TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Why elephants never forget - Alex Gendler
It's a common saying that elephants never forget. But the more we learn about elephants, the more it appears that their impressive memory is only one aspect of an incredible intelligence that makes them some of the most social, creative,...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: How do birds learn to sing? _ Partha Mitra
A brown thrasher knows a thousand songs. A wood thrush can sing two pitches at once. A mockingbird can match the sounds around it - including car alarms. These are just a few of the 4,000 species of songbirds. How do these birds learn...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: Why should you read “Dune” by Frank Herbert? - Dan Kwartler
A mother and son trek across an endless desert. Wearing special suits to dissipate heat and recycle moisture, the travelers aren’t worried about dying of thirst. Their fears are much greater. Soon, the sound of the desert is drowned out...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: The high-stakes race to make quantum computers work - Chiara Decaroli
Get to know the unique properties of quantum computers and the obstacles that have prevented this theoretical technology from becoming a reality. -- Quantum computers could eventually outstrip the computational limits of classical...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: The surprising effects of pregnancy | TED-Ed
Muscles and joints shift and jostle. The heart's pounding rhythm speeds up. Blood roars through arteries and veins. Over the course of a pregnancy, every organ in the body changes. Initiated by a range of hormones, these changes begin as...
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-Ed
TED-Ed: Can you solve the dark matter fuel riddle? - Daniel Finkel
An ancient, abandoned alien space station has been discovered. Can you beat everyone in the galaxy and reach it first? -- It’s an incredible discovery: an abandoned alien space station filled with precursor technology. Now every species...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Can you solve the jail break riddle? - Dan Finkel
You’re a bank robber trying to escape from jail. Can you solve the riddle to get past the fence to freedom? -- Your timing made you and your partner infamous bank robbers. Now, you need to use that timing to break out of jail. Your...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Can you solve the giant cat army riddle? - Dan Finkel
The villainous Dr. Schrodinger has developed a growth ray and intends to create an army of giant cats to terrorize the city. Your team of secret agents has tracked him to his underground lab. You burst in to find. . . that it's a trap!...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: Why do we kiss under mistletoe? - Carlos Reif
The sight of mistletoe may either send you scurrying or, if you have your eye on someone, awaiting an opportunity beneath its snow-white berries. But how did the festive tradition of kissing under mistletoe come about? Carlos Reif...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: How did feathers evolve? - Carl Zimmer
To look at the evolution of modern bird feathers, we must start a long time ago, with the dinosaurs from whence they came. We see early incarnations of feathers on dinosaur fossils, and remnants of dinosaurs in a bird's wish bone. Carl...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: At what moment are you dead? - Randall Hayes
For as far back as we can trace our existence, humans have been fascinated with death and resurrection. But is resurrection really possible? And what is the actual difference between a living creature and a dead body anyway? Randall...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: What is HPV and how can you protect yourself from it? - Emma Bryce
Get informed on the causes and risks of human papillomavirus, HPV, and how to protect yourself from the infection. -- At some point, most sexually active people will be infected with human papillomavirus, or HPV. There are over 100 types...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: How did clouds get their names? - Richard Hamblyn
The study of clouds has always been a daydreamer’s science, aptly founded by a thoughtful young man whose favorite activity was staring out of the window at the sky. Richard Hamblyn tells the history of Luke Howard, the man who...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: The myth of Ireland's two greatest warriors | Iseult Gillespie
Cú Chulainn, hero of Ulster, stood at the ford at Cooley, ready to face an entire army single handedly— all for the sake of a single bull. The army in question belonged to Queen Meadhbh of Connaught. Enraged at her husband's possession...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: How does your body process medicine? - Celine Valery
Have you ever wondered what happens to a painkiller, like ibuprofen, after you swallow it? Medicine that slides down your throat can help treat a headache, a sore back, or a throbbing sprained ankle. But how does it get where it needs to...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: How computers translate human language - Ioannis Papachimonas
Is a universal translator possible in real life? We already have many programs that claim to be able to take a word, sentence, or entire book in one language and translate it into almost any other. The reality, however, is a bit more...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: Mysteries of vernacular: Jade - Jessica Oreck and Rachael Teel
Now known for its beauty and green hue, the stone jade was previously thought to espouse magical properties, such as kidney treatment. Jessica Oreck and Rachael Teel explain the word's travels from 15th century to Spain to today (and why...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Corruption, wealth and beauty: The history of the Venetian gondola - Laura Morelli
It's hard to imagine Venice without the curious, banana-shaped gondolas that glide down the canals. How did these boats come to be the trademark transportation of Venice? Laura Morelli details the history of the gondola, explaining why...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Where we get our fresh water - Christiana Z. Peppard
Fresh water accounts for only 2.5% of Earth's water, yet it is vital for human civilization. What are our sources of fresh water? In the first of a two part series on fresh water, Christiana Z. Peppard breaks the numbers down and...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: What makes something "Kafkaesque"? - Noah Tavlin
The term Kafkaesque has entered the vernacular to describe unnecessarily complicated and frustrating experiences, especially with bureaucracy. But does standing in a long line to fill out confusing paperwork really capture the richness...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: The deadly irony of gunpowder - Eric Rosado
In the mid-ninth century, Chinese chemists, hard at work on an immortality potion, instead invented gunpowder. They soon found that this highly inflammable powder was far from an elixir of life -- they put it to use in bombs against...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: The Norse myth that inspired "The Lord of the Rings" | Iseult Gillespie
The dwarves were master craftspeople. One dwarf, Andvari, forged marvelous creations. He often took the form of a fish and, one day, he swam to the land of the water nymphs, who guarded mounds of gold. When the nymphs laughed at his...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Ethical dilemma: The burger murders | George Siedel and Christine Ladwig
You founded a company that manufactures meatless burgers that are sold in stores worldwide. But you've recently received awful news: three people in one city died after eating your burgers. A criminal has injected poison into your...