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Why is There an Egg Shortage (And More)

2023-01-13 · Q&A · Hank · 4:00 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Economics (also: Health, History & curiosities) · mode: Curiosity & trivia · tags: community lore, timely hook

Back in the old space, Hank revives the old Google autocomplete format and answers 'why is' questions: the egg shortage (systems built for efficiency, not resilience, plus bird flu), the blue sky, poop colours, eye twitches, half-mast flags, Black Friday and expensive diesel.

What is said

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

00:00:00 — Return to the Google autocomplete format; why there is an egg shortage

  • ★ Hank thanks John for joining him in their brand new format, which he is sure they will bring back, but today does something else. (playful) — 00:00:00 · John Green
  • ★★ Hank says he is back in the old space doing an old format: asking Google questions without finishing them and answering what autocomplete suggests. — 00:00:05 · Google
  • ★★★ Hank says there is an egg shortage broadly because many systems are built for efficiency rather than resilience: cheap eggs require one very big room full of chickens. — 00:00:20
  • ★★ Hank says crowded facilities spread bird flu; farmers kill all birds in a facility when one is infected, and over 60 million birds killed cut egg supply while demand holds. — 00:00:29
  • ★★ Hank says a dozen eggs now costs $5, against $1.33 this time last year (2022). — 00:00:45

00:00:58 — Why the sky is blue, why poop is green, why eyes twitch

  • ★★ Hank notes that some would argue last year's (2022) cheap egg price should be a little higher to allow more resilience in the system. — 00:00:58
  • ★★ Hank explains the sky is blue because atmospheric gases scatter blue wavelengths out of white sunlight, so the sun looks a little yellow and the sky blue. — 00:01:05
  • ★ Hank repeats, as he has said before, that the sky doesn't exist: it is an illusion, a kind of one-coloured rainbow. (playful) — 00:01:20
  • ★★ Hank says green poop is probably from something eaten (green vegetables, food colouring) or medications such as antibiotics; with diarrhea or symptoms lasting days, see a doctor. (hedged) — 00:01:27
  • ★★ Hank says nobody actually knows why eyes twitch, though twitching is definitely correlated with fatigue and stress. — 00:01:45

00:01:56 — Half-mast flags, black poop, Black Friday, J.J. Watt, start of diesel

  • ★★ Hank explains that in the US, Canada and elsewhere flags fly halfway up in mourning, for national tragedies or deaths of officials and public servants, varying by state. — 00:02:00 · United States, Canada
  • ★ Hank points out that Flag Express, a flag seller, tracks half-mast days on its website. — 00:02:18
  • ★★ Hank says black poop is more concerning and less common than green; it could mean bleeding in the GI tract, so see a doctor immediately. (hedged) — 00:02:25
  • ★★ Hank looked up why it is called Black Friday and found the boring answer: heavy road traffic on the day after Thanksgiving that people disliked. — 00:02:40
  • ★★ Hank says diesel is pricier partly because it is taxed a bit higher and because the US recently began requiring low-sulfur diesel for health reasons. — 00:02:55 · United States

00:03:04 — Why diesel is so expensive: the diesel fraction of crude oil

  • ★★★ Hank says the main reason is that crude oil's diesel fraction is small and can become more valuable products like jet fuel, so higher-value demand drives up diesel's price. — 00:03:04

00:03:33 — Why is my dog shaking; 16 years of videos with John; sign-off

  • ★★ Hank says a shaking dog could be stressed, anxious, nervous, cold or excited; if it is new and worrying, see the vet, as he is no doctor. (hedged) — 00:03:40
  • ★★ Hank tells John that after 16 years he still loves making videos with him; he doesn't know why it is so much fun, but he likes it. — 00:03:50 · John Green

In the description and comments

  • ★★ Replying to a commenter's account that Black Friday was named after accounting records, Hank says it is a much better story but not the true one. — creator comment
  • ★★ In a comment, Hank says he very occasionally hits the length exactly, but usually records 4 to 4:30 minutes and cuts down; over 5 minutes is a big problem. — creator comment · Four-minute rule

Humor (significant)

  • Asked why eyes twitch, Hank says he doesn't know, he has the same problem, and maybe this video is the cause. — 00:01:41

    “I don't know. Same though. Maybe it's because of this.”

  • After praising viewers free of fatigue and stress, Hank insists he himself is fine. — 00:01:56

    “I'm loving that for you. I'm not, I'm fine.”

  • Right after the black-poop question, Hank guesses Black Friday's name must have something to do with poop. — 00:02:30

    “Well, at the moment, I'm thinking it has something to do with poop”

  • Autocomplete asks why J.J. Watt is retiring; Hank declines to pry. — 00:02:48

    “I don't know, man, that sounds like a pretty personal question.”

Threads in this video

Mentioned

Central: diesel fuel · Google Autocomplete

Also: People: J. J. Watt

Organizations: Flag Express · Google

Concepts: avian influenza · diarrhea · gasoline · gastrointestinal bleeding · half-mast · intensive animal farming · jet fuel · petroleum · psychological stress · Rayleigh scattering · supply and demand · tax · ultra-low-sulfur diesel

Places: Canada · Sun (star) · United States

Events: Black Friday · Thanksgiving

Only in the description or credits: Four-minute rule

Also centred on Google Autocomplete: Is bronchitis contagious? Is black a color? · Why Does My Dog Eat Poop? · Why are Barns Red and Kardashians Famous · What's the Difference Between A and Z

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