HackerTube
HomeLongsLikedHistoryWatch laterCategoriesPlaylistsSettings

cover

Explainer×4-20 minutes×Play all on YouTube

Upload date

Past year2020s2010s2000s

Type

TalkLectureExplainerTutorialDocumentaryInterviewDemoCommentaryComedyMusic

Duration

Under 4 minutes4-20 minutes20-60 minutesOver 1 hour

Features

Hidden gemsEvergreen only

Sort by

RelevanceRecently recommendedUpload dateOldest firstView countLike ratioMost recommended
Uncovered - Dangerous Secrets of the DOT Helmet Standard9:12

Uncovered - Dangerous Secrets of the DOT Helmet Standard

1.1M views • 8 years ago
FortNine
FortNine argues that the US DOT motorcycle helmet standard (FMVSS 218) is badly outdated and weak. It compares it with Snell and ECE standards and points to where you can look up test reports for your own helmet.
Renting vs. Buying a Home: The 5% Rule10:36

Renting vs. Buying a Home: The 5% Rule

5.3M views • 7 years ago
Ben Felix
Ben Felix explains how to compare renting and buying a home by looking at unrecoverable costs, and distills it into the 5% rule of thumb. It is framed for a Canadian audience but broadly applicable.
How the Minecraft Title Screen Seed was Found8:24

How the Minecraft Title Screen Seed was Found

10.8M views • 6 years ago
SalC1
SalC1 explains how the seed behind the Minecraft title screen panorama was found, using community effort and the Minecraft@Home project. It covers the search through Beta 1.7.3 world seeds.
Why Are 96,000,000 Black Balls on This Reservoir?12:07

Why Are 96,000,000 Black Balls on This Reservoir?

112.9M views • 7 years ago
Veritasium
Veritasium rides a boat across the Los Angeles reservoir covered in 96 million black plastic balls. He explains why they were really introduced, which was not primarily to reduce evaporation.
The Problem with Time & Timezones - Computerphile10:13

The Problem with Time & Timezones - Computerphile

4.4M views • 12 years ago
Computerphile
Tom Scott explains for Computerphile why handling time and timezones in code is so hard, walking through a simple web app that computes how long ago something happened. It covers the quirks of timezones and calendars and ends in an exasperated rant.
London Swallowed a City but Couldn't Digest It.4:48

London Swallowed a City but Couldn't Digest It.

8.6M views • 14 years ago
CGP Grey
CGP Grey explains that the City of London is a tiny, separate entity with its own governance, history and privileges, distinct from the city called London. He covers its financial role and how it is run.
Stroads are Ugly, Expensive, and Dangerous (and they're everywhere) [ST05]18:14

Stroads are Ugly, Expensive, and Dangerous (and they're everywhere) [ST05]

8.3M views • 5 years ago
Not Just Bikes
Not Just Bikes introduces the "stroad", a street-road hybrid common in the US and Canada that fails at both jobs. He contrasts it with Dutch design, where each road has a single purpose, and covers cost, danger and ugliness.
Is Most Published Research Wrong?12:22

Is Most Published Research Wrong?

6.2M views • 10 years ago
Veritasium
Veritasium explains why a large share of published research findings may be false, covering p-values, p-hacking, publication bias and low replication rates. It draws on John Ioannidis's well-known paper and describes reforms such as preregistration.
America Keeps Rejecting an ID Card It Already Has7:49

America Keeps Rejecting an ID Card It Already Has

13.6M views • 9 years ago
CGP Grey
CGP Grey explains the history of the US Social Security card and number, and why they became a de facto national ID despite never being meant for it. He also covers why America resists a proper identity card.
Can YOU Fix Climate Change?15:50

Can YOU Fix Climate Change?

14.3M views • 5 years ago
Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell
Kurzgesagt examines what individuals can do about climate change, covering lesser-known carbon sources and why systemic and political change matter more than personal footprints.
FIXING the ENTIRE SM64 Source Code (INSANE N64 performance)18:20

FIXING the ENTIRE SM64 Source Code (INSANE N64 performance)

3.2M views • 4 years ago
Kaze Emanuar
Kaze Emanuar explains how he rewrote and optimized the Super Mario 64 source code so it runs far faster on real N64 hardware. He covers performance bottlenecks and fixes in detail for his ROM hacks.
Why Electronic Voting is a BAD Idea - Computerphile8:21

Why Electronic Voting is a BAD Idea - Computerphile

2.3M views • 11 years ago
Computerphile
Tom Scott explains for Computerphile why electronic voting is a bad idea, arguing that paper ballots are transparent, auditable and hard to tamper with at scale. He covers why moving voting to phones, tablets or computers undermines trust and verifiability.
Zipline - How Rwanda Built A Drone Delivery Service11:46

Zipline - How Rwanda Built A Drone Delivery Service

1.6M views • 7 years ago
Real Engineering
Real Engineering explains how Zipline built a drone delivery network for medical supplies in Rwanda. It covers the fixed-wing drones, catapult launch, parachute drop and the logistics behind the service.
CGA Graphics - Not as bad as you thought!11:27

CGA Graphics - Not as bad as you thought!

2.4M views • 10 years ago
The 8-Bit Guy
The 8-Bit Guy covers IBM's 1981 CGA graphics system, including how composite output and artifacting produced extra colors beyond the nominal palette. He argues CGA looked better in period than it does on RGB monitors.
Visualization of Quantum Physics (Quantum Mechanics)14:34

Visualization of Quantum Physics (Quantum Mechanics)

2.8M views • 9 years ago
udiprod
An animated visualization of basic quantum mechanics using a free particle, with simulations based on the actual equations. It covers waves, particles, and how measurement collapses the wavefunction.
Propaganda Games: Sesame Credit - The True Danger of Gamification - Extra Credits7:39

Propaganda Games: Sesame Credit - The True Danger of Gamification - Extra Credits

2M views • 10 years ago
Extra Credits
An Extra Credits episode on China's Sesame Credit, which gamifies obedient citizenship through a social score. It covers how the system rewards conformity and pressures people through their friends' behavior.
Why Trains Suck in America8:25

Why Trains Suck in America

6M views • 10 years ago
Wendover Productions
Wendover Productions explains why US passenger rail lags behind other countries. It covers freight companies owning most of the track, geography and population density, and the economics of competing with flying.
What does it feel like to invent math?15:08

What does it feel like to invent math?

4.6M views • 11 years ago
3Blue1Brown
3Blue1Brown explores infinite sums from convergent to divergent, with an introduction to the 2-adic metric, themed on the cycle between discovering and inventing mathematics.
How Bankrupt American Cities Stay Alive - Debt [ST04]11:01

How Bankrupt American Cities Stay Alive - Debt [ST04]

2M views • 5 years ago
Not Just Bikes
Not Just Bikes explains how many American suburbs, built all at once rather than incrementally, cannot cover their infrastructure costs and survive on growing debt. It draws on Strong Towns' work on the growth Ponzi scheme.
The Agricultural Revolution: Crash Course World History #111:11

The Agricultural Revolution: Crash Course World History #1

17.7M views • 14 years ago
CrashCourse
The first episode of Crash Course World History, in which John Green covers the shift from hunting and gathering to agriculture and how it shaped civilization. It is delivered fast and with jokes.
Connecting Solar to the Grid is Harder Than You Think18:48

Connecting Solar to the Grid is Harder Than You Think

2.4M views • 2 years ago
Practical Engineering
Practical Engineering explains why connecting solar and other inverter-based generation to the grid is hard. It covers grid stability, load balancing and the behind-the-scenes engineering challenges of renewables.
Fasting vs. Eating Less: What's the Difference? (Science of Fasting)12:50

Fasting vs. Eating Less: What's the Difference? (Science of Fasting)

13.2M views • 9 years ago
Joseph Everett - WIL
A short explainer on the physiological differences between fasting and simply eating less. It covers ketosis, ghrelin and hunger waves, and the hormonal effects of fasting.
Big Plane vs Little Plane (The Economics of Long-Haul Flights)10:08

Big Plane vs Little Plane (The Economics of Long-Haul Flights)

4.3M views • 10 years ago
Wendover Productions
Wendover Productions explains why Boeing's efficient 787 beat Airbus's giant A380, contrasting hub-and-spoke with point-to-point routes. It covers the economics of long-haul flights.
Characters, Symbols and the Unicode Miracle - Computerphile9:37

Characters, Symbols and the Unicode Miracle - Computerphile

2.1M views • 13 years ago
Computerphile
Tom Scott explains for Computerphile how Unicode and UTF-8 grew out of messy older character encodings to become the web's standard. It covers why the design works and how it handles worldwide text.
Noether's Theorem and The Symmetries of Reality13:02

Noether's Theorem and The Symmetries of Reality

1.1M views • 8 years ago
PBS Space Time
PBS Space Time explains Noether's theorem: conservation laws such as energy and momentum are consequences of deeper symmetries. It also covers why those laws hold only under certain conditions.
Are Electric Cars Worse For The Environment? Myth Busted13:47

Are Electric Cars Worse For The Environment? Myth Busted

2.2M views • 8 years ago
Engineering Explained
Engineering Explained works through whether electric cars are really worse for the environment than gasoline cars. It covers battery production emissions, the electricity mix used to charge, and how long an EV takes to break even on lifetime emissions.
The Voting System That Gives You Two Votes4:29

The Voting System That Gives You Two Votes

3.1M views • 15 years ago
CGP Grey
CGP Grey explains Mixed-Member Proportional representation, the system used in New Zealand where voters get two votes. It covers how it differs from first-past-the-post.
World's Roundest Object!11:44

World's Roundest Object!

38.5M views • 13 years ago
Veritasium
Veritasium explains the effort to redefine the kilogram, which was still defined by a physical artifact, and how a near-perfect silicon sphere from the Avogadro project helps. It also covers the history of the unit's odd naming.
World's Largest Batteries - (Pumped Storage)9:13

World's Largest Batteries - (Pumped Storage)

1.9M views • 7 years ago
Practical Engineering
Practical Engineering explains pumped storage hydropower, which makes up most grid-scale electricity storage. It covers how it works and why it fits only certain geographies.
Mars Helicopter (before it went to Mars)16:01

Mars Helicopter (before it went to Mars)

6.2M views • 7 years ago
Veritasium
Veritasium's Derek Muller visits NASA JPL to see the Mars helicopter Ingenuity before it was mounted on the rover. He explains how it can fly in Mars's thin atmosphere with large, fast-spinning contra-rotating rotors and low mass, and covers power and cold.
The Mathematics of Quantum Computers | Infinite Series12:35

The Mathematics of Quantum Computers | Infinite Series

718K views • 9 years ago
PBS Infinite Series
A PBS Infinite Series episode explaining the mathematics of quantum computers, including how qubits store complex numbers and how quantum computation differs from classical computation. Hosted by Kelsey Houston-Edwards.
Drone Delivery Was Supposed to be the Future. What Went Wrong?18:40

Drone Delivery Was Supposed to be the Future. What Went Wrong?

2.8M views • 4 years ago
Wendover Productions
Wendover Productions explains why drone delivery has not become the future once promised. It covers no-fly zones, costs and the difficulty of the final drop-off.
RSA ANIMATE: Crises of Capitalism11:11

RSA ANIMATE: Crises of Capitalism

3.3M views • 16 years ago
Royal Society of Arts
An RSA Animate video that illustrates a talk by geographer David Harvey on the crises of capitalism. It covers creative destruction, wage stagnation masked by credit, and the search for a more just economic order.
The Unfortunate Truth About Toyota's Hydrogen V8 Engine14:28

The Unfortunate Truth About Toyota's Hydrogen V8 Engine

2.4M views • 4 years ago
Engineering Explained
Engineering Explained examines Toyota's hydrogen-burning V8 engine built with Yamaha and explains the practical problems of hydrogen combustion vehicles. It covers efficiency, storage and distribution issues.
Equipment Review: Best Carbon-Steel Skillets (Can This One Pan Do It All?) & Our Testing Winner5:52

Equipment Review: Best Carbon-Steel Skillets (Can This One Pan Do It All?) & Our Testing Winner

2M views • 11 years ago
America's Test Kitchen
America's Test Kitchen tests eight carbon-steel skillets to find the best one, asking whether a single pan can replace stainless, cast iron and nonstick. It names a winner and covers how the pans perform.
The Problem with Solar Energy in Africa18:20

The Problem with Solar Energy in Africa

8.1M views • 5 years ago
Real Engineering
Real Engineering looks at why Africa's abundant solar potential is hard to turn into usable power, especially for Europe. It covers the transmission, infrastructure and economic obstacles, and the pivot from concentrated solar to photovoltaics.
How To Terraform Venus (Quickly)12:42

How To Terraform Venus (Quickly)

22.8M views • 5 years ago
Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell
Kurzgesagt lays out a speculative plan to terraform Venus, covering its hostile atmosphere and how it might be made Earth-like, with a sources page linked.
Why you DON'T want Perfect Pitch15:09

Why you DON'T want Perfect Pitch

2.5M views • 5 years ago
Adam Neely
Adam Neely explains what perfect (absolute) pitch is, how it differs from relative and quasi-absolute pitch, and why he would not want it. He covers its drawbacks, including drift with age.
The Deadliest Being on Planet Earth – The Bacteriophage7:09

The Deadliest Being on Planet Earth – The Bacteriophage

35.3M views • 8 years ago
Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell
An animated Kurzgesagt explainer on bacteriophages, viruses that kill bacteria, covering how they infect and burst cells and their potential as therapy against antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
The world depends on a collection of strange items. They're not cheap18:32

The world depends on a collection of strange items. They're not cheap

12.6M views • 3 years ago
Veritasium
Veritasium visits NIST to explain Standard Reference Materials, the carefully characterized items such as peanut butter used to calibrate instruments and keep measurements consistent. It covers why they exist and why they are expensive.