It Hurts In My Toof: The 2010 Rules
2010-01-04 · announcement · John · 3:25 · watch on YouTube
Topic: Nerdfighteria (also: Personal life) · mode: Announcements · tags: community lore, punishment or challenge
John says his toothache (root canal tomorrow) comes from ignoring rules he thought arbitrary, like brushing and math; rules are useful, so the vlog gets 2010 rules: alternating Monday/Wednesday/Friday videos, the four-minute limit, Monday theme weeks and punishments for breaches.
What is said
The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).
00:00:00 — Toothache and root canal; ignoring the rules of dental hygiene and math as conspiracies; the hurdles analogy for rules that feel arbitrary
- ★★ John says he has a terrible toothache and is going to the dentist; he must have a root canal tomorrow, possibly two. (hedged) — 00:00:00
- ★★ John blames his teeth on not following dental-hygiene rules in high school and college: he thought brushing twice a day was a toothpaste-company conspiracy, and fear kept him from dentists for 10 years until 2002, when he had many cavities. (playful) — 00:00:00
- ★★ John says he once thought math was an arbitrary conspiracy to make him suffer, but it is hugely helpful to adults, even writers; government invests in education because numerate citizens are useful. (playful) — 00:00:29 · education
- ★★ John says he has long struggled to follow rules because deep down he believed them arbitrary and meaningless, like a hurdler thinking the race would go faster without hurdles. (playful) — 00:01:16
00:01:45 — Rules are useful, so the vlog needs rules: the four 2010 rules (schedule with paternity-leave exception, four minutes, theme weeks, punishments); the outstanding punishments; sign-off
- ★★★ John argues professional hurdlers respect the utility of rules; rules stand between us and chaos, which is why he now brushes regularly and why their video blog needs rules. (playful) — 00:01:45 · Vlogbrothers, social construction
- ★★★ John announces rule one: every Monday, Wednesday and Friday of 2010 the brothers alternate videos (Hank Wednesday, John Friday, Hank Monday...), except on major holidays and during John's paternity leave. — 00:01:45 · Vlogbrothers
- ★★ John says his paternity leave will begin whenever the baby is born, which should be quite soon, and will last about three weeks. (hedged) — 00:02:09
- ★★ John announces rule two: videos may not exceed four minutes, with the usual exceptions. — 00:02:09 · Four-minute rule
- ★★★ John announces rule three: whoever has the Monday video may announce a theme, and that week's videos must follow it; this week (week of 4 January 2010) has no theme. — 00:02:09
- ★★★ John announces rule four: breaking any rule brings a punishment chosen by Nerdfighters and the other brother, to be completed within one week of being assigned. — 00:02:39 · Punishment, Nerdfighteria
- ★★ John tells Hank the new rule means he has one week from today to spend 15 hours in a Target. — 00:02:39
- ★★ John says he still owes a punishment too, which Hank has not yet given him; once Hank does, John will have a week to complete it. — 00:02:39 · Punishment
Humor (significant)
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After ten years of avoiding dentists out of fear, John finally went to one in 2002. — 00:00:29
“only to learn that I had more cavities than I have teeth”
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John compares his view of rules to running the 110 m hurdles and getting an idea mid-race. — 00:01:16
“this race would go so much faster if we just eliminated the hurdles”
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John explains why rules matter. — 00:01:45
“rules are all that stand between us and chaos and endless root canals”
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Listing the consequences of breaking rules, John mentions not knowing long division. — 00:02:39
“I know how to carry items, but I don't know how to carry numbers.”
Threads in this video
- told · John's toothache and root canals (2010) — John tells of a severe toothache, blamed on years of ignoring dental hygiene and dentists; he is going to the dentist and needs one or two root canals tomorrow. (00:00:00)
- restate · What is school for? — John says math turned out hugely useful to adults; government invests in education because it helps to have citizens who can do long division. (00:00:29)
- restate · Can things that humans made up (sports, money, borders, rules) really matter? — John argues that rules which feel arbitrary (hurdles, brushing, math) have real utility: they stand between us and chaos. (00:01:45)
- launched · Vlogbrothers in 2010: the channel's end-of-year reinvention (2009) — John launches the 2010 vlog rules: alternating Monday/Wednesday/Friday videos (exceptions for major holidays and his paternity leave), a four-minute limit, optional Monday theme weeks, and punishments chosen by Nerdfighters and the other brother, due within a week. (00:01:45)
- update · John and Sarah (the Yeti) are expecting a baby (2009) — John says the kid should be born quite soon, starting about three weeks of paternity leave. (00:02:09)
- changed · Hank: 15 hours in the Missoula Target for his 4:02 video (2009) — Under the new one-week rule John tells Hank he has one week from today to spend 15 hours in a Target. (00:02:39)
- accepted · John: ride the Frog Hopper, punishment for Nerdfighters finding Gus Is a Bug (2009) — John acknowledges he still owes a punishment that Hank has not yet given him, and will complete it within a week once assigned. (00:02:39)
Where the stories that moved here went next
- John: ride the Frog Hopper, punishment for Nerdfighters finding Gus Is a Bug (2009) — performed
- Hank: 15 hours in the Missoula Target for his 4:02 video (2009) — performed; last: looked back on, 2014-07-18
- Vlogbrothers in 2010: the channel's end-of-year reinvention (2009) — past edition (2010); last: milestone, 2010-01-20
- John and Sarah (the Yeti) are expecting a baby (2009) — told 2×, last update 2011; last: retold, 2011-04-29
- John's toothache and root canals (2010) — followed over 3 videos (2010); last: update, 2010-02-15
Mentioned
110 metres hurdles · Alternating days · education · Four-minute rule · Punishment · social construction · Target Corporation · Theme week
Later videos replying to this one
- 2010-01-06 · 15 Hours in Target! (Hank) — answers (update on John's toothache and root canals (2010)) — Hank notes that John has to get a root canal today, having broken the basic rules of dental hygiene. (00:01:30)
- 2010-01-13 · Froghoppin' with Gatsby (John) — continues (refine on What is school for?) — John says a liberal arts education teaches you what to think about; critical reading, like math, helps him learn what's interesting and grapple with an unjust world. (00:03:17)