When the coronavirus was ramping up in 2020, I searched online for something to explain just what the virus did to the human body. That’s how I happened upon the works of German animation studio Kurzgesagt — German for “in a nutshell,” or something similar.

Kurzgesagt uses a two-dimensional, bright, minimalist style of animation with a British narrator in videos usually no more than 15 minutes long to explain and discuss subjects from the natural world to politics to technology. Kurzgesagt’s video on COVID-19 helped me understand just how dangerous the disease could be.

Somehow, that cheery animation with the calming tones of a British accent made the worst effects of COVID-19 more terrifying.

From there, I was hooked on Kurzgesagt’s work. Yes, I did want to know how big the biggest star is (yeah, our sun is a dot compared to Stephenson 2-18) and about ant wars and electromagnetic pollution.

Now, Kurzgesagt’s early work sometimes had fact-checking issues, a situation the studio has worked to remedy, even going so far as to delete videos that no longer meet its standard for providing accurate information.

That also appeals to me. In our age when fake news is all too much a real problem, seeing organizations work against its proliferation is a good thing.

To find out more about Kurz-gesagt, just Google it or search for its channel on YouTube.

— PHIL WRIGHT, NEWS EDITOR, EAST OREGONIAN