Hey, internet
'Sup, girl
This is Blake De Pastino, editor in chief of SciShow.
And I'm only here today because you, the internet, have asked for a "battle royale",
if you will
Are you ok?
Yeah, I'm fine
between the two powerhouses that make the SciShow Quiz Show go
So, there's youtube magnate, William Henry "Hank" Green. Do people really call you that?
Hank?
I don't know.
And then, uh, the man I'm replacing today and whose (?) let me borrow this tie,
SciShow's other host, Michael Aranda
We have a lot of those ties
Really? Can I keep this one? They're still available at dftba.com
/scishow mhm
uh
protip
When you're recording a video, don't just, like, grab your mike.
Oh, sorry.
Sorry, Stefan, I just have some little bits and crumbs.
[Michael] From my power bar.
As a special thank you to our patrons on Patreon, we selected two of you to win the prizes
that these two guys will earn for you today
Whoo d'are the people?
Uh, well
Henry, I mean "Hank"
You will be competing on behalf of Kevin Bealer
And, Aranda
Is it ok if I call you by your last name?
I just
Yes, acceptable
You are playing for Ry Prindle.
I couldn't say that.
Hey, Mike.
Ry Prindle
I am not a Mike.
Yeah, that doesn't seem to work.
I'm not a one-syllable kinda guy.
I'll start you both off with one thousand SchiShow bucks.
You're both embarassing me.
Mission accomplished.
And, unlike last time when I hosted this game
- I got a lot of guff for making up points as I went along -
so I'm gonna say in advance how much each question is worth
Okay.
If you get the question right you win those points, and if you get it wrong, you lose those points.
Okay
Just keep things interesting, okay?
Alright.
So what will our Patreon patrons win?
Here's Stefan to 'splain' it to ya.
Both Kevin and Ry, no matter how Hank and Michael do
will both recieve autographed cards from our contestants, with their final guesses and wages on them.
The winner will take home the elusive "I won Scishow quiz show" pin
and the lucky loser will win the ultra-rare "I lost SciShow quiz show" pin
But the winner will also take home some SciShow quiz show swag, from dftba.com
Back to you, Blake.
Wow, Stefan, that was great 'splainin.' Yeah.
I am super-splained
Okay, get ready to hit the light, which, by the way, does not work
this is purely...
No, it does. It turns on.
Oh, really?
It's just, you can't push it on this side, this side works.
Okay.
This is a very high-budget show. Yeah.
The first round is called "The sound of science".
Oooh
Soo-und of scii-ence. One hundred and ninety-four decibels.
That was the answer to that last question.
That actually was part of this quiz show before, but then we took it out.
Our first round is dedicated to the science of sound.
So maybe we should've called it that instead.
No, that's fine. Okay.
Even though the physics of sound seems really simple,
vibrations create waves that travel through a medium to our ears,
there's a lot more to explore there. For example, whips!
Aaah, yes.
Believe it or not, there have been many papers written and many theories offered about why
a whip makes a cracking sound when you whip it.
But in 2002, a pair of physicists from the University of Arizona
finally figured out the source of this sound.
Ooh.
So, for 250 american SciShow bucks,
Tivo(?)
Now there are five choices
Is it A...
(bloop) Yes...
...Michael Aranda. That's a real careful and...and delicate button push.
Mhm, very thoughtful.
[Michael] A
A, he says.
I'm sorry, that's incorrect.
That's rad.
(bloop)
Ah, do I have to answer... It seemed like the dumbest answer, so I was like "it must be that one"
Which one was that?
The one where the tip comes in contact with the middle.
Right, so I'm gonna, it can't be sonic boom because everybody said that forever
so, I feel like we knew that before, so it must be new information, so I'm gonna go with, uh,
the
C.
Which I can't really remember what it was.
Thet's the, C is the sound of the tip of the whip being snapped backwards.
Sure.
Your reasoning is very sound, but slightly flawed, because the answer is D.
C, that just seems so obvious.
Right, well, I guess we didn't know ~for sure~ until 2002.
Why is the answer D?
I don't remember, and I wrote this script.
So,
I only got this job because my eyes match the drapes.
To explain the answer, we have someone who is smarter than me, smart Blake.
Take it away, smart Blake.
Thanks, dumb Blake, I'll take it from here.
For a long time, the cracking sound was thought to be caused by the very tip of the whip breaking
the sound barrier,
creating a cushion of compressed air, that makes a noise, like a sonic boom.
But in 2002 the Arizona researchers found that by the time the whip cracks, the tip is acutally going about twice the speed of sound.
And it reaches that speed without making any noise.
After further investigation, they found that what makes the crack is the loop that forms in the length of the whip
when it snapped. The loop travels down the whip, toward the tip
so fast, that it eventually reaches 1234,8 km/h,
the speed of sound.
And that's when you hear the (ka-pow).
Thanks, smart Blake.
Handsome, though, isn't he?
Yeah, I like his glasses. Dashing.
Now, whether a tree makes a sound when it falls in the woods is a question for philosophers,
but a question for scientists might be:
What makes a sound that everyone can hear?
So, for another 250 SciShow bucks,
what was the source of the loudest sound ever registered?
Was it, A
Wait,
is this, like, recorded history, what's happening?
Ever registered, is what it says.
Registered.
Yeah.
...by a machine?
By anything. Yeah.
Uhm
Yyyyyyee-nnnnnnnn
Does a, does a, uh, an ancient philosoher recording events on his parchment, does that count as registering?
It couldn't be, no.
There are historical records of it. Okay.
Okay, okay. Right.
(bloop)
Well, that is definitely
B?
Correct! It is B, the erruption of the volcano Krakatua in 1883
pretty, pretty loud.
Now, there aren't any recordings of the erruption of Krakatua,
but historical records form all over the world registered its impact.
On August 26th, 1883, the volcano in what's now Indonesia, errupted with such force that its
sound was heard about 5000 km away,
on the island of Diego Garcia.
And although there were no earthquakes, or other shocks, the impact of the sound
shattered windows and broke down within 160 km.
Not only that, but even farther away, in cities such as Mumbai and Berlin,
scientists observed sudden spikes in barometric pressure.
Those were the peaks of the shockwaves coming from Krakatua.
And they were so strong, that they actually circled the Earth at least four times.
If you want to compare in terms of decibels, Krakatua's erruption was measured
using barometers at over 172 decibels form 160 km away.
By comparison, the Saturn V rocket, and a nuclear bomb have been measured at 220 to 250 decibels from just a few hundred meters away.
And the Pribram meteorite, it was only about nine and a half kg, and wasn't very loud.
Sorry.
Round two!
This round is about the science of color.
So, we're gonna move on to another one of our senses and talk about how things,
specifically animals, look.
And why they look the way they do. Hmm.
Let's start with a condition found in animals of all kinds, including humans, that affects their appearance.
For 500 SciShow bucks, what is the condition known as piebaldism?
Uuh.
(whispered) Pie-baldism. As what?
Piebaldism.
Wanna spell that for ya?
Sure. P I E B A L D I S M
Exactly the way I expected, okay. It's when your pie has no hair.
Yes.
(bloop) Yes.
I say, no body hair at all.
I am sorry, that is incorrect.
Uuugh, I'm bad at this game, I'm gonna go to the negatives, man.
(bloop) Yes? Uuh, the one where there's some hair loss...not all of it.
I don't know which That's not an option.
(enumerates options)
Oh, I thught B was, like, an excess of body hair loss.
Oh.
Okay, umm, sure, let's still go with B, why not?
Okay that's still wrong.
Hey, yey! It's gotta be C, right?
The answer is C, an intermittent lack of pigmentation.
I feel like I knew that, at some point in my life I knew that and then I forgot.
At no point in my life have I ever known that.
Oh, really?
Pretty sure this is brand-new information.
But we should pay attention to what smart Blake has to say.
Lots of non-human animals owe their distinctive looks, as well as their names,
to piebaldism, like the magpie, and the bald eagle.
In these and other animals, pibaldism manifests itself as patches of hair or feathers that lack pigmentation
while the rest of the animal has some coloration.
But the term also applies to humans, in whom piebaldism can create patches of unpigmented skin and hair.
One of the most common effects is a lack of coloration in a lock of hair at the front of the hairline.
This is known as a white forelock.
So that question tells you that this round is about animal colors.
Let's talk about another condition that affects coloration, erythrism.
It's a phenomenon that has been found in animals as diverse as salamanders, rabbits, leopards, and zebras.
But it was first discovered in the 1880s, in a species of katydid.
And the katydids appeared to be super-obvoius in the wild, because of their strange coloration.
So, for another 500 SciShow bucks:
(bloop) I've heard this. I've heard this... prefix before.
Yes, you're big on etymology, so maybe this would (?)
Yeah, but I don't know.
I'll say red.
Yes, correct! Eey!
I felt like that might've been right. Hm.
Or, just, I flipped a coin twice and got heads both times.
Yeah, we'll see.
Scientists aren't exactly sure what causes it, but erythrism seems to be the result of a recessive gene
that causes either too much of red pigment, or too little of other colors.
And while it's been found in vertebrates of many kinds, it seems to be most commonly observed in insects.
Both katydids and grasshoppers have been found rocking the pink.
But what's perplexing is how such a trait could be inheritable in animals in the wild.
Presumably, bugs that are born bright pink aren't going to last very long before they're picked off by predators.
But apparently, erythretic insects keep living long enough to pass this trait along.
Uh, I got points, I got points.
Hank got points, Hank got points.
It's the first time this game, that I got any points.
I really...what am I thinking of?
I don't know Hank, what are you thinking of? [Blake] Eythromysis...erythro...erythromycin?
That's the first thing that Erythromycin.
So I looked it up, and it's greek for red, erythro.
Finally, we have all heard of colors that don't appear in nature, but there are some color that vertebrates find
almost impossible to produce.
In fact, there's one color that only a single vertabrate on Earth has been found to contain a true pigment form.
(bloop)
Blue?
Yes, correct, blue! Oh, wow.
I'm glad I didn't buzz in. I feel like I should've just to get my point total up, but I wouldn't have said blue.
Cool.
Nature's fascinating, but then again, I don't know, we'll have to have him explain.
While there are mamny animals that can appear blue, like bluebirds and blue poison dart frogs,
they don't contain any actual blue pigment. Their feathers and skin have colorless structures, that scatter light,
creating a blue effect.
Much in the same way that blue eyes don't have any actual blue pigment in them.
So, for a long time, true blue pigment was completely unknown among vertebrates.
In 1995, a Japanese biologist discovered a new genus of fish that containd actual blue pigment cells.
The two species that contained this coloration were named the mandarin fish and the psychedelic fish.
And their newly discovered, blue-making cells were dubbed cyanophores.
Okay, are you ready, because it's time for round three!
And this is called "The bitter end". Oh, is that, the actual name of the...
It's the name of this round. Okay.
So I need to know about taste.
Very good! It actually is about gustation, or the sensation of taste.
Okay. Okay.
Based on what you think you know about gustation, place your wagers
Okay.
for how many SciShow bucks you want to bet.
On the results of this question.
(inhales) Don't choke, don't choke, don't choke.
I'm just trying to intimidate him.
(inhales) I'm so intimidated right now...uh. (scribbles violently)
That's a big number.
I would be scared if I were you. Umm.
Mhm...hm.
(hums)
Okay.
Stick figures don't count.
Hm
You have to write an actual number. Oh, okay.
Okay, ready? Yes!
Many of the most bitter substances found in nature have been used in alcoholic drinks.
Sure. In fact, if you've ever had any booze at all, you've probably tasted some of the bitterest plants on Earth.
And lived to tell about it.
Hm. So congratulations, so far.
Michael doesn't drink very much, actually. I, I don't drink.
So it hasn't happened. Oh, really? Yeah.
So this will all be new to you. Greeaat.
There's one substance that has been deemed to be the bitterest naturally-occuring substance in the world.
And you can find it as close as the nearest bar.
Okay. I'll take you there.
What is this substance?
I'm ready. You ready?
(tap)
Alright. I'm also ready.
Show the camera your cards.
Oh, God, I'm scared.
Duudes.
You're both incorrect.
Oooh, well, you win.
Uuh... Was it bitters?! I figured it wasn't bitters, cause that one seemed a little obvious.
I thought it was hops.
Gentian root, the main ingredient in bitters.
Well, I have had bitters, and it's very bitter.
Hmm. But how bitter is it?
The bitterest. Smart Blake will tell you.
The yellow gentian plant, known as gentiana lutea, is native to Europe, and all the plant is extremely bitter, not just the root.
Because the plant is rich in a compound known as amarogentin, a chemical that's 300 times as bitter as pure quinine.
And by one estimate, a mixture of 1 part amarogentin to 200000 parts water would be undrinkable.
So the dash of bitters you put in your Manhattan has gentian root in it, but a lot less than that.
By comparison, wormood, the main ingredient in absinthe, is probably the second bitterest substance,
thanks to a glucoside compound known as absinthin.
As for beer, historical research has shown that before hops was introduced as a brewing ingredient, gentian root was used
which would have made for some very bitter beer, indeed.
Thanks for the last time, you really pulled your weight in this one, smart Blake.
And, uh, I am happy to announce that the winner is...
Ry Prindle! Eey, Ry Prindle!
It's been a long and strange journey, but at the end, we emerged victorious.
We, Kevin, lost.
I'm on a losing streak.
Gotta stop placing your bets on me, SciShow folks.
Thanks for joinng us for SciShow quiz show, don't forget to go to youtube.com/scishow and subscribe.
Yess! Good job, that was like, his eighteenth try
We will be here all day.
Oh, this is what i really look like, by the way.