Simple Things - Surprising Histories YouTube channel thumbnail

Subscribers 158K

Videos 124

Views 17.9M

Channels Like Simple Things - Surprising Histories

Simple Things – Surprising Histories uncovers the origins and hidden stories behind everyday items, exploring how things began, why they’re named as they are, and how they became popular. The channel emphasizes explanatory history content with a focus on origins, surprising histories, and everyday inventions, delivered through tutorials and deep-dives. It publishes regularly (as implied by active since Sep 14, 2025) with an average of about 1.3M views per video across 124 published videos and 17.9M total views.

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Similar Channels

We found 42 YouTube channels similar to Simple Things - Surprising Histories

#1

Ryan George view on YouTube ▶

85% relevance

Subscribers 1.8M

Videos 416

Views 698.6M

Appearances 20

SERP 100%

Similarity 75%

how things got named how tools were named

Shares a focus on the origins and naming of everyday things, aligning with queries like how things got named and how tools were named, with a strong content overlap (75%) despite a larger comedy-focused presentation.

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#2

TED-Ed view on YouTube ▶

57% relevance

Subscribers 22.4M

Videos 2.3K

Views 4.5B

Appearances 10

SERP 32%

Similarity 74%

history of measurements how things work history ancient and modern technologies

Appeals to audiences interested in the history of measurements, how things work, and ancient vs. modern technologies, matching the core topics of surprising histories with moderate overall alignment (57%), though its style diverges from Simple Things.

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History of Simple Things YouTube channel thumbnail

#3

History of Simple Things view on YouTube ▶

56% relevance

Subscribers 869K

Videos 2.4K

Views 115.8M

Appearances 4

SERP 13%

Similarity 85%

how things work history history of common tools

Direct topic overlap on how things work, history of common tools, and the evolution of everyday objects, matching closely in both search intent and content (about 56%), with similar educational storytelling.

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#4

BRIGHT SIDE view on YouTube ▶

56% relevance

Subscribers 44.7M

Videos 11K

Views 11.8B

Appearances 3

SERP 24%

Similarity 76%

how things work history invention origins invention discovery stories

Targets invention origins and discovery stories alongside how things work, aligning with similar queries and delivering broadly comparable content, resulting in a high overlap (56%) though BRIGHT SIDE often edits for rapid, list-driven formats.

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#5

Reece Batts view on YouTube ▶

55% relevance

Subscribers 170K

Videos 30

Views 126.3M

Appearances 2

SERP 26%

Similarity 75%

history of measurements history of measurement systems

Covers the history of measurements and measurement systems, paralleling Simple Things’ interest in how quantities and tools developed, yielding a solid 55% match in both search and content alignment.

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#6

Name Explain

55% relevance

Subscribers 391K

Videos 1.1K

Views 72.1M

Appearances 4

SERP 29%

Similarity 72%

history of naming conventions origins of everyday names

Explores history of naming conventions and origins of everyday names, matching the naming-origin angle, with about 55% overall match driven by similar search interest in names and etymology, despite differing presentation style.

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Content Landscape

Discovered competitors include Ted-Ed (57% match) and History of Simple Things (56% match) as top contenders, with BRIGHT SIDE (56% match) and Ryan George (85% match) also closely aligned. Common overlap centers on history of measurements, how things work, invention origins, and the origins of common items, connecting these channels to Simple Things – Surprising Histories through overlapping queries like 'history of measurements' and 'how things work history.' Simple Things – Surprising Histories has 158K subscribers, while its closest competitors range from 869K (History of Simple Things) to 44.7M (BRIGHT SIDE) and 22.4M (TED-Ed), indicating a substantial size difference that may influence audience reach but shared content themes.

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Video Highlights

Didn't Make the Cut

36 additional channels that were close

Rank	Relevance	Channel	Similarity	Subscribers	SERP	Appearances
#7	55%	CrashCourse ▶	68%	16.9M	34%	10
#8	53%	Design Theory	74%	743K	20%	6
#9	52%	HistoryofID • Matthew Bird	66%	27.1K	32%	7
#10	52%	Lost in Time	72%	2.3M	22%	3
#11	52%	The Atlantic	69%	912K	26%	2
#12	52%	RobWords ▶	72%	940K	21%	5
#13	52%	Ominous History	69%	1.5K	25%	4
#14	51%	Veritasium ▶	78%	20.4M	11%	2
#15	51%	Machine Thinking	77%	367K	11%	3
#16	51%	Institute of Human Anatomy ▶	75%	8.7M	14%	3
#17	50%	Origins Explained	73%	3.9M	15%	5
#18	50%	PBS Eons	75%	3.2M	11%	1
#19	50%	Taylor Sparks ▶	75%	51.6K	11%	1
#20	50%	I am MoBo ▶	68%	10M	21%	2
#21	49%	Simple History ▶	70%	5.1M	17%	2
#22	49%	Forbes ▶	74%	2.1M	11%	1
#23	49%	Invention Flex	74%	4.6K	11%	1
#24	49%	Fact Retriever	73%	7.3K	13%	2
#25	49%	Great Big Story ▶	72%	6.3M	14%	3
#26	49%	TEDx Talks ▶	67%	44.2M	22%	5
#27	49%	warmbru curiosity	75%	16.8K	10%	1
#28	48%	Global List	74%	51.5K	10%	2
#29	48%	Zach Star ▶	73%	1.4M	11%	1
#30	48%	Shattered History	71%	34.5K	13%	4
#31	48%	Harvard Magazine	72%	55.6K	11%	1
#32	48%	Uncharted Historian	72%	25.2K	11%	1
#33	48%	CBS Sunday Morning	68%	1.8M	18%	2
#34	47%	Hands-On Education	68%	2.0K	17%	2
#35	47%	Proko ▶	66%	4.3M	19%	2
#36	47%	The School of Life ▶	68%	9.6M	15%	2
#37	46%	Rhetty for History	67%	253K	16%	2
#38	46%	WatchMojo.com ▶	70%	25.9M	11%	2
#39	46%	Smile and Learn - English	66%	2.2M	14%	1
#40	46%	Jacob Geller ▶	68%	1.5M	11%	1
#41	45%	Red Stapler	68%	176K	11%	1
#42	44%	GDC Festival of Gaming ▶	63%	551K	14%	1

Search Queries Used

history of everyday objects origins of common items how things got named history of measurements engineering hidden histories material origins technology origins science behind everyday things how things work history industrial origins transportation history invention origins anatomy of objects history of naming conventions ancient and modern technologies history of common tools origins of everyday names how tools were named early engineering origins development of devices birth of inventions ancient technology origins history of consumer objects how everyday items evolved manufacturing history overview material origins explained design origins and evolution how products become popular history of measurement systems industrial design history powering technology origins transportation milestones history invention discovery stories science behind everyday objects anatomy of everyday items

Frequently Asked Questions

Which YouTube channels are most similar to Simple Things - Surprising Histories?

Ryan George — 85% match, 1.8M subscribers; TED-Ed — 57% match, 22.4M subscribers; History of Simple Things — 56% match, 869K subscribers. They have in common a focus on educational, explanatory content about everyday concepts or objects, exploring origins and histories much like Simple Things - Surprising Histories.

What type of content does Simple Things - Surprising Histories make?

Simple Things - Surprising Histories creates short to mid-length explainer videos about the history and origins of everyday things, with titles such as 'What Expiration Dates REALLY Mean (It’s NOT What You Think!)', 'Why Do Some Truck Tires Not Touch the Ground?', and 'Why Ships and Planes Use ‘Knots’ Instead of Miles per Hour?'. The channel appears to upload frequently (average around 1.3M views per video) with recent videos achieving multi-million view counts, indicating a high engagement rate.

How do we determine which channels are similar to Simple Things - Surprising Histories?

We analyze Simple Things - Surprising Histories's recent videos, generate topic-relevant search queries, check YouTube search results, and compare the meaning of each channel's content to measure similarity. The result is a ranked list sorted by SERP overlap, semantic similarity, and search appearances.

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