HackerTube.dev

Why Do Things Keep Evolving Into Crabs?

PBS Eons · 10.9M views · 2020-10-28 · 7:28

Open on YouTube ↗

If playback is restricted in your region, try opening the original video. Use Mark watched to add it to your marked videos.

Overview

A short PBS Eons episode on carcinization, the repeated independent evolution of crab-like bodies in unrelated crustaceans, and what makes that form so successful.

On Hacker News

HN cites it as a clear, well-made treatment of convergent evolution and crabs.

Recommended by 1 HN people across 1 months · HN mentions 2020–2023

Topics

Evolution & geneticsAnimals & nature
Search by tags
carcinizationcrabsevolutionpaleontologycrustaceans

What people said

kjeetgill · 2022-06 · Strong recommendation

Eons did a great piece on this recently: [VIDEO] One of the things I love about the way Eons cover topics is how they don't just focus on what we know, but also how we know, who figured things out, and what we got wrong along the way. Can't endorse their style of science journalism enough.

Read the original HN comment ↗
jcfrei · 2023-02 · Reference

Counterpoint: Alien life will probably look very similar to life on earth. If you look at evolution then countless species have evolved into something crab-like: [VIDEO] Turns out that their form is pretty good for survival. While biology can take on a myriad of forms, the competitive nature of life will weed out a lot of them. And since the rules for biochemistry are the same across the universe similar traits that are beneficial here will probably be beneficial there.

Read the original HN comment ↗
erulabs · 2021-06 · Reference

Funny this came out the same month as SciShow’s “Why does everything keep evolving into crabs?” Video: [VIDEO]

Read the original HN comment ↗

Sources

Video by PBS Eons, played through YouTube.

Data and selection notes

HN summaries and labels may contain AI errors. HN dates refer to discussions, not video publication.

HN Library: HackerTube export (2026-10-31) and open-index/hacker-news. Upstream summaries and classifications may contain AI errors.

Views, duration and playback status refresh separately from the published catalog. When an update fails, existing data remains visible.

Selection checks
  • SaaS & AI candidates: Topic keywords do not match
  • Editor-approved picks: Editorial review is required

Rule matches identify candidates. They do not guarantee video quality or financial results.

About the library and its sources