12 May 2026 The Rest Is Science
This episode contains descriptions of warfare and use of chemical weapons
How do you feed a world thatâs running out of food?
In this episode of The Rest Is Science, Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens uncover one of the strangest and most unsettling stories in modern science: the tale of the man who learned how to pull fertiliser out of thin air.
This discovery transformed agriculture. It made modern civilisation possible. But it also powered explosives, prolonged the First World War, and helped to birth some of the most deadly chemical weapons in history.
From battles for bird poop to the ethics of scientific progress, this is the story of the molecule that changed humanity forever.
——————
For more information about Cancer Research UK, their research, breakthroughs and how you can support them, visit â â https://cancerresearchuk.org/restissc…
Cancer Research UK is a registered charity in England and Wales (1089464), Scotland (SC041666), the Isle of Man (1103) and Jersey (247). A company limited by guarantee. Registered company in England and Wales (4325234) and the Isle of Man (5713F). Registered address: 2 Redman Place, London, E20 1JQ.
——————-
Video Editor: Oli Oakley
Animator: Sam Benson
Video & Social: Bex Tyrrell
Assistant Producer: Lucy Lipscombe
Producer: Simona Rata
Senior Producer: Lauren Armstrong-Carter
Head Of Digital: Samuel Oakley
Exec Producer: Neil Fearn
——————-
00:00 Intro
00:08 Cancer Research UK
01:22 Who is the biggest villain in history?
04:35 Who was Fritz Haber
07:11 The Principle of Population
08:00 Poop was like liquid gold
08:37 Japanese landlords and tenantsâ âwasteâ
11:00 The battles over bird poo
14:05 How Haber broke open the Nitrogen production process
20:20 Adapting the environment instead of adapting to our environment
24:45 Breaking the nitrogen bond to make explosives
27:25 The father of chemical warfare
31:30 The tragedy of Haberâs wife
35:00 If Haber didnât do it, would someone else have?
36:48 What happened to Haber?
38:55 Is scientific progress inevitable?
40:05 Outro
[…]
[…]
Today we tackle the 17 Tone Puzzle – a microtonal puzzle of sorts in 17 edo (or 17 tone equal temperament) left to us by the late George Secor. George wrote a paper called “The 17 Tone Puzzle (and the NeoMedieval Key That Unlocks it)” exploring the idea that had history had been a bit different in the middle ages, we may have ended up with a 17 note tuning system instead of a 12 note system. In this video we review his work, and attempt to solve this 17 Tone Puzzle once and for all. Topics covered in this video include: 17 EDO, 7 TET, Temperament theory, Quarter Comma Meantone, Pythagorean tuning, Pythagorean 17 note tuning, the history of consonance and dissonance, music philosophy, Ernst Levy, the monochord, Margo Schulter, medieval music theory, George Secor, Guido of Arezzo, Marchettus of Padua, Nicolo Vicentino, 31EDO, the Archicembalo, James Tenney, microtonality, medieval harmony, makam/maqams, Safi al-Din al-Urmawi, and Persian, Turkish and Middle Eastern tuning systems.
Connect with me here:
Levi McClain’s Music: https://linktr.ee/levimcclainmusic
Levi McClain’s Instagram: / levimcclainmusic
Levi McClain’s TikTok: / levimcclainmusic
Things to check out:
George Secor’s 17 Tone Puzzle: https://anaphoria.com/Secor17puzzle.pdf
Farzad Milani’s Persian 17 Tone System: âą Helmholtz, Hedayat, Pythagorean tuning, an…
#musictheory #medieval #medievalmusic #earlymusic #microtonality #microtones #tuningtheory #medievalhistory #17EDO #17tet
[…]
11 May 2026 #science #biology #bee
Support this channel on Patreon to help me make this a full time job: / whatdamath (Unreleased videos, extra footage, DMs, no ads)
Alternatively, PayPal donations can be sent here: http://paypal.me/whatdamath
Get a Wonderful Person Tee: https://teespring.com/stores/whatdamath
More cool designs are on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3QFIrFX
Hello and welcome! My name is Anton and in this video, we will talk about a strange discovery in a New York cemetery – bees, lots of bees
Links:
https://link.springer.com/article/10….
#science #biology #bee
0:00 NYC cemetery with a surprise
1:05 5.5 million bees
2:27 How this was discovered
3:02 Regular mining bees
7:05 Why they are so important
7:45 Discovery from the NYC cemetery
9:25 Major implication for pollination
10:12 Strange new ecosystem
11:30 Why cemeteries?
13:00 Conclusions
Enjoy and please subscribe
[…]
