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But Is Worm Pizza Poisonous?

2013-11-12 · letter vlog · John, Henry Green · 3:59 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Health (also: Nerdfighteria) · mode: Curiosity & trivia · tags: punishment or challenge, community lore, guest or collab, self promotion

John shares health facts that contradict common belief (sugar does not cause hyperactivity, sponges are dirtier than toilet seats), promotes Dr. Aaron Carroll's new Healthcare Triage show, and lets his son Henry choose the food for his 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 — Sugar does not make children hyperactive; button gag; Henry walks in

  • ★★★ John says sugar does not make children hyperactive, and more studies attest to this than prove that most drugs humans take are safe. — 00:00:03

00:00:31 — Dr. Aaron Carroll, The Incidental Economist and the new Healthcare Triage show the brothers produce

  • ★★ John recommends Dr. Aaron Carroll's Healthcare Triage, a show about drug trials, insurance and why sugar highs are not caused by sugar; link in the description. — 00:00:31
  • ★★ Carroll, who helps write the blog The Incidental Economist and lives in Indianapolis, met John; they are now producing his show about healthcare. — 00:00:32 · Indianapolis
  • ★ John says he drew heavily on The Incidental Economist for his video about healthcare costs. (playful) — 00:00:38
  • ★★ John says the show adds nuance and complexity to the healthcare conversation, things traditional healthcare reporting lacks. — 00:00:45

00:01:00 — Health surprises from Carroll's books: teething, sponges, hernias, Christmas suicides, fat cells, airplanes, eyes popping out

  • ★ John read two of Carroll's books in the last 24 hours; he jokes they are addictive and revealed his entire life is a lie. (playful) — 00:01:00
  • ★★ From Carroll's books, John reports: teething does not cause babies to have fevers. — 00:01:07
  • ★★ From Carroll's books, John reports: married people have more sex than single people of the same age and report that the sex is better. — 00:01:10
  • ★★ From Carroll's books, John reports: cleaning a kitchen counter with a sponge will likely make it dirtier, because the average sponge has more pathogens than the average toilet seat. — 00:01:16
  • ★★ From Carroll's books, John reports: lifting heavy boxes does not cause hernias; it can reveal them. — 00:01:25
  • ★★ From Carroll's books, John reports: Americans are not more likely to commit suicide around Christmas. — 00:01:30 · United States, Christmas
  • ★★ From Carroll's books, John reports: if you stop exercising, your muscles do not turn to fat. — 00:01:33
  • ★★ From Carroll's books, John reports: as you gain weight the number of fat cells does not increase; only their size does. — 00:01:37
  • ★★ From Carroll's books, John reports: sit-ups do not flatten your stomach. — 00:01:44
  • ★★ From Carroll's books, John reports: you are no more likely to get an infection on an airplane than in any other public space, but more likely than staying home alone. — 00:01:46
  • ★★ From Carroll's books, John reports: in rare instances, vomiting hard and frequently can cause your eyes to pop out of your head. — 00:02:03

00:02:15 — John's punishment menu: Henry rules out worm pizza and picks slobber carrots, gross barbecue with drool, and hats; sign-off

  • ★★ John tells Henry he cannot eat worm pizza, Henry's first suggestion, because eating worms can be really bad for you, even kind of poisonous, as they carry bacteria. (hedged) — 00:02:15 · Henry Green
  • ★★★ John sums up the punishment menu Henry has chosen for him to eat: slobber carrots with Henry's drool, really gross barbecue with drool, and hats. — 00:03:49 · Henry Green, Punishment

In the description and comments

  • ★★ The description says you can get intestinal hookworms from eating earthworms, so the punishment excludes worm pizza. — video description · Punishment

Humor (significant)

  • Mid-explanation John stops to button up his shirt. — 00:00:16

    “What are we shooting here, some kind of swimsuit catalog?”

  • Muscles do not turn to fat if you stop exercising. — 00:01:33

    “which is good news for my emerging guns.”

  • Learning that hard vomiting can rarely pop your eyes out is useful for a hypochondriac like John. — 00:02:09

    “because it ensures that for the rest of my life I will be puking with my eyes closed.”

  • Henry proposes John eat lights; John objects that light is more an idea than a thing. — 00:03:23

    “Cause, um, if you eat it, it might burn your mouth?”

Threads in this video

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Central: Aaron Carroll · Healthcare Triage · Henry Green · Punishment

Also: Christmas · Coca-Cola · Indianapolis · United States

Only in the description or credits: Don't Cross Your Eyes · Don't Swallow Your Gum · The Incidental Economist

Replies to

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