Explore every episode of the podcast Fascinating Gadgets, Gizmos, and Gear Based Technologies

We’ve discussed how to build your own underground bunker, but what if you let a company like Vault-Tek do that for you?  In the world of Fallout, Vault-Tek is not the most trustworthy company.  They blew up the entire world to eliminate their competition!  While I do respect their hustle, it does leave the world in an irradiated mess.  So in three hundred years when you are coming out of your vault, how do you deal with all the radiation?  Is that just a part of your daily life?  And why are all the insects so big?  Strap on your Pip-Boy, and get ready to discuss everything you need to know to become a productive member of the new radioactive society.

We’ve discussed how to build your own underground bunker, but what if you let a company like Vault-Tek do that for you?  In the world of Fallout, Vault-Tek is not the most trustworthy company.  They blew up the entire world to eliminate their competition!  While I do respect their hustle, it does leave the world in an irradiated mess.  So in three hundred years when you are coming out of your vault, how do you deal with all the radiation?  Is that just a part of your daily life?  And why are all the insects so big?  Strap on your Pip-Boy, and get ready to discuss everything you need to know to become a productive member of the new radioactive society.

As a species, our main goal is to live forever, whatever that means.  We will live for centuries in underground bunkers in a nuclear holocaust, we will freeze our bodies when we die with the hopes that one day we will be brought back to life, and we even store our DNA to make sure we can be cloned if the need arises.  We have a better plan:  How about getting rid of that unnecessary body, which is prone to failure, and just preserve the part that matters:  The Brain.  This week we debate the pros and cons of storing your brain in a nutrient rich bath to be preserved for all time.  We even go into the accessories you can have that will allow you to experience the world around you, ensuring that you will have almost the same human experience as everyone else without all the biological hassle.

From the first time you lay eyes on the Mogwai Gizmo, it is hard to imagine that something that adorable has the potential to unleash a horde of evil gremlins simply by disregarding a few rules.  I mean, how do you exist as an animal if you can’t get wet?  Everything has to drink water at some point.  In this episode, we will discuss those sacred rules, and how to avoid making any mistakes.  Speaking of gizmos, we will also take a look at the gadgets of Randall Peltzer, including the Bathroom Buddy, the Smokeless Ashtray, and the Peltzer Pulverizer.

Indiana Jones is the man credited with making archeology cool.  A professor by day and a bullwhip toting, fedora wearing, idol snatching adventurer by night, he has more in common with a superhero than an academic.  He also gets himself in a lot of danger, and this movie is no exception.  Listen as we explain deadly blow darts, giant rolling balls, and a religious artifact that has a lot in common with an uncontrollable fusion battery.  We also discuss the sonic powers of his whip, and whether or not it is advisable to stare a cobra in the eyes.

If you are looking for a movie with adventure, treasure maps, pirate ships, crazy gadgets, and an organ made out of human bones, then The Goonies is exactly what you are looking for!  We kick off “Spielberg Spring” with this classic about a group of kids who go looking for a fabled treasure stash in order to save their homes from being sold to a real estate developer.  There is plenty of science to talk about in this one, including Data’s zany inventions, large scale booby traps, Rube-Goldberg designs, and how this movie links to Oak Island, one of the most mysterious treasure hunts of all time.

Phineas & Ferb are two kids who, along with their brilliant friends, are able to build some incredible technology.  They are only rivaled by Dr. Doofenschmirtz and his “inators”.  While discussing their latest movie “Candace Against The Universe”, we get into some really fascinating science, including a mind-controlling plant, a gigantic juggling robot, fungus-filled alien planets, a gun that swaps your location with the nearest chicken, and the quantum connection between Phineas, Ferb, and Doofenschmirtz.

In our WonderCon WandaVision panel, we covered a lot of the science behind the hit marvel show, including a brief history of television shows, the power of magic runes, and the ability to rewrite reality.  That was MOST of what went on inside the Westview Anomoly, but we thought it deserved a little more.  This is our little WandaVision Addendum, or Wandendum, where we look at overlapping spacetimes, Vision’s phasing powers, and what the heck was going on with those strange commercials.

Scooby Doo and his crew are part of a company called Mystery, Inc., and they go around solving capers, crimes, and other oddities of high strangeness.  Typically the villain is a real estate developer who is masquerading as some sort of supernatural being.  Given the skeptical nature of Fred and Wilma, how are the Scooby Gang fooled by masks each and every week?  How do you construct a revolving bookshelf, and keep it from accidentally spinning around?  How is this show tied to the Spiritualist movement of the 1880’s?  We explain these queries and many more this week!  Plus if you have ever asked the question “Scooby Doo, Where Are You?”, you are in luck.  We finally have a definitive answer.

The Flintstones have been dubbed “The Modern Stone Age Family”, and it is absolutely true.  Despite the fact that they appear to be living in a prehistoric civilization, they have all the conveniences of the modern world, albeit slightly altered to match their resources.  Specialized animals make up the bulk of the work force, including ones that cut grass, quickly chisel pictures, and fill in for a garbage disposal.  They have cars that are powered by their feet, yet also seem to attain perpetual motion. Listen as we explain how all of this is possible.

The Jetsons was a show about living in the space age, and all the atomic-powered technology you can fit into one futuristic apartment. George Jetson had everything: robot dogs fueled by nuclear energy, a sentient robot maid named Rosie, and a 3D food printer that was operated with punch cards. He even had a three hour workday! Listen as we discuss these advancements, and how they work together within the framework of Hanna-Barberian physics.

This is our first episode taking a close look at the physics of the cartoon world of Hanna-Barbera.  Tom & Jerry have had a tumultuous relationship for as long as they have known each other and their uneasy truces quickly dissolve into all out combat.  The physics of that combat is what is really intriguing.  The prick from a pin will send Tom rocketing skyward in pain, completely defying the conventional law of gravity.  Hitting a bowling ball with a bowling pin will cause it to soar through the air like a baseball.  Tom getting hit with a sledgehammer will turn him into a railroad spike.  How is all of this possible?  Listen as we explain it all, and introduce you to a completely new paradigm of cartoon science:  Hanna-Barberian Physics!

In the latest Wonder Woman movie, a new and reality bending item is introduced:  The Dreamstone.  All someone has to do is touch it, and it will grant one wish.  This is a powerful promise, one that even Wonder Woman falls victim to.  In this episode, we take a look at the way reality is immediately and radically altered, and how that affects the world at large.  We will also take a look at some of her iconic equipment, including the invisible jet, the Lasso of Truth, and bullet deflecting bracers.

We have all considered the famous Haddaway quote “What is Love?”, but no one has solved it…until now.  Using the tv show Quantum Leap as our inspiration, we will attempt to prove that love is a simple case of macro-level quantum entanglement.  But the interesting things about this cult favorite do not stop there.  We get into inhabiting  someone else’s body, temporary amnesia, forgetful squirrels, how the leaps in this show are like a choose your own adventure book.  This is quite a way to start the new season!

Tenet is a movie about the idea that you can reverse the flow of time by reversing the entropy of an object.  This is a fascinating way to look at time travel, although it happens in “Real Time” so you have to live the events in their entirety (forwards of backwards) instead of jumping over them to arrive way in the future (or past) a la Back to the Future.  We break-down how this would work, and what effects it would have on reality, including how an explosion would give you hypothermia and how coming into contact with another version of yourself would cause both of you to annihilate each other.  Hopefully we explain all of this in a way that is less confusing than the movie itself!

The mystery of human attraction remain unsolved, but Love Potion No. 9 attempts to solve it through the the voice.  This is a movie about a substance that when sprayed onto your vocal cords, it affects your voice in such a way that the opposite sex will find you undeniably fascinating, while the same sex will find you uncontrollable aggravating.  This has very little to do with love, but when mixed with the correct combination of smells, could create quite a powerful combination.  We discuss the hilarious affect helium has on your voice, why Love Potion No. 8 won’t work over Zoom, and what exactly a “Fair Gnome” is.

Could you imagine being stuck in a time loop, reliving the same day over and over?  Where you remember everything, and everyone around you remembers nothing?  This is exactly what happens to Phil Connors in the classic movie Groundhog Day.  While living without any consequences is fun at first, once Phil realizes he is stuck seemingly forever, things get pretty dark, pretty quick.  This week we take a look at this time loop, and figure out how exactly he got out, how long he was in the loop, and how he got stuck in the first place.  We will also discuss how long it takes to learn piano, master a foreign language, and plan the perfect petty robbery once you know exactly how the day will play out, down to the second.

When one thinks of world domination, two people should immediately spring to mind:  Pinky & The Brain.  These two genetically enhanced mice attempt to take over the world on a nightly basis, and have come devastatingly close on several occasions.  In this episode, we examine some of those plans from the latest season, and offer some insights on how to make them better.  We will discuss robotic mice from the future, electric cars designed to trap their occupants, AI with the ability to generate flawless protocol for taking over the world, and a meme with the power to hypnotize the entire human population.

As they say in the cinematic classic “A Christmas Story”, every Christmas-celebrating child’s year revolves around December 25th.  It is on this day that Santa Claus travel across the entire world on a flying reindeer-powered sleigh to deliver presents to all the good little boys and girls.  The real question is “How does he do it”?  The feat seems impossible, and at first glance seems to defy the very laws of physics.  Listen as we explain the entire Christmas Eve ride, from sleigh speed, to present delivery, down to the red suit he is famous for.  Finally, we will postulate a Unified Theory of Santa that will make everyone a believer in the “magic” of Christmas.

Every Year on Dec. 25, Santa Claus takes to the skies to deliver presents to all the good little girls and boys in the world, but that one day takes 364 days of preparation to pull off.  A naughty/nice list must be compiled, millions of toys must be assembled, and the entire delivery route must be mapped out.  This level of coordination requires a large, dedicated staff.  How does Santa surveil the entire child population without being detected?  Where does he get all the raw materials necessary for so many toys, and exactly who are these “elves”?  These are just some of the questions we answer in this two-part episode.

When it comes to Christmas, Santa typically gets all the credit, but it turns out he has a crack team of elves that work behind the scenes.  One such team is called Prep & Landing, and their job is to prepare each house for Santa’s arrival.  Listen as we discuss the exploits of Wayne and Lanny, as they use various gadgets to make Santa’ job easier, including temperature reading haptic gloves, a mobile gingerbread tablet, knockout ornaments, and a hologram generator for sizing gifts.

If there was a pill that could give you a random superpower for only five mins, but there was no guarantee you would survive, would you take it?  That is the question asked by the movie Project Power.  The superpowers granted by the pharmaceutical are random, and are typically some form of augmented biology, such as Octopus Camouflage, Johnny Storm like heat generation, or an Elsa like ability to freeze things.  Plus we discuss the unlucky few, who blow up because their biology can’t handle the pill.  We also talk about the wolverine frog, the physics altering mantis shrimp, and Guile’s famous SONIC BOOM!

What would it be like for a human to be raised exclusively by a robot in an underground bunker?  This question is explored in the movie I Am Mother.  An automated bunker houses an AI powered robot named “Mother” and this robot is responsible for the last remnants of humanity, which are stored as embryos in a large cryogenic freezer.  The robot decides to artificially grow a female human, an teach her to become the perfect human, or at least what the algorithms say is perfect.  It does this over and over in an attempt to learn how to become a better mother.  This movie has some really fun technology, including artificial wombs, powerful, human-like AI, an extensive underground domicile, and the storage of incredibly large human embryos.

We are all familiar with The Hulk and his ever increasing strength, but where does this power ultimately come from?  Is it somehow tied to his psyche?  Is there an altered biological reason for this transformation?  In this episode we take a look into mind of Dr. Banner to see if it holds the key to The Hulk.  We also compare this duo to the most famous doctor/monster combo of all time: Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde!  The parallels (and power source) are surprisingly similar.

At it’s core, “A Christmas Carol” is a story about redemption.  How one man’s life (and those around him) was changed for the better, and all it took was a trio of ghosts operating in the middle of the night, showing all of one’s failures to scare Scrooge straight.  One would think that this was NOT repeatable, but it turns out that there is a movie that chronicles the behind the scenes activities of the Christmas ghosts.  What would it take to save a new wrenched soul every year?  How do you select a new Scrooge the perfect scrooge?  And when you have them, can you follow a formula for saving them?  Do you always need a “Tiny” Tim?  We look into the redemption process and see just how repeatable it is.

In nature, some bird species will try to get another bird species to raise their young by secretly laying eggs in their nest.  This is called brood parasitism.  The movie Vivarium takes this concept and applies it to humans.  Tom and Emma get trapped in a weird subdivision called Yonder, and are given a baby to raise.  It quickly becomes apparent that this baby is not human, and they have to figure out what is going on or risk dying in this place.  We look at a lot of strange physics in this movie, as well as Mobius Strips, Changlings, mimicry in nature, and the labyrinth of the Minotaur.

Blade is a BA vampire hunter, who also happens to be half-vampire himself.  His mom was bitten while pregnant, which bestowed upon Blade all of the vampire strengths, but none of the weaknesses…sort of.  He still has to drink blood which while not a physical weakness per se, is definitely a social weakness.  At his disposal is a varied arsenal of silver & garlic infused weapons including vampire mace, silver stakes, a titanium sword, and an anti-coagulant mixture that makes vampires explode.  We cover all of that in detail, as well as how he is able to walk in the sun, how vampirism is a viral infection, and the many ways vampires reproduce.

Tremors is about a group of people in the tiny Nevada town of Perfection who encounter large, subterranean worm-like creatures called Graboids, which are attracted to sound.  In this episode, we attempt to explain the biology of these creatures, including their incredible locomotive abilities, bulletproof head, and mouth tentacles.  We also take a look at seismology, and how sound can actually tell you where these creatures are.  Plus we talk about Dennin’s underground bunker, Daniel J. Glenn’s fascination with elephant guns, and Ben’s strategy for making graboid-proof walls.

Phantasm is one of the most unusual sci-fi forror movies of all time.  The movie follows a boy, his big brother and an Ice Cream peddler named Reggie as they try to uncover the mysterious disappearances centered around their local cemetery.  It turns out, the truth involves an inter-dimensional alien called The Tall Man, flying spheres capable of draining an entire body of blood, a portal to another planet, and pressurized containers that create small, Jawa like creatures.  This is a weird one, but one you can’t miss!

Last Action Hero is one of Schwarzenegger’s most unusual movies because it plays with the physical conventions of three distinct worlds.  First, we have the our world which operates under conventional Newtonian physics.  Then we have the movie world where the main character Danny lives, which follows movie physics, and then we have the cartoonish physics of the movie within a movie where Schwarzenegger’s character Jack Slater is an unstoppable, unflappable action hero.  This week, we compare and contrast these three levels of reality and analyze how we can travel back and forth between each world.

In the future, it is possible to have memories implanted in your head so you believe you went vacationing on another planet.  This is what happens to Arnold, which opens up a whole adventure.  This movie is really about two major scientific phenomena:  Implanting memories over memories, and traveling to Mars.  These seemingly unrelated occurrences are intertwined in a strange way, which is what makes this movie so fun.  In this episode, we discuss both memories and interplanetary travel, as well as creating an atmosphere on Mars, animatronic masks, giant x-ray machines, digital fingernails and of course Ancient Alien technology.

The T800, the unstoppable killing machine from the Terminator franchise is probably Arnold’s most iconic role.  In the most recent sequel Dark Fate, a T800 is sent to kill John Conner and succeeds.  After the mission is complete, he live a normal life with a family, completely fitting in to human society as a drapery cleaner.  On top of that, we have an augmented human who can push her body to superhuman limits, and a new robot that can split itself into two distinct entities.  It is a very interesting installment.

When Arnold and his elite paramilitary group are brought in on a rescue mission in Central America, they thought the most dangerous part would be the heavily armed guerillas.  Little did they know that a technologically advanced alien had come to Earth to hunt.  In this episode, we discuss all the cool gadgets The Predator has, including a cloaking device, a triangulating targeting system, a shoulder mounted plasma gun, and a compact medical satchel, complete with a cauterizing chemical for bullet wounds.

Los Angeles 2017: Prisoners have talent agents, people are manipulated with deepfakes every day, and you can fight for your freedom on a nationally televised game show hosted by Richard Dawson.  This is the world of The Running Man, our first entry in Schwarzenegger September.  This movie was very forward thinking, and not only because it stars two future governors.  We are going to explain how this movie lead to The Internet of Things, and how it predicted the out of control world of reality TV.  Finally, we will show you how to take over your own television station.

The movie Snowpiercer (and the TV show of the same name) follows a gigantic train as it traverses the icy post-apocalyptic landscape, carrying with it the last vestiges of humanity.  It is the quintessential traveling biosphere, containing everything the human race would need to survive (and many things they do not).  Listen as we discuss how feasible it would be to maintain a hydroponic farm, or a large scale aquarium.  We also talk about the perfect protein source for this imperfect situation:  insects!  Plus we detail how cold it would need to get to freeze someone’s arm clean off.

Inspired by the latest Mission Impossible movie, The Brain Trust discusses a worldwide computer virus that can hack into all, cameras, microphones, computers, etc.  It could be the ultimate blackmail machine.  So how do you stay hidden from an entity like this?  We give you advice on how to limit your digital footprint, and if you want to go the extreme, what it takes to live completely off-grid.  But even an underground bunker has it’s tells (Where do you put all the dirt you dig up?), but never fear, we tell you everything you need to know.

The 2011 movie Limitless explored the possibilities of dramatically expanding ones intelligence.  Not only does the main character increase the processing power of his brain, but he suddenly has access to every memory he has ever stored.  This is a remarkably powerful combination, especially when used in conjunction with his new found ability to mimic any complex physical move just by watching someone else perform it.  This is how he learns Kung Fu. We discuss all of this, as well as the abilities of elite athletes, the deductive ability of Sherlock Holmes, and the power of visualization.

In the television show Castlevania, Dracula is the keeper of advanced scientific knowledge, which sometimes appears as magic.  His scientific acumen is so great that he trained his wife to be a doctor, his castle teleports, and he uses mirrors as both a communication device, and as a portable hole!  We explain these devices, as well as a morning star whip that makes monsters explode, the physiology of vampires, and the Infinite Corridor which can take people to the outer realms of hell.

Welcome to FGGGbT Quick-E!  On this show, we will tackle the stuff we don’t have time for in the regular podcast, be it science, pop culture, or both!

This week’s topic comes from Twitter fan @Tweetacularmatt

He asked what we thought of 3D food printing and how it would taste.  We had some predictions.

If you have ever considered faking your own death via a pretend vat of acid, you really need to listen to this episode.  It turns out, there is a LOT to consider.  You have to be able to breathe underwater, construct rat bones on the fly, and be prepared to melt a ladle should anyone try to verify the acidity of the liquid.  We also discuss a gadget that allows you to save your spot in time & space, and then restore it later like a save point in a video game, which is also useful should anyone blow your acid cover.

Welcome to the first episode of our new show FGGGbT Quick-E!  On this show, we will tackle the stuff we don’t have time for in the regular podcast, be it science, pop culture, or both!

Our first topic comes from our new fan on Twitter  @MasquearteMX!     

He asked what we thought of Vibranium VS Beskar.  This is our answer.

Everybody loves a good time travel story, and Star Trek has MANY to choose from.  Whether it’s Red Matter, Black Holes, Anti-matter, or performing a slingshot technique around a giant planet, if you make a major mistake, there are many ways to fix it.  In this episode, The Brain Trust looks the original series and the 2009 movie, and explains what happens using the Block Universe theory.  There is even mention of ‘The Noodle Effect’, as well as the Frank Capra classic ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’, so they cover all the bases in this one.

When is comes to hologram technology, Voyager really perfected the application of this into their everyday lives.  They were the first series to have a hologram crew member:  The Doctor.  As the Chief Medical Officer, he outranks the Captain on matters of health and well being, which is odd because he doesn’t physically exist. Not only that, but their holodeck is something to be marveled.  The interactive stories, or holonovels, are very similar to our virtual reality technology, except that they can physically touch the surroundings.  It is also not uncommon to fall in love with holograms.  Listen to this episode, and be prepared to question the very nature of reality!

Deep Space Nine was the first of the Star Trek series to be set on a space station, and not on a traveling space ship.  The stories centered around a battle between The Federation, and The Dominion.  This is important, because The Dominion was a race of people who used genetic engineering to both enhance other races, and develop their own from scratch.  In this episode we take a look at the benefits and pitfalls that one would encounter if they tried to create an entirely new species.  We also discuss pod people, memory templates, and how dogs fit into this conversation.

TNG revived in the Star Trek franchise and lead it in all new directions, including the introduction of one of the most iconic Star Trek enemies:  The Borg.  Listen as we discuss all the cybernetic advancements this series introduced, including the advantages of a cubed ship, removing biological parts in favor of superior technological ones, and how to digitize the brain and upload it to the entire collective at once.

The original series of Star Trek premiered in 1966, and even then it was ahead of its time.  From machines that create food out of thin air, to medical devices that can diagnose you with the wave of a wand, Star Trek has accurately predicted several technological advancements.  The Brain Trust takes a look at the major gadgets from the series, and shows you how they were the inspiration for the technology of today.

The sci-fi series “The Foundation” is about a mathematician who creates a formula predicting the end of civilization.  Normally math is a pretty boring topic to discuss, but you know how much we like our doomsday conversations.  Also it is important to note that this world is ruled by an emperor, or more specifically a triumvirate of emperors. Cleon (his real name) took to cloning himself, so when he dies, another version of him steps up to take the role.  At all times there is an apprentice, a ruler, and an advisor.  We definitely discuss the benefits of a genetic succession, as well as several other things, including the power of our flight or fight response, and what it takes to create an encyclopedia.

Have you ever noticed a sudden shift in a friend’s demeanor, or felt like something about them was a little off?  It is quite possible that they fell asleep close to an alien plant, and were replaced with a similar, albeit insidious facsimile.  How could this happen?  If Invasion of the Body Snatchers is any template, pod people are everywhere, and are working hard to get you to join their ranks.  How would an alien life form get here, and could you make a human out of plant cells?  We answer all these question on this final episode of our Old School Cinema Summer.

Even in the rising tide of Flat Earth theories, one thing we do know for certain is that the Earth is solid and not hollow.  However, if it was, what would it be like to adventure there?  That is the exact question Jules Verne asked over 100 years ago.  The result:  One of his masterpieces called Journey to the Center of the Earth.  The Brain Trust takes a look at the movie from the 50’s and examines the major events:  An underground ocean, cannibalistic dinosaurs, and giant toadstools.

Logan’s Run is a classic 70’s Sci-Fi in every sense.  It captures the hopes and fears of the future, the carefree 70’s culture, and the outlandish fashion that made this time period stand out.  There are also a ton of technologies to discuss, including a real life chat roulette, a tube-based transportation system, and a tracking crystal embedded in your hand that knows when you are going to die.