Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00 Imagine you had the power to travel anywhere on Earth in an instant.
00:04 You'd be able to witness breathtaking landscapes, walk through every town or city in existence,
00:10 explore all the hidden wonders of the world, and experience every single culture and community
00:15 on the planet.
00:17 It would make you the ultimate globetrotter, free to roam wherever you pleased at will.
00:21 But, of course, around Christmas time, there is one legendary figure who does all of that
00:26 and more.
00:27 This is Unveiled, and today we're answering the extraordinary question; what if you visited
00:32 everyone alive in 24 hours?
00:35 Do you need the big questions answered?
00:36 Are you constantly curious?
00:38 Then why not subscribe to Unveiled for more clips like this one?
00:41 And ring the bell for more thought-provoking content!
00:45 Everyone knows the incredible tales of Santa Claus, aka Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, Papa
00:51 Noel, Grandfather Frost, or Father Christmas.
00:55 There are variations on the theme, but in general it's said that Santa miraculously
01:00 visits every home on Earth in a single night, usually on Christmas Eve.
01:05 Now, clearly there is only one Santa, so we'll leave the wholesale, manic global delivery
01:10 of presents everywhere to the big man.
01:13 But what if, instead of dropping off gifts specifically, you embarked on a journey simply
01:17 to meet every living person within 24 hours?
01:20 What if you channelled the spirit of Santa, but into another, separate, exhilarating adventure
01:25 that goes way beyond the holiday season?
01:28 To start, there are some key and pretty mind-bending facts to set the scene.
01:33 In November 2022, the estimated world population ticked past 8 billion people for the first
01:39 time ever.
01:40 Today, we're all one of a truly massive and widespread species.
01:44 So, although it's physically impossible, picture yourself standing in a room with all
01:49 of the people on Earth, each representing a unique story, perspective, life, and timeline.
01:55 And now imagine connecting with every individual in that room.
02:00 You could spend many, many lifetimes completing that task.
02:04 But in today's hypothetical, everyone isn't gathered inside one single room - unless the
02:08 room is Earth itself - and you don't have countless lifetimes to mingle in.
02:12 Rather, you only have one day - a measly 24 hours.
02:17 In real time, that gives you approximately one one-hundred-thousandth of a second per
02:22 person.
02:23 This actually means that you would have considerably less than the blink of an eye in the company
02:27 of everyone you meet, for so long as time passed at the usual rate.
02:31 Even the most charismatic of people would struggle to make an impression in such a brief
02:35 window.
02:36 Meanwhile, how far would you have to travel?
02:38 The circumference of Earth is almost 25,000 miles.
02:41 Meaning that whilst visiting everyone alive for your one one-hundred-thousandth of a second
02:46 meet and greet, you'd also need to be travelling at more than one thousand miles per hour,
02:50 all the time.
02:51 Except, not even that would be anywhere near enough.
02:54 Because obviously, not everyone lives along the same circumferential line.
02:58 In reality, we're all scattered across the entirety of Earth, with the surface of our
03:02 planet commanding a total area of just less than two hundred million square miles.
03:07 You're going to need one hell of a sat-nav to complete that trip.
03:11 Clearly, we're going to have to bend the rules a little bit here.
03:14 To have any hope of reaching our mission goal, we'll need to equip ourselves with the power
03:18 to control time to a limitless and epic degree.
03:22 Imagine you have the capability to pause time whenever you need to.
03:26 Now, while you still have literally millions of miles to travel, you can at least extend
03:31 your one one-hundred-thousandth of a second into something much more substantial.
03:35 Into whole moments, hours, or even days.
03:38 Many of the logistical challenges vanish, and the seemingly impossible moves to within
03:43 reach.
03:44 The world becomes your playground, and you, frozen in time, have forever to enjoy it.
03:49 So long as your pausing of time also allows you to pause your own ageing.
03:53 But let's just imagine that it does.
03:56 Under these new conditions, how would your journey play out?
03:59 What would you learn?
04:00 And how would you end up feeling?
04:02 Clearly, you would quickly transcend to become the most informed, knowledgeable and experienced
04:07 being around.
04:09 You'd become someone that's almost laden with wisdom, after even just a tiny fraction
04:14 of your overall trip.
04:16 Estimates vary, but it's said that the average person - i.e. one who can't control time,
04:21 live forever, or endlessly travel millions of miles - will meet somewhere between ten
04:26 thousand and one hundred thousand people during their lifetime.
04:29 But even at the top end of those figures, that means that ordinarily you will only get
04:34 to meet about 0.00125% of the global population.
04:39 Even the most well-connected people on Earth only ever connect with a tiny, tiny amount
04:44 of everyone there is.
04:46 Meanwhile, and to shorten our possibilities even further, we have what's known as "Dunbar's
04:51 Number".
04:52 Created by the British anthropologist Robin Dunbar, this is an estimated limit to the
04:56 number of stable, significant and meaningful relationships any one person can even handle.
05:02 There is some debate about the final figure, but it generally comes out at just 150 - or
05:08 just 0.000001% - of everyone alive.
05:15 If you were in this hypothetical scenario, then, you would have the opportunity to learn
05:19 and experience drastically more than anyone else ever could.
05:23 You'd undoubtedly gain a new, never-before-seen appreciation for the richness of human existence.
05:29 You'd encounter every single language that's currently spoken or written.
05:33 You'd see the inner workings of every single culture.
05:36 You'd have a level of understanding about every single tradition - not just the few
05:41 that any one person ever usually becomes aware of.
05:45 Your own incredible life would morph into something of a tapestry, documenting - or
05:50 at least influenced by - everything that humankind has to offer.
05:54 This journey would shatter stereotypes, prejudice and preconceptions.
05:58 It would remove all the real-world difficulties of borders, politics, fighting and war.
06:04 Throughout your trip, you would learn about the struggles and triumphs that shape every
06:08 individual story.
06:10 There would be some trade-offs, however.
06:12 Embarking on such an audacious adventure would also guarantee you worldwide fame, for better
06:17 or worse.
06:18 Visit everyone alive in 24 hours and you will become a global sensation.
06:23 You'd more than break the internet, you'd kind of be the internet.
06:26 Indiscriminately connecting literally everyone under the same shared experience of having
06:31 met you.
06:33 Everyone would know your face, your voice.
06:35 You'd be the subject of the most shared hashtag of all time.
06:39 You'd be more than a generational figure, you'd be a species phenomenon.
06:43 If this were you, then how would you feel about that?
06:46 Let us know in the comments how you'd cope with such an incomparably high public profile…
06:51 and with such immeasurably massive amounts of influence and responsibility.
06:56 Feel such time as we can pause time, then clearly this is a hypothetical that won't
07:00 come to pass in the real world.
07:02 Not unless we manage to tap into the magic of Santa Claus and use it for ourselves.
07:07 But as a thought experiment, it does serve to highlight just how limited our worldview
07:12 always is, even when we believe that it isn't.
07:15 Again, even the most socially connected people will only ever meet far, far less than one
07:20 percent of all of the people alive, and with the global population set to continually rise,
07:26 that percentage is only going to get smaller and smaller in the future.
07:30 Nevertheless, if it were possible, then this would be the ultimate journey to make.
07:34 The shared moments, the diverse stories, and the collective human experience that you'd
07:39 encounter would surely change you forever, instilling within you a profound sense of
07:44 what it really means to be human.
07:46 And if you actually did manage it all within just a day in real time, then perhaps your
07:51 next question would be… why stop there?
07:54 Having met everybody once, wouldn't you want to do it all again?
07:58 And again?
07:59 It might even turn out that you'd become an ever-present in their lives, just as they
08:03 would be in yours.
08:04 The person that everybody knows.
08:06 The friend that everyone remembers.
08:09 What would happen next?
08:10 Well, that's a question for another video.
08:13 But finally, and if nothing else, we can now all see precisely what Santa Claus has waiting
08:18 for them every single year.
08:20 True, we never really get to meet Santa, but even so, those reindeer have every right to
08:27 be seriously tired.
08:29 Because that's what would happen if you could visit everyone alive in 24 hours.
08:34 What do you think?
08:35 Is there anything we missed?
08:36 Let us know in the comments, check out these other clips from Unveiled, and make sure you
08:40 subscribe and ring the bell for our latest content.