Ron Finley electrified the audience at TED2013 with his fresh take on guerilla gardening. Photo: James Duncan Davidson

This weekend, we opened up the Style section of The New York Times to see a very familiar face — renegade gardener Ron Finley, whose talk “A guerilla gardener in South Central LA” now has more than 900,000 views. In the article, Finley describes what he calls “the TED effect” — the slew of interest that his electric talk at TED2013 has brought from celebrities, television shows and companies with collaboration ideas. Finley’s down-to-earth response?

“All the attention in the world won’t do my dishes,” he tells the paper.

Meanwhile, Malcolm London — the 20-year-old poet who will appear in Tuesday night’s TED Talks Education special on PBS — was interviewed in The Chicago Tribune this weekend. “On Tuesday night, if you tune into PBS’ one-hour special ‘TED Talks Education,’ you’ll see host John Legend and an array of prominent speakers, including Bill Gates, giving impassioned talks about ways to reinvent education,” the article reads. “You’ll also see Chicago’s Malcolm Xavier London performing a spoken-word poem about the racial and class tensions he experienced as a double honors student growing up in the tough Austin neighborhood while attending the more well-to-do Lincoln Park High School.”

The article asks London tough questions about his low GPA in high school and the fact that, while he’s teaching poetry, he hasn’t yet gone to college. He tells the paper that his high school performance was, in a way, a protest.

“I would leave my neighborhood and go to school, and I was seeing how divided the city was,” London says. “I felt whatever I was learning in class, wasn’t teaching me why people on the West Side were dying every day … I knew that four years later I’d be able to get into a distinguished college, but school wasn’t teaching me how to survive or better my community, and I wanted to change where I came from.”

Also in the news: TED-Ed was just named one of TIME magazine’s “50 Best Websites of 2013.”

As part of TEDxCERN, physicists from the famous institution, home of  the Large Hadron Collider (and birthplace of the Word Wide Web), teamed up with animators from TED-Ed to create easy-to-understand animated lessons that explain concepts like dark matter, big data and the Higgs boson in lay terms.

Below, watch all five animations and find out: How did the universe begin? What’s up with antimatter? And why is everyone so excited about the Higgs boson? Enjoyable whether you are new to these terms or have been studying them for years.

The beginning of the universe, for beginners. (Lesson by Tom Whyntie, animation by Hornet Inc.)
How did the universe begin — and how is it expanding? CERN physicist Tom Whyntie shows how cosmologists and particle physicists explore these questions by replicating the heat, energy and activity of the first few seconds of our universe, from right after the Big Bang.

Exploration on the Big Data frontier. (Lesson by Tim Smith, animation by TED-Ed.)
There is a mind-boggling amount of data floating around our society. Physicists at CERN have been pondering how to store and share their data for decades – stimulating globalization of the internet along the way, while “solving” their big data problem. Tim Smith plots CERN’s involvement with big data from 50 years ago to today.

Dark matter: The matter we can’t see. (Lesson by James Gillies, animation by TED-Ed.)
The Greeks had a simple and elegant formula for the universe: earth, fire, wind and water. Turns out there’s more to it than that — a lot more. Visible matter (and that goes beyond the four Greek elements) comprises only 4% of the universe. CERN scientist James Gillies tells us what accounts for the remaining 96% (dark matter and dark energy) and how we might go about detecting it.

What happened to antimatter? (Lesson by Rolf Landua, animation by TED-Ed.)
Particles come in pairs, which is why there should be an equal amount of matter and antimatter in the universe. Yet scientists have not been able to detect antimatter in the visible universe. Where is this missing particle? CERN scientist Rolf Landua returns to the seconds after the Big Bang to explain the disparity that allows humans to exist today.

The basics of boson. (Lesson by Dave Barney and Steven Goldfarb, animation by Jeanette Nørgaard.)
In 2012, scientists at CERN discovered evidence of the Higgs boson. The what? The Higgs boson is one of two types of fundamental particles, and it’s a particular game-changer in the field of particle physics, proving how particles gain mass. Using the Socratic method, CERN scientists Dave Barney and Steve Goldfarb explain the exciting implications of the Higgs boson.

For an adorable look at more stats from TED-Ed’s first year, head to the TED-Ed blog. Below, we celebrate TED-Ed’s first birthday with our 10 favorite characters from TED-Ed lessons so far.

	How is chemistry like dating? Educator Aaron Sams explains in the lesson “How to speed up chemical reactions (and get a date).” Meet Harriet, the red-headed scientist who, in high school, had a run-in with a crush in the hallway that led to a prom date. The process was strangely similar to the way particles move.
	In the incredible lesson “Inside a cartoonist’s world,” from The New Yorker cartoonist Liza Donnelly, this character shows the process of how cartoonists work. They are the playwright, director, stage designer, choreographer, and costume designer of these miniature, drawn plays.
	Mmmm, pizza.  It’s delicious — but also messy to eat. In the lesson “Pizza physics (New York-style)” this animated slice talks you through how to eat pizza neatly, while teaching you the mathematical and physics principals involved in the act.
	This green guy represents big unknown numbers — like the number of piano tuners in the city of Chicago and the number of M&Ms in a gigantic bin. In this lesson from educator Michael Mitchell, “A clever way to estimate enormous numbers,” learn a very cool way to estimate using the power of ten.
	Affectionately dubbed “yarn lady,” this character appears in the lesson “How do cancer cells behave differently from healthy ones?” Why the name? Because her organs and body are literally made of yarn – some crocheted, some knitted, some simply balled. Find out why the animators chose yarn (and seeds and candy) to bring this lesson to life in this how-to blog post.
	John Lloyd gave a classic TED Talk back in 2009 about the many things in the universe that are invisible. The talk got a magical, animated TED-Ed redux this year, in the lesson “What’s invisible? More than you think.” In it, Lloyd becomes a very knowledgeable park ranger walking you through the wonder of the world.
	These adorable line drawings are an animated renderings of educator Aaron Reedy and his wife, who was pregnant at the time. In the lesson “Sex determination. More complicated than you thought,” Reedy outlines the surprising factors that helped determine whether he’d have a daughter or a son.
	All heroes — from Harry Potter to Katniss Everdeen — are related to this generic hero and his journey. He appears in the lesson “What makes a hero?” in which educator Matthew Winkler walks you through the characteristics and life paths that all heroes have in common.
	How did the Earth, not to mention all of space, begin? In this lesson from CERN physicist Tom Whyntie, “The beginning of the universe, for beginners,” we find out. The lesson stars a talking sun, but the highlight for us is the appearance of Edwin Hubble, the scientist who first noticed that our universe is expanding — evidence of the big bang.
	We love this fireman and dog from the lesson “Capturing authentic narratives,” from Michele Weldon. The lesson lays out the basics of good journalism — asking interesting questions while interviewing sources from official channels, sources who were affected by the story and sources who have interesting background information.

TED is in the business of online videos. And so we were very intrigued by this question from Michael Stevens, the creator of the popular educational YouTube channel Vsauce: how much does a video weigh?

In today’s talk, a TED-Ed lesson filmed at TEDActive, he answers. Watch it above to find out how to measure the immeasurable. But beyond that, Stevens also shares why he creates online lessons centered around off-beat questions.

“Asking a strange question is a great way to get people in,” explains Stevens. “Sparking curiosity is great bait—it’s a great way to catch a human. Once you’ve caught them, you can accidentally teach a lot of things.”

Below, some of our favorite questions Stevens has posed in videos.

What color is a mirror?

Is the five-second rule true?

What if every single person in the world jumped at once?

Why do we wear clothes?

Will we ever run out of new music?

What’s the most dangerous place on Earth?

How secure is your password?

How much money is there on Earth?

Is your red the same as my red?

Why did the chicken cross the road?

Why do we have two nostrils?

And finally, why are things cute?

It’s just a teeny, tiny question: How did the universe begin?

Today, TED-Ed has unveiled a new lesson that answers this in less than four minutes, “The beginning of the universe, for beginners.” This is the first of five animated lessons developed by CERN scientists and brought to life by TED-Ed’s talented animators. The other four animations – which tackle the topics of Dark Matter, Anti-Matter, Big Data and the Higgs Boson — will premiere at TEDxCERN on May 3rd and will be shared on TED-Ed that same day.

The lesson above, “The beginning of the universe, for beginners,” was conceived by CERN physicist Tom Whyntie. It explains how cosmologists and particle physicists explore questions like, “How is the universe expanding?” by replicating the heat, energy and activity of the first few seconds of our universe — immediately following the Big Bang.

To see the premiere of the next four lessons in real time, tune in to the TEDxCERN live webcast on May 3rd, from 14:00 to 20:00 (CEST). It will be available to the public here »

TEDxCERN will feature talks from scientists and big thinkers of all kinds. For more information on TEDxCERN, visit their website, or follow them on Facebook or Twitter.

As the one-year anniversary of the TED-Ed website nears, the TED-Ed team created a new video to walk users through the features on the site, like the ability to add questions, upload “dig deeper” materials and start discussion chains relating to any video. (This newest feature makes the website even more interactive for any type of learner.) But rather than get a traditional narrator for this video, the group had a crazy idea: what if the voice of TED-Ed were computer-generated?

TED-Ed director Logan Smalley explains, “Practically speaking, it is way easier to re-record and edit. But more than that, we wanted to establish a character. This voice is naturally egoless, and future-proofed — in future videos, the voice could become female or speak in another language. And our animators can develop the character down the line.”

See the 10 most-watched TED-Ed videos so far »

Find out five ways you can help build TED-ED, from nominating an educator to volunteering to be a beta tester »

And find out how to track learning progress through the TED-Ed site »

This milestone would not be possible without the brilliant educators and talented animators who have contributed to the TED-Ed initiative, making curiosity-inspiring Lessons available to people all around the globe. These collaborators have put great efforts — and many late hours — into each Lesson. And it shows.

In honor of our first birthday, we’d like to celebrate our top 10 most-watched videos so far, on topics ranging from chemistry to Shakespeare to origami.

1. How simple ideas lead to scientific discoveries by Adam Savage: 969,931 views
2. Questions no one knows the answer to from Chris Anderson: 889,724 views
3. Sex determination: More complicated than you thought courtesy of Aaron Reedy: 889,022 views
4. Just how small is an atom? asks Jonathan Bergmann: 763,982 views
5. What’s invisible? More than you think by John Lloyd: 531,415 views
6. How big is infinity? from Dennis Wildfogel: 507,805 views
7. Why can’t we see evidence of alien life? asks Chris Anderson: 469,687 views
8. The secret life of plankton by Tierney Thys: 428,630 views
9. Insults by Shakespeare courtesy of April Gudenrath: 402, 630 views
10. How folding paper can get you to the moon from Adrian Paenza: 401,127 views

Here’s to ten more!

Check out the TED-Ed blog »

“It was such an amazing surprise! When I saw the first cut of the video, I was roaring with laughter. I hadn’t known they were going to make a puppet of me. So I had actually been pestering Tom and all the TED staff for the last few days about how I could get my hands on it. Tom was very convincing when he said it was in the middle of nowhere and it would be impossible to get it,” says de Vos. “I realize now in hindsight that they’ve been avoiding me a little bit for the last two days. It was a well-kept secret. I’m looking forward to using it when I talk to kids about the ocean, which I usually do wearing a mask and fins! Now she [the puppet] can do it.”

Read this interview where de Vos talks blue whales with National Geographic. And below, her TED-Ed lesson.

Photo: Karen Eng

How, exactly, does online dating work? In this perfect-for-Valentine’s-Day TED-Ed lesson, OKCupid co-founder Christian Rudder walks you through how the dating website does its matching — by using a carefully-honed algorithm to create a compatibility rating for two potential daters. In this fascinating video, Rudder shares how the site lets daters decide which factors are most important to them — and then crunches the numbers behind the scenes.

TED-Ed animator Franz Palomares jumped at the chance to animate this lesson — for a very specific reason. The TED-ED blog interviewed him to find out why.

We heard there was a special reason you wanted to work on this particular lesson. What was your inspiration?

The general inspiration was very personal. Seven years ago, I met my wife on a dating website! So I felt a great attachment to sharing this lesson.

Artistically, I had a lot of different inspirations. I knew immediately that I wanted to split it into two categories. One a very personal and human side, represented by hand-drawn characters — the match that is being made by the algorithm. And then a technical side, represented by the 3D words and the heart transitions. The hearts falling are based on the raining code from the Matrix. I thought it would be a fun way to indicate that the program was working.

That male character certainly looks familiar. How did you decide what the characters would look like in the animation?

Ha. The two characters that represent the users were easy. I knew from the moment I took on this lesson that I would work in some drawings of my wife and myself. From there, I decided I should include a character that looks like Christian to be the narrator.

Read the rest of the interview on the TED-Ed blog »

Making this TED-Ed video required (a) a lot of knitting and (b) a ton of boxes of Nerds.

When it came time to animate the lesson “How do cancer cells behave differently from healthy ones?” from educator George Zaidan, our TED-Ed animators had a crazy idea for how to make cell division come alive — using seeds and beans to animate what healthy cells look like as they divide in an orderly pattern and brightly colored candies to show how cancer cells divide quickly and wildly. They also had a good idea for how to show the way cells make up organs of the body—yarn, some knotted, some spooled, some purled and some crocheted.

Sure, cancer doesn’t sound like the most fun topic for an animation. But this lesson explains how chemotherapy works, and why it has such terrible side effects — showing how cancer’s strength is also its weakness. And because the process of making this animation was so fascinating, we asked director Biljana Labovic and animator Lisa Labracio to tell us about how they arrived at this approach.

Nerds? Seeds? Tell us a bit about the visual inspiration and your choice of materials.

Biljana: ”It’s all about growth.” That line from the script inspired me to start thinking how I could make cells physically GROW. Materializing them out of something physical seemed like a good starting point, and seeds seemed like a perfect symbolic material to represent the idea of growth. So I started looking at different type of seeds. Some were too small or too big to animate. Eventually, I expended into grains to create a variety of colors, textures and sizes to play with. I went from white couscous to dark azuki beans, and stayed in the range of brown tones — natural food colors. Combining the seeds and grains allowed us to create a variety of different looking cells, but we ended up using only two — hair cells and liver cells.

Once we animated the healthy seed cell, I wanted apply the same philosophy and visual style to creating a cancer cell. The first thing that came to my mind was candy — food full of processed sugar. My original idea was to use different kinds of jelly beans, but they were a little too big compared to our seeds, so I decided to go with Nerds. Their texture and size was much easier to handle for animation. In contrast to the natural seeds and grains, the colors were very unnatural. In addition, we later digitally adjusted the colors to make them feel even more off.

How did you turn the individual pieces into moving, dividing cells?

Lisa: I began by watching several microscopic videos of cell division, which I used as a reference to create a hand-drawn line animation to serve as a guide for my stop-motion animation. With the cancer cell, for example, the purple candies were gathered together as the nucleus, which were surrounded by multi-colored candies as the cytoplasm. Using a series of tools — including chopsticks and tweezers — I moved the candy bits individually into each position of cell division. After each cell was in place, I would take a picture. All of these steps were done by hand, with a camera and stop-motion software to capture the individual frames.

Did you have to do more digital animation?

Lisa: I shot all of the stop-motion animation against a green screen. This was important, because later when you see several cells dividing on screen at once, I was able to duplicate animation in order to fill the screen with cells. Then, in the scene where we portrayed the effects of chemotherapy on liver, hair, AND cancer cells while all were simultaneously dividing, I was able to shoot the individual cell divisions, and composite them as a whole. This saved me from having to organize and shoot all of that animation under the camera at once, which could literally take weeks! Also, the cell membranes — which were doilies for the healthy cells and plastic plates for the cancer cells — were animated and incorporated with the cell animation in the computer.

How did you design the human body?

Biljana: I started to think of the human body and organs as a very delicate creation and, once again, I wanted to use natural organic materials for everything healthy. Yarn came to mind. I was going through some stock footage of yarn patterns and knitted or crouched ornaments, making a parallel to how each organ is a carefully “knitted” object. I came across a multi-colorful twined ball of yarn and this perfectly represented the brain. Then we put knitted gloves for the hands. Our artist Celeste “digitally crocheted” a few organs like the stomach and lungs using Photoshop. We took photographs of twisted yarn for the intestines, etc. The rest of the body had a nice wavy purl pattern representing the blood flowing.

What were you hoping to communicate to your young TED-Ed audience with this video? 

Biljana: During the early development period for this animation, I was reading a lot about cell division, cancer and chemotherapy, but I was also thinking a lot about healthy lifestyles and foods, and how to convey that message in this video. I was hoping that I could inspire our young audience, perhaps even subconsciously, to be more aware of the food they eat — especially processed sugar. Interestingly enough, the conversations and debates over healthy diet and vegetarianism vs. eating meat exploded on our YouTube channel within minutes of the video being posted. The message apparently came through.