It's Okay to Be Smart: Why Are We Warm Blooded?

11 minutes 18 seconds

Now Playing As: Captioned (English) (change)

A human with the metabolism of a hummingbird would need to eat about 80,000 calories a day to survive. That’s because staying warm by making one's own heat takes a ton of energy. And that brings up a paradox because creating one's own body heat is incredibly expensive. Part of the "It's Okay to Be Smart" series.

Media Details

Runtime: 11 minutes 18 seconds

Topic: Science
Subtopic: Biology, Physiology, Science Methods
Grade/Interest Level: 10 - 12
Release Year: 2021
Producer/Distributor: PBS Digital Studios
Series: It's Okay to Be Smart

Still image from: It's Okay to Be Smart: Counting the Species in My Backyard

Many hot air balloons taking off into the sky.

Man in glasses and cardigan holds palms together with lips parted in mid-speech. He stands before a green background with white scratches.

Different math equations and graphs are drawn, with a butterfly as the backdrop.

Sixteen eyeballs, each with different eye color. Caption: Martin-Schultz scale.

A group of animals, a gorilla, a rhino, a lemur cat, and a scaled lizard.

Seven different butterflies, where four are placed at the corners facing the butterfly at the center and two at either side of the central butterfly.

An animal with the body of a lion, an extra goat head on its back, and a snake instead of a tail. Caption: Chimera.

A view of Moon in the dark sky. Caption: Maria, Latin for seas, and Sea of Tranquility, Mare Tranquillitatis.

A star filled night sky. Caption: P B S.