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Why are some people left-handed?

Adults History
Today, about one-tenth of the world's population are southpaws. Why are such a small proportion of people left-handed -- and why does the trait exist in the first place? Daniel M. Abrams investigates how the uneven ratio of lefties and righties gives insight into a balance between competitive and cooperative pressures on human evolution.

Four sisters in Ancient Rome - Ray Laurence

Adults History
How did the young, wealthy women of Ancient Rome spend their days? Meet Domitia and her sister Domitia and her sister Domitia and her sister Domitia. Ray Laurence sketches the domestic life of leisure that these young girls lived, despite little recorded information on women from this otherwise well-documented era.

The TRUTH About GHOSTS!

Adults History
In folklore, mythology, and modern media such as literary fiction, a ghost (sometimes known as a spectre [British English] or specter [American English], phantom, apparition, spirit, spook, or haunt) is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living.

Evolution Of Human Species

Adults History
Watch the evolution of our species in under two minutes. Learn how paleoartist John Gurche draws on fossil discoveries and forensic techniques to create transfixing reconstructions of long-lost human ancestors.

The War on Science

Adults History
Please VOTE for science!

The history of tattoos

Adults History
If you have a tattoo, you're part of a rich cultural history that dates back at least 8,000 years. Where did this practice of body modification come from, and how has its function changed over time? Addison Anderson tracks the history of getting inked.

New Human Ancestor Discovered: Homo naledi

Adults History
Within a deep and narrow cave in South Africa, paleoanthropologist Lee Berger and his team found fossil remains belonging to the newest member of our human family. The Homo naledi discovery adds another exciting chapter to the human evolution story by introducing an ancestor that was primitive but shared physical characteristics with modern humans.

How Does A Canyon Become Grand?

Adults History
I was in Arizona recently for Phoenix Comic-Con, and had the amazing pleasure of seeing one of Earth's greatest natural wonders... the Grand Canyon. More than a mile deep, and several miles across, it just defies belief. But I couldn't help but think, the Colorado River down at the bottom isn't that big. How did it cut a canyon so massive? How old is the Grand Canyon?

What is the universe made of?

Adults History
The atoms around you have existed for billions of years -- and most originated in the flaming, gaseous core of a star. Dennis Wildfogel tells the captivating tale of these atoms' long journeys from the Big Bang to the molecules they form today.

The wars that inspired Game of Thrones

Adults History
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 loyalties. Sound familiar? Alex Gendler illustrates how the historical conflict known as the Wars of the Roses served as the basis for much of the drama in Game of Thrones.

How batteries work

Adults History
Batteries are a triumph of science-they allow smartphones and other technologies to exist without anchoring us to an infernal tangle of power cables. Yet even the best batteries will diminish daily, slowly losing capacity until they finally die. Why does this happen, and how do our batteries even store so much charge in the first place? Adam Jacobson gives the basics on batteries.

The 6 Craziest Extinctions Ever

Adults History
The earth has been through some major changes!

The beginning of the universe, for beginners

Adults History
How did the universe begin -- and how is it expanding? CERN physicist Tom Whyntie shows how cosmologists and particle physicists explore these questions by replicating the heat, energy, and activity of the first few seconds of our universe, from right after the Big Bang.

Comma story - Terisa Folaron

Adults History
It isn't easy holding complex sentences together (just ask a conjunction or a subordinate), but the clever little comma can help lighten the load. But how to tell when help is really needed? Terisa Folaron offers some tricks of the comma trade.

Why Does February Only Have 28 Days?

Adults History
Why does February only get 28 days when all the other months get 30 or 31? The answer is part superstition, part politics, and parts astronomy.

Why Vaccines Work

Adults History
As more and more parents are choosing not to vaccinate their children or are vaccinating them later, diseases like measles are making a comeback. Are vaccines safe? How do they work? This week we look at why are people afraid of something that has saved so many lives, and look at the history and science of vaccines.

Mythbusters Water Torture

Adults History
On this episode of mythbusters the team tests out an ancient torture method.