12,419 Days Of Strandbeest Evolution

Creation of the Beests (0s)

• A Strandbeest is a walking skeleton powered only by the wind, created by Dutch inventor Theo Jansen, with no motors or electronics, and made of unusual materials such as tape, glue, and screws (10s).
• Theo Jansen started working on the Strandbeest 34 years ago, initially planning to spend one year on the project, but it eventually got out of hand (36s).
• Jansen's goal is for the Strandbeest to be able to survive on its own in various circumstances, such as storms, water, and sand, and to eventually become a new specimen on Earth (1m38s).
• To achieve this goal, the Strandbeest had to overcome six major challenges, the first being to support its own weight (1m46s).
• Initially, Jansen used Sellotape to connect the joints, but it broke, and the Strandbeest could only lie on its back and move its legs slightly (1m57s).
• Jansen realized that tape was not a long-term solution and replaced it with zip ties, which were more elegant, clean, and stronger (2m27s).
• Jansen restricted himself to using only a few basic materials to build the Strandbeest, but still had to overcome five more hurdles (2m35s).

Learning to walk (2m40s)

• To achieve smooth walking in the Strandbeest, the path traced out by its foot as it moves is crucial, as a wonky path can cause the beest to lose its balance, while a mostly flat surface allows it to keep its balance and walk properly (2m48s).
• The proportions and placement of the tubes in the Strandbeest's legs can drastically change the footpath, and finding the right combination is essential (3m3s).
• In 1990, Jansen wrote a computer program to compute the footpath for any given combination of proportions, but instead of trying all possible options, he used an evolution method to find the best combination more efficiently (3m19s).
• Jansen ran a simulation starting with 1,500 different combinations of proportions, resulting in 1,500 different footpaths, and through an evolutionary process, the best combinations were selected and modified until the optimal proportions were found (3m46s).
• The optimal proportions, described as the "13 holy numbers," were discovered after months of simulation and describe the proportions and placements of all tubes in the Strandbeest's legs (4m14s).
• When the legs are connected and each leg is out of phase with the others by 120 degrees, the Strandbeest achieves a continuous smooth walk (4m38s).
• The 13 holy numbers can be seen as the genetic code of the Strandbeest, and the reason for offsetting the legs by 120 degrees is to ensure that there are always feet in contact with the ground, providing a smooth ride (4m48s).
• Adam Savage, a friend and original MythBuster, built his own pedal-powered Strandbeest in 2016, but initially struggled to get it to walk smoothly due to a missing linkage and incorrect length of the center triangle linkage (5m3s).
• After correcting the mistake, Adam's Strandbeest was able to walk smoothly, demonstrating the importance of getting the proportions and linkages right (6m19s).

Overcoming the sand (6m50s)

• Jansen's Strandbeests spend the entire summer on the beach, where they face challenges in surviving and conquering their natural habitat, with one major challenge being dealing with sand (6m51s).
• The sand on the beach is very fluffy, making it easy for the Strandbeests to get stuck, especially if they have a stick-like structure, which would bury itself in the sand and prevent movement (7m5s).
• To prevent getting stuck, the Strandbeests evolved feet specifically adapted to the beach, featuring a large surface area that allows them to stay on top of the sand (7m16s).
• The feet also have wires that provide a lot of contact time with the ground, allowing for a smooth ride and reducing pressure on the Strandbeest's structure (7m36s).
• The smooth ride is achieved by the foot being in touch with the ground for a longer period, allowing other feet to take over and maintain movement (7m41s).
• Having a couple of inches of play in the linkage between the ankle and the foot is crucial in allowing the foot to stay in place while the linkage prepares the other foot to drop (8m7s).
• The movement of the Strandbeests is not a straight, robotic motion, but rather a natural swing, similar to human walking (8m31s).
• When the Strandbeests are stationary for an extended period, sand poses another major threat by covering the structure, which can be avoided by lifting the structure slightly to allow the sand to pass underneath (8m42s).
• The solution to this problem led to the evolution of flying Strandbeests (8m56s).

Surviving the storms (9m0s)

• Strandbeests face violent threats such as storms, and to increase their odds of survival, they can band together, similar to regular animals that survive harsh conditions by grouping together (9m0s).
• When individual Strandbeests are placed on the beach, they can easily be blown over by strong winds, but as a group holding each other, they are stronger and more likely to survive (9m25s).
• The idea of grouping Strandbeests together also allows for a different type of Strandbeest that can be pulled by other Strandbeests, making them more resilient in strong winds (9m41s).
• Theo Jansen, the creator of the Strandbeests, allowed an experiment where a Strandbeest was pulled by a person, with the person acting as the motor and the Strandbeest's crawler following behind (9m51s).
• The experiment involved grabbing the Strandbeest at designated hand markings and walking it up a Dutch beach, demonstrating the potential for Strandbeests to be pulled and survive in strong winds (9m58s).

Incogni (10m17s)

• Strandbeests are constantly battling against the elements, but they can help each other by working together, similar to how Incogni helps individuals fight against data brokers (10m17s).
• Data brokers collect various types of personal data, including names, phone numbers, email addresses, and social security numbers, and sell this information on the open market, leading to spam calls and emails (10m33s).
• Incogni fights data brokers by identifying who has an individual's data, determining applicable laws, and sending formal letters to request the removal of the individual's information (10m52s).
• To use Incogni's services, individuals must give them permission to act on their behalf, and Incogni will handle the process of requesting data removal from data brokers (10m55s).
• Incogni has filed a significant number of requests on behalf of the individual, with 192 requests filed in September and 260 requests filed currently, saving over 160 hours of work (11m12s).
• Individuals can try Incogni's services by visiting incogni.com/veritasium, clicking the link in the description, or scanning a provided QR code, and using the code "veritasium" to receive 60% off their annual subscription (11m22s).

Building muscle (11m46s)

• The Strandbeests have a fatal flaw where they stop moving when the wind dies down, and this is a challenge that needs to be solved (11m52s).
• This challenge is similar to one that life has faced, where it cannot always rely on external currents to move, and instead needs to store energy for later use (12m8s).
• To collect energy, the Strandbeests use a sail that moves with the wind, turning a crankshaft that pushes a piston to store pressurized air in a plastic bottle (12m32s).
• The stored air can reach pressures of up to 5 bars, but the bottles can explode at 10 bars, as evidenced by a past incident where a bottle exploded and broke a window (12m48s).
• To use the stored energy, a pump is connected to the pressurized air, creating a muscle-like object that can become longer or shorter on command (13m25s).
• The Strandbeests have developed different types of muscles, including pulling and pushing muscles, which have allowed them to crawl, walk, and even wag their tails (13m41s).
• As the Strandbeests evolve to overcome challenges, they become more like real animals, mimicking life's evolutionary pattern and becoming more aware of their surroundings (14m5s).
• The evolution of the Strandbeests is similar to that of life, where animals had to overcome similar challenges to become more aware and, in some cases, conscious and self-aware (14m17s).

A developing brain (14m27s)

• The Strandbeests face a significant challenge as they are blind and deaf, relying solely on feeling their surroundings to navigate, which can lead to accidentally walking into the water if carried by the wind, a potentially disastrous outcome (14m27s).
• To address this issue, a system is being developed to sense when the Strandbeest touches the water, allowing it to course correct and move back onto the beach through a connection of brain cells and muscles (14m54s).
• A water feeler is used to detect the proximity of the sea, which sucks in air and feels resistance when it comes into contact with water (15m14s).
• The water feeler's functionality relies on processing inputs, making decisions, and issuing commands to the muscles, essentially requiring a nervous system or brain (15m46s).
• A nerve cell prototype is demonstrated, showcasing a connection that can be blocked or opened using a piston, functioning as a valve that can switch between open and closed states (16m4s).
• The nerve cell prototype can be seen as the beginning of the Strandbeest's brain, capable of switching between zeros and ones like a computer (17m5s).
• It is estimated that around 20 brain cells would be needed for the Strandbeest to be able to turn around when walking into the water, although the complexity of the beach environment, with sand creeping into everything, makes implementation challenging (17m14s).

Fossils and decay (17m39s)

• Over time, the Strandbeests slowly degrade, losing their color and potentially breaking apart, which contributes to the global microplastic pollution problem, albeit on a small scale (17m40s).
• Despite the degradation, almost all parts of the Strandbeests are reused, sold as fossils, or placed in a graveyard (17m54s).
• The creation and evolution of the Strandbeests have been made possible by the long-term dedication and obsession of one individual, who has been working on the project year after year (18m4s).

Strandbeests and climate change (18m13s)

• Rising levels of carbon dioxide in the late 1980s indicated the planet would warm, causing sea levels to rise by as much as 2.2 meters by 2100, posing a significant threat to the Netherlands, where about a third of the country lies below the current sea level (18m15s).
• Theo Jansen proposed a solution to mitigate the effects of rising sea levels, envisioning a walking skeleton powered by the wind that would kick up sand as it walked, which would then be blown to the dunes, heightening them and protecting the Netherlands (18m37s).
• Jansen's idea, published in de Volkskrant, involved these wind-powered skeletons, which he called Strandbeests, or "beach beasts" in English (18m54s).
• The concept of Strandbeests was initially perceived as an unusual idea, but it was a response to the pressing issue of climate change and its potential impact on the Netherlands (19m8s).

Legacy (19m16s)

• Theo Jansen's work on Strandbeests started from an article in a newspaper and eventually became a defining aspect of his life (19m16s).
• The primary motivation behind Jansen's work is no longer about protecting the Netherlands, but rather about fulfilling a fundamental human need (19m26s).
• This human need is the desire to be remembered after one's death, a common concern for many people (19m30s).
• To avoid being forgotten, people often go to great lengths, such as having children, donating large sums of money, or creating lasting works (19m40s).
• For Jansen, creating Strandbeests serves as a means to achieve remembrance and leave a lasting legacy (19m51s).
• Jansen's ultimate goal for the Strandbeests is for them to live independently on the beach, at which point he believes he can die with peace of mind (19m59s).

The Virus is Spreading (20m3s)

• The creator of Strandbeests faces a challenge in that they do not have millions of years to evolve their designs, but they are trying to spread their idea to others, particularly young people, to help with the evolution process (20m4s).
• The creator is able to get help from some people who are very nice and willing to assist, and they are trying to "infect" them with the Strandbeest idea, or the "Strandbeest virus" (20m19s).
• The Strandbeest idea is spreading globally, with thousands of people incorporating the creator's 13 holy numbers into their own designs, including miniature Strandbeests, rideable Strandbeests, and a walking bicycle (20m35s).
• The creator wants everyone to build a Strandbeest, but they do not seem to have any ulterior motives other than enjoying the process of creating and seeing the Strandbeests in action (20m50s).
• The creator has a set of rules and restrictions for themselves when building Strandbeests, but they do not impose these same restrictions on others, which is seen as a beautiful aspect of their approach (20m59s).
• The ultimate goal of the Strandbeest evolution is to create a new species that can roam the world's beaches, potentially even helping to protect coastlines from rising sea levels (21m6s).