TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Ethical dilemma: Should we get rid of mosquitoes? | Talya Hackett
Mosquitoes are responsible for more human deaths every year than any other animal, but very few of the 3,500 mosquito species actually transmit deadly diseases to humans. Scientists have been conducting experiments using engineered...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: How horses changed history | William T. Taylor
People have been captivated by horses for a long time. They appear more than any other animal in cave paintings dating back 30,000 years. But how did horses make the journey from wild animals to ones humans could hitch themselves to and...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Why do beavers build dams? | Glynnis Hood
Nestled in the forests of Canada sits the world's longest beaver dam. This 850-meter-long structure is large enough to be seen in satellite imagery and has dramatically transformed the region, creating a pond containing 70 million liters...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: The bizarre world of parasitic wasps | Miles Zhang
A cockroach and jewel wasp are locked in battle. The wasp latches onto the cockroach and inserts her stinger into the cockroach's brain, where her venom blocks its fight-or-flight response. Now, the cockroach is essentially a zombie, and...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: One of the most banned books of all time | Mollie Godfrey
In 1998, a school district removed one of American literature's most acclaimed works from its curriculum. Parents pushing for the ban said the book was both "sexually explicit" and "anti-white." The book at the center of this debate was...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Can you freeze your body and come back to life? | Shannon N. Tessier
In 1967, James Bedford had a plan to cheat death. He was the first person to be cryogenically frozen. This process promised to preserve his body until a theoretical future when humanity could cure any illness, and essentially, reverse...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Mao Zedong's infamous mango cult | Vivian Jiang
In August 1968, factory workers overheard news of a mandatory meeting. Whispered rumors described shipments of a gift from the country's Communist leader, Chairman Mao Zedong. And sure enough, managers soon distributed a gift to every...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: When are you actually an adult? | Shannon Odell
Most countries recognize 18 as the start of adulthood by granting various freedoms and privileges. Yet there's no exact age or moment in development that we can point to as having reached full maturity. If there's no consensus on exactly...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: This one weird trick will get you infinite gold | Dan Finkel
A few years ago, the king decided your life would be forfeit unless you tripled the gold coins in his treasury. Fortunately, a strange little man appeared and magically performed the feat. Unfortunately, you promised him your first-born...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: What would happen if you lost your sense of touch? | Antonio Cataldo
We don't often think of touch as being a vital part of movement, but touch is one part of a network that oversees all the sensations arising from the surface and interior of our bodies. Touch, pain, temperature, and our spatial awareness...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: How to manage your emotions | TED-Ed
After a week of studying, you feel confident that you'll ace your exam. But when you get your grade back, it's much lower than you expected. You're devastated, and the disappointment is hard to shake. Should you be trying to look on the...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: One of the most "dangerous" men in American history | Keenan Norris
In 1830, David Walker sewed a pamphlet into the lining of a coat. The volume was thin enough to be hidden, but its content was far from insubstantial. At the time, many members of the US government considered this pamphlet to be one of...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: How stretching actually changes your muscles | Malachy McHugh
An athlete is preparing for a game. They've put on their gear and done their warmup, and now it's time for one more routine — stretching. Typically, athletes stretch before physical activity to avoid injuries like strains and tears. But...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: What is schizophrenia? - Anees Bahji
Schizophrenia was first identified more than a century ago, but we still don’t know its exact causes. It remains one of the most misunderstood and stigmatized illnesses today. So what do we actually know about its symptoms, causes, and...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: What happens if you cut down all of a city's trees? | Stefan Al
By 2050, it's estimated that over 65% of the world will be living in cities. We may think of nature as being unconnected to our urban spaces, but trees have always been an essential part of successful cities. Humanity has been uncovering...
TED-Ed
What causes migraines? | Marianne Schwarz
A throbbing, pounding headache. Bright zigzagging lines across your field of vision. Sensitivity to light, lingering fatigue, disrupted sleep. While an incapacitating headache is one of the most common symptoms, a migraine can include...
Crash Course
Venice and the Ottoman Empire Crash Course World History
In which John Green discusses the strange and mutually beneficial relationship between a republic, the citystate of Venice, and an Empire, the Ottomans--and how studying history can help you to be a better boyfriend and/or girlfriend....
Crash Course
Progressive Presidents Crash Course US History
In which John Green teaches you about the Progressive Presidents, who are not a super-group of former presidents who create complicated, symphonic, rock soundscapes that transport you into a fantasy fugue state. Although that would be...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Denice Frohman: "Accents"
This animation is part of the TED-Ed series, "There's a Poem for That," which features animated interpretations of poems both old and new that give language to some of life's biggest feelings. [Poem by Denice Frohman, directed by KAPWA /...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Newton's three-body problem explained | Fabio Pacucci
In 2009, researchers ran a simple experiment. They took everything we know about our solar system and calculated where every planet would be up to 5 billion years in the future. They ran over 2,000 simulations, and the astonishing...
TED-Ed
How the world's tallest skyscraper was built | Alex Gendler
In 2004, construction began on a new building in Dubai, promising a revolutionary design that would dwarf the rest of the world's skyscrapers. Five years later, the 828-meter Burj Khalifa was complete, surpassing the previous...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: How fast can a vaccine be made?
When a new pathogen emerges, our bodies and healthcare systems are left vulnerable. And when this pathogen causes the outbreak of a pandemic, there’s an urgent need for a vaccine to create widespread immunity with minimal loss of life....
TED-Ed
Why do we have hair in such random places? | Nina G. Jablonski
We have lots in common with our closest primate relatives. But comparatively, humans seem a bit... underdressed. Instead of thick fur covering our bodies, many of us mainly have hair on top of our heads— and a few other places. So, how...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Do larger animals take longer to pee? | David L. Hu
A cat's bladder can only store a golf ball's worth of urine. For humans, it's a coffee mug and for elephants, a kitchen trash can. An elephant's bladder is 400 times the size of a cat's, but it doesn't take an elephant 400 times longer...