Because of the internet and all the information constantly filtering through to us, we kinda
start to feel like we must know everything by now.
But actually, there are still so many things we don’t know about the world - even the
things that are right in front of our eyes might not be what they appear.
Be prepared to feel like your whole life is a lie, because I’m about to reveal some
things that aren't exactly how they seem.
Let’s get it on!
For as long as we can remember, people have been building their houses with bricks.
That’s because bricks are robust and stable - you would never imagine, looking at something
as sturdy as a brick wall, that it’s not actually a brick wall at all.
These days, there are plenty of companies that let you make anything look like a good
old brick wall.
You can build your wall out of any flimsy material you want, then trick everyone into
thinking it’s strong with a brick effect plastered onto it.
Don’t tell the Big Bad Wolf.
Anyone who’s ever lived in a dry area will tell you for a fact that grass isn’t always
green.
It’s actually quite difficult to get it green in a lot of places, or during the summer.
So how do those idyllic, white picket fence neighbourhoods keep their lawn looking like
a chocolate box painting?
Surprisingly, the clue is in the question.
I never would’ve guessed, but people are painting their grass green, like the Queen
of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland, but instead of red roses, it’s a boring old lawn.
You wouldn’t want to have a picnic on it though, would you?
Lumberjacks are iconic.
We all know that if you need a tree chopped down, that’s who you need.
But what if the trees aren’t being chopped down, just trimmed?
I’m not talking little garden trees here, I mean towering trees usually reserved for
lumberjacks.
It turns out, you call in a helicopter with a giant hedge trimmer.
Seriously, it’s about the last thing I expected, but there it is - the most terrifying equipment
on earth, swinging from a helicopter.
You really don’t want to be standing in the wrong place when that thing comes past.
We would all love gorgeous stone driveways, but that’s a luxury only rich people get
to even glance at… or at least, it used to be.
If your friend with an average job suddenly gets a sleek cobblestone drive or slate footpath
put in, you might want to get down on your hands and knees and have a closer look - as
we’re learning, not everything is as it appears, and sometimes rocks are roll-on in
this modern world.
Unlike expensive stone, these are just concrete and a patterned roller or stamp.
Now how will we know which neighbourhoods are the wealthy ones?
We’ve all seen pizzas being made, at least in a movie.
It’s all dough twirling, topping throwing romantic Italian deliciousness.
Honestly, I’m a little sad I’m about to ruin such a wonderful image, but I had to
watch this and so do you.
Manufacturers have changed up the process a bit, to keep up with our pizza demanding
love of pizza.
I guess it shouldn’t have surprised me so much, there’s a machine for everything these
days, but this definitely isn’t what I pictured.
Advertising slots on TV and online are absolutely dominated by commercials for hair products,
and every single one features that recognisably glossy, sleek, swishy hair of everyone’s
dreams.
But no matter how many of those products you try out, your hair has never looked like that,
has it?
That’s because you’re missing a crucial element: a guy in a green suit with a metal
hoop.
That’s right, it’s all fancy lighting, green screens, and special effects.
It somehow doesn’t seem as good when you realise you’d need that guy in a green suit
following you down the street to have hair like those women.
Alright let’s take a break from all this - it’s daunting learning that your whole
life is a lie and you’re probably feeling a little dizzy by now.
We can just look at these cute owl videos for a while and not worry about anything.
They’re so cute, with their big eyes, and their fluffy feathers, and their gorgeous
long legs… wait, what?
So it turns out, owls have legs hiding under all that chubby fluff, and they can pull them
out whenever they want to go for a run.
So owls aren’t even what you thought, but on the bright side, this is pretty cute.
Have you ever had one of those moments where you suddenly realise you’ve been doing a
simple thing the wrong way your entire life?
You know how stupid it makes you feel?
Well I apologize, but it’s about to happen again.
It turns out the humble potato peeler has a much better design than any of us would’ve
imagined.
You’re meant to peel up and down, not one way like literally everyone on earth.
Why has nobody ever told us this before?
Here’s something to think about: if it’s raining in some places and not raining in
others, there must be one place where the rain ends, right?
Or where it begins.
What I mean is, there has to be an edge somewhere, right?
Don’t worry, I’m not going to leave you with that - it’s the kind of question that
can keep you up at night.
Instead I’ll just tell you: there definitely is an edge, and if you’re lucky enough to
be in exactly the right spot, and there aren’t any strong winds or other things to make the
line all fuzzy, then you actually can see the start or end of a rainstorm.
And it’s pretty spectacular.
On even more rare occasions, it looks like you can see the edge of a hailstorm too.
Look at it all!
That guy must feel pretty lucky to be standing on that side.
You never have more time to think about pointless things than you do while you’re sitting
on the toilet.
But I’m willing to bet you never stopped to think about the one thing that was right
in front of you: how are toilet rolls made?
We all just presume they’re born the way they look, but no.
In fact, they look more like rolls of fabric to start with.
Then, the huge roll is given to this guy, who cuts them down to size.
Yeah, I’m going to guess he does all of them, just because I’ve never seen anyone
else do it.
We’ve seen so many fast food commercials where burger toppings fall from the sky and
land in a perfect delicious tower.
It’s so common that we don’t even question why people ever thought to do that in the
first place.
But I’m not here to talk about the “why,” even though it is a weird thing to do.
I’m here to show you the “how” - because the reality definitely isn’t what you end
up seeing.
The process that photographers have to go through to get that shot actually looks more
like a sci-fi film, with so many layers and gadgets that it almost starts to become overwhelming
to watch.
It can be easy to forget, but everything we use in our everyday life has been designed
by someone.
That means an actual human sat down and thought about the best way to make that thing.
It also means that it’s possible we might have missed something.
Some designs are definitely better than others, but every now and again, the designer had
something in mind that, for some reason, nobody else noticed.
The perfect example?
Chinese take-out.
Those paper boxes you’re always scooping your noodles out of?
They unfold into plates.
You’re welcome.
Even if you’ve never used a drill, you definitely know what it’s for, even if that’s just
because of all the DIY failures that someone filmed and put online.
But when we think we know what something’s for, we stop wondering what it could be used
for.
Not this guy.
He wondered, and he came up with something brilliant.
The humble drill will cut down your apple peeling time to mere seconds.
Plus, it’ll make you feel cool too.
If there’s one great certainty in life it’s that everyone loves french fries.
Even people who say they don’t like fatty food, will steal most of yours off your plate
before you even notice if you give them half the chance.
There are plenty of ways to approach making them, but you’ll never imagine this person’s
seriously effective french fry cutting method.
That’s a blade mounted on a block of wood.
Sure it may seem dangerous, but it also makes me think that I’m definitely not getting
everything I could be getting out of life.
Road markings are one of those things that are everywhere, so nobody really notices them
unless they’re the ones driving.
You don’t even need to see how they got there to know where they come from - they’re
painted on with stencils and those funny machines.
Well yeah, you might have been right about that a few years ago, but things change.
In fact, that paint isn’t even paint anymore - are you starting to feel like your life
is a lie yet?
These days, most road markings are created using this thermoplastic tape, because it’s
more durable and easier to put down.
Most humans on earth have probably tried fast food at least once in their life - probably
prompted by those photographs that companies stick up everywhere that make their burgers
look like the most juicy, delicious things you could ever hope to try.
But they never look like that when you actually go buy one, do they?
But those photos aren’t CGI either - they’re tricking you a different way.
It’s all about carefully arranging the toppings right at the front, so you can see them all
at once and it all looks nice and plump.
Then they touch it up even further.
So basically, it’s not really as good as it looks.