TED Talks
TED: How to use a paper towel | Joe Smith
You use paper towels to dry your hands every day, but chances are, you're doing it wrong. In this enlightening and funny short talk, Joe Smith reveals the trick to perfect paper towel technique.
TED-Ed
TED-ED: Where do superstitions come from? - Stuart Vyse
Are you afraid of black cats? Would you open an umbrella indoors? How do you feel about the number 13? Whether or not you believe in them, you're probably familiar with a few of these superstitions. But where did they come from? Stuart...
SciShow
How Auditory Illusions Trick Your Brain into Hearing Things
Your brain relies a lot on context to tell you what sounds are bouncing around in your ears, and without enough of that context it can get a little confused.
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: The Japanese folktale of the selfish scholar | Iseult Gillespie
In ancient Kyoto, a Shinto scholar found himself distracted from his prayers and sought to perform a purification ritual that would cleanse him. He decided to travel to the revered Hie Shrine; walking the path alone, ignoring any...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: How do our brains process speech? | Gareth Gaskell
The average 20-year-old knows between 27,000 and 52,000 different words. Spoken out loud, most of these words last less than a second. With every word, the brain has a quick decision to make: which of those thousands of options matches...
SciShow
Homophobia and Consumerism
Hank discusses some new research that studied what makes us unhappy with ourselves and with other people, focusing on homophobia and consumerism.
TED Talks
Jill Shargaa: Please, please, people. Let's put the 'awe' back in 'awesome'
Which of the following is awesome: your lunch or the Great Pyramid of Giza? Comedian Jill Shargaa sounds a hilarious call for us to save the word "awesome" for things that truly inspire awe.
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Why we love repetition in music - Elizabeth Hellmuth Margulis
How many times does the chorus repeat in your favorite song? How many times have you listened to that chorus? Repetition in music isn't just a feature of Western pop songs, either; it's a global phenomenon. Why? Elizabeth Hellmuth...
TED Talks
Joe Smith: How to use a paper towel
You use paper towels to dry your hands every day, but chances are, you're doing it wrong. In this enlightening and funny short talk, Joe Smith reveals the trick to perfect paper towel technique.
Crash Course
Cosmic Sexy Time, Eggs, Seeds, and Water: Crash Course World Mythology
In which Mike teaches you about the creation of the universe, with sex. This week we're talking about creations stories from Egypt, West Africa, Greece, China, and Persia that have a lot in common with human sexual reproduction. And also...
SciShow
The Stroop Task: The Psych Test You Cannot Beat
The task sounds like it should be pretty easy, but the Stroop task is a fantastic, and very well studied, example of how your brain’s automatic processing can trip you up!
TED Talks
John Wooden: The difference between winning and succeeding
With profound simplicity, Coach John Wooden redefines success and urges us all to pursue the best in ourselves. In this inspiring talk he shares the advice he gave his players at UCLA, quotes poetry and remembers his father's wisdom.
TED-Ed
TED-ED: How interpreters juggle two languages at once - Ewandro Magalhaes
Language is complex, and when abstract or nuanced concepts get lost in translation, the consequences may be catastrophic. Given the complexities of language and cultural exchange, how do these epic miscommunications not happen all the...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: Can you solve the three gods riddle? - Alex Gendler
You and your team have crash-landed on an ancient planet. Can you appease the three alien overlords who rule it and get your team safely home? Created by logician Raymond Smullyan, and popularized by his colleague George Boolos, this...
SciShow Kids
Why Do We Have Eyebrows?
When you think about it, your eyebrows are a little strange! But they're also really important! From protecting your eyes to helping others know how you feel, those little bits of hair in the middle of your face have some big jobs!
TED Talks
Luis von Ahn: Massive-scale online collaboration
After re-purposing CAPTCHA so each human-typed response helps digitize books, Luis von Ahn wondered how else to use small contributions by many on the Internet for greater good. In this talk, he shares how his ambitious new project,...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: The pharaoh that wouldn't be forgotten - Kate Narev
Hatshepsut was a female pharaoh during the New Kingdom in Egypt. Twenty years after her death, somebody smashed her statues, took a chisel and attempted to erase the pharaoh's name and image from history. But who did it? And why? Kate...
PBS
A Brief History of Geologic Time
By looking at the layers beneath our feet, geologists have been able to identify and describe crucial episodes in life's history. These key events frame the chapters in the story of life on earth and the system we use to bind all these...
Be Smart
Why is the sky any color?
Why is the sky blue? It's a question that you'd think kids have been asking for thousands of years, but it might not be that old at all. The ancient Greek poet Homer never used a word for blue in The Odyssey or The Iliad, because blue is...
TED Talks
TED: How to speak so that people want to listen | Julian Treasure
Have you ever felt like you're talking, but nobody is listening? Here's Julian Treasure to help. In this useful talk, the sound expert demonstrates the how-to's of powerful speaking -- from some handy vocal exercises to tips on how to...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: Did Shakespeare write his plays? - Natalya St. Clair and Aaron Williams
Some people question whether Shakespeare really wrote the works that bear his name _ or whether he even existed at all. Could it be true that the greatest writer in the English language was as fictional as his plays? Natalya St. Clair...
SciShow
You Read More Slowly As You Get Older — Here's Why
Researchers have noticed a decline in reading ability starting in your 40s. And learning more about why this happens might help us tell the difference between healthy aging and Alzheimer’s disease.
TED Talks
Jessi Arrington: Wearing nothing new
Designer Jessi Arrington packed nothing for TEDActive but 7 pairs of undies, buying the rest of her clothes in thrift stores around LA. It's a meditation on conscious consumption -- wrapped in a rainbow of color and creativity.
TED-Ed
TED-ED: Buffalo buffalo buffalo: One-word sentences and how they work - Emma Bryce
Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo' is a grammatically correct sentence. How? Emma Bryce explains how this and other one-word sentences illustrate some lexical ambiguities that can turn ordinary words and...