Xixi Wang

In 2024, our YouTube audience spent nearly 16 million hours watching TED-Ed Animations (that’s equal to over 1,800 years!). Our most-viewed videos of 2024 include a journey to an oxygen-free lake, tips on how to motivate yourself (even when you don’t feel like it), a handful of histories of humanity’s favorite foods, and one to help you understand the real reason it’s not a good idea to put metal in the microwave, and more.

Behold our top 10 most popular videos of 2024:

1. Why is it so dangerous to step on a rusty nail?

In the 5th century, a ship master was suffering from a nasty infection that caused his jaws to press together, his teeth to lock up, and the muscles in his neck and spine to spasm. Today we know this account to be one the first recorded cases of tetanus. So, what causes this peculiar infection? Louise Thwaites explores how tetanus affects our bodies, and how we can prevent it.

2. How to get motivated even when you don’t feel like it

Motivation is complicated. Psychologists define motivation as the desire or impetus to initiate and maintain a particular behavior. But sometimes, no matter how passionate you are about a goal or hobby, finding the motivation to actually do it can be difficult. Why is motivation so fickle? Explore intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, and dig into how these forces contribute to our drive.

3. How humanity got hooked on coffee

One day around 850 CE, a goatherd observed that his goats started acting abnormally after nibbling on some berries. The herder tried them himself, and soon enough, he was just as hyper. As the story goes, this was humanity’s first run-in with coffee. So, how did coffee go from humble plant to one of the world’s most consumed beverages? Jonathan Morris traces the history of this energizing elixir.

4. Why can’t you put metal in a microwave?

In 1945, engineer Percy Spencer was standing near a RADAR device that produced high-intensity microwaves and noticed that his candy bar had melted. He then exposed popcorn kernels to the magnetron device, and sure enough, they popped. Soon after, the first microwave oven became available, using the very same technology. So, how does it work? Aaron Slepkov explores the science of microwave ovens.

5. How did ancient civilizations make ice cream?

Ice cream has a unique role in our world’s history, culture, and cravings. The first accounts of cold desserts date back to the first century, in civilizations including ancient Rome, Mughal India, and Tang Dynasty China. Yet the cream-based delicacy we know today made a much later debut. So, how did the delicious sweet treat come to be? Vivian Jiang shares the scoop on the history of ice cream.

6. How does alcohol cause blackouts?

Alcohol has been shown to have strange and selective effects on the brain. Many intoxicated people can perform complex tasks like holding a detailed conversation or navigating a walk home. Yet for those experiencing a blackout, the memory of these events is quickly forgotten. So, how does alcohol cause these memory lapses? Shannon Odell explores how ethanol interrupts the brain’s processes.

7. What staying up all night does to your brain

You’re just one history final away from a relaxing spring break. But you still have so much to study! You decide to follow in the footsteps of many students before you, and pull an all-nighter. So, what happens to your brain when you stay up all night? And does cramming like this actually help you prepare for a test? Anna Rothschild explores how a sleepless night impacts your cognitive function.

8. Why is Texas hold ‘em so popular?

From its earliest incarnations, poker has always been a contest of guile, guts, and gambling. The game first emerged around 1800 in the melting pot of New Orleans, and soon spread up the Mississippi, Ohio, and Missouri rivers. So, how did this simple game of the American South skyrocket in popularity? James McManus shares how the card game became an international affair.

9. Scientists are obsessed with this lake

In the millions of years since oxygen began saturating Earth’s oceans and atmosphere, most organisms have evolved to rely on this gas. However, there are some places where oxygen-averse microorganisms like those from Earth’s earliest days have re-emerged. And one such place is hidden high in the Swiss Alp’s Piora Valley. Nicola Storelli and Daniele Zanzi dive into the depths of Lake Cadagno.

10. How could so many people support Hitler?

Philosopher Hannah Arendt was a German Jew who dedicated herself to understanding how the Nazi regime came to power, and more specifically, how it inspired so many atrocities. She believed the true conditions behind the unprecedented rise of totalitarianism weren’t specific to Germany, and developed theories on how to best combat such threats. Joseph Lacey explores the work of Hannah Arendt.

On behalf of everyone here at TED-Ed, thanks for learning with us this year!

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Check out our most popular Animations for 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, and 2018.