @Pyth110 11 місяців тому

      @@kingace6186 sheep*

  • @TheQueerTailor
    @TheQueerTailor 11 місяців тому +189

    This is actually a broader phenomenon of collecting (either personal or by museums) that working class clothing and children’s clothing, as well as clothing in less common sizes (very large or very long mostly) are under high demand because they were significantly less likely to survive. Working class clothing would be worn as long as possible then cut up to make children’s clothing, then cut up to make rags, and only then they would be given to the rag and bone man, who would sell the rags on to be made into anything from cheap fabrics like ticking, shabby, or linsy woolsey, or sold to be mixed with blood and bone meal to be turned into fertilizer.

    • @nlpnt
      @nlpnt 11 місяців тому +11

      ...shouldn't getting made into a Trabant be in there somewhere too?

    • @kitefan1
      @kitefan1 11 місяців тому +10

      @@nlpnt No trabants factories in the USA or Canada. But this is why things sometimes have (or had) tags that say all new materials.

    • @yitzakIr
      @yitzakIr 11 місяців тому +3

      Damn that’s how it should still work huh

    • @TheQueerTailor
      @TheQueerTailor 11 місяців тому +1

      @@yitzakIr agreed

    • @magnemoe1
      @magnemoe1 11 місяців тому +3

      Yes but fine stuff is more likely to be preserved. Like gown worn during significant events like then you become an queen.
      Same with weapon an armor, the nice stuff is obviously art and preserved the crude stuff is recycled.

  • @Chris_winthers
    @Chris_winthers 11 місяців тому +905

    I still don't understand why they're so expensive

    • @trumpetbob15
      @trumpetbob15 11 місяців тому +417

      Yeah, sounds like one of those "Rich people spend big bucks at auctions and therefore they are valued at a high price, which causes rich people to buy them for big bucks at auctions" loops. Is that dirty pair of jeans supposed to be equivalent to a painting you hang on the wall or is there something else you would do with them?

    • @timseguine2
      @timseguine2 11 місяців тому +71

      Rare things are usually expensive because capitalism.

    • @jerry3790
      @jerry3790 11 місяців тому +26

      Levi’s themselves will buy them back at a high price

    • @Chris_winthers
      @Chris_winthers 11 місяців тому +191

      @@trumpetbob15 i feel like the video tried to explain a reason that people want them, but it was just "jeans used to be not popular and then they became popular and they're still popular, but levi's was once struggling so therefore old jeans are expensive"

    • @ThZuao
      @ThZuao 11 місяців тому +58

      Basic supply and demand.
      The real question is why people want them?

  • @Pestsoutwest
    @Pestsoutwest 11 місяців тому +300

    Summer of 1990 my father took us on an adventure to the Soviet union.
    We took a tour bus through Europe, all the way to Moscow, with a suitcase full of American-made jeans. My father traded the jeans for cases of champagne that were worth their weight in gold in the UK. He cut the bus driver in for a case, and he smuggled the bottles out. My father drank a case of champagne on the drive back.
    I have a real Soviet flag from that trip. We were in a park, and the old man saw some people selling flags. The flags were one-sided and for show. My father wanted a real flag and pointed at the one on the pole, saying, "Like that one." So the guy jumps up and climbs the flagpole. Next thing I know, the guy is giving my father the flag from the flag poll for money. He was explaining to me why it was important that the flag had print on both sides when he said, "Keep walking, faster, let's go." I look back, and the guy who just sold us the flag was being chased by two guys in nice clothing. It's a nice flag...

    • @Toothily
      @Toothily 11 місяців тому +50

      This is the wackiest heist tale I've heard for a while and I love it

    • @johnwt7333
      @johnwt7333 11 місяців тому +6

      What? Why was it important that the flag was printed on both sides? And why was the guy being chased? And what did your father gain from having the guy chased? Storytelling is an ability you weren't taught it would seem.

    • @Toothily
      @Toothily 11 місяців тому +61

      @@johnwt7333 Their storytelling is totally fine. A flag printed both sides is one meant to be flown from a pole, so it’s more legit. Their father didn’t have the guy chased, it would’ve likely been Soviet authorities, for stealing the flag off the flagpole. It’s fine if your comprehension needs work but try to be less rude.

    • @johnwt7333
      @johnwt7333 11 місяців тому +1

      @@Toothily it's not. He spent one paragraph telling us a pointless and incomplete story unrelated to the subject in question. One entire paragraph to tell us that his father bought a flag!
      First two paragraphs are fine. Boring but fine.

    • @johnwt7333
      @johnwt7333 11 місяців тому +3

      @@Toothily are you from the US by any chance? They tend to get easily offended and go full Karen on strangers, calling them "rude", "insensible", "unfiltered" and whatnot.

  • @wgrandbois
    @wgrandbois 11 місяців тому +48

    Not playing in abandoned mines is actually a conversation I had with my parents growing up in Colorado.

  • @just_kos99
    @just_kos99 11 місяців тому +174

    In the early 70s, in Portsmouth, NH, kids weren't allowed to wear blue jeans to school. They could wear any other color, but no blue jeans. One day my sister wore some Levi's. The school was so upset they called my mom, and she was like, "You're kidding." They explained BLUE jeans weren't allowed because that's what common, blue-collar laborers wore and heaven forbid, that was bad. Mom pretty much told them to go to Hell, and sis kept wearing them.

    • @planescaped
      @planescaped 11 місяців тому +24

      That sounds like real Karen on the schoolboard nonsense alright.
      Some 70 year olds really do literally have nothing better to do.

    • @johnwt7333
      @johnwt7333 11 місяців тому +5

      Now that's a real mother right there

    • @kitefan1
      @kitefan1 11 місяців тому +11

      Yep, same here in RI. Here I think they would have suspended your Sis. To keep it in context girls had to wear skirts or dresses to school until, hmm, probably the late 60s when women started wearing nice pants as office wear. (Several high school boys wore kilts to school in protest.) One of my friends mothers had made her jeans that were a pinkish color and she got no flack about them in high school. I remember discussing this when we were out on the grass waiting for the officials to let us go back in after a bomb threat. Their were rules for dress/skirt hem lengths too. related to length below fingertips or above knee, depending.

    • @johnwt7333
      @johnwt7333 11 місяців тому +1

      @@kitefan1 bomb threats, suspensions, Karens, protests, "RI" (don't even want to know what it is).... how do you people live?

    • @kitefan1
      @kitefan1 11 місяців тому +6

      @@johnwt7333 RI is a state in Northeast USA. Sorry. Part of my unstated point was I was sitting on the lawn in maybe 1970. I went to a fairly large high school, graduating class of about 200. Outside of the city, bombs back then were usually fictitious because someone wanted out of a calculus test. Back then there were folks like the Weather Underground really terrorizing people so it had to be taken seriously. The capacity to blow things up now scares me. ANDO existed since the 1950s but I never heard of it since the 1980s. (First World Trade Center garage bombing, 1993.)
      Your education system doesn't suspend people for a few days if they are being disobedient? What do they do with bad behavior kids? Even just the small things like wearing a rude T-shirt? Where do you live?
      I don't live in an Home Owner's Association area so there are mostly only Town rules about fences and not letting your pets run free. Much less traction for Karens.
      Most of the protests, bombs and so on happen in cities especially near government buildings. There is a fuss going on about homeless encampments in the city but I don't live or often go near there.
      France has protests that look like they shut down the entire country. This (USA) is a huge country. Depending on which way I go, if I get in my car and drive from New England to California it's about 4800 km or 3000 mi and would take about 44 hours, nonstop. If you sleep and shower, sit at a table to eat, and stretch it takes 4 to 5 days. Here in the Northeast we only get to go 65mph (104kph) on the limited access highways. In the flatter middle parts sometimes the speed limit is up to 75mph(121kph).

  • @eliaswilson7911
    @eliaswilson7911 11 місяців тому +81

    It’s so funny that in the 50s teenagers would wear jeans to look rebellious meanwhile now people think I am dressing up every day because I wear jeans to school every day.

    • @hotwheelsearl
      @hotwheelsearl 11 місяців тому +6

      When have jeans ever been considered anything close to formal wear?

    • @westrim
      @westrim 11 місяців тому +41

      @@hotwheelsearl When kids started wearing pajamas, sweatpants, and leggings to school regularly.

    • @kitefan1
      @kitefan1 11 місяців тому +1

      @@westrim Ah, thanks. What the jean banners would have considered lingerie for tops, too.

    • @notapplicable6985
      @notapplicable6985 11 місяців тому

      ​@@hotwheelsearlwhen people realised that jeans actually look good on their own.
      Lots of places have black (not blue) jeans as the dress code

  • @Picobits
    @Picobits 11 місяців тому +37

    It should be noted that not all Levi's worth money is from before 1970. For example, Selvedge 501s were still made up to 1985 - selvedge denim is better made, higher quality denim that is less likely to rip, and thus worth more. Since Levi's don't make these anymore, these can go for $300+, even pairs from the 80s. Additionally, original bellbottoms from the late 60s and 70s (646 and 684 models) can go for a few hundred, particularly ones with the Big E tag (though it should be noted that Big E does not necessarily mean on it's own that the jeans are from before 1970, as they were still in use in some lines up until the late 70s).

    • @jpe1
      @jpe1 11 місяців тому +5

      I still have several pair of 501s that I wore in high school at the bottom of a drawer (they still fit me, I fantasize I will wear them to do yard work or other messy tasks, but somehow never bother to dig them out). I graduated high school in 1987, so these would be from around ‘84 to ‘86. I find it hard to believe that anyone would actually have interest in them, but apparently I can a hundred bucks or perhaps even more for them, if eBay auctions are to be trusted… thanks for the tip!

  • @randomcow505
    @randomcow505 11 місяців тому +21

    old clothes collectors are fucking wild
    my dad was wearing one of 70's or 80's band tshirts, hes been wearing the same ones since he got them from the tour
    they are thread bare, and wearing the same clothes for 40-50 years makes them a special kind of funky and both me and my mother have joked about burning them because of how bad they are
    anyway one day while we are out a girl comes over and asks where he got it from
    "uhhh, the tour on the back of it"
    offered him a thousand for it there and then
    "nah, I like it"

    • @FrogFriend3379
      @FrogFriend3379 11 місяців тому +1

      I'm just more impressed your dad fits in a shirt that's 50 years old 😂 he must be in good shape

    • @User31129
      @User31129 11 місяців тому +1

      I have a pair of shorts, Jean shorts, that I've had for 20 years. But I live in Michigan, so it's only valid shorts weather for at the most 3.5 months and even then a good number of those days don't qualify. Plus with a handful of other shorts to wear, this one pair is in good shape. In 20 years, I've probably worn it less than 100 days. I can see it reaching 26 or 28 years no problem.

  • @joeym5243
    @joeym5243 11 місяців тому +32

    I think you skipped over the part explaining why people wilm pay 5 figures. Yes, demand has been high but most people aren't dropping their salaries on a pair of old Levi's

  • @zipabit5044
    @zipabit5044 11 місяців тому +103

    Mining through the rubble of the Jortstorm can be a pathway to many riches

    • @westrim
      @westrim 11 місяців тому +2

      ...some considered to be unnatural?

    • @jj02mc27
      @jj02mc27 11 місяців тому +2

      Bold of you to assume there will be anything left in the wake of the Jortpocalypse

    • @vigilantcosmicpenguin8721
      @vigilantcosmicpenguin8721 11 місяців тому

      Jortstorm would be a great, terrible band name.

  • @dalegaliniak607
    @dalegaliniak607 11 місяців тому +66

    As someone who is into specifically Japanese denim and its history, I've always found the vintage levi hunters weird in a super relatable way.

    • @vigilantcosmicpenguin8721
      @vigilantcosmicpenguin8721 11 місяців тому +2

      Weird in a super relatable way, that's the best kind of year.

    • @protocetid
      @protocetid 10 місяців тому

      As someone who is not a jeans connoisseur, I imagine there is a brand out there that makes pants with the build quality of yesteryear. And as someone who is a connoisseur of other things and knows consumer behavior well, I wouldn't be surprised if the people who pay the exorbitant prices for vintage Levi's say they're buying just for the quality, when in fact they're buying more for the brand name and to be part of an in group. Meanwhile, the real enthusiasts are probably watching a better brand they love die.

  • @kingofcastlechaos
    @kingofcastlechaos 11 місяців тому +9

    While in electronics school a fellow student paid for his entire tuition by packing his sailboat with jeans and sailing to south America to sell them. He mentioned always getting stopped on the way back (empty) by the feds. Now I know.

  • @andykillsu
    @andykillsu 11 місяців тому +22

    NO do not go into dangerous mines and steal jeans... There is a MASSIVE problem with people going into old mines and taking things out of them.

    • @sirBrouwer
      @sirBrouwer 11 місяців тому +16

      the problem is not them going in to the mines. it's more the risk them never getting out of them.

    • @lofi_account
      @lofi_account 11 місяців тому +1

      @andykillsu Thanks for the PSA but if you're stupid enough to go into an abandoned mine you're propably stupid enough to eventually die some other stupid way instead.

    • @kitefan1
      @kitefan1 11 місяців тому +1

      Is the problems people endangering themselves or do you think abandoned claims should be preserved?

    • @MinesoftheWest
      @MinesoftheWest 11 місяців тому

      Agreed!

  • @Zanzubaa
    @Zanzubaa 11 місяців тому +64

    He never actually said why they are THAT expensive. I'll hazard a guess and say rich collectors.

    • @mikestone6078
      @mikestone6078 11 місяців тому

      I'll hazard a guess and say rich idiots.

    • @AshrakAhmed
      @AshrakAhmed 11 місяців тому

      because they were made by white people before yellow and brown people took the manufacturing job away from decent white hardworking folks!

    • @Jehty_
      @Jehty_ 11 місяців тому +10

      But why?
      Why would anyone come up with collecting destroyed, dirty jeans?
      If they were in mint condition I would understand that. But all the ones shown in this video are rubbish.

    • @lucassilvas1
      @lucassilvas1 11 місяців тому +1

      @@Jehty_ Because they are r3tards

    • @sirBrouwer
      @sirBrouwer 11 місяців тому +6

      @@Jehty_ the reason that they have been used can be a factor. it holds a story.
      people also pay crazy money of a used baseball because player X has used said ball.
      or people that collect old pottery.
      In the end enough people just like to collect. and the more uniek a item is the more rewarding it is for them.

  • @bolivianPsyOp
    @bolivianPsyOp 11 місяців тому +22

    This is the first time Sam has accused me of being on the toilet not wearing pants and he’s been right

  • @Ebolson1019
    @Ebolson1019 11 місяців тому +7

    In the mid 70s my dad was with the navy in the pacific (can’t remember if this was Japan, Hong Kong, or Taiwan) and traded the pair of of jean he was currently wearing to a guy for 5 pairs of tailored pants, 7 nice shirts, and 5 silk robes. Shit was wild

  • @WilliamHaisch
    @WilliamHaisch 11 місяців тому +7

    _In the future:_
    “These are a pair of pandemic sweatpants worn continuously for that entire year of malaise. They were found in the wall of a studio apartment. Notice the authentic orange stains of what is believed to be *Cheetos,* an early type of junk food. We shall start the bidding at one million federal credits…”

  • @safebox36
    @safebox36 11 місяців тому +32

    I still don't understand how people can comfortably wear them.
    They're the hardest thing to sit in, and sometimes both fit too tightly and are too loose at the same time.

    • @castlefactory8682
      @castlefactory8682 11 місяців тому +5

      You need to get a good pair of jeans. They are kind of impossible to find though… I haven’t found a decent pair in a couple years. What do you wear instead?

    • @RedmarKerkhof
      @RedmarKerkhof 11 місяців тому +1

      Same. The fabric is also very stiff and scratchy. It's amazing how they became the default pants worldwide, just riding a trend. Maybe corduroy will become retro and fashionable again one day.

    • @Thinginator
      @Thinginator 11 місяців тому +8

      This, so much this. I for one cannot stand denim jeans, they are extremely uncomfortable. I get that they were originally work pants and comfort was not their first priority, but why do people insist they're comfortable now? I'm convinced people have just been wearing them for so long that they can't feel their legs anymore.

    • @dollybelfiore7628
      @dollybelfiore7628 11 місяців тому +1

      You poor thing! ...It can take a whole lotta effort and time just to find your perfect pair... but when you do, they really do seem worth their weight in gold.

    • @chlochlo742
      @chlochlo742 11 місяців тому +5

      jeans are the comfiest legwear ever. i can sleep in them

  • @ExileOnDaytonStreet
    @ExileOnDaytonStreet 11 місяців тому +3

    1. Put on a fedora
    2. Approach someone wearing jeans
    3. Shout "THOSE BELONG IN A MUSEUM" at them

  • @nerdstudent8852
    @nerdstudent8852 11 місяців тому +15

    Does it makes you wonder, there's 4-5 jeans left there, what did those 4-5 miners do after they take off their pants? 🤔

    • @AltonV
      @AltonV 11 місяців тому +5

      Went home after work?

    • @sirBrouwer
      @sirBrouwer 11 місяців тому +2

      A bit like how people now might have there boiler suite over there cleaner clothing.
      the jeans where left behind when not needed anymore.

  • @ATM648
    @ATM648 11 місяців тому +14

    If you noticed the mention of Ueno Tokyo in this video, may I recommend Jet Lag The Game, Capture The Flag Across Japan. In this 7 episode season the team who makes Half As Interesting and a special guest make multiple trips to and through Ueno. This season and those before it are riveting and, like Levi's riveted old jeans, are priceless.

    • @Nazuiko
      @Nazuiko 11 місяців тому

      I didnt realize he said Ueno, but my recommendation for fans of Ueno has to be Shin Megami Tensei, a japanese RPG whos plot is centered around Ueno being turned into a molten radiated crater as ground zero of a nuclear warhead apocalypse

  • @Chubby_Bub
    @Chubby_Bub 11 місяців тому +3

    1:24 Was confused and double-checked the captions, it appears Sam misread his script here and said "patron part" instead of "patron pant"… at least Giraffe as Interesting caught Ueno

  • @daveandrew589
    @daveandrew589 11 місяців тому +100

    So now Sam has given the jean counterfeiters all the information they need to fake vintage jeans.

    • @plushifoxed
      @plushifoxed 11 місяців тому +39

      if you think they didn't already have that information to begin with ive got a bridge to sell you

    • @planescaped
      @planescaped 11 місяців тому +10

      @@plushifoxed Seriously, I generally assume these types of comments are form 10-15 year olds who are still new.

    • @fabiofcferreira
      @fabiofcferreira 11 місяців тому +1

      @@planescapedrelax… why are you so bothered with this comment… 😅

  • @deryckchan
    @deryckchan 11 місяців тому +5

    "Hey you mispronounced Ueno"
    Great shout out to Jet Lag The Game 😄

  • @dkaloger5720
    @dkaloger5720 11 місяців тому +2

    I have been watching ghost town living and it’s always fun seeing him find old jeans

  • @rennoc6478
    @rennoc6478 11 місяців тому +10

    Hey they should call them “Indiana Je… >:(
    HEY YOU MISPRONOUNCED UENO TOKYO

  • @fonkbadonk5370
    @fonkbadonk5370 11 місяців тому +22

    I'm just here to scoff at anyone that thinks "jean" is a singular pair of pants. No. Jeans only ever exist as a plural - a beautiful rarity.
    Also: This all American idol was of German origin. As Sam neglected to mention, their inventor's real name was "Levi Strauss" (actually really Löb Strauß from the region of Bamberg, Germany). Since Löb changed his name to Levi, his pants were just named after himself: Levi's (pants).
    I'm honestly getting more and more concerned with the lack of research Sam's team does lately. There were times where such core facts would have been either at least included, or front and center in his videos a couple of months ago.

    • @joycelynnelobert8779
      @joycelynnelobert8779 11 місяців тому +3

      Pedantry

    • @topapo3661
      @topapo3661 11 місяців тому +5

      so it is as american as apple pie! in that it is not american at all lol

    • @violet7773
      @violet7773 8 місяців тому

      ​@@joycelynnelobert8779 we're here to learn meaningless info that probably won't even be relevant in a pub quiz. Don't say "pedantry" like it's a bad thing

  • @dr_volberg
    @dr_volberg 11 місяців тому +14

    And this how Charlie made a decent penny in boiled denim.

    • @planescaped
      @planescaped 11 місяців тому

      That's why he boiled it. To get the shitstains off the old denim to resell it for maximum profit.
      Brilliant!

  • @joshuaadams8240
    @joshuaadams8240 11 місяців тому +1

    Always love new HAI videos.

  • @mrlegodude96alt2
    @mrlegodude96alt2 11 місяців тому +6

    So are they just expensive because collectors or is there some sort of magic secret to old denim that makes it better?

    • @sirBrouwer
      @sirBrouwer 11 місяців тому +1

      a combination most likely. I can imagine that for people that make jeans and the likes. it might be interesting to study the older versions.
      they might be able to use it again in there design. Also those same people are often also the people that will collect them out of a love for the product.
      it's like how people that make books now a days might love to have a very old book. just to study how that book was made.
      As in techniek, materrial, look.

  • @LimitedWard
    @LimitedWard 11 місяців тому +3

    Why do I suddenly have the urge to buy wool dryer balls?

    • @shiranp6
      @shiranp6 11 місяців тому

      Someone reads labales

  • @Minuteman_Medic
    @Minuteman_Medic 11 місяців тому +2

    My 7th grade history teacher traveled to China once and they actually gave him a hard time at customs because he'd brought two pairs of Levi's. They'd assumed he was a reseller and trying to illegally import them. Basically his only saving grace was that he had ONLY brought those two pairs of Levi's so he was able to convince them he didn't intend to visit China bottomless.

  • @goofyahhslimjackson1942
    @goofyahhslimjackson1942 11 місяців тому +1

    I’m real surprised your covering this though it was too small a market. I watch abandoned mine exploration channels that explore places in cali and Nevada and they always say that old 19th century Levi’s rake in big

  • @soyeahstuff
    @soyeahstuff 11 місяців тому +3

    I love the Easter egg about mispronouncing Ueno, lol

  • @Marcus-xj1fw
    @Marcus-xj1fw 11 місяців тому

    The note was super informative thanks!

  • @jangschoen1019
    @jangschoen1019 11 місяців тому +22

    I was really expecting a Ghost Town Living shout-out.

  • @R2debo_
    @R2debo_ 11 місяців тому +68

    At least it’s being recycled. What more can we really ask for? This company pretty much makes and recycles it’s own product. I would only hope this company also believes in fair worth for their employees.

    • @kezzmexx2476
      @kezzmexx2476 11 місяців тому +13

      I would guess the energy it takes to go out and search old mines is far greater then making a new pair of jeans.

  • @jeffkadlec8264
    @jeffkadlec8264 11 місяців тому

    I LOVED your dating jeans joke!!!

  • @Chris_at_Home
    @Chris_at_Home 11 місяців тому

    I have a box of old Levi’s from my younger days when I was thinner that are at least 20 years old. Since I retired I’ve been loosening weight and I am starting to fit into some of them again.

  • @nurdle8673
    @nurdle8673 11 місяців тому +1

    thank you HAI for helping me learn that the pants i bought yesterday were made in 2023

  • @colejosephalexanderkashay683
    @colejosephalexanderkashay683 11 місяців тому +5

    POTENTIAL ERROR! You said the 7 pairs of antique jeans were worth more than their weight in gold; each pair of jeans would need to weigh less than 1.5 lbs for this to be accurate!!!

    • @dollybelfiore7628
      @dollybelfiore7628 11 місяців тому +1

      Perhaps they hold a substantial load of 'golden-brown' nuggets! 💩

    • @slurpinpuffs
      @slurpinpuffs 11 місяців тому

      according to Google, jeans weigh about 10-13oz, so less than a pound

    • @colejosephalexanderkashay683
      @colejosephalexanderkashay683 11 місяців тому +1

      @@slurpinpuffs I looked that up as well. that isn't the actual weight of a pair of jeans; that is a measurement of the quality of the material; 13oz jeans are 13 oz of denim per square yard of material.

    • @Jehty_
      @Jehty_ 11 місяців тому

      Have you seen all the holes and missing parts in those jeans?

    • @slurpinpuffs
      @slurpinpuffs 11 місяців тому

      @@colejosephalexanderkashay683 ahh, that makes sense. i’d weigh my jeans right now if i weren’t at work

  • @arelpasha5291
    @arelpasha5291 11 місяців тому +2

    Ah yes, NewJeans’s greatest nemesis: OldJeans.

  • @magiciangob
    @magiciangob 11 місяців тому

    As someone who has left a couple of comments correcting Pacific Northwest pronunciations in Wendover videos, I particularly enjoyed the joke about the comments. Good stuff.

  • @ljphoenix4341
    @ljphoenix4341 11 місяців тому +4

    This video would've been better if Ben (the writer) had talked to Brent from the channel Ghost Town Living, he could've given a great explanation

    • @notmenotme614
      @notmenotme614 11 місяців тому

      That’s a great UA-cam channel. I love seeing him abseil down and explore old tunnels

    • @sadmermaid
      @sadmermaid 10 місяців тому

      Is that the silicon valley bro who's old, historic pub "burnt down" in his town he bought?

  • @riccriccardoricc
    @riccriccardoricc 11 місяців тому +2

    The GameCube is vintage? That hurts.

  • @danielb2571
    @danielb2571 11 місяців тому

    I love the video clip of Tucson. So proud.

  • @luke.415
    @luke.415 11 місяців тому +4

    me right now just thinking of "NewJeans"

  • @legends86yt
    @legends86yt 11 місяців тому +3

    Ah yes, jeans are exactly what thought I'd learn about today

  • @joependelton269
    @joependelton269 11 місяців тому +6

    I was kind of surprised to come across this video. A few things that should be mentioned: The jeans find in Arizona was at Castle Dome and the person who found them is a Canadian named Frank Schlichting. He's a well known trespasser and looter of abandoned mines. He's currently banned from entering the United States and is being prosecuted for trespassing (actually, breaking and entering) at a mine in Nevada. As for the Indiana Jeans reference, that's the moniker of Brit Eaton. He's also a well known trespasser and looter. These people give mine explorers a bad name and should not be celebrated.

  • @vincentmiller420
    @vincentmiller420 11 місяців тому +2

    Well, that means I have been wearing Levi's Jeans from the late 1800s and early to mid 1900s all my life. Woah.

  • @EDF1919
    @EDF1919 11 місяців тому

    The phrase "denim mining" reminded of the tumblr post of the russian spy going "I work all day in hamburger mine to buy 1 rock and roll disc."

  • @ir3akh4v0c
    @ir3akh4v0c 11 місяців тому +1

    "A video about pants for people who mostly aren't wearing any." As I sit here without pants eating my breakfast 😂

  • @glockmat
    @glockmat 11 місяців тому +2

    I thought those old jeans had some sort of substance that is incredibly valuable for a modern industry like tech, and that is far cheaper to extract it from them than it is to create new ones, perhaps something akin to pre WW2 steel, something to do with radiation, maybe the cloth was required in electronics so the radiation didn't throw the electrons in the chip array

    • @violet7773
      @violet7773 8 місяців тому

      They're probably just collector's items. It can be pretty hard to find surviving clothes worn by the working class 100 years ago, since the fabric would have been reused (like sam mentions in the video). I imagine there are a number of museums who would love to get their hands on a pair or two

  • @WilliamWynn
    @WilliamWynn 11 місяців тому

    The longterm play of HAI is to become the premier stock video service. Its just a really longterm play.

  •  11 місяців тому

    The prediction that so many views of this video will be on the toilet, is sooooo accurate:D

  • @denindenim
    @denindenim 11 місяців тому +8

    I'm a Levi's expert and I give you props for getting a lot of good info into such a short video.

    • @michael2636
      @michael2636 11 місяців тому +2

      Can you explain what reason is behind the demand for old Levi's? I can't imagine these old jeans are still wearable in their current state

    • @denverflatpackjedithornton
      @denverflatpackjedithornton 11 місяців тому

      Hello denham denham please let us know ha
      Den from ham

    • @denindenim
      @denindenim 11 місяців тому

      it's like any collectibles but kept in good condition you can wear 100 year old jeans@@michael2636

  • @D.S.handle
    @D.S.handle 11 місяців тому +20

    So the jeans are simply bought as collectible items? The video could’ve said this clearly. I find the delivery a bit confusing.

    • @philbert006
      @philbert006 11 місяців тому +3

      You must be new to this channel? I think it's a point of pride to get through a video without ever clearly addressing the subject matter.

    • @D.S.handle
      @D.S.handle 11 місяців тому +6

      @@philbert006 I’m not, just find this one especially confusing.

  • @stevenb891
    @stevenb891 11 місяців тому

    Well that explains the Springfield counterfeit jeans ring

  • @thatonedynamitecuber
    @thatonedynamitecuber 11 місяців тому

    Hmm. Must be where the minions found so much denim.

  • @SEVYNTHEVILLAIN
    @SEVYNTHEVILLAIN 11 місяців тому

    1:07 ok you got me

  • @veeseir
    @veeseir 11 місяців тому +1

    what a fascinating jeaneology

  • @donm5354
    @donm5354 11 місяців тому +1

    Landfills are likely a GOLD MINE for JEANS MINERS

  • @ScottDotDot
    @ScottDotDot 11 місяців тому +5

    I understand everything except why people want the old jeans? I wear Levi's everyday and they just come from Amazon like everything else. They're also guaranteed unbeshitted, unlike all other used pants.

    • @LendriMujina
      @LendriMujina 11 місяців тому +1

      They (usually) don't buy them to wear them; they buy them as a cultural snapshot. And a lot of places in the United States are proud of their history of miners and factory workers.

  • @joshpinchuk7061
    @joshpinchuk7061 11 місяців тому +1

    There must be people that chose to be buried in their denim. Grave robbing might be lucrative here.

  • @TilmanBaumann
    @TilmanBaumann 11 місяців тому

    Imagine you walk into a mine with trousers and walk out without.

  • @dariusmoore7123
    @dariusmoore7123 11 місяців тому +1

    My father (born 1971) didn't wear a pair of jeans until 1983 were it was mandatory for his squares dancing class. He wore slacks most of the time.

  • @illinialumni
    @illinialumni 11 місяців тому +1

    So a wool ball video is in our near future?

  • @Mynthio
    @Mynthio 11 місяців тому +1

    That still doesn't answer the core question of why there is high demand for Old jeans. You'd think there was something special about it, like with old steel, which is why they don't simply buy a better-fitting pair off the rack.

  • @drewmorris9388
    @drewmorris9388 11 місяців тому

    this explains the thing with jeans from The Bear

  • @GelatinCoffee
    @GelatinCoffee 11 місяців тому +1

    I do not recommend playing in old abandoned mines. There's one back behind my house a ways, my grandpa drove me by it once when I was a little kid cause passing by it was just the quickest route to his work. So I found out about it then, and later I decided "I'm gonna go look at it, because I'm a rebel now, and need a place to go that no one will find me" started visiting the mine. Then one day I showed a friend and he was like "dude, we should go hotbox the old ass cave" and I didn't even know what that meant so I went with him. After smoking and playing around acting like we were mining by hitting rocks against the wall, we left and that night it had a complete cave in 😂
    Pretty sure I was hitting stone, and my friend was trying to break an "ancient log guardian of the mine" aka some old ass log in the middle of the walkway

  • @SammyM00782
    @SammyM00782 11 місяців тому

    I wonder what I could get for my "Vintage" Jnco's and Kikwears....there's like 2-3x the denim in those bad boys lol

  • @smollmoth6376
    @smollmoth6376 11 місяців тому +2

    I still dont really understand why people want old jeans, is there something that is different from the old and current jeans?

  • @JamesGilbert_
    @JamesGilbert_ 11 місяців тому

    I never even knew jeans of any kind were at all valuable until this video.

  • @WilliamHaisch
    @WilliamHaisch 11 місяців тому

    5:30 or 5:32 As mentioned, the “made with white labor” text on the label is near the bottom of the screen.

    • @HateSpeechMoreLikeBasedSpeech
      @HateSpeechMoreLikeBasedSpeech 11 місяців тому

      Pretty based, tbh. They should bring that label back, if they could even find a pair that would qualify.

  • @caiocc12
    @caiocc12 11 місяців тому +1

    Holy cow I didn't realize unt today vintage comes from vinte which is 20!! Mind blown.

  • @undergroundexplorers
    @undergroundexplorers 11 місяців тому +2

    Finding jeans or other valuable clothing in abandoned mines is extremely rare. We won't get into details on the Arizona find other than to say don't believe everything you read or watch on UA-cam.

  • @yaguar4k646
    @yaguar4k646 11 місяців тому +2

    3:40 captial instead of capital

  • @deleted-something
    @deleted-something 11 місяців тому

    this stuff is quite interesting lmao

  • @MayoIsMyInstrument
    @MayoIsMyInstrument 11 місяців тому

    I keep misreading this video as "How Demon Mining Works".

  • @MClara-ep4sf
    @MClara-ep4sf 11 місяців тому

    Okay how did you know I was in the toilet???? Had a good chuckle

  • @damagak
    @damagak 11 місяців тому +3

    I feel so called out about that you mispronounced ueno comment. I literally said that out loud when it happened.

  • @TS_Mind_Swept
    @TS_Mind_Swept 11 місяців тому

    1:00 Jeans aren't the only thing I'm not wearing Keepo

  • @M_Oz_
    @M_Oz_ 11 місяців тому +1

    87k for those Jeans? HAHAHAHAHAA, some people really do have too much money.

  • @gary1862530
    @gary1862530 11 місяців тому

    It's crazy how some fabric can be worth more than what some people make saving lives 😂

  • @maruftim
    @maruftim 11 місяців тому

    Witch Watch taught me well

  • @joshuakarr-BibleMan
    @joshuakarr-BibleMan 11 місяців тому +1

    Hey, that comment about how to date jeans was not a stupid joke.
    What does Popeye order for breakfast?
    Egg, egg, egg.
    And spinach, Olives.

  • @catholiccontriversy
    @catholiccontriversy 11 місяців тому

    Oh boy, something else to look for when seeking ebay inventory.

  • @afjer
    @afjer 11 місяців тому

    That's weird that something as boringly ordinary as jeans would be banned. That's like banning butter knives.

  • @josh2101
    @josh2101 11 місяців тому

    I'm keeping an eye out for a parking meter sticker now

  • @jdog_btw
    @jdog_btw 11 місяців тому

    Is really nobody gonna talk about how it says "captial E" at 3:40? lol

  • @amyx231
    @amyx231 2 місяці тому

    I think we still have my mom’s old denim jacket… it’s approx 30 years old. But not brand name.

  • @denverflatpackjedithornton
    @denverflatpackjedithornton 11 місяців тому +1

    Thanks Sam now my next pair o jeans will be double the cost

  • @darkstarnolight
    @darkstarnolight 2 місяці тому

    The guy who shit his jeans 100 years ago, tosses them aside and your like TREASURE!