Remembering Grant Thompson: The 5 most popular videos from YouTube’s The King of Random

Remembering Grant Thompson: The 5 most popular videos from YouTube’s The King of Random

(The King of Random/YouTube)


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SALT LAKE CITY — Jonathan Grant Thompson, the popular YouTube star better known as The King of Random, died at age 38 in a paragliding accident Monday.

Thompson, of Hurricane, amassed over 11 million subscribers on his YouTube channel, on which he posted videos “dedicated to exploring life through all kinds of life hacks, experiments, and random weekend projects,” according to his channel’s description.

The videos feature experimental science demonstrations such as putting dry ice in a metal foundry, testing if bouncy shoes make you jump higher and splashing liquid nitrogen in your face (don’t try that at home).

Thompson was semi-retired in Farmington when he was 29, but had a dream of becoming a “modern day MacGyver,” according to a biography on his website.

Thompson started experimenting with anything he could get his hands on, with a goal to learn how things like light bulbs, electricity and filtered water were produced. Eventually, he discovered that people had an interest in his experiments, so he started putting them on YouTube, the bio states.

After a few months, people started asking Thompson questions about his random experiments, and one person commented “Dude, you’re like the king of random” and the nickname stuck, the bio states.

“Grant had great love and appreciation for his fans,” Thompson’s YouTube channel said in a video posted in memoriam the day after his death. “Grant’s legacy will live on in the channel and the global community he created.”

The video invited Thompson’s followers to share thoughts about him in the comments.

“He had such a positive energy, always smiling and jokes, and he always made my day,” one commenter said.

Many commenters said Thompson stoked their interest in science.

“His life made millions of people happy and smile every day,” another commenter said. “You will always be in our hearts.”

Here’s a look at The King of Random’s five most popular videos of all time.

“How To Make LEGO Gummy Candy!”

May 25, 2015

Thompson’s most popular video ever sees him creating edible LEGO brick pieces out of gummy candy.

The pieces actually link together like real LEGOs, and you can build things out of them — if you can resist the urge to eat them, Thompson says in the video.

“How To Open Coconuts Without Any Tools”

Nov. 1, 2016

This video sees Thompson on-location in Hawaii, where he breaks open a coconut using only rocks he finds on a beach.

If you’re ever stranded on a tropical island, like Tom Hanks’s character in “Cast Away,” Thompson shows how to crack a coconut and salvage the water inside.

“Self Freezing Coca-Cola (The trick that works on any soda!)”

June 20, 2013

In this video, Thompson teaches viewers how to “master the art of the three-second slushie.”

He freezes soft drinks to the point just before they solidify, so they seem to magically turn to an icy, convenience store-style slushie as he pours them out.

Thompson explains in the video that the drinks become supercooled and actually want to freeze, and that’s why they turn icy as soon as he pours them out of the bottle.

“How To Make A Laser Assisted Blowgun”

January 28, 2015

Thompson makes a sleek-looking, powerful blowgun using simple materials found at a hardware store for under $3 in this video.

He crafts the dart gun using PVC pipe and camo duct tape, and fashions darts out of post-it notes and nails. For added flair, he glues a laser-pointer to the top of the gun for accuracy.

The result is a surprisingly accurate, shockingly powerful dart gun that breaks a water glass and can make darts stick in a concrete wall.

“10 Life Hacks You Need To Know For Summer!”

July 25, 2013

This isn’t really a science experiment like most of Thompson’s videos, but, in the spirit of his channel, it does have some random tricks.

The life hacks Thompson shows in the video teach viewers how to eat burgers so the bun doesn’t fall apart, keep kids’ hands clean while they eat popsicles, take care of ants that have invaded your home and more summer-themed tips.

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