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The Universe is Weird: A Song

2012-07-20 · Hank · watch on YouTube · Science & nature · comedy performance

Hank sings that the universe is weird, from inseparable quarks and timeless photons to known mass and energy being only 4% of the universe and life arising to know itself, then makes six quick announcements.

What is said

00:00:00 — Hank's song 'The Universe is Weird': quarks, photons, electrons, the 4% of ordinary matter, no edge, and life as the universe knowing itself

  • ★★ In the song Hank says a quark never exists by itself: the energy needed to separate two is just enough to create two more that join them. — 00:00:00
  • ★★ Hank sings that a photon has no mass and travels at light speed, so from its view it is emitted and absorbed in the same instant, even across 13 billion light years. — 00:00:00
  • ★★★ In the chorus Hank says the universe is weird, he is kind of freaking out, and he fears we'll never understand half of what we have at hand. (hedged) — 00:00:29 > «'Cos the universe is weird! I'm kinda freaking out!»
  • ★★ Hank sings that an electron has a charge as strong as a proton's and a tiny but non-zero mass, yet apparently no size. — 00:00:46
  • ★★ Hank sings that the mundane mass and energy we know and understand is only 4% of what the universe has. — 00:00:46
  • ★★ Hank sings that driving in a van he told John 'dude, no edge': the universe has no center and no edge and doesn't exist in any way we can conceive. (playful) — 00:01:19 · John Green
  • ★★★ Hank sings that once, in a gassy liquid stew, a molecule turned into us, and that the universe creating a tool with which to know itself may be the biggest mystery of all. (hedged) — 00:01:19

00:02:42 — Announcement 1: the song is on Gumroad (and iTunes later)

  • ★★ Hank says the song is available via links in the description on Gumroad, which is easy to use, or on iTunes once uploaded, which it hasn't been yet. — 00:02:42 · iTunes

00:02:52 — Announcement 2: Looking for Alaska makes the New York Times bestseller list after 385 weeks

  • ★★★ Hank tells John that, after 385 weeks on bookstore shelves, Looking for Alaska was on the New York Times bestseller list for the first time last week. — 00:02:52 · Looking for Alaska, The New York Times, John Green
  • ★ Hank calls Looking for Alaska a remarkable book that deserves it and is becoming a classic, and tells viewers who haven't read it to get it. — 00:03:01 · Looking for Alaska

00:03:10 — Announcements 3-4: collecting all 50 states' DFTBA license plates; Alex Day's Nerdfighteria Sopio expansion

  • ★★ Hank wants to collect DFTBA license plates from all 50 states and asks viewers who have one, or get one, to send a picture to hankandjohn@gmail.com. — 00:03:10 · DFTBA
  • ★ Hank says Alex Day made a Nerdfighteria Sopio expansion, with a giraffe love card and a Hanklerfish, available via the description. — 00:03:24 · Alex Day

00:03:32 — Announcements 5-6: songs in his next four videos; joining Harry and the Potters and Potter Puppet Pals in Portland, Olympia and Seattle; sign-off

  • ★★ Hank says he has been on a songwriting spree and will attempt to put songs in his next four videos. (hedged) — 00:03:32
  • ★★ Hank says Harry and the Potters and Potter Puppet Pals are going on a long tour and he will join them on three dates, in Portland, Olympia and Seattle. — 00:03:37 · Portland, Oregon, Seattle

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