Since 1984, TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) has shared talks on hundreds of cultural, academic, and scientific topics. TED's slogan is simply "Ideas Worth Spreading", so anyone with an idea and a way to share it can be a part of this fantastic conference. Videos of these speeches have amassed hundreds of millions of views, and for good reason: they can be powerful, funny, emotional, and inspiring all at once. Here are seven of the most fascinating and compelling TED Talks.
1. How a dead duck changed my life - Kees Moeliker
Before you click on that link, I should warn you: This TED Talk is about homosexual necrophilia in ducks. Now, I know how that sounds. After witnessing a live duck mount a dead duck and beginning to... ahem... copulate with it, Kees Moeliker discovered the first observed case of homosexual necrophilia in ducks. He wrote a report on it, despite being worried about this hurting his career. Shortly after, the Ig Nobel Prize committee contacted Moeliker to inform him that he had won. While the subject matter is a bit gross, it unveils a humorous and often overlooked side of the scientific community.
2. How I held my breath for 17 minutes - David Blaine
He's known as a modern-day Houdini. With stunts including standing on a 100-foot pillar for 36 hours, and living in a glass box for 44 days with nothing but water, it's almost a miracle that this man is still alive. With Blaine's deadpan yet sincere delivery, he details the process of how he trained himself to hold his breath "past the point that doctors would consider you brain dead". It's an incredible story of perseverance that may even leave you feeling breathless.
3. My story - Elizabeth Smart
The 2002 kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart was one of terror and anxiety. Kidnapped from her bedroom as her sister pretended to be asleep, Elizabeth was taken to a hidden area of the mountains near her home. For nine months, she was abused but miraculously survived to tell her story. She says that very early on, she knew that she wasn't going to let her captors win, "even if that meant outliving them, even if that means surviving for another thirty years going through this kind of abuse every day."
4. The price of shame - Monica Lewinsky
Even now, twenty years after this scandal came to light, most people recognize the name of Monica Lewinsky. While she does go into her side of the scandal, she uses it as an example of the online culture of cyberbullying and public shaming. While it's obviously very difficult to show your face after a scandal like this, even two decades later, Ms. Lewinsky does an incredible job of discussing compassion in this online world we live in today.
5. My son was a Columbine shooter. This is my story. - Sue Klebold
The tragic 1999 shooting at Columbine High School left many people wondering, "How could their parents not know?" Sue Klebold bravely spoke out regarding the aftermath of her son's massacre and how suicidal thoughts and tendencies aren't a choice for many people. Since that day, Sue Klebold has become a famed advocate for mental health. Her compassion and genuine emotions really shine through in this speech.
6. I grew up in the Westboro Baptist Church. Here's why I left - Megan Phelps-Roper
For decades, the Westboro Baptist Church has mainly comprised of one family - the Phelps family. Megan Phelps-Roper shares her story of holding "Gays are worthy of death" signs at just five years old. After discussing different viewpoints through the medium of Twitter, she decided to leave behind everything she'd ever known. In her talk, she addresses the concept of basic human compassion, and how a little can go a long way, especially through social media.
7. To This Day - Shane Koyczan
While all of these speeches are powerful in their own ways, this one is, in my opinion, the most beautiful. In almost a spoken-word format, Shane Koyczan discusses the kids who always got picked on and never really had a fair shot at life. The spoken-word version on YouTube is more of a "slam poem" structure, but nevertheless, he tells a tragic yet profound story of multiple narratives of children being bullied. There is a certain line always makes my heart jump in both sadness and understanding: "If you can't see anything beautiful about yourself, get a better mirror, look a little closer, stare a little longer, because there's something inside you that made you keep trying despite everyone who told you to quit."
