Ever wonder how to fall asleep in two minutes? Ever think about what happens to your body when you quit marijuana? Was it yanny or laurel?
The answer to these questions and more can be found on the popular YouTube page AsapSCIENCE, hosted by University of Guelph alumni Mitch Moffit and Greg Brown.
Moffit is also Guelph native and Bishop Macdonell Catholic High School grad
Their YouTUbe page, which boasts over 10 million subscribers, celebrated its 10th anniversary earlier this year. Their Twitter account has 723,000 followers.
"Utterly shocking," Moffit told GuelphToday about the milestone.
The early days of AsapSCIENCE took place at U of G, where Moffit and Brown met as biology students.
It wasn't until after they left school they realized the allure of YouTube.
Brown, a teacher at the time, used YouTube videos to get the attention of his students. That, combined with Moffit's interest in editing and visual effects – if he didn't go to U of G, he said he applied to UCLA with the thought of getting into film and technology – and his discussions with other creators paved the way for the couple to give it a shot.
"(We started the channel) truly, as just a bit of a hobby, as just kind of this way to keep up with the science community because once you leave school, you're like 'I'm not learning anything anymore,'" Moffit said.
"It was almost this weekly challenge for us to just stay on top of science news and keep ourselves engaged in that way.
"Not only that it became our full-time job, and our business, but that it has lasted 10 years is truly mind boggling."
It began with a two minute video published June 6, 2012 titled You Can See AND Hear The Big Bang, discussing how you can see and hear remnants of the big bang by watching and hearing static of a television or radio.
Visually, the videos were primarily whiteboard animation, voiceovers and music, with neither Moffit or Brown on camera.
Since then, they've been able to hire a team for illustrations and editing, work with the likes of Bill Nye the Science Guy on content – who called within the first year to collaborate – opened a second YouTube channel, started the Sidenote podcast and wrote a book.
Moffit was also a houseguest in the fourth season of the reality series Big Brother Canada in 2016.
The business, and their relationship has stood the test of time through all this.
Moffit and Brown have been together for close to 16 years, and were each other's first boyfriends. They had their first date at U of G, studying in the library, at a time Moffit wasn't fully out.
"My roommate didn't yet know, my friends didn't yet know," he said. "I was still exploring what that meant to me."
"(Greg and I) immediately connected. I think we both are, in many ways, so opposite from each other. Greg is chaotic and fun, and boisterous and outgoing. I'm a little more like quiet and nervous, introspective and overthinking. While in many ways in our relationship, that's been challenging, I think it's also the quintessential opposites attract."
He said that's also what has led to their success, bringing different perspectives and balancing each other out, keeping each other in check.
And doing it all as an openly gay couple is an important aspect, bringing representation to a space Moffit said is predominantly heterosexual white males.
Their personalities were the focal point of their second YouTube channel, which has since been retired, with aspects of it incorporated into their main channel.
But things weren't always easy.
"We're lucky to live in a bubble now," Moffit said. "We both live in Toronto, and it's a very progressive place, but the Internet wasn't always kind about two gay men on a leading science channel on YouTube. It took a lot to sort of overcome that. Luckily we had each other to lean on."
Nowadays, he said there's so much less hangups on gender identity and queerness, who belongs to which space, which he adds has been a positive thing to see happen.
And through the years being in the public eye, being role models isn't lost on them either, getting recognized more and more by people on the street, including those in their 20s who grew up with the channel.
The stories of people using the videos to help pass a science class.
Where the channel goes from here is unknown. Moffit said he and Brown are going to live in Columbia for two and a half months for a getaway and celebrate the accomplishment.
Down the line, Moffit said he's hoping to tap into his love for music, and incorporate that more into the videos, along with Brown's love for screenwriting and stand up comedy.
"Of course we'll continue the AsapSCIENCE YouTube stuff and digital stuff," he said. "But are there other spaces where we can really keep pushing on that boundary for ourselves instead of falling into the trap of doing the same thing over and over."
