I sure hope he made a few bucks for that product placement. Cause I suspect that would be more than his championships pay.

One hell of a skill, though.

Nope, haven't ever picked a lock before, and that might have some influence. But I do understand the basic concepts involved. I did vary the tension and angle of it, as well as tapping location and direction. I used the rate he was using, and my best effort at hitting with the same power.

I'm thinking that the big difference is that mine is a slightly different model: a #5 rather than #3. That said, I thought the difference in the numbers was basically just the size of the shackle. No idea how to check the date of manufacture, and he doesn't appear to have noted the date of his anyway.

I dunno...I've spent more than five minutes rapping away, exactly how he does it in the video. And nothing.

Witch Doctor is too cool not to promote. Here's a couple of points to spend on it.

I know! That's what makes it cool.

@robbersdog49 I think you've nailed it.

If the rock sinks, you can float it on something buoyant, and measure the water levels with and without the rock. It's an extra step, but still doable. Your other points are definite flaws in her logic/presentation.

Beats the hell out of me.

Just to noodle around a bit, the only extreme I can think of about the scales would be to substitute an extremely low density object for the wood. Say, a helium filled balloon? But that assumes that she did in fact mean equal mass for the two objects, and wouldn't actually give valid readings on a scale in atmosphere anyway.

Extreme cases are a rather specialized approach, as I remember...its not really a common, or easy way to get answers. I got the feeling this was kind of a "wannabee" presentation. Like she wanted to do "Smarter every day" stuff but isn't quite able to find and explain interesting non-intuitive problems well.

You're absolutely correct. Especially the last part (this is a sloppy video). If they balance on the scales -with- an atmosphere, they won't balance without one. And in atmosphere, the wood will have have more buoyancy than the lead (my screwup).

Problem 1: The scale will tilt towards the lead block. It's the same principle as Archimedes, except using air instead of water. When there is air, there is a buoyant force exerted on any object immersed in it. Remove the air, and the weight of the object goes up, by the weight of the same volume of air.

Problem 2: 20*pi meters. I'm not sure how extreme physics is involved in this one at all. It's trivially derived from the definition of circumference.

That's a point. I tend to overlook those age ratings, possibly because most of the kids I've gamed with fall well outside them.

Not much of a game really, and not too likely to hold a child's attention for long. If you want a fun way to introduce your child to logic and forethought, RoboRally is a much better choice.

In spite of the dozens of snappers that I've caught while fishing, or encountered while wandering creekbeds, I don't think I'd ever realized that they were alligator snapping turtles. I didn't think they got this far north...but seeing both, side by side, makes it clear that I've never actually gotten a close look at any other kind.

Fascinating video, in my opinion.

Not for me. I see a guy carrying a gun, I have -no- way to know if he's trying to "stick up for his rights", or preparing to open fire. And by the time I -can- tell, it's too damned late if he's the wrong one.

So I'm clearing the area, and calling the cops. That sort of thing is -precisely- what they're supposed to be handling. And frankly, I don't much care how it's handled, as long as no innocent bystanders get shot. I've had it up to here with these nutcase ammosexuals.

LOL

Sure beats PETA's approach.