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Survivor Meets Junkyard Wars for Scientists
MyNameIsFred writes "Stepping back to Gilligan's Island, PBS has a new "reality" show Rough Science where "five scientists are challenged to put their collective scientific knowledge to practical use. Transported to isolated locations, they are presented with a series of tasks, with two notable restrictions: they must complete their work within three days and, with the exception of a rudimentary tool kit, must use only indigenous materials." Could the Professor really build all of those things? We'll soon know." Check out the Episode guide.
... first aired a couple of years ago. It was a great idea and made for some good viewing. Can't remember which station it was on though :o(
Highlights for me included the making of photographic equipment and a compass.
- This and all my posts are public domain. I am a Physicist. I am not your Physicist. This is not Physically advice
That said, its still worth catching if you've nothing else to do.
7 scientists
3 male - bio, phy, chem
4 female - bio, bio, bot, phy
You think they could have picked a few more women to represent the harder sciences. Everyone complains that not many women go into the sciences and those that do often wind up in a biology type of field (3/4 here).
Being an engineering major, out of a 60 person class there are maybe 5 girls. I once took a microbiology class for the easy A and out of the 60 person class I was one of 5 guys.
It's numbers like these that a college needs to advertise. My odds of getting laid in Micro are a lot higher than in any engineering course.
The professor has a pretty impressive list of scientific / engineering accomplishments - i doubt anyone can top him:
- a bamboo lie detector (hooked up to the ship's horn and the radio's batteries)
- a coconut shell battery recharger
- a bamboo telescope
- a Geiger counter
- jet-pack fuel
- a bamboo xylophone
- keptibora-berry extract to remedy Gilligan's double vision
- an assortment of tonics, antiseptics, poisons, "spider cider" (to kill off gargantuan morning spiders)
- soap made from plant fats
- shark repellent
- a pedal-powered bamboo sewing machine
- lead radiation suits and make-up (protection from a meteor's cosmic rays)
- a helium balloon (rubber raincoats sewn together and sealed with tree sap)
- a strychnine serum that temporarily paralyzes Gilligan
- an electrode linked to to a pedal-powered generator
- pedal powered washing machine
- pedal powered water pump
- pedal powered telegraph
- Mr. Howell's roulette wheel and pool table
Yes he cooked them - on a stove by burning bits of his boat. When the Navy found him they had to scuttle the boat because it was too damaged to tow.
Frankly, I'd love to know what the previous poster would do in the guy's situation - you're on a sailboat with no mast, no motor, and a dead radio. There are no ships in your vicinity for 3.5 months (yes, this is easily possible). Are you going to row back to shore? I don't think so.
For the record - one other ship did pass within visual range, but he was unsuccessful in signaling them. The Navy ship was only the second one he saw.