Awesome Learning

Does the number of Likes on a Facebook page mean anything anymore? Veritasium presents damning evidence that Facebook’s “targeted” advertising service can be as illegitimate, useless and harmful as illegal like-boosting farms.

What’s most fascinating about this clips isn’t the footage of the flies fighting in slow motion, it’s that there’s something called “Substance P” that could be used to decrease (or increase) aggression in humans. Supervillains, get cracking.

Last year, Ylvis thought they could teach us all about Foxes, but it turns out they were completely wrong, as SciShow illustrates in this brief educational clip. And here we thought they said “Ring-ding-ding-ding-dingeringeding.”

Who better to host an episode of Mental Floss about booze than our old pal Hannah Hart, who you may remember from her drunken mischief on My Drunk Kitchen. Here, she sets us straight on some myths about beer, wine and liquor.

Probably not the happiest video you’ll watch today, Kurzgesagt provides an animated explanation of some of the possible ways our universe will ultimately meet its demise. The good news is that it’s all theoretical.

“Making things does not mean that you sign you up to be harassed. Criticized, sure, but not harassed.” Idea Channel wonders if trolling has any merit. We say NOPE. But it’s still worth studying, if only so we’ll find out how to curtail it.

Syfy and B movie writers, here’s enough material for the year. YouTuber Hybrid Librarian catalogged some of the largest creatures to ever swim, crawl, stomp or fly on our planet. Props to blue whales for hanging around.

SkyNet sounds more and more possible as autonomous robots could take the place of humans on the battlefield. The Verge takes a look at the fascinating ethical and scientific debate behind letting robots do our dirty work.

Ty Templeton imagines what Batman would be without the input of writer Bill Finger. For most of his life, artist Bob Kane claimed sole credit for inventing the Dark Knight, but evidence suggests otherwise. 2/8/14 marks Bill’s 100th birthday.

“What we are now realizing is that we are guided, constrained and even controlled by the systems we have made.” From Kirby Ferguson (Everything is a Remix) comes a documentary miniseries about the forces that shape our lives.

(Gross) Vsauce takes on a topic that you may have secretly wondered about, but hopefully never explored. Learn about cannibalism, what ingredients different cultures prefer – and why we’re not going to eat veal ever again.

Numberphile and physicists Tony Padilla and Ed Copeland share one of the most mind-blowing concepts we’ve ever heard. Apparently, the sum of all positive numbers is not infinity. It’s not even a positive number. Mathlethes report here.

Mental Floss’ John Green tries 30 more supposed life hacks to see if they really work. Some of them are so simple that we think John tested them just to be silly. Also maybe he should let Meredith do the testing.

Smarter Every Day teamed up with the funny and talented DJ Flula to talk about the basics of beatboxing, including the concepts of timbre and overtone. Check out Flula’s channel to see more of his lips in slow motion.

This special episode of Mental Floss is hosted by The Gregory Brothers, and schools us on some of the wonderful and unlikely stories behind popular song lyrics over the years. “Scrambled eggs. Oh my, baby how I love your legs…”

Head Squeeze explains why we sometimes get sick in vehicles, a subset of a condition known as motion sickness. It’s also why you can get sick playing video games, which is why we’re not so excited about the Oculus Rift. Dammit brain!

Plants don’t have brains, but not only do they think, some of them can also hear, smell and remember. The real question is, what was Mark Wahlberg thinking? Hey plants, say hi to your mother for me.

The Sci Show tackles one of the most important issues of modern civilization: garbage disposal. Watch and learn why we should all do our part to reduce waste and dispose of it properly. Or your house could explode.

The short answer? It turns out our parents were right. Asap Science discusses the direct and indirect influence of cold temperature on the human body and on the cold and flu viruses that attack us. Stay warm people!

Vsauce takes a look at some of the most popular or influential mistakes in human history, from trivial ones such as the silent ‘k’ in words to the mind-blowing – albeit dubious – tale of a British war hero who let a young Adolf Hitler live.

YouTuber ynojf and his wife share a simple idea for helping homeless people in an affordable but still substantial way. With a few visits to thrift shops and dollar stores, they can fill a backpack with essentials for just $20.

Sci Code debunks a few myths about outer space propagated by science fiction. Find out why there’s no such thing as zero gravity, what space battles would sound like and how “cramped” asteroid fields are. Here’s our bonus trivia.

Watch Destin of Smarter Every Day punch a sculpted six-pack in slow-motion, as he explains how the legendary stunt performer Harry Houdini died: through a lethal combination of douchebaggery and stubbornness.