Did you know that America's best educational videos actually came from automakers? Like this Chevrolet film from 1937 that provides the best explanation ever for the basic principles behind a car's differential.


We know we've run this video before, but it's so awesome we figure it's worthy of another post on a lazy summer afternoon.

How Does the Differential Work? That thing on the rear axle — the ball of gears allowing you to take a corner? Have you ever… Read more


Seriously, I bet there hasn't been a better explanation since this video was made way back in the '30s. Which is a complete shame given today's budgets and insane graphics, why can't the Discovery Channel and others airing so-called educational programming put together more videos as simple and straight-forward as this?

We would all be better off actually educating the public on various technologies or basic engineering in daily life. Instead, we get over-dramatized nonsense that only﻿ looks at the surface.

G/O Media may get a commission Subscribe and Get Your First Bag Free Promo Code AtlasCoffeeDay20

Yes, we have shows like Mythbusters. But they're still, at their heart, pure entertainment. They're not set up to go into the truly in-depth explanations on the basic engineering that surrounds us. Which is a shame.

Maybe we need our automakers to be doing videos like this again.

Know of any other great engineering explainers out there? Leave them in the comments below. We'll try to run the best ones throughout the rest of today and tomorrow.