We scored SmarterEveryDay thumbnails, then tried to beat them
SmarterEveryDay packages Destin plus one physical thing. We scored two long-form thumbs through Thumbly Score, applied the fixes, and re-scored. INSIDE a Nuclear Reactor Core went 60 to 67. Why Do Spinning Things Do This? went 73 to 74.
5 min read ThumbnailsYouTubeTeardownCreator BreakdownPsychologyDestin Sandlin doesn't sell a stunt. He sells a thing you can look at and want to understand. His face goes on one side, the mechanism goes on the other, and the title asks how it works.
That is SmarterEveryDay packaging. The channel is known for high-speed camera footage and for going to see the machine in person. Neither of the two thumbs we scored shows slow motion, though. They keep it simpler, with just Destin and one object.
We took two of his long-form thumbs, INSIDE a Nuclear Reactor Core and Why Do Spinning Things Do This?, and ran them through [Thumbly Score](/thumbly-score). Same flow as the [Vsauce](/blog/vsauce-thumbnail-teardown) and [Mark Rober](/blog/mark-rober-thumbnail-teardown) teardowns. Score the original, apply the fix, score again.
[Veritasium](/blog/veritasium-thumbnail-teardown) is the louder experiment cousin. Vsauce is the one-idea cousin. Destin sits in the look-at-this-mechanism lane.
Thumbnail 1: "INSIDE a Nuclear Reactor Core"
Destin on the left in his cap and plaid shirt, smiling and pointing. On the right is a CG cutaway illustration of a reactor vessel with a glowing blue core, surrounded by bubbles on black. No text.
**Thumbly Score: 60/100**
| Dimension | Score |
|---|---|
| Virality | 55 |
| Clarity | 75 |
| Idea | 50 |
| Curiosity | 70 |
| Emotion | 45 |
Clarity at 75 is the strength. You know right away it's a guy and a reactor. Curiosity at 70 comes from the cutaway, since seeing inside something is a hook by itself.
Emotion at 45 is the weak spot. The friendly smile doesn't match "you're inside a nuclear reactor," and there are no words to set the stakes. Idea at 50 says it reads as a standard host-plus-object frame.
Thumbly wanted more drama in the light and a short hook. The fix asked for a key light on Destin's face from the upper left, a blue glow behind the core, fewer bubbles, and a two-line title in the upper right reading INSIDE THE CORE. This is what came back:
*Thumbly's edit, not Destin's published thumbnail.*
**67/100, up seven.** Emotion jumped from 45 to 65. Virality, clarity, idea, and curiosity each rose five points, to 60, 80, 55, and 75.
The glow and the title did the work. The key light barely changed, and Thumbly's new tips ask for it again. The edit also cut more bubbles than we asked for, so the underwater feel is mostly gone.
At 60 the picture was clear but flat. Giving the core some energy and naming the stakes moved the number more than anything we did to the host.
Thumbnail 2: "Why Do Spinning Things Do This?"
Destin shrugging with both hands out, next to a big green dome sitting on a plywood ring. Two small arrows stand on the base. The text above reads THIS MAKES ME FEEL DUMB. His workshop fills the background.
**Thumbly Score: 73/100**
| Dimension | Score |
|---|---|
| Virality | 75 |
| Clarity | 70 |
| Idea | 65 |
| Curiosity | 80 |
| Emotion | 75 |
This is the stronger of the two. Curiosity at 80 and emotion at 75 come from the same place. A smart guy admitting something confuses him makes you want to see what it is.
Clarity at 70 is what holds it back. The workshop behind him is busy, and Destin and the dome are small in the frame.
Thumbly wanted a tighter crop, a stronger key light on his face, and a darker background. We kept the text exactly as written. This is what came back:
*Thumbly's edit, not Destin's published thumbnail.*
**74/100, up one.** Clarity rose from 70 to 80 and curiosity from 80 to 85. Virality fell from 75 to 70 and idea from 65 to 60. Emotion stayed at 75.
The background went almost fully black, so the dome and his face pop. That also took away the workshop, which was part of what made it look like a real experiment. The edit changed the open hook on top of the dome into a closed ring, too. That's a small thing, but in a science thumbnail it changes the actual prop.
At 73 the original was already doing its job. Cleaning it up traded some personality for clarity, and the total barely moved.
What to steal from SmarterEveryDay
Destin's lane is his face next to one thing you want to understand. Show the thing itself, real or cutaway, not an abstract symbol. Let his face say what you'll feel, whether that's excitement or honest confusion.
The two re-scores point at the same lesson from different sides. The reactor thumb got better when the object got more energy and the stakes got a few words. The spinning thumb barely changed when we stripped out the setting, because the confession was already carrying it.
If you make hands-on science or engineering content, borrow the setup. Put yourself next to the real thing and let your reaction be honest. Leave Veritasium's experiment spectacle and Vsauce's one-idea minimalism alone unless that's actually your channel.
Soft close
Want the same Score loop on your own thumbs? Run them through [Thumbly Score](/thumbly-score), try the fix, and re-score. Sometimes the fix wins big and sometimes it's a wash, and it's good to know which before you publish. Generate or export in [Thumbly Studio](/) when you're ready to ship.
This piece is commentary on public packaging. We are reading the picture, not claiming Destin's CTR.
