How Many Heartbeats Do We Get?
Adults Biology Life RelationshipsEver wonder how the heart symbol came to stand for the actual heart? And why do we speak of the heart as the seat of love, when love really happens in our brains? Is it true that animals only get a billion heartbeats? This week, we give you enough cool cardiac science to make your heart skip a beat.
How tsunamis work - Alex Gendler
Adults Nature WorldThe immense swell of a tsunami can grow up to 100 feet, hitting speeds over 500 mph -- a treacherous combination for anyone or anything in its path. Alex Gendler details the causes of these towering terrors and explains how scientists are seeking to reduce their destruction in the future.
Exploring other dimensions - Alex Rosenthal and George Zaidan
Adults Physics ScienceImagine a two-dimensional world -- you, your friends, everything is 2D. In his 1884 novella, Edwin Abbott invented this world and called it Flatland. Alex Rosenthal and George Zaidan take the premise of Flatland one dimension further, imploring us to consider how we would see dimensions different from our own and why the exploration just may be worth it.
What is Deja Vu?!
Adults Mental Health ScienceMost of us have felt it before, that strange sensation that you've been somewhere or seen something before, as if you already remembered what's happening. Are you psychic? Nope, that's just deja vu. Why does deja vu happen? Well, scientists aren't completely sure, but they've got a few good theories about it.
GoPro: Synchronized Skydive in Dubai
Adults Creativity Film SportsAleksander and Mikhael skydive over Dubai in a mesmerizing routine over the iconic Palm Islands.
Do Cell Phones Cause Brain Tumors?
Adults Gadgets Health TechnologyDo cell phones cause brain tumors? Conflicting results are resolved by looking at the big picture.
How languages evolve - Alex Gendler
Adults History LanguageOver the course of human history, thousands of languages have developed from what was once a much smaller number. How did we end up with so many? And how do we keep track of them all? Alex Gendler explains how linguists group languages into language families, demonstrating how these linguistic trees give us crucial insights into the past.
Project Loon - Google's Internet Balloons - Future Thinking - Head Squeeze
Adults Internet Culture Physics TechnologyWe are becoming increasingly more dependent on the internet to help run our lives. But much of the planet is outside the web, zones that are without web coverage. Ordinarily, this is more of a nuisance than a calamity. But in the aftermath of disasters, restoring internet coverage can be the difference between life and death.
Lego-style apartment transforms into infinite spaces
Adults Construction CreativityWhen Christian Schallert isn't cooking, dressing, sleeping or eating, his 24 square meter (258 square feet) apartment looks like an empty cube. To use a piece of furniture, he has to build it.
How folding paper can get you to the moon - Adrian Paenza
Adults Math SpaceCan folding a piece of paper 45 times get you to the moon? By seeing what happens when folding just one piece of paper, we see the unbelievable potential of exponential growth. This lesson will leave you wanting to grab a piece of paper to see how many times you can fold it!
The fundamentals of space-time: Part 2 - Andrew Pontzen and Tom Whyntie
Adults Math PhysicsLight always travels at a speed of 299,792,458 meters per second. But if you're in motion too, you're going to perceive it as traveling even faster -- which isn't possible! In this second installment of a three-part series on space-time, CERN scientists Andrew Pontzen and Tom Whyntie use a space-time diagram to analyze the sometimes confounding motion of light.
5 Weird Involuntary Behaviors Explained!
Adults Psychology SocietyOur bodies do a lot of weird things, and many of them are completely involuntary. Why do we often jerk our bodies awake right before falling asleep? Why do we yawn, or hiccup? Why do some people sneeze when they look at the sun? And why does your eye twitch? This week we'll look at the science behind these crazy involuntary behaviors!
The science of stage fright (and how to overcome it)
Adults Biology PsychologyHeart racing, palms sweating, labored breathing? No, you're not having a heart attack -- it's stage fright! If speaking in public makes you feel like you're fighting for your life, you're not alone. But the better you understand your body's reaction, the more likely you are to overcome it. Mikael Cho advises how to trick your brain and steal the show.
Deep ocean mysteries and wonders
Adults Ecology Environment NatureIn the deepest, darkest parts of the oceans are ecosystems with more diversity than a tropical rainforest. Taking us on a voyage into the ocean -- from the deepest trenches to the remains of the Titanic -- marine biologist David Gallo explores the wonder and beauty of marine life.
This Skiing Video Is So Bonkers You're Excused If You Think It's A Video Game
Adults Life Nature SportsCandide Thovex conquers France's Val Blanc resort in a mind-blowing clip titled "One Of Those Days 2." He races in and out of what appears to be forbidden territory and straight into the crazy zone.
There's No Such Thing As Cold
Adults Physics WeatherYou've felt cold before. Sometimes it's cold outside. But what if I told you that "cold" isn't real? There's no substance or quantity called "cold" in science. We can't measure the amount of "cold" in something. Instead it's about what's NOT there. In this week's video, learn the difference between heat and temperature, why a wind makes us feel colder, and what it's like to live as a mass of jiggling atoms. This is the physics of cold.