View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/inside-the-minds-of-animals-bryan-b-rasmussen Do animals think? It’s a question that has intrigued scientists for thousands of years, inspiring them to come up with different methods and criteria to measure the intelligence of animals. Bryan B Rasmussen navigates through this controversial question, showing how determining intelligence often says more about how humans think than about anything else. Lesson by Bryan B Rasmussen, animation by Mike Schell.

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/why-do-we-hiccup-john-cameron The longest recorded case of hiccups lasted for 68 years … and was caused by a falling hog. While that level of severity is extremely uncommon, most of us are no stranger to an occasional case of the hiccups. But what causes these ‘hics’ in the first place? John Cameron takes us into the diaphragm to find out. Lesson by John Cameron, animation by Black Powder Design.

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/could-we-survive-prolonged-space-travel-lisa-nip Prolonged space travel plays a severe toll on the human body: microgravity impairs muscle and bone growth, and high doses of radiation cause irreversible mutations. As we seriously consider the human species becoming space-faring, a big question stands: even if we do break free from Earth’s orbit, can we adapt to the extreme environments of space? Lisa Nip examines our odds. Lesson by Lisa Nip, animation by Bassam Kurdali.

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-to-detect-a-supernova-samantha-kuula Just now, somewhere in the universe, a star exploded. In fact, a supernova occurs every second or so in the observable universe. Yet, we’ve never actually been able to watch a supernova in its first violent moments. Is early detection possible? Samantha Kuula details the science behind an early supernova warning system. Lesson by Samantha Kuula, animation by Nick Hilditch.

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/is-space-trying-to-kill-us-ron-shaneyfelt How likely is it that a massive asteroid will do major damage to Earth and its inhabitants? What about the sun -- is it dying out anytime soon? And the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way -- should we be worried about that? Ron Shaneyfelt assesses the dangers of space. Lesson by Ron Shaneyfelt, animation by Retchy.

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/why-are-manhole-covers-round-marc-chamberland Why are most manhole covers round? Sure it makes them easy to roll, and slide into place in any alignment. But there’s another, more compelling reason, involving a peculiar geometric property of circles and other shapes. Marc Chamberland explains curves of constant width and Barbier’s theorem. Lesson by Marc Chamberland, animation by Pew36 Animation Studios.

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-to-spot-a-counterfeit-bill-tien-nguyen Authentic dollar bills are equipped with many security features to make them difficult to forge. But that doesn’t stop counterfeiters from trying to fool people with fakes. Luckily, anyone can help catch a counterfeit; all you need are a few simple tools and a bit of chemistry. Tien Nguyen details the chemistry behind counterfeit cash. Lesson by Tien Nguyen, animation by Lippy.

Sign up for our newsletter and never miss an animation: http://bit.ly/TEDEdNewsletter View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/can-animals-be-deceptive-eldridge-adams A male firefly emits a series of enticing flashes. He hopes a female will respond and mate with him. A female from a different species mimics his patterns: by tricking the male, she lures him in -- and turns him into a meal. Where else do we see this kind of trickery in the animal kingdom? Eldridge Adams details the surprising complexity of how animals manipulate predators, prey and their rivals. Lesson by Eldridge Adams, directed by The Duke and the Duck. Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Mary Sawyer, David Rosario, Samuel Doerle, Susan Herder, Prasanth Mathialagan, Yanira Santamaria, Dawn Jordan, Constantin Salagor, Kevin Wong, Umar Farooq, Goh Xiang Ting Diana, Cristóbal Medina Moenne, MJ Tan Mingjie, Yansong Li, Jason A Saslow, Henry Li, Kyle Nguyen, Taylor Hunter, Noa Shore, Lex Azevedo, Merit Gamertsfelder, Bev Millar, Rishi Pasham, Jhuval , SookKwan Loong, Daniel Day, Nick Johnson, Bruno Pinho, Javier Aldavaz, Marc Veale, Boytsov Ilya, maxi kobi einy, Misaki Sato, Andrew Bosco, Nik Maier, Mark Morris, Tamás Drávai, Adi V, Peter Liu, Leora Allen, Hiroshi Uchiyama, Julie Cummings-Debrot, Gilly, Ka-Hei Law, Maya Toll, Aleksandar Srbinovski, Ricardo Rendon Cepeda, Renhe Ji, Andrés Melo Gámez and Tim Leistikow.