TED-Ed
TED-Ed: The forgotten queen of Egypt | Abdallah Ewis
The year is 1249 CE. King Louis IX is sailing the Nile, threatening to overthrow the sultan and capture Egypt. Egypt's commanders ask the sultan's wife, Shajar Al-Durr, to report this news to the injured sultan. But they don't know the...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Claire Simeone: The lovable (and lethal) sea lion
Sunning themselves on rocks or waddling awkwardly across the beach, it's easy to think of sea lions more as sea house cats. But don't be fooled by their beachside behavior. Under the waves, sea lions are incredible endurance hunters,...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: The imaginary king who changed the real world
In 1165, copies of a strange letter began to circulate throughout Europe. It spoke of a fantastical realm, containing the Tower of Babel and the Fountain of Youth— all ruled over by the letter’s mysterious author: Prester John. Who was...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: What if cracks in concrete could fix themselves? - Congrui Jin
Concrete is the most widely used construction material in the world. It can be found in swathes of city pavements, bridges that span vast rivers and the tallest skyscrapers on earth. But it does have a weakness: it's prone to...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: The wars that inspired Game of Thrones - Alex Gendler
Beginning around 1377, medieval England was shaken by a power struggle between two noble families, which spanned generations and involved a massive cast of characters, complex motives and shifting loyalties. Sound familiar? Alex Gendler...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: Is our climate headed for a mathematical tipping point? - Victor J. Donnay
Scientists have warned that as CO2 levels in the atmosphere rise an increase in Earth's temperature by even two degrees could lead to catastrophic effects across the world. But how can such a tiny, measurable change in one factor lead to...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Insights into cell membranes via dish detergent - Ethan Perlstein
The cell membrane, like a good jacket, protects the cell from everything outside of it. How is it simultaneously sturdy, flexible, and capable of allowing the right things to pass through? Ethan Perlstein rediscovers the scientists and...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Is there a center of the universe? - Marjee Chmiel and Trevor Owens
It's been a long road to the discovery that Earth is not the center of the Solar System, the Milky Way, or the universe; great thinkers from Aristotle to Bruno have grappled with it for millennia. But if we aren't at the center of the...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: What causes an economic recession? | Richard Coffin
For millennia, the people of Britain had been using bronze to make tools and jewelry, and as a currency for trade. But around 800 BCE, that began to change: the value of bronze declined, causing social upheaval and an economic crisis—...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Could we build a wooden skyscraper? | Stefan Al
Towering 85 meters above the Norwegian countryside, Mjøstårnet is the world's tallest wooden building, made almost entirely from the trees of neighboring forests. But as recently as the end of the 20th century, engineers thought it was...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: A day in the life of a teenage samurai | Constantine N. Vaporis
The year is 1800 in the castle town of Kôchi, Japan. It's just after sunrise, and 16-year-old Mori Banshirô is already hard at work practicing drills with his long sword. He is an ambitious samurai in training, and today he must impress...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Disappearing frogs - Kerry M. Kriger
Frogs (and amphibians in general) are in danger -- worldwide, nearly one-third of the world's amphibian species are on the verge of extinction. And yet, frogs contribute to our well-being in many important ways. Kerry M. Kriger describes...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: An anti-hero of one's own - Tim Adams
How can an anti-hero teach us about the heroic--and sometimes, the unheroic--characteristics that shape a story's protagonist? From jealousy to self-doubt, Tim Adams challenges us to consider how anti-heroes reflect the very mortal...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: How do schools of fish swim in harmony? - Nathan S. Jacobs
How do schools of fish swim in harmony? How do the tiny cells in your brain give rise to the complex thoughts, memories, and consciousness that are you? Oddly enough, those questions have the same general answer. Nathan S. Jacobs...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: Can you solve the buried treasure riddle? - Daniel Griller
After a massive storm tears through the Hex Archipelago, you find five grizzled survivors in the water. As an act of gratitude for saving them, they reveal a secret _ the island they were just on holds some buried treasure. But when the...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: The complicated history of surfing - Scott Laderman
Today, surfing is a multi-billion-dollar global industry, with tens of millions of enthusiasts worldwide. For some it's a serious sport; for others, just a way to let loose. But despite its casual association with fun and sun, surfing...
TED-Ed
These squids can fly... no, really | Robert Siddall
In 1947, explorers noticed a strange phenomenon while crossing the Pacific Ocean. Somehow, small squid known to live deep beneath the waves kept appearing on the roof of their boat. The crew was mystified— until they saw the squids...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: The dark history of Mount Rushmore | Ned Blackhawk and Jeffrey D. Means
Between 1927 and 1941, workers blasted 450,000 tons of rock from a mountainside using chisels, jackhammers, and dynamite. Gradually, they carved out Mount Rushmore. Today, the monument draws nearly 3 million people to South Dakota's...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Can you survive the creation of the universe by solving this riddle? | James Tanton
It's moments after the Big Bang and you're still reeling. You're a particle of matter, amidst a chaotic stew of forces, fusion, and annihilation. If you're lucky and avoid being destroyed by antimatter, you'll be the seed of a future...
TED-Ed
How one person saved over 2,000 children from the Nazis | Iseult Gillespie
In 1943, Irena Sendler and Janina Grabowska froze when they heard Gestapo pounding on the front door. Knowing she was minutes from arrest, Irena tossed Janina her most dangerous possession: a glass jar containing the names of over 2,000...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: How does alcohol cause hangovers? | Judy Grisel
The molecule responsible for hangovers is ethanol, which we colloquially refer to as alcohol. Ethanol is present in all alcoholic beverages, and generally speaking, the more ethanol, the greater the potential for a hangover. So, how...
TED-Ed
Could you survive the real Twilight Zone? | Philip Renaud and Kenneth Kostel
You're traveling deep beneath the ocean's surface, where faint lights flicker and toothy grins flash. Your mission is to survive these depths and journey to the surface after sundown to feed. And as a hatchetfish, almost every other...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: All of the energy in the universe is... - George Zaidan and Charles Morton
The energy in the universe never increases or decreases -- but it does move around a lot. Energy can be potential (like a stretched-out rubber band waiting to snap) or kinetic (like the molecules that vibrate within any substance). And...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: The Chasm | Think Like A Coder, Ep 6 | Alex Rosenthal
This is episode 6 of our animated series "Think Like A Coder." This 10-episode narrative follows a girl, Ethic, and her robot companion, Hedge, as they attempt to save the world. The two embark on a quest to collect three artifacts and...