How do elevators work?

WEBVTT
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You're listening to Brains On, where we're serious about being curious.
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Welcome to Brains On headquarters.
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What floor, please?
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What floor?
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Shoot, I don't know what floor I'm supposed to go to.
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I heard two.
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Going to the second floor.
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Wait, that's not what I meant.
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I heard basement.
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Going down.
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No, no, no.
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I mean, I don't know what floor Molly is on.
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I was just told to arrive at 1130.
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Got it.
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Heading to floor 1130.
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What?
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Too fast. Make it stop.
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Stopping.
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I don't feel great. That was intense.
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I heard 10th.
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Tenth floor, coming up.
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No, no way. Stop it now. I did not say tenth.
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Just chill out for a second. You're going up and
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down like a roller coaster.
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Oh, you wanted roller coaster mode?
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Got it.
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Wait, roller coaster mode?
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Hold on, please.
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What kind of elevator is this?
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Whoa.
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Whoa.
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Ew, yeah.
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Wow, that was actually fun.
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Would you like to go again?
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Yes, but no.
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But maybe?
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No.
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I need to be at the studio to meet Molly.
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Oh, the studio.
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Why didn't you just say that?
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Coming up.
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Hey, whoa, Siraksha, you look a little disheveled. What's going on?
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The elevator started talking and then it shot up and
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down like a roller coaster and then it was a
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roller coaster. And does this building really have 1130 floors?
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And what is going on, Molly?
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Aha, I see.
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We're trying out this new experimental elevator system, but I
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think it's still a little glitchy. Why don't you catch
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your breath and then we'll start the show.
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Sounds good. Which way's the studio?
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We're already in the studio. This elevator transforms into whatever
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we need it to be. Except the bathroom. It won't
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transform into a bathroom.
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Yeah, that makes sense.
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But other than that, we are good.
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So let's do this.
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Keep listening.
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You're listening to Brains On from American Public Media. I'm
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Molly Bloom, and with me today is 11-year-old Saraksha Dharanavakarasu
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from Edison, New Jersey. Welcome to the show.
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Hi, Molly.
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Hello. So today we are talking about elevators. Do you
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get to ride elevators much?
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Yeah, a lot of times. I hate taking the stairs.
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Elevators make that easier for sure. Do you have a
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favorite elevator?
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I really like the transparent elevators. Sometimes it's in malls.
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I just feel like I could see what's happening, but
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no one can see me.
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And you are a math ambassador at your school. Can
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you tell me what that means?
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So a math ambassador is basically like there are fifth
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graders and fourth graders, which the teachers picked and they
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think would be helpful to help the first and second graders.
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Since you are a math ambassador, do you see math
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in places that other people don't see it?
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I do.
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I see it a lot of times. Like we have
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our A math ambassador meetings everyone, I say, in the library.
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So then when there's a shelf, there's library books in
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the front and then a line down. So I like
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to see it as rows and columns. So I see
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math everywhere.
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That's amazing. That's really cool.
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Thanks.
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Okay, let's get this elevator party started.
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Our first question comes from Gabe.
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My name is Gabe.
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I'm from St.
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Louis, but you'll know that.
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My question is, how do elevators go up and down?
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Great question.
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How do elevators go up and down? To help us
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answer this, we're going to bring on Vijay J.S.
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Chandran. He's an executive director of engineering with the Otis
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Elevator Company in Connecticut. And he's on, let's see, this floor.
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Welcome to Brains On.
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Hey, great to see you guys.
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How do elevators go up and down?
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Oh, that's a great question.
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The elevator is basically a cabin, right, in which you
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ride and it takes people up and down in the building.
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So you've got to have some method to pull it
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up and down the building. So there's two most common
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methods by which this is done. The first one's called
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a traction elevator, and that's what you will see mostly
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around the world. where the elevator hangs off a pulley
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with the help of ropes or belts. A pulley is
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like a wheel with a groove in it, and then
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you can drop the rope inside it. And so when
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you rotate the pulley, the rope's going to ride along
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with it, and one side is going to get longer
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and the other side is going to get shorter. And
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the pulley is powered by an electric motor, so as
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you turn the motor, the ropes go over the pulley
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and the elevator goes up and down in the direction
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depending on how the pulley is rotating. So that's the
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traction elevator. And then we also have a hydraulic elevator.
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And you typically see these in smaller buildings where the
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elevator is just going a few floors.
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It's much slower.
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And in this case, what happens is the elevator is
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pushed up by a piston. It's really like a big
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metal cylinder, like a shaft, which is under the elevator.
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It's very strong because it has to push the elevator up.
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And then there's oil behind it. So as you push
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oil under it, the piston pushes up and it pushes
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the elevator up with it. And then when you want
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to go down, it just releases the oil slowly and
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lets the elevator down. So that's the hydraulic elevator.
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So instead of being pulled by a rope, in this case,
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it's actually just being pushed up and down by this tube, basically.
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Exactly.
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Okay.
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And then the other thing to remember is that once
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you've got an elevator sort of suspended inside a shaft,
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it's like if it's on ropes, it's hanging in there.
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So you've got to make sure it stays on track.
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So we also have rails like a train, which keep
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the elevator guided and make sure that it goes up
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and down along a certain path. So that's how you
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kind of get elevators to go up and down a building.
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Cool.
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What's the tallest elevator in the whole world?
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Well, so the tallest building in the world is Burj
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Khalifa in Dubai, and Otis has the elevators in that building.
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It's 828 meters tall, and the tallest elevator in there
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goes to the observation deck, so that's where people go
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to get a really nice view of the countryside.
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Okay, so here's another question from one of our listeners.
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My name is Eric.
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I live in Cottage Grove, Minnesota.
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I would like to know why elevators in shorter buildings...
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move slower than elevators in taller buildings?
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Sure.
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That's a great question.
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As you would imagine, you know, we usually design the
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elevators to make sure that the people riding them don't
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have to wait too long. So we typically want them
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to not wait very long after they push the button,
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calling the elevator, and then we don't want them to
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take too long to ride to their destination. So as
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the building gets taller, you're going to have to move
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faster to make sure that they get there faster, right,
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in the same amount of time. So that's why we
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have faster elevators in taller buildings. And then as the
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buildings get really tall, you'll also notice that there are
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more than one elevator. So in a small building, you
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can get away with one elevator to get the few
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people who are trying to get above the ground floor.
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But in the larger buildings, you may have groups of
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four or eight elevators so that they're all kind of
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working in unison and ferrying all these people all over
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the place and getting them to where they want to go.
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So they get faster, and then you end up adding
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more elevators if you have more people to take to
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their destination.
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Cool.
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What are some of the most exciting advances in elevators today?
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Some of the new technologies that we are working on
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and some of the new dimensions are really around connecting
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people to the elevator. We're looking at ways in which
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as you walk into a building, you could have the
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building door open for you. As you proceed through the building,
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things can happen. So you get close to the elevator,
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and if the elevator knows you're coming and you typically
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go to the 25th floor where your office is, your
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cell phone or a display will say, please go to
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elevator B. And once you're in, it's already entered the
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call to take you to the 25th floor. So you
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really don't have to do anything. You're riding the elevator
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and maybe there's a screen in there. And, you know, hey,
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here's the score from a recent, the game that was
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on last night. The sports team that you follow, it
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could personalize it for you. Maybe you could have music
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that plays that's personalized to you. All of these things
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can be done in a connected way.
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So does pushing the elevator call button over and over
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do anything?
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Oh, that's... I get that question from multiple people. So actually,
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once you push the call button when you're waiting for
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the elevator and the light goes on, then pushing it
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again doesn't really impact what happens. The system's already figuring
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out that there's somebody waiting. So yeah, pushing it many
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times might make you feel good, but it's not really
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doing much to the elevator.
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Okay.
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Thanks, Vijay, for being here. We really appreciate it.
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Thank you.
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Now, Siraksha, I hope your ears are up for a task.
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Here comes the mystery sound.
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Mystery sound.
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Here it is.
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Mystery sound.
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Any guesses?
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I think it's like back in the day when, even
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though I wasn't born yet, I think it's like those
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elevators that really have the person inside it. And I
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feel like it's the person who's running the motor.
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I don't know.
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That is an excellent guess. And we're going to get
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back to that in a little bit to see if
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you're right. First, a little history with producer Sandon Totten.
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He's on this floor.
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Hey, guys.
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Hey, Sandon.
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Hi, Sandon. What have you got for us?
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Well, you know, elevators, they're kind of one of those
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ideas that seems super obvious when you think about it, right?
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Sure.
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I mean, buildings are tall. Stairs take forever. People want
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another way up. So you invent the elevator. Easy peasy.
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Exactly. But in reality, it wasn't so easy. It wasn't
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so peasy. And it wasn't so obvious. In fact, it
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took a lot of people a long time to get
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it right. And there were two main figures who really
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helped shape the modern elevator.
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Two big names in elevator history.
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Who were they?
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I said two big figures, but just one name. Otis.
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Right.
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We just spoke to Vijay from the Otis Elevator Company.
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Yeah, that's one Otis. Elijah Otis founded that company in
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the mid-1800s. But there was a second Otis who also
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played a huge part in this saga, even though he's
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often forgotten. His name was Otis Tufts. And these two
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were actually rivals.
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Two Otises? Or Odysseys?
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Or Odai? Anyway, whatever.
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Two people named Otis working on elevators at the same time?
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Sounds confusing.
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Yeah.
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You'd think they'd pair up. Double the Otis, double the fun.
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Right.
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Well, it might have actually been their differences that helped
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bring us the modern elevator. Let me explain. This is
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The Tale of Two Otises. My co-narrator is a guy
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named Lee Gray, an expert on all things elevator.
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I'm a professor of architectural history at UNC Charlotte.
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He says simple elevators have been around a long time.
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These were just platforms with a rope and a pulley.
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Someone tugged on the rope, it went over the pulley,
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and it helped to lift the platform.
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You know, if we think of the Colosseum in Rome.
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That's the big outdoor theater where gladiators fought animals for sport.
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Below the floor of the Coliseum was where the lions, tigers,
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the beasts, all those things that were used in their, quote,
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entertainment were kept.
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And they had what we would think.
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Of as an elevator-type hoist that they could load a
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lion into.
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And then hoist the lion up.
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00:13:02.139 --> 00:13:06.059
And he would magically appear in the amphitheater above to
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attack whoever he was supposed to attack.
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Ah, neat trick.
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Now, for a long time, that's all an elevator was.
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It was people hoisting up platforms up and down a
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shaft by pulling on ropes. Flash forward a few hundred
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00:13:23.210 --> 00:13:26.750
years to the early 1800s, and we figured out how
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00:13:26.769 --> 00:13:29.590
to use water reels to power the hoist so people
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00:13:29.629 --> 00:13:33.039
didn't have to pull ropes anymore. Still, these elevators didn't
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go very high. They had no walls. And importantly, they
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were just used to carry heavy things like boxes. They
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weren't really meant for people.
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Most of them used not steel cables, but just thick ropes.
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And they broke a lot.
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00:13:47.110 --> 00:13:49.450
And when they broke, the platform would slide down the
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shaft and smash into the floor. Boxes and barrels could
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be thrown into the air, and that could seriously injure
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the people standing around.
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Well, this is where our first Otis, Elijah Otis, comes
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into the picture. How do you do?
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00:14:01.639 --> 00:14:05.710
Otis at your service. Okay, so it's the mid-1800s now,
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00:14:06.090 --> 00:14:09.129
and Elijah Otis, he's this kind of tinkerer, inventor type
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00:14:09.409 --> 00:14:11.559
who lives in New York, and he's working at a
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00:14:11.659 --> 00:14:13.700
factory when he notices a problem.
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00:14:14.279 --> 00:14:17.340
It takes so long to get supplies to the higher floors,
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but these.
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Hoists are so dangerous.
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Hmm.
309
00:14:21.409 --> 00:14:23.090
What if.
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00:14:23.830 --> 00:14:26.909
So what he does is he designs a very simple
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00:14:27.070 --> 00:14:28.360
kind of safety device.
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00:14:29.100 --> 00:14:30.059
Yes, that's it!
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That he hooks to the.
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Top of a freight elevator so that if the rope
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00:14:35.919 --> 00:14:40.870
is cut, the safety activates and it stops the freight
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platform from falling.
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Oh, Elijah, you clever scoundrel.
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00:14:44.909 --> 00:14:46.830
This is good. This is real good.
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00:14:46.850 --> 00:14:48.210
Oh, do you likey?
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00:14:51.529 --> 00:14:54.029
Imagine you're sliding down a tube slide at the park
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00:14:54.529 --> 00:14:56.409
and you pushed out your hands and feet against the
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00:14:56.460 --> 00:15:00.299
walls mid-slide to stop yourself. That's sort of how Elijah
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00:15:00.340 --> 00:15:03.019
Otis' safety works. It's basically a device that makes it
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00:15:03.080 --> 00:15:05.549
so when the rope is cut, The sides of the
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00:15:05.590 --> 00:15:08.429
hoist elevator spring outward and push against the guideposts of
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00:15:08.450 --> 00:15:12.049
the elevator shaft, where they get stuck. That stops the
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00:15:12.149 --> 00:15:16.230
elevator mid-fall, so it doesn't fall any further. Otis tests
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00:15:16.269 --> 00:15:18.620
it out. It does the job. It seems really safe.
329
00:15:19.009 --> 00:15:20.679
So he thinks... This could be big.
330
00:15:21.019 --> 00:15:21.899
I could sell this.
331
00:15:22.240 --> 00:15:24.419
Factories everywhere would love to have one.
332
00:15:24.500 --> 00:15:25.120
Woo-hoo!
333
00:15:25.279 --> 00:15:27.120
I'm doing my happy dance.
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00:15:27.519 --> 00:15:30.399
Lee Gray says eventually Otis takes his invention on the road.
335
00:15:30.679 --> 00:15:33.440
At an industrial fair in New York City in what
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00:15:33.480 --> 00:15:36.259
was called the Crystal Palace, which was this great big
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00:15:36.340 --> 00:15:37.600
greenhouse-like building.
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Gather round, everybody. Gather round.
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00:15:39.679 --> 00:15:43.600
What he supposedly did is he built a small framework
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00:15:43.639 --> 00:15:47.419
to hold a freight platform with his safety on, and
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00:15:47.500 --> 00:15:49.659
he would load some barrels and things on it. He
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00:15:49.700 --> 00:15:52.970
would then stand onto the platform, and he would have
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00:15:53.019 --> 00:15:54.460
his assistants.
344
00:15:54.500 --> 00:15:55.259
Haul him up.
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00:15:55.299 --> 00:15:56.750
Be good. Be careful, man.
346
00:15:56.850 --> 00:15:59.070
So he suspended off the ground, and then they would
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00:15:59.190 --> 00:16:02.470
cut the rope. And then his safety would spring into
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00:16:02.590 --> 00:16:06.870
action very quickly. Then he would call out to the crowd.
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00:16:07.370 --> 00:16:08.269
All safe, gentlemen.
350
00:16:08.879 --> 00:16:10.840
All safe. Thank you.
351
00:16:12.059 --> 00:16:15.820
Booyah! Elijah Otis for the win. He patents his idea.
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00:16:15.840 --> 00:16:18.980
He starts the business we now call the Otis Elevator Company.
353
00:16:19.480 --> 00:16:22.960
And factories start using the invention. But we're still talking
354
00:16:23.059 --> 00:16:27.639
about elevators for stuff, not for people. For that breakthrough,
355
00:16:27.899 --> 00:16:31.440
we need another genius inventor type who also happens to
356
00:16:31.460 --> 00:16:34.730
be named Otis. His story coming right up.
357
00:16:35.440 --> 00:16:52.139
Stay tuned.
358
00:16:53.039 --> 00:16:56.080
Hey, we are working on an episode all about spacesuits,
359
00:16:56.220 --> 00:16:58.950
and we want to hear from you. If you could
360
00:16:58.990 --> 00:17:01.210
invent a suit to help you with something here on Earth,
361
00:17:01.549 --> 00:17:04.029
what would it do? What would it look like? Send
362
00:17:04.089 --> 00:17:08.430
us your answers by visiting brainson.org slash contact. You can
363
00:17:08.450 --> 00:17:13.509
also send questions, drawings, mystery sounds, and high fives there too, brainson.org
364
00:17:13.710 --> 00:17:17.069
slash contact. To thank the awesome listeners who contribute their
365
00:17:17.130 --> 00:17:19.630
ideas and energy to the show, we add their names
366
00:17:19.710 --> 00:17:23.130
to the Brains Honor Roll, like Dani from Parker, Colorado,
367
00:17:23.190 --> 00:17:24.599
who sent us this question.
368
00:17:24.759 --> 00:17:25.880
Why do crickets chirp?
369
00:17:26.779 --> 00:17:29.019
We'll have an answer to that question and the latest
370
00:17:29.099 --> 00:17:31.480
installment of The Brain's Honor Roll at the very end
371
00:17:31.519 --> 00:17:33.779
of this episode. So keep listening.
372
00:17:37.099 --> 00:17:40.319
Are you ready for a brand new adventure? Then check
373
00:17:40.359 --> 00:17:43.920
out Lions and Legends, the new kids and family podcast
374
00:17:43.960 --> 00:17:48.450
featuring fun, fantastical retellings of myths, legends, folktales, and fables
375
00:17:48.529 --> 00:17:51.569
from around the world. I'm Rebecca Shearer, former host of
376
00:17:51.609 --> 00:17:54.289
Circle Round and the new host of Lions and Legends.
377
00:17:54.730 --> 00:17:58.450
inviting you to follow Lions and Legends on Spotify, Apple Podcasts,
378
00:17:58.549 --> 00:18:02.029
or wherever you get your podcasts, and come join the pride.
379
00:18:08.029 --> 00:18:11.789
You're listening to Brains On from American Public Media. I'm
380
00:18:11.809 --> 00:18:13.309
Sayraq Shadrinova-Karsu.
381
00:18:13.509 --> 00:18:16.829
And I'm Molly Bloom. Today we're talking elevators, and with
382
00:18:16.910 --> 00:18:19.809
us is Sandin Totten. You've told us about one Otis,
383
00:18:20.170 --> 00:18:22.109
but what about the other Otis? Right.
384
00:18:22.569 --> 00:18:25.390
We left off with Elijah Otis, who invented a safer
385
00:18:25.509 --> 00:18:29.140
elevator for carrying things, but it wasn't for moving people.
386
00:18:29.539 --> 00:18:32.460
So this is where Otis Tufts comes in.
387
00:18:32.819 --> 00:18:35.400
Otis Tufts, maker of stuffs. Pleased to meet you.
388
00:18:35.839 --> 00:18:39.380
Tufts is also an inventor. He designed ironclad ships and
389
00:18:39.440 --> 00:18:42.809
some steam engines. But where Elijah Otis, our first Otis,
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00:18:43.109 --> 00:18:46.579
was a builder who improved things already out there, Tufts
391
00:18:46.940 --> 00:18:49.319
was more of a dreamer who came up with big
392
00:18:49.420 --> 00:18:52.609
ideas and had others build them. So around the same
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00:18:52.670 --> 00:18:55.609
time that the other Otis, Elisha Otis, is making these
394
00:18:55.690 --> 00:18:59.930
freight elevators safer, Otis Tufts is asked by a fancy
395
00:18:59.990 --> 00:19:03.900
hotel builder to design an elevator that would carry people.
396
00:19:04.339 --> 00:19:08.019
That's a challenge I accept. Let me sketch something here.
397
00:19:08.480 --> 00:19:12.480
Historian Lee Gray says this required Otis Tufts to rethink
398
00:19:12.619 --> 00:19:13.460
what an elevator was.
399
00:19:13.849 --> 00:19:16.230
Well, first it has to be an enclosed car.
400
00:19:16.730 --> 00:19:22.109
And people want something more than a platform. How about... Yes,
401
00:19:22.210 --> 00:19:22.559
that's it.
402
00:19:22.970 --> 00:19:23.539
Walls!
403
00:19:24.480 --> 00:19:27.240
It has to have doors that open and close that
404
00:19:27.299 --> 00:19:29.220
allow access to the car.
405
00:19:29.339 --> 00:19:30.740
And how about a seat?
406
00:19:31.549 --> 00:19:34.829
It has to have an operator in it to control
407
00:19:34.869 --> 00:19:36.990
the machine so that it can go up and down
408
00:19:37.009 --> 00:19:39.170
in the way we need it to.
409
00:19:40.069 --> 00:19:43.849
I think I've got it. Oh, Tufts, you cheeky rascal.
410
00:19:44.269 --> 00:19:46.839
This is good. This is real good. Bodie likey.
411
00:19:47.150 --> 00:19:50.200
Tufts called it a vertical railway. And let me tell you,
412
00:19:50.359 --> 00:19:52.119
it was a fancy ride.
413
00:19:53.220 --> 00:19:58.549
You would wait at the vertical railway station. the elevator
414
00:19:58.589 --> 00:19:59.130
would arrive.
415
00:19:59.410 --> 00:20:01.049
Oh, look at that.
416
00:20:01.089 --> 00:20:01.990
You would step in.
417
00:20:02.190 --> 00:20:03.089
Right this way.
418
00:20:03.130 --> 00:20:03.970
You would take a seat.
419
00:20:04.029 --> 00:20:05.369
Look at this upholstery.
420
00:20:05.390 --> 00:20:09.029
You would admire the mirrors on the walls, the burning
421
00:20:09.170 --> 00:20:11.430
gas chandelier hanging in the center.
422
00:20:11.670 --> 00:20:13.109
The operator would close the door.
423
00:20:13.710 --> 00:20:14.240
Going up.
424
00:20:14.309 --> 00:20:17.369
And then you would very, very slowly be taken up
425
00:20:17.410 --> 00:20:19.650
to the floor where your room was, and then you
426
00:20:19.690 --> 00:20:20.170
would exit.
427
00:20:20.289 --> 00:20:21.869
Oh, that was fantastic.
428
00:20:21.890 --> 00:20:22.829
That's great.
429
00:20:22.869 --> 00:20:24.029
Never taking stairs again.
430
00:20:24.049 --> 00:20:24.589
Oh, yeah.
431
00:20:25.269 --> 00:20:29.480
Now, Tufts elevators looked great, but the mechanics were kind
432
00:20:29.519 --> 00:20:33.630
of bad. Rather than being lifted by cables like modern elevators,
433
00:20:34.250 --> 00:20:36.930
these elevators would kind of wind up a pole like
434
00:20:36.970 --> 00:20:39.289
a nut on a bolt, except the pole would turn,
435
00:20:39.349 --> 00:20:43.869
not the elevator. This elevator was slow. It was noisy. Still,
436
00:20:43.910 --> 00:20:47.049
they were flashy and people really liked them. So Tufts,
437
00:20:47.329 --> 00:20:50.799
he also decided to get into the elevator business. This
438
00:20:51.059 --> 00:20:55.720
is how he and the other Otis, Elijah Otis, became rivals. Tufts,
439
00:20:55.740 --> 00:20:58.539
you fiend. I'll outsell you any day.
440
00:20:58.720 --> 00:21:00.180
Oh, poppycock, Elisha.
441
00:21:00.299 --> 00:21:03.599
Your elevators are all show, no flow. Mine are much
442
00:21:03.640 --> 00:21:04.359
more efficient.
443
00:21:04.400 --> 00:21:10.789
You call those elevators? More like smell-evators, because your designs stink.
444
00:21:11.029 --> 00:21:11.789
Smell-evators?
445
00:21:12.009 --> 00:21:12.730
Oh, that's funny.
446
00:21:12.849 --> 00:21:13.369
Who told you that?
447
00:21:13.410 --> 00:21:17.750
They both make very specific contributions. One of them provides
448
00:21:18.009 --> 00:21:22.319
a technical solution... that says these things can be made safe.
449
00:21:23.180 --> 00:21:26.839
The other one provides the conceptual vision of this is
450
00:21:26.900 --> 00:21:29.789
what a passenger elevator really is. This is how it
451
00:21:29.880 --> 00:21:32.609
is distinct from a freight elevator.
452
00:21:32.970 --> 00:21:36.049
So both Otis's keep working in the elevator industry for
453
00:21:36.069 --> 00:21:39.190
a while, and then they both pass on in the 1860s.
454
00:21:39.549 --> 00:21:43.710
Elijah Otis's sons take over his business. From there, elevators
455
00:21:43.829 --> 00:21:46.869
quickly become a staple of the modern city. They allow
456
00:21:46.990 --> 00:21:50.420
architects to build taller and taller buildings. since suddenly people
457
00:21:50.440 --> 00:21:52.950
don't have to walk up all those stairs. Soon you
458
00:21:52.990 --> 00:21:57.789
see six-story buildings, 10-story buildings, 20-story buildings, and eventually skyscrapers.
459
00:21:58.329 --> 00:22:01.130
Cities are never the same again. And it was really
460
00:22:01.150 --> 00:22:03.990
the marriage of these two ideas that helped that happen,
461
00:22:04.410 --> 00:22:08.170
the practical savvy from Elijah Otis and the grand vision
462
00:22:08.210 --> 00:22:12.349
from Otis Tufts. And that's often how innovation happens. One
463
00:22:12.390 --> 00:22:15.730
person's good idea mixed with another person's good idea makes
464
00:22:15.910 --> 00:22:18.309
a really great idea that changes the world.
465
00:22:18.789 --> 00:22:20.220
Thanks, Anand, for telling us that story.
466
00:22:20.519 --> 00:22:21.460
Yeah, thanks.
467
00:22:21.900 --> 00:22:24.880
No problem. And this is my stop, so I'll see
468
00:22:24.900 --> 00:22:25.369
you next time.
469
00:22:25.380 --> 00:22:26.250
See ya.
470
00:22:26.730 --> 00:22:29.349
Now, before our next stop, Sir Akshar, are you ready
471
00:22:29.369 --> 00:22:30.269
for that mystery sound again?
472
00:22:31.039 --> 00:22:31.470
Here it is.
473
00:22:49.359 --> 00:22:50.680
Do you have a new guess or do you want
474
00:22:50.700 --> 00:22:54.500
to stick with your original guess of the old timey elevator?
475
00:22:55.839 --> 00:23:00.200
Now I think it's maybe an elevator going up and
476
00:23:00.880 --> 00:23:05.140
it's just the modern day elevators, but I'm still not sure.
477
00:23:05.180 --> 00:23:06.950
I think I'll just stick with my old answer.
478
00:23:07.250 --> 00:23:08.450
Okay, excellent.
479
00:23:09.650 --> 00:23:10.829
Here is the answer.
480
00:23:11.109 --> 00:23:14.210
Okay, you just heard the sound of a manual elevator.
481
00:23:14.910 --> 00:23:23.240
My name is Ruben Pardo, P-A-R-D-O. I drive an old elevator,
482
00:23:23.259 --> 00:23:25.039
a manual elevator.
483
00:23:25.720 --> 00:23:29.500
So you were 100% correct in your first guess. Like,
484
00:23:29.859 --> 00:23:32.380
you got it exactly. So that's amazing.
485
00:23:33.160 --> 00:23:33.880
Good work.
486
00:23:34.319 --> 00:23:37.839
Manual elevators like these are old school. Instead of people
487
00:23:37.940 --> 00:23:40.269
pushing buttons and the elevator going to the right floor...
488
00:23:40.430 --> 00:23:43.460
These elevators have operators, like Ruben, who actually drive the
489
00:23:43.519 --> 00:23:45.900
elevator up and down the building. Have you ever seen
490
00:23:45.940 --> 00:23:47.059
one of these in person, Sarakha?
491
00:23:47.500 --> 00:23:51.759
I don't think so. Maybe my parents seen it, but
492
00:23:51.960 --> 00:23:52.569
I never had.
493
00:23:52.980 --> 00:23:55.529
Well, in the early part of the 1900s, your typical
494
00:23:55.589 --> 00:23:59.390
elevator was manual. But starting in the 1950s, these were
495
00:23:59.430 --> 00:24:03.029
replaced with automatic ones. Ruben is one of the last
496
00:24:03.170 --> 00:24:06.799
professional elevator operators in the country. He works in Los Angeles.
497
00:24:07.539 --> 00:24:14.049
This elevator is located inside an office building, 11-story office building.
498
00:24:14.549 --> 00:24:19.589
It has been inside this property since 1929. So when
499
00:24:19.670 --> 00:24:25.230
people push the button inside their offices, it lights up
500
00:24:25.490 --> 00:24:28.670
and it rings like your doorbell, and that's when I
501
00:24:28.869 --> 00:24:34.920
answer it. The old elevator, you have to drive it yourself,
502
00:24:35.359 --> 00:24:37.970
but you have to have a lot of experience to
503
00:24:38.009 --> 00:24:42.069
level it with the floor. There's a lever that you
504
00:24:42.109 --> 00:24:46.210
have to push it either up or you push it down.
505
00:24:46.750 --> 00:24:49.710
One direction is to go up, and the other direction
506
00:24:49.730 --> 00:24:52.619
is to go down. Like right now, when you're hearing
507
00:24:52.690 --> 00:24:57.829
a bell, I have to go and answer it. Right now,
508
00:24:58.170 --> 00:25:00.950
I'm pushing the lever to the right. I'm picking up
509
00:25:01.029 --> 00:25:03.789
somebody from the art gallery. We have an art gallery
510
00:25:03.829 --> 00:25:07.089
on the second floor. Going down?
511
00:25:07.309 --> 00:25:07.450
Yeah.
512
00:25:10.450 --> 00:25:13.829
I'm a professional. I've been doing elevators for most of
513
00:25:13.869 --> 00:25:18.339
my life. And I think I hit almost 60 years
514
00:25:18.400 --> 00:25:23.160
of driving elevators in total. Have a nice weekend, girls.
515
00:25:23.180 --> 00:25:24.299
Thank you.
516
00:25:24.339 --> 00:25:25.880
Come again.
517
00:25:25.960 --> 00:25:28.279
I just enjoy it. That's all. I get a kick
518
00:25:28.359 --> 00:25:28.740
out of it.
519
00:25:31.799 --> 00:25:34.380
It's weird to think about now, but when automatic elevators
520
00:25:34.420 --> 00:25:38.390
were first introduced, people were freaked out. They were scared
521
00:25:38.509 --> 00:25:41.049
of riding without an operator. It took most of the
522
00:25:41.730 --> 00:25:43.569
1950s for the technology to even be accepted.
523
00:25:43.990 --> 00:25:46.569
It goes to show we're not always ready for the
524
00:25:46.650 --> 00:25:49.779
future when it arrives. But it might help if we
525
00:25:49.819 --> 00:25:51.200
start thinking about it now.
526
00:25:51.400 --> 00:25:53.420
So we asked you what you thought the future of
527
00:25:53.480 --> 00:25:54.420
elevators might look like.
528
00:25:54.759 --> 00:25:57.140
I would like the elevator of the future to be
529
00:25:57.200 --> 00:26:00.329
like all the walls, ceiling, floor could all be glass
530
00:26:00.349 --> 00:26:02.349
so you could see through it. And I would also
531
00:26:02.380 --> 00:26:05.150
like the elevator of the future to have a table
532
00:26:05.170 --> 00:26:06.509
where you could put all your stuff.
533
00:26:06.690 --> 00:26:09.509
I would like an elevator to be able to fly
534
00:26:09.730 --> 00:26:10.650
all over the world.
535
00:26:11.109 --> 00:26:14.250
Also, if it could have a kitty face, that would
536
00:26:14.269 --> 00:26:14.589
be good.
537
00:26:16.059 --> 00:26:20.000
I want elevators to be able to go side to
538
00:26:20.079 --> 00:26:25.500
side and forward and backward, not just up and down.
539
00:26:25.819 --> 00:26:31.529
My idea for an elevator is that it's pink, it
540
00:26:31.609 --> 00:26:35.430
has hearts, and it goes into outer space and is
541
00:26:35.529 --> 00:26:38.869
powered by gas. I had an idea for an elevator
542
00:26:38.990 --> 00:26:43.230
that would be put in a vacuum tube and it
543
00:26:43.269 --> 00:26:47.380
would just go up bigger buildings faster. I'd like to
544
00:26:47.460 --> 00:26:50.759
tell you about my elevator. It starts off like a
545
00:26:50.839 --> 00:26:54.279
normal elevator, but you could talk to it where you
546
00:26:54.339 --> 00:26:58.440
want to go. You don't have to press any buttons.
547
00:26:58.940 --> 00:27:03.329
We wish elevators had disco balls so we can have
548
00:27:03.349 --> 00:27:05.329
a dance party every time we ride.
549
00:27:06.549 --> 00:27:09.430
Thanks to Josiah from Mountain View, California, Caleb and Indigo
550
00:27:09.450 --> 00:27:12.789
from Seattle, Asha and Luca from Brooklyn, Chase from Topeka, Kansas,
551
00:27:13.130 --> 00:27:16.230
and Allison, Elias, Lucille, and Caroline from Terre Haute, Indiana
552
00:27:16.309 --> 00:27:19.250
for those innovative ideas. We always want an excuse to
553
00:27:19.289 --> 00:27:20.130
have a dance party.
554
00:27:26.920 --> 00:27:28.299
Innovation never stops.
555
00:27:28.559 --> 00:27:31.700
To tell us more about how engineers are still improving elevators,
556
00:27:32.099 --> 00:27:34.460
we're going to pick up producer Mark Sanchez.
557
00:27:35.839 --> 00:27:36.240
Hi, Mark.
558
00:27:37.039 --> 00:27:40.599
Hey guys, I have some good news and I have
559
00:27:40.640 --> 00:27:44.119
some bad news. First the bad, there will be no
560
00:27:44.319 --> 00:27:47.430
flying elevators anytime soon. The good news though is that
561
00:27:47.450 --> 00:27:50.430
there are already elevators with disco balls.
562
00:27:50.950 --> 00:27:51.430
What?
563
00:27:51.950 --> 00:27:55.509
Yeah, turns out the geniuses at Legoland Hotels have all
564
00:27:55.589 --> 00:27:58.470
your disco elevator needs covered. You can go into one
565
00:27:58.490 --> 00:28:01.170
of those elevators there and boogie to your heart's content.
566
00:28:03.539 --> 00:28:05.619
And for those of us who feel the need.
567
00:28:05.680 --> 00:28:06.240
Don't say it.
568
00:28:06.539 --> 00:28:08.559
The need for speed.
569
00:28:08.579 --> 00:28:08.650
Yup.
570
00:28:09.059 --> 00:28:10.240
You said it.
571
00:28:10.460 --> 00:28:10.900
Oh, geez.
572
00:28:11.200 --> 00:28:14.420
Come on. Some people want super fast elevators. Think about
573
00:28:14.460 --> 00:28:17.890
the first Otis elevators. They moved at a mind numbingly
574
00:28:17.930 --> 00:28:21.670
slow pace, about 40 feet per minute. That's about half
575
00:28:21.710 --> 00:28:25.150
a mile per hour. Casual human walking pace is three
576
00:28:25.190 --> 00:28:28.029
miles an hour. So basically we can walk way faster
577
00:28:28.089 --> 00:28:30.359
than the first elevators went from floor to floor. Fast
578
00:28:30.380 --> 00:28:34.160
forward about 160 years to 2016. when a Guinness World
579
00:28:34.269 --> 00:28:40.089
Record was set at 67.25 feet per second. That speedy
580
00:28:40.150 --> 00:28:43.970
elevator was in China's Shanghai Tower. It's an enormous skyscraper
581
00:28:44.009 --> 00:28:47.730
standing at 2,074 feet. That's second only to the Burj
582
00:28:47.769 --> 00:28:51.029
Khalifa in Dubai. The elevator in the Shanghai Tower only
583
00:28:51.049 --> 00:28:54.210
took 53 seconds to go from the second basement level
584
00:28:54.470 --> 00:28:57.059
all the way up to the 119th floor during its
585
00:28:57.099 --> 00:28:57.880
record-breaking trip.
586
00:28:58.259 --> 00:29:00.940
Wow, that thing can fly, but not literally fly because
587
00:29:00.960 --> 00:29:02.500
you said elevators can't fly, right?
588
00:29:02.980 --> 00:29:05.359
True, they can't just sprout wings and take off like
589
00:29:05.400 --> 00:29:05.920
rocket ships.
590
00:29:06.539 --> 00:29:07.259
But there's a.
591
00:29:07.259 --> 00:29:10.220
Growing community of people who think elevators can take us
592
00:29:10.720 --> 00:29:12.160
into the final frontier.
593
00:29:12.180 --> 00:29:12.940
Space?
594
00:29:13.339 --> 00:29:16.029
Yep, I'm talking space elevators.
595
00:29:16.509 --> 00:29:18.529
How is that even possible?
596
00:29:19.029 --> 00:29:21.289
Well, until recently, it was kind of a pipe dream
597
00:29:21.309 --> 00:29:24.670
written about in sci-fi books. But new technology has made
598
00:29:24.690 --> 00:29:28.650
the potential for elevators in space pretty real. Some people
599
00:29:28.680 --> 00:29:33.220
think the secret ingredient may just be carbon nanotubes. Molecules
600
00:29:33.259 --> 00:29:36.710
of carbon bonded together and shaped into tubes. They're 10,000
601
00:29:36.710 --> 00:29:40.599
times thinner than human hair. They're also about 10 times
602
00:29:40.660 --> 00:29:45.119
stronger than steel. Super strong and super light are just
603
00:29:45.140 --> 00:29:47.890
the ingredients a space elevator needs for its tether, which
604
00:29:47.930 --> 00:29:50.990
is basically a ribbon of material stitched together that the
605
00:29:51.109 --> 00:29:52.089
elevator will climb.
606
00:29:52.789 --> 00:29:54.750
Okay, so it's kind of like a super strong and
607
00:29:54.829 --> 00:29:57.859
super light elevator cable. But how does that get us
608
00:29:57.900 --> 00:29:58.400
into space?
609
00:29:58.759 --> 00:30:01.700
The idea is that something really strong like carbon nanotubes
610
00:30:01.779 --> 00:30:04.759
will be stitched together to form the tether. And that
611
00:30:04.799 --> 00:30:08.859
will stretch 62 miles from Earth into space. The Earth
612
00:30:08.960 --> 00:30:11.579
end will be anchored somewhere along the equator. And the
613
00:30:11.619 --> 00:30:15.180
other end, anchored with a counterweight, will be in space.
614
00:30:15.700 --> 00:30:18.089
And what keeps all this stuff from crashing back down
615
00:30:18.160 --> 00:30:18.609
on the Earth?
616
00:30:19.150 --> 00:30:22.589
Yeah, good question. But that would be our pal, centripetal force.
617
00:30:22.990 --> 00:30:24.869
Imagine a tennis ball attached to a piece of string.
618
00:30:25.369 --> 00:30:28.329
And if you grabbed the non-tennis ball end and swung
619
00:30:28.349 --> 00:30:30.730
it around over your head, how would the string look?
620
00:30:30.950 --> 00:30:33.769
Would it be straight and tight or squiggly and loose?
621
00:30:34.109 --> 00:30:35.069
Straight and tight.
622
00:30:35.609 --> 00:30:36.170
Exactly.
623
00:30:36.190 --> 00:30:39.230
And the reason the string is straight and tight is
624
00:30:39.289 --> 00:30:42.829
because of centripetal force. A space elevator would use this
625
00:30:42.890 --> 00:30:45.529
same principle. Our spinning earth takes the place of your
626
00:30:45.589 --> 00:30:48.829
swinging arm. A carbon nanotube tether takes the place of
627
00:30:48.869 --> 00:30:52.210
the string. And a counterweight in space takes the place
628
00:30:52.289 --> 00:30:53.029
of the tennis ball.
629
00:30:53.509 --> 00:30:55.970
Okay, I get the idea. But why would we want
630
00:30:55.990 --> 00:30:56.630
to build one of these?
631
00:30:57.349 --> 00:30:59.690
If space elevators do get built, they would give us
632
00:30:59.730 --> 00:31:02.750
a much more efficient and cheaper way of reaching space.
633
00:31:03.390 --> 00:31:06.390
Elevators of all sizes could climb a tether into space
634
00:31:06.910 --> 00:31:09.569
so we could launch satellites or carry up space station
635
00:31:09.609 --> 00:31:11.190
equipment or even take a vacation.
636
00:31:11.210 --> 00:31:13.130
A spacecation?
637
00:31:13.650 --> 00:31:14.210
Sounds fun.
638
00:31:14.539 --> 00:31:14.799
I'm in.
639
00:31:15.299 --> 00:31:16.180
How do I get a ticket?
640
00:31:16.740 --> 00:31:18.920
If all goes well, there's a company in Japan that
641
00:31:18.980 --> 00:31:21.960
actually has plans to have a working space elevator built
642
00:31:22.119 --> 00:31:22.359
by 2050.
643
00:31:22.339 --> 00:31:22.509
But....
644
00:31:25.500 --> 00:31:28.779
Right now, there are a couple little carbon nanotube hurdles
645
00:31:28.829 --> 00:31:31.769
to clear. So far, nobody has actually been able to
646
00:31:31.849 --> 00:31:35.490
stitch together carbon nanotubes of any great length. And there's
647
00:31:35.529 --> 00:31:38.349
also the fact that one tiny defect in any one
648
00:31:38.369 --> 00:31:40.849
of these nanotubes could corrupt the rest of the tether,
649
00:31:41.750 --> 00:31:46.779
basically rendering it useless. Nevertheless, scientists are hard at work
650
00:31:47.220 --> 00:31:47.859
on the problem.
651
00:31:48.259 --> 00:31:51.059
The real question, what button will you press for space?
652
00:31:51.640 --> 00:31:52.059
An S?
653
00:31:52.180 --> 00:31:54.039
Or like just a picture of a star or something?
654
00:31:54.559 --> 00:31:56.349
I guess engineers are going to have to work on
655
00:31:56.369 --> 00:31:58.829
that too. Well, this is my floor.
656
00:31:58.869 --> 00:31:59.289
See you later.
657
00:31:59.730 --> 00:32:00.190
Thanks, Mark.
658
00:32:00.470 --> 00:32:01.089
Thanks, Mark.
659
00:32:04.150 --> 00:32:06.309
Some elevators use a series of pulleys and ropes to
660
00:32:06.329 --> 00:32:09.019
go up and down. Others are pushed up from below
661
00:32:09.200 --> 00:32:10.400
by hydraulic pistons.
662
00:32:10.799 --> 00:32:14.180
In early elevators, people pulled those ropes, but over time,
663
00:32:14.319 --> 00:32:17.079
we found ways to make the machines do that hard work.
664
00:32:17.279 --> 00:32:19.039
It took a long time and a lot of ideas
665
00:32:19.119 --> 00:32:21.299
to bring us an elevator that was both safe and
666
00:32:21.420 --> 00:32:22.069
pleasant to ride.
667
00:32:22.400 --> 00:32:25.589
And engineers are still dreaming up new ways to use
668
00:32:25.609 --> 00:32:26.470
this technology.
669
00:32:26.630 --> 00:32:29.369
From elevators that go super fast to elevators that can
670
00:32:29.430 --> 00:32:33.369
reach space. Oh, and don't forget elevators with disco balls.
671
00:32:33.529 --> 00:32:35.650
Discovators sound awesome.
672
00:32:36.000 --> 00:32:38.619
Thanks for joining us on this ride. If it inspired
673
00:32:38.660 --> 00:32:40.720
you to think of a new type of elevator, draw
674
00:32:40.740 --> 00:32:44.220
a picture and send it to us at hello at BrainsOn.org.
675
00:32:44.799 --> 00:32:46.859
And stick around until the end for the honor roll
676
00:32:46.940 --> 00:32:49.160
and our new segment answering one of your questions.
677
00:32:49.740 --> 00:32:53.140
Brains On is produced by Molly Bloom, Mark Sanchez, and
678
00:32:53.160 --> 00:32:54.009
Sandon Totten.
679
00:32:54.289 --> 00:32:58.549
Super thanks go out to Leigh Gray, Vijay Jayachandran, Meenakshi Kalidas,
680
00:32:58.849 --> 00:33:01.529
Nicole Miller, and her fifth graders at John Marshall Elementary
681
00:33:01.609 --> 00:33:02.589
in Edison, New Jersey.
682
00:33:02.930 --> 00:33:03.650
That's my class!
683
00:33:04.170 --> 00:33:04.869
Hey, guys!
684
00:33:05.230 --> 00:33:07.930
Also, thanks to Katie Padgett and the Otis Elevator Company,
685
00:33:08.150 --> 00:33:11.930
Vicki Krekeler, Julia Greer, John Moe, Veronica Rodriguez, Eric Ringham,
686
00:33:11.990 --> 00:33:20.960
Stuart Bloom, Austin Cross, and Lori Gallaretta. Now it's time
687
00:33:21.019 --> 00:33:22.359
to answer Dani's question.
688
00:33:22.460 --> 00:33:23.680
Why do crickets chirp?
689
00:33:23.960 --> 00:33:26.119
This is our moment of, um.
690
00:33:26.990 --> 00:33:29.269
Um... Um.
691
00:33:29.589 --> 00:33:30.309
Um... Um.
692
00:33:30.509 --> 00:33:31.049
Um... Um.
693
00:33:32.190 --> 00:33:35.119
To answer this question, we talked to John Lambert. He's
694
00:33:35.140 --> 00:33:37.920
a graduate student at Cornell. He studies crickets.
695
00:33:39.180 --> 00:33:43.220
Crickets chirp for primarily one reason, which is to communicate
696
00:33:43.240 --> 00:33:48.569
with each other. But it's almost exclusively male crickets who
697
00:33:48.589 --> 00:33:51.430
do the chirping and female crickets who do the listening.
698
00:33:51.630 --> 00:33:54.650
So if you're outside on a hot August night and
699
00:33:54.690 --> 00:33:57.410
you hear a bunch of crickets, you're probably hearing males
700
00:33:57.490 --> 00:33:59.880
singing their most common kind of song, which is a
701
00:33:59.920 --> 00:34:04.309
calling song. And males sing calling songs to attract females
702
00:34:04.829 --> 00:34:06.869
so that they can mate. Imagine if you were a
703
00:34:06.910 --> 00:34:09.679
cricket trying to find a female cricket in a big
704
00:34:09.760 --> 00:34:11.340
field with a lot of grass and stuff. It would
705
00:34:11.360 --> 00:34:14.260
be hard just by walking around and hoping you would
706
00:34:14.300 --> 00:34:17.019
bump into them. And so males sing this song to
707
00:34:17.079 --> 00:34:21.219
sort of advertise both their location and how good of
708
00:34:21.260 --> 00:34:23.019
a mate they'd be to females. So it's sort of
709
00:34:23.059 --> 00:34:27.219
like they're saying, hey ladies, I'm over here. Come check
710
00:34:27.260 --> 00:34:32.380
me out. Hear how loud and rhythmically I'm chirping. Males
711
00:34:32.460 --> 00:34:35.699
produce the chirp by rubbing their wings together. So on
712
00:34:35.900 --> 00:34:39.400
one wing, there's a sort of comb-like structure, and on
713
00:34:39.440 --> 00:34:41.909
the other wing, there's a hard and sharp structure called
714
00:34:41.949 --> 00:34:46.929
a scraper. And a male rubs his wings together, and
715
00:34:46.969 --> 00:34:49.849
the scraper runs against the comb-like structure, sort of like
716
00:34:49.889 --> 00:34:52.210
if you took a pencil and rubbed it against a comb,
717
00:34:52.269 --> 00:34:54.389
it would make a sound. Sort of the same thing's
718
00:34:54.429 --> 00:34:57.679
going on in a cricket wing. And the rest of
719
00:34:57.719 --> 00:35:00.460
the wing serves as sort of a resonance structure, kind
720
00:35:00.480 --> 00:35:03.280
of like the body of a guitar or violin to
721
00:35:03.320 --> 00:35:04.460
help amplify the sound.
722
00:35:07.260 --> 00:35:09.530
And now here's the most recent group to join Danny
723
00:35:09.659 --> 00:35:13.150
on the Brains Honor Roll. Aidan and Ian from Topsfield, Massachusetts.
724
00:35:13.289 --> 00:35:16.769
Anne from Quincy, Massachusetts. Eddie from Minneapolis. Simon and Darwin
725
00:35:16.789 --> 00:35:19.690
from Oakton, Virginia. Matthew and Kate from Kilgore, Texas. Anne
726
00:35:19.710 --> 00:35:23.380
Wynn-Maddox and Bevan from Austin, Texas. Julia from Wilmette, Illinois.
727
00:35:23.460 --> 00:35:27.059
Hillel from Rehovot, Israel. Allison from Kansas City, Missouri, Leah
728
00:35:27.119 --> 00:35:30.659
and Rowan from Squamish, British Columbia, Ella and Hazel from Bend, Oregon,
729
00:35:30.980 --> 00:35:34.900
Smetam from San Francisco, Josiah from Guadalajara, Mexico, Jonah from
730
00:35:34.940 --> 00:35:37.860
Port Moody, British Columbia, Jack from Bend, Oregon, Blake Moore
731
00:35:37.900 --> 00:35:41.260
from Washington, D.C., Ailey from Brooklyn, New York, Tessa and
732
00:35:41.300 --> 00:35:45.170
Lucy from Northport, Alabama, Bodie from Squamish, British Columbia, Zoe
733
00:35:45.190 --> 00:35:49.269
from Seattle, Lucas from Irvine, California, Inien from Portland, Oregon,
734
00:35:49.329 --> 00:35:52.789
Sadie from Kishner, Ontario, Owen and Arlo from Montana, Isaac
735
00:35:52.809 --> 00:35:56.570
from Bend, Oregon, Lucia and Calvin from Monterey, California. Eli
736
00:35:56.590 --> 00:36:00.760
from Flagstaff, Arizona. Charlotte from Houston. Abe from Lafayette Hill, Pennsylvania.
737
00:36:00.969 --> 00:36:04.340
Claire from Sydney, Australia. Powell from Galetta, California. Wallace and
738
00:36:04.380 --> 00:36:07.119
Frederick from Los Angeles. Tegan and Kellen from San Diego.
739
00:36:07.530 --> 00:36:10.840
Ava from Manassas, Virginia. Emery and Killian from Denver. Ryan
740
00:36:10.860 --> 00:36:15.079
from Fairfax, Virginia. Lily from Antioch, California. Maisie from Chicago.
741
00:36:15.219 --> 00:36:20.050
Theo from Portland, Oregon. Riley from Arvada, Colorado. Felix from Canberra, Australia.
742
00:36:20.119 --> 00:36:23.530
Camden and Lander from Leesburg, Florida. Charlie from Chanhassen, Minnesota.
743
00:36:23.750 --> 00:36:27.349
Nicholas from Minneapolis. Hayden from Aldi, Virginia. Wyatt from Las Vegas.
744
00:36:27.469 --> 00:36:31.730
Theodore from Lafayette, Colorado. Abner from Corvallis, Oregon, Rebecca, Jacob, Thomas,
745
00:36:31.750 --> 00:36:34.730
and Elizabeth from Dallas, Stella from Los Angeles, Leo and
746
00:36:34.769 --> 00:36:37.969
Rafa from Toronto, Charlie and William from Austin, Texas, Finn
747
00:36:38.010 --> 00:36:41.150
from Cape Town, South Africa, Kaylin and Hadley from Bailey, Colorado,
748
00:36:41.210 --> 00:36:44.230
Nathan and Henry from Cleveland, Blair and Reed from Edmonton, Alberta,
749
00:36:44.349 --> 00:36:47.550
Tegan and Warren from St. Louis, and Oliver from Snohomish, Washington.
750
00:36:56.300 --> 00:36:58.639
We'll be back soon with more answers to your questions.
751
00:36:58.909 --> 00:37:01.769
Thanks for listening. Now, how do we get back to
752
00:37:01.809 --> 00:37:02.329
the lobby?
753
00:37:02.349 --> 00:37:05.829
I don't actually know. I haven't really used this elevator
754
00:37:05.849 --> 00:37:06.469
much before.
755
00:37:06.489 --> 00:37:09.400
I heard 24 going up.
756
00:37:09.860 --> 00:37:10.579
Good grief.
757
00:37:10.880 --> 00:37:11.980
Not this again.
758
00:37:12.320 --> 00:37:24.239
Next time, let's take the stairs. And now for a
759
00:37:24.300 --> 00:37:28.800
special preview of the latest Smash Boom Best Debate. Rice vs.
760
00:37:29.139 --> 00:37:29.500
Noodles.
761
00:37:30.659 --> 00:37:34.699
Our micro round is Smash Boom Superhero. We asked Joy
762
00:37:34.889 --> 00:37:37.469
and Megan to write a movie trailer for a superhero
763
00:37:37.510 --> 00:37:41.369
movie starring their side. Joy went first last time, so Megan,
764
00:37:41.650 --> 00:37:45.010
you're up. Let's hear your Super Noodle movie trailer.
765
00:37:48.070 --> 00:37:52.840
A long, long, long, long noodle away In a world
766
00:37:52.940 --> 00:37:58.059
turned slurp-free The evil Lord Rhizotron has captured the high
767
00:37:58.179 --> 00:38:02.139
throne of planet Stovus, plotting to take over the galaxy.
768
00:38:02.500 --> 00:38:04.260
Ha ha, bow down.
769
00:38:03.960 --> 00:38:06.429
To your galactic grain overlord.
770
00:38:07.030 --> 00:38:10.849
And unite the warring factions of the Cook planetary systems
771
00:38:10.909 --> 00:38:16.750
behind him by infecting their bodies with brain-eating aliens, turning
772
00:38:16.769 --> 00:38:22.039
the warriors into mind-numbed zombies who desire only a single
773
00:38:22.579 --> 00:38:26.849
boring food. in a choice of just one shape and
774
00:38:26.989 --> 00:38:30.150
two flavors, white or brown.
775
00:38:30.170 --> 00:38:32.349
Mmm, rice.
776
00:38:32.710 --> 00:38:34.710
So plain, so boring.
777
00:38:35.889 --> 00:38:40.889
The Ricetron takeover was near, but he forgot just one thing.
778
00:38:41.269 --> 00:38:43.909
Hey, rice zombies, chew on this.
779
00:38:44.510 --> 00:38:51.239
It's Quantum Noodle. Stretching through time, shapeshifting through universes. I'm
780
00:38:51.280 --> 00:38:51.880
a string.
781
00:38:52.340 --> 00:38:53.260
I'm a spiral.
782
00:38:53.579 --> 00:38:57.420
I'm a cheese-packed pillow of power. I'm gluten-free if need be.
783
00:38:57.820 --> 00:39:02.059
This slippery hero is here to bring justice and endless
784
00:39:02.139 --> 00:39:07.019
delicious variety. Quentin Noodle, you're so tough. No, ma'am.
785
00:39:07.500 --> 00:39:09.059
I'm just al dente.
786
00:39:09.679 --> 00:39:11.860
Coming soon to a bowl near you.
787
00:39:14.489 --> 00:39:23.090
That is great. Delightful. All right, Joy, it's your turn.
788
00:39:23.130 --> 00:39:26.440
Let's hear your take on a superhero trailer for Rice.
789
00:39:27.820 --> 00:39:29.809
In a world where everyone is hungry.
790
00:39:30.510 --> 00:39:32.760
Oh boy, I'm so hungry.
791
00:39:33.139 --> 00:39:34.679
An impossible situation.
792
00:39:35.159 --> 00:39:36.719
How am I going to get this house of cards
793
00:39:36.800 --> 00:39:37.719
to stick together?
794
00:39:37.739 --> 00:39:39.119
My baby!
795
00:39:39.480 --> 00:39:40.400
My baby!
796
00:39:41.019 --> 00:39:42.960
Can someone feed my baby?
797
00:39:43.679 --> 00:39:45.320
One grain of rice.
798
00:39:45.679 --> 00:39:46.539
Don't you understand?
799
00:39:46.969 --> 00:39:49.489
Feeding people is in my past. I'm just a single
800
00:39:49.550 --> 00:39:50.329
grain of rice.
801
00:39:50.809 --> 00:39:51.690
What could I do?
802
00:39:52.449 --> 00:39:54.489
To rule them all.
803
00:39:55.090 --> 00:39:58.400
I'm going to need water. A whole lot of water.
804
00:39:59.219 --> 00:40:03.820
One grain will absorb the courage to bind, to satisfy hunger,
805
00:40:04.239 --> 00:40:10.130
and to kick butt. Aborio, Basmati, Forbidden, and Jasmine star
806
00:40:10.329 --> 00:40:15.829
in Rice Revengers, The Pot Runneth Over, a trilogy. Coming
807
00:40:15.869 --> 00:40:18.610
to a rice cooker near you in 20 to 25 minutes.
808
00:40:21.250 --> 00:40:22.820
To hear the rest of this debate and find out
809
00:40:22.860 --> 00:40:25.460
who was crowned the Smash Boom Best, you can find
810
00:40:25.500 --> 00:40:28.820
the rest of the episode at smashboom.org, or you can
811
00:40:28.860 --> 00:40:31.800
subscribe to Smash Boom Best wherever you get your podcasts.