Podcasts by TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing

TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing

TED-Ed's commitment to creating lessons worth sharing is an extension of TED's mission of spreading great ideas. Within TED-Ed's growing library of TED-Ed animations, you will find carefully curated educational videos, many of which represent collaborations between talented educators and animators nominated through the TED-Ed website (ed.ted.com).

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
Can you solve the honeybee riddle? | Dan Finkel from 2020-08-09T23:07:17

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 appr...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
Ethical dilemma: The burger murders | George Siedel and Christine Ladwig from 2020-08-09T23:05:38

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 crimi...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
No one can figure out how eels have sex | Lucy Cooke from 2020-08-09T23:03:42

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, bu...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
How do our brains process speech? | Gareth Gaskell from 2020-07-23T18:37:33

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...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
The myth of Jason, Medea, and the Golden Fleece | Iseult Gillespie from 2020-07-21T15:17:29

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 th...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
The rise and fall of the Celtic warriors | Philip Freeman from 2020-07-21T14:32:28

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 wa...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
The Egyptian myth of the death of Osiris | Alex Gendler from 2020-07-16T18:50:25

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 f...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
The race to decode a mysterious language | Susan Lupack from 2020-07-14T16:28:08

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 othe...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
What makes volcanoes erupt? | Steven Anderson from 2020-07-13T16:07:21

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...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
What happened when the United States tried to ban alcohol | Rod Phillips from 2020-07-09T15:15:15

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 whisk...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
The tale of the boy who tricked the Devil | Iseult Gillespie from 2020-07-07T16:05:53

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...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
The greatest mathematician that never lived | Pratik Aghor from 2020-07-06T15:20:23

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 jour...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
What is phantom traffic and why is it ruining your life? | Benjamin Seibold from 2020-05-28T15:35:37

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 the...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
Why should you read "Moby Dick"? | Sascha Morrell from 2020-05-26T16:48:14

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 He...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
How do ventilators work? | Alex Gendler from 2020-05-21T15:38:21

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 t...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
Can you solve the world's most evil wizard riddle? | Dan Finkel from 2020-05-19T15:17:02

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 sho...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
How do you know if you have a virus? | Cella Wright from 2020-05-18T15:19:33

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 i...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
What is a coronavirus? | Elizabeth Cox from 2020-05-14T15:58:29

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 q...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
A day in the life of an Aztec midwife | Kay Read from 2020-05-12T15:04:45

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 s...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
What causes opioid addiction, and why is it so tough to combat? | Mike Davis from 2020-05-08T14:54:46

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...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
Which is better: Soap or hand sanitizer? | Alex Rosenthal and Pall Thordarson from 2020-05-05T21:47:34

Your hands, up close, are anything but smooth. With peaks and valleys, folds and rifts, there are plenty of hiding places for a virus to stick. If you then touch your face, the virus can infect you...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
What really happened during the Salem Witch Trials | Brian A. Pavlac from 2020-05-04T15:12:35

You've been accused of a crime you did not commit. It's impossible to prove your innocence. If you insist that you're innocent anyway, you'll likely be found guilty and executed. But if you confess...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
What happens if you cut down all of a city's trees? | Stefan Al from 2020-04-24T15:02:11

By 2050, it's estimated that over 65% of the world will be living in cities. We may think of nature as being unconnected to our urban spaces, but trees have always been an essential part of success...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
The wildly complex anatomy of a sneaker | Angel Chang from 2020-04-23T15:32:21

Australians call them "runners." The British know them as "trainers." Americans refer to them as "sneakers." Whatever you call them, these casual shoes are worn by billions of people around the wor...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
What's the point(e) of ballet? | Ming Luke from 2020-04-20T15:16:42

A baby cursed at birth. A fierce battle of good and evil. A true love awoken with a kiss. Since premiering in 1890, "The Sleeping Beauty" has become one of the most frequently staged ballets in his...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
The Gauntlet | Think Like A Coder, Ep 8 | Alex Rosenthal from 2020-04-16T19:37:40

This is episode 8 of our animated series "Think Like A Coder." This 10-episode narrative follows a girl, Ethic, and her robot companion, Hedge, as they attempt to save the world. The two embark on ...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
The bug that poops candy | George Zaidan from 2020-04-14T15:06:07

Aphids can reproduce incredibly fast: they can make 20 new generations within a single season. And that means lots of poop. Some aphid populations can produce hundreds of kilograms of poop per acre...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
The hidden life of Rosa Parks | Riché D. Richardson from 2020-04-13T16:10:22

Throughout her life, Rosa Parks repeatedly challenged racial violence and the prejudiced systems protecting its perpetrators. Her refusal to move to the back of a segregated bus ignited a boycott t...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
How does alcohol make you drunk? | Judy Grisel from 2020-04-09T15:03:41

Ethanol: this molecule, made of little more than a few carbon atoms, is responsible for drunkenness. Often simply referred to as alcohol, ethanol is the active ingredient in alcoholic beverages. So...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
How the Monkey King escaped the underworld | Shunan Teng from 2020-04-07T15:05:32

The Monkey King, a legendary troublemaker hatched from stone and schooled in divine magic, had stolen the Dragon Lord's most treasured weapon: a magical staff. Returning to his kingdom to show off ...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
The art forger who tricked the Nazis | Noah Charney from 2020-04-06T17:17:01

It was one of the strangest trials in Dutch history. The defendant in a 1947 case was an art forger who had counterfeited millions of dollars worth of paintings. But he wasn't arguing his innocence...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
Can you solve the sea monster riddle? | Daniel Finkel from 2020-04-02T16:09:07

According to legend, once every thousand years a host of sea monsters emerges from the depths to demand tribute from the floating city of Atlantartica. As the ruler of the city, you'd always dismis...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
History vs. Sigmund Freud | Todd Dufresne from 2020-03-31T17:30:08

Working in Vienna at the turn of the 20th century, he began his career as a neurologist before pioneering the discipline of psychoanalysis, and his influence towers above that of all other psycholo...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
How the world's longest underwater tunnel was built | Alex Gendler from 2020-03-30T15:05:01

Flanked by two powerful nations, the English Channel has long been one of the world's most important maritime passages. Yet for most of its history, crossing was a dangerous prospect. Engineers pro...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
What is schizophrenia? | Anees Bahji from 2020-03-26T15:21:32

Schizophrenia was first identified more than a century ago, but we still don't know its exact causes. It remains one of the most misunderstood and stigmatized illnesses today. So what do we actuall...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
Why isn't the Netherlands underwater? | Stefan Al from 2020-03-24T15:29:19

In January 1953, a tidal surge shook the North Sea. The titanic waves flooded the Dutch coastline, killing almost 2,000 people. 54 years later, a similar storm threatened the region. But this time,...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
Who was the world's first author? | Soraya Field Fiorio from 2020-03-23T15:50:54

4,300 years ago in ancient Sumer, the most powerful person in the city of Ur was banished to wander the vast desert. Her name was Enheduanna, and by the time of her exile, she had written forty-two...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
The imaginary king who changed the real world | Matteo Salvadore from 2020-03-19T15:44:33

In 1165, copies of a strange letter began to circulate throughout Europe. It spoke of a fantastical realm, containing the Tower of Babel and the Fountain of Youth— all ruled over by the letter's my...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
How one scientist took on the chemical industry | Mark Lytle from 2020-03-17T17:16:03

In 1958, after receiving a letter describing the deaths of songbirds due to the pesticide known as DDT, Rachel Carson began an investigation into the misuse of chemicals and their toll on nature. I...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
How can we solve the antibiotic resistance crisis? | Gerry Wright from 2020-03-16T15:50:45

Antibiotics: behind the scenes, they enable much of modern medicine. We use them to cure infectious diseases, and to safely facilitate everything from surgery to chemotherapy to organ transplants. ...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
The tale of the doctor who defied Death | Iseult Gillespie from 2020-03-12T15:44:39

A husband and wife were in despair. The woman had just given birth to their 13th child, and the growing family was quickly running out of food and money. Wandering into the woods, the father encoun...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
The meaning of life according to Simone de Beauvoir | Iseult Gillespie from 2020-03-10T20:49:35

At the age of 21, Simone de Beauvoir became the youngest person to take the philosophy exams at France's most esteemed university. But as soon as she mastered the rules of philosophy, she wanted to...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
What's a squillo, and why do opera singers need it? | Ming Luke from 2020-03-09T15:51:21

An orchestra fills an opera house with music, but a singer's voice soars above the instruments. Its melody rings out across thousands of patrons— all without any assistance from a microphone. How i...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
The Tower of Epiphany | Think Like A Coder, Ep 7 | Alex Rosenthal from 2020-02-27T17:17:32

This is episode 7 of our animated series "Think Like A Coder." This 10-episode narrative follows a girl, Ethic, and her robot companion, Hedge, as they attempt to save the world. The two embark on ...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
Why do people fear the wrong things? | Gerd Gigerenzer from 2020-02-25T16:06:44

A new drug reduces the risk of heart attacks by 40%. Shark attacks are up by a factor of two. Drinking a liter of soda per day doubles your chance of developing cancer. These are all examples of a ...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
Vultures: The acid-puking, plague-busting heroes of the ecosystem | Kenny Coogan from 2020-02-24T16:25:19

In the African grasslands, a gazelle suffering from tuberculosis takes its last breath. The animal's corpse threatens to infect the water, but for the vulture, this isn't a problem: it's a feast. W...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
The secret messages of Viking runestones | Jesse Byock from 2020-02-20T16:03:58

With their navigational skills and advanced longships, the Vikings sustained their seafaring for over 300 years. But for all their might, they left few monuments. Instead, fragments of stone, bark ...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
How do blood transfusions work? | Bill Schutt from 2020-02-20T15:35:22

In 1881, doctor William Halsted rushed to help his sister Minnie, who was hemorrhaging after childbirth. He quickly inserted a needle into his arm, withdrew his own blood, and transferred it to her...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
The legend of Annapurna, Hindu goddess of nourishment | Antara Raychaudhuri and Iseult Gillespie from 2020-02-13T16:05:42

Historically, the union between Shiva and Parvati was a glorious one: a sacred combination which brought fertility and connection to all living things. Yet a rift had grown between these two forces...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
Epic Engineering: Building the Brooklyn Bridge | Alex Gendler from 2020-02-11T16:12:02

In the mid-19th century, suspension bridges were collapsing all across Europe. Their industrial cables frayed and snapped under the weight of their decks. So when German American engineer John Roeb...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
The accident that changed the world | Allison Ramsey and Mary Staicu from 2020-02-10T16:48:35

In 1928, scientist Alexander Fleming returned to his lab and found something unexpected: a colony of mold growing on a Petri dish he'd forgotten to place in his incubator. And around this colony of...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
Everything changed when the fire crystal got stolen | Alex Gendler from 2020-02-07T16:26:53

Someone has tripped the magical alarms in the Element Temple. When you and the other monks arrive on the scene, you know you have a disaster on your hands. Four young apprentices broke into the tem...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
Do politics make us irrational? | Jay Van Bavel from 2020-02-04T17:19:12

Can someone's political identity actually affect their ability to process information? The answer lies in a cognitive phenomenon known as partisanship. While identifying with social groups is an es...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
The life, legacy&assassination of an African revolutionary | Lisa Janae Bacon from 2020-02-03T19:02:52

In 1972, Thomas Sankara was swept into the revolution seeking to wrest control of Madagascar from France's lingering colonial rule. The protests inspired the West African native to read works by so...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
The Chasm | Think Like A Coder, Ep 6 | Alex Rosenthal from 2020-01-30T16:41:13

This is episode 6 of our animated series "Think Like A Coder." This 10-episode narrative follows a girl, Ethic, and her robot companion, Hedge, as they attempt to save the world. The two embark on ...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
Licking bees and pulping trees: The reign of a wasp queen | Kenny Coogan from 2020-01-28T16:12:57

As the sun rises, something royal stirs inside a pile of firewood. It's the wasp queen; one of thousands who mated in late autumn and hibernated through the winter. Now she must emerge into the spr...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
How bones make blood | Melody Smith from 2020-01-27T18:56:29

Bones might seem rock-solid, but they're actually quite porous inside. Most of the large bones of your skeleton have a hollow core filled with soft bone marrow. Marrow's most essential elements are...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
Why is cotton in everything? | Michael R. Stiff from 2020-01-24T15:49:14

Centuries ago, the Inca developed ingenuous suits of armor that could protect warriors from even the fiercest physical attacks. These hardy structures were made not from iron or steel, but rather s...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
What was so special about Viking ships? | Jan Bill from 2020-01-21T17:43:03

As the Roman Empire flourished, Scandinavians had small settlements and no central government. Yet by the 11th century, they had spread far from Scandinavia, gaining control of trade routes through...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
Mating frenzies, sperm hoards, and brood raids: The life of a fire ant queen | Walter R. Tschinkel from 2020-01-16T17:53:29

In the spring, just after a heavy rainfall, male and female fire ants swarm the skies for a day of romance, known as the nuptial flight. Thousands of reproduction-capable ants take part in a mating...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
The Artists | Think Like A Coder, Ep 5 | Alex Rosenthal from 2020-01-13T16:41:25

This is episode 5 of our animated series "Think Like A Coder." This 10-episode narrative follows a girl, Ethic, and her robot companion, Hedge, as they attempt to save the world. The two embark on ...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
Can you solve the dragon jousting riddle? | Alex Gendler from 2020-01-10T16:13:05

After years of war, the world's kingdoms have come to an agreement. Every five years, teams representing the elves, goblins, and treefolk will compete in a grand tournament of dragon jousting. You ...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
The mysterious life and death of Rasputin | Eden Girma from 2020-01-08T18:06:59

On a night in 1916, Russian aristocrats set a plot of assassination into motion. If all went as planned, a man would be dead by morning, though others had already tried and failed. The monarchy was...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
Could a breathalyzer detect cancer? | Julian Burschka from 2020-01-06T16:30:43

How is it that a breathalyzer can measure the alcohol content in someone's blood, hours after they had their last drink, based on their breath alone? And could we use this same technology to detect...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
A brief history of alcohol | Rod Phillips from 2020-01-02T16:13:04

Nobody knows exactly when humans began to create fermented beverages. The earliest known evidence comes from 7,000 BCE in China, where residue in clay pots has revealed that people were making an a...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
Why should you read "Lord of the Flies" by William Golding? | Jill Dash from 2019-12-12T20:18:16

After witnessing the atrocities of his fellow man in World War II, William Golding was losing his faith in humanity. Later, during the Cold War, as superpowers began threatening one another with nu...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
Hacking bacteria to fight cancer | Tal Danino from 2019-12-11T19:57:19

In 1884, an unlucky patient who had a rapidly growing cancer in his neck came down with an unrelated bacterial skin infection. As he recovered from the infection, the cancer surprisingly began to r...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
The Train Heist | Think Like A Coder, Ep 4 | Alex Rosenthal from 2019-12-09T16:13:47

This is episode 4 of our animated series "Think Like A Coder." This 10-episode narrative follows a girl, Ethic, and her robot companion, Hedge, as they attempt to save the world. The two embark on ...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
How does chemotherapy work? | Hyunsoo Joshua No from 2019-12-05T16:02

During World War I, scientists were trying to develop an antidote to the poisonous yellow cloud known as mustard gas. They discovered the gas was irrevocably damaging the bone marrow of affected so...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
Why doesn't the Leaning Tower of Pisa fall over? | Alex Gendler from 2019-12-03T16:39:32

In 1990, the Italian government enlisted top engineers to stabilize Pisa's famous Leaning Tower. There'd been many attempts during its 800 year history, but computer models revealed the urgency of ...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
How corn conquered the world | Chris A. Kniesly from 2019-12-02T16:04:07

Corn currently accounts for more than one tenth of our global crop production. And over 99% of cultivated corn is the exact same type: Yellow Dent #2. This means that humans grow more Yellow Dent #...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
Is marijuana bad for your brain? | Anees Bahji from 2019-12-02T16:03:12

In 1970, marijuana was classified as a schedule 1 drug in the United States: the strictest designation possible, meaning it was completely illegal and had no recognized medical uses. Today, marijua...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
Can you outsmart this logical fallacy? | Alex Gendler from 2019-11-25T16:11:23

Meet Lucy. She was a math major in college, and aced all her courses in probability and statistics. Which do you think is more likely: that Lucy is a portrait artist, or that Lucy is a portrait art...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
History's "worst" nun | Theresa A. Yugar from 2019-11-21T16:35:33

Juana Ramírez de Asbaje sat before a panel of prestigious theologians, jurists, and mathematicians. They had been invited to test Juana's knowledge with the most difficult questions they could must...

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How does laser eye surgery work? | Dan Reinstein from 2019-11-19T16:13:29

In 1948, Spanish ophthalmologist Jose Ignacio Barraquer Moner was fed up with glasses. He wanted a solution for blurry vision that fixed the eye itself, without relying on external aids. The surger...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
The Furnace Bots | Think Like A Coder, Ep 3 | Alex Rosenthal from 2019-11-18T18:25:07

This is episode 3 of our animated series "Think Like A Coder." This 10-episode narrative follows a girl, Ethic, and her robot companion, Hedge, as they attempt to save the world. The two embark on ...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
The myth of Loki and the master builder | Alex Gendler from 2019-11-14T17:43:38

Asgard, a realm of wonders, was where the Norse Gods made their home. There Odin's great hall of Valhalla towered above the mountains and Bifrost, the rainbow bridge, anchored itself. Though their ...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
How does impeachment work? | Alex Gendler from 2019-09-26T16:07:37

For most jobs, it's understood that you can be fired – whether for crime, incompetence, or just poor performance. But what if your job happens to be the most powerful position in the country – or t...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
A brief history of cannibalism | Bill Schutt from 2019-07-25T16:34:17

15th century Europeans believed they had hit upon a miracle cure: a remedy for epilepsy, hemorrhage, bruising, nausea and virtually any other medical ailment. It was a brown powder known as "mumia,...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
The Opposites Game | Brendan Constantine from 2019-06-03T19:32:42

A classroom erupts into a war of words as students grapple with a seemingly simple prompt: what is the opposite of a gun? This animation is part of the TED-Ed series, "There's a Poem for That," whi...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
The genius of Marie Curie | Shohini Ghose from 2019-04-05T20:05:47

Marie Skłodowska Curie's revolutionary research laid the groundwork for our understanding of physics and chemistry, blazing trails in oncology, technology, medicine, and nuclear physics, to name a ...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
How to spot a pyramid scheme | Stacie Bosley from 2019-04-02T18:03:03

In 2004, a nutrition company offered a life-changing opportunity to earn a full-time income for part-time work. There were only two steps to get started: purchase a $500 kit and recruit two more me...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
Frida Kahlo: The woman behind the legend | Iseult Gillespie from 2019-03-28T17:35:43

In 1925, Frida Kahlo was on her way home from school in Mexico City when the bus she was riding collided with a streetcar. She suffered near-fatal injuries and her disability became a major theme i...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
Why do we love? A philosophical inquiry | Skye C. Cleary from 2019-03-15T17:12:28

Ah, romantic love; beautiful and intoxicating, heart-breaking and soul-crushing... often all at the same time! If romantic love has a purpose, neither science nor psychology has discovered it yet –...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
How stress affects your brain | Madhumita Murgia from 2019-03-15T17:11:02

Stress isn't always a bad thing; it can be handy for a burst of extra energy and focus, like when you're playing a competitive sport or have to speak in public. But when it's continuous, it actuall...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
What is depression? | Helen M. Farrell from 2019-03-01T16:35:44

Depression is the leading cause of disability in the world; in the United States, close to ten percent of adults struggle with the disease. But because it's a mental illness, it can be a lot harder...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
Why is ketchup so hard to pour? | George Zaidan from 2019-02-22T18:58:11

Ever go to pour ketchup on your fries...and nothing comes out? Or the opposite happens, and your plate is suddenly swimming in a sea of red? George Zaidan describes the physics behind this frustrat...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
What would happen if you didn't drink water? | Mia Nacamulli from 2019-02-15T17:41:07

Water is essentially everywhere in our world, and the average human is composed of between 55 and 60% water. So what role does water play in our bodies, and how much do we actually need to drink to...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
The wars that inspired Game of Thrones | Alex Gendler from 2019-02-15T17:39:19

Beginning around 1377, medieval England was shaken by a power struggle between two noble families, which spanned generations and involved a massive cast of characters, complex motives and shifting ...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
The science of spiciness | Rose Eveleth from 2019-02-15T17:36:36

When you take a bite of a hot pepper, your body reacts as if your mouth is on fire -- because that's essentially what you've told your brain! Rose Eveleth details the science and history behind spi...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
How Thor got his hammer | Scott A. Mellor from 2019-01-07T18:51:13

Loki the mischief-maker, writhes in Thor's iron grip. The previous night, he'd snuck up on Thor's wife and shorn off her beautiful hair. To fix what he'd done, Loki rushes to the dwarves and tricks...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
The history of the world according to cats | Eva-Maria Geigl from 2019-01-03T20:48:13

In ancient times, wildcats were fierce carnivorous hunters. And unlike dogs, who have undergone centuries of selective breeding, modern cats are genetically very similar to ancient cats. How did th...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
Are we running out of clean water? | Balsher Singh Sidhu from 2018-12-06T20:10:40

Despite water covering 71% of the planet's surface, more than half the world's population endures extreme water scarcity for at least one month a year. Current estimates predict that by 2040, up to...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
Why should you read Kurt Vonnegut? | Mia Nacamulli from 2018-11-29T18:54:01

Kurt Vonnegut found the tidy, satisfying arcs of many stories at odds with reality, and he set out to explore the ambiguity between good and bad fortune in his own novels. He tried to make sense of...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
Does time exist? | Andrew Zimmerman Jones from 2018-10-23T18:16:57

The earliest time measurements were observations of cycles of the natural world, using patterns of changes from day to night and season to season to build calendars. More precise time-keeping event...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
How do cigarettes affect the body? | Krishna Sudhir from 2018-09-13T19:20:16

Cigarettes aren't good for us. That's hardly news -- we've known about the dangers of smoking for decades. But how exactly do cigarettes harm us, and can our bodies recover if we stop? Krishna Sudh...

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TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
The treadmill's dark and twisted past | Conor Heffernan from 2017-09-07T19:11:55

The constant thud underneath your feet. The constrained space. The monotony of going nowhere fast. Running on a treadmill can certainly feel like torture, but did you know it was originally used fo...

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