♪ We've got two days
to get this straight
♪ We've got a challenge
just won't wait
♪ Our eyes are on the prize
♪ An engineer
just set the date
♪ We've got this client
can't be late
♪ Oh, no
it's go time
♪ Build it, test, fix it
debug, nail, kick it
♪ Got to get it off the ground
yeah
♪ Stick around and you'll see
what teamwork's supposed to mean
♪ It's so key
Design Squad
♪ Design Squad. ♪
All right, Design Squads,
I've got your t-shirts for
today.
Are you ready?
Yeah.
Annelise.
[ laughs ]
I'm green again!
Juan.
Yeah, yeah!
Lindsey.
Yes!
Wes.
Yeah, purple!
Ana.
Girls!
[ cheers ]
And Zach.
[ cheers ]
Girls are going down!
I see you're all smart enough
to have figured out we've got
boys versus girls.
[ cheers ]
So are you ready for the
challenge?
Yeah!
Now we are!
Roll the tape.
Oh!
Hi, I'm Lindsay Whalen...
And I'm Tamika Raymond...
And we play for the
Connecticut Sun of the WNBA.
[ cheers ]
Oh, nice!
Yeah!
When you come to a
Connecticut Sun game, you see
some of the best basketball
players in the world and loads
of action.
[ cheers ]
But that's not the only thing
fans get to see when they come
to our home games.
They get to be a part of the
whole game atmosphere.
We have lots of end-game
activities.
One of our most popular is our
t-shirt giveaway.
But here's the problem: right
now, we have our dance team
throwing the t-shirts to the
fans from the sidelines.
Whew!
That is tough, man!
You all right?
I don't know.
We need a little help.
Here's where you come in,
Design Squads.
We want you to build us a great
t-shirt sh**ter.
Yeah!
You can make it any way you
want, as long as it's safe...
...and it has to be able to
reach up here in the upper deck!
[ laughter ]
The winning t-shirt sh**ter
will be announced live and used
at our next home game.
Good luck, Design Squads--
and don't blow it!
[ cheers and applause ]
Are there any questions?
So what's the actual height?
The actual height?
You're looking at probably about
a four... between a 40 and 60
foot arc to get it all the way
up to the second deck.
Anything else?
No.
Start brainstorming!
Let's go!
Whoo!
[ laughter ]
Testosterone!
Let's start brainstorming
right away.
right away.
Like, let's put, like, all
the ideas we have on here.
So... t-shirt sh**ter.
So what are some other ways we
can...
How about pneumatics?
Because I mean, air
compression's a really good
idea.
Like, I like air compression.
And here's how compressed air
can launch a t-shirt.
When air molecules are pushed
into a cylinder, they collide.
Adding more air molecules in the
cylinder means they have less
space to move so they collide
more often, building pressure in
pounds per square inch, or psi.
When this compressed air is
released into a second cylinder
with lower air pressure, the
difference in pressure creates a
force that shoots the t-shirt
into the air.
Well, I was thinking the
cannon, but if we use, like,
pressurizing gas, that might get
a little bit more dangerous.
And it's too complicated.
The most basic thing we can
do is a slingshot.
And then there's always, I
mean, a slingshot.
Hmm.
I mean that... if you have a
really strong rubber band, you
just pull it back and just
sh**t.
Like, that's the simplest.
Yeah.
Keeping it simple might be
the best route.
Yeah.
So we need to finalize the
slingshot.
We have to take into account
how are we going to fold the
shirts...
Right...
So you can have them, like,
be super aerodynamic in a
ball...
Like a circle or something.
...with, like, a rubber band
or something, and then you have
to worry a little bit about
someone getting pegged in the
face with it.
We need a test.
We need a test, it's true.
[ laughter ]
Let's go throw it at them.
Let's go!
Guys, we need to know how
much this hurts.
How much does it hurt, from
one to ten?
Four.
Four?
Yeah, no, that... that hurts
a lot.
So... all right, thank you.
Thank you.
When I heard "girls versus
boys," I was like, "sweet,"
because girls belong in the
kitchen.
No, I'm just kidding!
I'm just kidding.
It's my comfort zone, working
with girls.
I know working with Zach...
sometimes doesn't like to talk
about his feelings.
[ laughter ]
The biggest difference would be,
like, the nice, positive
attitude.
So right now, we're leaning
towards the slingshot, right?
What if we just draw out a bunch
of alternative designs so we can
look and evaluate them a little
bit more?
One way, having it really simple
where people are just holding
it, you can... I mean, if you
make it easy to hold...
They can just make it
moveable.
Like, they'll just walk around
and...
...as opposed to building a
structure that could break,
could tip.
I'd just love to play with
this stuff and see what works.
Ah!
That was good!
Ah!
Let's just switch to that.
I like it better.
The thing about a slingshot
is that, like, somebody there
has to be, like, pulling it and
letting go, instead of just
like, you know, like, pressing a
button and stuff.
Yeah.
See, we can get compression
tanks.
I don't know if we want to use
them.
Dudes!
What's up?
What you going to make?
We're starting to talk about
air compression.
Mm-hmm.
We're trying to figure out
air compression.
Like, what I thought of is
having two chambers.
One, a storage chamber... not
that big...
What?
A what chamber?
A storage chamber.
Uh-huh.
In there, compressed air.
Another one-- you know, they're
Another one-- you know, they're
both sealed off-- another, a
smaller chamber, and that
chamber's used... it has the
compressed air in it, and each
shot uses that... you know,
utilizes that air in the smaller
chamber.
That's very clever.
Yeah, that could work nicely.
Have you guys drawn a picture of
what it's going to be like, yet?
No.
Not really.
You've got to have, you know,
nicely bonded joints and safety
valves-- I don't know, a safety
trigger.
All sort of things.
So keep that in mind as you're
designing.
I get what you're saying.
We need to figure out, like,
how we're going to make sort of
like a cradle to hold it up.
Well, what if you just make
it out of something that doesn't
stretch?
Hook, then cut it and use this
chunk right here.
We made it as a group, so
that's good.
Let's try it outside.
Okay.
Whoo-hoo!
So we want to try and sh**t it
over the roof.
Ready?
Ah, wait!
That was because it was badly
folded.
Well, I almost fell over...
So it's not working.
Maybe we should try one more
time.
Spin, spin.
[ cheers ]
[ laughter ]
[ cheers ]
The long arrow, which will
actually encompass this whole
thing.
Now, so here's, like, a little
valve , like a little push
button valve.
Press this down, this opens, air
rushes in, and there's
compressed air in there.
And then there'll be another
push button thing, which is
the... the actual trigger, so
that, you know, dance team girl
pushes this down, this opens
suddenly, and a t-shirt which is
in here-- pooh, bam-- goes out.
Looks good.
It looks good.
Oh, do you have it?
Okay, cool.
Wait, the hose attaches to
this part, right?
I'm... yeah.
Okay, so I'm thinking that if
this got a little above 20 feet,
then we need something, like,
even twice as long, or...
One and a half.
Twice as long and twice as
strong.
Ladies, how's it going?
Hello.
Good, it's going well.
Build some slingshots?
We need something that will
sh**t it farther, so we doubled
the length of our slingshots.
And it's also a lot easier
for the two people holding it.
Right, so you've got a
moderate amount of force pushing
on the t-shirt for a long
distance, so you're getting all
that energy in but without
having to work as hard.
Nice.
We made it.
Like that sound?
That's definitely a good 40.
That was a great noise.
You guys are iterating pretty
fast.
You're going from one thing to
the next, and you're actually
making stuff.
That's because we're girls!
Ladies.
Fine, ladies, I'm going to
get out of your way and let you
make stuff.
Yeah.
So get rocking.
The estrogen's too much for
him.
[ laughter ]
Oh, man.
All right, so we have... this
is... this is going to be the
storage tank.
It's going to go on back.
We have this connection here
that we're going to use to fill
up the storage tank with air,
and on the end... other end of
this hose we have this valve.
this hose we have this valve.
Connect here.
All right.
And we have this reducer that's
going to go with the screen
valve, which goes to the
barrel.
That's pretty much it.
All right, so I'll cement the
storage tank.
You... Zach, do you want to
start cementing this?
Yeah.
We have about an hour.
Let's split up.
I'm going to do the ba*ls
with the streamers.
The streamers would be good,
because they make the ball go
slower so that it's not
dangerous for the viewers, but
it will also make it look like
fire.
Oh, you like that!
You like that!
That looks pretty cool.
Look what I found.
Yeah!
Basketball!
Good bye, ball.
Yes!
Coming at you!
Ready?
You need a... you got it?
This is pretty heavy, man.
Wait, we need to fill it up
with air before we go outside.
Do you know if that valve is
open?
That's open.
Do it on 30.
You want me to put in on 30?
Yeah, that's good.
That is 30 right there.
Let's go on the steps and
sh**t it over the roof.
Over the roof?
Yeah.
Hide it so it will go over you.
Three...
Three... two... one!
[ laughter ]
Well, at least it shoots.
Because it's definitely...
it's definitely accurate enough.
We only have 30 psi in right
now.
Nice guys, that was friggin'
sweet.
Yeah, that was good.
We've done a lot today.
Day two, ladies!
Welcome to Day Two.
You guys want to do some more
testing?
Yeah.
I mean, yesterday, we tested
at, what, 30 psi?
Yeah
Why don't we tested at a
higher...
Sure.
You guys want 90?
Give me 90.
90 is right there.
I'm going to load it.
Ready?
Okay, it's loaded.
All right.
You guys ready?
Yeah.
Yup.
All right.
Three... two... one!
Wow!
Oh, my God.
Did you guys see that?
Wow.
That was pretty cool.
Yeah.
Let's do it again.
You guys want to try it?
I want to try.
That was a little bit
That was a little bit
shorter, but, you know, who
cares?
I mean, it still went a pretty
good amount.
Let's go back in.
All right, guys, so we...
this all.
It's complete.
We got it all done yesterday.
Yeah, this is almost done.
So...
Deployment of t-shirts...
Yes.
...what do you suggest?
I say... the t-shirt has a
parachute.
It's floating over to this happy
fellow over here.
Okay.
If someone else fixes this
up.
I think you were going to finish
the handles?
Yeah, I can fix... I'll
finish this 100%.
And then you can work on the
fire ba*ls?
All right.
Yeah, we should figure out
how to make them look better and
see maybe if there's some stuff
that we can add to make it a
little bit more jazzy than it is
right now.
Yeah.
And maybe look at not using
tape.
Mm-hmm.
It's ugly!
Sounds like a plan.
I'm going to try using the
t-shirt as a parachute.
Yeah, what do you guys think
about the velocity, though?
Like... I kind of felt like it
was safe, like...
I kind of thought it was safe
too.
What might be safe for you
might not be safe for them.
What do you guys think we can
add to it to slow down the
velocity?
So we need something that
starts off like a pellet, but as
soon as it reaches the top or
somewhere close to that, it
opens up.
When the t-shirt came out of
the barrel, it came out and
started tumbling slowly, right?
Mm-hmm.
What if we made something-- I
don't know-- like a cap or
something to catch the little
flap here, that's tied on,
like, loosely or something?
Oh, catch, okay.
I see what you're saying.
You guys want to try that
idea?
Yeah, do you want me to go
and do that?
All right, I'm going to grab
some foam; we'll play around.
Want to take another break?
Give me a couple minutes.
Hey, you guys?
I'll bet you can't hit me from
down there!
What are you doing there?
What are you up there for,
dude?
I'm where the upper deck is,
and the court is right there, so
see if you can hit me.
Okay.
Okay, I'm game.
What are you calling that?
This is Wes' head.
[ laughter ]
All right, ready?
Okay.
Three... two... one!
Oh!
Yeah.
That was like the upper deck,
but not.
Hey, was that a foam parachute?
Yeah.
The thing shot straight
through.
Yeah, we got to work on our R
and D a little bit.
Thanks, Nate.
So... if...
Ready?
Yeah, I'm ready.
Argh!
These are just t-shirts
wrapped in streamers, and the
idea is the streamers would
unwrap and the t-shirt would
fall.
And this is a t-shirt attached
to another t-shirt.
This one would act as a
parachute, this one acts as a
lead.
So we can test them right now,
and then make things better.
So guys, we'll do parachutes
first?
Good, let's go for that.
Three... two... one!
[ cheers and applause ]
[ cheers and applause ]
That looked good!
So this is the t-shirt with
streamers.
Yeah.
One!
It didn't unwrap itself as it
went.
We won't wrap it around as
much; we'll just go once, and
then tuck all these underneath.
[ cheers ]
Adding streamers really helps
to reduce the velocity of the
t-shirt.
Here's what's happening: when
the t-shirt travels through the
air, it collides with air
molecules, creating a friction
force.
This air resistance, or drag,
slows down the t-shirt.
When air passes over the t-shirt
with streamers, the streamers
flap and collide with the
greater number of air molecules.
This increases the drag and
slows down the t-shirt even
more.
Yay!
[ laughter ]
Annelise, you got this?
Yup.
All right.
Yeah!
Oh, my God, that was amazing.
So guys, we have to decide
which ones we want.
Okay, I say parachute.
Yeah, the parachute thing is
amazing.
That can definitely go for
the middle and front areas.
That will minimize the velocity,
and it won't hit them.
Right, because it can't reach
the top with that.
Then the roll streamers, wrap
that up and that could go...
...all the way to the top.
...all the way to the upper
deck.
All right, I like that.
So let's get a prototype of
that, so we can test and make
sure it will get as far as it
can.
I can make them.
Woo-hoo!
Okay, so what can we make
that shoots this little t-shirt
up and opens up in this area--
the projectile?
We could wrap something
around.
It actually tumbles, so as it
tumbles, it'll unleash, like, a
streamer, so when it gets to the
top and it's tumbling... I mean,
ideally, it'd be fully
unraveled, and then it'll stream
down.
It might work.
Yeah, good idea.
Pop a streamer right here.
We can go test that.
Why don't we try and tie...
...the streamers around
sideways.
Yeah, yeah.
Exactly.
Ready?
Yeah.
Three... two... one.
Oh, man, yeah.
Oh, wow, that was perfect!
It waited a little bit longer
and then it deployed, and it...
I mean, it landed definitely
with a slower descent, so...
What next?
Do you guys want to try
sh**ting two at once?
All right, let's do it.
Three... two... one.
Oh!
Yeah!
That was nice, that was hustle!
Did you see that?
Did you see the recoil?
Oh, yeah, I know.
Look at the difference in...
Yeah, man, all right.
You guys want to try four?
For the first time in
history-- four t-shirts in one
sh**ting!
Three... two.. one!
[ car alarm screeching ]
Look at it.
Whoo!
Wow!
Wow!
All right.
We got four to the Dumpster.
You know, Americans... they love
to see theatrics.
"Oh, it's a g*n!
It's sh**ting t-shirts at me!"
That's way cooler than a
slingshot.
I mean, a slingshot so 1940s,
so...
I'd say the slingshot is not
really a drawback because it's a
three-personed operating system.
Maybe like, three girls can
incorporate that into their
choreography.
I think it has a more
entertainment value to it.
The fact that we have a
multiple-shot cannon, it gives
us a huge advantage.
There's no way that their
slingshot can even compare to
that.
There's just no way, so that is
a huge advantage over them.
Come on, give a spin!
Whoo!
Whoo!
Yeah!
Let's go fire these things.
We're ready for another test!
Let's do it.
This is like, the parachutes are
going to be on the lower deck?
Yeah.
Okay.
Three... two... one!
That was cool!
A little more height, maybe?
We need to see if we can get
it as high as that scaffolding.
Yeah, right there.
Hold it up there with all
your strength, and Ana's got to
pull back really hard.
One... two...
Stretch it, ladies!
Yeah!
That's what I'm talking about!
Nice shot!
That was it!
Yo, dude, what's going on?
Okay, check it out, man.
I figured out a way to put on
this tank of air like a regular
backpack.
What I'm going to do is I'm
going to tie this around, put
the bolt in, tighten it, and
it'll stay there.
I'll do the same thing with this
side and the top.
But, I mean, what you could
do is like, put foam around it
just to make it softer on the
back.
We're kind of... we're kind
of low on time, dude.
I wouldn't want this rubbing
against my back, you know, for a
couple hours or an hour, or
whatever it is.
If you want to go do that,
bro, but right now, don't you
have some t-shirts to wrap up?
Dude, I, like, came here just
to talk to you about this, so
forget you.
Cool.
Man, these people!
Tuck me in, baby!
Oh, very nice!
I mean, it forms around my
body, though.
Are we going to spray paint
it?
Yeah, we're going to spray
paint it.
Cool.
Okay.
Check it out.
So are you guys ready to wrap
it up?
Yeah, definitely.
Nice job.
We did it.
Ain't no way a slingshot's
going to beat a g*n.
They can't hustle this
muscle.
Welcome to the home of the
Connecticut Sun, guys.
Connecticut Sun, guys.
Right this way.
Come on, come on, come on.
Not much time.
All right.
Design Squads, meet Tamika and
Lindsay.
Hi.
Hi, everybody.
You guys ready to go?
Yeah, definitely.
Let's do this.
Green Team, you're up first.
Give her the rundown.
All right, you guys ready?
Yup.
Yup.
All right, so for our
project, we built you a super
slingshot.
Okay.
It's safe and easy to use,
and built out of the outside of
a basketball.
Nice.
It launches two different
types of t-shirts.
One has flames on it and it's
built to go to the upper deck,
and the other one is a
self-deploying parachute that
goes to the lower deck.
And in order to launch this, we
need three people, and we were
wondering if you guys would like
to help us out so we can show
it.
Sure, yeah.
All right, so we've got a
handle for each of you.
We're just like this, right?
Yes.
Yup, just like that.
Just like that.
Okay, are you guys ready?
Three... two... one.
Whoo!
Nice!
And she's on the floor!
You guys want to see the
parachute?
Yeah.
All right.
It actually launches two
t-shirts at once.
Okay, pull it down.
Three... two... one!
Aw!
All right, nice work, Green
Team.
You ladies ready to see the
purple?
Yup.
If you will, gentlemen.
The gold g*n!
What we have here is a
traditional t-shirt launcher,
and what we can do is we can
actually fire four at once.
And one of the benefits of this
it's really portable.
You only need one person to
actually use it-- not three--
and it's entertaining for all
the crowd.
So it's definitely... it's loud,
so it's nice.
So you guys want to see it work?
Sure.
Yeah.
All right, let's see.
All right.
Okay, here we go.
Three... two... one!
Whoo!
Wow!
Yeah!
Pretty solid.
[ laughter ]
Jeez!
Check that out-- three
different people got t-shirts
that time.
Good job, Purple Team.
All right, Tamika, Lindsay, you
guys seen enough?
Yeah.
Let's go huddle up and judge
the teams.
What did you think?
Well, I thought the first
group, with the slingshot, I
though that was pretty cool.
I just don't know how... you
know, you really have to get
back.
You need probably two people my
height to really... but I liked
the basketball theme and the
fact they can parachute and get
it to two different people.
That was pretty cool.
You know, the g*n, too, as it
come out, and then you kind
of... you know, the fans will
see that and you know you're
going to get lots of attention,
you know, focused on that, and I
think it's just going to really
get a lot of energy in the
building, so I don't know.
It's a tough decision, though.
It's going to be a, you know,
tough one to make.
What do you guys say we hold
that thought and announce the
winner live during the game?
Oh, yeah.
Yeah.
Feel a little pressure on them.
All right.
[ laughter ]
[ cheers and applause ]
It's game time.
Let's do this.
Let's do this.
Can you hear that in there?
I really like the t-shirt
sh**ter.
It's exciting, it's flashy, I
mean, the barrel's gold.
Can't beat that.
I am pretty confident.
I was pretty happy about our
design.
If it's for, like, creativity,
like, I know we've got this.
[ cheers and applause ]
[ cheers and applause ]
[ buzzer blaring ]
Ladies and gentlemen,
let's please give a big
Connecticut Sun welcome to the
cast of the PBS engineering
reality show Design Squad!
[ cheers and applause ]
The Connecticut Sun needed a
way to sh**t t-shirts to the
fans in the upper deck, so we
asked Design Squad to build us a
t-shirt sh**ter.
Without further ado, the winner
of the Design Squad t-shirt
sh**ter challenge is... the
Purple Team!
[ cheers and applause ]
Three... two.. one!
[ cheers and applause ]
Yeah!
Yay!
Yeah, yeah, yeah!
A win for purple means Wes is
blowing away the competition
with 400 points.
Hey, Lindsey, there's so much
more action on our Web site.
Yeah, behind-the-scenes stuff
like our blogs.
Not to mention you can watch
full episodes.
Play games and build cool
projects.
Awesome.
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03x05 - sh**ting for the Sun
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In each episode, contestants are separated into two color-coded teams to complete engineering projects for real-life clients.
In each episode, contestants are separated into two color-coded teams to complete engineering projects for real-life clients.