Thu, Sep 17, 1992
Wacky scientist Beakman and his assistant Josie, and Lester, an actor dressed as a mangy rat, answers an inquiry about where puddles go after it has rained. Although Lester suggests they are licked up by stray dogs, Beakman proceeds to explain the mysteries of rain and evaporation using a variety of household props. In the "Beak-Mania" portion of the show, Beakman attempts to answer, in rapid succession, short viewer inquiries on topics such as living prehistoric animals (the platypus), the most commonly used word in the English language and the heaviest animal in the history of the world (blue whale). Then, after a trick in which he balances a pair of forks atop a toothpick, Beakman forces Josie to reveal the question for the show's final segment, "What is snot?" Turning to volcanoes, Beakman explains the processes in the Earth's interior that create, and then discharge, molten magma. With the aid of film footage of volcanic eruptions, Beakman employs a foam rubber model of the Earth and a rubber glove to show how magma moves from deep inside the Earth and appears on the surface as lava. Finally, asked by Josie about why some volcanoes explode, Beakman uses a cherry pie to demonstrate the power, and mess, of a volcanic eruption.
Fri, Sep 25, 1992
Responding to a question about why people who live on the bottom of the Earth don't fall off, Beakman launches into a messy exposition on gravity. Using three toothpicks, a bottle cap and half a watermelon, he demonstrates how people on different parts of the globe perceive its top and bottom based on their own unique perspectives. With the use of his Boguscope, a device that gives a special look at things hard to see, Beakman shows that, while gravity can be counterbalanced, it cannot be defied. In "Beak-Mania," Beakman fields questions about the world's most remarkable fish (the Plaice), the animal that lays the biggest egg (the ostrich), and the amount of ice in Antarctica. Then, asked whether all objects fall at the same rate, Beakman recreates a famous experiment first done by Galileo from atop the Tower of Pisa. Using an eggplant and a piece of paper, Beakman proves that, in the absence of air resistance, they will fall equally as fast due to the Earth's gravitational pull. Portraying one of the giants of physics, Sir Isaac Newton, Beakman addresses an inquiry about why seat belts are necessary when riding in a moving vehicle. Explaining that objects at rest only move if something makes them start, Beakman uses a collection of eggs, toilet paper tubes, a large piece of cardboard and a broom to show how a chain reaction puts things in motion. Then, with a crash dummy and a car, he demonstrates how objects in motion will only stop if they are stopped by some outside force, underscoring the importance of seat belts in the process.
Fri, Sep 17, 1993
In response to a curious viewer in Missouri, Beakman begins his second season with an explanation of how submarines work. Noting that they can be over six hundred feet long, Beakman explains that subs operate by controlling their buoyancy, changing their density by taking on water which allows them to rise and sink in water. After demonstrating the different densities of wood, coins and water, he then goes on to make a simple homemade submarine, using a plastic soda bottle, a balloon, some rubber tubing, straws, tape, coins and rubber bands. In the "Beakman Challenge," Beakman reveals that the ball in the back of the throat is called the uvula, and that the windiest spot on earth is in Antarctica. After challenging Lester to push a skewer through a balloon without breaking it, Beakman shows that, by pushing it through the ends of the balloon, it can be done without causing a puncture. Asked about why people regurgitate, Beakman takes the opportunity to first explain digestion. Then, using a blender for a stomach, he constructs a simple model of the digestive tract to show how food is digested, before demonstrating how, acting in reverse, it can be vomited, too. Finally, Beakman explains that the growling noises made by the stomach, or borborygmi, are caused by liquid food being pushed through the intestines.
Fri, Dec 24, 1993
When a fan asks what makes thunder and lightning, Beakman enlists Liza in a few simple demonstrations to explain static electricity. Revealing that lightning is caused by the neutralization of enormous positive and negative electrical charges between the top and bottom of a cloud, Beakman then uses a metal bowl, polyethylene putty, and a metal can lid to show how lightning can be created at home. Turning to thunder, he notes it is the sound of the shock wave created as lightning heats the air. After "Beakmania" fields questions about fish that live out of water (mudskippers, walking catfish and lungfish), the largest human muscle (the gluteus maximus), and the size of a blue whale's tongue (over twelve thousand pounds!), Beakman turns to his able assistant for the "Liza Challenge." With a penny set atop a plastic ring placed on top of a soft drink bottle, Lester is challenged to make the coin drop into the bottle by hitting the loop. After Beakman's friend sends the penny flying, Liza shows how easy it is by hitting the inside of the ring and pulling the loop out of the way, allowing inertia and gravity to deposit the coin in the bottle with ease. In response to a question about what happens when a bone breaks, Beakman first calls on Liza to give a musical accounting of the bones in the body while Lester sings about their use for support, movement and protection. Noting that bones are light in weight but very strong, Surfer Beakman uses a broken surfboard to demonstrate their three basic steps to healing ?? a hematoma, a fibrous lacing containing osteoblaths and, finally, a callous.
Fri, Feb 26, 1993
Responding to a question about the attraction of fossils, Beakman conjures up the late Dr. Louis S.B. Leakey, the discoverer of the earliest remnants of human life in Africa's Olduvai Gorge. After Dr. Leakey shows how fossil remains are deposited in layers of sedimentary rocks, Beakman takes over, describing the various methods of fossilization. Using the Boguscope to show how they have been used to establish the Earth's geologic history, he demonstrates how anyone can make their own fossil impressions at home. During "Beak-Mania," Beakman reveals the number of earthworms in an acre of land, (over three million), the origins of pasteurization (a process invented by French scientist Louis Pasteur), and that tarantulas can go for over two years without eating. For the "Beakman Challenge," Lester is asked to try and pick up a quarter from a dish of water without getting his fingers wet. When his feral friend is unable to provide a satisfactory solution, Beakman uses a candle, some gum and a jar to create a partial vacuum which leaves the quarter high and dry. Asked about the first musical instrument, Beakman reveals that it was not the drum, but rather the human voice. Demonstrating characteristics common to all instruments, Beakman constructs one of his own to show how music is made using vibrations, pitch and resonance. Then, with the Boguscope, he shows how the human body's vocal chords, lungs, mouth and sinus cavities act together to make beautiful sounds.
Fri, Sep 30, 1994
Asked about the difference between frogs and toads, Beakman explains that these two amphibians are hatched as small aquatic larvae called tadpoles. Noting that they undergo a change into air?breathing animals, Beakman uses time lapse photography to show this amazing metamorphosis. Then, after explaining how both hunt using long, sticky tongues, Beakman explains that while frogs live in or near water, toads are mostly land dwellers. Finally, Beakman dispels the myth about frogs and warts as he presents the world's largest frog ?? the Goliath frog from West?Central Africa. For "Beakmania," Beakman notes that eyelashes are to keep dirt out of the eyes, that a young kangaroo is called a joey, and that a certain species of sponge can be broken into thousands of tiny pieces before reassembling itself into a single, living creature. Then, Liza presents a health tip on how to stop a nosebleed. Responding to an inquiry about plastics, Beakman reveals they are really long, chain?like strings of molecules called polymers. Using individual molecules, or monomers, Beakman goes on to show how they can be bonded together in these long chains. Showing how polymers have a variety of uses and properties, he demonstrates how to make nylon and bakelite before showing how a simple polymer can be made at home using borax, glue and water.
Fri, Oct 18, 1996
Beakman holds his breath when asked about stinky breath, a question near and dear to Lester's heart. The daring scientist journeys into the center of the human mouth, a virtual rain forest, to find billions of creatures feeding off of leftover meatloaf. Turning to Beakmania, Beakman marches off the beat of the first question about how much soldiers were paid in ancient Rome. (Soldiers were paid in salt.) The next inquiry comes from a viewer wants to know how many reptiles have shells? (One, the turtle.) The final question is about how cedar chests keep moths away from wool. (There is no real evidence of this tradition.) The crew worms their way through another "Those Disgusting Animals" segment to find out all about tiny worms and wiggly creatures that grow to a hundred feet long. Beakman tests his science strength to answer a viewer who's antsy to find out "if an ant were tall as a man, which would be the strongest?" Beakman gives us the science buzz on the mathematics of creating objects to scale when comparing subjects of different sizes.
Fri, Nov 12, 1993
Asked what doctors are looking for during a checkup, Beakman enlists Liza as a nurse and his brother, Meekman, as the patient for a routine physical examination. Though Meekman is worried about what is to come, the doctor assures him that everything will be fine and proceeds to check his throat, teeth, gums, tongue and tonsils with the aid of a tongue depressor. Then, with an otoscope, the doctor examines Meekman's ears and, using a ophthalmoscope, his eyes and brain. After a look at his nose with a nasal spectrum, the doctor completes Meekman's exam by checking his heartbeat and blood pressure before feeling for any irregularities with his internal organs. After fielding questions about why bulls charge at the color red (They don't! They actually charge at any kind of motion), and the number of varieties of rice (almost fifteen thousand), Beakman invites chef Art Burn for another segment of "Cooking With Art." For a recipe he calls "Egg in a Bottle," Chef Burn uses boiling water to heat the inside of the bottle as he demonstrates how the cooling of the air inside causes a change in air pressure which sucks the egg inside. Responding to a viewer inquiry about oil, Beakman explains it is not made out of the remains of dinosaurs, but plant and animal life which was buried at the bottom of the Earth's oceans millions of years ago. But, when Lester expresses some skepticism that oil can be created from such basic organic matter, Beakman places wood shavings in a flask and, with heat, distills them into a slimy organic liquid and flammable gas.
Fri, Nov 13, 1992
Asked why a straw in a glass of water appears to be bent, Beakman explains it is due to refraction, or the bending of light waves. Beginning with a demonstration of how objects reflect light, he shows how light travels at a slower speed through water than it does through air. Explaining how lenses are used to bend light in a variety of ways, Beakman reveals refraction's uses in telescopes, microscopes, eyeglasses and other useful items. During "Beak-Mania," Beakman reveals the only natural enemy of the skunk (Horned Owls), the longest recorded flight by a chicken (over 100 yards), and that penguins, though they can't fly, can jump up in the air over six feet! In the "Beakman Challenge," Lester is asked to crush an aluminum can by plunging it into a bowl of water. When his partner is unable to provide a satisfactory solution, Beakman shows how, by using a small amount of boiling water, he can create a difference in air pressure that crushes the can. In response to a question about compass needles, Beakman reveals that, because magnets tend to line up with each other, the needle in a compass will always line up with the Earth's magnetic field. With the aid of a refrigerator magnet, a piece of aluminum foil, a bowl of water and a needle, Beakman demonstrates how a small magnet (the needle) aligns itself with the field of a much larger magnet (the Earth). Finally, in a display of magnetically inspired magic, he levitates a string of paper clips and then himself with the aid of a pair of iron?plated shoes.
Fri, Oct 15, 1993
Asked how underwater tunnels are made, Beakman uses a large aquarium to demonstrate how they can be built at the surface, lowered into the water and buried. After employing a hamster to show that his model actually works, Beakman describes a second method which uses a large machine to dig beneath the seabed, and reports how one such tunnel is being built under the English Channel to connect England and France. For "Beakmania," Beakman reveals the name of the oldest living species on Earth (a type of sea snail), the size of a molecule (very small!), and that "O" is the oldest letter in the alphabet. Then, in "Cooking With Art," host Art Burn uses a mixture of milk, vinegar and baking soda to show how a simple glue can be made at home. Responding to a viewer inquiry about steam trains, Beakman begins by explaining that the first steam engine was constructed almost two thousand years ago by the Greek inventor Hero. However, noting that he was at a loss as to what to do with his invention, Beakman reveals that it then took sixteen hundred years for Hero's idea to be put to use. Finally, after describing how their engines work, Beakman notes that a few steam trains are still in operation, and that the next generation of trains will hover above their tracks on a field of magnetic energy.