Sciencemadness Discussion Board - Grant Thompson "King of Random" charged with possesion of explosive materials

Grant Thompson "King of Random" charged with possesion of explosive materials

Mabus - 19-1-2018 at 05:59

https://www.sltrib.com/news/2018/01/18/utah-man-who-runs-pop...
Apparently it all began from his dry ice bomb, then continued when he detonated a bag of powder from some fireworks. But I guess it was bound to happen eventually.

Texium - 19-1-2018 at 06:48

Guess he's not infallible after all. I'd say he kinda deserves it for appealing to the lowest common denominator– the kewls and mouthbreathers that don't understand or care about actual science.

Brom - 19-1-2018 at 07:41

"Mouthbreathers" that's hilarious

MrHomeScientist - 19-1-2018 at 07:44

Hah! Was my first reaction.

His channel used to be good - neat weekend projects to make useful things like his several metal forge projects. Lately it's gone significantly downhill, with clickbait titles and pointless videos like "What Does DRY ICE Do in a Metal Foundry?" (it sublimates quicker but just as invisibly, what the @!%# did you think was going to happen? And yet it has 6.6M views). It's not even Grant doing the videos anymore.

I just looked at his latest video "What happened to Grant? EXPLAINED!" (note all the capslock words to bait more views); I was only able to watch the first half but so far it's just an explanation of how the channel works, not about this incident.
He mentioned they are making daily videos now, which in my opinion is why several channels that used to be good have poor quality videos now. If you commit to such a heavy schedule like that, I really believe quality suffers in the rush to come up with ideas for the video you HAVE to get out today! CrazyRussianHacker has turned into a product review channel because of it.

It's interesting that he talks about his channel as a business, with employees, budget, schedules, etc. That's so different than how I think of YouTube. I wonder if all the big channels are like that?

Edit: Here's a very entertaining video that says exactly what I think of this whole situation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiliPwukDek

[Edited on 1-19-2018 by MrHomeScientist]

wg48 - 19-1-2018 at 07:52

Quote: Originally posted by Mabus

Apparently it all began from his dry ice bomb, then continued when he detonated a bag of powder from some fireworks. .

I wounder how he detonated it or what do they put in fireworks these days LOL

LearnedAmateur - 19-1-2018 at 08:13

Quote: Originally posted by wg48

I wounder how he detonated it or what do they put in fireworks these days LOL

Granted, I haven’t watched the video, but a lot of pyrotechnic compositions tend to detonate when confined sufficiently to generate large pressures. I used to make little explosives out of the stick type party sparklers when I lived in Australia (best you’ll get off the shelves over there) by sticking a fuse in the bagged powder, about 50 sparklers worth, and wrapping it tightly with lots of electrical tape.

Texium - 19-1-2018 at 11:17

Quote: Originally posted by MrHomeScientist

It's interesting that he talks about his channel as a business, with employees, budget, schedules, etc. That's so different than how I think of YouTube. I wonder if all the big channels are like that?

He's probably trying extra hard to frame it that way to help his legal case. As the linked article mentions, in Utah, it is legal for “any person or entity possessing or controlling an explosive, chemical, or incendiary device as part of its lawful business operations.” So he's probably going to try and claim that he is a legitimate "business" and weasel out of it that way...

aga - 19-1-2018 at 11:29

What's a 'mouthbreaker' ?

Urban dictionary had a terrible apostrophe error which made me collapse under the strain.

Texium - 19-1-2018 at 11:31

Quote: Originally posted by aga

What's a 'mouthbreaker'

Mouthbreather. Just a funny way to say idiot.

Vosoryx - 19-1-2018 at 11:34

Quote: Originally posted by Texium (zts16)

...I'd say he kinda deserves it for appealing to the lowest common denominator– the kewls and mouthbreathers that don't understand or care about actual science.

My thoughts.
I actively disliked his stuff - over edited (poorly) and click bait. Very little actual science, just dumb ideas and loud noises.

On the flip side, it's a blow to the energetics community, even if >90% of his viewers are under the age of 15. They might go after cody'slab next... and that would be bad.

JJay - 19-1-2018 at 13:11

I don't think they'll go after Cody's lab since it's basically in the wilderness. Heck, he could probably get a license for truckloads of dynamite - he has a mine, after all.

I am not a huge fan of the King of Random, though, and if you're setting off explosives just because it attracts viewers while burning yourself and scaring the neighbors in the process, you give a bad name to legitimate amateur scientists who set off explosives safely and peacefully.

aga - 19-1-2018 at 13:31

Quote: Originally posted by aga

As for even dipping a toe into the 'Dark Side' i'd clearly be on my own, and at risk :

https://www.sltrib.com/news/2018/01/18/utah-man-who-runs-pop...

Hardly seems that the risk will ever be worth the reward.

Oh look !

Yes, Mr Thompson's delusion was more accurately discussed earlier, particularly Bert's insights into KOR's fate.

Velzee - 19-1-2018 at 15:12

My reaction—a mixture of glee and worry. In a way, I am happy to hear that Thompson actually was disciplined for his absurd actions. Although I am slightly glad to see that the Feds don't just chase after pacifistic Long Island students, it worries me to see that they classify many of us as "danger to the general public." Perhaps we'll all be thrown in jail, or if one of us buys a quart of bleach for our laundry, they'll suspect that we're planning to hijack a plane.

I just want them (the Feds) to stop, honestly.

Tdep - 19-1-2018 at 16:10

I know there's no love lost on here over Grant Thompson, but I've got a few comments. Firstly, there's a couple points which are really no good, and you can't wish upon anyone.

Quote:

Thompson said he had heard about the charges from media and fans on Twitter. He was upset and confused about the allegations.

Finding out about allegations from strangers on Twitter, now that's trash. Imagine the confusion, media contacting you for a statement before you even know you've been charged? How, or why does that happen? The article states that the fire station is only 0.2miles away, and Grant thought they watched his videos... But they're so unfriendly as to let the media know of his charges before the accused?

Quote:

The explosion left Burgess with small particles of burned material embedded in his arms, charges say.

'small particles' does not mean small injury. I know people on here will agree that it's the small particles embedded in your flesh that can ruin your life the most. It doesn't say burn, it says embedded. Let's hope he's okay.

Now the negative point.

Quote:

Thompson said a friend had left him a bag of powder, which he believed to be from a deconstructed firework.

Not everyone can be a chemistry expert. And if you want your job to be YouTube, like Grant, you're much better off making 'pop-science' videos like he does. The market is there, if it wasn't Grant it would be someone else. You don't have to like him, but you can't blame him for exploiting the market to success.
He used to make quite great videos, while not a scientist, he's obviously a great engineer. The early high voltage stuff was neat, and he has a whole setup built in his basement to produce his own LN2, that's awesome. But back to the quote: he is playing with the arch-enemy of chemistry - rushing.

He is making a video every day. YouTube pressures you to do that. That's how you get popular, and it is more than possible to make a new video everyday when you are a gaming or godforsaken blog channel. But it is not possible if you are a science channel. You rush, and you make mistakes, and poorly thought out content like 'lets set gasoline on fire' or 'lets bloody drop hamburgers in LN2' because you need results, you need something that looks good on camera, you can't take risks on something you think might not work, and if you have to spend more than 1-2 minutes in a video explaining a concept or experiment, forget about the idea. Fast and flashy.

That's how you end up getting some random powder from your friend, and lighting a whole pile of it. No time for research. No time for small scale tests. If you rush, things go wrong.

So he's working the system. But also, the system is working him, and that's the sad part

j_sum1 - 19-1-2018 at 21:23

Thoughts from AVE.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiliPwukDek

ninhydric1 - 19-1-2018 at 22:07

I agree, Tdep. I can't imagine chemistry YouTubers performing 3+ hr long syntheses and/or distillations, editing, uploading, and monetizing all in a day. If Doug, or NileRed, or NurdRage (EDIT: forget to mention chemplayer, sorry) attempted this, they would've quit a long time ago. As the old saying goes: "Quality over quantity". Sadly, YouTube encourages otherwise, resulting in uncultured swine such as the Paul brothers, among others, to gain popularity.

[Edited on 1-20-2018 by ninhydric1]

chemplayer... - 20-1-2018 at 04:13

We went through a phase of insane production (4 per week at one point) and it damn near killed us work-wise. Fun though! Statistically it didn't result in a greater rate of change of subscribers or per-video views (although we didn't monetise and the YT recommendation algorithm probably takes this into account). If you've got an already huge viewer-base like Grant, then producing a video a day is just tantamount to 'cashing out'. It's not sustainable in so many ways. If you really want to treat videos as a business, then have a plan, set realistic but stretch targets, think long-term, maximise quality and professionalism to the limits, and focus on marketing and syndication.

Vomaturge - 22-1-2018 at 00:33

I have mixed feelings about The King of Random. I totally admit that he was trying to make as much money as possible from these videos, and that quality suffered. He also did plenty of videos on how to make "gadgets" without giving any deep scientific understanding. He was not really a scientist, and his videos were more "recipes" than experiments. But I think there's a place for that, too. Many non-scientists want to make these kind of projects, too, and I think that's okay, to a point. If someone wants to do something with energetic materials, strong poisons/acids, high voltage, power tools, etc they should at least learn the safety procedures for working with them. Assuming that the layman is interested in a fairly safe project, I think this type of video is good. If some science comes through too, making the project into a demonstration of a scientific phenomenon (e.g.. electrolysis, temperature increase from adiabatic compression), then that is a bonus. It might get more people interested in real scientific discovery. Even seemingly pointless videos, meant only to gather views, are not doing anything wrong in my mind. Normal tv programs do the same thing. I did not like that Thompson encouraged some dangerous projects, like hammer ramming potassium nitrate and sugar to make a rocket engine. The dry ice thing was actually showing the formation of liquid CO2 at elevated pressure. Still a bad (obviously) idea, regardless of the intent. According to the news source Aga found, Thompson and his friend did do small burn tests with the powder, before igniting a large amount that made the bang. I'm not sure how to feel about the fact that felony charges are being pressed. On one hand, I know that these laws are there for good reason, but on the other, it seems excessive for a small misconduct. I guess they have to draw the line somewhere, and in this case dry ice is included as "explosive". I will miss the King of Random, if the charges stick and he goes to prison and/or his channel is deleted.

Radium212 - 22-1-2018 at 02:52

I despise him. He makes constant scientific errors (repeating the sulphuric acid has an incredibly high pH), offers little to no scientific explanation of his "experiments", and appeals only to edgy twelve-year-olds that think chemistry is exclusively about explosions. The fact that he has the nerve to call himself a chemist repulses me. What he does is idiocy, not amateur chemistry. He gives us all a bad name, and deserves what will happen to him.

Deathunter88 - 22-1-2018 at 03:00

Quote: Originally posted by Radium212

I despise him. He makes constant scientific errors (repeating the sulphuric acid has an incredibly high pH), offers little to no scientific explanation of his "experiments", and appeals only to edgy twelve-year-olds that think chemistry is exclusively about explosions. The fact that he has the nerve to call himself a chemist repulses me. What he does is idiocy, not amateur chemistry. He gives us all a bad name, and deserves what will happen to him.

Agree 100% with you on that, I couldn't have said it better myself.

Radium212 - 22-1-2018 at 03:03

If NileRed or NurdRage get in trouble there's nothing left for me in this world.

Velzee - 22-1-2018 at 07:05

Quote: Originally posted by Radium212

If NileRed or NurdRage get in trouble there's nothing left for me in this world.

NileRed and *ChemPlayer

MrHomeScientist - 22-1-2018 at 07:23

Quote: Originally posted by Tdep

He is making a video every day. YouTube pressures you to do that. That's how you get popular, and it is more than possible to make a new video everyday when you are a gaming or godforsaken blog channel. But it is not possible if you are a science channel. You rush, and you make mistakes, and poorly thought out content like 'lets set gasoline on fire' or 'lets bloody drop hamburgers in LN2' because you need results, you need something that looks good on camera, you can't take risks on something you think might not work, and if you have to spend more than 1-2 minutes in a video explaining a concept or experiment, forget about the idea. Fast and flashy.

That's how you end up getting some random powder from your friend, and lighting a whole pile of it. No time for research. No time for small scale tests. If you rush, things go wrong.

So he's working the system. But also, the system is working him, and that's the sad part

This is excellently worded; I agree 100%. I might have to adapt that into a motto for my channel or something.

Bert - 22-1-2018 at 08:35

I watched a couple of the King of Random videos, my partner started watching them before he got in a hurry and it all degenerated to late seasons mythbusters level of non science/(dis)infotainment.

What I saw didn't turn my crank, but "you will never lose money by underestimating your audience's intelligence".

It's not SCIENCE. It's not really educational. It is profit driven entertainment, and if I want to see that, there are more professionally done and interesting (to me) works on offer.

aga - 22-1-2018 at 09:03

Quote: Originally posted by Radium212

If NileRed or NurdRage get in trouble there's nothing left for me in this world.

What ?

Has the youth of today forgotten all about drugs and alcohol ?

Edit:

Whoops. Forgot to mention sex.
(at my age it tends to get forgotten)

[Edited on 22-1-2018 by aga]

Texium - 22-1-2018 at 09:08

Quote: Originally posted by Velzee

Quote: Originally posted by Radium212

If NileRed or NurdRage get in trouble there's nothing left for me in this world.

NileRed and *ChemPlayer

Yeah, Nurd is borderline at this point too. At least he actually knows the chemistry.

MrHomeScientist - 22-1-2018 at 09:19

Here's his current channel description:

Quote:

I’m Grant Thompson - “The King of Random” and I make videos dedicated to exploring life through all kinds of life hacks, experiments, and random weekend projects.

Imagine a cross between MacGyver, James Bond, and the Myth-busters. A world of Sciencey Guy Stuff! ..where girls can play too.

“Don’t try this at home” is something we hear all the time. The King of Random asks why not? What exactly are the risks?? Then figures out ways to approach these risks safely and in a controlled environment, conducting experiments to verify exactly what happens. There is excitement found in discovering the unknown, and living to tell about it.

You’ve got busy hands and so do I, so join me on YouTube and and let’s start building something together.

FTC Disclaimer: I earn a % of sales made through Amazon Affiliate links

He mentions science a bit but I suppose he doesn't really bill himself as a science channel, so there's that to consider.

On a side note, I've seen it mentioned a few times that monetizing videos is part of the video production process. Is that just for users that do more than regular YouTube ads? I.e. that "multi-channel network" partnership nonsense? I mean, for me monetizing is just clicking a checkbox. And I don't even do that anymore because it's part of my default settings!

On a side note to the side note, what the hell is a multi-channel network anyway? I've gotten countless offers to join those things, but when I ask for details all I get is business-speak nonsense or a request to call me to talk about it. If you can't summarize in an email I'm not interested. They make these claims like nothing at all changes for me yet somehow I make more money? Sounds shady. Reminds me of the talent agency episode of South Park: "You just do all the singing, all the performing, and all the entertaining .And leave the rest to us."

Texium - 22-1-2018 at 15:07

Quote: Originally posted by MrHomeScientist

On a side note to the side note, what the hell is a multi-channel network anyway? I've gotten countless offers to join those things, but when I ask for details all I get is business-speak nonsense or a request to call me to talk about it. If you can't summarize in an email I'm not interested. They make these claims like nothing at all changes for me yet somehow I make more money? Sounds shady. Reminds me of the talent agency episode of South Park: "You just do all the singing, all the performing, and all the entertaining .And leave the rest to us."

My best guess would be that it partners channels in such a way that when a viewer finishes watching a video from one channel, it will autoplay a video from another channel in the "network," and then maybe the smaller channels in the network can get more exposure that way, while the bigger channels get a monetary incentive whenever the videos of the smaller channels are viewed by their viewers?

For instance, if your channel was in a network with NurdRage, and someone watching a Nurd video was directed to a video on your channel from there, both of you would get some credit for the view in some way. I dunno, pure speculation. If that IS how it works, it does sound pyramid-schemey.

Edit: Never mind, my best guess was 100% wrong. After I posted, I did what I should've done to begin with, and Googled multi-channel network. Looks like it's actually where you sign the rights of your channel over to a company that will take care of the production, promotion, and advertisements for your videos, and coordinate product placements and BS like that. So your videos will undoubtably become more "professional" looking and you won't have to spend as much time on editing, etc, but you lose almost all control over your channel. Sounds terrible.

[Edited on 1-22-2018 by Texium (zts16)]

Vomaturge - 22-1-2018 at 21:42

Quote: Originally posted by Radium212

I think of his channel as giving "recipes", popular entertainment, and maybe some science when you're lucky. I do think that it's irresponsible to mix "how to" and "don't try this at home!" Videos, with pretty explicit but not-quite-safe instructions for both. It's also bad that he doesn't always know what he's doing; the "incredibly high pH" thing would be funny, if not for the fact that he's using (and encouraging others to use) a material that can cause permanent injury or death, without even knowing how it works! Along with not knowing chemistry, he doesn't know safety precautions. I don't think everyone needs to be a scientist. I think the basic concept of "random weekend projects" is fine. I approve fully of people making all of this, and scientific ideas in general, appealing to the children and novices. But don't try to explain things you don't understand, or expose yourself to dangers you can't control. The worst, in my opinion, was an experiment he did with a pop bottle of butane. He put a torch to it it burst immediately, putting out the flame. He was about 1 m away. Later he had one which didn't put out the torch, but took a few seconds to burst. It would have completely engulfed him in fire for several more seconds if he had not had time to escape. Some of the firearms/ammunition handloading videos were also pretty sketchy. He throws antics like this, or the "Don't Mix These (calcium hypochlorite and brake fluid) Chemicals!"in with projects like "make your own cookie cutter" or "casting HOLLOW (candy) Pokeballs" I thought it was a fun channel, so long as you can pick projects wisely, and not rely on the explanations given. For instance you could google "BLEVE","rocket candy", or "CO2 latent heat of fusion",learn how it works, how to do it safely (or stay safe by *not* doing it) then watch The King of Random demonstrate it. I don't think of TKOR as a horrible channel, but here are things I don't like about it. Not a scientist. More a commercial source of entertainment.

[Edited on 23-1-2018 by Vomaturge]

Vomaturge - 23-1-2018 at 00:49

Regardless of whether Thompson is a good backyard engineer, or whether we like watching his videos, or even whether those videos have any value to them, this incident brings up some great talking points. For one, it makes us wonder what other youtube channel could be effected similarly. Nilered, Nurdrage, Chemplayer, and so many other chemistry related channels have at least one explosive or pyrotechnic material video, although they actually understand chemistry and safety precautions, and are not so focused on this branch of chemistry and it's view attracting "cool factor". Cody Reeder (at Cody'slab) seems to have a good understanding of chemistry, certainly better than mine or Grant Thompson's. Sometimes he seems a bit wreckless when it comes to safety, but that's just my impression. Cody'slab does experiment with all kinds of explosives, on a regular basis, and I hope he's following local law. I hope none of these people get jailed, or even have there accounts shut down. None are trying to do harm, and they all are adding knowledge to the youtube community.
This is a great reminder that we all are responsible for knowing and obeying all the national and local laws that apply to us, whether they seem reasonable to us or not.
On a side note, regarding the "powder from a firework" they said he "assumed" it was from a firework, meaning it could be anything really. Also, I (and probably a lot of other people on here) can imagine circumstances where materials from firework(s) could plausibly burn "mildly" as a small test burn but blow with a boom if ignited in a big heap. But I'm not trying to repeat this incident, just understand it. Also, Grant, and his lawyer, would rather be vague than admit to trying to cause a violent explosion intentionally. I'm not sure of anything here, as I have no evidence and this is all speculation at this point.
One "good" outcome of this whole case might be people becoming LESS paranoid about home experimenters. They can see that even a reckless guy setting off explosives in his back yard is not necessarily a terrorist or illegal drug manufacturer. Yeah, maybe I'm dreaming to think that seeing someone go to prison will boost everybody's faith in amateur scientists. But a quick look at The King Of Random's YouTube channel would be enough to show that he's at best a fun YouTuber and at worst a well meaning idiot.

[Edited on 23-1-2018 by Vomaturge]

jamit - 23-1-2018 at 07:31

I feel bad for Mr Thompson. Too many people in this forum/channel are too happy to see him fall. Wow! People are such asses! Yes, he is not "scientifically" accurate in his explanation of the science behind his experiments and stunts. But tell me if you haven't made a mistake and done something in "chemistry" that you regret. Sorry but I never like hearing about any science enthusiast getting in trouble with the law. I hope things works out for him and his family. I hope the prosecutor and judge will take into account that he just made a foolish mistake and will give him another chance.

[Edited on 23-1-2018 by jamit]

Radium212 - 23-1-2018 at 08:06

Quote: Originally posted by jamit

I feel bad for Mr Thompson. Too many people in this forum/channel are too happy to see him fall. Wow! People are such asses! Yes, he is not "scientifically" accurate in his explanation of the science behind his experiments and stunts. But tell me if you haven't made a mistake and done something in "chemistry" that you regret. Sorry but I never like hearing about any science enthusiast getting in trouble with the law. I hope things works out for him and his family. I hope the prosecutor and judge will take into account that he just made a foolish mistake and will give him another chance.

[Edited on 23-1-2018 by jamit]

But he passes it off as true science, making a generation believe that igniting dangerous quantities of blackpowder, under totally unrigorous conditions is a science experiment.

JJay - 23-1-2018 at 13:50

I am not really happy to see him charged with a crime.

I *am* glad that his neighbor won't have to put up with unwanted explosions next door. The King of Random may not have a duty to be scientifically rigorous, but he does have a duty to avoid creating a public nuisance. And we would prefer more scientific rigor in his videos.

[Edited on 23-1-2018 by JJay]

wg48 - 23-1-2018 at 15:57

Quote: Originally posted by JJay

I am not really happy to see him charged with a crime.

I *am* glad that his neighbor won't have to put up with unwanted explosions next door. The King of Random may not have a duty to be scientifically rigorous, but he does have a duty to avoid creating a public nuisance. And we would prefer more scientific rigor in his videos.

[Edited on 23-1-2018 by JJay]

Well put JJ.

Its irrelevant if we like his videos or not or how much science he puts in them. He is providing entertainment to perhaps millions just as films do.

Of cause Yes he should comply with the law and preferably not be a public nuisance. Hopefully he will convince the court he was an applicable business. But what ever happens it will cost him at least a high speed camera’s worth of legal fees. Perhaps he will get it all back from publicity that will drive more clicks to his videos.

jamit - 23-1-2018 at 18:45

As I contemplate what might happen to Mr Thompson, I'm sadly thinking of one of our own "brothers", Blogfast25. He too got himself into trouble selling oxidizers and I doubt he'll ever join us in this forum again. So sad! We'll all miss him and wish him the best. I think we all know just how careful we must all be if we want to pursue this hobby. As Magpie once said, he doesn't share his hobby with just anyone. I too have followed his example. One thing we can learn from all this is "don't piss off" your neighbor and don't scale up any energetic experiment.

We have excellent members on Youtube, such as Nile Red, Doug's Lab, Chemplayer, and Nurdrage and I hope none of them make the same mistake that Mr Thompson or Blogfast25 made. Keep to the science and don't scale up any energetic experiments. Happy and safe experimenting everyone.

[Edited on 24-1-2018 by jamit]

[Edited on 24-1-2018 by jamit]

The jersey rebel - 13-3-2018 at 17:29

Hey, I’m back. So, I am wondering what the verdict is as I can’t seem to find it. As for my opinion on the situation, as long as it doesn’t make a precedent, then oh well good bye Grant. However, I have been watching his videos when he had under 10K subscribers. He used to do such amazing things that I have put to use in my own lab, allbeit with some mods. Now it’s just LCD, kewel, and edge lord fodder that with few exceptions is essentially a hybrid of a pseudoscientific howtobasic and a Far west Benja but with an attitude even more reckless than the backyard scientist. He seems to have thrown the entire concept of the original channel out the window because of the amount of subs it gave him. Greed is what destroyed him. Unfortunately most of his original fanbase left him as a result. I for sometime was unsubbed for the same reason. I saw it was no longer science, but generic kewel bullshit. I do believe he’s currently in jail and Nate has taken over as a direct result. I doubt his ‘business’ would’ve kept him out of it. Unfortunately, this does have a potentially fatal side effect for YouTube. Because this is about lawful business operations, if convicted, that would logically make YT an invalid business and thus lead to potentially shutting it down. this is something that also concerns me as well. People will look at this with scorn for people like us. I’ve known a pair of amateur chemists who were shot and killed by a botched swatting as a result of a disgruntled neighbor. These neighbor-neighbor problems are rarely settled this cleanly. The unfortunate truth is that even I was nearly swatted by a neighbor as well. In fact, if I finished 10 minutes later one day, I most likely would have been arrested or worse. Amateur chemistry is unfortunately a clandestine art where I am, but because of a burning passion mixed with failing health, I still do this regardless. To me, life is only worthwhile if I can do as I wish. I have unfortunately been bared from doing chemistry as a result of moving to a different county here in jersey where I can’t burn wood let alone do experiments in. I’ve just been scraping out old electronics and stockpiling the materials I get for gold recovery between going in and out of psychiatric and medical evaluations to figure out wtf is going on with me and if there’s anything they can do to extend my lifespan enough to allow me to contribute something meaningful to society. Then I just ship the ‘ore’ off to a family member in LBI for storage. Frankly I’m doing this knowing that I may never see a return on my investment as I might not survive long enough to do much after grad work due to genetic disease and severe, progressive mental illness. I’m stockpiling material and saving the concentrates of my old recovery, knowing that although the return will be massive, I may not be the one who will see the end goal because at 19, I’m choosing where everything will go when my health takes a turn for the worst. I simply wish more people would be able to at least do the stuff I had been able to get away with in South Jersey, without the excessive paranoia that comes along with knowingly risking your life and liberty just to delay inevitable madness. I’ve always told my parents that a lab accident was the least of my concerns because the law will punish me far more than whatever mistake I made, which I made many indeed. Some of which mimicked my abnormally dangerous knack for attracting the grim reaper himself as I stare death in the face quite frequently as I am extremely accident prone. I am so accident prone that my parents barely trust me with driving, let alone my future career as the proneness is clinical in origin. I have something known as propioceptive dysfunction where I have no depth perception and lack hand eye coordination. It’s so severe that there was a time I was considered legally handicapped because I kept and do still keep running into walls and was also completely psychotic as a child. Between shrapnel severing a major after in my hand, explosions that were so powerful they should have killed me outright, or accidental poisonings, it really does mimic my life outside of the lab where a bike ride lead to a compound open fracture in the forearm and a fractured skull in the middle of the woods mind you, while wearing a helmet. It went septic and I almost died. I probably had severe brain damage as a kid due to similar accidents, which caused part of my failing health. The issue however is just more sophisticated than meds can fix assuming it could be fixed at all

j_sum1 - 13-3-2018 at 17:43

Quote: Originally posted by The jersey rebel

Hey, I’m back. So, I am ...
etc.

Um... yeah.

How is anyone supposed to respond meaningfully to an unparagraphed divergent rant like that?

I don't know if anyone knows the outcome of GT. Legal mechanisms typically move at their own glacial pace.

As for your personal issues. It does not look at face value like you have a good sense of perspective. But this is not the correct space or manner for addressing such things.

The jersey rebel - 13-3-2018 at 22:53

Quote: Originally posted by j_sum1

Quote: Originally posted by The jersey rebel

Hey, I’m back. So, I am ...
etc.

i apologize for the divergence. I have a sort of tendency to relate stuff back to myself as a sort of attempt at showing sympathy. Perspective, sure I’m not great at it. I was wondering what happened as the court appearance was supposed to be on the 22nd or something like that of last month and I was merely wondering what exactly happened in there while stating the overal conclusion I can come up with as to what is most likely to happen.

The jersey rebel - 15-3-2018 at 19:44

Quote: Originally posted by wg48

Quote: Originally posted by JJay

well said. Unfortunately, TKOR wasn’t doing what he liked, he clearly did what his audience wanted which costed him his freedom. To me, it’s better to do your own thing and have several hundred subscribers instead of doing what they want while getting several million. It’s not work if you do what you love. Unfortunately greed caused his fall as he necessarily had to appeal to the LCD to reach high status. It’s the price of being a follower instead of a leader. You’re subject to their whim. I wholeheartedly believe this is the case because of the radical shift in content, just like the backyard scientist has done, from badass experiments to everything only a full blown kewel, occasionally an amateur like me, assuming he comes up with something that’s actually useful to me like the flowerpot foundery design, or sometimes a soccer mom who’s seeking healthy gummies are going to be entertained by.

Unfortunately, that’s the majority of entertainment and society. Sure I like occasionally blowing something up but at least I have the common sense to be in a sound proof room as to not disturb anyone else and use small scale tests of high explosives. I’ve done much larger scale demonstrations but usually it’s a one time fling on a holiday.
I’ve made ANFO, NH4NO3-CH3NO2 based, a gallon of HHO like TKOR did in the good old days, but at 400psi on the 4th of July, KNO3-Mg flashpowder, and some large Tesla coil and Other insane HV demonstrations. Unlike him, I have obtained permits and used these substances responsibly keeping it under the regulated limit.
He broke a huge amount of laws while showing his face. It’s a miracle he wasn’t charged sooner. I’m not some angel either but he’s just reckless, even by my standards! Remember ReactionFactory? After that NI3 video, I haven’t heard from them again. If anyone knows what happened to them, I would like to know.

UC235 - 16-3-2018 at 18:01

Reactionfactory went to college and the team of two moved to different parts of the US.

Vomaturge - 17-3-2018 at 18:52

A new video was just uploaded which had Grant in it. He was just there promoting his "YouTube creator training event SelfMADE. "
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkrlBdtEIWY
It was still Nate who did the experiment, and risked a molten metal explosion by burning thermite on dry ice. It seems like most of the "projects" TKOR does now are not especially science related, like all of the candy molds, etc. Still fun, I suppose. The experiments answer specific questions like "can liquid nitrogen freeze antifreeze?" but they are all about certain scenarios. They don't demonstrate any scientific principle, or property of a substance, etc. Most are more for entertainment value. I would say that a lot of these "experiments" do not involve explosions or fire, as in, that is not all they do. Nonetheless, this most recent video (and a several others) is definately "kewl." Anyhow, I just wanted to say that I don't think Grant Thompson is in prison, at least not yet. That, or they recorded Grant's promotional video a while ago and just posted it today.

[Edited on 18-3-2018 by Vomaturge]

[Edited on 18-3-2018 by Vomaturge]

NEMO-Chemistry - 17-3-2018 at 21:00

funny if you put someone in the stocks, there is never a shortage of people to throw the rocks.

metalresearcher - 18-3-2018 at 13:13

I liked KOR channel as well, but the level is decreasing. Colored paint experiments or dry ice in a furnace / with thermite is not so interesting anymore.
And safety is also an issue. His video on throwing snowballs with gasoline in a bunker is done without any safety equipment. At least wearing a face shield is a requirement and the gasoline close to him catched fire. As others say, these are more clickbaits.
But I learned at least one thing from KOR: making a vacuum channel from a weck jar and a sheet of plexiglass which works awesome.

And about Cody's Lab (or does he have a new channel Cody's Reeder ?): I like it very much. He works more with safety equiment and had more knowledge of chemistry than KOR. But he is more than once censored out by YT: he could not upload videos. THat is YT's stricter policy, even simple fireworks videos are banned or put als 'adult' videos while not containing any nude girls.
And Backyard Scientist from Florida: what happened to him ? Also banned by YT ??
He has nice videos of real scientific value and uses safety equipment.

And then there is Periodic Videos. That is a professional university lab of Nottingham, UK and I like the professor Martyn Poliakoff and the other characters such as Neil and Brady.

Best way is avoiding YT because of their somewhat random censorship. If you want to monetize, use Patreon, what Cody does. Chemistry is a niche market for YT/Google and don't make much money from it. Music and entertainment is the mainstream of YT.

[Edited on 2018-3-18 by metalresearcher]

roXefeller - 4-7-2018 at 04:53

Quote: Originally posted by NEMO-Chemistry

funny if you put someone in the stocks, there is never a shortage of people to throw the rocks.

Totally. I don't think they were rigorous but they were demonstrative. My son loved his early videos, probably because they were kewl and pop. But for his age, it's eye opening to see what John Q Public can do and make in the backyard. They are told overtly and covertly that it isn't possible or allowed. Not true, and it's a window into past industry. While many people on this page are looking for videos most substantial for the mind, kids still need kewl to motivate them to take the red pill and start living with their own agency.