Fed to the Rules

2020-06-12 · explainer · Hank · 3:59 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Science & nature (also: Books & writing) · mode: Explainer · tags: self promotion, community lore

Hank tells the story of Lyall's wren, a flightless passerine on isolated Takapourewa (Stephens Island) that filled a rodent's niche and was wiped out by feral cats, not a single cat named Tibbles as legend says, then announces plans for the launch of A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor, including an all-digital book tour.

What is said

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

00:00:00 — Takapourewa: an island isolated from the isolated, and its weird species

• ★★ Hank describes Takapourewa, or Stephens Island, at the tip of islands off the north coast of New Zealand's South Island: isolated from the isolated, an ecological experiment Earth accidentally designed. — 00:00:00 · Australia

00:00:29 — Lyall's wren: a flightless passerine in a rodent's niche, Polynesian rats, and the legend of Tibbles the cat

• ★★ Hank says the island is home to very weird species: what might be the world's rarest frog, literally millions of seabirds, a darkling beetle, and a stronghold of tuatara. — 00:00:29
• ★★ Hank explains that passerines are the largest order of birds, more than half of all bird species, told apart by three toes in front and one behind, good for perching. — 00:00:29
• ★★★ Hank says Lyall's wren, unlike any existing passerine, could not fly. — 00:00:58
• ★★★ With no small rodents in New Zealand, Lyall's wren filled a small rodent's niche: it ran fast, had many babies and ate insects, worms and fruit. — 00:00:58
• ★★★ A mouse on two legs is a worse mouse, so Polynesian rats brought to New Zealand by the Māori out-competed and ate Lyall's wren, but they never reached Takapourewa. — 00:00:58
• ★★★ Hank says the urban legend that a single cat wiped out Lyall's wren isn't exactly what happened. — 00:01:27
• ★★ Hank says it is not certain how cats reached the island; probably the lighthouse keepers, being lonely, brought them. (hedged) — 00:01:27
• ★ Hank really likes the name Tibbles, given to the cat in the legend; he doesn't know its origin, and it may have been David Lyall's cat. (playful, hedged) — 00:01:27
• ★★★ Lighthouse keeper David Lyall's cat brought him a dead bird unknown to science as a present, which is how Lyall got credit for discovering Lyall's wren. — 00:02:01
• ★★ Hank says the bird should be called Tibbles's wren, or rather a Tibbles acanthisittid, since it isn't even a wren. (playful) — 00:02:01
• ★★★ When the bird was found there was already a large feral cat population on the island, and the species probably went extinct barely more than a year after Lyall got it. (hedged) — 00:02:01

00:02:30 — Extinction within about a year; the island today, cat-free and uninhabited

• ★★ Extinction sucks, Hank says, but there are now no cats and no people on Takapourewa: the lighthouse runs remotely and people only visit to study the island. — 00:02:30
• ★★ Hank says the island's natural experiment goes on, one bird down and with much ecological degradation, but still with a marvelous ecology. — 00:02:30

00:02:59 — A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor: signed pre-orders, a book club event, the July 7 launch event and the digital book tour

• ★★★ Hank tells John it is 25 days until July 7, when the Carl saga concludes and A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor is released. — 00:02:59 · A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor, John Green
• ★★★ Hank says signed editions of A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor can be pre-ordered all over, now including Waterstones in the UK. — 00:02:59 · A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor
• ★★ Hank is doing a Penguin World's Book Club event on his first book, An Absolutely Remarkable Thing, with Cat Valente, who he says is amazing. — 00:02:59 · An Absolutely Remarkable Thing
• ★★★ Hank and John will hold a launch event on July 7 at 7 p.m. Eastern, here, open to everyone. — 00:02:59 · John Green, A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor
• ★★★ Hank announces an all-digital book tour, so everyone can come: ticketed events July 6 with John, July 8 with Ashley Ford, July 9 with Roman Mars and July 10 with Cory Doctorow, with local bookstores. — 00:03:28 · John Green, A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor
• ★★ Every ticket buyer gets a signed copy of the book in the mail, and the first 500 sign-ups at each venue get a lapel pin available no other way. — 00:03:28 · A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor

In the description and comments

• ★ The description says signed copies have maybe sold out at Amazon, since Hank can't find them. (hedged) — video description · Amazon
• ★ The description lists the July 6 ticketed event at The Town Hall with The Strand, with special guest John Green, and the free July 7 Vlogbrothers YouTube launch. — video description · John Green

Threads in this video

• proved wrong · Hank: there will be no signed copies of A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor for markets outside the US this year (2020) — Hank says signed editions of A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor can now be pre-ordered at Waterstones in the UK. (00:02:59)
• reminder · Hank asks viewers to pre-order A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor (2019) — Hank says signed editions of A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor can be pre-ordered all over, now including Waterstones in the UK. (00:02:59)
• progress update · John: tour with Hank and Sarah for A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor and You Are an Artist (2020) — Hank and John will hold a launch event on July 7 at 7 p.m. Eastern, here, open to everyone. (00:02:59)
• announced · A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor all-digital book tour (2020) — Hank announces an all-digital book tour, so everyone can come: ticketed events July 6 with John, July 8 with Ashley Ford, July 9 with Roman Mars and July 10 with Cory Doctorow, with local bookstores. (00:03:28)
• variation · Vlogbrothers videos titled with Smash Mouth's All Star lyrics (2020) — The title Fed to the Rules continues the All Star lyric titles.
• predicted · Hank: the all-digital A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor book tour will be fun and weird (2020) — Hank says the all-digital book tour is going to be fun and weird. (00:03:28)
• milestone · An Absolutely Remarkable Thing: announcement and publication of Hank's first novel (2017) — Hank is doing a Penguin World's Book Club event on his first book, An Absolutely Remarkable Thing, with Cat Valente, who he says is amazing. (00:02:59)
• milestone · A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor: Hank's sequel to An Absolutely Remarkable Thing (2018) — Hank tells John it is 25 days until July 7, when the Carl saga concludes and A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor is released. (00:02:59)

Where the stories that moved here went next

• Hank: there will be no signed copies of A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor for markets outside the US this year (2020) — proved wrong
• Hank: the all-digital A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor book tour will be fun and weird (2020) — unresolved; last: predicted, 2020-06-12
• John: tour with Hank and Sarah for A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor and You Are an Artist (2020) — changed; last: progress update, 2020-12-29
• An Absolutely Remarkable Thing: announcement and publication of Hank's first novel (2017) — completed; last: looked back, 2025-12-09
• A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor: Hank's sequel to An Absolutely Remarkable Thing (2018) — completed; last: milestone, 2021-07-16
• A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor all-digital book tour (2020) — last documented in 2020; last: milestone, 2020-07-03

Mentioned

Central: A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor · Lyall's wren · Stephens Island

Also: People: Ashley C. Ford · Catherynne M. Valente · Cory Doctorow · David Lyall · Roman Mars

Works: An Absolutely Remarkable Thing

Organizations: Waterstones

Groups: Māori people

Concepts: cat · darkling beetle · extinction · invasive species · passerine · Polynesian rat · tuatara

Places: Australia · New Zealand

Characters: Carl

animal: Tibbles

Only in the description or credits: All Star · Amazon · The Town Hall

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