John Green Answers the Most Searched Hank Green Questions
2023-01-17 · Q&A · John · 3:59 · watch on YouTube
Topic: Projects (also: Personal life) · mode: Q&A & conversation · tags: community lore, self promotion, fundraising ask, calendar ritual
John answers the most-searched questions about Hank Green as his brother: Hank's companies and shows, the 2D glasses John refused to back, his ulcerative colitis and learning, a lightning round, then announces the 16th Project for Awesome and asks for matching-fund donors.
What is said
The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).
00:00:00 — Why a brother should answer; what Hank Green does (Complexly, DFTBA, socks, novels, music, podcasts, TikTok, Emmy)
- ★★ John says videos where someone answers the web's most searched questions about themselves raise the question of trust; part of him wants the person's sibling to answer instead. (playful) — 00:00:00
- ★★ John answers the most-searched questions about Hank Green, as Hank's brother. — 00:00:00 · Hank Green
- ★★ John says Hank runs Complexly, an educational media company making Crash Course, SciShow, Eons, Journey to the Microcosmos and more. — 00:00:00 · Complexly, Crash Course, SciShow, Eons, Journey to the Microcosmos
- ★★ John says Hank also runs DFTBA.com, a merch company, and the Awesome Socks Club, a sock subscription service for charity. — 00:00:29 · DFTBA Records, Awesome Socks Club
- ★★ John says Hank is the author of two critically acclaimed, best-selling novels and is a musician. — 00:00:29
- ★ John checks Wikipedia mid-video, saying he often does so when trying to remember everything Hank does. (playful) — 00:00:29 · Wikipedia
- ★★ John adds that Hank is a podcaster and huge on TikTok. — 00:00:29 · TikTok
- ★★ John says Hank won an Emmy for helping make The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, an adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. — 00:00:29
00:00:58 — Did Hank invent 3D glasses: 2D glasses and John's refusal to invest
- ★★ John says Hank did not invent 3D glasses but something more important: 2D glasses that render 3D movies in two dimensions. (playful) — 00:00:58
- ★★★ John says 2D glasses were the first moment Hank went from a person with many ideas to one who also had a system for making ideas into realities. — 00:00:58
- ★★ John recalls Hank calling to say Katherine gets headaches from 3D movies and that making glasses to turn them 2D should be fairly straightforward. — 00:00:58 · Katherine Green
00:01:27 — Ulcerative colitis, how Hank knows so much, lightning round, companies started
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★★ Asked to go in on the venture, John said no; he was definitely wrong and learned never to bet against Hank Green. — 00:01:27
“never bet against Hank Green”
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★★★ John says Hank has ulcerative colitis, has lived with it most of his adult life, and it is really hard, but he is doing it. — 00:01:27
- ★★ John says neither he nor Hank was a particularly amazing student, but Hank got really passionate in college and especially grad school. — 00:01:27
- ★★ John thinks Hank knows so much through research and decades as a passionate learner. — 00:01:56
- ★★ In the lightning round John confirms that Hank is married. — 00:01:56 · Hank Green
- ★ John does not know whether Hank is vegan. (unsure) — 00:01:56
- ★★ John says Hank is from Montana. — 00:02:26 · Montana
- ★★ John says Hank does not have a PhD but has a master's degree. — 00:02:26
- ★★ John lists Hank's podcasts: Dear Hank and John, Delete This and SciShow Tangents. — 00:02:26 · Dear Hank and John, Delete This, SciShow
- ★★ John says Hank has one child. — 00:02:26
- ★★ John says Hank no longer runs VidCon, now owned by other people, and started many companies, including Subbable, which became part of Patreon. — 00:02:26 · VidCon, Subbable
00:03:01 — Failed companies (URLatron); the Project for Awesome and its 16th edition
- ★★ John says Hank's URLatron, a Linktree before Linktree where all your URLs would go, was a very good idea, just slightly wrongly timed. — 00:03:01 · URLatron
- ★★ John says one of his very favorite things Hank helped found is the Project for Awesome. — 00:03:01 · Project for Awesome
- ★★★ John announces the 16th Project for Awesome, February 17 to 19: a 48-hour livestream raising money for charity, with perks for donors. — 00:03:01 · Project for Awesome
00:03:30 — P4A matching-fund ask; John tells Hank he is his biggest fan; sign-off
- ★★★ John says the P4A needs a matching fund that he, Hank and hundreds of nerdfighters join every year, and asks those able to give $500 or more to join at projectforawesome.com/matching. — 00:03:30 · Project for Awesome, Nerdfighteria
- ★★ John tells Hank he is amazing and that John has been his biggest fan since Hank was born. — 00:03:30 · Hank Green
- ★★ John tells Hank not to be afraid to take it down a couple notches if he needs to, because John worries about him. — 00:03:30
In the description and comments
- ★★ In a channel comment, John explains that nerdfighters giving over $500 form a matching fund so P4A donors see their impact doubled, and asks those able to join. — creator comment · Project for Awesome, Nerdfighteria
- ★ In a comment reply, John says 2D glasses are still available from the DFTBA store. — creator comment · DFTBA Records
- ★★ In a comment reply, John says the Awesome Coffee Club is more his than Hank's, though mostly run by the folks at dftba.com. — creator comment · Awesome Coffee Club, DFTBA Records
- ★★ Asked whether the brothers helped popularize this kind of video, John replies they did it way before Wired. — creator comment
- ★★ In a comment, John says he has an idea to follow Hank's formats for the whole year, finding the concept hilarious, though it will probably fall apart. (hedged) — creator comment
Humor (significant)
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Asked what Hank Green does, John is stumped by how much Hank does. — 00:00:00
“Well, I don't know. Everything?”
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Denying that Hank invented 3D glasses, John says he invented something much more important. — 00:00:58
“2D glasses that render three-dimensional movies in a crisp two dimensions”
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Answering whether Hank is in Jurassic Park, John notes how young they were when it came out. — 00:02:26
“I don't think so. We were like eight when it came out.”
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After listing Hank's successful companies, John adds the rest. — 00:02:26
“He's also started many companies that became nothing.”
Threads in this video
- variation · Answering Google autocomplete questions (2010) — John answers the most-searched questions about Hank Green, as Hank's brother. (00:00:00)
- looked back · The Lizzie Bennet Diaries web series (2012) — John says Hank won an Emmy for helping make The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, an adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. (00:00:29)
- looked back · Hank's 2D Glasses for watching 3D movies in 2D (2011) — John recalls Hank calling to say Katherine gets headaches from 3D movies and that making glasses to turn them 2D should be fairly straightforward. (00:00:58)
- update · Hank: living with ulcerative colitis (2007) — John says Hank has ulcerative colitis, has lived with it most of his adult life, and it is really hard, but he is doing it. (00:01:27)
- looked back · Subbable: launch of the brothers' pay-what-you-want subscription service, starting with Crash Course (2013) — John says Hank no longer runs VidCon, now owned by other people, and started many companies, including Subbable, which became part of Patreon. (00:02:26)
- looked back · URLatron: Hank's Tumblr-to-.com domain service (2011) — John says Hank's URLatron, a Linktree before Linktree where all your URLs would go, was a very good idea, just slightly wrongly timed. (00:03:01)
- announced · P4A 2023 edition — John announces the 16th Project for Awesome, February 17 to 19: a 48-hour livestream raising money for charity, with perks for donors. (00:03:01)
- asked · John asks donors of $500 or more to join the P4A 2023 matching fund at projectforawesome.com/matching (2023) — John says the P4A needs a matching fund that he, Hank and hundreds of nerdfighters join every year, and asks those able to give $500 or more to join at projectforawesome.com/matching. (00:03:30)
- proposed · The Format: the brothers' loose, chaotic vlog style, begun by Hank and named as a playlist (2023) — In a comment, John says he has an idea to follow Hank's formats for the whole year, finding the concept hilarious, though it will probably fall apart. (creator comment)
- restate · What is work for, and how much should people work? — John tells Hank not to be afraid to take it down a couple notches if he needs to, because John worries about him. (00:03:30)
- milestone · Delete This: Hank and Katherine Green's podcast reviewing Hank's Twitter feed (2018) — John lists Hank's podcasts: Dear Hank and John, Delete This and SciShow Tangents. (00:02:26)
- update · Hank joins TikTok and posts several TikToks a day (2020) — John adds that Hank is a podcaster and huge on TikTok. (00:00:29)
- milestone · Awesome Coffee Club: the brothers' coffee subscription for charity (2022) — In a comment reply, John says the Awesome Coffee Club is more his than Hank's, though mostly run by the folks at dftba.com. (creator comment)
Where the stories that moved here went next
- John asks donors of $500 or more to join the P4A 2023 matching fund at projectforawesome.com/matching (2023) — reported back; last: result reported, 2023-02-17
- P4A 2023 edition — completed; last: looked back, 2023-02-24
- Delete This: Hank and Katherine Green's podcast reviewing Hank's Twitter feed (2018) — last documented in 2023; last: milestone, 2023-02-03
- The Format: the brothers' loose, chaotic vlog style, begun by Hank and named as a playlist (2023) — running; last: milestone, 2025-01-07
- Awesome Coffee Club: the brothers' coffee subscription for charity (2022) — completed; last: looked back, 2024-10-30
- Hank: living with ulcerative colitis (2007) — told 14×, last update 2026; last: retold, 2026-04-07
- Hank joins TikTok and posts several TikToks a day (2020) — told 5×, last update 2026
Mentioned
Central: 2D Glasses · Project for Awesome
Also: People: Katherine Green
Projects: Awesome Socks Club · Complexly · Crash Course · Dear Hank and John · Delete This · DFTBA Records · Eons · Journey to the Microcosmos · SciShow · SciShow Tangents · Subbable · URLatron · VidCon
Works: Jurassic Park (film) · Pride and Prejudice · The Lizzie Bennet Diaries
Organizations: Emmy Award · Linktree · Patreon · TikTok · Wikipedia
Concepts: 3D film · ulcerative colitis (concept) · Veganism
Places: Montana
Only in the description or credits: Awesome Coffee Club · Wired
Also centred on 2D Glasses: 2D Glasses! Take the Headache out of 3D · Hank Green's Million Dollar Ideas
Later videos replying to this one
- 2023-01-20 · Behind the Scenes in the Deep Sea (Hank) — answers (callback on Answering Google autocomplete questions (2010)) — Hank notes he did a Google autofill video and John then did one too. (00:00:03)