minuteearth

Our Favorite Custom Emojis!

Hey MinuteEarthlings!

It's so nice to see so many new faces over here in our Patreon community :) We've been really enjoying giving you a peek into our process and have lots more ideas to share with you soon.

Today I thought you might enjoy seeing some of our custom Slack emojis that we use daily in our team chats! They're lots of fun and you might recognize some of the drawings from our Youtube videos.

In order of appearance:
- Dangerous Marshmallow (the MVP)
- Coffee...

Why Entomologists Hate The Word "Bug"

It’s common to call creepy crawlies bugs, but because entomologists refer to a specific class of insects as bugs, it’s wrong to call other things bugs - right?

Our latest video is all about this and you can watch it (before the rest of the world) here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bf8FMzCG4A 

Cameron also recorded something exclusively for our lovely patrons, which is the video we uplo...

Upcoming video preview!

Hi friends!

Thank you so much for joining us here, it’s amazing to see so many new patrons!

We have a little preview of our next video for you today. In this video we go on another tangent about definitions - we wonder what a ‘bug’ is and what defines bugs. This video is written by Cameron and illustrated by Sarah and Ever.

During the process of refining this scene, we adjusted some key things for clarity. Since the most important defining feature of a True Bug is its ...

How Caffeine Accidentally Took Over The World

Plants don't make caffeine just for us, so what DO they make it for?

Watch our latest video (and stay until the end for the announcement!) here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76R3fU7CriM

Thanks for your support <3

- Ever

Is Aging A Disease?

We actually have no idea what a “disease” is.

Be the first to watch our latest video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjaxKZpgVvY

Thanks for your support <3

- Ever

Happy Pi Day!

Happy Pi day friends!

The 14th of March (3-14) follows the first digits of Pi, which makes for a fantastic excuse to treat yourself to some pie ;) 

See you again soon! 

Lizah

Why You Can’t Die Of Old Age

Despite centuries of death records to the contrary, “dying of old age” is not medically possible; instead, it’s just a convenient catch-all.

You can watch our latest video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faBxGmxKTxE

Thanks for your support! <3

- Ever

Why Some Males Pretend To Be Females

When it comes to the mating game, fish have some of the strangest ways of thwarting the competition.

You can watch our latest video here: https://youtu.be/CoZuABN1YJ4

Thanks for your support!

- Ever

It's our Birthday!

Whooo! Today is MinuteEarth’s 10th Birthday!!

Over the past ten years, we’ve created more than 300 videos on topics ranging from the smallest bacteria to the largest trees, from the deepest bioluminescent fish to the highest migrating birds; from the history of the earth to the future of the cosmos.

Thank you for being here with us on this journey!

x - Team MinuteEarth

The Disease You Will Never Survive

A simple mis-folding in a certain brain protein causes a disease for which we have no cure (the Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease). You can watch our latest video here: https://youtu.be/d2daVaZZHYE

Also, this is the first MinuteEarth video written and narrated (and illustrated!) by Lizah, who has been part of the team for a little over a year. You might have interacted with her, since she monitor our social media AND beautiful...

Why Do Heart Attacks Cause *Arm* Pain?

When someone has a heart attack, they often clutch their left arm in pain. But the heart is in the chest – not the arm – so what’s up?

Learn about referred pain in our latest video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DF94Wvtekk

Thanks for your support! <3

- Ever

Happy Lunar New Year!

Hey friends,

We are cooking up a set of new videos that you will see very soon!
Meanwhile, we wish you a lot of luck and love for the Lunar New Year :)

x, Lizah

What Is The Best Shape For A Farm?

The shape of a farm can tell you a surprising amount about the land it's on and the people that use it. You can watch our latest video before everyone else here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4O_p7h6u7KU 

Thanks for your support!

- Ever

Happy Holidays!

Dear friends,

Thank you for all your support, it means the world to us!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, 

Team MinuteEarth

The Top Ways To Die (Throughout History)

By combining historical demography and epidemiology, we can (sort of) determine how people throughout history have died.

Watch our latest video before everyone else here: https://youtu.be/DyBRNZGXMu0

Thanks for your support <3

- Ever

How this tree has survived 5000 years

Methuselah’s environment lacks nutrients, water, and oxygen. In other words, it’s the perfect place to grow very very old. Yes, you read it right! 

Watch our latest video before everyone else here: https://youtu.be/N1aZuY0Prow

Thanks for your support <3

- Ever

The Horror of Nuclear Winter

Nuclear war is a terrifying existential threat, but we shouldn't only fear the blasts because the ensuing smoke is the real killer.

You can watch our latest video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLLKeXbSKJ0

Thanks for your support <3

- Ever

The Tree-Planting Problem

Trees are a super-efficient way to sequester carbon, but since planting the wrong trees in the wrong place can do more harm than good, we need to go about tree planting more carefully.

Here you can watch our latest video before everyone else: https://youtu.be/tj_kOcOUr_g

Thanks for your support! 

- Ever

We Were Wrong About Overpopulation

A few decades ago, experts started sounding the alarm about overpopulation, but the human population of the world will actually soon peak – and then decrease – thanks to a combination of two quickly changing economic and educational trends.

You can watch our latest video before anyone else here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dru78IHxQE0

Thanks for your support <3

- Ever

2022-12-06 03:29:52 +0000 UTC View Post

Christmas Merch Discount!

Hey friends, 

I hope you are all well and looking forward to the holiday season :) 

We are currently running a 10% sale and have an extra 5% discount for our Patrons with code MEHOLIDAYS22

Head over to our shop at http://dftba.com/minuteearth to find great science-themed merchandise for the MinuteEarth lover in your life, including our new books, pins, sticker sheets and magnets.

(USA shippi...

What if We Replaced Nuclear With Potatoes

Energy use can be confusing – I mean, how do you compare gasoline in your car to electricity piped to your house? That's why we made these things spud-tacularly simple.

Watch our latest video before anyone else here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOKbSzF2GJY

Thanks for your support <3

- Ever

How We Learned That Water Isn't An Element

For thousands of years, water was thought to be an element. That is, until some of the greatest chemists in the world managed to crack it open.

You can watch this video before anyone else here: https://youtu.be/9BQHKHxskU8 

Thanks for your support <3

- Ever

What You Learned In School Is Wrong

Well, it turns out that the concept of warm-blooded and cold-blooded animals is outdated. There are actually tons of different animal thermoregulation strategies. Our latest video is all about this topic and you can watch it before everyone else here: https://youtu.be/gLezZys_jpo

Thanks for your support! <3

- Ever

Mushroom Wars

Our latest video is all about the two mushroom guilds that are locked in a competition for forest dominance. And as usual, we humans can tip the balance!

Watch it before everyone else here: https://youtu.be/q3kLvT4W9A8

Thank you for your support <3

- Ever

How Many Tree Species Are Still Out There?

Our latest video is all about how we count things we don't know about. Check it out before everyone else here: https://youtu.be/iOlz5OBMr7A

Thanks for your support! <3

- Ever

Sketch vs Final scene

Sometimes we go through several iterations of the same scene before we settle on a vision...

In this scene, for our video about plants-on-plants, we wanted to show that the plants catch and use rainwater. Then the water supports other creatures.
Of course, we just HAD to show a happy little frog. (our little feel-good tip is to google images of frogs that live inside bromeliad plants)

When it came to the thumbnails, we had a few different ideas for what could be fun. One of th...

Plants That Drink Water From The Air

Some plants can drink water from the air - and that has some weird effects on the forests where they live. We made a video about epiphytes and you can watch it before everyone else here: https://youtu.be/iCrwJ9yUco8 

Thanks for your support! <3

- Ever

New Merchandise!

We just revamped our store with a bunch of new science-themed merch! 

You can check it out over at DFTBA (DFTBA.com/MinuteEarth )!

First up is a holographic sticker sheet inspired by our new video about bioluminescence. In addition to the actual stickers, the sheet is packed with little explainers about the amazing deep sea creatures that light up in the dark.

We also made a set of enamel pins inspired...

The Mystery of Bioluminescence

Most animals on earth are bioluminescent, but almost all of them live in the ocean - and scientists aren’t sure why. In our latest video we navigate through some possibilities. Watch it before everybody else here: https://youtu.be/_WZ_yC9KMVw 

Thanks for your support <3 

- Ever

PD: The merch will be live tomorrow (September 29th) and patrons can get 10% off with code PATREON10ME

Exciting news: We are nominated for a Kids' Book Choice Award!

Hey friends!   

We have some exciting news: Our book MinuteEarth Explains: How Did Whales Get So Big And Other Curious Questions about Animals, Nature, Geology, and Planet Earth is a finalist for the Children’s Literary Council’s Kids’ Book Choice Awards as the "Best Info Meets Graphic" book of 2022.

That’s super exciting for us; this book was such a labor of love - and the only reason we were able to make it is because we have amazing patrons like ...