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Can You Really Light a Fart?

2012-09-07 · Hank · watch on YouTube · Science & nature · curiosity idea

After a quick PAX recap, Hank answers the top Google questions beginning 'Can you really…': selling souls, cow tipping, curving bullets, blogging income, sidewalk eggs, dying of a broken heart, cellulite, free iPads, lighting farts and flaming oranges, mixing facts with jokes.

What is said

00:00:00 — Greeting; PAX was amazing, signed MC Frontalot posters, footage from the conference

  • ★★ Hank says PAX was amazing: he got signed MC Frontalot posters and enjoyed going to a conference he is not running, then shows his footage. — 00:00:05

00:00:25 — Premise: the top questions asked to Google beginning 'Can you really…'

  • ★★★ Hank answers the top questions asked to Google that begin with 'Can you really…'. (playful) — 00:00:31 · Google

00:00:37 — 1: Can you really sell your soul? No (it would be on Craigslist)

  • ★★ Hank finds it disappointing that people ask about selling their soul; as far as he knows, ownership of a soul cannot be transferred. (playful) (hedged) — 00:00:38

00:01:00 — 2: Can you really tip a cow? No: cows are big, strong and smart; miniature cows

  • ★★ Hank says cows cannot simply be tipped: they are big, strong, surprisingly smart animals that sleep lying down; it would take many people, and bothering one is unwise. — 00:01:00
  • ★ Hank claims every adult cow outweighs every adult human by at least a thousand pounds, then concedes that miniature cows exist. (playful) — 00:01:20
    • number check: a thousand pounds — doubtful

00:01:32 — Can you really curve a bullet? No, only Angelina Jolie; a terrible movie

  • ★ Hank says you cannot really curve a bullet, jokes that only Angelina Jolie can, and calls that film terrible though he saw it in theatres. (playful) — 00:01:32

00:01:41 — Can you really make money blogging? Yes: Hank did for years; copyblogger.com

  • ★★ Hank made money blogging for several years and paid all his bills that way; it was hard, and the scene is now far more crowded and competitive. — 00:01:42
  • ★★ Hank recommends copyblogger.com to anyone serious about blogging, saying its author helped him a lot. — 00:01:51

00:01:57 — Can you really fry an egg on the sidewalk? Yes in hot places; boots melting in Iraq video

  • ★★ Hank says you can fry an egg on the sidewalk in many places in hot summers, since cooking an egg takes little heat, and points to a video of soldiers' boots melting in Iraq. — 00:02:00

00:02:17 — Can you really die of a broken heart? Yes: heart-attack risk after losing a loved one

  • ★★★ Hank says you can, in a manner of speaking, die of a broken heart: grief is stressful, and in the 24 hours after losing a loved one, heart-attack risk is 21 times higher. — 00:02:17

00:02:37 — Can you really get rid of cellulite? Healthy weight or surgery; creams do nothing

  • ★★ Hank says cellulite can be addressed by keeping a healthy body weight or expensive plastic surgery, but creams do no good; everybody has it. — 00:02:37

00:02:49 — Can you really get a free iPad? Only by stealing; online surveys do not give them

  • ★★ Hank says you will not get a free iPad by taking an online survey. (playful) — 00:02:49

00:02:59 — Can you really light a fart? Yes (methane, hydrogen), but it is dangerous

  • ★★ Hank says farts can be lit because they include flammable methane and hydrogen, but warns that holding a flame to your pants is dangerous. — 00:02:59

00:03:23 — Can you really start a fire with an orange? No: the viral video used lighter fluid; oranges are mostly water

  • ★★ Hank debunks a viral video of a burning orange filled with lighter fluid: oranges are mostly water; their fructose and cellulose burn only if dehydrated. — 00:03:23

Humor (significant)

  • If souls could really be sold, Hank reasons, there would be evidence online. — 00:00:54 > «you'd see it on Craigslist all the time. It'd have its own category.»
  • Having claimed every adult cow outweighs every adult human, Hank looks up whether miniature cows exist. — 00:01:29 > «Yeah, of course, there are miniature cows. What- what was I thinking?»
  • Asked whether you can really curve a bullet, Hank answers no. — 00:01:35 > «Only Angelina Jolie can do that. It's a genetic thing.»
  • Asked whether you can really get a free iPad, Hank says yes. — 00:02:52 > «Uh, you can steal one.»

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