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  • The hidden treasures of Timbuktu - Elizabeth Cox

    Dig into the ancient manuscripts, scrolls, and books of Timbuktu— and find out why they’ve been hidden for centuries.

    Uploaded 22-10-20

    --

    On the edge of the vast Sahara desert, citizens snuck out of the city of Timbuktu and took to the wilderness. They buried chests in the desert sand, hid them in caves, and sealed them in secret rooms. Inside these chests was a treasure more valuable than gold: the city’s ancient books. Why were they hiding these priceless manuscripts? Elizabeth Cox digs into the literary tradition of Timbuktu.

    Lesson by Elizabeth Cox, directed by AIM Creative Studios.

    Animator's website: http://www.aimcreativestudios.com/
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    View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-hidden-treasures-of-timbuktu-elizabeth-cox

    Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Derek Drescher, Mihail Radu Pantilimon, Amin Shahril, Mohamed Elsayed, Barthélémy Michalon, Chumi Ogbonna, Karlee Finch, Mohammad Said, jj5252, Kelvin Lam, Mauricio Basso, Athena Grace Franco, Tirath Singh Pandher, Melvin Williams, Tsz Hin Edmund Chan, Nicolas Silva, Raymond Lee, Kurt Almendras, Denise A Pitts, Abdallah Absi, Dee Wei, Richard A Berkley, Tim Armstrong, Daniel Nester, Hashem Al, denison martins fernandes, Doug Henry, Arlene Spiegelman, Michał Friedrich, Joshua Wasniewski, Maryam Dadkhah, Kristiyan Bonev, Keven Webb, Mihai Sandu, Deepak Iyer, Javid Gozalov, Emilia Alvarado, Jaime Arriola, Mirzat Tulafu, Lewis Westbury, Felipe Hoff, Rebecca Reineke, Cyrus Garay, Victoria Veretilo, Michael Aquilina, William Biersdorf, Patricia Alves Panagides, Valeria Sloan Vasquez, Mike Azarkman and Yvette Mocete.



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    8 min
  • How hazardous was it to be a jester? - Beatrice K. Otto

    Explore the history of court jesters, from 7th century China to medieval Europe, and how they were able to speak truth to power.

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    Contrary to common belief, jesters weren’t just a medieval European phenomenon but flourished in other times and cultures. The first reliably recorded jester is thought to be You Shi, of 7th century BCE China. Jesters had unique relationships to power: they could be viewed as objects of mockery or as entertainers and trusted companions. Beatrice K. Otto digs into history's most infamous jokers.

    Lesson by Beatrice K. Otto, directed by Yael Reisfeld.

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    View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/what-was-life-like-for-a-court-jester-beatrice-k-otto
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    Animator's website: https://www.yaelreisfeld.com & https://www.instagram.com/yaelreisfeld
    Educator's website: https://www.foolsareeverywhere.com & https://www.instagram.com/foolsareeverywhereworld
    Music: https://www.janwillemdewith.com & https://www.instagram.com/janwillemdewith
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    Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Doug Henry, Keven Webb, Mihai Sandu, Deepak Iyer, Javid Gozalov, Kyanta Yap, Rebecca Reineke, William Biersdorf, Patricia Alves Panagides, Yvette Mocete, Cyrus Garay, Samuel Barbas, LadyGeek, Marin Kovachev, Penelope Misquitta, Hans Peng, Gaurav Mathur, Erik Biemans, Tony, Michelle, Katie and Josh Pedretti, Hoai Nam Tran, Kack-Kyun Kim, Michael Braun-Boghos, zjweele13, Anna-Pitschna Kunz, Edla Paniguel, Thomas Mungavan, Jaron Blackburn, Venkat Venkatakrishnan, ReuniteKorea, Aaron Henson, Rohan Gupta, Begum Tutuncu, Brian Richards, Jørgen Østerpart, Tyron Jung, Carsten Tobehn, Katie Dean, Ezgi Yersu, Gerald Onyango, alessandra tasso, Doreen Reynolds-Consolati, Manognya Chakrapani, Ayala Ron, Eunsun Kim, Phyllis Dubrow, Ophelia Gibson Best, Paul Schneider, Joichiro Yamada, Henrique Cassús and Karthik Cherala.

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    7 min
  • Can you outsmart the fallacy that started a witch hunt? - Elizabeth Cox

    Dig into the burden of proof fallacy, which assumes that something is true unless proven false and relies on arguments from ignorance.

    Uploaded 26-10-20

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    It’s 1950. Anti-communist sentiment in the United States is at an all-time high. Senator Joseph McCarthy claims he has a list of communists who are influencing government policy. He makes his first accusation without providing any legitimate evidence, yet the senate committee still schedules a hearing. Can you spot the problem with this hearing? Elizabeth Cox explores the burden of proof fallacy.

    Lesson by Elizabeth Cox, directed by Pazit Cahlon and Hector Herrera.

    Animator's website: https://wearetogether.ca/
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    View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/can-you-outsmart-the-fallacy-that-started-a-witch-hunt-elizabeth-cox

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    7 min
  • What does the liver do? - Emma Bryce

    View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/what-does-the-liver-do-emma-bryce

    Uploaded 25-11-14

    There’s a factory inside you that weighs about 1.4 kilograms and runs for 24 hours a day. It’s your liver: the heaviest organ in your body, which simultaneously acts as a storehouse, a manufacturing hub, and a processing plant. Emma Bryce gives a crash course on the liver and how it helps keep us alive.

    Lesson by Emma Bryce, animation by Andrew Zimbelman for The Foreign Correspondents' Club.



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    6 min
  • How to fix traffic jams - Jonas Eliasson

    It's an unfortunate reality in nearly every major city—road congestion, especially during rush hours. Jonas Eliasson reveals how subtly nudging just a small percentage of drivers to stay off major roads can make traffic jams a thing of the past. (Filmed at TEDxHelvetia.)

    Talk by Jonas Eliasson.

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    12 min
  • How the water you flush cycles back to the water you drink - Francis de los Reyes

    Explore the science of wastewater treatment, and find out why water reuse has become increasingly common worldwide.

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    In 2003, Singapore’s national water agency launched an unprecedented program to provide more than 50% of their nation’s water supply by recycling wastewater. The program had been planned for decades to ensure the island nation never ran out of clean water. But is it really safe to reuse anything we flush down the toilet? Francis de los Reyes explains the science of wastewater treatment.

    Lesson by Francis de los Reyes, directed by JodyPrody, The Animation Workshop.

    This video made possible in collaboration with Gates Ventures
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    View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-the-water-you-flush-becomes-the-water-you-drink-francis-de-los-reyes
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    Animator's website: https://jodyprody.com
    Music: https://www.campstudio.co
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    Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Olivia Fu, Kari Teffeau, Cindy Lai, Rajath Durgada Manjunath, Dan Nguyen, Chin Beng Tan, Tom Boman, Karen Warner, Iryna Panasiuk, Aaron Torres, Eric Braun, Sonja Worzewski, Michael Clement, Adam Berry, Ghaith Tarawneh, Nathan Milford, Tomas Beckett, Alice Ice, Eric Berman, Kurt Paolo Sevillano, Jennifer Heald, Megulo Abebe, isolwi, Kate Sem, Ujjwal Dasu, Angel Alberici, Minh Quan Dinh, Sylvain, Terran Gimpel, Talia Sari, Katie McDowell, Allen, Mahina Knuckles, Charmaine Hanson, Thawsitt, Jezabel, Abdullah Abdulaziz, Xiao Yu, Melissa Suarez, Brian A. Dunn, Francisco Amaya, Daisuke Goto, Matt Switzler, Peng, Tzu-Hsiang, Bethany Connor, Jeremy Shimanek, Mark Byers, Avinash Amarnath, Xuebicoco and Rayo.

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    8 min
  • Why did Megalodon become extinct? - Jack Cooper and Catalina Pimiento

    Dive into the ocean’s depths to see how the gigantic megalodon ruled the seas, and find out what caused its extinction.

    —

    20 million years ago, the ocean housed a creature so colossal that its stomach could reach volumes of almost 10,000 liters— big enough to fit an entire orca. It was the megalodon, the biggest shark to ever live. So, what was it like when megalodon ruled the seas? And what brought this formidable predator to extinction? Jack Cooper and Catalina Pimiento investigate.

    Lesson by Jack Cooper and Catalina Pimiento, directed by Vitalii Nebelskyi, and action creative agency.

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    View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/why-did-megalodon-go-extinct-jack-cooper-and-catalina-pimiento
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    Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Michel-Ange Hortegat, Enes Kirimi, Amaury BISIAUX, ND, Samyogita Hardikar, Vanessa Graulich, Vandana Gunwani, Abdulmohsin Almadi, AJ Lyon, Geoffrey Bultitude, Mi Mi, Thomas Rothert, Brian Elieson, Oge O, Weronika Falkowska, Nevin Spoljaric, Sid Chanpuriya, Anoop Varghese, David Yastremski, Noah Webb, Roberto Chena, Oliver Koo, Luke Pisano, Andrea Gordon, Aleksandar Donev, Nicole Klau Ibarra, Jesse Lira, Ezekiel Raui, Petr Vacek, Dennis, Olivia Fu, Kari Teffeau, Cindy Lai, Rajath Durgada Manjunath, Dan Nguyen, Chin Beng Tan, Tom Boman, Karen Warner, Iryna Panasiuk, Aaron Torres, Eric Braun, Sonja Worzewski, Michael Clement, Adam Berry, Ghaith Tarawneh, Nathan Milford, Tomas Beckett, Alice Ice, Eric Berman and Kurt Paolo Sevillano.

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    8 min
  • You are more transparent than you think - Sajan Saini

    Discover how scientists are using light and integrated photonics technology to create medical devices that can diagnose illness.

    Uploaded 04-06-19

    --

    It’s an increasingly common sight in hospitals around the world: a nurse measures our height, weight, blood pressure, and attaches a glowing plastic clip to our finger. Suddenly, a digital screen reads out the oxygen level in our bloodstream. How did that happen? Sajan Saini shows how pairing light with integrated photonics is leading to new medical technologies and less invasive diagnostic tools.


    Lesson by Sajan Saini, directed by Artrake Studio.

    Learn more about integrated photonics: https://aimphotonics.academy
    Learn how integrated photonic chips are made: https://www.aimphotonics.com
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    View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-light-technology-is-changing-medicine-sajan-saini



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    8 min
  • The myth of Hercules: 12 labors in 8-bits - Alex Gendler

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    Uploaded 25-09-18

    View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-myth-of-hercules-12-labors-in-8-bits-alex-gendler

    Hercules — son of Zeus and champion of humankind — stricken with a temporary curse of madness, has just committed the most unspeakable crime imaginable. Seeking to atone for the deaths of his family, Hercules must complete twelve impossible tasks that pit him against invincible monsters and unfathomable forces. Alex Gendler retells this epic series of adventures.

    Lesson by Alex Gendler, directed by Jérémie Balais and Jeff Le Bars.

    Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Elizabeth Parker, Sai Krishna Koyoda, Samuel Barbas, Maxwell Ingram, Victoria Soler-Roig, Abdulmateen Aderinto, Pavel Maksimov, Barbara Younker, Cyrus Garay, Yvette Mocete, Mike Azarkman, Patricia Alves Panagides, William Biersdorf, Michael Aquilina, Vinamr , FireWolfLasers , Kshitij Shah, Mohammad Said, Teach Me Diné - Navajo Language, Victoria Veretilo, Rebecca Reineke, Kyanta Yap, Brandon Thomas, Lewis Westbury, Ojas Kapoor, Mirzat Turap, Jaime Arriola, Emilia Alvarado, Javid Gozalov, Philipp Hiestand, Paul Beard, Deepak Iyer, Markus Goldhacker, Mihai Sandu, Keven Webb, Hendrik Mueller, Maurice Castonguay, Kristiyan Bonev, Maryam Dadkhah, Joshua Wasniewski, Michał Friedrich, Arlene Spiegelman, Doug Henry, Alick Au, Denison Martins Fernandes, Daniel Nester, Richard A Berkley, Benjamin Chan, Dee Wei and Abdallah Absi.



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    11 min
  • The accident that changed the world - Allison Ramsey and Mary Staicu

    Learn how Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin, and how the antibiotic has changed medicine and the treatment of infections.

    Uploaded 10-02-20

    --

    In 1928, scientist Alexander Fleming returned to his lab and found something unexpected: a colony of mold growing on a Petri dish he’d forgotten to place in his incubator. And around this colony of mold was a zone completely and surprisingly clear of bacteria. What was this mysterious phenomenon? Allison Ramsey and Mary Staicu detail the discovery of penicillin and how it transformed medicine.

    Lesson by Allison Ramsey and Mary Staicu, directed by WOW-HOW Studio.

    Animator's website: https://wow-how.com/
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    View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-accident-that-changed-the-world-allison-ramsey-and-mary-staicu

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    7 min

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