Awesome Learning

AsapScience shares facts and fiction about lying. It turns out that humans are pretty bad at guessing if someone’s lying – even if their job depended on it. But scientists are figuring out that there are clues underneath our skin that give liars away.

(Gore) TierZoo’s latest episode speculates what would happen if humans were nerfed. Specifically, if we were dumber. Would cats and dogs still survive? Would lions be the king of the entire planet? Or would the humble ant colonize the globe?

The thought of setting up shop and living on the surface of the moon seems like a far away sci-fi dream, but we actually have the technology and smarts to do it in the next decade – assuming we had the funding. Kurzgesagt explains, in part one of their series about space colonization.

Kano’s Computing Kit Touch teaches kids and electronics beginners about the parts of a computer and the basics of programming by building a touchscreen PC from scratch. It’s based on the Raspberry Pi 3 and comes with over 100 challenges and stories.

Services like Google Maps have way more influence on the world than you might think. Since people trust these maps, any information that ends up on them can become adopted as fact, like the names of areas which didn’t exist five minutes ago. Half as Interesting explains.

They say necessity is the mother of invention, and one place where this holds true every day is in prison, where inmates get truly creative with their limited resources. Former inmate Josh of Lockdown 23and1 shows us how he made pizza using basic commissary ingredients.

RealLifeLore explains how we humans are literally one big family. If you go back far enough, you can trace a common ancestor with anyone on the planet. In fact, if you go back even further, we can trace a common ancestor with all other organisms on Earth.

“You can almost maybe see it’s a face. There’s definitely something on it.” How to Make Everything once again reminds us how lucky we are that we don’t have to make everyday objects from scratch. He tried to make coins using ancient methods and barely succeeded.

If you think being governed by one nation has its challenges, imagine what it would be like if for half the year, we were ruled by one country, and the other half by another. That’s what you’d have to deal with if you lived on Pheasant Island. Half as Interesting explains.

TierZoo’s latest animal ranking examines rodents, the buck toothed critters that litter the globe and can sometimes wreak havoc even on human stages. That said, the wily rat isn’t at the top of the list. Watch to find out what you should be if you were to become a rodent.

Michael Jackson truly lived up to his “King of Pop” nickname. Nerdwriter1 looks back on the musical mastermind, and attempts to deconstruct what made his tunes so popular. As we previously learned, repetition and variation in rhythms had something to do with it.

Unlike the undying affection and dedication that dogs offer their masters, cats seemingly couldn’t care less about us humans. SciShow provides a biological explanation for the expression of disdain that felines show for those of us who keep them warm and fed.

(PG-13: Language) How exactly does a flood occur without water? Sam O’Nella Academy is here to school us on some of the strangest disasters that covered the earth with massive, deadly amounts of liquid stuff from super-sticky molasses to flaming whiskey.

In case you fell asleep in school, OverSimplified boils down the major talking points about the birth of our (sometimes) great nation, what led to the American revolution against Britain, and how that all worked out. Bonus points for the seamless Vikings promo.

Other than Milk Duds and a gigantic soda, there are few things we enjoy more at the movies than a bucket of freshly-popped popcorn. But why is it that this crunchy and savory treat is our go-to theater snack? Find out, in this informative video from Origin of Everything.

Mark Rober spoke with game design professor Dr. Scott Nicholson to learn 10 tips that can help you beat any escape room. The tips include not overthinking clues, knowing where to search, and having someone to organize the rest of the group.

In talking about his book Hit Makers: The Science of Popularity in an Age of Distraction, Derek Thompson explains the balance of repetition and variation which drive us to enjoy some songs more than others. He goes on to show how similar patterns apply to language.

We all know that boys’ voices get deeper as they go through puberty, but hormones aren’t the only process in play as our voices evolve. TED-Ed educator Shaylin A. Schundler explains how other physical changes affect the sound of our voices as we get older.

Once you graduate from school, the opportunities to make new friends outside of the workplace drop off a cliff for most of us. Casually Explained offers some of his typically tongue-in-cheek advice on how to break that cycle and expand your circle of friends.

If you’re caught cheating – or card counting – in one of the casinos in Las Vegas, expect to be booted out of every other establishment. Half as Interesting explains that an investigative firm in the city keeps an updated book that lists the profiles of known cheaters.

When we were in Tokyo, we were fascinated that when we wanted some “vanilla ice cream,” we had to ask for “Baniraaisukurīmu.” Double Yolk looks at how Japan incorporates English words and deeper meanings into their language in some truly wonderful ways.

TierZoo wonders which dinosaurs would fare best in today’s world if they were revived or “unbanned,” to use the channel’s terms. Surprisingly, the popular Tyrannosaurus Rex wouldn’t be at the top of the food chain. Tune in to see who would reign supreme.

For his latest lesson on the harsh realities of reality, Captain Disillusion takes on a classic internet video, in which a Rochester Institute of Technology student attempted to create the urban legend that an Escher-inspired staircase actually exists somewhere on the campus.