Simon Whistler
Simon Whistler is one of the most widely watched voices in educational storytelling, reaching over 50 million viewers monthly across a network of more than a dozen YouTube channels, including Biographics, Highlight History, and Today I Found Out.
About Simon
Born in south-east England and now based in the Czech Republic, Simon built his career on making complex subjects genuinely accessible without sacrificing depth. His approach to storytelling goes beyond surface-level summaries, exploring the strategic logic, historical context, and human consequences that shape how ambitious ideas become real work.
SideProjects is where that curiosity turns toward creative builds, unusual inventions, workshop systems, and the practical business choices behind projects that start small.
The Whistlerverse
MEGAPROJECTS
Deep dives into mankind's largest engineering achievements and infrastructure systems.
INVENTIONS / BUILDSSIDEPROJECTS
Focused explainers on smaller innovations, creative builds, practical tools, and overlooked breakthroughs.
GENERAL KNOWLEDGEBIOGRAPHICS
Biographical storytelling about notable figures, discoveries, and turning points.
HISTORYINTO THE SHADOWS
Darker historical stories and controversial episodes from modern history.
MYSTERIES / GEOGRAPHYDECODING THE UNKNOWN
Investigations into mysteries, unexplained claims, and speculative history topics.
MYSTERIES / GEOGRAPHYPLACES
Global geography and place-based storytelling across regions and cultures.
GEOPOLITICS / CONFLICTHOMEFRONTS
Geopolitics, modern conflict, military history, and the civilian and societal dimensions of global events.
SPACECELESTIUM
Accessible, visually rich explorations of space science and cosmic phenomena.
ENTERTAINMENT / GENERAL KNOWLEDGETODAY I FOUND OUT
General knowledge explainers spanning history, science, culture, and unusual facts.
ENTERTAINMENT / GENERAL KNOWLEDGEBRAIN BLAZE
Fast-paced comedic commentary on bizarre stories and internet oddities.
SideProjects Insider
Weekly dispatch from Simon Whistler — engineering deep-dives, cost breakdowns, workshop build notes, and tools that actually pay off.
One issue per week. No filler.
Latest from Decoding the Unknown
The Bloop and the Sounds of the Deep
In 1997, NOAA hydrophones detected an ultra-low-frequency sound of extraordinary power emanating from the South Pacific. For years it was unexplained. Then geology provided an answer — but the ocean had more mysteries waiting.
Simon Whistler · May 28, 2026 The Wow! Signal: 72 Seconds That Changed the Search for Extraterrestrial Life
On August 15, 1977, a radio telescope in Ohio detected a narrowband transmission so remarkable that the astronomer on duty circled it and wrote a single word. Nearly five decades later, it has never been explained.
Simon Whistler · May 12, 2026 
Vampire History: The Real Origins of the World's Most Persistent Legend
Vampire mythology spans thousands of years and dozens of cultures. Behind the folklore lie real historical figures, genuine medical conditions, and a set of fears about death and contamination that are entirely understandable given what people once knew about disease.
Simon Whistler · April 30, 2026 
Moon Myths and Hoaxes: From Cheese to Bat-People to Hollow Spaceship
Humanity has been inventing extraordinary stories about the moon since we first looked up at it. A tour through history's strangest lunar myths — from a Victorian newspaper's bipedal beavers to a Russian theory about alien armour plating.
Simon Whistler · April 28, 2026 
The Baker Street Robbery: Britain's Most Mysterious Bank Heist
On September 11, 1971, a gang tunnelled beneath a London bank, cracked 268 safety deposit boxes, and escaped with £3 million. Within days the story vanished from every newspaper in Britain — and nobody in authority has ever explained why.
Simon Whistler · April 24, 2026 
The Beast of Gévaudan: France's Three-Year Reign of Terror
Between 1764 and 1767, a creature killed 112 people across a remote French province. Unlike most cryptid accounts, these attacks were documented by church officials and government authorities — making this one of history's most well-recorded animal mysteries.
Simon Whistler · April 22, 2026