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It's Okay to Be Smart

The Weird Science That Lets Insects Fly in the RainThe Weird Science That Lets Insects Fly in the Rain

Imagine the scale of raindrops if you were the size of a small bird. Or mosquito. Flying through a drizzle should be deadly! Like flying through falling cars and boulders. And yet it’s not, because nature has given them a superpower—superhydrophobic surfaces that repel water and keep them airborne. How do these microscopic structures work? And how has modern engineering been inspired by them?

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Season
Why 8 Eyes Are Better Than 2 (…If You're a Spider)
15:07
We learn how spider vision works.
The Unbelievable Story of Earth’s Most Epic Flood
12:44
Let's learn the story of one of the worst natural disasters that’s ever happened!
The Biggest Myth About Climate Change
27:56
We learn about all the reasons that Earth’s climate changes, natural and otherwise.
The Crime Wave We Can Blame on… Neutron Stars?
12:31
Turns out, we can blame it all on neutron stars and some oddities of the periodic table.
Why is Puberty so Weird?
10:00
Join Joe in this whirlwind tour of the endocrine system to find the answers.
Why No One Can Agree What’s Really the Tallest Mountain
8:29
Is Everest the tallest mountain on Earth? The answer is not as simple as you might think.
Trying to Land a Plane (to Prove a Point)
17:59
Turns out we’re all at risk of being overconfident about something.
Why You Can’t Smell Yourself?
19:10
There's an absolutely weird, but surprisingly common phenomenon called sensory adaptation.
Making a Hurricane Indoors (For Science)
11:50
Scientists in Florida can recreate a Category 5 hurricane in a box the size of a bedroom.
Are Humans Still Evolving?
10:41
Are humans still evolving? And how have our technological advances affected the process?
How Illusions Can Explain Reality
19:07
Illusions teach us how our brain constructs a three-dimensional reality using 2-D images.
Can Life Really Be Explained By Physics?
22:18
Joe talks biology with science communicator extraordinaire Prof. Brian Cox.
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