The Big Picture
How It Works
Everyday science: what your body, animals and machines are actually doing.
Elephant leads, Prickle interrupts.
Animated explainers · English & ไทย
How the worldreally works.
Your body, animals, machines and the news, explained as a mechanism by a curious elephant and a sarcastic hedgehog. New episodes every week.
52episodes on the channel
5,930views so far
2languages, every episode
New this week
All episodes on YouTube →Latest episodes
Each episode is made in English and Thai, with two Shorts cut from it.
Inside an episode
What Really Happens When You Sneeze?
A sneeze is a cannon with a tripwire in your nose, a cable, a control room in your brainstem and a crew of muscles. We follow one speck through load, seal, fire, then test the myths: does your heart stop, do your eyes pop out, and why you should never hold it in.
Sourced from 6 references: en.wikipedia.org, health.clevelandclinic.org, news.mit.edu, smithsonianmag.com, vicks.com.
Episode notes and sources- 0:00The Tickle
- 1:16Tripwire and Cable
- 2:57Load, Seal, Fire
- 3:57The Cloud
- 5:19Three Myths
- 7:08Crossed Wires
- 8:33The Callback
Three series, one channel
What we make
Big Questions
History's mysteries and the biggest ideas in physics and the cosmos.
Elephant leads.The Big Picture
The news that matters, within 48 hours, explained as a mechanism instead of a headline.
Elephant leads.Prickle's TakeSoon
One idea, one analogy, and a hedgehog who is usually right about it.
Prickle hosts.From the archive
Most watched
Ranked by YouTube views.
- 01Six Needles in One Straw: How a Mosquito BitesHow It Works · Short · 0:43601views
- 02The Trojan War Probably Happened — Archaeology Just Found the Smoking ArrowheadBig Questions · Long · 7:03539views
- 03The Forgotten Goddess Who Ruled Three Civilizations Before Being ErasedBig Questions · Long · 9:00510views
- 04The Quiet Monopoly: How Bloomberg's Terminal Built a $24B Data FortressThe Big Picture · Long · 4:52387views
- 05The Future of Nuclear Fusion EnergyHow It Works · Short · 0:51340views
- 06The Sun Never Turns Red — Here's What You're SeeingHow It Works · Short · 0:40315views
- 07This Silk Is Stronger Than Steel (By Weight)How It Works · Short · 0:35183views
- 08The Tiny Relay Inside Your Doorbell: How a Coil Switches 120V SafelyHow It Works · Long · 7:03154views
Your hosts
An elephant and a hedgehog
The Elephant
Curious about everything, never forgets a number, and always shows the working.
“Let's follow one speck all the way through.”
Prickle
One analogy per episode and a sarcastic remark that always lands on a fact.
“So it's a cannon. In your face. Great.”