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Be Smart

Traffic Lights Are So Much Weirder Than You Realize

Season 14 Episode 1 | 17m 13s

Why are stop lights red? The common explanation about red light traveling farther through fog is actually wrong. The real story involves early railroads, deadly accidents, an exploding gas traffic light, forgotten inventors, and even the evolution of primate color vision. Here’s how history and biology accidentally created the nearly perfect traffic signal.

Aired: 03/09/26
Extras
Watch • 21:23
Be Smart
The New Kind of Heat Humans Can’t Handle
I pushed my body in a climate & sports research lab to discover what extreme heat really does to us.
Episode: S14 E7 | 21:23
Watch • 16:47
Be Smart
Scientists Finally Figured Out What Love Is For
What exactly is the evolutionary purpose of love?
Episode: S14 E6 | 16:47
Watch • 16:47
Be Smart
We've never seen an atom. But we know what they look like.
If everything around us is made of atoms, why can’t we actually see them?
Episode: S14 E5 | 16:47
Watch • 10:51
Be Smart
Infinity isn’t a number. It's something much weirder.
This video explores the bizarre mathematics that show how infinity is far stranger than a number.
Episode: S14 E4 | 10:51
Watch • 24:25
Be Smart
Something Strange Happens When You Flatten the Earth…
How Gerardus Mercator later created a map that transformed navigation forever.
Episode: S14 E3 | 24:25
Watch • 22:37
Be Smart
You've Been Lied to About DNA Evidence
DNA solves crimes, but what happens when it sends innocent people to prison?
Episode: S14 E2 | 22:37
Watch • 14:52
Be Smart
The Intelligence Test Where Ants Beat Humans
How thousands of tiny brains, obeying simple rules, solve problems no individual can understand.
Episode: S13 E17 | 14:52
Watch • 19:50
Be Smart
Everything I Thought I Knew About Flavor Was Wrong
Joe visits a flavor lab to uncover how our senses shape our taste.
Episode: S13 E16 | 19:50
Watch • 20:05
Be Smart
The Scientific Lie That Damaged Generations of Men
Here is the REAL science about "alpha males."
Episode: S13 E15 | 20:05
Watch • 22:36
Be Smart
Inside the Vault Where They Keep the Dinosaur Apocalypse
How did the mass extinction of the dinosaurs play out, moment by moment?
Episode: S13 E14 | 22:36
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Watch • 21:23
Be Smart
The New Kind of Heat Humans Can’t Handle
I pushed my body in a climate & sports research lab to discover what extreme heat really does to us.
Episode: S14 E7 | 21:23
Watch • 16:47
Be Smart
Scientists Finally Figured Out What Love Is For
What exactly is the evolutionary purpose of love?
Episode: S14 E6 | 16:47
Watch • 16:47
Be Smart
We've never seen an atom. But we know what they look like.
If everything around us is made of atoms, why can’t we actually see them?
Episode: S14 E5 | 16:47
Watch • 10:51
Be Smart
Infinity isn’t a number. It's something much weirder.
This video explores the bizarre mathematics that show how infinity is far stranger than a number.
Episode: S14 E4 | 10:51
Watch • 24:25
Be Smart
Something Strange Happens When You Flatten the Earth…
How Gerardus Mercator later created a map that transformed navigation forever.
Episode: S14 E3 | 24:25
Watch • 22:37
Be Smart
You've Been Lied to About DNA Evidence
DNA solves crimes, but what happens when it sends innocent people to prison?
Episode: S14 E2 | 22:37
Watch • 14:52
Be Smart
The Intelligence Test Where Ants Beat Humans
How thousands of tiny brains, obeying simple rules, solve problems no individual can understand.
Episode: S13 E17 | 14:52
Watch • 19:50
Be Smart
Everything I Thought I Knew About Flavor Was Wrong
Joe visits a flavor lab to uncover how our senses shape our taste.
Episode: S13 E16 | 19:50
Watch • 20:05
Be Smart
The Scientific Lie That Damaged Generations of Men
Here is the REAL science about "alpha males."
Episode: S13 E15 | 20:05
Watch • 22:36
Be Smart
Inside the Vault Where They Keep the Dinosaur Apocalypse
How did the mass extinction of the dinosaurs play out, moment by moment?
Episode: S13 E14 | 22:36