Awesome Teded

Popcorn is a tasty and addictive snack food most associated with carnivals and movies. But who first discovered that certain kinds of corn would pop when heated, and how did popcorn eventually make its way to the concession stand? Find out in this brief history lesson from TEDEd.

Narrow-minded people often call others out for not being normal. But is anyone really normal or typical? This TED-Ed lesson by Yana Buhrer Tavanier explores the history of the term and how its misuse has had a tremendously negative impact on society. Animated by Eoin Duffy.

Spanning 23 miles, the English Channel Tunnel has the longest undersea section of any tunnel. TED-Ed’s Alex Gendler takes a look at the political and logistical challenges and engineering feats that led to the construction of the tunnel between 1988 and 1994.

If you’ve ever seen a beehive up close, you know how its made up of hundreds of nearly perfect hexagonal cells. Why is that, and how do bees know how to make such perfect geometry? TED-Ed provides a brief explanation of this strange intersection of evolutionary biology and architecture.

Accompanied by an animation from Remus & Kiki, narrator Adrian Dannatt adds his authoritative voice to Alex Gendler’s TED-Ed lesson about the origins of the popular board game, which dates back to the 7th century in India – or possibly earlier – and is still recognized as one of the most challenging strategy games you can play.

While cats might disagree with humans as to whether or not we’re really their masters, felines are certainly more docile than long ago. TedED’s Eva-Marie Geigl provides a brief lesson in how cats went from wild, solitary beasts to not quite as wild, solitary beasts.

Californian sequoia trees have been known to grow to heights over 400 feet. But that’s about where they top out. TED-Ed’s Valentin Hammoudi explores some of the biological and physical constraints which may mean that’s the tallest a tree ever could be.