Crash Course
Dutch Golden Age: Crash Course European History
While the English were falling apart a little, with their civil war and their restoration and their succession problems, the Dutch were getting their act together. They were throwing off the yoke of the Spanish Empire, uniting their...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: Mysteries of vernacular: Quarantine - Jessica Oreck and Rachael Teel
Stemming from the days of bubonic plague in Medieval Europe, quarantines were originally used to prevent potentially plague-infested ships from disembarking at a port city. Jessica Oreck and Rachael Teel explain how the length of the...
MinuteEarth
Why Does Earth Have Deserts?
Why Does Earth Have Deserts? For the same reason it has Rainforests: Hadley Cells!!!
Crash Course
Modern Thought and Culture in 1900: Crash Course European History
Europe was in transition politically and culturally at the beginning of the 20th century. Today, we're looking at the dawn of modern science, and the rise of Modernism in the arts, especially in music, dance, and visual arts. We'll look...
Crash Course
WWI's Civilians, the Homefront, and an Uneasy Peace: Crash Course European History
World War I was a total war for millions of people in Europe. Many men were enlisted in the fighting, but the war work had implications for the daily lives of a huge number of Europeans. Women entered the workforce in huge numbers, and...
TED Talks
TED: Globalization is ending. What's next? | Mike O'Sullivan
Globalization is on its deathbed, says economist Mike O'Sullivan. The question now is: What's next? Tracing the historical successes and failures of globalization, O'Sullivan forecasts a new world order where countries come together over...
Crash Course
Florence and the Renaissance: Crash Course European History
The Renaissance was a cultural revitalization that spread across Europe, and had repercussions across the globe, but one smallish city-state in Italy was in many ways the epicenter of the thing. Florence, or as Italians might say,...
SciShow
Modern Human Migration and Echolocating Eels
Scientists have found 80,000-year-old modern human teeth in a Chinese cave, challenging the most widely accepted timelines of human migration. And electric eels use electricity to both attack and track their prey!
TED Talks
TED: Why are these 32 symbols found in ancient caves all over europe? | Genevieve von Petzinger
Written language, the hallmark of human civilization, didn't just suddenly appear one day. Thousands of years before the first fully developed writing systems, our ancestors scrawled geometric signs across the walls of the caves they...
SciShow
Why Is Autumn More Vivid in New England?
During autumn in the northeastern US, deciduous trees sport a stunning display of yellows, oranges, and reds. But in some places, like Europe, autumn tends to look much more yellow. So why is it that only certain parts of the world get...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: What causes economic bubbles? - Prateek Singh
During the 1600's, the exotic tulip became a nationwide sensation; some single bulbs even sold for ten times the yearly salary of a skilled craftsman. Suddenly, though, the demand completely plummeted, leaving the tulip market in a...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: What would it be like to live on the moon? - Alex Gendler
The European Space Agency is hoping to establish an inhabited research base on the moon by the 2020s. But living in this "moon camp" won't be easy. How will humans deal with the cosmic radiation? What will the inhabitants eat? And what's...
Crash Course
Reform and Revolution 1815-1848: Crash Course European History
In the aftermath of the revolutions and upheaval in 18th and early 19th century Europe, there was a hunger for reform across the continent. Reformers like Robert Owen, Charles Fourier, and Auguste Comte proposed radical new ideas, and at...
SciShow
The Oversized Invasive Carrot That Can Give You Third Degree Burns
All plants get energy from the sun, but the giant hogweed gets another, dangerous superpower from the sun's light: the ability to burn skin with its sap.
TED Talks
TED: Dare to refuse the origin myths that claim who you are | Chetan Bhatt
We all have origin stories and identity myths, our tribal narratives that give us a sense of security and belonging. But sometimes our small-group identities can keep us from connecting with humanity as a whole -- and even keep us from...
SciShow
The "Disease" That Struck Medieval Church Organs
During long, cold winters in medieval Europe, church organs grew gray, sickly-looking circles that spread over their pipes. People back then believed that this was the work of the devil, but as it turns out, it’s just some pretty simple...
SciShow
Are Blue Eyes Endangered?
SciShow explains the genetics -- and physics -- behind why blue eyes are blue, and what the future may be for the trait. Spoiler alert: Blue eyes aren't really blue! SciShow explains!
MinuteEarth
Invasion Of The Earthworms!
Worms cause major changes to ecosystems, but those changes aren’t always new.ommunication.
TED-Ed
TED-ED: Where did English come from? - Claire Bowern
When we talk about 'English', we often think of it as a single language. But what do the dialects spoken in dozens of countries around the world have in common with each other, or with the writings of Chaucer? Claire Bowern traces the...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: The contributions of female explorers - Courtney Stephens
During the Victorian Age, women were unlikely to become great explorers, but a few intelligent, gritty and brave women made major contributions to the study of previously little-understood territory. Courtney Stephens examines three...
Crash Course
Eastern Europe Consolidates: Crash Course European History
While the focus has been on Western Europe so far, there has also been a lot going on in Eastern Europe, which we'll be looking at today. The Commonwealth of Poland-Lithuania, The Ottoman Empire, and Russia were all competing at the...
TED Talks
Edward Tenner: The paradox of efficiency
Is our obsession with efficiency actually making us less efficient? In this revelatory talk, writer and historian Edward Tenner discusses the promises and dangers of our drive to get things done as quickly as possible -- and suggests...
SciShow Kids
2015's Solar Eclipse
In this episode of SciShow Kids, Jessi talks about solar eclipses, and in particular, the solar eclipse of 2015! Jessi will show you how eclipses occur and where the best places to view the eclipse are.
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Why should you read "Don Quixote"? - Ilan Stavans
Mounting his skinny steed, Don Quixote charges an army of giants. It is his duty to vanquish these behemoths in the name of his beloved lady, Dulcinea. There's only one problem: the giants are merely windmills. What is it about this tale...