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Subjects (64)
Technology (32)

Invention (21)

  • The Balgonie Birdman
    The Balgonie Birdman
    Brian Duchscherer 1991 8 min
    A small prairie town has few secrets but in Balgonie, Saskatchewan, Bill Gibson had one. Each night, when most folks were home asleep, Bill was busy in his workshop. You see, Bill had a dream. He was building a flying machine. This short puppet animation tells his story.
  • The Mirror
    The Mirror
    Francis Papillon 2022 3 min
    Cathon is excited to show Iris her latest flea-market find: a new mirror. But is it true that if you break one, you can expect seven years of bad luck?
  • Stairways
    Stairways
    Francis Papillon 2022 0 s
    As they climb an impressively long staircase, Cathon notices that her friend Iris isn’t in the best of shape. On the subject of stairs, is it true that the ones in Chand Baori, in India, were originally built for rolling-somersault competitions?
  • The Toothbrush
    The Toothbrush
    Francis Papillon 2022 3 min
    While brushing her teeth with Iris, Cathon discovers another of her friend’s crazy ideas: instead of toothpaste, Iris uses hot sauce! They go on to explain that before the invention of the toothbrush, people kept their choppers clean using twigs!
  • The Fridge
    The Fridge
    Francis Papillon 2022 3 min
    A devastated Cathon must face a cruel fact: she must bid farewell to her old fridge, which has brought her so many good times. But before the refrigerator was invented, how did people keep their food from spoiling?
  • The Garbage Can
    The Garbage Can
    Francis Papillon 2022 3 min
    Iris has picked an odd place to get rid of their household waste—to Cathon’s great dismay! By the way, did you know that rudology is the science of studying and analyzing garbage?
  • The Teddy Bear
    The Teddy Bear
    Francis Papillon 2022 3 min
    It won’t come as a shock to you to learn that Iris’s and Cathon’s teddy bears are polar opposites! But who created this perennially popular stuffed toy? And did you know that a woman in the US has a collection of over 8,000 of them?
  • The Skates
    The Skates
    Francis Papillon 2022 3 min
    At the local ice rink, Iris tries out her grandpa’s old skates while a quizzical Cathon looks on. Have you ever wondered what skates looked like before metalblades were developed?
  • The Bathtub
    The Bathtub
    Francis Papillon 2022 3 min
    In the spirit of sustainability, Iris offers to leave her bathwater for Cathon—but a minor detail gives her pause. Fun (or maybe not-so-fun) fact: during the Renaissance, people avoided bathing for fear that microbes would get into their bodies!
  • The Pencil
    The Pencil
    Francis Papillon 2022 3 min
    Rummaging around in Cathon’s massive collection, Iris finds the perfect pencil to write to her grandpa with. Which leads to the question: Was the lead pencil really invented in a bathtub?
  • The Fishing Rod
    The Fishing Rod
    Iris Boudreau  &  Francis Papillon 2019 2 min
    Cathon has a new best friend—Ruben the goldfish. Iris’s latest hobby is fishing. A fine kettle of fish to be sure. The fishing rod is an amazing piece of gear, but where did it come from?
  • The Lightbulb
    The Lightbulb
    Iris Boudreau  &  Francis Papillon 2019 2 min
    Iris believes that every time you turn the lights on or off in a room, it costs 25 cents. Cathon sets her straight, and then explains where the light in lightbulbs comes from.
  • The Clock
    The Clock
    Iris Boudreau  &  Francis Papillon 2019 2 min
    Cathon has found something wonderful in the recycling bin—a birdsong clock. But Iris isn’t totally on board with her friend’s taste, so she seeks a compromise. She wonders how people told time before clocks.
  • The Phone
    The Phone
    Iris Boudreau  &  Francis Papillon 2019 2 min
    Iris has finally acquired a cell phone—her first. Cathon would love to help her learn how to use it, but Iris insists on figuring it out all by herself. How did people communicate before the telephone was invented, anyway?
  • The Glasses
    The Glasses
    Cathon ,  Iris Boudreau , … 2019 2 min
    Cathon proudly shows off her new glasses. Iris is at a loss for words—she’s speechless with admiration. Where do eyeglasses even come from, and how did people first get them to stay on their noses?
  • The Microwave
    The Microwave
    Cathon ,  Iris Boudreau , … 2019 2 min
    Iris and Cathon are shocked to discover how big and heavy the first microwave oven was. Turns out that inventing it involved melting a bar of chocolate.
  • The Internal Combustion Engine
    The Internal Combustion Engine
    Claude Cloutier 2000 1 min
    Four strokes of genius.
  • The Light Bulb
    The Light Bulb
    Sylvain Charbonneau 2000 1 min
    Edison's bright idea, or how the electric light bulb works?
  • Science Please! Part 2
    Science Please! Part 2
    2001 15 min
    The Science Please! collection uses archival footage, animated illustrations and amusing narration to explain various scientific discoveries and phenomena.
  • Science Please! Part 1
    Science Please! Part 1
    2001 15 min
    The Science Please! collection uses archival footage, animated illustrations and amusing narration to explain various scientific discoveries and phenomena.
  • Wheel Meets Friction
    Wheel Meets Friction
    Claude Cloutier 1998 1 min
    A clip in the Science Please! collection, Wheel Meets Friction uses archival footage, animated illustrations and amusing narration to explain how the invention of the ball bearing reinvented the wheel.

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