Kurzgesagt - In a Nutshell(2013–)

How Evolution Works

The mechanisms of evolution explained in one video. The theory of evolution explains how the enormous variety of life could come into existence. How it is possible for primitive life forms to spawn the millions of different creatures, that exist today. Unfortunately, evolution is often misunderstood, because it's mechanisms seem counter intuitive.

The Solar System — Our Home in Space

An info-graphic trip through the wonders of the Solar system.

Fracking Explained: Opportunity or Danger

Fracking explained in five minutes.

The Gulf Stream Explained

Learn about the role of the sea in global warming.

How the Stock Exchange Works (For Dummies)

Why are there stocks at all?

Three Ways to Destroy the Universe

How will the Universe die?

The Beginning of Everything — The Big Bang

How did everything get started?

Who Invented the Internet? And Why?

Nuclear war, cat gifs and reddit? Wait, what?

How Big Is the Moon? (MM#1)

The Moon might be much bigger than you think it is.

The Moons of Mars Explained — Phobos & Deimos (MM#2)

What do you know about the Moons of Mars? Nothing? They are super cool (and strange), promise.

How to Catch a Dwarf Planet — Triton (MM#3)

If Neptune didn't catch Triton we might have another Dwarf Planet in our Solar system -- maybe even another Planet or double system. We show how this could have happened.

Are You Alone? (In the Universe)

Are you alone? To answer this question we have to take a look what "you" are first. What are you made of and where you stand in this universe. Are you your body? Your atoms? And how are your parts connected to the big picture?

Iraq Explained — ISIS, Syria and War

The current crisis in Iraq explained in under 5 minutes.

The Immune System Explained I — Bacteria Infection

Every second of your life you are under attack. Bacteria, viruses, spores and more living stuff wants to enter your body and use its resources for itself. The immune system is a powerful army of cells that fights like a T-Rex on speed and sacrifices itself for your survival. Without it you would die in no time. This sounds simple but the reality is complex, beautiful and just awesome. An animation of the immune system.

Everything You Need to Know About Planet Earth

Planet Earth is this solid thing you are standing on right now. In your everyday life you don't really waste a thought about how amazing this is. A giant, ancient, hot rock. How did it come into existence and how big is it really? You will be surprised. The ground you are standing on is just a very, very small part of the big picture.

Atoms as Big as Mountains — Neutron Stars Explained

Neutron stars are some of the strangest things in the Universe. Not quite massive enough to become black holes they are basically atoms as big as mountains, with properties so extreme it's mind-blowing. And if you get too close to a neutron star, you are in big trouble…

Is War Over? — A Paradox Explained

We live in the most peaceful time in human history. Wait, what? Seriously? That can't be right, there are more wars than ever! Well, no and they're killing fewer and fewer people, even though the world population is at an all-time high... and the numbers prove it! We explain how we came to this conclusion, and why war might... go away.

The Ebola Virus Explained — How Your Body Fights for Survival

What does the Ebola virus actually do in your body? Why is it so dangerous and why does it kill so many people? We take a look at the apocalyptic war that rages in the body after an infection by the Ebola virus and the soldiers fighting.

What Is Life? Is Death Real?

So what is the difference between you and a rock? This seems like an easy, even stupid question. But even the smartest people on Earth have no idea where to draw the line between living and dead things. Which leads to mind-blowing implications. What is life after all? And is death really a thing? Let's look into it together.

How Small Is an Atom? (Spoiler: Very Small)

Atoms are very weird. Wrapping your head around exactly how weird, is close to impossible – how can you describe something that is SO removed from humans experience? But then again, they kind of make up everything, so let us try anyways.

Measles Explained — Vaccinate or Not?

Everybody is talking about Measles – but what does the virus actually do in the body? Is it really so harmful that you need a vaccination? We go deep into the body of an infected person and see what Measles does and how the immune system reacts to it!

Banking Explained — Money and Credit

Banks are a riddle wrapped up in an enigma. We all kind of know that they do stuff with money we don’t understand, while the last crisis left a feeling of deep mistrust and confusion. We try to shed a bit of light onto the banking system. Why were banks invented, why did they cause the last crisis and are there alternatives?

Nuclear Energy Explained: How Does It Work? (1/3)

Nuclear Energy is a controversial subject. The pro- and anti-nuclear lobbies fight furiously, and it's difficult to decide who is right. So we're trying to clear up the issue - in this video we discuss how we got to where we are today, as the basis for discussion.

3 Reasons Why Nuclear Energy Is Terrible! (2/3)

Nuclear energy might be a failed experiment. In over sixty years the technology has not only failed to keep its promise of cheap, clean and safe energy, it also caused major catastrophes and enabled more nuclear weapons while the nuclear waste problem is still not solved.

3 Reasons Why Nuclear Energy Is Awesome! (3/3)

Nuclear energy might have a lot of unused potential. Not only is it one of the best mid term solutions for global warming bit despite what gut feeling tells us, it has saved millions of lives. By investing more into better technologies we might be able to make nuclear energy finally save and clean forever.

The Fermi Paradox — Where Are All the Aliens?

The universe is unbelievably big – trillions of stars and even more planets. So… there just has to be life out there, right? But where is it? Why don’t we see any aliens? Where are they? And more importantly, what does this tell us about our own fate in this gigantic and scary universe?

The Fermi Paradox II — Solutions and Ideas

Where are all the aliens? The universe is too big and too old, why have we not met aliens yet? Do they live in computers? Were they wiped out by an ancient super intelligence? Or are we just to primitive to understand their motives? Whatever the answer is, it is incredibly important for our own future.

The Death of Bees Explained — Parasites, Poison and Humans

In 2015 the bees are still dying in masses. Which at first seems not very important until you realize that one third of all food humans consume would disappear with them. Millions could starve. The foes bees face are truly horrifying – some are a direct consequence of human greed. We need to help our small buzzing friends or we will face extremely unpleasant consequences.

What if There Was a Black Hole in Your Pocket?

What would happen to you if a black hole the size of a coin suddenly appeared in your pocket? Lets find out!

What Is Dark Matter and Dark Energy?

What is dark energy? What is dark matter? Well, if we knew exactly we would have a nobel prize – we know that they exist though. So what do we know about those strange things?

The European Refugee Crisis and Syria Explained

Addiction

What causes addiction? Easy, right? Drugs cause addiction. But maybe it is not that simple.

What Is Light?

We are so used to some things that we stopped wondering about them. Like light. What is light? Some kind of wavy thing, right? Kind of.

How Facebook Is Stealing Billions of Views

Facebook just announced 8 billion video views per day. This number is made out of lies, cheating and worst of all: theft. All of this is wildly known but the media giant Facebook is pretending everything is fine, while damaging independent creators in the process. How does this work?

Quantum Computers Explained — Limits of Human Technology

Where are the limits of human technology? And can we somehow avoid them? This is where quantum computers become very interesting.

Black Holes Explained — From Birth to Death

Black holes. Lets talk about them.

Is Organic Really Better? Healthy Food or Trendy Scam?

Organic food is a huge trend: it promises a healthier and better life. But can Organic food really live up to the expectations or is it just baloney?

Building a Mars Base Is a Horrible Idea: Let’s Do It!

Humans love to explore. Strangely enough even horrible places – like Mars. Let’s see how building a Mars base could work and how insanely nerve-wracking exactly it would be.

Loneliness

Everybody feels lonely sometimes. But only few of us are aware how important this feeling was for our ancestors - and that our modern world can turn it into something that really hurts us. Why do we feel this way and what can we do about it?

The Origin of Consciousness — How Unaware Things Became Aware

Consciousness is perhaps the biggest riddle in nature. In the first part of this three part video series, we explore the origins of consciousness and take a closer look on how unaware things became aware.

What If We Detonated All Nuclear Bombs at Once?

What happens if make a huge pile from all 15,000 nuclear bombs and pull the trigger? And what happens if we make an even bigger pile?

The Most Dangerous Stuff in the Universe — Strange Stars Explained

Inside neutron stars we can find the weirdest and most dangerous substance in the universe: Strange matter. What is strange matter, how dangerous is it and what can it tell us about the origin of the universe?

The Side Effects of Vaccines — How High Is the Risk?

Vaccines are one of our best tools to prevent dangerous diseases, but they come with side effects. So would it be safer not to vaccinate?

Is the EU Democratic? Does Your Vote Matter?

Being a citizen of the European Union means that many aspects of our lives are regulated by a weird entity. It feels like a huge bureaucracy is making decisions over our heads. How democratic is the EU really and does your vote actually affect anything?

Is Meat Bad for You? Is Meat Unhealthy?

Over the last few years eating meat has increasingly been associated with health risks, like heart disease, cancer and an early death. How unhealthy is meat really?

Could Your Phone Hurt You? Electromagnetic Pollution

Electricity is all around us, all the time. It makes our lives easier, safer, more fun and most of us never think about it. But is there such a thing as too much electricity? Electronic devices emit an electromagnetic field, which is suspected to cause cancer. We read countless sources on this topic to summarize the results of the latest research for you.

Tiny Bombs in Your Blood — The Complement System

One of the key players of our immune system is the complement system. An army of millions and trillions of tiny bombs, which work together in a complex and elegant dance to stop intruders in your body.

The World War of the Ants — The Army Ant

Every day billions of soldiers fight a merciless war on thousands of fronts, that has been going on for over one hundred million years: the world war of the ants.

The Egg — A Short Story

The Egg, a story by Andy Weir, animated by Kurzgesagt. This video was more than 2 years in the making and is a little bit different than the others on this channel. We hope you like it.

What’s Hiding at the Most Solitary Place on Earth? The Deep Sea

Sometimes the world feels boring. All the remote islands are visited, the arctic conquered, the dense jungles discovered. Except, there is still a place to explore: A wet deadly desert where mysterious creatures live in total darkness: The deep sea. Let us dive down.

The Billion Ant Mega Colony and the Biggest War on Earth

In nearly every corner of the Earth, ants wage war against each other. Their weapons are what nature gave them. Some have strong armour, deadly stingers or sharp mandibles. And then there is this tiny, and not very impressive ant. But it rules the biggest empire any ant has ever built. A colony spanning continents and fighting wars that leave millions of casualties. Let’s take a look at this unlikely warrioress: Linepithema humile, the Argentine ant.

What If We Nuke a City?

As you may have noticed, we like to blow stuff up on this channel. So when the International Red Cross approached us to collaborate on a video about nuclear weapons, we were more than excited. Until we did the research. It turned out we were a bit oblivious off the real impact of nuclear weapons in the real world, on a real city. And especially, how helpless even the most developed nations on earth would be if an attack occurred today. So hopefully this video demonstrates how extremely non fun a real world nuclear attack would be, without being to gruesome. This collaboration was a blast (no pun intended) and we want to say a huge thank you to the International Red Cross!

Neutron Stars — The Most Extreme Things That Are Not Black Holes

Neutron stars are one of the most extreme and violent things in the universe. Giant atomic nuclei, only a few kilometers in diameter but as massive as stars. And they owe their existence to the death of something majestic.

1,000 km Cable to the Stars — The Skyhook

Getting to space is incredibly hard, expensive and needs a lot of resources. A more efficient way to get there is a Skyhook (or Spacetether), an ever rotating cable with a counter weight, that catapults spaceships from earth orbit into the depths of space.

An Antidote to Dissatisfaction

Everybody is familiar with the feeling that things are not as they should be. That you are not successful enough, your relationships not satisfying enough. That you don’t have the things you crave. In this video we want to talk about one of the strongest predictors of how happy people are, how easily they make friends and how good they are at dealing with hardship. An antidote against dissatisfaction so to speak: Gratitude.

Overpopulation & Africa

For most of our history, the human population grew slowly. Until new discoveries brought us more food and made us live longer. In just a hundred years the human population quadrupled. This led to apocalyptic visions of an overcrowded earth. But the population growth rate actually peaked in the 1960s. Since then, fertility rates have crashed as countries industrialize and develop. World population is now expected to balance out at around 11 billion by the end of the century. But the big picture conceals the details.

How Many People Did Nuclear Energy Kill? Nuclear Death Toll

Nuclear energy creates an uneasy feeling of danger for many people: ancient and dangerous minerals are concentrated to awaken seemingly unnatural powers, creating toxic elements that, if they escape, can and have killed people in horrible ways. How many people has nuclear energy killed and how?

What if the World turned to Gold? - The Gold Apocalypse

Let us explore the scientific mystery of what would happen to you, if Earth suddenly turned into gold! The “Midaspocalypse”, based on the ancient tale of King Midas who was cursed so everything he touched turned into gold.

Do we Need Nuclear Energy to Stop Climate Change?

Do we need nuclear energy to stop climate change? More and more voices from science, environmental activists and the press have been saying so in recent years – but this comes as a shock to those who are fighting against nuclear energy and the problems that come with it. So who is right? Well - it is complicated.

The Ultimate Guide to Black Holes

What would happen if we were to detonate a very very powerful nuclear weapon on the moon? Would the explosion knock its orbit towards earth, causing tidal waves and misery? Could the moon be destroyed, showering the earth in a rain of meteoric death?

TRUE Limits Of Humanity – The Final Border We Will Never Cross

Is there a border we will never cross? Are there places we will never reach, no matter how hard we try? It turns out, there are. Even with sci-fi technology, we are trapped in a limited pocket of the Universe and the finite stuff within it. How much universe is there for us and how far can we go?

What Are You Doing With Your Life? The Tail End

Wrapping your mind around your life is pretty hard, because you are up to your neck in it. It's like trying to understand the ocean while learning how to swim. On most days you are busy just keeping your head above water. So it is not easy to figure out what to do with your life and how to spend your time. There are a million distractions. Your family, friends and romantic partners, boring work, and exciting projects. Video games to play and books to read. And then there is your couch that somebody needs to lie on. It’s easy to get lost. So let us take a step back and take a look at your life from the outside.

The Day the Dinosaurs Died – Minute by Minute

66 million years ago, maybe on a Tuesday afternoon, life was the same as it had been the day before or a thousand years before or pretty much a million years before. Things were good for our feathered dinosaur buddies. Until a tiny, tiny detail in the sky changed.

How To Terraform Venus (Quickly)

Leaving earth to find new homes in space is an old dream of humanity and will sooner or later be necessary for our survival. The planet that gets the most attention is Mars, a small, toxic and energy poor planet that just about seems good enough for a colony of depressed humans huddled in underground cities. But what if we think bigger? What if we take Venus, one of the most hostile and deadly places in the solar system and turn it into a colony? Not by building lofty cloud cities, but by creating a proper second earth? It might be easier than you think.

The Largest Black Hole in the Universe - Size Comparison

The largest things in the universe are black holes. In contrast to things like planets or stars they have no physical size limit, and can literally grow endlessly. Although in reality specific things need to happen to create different kinds of black holes, from really tiny ones to the largest single things in the universe. So how do black holes grow and how large is the largest of them all?

How The Immune System ACTUALLY Works – IMMUNE

The human immune system is the most complex biological system we know, after the human brain, and yet, most of us never learn how it works. Or what it is. Your immune System consists of hundreds of tiny and two large organs, it has its own transport network spread throughout your body. Every day it makes hundreds of billions of fresh cells. It is not some sort of abstract entity. Your immune system is YOU. Your biology protecting you from the billions of microorganisms that want to consume you and from your own perverted cells that turn into cancer. It's so manifold that it is impossible to cover in one video, so we’ll make a series looking at different aspects of it. Today, what happens when your body is invaded and your first lines of defenses are engaged in a fight for life and death?

This Virus Shouldn't Exist (But it Does)

Hidden in the microverse all around you, there is a merciless war being fought by the true rulers of this planet, microorganisms. Amoebae, protists, bacteria, archaea and fungi compete for resources and space. And then there are the strange horrors that are viruses, hunting everyone else. Not even being alive, they are the tiniest, most abundant and deadliest beings on earth, killing trillions every day. Not interested in resources, only in living things to take over. Or so we thought. It turns out that there are giant viruses that blur the line between life and death – and other viruses hunting them.

Can YOU Fix Climate Change?

Never before in human history have we been richer, more advanced or powerful. And yet we feel overwhelmed in the face of rapid climate change. It seems simple on the surface. Greenhouse gases trap energy from the Sun and transfer it to our atmosphere. This leads to warmer winters, harsher summers. Dry places become drier and wet places wetter. Countless ecosystems will die while the rising oceans swallow coasts and the cities we build on them. So why don’t we just like… prevent all of that? Well, it’s complicated.

What Dinosaurs ACTUALLY Looked Like?

The past is a vast and mysterious land that begins at the big bang and ends in the present, expanding with each passing moment. It is the home of everything that came before, the key to understanding our present. Here we find the most amazing creatures to ever roam our planet, hundreds of millions of species so diverse that our imagination cannot do them justice. Unfortunately the past carefully guards its secrets.

You Are Immune Against Every Disease

You are not a person, you are a planet, made of roughly 40 trillion cells. There is so much of you, that if your cells were human-sized, you would be as big as 20 Mount Everests. For your creepy-crawly inhabitants, this makes your body an ecosystem, rich in resources and warmth and space. A perfect place to move into and have a family. While some of these guests are welcome, most are not. Your immune system is the guardian of this planet, the force tasked with protecting yourself against the constant danger of invasion.

Is Meat Really that Bad?

Food is arguably the best thing about being alive. No other bodily pleasure is enjoyed multiple times every day and never gets old. It is an expression of culture, our parents' love and a means of celebration or comfort. That’s why it hits a special nerve when we are told we should change what and how we eat to fight rapid climate change. One of the most delicious foods, meat, gets the worst press. It doesn’t help that the topic is really hard to properly research yourself and debates get emotional quickly. But clearly science can give us an answer! The reality is, well, it’s complicated. Let’s take a look at three climate arguments against meat that are used a lot and see what happens.

...And We'll Do it Again

Kurzgesagt is lying to you, in every video, even in this one. Because our videos distill very complex subjects into flashy ten minute videos and unfortunately, reality is, well, complicated. The question of how we deal with that, is central to what we do on this channel and something we think about a lot.

What Happens if the Moon Crashes into Earth?

Today we are answering an age-old very scientific and important question: What if the moon crashes into earth? It’s more interesting and weird than you probably think. Let's start with the basics: Why isn't the Moon on its way to crash into us already?

Are There Lost Alien Civilizations in Our Past?

When we think about alien civilizations we tend to look into the vastness of space, to far away planets. But there is another incredibly vast dimension that we might be giving too little thought to: time. Could it be that over the last hundreds of millions of years, other civilizations existed on earth? Indigenous technological species that rose and died out? And that they or their artifacts are buried beneath our feet? What does science have to say about this and what are the implications for us?

We WILL Fix Climate Change!

Our home is burning. Rapid climate change is destabilizing our world. It seems our emissions will not fall quickly enough to avoid runaway warming and we may soon hit tipping points that will lead to the collapse of ecosystems and our civilization. While scientists, activists and much of the younger generation urge action, it appears most politicians are not committed to do anything meaningful while the fossil fuel industry still works actively against change. It seems humanity can’t overcome its greed and obsession with short term profit and personal gain to save itself. And so for many the future looks grim and hopeless. Young people feel particularly anxious and depressed. Instead of looking ahead to a lifetime of opportunity they wonder if they will even have a future or if they should bring kids into this world. It’s an age of doom and hopelessness and giving up seems the only sensible thing to do. But that’s not true. You are not doomed. Humanity is not doomed.

The Most Horrible Parasite: Brain Eating Amoeba

A war has been going on for billions of years that breeds well armed monsters who struggle with other monsters for survival. Having no particular interest in us, most of them are relatively harmless, as our immune systems deal with their weapons handily. But there are exceptions. Naegleria fowleri is an amoeba that not only has developed a deadly taste for human brains but is also a match for our defenses and a guest in dramatic headlines. What happens when this monster enters your body?

You Are Not Where You Think You Are

Look around you. Where are you? Where is this place you are occupying? Somewhere in a room, maybe in a city on a continent on a planet orbiting a star in a galaxy among billions. But… where is all of that? While this may feel like a daft question, it turns out that the concept of an absolute position is something humans made up. In a nutshell, the universe is a big bag of space that has things in it. If someone removed all these things, the stars and planets and black holes and dust, there would just be empty space left. In empty space, the concept of having a position loses all meaning. Empty space is uniform, the same everywhere.

Change Your Life - One Tiny Step at a Time

If you are like most people, there is a gap between the person you are and the person you wish to be. There are little things you think you should do and big things you ought to achieve.

The Last Human - A Glimpse Into The Far Future

The future of humanity seems insecure. Rapid climate change, political division, our greed and failings make it hard to look at our species with a lot of optimism and so many people think our end is in sight. But humans always thought they lived in the end times. Every generation assumes they’re important enough to witness the apocalypse and then life just goes on. This is a problem because it leads to short term thinking and prevents us from creating the best world for ourselves and our descendants. What makes this worse is that we actually may live at an extremely critical moment in human history. To understand why, let us look at the temporal window of humanity and ask: When will the last human be born and how many people will there ever be?

The Deadliest Virus on Earth

In the 1970s thousands of Chickenheads rained from the sky in Europe, making foxes and other wildlife confused and very happy. Why? They were filled with a vaccine to fight the deadliest virus known to humanity – since the 1930s a rabies epidemic had been sweeping across wildlife populations in Europe and humans wanted to finally get rid of the virus once and for all. Rabies is named after Lyssa, the ancient Greek spirit of mad rage, and has been haunting us for at least 4000 years. It can turn animals into angry beasts and humans into zombies that fear water. But what makes Lyssa fascinating is not just how bizarre and deadly its infection is, but also how incredibly good it is at avoiding our defenses.

Is Civilization on the Brink of Collapse?

At its height, the Roman Empire was home to about 30 % of the world’s population, and in many ways the pinnacle of human advancement. Rome became the first city in history to reach one million inhabitants and was a center of technological, legal, and economic progress. An empire impossible to topple, stable and rich and powerful. Until it wasn’t anymore. First slowly then suddenly, the most powerful civilization on earth collapsed. If this is how it has been over the ages, what about us today? Will we lose our industrial technology, and with that our greatest achievements, from one dollar pizza to smartphones or laser eye surgery? Will all this go away too?

Why You Are Lonely and How to Make Friends

Friends make life good. They provide the scaffolding that makes it not just bearable but fun. They give us a sense of meaning and purpose and are a source of security, self esteem and happiness. Almost nothing predicts how happy you will be as how connected you feel and a lack of social connection is associated with a number of diseases and a shorter life. But maybe you have scrolled through your phone, unsure who to call to go to a movie with, to celebrate with or ask for comfort. You may realize that you don’t have enough friends and feel lonely. And it is not just you. Disconnectedness and loneliness are widespread. Many people want more close friends but don’t know how to get them.

Let's Travel to The Most Extreme Place in The Universe

The universe is pretty big and very strange. Hundreds of billions of galaxies with sextillions of stars and planets and in the middle of it all there is earth, with you and us. But as enormous as the universe seems looking up, it seems to get even larger when you start looking down. You are towering over worlds within worlds, within worlds – each in plain sight and yet hidden from your experience. Let’s go on a journey – we’ll start in a park, about a thousand meters long, enough for a 15 minute walk. Every time we click a magic button, we’ll become a thousand times smaller. Ready? Let’s go.

What Happens if a Supervolcano Blows Up?

The Earth is a gigantic ball of semi-molten rock, with a heart of iron as hot as the surface of the Sun. Titanic amounts of heat left over from its birth and the radioactive decay of trillions of tons of radioactive elements find no escape but up. Currents of rock spanning thousands of kilometers carry this energy to the surface. Earth’s crust is the only thing in their way. It feels solid to us, but it is only a fragile barrier, an apple skin around a flaming behemoth. True apocalypses can break through and unleash eruptions tens of times more powerful than all of our nuclear weapons combined, subjecting the climate to centuries worth of change in a single year, while drowning continents in toxic ash and gases: supervolcanoes. How big can they get? And will they put an end to humanity?

Why Don't We Shoot Nuclear Waste Into Space?

Here in the Kurzgesagt labs we test very important ideas to see what happens when you blow things up or play with black holes. Many of you suggested that we look into an idea that sounds reasonable: Shooting nuclear waste into space. It is one of those concepts that seems like an easy fix for one of the main problems with nuclear energy. But it turns out this idea is not just bad but horribly bad and it gets worse the longer you think about it.

The Most Extreme Explosion in the Universe

Supernovae are the most powerful explosions in the universe, unleashing enough energy to outshine galaxies. We have no real metaphor for their power – if the sun were to magically go supernova it would feel like you were being hit by the energy of a nuclear explosion, every second. For weeks. While supernovae are the engines of creation, forging the elements that enable life, they also burn sterile whole regions of galaxies. So what would happen if one hit earth?

The Horror of the Slaver Ant

Everything changed when the slaver nation attacked. What used to be a thriving colony is now a captured country. Slaves do the work, serving their new masters until they die, only to be replaced by new victims harvested in brutal raids. But let us go back to the beginning…

How To Terraform Mars - WITH LASERS

Mars is a disappointing hellhole lacking practically everything we need to stay alive. It looks like we’ll only ever have small crews spend a miserable time hidden underground. Except, we could terraform it into a green new world. But to solve the planet’s problems, we first need to make it worse and turn it into oceans of lava with gigantic lasers.

The Last Star in the Universe — Red Dwarfs Explained

The last star in the universe will be a red dwarf. Red dwarfs in general might be great places to look for aliens – or planets for humans to find a new home after our solar system has died.

Why the War on Drugs Is a Huge Failure

The war against drugs has been a terrible disaster for everybody involved. Why? And can we do something differently?

The Antibiotic Apocalypse Explained

What is the Antibiotic Apocalypse? What is it all about? And how dangerous is it?

Space Elevator — Science Fiction or the Future of Mankind?

So. Space elevators. Are they are thing that we should talk about?

Safe and Sorry — Terrorism & Mass Surveillance

How Far Can We Go? Limits of Humanity (old version)

Is there a border we will never cross? Are there places we will never be able to reach, no matter what? It turns out there are. Far, far more than you might have thought…

What Are You?

So. Are you your body? And if so, how exactly does this work? Lets explore lots of confusing questions.

What Happened Before History? Human Origins

Humans. We have been around for a while now. When we think about our past we think about ancient civilizations, the pyramids, stuff like that. But this is only a tiny, tiny part of our history.

Death From Space — Gamma-Ray Bursts Explained

There are cosmic snipers firing at random into the unvierse. What are they and what happens if they hit us?

Genetic Engineering Will Change Everything Forever — CRISPR

Designer babies, the end of diseases, genetically modified humans that never age. Outrageous things that used to be science fiction are suddenly becoming reality. The only thing we know for sure is that things will change irreversibly.

Genetic Engineering and Diseases — Gene Drive & Malaria

We have the choice to attack one of our oldest enemies with genetic engineering. But should we do it?

The Most Efficient Way to Destroy the Universe — False Vacuum

What if there is a way to destroy the universe so fundamentally that life as we know it will be impossible forever?

Fusion Energy Explained — Future or Failure

How does fusion energy work and is it a good idea?

The Most Gruesome Parasites — Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs)

There are a group of parasites extremely disgusting and mean. Humanity declared war on them.

A New History for Humanity — The Human Era

It is time to reframe how we think about our past. We need a new year 0 for humanity. But which one should we choose and why?

Milk. White Poison or Healthy Drink?

Over the last decade milk has become a bit controversial. Some people say it’s a necessary and nutritious food, vital for healthy bones, but others say it can cause cancer and lead to an early death. So who is right? And why are we drinking it anyway?

How to Make a Kurzgesagt Video in 1200 Hours

Why Alien Life Would Be Our Doom — The Great Filter

Finding alien life on a distant planet would be amazing news - or would it? If we are not the only intelligent life in the universe, this probably means our days are numbered and doom is certain.

Homeopathy Explained — Gentle Healing or Reckless Fraud?

What are the principles behind Homeopathy and does it work?

Why Earth Is a Prison and How to Escape It

We are trapped on Earth. Controlled by an ancient debt to the universe...

Do Robots Deserve Rights? What If Machines Become Conscious?

What shall we do once machines become conscious? Do we need to grant them rights?

Did The Future Already Happen? - The Paradox of Time

Is your future already written? Do your past, present, and future all exist right now? Surprisingly, the answer could be yes. Let's take a look at what time is and how it works – in our first video of the year!

What Happens AFTER Nuclear War?

A nuclear bomb is the most devastating explosion ever created. One bomb can end tens of thousands of lives immediately and hundreds of thousands through the radioactive aftermath. However, the worst part comes afterward: a nuclear winter that might kill billions, potentially leading to the complete collapse of our civilization. In a nuclear winter, there are no winners – only starving losers. How exactly does it work and what would it look like?

The Paradox of an Infinite Universe

What is outside of the universe? We know that the universe had a beginning 14 billion years ago and that it has been expanding ever since. But something that is expanding should also have an edge, right? What would you see if you went there?

How The Dinosaurs Actually Died

A ruthless murder was committed! Someone killed the dinosaurs and we have the murderer! Witnesses say that an Everest-sized asteroid hit Earth, devastated the planet and caused a mass extinction. A simple, fascinating and convincing explanation. Or… is it?

There Are Thousands of Alien Empires in The Milky Way

We often assume that advanced technology will make it easy for aliens to colonize space. But what if space exploration is always difficult, no matter how advanced you are? Let’s travel back in human history, to the colonization of Oceania over 5000 years ago, to find parallels between ancient explorers and extraterrestrial civilizations.

Smoking is Awesome

We need to have an honest conversation about smoking: The problem with smoking is that it is way more than just a physical addiction. Smoking creates a temporary problem and offers an instant solution. Once your brain is used to nicotine, for up to 72 hours you are itchy,nervous and stressed – but one drag and instantly, you feel really good. It also helps you focus and take breaks during work, while suppressing your appetite. So why is it such a bad idea?

This Black Hole Could be Bigger Than The Universe

Black holes might create infinite universes while destroying time and space. Everything in existence could be black holes, all the way down. We might live inside a black hole that is inside a black hole, that is inside a black hole. But let’s start at the beginning and build a black hole out of air.

Do You Have a Free Will?

You may think you have free will and can choose what you do, but this might be an illusion. Your body is made up of particles that blindly follow the laws of physics, with every outcome already predetermined. So, you might not have any free will at all. Is free will an illusion, or does it exist? Which philosophical camp is right?

This Disease is Deadlier Than The Plague

The white death has haunted humanity like no other disease following us for thousands, maybe millions of years. In the last 200 years it killed a billion people – way more than all wars and natural disasters combined. Even today it’s the infectious disease with the highest kill count. But what is this horrible disease?

A.I. ‐ Humanity's Final Invention?

Humans rule Earth without competition. But we are about to create something that may change that: our last invention, the most powerful tool, weapon, or maybe even entity: Artificial Super intelligence. This sounds like science fiction, so let’s start at the beginning.

Fever Feels Horrible, but is Actually Awesome!

Fever feels bad. So we take medication to suppress it – but is this a good idea? It turns out fever is one of the oldest defenses against disease. What exactly is a fever, and how does it make your immune defense stronger? Should you take a pill to combat it?

We Traveled Back in Time. Now Physicists Are Angry.

Time travel is possible. In fact, you’ve been doing it since the day you were born. But what if we told you there’s a way to hack the universe and manipulate time itself? We just have to do two simple things to make it happen: 1. Make a lot of physicists grumpy. 2. Shoot one twin through space against their will, while the other chills on Earth. Let's go!

We Need to Rethink Exercise (Updated Version)

Exercising doesn’t help you lose weight. In fact, it barely changes your daily calorie burn. Welcome to the workout paradox! Let’s dive into the science of how your body actually handles calories and sabotages your best efforts to burn them.

Why Scientists Are Puzzled By This Virus

You’ve got trillions of viruses inside you – right now! But these aren’t the viruses you fear. Some of them are your body’s secret protectors, keeping deadly bacteria in check and even killing cancer cells. But what happens when they turn against you? Let's look at the wild world of the human virome.

This Video Might Save 58 Lives Next Week

58 of you watching this video right now will not be alive next week. And it’s not because of some freak accident or rare disease. It’s because of everyday actions you probably think are harmless. Let’s save your life today by looking at what is most likely to kill you next week – so you can avoid it.

There Is Something Hiding Inside Earth

We’ve found a new planet, home to octillions of the most extreme beings living in the most absurd and deadly hellscape. In absolute darkness, crushed by the weight of mountains, starved of oxygen, cooked alive, bathed in acid, salt or radiation. And yet, they live for thousands, perhaps millions of years! It turns out, this planet is not in space – it is inside the crust of Earth! This is the deep biosphere and we basically learned that it exists yesterday. Its volume is at least twice as large as all the Earth’s oceans, home to more microbes than the rest of the entire planet.Their total biomass is more than 20 times greater than all humans, livestock, and animal wildlife. Let’s descend into this mad, deadly world where none of the rules we thought are mandatory for life apply.

Tired of Doomscrolling?

Being a human in the 21st century often feels frustrating. We are clearly at the high point of our species, while at the same time life is incredibly hard! We are divided, unable to solve our problems while creating new ones, destroying our world in the process. In many ways the vibe is that we live in dark times. But as Terry Pratchett said, we are the storytelling ape, we think in narratives and live in a network of stories that make up our world. So without minimizing the darkness, we want to add a story that we find helpful for dealing with the world.

We Fell For The Oldest Lie On The Internet

“Your blood vessels stretch a staggering 100,000 kilometers, enough to wrap around Earth twice!" Sounds amazing, right? We spent over a year trying to confirm this claim, and let's just say – things aren't as they seem. Join us on our year-long journey that uncovered outdated science, speculation, and a lot of dead ends.

The Most Insane Weapon You Never Heard About

At the height of the Cold War, a terrifying concept emerged: a bomb so powerful it wouldn’t need to be dropped. Known as Project Sundial, this doomsday device would have left a 400-km radius in flames and plunged the world into darkness. It was a bomb that would destroy everything – not a weapon, but an apocalypse. How close did we come to pressing the button?

We Have To Talk About Weed

Cannabis is finally being decriminalized in more and more places around the world. And for very good reasons! Compared to other legal drugs such as alcohol, cannabis is pretty mild and most users enjoy it without issue. But there’s a dark side for some. So let’s take an honest look at some of the latest research together.

Vaping Is Too Good To Be True

Vaping is marketed as the “safe” alternative to smoking, but it’s far from being harmless. Unregulated ingredients, hidden toxins, and extreme nicotine levels mean we’re conducting a massive experiment on ourselves. Let’s dive into what we know – and what we don’t know, yet.

Black Hole's Evil Twin - Gravastars Explained

Gravastars could change how we think about the universe. These cosmic objects solve black holes’ biggest problems without breaking physics. From their ultra-thin shell to their energy-filled core, gravastars are both elegant and terrifying. But what exactly are they?

Is The World Getting More Violent?

Ten years ago, in 2014, we released a video titled "Is War Over?". Back then, the question didn’t seem so naive. It seemed violent conflict was on the decline and the world more peaceful than ever. But the last ten years weren’t what we expected. So let's see how our video has held up.

Alien Whales On Planet Nimbus - What Aliens Might Look Like

Humans assume aliens look human. But why would they? Let's explore what life might actually look like in strange, distant worlds.

This Is NOT An Anti Meat Video

Trees Are Even More Crazy Than We Thought

Trees are among the most fascinating life forms on Earth, but what makes them truly fascinating is hiding underground! They are able to break solid rocks with hydraulic roots, all while working together with the underground fungal networks that can stretch for kilometers. Above and below, trees are running biological empires we’re only beginning to understand. How does something so massive survive with roots growing so shallow? What are trees really made of and how are they able to grow so big?

The Uncomfortable Truth About Ozempic

Losing weight is hard, and obesity is one of the unhealthiest things that can happen to your body. It increases your risk of diabetes, heart attacks, cancer, and can lead to a series of other health complications. But today, the new weight loss drugs are changing people’s lives in a way no diet ever has before. They seem to melt fat away, reduce addiction and even prevent or reverse the negative effects of obesity. How do these drugs work? What do they do to our metabolism, and could they change public health forever?

This Is the Scariest Place in The Universe

Most of the universe is not made of stars, galaxies, or beautiful glowing nebulae. Instead, the majority of it is what seems to be vast, silent emptiness. Huge cosmic voids stretching hundreds of millions of light years across, containing almost nothing at all. But these dark regions are not just empty space. They are dynamic structures that grow, merge, and shape the entire architecture of the universe. What exactly are cosmic voids and how did they form? What makes them so strange, and what role might they play in the future of the universe?

The Most Insane Megaproject You Never Heard About

At the height of the Cold War, nuclear weapons were seen not only as devices of destruction, but also as tools for progress. Project Plowshare was a bold attempt to use atomic explosions for more practical purposes: from digging canals and creating harbors to reshaping entire landscapes. This project was designed to push the limits of what seemed possible, but instead turned into an environmental disaster. How did Project Plowshare come up? What happened to it, and why did it fail in the end?

Let’s Dissect Your Brain

Your mind is the only place in the universe that only you can access. It’s where all of your thoughts, memories and emotions exist. A whole inner universe that is being shaped by your biology, experiences and imagination. It's what makes you: you. There is a wide spectrum of minds in nature, however humans have taken theirs to another level. Our minds can reflect on themselves, simulate other perspectives, and even construct entire fictional worlds. What exactly is a mind? How and why did it evolve, and could it be the most secret place in the universe?

GERMANY IS OVER

Germany is heading towards a population collapse. For decades, birth rates have remained below replacement levels, while people are living longer than ever before. As a result, the population is now rapidly aging and facing a growing imbalance between the number of workers and retirees. This shift is putting pressure not only on Germany's pension system, but also on jobs, healthcare, and the services people rely on every day. So how did Germany get here and what will be the consequences? Is there a way to avoid this demographic collapse and if so, how?

The Uncomfortable Truth About Ozempic (Updated Version)

Losing weight is hard, and obesity is one of the unhealthiest things that can happen to your body. It increases your risk of diabetes, heart attacks, cancer, and can lead to a series of other health complications. But today, the new weight loss drugs are often used to tackle the obesity. How do these drugs work? What do they do to our metabolism, and could they change public health forever? IMPORTANT: This is an updated version from the original video we released over a month ago. The first version did not contain wrong information but our framing was not good enough – after hearing your feedback it was clear that we didn’t communicate the topic well – so we revised the script, made the video longer and added more information and clarifications at key points.

The Most Complex Language in the World

You are cells. Your muscles, organs, skin and hair. They are in your blood and in your bones. Cells are biological robots. They don’t want anything, they don’t feel anything. They are never sad or happy. They just are, right here, right now. They are as conscious as a stone or a chair or a neutron star. Cells just follow their programming that has been evolving and changing for billions of years, molded by natural selection. They are impossible machines and yet, here they are, driven entirely by the fundamental forces of the universe. The smallest unit of life, right at the border where physics becomes biology. Sometimes, to get a truer understanding of how amazing something is, you need to hold your breath and dive in really deep. So, what are cells and how do they work?

What Actually Happens When You Are Sick

There is this idea floating around that what doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger. That surviving a disease leaves you better off. And it seems to make sense because we have all experienced this. When you go through hardship, often you come out more resilient, more ready to face a difficult situation in the future. But it turns out that sometimes, what doesn’t kill you makes you weaker. So, what happens when you get sick?

How We Make Money on YouTube with 20M Subs

In 2023, Kurzgesagt has existed for 10 years (which is insanely long in internet years). We are among the largest sciencey channels on Youtube and still a bit of a black box to people. So let us talk about ourselves in three parts: Our backstory, how we finance our work, and the values of Kurzgesagt!

Why Aliens Might Already Be On Their Way To Us

The universe is magnificent and vast. Hundreds of billions of galaxies, trillions of stars, and even more planets. If even the tiniest fraction are habitable, then the Universe should be teeming with life. And yet we see nothing, only vast emptiness. Where is everyone else? The answer to this riddle could be as exciting as it is creepy: we are early, born before almost all other life – but very soon this may change. Not only might aliens appear, they could quickly surround us. An irreversible competition for the universe might be about to begin.

Your Body Killed Cancer 5 Minutes Ago

Somewhere in your body, your immune system just quietly killed one of your own cells, stopping it from becoming cancer, and saving your life. It does that all the time. The vast majority of cancer cells you develop will be killed without you ever noticing. Which is an incredibly hard job because of what cancer cells are: parts of yourself that start to behave as individuals even if it hurts you. What is cancer and how does your body kill it all the time?

The Black Hole That Kills Galaxies

The universe isn't just a vast empty ocean sprinkled with galaxies – most of the atoms are actually drifting in between, in the intergalactic medium. If we look closely, we can see who is in charge here: Quasars, the single most powerful objects in existence. As small as a grain of sand compared to the amazon river, they reside in the centers of some galaxies, shining with the power of a trillion stars, blasting out huge jets of matter, completely reshaping the cosmos around them. They are so powerful that they can kill a galaxy. What are they, and how do they mold the structure of the universe at their whim?

The Reason Why Cancer is so Hard to Beat

An undead city under siege, soldiers and police ruthlessly shooting down waves of zombies that flood from infected streets, trying to escape and infect more cities. This is what happens when your body fights cancer, more exciting than any movie. How does this battle for survival unfold?

The Most Dangerous Weapon Is NOT Nuclear

A breathtaking scientific revolution is taking place – biotechnology has been progressing at stunning speed, giving us the tools to eventually gain control over biology. On the one hand solving the deadliest diseases while also creating viruses more dangerous than nuclear bombs, able to devastate humanity. What is going on?

The (Second) Most Deadliest Virus on Earth

Few of the monsters that evolution created have been so successful at hurting us as the variola virus, responsible for smallpox. The carnage it caused was so terrible and merciless that it compelled humankind, for the first time, to act truly globally. It was one of the greatest wins of our species over the ancient powers of nature, all made possible by… cows.

What Happens If You Destroy A Black Hole?

Black holes can destroy everything – but can they be destroyed? What happens if we push physics to the absolute limits, maybe even break it and the universe in the process? Let’s create a tiny black hole, about the mass of our moon, in the Kurzgesagt Labs and try to rip it apart.

How A Nuclear War Will Start - Minute by Minute

Mr. President! Nuclear missiles will strike our country in 14 minutes. I know it’s your first day in office so I’m going to walk you through it, but you’re the only one who can authorize our nuclear retaliation in response and you’ve only got a few minutes to make a decision!

We Did The Math - You Are Dead!

Absolutely everything you think about yourself and the universe could be an illusion. As far as you know, you are real and exist in a universe that was born 14 billion years ago and that gave rise to galaxies, stars, the Earth, and finally you. Except, maybe not.

Why Korea is Dying Out

Every two years one million Japanese disappear, China’s population will halve by the end of the century, the median age in Italy has reached 48. All around the world birth rates are crashing – Is humanity dying out? What is going on and how bad is it?

Ancient Life as Old as the Universe

Life has existed on one planet for about 4 billion years, for all we know. But it might have started right after the Big Bang, when the universe was much stranger and more fantastic than today. A universe that might have allowed life to develop absolutely anywhere. The cosmos might be full of the seeds of life, sleeping in a dead desert, waiting for a few drops of rain to explosively bloom and grow. Tiny and not so tiny aliens might be everywhere.

4.5 Billion Years in 1 Hour

Earth is 4.5 billion years old - which is approximately the same amount of time it took us to create this video. We’ve scaled the complete timeline of our Earth’s life into our first animated movie! Every second shows about a million years of the planet’s evolution. Hop on a musical train ride and experience how long a billion years really is. It’s the perfect background for your next party, a great way to take a break from studying, or a fascinating companion while you’re on the go … and our celebration of 10 years of kurzgesagt.

How to Win an Interstellar War

Could aliens destroy us from light years away? Another day at Kurzgesagt Labs, where we answer the most important questions with science. Today: how might civilizations wage war across light years? What kind of devastating weapons could they use and what would they look like?

The Last Thing To Ever Happen In The Universe

The universe today is happy and healthy, with exciting things going on – but at some point the night will turn dark. Everything that once was, will peacefully sleep forever. But what is the last thing that will ever happen? Let's travel to the end of the universe…

The Internet is Worse Than Ever – Now What?

In 2022 nearly half of Americans expected a civil war in the next few years, one in five now believes political violence is justified. And it is not just the US but around the world. People increasingly see themselves as part of opposing teams. There are many different reasons for this, but one gets blamed a lot: social media. Social media divides us, makes us more extreme and less empathetic, it riles us up or sucks us into doom scrolling, making us stressed and depressed. It feels like we need to touch grass and escape to the real world. New research shows that we might have largely misinterpreted why this is the case. It turns out that the social media internet may uniquely undermine the way our brains work but not in the way you think.

How To Destroy The Universe

The universe is going to die one day, and a fight between two titans will decide our cosmic fate. On one side of this galactic battlefield, we have all the matter in the universe; on the other side, empty space infused with dark energy. Whoever wins will kill the universe in fun ways. But who will that be? We're looking at three possible ways to destroy the universe in our newest video.

Your Tattoo is INSIDE Your Immune System. Literally

Your tattoos are inside your immune system, literally. With each very tasteful piece of art, you kick start a drama with millions of deaths, grand sacrifices and your immune system stepping in to protect you from yourself. Let us get under your skin with our newest video.