Before modern physics, we used to think of empty space (the vacuum) as ultimate nothingness, and completely devoid of anything interesting. Modern physics has continued to teach us that nothing could be further from the truth! In fact, the vacuum is responsible to many at-first mind-boggling effects. Among them: Two uncharged metal plates in empty space (no batteries, no circuit) attract each other! If you accelerate a mirror, it shines light! If you accelerate, the temperature read by your thermometer appears to increase! In this short class, we'll understand how essentially all of these bizarre effects come from so-called "quantum randomness" and "Heisenberg's uncertainty principle". By the end of this class, you're likely to come to the conclusion that the vacuum is just as much a "material" as rubber or glass or water. In explaining these phenomena, we'll come to understand how geckos exploit them to climb walls, and these effects provide cohesive forces that stabilize materials. We'll also come to understand what "virtual" photons are and how they play an important role throughout fundamental physics. Finally, we'll explore a strange-sounding question: "what do a child on a swing, an amplifier, and a black hole have in common?"