Episode 6 Richard Hammond's Blast Lab

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

There you go.

It's finished.

I've no idea what it does, but it looks brilliant.

I wonder if it's safe to stand this close to it?

I'm feeling quite warm down this side. I'll move away.

Anyway, hello and thanks for joining me in my Blast Lab.

This is the only laboratory in the world

that allows large groups of kids to be close to dangerous chemicals.

Well, I presume we're allowed. I've never actually checked.

I'll be joined by two teams of bright young things

who'll be doing science stuff to win some prizes.

Coming up, we have Oliver,

a car who has more questions than miles on the clock -

that's saying something, in Fact Nav 2.0.

Mini Miss will help the teams explore the science of flames.

Meanwhile, Ninja Nan is flaming mad as she attempts a rocket stunt

that even she must be a bit scared of.

Then, we have the place that I'm scared of -

my gunge tank, as our teams take on The Bridge of Destiny.

The Bridge of Destiny!

When it comes to keeping this place secure, I only employ the best.

More specifically, I only employ the best 70-year-old Ninja in my family.

Please welcome Ninja Nan!

She and her friends are all together in the 'Nannexe' -

they're watching an exercise DVD.

It's called Exercise The Ninja Way, Lose Weight But Win Fights.

Ah, pretty scary stuff.

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

Hello!

All right, I'll admit, you look like you could be the Red Team,

but for security purposes, identify yourselves by name.

-Ryan.

-EJ.

-James.

Ryan, EJ, James. Yep, that checks out.

James, what are you going to do for Talent?

I can produce a mind trick with this coin.

What are you going to do?

I can tell what side the coin is going to be on

-without looking at it.

-Go on, then.

So, you've flipped the coin, OK.

-I can tell that it's heads.

-Is it?

Can we have a look on the camera?

Yeah, that's heads. Fair enough, come on in!

Wow, Reds. That's a bit weird.

Right, before we can absolutely trust you as our real Red Team,

one final security check - Ninja Nan is still watching you to make sure.

We agreed a password with the real Red Team - what is it?

ALL: Lamppost.

Yes! Lampposts.

Just a word you picked? Why lampposts?

Whenever I go on holiday, I always bang my head into lampposts.

-What? Why?

-I just got my attention round something else.

So, you walk into lampposts.

OK, Ryan, a budding young scientist, I'm quite sure.

I believe you are our Red Team, go and get settled in.

There they are. Lampposts?

OK. What we need now, then, is a Yellow Team.

These three people say it's them.

Hello! Well, having yellow lab coats

isn't enough to get through security. We need names, please.

-Caitlin.

-Megan.

-Francesca.

Yeah, that's what it says here.

Caitlin, what Talent will you do for us?

-I'm super bendy and I can do the splits.

-Super bendy.

Go on, then. Prove it.

Oh, good Lord. Oh, she's all broken in half.

She's all folded up!

OK. Well, fair enough,

that is super bendy, come on into the lab.

Obviously, Caitlin, I could have done that, I just choose not to.

Before I can let you any further than there

into this lab for security reasons

we have to be very careful.

Now, we agreed a password with the real Yellow Team.

If that is you, you'd know what it is. What is it?

ALL: Bowling.

Bowling it is!

Is this is what you're doing later?

Because when we went on a school trip

I threw the ball into somebody else's lane and ruined the game.

You were going bowling up that lane and it went into the lane next door?

No, I threw it that way.

I believe you. You are our Yellow Team, go and get settled in.

Two teams, we've got two teams.

Now, it's time to meet the car that's never been in the fast lane,

but does have a huge brain. That is Oliver.

Come on, Oliver.

Please come in. He's getting dropped into Fact Nav, get him hooked up.

There we go - system up and running. Good.

I know, looking at Oliver,

it's difficult to see how you could actually improve him.

Maybe some new tyres, decent headlamps,

a paint job, upholstery.

There's a lot of ways you could make him better,

but I chose to install Fact Nav 2.0 instead.

It is brilliant. An upgrade to his Fact Nav system -

millions of facts in there.

The only problem is, I really did install it,

and as a result, it doesn't really work very well.

Teams, I need you to sort out

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

Oliver will let us know. If it's true, he'll do this...

HORN HOOTS

And if it's false, he'll let us know by doing this.

FOGHORN BLARES

Here's how we play. Both teams have three red lights.

Every time you answer correctly,

one of your lights will be turned green.

The first to get three green lights

wins the game, takes a point and we move on.

One little twist, though.

That's what happens if you answer correctly.

If you answer a question incorrectly,

we'll turn one of the other team's lights green,

which means you could win the game for the other team

if you get it wrong. So, think carefully about your answer.

First question is a Nearest To question.

Here it comes.

How many medium-sized cars could fit on the wing

of a Boeing 747-400?

Which is a really big aeroplane.

Have a think, have a chat amongst yourselves. You never know.

I don't know if you've parked cars on a plane's wing.

Oh, got to hurry you, teams.

Got answers written down? Yellows are ready.

Reds are ready, too. OK.

Yellows, what have you written down?

-Lets have a look at your answer.

-Ten.

Ten medium-sized cars can be fitted on the wing of a 747-400.

-Five on each wing.

-That's the whole wing, yes.

Reds, what do you think?

12.

Pretty close. Pretty precise answers.

OK, the answer is...

..45. Which means the Reds, with 12, are the nearest.

They take the green light!

Sorry, Yellows.

In actual fact, the wing on it measures 524.9 square metres.

Reds have got the first light lit green.

You take control, you get the first True Or False question.

Right, Reds. Here it is.

The pattern of a tiger's stripes

is exactly the same as its father's.

True or false?

The pattern of a tiger's stripes is the same as its father's.

You have a think, Reds.

Right, Reds. True or false?

ALL: False.

The Reds think false.

Oliver, tell us, is it true or false?

FOGHORN BLARES

It's false. That's a second green light.

No two tigers have the same pattern of stripes -

it's like human fingerprints.

Yellows, this is your science fact. Here it comes.

The human body can conduct electricity.

Is that true or false?

Think - don't answer straight away.

OK, the human body can conduct electricity -

is that true or false?

ALL: True.

That's the answer the Yellow Team has given me.

So, Oliver, for the Yellows to stay in the game

and not lose immediately, do you think it's true or false?

HORN HOOTS

It's true! It's true! Oh, oh!

Tense. Well done, Yellows.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

-Are you tense, girls?

-Yeah, yeah.

The human body is a good conductor of electricity

because it is made mostly of water -

70 per cent of us, I think,

with salts dissolved in it

which makes it ideal for conducting electricity.

OK, Reds - the pressure's back on you, now,

because if you get this right, you win.

You get this wrong, the Yellows get a second green light

and they can win on their next question.

Right, here is your science facts. You tell me - is this true or false?

The symbol for the chemical element potassium is K.

Have a little chat. Audience, let's see what you think.

Vote with your feet - is it true or false?

What a lot of busy mind changing going on.

What do we think?

-I think it's false because it could be like a T.

-OK.

I just think I've seen the sign of K for describing potassium.

You think you've seen something.

Back to your places audience, thanks.

-Reds, what do you think - is it true or false?

-True.

You think the symbol for the chemical element potassium is K.

Oliver, tell us - is it true or false?

HORN HOOTS

It's true, which means the Reds get a third light lit green.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

It comes from the Latin name for potassium which is Kalium.

That means with three green lights, the Reds win,

so the score is one-nil to the Reds. Well done.

Now, I don't remember much about school.

Barely anything, actually.

But one thing I do remember is my old science teacher.

She may have been 65, but she was just so much fun -

she was always laughing and joking around,

and lessons with her were just such, such fun.

So, I decided to build a time machine

and bring her back through time to my lab.

And it worked, kind of.

It's just that she arrived looking like a 10-year-old.

It's Mini Miss!

I'm just fresh-faced, Richard!

Yeah. What's worse is I didn't realise

I was actually thinking about my geography teacher.

-My science teacher was horrible.

-What's that?

-Nothing.

No whispering in the lab!

Sorry. So, what are we doing today? Can we do capital cities?

No, Richard.

Today, we're going to be exploring fire as we play...

I'm all ears.

We'll be testing out the ingredients they use to make fireworks.

Here, we have six chemicals.

The teams will take it in turns to choose a chemical,

which is added to our fire to see what colour the flame will burn.

Yeah, and then what?

Each different colour

-carries different points for the team that created it.

-Yes.

The team with the highest total score wins, but,

the teams need to watch out for The Flame Of Disappointment.

So, what exactly is The Flame Of Disappointment?

One of the chemicals doesn't change the colour of the flame

and is worth zero points.

Yeah, I can see why that would be disappointing.

Before you get started, Mini Miss is going to spend time with you

talking you through your options - pay attention.

Chemicals burn with different colours

because of what they're made from.

Chemicals are composed of different atoms

so they react in different ways.

When you burn something, the heat transfers into the atoms -

that gives them more energy.

This energy is released in the form of light

and the colour of that light depends on the amount of energy released.

All chemicals release different amounts of light energy,

so we see different colours.

That's what we'll see.

Teams, I think that's enough thinking time,

if we're all ready, then.

Right. Now, Reds, you're in the lead.

-Do you want to go first or second?

-ALL: First.

Choosing to go first could be the wrong decision,

as The Flame Of Disappointment is in there somewhere.

-Have you made your choice?

-ALL: Yeah.

-What is it?

-Strontium chloride.

They've gone for strontium chloride,

if we can make that happen.

Now, we're waiting for a colour change, remember.

Oh, I'd say that was quite clearly a red flame.

That means four points for the Reds. Well done!

Yellows, your choice.

-Have a look at them all, have a think.

-ALL: Magnesium.

OK, the magnesium.

-The Yellows want - tell the Lab Rat.

-Magnesium.

That's a white light!

That means five points for the Yellows.

It looked red at first - that was leftover strontium chloride.

We can then clearly see the magnesium burning bright white.

-Reds, what they are doing is winning.

-Yep.

So, you better pick something else.

We've got sodium chloride,

we've got steel, copper sulphate

and iron still to be chosen.

ALL: Sodium chloride.

OK, what are you anticipating?

-Hopefully sparks.

-The Reds want to see sparks.

I think I can see an orangey-yellow flame.

The red outer flame is leftover strontium,

but that's yellow in the middle.

Which means that's two points. Well done!

Yellows you could still win this easily - you're only one behind.

-Copper sulphate.

-Copper sulphate. Lab Rat, let's have a go, please.

Oh, is that green? That was green, I'd say that was green,

which means that's one point for that.

So, Yellows, that puts you on six points, so it's evens right now.

Reds, you need to press home your advantage.

We've still got sparks going for grabs.

Were going to go for iron.

Iron. What are you hoping for?

-Sparks.

-Thought you might be.

At this crucial point in the game, Reds have to get this right.

Sparks, they win. Flame Of Disappointment, they lose.

It's tense. Oh, look at that -

that clearly is sparks. That's another three points to the Reds.

Reds win.

All that leaves is the steel and that is The Flame Of Disappointment.

2-0 to the Reds.

Don't worry, there's still a way to go.

I do love small flames. It must run in the family

because Ninja Nan loves massive flames.

When offered the chance to muck about with rockets,

she couldn't say no.

Lab Rats are naturally very competitive creatures.

Sadly, due to their complete lack of co-ordination, talent,

and all-round mental ability, this never really shines through.

See! Uncoordinated.

Hopeless, really.

CAT MEOWS

Yet still, they try to compete against the unbeatable Ninja Nan.

They play chess.

They try to beat her at arm wrestling.

They've had water fights.

Each and every time coming in a distant second.

Most recently, one of them challenged her

to that well-known sport -

Best At Wheeled Vehicle On A Ramp competition.

Needless to say, she was unimpressed

and decided to bury their feeble challenges once and for all.

To aid her, she enlisted the help of this friend.

Hi, I'm a lecturer in rocket propulsion

at the University of Hertfordshire.

Together, they have built her very own Ninja Rocket Nan Mobile.

She was called to save the world at the last minute,

so we've had to use a stunt double, instead.

They will attempt to send this mean machine over this ramp

and into the sky, using only the power of a single rocket.

Sounds easy, but this makes it sound more impressive -

our Nan rocket works by using solid fuel.

This solid fuel is burnt very quickly

to produce lots of hot, expanding gases

which are pushed out the back of the rocket,

launching it and the scooter forwards.

Hopefully, over the ramp.

So, the challenge is set.

Can the Ninja Rocket Nan Mobile fly off the ramp and become airborne?

Hold the experiment right there. There's another point up for grabs.

Yellows, you could do with that point.

I'll give that point to the team that can tell me -

will Ninja Nan's scooter make it over the ramp and become airborne?

OK? It's not an easy one. Have a little think.

While you have a think, consider what's going on.

It's un-Nanned, so there's no-one to steer it.

-Yellows, will it work or will it not?

-ALL: No.

-Reds?

-ALL: No.

So, if it doesn't work, you both get a point,

but Reds will still be in the lead.

Let's find out what does happen.

Ninja Nan's thirst for adventure,

combined with the very latest in rocket science,

combined with Blast Lab's love of ridiculous activities

in the name of education,

had led us, somehow, to this point.

All the signs of a classic competition are here today.

One ramp pointing to the sky.

One rocket-powered granny chariot.

One man dressed as Evel Knievel on a skateboard.

OK, here we go.

Three, two, one - blast off!

We have liftoff! Amazing stuff! Let's watch that again.

A perfect run-up, hitting maximum speed and the top of the ramp

at the same time.

She then flies off the top of the ramp,

her wig flies off her head,

she flies off the vehicle - so much flying in one experiment!

She might need to work on her landing.

Still, success!

Sort of.

You see! It works. You didn't think it would, it did.

That means the scores stay the same.

2-0 to the Reds!

If you'd like to get changed into clinical protection suits -

you'll need them for the Messy Messy Mess Test.

I think we owe it to Ninja Nan's stunt double to see that again.

And now, it's time for...

Comfortable? Comfortable but not entirely safe in there.

Bobbing about in that hideous goo are pieces of a bridge.

A bridge that is known as The Bridge Of Destiny.

The Bridge Of Destiny!

OK. Your job is to find all the pieces you need to make your bridge.

As soon as you've finished, pull the lever to release your car

to pull your trailer of prizes across the finish line.

The finish line across The Bridge of Destiny.

# The bridge, the bridge The bridge, the bridge

# The Bridge Of Destiny! #

This has got to stop, Lab Rats.

The team that gets their car across first

will win all the prizes, including,

a model speed boat, a rocket alarm clock and a practical joke set.

Do not let them fall from The Bridge Of Destiny.

-# The Bridge

-The Bridge

# The Bridge

# Of Destiny! #

OK, teams, you know what you've got to do.

Reds, you're in the lead, you go first.

Yellows, you'll hear a second klaxon, that's when you start.

The race to get your prize pods across the tank starts...

..oh, now!

Away go the Reds, searching for their bridge pieces.

I think they have their first piece.

Yes, they have their first piece in straight away.

The Yellows waste no time in collecting their bridge parts.

Oh, I did it again.

I forgot to tell them about Alan, my humongus, sneezing robot.

Oh, dear! He snots in the tank. They know now.

Anyway, back to the game. This looks very close.

Both teams have their pieces

and are now trying to work out what order they go in.

Reds have their second piece in.

And their third and fourth. The Reds working like a machine out there.

The Yellows are going to have to be very quick to win this one.

And the final two sections are about to go in.

Those Reds, faster than Ninja Nan on a rocket chariot.

And away goes the car.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

I'd say the red car pretty much made it across the tank, there,

and half-way across the lab.

That means the winners are the Red Team!

Looking at how close the Yellows were,

you realise how close that was.

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

Each of you taking home these - Ninja Nan, let's have a look.

A board game.

Practical joke set.

A transforming ball.

Rocket alarm clock.

A butterfly garden.

A model speedboat.

Tomb Of Doom.

Finally, a metal detector for each of you.

What a haul of prizes, yeah.

OK, Yellows. On Blast Lab, one team takes their prizes home,

the other takes theirs to the home of explosives testing

because it is time, now, for Bidet Goes Bang!

Reds! Congratulations, Reds.

All of this lot is coming home with you.

-Don't you feel good?

-Yeah.

-Well done.

Slightly awkward what I'm going to do now cos... Hi, Yellows.

-Hi.

-It's not the same feeling, really.

-No.

-I'm so sorry. You played so well and then what happened was,

scientifically speaking, you lost.

-Yes.

-And as a result of that,

you must now follow me on the walk for which no map is needed.

It's time for The Walk Of Shame.

AUDIENCE: Awwww.

It's tough. It's difficult.

Girls, I'm...

We try to make it as easy for you as we can. Did that help?

-No.

-No? Not make it any easier at all, that?

OK. Right, girls, you must first lift the plunger.

It's some consolation to blow up the prizes

that you would've taken home with you, isn't it?

No. OK, audience, we'll count them down.

From five, four, three, two, one.

EXPLOSION

We've had a great time learning about coloured chemistry

and rocket power.

It's been quite a ride - not just for Ninja Nan's scooter.

Her stunt double's been signed up for the next three James Bond films.

Goodbye.

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