NileRed explained

NileRed should not be confused with Nile red.

NileRed
Birth Name:	Nigel Braun
Birth Date:	7 September 1991
Birth Place:	Montreal, Quebec
Education:	McGill University (BS)
Channel Direct Url:	@NileRed
Channel Display Name:	NileRed
Channel Direct Url2:	@NileRed2
Channel Display Name2:	NileRed 2
Channel Direct Url3:	@NileBlue
Channel Display Name3:	NileBlue
Years Active:	2014–present
Genre:	Educational entertainment
Subscribers:	7.05 million (main channel) 4.66 million (NileRed 2) 2.37 million (NileBlue) million (combined)
Views:	2.70 billion (main channel) 174.87 million (NileRed 2) 242.76 million (NileBlue) billion (combined)
Stats Update:	September 29, 2024
Signature:	NileRed sig.png

Nigel Braun (born September 7, 1991), known professionally as NileRed, is a Canadian YouTuber known for his chemistry-related videos where he mainly does trivial and occasionally dangerous experiments.^{[1] [2]}

Early life

Nigel Braun was born on September 7, 1991, in Montreal, Quebec,^[3] to Dorian Braun, a sound engineer and former college professor, and Jody Tanaka. His younger brother, Corey, helps manage the channel. Braun has a Bachelor of Science in biochemistry^[4] and a minor in pharmacology, both from McGill University. Before starting a YouTube channel, Braun was a trained laboratory technician in an organic lab.^[5] He later focused on his Masters on chemistry at McGill, but left it several months later to focus on the channel.^{[2] [3]}

Career

Braun had been making videos, mainly tutorials, for fun since his teenage years, creating a YouTube channel on March 10, 2014. His first video was uploaded on March 24, 2014, and many of his early videos were recordings of his projects as a laboratory technician or at his parents' garage, with them later being filmed at his industrial-grade laboratory.^[2] Braun wanted his channel name, NileRed, to be related to chemistry, but not too chemical-sounding. He and one of his university colleagues looked through a book containing chemical names and started with "N" because his name began with the same letter. They settled on nile red, a compound for dyeing used in biochemistry, as it sounded good and did not sound much like a chemical. A second channel, NileBlue, was created in 2016 to showcase more casual projects than the main channel, and a shorts channel, NileRed 2 (formerly NileRed Shorts), was created in 2021.^{[6] [7]} He is assisted in his channel by two family members and two friends he hired.^[2]

Some of Braun's videos were deleted in 2018 during a purge of chemistry channels.^[5] In 2019 and 2020, the web magazine Hackaday reported on Braun extracting bismuth from pepto bismol,^[8] making aerogel,^[9] and making superconductors.^[10] In 2021, The A.V. Club and Newsweek reported on a video of him dissolving a hot dog in piranha solution, which went viral.^{[11] [12]}

Notes and References

1. Web site: Brotherton . Laine . 2022-02-21 . NileRed is YouTube's best chemist . 2024-09-30 . . en-US . October 1, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231001145740/https://www.michigandaily.com/arts/inspired-by-nilered/ . live .
2. Web site: Isai . Vjosa . 2024-08-17 . With Purple Gold and Bouncy Metal, a Canadian Chemist Shines on YouTube . 2024-09-29 . . September 29, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240929064859/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/17/world/canada/nilered-youtube-nigel-braun.html . live .
3. Web site: Arndtsen Research Group . 2024-09-30 . Arndtsen Research Group.
4. Web site: Dalheim . Robert . 2021-05-05 . YouTuber makes transparent wood on his own . 2024-09-29 . Woodworking Network . August 16, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210816112057/https://woodworkingnetwork.com/technology/youtuber-makes-transparent-wood-his-own . live .
5. Web site: Krämer . Katrina . 2018-06-29 . Hobby chemists fall foul of YouTube's content purge . 2024-09-30 . . en . September 13, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240913134621/https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/hobby-chemists-fall-foul-of-youtubes-content-purge/3009206.article . live .
6. Web site: Bai . Sam . 2022-03-02 . NileRed, a professional amateur chemist, savior of students, bane of teachers . 2024-09-30 . The Saratoga Falcon.
7. Web site: Linzel . Daniël . 2021-06-14 . Bizarre chemistry for everyone . 2024-09-30 . ScienceLink . en . September 9, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240909192207/https://www.sciencelink.net/features/bizarre-chemistry-for-everyone/20662.article . live .
8. Web site: Williams . Al . 2019-03-16 . Extracting Bismuth From Pepto Bismol . 2024-09-30 . Hackaday . en-US . February 26, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240226005913/https://hackaday.com/2019/03/15/extracting-bismuth-from-pepto-bismol/ . live .
9. Web site: Williams . Al . 2020-04-04 . Making Aerogel, It's Not For The Faint-Hearted . 2024-09-30 . Hackaday . en-US . December 2, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231202015200/https://hackaday.com/2020/04/03/making-aerogel/ . live .
10. Web site: Williams . Al . 2020-08-04 . [NileRed] Makes Superconductors ]. 2024-09-30 . Hackaday . en-US . March 1, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240301074252/https://hackaday.com/2020/08/04/nilered-makes-superconductors/ . live .
11. Web site: McCarter . Reid . 2021-11-09 . YouTube scientist plays with hazardous chemicals to completely dissolve a hot dog . 2024-09-30 . The A.V. Club . en-US . February 3, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230203093704/https://www.avclub.com/youtube-scientist-plays-with-hazardous-chemicals-to-com-1848023360 . live .
12. Web site: Lea . Robert . 2021-12-20 . Video of Hot Dog Being Dissolved in Acid Mixture Viewed 10 Million Times . 2024-09-30 . . en . January 10, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240110001611/https://www.newsweek.com/video-hot-dog-dissolved-hot-angry-acid-mixture-viewed-10-million-times-tik-tok-1660089 . live .
13. Web site: 10th Annual Streamy Nominees & Winners . 2024-09-30 . . en . October 21, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201021180006/https://www.streamys.org/nominees-winners/10th-annual-nominees/ . live .