OCW
The incredible engineering of Venice
To escape Germanic invaders, people fled into the Venetian Lagoon in the 6th century. The settlers set out to tame the mudflats and built a foundation in the marshy maze to support heavier, longer-lasting structures. Little did they know, this system of wood, water, and mud would still be supporting..
TED
Why Iceland's lava is so hard to control
In December 2023, Icelandic citizens experienced their worst nightmare: a volcanic fissure opened and began spewing lava fountains 100 meters tall. While the molten rock narrowly avoided a small town, Iceland wasn’t willing to leave anyone's fate to chance again and began preparing for future..
TED
How did detectives solve the case of the bloody motel?
Scanning the crime scene, Officer Stone sees a disorderly room, visible red-brown stains and a partial shoe track— all hinting at a bloody struggle. After calling in a team to inspect, photograph, sketch, measure, and collect all the evidence, the investigators apply Luminol. So, what is Luminol a..
TED
A whale’s-eye-view of the ocean
A hand-built camera with suction cups captured something no one had ever seen: two sperm whales communicating and swimming together in the deep ocean. Engineer Eric Stackpole shares the story of how a scrappy, DIY tool revealed this intimate glimpse into the lives of these giants — and makes the c..
TED
How do snakes swallow animals so much bigger than they are?
Since slithering onto the scene some 150 million years ago, evolving length and limbless-ness out of their ancestral lizard forms, snakes have diversified rapidly. Their noodly bodies and flexible heads granted them access to novel places and prey. And today, there are nearly 4,000 snake species, sp..
TED
The art and science of wine tasting
No two people taste wine the same way, and science is starting to show us why. Sensory scientist Qian Janice Wang explores why experts and beginners experience complexity so differently — revealing that what makes a wine great may have less to do with what's in the glass and more to do with w..
TED
