I don't know if this will find you Destin, but I hope it does. I'm a big fan of your content, please keep it up. I especially loved the eclipse episode, as I was able to put your informative tips to good use in Arkansas last April!

Onto "business"... An interesting thing happened to me over the course of the previous year as I continued to play a once popular daily brain teaser game called "Wordle". If you're not familiar with this game take a look at it. It's very simple and easy to grasp quickly. Once you get used to it you realize that if you maximize total number of letters used in your first 3 guesses... finding the word within the last 3 guesses is almost a certainty. For example if your first 3 guesses are; STAIR, HONEY, PLUMB, you've guessed every vowel and 9 fairly common consonants. Thus, getting to the answer comes fairly easy after that. However, there is a "hard mode", where once a letter is identified in the answer; if yellow that letter has to be used in all subsequent guesses, and if it's green, that letter has to be used in its correct spot ALWAYS in subsequent guesses. So, as you can imagine the game gets more challenging and I'd contend, more fun to play.

Here's where this gets interesting. I've been playing on this mode for about a year now and I've noticed something very intriguing. I've become an excellent Wordle player, duh you might say, you play all the time. But something else is happening. And I can't explain it. But I had a light bulb moment when I watched your video about learning to ride the bike backwards. Something similar is happening with my brain and how I guess at answers in Wordle on hard mode. It's like my intuition of subsequent guesses of words is better, or almost like I know a better path to find the correct word by guessing something completely counterintuitive of what you would think to guess next. Again, this is really hard to explain and you'd almost have to do it for yourself to see. So I challenge you to play Wordle on hard mode for a year and see where your brain starts taking you when you load up your next guess. I bet you find similar results and you'll almost freak yourself out at how quickly you'll lead yourself to the right answer. Cheers!

Hi, I'm looking for a tiny bit off footage that I could have sworn I saw on SmarterEveryDay or the second channel, likely either in the video visiting the film development lab or the KODAK series about film production. I quickly scrubbed through the videos but wasn't able to find it.

I'm pretty sure there was a shot in a darkroom where we got a glimpse into an area segmented off with thick black curtains that contained the computers controlling the process. Because they just use regular monitors that are way too bright for a darkroom, special care had to be taken to not ruin the film while being in the same room.

If you are able to find it within the next ~17 hours, I will include it in a presentation for uni where I talk about the idea of designing multitasking-enabled user interfaces not for the graphical but acoustic domain, where this would be excellent to convey my point. But at this point I'm considering whether I was just hallucinating xD

I have noticed that Destin did not have a consistent intro yet, so I took out my old friend called blender and cooked for a few days...

First comes my intro and then the original (I have postet this a few months ago on twitter but I since tweaked it a little bit) Any opinions? https://youtu.be/s2PMvuP3eZQ?si=0fkyOQMQfmh5sgZd

Kodak increases film production (Cormmercial&Consumer)

Hopefully Destin where there to make some great videos about the upgrade.
And just might Destin/SED has a small part in the optick in film usage with consumers.

Hey there, thanks for putting out such awesome content. I was wondering, if you made a cross section of the Prince Rupert drop after the point at which it leaves the ”head”, will the apex still have the same level of structural integrity? Essentially what I’m asking is if we separate the head from the tail, what is the effect on structural integrity of the head? Sorry to be redundant. I think I need coffee.

I really love motorcycle sidecars. Riding them is intensely exciting the first you mess up, since they're both backwards and forwards controls, and you haven't acclimated to that yet:

With a regular dual-track vehicle [car, tractor, motorcycle with sidecar], you turn the wheels the way you want it to turn. So, a sidecar, in regular usage, is steered the same way you steer a car. Turn left to go left, right to go right.

A regular single-track vehicle [bicycle, motorcycle] is steered using what's called "counter-steering"; you initiate a turn by turning the handlebars the opposite way you want to go. The vehicle leans the opposite way [ie, into the desired turn], and then you turn the handlebars to go where you really want to go. Most people learn this on a bicycle intuitively, or on a motorcycle it's explicitly taught in a class.

But here's what happens the first time you mess up with a sidecar: You're going a little too fast, and as you make a right turn, the centrifugal force lifts the sidecar off the ground. The rig is now a single track vehicle. And, your handlebars are turned to the right. So the apparatus now wants to turn left, by leaning into the turn. Which it does. The sidecar wheel gets further off the ground.

But of course, once it started turning left and unbalancing too far, you automatically tried to correct it; you know how to control a motorcycle, and instinctively turned the handlebars to the left. Now the sidecar wheel slams back into the ground; it's a dual-track vehicle again, and now you're steering to the left. So you turn to the right, because that's where you want to go. You're still going too fast, turning right, so he sidecar wheel comes off the ground, and the whole thing continues.

The totality of this is that you're going too fast, trying to turn right, and instead you careen in a dead straight line into the opposite lane, with no steering action changing your direction of travel. It's terrifying.

[In case you're wondering, the actual answer is to put on the brakes. Of course, that goes against every motorcycling instinct].

Hello everybody, at the beginning of the following video Destin talks about a video he made about a training exercise of the US Coast Guard. But I was unable to find that video could maybe some of you help me out?
Thank you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3Dl9Ir6Dhw

I just read this fascinating article on magnetic fields in space but I think what would be more fun is to see Destin's take on this topic

https://www.livescience.com/space/where-would-a-compass-point-in-outer-space

Interested u/mrpennywhistle ?

Hey folks!

Could anybody tell me what's the song that's played on the background of the Kilimanjaro video at around the 11:00 mark (link)?

I've checked all the songs of "A Shell In the Pit" in both the Smarter Every Day albums and couldn't find it. I've also tried Shazaming it several times, but had no luck as well

Thanks!

I can't find this video perhaps I have the wrong keywords. But Destin uses a bunch of people on a football field to simulate how a neuron identifies a written number. Appreciate the help.

Honest question…what happened to the rest of the coast guard series? Seems like it disappeared out of nowhere.

I work at a department and was just thinking a fire department episode could be awesome! Just some of the ideas:

• Fluid dynamics with our pumps, and head pressures for long wildland hose lines

• Fire dynamics with modern fuel loads

• Technology that we use inside burning structures, FLIR cameras, some departments using augmented reality masks

• Lithium ion battery fires

• weather and the impact it has on wildfires

• The medical side with cardiac monitors, capnography, even simple things like IVs and the safety mechanisms in them now

• City water systems, and the contrast of rural water systems

• Radio communications

• etc

I know my department loves doing these types of events, so let me know if it’s something you think would be enjoyable.

I recently became curious to know if anyone had any particular favorite soundtracks from Destin's main YouTube channel videos. I recently watched his video on hiking up Kilimanjaro, and I always seem to feel captivated whenever I hear Chupacabra playing in the background. It started during the segment where they were on the north side of the mountain (timestamp 7:31). I didn't actually know that was the soundtrack at the time of watching the video, but I heard it often enough at this point that I wanted to know what is was. So, I skimmed through the Bandcamp page to find the title.

Hello everyone and Destin!

my name is Alex and I am a junior Mechanical Engineering student from South Korea currently studying at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute! I just wanted to share the news that this year is the 200th birthday of the oldest technological school in the English-speaking world and in the western hemisphere!

RPI was established in 1824, and it would be a great honor if you are able to share some of the stories of great alumnus and the school that I love. As a fan of your engineering videos, I figured it would be worth sharing the place where this crazy discipline of engineering started.

It's kinda crazy that I am just straight promoting my school lol, but I think it's fitting for us as people who have common passion for engineering. We are celebrating with Bicentennial events and looking back on great achievements of our alumni! Hope you get this message and I don't know what I can offer to you as a student but looking forward to hearing from you!

Love your videos and keep up the great work!

I understand that if it sinks that means it is still too dense. What I am wondering is what is the density of this spacecraft? u/spacex went through the trouble of recovering a portion of the booster from Startship4 - would deployable air bladders have worked?

Hi Guys!

Is there a game created in Unirty or Unreal Engine that can simulate some basic Thermodynamics?

I Built The First LAMINAR FLOW ROCKET ENGINE

....a float!

Destin,

I was watching a video on Youtube yesterday in which an Australian takes stuff apart and melts down the metal to make into treasure for his vault (bigstackD Casting - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCIBTwasw2g)

and thanks to one of my favourite videos of yours with your dad talking and learning about carburetors i was able to see a part being dismantled and I recognised that it was part of the carburetor (the float etc.).

Might not seem like much but for me that was exciting to be able to say - I know what that is and I know what it does and how it works

So - thank you, keep doing what you're doing

Im sure im not the only here wishing we could make/buy the tix clock destin has. i just had a thought while watching a tech video. would it be possible to use this clock and like idk program it or make a setting in the app to make it function as a tix clock. i feel like it should work but idk how i feel about spending 120 - 180 to try it out. buuuuuut, in the off chance i can, can i?

link to the clock

Let me begin by saying that there are possible interpretations to the classic question, but only one interpretation makes sense: The treadmill always matches the speed of the wheels.

Given this fact, very plainly worded in the question, here’s why the plane cannot take off:

Setup:

• The treadmill matches the wheel speed at all times.
• The plane's engines are trying to move the plane forward, generating thrust relative to the air.

If the treadmill is designed to adjust its speed to always exactly match the speed of the plane’s wheels, then:

• When the engines generate thrust, the plane tries to move forward.
• The wheels, which are free-rolling, would normally spin faster as the plane moves forward.
• However, if the treadmill continually matches the wheel speed, the treadmill would continuously adjust its speed to match the spinning of the wheels.

What Does This Mean for the Plane's Motion?

1. Initially, as the plane’s engines produce thrust, the plane starts to move forward.
2. As the plane moves, the wheels begin to spin. But since the treadmill constantly matches their speed, it accelerates exactly to match the wheel rotation. 3. The treadmill now counteracts the increase in wheel speed by speeding up. This means that every time the wheels try to spin faster because of the plane’s forward motion, the treadmill increases its speed to match the wheel speed, forcing the wheels to stay stationary relative to the ground. (Now yes, this means that the treadmill and the wheels will very quickly reach an infinite speed. But this is what must happen if the question is read plainly.)

Realisation:

• If the treadmill perfectly matches the wheel speed, the wheels would be prevented from ever spinning faster than the treadmill.
• The wheels (and plane) would remain stationary relative to the ground, as the treadmill constantly cancels out any forward motion the wheels would otherwise have. In this scenario, the plane remains stationary relative to the air.

What Does This Mean for Takeoff? Since the plane remains stationary relative to the air:

• No air moves over the wings, so the plane cannot generate lift.
• Without lift, the plane cannot take off.

Amazing how well it works! https://youtu.be/KLEH8RJsYgI?si=SxjuMylYKl4nrJqZ

Hey Destin,

First off I want to tell you thank you for everything you do.

Please forgive the mildly blue nature of this question but as I'm sure you've learned over the years you're not able to predict when these questions strike your brain.

I was in the restroom at work enjoying a slightly overdue number 1 and noticed that their was a bright colored I'm guessing vinyl grid in the urinal, it was upside down and under neither it was covered in little spikes and points which were doing the job of breaking the stream up and (I'm assuming) minimizing splashback. A thought occurred. Is there an ideal shape or profile that a surface should have if the goal is to disrupt or breakup the laminar flow of a liquid? Is this a question that's being or has been researched? Does the viscosity or other characteristics of the liquid change the answer to this question? If the goal is to reduce splashback, what shape should a surface have to best achieve that end.

Anyhow I thought it would be a fun (and funny?) question for you to explore...maybe...

Keep up the good work friend, my daughter's and I love your channel.

Edit: autocorrected to destiny and BOY is my face red.

I was watching the Integza video from a couple years ago where he makes a Transparent Combustion Engine (tomatos were harmed in the making of that video) and he referenced Destin's video about the transparent carburetor (that's a hard one to spell) which I somehow missed. I popped over to Google to search for it and midway through typing it in Google suggested "Smarter Every Day Controversy." You can imagine what thoughts went through my head in today's climate. Honestly my heart sank a little bit.

So I ran with it and searched it (I felt like I had to; my daughters watch the videos with me) and what it brought me to was a thread on /r/atheism from 4 years ago titled: Discussion- “Smarter Everyday” YouTube star Destin Sandlin is now one of the internet’s top self-proclaimed adherents of science, but is also an unapologetic bible-believing christian who gives bible verses with each episode.

What amused me most about this whole "controversy" is that the top comment of the post is Destin himself writing one of the most respectful and articulate responses to that person's concerns which could have been written by uber-diplomat/statesmen Benjamin Franklin himself.

That's it, that's the controversy. In one of the most virulent, angry and confrontational subs on Reddit, he engaged that person and their concerns AND remained unapologetic. Mostly because he had nothing to apologize for. While I can't speak for the OP I get the feeling he left the interaction feeling a lot less cynical about Destin's and Smarter Every Day's motives.

I went from not caring Destin was a Christian to...well, not caring he was a Christian even more. Less. You know what I mean. Good science and good education are good. I can handle the bible verses I think.

This guy, can't even be controversial in his own damn controversy!