Science Geek Alert! As if Science Channel wasn’t already cool enough, they are now adding a segment from Popular Mechanics to the fantastic show Blink. All the details are below.
(Silver Spring, Md.) — Beginning this week, Science Channel’s Monday night science information series BRINK is joining forces with Popular Mechanics to bring the popular “Abusive Lab Test” series from the magazine’s pages to the television screen. Starting Monday, July 6, 2009 at 10:30 PM (ET/PT) the first of three “Abusive Lab Test” segments will air on BRINK featuring series host Josh Zepps and Popular Mechanics editors Glenn Derene and Seth Porges. Science Channel’s latest agreement with Popular Mechanics is part of an on-going effort to bring the power of distinguished science magazine brands to television.
In the first “Abusive Lab Test” segment, Zepps, Derene and Porges have some information-packed fun testing ruggedized cell phones, a new generation of phones designed to withstand water, sand, heat and general impact damage. The group simulates everyday disasters by stepping on and dropping three different brands of phone on the ground or in water and then gauging how well each works. The guys also give viewers a surprisingly helpful hint for reviving your cell phone if it’s ever unexpectedly dropped in water.
Launched in February 2005, Popular Mechanics’ “Abusive Lab Test” has become a reader favorite. For each test, editors choose a category of consumer products such as lawnmowers, luggage and flat-screen TVs. The products are put through two rounds of tests: one to check against manufacturers’ specifications and evaluate whether they work as advertised, the second to replicate extraordinary mishaps – such as being run over or flushed down the toilet – to see how they hold up in extreme circumstances.
Other segments on this episode of BRINK include: a visit to the M.I.T. Media Lab where Dr. David Merrill is developing a cutting-edge, cookie-sized computer called siftables that may forever change how humans and computers interact; and an exciting recap of the 2009 Maker Faire held in San Mateo County, Calif. this past May.
Airing on Mondays at 10:30 PM, BRINK immerses viewers on the frontlines of cutting-edge breakthroughs in technology, research, inventions, discoveries and the mysteries of the scientific world. Hosted by Josh Zepps, the series introduces people who are on the brink of changing our lives, and provides viewers with a clear understanding of the impact and relevance science has in our lives today, as well as offers significant insights into how science may profoundly change our world tomorrow.
BRINK is produced by CBS Eye Too Productions. Stewart Kasloff is executive producer for CBS EYE Productions and Pamela Deutsch is executive producer for Science Channel. Popular Mechanics Executive Editor David Dunbar is segment producer for the “Abusive Lab” Test videos.