Hello!
Greetings from STILL COLD Indianapolis, where I have lovely news: The 19th (??!?!?!) Project for Awesome is live now, as you read these words—as long as you're reading them between Friday and Sunday.
The P4A has long (long long) been a source of comfort and encouragement to me. Each year, thousands of folks get together to raise millions of dollars for great organizations like Partners in Health and Save the Children. And we have a lot of fun in the process. Our little corner of the Internet gets to do some real good this weekend, and I'm so grateful to be a part of it for the 19th time. For me, the Project for Awesome is a reminder of what online communities can do, and what they can be: Nerdfighteria is a gift in my life, but it is also a gift in the world.
DFTBA,
John
You can always email us at [email protected]
This Week in Stuff
Wick’d Confections is celebrating Black History Month by making lost Black American recipes. (Instagram)
Someone played the 2014 Super Bowl at their Super Bowl party, and it took over an hour for people to notice. (TikTok)
The Conservation Foundation explained how trees survive the winter. (Instagram)
If you’d be interested in nearly 30 minutes of rare bird facts, HGModernism made the perfect video for you. (YouTube)
The Minnesota Orchestra surprised a group of children by playing a song from KPop Demon Hunters. (Instagram)
If you read this before Sunday at noon EST, the Project for Awesome livestream is happening now! (projectforawesome.com)
Please send us stuff you think we should feature to [email protected]
The global trade of plastic waste has fallen dramatically in the last decade
Hannah Ritchie and Veronika Samborska
It might seem odd that countries would agree to import plastic waste from other countries, but many do so for the cheap materials or to feed specific manufacturing processes.
Environmentally, the trade in plastics has often been a concern, as it allows rich countries to effectively “dump” waste on poorer countries with weaker waste management systems.
The good news is that trade in plastic waste has fallen by more than two-thirds over the last decade. You can see this reduction in the chart.
China has been the biggest driver of this. It was once a large importer, but after a steep decline in trade in 2016 and a ban in 2018, many countries lost their largest export market.
In 2024, around 5 million tonnes of plastic waste were traded worldwide. For context, that is around 1% of the total plastic waste generated. What’s perhaps surprising is that most trade is now between high-income countries, which reduces the risk that this waste leaks into the environment.
Our World in Data is a UK-based non-profit organization that publishes research and data to make progress against the world’s largest problems. You can find more of their data insights here. Want to receive even more Data Insights like this from Our World in Data directly in your inbox every few days? Sign up for their newsletter!
This Week at Complexly
Angela Giarratana joins Hank in the new Ask Hank Anything! She asks whether she is talented, who the first person to sing was, what her dog thinks of her, and more.
Sometimes experiments radically change our understanding of the world. But there’s much more to them than singular scientists. In this episode of Crash Course Scientific Thinking, we’ll learn why Louis Pasteur wasn’t a lone genius, and why it’s very difficult to design a study that gets us closer to the truth.
Some Games to Play!
SpellCheck.xyc (by Answer in Progress)
This Gubbins postcard was made by Gia. Send yours to [email protected]
If you post your results on social media, we’d love it if you post a link for folks to subscribe to “We’re Here” (https://werehere.beehiiv.com/subscribe)
Our Favorite P4A Moments
Last week, we asked for standout memories from past Project for Awesome livestreams, OR what you’re looking forward to this weekend. Thank you to everyone who emailed us!
I am excited for the P4A for the familiar reason of the digital download bundle, particularly the exclusive podcasts :) This year especially I am looking forward to watching youtube in a way that feels good for a few days instead of....the increasing horrors and slop.
My first P4A was at the start of medical school. I bought a Decrease Worldsuck pin, with the promise to wear it on my short white coat for the duration of school, to keep me focused on the big picture. John read my promise aloud and the live chat was full of people cheering me on. I kept my promise, and just this week started my first post-training doctor job!
During the P4A of 2014, I was working abroad in South Korea so I got to witness every single silly wacky sleep deprived hour of the wee morning. I saw all the stuff I usually would have missed back in Canada (not for a lack of trying).
I witnessed the discovery and birth of Butfartman, and then Hank, Matthew Gaydos and Michael Aranda attempted to sing my Butfartmas carol - to the tune of Carol of the Bells (Traditional). I still remember how surreal and exciting that felt. One for the books!
I'm really excited about the Project for Awesome because it's the first year I will be watching it in full. Just three days ago I moved in with my partner, who is also a big fan. It's our first proper weekend together in our new apartment and the perfect chance to have the P4A on all weekend long and share the experience with someone who understands.
2025 was my first P4A, so my favorite memory is all the first time joy and excitement! Though I was also pretty excited to add to my pressed penny collection with some P4A pennies so they might be my second favorite memory :)
My favorite Project for Awesome memory is from my very first one in December of 2012. I was a freshman in college and got to watch the streams all weekend with my best friend/next door neighbor who had gotten me into Nerdfighteria just a few months before (Hi Abby!)
I've been around since the first P4A in 2007 (how on earth has it been 19 years?!) and I think my favorite memory of P4A was the feeling I got when I logged on to YouTube and saw the entire home page covered in P4A thumbnails. I'm really glad that it's grown into such an impactful project, and I think that was the right call. But watching normal people build something up from almost nothing, to influence (without permission from anyone in charge) a global platform, honestly changed how I see the world and all the people in it.
Although I've been with nerdfighteria for a long time and I can't even remember how many P4A's I've participated in (definitely more than 10), this is the first time I'll have someone who will watch it with me irl
I am visiting my long-distance girlfriend and we'll watch P4A together this year :) looking forward to that!
I think last year’s surprise twins moments with the mustache and the second Banana Loca are hard to beat, but my favorite moment might be one of my earliest: in 2021, my first P4A, Hank asked for name suggestions for a lil guy on his desk, and was duly horrified by my contribution.
Last year my family was at an all inclusive resort during the P4A, where I spent 48 hours ignoring the pool, eating meals with headphones on and explaining excitedly what was going on to my supportive, but slightly confused family. My sister stayed up into the wee hours of the morning to watch Hank and Brennan Loco Banana; we ordered room service and ate in the huge bath tub in our room.
In the spirit of P4A, we’d love for you to write a poem about community and what that means to you.
Send your poetry to [email protected].
