The Pwning of Oprah

2008-09-21 · letter vlog · John, Daniel Biss · 3:25 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Nerdfighteria · mode: Comedy & performance · tags: community lore, punishment or challenge, guest or collab, self promotion

John comically announces that the Vlogbrothers have passed Oprah on YouTube's most-subscribed list, credits Nerdfighteria and Hank, and, as agreed, invites Nerdfighters to suggest the brothers' punishment.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — 'Riddle Sunday': two riddles and an anagram riddle hinting at Oprah

• ★ John opens 'Riddle Sunday', answering riddles from Nerdfighters, ending with an anagram riddle that points to Oprah. (playful) — 00:00:00 · Nerdfighteria

00:00:31 — Checking YouTube's most-subscribed list and a mathematician's confirmation that the Vlogbrothers passed Oprah

• ★★★ John reads YouTube's most-subscribed directors list: the Vlogbrothers have 41,818 subscribers and Oprah 41,365, so they have 'pwned' Oprah. (playful) — 00:00:50 · Vlogbrothers, YouTube, pwned
• ★ John, admitting he once thought a minute had 100 seconds, phones 'resident mathematician' Daniel Biss to confirm the numbers. (playful) — 00:01:08 · Daniel Biss
• ★★ Daniel Biss confirms he is a professional mathematician with a PhD from MIT and that 41,818 is larger than 41,365. (playful) — 00:01:25 · Daniel Biss

00:02:03 — Celebration and a voicemail telling Oprah she was pwned

• ★★ John leaves a voicemail telling Oprah she was pwned and asking her to call back through his agent Jodi Reamer at Writers House. (joke) — 00:02:14

00:02:45 — Credit to Nerdfighteria and Hank; Nerdfighters get to punish the brothers

• ★★ John credits the awesomeness of Nerdfighteria and of Hank for passing Oprah on the most-subscribed list. — 00:02:50 · Nerdfighteria, Hank Green
• ★★★ John says that, as previously agreed, passing Oprah means Nerdfighters get to punish the brothers. — 00:02:58 · Nerdfighteria, Punishment
• ★★★ John asks Nerdfighters to leave punishment suggestions in the comments. — 00:02:58 · Nerdfighteria, Punishment

00:03:15 — P.S. Paper Towns tour dates on eventful.com

• ★★ John says details of the Paper Towns tour dates are starting to be posted at eventful.com. — 00:03:15

Humor (dominant)

• On 'Riddle Sunday', after two stock riddles, John reads a riddle whose anagram hints at Oprah. — 00:00:18

  “has a name that anagrams to "I pwn Harry Foe" and has fewer subscribers than us?”

• To be sure the Vlogbrothers passed Oprah, John phones a trained mathematician with an MIT PhD for a professional opinion. — 00:01:46

  “Is the number 41,818 larger than the number 41,365?”

• In a voicemail for Oprah, John explains why he will not give her his own phone number. — 00:02:32

  “I generally like to reserve my cell phone number for people who I have not yet pwned.”

• John, flushed with excitement, invokes his stress habit, the puff. — 00:02:45

  “Hank, it's that rare occasion where puff levels are caused by unadulterated joy.”

Threads in this video

• milestone · Vlogbrothers in 2008: the channel after Brotherhood 2.0 (2007) — John reports the Vlogbrothers (41,818 subscribers) have passed Oprah (41,365) on YouTube's most-subscribed directors list. (00:00:50)
• callback · John's 'the puff' stress habit (2007) — John says his puff levels are, for once, caused by joy. (00:02:45)
• outcome · Nerdfighter projects: complete a project to earn the right to punish the brothers (2008) — John says that, as previously agreed, Nerdfighteria's passing Oprah earns Nerdfighters the right to punish the brothers. (00:02:58)
• accepted · John and Hank: Brotherhood 2.1, the Nerdfighters' punishment for passing Oprah (2008) — John accepts that, as previously agreed, passing Oprah lets Nerdfighters punish the brothers. (00:02:58)
• asked · John asks Nerdfighters to suggest punishments for passing Oprah (2008) — John asks Nerdfighters to leave punishment suggestions in the comments. (00:02:58)
• milestone · Paper Towns Tour (2008) — John says details of the Paper Towns tour dates are starting to be posted at eventful.com. (00:03:15)

Where the stories that moved here went next

• John asks Nerdfighters to suggest punishments for passing Oprah (2008) — reported back; last: result reported, 2008-09-23
• John and Hank: Brotherhood 2.1, the Nerdfighters' punishment for passing Oprah (2008) — performed
• Paper Towns Tour (2008) — last documented in 2008 (looked back on in 2019)
• Nerdfighter projects: complete a project to earn the right to punish the brothers (2008) — completed; last: looked back, 2008-10-08 (said on 2008-10-07, implied)
• Vlogbrothers in 2008: the channel after Brotherhood 2.0 (2007) — past edition (2008); last: rule change, 2008-10-08 (said on 2008-10-07, implied)

Mentioned

Central: Daniel Biss · Punishment

Also: People: Jodi Reamer · Oprah Winfrey

Projects: Brotherhood 2.0 · Paper Towns Tour

Organizations: Writers House · YouTube

Terms: link in the sidebar · the Puff

Products: MacBook

Memes: pwned

animal: Willy

Only in the description or credits: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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