Episode 10 Richard Hammond's Blast Lab

OK, left a bit. Right a bit.

That's it! Move your way gently across like that. Mind the pylon.

-BUZZING

-Don't get any closer! Ohh! Yeah, OK. My remote-control parachute.

Perfect - lacks just one thing, as it turns out. Control!

Back to the drawing board. Well, go on, back to the drawing board.

I'm Richard Hammond. This is my Blast Lab!

CHEERING

Now, I have invited two teams of young scientists into the lab to

take part in scientific challenges.

The successful team will win prizes. The unsuccessful team will also win

prizes, but they'll have to blow them up. Let's see what's in store.

Now, what with this...

What with this place being a top secret underground lab,

normally it's guarded round the clock by a crack SAS team.

Unfortunately, they all stayed up watching Finding Nemo last night,

and got scared by the sharks, and were too scared to come in today.

But don't worry, we've got a woman who is scared of nothing,

apart from getting toffee stuck in her false teeth. She's my Ninja Nan!

APPLAUSE

Ninja Nan, thank you very much for standing in. Thank you.

I know she looks fragile, but she is a trained ninja.

POW! THWACK! BAM!

Er, Nan, if you'd like to take your place... Nan! NAN!

If you'd like to take your place in security, thank you.

Great to have you here. We're all safe. We all feel much safer.

There she goes.

Look at her move. You can tell! That ninja gracefulness.

She's so hard she sprinkles drawing pins on her porridge in the morning.

Nan, are you there? Oh, there she is.

I notice she's wearing her slippers today.

After a hard day's kicking, even a ninja's feet need a little rest.

Right, she's settled. Time to meet the people

trying to get into my lab today. Let's have a look!

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

We're all getting excited. We don't know yet.

We've got to make absolutely sure. Lots of people try and get into my

lab, so there are security checks.

-OK, identify yourselves, first of all. You are?

-Tom.

-Leanne.

-Martin.

Tom, Leanne and Martin.

Well, that checks out with the form.

Under hidden talent, Martin, I've got your name.

Martin, it says you're going to tell a very funny joke.

If it's 6/10, we'll let you in.

OK. Why didn't Cinderella make the football team?

Why did... I don't know, why didn't Cinderella make the football team?

-Because her coach kept turning into a pumpkin!

-Woah! I don't know,

Is that six? Yeah, it probably is.

You're cleared. Come on in, please.

APPLAUSE

That was a bit borderline,

but I believe you are the Yellows. We can't let just anybody in!

We've to be careful with security. Where have you come from?

ALL: Essex! And we're The Rolling Reactions!

You came up with your own team name!

You needn't have bothered, you're the Yellow team and that's final.

Let's meet the guys who

claim to be the team that you're going to be playing against, OK?

-APPLAUSE

-The supposed Red Team. Yes, yes. Listen,

that's all well and good. They could be anybody.

-Identify yourselves by name, please.

-Ryan.

-Jack.

-Jacob.

Ryan, Jack, Jacob. That's what it says on the form.

It says all of you are going to demonstrate a hidden talent.

-What are you going to do?

-Ju jitsu.

-Bless you.

-Hang on, is that a sort of fighting?

-Yes.

Don't move a muscle!

Lab Rats, you're going to have to make Ninja Nan safe.

There. she'll never cross that line. You'll be fine. OK, if you can

demonstrate your sneeze fighting we'll let you through.

One, two, three, ya!

Well, we're not quaking with fear!

But I think we'll believe you. You're cleared through security.

Come into the Blast Lab.

CHEERING

OK, you are the Red Team. Where have you come from?

Essex! And we're Team Fireblast!

Another name, which you didn't need!

You're the Red Team. Red and Yellow Team, go get ready for Round One.

To help us out with that, I'd like to introduce a friend of

mine who is better at handling science problems than he is

at handling corners. It is Oliver!

I know! What a machine!

CHEERING

Now, when I fitted Oliver's state-of-the-art Fact Nav system,

I was very careful to follow the instruction manual to the letter.

Unfortunately, it was all written in Greek, so it doesn't actually work

that well. Not all its facts are correct, so I'm going to

need our two teams to tell me which are true and which are false.

When they've given us their view, Oliver will give us the truth.

If it is true, he'll say this.

HONKING AND TOOTING

And if it's false, he'll say this.

FOG HORN BLASTS

OK, teams, this is your first chance to earn a point. Everybody OK?

Right, Reds, you're going first. Here is your science fact.

Listen carefully and tell me whether it's true or false.

A bolt of lightning is powerful enough

to toast 100,000 pieces of bread.

Is that true or false? Have a chat.

Have a talk and a think. Audience, do you think that's true or false?

ALL: TRUE!

The audience then going for true. Reds, have you made your mind up?

-Yes.

-I mean, you can listen to the audience or not. It's up to you.

Jack, are you being spokesperson? Is it true or false?

-True.

-Oliver, is it true or false?

HONKING AND TOOTING

It's true! That's a point to the Red Team. It can indeed.

That's an awful lot of toast, obviously, 100,000 slices,

but a lightning bolt isn't short on energy.

It typically contains about five billion joules of energy.

That's a lot! One typical strike could power a 1,000 watt

toaster for 84,000 minutes, which would be time enough

to toast that much toast, if you were wanting to do that.

I'll ask the Yellows their question. This is your science fact.

Tell me whether this is true or false.

Cumulonimbus clouds can be twice as high as Mount Everest.

Have a chat, have a think, work it out. You never know.

Audience, what do we think, true or false?

-False!

-Nearly all of the audience going for false, but,

you can't always believe the audience. What do we reckon?

-False.

-False?

Everybody in agreement? That's your final answer.

-OK, Oliver, is it true or false?

-HONKING AND TOOTING

It's true, which means no point for you there.

If you were wondering,

apparently Cumulonimbus clouds can be approximately six miles

across and 11 miles high.

That's quite a lot of cloud! Right, your third question.

I want an actual answer to this, OK, teams? OK? That's why you have

the boards to write your answers on. Here's the question.

How many years would it take

to cross our galaxy at the speed of light?

I'll give the point to the team that gets nearest the answer.

You don't have to be bang on.

How many years to cross our galaxy at the speed of light?

Audience, anybody got any theories? You'll have noticed this.

I can see you were impressed. It looks like a traffic cone,

but using science here in the Blast Lab, I've made our microcone!

Because it's a microphone combined with a cone.

It's cunningly hidden in the end. You're not impressed,

-are you? No, well, OK. What do you think is the answer?

-80.

Anybody else got any theories how long it would take?

-100?

-OK, anybody over here got a clue?

Anybody vary differently from that answer?

-50.

-OK, teams, have you both written down your answer?

Reds have agreed. They're answer is written down.

Yellows, we've got one written down.

OK, turn round your boards and we'll have a look at what you've written.

Right, Reds, is that 101,000?

That's 101,000 years.

That's quite a precise answer! Where did the 1,000 come from?

-Well, the galaxy's big.

-It is!

It is a whacking great big thing, I agree. It is huge.

OK, Yellows, you've gone for 800 years.

Quite a disparity between these two answers. 101,000, and 800.

Well, the real answer is...

100,000 years, which means very close indeed for the Reds.

The point goes to the Red Team!

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

In actual fact, our galaxy is called the Milky Way and it's

comprised of an estimated 200-400 billion stars!

I've never actually counted them.

That is the end of the first round. We are moving on, and we shall move

into the second round with the scores at 2 - 0 to the Reds!

That's all to come, but right now it is Mini Science.

This is the round where our teams will be conducting their

own experiments using

ordinary household objects instead of elaborate scientific equipment.

To help with this, please welcome Mini Miss!

-Good day, Richard.

-Miss?

-Yes?

-You know that time machine I built

that brought you through time, but there were a few problems

-and you came back as a ten year old?

-Yes, Richard.

-Where is it?

I confiscated it.

Until you learn to use it properly, you cannot have it back.

Yes, Miss. Sorry, Miss. Anyway, what are we doing today?

Well, today the teams are going to experiment with friction

and inertia using eggs.

Each team will have 12 beakers with water in them, 12 tubes, three

placemats and some eggs.

They have to make the eggs travel from the top of the tubes, into

the water filled beakers without breaking them. And they

-are only allowed to touch one object throughout the whole trick.

-Miss, how

-are they going to do that?

-I'll show you.

Wow! OK, so that's where I can

see straight away that the friction and inertia comes into this. There's

friction there and inertia here. Very clever, Miss. How many

-eggs are they going to get to do this?

-There are 12 eggs.

The first member has to use three eggs.

The second team member must use four, and the third team member must

use five. And the winning team is the one to get the most amount of eggs in

-their beakers without breaking them.

-OK, fair enough.

Get the most eggs in the beakers.

If you were thinking that these eggs aren't real ones, I'm sorry,

this is Blast Lab, of course they are. I shall demonstrate.

Er, you! Could you demonstrate that this egg is real for me, please?

No, here! I need to show it's a real egg. Look! That's a real egg.

OK, teams, you've got to decide who's... Well, go on, then! Away!

Right, teams, you have to decide who's going to do which number of

eggs. So, I'm going to give you a bit of time to discuss that.

Friction is the force that

slows things down and rough surfaces have more friction than smooth ones.

The cork on this side has more friction than the shiny side

and it's friction that drags the towers when you pull the mat away.

The reason the egg doesn't just go with them is inertia.

If something is heavy, it takes more effort to get it moving.

It's something Sir Isaac Newton dealt with in his First Law -

If something is already moving, it doesn't want to stop,

and if it's stopped, it doesn't really want to get moving.

That's what he was getting at.

So, the trick here is to move the mat quickly enough so

that the egg's inertia will keep it where it is just for long enough for

the mats to clear, then gravity takes over and the egg drops.

That's the theory. OK, teams, have we decided who's doing three?

Reds, you are in the lead on points now.

It's 2 - 1 in the scores, so you get to decide.

-Do you want to go first or second?

-First.

-Who's doing three?

Who's going first? Jack.

Well, step up. Get it all set up.

In your own time, Jack, go! All three!

APPLAUSE

Yellows, the gauntlet has been thrown down there for you.

So, who's going to do three first of all?

-Martin.

-Martin.

In your own time, Martin, go for it!

Yes! All three again.

CHEERING

You can't argue with that!

It's a draw right now, Reds and Yellows, in this game. Reds, sorry,

they did it perfectly as well. Now, the big four.

Good luck, Jacob.

All four! Look at that!

CHEERING

Jacob, were you a gunslinger in a previous existence or something?

Because he just wandered up, yeah,

did it and walked off!

That was fantastic! Well, done! Yellows now.

I can hardly watch. You've got to get all four to stay in.

And you have!

CHEERING

This is the big one! No pressure here, but five...

Five is a big ask. Audience, I...

Yeah, I know! Audience here, I don't know if you've got spare clothes

with you in the lab if the egg lands on you. It's possible.

No way, that's all five done!

CHEERING

Ryan, you did the same!

There's all of us getting tense, and the Reds just...

Well, done! Well, that's all 12 safely landed for the Red Team.

Yellows, obviously, you know what I'm going to say, which is

they've done it all perfectly and, Tom, this is yours.

Good luck, good luck, good luck, good luck!

Oh, it's a disaster!

Mind you, how did you manage to get that egg to stay on the edge?

A round of applause! It was a good effort. The Red Team are

the winners from that round. That's another point to the Reds.

That is three to the Reds.

You're under pressure there, Yellows. Seeing all of those eggs

has made me a bit peckish.

I wonder if friction, that we saw used there, could be used

to cook me some breakfast.

A Lab Rat sets about preparing a balanced meal of meat and egg.

But he's not only a terrible cook,

he's also forgotten the main ingredient of heat, fire!

As his tiny excuse for a brain tries to formulate a plan,

a lone wagon appears in the distance.

That's just what we needed!

An expert!

Hello, I'm a fast-food expert.

So, the plan is, if we can't harness the power of naked flame,

we'll have to find another way to heat our brekkie.

Using a copper-bottomed saucepan

attached to the back of this fast-food wagon,

we're going to find out if you can cook a meal by friction alone.

As the frying pan is dragged along, there will be friction between it

and the rough ground, so some of the frying pan's movement energy

will be transferred into heat energy.

This heat should then conduct through the pan to the food -

but will this be enough to cook the breakfast?

We're attaching a thermometer to tell us when we've reached

optimal cooking temperature.

Hopefully, this won't take too long, as a certain Lab

Rat is more than a little peckish.

Hold it right there, because I think there's

another point in this. With the score at 3-0 to the Reds,

we know you guys are going to get the head start

for the Messy Mess Test. But think of it, Yellows, as a

consolation point. And I'll give that point to the team

that tells me correctly will it work, will it not?

Will it create enough heat from the friction of dragging that saucepan

behind the van to actually cook the Lab Rat's breakfast?

Chat amongst yourselves and come to a conclusion.

I'll give the point to the team that's closest. Audience, any ideas?

-I think it won't work.

-OK.

-I do.

-OK.

-And I don't.

All right... He does, and he quite clearly doesn't.

So, we have opposing views in the audience.

Teams, you've had time to think about it.

-Have you come to a conclusion?

-Yeah.

-Reds? Yeah. OK, Yellows, what do you think?

-No.

-We say no.

-You reckon no. OK.

-Yes.

-You reckon it will.

If it does, you get the point,

If not, Yellows get the point. Let's find out.

Travelling at speeds of up to 50 miles an hour, our fast food van

is a greasy blur of cholesterol as he tries his best to heat the pan.

Time is running out and our Lab Rat is actually

dribbling with anticipation. Well, I think that's what it was.

It looks like breakfast is served!

A quick temperature check.

60 degrees.

Well, it has definitely heated up, but is our food cooked?

It doesn't look very appetising, I have to say.

Well, eat up then, man!

It appears that the food has failed to pass the taste test,

and the health and safety test as well, I think.

Oh, well, maybe a bowl of cereal wouldn't be such a bad idea.

I don't think we can say that worked really,

so the point goes to the Yellow Team. Well, done! It just didn't...

3-1 is the score right now. OK, teams, you've all got to go

get ready for the Messy Messy Mess Test.

If you go and get ready for that, and while you're doing that,

I just want to check on something, because my Lab Rats claim to have

found a way to harness brainpower and convert it into electricity.

They say, if it works, they'll be able to power the whole lab.

I've suggested they start with something smaller because

I've spotted a flaw in this right from the very start.

Dim the lab lights, please. We'll switch off lab power and we'll

go over to Lab Rat power! Switch on your system, please.

Concentrate on the game of chess and we'll see if it works.

Yeah, as I suspected, not enough brainpower to light a single bulb!

That's pathetic!

Well, all right, pack it in. We'll deal with it later.

Go and get your lunch. That's it! Keep thinking about food!

We'll move on to the Messy Messy Mess Test...

..which today is the Gungee Bungee,

featuring my bungee-powered catapults. Right, here is the game!

You have to get as many Prize Pods as you possibly can using

the catapult across the tank full of

unspeakably hideous gunge into the Prize Zone beyond.

This being Blast Lab, there is, of course, a twist. You may have

noticed, one member of each team is already standing in the tank.

Comfortable in there? Good!

I don't really care. You're in there, I'm not!

Now, you have two jobs in there, OK?

One job is to block the opposing team's Prize Pods as they come over

the tank and try stop them getting into the Prize Zone.

The other job is to retrieve your own teams Prize Pods when they

land in there and get stranded, put them in the basket here, so

that the loaders can get them back round to the firers and try again.

Oh, one other very important rule -

do not cross this tape, because somehow a shoal of biting

piranhas made their home at this end of the tank and they really do bite.

They do. A heck of an appetite.

Somehow they made it through the metal grill,

so just watch out for them.

They can nip.

Right, the team that gets the most Prize Pods into the Prize

Zone at the other side of the tank, will win all of the prizes on those

Prize Pods. The losing team has to blow their prizes up.

It's all simple enough. Reds, you're ahead on points right now.

You have a five second-advantage, so when you hear the first siren,

you start firing.

Yellows, wait until you hear the second siren, then start.

Everybody clear on the rules? OK.

Teams, you have some time to do this, and that some time starts now!

Away go the Reds. Teamwork is the key to this one.

Now, off go the Yellows.

Reds meanwhile are already getting their eye in, and yes!

The Reds already have one in the Prize Zone.

Oh, and look at that! Martin was nearly taken out

by one of his own Prize Pods! As we can see from the replay, that Prize

Pod narrowly missed Martin's head!

Meanwhile, the Reds are calmly going about their business. That business

is scoring prizes in the Prize Zone, as another goes in for the Reds!

The teams will have to keep this pace up

as only my "some time" invention knows how much time is left,

but it only knows that sometimes!

The Reds are getting extraordinary height on their shots, making life

very difficult for the Yellow blocker.

It's raining Red Prize Pods in there!

Yellows are going to have to pull something special out of

the bag to win this one.

And...yes!

That's one in the Prize Zone for the Yellows.

Is this the start of a comeback? No, not with shooting like that!

The Reds are powering on. They might run out of Prize Pods at this rate.

I cannot see a way back for the Yellows now.

Five, four, three, two, one.

Time is up!

Time is up!

Time is up! Well done, both teams.

That is quite hard work, that.

Right, let's find out which team has won.

Lab Rats, if you would count them up for me, please.

For the Yellow Team we have how many? We have three.

For the Red Team, I think we have more.

We have nine for the Red Team. Reds are the winners!

Well, done, Reds. Let's have a look at what you've won.

Ready, Nan? Shaun The Sheep Model Kit.

A Super Cricket Set.

A Bop It Game. A Marine Helicopter.

Electronic Project Set.

Hulk Smash Hands. A Giggle Wiggle.

Horrible Science Book,

and Hot Wheels Trick Track. Well done, Reds, you've

just about cleared me out! Just about cleared me out.

Yellows, this is a slightly less enjoyable bit because this is where

we find out what you would have won, but haven't.

So, it is the following.

-A Horrible Science Book.

-AUDIENCE: Ahhh!

Shaun The Sheep Model Kit.

That would have been yours, it would have been yours.

Super Cricket Kit. Yeah. That, too, would have been yours, Yellows.

But instead of being yours, you're going to blow it up because

it's time for Bidet Goes Bang.

Well, the time is upon us.

The Reds are looking really

quite happy, well done, behind your massive mountain of prizes.

You've just about cleaned us out, well done. Well played, well won.

Yellows, not feeling so good, I guess, right now.

How are we feeling? About like that. Fair enough.

What went wrong in that last game? Why did we struggle with it?

Well, I was smaller than the Red person

who was trying to hit them back.

-Yes.

-And the Reds weren't getting as many in the gunge, so it was

easier to get them in the Prize Zone.

Yes, it is a difficult game, that one.

Right, so your prizes are all loaded in.

-Who's going to press the plunger?

-All of us.

You're going to share the blame. That's the fairest way.

OK, well, lift the plunger up into the firing position,

Yellow Team, and be ready. Don't plunge it yet.

We'll give you a countdown. Are we ready?

Five, four, three, two, one.

FLUSHING

OK, we've learned a lot about friction today, so now you

should be able to tell your friction fact from your friction fiction.

I'll see you next time!

CHEERING

Blast Lab was recorded before a live studio audience.

No Lab Rat was harmed during the filming.

Well, not by me, anyway.

Isn't that right, Nan?

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

E-mail [email protected]