{"id":1075432,"date":"2026-01-22T19:11:05","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T19:11:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/479901\/yuletide-youtube-outside-in"},"modified":"2026-01-22T19:11:05","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T19:11:05","slug":"the-state-birds-are-garbage-but-this-video-about-them-is-genius","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/the-state-birds-are-garbage-but-this-video-about-them-is-genius\/","title":{"rendered":"The state birds are garbage, but this video about them is genius"},"content":{"rendered":"
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One of my favorite things about YouTube is discovering a channel that has this one stellar video unlike anything else they\u2019ve done. Bill Wurtz\u2019s \u201chistory of japan<\/a>\u201d is a classic example, the 80 million-view juggernaut from a channel that typically posts bite-sized neon surrealist animations. But I\u2019d like to turn your attention to another<\/em> absurdist video from a creator who doesn\u2019t usually<\/em> do stuff like this, that also<\/em> has a uniquely colorful visual style. It\u2019s about birds.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe State Birds are Garbage<\/a>\u201d is a fantastically well-paced 22-minute video that breaks down the strange history, geography, and politics of the state birds of these United States. The video looks great, like a Jon Bois video<\/a> if it were viewed through a pastel prism. Sometimes charmingly crude polygonal animations are used to highlight certain parts of the story, but most of the time, a crystalline map of the United States is used to guide viewers through the many, many problems with the official state birds. And boy are there lots of problems.<\/p>\n

Now, it\u2019s fair to wonder how the topic of state birds could merit a 22-minute video, which is part of what makes it so delightful. Every 30 seconds or so, you\u2019ll learn something both inconsequential and<\/em> infuriating: that numerous states are sharing the same boring bird, that a landlocked state chose the seagull<\/em>, that Canada is absolutely schooling the U.S. in bird recognition. It\u2019s also funny and lighthearted, with a gentle, humorous narration by the video\u2019s creator, James Dalzell Hodge. Pulling it all together is a downright elegant soundtrack of minimalist piano covers that I won\u2019t spoil, but which perfectly match the topics at hand.<\/p>\n

YouTube as a medium has its faults, but where it undoubtedly excels is in giving videos like \u201cThe State Birds are Garbage\u201d a platform. There\u2019s not many places you can put a 20-minute video about your singular obsession without any expectations beyond that. And I think that\u2019s<\/em> worthy of recognition.<\/p>\n

Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One of my favorite things about YouTube is discovering a channel that has this one stellar video unlike anything else they\u2019ve done. Bill Wurtz\u2019s \u201chistory of japan\u201d is a classic example, the 80 million-view juggernaut from a channel that typically posts bite-sized neon surrealist animations. But I\u2019d like to turn your attention to another absurdist video from a creator who doesn\u2019t usually do stuff like this, that also has a uniquely colorful visual style. It\u2019s about birds. \u201cThe State Birds are Garbage\u201d is a fantastically well-paced 22-minute video that breaks down the strange history, geography, and politics of the state birds of these United States. The video looks great, like a Jon Bois video if it were viewed through a pastel prism. Sometimes charmingly crude…<\/p>\n

Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1075433,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1075432","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-polygon"],"yoast_head":"\nThe state birds are garbage, but this video about them is genius | Arcader News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"One of my favorite things about YouTube is discovering a channel that has this one stellar video unlike anything else they\u2019ve done. 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