Watch the Latest Red Hot Nickel Ball Video, and Marvel Why We Love Them

Hold onto your butts, because two of YouTube's most viral "look at this fucking shit" sensations just met head-on in a video that's sure to eat six minutes and 52 seconds of productivity out of your workday.

Nothing's particularly astounding about a red hot nickel ball getting smooshed into a molten metal pancake by a hydraulic press—it's sheer force at work. Yet, something compels us to watch each and every one of these videos, every single time. And we're certainly not alone.

For a little perspective, nickel ball proprietor carsandwater's most popular video is a three minute clip featuring a piece of gardening foam and, you guessed it, a red hot nickel ball. It's been viewed over 15 million times. In fact, the channel's top 15 videos have at least one million views each, and save for a few, all showcase the physical properties of the RHNB.

So go ahead and enjoy the hell out of this thing, but maybe take a moment to consider why you find these backyard science experiments so mesmerizing.

As for us here at Motherboard, we're contemplating the very same question. And scout's honor, you have my word that we cover these videos because we find them as intriguing as you do. Personally, I couldn't care less about how many unique page views this sends. But I won't deny it's a story that's likely to be popular.

Editor-in-chief Derek Mead and I were just discussing the abnormal momentum behind the red hot nickel ball, and I suggested we love them because through them, we're able to vicariously conduct all of the weird, unsafe experiments we wished we could've done in high school chemistry. Many Motherboard staff have lab experience under our belts, but have any of us ever dunked a flaming metal cannonball into a tin of combustible thermite? Hell no.

Alternatively, our seemingly inexplicable human desire to see things destroyed might also be a driving factor. There's a certain amount of schadenfreude about the world's largest—and most unfortunate—gummy bear being swiftly disemboweled by a molten sphere, and I understand the deep satisfaction of watching one force work against another.

Whatever the case, we're not going to fight it. If you have any theories or opinions regarding the RHNB phenomenon, I'd love to know about them. My email is listed at the bottom of this page, and I'm eager to hear from you all.

In the meantime, look at this fucking shit!