Awesome Learning

Since landing in 2021, NASA’s Mars Perseverence Rover has sent back fascinating images and data from the red planet. Jared Owen offers up an in-depth look at how the rover was launched, the scientific equipment it carries, and how it was engineered to survive the journey and the harsh conditions on Mars.

When you want to read another language, you usually have to learn that language. But RobWords shows us a three simple tricks that English speakers can use to comprehend written words in French without having to understand the vocabulary. We wonder if other Romance languages have similar hacks.

Looking to add some interesting analog effects to your photography? COOPH’s handy tutorial video shows us eight ways to use common household items to create lens filters for any camera on the cheap. The plastic cutout ones are our favorites with their dreamy look.

We always had it in our minds that all matter was a solid, a liquid, or a gas. But as PBS Space Time explains, there are numerous other states of matter – some of which are understandable like plasma – and others that require a PhD in physics to fully comprehend. And then there’s sand.

We all have a pretty specific image in mind when someone says “caveman.” But did these thick-browed, cave-dwelling early humans exist, or is this just a caricature created by popular culture? Today I Found Out digs into what we now know about the Stone Age, and how closely it matches up with these stereotypes.

You may have heard that dogs only see in black and white, or that one dog year equals seven human years. Both of those are untrue. Mental Floss host Justin Dodd looks at those and other misconceptions about our canine pals, and sets us straight on the facts.

When you look back at old photos, it often seems like people looked older than they were at the time. Vsauce digs into this phenomenon to explore whether there are biological and medical reasons for this or if it’s strictly a matter of our perceptions and changing styles.

If you’ve ever been sent on a wild goose chase, had too much of a good thing, or told a “knock-knock” joke, you can thank William Shakespeare for it. Digg Video digs into some of the many commonly-used phrases what were first uttered in Shakespeare’s writing, along with their original context.

When you think of pop music, it’s usually pretty upbeat stuff, but back in the 1960s, a strange trend emerged – pop songs about tragic accidents and death. Yesterday’s Papers offers an intriguing look back at this unusual fad and some of most popular “splatter platters”. It’s worth watching for Wayne Cochran’s epic hair helmet alone.

Can’t keep up with today’s youth? It’s time to beef up your language skills with this informative deck of Slang Flashcards. Each of its 40 cards features a frequently-used slang word on one side, and an example of its use on the other. We recommend them a Hundo P.

Many tribes living in South Africa use clicking sounds as part of their languages. Sakhile Dube from Safari and Surf Wilderness Adventures offers up an informative and chill explanation of how the clicks are used in speech. He’s also posted a lesson on some conversational Zulu words that don’t use clicks.

Cue the double entendres. Ze Frank is here to teach us about our favorite dam-building rodent. These resourceful mammals are good at swimming, carrying things, and eating underwater. You might know about the beaver’s wood-chomping teeth, but we bet you didn’t know all the stuff that comes out of their butts.

There’s a lot of crazy and negative stuff going on in the world these days, but is it really the end times? Kurzgesagt asks the hypothetical question of when the last human might be born by examining population growth, birth rates, and animal extinction rates. But human ingenuity, technology, and space travel are serious wildcards.

Let’s face it. Change is hard. Even if you have solid goals and desires, you might find it difficult to adapt your behaviors to get there. Kurzgesagt explains the physiological reasons that make it hard to change and some practical advice on how to break through when you’re stuck in a rut.

In a perfect world, we would have 24 even divisions for our time zones. But as RealLifeLore points out, political agendas and the dreaded daylight saving time have created weird partitions that can theoretically lead to some crazy watch adjustments.

So you’re cruising down the highway, when all of a sudden you’re in a traffic jam. But there are no accidents, construction, or other emergency activity, so why does this happen? TED-Ed explores the phenomenon known as a “phantom traffic jam,” what makes them happen, and how we might minimize their occurence.

It doesn’t matter if you’ve got the most expensive display you can buy, gradients of color in dark scenes often look like a blocky mess. Tom Scott offers a great explanation of the technological limitations that cause these issues, and the visual mechanisms that make them less noticeable in brighter scenes.

This interactive educational system helps students learn about the physical properties of structures. It combines a set of beams, levers, pivot points, and other parts that attach to a backboard which work in concert with augmented reality projections to show the physics at play when forces are applied.

The reason that electric plugs typically have two or three metal prongs is very easy to explain. But what about those holes you see in the tips of the prongs? Silver Cymbal digs into the backstory and purpose of this mysterious design attribute and shines some light on the topic.

These days, many of us have second and third income sources to help pay our bills or to grow our savings. This bundle of ten useful courses will help you build and succeed at your own home business so you can make a little extra scratch, or maybe even live the dream of working for yourself full-time.

Whether on a sammie with bacon, chicken and cheese, or in a spicy guac, we delight in our delicious avocados. But this tasty and nutritious natural treat might not even exist today if it weren’t for some prehistoric farmers who saved them from extinction. SciShow explains.

If you’ve ever visited one of Disney’s theme parks, you have been tricked. The parks frequently employ an optical illusion known as forced perspective to make structures look bigger or smaller than they actually are. Art of Engineering explains the trickery and why our brains get so easily fooled by it.

Learn to get the most out of Facebook with this series of 11 online courses from The Awesomer Shop. Among the lessons, you’ll learn about building and engaging an audience, creating Facebook ads and boosted posts that perform, and using Facebook Messenger as a marketing tool.