13x09 - Traffic Trouble

[bunniefuu]

♪ Cyberchase - we're moving

♪ We're beating Hacker at his games ♪

♪ Don't tell me that he's trying to hack the motherboard ♪

♪ We'll get him every time

♪ Perfect world

♪ Freaky places that we've seen ♪

♪ We got the power

♪ Of one, two, three, four

♪ Running in a Cyberchase

♪ We'll meet him face-to-face

♪ We'll stick together all the time ♪

♪ Adventures in cyber space

♪ The chase is on

♪ feels great in C-Y-B-E-R chase ♪

[upbeat music]

[students chattering]

- [Inez] Lefty!

- Hey You made it?

- Hi Lefty?

- We missed you.

[palms slapping in a high five]

- Can't wait for the opening day

of the new Dingerball season.

- Just A few days away.

- Gotta go g*ng, pile in.

[car engine roaring]

[cars honking]

- Oh This traffic is making us late for practice, again.

- And the air,

I don't remember so much pollution.

- Too many cars, that's why.

- It takes us an hour to drive from school

to the ball field.

- Last year, it only took minutes minutes.

- Wow, minutes last year,

minutes now,

that's five, , , , , , , ,

minutes longer than last year.

- That's minutes stuck in the car

instead of practicing.

- Even that Chicken is moving faster than we are

[chicken clucking]

- No way

- Chicken's faster than cars.

Next thing you know

it's gonna rain ketchup and mustard.

[ketchup and mustard splashing]

- They're delicious and delectable,

they're Dingerville Franks.

- Hacker's here.

Selling Dingerville Franks

- Snuffles please?

[cars hooting]

- It's so tiny.

[drone propellers rattling]

- We need more Dingerville Franks, Boss

- More Dingerville Franks coming up.

[ketchup and mustard squirting]

When someone is stuck in traffic

they get hungry.

And when they're hungry

they'll pay anything for a fun-size frank

[laughing maniacally]

[spectators chattering]

- So I dig my fingertips in, really hard,

right against the seam,

and when I throw it,

it barely spins.

I call it my fantastic flutter ball.

Watch.

[ball whooshing]

- Wow, it dances.

- Thanks, I've been working on it all winter.

- That's pretty.

Is it new ?

- My dad gave it to me last season.

It's my lucky charm.

Can't pitch without it.

- All right everybody,

let's practice before it gets too dark.

[upbeat music]

[ball dropping]

[ball whooshing]

[ball bouncing]

- Yikes!

- Oh, they're not playing very well, are they?

[dog barking]

[dog whimpering]

- sorry Willie, Hank,

Dingerville Franks aren't for dogs

- But these treats are.

[dog barking]

Here you go.

- [chuckling] Great catch.

- If we play on opening day,

like we played today,

we may need them out on the field.

- Yeah, we weren't very good, weren't we dad?

- Listen hun, we're the same good team we were last year.

We just need more time to practice

and less time stuck in traffic.

- There must be something we can do.

- Thanks for seeing us mayor.

- [chuckling] Welcome back to Dingerville, Cyber Squad

what can I do for you?

- Well, we couldn't help but notice

how the town has changed

since the last time we were here.

- [chuckling] It has indeed.

[window sliding shut] [cars hooting]

It happened when Cyberspace Monthly named us

the happiest town in cyberspace.

Folks from across cyberspace moved here.

And don't get me wrong,

we're happy they did,

but more folks has meant more cars.

- Meaning more noise

and more air pollution.

- Unfortunately, yes.

It would be nice if more folks walked

and road bikes.

- The problem for the team is

all that traffic keeps making us late for practice,

which means we're not ready for opening day.

- We know how much the Dragons mean to Dingerville.

So we're wondering

if there's anything you can do

to cut down the traffic.

- Let me show you something.

[footsteps plodding]

This is Dingerville Drive,

the only way to get to the ballpark

and why there's a traffic jam.

But our new sky tram will reduce the pollution

and the traffic.

It will take just minutes

to get from uptown Dingerville to the ballpark, downtown.

- Only minutes?

It takes minutes by car

to get to the ballpark now.

- [Lefty] That's a different of , , , ,

more minutes to practice every day.

- Wow. - whoa.

- Unfortunately the sky tram won't be up

and running until next year.

- Next year?

- Oh, no. - Oh, no.

- What's this wooded area here?

- When Dingerville was founded,

it was built around these woods.

This was the Dingerville trolley line.

- A trolley ran on these tracks?

- Mm-hmm, but, when folks got cars,

they stopped riding the trolley.

With no passengers, the line was abandoned.

[birds chirping] [soft music]

- So far, it's taken minutes to walk

from the school to here.

- We're almost there.

The ballpark's on the other side of that bridge.

[footsteps crinkling]

[lefty dropping with a thud]

- Lefty, you all right?

- Yeah, I'm fine.

- You sure?

- Really, I am.

- Let's be careful, okay?

It's pretty bumpy along here.

[footsteps plodding]

[water rushing]

- Wait a second, [chicken clucking]

is that the same chicken we saw earlier?

It can't be.

[footsteps crinkling]

- There's The ballpark.

- Yes.

- Cool.

- We made it.

- Okay, it took minutes to walk here.

- Okay, minutes to the ballpark by car,

and minutes to walk here.

minus is .

So walking here is minutes faster than driving.

That's half the time.

- Maybe a bike would be even faster.

[upbeat music]

This trolley trail is really bumpy.

Oh no,

[falling with a mighty thud]

I'm fine.

- Any other ideas?

This pogo stick is working great.

- Wait till we show Glen and Lefty.

- Oh, heads up.

- Ha-ha!

- Uh Didge, you okay?

- This Pogo stick is more like a no-go stick.

- We need a quicker, safer way

to get from the school to the ballpark.

So what do we know?

- We know walking the trail takes half as long

as driving in traffic.

- And a bike and pogo stick

don't do so great on a trail.

Trust me, I know.

- What's up with Lefty?

- She's probably worried the team won't be ready

for opening day.

- Hey.

- Hey.

- Don't look so worried.

We'll figure out a way to get you to practice sooner.

I promise.

- It's not that.

It's my lucky necklace,

I lost it.

- Oh, Lefty.

I'm really sorry.

Any idea when it happened?

- All I know is it's gone

and I can't pitch without it.

- Did you tell your dad?

- No, I don't want him to be disappointed me

for losing it.

- These things happen.

Maybe he can help you find it.

- I can't Tell him Matt, I can't.

[footsteps crinkling]

- This keeps getting worse and worse.

[car engine roaring] [ice cream jingle chiming]

- Delicious Dingerville Franks,

snuffles only,

try one of Dingerville Franks today.

[chicken clucking]

[drum roll]

- That's it.

I know what to do.

Everyone,

I know how to get the team to practice faster.

- How?

- We build a dinger-mobile

- A Dinger-mo what?

- A bicycle that seats five people

- A bike didn't work on the trail, remember?

Why is a dinger-mobile better?

- Because everyone riding it will pedal.

That way, it'll have more power than a regular bike.

- Slow down Matt,

tell us what this dinger-mobile looks like.

- Okay, I see a driver in front,

behind a steering wheel

with a set of pedals.

- Got it.

- Behind the driver are two benches,

two passengers on each bench

and everyone has their own set of pedals.

- So one driver and four passengers in a dinger-mobile

for a total of five.

- Exactly.

And five tires, one in front of the driver

and two on each side.

- [Jackie] Got it.

- And because it's wider than a regular bike,

it'll be steadier on the rough ground.

- Sounds good Matty.

How much wider are we talking about?

- Well Let's see what we need.

uh Matt, pretend we're sitting next to each other

in the dinger-mobile.

[upbeat music]

- Didge, give us an measurement.

[propeller blades winding]

- Let's see,

we got , , ,

cyber inches across.

- Got it, cyber inches wide.

- And we need a roof.

- Roof? Done.

Okay, what do you think?

- [Inez] Looks Great.

- Let's go get the parts.

- Pick all the spare parts you need.

- Great, thanks.

Next stop, the junkyard.

[upbeat music]

Do you have any benches?

- Lucky you, just got these in today,

straight from the Dingerville diner.

- Nice and comfy.

- Thanks to all the new folks here,

they were able to spruce up the restaurant.

- Let's measure it, Didge.

- It's inches, Perfect!

- They should work great for the dinger-mobile.

- The what?

- A new vehicle we're making

to help the dragons team get to the ballpark faster.

- You don't say,

I'm a huge fan.

I'm so psyched for opening day.

I usually drive to the games after work

but with all the traffic

I'm afraid I won't make it in time.

- That's why we're here.

Jax, you find what we need?

- One steering wheel, check.

- One colorful roof, check.

- Poles to hold up the roof.

- Check.

- Okay, I think we've got everything we need.

Let's see if this works.

[upbeat music]

- We did it. [everyone cheering]

- Oh darn, it's missing something,

but I can't put my feathers on it.

Ah-ha, I know.

You can't have a dinger-mobile that doesn't ding.

[bicycle bell ringing]

[kids chuckling]

- Time for a test drive.

Hop in everyone.

On three, everyone pedal.

One, two, three.

[dinger-mobile rumbling]

- [stuttering] This ride is still bumpy.

- Its not so bad.

[bicycle bell ringing]

[suspenseful music]

- At least the bell worked.

[slow music]

- [Matt] I don't get it,

what went wrong?

- The ride was way too bumpy,

we bounced all over.

- My pogo ride was bouncy, but not bumpy.

- So what is it about the pogo stick

that makes it less bumpy to ride?

- It's these springs.

See how they move when it hits the ground?

- I get it.

The springs going up and down cushion the bumps.

- Yep, they absorb the shock.

- Cool, let's add springs to the dinger-mobile.

- Not so fast,

we only have one pogo,

but that dinger has five wheels.

- Wait, we have some pogo sticks left over

from Pogo Giveaway Night at the ballpark.

- Springs in place,

ready to pedal.

[upbeat music]

- Coming your way Inez.

- Let's see how long it takes this time.

- One, two, three,

we're off.

[stopwatch ticking]

- This feels way smoother.

- Oh-oh, mud coming.

[dramatic music]

[kids gasping]

[mud splashing]

- Whoa, no mud problem.

[stopwatch ticking]

[dinger bell ringing]

[chicken clucking]

[upbeat music]

- minutes on the nose.

[everyone cheering]

- Okay, let's see the difference.

It took minutes to drive here,

minutes to walk here,

and only minutes to get here by dinger-mobile.

- [Inez] That's half the time it took to walk.

- Great, we'll get to the ballpark a lot quicker now,

which means more time to practice.

- And a win against Ratopolis. Right, Lefty?

- Yeah

- Let's go.

We need two more dinger-mobiles to get the whole team

to the ballpark.

Let's build them.

[upbeat music]

[dinger bell ringing]

[cars hooting]

- What a great idea.

- Boss, look.

- What are those things?

[dinger bell ringing]

- Whatever they are,

they're going faster than the cars.

[upbeat music]

- Way to go Jesse, good throw.

Nice catch, Michelle

- Looking good Dragons, looking good.

[footsteps crinkling]

- How you doing lefty?

- Not good.

I still haven't found the necklace.

How am I going to pitch?

- One time before a game,

I couldn't find my lucky socks.

And without them,

I was sure I'd strike out every time I came to bat.

- So what happened?

- I played anyway.

And guess what?

I got a hit to win the game.

Yep, I realized it wasn't my lucky socks

that made me a good player.

It was me.

I've watched you pitch, Lefty.

You work hard and you've got real talent.

It's not your necklace that makes you a good pitcher.

- But, I've never played without it.

- I'm not saying it's easy

but you just have to believe in yourself.

[bicycle bell ringing]

- Good morning Dingerball fans,

it's opening Day

and the Dingerville Dragons

will take the Raptors from Ratopolis.

Fans have been buzzing for days

about how they plan to beat traffic

to get to the game on time.

[chicken clucking]

[footsteps crinkling]

[cars zooming by]

- Oh, what's going on?

Nobody's stopping for my Dingerville Franks,

do something.

- But what can we do boss?

There aren't as many cars.

- And notice the air is cleaner.

[breathing in] Nice.

- Time for plan B.

[fans chattering]

- Here's what some of the fans had to say

When they arrived at the game.

- Oh, we got here in no time.

- The trolley trail was great.

[fans cheering]

- [Fan I] Go Dragon!

[fans cheering]

- Has anyone seen Lefty?

- Dingerville Franks!

Dingerville Franks here.

Get them while they're hot. [gasping]

- You have a license to sell those?

- License?

[upbeat music]

[fans applauding]

- Welcome to opening day everyone.

[fans cheering]

Thanks to the cyber squad,

there's less traffic and air pollution in Dingerville.

They came up with an ultimate way to travel

so fewer folks had to be drive their cars to get here.

Let's show our appreciation.

[fans cheering]

- With the sky tram opening next year,

there will be even less traffic and pollution,

making the future brighter than ever.

[fans cheering]

- [Fan I] Go Dragons.

- Where's Lefty?

- Yeah, why isn't she out there?

[upbeat music]

[fans chattering]

[fans cheering and applauding]

- It's lefty !

- There She is

- I knew it.

[coach sighing in relief]

- Play ball!

- [Fan II] Strike them out.

[fans cheering]

[upbeat music]

- Sorry, players only.

[fans cheering]

- [Fan II] Strike them out.

[dramatic music]

- Strike one!

[fans cheering]

- All right.

- [Reporter] And the dragons beat the Ratopolis Raptors

five to nothing.

[fans cheering]

- Way to pitch Lefty.

- Thanks, Matt.

- You're flutter ball really fluttered.

- Yeah, you were terrific.

- The best.

- Aw, thanks guys.

I really appreciate it.

- And you did it without your lucky necklace.

- You were right I didn't need it,

but I'm still sad I lost it.

- You tell your dad?

- Not yet.

[footsteps crinkling]

- Lefty, you were brilliant out there,

I'm so proud of you.

- I'll catch up to you later.

[footsteps crinkling]

- Is something wrong?

- I have to tell you something.

- Sure, what is it?

- I had lost the necklace you gave me.

- Hey, accidents happen.

You didn't mean to lose it.

[chicken clucking]

[upbeat music]

- My necklace.

- How about that.

- I can't believe it.

Thank you so much.

[chicken clucking]

- [Fans] Lefty, Lefty, Lefty, Lefty.

- Stay right where you are.

It's Cyberchase for real.

- When I was little,

I remember riding my scooter down this very street.

I was so fast

and my mom used to yell,

"Jamal, slow down." [chuckling]

When I got bigger,

I started skating, then skateboarding

to go to school or the market.

And I got to thinking about

how people move from place to place.

Cars and trucks are part of our everyday life

but they have problems.

Fuel costs are expensive

and use up the Earth's natural resources.

And the exhaust,

the exhaust that comes out

is not good for people or the environment.

But there are ways to help with that.

Let's say it takes a gallon of fuel

for a car to get from point A to point B.

If there is one person in car,

then we moved one person with one gallon of fuel.

If the one person shares the ride with another person

that's two people for one gallon of fuel,

twice as good.

If they really get into ride sharing,

they could carpool

and have four people ride for the same one gallon of fuel,

four times more efficient.

Wow.

[car honking]

There are some cars that run on electricity

and not on gas,

but it'll be a long time before everyone has one.

I have my own mode of transportation.

These.

I love to walk

and my feet don't need gas or electricity.

Maybe a good breakfast to start the day.

And then I'm off and running or walking.

I call them my ATM,

Alternative Transportation Mode.

My feet don't pollute

and walking is one of the healthiest forms of exercise.

And when I need to go someplace

that's just too far to walk,

then I'll take the train or bus.

One of the oldest forms of people-power transportation

was called a sedan chair,

where two men, called the chairmen,

carried the passenger to wherever he or she wanted to go.

This kind of transportation

was used for a couple thousand years

and was sometimes carried by a dozen men

and didn't cause pollution.

Some inventor put a pair of wheels on the chair

and the rickshaw was born.

Then after a while,

another inventor attached a bicycle to the chair

that allowed the driver to use less of his energy

and get the passengers to their destination faster.

This type of transportation

is still used all over the world,

including New York city.

Sometimes, if I'm in a hurry

or it's too far to walk, I bike

but I don't own a bike.

Luckily, there are lots of places around the country

where you can bike share for a little money

and even no money in some places.

You can pick up the bike one place,

and drop it off at another.

This is a great method of transportation

that cities are using to reduce pollution

by having fewer cars on the street.

It also gives people like me

another way to move around the city

without going by car, bus, or train.

So now I'm off to the library.

[bicycle bell ringing]

[upbeat music]