The King of Random

The King of Random (TKOR) is a YouTube channel created by Grant Thompson that conducts DIY projects and experiments (such as cutting open spray paint cans and deep frying ballpoint pens) and often involving large amounts of a single item. Thompson created the channel in 2010. Thompson died on July 29, 2019, in a paramotoring accident at the age of 38.

"Grant Thompson" redirects here. It is not to be confused with Grant Thomson.
The King of Random
Websitewww.thekingofrandom.com
YouTube information
Also known asTKOR
Channel
Years active2010–present
GenreDIY
Subscribers12.5 million
Total views3.00 billion
Associated actsBrian Brushwood
100,000 subscribers
1,000,000 subscribers
10,000,000 subscribers 2018[1]
Updated July 20, 2020

The channel was originally hosted solely by Thompson, but is now hosted by Nate Bonham and Calli Gade. As of July 2020, the channel had around 13 million subscribers.

History

At the age of 29, Thompson, who was a former airline pilot, was semi-retired in Farmington, Utah, and decided to spend the next seven years studying the way things worked. Eventually, Thompson realized that his friends were becoming interested in his projects, and decided to teach himself to produce videos and begin uploading them to YouTube.[2] The channel's name was originally "01032010814", the exact date and time Thompson created the channel.[3] After his first video, he started making DIY and life hack videos. On September 9, 2017, the channel introduced Nate Bonham as co-host, and he became the permanent host a few weeks later. On October 25, 2018, the channel introduced Calli Gade as co-host.[4] Thompson reportedly stepped away to spend more time with family, but still owned the channel and was involved in its day-to-day operations[1] until his death.[5][6][7] Ownership of the channel passed to Thompson's wife Janae after his death in July 2019.

Explosives charges

In January 2018, Thompson was charged with two counts of second-degree felony possession of an explosive device for allegedly conducting incendiary experiments in his backyard.[8] Facing a maximum of 15 years in prison, Thompson agreed to a plea bargain deal. In exchange for dropping the charges to a suspended sentence of misdemeanor recklessness with an incendiary device charge, Thompson agreed to create two YouTube videos educating viewers about the "physical safety and/or the legal risks associated with experiments that could be dangerous".[9]

Death of Grant Thompson

On July 29, 2019, Thompson died in a paramotoring crash near Hurricane in Washington County, Utah. His family had reported him missing around 10:30 pm to the Washington County Sheriff's Office (WCSO) after he did not return from the trip that day. Officers used GPS to connect to a locator he carried with him; they found his body, along with a recording device. The case remains under investigation. He is survived by his wife and four sons. In response to his death, the King of Random channel uploaded Grant Thompson, in Memoriam to YouTube on July 30. The video is exactly one minute long, and is simply a picture of Thompson with the caption "Grant Thompson, 1980-2019".[10][11][12]

On August 1, a video titled Thank you, Grant was uploaded to the YouTube channel, in which a somber Bonham and Gade present a montage of Thompson's various experiments, spliced with clips of him discussing how far the channel had come. In this video, Bonham confirmed that the channel would be continuing to upload, stating it was what Thompson would have wanted.[13] It was the first time either host had appeared in a video since Thompson's death three days before.

On August 8, the channel posted a video called A Tribute To Grant From Fellow Creators. It compiled tributes from other YouTube personalities, notably MatPat (Matthew Patrick) from the channel The Game Theorists, Brian Brushwood from the channel The Modern Rogue, and Zack Nelson from the channel JerryRigEverything.[14]

Furthermore, on August 10, the channel posted a video called To Grant, From the TKOR Team which compiled short tributes from all of the channel staff, including Bonham and Gade.[15] This was the final memorial video; the channel has continued its normal upload schedule since. He was also featured by PewDiePie on his own version of YouTube Rewind 2019.[16]

Book

Thompson had been working on a book, "52 Random Weekend Projects", in the months prior to his death. The book was "almost finished" at the time of Thompson's death, and was completed by the production crew of the channel, including Bonham and Gade. The book contains 52 of Thompson's favorite projects done on the channel and was released on March 10, 2020.[17]

gollark: Wow, thanks, oddly helpful support line!
gollark: ++tel unlink internal support
gollark: This support line is useless.
gollark: I need to know how to change the IP address/A record of www.helloboi.tk.
gollark: osmarks.net webmaster, please help me.

References
  1. Weiss, Geoff (September 7, 2018). "YouTube Stunt Scientist 'The King Of Random' Blasts Past 10 Million Subscribers". Tubefilter. Retrieved July 30, 2019.
  2. https://www.thekingofrandom.com/about
  3. Things I Haven't Told You (The Story of "The King of Random"), retrieved August 3, 2019
  4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-nH426wgaw
  5. Bicks, Emily (July 30, 2019). "Grant Thompson, The King of Random Dead: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know".
  6. "YouTube's 'King of Random' Grant Thompson Dead at 38, Paragliding Accident". TMZ. July 30, 2019.
  7. "YouTube 'King of Random' Star Dies in Paragliding Accident". variety.com. July 30, 2019.
  8. Wieber, Audrey (January 17, 2018). "Utah man who runs popular YouTube science channel is charged with possessing explosives during backyard experiments". The Salt Lake Tribune. ISSN 0746-3502. OCLC 819419040.
  9. Gutelle, Sam (May 21, 2018). "YouTube Star The King Of Random Works With Local Authorities To Educate Creators About Safety, Law". www.tubefilter.com. Retrieved July 30, 2019.
  10. "Grant Thompson, in Memoriam". The King of Random. July 30, 2019.
  11. "YouTube 'King of Random' star, Grant Thompson, dies in paragliding accident". NBC News. July 31, 2019.
  12. Taylor, Derrick Bryson (July 31, 2019). "YouTube Star Grant Thompson Dies in Paragliding Accident". The New York Times, The Associated Press.
  13. Thank you, Grant., retrieved August 2, 2019
  14. A Tribute To Grant From Fellow Creators, retrieved August 8, 2019
  15. To Grant, From the TKOR Team, retrieved August 10, 2019
  16. Kjellberg, Felix (December 29, 2019). YouTube Rewind 2019, but it's actually good. Event occurs at 4:11.
  17. "Grant Wrote a Book!". Retrieved November 15, 2019.
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