This is the story of the infamous scientist who killed millions and saved billions

There is no doubt that we love YouTuber Veritasium’s videos. In the past, we brought you this episode where he risked his life to settle a bizarre physics debate and this one where he bet a physicist $10,000 that a wind-powered vehicle could outrun the wind.

Now, the YouTuber, whose real name is Derek Muller, has brought us yet another interesting video about a Nobel Prize-winning scientist who killed millions and saved billions. Controversial, right?

In fact, his Nobel nomination was so widely debated that several of his colleagues did not show up to the awards, and a few even declined their own Nobels in protest. The scientist’s name was Fritz Haber, and his invention transformed the world.

It all had to do with nitrogen in our soil. Nitrogen is needed in soil to grow the food we eat. But over time, it gets depleted, making crops weak and unsuitable for human consumption. So what did Haber do to remedy that?

Why was his work so controversial? How did it transform the world as we know it today? What implications does it have for our future? This video answers all these questions and more.