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  • Giant multinational corporations don't generally have the best of reputations.

  • And I want to stress that this is not an advert for McDonald's.

  • I approached them about filming this.

  • Because almost everyone who watches this video will have eaten at McDonald's at some point in their lives.

  • I'm sure the few of you who've always turned down the opportunity will be very vocal about it in the comments.

  • But for the majority of people who have eaten at the Golden Arches,

  • well, the experience will be roughly the same wherever you are.

  • That's the point of fast food chains.

  • Everything's standardised.

  • You get the same experience, the same food, no matter where you are, right?

  • Well, when I heard that the world's only "float-through McDonald's" was on little canal on the Elbe River in Germany,

  • I thought that was probably worth a visit.

  • Now, just to manage your expectations,

  • this is not a McDonald's with a moat around it where there's a queue of kayaks lining up for each window in turn.

  • That would be better,

  • but while there was an actual microphone and speaker here once, a few years ago,

  • these days, the 21st century has arrived.

  • You have to order on the smartphone app.

  • We've had the McBoat since 2015.

  • In the winter, we may close, yes. But in summer and in spring, we have 24/7.

  • People are so happy to see this because they read this or saw this on Instagram and they come, especially for this.

  • We can see your order on the screen, and we make your food ready,

  • and one person goes on and brings the bag out, and wish them a good, "Enjoy your meal" and a happy "good day".

  • One of the things I've learned over the years I've been making videos is that people like a combination of familiarity and novelty.

  • If everything changes, people don't like it, and they move to other things.

  • But if nothing changes, people get bored, and they move to other things.

  • And in the same way, I think it's fascinating to find something that's very close to what you already know

  • but that changes it in one or two interesting ways.

  • When something like McDonald's has a reputation for being controlled and standardised,

  • and you know exactly what to expect,

  • well, seeing small reinventions of that formula can be fascinating.

  • Plus, it gives them some publicity.

  • Oh, and one more thing.

  • I didn't mention exactly where in Germany we are.

  • Because it is quite apt that the world's only float-through McDonald's...

  • ...is in Hamburg.

Giant multinational corporations don't generally have the best of reputations.

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