Viewers like you help make PBS (Thank you 😃) . Support your local PBS Member Station here:
Building a perfect igloo takes cool science!
Don’t miss the next video! SUBSCRIBE! ►►
↓ More info and sources below ↓
If you ever find yourself stranded in the snowy Arctic (or bored in Minecraft), you’re gonna need to know how to build an igloo. But how can building a house made of ice keep you warm? The science behind building an igloo is the same reason that otters and reindeer don’t freeze to death!
LEARN MORE:
There really ARE 50 Eskimo words for snow:
PBS Idea Channel – An Infinite Number of Words for Snow
Why there’s no such thing as cold:
How early humans settled the Arctic:
How to build a scientifically perfect igloo:
It’s Okay To Be Smart is hosted by Joe Hanson, Ph.D.
Facebook:
Twitter: @okaytobesmart @DrJoeHanson
Tumblr:
Instagram: @DrJoeHanson
Produced by PBS Digital Studios
Music via APM
Stock images from Shutterstock
source

Regarding use of the word "Eskimo" in this video: We are now aware, thanks to many polite comments from our audience, that this is viewed as a derogatory term among many native peoples of Canada, as well as in some Arctic regions. Several of our references centered on Alaskan natives, among whom this term is more commonly accepted. Additionally, we used the term in reference to native languages, which are more commonly referred to as Eskimo or Eskimo-Inuit, and not the people, but we should have been more clear and sought out another term. We apologize to those we offended, and have learned a lot. We'll do better in the future, as we always aim to do.
anyone think that was Mat Pat for a second
40 to 50 degrees above the surrounding air. So. Still freezing and cold as F 😀
Why do you remind of a younger Mat Pat
Who else remembers learning this from Magic School Bus like 30 years ago? That show has carried me for my entire life.
Is ice lot less than 1 ton per M3?
"9 years ago" wtf algorythm?
This below noted apology does not go nearly far enough. The use of “Eskimo” here is not some inexplicable misunderstanding that can be waved away by pointing to Alaskan usage or terminology in older references. Be Smart chose to publish a video using a term that many Indigenous peoples consider derogatory, and the fact that they only acknowledged the problem after viewers called it out makes the decision to publish it in the first place even more troubling.
The distinction between using the word for people and using it for languages does not erase the problem. If anything, it underscores how little care was taken to consult current, appropriate terminology before presenting this material to a huge audience. “We should have been more clear” is an inadequate response to language that can carry a history of colonialism and disrespect toward Indigenous peoples.
At this point, simply pinning an apology underneath the video is not enough. The video itself should be taken down and either substantially remade with appropriate terminology and context or removed altogether. Leaving the original video publicly available while placing an apology beneath it still allows the offensive material to circulate, be shared, and be encountered by people who will never read the pinned comment.
If Be Smart genuinely means “we’ll do better in the future,” then the appropriate action is to demonstrate that commitment: remove the offending video, reassess the sources and terminology used, consult Indigenous voices where appropriate, and only republish material that treats the communities being discussed with the respect they deserve.
how do i dislike a video more than one time? local police in my country are unable to help.
They probably accidentally discovered it when they decide to give in to the cold then suddenly they feel warm by being buried in snow😂
What do they call a black Iglu?
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
A Nigglu 🤣🤣
It 2:10 am and I’m watching this lol
…. Mat Pat?
so, if you build a fire in an igloo, do you place it on the lower floor, or the upper platform?
Now I wanna build an iglo.
Bro thinks he's zack films
Video starts at 3:00
Living in such a brutal environment was a CHOICE, so, what was in the minds of those humans to wandered that far north? Did they want a hard life? Did they want to test themselves to see if they could survive that kind of environment? Did they over generations forget that there was such a thing as south, where it is warmer and life was easier? It's all just really hard to fathom.
American you tube.talk to people like they are 5 year old.
Igloos are fake and ghey. And peoples that live around snowy extreme cold areas look like Nordics, not like east Asians. History is full of lies.
We grew up in a society where Cold was a thing. "Shut the door, don't let the Cold in." Cold is Nothing.
It doesn't keep you warm, you are still an ice cube in there…………….. just warmer than outside
The main thing is to get out of the wind. And then your body can keep you warm. If you have the right gear. A good sleeping bag. In a snow bank works just the same. But a igloo normal is large. With a hole in the roof. So you can build a fire inside.
I hate this guy's presentation style.
First watched in 2026.
5:00 oppps a Daisy let’s try and use the word Inuit and not Eskimo
Canadian and definitely definitely learnt about how igloos work a million times in school. Now 40 and struggling to understand why igloos work even after rewatching a few times lol
stupid
Actually igloos don't keep you warm, they KEEP YOU LESS COLD!!
Warmth is relative..
He's going on about how strong catenary curves are😃
It is not warm in a igloo.
I'm very surprised there was not a documentary about how the different ways Hitler would've not started World War III I got a list of things that could've happened
His parents die or not be born
His mother gets an abortion or has a miscarriage
His father was a protection
He gets accepted into art school
He loses the 1933 Germany presidential election
Germany does not exist
He is a stillborn
Dies before 1907
Get ass assassinated
one of his parents comes out as LGBT
Or they never make it love on July 20, 1888
Different different ways Hitler could've never started World War III
Thermodynamics really is a fascinating field.
Certainly more valid than social "studies"
Igloos are still cold inside, to be actually warm the inuit wear warm clothing inside the igloo.
I'm late but why they say about ice and display water density? Ice is less dense than water (2:48)
Why this video come to me in after 9 years ago in 7.7 in 2026 July 1.18AM UTC+2 EETZ area. I was 16 year when this video was released.
It doesn't keep you THAT warm.
They don't have 50 words for snow. They have compound words that combine an adjective with the noun snow.
In English it would be like counting "Pink" as light red. Meaning that "Pink" in this context counts as English having at least 2 words for red.
I'd say the first Inuit people built igloos if not the Neanderthal. It's likely they just dug a hole in the ground/snow and sat in it.
YouTube 8 years algorithm randomly at 3 am: Sup buddy you uhh… Igloo video?
Me: …. Sure.