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Cool dad teaches his kids about fluid dynamics using a balloon and a van

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Destin Sandlin's YouTube science series Smarter Every Day does just what it promises to do: it makes us smarter.

In his most recent video, he teaches his young kids (and everyone else who watches it) about fluid dynamics using a helium balloon and an accelerating van.

"What's remarkable about this experiment is that the balloon's behaviour seems completely counterintuitive to what we've been conditioned – with every turn, brake, and press of the gas pedal – to expect of objects in accelerating vehicles. What's beautiful about it is that this behaviour isn't counterintuitive at all," writes io9's Robert T. Gonzalez.

Also remarkable is that Sandlin's simple experiment got the attention of American theoretical physicist Dr. Michio Kaku — and is still accessible to young minds.

"I know you're 5, but I think you can get this," the cool dad encourages in the video.

Sandlin, a missile flight test engineer for Redstone Test Center, says each of his videos is inspired by a simple question.

"I approach the world differently," he tells the Redstone Rocket. "I kind of look around at everything with my eyes open in a little different way. A lot of people know what happens in the world, but they don't understand how it happens."

"The whole process of creating a Smarter Every Day video is about moving along the path from knowledge to understanding," he says. "The moment I understand something completely and can teach it to someone else is the moment I've captured that information for myself. It's about helping other people have that epiphany."

Sandlin created his first Smarter Every Day YouTube video seven years ago, teaching viewers that you can light a bonfire with rockets. His top 10 videos, combined, have racked up more than 50 million views. He puts the money from his videos aside for his kids' college educations.

According to the response to his latest video, Sandlin's parenting skills are getting almost as much attention as the balloon experiment itself.

"Respect earned by being an awesome and intelligent dad. The best kind of respect," a Reddit user writes, referring to Sandlin's kids' use of "yes, sir."

"I love this video, mainly because I love the interactions. Great to see polite children getting an education and love a man doing that in such a fun and loving manner," writes a fan on Facebook.

Sandlin says that he and his wife take parenting seriously and believe in nurturing relationships with their kids based on mutual respect.

"I did not demand that they say 'sir' when I filmed this video, I simply asked them questions. They say 'sir' when they know I'm trying to clearly communicate something and they're letting me know in a very clear way that they understand," Sandlin explains in a blog post.

He continues, "Some think it’s over the top for a child to show respect to their Father. Then again, some also think it’s over the top to teach a 5 year old Fluid Mechanics. My wife and I disagree with both of these groups of people. We’re not trying to create Angels or Academics. We’re simply loving our kids by exploring the world with them and shepherding their hearts."