The art of the metaphor – Jane Hirshfield is an incredibly fun look at the magical powers of metaphors and the simpler, yet superhuman, nature of similes. Narrated by Jane Hirshfield and animated by Ben Pearce for TED-Ed, this video is spectacular both in its art style and in the completely delightful ways the animation and the narration play with each other.

If you enjoyed this, you should definitely watch more TED-Ed videos.

Mark Salata: How taking a bath led to Archimedes’ principle is a quick history/science lesson about how Archimedes first stumbled upon the concepts of buoyancy and density. Narrated by Mark Salata and animated by TED-Ed, the fun side-lesson being taught here is that the famous “Eureka!” exclamation comes from a naked man having a bright idea as he spills bathwater all over his floor.

If you enjoyed this, you should definitely watch more TED-Ed videos.

How Pandemics Spread is a look back at some of histories most devastating pandemics and how the panic and hysteria surrounding them can sometimes be worse than the pandemics themselves. Narrated by Mark Honigsbaum and animated by Patrick Blower for TED-Ed, this also seems like pretty handy advice on how to prevent the spread of a zombie apocalypse.

If you enjoyed this, you should definitely watch more TED-Ed videos.

Michele Weldon: Capturing Authentic Narratives is an incredibly handy look at how news stories are constructed and the trifecta of sources they rely on. Narrated by Michele Weldon and animated by Augenblick Studios for TED-Ed, if you’re an up and coming writer or simply want to better dissect the news you encounter, this is a solid place to start.

If you enjoyed this, you should definitely watch more TED-Ed videos.

Victor Wooten: Music as a Language is a very valid argument about teaching music less like a structured math lesson and more like how we teach/learn to speak a language. Narrated and performed by the legendary Victor Wooten and produced by TED-Ed, if you’re thinking of learning a new instrument (or thinking of learning a new language) this advice in this short is invaluable.

If you enjoyed this, you should definitely watch more TED-Ed videos.

How Do Pain Relievers Work? is a handy biology lesson behind the mysterious ways aspiring and ibuprofin relieve pain and how the two operate very differently from each other. Narrated by George Zaidan and animated by Augenblick Studios for TED-Ed, if you feeling achey, this video has a 100% effective, pain-relieving placebo effect.

If you enjoyed this, you should definitely watch more TED-Ed videos.

How Two Decisions Led Me to Olympic Glory is an animation narrated by Olympic gold medalist Steve Mesler about how he made two major decisions that lead him from chronic injury to Olympic gold. Animated by Augenblick Studios for TED-Ed, if you’re feeling down, this will help pick you back up.

If you enjoyed this, you should definitely watch more TED-Ed videos.

The Survival of the Sea Turtle is an animation about the incredible hurdles sea turtles must overcome in order to make it to adulthood and carry on the species. Narrated by Scott Gass and animated by Veronica Wallenberg and Johan Sonestedt for TED-Ed, it’s a biological roller coaster ride of near misses and massive casualties where, in addition to facing already daunting odds, pollution and other human behavior has dropped sea turtles’ survival rate from 10% to 1%.

If you enjoyed this, you should definitely watch more TED-Ed videos.

Electric Vocabulary is an animation examining the history of electricity and how the most basic elements of all modern gadgetry came to be. Narrated by James Sheils and animated by TED-Ed, the video is a fascinating look at how “battery”, “charge”, “electron” and other electrical words were coined and how, at the end of the day, Benjamin Franklin was a very inventive prankster.

If you enjoyed this, you should definitely watch more TED-Ed videos.

Five Fingers of Evolution is a handy animation explaining five factors that have a major impact on evolution. Narrated by science teacher Paul Andersen and animated by Alan Foreman, the video is a great way to remember the causes of microevolution and what determines change in gene pools over time.

If you enjoyed this, you should definitely watch more TED-Ed videos.