We all know that the vowels are A, E, I, O, U and sometimes Y... But the way linguists define vowels may mean R qualifies as well!

Uploaded to YouTube by Storied.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to chase a solar eclipse at supersonic speeds? In this video, we delve into the incredible story of how scientists in 1973 used Concorde, the legendary supersonic airliner, to extend their time in the Moon's shadow during one of the longest solar eclipses in history. Led by French astrophysicist Pierre Lena and piloted by Concorde test pilot Andre Turcat, this daring mission pushed the boundaries of aviation and scientific exploration. Join us as we uncover the fascinating journey of how a small team of visionaries managed to capture a rare glimpse into the mysteries of the Sun's corona, and don't forget to stick around until the end to find out how you can win in the next giveaway.

Uploaded to YouTube by Primal Space.

Today on Weird History Food, we are diving into a bit of the extraordinary - we all have our favorite haunts, but hav you ever dined at an ACTUAL haunted restaurant? Join us, as we explore the paranormal happenings at a number of famous old restaurants throughout America! Stepping back in time, we go deep into why various restaurants are believed to have become haunted, and who these disembodied spirits once were! While many of these restaurants have food that is to die for, the unseen patrons of these places get the most attention!

Uploaded to YouTube by Weird History Food.

After WW2, Germany was split in two parts: West Germany, and East Germany. And Saarland. Wait, what? As Germany prepares to celebrate 30 years of Reunification, I went to Saarland to discover the story of the little country that divorced and rejoined Germany... twice.

Uploaded to YouTube by The Tim Traveller.

Hundreds of local news stories. Tens of thousands of social media reports. All asking the same thing: why the heck are our streetlights turning purple? The answer is… a lot dumber than you think.

If you're over the age of 25, you probably remember that all streetlights used to be sodium vapor lamps, which give off a comforting yellow/orange light that was easy on the eyes and cut through fog best. But they also generate a ton of heat, and when you're trying to make light, heat is just wasted energy.

But as lighting technology evolved, LEDs entered the picture. The 2010s saw the first big push by local, state, and federal governments to switch out the old lamps for LED streetlights, which are a lot more efficient. They also produce a much harsher, colder, blueish white light that a lot of people can't stand.

So why are they turning purple now? The thing is, white LEDs don't exist. To make one, manufacturers use a blue LED that shines through a special filter that turns it into white(ish) light. And it turns out that in the mad rush to convert everything to LEDs, no one realized that the filter layer would break down a lot quicker than anyone expected, which causes the lights to turn purple. Or blue, depending on how complete the failure is.

So like with many things in life, that's the answer: bad quality control, and good old fashioned government contracting.

Uploaded to YouTube by The Drive.

One of the world's foremost currencies has a stickman on the back - but why?

Uploaded to YouTube by Qxir.

Uploaded to YouTube by The Geography Bible.

One night I got really into the early 2000s emoticons, the "kaomojis" and went into a deep, deep hole researching them, this video is the culmination of that night.

Uploaded to YouTube by bjiru.

When Austin Powers was released in 1997, it was seen as instantly recognized as a brilliant parody of everyone's favorite secret agent... 007, James Bond. Lampooning and deconstructing all the nuances and plot points of the iconic spy, the film became an instant classic. However, no one saw the immense popularity of the film's villain Dr. Evil coming. A perfect parody of villain Ernst Stavro Blofeld, Dr Evil took the world by storm. In fact, he's just a popular today as he was upon his first release. So much so, in fact, that he's eclipsed the original character he was spoofing...

Uploaded to YouTube by Nerdstalgic.

In this video we'll take a look at the story behind the creation of the Sony Playstation 1 startup sound. We discuss the instrumentation and the harmony of the sound as well as how it is produced in real-time by the PS1, which leads to various error state variations (like "Fearful Harmony" and "Personified Fear") .

Uploaded to YouTube by Mixed Signals.

In 2022, a clip of the anime Serial Exeriments Lain that aired after 9/11 went viral online and was described as "bizarre" and "surreal." This is the full story of how that clip came about, from the PBS station KTEH to its upload last year.

Uploaded to YouTube by Dan's Screen Takes.

Adam encounters one of the actual ghost trap props used on screen for Ghostbusters I and II, and this is a special one. Connected to the original transmitter controller used on set, this ghost trap is packed full of practical effects that not only let it open and close, but activate all the flashing and blinking lights that we saw in the films. Adam takes a look inside this iconic prop to see how the effects technicians made it work over 40 years ago!

Uploaded to YouTube by Adam Savage’s Tested.

Over the course of the last 40 years, the Italians have spent 1.2 billion euros on a bridge to Sicily, and yet they still have nothing to show for it.

Uploaded to YouTube by Big Systems.

Some extra footnotes for the above video that I didn't think were worth including:

1/ To get the music working with the "don't preload" mode, a small sub-heap is allocated inside the main one for... reasons. It works fine if the songs are just allocated to the main heap, so... eh? 2/ If you insist on keeping the DMA channel the same, there were many other, simpler ways to get this working. Like... why not just make the bosses load their own music? 3/ This whole "do stuff based on the background" seems to have been a dev favourite way of determining things, as a number of other things is tied to it. For example, whether the moving stair graphics should be loaded into Ghost House levels is ALSO tied to the background.

Uploaded to YouTube by Skawo.

Today, the world has approximately eleventy-six billion bus routes. But what was the first ever bus route? Where did it all start? And what has 17th-century mathematician Blaise Pascal got to do with it? I decided to try and answer these questions about the first ever bus route... while walking along it.

Uploaded to YouTube by The Tim Traveller.

Uploaded to YouTube by Ringway Manchester.

🚉 What Japan’s Dangerous Type 4 Railroad Crossing Looks Like 🚉

Did you know Japan has four types of railroad crossings, and Type 4 crossings are considered the most dangerous? Unlike regular crossings with automatic barriers, Type 4 railroad crossings have no gates, no alarms, and no signals to warn pedestrians and drivers of oncoming trains. 🚦🚆

Uploaded to YouTube by Tanner.

A valley of righteous combat, a desolate jungle cave, a seaside mineshaft, and more... all linked by mysterious caves of translocation...

Uploaded to YouTube by Jediwarlock.

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