Biology / Computing / Earth & Space / Economics / Engineering / Food Science / History / Language / Maths / Mind / Music & Sound / Physics

Step away.
Come back smarter.

Short, interactive explainers for your break from work. Read one in thirty seconds, dive deeper if you like, then get back to it.

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Maths4 min read Why 23 people are enough for two to share a birthday Put 23 people in a room and there's a better-than-even chance that two of them share a birthday. That sounds wrong… Earth & Space4 min read Earth is closest to the Sun in January. So why is that winter? Summer can't be caused by being closer to the Sun: Earth makes its closest pass around 3 January and is farthest around… Language5 min read Why Spanish sounds faster than Vietnamese yet says just as much Listen to Spanish or Japanese and it seems to rush past; Vietnamese or Thai can sound almost unhurried. Yet when… Music & Sound5 min read Why guitar frets get closer together as you go up the neck Guitar frets crowd together toward the body because of one fact about hearing: we hear pitch by ratio, not by… Music & Sound5 min read Why some notes sound sweet together and others seem to fight Play C and E together and they sound sweet. Play C and C sharp and they buzz. The notes aren't the problem: the clash… Food Science5 min read Chilli isn't hot: capsaicin trips the heat alarm on your tongue A chilli is exactly as warm as the room. There is no heat in it at all. The burn comes from capsaicin, a molecule that…

Categories

01 BiologyCells, bodies, evolution and everything that grows. 3 breaks 02 ComputingThe ideas inside the machines we use all day. 3 breaks 03 Earth & SpacePlanets, weather, oceans and the sky above them. 4 breaks 04 EconomicsPrices, incentives and why markets do what they do. 2 breaks 05 EngineeringHow things are built, and why they don't fall down. 2 breaks 06 Food ScienceThe chemistry happening in your kitchen. 3 breaks 07 HistoryThe decisions, accidents and people that shaped now. 3 breaks 08 LanguageWords, grammar and how people make meaning. 4 breaks 09 MathsPatterns, chance and the numbers hiding in everyday things. 3 breaks 10 MindPsychology, perception and the quirks of the brain. 2 breaks 11 Music & SoundVibrations, harmony and why some sounds feel right. 4 breaks 12 PhysicsForces, light, time and the odd behaviour of the very small. 3 breaks

How it works

30 Second Break is a collection of short explainers for curious people of every age. Each break is one idea you can read in thirty seconds, with an optional deep dive that has its own interactive design.

01
Pick a topic
Browse by category, or hit Random.
02
Read for 30 seconds
Go deeper if you have a few more minutes.
03
Back to work
One thing smarter than before.