Vsauce

This article is about the channel brand. For the host of Vsauce, see Michael Stevens (YouTuber).

Not to be confused with Vinesauce.

Vsauce
YouTube information
Channels	Vsauce, Vsauce2, Vsauce3, WeSauce, D!NG, vsauceLEANBACK
Created by	Michael Stevens
Presented by	Vsauce: Michael Stevens Vsauce2: Kevin Lieber Vsauce3: Jake Roper WeSauce: Michael Stevens, Kevin Lieber, Jake Roper D!NG: Michael Stevens, Kevin Lieber, Jake Roper, Nicholas Fung vsauceLEANBACK: Michael Stevens
Years active	Vsauce: 2010–present Vsauce2: 2010–present Vsauce3: 2012–2021 WeSauce: 2012–2015 D!NG: 2015–2020 vsauceLEANBACK: 2011–2012
Genre(s)	Education, information, science, gaming, technology
Subscribers	Vsauce: 23.3 million Vsauce2: 4.56 million Vsauce3: 4.02 million WeSauce: 155,000 D!NG: 1.83 million vsauceLEANBACK: 71,300 Total: 33.56 million
Total views	Vsauce: 5.304 billion Vsauce2: 796.598 million Vsauce3: 547.779 million WeSauce: 4.595 million D!NG: 201.796 million vsauceLEANBACK: 21.1 million Total: 6.875 billion
Creator Awards 100,000 subscribers 2011 1,000,000 subscribers 2012[1] 10,000,000 subscribers 2016[2]

Vsauce (/ˈviːsɔːs/) is a YouTube brand created by educator Michael Stevens.^[3] The channels feature videos on scientific, psychological, mathematical, and philosophical topics, as well as gaming, technology, popular culture, and other general interest subjects.^[4][5]

History

In 2009, Michael Stevens was asked by a company to pitch them a show about food, so he teamed up with his friend Justin-superstar from Los Angeles, CA to create a pilot episode showing them using a hammer to supposedly make a peanut butter and banana sandwich in under a second, titling the proposed show "Food Smashers", but the show was never made. The company decided to instead ask him to make a YouTube channel about video games and name it "Video Game Nation"; he agreed to do it but didn't like the name, so he decided to call it "Vsauce" instead.^[6]

Michael Stevens came up with the name "Vsauce" in 2010 by generating available pronounceable ".com" domain names using a website called FakeNameGenerator.com until he found one he liked.^[7] On July 30, 2007, someone created a YouTube account named "Vsauce" but had never used it, and on April 16, 2010, YouTube granted Michael Stevens's request to claim the account, as was their policy back then; if he weren't able to claim it, he might've decided to instead use his first YouTube channel, "pooplicker888".^[8] Initially, the channel's programming focused on video games and featured a number of hosts.^[9] However, certain segments such as IMG! slowly took over, and Stevens became the sole host.^{[citation needed]} The channel then became a mix of information and online activities, and solely educational segments popped up.^{[citation needed]} The educational segments became more popular, and since September 9, 2012, only the educational segment (known as DOT.) has been presented.^[10]

In December 2010, the Vsauce2 (on December 7) and Vsauce3 (on December 24) channels were created.^[11] On July 25, 2012, the WeSauce channel was created.^[12] Vsauce was one of the fastest growing channels during September 2012.^[13] During that month, the main Vsauce channel reached 1 million subscribers.^[14]

Stevens, in the video "A Defense of Comic Sans", notes that the text font Alsina was used by the Vsauce channels because of its close resemblance to the handwriting of Nik Guinta, the creator of the original Vsauce logo.^[15] A new branding scheme designed by Natasha Jen was adopted in December 2014 to bring a "grown-up" feel to the channels. It utilizes the DIN Next Rounded font and fluid designs to convey the idea of sauce that the name "Vsauce" implies.^[16]

Channels

Vsauce

See also: Michael Stevens (YouTuber)

Michael Stevens, the host of Vsauce

The Vsauce channel, also known as Vsauce1 to distinguish it from the brand as a whole and the other channels, is presented by the founder, Michael Stevens, and features videos about science, mathematics, anthropology, and philosophy.^{[citation needed]} The primary series features Stevens discussing a topic or question in a tangential manner, including various interpretations of the question and related facts and observations.^[17] In 2013, Stevens stated that he researches on Wikipedia and academic papers to find information for his videos.^[18] Stevens collaborated with educator and television personality Adam Savage in 2017 for a show titled Brain Candy Live.^[19]

Videos by Vsauce have been featured on online news publications,^[20] such as The Huffington Post,^[21] CBS,^[22] and Gizmodo.^[4][23][24]

Mind Field

Main article: Mind Field

Mind Field (a word play on minefield and mind) is an American web television series produced exclusively for YouTube Premium (formerly YouTube Red), created and presented by Michael Stevens. Three seasons of Mind Field have been released on Vsauce, each one with eight episodes. On October 1, 2019, all episodes became viewable, with ads, for free for those without YouTube Premium.^[25]

Vsauce2

Kevin Lieber, the host of Vsauce2

Vsauce2, hosted by Kevin Lieber, has covered topics concerning unusual knowledge, gadgets, and people. Since 2019, Vsauce2 has largely produced videos regarding probability, paradoxes, and dilemmas, most of which are mathematical or economic in nature and visualized through real-world situations.^[26][27] Before 2019, videos were released under recurring segments,^[26] such as MindBlow, BiDiPi, 54321, and BOAT.

The Create Unknown

In November 2018, Lieber and channel producer Matt Tabor launched The Create Unknown podcast, which interviews digital creators.^[28] The podcast has featured interviews with Casey Neistat, Derek Muller from Veritasium, Destin Sandlin from Smarter Every Day, Dolan Dark, iDubbbz, and Grandayy.^[29]

Vsauce3

Jake Roper, the host of Vsauce3

Vsauce3 is hosted by Jake Roper and is dedicated to fictional worlds and video games.^[26][30] There are currently four recurring segments: HeadShot, Game LÜT, 9bit, and Fact Surgery. Vsauce3 has collaborated with YouTubers Joe Hanson from It's Okay to be Smart and Vanessa Hill from BrainCraft. He has also presented videos with celebrity guest appearances from Bill Nye, Jack Black, The Muppets, Paul Rudd, and Neil deGrasse Tyson. On November 26, 2015, Jake revealed that he has sarcoma, a rare form of cancer.^[31] On December 19, Jake announced that he had begun treatment and a tumor on his lower leg had been successfully removed by surgery.^[32]

WeSauce

WeSauce was a channel that compiled works from fans of the Vsauce channels. The channel featured segments Your BiDiPi, JAM, Music LeanBack!, Riddle Challenge, This World of Ours, and ITVS. WeSauce has remained inactive since October 15, 2015.^{[citation needed]}

D!NG

D!NG, formerly DONG (Do Online Now, Guys), is a spin-off channel by Vsauce that features unusual pages, apps, and games from around the Internet.^[33] Some videos also focus on various topics in mathematics and science. DONG was formerly a segment featured on the main Vsauce channel and then on the Vsauce3 channel before its own channel was launched in 2015, with the first video uploaded on October 29, 2015. The channel was renamed to D!NG on May 12, 2019, seemingly due to the channel being demonetized for having a name that was not considered advertiser-friendly.^[34]

Collaborations

Some people or channels Michael Stevens of Vsauce1 has collaborated with include Bill Nye, BrainCraft, Derek Muller, Good Mythical Morning, The Filthy Frank Show, and others. The following collaborations were mentioned in publications. Vsauce has collaborated with Henry Reich of MinutePhysics on two videos: "Guns in Space"^[23] and "What if the Earth were Hollow?".^[35] In 2014, Jake of Vsauce3 had narrated two episodes of the series Did You Know Gaming? covering the Game Boy. In August 2016, Stevens served as a guest host on the show BattleBots.^[36] On March 24, 2018, Stevens was largely involved with a collaboration featured on HowToBasic's YouTube channel.^[37]

Awards

In 2014, Vsauce won a Webby for People's Voice award for best news and information.^[38]

In 2014 and 2015, the channel won the Streamy Award for Best Science and Education Channel, Show, or Series.^[39]

References

1. VsauceGaming (September 3, 2012). "1 Million Subscribers!". Facebook. Retrieved October 10, 2016.
2. @tweetsauce (February 27, 2016). "💥 10 Million Subscribers! 💥 Thanks for watching! Thanks for supporting educational content!! 📈🔬🔭⚗💡📚 🌏" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
3. "What is Vsauce?". THNKR TV. YouTube. November 20, 2012. Archived from the original on November 1, 2021. Retrieved November 21, 2012.
4. Eric Limer (September 30, 2012). "What Is the Hottest Temperature Anything Can Be?". Gizmodo. Retrieved October 1, 2012.
5. * Rocco Penn (August 19, 2012). "If everyone jumped at once, not much would happen". TECHi. Archived from the original on March 21, 2016. Retrieved September 18, 2012.
   • Phil Plait (August 25, 2012). "Jump!". Discover Magazine. Archived from the original on September 12, 2012. Retrieved September 9, 2012.
   • Mark Russell (November 6, 2011). "How Much Does the Internet Weigh?". Newser. Retrieved September 9, 2012.
   • Sean Ludwig (July 22, 2012). "The spacebar is pressed 6M times a second & other crazy typing facts (video)". Venture Beat. Retrieved September 18, 2012.
6. Me Before Vsauce. Archived from the original on September 7, 2024. Retrieved September 12, 2024 – via www.youtube.com.
7. Vsauce (October 1, 2011). MAKE YOUR CAT A DJ -- and more!. YouTube (Video). LÜT. Vol. 18. Event occurs at 2m43s–3m21s. Archived from the original on January 23, 2014. Retrieved July 24, 2013.
8. Vsauce (April 17, 2021). "Vsauce is 11 years old today!!". X (formerly Twitter). Archived from the original on April 25, 2021. Retrieved September 12, 2024.
9. Ed Carrasco (September 14, 2012). "YouTube's Vsauce Has the Special Ingredients to Make Science Viral [Interview]". New Media Rockstars. Retrieved April 18, 2013.
10. "Vsauce videos". Vsauce. YouTube. Retrieved April 18, 2013.
11. • "Vsauce2 about". Vsauce2. YouTube. Retrieved April 19, 2013.
    • "Vsauce3 about". Vsauce3. YouTube. Retrieved April 19, 2013.
12. "WeSauce about". WeSauce. YouTube. Retrieved April 19, 2013.
13. Elayna Seguin (September 15, 2012). "Top 5 Rapidly Growing YouTube Channels". East Side Newspaper. My High School Journalism. Archived from the original on April 15, 2013. Retrieved September 15, 2012.
14. *Ed Carrasco (September 14, 2012). "YouTube's Vsauce Has The Special Ingredients to Make Science Viral [Interview]". New Media Rockstars. Retrieved September 15, 2012.
    • Simon Usborne (January 30, 2013). "How to explain absolutely anything: Academics pick apart mysteries of the cosmos on YouTube". The Independent. Retrieved February 3, 2013.
15. "'A Defense of Comic Sans': Vsauce Gives History of the World's Most Hated Font (Video)". Huffington Post. February 13, 2013. Retrieved April 29, 2013.
16. "Pentagram's New Grown-Up Logo for Vsauce's YouTube Stars". Wired. February 9, 2015. Retrieved November 2, 2015.
17. Lahey, Jessica (October 28, 2014). "What Classrooms Can Learn From YouTube". The Atlantic. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
18. Brady Haran (March 2, 2013). "Meet Vsauce – Sixty Symbols". Sixty Symbols. YouTube. Archived from the original on November 1, 2021. Retrieved December 5, 2013.
19. Liptak, Andrew (March 25, 2017). "Adam Savage on his live science show, cosplay, and 'promoting the joy in making things'". The Verge. Retrieved August 12, 2022.
20. • Daniel Hurwitz (April 16, 2013). "TV on the Web: Why are there limits on human size?". USA Today. Retrieved April 19, 2013.
    • "The 5-second rule for dropped food is dangerously optimistic". MSN. December 2, 2012. Archived from the original on December 5, 2012. Retrieved April 18, 2013.
21. • Jacqueline Howard (August 26, 2012). "What If Everyone on Earth Jumped at Same Time? (Video)". The Huffington Post. Retrieved September 9, 2012.
    • "'A Defense of Comic Sans': Vsauce Gives History of the World's Most Hated Font (Video)". The Huffington Post. February 13, 2013. Retrieved March 24, 2013.
22. • Bailey Johnson (October 1, 2012). "How hot can it get?". CBS. Retrieved October 10, 2012.
    • "Watch: Why do humans have two nostrils?". SciTech. CBS. November 5, 2012. Retrieved November 21, 2012.
23. Kyle Wagner (August 27, 2012). "Guns in Space, and How to Kill Our Sun". Gizmodo. Retrieved September 22, 2012.
24. • Eric Limer (November 10, 2012). "How Many Pictures Have Ever Been Taken?". Gizmodo. Retrieved November 21, 2012.
    • Casey Chan (January 10, 2013). "The Science of Being in the Friend Zone". Gizmodo. Retrieved February 3, 2013.
25. Vsauce (October 1, 2019), Laws & Causes, retrieved June 20, 2021
26. Metzener, Dave (March 31, 2013). "Vsauce, Vsauce2 & Vsauce3 – YouTube Channels". Metzener.com. Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved April 19, 2013.
27. "About". Retrieved April 11, 2020.
28. VSauce2 Launches 'Create Unknown' Podcast About The Business Of Being A YouTuber – Tubefilter
29. "'The Create Unknown' podcast". Triangle Content. Archived from the original on July 22, 2019. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
30. Dan Van Winkle (November 25, 2013). "Vsauce and a Stop Motion Animated PlayStation Bring You Six Awesome PlayStation Facts [Video]". Geekosystem. Retrieved December 5, 2013.
31. *Roper, Jake (November 26, 2015). "I Need to Tell You Something". Youtube. Jake Roper.
    • "VSauce3's Jake Roper Tells Fans He Has Cancer". What's Trending. November 27, 2015. Retrieved December 27, 2015.
32. Roper, Jake (November 25, 2015). "What defines you?". Youtube. Jake Roper.
33. Greengart, Tani (July 13, 2017). "Three Strategies of Successful Educational Videos". Jewish Link of New Jersey. Retrieved February 18, 2019. Vsauce itself explains scientific and psychological phenomena, Vsauce2 creates mind-blowing videos about new technology, Vsauce3 analyzes the junction between science and pop culture and D.O.N.G. introduces viewers to all the weirdest internet sites and merchandise.
34. Garcia, Elijah (May 14, 2019). "Vsauce Experimental Channel Changes Name From 'DONG' To 'D!NG', Fearing Demonetization". Mammoth Gamers. Archived from the original on October 10, 2020. Retrieved May 18, 2019.
35. Keith Shaw (August 27, 2012). "Science Monday: MinutePhysics teams with VSauce for a What-if-a-palooza". IT World. Retrieved September 9, 2012.
36. "TV highlights: 'Killing the Colorado' airs on Discovery Channel - The Washington Post". The Washington Post. August 3, 2016. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
37. Katzowitz, Josh (March 26, 2018). "The HowToBasic YouTube channel finally reveals its creator—sort of". The Daily Dot. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
38. Seikaly, Andrea (April 28, 2014). "Jay Z, Google, Netflix Among Webby Awards Winners". Variety. Retrieved April 30, 2014.
39. • Blas, Lorena (September 4, 2014). "Seinfeld series, Obama's 'Ferns' episode win Streamys". USA Today. Retrieved October 12, 2014.
    • "5th Annual Winners & Nominees". The Streamy Awards. Retrieved November 17, 2015.

External links

• Vsauce's channel on YouTube
• Vsauce2's channel on YouTube
• Vsauce3's channel on YouTube
• Vsauce2's podcast, "The Create Unknown" on YouTube