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Yerazunis is a real glutton for punishment

One of the teams that competed earlier on in the series, The N.E.R.D.S., have their thoughts on this here.

The short answer is that yes, there are parts there that one wouldn't find in a normal junkyard due to safety concerns, and that yes, there are a higher number of "good junk" than the average real world junk heap, but honestly it's not like it's still not difficult as hell.

The "Junkyard" concept is only that, a concept designed to hold the show together, not an absolute reality that must be adheared to or else.

The N.E.R.D.S. have a pretty good site about their time on the british show a couple years back.

http://www.the-nerds.org/

Come on! GEO was the best! Read The N.E.R.D.S website.

As for the internationalism, there was once an episode titled "Junkyard Mega-wars" in which three teams had two days to build a machine to race down plain desert, climb over rocks and propel through water. The teams were American, British and Russian.

During the episode of Scrapheap Challenge where the N.E.R.D.S. built Frobette (see also frob) they handed you and Robert a copy of The New Hacker's Dictionary. Did you keep it?

How did you get to be so insanely cool?

I don't mean to sound sexist, but I hope you definitely plan on having kids, even though it's exceedingly painful to give birth and exceedingly difficult to raise children. It's important for genes like yours to stay in circulation. Really we need them, badly! I mean, look at George W. Bush! Aaaagh!

Although, now that I think about it, it's also possible to help out your fellow humans in lots of other ways, and you've certainly done a lot of that.

Thank you for existing. Your presence has enriched all of our lives. I hope yours is going well.

During the episode of Scrapheap Challenge where the N.E.R.D.S. built Frobette (see also frob) they handed you and Robert a copy of The New Hacker's Dictionary. Did you keep it?

How did you get to be so insanely cool?

I don't mean to sound sexist, but I hope you definitely plan on having kids, even though it's exceedingly painful to give birth and exceedingly difficult to raise children. It's important for genes like yours to stay in circulation. Really we need them, badly! I mean, look at George W. Bush! Aaaagh!

Although, now that I think about it, it's also possible to help out your fellow humans in lots of other ways, and you've certainly done a lot of that.

Thank you for existing. Your presence has enriched all of our lives. I hope yours is going well.

I think you are thinking of the NERDS (New England Rubbish Deconstruction Society).

In it, he describes that they make sure that enough parts are lying around. For example, propellers, steam pumps, etc. have been some very specific items required for some of the challenges. They do make sure those are around.

As for the engines, here is their page on seeding the yard: http://www.the-nerds.org/on-seeding.html.

Point being, this might be an interesting question if she has a better answer, but this page goes through a lot of detail. It's unlikely that she'll have a better answer, IMHO.

Sujal

In it, he describes that they make sure that enough parts are lying around. For example, propellers, steam pumps, etc. have been some very specific items required for some of the challenges. They do make sure those are around.

As for the engines, here is their page on seeding the yard: http://www.the-nerds.org/on-seeding.html.

Point being, this might be an interesting question if she has a better answer, but this page goes through a lot of detail. It's unlikely that she'll have a better answer, IMHO.

Sujal

It's not fixed. Here's information about what the junkyard is like. The real challenge is making sure all the bits get bodged together right in time.

In short: most cars in a junkyard will run fine. Most are gotten rid of when a part fails, the body rusts through or the car hits a tree and it's not worth fixing. Most junkyards pull the engines on the car since it's generally more valuable than the body: JW just leaves them in. There are a lot of other odd things you wouldn't expect to find there.

However, the yard is seeded with certain items that are required for safety or that couldn't be found or hacked up. Examples: the rocket motors and the steam boilers and engines. You can't get a profesionally built steam boiler certified in England in less than ten hours, much less a hack job.

Given some of the amazing bodge jobs I do see (cutting a propellor out of a chunk of wood with a chainsaw, or a 3000 RPM water pump made from a brake rotor and some welded on bits.) I'm willing to cut them slack

Eric

The issue of "seeding" the yard has caused the most ire from JYW fans. Most times objects such as rocket engines, and steam engines are planted in the interest of safety laws and time constraints. Before the competition takes place, the expert submits a list of parts they would like and their preliminary plans for the build. The producers then decide what items will be hidden (such as mylar for the blimp in the bombing episode). It is not always as extreme as that--most times it's just throwing a few more old cars on the heap.

Also, the UK has very stringent laws about safety that the show has to obey. For example, every valve and connector for air, fuel, etc. has to be brand new and installed by a certified installer. It's all done for the safety of the participants. For a more detailed description check out the website of The N.E.R.D.S. at Answers to its fake, they seed the yard

by someone who wouldn't miss an episode of Iron Chef

And if you liked that one, how about Survivor

-dp-

by someone who wouldn't miss an episode of Iron Chef

And if you liked that one, how about Survivor

-dp-

Three season episode guide, and Channel4's third season only tournament ladder.

While they re-use basic themes, the details change in a noticable way. For example, they have done an underwater show each time. First year, it was making the diving gear. The second was salvaging a sunken car. This year, we built submarines.

Every year, they have built a projectile weapon. The first year, they had siege engines, the second, cannons, and this year a different projectile challenge. Each year a boat gets built, the first it was just a boat, the second an amphibian, the third year, it had to put out a fire. The car for the first year was a pulling tractor, the second a MPG marathon machine, this year, they are steam powered.

They do welcome suggested challenges. One I offered up was "loudest noise you can make with wood", thinking of a wood fired steam boiler explosion going up against a wood fired turbojet engine, or a giant organ pipe (reed) powered by the entire team sitting on the bellows.

I am Jeff, organizer of the first US team to compete, and the one interviewed by Wired. Crash is a teammate. The TLC site is fairly low on content currently. I suggest either our site or the Channel 4 TV site which includes some neat time-lapse photography of the workshops as the machines come together.

TLC is planning to show more episodes of the british show in the late fall and early winter. (the schedule isn't final yet, so I can't give a more exact date). In Jan/Feb, they will broadcast an Americanized version of the show. No they didn't dumb it down. Its the same crew, same pile of junk, and comparable challenges. The big difference will be in the accents of the contestants and they replaced Robert with an American comic.

Yes, it is a real pile of scrap. On the other side of the wall from the set, are Cockneys in large cranes, that end in claws, literally tossing cars thru the air. Like a good yard, the stuff is partially sorted, on one side is a pile of wood and other construction debris (the wood is "experienced" most of the plywood had clearly been a concrete form in its first life). Next comes ex plumbing, and electrical conduit. Cars in various degrees of flattened are piled forming the odd aisle, then the ventilation/hvac stuff. Off to the other side starts some of the more serious industrial scrap. there is a 20 foot pile of very rusted 1-2" wire rope, next to what must have been a large liquid storage tank (20' diameter, guessing from the curve in the 8' square sections of 1" plate steel) There is the twisted remains of some conveyor systems (a great source of chain and bearings), and other large machines, including what looks like the yard's now-deceased former car crusher. Closer to the workshops, are some of the more unusual vehicles, including a well tagged ex- tourbus, and some military surplus truck based device that seems to be a large collection of hydraulic bits.

Even when parts are seeded for a particular purpose, there is no guarantee that they will attach to anything else. To use one of the already broadcast shows, "power pullers", there were apropriate tires in the pile. There were no differentials that fit said tires however, and one of the challenges to using the good (lugged) tires, was how to get them to mate with the differential you found.

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The NERDS Scrapheap Challenge team have a list of "Ten reasons why being on 'Junkyard Wars' is better than being on 'Survivor'" on their website.

The NERDS Scrapheap Challenge team have a list of "Ten reasons why being on 'Junkyard Wars' is better than being on 'Survivor'" on their website.

Is the yard "salted"? Depends on what you mean by "salted".... They do make sure that a grand excess of random parts to make do are available. But there's no pre-defined set of detail plans; I've seen what the "experts" planned out for us in one of our Challenges: there were three different ideas, each one on one sheet of lined notebook paper, no details, no dimensions.... and our result looked like nothing on any of these three "expert's plans".

Some of the most "fun" challenges have been where a critical part is intentionally _purged_ from the 'heap- the challenge becomes to construct that critical mechanism from random iron, and get it to work!

Improvization is absolutely key on the 'heap. I can't emphasize this enough. With ONE exception (safety-related equipment), you will NOT find ANY of your key parts "brand new, in box, with doc set" on the heap. What you will find are numerous broken vehicles, trashed appliances, industrial and construction junk, and machine-shop cutoffs/remnants, which may or may not have been placed on the heap because of the challenge, and may or may not have a functional whateveritis you were looking for. (we know that they in general do _NOT_ clean the 'heap out of helpful bits, because we found previous challenger's machine parts on the 'heap )

The "Experts" are people who've worked with purpose-made machinery in their area of expertise for literally decades. Back in their shops, they have all the proper parts, the right tools and alloys, testing equipment, CAD software, the whole shebang. In short, they have the tools, they have the technology. BUT NONE of that is available on the Scrapheap. The Experts themselves have to learn to scavenge and improvise; anything you can't find or manufacture yourself does not exist, even if you have half a dozen of them back in the stockroom at the company (yes, I've seen an expert nearly tearing their hair out in just this situation).

Bearings have to be scavenged; we ripped some out of a Moped. Need a bigger bearing, with a strong shaft? Use a steering knuckle and CV joint off that crashed Citroen. Box girder? If you can't find cutoffs from someone elses project, cut them out of that shed roof. Heavy electrical cable? Scavenge it from one of the big junked excavators.

The ONE EXCEPTION - wherever safety on the set or British safety law (the equivalent of OSHA) is involved, new parts and tools are always salted. For example, safety valves are always new, freshly tested, with certification papers up in the Director's cupola. If you manage to scavenge a safety-related part that isn't one of the certificated ones, an assistant director will let you know- and won't let you build using the unsafe part- they'll send you back out onto the heap with a hint on where to find the safe part that does the same job.

We aren't allowed to change our own grinding wheel or cutoff disks, for the same reason (they have to be spin tested before use, in a safe area). Explosives and high-flammability materials (and fuel tanks) are likewise covered and there are a platoon of Britain's Finest Firemen standing by for the whole day, as well as paramedics and an ambulance, Just In Case (and my thanks to them!).

By it's nature, the show can be dangerous and everyone on set, contestant or not, has to be on gaurd all the time. There hasn't been a serious injury yet (sprains and strains, that's all), and everyone on the show works to keep it that way. Even if it messes up continuity (and you can see this occasionally, where safety gaurds get added to a machine after "TIME" is called) a safety issue trumps any other consideration of the show.

Hope this helps...

-Dr. Crash (Captain, NERDS, season 3)

In a similar vein, there is Kal's group, the Seemen, and (the efforts of just two people) The Large Hot Pipe Organ.

On a somewhat gentler note, there is Kinetic Sculpture Racing (got its original start 30 years ago). There is also an annual "Art Cars" festival, but I don't have a link handy.

BTW: One of the members of The NERDS, Geo has worked with SRL, and various european industrial art groups. He is rather proud of his building TK-1the worlds first, and only known wood fired, twin turbocharged, hot tub.

This is covered in more detail in the FAQ

Quick summary: TLC is still making up their mind about showing the soon to debut 10 show British third season. (which among other things has us Yankee NERDS taking on some British teams). Calls to the network should help their decision. (oh yea, there are 7 episodes from years 1 and 2 that haven't been shown here either)

They did commision the UK production company to make a seven show all-american series. Same pile of scrap, same crew, same caliber of challenge. They replaced Robert with an american comedian, and all the teams are from the US (and possibly Canada). They will show this sometime starting in January. (no, The NERDS aren't in that one, there is a real advantage to having done a show, so it wasn't fair for us to go up against a brand new team -- next year when they have the possibility of returning teams, we expect to have a go against our countrymen)

The only physics it demonstrates is Ke=1/2mv^2, and you don't get to see them building the things.

There is a real "Iron" chef like mechanical challenge show, in the UK it goes by the name Scrapheap Challenge, when shown in the US, they call it Junkyard Wars. It too features a Red Dwarf actor as host, this time Robert, the guy that plays Kryten (without the mask however).

Basic premise: Two 3 person teams are each provided with a specalist, identical workshops, and equal access to an 800 ton pile of scrap metal. (literally). Dragged from their beds at the crack of dawn, costumed in flameproofed jump suits, they are given a problem to solve (something "simple" like a one person glider, or a 4 person amphibian. How about A diving bell, or a MPG marathon machine. It might be something that can solve a problem, say retrieve a car sunk underwater), and they have 10 hours to build a solution, using only what they pull off the scrap pile. The next day, the two machines are run head to head, and the better one's team advances to the next round, and a harder challenge.

I organized the first US team to compete. We think its a whole lot more fun than Survivor or Iron Chef. The obvious questions are answered in my FAQ

In the UK, the show is carried by Channel 4, and the new season starts Sept 17. In the US, TLC carries it, but not particularly well. (they have show 6 of the 13 existing episodes, and haven't yet agreed to pick up the third season. They have commisioned their own version, to be shown in Jan/Feb timeframe.)

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We flew over, we built, we can't say what we got to build, or how we did until the shows air, we had a truly great time.

This planet needs a lot more kids that think taking the lawnmowers' engine apart is more fun than playing nintendo.

The only physics it demonstrates is Ke=1/2mv^2, and you don't get to see them building the things.

There is a real "Iron" chef like mechanical challenge show, in the UK it goes by the name Scrapheap Challenge, when shown in the US, they call it Junkyard Wars. It too features a Red Dwarf actor as host, this time Robert, the guy that plays Kryten (without the mask however).

Basic premise: Two 3 person teams are each provided with a specalist, identical workshops, and equal access to an 800 ton pile of scrap metal. (literally). Dragged from their beds at the crack of dawn, costumed in flameproofed jump suits, they are given a problem to solve (something "simple" like a one person glider, or a 4 person amphibian. How about A diving bell, or a MPG marathon machine. It might be something that can solve a problem, say retrieve a car sunk underwater), and they have 10 hours to build a solution, using only what they pull off the scrap pile. The next day, the two machines are run head to head, and the better one's team advances to the next round, and a harder challenge.

I organized the first US team to compete. We think its a whole lot more fun than Survivor or Iron Chef. The obvious questions are answered in my FAQ

In the UK, the show is carried by Channel 4, and the new season starts Sept 17. In the US, TLC carries it, but not particularly well. (they have show 6 of the 13 existing episodes, and haven't yet agreed to pick up the third season. They have commisioned their own version, to be shown in Jan/Feb timeframe.)

-dp-
We flew over, we built, we can't say what we got to build, or how we did until the shows air, we had a truly great time.

This planet needs a lot more kids that think taking the lawnmowers' engine apart is more fun than playing nintendo.

The only physics it demonstrates is Ke=1/2mv^2, and you don't get to see them building the things.

There is a real "Iron" chef like mechanical challenge show, in the UK it goes by the name Scrapheap Challenge, when shown in the US, they call it Junkyard Wars. It too features a Red Dwarf actor as host, this time Robert, the guy that plays Kryten (without the mask however).

Basic premise: Two 3 person teams are each provided with a specalist, identical workshops, and equal access to an 800 ton pile of scrap metal. (literally). Dragged from their beds at the crack of dawn, costumed in flameproofed jump suits, they are given a problem to solve (something "simple" like a one person glider, or a 4 person amphibian. How about A diving bell, or a MPG marathon machine. It might be something that can solve a problem, say retrieve a car sunk underwater), and they have 10 hours to build a solution, using only what they pull off the scrap pile. The next day, the two machines are run head to head, and the better one's team advances to the next round, and a harder challenge.

I organized the first US team to compete. We think its a whole lot more fun than Survivor or Iron Chef. The obvious questions are answered in my FAQ

In the UK, the show is carried by Channel 4, and the new season starts Sept 17. In the US, TLC carries it, but not particularly well. (they have show 6 of the 13 existing episodes, and haven't yet agreed to pick up the third season. They have commisioned their own version, to be shown in Jan/Feb timeframe.)

-dp-
We flew over, we built, we can't say what we got to build, or how we did until the shows air, we had a truly great time.

This planet needs a lot more kids that think taking the lawnmowers' engine apart is more fun than playing nintendo.

The obvious computing example is LISP, which engenders great amount of heat about syntax. Its my favorite, as operator presecedence is never an issue, and the written form is identical to the parse tree representation, so writing stuff that walks over code is not some "normal people never do this" technique.

Anyone know of a human equivalent?
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The NERDS. New: Junyard Wars FAQ, Ten reasons why Scrapheap Challenge is better than Iron Chef, and Ten reasons why being on Junkyard Wars is better than being on Survivor

The obvious computing example is LISP, which engenders great amount of heat about syntax. Its my favorite, as operator presecedence is never an issue, and the written form is identical to the parse tree representation, so writing stuff that walks over code is not some "normal people never do this" technique.

Anyone know of a human equivalent?
-dp-
The NERDS. New: Junyard Wars FAQ, Ten reasons why Scrapheap Challenge is better than Iron Chef, and Ten reasons why being on Junkyard Wars is better than being on Survivor

The obvious computing example is LISP, which engenders great amount of heat about syntax. Its my favorite, as operator presecedence is never an issue, and the written form is identical to the parse tree representation, so writing stuff that walks over code is not some "normal people never do this" technique.

Anyone know of a human equivalent?
-dp-
The NERDS. New: Junyard Wars FAQ, Ten reasons why Scrapheap Challenge is better than Iron Chef, and Ten reasons why being on Junkyard Wars is better than being on Survivor

The obvious computing example is LISP, which engenders great amount of heat about syntax. Its my favorite, as operator presecedence is never an issue, and the written form is identical to the parse tree representation, so writing stuff that walks over code is not some "normal people never do this" technique.

Anyone know of a human equivalent?
-dp-
The NERDS. New: Junyard Wars FAQ, Ten reasons why Scrapheap Challenge is better than Iron Chef, and Ten reasons why being on Junkyard Wars is better than being on Survivor

Take a look at nt6. Its a real turbine engine (120,000 rpm no less) that runs off cordwood. They even sell plans. (and it looks like fairly straightforward plumbing, for those that don't have an engine lathe in the basement).. Its on my list as one of the loudest noises you can make with wood.
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The NERDS. New: Junyard Wars FAQ, "Ten reasons why Scrapheap Challenge is better than Iron Chef", and Ten reasons why being on Junkyard Wars is better than being on Survivor

Take a look at nt6. Its a real turbine engine (120,000 rpm no less) that runs off cordwood. They even sell plans. (and it looks like fairly straightforward plumbing, for those that don't have an engine lathe in the basement).. Its on my list as one of the loudest noises you can make with wood.
-dp-
The NERDS. New: Junyard Wars FAQ, "Ten reasons why Scrapheap Challenge is better than Iron Chef", and Ten reasons why being on Junkyard Wars is better than being on Survivor

Take a look at nt6. Its a real turbine engine (120,000 rpm no less) that runs off cordwood. They even sell plans. (and it looks like fairly straightforward plumbing, for those that don't have an engine lathe in the basement).. Its on my list as one of the loudest noises you can make with wood.
-dp-
The NERDS. New: Junyard Wars FAQ, "Ten reasons why Scrapheap Challenge is better than Iron Chef", and Ten reasons why being on Junkyard Wars is better than being on Survivor

Take a look at nt6. Its a real turbine engine (120,000 rpm no less) that runs off cordwood. They even sell plans. (and it looks like fairly straightforward plumbing, for those that don't have an engine lathe in the basement).. Its on my list as one of the loudest noises you can make with wood.
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The NERDS. New: Junyard Wars FAQ, "Ten reasons why Scrapheap Challenge is better than Iron Chef", and Ten reasons why being on Junkyard Wars is better than being on Survivor

I am impressed, there were 20,000 hits to the site since it got mentioned on slashdot. Unfortunately LHPO is currently in 668 peices (not counting nuts and bolts), packed into a 6 meter ISO shipping container, sitting in Berlin. Its ready to travel on that tour, if someone wants to promote it. BTW: One of the builders of LHPO is one third of a Scrapheap Challenge ("Junkyard Wars" when show in the US) team, The NERDS. While we are under NDA about what we built/how we did, lets say american honor will have nothing to complain about...

Some of you may have seen a British tv show inspired by the MIT design competition. It was shown in the US as Junkyard Wars. (In the UK, it runs under the name Scrapheap Challenge)

Quick summary: Two three person teams, pair of matching workshops. Large pile of scrap metal as feedstock. Morning of competition, you find out what problem you get to solve. Say a 4 person amphibian, or a glider that can carry one human. A device that lets you retreive a Mini in 20 meters of water, a non-wheeled machine that can traverse a tank testing course... You get 10 hours construction time. Next day, the two teams machines are tested head to head. Winner moves on to the next round, and a harder challenge...

Well the US tv network wants a series with north american accents, and are willing to pay to get it. So they need 8 teams, ASAP. (they start filiming in August, applications are due the end of the month). The show will be taped in London, so teams selected get flown over and put up at the networks expense.

More details, can be found at Junkyard Wars
Disclaimer: I don't work for the TV network, or the production company that is taping the show. They did just buy me plane tickets, I will be spending a week in London so I can play with their piles of stuff on camera.

Check out my teams page -- The NERDS

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Organizer, The New England Rubbish Deconstruction Society; The NERDS