In January of 2009 I worked for the Atlas Media Company filming the
pilot of a reality science program, “Humanly Impossible”, for the
National Geographic Channel. My part was to explain the science,
primarily the physics, behind four of the eight activities highlighted
in the show. Namely, fire-walking, body suspension, sword swallowing and
a strongman holding back a car.
I was assured at the time that every effort would be made to “get the
science right” and it did seem to me, during the filming, that this was
indeed one of the director’s goals. My opinions and advice were
solicited and as far as I could tell, were taken into consideration.
It’s hard to tell with media people though.
Atlas Media just informed me that the shows (there are actually two of
them, each an hour long) are going to first air on the National
Geographic channel on Sunday, December 6^th , 2009 at 8pm and 9 pm,
Eastern time. They are to be repeated later that week. A preview and the
option to be reminded by email when the shows air, are available at:
I’m going to be very interested to see how well the promise of “getting
the science right” is kept. I know some others of you have not had good
experiences with the media. From what I saw the body suspension was the
most “real” activity, with nothing faked; the strongman however seemed
to be somewhat of a sham. The segment was filmed twice, as the
strongman’s driver burnt the car’s clutch out within ten minutes of the
car arriving. I was only present for this first ten minute part. At the
time I voiced the opinion that it doesn’t matter how strong the man is,
with regards to him being dragged across the floor, that it is more a
question of the size of the coefficient of friction and the man’s
weight, as the strap, supposedly holding him back, never went taut (see
the preview video.) I was not present for the majority of this segment,
although the way the clip appears to be edited, you’d think I was there
for the whole test.
I won’t go into further details here, or at least, not now, but rather
would urge you to watch the shows and form your own opinions as to their
usefulness. Then, if anyone wants to, we can discuss them,
cheers,
David
P.S. If after the shows air any of you would like a DVD copy, but were
unable to make one yourself, please contact me at dwilley@pitt.edu
<mailto:dwilley@pitt.edu> and we can make arrangements to get a copy to you.