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Ooh!

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Ha-ha!

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Ooh!

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00:00:07,040 --> 00:00:08,920
Ha-ha-ha-ha!

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Mmm-mmm...

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ALARM CLOCK RINGS
Ah...ah...!

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Ooh!

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Ooh-ooh-ooh!

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Hello, viewers, and welcome
to my World Of Invention,

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the show that puts
the knowledge in technology

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and tickles the parts of particle
physics.

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Did you know 70% of accidents
happen in the home?

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So just imagine how dangerous
a TV studio could be.

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Oh!

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See what I mean?

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And that's why our topic today is
Better Safe Than Sorry.

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Today, our inventions are all
designed to keep us safe...

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wherever we are.

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We'll be looking at spacesuits

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to see how they keep astronauts
all safe and cosy.

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This is your miniature spaceship.
This lets you do a spacewalk.

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It's your home away from home
when you're in outer space.

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My science correspondent Mr Jem

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will be seeing how
a 1940s Hollywood star

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turned inventor
for the ultimate safety project -

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protecting the free world...

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It's important, isn't it?
I mean, really.

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...and my archive librarian Goronwy
will be giving us a rundown

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of some inventions that failed
the health and safety test.

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But let's jump straight in with a
look at the history of ejector seats.

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BEEP

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CLEARS THROAT: Take it away, Ashley!

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Ahh! I've always wondered
what that button was for, Wallace.

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Now, the ejector seat is
standard issue in all modern
military aircraft,

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if not TV Studios.

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But it's the one invention
you never want to have to use

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because it really is the last
resort, as one lucky ejectee
remembers only too well.

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Flying around about 27,500ft

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and 500-odd miles an hour
when things started to go wrong.

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The control column drove itself
hard over to the left

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and I couldn't move it.
The steering locked up.

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There was no real thought process
in it. At that point,
I knew I had to eject.

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It's like the biggest bang,
the biggest kick up the bottom
that you can imagine,

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as the explosion rockets you
clear of the aeroplane.

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But, thankfully, I'm here
to tell you the story today.

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ASHLEY: The ejector seat is truly
a life-saving invention.

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It was invented in the 1940s because
aircraft started flying so fast

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it was no longer possible
for a pilot

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to simply throw himself out of
a stricken plane.

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Although others had developed
prototypes
during the Second World War,

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the British were the first
to build a commercially available
ejector seat.

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And by 1946, it was ready
to be put to the test.

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All they needed was a chap with a
stiff upper lip to try it out.

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One volunteer, Captain Bernard
Lynch, stood out,

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and I think I know why.

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The footage is from the first
ever recorded ejection test,

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and even though Lynch had tested
the seat extensively on the ground,

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testing the seat in the heavens
was a big step up in sheer guts.

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Lynch - and his moustache -
survived intact

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and the ejector seat was born.

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Although the principle
is pretty straightforward,

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there are, in fact,
a staggering 15 separate steps

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involved in an ejector seat's
operation.

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Pull firing handle, initiate rear
seat, restrain air crew,

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sequence inter-seat operation,
jettison canopy,
unlock rear seat and rise,

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restrain legs, initiate seat system,
fire rocket motors...

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I haven't finished yet.

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...deploy drogue parachute,
activate emergency oxygen,

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monitor height and speed,
deploy parachute, separate seat...

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ejection complete! Phew!

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And all that happens in less than
two-and-a-half seconds.

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Unsurprisingly, a reliable, fully
tested and equipped ejector seat

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doesn't come cheap.

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Older models start at £75,000,

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while the most modern versions cost
a hefty £2 million.

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For that you get a rocket-powered
seat, a survival pack

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which equips you for every
eventuality and, most importantly,
a parachute,

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carefully packed to ensure that
getting out of the aircraft alive

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isn't the last thing you do.

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Packing the parachute isn't just
a sort of "stuffing a rag in a bag",

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as they used to call it.
It's a bit more technical than that.

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We probably only do two parachutes
per day.

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When they pull that handle ,
they want that parachute to work,

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so it's a great responsibility
and we don't take it lightly.

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ASHLEY: Ejector seats have been in
use for over 60 years

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and have saved around 10,000 lives.

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The survivors form
a pretty exclusive club,

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but within their ranks
is an even more select group -

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people who've been ejected
not once but twice.

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I couldn't believe my luck
when it happened for a second time.

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I've got crystal-clear, vivid
memories of everything,

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from pulling the handle,
watching the cockpit disappear,

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specks of dust and chipped paint,

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then looking down, seeing the
aeroplane fly away from under me,

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things then go very quiet.

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To eject twice and survive has made
me the luckiest person in the world.

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Although I was injured,
I'm here today,

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walking, talking, living, breathing,
thanks only to the ejection seat.

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ASHLEY: And let's hope Craig
doesn't have the need to
make it a hat trick!

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Yes, accidents can happen anywhere.

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To illustrate...

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CLATTERING

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Ah-ha! Well spotted, lad!

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Oh, dear!

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Gromit was so busy
with that banana skin,

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he didn't notice I'd coated the
second step in chip fat.

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And now let's have a look
at some inventions

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that are strictly for the birds.

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ASHLEY: "Look before you leap"
is a good rule of thumb

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for anyone trying to avoid
accidents. Isn't that right, Gromit?

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It's a principle
the military has taken to heart.

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That's why unmanned aircraft,
or drones,

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have been used to spy
on enemy activities for years.

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The information gained can be vital
for safeguarding troops,

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and it doesn't even expose a pilot
to risk.

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But to allow even closer
surveillance, 

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the latest drones are being
disguised as birds.

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These images are from a classified
US Air Force research project.

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They show a mechanical pigeon
that's being developed

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to carry a range of sophisticated
spying equipment

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whilst blending in
with its surroundings.

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But it might surprise you to know
that this is not a new idea.

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This picture, dating from
the First World War,

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apparently shows
a German surveillance pigeon

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equipped with a camera
for photographing Allied targets.

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But can it be true?

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Did the Germans really use homing
pigeons to spy behind enemy lines?

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Or was this just an elaborate
propaganda hoax?

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Well, it turns out that pigeons
have been used in times of war.

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And, believe it or not,
the humble pigeon

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has a pretty distinguished record.

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In both World Wars, troops made use
of the pigeons' homing capability

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to carry important messages
back from the Front.

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NEWSREADER: Mrs Alexander, wife
of the First Lord of the Admiralty,

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hears the exploits of Gustav and
Paddy, two D-Day carrier pigeons

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decorated with
the Dickin Medal for Gallantry.

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During the Second World War, 32
pigeons were awarded the Dickin
Medal,

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the animal equivalent of
the Victoria Cross,

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and were even given
a peck on the cheek.

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NEWSREADER: Well, well, what do you
know!

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How appropriate.
Pigeon post is one thing,

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but could these birds really be used
to photograph enemy positions?

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Here at the World Of Invention,

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we decided to solve the mystery
once and for all.

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In the archives of the German patent
office, we discovered these plans,

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dating back to 1908,
for a pigeon-mounted camera system.

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Using them,
we built our own pigeon camera.

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And here's our nest of spies,

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at an undisclosed location
in Milton Keynes.

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Meet our pigeon spy, code-named
James, who's licensed to eat Trill.

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Pigeon Master Q,
better known as Colin Hill,

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is on hand to help out.

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Come on, boy.

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ASHLEY: Like his namesake,
Commander Bond,

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James the pigeon
is neither shaken nor stirred

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as the camera is strapped to his
chest...

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unlike Colin.

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I think this is pretty impossible.

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ASHLEY: It's up to James now -
only he can get this idea off the
ground.

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As you can see...no way.
Steady about.

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ASHLEY: Even our lightweight camera
is too much for James to cope with

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and the mission is aborted.

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COLIN: I'd love to have seen
the people do it,

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cos I think that was propaganda,

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and really make-believe.

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Colin is clearly unimpressed.

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But how's James?

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His feathers are perfect, he's A-OK.

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As you can see.

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ASHLEY: So it seems that this was
just a German propaganda stunt,

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designed to ruffle feathers
in Allied High Command.

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However, given the
latest developments in the US,

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spy birds may be due a comeback.

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Probably a good idea - you'd never
get a human to balance
on a telephone wire.

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Well, fancy that.

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Safety in the workplace is
paramount. For example...

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00:12:02,880 --> 00:12:07,080
one nut, one sledgehammer.

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00:12:07,080 --> 00:12:09,080
Hold her steady, lad!

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00:12:09,080 --> 00:12:13,120
Now, viewers, what am I doing wrong?

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That's right - safety goggles!

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There we are.

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But first, here's Mr Jem

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with this week's item
that never got off the drawing board.

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Geronimo!
CRUNCH!

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00:12:28,600 --> 00:12:32,720
JEM: Not your most cracking idea,
Wallace.

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00:12:32,720 --> 00:12:34,680
What would you think if I told you

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00:12:34,680 --> 00:12:38,400
Angelina Jolie had developed
a new missile guidance system?

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00:12:38,400 --> 00:12:43,360
Or Lady Gaga had invented
a new technology

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00:12:43,360 --> 00:12:46,320
for secure electronic data
communication?

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00:12:46,320 --> 00:12:50,640
You might think someone had put
something funny in my popcorn.

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00:12:50,640 --> 00:12:56,800
However, 70 years ago, something
just like that actually happened.

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JEM: Hedy Lamarr was a Hollywood
A-lister in the 1940s,

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00:13:01,320 --> 00:13:04,200
but she wasn't just a pretty face.

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00:13:04,200 --> 00:13:07,320
MAN: She's as pretty as a picture
and as stubborn as a mule.

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00:13:07,320 --> 00:13:11,520
The secret to looking glamorous,
she once said,

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00:13:11,520 --> 00:13:14,800
was to stand still, looking stupid.
But Hedy Lamarr was far from stupid.

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00:13:14,800 --> 00:13:18,000
She was so sharp
that in between films

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00:13:18,000 --> 00:13:20,880
she invented something
to keep Allied sailors safe

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00:13:20,880 --> 00:13:23,640
and give them the upper hand
in the war at sea -

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00:13:23,640 --> 00:13:29,080
an incredibly sophisticated system
for guiding torpedoes.

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00:13:32,360 --> 00:13:37,120
A few years earlier, Hedy had been
married to an Austrian arms dealer,

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00:13:37,120 --> 00:13:40,480
and had been present
at many of his work discussions

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00:13:40,480 --> 00:13:44,600
on military technology,
including torpedoes.

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00:13:44,600 --> 00:13:51,240
She left Austria and her husband in
1937 and made her way to Hollywood.

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00:13:51,240 --> 00:13:56,640
But when the Second World War
started, she wanted to use
her military know-how

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00:13:56,640 --> 00:13:58,640
to help the fight against Hitler.

207
00:13:58,640 --> 00:14:03,120
Torpedoes were deadly,
but they had a problem.

208
00:14:04,040 --> 00:14:07,960
You could only fire them
in straight lines, like a cannonball.

209
00:14:07,960 --> 00:14:10,360
If you could radio control them,
however,

210
00:14:10,360 --> 00:14:13,080
you could steer them wherever you
wanted.

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00:14:13,080 --> 00:14:14,720
But that had another problem -

212
00:14:14,720 --> 00:14:19,000
if the enemy could tune in
to the radio signal you were using,

213
00:14:19,000 --> 00:14:22,200
they could jam it, or worse still,

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00:14:22,200 --> 00:14:25,800
take control
and steer it right back at you.

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00:14:25,800 --> 00:14:30,400
Hedy set out to invent a system
using radio signals to guide

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00:14:30,400 --> 00:14:34,240
torpedoes in a way that no enemy
could intercept -

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00:14:34,240 --> 00:14:37,200
at the time a huge technical
challenge.

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00:14:39,200 --> 00:14:42,120
Help came from a surprising source -

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00:14:42,120 --> 00:14:46,200
the dashingly handsome, daring
young composer George Antheil,

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00:14:46,200 --> 00:14:50,280
who created mad, experimental music.

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00:14:50,280 --> 00:14:51,640
Sounds fascinating.

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00:14:51,640 --> 00:14:55,320
George created music using
mechanised instruments,

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00:14:55,320 --> 00:14:57,200
and his favourite was the pianola.

224
00:15:01,280 --> 00:15:03,400
Together, crazy as it sounds,

225
00:15:03,400 --> 00:15:07,920
Hedy and George adapted the
controlling mechanism for a pianola

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00:15:07,920 --> 00:15:12,560
into a way of guiding torpedoes
using radio signals.

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00:15:14,480 --> 00:15:18,600
The pianola was controlled by paper
rolls, like this.

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00:15:18,600 --> 00:15:21,480
Each of these holes corresponds
to a particular note.

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00:15:21,480 --> 00:15:25,080
GLISSANDO

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00:15:25,080 --> 00:15:29,280
George and Hedy's idea was to put
identical rolls, one on the ship and

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00:15:29,280 --> 00:15:33,320
one on the torpedo, and start them
turning at exactly the same time.

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00:15:33,320 --> 00:15:36,640
But instead of changing notes on a
piano,

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00:15:36,640 --> 00:15:40,880
they would be changing frequencies
on the ship's controller

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00:15:40,880 --> 00:15:42,920
and the torpedo's receiver,

235
00:15:42,920 --> 00:15:46,920
and by quickly hopping
from one channel to another,

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00:15:46,920 --> 00:15:52,800
it made it impossible for anybody
else to get a fix on
the signal they were using.

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00:15:52,800 --> 00:15:55,920
Their idea of frequency hopping
was brilliant,

238
00:15:55,920 --> 00:16:01,400
and they were granted a patent for
their Secret Communication System.

239
00:16:01,400 --> 00:16:04,120
But the US Navy wasn't interested.

240
00:16:04,120 --> 00:16:08,280
They weren't used to getting weapons
designs from actresses and composers.

241
00:16:08,280 --> 00:16:12,720
Hedy's hopes for making her name
as an inventor were dashed.

242
00:16:13,880 --> 00:16:16,760
FILM: Hollywood's most famous movie
stars...

243
00:16:16,760 --> 00:16:19,640
JEM: Disappointed,
she went back to the day job

244
00:16:19,640 --> 00:16:22,200
of being one of the most glamorous
women in the world.

245
00:16:22,200 --> 00:16:26,320
She helped raise over 7 million
to help the war effort.

246
00:16:26,320 --> 00:16:28,840
NEWSREEL: ...Screen celebrities
giving their time and talents

247
00:16:28,840 --> 00:16:31,040
to aid the national war effort...

248
00:16:31,040 --> 00:16:36,040
JEM: Hedy and George's invention
was never used in World War II.

249
00:16:36,040 --> 00:16:39,040
But that's not the end of the story.

250
00:16:39,040 --> 00:16:43,600
This is a typical modern mobile
phone mast, and masts like this

251
00:16:43,600 --> 00:16:45,960
relay all those important
phone signals

252
00:16:45,960 --> 00:16:52,440
to ensure messages like, "I'm on the
train," get through clearly.

253
00:16:52,440 --> 00:16:57,800
Crucially, each call constantly
switches between different channels

254
00:16:57,800 --> 00:16:59,880
to keep our conversations private.

255
00:16:59,880 --> 00:17:04,600
Sound familiar? It's a modern
version of frequency hopping.

256
00:17:04,600 --> 00:17:08,440
The version that makes this work
is called spread-spectrum technology,

257
00:17:08,440 --> 00:17:12,000
but it's a direct descendant
of Hedy's idea.

258
00:17:12,000 --> 00:17:15,680
The US Navy might not have
taken her seriously,

259
00:17:15,680 --> 00:17:18,520
but the modern telecommunications
industry

260
00:17:18,520 --> 00:17:20,720
and anyone who uses a mobile phone

261
00:17:20,720 --> 00:17:24,240
owes Hedy Lamarr a big thank-you.

262
00:17:26,600 --> 00:17:30,680
# Bom bom-bom bom-bom
Curiosity Corner... #

263
00:17:30,680 --> 00:17:34,640
Oh! Welcome to Curiosity Corner,
viewers.

264
00:17:34,640 --> 00:17:38,360
And today's subject
is very curious indeed.

265
00:17:38,360 --> 00:17:44,800
Let's meet the highly prolific
and rather eccentric Arthur Pedrick.

266
00:17:46,160 --> 00:17:50,800
ASHLEY: The late Arthur Pedrick's
name might not mean
much to most people,

267
00:17:50,800 --> 00:17:53,360
but ask around at the
UK Patent Office

268
00:17:53,360 --> 00:17:57,240
and pretty much everyone
will have heard of him.

269
00:17:57,240 --> 00:18:01,000
Arthur Pedrick filed about 160
patent applications over 15 years,

270
00:18:01,000 --> 00:18:03,560
and I was one of the examiners
who was given the job of

271
00:18:03,560 --> 00:18:05,520
examining some of his patent
applications.

272
00:18:05,520 --> 00:18:10,200
The massive number of patents meant
Pedrick was churning out

273
00:18:10,200 --> 00:18:11,960
a new invention every five weeks,

274
00:18:11,960 --> 00:18:15,680
many of them aimed at
improving health and safety.

275
00:18:15,680 --> 00:18:18,960
However, the questionable quality
of his designs

276
00:18:18,960 --> 00:18:23,200
meant the end results often made
things more dangerous.

277
00:18:24,720 --> 00:18:28,000
Take GB1453920,

278
00:18:28,000 --> 00:18:32,880
a patent for fire blankets
big enough to cover entire
skyscrapers.

279
00:18:32,880 --> 00:18:36,800
Quite apart from being wildly
impractical, such a large blanket

280
00:18:36,800 --> 00:18:39,760
may have also prevented escape
from the building

281
00:18:39,760 --> 00:18:43,760
and actually increased
the risk of people suffocating.

282
00:18:43,760 --> 00:18:48,080
Equally, his plan for constructing
bomb shelters, GB1339414,

283
00:18:48,080 --> 00:18:53,960
relied on using a nuclear explosion
to create an underground cavern,

284
00:18:53,960 --> 00:18:58,520
an innovation that would have made
the whole shelter radioactive!

285
00:18:59,960 --> 00:19:01,560
And GB1396439,

286
00:19:01,560 --> 00:19:06,720
a patent for automobiles driven
from the back seat,

287
00:19:06,720 --> 00:19:10,400
would have created vehicles
with their own inherent problems.

288
00:19:10,400 --> 00:19:13,360
CRASH!

289
00:19:13,360 --> 00:19:17,920
Pedrick's ideas may not have been
successful or particularly sensible,

290
00:19:17,920 --> 00:19:20,600
but that doesn't mean
the Patent Office examiners

291
00:19:20,600 --> 00:19:25,040
viewed his applications as a waste
of time. Far from it, in fact.

292
00:19:26,960 --> 00:19:28,840
Pedrick was a bit of light relief.

293
00:19:28,840 --> 00:19:33,680
When a new Pedrick application came
in, we thought, "What's he done now?"

294
00:19:35,680 --> 00:19:40,960
It wasn't just Pedrick's sense of
humour that appealed to
the Patent Office staff.

295
00:19:40,960 --> 00:19:44,640
BRIAN: The Patent Act said that
you had to describe your invention,

296
00:19:44,640 --> 00:19:48,400
but it didn't specifically forbid
him from describing anything else

297
00:19:48,400 --> 00:19:51,560
that took his fancy, like his
eccentric views on nuclear physics

298
00:19:51,560 --> 00:19:53,240
or his cat's views of the world.

299
00:19:53,240 --> 00:19:57,520
ASHLEY: Pedrick's cat Ginger was a
regular theme in his applications,

300
00:19:57,520 --> 00:20:03,200
but his crowning appearance
came in patent GB1426698 -

301
00:20:03,200 --> 00:20:05,600
a photo-sensitive cat flap

302
00:20:05,600 --> 00:20:10,840
with added cat-astrophic features
for any feline intruders.

303
00:20:10,840 --> 00:20:15,480
His cat Ginger had a problem
because the black cat next door

304
00:20:15,480 --> 00:20:20,160
used to go through the cat flap
and steal his food, so Pedrick
invented

305
00:20:20,160 --> 00:20:23,200
a photo-electrically controlled
cat flap

306
00:20:23,200 --> 00:20:27,800
which kept out black cats
but let ginger cats through.

307
00:20:27,800 --> 00:20:31,640
But he also combined this with
a 1,000 megaton nuclear weapon

308
00:20:31,640 --> 00:20:36,200
circling the Earth in orbit, which
is a novel idea, to put it mildly.

309
00:20:37,720 --> 00:20:40,880
ASHLEY: Thankfully, the black cat
was never actually nuked,

310
00:20:40,880 --> 00:20:45,520
and its owners, perhaps
unsurprisingly,
remember Pedrick well.

311
00:20:47,160 --> 00:20:50,360
I think he was a typical professor
type

312
00:20:50,360 --> 00:20:52,240
in that he wasn't at all worldly.

313
00:20:52,240 --> 00:20:54,840
He didn't live in the world
that we live in,

314
00:20:54,840 --> 00:20:57,840
he lived in the world of ideas
and in his own mind, didn't he?

315
00:20:57,840 --> 00:21:00,680
Yes. Arthur would come in with
the odd patent and say,

316
00:21:00,680 --> 00:21:06,840
"This one should make us all
famous," and tell us that
he was being serious.

317
00:21:06,840 --> 00:21:11,320
ASHLEY: Not all of Pedrick's ideas
were accidents waiting to happen.

318
00:21:11,320 --> 00:21:14,720
He patented schemes
for irrigating areas of desert,

319
00:21:14,720 --> 00:21:19,360
building wind turbines
and generating energy from waste -

320
00:21:19,360 --> 00:21:22,640
ideas that might have seemed
outlandish 40 years ago.

321
00:21:22,640 --> 00:21:24,840
but are now commonplace.

322
00:21:24,840 --> 00:21:29,120
So if Pedrick was sensible enough to
patent such clever and far-sighted
ideas,

323
00:21:29,120 --> 00:21:33,080
why did he bother
with the ridiculous ones?

324
00:21:33,080 --> 00:21:37,240
I think he thought some funny
patents would attract attention

325
00:21:37,240 --> 00:21:42,720
and publicity, perhaps, and draw
people in to the more serious ones.

326
00:21:44,480 --> 00:21:47,360
ASHLEY: So, lots of wacky ideas
published

327
00:21:47,360 --> 00:21:51,000
in the hope that they'd attract
attention to the sensible ones.

328
00:21:51,000 --> 00:21:54,360
Sounds like another off-beat
Pedrick idea to me!

329
00:21:54,360 --> 00:21:55,840
What do you think, Wallace?

330
00:21:56,240 --> 00:21:58,840
Mad as a bag of cats, eh, Gromit? 

331
00:21:58,840 --> 00:22:04,640
Yes, everywhere you look there
are accidents waiting to happen.

332
00:22:04,640 --> 00:22:06,640
Ooh! Watch out, Gromit!

333
00:22:06,640 --> 00:22:10,560
Sorry, chuck,
I meant to tell you about that.

334
00:22:10,560 --> 00:22:12,920
You should pay attention to this,
lad.

335
00:22:12,920 --> 00:22:17,320
It's all about the importance
of suitable protection.

336
00:22:17,320 --> 00:22:20,360
ASHLEY: And protection
doesn't get any more important

337
00:22:20,360 --> 00:22:24,120
than when you're here, Wallace -
space.

338
00:22:26,440 --> 00:22:30,040
Although radical new suit designs
are in the pipeline,

339
00:22:30,040 --> 00:22:34,440
the modern Extravehicular Mobility
Unit, or EMU suit,

340
00:22:34,440 --> 00:22:37,920
is currently all that protects
a space-walking astronaut

341
00:22:37,920 --> 00:22:40,560
from the extremes of temperature,

342
00:22:40,560 --> 00:22:44,960
the bursts of cosmic radiation
and the vacuum of space.

343
00:22:44,960 --> 00:22:47,680
RADIO CHATTER

344
00:22:48,760 --> 00:22:50,560
This is one of the spacesuits
you'd wear

345
00:22:50,560 --> 00:22:52,840
if you went outside of the space
station or the space shuttle.

346
00:22:52,840 --> 00:22:54,880
It's like
a little miniature spaceship.

347
00:22:54,880 --> 00:22:57,280
This gives you your environment,
this protects you

348
00:22:57,280 --> 00:23:00,680
and gives you that environment
that you would have on Earth.

349
00:23:00,680 --> 00:23:06,640
ASHLEY: All the spacesuits used
by NASA come from here -
ILC Dover in Delaware.

350
00:23:06,640 --> 00:23:09,360
But these ladies
didn't always make spacesuits.

351
00:23:09,360 --> 00:23:13,400
Before life support,
it was bosom support.

352
00:23:13,400 --> 00:23:16,080
Wait till you see this!

353
00:23:16,080 --> 00:23:19,840
The first cross-your-heart bra
with soft tricot sides.

354
00:23:19,840 --> 00:23:23,760
Perforated latex, or Playtex,

355
00:23:23,760 --> 00:23:27,040
was developed by the same company
back in the 1930s.

356
00:23:27,040 --> 00:23:32,040
Latex's elasticity wasn't just good
for holding in waistlines,

357
00:23:32,040 --> 00:23:34,800
it was good for holding in pressure.

358
00:23:34,800 --> 00:23:39,520
Here on Earth we're surrounded by
air, pressing in on our bodies.

359
00:23:39,520 --> 00:23:43,800
But out in space there's
no atmosphere, so no pressure.

360
00:23:43,800 --> 00:23:45,440
What does that mean?

361
00:23:45,440 --> 00:23:46,920
Well, check this out.

362
00:23:48,480 --> 00:23:52,040
Imagine the liquid in that beaker
is your blood.

363
00:23:52,040 --> 00:23:53,880
When the air is sucked out of

364
00:23:53,880 --> 00:23:56,240
the surrounding bell jar,
the reduction in pressure

365
00:23:56,240 --> 00:23:58,120
causes the liquid to boil.

366
00:23:58,120 --> 00:24:00,080
That's what would happen
to your blood

367
00:24:00,080 --> 00:24:02,880
if you were out in space
without a spacesuit.

368
00:24:02,880 --> 00:24:07,800
But a latex suit can be filled
like a balloon, with enough air

369
00:24:07,800 --> 00:24:12,080
to exert sufficient pressure
to prevent that happening.

370
00:24:12,080 --> 00:24:17,960
And latex is just one of the layers
woven into the modern spacesuit.

371
00:24:17,960 --> 00:24:22,040
It's got this outer layer right
here, which can absorb the impacts

372
00:24:22,040 --> 00:24:24,840
of little micrometeorite particles
at very high speeds

373
00:24:24,840 --> 00:24:27,520
and break them up and not allow it
to penetrate the surface.

374
00:24:27,520 --> 00:24:30,160
It's also white in colour because
it has to reflect that sunlight.

375
00:24:30,160 --> 00:24:33,680
But it takes more than just a bit
of whiter-than-white fabric

376
00:24:33,680 --> 00:24:36,600
to deflect the full power
of solar radiation.

377
00:24:38,880 --> 00:24:42,480
We have five layers of aluminised
mylar and I think of those as...

378
00:24:42,480 --> 00:24:46,000
like mirrors, if you will. When that
sunlight penetrates through,

379
00:24:46,000 --> 00:24:48,400
the radiation from the sun,
it actually reflects it away.

380
00:24:48,400 --> 00:24:52,400
There's five layers because four
isn't enough and six is too much,

381
00:24:52,400 --> 00:24:53,800
that's the easy way to explain it.

382
00:24:55,760 --> 00:24:59,000
With all these layers
and associated life-support systems,

383
00:24:59,000 --> 00:25:04,480
the suit weighs in at
a whopping 127 kgs.

384
00:25:04,480 --> 00:25:06,360
That's probably
more than the astronaut does!

385
00:25:06,360 --> 00:25:09,160
Fortunately, floating around
in zero gravity

386
00:25:09,160 --> 00:25:12,160
does make it a little easier to put
on.

387
00:25:12,160 --> 00:25:17,080
Here on Earth, it's not an easy suit
to get into, but I'd be glad to
demonstrate that here in this room.

388
00:25:24,480 --> 00:25:26,920
Despite its bulk,
the suit is so well-designed

389
00:25:26,920 --> 00:25:31,480
the astronaut can carry out
virtually any kind of movement,

390
00:25:31,480 --> 00:25:33,000
short of the tango.

391
00:25:34,560 --> 00:25:37,240
Some of the gauges
might be difficult to see,

392
00:25:37,240 --> 00:25:40,760
but a handy mirror and some
back-to-front letters solve that.

393
00:25:43,160 --> 00:25:46,640
There is, however, one thing the
designers do seem to have forgotten.

394
00:25:46,640 --> 00:25:51,240
If you have an itchy nose, you
have a lot of problems scratching it

395
00:25:51,240 --> 00:25:54,080
so you have to hope you can
get over to the edge somewhere

396
00:25:54,080 --> 00:25:56,040
and find a little spot to scratch
it.

397
00:25:56,040 --> 00:25:59,480
So if you have itchy noses,
you might not want to be an
astronaut.

398
00:25:59,480 --> 00:26:01,480
And don't even think of sneezing!

399
00:26:01,480 --> 00:26:05,280
But if that's the worst of your
problems,
those suits must be pretty good.

400
00:26:06,360 --> 00:26:09,000
Very impressive, but not a patch on

401
00:26:09,000 --> 00:26:12,720
my Total-Protection
Hazard-Free Safety Suit.

402
00:26:13,840 --> 00:26:15,040
Hee-hee!

403
00:26:15,040 --> 00:26:19,080
It renders me instantly
impervious to harm.

404
00:26:19,080 --> 00:26:21,960
Come on, pooch, do your worst!

405
00:26:25,720 --> 00:26:28,480
See? Not a scratch!

406
00:26:28,480 --> 00:26:30,560
Now, finally,

407
00:26:30,560 --> 00:26:34,880
let's take a look at my top six
health-and-safety nightmares.

408
00:26:34,880 --> 00:26:39,440
It's over to Goronwy,
our archive librarian.

409
00:26:39,440 --> 00:26:41,000
Right-oh, Mr Wallace.

410
00:26:41,000 --> 00:26:44,440
Yes, in this week's countdown
we've got six inventions

411
00:26:44,440 --> 00:26:47,360
that are seriously bad
for your health and safety.

412
00:26:47,360 --> 00:26:50,880
At number six,
let's think this invention through.

413
00:26:50,880 --> 00:26:52,800
You're at a cocktail party
and somebody says,

414
00:26:52,800 --> 00:26:55,760
"Ooh, look up there at that
chandelier,"

415
00:26:55,760 --> 00:26:57,560
and before you can say Bryn Terfel,

416
00:26:57,560 --> 00:26:59,120
you've got an eyeful
of creme de menthe.

417
00:26:59,120 --> 00:27:01,400
Where's the health and safety in
that?

418
00:27:01,400 --> 00:27:03,800
And he's smoking! Daft!

419
00:27:03,800 --> 00:27:06,680
At number five,
the zeppelin is a great invention,

420
00:27:06,680 --> 00:27:08,160
but here's a health-and-safety tip -

421
00:27:08,160 --> 00:27:12,120
never under any circumstances
stand under a zeppelin

422
00:27:12,120 --> 00:27:14,080
when somebody is flushing the
lavatory.

423
00:27:14,080 --> 00:27:15,240
CROWD SCREAMS

424
00:27:15,240 --> 00:27:17,880
It's quite important to remember
that.

425
00:27:17,880 --> 00:27:21,800
In fourth place, quite apart from
that fact that this device is a gun,

426
00:27:21,800 --> 00:27:24,120
so there's a health-and-safety issue
straightaway,

427
00:27:24,120 --> 00:27:27,560
he's going to put his back out
bending over like that!

428
00:27:27,560 --> 00:27:30,600
And bad backs don't win wars.

429
00:27:30,600 --> 00:27:32,800
And talking of bad backs,
number three

430
00:27:32,800 --> 00:27:36,520
of our rundown of health-and-safety
nightmares is the hover stretcher,

431
00:27:36,520 --> 00:27:40,880
designed so the stretcher-bearers
don't have to bear the stretcher.

432
00:27:40,880 --> 00:27:43,840
Mind you, it is a pity that
protecting their health and safety

433
00:27:43,840 --> 00:27:46,920
will leave the patients
suffocated by fumes and dust.

434
00:27:50,520 --> 00:27:54,040
At number two, what do you
do with your old razor blades?

435
00:27:54,040 --> 00:27:57,480
Why not put them in a garden rake
to mow down all those weeds?

436
00:27:57,480 --> 00:28:00,160
I'll tell you why not -
because, like me,

437
00:28:00,160 --> 00:28:02,480
you don't want to cut your foot off.

438
00:28:04,040 --> 00:28:06,360
And our number one
health-and-safety nightmare

439
00:28:06,360 --> 00:28:10,840
is this invention, which is totally
against building regulations.

440
00:28:10,840 --> 00:28:14,520
Whoever plumbed that in
is just giving the trade a bad name.

441
00:28:16,240 --> 00:28:20,800
Well, viewers, I hope that
I've succeeded in driving home

442
00:28:20,800 --> 00:28:22,920
some very useful safety points.

443
00:28:22,920 --> 00:28:24,200
SUIT POPS

444
00:28:24,200 --> 00:28:26,280
CRASHING
Whoooaaaahhh!

445
00:28:26,280 --> 00:28:28,720
Gromit!
CRASH!

446
00:28:30,200 --> 00:28:31,960
Run the credits, lad.

447
00:28:31,960 --> 00:28:34,520
I'm feeling a bit deflated.

448
00:28:38,760 --> 00:28:41,000
If you've enjoyed our show,
grab your mouse

449
00:28:41,000 --> 00:28:44,720
and log on to our
World Of Invention website -

450
00:28:44,720 --> 00:28:49,600
bbc.co.uk/wallaceandgromit.

451
00:28:49,600 --> 00:28:52,040
You'll find a fantastic competition,

452
00:28:52,040 --> 00:28:54,240
details of our road show,

453
00:28:54,240 --> 00:28:57,120
as well as lots of ways
to get you inventing.

454
00:28:57,120 --> 00:28:59,800
Pull your finger out and get
clicking!