Episode 13 Richard Hammond's Blast Lab

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

And finally, you'll need to wear these super dark goggles

to protect your eyes if you're studying sun spots, OK?

Yes, nothing can get in. No, don't try them on now! Yep(!)

Hello, I'm Richard Hammond, this is my Blast Lab!

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

This is the place where all my wildest dreams,

and my lab rats' worst nightmares, become a reality.

Today's visitors are two teams of young scientists who are competing

in a series of scientific challenges to win a host of exciting prizes

and hopefully, make all their dreams,

and not too many of their nightmares, come true.

Coming up today, we have Fact Nav 2.0

with my intellectually-advanced friend Oliver.

In Mini Science, our teams will have a go at surfing

and trying to get some big air on... Well, on air.

Meanwhile, the lab rats are trying to use something lighter

than the air in their heads...

Helium.

And we return to the bacterial breeding ground of the septic tank

to take on the virus that's plaguing the Snot Bots.

Now, to keep the bad guys out of my lab,

I have the very best in security systems...

my Ninja Nan.

There she is... Can you see what she doing?

Oh, she's playing knock-out whist with the lab rats.

She never did understand the rules of that game.

Let's look at who's trying to get into my lab today.

Hello, hello. Well, welcome to the Nannex.

-You three claim to be the Red Team, yes?

-Yes.

For security reasons, identify yourselves by name. You are?

-Saxon!

-Cormack!

-Archie!

Saxon, Cormack, Archie. Yes, that checks out.

-Under "Talent", what will you do for us?

-ALL: Football!

This is to prove who you are. Football? Carry on then.

Oh, fair enough. Oh, right.

Fair enough, that was football, you're clear, come through.

Welcome to the lab, guys. You're only through this far.

You're not actually all the way through yet,

because just to be absolutely sure you are who you say you are,

for security reasons, we agreed on a password with the real Red Team.

If you're the real Red Team, you'd know the password.

It would be what's written down. What do you think it is?

ALL: Handstand Hooverers.

And it is! Can I ask, why? What on earth does that mean?

Because we don't like gymnastics and we don't like cleaning.

-What, so all three of you don't?

-Yes.

-OK.

Get ready for the first round. They are your Red Team.

It's official. They're through security.

Let's look at the people claiming to be the Yellow Team.

Hello. You three say you're the Yellow Team, yes?

Well, identify yourselves by name for security reasons. You are?

-Joshua.

-Chloe.

-Natasha.

Joshua, Chloe, Natasha. Fair enough, that checks out.

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

-What are you doing for us?

-My impression of an Egyptian chicken.

Yes, you see, that's what it said on the security form here.

I thought they'd written it down wrong. Well, take it away.

I've never seen anything like that.

You could have got away with claiming that was boxing!

That was an Egyptian chicken as none of us know otherwise.

You're clear, come through to the lab.

That's quite staggering, Joshua. Do you do any other impressions?

Don't, please, but good luck.

If you are the real Yellow Team, you'll know the password

that we agreed with the real Yellow Team. What is it?

-ALL: Sweets.

-Yes, it is!

Why? Because you all like sweets?

-I hate sweets.

-What?

-I hate sweets.

-She just said she hates sweets. What?

-I hate sweets.

See, I'm sorry, I thought you said, Natasha, "I hate sweets".

You did say that. OK, get ready for the first round.

They are your Yellow Team.

It's official, we've got the teams.

It's time for a car that can't pass its MOT but has a boot full of PhDs.

It is, of course, Oliver.

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

Oliver, welcome.

Just get him docked into the Fact Nav. I'll just get him connected up.

Right, he's in place.

Now, I have installed

the very latest hi-tech Fact Nav 2.0 into Oliver

and it is crammed with even more facts, millions of them.

One slight issue did arise, that the instructions for Fact Nav 2.0,

for installing it, are in Swedish. I know!

And it turns out that the Swedish for "gently tap"

is very close for "hammer violently",

and, yes, there were a few issues

So it kind of works,

the only problem we have now is I'm going to need you teams

to tell me whether the science facts I give you are true or false.

If they turn out to be true, Oliver will do this...

HORN HONKS

And if they're false, Oliver will confirm it by doing this.

-FOGHORN

-OK, simple enough.

You will see each team has three lights. They're all lit red.

Every time you answer a question correctly, one of your lights

will turn green. The first team to light all three lights green wins.

They win a point, we go onto the next round. Simple as that.

Just one little fact that you need to consider very carefully,

because if you answer a question correctly, one light goes green.

If you answer it wrongly, one of the other team's lights goes green

so it's quite possible to win the game for them, so be careful.

Think carefully about your answers, OK?

We now need, first of all,

to establish who's going to seize control of the game,

get the first green light and the first fact question.

You may not know the exact answer

but I will give the point to the team that gets closest.

How many times does an average male heart beat per day?

The point will go to whoever's nearest, all right?

So how many times does an average male heart beat per day?

Yellows, what do you think? What's your answer?

1,500. Reds?

435.

Because the real answer is 103,680

so that means a green light is lit straight away for the Yellows.

There you go.

It's a big number.

A normal male human heart beats about 72 times every minute,

so that's 103,680 times a day, or almost 38 million times a year.

So that means the Yellows have seized control of the game.

They have their first light lit green.

Don't worry, Reds. You're still in it.

Right, here comes your science fact.

Is this true or false?

No fish can survive out of water...

No fish can survive out of water.

Have a chat, because one of you

might have picked up something that will help.

No need to write it down.

While you're thinking, audience, let's see what you think.

Vote with your feet - is that true or false?

SIREN WAILS

That's kind of a united audience. All of you think that's false.

Everybody here, yes?

I think maybe because some fish just can survive out of water.

Yes, well I mean, I did say "no fish", didn't I?

Yes, maybe there is one. Anybody else have information on this one?

I think because there are loads of different type of fish in the world

-and all the fish are different than the others.

-So there might be one.

There's a whole lot of different fish. Audience, back to your places,

thanks for letting us know what you think. No points for the audience.

-The people playing for points are our teams. Yellows...

-False.

You think it's false? Yellows think it's false.

If you get this right, you get two lights lit green.

If you get it wrong, you're going to put the Reds back in the game.

It's quite important, not piling on the pressure for you there.

So, Oliver, is that true or false?

-FOGHORN

-It is false, well done!

That means another light is lit green for the Yellows, well done!

Yes. In actual fact, there is a type of fish called the climbing perch

and it's found in southern and south-east Asia

and it's able to travel over land

and it can travel at about 180 metres an hour

and it can breathe out of water

because part of its gill works like a tiny little lung.

Reds, I don't really need to point this out, I'm sure.

Bright lads, you'll have worked this one out.

You are under pressure as they have two lights lit green.

If you get this right, it's one for you.

-If you get this wrong, what happens?

-It turns.

Yes, it's as simple as that.

I'm sorry. I'm making it worse for you, but... Because I enjoy it.

Here is your science fact.

The sun's energy comes from it making helium.

The sun's energy comes from it making helium. True or false?

-ALL: False.

-You think it's false.

That's your answer. They think it's false, that's what they think.

They've responded by saying they believe it to be false.

Oliver, is it true or false?

HORN HONKS

It's true! The light is lit for the Yellows and they win this round.

It's 1-0 at the end of the first round.

-APPLAUSE

-That was a really hard fact.

In fact, the sun's core,

inside it, nuclear fusion is constantly taking place.

Every second, it generates the same amount of energy

as 90 billion tonnes of TNT exploding.

It's quite a reaction going on and helium is produced as a result,

So that means at the end of the first round, Yellows take the point.

1-0 to the Yellows.

I spent a very long time thinking about making my own time machine.

So one day, I just decided to get on with it and build one.

Unfortunately, that was the day I had a migraine and I could only

see out of one eye and I had to use my feet to do the wiring

because I had pins and needles in my hand.

So, I mean, it worked...sort of.

I'm talking, of course, about Mini Miss.

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

If that's what you call a success, Richard,

I'd hate to see what you class a failure.

Sorry, Miss. She might look mini, but she's got a mighty brain.

-Stop gassing, Richard.

-And a mighty temper.

I'll pretend I didn't hear that. Now, today's game is called...

MANLY VOICE: Balloonacy race.

-How do you do that?

-One team member must ride on the surfboard

-while the others push.

-OK, well I know which one I'd rather be doing.

-Surf's up, yes!

-Do try and concentrate, Richard.

-Sorry, Miss.

The surfboards are on a bed of balloons

and it's the job of whoever's pushing to take balloons

from the back to the front as the surfboard travels forwards.

So this is all about pressure and friction.

-You're sharp today.

-Oh, yes.

-Stay away from those balloons.

Thank you. And I'm also guessing, Miss,

that the first team to cross that finishing line there wins.

-That's right.

-I am on fire today!

Teams, we're going to get balloonacy racing. There are a few more rules.

It's the first team to get the WHOLE of their board across the line,

not just the front. As you're surfing on balloons,

some balloons may burst. That might happen... No, that WILL happen.

When that happens,

it's the job of whichever team player's at the back of the board

to dash back to these lab rats and collect a new balloon.

They will indicate that one has burst

by putting their little paw in the air, like this...

There you go! That means a balloon has burst.

The one at the back of the board runs back and replaces it.

Surfers, no part of your body is allowed to touch the floor,

and we will be watching. If the lab rats spot that,

and they're stupid but quite observant,

they will indicate it in this way...

And we will know, OK? We will be watching.

If all of your balloons burst, stop. Just stop where you are.

You never know, the other team might burst all of their balloons

and not get as far as you and you'll still win for getting the furthest.

-Is everybody clear on the rules?

-ALL: Yes.

-Right, start when you hear this sound.

-Surf's up, dude!

Yes! So when you hear that, it's time to get going.

Teams, let's get ready to go, let's get ready to surf.

Always wanted to go surfing. Never have.

Still not. Oh, yes, the first surfer getting on the board.

Oh, you're going for a standing up technique.

-Yes.

-OK. If we're ready.

-Surf's up, dude.

-Go! Begin surfing!

Yes, well, we're away already.

CHEERING

Now...

What this is relying upon...

This is actually all about friction,

because if we just put the boards on the floor,

there'd be too much friction where the board and the floor rub.

By putting it on balloons, the balloons turn,

they act like wheels and make it easier.

It's also about pressure, as they spread their weight across balloons.

If they put their weight in one place, it will burst,

just as if I press that much with my hand, it's fine.

If I put the same pressure in one place, it bursts.

These guys are doing well.

Oh, another balloon. Another balloon has popped.

Oh, oh! Yellows limping home on about two balloons.

The Reds playing a very, very neat game here.

They're still on all of their balloons.

This is really fierce competition.

Quick, keep pushing.

Don't forget to steer, lads. You'll hit the stairs there.

-Steer away from the bridge.

-Quick!

SIREN WAILS

Oh! Well, that was a very, very close-run thing indeed.

The Yellows were the first to get their board across, limping home

on four balloons. The Reds managed to bring their surfboard home

with all of the balloons still intact, so that means

another point goes to the Yellows! Well done, well played.

The standing-up thing looked good though.

I don't think balloon surfing will become a hot new hobby this summer

but it got me thinking. If balloons can support that much weight -

a whole person - can they lift things as well as support them?

Ninja Nan is keeping watch

in the security tower at my top-secret base.

With her super ninja eyesight, nothing escapes her attention,

especially when it comes to spotting that her tea table

and tea set aren't in the tower.

An urgent call goes out to the lab rats to remedy this situation -

and fast.

Within just a matter of days,

they arrive on the scene

and which method have they chosen to make the delivery?

Helium-filled balloons, of course.

But how is that going to work?

In order to lift the table,

we need to provide an upwards lift

that's larger than the downwards pull of gravity,

keeping the table on the ground.

Helium is lighter than air and so helium-filled balloons

tend to float upwards and these can be used to provide the lift.

So all we need to do is attach enough balloons onto the table

so the upwards lift is larger than the downwards pull of gravity

and then our table should be able to float up, up and away.

OK, so it's not a terrible plan but as Ninja Nan's spotted,

the weather is not looking pretty.

In fact, the wind is picking up and dark clouds are gathering.

The lab rats need to fill enough balloons

to lift the table and tea set.

As there are more balloons in the sky,

the harder it will be to control,

with each balloon acting like a sail on a boat.

Will the lab rats succeed in getting Ninja Nan's tea table up to her

using only helium-filled balloons?

OK, hold the experiment right there,

because there is another point up for grabs.

The score is 2-0 to the Yellows.

Reds, you can't go into the Messy Messy Mess Test ahead on points.

But for the honour of winning the point, you should have a go for it,

and I will give the point to the team who can tell me...

will it work? Will the lab rats be able to do it

using helium to lift the table up to Ninja Nan?

Bear in mind there are some variables here. The weather.

The weather doesn't look good. Maybe you think the weather's promising.

The walls. They're rough. They won't be helping.

And the thing is being operated by lab rats and they're useless,

so that won't be helping either, OK?

Let's have your answers. Yellows, what do you think?

-We don't think it'll work.

-You don't think it will work?

-You don't think it will either?

-It won't go right up though.

You don't think they'll lift the table. Remember the aim of the game

is to get the table to Ninja Nan for her tea.

-It will lift but it won't go up to Ninja Nan.

-So both teams have agreed

they're not going to get the table up to Ninja Nan.

That's your prediction.

It won't make any difference to the overall score

but you're after that point just for the honour of winning it.

There is only one way to find out... Carry on with the experiment.

So on the windiest day I've seen at my top-secret lab in many years,

the lab rats have chosen helium balloons as their preferred method

of delivering a tea table and tea set to Ninja Nan.

Let's see how they get on.

OK, so far, so good. They've chosen the right number of balloons.

The tea table is in the air. We have liftoff...

but aren't we forgetting something?

Yes, the tea set. Fools!

Ah, the first hurdle presenting some problems here,

as the wind is causing the balloons to bounce all over the place

which, in turn, is making it impossible to lay the table.

No big surprises so far then.

Looks like they're giving up on the tea set part of the deal

and hoping the tea table alone will be enough to keep Ninja Nan happy.

I'm not convinced. They're having trouble here.

The wind is catching the balloons and they are losing control.

Now a balloon has burst. This is going from bad to worse.

And that's it. They've thrown in the towel.

It's all over. Failure, a word they've heard many times before

and will no doubt hear again.

Let's be honest, what did any of us expect of my lab rats,

left to do something on their own?

It failed. I think the weather wasn't looking good, was it?

Whilst they had the lift, they didn't have the stability,

the control, or the brains. All of which means you were both right,

another point to both teams. The score is 3-1 to the Yellows.

Well done, both teams.

OK, it's going to be time soon to get very, very, very messy

so both teams go off and get changed into your protective suits

because you're really going to need them in just a moment.

Yes, good luck.

Of course, all of this does mean Ninja Nan has been without her tea

for over eight minutes now.

Whatever happens next is not going to be pretty.

I can barely watch...

but I think we probably should.

Ninja Nan has not had her cup of tea.

That means only one thing... Someone has got to pay.

Nice!

I did say it was going to get nasty, Have you learned your lesson?

You can't nod, can you? That hurts too much.

Just go away and rest and repair.

I'll need you... Oh, it's going to get worse.

OK. Well, Ninja Nan made a right mess of him

but that's OK because now it is time for...

Where's my Snot Bots? One day, they'll replace my lab rats.

I built them with an artificial human intelligence

and it's got so good they've taken on human characteristics so now...

Whereas before, they would wear any old outfit,

they now insist that their handbags match their shoes

and they've caught some pretty hideous colds,

hence all the snot in the tank.

But that's OK because we have medicine in the form of prize discs

hidden in the tank. Teams, it's your job to get those prize discs

into the Snot Bots and cure their colds.

The team that gets the most prize discs into their Snot Bot

will win the prizes written on them.

Right now, Yellows are in the lead, the score 3-1,

so you get a five-second head start.

You have some time

to get as many prize discs into the mouth of your Snot Bot as possible

and that some time starts...now.

So, it's the Yellows with the upper hand, but will they make it count?

And the Reds burst into life

but the Yellows have one disc to their name already.

-Urgh!

-A lot of support for the Yellows, it seems here today.

Will this have an effect on the outcome?

The Reds already have a disc there and it's in.

A slow start from both teams here today,

-acting as if they have all the some time in the world.

-Get it!

-The scores at this stage - one apiece.

-Is it yellow?

Oh, looks like it's the Yellows making the next decisive move.

Yes, it's 2-1 to the Yellows. Look at that! Will you look at that!

There was literally nothing happening right before our eyes.

Blink...and you might not miss anything.

Some time racing away with us here at the septic tank

but the teams are remaining calm under pressure.

-That's it, that's it!

-Yes, got one!

The Reds are denied another there by the grilled dentures of my Snot Bot.

-Quick, do it!

-But their patience pays off and they come back

with a double whammy of two prize discs.

But will it be enough to win the game?

Who can tell at the moment?

SIREN WAILS

Your some time is up, teams. Are you all still in there?

Yes, you are all there. It's not nice, I know.

What we must now do is find out who's won, so lab rats,

if you count them up for me, please. Yellows, what do we have?

Five. Five for the Yellows, that's a high score, OK.

For the Reds, what do we have?

-ALL: Yes!

-Whoa, six for the Reds, that means the red team have won.

That was close. The Yellows had a head start but the Reds won.

Let's find out what the Reds have won.

Each of you will be taking home... a land yacht...

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

a practical joke set...

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

a magnetic rocket racer...

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

-a solar butterfly...

-APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

Don't know what it is but it sounds lovely.

..a personal room moon...

and a Slinky.

-APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

-For each...

That is quite a haul of prizes that the Reds will be taking home,

each member of the team. Now the slightly trickier bit, Yellows.

Here's the things that you would each have won.

-A solar butterfly for each of you.

-ALL: Aww!

-Yes, I know. A skeleton model, yes.

-ALL: Aww!

-Yes, each of you.

A personal room moon.

you'd each have been taking those home.

-A land yacht. Nice.

-ALL: Aw!

And the magnetic rocket racer.

Of course, on Blast Lab, only one team can go home

with a big sack of prizes. The losing team still gets the big sack,

it's just that their prizes are in the form of dust and ash

because it is time for Bidet Goes Bang.

Right, Reds, you went into the Messy Messy Mess Test at a disadvantage

and you blitzed it, that was astonishing, well done.

All of this lot coming home with you now.

You'll be feeling pleased, happy. Yes, day's gone well!

Yellows, you went into the Messy Messy Mess Test with the lead

and actually you got five, that was a really good score still.

So these guys were just... Well, they won.

Still, it's OK because now, waiting for you, is...

It's the walk of shame. That's what it is.

Follow me, team, follow me. Come with me, come with me, come on.

-Comfort them, they are sad.

-ALL: Aw!

Guys, it's just...

bad luck, but it's nearly as good as taking your prizes home with you,

blowing them, up, isn't it..? Isn't it?

-Nearly? Joshua?

-No.

-OK, OK.

So let's get on with it. Right, you know the drill.

Lift the handle and let's get ready.

OK, audience, we're going to count them down.

Lift it up, lift it up. There you go. Wait, wait, wait.

Audience, we'll count them down from five.

ALL: Five, four, three, two, one.

Go!

Yellows, you were great.

Thanks for coming into the Blast Lab, I'm sorry you lost.

That's about it for now.

We've learned all about air pressure the fun way,

by messing about with balloons, helium and Ninja Nan's table.

But sadly, all good things must come to an end.

Although, I do have a design for a never-ending choc ice around here.

I'll see if I can find it before next time. Bye for now!

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

E-mail [email protected]