Hey guys, my name is Dale
and you're watching The Factoid.
*lively electronic mario music*
This video is dedicated to Michael Stevens.
Michael Stevens is the host of one of the smartest channels on YouTube, Vsauce.
That said, that's all most people know him as.
That smart guy from the Vsauce without the number on it.
Mostly because there's not a lot of information out in the open about him.
So I took on the challenge
(and boy was it a challenge...)
to organize Michael's story.
A story about the life and success of one of the greatest people on the internet
and that story belongs to Michael Stevens.
So let's get started.
Michael was born January 23, 1986.
So two things:
Happy birthday Michael, being that today is the 23rd
(that was intentional)
and you're only 28!
You're nothing but a spring chicken!
You're definitely wise beyond your years, Michael.
With that said, Michael was born in Kansas City, Missouri.
And around the age of 5, him and his family moved to Stilwell, Kansas.
Michael only has one sibling, a sister that is two years younger.
And you may be wondering, is she anything like Michael?
Nope!
She is unbelievably unlike Michael.
I mean, she's participated in a professional women's American football league.
as well as being in BMX tournaments.
None of you can say you saw that coming.
I definitely didn't.
Now, his mother works in the local school system
helping both teachers and students alike.
While Michael's father is a chemical engineer.
Michael's father, as described by Michael, is a polymath
which is Greek for having learned much
or a man who knows a lot about a lot.
meaning that he is very smart
Much like Michael,
though Michael is more modest about it.
Being that he doesn't think that he's a polymath,
which I beg to differ,
I mean compared to the general population I mean Micheal come on,
but with thus said,
a lot of the interviews show that the way Michael describes his father you could mildly see that in him,
then jump ahead a few years.
Michael went to Blue Valley High School,
and according to him, he was a bit of a class clown.
But he still really valued learning,
I mean going as far as reading the whole encyclopedia.
Partly for bragging rights, and I kinda don't blame ya'.
But also because information is very useful, and he did find a use for it.
He participated in a program which had him do informative speech.
Which is kinda like what he does right now on his videos!
But he gave a whole speech on the whole history of ketchup.
Everything about it.
And what did he call it? Catch up on Ketchup.
(Blowing up sound effect.)
But to me that's sorta like foreshadowing where he would eventually be.
He also participated in the drama club.
Something that he says is that he went through puberty very young.
By the time he got to highschoool, he looked like he fit all the parts of the older people.
And, he kinda got those parts.
But through this he was inspired by some of the great actors he was around
And encouraged him to better his own acting
He graduated highschool in 2004, then to go to the University of Chicago.
To double major in Neuropsychology and English Language and Literature.
That's a bit much.
But then again we're talking about genius Michael here. Borderline Renaissance man.
But it was college where Michael would get introduced to video production and editing.
He saw a short video that spoofed the movie 'The Shining',
making it look like a funny movie.
And he was completely amazed how editing could completely change the whole meaning
of a movie.
In video form.
And it's encouraged him to join the video club that he had at his college.
And he learned how to edit there.
And one of the first videos he edited was
'Ferris Bueller's Day Off'
Taking the 'Friday the 13th' commercial
and taking just the sound and putting 'Ferris Bueller' footage
over it at the right moment.
Making it look like a horror movie.
He then went on to post it on a bunch of sites and it got really popular
on 'College Humor'.
And then he made another video later on,
which was about politics.
Taking footage of George Bush and Karl Rove,
and putting rap music behind it, looking like they were rapping.
Once again, he posted on a bunch of sites,
and he got really popular on the website 'Funny or Die'.
Even getting the celebrity Chris Henchy to comment on it.
Roughly saying, I judge all my friends, depending on how they react to this video.
And it was from there Michael realized that people really appreciated the content that he had the ability to make,
and he really wanted to keep pursuing that talent that he had.
And who can blame him.
Now, the first YouTube channel of Michael's I could find was
*Stutters*
Guess.
No.
Nope!
Yup!
*Sighs* That's genius.
Why didn't I think of that first?
I kinda want 'PoopLicker777' now.
And he posted videos on it until 2010.
But what really propelled him was channel called 'CamPain2008'
Where he took the video footage of the campaign going on at the time,
and then made funny voiceovers and stuff with them.
The most viewed video on the channel has about 7million views.
And it's just called
'Hillary Clinton Farts'.
And it's pretty funny.
And through the videos he was making, he eventually caught the eye of Ben Relles.
A major contributor to 'Barely Political'.
Eventually asking Michael to edit and produce content for him.
And Michael did some pretty good stuff.
And when Michael graduated, he decided that that is something he loved a lot and to pursue
that type of career.
So they hired him and in September, 2008,
he moved to New York City, New York.
And he ended up working for 'nextnewnetworks',
and produced a lot of content for 'Barely Political' and 'Barely Digital'.
Now, throughout all of this, Michael did make a little image for himself.
The first major part that made him iconic in any of the videos
was playing a character called the ' Bearded Nun'.
And once again,
Michael acts amazing.
They made a spoof on one of Lady Gaga's songs,
and Michael portrayed a bearded nun throughout the whole video.
And it was so well liked, that eventually he just became a recurring spoof
character. That they put in other music videos.
And you can still find all these videos on 'Barely Political'.
Actually, you can find quite a few videos of Michael in them on 'Barely Political'.
But with all that said,
this eventually leads to the Michael we know today.
On this exact website called 'Fake Name Generator',
Michael actually came across the name, VSauce.
And it is pretty cool sounding.
He then went on to obtain the 'VSauce' channel in the first half of 2010.
Michael didn't actually make the original 'VSauce' channel.
Being that it was inactive, he eventually obtained it.
Now, at the infancy of 'Vsauce', a lot of people were contributing to it.
It was about video games and cool stuff you could find on the internet and
what was going on.
I mean the first video on the channel was actually produced by 'Wackygamer'.
And Michael did have other people contribute to the channel for a while,
until Michael's own original content became really the main focal point of the channel.
And then it started to revolve around Michael itself.
With a few creative miniseries such as 'LÜT',
IMG and DOT,
Michael eventually solidified his placement as being the guy who represented 'VSauce'.
As time went on, Michael then eventually developed 'VSauce2'.
In order to replace of the other content on it.
To a point where once VSauce3 and 2 are around,
He made is channel solely dedicated to the mini-series, "DOT".
And it was official on September 9, 2012
And since then, he's only produced the educational videos that we see today.
And some of the mini-series that he had can be seen on VSauce 2 and 3, along with their own original content.
Hosted by  Kevin Lieber and Jacob Roper, respectively.
Now while this was happening,
Michael eventually started working for Google in 2011.
He was a content strategist.
So not not only was he doing VSauce, but he was doing other stuff for Google.
And through his job, Michael was sent to different places around the world.
And one of his favorite places
was England.
Eventually really growing attached to the team there.
And when he found out that there was a position available,
For a program strategist over there,
He hopped right on board.
And he's been a resident of the great U.K. since April 2012.
And it's become quite apparent that he loves it over there.
Eh, according to my notes that's-that's-that's the present.
We're at the present now.
Michael, these are my notes about your life.
*sighs*
So long said, and done, I'd like to thank you guys for watching.
VSauce has been taking the world by a storm.
Being led by Michael, Kevin, and Jake
They're hands down my favorite YouTubers
Some of my best role models.
And I would like to personally thank Michael for
the impact that he's left on my life.
And wish him a happy birthday.
So my question for you guys is, what is your favorite Michael Stevens moment?
Whether it be from VSauce or any time at all.
And with all that said and done,
my name is Dale.
You're watching Think Fact.
And remember,
never stop learning.
Thank you.
If you like what you saw, please stay in tune for more videos.
Videos on the facts that almost everybody missed.
