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Awesome Learning

Paracord Projects Book

Paracord Projects Book
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There are a few items you should always carry in your pack when camping or hiking, among them a multitool, duct tape, a firestarter, and paracord. Bryan Lynch’s book offers 60 projects that can help you survive, along with creative ways to carry paracord wrapped around tools, worn as a bracelet, or woven into a pouch, and more.

How Humanity Got Hooked on Coffee

How Humanity Got Hooked on Coffee

TED-Ed Animations shared this enlightening illustrated overview of how coffee spread and affected societies, cultures, and places all over the world. Learn about the first farms in Ethiopia in the 14th century, the first coffeehouses in London in the 17th century, the rise of coffee breaks in the US in the 50s, and more.

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The Creative Act: A Way of Being Book

The Creative Act: A Way of Being Book
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For over 40 years, legendary music producer Rick Rubin has been helping a diverse array of artists create their seminal and most significant works. The Creative Act: A Way of Being sees Rubin share his observations on creativity and how being creative isn’t about what you make but how you see the world.

Why Does Some Sand Squeak?

Why Does Some Sand Squeak?

We’ve heard the phrase “singing sands” but never really knew what it meant. James from Atomic Frontier headed to Australia to explore why some sand makes a squeaking noise when you walk on it. After putting some of the rare squeaky sand beneath a microscope, he explains how sand dune can make a much larger sound under the right conditions.

What Do YouTube Videos Have in Common with Crabs?

What Do YouTube Videos Have in Common with Crabs?

If you browse YouTube regularly, you might have noticed certain trends and similarities between the most popular videos, from how their titles and thumbnails are presented to their duration. MinuteEarth explores this convergence and how video creators adapting to algorithms works kind of like animal evolution.

Every Marketing Trick Explained

Every Marketing Trick Explained

The Paint Explainer made a concise explanation of the various tricks that businesses, ads, and marketing agencies use to convince us to purchase or remember their wares. Many of these terms describe understandable practices, but many are infuriatingly deceptive and manipulative.

The Infinite Universe Paradox

The Infinite Universe Paradox

Astrophysicists estimate that our universe came into existence roughly 14 billion years ago, and it’s been expanding ever since. Kurzgesagt ponders the question whether the universe is truly infinite if it keeps growing, or if it has an edge somewhere that we just can’t see.

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How to Stop Mosquitoes from Spreading Diseases

How to Stop Mosquitoes from Spreading Diseases

Mosquitoes are the world’s deadliest animal because they spread diseases like malaria and dengue. Scientists have developed a fascinating way to reduce this threat – infecting mosquitoes with Wolbachia, a bacteria that limits mosquitoes’ ability to carry other diseases. To jumpstart the process, they’re releasing millions of infected bugs. AsapSCIENCE explains.

The Paradox of Time

The Paradox of Time

We always thought about time in very linear terms. However, scientists have theorized that the past, present, and future simultaneously exist. Kurzgesagt explores the theory that the entire history of the universe has already happened, and we’re just experiencing our tiny sliver of it. Warning: your brain might hurt after watching this.

True Facts About Butterfly and Moth Defenses

True Facts About Butterfly and Moth Defenses

Insects are weird, so we’re not surprised by some of the strange things we learned about butterflies and moths in this video from Ze Frank. Lepidoptera are attractive prey for birds, reptiles, wasps, and other animals. To help survive against these threats, these insects have evolved defenses, including unpredictable flight patterns, toxins, and mimicry.

CD / Shutter Speed

CD / Shutter Speed

Captain Disillusion’s latest educational video about video explains how the speed and way a shutter opens and closes affects still and moving images. You’ll learn how shutters work in film cameras, CCD camcorder sensors, and modern CMOS-based digital cameras. Plus, why rolling shutters cause image distortion and the tech that can minimize it.

The History of Zip Ties

The History of Zip Ties

There are a few items every maker, mechanic, and technician needs in their repair kit – duct tape, WD-40, a hot glue gun, and zip ties. If you’ve ever wondered where these sturdy plastic ties came from, New Mind is here with the history of this versatile item. While their primary use is bundling cables, they’re helpful for holding many other items together.

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Sorting Out the Scale of the Universe

Sorting Out the Scale of the Universe

The universe is made up of countless galaxies, planets, stars, and moons. But do you know how those all relate to each other in terms of size? In this man-on-the-street video from Veritasium, he asked people to sort them in order of size. Not everyone got it right, but instead of making fun of their misunderstandings, Derek helps educate his audience.

What If the Earth Suddenly Stopped Spinning?

What If the Earth Suddenly Stopped Spinning?

You might not feel it, but the Earth is spinning quite quickly. Depending on your latitude, you could be going more than 1000 MPH. xkcd’s What If? explores what might happen if, all of a sudden, the planet stopped spinning and the atmosphere kept going. Things wouldn’t bode well for living creatures or structures, thanks to the extreme wind and waves.

Visualizing Every Earthquake Over Time

Visualizing Every Earthquake Over Time

According to the National Earthquake Information Center, there are roughly 20,000 earthquakes around the Earth every year. This fascinating animation from the NOAA, NWS, and Pacific Tsunami Warning Center shows every earthquake and tsunami recorded from January 1901 through December 2020. There’s also a spherical version that ends in 2000.

How Many Different Games of Tic-Tac-Toe Are There?

How Many Different Games of Tic-Tac-Toe Are There?

We assumed there were thousands of different ways that a game of tic-tac-toe could turn out. While the game board allows for more than 255,000 combinations of Xs and Os, there are far fewer gameplay outcomes. Musician and coder Marc Evanstein ran the numbers and argues there are only 14 different games to be played. (Thanks, Orion!)

On Planned Obsolescence

On Planned Obsolescence

Do you have to replace your gadgets more often than you think you should? You’re not alone. While some products wear naturally, others have been engineered to last a specified time. Veritasium host Derek Muller digs into the sordid history of planned obsolescence, including how a cartel of companies conspired to make light bulbs last less time.

What’s the Deal with Cardboard?

What’s the Deal with Cardboard?

In 2020, more than 120 billion pieces of cardboard were used to pack and ship items in the U.S. – and that number keeps growing. Cardboard is also one of the world’s most successfully recycled materials. New Mind digs into the history, science, and success of the ubiquitous corrugated paper.

The History of Giving the Middle Finger

The History of Giving the Middle Finger

If you want to tell someone off with the smallest effort possible, flip them the bird. But why is the simple extension of your middle finger considered such an insult? Weird History digs into the origins of the disrespectful gesture and some of its most notable uses.

Misconceptions About Animals

Misconceptions About Animals

Are sloths lazy? Are elephants afraid of mice? Can porcupines shoot their quills? In this video from Mental Floss, host Justin Dodd explores myths, misconceptions, and inaccuracies about 64 different animals. We’re just glad we’re not actually swallowing spiders in our sleep.

How Video Game Graphics Work

How Video Game Graphics Work

It’s easy to take the high-fidelity 3D graphics in today’s video games for granted, but a lot of artistry, hardware, and software goes into every frame you see on screen. Branch Education provides an in-depth yet understandable explanation of the processes and technology at work when rendering video game graphics.

The Mites in Your Cheese

The Mites in Your Cheese

Cheese can get its flavor from flavor from things like bacteria or mold. But if you enjoy the lemony flavor of French Mimolette or German Milbenkäse cheese, you’ve enjoyed a little bonus protein in the form of cheese mites. Journey to the Microcosmos explains how these tiny organisms add flavor to these cheeses.

Kurzgesagt’s Size Comparison Video

Kurzgesagt’s Size Comparison Video

We’ve featured many size comparison videos from channels like MetaBallStudios and RED SIDE. Kursgezagt wanted to make a different kind of comparison video, examining opposingly small and large things relative to the size of an average human, from the tiniest proton to the vastness of observable universe.

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