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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Music & Sound3 min read Why a tone can climb forever without getting higher: the Shepard illusion Play a tone that climbs and climbs, forever, and never gets any higher. It sounds impossible, but it only takes a few… Computing3 min read Why 0.1 + 0.2 isn't 0.3: flip the 64 bits a computer uses for decimals Type 0.1 + 0.2 into almost any programming language and you get 0.30000000000000004. Nothing is broken. Computers count… Mind4 min read Why you can't ignore the word and name the colour: the Stroop effect Read the word, then name its ink colour: you can't turn reading off. In 1886 Cattell noticed that people read words… Engineering4 min read Why every bridge is made of triangles: a square frame folds, a triangle can't Push on the corner of a square frame and it folds flat. Push on a triangle made of the same sticks and nothing moves… Economics4 min read Why adding a road can slow every driver down: Braess's paradox You would think a free shortcut can only help. In 1968 the mathematician Dietrich Braess showed it can make every… Food Science3 min read Why salt makes ice cream freeze: the cold that ice and salt create Ice is already cold, so why does salt make ice cream freeze? Because salt does not add cold. It stops the ice and water…

Categories

01 BiologyCells, bodies, evolution and everything that grows. 6 breaks 02 ComputingThe ideas inside the machines we use all day. 5 breaks 03 Earth & SpacePlanets, weather, oceans and the sky above them. 5 breaks 04 EconomicsPrices, incentives and why markets do what they do. 4 breaks 05 EngineeringHow things are built, and why they don't fall down. 4 breaks 06 Food ScienceThe chemistry happening in your kitchen. 5 breaks 07 HistoryThe decisions, accidents and people that shaped now. 6 breaks 08 LanguageWords, grammar and how people make meaning. 5 breaks 09 MathsPatterns, chance and the numbers hiding in everyday things. 4 breaks 10 MindPsychology, perception and the quirks of the brain. 4 breaks 11 Music & SoundVibrations, harmony and why some sounds feel right. 6 breaks 12 PhysicsForces, light, time and the odd behaviour of the very small. 5 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.