We all know what a MacGuffin is, even if we know that we know. A MacGuffin is basically the thing in a movie that all the characters care about, but the audience does not care about. Pretty much all spy movies and heist movies use a MacGuffin, as do most superhero movies. One of the most famous MacGuffins is the briefcase in Pulp Fiction. This video examines what makes those MacGuffins go wrong and what makes them go right.

In early talking films, vocal actors kept their voices the same from movie to movie. But later, actors started shifting their voices to fit more into roles. John Wayne is an excellent example of such early vocal control, and that’s where this video starts. We learn how John Wayne uses his voice to control a scene and, by contrast, how Daniel Day-Lewis used his voice to control scenes in the movie “There Will Be Blood.”

We all have our dark moments. Unfortunately, sometimes those moments get very dark. At those times, we start to hate existence itself. We hate our lives, the fact that we’re alive ,and sometimes we even hate that others are alive. These feelings, though scary, are normal and everyone feels them. In this video, Jordan Peterson explains the antidote to those feelings. In a word, truth. We need to find the role that we play in our own darkness, and from there we can work to get out of it.

Vertical takeoff planes are basically science-fiction, except they’re real. This video describes the early history of vertical takeoff attempts, which mostly involved helicopter-like rotors. Besides the Osprey (which itself is a technological marvel), none of those planes worked. But the Harrier Jump Jet is a different animal entirely. Real Engineering explains how the Harrier solved the myriad problems of vertical takeoff jets. You’ll also learn the limits of the Harrier Jump Jet compared to other kinds of fighters. 

Next time you’re at the gym, take a look at the biggest guy there. If it looks like his muscles are impossible big, then you’re probably right––they might be impossibly large. That person might be on steroids––it’s a more common thing than you think. Take a look at this fascinating look into the lives of steroid users. They describe how their habit has changed their bodies, but also how it has hurt them both physically and emotionally. 

Sometimes it feels like working in the business world is like trying to survive in the jungle. This video examines the Norwegian workplace as though it were a real jungle. There’s something off putting about hearing an office environment described as though it were the wild, with bosses as alphas and workers as just part of the pack. The politics, the backbiting, all of it is just like trying to make it in the wilderness. 

Every small business needs a small business video. And every one of those videos exactly like this. It starts with generic royalty free music––fast paced to make the video seem more interesting. Pithy proclamations about how important customers are open the video. Insert a bunch of left-third interview shots, some slider shots, silly b-roll of meetings. Make sure the interview subjects use as much jargon as possible––seriously, make every sentence at least 50% jargon. This video has it all. 

In 1918, the same year that the War to End All Wars ended, there was a flu outbreak that proved to be the deadliest in history. As this year’s flu outbreak shapes up to be among the worst in the last decade, it’s worth looking back to see what made the 1918 outbreak so bad. In short, the virus in 1918 underwent a mutation that made it harder for people to fight off than the normal flu.

Quick! Name an animal that’s blue––even a little bit blue. How many did you come up with? Probably butterflies, because they’re in the image to this video. Maybe you got bluejays, and maybe even peacocks. There are some blue insects, too. So blue animals are pretty rare, which is interesting in itself. But try this on for size: only one species of butterfly has blue pigment. In every other blue critter, the blue color comes from physical structures! So for butterflies, for example, the physical structure of the wing filters out all light except blue. Same with peacock feathers. 

If you were put on the spot and asked to name one female pilot, odds are good that you would name Amelia Earhart. She’s often listed as among the most inspiring and famous women of all time. But here’s the thing: she wasn’t the best female pilot of her day. In fact, loads of women outflew her in a variety of categories. So why is Amelia Earhart so famous, even to this day? Easy: it was engineering that way.

Does it ever seem like your dog watches TV with you? You’re not wrong––it probably does. But that may have lead you to wonder what your dog sees when it watches the ol’ boob tube with you. Well, for one thing your doggo doesn’t see the same colors as you. It’s not that the dog sees black and white (that’s a myth), but rather shades of yellows and blues. Moreover, while our eyes aren’t fast enough to keep up with our screen’s refresh rate. But for the dog? Not so much. To your dog, a TV looks more like a flip book or moving under a strobe light.

Most of us know roughly what harmony means…though some of us may be at the level of kids and cannot even articulate what harmony is in the roughest of terms. But could you explain harmony to a child? Or how about a relatively educated adult? That takes real expertise. So listen to musician Jacob Collier explain harmony to kids, grownups, and––wait for it––jazz legend Herbie Hancock. Imagine how hard it must be to explain music theory to a music legend!