TED-Ed
TED-Ed: The rise and fall of the Maya Empire’s most powerful city | Geoffrey E. Braswell
During the 8th century CE, warfare and failing agriculture forced Maya people to move north, to hotter, drier Yucatán. Because of its freshwater access, Chichen Itza became the most powerful Maya city, with nearly 50,000 citizens at its...
SciShow
Where Did Mercury’s Spots Come From?
The Sun isn’t the only celestial body in the solar system to boast spots of its own. Mercury, too, has its fair share, and they’re worth wondering about.
SciShow
How Blocking the Sun Makes Mars Hotter
If we’re going to send people to Mars someday, we’re going to need to be very conscious of the challenges presented in this endeavor. And at the top of that list is the ferocious nature of dust on the barren planet.
SciShow
The Unique Reason Reindeer Change Their Eye Color
Plenty of animal eyes "glow" in the dark, but only one species has eyes that change color with the seasons.
SciShow
What is Taxonomy and Why is it So Complicated?
The classification of animal groups is essential to the the development of modern biology—but it's extremely complicated. Trying to shoehorn the messy, complicated web of interrelationships that is biology into neat boxes has resulted in...
SciShow
Why It's Good for COVID-19 Models to Be Wrong
As we react to the predictions that epidemiological models make, changing the ways we act and go about our lives, those estimates can appear totally off. But if a model’s predictions end up being wrong, that might mean it's done exactly...
SciShow
What Does Ultrasound Gel Do?
You may have had an ultrasound before, and wondered what that gel does. Well, that weird alien goop has a purpose, and it has to do with being like our weird human skin.
PBS
Theater in rural Appalachian Virginia brings regional themes to the stage
Barter Theatre, which opened during the Great Depression and is thriving 90 years later, is known for bringing regional themes to its rural Appalachian stage. Jeffrey Brown visited Abingdon, Virginia, to show the changing face of the...
Curated Video
Dutch PM on yet to be released film that criticises Quran
1. Tilt down exterior of Elysee Palace to guards outside
2. Mid of French President Nicolas Sarkozy saying goodbye and shaking hands with Dutch Prime Minister Jan-Peter Balkenende
3. Balkenende walking toward microphone in courtyard of...
Curated Video
Canadian PM Trudeau meets Israeli president
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday paid tribute to former Israeli President and Prime Minister Shimon Peres.He spoke during a meeting with the current Israeli President Reuven Rivlin in Jerusalem.Trudeau earlier attended...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Why don't we cover the desert with solar panels? | Dan Kwartler
Stretching over roughly nine million square kilometers and with sands reaching temperatures of up to 80° Celsius, the Sahara Desert receives about 22 million terawatt hours of energy from the Sun every year. That's well over 100 times...
SciShow
3 of the World's Most Intensely Colored Living Things
For most living things the color you see when you look at them is determined by pigments. But some of the most vivid colors we see in nature get their signature looks WITHOUT colorful molecules. How do these intense colors get their power?
TED Talks
TED: Intelligent floating machines inspired by nature | Anicka Yi
Taking cues from soft robotics and the natural world, conceptual artist Anicka Yi builds lighter-than-air machines that roam and react like autonomous life forms. Her floating "aerobes" inspire us to think about new ways of living with...
SciShow
The Bizarre World of Living Color | Compilation
Nature is full of all kinds of beautiful color, and there is plenty of weird science there too! Here's a showcase of a few of our episodes all about coloration.
SciShow
The Unique Reason Reindeer Change Their Eye Color
Plenty of animal eyes "glow" in the dark, but only one species has eyes that change color with the seasons.
SciShow
The Tree of Life Is Messed Up
Taxonomy is a powerful tool, and one that modern biology wouldn't be able to function without. But trying to shoehorn the messy, complicated web of interrelationships that is biology into neat boxes has resulted in a pretty messy tree of...
SciShow
Three MORE Things You Missed Because of COVID
This year, science news has understandably focused a lot on COVID-19. But other science has carried on, and there have been plenty of amazing discoveries this year that we think deserve a spotlight, too!
TED Talks
Beau Lotto: Optical illusions show how we see
Beau Lotto's color games puzzle your vision, but they also spotlight what you can't normally see: how your brain works. This fun, first-hand look at your own versatile sense of sight reveals how evolution tints your perception of what's...
SciShow
The First-Ever Map of Mars’s Interior
We’ve done a surprising amount of exploration on Mars, from its atmosphere, to its surface, and miles deep into its canyons. But mapping its insides has been a quandary that we hadn’t been able to solve until last week!
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: The chemistry of cookies - Stephanie Warren
You stick cookie dough into an oven, and magically, you get a plate of warm, gooey cookies. Except it's not magic; it's science. Stephanie Warren explains via basic chemistry principles how the dough spreads out, at what temperature we...
TED Talks
Candy Chang: Before I die I want to ...
In her New Orleans neighborhood, artist and TED Fellow Candy Chang turned an abandoned house into a giant chalkboard asking a fill-in-the-blank question: "Before I die I want to ___." Her neighbors' answers -- surprising, poignant, funny...
SciShow
Why It's Good for COVID-19 Models to Be Wrong
As we react to the predictions that epidemiological models make, changing the ways we act and go about our lives, those estimates can appear totally off. But if a model’s predictions end up being wrong, that might mean it's done exactly...