VideoRoyale, or VR, is a YouTube channel which from 2011-2012 primarily posted answers to various "How many?" questions. It was long speculated to be tied to Pronunciation Book during the Countdown, and this was confirmed by the creators of the Countdown after it ended[1].
Videos[]
Educational[]
Prior to October 9th, 2013, VideoRoyale had uploaded 551 educational videos. Each of these videos consisted a question answered by a number e.g. How many carbs are in an eggplant? 9[2].
At the start of every video, the VideoRoyale logo is presented as such:
VID E0 ROY ALE
The number "0" on the second line then transforms into the letter "O".
How many?[]
All of the "How many?" videos follow the same theme - a short intro sequence, presenting the "VideoRoyale" name and the question the video will answer, followed by VideoRoyale's answer to the question displayed over a video clip shot in New York City, closing with a repeat of the VideoRoyale name.
A number of these "How many?" videos feature strange intonations played over the ambient city noise featured in every "How many?" video - the meaning of these tones, if any, has yet to be determined.
What are?[]
The "What are?" videos are What are the reasons for not getting pregnant? and What are all the Legendary Pokemon in Black and White?
Both videos open and close with the same VideoRoyale intro as the "How many?" videos, and are set to chiptunes. Rather single answers over clips of New York, the "What are?" videos present images over solid-color backgrounds. The pregnancy video uses what is likely animation made specifically for the video, while the Pokemon video uses actual Pokemon graphics and sound clips. Neither video is particularly suspicious, and the answers given are accurate and don't seem to carry specific meaning, though the pregnancy video does include a count upward from 51 to 66 at the end.
When was?[]
The lone "When was?" video, "When Was the First Olympics?", is VideoRoyale's most suspicious video. This video was uploaded on October 24th, 2012, over a year after the VideoRoyale video prior to it. It completely eschews the style of the previous videos; it doesn't even include the "VideoRoyale" intro. The answer is presented in large text over a pulsating gradient background. Intonations play in time with the changing blocks of text. After answering the question, VideoRoyale presents the following tangentially-related block of text, taken from The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon, rapidly displayed one word at a time: "These weighty considerations engaged theosodius to dissemble his ressentment, and to accept the alliance of the tyrant. But he stipulated that Maximus should content himself with the possesion of the countries beyond the Alps. The brother of Gratian was confirmed and secured in the sovereignety of Italy, Africa, and the Western Illyricum and some honorable conditions wre inserted in the treat, to protect the memory and the laws, of the deceased emperor. According to the custom of the age, the images of the three Imperial colleagues were exhibited to the veneration of the people; nor should it be lightly supposed, that, in the moment of a solemn reconciliation(?) Theosodius secretly cherished the intention of perfidy and revenge. The contempt of Gratian for the Roman soldiers had exposed him to the fatal effects of their resentment. His profound veneration for the Christian clergy rewarded by the applause and gratitude of a powerful order, which has claimed, in every age, the privilege of dispensing honors, both on earth and in heaven. The orthodox bishops bewailed his death, and their own irreparable loss; but they were soon comforted by the discovery, that Gratian had committed the sceptre of the East to the hands of a prince, whose humble faith and fervent zeal, were supported by the spirit and abilities of a more vigorous character." After the text, the video ends on one final pulsating gradient.
Connection to Pronunciation Book[]
VideoRoyale was first presented to the 77 days community by a user on NeoGAF, who found the domain because it was registered by Tom Bender. Presently, videoroyale.com's whois information is protected. However, historical whois lookups show that VideoRoyale is indeed owned by Tom Bender, under the name "John Bender". Another noted coincidence was that the letters V & R were the only letters of the alphabet to receive "How to Say" videos alongside the "Basic English: How to Pronounce" that the letters of the alphabet received[3][4].
Following the end of the countdown, Bender & Bakkila, the creators of Bear Stearns Bravo, confirmed[1] that VideoRoyale was a failed prequel to BSB, similar to PB and Horse ebooks.
New Direction: Carefree Videos[]
Carefree Video 000000000001
VR's first carefree video, uploaded October 9th.
From October 9th, VideoRoyale has ostensibly been repurposed for some unknown project. Instead of posting short, educational videos as before, it now posts "carefree videos", which consist of shots of various urban environments. A new video is released every monday.
Each carefree video begins with a titlecard saying "this video is unrelated to prior projects", suggesting that it is a new, separate venture from BSB.
Twitter[]
VideoRoyale has a Twitter account, but like Pronunciation Book's, it only seems to link to the videos on YouTube. While the posting format on PB's Twitter has changed since the beginning of the countdown, both accounts have tweets in the following format: "I uploaded a @YouTube video (youtu.be link) [video title]." VR tweets from Sept. 19th 2011 to Sept. 20th 2011 do not have the proper video titles - instead they have "hm[six digit number]". The numbers are not perfectly sequential, but range from "hm000303" to "hm000360". There are similar occurances on the PB twitter, where only the word pronounced is shown. It's possible that this is due to the uploader erroneously tweeting before titling the videos, rather than it being an intentional clue.
Trivia[]
- Out of all of VR's educational videos, 548 ask "How many?" videos, 2 ask "What are?" videos, and 1 ask "When was?" video.
- "When was the first Olympics?", is not only the only "when" video, but is also the only known video to have been taken down.
Speculation[]
External Links[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The Failed YouTube Channels of the @Horse_ebooks team, Daily Dot
- ↑ How many carbs are in an eggplant?, VR
- ↑ How to Say V, PB
- ↑ How to Say R, PB