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The Rise and Fall of the Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall didn't just divide East and West Germany — it divided the world. Communist versus Capitalist, with the United States leading the West and the USSR leading the East, the Wall is one of the most infamous barriers in human history. TED looks at how the Wall came to be, and the events that lead to it coming down.
Life and Size
Size. It determines more about living things than nearly any other measurable factor. Kurzgesagt demonstrates this in most illustrative way possible — by throwning animals off of a tall building.
Philosophy Time with James Franco
You could pay tens of thousands of dollars to take philosophy courses in college — or you could tune in to James Franco's new YouTube channel. In the first episode, Rutgers University's Liz Camp stops by to discuss the nature of metaphor. Get all the education with none of the quizzes or home work.
The Philosophy of Kurzgesagt
Kurzgesagt takes a break from the scientific to get a little philosophical. With most of their subject matter touching on the rise of the machines or Earth-destroying Gamma-Ray bursts, their videos tend to cause existential dread. In an attempt to create something a little less depressing, Kurzgesagt touch on their own philosophy on life — Optimistic Nihilism.
The World's Healthiest Drink
From dirt water to a syringe of silicon, there are a lot of beverages with some pretty wild claims. But which is really the best? And not just the best for you. AsapScience tries a few of the supposedly most potent health drinks around — and finds a very clear winner.
Net Neutrality Day
If you're reading this, you probably like the internet. The United States is the already home of overpriced, unreliable internet service. No one wants to see it get any worse. If you'd rather not pay more for your favorite streaming services, games, and news sites — or potentially have access restricted altogether a la China — take action. Visit BattlefortheNet and tell the spineless politicians in Washington to do something that doesn't line their own pockets for a change. Keep the Net neutral.
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Parachute Coal Linen Venice Set
Crafted from pure European flax, the Parachute Coal Linen Venice Set gives you the casual look of linen in a dramatic dark hue. The fabric is spun in a region of northern Portugal by a family-owned factory. From there, each piece is garment dyed and washed in small batches, creating a unique grey color and soft texture that is free of harsh chemicals and synthetics. The set includes a fitted sheet, duvet cover, and pillowcases. No, there's not a top sheet, but who uses that anyway? Along with a great looking bed, you'll also get the added benefit of knowing that with every purchase a malaria-prevention bed net is donated to the United Nations' Nothing But Nets campaign.
Presented by Parachute Home.
PF Flyers All-American Sneaker
There's a reason why the preeminent sneaker of the 1960's is still turning heads. The classic look of the PF Flyers All-American Sneaker has a timeless quality, as relevant today as it was when it was the footwear of choice on basketball courts across the country. And now, the classic style is paired with New Balance performance tech to provide ultra-supportive cushioning and softness. Featuring vintage detailing, double-wrap foxing tape, the recognizable iron-on ankle patch, and the aforementioned Fresh Foam technology from New Balance, it's easy to see why PF Flyers continues to be an important part of sneaker culture.
Presented by PF Flyers.
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World's Largest Super Soaker
The Super Soaker is a summertime staple for every kid. But when your dad is a former NASA engineer, the standard version just won't do. Measuring at seven-feet long, Mark Rober created the world's largest super soaker, complete with Guinness certification. However, you won't want to face-off against this water gun in a backyard battel. The super-sized Super soaker fires water at 272 miles per hour, slicing through anything from a hotdog to a watermelon.
DIY Airsoft BB Gun
From the ceator of the World's Fastest Nerf Dart comes this 4000 PSI BB Gun. With a talent for making seemingly harmless children's toys the most dangerous weapons around, Giaco Whatever makes what might just be the World's fastest airsoft gun. To demonstrate it's power, he blasted through some Coke cand and wine glasses and highlighted the destrucion in super slow motion.
Breaking in the Bronx
In the 1970s, DJ Kool Herc began isolating the break while playing music at block parties in New York's Bronx. That inspired a new genre of dance — breaking. Those 80s images of the b-boys and b-girls breaking on the city sidewalks still happen, but most of the breaking occurs at competitions where cash is king. Vox looks at the origins of breaking and how it evolved over the last 40 years.
The Best Spot To Live On Earth
Weather. Scenery. Entertainment. These preferences are all personal to each individual when it comes to picking a place to live. But things like safety, happiness, and living the longest life possible are all something we can all agree on. Using these parameters, here's the best place to live on planet Earth.
Why We Love Fails
Someone straddles the handrail during a grind, faceplants during a parkour run, or bites it on a mountain bike. We love to watch people fail. But why do we get so much enjoyment out of other's failures? The answer is Schadenfreude. It's a German term for taking pleasure our of someone else's misfortune. The term even applies to politics. In this video, Evan Puschak explains the reason we take so much pleasure out of other people's pain.
Wood Support with Nick Offerman
Carpentry is an ancient craft, and Nick Offerman is no master — but he has read a lot of books. Since you can't just call the woodworking hotline for questions about the best joint for drawers, Mr. Offerman and WIRED took to Twitter to answer some questions from fans.
Why Binge Watching Can Be Bad
Laying in bed and watching a marathon session of the latest Netflix show is a great time — but not so great for your body. AsapScience looks at the ways one of our more recent pastimes can be bad for our health.
Dinosaurs of the Sahara
100 million years ago, the Sahara desert was a huge system of rivers and lakes — and home to some of the most vicious predators the planet has seen. Nizar Ibrahim details what the fossil record says about the massive beasts and how the Sahara was radically different from the dry desert we know now.
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Japan Leads the World in Vending Machines
Japan has an aging problem. With an average age of 46, the population is not only among the oldest in the world, but it's also declining. This means Japan has a massive shortage of unskilled labor — and vending machines have stepped in to fill the gap.
Maximize Your Misery
When you're happy, no one cares. When you're miserable, the world wants to know why. With an entire industry dedicated to showing you how to be happy, CGP Grey has seven tips to do just the opposite — maximize your misery.
This Is How You Got Here
It took billions of years to get you here, right now. As it stands, we humans are the pinnacle of evolution — which is kind of depressing, depending on how you look at it. AsapScience looks at what it took to get from a molten piece of rock orbiting a star to watching videos on the internet.
The Fortune Tellers
Authors love telling the future. Dark dystopias and surreal comedies give a warning to our future selves that we'd be wise to take to heart. But there aren't any clear visions, and some predictions hold up better than others. Blank on Blank looks at interviews with authors Ayn Rand, Kurt Vonnegut and Aldous Huxley to see what they got right — and what they didn't.
The Earth is Round
It's a sad day when you have to make a video explaining that the world isn't flat. While flat-earthers haven't taken over science, the wonder of the Internet means that lots of half-brained theories have a platform to reach a far larger audience than they should. The selfless crew at Life Noggin took upon themselves to fight the good fight, and offer the scientific proof of our spherical planet.
If Every Human Were Alive Today
The dead outnumber the living by about 11 to 1. The current population of Earth is estimated at about 7.5 billion people. So what would happen if those 108 billion dead people were suddenly alive? Real Life Lore answers the biggest questions behind a very interesting thought experiment.
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Being a Cannibal
The rules of cannibalism are pretty straightforward. Clean your kill properly, and don't eat the brains, guts, or blood. As for whether or not you would like the taste, you'll have to find that out for yourself. AsapScience looks at what to look out for if you're eating other people.
Pricing a Star Destroyer
So you're in the market for a space-faring capital ship capable of planetary bombardment and launching a wing of TIE fighters. You know it can be built, but need a cost estimate. Generation Tech has you covered. They worked up how much it would run you in Earth money to buy that Imperial-Class Star Destroyer, perfect for crushing Rebel scum near you.
The History of the World in 20 Minutes
The world has a lot of history. You might even say that the world has all the history — everything we know human history has happened right here. Bill Wurtz takes all that history and compresses it into one spectacular 20-minute chunk, easily consumable for anyone currently busy making their own history.
A History of the Fidget Spinner
Nothing says Christmas like a good old-fashioned brawl in the isles of some big-box store over the latest toy. From the Cabbage Patch scare of the 80s to the heightened tensions of the Tickle-Me-Elmo craze of the 00s, toy trends in America are one of the clearest barometers of our social health — or lack thereof. The latest in must-have useless plastic is the fidget spinner. But where did it come from? What is its history? The Nerdwriter digs deep into the mysterious origins of the newest toy fad.
How LSD Affects Your Brain
Synthesized in a lab, accidentally ingested, made illegal, and expanding the minds of people everywhere: LSD has had quite trip. Beyond mind control experiments and conspiracy theories, LSD is making a comeback in research for things like depression and anxiety. AsapScience looks at how new uses are being discovered and what the chemical does to your brain when you trip.
DIY Clear Samsung Galaxy S8
Mobile device customization is a rarity. Manufacturers might offer a few different colors and there are a plethora of cases, but you're probably carrying the same black or white rectangle in your pocket that everyone else is. But if you have a Samsung Galaxy S8, there's a DIY option that is sure to make you stand out in the crowd — JerryRigEverything's tutorial on making the back of the phone totally clear. Although it voids your warranty, it's also a call back to one of the best handheld gaming systems of all time. If you're brave enough to try it yourself, check ou the full walkthrough here.
Sex in Space
Going to the Moon takes days. A mission to Mars could be months. As technology improves, spending years in zero gravity could become a possibility. And when you put people together in such close quarters for such long periods of time — things are bound to happen. But for all we know about space and how to survive there, we know practically nothing about sex 200 miles up. Tests with animals and insects make it appear more difficult, but there is almost zero research with humans — and if space really is the final frontier, it's probably time to start finding out.
How Dracula Became Famous
Vampires have been part of modern pop culture for over a hundred years and began their march into the imagination of Western Europe long before that. But one vampire above all others came to dominate those most romantic undead creatures: Dracula. Springing from the pages of Bram Stoker's novel of the same name and later famously portrayed on the screen by Bela Lugosi, Dracula has name recognition across the globe that can only be matched my a handful of fictional characters. TED looks at the history of vampires and how Dracula came to be the king of them all.
