Origin of Everything

Documentary · 2017 · 7 min PBS Video
Available on PBS Video

Every aspect of our daily reality, whether its the words we use, the pop culture we love, the technology that get us through the day, or even the identities we give ourselves, emerge from thousands of intersecting histories. And on this show, we're going to explore them ALL! . . . Okay, maybe not ALL, but you get the idea.

Documentary · 2017 · 7 min
Starring Danielle Bainbridge

Season 1

  • EPISODE 1

    The True Origin of Killer Clowns

    Well, sure the answer is partly from 1980s horror movies like IT and Killer Klowns from Outer Space, but the reality is much deeper than that. From the Middle Ages through the Renaissance to 19th Century England, clowns have always been around to bring a little chaos. And the truth is, up until the late 1800s they were NEVER for kids. The truth is, terrifying killer clowns are nothing new.

    6 min · Sep 19, 2017
  • EPISODE 2

    How did Makeup, WWII, & Communism Create U.S. Healthcare?

    If there's one debate you can't avoid today it's what do about the US health insurance. While many countries around the world have some form of nationalized, government run healthcare most people in the US have their healthcare provided by their employer. Why is that the case?

    6 min · Sep 20, 2017
  • EPISODE 3

    Why are 18 Year Olds Considered Adults?

    While you might not personally consider your average 18 year old a full-fledged adult, 18 is a pretty magic number in the US. It’s the the age when you can vote, go to war, work full time, and move out of their parents house. Why is this the case? Well while you might think there’s some sort of biological or traditional explanation, that’s not the case.

    6 min · Sep 20, 2017
  • EPISODE 4

    Where Does the #Hashtag Symbol Come From?

    It’s gone by many names, (the pound sign, the number sign, the octothorpe and the hashtag symbol) and it’s had many meanings, but what is the origin of this # mysterious symbol? Well the truth is it goes back all the way to ancient Rome. But what’s even stranger is that the hashtag symbol can help us understand the always changing nature of the abstraction that is language itself.

    7 min · Sep 26, 2017
  • EPISODE 5

    How Columbus Invented Cannibals

    While evidence of people who eat other people existed long before Columbus, the idea of tribes of “savages” in the jungle who hunt other people for food was truly birthed with Columbus. He is even the first person to ever use the word “Cannibal” to describe such people. The problem is, no such people really existed in the Caribbean islands where Columbus landed.

    6 min · Oct 3, 2017
  • EPISODE 6

    How WWII Created Godzilla & Mecha Robots

    Underneath the surface of fearsome monsters we can see that Godzilla is closely linked to the fears of atomic radiation and mecha robots emerged from the extremely rapid industrialization of Japan during the 1960’s and 1970’s.

    9 min · Oct 10, 2017

Related

Cast & Crew

  • D‌B

    Danielle Bainbridge

    Host

About

Origin of Everything

Documentary

Every aspect of our daily reality, whether its the words we use, the pop culture we love, the technology that get us through the day, or even the identities we give ourselves, emerge from thousands of intersecting histories. And on this show, we're going to explore them ALL! . . . Okay, maybe not ALL, but you get the idea.

Information

Studio
PBS
Released
2017

Languages

Subtitles
English (United States) (CC)

Accessibility

Closed captions (CC) refer to subtitles in the available language with the addition of relevant non-dialogue information.
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Select a country or region

Africa, Middle East, and India

  • Algeria
  • Angola
  • Armenia
  • Azerbaijan
  • Bahrain
  • Benin
  • Botswana
  • Cameroun
  • Cape Verde
  • Chad
  • Côte d’Ivoire
  • Congo, The Democratic Republic Of The
  • Egypt
  • Eswatini
  • Gabon
  • Gambia
  • Ghana
  • Guinea-Bissau
  • India
  • Iraq
  • Israel
  • Jordan
  • Kenya
  • Kuwait
  • Lebanon
  • Liberia
  • Libya
  • Madagascar
  • Malawi
  • Mali
  • Mauritania
  • Mauritius
  • Morocco
  • Mozambique
  • Namibia
  • Niger (English)
  • Nigeria
  • Oman
  • Qatar
  • Congo, Republic of
  • Rwanda
  • Saudi Arabia
  • Senegal
  • Seychelles
  • Sierra Leone
  • South Africa
  • Sri Lanka
  • Tajikistan
  • Tanzania, United Republic Of
  • Tunisia
  • Turkmenistan
  • United Arab Emirates
  • Uganda
  • Yemen
  • Zambia
  • Zimbabwe

Asia Pacific

  • Australia
  • Bhutan
  • Cambodia
  • 中国大陆
  • Fiji
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  • Indonesia (English)
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  • Maldives
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  • Mongolia
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  • Philippines
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  • Solomon Islands
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  • Vietnam

Europe

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  • Czechia
  • Denmark
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  • Hungary
  • Iceland
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  • Italia
  • Kosovo
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  • Lithuania
  • Luxembourg (English)
  • Malta
  • Moldova, Republic Of
  • Montenegro
  • Nederland
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  • Norway
  • Poland
  • Portugal (Português)
  • Romania
  • Россия
  • Serbia
  • Slovakia
  • Slovenia
  • España
  • Sverige
  • Schweiz
  • Türkiye (English)
  • Ukraine
  • United Kingdom

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • Anguilla
  • Antigua and Barbuda
  • Argentina (Español)
  • Bahamas
  • Barbados
  • Belize
  • Bermuda
  • Bolivia (Español)
  • Brasil
  • Virgin Islands, British
  • Cayman Islands
  • Chile (Español)
  • Colombia (Español)
  • Costa Rica (Español)
  • Dominica
  • República Dominicana
  • Ecuador (Español)
  • El Salvador (Español)
  • Grenada
  • Guatemala (Español)
  • Guyana
  • Honduras (Español)
  • Jamaica
  • México
  • Montserrat
  • Nicaragua (Español)
  • Panamá
  • Paraguay (Español)
  • Perú
  • St. Kitts and Nevis
  • Saint Lucia
  • St. Vincent and The Grenadines
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  • Trinidad and Tobago
  • Turks and Caicos
  • Uruguay (English)
  • Venezuela (Español)

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