Be Smart
The Strange and Unexpected Reason Ice is Slippery
I’m guessing you’re pretty familiar with ice. We use it in our drinks, slip on it, skate on it, worry about climate change melting it. But have you ever stopped to really think about this stuff? The freezing and melting of water affects...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: What happens when you fall into piranha-infested waters? | Antonio Machado-Allison
You're peering into the Amazon River when, suddenly, you lose your footing and fall. Piranhas dart about in the rapidly approaching water. So, are you doomed? Will your fall trigger a feeding frenzy that will skeletonize your body within...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Can alligators survive this apex predator? | Kenny Coogan
Despite alligators ruling the swamplands of the Everglades for millennia, the last 500 years have brought deadly new predators that challenge their reign. And the origins of these international invaders are just as unexpected as their...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: The one thing stopping jellyfish from taking over | Mariela Pajuelo and Javier Antonio Quinones
Over the past two decades, jellyfish have begun to overwhelm our oceans. If things stay on their current trajectory, we could be headed for a future where the entire ocean is thick with jellyfish. So, is there anything that can keep...
TED Talks
TED: What's it like to be a giant sequoia tree? | Ersin Han Ersin
Artist Ersin Han Ersin invites us to step inside a giant sequoia tree, peering through the bark into the tapestry of life within. Discover how his multisensory installations explore the concept of "umwelt," or the unique sensory...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: How the water you flush becomes the water you drink | Francis de los Reyes
In 2003, Singapore's national water agency launched an unprecedented program to provide more than 50% of their nation's water supply by recycling wastewater. The program had been planned for decades to ensure the island nation never ran...
TED Talks
TED: This country runs on 98 percent renewable energy | Ramón Méndez Galain
Fifteen years ago, Uruguay was experiencing an energy crisis brought on by its reliance on fossil fuels; today, the nation produces 98 percent of its electricity from renewable sources (and even exports extra energy to neighboring...
TED Talks
TED: The beauty of building with mud and trash | Vinu Daniel
What if we could use waste to create resilient and sustainable buildings? Bringing out the beauty of the dirt beneath our feet, climate-responsive architect Vinu Daniel shares how he and his team are giving local and discarded materials...
TED Talks
TED: Why are we making pizza boxes out of endangered trees? | Nicole Rycroft
If we're going to solve the climate crisis, we need to talk about supply chains, says biodiversity champion and 2023 Audacious Project grantee Nicole Rycroft. Her organization, Canopy, partners with key industry leaders to overhaul their...
SciShow
You Suck at Skipping Rocks
Most of us are stoked if we can get a stone to skip more than 3 or 4 times. The world record holder at skipping stones has 88 skips. Here's why science says that number is way too low.
SciShow
Your Fridge Isn’t Green, but It Could Be
Refrigeration and air conditioning are among the largest sources of carbon, and the refrigerants we use are greenhouse gases, too. But green refrigerants are on the way, from elastocaloric cooling to a method a bit like salting an icy road.
SciShow
Why Aliens Might Love Their Frozen Home
In the hunt for life beyond Earth, scientists shouldn't skip over frozen planets. In some cases, ice might actually help life evolve!
SciShow
Why You Have to Blink to Walk
When we picture the first tetrapods, or land vertebrates, crawling out of the ocean, we probably imagine they need legs. But evolution also had to bestow another important adaptation before they could leave the water: blinking!
SciShow
Why Are Snorkels So Short?
Have you ever longed to swim while wielding a longer snorkel? Well, there are a few reasons why they might be shorter than you'd like.
SciShow
Are We Making More Bermuda Triangles?
One reason the Bermuda Triangle has scared people for generations is the seaweed. And thanks to eutrophication and other human causes, that Sargassum seaweed is starting to travel the world. Here's how we're accidentally making more of...
SciShow
How Can Microbes Protect Crops From Drought?
Solving food shortages caused by droughts is a big challenge that may benefit from a tiny ally. Turns out that the microbes living in the soil around plants can give them a boost when water's scarce, which means more food for us, which...
SciShow
How To Make The Best Coffee, According To Science
If you drink coffee, you might wonder if you're doing the most to make your absolute best cup of coffee. And fortunately for you, science has the answers, from getting the perfect grind to finding out the best beans for you. So pull up a...
SciShow
Burn Your Waste With... Water?
Supercritical water produces fire without flames, which is great for making clean drinking water from our waste in space or breaking down forever chemicals here on Earth.
SciShow
Does the Food Chain Stop At Jellyfish?
Jellyfish aren't the most nutritious animals in the ocean. Yet sea turtles and many other organisms get their nutrition from almost nothing else. Here's why they don't totally starve to death.
SciShow
The Southern Hemisphere is Colder, Stormier, and... Cleaner?
You'd think that the Northern and Southern Hemispheres would be basically symmetrical -- that since our planet is a ball, the climate, temperature, and weather patterns would be the same on top as on the bottom. But there are some...
SciShow
There's Water on...the Sun?
With an effective surface temperature of roughly 5,500 degrees Celsius, you might think water couldn't survive on the Sun. Well, scientists debated whether or not it was there for nearly a century, and it turns out, it can!
SciShow
The Weird Reason More Bridges Are About to Fail
While they are incredible engineering marvels, we don't think about bridges all that much. But there's a good reason we should all be thinking about our bridges, since there's a weird reason that more of them might be at risk of failure...
MinuteEarth
The Plant You Don’t Have To Water
Some plants can drink water from the air - and that has some weird effects on the forests where they live.
MinutePhysics
Why Do Boats Make This Shape?
This video is about the "Kelvin wake" shape of water wakes behind boats - we talk about mach angle, dispersion, superposition of many waves, and how these all lead to the pattern of a wake. We don't get into Froude number though...