Awesome Learning

If you’ve ever had surgery, you know the strange sensation of counting backwards, then basically remembering until you wake up in recovery. TED-Ed explains the science behind modern anesthesia, and how they keep you from moving, feeling pain, or forming memories.

Kurzgesagt sums up the Great Filter – a possible answer to why we’ve never detected the presence of aliens. It could be something that prevents life from developing. Or something that ends civilizations before they have a chance to expand beyond their planet.

Populele is a ukelele designed for total newbies. Its fretboard has 72 embedded LEDs. Together with its free companion app for iOS and Android, the LEDs will teach you chords and full songs. It also has mini-games that will teach you the basics.

Not Exactly Normal presents a fascinating look at the belief held by some that time travel not only is scientifically possible, but that there are people (like Keanu Reeves) who already are already taking advantage of the technology.

As of 2012, by NASA’s count there are 809 manmade objects on the Moon. You can find the full list here. Spacecraft make up the bulk of our moon litter, but Half as Interesting points out that we left a wide variety of “artifacts”, including poop.

Unlike steel, copper isn’t attracted to or repulsed by magnets. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t some interaction. NightHawkInLight takes a look at some of the strange behaviors that occur between thick sheets of copper and strong neodymium magnets.

Mathematician Ben Sparks shares a theoretical scenario that made him drive more responsibly. A car going at 70mph brakes just in time to avoid crashing into a tree. What would its final speed be if it had been going 100mph to start?

Ever wonder why it stings and feels so uncomfortable if you get water up your nose? SciShow explains how the warm and salty environs of your sinuses don’t care for the cool and fresh water found in most swimming pools.

TierZoo kicks off its multi-part bird ranking with raptors, or birds of prey. Like many other predators, raptors rely on speed, power, or a combination of both. But the ones who made it on this list also have rare or unique abilities. Such as arson.

Just because you’ve got a widescreen doesn’t mean you’re seeing movies the way they were filmed. Many films were shot in an even wider aspect ratio, and streaming services are cutting off the edges to make them fit without black bars. Patrick (H) Willems explains.

It’s one of our pet peeves – replacing actors in the middle of a TV series or in movie sequels as if nothing happened. Writer Rex Sorgatz takes a look at this Hollywood monkey business, and how digitization could allow actors to keep performing long after they die.

The Slow Mo Guys turn their attention to the various ways in which television display screens trick our eyes into thinking we’re seeing motion, when in fact they’re either painting images line-by-line, or rapidly flickering between still images. They also fake us out with color.

(PG-13: Language) exurb1a performs a grand thought experiment in order to argue that said situation should remain theoretical. He considers the ethical, medical, technological, social and existential consequences if we were able to create digital copies of ourselves.

When your dog sits there and stares at the TV, do they see the same thing we do? According to this clip from SciShow, your pup’s probably sees something more like a flipbook in shades of yellow and green. Though they might actually enjoy the soap opera effect more than humans.

Airplanes that can lift off vertically, then fly horizontally are quite fascinating, doing away with the need for long and tactically-vulnerable runways. Real Engineering takes a look at the history of Vertical Take Off and Landing (VTOL) aircraft and how they work.

Austin McConnell talks about 10 letters that have been cut out of the English alphabet. Learn about the somewhat familiar æ, the ampersand – which apparently was a letter – and a bombshell: the “ye” in “ye olde…” is actually pronounced “the.”

There are lots of everyday objects with features we didn’t know served a purpose. The Infographics Show explains a few of these simple, but useful design traits and what they’re for. We always figured the blue jeans pocket was for a condom.

With his natural beatboxing skills, godly knack for hooks, and the people he grew up with, it was almost impossible for Timbaland to not blow up. But he also fell into the trappings of success. He sat down with Complex to look back on his career.

It’s a question that literally none of us were asking, but the guys at PBS Space Time decided to put the concept to the test anyhow: If your spacesuit had a butt porthole – could you move yourself through space using only your flatulence as propulsion?

The movie Downsizing might have come up a little short in both its reviews and box office take, but it did succeed in the VFX department. Here, the film’s effects supervisor Jamie Price walks us through the history of shrinking people down on the big screen.

After using science and math to point out all the ways in which the decks are stacked against you at carnival games, engineer Mark Rober is back to show us how coin-operated arcade prize games aren’t any better.

There was a time when cartoons were created mostly for kids, but these days, some of the best satire out there turns up in animation. Video essayist Will Schoder opines on why it’s often easier to poke fun at society’s foibles in cartoon form rather than live action.

We’ve featured many slow-mo videos, and while most of them were dubbed with music, some attempt to replicate the sounds of the object being recorded. SmarterEveryDay explains how they create these noises and match them up to the otherwise silent footage.