Tunguska 1908: The Mystery Behind the Devastating Impact

Thanks to Bespoke Post for sponsoring this video! New subscribers get 20% off their first box of awesome - go to bespokepost.com/unknown20 and enter code UNKNOWN20 at checkout.
Simon's Social Media:
Twitter: / simonwhistler
Instagram: / simonwhistler
This video is #sponsored by Bespoke Post.
Love content? Check out Simon's other KZbin Channels:
SideProjects: / @sideprojects
Biographics: / @biographics
Geographics: / @geographicstravel
Casual Criminalist: / @thecasualcriminalist
Today I Found Out: / todayifoundout
TopTenz: / toptenznet
Highlight History: / @highlighthistory
XPLRD: / @xplrd
Business Blaze: / @brainblaze6526

[@decodingtheunknown2373]

New Bespoke Post subscribers get 20% off their first box of awesome - go to bespokepost.com/unknown20 and enter code UNKNOWN20 at checkout. Thanks to Bespoke Post for sponsoring!

[@dylanbowlin3646]

IF a Tunguska event happened in the present day: make it happen over Moscow, Beijing, Pyongyang, and Tehran.

[@JamesFromTexas]

Got my weekender bag and I love it. I've had a several things for them. All top quality stuff!

[@the80hdgaming]

How was this comment pinned 5 hours before the video? Did Simon figure out time travel after all these years of being exposed to all this information? TELL US SIMON!!! WHAT DO YOU REALLY KNOW???!!? 😂😂😂😂

[@michaeldcullen]

Just a heads up Simon, there appears to be a shutter speed / export framerate issue with a few of your recent videos. Looking at the stats, it seems as though one of your editors is exporting at 24 FPS rather than 30/60. 24 works reasonably well for movies due to a different shutter angle which introduces some deliberate motion blur which makes it look more natural, but with most digital video capture it looks somewhat "wrong"; an export at 24 really needs the entire workflow to target that final end result, and the raw video you're capturing isn't suitable for it.

[@sjenny5891]

Does Simon remember doing a similar video on this for Geographics four years ago?

[@Cat-kz1ur]

Simon: "I don't remember what I had for lunch yesterday." Also Simon: Goes on multiple tangents about insignificant things that happened 20 years ago in a single video.

[@d4mdcykey]

Cocaine, lots and lots of cocaine.

[@HavianEla]

#ADHDMoments

[@dr.bright3081]

@@d4mdcykeyALLEGEDLY

[@i.b.640]

@@HavianEla Best description for ADHD I ever heard was: I have no trouble focusing, I can, in fact focus very well. It's just not my desicion what I am focusing on.

[@mtmadigan82]

The guy sucks. Every video seems like it's the first time he's ever seen it. Then don't edit anything, 1 times the only time.

[@izwe794]

Vancouver island is in canada but goes as south as seattle. When US and canada drew the border line they were at the great lakes and didnt realize this didnt line up well with geography. We later went to war over some of the islands near vancouver island. If that sounds weird. You should see point roberts. A peninsula that only touches canada but is a part of the US. Where I am right now typing to you. To go to school I crossed the us canadian border 4 times a day. My school bus was driven by a former DEA agent and was used by students to smuggle drugs. And if you think thats nuts, the vice principal of my school tipped off a students family before the student was arrested. They shipped the kid to mexico to avoid trial and another child went on to take the fall. That vice principal went on to be superintendent of schools for the state of Washington.

[@HelFrostKara]

Looking at Point Roberts on Google Maps, that's some border nonsense elemayo. Why is the tip of a peninula in a seperate country from the rest???

[@bo7341]

That's bordering on Illinois levels of corruption.

[@thisguyagain7857]

​@@HelFrostKarawe do stuff differently in the upper left.

[@arkain1]

Somebody should make a TV series about your hometown, dude.

[@Nefville]

That is wild

[@lundsweden]

I click on this video... now all my KZbin suggested videos are channels featuring bald men with beards (but not Simon).

[@daMillenialTrucker]

And British accents 😂

[@kassassin_brahgawk]

KZbin: oh, you like Simon Whistler? May I interest you in Babish and Mr. Clean?

[@ingvarhallstrom2306]

They're all Simon Whistler ...

[@JohnDrummondPhoto]

The Russian national shooting team did miss the 1908 Olympics because of a mixup involving the Julian Calendar. Fortunately, the Olympics actually lasted for six months that year; and there were only 6 Russian athletes involved anyway. P.S.: Vancouver Island is in Canada, part of the province of British Columbia.

[@jandrews8365]

Katie writes 15-20 minute script. Simon summarizes it in 20 seconds right at the start. The rest is tangents, isn't it?

[@LisaBowers]

Why yes, yes it is. 😂

[@samking7213]

Brilliant tangents lol

[@stevesaidby4764]

It's tangents all the way down.

[@mariakelly90210]

Yes, and isn't it wonderful?

[@mistermidnight1823]

Simon has figured out how to harness the power of ADHD for good. He is a chad.

[@Mikkelltheimmortal]

Vancouver Island is in Canada. It's also not small, the island is about twice the size of North Ireland.

[@KryssLaBryn]

Holy shit, I had no idea Northern Ireland was so small!! Hello from Vancouver Island!

[@Mikkelltheimmortal]

@@KryssLaBryn I tried to find something that Simon would understand and even I was surprised at how small it is

[@Atomy111]

ok

[@Kalakor]

Hi from Vancouver Island, definitely not america, which quite annoyed them back in the day. Victoria on the southerrn tip is the capital of BC. And it is amazing.

[@michaelgloch1179]

If Simon wants more confusion, there is a Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and about 500 km south of it, there is a Vancouver, Washington, USA. And some people have gotten them confused. Which leads to not so fun experiences when they unexpectedly arrive at the Canadian border.

[@ChristiKnits]

My whole family live in or near Vancouver, Washington. Our whole lives we’ve had to correct people who assume we are talking about either Vancouver, Canada or Washington D.C. Twenty years ago or so, someone created a slogan: “Vancouver (not B.C.), Washington (not D.C.)” It actually does help people who don’t live in the Pacific Northwest.

[@dumpster_fire_sloth]

As someone who has lived in Vancouver WA my whole life I can confirm we are often mistaken for being Canadian even though we were the first Vancouver😅. That or people think when you say you're from Washington you mean DC. We have merch that says Vancouver Washington not B.C. not D.C.

[@user-eq9ib6ij2w]

Wow. New York is massive! I'm surprised London is so much bigger! Great episode. That is really weird. Only thing- when animals become aware of some weird, scary, loud, rumbling thing, they run. Even carnivores and dinosaurs- unlike Jurassic World movies, they're not going to spend their time hunting stuff while a volcano is exploding or a forest fire is raging- they're going to try to get the heck out of there.

[@chrismcmullen4313]

Its funny how they avoid mention of chamber pots..and squishy, stinky streets. Having shat on your shoes was only bothersome if it reached too high. Now you know where that 'stiff upper lip' is sourced. While going about your business you had contrentrate on limiting the depth of inhales. Simon's ancestors weren't wealthy enough to avoid the urban areas that's why he seems so smart. Its a cultural adaptation among Brits to move quickly through issues...

[@Marc816]

London is about twice the size of NYC in terms of land area.

[@kevinmahaley4916]

London is small in terms of land area, so is NYC, so is britan, England, eroupe. There are many US states bigger than countries in eroupe

[@AcornElectron]

Simons next iPad will be a 32” Samsung tv.

[@BruceBoyde]

I know I basically say it on every video here, but I love Decoding the Unkown. Might be my favorite channel on KZbin.

[@asdf42042]

agreed. This channel combines my two favorite things: knowledge and not taking the world seriously

[@user-xe3mj9kb2x]

Ultimate Marvel had a story arc where the Tunguska event was actually a version of Vision who came to warn earth 100 years ahead of Galactus but things went awry and when Vision was finally able to warn the planet they only had months to get the Avengers, FF, X-Men and everyone else they could recruit to fight the threat.

[@ronnie8274]

Hey Simon and Katy. Great video as always. I'm Ronnie here in San Diego California. (Near the museum where the Sea Dart is in your video) I watch all your channels and you always keep me interested. Your sponsors may like to know, that I've ordered a pair of the waterproof shoes and my wife, and I are ordering some of the cereal, still deciding on the flavor. It's the absence of sugar that invited me, but I didn't even know about it until I saw your video. (don't remember which channel) I have to look at this Bespoke thing and see what that's all about. You give much to the curious world, and I would like to think I'm giving a little something back by supporting your sponsors. Thanks for all that you do, Ronnie

[@Atomy111]

Do you even have time to eat, shower or anything else given how he runs like 84 channels 😂

[@harryhanz1690]

The way Simon's cranking out the videos this week, I'm wondering if he's having to pay for Magic Spoon nowadays.

[@fredblonder7850]

Magic Spoon is actually candy-flavored cocaine.

[@79huddy]

I burned through more than one front wheel on my bigwheel on that stuff grape is the best

[@jenniferblankley]

I always crack up at the Dracula 'bleh bleh bleh' 😂😂 everytime it gets me

[@tom.m]

Now I want to reread Brian Lumley's Necroscope series. Horror novels where Tunguska is the site of a secret Soviet installation studying a portal to another world/dimension. (I think. My memory of it is pretty faded.) Cold war, psychic spies, travel through time and space, plus vampires. Great fun.

[@Dc-alpha]

Yes, and Stranger Things has happened too. I do remember those novels though, along with A D Foster, Barker, King, Pratchett, Adams and a few others the first two were books I read in the school library when not in class but home seemed far, good reads.

[@tom.m]

@@Dc-alpha Nice list. I think I picked up Necroscope and The Great and Secret Show on the same trip to a used book store.

[@torinb]

Good luck, if you enjoy the book, you got quite a few more books in the series lol

[@coyoteinthepool]

I adore when Simon goes off on totally untrue and yet wholesome rants about things like Vancouver Island actually being American. Simon you are a good man and you would be a great man to hang out with. You are so genuine and you bring me joy.

[@alexsetterington3142]

I really hate it. Not funny at all and a waste of my time. I usually don't watch his videos but occasionally the subject interests me.

[@alexsetterington3142]

His jokes are terrible

[@BelenPeralta1]

@@alexsetterington3142 then just don’t watch him at all and watch someone else talk about these topics

[@WouldntULikeToKnow.]

​@@alexsetterington3142no one is forcing you to be here.

[@CartoonHero1986]

Yeah after having seen a VERY small meteor fall through the atmosphere once in a bright city on a clear night I could only imagine how bright this would have been considering its estimated size Also the light after the event are called Noctilucent Clouds they are just very high altitude clouds reflecting light from the sun outside the Earth's Shadow... basically think of these events are MASSIVE natural Moon Towers to light an area after twilight.

[@kstricl]

I witnessed the November 2008 Meteorite that hit around the Alberta Saskatchewan border. I was 530 km away (approximately) at the time - and for a couple seconds, despite being a moonless night, I did not need headlights. Apparently 10,000 pieces made it to the ground.

[@cliveashleyhamilton]

There's absolutely no way Simon has another channel, no way! The man is a machine

[@Mikkelltheimmortal]

I'm 90% sure it was determined to be a Sky Bolide. And yeah it was a fricking huge blast.

[@omnitravis]

what is a sky bolard? Bolard isnt even coming up as a word, lol.

[@Mikkelltheimmortal]

@@omnitravis that's because I spelled it wrong and was just getting around to fixing it. I meant to write Sky Bolide.

[@omnitravis]

@@Mikkelltheimmortal lol. sent me down a rabbit hole for a minute.

[@mbathroom1]

last time I was this early, it was 1908

[@SepticEmpire]

It’s been 114 years old man

[@Natogoon]

el funny

[@SRW_]

Did u hear about white star lines new ships coming?

[@joelellis7035]

​@SRW_ yeah! Heard they're supposed to be unsinkable! Sure hope that's not tempting fate!

[@SRW_]

@@joelellis7035 Bosh!! Flimshaw!! They cant be any more luxuries then the wilhelm der gross

[@rowdysgirlalways]

Dude, Vancouver Island and the City of Vancouver are in British Columbia, Canada. There is also a City of Vancouver in the state of Washington, across the Columbia River from Portland, Oregon. Canadians are among the loveliest people on the planet, but they DO take EXCEPTION to being confused in ANY way with the United States. This I know from a personal childhood experience in Nelson, BC.

[@michaeldocker1009]

As they should 😅

[@Atomy111]

ok

[@susanmissett-king1839]

Fair.

[@jefffoy530]

Another excellent script and presentation guys. Your work is much appreciated.

[@jacksonstarky8288]

As a Canadian living in British Columbia, I can confirm for Simon that Vancouver Island is in fact part of Canada. The capital of British Columbia, Victoria, is at the southern tip of Vancouver Island, and is the only part of Canada south of the 49th parallel west of Ontario.

[@terrafirma5327]

The tunguska event wasn't even the first major case of an airburst meteor. Simon, have you heard of the impact that destroyed Tall el-Hamman (possibly the inspiration for the city of Sodom) and Jericho? There is enormous evidence of shocked quartz, metal fused with ceramics, and other information about the event. Jericho was nearby and the shockwave would have struck it at 700 mph with force and wind. Merely 22km away, Jericho was... and since both scenarios had no survivors... someone coming later would see the wreckage and think "Well, God destroyed Sodom and clearly the walls of Jericho were blown down (factually true, by the blast)". and thus they spread the tale of the cities. - PLEASE NOTE its not necessarily true but that makes it perfect for the channel.

[@personzorz]

That paper has been torn to SHREDS in post-publication review by the research community, including many of the images being digitally manipulated and directions fabricated.

[@terrafirma5327]

@@personzorz Isn't that a good reason for it to be on Decoding the Unknown? That is kinda the point of this channel afterall.

[@terrafirma5327]

@@personzorz I took note of your input in an edit.

[@einienj3281]

Desert glass, I read about it too. It was a theory.

[@terrafirma5327]

@@einienj3281 I agree but still, would be fun to dissect the history of the hypothesis.

[@891Henry]

Vancouver Island is part of British Columbia, Canada. The provincial capital, Victoria, is on Vancouver Island and the city of Vancouver is on the mainland, not the island. There is also a town called Vancouver, to the south, in Washington state.

[@Iskelderon]

Since Simon mentioned it, a modern assumption for the Roswell crash is actually that a captured German experimental aircraft was tested there and crashed on the route between two airfields, with the pilot wearing a metallic suit like the first astronauts later. And with Soviet spies always on the lookout, the urban legend of little green men was a welcome cover story.

[@cotati76]

That is infinitely more likely than an alien civilization building a ship and flying all the way here just to crash. Ufoologists are crazy.

[@AndrewGivens]

The passive use of UFOlogy by the US intelligence and military communities as a convenient distraction was very well suspected in the late 20thC. When everything about Groom lake got declassified and tallied precisely with what military aviation enthusiasts (and *not* UFOlogists) had suspected all along, it was to nobody's great surprise in my circle of friends and family. It was, however, absolutely f*cking hilarious. The biggest "Duuuh" in recent history. What really *was* a surprise to me was that UFOlogical flaps basically died down for a while - having lost a shit-ton of credibility (what, they *had* any to start with?).

[@scockery]

The assumption is that all the witnesses were WRONG and/or liars and whatever more believable explanation is offered decades later is better...even if it has just as little proof as the alien stuff. Right. I won't even point out the term "little green men" was a snide media invention. The media has always been on their side...subtle and not so subtle ridicule, puff pieces made for a laugh. And sure, "everything about Groom lake got declassified" got declassified. Sure it did.

[@rachelblake2350]

I agree. The US captured tons of weird shit from the Germans, including that insane glider/fighter hybrid that had a tendency of melting its pilots in a cockpit full of acid. I think Qixr did a video about it, pretty mental stuff.

[@cotati76]

@@rachelblake2350 what was the glider fighter called?

[@ddelv1601]

I recall watching a show 20-25 years ago that mentioned a smaller air burst meter hit in the atlantic during the first Gulf War. It had the government on edge at the time because it had the power of a nuclear weapon.

[@mariakelly90210]

Katy writes it, Simon reads and goes on tangents about it, and we enjoy it.

[@Ulani101]

Imagine if that blast had been above a major city? Terrifying. 15 megatons would have made a nasty mess. A 5 megaton warhead was considered a city buster back in the day.

[@ajofmars2579]

Secret Files: Tunguska is actually a favorite childhood video game of mine! It has two sequels if you like point and click adventure games with puzzles!

[@Nefville]

There is one reason I know of with two suns in the sky that isn't bad: sundogs. Its where ice crystals in the atmosphere reflect the sun's light and it makes it appear like there are two (or more) suns in the sky. Its not super rare either, I saw it twice last winter and the way I saw it made it nearly impossible to tell which sun was the real on. Check it out, its cool.

[@jamiebizness1]

I've seen them so cool

[@CorwinAlexander]

Except sundogs come in pairs either side of the sun making three suns in the sky

[@Nefville]

@@CorwinAlexander I'd work on that reading comprehension.

[@jamesmencel6402]

Not investigated until years later, but no deaths found? Somewhere a Dad did the greatest "pull my finger" prank ever...

[@ignitionfrn2223]

1:50 - Chapter 1 - What was the tunguska event 2:25 - Mid roll ads 4:00 - Back to the video 10:00 - Chapter 2 - It was a UFO 16:25 - Chapter 3 - It was Nikola tesla's death ray 22:05 - Chapter 4 - It was a black hole 23:45 - Chapter 5 - It was a near miss asteroid 24:45 - Chapter 6 - It was a comet explosion or asteroid explosion 29:20 - Chapter 7 - The tungunska effect 32:15 - Chapter 8 - Could it happen again - Chapter 9 - - Chapter 10 -

[@btetschner]

A+ video! Awesome writing, topic, and analysis!

[@Smithy1991]

Not just read it but add funny quips too! And life stories Simon!

[@TheUnapologeticGeek]

Simon talking about Tunguska? I must click, like, and comment immediately!

[@JessWLStuart]

Everyone knows the Tunguska event was Atomic-Robo stopping Cthulhu's invasion of Earth using Tesla's Wardenclyffe transmitter! BTW, Atomic-Robo is an awesome comic!

[@Terron35]

Simon remembering cheat cc blows my mind and unlocked some nostalgia. I remember grabbing a piece of printer paper or a spiral notebook and keeping the codes in the case of the game. Like tucked into the little booklet that used to come with games.

[@danielefabbro822]

Also, one day I really want to see a video about how many video this guy have made until now. I bet it will be really interesting.

[@ejbear8403]

"And The Fire Came By"

[@BruceBoyde]

Oh, that show you're talking about on Vancouver island is Alone. They started going to other locations after season 4, I believe. The latest season was in Labrador (also Canada, but eastern). I think it's more interesting with the different areas.

[@Davi_Alex8]

Second sun could be a supernovae. But people look at their screens more than the sky.

[@bbracing3925]

(Simon's Wife) : "How often do you think about reindeer in 20th century Russia?"

[@hairy-one]

it DID make a crater, but it was made of air, and promptly filled in. As an impact in the sea makes a big crater that promptly fills itself in. Rock doesn't flow well, so it takes a long time to fill in...

[@Irondrone4]

I remember Siberia (the TV show)! I was very disappointed it only aired for a couple of episodes before it was cancelled. The commercials were entirely selling it as a reality show; it was only when you got about halfway through the first episode that things started to get weird. I've heard you can acquire collections of the whole series on DVD, but I imagine they're hard to come by.

[@tophers3756]

It was obviously just cast-off litter from an extraterrestrial roadside picnic

[@Nostripe361]

I remember this incident being in a fun sci-fi series I read back in highschool called Area-51. In it there is a reveal that the Tunguska incident was due to Tesla's energy weapon destroying alien spaceship coming down to Earth with parasitic aliens on board. Think he got warning about it from a fortune teller as well. It was a weird but good series.

[@archlich4489]

Tesla's the man

[@scifinut6155]

Dude! I loved that series!

[@10zlo]

Can anyone tell me how this Simon dude is the narrator for like 873 different KZbin channels? Every time I see this dude it's on a different channel

[@user-qn1fy7dz7i]

Keep going Simon, love this stuff

[@jason1440]

Tunguska was most likely an air burst explosion on the scale of many mega tons of TNT.

[@thegreatpugtato1823]

Wow cheatcc that's a throwback. I love Simon's side stuff.

[@PapaDon46]

Simon, I really enjoy your videos and your presentation style.

[@variaxi935]

the Tunguska meteor contains black organic fluid that can take control of you ...or somethin like that, idk the x files is a mess

[@728709jay]

Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia.

[@Allofmynerd]

As someone who lives on Vancouver Island we are definitely in Canada lol

[@markedis5902]

Trust me that there is a lot more truth in the X-files than you’re supposed to think.

[@thomasm7682]

Simon my Man just in case your not aware you are A Legend and an Icon.

[@dumpster_fire_sloth]

It's nice to see a lot of comments mentioning Vancouver WA. We usually only get mentioned if people are talking about the Mt St Helens eruption

[@thepartysjustbegun5557]

Yaaaaaasss 🧐 another Decoding the Unknown with the sweet fixed audio 😊 Christmas in October 🎁

[@justbrowsing6327]

I would love to see that impact area as placed over modern cities. It would give a good mental size image.

[@kjs8719]

Simon: "it was like 4 years ago! I don't remember" 4 years, and 24 days between release dates. So like, yeah. You're right 🤣

[@christerprestberg3973]

Just imagine the utter devestation if instead of hitting mostly empty siberia it had landed in a major population centre like Nanking or a small-ish country like Denmark....

[@einienj3281]

It will happen one day, it's inevitable.

[@uncleelias]

St. Petersburg was along the flight path. What would Russia and global politics have been like had the 'impact' happened there.

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

​@@uncleelias The Czar died, The Russian empire was devastated. Serbia had no support, WWI didn't start, no insane reparations and resentment, WWII didn't start, no V2 rocket, no von Braun in the Air Force missile program, no NASA space program until much later. Go a step further and put some later russian rocket scientists in the area and noe Sputnik, Vostok or Soyuz either. First satellite in 1968, Fir human in space is Vladimir Komarov in 1976, Moon landing not before 1982, Space Shuttle in 1994, ISS launches in 2009

[@Jayjay-qe6um]

In the alternate-history of "Resistance", it is believed that the object that exploded in Tunguska was carrying the "Chimera" back to Earth after having left over 60 million years ago.

[@macgibbon]

The two suns thing reminds me of an ad we had back in the day. Couple of possums sitting in the road having a chat, getting high, one says "check it out, two moons!"

[@mistermidnight1823]

I once came up with a conspiracy that the Tunguska event was an interstellar projectile being tested on Earth by an alien civilization.

[@steve3291]

I love how people attach 'mystery' to easily explainable events and then make a big deal of it even though it is not a mystery. I regularly see things like 'the mystery of the Titanic sinking' when the facts are undisputed. The ship his an iceberg and sank. No mystery.

[@sccotmurphy8810]

You're probably an Albanian Intelligence Agent broadcasting from Tbilisi! Lol! I love your baritone voice!!!

[@willowmoon7]

Aliens traveled light years across the infinite vastness of space only to explode at exactly the right time for us to see it

[@jandrews8365]

I heard Simon talking about his giant iPad on the Casual Criminalist podcast and now that I'm seeing it, I'm like... that is a giant iPad.

[@andymcneil7085]

Always love to hear the skeptic’s view.

[@davidnotonstinnett]

It must have been at a highly specific height….because if it was “just above the trees” then it would probably have left a crater of some kind just based on the way trees were knocked down. So like…any higher and it is just a big “fireball” in the air and any lower then the ground would be moved out of the way by the blast. But it was at just the right spot to knock trees over. That is honestly fascinating.

[@nihlify]

I disagree. It's the same thing like when you hold a firecracker in an open palm compared to a closed fist. Making a big crater needs a lot of focused energy. Also see the WWII nukes in Japan. It didn't cause much of a crater as it was detonated in the air, not on the ground.

[@davidnotonstinnett]

Right, that’s kind of exactly what I was saying. It exploded in the air, but if it explodes too high up, the shockwave doesn’t hit the ground with enough force to do anything beyond shake the ground of the immediate area. If it explodes too low then it makes a hole in the ground. But it was at just the right height to flatten material on the ground (or at least affect trees which go from…well, tree height…to the ground)… So I’m not exactly sure what you are disagreeing with honestly because it seems more like you just said “I disagree” and then restated what I said in different words. Me hitting the ground with a shovel will leave a mark. It seems like if this had exploded lower to the ground, it would have left a crater for sure. And I don’t encourage you to light off a firecracker in your hands. That is a bad idea, closed fist or not, unless the device is designed to explode in a highly specific way. Explosives are explosives…the concentrated energy is from the chemistry or the explosives. The added damage from you holding it with a closed fist is just having your hands be in the way in multiple areas of contact as opposed to just one when you have your hand open. You will still likely damage your hand unless it is a low powered explosive. Depending on where you live, you can buy pretty powerful fireworks in the some parts of the US where your example could literally get someone killed.

[@Chris-hx3om]

So you're an engineer or scientist who can do these calculations? Thought not. How about you leave the science to actual scientists, and quit with the WAGs...

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

@@nihlifyA lot of the energy that makes a crater is the result of lithobreaking, or slowing down due to contact with the surface. Instead of a firecracker a better example would be shooting at a block of lead. It will leave a crater but pretty much disintegrate the projectile. I guess there are people smarter than us that have calculated the needed height to create that amount of devastation without making a crater.

[@rianfelis3156]

One weirdness that Simon glossed over was the shape of the blast pattern, looking something like a butterfly. They actually did scale model experiments with firecrackers and matchsticks to figure out exactly what angle, speed, and height the bolide needed to explain this pattern, back in the 60's. So yes, they did a fair bit of work to figure out exactly how it needed to happen.

[@crobar1]

Korado Korlević, a world famous Croatian science promoter was there on an expedition a long time ago, you could ask him how the expedition went, they did actual science. He talked about the whole expedition once in his radio show, he hated it. You could interview him, his easy to contact.

[@susanmissett-king1839]

"We didn't even have Chatgpt. The past was the worst!"😂😂😂😂

[@darkbringer1440]

Simon mixed up the blast yields. Tesla claimed 15 Megatons for his death ray, Tunguska was 15 Megatons, Hiroshima was 15 Kilotons. Assuming Tesla's claim was accurate it sounds like a hell of a coincidence.

[@jaroslavpesek6642]

Problem is, where would he get so much energy.

[@dandychiggins6143]

The Tunguska Event was obviously just Goku and Superman finally going at each other to see whom is truly stronger.

[@wxwxsrg]

Reason why you could still read at night with no other light source: particles in the upper atmosphere from entry were being lit up from the sun beyond the earth's shadow similar to noctilucent clouds, but on a much broader scale.

[@the80hdgaming]

If a million trees fall in the forest, and whoever was there to hear them fall was vaporized, did Tunguska really happen? 😂😂😂

[@biggtrux]

I thought, for years, that it's been widely accepted that it exploded before impact. An air burst. That's why there is very little evidence of a crater, and why the blast radius was so widespread.

[@jakefrary8975]

Wow, cheat code central was a blast from the past I was not expecting!

[@runerasmussen8704]

"Let's have a laugh" he said, and then goes on a snarky rant with sarcastic commentary. I did indeed have a laugh. I like the snarky Simon. -5/7 - Perfect score!

[@user-jn3sz8zo8g]

simon looking at an old website made me smile

[@DMBlade4]

I was skeptical at first about you really being a gamer but the moment you mentioned cheatcc I knew you were one of us

[@jacksonstarky8288]

The meteorite/asteroid/comet ideas are the ones I'm most familiar with... but space is not nearly as scary as humanity and the stories we create.

[@lsant1997]

I love how a majority of the theories are: “I see you *ZAP* “ and it’s either Aliens saving the earth, Tesla, a local Thunder God, Jesus, or Aliens dropping a literal second sun on the earth for shits and giggles.

[@aceundead4750]

Elevated levels of radiation wouldn't matter much when it comes to the area of Tunguska anyways, because many of the meteorites that have been collected have radioactive materials within them, it's why there's a layer of iridium marking the Cretaceous -Tertiary extinction event in geological stratum.

[@thepastmaster5643]

Someone took the Lootbox crash and refined the concept. Best of luck to you, Bespoke.

[@randomguyonyoutube5292]

Just searched Secret Files Tunguska it looks fun thanks Simon lol

[@sashagolden753]

Fun fact from a russian here: In a novel by the Strugatsky brothers, "Monday begins on Saturday", main characters are casually solving the Tunguska mystery. They conclude that some aliens that are moving back in time, like in the other direction compared to us, visited earth because they saw fire from their own landing. Basically, they landed and blew everything up, but couldn't not see the consequences anymore. The fire they caused went forwards in time and they went deeper into the past, then silently died or departed, surrounded by green trees and reindeers. The book itself is a story about a soviet secret scientific institute, but instead of physics they study magic. It's hilariously funny!

[@geofff.3343]

I think the blackhole theory got a big uptick in popularity when Hawking proposed Hawking Radiation as a function of blackholes. Basically it went through but bled so much Hawking Radiation into the Earth's core that it sublimated entirely into the core or into the deep Atlantic so there was no seismic "exit wound". I don't think it's that micro blackhole but I thought it worth mentioning.

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

I know that micro black holes are so small that they are basically unstable and radiate themselves away quickly, but wouldn't contact with the earth and it's matter feed the thing?

[@Chord_]

Ah man, I remember watching Siberia when it came out! Liked it at the time, but no idea if it still holds up. Checking now, looks like it's on Tubi, so I might be checking it out in the near future!

[@Brettmlyons]

Love the trailer park boys reference ❤

[@jacksonbauer5199]

That one dude was like “See Ivan, I fucking told you it was aliens, their instrumentation is even labeled in Cyrillic”…

[@sailordaigurren8225]

Tunguska Blast was also mentioned in the first Ghostbusters movie.

[@Helicard]

If I found a crash site and a bunch of crushed reindeer, I would assume Christmas was cancelled

[@SaulOhio]

The Tunguska Blast was the arrival of the Superhero Superion.

[@recalcitrantprophet9573]

8:00 None of the fall-out, all of the fun.

[@kevinmcqueenie7420]

It is frightening though, just how precarious our position is, even if statistically it is unlikely to happen.

[@RadenWA]

Meteorites hitting residential areas is not impossible, I think I have seen stories of them lodging in someone’s roof, I think one burn straight through someone’s bedroom, thankfully the owner wasn’t there and they were able to sell off the meteorite to cover for the damage. Thankfully again none of them has been this big…

[@billcook4768]

Simon: I do several KZbin shows Me: Really? We didn’t notice /s