SciShow
10 Fashion Trends That Are Super Dangerous
Fashion fads come and go—but did you know that some fashion trends are downright dangerous?
Crash Course
Climate Change, Chaos, and The Little Ice Age - Crash Course World History 206
In which John Green teaches you about the Little Ice Age. The Little Ice Age was a period of global cooling that occurred from the 13th to the 19th centuries. This cooling was likely caused by a number of factors, including unusual solar...
SciShow
Why Scientists Briefly Thought the Earth Was Hollow
Our understanding of the world has to start somewhere! And while early ideas like the Hollow Earth Theory are mostly wrong and sound silly to us now, that doesn’t mean they weren’t important.
Crash Course
Scientific Revolution: Crash Course European History
There was a lot of bad stuff going on in Europe in the 17th century. We've seen wars, plagues, and unrest of all types. But, there is some good news. Huge advances were underway in the scientific community in Europe at this time. In this...
Crash Course
The Rise of Russia and Prussia: Crash Course European History
In eastern Europe, in the 17th century a couple of "great powers" were coming into their own. The vast empire of Russia was modernizing under Peter the Great, and the relatively tiny state of Prussia was evolving as well. Russia (and...
Crash Course
The 17th Century Crisis: Crash Course European History
The 17th Century in Europe was pretty rough in a lot of ways. The Thirty Years War involved a lot of countries, and a lot of battles, and it was terrible for everyone involved, as wars have aa historical tendency to be. At the same time,...
Crash Course
Candide: Crash Course Literature 405
John Green teaches you about Voltaire's hugely important Enlightenment novel, Candide. Candide tells a pretty wild story, but for the most part, it's about the best of all possible worlds. Which, spoiler alert, doesn't seem to be the...
TED Talks
Karen Armstrong: My wish: The Charter for Compassion
People want to be religious, says scholar Karen Armstrong; we should help make religion a force for harmony. She asks the TED community to help build a Charter for Compassion -- to restore the Golden Rule as the central global religious...
TED Talks
TED: Is civility a sham? | Teresa Bejan
What exactly is civility, and what does it require? In a talk packed with historical insights, political theorist Teresa Bejan explains how civility has been used as both the foundation of tolerant societies and as a way for political...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Why plague doctors wore beaked masks | TED-Ed
The year is 1656. Your body is wracked by violent chills. Your head pounds and you're too weak to sit up. In your feverish state, you see a strange-looking man wearing a beak-like mask, his body covered from head to toe. Without seeing...
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: 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...
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...
Crash Course
Absolute Monarchy: Crash Course European History
So far, the rulers of Europe have been working to consolidate their power and expand their kingdoms, and this is it. The moment they've been working toward: Absolute Monarchy. We're going to learn about how kings and queens became...
Crash Course
Capitalism and the Dutch East India Company: Crash Course World History 229
In which John Green teaches you about the Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie, doing business as the VOC, also known as the Dutch East India Company. In the 16th and 17th centuries, the Dutch managed to dominate world trade, and they did...
Crash Course
The Quakers, the Dutch, and the Ladies Crash Course US History
In which John Green teaches you about some of the colonies that were not in Virginia or Massachussetts. Old New York was once New Amsterdam. Why they changed it, I can say; ENGLISH people just liked it better that way, and when the...
TED Talks
TED: An honest history of an ancient and "nasty" word | Kate Lister
With candor and cunning, sex historian Kate Lister chronicles the curious journey of an ancient, honest word with innocent origins and a now-scandalous connotation in this uproarious love letter to etymology, queens, cows and all things...
Crash Course
The Spanish Empire, Silver, & Runaway Inflation: Crash Course World History
In which John Green explores how Spain went from being a middling European power to one of the most powerful empires on Earth, thanks to their plunder of the New World in the 16th and 17th centuries. Learn how Spain managed to destroy...
Crash Course
The Spanish Empire, Silver, & Runaway Inflation Crash Course World History
In which John Green explores how Spain went from being a middling European power to one of the most powerful empires on Earth, thanks to their plunder of the New World in the 16th and 17th centuries. Learn how Spain managed to destroy...
Weird History
Weirdest Rules of French Royal Etiquette
Versailles etiquette was as complicated and ornate as the furniture and artwork filling the great chambers of the French royal palace. The smallest details of life at court, including personal hygiene, were dictated, regulated, and...
Weird History
History's Strangest Beauty Trends
It's impossible to meet the incredibly unrealistic and changing beauty standards of our world, and many of us have already spent way too much time trying to pluck, paint, or contour ourselves into stacking up. It may not be a surprise to...
Great Big Story
Discovering phosphorus, Hennig Brand's accidental breakthrough
How Hennig Brand's quest for gold led him to discover phosphorus by boiling urine in 1669.
Curated Video
What is the English Bill of Rights?
The English Bill of Rights curbed the power and influence of the English monarchy and gave more power to their subjects. It’s the basis for the rights and freedoms we enjoy today.
PBS
Basilisk or Cockatrice? The Mysterious King of Serpents
A venomous snake who can kill with its gaze alone, the basilisk has terrified us for thousands of years. But it also has another name—the cockatrice. That’s right, the reptile-chicken hybrid creature and the poisonous snake are actually...