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Sharpie

pen · in 46 videos (2010–2026)

Videos by year: 2010: 1 · 2011: 27 · 2012: 1 · 2014: 1 · 2015: 1 · 2017: 3 · 2019: 2 · 2020: 3 · 2021: 2 · 2023: 2 · 2024: 2 · 2026: 1

Threads

Also named in the threads: John's signing hand stops working right; doctor and occupational therapy (2011) · John's Sharpie Face: answering questions with Sharpie drawn on his face (2012) · Turtles All the Way Down tour: John and Hank's US book tour (2017) · John: sign about 150,000 sheets so every US and Canadian pre-order and first-printing copy of The Anthropocene Reviewed book is autographed (2020)

Often together

What comes up in the same parts of the videos; the number is how many parts.

Barnes & Noble (2) · Amazon (3) · The Anthropocene Reviewed (book) (4) · The Fault in Our Stars (6) · Turtles All the Way Down (4) · Instagram (3) · Everything Is Tuberculosis (2) · doobly-doo (3) · Canada (2) · DFTBA (2)

What the videos say

The most important statements of each year; all statements.

2011

  • 2011-06-29 · THE FAULT IN OUR STARS — announcement: John: Every pre-ordered copy of The Fault in Our Stars will be autographed: John will sign every copy of the first printing himself, by hand, probably with a Sharpie. — 00:00:29
  • 2011-07-27 · 150,000 Autographs — announcement: John notes he has agreed to autograph every copy of the first printing of The Fault in Our Stars; the Yeti made him a thermometer to chart his progress to 150,000 books. — 00:00:48
    • John announces that all pre-orders of The Fault in Our Stars, wherever buyers live (the US, the UK, Canada, Malaysia), will be signed, and promises to get it done. — 00:02:45
  • 2011-08-15 · HANKLERFISH! — announcement: John says he brought the sheets because he cannot take a week off from signing: everyone who pre-orders The Fault in Our Stars gets a signed book, and 5% will be Hanklerfished. — 00:03:00
  • 2011-08-26 · Will He Kiss You? Am I a Muggle? It's Question Friday. — announcement: John says all pre-orders of The Fault in Our Stars will be signed, wherever ordered (Amazon UK, England, Canada); the whole first printing is being signed, but only pre-orders are guaranteed. — 00:00:56
  • 2011-08-31 · How to Become An Adult — John says he has signed 42,000 copies and will continue, but first must see a doctor because his hand isn't working right and he needs occupational therapy. — 00:03:20
  • 2011-10-05 · SIGNING MADNESS — John has signed over 80,000 copies of The Fault in Our Stars, but his publisher called to say he must reach 150,000 by November 3. — 00:00:00
  • 2011-10-14 · Defying Wadsworth! — John has now signed his name over 100,000 times in his mission to sign every copy of the first printing of The Fault in Our Stars; to those who think he cheats or uses a stamp, he shows himself signing. — 00:00:47
  • 2011-10-24 · Signing Psychosis Takes Over — John is under stress from signing The Fault in Our Stars: 25,000 copies remain and he has few non-travel days left, so he is freaking out. — 00:00:41
    • John signed 5,300 books yesterday in about 14 hours and must keep that pace every non-travel day until November 3 to finish. — 00:01:13
  • 2011-11-02 · LECTROJOG! — John shows his signing progress meter: he is almost at 150,000 signed copies, but almost does not count. — 00:00:00
  • 2011-11-07 · IS THIS HEAVEN? — John celebrates having signed all the books after a happy dance through town. — 00:00:34
  • …and 37 statements more in 2011 — all statements of 2011

2014

2015

  • 2015-09-25 · Pissed Off for a Better World — ask: Hank asks viewers who promote the Global Goals to use the hashtags #globalgoals and #nfgg so the brothers can see what they're up to, and maybe retweet or share it. — video description
    • Hank tells viewers to get angry: choose the Global Goal that resonates most, draw it on their face with eyeliner or Sharpie, and share it on Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook. — 00:01:52
    • Hank hopes whoever is watching will be inspired to share this with the people around them and in their community. (hedged) — 00:03:22

2017

  • 2017-06-27 · UNBOXING — John: Signing all pre-orders means signing the whole first printing; for The Fault in Our Stars that was 150,000, charted on a 2011 poster Sarah made, and John signed almost all its pre-orders. — 00:00:46
    • In a P.S., John asks for help deciding which Sharpie colours to use, via a survey in the description. — 00:03:37
  • 2017-07-11 · Signing 200,000 Autographs — John: Amazon might be onto something: for about a year after The Fault in Our Stars came out, unsigned copies were much rarer than signed ones. (playful, hedged) — 00:00:43
    • His hand doesn't hurt: very effective physical therapy for his ulnar nerve entrapment during the Fault in Our Stars signing means he can now sign all day. — 00:01:40
    • John is not sponsored by Sharpie, though he'd happily sell out; he buys his own Sharpies. (playful) — 00:02:30
    • Viewers' votes are deciding the colour breakdown of the last hundred thousand signatures. — 00:02:37
  • 2017-10-24 · Tour Bus Bus Tour — John: The bus holds a bag of 850 plastic turtles, and turtles are everywhere: in the shoe closet, the Sharpie drawer, the microwave and the popcorn and applesauce drawer. — 00:02:38
  • …and 1 statement more in 2017 — all statements of 2017

2019

  • 2019-09-06 · Trump is Abnormal, It's His Superpower — Hank says someone, probably Trump, drew a Sharpie line on the map to include a slice of Alabama. (hedged) — 00:00:21
    • Hank says it became a front-page story, 'Sharpie gate' trended on Twitter, and people suggested Trump be prosecuted for sharing false weather data. — 00:00:21

Also named in: Project for Awesome 2019 Recap (BUTT IS LEGS)

2020

  • 2020-02-28 · I'M FINE EVERYTHING IS FINE — In a comment, Hank says he is already working on the video with the permanent-marker test results. — creator comment
    • Hank says he was watching John's 2011 video of signing The Fault in Our Stars very quickly, when John was a little frazzled, and admits he is a little frazzled too. — 00:00:50
    • Since few people ever have to sign tens of thousands of sheets, Hank will test every permanent marker he could find to learn which is best, something he jokes no one has ever known. (playful) — 00:01:12
  • 2020-04-24 · The Sharpest Tool in the Shed — Hank explains that a Sharpie is sharp at the tip, so it starts with little ink per signature, dulls and lays down more, and as ink runs low fast strokes leave gaps. — 00:02:03
    • Hank says the Milwaukee Inkzall, the main contender to Sharpie, has a thinner tip, wrote smoothly, lasted long and was well designed, but was not the longevity winner. — 00:02:32
    • John Green (quoted): Hank recalls John telling him he has tried every permanent marker there is and that Sharpie makes the best marker. — 00:02:32
    • Hank concludes that some companies do better on ergonomics, but Sharpie, not by a huge margin, had the most longevity of any pen he tried. — 00:03:01
    • Hank reveals a final stack, 50% higher than the traditional Sharpie's, signed by the metal Sharpie, whose less sharp tip still lasted longest. — 00:03:01
    • Hank says he thought he might find some diamond somewhere, but Sharpie really does have it figured out. — 00:03:33
  • 2020-10-20 · How to Sign Your Name 150,000 Times — recommendation: John's technique: hold the marker loosely (the Sharpie does the work), relax shoulder and neck, and occasionally draw a spiral or write DFTBA to vary the motion and avoid cramping. — 00:00:24
    • John recalls that in 2011, signing the first printing of The Fault in Our Stars, he listened to Moby Dick. — 00:00:53
  • …and 1 statement more in 2020 — all statements of 2020

2021

  • 2021-02-23 · A Little Joy and Color in an Otherwise Unbearably Bland Life — John recalls a five-star review of a 12-pack of purple Sharpies: in monotonous work, the reviewer found purple ones brought a little joy and color to an otherwise unbearably bland life. — 00:00:00
    • John has been signing with a purple Sharpie in his quest to sign all 250,000 copies of the first US printing of The Anthropocene Reviewed book, and it has brought him joy. — 00:00:29
    • John recalls signing 150,000 times for The Fault in Our Stars: at the end he signed 12 or 14 hours a day and doubted he could do it, until the purple Sharpie reminded him he had made this promise and would keep it. — 00:03:05
  • 2021-04-02 · John's World Record — Hank: All first-edition copies of The Fault in Our Stars were signed except a tiny number of misprints, which makes unsigned first editions extremely rare and more valuable. — 00:00:58

2023

Also named in: GOOD NEWS

2024

2026

  • 2026-02-14 · Project for Awesome 2026 part 4! — John lets Alice write on his face with a Sharpie the initials of donors giving over $100 in the last 14 minutes of the hour; Alice and Sarah cover his face with names. — 00:37:56
    • John leaves the livestream to wash the Sharpie off his face so he looks normal in the morning, when he has to go to a funeral. — 01:54:31
    • Hank: To reach the night's goal, Hank tells donors that a donation over $500 gets their name written on his face. — 06:14:01
  • …and 1 statement more in 2026 — all statements of 2026

Also named in other years (nothing said): JOIN THE PEN15 CLUB!! (2010-08-10), The Fault in Our Stars (2012-01-10)