Sabine Hossenfelder is one of my favourite theoretical physicists, I like this description of time and the speed of light:

Time can stop and even go backwards if your job sucks enough!: Jokes aside thats a very cool video and I do like how she explains stuff.

Came across a blog post discussing how increasingly things that aren't considered "fine art" don't get credited properly if at all. They explain that "non fine art" is somehow unworthy of being credited at all because its lesser and how this wasn't nearly as much of a problem in previous decades. It's really weird because anything else would get you hunted downw to the edge of the universe for plariagrim, IP infringement or theft. But somehow its ok if the thing being immitated or whatver isn't fancy enough. Kind of rude that. Anyway that reminded me of this article about Roy Lichtenstein vs Andy Warhol which amused me because I like both artists

For a while, I used to watch The Infographics Show on social media, until they started to go into SCP conspiracy theories.

But for the most part, they would talk about biographies of fascinating people, world culture, science, world history that my high school teacher was usually neglecting to tell us (nothing untoward, just not enough time to cover it and current events), social experiments with a fellow employee and theoretical explanations for the BIG "what ifs?" that life is giving us when we think about it.

It is worth watching otherwise.

Could you give us a link as per the first post please, @Pandaqueen ?

Here's the link.

https://youtube.com/@theinfographic...TeuLtvnghRwbBNH

Thanks @Pandaqueen which one of these videos do you particularly like?

I usually go for the historical oddities like war heroes who lost digits and limbs and lived to tell the tale, influential biographies like the life story of Bill Gates (particularly finding out he was practically "runt of the litter" sized when he was in school.) and of course, the social experiments of a willing employee.

I thought this was interesting!

Secret World of Burgers was on last night and I thought why not? It was about the history of the Burger industry (and fastfood) in the UK.

1. Wimpy was the OG Burger chain in the UK (not sure how I feel about the name though?) and they were already going strong in the 60s but their concept is very different to what we're familiar with today. They had table service rather than counter service, and you real had real tableware and cutlery. One of the directors or some important guy that worked for them was also interviewed and he made his own buger like the sauce is what makes it magic.

2. McDonlads opened up its first branch in the UK around 1974 and struggled at first because counter service wasn't a very popular concept yet and neither was having multiple different queues
The interviewed that first manager to ask him about his experience and it was interesting to see what it was like. The world was a very different place then so the challenges aren't necessarily the same ones as today (obviously but it was nice to hear what they were). Various highs and lows were talked about and sometimes it really is just chance that is the reason why some things are still here today.

3. Burger King for instace didn't appear till the 80s, which was much later to the game than expected. I really thought BK and McD showed up in the UK around the same time but clearly not. Anyway, BK stuggled hard. But then they had a moment of genius: acquire Wimpy

4. Other things were covered too but the focus if I remember correctly was on these companies mostly. [/list]Basically the OG was Wimpy (unfortunate name really) which started up in the 60s(?) and was casual but also very different to how burger joints are in that it was table service and you had real plates and knives and stuff. Then it wasn't till like 1974 when the first McDonalds opened up and they interviewed the US manager that opened the first UK branch (and also old interviews).

Right now, I only keep up to date on the outside world via teletext (I don't know if anyone knows what that is, but it's news notices that you can read on the TV).
A few days ago I read that scientists have found viruses on the toothbrush that eat bacteria (!!!). I feel strangely fascinated and just wanted to tell someone

https://www.sciencealert.com/absolu...-and-showerhead

Wow, that's really interesting, I remember Wimpy but thought Burger King and McD's had arrived at around the same time. I remember all those motorway services too, Happy Eater and Little Chef! Would like to have seen the cutlery era!


Firstly, I'm really pleased that Teletext is still a thing! I think it's pretty much gone in the UK, at least from the terrestrial channels.
That's an interesting article, it reminds me of the study they did on belly button bacteria, and found unknown bacteria as well as bacteria previously found in soil.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/...nce-health-dunn
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/a...al.pone.0047712
Amazing!

My interesting video today is one of special interest to me, the genetic makeup of the population of England. Throughout its history, this little land has been invaded, infiltrated, conquered and adopted, to make it the wonderful and diverse melting pot that it is today. On the streets of your average English town you can see foods and clothes for sale from Asia, Africa, the Carribean, Europe and the Americas. Our 'English' first names are a combination of old Celt, French, Saxon and a million other places. And you can hear many different languages being spoken here, Urdu and Polish perhaps the most common (my local council even prints advice leaflets in different languages). England's genetic pool has been diversely affected many times throughout its history, showing that no matter where you come from in the world, you're probably just like an English man!

On teletext about a week ago: "over 700 new species found in the rainforest". My jaw dropped. Nowadays, I only hear about animals dying out, but never that they "find" new ones...

Between 2013-2024, 742 new species have been found, not previously known to science.
"The species include plants (430 species), invertebrates (140), fish (96), amphibians (22), reptiles (42), birds (2) and mammals (10). Country-wise, 238 of the species were found in Cameroon. Others were found in the Central African Republic (25), Democratic Republic of Congo (259), Equatorial Guinea (59), Gabon (262) and Republic of Congo (65)."

https://www.downtoearth.org.in/afri...congo-basin-wwf

I've been following a few Youtube channels that focus on reptiles and such (I have no idea why - I don't think I'd ever get one, and for the most part I find them icky/scary, but as long as they're on-screen they can be kinda cute). Was watching one about whether a T-Rex would be a good pet (Answer is probably not), and it referenced this one - it's hilarious XD

Are you following/watching Dr. Plants also? (https://www.youtube.com/@TheDrPlants/videos)
If not, I recommend

(I watch NileRed sometimes, it's a guy who does chemistry. I'm not really into chemistry, but he can be pretty funny. (https://www.youtube.com/@NileRed/videos))

^ Not heard of it before, but looks interesting. I've kept tabs on Snake Discovery, though. It's from there I learned snakes (and other reptiles) have a cute side.

And I thought I understood the single photon double slit experiment!

I have always been interested in watching National Geographic shows that reveal the secrets of ancient civilizations. Drain the Ocean is one of the most impressive shows for me, not only because it presents the world of sunken civilizations but also because I am fascinated by the technologies that facilitate the exploration of the world beneath the global ocean.
I want to share with you a mega episode about The Lost Worlds of the Mediterranean and more...

Aww @vesko_sims3 I can't view that one in my country!

I've been using these to calm my nerves, though sometimes it backfires when it makes me even madder about the way things are and the people in charge (don't worry, I'm not about to rant)

Grady Hillhouse is a civil engineer in Texas. He explains the science behind all kinds of infrastructure so kindly and cheerfully I could listen to him all day (and I think I have at least once). He even does some pieces on ameliorating damage caused by earlier inbfrastructure mistakes and policy failures (he did a really deep dive on dams and fish for example). https://www.youtube.com/@PracticalEngineeringChannel


Joey (or possibly Tony? he's used both names over the years) Santore is a self-taught botanist who highlights interesting floristic communities and the geology, climate, and fauna associated with them. He's very opinionated & foulmouthed, but he really knows his stuff and has made a living for himself promoting native plants and conservation. Also he used to be a railroader out of Oakland, Caklifornia, like my daddy was when I was little, so he seems very familiar to me! (he also lives in Texas now. I have no connection to Texas, this is coincidental) https://www.youtube.com/@CrimePaysButBotanyDoesnt

Nick Zentner is a geology professor in Central Washington who started doing videotaped lectures for the townsfolk & expanded from there during lockdown. His work focuses on the formation of the Pacific Northwest, but you can't talk about that without talking about the supercontinents of old, which then includes the whole Pacific Ocean including Australia, and every single supercontinent ever. https://www.youtube.com/@GeologyNick

I have a bunch of others but three at a time is probably good? I have some more geologists, a climatologist, a shark scientist, and quite a few more.

I'm sorry to hear that! Maybe if you try to use some kind of VPN or browser with built-in VPN to fool YouTube you're living in another country (I'm not sure if it will work because I never use VPN before).

Thank you for those recommendations @lucy kemnitzer - will be browsing those over the next few weeks!


Thanks, yes- I'm watching it now using Tor!

Here's yet another episode from National Geographic's Drain The Ocean series - Legend of Atlantis. I can't wait to watch it!

Another handful of channels I go to for viewing (mostly listening to be honest):

Chem Thug, an organic chemist who explains common materials (&debunks tiktok panics): https://www.youtube.com/@ChemThug

Patrick Kelly does social history of medicine. His day job is I think middle school science teacher. https://www.youtube.com/@PatKellyTeaches

Dr. Smiti Nathan is an archaeologist whoi takes on interesting every-day topics like socks and menstruation: https://www.youtube.com/@smitinathan