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  • Documentary History Mini-series Travel

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2014
2014x1
There Are Special Crossings For Horses In Britain
Episode overview
01, 2014
If you wander the footpaths and bridleways of Britain, you might stumble across a special crossing for horses.
2014x2
Why Aren't There More Helicopter Crashes In London?
Episode overview
02, 2014
Helicopters in London have a simple rule that means they're safer for everyone in the city. I stand on something a bit too high in order to explain it.
2014x3
How To Make An Orange Peel Flamethrower
Episode overview
03, 2014
I'm joined by Felix Cohen from http://manhattansproject.com to learn how to make orange oil go up in flames. Add flavour, aroma, and a touch of danger to your cocktails. Personally, I .. show full overview
2014x4
The Secret Pattern That Stops You Copying Bank Notes
Episode overview
04, 2014
There's a hidden pattern on banknotes, all around the world, that means photocopiers refuse to copy them.
2014x5
The 134-Hour Television Show from the Arctic Circle
Episode overview
05, 2014
I'm up in the Arctic Circle, by a large ship on the Hurtigruten line, to talk about the longest TV program in the world, and why Norway excels at something called "slow television".
2014x6
The Underground Roundabouts of Tromsø
Episode overview
06, 2014
In the Norwegian city of Tromsø, there's a bit of city planning straight out of science fiction: an underground road network, complete with junctions and roundabouts, bored into the mountains around the city.
2014x7
Why Does Nighttime Smartphone Footage Look All Flickery in Europe?
Episode overview
07, 2014
When you film with an iPhone or other smartphone in Europe at night, there's often a weird rolling banding effect over your footage. The reason has to do with power grids, frequencies, and some rather American-centric smartphone makers.
2014x8
Danger: Humans
Episode overview
08, 2014
A message from the Interstellar Safety Council. What if the rest of the universe wasn't built on "survival of the fittest"?
2014x9
Members of Parliament Aren't Allowed To Resign
Episode overview
09, 2014
Since 1624, Members of Parliament haven't been allowed to resign. And yet, they do: how do they manage it.
2014x10
The Thames Still Has Some 19th Century Stink In It
Episode overview
11, 2014
Joseph Bazalgette moved most of the Thames stink away, but there's still some 19th-century dodginess in the river now and again.
2014x11
The Secret Button on Pedestrian Crossings
Episode overview
12, 2014
There's a hidden nodule on some British pedestrian crossings that provides a vital clue for folks who might otherwise not be able to cross the road safely.
2014x12
You Can Gold Plate Your Tongue For About $2
Episode overview
13, 2014
Using edible gold leaf, gold that's been rolled out to a fraction of a micron in thickness, you can have a gold plated tongue, at least for a few seconds. File this one under 'stupid human tricks'.
2014x13
A Zeppelin, A Cat, and The World's First In-Flight Radio Message
Episode overview
14, 2014
Zeppelin trivia expert Simon Willison (@simonw) explains why the world's first in-flight radio message was "Roy, come and get this goddamn cat".
2014x14
Platform 9¾ Is In The Wrong Place
Episode overview
15, 2014
I was walking through Kings Cross, spotted Platform 9¾, and thought I'd share something you might not know: thanks to redevelopment of the station, right now it's in the wrong place. It won't be for long, though.
2014x15
Single Point of Failure: The (Fictional) Day Google Forgot To Check Passwords
Episode overview
16, 2014
I spin a (fictional) tale of the day that Google accidentally opened everything. Performed at GeekyConf, with thanks to Betsy Weber and Natalie Downe on camera.
2014x16
How To (Appear To) Strangle Someone (On Stage)
Episode overview
17, 2014
In the first of two videos filmed rough-and-ready in an alley behind a pub, all-round lovely person Norm (@cackhanded) teaches me how to safely strangle someone on stage.
2014x17
How To (Appear To) Slap Someone Across The Face (On Stage)
Episode overview
18, 2014
In the second of two videos filmed rough-and-ready in an alley behind a pub, all-round lovely person Norm (@cackhanded) teaches me how to safely slap someone across the face on stage.
2014x18
Can You Cook Bacon Using Hair Curlers?
Episode overview
19, 2014
We go back to our old-school YouTube days, and try to cook bacon with a thing that isn't designed to cook bacon. It doesn't go well.
2014x19
Why Wind Farms Don't Always Turn When It's Windy
Episode overview
20, 2014
Why don't wind farms always turn, even if there's a lot of wind?
2014x20
British Nuclear War from Beyond the Grave: The Letter of Last Resort
Episode overview
21, 2014
We'll hopefully never know what's written in the letters of last resort: top secret, handwritten notes from the British Prime Minister to be opened by submarine captains in the event of .. show full overview
2014x21
Why Is London's Cable Car So Damn High?
Episode overview
23, 2014
Ninety metres above the river is really tall for a cable car. Why build it so high, and spend so much? Well, other than the Mayor of London being a bumbling buffoon, there's a reason it's got to be that high.
2014x22
Why Do Reversing Trucks Not Beep Any More?
Episode overview
24, 2014
Have you noticed? That reversing beeper you find on trucks has been replaced by a squelch of white noise. Today, standing on a lay-by next to a busy construction site, I explain why -- while trying not to get run over.
2014x23
Einstein Wasn't The First Scientist To Talk About Relativity
Episode overview
25, 2014
I'm flying to the US. Ten hours on a plane is a long time, so I'm filming a video in an airplane bathroom, about something that makes sense in an airplane bathroom: relativity. "Galilean .. show full overview
2014x24
British Ice Cream Doesn't Have To Contain Milk
Episode overview
26, 2014
I honestly thought this was an urban legend until I looked into it, but it's true. (The urban legend is that Margaret Thatcher invented it.)
2014x25
The Image That Can Break Your Brain
Episode overview
27, 2014
Things that can hurt you just by looking at them are science fiction and fantasy, right? Well, not quite. Inside Walt Disney World, home of the most terrible earworm known to humanity, I talk about the McCollough Effect.
2014x26
How To Throw A Bucket Of Water At Someone
Episode overview
28, 2014
Hitting someone in the chest with a bucket of water looks impressive at close range, sure. But on stage, there's a different technique you need to use to make sure the back row is just as impressed.
2014x27
The Hard Part About Getting To Orbit Isn't The Height
Episode overview
29, 2014
(YouTube ate this first time around, so I've reuploaded it.) From the flame trench of Launch Complex 39 at the Kennedy Space Centre, under the pad from which the Apollo astronauts went .. show full overview
2014x28
Your GPS Shuts Down If It Goes Too Fast
Episode overview
30, 2014
If a GPS goes over 1200mph or 60,000 feet, it'll shut down. And the reason why is linked to here, at the Kennedy Space Centre, and the Cold War.
2014x29
How To Fall Into A Swimming Pool
Episode overview
31, 2014
A few days ago I was pushed into a pool. This is how to get pushed into a pool properly.
2014x30
The Datablast: Experimental Interactive TV From The 1990s
Episode overview
01, 2014
There were a lot of embarrassing things on TV in the 1990s, and Andy Crane in a baseball cap was just one of them.
2014x31
How To Tell If You're Dreaming
Episode overview
02, 2014
Oneironauts are "dream travellers": folks who say they can become aware of, and control, their dreams. But how do you tell if you're dreaming? Well, there's this one weird trick...
2014x32
The SPF Rating On Sunscreen Is Questionable At Best
Episode overview
04, 2014
SPF is meant to be a multiplier, but it's much more complicated than that. And as a Brit in Florida, I have to take care about burning.
2014x33
Disney Could Go Nuclear If They Wanted To
Episode overview
05, 2014
The corporate behind-the-scenes workings of Walt Disney World are interesting, to say the least. They've got their own private city.
2014x34
Why Was AllAdvantage.com Popular In Beverly Hills?
Episode overview
13, 2014
Remember the "dumbest dot-com", AllAdvantage? They paid you to surf the web, at least for a while. And one day, they announced that they were incredibly popular in rich Beverly Hills, .. show full overview
2014x35
The Mississippi River Wants To Move
Episode overview
14, 2014
Rivers change course. They leave behind old channels, oxbow lakes, and a dozen other things you learned about in geography class. The trouble is, some rivers can't be allowed to move any more.
2014x36
Moss Is Terrible For Emergency Navigation
Episode overview
15, 2014
I'm not saying that you shouldn't trust moss if you have absolutely no other options. I am saying that you shouldn't get lost in the woods in the first place.
2014x37
Let's Talk About Names. In Iceland.
Episode overview
17, 2014
If I were in Iceland, I'd have a different name: and not only that, but the Icelandic government would have made my parents pick a name from a list. But there are more lessons to learn .. show full overview
2014x38
Let's Play: Bar Billiards
Episode overview
18, 2014
Bar billiards is a little-known British pub game. And in the tradition of video game "let's plays" -- only in the real world -- I got some folks together for a match. THE RULES: Pot .. show full overview
2014x39
How Does A Geyser Work?
Episode overview
19, 2014
There aren't that many places in the world where you can find geysers: even fewer where they blow regularly. Here, amongst the volcanic landscape of Iceland, is one of them. Here you'll .. show full overview
2014x40
Why Do We Not Have A Cure For The Common Cold Yet?
Episode overview
20, 2014
It's a good question: with so many medical advances, how is "a cure for the common cold" still shorthand for "something that'll never exist"? Well, there's a good answer too -- and your body already knows it.
2014x41
Origami In Space
Episode overview
21, 2014
I'm joined by tef (@tef - http://programmingisterrible.com) who explains the Miura fold, a fancy origami fold that has uses both up in space and down on the ground.
2014x42
Never Call Someone "Tired and Emotional" In England
Episode overview
22, 2014
There's a famous British euphemism: "tired and emotional". Which means drunk. But if you're being recorded, or writing down your thoughts, you might want to stay away from it - because the British legal system is terrifying.
2014x43
Britain Has 555 Phone Numbers Too
Episode overview
23, 2014
In every Hollywood movie where someone dials a phone number, it starts with 555. Turns out Britain's got a similar system, and it's one of the few good decisions Ofcom's ever made.
2014x44
The London Railway of the Dead
Episode overview
24, 2014
When there's no room left to be buried, the dead will... take a train? It's hard to believe, but the London Necropolis Railway has a history.
2014x45
British Tanks Are Better Than All Other Tanks, And Here's Why
Episode overview
25, 2014
And this particular tank, although it's a Soviet one, is accessible at the corner of Mandela Way and Pages Walk in Bermondsey. (And I know the term's "combat vehicle", I just prefer using "fighting machine".)
2014x46
The 19th Century Channel Tunnel Wasn't Just A Dream
Episode overview
17, 2014
There were lots of Victorian engineering plans that never got off the drawing board - but one attempt at a Channel Tunnel remarkably did.
2014x47
Point Zero: Where All Roads Start
Episode overview
21, 2014
At the front of Notre Dame cathedral in Paris sits a mostly-ignored marker. Mostly ignored, that is, until one person arrives and takes pictures, at which point everyone crowds round it and ruins the shot.
2014x48
Privacy In France: A Lot Of French People Might Be About To Sue Me
Episode overview
24, 2014
As ever, I'm not a lawyer -- but even professional lawyers can't give consistent advice on this. I'm still a bit worried that I'm going to get sued in France.
2014x49
Facebook for Oculus Rift: The Commercial
Episode overview
25, 2014
Facebook bought Oculus Rift for $2bn. Yep, two billion dollars. I made them a commercial. They probably won't like it.
2014x50
Is "Paris Syndrome" A Real Thing?
Episode overview
31, 2014
A few years ago, there were a lot of news reports about Paris Syndrome, an affliction that hit people whose ideas of Parisian delight were a long way from reality. A correction to .. show full overview
2014x51
The Level Crossing You Have To Power Yourself
Episode overview
07, 2014
Out in the countryside near Canterbury, on the London to Ramsgate line, there's a strange level crossing - one that requires human effort. It's strange what railway history leaves us with. (Thanks to @quixoticgeek on camera duty!)
2014x52
From Missingno to Heartbleed: Buffer Exploits and Buffer Overflows
Episode overview
08, 2014
Buffer exploits are one of the basic bugs of computer science. They're responsible for glitches in games, for all sorts of viruses and exploits, and any number of technical disasters. .. show full overview
2014x53
The Rise and Fall of the Gasometer
Episode overview
14, 2014
In towns and cities across Britain, Europe, and occasionally the rest of the world, there are still some odd circular scaffolding structures. And younger viewers might not know what they are -- or why there aren't many left.
2014x54
Chess Clock Jenga
Episode overview
18, 2014
We've invented a new game: Chess Clock Jenga. It's... well, it's Jenga with a chess clock, but you probably worked that out already.
2014x55
The Three Types of Twilight, and The Days Without Night
Episode overview
21, 2014
Despite the rather mythical title to this video, it's actually mostly about technicalities. And not about the dodgy vampire books.
2014x56
The Early Steam Train With No Brakes: Stephenson's Rocket
Episode overview
28, 2014
With thanks to all the team at the National Railway Museum, York! You can ride in the passenger section behind Rocket on certain days; get in touch with the Museum at nrm.org.uk for details.
2014x57
How Does Eurovision Break Ties?
Episode overview
10, 2014
In ninety minutes, one of the most watched TV events of the year will happen. I'm there. It's going to be close. This is what happens if it's too close.
2014x58
How YouTube Video Stabilization Works
Episode overview
12, 2014
From tracking a point, to analysing pixels, to plotting 3D camera moves: here's how you go from shaky handheld shots to that "gliding through the Matrix" effect. Thanks to Matt Gray .. show full overview
2014x59
Angels Are Actually Pretty Terrifying
Episode overview
22, 2014
Angels. Gentle people with wings, and puffy-faced children with serene faces. Right? Wrong. Thrones and cherubim? According to the great Biblical scholars, they're like terrifying aliens.
2014x60
The Most Ridiculous Game Of Football In History
Episode overview
26, 2014
Originally, I was going to try and tell this story while inside the bubble. That plan lasted until the very first tackle.
2014x61
The Nuclear Reactor In The Middle Of London
Episode overview
02, 2014
Who'd be stupid enough to put an actual nuclear reactor in the middle of London? Well, the Royal Navy, for more than thirty years, at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich -- that .. show full overview
2014x62
Fail-Safe vs. Fail-Deadly (with Colin Furze)
Episode overview
09, 2014
"Fail-safe" doesn't mean "we have a backup", it means "if this fails, nobody gets hurt". So I went to see the master of inventions that aren't failsafe, Colin Furze, for a more visual demonstration.
2014x63
How The Self-Retweeting Tweet Worked: Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) and Twitter
Episode overview
11, 2014
It should never have happened. Defending against cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks is Web Security 101. And yet, today, there was a self-retweeting tweet that hit a heck of a lot of .. show full overview
2014x64
How Do You Make Something Last 1,000 Years?
Episode overview
16, 2014
In Trinity Buoy Wharf lighthouse in London -- and a few other science museums around the world -- sits Longplayer, a musical composition designed to last a millennium. How do you keep .. show full overview
2014x65
The Equation of Time: Clocks Vs Sundials
Episode overview
20, 2014
A few centuries ago, the arbiter of "local noon" wasn't the mechanical clock, it was the sundial. The pseudoscientific-sounding "equation of time" is how you convert between the two -- and perhaps not the way you'd expect.
2014x66
Why Do Flag Emoji Count As Two Characters?
Episode overview
23, 2014
If you've tried to tweet a national flag emoji lately -- I can't imagine why -- you'll have noticed that you can only fit 70 of them into a tweet. The reason why is buried in a bit of .. show full overview
2014x67
Emojli: the emoji-only network.
Episode overview
30, 2014
Reserve your username now: http://emoj.li - your username, of course, has to be emoji. Matt Gray and Tom Scott present Emojli, the first emoji-only social network.
2014x68
British Plugs Are Better Than All Other Plugs, And Here's Why
Episode overview
07, 2014
ALL THE ELECTRICS I USED WERE UNPLUGGED. DO NOT DO THIS. Yep, I'm going all patriotic again. And while I'm willing to bet that a good number of British folks know the first half of .. show full overview
2014x69
Some Places Have Lower Gravity Than Others
Episode overview
14, 2014
I know, technically everywhere has the same "gravity", but there's less gravitational pull from the Earth in some places. You try fitting that into a YouTube title. (Filmed at Zip .. show full overview
2014x81
Scotland is Rising and England is Sinking, Literally
Episode overview
15, 2014
I was passing by the Thames Barrier today, and figured it'd be a good time to talk about Scotland -- and how it's quite literally rising up. With "post-glacial rebound" and "glacial isostatic adjustment", though, not the referendum.
2014x70
What's The Longest Word In The English Language?
Episode overview
16, 2014
I'm getting a bit linguistic in this week's video, from the Welsh village of Llanfair­pwllgwyn­gyllgo­gery­chwyrn­drobwll­llanty­silio­gogo­goch. And as often happens with linguistics, .. show full overview
2014x71
Giant Underground Trampolines!
Episode overview
21, 2014
I try not to do too many "look at this thing" videos, because it's better to have an interesting backdrop and an interesting fact. This time, though, I'll make an exception. Welcome to .. show full overview
2014x82
How To (Appear To) Snap Someone's Neck (On Stage)
Episode overview
22, 2014
Back at the same pub where he taught me to strangle someone, stage-fighting and lovely improv person Norm (@cackhanded) returns to show me how to break someone's neck in the movies. Listen to the warnings on this one, folks.
2014x83
The Shellshock Bug In About Four Minutes
Episode overview
25, 2014
Remember Heartbleed? Well, this is probably worse. Here's a (somewhat simplified) explanation of what Shellshock actually is. Don't worry: I haven't included instructions on how to .. show full overview
2014x72
Gravity Doesn't Always Point Straight To The Earth's Core
Episode overview
28, 2014
Another close call with gravity, this time with a little more coherence and on an alpine slide. Although I'll be honest: this is one of those times where "I told you that story so I could tell you this one".
2014x73
YouTube Doesn't Know Your Password
Episode overview
04, 2014
A brief introduction to password hashing for the uninitiated -- and why you should never trust a site that emails your password back to you!
2014x84
Why Britain Uses Separate Hot and Cold Taps
Episode overview
06, 2014
Why don't we use mixer taps? I've talked about the British plug before, and how it's a wonderful design: British plumbing, on the other hand, still leaves a lot to be desired.
2014x74
Third Person Driving with a Drone
Episode overview
11, 2014
A filming drone, video goggles, a Mazda MX-5 Miata and a disused airfield. Paul and Oli compete to answer the question: can you drive in a third person view? The stunts in this video .. show full overview
2014x85
The Man Who Set Up His Own Toll Road, Without Permission
Episode overview
13, 2014
Welcome to the Kelston Toll Road: Fed up with a 14-mile diversion caused by a landslip, businessman Mike Watts has taken a £300,000 risk and set up his own private toll road. It costs £2 .. show full overview
2014x75
How To Read Text In Binary
Episode overview
18, 2014
No, seriously. Here's how to read text when all you can see is a bunch of 0s and 1s. It's easier than it seems. I... I think I might have gone off the deep end a bit here.
2014x86
What Did Witches Actually Use?
Episode overview
20, 2014
Those potions in Macbeth are a lot less mysterious than you might think. The Harry Potter ones don't really work, though. Thanks to the Warner Brothers Studio Tour for letting me film, and to Amy Louise Gwynne for spellcasting!
2014x76
The Ice Bucket Challenge Lowers Your Heart Rate
Episode overview
24, 2014
The mammalian diving reflex is a quirk of evolution that means a shock of ice water does the unexpected: it lowers your heart rate. I demonstrate using not a bucket, but a bathtub. This was probably a bad idea.
2014x79
Emojli: Behind the Scenes and Why You Should Never Build An App
Episode overview
30, 2014
Emojli, our emoji-only messenger, has launched! Today at Electromagnetic Field, the UK hacker camp, Matt Gray and I gave a talk about how it was made, why it was made, and why we never want to build anything like it again.
2014x77
Ultrasonically Vaporized Vodka!
Episode overview
31, 2014
A £20 ultrasonic fogger, some rum and vodka, and a lot of style: put them together and you get Toby Jackson's (@matingslinkys) Marvellous Booze Fogger, part of Nottinghack's contribution .. show full overview
2014x87
There's a Bit of England in New York, Literally
Episode overview
03, 2014
Some folks might leave their heart in San Francisco, but over at Waterside Plaza in New York, there's a much more real and physical souvenir: a part of Bristol, a port town in the south .. show full overview
2014x78
2030: Privacy's Dead. What happens next?
Episode overview
06, 2014
At dConstruct 2014, I spin a tale of the future: not to make a prediction, but to put our current world in perspective. Thanks to all the dConstruct folks at the Brighton Dome: crew, volunteers, and audience!
2014x88
The Diner Where You Microwaved Your Own Food
Episode overview
06, 2014
On a busy street in Manhattan, there was once a place called Tad's 30 Varieties of Meals -- or possibly Tad's 57 Varieties, or maybe just Tad's. It closed long ago, but the idea was .. show full overview
2014x80
How to Land a Plane in an Emergency
Episode overview
07, 2014
All three of us got the plane down on a perfectly still day with no wind. But an autopilot could do that. That's not nearly as interesting.
2014x89
The Liquid Nitrogen Tanks of New York
Episode overview
10, 2014
I was walking through New York and found a couple of seemingly-abandoned liquid nitrogen tanks on the street. Except they weren't abandoned: they were full, making a very quiet hissing .. show full overview
2014x90
The Floating Lighthouse in New York: The Lightship Ambrose
Episode overview
17, 2014
With many thanks to the South Street Seaport Museum! Visit them at http://southstreetseaportmuseum.org/ or at Pier 16 in New York. These days, if you have dangerous, underwater shoals .. show full overview
2014x91
Why "Four Score and Seven Years Ago"?
Episode overview
24, 2014
Lincoln's Gettysburg Address is one of the great moments of American history. There's a myth that he wrote it on the train to Gettysburg -- which isn't true -- but I want to dive into .. show full overview
2014x92
The Concrete Pillars On Top Of British Hills: Trig Points
Episode overview
08, 2014
Around the United Kingdom there are odd concrete pillars on the top of hills, built to last for decades if not centuries. They've got a cryptic marking on them, and the words "Ordnance .. show full overview
2014x93
Do The Numbers On Toaster Dials Mean Minutes?
Episode overview
09, 2014
There's been a "Life Pro Tip" going around the internet lately saying that the numbers on toaster dials are actually minutes. I was so sure it was false. Oh, I was so sure. I got four .. show full overview
2014x94
The Hottest Place in Britain, and the BBC Theme Park
Episode overview
15, 2014
On Swanscombe Peninsula sits Gravesend Weather Station: a Met Office station that consistently records the hottest temperatures in the UK. Is it particularly warm there? Or have they put .. show full overview
2014x95
Ley Lines and Avebury Henge, the Better Version of Stonehenge
Episode overview
22, 2014
On the winter solstice, I trekked out to a cold and muddy Avebury Henge, out in Wiltshire, to talk about two things: first, the peculiar and mostly-British belief of ley lines, and .. show full overview
2014x96
Can It Be "Too Cold To Snow"?
Episode overview
26, 2014
There's an old saying: that it's "too cold to snow". Can that really be true? It started snowing outside, on the day after Christmas, and so I thought I'd do a bit of research, check my facts, then hurry out to film something in the cold.
2014x97
Why Doesn't Britain Have Rabies?
Episode overview
29, 2014
In 1993, the New York Times called rabies a "shared national nightmare" for Britain. For younger viewers, and those outside the UK -- say anyone who doesn't remember the Channel Tunnel .. show full overview