Awesome Ted

At TEDx Minneapolis, lawyer and musician Damien Riehl discussed how lawsuits between songwriters can be bad because there are a finite number of melodies. His project AlltheMusic is hoping to help protect musicians by copyrighting all of the unused melodic sequences and putting them into the public domain.

Most of us already knew that skin was the largest organ in our bodies. But that’s just scratching the epidermis. TED-Ed explains how human skin works, and a few of the many functions that our outermost layers serve to keep us alive and functioning.

While roller coasters offer up plenty of thrills, a whole lot of engineering goes into making them safe enough to not snap our necks or make us pass out. TEDEd looks at the impact that these rides can have on our bodies, and how coaster safety has improved over the years.

If you’ve ever had surgery, you know the strange sensation of counting backwards, then basically remembering until you wake up in recovery. TED-Ed explains the science behind modern anesthesia, and how they keep you from moving, feeling pain, or forming memories.

TED-Ed’s Erez Garty explains why bread is fluffy, vinegar is sour, wine is tasty, and Swiss cheese has holes in it. Yes, many of the foods that we enjoy are made that way because of tiny microorganisms and bacteria that create wonderfully yummy by-products.

(PG-13: Language) A more accurate preview of the lewd living teddy bear’s new adventure. Watch Ted invent lyrics for the Law & Order theme song, ruin Red Lobster and be horrified by Mark Wahlberg’s perversions.

Thunder Buddies assemble! Seth McFarlane and Mark Wahlberg return for more politically incorrect stuffed animal antics, as Ted settles down with Tammy-Lynn. We’re more than a little bummed to not see Mila Kunis though.

We love warm chocolate chip cookies. But have you ever taken time out to understand what’s going on inside your oven while they’re baking? TED-Ed schools us on the science behind cookies. We’re setting our ovens to 356° from now on.

George Zaidan and Charles Morton teach us about biochemistry using a tiny robot factory which illustrates how all living organisms are created from the same basic building blocks. View the full lesson here. Animation by Pew36.

It may be a few years old, but we just had to share this performance from a 2010 TED session with musician Jake Shimabukuro. It starts out mellow, but Jake quickly pulls us in with his hypnotic uke skills. Hear more from Jake here.

Michael Stevens of Vsauce fame speaks to an audience for TEDEducation, yet again teaching us something we never knew we needed to know – and providing a little insight into the popularity of his YouTube channel.