SciShow
10 Discoveries Made in National Parks
You might think of national parks as a nice place to see a geyser, or a big ol’ canyon, but over the past 100 years, US national parks have produced some of the biggest, oldest, deepest, and creepiest discoveries that have been made in...
SciShow
The Island Made Of Gemstones
Zabargad Island in the Red Sea is so crusted with peridot that it's fair to say the place is literally made of it.
PBS
When Hobbits Were Real
Its discoverers named it Homo floresiensis, but it’s often called “the hobbit” for its short stature and oddly proportioned feet. And it’s been at the center of a major controversy in the field ever since. Was it its own species? Or was...
PBS
When Giant Lemurs Ruled Madagascar
Just a few thousand years ago, the island of Madagascar was inhabited by giant lemurs. How did such a diverse group of primates evolve in the first place, and how did they help shape the unique environments of Madagascar? And how did...
PBS
When a Giant Pterosaur Ruled the European Islands
The ecological niche of apex predators was empty on Hateg Island, waiting to be occupied by something large, mobile, and powerful enough to fill it.
PBS
The Real Story Of The Dodo Bird's (Current) Extinction
What’s the real story of the dodo? How did such a unique bird even evolve in the first place? And are we really responsible for its extinction?
PBS
The Island of Shrinking Mammoths
The mammoths fossils found on the Channel Islands off the coast of southern California are much smaller than their relatives found on the mainland. They were so small that they came to be seen as their own species. How did they get...
PBS
The Island of Huge Hamsters and Giant Owls
Back in the late Miocene epoch, there was an island--or maybe a group of islands-- in the Mediterranean Sea that was populated with fantastic giant beasts. It’s a lesson in the very strange, but very real, powers of natural selection.
PBS
The Invisible Barrier Keeping Two Worlds Apart
In between two of the islands of Indonesia, there’s an ancient line that is both real and…not real.
PBS
The Island of the Last Surviving Mammoths
The Wrangel Island mammoths would end up being the final survivors of a once-widespread genus. In their final years, after having thrived in many parts of the world for millions of years, the very last mammoths that ever lived...
PBS
How We Domesticated Cats (Twice)
A 9,500-year-old burial in Cyprus represents some of the oldest known evidence of human/cat companionships anywhere in the world. But when did this close relationship between humans and cats start? And how did humans help cats take over...
SciShow
Bird Eggs Warn Each Other About Danger
Although they don’t seem like the talkative type, recent research suggests that bird eggs can use vibrations to relay warnings about the outside world to their nest-mates.
SciShow
The Tiny Reasons This Island Is Shrinking
Hoboro Island off the coast of Japan may soon be an island of the past, and it’s primarily due to one unsuspecting isopod.
SciShow
6 Mysteries Geologists Can't Solve
There are some geological areas on the planet that scientists still don't understand. For most things it's pretty clear—combine a volcanic eruption a dash of erosion, and boom, you’ve got a striking cliff! But not all the features on...
SciShow
The Cat That (Maybe) Ate an Entire Species
Many cat owners are familiar with the "gifts" their feline friends are fond of giving, but if left unchecked, this behavior can be devastating.
SciShow
10 Discoveries Made in National Parks
You might think of national parks as a nice place to see a geyser, or a big ol’ canyon, but over the past 100 years, US national parks have produced some of the biggest, oldest, deepest, and creepiest discoveries that have been made in...
PBS
At Greek Refugee Camp, There Are Few Defenses Against Covid-19 Threat
Human rights activists and medical nonprofits are calling on the Greek government to evacuate overcrowded refugee camps on islands in the Aegean Sea, where an outbreak of COVID-19 would likely cause humanitarian catastrophe. Concerns are...
PBS
Tiny Easter Island deals with giant trash problem
Easter Island off the coast of Chile has a major trash problem. It's near what's known as a "trash vortex" in the middle of the South Pacific and floating waste is constantly washing ashore. Local officials estimate the growing...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Gillian Gibb: Why can't some birds fly?
Though the common ancestor of all modern birds could fly, many different bird species have independently lost their flight. Flight can have incredible benefits, especially for escaping predators, hunting and traveling long distances. But...
TED Talks
TED: The future of good food in China | Matilda Ho
Fresh food free of chemicals and pesticides is hard to come by in China: in 2016, the Chinese government revealed half a million food safety violations in just nine months. In the absence of safe, sustainable food sources, TED Fellow...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: A brief history of cannibalism - Bill Schutt
Human cannibalism is a lot more common than you might think. Dive into its complex history and see its uses in medicine, cultural rituals and in times of survival. -- 15th century Europeans believed they had hit upon a miracle cure: a...
Crash Course
The Raft, the River, and The Weird Ending of Huckleberry Finn: Crash Course Literature 303
This week, we're continuing our discussion of Mark Twain's 'The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.' This is part two of our talk about Huck Finn, and this time we're looking at the metaphors in the book, a little bit about what the...
TED Talks
Bjarke Ingels: Floating cities, the LEGO House and other architectural forms of the future
Design gives form to the future, says architect Bjarke Ingels. In this worldwide tour of his team's projects, journey to a waste-to-energy power plant (that doubles as an alpine ski slope) and the LEGO Home of the Brick in Denmark -- and...
SciShow
Weird Ways We've Fought Invasive Species
Invasive species can wreak havoc in their new habitats, and the survival of entire ecosystems can depend on getting rid of them. In some cases, we humans have gotten pretty creative in our attempts to eradicate the problem.