Decoding Stonehenge with Neil deGrasse Tyson

Hi! Just wanted to let you know my 16-year-old nephew saw one of your videos on my Facebook feed and got so interested that he stole my phone the whole day and watched you on YouTube, then got me addicted. My sister says that after he finishes his school work for the day, he will watch an episode, then research the subject of the episode in depth. He's still working on black holes when I talked to my sister this morning. I think you have an astrophysicist in the making. Thank you for making your videos so informative and fun.

Chuck is such a great balance for Neil. He plays the curious role so well while being comedic. Great job guys!

One of the reasons I respect Neil is that he gives credit to ancient people for their ability to think. They less technological in the modern sense of the word, but they were not fools.

What's your Stonehenge theory?

I grew up not far from Stonehenge, and as you might be aware there is a military base near by. I was surprised to learn that the stones have been reseated many times and before it was restored in the early 1960's and treated with a bit of modern respect (though even back then you could park your car at the gate and walk around, touch the stones etc). There is a story of my late great-uncle and a bunch of his mates getting pretty hammered and stealing a stone using an army landrover. One officer spotted it and immediately knew who the ringleader was, and so kicked them out of bed before dawn (while they were still all drunk) to return it!

A friend had his own standing stone circle in his back yard. Developers did it, used tools to make sure each of the 8 stones, each the same size, were equal distance apart. When it was done, he discovered, by accident, that if you stood in the center and said something, the sound had changed. It was like being in a bubble. Sound was echoed back at you, while people outside the circle heard normal sound. Makes me think that when Stonehenge was still completely arranged, maybe the ancients heard the same sound effect, and thought it was supernatural.

My family lived in London and the first time we drove to Devon we had to take a road called the A303 because the motorway hadn't been built. Stonehenge was still unprotected in those days, we stopped in the early morning and went to see the stones, being able to touch them and look around. It's a really lovely memory I have.

i love that last comment; "Just because you cant figure out how ancient people did something, doesnt mean aliens did it"

Chuck Nice makes these episodes 'fun' to watch.. his commentary is priceless!! Thanks Neil and Chuck!!

My husband and I visited Stonehenge back in 1977. We were struck by the quietness of the Salisbury Plains, and the overall eerie feeling of the site. It was totally silent, except for the sounds of chirping bugs or birds. I found it to be an unforgettable experience. Even back then the stones had already been marred by graffiti etched on the stone surface, so I can understand why they had to cordon it off.