Gapminder

I generally don't like anything, but this was a great video, interesting from the start - the Gapminder Talk at TED.

"See" how the world is changing.

Visual imagery can tell stories and truths which would be very hard to capture and communicate otherwise

Hans Rosling, Professor of International Health, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden since 1998, uses beautiful animated charts and minimalistic diagrams to explain the world we live in. Poverty, money and health can be seen at once shaping or being shaped by world events, technology and the passing of time.

Or if you prefer, there's an hour-long one from when they did a tech talk at Google. Not as snappy, though.

And once you're done, use the tool yourself.