TED-Ed
TED-Ed: How do we create a better economy? | TED-Ed
Can we call any economy "healthy" in the face of dwindling resources and growing inequality? What if we cut off our addiction to endless growth, and used a new compass for modern prosperity? One such compass is known as "doughnut...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: History vs. Che Guevara - Alex Gendler
His face is recognized all over the world _ the young medical student who became a revolutionary icon. But was Che Guevara a heroic champion of the poor, or a ruthless warlord who left a legacy of repression? Alex Gendler puts this...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Why is the Mona Lisa so famous? | Noah Charney
More than 500 years after its creation, Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa" is arguably the world's most famous painting. Many scholars consider it an outstanding work of Renaissance art— but history is full of great paintings. So, how did...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: When to use apostrophes - Laura McClure
It's possessive. It's often followed by S's. And it's sometimes tricky when it comes to its usage. It's the apostrophe. Laura McClure gives a refresher on when to use apostrophes in writing.
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: How do hard drives work? - Kanawat Senanan
The modern hard drive is an object that can likely hold more information than your local library. But how does it store so much information in such a small space? Kanawat Senanan details the generations of engineers, material scientists,...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Would you stop dating someone your parents didn't like? | TED-Ed
In 1972, psychologists at the University of Colorado surveyed 140 couples to determine whether a relationship facing parental disapproval was more likely to strengthen or crumble under the pressure. Can long-term success of a romantic...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: Music and creativity in Ancient Greece - Tim Hansen
You think you love music? You have nothing on the Ancient Greek obsession. Every aspect of Greek life was punctuated by song: history, poetry, theater, sports and even astronomy. In fact, music was so important to Greek philosopher Plato...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: The movement that inspired the Holocaust | Alexandra Minna Stern and Natalie Lira
Since ancient Greece, humans have controlled populations via reproduction, retaining some traits and removing others. But in the 19th century, a new scientific movement dedicated to this endeavor emerged: eugenics. Scientists believed...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: David Ian Howe: A brief history of dogs
Since their emergence over 200,000 years ago, modern humans have established communities all over the planet. But they didn't do it alone. Whatever corner of the globe you find humans in today, you're likely to find another species as...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Chris A. Kniesly: History through the eyes of a chicken
The Ancient Egyptian king Thutmose III described the chicken as a marvelous foreign bird that "gives birth daily." Romans brought them on their military campaigns to foretell the success of future battles. Today, this bird occupies a...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Schrodinger's cat: A thought experiment in quantum mechanics - Chad Orzel
Austrian physicist Erwin Schrodinger, one of the founders of quantum mechanics, posed this famous question: If you put a cat in a sealed box with a device that has a 50% chance of killing the cat in the next hour, what will be the state...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Is it bad to hold your pee? - Heba Shaheed
Humans should urinate at least four to six times a day, but occasionally, the pressures of modern life force us to clench and hold it in. How bad is this habit, and how long can our bodies withstand it? Heba Shaheed takes us inside the...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Can you solve the temple riddle? - Dennis E. Shasha
Your expedition finally stands at the heart of the ancient temple. But as you study the inscriptions in the darkness, two wisps of green smoke burst forth. The walls begin to shake. The giant sandglass begins flowing with less than an...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: Who were the Vestal Virgins, and what was their job? - Peta Greenfield
In ancient Rome, Vestal Virgins were tasked with keeping vigil over the flame of Vesta, the virgin goddess of the hearth. The flame represented two things: the continuation of Rome as a power in the world and the continuing virginity of...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: The last chief of the Comanches and the fall of an empire | Dustin Tahmahkera
Late one night in 1871, a group of riders descended on a sleeping army camp, stole about 70 horses, and disappeared. Led by a young chief named Quanah Parker, the raid was the latest in a long series of altercations along the Texas...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Could one vaccine protect against everything? | TED-Ed
There's a vaccine being developed now that would protect you against every strain of the flu— even ones that don't exist yet. But influenza is constantly mutating, so is a universal vaccine even possible? And how do you design a vaccine...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: How do pain relievers work? - George Zaidan
Some people take aspirin or ibuprofen to treat everyday aches and pains, but how exactly do the different classes of pain relievers work? Learn about the basic physiology of how humans experience pain, and the mechanics of the medicines...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: How a single-celled organism almost wiped out life on Earth - Anusuya Willis
There's an organism that changed the world. It caused the first mass extinction in Earth's history and also paved the way for complex life. How? Anusuya Willis explains how cyanobacteria, simple organisms that don't even have nuclei or...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: The most groundbreaking scientist you've never heard of - Addison Anderson
Seventeenth-century Danish geologist Nicolas Steno earned his chops at a young age, studying cadavers and drawing anatomic connections between species. Steno made outsized contributions to the field of geology, influencing Charles Lyell,...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: The dark history of bananas | John Soluri
In December 1910, the exiled former leader Manuel Bonilla boarded a borrowed yacht and set sail for Honduras in hopes of reclaiming power by whatever means necessary. Bonilla had a powerful backer: the notorious organization known...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: Why do whales sing? - Stephanie Sardelis
Communicating underwater is challenging. Light and odors don't travel well, but sound moves about four times faster in water than in air - which means marine mammals often use sounds to communicate. The most famous of these underwater...
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TED-Ed: Inside the killer whale matriarchy - Darren Croft
Pods of killer whales inhabit the waters of every major ocean on Earth. Each family is able to survive thanks mainly to one member, its most knowledgeable hunter: the grandmother. These matriarchs can live 80 years or more and their...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: What if we could look inside human brains? - Moran Cerf
The brain is what makes us function, yet we understand so little about how it works. We are learning more about the brain by using new technology to monitor epilepsy patients during surgery. Moran Cerf explains the process doctors use to...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: How do ventilators work?
In the 16th century, physician Andreas Vesalius described how a suffocating animal could be kept alive by inserting a tube into its trachea and blowing air to inflate its lungs. Today, Vesalius’s treatise is recognized as the first...