TED-Ed

Check out our Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/tededUploaded 08-10-18Mounting his skinny steed, Don Quixote charges an army of giants. It is his duty to vanquish these behemoths in the name of his beloved lady, Dulcinea. There’s only one problem: the giants are merely windmills. What is it about this tale of the clumsy yet valiant knight that makes it so beloved? Ilan Stavans investigates. Le...

Practice more problem-solving at https://brilliant.org/TedEd/Solution to Bonus Riddle: https://brilliant.org/TedEdRoboAnts/Uploaded 09-10-18The good news is that your experimental robo-ants are a success. The bad news is that you accidentally gave them the ability to shoot deadly lasers … and you can’t turn it off. Can you stop them from escaping their habitat before the lasers are activated? Dan...

Check out our Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/tededUploaded 11-10-18View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/history-through-the-eyes-of-a-chicken-chris-a-knieslyThe Ancient Egyptian king Thutmose III described the chicken as a marvelous foreign bird that “gives birth daily.” Romans brought them on their military campaigns to foretell the success of future battles. Today, this bird occup...

Check out our Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/tededUploaded 15-10-18View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/why-should-you-read-waiting-for-godot-iseult-gillespieTwo men, Estragon and Vladimir, meet by a tree at dusk to wait for someone named “Godot.” So begins a vexing cycle where the two debate when Godot will come, why they’re waiting and whether they’re even at the right tree. The p...

Check out our Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/tededUploaded 16-10-18View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/what-if-cracks-in-concrete-could-fix-themselves-congrui-jinConcrete is the most widely used construction material in the world. It can be found in swathes of city pavements, bridges that span vast rivers and the tallest skyscrapers on earth. But it does have a weakness: it’s prone...

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-language-of-lying-noah-zandanUploaded 03-11-14We hear anywhere from 10 to 200 lies a day. And although we’ve spent much of our history coming up with ways to detect these lies by tracking physiological changes in their tellers, these methods have proved unreliable. Is there a more direct approach? Noah Zandan uses some famous examples of lying to ill...

Check out our Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/tededUploaded 18-10-18View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/why-can-t-some-birds-fly-gillian-gibbThough the common ancestor of all modern birds could fly, many different bird species have independently lost their flight. Flight can have incredible benefits, especially for escaping predators, hunting and traveling long distances. But it als...

Check out our Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/tededUploaded 22-10-18View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-princess-who-rewrote-history-leonora-nevilleAnna Komnene, daughter of Byzantine emperor Alexios, spent the last decade of her life creating a 500-page history of her father’s reign called “The Alexiad.” As a princess writing about her own family, she had to balance her loyalty...

Download a free audiobook version of "A Brief History of Time" and support TED-Ed's nonprofit mission: https://adbl.co/2NWYjAhUploaded 23-10-18Check out our full book recommendation: https://shop.ed.ted.com/collections/ted-ed-book-recommendations/products/a-brief-history-of-timeView full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/does-time-exist-andrew-zimmerman-jonesThe earliest time measurements were ob...

Explore some of the most famous arguments in the ancient debate: is math a human construct or part of the fabric of the universe? Uploaded 27-10-14--Would mathematics exist if people didn't? Did we create mathematical concepts to help us understand the world around us, or is math the native language of the universe itself? Jeff Dekofsky traces some famous arguments in this ancient and hotly debate...

Practice more problem-solving at https://brilliant.org/TedEd/Solution to Bonus Riddle: https://brilliant.org/TedEdRuby/Uploaded 25-10-18Townspeople are demanding that a corrupt merchant’s collection of 30 rubies be confiscated to reimburse the victims of his schemes. The king announces that the fine will be determined through a game of wits between the merchant and the king’s most clever advisor –...

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/is-our-climate-headed-for-mathematical-chaos-victor-j-donnayUploaded 23-10-14Scientists have warned that as CO2 levels in the atmosphere rise an increase in Earth’s temperature by even two degrees could lead to catastrophic effects across the world. But how can such a tiny, measurable change in one factor lead to huge, unpredictable changes elsewhere? Vi...

Dig into the engineering of rollercoasters, and explore how these thrilling rides are built to be scary and safe at the same time. Uploaded 29-10-18--In 1895, crowds flooded Coney Island to see America’s first-ever looping coaster: the Flip Flap Railway. But its thrilling flip caused cases of severe whiplash, neck injury and even ejections. Today, coasters can pull off far more exciting tricks and...

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-do-germs-spread-and-why-do-they-make-us-sick-yannay-khaikin-and-nicole-mideoUploaded 21-10-14Germs are found on almost every surface we come in contact with, which makes it incredibly common for our bodies to be exposed to them. But why are some of these germs relatively harmless, while others can be fatal? Yannay Khaikan and Nicole Mideo explore thi...

Check out our Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/tededUploaded 30-10-18View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-fascinating-history-of-cemeteries-keith-eggenerSpindly trees, rusted gates, crumbling stone, a solitary mourner: these things come to mind when we think of cemeteries. But not long ago, many burial grounds were lively places, with gardens and crowds of people -- and for much o...

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/a-different-way-to-visualize-rhythm-john-varneyUploaded 20-10-14In standard notation, rhythm is indicated on a musical bar line. But there are other ways to visualize rhythm that can be more intuitive. John Varney describes the ‘wheel method’ of tracing rhythm and uses it to take us on a musical journey around the world. Lesson by John Varney, animation...

Check out our Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/tededUploaded 01-11-18View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/what-causes-heartburn-rusha-modiHumans have been battling heartburn for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. But recently the incidence has risen, making it a common complaint worldwide. What causes this problem, and how can it be stopped? Rusha Modi details the causes and treatm...

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/einstein-s-brilliant-mistake-entangled-states-chad-orzelUploaded 16-10-14When you think about Einstein and physics, E=mc^2 is probably the first thing that comes to mind. But one of his greatest contributions to the field actually came in the form of an odd philosophical footnote in a 1935 paper he co-wrote -- which ended up being wrong. Chad Orzel detai...

Check out our Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/tededUploaded 05-11-18View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/is-fire-a-solid-a-liquid-or-a-gas-elizabeth-coxSitting around a campfire, you can feel its heat, smell the woody smoke, and hear it crackle. If you get too close, it burns your eyes and stings your nostrils. You could stare at the bright flames forever as they twist and flicker in...

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/schrodinger-s-cat-a-thought-experiment-in-quantum-mechanics-chad-orzelUploaded 14-10-14Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger, one of the founders of quantum mechanics, posed this famous question: If you put a cat in a sealed box with a device that has a 50% chance of killing the cat in the next hour, what will be the state of the cat when that time is up?...

Check out our Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/tededUploaded 06-11-18View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-far-would-you-have-to-go-to-escape-gravity-rene-lauferEvery star, black hole, human being, smartphone and atom are all constantly pulling on each other due to one force: gravity. So why don’t we feel pulled in billions of different directions? And is there anywhere in the univ...

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/history-vs-christopher-columbus-alex-gendlerUploaded 13-10-14Many people in the United States and Latin America have grown up celebrating the anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s voyage. But was he an intrepid explorer who brought two worlds together or a ruthless exploiter who brought colonialism and slavery? And did he even discover America at all? Al...

Practice more problem-solving at https://brilliant.org/TedEd/Signup to receive the bonus riddle's solution: https://brilliant.org/TedEdWerewolf/Uploaded 08-11-18You’re on the trail of a werewolf that’s been terrorizing your town. After months of detective work, you’ve narrowed your suspects to one of five people. You’ve invited them to dinner with a simple plan: to slip a square of a rare antidote...

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-do-we-measure-distances-in-space-yuan-sen-tingUploaded 09-10-14When we look at the sky, we have a flat, two-dimensional view. So how do astronomers figure the distances of stars and galaxies from Earth? Yuan-Sen Ting shows us how trigonometric parallaxes, standard candles and more help us determine the distance of objects several billion light years...

Check out our Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/tededUploaded 12-11-18View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/history-vs-henry-viii-mark-robinson-and-alex-gendlerHe was a powerful king whose break with the church of Rome would forever change the course of English history. But was he a charismatic reformer who freed his subjects from a corrupt establishment or a bullying tyrant who used Pa...