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Facts taught in 2021

298 sincere fact claims from 2021; 124 come with figures. Each figure is shown as said, with what it measures, who it counts (for) and where it applies (in) when recorded (said, or clear from the context), its as-of date, the source the speaker gives (if any) and the extraction-time check. Where no as-of date was said, the one shown is implied (the date said in the video, else the upload date); relative dates such as "last year" keep their words and are resolved against that same date. "Unchecked" means nobody has checked it yet, not that it is wrong. Back to the overview.

Topics: Science & nature (130) · History & curiosities (38) · Books & writing (24) · Internet & YouTube (19) · Health (18) · Personal life (16) · Philosophy & meaning (15) · Nerdfighteria (10) · Everyday life (8) · Global development (7) · Economics (6) · US politics & society (5) · Projects (2)

Science & nature (130)

  • 2021-01-22 · I Didn't Clean My Glasses for a Week and then I Put them Under a Microscope — The description says glasses get harder to see through because globs of sebaceous oil reach the lenses from the skin and block light, creating streaks. — hedged: “from what I can tell” (video description)
  • 2021-04-16 · Gene Editing and Intelligence: A Bad — Intelligence is to some extent genetic; studies show that it is. (00:00:29)
  • 2021-04-16 · Gene Editing and Intelligence: A Bad — Identical twins are more likely than fraternal twins to have similar intelligence test scores, though both share environment, parents and womb. (00:00:58)
  • 2021-04-16 · Gene Editing and Intelligence: A Bad — As a species we do not yet understand the genetics of eye color. (00:02:55)
  • 2021-05-21 · The 19 Best Facts — The description says the thread got a further 900 replies with more facts he would have listed: spacewalking astronauts often lose their fingernails for unknown reasons, sharks predate Saturn's rings, and Abraham Lincoln is in the wrestling hall of fame. (video description)
    • 900 — further replies to Hank's best-fact tweet · as of 2021-05-21 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-05-21 · The 19 Best Facts — Sharks have been around for longer than trees. (00:00:24)
  • 2021-05-21 · The 19 Best Facts — As Dr. Steve points out, trees aren't really a thing: they are a strategy for survival, not a taxonomic group. (00:00:31)
  • 2021-05-21 · The 19 Best Facts — Honorable mention: some individual sharks alive today were born before the United States existed. (00:00:38)
  • 2021-05-21 · The 19 Best Facts — Hank's best music fact: Dolly Parton wrote Jolene and I Will Always Love You on the same car trip, alone in the car; extra good because many don't know she wrote I Will Always Love You. (00:00:44)
  • 2021-05-21 · The 19 Best Facts — Runner-up music fact: the Beatles' Yesterday originally had silly placeholder lyrics about scrambled eggs, which Hank sings; it is as if they wrote the Weird Al version of their own song first. (00:00:58)
  • 2021-05-21 · The 19 Best Facts — Hank's best movie fact, which he admits everyone knows: Viggo broke his foot. (00:01:13)
  • 2021-05-21 · The 19 Best Facts — The majority of the bones in the human body are in the hands and feet, a fact that blew Hank's mind. (00:01:20)
  • 2021-05-21 · The 19 Best Facts — The second-largest purchaser of explosives in the US is the happiest place on Earth. (00:02:04)
    • second largest — rank among purchasers of explosives · for purchasers of explosives · in United States · as of 2021-05-21 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-05-21 · The 19 Best Facts — If the Earth-Moon system survives the Sun's expansion into a red giant, which it might not, then some 60 billion years later the Moon will crash into Earth; space is dangerous on long timescales. — hedged: “which, like, it might not” (00:02:10)
    • 60 billion-ish (years) — time from the Sun's red giant expansion until the Moon crashes into Earth · for Earth-Moon system · as of 2021-05-21 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-05-21 · The 19 Best Facts — Hank's history fact: Charlemagne may have been killed by his beloved asbestos tablecloth, which he cleaned by throwing it into a fire. — hedged: “there is a chance” (00:02:28)
  • 2021-05-21 · The 19 Best Facts — The fact most liked on the tweet: Arctic comes from the Greek for near the bear, so Antarctic roughly means not near the bear, and indeed the Arctic has bears and Antarctica has none. (00:02:38)
  • 2021-05-21 · The 19 Best Facts — Hank adds that the bears are a coincidence: the Arctic is near the bear because of the constellation Ursa Major in the sky above it. (00:02:54)
  • 2021-05-21 · The 19 Best Facts — Hank's number one fact, which he never knew: fingers don't get pruney because water absorbs their oils; if the nerves to the fingers are cut they no longer prune, so it is a neurological reaction, not a physical one. (00:03:08)
  • 2021-05-21 · The 19 Best Facts — Our bodies intentionally make our fingers wrinkly, probably so that we don't slip in water. — hedged: “probably” (00:03:30)
  • 2021-05-28 · Aliens — Hank explains the mediocrity principle: from a sample of one, chances are it comes from the most common set; we have pulled one solar system from the hat, and it has intelligent life, several species of it. (00:00:35)
  • 2021-05-28 · Aliens — There are unclassified videos of unexplained objects and a congressional report about them is coming out; we do not know what they are. (00:01:08)
  • 2021-05-28 · Aliens — Big mysteries remain totally unexplained: what dark matter is, though it is most of the stuff; why anything exists, why there is matter in the universe; how life started on Earth; why we sleep and why we yawn. (00:01:44)
  • 2021-05-28 · Aliens — Things to know about these unidentified aerial phenomena: they move against the wind, are detected by multiple sensors including human eyes, and move in ways known aircraft do not. (00:03:05)
  • 2021-06-22 · Mindblowers with Hank and John — John says pi calculated to the 38th digit is precise enough to calculate the size of the Milky Way to within a few centimeters, yet we know pi to the 31 trillionth digit. (00:00:16)
    • 38th (digit) — digits of pi needed to calculate the size of the Milky Way to within a few centimeters · as of 2021-06-22 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
    • a few (centimeters) — precision of a Milky Way size calculation with pi to 38 digits · as of 2021-06-22 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
    • 31 trillionth (digit) — digits of pi known · as of 2021-06-22 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-06-22 · Mindblowers with Hank and John — Hank read a few years ago that there are probably fragments of dinosaur bone on the Moon, since the dinosaur-killing asteroid probably shed debris as far as Jupiter. — hedged: “probably” (00:00:45)
  • 2021-06-22 · Mindblowers with Hank and John — Hank says science communicators made bananas a scale for radiation: eating one exposes you to a little radiation, so a jet flight to Europe can be measured in bananas. (00:00:53)
  • 2021-06-22 · Mindblowers with Hank and John — John shares a fact Hank taught him: 'before the Big Bang' is an incorrect idea, because the Big Bang created time as well as space as we understand them. (00:01:20)
  • 2021-06-22 · Mindblowers with Hank and John — Hank finds it mind-blowing that you can look up into the sky with a telescope and see the Big Bang. (00:01:36)
  • 2021-06-22 · Mindblowers with Hank and John — Hank passes on a fact from Henry Reich: if the universe were infinitely big and infinitely old, the night sky would be white, with starlight from every direction. (00:01:42)
  • 2021-06-22 · Mindblowers with Hank and John — John says that for 99.99% of human history music could only be heard within earshot of someone making it, and the idea of an album of recorded music is younger than Dr Pepper. (00:02:03)
    • 99.99% (percent) — share of human history in which music could only be heard live · as of 2021-06-22 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-06-22 · Mindblowers with Hank and John — Hank says we do not know why there was not an equal amount of matter and antimatter, which would have annihilated everything; by our understanding a universe without matter is as likely or likelier. (00:02:20)
  • 2021-06-22 · Mindblowers with Hank and John — Hank adds that, separately, we do not know why matter exists at all. (00:02:49)
  • 2021-07-09 · Wrong on the Internet — Hank says for all 41 years of his life we have known climate change will impose devastating instability; those who deny it through greed, bias or ignorance are wrong. (00:00:45)
    • 41 years — how long it has been known that climate change will impose devastating instability · for humanity · in the world · as of 2021-07-09 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-07-09 · Wrong on the Internet — Hank describes a circulating claim that individual action doesn't matter because 90% of emissions come from 50 companies, or something like that. — hedged: “or something like that” (00:01:30)
    • 90% — share of emissions produced by 50 companies · for emissions · as of 2021-07-09 (implied: upload date) · source: a claim going around · unchecked
    • 50 — number of companies said to produce most emissions · for companies · as of 2021-07-09 (implied: upload date) · source: a claim going around · unchecked
  • 2021-07-09 · Wrong on the Internet — Hank reports that social scientists have found individual action leads to more pushes for policy change, not less, the opposite of the original idea. (00:02:56)
  • 2021-07-09 · Wrong on the Internet — Hank cites an article by social psychologists Hackel and Sparkman: people act not because they see smoke but because they see others rushing in with water. (00:03:11)
  • 2021-07-23 · The Last 25 Questions I Asked Google — Hank says the nitrogen in the atmosphere came from geological processes and, being heavy and stable, sticks around a long time, which is why there is so much. (00:00:29)
  • 2021-07-23 · The Last 25 Questions I Asked Google — Hank says Apollo lunar landers relaunched, rejoined the command module and were jettisoned; almost all were crashed into the Moon for seismic experiments, except the lunar module of Apollo Thirteen, used as a lifeboat and crashed into Earth's atmosphere. (00:00:29)
  • 2021-07-23 · The Last 25 Questions I Asked Google — Hank says Apollo Ten, which flew around the Moon before the landing, jettisoned its lunar module into solar orbit, where it still is. (00:00:29)
  • 2021-07-23 · The Last 25 Questions I Asked Google — Hank says a pine cone is just a conifer cone, an organ of the plant, not analogous to some other structure as he had thought. (00:00:58)
  • 2021-07-23 · The Last 25 Questions I Asked Google — Hank says cicadas eat tree sap, not the sticky kind but the very liquid water that travels up to the leaves. (00:01:35)
  • 2021-07-23 · The Last 25 Questions I Asked Google — Hank says Roman oil lamps looked like genie lamps but were made of clay, with a wick drawing up the oil, and the oil was olive oil. (00:01:35)
  • 2021-07-23 · The Last 25 Questions I Asked Google — Hank says the first noise was kind of recorded by Edison, but technically the first audio recording, by Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville's device turning sound into an image, was not replayable until very recently. (00:02:21)
  • 2021-07-23 · The Last 25 Questions I Asked Google — Hank says the Awesome Socks Club has raised over $600,000. (00:03:21)
    • Over $600,000 (USD) — money raised by the Awesome Socks Club · for Awesome Socks Club · as of 2021-07-23 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-08-13 · How We Fix the Climate — Every six or seven years the UN publishes a report on climate change; one came out this week (week of 9 August 2021), producing many headlines that do not look good. (00:00:00)
    • six or seven years — interval between UN climate change reports · for United Nations · as of 2021-08-13 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-08-13 · How We Fix the Climate — In the description Hank says we should act as if this is an emergency, and that economic growth has already been decoupled from greenhouse gas emissions, unthinkable a couple of decades ago. (video description)
    • a couple decades ago (years) — time since decoupling growth from emissions was unthinkable · for world · as of 2021-08-13 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-08-13 · How We Fix the Climate — Renewable energy is skyrocketing: solar produces just 1% of the world's energy but grows faster every year. (00:00:46)
    • 1% (percent) — share of the world's energy produced by solar · for world · as of 2021-08-13 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-08-13 · How We Fix the Climate — Hank says US per capita CO2 emissions are lower than in 1918, then admits that was very cherry-picked data. (00:00:58)
    • lower than they were in 1918 — per capita CO2 emissions · for people in the US · in United States · as of 1918 · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-08-13 · How We Fix the Climate — The IPCC report is clear we are headed the wrong way: avoiding the worst means keeping warming below 2 degrees Celsius, and we are not on target even if all agreements are kept. (00:00:58)
    • 2 degrees Celsius (degrees celsius) — maximum global temperature increase to avoid the worst consequences · for world · as of 2021-08-13 (implied: upload date) · source: IPCC report · unchecked
    • a little less than 4 degrees Fahrenheit (degrees fahrenheit) — maximum global temperature increase to avoid the worst consequences · for world · as of 2021-08-13 (implied: upload date) · source: IPCC report · unchecked
  • 2021-08-13 · How We Fix the Climate — By 'carbon' Hank means CO2 plus equivalent amounts of other heat-trapping gases, chiefly methane, which traps about 84 times more heat; one ton of methane equals 84 tons of CO2. (00:03:53)
    • about 84 times more heat (ratio) — heat trapped by methane relative to carbon dioxide · for methane · as of 2021-08-13 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
    • 84 tons of CO2 — CO2 equivalent of one ton of methane · for methane · as of 2021-08-13 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-08-13 · How We Fix the Climate — A straightforward carbon tax has had fairly bipartisan support from the center, where market-based solutions appeal, though people further right or left dislike it. (00:05:21)
  • 2021-08-13 · How We Fix the Climate — The dividend is not universal-basic-income sized but covers higher heating and driving costs for most lower-income people; it is not totally fair, since rural people use more energy yet get the same check. (00:07:16)
  • 2021-08-13 · How We Fix the Climate — Cap and trade worked extremely well at cutting sulfur dioxide from coal plants in the 1980s, which formed sulfuric acid, made rain acidic, wore away statues and killed forests. (00:08:43)
    • 1980s (decade) — when cap and trade cut sulfur dioxide from coal plants · for coal plants · as of 2021-08-13 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-08-13 · How We Fix the Climate — The plan falls short of a full Green New Deal, which would add Medicare for All and a job guarantee, and is a very big plan not yet finalized, let alone passed. (00:13:38)
  • 2021-08-13 · How We Fix the Climate — President Biden has said he will not sign his $1.2 billion infrastructure package unless there is also a climate plan on his desk; 'here's hoping'. (00:14:07)
    • $1.2 billion (USD) — size of Biden's infrastructure package · for United States · as of 2021-08-13 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-08-13 · How We Fix the Climate — The approaches can be combined, and exist widely: China, Canada and the EU have cap and trade; Japan, Turkey, Thailand, Indonesia and much of Europe have carbon taxes; nearly everywhere has some regulation. (00:14:19)
  • 2021-08-27 · Is it Better Not to Know? — The New York Times tweet states that, according to a 2018 study, an organic cotton tote must be used 20,000 times to offset the overall impact of its production, equal to daily use for 54 years. (00:00:04)
    • 20,000 — number of uses an organic cotton tote needs to offset the overall impact of its production · for organic cotton tote bags · as of 2021-08-27 (implied: upload date) · source: 2018 study cited by The New York Times · unchecked
    • 54 (years) — years of daily use equal to 20,000 uses of an organic cotton tote · for organic cotton tote bags · as of 2021-08-27 (implied: upload date) · source: 2018 study cited by The New York Times · unchecked
  • 2021-08-27 · Is it Better Not to Know? — Hank cites the claim that a cotton tote bag might have a larger environmental impact than 50,000 plastic bags, information he thinks he should have access to. — hedged: “might” (00:00:22)
    • 50,000 — number of plastic bags whose environmental impact one cotton tote bag might exceed · for cotton tote bags · as of 2021-08-27 (implied: upload date) · source: study reported by The New York Times · unchecked
  • 2021-08-27 · Is it Better Not to Know? — Ocean plastic is about 50% fishing equipment, and almost all the rest comes from places without robust waste management systems like those in the US. (00:02:48)
    • 50% (percent) — share of ocean plastic that is fishing equipment · for ocean plastic · as of 2021-08-27 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
    • almost all of the rest — share of non-fishing ocean plastic from places without robust waste management systems · for ocean plastic · as of 2021-08-27 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-09-17 · The Top 10 Micro-Photos of 2021 — In a comment Hank says the subjects are not really that colorful: techniques enhance colors or reveal unseen ones, many using fluorescence, where UV light makes a sample re-emit a different color. (creator comment)
  • 2021-09-17 · The Top 10 Micro-Photos of 2021 — The eighth-placed cross-section of a mouse intestine reminds the judges that anatomy-textbook diagrams are simplifications; fluorescence microscopy shows how the intestine maximizes surface area to increase nutrient absorption. (00:01:13)
  • 2021-09-17 · The Top 10 Micro-Photos of 2021 — Number 4 is a single sensory neuron of an embryonic rat: unlike oversimplified diagrams with a couple dozen branches, neurons can have thousands of dendrites connecting to tens of thousands of cells. (00:01:55)
    • thousands (dendrites) — number of dendrites a neuron can have · for neurons · as of 2021-09-17 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
    • tens of thousands (cells) — number of other cells a neuron's dendrites can connect to · for neurons · as of 2021-09-17 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-09-17 · The Top 10 Micro-Photos of 2021 — The second-placed image shows neurons placed on either side of a barrier with tiny channels: the nuclei could not pass, but the axons did and meshed into what looks like a science-fiction megastructure. (00:02:30)
  • 2021-09-17 · The Top 10 Micro-Photos of 2021 — The number 1 image is a leaf, Hank believes the underside of a southern live oak leaf: a stack of over 200 images focused on different planes, showing stomata in purple, trichomes in white and veins in blue. — hedged: “I believe” (00:03:04)
    • over 200 (images) — number of images stacked to make the winning image · for Nikon Small World 2021 first-place image · as of 2021-09-17 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-09-17 · The Top 10 Micro-Photos of 2021 — Hank points viewers to nikonsmallworld.com for the many other images, saying something like a hundred images received some distinction. — hedged: “I think” (00:03:33)
    • something like a hundred (images) — images given some kind of distinction · for Nikon Small World 2021 · as of 2021-09-17 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-10-11 · The Fastest Things in the Universe (Entirely According to Me) — Hank says particles can sometimes go faster than light, as long as the light is not traveling through a vacuum. (00:00:20)
  • 2021-10-11 · The Fastest Things in the Universe (Entirely According to Me) — For a long time the fastest person was not a runner or rider but someone falling from great height: a human body's terminal velocity in our atmosphere is 120 miles per hour, reachable falling off waterfalls. (00:00:49)
    • 120 miles per hour (mph) — terminal velocity of a falling human body · for humans · in Earth's atmosphere · as of 2021-10-11 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-10-11 · The Fastest Things in the Universe (Entirely According to Me) — Hank says that speed was not exceeded until the 1900s, probably in the 1910s or 1920s by cars, though early car speeds were poorly measured; people definitely exceeded it by the 1920s. — hedged: “probably” (00:01:00)
    • 1910s or 1920s (decade) — when people first exceeded 120 miles per hour · for humans · as of 2021-10-11 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-10-11 · The Fastest Things in the Universe (Entirely According to Me) — By the 1960s people went from 120 to over 24,000 miles per hour; the record, set by Tom Stafford, John Young and Eugene Cernan returning from the Moon on Apollo 10, is unbeaten. (00:01:18)
    • over 24,000 (mph) — top speed reached by humans · for Apollo 10 crew · as of 1960s · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-10-11 · The Fastest Things in the Universe (Entirely According to Me) — Lower orbits are faster: Mercury orbits the Sun faster than Venus, Venus than Earth, Earth than Mars, so a probe close to the Sun goes very fast. (00:01:58)
  • 2021-10-11 · The Fastest Things in the Universe (Entirely According to Me) — This year (2021) the Parker Solar Probe broke its own record for the fastest a human-made object has gone, around 330,000 miles per hour. (00:02:16)
    • around 330,000 (mph) — top speed of the Parker Solar Probe · for human-made objects · as of 2021 · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-10-11 · The Fastest Things in the Universe (Entirely According to Me) — Hank says, as in his earlier Wheezy Waiter paternity-leave video, the fastest human-made object might be a manhole cover capping an underground nuclear test whose shock vented improperly. — hedged: “might” (00:02:30)
  • 2021-10-11 · The Fastest Things in the Universe (Entirely According to Me) — The cover appeared in one frame of a high-speed film, letting scientists calculate it was going at least 125,000 miles per hour, with no maximum known. (00:02:45)
    • 125,000 (mph) — minimum speed of the manhole cover blasted by a nuclear test · for human-made objects · as of 2021-10-11 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-10-11 · The Fastest Things in the Universe (Entirely According to Me) — The manhole cover may have been blasted into space or vaporized in the atmosphere; either way it did not fall back to Earth. — hedged: “may” (00:03:00)
  • 2021-10-11 · The Fastest Things in the Universe (Entirely According to Me) — Not counting light in a vacuum, the fastest things with mass are plasma jets from active galactic nuclei, blazars, some globs as big as Jupiter, at over 99% of light speed; Hank has no idea why. (00:03:15)
    • over 99% (percent) — speed of blazar plasma jets as a share of the speed of light · for blazar plasma jets · as of 2021-10-11 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-10-22 · A Tool with No Blood on It — Hank says about 12,000 years ago people began controlling the plants that made their food, planting seeds from slightly better plants, which made things much better over time. (00:00:00)
    • About 12,000 years ago — time since people began controlling their food plants · as of 2021-10-22 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-10-22 · A Tool with No Blood on It — The description says rye and oats were once weeds in wheat fields that mimicked wheat so well they became staple crops. (video description)
  • 2021-10-22 · A Tool with No Blood on It — Hank explains that weeds most resembling a crop are least likely to be pulled, so over generations weeds come to look almost entirely like the crop: Vavilovian mimics, still a problem today. (00:00:29)
  • 2021-10-22 · A Tool with No Blood on It — Hank says Camelina sativa, sometimes called false flax, is impractical to separate from flax in the field, so the seeds were separated by big machines. (00:00:58)
  • 2021-10-22 · A Tool with No Blood on It — Hank says the sorting machines created a new evolutionary pressure for false flax seeds to look and act like flax seeds, so now the machines can't tell them apart. (00:01:27)
  • 2021-10-22 · A Tool with No Blood on It — Hank says the last hundred years' gains in quality of life and in the value placed on human lives needed coal, oil and gas, fuels that created many problems. (00:01:56)
    • hundred (years) — period of remarkable increases in quality of life · as of 2021-10-22 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-10-26 · Why Avocados Still Exist — John says the avocado's seed, the 'toy' inside like a Kinder egg's, is far larger than an apple seed or acorn because the avocado tree coevolved with American megafauna. (00:00:00)
  • 2021-10-26 · Why Avocados Still Exist — In a comment John notes that, by the most recent evidence, mastodons were around for most of the time humans have been in the Americas. (creator comment)
  • 2021-10-26 · Why Avocados Still Exist — John lists huge animals once in the Americas: a beaver of almost 300 pounds, the mastodon, the American lion, the dire wolf, glyptotherium up to 2,000 pounds, 15-foot giant sloths and massive bears. (00:00:29)
    • almost 300 pounds — weight of an extinct giant beaver · for giant beavers · in Americas · as of 2021-10-26 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
    • up to 2,000 pounds — weight of glyptotherium · for glyptotherium · in Americas · as of 2021-10-26 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
    • 15 feet — height of giant sloths · for giant sloths · in Americas · as of 2021-10-26 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
    • 35 pounds of meat per day (pounds/day) — meat needed per day by extinct massive bears · for massive bears · in Americas · as of 2021-10-26 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-10-26 · Why Avocados Still Exist — John says these animals lived in the Americas for over a million years before going extinct, with many other large mammal species, about 12,000 years ago at the end of the Pleistocene. (00:00:58)
    • over a million years — time the megafauna lived in the Americas · for megafauna · in Americas · as of 2021-10-26 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
    • about 12,000 years ago — time of the megafauna's extinction · for large mammal species · in Americas · as of 2021-10-26 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-10-26 · Why Avocados Still Exist — John says why they went extinct is much debated: some argue climate change was the main factor, others that human behavior including hunting may have contributed. (00:01:05)
  • 2021-10-26 · Why Avocados Still Exist — John says giant animals could eat avocados and poop out the seeds, getting fats and vitamins while spreading and fertilizing the avocado. (00:01:27)
  • 2021-10-26 · Why Avocados Still Exist — John says when the large animals went extinct this dispersal strategy vanished, and many large-seeded trees declined or went extinct, with the major exception of the avocado. (00:01:42)
  • 2021-10-26 · Why Avocados Still Exist — John says avocado trees can live over 400 years, giving them a long runway to learn to live without giant mammals. (00:01:56)
    • over 400 years — lifespan of avocado trees · for avocado trees · as of 2021-10-26 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-10-26 · Why Avocados Still Exist — John says humans were probably the biggest factor: there is evidence of humans eating avocados 9 or 10,000 years ago, and they may have traded and cultivated them earlier. — hedged: “probably” (00:02:08)
    • 9 or 10,000 years ago — earliest evidence of humans consuming avocados · for humans · as of 2021-10-26 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-10-26 · Why Avocados Still Exist — John says via humans the avocado spread from its home in what is now central Mexico to South America, the Caribbean and eventually the world. (00:02:26)
  • 2021-10-26 · Why Avocados Still Exist — John says contemporary humans have begun trying to make avocado pits smaller so there is more avocado in avocados. (00:02:45)
  • 2021-10-29 · The Earth is an Alien Planet — Hank says that in 2000 two brothers, Juan and Pedro Sanchez, were drilling in a lead and silver mine in Mexico where it was about 130 degrees Fahrenheit. (00:00:00)
    • 2000 (year) — year the crystal cave was reached · in Mexico · as of 2021-10-29 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
    • 130 degrees Fahrenheit (°F) — temperature in the mine · in Mexico · as of 2021-10-29 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-10-29 · The Earth is an Alien Planet — Hank says water is a constant hazard in mines, so mines almost always have huge pumps that remove it. (00:00:14)
  • 2021-10-29 · The Earth is an Alien Planet — Hank says that with the water pumped out, the brothers drilled into a giant cave full of some of the largest crystals ever discovered on Earth. (00:00:29)
  • 2021-10-29 · The Earth is an Alien Planet — Hank says the crystals can no longer be visited: the mine stopped pumping, so the cavern is full of water again. (00:00:43)
  • 2021-10-29 · The Earth is an Alien Planet — Hank says scientists in the cave needed cooling suits: at 130°F (55°C) and 90 to 99% humidity, sweat cannot evaporate, so a person would overheat and die. (00:00:58)
    • 130 degrees Fahrenheit (°F) — air temperature in the crystal cave · in Cave of the Crystals · as of 2021-10-29 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
    • 55 Celsius (°C) — air temperature in the crystal cave · in Cave of the Crystals · as of 2021-10-29 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
    • 90 to 99% — humidity in the crystal cave · in Cave of the Crystals · as of 2021-10-29 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-10-29 · The Earth is an Alien Planet — Hank says they also needed scuba-like air supplies, not because the air was poisonous, but because hot air holds a lot of water and cooled air holds less, so the water condenses out. (00:01:27)
    • 130 degree — air temperature in the crystal cave · in Cave of the Crystals · as of 2021-10-29 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
    • 100% — humidity of the cave air in Hank's example · in Cave of the Crystals · as of 2021-10-29 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-10-29 · The Earth is an Alien Planet — Hank says this is why rising water vapor condenses into clouds in colder upper air, and why a glass of iced tea collects water on its side. (00:01:50)
  • 2021-10-29 · The Earth is an Alien Planet — Hank says the inside of your lungs is cooler than that air, so without a tank every breath in the cave would condense more water in your lungs until you drowned. (00:02:05)
  • 2021-10-29 · The Earth is an Alien Planet — Hank says this happened to no one, because the scientists knew the danger and planned around it. (00:02:20)
  • 2021-10-29 · The Earth is an Alien Planet — Hank says we kind of never should have seen the cave: there was a narrow slice of about five years to study the crystals, thanks to a bizarre series of coincidences. (00:02:33)
    • like five years — window during which the crystal cave could be studied · in Cave of the Crystals · as of 2021-10-29 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-10-29 · The Earth is an Alien Planet — Hank says Rome has spent 40 years trying to build a single subway line because every dig turns up irreplaceable archaeological sites; so much remains hidden from us. (00:02:50)
    • 40 years — time spent trying to build a single subway line · in Rome · as of 2021-10-29 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-11-12 · Everything a Normal Person Needs to Know About Helium — Hank says helium and its noble gas siblings are extremely unreactive: for physics reasons they are extremely stable atoms that do not chemically react. (00:00:00)
  • 2021-11-12 · Everything a Normal Person Needs to Know About Helium — The description adds deep-water diving as a helium use: divers mix it into breathing gas because nitrogen is more soluble in blood and under pressure causes nitrogen narcosis. (video description)
  • 2021-11-12 · Everything a Normal Person Needs to Know About Helium — Hank says helium has a very small atom, smaller only than hydrogen's, so it is physically small and light. (00:00:00)
  • 2021-11-12 · Everything a Normal Person Needs to Know About Helium — Hank says helium barely interacts with anything, even itself, so it liquefies only when very cold, basically never solidifies, and is the hardest thing in the universe to freeze. (00:00:29)
  • 2021-11-12 · Everything a Normal Person Needs to Know About Helium — Hank says helium is useful for far more than party balloons, e.g. in rocket engines to push cryofuels like liquid oxygen and hydrogen without reacting or freezing. (00:00:29)
  • 2021-11-12 · Everything a Normal Person Needs to Know About Helium — Hank says liquid helium, which won't freeze even at absolute zero, is used to cool superconducting magnets in MRIs and other scientific equipment. (00:00:58)
  • 2021-11-12 · Everything a Normal Person Needs to Know About Helium — Hank says helium finds tiny leaks in pipes and spacesuits because its atoms pass through the smallest fractures, and shields semiconductor manufacturing and welding from oxygen. (00:00:58)
  • 2021-11-12 · Everything a Normal Person Needs to Know About Helium — Hank says a quarter of the known matter in the universe is helium, but on Earth atmospheric helium rises and is knocked away by high-energy particles from the Sun, lost for good. (00:01:27)
    • A quarter (fraction) — share of the known matter that is helium · in universe · as of 2021-11-12 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-11-12 · Everything a Normal Person Needs to Know About Helium — Hank says the helium we use was trapped underground after radioactive elements decayed into other elements. (00:01:27)
  • 2021-11-12 · Everything a Normal Person Needs to Know About Helium — Hank says no single use is the biggest piece of the helium-use pie: it is used in many things. (00:01:27)
  • 2021-11-12 · Everything a Normal Person Needs to Know About Helium — Hank says the formations that trap helium often trap natural gas, so basically all our helium is a byproduct of extracting natural gas for stoves and heating. (00:01:56)
  • 2021-11-12 · Everything a Normal Person Needs to Know About Helium — Hank says most helium pulled out of the ground in natural gas is vented, not captured, because capturing it is very energy intensive. (00:01:56)
    • the majority — share of helium extracted with natural gas that is vented · as of 2021-11-12 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-11-12 · Everything a Normal Person Needs to Know About Helium — Hank says the US had a gigantic strategic helium reserve, and Congress ordered it to sell all its helium by a set date at any price, tanking helium prices so gas producers had no incentive to refine helium. (00:01:56)
  • 2021-11-12 · Everything a Normal Person Needs to Know About Helium — Hank says that as the reserve's supply was sold off, which he thinks is now finished, and as applications grew, more helium is being captured. — hedged: “I think” (00:02:26)
  • 2021-11-12 · Everything a Normal Person Needs to Know About Helium — Hank says that now, for about the first time ever, people are drilling specifically for helium, which need not come with natural gas. (00:02:26)
  • 2021-11-12 · Everything a Normal Person Needs to Know About Helium — Hank says helium drilling found a reserve in Tanzania big enough to fill 1.5 million MRI machines, with more resources found in Canada and Australia. (00:02:55)
    • 1.5 million (MRI machines) — number of MRI machines the Tanzanian helium reserve could fill · in Tanzania · as of 2021-11-12 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-11-12 · Everything a Normal Person Needs to Know About Helium — Hank says that with pandemic-induced drops in consumption and new production coming online, the helium shortage appears to be over. — hedged: “appears” (00:02:55)
  • 2021-11-12 · Everything a Normal Person Needs to Know About Helium — Hank says many helium users, including MRIs, rocket launches and manufacturing, are finding ways to capture and reuse it, since helium is not used up. (00:02:55)
  • 2021-12-17 · What State of Matter is Fire — Hank explains that in a candle flame wax evaporates and combusts, forming many chemicals that become tiny particles glowing with their own heat while they react. (00:02:10)
  • 2021-12-17 · What State of Matter is Fire — Hank says most of the visible fire is solid soot glowing, but the blue part of the flame is excited gas atoms emitting light. (00:02:50)
  • 2021-12-24 · 29 Days of Astronomical Terror — Hank explains Webb must see in infrared, impossible from the ground, mainly because the universe's expansion has stretched light from long ago and far away into the infrared. (00:00:29)
  • 2021-12-24 · 29 Days of Astronomical Terror — Since everything with heat emits infrared, a warm telescope's mirrors would swamp the faint light from exoplanets and the early universe, so it must be extremely cold and shielded from the Sun, Earth and Moon. (00:00:58)
  • 2021-12-24 · 29 Days of Astronomical Terror — Webb will orbit a gravitationally stable point beyond the Sun-Earth system, so all heat sources lie in one direction and its five giant heat shields keep the telescope cold enough to liquefy air. (00:01:27)
    • five (layers) — number of giant heat shields · for James Webb Space Telescope · as of 2021-12-24 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-12-24 · 29 Days of Astronomical Terror — The first sigh of relief comes about 33 minutes after launch, when the solar panels deploy and the craft powers itself; the first burn comes twelve hours after launch. (00:01:56)
    • about 33 (minutes) — time from launch to solar panel deployment · for James Webb Space Telescope · as of 2021-12-24 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
    • Twelve (hours) — time from launch to first course-correction burn · for James Webb Space Telescope · as of 2021-12-24 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-12-24 · 29 Days of Astronomical Terror — Webb cannot be refuelled; it has all the propellant it will ever have, so the fuel used by the course correction matters for mission length. (00:01:56)
  • 2021-12-24 · 29 Days of Astronomical Terror — Three days after launch the five-day sunshield deployment begins, to Hank the scariest step: tennis-court-sized sheets thinner than a hair, with a 600-degree Fahrenheit difference across them. (00:02:26)
    • Three (days) — time from launch to start of sunshield deployment · for James Webb Space Telescope · as of 2021-12-24 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
    • five day — duration of sunshield deployment · for James Webb Space Telescope · as of 2021-12-24 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
    • 600 (degrees Fahrenheit) — temperature difference across the sunshield · for James Webb Space Telescope · as of 2021-12-24 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-12-24 · 29 Days of Astronomical Terror — Mirrors are fully deployed 13 days after launch and Webb reaches a stable orbit at L2 at 29 days; after four to five months of calibration, first images arrive five to six months after launch. (00:02:55)
    • 13 (days) — time from launch to full mirror deployment · for James Webb Space Telescope · as of 2021-12-24 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
    • 29 (days) — time from launch to stable orbit at L2 · for James Webb Space Telescope · as of 2021-12-24 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
    • four to five (months) — duration of calibration and testing · for James Webb Space Telescope · as of 2021-12-24 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
    • five to six (months) — time from launch to first images · for James Webb Space Telescope · as of 2021-12-24 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked

History & curiosities (38)

  • 2021-02-26 · Arbitrary but Useful — Hank says the keyboard is laid out as it is so mechanical typewriters didn't jam, a reason that no longer holds. (00:01:44)
  • 2021-08-31 · The Woman Who Invented Stuffed Animals — Steiff was born in 1847 in a small town in southern Germany; before age two she contracted polio, which paralyzed her legs and caused profound weakness in her right arm. (00:00:29)
    • 1847 — birth year of Margarete Steiff · for Margarete Steiff · in southern Germany · as of 1847 · no source named · unchecked
    • 2 years old — age by which Margarete Steiff contracted polio · for Margarete Steiff · as of 2021-08-31 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-08-31 · The Woman Who Invented Stuffed Animals — Steiff and her two sisters went to school until their teens, quite uncommon then, and then enrolled in sewing school. (00:00:58)
  • 2021-08-31 · The Woman Who Invented Stuffed Animals — With limited use of her right hand Steiff struggled at sewing; she later wrote that her sisters were capable while she made every possible mistake. (00:00:58)
  • 2021-08-31 · The Woman Who Invented Stuffed Animals — The zither was becoming very popular in Europe, around the time Johann Strauss II wrote solos for it. (00:01:27)
  • 2021-08-31 · The Woman Who Invented Stuffed Animals — Unable to play violin or piano, Steiff played the zither by bracing her right hand, became accomplished and taught lessons. (00:01:27)
  • 2021-08-31 · The Woman Who Invented Stuffed Animals — In her mid-twenties she started a tailoring business with her sisters, then sold ready-made clothing, especially felt underskirts; felt had reached Europe via Central Asia. (00:01:56)
  • 2021-08-31 · The Woman Who Invented Stuffed Animals — With lesson money she bought her town's first sewing machine and refashioned it for her left hand, so she could sew despite her disability. (00:01:56)
  • 2021-08-31 · The Woman Who Invented Stuffed Animals — Her clothing succeeded so well that she opened a factory and branched into felt women's dresses and children's coats. (00:02:26)
  • 2021-08-31 · The Woman Who Invented Stuffed Animals — In 1879, looking through a pattern magazine, Steiff came across a pattern called Elephant of Cloth. (00:02:26)
    • 1879 — year Margarete Steiff found the Elephant of Cloth pattern · for Margarete Steiff · as of 1879 · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-08-31 · The Woman Who Invented Stuffed Animals — Steiff wrote that felt was ideal for the toy, filled with the finest lamb's wool; big on quality, she often said only the best is good enough for children. (00:02:55)
  • 2021-08-31 · The Woman Who Invented Stuffed Animals — The first felt elephants were small, often used as pin cushions and mostly made for friends and family; she sold only eight in 1880. (00:02:55)
    • eight — felt elephants sold by Margarete Steiff · for Steiff felt elephants · as of 1880 · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-08-31 · The Woman Who Invented Stuffed Animals — Soon she made donkeys, dogs, lions, bears and parrots, but most designs were not hers: they came from pattern publishers. (00:03:24)
  • 2021-08-31 · The Woman Who Invented Stuffed Animals — Steiff stuffed animals became popular children's gifts, being relatively cheap and sturdy compared with porcelain dolls. (00:03:24)
  • 2021-08-31 · The Woman Who Invented Stuffed Animals — By 1890, 11 years after the first elephant, Steiff's company sold over 5,000 stuffed animals a year. (00:03:53)
    • over 5,000 (stuffed animals per year) — annual stuffed-animal sales of Margarete Steiff's company · for Steiff company · as of 1890 · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-08-31 · The Woman Who Invented Stuffed Animals — After expanding internationally, the company took off just after the turn of the twentieth century with the first Steiff teddy bear. (00:03:53)
    • the turn of the 20th century — time the first Steiff teddy bear was introduced · for Steiff company · as of 2021-08-31 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-08-31 · The Woman Who Invented Stuffed Animals — By 1907, when Steiff was 60, her company employed over 2,000 people and made over a million stuffed animals a year. (00:03:53)
    • over 2,000 (people) — employees of Margarete Steiff's company · for Steiff company · as of 1907 · no source named · unchecked
    • over a million (stuffed animals per year) — annual stuffed-animal production of Margarete Steiff's company · for Steiff company · as of 1907 · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-08-31 · The Woman Who Invented Stuffed Animals — Steiff died of pneumonia a couple of years later. (00:03:53)
  • 2021-08-31 · The Woman Who Invented Stuffed Animals — Steiff attracted and kept employees partly by treating them much better than most businesses of the time. (00:05:21)
  • 2021-11-16 · Orbital Sunrise: The First Art Made in Space — Recalling a passage from You Are an Artist, John says Dürer's 1515 rhinoceros etching shows plates of armor with rivets; Dürer had never seen a rhinoceros, only a description and a small sketch. (00:00:00)
    • 1515 — year of the etching · for Dürer's rhinoceros etching · as of 2021-11-16 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-11-16 · Orbital Sunrise: The First Art Made in Space — Replying to a viewer, John comments that Leonov was going to be the first Russian on the Moon before the project was scrapped. (creator comment)
  • 2021-11-16 · Orbital Sunrise: The First Art Made in Space — The International Space Station orbits Earth every 90 minutes, and with each orbit the sun rises from behind the Earth, darkness giving way to an arc of blue light and then more colors. (00:00:56)
    • 90 (minutes) — orbital period · for International Space Station · as of 2021-11-16 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-11-16 · Orbital Sunrise: The First Art Made in Space — Many space travelers have written of the so-called orbital perspective: seeing the whole interconnected planet from afar, teeming with life, vast and resilient, fragile and tiny. (00:01:49)
  • 2021-11-16 · Orbital Sunrise: The First Art Made in Space — Leonov is remembered today for the first spacewalk, but he also made the first space art. (00:02:12)
  • 2021-11-16 · Orbital Sunrise: The First Art Made in Space — In March 1965, aged 30, Leonov flew with his friend Pasha Belyayev in a spherical craft just over two meters wide; allowed few belongings, he brought a drawing pad and colored pencils. (00:02:12)
    • March of 1965 — date of the flight · for Voskhod 2 · as of 2021-11-16 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
    • 30 (years) — Leonov's age at the flight · for Alexei Leonov · as of 2021-11-16 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
    • just over two meters — spacecraft diameter · for Voskhod 2 capsule · as of 2021-11-16 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-11-16 · Orbital Sunrise: The First Art Made in Space — Leonov loved making art from childhood and wanted to go to art school, but it was too expensive, so he became a pilot. (00:02:53)
  • 2021-11-16 · Orbital Sunrise: The First Art Made in Space — The mission, Voskhod 2 (voskhod means sunrise in Russian), lasted just over a day yet had many firsts: the first spacewalk, the first space art, and the first landing 1,500 miles off course. (00:02:53)
    • just over one day — mission duration · for Voskhod 2 · as of 2021-11-16 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
    • 1,500 (miles) — landing distance off course · for Voskhod 2 · as of 2021-11-16 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-11-16 · Orbital Sunrise: The First Art Made in Space — After the spacewalk, broadcast live, Leonov's suit had ballooned in the vacuum so he could not enter the airlock; he had to let oxygen out of his suit to inch inside. (00:03:53)
  • 2021-11-16 · Orbital Sunrise: The First Art Made in Space — When the mission was in jeopardy, transmissions stopped and state radio played Mozart's Requiem, the Soviet custom after a senior figure died but before the death was announced. (00:04:32)
  • 2021-11-16 · Orbital Sunrise: The First Art Made in Space — Back inside, unable to sleep or write a report, Leonov calmed himself by sketching his first impressions of the panorama he had seen in space with colored pencils. (00:05:43)
  • 2021-11-16 · Orbital Sunrise: The First Art Made in Space — After the airlock was ejected the craft spun wildly; the automatic guidance failed, and Leonov chose a landing site 1,500 miles west in wilderness so a crash would not kill anyone on the ground. (00:08:33)
    • 1,500 (miles) — distance of the chosen landing site west of the original · for Voskhod 2 · as of 2021-11-16 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-11-16 · Orbital Sunrise: The First Art Made in Space — They landed in a forest in two feet of snow, the hatch blocked by a fallen tree; freeing it took hours, and they spent a very cold night in the Siberian wilderness before rescuers came. (00:09:10)
    • two (feet) — snow depth at the landing site · for Voskhod 2 landing · in Siberia · as of 2021-11-16 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-12-03 · John and Hank at the Cemetery — Hank says John has long talked to him about Crown Hill Cemetery, the highest point in Indianapolis. (00:00:00)
  • 2021-12-03 · John and Hank at the Cemetery — John shows the tombstone of Stan Mollis, who died in 2012: a tennis net reading 'game set match'; he was a professional tennis player. (00:00:37)
    • 2012 (year) — year of death · for Stan Mollis · in Crown Hill Cemetery · as of 2021-12-03 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-12-03 · John and Hank at the Cemetery — John says the same man owned the magnet company that designed magnets for the Apollo mission. (00:00:37)
  • 2021-12-03 · John and Hank at the Cemetery — John says President Benjamin Harrison picked just a couple of things for his tombstone: lawyer and publicist. (00:02:04)
  • 2021-12-03 · John and Hank at the Cemetery — John says 'publicist' then meant a person concerned with or expert in issues of the public. (00:02:31)
  • 2021-12-03 · John and Hank at the Cemetery — John says mausoleums now cost about what houses cost and are very rarely built; the last at Crown Hill was the Bane mausoleum. (00:02:57)

Books & writing (24)

  • 2021-03-16 · How a Book Cover Gets Designed — John says some authors have almost complete control over their covers while others have little to no say. (00:00:29)
  • 2021-03-16 · How a Book Cover Gets Designed — The design reminded John of Josef Albers' color studies, where perceived color changes with neighboring colors: two browns he shows look different but are the same brown. (00:01:27)
  • 2021-04-02 · John's World Record — Though no Guinness representative can confirm it, Hank is fairly certain John has signed his name more than anyone else on Earth, maybe more than anyone who ever existed. — hedged: “I'm fairly certain” (00:00:00)
  • 2021-04-02 · John's World Record — Hank says John is now upwards of 600,000 signatures. (00:00:00)
    • upwards of 600,000 (signatures) — number of times John Green has signed his name · for John Green · as of 2021-04 · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-04-02 · John's World Record — Harper Lee signed few copies of To Kill a Mockingbird, so a signed one sells for upwards of $20,000. (00:00:29)
    • upwards of 20,000 (USD) — price of a signed copy of To Kill a Mockingbird · as of 2021-04 · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-04-02 · John's World Record — J. D. Salinger signed very few things, so an envelope bearing his signature is for sale for $1,400. (00:00:29)
    • $1,400 (USD) — asking price of an envelope signed by J. D. Salinger · as of 2021-04 · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-04-02 · John's World Record — 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)
  • 2021-04-02 · John's World Record — Some rare signed copies are worth more: misprints bound with two signature pages, and ones with Yetis, spirals, Pokémon balls and Hanklerfish. (00:01:27)
  • 2021-04-02 · John's World Record — John went from 150,000 signatures for The Fault in Our Stars to 200,000 for Turtles All the Way Down and now 250,000 for The Anthropocene Reviewed, flooding the market. (00:01:27)
    • 150,000 (signatures) — number of signed first-printing copies · for The Fault in Our Stars · as of 2021-04-02 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
    • 200,000 (signatures) — number of signed first-printing copies · for Turtles All the Way Down · as of 2021-04-02 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
    • 250,000 (signatures) — number of signed first-printing copies · for The Anthropocene Reviewed · as of 2021-04-02 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-04-02 · John's World Record — Signing an entire print run was not a thing before John decided it could be; it was hard, but John and the people at Penguin made it happen. (00:03:00)
  • 2021-04-27 · What is my new book about? — Wimbledon still needs a tie or win from its last two games, but per 538 has only a 1% chance of relegation. (creator comment)
    • 1% (percent) — chance of relegation · for AFC Wimbledon · in EFL League One · as of 2021-04 · source: FiveThirtyEight · unchecked
  • 2021-05-25 · The Anthropocene Reviewed, Animated — Booklist reviews were limited to 175 words and carry no star ratings, so every sentence did several jobs: introducing and analyzing the book, compliments alongside concerns. (00:04:28)
    • 175 (words) — maximum length of a review · for Booklist reviews · as of 2021-05-25 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-05-25 · The Anthropocene Reviewed, Animated — The five-star scale has been used in criticism only for a few decades: occasionally for film as early as the 1950s, for hotels only from 1979, and widely for books only after Amazon introduced user reviews. (00:04:56)
    • 1950s — first use of star ratings · for film criticism · as of 2021-05-25 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
    • 1979 — first use of the five-star scale · for hotel ratings · as of 2021-05-25 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-05-25 · The Anthropocene Reviewed, Animated — The Anthropocene is a proposed term for the current geologic age, in which humans have profoundly reshaped the planet's biodiversity and geology. (00:08:00)
  • 2021-05-25 · The Anthropocene Reviewed, Animated — The medication John takes for his obsessive-compulsive disorder has more than 1,100 ratings on Drugs.com, averaging 3.8. (00:09:30)
    • more than 1,100 — number of ratings · for John's OCD medication · in Drugs.com · as of 2021-05-25 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
    • 3.8 (stars) — average rating · for John's OCD medication · in Drugs.com · as of 2021-05-25 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-05-25 · The Anthropocene Reviewed, Animated — The Amsterdam bench where a scene of The Fault in Our Stars film was shot now has hundreds of Google reviews; John's favorite, three stars, reads in full: it is a bench. (00:09:40)
    • hundreds — number of Google reviews · for TFiOS film bench · in Amsterdam · as of 2021-05-25 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-05-25 · The Anthropocene Reviewed, Animated — At the end of his life Maurice Sendak said on NPR's Fresh Air that he cries a lot because he misses people who die, and that as he ages he is finding he is in love with the world. (00:13:45)
  • 2021-06-01 · My Two Favorite Books of the Year — At his estate Monticello, Thomas Jefferson enslaved hundreds of people. (00:00:35)
    • hundreds — number of people enslaved · for by Thomas Jefferson · in Monticello · as of 2021-06-01 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-06-01 · My Two Favorite Books of the Year — Somebody's Daughter is a memoir: the story of a young Black girl living through abuse and yearning for the presence of her incarcerated father. (00:02:05)
  • 2021-06-15 · VLOGBROTHERS REUNITED!!!! — Hank says Crash Course reaches about 70 million students a year, and they want to keep being able to do that. (00:02:27)
    • 70 million (students) — students reached by Crash Course per year · for students · as of 2021 · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-07-20 · Reviewing Reviews of My Reviews — John says that on both Goodreads and Amazon The Anthropocene Reviewed has a much higher average rating than any of his other books. (00:00:29)
  • 2021-09-28 · 11 Great Books You Probably Haven't Read — John says the Black Death was a four-year period in which approximately half of all Europeans died of plague. (00:00:58)
    • four-year — duration of the Black Death · for Europe · as of 2021-09-28 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
    • approximately half (share) — share of Europeans who died of plague in the Black Death · for Europeans · in Europe · as of 2021-09-28 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-09-28 · 11 Great Books You Probably Haven't Read — The Disordered Cosmos taught John that we don't know why there is matter in the universe, from which he says he has not recovered. (00:01:27)
  • 2021-09-28 · 11 Great Books You Probably Haven't Read — John says the cookbook is hugely historically important: it introduced many Americans to Chinese cooking techniques and coined English terms like stir-fry and potstickers. (00:03:24)

Internet & YouTube (19)

  • 2021-05-04 · What the Most-Viewed Vlogbrothers Videos Say about YouTube (and about us) — Since 2010, 9 of their 11 least viewed videos have been about the Project for Awesome, which raised over $12 million for charity in that time. (00:01:56)
    • 9 of our 11 (videos) — least viewed Vlogbrothers videos of the year that were about the Project for Awesome · for Vlogbrothers yearly least viewed videos since 2010 · as of 2021 · no source named · unchecked
    • over $12 million (USD) — money raised for charity by the Project for Awesome · for Project for Awesome · as of 2021 · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-06-04 · Is Twitter Redeemable? — Last week's (week of 24 May 2021) example: an article headline urging a thought for the billions who will never exist as world population growth slows, calling the never-conceived the ultimate forgotten ones. (00:02:02)
    • billions — number of people who will never exist · for people never conceived as population growth slows · in the world · as of 2021-06-04 (implied: upload date) · source: the article's headline · unchecked
  • 2021-06-04 · Is Twitter Redeemable? — Clicked from Twitter the article is paywalled, though Googling it makes it readable, so Twitter users get only the headline and subhead. (00:02:10)
  • 2021-06-04 · Is Twitter Redeemable? — The article is really about an almost 40-year-old idea: if people would rather be alive than dead, the highest utility is the largest population, which its creator called terrible and repugnant. (00:02:38)
    • almost 40 (years) — age of the philosophical idea · for the repugnant-population argument · as of 2021-06-04 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-08-17 · Who Owns Nerdfighteria? — Google receives just over 45% of all revenue generated by Nerdfighteria on the YouTube platform. (00:01:56)
    • just over 45% (percent) — share of revenue taken by Google · for revenue generated by Nerdfighteria on YouTube · as of 2021-08-17 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-08-17 · Who Owns Nerdfighteria? — The other 55-ish percent of that revenue goes to Hank and John. (00:02:26)
    • 55-ish percent — share of Nerdfighteria's YouTube revenue going to Hank and John · for Hank and John · as of 2021-08-17 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-08-17 · Who Owns Nerdfighteria? — Nerdfighteria has generated tens of millions of dollars for efforts aimed at social good. (00:03:24)
    • tens of millions of dollars (USD) — money generated for social-good efforts · for Nerdfighteria · as of 2021-08-17 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-10-07 · We're Thinking About Facebook Wrong — During Facebook's outage a tweet claiming Facebook might be gone got 400,000 likes and retweets; Hank says it rested on a misunderstanding of how websites work. (00:00:00)
    • 400,000 (count) — likes and retweets of a tweet claiming Facebook was gone · for Twitter users · as of 2021 · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-10-07 · We're Thinking About Facebook Wrong — Former Facebook employee Frances Haugen released a trove of documents of Facebook research on itself, which found it was not great; Hank says Facebook promptly ignored and kind of hid that research. (00:00:58)
  • 2021-10-07 · We're Thinking About Facebook Wrong — Hank says 15 years ago, when Justin Timberlake was bringing sexy back, Facebook was only for high school and college students; now it is the sixth most valuable corporation and possibly the most influential. (00:01:56)
    • sixth (rank) — rank among the world's most valuable corporations · for corporations · in the world · as of 2021 · no source named · unchecked
    • 15 years ago — time since Facebook was open only to high school and college students · for Facebook · as of 2021-10-07 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-10-07 · We're Thinking About Facebook Wrong — Hank says Facebook's internal research has shown it can affect people's moods, and that it can inform or misinform, and make communities thrive or vanish, not for 60,000 people like Missoula but for billions. (00:02:15)
    • 60,000 (people) — population of Missoula · for residents · in Missoula, Montana · as of 2021-10-07 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
    • billions (people) — people Facebook can affect · for Facebook users · in the world · as of 2021 · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-10-07 · We're Thinking About Facebook Wrong — A coalition of European politicians wrote to Facebook that its platform forces them into more extreme positions than they or their constituents want, to win the attention and engagement game. (00:02:50)
  • 2021-10-07 · We're Thinking About Facebook Wrong — Hank says the three groups' incentives align well, which is how Facebook became worth a trillion dollars. (00:07:28)
    • a trillion dollars (USD) — market value of Facebook · for Facebook · as of 2021 · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-10-07 · We're Thinking About Facebook Wrong — Users and creators are dispersed and uncontrollable, but Facebook is centralized and makes $85 billion a year, a more attractive and controllable target for regulators. (00:10:47)
    • $85 billion (USD) — annual revenue of Facebook · for Facebook · as of 2021 · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-10-12 · Fine, I'll take the bait. — If cosmic inflation theory is correct, the universe expanded faster than light just after the Big Bang, so the fastest thing may have been the beginning of the universe. — hedged: “it may be” (00:00:00)
  • 2021-10-12 · Fine, I'll take the bait. — As Hank noted, no human had gone faster than about 120 mph until a century ago, unless counting Earth orbiting the Sun at 67,000 mph and the Sun circling the galaxy at 487,000 mph. (00:00:29)
    • around 120 (mph) — top speed any human had traveled until about 100 years ago · for humans · as of 2021-10-12 (implied: upload date) · source: Hank Green · unchecked
    • 67,000 (mph) — speed of Earth around the Sun · for Earth · as of 2021-10-12 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
    • 487,000 (mph) — speed of the Sun orbiting the center of the Milky Way · for Sun · in Milky Way · as of 2021-10-12 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-10-12 · Fine, I'll take the bait. — For 99% of history people knew pi only as 3.1-something; about 2,000 years ago Chinese mathematicians reached the seventh digit, and 1,400 years later Jamshid al-Kashi about the 15th. (00:00:58)
    • the seventh digit — digits of pi calculated · for mathematicians in China · in China · as of around 2000 years ago · no source named · doubtful
    • about the 15th digit — digits of pi calculated · for Jamshid al-Kashi · in Persia · as of 1400 years later · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-10-12 · Fine, I'll take the bait. — By 1946, with electronic calculators, pi was calculated to just over a thousand digits; today it is known to 62 trillion digits. (00:01:27)
    • just over a thousand (digit) — digits of pi calculated · for humanity · as of 1946 · no source named · unchecked
    • 62 trillion (digit) — digits of pi known · for humanity · as of 2021 · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-10-12 · Fine, I'll take the bait. — About 48 terabytes flowed through the whole internet in 1992, the year John first got online; Vlogbrothers alone now generates more information flow every year. (00:01:27)
    • around 48 terabytes (TB) — information flow through the internet in a year · for internet worldwide · in worldwide · as of 1992 · no source named · unchecked

Health (18)

  • 2021-02-02 · I Predicted the Pandemic (over and over and over again) — Since the first US AIDS-related death, when John was four, tens of millions have died of AIDS-related illnesses, mostly in impoverished communities denied antiretroviral therapy for decades. (00:00:29)
    • tens of millions — deaths from AIDS-related illnesses since the first US AIDS-related death · for people · in the world · as of 2021 · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-02-02 · I Predicted the Pandemic (over and over and over again) — Almost 700 years ago a chronicler of the Black Death in England wrote that virtually none of the lords and great men died in the pestilence. (00:02:26)
    • almost 700 years ago — time since a chronicler wrote of the Black Death in England · in England · as of 2021 · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-02-02 · I Predicted the Pandemic (over and over and over again) — We also choose to accept a world where, on average, the poorest people die 30 years before the richest. (00:03:24)
    • 30 years — gap in age at death between the poorest and the richest people, on average · for poorest vs richest people · in the world · as of 2021-02-02 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-04-06 · How Do You Do, Fellow Kids? — The meme comes from a 30 Rock scene where a then-55-year-old Steve Buscemi dresses as a high schooler; it first appeared almost a decade ago. (00:00:00)
    • 55 (years) — Steve Buscemi's age in the 30 Rock 'fellow kids' scene · for Steve Buscemi · as of 2021-04-06 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
    • almost a decade (years) — age of the 'How do you do, fellow kids' meme · as of 2021-04 · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-04-06 · How Do You Do, Fellow Kids? — The COVID vaccines approved in the US and much of the world are safe and effective; over 100 million people have received them, and they dramatically reduce personal and societal risk. (00:01:27)
    • Over 100 million (people) — people who have received a COVID-19 vaccine · for people vaccinated against COVID-19 · as of 2021-04 · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-04-23 · Young People and the COVID Vaccine — In the US everyone over 16 can now get a COVID vaccine; over 200 million doses have been given and around 40% of people have had at least one dose. (00:00:00)
    • 16 (years) — minimum age of COVID vaccine eligibility · for everyone · in United States · as of 2021-04 · no source named · unchecked
    • 200 million (doses) — COVID vaccine doses administered · for people · in United States · as of 2021-04 · no source named · unchecked
    • 40% (percent) — share of people with at least one COVID vaccine dose · for people · in United States · as of 2021-04 · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-04-23 · Young People and the COVID Vaccine — Daily vaccinations are no longer rising each day and are starting to fall, largely because younger people, meaning under 50, are not getting vaccinated immediately. (00:00:00)
    • 50 (years) — age below which people are mainly the ones not getting vaccinated immediately · for younger people · in United States · as of 2021-04 · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-04-23 · Young People and the COVID Vaccine — COVID symptoms suck at any age; it kills few young people, but hospitalization rates are pretty high, which also burdens overburdened health workers. (00:01:07)
  • 2021-04-23 · Young People and the COVID Vaccine — COVID has long-term side effects that are not well understood, sometimes even after very mild cases. (00:01:07)
  • 2021-04-23 · Young People and the COVID Vaccine — Even without that, getting COVID means feeling awful and quarantining, so why not cut those odds by 95%. (00:01:07)
    • 95% (percent) — reduction in the odds of getting COVID from vaccination · for vaccinated people · as of 2021-04-23 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-04-23 · Young People and the COVID Vaccine — Everyone but the first case caught COVID from someone else; many are infected by people who don't know they are infected, and vaccination cuts the odds of infecting others way down. (00:01:37)
  • 2021-04-23 · Young People and the COVID Vaccine — Immunity from getting COVID is much less effective at preventing future infections than the vaccines, so having had or planning to get COVID is no substitute: you need a vaccine. (00:02:10)
  • 2021-06-11 · My Greatest Tool Against Vaccine Misinformation — Hank says young people do need to get vaccinated, to slow the disease's spread and leave fewer human bodies in which it can mutate. (00:00:29)
  • 2021-06-11 · My Greatest Tool Against Vaccine Misinformation — Hank says the vaccine is effective: counties with lower vaccination rates have higher hospitalization rates, and COVID rates in nursing homes plummeted after the first round. (00:00:29)
  • 2021-06-11 · My Greatest Tool Against Vaccine Misinformation — Hank says COVID is a real problem: there were 300,000 more deaths in 2020 than in 2019, even with all the precautions people took. (00:00:58)
    • 300,000 (deaths) — excess deaths in 2020 compared with 2019 · for all deaths · as of 2020 · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-08-10 · My Physicalmental Illness — Mental illness is also really real and often has a physiological cause: the brains of many people with OCD, John included, look different in fMRI scans, though the differences are not yet well understood. (00:00:48)
  • 2021-08-10 · My Physicalmental Illness — Illnesses that are poorly understood or lack effective treatments tend to be heavily stigmatized, such as endometriosis, irritable bowel syndrome, many pain disorders and leprosy. (00:00:58)
  • 2021-10-08 · On February 3rd, 2020, I Wrote a Video I Didn't Make. Here It Is. — In the script John looked to the past: the 2009 H1N1 flu was very serious and killed over 150,000 people worldwide but not millions, and SARS was extremely dangerous but contained. (00:01:58)
    • over 150,000 (deaths) — deaths from the 2009 H1N1 flu · for people · in worldwide · as of 2009 · no source named · unchecked

Personal life (16)

Philosophy & meaning (15)

  • 2021-01-05 · SUPERIOR FISH BEINGS — John says the prediction is so weird that, according to Google, no one in the history of the web had used the phrase before. (00:00:00)
  • 2021-01-26 · The Sycamore Tree: The Anthropocene Reviewed — John says some sycamore trees alive today date back more than 300 years, older than the nation. (00:08:29)
    • more than 300 (years) — age of the oldest living sycamore trees · for sycamore trees alive today · as of 2021-01-26 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-01-26 · The Sycamore Tree: The Anthropocene Reviewed — John says George Washington once measured a sycamore tree over 13 meters in circumference. (00:08:29)
    • over 13 (meters) — circumference of a sycamore tree measured by George Washington · for one sycamore tree · as of 2021-01-26 (implied: upload date) · source: George Washington · unchecked
  • 2021-01-26 · The Sycamore Tree: The Anthropocene Reviewed — Herodotus wrote 2,400 years ago that the Persian emperor Xerxes, marching through a sycamore grove, found one so beautiful he decorated it with gold and left a soldier to guard it. (00:08:55)
    • 2,400 (years) — time since Herodotus wrote of Xerxes and the sycamore · for Herodotus's account · as of 2021-01-26 (implied: upload date) · source: Herodotus · unchecked
  • 2021-03-05 · How Much Hope is OK? — Hank says February was a little rough but also good: a lot of people, including many he loves, started getting vaccines. (00:00:00)
  • 2021-03-05 · How Much Hope is OK? — Hank says SpaceX is learning, slowly, how to land a new rocket. (00:00:00)
  • 2021-03-05 · How Much Hope is OK? — Hank says mRNA therapies are proving potentially useful beyond this vaccine, for many things that will improve human health and life. — hedged: “potentially” (00:00:35)
  • 2021-07-27 · Savoring: The Sunset Series Returns — Baird cites several studies linking savoring to well-being, which John says aligns with his own experience. (00:00:29)
  • 2021-07-30 · Can You Trust Science Too Much? — Many times in history doctors told people they had no disease when the disease was simply unknown, and this still happens in doctor's offices now. (00:00:29)
  • 2021-07-30 · Can You Trust Science Too Much? — Ivermectin is not an effective treatment for COVID. (00:01:35)
  • 2021-07-30 · Can You Trust Science Too Much? — A big, well-designed ivermectin study is under way in England; it is worth running because several non-randomized, non-placebo-controlled observational trials showed strong positive effects. (00:02:04)
  • 2021-07-30 · Can You Trust Science Too Much? — The FDA can't suggest that doctors prescribe ivermectin for COVID because, within the constraints of science, there is no evidence it works. (00:02:04)
  • 2021-07-30 · Can You Trust Science Too Much? — A recent meta-analysis of ivermectin finds that among randomized controlled trials most show no effect, some positive and some negative effects. (00:02:04)
  • 2021-07-30 · Can You Trust Science Too Much? — Unmethodical research risks trusting data later shown false, as with the most widely publicized paper showing ivermectin's efficacy, recently retracted. (00:03:02)
  • 2021-09-07 · My Two Favorite Jokes — John first heard the moth joke from Norm Macdonald, but says it is very old. (00:00:58)

Nerdfighteria (10)

  • 2021-01-12 · My 2021 Vision Board — Every year more Canada geese become permanent non-migratory residents of Indiana; John wants to convince them to fly south. (00:01:46)
  • 2021-01-12 · My 2021 Vision Board — Scratch-and-sniff stickers, time-released medication and triplicate forms all use microencapsulation, which John must understand better for The Anthropocene Reviewed book. (00:01:46)
  • 2021-02-19 · Bean Meme Review — Hank notes that the Perseverance rover is on the surface of Mars. (00:00:05)
  • 2021-05-14 · This Vlogbrothers Stat Blew My Mind — Hank reports Alexandre Daly's analysis of the transcripts on the Nerdfighteria wiki, about 600 per brother: John and Hank each average 759 words per video. (00:00:10)
    • 600 (transcripts) — Vlogbrothers video transcripts on the Nerdfighteria wiki per brother · for John's and Hank's videos each · as of 2021-05-14 (implied: upload date) · source: Alexandre Daly · unchecked
    • 759 (words) — average words spoken per Vlogbrothers video · for John's videos · as of 2021-05-14 (implied: upload date) · source: Alexandre Daly · unchecked
    • 759 (words) — average words spoken per Vlogbrothers video · for Hank's videos · as of 2021-05-14 (implied: upload date) · source: Alexandre Daly · unchecked
  • 2021-08-03 · I L*** Hank — Esther died a few weeks after the first Esther Day in 2010, aged 16; her parents then founded This Star Won't Go Out, which gives direct financial support to families of kids with cancer. (00:00:58)
    • 16 (years) — age at death · for Esther Earl · as of 2021-08-03 (implied: date said in the video) · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-08-03 · I L*** Hank — Childhood cancer treatment can be very expensive in the US, with indirect costs such as a parent leaving work; the charity helps families spend more time with their kids. (00:00:58)
  • 2021-08-06 · Remembering What's Special — The projects that vibed include Crash Course, now huge; DFTBA Records, which helped creators make a living; and the Awesome Socks Club, which has raised over $600,000 for Partners In Health. (00:01:27)
    • over $600,000 (USD) — money raised for Partners In Health · for Awesome Socks Club · as of 2021-08-06 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-08-06 · Remembering What's Special — Hank says Crash Course has four times more subscribers than Vlogbrothers and reaches far more people. (00:01:27)
    • four times more (ratio) — YouTube subscribers relative to Vlogbrothers · for Crash Course · as of 2021-08-06 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-08-20 · Question Tuesday Except I'm an AI — Shuffle took the huge number of transcripts of the brothers' words and made an AI chatbot that mashes the two of them up; sometimes you can tell which brother it is being. (00:00:29)
  • 2021-10-14 · Pizza Sized Johns or John Sized Pizza? It's Question Thursday — The description adds that the Lamborghini was yellow. (video description)

Everyday life (8)

  • 2021-07-02 · So...Orange Juice isn't What it Seems… — Hank cites a study finding that fresh squeezed orange juice required about nine times more cardboard than the equivalent amount of concentrate. (00:01:36)
    • about nine times — cardboard packaging needed for fresh squeezed orange juice relative to concentrate · for equivalent amount of orange juice · as of 2021-07-02 (implied: upload date) · source: one study · unchecked
  • 2021-07-02 · So...Orange Juice isn't What it Seems… — Hank calls it the big lie that we taste what comes out of the orange: manufacturers want a taste distinct from competitors and identical across bottles and years, which oranges can't give, so they flavor it. (00:02:33)
  • 2021-07-02 · So...Orange Juice isn't What it Seems… — Hank explains why the label still says pure orange juice: flavor chemists turn orange rinds and pulp into many flavor compounds, creating the chosen flavor only from chemicals made from oranges. (00:02:56)
  • 2021-07-02 · So...Orange Juice isn't What it Seems… — Hank says concentrating juice is energetically expensive and produces a lot of carbon dioxide, so though concentrate ships more easily, bottled and concentrate have roughly equal carbon footprints. (00:03:20)
    • roughly equal — carbon footprint of bottled versus concentrate orange juice · for orange juice · as of 2021-07-02 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-08-24 · It's My Birthday. I Gave Myself This Video. — The episode is about a drawing sketched by cosmonaut Alexei Leonov in March 1965, shortly after he very narrowly survived the first spacewalk. (00:00:00)
    • March of 1965 — date the drawing was sketched · for Alexei Leonov's spacewalk drawing · as of 2021-08-24 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-08-24 · It's My Birthday. I Gave Myself This Video. — There is video of the first-ever spacewalk on YouTube. (00:00:29)
  • 2021-08-24 · It's My Birthday. I Gave Myself This Video. — Modern humans have only existed for 250,000 years. (00:01:38)
    • 250,000 years — time modern humans have existed · for modern humans · as of 2021-08-24 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-10-06 · Searching for Betsy in Brazil — John says the fountain in downtown Brazil, Indiana is a replica of a famous Brazilian fountain given to the town by Brazil almost 70 years ago, and it is lovely and well cared for. (00:01:34)
    • almost 70 (years) — years since Brazil gave the fountain to Brazil, Indiana · for the fountain · in Brazil, Indiana · as of 2021-10-06 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked

Global development (7)

  • 2021-01-19 · let's go on a parts adventure — Matching donors help others' donations go further and are a big reason the P4A has donated over $10 million to charity over the last 10 years. (00:01:56)
    • over 10 million dollars (USD) — money donated to charity by the Project for Awesome · for Project for Awesome · as of 2021 · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-04-20 · Breaking Ground!!! — In the region the MCOE will serve, one out of every 20 women can expect to die in childbirth. (00:00:29)
    • one out of every 20 (ratio) — lifetime risk of dying in childbirth · for women · in region served by the Maternal Center of Excellence, Sierra Leone · as of 2021-04-20 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-04-20 · Breaking Ground!!! — Change is already happening: in the last year neonatal mortality at Koidu Government Hospital fell by 50% thanks to a new infant care unit. (00:00:29)
    • 50% (percent) — fall in neonatal mortality over the last year · for newborns · in Koidu Government Hospital, Sierra Leone · as of 2021 · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-10-01 · A Lie I Heard this Week — Hank says someone on TikTok claimed 'news' stands for 'notable events, weather, and sports'; Hank calls it a lie, a folk etymology: made-up origins that make sense and spread but aren't real. (00:00:11)
  • 2021-10-01 · A Lie I Heard this Week — Hank's favorite folk etymology is hangnail: the nail was a hard patch like a corn, not a fingernail, and 'ang' meant painful, so painful hand and foot conditions were angnails. (00:00:29)
  • 2021-10-01 · A Lie I Heard this Week — Hank says 'news' actually comes from 'new': an adjective turned into a noun, a pluralization of new, which over time became 'the news'. (00:01:08)
  • 2021-10-01 · A Lie I Heard this Week — Hank says infant deaths per thousand births are below six in most places watching the video, but 80 in Sierra Leone, down from 160 when he was born in 1980; devastating, and not news. (00:02:05)
    • below six (deaths_per_1000_births) — infant deaths per thousand births · for infants · in most places where the video is watched · as of 2021-10-01 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
    • 80 (deaths_per_1000_births) — infant deaths per thousand births · for infants · in Sierra Leone · as of 2021-10-01 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
    • 160 (deaths_per_1000_births) — infant deaths per thousand births · for infants · in Sierra Leone · as of 1980 · no source named · unchecked

Economics (6)

  • 2021-01-29 · The Gamestop Short Squeeze in 4 Minutes — GameStop is a struggling mall retailer selling video games, with a business model ill suited to a pandemic or the future. (00:00:00)
  • 2021-01-29 · The Gamestop Short Squeeze in 4 Minutes — Finance people bet GameStop would fall a certain amount in a certain time; as in Vegas, more specific bets pay more, and making the bets public drives the price down. (00:00:29)
  • 2021-01-29 · The Gamestop Short Squeeze in 4 Minutes — The worried bettors made more bets, so many that they had promised to buy more GameStop stock than exists on the market. (00:00:58)
  • 2021-01-29 · The Gamestop Short Squeeze in 4 Minutes — Someone noticed that unless GameStop went bankrupt or was bought by private equity within about three months, the finance guys would have to buy at any price, and others could sell to them. (00:01:27)
    • like three months — time before the bettors must buy GameStop stock · for GameStop short positions · as of 2021-01-29 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-01-29 · The Gamestop Short Squeeze in 4 Minutes — Even from the most optimistic perspective, GameStop is worth ten times less than its current trading price. (00:01:56)
    • ten times less — GameStop's value relative to its share price · for GameStop · as of 2021-01 · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-01-29 · The Gamestop Short Squeeze in 4 Minutes — Instead, in this one way, the manipulators were memed out of existence by a few hundred people who figured something out and a few million mobilized in an unprecedented financial action. (00:03:42)
    • a few hundred (people) — people who figured out the GameStop squeeze · for GameStop squeeze participants · as of 2021-01-29 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
    • a few million (people) — people mobilized in the GameStop squeeze · for GameStop squeeze participants · as of 2021-01-29 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked

US politics & society (5)

  • 2021-03-26 · Why I'm Worried about 2021 — Hank says that sometime in the next month 25% of people in the US will be fully vaccinated, many of them the most at-risk. (00:00:29)
    • 25% (percent) — share of people fully vaccinated against COVID-19 within the next month · for people in the US · in United States · as of 2021-03-26 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked
  • 2021-03-26 · Why I'm Worried about 2021 — Within the next few months, Hank says, mask mandates will be lifted even where governors aren't doing political signaling to their base. (00:00:29)
  • 2021-03-26 · Why I'm Worried about 2021 — Vaccines and behavior changes share two goals: keep the individual from getting (very) sick and, more importantly, slow spread through fewer people shedding the virus, the real goal of public health advice. (00:00:58)
  • 2021-03-26 · Why I'm Worried about 2021 — When every sick person infects fewer than one other person, active exponential spread stops and only little outbreaks remain. (00:01:27)
  • 2021-03-26 · Why I'm Worried about 2021 — A society has an acceptable disease burden: in the US something like 30,000 people die of flu each year, some of them infants and children, yet beyond vaccines and hygiene advice life went on as before. — hedged: “something like” (00:01:56)
    • 30,000 — annual deaths from influenza · for people · in United States · as of 2021-03-26 (implied: upload date) · no source named · unchecked

Projects (2)

  • 2021-06-25 · The Surprising Origin of Crash Course — Hank says Crash Course and Complexly have funded themselves creatively: advertising, grants from organizations that understand the mission, Subbable, then Patreon, and now the Crash Course coin. (00:02:40)
  • 2021-11-09 · Hank Green's Million Dollar Ideas — John says the Awesome Socks Club raised over $700,000 for charity in its first year. (00:02:45)
    • over $700,000 (USD) — money raised for charity by the Awesome Socks Club in its first year · for Awesome Socks Club · as of 2021-11-09 (implied: upload date) · source: John · unchecked