Flanders & Swann - 'First And Second Law'

[@janeedginton3669]

In school, I passed a test about the second law of thermodynamics by learning the words of the Flanders and Swan song! I have always loved them. I saw "At the Drop of a Hat" and "At the Drop of Another Hat" in London when I was young. Why is there no comedy like that any more?

[@Mystery_Biscuits]

Sort of similar comedy style that I adore: "Festival of the Spoken Nerd", Proper math/s and science comedy at its best. "Putting the FUN into FUNdamental Theorem of Calculus!"

[@janeedginton3669]

That sounds like Tom Lehrer who wrote a song called "The New Math" implying that the new way of teaching maths introduced into US schools in the 1960s was only understandable by children, not adults. I believe that Tom Lehrer is still alive but very elderly. He was a maths lecturer in an American university, but enjoyed writing these hugely funny songs. Please advise where you can locate the songs to which you referred.

[@Mystery_Biscuits]

I love Tome Lehrer's work and I'm currently learning "the elements" on the piano as I'I've already learnt the lyrics. You can find FOTSN (festival of the spoken nerd) stuff by just searching that in KZbin or going to their website, festivalofthespokennerd.com

[@janeedginton3669]

Flanders and Swann are wonderful. "you can't pass heat from a cooler to a hotter". Listen to the words. Very clever.

[@NezumiWorks]

I know this is a quite old comment, but I see that nobody recommended the science stuff that They Might Be Giants does. Quite fun and funny, but informative as well. They even did a correction song for "The Sun Is a Mass Of Incandescent Gas" called "The Sun Is a Miasma of Incandescent Plasma", which gives you a feeling for their sense of humour. See also Helen Arney's nerdy stuff, which is loads of fun.

[@justcarcrazy]

"Yeah, that's 'entropy', man."

[@harpreetgill8335]

jjj nnb8

[@devincatuns8524]

this line is the main reason i was able to find this song again

[@georgianfishbowl170]

I love how he says he's waiting for the play to come out as opposed to the film coming out

[@jamescoulson6610]

I have fond memories of listening to this album on long car journeys at the age of about six. Some time later, my A-level physics teacher used this song to introduce the concept of thermodynamics to the class ,and was delighted to find out that I recognised it!

[@Matheleine]

I must have listened to this dozens of times, and I have only just twigged the 'rude retort' pun. Simply marvelous!

[@sarahbass6116]

I have just found my fathers cds. Can’t wait for my next 6 hour drive, will be fun. i’ll be singing all the songs. yeah

[@epiendless1128]

Well if the scientist has made a rude retort, then he has the perfect vessel within which to synthesis that H2SO4.

[@terrymorse]

I just played this to explain to my wife why we should leave the windows open to keep our house cool. Priceless.

[@amanikessi5509]

Childhood memories, my mother use to play these records, priceless!

[@PMA65537]

I also learned these from the records. It was years before I saw on telly that one of the songs was performed as a visual comedy.

[@deedonnerramone4757]

"And the reciprocal of pi to your good wife"

[@101mosioatunya]

This has to be my "Most Favourite Song of All Time"!!!

[@Mousy677]

this is in fact how 11 year old me learned the first and second laws of thermodynamics (eleven years ago), which, yeah that does explain all of me

[@IstasPumaNevada]

Not a bad foundational influence to have. :) I presume you also appreciate Weird Al's song "Pancreas"?

[@stevenlowe3026]

That's how I learnt it, too - and I still think the Second Law is far better expressed in Flanders' words than those in the text book.

[@infernalcontraptions8648]

When you have a thermofluids exam tomorrow and you end up listeing to this in a fit of madness whilst panic revising.

[@fifaxeno70hd52]

word

[@ruthdzingomvera3151]

Was all down about failing tomorrow's chemistry test, but this out a smile on my face

[@hancailer1470]

Same boat as you, gonna fail chemistry tomorrow but this is great

[@ruthdzingomvera3151]

@@hancailer1470 all the best either way!

[@SilverLion567]

Lovely, wish there were more satirical songs like this

[@dexterousdiscourses7811]

There can be only one title to a prequel - if ever there was one - to this song: “zeroth law”

[@jg9125]

It's quite telling that "make a rude retort" gets a big laugh from the audience in 1964, whereas I've had a good education and have listened to the joke many times and I've only just realised that it's a pun about laboratory equipment. It might just be my ignorance, but it sort of demonstrates that the gulf between science and humanities learning is a lot worse now than when C. P. Snow was writing about it!

[@treewrecker8050]

At the risk of my seeming stupid, would you mind explaining the joke in that line?

[@jg9125]

@@treewrecker8050 I think it's just that 'retort' can mean either a reply or a piece of laboratory glassware used by chemists for distillation experiments. It's definitely not a very accessible joke, but I assume that's why the audience are laughing. I certainly don't think we were taught about retorts in science class at school, but perhaps for well-educated people who grew up in the early 20th century it would just have been general knowledge.

[@treewrecker8050]

@@jg9125 Thank you for the explanation; I suppose education has changed quite drastically.

[@sarahbass6116]

or not

[@mavisemberson8737]

@@jg9125 We USED retorts in our chemistry lessons in laboratories. 1950s You need a laboratory for practical basic chemistry for secondary schools. They were heated on gas bunsen burners and i suppose you don't have gas supplies .

[@Stophrah]

Grand Designs? 🥲

[@alangangel26]

Same 😂

[@vermilisix]

The error character is supposed to be a smiling face with a tear btw

[@njhaley]

Twilight zone style ending. Brilliant!

[@mentilly_all]

Awesome song.

[@5Cats]

This song & skit is so funny! Genius. It was "covered" by the Canadian comedy duo Wayne & Shuster, but I can't find a video of that...

[@bubblebath86]

Song starts at 2:07 btw

[@ryanchan2358]

2:07 the first law of thermodynamics

[@jamesgizasson]

This will be the last song played before the heat death of the universe. Hopefully on a warped gramophone. :3

[@cristiewentz8586]

brilliance....

[@mrmjb1960]

Never heatd this track! Thank You!

[@vascoct]

I came here from Blundell

[@SpeakMouthWords]

I had Blundell as a lecturer in 2009!

[@kevinjamesparr552]

Recall them at Oxford rag week 1971. The sexual life of a camel be stranger than anyone thinks in the height of the breeding season is accused of Buggering the Spinx , and so on

[@clarahowson2911]

I used to listen to this whole show on a CD on long car journeys. I’m 14 and I have weird parents, okay?

[@frodoatko1237]

Only the best parents do this

[@AlanCanon2222]

I was 14 in 1983, and it was records and cassette tapes. My chemistry teacher played this song for us. Flanders and Swann are forever icons of geek culture, just like Weird Al and Tom Lehrer, and this might even be the song that expresses it best. Did you know Swann was friends with J R R Tolkein and C. S. Lewis?

[@oscarfox6726]

@I am the Cat Human same here. I love them so much. They’re absolutely brilliant.

[@DaBlueIghuana]

Same here,

[@kaylarosemary936]

@@AlanCanon2222 I have never heard Weird Al, Tom Lehrer, Flanders and Sann, Tolkein, and Lewis mentioned in the same thought before, and it is a wonderful feeling to have. And I didn't know that... though it somehow doesn't surprise me. :D

[@aron66686]

Guten Morgen Stuttgart

[@ruthbarron625]

Terrific.

[@raykapi]

Literally my life in a nutshell.

[@anatollegros3454]

the life of the universe in a nutschell

[@donerriss1560]

Stuttgart wya

[@LakshmananLM]

Somehow ended up here from Quora!

[@holmegab]

Someone needs to explain this to Rick Perry.

[@johndemeritt3460]

If you're looking for an impossible task to perform, you've just found one . . . .

[@rickysauce2071]

Anyone else found themselves here after watching Grand Designs!?

[@tiarnan76]

yep haha - it was so random.....

[@RalooRocker]

Uh huh

[@jefferysmith7643]

Very funny.

[@MsPandaRosa]

Here's a great way to teach the laws of physics to the kiddies!

[@cintiqlover]

Dr Clarke sent me here, reply if you're in me class yo

[@seek__on]

love dr clarke!

[@corruptium6423]

year later still going strong just got here

[@breezer1588]

Yup still here

[@charliebeep9077]

yeah DR Clarke is a g

[@littletimmythefifth29]

Here at 213,072 views.

[@T0MBRA1D3RR]

He sounds EXACTLY like Stewie in the beginning...

[@byob7381]

FINALLY

[@milenerer]

wo sind meine stuttgarter

[@vermilisix]

who else is in p4 history (wassim i know you're there)

[@0nyr]

3:31

[@makethatabakersdozen9655]

"That's entropy man"

[@Everythingisalreadytaken69]

MSE - studenten?

[@captainoverkill2377]

heard

[@powt0wn]

i am here from a crossword :)

[@daverogers9428]

Good luck with the Listener Davey!

[@moritztesch5286]

Jonas, warst du schon hier?

[@Sarah-ex3un]

sorry ai said bad to this

[@iamnormal8648]

Commedy has truly evolved. I didn't even smirk from this video. I wonder if they would find today's comedy funny.

[@jamesconnolly5164]

"That's entropy, man." It's like they're beatniks but educated.

[@fifaxeno70hd52]

dry song