Episode 6 Richard Hammond's Blast Lab

Well, keep going, come on.

And...

Stop! Well done. OK.

That wasn't an experiment.

That's just how I get to work every morning.

You're one-hundredth of a second slower than yesterday. Try harder.

Anyway, hello, I'm Richard Hammond.

This is my Blast Lab.

Yeah. In just a few moments,

I shall be inviting two teams of top young scientists into the lab

to take part in a series of science challenges.

If they're successful, they win prizes.

If they're unsuccessful, they win prizes,

but they have to blow them up in a bidet. What's in store?

Normally this lab is protected by an elite troop of SAS guards.

They're not working today, they're on strike,

because their jumpers are too itchy.

Until we've found some softer fabrics for them,

I'm being protected by a woman who makes mincemeat of her enemies

and mince pies for their friends. She is my Ninja Nan.

Hello, Ninja Nan. Thanks for standing in.

I know she looks fragile, but she is a fully trained Ninja.

Told you. Nan, if you'd like to take your place...

Nan! Nan! Take your place in security.

Thank you very much. There you go.

Watch her move now, audience.

Look at that. Look at that. There she goes.

It's amazing, I know!

They actually threw her out of WWE wrestling

because she injured so many wrestlers

there was no-one left to fight.

Nan, are you in security yet?

Have you got there? She has!

Dragging her little Ninja trolley behind her.

Yes, she's just a vision of safety, protection, security.

Oh, that's a flask of tea.

Nothing special, just tea.

But she does like to weld the lid on to give herself a challenge.

Still, she can settle down and enjoy that while we get on with things.

Let's meet the bunch of people trying to get into my lab today.

CHEERING

Yes, everybody's very happy and excited but we don't know yet.

They could be anybody trying to get into my top-secret lab.

You say you're the Yellow Team,

we've got some security checks to carry out first.

Identify yourselves by name so I can check you off. You are?

-Will.

-Charles.

-Jamie.

Will, Charles and Jamie.

Fair enough. Under 'hidden talent'

it says here all three of you are going to sing a Cornish song.

# And shall Trelawney live

# Or shall Trelawney die

# Here's 20,000 Cornish men will know the reason why. #

Do you know?

Do you know, that was strangely moving, I would say.

Yes, you are cleared. Come into the Blast Lab. You are the Yellow Team.

Yes, that confirmed it. Officially you are through security.

Where have you come from?

ALL: Cornwall! And we are the Surfing Scientists.

Actions and everything!

You needn't have bothered. You're the Yellow Team and that's that.

Right, let's meet a bunch of people that claim to be

the team you're playing against. Where are they?

They say they are the Reds.

OK, you say you're the Red Team.

We can't let you in on your say-so. I need to check names first of all.

You are?

-Evie.

-Keira.

-Alana.

Evie, Keira, Alana. Yes, fair enough.

Hidden talent, it says all of you are going to do something. What?

-We're going to do our evil laugh.

-An evil laugh?

I'll be the judge of whether it's evil or not. Go on, then.

ALL: Mwah ha ha ha! Mwah ha ha ha!

THEY COUGH

Yes, there isn't a sense of real fear in the Blast Lab necessarily,

but that will do. You are cleared for security.

Come into the Blast Lab.

Yep, you're through. You're definitely the Red Team.

Where have you come from?

ALL: London, and we are the Flying Lab Rats!

No! You're the Red Team. Welcome to Blast Lab all the same. OK, teams.

Reds and Yellows, get settled in and ready for the first game.

To help us out let's bring in my exceedingly clever friend.

He's like Einstein with windscreen wipers...and rust. It is Oliver.

Oliver is fitted with the very latest state-of-the-art Fact Nav.

In fact it was so easy to set up,

that I installed it myself during my lunch break.

I was actually still eating my lunch at the time, and as a result,

I think some of it is wired up with spaghetti instead of wires.

As a result, not all of the facts Oliver comes out with are true.

Some are false.

I need my teams to tell us which are true and which false.

Oliver will let us know, because he does know everything.

If it is true, he will say this.

HONKING AND WHOOSHING

And if it's false he will do this.

FOGHORN

OK. Simple enough rules, teams,

and your first chance to earn points in Blast Lab.

Everybody comfortable and happy?

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

Is this true or false?

Astronauts wear nappies under their spacesuits.

Is that true or false? Have a chat, have a think.

Audience, is that true or false?

SHOUTS OF "TRUE" LOUDER THAN "FALSE"

Quite a lot down here think it's false.

I wouldn't necessarily listen to the audience.

-Come up with your own idea. What conclusion have you come to?

-True.

Reds think it's true. Oliver, true or false?

HONKING AND WHOOSHING

True, well done!

A point right away. They do wear nappies.

NASA say it's called a maximum absorbency garment

that's worn under the spacesuit to provide for the hygienic collection,

storage and eventual transfer

of waste discharge during extra-vehicular activities.

But I think we all know what it's for. OK.

Second question. This is the science fact for the Yellow Team.

Just tell me whether this is true or false.

Aluminium is the only metal that is a liquid at room temperature.

Have a talk among yourselves and a think. Audience, true or false?

SHOUTS OF "FALSE" LOUDER THAN "TRUE"

Yeah, real division here. Quite a lot of listening to what the people

next to you saying and changing yours to match!

Let's see what the Yellows think. You have a point riding on this.

They have a point already. This is your chance to make it equal.

-False.

-You think it's false.

Oliver, true or false?

FOGHORN

It's false. That means you've equalised.

Actually mercury is the only metal that is liquid at room temperature

and it expands and contracts with temperature.

That's why they use it to make thermometers and thermostats.

Third question. This time it is an actual question, not a science fact

and I need an answer from both teams.

That's what I want you to write on the boards.

It's not the easiest question necessarily, so I will give

the point to the team that gets nearest the answer.

How many golf balls are there on the moon?

Have a chat, have a think. Audience, any theories about this?

You can put your hand up if you have a theory.

Right, I'll talk to you using my latest invention.

You think it's a traffic cone,

but very carefully using science in the lab,

I've hidden a microphone in it.

It's a micro-cone.

Yes?

I don't think that there are because they'd just float off.

So we think none here. Any other answers?

I think there's none because how would the golf balls go up?

They would fall down from the sky.

It would be quite a shot from here if you hit a golf ball

and it landed on the moon. That would count as a hole-in-one.

You could use the craters as holes. Yes?

I think there's none.

There's no gravity on there and it would fly into the sky.

OK. Some good answers and great theories coming out.

Audience, you haven't got points riding on this one,

and these guys have. At the moment it's one-all.

This will give one team or the other the lead.

You've both come up with answers.

Turn your boards round and let's have a look.

What have we got from the Reds? 450!

-You're going with the "golf is very popular on the moon" theory?

-Yeah.

OK. Yellows, you've gone for none.

OK, there is some range in what we've got.

The actual answer is...

three.

There are three golf balls on the moon. As the nearest to the answer,

you are only three away even though you said none.

The point goes to the Yellows.

Do you want to know how they got there?

Astronaut Alan Shepard hit two, and dropped one,

when walking on the moon.

One of the balls travelled 731 metres,

he'd probably be quite pleased.

When I said dropped one on the moon,

I don't mean that was the first lunar guff.

He dropped a golf ball, just to clarify.

OK. Scores now. 2-1 to the Yellows.

That is all to come. It's time to play Mini Science.

This is the round where our teams conduct

their own scientific experiment.

To help me is my old scientific teacher Mini Miss.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

-Richard.

-What?

-I've told you before.

If you want to talk, put your hand up.

-Yes, Richard?

-Sorry, Miss.

Right. I should explain. Mini Miss is supposed to be 65.

She is, but I was conducting a time travel experiment with Mini Miss,

and I made a couple of basic mistakes,

and now she looks like a ten-year-old.

But you're still very smart, aren't you?

Oh, yes. I'm a professor in nuclear physics,

and I've been teaching for over 40 years. Yes, Richard?

What's today's experiment, Miss?

Today we're looking at surface tension,

and the teams are going to make giant bubbles.

One member from each team will be encased in the giant bubbles

and the other two members will be making them.

Yes, Richard.

So which lab rat will be encased in the giant bubble?

Which one?

Alana and Charles. Fair enough.

You two go and get ready.

Miss? How does the game work?

I've seen these two pools. I'm guessing they're involved.

I'll show you. The team members to be covered in bubbles

will stand in the middle of this pool of soapy water.

The other team members have to dunk these hoops into the water

and then raise them up over their team mate's head to make the bubble.

So they are covered in a bubble. Teams, you will score a point

every time you lift the hoop over your team member's head.

There are three different sizes. You start with the smaller bubble

then we will graduate up to a bigger bubble,

and then a really massive bubble. There's a point available each time.

The team at the end of this game with the most points

scores a point towards their overall total.

I'm going to allow each team three goes to get it right

with each different size hoop.

Can I explain the reason we're able to do this?

It's because water is made up of tiny bits, molecules.

They're attracted to each other.

They like to hang out together. That's why we get surface tension.

The water molecules sticking together

is where the bubbles come from.

If we put washing up liquid in,

that changes the bonds between the molecules. It makes them stretchy,

so they can stretch out and make a bubble.

Given a chance it will always make the simplest and most stable shape,

which is a sphere, a bubble.

Even though this has square holes it will make round bubbles.

They are all spherical.

-Is that right, Miss?

-Yes, that's right.

-Excellent. Miss?

-Yes.

-Where have the other team mates gone?

Um, I thought I'd make it a little more complicated

and spike things up a bit.

-Miss?

-Mm?

-You've dressed the other team members as hedgehogs,

covered in spikes, that are going to be in the bubbles.

That was thoughtful!

That made it a lot easier! Teams, move forward to the bubble pool.

Yellows, you are ahead at the moment.

That does mean you get to choose whether you go first or second.

-Which would you rather do?

-Second? Second.

Second. Why are you going second?

I think I know why.

So we can see how well they can do.

You can learn from their experience. Reds, you're going first.

Here we go, in your own time, with the first attempt.

Right, they're counting down. Lifting, lifting.

That didn't lift over the team mate's head.

That was close.

'This is very close, a tough one for the judges.'

Adjudicators, Mini Miss and Lab Rat, are in charge.

They judge competitions like this all over the world.

Was that over the head of the team mate? It wasn't. I'm sorry, teams.

That's OK, you've got another go.

Go.

That's a yes, that's a point for you! Well done.

Yellows. The pressure's on. This is your first hoop.

Good luck, hedgehog. And they're up, they're up, they're up.

I'd say that clearly as well is a point, straight away.

So we can move on. Well done, Yellows.

'Look at that. All the way over Charles's head. Textbook bubbling!'

It's not over yet, because there's a whole new hoop to try.

Reds, you're going first again. Good luck, Reds.

One, two, three.

Doing the lifting for the red team. It looked like it was good,

but it burst fairly early in the end.

One, two, three.

It's a good start.

That was clearly a point for the Reds straight away! Well done.

Confident play from the red team there. Yellows, good luck.

Medium-sized hoop in the bubble lift. And they're up, they're up.

A very different technique, but fantastically well done.

That's a point straight away!

Well, the Yellows there producing

the best bubble yet in this competition.

Reds, we are now on the biggest hoop.

That really didn't work.

Right, a final attempt, Reds.

This size of bubble is really a whole new level of difficulty.

Go.

There was not even a bubble on that.

I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Reds.

No point there. Yellows, this is your chance.

Steady start, but again...

Steady ... again.

Can anybody lift the bubble of this size?

It's such a big ask. Good luck, team.

Oh, sadly.

I think the lift was messed up there.

OK, that means the final score is a draw. That's a point for both teams.

The score is 3-2 to the Yellows.

Well done.

So, those bubbles were big, and the biggest bubble was very, very hard.

But surely there's got to be a limit anyway

as to how big a bubble can be?

There's only one way to find out. It's time to go large.

Blowing bubbles is a lot of fun,

but not as much fun as making great big bubbles.

And even that is not as much fun as making a giant bubble wall,

which just happens to be the speciality of this bubble expert.

Hello, I am a bubble expert.

So, let's see if he can encase my expendable bubble-blowing lab rat

and everything else on this enormous platform in a giant wall of bubble.

All he needs is some soapy water and some stretchy science.

Adding soap to water changes the way it behaves.

The soap slots in between the water molecules,

weakening its surface tension and making the water stretchy.

To make a giant bubble wall, the soapy water needs to be stretched

over the lab rat before the water evaporates and the bubble pops.

So, will my test lab rat be bubble rat?

Hold the experiment right there,

because there's another point up for grabs here, teams.

The score right now, 3-2 to the Yellows.

But I'll give another point to the team who can tell me correctly,

will it work? Will our bubble expert be able to lift and hold a giant

bubble over the lab rat and everything around him,

all the spiky objects he had next to him?

We've seen how difficult it is, have a talk, have a think

amongst yourselves, teams. I'll ask the audience as well.

Has anybody got any theories?

I can come and talk to you

using my amazing scientifically-designed micro-cone!

It's a cone, and a microphone.

I'm thinking of marketing it.

Maybe not. Yes, over there. What do you think? Will it, won't it?

I think he might be able to make it, seeing as he is a bubble expert.

He'll be able to manoeuvre the bubble around the spiky objects.

So you reckon he'll manoeuvre it around?

Well, he did say bubble expert, didn't he?

Then again, we did see for ourselves just how hard the giant bubbles are.

Any theories down here? Yes, what do you think?

I don't think they'll be able to get the bubble over,

because when we just did the test,

the big bubble that we just did didn't work.

It never went higher than about that, did it?

No, so I don't think it will work.

OK. So we've got split opinions. Have you come to your decisions?

-Yep.

-You've made up your minds? Yellows? Will he do it, will he not?

-No, he won't.

-Reds, will he do it, will he not?

-No.

-No. OK, OK, fair enough. And the Yellows think...

-No.

Both teams thinking no.

Let's have a look and find out.

So, here we go.

Everything is in position, and our expert and his massive bubble maker

are about to go for the big one.

It's a success! He has made a giant circular bubble

all around my bathing lab rat.

For a few seconds, at least.

Thanks, bubble expert.

We're impressed, even if that lab rat isn't.

Well, he did it, which means no points for either side.

There's a bit of an atmosphere descended on the red team here.

Evie said yes, and everybody else said no.

Did you all resolve your differences? Good.

You'd better get them sorted out quickly,

because it's time for us to move on.

It's time for the Messy Messy Mess Test, which means both teams

have to go off and get changed into a protective outfits. Away you go.

At least the hedgehog costume comes off, which is a good thing!

MACHINES GRIND TO HALT

Yes, I know what's happened there.

You see, I use a water wheel to power the whole lab,

and sometimes the stream dries up and it stops!

But don't worry, because I am prepared.

I've been planning something. I have finally worked out a way

to harness brainpower, and use it to power my lab.

Lab rat, come here. Come here.

The thing is, this system only works

when the brain is at idle, doing nothing.

It's the only way I could build it. Put it on.

Because there's nothing in the world with the more idle brain

than a lab rat. So, if you get that on your head, that's it.

If I can arm the system now, it'll harness the power of his idle brain.

MACHINES POWER UP

Not a lot of power, obviously, but just about enough.

As long as you don't do or think anything, which is the natural...

No! Don't scratch your nose!

That's too much for you. Just stay perfectly still. There you go.

Right, it's time for us to move on to the Messy Messy Mess Test.

Which today is the Bridge of Destiny.

-DEEP VOICE:

-The Bridge of Destiny.

Yep. Your prizes, like an MP3 player, night vision goggles,

a Bionic Copter, all need to be transported across the tank, teams.

Obviously, because if they fall into the toxic gunge you're standing in,

they'll all melt and be useless.

To do this, you're going to need to construct

your very own Bridge of Destiny.

-DEEP VOICE:

-The Bridge of Destiny.

To move them from one side to another.

All the pieces you need to build the bridge are in the tank with you.

Hopefully that's all that is in the tank with you,

although if anything brushes against your leg,

don't worry, it's my piranhas. Did I say don't worry?

I meant scream. Sorry. Try and jump out if you can.

What you need to do then is burrow about in the lethal toxic gunge,

find all the pieces you need to assemble your bridge

before all your precious prize pods

are lost for ever in the yawning chasm below your Bridge of Destiny.

-HIGH-PITCHED VOICE:

-The Bridge of Destiny.

As soon as you've finished building your bridge, pull that lever,

both teams have one.

That will set off your car towing your trailer full of prizes

across your bridge.

If you're feeling really brave, you could anticipate when you finish

and pull the lever a bit before, and hope you finish your bridge

before the car gets there and falls in.

Yellows. You're going to be starting first,

cos you're ahead on points right now.

That lead has won you a five-second advantage.

When you hear the first siren, you start building your bridge.

Reds, you wait until you hear the second siren,

and then start building.

It's a straight race to get your prize pods across the toxic tank,

and that race starts...

I dunno, now!

SIREN

There goes the first siren,

and the Yellows trudge into the awful toxic gunge.

SIREN

That's the second siren to release the Reds.

Now, it really is everyone for themselves in there.

It's important to find your first piece of bridge quickly,

without falling out with your team mate.

Both teams are still trying to pull the right section of bridge

that fits correctly.

This game has been scientifically tested

to cause an argument in any team in the world.

I actually tested it here in the lab with three nuns playing,

and it turned into a massive fight.

MUSIC: "A Little Less Conversation" by Elvis Presley vs JXL

The first piece is the hardest to find,

as the Yellows seem to be finding out.

And yes, it looks like the Reds are off the mark.

But the Yellows are still struggling to find their first bit.

And look at that! The Reds now have their second section in place.

The Yellows really have to hurry up if they're going to win this one.

And it looks like another wrongly fitting piece for the Yellows.

The Reds not finding the correct section this time either.

THEY CHANT FOR THEIR FAVOURITE TEAM

But look, the Yellows are finally off the mark.

This puts them right back in the hunt.

The Reds respond with their third piece of the bridge in place.

But back come the Yellows, their second piece.

It's too close to call at this point.

Reds need to respond quickly to that.

Which they do! That is their fourth section.

The Yellows, desperately searching for the next piece.

But it could be too late.

The Reds have found yet another section.

Reds are down to the final two pieces,

and they're working very well together as a team.

The Yellows look like a beaten team at this point.

In goes the final piece, and yes, down goes the lever.

Away goes the red truck, and

providing the bridge is good, the Reds have it.

And across the finish line it goes.

That's it.

That's it, the race is over and Reds, you are the winners.

You've got your prize pods on the other side of the tank. Well done.

Let's look at what you've won.

Ready, Nan?

An MP3 player.

Night vision goggles.

Bionic Copter.

Bop It game.

Hulk Smash Hands.

And a 20 Questions game. Congratulations, Red team!

SCREAMING

Oh, that's so loud.

Yellows. Oh, shaking hands, that's nice.

But it's OK, Yellows.

Because here's the funny thing, you would have won exactly the same,

but you're not taking it home, you're going to blow it up instead.

Because it's time for Bidet Goes Bang.

And so here we are, the time is upon us.

-Red Team, you're looking quite chipper and happy.

-Yeah.

Funny, that. Well done.

A huge wheelbarrow full of prizes for you to take home.

Yellows, you're not taking your prizes home,

you're blowing them up instead. How do you feel?

-OK.

-It's a silly question, really.

OK? Not bad. Good. What went wrong?

We just forgot where the pieces were,

and we didn't work out where they should go.

It's trickier than it looks, that one, isn't it?

Who's gonna do the plunger?

-All of us.

-I think that's probably fair.

OK, well unfortunately it is illegal, actually,

to let the losing team go away with prizes,

so they have to be legally exploded.

As we know, the safest form of explosion is a bidet explosion.

So there's no putting it off. Step forward and lift the plunger

up to the firing position, if you would, please.

There we go. We going to count you down. Are we ready?

Five, four, three, two, one.

There you go. Today we learned about surface tension.

Most scientists would do this

in a professional, controlled environment.

Whereas we just dressed as hedgehogs and shoved a lab rat in a bath.

See you next time.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Blast Lab was recorded in front of a live studio audience.

No lab rats were hurt during filming this programme. Probably. Who cares?

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd