Friday Brainload! Ultimate Brain

How will this marshmallow man cope in a vacuum?

Can Guinea Pig catch more than a cold in this downpour?

And can this week's contestants tie themselves in knots

whilst blindfolded?

It's packed full of fabulous fun super duper science,

what's not to like?

It's...

Hi there, hi there. My name is Dr Brain.

Join me on a scientific quest

to find minds of crackling cleverness,

gargantuan genius and dastardly deduction.

Bwwwrrpp!

Oh, sorry, garlic for lunch.

This is Ultimate Brain!

Let's meet the magnificent minds

hoping to excel in today's experiments.

It's the city slickers in green from London town.

Team Yellow marching in together from Leeds, Leeds, Leeds!

It's...

And in blue, a terrifically scientific team

from CBBC's Friday Download,

it's good old...

Now, you will need to be super duper smart to succeed today.

Any average geniuses might as well go home right now. Do we have any?

Do we have any? No? Excellent.

Now, you will be playing for honour, but more importantly,

if you succeed, you'll make an old monkey proud.

HE CHUCKLES

-The Green Team! How are you, Greens?

-We are cool.

-We are cool.

Good, good. Dr Abado, what would you like to be when you leave school?

I like sketching things in real life and painting them.

-A good painter, are you?

-Yeah.

Well, to be honest, right,

my roof could do with a little bit of painting, and the ceiling.

And a few of the doors around the back.

Do you think if I got you a nice roller and some paint,

-you could do that for me?

-OK.

-Go on, have a go.

-Now, what is your team name?

-Team Hydra.

Team Hydra. I like that.

There we are, that is the Greens!

CHEERING

-Hi, folks. Now, then, Dr Daniel...

-Hi.

What do you want to be when you leave school?

-A lawyer.

-A lawyer?

-Yeah.

I could do with a lawyer, mate, I tell you.

Now, what is it particularly about law that attracts you?

-I just like arguing!

-Oh, you like arguing?

-Yeah.

Well, that could be fun!

-Do you argue with your team much?

-Not really, we are kind of friends.

-Are you all friends?

-Yeah.

-That is good. What is your team name?

The Ultimate Foxes.

The Ultimate Foxes. There they are, the Yellows!

CHEERING

Finally, the Friday Freeloaders.

I mean the Fee Low Fooloaders...

I mean, the Far Low... Friday Downloaders!

-Here they are. How you doing?

-Great.

-Dr Molly...

-Hello.

-Nice to meet you.

-You, too.

Now, I'm really sorry that you got beaten by a singing dog

called Pudsey on Britain's Got Talent.

Well, he was not a singing dog, he was actually a dancing dog.

-A bit different.

-You couldn't even dance as well as a dog?! Ha-ha-ha!

-Just kidding you! Dr Leondre, where are you from?

-I am from Wales.

Lovely Welsh Wales. And do you speak any languages?

-Actually, my family is Italian.

-Do you speak Italian?

-Yeah.

-It is a bit Welshy.

-Come on, then, give us a bit.

-WELSH ACCENT:

-Ciao, bella.

Oh! Ciao, bella, lovely. That's lovely, ciao, bella. I like that.

Very, very nice. Good luck, Blues. What is your team name?

Well, obviously, because we are Bars And Melody,

and her name is Molly,

we've decided to call it Bars And Molly-dy.

# Oh, Bars And Molly-dy... # I love it.

Good to meet you, Blues.

It's time for round one.

Here we go, then, teams, with our first round.

The round we call the ignition round. Mm, Marshmallows.

Oh, sorry.

What will happen if I place a little marshmallow person -

like my friend Marshmallow Dave, in there -

-into a vacuum?

-HOOVER STARTS UP

I don't mean the kind of vacuum cleans up your bedroom carpet,

not that kind of vacuum, no, I mean the kind of vacuum

where you remove almost all of the air from a space...

-ECHOES:

-..space... ..space...

What is going to happen, folks? Look at the confusion on their faces.

Will Marshmallow Dave in there...

Something may be that you have

thought of, of your own creation,

that maybe my monkey brain

hasn't thought of? Ooh!

Now then, my brainy beauties, it is time to decide amongst yourselves.

You have a little think. All right? Your time starts... Now!

TEAMS WHISPER

So, four choices here.

What fate awaits Marshmallow Dave in the vacuum?

Certificate 15 at cinemas now.

Have you thought of your answer?

KLAXON BLARES

OK, OK, that is it. Time is up. You're thinking time is done.

It's time to reveal your answers... now!

Let's have a look.

Ooh, we have two As and a B.

Very good exam results, that would be, wouldn't it?

So, now then.

Let's start with the Greens. You have gone for A.

We think it is like, say, for example, a balloon,

you would suck some air out of it, it would become a smaller balloon.

Same thing with the marshmallow. You suck air out of it, it's...

So you think the answer is A, it is going to shrink.

Now, Yellows, you have the same answer.

-Is your logic the same or is it different?

-Yes, similar.

Because we think it is air that makes the marshmallow puffy,

-so if we take that out, it will shrink.

-Oh, I see. Of course, yes.

Cos there's quite a lot of air in Marshmallow Dave, isn't there?

So, now, Blues?

Well, we went for B, because you said about space,

and we were thinking, float...

When you remove the air, because there is no air

and no oxygen in space,

we didn't think it would get bigger or smaller.

I just thought it would look cool as well, if it floats!

That's true, it would, wouldn't it?

-BEEPING

-'Floating through space...'

That would be fun, wouldn't it?

Well, let's see, have your mighty minds mastered this conundrum,

or have you messed it right up like a bunch of melting marshmallows?

-Are you ready?

-Yes!

-Three, two, one! Take it away, Dave!

What is he going to do?

What are you doing, Dave?

Oh, what is going on...? Can you see?

Oh, look!

He is growing, he is growing,

he is slightly falling over as well...

But he is basically expanding,

he is growing...

Now, look at this.

Watch this. You'll like this, this is fun. Here we go, Dave, ready?

-Oh, look at that! Pretty cool, right?

-I was not expecting that.

You weren't expecting that, were you? Nobody was.

Clearly, because you got the wrong answer! Ha-ha!

Lovely fluffy marshmallows are puffed full of air

trapped inside them.

Now, ordinarily, this trapped air is pushing out

against the air in the atmosphere

which in turn is pushing back and everything is balanced.

But when the vacuum removes the air from around the marshmallows,

the air inside has nothing to push against,

causing them to expand and get bigger.

Then the marshmallows shrink when the vacuum seal is broken,

as the air rushes back inside.

The amazing answer was C.

Which means, unfortunately, no points for anybody. Ha-ha!

Time for the next round.

The creative challenge.

OK, brainboxes, it's time to get your think on. Creative style-y...

Times are hard and I cannot afford to fix the holes in the studio roof.

Should really come out of the studio budget,

but then I wouldn't be able to afford my daily beauty routine.

I have the same beautician as Cara Delevingne.

So, when a storm comes, you see,

we need to mop the floor to stop the studio from flooding.

It is hard work, I can tell you. So that is where you come in.

You see, our teams were given two days

and a budget of £50

to design their challenge.

The holes in the studio ceiling are letting in water.

The teams must create some headwear for GP

that allows him to collect as much of that rainwater as possible

while keeping his hands free to mop the studio floor.

And hopefully, stop him getting soaked. Like this! Ha-ha!

Teams need to think of an efficient,

stable way of collecting water without spillage.

When GP has finished, he will pour the water into a measuring tank.

Whoever collect the most wins.

Sounds easy, doesn't it?

No, nothing is easy on this show.

And here, determined to selflessly stride forward

in the name of awesome science, a man without fear,

a man without nerves,

a man we call...

Guinea Pig!

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

-Sorry, just playing Super Guinea Pig Brothers. Hi.

-Ha-ha, hi there, GP.

-Confident?

-Confident that I'm going to get very cold and very wet!

-This outfit is completely waterproof.

-Is it?

Of course, 100%.

40%, tops!

Let's see what our teams have come up with.

And first off, it is Team Hydra. So, what is the name of your plan?

Operation Hydra-phobic.

That is a good science name, I like that.

Team Hydra have gone for a large surface area for water collection

with drainage pipes and bottles placed evenly around GP.

Hopefully, our hero can mop without spilling a drop.

Guinea Pig, you have 60 seconds. In three, two, one!

-Go, Guinea Pig!

-KLAXON

-You can encourage him, egg him on.

-Go on, Guinea Pig!

-Go on, Guinea Pig.

Yes, there's definitely some water going in there.

Oh, look at that, it is collecting water nicely.

But the lack of stability is causing lots of spillage.

Meaning more water on the studio floor for poor old GP to mop

and less in the drainage pipes and collection bottles.

Oh, there is a bit of splottage there.

Splottage - a science word.

Tilt it back, tilt your head back, GP.

That's better.

That's it.

KLAXON BLARES

And that's time up. Time up!

You need to empty the water into the container now,

to see how much there is.

Is there any left in the bucket on your head as well, GP,

that you could splosh in, do you think?

Yes, there is a good bit there, you see.

That was good thinking. Well done.

They don't call me Dr Brain for nothing! Ha-ha!

-How do you feel about that? Are you happy with it?

-I'm OK.

-Yeah?

You all right?

Your plan was quite good and don't forget it was Guinea Pig doing it.

I think you've done pretty well there. But...

who can beat you? Let's find out with the next plan,

the plan of the Blue Friday Downloaders.

Now, then, you Blues? What has he got on his head?

Well, he has a bunch of sponges on his head.

We thought it would be a really good idea

-because sponges are made for clearing up water.

-That is true.

We thought if the rain is falling on them,

it should suck up as much water as possible.

Team Bars And Molly-dy have gone for a sponges super-soaker-upper idea.

They hope the holes in the sponges will simply soak up the rainwater

falling onto GP's head, leaving his hands free for some serious moppage.

We are going to get to the top. You see that top line there?

-We are going to get to there.

-What is your plan named?

-It is called the Sponginator 3000.

-Sponginator 3000.

Available in all stores from Christmas. Now then, here we go, GP.

Get yourself ready, son. We are going to go for this.

Looks like I'm going to have to soak this up.

DING

So, you have 60 seconds, Guinea Pig.

In three, two, one!

-Go, Guinea Pig!

-KLAXON BLARES

Here comes the rain, here it comes.

It's raining, it's pouring, the old man snoring.

-This isn't working.

-You can chat. Tell him what to do.

-Give him some encouragement.

-Tip your head back!

Tip your head back!

-Keep it straight.

-Right back!

-It's working. It is working.

Difficult to tell, isn't it?

Well, it certainly looks impressive, and rather fashionable,

but the sponges just aren't a very efficient way of collecting

tiny drops of water.

Look, it is bouncing off the surface! Oh...

Water is quite heavy, you see.

Stay strong!

-Stay strong!

-Stay wet.

-Five seconds to go.

KLAXON BLARES

That's it. Time is up! Time is up.

We are going to find out how much water was in those sponges.

There is quite a bit there. There are a lot of sponges.

-How do you think you've done?

-I think we've done OK.

Yeah, I think we've done well. I don't think we've quite won.

It was a good idea, he didn't get too wet.

We didn't get quite to the top line, though.

No, but you've done pretty well.

And there is only one way to find out,

because there's another team to go.

Let's see what their plan is.

Now, you might be wondering why I'm looking at Guinea Pig

as if he looks very, very stupid.

The answer is, because he does!

Yellows, what have you done to him? What is he wearing?

We designed it to be a hoop.

The water would fall through the bin bag

and there are rope and string supports to keep it upright.

The Ultimate Foxes have gone for a large surface area of collection

with a hula hoop frame for added stability

and one large drainage pipe to a collection system on GP's back.

They're hoping he can mop the floor and collect the rain with ease,

whilst looking like a weird alien. Fingers crossed!

What's the name of your plan?

ALL: Hula-Hoop Mania.

Hula-Hoop Mania! Shall we see it in action?

-ALL: Yeah!

-Let's do it. You have 60 seconds, Guinea Pig,

starting three...two...one...

-NOW!

-KLAXON BLARES

Here comes the rain again.

That's a song, isn't it?

SHOUTS OF ENCOURAGEMENT

I can see definitely some going in.

Is it going into the bucket, though?

-That's it, you tell him, you tell him.

-Forward!

CONTESTANTS SHOUT INSTRUCTIONS

Yes, yes, that's right,

-you've got to direct him into the flow, haven't you?

-Stay there!

-It's holding up all right, though.

-Not really!

It looks like it's still together.

-Come on!

-There's definitely some water going in there.

-GUINEA PIG:

-I feel like I'm at the Mardi Gras during the monsoon.

Oh, dear, the large drainage system is simply too heavy.

Even with the hula-hoop frame to support it,

it's gone all droopy in the rain.

A bit like GP.

But will it be enough to beat the other teams?

CONTESTANTS: Stay there, stay there!

Come on, keep strong!

Go back a bit, cos there's more powerful water.

-Two...one...and that's time up!

-KLAXON BLARES

Stop, Guinea Pig, stop, stop, stop.

Right, hasn't spilt any yet, that's all right.

Now he's got to try and lift that round.

Quietly confident about this.

That looks like quite a good amount to me.

Are you pleased?

It could have gone better.

It could have gone better, but that's science, isn't it?

-That's experiments for you.

-ALL: Yeah.

Sometimes they go right, sometimes they go wrong.

Team Hydra and the Ultimate Foxes both went for designs

with a large surface area to collect lots of water,

but they lacked stability, meaning there was lots of spillage.

Bars And Molly-dy went for an altogether more spongy approach,

but was it more effective?

And who has mopped up the points?

In third place...

-DRUMROLL

-..we have the Blues!

-THEY CHEER

-There we see, with 365ml.

-Where do I collect my medal?

-Well done, there, Blues.

But who are in second and first places?

Well, I can tell you it's very, very, very close.

In second place, it's...

the Greens with 525ml

and in first, it's the Yellows with 540ml! Well done, Yellows!

Marvellous work, there. You see, very, very close.

-How are you feeling? Feeling awesome?

-Yeah!

-Good.

So you get ten points for that and for your commendable inventions,

the Blues and the Greens, I'm going to give you both five valour points.

Well done, teams!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

This next brain-busting round is all about quick reactions!

-Pew! Pow! Fizz!

-GUN FIRES, BULLETS RICOCHET

Judging who reacts the quickest is beyond even my many, many powers,

which happen to include super flight,

invisibility and the ability to tie shoelaces with beams from my eyes.

ZAP!

Ha-ha-ha! But who will have the fastest reactions from our teams?

A simple challenge, this one, but with the lightning-quick contenders,

we're going to need a very special piece of equipment to help us. Yes!

It's time to bring out...

-SPEECH SLOWS:

-..the Slowmonizer.

Yes, this super-cool camera records in...

super very slow motion...

so that I can accurately see who the winner is!

Which brings us to the greatest long-lost Olympic event -

blink and you'll miss it!

No, you really might, actually.

It's the one-metre sprint.

-CROWD ROARS

-Ho-ho-ho-ho!

Here they are, the teams now, and finally,

all that training that you may or may not have done

over the last few minutes is about to pay off.

Take to your marks, please, in the classic Olympic sprint pose.

Now, when you hear this week's random sound of Dr Brain...

-Pew!

-BULLET RICOCHETS

..the race begins.

The winner is the first over the finish line,

so let your minds absorb this epic sporting moment

and your sweatbands absorb, well, some sweat, hopefully.

ROUSING MUSIC PLAYS

Ready?

HEARTBEATS

-Pew!

-BULLET RICOCHETS

And they're off! And it's over! What a race!

The crowd would have been on their feet,

had they had time to stand up, and if there was a crowd.

Incredible stuff!

-Pew!

-BULLET RICOCHETS

There's only one way to be sure.

It's the greatest machine ever invented.

Crank up the Slowmonizer!

-It's Green!

-Yeah! HE CHEERS

Oh, look at that celebration, fantastic work there!

That's ten points for you there, Greens.

It's time for our teams to re-engage their brains.

Yes, it's the inspiration challenge!

Now, what did the great escape artist Houdini say to his mum

when she phoned him in the middle of his act?

-PHONE RINGS

-"I can't talk now, Mum,

"I'm a bit tied up!"

-BA-DUM-TISH!

-A bit tied up, you see!

WIND HOWLS, THUNDER CRACKS

Oh, forget it.

We can all tie a knot in a rope, right, yeah? Everybody can do that.

Oh, yeah, really.

But what if it's a giant rope

and all three people are holding it with both hands

and none of you can let go?

Each team have got a large rope in their team colour

and they must all hold it with both hands.

And two team members are blindfolded.

Yes, blindfolded,

so the third team member must code the knot-tying process

by giving clear instructions

to the blindfolded members of the team, you see?

Now, the first team to successfully make a knot, wins!

OK, teams?

You have three minutes to think up your method of knot tying

and your time starts...

-now!

-KLAXON BLARES

So imagine that's the rope there. You go through here...

creating a loop there.

-Over, and then...

-THEY WHISPER

..then go under.

-No, you go under!

-I go under, OK.

I've got to feed it through there and get through here.

-Over, and then I go...

-In.

Like that, and then you come in, you come in.

THEY CONFER

-We lower the rope...

-And then pull.

KLAXON BLARES

Right...

if you've not got your knot designed,

you're not going to get another shot of the knot,

really, you're not. Ha-ha-ha!

Right, first the Yellow team, tie your knot.

The rest of you must wear your blindfolds

and your ear defenders, OK?

So you can't take a peak

or hear how the team challenge is going, alrighty?

So it's the Yellows first. Have you got a solution, do you think?

-ALL: Yeah. Pretty much.

-Yeah? You're pretty confident with that?

-ALL: Yeah.

-Oh, good, right.

-Shall we try it?

-ALL: Yeah. Sure.

Now, remember, you must have both hands on the rope at all times.

-DRUMROLL

-Are you ready?

-Your minute starts...now!

-KLAXON BLARES

-Cross over, cross over.

-Am I going under?

-Yeah.

-I go like that?

-No, it's not there.

Is this Daniel's hand?

-Yeah, that's my hand.

-OK.

If you're all talking at the same time,

you won't be able to hear the coding from Dr Taylor.

-Over that rope.

-Am I going down?

No, no, no, back a bit, lift it up.

And down, yep. And the next one.

Right, there.

And now you...

Clear instructions, Dr Taylor, you've got to tell them what to do.

And, erm...

-You've got 25 seconds to go.

-Come back out, Daniel.

Keep hold of the rope.

-No, out, step...

-He's gone back.

No, no, no, actually, under, or...

-Ten seconds.

-Now go under.

Climb under?

Stand up.

HEARTBEATS

And step back over.

-Step back over.

-No, no, other way.

KLAXON BLARES

That's time up, that's time up. Let's have a look.

Yes, I don't think you quite managed it, did you?

Unfortunate, that.

Unlucky, Yellows!

Let's see if the next team do any better.

# Bars and Molly-dy... #

-Now, blindfolds on.

-Yep.

Everybody's got their hands on the rope.

Now, remember, you cannot take your hands off the rope

-at any point.

-Yep.

-Are you ready, team?

-ALL: Yep.

-Shall we do it?

We shall try.

Let's do it! Your minute starts right now!

KLAXON BLARES

OK, guys, you want to kind of loop it round like that,

you want to kind of bring your hands up.

When you say, "Loop around like that,"

don't forget they can't see you.

Yes, I'll remember that.

That's...

OK, cool, so bring your hands down.

Keep your hands there, Leo.

-Is that knotted?

-That is a knot! We have a knot, ladies and gentlemen!

-THEY WHOOP

-They've done it!

-Party central!

-I told you.

-So you worked well as a team there, didn't you?

You listened to the coding.

-Well done, there, Blues.

-Thank you very much.

Well, let's see how the Greens get on.

Mean, Green coding machine. Let's do it.

No point hanging about, is there?

Here we go, your time starts...

-now!

-KLAXON BLARES

-Go low. Abado, go low.

-Yep.

-Now move forwards, keep stepping forwards.

Keep... Yep, yep.

Almost over, almost over.

OK, now, you need to duck. Go under.

Yeah, step out and now pull.

Yeah, we have a knot. Very well done!

Let's see. Oh, look at that!

It's a perfect knot, that is!

Very, very good, I'm impressed by that.

You worked really, really well.

Now, why do you think that worked so well?

Cos I have a clear voice.

-POSH ACCENT:

-Because she has a clear voice.

-Do you think it's because you work well as a team?

-ALL: Yeah.

Now, as a final mild-melting round approaches,

let's find out the scores!

CHEERING

At some point, even the brainiest of super-geniuses

find themselves faced with an almost impossible challenge -

measuring the power of an exploding star,

finding the edge of the universe,

not burning the end of your tongue on hot chocolate.

Ouch! Still hurts!

But all of these challenges are nothing, nothing,

nothing, I tell you! Nothing!

In comparison to the quickfire round!

BULLETS WHIZZ

So it's points to play for and victory the prize.

-Are you ready, GP?

-I'm ready, Dr Brain.

Hands on your desks, teams!

Two points for each correct answer.

No points for a wrong answer. Your 60 seconds start...

NOW! Which planet is famous for its gigantic rings?

-MOOING

-Greens!

-Saturn.

-It's the right answer!

What is the most common gas in Earth's atmosphere?

-MOOING

-Greens?

Oxygen.

-It's nitrogen.

-Oh!

What do most monkeys have that apes do not?

Is it a tail or a smartphone?

ROARING

-Blues?

-Smartphone.

No, it's a tail!

What is the layer that protects the Earth from ultraviolet radiation?

-KLAXON BLARES

-Oh, no, that's time up!

That's time up, I'm afraid. No time to answer that one.

That was a quickfire-tastic round.

You was all, like, buzzing and answering and buzzing and stuff

and I'm hugely impressed by your brainy bravery, all of you,

even if you did fluff a few,

but it's better to have fluffed

than huffed and puffed and never fluffed at all.

But which of these fabulously think-y teams came up on top?

In third place...

with ten points, it's the Yellow team!

Well done, well done.

In second place, with 15 points,

it's...

the Blue team!

Well done, Blues,

but our Ultimate Brain winners with a massive 27 points -

-it's the Greens!

-CHEERING

Yeah!

Well done, well done,

a special well done there to our winners,

who used their brains to blaze a path to glory

and more importantly, the honour of being Ultimate Brain champions.

See you next time for more mind-melting,

awesome experiments on...

Ultimate Brain!

CHEERING

Take it away, Dave!

Oh, look!

Now, look at this.

CHEERING

-Yeah!

-CHEERING