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3:38The Electrowetting Display
118K views • 13 years ago
IEEE Spectrum
IEEE Spectrum interviews Samsung display researcher Johan Feenstra on how electrowetting displays work. He explains why they can match LCD capability while being about three times more efficient.
3:47Why Grocery Shopping is Better in Amsterdam
1.3M views • 7 years ago
Not Just Bikes
A four-minute Not Just Bikes comparison of grocery shopping in Amsterdam versus car-centric North America, arguing that frequent small fresh-food trips beat bulk shopping. It ties this to land use and reduced food waste.
3:39(1/4) Intro/History: Introducing a 100-year-old mechanical computer
476K views • 12 years ago
engineerguy
The first of four short videos from Bill Hammack (engineerguy) introducing and giving the history of a 100-year-old mechanical computer, Michelson's harmonic analyzer. The series goes on to explain Fourier synthesis, analysis and operation of the machine.
1:20Paul Otlet, visioning a web in 1934
102K views • 18 years ago
Attila Gárdos
A one-minute clip about Paul Otlet, the Belgian bibliographer who in 1934 imagined users accessing a remote database through an electric telescope over a phone line. It presents his vision as a precursor of the web.
3:45The Dutch Solution for Safer Sidewalks - Continuous Sidewalks
452K views • 6 years ago
Not Just Bikes
A short Not Just Bikes video on continuous sidewalks in the Netherlands, where the sidewalk runs unbroken across side streets so cars must visibly cross pedestrian space. It places them within Dutch sustainable safety and Vision Zero efforts.
3:12Why is the Solar System Flat?
9.5M views • 12 years ago
minutephysics
A minutephysics explainer on why the planets orbit in a flat plane. It shows how conserved angular momentum flattens a collapsing cloud of matter into a disk.
3:34Making an international standard cup of tea
2.7M views • 8 years ago
Tom Scott
Tom Scott follows the ISO 3103 / BS 6008 standard to make an international standard cup of tea, using specialist tasting equipment. The video shows how precisely the standard is specified.
3:52Are You Eating a Credit Card Every Week?
256K views • 4 years ago
vlogbrothers
A vlogbrothers video tracing how the claim that people eat a credit card of plastic every week spread. It walks through the funded talking point, the misleading amplification, and the peer review that missed it.
2:58Why Britain Uses Separate Hot and Cold Taps
6.8M views • 12 years ago
Tom Scott
Tom Scott explains why Britain historically has separate hot and cold taps rather than mixer taps, tracing it to how water was stored in tanks. He notes why the hot tap is not safe to drink from.
3:26How Highways Almost Destroyed Amsterdam - Plan Jokinen
408K views • 7 years ago
Not Just Bikes
A short Not Just Bikes video on the 1960s plans (Plan Jokinen) to cut highways through Amsterdam to accommodate cars. It shows how radically different the city would look had they succeeded.
2:52If money was no object, should you run every medical test?
263K views • 8 years ago
Medlife Crisis
A doctor from Medlife Crisis explains in under three minutes why even a rich patient should not simply order every medical test, touching on pre-test probability and Bayesian reasoning. False positives make blanket testing counterproductive.
0:51Sample Breakdown: Daft Punk - One More Time
2.2M views • 6 years ago
TRACKLIB
A short Tracklib video visualizing the disco sample that Daft Punk's One More Time is built from. It shows how the track is composed from the original material.
1:45Why Do Reversing Trucks Not Beep Any More?
1.6M views • 12 years ago
Tom Scott
Tom Scott stands by a construction site and explains why reversing vehicles now use a white-noise hiss instead of beeping. The sound is easier to locate directionally and less annoying to neighbours.
3:49Gender Neutral Pronouns: They're Here, Get Used To Them
4.6M views • 13 years ago
Tom Scott
Tom Scott argues that grammatical gender is a silly concept and that the singular 'they' is an established gender-neutral pronoun. The description carries later corrections and reflections he added in 2019.
3:37Why Web Filters Don't Work: Penistone and the Scunthorpe Problem
3.6M views • 10 years ago
Tom Scott
Tom Scott visits Penistone to explain the Scunthorpe problem, showing why naive web and profanity filters block innocent words.
3:47Your Coffee Addiction Is Probably Good for You
9.6M views • 15 years ago
CGP Grey
CGP Grey's short explainer arguing that caffeine addiction is mostly harmless and may even be beneficial. It covers what caffeine does in the body.
2:27What is a rocket mass heater?
508K views • 9 years ago
paul wheaton
A two-minute explanation of what a rocket mass heater is, starting from how a conventional wood stove works and why creosote and chimney fires occur. It shows how burning hot and storing the heat in thermal mass makes for an efficient heater.
2:45Two Is the Wrong Number of Days Off
14.1M views • 6 years ago
CGP Grey
CGP Grey argues that the two-day weekend is poorly structured and proposes taking days off midweek, such as Wednesday and Sunday, instead.
3:52I can't show you how pink this pink is.
9.7M views • 9 years ago
Tom Scott
Tom Scott explains why a vivid pink pigment by artist Stuart Semple cannot be fully shown on a screen, and touches on the dispute over exclusive rights to the blackest black pigment. It is a short explainer on color gamuts and pigment politics.
3:38The Shortest-Splitline Algorithm: a Gerrymandering Solution [Bonus Video]
692K views • 15 years ago
CGP Grey
A short CGP Grey bonus video explaining the shortest-splitline algorithm, which draws electoral districts by repeatedly splitting a state along its shortest dividing line while balancing population. It is offered as a neutral, algorithmic fix for gerrymandering.
3:04mRNA Translation (Advanced)
1.5M views • 16 years ago
DNA Learning Center
A short animation from the DNA Learning Center showing how mRNA carries a gene's message to the ribosome, where tRNA and codons are used to assemble amino acids into a protein.
2:54Explained: New Navy UFO Videos
284K views • 6 years ago
Mick West
Mick West explains the three Navy UFO videos (FLIR, GIMBAL and GOFAST) released in 2020, giving mundane explanations such as a distant plane and camera artifacts. He notes the videos were not new and had been circulating since 2017.
3:51Why “No Problem” Can Seem Rude: Phatic Expressions
5M views • 7 years ago
Tom Scott
Tom Scott explains phatic expressions such as hello, thank you and how are you, which carry social meaning rather than information, and why replies like no problem can seem rude to some people.
1:44What is Bitcoin? (v1)
10.3M views • 15 years ago
WeUseCoins
A two-minute animated introduction to Bitcoin from 2011, explaining it as a peer-to-peer digital currency. It was widely shared in Bitcoin's early days as the standard newcomer explainer.
3:05Why does PUNCHING Sonic 3D trigger a Secret Level Select?
510K views • 6 years ago
Coding Secrets
A short Coding Secrets episode explaining why hitting a Sonic 3D cartridge triggers a hidden level select. The cause was a custom crash handler that redirected CPU error interrupts to the level select screen.
3:13Hitting the Sun is HARD
3M views • 10 years ago
minutephysics
A three-minute minutephysics video on the orbital mechanics of why crashing into the Sun takes far more energy than leaving the solar system.
3:58The centuries-old debt that's still paying interest
9.3M views • 9 years ago
Tom Scott
Tom Scott visits Yale's archives to look at a 367-year-old bond from a Dutch water authority that is still paying interest. Finance professor Geert Rouwenhorst explains how it works.
3:58The 'duck curve' is solar energy's greatest challenge
2.7M views • 8 years ago
Vox
A short Vox explainer on the duck curve, the shape electricity demand takes in California as solar output grows. It explains why grid operators struggle to balance supply and demand with lots of solar.
3:45pointerpointer.com's use of voronoi, canvas, and javascript
40K views • 14 years ago
Paul Irish
Paul Irish explains how pointerpointer.com works. It uses a hidden canvas of colored Voronoi regions to look up which photo matches the cursor position.
2:23Music and Life - Alan Watts
2.6M views • 19 years ago
seandulac
A two-minute animation of an Alan Watts talk arguing that life is like music: it is meant to be danced to in the moment, not rushed toward a final goal. It is a short, accessible take on living in the present.
3:13In Norway, Everyone Can Know How Much You Earn
1.3M views • 10 years ago
Tom Scott
Tom Scott explains how in Norway and other Nordic countries tax returns, and so individual incomes, are public. He looks at the effects of wage transparency and whether it is a good idea, with sources listed in the description.
2:22Intersection design, the Dutch - cycle friendly - way
965K views • 15 years ago
BicycleDutch
A short BicycleDutch episode showing how Dutch protected intersections continue cycle paths through the junction without needing extra street width.
3:16Feynman: Mirrors FUN TO IMAGINE 6
600K views • 18 years ago
Christopher Sykes
Richard Feynman, in a clip from the BBC series Fun to Imagine, takes on the puzzle of why mirrors seem to swap left and right but not top and bottom.
2:27Feynman: How the train stays on the track FUN TO IMAGINE 7
820K views • 18 years ago
Christopher Sykes
A short clip from the 1983 BBC series Fun to Imagine in which Richard Feynman explains how a train stays on the track. He covers the geometry of tapered wheels that steer the train back toward the center of the rails.
3:55Why Tipping Should Be Banned - Adam Ruins Everything
15.8M views • 11 years ago
Dropout
An Adam Ruins Everything segment arguing that tipping should be banned. It covers the history of tipping, its weak link to service quality, and why employers should pay a fair wage.
3:35How our voting system (and IRV) betrays your favourite candidate
35K views • 12 years ago
The Center for Election Science
The Center for Election Science explains favorite betrayal in instant-runoff voting: in some elections, ranking your favorite first can cause your least favorite to win. It contrasts this with plurality voting's spoiler problem.
1:54The Loudness War
2.7M views • 20 years ago
Matt Mayfield Music
A two-minute demonstration of the loudness war, showing how heavy dynamic range compression in CD mastering makes music louder while degrading sound quality. It uses audio examples so you can hear the distortion.
2:16Andreas Antonopoulos - 51% Bitcoin Attack
72K views • 11 years ago
Rodolfo Díaz
A two-minute clip of Andreas Antonopoulos explaining why a 51% attack on Bitcoin would not destroy it and what such an attack would cost. It is a succinct take on mining security.
2:51Tea Consent
12.4M views • 11 years ago
Blue Seat Studios
A three-minute animated video that explains sexual consent through the analogy of offering someone a cup of tea. It is based on a blog post by Emmeline May.
3:01Why I Cook With Induction
383K views • 5 years ago
Jon Kung
Chef Jon Kung explains why he cooks almost exclusively on induction, citing fast heating, cleanliness and precise temperature control. He shows a rounded induction wok burner.