Why the Oval Office is an oval 

Hey, Phil. It seems obvious from here in Australia - in an oval office, you can't be backed into a corner :) Thanks for the videos 😀

Woah...I can't believe you were able to get into the actual Oval Office!

Wow Phil, it looks like your right there in the Oval Office! Your studio set ups are getting more elaborate and I really enjoy them as your channel keeps adding more videos.

I think you missed a piece of history even older referencing why the executive mansion had an oval office. In the beginning Philadelphia was the nation's capitol. While Washington DC was under construction, George Washington had residence in a mansion owned by (I think William) Morris which was near the corner of 6th and Market (High) Streets, and rented to the new US Government. An oval bowed window was added in the back of the mansion that overlooked the entire seats of government: Supreme Court, Independence Hall (for congress and senate), and the state house of Pennsylvania, and city hall. When visitors greeted Washington, behind him was the entire structure of a democratic nation. There's some controversy about this all, due to believe it or not a cover of slavery (which is so long even to summarize I could make my own video if I had enough talent or intellect). About 25 years ago when plans were formulating to construct a new structure to hold the Liberty Bell a ruckus broke out in Philly that forced "the powers to be" to do an archeological dig at the corner of ^th and Market to look for the remains of the original executive mansion--and underground slave quarters connecting to the mansion. They uncovered the foundation of the mansion and slave quarters (which you practically step on to enter the new Liberty Bell Pavilion. And they discovered a foundation for the oval bayed addition. When the DC executive mansion was built so was this feature. BTW: easily overlooked, there is a marker designating that Washington's slaves (brought to a free Philadelphia) slept, worked practically at the Bell's entrance, which proclaims "liberty". Philadelphia's historians won out, but to prevent visitor's uncomfortable reality (which they warned would happen without a dig and more research) the marking is easily missed. And next to the entrance is the unearthed foundations of the mansion and a presentation of the history of Washington's slaves, colonial laws of slavery at the time, and the mansion. Maybe more research at the Library Company of Philadelphia can uncover more details and history of the house, Oval Office, etc. Thanks for another interesting entertaining episode.

Never clicked on a video faster! Continue with the good work Phil! You should do a video Camp David or other places the presidents go

As a Canadian I feel obligated to mention that one time we burned the White House down 😎. Keep up the great content!

These past videos has exuded lots of charisma. Has made it fun to watch but also get stronger connection to remember the facts.

There's one reason I miss here: audio. All the sound from one focal point in the oval will be clearly audible in the other focal point. That way, you can stand relatively far apart while understanding each other. This must be at least a bit of the reason.

Why, with all the Greco Roman trappings about the Mall, is Washington's monument an Egyptian obelisk? I understand that a pyramid was also considered. I could easily have imagined a column in the fashion of Trajan with episodes of the War for Independence in an ascending spiral relief.

One of the best vlog channels I've ever seen, love your ability to make seemingly mundane things so informative and entertaining!

I appreciate the continuous improvement of your basement... may you never figure out "what type of ikea dinning set defines your channel" Keep it up Phil!

I realized that you missed a small bit of the history of the Oval Office: it was a late addition, tacked onto the West Wing. The West Wing itself was built because Teddy Roosevelt (our youngest ever President) had too many young children and needed to expand the residential apartments in the White House. The President's office was more centrally located in its earlier floorplans, similar to where the Blue Room is in the White House itself (Teddy had it where the Roosevelt Room currently is, and it wasn't oval!). During a redesign/expansion under Franklin Roosevelt, the Oval Office was reconstructed in the current corner location, partly to accommodate FDR's wheelchair access through the colonnade & rose garden. This also as the unexpected (yet welcome) effect of giving the President a separate exit that bypasses the busy internal hallways of the West Wing.

Every video you make is a pleasant view, funny, charismatic and informative. Keep up the good work!

Ok I never knew the Oval Office was over there. For some reason, I always thought it was that round area on the main building.

Hey Phil, love your videos. Every time I watch them, it feels like I’m watching a channel with a few million subs, keep it up!

I've been watching your content on Vox for years and it's so cool to see you publishing work on your own. Love the content you're creating right now

Man this was so good. I legit love such videos so trivial yet so intriguing and captivating.

Anyone else see these videos and go "You know... I never once even gave a crap about it... but now I badly want to know"? Great videos!

Phil i am absolutely loving these videos. keep up the great work

I actually just flipping love this channel!! The humour just hits😂

These videos put all the questions I had when I was a kid to rest. Keep up the good work my friend!

He’s really throwing us these great videos and fast

The decision to keep the White House as the executive residence - rather than moving the President to, say, the current Vice President’s mansion or another residence on a DC military base and converting the original White House to a museum - may have been a mistake. The White House has since become this highly secure installation in the middle of the downtown area of a major city (even more so than the Capitol), which is something major cities are not designed to have. Even Washington.

A very cool yet normal video in these crazy times. Thanks for that - and for the funk music :D. Keep it up!

Love your videos Phil! I love sharing these incredibly detailed fun facts with my friends.

Love your videos! Keep up the good work! Always a wonderful addition to my day!

You make every topic so interesting

Your videos never fail to amaze me. Great stuff

Loving the funk music, thanks for another great video!

Hey Phil! Loved the music and the video!

Love your videos Phil. You really make such great, informative, and interesting videos, I appreciate you.

totally dug the music, well done Phil.

There is a third oval room in the White House Residence. The Diplomatic Reception Room is on the ground floor directly beneath the Blue Room. The Blue Room was originally called the Elliptical Saloon until it was first decorated in blue under Martin Van Buren. The Yellow Room was first called that after Jacquie Kennedy redecorated it in 1961.

Thanks for a great video Phil!

Phil, I think your channel is the first one I've come across where I enjoy all of your content, but see that it impartially chases viral results. You deserve easily a million hits on each video. Cheers from Boston.

Love your video style, Mate😄🙌 Both humorous and informative👌

Thank You & keep up the good work. We love your style. Aloha from Hawai'i.

Love your work, Phil.

Loving the funky music. Feels like you are explaining a big bank heist to the oval office. Italian job & ocean's eleven vibes.

Good to see you with your own channel. You’re a good creator.

Excited for more shapes

Always such strange and intriguing topics. I love this channel.

I’m loving these

Didn't know I needed to know this 🙂. Great work man

can't get enough of the music choice in these videos

Phil your studio looks SICK AF!!! dag yo

phil.... looks like you had too much fun with this one! chortle!

I like it when someone explains why the thing is a thing, keep up the good work.

Ok, normally the call for engagement shenanigans annoy the hell out of me, but for you, I smashed that like button.

One of the most underrated channels on youtube.....

your color grade looks dope btw

Amazing to be taken from "unsatisfying answer" because it seems to ignore complex nuance. But then to deliver us confidently to the knowledge that 'because we used to do that' is truly the most accurate response.

Loving your new channel. An idea for future; a video on the desks of the president. We all know of the Resolute Desk, but what about the others you showed in this video.

"Trendy and Elite" but still meaningful. Thanks Phil, that's a nice style aesthetic

great video! i'll be brainstorming ideas for 'why the thing is that thing' for a while..

You need the little flag pin to go full presidential 😉

Love the backdrop 😂

Because it would be weird to call a regular rectangle room ”Oval Office”

You should do a collab with Stewart Hicks. Y'all do great vids about architecture, a d you already look like brothers. :) Thanks for another great vid

Loved this video so good

Love the why the thing is a thing series.

A little more: The bow window in the President's House in Philadelphia was not an oval room, it was just a room with a rounded end and was thus referred to as the D-shaped room. The bow window addition to the house was undertaken by Washington who had a keen interest in building things and remodeling homes. Mount Vernon is his masterpiece and in many ways his life's work. He probably gave as much time and attention to creating the Mansion at Mount Vernon as he did to birthing a nation. Washington was up on the latest fashions in home design and decorating. It was all about cultivating his identity as a gentleman of rank and distinction. Anyway, when he reviewed the designs submitted to the competition for the President's House to be built in Washington City he didn't like any of them. So he summoned James Hoban and asked him to submit a scheme but also instructed Hoban on what he wanted in the design and the oval reception room was one of the key ideas Washington dictated to Hoban. He almost certainly met with Hoban at the President's House in Philadelphia. Another key contribution of Washington to the design of the White House was the design of the East Room which finds its precedent in the "New Room" at Mount Vernon.

Great video! Love the topic, waiting the next in the series "why the thing is a thing" hahahaha

like how you brought that full circle. avoiding the obvious pun here

Has anyone every told you... That you make excellent content

This is my faovirte video of yours! 😏 Keep ‘em coming!

I've always thought the most impractical thing about the oval office is that you can't place furniture flush against the wall. I don't wanna have to pull the table out to fish important papers out from behind it, the president of India is on the phone Jerry!

Hey! Love your videos. Great job! Just an observation with love, your conclusions seem a little bit rushed, other than that, keep up the great work.

I like the funk music! It really lives up to the name, so funky!

I low key would love you to do a huge deep dive into every bit of construction of the White House from the first iteration to current day

Oh... This is why the thing is a thing! I thought it was going to be why the thing is a shape. I was hoping you would do a triangle next.

Shoulda taken a trip to the Jimmy Carter Library in ATL, you could have filmed from inside a replica. :)

The funk music was a jam!

I must say i love the funky music

I just thought they were too 'square' for being a well 'rounded' government.

Love the content! Calling attention to the music made it difficult for me to focus afterward, thought at might be useful feedback. Break up the good work!

How are all your videos so damn INTERESTING!

They always told us in grade school that the oval office was shaped like an oval in order to prevent assassins from hiding in the corners. It never made much sense to me but I do wonder if there's any credence to that claim.

I like this guy. That outro is funny.

4:35, huh, i wonder if that's why the London Palladium is called the London Palladium… or if it was just named after the element

I thought it was an oval because the way sound reverberates, it allows the person in the center to hear everything being said from anyone in the room.

Idea for Why a Thing is a Thing: the Tappan Zee Bridge is rumored to be 13.1 miles north of New York City because 13.0 miles is the limit of jurisdiction of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Why the Catholic Church is it's own country (The whole papacy, the Vatican, etc.)

I believe the proper sign-off is "toodles."

Phil is funky!

Why is the Washington Monument an obelisk?

Wow! Never knew they hollowed out the entire white house like that! Fascinating!!

Love the music in this one, funk was a good choice

In Canada, the Governor General and Lieutenant-Governors still hold levees every New Year's Day with nary an oval to be found.

In the last video I watched you pretended like you had no budget for a prop.. but here you are with a big prop..

The thing about Washington's levees is so cool. Is there any connection there with King Arthur's round table as a feeling of "democratic conversation" via a shape ?? Loved the funky vibe of this video.

Oh, man- if you’re ever in the KC area, you must check out the Truman library. There’s a whole room about the renovation in the 50s. It’s pretty cool.

hey Phil great work. I would love watch your view on on going war RU/UKRN through your view point consisting of history and art. have a great day.

I have been to the white house, it is a very interesting space. I think the blue and yellow room were oval because they really liked the dome concept.

The key is that Washington wanted his actual working office to be transparent, but to also have some clear attachment to the traditions (and, frankly, practices) of a royal court. He saw the "levee" as an essential elevation of American protocol, and he imagined an ideal space to do business and entertain diplomats toward this end. He was ahead of his time.

My favourite series: "Why Shape (proper noun) is a shape"

Random White house fact: George Washington was not the first person to live in the house and in fact never did. The first to live there was John Adams.

0:24 and the originator of the Shawinigan handshake himself Jean Chrétien makes an appearance 🇨🇦

Thank you for a great video. I love the pictures of the hollowed out White House. I´m not american, but it still feels weird! I would like a video on: Why is the One World Trade Center the way it is?

I always thought this thing was in the 2nd floor of the main house somehow. Lots of media (TV, movies, games...) will do a zoom into some stock footage and then show the oval office. It reminds me there was a TV show called "The West Wing". Well, now that makes sense.