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I Searched for 'Science Side of Twitter' and Answered As Many Questions as I Could

2022-08-26 · Q&A · Hank · 3:58 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Science & nature · mode: Q&A & conversation · tags: self promotion

Hank searches Twitter for 'science side of Twitter' and answers as many questions as he can in four minutes: constellations by hemisphere, a James Webb image, calories burned on the toilet, refrigerating ketchup, microscope eye strain, brain freeze from cold water, and sound in space.

What is said

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

00:00:00 — Premise (the science side of Twitter); constellations seen from different places on Earth; "how do we stop"

  • ★★ Hank says people used to ask the 'science side of Tumblr' questions and very occasionally ask the 'science side of Twitter'; he searched it and will answer as many as he can in four minutes. — 00:00:00 · Tumblr, Twitter
  • ★★ The constellations themselves don't change, but which ones you see depends on where you are on Earth; at the North Pole with no axial tilt you would only ever see half of them. — 00:00:00 · Earth
  • ★★ Hank says the Earth's tilt shifts your view through the year, and from the equator you can see almost all of the sky over a year, much of it close to the horizon. — 00:00:29 · Earth

00:00:58 — A bright star in a James Webb image; calories burned taking a dump; why ketchup is refrigerated

  • ★★ The giant 'quasar-looking' object in a James Webb image is just a star in our galaxy, far closer than the background galaxies; very bright objects show diffraction spikes caused by the shape of the mirrors. — 00:00:58
    • check: billions of miles — doubtful
    • check: millions of times closer — doubtful
  • ★ Hank says taking a massive dump burns not zero calories: the anus is almost always contracting and relaxes then, but he thinks other muscle contractions (and any anxiety) more than outweigh that. (playful, hedged) — 00:00:58
  • ★★ Vinegar, salt and sugar stop bacteria in ketchup, but preserving food also means slowing the breakdown of molecules into worse-tasting ones, which oxygen speeds up and refrigeration slows. — 00:01:27

00:01:56 — Ketchup and slowing reactions; a phone holder against microscope eye strain; brain freeze without cold food

  • ★★ Against microscope eye strain Hank suggests a cell phone holder on the eyepiece, which comes with the Microcosmos Microscope; you need an app to choose the phone's lens (the iPhone can't by default), and he uses ProCam. — 00:02:26
  • ★★ Hank says a brain freeze is nerve pain, the brain misreading a confusing signal: cold constricts blood vessels near nerves, rewarming floods the area with blood, and facial nerves are closely packed. (hedged) — 00:02:26

00:02:55 — Brain freeze mechanism; why space carries no sound; a 2:27 a.m. tweet about a phone charger; sign-off

  • ★★ Sound is molecules knocking into each other, so space, with basically no molecules, carries none; good thing, since otherwise the Sun would be a constant hundred-decibel roar. — 00:02:55
  • ★ Answering a 2:27 a.m. tweet about waking friends to get a phone charger, Hank says the tweeter doesn't need to be on Twitter anymore: it's bedtime. (playful) — 00:03:24 · Twitter

In the description and comments

  • ★ The description asks anyone with a more robust answer to the brain freeze question to tell Hank, since sensation is complicated. — video description

Humor (significant)

  • Asked "How do we stop?", Hank answers it as a physics question. — 00:00:29

    “I've been told that you need an equal and opposite force. I haven't found one.”

  • Listing what burns calories while taking a massive dump. — 00:01:27

    “Plus, you know, any anxiety you might be experiencing.”

  • Hank starts a joke answer (two potatoes and a copper wire) to someone needing a charger, then checks the tweet's time. — 00:03:24

    “I've just looked at your tweet it's from 2 27 a.m. You don't need to be on Twitter anymore.”

Mentioned

Central: Twitter

Also: Works: Microcosmos Microscope

Organizations: Tumblr

Concepts: Bacteria · brain freeze · constellation · diffraction spike · ketchup · Microscope · oxygen · sound · star · zodiac

Places: Big Dipper · Earth · Milky Way · North Pole · South Pole · Southern Hemisphere · Sun (star)

Products: iPhone · James Webb Space Telescope · ProCam

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