Household Hacker
Encyclopedia
HouseholdHacker is a YouTube
channel and website
that posts videos of various "hacks", or quick solutions, to common everyday problems. As of June 2010, the channel was the third most subscribed "guru" channel on YouTube, and the 35th most subscribed overall.
and Santa Monica, California
. Each video features a simple hack, or "a quick and/or clever creation for a method of solving of a problem." HouseholdHacker makes money by offering subscription downloads and T-shirts, but the duo told the LATimes that they do not make enough money to "live off comfortably at this point."
HouseholdHacker was launched in November 2007 and quickly attracted interest, becoming YouTube's most subscribed channel for the month of December 2007. By January 2009, HouseholdHacker was the 22nd most subscribed YouTube channel. The channel's popularity began to wane and by July they had fallen to 27th place overall. As of July 2009, HouseholdHacker is the third most subscribed "guru" channel on YouTube.
Their work, more recently, began to shift to a more social level, having long revealed both their full names and faces, with more blogging, discussions on video games, and a more recent "Scientific Tuesdays" segment, rather than the semi-legitimate how-to videos that the duo was known for. This has attracted a new audience, and helped significantly in retaining the old one, marking a revival after a slight decline in their popularity.
using little more than Gatorade
and a white onion
, was an overnight success. The video drew the attention of the Unofficial Apple Weblog, which reported it as fact, and hundreds of other blogs. Within its first week, the video had been viewed over 4 million times.
By the following November, the video had been viewed more than 7 million times and attracted the attention of ABCNews.com, who asked "Can an Onion Charge an iPod?" ABC put the video to the test, but failed to obtain the promised result. Reporter Emily Friedman remarked "this appears to be an iFraud."
The TV show MythBusters
also put the onion video to the test in 2008. In a segment dubbed "iOnion", Grant Imahara
was unable to get any charge from the onion setup found in the HouseholdHacker video. He explained that the setup lacked the crucial anode
and cathode
that would be required to get the electrolyte
s found in Gatorade moving and concluded the video was a complete hoax. In an interview with ABCNews, Adam Savage
called the video "complete horseshit."
speculates that it is the style in which the video was delivered. "He's got a friendly, helpful voice, but he's not casual – he speaks in the formal, confident manner of a TV how-to guy," says Manjoo. Anna Solana of La Vanguardia
, on the other hand, speculated that it was the "science" itself that attracted the viewers, remarking that something so magical "freaks" people out and makes them want to believe.
In addition to high profile hoaxes, the HouseholdHacker channel hosts a number of less provocative videos such as "How to Prank your Roommate on April Fools" and "How to make a secret, disguised safe." Scientific Tuesdays, a relatively new approach from Dylan, has set a stage of a series of scientifically based segments using mostly commonly found items in the home or some that he instructs his viewers on how to obtain. There has been a recent association with Revision3, the online video show provider based in San Francisco, Ca. REV3 is made up of a group of talented movie and TV pros that work directly with advertisers to disseminate the ad content they provide with revenue coming from those sources to grow the programming they produce.
Dylan has been associated with REV3 recently in a few episodes of SCIENTIFIC TUESDAYS.
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
channel and website
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
that posts videos of various "hacks", or quick solutions, to common everyday problems. As of June 2010, the channel was the third most subscribed "guru" channel on YouTube, and the 35th most subscribed overall.
Background
The HouseholdHacker YouTube channel is dedicated to making "videos about everything geek". The videos, which are cross-posted at householdhacker.com, are the work of two anonymous editors known as "Traveler Hacker and Frosty Brain" or "Traveler and Dylan" who reside in San Jose, CaliforniaSan Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
and Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, US. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and...
. Each video features a simple hack, or "a quick and/or clever creation for a method of solving of a problem." HouseholdHacker makes money by offering subscription downloads and T-shirts, but the duo told the LATimes that they do not make enough money to "live off comfortably at this point."
HouseholdHacker was launched in November 2007 and quickly attracted interest, becoming YouTube's most subscribed channel for the month of December 2007. By January 2009, HouseholdHacker was the 22nd most subscribed YouTube channel. The channel's popularity began to wane and by July they had fallen to 27th place overall. As of July 2009, HouseholdHacker is the third most subscribed "guru" channel on YouTube.
Their work, more recently, began to shift to a more social level, having long revealed both their full names and faces, with more blogging, discussions on video games, and a more recent "Scientific Tuesdays" segment, rather than the semi-legitimate how-to videos that the duo was known for. This has attracted a new audience, and helped significantly in retaining the old one, marking a revival after a slight decline in their popularity.
iPod Onion
In November 2007, HouseholdHacker released a video entitled "How to Charge an iPod using electrolytes and an onion." The video, which claimed to demonstrate how one could recharge an iPodIPod
iPod is a line of portable media players created and marketed by Apple Inc. The product line-up currently consists of the hard drive-based iPod Classic, the touchscreen iPod Touch, the compact iPod Nano, and the ultra-compact iPod Shuffle...
using little more than Gatorade
Gatorade
Gatorade is a brand of sports-themed food and beverage products, built around its signature product: a line of sports drinks. Gatorade is currently manufactured by PepsiCo, distributed in over 80 countries...
and a white onion
White onion
White onion is a type of dry onion that has a pure white skin and a sweet, mild white flesh.This onion is used in Mexican foods or complementing the flavors of other ingredients....
, was an overnight success. The video drew the attention of the Unofficial Apple Weblog, which reported it as fact, and hundreds of other blogs. Within its first week, the video had been viewed over 4 million times.
By the following November, the video had been viewed more than 7 million times and attracted the attention of ABCNews.com, who asked "Can an Onion Charge an iPod?" ABC put the video to the test, but failed to obtain the promised result. Reporter Emily Friedman remarked "this appears to be an iFraud."
The TV show MythBusters
MythBusters
MythBusters is a science entertainment TV program created and produced by Beyond Television Productions for the Discovery Channel. The series is screened by numerous international broadcasters, including Discovery Channel Australia, Discovery Channel Latin America, Discovery Channel Canada, Quest...
also put the onion video to the test in 2008. In a segment dubbed "iOnion", Grant Imahara
Grant Imahara
Grant Masaru Imahara is a Japanese American electronics and radio control expert, best known for his work on the American television show MythBusters.-Education and early work:...
was unable to get any charge from the onion setup found in the HouseholdHacker video. He explained that the setup lacked the crucial anode
Anode
An anode is an electrode through which electric current flows into a polarized electrical device. Mnemonic: ACID ....
and cathode
Cathode
A cathode is an electrode through which electric current flows out of a polarized electrical device. Mnemonic: CCD .Cathode polarity is not always negative...
that would be required to get the electrolyte
Electrolyte
In chemistry, an electrolyte is any substance containing free ions that make the substance electrically conductive. The most typical electrolyte is an ionic solution, but molten electrolytes and solid electrolytes are also possible....
s found in Gatorade moving and concluded the video was a complete hoax. In an interview with ABCNews, Adam Savage
Adam Savage
Adam Whitney Savage is an American industrial design and special effects designer/fabricator, actor, educator, and co-host of the Discovery Channel television series MythBusters. His model work has appeared in major films, including Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones and The Matrix...
called the video "complete horseshit."
Appeal
The iPod onion video fooled a number of normally savvy folks, or at least had them trying the technique out for themselves, which has led to several theories as to why it was so appealing. Farhad Manjoo of Salon.comSalon.com
Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
speculates that it is the style in which the video was delivered. "He's got a friendly, helpful voice, but he's not casual – he speaks in the formal, confident manner of a TV how-to guy," says Manjoo. Anna Solana of La Vanguardia
La Vanguardia
La Vanguardia is Catalonia's leading daily newspaper as well as the fourth best-selling in Spain. It has its headquarters in Barcelona, Catalonia's largest city....
, on the other hand, speculated that it was the "science" itself that attracted the viewers, remarking that something so magical "freaks" people out and makes them want to believe.
Follow up videos
Following the iPod onion success, HouseholdHacker has released a number of videos that have generated some attention, but none that have risen to the level of the iPod onion. A March 2008 video entitled "How to Cheat on any Test" has attracted 4 million views and the ire of some school teachers. Another video entitled "How to Create a High-Def speaker for under a buck" again drew the attention of the show MythBusters. Tory Belleci followed the instructions in the video, but when it came time to plug in the speakers nothing happened. In addition to disproving the video, he pointed out that the "under a buck" part of the claim was also false, noting that a single minijack alone typically costs about $10 retail. However, it is possible to get minijack cables for under a dollar online. While the focus of the channel has become more social, they have taken humor into the truthfulness of their early videos. In the first "Ask HouseholdHacker" video, when questioned the validity of the speaker video, the camera was panned, revealing a surround-sound stereo system presumably constructed out of paper plates and aluminum foil.In addition to high profile hoaxes, the HouseholdHacker channel hosts a number of less provocative videos such as "How to Prank your Roommate on April Fools" and "How to make a secret, disguised safe." Scientific Tuesdays, a relatively new approach from Dylan, has set a stage of a series of scientifically based segments using mostly commonly found items in the home or some that he instructs his viewers on how to obtain. There has been a recent association with Revision3, the online video show provider based in San Francisco, Ca. REV3 is made up of a group of talented movie and TV pros that work directly with advertisers to disseminate the ad content they provide with revenue coming from those sources to grow the programming they produce.
Dylan has been associated with REV3 recently in a few episodes of SCIENTIFIC TUESDAYS.