How An Astrophysicist Makes Toast with Neil deGrasse Tyson

Ever thought long and hard about your toaster? No? Now is your chance. On this explainer, Neil deGrasse Tyson and comedian Chuck Nice break down the physics behind making toast.
What takes toast so long to brown? Why does it burn so easily? Learn about how to boil water in a paper cup, air frying, and how to make the perfect piece of toast. Discover the thermodynamics of toasting with your personal astrophysicist.
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Science meets pop culture on StarTalk! Astrophysicist & Hayden Planetarium director Neil deGrasse Tyson, his comic co-hosts, guest celebrities & scientists discuss astronomy, physics, and everything else about life in the universe. Keep Looking Up!
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00:00 - Making Toast
02:10 - Why won’t the toast toast?
05:56 - Boiling water in a paper cup & Burning other things
09:30 - Toast experiment

[@nickl2571]

In today's episode we'll learn about thermodynamics, religion, torture, food salvaging, racial differences and history, all explained with the help of a toaster. Love it!

[@rautikd]

😂

[@FieldMajor76]

Like to add 99% of people burned at the stake were white then after their moisture left 99% were black. For Chuck

[@shubincredible]

🤣

[@yellostallion]

Me too and love it!

[@theYoutubeHandle]

we are all black when we are burned. Boom, racism solved.

[@rosemeplz]

This one had me in stitches. Chuck’s face while Neal keeps saying”blood” and “draining from the body.” 😂

[@user-eo6hp1zh3c]

I have never seen a more consistently educating-entertaining duo than you two. Keep up the great work!!

[@scottperry9581]

Chuck has a rye sense of humor.

[@NineAtoms1]

One could say that comedy is Chuck's jam.

[@shannonharris]

That's his bread and butter

[@stapuft]

Too punny, this toast kneeds a wholegrain more attention than it currant-ly has

[@shannonharris]

@@stapuft hey marshmallow man... Did you bring the chocolate and gram crackers so we can toest those too?

[@shannonharris]

@@NineAtoms1 grape or strawberry?

[@Nefville]

Its good to see you guys are so plugged in to bread society. Rising stars even. Some people can't cut it but when you put your grains together you can do anything and you guys are on the crust of greatness. 🍞🍞

[@mil3761]

Chuck is extremely witty and quick thinking with his humour. Has me cracking up all the time. Love the chemistry between Neil and Chuck. This channel only works because of both of them

[@WentOverYaHead]

Please never slow down on making videos. You are the key to the younger crowd enjoying astrophysics and the vast space that we do not understand. Thank you for everything THE TWO of you do as well.

[@MM-ce1zg]

These two are hilarious together

[@jJaqStone]

This actually explains why when you make a grilled cheese sandwich the bread on the first side takes forever to brown but when you flip it over, the 2nd side browns very quickly. That side was drying out while on top. Cool Beans! (or bread)

[@endcapitalism]

More so that the pan is much hotter.

[@timothysayer3405]

Intelligence and comedy in one package!

[@ericchild8845]

Best 12 minutes I have spent in ages! Thank you, guys. I can now die a happy and more educated man… 🤓

[@6thdayblue59]

Brilliant as always, and in response to 11:30..... "a watched kettle never boils"

[@ForestPantherGod]

That opening had me in STITCHES!! The look of utter disappointment from Chucks face after Neil revealed what the explainer topic was going to be about. You could see Chucks soul deflate. 🤣🤣

[@JT_771]

Dang I love the fun that Chuck brings to these conversations.

[@smyrie0805]

I love the combination of the 2 personalities and humor 😂 they are so entertaining

[@mannyguzman8626]

Enjoyed your appearance at the Temple in Manhattan last Thursday at the Strieker temple...thank you

[@rezadaneshi]

Chuck from the dumbfounded toasting bread subject eye roll at first to “brown toast lives matter” comedic genius

[@AceSpadeThePikachu]

The part about toasters (and anything with an electric heating element) that always fascinated me was the red/orange glow. I always liked to imagine the toaster was filled with tiny lightsabers. Of course you already did a few explainers on the physics of incandescence.

[@ZMondoHype]

I thought the thumbnail was a photo of the sun 😂

[@FelixProject]

I would like to add that the browning in toast actually comes from the Maillard reaction, which, as far as my understanding goes, is a chemical reaction that occurs in various foods where the sugars interact with other chemicals to produce new flavor compounds. This is also why browned meats taste better than they otherwise would.

[@thomasbecker9676]

*Alton Brown has entered the chat*

[@JasonJones-em3ps]

i have done the boiling water in a paper cup. I won $100 bet.

[@bowtoy]

Air fryers also use very thin wired metal baskets , the thin wires heat more rapidly and help fry the food

[@Robin3615]

Not one piece of new information but I thoroughly enjoyed it to the end! That's a true entertainer and educator.

[@AskAW]

Did you know this information ℹ already

[@GlenHunt]

I swear that Chuck is the one comedian whose standup would cringe me to literal death and make me feel awful for laughing so hard as I'm waiting in line at the pearly gates, trying to figure out how I'm going to explain myself.

[@shannonharris]

Are you sure Chuck didn't save you a seat downstairs?.. Btw: how's your brother Mike doing? 🤣😂

[@SAJe_53]

Cringe is an intransitive verb. You can't cringe anyone or anything. You simply cringe.

[@GlenHunt]

@@SAJe_53 When Chuck is in the house, the laws of physics and language yield.

[@SAJe_53]

How many times can anyone "cringe you to literal death?" Literal death literally means you are dead. There is very little coming back from it.

[@abstract5249]

See, your first mistake is assuming you'll be at the pearly gates in the first place.

[@paulgracey4697]

For the longest time in my 80 years on this planet I was opposed to the idea of "rendering fresh bread stale", as I referred to making toast. I do not have a good sense of smell you see. But I do understand that the appeal of toast, in addition to the stiffening it gives the bread for the application of the various customary condiments, is the pleasure I did used to enjoy in my Navy days, that the smell of bread baking in the galley at midnight conferred as I was about to go on duty in the middle of the night. What a wonderful smell that is, and we mostly do not get to enjoy it except for the remnants found in the making of toast.

[@DannyJoh]

Am O the only one freaked out about how passionately Dr. Tyson talked about burning people? What tests do they run in the physics laboratories? 😲

[@mr.toxicsid]

Chuck just made that story up, I can tell

[@MrLee43]

Chuck and Neil are like Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker in Rush Hour... Or like Mel Gibson and Danny Glover in Lethal Weapon... Or like Samuel L Jackson and John Travolta in Pulp Fiction... Or like Mark Walburg and Will Ferrell in the other guys... Or like Bill Cosby and Sydney Poitier in Uptown Saturday Night... Or like Vin Diesel and Paul Walker in the Fast and the Furious... Or like John Wayne and Robert Mitcham in El Dorado... Or like Carl Weathers and Sylvester Stallone in Rocky 3... Or like the Keanu Reeves and the dog in John Wick... Or like Will Smith and Martin Lawrence in Bad Boys... ... that's all I can think of without Google. Thumbs up if you actually read this far down!

[@CarlosRivera-in3gm]

You guys are so funny. Thanks for making science fun 😂 NYC

[@topspacesource]

The physics of making Toast 😂. I still learned something new.. halarious show!

[@chrisdurgin1209]

Fan + toaster = Turbo Toaster

[@lindam9618]

Thank you! Just yesterday I was wondering why my [white bread] does not toast with any consistency & usually barely toasts. I thought it was my fairly new toaster oven, but I only eat gluten-free bread, which is frozen and then defrosted in the frig. This was really interesting & the info about burning at the stake a bit more than I wanted to know. 😀

[@Teqnyq]

Well, but can you blame it? Let's be honest, in bread society, white bread has it the best!

[@lindam9618]

@Teqnyq It's just bread.

[@bdr420i]

"There goes the property value in the bread box" 😂🤣😂🤣 who invented this sentence it's so clever

[@trevorjensen2706]

You can see Neil trying to go deep on a subject, when all of a sudden Chuck says something that breaks Neil's linear points. He tries to disregard (at times), and you can see Neil getting thrown off course, laughing, then regaining his composure, only for Chuck to eventually break Neil's level of focus once more. Love it! 🤣

[@godseed7984]

This is the best channel on KZbin

[@Onio_Saiyan]

Chuck's joke about pumpernickel bread killed me for some reason.

[@rabuki]

Start by giving the toasted bread a minute in the microwave, let it cool down, and now do the experiment with the microwaved bread and a fresh piece of toasted bread.

[@perks6292]

Now before I start the video, I can see Neil telling Chuck that this explainer is about toast, and Chuck being like, "You know what? You're out of ideas!" But by the end Chuck learns something new and is quite shocked that Neil taught him something interesting.

[@gazzam3172]

I love this channel for so many reasons :)

[@auraandtheowls]

This is literally one of the funniest videos I’ve seen of y’all. 😂 thank you so much

[@LPalmTree]

The other thing to point out about this is if you want a soft center and a hard outer layer, use fresh bread because of the higher amounts of moisture still in the bread. For harder all through, use old bread that's lost its moisture from being out too long or just plain old.

[@jykugoku]

Probably no one will read this but in my country Romania we have a millenary saying become friends with the wind ask him to not blow in the winter to freeze you and ask him to blow in the summer to cool you roughly translated

[@normkirk65]

Great discussions of chemistry and physics from Neil and company !! I can listen to him for hours ! Thank you guys !

[@AskAW]

What about Chuck?

[@lisawall3386]

I absolutely adore both of you knuckleheads! ❤️

[@pranaydoshi6145]

So funny and informative👌👌💯💯💯

[@randomatrix9764]

Hello Dr. Tyson, thank you so much for such an interesting and learning experience. Just want to request that when you use units in explainers like you said 212 degrees in this one, please say complete units. Since I am from India and lot of your viewers are from India, we are in habit of using SI units, so I thought you meant 212 degree Celsius, then I thought how would water exist at 212 degree Celsius, then I thought about Kelvin but then it would be too low, so it kicked in after 2 days actually while making toasts that it must be 212 degrees Fahrenheit which is equal to 100 degree Celsius which is boiling point of water. Thank you so much, love you and love Mr. Nice.

[@misterred2321]

It's fascinating to me how long thoose 2 have been hosting and doing thoose videos together. I love the show❤️

[@ghostsoup1313]

Whenever there's a blackout or an electrical problem I borrow a line from MST3K. I say "Niels Bohr is using the toaster again." But I think I'll update that & say "Neil Tyson is using the toaster. Again."

[@valscherrer6319]

What about the thermo dynamics of pop corn? 🙂

[@brandonyoung-kemkes1128]

Pre-toasting might be a way of saving energy. If you eat a lot of toast anyway.

[@nickwilliams4470]

Great idea. Maybe a toaster making company or engineer can create such mechanism making the toaster more efficient.

[@jazzjokesjalopies]

The hard part is getting the cup of water inside the toaster.

[@artemisma2746]

$400 air fryer?! Damn Chuck is rolling in the science money

[@manuelaparedes1642]

I love these guys, really… I love them.

[@edd.98]

Never thought about why toast takes so long to turn brown.this was as funny as the white noise episode.those 2 are soo funny together.

[@originofnoise]

I love these two! :D

[@mrebysan]

Chuck your fig spread toast story is IDENTICAL to mine 2 days ago!!trippy

[@shlomster6256]

Highlight of my day!

[@TrondBrgeKrokli]

Chuck is adorably silly some times. It is hard to keep a straight face around him when he puts his mind to it.

[@alexgong3911]

hey Dr. Tyson, I wanna see you break down the science in the movie The Wandering Earth.

[@scottruiz6645]

The most important of explainers 🎉😂

[@rayharter]

Love this! You should bring on a Food Scientist again soon!

[@WW-lz3fc]

Love this!

[@jospehjack]

My AP Chem teacher did something like that with Peanut butter and jelly Sandwich. It was the funniest Lab we had. I remember it over 15 years later. Not one person got it right lol.

[@igi-chan]

I love listening to you 2 in the background while im working 😂 educational and entertaining! Can we get a presidential run?!

[@guynouri]

Thanks guys

[@DanielleReplogle-mo9rz]

You should've used Heywood Banks' 'Yeah Toast!' song LOL. Love this though 10/10

[@ThisIsFiftyWithLil]

SO good!

[@Smackdade]

Now I need physics to make toast? I should have paid attention in high school!

[@illegaloli]

Preview picture looks like close up capture of the sun.

[@ironh2017]

Sone the paper cup boiling water experiment. It looks sick!!!! 😲👍

[@fc-qr1cy]

8:34 an air fryer is like 70s RB/disco/ and a toaster is adding funk music. Kept us all brown in our soul with the rhythms.

[@sumit.entertainment7155]

Y'all the best on these explainers🤣🤣🤣got me laughing early today 🤣🤣damn chuck!!!😂😂

[@kbhange90]

Looks like he is done explaining everything else in the world :)

[@j_d333]

There's an old axiom that goes: 'A watched pot never boils.' But, as soon as you turn away... Is that off-topic? No, b/c it's still about the time it takes for heat to do its thing. Mr. Tyson excels at answering questions others have simply never thought to ask. It's part of his genius.

[@isabellegt9826]

Let’s Toast the two of you 🎉 hilarious episode.

[@TranceXZero]

This... is the one I've been waiting for...

[@tvtime6558]

Omg this is the funniest episode ever. The toast jokes 😂!

[@aaathifa6228]

From talking about toasting bread to Catholics burning people...I learnt a lot.

[@Dexthesaga]

These explainers are the best. 2:00 🕑 😂😂😂

[@artsveiman7776]

So would there be a way to create a toaster that sucks out all the moisture quickly, in order that the bread can toast much quicker? and, if so, could that also be applied to ovens when baking?

[@joeledwards6587]

you guys are hilarious, love ya

[@mmgibson1]

Now I am imagining Neil as a little boy, leaving bread on the kitchen counter because he wants to do an experiment, and having his mother holler at him that it is too expensive to waste like that.

[@andrasferencz7948]

The "bread molecules" was a bit sloppy, admit it. 😆 Having said that, the whole thing is both funny and informative. Keep up the good work!

[@sciencepathogen1471]

😹 *Neil* is that kinda guy in the class who's laugh makes everybody else laugh irrespective of if there was a joke

[@chrisblack9851]

Chuck is my guy, he's just naturally funny, and true

[@davidgleatham9966]

oops- fired Blodgett ovens, a deck/pizza and a convection oven. Deck made bread rise and brown, and steam could be added for a harder crust. the other forced air system need 25f lower setting

[@mikiohara5604]

So now that you’re going down the rabbit hole of kitchen appliances may I ask for an explainer of my favorite appliance the air-fryer?

[@pivodirtjumper]

I know this video was about the physics of toast-making process, but here I am finishing this video with a strong feeling that I urgently need to buy an airfryer.

[@elijahanonymous4596]

I thought the toast in the thumbnail was the sun.

[@Brainiaccccc]

Water moisture inside the toast, or that log in fire, stays at 100C because it can't get hotter, can't turn into steam. Due to inner pressure not allowing for expansion, inside the log? Is this correct?

[@annmoore6678]

I've never laughed so hard while learning stuff.

[@AmanSohal]

I was actually eating a toast when I started the video, never looked at my toast that closely before...

[@ngnatural]

Damn, Neil got dark this episode LOL Chuck's face the entire time he was describing burned at the stake🤣

[@hbt5427]

Chuck is the best 😁😅🤣😂

[@HLuisGarcianerdragefitness]

Well done Chuck 😂

[@signalsoldier]

The pumpernickel joke was well timed. Great job Chuck 🤣

[@Charity4Orphans]

2:20 …. Sunburn 🥵

[@mjn245]

Chuck doesn’t need race therapy, the world just needs more Chuck.

[@alanhehe4508]

A toast to the toasted and a toast to the hosts!! Chuck ain't afraid of no ghost! Love this show the most!! 😛

[@alphaomega8373]

Such fun human beings ☀

[@ModestVejar]

I swear Chuck is high in most of these quick videos

[@ModestVejar]

And then Neil “let’s talk toast”