Solving the Value of the Bit ft.

Its been a while since I made a video like this, and its a collab this time. The mind of a theorist and an analyst were combined to once and for all find out the value of the bit in MLP! Just if you ever go to Equestria and want to know what youre getting yourself into with all the ponies around.
Thanks to my Patrons
Fauli1221
Windy Berry
Skarmex
MLP Style Vectors were made by: / changelingrazor

[@Star_Strike]

Thank you for the collab! I had a blast doing this with you!

[@doc_anubis]

It was awesome, it was a lot of effort, but it turned out good

[@elrien591]

e

[@yondaime500]

This reminds me of a story I read in high school, about a girl who loved cherries but couldn't afford to buy them. They were too expensive because they didn't grow in her country. The story ends with her living somewhere in Europe and eating cherries out of a paper bag like popcorn. At least that's all I can remember from it.

[@TheCommenterDragon]

I've been kinda curious about the concept of bits in mlp myself, it's too bad that they never made an episode explaining it. because it would've been interesting to know things like how many bits does the average citizen in Equestria make a year? and why do the neighboring kingdoms accept Equestrian bits as currency when you would think that they have their own form of currency? Sadly that's stuff we will never know but it's definitely nice to theorize about it!

[@theprinceofawesomeness]

can't explain the horrors of economics to little children, you know.

[@XGalaxyPlqyZ]

As a person who writes mlp stories from time to time, its a piece of information that is quite valuable to know 😭

[@cheighlund9456]

"why do the neighboring kingdoms accept Equestrian bits as currency when you would think that they have their own form of currency" Given that the bits seem to be solid gold, I imagine the other countries don't care - in most cases where gold or silver is used as currency, it's the metal weight that matters, not the arbitrary case of whose face is pressed into it. Equestrian bits might be worth more, or less, relative to the local currency, but it's still gold. If all else fails, melt it down and cast ingots.

[@seanbaby7796]

maybe the silver bits are tokens that you buy with gold bits. Tokens to be able to use a hot air balloon

[@doc_anubis]

That actualy seems like a reasonable explanation, bt would also amount to them being worth a set amount of gold bits like I proposed

[@whyology.]

10 Bits seems reasonable

[@darreljones8645]

Did you know that a unit of currency exists in the real world known as the "bit"? It's worth 12.5 cents US. Colonial-era Americans often used a Spanish coin known as "pieces of eight" because it could be divided into eight equal parts, each of which was known as a "bit". This is why the phrase "two bits" is used to refer to a quarter (most notably in the old song lyric, "Shave and a haircut, two bits").

[@Cantersoft]

Great analysis! In a world where cost of living is very low, houses are constructed out of the cheapest materials possible, literally everything that grows out of the ground is food to you, and the economy is run by just over 500 ponies (approximate count of all ponies seen throughout all episodes), I think it's actually okay for two cherries to buy a Cherry Berry hot air balloon ride lol. That's probably also about how much it'll cost to pay for repairs to the balloon or replace the ropes.

[@cameoshadowness7757]

Okay HERES MY THEORY The Sulver bits are the equivalent of 100s or 1k. In real world USA, the 1000 USD bill is super rare, so rare that it's far more common for someone to carry tens to hundreds of 100 USD bills than to catch someone with a 1k bill. This could easily apply to Fluttershy. The 100/1k EB is simply much rarer to use and find and thus we only see it once. To explain Tiwlight, different libraries actually charge differently. While a town may have a general standard, that doesn't mean every place would actually use that standard. This is why Twilight and Spike would know that rule. It would be the general rule of the area and without being explicitly told, Twilight would natrually assume they go by it. That system may also apply to rarer books in general as those tend to be hit with harder fines if you don't return them. That's just my 2 bits on it.

[@TheNamelessOne]

Platinum bit anyone??

[@cameoshadowness7757]

@@TheNamelessOne other ye! That could very much be it!

[@doc_anubis]

It doesn't really make a difference if we call it silver or platinum

[@daniallegacy]

5:28 "She worked her flank off!" Me: Yes, thanks for your *kind* words

[@UlmDoesAnything]

I overthought even more and wondered if theres a Central Ministry which mints bits and regulates their value- Sort of Central Bank of Equestria or smthn Or if Bits are a sort of commodity money whose value is based on its material but im betting more its your usual fiat money-

[@alexloch77]

4:09 I didn't know that there were silver bits. Either a whoops in the animation or it was intended but forgotten about later.

[@alexloch77]

7:39 Oh, so it was an animation error.

[@doc_anubis]

Thats his guess, there is no confirmation for that

[@martinschandorphjensen5910]

Well, now i know where i can get my information next time i need a scene about bits in art.

[@pear1ycur1y83]

Star Strike can pass off as a replacement voice actor for the character Chris McLean in Total Drama ☺️

[@sleipnirthe8th339]

That’s a pretty interesting idea

[@jaren12072]

I actually wondered this myself about a month ago and made a post on the subreddit about it. I used appearances of bits where they are used purchase something with a valid real world equivalent and the amount of bits was possible to determine, which there weren't a lot of by the way. Anyways I determined what a single bit was worth in each transaction, averaged them out, and was able to determine a value 2.04 USD.

[@windyberry8752]

Amazing and funny videos Star strike and Anubis hope to see more collabs like this in the future

[@doc_anubis]

Thats the plan

[@windyberry8752]

@@doc_anubis can't wait to see then

[@happyhippoeaters4261]

"The youtube gods are pleased, for now."

[@doc_anubis]

Glad we have satisfied them

[@Beeadora]

Off topic but the transition beginning where u warped 😭 I’m crying lmaooo

[@mikaLtubeyou]

My take on the silver bits : It's not money. It's flight tokens. Purchased ahead of times like vouchers or a bus card, these are traded in for flight to destinations or tourism. Why use that and not bits? Because traveling agencies are the most likely to come accross different currencies from different countries. So the service is payed ahead of time, and then given to the flightmaster. Which allows the flyers to not have to risk losing money on flights, or weight down the ballon with bags on coins, this using handful of silver tokens instead.

[@SwaggerMLP]

Better crossover than a avengers

[@doc_anubis]

lol

[@GMan17256]

I read something it is said a “bit” in US Currency is worth 1/8th of a dollar. So I’m about 12.5 cents or round it up to 13.

[@entertainment4kids1]

Alright, now about GEMS…?

[@doc_anubis]

We have started talking about them... Then we stopped taking about them

[@jackkemp7256]

lol

[@entertainment4kids1]

@@doc_anubis get on it. Good LUCK. I think they may be more challenging than bits. For example do 2 large gems = 8 currency? 14? 20?

[@generositygamer7971]

It could also be a platinum bit, not a silver bit... Platinum is used in fantasy settings as higher value than gold, and a lot less seen sometimes. That would explain the "silver" bit being higher value?

[@AlexandreBugado]

How common/how much do emeralds and other gems that would be considered expensive here cost in Equestria? Dragons seem to just eat them regularly, so I'd guess they'd be as valuable as chocolate or some other candy, which are not necessary for living, but everyone buys them.

[@doc_anubis]

We have instances of expensive gems as well as some where they are hella cheap, there is no save way to figure any of that out

[@nameless_ben__]

So funny that Star Strike brings up that Twilight had to have gotten the idea that her book's overdue price would go up every hour from somewhere and not just have made it up because at least in my case for overthinking sometimes it just straight up is something you made up, I'm like constantly worried that my online messages will be pasted into my other tabs even though that's completely illogical lmaoo

[@necronustheeverchosen1994]

Word has reached my ear that you REALLY LOVE mushrooms! (I snap my fingers, using my dark magic, and a dozen wine barrels, full of mushrooms) And here's a lifetimes worth of them! Enjoy~!

[@RazorUnibop64]

Yay Doc's another Collab! ^w^

[@doc_anubis]

My first actual collab with another pony KZbinr of my variety

[@RazorUnibop64]

oh ok ^^

[@jackkemp7256]

5:46 "Something seemingly impossible. Something that has given theorists and analysts headaches for years." How long's a "moon"?

[@doc_anubis]

Thats a topic for another day

[@GanymedeTheCorgiCat]

Well, the internet said that 1000 moons is 10 human years…

[@doc_anubis]

Give me a source that proves it abd then I'll believe it

[@pemanilnoob]

Hearing these prices for things makes me confused. 2-5 dollars (we don’t use dollars though) is a very normal price for a hotdog from a gas station in my country

[@doc_anubis]

Gas station prices normally are higher than everywhere else though, and economic situation in the countries can affect prices as well

[@dustwyrm]

Great video!

[@Coppergears1974]

Why is Pinkie paying ridiculous amounts for her purchases? Easy. Quantity surge pricing. In short, Equestria is (supposed to be) a utopia. They resolved the problem of crafty individuals buying up an entire market to corner it with a business practice which I hereby dub quantity surge pricing. This means you are paying a premium when you are buying goods in large quantities compared to the stock and/or customer base. This prevents anyone from buying up all the stock of the competition to dictate prices while still allowing the freedom to purchase as much as you like. When Pinkie bought multiple tankards of cider, she paid a premium and that premium was staggered for each additional tankard, resulting in a rather eye-watering price. When she purchased everything off of the cart in the train, she also paid a premium. As for Fluttershy, her case is likely an abuse of that system. The vendor only had one cherry left, so Fluttershy buying just one cherry is actually 100% of the stock and she got surge priced. Now the vendor only did that because he knew he could get away with it since, well, it's doormat pony. This also explains the absence of large quantity stores: They are not profitable with quantity surge pricing since you can almost never apply that rule when you sell large stocks. In the end, there will never be a 1:1 equivalent of Bits to any real currency since prices can be vastly differently distributed. Gold could be cheap and tomatoes expensive. Balloon rides can be afforded by anyone but you have to save a lot for a chariot. We simply cannot tell what is valuable and what is not other than comparing prices and since prices are not consistent for all purchases (which can be explained by the above theory as well as many other potential ideas), nailing down what a Bit is worth is not only impossible, it's an illogical question: The Bit has no perfect value; its value changes based on context.

[@Butterflix]

$5 for a hotdog???? We pay $12-15

[@KiraTheFox]

That's expensive

[@KiraTheFox]

In UK it's probably about £5 which is $6.40

[@PrincessOTheStars]

Amazing ^^ new sub

[@doc_anubis]

Awesome, thank you^^

[@PrincessOTheStars]

@@doc_anubis yw I love the collab

[@discowaffle4614]

I actually remembered I tried once a long while ago to figure out the real world value of an Equestrian bit, and the GDP of the country as a whole, and there are a handful of variables that'd have to be assumed to get an actual answer: - The metal composition of a bit - The real world size of a pony - The exact population of Equestria (for the GDP) And going off specific assumptions, I was able to get a potential answer: Anyways, let’s begin Apple = 1 Bit Apple = ~$0.50 1 Bit = ~$0.50? No. Why? Difference in scarcity of gold Real Word: If an Apple = 2 quarters, then 2 quarters = 11.34 grams of nickel Apple = 11.34 grams of nickel 11.34 grams of nickel = $0.12 True Value of an Apple: $0.12 Not Real World: Real horse = ~5.35ft Pony = ~3ft (All of this assuming this is true) Real horse hoof circumference = ~13.2” Pony hoof circumference = 7.4” Model hoof length = 12 mm Model hoof width = 8.2 mm Model hoof circumference = 25.75 mm Model Bit length = 5.7 mm Model Bit width = 5.7 mm Model Bit height = .5 mm Model Bit circumference = 17.9 mm Amount of Bit covering hoof: 70% Real circumference of a Bit = 5.11” Real height of a Bit = .14” Total volume amount of 1 Equestrian Bit in cubic inches = 2.86” Summary: Weight of gold per cubic inch = .7lbs Weight of 1 bit = 2lbs Price of gold per lb = $19,940.8 So we can conclude that in a rough estimate, 1 Equestrian Bit is equal to $39,881.60 or 11.8 Bitcoins at the time of making this (2017 iirc) if the metallic composition of a bit is 100% gold. According to the Peterson Institute of International Economics [www.businessinsider.com/heres-how-much-money-there-is-in-the-world-2017-10], the U.S. Federal Reserve has approximately 1.5 Trillion dollars in circulation. So that means that the Treasury of Equestria would be valued approximately at a whopping 59.8 quadrillion dollars if they had the same physical amount of currency in circulation. However it is not possible to calculate a GDP without knowing the total population of Equestria, and that could alter the value of their treasury

[@ARCCarlet]

Love love I mean love mushrooms

[@doc_anubis]

After Stars post I didnt think I'd actually would get mushroom comments lol

[@gfdx3214]

Sttaaaa-aaar, Im stalking you wherever you go Nowhere is save Although since i am pulling someone else into this i can at least fully watch this video and like it… Greetings, Doc, nothing weird happening here at all

[@elrien591]

7:43 a hidden windy berry

[@doc_anubis]

As usual

[@jackkemp7256]

When I first found this channel, I kinda thought you were Star Strike 😅

[@doc_anubis]

The only thing that was the same back then was that we used pony town character sprites lol

[@jackkemp7256]

@@doc_anubis Honestly, if someone came to me with my Pony Town sprite and said it was theirs, I wouldn't even notice.

[@Shadow_Glider]

4bit^2/1 gold bit*50% (for inflation) comes out to animation error? you clearly made a mistake by not following order of operations and dividing before you did the exponent.

[@doc_anubis]

Its math, dont question it

[@eeveefennecfox]

can we just get rid of all our money in the real world and just use bits? it seems way better than the stupid money we have in real life

[@allaltitudeproductions454]

im pretty sure the silver bits were just an animation error

[@doc_anubis]

That was our conclusion in the end,but it's still fun to theorize about the possibility that they aren't

[@lionjbvida]

Is made with the cion

[@Bronyboiiiii]

Lmao I'm watching only 20 seconds and I recognized the background music instantly!!!!! Friendship with benefits LOOOOOOOOL

[@doc_anubis]

I have literally no idea what Star used for his part, so I have no idea what youre talking about

[@Bronyboiiiii]

@@doc_anubis In short. The background music is very well known from friendship with benefits. AAAaaaaaaaaaaannnnnd, it's the the kind of game ppl under 18 should play. Basically, it's a love story and porn game in the MLP world. Look at it at your own risk xD

[@RainbowDreamAdventures]

Hi

[@mona_love_Lily]

I have questions if celestia lived more then 100 year how didn't she know about earth pony magic is make non sense

[@doc_anubis]

Earth Pony magic is sth thats completely new, it only developed now,it didn't exist in this capacity in G4

[@cameoshadowness7757]

@@doc_anubis actually earth pony magic DID exsist in G4. There are many instances of it in the background and then the whole Terik situation where he is actively shown draining Earthponies of their magic. Its also stated mutlie times all ponies have magic in them too. G5 is simply making it far more obvious and up front... while also ignoring certain aspects of G4 all together but that's a convo for another day.

[@doc_anubis]

I know, but it seems like the plant control is completely new, which is why I said that it didn't exist in this capacity

[@TheNamelessOne]

@@doc_anubis Check back on the episode that they are getting Twi's castle to feel more homely and then get back to me on this sentiment.

[@cameoshadowness7757]

@@doc_anubis given how frequently plants are tied to Earthponies, I don't really think so. It's been so common it was not only seen in ancient times but also in G4 where so many of the Earth Ponies have plant names/Cutiemarks. Obviously not all but many do.

[@Vivi_12371]

We have pounds

[@thaddeusr.3967]

The bit is confusing. Really confusing.

[@Schrobich]

are you germannnnn

[@doc_anubis]

I am indeed German