13x05 - Archibald Frisby

[bunniefuu]

♪ Reading rainbow ♪

♪ Butterfly in the sky ♪

♪ I can go twice as high ♪

♪ Take a look ♪

♪ It's in a book ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪ I can go anywhere ♪

♪ Friends to know ♪

♪ And ways to grow ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪ I can be anything ♪

♪ Take a look ♪

♪ It's in a book ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪ Reading rainbow ♪

[Screaming]

Should i, or shouldn't i?

That is the question.

[Screaming]

Do I stand and watch,

Or will I collect my courage
and jump on board?

I'm going to do it.

This is why I came
to six flags great adventure.

Here we go.

I really do love
roller coasters.

Every time I sit in a car,

Butterflies flutter
in my stomach.

There's nothing
to be nervous about,

Because I've got
a great seat.

Now I'll just
sit back and relax

And go with the flow...

O-o-ohh!

Aah!

Whoo!

Wow!

Oh.

Whoa-oo-oo!

Whoo!

Ha ha! What a ride!

We were going fast.

I felt like my stomach
was up here.

I wonder how they get it
to go so fast.

How does the coaster
stay on the track?

Why do we love
scary rides like this?

I'm not the only one
asking questions.

Here's a book about a guy

Who never stopped
asking questions.

He scrutinized the world
for answers.

People thought
he was wasting his time,

But archibald frisby
proved them wrong.

This is the story
of archibald frisby,

Who was as crazy for science
as any kid could be.

Archibald was smart,
and he read such a lot

That he saw things in ways
other people did not.

He liked zoology,
no doubt about that.

You could tell by the way
he looked at the cat.

He had taken apart
every kitchen appliance.

They had given their lives
in the interest of science.

Other kids his own age
he just simply ignored.

"If I played
at their games,

I'd be bored."

His mom--mrs. Frisby--
was growing concerned

Because of the things
that her archibald spurned.

One day in his room,
where he had been for hours,

She caught him red-handed
dissecting her flowers.

She was called by his school
and wondered, "what next?"

He'd been found at recess
with an algebra text.

Well, the good mrs. Frisby
soon thought it horrific--

Her child obsessed with
all things scientific!

So she turned off his mac,
and she booted him out

To a camp where he'd find
what fun was about.

He begged and pleaded.
He let his mom know

That he had things to do
and did not want to go.

Poor archibald.
Mom would not hear his side.

He sat back and squared
himself for the ride.

When they got to camp,
she hugged him and said,

"Forget science awhile.
Have a good time instead."

As he observed her car
speed away out of sight,

He wondered if maybe
his mother was right.

But old habits die hard,
and though he felt blue,

He still ran a few tests
on the mulligan stew.

While the other kids
told tall tales by the fire,

Archibald's thoughts
were considerably higher.

At craft time, the campers
made things for their mothers.

What archibald made
was like none of the others.

Nature walks
in the woods

He did not
want to miss.

"What a beautiful day

For photosynthesis!"

In a contest to see
who could build the best kite,

Archibald's took first prize
with a world-record height.

On line at the fountain,
he made everyone think

Of the earth and the sky
and the water they drink.

The campers decided
"friz" was the man

To explain to the counselors
their recycling plan.

For the scavenger hunt,
his group needed pine cones.

Instead, they came back
with some very old bones!

At the last game of summer--
campers versus the staff--

When arch came to bat,
they tried hard not to laugh.

To win the game,
he gave his assistance

By plotting the angle
of maximum distance.

His teammates exploded
with cheers, whoops, and cries.

It was better than winning
his first nobel prize.

And archibald thought
as he sat with his friends,

"It's sad all experiments
must come to their ends."

When his mother arrived,
she was busting with joy.

"I just cannot believe
this is my little boy!"

With the car loaded up
and departure time near,

Arch said, "hey, I've forgotten
my best souvenir.

I hope it fits, mom.
It's kind of big."

Archibald asked questions
about everything.

He spent his time
searching for answers

By looking very closely
at his world.

You can figure out things
simply by observing.

Look at those wheels hugging
the track on three sides.

The wheels actually
guide the cars along the track.

That's the "roll"
in roller coaster.

I don't see a motor.

How does it go so fast
without an engine?

See that chain?

The cars hook onto it.

That chain
pulls the whole train

To the top
of the first hill.

At the top,
the chain releases the cars.

Gravity takes you
the rest of the way.

That first huge drop
gives the train enough speed

To continue the entire ride
without a motor.

It's like when you ride
your bike.

You work really hard
to reach the top of the hill,

But then it's smooth sailing
all the way down.

I guess that's the "coast"
in roller coaster.

Looking closely at things

Can help you answer
lots of your own questions.

Scientists do that
every day.

What scientists see
can change our lives.

Take the case
of inventor georges de mestral.

While walking
in the woods,

He noticed that burrs
stuck to his clothing.

He wondered why.

He observed the burrs
under a microscope

And found they were covered
with tiny hooks.

These hooks caught
in the fabric of his clothes.

This observation
gave him an idea

For a fastener
to stick things together

Like burrs
stick to clothing.

He imitated nature
and created a fastener

With tiny hooks and loops.

His discovery changed
the look and the sound...

[R-r-rip]

Of things we use every day.

How do you design a car

That will protect
the passengers inside?

Scientists have been working
on this question

For a long time.

The answer
is no accident.

Some researchers examined
wrecked cars,

Searching for clues

About how accidents and injuries
can be prevented.

In one early
experiment,

An egg crashes
in a miniature car.

The result?
Scrambled egg.

But when the egg
is strapped to the seat,

Observe one
of the first seat belts.

How do you determine
the effects of a car accident

On the human body?

There are some things
only a dummy would try.

This is a crash test dummy.

Scientists design them
to move exactly like people do.

[Beeping]

Each dummy
has a computer inside

That tracks what happens
to the body during a crash.

Special cameras film a collision
from every angle

So scientists can see
exactly what happens.

Then they watch the crash
in slow motion

Over and over again

To figure out how real
passengers can be protected.

By observing
crash test dummies,

Scientists can answer questions
about car safety...

Why is it so important
to buckle up?

How do air bags
protect us?

Scientists observing
in the laboratory

Make us safer
on the road.

Scientists planning space
missions faced this question--

How could human beings
live and work in space

Without gravity?

To observe how people
might move in space,

Scientists needed to simulate
weightless conditions

Right here on earth.

Moving underwater feels
a lot like moving in space,

So to learn more
about weightlessness,

Scientists watched astronauts
in a swimming pool.

They put an airplane
through dives and spins

To create the effects
of weightlessness.

This gave scientists
some idea

Of what might happen
to astronauts

During actual space flights.

Eating and drinking
without gravity

Was a challenge,
to say the least.

Everything
from m&m's to juice

Just floated
around the cabin.

At first,
they solved this problem

By putting food
in squeezable tubes,

But it tasted
pretty awful.

Later, trays were designed
to hold containers

Of the astronauts'
favorite foods.

How do you sleep


You strap yourself
into a sleeping bag

So you don't drift
around the cabin.

No pillow required--
you're floating on air.

Taking a close look can often
answer your questions.

Here's another technique
you can use

To help figure things out.

It's called
trial and error.

I'll show you.

This is the frog game.

You take this mallet,
you hit this gizmo,

Catapulting froggie
onto the lily pads there.

Sounds simple enough.

Let's give it a try.

Hmm. Well, it seems as though
I need to experiment,

Try a different approach.

How about...ah.

How about this time
I hit a little harder?

We'll see
what that gets us.

This isn't as easy
as it looks.

I need to adjust
my strategy,

Find a different way
to do it.

How about if this time

I turn the catapult
a little,

Really take good aim,

And give it
a little more body english?

O.k. Here we go.

[Buzz]

Ha ha ha! Success!

Thanks.

In this game,

You need to try different ideas,
experiment a little--

Use trial and error.

Whether they're jumping,

Spinning,

Or soaring through the air,

Top athletes work hard
to achieve performances

That take our breath away.

High jumper yolanda henry
is one of those athletes.

Yolanda works
with biomechanist jesus dapena

And coach sue humphrey

Experimenting
to find the right moves

For the perfect jump.

The knee has
got to go up.

The body functions
like a machine.

The motors of this machine
are special.

They're muscles.

People in biomechanics
are trying to understand

How the human body functions
as a machine.

When I'm going
like this...

High jumping
is very technical.

You don't have eyes
on the back of your head.

You need someone
watching you.

[Jesus dapena]
to know how the athlete
is moving,

We have two cameras
sh**t the athlete

During the jumps.

Once the cameras
are set up,

It's time
to film the jumps.

A high jump is made
of three parts.

You have a run-up,

A takeoff,

And the part where
you're in the air--

The bar clearance.

[Levar]
after jesus has
filmed the jump

From beginning to end,

He projects the pictures
onto a special screen

And enters the information
into his computer.

[Jesus]
we feed the positions of
those points of the body

Into a computer.

We end up with something
like cartoon animation,

Allowing us
to see that jump

As it would appear
from any direction,

Even if we didn't have
a camera filming there.

I meet with the athlete
and coach

And say,
"there's this problem.

This is how you fix it."

[Yolanda]
my first reaction
seeing myself?

I said,
"give me some hair."

This is really neat.

I've heard
what I need to do

But never seen it done.

I'm picturing it
from seeing it on the screen.

[Levar]
the computer can
save the athlete

Lots of work.

Jesus uses the computer

To show how small changes
in yolanda's technique

Might improve her jump.

It's a kind of
computerized trial and error.

What we have here
is the original jump.

You have a very good run-up,
a very good takeoff.

The weakest point
in your technique

Is what you do
on top of the bar.

Here we have
a simulated jump

In which you do
the same run-up and takeoff,

But you flex your legs more.

That gets your hips higher,

So you clear the bar better.

This adds 2 inches
to the height you clear.

Bending my knees,
I can clear 6' 9"?

That's what
you're looking for.

Basically, it is seeing
yourself doing something

Over and over again

From point "a" to point "z"

The right way.

[Cheering]

Here's a good question.

What makes corn pop?

I don't know,

But answers to questions
come in good books.

Here are three that would
satisfy the curiosity

Of even archibald frisby...

But don't take
my word for it.

My name is max.

I'm interested
in how things work.

How about you?

If you are
this is the book to read.

It's called
what makes popcorn pop?

It's not just about popcorn.

Here are some science questions
answered in this book.

What is house dust?

Well, it's made up
of particles

From soil, sand, flowers,
and many other things.

Here's one--
why do we shiver?

Basically, our muscles
move to keep us warm,

Kind of like
when we exercise.

What does make popcorn pop?

A tiny bit of water
inside each kernel

Turns to steam
when exposed to heat.

That makes
the kernel explode,

And voila,
you've got popcorn.

If you're curious,
read this book.

I don't mean to be pushy,

But what makes popcorn pop?

Is sure to be
fascinating reading.

Hey, how do bubbles
get into fizzy drinks?

Why is grass green?

Questions, questions,
questions.

Here's a book
with the answers.

It's called I wonder
why soap makes bubbles.

Do you know
why rainbows happen

Or what sound is?

The answers are all here.

They even give you experiments

You can do at home.

There are funny pictures,

Diagrams,

Cartoons.

There's art on every page.

I'm hazriq.

I have one last question
for you.

Will you please
read this book?

I guarantee
it's the best.

Everyone loves
magic tricks.

I do one with cards.

Here's a bunch of books
with excellent magic--

The science magic series.

Each book covers
part of the natural world.

There's one about air,

Water,

Light,

And sound.

I'm nabowire. These books
have neat tricks.

There's the amazing
black box

And the crazy color wheel.

The photographs tell you
exactly what to do.

If you read
all of these books,

You can probably be
a star magician

And a pretty good
scientist, too.

Ta-da!

Isn't that amazing?

The question is,

Why does the water
stay in the glass?

The air pressing
up against this plate

Is actually stronger
than the water pressing down.

The world is full
of brainteasing,

Head-tickling,
mind-bending questions.

Next time one pops
into your head,

Use your powers
of observation,

Experiment
with trial and error,

Or look in a book.

Remember--

You have the tools you need
to find the answers.

I'll see you next time.

♪ Butterfly
in the sky ♪

♪ I can go
twice as high ♪

♪ Take a look ♪

♪ It's in a book ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪♪

Today's reading rainbow books
are...

Archibald frisby
by michael chesworth,

Published by farrar,
straus & giroux.

What makes popcorn pop?

And other questions
about the world around us

By dr. Jack myers,

Published by
boyds mills press.

I wonder
why soap makes bubbles

And other questions
about science

By barbara taylor,

Published by kingfisher.

The science magic series
by chris oxlade,

Published by barron's.