Hank's 2D Glasses for watching 3D movies in 2D (2011)
project history · status: last documented in 2011 (looked back on in 2025) · last event: milestone (2011-04-22) · last mentioned: 2025-12-09
Hank made 2D Glasses, which let people watch 3D movies in two dimensions, and began selling them in April 2011, soon also on Amazon. John, who had called it the worst idea he had ever heard, later recalled that Hank sold thousands of them.
Parts: Hank asks viewers to buy 2D Glasses at 2d-glasses.com (2011)
Told alongside: Hank's 'million dollar idea' phone calls to John (2013)
About: 2D Glasses, 3D-glasses manufacturer that made 2D Glasses, Katherine Green, Amazon, PayPal
| date | event | what | video |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011-04-18 | launched | Hank launches 2D Glasses: same polarization in each lens, made by a 3D-glasses manufacturer, so people who get headaches from 3D movies can watch them in 2D. | 2D Glasses! Take the Headache out of 3D 00:01:24 |
| 2011-04-22 | milestone | 2D Glasses are now also sold on Amazon, for buyers without a PayPal account. | 500,000 Subscribers (Almost...and Thank You) 00:03:24 |
| 2011-05-05 | looked back | Frustrated with ever more three-dimensional screens, John says playfully, Hank invented 2D glasses. (playful) | IT'S HANKO DE MAYO!! 00:01:38 |
| 2013-08-06 | looked back | John recalls 2D glasses as an idea of Hank's that seemed terrible but turned out great, and how he refused Hank's request for $1,000 to start the company; Hank is now 'lone king of a 2D glasses empire'. (playful) | Million Dollar Ideas 00:01:02 |
| 2019-04-26 | looked back | Hank says that after starting out 'being dumb with a camcorder' in 2007 he became, over years, CEO of four different companies, not counting 2D Glasses, without really knowing how. | It's Time to Care About "Business" 00:01:27 |
| 2020-12-08 | looked back | John recalls Hank inventing 2D glasses for 3D movies and projecting a million sales; John expected about 12, and Hank sold thousands. (playful) | A Love Letter to My Brother, Basically 00:00:29 |
| 2021-11-09 (happened 2009) | looked back | John says his first failure was in 2009: Hank pitched glasses that render 3D movies in 2D for people who get headaches, and John called it the worst idea he'd ever heard. | Hank Green's Million Dollar Ideas 00:00:58 |
| 2023-01-17 | looked back | John recalls Hank calling to say Katherine gets headaches from 3D movies and that making glasses to turn them 2D should be fairly straightforward. | John Green Answers the Most Searched Hank Green Questions 00:00:58 |
| 2025-08-19 | looked back | John says that ever since inventing 2D glasses Hank has been on a non-stop run of making things; each new idea gives John gray hairs, so he asks Hank to slow down. (playful) | The Problem with My Brother's Hit New App 00:03:50 |
| 2025-12-09 | looked back | John says Hank even has numbers covered with 2D Glasses, which render 3D movies in two dimensions and which he invented fifteen years ago. | Hank Green, from A to Z 00:05:21 |
What is said about it
6 statements, by date (the events above are the turns of the thread; these are the details).
- 2011-04-18 · 2D Glasses! Take the Headache out of 3D — Hank says Katherine has watched several movies with the glasses and prototypes and calls them wonderful, joking she can't just be saying so because she's his wife. (playful) — 00:01:27
- 2011-04-18 · 2D Glasses! Take the Headache out of 3D — announcement: Hank: 2D Glasses are sold only online at 2d-glasses.com, with a special introductory offer of $7.99 per pair and $2 off when buying two. — 00:02:02
- 2011-04-18 · 2D Glasses! Take the Headache out of 3D — Hank: The lighting changed because between filmings Hank saw Rio in 3D; it was beautiful, and Katherine enjoyed it without pain thanks to the 2D glasses. — 00:03:00
- 2011-04-22 · 500,000 Subscribers (Almost...and Thank You) — announcement: Hank: 2D Glasses can now be bought on Amazon, for people without or not wanting a PayPal account. — 00:03:24
- 2013-02-19 · Doing Things, On the Importance of — John: Hank's 2D glasses, which render 3D movies in two dimensions, were an idea John thought terrible that turned out brilliant; the 2D glasses empire grows by the day. (playful) — 00:03:14
- 2013-08-06 · Million Dollar Ideas — John recalls refusing Hank's request for $1,000 to start the 2D glasses company ('go suck it'). (playful) — 00:02:50