Every ordinary thing has a backstory.
One short story a day about where something came from: a word, an invention, a mistake that changed history. Told in under a minute, researched properly.
Recent stories
- Lost in conversionHow a pounds-versus-metric mix-up sent NASA's Mars Climate Orbiter into the planet in 1999.
- OK began as a jokeAn 1839 Boston newspaper gag, "oll korrect", that became the most-used word on Earth.
- The candy bar that invented the microwavePercy Spencer, a melted snack, and a 750-pound oven.
- The girl who named PlutoAn 11-year-old at breakfast in 1930, and a £5 reward.
- Four lines in the sandThe beach sketch that became the barcode.
How it's made
A small studio, a daily habit
Each episode is written from sources, narrated, and animated in-house. Our own software uploads finished episodes to the Backstory Daily YouTube channel through the official YouTube API. Parts of the production use AI tools, and every upload is labelled as containing altered or synthetic media.