TED-Ed

Wael Ghonim is the Google executive who helped jumpstart Egypt's democratic revolution ... with a Facebook page memorializing a victim of the regime's violence. Speaking at TEDxCairo, he tells the inside story of the past two months, when everyday Egyptians showed that "the power of the people is stronger than the people in power."Talk by Wael Ghonim. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaph...

Why aren’t commercial flights getting faster? Dig into the technological and environmental problems facing supersonic flight. --In 1996, a British Airways plane flew from New York to London in a record-breaking two hours and fifty-three minutes. Today, however, passengers flying the same route can expect to spend no less than six hours in the air — twice as long. So why, in a world where everythin...

In her talk, longtime English teacher Patricia Ryan asks a provocative question: Is the world's focus on English preventing the spread of great ideas in other languages? (For instance: what if Einstein had to pass the TOEFL?) It's a passionate defense of translating and sharing ideas. (Filmed at TEDxDubai.)Talk by Patricia Ryan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Find out whether a honeybee, a tarantula hawk wasp, or a bullet ant has the most painful insect sting, and what each of their stings feel like. --One of these three creatures is thought to possess the world’s most painful insect sting: there’s an ant that forages in rainforest canopies, a bee that protects a hive of delectable honey, and a wasp that paralyzes tarantulas. So which has the nastiest...

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-terrors-of-sleep-paralysis-ami-angelowiczImagine you're fast asleep and then suddenly awake. You want to move but can't, as if someone is sitting on your chest. And you can't even scream! This is sleep paralysis, a creepy but common phenomenon caused by an overlap in REM sleep and waking stages. Ami Angelowicz describes just how pervasive (but harmle...

Discover the engineering innovations that made building Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest skyscraper, possible.--In 2004, construction began on a new building in Dubai, promising a revolutionary design that would dwarf the rest of the world’s skyscrapers. Five years later, the 828-meter Burj Khalifa was complete, surpassing the previous record-holder by over 60%. What innovations allowed for such...

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/what-s-below-the-tip-of-the-iceberg-camille-seamanIt's a well-known fact that the majority of an iceberg lies below the surface -- but just as stealthily hidden are their fascinating qualities. Traveling the seas, teeming with life, and sometimes even making a noise called "bergie seltzer," there's so much more than meets the eye. Camille Seaman gives ho...

Explore the circular reasoning fallacy, which occurs when the end of an argument comes back to the start without having proven itself.--It’s 1990. A prospective student has filed a complaint about Virginia Military institute’s admissions policy that excludes women. The state argues that VMI’s single sex education is an “important governmental objective” and that the exclusion of women from VMI is...

Get to know the story of how truck driver Malcom McLean invented the shipping container, and how it transformed the global economy.--Sometimes a single unlikely idea can have massive impact across the world. Sir Harold Evans, the author of "They Made America," describes how frustration drove Malcom McLean, a small-town truck driver, to invent the shipping container. Containerization was born, and...

Explore 3 strategies to control the flow of lava, and how scientists are using them to protect communities from future eruptions.--In December 2023, Icelandic citizens experienced their worst nightmare: a volcanic fissure opened and began spewing lava fountains 100 meters tall. While the molten rock narrowly avoided a small town, Iceland wasn’t willing to leave anyone's fate to chance again and be...

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...