- Primer
Primer is a channel that uses little cartoon blobs to teach concepts of mathematical game theory and evolution. These simulations, starring blobs that may carry specific genes, are entertaining and informative. The channel is held back only by the lack of variety in content.
- Cicada 3301
Cicada 3301 was a complex series of riddles and puzzles posted online between 2012 and 2014, with the objective of “recruiting intelligent individuals.” It’s an eerie topic to dive into, rife with fun conspiracy theories. I recommend giving it a shot — maybe you’ll be the one to solve the last puzzle!
- Tasting History
In Tasting History with Max Miller, Miller cooks historic dishes based on recipes from the ancient Babylonians to the original pumpkin pie of the 1800s. He uses ingredients that shoppers can get from their local supermarket as well, ensuring viewers can make the meals at home, too.
- Video game theories
You could spend hours on YouTube with this topic and only scratch the surface. Game Theory may be the biggest channel, but there’s guaranteed to be someone theorizing on any game you can think of. Some examples include Zeltik’s coverage of “The Legend of Zelda” and mossbag’s many videos on “Hollow Knight.”
- Primitive Technology
How did ancient people smelt iron? How did they make charcoal? Primitive Technology aims to answer those questions — not by boring lectures, but by demonstrating the same steps that ancient people followed. You’re sure to be engaged by this channel’s successes, failures and everything in between to learn something about how our ancestors lived without modern conveniences like power tools, farming machinery and refrigeration.
- Mr. Ballen
Former Navy SEAL Jonathan Ballen runs the channel Mr. Ballen, where he presents true crime and “paranormal stories.” While he does heavily embellish his stories for dramatic effect, the entertainment is worth it.
- Atomic Shrimp
It’s difficult to summarize exactly what Atomic Shrimp is about; the variety and sheer amount of content on the channel is suffocating. But the best way to summarize this channel is about an appreciation for novelty. The creator, Mike (he never offers his last name), does anything — he cooks foods that you normally wouldn’t look twice at, wanders through locations that you normally wouldn’t think to go and discusses scams that you normally wouldn’t give a second thought to. Go through this channel for an appreciation of the new things that we can do every day.
- History of game speedruns
You may already enjoy watching video game speedruns, or perhaps you even speedrun yourself in hopes to beat your friends. But the races to find game-changing glitches are a fascinating subtopic of speedrunning, with hours of YouTube content exploring how each record was achieved. Try visiting channels like SummoningSalt, Lowest Percent and Bismuth — you won’t be disappointed.
- Pop science
Math and science channels like 3Blue1Brown, Veritasium, MinutePhysics and VSauce cover advanced STEM subjects in a graphical way, making complicated concepts entertaining for absolutely anyone. These creators have videos for days on anything from fractals to pi, perfect for the average high-striving Saratoga student.
- Edited game playthroughs
Streaming video games is popular today, but why sit through a full playthrough when you can just watch the good parts? Why watch the thousandth stream of “Black Ops 7” when you can learn about unique games that you didn’t think existed?
Head to channels like SmallAnt or PointCrow to get excited by stupidly difficult challenges like “Minecraft” without a keyboard or “Tears of the Kingdom” with one stick. Look to Alpharad for the worst games that you shouldn’t play or RealCivilEngineer to play games that may at first glance look like homework, but will quickly suck you in.
