The Longest-Running Experiment In The World
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In the hallway of the University of Queensland in Australia, an unassuming little experiment is kept in a glass case. It’s not that interesting, until you know that it’s the longest-running lab experiment in the world, and is just about to turn 100 years old. It’s the Pitch Drop Experiment, and it teaches us a lot about the unseen world of long time scales.
Watch the Pitch Drop Experiment livestream here:
http://thetenthwatch.com/
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LINKS LINKS LINKS
https://egypt-museum.com/clepsydra-of-karnak/
https://villains.fandom.com/wiki/Khonshu_(Marvel_Cinematic_Universe)
https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/moon-knight-who-is-khonshu
https://quoteinvestigator.com/2020/04/29/tree-shade/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Experiment
https://smp.uq.edu.au/pitch-drop-experiment
https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/longest-running-laboratory-experiment
http://thetenthwatch.com/
https://smp.uq.edu.au/files/109/outreach-pitch-drop-abstract.pdf
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-28402709
https://theconversation.com/explainer-the-pitch-drop-experiment-33734
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitch_drop_experiment
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0305440308002823
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5031647/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mummy
https://www.spurlock.illinois.edu/exhibits/online/mummification/materials.html
https://www.britannica.com/science/rheology
https://spie.org/news/photonics-focus/julyaugust-2023/editors-desk-its-fluid
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fact-fiction-glass-liquid/
https://www.sciencealert.com/watch-is-glass-a-liquid
https://phys.org/news/2017-10-solid-liquid-definition-glass.html
https://www.rothamsted.ac.uk/national-capability/the-long-term-experiments
https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/longest-running-agricultural-experiment
https://www.rothamsted.ac.uk/sites/default/files/national-capability/long-term-experiments/Web_LTE%20Guidebook_2019%20Final2.pdf
https://www.harpenden-history.org.uk/harpenden-history/topics-cms/farms-and-farming/lawes_and_gilbert_an_unlikely_victorian_agricultural_partnership
https://thefurrow.co.uk/rothamsted-research-worlds-longest-running-agricultural-trials/
https://www.rothamsted.ac.uk/news/maintaining-wheat-yields-possible-over-many-years
https://archwww.physics.ox.ac.uk/history/Exhibit1.html
https://www.electrochem.org/ecsnews/mysterious-battery-celebrates-175-of-functionality-video
https://www.centennialbulb.org/cam.htm
http://bulbcam.cityofpleasantonca.gov/view/view.shtml?id=752075&imagepath=%2Fmjpg%2Fvideo.mjpg&size=1
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20160612-heres-the-truth-about-the-planned-obsolescence-of-tech
https://spectrum.ieee.org/the-great-lightbulb-conspiracy
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/01/500-year-long-science-experiment/581155/
https://longnow.org/ideas/how-to-run-a-500-year-long-science-experiment/
https://scispace.com/pdf/a-500-year-experiment-3l5hh9hfa6.pdf
https://www.sciencealert.com/the-first-results-are-in-from-a-500-year-long-experiment-set-to-end-in-the-year-2514
https://longnow.org/clock/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DldeXc3Wqo
https://longnow.org/clock/#updates
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/beverly-clock
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beverly_Clock
https://dissentmagazine.org/article/back-to-the-future-the-up-series/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Up_(film_series
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henri_de_Toulouse-Lautrec
TIMESTAMPS
0:00 – Intro
1:40 – The Pitch Drop Experiment
6:20 – All About Pitch
9:00 – Other Long-Running Experiments
13:31 – To The Future
17:41 – Sponsor – Ground News
@siyandamagudulela4044
April 15, 2026 at 11:06 am
Can you do twin experiments!?
@1pierrr
April 15, 2026 at 11:06 am
I was doing first year engineering in 1995 at UQ and looked at this often that year as I had lectures in that building. Then a bit less in often in 1996. Was always hopeful I’d see it fall, but alas, I’m pretty much like everyone else.
@kaduseus
April 15, 2026 at 11:06 am
This video creates so much web traffic to the live stream that the server crashes and everyone misses it….
@davidwall7747
April 15, 2026 at 11:06 am
How come the second drop dropped before the first drop ???????????????? – Feb 37 after Dec 38 – see 3:10
@uladzimirdarozhka
April 15, 2026 at 11:06 am
oh pitch please!
@ronin4713
April 15, 2026 at 11:06 am
So weird thing…
Yes, the AC would have an impact on the viscosity, thus affecting the amount of time between drops, but does it not make sense that gravity and volume would also play a role here?
Would it not also make sense that as each drop falls, there is less and less pitch left in the funnel, and therefore there is less downward pressure pushing the next drop out?
EDIT: OH, I'm a dumbass… made this comment before finishing the video, lol
@birkett83
April 15, 2026 at 11:06 am
Brisbn. It's pronounced Brisbn. Heavily reduced schwa vowel in the final syllable.
@ronin4713
April 15, 2026 at 11:06 am
How is it possible that the first drop was in Dec of '38, but the second drop happened in Feb of the previous year? Your editing and proofreading team need to be sternly reprimanded!🤣
@soundslikephiladelphia
April 15, 2026 at 11:06 am
Lol like humans will still be here in 500 years 😂
@zatar123
April 15, 2026 at 11:06 am
Hey Joe
Video idea for you
What if
The Government had done it's job and protected the American people from greedy people like Fishbine and Monsanto and all the others who ran massive add campaigns to get people to switch to things that are clearly not in the best interests of anyone but the greedy bastards pushing them.
@wesc98034
April 15, 2026 at 11:06 am
I can't believe you don't know how to pronounce bitumen 😆
@ZackBurnsOG
April 15, 2026 at 11:06 am
16:30 Some Flat Earther is going to destroy it thinking it's an afront to god, like they did the Georgia Guidestones.
@centsofhumor
April 15, 2026 at 11:06 am
Reminds me of when I don’t drink coffee.
@ZackBurnsOG
April 15, 2026 at 11:06 am
My Birthday in December of 2028.
@iamiyo
April 15, 2026 at 11:06 am
A millennia time-lapse camera pointed at the earth from the moon.
@cattrain
April 15, 2026 at 11:06 am
What if the batteries are somehow drawing power from radio signals and they never stop because it is being charged faster than it drains
@Rubrickety
April 15, 2026 at 11:06 am
15:57 It's nice that the rattlesnakes and mountain lions have a website.
@Weatherly-r1r
April 15, 2026 at 11:06 am
The turd in the tank experiment aka Pitch Drop
@Waihz
April 15, 2026 at 11:06 am
You AIed yourself doing math 6:00
@thureintun1687
April 15, 2026 at 11:06 am
Isn't the United States of America longest running experiment ever?
@urconway
April 15, 2026 at 11:06 am
Second drop moved so slow it went back in time.
@AloyCosplayer
April 15, 2026 at 11:06 am
Since April 12th 1982 I’ve been a running experiment 😂
@stankbonkman
April 15, 2026 at 11:06 am
12:17 everything you’re about to say is absolute nonsense made up for the sake of a story. This bulb is a regualr shitty bulb that is hooked up to really bad wiring that only delivers about 5 or less watts to the bulb. Plug this into a 60w socket and it will burn instantly
@roberthoople
April 15, 2026 at 11:06 am
🎶I got 99 problems, but pitch ain't one 🎶
@To-mos
April 15, 2026 at 11:06 am
6 years ago I soldered a 2x AA battery pack (batteries in parallel) to a digital watch replacing the cell battery. It has so much dust on it I can't read the time but it's still counting away.
@elliottnavy
April 15, 2026 at 11:06 am
Please work with Hasan you just quoted his philosophy with the planting trees thing.
@glenjennett
April 15, 2026 at 11:06 am
Hey, Joe. I wanted to take a moment to thank you for what you do. I enjoy watching your show, but unfortunately, due to uncontrollable circumstances, I expect to be homeless soon and will not be able to watch for much longer. I hope you are able to continue doing what you do. Thank you.
@signforu
April 15, 2026 at 11:06 am
Just stumbled upon this video and found myself laughing out loud. Very interesting. Subscribed and Liked. Now the long journey through past episodes. Thanks!
@stephown5374
April 15, 2026 at 11:06 am
There are other time related experiments like decay farms that place human remains outside to measure the level of decay in different conditions. You don't know what you don't measure.
@dkajj
April 15, 2026 at 11:06 am
Bezos is planning on some catastrophic land changes, maybe the rattlesnakes and mountain lions won't be there when he needs that place. JS. Theories abound.
@callbackdons
April 15, 2026 at 11:06 am
The "moon trees" could have had a fitting place in this video
@Billych4os
April 15, 2026 at 11:06 am
The music that you’ve added in the background is really distracting. When you are wearing headphones it really takes you out of listening to the content. Maybe it’s a pitch too loud?
@corkbulb2895
April 15, 2026 at 11:06 am
Pitch pitch pitch. WTF is PITCH? [Google search] Ah! Asphalt. Or tar. It's a British word. Nobody calls it "pitch" in the States. I had no idea what "pitch" was until I looked it up.
@abard124
April 15, 2026 at 11:06 am
I mean the crazy thing is if you think about it, it’s in Australia so it’s really falling up 🤯
@cqmanufacturing1130
April 15, 2026 at 11:06 am
It is fantastic to see the pitch experiment in one of your videos! I have seen this experiment a few times now, and have always been fascinated by it. Thankyou for showcasing something from Queensland.
@fabianesslinger9063
April 15, 2026 at 11:06 am
42
@variancewithin
April 15, 2026 at 11:06 am
🤘🏽Can't find a better man 🤘🏽
@j.ferrao
April 15, 2026 at 11:06 am
Need ASF, love it!
@Barafu
April 15, 2026 at 11:06 am
The longest running HD TV
@Bhante-r1r
April 15, 2026 at 11:06 am
Oh, that's the never ending experiment of dog scent seeping out my dog's anus.
Glad the scientific community finally picked up on it.
@Wing0Alchemist
April 15, 2026 at 11:06 am
I'm in the middle of a long term experiment right now. Observing how the hair whitens on people named Joe over the course of 20 years.
@sonofasailir35
April 15, 2026 at 11:06 am
Since the first pitch drop came after the second one in the list, it seems this experiment has actually proven that time travel is possible
@rabbitttz
April 15, 2026 at 11:06 am
2:15 I watch ad free anyways, no earthly idea how people watch YouTube without Adblock or premium. It’s literally unwatchable with the insane amount of ads.
@kenkoch571
April 15, 2026 at 11:06 am
10th drop ought to fall on Election Day at the time the polls close, November 2028.
@cdsaylor2
April 15, 2026 at 11:06 am
I'd love to see the experiment of universal healthcare in the USA
@thefineartofboredom
April 15, 2026 at 11:06 am
First-Year UQ student here; I'm praying it drops before I graduate, but that December '28 estimate doesn't give me much hope …
@NotAnotherTim
April 15, 2026 at 11:06 am
10th drop before GTA 6? 😂
Comments are closed.