Jump to content

Simone Giertz: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous edit
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
Walkie (talk | contribs)
241 edits
Undid revision 732172888 by 172.89.227.165 (talk)
m replacing {{IPA-sv| → {{IPA|sv| (deprecated template)
 
(248 intermediate revisions by more than 100 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Short description|Swedish inventor and robotics YouTuber}}
{{Lead too short|date=March 2023}}
{{Infobox person
{{Infobox person
| name = Simone Giertz
| name = Simone Giertz
| image =
| image = Simone Giertz 2019.jpg
| caption = Simone Giertz talking at TechCrunch Disrupt in 2019
| birth_name = Simone Luna Louise Söderlund Giertz
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1990|11|01|df=yes}}
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1990|11|01|df=yes}}<ref name="b.se" />
| birth_place = [[Stockholm, Sweden]]
| parents = Caroline Giertz
| residence = [[San Francisco]]
| parents = [[Caroline Giertz]]
| occupation = Maker, robotics enthusiast, YouTube vlogger
| occupation = [[Maker culture|Maker]], [[YouTuber]]
| website = http://simonegiertz.com/
| website = [https://simonegiertz.com simonegiertz.com]
| module = {{Infobox YouTube personality|embed=yes
| channel_direct_url = c/simonegiertz
| channel_display_name = Simone Giertz
| years_active = 2013–present
| genre = {{hlist|[[Technology]]|[[Vlog]]|[[Comedy]]}}
| subscribers = 2.72 million <!-- PLEASE DO NOT CHANGE WITHOUT UPDATING stats_update BELOW -->
| views = 183.6 million <!-- PLEASE DO NOT CHANGE WITHOUT UPDATING stats_update BELOW -->
| network =
| associated_acts ={{hlist|[[Adam Savage]]|[[Tested.com|Tested]]|[[Laura Kampf]]
}}
| silver_button = yes
| silver_year =
| gold_button = yes
| gold_year =
| diamond_button = no
| diamond_year =
| stats_update = 23 April 2024
}}
}}
}}


'''Simone Luna Louise Söderlund Giertz''' ({{IPAc-en|'|j|æ|tʃ}}; {{respell|YACH|'}}; {{IPA-sv|ˈjæʈʂ|lang}}; born [[1 November]] [[1990]])<ref>Birthday.se</ref> is a Swedish [[inventor]], [[maker culture|maker]], [[robotics]] enthusiast and professional [[YouTube]]r. She has also previously worked in [[mixed martial arts|MMA]] sports journalism, and as an editor for Sweden's official website [http://sweden.se Sweden.se].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Khan|first1=Asif|title=Simone Giertz, The Patron Saint of Bad Robots|url=http://www.inquisitr.com/2850229/simone-giertz-the-patron-saint-of-bad-robots/|website=Inquisitr.com|accessdate=21 March 2016|date=3 March 2016}}</ref>
'''Simone Luna Louise Söderlund Giertz''' ({{IPAc-en|'|j|ɛ|t|ʃ}} {{Respell|YETSH}}; {{IPA|sv|ˈjæʈːʂ|lang}}; born 1 November 1990)<ref name="b.se">{{cite web |url=http://www.birthday.se/person/39eff3bb-1763-bef0-8b78-61ac0b465bf4 |website=Birthday.se |title=Simone Söderlund Giertz fyller år den 1 November |language=sv |access-date=5 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160914085647/http://www.birthday.se/person/39eff3bb-1763-bef0-8b78-61ac0b465bf4 |archive-date=14 September 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref> is a Swedish [[inventor]], [[maker culture|maker]], [[robotics]] enthusiast, TV host, and professional [[YouTuber]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Simone Giertz - YouTube |website=[[YouTube]] |url=https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3KEoMzNz8eYnwBC34RaKCQ/about |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161127095434/https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3KEoMzNz8eYnwBC34RaKCQ/about |archive-date=27 November 2016 |access-date=4 April 2017 |language=en}}</ref> She has also previously worked in [[mixed martial arts]] sports journalism and was an editor for Sweden's official website Sweden.se.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Khan |first1=Asif |title=Simone Giertz, The Patron Saint of Bad Robots |url=http://www.inquisitr.com/2850229/simone-giertz-the-patron-saint-of-bad-robots/ |website=Inquisitr.com |accessdate=21 March 2016 |date=3 March 2016}}</ref>


== Biography ==
== Early life ==
Giertz named the [[The Walt Disney Company|Disney]] cartoon character [[Gyro Gearloose]] as one of her earliest inspirations.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-08-09 |title=How To Build The Best Bad Robots {{!}} WBEZ Chicago |url=https://www.wbez.org/stories/how-to-build-the-best-bad-robots/342ffca7-1fa5-46e7-8749-83341b942f23 |access-date=2021-10-01 |archive-date=2020-08-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200809021348/https://www.wbez.org/stories/how-to-build-the-best-bad-robots/342ffca7-1fa5-46e7-8749-83341b942f23 |url-status=live }}</ref>
Giertz has named the [[The Walt Disney Company|Disney]] cartoon character [[Gyro Gearloose]] as one of her earliest inspirations. She studied engineering physics in college but dropped out after a year. She started studying at [https://www.hyperisland.com/ Hyper Island] in Stockholm, Sweden, and took an interest in programming and robotics. Giertz brands herself as "the queen of shitty [[robot]]s" and runs a YouTube channel where she employs [[Deadpan|deadpan humor]] to demonstrate mechanical robots of her own creation to automate everyday tasks; despite working from a purely mechanical standpoint, they often fall short of practical usefulness, for comic effect.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Jamieson|first1=Amber|title=Meet the queen of useless robots: 'The internet is a weird place'|url=http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/mar/17/youtube-queen-robots-simone-giertz-inventor|accessdate=20 March 2016|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=17 March 2016}}</ref> In July 2016, her YouTube channel had 231 thousand subscribers.<ref>YouTube.com, 15 July 2016</ref> Some of her most famous creations include the Breakfast Machine, the Applause Machine and the Wake Up Machine.


At the age of 16, Giertz spent a year in China as an exchange student. She stayed in [[Hefei]], where she learned basic [[Standard Chinese|Mandarin]]. During her stay in China she also made an appearance on a Chinese sitcom called ''Huan Xi Long Xia Dang'' ({{zh|欢喜龙虾档}}, the Happy Lobster Restaurant), where she played Catherine, an American girl who married a Chinese man.<ref>{{cite web |title=THE WORST DAY OF MY LIFE: When I was on a Chinese sitcom |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apNOankkG3A |website=YouTube |accessdate=Jun 24, 2016}}</ref>
In 2016, Giertz joined ''[[Tested.com]]'', collaborating with [[Adam Savage]] on her first project, the Popcorn Feeding Helmet.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://makezine.com/2016/04/07/simone-giertz-joins-tested-builds-popcorn-helmet/|title=Simone Giertz Joins "Tested," Builds Popcorn Feeding Helmet|website=Make: DIY Projects and Ideas for Makers|access-date=2016-04-07}}</ref>


She studied [[engineering physics]] at the [[Royal Institute of Technology|Royal Institute of Technology (Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan)]], a research university in Stockholm, Sweden, but dropped out after a year.<ref name="TI" />
== Family and personal life ==
Giertz lives in San Francisco.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/4ub0aj/got_photo_bombed_by_neil_degrasse_tyson/d5of58k?context=3 | title = Got photo bombed by Neil deGrasse Tyson | date = 23 July 2016 | website = Reddit | access-date = 23 July 2016 | quote = live in San Francisco since a couple of weeks back!}}</ref>


== Career==
⚫
The Giertz family surname is of [[Low German]] origin. She is the daughter of [[Caroline Giertz]], novelist and TV host, who Giertz describes as a "ghostbuster" due to her mother's work on [[Paranormal TV|paranormal]] [[Reality TV|reality]] TV show ''Det Okända''. Giertz is a descendant of [[Ericsson]] founder [[Lars Magnus Ericsson]]. Lutheran theologian and bishop [[Bo Giertz]] was her great-great-uncle.{{citation needed|date=May 2016}}
She started creating self-described "shitty" inventions after studying at [[Hyper Island]] in Stockholm, where she was inspired by the local [[open-source hardware]] community.<ref name="BzFd">{{Cite web |url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/victoriasanusi/queen-of-shitty-robots |title=This is Simone Giertz, aka the "Queen of Shitty Robots", a 25-year-old inventor from Stockholm, Sweden. |last=Sanusi |first=Victoria |work=BuzzFeed News |quote=She said she came up with the idea of making ridiculous inventions while studying at an advertising school called Hyper Island. She came across an open-source hardware community and "immediately fell in love with it". |date=May 20, 2016 |accessdate=April 18, 2018}}</ref> Giertz's interest in electronics began in 2013; she made a toothbrush helmet for a children's show pilot episode on electronics, which was uploaded to YouTube after not being picked up, starting her YouTube career.<ref name="TI" />

Giertz has previously branded herself as "the queen of shitty [[robot]]s" on her YouTube channel, where she employs [[Deadpan|deadpan humor]] to demonstrate mechanical robots of her own creation to automate everyday tasks; despite working from a purely mechanical standpoint, they often fall short of practical usefulness, for comic effect.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Jamieson |first1=Amber |title=Meet the queen of useless robots: 'The internet is a weird place' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/mar/17/youtube-queen-robots-simone-giertz-inventor |accessdate=20 March 2016 |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=17 March 2016}}</ref> Giertz's creations have included an alarm clock that slaps the user,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://metro.co.uk/2015/11/15/new-alarm-clock-wakes-you-up-with-a-slap-in-the-face-5503194/ |title=New alarm clock wakes you up with a slap in the face |date=15 November 2015 |accessdate=22 August 2016 |first=Jimmy |last=Nsubuga |work=Metro}}</ref> a lipstick applier,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.dailydot.com/unclick/lipstick-robot-simone-giertz/ |title=This brilliant woman made a lipstick robot |date=7 January 2016 |accessdate=22 August 2016 |work=The Daily Dot |author=Hannah Withers}}</ref> and one that [[shampoo]]s the user's hair.<ref name=TI>{{cite news |url=http://www.techinsider.io/simone-giertzs-shitty-robots-youtube-interview-2016-6 |title=This self-taught engineer invents robots designed to fail hilariously at their jobs |date=1 June 2016 |accessdate=22 August 2016 |first=Nina |last=Godlewski |work=Tech Insider}}</ref> When building her robots, Giertz would often not aim to make something useful, instead coming up with excessive solutions to potentially automatable situations.<ref name=NewScientist>{{cite news |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/2082014-the-many-reasons-why-we-love-useless-robots/ |title=The many reasons why we love useless robots |date=22 March 2016 |accessdate=22 August 2016 |work=[[New Scientist]] |first=Aviva |last=Rutkin}}</ref> Giertz showcased several of these robots on ''[[The Late Show with Stephen Colbert]]''.<ref>{{Citation |title=Simone Giertz is Queen of Crappy Robots |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O61wJPNJgZQ |language=en |access-date=2019-10-02}}</ref>

In 2016, Giertz joined ''[[Tested.com]]'', collaborating with [[Adam Savage]] on her first project, the Popcorn Feeding Helmet.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://makezine.com/2016/04/07/simone-giertz-joins-tested-builds-popcorn-helmet/ |title=Simone Giertz Joins "Tested," Builds Popcorn Feeding Helmet |website=Make: DIY Projects and Ideas for Makers |date=7 April 2016 |access-date=2016-04-07}}</ref> In 2017, she hosted the comedy TV show ''Manick'' with [[Nisse Hallberg]] on Swedish [[TV6 (Sweden)|TV6]]. The basic premise of the show is that the hosts invent funny creative solutions to everyday problems. In April 2018, she created a robot to promote season 2 of HBO's [[Westworld (TV series)|Westworld]].<ref>Bonnie Burton, [https://www.cnet.com/news/homemade-hbo-westworld-robot-evan-rachel-wood/ This homemade Westworld robot will give you nightmares], ''Cnet.com'', 19 April 2018</ref><ref>{{cite web |language=fr |url=http://actu.digital/2018/04/25/simone-giertz-cree-un-robot-westworld-style/ |title=Simone Giertz crée un robot Westworld-style |website=Actu.digital |date=25 April 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |language=es |url=https://www.cinemania.es/serie/esta-youtuber-demuestra-que-westworld-podria-ser-aun-peor/ |title=Esta youtuber demuestra que 'Westworld' podría ser aún peor] |website=Cinemania.es |date=20 April 2018}}</ref> Around this time Giertz had abandoned the concept of the "shitty robots", later explaining that it was no longer something she wanted to do, as she felt that the joke had played out.<ref>{{cite magazine |language=en |url=https://www.wired.com/story/simone-giertz-build-what-you-want/ |title=Why the 'Queen of Shitty Robots' Renounced Her Crown |magazine=Wired |date=12 October 2019}}</ref>

In 2018, Simone Giertz presented at a [[TED (conference)|TED conference]]. Her presentation was on "Why you should make useless things". She encouraged people to ask questions through creation, illustrating her ideas by presenting her own projects and robots.<ref>{{Citation |title=Why you should make useless things {{!}} Simone Giertz |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0bsKc4tiuY |language=en |access-date=2021-06-30}}</ref>

In June 2019, Giertz announced that she and various other YouTube makers, including [[Laura Kampf]], had converted a [[Tesla Model 3]] into a [[pickup truck]].<ref>{{Citation |last=Simone Giertz |title=I TURNED MY TESLA INTO A PICKUP TRUCK |date=2019-06-18 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKv_N0IDS2A |access-date=2019-06-19}}</ref> The truck was built in response to both wanting an [[electric vehicle]] to avoid ever owning a gasoline-powered car and a pickup truck for practical reasons, but not being able to wait for the at-the-time only proposed [[Tesla, Inc.#Other concepts|Tesla pickup]]. The accompanying parody commercial and 31-minute video describing the build process went viral and received significant news coverage.<ref name="Hawkins">{{cite web |last1=Hawkins |first1=Andrew J. |title=YouTuber Simone Giertz transformed a Tesla Model 3 into a pickup truck |url=https://www.theverge.com/2019/6/18/18682633/simone-giertz-tesla-model-3-pickup-truck-youtube-diy |website=The Verge |accessdate=19 June 2019 |date=18 June 2019}}</ref> She was subsequently invited to the unveiling of the Tesla's official pickup truck, the [[Cybertruck]].<ref name="TrucklaUpdate">{{cite web |last1=Giertz |first1=Simone |title=Driving my car around is... weird {{!}}{{!}} TRUCKLA UPDATE + CYBERTRUCK |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCKjmfsgBBY |website=YouTube |accessdate=10 December 2019 |language=en}}</ref>

In August 2019, Giertz traveled to [[New Zealand]] to work on a [[mantis shrimp]] costume with [[Weta Workshop]].<ref>{{Citation |title=Making a mantis shrimp costume |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmoPYnwPKKY |language=en |access-date=2019-10-02}}</ref>

In June 2020, Giertz voiced a cartoon robot named CGO in ''[[Adventure Time: Distant Lands]]''.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Tangalin |first1=John |title='Adventure Time: Distant Lands' Part I Spoiler Review – "BMO" |url=https://www.thecinemaspot.com/2020/06/20/adventure-time-distant-lands-part-i-spoiler-review-bmo/ |magazine=The Cinema Spot |accessdate=June 26, 2020 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200627023024/https://www.thecinemaspot.com/2020/06/20/adventure-time-distant-lands-part-i-spoiler-review-bmo/ |archivedate=June 27, 2020 |date=June 20, 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Trumbore">{{cite web |last1=Trumbore |first1=Dave |title='Adventure Time: Distant Lands – BMO' Review: Come Along on a Far-Out New Story |url=https://collider.com/adventure-time-distant-lands-bmo-review/ |magazine=[[Collider (website)|Collider]] |publisher=Collider Cryptomedia, Inc. |accessdate=June 26, 2020 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200626234032/https://collider.com/adventure-time-distant-lands-bmo-review/ |archivedate=June 26, 2020 |date=June 25, 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In May 2022 she started a product design company Yetch with an online shop.<ref name="Yetch">{{cite news |last1=Hicks |first1=Jasmine |title=Simone Giertz's online store sells cool inventions 'you didn't know you didn't want' |url=https://www.theverge.com/2022/5/3/23055713/simone-giertz-yetch-inventor-creator-youtube |access-date=4 May 2022 |work=The Verge |date=3 May 2022 |language=en}}</ref> Around this time, she reflected in an interview with ''[[Fast Company]]'' that, "I'm a recovering self-deprecator. It's such a defense mechanism on the internet as well—like, the way you survive being an online creator is beating everyone to the joke and to the insult. I've been really trying to practice not talking myself down and talking down my skills." This change included a shift away from intentionally "shitty robots".<ref name="FCStarted">{{cite news |last1=Ifeanyi |first1=K. C. |title=This woman custom made a Tesla truck, and she's just getting started |url=https://www.fastcompany.com/90762478/youtube-queen-simone-giertz-yetch-inventing-products-tesla-truckla |access-date=23 June 2022 |work=Fast Company |date=22 June 2022}}</ref>

== Personal life ==
Giertz lived in a [[houseboat]] in Sweden from 2012 to 2016.<ref>{{Citation |title=Why I'm selling my houseboat |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XX9DIEPQnr4 |language=en |access-date=2021-10-01}}</ref> From 2016 to 2020, Giertz lived in San Francisco.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Giertz |first=Simone |date=2016-06-11 |title=Can't believe I'm finally moving back to San Francisco. Good day today. |url=https://twitter.com/simonegiertz/status/741644065075265536 |access-date=2022-05-03 |website=Twitter}}</ref> She announced on her channel in 2020 that she now lives in Los Angeles with her rescue dog Scraps.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Giertz |first=Simone |date=2020-09-23 |title=Getting rid of a medical doll is weird |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXDtJFFNXUg |access-date=2022-05-03 |website=YouTube |at=at 9:30}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Giertz |first1=Simone |author1-link=Simone Giertz |title=I've been keeping a tiny secret. (no I'm not pregnant) |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNgOI9uvUYc |website=youtube.com |language=en |format=video |date=May 21, 2020}}</ref>

⚫
The [[wikt:Giertz|Giertz]] family surname is of [[Low German]] origin. She is the daughter of television producer Nicola Söderlund and novelist and TV host [[Caroline Giertz]], who Giertz describes as a "ghostbuster" due to her mother's work on [[Paranormal TV|paranormal]] [[Reality TV|reality]] TV show ''Det Okända''. Giertz is a descendant of [[Lars Magnus Ericsson]], founder of [[Ericsson]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Simone Giertz: "The Making of Sh*tty Robots" - Talks at Google |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TW5qLcitPro |website=YouTube}}</ref>

On April 30, 2018, Giertz announced via YouTube that she had been diagnosed with a noncancerous [[brain tumor]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Giertz |first1=Simone |title=I have a brain tumor. |website=[[YouTube]] |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpa4kp4lK60}}</ref> After [[Brain surgery|surgery]] to remove the grade I [[meningioma]] on May 30, 2018, she has continued to post humorous and upbeat accounts of her post-surgery progress, including photos of her "potential super-villain scar"<ref name="Operation">{{Cite web |url=https://mashable.com/2018/06/04/simone-giertz-photo-update-brain-surgery/ |title=YouTuber Simone Giertz posts photo of 'super villain scar' after brain surgery |last=Bryan |first=Chloe |work=Mashable |quote=In true Simone Giertz form, Simone Giertz underwent brain surgery last Wednesday, and she's already cracking jokes. The YouTuber and "Shitty Robots" creator, who announced she had a non-malignant brain tumor in April, shared her first post-op photo update on Monday, uploading a picture of her surgical scar to Twitter. |date=June 4, 2018 |accessdate=July 12, 2018}}</ref> and a public address video on her Patreon account.<ref>{{cite web |last=Giertz |first=Simone |title=You have one new message |url=https://www.patreon.com/posts/you-have-one-new-19247990 |date=June 4, 2018 |accessdate=July 14, 2018}}</ref> On January 18, 2019, Giertz reported that her tumor had returned.<ref>{{cite web |last=Giertz |first=Simone |title=My brain tumor is back |website=[[YouTube]] |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7x5XRQ07sjU |date=January 18, 2019 |accessdate=January 18, 2019}}</ref> After a course of radiation treatments, Giertz again returned to production on May 29, 2019, describing her ordeal and presenting a project which converted her head alignment mask into a "work of art" (a lamp).<ref>{{cite web |last=Giertz |first=Simone |title=My experience with radiation therapy |website=[[YouTube]] |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcCxs-YoAI8 |date=May 29, 2019 |accessdate=June 30, 2019}}</ref>


== References ==
== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}
<references/>


== External links ==
== External links ==
{{wikiquote}}
* [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3KEoMzNz8eYnwBC34RaKCQ Official YouTube channel]
{{commonscat}}
*{{official website|https://www.simonegiertz.com}}

{{Authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Giertz, Simone}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Giertz, Simone}}
⚫
[[Category:Swedish inventors]]
⚫
[[Category:Swedish YouTubers]]
[[Category:1990 births]]
[[Category:1990 births]]
[[Category:Women inventors]]
[[Category:21st-century Swedish scientists]]
[[Category:21st-century Swedish women scientists]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:21st-century Swedish people]]
[[Category:Swedish expatriates in the United States]]
[[Category:21st-century Swedish inventors]]
⚫
[[Category:Swedish YouTubers]]
⚫
[[Category:Women inventors]]
[[Category:Swedish roboticists]]
[[Category:Women roboticists]]
[[Category:YouTubers from San Francisco]]

Latest revision as of 04:19, 1 September 2024

Simone Giertz
Simone Giertz talking at TechCrunch Disrupt in 2019
Born (1990-11-01) 1 November 1990 (age 34)[1]
Stockholm, Sweden
Occupation(s)Maker, YouTuber
ParentCaroline Giertz
YouTube information
Channel
Years active2013–present
Genres
Subscribers2.72 million[2]
Total views183.6 million[2]
Associated acts
100,000 subscribers
1,000,000 subscribers
Last updated: 23 April 2024
Websitesimonegiertz.com

Simone Luna Louise Söderlund Giertz (/ˈjɛtʃ/ YETSH; Swedish: [ˈjæʈːʂ]; born 1 November 1990)[1] is a Swedish inventor, maker, robotics enthusiast, TV host, and professional YouTuber.[3] She has also previously worked in mixed martial arts sports journalism and was an editor for Sweden's official website Sweden.se.[4]

Early life

[edit]

Giertz named the Disney cartoon character Gyro Gearloose as one of her earliest inspirations.[5]

At the age of 16, Giertz spent a year in China as an exchange student. She stayed in Hefei, where she learned basic Mandarin. During her stay in China she also made an appearance on a Chinese sitcom called Huan Xi Long Xia Dang (Chinese: 欢喜龙虾档, the Happy Lobster Restaurant), where she played Catherine, an American girl who married a Chinese man.[6]

She studied engineering physics at the Royal Institute of Technology (Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan), a research university in Stockholm, Sweden, but dropped out after a year.[7]

Career

[edit]

She started creating self-described "shitty" inventions after studying at Hyper Island in Stockholm, where she was inspired by the local open-source hardware community.[8] Giertz's interest in electronics began in 2013; she made a toothbrush helmet for a children's show pilot episode on electronics, which was uploaded to YouTube after not being picked up, starting her YouTube career.[7]

Giertz has previously branded herself as "the queen of shitty robots" on her YouTube channel, where she employs deadpan humor to demonstrate mechanical robots of her own creation to automate everyday tasks; despite working from a purely mechanical standpoint, they often fall short of practical usefulness, for comic effect.[9] Giertz's creations have included an alarm clock that slaps the user,[10] a lipstick applier,[11] and one that shampoos the user's hair.[7] When building her robots, Giertz would often not aim to make something useful, instead coming up with excessive solutions to potentially automatable situations.[12] Giertz showcased several of these robots on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.[13]

In 2016, Giertz joined Tested.com, collaborating with Adam Savage on her first project, the Popcorn Feeding Helmet.[14] In 2017, she hosted the comedy TV show Manick with Nisse Hallberg on Swedish TV6. The basic premise of the show is that the hosts invent funny creative solutions to everyday problems. In April 2018, she created a robot to promote season 2 of HBO's Westworld.[15][16][17] Around this time Giertz had abandoned the concept of the "shitty robots", later explaining that it was no longer something she wanted to do, as she felt that the joke had played out.[18]

In 2018, Simone Giertz presented at a TED conference. Her presentation was on "Why you should make useless things". She encouraged people to ask questions through creation, illustrating her ideas by presenting her own projects and robots.[19]

In June 2019, Giertz announced that she and various other YouTube makers, including Laura Kampf, had converted a Tesla Model 3 into a pickup truck.[20] The truck was built in response to both wanting an electric vehicle to avoid ever owning a gasoline-powered car and a pickup truck for practical reasons, but not being able to wait for the at-the-time only proposed Tesla pickup. The accompanying parody commercial and 31-minute video describing the build process went viral and received significant news coverage.[21] She was subsequently invited to the unveiling of the Tesla's official pickup truck, the Cybertruck.[22]

In August 2019, Giertz traveled to New Zealand to work on a mantis shrimp costume with Weta Workshop.[23]

In June 2020, Giertz voiced a cartoon robot named CGO in Adventure Time: Distant Lands.[24][25]

In May 2022 she started a product design company Yetch with an online shop.[26] Around this time, she reflected in an interview with Fast Company that, "I'm a recovering self-deprecator. It's such a defense mechanism on the internet as well—like, the way you survive being an online creator is beating everyone to the joke and to the insult. I've been really trying to practice not talking myself down and talking down my skills." This change included a shift away from intentionally "shitty robots".[27]

Personal life

[edit]

Giertz lived in a houseboat in Sweden from 2012 to 2016.[28] From 2016 to 2020, Giertz lived in San Francisco.[29] She announced on her channel in 2020 that she now lives in Los Angeles with her rescue dog Scraps.[30][31]

The Giertz family surname is of Low German origin. She is the daughter of television producer Nicola Söderlund and novelist and TV host Caroline Giertz, who Giertz describes as a "ghostbuster" due to her mother's work on paranormal reality TV show Det Okända. Giertz is a descendant of Lars Magnus Ericsson, founder of Ericsson.[32]

On April 30, 2018, Giertz announced via YouTube that she had been diagnosed with a noncancerous brain tumor.[33] After surgery to remove the grade I meningioma on May 30, 2018, she has continued to post humorous and upbeat accounts of her post-surgery progress, including photos of her "potential super-villain scar"[34] and a public address video on her Patreon account.[35] On January 18, 2019, Giertz reported that her tumor had returned.[36] After a course of radiation treatments, Giertz again returned to production on May 29, 2019, describing her ordeal and presenting a project which converted her head alignment mask into a "work of art" (a lamp).[37]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Simone Söderlund Giertz fyller år den 1 November". Birthday.se (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 14 September 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  2. ^ a b "About Simone Giertz". YouTube.
  3. ^ "Simone Giertz - YouTube". YouTube. Archived from the original on 27 November 2016. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
  4. ^ Khan, Asif (3 March 2016). "Simone Giertz, The Patron Saint of Bad Robots". Inquisitr.com. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  5. ^ "How To Build The Best Bad Robots | WBEZ Chicago". 2020-08-09. Archived from the original on 2020-08-09. Retrieved 2021-10-01.
  6. ^ "THE WORST DAY OF MY LIFE: When I was on a Chinese sitcom". YouTube. Retrieved Jun 24, 2016.
  7. ^ a b c Godlewski, Nina (1 June 2016). "This self-taught engineer invents robots designed to fail hilariously at their jobs". Tech Insider. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
  8. ^ Sanusi, Victoria (May 20, 2016). "This is Simone Giertz, aka the "Queen of Shitty Robots", a 25-year-old inventor from Stockholm, Sweden". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved April 18, 2018. She said she came up with the idea of making ridiculous inventions while studying at an advertising school called Hyper Island. She came across an open-source hardware community and "immediately fell in love with it".
  9. ^ Jamieson, Amber (17 March 2016). "Meet the queen of useless robots: 'The internet is a weird place'". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
  10. ^ Nsubuga, Jimmy (15 November 2015). "New alarm clock wakes you up with a slap in the face". Metro. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
  11. ^ Hannah Withers (7 January 2016). "This brilliant woman made a lipstick robot". The Daily Dot. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
  12. ^ Rutkin, Aviva (22 March 2016). "The many reasons why we love useless robots". New Scientist. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
  13. ^ Simone Giertz is Queen of Crappy Robots, retrieved 2019-10-02
  14. ^ "Simone Giertz Joins "Tested," Builds Popcorn Feeding Helmet". Make: DIY Projects and Ideas for Makers. 7 April 2016. Retrieved 2016-04-07.
  15. ^ Bonnie Burton, This homemade Westworld robot will give you nightmares, Cnet.com, 19 April 2018
  16. ^ "Simone Giertz crée un robot Westworld-style". Actu.digital (in French). 25 April 2018.
  17. ^ "Esta youtuber demuestra que 'Westworld' podría ser aún peor]". Cinemania.es (in Spanish). 20 April 2018.
  18. ^ "Why the 'Queen of Shitty Robots' Renounced Her Crown". Wired. 12 October 2019.
  19. ^ Why you should make useless things | Simone Giertz, retrieved 2021-06-30
  20. ^ Simone Giertz (2019-06-18), I TURNED MY TESLA INTO A PICKUP TRUCK, retrieved 2019-06-19
  21. ^ Hawkins, Andrew J. (18 June 2019). "YouTuber Simone Giertz transformed a Tesla Model 3 into a pickup truck". The Verge. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  22. ^ Giertz, Simone. "Driving my car around is... weird || TRUCKLA UPDATE + CYBERTRUCK". YouTube. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  23. ^ Making a mantis shrimp costume, retrieved 2019-10-02
  24. ^ Tangalin, John (June 20, 2020). "'Adventure Time: Distant Lands' Part I Spoiler Review – "BMO"". The Cinema Spot. Archived from the original on June 27, 2020. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  25. ^ Trumbore, Dave (June 25, 2020). "'Adventure Time: Distant Lands – BMO' Review: Come Along on a Far-Out New Story". Collider. Collider Cryptomedia, Inc. Archived from the original on June 26, 2020. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  26. ^ Hicks, Jasmine (3 May 2022). "Simone Giertz's online store sells cool inventions 'you didn't know you didn't want'". The Verge. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  27. ^ Ifeanyi, K. C. (22 June 2022). "This woman custom made a Tesla truck, and she's just getting started". Fast Company. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  28. ^ Why I'm selling my houseboat, retrieved 2021-10-01
  29. ^ Giertz, Simone (2016-06-11). "Can't believe I'm finally moving back to San Francisco. Good day today". Twitter. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  30. ^ Giertz, Simone (2020-09-23). "Getting rid of a medical doll is weird". YouTube. at 9:30. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  31. ^ Giertz, Simone (May 21, 2020). "I've been keeping a tiny secret. (no I'm not pregnant)" (video). youtube.com.
  32. ^ "Simone Giertz: "The Making of Sh*tty Robots" - Talks at Google". YouTube.
  33. ^ Giertz, Simone. "I have a brain tumor". YouTube.
  34. ^ Bryan, Chloe (June 4, 2018). "YouTuber Simone Giertz posts photo of 'super villain scar' after brain surgery". Mashable. Retrieved July 12, 2018. In true Simone Giertz form, Simone Giertz underwent brain surgery last Wednesday, and she's already cracking jokes. The YouTuber and "Shitty Robots" creator, who announced she had a non-malignant brain tumor in April, shared her first post-op photo update on Monday, uploading a picture of her surgical scar to Twitter.
  35. ^ Giertz, Simone (June 4, 2018). "You have one new message". Retrieved July 14, 2018.
  36. ^ Giertz, Simone (January 18, 2019). "My brain tumor is back". YouTube. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
  37. ^ Giertz, Simone (May 29, 2019). "My experience with radiation therapy". YouTube. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
[edit]
Wikiquote has quotations related to Simone Giertz.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Simone Giertz.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Simone_Giertz&oldid=1243383694"