The guys from One Minute Science are back with a particularly grim explainer this weekend: Why just about every cubic foot of ocean is embedded with tiny bits of plastic. You've heard of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, right? This is on a different scale—it's even less visible, and just as insidious.


As the video explains, the sun and elements break down our plastic trash into tiny, tiny bits. These can't be broken down as smaller bits of organic matter normally would, so they float aimlessly—billions upon billions of pieces of multi-colored confetti, forever present but rarely noticed. [MinuteEarth]