Brussels wants you to make internet calls to random locals
Visit a website and you can talk to any Belgian who picks up a public receiver.
Brussels is having a tough time lately. While it's the effective capital of the European Union and famous for its street art, the combination of terrorism fears and an economic slump has kept the tourists away. The Belgian city has a clever solution for that, however: calling random people on the street. If you visit Call Brussels between 9AM and 7PM local time no later than January 11th, you can make internet calls to who picks up the phone in one of multiple public locations. As you've probably guessed, Brussels is hoping that you'll hear how wonderful the city is and book a vacation.
Just be prepared for a bit of a wait if the phone lines are still open as you read this. As the Washington Post notes, there's no known maximum call length. You may have to let someone finish an engrossing conversation before it's your turn. And while there's video to show when the phones are busy, the sheer volume of internet traffic made it hard to tell when a phone was free. Nonetheless, this is a clever idea -- it's not always easy to get the feel for a city from the people who live there.
[Image credit: Dursun Aydemir/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images]
