1 00:00:02,042 --> 00:00:03,208 - [Dan] Warning: What you are about to see 2 00:00:03,208 --> 00:00:05,375 could be disturbing to some viewers. 3 00:00:05,375 --> 00:00:07,417 Viewer discretion is advised. 4 00:00:08,542 --> 00:00:11,292 (climatic music) 5 00:00:15,042 --> 00:00:16,625 Imagine, 6 00:00:16,625 --> 00:00:18,542 a magic carpet, 7 00:00:18,542 --> 00:00:21,375 developed in secret by the United States military. 8 00:00:22,625 --> 00:00:25,958 - You could steer it much like you could steer a Segway. 9 00:00:25,958 --> 00:00:28,583 Lean to the left, go to the left. I want one. 10 00:00:28,583 --> 00:00:30,000 (climatic music continues) 11 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:32,375 - How about a cage for babies 12 00:00:32,375 --> 00:00:34,875 that hangs from a 20-story building? 13 00:00:34,875 --> 00:00:36,375 - You can walk down the street 14 00:00:36,375 --> 00:00:39,208 and see these babies cages filled with babies, 15 00:00:39,208 --> 00:00:42,583 suspended up to hundreds of feet in the air. 16 00:00:42,583 --> 00:00:45,750 - Or giant killer robots powered by 17 00:00:45,750 --> 00:00:47,042 facial expressions. 18 00:00:47,042 --> 00:00:49,167 - The trigger is a smile. 19 00:00:49,167 --> 00:00:52,250 (indistinct robot chatter) 20 00:00:52,250 --> 00:00:54,833 - Has the human drive to create new technology 21 00:00:54,833 --> 00:00:56,792 opened a Pandora's box? 22 00:00:56,792 --> 00:00:58,792 - This is an intrusive contact lens 23 00:00:58,792 --> 00:01:01,042 with a camera on your eyeball. 24 00:01:01,042 --> 00:01:03,750 - This is the technology that keeps me up at night. 25 00:01:05,042 --> 00:01:07,458 - These are the inventions so surprising, 26 00:01:07,458 --> 00:01:09,708 they're truly "Unbelievable". 27 00:01:09,708 --> 00:01:14,083 (climatic music continues) 28 00:01:23,208 --> 00:01:24,875 The human quest for flight 29 00:01:24,875 --> 00:01:27,042 has yielded some bizarre inventions. 30 00:01:27,042 --> 00:01:29,208 One of the oldest and strangest dates back 31 00:01:29,208 --> 00:01:33,042 to the sixth century when Chinese emperor, Gao Yang, 32 00:01:33,042 --> 00:01:37,208 takes on an unbelievably twisted new hobby. 33 00:01:37,208 --> 00:01:40,208 (glorious music) 34 00:01:41,417 --> 00:01:44,708 - So 6th century CE China Emperor Gao Yang is 35 00:01:44,708 --> 00:01:45,792 a little bit of a wild guy. 36 00:01:45,792 --> 00:01:48,042 He's 24 years old, 37 00:01:48,042 --> 00:01:50,833 and while he can run government adequately 38 00:01:50,833 --> 00:01:52,208 and everyone seems to like him, 39 00:01:52,208 --> 00:01:55,125 on his off hours he does what he wants. 40 00:01:56,708 --> 00:01:59,625 - One of Gao Yang's brilliant ideas is to figure out 41 00:01:59,625 --> 00:02:01,750 whether or not human beings could fly, 42 00:02:03,042 --> 00:02:07,458 by attaching bamboo mats to the arms of prisoners 43 00:02:07,458 --> 00:02:09,875 and then proceeds to take these prisoners 44 00:02:09,875 --> 00:02:11,708 to the top of a 10-story tower 45 00:02:11,708 --> 00:02:16,625 and pushes them in the hopes that these prisoners will fly. 46 00:02:18,375 --> 00:02:20,833 Spoiler alert, they do not. 47 00:02:20,833 --> 00:02:22,917 (suspenseful music) 48 00:02:22,917 --> 00:02:25,875 - So the bamboo mats aren't working out very well, 49 00:02:25,875 --> 00:02:27,792 but the emperor has another idea. 50 00:02:27,792 --> 00:02:31,042 In his army he has these giant war kites 51 00:02:31,042 --> 00:02:33,583 that can soar to incredible heights. 52 00:02:33,583 --> 00:02:37,875 So surely these could support a human being 53 00:02:37,875 --> 00:02:39,167 and allow them to fly. 54 00:02:39,167 --> 00:02:41,042 (suspenseful music continues) 55 00:02:41,042 --> 00:02:42,708 As if this story wasn't weird enough, 56 00:02:42,708 --> 00:02:45,542 it gets a little bit more twisted. 57 00:02:45,542 --> 00:02:48,500 - As these people are thrown off of a building, 58 00:02:48,500 --> 00:02:52,208 he hands the string to this kite to their loved ones 59 00:02:52,208 --> 00:02:54,417 and urges them to try 60 00:02:54,417 --> 00:02:56,917 and bring their loved ones safely to the ground. 61 00:02:56,917 --> 00:03:00,625 (suspenseful music continues) 62 00:03:01,833 --> 00:03:03,542 (man screaming) 63 00:03:03,542 --> 00:03:07,000 - But that doesn't happen and the prisoners just keep dying. 64 00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:08,958 (edgy music) 65 00:03:08,958 --> 00:03:11,208 - And then the unexpected happens. 66 00:03:11,208 --> 00:03:13,708 One prisoner, Yuan Huangtou, 67 00:03:13,708 --> 00:03:16,750 (edgy music continues) 68 00:03:19,125 --> 00:03:22,792 actually flies for about a mile and a half, 69 00:03:22,792 --> 00:03:24,792 (angelic music) 70 00:03:24,792 --> 00:03:26,208 attached to this kite. 71 00:03:26,208 --> 00:03:29,750 (angelic music continues) 72 00:03:29,750 --> 00:03:33,167 And even lands... 73 00:03:33,167 --> 00:03:35,708 safely. (angelic music continues) 74 00:03:35,708 --> 00:03:37,958 - [Dan] Yuan Huangtou becomes the first person 75 00:03:37,958 --> 00:03:42,125 to achieve flight and survive to tell the tale. 76 00:03:42,125 --> 00:03:44,417 - He flew for a mile and a half and he's alive, 77 00:03:44,417 --> 00:03:47,792 and you would think now he'd be granted his freedom. 78 00:03:47,792 --> 00:03:51,250 Instead, the emperor condemns him to death by starvation. 79 00:03:54,542 --> 00:03:58,333 - 1300 years later, at the height of the Cold War, 80 00:03:58,333 --> 00:04:01,208 the job of test pilot is still dangerous, 81 00:04:01,208 --> 00:04:03,667 but at least it's voluntary. 82 00:04:04,792 --> 00:04:06,708 - In the Cold War, the military's looking 83 00:04:06,708 --> 00:04:10,708 for any type of technological edge that it can get. 84 00:04:10,708 --> 00:04:14,500 So, so many crazy ideas are being thrown out 85 00:04:14,500 --> 00:04:16,708 to try and figure out what is going to be the thing 86 00:04:16,708 --> 00:04:18,875 that changes the face of the battlefield. 87 00:04:18,875 --> 00:04:22,375 - The military becomes very interested in this idea of 88 00:04:22,375 --> 00:04:25,625 allowing troops to rapidly move over the ground, 89 00:04:25,625 --> 00:04:28,750 not on the ground, but over the ground. 90 00:04:28,750 --> 00:04:30,875 - Traditionally, one of the problems in a battlefield, 91 00:04:30,875 --> 00:04:33,708 there are mines or snipers. 92 00:04:33,708 --> 00:04:37,042 So, a way of getting over those mines 93 00:04:37,042 --> 00:04:38,583 would be really, really useful. 94 00:04:40,042 --> 00:04:42,833 - [Dan] That goal leads to this bizarre contraption. 95 00:04:42,833 --> 00:04:45,917 It's the brainchild of inventor Charles Zimmerman. 96 00:04:45,917 --> 00:04:48,708 - Zimmerman's background is in working in helicopters, 97 00:04:48,708 --> 00:04:51,542 and he recognized that having a rotor assembly 98 00:04:51,542 --> 00:04:55,208 would provide the lift capability for the platform. 99 00:04:55,208 --> 00:04:57,583 A rifleman, on a flying platform, 100 00:04:57,583 --> 00:04:59,542 will ascend into the air, 101 00:04:59,542 --> 00:05:01,583 flying across the battlefield while delivering 102 00:05:01,583 --> 00:05:03,333 suppressing fire toward the enemy 103 00:05:03,333 --> 00:05:06,583 against an opposing force that cannot do that. 104 00:05:06,583 --> 00:05:08,208 - [Dan] But why be conventional? 105 00:05:08,208 --> 00:05:10,042 Instead of having the rotor blades on top, 106 00:05:10,042 --> 00:05:14,083 like a normal chopper, Zimmerman flips the bird upside down 107 00:05:14,083 --> 00:05:15,792 and puts the blades on the bottom. 108 00:05:16,750 --> 00:05:19,542 This allegedly makes it more stable 109 00:05:19,542 --> 00:05:21,500 and more useful on the battlefield. 110 00:05:21,500 --> 00:05:24,125 - The idea is that you could steer it 111 00:05:24,125 --> 00:05:26,083 much like you could steer a Segway. 112 00:05:26,083 --> 00:05:29,583 You lean into it, lean to the left, go to the left, 113 00:05:29,583 --> 00:05:31,250 lean to the right, go to the right. 114 00:05:31,250 --> 00:05:33,708 (edgy music) 115 00:05:36,375 --> 00:05:38,750 - This thing is, kind of, like a magic carpet. 116 00:05:38,750 --> 00:05:42,458 It can fly up to 30 feet in the air and go 16 miles an hour. 117 00:05:42,458 --> 00:05:44,833 So it's pretty fast compared 118 00:05:44,833 --> 00:05:46,833 to somebody moving over the ground. 119 00:05:46,833 --> 00:05:50,083 - [Dan] The VZ-1 Pawnee as it's known, sounds promising, 120 00:05:50,083 --> 00:05:51,292 but there's a problem. 121 00:05:51,292 --> 00:05:53,708 - Talking about shooting fish in a barrel. 122 00:05:53,708 --> 00:05:57,250 Here this loud thing is coming at you at 16 miles per hour. 123 00:05:57,250 --> 00:05:58,833 You hear it from far off 124 00:05:58,833 --> 00:06:02,625 and you have plenty of time to take aim and unleash. 125 00:06:02,625 --> 00:06:04,375 - So they ask the inventor, 126 00:06:04,375 --> 00:06:07,208 make it be able to fly higher and go even faster. 127 00:06:07,208 --> 00:06:10,333 (edgy music continues) 128 00:06:10,333 --> 00:06:12,625 - [Dan] But instead of higher and faster, 129 00:06:12,625 --> 00:06:15,583 the new version goes lower and slower. 130 00:06:15,583 --> 00:06:17,250 - It also turns out that wind 131 00:06:17,250 --> 00:06:18,833 is a huge problem for this platform. 132 00:06:18,833 --> 00:06:21,250 Even a little bit of wind can cause it 133 00:06:21,250 --> 00:06:23,042 to become incredibly unstable, 134 00:06:23,042 --> 00:06:27,125 which means it's not usable in basically any situation. 135 00:06:27,125 --> 00:06:28,917 - Every idea does not pan out. 136 00:06:28,917 --> 00:06:32,042 It just didn't perform in a way appropriate for warfare. 137 00:06:32,042 --> 00:06:34,208 But, I want one. 138 00:06:34,208 --> 00:06:37,208 (edgy music fades) 139 00:06:37,208 --> 00:06:38,500 (gentle piano music) 140 00:06:38,500 --> 00:06:40,917 - [Dan] If a flying platform sounds insane, 141 00:06:40,917 --> 00:06:42,542 what about an inflatable airplane 142 00:06:42,542 --> 00:06:44,542 you can pack inside an airplane? 143 00:06:44,542 --> 00:06:45,833 (gentle piano music fades) 144 00:06:45,833 --> 00:06:48,292 (animated music) 145 00:06:48,292 --> 00:06:49,542 - Another interesting idea that comes 146 00:06:49,542 --> 00:06:53,083 out of Cold War thinking is how do you help 147 00:06:53,083 --> 00:06:56,208 a downed pilot behind enemy lines get back home. 148 00:06:56,208 --> 00:06:58,042 So Goodyear comes up with the idea 149 00:06:58,042 --> 00:07:01,833 of dropping an inflatable aircraft behind enemy lines 150 00:07:01,833 --> 00:07:05,917 to assist that pilot in escaping quickly. 151 00:07:05,917 --> 00:07:10,042 - [Dan] In 1956, Goodyear, the company known for tires, 152 00:07:10,042 --> 00:07:14,542 unveils the Inflatoplane, also known as the Inflatobird. 153 00:07:15,583 --> 00:07:18,167 It's made of a special rubber nylon blend. 154 00:07:18,167 --> 00:07:21,792 Unbelievably, when it's unpacked, it actually flies. 155 00:07:23,375 --> 00:07:25,708 - So the pilot opens up this crate 156 00:07:25,708 --> 00:07:27,708 and there's a motor in there that does the inflating 157 00:07:27,708 --> 00:07:29,708 and it inflates itself in five minutes. 158 00:07:29,708 --> 00:07:31,042 Kind of, like when you go camping 159 00:07:31,042 --> 00:07:33,542 and you have a motor on your air mattress 160 00:07:33,542 --> 00:07:36,042 and you're inflating it, but instead of sleeping on it, 161 00:07:36,042 --> 00:07:37,333 you're going to fly in it. 162 00:07:37,333 --> 00:07:40,667 (engine buzzing) 163 00:07:40,667 --> 00:07:42,375 - This is not a toy airplane. 164 00:07:42,375 --> 00:07:44,375 Its range is 400 miles. 165 00:07:44,375 --> 00:07:46,250 It can go up to 70 miles an hour 166 00:07:46,250 --> 00:07:48,083 and it can get up to 10,000 feet. 167 00:07:48,083 --> 00:07:50,708 Not only that, the way the plane is constructed, 168 00:07:50,708 --> 00:07:52,958 as the engine is running is actually pushing air 169 00:07:52,958 --> 00:07:55,583 back into the structure of the airplane. 170 00:07:55,583 --> 00:07:59,875 And so it can take up to six 30 caliber gunshot punctures 171 00:07:59,875 --> 00:08:00,792 without deflating. 172 00:08:01,875 --> 00:08:03,042 - [Dan] If you're thinking this invention 173 00:08:03,042 --> 00:08:06,042 is too good to be true, you might be right. 174 00:08:06,042 --> 00:08:07,542 (anxious music) 175 00:08:07,542 --> 00:08:09,750 - During testing, there are some problems. 176 00:08:09,750 --> 00:08:11,750 This is not a rigid framed aircraft. 177 00:08:11,750 --> 00:08:13,875 There are pilots who go up in the Inflatoplane 178 00:08:13,875 --> 00:08:17,542 and they find that they have to fly it delicately, 179 00:08:17,542 --> 00:08:20,458 otherwise the wings fold in on themselves. 180 00:08:20,458 --> 00:08:23,542 - One test pilot tried to go up too fast 181 00:08:23,542 --> 00:08:26,750 and the wing buckled and actually folded over onto itself 182 00:08:26,750 --> 00:08:28,417 totally cutting their lift. 183 00:08:28,417 --> 00:08:30,458 That pilot fortunately survived. 184 00:08:30,458 --> 00:08:32,417 Another pilot is not so lucky. 185 00:08:32,417 --> 00:08:35,292 As he's flying, a support cable 186 00:08:35,292 --> 00:08:37,000 holding the wing structure breaks 187 00:08:37,000 --> 00:08:39,708 and the wing folds over onto the propeller 188 00:08:39,708 --> 00:08:42,458 causing the entire plane to go down. 189 00:08:42,458 --> 00:08:46,042 - Sadly, the pilot loses his life and after that, 190 00:08:46,042 --> 00:08:47,208 this project was killed. 191 00:08:47,208 --> 00:08:48,583 It's a great idea. 192 00:08:48,583 --> 00:08:52,042 It sounds amazing, but it's just not practical. 193 00:08:52,042 --> 00:08:53,875 - [Dan] Remarkably, the Inflatoplane 194 00:08:53,875 --> 00:08:56,542 isn't even the strangest plane of its time. 195 00:08:56,542 --> 00:08:58,750 (eerie music) 196 00:08:58,750 --> 00:09:01,917 - In 2012, the United States government decides 197 00:09:01,917 --> 00:09:06,792 to declassify documents that are labeled "Project 1794", 198 00:09:07,208 --> 00:09:11,167 dated 1956, and we're seeing what appears to be 199 00:09:12,375 --> 00:09:13,792 a UFO. (eerie music continues) 200 00:09:13,792 --> 00:09:15,833 - [Dan] The plans describe a flying disc 201 00:09:16,875 --> 00:09:19,167 that's able to reach speeds of Mach 4 202 00:09:19,167 --> 00:09:21,125 and an altitude of 100,000 feet. 203 00:09:22,458 --> 00:09:25,792 But why would the military need this alien looking flyer? 204 00:09:25,792 --> 00:09:28,500 (eerie music continues) 205 00:09:28,500 --> 00:09:29,750 - So during the Cold War, 206 00:09:29,750 --> 00:09:32,208 if America goes to war with the Soviet Union, 207 00:09:32,208 --> 00:09:34,792 they might take out all the military runways 208 00:09:34,792 --> 00:09:37,333 to prevent our aircraft from taking off. 209 00:09:37,333 --> 00:09:39,208 So what does someone think of? 210 00:09:39,208 --> 00:09:43,625 Well, we need a vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. 211 00:09:43,625 --> 00:09:46,917 - Enter Jack Frost who comes up with an idea. 212 00:09:46,917 --> 00:09:49,667 Instead of creating an aircraft that has wings, 213 00:09:49,667 --> 00:09:51,333 why not create an aircraft that 214 00:09:51,333 --> 00:09:54,208 looks just like a giant disc? 215 00:09:54,208 --> 00:09:55,708 (eerie music continues) 216 00:09:55,708 --> 00:09:58,542 - [Dan] Frost believes his curved disc will have the lift 217 00:09:58,542 --> 00:10:01,292 to leave a more traditional plane in the dust. 218 00:10:01,292 --> 00:10:02,833 (edgy music) 219 00:10:02,833 --> 00:10:05,708 - The US military is extremely excited by this concept, 220 00:10:05,708 --> 00:10:08,792 and they throw a bunch of money in this guys direction 221 00:10:08,792 --> 00:10:10,667 to build this aircraft. 222 00:10:10,667 --> 00:10:15,708 - And so in 1959, Frost presents the Avrocar VZ-9, 223 00:10:16,375 --> 00:10:17,208 (edgy music continues) 224 00:10:17,208 --> 00:10:18,292 and it works, 225 00:10:18,292 --> 00:10:21,042 (edgy music fades) 226 00:10:21,042 --> 00:10:22,000 kind of. 227 00:10:22,000 --> 00:10:23,125 (upbeat music) 228 00:10:23,125 --> 00:10:26,625 - The Avrocar goes into its test flight. 229 00:10:26,625 --> 00:10:28,417 And remember, he's trying to achieve 230 00:10:28,417 --> 00:10:31,083 Mach 3, 4 at 100,000 feet. 231 00:10:31,083 --> 00:10:32,875 He gets three feet off the ground 232 00:10:32,875 --> 00:10:34,583 and goes 30 miles per hour. 233 00:10:34,583 --> 00:10:37,792 And as you might imagine, the people who wrote the check, 234 00:10:37,792 --> 00:10:38,375 And as you might imagine, the people who wrote the check, 235 00:10:38,750 --> 00:10:40,792 they had a few questions for Jack. 236 00:10:40,792 --> 00:10:43,292 - Eventually the Avrocar is shelved, 237 00:10:43,292 --> 00:10:46,000 another Cold War big swing that doesn't live up to the hype. 238 00:10:50,208 --> 00:10:51,833 - Parents are always looking for ways 239 00:10:51,833 --> 00:10:52,792 to keep their babies happy and healthy. 240 00:10:52,792 --> 00:10:54,208 In the early 1920s, 241 00:10:54,208 --> 00:10:59,208 that desire yields a particularly strange invention. 242 00:10:59,917 --> 00:11:02,792 (fast-paced pulsating music) 243 00:11:02,792 --> 00:11:05,583 - 1920 is the first year that 244 00:11:05,583 --> 00:11:06,875 the US census reveals 245 00:11:06,875 --> 00:11:09,917 that a majority of Americans live in cities. 246 00:11:09,917 --> 00:11:12,583 - It's a period of hyper urbanization. 247 00:11:12,583 --> 00:11:14,375 Steel has just absolutely changed the game. 248 00:11:14,375 --> 00:11:17,167 We've gone from having buildings that at most could be 249 00:11:17,167 --> 00:11:20,042 about five to six stories tall to suddenly 250 00:11:20,042 --> 00:11:22,625 with steel, the sky's the limit, 251 00:11:22,625 --> 00:11:24,458 hence skyscrapers. 252 00:11:24,458 --> 00:11:26,083 (haunting music) 253 00:11:26,083 --> 00:11:28,167 - [Dan] Electric elevators suddenly make the highest floors 254 00:11:28,167 --> 00:11:31,167 go from the least desirable to the most. 255 00:11:31,167 --> 00:11:34,417 But while folks are enjoying their sweeping new views, 256 00:11:34,417 --> 00:11:37,667 they realize they've lost something very important. 257 00:11:37,667 --> 00:11:40,042 (haunting music continues) 258 00:11:40,042 --> 00:11:41,750 - If you're living in an apartment, 259 00:11:41,750 --> 00:11:44,917 you might not want to lug your baby in the elevator 260 00:11:44,917 --> 00:11:49,167 or down the steps, but you still have this understanding, 261 00:11:49,167 --> 00:11:52,000 this sense that fresh air is a good thing. 262 00:11:53,333 --> 00:11:54,875 - So we have a few people that are thinking about ways 263 00:11:54,875 --> 00:11:56,833 to get that fresh air to the kids 264 00:11:56,833 --> 00:12:00,292 despite being on the 10th, 15th floor, you name it. 265 00:12:00,292 --> 00:12:01,833 And enter Emma Read. 266 00:12:01,833 --> 00:12:05,917 In 1922, she applies for a patent for a cage, essentially, 267 00:12:05,917 --> 00:12:08,250 that's just going to hang right outside the window, 268 00:12:08,250 --> 00:12:10,875 just like you'd hang an air conditioning unit. 269 00:12:10,875 --> 00:12:12,875 Except it's not an air conditioning unit, 270 00:12:12,875 --> 00:12:16,708 (haunting music continues) 271 00:12:18,208 --> 00:12:18,875 it's your baby. 272 00:12:18,875 --> 00:12:20,458 (nervous music) 273 00:12:20,458 --> 00:12:24,042 - Baby cage is pretty much exactly what it sounds like. 274 00:12:24,042 --> 00:12:27,417 It's made of essentially chicken wire and wood. 275 00:12:27,417 --> 00:12:32,042 And supposedly these baby cages could hold up to 500 pounds, 276 00:12:32,042 --> 00:12:33,958 but who's going to test that? 277 00:12:35,250 --> 00:12:38,000 - The real thing driving the baby cage 278 00:12:38,000 --> 00:12:40,375 is the threat of tuberculosis. 279 00:12:40,375 --> 00:12:43,208 Doctors are telling moms that the best way 280 00:12:43,208 --> 00:12:47,000 to prevent tuberculosis is to get your kid fresh air. 281 00:12:47,000 --> 00:12:48,833 And it seems like a good idea. 282 00:12:48,833 --> 00:12:51,042 - In some cities, this idea takes off. 283 00:12:51,042 --> 00:12:52,708 You can walk down the street 284 00:12:52,708 --> 00:12:55,833 and see these baby cages filled with babies, 285 00:12:55,833 --> 00:12:58,875 suspended up to hundreds of feet in the air. 286 00:13:00,375 --> 00:13:01,542 (fast-paced music) 287 00:13:01,542 --> 00:13:02,750 - [Dan] Even a future first lady 288 00:13:02,750 --> 00:13:04,958 jumps on the baby cage bandwagon. 289 00:13:06,042 --> 00:13:08,542 - Eleanor Roosevelt before she's first lady, 290 00:13:08,542 --> 00:13:10,542 living in New York City with FDR, 291 00:13:10,542 --> 00:13:12,792 ends up using a baby cage for her kid 292 00:13:12,792 --> 00:13:14,542 on the recommendation of a doctor. 293 00:13:14,542 --> 00:13:18,000 So one of Eleanor Roosevelt's neighbors looks out the window 294 00:13:18,000 --> 00:13:20,375 and sees a baby hanging out over the city, 295 00:13:20,375 --> 00:13:22,000 so she complains, 296 00:13:22,000 --> 00:13:24,417 and the Roosevelts have to take down their baby cage, 297 00:13:26,958 --> 00:13:28,500 - [Dan] But it's not just the US. 298 00:13:28,500 --> 00:13:32,000 By 1930, the cages are especially popular in London. 299 00:13:32,000 --> 00:13:34,208 In fact, the Chelsea Baby Club is giving them away 300 00:13:34,208 --> 00:13:36,458 to anyone without a backyard. 301 00:13:36,458 --> 00:13:39,000 - Let's also keep in mind people are experiencing 302 00:13:39,000 --> 00:13:42,208 so much rapid shifts in their lives in this era. 303 00:13:42,208 --> 00:13:44,000 You've got a lot of experiments going on. 304 00:13:44,000 --> 00:13:45,750 Whether it's subways, 305 00:13:45,750 --> 00:13:48,542 these crazy new things called automobiles. 306 00:13:48,542 --> 00:13:50,708 Well, maybe it just makes sense that one of those shifts 307 00:13:50,708 --> 00:13:53,792 is putting your child in a cage that hangs out a window. 308 00:13:55,458 --> 00:13:59,708 - [Dan] By the 1940s, vaccines calm fears of tuberculosis 309 00:13:59,708 --> 00:14:01,917 and the cages fall out of favor, 310 00:14:01,917 --> 00:14:04,250 before anyone falls out of them. 311 00:14:04,250 --> 00:14:06,583 - But perhaps more importantly, 312 00:14:06,583 --> 00:14:09,958 there's a real change in the way 313 00:14:09,958 --> 00:14:12,625 we understand science and we understand disease. 314 00:14:12,625 --> 00:14:15,292 So it's not that we're uninterested in fresh air, 315 00:14:15,292 --> 00:14:17,708 but we don't see it as the cure-all to everything, 316 00:14:17,708 --> 00:14:21,042 so much so that we're willing to stick our kids in cages 317 00:14:21,042 --> 00:14:23,375 outside of Upper West Side apartments. 318 00:14:26,375 --> 00:14:29,500 - There's no word on whether a generation of big city babies 319 00:14:29,500 --> 00:14:31,542 suffer from terrible acrophobia 320 00:14:31,542 --> 00:14:33,458 or are immune to it. 321 00:14:33,458 --> 00:14:37,500 But the 1930s introduced more than one strange invention 322 00:14:37,500 --> 00:14:39,208 to concerned parents. 323 00:14:39,208 --> 00:14:40,583 (bouncy music) 324 00:14:40,583 --> 00:14:42,458 As another World War looms, 325 00:14:42,458 --> 00:14:45,708 London Town Councils hand out tiny green outfits 326 00:14:45,708 --> 00:14:47,583 to perplexed new mothers. 327 00:14:47,583 --> 00:14:49,250 Officials casually explain, 328 00:14:50,208 --> 00:14:51,333 it's a gas mask 329 00:14:53,000 --> 00:14:54,458 for your baby. 330 00:14:54,458 --> 00:14:55,625 (bouncy music continues) 331 00:14:55,625 --> 00:14:56,875 - From the First World War, 332 00:14:56,875 --> 00:14:58,167 there were a hundred thousand deaths 333 00:14:58,167 --> 00:14:59,958 from mustard and chlorine gas. 334 00:14:59,958 --> 00:15:02,583 So you have the military and scientists 335 00:15:02,583 --> 00:15:03,958 trying to develop technology 336 00:15:03,958 --> 00:15:07,042 to keep the population safe from gas attacks 337 00:15:07,042 --> 00:15:09,750 and baby gas masks are invented. 338 00:15:09,750 --> 00:15:11,500 (bouncy music fades) 339 00:15:11,500 --> 00:15:14,083 - Gas mask is probably the wrong word. 340 00:15:14,083 --> 00:15:16,292 This is like a full body suit. 341 00:15:16,292 --> 00:15:19,458 This is like a helmet with a visor 342 00:15:19,458 --> 00:15:23,167 and a metal grate over the kid's face. 343 00:15:23,167 --> 00:15:25,458 - [Dan] In an effort to make them seem less scary, 344 00:15:25,458 --> 00:15:28,375 the government names them the 'Mickey Mouse' mask. 345 00:15:28,375 --> 00:15:29,667 (tense music) 346 00:15:29,667 --> 00:15:31,875 Not sure how much that helps. 347 00:15:31,875 --> 00:15:33,833 - Getting a baby into these gas masks 348 00:15:33,833 --> 00:15:35,583 isn't exactly the easiest thing. 349 00:15:35,583 --> 00:15:38,958 You have to load them into this metal visor thing 350 00:15:38,958 --> 00:15:42,458 and then wrap canvas around them like a diaper 351 00:15:42,458 --> 00:15:44,708 with their little legs hanging out from the bottom. 352 00:15:44,708 --> 00:15:46,750 But then it is actually convenient for the parents 353 00:15:46,750 --> 00:15:50,292 because you can wear your gas masked baby like a backpack, 354 00:15:50,292 --> 00:15:52,583 like a gas masked BabyBjorn. 355 00:15:52,583 --> 00:15:53,875 (tense music continues) 356 00:15:53,875 --> 00:15:57,042 - This suit is meant to be airtight 357 00:15:57,042 --> 00:16:00,250 and you as the parent have to keep pumping air into it, 358 00:16:00,250 --> 00:16:03,292 so your kid has enough fresh air to survive. 359 00:16:03,292 --> 00:16:06,167 It's not hard to imagine this isn't going to work well. 360 00:16:06,167 --> 00:16:08,375 - So the British start testing out this brilliant idea, 361 00:16:08,375 --> 00:16:10,917 but then the nurses notice a little problem. 362 00:16:10,917 --> 00:16:13,542 The babies are falling asleep. 363 00:16:13,542 --> 00:16:15,083 - [Dan] And it isn't because the babies 364 00:16:15,083 --> 00:16:16,875 are so warm and cozy. 365 00:16:16,875 --> 00:16:18,375 - So it becomes rather clear 366 00:16:18,375 --> 00:16:19,875 that they aren't actually getting 367 00:16:19,875 --> 00:16:21,792 as much air as they're supposed to. 368 00:16:21,792 --> 00:16:23,250 And ultimately the project is scraped 369 00:16:23,250 --> 00:16:25,958 because of course, better to run the risk of a gas attack 370 00:16:25,958 --> 00:16:28,583 than inadvertently wipe out a generation 371 00:16:28,583 --> 00:16:31,667 by suffocating them in baby gas masks. 372 00:16:31,667 --> 00:16:35,333 - [Dan] But it does inspire yet another bizarre invention. 373 00:16:35,333 --> 00:16:37,458 - As the British people are facing the prospect of war, 374 00:16:37,458 --> 00:16:41,375 we also have the baby gas mask stroller. 375 00:16:41,375 --> 00:16:43,125 For the parent-on-the-go who wants to make sure 376 00:16:43,125 --> 00:16:45,500 their child's protected in the event of a mustard attack. 377 00:16:45,500 --> 00:16:48,708 Basically it looks like a coffin with a visor over it, 378 00:16:48,708 --> 00:16:50,083 so you can see the baby, 379 00:16:50,083 --> 00:16:51,167 make sure everything looks good there. 380 00:16:51,167 --> 00:16:53,875 - [Dan] And like the baby gas mask, 381 00:16:53,875 --> 00:16:56,042 the gas stroller is also airtight 382 00:16:56,042 --> 00:16:58,125 with a cute little pump. 383 00:16:58,125 --> 00:17:01,333 Just don't forget to give it a squeeze now and then. 384 00:17:01,333 --> 00:17:03,875 - You put your baby in this airtight, coffin-like, 385 00:17:03,875 --> 00:17:05,792 metal container that has an air filter 386 00:17:05,792 --> 00:17:08,458 that you have to consistently pump oxygen into, 387 00:17:08,458 --> 00:17:11,458 and you go for a stroll in Piccadilly Circus. 388 00:17:11,458 --> 00:17:13,583 - [Dan] What happens to the person walking the baby 389 00:17:13,583 --> 00:17:15,083 isn't quite clear, 390 00:17:15,083 --> 00:17:18,042 but the intent behind it somehow makes sense. 391 00:17:18,042 --> 00:17:19,750 - During wartime, you still want to go to the park 392 00:17:19,750 --> 00:17:22,125 with your baby even though you're under threat. 393 00:17:22,125 --> 00:17:24,792 So, people are just grasping at straws 394 00:17:24,792 --> 00:17:26,958 to maintain their sense of normalcy. 395 00:17:26,958 --> 00:17:30,000 - And luckily, London and the rest of England 396 00:17:30,000 --> 00:17:32,417 were not attacked with chemical weapons, 397 00:17:32,417 --> 00:17:32,542 were not attacked with chemical weapons, 398 00:17:33,542 --> 00:17:36,958 and so the baby stroller was never needed. 399 00:17:36,958 --> 00:17:38,000 (metal clanks) 400 00:17:42,083 --> 00:17:43,458 - Since the first moving pictures, 401 00:17:43,458 --> 00:17:45,375 we've been dreaming of how to make movies better. 402 00:17:45,375 --> 00:17:48,042 First with dialogue, then with color. 403 00:17:48,042 --> 00:17:52,667 So in 1960, two producers wonder what's next. 404 00:17:53,792 --> 00:17:56,875 (gentle music) 405 00:17:56,875 --> 00:18:01,708 - By 1960, 75% of American households have a television. 406 00:18:01,708 --> 00:18:04,083 That's more than the number of households 407 00:18:04,083 --> 00:18:05,708 that have a refrigerator. 408 00:18:05,708 --> 00:18:07,417 And Hollywood's box office sales 409 00:18:07,417 --> 00:18:11,208 have fallen off almost 50% in 20 years. 410 00:18:11,208 --> 00:18:14,250 - So Hollywood is scrambling trying to figure out a way 411 00:18:14,250 --> 00:18:16,208 to get people back into the theaters. 412 00:18:16,208 --> 00:18:19,333 And in the words of Gypsy Rose Lee, 413 00:18:19,333 --> 00:18:21,208 "You Gotta Get a Gimmick". 414 00:18:21,208 --> 00:18:23,708 - [Dan] Movie producer Mike Todd Jr., 415 00:18:23,708 --> 00:18:25,417 Elizabeth Taylor's stepson, 416 00:18:25,417 --> 00:18:29,583 thinks he has the idea Hollywood needs, Smell-O-Vision. 417 00:18:29,583 --> 00:18:33,167 - Mike Todd Jr. works with this inventor named Hans Laube, 418 00:18:33,167 --> 00:18:35,792 and they come up with this revolutionary 419 00:18:35,792 --> 00:18:37,000 piece of technology 420 00:18:37,000 --> 00:18:38,458 that's going to completely change 421 00:18:38,458 --> 00:18:41,708 the movie theater viewing experience, the "Smell Brain". 422 00:18:41,708 --> 00:18:45,708 - The "Smell Brain" is synced up with the projector, 423 00:18:45,708 --> 00:18:47,208 it has a belt. 424 00:18:47,208 --> 00:18:51,583 And attached to this belt are small pouches of scent. 425 00:18:51,583 --> 00:18:56,500 There's a small needle that punctures these little pouches, 426 00:18:57,708 --> 00:19:00,417 releasing the scent in exact synchronicity 427 00:19:00,417 --> 00:19:02,750 with whatever you're meant to smell on camera. 428 00:19:02,750 --> 00:19:06,083 If you see roses, it'll pierce that rose pouch 429 00:19:08,750 --> 00:19:10,125 and you smell roses. 430 00:19:10,125 --> 00:19:12,250 It seems foolproof. 431 00:19:13,417 --> 00:19:15,708 - So in 1960, Mike and Hans produced a film 432 00:19:15,708 --> 00:19:18,125 specifically shot for Smell-O-Vision, 433 00:19:18,125 --> 00:19:20,542 and they call it "Scent of Mystery". 434 00:19:20,542 --> 00:19:23,292 - So this is not like a minor film. 435 00:19:23,292 --> 00:19:25,042 It features among others, 436 00:19:25,042 --> 00:19:27,167 Elizabeth Taylor and Peter Lorre. 437 00:19:27,167 --> 00:19:30,208 But what's cool about the film it's smells 438 00:19:30,208 --> 00:19:31,667 are crucial to the plot. 439 00:19:33,708 --> 00:19:36,500 (villainous music) 440 00:19:36,500 --> 00:19:39,417 You know when the villain is coming 441 00:19:39,417 --> 00:19:41,208 because the villain smokes a pipe 442 00:19:41,208 --> 00:19:43,375 and we get the smell of pipe smoke. 443 00:19:43,375 --> 00:19:45,792 And we actually know the heroine in the film 444 00:19:45,792 --> 00:19:48,958 before you see her because the scent of her perfume 445 00:19:48,958 --> 00:19:50,292 is supposed to fill the theater. 446 00:19:50,292 --> 00:19:53,167 This smell is not just incidental, 447 00:19:53,167 --> 00:19:55,750 it's actually intrinsic to the plot. 448 00:19:55,750 --> 00:19:57,208 - Yuck! 449 00:19:57,208 --> 00:19:59,375 - Now this technology does not come cheap. 450 00:19:59,375 --> 00:20:03,458 It costs $15,000 just for the Chicago Theater alone, 451 00:20:03,458 --> 00:20:06,250 which is over a hundred grand in today's dollars. 452 00:20:06,250 --> 00:20:08,542 So they're really banking on a success here. 453 00:20:08,542 --> 00:20:11,167 - [Dan] But unfortunately, on opening night, 454 00:20:11,167 --> 00:20:13,833 Smell-O-Vision has some rank problems. 455 00:20:13,833 --> 00:20:17,583 - Number one, you can't clear out the previous smell 456 00:20:17,583 --> 00:20:19,958 when the next smell comes in. 457 00:20:19,958 --> 00:20:22,500 If the first smell is gasoline 458 00:20:22,500 --> 00:20:24,958 and the next smell is perfume, 459 00:20:24,958 --> 00:20:28,708 and the next smell is garlic, you are having a theater 460 00:20:28,708 --> 00:20:31,792 that smells like a combination of gasoline, 461 00:20:31,792 --> 00:20:33,292 garlic and perfume. 462 00:20:33,292 --> 00:20:36,208 On top of that, some parts of the theater 463 00:20:36,208 --> 00:20:38,833 aren't getting the scent right as it's released, 464 00:20:38,833 --> 00:20:41,750 so it's wafting down to them scenes later. 465 00:20:41,750 --> 00:20:46,083 And then you have an entire theater going... (sniffing) 466 00:20:46,083 --> 00:20:49,042 It is a complete and total disaster. 467 00:20:49,042 --> 00:20:51,208 - [Dan] Mike and Hans scramble to fix the problem, 468 00:20:51,208 --> 00:20:52,708 but it's too late. 469 00:20:52,708 --> 00:20:57,125 Critics and audiences agree, Smell-O-Vision stinks, 470 00:20:57,125 --> 00:20:59,542 and the movie's a total flop. 471 00:20:59,542 --> 00:21:01,542 - So they tried to salvage some part 472 00:21:01,542 --> 00:21:03,417 of this very expensive experiment 473 00:21:03,417 --> 00:21:05,083 and they rebrand the movie 474 00:21:05,083 --> 00:21:07,042 and they call it a "Holiday in Spain", 475 00:21:07,042 --> 00:21:08,542 which is already a pivot, 476 00:21:08,542 --> 00:21:11,583 but this time it's without the Smell-O-Vision technology. 477 00:21:11,583 --> 00:21:13,833 But that doesn't really work because this was the film 478 00:21:13,833 --> 00:21:17,708 shot entirely for the purpose of smell in the scenes. 479 00:21:17,708 --> 00:21:19,792 So you've got these weird long pauses 480 00:21:19,792 --> 00:21:21,292 because you were waiting for an audience 481 00:21:21,292 --> 00:21:22,708 to be able to smell something 482 00:21:22,708 --> 00:21:25,167 and you have nothing to smell now. 483 00:21:25,167 --> 00:21:28,042 - You just, kind of, have a weird movie with long shots 484 00:21:28,042 --> 00:21:32,000 of gas pumps and a long shot of a dude smoking a pipe, 485 00:21:34,875 --> 00:21:38,208 which resembles a real holiday in Spain 486 00:21:38,208 --> 00:21:41,375 about as much as I resemble Beyonce. 487 00:21:43,667 --> 00:21:46,417 - If you think smelling your entertainment is strange, 488 00:21:46,417 --> 00:21:49,208 brace yourself for this next invention. 489 00:21:49,208 --> 00:21:52,792 (machine gun shots popping) 490 00:21:53,875 --> 00:21:56,375 - Video game technology keeps advancing, 491 00:21:56,375 --> 00:21:58,958 keeps becoming more and more realistic. 492 00:21:58,958 --> 00:22:00,542 So what's the next step? 493 00:22:00,542 --> 00:22:03,208 How about feeling what's happening in the game. 494 00:22:03,208 --> 00:22:04,708 (haunting music) 495 00:22:04,708 --> 00:22:07,167 (Avatar laughing) - [Avatar] Aahh! 496 00:22:07,167 --> 00:22:08,583 Aahh! 497 00:22:08,583 --> 00:22:10,208 That's actually been invented, 498 00:22:10,208 --> 00:22:12,792 and it's called a haptic vest. 499 00:22:12,792 --> 00:22:15,958 It gives you the experience of feeling 500 00:22:15,958 --> 00:22:17,708 what your game character feels. 501 00:22:18,792 --> 00:22:21,625 So if you're in a combat game and you're stabbed, 502 00:22:21,625 --> 00:22:23,792 punched, whatever's going on, 503 00:22:23,792 --> 00:22:26,333 you actually feel that through the vest. 504 00:22:26,333 --> 00:22:27,875 It hurts you. 505 00:22:27,875 --> 00:22:29,917 (Avatar groans) 506 00:22:30,542 --> 00:22:31,958 - When you read the sensations this haptic vest 507 00:22:31,958 --> 00:22:34,750 is promising to give you, it sounds like a police report. 508 00:22:34,750 --> 00:22:38,708 Shot, shot with exit wound, stabbing, 509 00:22:38,708 --> 00:22:41,958 axe wound, abdominal wound, severe abdominal wound. 510 00:22:41,958 --> 00:22:43,583 Why would people want this? 511 00:22:44,792 --> 00:22:47,875 - Game players claim that it's very realistic. 512 00:22:50,208 --> 00:22:52,667 Get hit with a battle axe in the back 513 00:22:52,667 --> 00:22:54,542 feels just like the real thing. 514 00:22:54,542 --> 00:22:58,250 My question is, how the heck do you know that? 515 00:22:58,250 --> 00:23:00,208 - [Dan] As crazy as this sounds, 516 00:23:00,208 --> 00:23:03,042 there's actually a practical application. 517 00:23:03,042 --> 00:23:06,875 - It's very useful in training scenarios for police, 518 00:23:06,875 --> 00:23:10,458 for military personnel, for firefighters. 519 00:23:10,458 --> 00:23:14,292 So people are finding multiple uses for this technology. 520 00:23:14,292 --> 00:23:17,458 (gunshots popping) (groaning) 521 00:23:17,458 --> 00:23:19,042 - I just hope we don't have to wear them 522 00:23:19,042 --> 00:23:19,500 to watch movies one day. 523 00:23:19,625 --> 00:23:20,958 to watch movies one day. 524 00:23:20,958 --> 00:23:22,667 - [Avatar] Aahh! 525 00:23:22,667 --> 00:23:23,875 Aahh! 526 00:23:23,875 --> 00:23:26,083 - [Dan] 'Cause I prefer pretending 527 00:23:26,083 --> 00:23:27,042 to be attacked by monsters. 528 00:23:31,458 --> 00:23:33,833 - For millennia, pests have plagued farmers, 529 00:23:33,833 --> 00:23:37,500 but some of the most damaging are slugs. 530 00:23:37,500 --> 00:23:40,500 It's a billion dollar a year problem across the globe, 531 00:23:40,500 --> 00:23:45,208 until 2001 when a strange solution is suggested. 532 00:23:45,208 --> 00:23:48,458 (chilling music) 533 00:23:48,458 --> 00:23:51,000 - College student, Ian Kelly comes up with an idea. 534 00:23:51,000 --> 00:23:53,042 He says, "What if I could create something 535 00:23:53,042 --> 00:23:57,167 that not only kills slugs, but also uses them for fuel?" 536 00:23:57,167 --> 00:23:58,333 (chilling music continues) 537 00:23:58,333 --> 00:24:00,000 And so he comes up with the idea 538 00:24:00,000 --> 00:24:03,708 that is affectionately known as SlugBot. 539 00:24:03,708 --> 00:24:07,292 - So the vision for the SlugBot is, sort of, 540 00:24:07,292 --> 00:24:10,667 like an automatic lawnmower type machine 541 00:24:10,667 --> 00:24:13,833 that moves through the fields, identifying slugs 542 00:24:13,833 --> 00:24:16,500 and scooping them off the ground 543 00:24:16,500 --> 00:24:19,667 and putting them into a digester 544 00:24:19,667 --> 00:24:23,625 that will make fuel to keep the machine running. 545 00:24:23,625 --> 00:24:28,417 - This is a robot that is consuming organic flesh. 546 00:24:28,417 --> 00:24:30,625 (electronic music) 547 00:24:30,625 --> 00:24:32,208 - [Dan] It's a terrifying concept, 548 00:24:32,208 --> 00:24:35,458 yet if it works, it could change farming forever. 549 00:24:35,458 --> 00:24:36,750 (electronic music continues) 550 00:24:36,750 --> 00:24:39,208 - So the SlugBot has immense promise. 551 00:24:39,208 --> 00:24:41,042 Everyone wants this idea to work. 552 00:24:41,042 --> 00:24:42,375 Everyone loves it. 553 00:24:42,375 --> 00:24:43,792 It's going to save hundreds of millions 554 00:24:43,792 --> 00:24:46,042 of dollars in destroyed crops annually. 555 00:24:46,042 --> 00:24:48,750 It's so promising, that's even on Time magazine's, 556 00:24:48,750 --> 00:24:51,667 Inventions of the Year list in 2001. 557 00:24:51,667 --> 00:24:54,167 - [Dan] But can this flesh-eating robot put its money 558 00:24:55,208 --> 00:24:56,792 where its mouth is? 559 00:24:56,792 --> 00:24:59,875 - The technology isn't 100% there. 560 00:24:59,875 --> 00:25:02,375 The SlugBot is fine at identifying slugs 561 00:25:02,375 --> 00:25:03,708 and picking them up, 562 00:25:03,708 --> 00:25:05,625 but the process of decomposing slugs 563 00:25:05,625 --> 00:25:07,667 to convert them into energy 564 00:25:07,667 --> 00:25:11,292 hasn't actually been employed on the robot itself. 565 00:25:11,292 --> 00:25:12,875 - [Dan] 20 Years later, 566 00:25:12,875 --> 00:25:16,042 researchers develop an unsettling new iteration. 567 00:25:16,042 --> 00:25:18,042 (chilling music continues) 568 00:25:18,042 --> 00:25:20,542 - What they want to do is they want to use AI, 569 00:25:20,542 --> 00:25:23,583 so that it can determine where slugs are in your crops. 570 00:25:23,583 --> 00:25:27,000 It can attack them and deliver a lethal dose of poison. 571 00:25:28,625 --> 00:25:30,625 - So rather than devouring slugs to power itself, 572 00:25:30,625 --> 00:25:35,042 this new product goes out there like half terminator, 573 00:25:35,042 --> 00:25:39,542 half Roomba, zapping all the slugs up and down the field 574 00:25:39,542 --> 00:25:42,250 with laser guided AI precision. 575 00:25:43,250 --> 00:25:44,500 - First you have this machine 576 00:25:44,500 --> 00:25:47,208 that's killing to eat and power itself, 577 00:25:47,208 --> 00:25:52,000 and now it evolves to a machine that's killing just to kill. 578 00:25:52,000 --> 00:25:54,333 I'm not sure I like where this is headed. 579 00:25:54,333 --> 00:25:55,708 - [Dan] Maybe the key to harnessing 580 00:25:55,708 --> 00:25:58,042 the potential of future robots 581 00:25:58,042 --> 00:26:02,375 is controlling them ourselves, from the inside. 582 00:26:02,375 --> 00:26:04,875 (electronic music) 583 00:26:04,875 --> 00:26:08,000 - It is 1980s Japan, and Kogoro Kurata 584 00:26:08,000 --> 00:26:11,708 is like most boys of his age, obsessed with anime. 585 00:26:11,708 --> 00:26:14,500 (electronic music continues) 586 00:26:14,500 --> 00:26:19,375 Specifically Mecha, giant fighting robots. 587 00:26:19,375 --> 00:26:22,167 - And like most kids of the '80's, Kogoro Kurata thinks, 588 00:26:22,167 --> 00:26:24,458 "Wouldn't it be cool if these things existed in real life? 589 00:26:24,458 --> 00:26:27,250 Wouldn't it be cool if you could get into the driver's seat 590 00:26:27,250 --> 00:26:29,208 and control it and fight?" 591 00:26:29,208 --> 00:26:31,625 (electronic music continues) 592 00:26:31,625 --> 00:26:33,458 - [Dan] By the time Kogoro grows up, 593 00:26:33,458 --> 00:26:36,417 there are still no giant rideable robots. 594 00:26:36,417 --> 00:26:38,708 So he wonders, "Why not?" 595 00:26:38,708 --> 00:26:40,875 - He gets tired of waiting and in 2012, 596 00:26:40,875 --> 00:26:42,542 he builds one himself. 597 00:26:42,542 --> 00:26:44,875 (Japanese music) 598 00:26:44,875 --> 00:26:46,750 It's called "Kuratas". 599 00:26:46,750 --> 00:26:50,833 It's 13 feet tall and you climb up into it. 600 00:26:50,833 --> 00:26:53,833 You close the hatch and you get behind the controls. 601 00:26:55,125 --> 00:26:56,708 It's every boy's dream. 602 00:26:56,708 --> 00:27:00,333 My own 13 foot tall, giant killer robot. 603 00:27:00,333 --> 00:27:01,417 (Japanese music continues) 604 00:27:01,417 --> 00:27:03,708 (foreign language spoken) 605 00:27:03,708 --> 00:27:06,875 - "Kuratas" is the first robot of its kind 606 00:27:06,875 --> 00:27:10,333 that is built to this scale and for this function. 607 00:27:11,333 --> 00:27:12,875 (foreign language spoken) 608 00:27:12,875 --> 00:27:15,208 - This robot is an amazing machine. 609 00:27:16,208 --> 00:27:20,708 It has 30 robotic joints and weighs five tons, 610 00:27:20,708 --> 00:27:24,000 and it actually shoots BBs with a Gatlin gun. 611 00:27:24,000 --> 00:27:25,875 I'm talking like 6,000 a minute, 612 00:27:25,875 --> 00:27:27,458 that's a hundred a second. 613 00:27:27,458 --> 00:27:28,667 (edgy music) 614 00:27:28,667 --> 00:27:29,958 But what's really interesting 615 00:27:29,958 --> 00:27:32,875 is how you trigger shooting these BBs. 616 00:27:32,875 --> 00:27:34,500 The trigger is a smile. 617 00:27:34,500 --> 00:27:36,750 (edgy music continues) 618 00:27:36,750 --> 00:27:38,583 (machine gun ratting) 619 00:27:38,583 --> 00:27:40,167 - If I am sitting in the "Kuratas", 620 00:27:40,167 --> 00:27:43,375 this thing is not going to stop shooting BBs anytime soon, 621 00:27:43,375 --> 00:27:46,458 'cause I'm smiling from ear to ear. 622 00:27:46,458 --> 00:27:50,625 - [Dan] "Kuratas" even takes on a challenger in 2017, 623 00:27:50,625 --> 00:27:53,208 California's MegaBots. 624 00:27:53,208 --> 00:27:54,208 (horn sounds) 625 00:27:54,208 --> 00:27:55,125 - [Announcer] And there's the horn. 626 00:27:55,125 --> 00:27:56,167 Here we go. 627 00:27:56,167 --> 00:27:59,167 (tense music) 628 00:27:59,167 --> 00:28:00,417 - [Competitor] He's firing! He's firing! 629 00:28:00,417 --> 00:28:01,542 - [Henny] Those six barrels can fire 630 00:28:01,542 --> 00:28:03,125 up to 2000 rounds per minute. 631 00:28:03,125 --> 00:28:05,250 - [Announcer] "Eagle Prime", "Kuratas" 632 00:28:05,250 --> 00:28:06,958 engage in close combat. 633 00:28:06,958 --> 00:28:10,167 That chainsaw is now activated. 634 00:28:12,167 --> 00:28:15,083 (horn sounds) 635 00:28:15,083 --> 00:28:17,708 - MegaBots is the first winner 636 00:28:17,708 --> 00:28:21,042 of the first ever live action Mecha Battle. 637 00:28:21,042 --> 00:28:23,042 - [Announcer] History has been made. 638 00:28:24,208 --> 00:28:25,583 - But don't feel bad for "Kuratas" 639 00:28:25,583 --> 00:28:28,042 because we have both "Kuratas" and MegaBots 640 00:28:28,042 --> 00:28:30,292 to thank for bringing our childhoods 641 00:28:30,292 --> 00:28:32,708 into actual real existence. 642 00:28:32,708 --> 00:28:34,250 - [Dan] Believe it or not, 643 00:28:34,250 --> 00:28:38,750 "Kuratas" briefly goes on sale for a mere $1.3 million. 644 00:28:38,750 --> 00:28:40,750 Though in the end, no one pulls the trigger 645 00:28:40,750 --> 00:28:42,125 to bring their childhood fantasy home. 646 00:28:42,125 --> 00:28:42,708 to bring their childhood fantasy home. 647 00:28:43,292 --> 00:28:44,917 - And honestly, that sounds like a bargain, 648 00:28:44,917 --> 00:28:47,000 considering it's cheaper than a Bugatti 649 00:28:47,000 --> 00:28:49,333 and way more smiles per minute. 650 00:28:53,208 --> 00:28:55,333 - Like most of us, I'm sure you've come to 651 00:28:55,333 --> 00:28:56,375 work in a bad mood before, 652 00:28:56,375 --> 00:28:59,083 but those days may soon be gone. 653 00:28:59,083 --> 00:29:01,875 Whether you are happy about it or not. 654 00:29:01,875 --> 00:29:04,833 (electronic music) 655 00:29:05,917 --> 00:29:08,833 - It's 2009 and Keihin Electric Express Railway 656 00:29:08,833 --> 00:29:12,667 decides that happy employees are good employees. 657 00:29:12,667 --> 00:29:15,375 So, how do we prove that you're happy? 658 00:29:15,375 --> 00:29:19,625 - This Japanese railroad company comes up with a test 659 00:29:19,625 --> 00:29:21,333 that the employees do every morning. 660 00:29:21,333 --> 00:29:24,500 They walk up to this camera and they smile. 661 00:29:24,500 --> 00:29:28,042 The computer analyzes the smile 662 00:29:28,042 --> 00:29:31,458 and grades the employee from zero to 100. 663 00:29:31,458 --> 00:29:33,292 (whimsical music) 664 00:29:33,292 --> 00:29:35,042 - It's not just your smile in your teeth, 665 00:29:35,042 --> 00:29:37,875 it analyzes your full smile. 666 00:29:37,875 --> 00:29:39,625 It's your eyes and your wrinkles. 667 00:29:39,625 --> 00:29:44,375 So if your smile is fake, this will call you out on it. 668 00:29:44,375 --> 00:29:47,083 - [Dan] It even gives you tips on how to improve your smile, 669 00:29:47,083 --> 00:29:49,042 like, "Lift up your mouth corners," 670 00:29:49,042 --> 00:29:51,875 or my favorite, "You still look too serious." 671 00:29:52,875 --> 00:29:54,500 Believe it or not, 672 00:29:54,500 --> 00:29:57,333 there's actually science behind this weird little device. 673 00:29:57,333 --> 00:29:59,625 - A lot of people think that your actions 674 00:29:59,625 --> 00:30:01,292 follow your feelings, 675 00:30:01,292 --> 00:30:05,542 but psychiatry shows that your feelings follow your actions. 676 00:30:05,542 --> 00:30:07,083 So when you do the smile, 677 00:30:07,083 --> 00:30:09,750 it can trigger your brain to release endorphins, 678 00:30:09,750 --> 00:30:11,583 which is a happy chemical, 679 00:30:11,583 --> 00:30:13,083 and you can actually feel better 680 00:30:13,083 --> 00:30:16,042 just by the action of smiling. 681 00:30:18,083 --> 00:30:19,833 - The Keihin Railway company 682 00:30:19,833 --> 00:30:22,500 was using this technology just to give advice, 683 00:30:22,500 --> 00:30:25,500 to try to get them to smile more at the customers. 684 00:30:27,083 --> 00:30:30,042 But in 2018, another company takes this one step further. 685 00:30:31,250 --> 00:30:34,500 - E-ComeTrue has you clock in every morning 686 00:30:34,500 --> 00:30:37,333 with a smile device. 687 00:30:37,333 --> 00:30:38,417 And if you fail, 688 00:30:38,417 --> 00:30:40,792 you're not allowed in the office for the day. 689 00:30:41,583 --> 00:30:43,292 - So you have to re-smile 690 00:30:43,292 --> 00:30:46,458 until you're exhibiting true happiness. 691 00:30:47,750 --> 00:30:49,417 But you know what could make people feel better 692 00:30:49,417 --> 00:30:51,208 even more effectively? 693 00:30:51,208 --> 00:30:54,708 Money. Give them a pay raise, give them some bonuses, 694 00:30:54,708 --> 00:30:57,708 smiles throughout the room. 695 00:30:57,708 --> 00:30:58,708 (edgy music) 696 00:30:58,708 --> 00:31:00,208 - But it gets worse. 697 00:31:00,208 --> 00:31:02,333 The University of Tokyo, it goes one step further. 698 00:31:02,333 --> 00:31:05,167 You want to get your food out of the office fridge, 699 00:31:05,167 --> 00:31:07,875 you have to unlock it with a smile. 700 00:31:07,875 --> 00:31:09,708 If you don't smile adequately enough, 701 00:31:09,708 --> 00:31:11,375 the fridge won't unlock for you. 702 00:31:12,375 --> 00:31:14,792 - If it's lunchtime and you're hungry, 703 00:31:14,792 --> 00:31:17,542 hunger can lead to not being so happy. 704 00:31:17,542 --> 00:31:20,208 So you could go up to the refrigerator, hangry, 705 00:31:20,208 --> 00:31:23,500 and never get your lunch, which only makes you hangrier. 706 00:31:23,500 --> 00:31:24,708 You got to be careful. 707 00:31:24,708 --> 00:31:26,333 You got to think these things through. 708 00:31:26,333 --> 00:31:28,167 - [Dan] While a future of forced smiles 709 00:31:28,167 --> 00:31:30,333 may not actually make us happy, 710 00:31:30,333 --> 00:31:32,167 this next invention could literally 711 00:31:32,167 --> 00:31:34,917 change the way we see the world. 712 00:31:34,917 --> 00:31:36,917 - Smartphones have been getting smaller and smaller, 713 00:31:36,917 --> 00:31:40,292 but Sony Corporation wants to take it to a new level. 714 00:31:40,292 --> 00:31:41,750 (gentle music) 715 00:31:41,750 --> 00:31:44,125 Google Glass was a set of AR glasses 716 00:31:44,125 --> 00:31:46,125 where you're looking at the real world, 717 00:31:46,125 --> 00:31:48,625 but you have augmentation overlaid on top of it. 718 00:31:49,875 --> 00:31:51,417 It's essentially what you would see 719 00:31:51,417 --> 00:31:55,208 on your smartphone screen, just transparent in your glasses. 720 00:31:55,208 --> 00:32:00,042 But the price point of $1,500 made it hard to sell. 721 00:32:00,375 --> 00:32:02,792 - Another limitation is they, kind of, look dorky. 722 00:32:02,792 --> 00:32:05,875 And so, ultimately the best solution 723 00:32:05,875 --> 00:32:09,333 would be to remove the glasses altogether. 724 00:32:09,333 --> 00:32:10,708 - [Dan] Many believe the answer 725 00:32:10,708 --> 00:32:12,875 is to hide the hardware in your eyes. 726 00:32:14,208 --> 00:32:19,042 So in 2016, Sony files a patent for a 'smart' contact lens. 727 00:32:19,500 --> 00:32:20,833 (upbeat music) 728 00:32:20,833 --> 00:32:23,083 - Instead of having a pair of glasses 729 00:32:23,083 --> 00:32:24,833 with information overlaid on it, 730 00:32:24,833 --> 00:32:27,708 the information is displayed in the contact lens itself. 731 00:32:27,708 --> 00:32:29,875 - The technology behind this is pretty incredible. 732 00:32:29,875 --> 00:32:32,208 It has a battery that gets charged up 733 00:32:32,208 --> 00:32:35,333 by the mechanical action of you blinking. 734 00:32:35,333 --> 00:32:38,500 You know, just charging my contact camera. 735 00:32:39,958 --> 00:32:41,625 - [Dan] The developers say smart contacts 736 00:32:41,625 --> 00:32:45,500 will change our lives as much as smartphones did in 2007. 737 00:32:46,875 --> 00:32:48,750 - Ostensibly, you would be able to do anything 738 00:32:48,750 --> 00:32:52,042 on these lenses that you can do on your cell phone screen. 739 00:32:52,042 --> 00:32:54,417 Check your email, find navigation directions, 740 00:32:54,417 --> 00:32:57,333 look at pictures, and it also has a camera 741 00:32:57,333 --> 00:33:00,875 and onboard storage that can record video. 742 00:33:00,875 --> 00:33:02,542 - Imagine you could just look around the room 743 00:33:02,542 --> 00:33:04,667 and identify everyone in the room. 744 00:33:04,667 --> 00:33:07,875 It's like you Googled them or an AI face search, 745 00:33:07,875 --> 00:33:11,042 and identify each person and get their full background. 746 00:33:11,042 --> 00:33:12,917 This thing is limitless. 747 00:33:12,917 --> 00:33:14,875 - [Dan] It's not just a fun toy. 748 00:33:14,875 --> 00:33:17,167 It might even be able to save lives. 749 00:33:17,167 --> 00:33:18,708 - Because they're embedded in your eye, 750 00:33:18,708 --> 00:33:21,125 they might be able to monitor your vital systems 751 00:33:21,125 --> 00:33:23,917 and maybe even trigger the release of medication 752 00:33:23,917 --> 00:33:26,375 if they're perceiving that your vitals 753 00:33:26,375 --> 00:33:27,667 are getting out of control. 754 00:33:27,667 --> 00:33:29,250 And that is an incredible thing. 755 00:33:30,417 --> 00:33:32,375 - [Dan] But a fully integrated digital visual future 756 00:33:32,375 --> 00:33:35,417 may also come with some dark consequences. 757 00:33:35,417 --> 00:33:38,208 - There are a number of privacy issues involved here. 758 00:33:38,208 --> 00:33:40,333 If somebody is wearing them, they could be recording 759 00:33:40,333 --> 00:33:43,042 and the people around wouldn't actually be aware 760 00:33:43,042 --> 00:33:44,333 that they're being recorded. 761 00:33:44,333 --> 00:33:46,583 Not only that, we are already at a state 762 00:33:46,583 --> 00:33:49,125 where we're a highly distractible culture. 763 00:33:49,125 --> 00:33:50,958 And bringing something that takes up 764 00:33:50,958 --> 00:33:53,750 your entire field of vision with additional information, 765 00:33:53,750 --> 00:33:56,167 seems like it could be a recipe for disaster. 766 00:33:57,875 --> 00:34:00,542 - [Dan] Whether the idea of 'smart' contact lenses 767 00:34:00,542 --> 00:34:03,250 makes it to stores anytime soon or not, 768 00:34:03,250 --> 00:34:04,708 one thing's certain, 769 00:34:04,708 --> 00:34:08,292 our future will look much different than our present. 770 00:34:09,083 --> 00:34:10,375 - When I got my glasses, 771 00:34:10,375 --> 00:34:12,542 my sister encouraged me to get contact lenses 772 00:34:12,542 --> 00:34:14,708 and I went in for my contact lens training session. 773 00:34:14,708 --> 00:34:16,250 and I went in for my contact lens training session. 774 00:34:16,250 --> 00:34:18,917 Sticking my finger in my eyeball, 775 00:34:18,917 --> 00:34:20,458 is not the technology for me. 776 00:34:25,458 --> 00:34:27,042 - Have you ever dreamed you woke up trapped in a casket? 777 00:34:27,042 --> 00:34:29,250 You can't move. You can't breathe. 778 00:34:29,250 --> 00:34:32,375 In the 19th century, this fear is so real, 779 00:34:32,375 --> 00:34:34,750 the question for many becomes, 780 00:34:34,750 --> 00:34:36,875 can modern innovation save us 781 00:34:36,875 --> 00:34:39,750 from such a ghastly second death? 782 00:34:41,000 --> 00:34:44,083 (person gasps) 783 00:34:44,083 --> 00:34:47,333 - Taphophobia is the fear of being buried alive. 784 00:34:47,333 --> 00:34:50,708 This is a persistent fear throughout the ages, 785 00:34:50,708 --> 00:34:52,417 but Taphophobia is really, 786 00:34:52,417 --> 00:34:54,500 really prominent in the 19th century. 787 00:34:55,542 --> 00:34:57,375 (tense music) 788 00:34:57,375 --> 00:34:59,958 Cholera is a huge issue. 789 00:34:59,958 --> 00:35:02,917 Cholera is one of these diseases that are wiping people out. 790 00:35:02,917 --> 00:35:06,917 - So when you have 5% of a population dying from cholera, 791 00:35:06,917 --> 00:35:08,708 you have a massive amount of bodies 792 00:35:08,708 --> 00:35:13,000 that also need to be buried in a very short period of time. 793 00:35:13,000 --> 00:35:14,708 - Cholera can induce coma. 794 00:35:14,708 --> 00:35:16,708 So you have a number of people who are afraid 795 00:35:16,708 --> 00:35:19,708 they're going to be buried in a coma state 796 00:35:19,708 --> 00:35:24,042 and wake up, reaching up, to only find a coffin lid. 797 00:35:24,042 --> 00:35:26,208 This just feeds into all these fears, 798 00:35:26,208 --> 00:35:28,750 this Taphophobia that's already so rampant 799 00:35:28,750 --> 00:35:29,667 in the 19th century. 800 00:35:30,750 --> 00:35:34,208 - [Dan] So, in 1829, a German engineer comes up 801 00:35:34,208 --> 00:35:36,167 with an unusual solution. 802 00:35:36,167 --> 00:35:39,125 - Dr. Johann Taberger devises this system 803 00:35:39,125 --> 00:35:41,417 where there's a bell on top of the grave 804 00:35:41,417 --> 00:35:44,083 and the string runs into the coffin. 805 00:35:44,083 --> 00:35:46,167 And when you wake up and you realize, 806 00:35:46,167 --> 00:35:48,875 "Oh my gosh, I'm buried alive." 807 00:35:48,875 --> 00:35:53,583 You pull the string and it rings above your grave. 808 00:35:53,583 --> 00:35:55,375 - And crucially, we have an air tube 809 00:35:55,375 --> 00:35:57,708 because you got to have fresh air. 810 00:35:57,708 --> 00:35:59,708 So, you've got your air tube, you can breathe, 811 00:35:59,708 --> 00:36:02,083 you're moving your hand, you're ringing that bell. 812 00:36:02,083 --> 00:36:04,083 Out come the spades, you're being dug out, 813 00:36:04,083 --> 00:36:05,333 everything's going to be okay. 814 00:36:05,333 --> 00:36:06,625 (climatic music) 815 00:36:06,625 --> 00:36:09,042 - The problem is when a body decays, 816 00:36:09,042 --> 00:36:11,542 gases build up, the body bloats. 817 00:36:11,542 --> 00:36:15,500 And what happens is that the bell might start to ring. 818 00:36:15,500 --> 00:36:18,708 - People were hired to sit in cemeteries just to make sure 819 00:36:18,708 --> 00:36:21,417 that these bells did or did not ring. 820 00:36:21,417 --> 00:36:23,250 Yes, they could be rung from a finger, 821 00:36:23,250 --> 00:36:26,000 but the wind could cause just as much ringing. 822 00:36:26,000 --> 00:36:27,667 (climatic music fades) 823 00:36:27,667 --> 00:36:29,083 (bell clanging) 824 00:36:29,083 --> 00:36:30,750 - [Dan] As far as we know, there are no cases 825 00:36:30,750 --> 00:36:34,542 of anyone actually being 'saved by the bell'. 826 00:36:34,542 --> 00:36:36,792 But why wait for someone to come dig you up 827 00:36:36,792 --> 00:36:38,375 if you can get out yourself? 828 00:36:38,375 --> 00:36:39,708 (tense music) 829 00:36:39,708 --> 00:36:42,500 - In 1843, Christian Eisenbrandt, 830 00:36:42,500 --> 00:36:45,583 he takes this idea of a safety coffin one step further. 831 00:36:45,583 --> 00:36:48,083 He calls it the "life preserving coffin". 832 00:36:48,083 --> 00:36:49,750 - "The life preserving coffin". 833 00:36:49,750 --> 00:36:50,917 It's a great paradox. 834 00:36:50,917 --> 00:36:54,833 So Christian's idea is that if you move at all, 835 00:36:54,833 --> 00:36:56,000 then the lid of the coffin 836 00:36:56,000 --> 00:36:58,375 is just going to spring right open. 837 00:36:58,375 --> 00:36:59,708 That's going to be a problem, of course, 838 00:36:59,708 --> 00:37:02,708 if you've got the weight of six feet of dirt on you. 839 00:37:02,708 --> 00:37:06,000 So he does recommend being laid to rest 840 00:37:06,000 --> 00:37:07,875 in more of a mausoleum situation. 841 00:37:07,875 --> 00:37:10,708 But barring that issue, it's a great invention. 842 00:37:12,208 --> 00:37:14,042 - [Dan] Eisenbrandt really stands by his work 843 00:37:14,042 --> 00:37:15,333 because when he dies, 844 00:37:15,333 --> 00:37:17,833 he's actually placed in his own invention. 845 00:37:17,833 --> 00:37:22,792 Unfortunately or fortunately, he never comes out. 846 00:37:22,792 --> 00:37:24,500 (edgy music) 847 00:37:24,500 --> 00:37:28,875 In 1868, another German inventor has a more practical idea. 848 00:37:28,875 --> 00:37:31,750 - Franz Vester, he ups the escape coffin game. 849 00:37:31,750 --> 00:37:34,167 Escape coffins should not just be something for the rich 850 00:37:34,167 --> 00:37:37,042 who can afford a above ground tomb. 851 00:37:37,042 --> 00:37:38,208 It can be something to save 852 00:37:38,208 --> 00:37:39,417 those who are buried in the ground. 853 00:37:39,417 --> 00:37:42,375 - This coffin has a built-in escape route. 854 00:37:42,375 --> 00:37:44,875 He has a two foot square tube 855 00:37:44,875 --> 00:37:46,708 that goes all the way down to the coffin. 856 00:37:46,708 --> 00:37:49,458 So if you were buried alive, all you have to do 857 00:37:49,458 --> 00:37:52,792 is shimmy your way up this pipe to freedom. 858 00:37:52,792 --> 00:37:55,417 - [Dan] And in case you're not quite up for the climb, 859 00:37:55,417 --> 00:37:57,292 it's equipped with a wine holder, 860 00:37:57,292 --> 00:38:01,250 giving you time to gather up some liquid courage. 861 00:38:02,375 --> 00:38:04,208 - Franz decides there's no better marketing 862 00:38:04,208 --> 00:38:06,917 than to demonstrate that this truly works. 863 00:38:06,917 --> 00:38:08,667 (edgy music continues) 864 00:38:08,667 --> 00:38:11,792 He invites the media, he invites people to buy tickets. 865 00:38:11,792 --> 00:38:16,667 Hundreds flocked to see him buried alive in his coffin. 866 00:38:16,667 --> 00:38:19,583 The coffin's put in place, he climbs in, 867 00:38:19,583 --> 00:38:22,042 dirt is thrown down, the whole works. 868 00:38:22,042 --> 00:38:23,833 He is truly buried alive. 869 00:38:25,250 --> 00:38:27,417 - 15 minutes goes by, 870 00:38:27,417 --> 00:38:31,208 everyone's looking around going, "Hmm." 871 00:38:31,208 --> 00:38:33,542 30 minutes goes by, 872 00:38:33,542 --> 00:38:36,417 Vester has not come up out of the tube yet. 873 00:38:36,417 --> 00:38:39,208 45 minutes goes by 874 00:38:39,208 --> 00:38:42,292 and people are starting to become concerned. 875 00:38:43,667 --> 00:38:46,875 - They're waiting and they're waiting and they're waiting. 876 00:38:46,875 --> 00:38:48,958 (tense music) 877 00:38:48,958 --> 00:38:52,625 And he finally pops up out of the tube, alive and well. 878 00:38:52,625 --> 00:38:54,667 And the crowd goes wild. 879 00:38:54,667 --> 00:38:58,708 (crowd cheering and applauding) 880 00:38:58,708 --> 00:39:00,500 - [Dan] No one knows for sure if the long wait 881 00:39:00,500 --> 00:39:02,417 was for a dramatic effect 882 00:39:02,417 --> 00:39:06,417 or if he was just enjoying his pinot noir down there. 883 00:39:06,417 --> 00:39:08,250 Meanwhile, by the late 1800s, 884 00:39:08,250 --> 00:39:09,792 there's a new market to stop people 885 00:39:09,792 --> 00:39:12,958 who are trying to get in to coffins. 886 00:39:12,958 --> 00:39:16,708 - Grave robbing becomes a big problem in the 19th century. 887 00:39:16,708 --> 00:39:19,500 The US has just been through the Civil War, 888 00:39:19,500 --> 00:39:21,708 the economy has suffered greatly 889 00:39:21,708 --> 00:39:26,333 and people are in need of ways to make money fast. 890 00:39:26,333 --> 00:39:28,000 - So I can imagine a world in which people 891 00:39:28,000 --> 00:39:31,875 are desperate to get jewelry or gold or other valuables, 892 00:39:31,875 --> 00:39:34,375 they might dig down and grave rob. 893 00:39:34,375 --> 00:39:35,792 - [Dan] People aren't thrilled to learn 894 00:39:35,792 --> 00:39:38,500 their dear old granny is getting dug up and robbed. 895 00:39:39,875 --> 00:39:42,500 So inventors decide the best way to stop grave robbers 896 00:39:42,500 --> 00:39:45,375 is to make sure they never leave the cemetery. 897 00:39:45,375 --> 00:39:48,375 (pulsating music) 898 00:39:48,375 --> 00:39:51,417 - In 1881, Thomas Howell, he files a patent 899 00:39:51,417 --> 00:39:55,333 for a very unique kind of casket. 900 00:39:55,333 --> 00:39:57,958 This casket is meant to deter grave robbers 901 00:39:57,958 --> 00:39:59,000 and not just one. 902 00:39:59,000 --> 00:40:00,458 His casket is designed 903 00:40:00,458 --> 00:40:03,625 with essentially a landmine inside of it. 904 00:40:04,750 --> 00:40:07,417 - This "Torpedo Coffin" has a canister 905 00:40:07,417 --> 00:40:10,417 that contains a pound of black powder 906 00:40:10,417 --> 00:40:11,875 just under the surface. 907 00:40:11,875 --> 00:40:14,042 And as soon as you hit it with a shovel... 908 00:40:14,042 --> 00:40:16,917 (explosive boom) 909 00:40:16,917 --> 00:40:19,792 - [Dan] According to an Ohio newspaper in 1881, 910 00:40:20,625 --> 00:40:22,250 it actually works. 911 00:40:22,250 --> 00:40:24,042 - Two grave robbers go after a coffin 912 00:40:25,375 --> 00:40:27,375 protected by Thomas Howell's invention. 913 00:40:27,375 --> 00:40:30,167 (dramatic music) 914 00:40:31,875 --> 00:40:34,917 Boom goes the coffin, Flynn ends up dead. 915 00:40:34,917 --> 00:40:39,208 The other has a mingled, gnarled leg as a result. 916 00:40:39,208 --> 00:40:42,125 - So imagine you die in a cemetery, 917 00:40:42,125 --> 00:40:43,375 which is rather ironic, 918 00:40:43,375 --> 00:40:45,917 but at least you're already in your grave. 919 00:40:45,917 --> 00:40:47,875 - Grave robbing becomes such an issue 920 00:40:47,875 --> 00:40:51,208 that finally state law, kind of, catches up with them. 921 00:40:51,208 --> 00:40:52,458 - [Dan] And I'm guessing the heat 922 00:40:52,458 --> 00:40:56,292 the cemeteries were packing, helped too. 923 00:40:56,292 --> 00:40:57,667 (fast-paced music) 924 00:40:57,667 --> 00:41:00,667 Humankind is constantly striving to reinvent 925 00:41:00,667 --> 00:41:03,375 our way of life from birth to death, 926 00:41:03,375 --> 00:41:06,167 from how we move to how we see. 927 00:41:06,167 --> 00:41:09,042 But to achieve our outlandish dreams of the future, 928 00:41:09,042 --> 00:41:12,125 we have to start with the "Unbelievable". 929 00:41:12,125 --> 00:41:13,125 (fast-paced music fades)