Hello!

My vlogbrothers video this week is about a little problem I have of obviously being incapable of focusing on one particular course of action. At this point, it's a meme in this community. There's a website called Days Since Hank Green Started a New Thing. And, I'll be honest with you, when the counter starts to creep up over 30 days, I start to get a little worried. Have I lost my SPARK!??!

John and I had a really great conversation this week about how we believe things about ourselves that we would never believe about someone else. My big one is that my value to the world lies in my productivity. I don't feel that way about anyone I love, but I do feel that way about myself. And the thing is, I do love making stuff...I just need to separate out the joy of creation from that messed-up perception of myself. So today's vlogbrothers video is a kind of meta-look at that. The first half is me talking about the problem, and the second half is me diving head-first into the very thing that IS THE PROBLEM. But I try to dive into it in a way that is not about "Productivity" or "Accomplishment", but is simply about silliness and joy and making good things happen and also kinda mocking the idea of great-man thinking.

It's about becoming America's Sock Man (which I believe is an achievable goal because I don't think anyone is going to fight me for the title.) And it's about how much good has been done by the tens of thousands of people who have signed up for the Awesome Socks Club (if you don't know what that is...here's a website!) Also, if you click that link (or this one), you can join the club and get cool socks once a month AND YOUR FIRST PAIR WILL BE JUST SIX DOLLARS! Shipping is free, you can cancel any time, and THIS IS HOW I BECOME AMERICA'S SOCK MAN!!

Anyway, it's (as it usually is) a weird time for me! Thanks for being with me through it all,

Hank

You can always email us at [email protected]

This Week in Stuff

• Some of Boston’s subway trains are sporting googly eyes in an effort to make people smile.

• NOAA hurricane hunters flew into the eye of Hurricane Beryl.

• A Southwest flight celebrated a birthday on board by lighting candles (turning on their call lights).

• Howtown explained how we know which animals are sentient.

• Photographer Carolyn Golba spotted a Grizzly with five cubs in Yellowstone.

Please send us stuff you think we should feature to [email protected]

How much do people value leisure?

Bastian Herre

Free time is important to most people around the world.

As shown on this chart, in many countries, leisure is important to more than 80% of people. This is based on data from the European Values Study and World Values Survey.

However, the percentage of people who find leisure “very important” varies more. In some countries, it is the majority; in others, it is less than a quarter.

People enjoy their free time, but valuing leisure a lot doesn’t mean people value work less or work fewer hours. In countries such as Nigeria, Mexico, and Indonesia, people put a high value on both these aspects of their lives.

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.

This Week at Complexly

This week’s SciShow Tangents is all about cicadas! They’re this summer's hottest North American bug. They've got everything: neon-colored wing veins, bendy-straw-style exoskeletons, an insatiable thirst for tree goo, and after 17 years of napping, they're bursting out of the ground ready to par-tay!

SciShow Tangents is on a mission to bring 200 new supporters to Patreon to keep making their amazing show so amazing! If it’s been a while since you’ve ventured over to their Patreon, you should check out what’s new (like the brand new perks and stuff that they’re launching right now). Check out patreon.com/scishowtangents for more information.

Some Games to Play!

Blossom (by Merriam-Webster)

SpellCheck.xyc (by Answer in Progress.)

Nerdy Connections (by Complexly)

Download Gubbins on iOS or Android!

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)

Content recommended by you

Last week, we asked for your favorite YouTube channels. We’re sharing some of the repeated answers here! Thanks for helping us find some new gems and rediscover old faves.

Veritasium

The Try Guys

Answer in Progress

Elyse Myers

Mark Rober

Sad Boyz

Rachel Maksy

Dropout

Philosophy Tube

Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell

That’s the end!

We want to know what your first ever Instagram “like” was (Settings and activity> Your activity > Likes > Oldest to newest). Let us know what you find!

Send a screenshot or description of your first “like” to [email protected]

We're Here is the newsletter of Nerdfighteria; the community of people that sprung up around Hank and John Green's YouTube videos. That community has many focuses and has spawned many projects but the overarching theme is that hopelessness is the wrong response to imperfection. What makes the world better is groups of people trying to understand and solve problems, and people can only do that for an extended period if they're having at least a little bit of fun.