In war we often see only the frontline stories of soldiers and combat. AT TEDGlobal 2010, Zainab Salbi tells powerful "backline" stories of women who keep everyday life going during conflicts, and calls for women to have a place at the...

Whether they're belting Beyoncé, head-banging to classic rock, or rattling off curse words at zoo-goers, parrots are constantly astounding us. They are among the only animals that produce human speech, and some parrots do it almost...

Ever notice how adding "super" in front of something makes it way more awesome? Hank gives us the rundown on the Yellowstone SUPERcomputer.

Microphones keep getting smaller and smaller, but have you ever asked what it would be like to have a bigger one in the form of a shirt? And though we tend to incorrectly think that we’re having two-way conversations with our pets, we...

Say the word "doubt" aloud. What is that "b" doing there? Does it have any purpose? Gina Cooke explains the long and winding history of "doubt" and why the spelling, though it seems random, is a wink to its storied past.

Tidally locked planets could be more common than Earth-like planets! And these 'eyeball planets' might even be a promising place to look for unique lifeforms!

Sounds that animals make can be really different, and it turns out that there's a reason why some species communicate with certain sounds.

If you've ever talked to a vinyl purist (or are one yourself) you know that people can be pretty passionate about what format is king when it comes to music. And based on how much people like to brag about what band they saw live and how...

When film critic Roger Ebert lost his lower jaw to cancer, he lost the ability to eat and speak. But he did not lose his voice. In a moving talk from TED2011, Ebert and his wife, Chaz, with friends Dean Ornish and John Hunter, come...

Contracting a virus is generally a bad thing, but among certain parasitic wasps, passing a virus to their offspring is actually key to their survival.

We all know the Mario Brothers. But have you ever stepped back and tried looking at those games from a fresh perspective? They're bananas! There are armored turtles who stand on their hind legs and steal princesses! There are bullets...

Engineer and artist Golan Levin pushes the boundaries of what's possible with audiovisuals and technology. In an amazing TED display, he shows two programs he wrote to perform his original compositions.

Swiss artist and photographer Fabian Oefner is on a mission to make eye-catching art from everyday science. In this charming talk, he shows off some recent psychedelic images, including photographs of crystals as they interact with...

Thanks to a couple of Norwegian musicians, a lot of people have become obsessed with one question: What does the fox say? It turns out that foxes "say" lots of different things depending on the situation, and if you think the song is...

If you’re a wild animal, you might spend your days actively trying to NOT become another animal's dinner. And some animals have come up with some pretty bizarre strategies to stay safe.

Abigail Washburn wanted to be a lawyer improving US-China relations -- until she picked up a banjo. The TED Fellow tells a moving story of the connections she's formed touring across the US and China while playing that banjo and singing...

Did you know that you're 30 times more likely to laugh if you're with somebody else than if you're alone? Cognitive neuroscientist Sophie Scott shares this and other surprising facts about laughter in this fast-paced, action-packed and,...

Imagine you're fast asleep and then suddenly awake. You want to move but can't, as if someone is sitting on your chest. And you can't even scream! This is sleep paralysis, a creepy but common phenomenon caused by an overlap in REM sleep...

Does the sound of someone eating make your skin crawl with disgust? Does the sound of someone typing on a keyboard really get on your nerves? Join us to find out why noises like these can really get under some people's skin!

Viral beatboxer Tom Thum has an orchestra in his mouth, but how does he make all those sounds? Get an up-close-and-personal look as laryngeal surgeon Matthew Broadhurst sticks a camera down Thum's throat while he creates a mind-boggling...

In this episode, Michael attempts to stump Hank and then they meet Kemo and Jessi from Animal Wonders.

So, a mantis shrimp's claws are pretty strong... so strong that they can produce a bubble that's about as hot as the sun and collapses with a flash of light when they snap... and scientists aren't quite sure how they do it!

Rives recaps the most memorable moments of TED2006 in the free-spirited rhyming verse of a fantastical mockingbird lullaby.

For decades the space shuttle was integral to space exploration. In orbit it helped build the ISS, but on the ground it needed help from other gigantic machines.