This compilation of videos, titled Veritasium: An Element of Truth, provides loving and playful commentary on the magic of science, and all its jaw-dropping complexities and wonderments. Comprised of a series of short vignettes featuring an assortment of experiments, demonstrations and revealing interviews with experts and the general public alike, the film makes oftentimes complex concepts palatable for any audience, while still maintaining an infectious level of engagement for those more educated in the field of science. Want to visit the world’s most perfectly silent room? Ever wonder why the most venomous species reside only in warm climates? Interested in catching a glimpse of the Earth’s roundest object? Have you ever considered how a tree manages to transport water from its root to its leaves? Are you curious about the real science and common misconceptions behind climate change? Veritasium: An Element of Truth delivers all of this and much more in terrifically entertaining and informative fashion. In some of the segments, we’re treated to a series of demonstrations which are likely to mystify and delight viewers in equal measure. When someone holds a cane out towards you, and you place your fingers under the center of that cane, why won’t it remain balanced on your fingers when that someone lets go? When you attempt to flip a cell phone in your hand, why are the side to side flips always much cleaner and more graceful than the flips you attempt end to end? When you rub a plastic cup against your hair, and then place that cup alongside a stream of water from a faucet, why will that stream often attract itself to the cup? How could a common breakfast cereal possibly contain magnetic qualities? What factors come into play when you turn a tea bag into a burning paper rocket? Appealingly hosted by filmmaker and science enthusiast Derek Muller, Veritasium: An Element of Truth travels the globe to uncover the science behind many of most curious and dynamic everyday phenomena. In the process, viewers may find themselves the beneficiaries of many excitingly fresh, new, eye-opening and deliriously enjoyable perspectives on the world around them.
