Skip to content

Two Reasons Why This Eclipse is So Dangerous

2024-04-05 · explainer · Hank · 4:02 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Science & nature (also: Health) · mode: Explainer · tags: timely hook, civic or action cta, self promotion

Ahead of the April 2024 total solar eclipse, Hank explains its two dangers: eye damage, because a nearly covered sun no longer feels too bright to look at, and traffic deaths, because over 200 million people live within driving distance; he asks drivers not to look at their phones.

What is said

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

00:00:00 — Two reasons this eclipse is dangerous; the first: eclipses confuse our pain response to the sun and its high-energy light can damage retinas

  • ★★★ Hank says the eclipse will not bring darkness or fulfil a prophecy, and things will be roughly the same afterwards, but there are interesting reasons why this one is particularly dangerous. (playful) — 00:00:00
  • ★★★ Hank says eclipses are dangerous because they confuse us: pain normally makes us stop looking at the sun, but when it is mostly covered the brain may think it is not too bright to look at. — 00:00:29
  • ★★★ Hank says the danger is not the amount of sunlight but its quality, extraordinarily high-energy light: looking at even a tiny sliver for a few seconds can permanently damage the eyes. — 00:00:58
  • ★★ Hank says the retina usually heals but sometimes does not, that this holds through sunglasses, window tint or even a welding mask, and that sunlight is more damaging than a welding arc. — 00:00:58

00:01:33 — The second reason: driving; 2017 eclipse crash deaths per hour, and danger as risk times the number of people exposed

  • ★★★ Hank says over 200 million people live within driving distance of this eclipse, and driving is more dangerous than people think. — 00:01:33
  • ★★★ Hank says that around the 2017 eclipse, US car-crash deaths rose from a background rate of about 7.9 per hour to over 10 per hour. — 00:01:33 · United States
  • ★★ Hank says that rise in traffic deaths was not caused by the eclipse itself but by more people on the roads travelling to see it. — 00:02:02
  • ★★★ Hank says any danger has two parts, the risk and the number of people exposed: going to Mars is very dangerous but not a public-health concern; this eclipse is dangerous because so many can reach it. — 00:02:02 · Mars

00:02:31 — A wildly populous eclipse: its path over land, Indiana and the northeast's population centers

  • ★★ Hank says most total eclipses pass only over ocean while this one passes over land, then corrects himself that it also crosses some ocean. (playful) — 00:02:31
  • ★★ Hank says the eclipse will cover more than half of Indiana and in the northeast passes very close to many large population centers. — 00:02:31 · Indiana

00:03:00 — Hank travels to his first total eclipse; asks viewers not to be distracted or look at phones while driving

  • ★★ Hank says he is travelling for the eclipse and is really excited: it will be his first total solar eclipse. — 00:03:00
  • ★ Hank expects it will probably be cloudy, but says it will still be cool. (playful, hedged) — 00:03:00
  • ★★★ Hank asks drivers travelling to the eclipse not to be distracted, in particular not to look at their phones while driving. — 00:03:00
  • ★★ Hank says you may be a good driver but others are not, and any inattention raises the chance of something very bad happening to you or those around you. — 00:03:00

00:03:40 — The tug of the phone; plugs for Hank's channel eclipse video and the newsletter; sign-off

  • ★ Hank admits he feels the tug of his phone in his pocket too. (playful) — 00:03:40
  • ★ Hank points to a video on Hank's channel where he answers some SciShow questions about the eclipse. — 00:03:40 · hankschannel, SciShow
  • ★★ Hank says this week's (week of 1 April 2024) newsletter has lots of eclipse content and can be got via the description link, which asks viewers to subscribe. — 00:03:40

In the description and comments

  • ★ The description announces that the Turtles All the Way Down trailer is out, with a link. — video description
  • ★ In a reply to a viewer comment urging seatbelt use, the channel says life insurers ask about seatbelts because in the US seatbelt wearers live about a year longer on average, an average in which very few people die but those who do die very young. — creator comment · United States

Threads in this video

Mentioned

Central: Solar eclipse of April 8, 2024 · Solar retinopathy

Also: Projects: Hank and John email newsletter · hankschannel · SciShow

Concepts: distracted driving · mobile phone · Traffic collision

Places: Indiana · Mars · Moon · Sun (star) · United States

Events: Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017

Only in the description or credits: Turtles All the Way Down (film)

Also centred on Solar eclipse of April 8, 2024: Feeling Like a Failure (During an Eclipse)

← Previous: The New Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie looks WEIRD!!! · Next → Hank and John Reunited WITH RAX