History of the Entire World, I Guess – Bill Wurtz’s Internet Masterpiece

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In 2017, Bill Wurtz uploaded a video to YouTube with a modest title: “history of the entire world, i guess.” What followed was twenty minutes of pure internet alchemy—a surreal, musical, and oddly profound retelling of everything that has ever happened, from the Big Bang to the modern day.

It shouldn’t work. It’s too fast, too absurd, too fragmented. And yet, it does.



The Style: Chaos with a Rhythm

Bill Wurtz is known for his minimalist animations, pastel colors, and deadpan delivery. But here, he pushes his style to the extreme. The video is a relentless stream of:

  • 🌍 Big ideas (the formation of the universe, the rise of civilizations)

  • 🎶 Catchy jingles (“the sun is a deadly laser”)

  • 😂 Absurd humor (sudden asides, existential jokes, and meme-worthy one-liners)

The result is hypnotic. You don’t just watch history—you feel it rushing past you.

Why It Resonates

On the surface, it’s comedy. But beneath the jokes, there’s something deeper:

  • Perspective: By compressing billions of years into minutes, it shows how fragile and fleeting human history really is.

  • Accessibility: It sneaks real historical facts into a format that feels like a meme.

  • Universality: Whether you’re a student, a historian, or just bored at 2 a.m., it speaks to you.

Like Egg, which reframed existence through philosophy, History of the Entire World, I Guess reframes it through humor. Both works remind us that the internet can produce art that is as thought-provoking as it is entertaining.

Cultural Impact

The video exploded across the internet. Memes like “but now they have technology” and “the sun is a deadly laser” became part of online language. Teachers began using it in classrooms. Fans dissected it frame by frame.

It’s more than a viral video—it’s a cultural artifact. A snapshot of how the internet can compress knowledge, absurdity, and creativity into something unforgettable.

Final Thought

Bill Wurtz’s video is not just a history lesson—it’s a mirror. It shows us how small we are in the grand timeline, but also how strange, funny, and miraculous our story has been.

Maybe the best way to understand history is to laugh at it first.

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