Awesome Videos

You’re stranded in the woods after eating a poisonous mushroom. A specific type of frog offers the antidote, and you must quickly find the female of the species. TED-ed explores how the math of conditional probability could help maximize our chances of survival.

“Every time a computer does some narrow thing there’s a temptation to think that it’s all over for us.” Breakthroughs in robotics and artificial intelligence are often met with a hint of dread. Retro Report talked to scientists to ask if we should fear our creations.

Musician and inventor Martin Molin explains the complex mechanisms behind his genius musical contraption, the Wintergatan. Beyond the marble machine, there are drums made from coasters, a snare that uses basmati rice, among other crazy bits. Part two here.

After teasing us with a tiny bit of video of his explosive experiment with molten salt poured into water, The Backyard Scientist walks us through what he did to facilitate the destructive blast, and ultimately concludes that it’s strictly a thermal reaction, and not a chemical one.

Bryan Mills has a very particular set of skills. But he also has a very particular set of bad luck. Burger Fiction sums up the events of all three Taken movies in this speed montage. You’d think after the first movie they’d try to go after dad first.

John Kricfalusi’s 1990s cartoon The Ren & Stimpy Show is a true animation classic, combining artistic detail, gross-out gags, and weirdness a plenty. The Nerdwriter explores the show’s defiance of norms which made it stand out from the crowd.

Devin Supertramp’s gang dips beneath the waves in Belize for a flight on a Subwing – a device which works like an underwater wakeboard of sorts. The lightweight boards let riders twist and turn as they’re towed by a boat. We’d just get water up our noses.

Earlier this year Caltech astronomers shared mathematical observations that point to a ninth planet orbiting the Sun. Because we’re terrible at visualizing large numbers, Mark Rober made this simplified scale to show just how far Planet 9 is from us and the Sun.

BBC Earth Unplugged turns its macro lens on the house fly to show just how good they are at detecting impending doom, with their omnidirectional vision and fast reaction time. It’s fascinating footage, but we’re pretty sure they could have hit the fly if they tried harder.

A whirlwind but crystal clear tour of Morocco, from the crowded Jemaa el-Fnaa Square to the desolate Sahara desert. An amazing collection of time-lapse videos by Kamil Piechowiak and Martyna Wroblewska aka KamKam Visuals.

(PG-13: Language) Alt Shift X breaks down the theories about one of the most mysterious characters in A Song of Ice and Fire and Game of Thrones – Varys the spymaster. What does he want? Can he solve the ice zombies and the dragons? Where’d he get his cool robes?

Her explores the evolution of love. But Channel Criswell has a convincing and moving theory about the movie’s underlying concept: that what we want isn’t always what we need, and our well-being may depend on whether or not we become aware of this disparity.

In the latest episode of Blind Covers, Kansas City-based alt rock band Rachel Mallin and the Wild Type come up with their own version of Cyndi Lauper’s I Drove All Night. Skip to 4:13 for their performance.

The Yankee Air Museum aims to open an amazing new national aviation attraction in the old Willow Run Bomber Plant in Ypsilanti Township, MI. To kick off the latest phase of their efforts, they moved three classic planes back inside the plant. Support their efforts here.

Late Late Show band leader Reggie Watts met up with The Force Awakens’ rollerdroid BB-8, and the duo turned in a little droid funk track for our enjoyment. Funny thing is, we totally believe that Watts can understand exactly what BB is saying.

How It Should Have Ended solves Deadpool‘s plot holes and then plunks Wade, Colossus and Negasonic at the coffee shop with Superman and Batman for a chat about killing villains, HISHE’s stale animation and more.

Developer IO Interactive asked Realm Pictures to make a Hitman-themed version of the latter’s wildly entertaining voice-operated live action roleplaying game. They then asked popular YouTubers and Hitman voice actress Jane Perry to control Agent 47.

The Slow Mo Guys made a cheap – and dangerous – version of the Catherine wheel aka pinwheel firework by setting a bundle of steel wool on fire and then spinning it around with a string.

Apparently, US troops sometimes use “Tootsie Roll” as code for mortar ammunition. At the Battle of Chosin during the Korean War, that code led to a darkly comedic mix-up that ended up being a serendipitous mistake.

A couple of cyclists were taking a training ride through the roads of Cape Town, South Africa, when an unexpected rival found its way onto the course. Apparently this ostrich was so hell-bent on chasing off the bike riders that it kept up at speeds up to 30mph.

(PG-13 Language) Ariel Martin’s short film tells the story of a busy mother who leaves her children under the supervision of a cyborg surrogate. A disturbing vision of our growing reliance on technology, and proof that good science fiction doesn’t need to rely on VFX.

“…that’s some “push comes to shove” love, not “when it’s convenient” love.” IN-Q rhymes about what he would do if he fell in love when he’s 85. Despite his heartwarming imagery, he reminds us that there’s no reason to wait ’til we’re old to be the best lover that we can be.

(PG-13: Language) On his guest spot at Conan, comedian Dave Attell said that he’s experiencing a few unsettling changes now that he’s 51 years old. But he warns men of a horrifying constant: their balls.