Episode 4 Richard Hammond's Blast Lab

Hello! Hello, welcome to my Blast Lab.

This is where I conduct my scientific experiments,

and this is a Lab Rat.

When I said bring your flatmate to work day, I didn't mean...

Go away, and take your friend with you. Leave. Thank you.

Now, you could compare my Lab to Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory.

Except when our visitors get injured, we don't sing songs,

we just hide it and pretend we didn't notice.

Right, today's visitors are two teams of young scientists

who will compete in a series of scientific challenges

to win a host of exciting prizes.

And hopefully not get injured at all. That goes for all of us.

Hopefully, we'll all end the experience as we began it.

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

In Mini Science, we'll be looking for a big reaction

from some chemical reactions.

Meanwhile, my Lab Rats will be playing with washing up liquid

and one of the most flammable gases in the universe.

And talking of mess, we return to the natural habitat

of the most disgusting mess in the known universe.

-It is the septic tank.

-CHEERING

Now, to keep all my experiments safe,

I employ the world's toughest and oldest security guard.

-It's my Ninja Nan.

-CHEERING

And she has recently taken up gardening.

So let's see what she's growing.

Oh, she's growing a pair of nunchucks. That's nice.

Hopefully, she'll win the ninja vegetable contest this year,

cos last year, there was trouble when she came second.

Let's see who's trying to get into my Lab today.

CHEERING

Well, that's very generous of you, but we don't know who they are,

they could be anybody. They're claiming to be the red team.

Well, I have here your file. Names, please?

-Finlay.

-Joe.

-Lemmy.

-Finlay, Joe, Lemmy, yeah,

that checks out. Hidden talent. Joe, I've got your name written down.

-What will you do?

-Perform a magic trick.

-All right, go on then.

-Two kings

-sandwiched between two cards.

-Yes.

I'm going to flick my fingers over the cards and they're two red kings.

No, fair enough, fair enough!

I wouldn't launch a career on the basis of it,

but that was a magic trick.

Come into the studio, please, red team.

Welcome to the Lab, guys, nice to see you.

You're nearly through security. Sorry about being so careful.

But we can't let anybody in, a lot of secret stuff in here.

A password has been agreed with the authentic red team

which, if you are the red team, you should know.

-What is it? I'll see if it's what I've got written here.

-ALL: Hammy.

Ha-ha! Why, out of interest?

-It's the name of Joe's hamster.

-Genius! You might be scientific,

but your imagination is speeding up to catch.

Anyway, well done, you are the red team. Give them a round of applause.

Go and get settled in ready for the first game.

Now, let's have a look at the second team trying to get into my Lab.

CHEERING

You claim to be the yellow team. For security reasons, we have to

-make sure. First, your names?

-I'm Connie.

-I'm Lauren.

-And I'm Cleo.

Connie, Lauren and Cleo. Yeah, that's what I've got written down.

OK, and your hidden talent?

My special talent is I can do a three-leaf clover with my tongue.

Really? Go on then.

Yeah, kind of. Yeah, that'll do.

You are the yellow team. Come into the Lab, please.

Hello, so-called yellow team, still can't be quite sure, obviously.

A password has been agreed with the yellow team. What is it?

ALL: Bananas.

Yeah, that's what I've got written on the file. Why?

-Because our name was Cheeky Chimps.

-Oh, your team name.

You're the yellow team and that's that, but well done for trying.

Right, go and get settled in.

Because now it's time for the car who can't always get from A to B,

but he does know that E=MC2. It is Oliver.

I've installed the latest version of Fact Nav, Fact Nav 2.0, into Oliver.

It's crammed with even more facts.

It's not perfect, though, because I fitted it,

so there are a few bugs in the new software, which mean you teams

have to work out whether these facts are true or false.

If it's true, Oliver will make this noise.

BEEPING

But if a fact is false, Oliver will make this noise.

HONKING

Now, yellow, red teams, as you can see, you both have three red lights.

Each time you answer a question correctly,

Oliver will turn one of them green. But if you get a question wrong,

Oliver will turn one of the other team's lights green. OK?

The first team to turn all three lights green will win the round.

But to find out who goes first and gets their first green light,

we have a "nearest to" question to start.

So, this question is for both teams. I want an answer from both teams,

the light will be lit by the team that gets closest. OK? Here it is.

If you were to lay flat the outer layer of the human brain,

what sized area would it cover?

And I'd like the answer in square centimetres, OK?

If you lay flat the outer layer of the human brain,

what area would it cover? Reds, what do you think?

-25.

-25 squared centimetres. Yellow team?

We've put 54 centimetres square.

Well the real answer is 2,500 squared centimetres.

You got that quite wrong, but that means the yellow team are nearest,

so that's a green light for you.

OK, right. This, then, is the first question.

You've lit your first green light, yellows.

Pluto was named by an 11-year-old girl.

Pluto was named by an 11-year-old girl.

-We think false.

-She thinks false. Oliver, is it true or false?

Sorry, it is in fact true, unbelievably.

So that means a green light lit for the red team.

Venetia Burney came up with the name,

and it was related to the god of the underworld. Right,

a true or false for the reds.

Helium is the lightest gas. Helium is the lightest gas.

-Is that true or false?

-False.

-You think false.

-Oliver, is it true or false?

-HONKING

False, well done! That puts you with two lights lit green, you're ahead.

Hydrogen is the lightest gas known to man.

Right, the next true or false goes to you, yellows.

This is your chance to really stay in the game, OK?

A person can shed 18 kilograms of skin over a lifetime.

Is that true or false?

-True.

-You're all in agreement?

Oliver, do let us know, please. Is it true or false?

-BEEPING

-It's true, well done!

Well done, that means two green lights for each team.

Right, this is your next true or false statement, red team, OK?

Thunder is caused when lightning hits the ground

and makes the earth vibrate.

Is that true or false? Really important you get this right.

Thunder is caused when lightning hits the ground

-and makes the earth vibrate. Is that true or false?

-False.

You think false. Pretty confident.

-Yeah.

-Quite confident.

-Really confident?

-Yeah.

-You getting more or less confident every time I ask?

-More.

-Really?

-Very more.

-Really?

-Yeah.

-Really?

-Yeah!

-OK, Oliver, is it true or false?

-BEEPING

Well done! Reds take that point, that means three green lights

are lit and they win the game. Well done.

So that means the score after the first round,

it is one point ahead to the reds.

Now, science never was my best subject at school,

so to help out here in the Lab I wanted to bring back

my old teacher using a time machine. But, like I said,

science never was my best subject at school,

so the time machine I built didn't quite work as planned.

My old teacher's here, but now, she looks like a ten-year-old girl.

-She is of course Mini Miss.

-CHEERING

-Hello, Miss.

-What did I say about messing round with time machines?

-Dunno, Miss, I wasn't listening.

-Well, start listening now.

Today's game is all about explosive reactions.

I hope you're not going to make a mess of my Lab, Miss.

Richard, this hovel already looks as if a whirlwind hit it.

-I doubt I can make it worse.

-It's character.

Now, concentrate. Today's game is called...

How do you do that, Miss? OK.

In front of the teams are six liquids and six substances.

They must take it in turns to choose one of each and mix them together.

-What? Mix this bit into that bit?

-Yes.

OK. So that's what you're going to demonstrate, Miss?

-Yes.

-Miss, why are you putting on protective things?

Because it's probably going to give us a reaction.

OK.

OK. Yeah, OK, something's happening. Miss, is this going to take over

the Lab and chase us around the corridors, or is that it?

OK, it ends there. That does sound pretty easy really so far.

They just add that to that.

But if they choose the wrong combination, nothing will happen.

-Right.

-If they choose the correct combination,

they'll have a reaction like that,

-and they'll be closer to winning the game.

-So they take it in turns

mixing one of these of their choice with one of those

-until somebody gets lucky, then we clean up?

-Right.

-Sounds fair.

-The team with the most reactions wins the round?

-That's right.

OK, before you get started, you need to have a look at your options

and see what you've got to choose from.

Here we have a mystery liquid which can be dangerous, this stuff,

but it's OK, we've got it in quite a dilute form,

so you're all going to be perfectly safe. Trust me.

We've patched up all the holes in the wall from the last time.

Over here, we have some household substances as well,

which I'll let Mini Miss talk you through.

So take advantage of this. She'll tell you all you need to know.

All the mystery liquids are actually the same.

They're hydrogen peroxide mixed with a little bit of washing up liquid,

but let's not tell the teams that.

Hydrogen peroxide is made up of hydrogen and oxygen,

and it breaks down to make water and oxygen,

that's just what it does all the time. Usually,

it can break down by itself, but it's slow.

What the teams are doing here is speeding it up.

Out of these substances, only some will speed up the reaction.

When hydrogen peroxide is broken down quickly,

it means lots of oxygen is made fast.

This oxygen is then trapped in the washing up liquid,

the other ingredient in there,

and that's what makes a big bubbly mess, OK?

Right, the red team won the first round, which means,

in time-honoured Blast Lab fashion, you get to choose

-whether you go first or second here. What do you want to do?

-First.

-You want to go first?

-Yeah.

Yellows, this is an opportunity for you to learn.

Something may happen. We may all need our glasses or not.

Right, if you'd like to get behind the counter.

Have you come to your decisions?

-Yeah.

-Really?

-We'll use bicarbonate of soda.

They're confident, the red team. Their decisions are made.

-So bicarbonate of soda and...?

-And the red.

-Right.

-Blue!

-Green!

-You stick to your own decisions, team. What do you reckon?

-Blue!

Everybody's an expert. OK, this is the moment.

If we'd like to get them on the experimental table over here.

Here we go, begin pouring.

There might be something massive created by this - or not.

Here it goes. Oh, no!

It's...terrifyingly flat.

AUDIENCE: Aw!

Yeah, sorry, reds, that's a damp squib for the red team.

If you come out, let's have the yellow team in for their turn.

-Right, have you decided?

-Yeah, these.

This yellowy one here. OK, and you've gone for cola.

All right, if you'd like to take it over there.

OK, are we ready? Everybody? Let's focus in case we all -

there's no other way of putting this - need to run away quickly.

Right, begin. Pouring, pouring, pouring.

Oh, no, maybe it's a slow developer, maybe...!

It's not a slow developer, is it? Nothing's happened. Sorry, yellows.

Step back. Reds, step forward and take over.

Reds, tell me what you've gone for, please.

-We've gone for this yeast and green stuff.

-Why?

-I like the colour.

-Well, this is experimentation. We don't know.

You don't know what some of these are, you find out by experimenting.

Right, if we are ready, begin pouring for us, please.

Oh, hello... Oh! Oh, well done!

Yeast contains an enzyme called catalase,

and this makes the hydrogen peroxide break down really fast,

making the bubbly mess.

All right, that's one for the red team.

Yellows, what are we going for?

We're going for blue and that.

It's burger. It's burger is what that is.

OK, right, if you'd like to step over to the table. That's better.

OK, if we're ready, then.

OK, here we go. Let's watch.

Keep going, you want to get the burger in.

Eugh. Oh, that's nice.

Do you know, I'm not hungry all of a sudden!

Nothing's happened. OK, burger and blue

doesn't work. Reds, you're one ahead.

-What are you going for?

-Chicken and the green.

-Chicken liver and the green.

-Look, it's an ice pop.

OK, let's... Oh, you go for it, no, you go for it.

Reds go for it, here we go.

In it goes. Oh!

Just like yeast, chicken liver has a lot of catalase in it,

so it breaks down the hydrogen peroxide super-fast, too.

If anybody's hungry? Well done, reds. Step back.

A round of applause, I think, for reds, cos they've now got two.

In actual fact, that means the reds win,

and that means we're two points ahead for the red team.

Yeah, Lab Rats, if you'd like to clear all of that mess up, please.

This gives me an idea.

Bubbles. We use them every day, and they're great.

From washing the car to doing the dishes.

Ah, you're a cheeky thing, aren't you? Everyone loves bubbles.

No, you're not supposed to be in the shower with your clothes on, silly!

But what happens when an everyday friend

becomes a life-threatening foe?

When filled with flammable gases such as hydrogen,

they become combustible and no-one is safe. Yeah, don't worry,

these lab rats aren't covered in kilo-bubbles of hydrogen,

just in washing up liquid. They'll be fine, annoyingly.

No-one can escape the bubbles.

There must be someone who can stand up to

these squeaky-clean killers, these bubbles of terror.

We need an expert.

Hello. I'm a bubble expert.

This man says he can harness the raw power of hydrogen-filled bubbles.

And today, in a scientific first, and quite possibly last,

he'll attempt to wield his gauges, dials and gizmos to create

the tallest hydrogen bubble tower the world has ever seen. Ever.

But how does it work?

Hydrogen is the lightest gas that science knows.

In fact, it's about 14 times lighter than air,

which means it can float up through, well, air.

Here, as the hydrogen is pumped through soapy water,

bubbles are made with hydrogen inside.

These, too, can float up through the air.

But to create a bubble tower, the bubbles must cling to each other

just enough to stop them floating up, up and away.

So, will our tower stand tall, or will we be left with

a stout, sticky mess of bubble trouble?

In a similar way to how people measure horses with hands,

we'll use the ye olde English

scientific measurement of lab rats

to see how high our tower grows. So, with all our hugely complicated

and ridiculously expensive scientific equipment in place,

we are ready for the world's first in science, a tower of bubbles.

Here we go. It's rising, but how many lab rats high will it grow?

Hold the experiment right there,

because there's another point at stake here.

I'll ask a question. A point goes to the team that

gets it right or is nearest to the correct answer. Now,

there is the issue of the score - reds on two, yellows on zero.

That means, yellows, you can't equalise if you get this right,

but think of the honour and the glory of winning that...

Yes, you want to win the point.

Reds, you can just gloat a few minutes, so that's OK.

Right, the question is this. How many Lab Rats high

do you think that tower goes?

-One and a half.

-One and a half.

-Two and a half.

-Oh!

-Two and a half.

Well, you've said it now... Two and a half for the yellows.

Let's see the remainder of the experiment.

It began with a simple question...

Well, that's not a simple question.

But with the help of our bubble expert, let's find out.

OK, so the bubbles are starting to rise out of the machine.

We are knee-high at this point.

Starting to really gain some vertical height now.

We're at half a lab rat and rising.

One lab rat. I can't believe it.

It's showing no signs of stopping.

One and a half lab rats. Can it go any higher?

One and three quarter lab rats high.

This must be a world record.

Oh, but it's buckling and warping.

I don't think it can grow higher. The sheer height of the tower

is too much for the lift of the hydrogen gas

to keep it up straight.

At one and three quarter lab rats high,

the fairy tower's meteoric rise to the ceiling is over.

So, there we have it. How many lab rats high

can a hydrogen tower of bubbles grow? One and three quarters.

So that can only mean, with one and a half guess for you,

the point goes to the red team. So, the score now, yellows,

is three to them, none to the yellows. But all that's done

is buy them a five-second advantage in the messy mess test.

You could still win the day. Right, go and get changed

into your protective suits,

because that's what we are doing next, the Messy Messy Mess Test.

CHEERING

Boy, will you need those suits! While they're getting changed,

I made a mistake after that last experiment.

I left the Lab Rats to their own devices.

Inevitably... well, there was an explosion.

How do we get rid of a tower of flammable hydrogen bubbles?

Well, this is Blast Lab so, of course, always set fire to it.

Five.

Four.

Three.

Two.

One... Ignite!

Oh, that wasn't very exciting, really, was it?

Especially after all that build-up. I feel a bit silly.

Let's go back to the studio and let's just not talk about it again.

Don't applaud, it was pitiful.

Which one of you was responsible for that pathetic explosion?

Come on, which one? Step forward. Which one?

Yeah!

Listen, you know only decent, full-sized explosions

are allowed in the Blast Lab. That was rubbish.

So for your punishment, I'd like you to go and stir

the septic tank thoroughly with that.

Every bit of it, don't miss any, OK? I want it all stirred up.

Right, talking of the septic tank, it is now time for...

ALL: The Messy Messy Mess Test!

Ah, the stuff in here. I know, no bare skin, it'll melt.

We wanted to find out whether or not it is safe for human beings,

and we sent it off to a special lab.

Sadly, though, it melted its way through the envelope on the way.

And through the van.

And the road underneath.

Anyway, let's get on with the game. Try not to breathe it in.

You have some time to get as many of the prize disks as you can

and put them in your baskets. Today's prizes include an internal

combustion engine, a chemistry set and a radio-controlled spider,

but be careful, because amongst those disks you will find these,

red and yellow herrings.

If one of these ends up in your basket, either team,

that team will lose one of its prize disks,

which could be the difference between winning and losing the game.

So be careful. Don't put any of these in. You all clear?

-Yeah.

-Now, as usual, the leading team at this stage gets a head start.

You're ahead by three points, you get a five-second head start. OK?

And your sum time starts, ooh...

now!

And away they go.

AUDIENCE: Reds! Reds!

Yellow team, away you go.

And there go the yellows, with victory on their minds.

And red goo between their toes.

And our prize disks falling on their heads.

Before we start... Oh, we have started, haven't we?

I meant to warn them about the extra gunge coming out of those pipes.

The reds had a head start. Looks like the yellows are losing theirs,

as they've already fallen behind two to nothing.

Ooh, there's one for the yellows, they're back in the game.

Still trying, and another for the yellows.

The reds losing ground, as the teams draw neck and neck with each other

whilst up to their necks in red goo.

It is mayhem out there,

both teams desperate not to end up on the losing side.

It's anyone's game now, and the prized prize disks flowing

as thick and fast as the gunk from the pipes above.

It's going to go right to the wire here.

They're on borrowed sum time now, surely?

OK!

Hold it, hold it, hold it. Time is up.

Now we must find out who's won. The team with the most disks

will take those prizes home. A Lab Rat, please.

Obviously, this stuff's lethal, I don't want to handle it.

We need a special Lab Rat because this one can count, apparently.

How many disks for the yellow team? Indicate with your paw... Three.

Were there any red and yellow herrings in there?

So that stands at three. OK. Count up the reds, please.

So, for the red team, that is...? Seven!

Whoa, a win for the red team, clearly!

Congratulations.

I think we should probably take a look at what you have won.

These are the prizes, one of each of these for each of you, red team.

A radio-controlled spider.

A Tomb of Doom game.

Internal combustion engine.

Transforming robot.

Lunar eclipse bedroom light.

Chemistry set.

And a pogo stick for each of you.

This next bit is slightly awkward,

and I probably shouldn't do it because it's cruel,

but let's see, yellow team, what you would have won had you won.

It's nice to know. You'd have each had a puzzle cube.

You'd each have had a lunar eclipse bedroom light.

And the Tomb of Doom game for each of you.

All of which means right now, it's time for Bidet Goes Bang.

Reds, well done, that is quite a haul of prizes

you'll be taking home from the Blast Lab. Well done, they're all yours.

This is slightly awkward now, because they're happy,

and then on the other side, it's not quite the same.

Yellows, you're not taking yours home with you,

you'll blow them up. Time for Bidet Goes Bang.

Come with me, come with me, come with me. Come on, come on.

ALL: Ah!

Yeah, it's quite solemn.

Yeah.

Yellows, I'm sorry, it's... I know, it's...

It's sometimes moving, this moment. You're all right, though?

-Yeah. We don't care.

-Yeah, well, thank you for taking part.

And there's no putting it off, cos what's happening now is

you'll blow up the prizes you would have taken home. All right?

so if you'd like to lift the plunger, please.

Who's doing this? All together? It's the best way.

All right, audience, if you'd like to join in...

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

I'm sorry, team. Thank you, well done anyway.

Today, we've investigated chemical reactions and explosive gases,

which is all in a day's work for an experimental inventor like myself,

as is tea, toast and Sudoku, which is what I've got next! See you soon.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

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