geekosystem

I'm a big fan of "The Elements" by Tom Lehrer. You might not know the name, though you really should, but you've likely heard the song at some point. It's literally just Lehrer singing the elements on the periodic table while playing the piano. It's great, and no other song about the periodic table has ever come close to dislodging it from the cockles of my heart. Enter AsapSCIENCE's new periodic table song.

In their latest video contribution to a better understanding of the world through YouTube cartoons, AsapSCIENCE looks to answer the number one burning question of the Internet: What hurts worse -- getting kicked in the balls or having a baby?

There are a bunch of reasons why we cry, but there are basically just three kinds of tears. Of these, little is understand about the kind of tears we shed when we're emotional. Even so, AsapSCIENCE does an excellent job of breaking down why, exactly we cry, and their video on the subject's worth giving a watch.

Cats are a pretty big deal on the Internet, so it's fitting that the Internet try to explain what cats are all about. The new video by AsapSCIENCE looks at why cats do the things they do like rubbing against us, purring, and even why they bury their poop. One explanation that's noticeably missing from the video is why Grumpy Cat is so grumpy.

Ever had a sudden chill that made your whole body shake or hair stand on end? You've probably had goosebumps. No, not Goosebumps, the young adult horror novel series, but goosebumps, where your flesh reacts to the cold by literally producing bumps. The science of goosebumps as explained by AsapSCIENCE is surprisingly straightforward, but music chills, or frisson, is a little more difficult.

Your alarm goes off. You reassess what time you really need to get out of bed that you decided the night before, and sleepily paw at your alarm clock until you find the snooze button. It only buys you a few more minutes, but boy howdy, are those some sweet, sweet minutes. The problem is that you usually feel worse after hitting snooze than when you first woke up. So is the snooze alarm really doing you any favors? It is not, and AsapSCIENCE explains why you should just wake up without hitting snooze.

As I rapidly approach the ripe old age of 30, I am becoming increasingly aware of things like my hair and whether or not I still have any. Commonly held wisdom says that baldness is passed from your mother's father, but AsapSCIENCE tackles the question to teach us just how hair loss really works in this new video.

As soon as we're born, it's pretty clear we're going to die. Even if we manage to navigate the giant obstacle that is life, aging will eventually do us in. Why, though? What, exactly, is it that's making us look old and slowly killing us? The good folks over at AsapSCIENCE have thankfully broken things down into easy to understand terms. It's no less depressing, but at least you'll know exactly why your body's decided to fail you so spectacularly.

The differences between margarine and butter are pretty clear, right? One is processed vegetable oil -- the other is good old-fashioned cream and salt. One is the finest of all possible ingredients that can save nearly any recipe if applied in time. The other is, well, margarine. What margarine does have going for it, though, is that it's better for your health than delicious, artery-clogging butter -- or is it? In their latest video, AsapSCIENCE details the chemical differences between butter and margarine, suggesting that margarine might not be the lifesaver we tend to think  it is. Too bad, margarine -- if you don't actually have the health factor working in your favor, this really just stopped being a contest at all.

Internet pornography is almost impossible to escape. A single ill-advised Google search and you're awash in the private parts of strangers. It's all downhill from there. That's what I'm told, anyway. The addicting aspect of pornography is well-documented, but what exactly makes pornography addicting? Thankfully, the good people at AsapSCIENCE have given an answer. Essentially, it all comes down to your brain.

Speaking from a purely hard science point of view, we don't get what makes that special someone so special... but we're getting closer to understanding it. AsapSCIENCE is back with its latest installment just in time for Valentine's Day, and they're taking a look at the science behind that crazy little thing called love. Sit back and enjoy it by yourself or with that special someone -- you might even learn a thing or two.

Sometimes, the best way to find out how a thing works is to break it first. Now, these interesting brain tricks from the folks at AsapSCIENCE won't necessarily break your brain... but they will give you enough of a pause that you have to put in some real thought about how your mind works, and the occasionally competing forces at play in your head. If you're not one for introspection, though, that's okay, too -- you can put some of these to good use confusing your friends for fun and profit! Everyone's a winner!

It's a question that many have pondered: Which came first, chicken or the egg? The obvious argument is that the chicken couldn't have been born without an egg, but an egg couldn't have been laid without the chicken. Folks go back and forth, and it typically descends into a cyclical conversation where each side constantly says the other is wrong without being able to really disprove legitimate assertions. It's certainly a quandary when taken at face value, but when you break it down, as AsapSCIENCE has, there's really only one answer.

Ready for a strange and uncomfortable fact to start your Friday morning? Sure you are, and here it is, courtesy of the fine cartoonists and deep thinkers over at AsapSCIENCE: when you think deeply about a thing -- seeing the letter 'B,' for example, or fixing a sandwich -- the same parts of your brain involved in performing that action light up. Some studies even suggest that you can improve your piano skills just by thinking diligently about playing while not actually touching a piano. Check out AsapSCIENCE's latest video below and learn more about how your brain is just weird sometimes.

Alright, fellas -- anyone out there still troubled by the prospect of getting in touch with their feminine side is officially not only on the wrong side of history, but biology as well. That's because, once upon a time in the womb, every person on the planet started life as a female. The mechanisms behind this drastic change from one gender to another can be pretty difficult to grasp, but the incomparable dry erase board artists of AsapSCIENCE are here once again to unravel these scientific complexities and deliver them in an easily grasped format, with lots of bright colors and pictures.