Smarter Every Day

The internet is full of junk. However, there are often patches of outstanding humor, good information, and healthy entertainment. Sometimes it's hard to find the stuff you like amid the junk.

I'm happy to recommend the YouTube Channel of an engineer from Alabama to you. Our family has been watching the videos for a few years and we've enjoyed them and learned something along the way. If you like nerdy things or are just interested in how stuff works, it's worth putting this guy on your radar.

I particularly appreciate the fact that he is curious about the world around him. This is a trait that I'd like to encourage in my kids.

I also like the fact that he takes the time to explain what he's figured out clearly and carefully. He does a good job in making some pretty complicated concepts become pretty clear.

In a TEDx talk from 2014, Destin Sandlin, who is the personality behind the videos, explains why he does what he does and how he arrives at his topics. Basically, he's just trying to look for the unexpected in life. Here's the video:

He's just a nerdy engineer who is curious about life and the world around him. It's an attitude that we could all benefit from. In the meanwhile, he puts a lot of work into these videos so that we can all benefit from that. 

Here are a few of my favorites.

Prince Rupert's Drop

The first video is an exploration of the phenomenon called the Prince Rupert's Drop, which is formed when molten glass is dropped into cold water. The result is a formation of glass that is nearly unbreakable, but fragile at the same time due to the configuration of internal stresses.

Turning Gravity Into Light

Here Destin goes to the U.K. to meet engineers who designed a gravity powered light. Not only do you get to see it work, but the video offers a simple explanation for why it works. In this case, the video both celebrated human ingenuity and lets you know about a humanitarian cause.

The Backwards Brain Bicycle

It seems pretty easy to ride a bike. But what if gears were installed to make the handlebars work backward? Still it seems that we could easily overcome that. However, Destin demonstrates that there is much more going on in our brains than we initially perceive. This video shows his attempts to learn to ride the backwards bike.

You can find out more about him at his website and also support him by buying shirts and donating through Patreon.