Tom Lehrer - Wernher von Braun

Why HN readers recommended it

HN quotes it constantly, mostly as a joke or reference, whenever rocketry, engineers' ethics or skill-versus-morality comes up.

This is a summary from the source dataset, not an endorsement by Hacker News or the video creator.

Video & recommendation details

Creator / channel

The Tom Lehrer Wisdom Channel

Topic

satirical song

Format

music

Level

general

HN recommenders in dataset

3

HN mentions in dataset

20

Recommendation years in dataset

2016–2026

These counts and years describe the included Hacker News records; they are not YouTube views or the video’s publication date.

From the original HN conversations

Excerpts from the recorded comments. Follow each source for the full comment and surrounding discussion.

• Tom Lehrer performing "Wernher von Braun " live (1967): [VIDEO] His amazing wit is just as biting today as it was when he originally composed most of his songs over half a century ago.

• For those who aren't aware and/or won't look this reference: [VIDEO] As the other comenter noted, Tom Lehrer is indeed a national treasure, and his satire is top shelf. From the light-hearted "The Elements": [LINK] (watch for the surprise at the end) To the gallows …

• The US (and Russian, by the way) appropriation of German scientists and Nazi party members post WWII is certainly controversial and there are plenty of people who strongly believe that they should have stood trial in Nuremberg instead of being given a new job with …