What Is Dirt Made Out Of? - Big Questions (Ep. 15) - Nerdfighteria Wiki

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YouTube:	https://youtube.com/watch?v=aKiYHdtff2c
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Duration:	02:37
Uploaded:	2014-12-29
Last sync:	2026-01-23 14:45

A weekly show where we endeavor to answer one of your big questions. This week, Caleigh Waddell asks, "What is dirt made out of?” -- Mental Floss Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/mf_video Select Images and Footage provided by Shutterstock: www.shutterstock.com Want more of Craig? https://www.youtube.com/wheezywaiter https://www.youtube.com/thegoodstuff ---- Don't miss a video! Subscribe NOW: https://www.youtube.com/@MentalFloss?sub_confirmation=1 About Mental Floss: Mental Floss is where curious people come for trivia-tastic information. Mental Floss produces lists of fun facts, debunks common misconceptions, and tells untold stories from history, science, culture and more. Website: http://www.mentalfloss.com Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/mental_floss Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/mentalflossma... Store: http://store.mentalfloss.com/ (enter promo code: "YoutubeFlossers" for 15% off!) Copyright Notice: This video and YouTube channel contain dialog, music, and images that are property of Mental Floss. You are authorized to share the video link and channel, and embed this video in your website or others as long as a link back to this YouTube Channel is provided. © 2025 Mental Floss What is dirt made out of? - Big Questions (Ep. 15) | Mental Floss https://www.youtube.com/@MentalFloss Hi, I'm Craig. I'm a dirty dirty man and this is Mental Floss on YouTube. Today I'm gonna answer Caleigh Waddell's big question: What is dirt made out of? Well Caleigh, not to get all know it all on you but I'm going to assume you mean soil instead of dirt. Soil is the top layer of the earth where plants can grow. Most people use dirt and soil interchangeably but scientists don't consider them synonyms. Dirt is the loose soil so it's no longer a part of that layer and no longer supporting plant life. Plus it can refer to a whole mess of other things. Get it? Now that we have that all figured out, let's get dirty. Started.(Intro)So soil is formed when rocks underground come in contact with water, like rain water, or when I pour one out for my homies. Over time those rocks break down into smaller minerals like quartz, mica and calcite. As organic material breaks down it also contributes to soil formation. Around 45% of the soil that's formed is made from three main properties: sand, silt and clay. 25% is water, 25% is air and 5% is miscellaneous organic material like plant debris.But what are all of those things made out of you ask? As for chemical elements, oxygen is extremely abundant in soil. Some other elements commonly found are phosphorous, nitrogen, potassium, silicon, aluminum, iron, calcium, magnesium, sulfur, sodium, and that gopher from Caddyshack.I'm sure you've noticed that I'm being pretty vague about this. That's because soil differs from place to place. It's not always the same which means it probably doesn't always consist of the same stuff. In the United States alone, there are around 50,000 different types of soil and that's just in my laundry basket. These differences are due to five factors: climate, parent material, topography, organisms and time. All of that in my laundry basket. Basically soil in the tundra is going to be different from soil in the desert which is gonna be different from soil in the prairie which is gonna be different from soil in... Costco.One interesting way to examine how soil varies is by looking at the soils's pH which helps determine which plants will thrive in that soil. pH is greatly affected by things like climate and rainfall. Soils with low pH tend to have less macronutrients while soils with high pH tend to have less micronutrients. In the Western US, soil is more alkaline whereas on the East Coast and in the Pacific North West it's more acidic. So if you're especially curious about the soil in your area, one way to find out more is to pH test it or phhhh test it. You can buy soil testing kits for pretty cheap at a hardware store. In addition to pH levels, many of these will tell you how much nitrogen, phosphorous or potassium is in the soil. Another good way to test out the soil is to roll around in it.Thanks for watching Mental Floss on YouTube made with the help of these filthy filthy people. If you have a question of your own, leave it in the comments. I will see you next week. Hopefully after I've showered after rolling around in the dirt. The soil. For website issues, you can email the webmaster at [email protected]. This email address is not the email for John, Hank, or any other hosts, and is unaffiliated with Complexly. To contact John or Hank, please visit hankandjohn.com. Terms of Service | Privacy Policy ×

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