TED-Ed

Explore the psychology behind why children invent imaginary companions and what skills they can develop through pretend play.--Amia and her friend Zelba have been inseparable for nearly a year. They share secrets, play games, and rule over imaginary kingdoms. Amia sometimes has bad ideas, and Zelba goes along with them anyway. Amia is very real, but Zelba... is not. So, what leads kids to create t...

Long, fancy words designed to show off your intelligence and vocabulary are all very well, but they aren't always the best words. In this short, playful video Terin Izil explains why simple, punchy language is often the clearest way to convey a message. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sign up for our newsletter and never miss an animation: http://bit.ly/TEDEdNewsletterIn the first of a new TED-Ed series designed to catalyze curiosity, TED Curator Chris Anderson shares his boyhood obsession with quirky questions that seem to have no answers. (Introducing the series "Questions no one knows the answers to")"Questions No One Knows the Answers to" was animated by Andrew Park (http:/...

Trace the history and evolution of beer, from its first known existence 13,000 years ago to the modern beverage we know today.--Today, there are over 100 distinct beer varieties, from pilsners and bocks, to porters, stouts, and IPAs. The oldest evidence of beer brewing dates back 13,000 years, but experts believe the drink developed independently across the world. So, how did ancient civilizations...

Get to know Auguste Rodin’s infamous sculpture “The Thinker,” and find out who was the inspiration for this masterpiece.--Contrary to popular belief, "The Thinker" sculpture isn’t just a universal symbol of eternal contemplation. French sculptor Auguste Rodin intended it to represent a specific person— and fit into a much larger piece featuring the fiery pits of Hell. So, who was "The Thinker," an...

Calling them "our bodies' own repair kits," Susan Solomon advocates research using lab-grown stem cells. By growing individual pluripotent stem cell lines, her team creates testbeds that could accelerate research into curing diseases -- and perhaps lead to individualized treatment, targeted not just to a particular disease but a particular person. Talk by Susan Solomon. Learn more about your ad ch...

Call it "fuel without fossils": Jonathan Trent is working on a plan to grow new biofuel by farming micro-algae in floating offshore pods that eat wastewater from cities. Hear his team's bold vision for Project OMEGA (Offshore Membrane Enclosures for Growing Algae) and how it might power the future. Talk by Jonathan Trent. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dig into the incredible fighting, feeding, and flying capabilities of hummingbirds.--In just a matter of seconds, hummingbirds can perform astonishing aerial acrobatics, eat lunch in midair, pollinate a flower, even escape threats while upside-down. And they can do this all while achieving sustained hovering flight— an aerial feat no other bird can perform. How do they do it? Kristiina J. Hurme an...

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/symbiosis-a-surprising-tale-of-species-cooperationDifferent species often depend on one another. David Gonzales describes the remarkable relationship of the Clark's nutcracker and the whitebark pine, to illustrate the interdependency known as symbiosis. Lesson by David Gonzales, animation by Sunni Brown. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone....

By dissecting a cockroach ... yes, live on stage ... TED Fellow and neuroscientist Greg Gage shows how brains receive and deliver electric impulses -- and how legs can respond."The Cockroach Beatbox" was animated by the TED-Ed Animation Team (Jeremiah Dickey, Biljana Labovic, Celeste Lai, Kari Mulholland and Franz Palomares)View the full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-cockroach-beatbox Lear...

Professional songwriters share their writing process, how they collaborate with other artists, and what it takes to be a songwriter.--"Think Like A Musician" connects you with working musicians who want to help the music-curious and music-passionate hone and share the gift of music with the world. Part interview, part animated course, our second season "Think Like A Songwriter" features artists sh...

Explore the cognitive benefits of risky play and how we can design better playgrounds that promote fun, agency, and development.--The best play environments offer freedom and novelty that kids can explore as much or as little as they like. But traditional playgrounds don’t offer much flexibility— swings, slides, and climbing frames are hardly novel structures. So, how do we create better play spac...

Using newts, coyotes and mice, Jason Munshi-South shows how animals develop genetic differences in evolution, even within an urban city."Evolution in a Big City" was animated by the TED-Ed Animation Team (Jeremiah Dickey, Biljana Labovic, Celeste Lai, Kari Mulholland and Franz Palomares)View the full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/evolution-in-a-big-city Learn more about your ad choices. Visit...

Adam Savage walks through two spectacular examples of profound scientific discoveries that came from simple, creative methods anyone could have followed -- Eratosthenes' calculation of the Earth's circumference around 200 BC and Hippolyte Fizeau's measurement of the speed of light in 1849. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Explore the science of silica gel, and find out why these packets are everywhere and if they're actually dangerous to ingest.--Of the many, many things we’re not supposed to snack on, perhaps the most common forbidden food is silica gel. This tiny packet pops up in packaging for everything — from TVs and guitar cases to sunscreen and snack foods. So why is silica gel everywhere, and what would act...

Get to know Jin Yong’s “Legend of the Condor Heroes,” an epic tale of adventure and war, romance, brotherhood and betrayal.--In the 1950s, citizens flocked to newsstands to pick up the latest edition of a story set hundreds of years in the past — a multigenerational tale of adventure and war, romance and intrigue, brotherhood and betrayal. Jin Yong’s epic "Legend of the Condor Heroes" is considere...

Some of the world's most baffling social problems, says Peter Eigen, can be traced to systematic, pervasive government corruption, hand-in-glove with global companies. In his talk, Eigen describes the thrilling counter-attack led by his organization Transparency International. (Filmed at TEDxBerlin.)Talk by Peter Eigen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dig into the era of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, which perpetuated a genocide that killed a quarter of the country’s population. --From 1975 to 1979, the Communist Party of Kampuchea ruled Cambodia with an iron fist, perpetrating a genocide that killed one fourth of the country’s population. Roughly one million people were executed as suspected political enemies or due to their ethnicities, and an...

Puzzle through the ethical dilemma of lying to a friend, and decide: is lying always wrong or can it be justifiable?--Your plan to set up your friend Carey with your acquaintance Emerson is finally coming together. You’ve made them a dinner reservation, but suddenly realize that there's a problem: Carey is always late. You really want this relationship to work— what if you told Carey dinner was at...

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/stories-legacies-of-who-we-areStoryteller and educator Awele Makeba combines performing arts and history to tell a powerful story from the American civil rights movement. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View the full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-many-un...The fact that no one knows the answer to this question is what makes it exciting. The story of physics has been one of an ever-expanding understanding of the sheer scale of reality, to the point where physicists are now postulating that there may be far more universes than just our own. Chris Anderson explores the thrilling implications...

Singer, songwriter, and producer Breland shares insights into the creative process of songwriting and how to build your skills.--"Think Like A Musician" connects you with working musicians who want to help the music-curious and music-passionate hone and share the gift of music with the world. Part interview, part animated course, our second season "Think Like A Songwriter" features artists sharing...

Take a tour of the vast, underground network of the Paris Catacombs, and find out how this 18th century cemetery came to be.--For centuries, Parisians had buried their dead in the Cemetery of the Innocents. By the 18th century, the grounds had become overcrowded — spewing foul odors across the city. Residents worried that it posed a public health threat, and petitioned the government for a solutio...

Nearly 450 million people are affected by mental illness worldwide. In wealthy nations, just half receive appropriate care, but in developing countries, close to 90 percent go untreated because psychiatrists are in such short supply. Vikram Patel outlines a highly promising approach -- training members of communities to give mental health interventions, empowering ordinary people to care for other...

Dig into the history of pandemics to learn how viruses and disease spreads and what we can do to stop future outbreaks.--In our increasingly globalized world, a single infected person can board a plane and spread a virus across continents. Mark Honigsbaum describes the history of pandemics and how that knowledge can help halt future outbreaks. Lesson by Mark Honigsbaum, directed by Patrick Blower....