'How was the Shire governed?' and 'What is South of Middle-earth?' Two questions for Hobbit Day and Elephant Appreciation Day

Happy Hobbit Day on the Autumnal Equinox! I'm returning to Robert of In Deep Geek for two videos today, beginning with him asking and answering How was the Shire governed?

The answer seems to be a very English version of "as little as necessary." Too bad we don't live in a world as idyllic, but Middle-Earth in general and The Shire in particular are fantasy lands, as Robert himself points out.

Today is also National Elephant Appreciation Day, which I've mentioned but haven't featured since 2018 and replaced with World Elephant Day. That written, I'm making an exception because Middle-Earth has its own fantasy version of elephants, which Robert includes when he asks and answers What is South of Middle-earth?

Robert included a lot of illustrations featuring oliphaunts, but didn't talk much about them. Even so, his video fits the vibe of the day.

For a different vibe for the day, I'm going back into the SciShow archives for IDTIMWYTIM: Equinox (Stupid Latin!)

In this edition of IDTIMWYTIM, Hank explains why the common understanding of "equinox" is wrong, what the equinox actually is, and then rages a little against astronomers and their stupid confusing Latin terms.

Science! Also, look how young Hank is.

That's a wrap for today's triple holiday. Stay tuned for continuing Emmy Award winner coverage.