Over at Cool Tools, Kevin Kelly reviews over 40 YouTube video channels by makers, experimenters, and explainers. It's a great list. I'm subscribing to all the ones I haven't already subscribed to.
I have descending into the YouTube click hole. Forget TV, movies, Netflix; I spend most of my discretionary media time watching YouTube tutorials. I go to them whenever I need to learn anything, and in particular when I need to make or repair anything. Nothing appears missing in the YouTubeverse. The most obscure esoteric subject, item, skill, technique, problem will have five videos dedicated to it. At least one will be good. Against this very uneven quality of the average random YouTube episode, I have discover a good shelfful of dependable high-quality YouTube channels dispensing amazing information on a regular basis. Below are the YouTube channels I currently subscribe and return to often. They are informational, rather than entertaining, and they are biased to makers and do-ers. I have divided them into four groups: Experimenters, Makers, Explainers, and Nichers — esoteric interests that probably won't appeal to many. Don't take the categories too seriously; there is much overlap. I emphasize that these are the channels I personally subscribe to, and so reflect my interests, and do not include such obvious other maker-type channels like food, cooking, travel, makeup simply because those are not my interests. But I for sure have missed some great channels. So in the comments please tell me what channels you subscribe to. To be most useful, state what they are about, and why you think they should be included. I'll check them out, and if they resonate with me, I'll add them to the list.
EXPERIMENTERS
Cody's Lab
This is my all around favorite at the moment. Cody specializes in chemistry. He'll make frozen solid oxygen in his kitchen, or try to walk on a pool of mercury, or purify gold from jewelry he bought on ebay. He famously made gunpowder from a year's worth of his own urine. Whenever he needs a chemical, he'll just make it from other cheaper chemicals. He imitates the crude materials of the original alchemists who first made the compounds. It's inspirational because his stuff is so jury rigged you realize you can do this too. He is a good explainer and is also seriously into other stuff like bees, astronomy,and unusual garden plants. He likes to recreate classic science discoveries.How to Make Everything
Very cool site. This guy attempts to remake crucial materials like glass and iron from elemental materials, or less essential things like fireworks, candle wax or sunscreen. In a classic video he documents how he made a sandwich from scratch, growing his own wheat, and raising his own turkey meat. The sandwich only cost him $1,500.
