The Snowflake Mystery

We’ve all heard it a million times: “No two snowflakes are alike.” It’s the kind of claim we accept without question - like goldfish forgetting things in three seconds or fortune cookies offering life advice. But in The Snowflake Mystery, Veritasium (my favourite science YouTube channel, btw) dares to prod this frosty axiom with a scientific stick. The results? A lot more nuanced than your average holiday greeting card would have you believe.

Derek Muller’s investigation takes viewers from high-tech laboratories to wintry fields, revealing how temperature shifts, humidity quirks, and even the tiniest speck of dust can dramatically influence crystal formation. He explores whether it’s possible - however unlikely - for two flakes to form as near-twins. The real treat is the blend of solid research, offbeat demonstrations, and the infectious enthusiasm of a beaming researcher. Beneath it all lies a thought-provoking question: are we clinging to a neat truism, or is nature a touch more complex than we like to believe?