OCW
The tragedy of Cassandra, the princess who predicted the fall of Troy
As a young woman, Cassandra of Troy had been pursued by the god Apollo, who offered her the gift of prophecy. But when she withdrew from his advances, he twisted his gift into a maddening hex: from that day on, Cassandra would be able to precisely see and describe the future— but her prophecies wo..
TED
How do Maglev trains work?
To coincide with the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, Japan launched a groundbreaking bullet train that inspired countries around the world to invest in high-speed rail. Today, high-speed trains regularly travel at over 300 km/h, on par with the take-off speed of a commercial airplane. But can it ever be faster..
TED
The fastest way to board a plane, according to mathematics
After hours of delay, your flight is finally boarding. But as the line grinds to a halt, you can’t help but think — there must be a faster way to board this plane. Mathematicians have been studying this problem for years, devising and testing a range of different boarding methods. Rachel Yang di..
TED
Red gold: The world's most expensive spice
Spices are often far pricier proportionately than the foods they flavor. But one’s cost has long topped them all. Saffron’s red threads regularly run at rates of over 600 USD an ounce. So what is this so-called “red gold,” and what makes it so expensive? Carolyn Beans digs into the unique bi..
TED
The gigantic forests you won’t find on land
Like any other plant, kelps require light to grow. Yet kelps found nearly 90 meters below the ocean's surface, where sometimes only 0.1% of sunlight can reach, grow as large as, and often even larger than, their shallow counterparts. So how have these large, light-dependent organisms adapted to..
TED
The mystery of the giant kelp forest
Like any other plant, kelps require light to grow. Yet kelps found nearly 90 meters below the ocean's surface, where sometimes only 0.1% of sunlight can reach, grow as large as, and often even larger than, their shallow counterparts. So how have these large, light-dependent organisms adapted to..
TED
