Thunderf00t: the videos Hacker News recommends
Not the channel's most viewed videos: the ones HN commenters kept linking with real commentary. The top pick, "The Hyperloop: BUSTED!", hN repeatedly cites it as the best skeptical engineering analysis of why Hyperloop is impractical.
- commentary recommended in 6 different months by 7 HN users, 2016–2023HN repeatedly cites it as the best skeptical engineering analysis of why Hyperloop is impractical.
- explainer recommended in 2 different months by 2 HN users, 2015–2024HN links it as the accessible video explanation of the sodium-in-water research, and when Coulomb explosions or sodium batteries come up.
- commentary recommended in 2 different months by 2 HN users, 2022–2025Mostly cited as a contrarian critique of Starlink's viability; some defend its economics argument while others dismiss it as repetitive.
- commentary recommended in 1 different month by 1 HN user, 2021–2023Used by skeptics in UFO threads as a debunking of the Navy pilot videos.
- commentary recommended in 1 different month by 1 HN user, 2021–2022Cited in atmospheric water harvesting threads as a debunking of products that promise drinking water from thin air.
- commentary cited on HN 8 times, 2021–2022HN commenters cite it as the skeptical case against SpaceX's cost claims, mostly in critical arguments rather than as a recommendation.
- commentary cited on HN 5 times, 2021–2023HN points to it as the skeptical debunking of SpinLaunch whenever the company or similar launch concepts come up.
- commentary cited on HN 7 times, 2019–2026HN uses it as the standard debunking to cite whenever a new water-from-air device is announced.
- commentary cited on HN 4 times, 2017–2021HN cites it as a warning and a debunking whenever water-from-air or similar crowdfunded gadgets appear.
- commentary cited on HN 6 times, 2019–2022Used as a critical reference to argue gravity energy storage is impractical, not as a general recommendation.
- commentary cited on HN 10 times, 2021–2025Used as a source for back-of-envelope numbers on tree planting and by critics of feel-good climate gestures.
- commentary cited on HN 3 times, 2021–2022It is cited as the skeptical debunking whenever SpinLaunch comes up, not recommended as neutral analysis.
- explainer cited on HN 4 times, 2021–2025HN cites it in arguments that exercise alone is an ineffective way to lose weight and that caloric deficit matters most.
- commentary cited on HN 6 times, 2018–2025Cited in threads on atmospheric water harvesting as the standard debunking of such startups.
Questions
Which Thunderf00t video does Hacker News recommend most?
The Hyperloop: BUSTED!: recommended in 6 different months by 7 HN users between 2016 and 2023.
Is this every Thunderf00t video?
No. Only videos that at least three different HN users linked, in at least three different months, with at least a sentence of their own commentary. That filter is what makes the list useful.