Thing Explainer: Complicated Stuff in Simple Words

“By choosing the right words, you can take an idea that's happening in your head and try to make an idea like it happen in someone else's. That's what's happening right now.”

“Trees make babies by dropping tiny wooden tree eggs on the ground.”

“To really learn about things, you need help from other people.”

“Some people say that there’s no reason to learn big words in the first place—all that matters is knowing what things do, not what they’re called. I don’t think that’s always true. To really learn about things, you need help from other people, and if you want to understand those people, you need to know what they mean by the words they use. You also need to know what things are called so you can ask questions about them.”

“Some people say that there’s no reason to learn big words in the first place—all that matters is knowing what things do, not what they’re called. I don’t think that’s always true. To really learn about things, you need help from other peo-ple, and if you want to understand those people, you need to know what they mean by the words they use. You also need to know what things are called so you can ask questions about them.”

“Thin Burning Light GunIf the car found life, it could try to use this gun to learn about it, but the life might not be alive when it was done.”

“Problem BoatsWe keep extra boats stuck to these doors for people to use if there's a problem that makes them not want to be in space anymore, but no one will come get them.”