Beakman's World

- Season 4

(1996)

With a viewer question about why sweat smells, Beakman and his lab assistants work up a sweat to find the answer. Beakman demonstrates the functions of perspiration by comparing our bodies to car engines. Like the radiator in a car, perspiration helps maintain a healthy body temperature. But that's only the half of it; to find out why Lester smells the way he does after a science work-out, Beakman discovers the culprit behind the odor. Millions of bacteria and their waste create that familiar scent of sweat. Turning to Beakmania, Beakman discovers how much food an ...

The first top flight question comes from a viewer who wonders how birds know when to fly south. While Lester ponders the possibilities of traffic jams in the skies, Beakman really answers the question by unveiling the importance of food supply and climate to migrating animals. Turning to Beakmania, Beakman reveals how Greenland, which is not so green, got its name. Then, Beakman is ordered to go fly a kite to answer the next question, "who were the first people to fly kites?" (The Chinese) The "Beakman Challenge" tests Lester's animal strength. To meet the challenge, ...

Beakman viewers are burning to find out about flames and fires. The gang and Beakman as Robert Bunsen the flame expert, set out to answer questions on this hot topic. Beakman reveals different types of flames and how "hollow" flames, produced by Bunsen burners have helped scientists for more than one hundred years. In Beakmania, Beakman answers a question from a viewer who wants to know how many ants an anteater eats (30,000 a day) and then dives into the next question from a viewer who asks, "how deep can a seal dive?" (600 feet). Beakman also reveals a unique fact: ...

With a question about the old myth of cats and their nine lives, scientist Beakman and his trusty team have a ball, untangling the facts about felines. Contrary to popular belief, cats only have one life. However, they have an amazing ability to escape serious injury or death, because of their keen instinct to land on all fours. Beakman demonstrates these safe landings with a cat in the studio, and its easy to see how the grace of cats can add a couple of years to their lives. In Beakmania, Beakman answers questions from viewers who want to know if animals ever get ...

Beakman holds his breath when asked about stinky breath, a question near and dear to Lester's heart. The daring scientist journeys into the center of the human mouth, a virtual rain forest, to find billions of creatures feeding off of leftover meatloaf. Turning to Beakmania, Beakman marches off the beat of the first question about how much soldiers were paid in ancient Rome. (Soldiers were paid in salt.) The next inquiry comes from a viewer wants to know how many reptiles have shells? (One, the turtle.) The final question is about how cedar chests keep moths away from...

The science crew cleans up the smoke surrounding catalytic converters. Catalysts help the world breathe just a bit easier by changing harmful, polluting toxins into less polluting gasses by speeding up a chemical reaction within vehicles. Beakman demonstrates how this breath of fresh air works with a wooden model and a bubbly chemical reaction. But catalysts aren't only roaring in engines, they are also fast at work in our bodies to speed up the absorption of chemicals. In the Beakmania portion of the show, Phoebe holds her breath to find the answer to a question ...

Beakman bounces off to a start with the first viewer question about rubber. The wacky scientist as Charles Goodyear reveals the historic lore surrounding rubber, dating as far back as 1770. He discovers that it's no stretch to call rubber the most miraculous substance in the world. Rubber is able to hold air, keep moisture out and most importantly, it is elastic. Turning to Beakmania, Beakman counts the sands of time to find out if there are more grains of sand than stars in the universe (there are more stars in the universe), and if animals are able recognize ...

With a viewer question about where camels store water, Beakman and his trusty team discover some thirst quenching facts about the remarkable camel. Known as the "ship of the desert," camels can travel great distances across hot, dry sands with little food or water. These seemingly magical feats are accomplished through the unique make-up of the hump. The fat inside the hump provides stored energy for those long stretches of sand. But the most amazing characteristic about the hump is the hydrogen contained within the that can be combined with oxygen atoms from the air ...

Beakman and the crew return with another high flying question about boomerangs and how their ability to come back to their senders. Beakman travels "down under" to Australia where boomerangs were born. They were originally used to hunt animals and then transformed into the toy version most of us are familiar with. The secret of their U-turn abilities lies in its shape--the edges of each arm are curved like the wing of an airplane. The rotations of the boomerang in flight follows a spinning motion around an imaginary axis that guides the Australian wonder-toy back to ...

Scientist Beakman looms large over the topic about elephants. They are the largest and most powerful of all living land mammals, but live in peaceful family units. Beakman explains the importance of the trunk of an elephant, its large ears, and different species of elephants. Turning to Beakmania, Beakman answers a viewer's question, "do all rivers run into the ocean" (most do, some trickle into the deserts). He also discovers the melody behind the "singing sandal," (Japanese sandals that make accordion-like sounds when worn) and discovers that Koala bears don't drink...

Beakman gives us the skinny on skin, the largest organ in the human body, to answer a viewer's question. Skin acts as a protective wall around our bodies and regulates body temperature. Beakman peels off some more facts about skin and reveals the three layers that make up this organ--the epidermis, dermis and subcutaneous tissue. In Beakmania, Beakman unveils some eye-opening answers to the question, "how far could a person see if they had the best human eyesight possible?" (a match struck at night fifty miles away). Then, Beakman explains why Mars is called the "Red ...

Viewers are starving to find out facts about bread and why its called "the staff of life." Bread, which is the most widely eaten food in the world, provides a larger share of our energy than nay other food. Beakman investigates different types of bread, how bread is made and the function of yeast in bread. In Beakmania, Beakman silences any doubt about clothes hangers and their noise making capabilities (hangers emit low sound when they sag) and luminates the night answering a viewer's question, "is a full moon twice as bright as a half moon?" (it's 9 times brighter ...

Beakman&s attraction to the first question is obvious, "what's the difference between an electromagnet and a magnet magnet?" While a typical magnet does not use electricity to function, an electromagnet uses a wire with electricity running through it. These types of magnets are used in everyday things such as television signals, radios and speakers in stereos. Beakman and his trusty sidekick, Phoebe create their own magnetic electricity by using an iron nail, copper wire and a battery. In the Beakmania section, the zany scientist finds out where the first writing ink ...

Beakman and the science crew go ape with a question from a viewer who wants to know if apes are the closest links to humans. Humans along with apes are part of a group of mammals known as primates. Beakman monkeys around with a chimpanzee, discovering similar traits between chimps and humans. Swinging over to Beakmania, Beakman reveals the truth behind the legend of Johnny Appleseed (his real name was John Chapman and he really did plant apple trees). The next blood curdling question comes from a viewer who wonders if all animals have red blood (no). In "The Phoebe ...

Beakman pulls out the trickiest question from his science hat to answer a viewer who wants to know if there really is such a thing as magic. To create the illusion of impossibilities appearing before your eyes, magicians use a lot of science behind those puffs of magic. Beakman breaks the first rule of the trade and reveals the secrets behind two of the most common tricks, the "disappearing box" and floating in mid-air, all in the name of science. Turning to Beakmania, Beakman gets tongue tied finding out the answer to "what place has the longest name?" (a hill in New...

Prompted by a viewer who wants to know the difference between pigs and hogs, Beakman and his trusty lab assistants explore the wonders of the other white meat. Beakman discovers that there is no difference between the two and uncovers some interesting facts about pigs. He reveals why they are among the smartest animals in the world, why they roll around in mud and what their signature snouts are good for. In Beakmania, the humorous scientist tells us why we blink (to wash your eyes out) and stretches his science knowledge to discover the stretchiest element (gold). ...

The science crew dives into a jewel of a question about sunken treasure. Beakman explores the job of underwater archaeologists or "marine archaeologists" to see how treasures in the deep blue are found and what they can tell us about the past. Through uses of sonars, mini submarines and radars, Beakman unveils the mystery behind lost treasures. Turning to Beakmania, Beakman answers a timely question about how much energy a quartz watch uses (very little). Then he gets tongue tied trying to untangle the hardest tongue twister, "the sixth sick sheik's sixth shee'ps sick...

Beakman makes a big splash with a whale of a question about why these large mammals are so special. Beakman swims away with facts about cetaceans, especially blue whales, the largest animals that have ever lived and special characteristics about whales. With the alarming rate at which whales are being killed, saving whales has become a top priority to many environmentalists. Turning to Beakmania, Beakman fishes for answers to a question about how long people have been fishing (for over 10,000 years). The next juicy question comes from a viewer who wants to know how ...

Beakman travels at lightning speed to find out why the "boom" behind sound barriers makes so much noise. Beakman gives an earful of knowledge about the concentration and placement of sound waves and the speed of sound, all of which create the sonic boom. Turning to Beakmania, the scientist sheds some light on why plants glow in the dark (some fungi emit enough light to read by) and flexes his science muscles to find out which muscle humans use the most (eye muscles). Then Beakman buzzes about how many insects there are in the world (there are more insects in one ...

Prompted by a viewer who wants to know why scientists visit the North and South Poles, Beakman melts away some chilling rumors about the desolation of these seemingly barren environments. But the poles can reveal dirty secrets about pollution in the cities and are ideal spots for star gazing, not to mention the unique kinds of animals that live and migrate to the poles. The peaceful poles are also one of the only regions on earth where scientists from all over the world can come to share information, and armies are only allowed to travel across the poles with science ...

Sparked by a viewer's question about dogs, Beakman and his hard working science team investigate man's best friend. Beakman barks up the tree of science to find out some facts about dogs and their closest relatives, the wolf, fox, jackal and coyote. Beakman sniffs around to discover how dogs were domesticated, why they have such remarkable eye sight and senses of smell, and how they are used by humans for extraordinary tasks such as transportation and rescue missions. In Beakmania, Beakman counts down with a viewer who asks "How many times does the letter 'A' appear ...

Prompted by a viewer who wants to know how humans grow, Beakman stretches his science knowledge to sprout some facts about the human body. Beakman taps into some growing pains to discover the different stages in humans from the fertilized egg to adolescence to adulthood. Turning to Beakmania, a viewer hungers for the answer to the question, "What's the largest food dish that people eat?" (roasted camel.) Then Beakman investigates an ice breaker of a question about how large icebergs can become (an iceberg the size of Maryland was found in 1956.) On the "Wide Beakworld...

Beakman toys around with Newton's third law of motion to make his own Beak-mobile toy car. The third law of motion states that for every action there's an equal and opposite reaction. To prove just how speedy the law of action and reaction really is, Beakman builds his own toy car out of a balloon, straw, some masking tape and a little bit of lung power. Turning to Beakmania, Beakman travels the globe to find out how far it is around the earth (2490.55 miles) and cracks open a question about how many mammals lay eggs (two-the platypus and the spiny anteater.) Then, ...

Wacky scientist Beakman discovers a zoo of animals in a single drop of pond water. Amoebas are protozoans, or one celled animals which live, breathe, eat and reproduce in water and soil. There are 30 thousand different kinds of protozoans and they have unique ways of eating and reproducing. In Beakmania, Beakman discovers some facts about amazing fathers (sea horses are the only species of animals in which the males give birth,) then in a blink of an eye, Beakman gives some facts about how often humans blink, (once every two to ten seconds.) Beakman flexes his science...

Beakman horses around with some facts about horses. Horses were tamed and ridden more than 5,000 years ago and used for sports, in war, and as transporters. There are over 150 different kinds of horses and these handsome creatures and still one of the most valuable and beloved animals. Then the gang discovers a surprising species of disgusting animals in "Those Disgusting Animals" Beakman tries to convince his skeptical crew that people should be considered for this category, considering humans feed themselves poison (by smoking) and live in their own waste products ...

Beakman investigates a question about how detectives find fingerprints. Fingerprints are made up of unique patterns that combine in different ways--so no two fingerprints are exactly alike. By using special chemicals that react with sweat and oil on potentially felonious fingers. Beakman shows his curious science investgating crew how to make their own fingerprint kits with a piece of charcoal, a table knife, a small paint brush, tape and an ink pad. In this week's Beakmania, Beakman swallows a taste of his own science when answering a viewer who wants to know how to ...