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Be Smart

How Thomas Jefferson Saved America With a Dead Moose

Season 3 Episode 34 | 6m 00s

America’s first great science battle wasn’t the space race or the atom bomb, it was fought between Thomas Jefferson, a French nobleman, and in the middle… a giant moose. Some people call Jefferson our only scientist-President, and T.J. himself said that “Nature intended me for the tranquil pursuits of science, by rendering them my supreme delight.”

Aired: 06/28/15
Extras
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Episode: S12 E8 | 15:25
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Episode: S12 E5 | 21:33
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The cosmic distance ladder is the world’s longest ruler, built to measure the universe.
Episode: S12 E4 | 10:40
Watch • 12:09
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Space is Full of Junk. Here’s How to Clean It Up…
Learn about the space junk problem and the giant space claw named ClearSpace-1 that might
Episode: S12 E2 | 12:09
Watch • 15:17
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On April 8, North America is getting a total solar eclipse. Here’s what you need to know.
Episode: S12 E3 | 15:17
Watch • 14:28
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These tiny pieces of an ancient asteroid could hold the secret to the origin of life.
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Watch • 10:00
Be Smart
Why trees look like rivers and also blood vessels and also lightning…
Why do the same, self-repeating patterns appear in trees, rivers, lightning, and even our bodies?
Episode: S12 E9 | 10:00
Watch • 4:13
Be Smart
You Are An Upside-Down Lobster
Here's why you aren't built like a lobster.
Episode: S2 E39 | 4:13
Watch • 15:25
Be Smart
The Real (Weird) Way We See Numbers
Our animal brains deal with quantities in very specific, and fascinating, ways.
Episode: S12 E8 | 15:25
Watch • 8:46
Be Smart
The Surprising Power of Sex in Evolution
Have you heard about Charles Darwin's lesser-know theory of evolution: sexual selection?
Episode: S12 E7 | 8:46
Watch • 12:54
Be Smart
Computers Can Predict When You're Going to Die… Here's How
Can new technologies make death prediction even more accurate?
Episode: S12 E6 | 12:54
Watch • 21:33
Be Smart
Can AI Help Us Talk to Whales?
AI may help us talk to whales soon. But should we?!
Episode: S12 E5 | 21:33
Watch • 10:40
Be Smart
Measuring the Universe With a 14-Billion Light-Year Ruler
The cosmic distance ladder is the world’s longest ruler, built to measure the universe.
Episode: S12 E4 | 10:40
Watch • 12:09
Be Smart
Space is Full of Junk. Here’s How to Clean It Up…
Learn about the space junk problem and the giant space claw named ClearSpace-1 that might
Episode: S12 E2 | 12:09
Watch • 15:17
Be Smart
Why the 2024 Solar Eclipse is Such a Big Deal
On April 8, North America is getting a total solar eclipse. Here’s what you need to know.
Episode: S12 E3 | 15:17
Watch • 14:28
Be Smart
Why NASA Punched an Asteroid
These tiny pieces of an ancient asteroid could hold the secret to the origin of life.
Episode: S12 E1 | 14:28