Tom ScottYour sports team wins. The confetti drops. And suddenly, the video quality falls apart. Why? Let's talk about interframe compression, bitrate, and unnecessary green screen effects.
Why Snow and Confetti Ruin YouTube Video QualityTom Scott2016-05-23 | Your sports team wins. The confetti drops. And suddenly, the video quality falls apart. Why? Let's talk about interframe compression, bitrate, and unnecessary green screen effects.
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Graphics by William Marler: wmad.co.uk Audio mix by Graham Haerther and Manuel Simon at Standard Studios: haerther.net
REFERENCES: [etymologies from OED and M-W] Sanchez, T. (2005). Constraints on structural borrowing in a multilingual contact situation. Doctoral dissertation, University of Pennsylvania. ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1004&context=ircs_reports John Hewson. 1993. A computer-generated dictionary of proto-Algonquian. Gatineau – Quebec : National Museums of Canada. protoalgonquian.atlas-ling.ca
I'm at tomscott.com on Twitter at twitter.com/tomscott on Facebook at facebook.com/tomscott and on Instagram as tomscottgoThis library has every book ever published.Tom Scott2023-09-11 | The British Library is one of the six legal deposit libraries for the UK — and the only one that doesn't pick and choose, or have to ask for copies. That's a lot of books to store, and the internet's only making it worse. ■ The BL: bl.uk ■ UK Web Archive: webarchive.org.uk
This video has a correction: it turns out the formal interview requirement for a reader pass has been dropped. However, you'll still need to get a pass, and you're not allowed to take books out of the reading rooms! You can see all corrections on the channel here: tomscott.com/corrections
Audio mix and script proofread by Graham Haerther and Manuel Simon at Standard Studios (who had to deal with the audio-nightmare that was the echoey green screen room I filmed in)
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Thanks to the museum staff for fact-checking and translation! Camera and local production: Otto Beck, HayotFilms hayotfilms.com
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DoP: Dave Mackie davemackie.co.uk Camera; Jared Zwarts Editor: Julian Domanski
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Camera: Martin Bäbler Editor: Julian Domanski Local production by Viven https://viven.ch Thanks to Kevin Tedore for the suggestion
Milk float clip licensed from Reuters via Pond5.
I'm at tomscott.com on Twitter at twitter.com/tomscott on Facebook at facebook.com/tomscott and on Instagram as tomscottgoStoring dead people at -196°CTom Scott2023-07-31 | In Switzerland, there's a new cryonics company: and they invited me to have a look around. I had questions: legal, practical, and ethical, and I want to be clear: this is not an endorsement. I just wasn't going to turn down that invitation. ■ Tomorrow Bio: https://www.tomorrow.bio/
Europe camera: Martin Bäbler Yellowstone camera: Erik Resel at Backcountry Media backcountrymedia.com
I'm at tomscott.com on Twitter at twitter.com/tomscott on Facebook at facebook.com/tomscott and on Instagram as tomscottgoGrizzly bear GoPro selfie: raw unedited footageTom Scott2023-07-24 | This footage is public domain, and the raw files are available at archive.org/details/grizzly-bear-selfie ■ An explanation, which is not public domain: youtube.com/watch?v=xq4ZkfojSis ■ Two videos taken by grizzly bears at the Grizzy & Wolf Discovery Center, West Yellowstone, Montana. The bears found a previously-lost GoPro Hero 11 in a protective case, in their pond, which had enough battery left to take a couple of brief shots, including a selfie.
As these video files were created entirely by bears, by accident, I believe them to be in the public domain. If that's not the case, then as the owner of the camera and potential copyright holder, I'm happy to license these files under CC0 and dedicate them to the public domain as far as legally possible.
However, if I don't upload them to YouTube first, then someone else will — and YouTube's copyright systems often get confused by public domain footage, so for my own safety, this is the digital equivalent of sending them to myself in a sealed, postmarked envelope.
YouTube's system the license for this listed as "Creative Commons - Attribution", because "Public Domain" is not an option. You are not required to attribute this footage, but if you do use these files, it'd be nice to make a donation to the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center. They've got bears to feed. grizzlydiscoveryctr.org
00:00 GX010742.MP4 01:28 GX010743.MP4If this survives for an hour, it passes the Bear Test.Tom Scott2023-07-17 | At the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center in West Yellowstone, Montana, you can get a product certified as bear-resistant... by actual bears. ■ The Center: grizzlydiscoveryctr.org ■ Certified bear-resistant products: igbconline.org/programs/bear-resistant-products
Camera by Erik Resel at Backcountry Media backcountrymedia.com Edited by Julian Domanski
This is not an advert; I received no payment other than access and had full editorial control.
Camera: Juan Gracia, Bream Velasquez Local production: @TwoBitDaVinci Graphics: Stijn Orlans
I'm at tomscott.com on Twitter at twitter.com/tomscott on Facebook at facebook.com/tomscott and on Instagram as tomscottgoHow can you legally fly a plane designed in 1910?Tom Scott2023-07-03 | Near Dayton, Ohio there's a lookalike of the Wright Brothers' Model B: a 1910 aircraft with no cockpit. It's a modern plane with a very old design, and I went for a ride. ■ The Museum: wright-b-flyer.org
Also referenced is "Winnetka: The history and significance of an educational experiment", by Washburne and Marland.
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Just to be clear, there are a few of these in other places in the world, too. There's at least a couple in North America, one in Germany, and one in Turkey! (Or at least, I think they still exist.) But the video of the Cicka got me to beautiful Slovenia, and the story that I found there was worth the trip.
Local producer: Jure Kreft at Fixmedia https://fixmedia.si Camera: Darko Sintič Audio mix: Manni Simon and Graham Haerther
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Edited by Julian Domanski
I'm at tomscott.com on Twitter at twitter.com/tomscott on Facebook at facebook.com/tomscott and on Instagram as tomscottgoNo-one knows how explosions work (yet)Tom Scott2023-06-05 | The first few moments of an explosion can't be simulated yet. But there's a team at the University of Sheffield working on it. ■ A paper about their work, including data from a similar test: mdpi.com/1424-8220/23/2/964 ■ More from them: sheffield.ac.uk/civil
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This is not an advert, Catesby Projects and the tunnel team had no editorial control and I wasn't paid. (In fact, I paid quite a bit for the fire safety team!)
Thank you to the many people who suggested this over the years, but in particular to David who was able to put me in touch with them directly!
I'm at tomscott.com on Twitter at twitter.com/tomscott on Facebook at facebook.com/tomscott and on Instagram as tomscottgoShake tables are way more complex than I thoughtTom Scott2023-05-22 | At the University of California San Diego, there's the Shake Table: an earthquake simulator with the heaviest payload capacity in the world. ■ More about the table: https://nheri.ucsd.edu/ and the building: http://nheritallwood.mines.edu/
With thanks to everyone at UCSD, including Shiling Pei and Ioana Patringenaru Camera: Mark Liu and David Baillot Editor: Michelle Martin twitter.com/mrsmmartin
This isn't an advert! the subject was suggested by the team at 1DaySooner, but that's it: no money changed hands and no editorial control was given away.
Two bonus facts I couldn't fit in the main video: 😷 There are some challenge trials which require stronger quarantine protocols or negative-pressure rooms, but they're much more rare (and much more difficult to film) 🧻 The tissues that volunteers sneeze into have to be put into a separate bag, so they can be weighed
For most of my research on this, I'm indebted to this French-language article from by Julien Meyrat: https://www.vepres.fr/vepres-presse-salles-propres-funiculaire/
I'm at tomscott.com on Twitter at twitter.com/tomscott on Facebook at facebook.com/tomscott and on Instagram as tomscottgoHow they saved the holes in Swiss cheeseTom Scott2023-05-01 | Agroscope is a Swiss government-backed agricultural research lab. It's got a lot of other resarch projects too, but it also keeps a backup of the Swiss cheese bacterial cultures... just in käse. ■ Agroscope: https://www.agroscope.admin.ch/agroscope/en/home.html
Camera: Tobias Buchmann Editor: Michelle Martin twitter.com/mrsmmartin Local production by Viven https://viven.ch Thanks to Rafael Ferrara and Remo Schmidt for the suggestion!
I'm at tomscott.com on Twitter at twitter.com/tomscott on Facebook at facebook.com/tomscott and on Instagram as tomscottgoThe military base where you drive over the runwayTom Scott2023-04-24 | Meiringen Air Base, in Switzerland, has an unusual feature: two public roads that go straight over the runway. How do they keep it safe? And, as a side note, just how loud is it when you're standing next to a fighter jet?
(Bonus things that didn't fit into the video: the aircraft aren't stored in hangars, but in caverns tunneled into the hillside! And if you want to get really close to the jets, there's a second, much narrower crossing over a taxiway to the caverns. They're not taking off at high speed there, though.)
Camera: Tobias Buchmann Editor: Julian Domanski Local production by Viven https://viven.ch
I'm at tomscott.com on Twitter at twitter.com/tomscott on Facebook at facebook.com/tomscott and on Instagram as tomscottgoIts the Matrix, but for locusts.Tom Scott2023-04-17 | At the Department of Collective Behaviour, part of the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, researchers are putting locusts into simulated worlds, both virtual and physical, in the hope that they can figure out how devastating swarms form and move. ■ About the Centre: https://www.exc.uni-konstanz.de/collective-behaviour/ https://www.ab.mpg.de/couzin
Edited by Michelle Martin twitter.com/mrsmmartin Thanks to David Walter for the suggestion
This is the most uncomfortable I've ever felt while filming, for a few reasons. First, of course, because of the locust swarm itself. Second, because animal research — even on creatures as simple and pestilent as locusts — always raises ethical questions. Now, the researchers are careful with the locusts, and I don't think many people could have a problem with this. Indeed, most of the world currently has zero ethical restrictions on insect experimentation — but it's still worth interrogating whether this is okay. And finally: because if we can do this so easily to less intelligent creatures... what's to stop something more intelligent coming along and doing the same to us?
Local producer: Yasuharu Matsuno at Mind Architect Camera and edit: Julian Domanski
(This video has an English dub and limited audio description available. These are experimental and use AI-generated voices, so may not be perfect, and I can't promise they'll stay long-term. On supported devices, change the language option to use them!)
Local producer: Yasuharu Matsuno at Mind Architect Camera: Julian Domanski Editor: Michelle Martin twitter.com/mrsmmartin
I'm a bit worried that this comes across as an advert. It's not — I reached out to the team at GIKEN, they had no editorial control, and no money changed hands. (Although they did, of course, go through all the paperwork required to let me climb into their giant robot parking garage.) They also asked me to include this: “Eco Cycle and Eco Park are brand names of GIKEN LTD. in Japan”, which seemed a reasonable enough request.
This video has an English dub available by changing the language option on supported devices.
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An accessible English dub of this video is available. Plus, as there was (unusually) room for it in this video, there's also a version with audio description. You can turn those on in your device's player settings. Both are experimental and use an AI-generated voice, so they're a long way from perfect; I can't guarantee they'll be available for future videos, or even for this one long-term! But hopefully it's a step in the right direction.
Local producer: Yasuharu Matsuno at Mind Architect Camera: Julian Domanski
I'm at tomscott.com on Twitter at twitter.com/tomscott on Facebook at facebook.com/tomscott and on Instagram as tomscottgoThings are changing at the worlds oldest hotelTom Scott2023-03-13 | Nishiyama Onsen Keiunkan is not just the world's oldest hotel, but the world's oldest still-operating business. Or at least, that's one way of looking at it. But things are changing here, just like they always have. ■ The hotel: keiunkan.co.jp
Local producer: Yasuharu Matsuno at Mind Architect Camera: Julian Domanski
An accessible English dub is available for anyone unable to read subtitles; you can turn it on in your device's player settings. It's experimental and using an AI-generated voice, so it's a long way from perfect, and I can't guarantee it'll be available for future videos, or even for this one long-term! But hopefully it's a step in the right direction.
I'm at tomscott.com on Twitter at twitter.com/tomscott on Facebook at facebook.com/tomscott and on Instagram as tomscottgoThis is “impossible”, but New Zealand is trying anyway.Tom Scott2023-02-27 | The common wisdom is that, once an invasive species is truly established, it can't be eradicated — but I talked to the team from Predator Free Wellington, who think they can do just that. ■ Predator Free Wellington: pfw.org.nz
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Script assistant: Laura Conlon No AI assistance was used, except where noted.
ALTERNATE TITLES: Crypto and the metaverse aren't the future. AI is. I just wanted to fix my email. I tried ChatGPT and had a minor existential crisis Everything is about to change ChatGPT is Napster, 24 years later. ChatGPT is 2023's Napster.
CHAPTERS 0:00 Intro 0:07 I just wanted to fix my email 2:39 Gmail's label system sucks 5:35 Wait, I can fix this with code 7:36 It can't be that good, right? 11:31 Everything is going to change
(Yes, that was a "Weird Al" Yankovic reference.)Google gave the Shweeb $1,000,000.Tom Scott2023-02-06 | At Velocity Valley in Rotorua, New Zealand, there's the Shweeb: a pedal-powered monorail. It's a fun ride: but in 2010, Google gave it a million dollars as a potential "future of transit". ▪ Thanks to Velocity Valley: velocityvalley.co.nz
Camera: Rakaea Te Rangi-Trotman Producer: Virginia Wickham at Kevin & Co kevinandco.co.nz
I'm at tomscott.com on Twitter at twitter.com/tomscott on Facebook at facebook.com/tomscott and on Instagram as tomscottgoWhy Australia bottles up its airTom Scott2023-01-30 | Every few months, when the wind's blowing in the right direction, a bottle of air is taken from Kennaook / Cape Grim, at the northern tip of Tasmania, and saved for science. Here's how and why. ▪ More about the Cape Grim Air Archive: https://research.csiro.au/acc/capabilities/cape-grim-air-archive/
There was no way to put this in the main video, but I have to point to some of the bleak history of Kennaook / Cape Grim, and the massacre that happened there: https://www.ourtasmania.com.au/northwest/history-cape-grim-mass.html
CSIRO and I acknowledge the Pennemuker people, traditional owners of Kennaook / Cape Grim, and their continuing connection to their culture; and pay our respects to their Elders past and present.
I'm at tomscott.com on Twitter at twitter.com/tomscott on Facebook at facebook.com/tomscott and on Instagram as tomscottgoI took a ride on a moving radio telescopeTom Scott2023-01-23 | The Parkes Radio Telescope, Murriyang, part of CSIRO, is one of the most famous telescopes in the world: and it's got a unique way of getting equipment up and down from the central section. ▪ More about the Telescope: https://www.csiro.au/en/about/facilities-collections/atnf/parkes-radio-telescope
I'm at tomscott.com on Twitter at twitter.com/tomscott on Facebook at facebook.com/tomscott and on Instagram as tomscottgoThese chickens save lives.Tom Scott2023-01-16 | "Sentinel chickens" are an early-warning system against some nasty mosquito-borne diseases. I visited a flock in New South Wales, Australia. ▪ More about NSW Health's surveillance: https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Infectious/mosquito-borne/Pages/surveillance.aspx
MVE was actually found in the area I filmed, just a couple of days later, although in that case it was direct mosquito detection, not via chickens. https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/news/Pages/20230111_00.aspx
I'm at tomscott.com on Twitter at twitter.com/tomscott on Facebook at facebook.com/tomscott and on Instagram as tomscottgoThis rollercoaster doesnt stop automaticallyTom Scott2023-01-09 | The Great Scenic Railway, at Luna Park in Melbourne, Australia, is the second oldest rollercoaster in the world: and it's one of only a few which still uses a manual brake. Here's how it works. ◾ Luna Park: https://lunapark.com.au/ @lunaparkmelbourne
Thanks to @JulianOShea on camera: visit his channel for lots of stories about Unknown Melbourne, including this great video about the bridge that trucks keep crashing into: youtube.com/watch?v=HR7NivKqfzo
I'm at tomscott.com on Twitter at twitter.com/tomscott on Facebook at facebook.com/tomscott and on Instagram as tomscottgoThe architecture graveyard is alive and wellTom Scott2023-01-02 | Poly Canyon, at Cal Poly, is an experimental architecture laboratory. And it's open to the public: http://www.caed.calpoly.edu/content/facilities/poly-canyon
Thanks to Jacob DeBoard for the suggestion
I'm at tomscott.com on Twitter at twitter.com/tomscott on Facebook at facebook.com/tomscott and on Instagram as tomscottgoDoing robotic surgery on a copy of myselfTom Scott2022-12-26 | Thanks to Lazarus 3D: lazarus3d.com ▪ Lazarus had no editorial control over this video, and I paid for my own MRI, but of course they helped set everything up and provided the print!
Edited by Michelle Martin twitter.com/mrsmmartin Thanks to Graeme Wiltrout for the suggestion
I'm at tomscott.com on Twitter at twitter.com/tomscott on Facebook at facebook.com/tomscott and on Instagram as tomscottgoI was wrong (and so was everyone)Tom Scott2022-12-19 | Did 18th century firefighters really let buildings burn? Sources below. ■ AD: 👨💻 NordVPN's best deal is here: nordvpn.com/tomscott - with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
I'm at tomscott.com on Twitter at twitter.com/tomscott on Facebook at facebook.com/tomscott and on Instagram as tomscottgoThe US government is giving out free waspsTom Scott2022-12-12 | The brown marmorated stink bug is an invasive pest. To help deal with its numbers, the Oregon Department of Agriculture is releasing its natural enemy: the tiny samurai wasp. There's a lot of work that goes into it. ▪ Thanks to all the team at the ODA, and to Chris Hedstrom for the macro footage.
I'm at tomscott.com on Twitter at twitter.com/tomscott on Facebook at facebook.com/tomscott and on Instagram as tomscottgoCheap, renewable, clean energy. Theres just one problem.Tom Scott2022-11-28 | The Bay of Fundy has cheap, clean power: if you can harness it. ■ AD: 👨💻 NordVPN's best deal is here: nordvpn.com/tomscott - with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
I'm at tomscott.com on Twitter at twitter.com/tomscott on Facebook at facebook.com/tomscott and on Instagram as tomscottgoWhy build a diving board twice the Olympic height?Tom Scott2022-11-21 | The Montreal Olympic Sports Centre has a 20m (65ft) diving board. That's twice the Olympic height. Why would anyone need that? ◾ The Centre: parcolympique.qc.ca/centresportif/en ◾ Thanks to @Lysanne_Richard
I'm at tomscott.com on Twitter at twitter.com/tomscott on Facebook at facebook.com/tomscott and on Instagram as tomscottgoThis river can be switched on and offTom Scott2022-11-14 | Surely water simulation can be done with computers now? Well, not quite. At the University of Sherbrooke, there's an artificial research river, and I asked them to start it up. ▪ The University's civil engineering department: usherbrooke.ca/gcivil
Edited by Michelle Martin twitter.com/mrsmmartin With thanks to Sherbrooke team members Basem (who also flew the drone!) and André (who also wrote the French subtitles!)
I'm at tomscott.com on Twitter at twitter.com/tomscott on Facebook at facebook.com/tomscott and on Instagram as tomscottgoThis electric ferry uses a very long extension cordTom Scott2022-11-07 | The Udbyhøj Cable Ferry across Randers Fjord in Denmark is electric-powered: but rather than batteries, it's plugged into mains electricity. Here's how it works. ▪ More about the ferry: https://www.randersfjord-faerger.dk/
Production manager: Sissel Vindskov Bødker at GotFat, https://gotfat.dk Camera: Peter Sørensen Runner: Victor Gade Editor: Michelle Martin twitter.com/mrsmmartin Audio mixer: Dan Pugsley at Cassini Sound cassinisound.com
I'm at tomscott.com on Twitter at twitter.com/tomscott on Facebook at facebook.com/tomscott and on Instagram as tomscottgoIs Polands tap water really protected by clams?Tom Scott2022-10-31 | There's a lot of articles written about how tap water in Warsaw is constantly tested by a small team of clams. It felt like a hoax to me: so I went to find out. ▪ Thanks to MPWiK Warsaw: https://www.mpwik.com.pl/
I'm at tomscott.com on Twitter at twitter.com/tomscott on Facebook at facebook.com/tomscott and on Instagram as tomscottgoThe government approves of this shark now.Tom Scott2022-10-24 | The Headington Shark, in Oxford, UK, is a local icon: but it was protest art, put up without permission. Now, the local government wants to protect it. ▪ The Shark House: headingtonshark.com