Episode 2 Richard Hammond's Blast Lab

-CHEERING

-Excellent, I've finally done it,

developed the perfect super-strength glue.

That stuff will last a lifetime. Well done, team, good work.

Oh, yeah, I hope you two are friends. Good luck.

Welcome to my top-secret Blast Lab.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Joining me today will be two teams of scientists.

They're going to take part in scientific challenges and experiments.

The best team will win excellent prizes.

Remember, there are no losers here,

apart from the team that doesn't win any prizes.

Come to think of it, yes, there are losers.

Coming up today, we have Fact Nav 2.0 with my good friend, Oliver.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

In Mini Science, we're going to be using big forces

to hold plungers together.

They'll resolve that by the end of the show, don't worry.

And we'll be making a big noise, but will it get big results?

HIGH-PITCHED RINGING

To top it off, there will be a big mess as we return

to the stinking cess pit of slime, the septic tank.

Now, my security lab is guarded by a lady who treats intruders

like she treats her teeth.

She waits till dark then takes them out quickly and silently.

It is Ninja Nan.

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

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

That's one way to get carried away with the applause,

because we can't be sure these are the real red team,

identify yourselves by names for security.

-Zoe.

-Bethany.

-Samantha.

Zoe, Bethany, Samantha, yep that checks out.

Under hidden talent,

Bethany, it's your name, what will you do to prove you're you?

I can skip with my arms.

If you can, you are the red team, you can come into the lab.

Oh, that's... Well, that's amazing, that confirms it

you are the red team, come into the lab.

What an astonishing skill.

Is that of any use, Bethany, apart from getting into secret labs?

No?

Now, before I can be absolutely sure you are the real red team,

we agreed a password.

-What is that word?

-Glamour!

-That's what it says. Why?

Because we like make-up, clothes and shopping.

That confirms it, you are the red team.

Get settled in. A round of applause, they are the reds.

Let's have a bunch of people who think they're the yellow team.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Hello, you play for the yellow team,

identify yourselves by name, please.

-Connor.

-Henry.

-Scott.

Connor, Henry, Scott, yeah, fair enough.

Henry, I've got your name under talent.

-Prove you're who you say you are, what are you going to do?

-I play tenor horn.

You're going to need a tenor horn to do that, right?

Oh, I'm assuming that is one, Henry, OK?

HE PLAYS THE HORN

Yeah, that was a noise, fair enough, come in.

You've done well to get this far into the lab.

I need to be certain, chaps, that you really are the yellow team.

A lot of the wrong types try and get in here.

We agreed a password with the actual yellow team, what is that word?

Music.

Music, why?

Cos we all play musical instruments.

These guys are the yellows, get settled in for the first game, away you go.

It's time to bring on the cleverest automobile ever invented.

He's got artificial intelligence and fake leather seats,

please welcome Oliver.

Come on, Oliver. He's not fast, but he's determined.

That's connected up. I reckon that's him hooked up to the machine.

I could've updated and upgraded Oliver's wheels

or engine, but instead, I installed the latest version of Fact Nav -

Fact Nav 2.0.

Who needs to go faster when you've got a billion and one amazing facts

to keep you entertained on a long journey?

Of course, the thing is, I fitted it.

So, let's just say it's temperamental.

It's your job, teams, to work out which facts are true

and which are false.

If a fact is a true, Oliver will make this noise.

SIREN SOUNDS

If a fact turns out to be false, Oliver will make this noise.

SHIP HORN

OK, this is how this game's going to work.

Each team has three lights on their side.

At the moment, they're red, but when you answer a question correctly,

they get turned green.

If you answer a question wrong, if you get it wrong,

that will turn one of the opposing team's lights green.

To find out who's going to go first and to light the first light,

we're going to have a nearest-to question to start off.

I'll give the point and I'll light a light green

for the team that gets closest to the real answer for this question.

In days, what's the longest time a person has spent in space in one go?

The number of days, have a think, have a little chat.

In days, the longest time a person has spent in space in one go.

Five, four, three, two, one.

Time's up. I'm going to take whatever answer you've got down now.

Yellows, in days, what's the longest time a person has spent in space?

200 days.

200 days. OK, Scott, reds?

-Five.

-Five days?

There's some difference between your answers,

but all right, I'm sure even half a day would be a long time in space.

The real answer is four...

hundred and 37 days, 17 hours and 8 minutes.

I'm sorry, reds, the points are going away to the yellows.

Green light lit.

You're on your way to winning this first round and taking the point.

The first team to face a true or false question is the yellows.

You've got your chance to light another green light.

Humans do enough wee in their lifetime to fill 400 baths.

Is that true or false?

Human beings produce enough wee in their lifetime to fill 400 baths.

Is that true or false, what do you think?

I think it's true.

Oliver, is it true or false?

-SIREN SOUNDS

-It's true, well done. That's another green light for you.

All right, reds, that's 2-nil so far in the first game.

Reds, here's your fact,

tell me if this is true or false.

Crocodiles need to chew meat at least eight times

before they can swallow it?

I'm going to remind you how critical this is.

Get it right, you're in the game, get it wrong, you lose the game, simple as that.

Crocodiles need to chew meat at least eight times

before they can swallow it.

True or false? What do you think?

-False.

-You think false.

OK, Oliver, is it true or false?

-SHIP HORN

-It's false, well done!

That's a green light for you guys.

You know I was nervous... No, I wasn't really nervous

cos I'm not going to win or lose, but it was tense.

Right, yellows...

you could now take this game with this next question,

or you could give the reds another green light and put them

in the same position as you, OK?

Here is your science fact.

Is it true or false?

Water is 10% smaller when frozen?

What do you reckon, then?

Water's 10% smaller when frozen. Is that true or false?

-We think false.

-You think false.

Oliver, is it true or false? They think it's false.

-SHIP HORN

-It's false, well done, that's three for you.

That makes the score at the end of the first round,

it's 1-nil to the yellows.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Sorry.

Now, for this next round, I really wanted my old science teacher

from school back here to help me with it.

So, I've built a time machine,

brought her through time to be here today

and that's it.

It was a complete success, nothing more to say on the subject.

Except she came back as a ten-year-old and not a 65-year-old.

Please welcome, Mini Miss.

Hello, Mini Miss, really sorry about the whole...

I don't know what went wrong.

You came back as a child for some reason.

-It was buttons or...

-I think I know the reason, Richard...

-you.

-Yeah.

Now, pay attention, today's game is all about vacuums.

You're not going to make me clean the lab up,

that's the lab rats job, that's what they do.

Well, it doesn't look like it's been done for quite a while.

-Sorry, Miss, that's character.

-No, Richard.

The game involves toilet plungers and is called...

DEEP VOICE: Suck A Roo!

How do you do that?

Sorry, Miss, you should see a doctor and get it fixed. Just happens occasionally.

In front of the teams are two plungers that have been pressed together.

Teams must then take it in turns to hang these household items

on the plunger.

-That sounds easy.

-Ah, but eventually, the weight will become too much for the plungers

and they'll break apart.

The team that causes the plunger to fall will lose

and the other team will get the point.

OK, I understand that.

Before you start, Mini Miss will talk you through the objects and how it is going to work.

OK? And take advantage of using her clever brain.

Doesn't look it, 65, it's a lot of experience in there.

So, here are our two plungers. Thank you. They will come unstuck after a couple of years.

The two plungers are held together with the air around them, there's no glue in here.

This is because when we push them together, we squash them a bit.

That squeezes the air out that's between them.

When we let go, they try and return to the size they started at

and as they stretch back out it means a small amount of air inside is spread out,

which means it's at a lower pressure than the air outside here.

That means the air on the outside can push against the plungers

and keep them together.

Air pressure is strong.

We have about a tonne of air pushing down on our bodies all the time,

which is about the weight of a small car,

but we're used to it, so we don't notice it.

Right, teams, I think that's enough thinking for you, let's actually get suck-a-rooing. OK?

So, the yellow team's in the lead, 1-nil,

which means you decide - do you want to go first or second?

-We'll go first.

-You'll go first.

OK, if you would like to go behind the counter.

CHEERING

Earnest discussion now about your first object.

What are you going for?

-We're going for the beach ball.

-The beach ball.

'A magnificent first pick by the yellows, because the beach ball

'only weighs 200 grams.'

Oh, yeah, well done!

Reds. OK, reds, that's what you want to go with. Who will hang that up?

-Me.

-You will? OK, away you go.

'Another great pick. The shower curtain only weighs 250 grams.'

Oh, yeah! We're on, we're on. Would you like to come round?

The yellow team go for the mop.

'Which weighs 750 grams.'

ALL: Ooh!

Can't get... Oh, it's tricky. It's not an easy fix, this.

Oh! Ooh! Step back! Well done, well done!

'1.2 kilograms up there. What will the reds pick?'

-The lavatory roll?

-Yeah.

-Who's doing the hanging?

-I will.

-All right, good luck, Bethany, good luck.

'The loo roll only weighs 400 grams.'

Ooh! Oh, masterfully done. That was magnificent.

Well done. Nice play from the reds.

-Have you made your decision, Scott?

-I'm going for the scales.

'At 2.5 kilograms, will the scales weigh too much?'

OK. Is he going to let it...

He's going to let it go. Is it going to work?

This is terrifying. Oh!

CHEERING

'There's 4.1 kilograms up there now.'

That's some good play, the pressure is really on.

'And the girls have picked the copper pipes.

'It may just be a couple of pipes, but at 1.3 kilograms,

'it could be the difference between success and failure.'

O-oh! Oh! Run!

Oh, that's just...

Reds, that's brilliant.

'Now the pressure's really starting to mount,

'there's 5.4 kilograms up there and only one item that weighs less

'than three kilos left, and the yellows have picked it.'

Oh, this is terrifying. This is a critical piece of play.

Oh, clever! Nothing in the rules says he can't

as long as it's being suspended and isn't touching the ground.

Oh, well!

'How can the reds come back from this?'

Unimaginable pressure on the red team.

-Have you made a decision?

-We have.

-It's the kitchen sink!

So, this is the third heaviest of all of the objects.

Three kilograms of sink about to be suspended

from plungers pushed together by air pressure...

..by Zoe.

'If she gets this, the plungers will be holding up a combined total of 8.8 kilograms.'

-That's on.

-Oh, dear.

-All you've got to do now is suspend it. Good luck.

A-a-ah!

Ah! Oh!

'Success for the reds, which means that the pressure is really on for the yellows.'

They only have the sand-filled duck or the towel basket to choose from.

And after careful deliberation, they go for the towels.

-They've seen an opportunity to hang it. Scott, you're hanging back.

-I am.

It's going to fall.

Remember, it has to be suspended. If it's not off the ground, it won't count.

Leave it, leave it. Let go, let go.

Ooh. That's it! You've done it, I'd say. Oh, hang on.

The lavatory seat is now on the ground.

I think, somehow, yellows, as we're on your go,

it's got to fall to you to hang the lavatory seat again.

'Could this be one challenge too far for the yellows?

'Never has anyone in the history of Blast Lab attempted a removal,

'then reattachment, of a lavatory seat held up by two plungers.

'The reds can't believe it. It's detached.'

'And now for the reattachment.'

-Ooh, that's an interesting piece of play, I'm not sure if it'll work.

-Oh.

Yes, well done, well done. Well, that's it, they've done it!

There's only one left.

'And, at 6.4 kilograms, if the reds manage to hang the duck the plungers will be holding

'more than 20 kilograms and it will be a draw.

'Surely, they can't hold this added weight.'

Just be careful as you do it. Right, get the hook in, hold on. Get the hook in.

Right, we've taken the weight, step back.

Oh!

It was always going to happen. The point goes to the yellows.

That was one of the most tense things we've ever done in Blast Lab.

Not the most tense, obviously, because nothing exploded.

Yellows come back, well done. A point goes to the yellows.

The score now is 2-nil to the yellows. Sorry.

Sorry, reds, vacuums are surprising things.

Did you know sound can't actually travel through a vacuum,

which is why you should not send an opera singer into space because it makes them really angry.

There's nothing worse than an angry opera singer.

Meet Luciano Pavaratti, the fat man of the opera.

He's the greatest opera singer the world has ever seen. Ever.

His passion for music is matched only by his love of all things food.

So much so, he even grows award-winning marrows just for fun.

His secret? He sings to them.

Some might say this technique by Pavaratti is a bit strange.

Well, it is. Look at it, it's just odd.

Who sings to a marrow? It's just weird.

Anyway, things aren't all rosy in Pavaratti's herb garden.

This is Ratkeen Jenkins, Pavaratti's arch rival.

She hates Pavaratti like Pavaratti hates skinny jeans.

But she loves dramatic entrances even more than Pavaratti loves sausage rolls.

He's always been one step ahead of her.

And when she realised that he was appearing on Blast Lab,

it was the final straw.

Time to get some revenge.

While he's unconscious,

she'll destroy his most prized possession.

No, not that sausage roll, something much more precious.

His marrow-growing greenhouse, using the power of her voice alone.

But first, she needs to warm up those vocal cords

by trying to smash a glass.

SHE SINGS HIGH-PITCHED NOTE

I guess that's why

she's maybe only the second-best opera singer in the world.

I think we'll need some technology

to help us harness the power of resonance and smash the glass.

And an animation to explain it all.

Resonance is all about vibrations.

All objects, no matter what, vibrate,

but there are some frequencies that can make an object vibrate more.

A lot more.

These frequencies are called resonant frequencies

and the out-of-control vibration is called resonance.

To smash a glass using this resonance

a note must be produced of the right pitch

to match the resonant frequency of the object.

If this note is held, the glass should vibrate violently,

eventually smashing into smithereens.

The singer must hit exactly the right note

that matches the resonant frequency of the glass.

This red zone on the screen shows where it is.

So will Ratkeen be successful

and break the glass with the power of her voice?

RATKEEN HOLDS HIGH-PITCHED NOTE

Hold the experiment right there

because there's another point up for grabs now.

OK, the score right now is 2-nil, so you can't draw,

but come on, think of the honour, think of the glory

and it hinges on this question - will the glass smash?

So, red team, do you think the glass will smash?

-Yeah.

-Yes, you do.

-Yellows, what do you think?

-Yep.

If it smashes, it'll be a point apiece, so it won't change the scores,

but you'll have earned the point.

So let's find out.

On with the experiment!

OK. Ratkeen's ready, the glass is ready.

-Here she goes.

-RATKEEN HOLDS NOTE

She's in the red zone.

There's some movement!

Oh, it's gone!

We can actually see the glass begin to vibrate and distort

as Ratkeen hits the right note before the glass smashes to pieces.

Well, there you go - it works!

No going home and singing at your glasses at home.

So that's a point apiece.

That takes the scores to three to the yellows one to the reds.

Well done - at least you're off zero!

So, important now for you guys to go and get changed

into your protective chemical suits.

Boy, are you going to need them.

Meanwhile, Ratkeen should've probably left it at that.

But, of course, in my Blast Lab

there is no such thing as "leaving it at that."

With Pavaratti's glass in pieces on the floor,

a bit like Pavaratti himself,

Ratkeen is keen to move on to his most prized possession -

his greenhouse.

It's vibrating, but it won't budge.

The thicker glass of the greenhouse

is just too strong for the resonance.

It looks like Ratkeen's not happy, but I don't think she's giving up.

So what devilish plan does the evil Ratkeen have?

She's leaving soundwaves behind and is going for shockwaves instead

by placing a batch of explosives right behind the greenhouse.

Not very scientific, but definitely effective.

Ooh, that looks painful.

The greenhouse has shattered into millions of pieces.

Clearly destroying Pavaratti's chances of growing marrows again

unless of course he buys another greenhouse.

Victory for Ratkeen and greenhouse haters everywhere.

Well, there's no time to cry over spilt glass

because we need to move on.

Team?

This is my septic tank.

You have Some Time to get as many prize discs

into these baskets here.

On those discs will be names of prizes.

There's a Tomb Of Doom game, a metal detector and an air boat set,

but be careful, because lurking in there,

there is this, a red and yellow herring.

If this ends up in your basket, then you will lose a prize disc.

And remember, that could be the difference

between winning or losing the game.

Yellows, you're ahead on points, so you get the five-second head start.

OK, your Some Time starts...

I don't know... Now!

'The yellows are off.

'Adopting the rarely seen static crouch technique here today.

'Oh, there's the second siren

'and the reds, who are almost invisible in this sea of red gunge,

'begin searching for the hallowed prize discs.

'And Scott has finally got the yellows off the mark.

'Bethany fights through the gunge to score first for the reds.'

It's OK, because before we start this time,

I'll remember to warn them about the extra gunge that comes down.

I've forgotten again.

'Both teams seem to be going nowhere fast.

'Currently, the only clear winner is the red goo that surrounds them.'

They're having a tough battle today, really struggling.

It is always possible that whatever lives in there has eaten the discs.

It confuses it a bit.

'The search goes on. Where are those prize discs?

'I'm pretty sure I left them in there somewhere.'

'Ah! Finally, one for the reds.'

'And another for the yellows.

'And another, and another!

'With Some Time running out, the prize discs

'are flowing thick and fast.

'Much like the gunge from the pipes above.'

Five, four, three, two, one.

-That was late!

-That was agony, watching that happen then.

Is that Bethany doing that? Who had that last one?

We may have to discount one of those.

Let's find out exactly how many each team has got.

Lab rats, can we have you counting, please?

That toxic gunge is deadly, and I don't want it to hurt me.

OK, how many for the yellows?

Four. How many for the reds?

So there's three in there.

Technically, we have to discount one that went in after the klaxon,

but it makes no difference because the yellow team are the winners with four!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Let's get them here.

Ready, Ninja Nan? Show us what we've won.

You're each going to take home a Swingball Junior Basketball...

a Butterfly Garden.

I don't know what one is, but you've got one each.

A card game, each of you.

And a Vectron Fly UFO,

Yeah! One of those for each of you yellows!

Now the slightly trickier side of it.

Reds, there's no other way of putting this,

this is what you would've won. Puzzle Cube.

Oh, dear.

Chemistry Set.

Oh!

And an air boat set for each of you that...

Yeah.

Sadly though, on Blast Lab, only one team goes home with their prizes in working order.

Now, listen, I don't make the rules.

No, actually, I do.

And the rules state that it is now time for Bidet Goes Bang!

Yellows, congratulations, well done,

all of those going home with you.

So, no wonder you're all looking quite pleased.

Well done, well played from the beginning.

-Reds, what went wrong for you, do you think?

-All...

Oh, here it comes, this avalanche of excuses!

Yes, because I'm small, the gunge is really high

so when I bent down, I went under the gunge.

I'm quite small. It has been pointed out to me on more than one occasion.

No allowance is made for me, so none was made for you.

Never mind, follow me, come on.

SOFT ROCK MUSIC PLAYS

See? You're looking quite chirpy now, it's not so bad.

It's all right, really.

Right...

We must bring this sombre moment to a close, girls,

by blowing up all of your prizes. That's what we have to do.

Right, lift the plunger, please. Audience, count them down from five!

Five, four, three, two, one.

-Well done, girls.

-CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Today we learned about air pressure and vacuums, using toilet utensils,

and that the power of soundwaves can cause big trouble,

especially if you're a greenhouse enthusiast.

Now, I'm off to listen to Pavaratti's new album. I can't wait!

So until next time, goodbye.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

Email: [email protected]