Crash Course
Migrations and Intensification: Crash Course Big History #7
What happens when the earth reaches its carrying capacity of humans? As human populations grow, societies change from hunters and gatherers to agriculture to the industrial age and beyond. A video takes a global perspective of migration...
Crash Course
Why Human Evolution Matters: Crash Course Big History #204
Is the progression of human complexity due to eating meat? The 14th video in a 16-part series attempts to answer this and other thought-provoking questions. It relates the process of human evolution and innovation to our ability to learn...
Crash Course
Why Human Ancestry Matters: Crash Course Big History #205
Genetic variation makes for stronger species, but for a mammalian species, humans are disturbingly closely related. Help your class explore human ancestry and genealogy using the 15th video in a 16-part series. It describes how we became...
Crash Course
Why Early Globalization Matters: Crash Course Big History #206
What do potatoes, printing, and plague have to do with the global distribution of humans? An informative video explores globalization from the earliest migration of humans to today with a focus on these three common elements that prompt...
PBS
The Search for the Earliest Life
Life existed on Earth more than four billion years ago, much earlier than scientists predicted. Eons presents a lively video as part of a larger series. It explains the recent findings on multiple continents that alter the timeline of...
Be Smart
Why Don’t Woodpeckers Get Concussions?
Woodpeckers withstand more than 4,000 Gs without getting a concussion, yet humans only withstand up to 300 without getting one. An eye-opening video explains the difference in anatomy between humans and woodpecker brains as part of a...
Be Smart
Why Don't Ants Get Stuck In Traffic?
Ants head out in the morning to collect food and all return at the end of the day, yet they don't have traffic jams. An intriguing resource compares ant travel patterns to human travel patterns as part of a biology playlist. It discusses...
Be Smart
The Superb Owl!
What if we described an animal like we describe a football team competing in the big game? A cool video attempts to do just that as part of a larger biology playlist. It discusses an owl with superb adaptations and anatomy to survive in...
Be Smart
Pigeon Story: How the Rock Dove Became the Sky Rat
After training, pigeons can recognize correctly spelled words among misspelled words. In addition, they can use number sense to count, memorize thousands of pictures, and use navigational aids humans don't understand. As part of a larger...
Be Smart
The Surprising Origin of Thanksgiving Foods
Many of the foods pilgrims ate include foods people still eat at American Thanksgiving celebrations today. The turkey, a domesticated animal native to the Americas, often finds itself the center of attention on this holiday. Today's corn...
Veritasium
The Next Mission to Mars: Mars 2020
In July of 2020, NASA plans to launch a new Mars rover. An out-of-this-world video explores this exciting mission. It describes goals of the mission and the many challenges involved. It also offers hope for new findings and new...
Veritasium
Ice Spikes Explained
Sometimes ice freezes with spikes growing out of the top. A brief video provides a scientific explanation for this. Then, it discusses the two different possible futures if ice didn't behave this way.
Veritasium
The Speed of Life
Time appears to go faster the older we get, but why? A timeless video explores this concept psychologically and scientifically. Through an experiment and neuroscience, viewers better understand the paradox of aging.
Veritasium
Do Cell Phones Cause Brain Tumors?
It appears everyone has a cell phone, but are they damaging our health? A thought-provoking video addresses this question by pulling together multiple studies from around the world. It explains the methodology and conclusions of each.
Be Smart
Orchid Mantis: Looks That Kill
Rather than hunting for food, the orchid mantis entices the prey to come to it. A cool video discusses this type of mimicry as part of a larger biology playlist. The orchid mantis appears like any typical orchid to us, but it stands out...
Be Smart
DNA Doesn’t Look Like What You Think!
DNA forms a double helix, but that is not what it looks like. A fact-filled video takes on this inaccuracy as part of an extensive playlist on biology. It shares the recent discoveries about what DNA looks like as well as the many...
Veritasium
World's First Electric Generator
Michael Faraday built the first electric generator more than 180 years ago. People on the street explore the same concepts pupils do while watching the informative video. An explanation of the scientific principles behind magnetism,...
Be Smart
We've Got Ants in Our Plants!
Some ants are so aggressive, they can repel an elephant. Viewers learn this fact and more in an engaging video that is part of a larger playlist on biology. It discusses the relationships between ants and plants. While plants provide...
Veritasium
Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle Explained
Quantum physics relies on Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle, yet many don't fully understand it. A brief video installment from a larger playlist explores the principle with a laser light and a slit for it to pass through. It describes...
Veritasium
How Does a Quantum Computer Work?
Did you know quantum computers aren't always faster than classical computers? See why this is in a video installment that discusses the way quantum computers work. It explains the applications of quantum computing as well as the...
Veritasium
How Special Relativity Makes Magnets Work
Galileo established relativity, and Einstein developed the laws of special relativity to more fully explain physics. A brief video explains how special relativity relates to electromagnetism. Through simple illustrations, complex...
Be Smart
Is Sugar a Drug?
Did you know that sugar stimulates the same areas of the brain as cocaine and heroin? As part of a biology playlist, the thought-provoking video discusses if sugar should be considered a drug. It talks about our need for sugar, our...
Be Smart
How Baby Sea Turtles Find Their Way Home
Sea turtles return to the beach they were born on more than a decade later to lay eggs. An interesting video explains this phenomenon as part of an extensive playlist covering biology. It describes what scientists know and don't know...
Be Smart
Your Microbiome: The Invisible Creatures That Keep You Alive!
Humans are born without any bacteria, yet have acquired the majority of the microbiome expected for adulthood by the age of three. A biology video introduces the human microbiome, and describes when the microbiome begins developing, how...