The Sandworm Paradox - Dune

Hey! It's an honor to be compared by some of you to a professional studio. We are just two friends who decided to start a YouTube channel about 5 or 6 months ago. One of us writes the script and does the voice recording, while the other one is the editor. We had originally created another channel with another essay, featuring just a slideshow of pictures and poor audio quality. It did not perform well, so we decided to study! We've delved into a lot of content explaining what makes a successful channel, what makes a good thumbnail, title, etc., which we researched beforehand and tried to apply here. Three months ago, we had never opened an editing program, so it took us a while to get used to Adobe Premiere and After Effects. Thankfully, there are countless YouTube channels that make learning possible (SonduckFilm, Ben Marriott, Flat Pack FX, etc.). So, we truly feel blessed to receive comments like yours. What we never expected was this level of views on our very first video. It's awesome but also a bit frightening at the same time. We appreciate all your constructive criticism about the script, the editing style, and the audio. We are aware that this video is far from perfect, and we'll keep studying and learning to hopefully deliver better content with each upload! Thanks again for the incredible support in your comments!

One thing to note about the Dune series (Frank Herbert's original series, not Brian Herbert's stuff), is that there a no alien life forms explicitly described anywhere. All life is the result of human colonization, and originated on Earth. The book consistently describes its more bizarre creatures as the result of genetic engineering, especially in the later books where the Tleilaxu become an important faction. However, while it's never stated outright, it's very strongly implied in several places throughout the Dune series that Shai Hulud is, in fact, alien; the only alien life form in the Dune universe. Although not confirmed as alien, it is explicitly stated that Shai Hulud did not originate on Arrakis, but was transplanted there from its native planet by early human colonists, though little description of its home-world is given. Later in the series, it is transplanted again to a different planet by the Bene Gesserit (their own stronghold world), in order to maintain their supply of the Spice and, more importantly, the Water of Life.

What is so interesting to me from a biological perspective is how the larva of the sandworm, the sand trout, thrive in watery conditions and absorb vast amounts before undergoing metamorphosis and becoming intolerant to water. For a carbon-based organism of such enormous size to find water anathema to its existence, let alone with the context of its early life, is so fascinating to think about.

The writing, the sheer amount of editing, and delivery of this subject is staggering. Congratulations! Only 1 video and you’re going straight to a million views.

I love how whenever he's beginning to talk about worms, you see all these realistic movie worms, and then in the background there is eater of worlds from Terraria. Edit: timestamp is like 3:06

02:40 There are actually legends in Mongolia about sandworms. They aren't as said to be as large as Dune, but maybe 5m long and said to eat humans and livestock. It isn't as widely discussed as most other legends, but it is a legend. This legend was first told to a Western audience in 1926 by a Western writer who travelled in Mongolia and talked with locals.

Frank Herbert worked as a journalist and once wrote an article on the effect planting grass near roads in the desert had in preventing dunes from blowing over and obscuring the roads. He said this was a big inspiration for Dune. The stabilizing effect inspired the quote at 23:55. Additionally, he was able to see the desert from aerial perspectives when researching for the article, and it reminded him of a body of water. Sand is interesting

If you told me today I'd get a video coming across my recommended that had Dune, scientific breakdowns, xenobiology, a couple Magic the Gathering and D&D references, and incredible writing and editing, and I SOMEHOW wasn't already subscribed to the channel that made the video??? I'd call you crazy. Tldr, this was an incredible video, guys! Can't wait to see what you do next!!

Me bringing a topic out in a first date

In Old Norse and Icelandic, the word "ormr" can mean "serpent," "dragon," or "worm." This term often translates to "worm" in English. The word "worm" in old and middle English didn't just refer to earthworms but was also used for serpentine creatures, including dragons. In the context of Norse mythology, creatures like Jörmungandr, the Midgard Serpent, are often referred to as "worms" in the sense of a dragon or a monstrous serpent. This reflects the broader and more flexible usage of the term in historical languages, where the distinction between what we consider today as "worms" and "serpents" or "dragons"

that final quote was a fantastic way to end the video, the worms while seeming like a vital part of the ecosystem, are actually what destroyed it. feels like a movie twist that makes me want to watch it all over again!

Great little essay! Very evocative and thought-provoking. Loved the quote at the end. Fun fact: humans, whales - all mammals, in fact - fish, reptiles, birds, and amphibians belong to the phylum chordata. The phylum arthropoda includes insects, spiders, scorpions, centipedes, millipedes, crabs, lobsters, prawns and a great deal else. The phylum mollusca includes the likes of slugs, snails, octopodes, and squid. As you can see, a single phylum can include a wild variety of different creatures. Just these three phyla - chordata, arthropoda, and mollusca - include the vast majority of animals most people are familiar with. Yet these are just 3 of 35 extant phyla. And of the other 32, fourteen - almost half - are worms. That's a LOT of worms.

Having spent a lot of this past year studying (Indo-European) snake cults, I'm pretty confident in saying that a large carnivorous worm really is no different from a snake/dragon in any resepct that matters, so it's really cool to see you tie all that together from the other end

Funnily enough, here in Brazil there is a relatively unknown legend of a giant Worm named "Minhocão" (literal translation being "Large Worm") that has two varieties: aquatic worm and sandworm. Both apparently served as legends to explain the relatively rare occurrences of earthquakes and sinkholes, which are very uncommon in Brazil. One lived in large lakes and underground rivers, making the ground cave in, while the other literally swam through dirt and sand. At some point the legend was almost considered a cryptid.

As someone who got into the dune world, the thumbnail and title caught my eyes as I was scrolling through the feeds. I honestly thought that you were some of those creators like Lemmino, Aperture. Then I checked your subs and number of videos you have, and I must admit I was blown away by the quality and effort you put into this video. Keep the contents coming.

If the sandworm injects air into the ground, it would make the solid sand behave like a very low viscosity fluid.

Sandworms are such a fascinating marriage of ancient mythology, horror imagery, modern fantasy monster design philosophies, and scifis science inspired concepts. It's no wonder that Dune so thoroughly entrenched them in the cultural Zeitgeist that they became a staple of fiction. It is also pretty funny that the largest real life worms generally thrive in wet and underwater environments. Those may not be sandworms, but they get pretty impressively big, themselves.

13:58 it’s no coincidence that there are many similarities between whales and Shai-hulud. Frank Herbert is from the Pacific Northwest and studied the indigenous cultures here, including those that hunt and worship whales. The Makkah (for example) relationship with whales has many comparisons to the Fremens’ relationship with the worms and directly influenced Herbert.

I love how you can tell how amazing the original cinematography of the most recent Dune movie is just from random clips, even when it's distorted or lower resolution

So happy that not only did you research and put together a video worthy of views, but that you were also blessed with the views that you deserve, as unexpected as that may have been. Congrats!