AN UNNECESSARILY SERIOUS INVESTIGATION

BRYAN
WITH A
WHY

Strange history, everyday mysteries, human behavior, and the stories behind things we usually accept without asking questions. I start with why and keep digging until the answer gets weird.

Why do we work 40 hours a week video from Bryan With a Why
EXHIBIT A: Your grandfather's work week.
BUT WHY?
WHY DO WE WORK 40 HOURS? WHY DO WE TIP? DID SOMEONE ACTUALLY TIME TRAVEL? WHO DECIDED A WEEK HAS 7 DAYS? WHY DO WE SHAKE HANDS? WHY DO WE WORK 40 HOURS? WHY DO WE TIP? DID SOMEONE ACTUALLY TIME TRAVEL? WHO DECIDED A WEEK HAS 7 DAYS? WHY DO WE SHAKE HANDS?

RECENT
QUESTIONS

Ordinary things become much stranger when you ask where they came from, who decided them, and why we still do them.

THE
EVIDENCE

Historical photographs, strange details, and things found while asking questions that probably could have been left alone.

Frances Perkins and the history of American labor
EXHIBIT B — Frances Perkins enters the story.
Historical photograph featured in Bryan With a Why
EXHIBIT C — Things are getting weird.
Why though?
EXHIBIT D — A reasonable follow-up question.
Bryan, creator and host of Bryan With a Why

WHY
WHY?

Hi. I'm Bryan. With a Y.

I have a habit of wondering why completely normal things are normal.

Why do we work five days a week? Why do restaurants expect us to calculate part of their employees' compensation? Why are there seven days in a week? Why do we shake hands? And why does somebody on the internet claim to have traveled through time every six months?

So I started looking into it.

Bryan With a Why is a collection of curious investigations into ordinary things, strange history, culture, human behavior, and the origins of things we usually take for granted.

The goal is simple: ask better questions, follow the rabbit hole, and see where it goes.

MORE QUESTIONS.
MORE RABBIT HOLES.

Watch Bryan With a Why on YouTube for videos about strange history, everyday mysteries, cultural habits, human behavior, and questions that get more interesting the longer you think about them.

Visit the YouTube Channel →

WHAT SHOULD
I ASK WHY ABOUT?

Send me something completely normal that makes absolutely no sense once you think about it for more than thirty seconds.

Submit a Question →