Original subtitles

>> male narrator: modern marvels

Is going big and counting down.

No series has saluted technology

Over as many episodes

As we have.

Now let's kiss the conventional

Good-bye and go in search

Of the bizarre as we count down

The top ten strangest marvels

We've ever featured.

This head-scratching assortment

Of oddities proves that

The inside scoop on innovation

Often lies outside the norm.

>> these are weird machines.

>> narrator: join our

Coast-to-coast cavalcade

Of some of the oddest tech ever

Devised until the big moment

When we unveil the most unusual

Wonder of them all.

>> it may be a little too

Intense for younger children.

>> narrator: now america's

Strangest marvels on this

Edition of modern marvels

Mega marvels countdown.

[dramatic music]

*

[electricity crackles]

Most technology,

Though fascinating, can be

Classified as conventional,

Applying science and engineering

In a way that matches our

Concepts of normal, but this

Countdown turns the spotlight

On tech that turns the art

Of innovation upside down,

Dreamt up by mavericks

And misfits daring enough

To be different.

Each of our top ten contenders

Is weird in its own unique way,

And our inherent fascination

With them shows we all have

A soft spot for the strange.

>> [cackles]

>> narrator: the strange marvel

In our number ten

Spot gets us off

To a high-flying start.

Is it a bird? A plane?

No, it's the aerodynamic miracle

That enables mortal man to soar

Through the skies:

The wingsuit.

A wingsuit's bizarre but highly

Effective assembly of webbed

Surfaces transforms a skydiver

Into a human version

Of a flying squirrel.

The only thing stranger than the

Suit itself is the exhilarating

Sensation experienced

By the person using it.

>> it's unexplainable,

How you feel.

The feeling of true flight,

And your body is actually the

Machine flying through the air,

Is a feeling that's almost

Too hard to explain.

It is total freedom.

That was a good flight.

>> narrator: ed pawlowski

Of westcoast wingsuits

In lodi, california, has logged

More than 10,000 skydives.

He's one of the premier wingsuit

Fliers in the world.

>> a wingsuit is a piece

Of equipment, like a jumpsuit,

That you put on your body.

It's designed to create

A longer flight in freefall.

It enables you to cover a lot

Of ground and stay in the air

A lot longer than a normal

Skydive, where you're just

Descending straight down.

>> narrator: a conventional

Skydiving freefall from 13,000

Feet lasts only about a minute,

But with a wingsuit, fliers

Like ed can experience up to

Four minutes of flight time.

>> in the wingsuit, we're

Actually slowing ourselves down

In the descent as much

As possible

And creating as much forward

Speed as we can.

>> narrator: that forward speed,

As high as 200 miles per hour,

Translates into longer

Horizontal distances that these

High fliers can travel.

>> the wingsuit helps you

Cover a lot of ground

As you're descending.

Some people have been exceeding

Two-to-one glide ratio,

Some people three-to-one,

And it varies on the person

And their ability.

A glide ratio--for example,

Three-to-one--would mean for

Every 1 foot you descend, you're

Traveling 3 feet forward.

>> narrator: if a wingsuited

Flier were to jump from a plane

13,000 feet over the statue

Of liberty, he could land nearly

6 1/2 miles away in the middle

Of central park.

The typical wingsuit features

Three distinct webbed surfaces.

During descent, air rushes

Into openings in the webbing,

Aiding the aerodynamics.

>> if you look at this suit

Here, you have air vents

That come in over the top

Of the arms.

If you want to look inside

The wing, you can see that

We have separate chambers

For the air to pressurize in.

It's designed to actually make

You fly when you exit the plane.

The material inflates underneath

Your arms, in between your legs,

And creates basically an airfoil

That you glide on.

>> narrator: an airfoil is any

Surface or structure that

Provides an aircraft lift

By creating reduced air pressure

Above it and increased

Pressure below.

>> we designed the wingsuit

To be similar to a wing.

Our body is the actual

Structural skeleton

Of the wingsuit.

As we descend, we are

Maneuvering our body in a way

To turn this wingsuit through

The air similar to the way

An aircraft flies.

>> narrator: that's the key

Reason the wingsuit qualifies

For its spot on our countdown

Of strange marvels.

No matter how good

The aerodynamic design of these

Suits, the odd thing is that

They don't do the flying.

The pilot wearing them does.

>> creating different flight

Paths with the wingsuit is as

Simple as tilting the shoulders

Or bringing an arm in.

Parching will naturally

Make you fall faster, but

In the wingsuit, we tend to cup

Our body, creating the shape

Of a wing, to generate more

Forward speed and create lift.

And the tail works in the same

Effect as a bird does.

We can twist our legs and create

A pitch with the tail

Of the wingsuit to also turn us.

You can do everything from

Forward flips to hard banks

To figure eights.

You can actually roll over on

Your back, close your legs, have

Your legs come over the front,

And be heading the other way

Within a matter of seconds.

>> narrator: in the words

Of buzz lightyear,

"That's falling with style."

Such precise control is crucial

When your starting point isn't

An aircraft but a cliff face.

>> all right.

Three, two, one...

See you.

>> base jumping with a wingsuit

Has developed into a different

Era now, so to speak.

Whereas years ago, people

Intended to fly the suit away

From the wall as far

As possible, today they are

Flying the wingsuit next to

The wall, virtually surfing

The terrain of the wall.

As they descend lower

In altitude, they carve away

From the wall and try and get as

Far away from the wall at that

Lower altitude as possible

And then open the parachute.

>> narrator: as our strange

Marvel at number ten brings

The unconventional to the skies,

Our next oddity was designed

To make a big splash at sea.

Weighing anchor at number nine

In our countdown, the bizarre

Aircraft carrier made of ice,

The habbakuk.

Conceived during world war ii,

Habbakuk was the brainchild

Of geoffrey pyke, an eccentric

Science advisor for the british

High command.

His ambitious plan called for

A colossal ice carrier

Stretching 2,000 feet long

And 300 feet wide.

It would displace 2.2 million

Tons, 26 times that

Of the largest ship of the era,

Britain's queen elizabeth.

The ice comprising the hull

And flight deck would be

40 feet thick.

It would be contained

By and insulated with a wood

Composite material.

Frigid air forced through

A network of cardboard tubes

Would keep the ice frozen.

>> many people thought geoffrey

Pyke was crazy, but geoffrey

Pyke was no stranger to ice,

And he also knew about

The strength of icebergs.

Ice fractures easily,

But icebergs don't.

No matter how many bombs you hit

It with, no matter how many

Torpedoes you fire into it,

You can't quite get rid

Of an iceberg.

>> narrator: ice dampens an

Explosive's energy by preventing

The massive and rapid expansion

Of gases during detonation.

>> it'll melt a chunk

Or a region inside, but it

Doesn't actually blow it apart.

It kind of goes...

[grunts]

And sort of absorbs

That energy inside.

>> narrator: pyke's chemists

Added a common ingredient to ice

To produce a hybrid as

Blast-resistant as an iceberg.

>> pyke and his team discovered

That if you take 14% sawdust

Or wood pulp by weight

Added to water,

You come up with

A remarkably strong substance.

14% sawdust by weight

With 86% weight by water.

>> narrator: when the mixture

Was frozen, the wood fibers

In the sawdust bound

The ice crystals together,

Strengthening the ice.

>> so here's what they

Came up with.

This is pykrete.

The name is a combination

Of pyke's name and concrete.

And this is a standard block

Of ice.

So let's see how strong

They are.

Now let's try the pykrete.

Pykrete not only was strong--

Incredibly strong--

It also was insulated

By the wood pulp so that

It wouldn't melt.

Regular ice, if you set it out

On a hot, sunny day, would be

Gone in the matter of that day.

It would take days

For the pykrete to melt.

>> narrator: in 1943, workers at

Patricia lake in jasper, canada,

Secretly built a 1/50th scale

Model of geoffrey pyke's

Strange marvel.

It spanned 60 feet

And weighed 1,100 tons.

The model functioned

Successfully in tests

On lake patricia, but in 1944,

Allied war planners decided

To pull the plug.

The scale model was abandoned

On the lake.

It finally sank, but only after

Its unrefrigerated pykrete

Endured more than three hot

Summer months before melting.

All that remains is the debris

Of its wooden frame.

Although the habbakuk never came

To be, its epic strangeness

Has become the stuff of legend,

Making it an ideal choice

For our countdown.

If a warship made of ice

Qualifies as weird,

How about art made from

A filthy windshield?

That's our number eight

Strange marvel: dirty car art.

Scott wade of wimberley, texas,

Uses dirt like other artists

Use paint,

And a car window as his canvas.

Sure, his work only lasts

As long as the next rainstorm.

That's the charm of it.

Prep is a matter of driving back

And forth on dirt roads

Near his home.

>> this dirt that is

On this road

Makes this great, fine dust.

It's limestone and a little bit

Of clay mixed in.

Helps it stick.

And it's just very powdery.

It's great to work with.

It just adheres to the glass

Over the course of driving

A week or so down a dirt road

And makes a terrific canvas

For dirty car art.

>> narrator: scott makes it

A point to buy cars with

The type of upright rear windows

That best catch the dust.

>> got my canvas all prepared.

I've got my tools.

A rubber paint shaper tool,

Assorted brushes,

Whatever might work

For this particular piece.

I got my visual reference.

I'm ready to start,

So let's go.

>> narrator: scott's drawings

Include original works

And recreations of everything

From dusty classic paintings

By the masters to dirty dogs

Playing poker.

>> I have a degree in commercial

Art, and I work as a graphical

User interface designer.

This kind of was a hobby for me

Because I'd come home from work

And, you know, it's kind of

A high-stress job, working at

A computer, sitting at a desk,

So this gave me an opportunity

To kind of get outside

And do some stuff.

I just always had dirty

Car windows.

>> narrator: scott's weird hobby

Became much more than that

After someone posted his work

On the web.

>> all of a sudden, boom,

All these bloggers were linking

To it, and it went kind of

Viral, and it just surprised me

To no end because, you know,

I thought to myself, "Why would

Anybody want to look at dirty

Pictures on the internet?"

>> narrator: when the art

And advertising worlds got the

Dirt on scott's strange passion,

It became strangely profitable,

A success story that earned it

The number eight spot

In our countdown.

Among the countless wonders

We've covered over the years,

Some defy our conception of the

Conventional, so we're giving

Our weirdest marvels a salute

By counting down our top ten

Picks until we reach the oddest

Of them all at number one.

Soaring in at number ten was the

Wingsuit, followed by number

Nine, the aircraft carrier made

Of ice, the habbakuk, and number

Eight, the masterpieces you wash

Away with your windshield

Wipers, dirty car art.

Now let's bone up on our pick

At number seven, the bizarre

Workshop where there's

A skeleton in every closet

And just about everywhere else:

The museum of osteology.

The museum, located in oklahoma

City, is owned by a company

Aptly named skulls unlimited.

A leader in processing legally

And ethically obtained bone

Specimens, it's customers range

From museums and schools

To the occasional hunter

Wanting something special

For his trophy room.

>> here in the museum, we have

Over 300 skeletons, from

The white rhinoceros to the

Humpback whale to an anaconda

That has over 200 vertebrae.

Everything is different.

Everything is independent.

It must be done by hand.

Our articulators--

They have to know their anatomy.

Sometimes the skeletons come in

As a carcass, sometimes

The skeletons come in

As a bag of bones,

So they always have the

Challenge of sorting the bones

And knowing exactly where each

Bone goes within a skeleton.

>> narrator: few professions

Are stranger that piecing

Together skeletons

Like so many jigsaw puzzles.

>> what I'm doing here right now

Is I'm inventorying

A porcupine skeleton.

It's kind of a little bit

Of a puzzle here.

Being that it has no skull

With it, I'm led to believe

That it was a roadkill specimen,

And we're just--cleaned it up

And now inventorying it

For sale.

>> from time to time, we have

The opportunity to work

On some very rare

And endangered species.

Here we have an indian condor.

This is only one of two we've

Ever had the opportunity

To work on in 25 years.

It's always a sad day when

Something so special expires

At a zoo, but it's even a sadder

Day when something like this

Is disposed of and just thrown

Away, so we feel what we're

Doing here is a very

Important task.

By preserving this specimen,

It can go on to teach

For 100 years from now.

>> narrator: one of the first

Processing steps in this strange

Job is performed by master

Flenser dale dorsey.

>> flenser's job is to remove

As much tissue away

From the specimen as possible

With a paring knife.

This is a pronghorn deer that

I'm working on that a customer

Has sent in for a trophy.

I've worked on a large amount

Of species over the years.

Everything from coyotes, bears,

Badgers, various types of birds,

Reptiles, endangered species.

>> narrator: one thing every

Species has in common

Is a brain, at least until

It reaches dale.

>> after I get all the flesh

Off, I bring it over here

To de-brain it.

I use this vacuum device that

Was designed by our boss

To effectively just suck

The brains right on out.

>> narrator: perhaps the oddest

Part of the strange process here

Comes next.

Whatever meat remains

On the skulls must be removed.

Since the task is even too

Exacting for the human hand,

It's left to millions

Of ravenous coworkers.

>> after the skulls have been

Dried for a few days on our

Drying racks, they go into our

Beetle colonies.

This here is a bottlenose

Dolphin.

It's been drying for about three

Or four days now.

We'll put it in our colonies.

It'll stay in our colonies

About a week.

The dermestid beetles are

A carrion meat-eating beetle.

They consume the tissue.

They get into the crevices that

We just can't get into by hand,

And they will literally eat

All the tissue from the bone.

>> narrator: after the beetles

Have finished chowing down,

The bones, like this elephant

Skull, are submerged

Into a hydrogen peroxide

Solution to bleach them.

They emerge with that

Museum-ready whiteness.

Now it's time

For reconstruction.

Each bone in a skeleton must

First be drilled.

Then wire is threaded through

The holes to link

The bones together.

The larger the skeleton, the

More heavy-duty the hardware.

>> I'm putting the finishing

Touches on the rear

Horse leg here.

This is the femur going on.

It's predrilled already so we

Can get the metal rod through

It, which basically means

It's hollowed out.

That's probably the most

Easy part.

The bending of the rod's

What's difficult.

>> narrator: to hold the bones

Of articulated skeletons

In place, the crew uses

An assortment of wires

And steel rods.

The goal of the metal framework

Is to support and position

The bones in a lifelike pose

While being as inconspicuous

As possible.

The bigger the beast,

The sturdier the metal supports

Need to be.

>> this skeleton alone

Would weigh about 600 pounds,

So it's necessary

To build these strong

Supports, and they're all done

Right here in our facility,

And they're built by hand.

>> narrator: the final effect

Of this meticulous

Handcraftsmanship is as eerie as

It is fascinating and the main

Reason the museum of osteology

Earns its number seven ranking

On our countdown.

Our next entry is odd

In an utterly different way.

Let's jump head over heels to

Number six, the next best thing

To steve austin's bionic legs,

Velocity motion stilts.

This weird gadget that puts

A new spring in our steps is the

Creation of inventor jeff jay.

>> a velocity motion stilt

Is basically built for momentum.

It accentuates what the human

Body already does

In a direction.

The velocity motion stilt

Basically is designed so that

You can perform in it.

Just start by--like, take--

Just put all your weight

On the one spring.

Just keep it centered over

The top of this one spring.

>> narrator: jeff's clientele

Consists mainly of acrobats

And stilt performers, like lucas

Mendonca, who'd jump

At the chance to pay

The $2,000 price for one pair.

>> it is really, really fun

To jump up because, like,

It looks like you're

On the moon, you know?

That feeling--like,

It's really good.

>> narrator: the chief reason

Jeff's strange invention made

Our countdown is that it gives

Its user almost superhuman

Capabilities.

Using the stilts,

Jay has sustained a speed

Of 23 miles an hour, the same

Pace as olympic-class sprinters

Covering the same distance, and

He's leaped as high as 16 feet.

>> this is definitely

The lamborghini of stilts

Right here.

>> narrator: these bizarre

Stilts have only two moving

Parts, but they masterfully

Harness the user's weight

To generate the stilts' power.

>> the real energy comes from

The springs that are located

In the back, so if he bounces

On two feet, you can see

The flexion in the spring

Right in here.

Okay, if he bounces on one foot,

You can see how the spring loads

A lot more,

And the difference being

Is that all of his body weight,

Now, is on one spring,

So it's easier to blow

Through the preload

And get to actual load.

So if he goes back to two feet,

Now he has to bounce twice

As hard to get the same spring.

>> narrator: like a pogo stick,

Each stilt channels the weight

Of the user, pushing down

The spring and loading

It with potential energy.

As the spring recoils,

It releases that energy

And pushes the user up.

>> the more pressure that you

Put into the springs, the more

Return you're gonna get out

Of the springs.

>> narrator: that returning

Pressure can be as much

As 900 pounds per square inch.

That's six times greater

Than the force of water

Spewing from a fire hose.

Containing such energy demands

Superstrong working materials.

>> the material that we use

Is a high-grade aluminum.

The spring, typically,

Is made out of e-glass,

Which is the kind of glass

That they used to make old

Helicopter blades out of,

Has a huge amount of pliability.

>> narrator: jay says learning

To run and jump on these weird

Kangaroo legs is easier

Than you might think.

>> the normal learning curve's

About ten minutes to be able

To just kind of walk around,

Be comfortable with a small jog,

Some little hops,

Things like that.

What you have to do

Is get yourself back

In the mind-set of,

"I'm just a tall person,

And I need to take strides

And work like a tall person

Biomechanically."

>> in the beginning it's really,

Like, awkward walking because,

Like, your body doesn't respond,

But after you walk and have some

Help, you start feeling really

Fine walking around, and you

Just want to, like, try to jump

Higher and higher, see what it

Can do, how high it can get.

>> go.

>> narrator: our countdown still

Has plenty of weirdness headed

Your way before we reach our

Number one pick, including this

Gooey slime designed to be

A terrorist's worst nightmare.

We've reached the midway point

Of our wild trek showcasing

The weirdest wonders

We've ever presented,

And we won't stop counting down

Until we raise the curtain

On our oddest of all entries

At number one.

The museum of osteology

Took its bone-chilling place

At number seven,

And velocity motion stilts

Vaulted in at number six.

Our pick at number five

Is a weird weapon designed

To literally knock

The bad guys off their feet:

The mobility denial system.

This strange weapon has been

Developed for the u.S. Military

By the southwest research

Institute in san antonio, texas.

It's an anti-traction material

That can turn just about any

Surface into a slip 'n slide.

The idea is to trip up

Aggressors trying to enter

Restricted areas like embassies

And military bases.

>> the anti-traction material

Provides the military with a way

Of providing a standoff distance

Between them and a riotous

Crowd.

>> this is the anti-traction

Material powder in a dry form.

It's an acrylamide polymer

Similar to--in consistency,

To salt.

It's very fine.

We'll mix a little bit up here.

Pour a little water in,

And you can see it immediately

Starts to absorb the water.

Becomes this gelatinous mass

That is very, very slimy

And slippery.

We've set up this demonstration

To show you the effects

Of friction and how

The anti-traction material

Negates that.

This steel block weighs

About 20 pounds.

Up here on the dry part

Of the wood, it doesn't move.

From here down, we've coated it

With anti-traction material, so

As you can see as I push it onto

That, it will slide

All the way down.

>> narrator: to assess the

Effectiveness of this slippery

Goo, technicians have sprayed it

Inside this tented area

That contains asphalt, concrete,

And tile surfaces.

>> I'm a field testing

Technician.

I've been doing this

For a number of years.

And I've got a safety harness

That's supposed to keep me from

Hitting the concrete.

But as you can see, it's even

Hard for me to walk on this.

>> this is the man-portable

System for the mobility

Denial system.

It's a backpack unit,

As you can see.

It carries five gallons of water

In this tank.

On the back here is a compressed

Air cylinder which operates

An air pump, pumping the water

Through these hoses

Over to the nozzle.

Anti-traction material

Is housed here.

It's kept dry.

Water and powder come out of

This nozzle and mix in the air

As it's reaching its objective.

>> narrator: the strange goo

Can also turn any dirt

Or grass surface into

A slippery nightmare.

This intrepid volunteer,

Treading on the stuff

For the first time,

Is learning that the hard way.

To coat large surfaces,

Engineers designed a

Humvee-mounted dispersal system

Under military guidelines.

>> it contains a 300-gallon tank

Of water and approximately

250 pounds of the anti-traction

Material, which is located

In the hopper unit.

The unit comprises of a water

Pump and an air compressor.

The air compressor delivers

The powder to the nozzle, and

The water pump obviously pushes

The water to the nozzle.

The amount of material on this

Vehicle is capable of covering

Approximately a football field

With the anti-traction material.

>> narrator: the moment this van

Tries to traverse the sprayed

Area, the driver immediately

Has trouble continuing forward.

As the tires spin, the material

Adheres to them, assuring

No friction between the tires

And the concrete road surface.

>> it makes no difference

If it's a rear-wheel drive,

Front-wheel drive,

Four-wheel drive vehicle.

It's equally effective on all

Type of rubber-tired vehicles

On a concrete or asphalt

Surface.

>> narrator: this gooey slime

Proves that a weapon doesn't

Have to be deadly

To be effective.

Sometimes, weird suffices,

Which is why we slid it into

The number five spot

In our countdown.

Our next strange entry

Is both weird and deadly.

Dropping in at number four,

One of the strangest bombs

Ever created: the dam buster.

This bizarre weapon

Of world war ii evolved

As british war planners tried

To solve a vexing problem: how

To destroy key dams supplying

Power to the german war machine.

>> dropping a bomb on a very

Narrow dam is nearly

Impossible to do.

The bomb has to come right down

And hit right on the edge of the

Dam, or it will do no good.

The other way of destroying

A dam is to fire a torpedo

Through the water into the side

Of the dam, but germany

Had erected torpedo nets,

Making that impossible.

>> narrator: british aircraft

Designer barnes wallis came up

With the unconventional

Solution.

>> wallis thought up this great

Idea where, if we packaged the

Bomb again in a unique delivery

System, we could drop it out of

A plane and have it skip across

The water--not sink into

The water but skip across

The water--until it hit the dam

Structure itself

And then detonate.

>> narrator: wallis's final

Design was a cylindrical bomb

50 inches in diameter, 60 inches

Long, and filled with 6,600

Pounds of powerful explosives.

For the mission, it was

Determined that each lancaster

Bomber needed to be flying at

220 miles per hour just 60 feet

Above the water and 425 yards

From the dam at the instant

The bomb was dropped.

Prior to its release, the bomb,

Mounted on pivots, was spun

At over 500 rpm by a small motor

Built into the bomb bay.

>> it was incredibly important

That the dam buster bomb

Rotate backwards.

It had to be designed

To do that.

If it were to rotate forward,

Then, as it struck the dam,

It would simply go up and over

The dam, over on the other side,

And blow up harmlessly,

But by rotating backward, when

It struck the dam after it was

Bouncing across the water,

It would actually go down into

The water and then blow up.

>> narrator: during the night

Raid on march 16, 1943,

The bizarre bomb breached

Two dams and damaged a third,

An unqualified historical

Success that earns

The dam buster the number four

Spot in our countdown.

We're casting the conventional

Aside and counting down the top

Ten weirdest technologies ever

To appear on modern marvels,

And the strangeness won't stop

Until we reveal our ultimate

Anomaly at number one.

Our number ten pick,

The wingsuit, got things off

To a high-flying start, and

We've soared all the way down to

Number four, the bomb that put

A new spin on aerial munitions,

The dam buster.

Now let's turn some heads on

The city streets with our number

Three oddity, the snail car.

This automotive gastropod

Is the masterwork of artist

And engineer john sarriugarte.

His oakland, california,

Company, form and reform,

Specializes in

Cars expressing an odd stylistic

Genre called steampunk.

Steampunk applies an antiquated

Victorian aesthetic

To modern technology.

These are weird machines.

These are not things you would

See in the shopping mall

Or driving down the street

On your way to work.

>> narrator: the actual name of

Our number three oddity is the

Golden mean art car, but to the

Casual onlooker, the snail car

Seems more fitting.

>> this is the golden mean.

It's a giant iron snail car made

On a 1966, '67 vw bug.

This was a honeydew project

For my wife, who wanted

A giant snail.

>> narrator: built to california

Department of motor vehicles

Standards, the snail car

Is street legal, with a top

Speed of 55 miles an hour.

And did we mention

That it breathes fire?

Starting with just the chassis

And engine of the vw bug,

Sarriugarte built the snail's

Frame and custom designs.

To gain the look and feel

Of a true steampunk aesthetic,

He went back to a traditional

Form of metalworking.

>> I incorporate a lot

Of blacksmithing into the work

That I do.

I like the organic feel

That it gives.

A hand-touched--you can tell

That it's not just come out

Of the processing machine.

It gives my work an edge.

It's not just fabricated.

There's also some really great

Handwork in it.

>> narrator: sarriugarte added

More than 2,000 pounds

Of new sheet metal and steel

To the existing chassis.

He also outfitted the car

With an airride system.

A flip of a switch raises

Or lowers it to adjust

To the number of passengers.

>> depending on how many people

I have in here--I've had up

To 19 people--I can turn up

To 120 psi and still

Maintain the suspension.

>> narrator: and how about

Those flame-throwing eyes?

>> fire.

One of the big features

Of the snail art car is fire

Coming out of its eyestalks.

We have a liquid fuel

Propane source.

This fuel is boiled off at room

Temperature and converted

To gas, which we're storing

Inside of here.

I have a valve that--I can

Control that gas when it comes

Out by pulling on that.

It releases gas out the top.

I have a separate system that's

Feeding the pilot light that's

Up here--a needle valve

To control how much gas

I want out of that.

>> narrator: the tank is housed

In the neck of the snail

With leather reins attached

To the gas valve.

>> pull on these...

We got fireballs.

>> narrator: the snail car

Revels in its own oddness.

What better reason for its

Number three ranking

In our countdown?

Our choice at number two is also

Odd just for oddness's sake,

But takes the bizarre

To a whole new level.

Brace yourself for the strange

World of marvin's marvelous

Mechanical museum.

Weird finds a truly new meaning

At this unique arcade

In farmington hills, michigan.

>> welcome to marvin's,

Known from coast to coast

Like butter and toast.

Nowhere in the contiguous

United states or other environs

Is a place like marvin's.

>> narrator: marvin's museum

Is a 5,000-square-foot

Coin operated twilight zone

Packed with the strangest

Vintage and modern arcade

Amusements imaginable.

Many of the old machines

Have a decidedly dark bent.

Intricate motors and gears cause

Small robotic figures to act out

All sorts of ghoulish scenes

Like the horrors

Of the spanish inquisition.

In keeping with this grisly

Tradition, marvin decided

His customers might enjoy

Firing up an electric chair.

>> now, this machine I found

As a halloween prop, and I added

A case and a coin-accepted

Mechanism, and watch.

[machine yelling indistinctly]

It may be a little too intense

For younger children.

>> narrator: another machine

Turns the tables on marvin's

Customers and delivers

A shocking experience.

>> this machine is challenge

Kill-r-watt, a machine unique

To my museum.

It was built by a friend

Of mine, a robotics engineer

From ohio, and the idea

Of the machine is to keep

Your hands as long as you can

On these handles.

>> a cute little hero

To take on kill-r-watt, huh?

>> actually, a little static

Electricity is produced,

Very light and very

Non-dangerous, but it does give

You a little tingle.

>> try a little of this.

Whoa, I love it!

>> in the old days, there were

Some machines that did give

You a shock.

>> [cackles]

>> but of course, in today's

Litigious society, we can't have

Anything like that.

>> narrator: perhaps the

Weirdest of marvin's attractions

Is aptly named

Dr. Ralph bingenpurge.

Words fail me here.

Just watch.

>> [coughing and gagging]

>> narrator: that pretty much

Sums up why marvin's museum

Earned its runner-up spot

On our countdown.

Over the past hour, we've been

Weirding you out, counting down

The top ten oddest wonders we've

Ever featured, and we're finally

Ready to crown our number one

Pick as the most bizarre marvel

Of all, but first, let's retrace

Our dash through the strange

World that got us here.

Number ten, the wingsuit.

>> it's unexplainable

How you feel.

>> narrator: number nine,

The habbakuk.

Number eight, dirty car art.

>> why would anybody

Want to look at dirty pictures

On the internet?

>> narrator: number seven,

The museum of osteology.

>> they will literally eat

All the tissue from the bone.

>> narrator: number six,

Velocity motion stilts.

>> it accentuates what

The human body already does.

>> narrator: number five,

The mobility denial system.

Number four, the dam buster.

Number three, the snail car.

>> pull on these...

You got fireballs.

>> narrator: number two,

Marvin's museum.

[machine yells]

>> narrator: and now, the weird

Invention that tops them all,

A fearsome device

Said to mimic one of nature's

Mightiest forces.

Our number one choice, nikola

Tesla's earthquake machine.

Imagine an earthquake's awesome

Power harnessed as a weapon

Of mass destruction.

Some believe that nikola tesla,

The maverick genius

And rival of thomas edison,

May have discovered a way.

>> the tesla earthquake machine

Was a mechanical oscillator,

Which is basically a machine

That produces vibrations,

And by producing these

Vibrations, the machine

Could be made to resonate

With different structures.

>> narrator: our top-ranked

Strange marvel is based

On the principle that every

Substance, when stimulated,

Has a resonant frequency.

If the frequency is matched and

Amplified by an outside force

Like the oscillator machine,

Any material can be literally

Shaken to pieces.

The destruction of the tacoma

Narrows bridge in washington

In 1940 demonstrated

This principle.

The winds whipping around

The bridge hit just the right

Frequency, causing the steel

Bridge to sway violently

In a rhythmic pattern

That finally broke it apart.

>> to demonstrate the power

Of resonance, we're going to see

What happens to a wine glass

As it vibrates

To its breaking point.

First, I'll start

The glass vibrating...

[glass dings]

And use a microphone connected

To an oscilloscope to see what

Frequency the glass vibrates at.

I'll then set that frequency

On a signal generator...

[generator hums]

Which is going to play it back

Through an amplifier

Into a speaker.

Because the glass is going

To be moving more than 400 times

Per second, we will be using

A strobe light in order

To slow down the motion.

Now, this is going to be loud,

So I have to wear

Some protection.

As the vibrations increase

In intensity, the glass will

Start to move more and more,

And eventually it can't take it

Anymore, so as I turn up the

Volume, the glass will break.

[humming rises in pitch]

So what we saw was like

A mini earthquake, and tesla's

Earthquake machine would be able

To do this, but on a much

Larger scale.

>> narrator: in 1898, tesla

Claimed to have created

An oscillator with an adjustable

Frequency that was no bigger

Than an alarm clock

And wrote of an attempt

To use it on a building

Under construction.

>> narrator: stories persist

That later experiments

With the device went alarmingly

Out of control.

>> there's a legend

That he started up his little

Oscillator, or what some call

The earthquake machine,

And he started vibrating

Lower manhattan,

And the call went out

To the police department,

And the police came running.

They were pounding on the door.

They broke into his lab, and

They saw him with a sledgehammer

Smashing the machine.

A switch got stuck.

He couldn't turn it off,

And he almost brought down some

Buildings in the neighborhood.

>> narrator: we may never fully

Distinguish reality from myth

About tesla's bizarre

Oscillator, but the unanswered

Questions give this marvel

A mystique that no other entry

In our countdown can match.

It and the other odd finalists

We selected express

A fundamental truth:

In the world of innovation,

The only rule

Is that there are no rules.

Weirdness will always have its

Place in the march of technology

For those bold enough

To march out of step.