(classical music)
- This is Brain Stuff,
I'm Jonathan Strickland,
and I just got back from a vacation.
Oh yeah, it was pretty cool.
Thanks for asking that
was really nice of you.
But here's the thing though,
if I were going out of the country,
let's say to sunny Bolivia,
my whole trip would've
hinged on one vital thing:
my passport.
But what is this thing exactly?
Why do I need it to travel?
The first question has a
pretty clear-cut answer.
A passport is a document
issued by a government
that verifies your identity
and give you the right
to travel under its protection.
The word passport comes from passeport,
a Middle French phrase
from around the 1500's.
However, the idea of a
passport is positively ancient.
You can find evidence of
state-sponsored travel documents
dating from as far back as 450 BCE.
Since about the 1980's most
passports have been regulated
by a department of the
United Nations called the
International Civil Aviation
Organization or ICAO.
So, why do you need one?
Ultimately, it goes down
to proof of nationality.
For example, let's say I was
caught up in a vast conspiracy
and had to travel to the Vatican.
That happens, right?
Well anyhow, I'm flying into
Italy and I have to present
some sort of proof that I'm
really coming from where
I say I'm coming from.
Otherwise, any old
supervillain with a passable
Yankee accent could stroll
off the runway pretending
to be an American, right?
So possessing a passport
is like having your
country of origin vouch for
you, assuring other nations
that you are in fact the
person you say you are.
Keep in mind however that
possession of a valid passport
alone doesn't guarantee your entrance.
Countries allow visitors
at their own discretion,
which means that in theory,
they can refuse entry
to pretty much anyone at any time.
So, even if you have a valid passport,
make sure to check the entry
policies of the country
you're visiting before
you hop on the plane.
And not everyone's happy
with the passport system.
In The Invention of the Passport,
professor John Torpey
argues that it is inherently
a monopoly of the state.
Meaning a private company
like say HowStuffWorks
couldn't just slap my mug in a little book
and send me off to Japan.
Religious organizations
can't do this either.
Not only do countries
control the passport system,
but the issuing country
can revoke your passport
at any time.
In clear terms this system
is about as big government
as you can get.
And of course not everyone
has a passport either.
In 2014, only about 46%
percent of Americans had either
a passport or the less
comprehensive passport card.
The 54% who don't have one
overwhelmingly didn't get it
because they just didn't want the thing.
So there you have it,
in theory almost every single
person on the globe needs a
passport or some sort of
official document to travel.
This official document could
be something for an individual
or it could be an agreement
between specific countries.
Virtually everyone needs
something like this,
but did you notice how I
said almost every person,
than virtually everyone.
That's right ladies and
gentlemen there is one person
in the world who can
travel freely and legally
without a passport or other documents,
and that person is:
Paul, could you get a
drum roll going please?
Thanks.
(drum roll)
The Queen of England.
True story, British passports are issued
in the name of the Queen
therefore it's not necessary
for her to have one.
The rest of the family has
to possess a passport though.
Even the princes William and Harry.
Thanks for watching.
Hey, do you have a passport?
Don't show it but what's the
strangest or coolest country
you've ever visited?
Let me know in the comments below
and keep an eye out for more Brain Stuff.
