TED-Ed

What can governments learn from the open-data revolution? In this stirring talk, Beth Noveck, the former deputy CTO at the White House, shares a vision of practical openness -- connecting bureaucracies to citizens, sharing data, creating a truly participatory democracy. Imagine the "writable society."Talk by Beth Noveck. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Explore how wind turbines convert wind into electricity, and the challenges of powering the world entirely with wind energy.--Every 24 hours, wind generates enough kinetic energy to produce roughly 35 times more electricity than humanity uses each day. And unlike coal or oil, this resource is totally renewed each day. So how can we harness this incredible amount of energy, and is it possible to cr...

Discover what colors are the most rare to see in nature, and how physics and evolution drive their scarcity.--Plants, animals, or minerals found in nature bear almost every color imaginable. There are two factors that influence what hues you see in the wild: physics and evolution. So, which colors are you least likely to see in the natural world? Victoria Hwang explores one of nature’s rarest spec...

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/mysteries-of-vernacular-dynamite-jessica-oreck-and-rachael-teelWith an explosive meaning, the word dynamite's past is as historical as it is etymological. Jessica Oreck and Rachael Teel describe how Alfred Nobel invented dynamite. Lesson by Jessica Oreck and Rachael Teel, animation by Jessica Oreck. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/ad...

Explore the incredible adaptations of Elysia chlorotica, a species of sea slug that can photosynthesize food. --The species of slug known as Elysia chlorotica may not look like much— it resembles a bright green leaf— but it’s one of the most extraordinary creatures on our planet. Living in marshes along the coast of North America, it can go about a year without eating. During that time, it lives l...

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/mysteries-of-vernacular-venom-jessica-oreck-and-rachael-teelHow did venom get its poisonous meaning? Jessica Oreck and Rachael Teel follow venom from something to desire to explicit reasons for avoiding a snake. Lesson by Jessica Oreck and Rachael Teel, animation by Jessica Oreck. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/if-molecules-were-people-george-zaidan-and-charles-mortonWhen molecules collide, chemical reactions can occur -- causing major structural changes akin to getting a new arm on your face! George Zaidan and Charles Morton playfully imagine chemical systems as busy city streets, and the colliding molecules within them as your average, limb-swapping joes. Le...

John Gerzema says there's an upside to the recent financial crisis -- the opportunity for positive change. In this talk, he identifies four major cultural shifts driving new consumer behavior and shows how businesses are evolving to connect with thoughtful spending. (Filmed at TEDxKC.)Talk by John Gerzema. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Trace the diverse and delicious history of dumplings, from their first recorded origins to their spread across the Asian continent and beyond.--As archaeologists pored over ancient tombs in western China, they discovered some surprisingly well-preserved and familiar relics. Though hardened over 1,000 years, there sat little crescent-shaped dumplings. So who invented these plump pockets of perfecti...

Contraception. The topic has become controversial in recent years. But should it be? Melinda Gates believes that many of the world's social change issues depend on ensuring that women are able to control their rate of having kids. In this significant talk, she makes the case for the world to re-examine an issue she intends to lend her voice to for the next decade. (Filmed at TEDxChange.)Talk by Me...

Explore the specialized anatomy that allows parrots to talk, scream, curse, and recite facts like humans. --Whether they’re belting Beyoncé, head-banging to classic rock, or rattling off curse words at zoo-goers, parrots are constantly astounding us. They are among the only animals that produce human speech, and some parrots do it almost uncannily well. How is this possible? Grace Smith-Vidaurre a...

Practice more problem-solving at https://brilliant.org/TedEd--According to legend, three galactic terraformers shaped your planet into a paradise. When their work was done, they left the source of their power behind: three golden hexagons, hidden in dungeons full of traps and monsters. If one person were to bring all three together, they could reinvent the world however they saw fit. Can you colle...

It's an all too common story: after participating in an HIV clinical trial, a woman in sub-Saharan Africa is left without the resources to buy a bus ticket to her health clinic, let alone to afford life-saving antiretrovirals. Boghuma Kabisen Titanji asks an important question: how can researchers looking for a cure make sure they're not taking advantage of those most affected by the pandemic? (Fi...

Explore what happens in your body when you don’t acclimate to higher altitudes and the dangers of altitude sickness.--If you teleported from sea level to the top of Mount Everest, things would go bad fast. At an altitude of 8,848 meters, you would likely suffocate in minutes. However, for people that make this journey over the course of a month, it’s possible to survive at the peak for hours. So w...

The public is losing faith in democracy, says British MP Rory Stewart. Iraq and Afghanistan's new democracies are deeply corrupt; meanwhile, 84 percent of people in Britain say politics is broken. In this important talk, Stewart sounds a call to action to rebuild democracy, starting with recognizing why democracy is important -- not as a tool, but as an ideal. Talk by Rory Stewart. Learn more abou...

Discover the shortcomings of using GDP to measure a country’s well-being, and what alternatives can be used to gauge quality of life.--What’s the best country to live in? Is it the one with the best food? The longest life expectancy? The best weather? For the past 70 years, most governments have relied heavily on a single number: the Gross Domestic Product, or GDP. But it was never intended for it...

Explore the science of what causes total solar eclipses, and find out how civilizations throughout history reacted to them.--How can the shadow of the tiny moon eclipse the sight of the gargantuan sun? By sheer coincidence, the disc of the sun is 400x larger than the disc of the moon, but it's 390x farther from Earth -- which means that when they align just right, the moon blocks all but the sun's...

In Western society, bats are often characterized as creepy, even evil. Zoologist Emma Teeling encourages us to rethink our attitude toward bats, whose unique and fascinating biology gives us insight into our own genetic makeup. (Filmed at TEDxDublin.)Talk by Emma Teeling. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Discover how alcohol impacts your body’s processes and causes hangovers, and find out what causes the most common hangover symptoms.--The molecule responsible for hangovers is ethanol, which we colloquially refer to as alcohol. Ethanol is present in all alcoholic beverages, and generally speaking, the more ethanol, the greater the potential for a hangover. So, how exactly does alcohol cause a hang...

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-emergence-of-drama-as-a-literary-art-mindy-ploeckelmannWhen presented with the problem of hoards of illiterate commoners, English clergymen in the 11th century created plays to spread word about the Bible. Eventually, the plays moved out of the church and into the streets. Mindy Ploeckelmann tracks the development of drama from mystery plays to moral...

Explore the possibility of plastivores— organisms that can eat and break down plastic— helping reduce the plastic waste on Earth.--Each year humanity produces roughly 400 million tons of plastic, 80% of which is discarded as trash. Of that plastic waste, only one-tenth is recycled. 60% gets incinerated or goes into the landfills, and 30% leaks out into the environment. Fortunately, there are micro...

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/tracking-grizzly-bears-from-space-david-laskinGrizzly bears have adapted cleverly to their diminishing habitat by developing a mostly vegetarian diet in sync with plant growing seasons. Using NASA satellites, scientists track the shifting, interrelated patterns of grizzlies and plants. David Laskin explains how this data can help protect the threatened b...

Discover what it took to build the Panama Canal, and how this colossal construction project changed the region. --In the 19th century, the California gold rush brought thousands of settlers to America's west coast. But finding gold may have been easier than transporting it back east. The only hope for avoiding a grueling six month wagon journey was to travel the narrowest portion of the continent...

Discover the extraordinary capabilities of hagfish, the slime-producing fish that has survived on Earth for over 300 million years.--In 2017, a truck screeched to a halt. One of its containers slid off, hit a car, and spilled its contents— thousands of kilograms of hagfish. The result of this accident was an absolute mess: the highway was coated in a thick slime that took the fire department 7 hou...

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-do-you-decide-where-to-go-in-a-zombie-apocalypse-david-hunterCan geography save your life in case of, say, a zombie apocalypse? Understanding the push and pull factors that create geographic movement -- or how people, resources, and even ideas travel -- might help you determine the location that's best for survival. David Hunter playfully analyzes th...