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00:00Warning, what you're about to see could be disturbing to some viewers.
00:05Viewer discretion is advised.
00:14Imagine a device so powerful it could shake buildings and your insides.
00:20He's feeling better than he has in years.
00:23Suddenly he hops off the platform and makes a mad dash for the bathroom.
00:27But unfortunately, nature is a bit faster than he is.
00:32How about a breakthrough appliance that runs on pure dog determination?
00:37Someone figures, why not train a dog to run a spit?
00:41It becomes an indispensable kitchen device, but it is a terrible job.
00:48Kerning for hours and hours.
00:50Or a mousetrap so deadly, you need a permit to own it.
00:54When the rodent eats the cheese, it trips the spring and then the gun shoots the mouse.
01:02But the inventor is thinking a little bit further.
01:07These are the machines.
01:09So strange, they are truly unbelievable.
01:24The light bulb, the phonograph, the film camera, just a few iconic inventions attributed to Thomas Edison.
01:32But his most unbelievable creation is a strange machine you've probably never heard of.
01:39It's 1920, it's a cold winter's night, and a group of men are in a darkened lab testing a machine.
01:46When Edison calls out, somebody in the room flips a switch.
01:49On the other side of the room, we have this photoelectric cell, which is going to generate a little bit
01:54of electricity as soon as it's hit by this beam of light.
01:57Now, if this electricity ever stops, they would know that something had broken that beam of light.
02:05The men in the room start calling out people's names, asking them to walk through the light.
02:11And the people that they're calling, they're all dead.
02:15And this machine is meant to detect ghosts.
02:20Speaking to the dead might seem strange today, but in the early 1900s, it was all the rage among society's
02:27elite.
02:28Towards the late 19th century, early 20th century, spiritualism really rises with popularity, and it becomes very accepted, especially in
02:36well-to-do society.
02:37It almost becomes like a symbol of your status if you're having seance parties, if you're inviting people over to
02:42commune with the dead.
02:43Especially after World War I, when over 16 million people perished, people really turned to spirituality in the hopes of
02:52reconnecting with departed loved ones.
02:55While others reach for crystal balls, Edison grabs his toolkit.
02:59Thomas Edison believes things like our personality are left behind when we die.
03:04And he believes that these bits of energy of us are almost like a physical thing that he calls entities.
03:09The thing is, Edison doesn't believe that some medium or some really dramatic psychic who claims to be able to
03:16write what's being said on the other side or Ouija boards, he doesn't believe in any of that theatricality.
03:22He wants to find scientific proof of the afterlife.
03:27So he designs a machine that can detect the presence of these entities using a beam of light.
03:34Detection is only the beginning.
03:36Edison believes his unusual invention can do more.
03:39The machine might even be able to amplify these personalities the same way that a phonograph can amplify a person's
03:48voice.
03:48We might even be able to use this to communicate with the deceased.
03:53It kind of makes sense that he would go down this path because his whole life and what he's invented
03:58has been built around the idea of communication.
04:01And true to form, Edison doesn't keep quiet about it for long.
04:06By 1920, he's ready to pull back the curtain.
04:09In an interview with American Magazine, Edison reveals that he's been working on this device for some time and that
04:17it's almost ready.
04:18This causes an enormous firestorm in the press.
04:22People are eager to see and to see the results of what they are dubbing Edison's spirit phone.
04:31So what exactly becomes of the spirit phone?
04:34Edison's tests ultimately never reveal any true scientific proof of any spirit entities.
04:42With no evidence, no empirical data to back it up, Edison stops sinking money into it.
04:47He tries to bury the fact that he built this machine, but it is mentioned in his diaries.
04:52Unfortunately, nobody can ever find the plans or schematics.
04:55Edison dies in 1931, and with him dies the spirit phone.
05:01It maybe lights out for the ghost phone, but not the idea behind it.
05:07These days, there are machines that measure electromagnetic frequencies, which are used to detect spirits and whether or not they
05:16exist.
05:16This modern technology is really another iteration of the same thing that Edison was trying to do.
05:23As someone familiar with ghost detecting devices, I will attest those things can be pretty glitchy.
05:29You could say the same about an unusual machine invented by Edison's legendary rival, Nikola Tesla.
05:35A volatile gadget that has an unexpected function.
05:40In the 1890s, genius inventor, Nikola Tesla, he is working on new, more efficient ways of generating electricity.
05:52The rotating electrical generator, he finds, is not very efficient.
05:57So, he decides to invent a new version.
06:01Something oscillating goes up and down.
06:04So, basically, it works with an air or steam-powered piston driving a coil back and forth through a magnetic
06:09field.
06:10This happens at an incredible frequency.
06:13This device does create a lot of electricity very efficiently.
06:18But it also produces an enormous amount of vibration.
06:27The amount of vibration is so immense.
06:29Not only does it shake his building, it shakes the neighboring buildings.
06:33So much so, they think they're experiencing an earthquake.
06:36It soon gets the nickname Tesla's earthquake machine.
06:40As scary as this is at first, there seems to be at least one upside.
06:46Tesla's team realizes that if they stand on a platform above the machine, the vibrations get sent throughout your whole
06:54body.
06:55These vibrations feel really good.
06:58Like, they feel extra good.
07:00People who experience this or have, like, laughing fits, their mood changes.
07:05And some people say it actually improved their health.
07:09Tesla, ever the inventor, thinks, hey, maybe this machine might have applications in medicine.
07:15Maybe it could destroy cancer cells or eliminate tuberculosis.
07:21It may even be able to help one of Tesla's famous friends, who's suffering from something much different.
07:28In the 1890s, Tesla becomes a good friend with no other than Mark Twain.
07:34When Tesla and Twain meet at a dinner party, a bromance quickly ensues.
07:41As they get closer, Twain reveals the fact that he's suffering from a really embarrassing problem.
07:47He has insufferable constipation.
07:52Tesla tells Mark, I think I might have something for you.
07:55Go stand on that platform.
07:57We're going to let those vibrations course through your body, and we're going to see if we can shake something
08:02loose.
08:06But Tesla gives Twain a very frank warning.
08:09When I say get off the machine, you get off the machine.
08:13So Twain agrees to all this.
08:15He's like, yeah, no problem.
08:16I got you.
08:17Tesla fires up the vibrations.
08:20And it gets to going.
08:24Twain loves it.
08:25He's eating it up.
08:26He's euphoric.
08:27He's feeling better than he has in years.
08:31But sure enough, eventually Tesla's like, yo, time.
08:35You got to get off now.
08:36And Twain is like, you're tripping, dude.
08:38Tesla starts getting stern.
08:40He's like, hey, come on.
08:41I said it's time to get off.
08:43You need to get off of this thing.
08:44Twain says, no way.
08:46I'm not stopping this.
08:47Suddenly Twain feels a gurgling in his intestines, and he hops off the platform and makes a mad dash for
08:55the bathroom.
08:55But unfortunately, nature is a bit faster than he is.
09:02On the upside, Tesla did prove his theory.
09:07Today, vibration therapy is proven in alleviating constipation.
09:12So much so that in 2023, University of Georgia invented a vibrating pill to help disrupt constipation.
09:22The incident may have ruined Twain's famous white suit, but not his legendary friendship with Tesla.
09:3015 years before the Imperial Walkers of Star Wars graced movie screens, their strange real-life inspiration gets its start
09:39in a government lab.
09:42In the mid-1960s, the U.S. military is looking at tons of potential conflicts.
09:48The jungles of Vietnam, deserts in the Middle East, maybe even the moon.
09:54And they need vehicles that can really work in any type of terrain.
09:59For an outside-the-box idea, the military turns to a mechanical engineer from GE named Ralph Mosher.
10:06Mosher's work centered on building robots that humans could operate from the inside.
10:12So they amplified the human strength while still being able to perform fine motor movements.
10:19Mosher is a pioneer in hydraulic technology.
10:22He develops these things that give the human operator an extension of their own body.
10:28Since the late 1950s, Mosher has built a number of robotic arms.
10:32Like, there's one that can help a woman put her coat on, which you can see in this unsettling photo.
10:39Working with the Department of Defense, Mosher begins applying his concepts to create his most ambitious project yet.
10:47So he builds something called the CAM, the Cybernetic Anthropomorphous Machine.
10:54And everybody else calls this 11-foot behemoth the walking truck.
10:59In the field of robotics, this is one of the earliest legitimate attempts to mimic the walking motions of a
11:07four-legged animal.
11:09Mosher's idea was to more seamlessly connect the operator with the machines they were driving.
11:14So the robot and the driver were really linked together physically in the cockpit.
11:20So not only does it have the ability to carry a ton of cargo or troops, it also has this
11:27sort of feeling of like a super soldier.
11:30It can deadlift 500 pounds.
11:32It can flip a car over.
11:34It can carry around, knock down tree trunks like they're matchsticks.
11:38So it's capable of lifting and moving in ways that the human body just is not.
11:44Unfortunately, the walking truck can't seem to walk out of the lab.
11:49It's designed to go as fast as 35 miles an hour, but it can only get up to about 5.
11:54And it is a resource hog.
11:57It guzzles 50 gallons of hydraulic fluid every minute.
12:01You would almost have to design a whole other vehicle that just carries its needs alongside it.
12:07While the walking truck is officially shelved, its menacing spirit lives on in a galaxy far, far away.
12:16In the late 1970s, the production team working on the Star Wars sequel Empire Strikes Back
12:22want some sort of imperial super vehicle that can attack the rebel stronghold on the ice planet Hoth.
12:30They turn to conventional tanks that are being used at the time, but they just don't seem right.
12:35They're a little bit dull, drab, and mundane.
12:38And then they come across an artist's rendering of this four-legged walking truck.
12:43And they decide that a similar robot monster would be a lot cooler.
12:47It's arguably the coolest scene in Star Wars history.
12:51And really, that imperial walker is essentially what the walking truck started out as.
12:59A giant walking truck that stomps over anything in its way?
13:04Impressive.
13:05But what if you need to cross rugged terrain without leaving destruction in your wake?
13:10Well, engineers have that covered, too.
13:15This engineer named William Albee is lying face down on the ground in the sand.
13:20And here comes this 10,000-pound truck headed right for him.
13:25William Albee doesn't move.
13:27And before you know it,
13:30it drives right over him.
13:35After he's had five tons on his back, he just gets up smiling.
13:40It may look like some kind of crazy carnival trick,
13:43but Albee is actually demonstrating his strange new machine, the Roligon.
13:48He has outfitted this truck with these massive low-pressure tires that he has invented himself.
13:54And they make it possible for the vehicle to roll over almost anything without hurting it.
14:00Surprisingly, the idea for these innovative tires takes shape during Albee's honeymoon,
14:0523 years earlier.
14:09It's 1930, and he has just married his wife, Ruth.
14:13And he decides that what they're going to do is take this 2,200-mile hike
14:18across the very harsh Alaskan tundra.
14:21As Albee and Ruth make their way across the rugged landscape,
14:24they spot something that catches their attention.
14:27William actually sees a group of Inuit fishermen
14:30in a boat that is packed with tons of fish.
14:34And instead of stopping at the shore and unloading the boat,
14:37they do something he doesn't expect.
14:39They actually take out these bladders, sort of balloons made of seal hide,
14:45and they start attaching them to the underside of the boat.
14:48And once they have them all attached,
14:50they just pull the boat, and it kind of glides across the snow.
14:54He's watching them move with no machinery,
14:58what weighs over a ton, over rough terrain, using these bladders.
15:03And he is hit with inspiration.
15:06The Albee's eventually return to California,
15:09and it takes William another two decades to perfect his radical concept
15:13and build a prototype.
15:16Finally, he comes up with the design.
15:18It's a low-pressure bladder, similar to what the Inuit were using,
15:23but instead of making it out of seal skin,
15:25it's made out of rubber and fabric.
15:28He decides that the move is going to be to create one huge tire
15:33that actually would span the whole width of the vehicle
15:36rather than one at each corner.
15:38You can almost think of it like a big, soft steamroller.
15:42So he finds a fabricator to help him create this gigantic tire,
15:46and he mounts all of these to a Dodge Power Wagon,
15:49and thus the Roll-A-Gon is born.
15:53The Roll-A-Gon turns heads everywhere it goes,
15:56even catching the eye of the U.S. Army.
16:00William demos this thing for the Army,
16:02and they pretty quickly realize that it can go on any type of terrain.
16:06This thing can even climb walls.
16:09The key to the technology is these large, low-pressure wheels.
16:13They're filled to only about 5 pounds per square inch.
16:17Compare that to the tires on your car.
16:19They're typically 30 to 40 pounds per square inch.
16:22Because the tires are so big and so low pressure,
16:25they really just adjust to the contour of whatever the surface is
16:29that it's driving on,
16:30which also means it's less likely to be punctured
16:33because the air pressure is so low.
16:36It looks like the Roll-A-Gon could be a game-changer
16:38until a few major flaws bring it to a screeching halt.
16:43The tires are very expensive to produce.
16:46In addition to that, because of the size of those tires,
16:49the vehicle moves slowly.
16:51It can achieve a maximum speed of only 10 miles per hour,
16:54and that's what kills it as a military vehicle.
16:58While the Roll-A-Gon didn't revolutionize military vehicles,
17:01it did find a second life.
17:03Today, it's still used in oil and gas exploration,
17:06able to roll over fragile tundra terrain
17:09and the occasional crew member on a dare.
17:14Ralph Waldo Emerson famously wrote,
17:16Build a better mousetrap
17:18and the world will beat a path to your door.
17:20One man creates a version
17:22that instead has everyone running for cover.
17:26It's August 1882,
17:28and a very interesting patent
17:31hits the desk of a Washington, D.C. patent clerk.
17:34It's from a James A. Williams of Fredonia, Texas.
17:38It's billed as certain new and useful improvements
17:42in pest control.
17:44The new and unusual improvements?
17:46A powerful Smith & Wesson pistol,
17:48cocked and ready to blast its unsuspecting victim.
17:53There's an elaborate explanation
17:56of this trap in the patent application,
17:58which has a spring that's baited
18:02set against a gun's trigger.
18:06So when the rodent eats the cheese,
18:09it trips the spring,
18:11which triggers the gun,
18:13and then the gun shoots the mouse.
18:18You might think it's overkill,
18:21but the inventor is thinking a little bit further.
18:24He also notes that you can apply it to a door
18:28or a window.
18:29So this could trigger an automatic firing device
18:32that might get a raccoon,
18:35a bear,
18:35or perhaps a nosy person.
18:38Burglar alarms at the time
18:40are just designed to trigger a noise
18:42whenever somebody trips it.
18:44Williams points out that he's the only inventor
18:46that has invented both a mousetrap
18:49and a security system
18:50that involves a gun.
18:54The U.S. Patent Office agrees
18:55that Williams' design is in fact unique.
18:58And approves his strange mousetrap later that year,
19:01just one day after Christmas.
19:05There's no record of this device
19:07actually being produced or marketed.
19:09However, this does actually beg the question,
19:12does his design actually work?
19:16Flash forward 140 years
19:18and YouTuber Sean Woods
19:20decides to remake Williams' 1882 mousetrap.
19:25Here I have my Smith & Wesson 22,
19:28six-shooter,
19:28so I'm going to use a blank cartridge.
19:30They're designed for driving nails into concrete,
19:32so they provide quite a shock blast.
19:34To avoid a gruesome demonstration,
19:37Williams sets his sights on an orange,
19:40not a rodent,
19:41and the results are impressive.
19:44And look at right there.
19:45That's going to do more than enough damage
19:47to kill a rodent.
19:48I'm sure there's some landlords in New York City
19:51that want to give this method a try.
19:53But for now, I think just stick with the bodega cats.
20:00Clearly, defending one's home against pests
20:02can drive us to extreme measures.
20:04But defending one's homeland against an invading force
20:07can inspire even more unbelievable creations.
20:14It's the fall of 1916.
20:17World War I has been raging for two years.
20:19But now, they are dealing with a new type of warfare,
20:22where bombs are dropped on you from above.
20:26Not just by airplanes,
20:28but by another terrifying new aircraft,
20:31zeppelins.
20:31And they're a big problem
20:33for British Colonel Alfred Rawlinson.
20:36Rawlinson commands an anti-aircraft unit
20:38that's based on the coast.
20:40And the men under his command,
20:41they live under constant fear
20:44that German Zeppelin bombers
20:46can appear at any time.
20:49Keep in mind that this is long before radar was invented.
20:52You can be surprised by anything
20:54that you can't pick up with your eyes or your ears.
20:58The problem with the Zeppelin bombers
21:00is that they are stealthy.
21:01The small motors that propel them
21:04don't create a lot of noise.
21:05They also blend into the natural environment.
21:08They can disappear into the haze.
21:09And then if they pass over your position at night,
21:12by the time you hear them,
21:13it's too late to fire on them.
21:18To combat this terrifying new threat,
21:23Rawlinson draws inspiration
21:24from another relatively new invention.
21:28The phonographer record player
21:30or the gramophone at the time
21:32was really starting to take off.
21:34And sound is projected through the old phonograph
21:38with physical amplification using a flared horn.
21:41The form of that horn
21:43does indeed have the effect of amplifying sound.
21:46Not only does it amplify sound coming out,
21:49it can also amplify sound going in.
21:52He comes up with the idea
21:54of taking two gramophone horns
21:56and mounting those to poles.
21:58It kind of makes them look
21:59like a really bizarre Mickey Mouse.
22:02But the hope is
22:03you're going to amplify the sound
22:05so you could pick up the approach
22:07of these Zeppelins miles further
22:09than you normally could.
22:11The system looks absolutely ridiculous.
22:14But guess what?
22:15It works.
22:17Soon, the idea catches on around the globe
22:20as each nation creates its own version.
22:23The Czechs develop a semi-mobile,
22:25a one-man unit
22:26that uses two large bowls
22:28attached to two tubes for sound.
22:31But it's still not agile or practical.
22:34Japanese and German soldiers
22:36add a handy twist to their bionic ears.
22:39They're these giant ear tubas
22:41and they're connected to a set of goggles.
22:43The idea is that you'll turn your head
22:45toward the sound
22:47and you'll not only be able to hear
22:48but see the oncoming threat.
22:51The prize for the largest portable system
22:53goes to the Dutch
22:54who developed these massive earphones
22:57that attach to the head of the operator.
22:59To us today,
23:00it looks completely absurd and ridiculous.
23:03But to people at the time,
23:05it's the cutting edge of technology.
23:08No matter how big the ear tubas are,
23:10there's still one key issue in all of them.
23:12They depend on the soldiers' hearing.
23:15That's when Rawlinson has an unexpected idea.
23:18Rawlinson puts in
23:20a rather unusual request in the military.
23:23He says,
23:23can you find me some blind men?
23:26Rawlinson explains
23:27that he wants to put them on listening stations
23:30and he wants to cash in
23:32on the keen sense of hearing
23:35that most blind people will eventually develop.
23:38But Rawlinson's request is even more specific.
23:40He wants men that have been blind since birth
23:44because he believes that this will have
23:45heightened their listening abilities even further.
23:49Rawlinson's request is approved by his superiors.
23:52And it's kind of ironic
23:54that they're utilizing blind people
23:56to spot the enemy.
24:00The results are mediocre at best,
24:02but nevertheless,
24:03blind people became an important military asset
24:06toward the end of the First World War.
24:08All this is essentially put aside
24:10in the late 1930s
24:11with the invention of radar,
24:13which makes this whole operation moot.
24:15But of course,
24:16it does leave us
24:17with some fantastic photographs.
24:21The war tuba may hold the record
24:23for the largest hearing aid ever made,
24:25but it's still not the strangest machine out there.
24:31These days,
24:32the strength of our machines
24:33is often measured in horsepower.
24:35Back in 16th century England,
24:37it was all about pup power.
24:42England during the 1500s,
24:44people really loved their roasts.
24:47And of course,
24:48true Brits want their meat
24:49cooked on an open flame on a spit,
24:51which rotates the meat
24:53so that it's cooked evenly.
24:54But someone
24:55has to do the turning.
24:58It's mostly been young boys
25:00assigned to the task
25:01as they sweat profusely
25:03and try not to overheat,
25:05turning for hours and hours.
25:07It sounds like a terrible job.
25:10It is a terrible job.
25:12So they search for a new solution.
25:15While the job proves
25:16to be too grueling for people,
25:18kitchen workers think it may not be
25:20for a certain four-legged companion.
25:24There are dogs who are bred
25:25to do a ton of different tasks,
25:28whether it's herding sheep
25:29or tracking game
25:30or warming up your lap.
25:32So someone figures,
25:33why not train a dog to run a spit?
25:36They develop an apparatus.
25:38It's a wheel next to the spit
25:41that turns it via a chain pulley
25:44and the dog runs or walks in the wheel.
25:47It's a hamster wheel for a dog
25:49to make sure that your meat is cooked.
25:53Eventually, a special type of canine
25:55is bred specifically for the job.
25:56It's called the turn spit dog.
25:59It's a long dog with short, stubby legs
26:02and a cropped tail
26:03so the tail won't get stuck in the wheel.
26:06But the breed's most important traits
26:08are great endurance and extreme obedience.
26:11As the turn spit dog tradition develops
26:14throughout the 1500s,
26:16it becomes an indispensable kitchen device.
26:19They're called the kitchen dog,
26:21the cooking dog,
26:22or the verna peter cur,
26:24Latin for the dog that turns the wheel.
26:26For centuries, turn spit dogs
26:28are a fixture in kitchens across Britain
26:32until a new technology
26:33puts these pups out of work.
26:35By the 1850s,
26:37fancy automatic spit crankers
26:39become a new status symbol
26:42for those who can afford it.
26:44Soon having a turn spit dog
26:45is seen as a sign of being lower class.
26:49Eventually, the turn spit dog breed
26:51becomes extinct
26:51and the last turn spit dog
26:53named Whiskey
26:54was stuffed and put on display
26:56in a museum in Wales.
26:58It's not just dogs
27:00that should watch their backs.
27:02Law enforcement should also take note.
27:04Strange machines
27:06may be coming for their jobs.
27:11It's 2024,
27:13and the police in Lubbock
27:14are looking for a man
27:15that's out on parole.
27:17They find out he's staying at a motel,
27:19so they send officers there,
27:21but upon arrival to the door,
27:23a gunshot rings out.
27:26They decide to retreat,
27:27call in a SWAT team,
27:28SWAT team arrives,
27:29more shots break out.
27:32They don't want to just go through
27:33the door of the hotel room
27:35because of the high likelihood
27:36of drawing fire
27:38from the fugitive that's inside.
27:40So they deploy a different kind of cop,
27:43the Lubbock Regional Bomb Squad Robot.
27:47Now, most people are used to seeing
27:49a bomb disarming machine,
27:51but the Lubbock Robot can do
27:54a lot more than that.
27:55The robot confronts the suspect
27:58who immediately decides to throw a sheet
28:00from the motel over the robot,
28:02and then he takes a shot at it.
28:05But the robot is undeterred.
28:07It just removes the sheet
28:09and then deploys tear gas.
28:11When the victim comes out coughing
28:13and hacking up his lungs,
28:14the robot pins the suspect down
28:16until he can be subdued
28:17by the robot's human partners.
28:19This type of encounter
28:21is just the beginning.
28:22While it may seem like something
28:24out of a dystopian sci-fi movie,
28:27real-life Robocops
28:28are starting to take the streets
28:29all over the world.
28:32So in Dubai,
28:33they actually have
28:34a five-foot-tall humanoid Robocop
28:37that can actually, like,
28:38look for suspects
28:39using facial recognition.
28:41It can observe a crime taking place,
28:45and then it can actually
28:45call in for backup.
28:47The robot's also capable
28:48of assessing an individual's
28:50emotional state
28:51based on facial expressions.
28:53So the robot can look at you
28:55and see your angry,
28:56confused, or frantic face
28:58and respond accordingly.
28:59Ideally, these robots
29:01would be able to respond
29:03to situations
29:04without the emotional impact
29:07that police officers may have.
29:09They're not fearing for their lives.
29:10So this is a safer way of policing.
29:14Now, Dubai actually wants
29:16to roll out a lot more of these.
29:18They're hoping that by 2030,
29:2125% of their police force
29:23would be Robocops.
29:25Dubai authorities are quick
29:27to point out that
29:27their future Robocops
29:29will be friendly
29:31and will patrol unarmed,
29:33which takes away
29:34the whole glamour
29:35and grittiness
29:36of the actual Robocop movies.
29:40They might be unarmed,
29:41polite, even helpful,
29:42but good luck,
29:44sweet-talking a robot cop
29:45out of a speeding ticket.
29:49James Bond's cars are legendary,
29:52from deflecting bullets
29:53to firing cannons
29:54and even driving underwater.
29:57But could any of these
29:58movie-worthy machines
29:59ever hit the road for real?
30:03In 1977, the James Bond film
30:06The Spy Who Loved Me
30:07is a huge hit.
30:08And one of the reasons is
30:09because of the submarine car
30:11in the movie,
30:12the Lotus Esprit S1.
30:15But that's all movie magic
30:16because no one actually
30:17had a car
30:18that could drive on land
30:19and then become a submarine.
30:21That unforgettable car
30:22may have been a special effect,
30:24but for Swiss engineer
30:25Frank Rindernecht,
30:26it was something more.
30:28Frank starts his company,
30:30Rinspeed,
30:30two years after the movie
30:31in 1979.
30:33He spends the next few decades
30:35building concept cars,
30:37but he just can't get his mind
30:39off of this submarine car
30:40that he saw in the Bond movie.
30:42By the 2000s,
30:43Frank's company
30:44is quite successful,
30:45and he feels he has
30:47both the money
30:47and the proper expertise
30:49to finally tackle
30:51and build the submarine car.
30:54If you think about
30:55how a car operates
30:56on the road,
30:57it would be totally opposite
30:58of that in the water.
31:00You can't have a normal engine
31:01that has an air intake
31:03because then you'd get
31:03water in the engine
31:04and the engine
31:05would stop working.
31:06So he switches
31:07to an electric motor.
31:09Therefore,
31:10he can encase it
31:11in a waterproof housing,
31:12and the electric motor
31:14can power the two propellers
31:16and the jets needed
31:17to maneuver the car underwater.
31:19But generating power
31:20underwater
31:21isn't Frank's only challenge.
31:23The Bond car
31:24is portrayed
31:25as a closed vehicle,
31:26which takes a lot of weight
31:28and a lot of strength
31:29to make
31:29to keep the water out.
31:31So to circumvent
31:33these problems,
31:34Frank decides
31:34that his car
31:35has to be
31:37a convertible.
31:38Now, you would think
31:39a convertible
31:39and a submarine
31:40would be a terrible
31:41idea together,
31:42but Frank thought of that.
31:43That's why it's got
31:44a scuba mask
31:45and an oxygen tank
31:46to keep your breathing.
31:48Finally,
31:48in 2008,
31:5030 years
31:51and 1.5 million
31:52in development expenses later,
31:54Frank is able
31:55to unveil
31:55his masterpiece,
31:57the scuba.
31:59The scuba,
32:00when finished,
32:01can go 75 miles
32:03an hour on land,
32:04and yes,
32:05you can drive it
32:07right into the water.
32:09When he introduces
32:10the scuba,
32:11he's got rich people
32:12all around the world
32:13clamoring,
32:13saying,
32:14I want one,
32:15but scaling up production
32:16for a vehicle
32:18that cost him
32:19one and a half million dollars
32:20to make just one
32:22is a massive
32:23financial undertaking
32:24that he's just
32:25not ready for.
32:26In the end,
32:27his company
32:27gets a lot more notoriety
32:29because the scuba car,
32:30there's only the one.
32:35A slow-moving
32:36underwater convertible
32:37may have its functions,
32:39but winning a war
32:40is in one of them.
32:41For that,
32:42you need something
32:42a little more nimble,
32:43like this lethal bit
32:45of Soviet tech
32:46used to ice out
32:47the enemy.
32:50When the Nazis
32:51invade Russia
32:51in June of 1941,
32:54what becomes known
32:54as Operation Barbarossa,
32:56they're not expecting
32:57to be there
32:58for a long time,
32:59but famously,
33:01they get bogged down
33:01in the Russian winter,
33:02and they're not prepared.
33:04The Germans
33:05lack the supplies,
33:07they lack
33:07the extreme cold weather gear
33:09that they need
33:10to fight a winter war
33:11in the Soviet Union.
33:12Then the Soviets
33:13launch a counter-offensive
33:15against them.
33:16And famously,
33:17they end up losing
33:18this war of attrition.
33:19Near 27,000
33:21Nazi soldiers died.
33:22That victory
33:23is not just thanks
33:24to the home field advantage,
33:25but to a strange machine
33:27from the innovative mind
33:29of Igor Sikorsky.
33:30Many know
33:31Igor Sikorsky
33:32as the Ukrainian-born inventor
33:34of the helicopter.
33:35But back in 1909,
33:38Sikorsky is a young
33:3920-year-old kid
33:40basically tinkering
33:41with toys in his garage.
33:43He's fascinated
33:44by the propeller.
33:45The motors
33:46butter and catch,
33:47weights drop...
33:48Which was developed
33:49by the Wright brothers
33:49only a few years earlier.
33:51The Wright brothers
33:52won immortality.
33:54He starts thinking
33:55about what other kinds
33:56of vehicles
33:57he can strap
33:58these propellers to.
33:59In no time,
34:00Sikorsky's terrorizing
34:01pedestrians
34:02on the snowy streets
34:03of his hometown,
34:04Kyiv,
34:04in the world's first
34:06motorized sleigh.
34:08It works really well,
34:09but motorized sleighs
34:10aren't really a necessity
34:12in World War I,
34:13considering that the majority
34:14of the war
34:14is trench warfare.
34:15However,
34:16as we get into
34:17the 1930s,
34:18the Soviets realize
34:19we could have use
34:21of this tech.
34:22Inspired by years
34:23of frozen combat,
34:25the Soviets create
34:27the NKL-26,
34:29better known
34:29as the combat sleigh.
34:32This thing is covered
34:33in a 10-millimeter
34:34armor plating.
34:36Not to mention,
34:36it's got an airplane engine
34:38attached to the back of it.
34:39It can travel
34:40at 45 miles an hour
34:43across the snow.
34:44Compare that
34:45to a typical German tank
34:46that would have
34:47plodded through the snow
34:48at about 15 miles an hour.
34:50That is a massive advantage
34:52in a mobile war.
34:53And it's also muscular
34:55because it has
34:55that rotating turret
34:56on top of it,
34:57and inside the rotating turret,
34:59you have a 7.62x54-millimeter
35:01rimmed automatic weapon
35:03capable of putting down
35:04very effective
35:05machine gun fire.
35:07When the Nazis
35:08invade the Soviet Union
35:09in 1941,
35:11the Red Army brass
35:12commissioned the building
35:12of 4,000
35:13of the NKL-26 units.
35:15And they're trying
35:16to just deliver them
35:17as fast as possible,
35:18so much so
35:18that they're even
35:19putting children
35:20in factories
35:21to manufacture these sleighs
35:22at breakneck speed.
35:24The NKL-26
35:25may be built by kids
35:26and look funny,
35:28but the Nazis
35:28aren't laughing.
35:29Their forces
35:30are repeatedly hit
35:31with surprise attacks
35:32by the Santa sleighs
35:34from hell.
35:35The combat sleigh
35:36really proves
35:37its effectiveness
35:38in the Battle of Moscow,
35:39where everything
35:40is mired
35:41in the wintry conditions.
35:43The key with
35:44the combat sleigh
35:45is that it doesn't
35:46require roads,
35:47so the Soviets
35:48can now swarm
35:49their victims
35:50coming in
35:51from all different directions.
35:52It is a nightmare
35:53for the Germans.
35:56The Soviets
35:57just dominate
35:58and decimate.
36:00It's got to be
36:01a bizarre scene
36:02to be sitting there
36:03and watch these things
36:04come in
36:05from all directions.
36:06And not just
36:07the sleighs,
36:08but they're towing
36:09ski-borne commandos
36:11who then break off
36:12and assault
36:13your positions.
36:14I think it's safe
36:15to say that
36:16these Nazis
36:17probably hoped
36:18that they never,
36:19ever saw
36:19another combat sleigh
36:21for the rest
36:22of their life.
36:24The combat sleighs
36:25live on
36:26in a much less
36:27terrifying way.
36:28They're used
36:29in Siberia
36:30not to deliver lead,
36:32but to deliver mail.
36:35Most inventors
36:37who've gotten rich
36:37creating new machines
36:38follow a basic principle.
36:40Identify a consumer
36:41need and fill it.
36:42Now, what about
36:43the brave vanguards
36:44who ignored that advice
36:45and dared to invent machines
36:47nobody ever asked for?
36:51Running a marathon
36:52is one of the most
36:54grueling things
36:54you can do
36:55because marathoners
36:56are facing
36:57extreme fatigue,
36:59dehydration,
37:00muscle cramp,
37:01injury
37:02across a 26.2-mile
37:04race course.
37:05Over the course
37:06of a marathon,
37:06a runner can burn
37:08as much as 4,000 calories.
37:09That's why you often
37:11see runners
37:12eating those energy gels
37:13as goos
37:14or something like
37:15a banana or an orange
37:16on the course.
37:20Yet in 2015,
37:22a Japanese company
37:23invents a bizarre machine
37:24to supply a different kind
37:26of fruit on the run.
37:28Tomaton is a robotic
37:30running apparatus
37:31created by Japanese
37:32fruit and vegetable
37:33company Kagome.
37:35The goal of this machine
37:36is as the marathon runner
37:37is running their race,
37:38it will feed them tomatoes.
37:41The machine holds
37:43six fresh tomatoes
37:44in its magazine
37:45and with the push
37:47of a button
37:47delivers the tomato
37:49straight into the
37:50runner's eating position.
37:52The question is,
37:53why tomatoes?
37:56Kagome is Japan's
37:59largest supplier
38:00of tomato products,
38:02tomato juice
38:02and ketchup,
38:03and they attest
38:04that the tomato
38:06is a really efficient way
38:08to provide energy
38:10for runners.
38:11So are tomatoes
38:12actually a superfood?
38:14Maybe more so
38:15than you think.
38:16They do have vitamin K,
38:18they have potassium,
38:19which will help
38:19with muscle fatigue.
38:20They also give
38:21an amazing hydration boost.
38:24So maybe the Tomaton
38:26is on to something.
38:27It's an opportunity
38:28for marathon runners
38:30to consume a superfood,
38:32keeping them energized
38:33while having it fed
38:34to them by robot.
38:35But here's the problem.
38:37Tomaton weighs 18 pounds.
38:40I know a lot of runners
38:41who will go for anything
38:43to shave an ounce
38:44off of weight
38:45with carbon fiber shoes,
38:46so I highly doubt
38:48an 18-pound tomato-feeding robot
38:51is going to be
38:52in their running regimen.
38:54Is this the most efficient way
38:56to eat a tomato on the go?
38:57No.
38:58However,
38:59until somebody comes up
39:00with a more efficient,
39:01smaller robot
39:02that can feed you
39:03bananas while on the go,
39:04the Tomaton
39:05has no competition.
39:08If running's not your thing,
39:10why not try a ride
39:11where your feet
39:12don't even have
39:13to touch the ground?
39:15It's 1960 in London
39:17at the Cycle
39:18and Motorcycle Show.
39:20And as trade shows go,
39:21this one's kind of a dud
39:22until the Americans show up.
39:26This American company,
39:28Rhodes Incorporated,
39:29is showing off
39:30this new space-age-looking vehicle.
39:33It has a bicycle seat
39:34and it has handlebars.
39:36But other than that,
39:37it doesn't look cycli at all.
39:39They start it up
39:40and things get even weirder.
39:44To the amazement of the crowd,
39:46the bizarre contraption
39:47is able to float
39:48several inches off the ground.
39:50It's called
39:51the hover scooter.
39:55Rhodes builds it
39:56as a hybrid of a scooter
39:58and a hovercraft.
40:00And he builds it
40:01just a few years
40:02after the very first hovercraft
40:05was demonstrated in England.
40:07But they're big military vehicles.
40:10This is a small vehicle
40:12that you can have at home.
40:14It's a cool idea.
40:16It's got a motorcycle engine
40:17that actually turns the fan
40:19that fills up the airbag
40:21and then it's basically riding
40:23on this cushion of air.
40:26But unfortunately,
40:28the overwhelming impression
40:29of everybody there
40:30is that this thing
40:31is just loud as hell.
40:33It takes so much power
40:35to achieve that air cushion
40:37that the noise level
40:38basically rivals
40:40an airplane engine
40:41or a helicopter.
40:42Now, there's no way
40:44that anyone would miss you
40:45riding this,
40:46especially when you hit the water
40:47because the noise
40:48that this thing makes
40:49would scare every fish to death.
40:51The hover scooter
40:52is at one time
40:53slated to be manufactured
40:54by a U.K. company,
40:56but that deal falls apart.
40:58And sadly,
40:59we never get the chance
41:00to see a bunch of Brits
41:01terrorizing people
41:02in their local parks
41:03on the hover scooter.
41:07Whether it's an earthquake machine
41:09that caused a tremor
41:10in Mark Twain's trousers,
41:12a six-shooter mousetrap
41:13that said,
41:14make my day,
41:15or a Soviet death slay,
41:17these are the machines
41:18so strange
41:19they are truly unbelievable.
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