From TED Ed. Explore the science of sinkholes, how they commonly form, and what human activities can also trigger them. — It was a rainy December morning in San Francisco when the Earth opened up. The ground suddenly fell away into a 12-meter-deep sinkhole that engulfed a garage, part of a street, and a multi-million-dollar…

From TED Ed. Opera singer Denyce Graves-Montgomery shares how to find your voice, range, breath, and, ultimately, your truth. — "Think Like A Musician" connects you with working musicians who want to help the music-curious and music-passionate hone and share the gift of music with the world. Part interview, part animated course, our first season…

From TED Ed. Explore different philosophers’ ideas on immortality and dig into their theories about the positives and negatives of eternal life. — While cleaning out your uncle’s attic you find a chest with a sparkling potion. The attached tag declares drinking this liquid will make you immortal. Your body will be frozen at its…

From TED Ed. Dig into the truffle’s unique and mysterious biology to find out what makes them so rare and the limitations of farming them. — Truffles are one of the world’s most expensive foods— in part because global demand often outstrips supply. And truffles are becoming even more rare and more expensive as deforestation…

From TED Ed. Dig into the history of credit cards in the United States, and how they have evolved since the 1950s into the industry we know today. — Today, credit cards are a $500 billion-a-year industry. Banks consider these lines of credit when deciding whether or not to approve loans, incentivizing customers to maintain…

From TED Ed. Puzzle through this classic ethical dilemma and decide: should parents be able to choose genetic traits for their children? — Andre and Leslie are a deaf couple who have decided to have a child, and they’re considering using a process to ensure deafness in their child. As deaf parents, they feel they…

From TED Ed. Trace the evolution of dog breeds, and find out why their characteristics, behaviors, and personalities vary so widely. — The immense physical variety of dogs makes them among the world’s most diverse species and likely the one with the greatest range in size. A Pomeranian, for example, might weigh 2 kilograms, while…

From TED Ed. Explore how big-headed ants have changed an entire ecosystem in Kenya, from its insects and plants to its biggest predators. — In the early 2000s, one of the world’s most widespread invasive species landed in Kenya’s Laikipia Plateau: big-headed ants. They expanded rapidly into super-colonies, preying on other insects, spiders, and even…

From TED Ed. Explore how saunas can affect your body, and dig into the health benefits and limitations of this millennia-old tradition. — Finnish sauna, Roman balneae, Japanese onsen, and Indigenous American sweat lodges are just a few examples of how cultures across the globe have long considered exposure to extreme temperatures therapeutic. But today…

From TED Ed. Dig into the science of how and why fireflies glow, and how their bioluminescent signals differ between males and females. — The first firefly is thought to have lived over 100 million years ago, illuminating the night with a glowing green light. And today, there are around 2,000 firefly species, found all…

From TED Ed. Learn more at https://brilliant.org/TedEd — In one of Aesop’s fables, a crow is searching for water. It spies a pitcher— but the water inside is beyond its reach. So, the crow begins dropping in pebbles. One-by-one, they displace the water, and the crow quenches its thirst. This is just one of many…

From TED Ed. Explore the Big Whack theory, and how the event could have created the Moon and given Earth its all-important axial tilt. — 4.5 billion years ago, Earth was struck by a rock the size of Mars flying 9 kilometers a second. The force of this collision temporarily turned Earth’s surface into an…

From TED Ed. Dig into what circumstances allow for an accidentally amputated limb to be reattached, and what options you have when it can’t be. — In order to reattach a severed limb after an accident, a number of things need to go right— and quickly. A clean cut, properly preserving the limb, and getting…

From TED Ed. Episode 6: Find a way to build trust, interest, and a connection with your audience so that they will be open to what you have to say. — This is episode 6 of the animated series, “Public Speaking 101.” Ideas change everything — and since language lets us share our ideas, learning…

From TED Ed. Get to know the story of Antigone, daughter of Oedipus, who was determined to give her slain brother Polyneices a proper burial. — The gods watched as Oedipus’ daughter, Antigone, stole out of the palace in Thebes the morning after a devastating battle. Antigone was on a dangerous mission to do what…

From TED Ed. Episode 5: Learn to develop your voice and body language so that you are conveying meaning authentically, confidently, and comfortably. — This is episode 5 of the animated series, “Public Speaking 101.” Ideas change everything — and since language lets us share our ideas, learning how to use it well gives speakers…

From TED Ed. Travel into the digestive system to see how food is turned into waste, and what causes the different colors and textures of poop. — The average person poops out approximately 11,030 kilograms of cumulative waste in a lifetime. That’s the equivalent of more than 6 SUVs. Oftentimes, that poop is brown. Why…

From TED Ed. Episode 4: Decide on a presentation plan that makes you feel prepared to communicate an idea to an audience confidently and passionately. — This is episode 4 of the animated series, “Public Speaking 101.” Ideas change everything — and since language lets us share our ideas, learning how to use it well…

From TED Ed. Explore the effects that isolation has on your body and brain, and how a lack of interaction and activity can impact our well-being. — Everyone needs time to themselves, and peaceful solitude has stress-relieving benefits. But when being alone is forced upon you, the effects can be surprisingly extensive. And though different…

From TED Ed. Episode 3: Discover how to put together the throughline, or main idea that acts as a connective thread or roadmap for your presentation. — This is episode 3 of the animated series, “Public Speaking 101.” Ideas change everything — and since language lets us share our ideas, learning how to use it…

From TED Ed. Dig into how bed bugs establish a colony in your home, and find out what makes it so hard to prevent these itchy invasions. — Bed bugs have tormented humans for millennia, so detested that their mere mention can make hearts race and arms itch. There are approximately 100 species of bed…

From TED Ed. Episode 2: Uncover your best ideas by exploring your unique experiences, interests, and perspective. — This is episode 2 of the animated series, “Public Speaking 101.” Ideas change everything — and since language lets us share our ideas, learning how to use it well gives speakers the power to inspire people and…

From TED Ed. Dig into the close relationship between figs and wasps, and find out if it’s normal and safe for bugs to be in our food. — In 2023, a US grocer recalled over 10,000 cases of broccoli-cheddar soup over concerns they contained too much of an unintended ingredient. That ingredient? Bugs. We know…

From TED Ed. Episode 1: Learn how to identify the qualities that make an idea worth sharing with an audience. — This is episode 1 of the animated series, “Public Speaking 101.” Ideas change everything — and since language lets us share our ideas, learning how to use it well gives speakers the power to…

From TED Ed. Explore the challenges of Parker Solar Probe’s mission to touch the Sun, and what we could learn about the star as we get closer. — In 2021, the Parker Solar Probe achieved its mission to touch the Sun, skimming through its outermost atmosphere. Since then, it’s carved closer and closer paths, but…

From TED Ed. Learn more at https://brilliant.org/TedEd — Ever since Einstein published his Special Theory of Relativity, one equation has been the bane of humans hoping to explore the stars: E=mc². In addition to informing our understanding of gravity, space, and time, this formula implies that traveling at or beyond light speed is impossible. Why…

From TED Ed. Puzzle through the ethical dilemma of intellectual property rights, and decide: how should we determine ownership of work? — In the city of Ockham, spellcasters invent incantations and publish them in scrolls that others can purchase. Unfortunately, you can’t always afford them. But one day, a friend tells you he uses an…

From TED Ed. Trace the history of bloodletting, a medical practice dating back to ancient Greece and its continued use into the 19th century. — Bloodletting was a pervasive medical practice that dates as far back as ancient Greece and continued well into the 19th century. Physicians like Hippocrates believed bad health could be attributed…

From TED Ed. Trace the strange history of Graham crackers, invented by minister Sylvester Graham in order to curb the vices of Americans. — In the 1800s, minister Sylvester Graham believed Americans had a big problem— not just with their bodies, but their souls. He argued that overindulgence was fueling their baser desires, making them…

From TED Ed. Explore 4 common misconceptions about Ancient Rome, and find out what living in this time period was actually like. — Minerva, the esteemed Roman goddess of reason, wisdom, handicrafts, and war, is judging a contest: duo vera et mendacium. Three brave contestants will put their knowledge about ancient Rome to the test.…

From TED Ed. Dig into the science of how psychedelic drugs affect your brain, and how they could be used for psychiatric treatment. — In 1943, chemist Albert Hofmann accidentally exposed himself to a drug he derived from ergot fungus and recorded its unexpected, mind-altering effects. The drug, lysergic acid diethylamide— or LSD— was soon…

From TED Ed. Discover the origins of dragon legends, and find out how geological events could have inspired these stories in ancient civilizations. — From the Chinese Loong to the Filipino Bakunawa, the Scottish Beithir and the Greek Hydra, dragons have inflamed imaginations for millennia. Their ubiquity across world mythology has led many scholars to…

From TED Ed. Dig into how your age can affect your decision making, and explore the psychology of how we weigh risks against rewards. — Welcome to Risky Business, the game where we find out how far people will go to win a prize! Today’s contestants are a 21 year-old, a 16 year-old, and a…

From TED Ed. Explore the possibility of transitioning to a green economy, and if the trillion-dollar up-front cost is worth the investment. — Global warming is very, very expensive: extreme weather, rising sea levels, crop failures, health issues, and industry disruptions all cost money. So, what’s the best way forward? Is the estimated trillion-dollar price…

From TED Ed. Puzzle through an ethical dilemma and decide: what responsibility do we have to honor the wishes of the dead? — For decades, Yvonne and Zaina have been happily married and co-leading a non-profit. One day the couple is involved in a car accident, and on her deathbed, Yvonne asks Zaina to promise…

From TED Ed. Dig into what we know about Komodo dragons, and find out what you should do if you encounter these giant lizards in the wild. — Clambering through the bush on one of Indonesia’s Lesser Sunda Islands, suddenly you spy a Komodo dragon in the clearing ahead. Forked tongue flickering; sharp, saw-like teeth…

From TED Ed. Alex Rosenthal is the editorial director of TED-Ed, where he created TED-Ed’s acclaimed mythology and riddle series that have been watched more than *600 million* times. Here, he discusses the inspiration behind the creation of Pandora’s Legacy. Get the game on Kickstarter today: https://ed.ted.com/pandora #pandoraslegacy