Folks, can we talk about these TED-Ed videos? Because they are becoming some of my favorite things. In this magnificently animated piece, science writer Carl Zimmer waxes poetic on the aesthetic and engineering feats that make feathers so incredible before delivering a point by point walkthrough of what we know about how feathers evolved — and what we don’t. This lesson in how modern birds developed from ancient dinosaurs more or less the perfect thing to distract you from work today, and come on — it’s not like you’re here because you desperately want to get things done.
Don’t believe me? Let’s play “Things I Would Rather Do Than Work On A Friday” bingo for a minute, shall we? Watch cartoons? Check. Learn about science? Well, Carl Zimmer is talking, so got you there. Look at dinosaurs? Oh, yeah, plenty of dinosaurs. Think about how cool it would be to be a bird? Yup. This video will probably make you do that, too.
Game, set, match. Enjoy!
(via TED-Ed)
- We know the color of some dinosaur feathers, but we’re still trying to figure out skin
- Some dinos used their feathers like peacocks do today
- All I want is glow-in-the-dark dinosaur money. Is that so much to ask?
