I got to show you this

Oct 14th, 2023

by Juha-Matti Santala

This was published in categories:

It was 3:30 in the morning. I was sitting on the edge of my bed with my laptop on my night stand and I was cheering for a red marble to defeat a blue marble in various competitions. Wait, what? Let me introduce you to a very peculiar corner of the Internet: Youtube racing channels. But not the kind of racing you might be thinking.

Jelle’s Marble Runs

For me it all started with Jelle’s Marble Runs. I don’t know how or why the Youtube recommendation engine decided that this was my future addiction but it did. Jelle’s Marble Runs is a Youtube channel with 1.4 million subscribers where they build various different downhill tracks, give names and team names to various differently colored marbles and race them against each other. Combined with high production quality and enthusiastic commentary, it’s easy to forget that those marbles don’t have any agency.

If you’re not convinced, give this video a watch:

Diecast Racing League

But it’s not just marbles that do racing. Diecast Racing League is pretty much the same concept but with miniature toy cars like Hot Wheels and other manufacturers.

I don’t know about you but watching the DRC Rally Season 1 for the first time, I found myself cheering audibly (luckily, alone at my home) for “Superman” Steven King who became an instant favorite of mine from the first race onwards.

Gravity + downhill + toys + high production values and it can get incredibly exciting.

League of Pigs

And then someone took their pigs and built a race track for them.

No, I’m serious. League of Pigs might just be the wildest animal racing league in the world.

PS. I’m Team Ginger all the way.

PPS. Don’t blame me if your productivity takes a dip and your happiness peaks over the next weeks.