TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Check your intuition: The birthday problem - David Knuffke
Imagine a group of people. How big do you think the group would have to be before there's more than a 50% chance that two people in the group have the same birthday? The answer is - probably lower than you think. David Knuffke explains...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: How statistics can be misleading - Mark Liddell
Statistics are persuasive. So much so that people, organizations, and whole countries base some of their most important decisions on organized data. But any set of statistics might have something lurking inside it that can turn the...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: Why is glass transparent? - Mark Miodownik
If you look through your glasses, binoculars or a window, you see the world on the other side. How is it that something so solid can be so invisible? Mark Miodownik melts the scientific secret behind amorphous solids.
TED-Ed
TED-ED: Why are we so attached to our things? - Christian Jarrett
After witnessing the _violent rage" shown by babies whenever deprived of an item they considered their own, Jean Piaget _ a founding father of child psychology _ observed something profound about human nature: Our sense of ownership...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: The Taj Mahal: A monument to eternal love | Stephanie Honchell Smith
It's 1631. Mumtaz Mahal, beloved wife of Emperor Shah Jahan, is giving birth to their 14th child. A healthy girl is born, but Mumtaz dies soon after. Sobbing uncontrollably, the emperor decides to build a tomb worthy of his queen: a...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: 4 things all great listeners know | TED-Ed
It's easy to tell when someone's not paying attention, but it can be surprisingly tricky to know what good listening looks like. Good listening is one of the most important things we can do to improve our relationships, develop our...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Why is it so hard to cure the common cold? | TED-Ed
On average, adults catch more than 150 colds throughout their lives. Even with similar symptoms, the cause could be different each time. Common colds are caused by at least 8 different families of virus, each of which can have its own...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: What is depression? - Helen M. Farrell
Depression is the leading cause of disability in the world; in the United States, close to ten percent of adults struggle with the disease. But because it's a mental illness, it can be a lot harder to understand than, say, high...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: Mysteries of vernacular: Fizzle - Jessica Oreck and Rachael Teel
From a stinky and crude inception, the word fizzle's history is nothing to poo poo at. Jessica Oreck and Rachael Teel track the road from flatulence to its modern meaning of a failure or weak ending.
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: How did they build the Great Pyramid of Giza? | Soraya Field Fiorio
As soon as Pharaoh Khufu ascended the throne circa 2575 BCE, work on his eternal resting place began. The structure's architect, Hemiunu, determined he would need 20 years to finish the royal tomb. But what he could not predict was that...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: The truth about electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) - Helen M. Farrell
In 1982, a young nurse was suffering from severe, unrelenting depression. She couldn’t work, socialize or concentrate. One controversial treatment changed everything: after two courses of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) her symptoms...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: M Jackson: How to grow your own glacier
In the 13th century, Genghis Khan embarked on a mission to take over Eurasia, swiftly conquering countries and drawing them into his empire. But, legend has it that there was one obstacle that even he couldn't overcome: a towering wall...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: The myth of Oisin and the land of eternal youth - Iseult Gillespie
In a typical hero's journey, the protagonist sets out on an adventure, undergoes great change and returns in triumph to their point of origin. But in the Irish genre of myth known as echtrai, the journey to the otherworld ends in a point...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: How much of human history is on the bottom of the ocean? - Peter Campbell
Sunken relics, ghostly shipwrecks, and lost cities aren't just wonders found in fictional adventures. Beneath the ocean's surface, there are ruins where people once roamed and shipwrecks loaded with artifacts from another time. Peter...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: The three different ways mammals give birth - Kate Slabosky
All mammals share certain characteristics, like warm blood and backbones. But despite their similarities, these creatures also have many biological differences - and one of the most remarkable differences is how they give birth. Kate...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Why don't oil and water mix? - John Pollard
Salt dissolves in water; oil does not. But why? You can think of that glass of water as a big, bumpin' dance party where the water molecules are always switching dance partners -- and they'd much rather dance with a salt ion. John...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: What is dust made of? - Michael Marder
Less than a tenth the size of an ant, a dust mite's whole world is contained in the dusty film under a bed or in a forgotten corner. This realm is right under our noses, but from our perspective, the tiny specks of brilliant color blend...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: Mary's Room: A philosophical thought experiment - Eleanor Nelsen
Imagine a neuroscientist who has only ever seen black and white things, but she is an expert in color vision and knows everything about its physics and biology. If, one day, she sees color, does she learn anything new? Is there anything...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: How do executive orders work? - Christina Greer
On January 1, 1863, Abraham Lincoln legally changed the status of over 3 million people from "slave" to "free." But his emancipation proclamation wasn't a law - it was an executive order. The framers of the American Constitution made...
TED-Ed
Debunking the myth of the Lost Cause: A lie embedded in American history | Karen L. Cox
In the 1860's, 11 southern states withdrew from the United States and formed the Confederacy. They seceded in response to the growing movement for the nationwide abolition of slavery. Yet barely a year after the Civil War ended, southern...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Can the economy grow forever? | TED-Ed
Many economists think that an eternally growing economy is necessary to keep improving people's lives, and that if the global economy stops growing, people would fight more over the fixed amount of value that exists, rather than working...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: Mysteries of vernacular: Ukulele - Jessica Oreck and Rachael Teel
When 19th century Portuguese travelers landed in Hawaii with a small four-stringed guitar, a member of the king's court, nicknamed Jumping Flea, or ukulele in Hawaiian, took to the instrument. Jessica Oreck and Rachael Teel explain how...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: What's the big deal with gluten? - William D. Chey
If you've been to a restaurant in the last few years, you've likely seen the words gluten-free written somewhere on the menu. But what exactly is gluten, and why can't some people process it? And why does it only seem to be a problem...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Could we survive prolonged space travel? - Lisa Nip
Prolonged space travel plays a severe toll on the human body: microgravity impairs muscle and bone growth, and high doses of radiation cause irreversible mutations. As we seriously consider the human species becoming space-faring, a big...