The chemistry of cookies
Adults Food ScienceYou stick cookie dough into an oven, and magically, you get a plate of warm, gooey cookies. Except it's not magic; it's science. Stephanie Warren explains via basic chemistry principles how the dough spreads out, at what temperature we can kill salmonella, and why that intoxicating smell wafting from your oven indicates that the cookies are ready for eating.
Here's What It's Like To Parachute Into A Baseball Stadium
Adults Sports Transportation FilmUS Navy Parachuting Team "Leap Frogs" parachuting into San Diego MLB stadium, from their perspective.
Magic for Dogs
Adults Creativity PetsDo dogs react to magic? Watch as magician & mentalist Jose Ahonen vanished some dog treats under their noses. By the way, all the dogs got treats before and after the trick.
The loathsome, lethal mosquito
Adults Animals ScienceEveryone hates mosquitos. Besides the annoying buzzing and biting, mosquito-borne diseases like malaria kill over a million people each year (plus horses, dogs and cats). And over the past 100 million years, they've gotten good at their job -- sucking up to three times their weight in blood, totally undetected. So shouldn't we just get rid of them? Rose Eveleth shares why scientists aren't sure.
The Lion King Australia
Adults Film Music TransportationAfter an amazing day at THE LION KING Brisbane season launch announcement, members of our Australian cast felt so elated they decided to sing the 'Circle of Life' prior to take off on their flight back to Sydney.
How simple ideas lead to scientific discoveries
Adults Creativity ScienceAdam Savage walks through two spectacular examples of profound scientific discoveries that came from simple, creative methods anyone could have followed -- Eratosthenes' calculation of the Earth's circumference around 200 BC and Hippolyte Fizeau's measurement of the speed of light in 1849.
Anti-Gravity Wheel Explained
Adults Physics ScienceIt's a little shaky but if you average out the oscillations I think the result is clear. Again, huge thank you's to A/Prof Emeritus Rod Cross, Helen Georgiou, Alex Yeung, and Chris Stewart, the University of Sydney Mechanical Engineering shop, Duncan and co. Ralph and the School of Physics.
Mousetrap Chain Reaction in Slow Motion
Adults Film Internet CultureGav sets up a chain of 150 mousetraps. Dan sets them off bravely.
The Most Amazing Thing About Trees
Adults Ecology NatureTrees create immense negative pressures of 10's of atmospheres by evaporating water from nanoscale pores, sucking water up 100m in a state where it should be boiling but can't because the perfect xylem tubes contain no air bubbles, just so that most of it can evaporate in the process of absorbing a couple molecules of carbon dioxide. Now I didn't mention the cohesion of water (that it sticks to itself well) but this is implicit in the description of negative pressure, strong surface tension etc.
How Google responds to government search warrants
Adults Business Justice Social MediaHow Google responds to search warrants, while working hard to protect our users' privacy and security. Learn more about how we handle requests.
Why waste time? It doesn't earn interest.
Adults Life Philosophy"Why waste time? It doesn't carry over to the next day. It doesn't earn interest. Take every day and every moment, and make something of it. Make something positive." - Elvis de Leon
Why do we cry? The three types of tears
Adults Biology Human ScienceWhether we cry during a sad movie, while chopping onions, or completely involuntarily, our eyes are constantly producing tears. Alex Gendler tracks a particularly watery day in the life of Iris (the iris) as she cycles through basal, reflex and emotional tears.
X-Men: Days of Future Past | Official Trailer 2
Adults Film MarketingThe ultimate X-Men ensemble fights a war for the survival of the species across two time periods in X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST. The beloved characters from the original "X-Men" film trilogy join forces with their younger selves from "X-Men: First Class," in an epic battle that must change the past -- to save our future.
Dead stuff: The secret ingredient in our food chain
Adults Ecology FoodWhen you picture the lowest levels of the food chain, you might imagine herbivores happily munching on lush, living green plants. But this idyllic image leaves out a huge (and slightly less appetizing) source of nourishment: dead stuff. John C. Moore details the "brown food chain," explaining how such unlikely delicacies as pond scum and animal poop contribute enormous amounts of energy to our ecosystems.