How Dangerous is a Penny Dropped From a Skyscraper?

This video is sponsored by Brilliant. You can get started for free, or the first 200 people to sign up via brilliant.org/veritasium get 20% off a yearly subscription. Check out Adam Savage's video: • Adam Savage's Penny Dr...
A massive thanks to Adam Savage and the whole Tested Crew - especially Kristen Lomasney, Ryan Kiser, and Joey Fameli. Thank you so much for coming out to the desert with us, and for inviting us to your cave! Check out the video we made with them on their channel - • Adam Savage's Penny Dr...
Another huge thanks to iFly Ontario for letting us shoot in your amazing windtunnel. Special thanks to Diana Rios, Treasa Telle, Michelle Brumley for having us and Anthony Jones, Torrell Henderson and Nate Roth for being great instructors. iFly run STEM education trips, where you can experience terminal velocity first hand - www.iflyworld.com/programs/st...
Thanks to Inland Empire Film Services and the San Bernardino County Film Office for portions of the video shot in the County of San Bernardino.
The raindrop video is from Alistair McClymont’s gorgeous artwork “Raindrop” - ​​alistairmcclymont.com/artwork...
Video of the raindrop breaking apart is from the coolest paper i’ve read in a while - Villermaux, E., & Bossa, B. (2009). Single-drop fragmentation determines size distribution of raindrops. Nature physics, 5(9), 697-702. - ve42.co/Villermaux
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References:
Altair. (2019). Digital Debunking: Could a Penny Dropped Off the Top of the Empire State Building Actually Kill You? - ve42.co/Altair2019
Braeunig, R.A. Atmosphere Properties. - ve42.co/AtmosProp
The Guardian. (2014). Brutal winter weather brings new challenge: ice falling from skyscrapers - ve42.co/WTCicicle
NASA. (2018). The Apollo 15 Hammer-Feather Drop - ve42.co/NASAmoondrop
Red Bull Stratos - ve42.co/RBStratos
Quealy, K., Sanger-KatzIn, M. (2015). In Other Countries, You’re as Likely to Be Killed by a Falling Object as by a Gun. New York Times. - ve42.co/NYTFallingObject
National Safety Council. (2022). Struck by Objects. - ve42.co/NSCStruck
Williams, A. (2019). What are your chances of being killed by hail in the US? - ve42.co/Williams2019
NewScientist. (2021). Can bullets fired upwards cause injuries when they return to earth? - ve42.co/CelebratoryGunFire
Chambers, J. (2020). Meet the Flechette - the Deadliest Weapon of World War I? - ve42.co/Flechette
Wikipedia. Lazy Dog (bomb). - ve42.co/LazyDog
Gläser, N., Kneubuehl, B. P., Zuber, S., Axmann, S., Ketterer, T., Thali, M. J., & Bolliger, S. A. (2011). Biomechanical examination of blunt trauma due to baseball bat blows to the head. Journal of Forensic Biomechanics, 2 - ve42.co/Glaser2011
Yoganandan, N., Pintar, F. A., SANCES JR, A. N. T. H. O. N. Y., Walsh, P. R., Ewing, C. L., Thomas, D. J., & Snyder, R. G. (1995). Biomechanics of skull fracture. Journal of neurotrauma, 12(4), 659-668.
New York Times. (2014). Falling Tape Measure Kills Man at Jersey City Construction Site - The New York Times - ve42.co/NYTTapeMeasure
IMDb. (2006). "MythBusters" Bullets Fired Up (TV Episode). - ve42.co/MBgunfire
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Special thanks to: Elliot MIller, Louis Lebbos, RayJ Johnson, Brian Busbee, Jerome Barakos M.D., Amadeo Bee, TTST, Balkrishna Heroor, Chris LaClair, John H. Austin, Jr., OnlineBookClub.org, Matthew Gonzalez, Eric Sexton, john kiehl, Nathan Lanza, Diffbot, Gnare, Dave Kircher, Burt Humburg, Blake Byers, Dumky, Evgeny Skvortsov, Meekay, Bill Linder, Paul Peijzel, Josh Hibschman, Mac Malkawi, Michael Schneider, jim buckmaster, Juan Benet, Robert Blum, Sunil Nagaraj, Richard Sundvall, Lee Redden, Stephen Wilcox, Marinus Kuivenhoven, Michael Krugman, Cy 'kkm' K'Nelson, Sam Lutfi, Ron Neal
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Written by Petr Lebedev, Derek Muller, and Emily Zhang
Filmed by Derek Muller, Trenton Oliver, Petr Lebedev, Emily Zhang, Raquel Nuno and Eddie Lopez
Animation by Ivy Tello, Mike Radjabov, Fabio Albertelli, and Jakub Misiek
Edited by Trenton Oliver and Derek Muller
FPV Drone Pilots: Sammie Saing and Josh Ewalt
Slow Motion Camera: Shawn Sanders and Anthony Corrales
Phantom slow motion camera & lenses provided by Panny Hire L.A
Helicopter Pilots: Rick Shuster and Cliff Fleming
Helicopter Safety Officer: Ryan Hosking
Production Assistants: Roman Bacvic and Eddie Lopez
Research Assistant: Katie Barnshaw
Additional video/photos supplied by Pond5 and Getty Images
Music from Epidemic Sound
Thumbnail by Ignat Berbeci
Produced by Derek Muller, Petr Lebedev, and Emily Zhang

[@decreasing_entropy3003]

As a Physics undergrad, this video scared me because for the first time, we saw that air resistance isn't negligible.

[@mayankbisht7691]

If you are an engineer, air resistance becomes a pain unless you can assume it to be constant in certain cases

[@decreasing_entropy3003]

@@mayankbisht7691 I stay light years away from engineering, so I barely have a clue. Every time I see the mention of air resistance, I happily ignore it. Both experimental and theoretical Physics is great, but engineering goes right above my head!😅

[@VemorrFrantik]

Take a deep breath and assume its a spherical cow.

[@justchilling4816]

@@MrT------5743 He was making a joke, dingus

[@lorddoge8410]

@@decreasing_entropy3003 Man, I'm doing first year physics at the moment and I'm struggling. So excited to not have to do it, this is why I'm a chem major hahah

[@tested]

This was SO fun. Can't wait to collaborate again!

[@jeanvaljean6234]

are you the real one

[@TurbineResearch]

This was too cool ! Please do more collaborations like this !

[@hatsurrin]

This video was just as fun to watch!

[@fish00p]

You do it without the helmet

[@lklmmedia4715]

Huge Fan Adam, awesome as a fellow Engineer to see you are always still passionate about everything you do!

[@KunjaBihariKrishna]

When hiking in Costa Rica we found a waterfall that had a little nook behind the water. The way water was pushing the air up in the nook was exactly the right force to make the water float. So you'd lean back into that nook and watch these floating droplets swirling before you. It was totally out of this world

[@DreamwalkerFilms]

Never, ever, under any circumstances, give the location of this gem on the Internet or social media.

[@bbk2802]

I’m guessing the locals are well aware of this phenomenon. Which hike and waterfall was it?

[@splinteredspace3469]

I really need to know what the waterfall is named. Has to be a video about it somewhere!

[@KunjaBihariKrishna]

@@splinteredspace3469 it was not a tourist place at that time. But it was know among permaculture farm communities. Its very close to a farm called Finca Amrita They used to have ayahuasca ceremonies in the massive cave behind the waterfall Granted, this was 10 years ago. I haven't been there since, but the farms should still be there. If you look for groups offering ayahuasca in that area, they will certainly know the waterfall

[@thedealerinthisvid]

Whottt

[@jeffl1460]

History will show in the future that these ancient coins were left in the desert during the times of having significant change. I wonder if they will be able to make cents of it all.

[@lyncatalonia1823]

LOL

[@lyncatalonia1823]

I will be the remembrance from Derek from the past of his descendants..LMAO

[@mider-spanman5577]

Nice double entendre!

[@RammusTF]

I see what you did there 👀

[@Florragonis]

Funny puns!

[@robinday8200]

As a skydiver I have jumped in the rain and it hurts as you fall onto the rain. People used to joke it was because the cartoon raindrop was pointy at the top. The reality is, you're falling at 200kph and the rain is 20kph so the rain is hitting you at 180kph!

[@---------______]

Yeah, as a biker/motorcyclist, even at 60kph, they start to hurt but not enough to leave you a bruise

[@yutudelickzolonskyyballs7146]

My shower shoot out 1000kmph water

[@MuhammadRaihan269]

@@---------______ damn thats true

[@yaroslavromanyuk5669]

@@yutudelickzolonskyyballs7146 Two guys who were digging a metro tunnel using hydro excavation decided to take a shower. The water jet torn one of them to pieces, the other one went to prison for involuntary manslaughter.

[@IStMl]

@@yaroslavromanyuk5669 Darwin at work

[@dizzylimme]

Imagine being an archeologist in the future and coming across hundreds of extremely rare and valuable ancient coins in the middle of a desert with no explanation

[@tomsheets6399]

..not to mention the strange pen-shaped objects made from ever-lasting plastic

[@freedomfighter1861]

Except they won’t be worth anything their nkt even copper because the government stole all the money from We the people unlike when we find coins now their gold and sliver

[@scgamesonline7771]

@@tomsheets6399 what? This joke is flying right over my head

[@jubeaumont6305]

​@@scgamesonline7771 it was the second thing they twazzed out of the chopper ( I didn't get it either, cos I commented too soon )

[@philtookgrenadesforme7785]

An African Swallow brought them there obviously.

[@26magicman26]

A penny won't hurt, but if you drop a quarter, its 25 times more deadly. The math adds up bro 🤔

[@j4xxonl]

damn

[@sammylacks4937]

Quarters have greater sectional density and higher ballistic coefficient .

[@dougsmith28]

@@sammylacks4937 plus they’re ridged!

[@2303batman]

If this was a joke then I totally understood it immediately 😂

[@wombat5252]

@@sammylacks4937 How about half dollar coins? 🤣

[@timmartin997]

All of my science teachers through all of my years in school were not nearly as cool as you guys in explaining this in the way that you just did and I thank you.

[@Gymantis]

All of your science teachers didn't have funding to procure a helicopter and they didn't have admissions permission to execute these kinds of experiments in order to hold your curiosity.

[@Rohityourface]

You need this much detail to learn the most basic stuff? American school system in a nutshell lmfao

[@levicodm1961]

​@@Rohityourface no but seeing is beileving i think i am not from america but i hated physics because most of the time you cant see what you are taught

[@samo4866]

You know you've reached a specific level of KZbinr when you have a mythbuster on your show. This brought back so many memories from my teens.

[@Svensk7119]

Despite the fact that I disagree with many of Mythbusters' "totally busted" conclusions.... Agreed. First-rate.

[@mikaa2004]

Oh man those old summer holidays. When all i did was watch tv and hangout with friends. Life has changed so much now

[@anarbatzoriganar]

vsauce has been up there for so long. should check their collab out if u havent yet

[@orion10x10]

@@anarbatzoriganar If only Alan Pan could join that group

[@SagaciousBoothe]

You know you're getting old when you watched myth Buster's in your teen years

[@RaphaelKepinski]

It's moving to see Adam in this. I grew up with Mythbusters and he hasn't lost any of his verve and enthusiasm.

[@b.s.6728]

Agreed. I felt like a kid watching Mythbusters again, and then noticed he's aged, then noticed I have too

[@NoticerOfficial]

Savage always loved the camera

[@steelbluesleepR]

You should watch his channel Adam Savage's Tested, then! It's mostly him making things, but he always has that same child like enthusiasm, and it's incredibly fun to watch, even if he's just making a wooden box.

[@Breaking_Chad]

You really should check out his channel, "Adam Savage's Tested"

[@tylerolejnicak5481]

He's done some cool stuff with Vsauce and of course has his own channel. Check him out, he's never lost his enthusiasm for testing, building and learning.

[@DreamwalkerFilms]

I miss Adam Savage man. The guy was such an icon of my teenage years. His energy is so infectious. Really happy to see this little cameo from him.

[@BandannaBreadClipsOld]

search "tested" he runs that

[@Robodude212]

Could you "stabilize" the penny's rotation by spinning it with the edge (like rolling a penny across the table, but down a skyscraper)? That would minimize the surface area and increase terminal velocity

[@govardan8392]

demn

[@anderivative]

The barrel of a gun is "rifled" to spin the bullet which does what youre saying. Get a good spin on it and it should continue cutting thru the air until it runs out of spin juice

[@Robodude212]

@@anderivative that's what I was thinking too, rifling stabilization. I'm just wondering if there'll be a Magnus effect on it, adding a horizontal component to the velocity and potentially affecting terminal velocity. It's probably also going to depend on how much you spin it, which makes it harder to test

[@jazzochannel]

Just rolling would not be enough. You'd have to spin it up to 6000 or more RPM imho. Bullets leave a gun spinning at more the 100,000 RPM.

[@tannhauser5399]

@Robodude212 - if you are curious.... New Scientist had article about falling bullets... which can hit the ground speed greater than 61m per second (bullets traveling between 46-61m/s penetrate skin). Faster than this, and they will penetrate skull. See injuries after celebratory gunfire in some places (Puerto Rico for example had 19 injuries in 2003, on New Year's Eve, and one person died; it was the same in places like Maryland, Ohio, Texas). All in all, mostly it is not fatal. It was quite interesting article, from 2021. A while back The Guardian also had an interesting article about it. And there is of course Myth Busters, which had program about it, back in 2009.

[@jaysonl]

Thank you for including David Scott saying "How about that?" at the end after he drops the hammer and the feather on the Moon. That's my favorite part of the whole thing.

[@Chris-hx3om]

As that clip was playing I realised it's another nail in the coffin of moon landing deniers. You can't make that happen on a sound stage!

[@csn583]

@@Chris-hx3om Well... NASA does have (at least these days) gigantic autoclaves that could create a vacuum. You'd have to slow the footage down to simulate lower gravity of course. Sorry, had to play dummy's advocate! 😅

[@Chris-hx3om]

@@csn583 Fair call.

[@moos5221]

@@Chris-hx3om yeah, NASA surely didn't have access to rubber strings that would be able to pull the feather to the ground at the same speed as the hammer is falling. absolutely impossible.

[@brunoais]

@@moos5221 Yeah but they have access to vacuum chambers :(

[@fabian999ification]

Savage's enthusiasm for science is always very inspiring.

[@InfiniteMonkeysSA]

"The only difference between screwing around and science is writing it down." - Adam Savage

[@portillamail]

AKA putrid breath

[@tracruz]

If only he understood how to properly run the “plane on a conveyer belt” experiment 🤡

[@cliftonwk]

My first time viewing your content, I love the scientific explanations! So few people explain in detail how our world works, great job

[@freedomofmusic2112]

This was awesome! I'm in physics this semester, it's so cool seeing such a thorough explanation and demonstration of everything we just learned in our first unit 🙂

[@JadeMythriil]

Mythbusters may have ended but the spirit of mythbusters lives on in channels like this and many others that have been inspired to think, question, and experiment everything they find.

[@VezWay007]

0:45 "if you ignore air resistance" spoken like a true physicist

[@Shockedbywater]

1:36 It is cool seeing Adam go immediately into professional mode. It's like a switch flips and he is going over exactly how the shoot will go.

[@barrylafleur8526]

As an airlift bombardment aircraft maintenance specialist in the USAF, I had a run-in with a slightly intoxicated loudmouth, which I soon found out was my new commander. Soon after, I was in his office getting my butt chewed for crossing a line without my hard hat in our hangar. He told me a penny thrown off the Empire State Building would go right through the human body. I corrected him. As a result of this episode, I was accused of having no military bearing and sentenced to three months on a military drill team. It was by far my favorite punishment I have ever had to endure. Air resistance becomes work on a bicycle at ten miles an hour. You can ride forever at ten mph without wind or hills. Twenty MPH is too fast to maintain for long if you are not in shape. If you go as fast as possible from the start, you will get gassed at twenty-five. If you can draft a city bus or large vehicle, you can cruise at 25-35 for long distances. A 35 MPH penny will only hurt somebody if it hits them right in the eye. The rotor wash would go far beyond removing air resistance (drafting), forcing the pennies to go much faster than they would under ordinary circumstances.

[@TurbineResearch]

It makes me so happy to see Adam doing a myth busters type episode again!

[@craigmchenry1477]

Yeah!!!

[@unreachablesecretary]

Right? Brings back so many memories!!

[@gileee]

It's literally recreating a MythBusters episode since they already busted this myth in one of the earlier seasons.

[@AMorphicTool]

Its sometimes funny when you ask visitors to a site to wear bump caps/hard hats. They always look at you like "You for real?" Yes. Yes we are. I have had to work under people working at height and the amount of headaches I've been saved from by wearing a bump cap, is insane. Bolts, washers, tools. All it takes is for one guy to fumble one thing, which is easily done, and *smack* your day is ruined. Great content as always.

[@chrismarkovich9430]

Shhhh

[@allanshpeley4284]

@@chrismarkovich9430 Shhh

[@MattH-wg7ou]

Hah Im gonna call helmets "bump caps" from now on 😆

[@OrcinusDrake]

Not even items falling, even just walking into things.

[@smurfnation8578]

That bolded "smack" just messed me up, i turned my phone to look at it from so many angles and some of the other words started looking bolded, i was questioning life just by looking at it for some reason

[@Lolabonezz]

seeing the rain in the wind tunnel was so beautiful i literally cried wow

[@genkill81]

My heart goes out to the interns that had to pick up all those pennies lol

[@karolakkolo123]

They could have just brought a huge magnet and just make it into a roomba that picks up the pennies lol

[@derangstgarten1447]

Please don't drop a penny off a sky scraper, it isn't worth it

[@karolakkolo123]

@@derangstgarten1447 you can always drop a zimbabwian million dollar coin, probably lower losses than dropping a penny

[@ModernGentleman]

@@karolakkolo123 pennies don't stick to a magnet. They are made of mostly zinc which is nonferrous.

[@chitlitlah]

@@ModernGentleman Unless they were using pennies from the 1940s. Maybe that was a bucket of pennies they recovered from the wreckage of the USS Bismarck.

[@rodrigomotta1257]

Thousands of years from now, people will be wondering why the hell there are so many extremely old buried pennies in such a specific and random area

[@raccoon6072]

"They were probably worshiping a god"

[@primepap]

@@raccoon6072 this is so incredibly true that it’s funny

[@turntsnaco824]

@@primepap Yeah. They would literally never imagine the actual scenario - that it was an experiment completely unrelated to the location they were in. Really makes you wonder how many ancient discoveries we've misinterpreted simply because we didn't have the necessary context.

[@Iluveyuu]

@@turntsnaco824 this is some deep thinking ngl

[@MJ-ig3fo]

Earth won't be around in thousands of years

[@Giggles56]

I love this channel. Makes science more interesting and easier to comprehend. Thank you

[@uncensoredcornishgirl87l16]

The way he made sure his ballocks were protected had me cracked up. These were entertaining to watch tbf.

[@Verlisify]

A lot of people these days didn't grow up with Mythbusters so I love the idea of revisiting the kinds of myths and rumors that were tested

[@N8Dulcimer]

I would be so stoked if they made a reboot just revisiting different approaches to myths that were fun to cover.

[@zachmoyer1849]

or they should release MythBusters on KZbin I'm sure its made more than enough

[@Verlisify]

@@zachmoyer1849 Not how show rights work...

[@zachmoyer1849]

@@Verlisify its up its just behind a paywall not every kid can afford to get past but yes I'm well aware of how milking show rights works

[@Verlisify]

@@zachmoyer1849 Its not milking to produce content then want to make sustained royalties and compensation off of it to produce future content

[@DarkD112]

This is actually a relief for me. When I was young, I was on the 9th floor of an apartment building and I saw this woman lying in the amenities on a beach chair type thing. I dropped an ice cube and tried to aim for her. I missed, but I've felt guilty about that ever since. I don't know what I was thinking that day. Just one of those spur of the moment horrible ideas you regret as soon as you do it.

[@avosmash2121]

Years ago I had at my grandmothers apartment a cheap battery operated plastic music box that played annoying 8bit music that broke and wouldnt shut up. It drove me batty and I hurled it off the 13th story terrace to the ground below to watch it shatter which was very satisfying. But it enraged my mom who said I could have killed someone. I doubted what she said but never knew for sure and always felt a bit guilty for that. It was a tiny and very light toy music box, like the size of a large box of matches, and it was the kind of thing you could destroy by just stepping on it hard enough with a shoe, so I doubt it would have likely KILLED anybody. But it probably would have been painful, especially if you were looking up when it hit you on the face.

[@jameseeboy]

Damn, bro just admitted to attempted murder

[@fidelostorga4550]

@@BoredFr_88 it is people believe that dropping something small from up high can kill someone...

[@VeilQuest]

I was thirteen, on the fourth floor of our apartment. I threw a cup of water out of the window for a goof, just because. A guy happened to be walking by and got splashed. He thought it was... something else. Worse. My step father happened to be on the downstairs balcony and got an earful from the guy. Never laughed so hard. Ah the joys of youth.

[@tylerwells8640]

Lol I was dropping gummy bears from the 12th floor At the people In the chairs below. Worst part i was on a trip with my FRIENDS family not even mine

[@luismijangos7844]

Amazing video and I love the colab. I'm a big fan of Mythbusters. I think that in 17:50 there's a little mistake. Drag force also affects a bullet in its horizontal motion so its speed will not be the same one that it has when it was fired (don't get me wrong, it's still lethal, but not like a direct shot). Also the bullets fired by a gun have a lot of spin, so by the Conservation of Angular Momentum they tend to maintain their orientation much longer.

[@nesargent]

Even more amazing is how many times this has already been done and put on KZbin or TV is some manner.

[@ststudios12345]

Dont watch it then...

[@PomadaGaming]

hadn’t seen it. This video is so much more than that,too

[@richardjones38]

Derek and Adam, please do more stuff like this together. Best of both worlds. I miss Mythbusters!

[@esecallum]

ego caused cancellation

[@glenngriffon8032]

We all myth the missbusters.

[@esecallum]

As you can likely guess, the show cuts to Adam and Jamie going up the Empire State Building with a handful of cats. The rest is pretty indescribable, but we think you can imagine it does not end well for the cats. From what we can tell, no one actually made it to the end of the episode, everyone left the theater to get sick in the hallway rather than continue to watch. When Discovery got wind of this, they immediately halted production of the show and would soon cancel it permanently, claiming the show had ‘run its course.’ Unfortunately, we now know the terrible truth.

[@painkiller6630]

I make better music 🎵🙁 I have the best album 🔥🎶

[@mnxs]

@@esecallum lol wtf. Tell me, what is it that makes ppl like you make up BS like that to spew all over the internet?

[@robertrinaldi8472]

I'm only 2 minutes in and I'd already say that you gotta collaborate with Adam more. I love both of you guys and Adam is an absolute legend. This is giving me flashbacks to watching mythbusters after middleschool

[@alveolate]

ngl, mythbusters really gave me an appettite for real science-based facts with demonstrations of scientists arriving at the conclusions via real tests.

[@benjamindover4337]

Maybe try dropping a bucket full of nails? Try it on a crate full of cats?

[@benjamindover4337]

Before anyone says thats cruel.. I mean unwanted cats.

[@DrakkarCalethiel]

@500 subs challenge but I upload simpsons Bye bye bot!

[@timmartin997]

All of my science teacher's through all of my years in school were not nearly as cool as you guys and explaining this in the way that you just did and I thank you.

[@b.calvinsaul1909]

So good to see Adam in his natural element!

[@MrNabows]

You see Derek is a great creator when he shows you what you want to see at the beginning of the video knowing he WILL retain his audience till the end!

[@MadScientist267]

Speak for yourself 🙄

[@JorgetePanete]

beginning*

[@shayorshayorshayor]

Shaaat up

[@diablo.the.cheater]

@@MadScientist267 No, he speaks for the trees.

[@marioss2167]

That's the exact opposite of what they did in the original MythBusters lmao A bunch of talking and planning and then just five minutes of the actual experiment.

[@Lancelot707]

3:48 Always use hat for protection

[@DoughNationBox]

I cannot tell you how much I love Adam Savage. He is the man!!

[@kisaragi-hiu]

16:44 Oh, that's the context of this clip. Quite neat that you were able to test these two things in the same trip

[@bricks_mortar]

So happy you used skydiving as an exemple of air resistance. It’s such an integral part of what we need to account for when doing formations, based on different body types and formation speed.

[@mayankshirali1158]

very true

[@ibsn87]

Do skinny short people have to wear loose suits to match larger other divers? Do you get to the ground and discuss who needs to add more drag? I’ve never once thought about this. I have often finish an underwater drive, and say I need more weight (lead) next time. Same same but totally different principle!

[@hhhhh22Beans]

@@ibsn87 yes. Sometimes the lighter jumper will even wear a weight belt around their waist

[@ibsn87]

@@hhhhh22Beans I thought you were taking the piss for a minute then I googled it. This had never once crossed my mind when watching formation flights, there you go, learning something new every day!

[@bricks_mortar]

@@ibsn87 Suits with different fabrics, looser fit or tight fit, weight belts... There's a couple methods we use to match up to the same fall speed without forcing the body position too much.

[@ImrePolik]

A great demonstration of how much the media has changed in 20 years. This video tells roughly the same story as the Mythbusters episode, but it's a lot tighter. Great collaboration! It was strange to see Adam in his old gear.

[@literallycanadian]

Is it though? this took 22 minutes, was in my opinion less interesting and covered the same things.

[@mortache]

Partly because in television you don't really have any control. Yeah you can change the channel but how many channels like Discovery can you find? Here, not only are there hundreds of other options, but you can open any one of their hundreds of videos if a particular one doesn't suit your liking

[@mortache]

@@literallycanadian the test was done in 3-4 minutes. The rest was explanations which is what we're here for

[@Fallbr00kwhat]

​@@literallycanadian wait how was it less interesting?

[@martingundelach4915]

​@@literallycanadian there was way more science involved in this than in a regular Mythbusters episode. Mythbusters was, as usual with TV shows, mostly entertainment. A lot of focus on jokes or the interactions between the team members and ads. I can't stand any ads so I'm glad I can watch stuff like this now.

[@ashobathoillah6076]

thank you for the information.

[@nuk3snip3r]

I love that I clicked on this and thought "No one has ever shown this better than Adam Savage. Let's see what you got." And then I see that you got Adam Savage. Bravo.

[@nokia1100000]

at 3:38 this hat is the most important thing ever

[@Toraxa]

A myth, Adam Savage, dropping things from a helicopter in the desert, and a "busted" call. We even got a ballistics gel dummy! This is totally MythBusters. Awesome video!

[@SuperLifestream]

Season 2 episode 4 of mythbusters. They already did this shooting pennies at terminal velocity

[@theherk]

No Jamie Hyneman though.

[@Call_Upon_YAH]

Jesus Christ died for our sins, rose from the dead, and gives salvation to everyone who has faith in him. True faith in Jesus will have you bear good fruit and *drastically* change for the better! Those led by the Holy Spirit do not abide in wickedness. *God is ONE manifesting himself as THREE;* the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit! Bless him! *For these three are one.* As I am led by the Holy Spirit, nothing I state is a lie, but the truth of God. Anyone who tells you differently is misinformed or a liar. They do not know God, nor led by him. Anyone who *claims* to be a Christian and is against what I am doing, and where I am doing it; the Holy Spirit does not dwell within them, they lack understanding. They know not God, read his word, and their religion is in vain. Do not hear them, they will mislead you, the lost cannot guide the lost.

[@Call_Upon_YAH]

When you trust in God and cast your cares (worries, anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts) upon him, they will be NO MORE! Know that there is power in the name Jesus Christ! His name casts out demons and heals! The world is wicked, evil, and of the devil. I too, was a wicked sinner of the world before I opened my heart to God. I am living proof of God's work and fruitfulness! He is an active God who hears the prayers of his! God's children are set apart (holy) and righteous. The devil is a liar that comes to steal, to kill, and to destroy; that includes your relationship with God.

[@brazil3207]

BUSTING THE BIGBANG MYTH DEBUNKING BIGBANG: if the bigbang was real the 2nd planet's orbit would be normal and sat turns ring particles should've moved too fast for ANY gravity to pull them towards the planet. And thats not even taking into account the bigbangs hot temprature which shoulda vaporized anything. also there is too little antimatter in universe. if bigbang was real 99.999999999999999999999% of our universe should Not exist because antimatter destroys matter when it make contact with matter. the bang wouldve made much of it touch matter. so we see far less stars n stuff bc the so called bigbang wouldve destroyed nearly all of it. remember this comment if you truly wanna know if God is Real or not. read ALL of it, and hopefully know that JESUS CHRIST is the true God. screenshot it or keep this comment somewhere to read later. this should prove that Jesus is Real. JESUS CHRIST will Not make you take any mark, and He will punish the tyrannical ANTI Christ. The ANTI Christ will get a terrible wound, but cure himself to reinforce his deception to decieve the non-Christians and the lukewarm Christians. (look up lukewarm Christians on Christian websites and/or the Bible.) the AC will be world famous and very popular. he will make people take a mark on r hand or forhead. there will be a severe punishment for not taking it. The ANTI-Christ is a control freak, the opposite of Jesus Christ. Jesus uses His power for GOOD, NOT EVIL. This is BIBLE PROPHECY. Dont trust the false god, his goal is to get people into the lake of fire. he will go there too, despite all the FALSE MIRACLES HE WILL DO! Repent of your sins to Jesus Christ before its too late, you could die today!

[@chancemeyers8502]

Its crazy and great man. I was just talking about wanting to see you two do something together cause Ive always nicknamed Veratsium KZbins Mythbuster lol. But yall are great together, Id love to see another.

[@DirtyyJerz]

I love how at first it's a nice controlled drop with no momentum imparted, and by the end adam is just screaming THREE TWO ONE and throwing them down as hard as he can

[@youtubersingingmoments4402]

Adam savage has managed to infiltrate everyone's channels from the Corridor Crew to Vsauce to now Veritasium (and more I'm sure I'm not privy to). What a cool guy.

[@GTAVictor9128]

He also made a cameo appearance in The Expanse, dying while testing the myth: "Can you land on the surface of Venus?"

[@_DrinkMoreWater_]

Which vsauce video? Haven't seen it and want to check it out

[@ianyboo]

If Adam makes it into an Isaac Arthur episode my life will be complete lol

[@SolarShado]

@@ianyboo I'm struggling to think of an appropriate topic, but that _would_ be a cool crossover

[@28th_St_Air]

I know you didn’t mean it in a negative way, but “grace” seems like a more appropriate word to use instead of “infiltrate”. 😊

[@SternLX]

Made me smile hearing Adam say "Busted" again after so many years of no new Mythbuster episodes. Also this confirms what I thought about the Penny off the ESB Myth. Never sat well with me that they could be deadly weighing so little.

[@neaituppi7306]

I watched Mythbusters for at least 12 seasons. There was the season they did the episode of testing whether there was universal connection, with an EEG on plants. The results they got were positive and it scared them. Because it wasn't what they "wanted." So they switched it to yogurt cultures with a less sensitive device, and got the results they "wanted." Negative, myth busted. As fun as it was usually in their shows, I didn't need to waste anymore time with a non-scientific, biased worldview. Since then I have become much more aware of when any show, person, KZbin channel, engages in information warfare.

[@allisonhebron3311]

I love the history on the Flechette. I have never heard of that before.

[@angelag5708]

I remember when Adam built that penny rig, I can't believe he still has it. ❤️

[@R0bobb1e]

Just so you know, your channel is my favourite of them all and you have a significant impact on my retraining of my brain after a traumatic brain injury. Thank you for existing! Plus I loved seeing Adam Savage helping you on this one. He and Jaimie are the two responsible for making me realise I loved science and learning so much. (I'm an 80's kid...)

[@handlotion8244]

Good job man, we’re proud of you❤

[@coling8176]

👍❤️👌

[@elijahbaley5556]

Congrats!

[@Sarah-said]

That's great!

[@iLLadelph267]

"thank you for existing!" I'd like to start saying that

[@davetaylor2088]

I had some concerns around falling object risks when I worked in the water industry. Some of our concrete structures (dam walls and outlet structures) had calcium deposits which would occasionally peel away and drop. The material was hard, brittle and some of the pieces probably weighed in over 500g. I maintained (without much evidence ) that this was a real risk to health and safety. Looks like I was right!

[@ThePolysyllabist]

500g is not the same as 2.5g ffs

[@KaiHenningsen]

@@ThePolysyllabist That's the point.

[@stevesteve8098]

There is documentation, from Scotland where they used to build the oil rigs... of a metal nut falling off near the top of the build area about 180 feet, hitting the safety helmet of a guy underneath and the helmet actually exploding with the force, the guy was unharmed.... so.. yep....

[@RekySai]

I just can't. He says so many lies now a days. He doesn't care to learn anything before he preaches it to his audience. Speed of sound is around 1200metre per second at sea level. It travels faster the less air there is.

[@MartinVisser]

@@RekySai maybe you need to learn the difference between metric and whatever other units you were using before bleeting. Speed of sound at sea level is 343 metres per second, or 1125 FEET per second.

[@michaelheberger3075]

In my college physics text book in the chapter on terminal velocity there was a cartoon image of a skydiver falling next to a mouse with no parachute. Because the mouse has so little mass it's terminal velocity would be so slow it not only would survive the impact with the ground but it would most likely walk away unscathed. Now there's an experiment I'd like to see these guys do.

[@ErectkyleDysfunction]

10:14 - I've never seen a stunned stick figure before. It was minimal, yet very detailed animation; amazing quality. 👏

[@Case_]

You might be interested in xkcd if physics (and nerdy things in general) and surprisingly detailed stick figures are your thing. Provided you already are not.

[@TheManlol12]

Derek, If somehow you and Adam brought back Mythbusters together, I don't think you realize how successful that would be. There is a very clear chemistry between you two that makes me want so much more of this!

[@StanSwan]

They are set for life. Why would they want to go back? Let them enjoy the fruits of their labor.

[@user5214]

@@StanSwan and from what I understand they don't even like each other. The Myth busters liking each other that is.

[@Scroolewse]

Jamie probably realized how much of a tool Adam is.

[@StanSwan]

@@Scroolewse Adam and Jamie looked bored after a few seasons. Loved the people they brought in. Kari is amazing and has that hot nerd thing going on. Tory is like the kid you could dare to eat a bug and he would do it. Grant was a brilliant guy, such a tragic loss, far too young.

[@JunkBondTrader]

@@Scroolewse Jamie is a stuck up dork. Why don't you ever see him anywhere anymore? No one likes him.

[@SarahRoseStiles]

After a tumultuous windstorm in Michigan this summer, in the backyard I found an 8-10-inch shard from a tree branch that had stabbed into the ground, still standing nearly straight up. I guess probably wouldn't normally happen in a free fall, and perhaps wind power, and the elasticity of the tree branches whipping around acted like a sling shot, playing a role in catalyzing this occurrence.

[@GeertDelmulle]

WOW!! You went all out with this large scale experiment and a full-on collaboration with Adam “Mythbusters” Savage! This really felt like a fusion between Veritasium (your narration and hosting) and Mythbusters with Adam and the typical oneliners from back in the day (pure nostalgia!). Love it! Please do more of this! :-)

[@faithinhisblood777]

Jesus Christ died for our sins. He was buried, and He rose again the third day. 1 Corinthians 15:1-4. God loves you and wants a relationship with you! ❤️

[@Aycheffe]

I hope they regularly work together from now on. It feels like mythbusters is back watching this

[@Carteruss]

Veritassium and Adam reviving myth busters would be too perfect.

[@renanamorim8062]

It's pretty cool to see how Adam Savage is still so excited and happy with his work. He sure inspired an entire generation (including myself) to become scientists and engineers all over the world!

[@johnd5398]

I had the biggest smile and the warmest feeling when he said "busted!" lol I miss them all.

[@Andrew-hj6js]

Please repent and turn from your sins Jesus Christ is coming back for his people and you do not want to be left behind im not saying this to scare you this is a biblical even that’s about to take place most of the bible prophecy has been fulfilled it’s only a matter of time do your own research it’s not about religion it’s about a relationship stay blessed people ❤🙏.

[@axain7784]

@@Andrew-hj6js Y'know, if Jesus was alive, he'd probably slap the ever-living hell out of you. He didn't ask to be revered. He asked that you follow his teachings, and you are doing all but that. You are a disappointment to Jesus Christ Himself.

[@topherthe11th23]

6:16 - You can also change your term'inal velocity by being vertical (higher speed) or horizontal (lower speed). It's a decision you never want to have to make if your parachutes f'ail. Do you spread out like a star-fish to cause as much drag vs. the direction of fall as possible? If so, and you don't see a haystack to aim for, remember to try to get vertical feet-first at the last possible instant and do the roll you practiced beforehand.

[@koltondoesstuff2437]

thanks for the idea!

[@themeandrousengineer]

Like many people here, I really loved seeing this like it was a new Mythbusters episode. It was really great seeing Adam again besides on Tested. I miss this kind of stuff being prevalent on tv.

[@Muffin.Creations]

@Don't read profile photo ok I wont

[@themeandrousengineer]

Betelgeuse?

[@thecrazyisreal]

My dude watched “nope” but doesn’t want to admit it.

[@matrixphijr]

Derek: Could a ballpoint pen _actually_ be lethal? Adam the Savage: It’s worth trying…

[@T1Oracle]

John Wick: You called?

[@buttchunksofdoomd4939]

@@T1Oracle Morpheus: You Ready? Neo: What?

[@sutirthjha515]

ik it's a joke but it will likely start rotating and ur more likely to be hit by the longer side than the nib.

[@Huma270490]

17:05 The graph has a great misstake. The horizontal speed of the bullet will suffer from the drag of the air like the vertical one and the effect of the bullet tumbling so the arrow for the horizontal movement should be also reduced as the bullet flies, afecting the momentum and reducing the lethal characteristics. The problem with the stray bullets is the angle. If you shoot a bullet with an angle you will have a vertical and horizontal velocity as shown on the graphic but as you reduce the angle the horizontal speed will be bigger as the vertical one will be smaller, up to a point where the drag from the air will not be able to reduce the speed of the bullet to levels when is not lethal by the time hits something or someone. If you read the different studies about people being killed by stray bullets they're never hit in pronounced angles, that is because the bullet is shoot in a low angle. As you increase the angle of shooting you also increase the angle of the hit, with a perfectly vertical shot hitting the ground perfectly vertical. Also, it is needed to consider a lot of other factors involving all this, like wind, etc.

[@user-ng2mt2yr1t]

I just want to thank you and Jamie for doing what you guys did he's a badass

[@ESOdanny]

We not going to talk about Adam absolutely YEETING the pennies out of the helicopter at him XD

[@SadisticKillerXx]

I noticed that too xd

[@joeystewart7090]

Love your Skyrim vids bro

[@jameswoeste275]

Npc

[@Wafaloo]

Yeeting?

[@americandingo1109]

@@Wafaloo launching, throwing, chucking, hurling

[@mackenzie1845]

I think the biggest actual danger in this scenario would clearly be someone dropping their phone off the Empire State Building lol. I'm assuming that is heavy enough to actually injure you, rather than a pen or penny.

[@wagahagwa6978]

when i was on there i get really scared holding my phone near that long drop because i don't wanna kill someone lol

[@MohamIsMe]

I mean at least the phone wouldn't be as damaged lol

[@onikin]

40-60 joules or so, I'd guess. Hard to know its drag coefficient and all that fluttering. Just under enough to crack a skull, but if unlucky and all that force hits you with the corner of the phone, then enough force on the point to do serious damage.

[@mikie431]

Dropping a payphone off the Empire State Building would most definitely hurt someone assuming that the covariance properties remained unchanged throughout it's journey to the sidewalk below. Especially if this profound event happened during a warm month like July when the air is less dense.

[@chrits3396]

Maybe If it was a Nokia then I would be worried.

[@consentofthegoverned5145]

LOL Adam is throwing them downward too, what a savage!

[@deucedeuce1572]

I have no intention on watching this video, yet youtube has recommended it to me every single day for like a year now and I'm literally only "watching" it, so it leaves me alone. It's not a bad video or a bad channel or anything. I just already know how dangerous a penny is when dropped from a skyscraper.

[@Danny.._]

3:18 now i know what the hat was for 😂

[@mosubekore78]

Anyone, what's the music title at this 3:14

[@diggydwarfman1224]

Seeing both Veritasium (who I frequently watch now) and Adam (who I watched frequently when I was younger) is truly a collab dream come true!

[@helinton74]

Awesome Collab!!! Do more videos with Adam!!!!!

[@topherthe11th23]

0:50 - The distance to the very top is the wrong distance to use. The top is sealed unless you're some kind of electrician fixing lights or antennae or polishing the mast. The distance that should be used is the distance to the observation-deck, something like the 86th floor more or less give or take.

[@KilerkRazorclaw]

I got the experience the rain thing one time with my ex. I was on a company vacation with her as i was a medic and they thought it'd be good for insurance reasons. I rode Fury 325 (at Carowinds in North Carolina), and i got to tell you something...it is surreal as heck. You don't appreciate terminal velocity until things like a wind tunnel or a roller coaster of that height. We managed to convince the park manager and ride operator to let us ride during a rain storm which was my first time on that coaster. Its something to climb that massive hill, rain pouring down about you...and the tip over the top...the rain slows down...stops...then seems to go up. Its a moment i'll never forget. Watching rain go in reverse.

[@onesadtech]

That sounds incredible! Thanks for sharing.

[@traildude7538]

Once when skydiving there was a cloud I couldn't avoid. Punching through the cloud itself was just cold and damp, but underneath it was raining -- and that was totally disorienting because while I knew the raindrops were falling, I was hitting them from above because I was falling faster. The experience didn't last long since it was just a squall, but the weirdest part was when I exited the column of rain on the side and it looked like the rain was going upward.

[@syedabid9767]

bro i also want to test it out now!

[@GirishVenkatachalam]

In my Island I have gotten hit by rain drops

[@torqtorqtorq]

Something I love about this video is that it answered the title question immediately, but then I stuck around anyway because it kept being interesting and useful. I'm so glad you didn't save the results of the penny drop to the end with a teaser at the beginning. That's an old TV format fueled by the need for viewers to be present for multiple intermittent commercial breaks and we see it all too much these days when we don't need to. Thank you!

[@hannesp3493]

We will be conducting an experiment to see if a penny dropped from the Empire State Building will kill you… … … AFTER THE BREAK

[@Senza_1]

I was expecting that to happen. Pleasantly surprised it didn’t. Also read your comment while I was a couple minutes past that part so your comment reads true.

[@Kriptickhaos]

How did they prove anything by floating around 50-100ft and droppong the coins.......

[@torqtorqtorq]

@@Kriptickhaos, you should watch the rest of the video where they explain why going any higher wouldn't change the behavior of the dropping coins which had already hit their terminal velocity and subsequently their destructive capability

[@Kriptickhaos]

@@torqtorqtorq stfu. Fake science

[@dugmun]

wow, ima gonna look into this. Interesting! Thanks

[@vaughnvillanueva5419]

oh my gosh, its Adam from myth busters! this is amazing!

[@netoxicky]

This felt like i was watching a mythbusters episode from another universe. Big thanks and i hope to see more collabs with Adam.

[@acat7195]

it really shows that you did your PHD on how to make videos to teach physics. you show everything in such a way that can keep someone watching the whole video even if they only wanted to know the answer to the question

[@fredbaumann3360]

Well put!

[@elnorteno5703]

Veritasium, the air resistance is proportional only to the speed or to its square only for identical objects, but for different objects, the air resistance is also proportional to the section of the object perpendicular to the trajectory. Instead of the hammer, just use a sewing needle (same mass as the feather), and you will have the same result (regardless to the mass, the needle moves faster because it has a smaller perpendicular section). Having the same mass, the velocity is inversely proportional to the air resistance. In vacuum, there is not air resistance.

[@niv6924]

Without air resistance, even a raindrop can kill a person

[@adamlaski9128]

This gave me hardcore Mythbusters nostalgia. Adam looked so in his element.

[@woodneel]

The cut to them sitting in the desert providing context for the "experiment" just took me back a decade+ to the good old days.

[@FreekHoekstra]

The thing about the pen is that it’s aerodynamically unstable, this is why an arrow has fletching at the back, even though it actually slows it down, it slows it down less than the arrow going more sideways, similarly we use rifling bullets to generate rotational stability because we don’t want the bullet to tumble. If you spun the pen vertically or added fletching, it would never go sideways it’s cross-sectional area wouldn’t increase and indeed it would probably go fast enough to do serious damage.

[@ModelLights]

Exactly. For sure, if you took that same penny, crafted it into a 2" or so long dart with a small tail to keep it vertical, it would have the potential to kill someone, even if it was tiny in reality. Edge wise it may simply not be stable enough to stay on edge though. There's very little mass vs its surface area, so even spun up it may flutter and slow down anyway. The real test would be fairly simple. Take lead, make a lead 'leading edge of the penny'. Then make a plastic 'rest of the penny'. Make it the same weight, and tweak it until it flies straight with roughly the same air resistance as a penny on edge. That would be the 'maximum case possible penny'. Any real penny would be less than this, so if this can't penetrate then no penny will. Any real penny would have distributed weight and likely flutter and travel slower anyway, but this would let you test the maximum theoretical case.

[@iteragami5078]

@@ModelLights Well it would depend on how fast you can spin the penny (like spinning a frisbee, except ludicrously fast). Also, similar to frisbee, the penny might turn over along axis parallel to drag, keeping the edge pointed to the ground as it falls.

[@ModelLights]

@@iteragami5078 A penny is almost guaranteed too light to maintain the spin, and probably has too much surface area vs mass to not tumble. You have to build your own thing the same mass and surface area that flies straight to test the maximum case, and then no real penny can possibly do better. The penny has too little mass to maintain spin, it's going to slow down spinning too quickly from air friction. And it has too much surface area vs the mass to not be perturbed and tumble. You can make a penny fall straight on edge for an OK distance, but after a certain point disturbance in the air is going to make it become unstable. It simply doesn't have enough mass vs the surface area to not move. You could say you're going to throw a feather but make it behave like a rock too, but it won't happen. There's simply too much surface area vs the low mass for that to remain true. A penny is too small and light, and simply has too much surface area vs the low, evenly distributed mass. But maybe you missed the part that who cares about an actual penny, that simply doesn't matter. What I described is better, it's an easy 'maximum possible penny case' that you can repeat every time. It will easily show whether even a theoretical perfect penny throw could kill someone or not. You don't have to use a penny, a perfect equivalent is just that, equal.

[@chrishajduk84]

Exactly - Center of mass has to be far in front of the center of drag. The pen has its center of mass in roughly the center of the pen, and the center of drag is also roughly in the center. This makes the system unstable. A pen with a large mass at the tip, would be very dangerous.

[@danielconway7190]

Go check out the video on Chris Rollins channel - he actually did show that a pen can go through a skull

[@ris_kis]

Wow, thanks for your video.

[@1Dshot]

Nice to see Adam still going strong, nice collbaoration

[@id4293]

Damn...imagine if Adam accidentally let go of the bucket itself with the pennies.

[@JulieWallis1963]

Ha! You made me laugh out loud for way too long!

[@mbailey0407]

Looks like the bucket was attached to a rope

[@purpleghost106]

​@@mbailey0407 Yes, a safety tether-- wind speeds can make holding onto objects difficult, and I'll bet they trippled checked that safety tether before going up.

[@eddosimonetti2314]

Yes! Quality comment!

[@spetsdod]

I'm 52 years old and your enthusiasm for explanation and the way you explain subjects is overwhelmingly exciting to me. I hate math. I've never been good at it beyond very basic Algebra and Geometry/Trig, but you make me want to go back and get better at it. Thank you for your videos. I have been a subscriber for 5 years or so and I love everything you share with us.

[@bronzejourney5784]

As they say, "Its never too late."

[@yolandagrabowski6043]

I like how those sharpies are hallow. Like fill them with behavioral matters.

[@68corzo]

Hello and congratulations. But I have two issues regarding the bullets: 1. You said that a bullet launched at a certain angle is more dangerous because it will keep it's orientation due to spin-stabilizing. That doesn't mean that it will have the launching angle at the and of it's trajectory, basically falling laterally bottom first? 2. Also the vertically launched bullet will keep it's spinning if that launched at a certain angle will do, so it will keep it's position during descent, falling bottom first. In fact, I think that due to aerodynamic forces it will start to tumble and will stop rotating due to gyroscopic effect, as you showed in other video. It's an issue i always wanted to address but I never get a correct answer. The same question regarding a long range artillery shell: at what angle will it hit the target?

[@theadamsiegel]

It’s such a treat to hear Adam Savage count down from 3 again!

[@Penrose707]

Love how Derek is wearing his fancy suit jacket at Adam's shop. He seems to be giving it the respect it deserves :) was fun to see you guys collab, Adam should make a regular appearance on the show if the two of you would enjoy that

[@conker42]

Agree. Let's revive Mythbusters ! Even back then I didn't see any real reason why they stopped the show. (Ok, behind the camera they didn't get along that well or whatever, still the show was a great success) And Adam seems to miss it.

[@stevethea5250]

@@conker42 TIMESTAMP

[@joshuanewburger]

definitely comforting.

[@daf666]

One question I've always had is that if you were to roll the penny off a ramp so that it imparted a vertical spin to it, how much would the coefficient of drag be reduced were it to be falling vertically? How much more damage could it inflict if it were dropped in that manner?

[@mrericsully]

I love this. The deep dives in more advanced physics are fun and informative, but hard to use in class as a teacher. Original Veritasium videos all had this kind of focus and have been invaluable in class. I am sure (as Derek has discussed in his videos about KZbin and its analytics) that there is great tension between audience, algorithm, duration, and topic. It's nice to have a throwback to older days and I hope we'll see more soon. Either way though, I won't miss a Veritasium video.

[@lcbrittain]

I am 71 and never even passed my O’level maths, but found this fascinating, giving names to forces that I only intuited were there. Those experiments looked such fun, were such fun, because they were experiential, leading to unexpected outcomes. There is such joy in learning like this, seeking the “why?” Or “how come?” after the event. It is ultimately playful, it seems to me. Thank you!

[@Sick_Pencil]

wow if that's your photo you don't look like your age at all!

[@WordsInVain]

@@Sick_Pencil Psst... Maybe it's an old photo.

[@lcbrittain]

@@WordsInVain hehehe!

[@MRVN1804]

We don’t care

[@crabrave8979]

@@MRVN1804 who’s we?? 😅

[@ryanturner1895]

No clue why this was ever even a question. I always went straight to the hail scenario.

[@notatheist]

Give the coin a fairly high vertical rotation before dropping, like dropping a spinning table saw. How much would that change the outcome?

[@JoltsD]

I tend to forget that despite Adam's general goofiness, he's actually pretty knowledged. Fun fact (I looked it up out of curiosity a while back): wind resistance and their light weight is the same reason insects can fall from practically infinite heights and land unharmed.

[@ronblack7870]

and spiders can actually fly for miles in the wind by putting out a thread of spider silk

[@deltalima6703]

Adams knowledge is like a pennys freefall speed. Absolute expert and also incompetent. Oscillates between the two on any build/experiment. ;-)

[@Chris-hx3om]

It's also why small children can fall down and get right back up, but when I fall down, I break ribs. Low mass means low energy. Low energy means no broken bones.

[@stanleyhape8427]

​@@Chris-hx3om sounds like you got some pretty brittle bones.

[@Chris-hx3om]

@@stanleyhape8427 When you land on your side with your arm tucked in, you are going to break ribs, especially if your feet have just shot out from under you, like on an ice rink... I don't have brittle bones.

[@NaudVanDalen]

Your videos are so high quality that they're better than many TV show episodes. This video could be an actual Mythbusters episode. Way better than an average KZbin video and it gets the views it deserves.

[@hiraks276]

For so many years I didn't know how a person fire bullet In open sky and it doesn't happen anything. Thank you sir for this.