By Cassandra Lane

When we become parents, getting used to a healthy dose of uncertainty and adventure is part of the game. And the YouTube show The King of Random encourages families to intentionally let “random” happen to enhance your sense of wonder with everyday items such as hairspray, Legos and even candy. 

The King of Random (aka TKOR) describes itself as a place where curiosity, creativity and experimentation meet. “We’re all about learning how things work, doing cool projects and sharing our discoveries with you,” says co-founder Janae Thomas. “We’ll blow things up, get our hands dirty, and all learn something new every day.”

After watching a few of TKOR’s videos — “Which Hairspray Makes the Best Flamethrower?,” “Making Hamburger-Sized Skittles” — we sat down over Zoom to speak with Thompson (mom to four curious boys) and co-host Grace Dirig to get an inside look at the origins of the show and how parents of kids of different ages can use these TKOR videos to keep things exciting at home.

Dirig says the show is a mix of hosts, scientists and artists coming together to form a “big brain” to explore why and how things work. TKOR was the brainchild of Thompson’s late husband Grant Thompson, who started doing experiments in the couple’s garage around 2008 and filming trials from start to finish. 

Check out our Zoom chat with Janae Thompson and Dirig here.