Did you know that chickens actually store away gravel inside their bodies to aid in the digestive process? Chickens (and other birds) have a special organ called a gizzard. When chickens eat, they ingest bits of gravel and stones. These stones (called gastroliths) are stored away inside the gizzard, and help to grind the harder [...]
Science fiction is an ever-evolving genre that often reinvents itself to stay ahead of current trends in technology. After all, many inventions that were once science fiction are now commonplace. There is one constant exception, inspiring the question that many have asked, however tongue-in-cheek: “Where’s my flying car?” From Doctor Who (2007) to The Fifth [...]
Did you know that the mantis shrimp has claws with such an incredibly fast and powerful strike, that some are able to break aquarium glass with one swing? It’s a fact! The mantis shrimp, also known as “stomatopod”, has claws that can launch with the velocity of a bullet. This makes the mantis shrimp a [...]
Did you know that Velcro was first patented in 1955? Besides being a best friend to children too small to tie their shoes, Velcro has been used in everything from cars to military uniforms. A few years ago the US Army retired Velcro from active duty, due to the fact that it is too noisy, [...]
Did you know that the FBI recently published a 1950 memo in which an Air Force investigator claimed to have seen flying saucers and alien bodies recovered in New Mexico? According to the memo, the craft were “circular in shape with raised centers, approximately 50 feet in diameter. Each one was occupied by three bodies [...]
Did you know that farming was revolutionized in the 1700′s by an agriculturist named Jethro Tull? Much like George Washington Carver, Tull believed that there were better and more efficient ways of farming possible, and set about trying to discover them. Tull’s influence is still seen in agricultural practices and equipment to this day. Jethro [...]
Did you know that in the late 1800′s and early 1900′s, most small towns and rural areas had a one-room school? If you’ve never read or watched Little House on the Prairie, you may not be familiar with the term, but a one room school is exactly what it sounds like…a single free standing building [...]
You’ve probably heard of the famed ’49ers. Not the football team, but the miners who flocked to California in 1849, to harvest that state’s riches….but did you know that the first major gold rush was actually in Georgia? It happened in the Blue Ridge Mountains, in a small North Georgia town, now known as Dahlonega. [...]
As you probably know, Lady Liberty was a gift from France to the US…but did you know that she has a 35 foot waistline? The Statue of Liberty’s dedication ceremony was held on Thursday, October 28, 1886. She’s over 111 feet tall (not counting the pedestal), she is made of copper (the green is due to weathering), [...]
You may have seen the internet’s ubiquitous frowning cat on Facebook, or on Reddit, or maybe even at South by Southwest (aka SXSW, the annual music, film, and interactive conference and festival held in Austin) where Grumpy Cat recently made a special appearance, but did you know that Grumpy Cat isn’t actually grumpy? Grumpy Cat, [...]
Did you know that the Mars rover, Curiosity, recently discovered that Mars once had all the building blocks of life on its surface? It’s true! The rover was able to drill into a rock, the first time a robot has ever drilled on another planet, and perform a chemical analysis of what it found. What [...]
Did you know that the capybara is the largest rodent in the world? Capybaras live in South America. They have webbed feet and are excellent swimmers. On land, they can run as fast as a horse, but they can weigh up to 150 pounds. They are social animals, and tend to stay in groups. Capybaras [...]
Did you know that research has been done to prove, once and for all, whether a duck’s quack produces an echo? It’s true! There’s an old wive’s tale that states that a duck’s quack doesn’t echo. Acoustics researcher Jonathan Hargreaves, at the University of Salford in England, conducted complex experiments to determine the truth of [...]
Did you know that George Washington Carver invented over 100 uses for the peanut? He is also known for pioneering crop rotation in the United States. Besides being a scientist, botanist, and inventor, Carver was also a teacher. George Washington Carver was believed to be born in 1864, but his exact birth date is unknown. [...]
Did you know that when a U.S. President is sworn into office at noon on Inauguration Day, a hand-picked and highly trained team is tasked with transitioning the old administration out and moving the new administration in, all in less than six hours? Only White House staffers are allowed to touch a president’s belongings, and [...]
Did you know that Reading Rainbow, which debuted in 1983, continued to run new episodes for over 20 years? Reading Rainbow ran from 1983 until 2006, and was hosted by LeVar Burton for its entire run. Burton was also one of the program’s creators, as well as executive producer. Burton, who would become a household [...]
As we wrap up the year and head into the holidays, we here at Discovery Education would like to take this opportunity to thank you, our teachers and educators, for everything you do. Teachers mold the minds of the future. They give of themselves. They give their time, their attention, their caring, and their expertise. [...]
As we head into summer, don’t forget that our resources are available 24/7! You’re free to log into your DE account from home and preview potential videos for your class, or just to watch titles that you find interesting or entertaining, such as When We Left Earth, or the Planet Earth series. Summer’s the perfect [...]
Just out of college and headed for a career in music, Fred Rogers happened to catch an episode of what passed for children’s television in the 1950s – grotesquely grinning hosts, raucous improvised dialogue, and broad, pie-in-the-face humor. Appalled, Rogers vowed to counteract such programming with his own shows He started with the low-budget Children’s [...]
Have you tried DE streaming‘s fully searchable Help site? Here we provide step by step illustrated instructions on how to use many DE features. Give it a try! When logged into DE, you will have a link in the top right-hand corner of the screen that says Help. Once inside, simply type what [...]
If you’ve missed a DEN webinar, you don’t have to! We’ve recently added an Archived Webinars page that will let you view our full webinar calendar and find events by day, week, or month. You can even sign up for one of our featured programs. Now you can always go back and find out [...]
As you may know, the Discovery Communications headquarters are in Silver Spring, Maryland, only a few miles away from the White House. Yesterday wasn’t your typical day at the office, as Discovery was treated to a brief, but very special visit by the space shuttle Discovery! At 9:45AM Tuesday April 17th, the shuttle passed by [...]
When you think of what DE streaming offers, the first thing that comes to mind is probably videos, right? While we do have a vast library of video content, there’s much more to DE! One of DE’s “hidden gems” is our collection of original audio recordings of historic speeches. If you’re not already familiar with [...]
Did you know that DE streaming videos are available in a variety of file formats? You can choose what format you’d like to stream and/or download in, according to your preferences! Say for example you have a SMART Board, in which you can natively insert FLV (Flash) files, you can easily choose Flash as your [...]
If your classes have been participating in the Six Flags Read to Succeed program, today is the final day to submit your students’ reading hours in our online portal! Read to Succeed is a free educational program from Six Flags and Discovery Education that inspires K-6 students to engage in recreational reading. Students who complete [...]
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