TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing

Can you solve the honeybee riddle? | Dan Finkel
Aug 9, 2020 · 00:04:58

You're a biologist on a mission to keep the rare honeybee Apis Trifecta from going extinct. The last 60 bees of the species are in your terrarium. You've already constructed wire frames of the appropriate size …

Ethical dilemma: The burger murders | George Siedel and Christine Ladwig
Aug 9, 2020 · 00:05:25

You founded a company that manufactures meatless burgers that are sold in stores worldwide. But you've recently received awful news: three people in one city died after eating your burgers. A criminal has injec…

No one can figure out how eels have sex | Lucy Cooke
Aug 9, 2020 · 00:05:42

From Ancient Greece to the 20th century, Aristotle, Freud, and numerous other scholars were all looking for the same thing: eel testicles. Freshwater eels could be found in rivers across Europe, but no one had …

How do our brains process speech? | Gareth Gaskell
Jul 23, 2020 · 00:04:21

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 tho…

The myth of Jason, Medea, and the Golden Fleece | Iseult Gillespie
Jul 21, 2020 · 00:04:29

In Colchis, the hide of a mystical flying ram hangs from the tallest oak, guarded by a dragon who never sleeps. The only way Jason can pry it from King Aeetes' clutches and win back his promised throne is by fa…

The rise and fall of the Celtic warriors | Philip Freeman
Jul 21, 2020 · 00:04:51

One summer evening in 335 BCE, Alexander the Great was resting by the Danube River when a band of strangers approached his camp. Alexander had never seen anything like these tall, fierce-looking warriors with h…

The Egyptian myth of the death of Osiris | Alex Gendler
Jul 16, 2020 · 00:03:56

Long jealous of his older brother Osiris, the god who ruled all of Egypt, the warrior god Set plotted to overthrow him. Hosting an extravagant party as a ruse, Set announced a game— whoever could fit perfectly …

The race to decode a mysterious language | Susan Lupack
Jul 14, 2020 · 00:04:24

In the early 1900s, archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans uncovered nearly 3,000 tablets inscribed with strange symbols. He thought the script, dubbed Linear B, represented the Minoan language, while others came up wi…

Volcanic eruption explained | Steven Anderson
Jul 13, 2020 · 00:05:10

In February of 1942, Mexican farmer Dionisio Pulido thought he heard thunder coming from his cornfield. However, the sound wasn't coming from the sky. The source was a large, smoking crack emitting gas and ejec…

What happened when the United States tried to ban alcohol | Rod Phillips
Jul 9, 2020 · 00:04:54

On January 17, 1920, less than one hour after spirits had become illegal throughout the United States, armed men robbed a Chicago freight train and made off with thousands of dollars worth of whiskey. It was a …

The tale of the boy who tricked the Devil | Iseult Gillespie
Jul 7, 2020 · 00:05:02

In a small town, a proud mother showed off her newborn son. Upon noticing his lucky birthmark, townsfolk predicted he would marry a princess. But soon, these rumors reached the wicked king. Enraged, the king st…

The greatest mathematician that never lived | Pratik Aghor
Jul 6, 2020 · 00:04:50

When Nicolas Bourbaki applied to the American Mathematical Society in the 1950s, he was already one of the most influential mathematicians of his time. He'd published articles in international journals and his …

Why the @#$% is there so much traffic? | Benjamin Seibold
May 28, 2020 · 00:04:38

You're cruising down the highway when all of a sudden endless rows of brake lights appear ahead. There's no accident, no stoplight, no change in speed limit, or narrowing of the road. So why is there so much tr…

Why should you read "Moby Dick"? | Sascha Morrell
May 26, 2020 · 00:05:36

A mountain separating two lakes. A room papered floor to ceiling with bridal satins. The lid of an immense snuffbox. These seemingly unrelated images take us on a tour of a sperm whale's head in Herman Melville…

How do ventilators work? | Alex Gendler
May 21, 2020 · 00:05:21

In the 16th century, physician Andreas Vesalius described how a suffocating animal could be kept alive by inserting a tube into its trachea and blowing air to inflate its lungs. Today, Vesalius's treatise is re…

Can you solve the world's most evil wizard riddle? | Dan Finkel
May 19, 2020 · 00:04:29

The evil wizard MoldeVort has been trying to kill you for years, and today it looks like he's going to succeed. But your friends are on their way, and if you can survive until they arrive, they should be able t…

How do you know if you have a virus? | Cella Wright
May 18, 2020 · 00:04:44

A new virus emerges and spreads like wildfire. In order to contain it, researchers must first collect data about who's been infected. Two main viral testing techniques are critical: one tells you if you have th…

What is a coronavirus? | Elizabeth Cox
May 14, 2020 · 00:04:55

For almost a decade, scientists chased the source of a deadly new virus through China's tallest mountains and most isolated caverns. They finally found it in the bats of Shitou Cave. The virus in question was a…

A day in the life of an Aztec midwife | Kay Read
May 12, 2020 · 00:04:13

The midwife Xoquauhtli has a difficult choice to make. She owes a debt to her patron Teteoinnan, the female warrior goddess at the center of the Aztec seasonal festival, who must be kept happy or she will bring…

What causes opioid addiction, and why is it so tough to combat? | Mike Davis
May 8, 2020 · 00:08:19

In the 1980s and 90s, pharmaceutical companies began to market opioid painkillers aggressively, while actively downplaying their addictive potential. The number of prescriptions skyrocketed, and so did cases of…

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