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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Language5 min read Why everyone agrees which blob is 'bouba' and which is 'kiki' Show people a soft blob and a spiky star and ask which one is bouba and which is kiki. The words are made up, yet in… Music & Sound5 min read Why two almost-in-tune notes throb, and how tuners use the wobble Play two notes that are almost in tune and you hear one note that swells and fades: wah-wah-wah. Neither string is… Computing5 min read How one extra digit on your bank card catches your typos The last digit of your bank card number isn't part of your account. It's a check digit, computed from the other fifteen… Mind5 min read Why one more candle lights a dark room but vanishes in a bright one Add one candle to a dark room and everything changes. Add one to a room with a hundred and nobody notices. Your senses… Engineering5 min read Hang a chain, flip it upside down, and you have the perfect arch In 1675 Robert Hooke hid a building secret in an anagram. Decoded after his death, it said: as hangs a flexible cable… Economics5 min read The winner's curse: why whoever wins an auction has usually overpaid In 1983, MBA students bid on jars of coins worth exactly $8. On average they underestimated the jars, guessing $5.13…

Categories

01 BiologyCells, bodies, evolution and everything that grows. 2 breaks 02 ComputingThe ideas inside the machines we use all day. 3 breaks 03 Earth & SpacePlanets, weather, oceans and the sky above them. 2 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. 2 breaks 07 HistoryThe decisions, accidents and people that shaped now. 2 breaks 08 LanguageWords, grammar and how people make meaning. 3 breaks 09 MathsPatterns, chance and the numbers hiding in everyday things. 1 break 10 MindPsychology, perception and the quirks of the brain. 2 breaks 11 Music & SoundVibrations, harmony and why some sounds feel right. 2 breaks 12 PhysicsForces, light, time and the odd behaviour of the very small. 2 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.