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Transcript: Building Bridges
(soft music plays)
An animated title against a sunny sky reads "TVOKids Power Hour of Learning."
In off, Laura says WELCOME TO
TVOKIDS
POWER HOUR OF LEARNING.
TODAY'S JUNIOR LESSON:
BUILDING BRIDGES AND BEYOND.
A caption reads "Junior 4-6. Cameron." Cameron is in his early thirties, with a short beard and balding. He wears glasses and a plaid shirt.
In a living room, Cameron says HI. WELCOME TO TVO'S
POWER HOUR OF LEARNING.
I AM SO EXCITED TO BE WITH YOU.
MY NAME'S CAMERON
AND I'M GOING TO BE YOUR TEACHER
OVER THE COURSE OF
THE NEXT FEW WEEKS.
BEFORE WE GET GOING,
SOMETHING YOU MAY WANT TO RUN
AROUND AND JUST QUICKLY GRAB
OR WHEN WE'RE OFF ON A BREAK,
YOU MIGHT WANT TO HAVE A PENCIL,
A PEN, AN ERASER,
A PIECE OF PAPER.
ERASER JUST IN CASE YOU
MAKE A MISTAKE. IT HAPPENS.
SO, WHAT ARE SOME THINGS
YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT ME?
WELL, FIRST AND FOREMOST,
I'M A TEACHER.
I'VE TAUGHT GRADE ONE,
I'VE TAUGHT GRADE THREE,
FOUR, FIVE, SIX, SEVEN.
AND I'M A TEACHER LIBRARIAN,
SO I LOVE READING BOOKS.
AND HOPEFULLY,
WE CAN INCORPORATE SOME OF THAT
INTO OUR LEARNING TODAY.
SPEAKING OF TODAY, WHAT ELSE
ARE WE GOING TO BE DOING?
WELL, FIRST THING'S FIRST,
WE ARE GOING TO BE DOING
SOME MATH PROBLEM SOLVING.
WE HAVE A SPECIAL GUEST.
JUST A CLUE -
IT'S AN IRISH PIRATE.
HE'S A BIT INTENSE,
A LITTLE BIT SALTY,
BUT HE'S GOING TO SHOW US SOME
GREAT PROBLEM SOLVING STRATEGIES
FOR WORKING WITH MATH.
WE'RE ALSO GOING TO BE GETTING
INTO THE SCIENCE OF BRIDGES -
LOOKING AT PICTURES OF BRIDGES,
BUILDING BRIDGES,
TESTING BRIDGES,
LEARNING ABOUT BRIDGES,
AND WE GET THE ADDED EXCITEMENT
OF PHIL FROM SCIENCE MAX,
WHO WE WILL BE
LEARNING FROM AS WELL.
WE'RE ALSO GOING TO BE
STARTING A BOOK CLUB.
I AM SO EXCITED TO BE READING
THIS BOOK WITH YOU.
He turns and points to a bookshelf.
He says IT IS THE BOOK
INKLING
BY KENNETH OPPEL,
A CANADIAN AUTHOR WHO'S
WRITTEN SO MANY BOOKS,
AND THIS ONE IS
GUARANTEED TO PLEASE.
I'M SO, SO EXCITED
TO BE A PART OF IT.
SO, I'M HOPING THAT WE GET A
CHANCE TO GET INTO THAT AS WELL.
SO, ONE QUICK LESSON, THOUGH,
BEFORE WE START.
ISN'T THE WORLD WEIRD RIGHT NOW?
ISN'T IT STRANGE?
IT'S BEEN SUCH AN ODD
TRANSITION TO NOT GO TO WORK,
TO NOT TO SCHOOL,
TO NOT BE A PART OF THE GYM,
OR CLUBS, OR TEAMS.
IT'S ALL FEELING VERY,
VERY STRANGE.
SO, ONE THING I WANT
TO THINK ABOUT IS,
WHILE WE'RE TRANSITIONING TO
THIS LEARNING ONLINE
OR LEARNING ON TV,
LEARNING IN SHORT BURSTS,
IS WE GOT TO THINK
ABOUT GROWTH MIND-SET.
SO, HOW DO WE POWER THROUGH
DIFFICULT SITUATIONS?
HOW DO WE PERSEVERE
WHEN THINGS GET TOUGH?
WELL, THE IDEA OF
GROWTH MIND-SET
IS THAT OUR BRAINS GET STRONGER
WHEN WE WORK THROUGH
HARD PROBLEMS,
AND THIS, RIGHT NOW,
IS A HARD PROBLEM.
WE'RE GOING TO BE
DEVELOPING OUR PERSISTENCE.
WE'RE GOING TO BE
DEVELOPING OUR RESILIENCE.
AND WE'RE GOING TO BE
ABLE TO DEAL BETTER
WITH CHALLENGES
LATER IN OUR FUTURE
BY LEARNING HOW TO DEAL WITH
THIS PROBLEM RIGHT NOW.
SO, WHILE THIS IS HARD
AND THE WHOLE WORLD IS GOING
THROUGH THIS CHALLENGE,
THINK ABOUT YOUR GROWTH MIND-SET
WHILE YOU'RE DOING IT,
OF ALL THE THINGS
YOU'RE LEARNING,
THE SKILLS YOU'RE IMPROVING ON,
THE TIME SPENT WITH FAMILY OR
THE SKYPE CALLS WITH FRIENDS.
REMEMBER, WE'RE GONNA GROW,
WE'RE GONNA GET THROUGH THIS
AND THAT WE,
EVEN WHEN WE MAKE MISTAKES,
IT'S GONNA HELP OUR BRAINS GROW.
SO, I WANT YOU TO MAKE SURE
YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT
GROWTH MIND-SET AS WE
WORK THROUGH TODAY.
SO, WITH THAT IN MIND,
LET'S TAKE A CLIP
FROM MATHXPLOSION
ON PROBLEM SOLVING.
A clip plays.
(music plays)
An animated clip shows a big orange X on a blue background. It explodes and letters and numbers come out of it in all directions and float around.
Mathematician Eric appears on screen. He's in his mid-twenties. He has short dark brown hair and a beard. He wears a red T-shirt with the show's logo.
The screen turns red and the logo of the show appears next. It reads "MathXplosion." Meanwhile, cones, cubes and dices float around it.
Kids voices sing a song with lyrics that go IT'S NOT A TRICK,
IT'S MATHXPLOSION
JUST FOR YOU,
COOL AND NEW, MATHXPLOSION!
Eric stands in a workroom. He puts objects inside a bucket.
Eric says DID YOU KNOW THAT PAYING
ATTENTION TO DETAILS
IS A VERY IMPORTANT PART
OF PROBLEM SOLVING?
HA-HA!
(exhaling slowly)
I GOT SOMETHING.
(chuckling)
He uses a string to magically grab a shell.
He says COOL.
I KNOW IT SOUNDS OBVIOUS,
BUT IT'S EASY TO MISS OBVIOUS
THINGS RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU.
WITH WORD PROBLEMS,
UNDERSTANDING THE PROBLEM CAN
BE TRICKIER THAN YOU THINK.
POEMS AND EVEN NURSERY RHYMES
CAN ALSO BE WORD PROBLEMS.
I'LL SHOW YOU WHAT I MEAN
WITH A RHYME I MADE UP.
SEE IF YOU CAN FIGURE IT OUT.
OH, AND DON'T
FORGET THE DETAILS.
Now, he sits on a sofa and says AHH...
SO, HERE'S MY WORD PROBLEM.
(clearing throat)
He reads WHEN I WAS GOING TO THE PARK
IN MY HOOD AROUND THE BEND.
I MET A GUY WITH SEVEN FRIENDS.
EVERY FRIEND
HAD SEVEN KNAPSACKS.
EVERY KNAPSACK HAD SEVEN 'ZAS.
THAT'S "PIZ-ZAS," YEAH.
EVERY PIZZA HAD SEVEN TOPPINGS.
SEVEN FRIENDS, KNAPSACKS,
PIZZAS, TOPPINGS.
HOW MANY WERE
GOING AROUND THE BEND?
HMM, THAT'S A LOT OF NUMBERS.
SEVEN FRIENDS TIMES SEVEN
KNAPSACKS TIMES SEVEN PIZZAS,
EACH WITH SEVEN TOPPINGS?
SO, THE QUESTION IS HOW MANY
WERE GOING AROUND THE BEND.
OR IS THAT THE QUESTION?
OR IS THIS A TRICK QUESTION?
HMM, IS THE ANSWER SEVEN?
49?
HOW ABOUT 2401?
WOULD YOU BELIEVE
THE BEST ANSWER
IS ACTUALLY ONE?
An animation shows the story he is telling.
He continues IN THE VERY FIRST LINE, I SAID,
"I WAS GOING ROUND THE BEND."
BUT I DIDN'T SAY THE
GUY I MET WITH HIS FRIENDS
OR THEIR PIZZAS
WERE GOING AROUND THE BEND.
THEY MIGHT BE,
BUT WE DON'T KNOW FOR SURE.
IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU HAVE TO DO A
LOT OF ADDING AND MULTIPLYING,
BUT ALL THOSE NUMBERS
ARE JUST A DISTRACTION.
WITH WORD PROBLEMS,
LITTLE DETAILS MATTER.
THEY HELP YOU FIGURE OUT WHAT
THE PROBLEM IS REALLY ASKING.
On a blackboard, Eric draws a circle and colours it inside. He taps on it and a new clip plays. It features different types of houses.
He says CHECK THIS OUT.
WORD PROBLEMS
HAVE BEEN AROUND FOR AGES.
HERE'S ONE FROM 4000 YEARS AGO.
THERE ARE SEVEN HOUSES.
IN EACH HOUSE,
THERE ARE SEVEN CATS.
EACH CAT KILLS SEVEN MICE.
EACH MOUSE HAS EATEN
SEVEN GRAINS OF BARLEY.
AND EACH GRAIN WOULD HAVE
PRODUCED SEVEN HEKATS.
WHAT IS THE SUM
OF ALL THESE THINGS?
IN THIS PROBLEM, YOU DO HAVE TO
ADD EVERY ITEM IN THE LIST.
MULTIPLY THE NUMBER
OF CATS AND HOUSES,
THEN MICE AND CATS,
THEN MICE AND
THE BARLEY THEY ATE,
THEN THE HEKATS
OF BARLEY GRAINS,
AND THEN ADD THEM ALL TOGETHER.
AND THE ANSWER IS...
19,607 OF COURSE.
Back in the workroom, Eric says YOU CAN MAKE UP YOUR OWN
WORD PROBLEMS AND PUZZLES
AND SEE IF YOUR FRIENDS PAY
ATTENTION TO THE DETAILS.
PROBLEM SOLVING...
The phone rings.
Eric continues IT'S NOT MAGIC.
A man on the phone says HELLO, IS THIS MATHXPLOSION?
Eric says IT'S MATH.
NO, NO, IT'S OKAY.
(man chattering)
A big explosion brings the show's logo back on the screen.
(music plays)
The end credits roll.
Produced by GAPC Entertainment in association with TVOKids.
Copyright GAPC Entertainment (MathPlosion) Incorporated, 2016.
Cameron says WELL, I THINK THERE'S SOME
GREAT LEARNING IN THAT CLIP.
WE ALWAYS NEED TO BE CAREFUL
THAT WE'RE READING CAREFULLY.
The caption changes to "Problem solving."
He continues GO THROUGH THE QUESTIONS.
SOMETIMES, ON TESTS,
ON TOUGH PROBLEMS,
THE WRITERS ARE
TRYING TO TRICK YOU.
SO, YOU HAVE TO FIGURE OUT
WHAT IS THIS QUESTION
ACTUALLY ASKING ME,
AND THAT'S A GREAT
PROBLEM SOLVING STRATEGY.
BUT I'M GOING TO BE HONEST,
IT'S NOT THE ONLY ONE.
ONE WAY TO MAKE SURE
THAT YOU UNDERSTAND
THE PROBLEMS BEING ASKED IS TO
NOT WORRY TOO MUCH ABOUT SPEED.
WHEN WE'RE WORKING IN MATH,
IT'S NOT ABOUT GOING FAST.
IT'S TIME TO TAKE A BREATH...
(INHALING DEEPLY)...SLOW DOWN...
(EXHALING DEEPLY)...AND THINK ABOUT WHAT IT IS
THAT YOU'RE TRYING TO SOLVE,
WHAT STRATEGIES
DO YOU ALREADY KNOW,
WHAT ARE SOME PLACES WE
COULD JUST GET STARTED,
AND THEN HOW DO WE ANSWER EVEN
ONE PART OF THE QUESTION.
IF WE WORRY ABOUT GETTING
THINGS DONE TOO QUICKLY,
OUR BRAINS GET OVERLOADED
AND WE CAN'T THINK DEEPLY
ABOUT THE MATH,
AND IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT
THAT WE THINK DEEPLY
WHEN WE'RE SOLVING
OUR MATH PROBLEMS.
SO, IF WE ALL TAKE
OUR DEEP BREATHS...
(INHALING DEEPLY)...SLOW DOWN AND REALIZE
THAT SPEED ISN'T IMPORTANT,
LET'S TAKE OUR TIME AND THINK
ABOUT WHAT WE'RE DOING,
WE'LL DO MUCH, MUCH BETTER.
SO, GRAB YOUR PENCILS,
GRAB YOUR PAPER
AND YOUR ERASERS,
AND LET'S SEE HOW YOU CAN
SOLVE THE FOLLOWING PROBLEM
TOGETHER WITH OUR SPECIAL GUEST,
WHO'S HERE TO TEACH US
A COUPLE OF STRATEGIES
FOR WORKING WITH FRACTIONS.
WE'VE GOT THE IRISH PIRATE,
AND WHILE HE MAY
LOOK A LOT LIKE ME,
LET ME TELL YOU,
HE'S A LOT SALTIER.
SO, HOLD ONTO YOUR BARNACLES,
IT'S PIRATE
PROBLEM SOLVING TIME.
A slate reads "Math Problem Solving with Cameron, Vera and Stella."
Cameron appears on a small window on the right upper corner of the screen wearing a pirate hat.
In Irish accent, Cameron says ARR, MATEYS,
WELCOME TO MATH PROBLEM SOLVING
WITH CAMERON, VERA AND STELLA.
HERE WE GO. LET'S LOOK AT
TODAY'S MATH PROBLEM.
SO, THE QUESTION WE'RE
LOOKING AT TODAY IS...
"I HAVE TWO DAUGHTERS,
VERA AND STELLA
"AND THEY BOTH LOVE READING!"
OBVIOUSLY ABOUT PIRATES.
"VERA HAS READ THREE QUARTERS OF HER BOOK
WHICH HAS 100 PAGES.
"STELLA HAS READ TWO THIRDS OF
HER BOOK WHICH HAS 120 PAGES.
"HOW MANY PAGES DOES EACH GIRL
HAVE LEFT IN THEIR BOOK?"
LET'S LOOK A LITTLE DEEPER.
SO, STEP ONE,
WE NEED TO FIGURE OUT
WHAT'S IMPORTANT
INSIDE OF THIS QUESTION.
TWO DAUGHTERS,
IS IT IMPORTANT? TO ME, YES.
TO SOLVING THE PROBLEM?
MAYBE NOT AS MUCH.
VERA AND STELLA,
THEY BOTH LOVE READING -
ALSO GREAT,
NOT THAT IMPORTANT TO THE MATH.
VERA'S READ THREE-QUARTERS
OF HER BOOK.
The word problem appears on the screen.
He continues HEY, THAT'S HIGHLIGHTED IN
RED NOW - VERY IMPORTANT.
AND IT ONLY HAS 100 PAGES.
STELLA'S READ TWO-THIRDS -
HIGHLIGHTED BLUE -
VERY IMPORTANT,
WHICH HAS 120 PAGES.
SO, THAT'S WHERE
THE IMPORTANT PARTS
OF THE QUESTION ARE.
THREE-QUARTERS OF A
BOOK THAT'S 100 PAGES,
TWO-THIRDS OF THE
BOOK THAT'S 120 PAGES.
LET'S LOOK DEEPER.
SO, HERE WE SEE VERA,
SHE'S READING HER BOOK.
IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE IT HAS 100
PAGES, BUT YOU NEVER KNOW.
AND LET'S WORK
THROUGH THE PROBLEM.
SO, WHAT I WANT TO
THINK ABOUT FIRST
IS HOW MANY PAGES
DO WE HAVE LEFT
OR HOW MUCH HAS
SHE ALREADY READ.
SO, SHE'S READ
THREE-QUARTERS OF IT,
WHICH MEANS THAT SHE HAS...
THERE ARE FOUR
QUARTERS TOTAL IN THE BOOK
BECAUSE FOUR QUARTERS,
FOUR OVER FOUR,
THAT MEANS
100 percent OF THE BOOK.
SHE HAS READ
THREE OF THEM.
MEANING THAT
THERE IS ONLY LEFT
ONE QUARTER
OF THE BOOK.
SO, ONE QUARTER
OF THE BOOK,
ONE QUARTER OF 100.
Using a mouse cursor, he writes the fractions mentioned.
He continues SO, LET'S THINK ABOUT
THAT FOR A SECOND.
ONE QUARTER OF 100.
WELL, I KNOW,
IN MY STRATEGY,
I LIKE TO THINK ABOUT
QUARTERS AND MONEY.
I'M A PIRATE,
I LOVE MONEY.
SO, I THINK, "OH,
I KNOW FOUR QUARTERS.
"EACH QUARTER IS WORTH,
HEY, 25 CENTS.
"SO, IF SHE'S GOT
FOUR QUARTERS
"OR SHE'S READ
THREE OF THE QUARTERS,
"SHE HAS 75 CENTS,
"75 percent ALREADY DONE."
HOW MUCH DOES
SHE HAVE LEFT
TO MAKE UP THAT
WHOLE DOLLAR?
ONE QUARTER,
WHICH EQUALS 25.
SO, SHE'S GOT 25
PAGES LEFT TO READ.
NOT BAD.
GOOD READING, VERA.
LET'S MOVE ON
TO STELLA.
AHH, HERE
WE HAVE STELLA.
SO, SHE IS IN, SHE LOVES
HER BOOK, 120 PAGES.
SHE'S READ TWO-THIRDS
OF THAT BOOK.
SO, TWO-THIRDS
OF 120 PAGES.
NOW, THIS ISN'T
AS SIMPLE.
WE CAN'T DO IT
WITH QUARTERS.
WE CAN'T DO IT
WITH MONEY.
WE HAVE TO
THINK ABOUT THIRDS.
SO, BREAKING SOMETHING
INTO 3 SECTIONS.
SO, I KNOW THAT SHE
HAS 120 PAGES TOTAL
AND I WANT TO
SPLIT THAT INTO 3.
SO, HOW CAN
WE SPILT 120 INTO 3?
WELL, WE NEED
TO DO DIVISION.
SO, WHAT I LIKE TO
LOOK AT WITH POWERS OF 10
IS 120 IS A LOT,
BUT HOW MANY TIMES CAN
I SPILT 120 THREE WAYS?
THEN, MAYBE I'LL
JUST PUT MY 10 BACK ON,
I'LL MULTIPLY IT BY TEN
TO GET BACK UP TO
THE NUMBER, TO 120.
SO, I KNOW IF I DO
3 DIVIDED BY 12, I GET 4.
RIGHT?
BUT IT'S NOT 12.
IT'S 120.
SO, I NEED TO DO 4 TIMES 10.
4 TIMES 10 EQUALS?
WELL, WE KNOW WHEN
WE MULTIPLY BY 10,
YOU TAKE THE 10,
WE'RE INCREASING IT,
IT GOES UP THE PLACE'
VALUE CHART BY 1
AND FROM 4,
WE GET TO 40.
SO, STELLA HAS 40 PAGES
LEFT IN HER BOOK
BECAUSE THAT
IS ONE-THIRD OF
OF... 120
BECAUSE ONE-THIRD
OF 12 IS 4
AND WE KNOW THAT
IT'S 120,
SO WE TIMES IT BY 10
AND WE REALIZE THAT
THERE ARE 40 PAGES LEFT.
NICE READING, STELLA.
ARR, SO, WE'RE BACK
INTO OUR QUESTION
AND THE THIRD STEP
IS REREAD THE QUESTION,
MAKE SURE WE'VE
COMPLETED EVERYTHING
THAT NEEDS TO BE FINISHED.
SO, LET'S READ THROUGH IT
AND SEE IF WE'VE GOT IT.
WELL, WE'VE GOT TWO DAUGHTERS.
VERA'S READ THREE-QUARTERS,
STELLA'S READ TWO-THIRDS.
WE FIGURED OUT THAT VERA
HAS 25 PAGES LEFT.
STELLA HAS READ TWO-THIRDS OF
HER BOOK, WHICH IS 120 PAGES.
SHE'S GOT 40 PAGES LEFT.
HOW MANY PAGES DOES EACH GIRL
HAVE LEFT IN THEIR BOOK?
WE'VE DONE IT,
WE'VE COMPLETED THE QUESTION.
CONGRATULATIONS.
BUT UH-OH, LOOK AT THIS.
SOMEONE HAS LEFT US
SOME BONUS MATH.
HOW MANY PAGES
HAS EACH GIRL READ?
THIS IS A CHALLENGE.
LET'S SEE IF WE
CAN FIGURE IT OUT.
WELL, I'M GONNA WRITE A "V."
BECAUSE ORGANIZING
YOUR MATH IS VERY IMPORTANT.
SO, FOR VERA, WE KNOW
THAT SHE HAS 25 PAGES LEFT
AND THE BOOK WAS
100 PAGES TOTAL.
CORRECT.
SO, WE KNOW THAT SHE'S
READ THREE-QUARTERS.
WELL, WE KNOW THAT
ONE QUARTER IS 25
AND SHE'S READ
THREE-QUARTERS.
SO, 25, 50, 75.
HEY, I COULD DO IT THAT WAY.
ONE QUARTER.
ONE QUARTER - 25.
TWO QUARTERS - 50.
THREE QUARTERS - 75.
SO, SHE'S READ 75 PAGES.
YOU COULD ALSO TAKE
THE TOTAL OF 100 PAGES
AND SUBTRACT WHAT
SHE HAS LEFT,
LEAVING US
100 MINUS 25,
WHICH IS 75.
BRILLIANT.
LET'S LOOK AT STELLA.
SO, WITH STELLA,
WE HAVE THE SAME THING.
WE SEE THAT
120 PAGES TOTAL.
WE KNOW ONE-THIRD
THAT SHE HAS
LEFT IS 40 PAGES
AND SHE'S
READ TWO-THIRDS.
SO, WE CAN ADD UP
40 PLUS 40 EQUALS 80.
OR WE CAN SUBTRACT.
120 TOTAL
MINUS ONE-THIRD
THAT SHE HAS LEFT
LEAVES US WITH 80 PAGES.
AND SOLVING MATH
MULTIPLE WAYS,
SHOWCASING THEM,
THAT'S THAT
LEVEL FOUR THINKING,
THAT'S WHAT SHOWS
YOUR TEACHER,
"I UNDERSTAND
HOW THE MATH WORKS."
SO, THAT IS EXACTLY HOW WE'RE
GOING TO SOLVE THIS PROBLEM.
WE'VE GOT ONE LAST STEP
AND IT'S ANSWERING OUR
QUESTION WITH A SENTENCE.
"HOW MANY PAGES DOES EACH GIRL
HAVE LEFT IN THEIR BOOK?
"VERA HAS 25 PAGES LEFT
"AND STELLA HAS
"40 PAGES LEFT IN HER BOOK."
POW. A GREAT AMOUNT OF LEARNING.
I APPRECIATE YOU TAKING
THE TIME TO LEARN WITH ME.
Back in the living room, Cameron says YAR! ISN'T HE A CHARACTER?
I HOPE YOU TOOK AWAY
SOME GOOD STRATEGIES
ABOUT WORKING WITH FRACTIONS
WITH OUR
IRISH PIRATE FRIEND THERE.
HOPEFULLY, OUR SHIPS
WILL CROSS PATHS SOON.
BUT IN THE MEANTIME, I THINK
IT'S TIME TO GET EXERCISING.
WE CAN ONLY SIT FOR SO LONG.
I KNOW I'VE BEEN
SITTING FOR AWHILE,
YOU'VE BEEN SITTING FOR AWHILE.
LET'S GET OUR HEARTS PUMPING,
GET THE SWEAT BEADING
ACROSS OUR FOREHEADS,
ALL OVER MY HEAD AND LET'S SEE
BECAUSE 25 MINUTES
OF EXERCISE A DAY
WILL HAVE A LONG-TERM
POSITIVE IMPACT.
SO, MAKE SURE WE ARE GETTING UP,
GETTING MOVING,
AND I THINK THIS VIDEO
WILL HELP US DO THAT.
ALL RIGHT, LET'S WATCH TOGETHER.
(hip hop beat playing)
Out of a shiny light, Mickeey pops up in a TV studio with graffiti on the walls. He is in his early teens, with short black hair. He wears a red and black jacket, blue jeans and a gray T-shirt.
Mickeey says YO, WHAT'S UP.
WHAT'S GOING ON, MOVERS?
WE'RE GONNA BE LEARNING
A BRAND NEW WAY TO GET STEPPIN'.
TIME TO LET IT SLIDE
WITH THE HEEL-TOE-GLIDE. WOO!
He does some hip hop moves and then says THIS ONE'S A TOUGH ONE,
SO PAY CLOSE ATTENTION.
LET'S GO CHECK IN
WHAT THE FEET ARE DOING.
YOU'RE GONNA TAKE A STEP FRONT,
THEN BACK,
THEN A HEEL, TOE, GLIDE.
DRAW A SEMI-CIRCLE,
THEN ONCE YOU'RE DONE,
PICK UP THAT OTHER
KNEE TO GO AGAIN.
STEP, STEP, HEEL,
TOE, GLIDE, PICK IT UP.
LET'S GO SEE
WHERE THE HANDS ARE.
YOU'RE GONNA START OFF
WITH TWO BIG THUMBS UP,
YOU'RE GONNA DRAW
TWO CIRCLES AROUND...
THEN YOU'RE GONNA
GIVE SOMEONE A BIG HUG,
THEN TAKE YOUR ARMS OUT,
TO REPEAT AGAIN.
CIRCLES, BIG HUG,
DOWN, PICK IT UP.
CIRCLES, BIG HUG,
DOWN, PICK IT UP.
YOU GUYS JUST GOT YOURSELVES
THE HEEL-TOE-GLIDE.
MUSIC AND FRIENDS?
Daniel and Kara join him.
Mickeey says FIVE, SIX, SEVEN, HEY!
STEP, STEP, HEEL, TOE,
AND GLIDE, SIX, SEVEN, AND...
STEP, STEP, HEEL.
NOW, SLIDE! WHOO!
PICK IT UP. WHOO! YEAH!
He says GUESS WHAT, GUYS?
YOU JUST MOVED WITH MICKEEY.
SEE YA!
The clip ends.
Cameron says MY FRIENDS, I HOPE YOU'RE
SWEATING AFTER THAT WORKOUT.
BUT WHILE YOU WERE WORKING OUT,
I HAVE TO TELL YOU,
I HAVE A PROBLEM.
I'VE GOT BRIDGE TROUBLE.
MY DAUGHTERS HAVE ALL
THESE LEGO FIGURES.
Lego figures stand on two opposite piles of books. A piece of paper functions as a bridge between them.
He continues THEY'RE EVERYWHERE.
AND YOU KNOW WHAT?
THEY ALL WANT TO BE TOGETHER.
THEY WANT TO GET
ACROSS THIS BRIDGE.
BUT I'VE GOT TROUBLE.
WATCH WHAT HAPPENS
EVERY TIME I PUT ON...
CHARACTERS ON MY BRIDGE.
IT'S A COLLAPSE!
THIS CAN'T HAPPEN.
I NEED TO MAKE A BETTER BRIDGE.
SO, I'M HOPING,
TOGETHER WITH YOUR HELP
AND THE HELP OF PHIL
FROM SCIENCE MAX,
WE CAN LEARN ABOUT MAKING
A BETTER BRIDGE.
UM, WE HAVE SOME PICTURES HERE
AND LET'S LOOK AT THE PICTURES
AND SEE IF THERE'S
ANY DIFFERENCE
BETWEEN THESE BRIDGES
AND THE ONE THAT I'VE MADE.
HMM. I'M STARTING TO
SEE A LOT OF THINGS
THAT MAYBE WOULD HAVE MADE
MY BRIDGE A LITTLE BIT BETTER.
YOU KNOW WHAT?
THEY LOOK VERY DIFFERENT
FROM MY BRIDGE.
SO, CLEARLY, I'M NOT
YET AN ENGINEER.
BUT I THINK IT'S TIME TO
INVESTIGATE A LITTLE FURTHER.
SO, PHIL FROM
SCIENCE MAX HAD AN IDEA
THAT PERHAPS WE COULD USE IN THE
CREATION OF OUR BRIDGES.
LET'S SEE WHAT HE SAYS.
A clip plays.
(enchanted, playful music plays)
In off, Phil says THE WIZARD ACADEMY.
ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS
DEMONSTRATE TRUE MAGIC
AND YOU'LL BE GRANTED ENTRY.
A wizard and his assistant sit in room with torches. They both have long beards. The wizard wears a gray robe and the assistant wears a brown one.
The Wizard says SEND IN THE NEXT APPLICANT!
Overwhelmo says OKAY. DON'T LET THEM SEE YOU,
DON'T LET THEM SEE YOU. OKAY.
MAGIC SMOKE AND HERE WE GO,
BIG ENTRANCE!
BEHOLD IT IS I, OVERWHELMO!
The Wizard says YOU AGAIN?
Overwhelmo says I ONLY HAVE TO
DEMONSTRATE MAGIC ONE TIME
AND YOU HAVE TO LET ME IN
TO THE WIZARD ACADEMY,
AND LAST...
LAST TIME DOES NOT COUNT.
SO, PREPARE FOR YOUR
MIND TO BE BOGGLED
AND YOUR EYES TO ALSO BE BOGGLED
BECAUSE I SHALL DO A TRICK!
I WILL JUST GET TO IT.
HERE IS A BOOK!
BEHOLD!
AND NOW, FEAST YOUR
STUPEFACTION, AS I PRODUCE...
ANOTHER BOOK! HA-HA!
AND THEN, TWO OR THREE
MORE TIMES, BEHOLD, AS I PUT...
AS I-- THAT'S GOOD. BEHOLD!
AND NOW, LOOK
UPON THE WONDERMENT,
AS I STACK THESE BOOKS ON TOP OF
EACH OTHER LIKE THIS.
AND NOW, FEAST MORE
STUPEFACTION,
AS I-I CLEVERLY MOVE THE BOOKS
OFF THE TABLE.
AND NOW,
NOW COMES THE MAGIC PART.
NOW, I SAY THE MAGIC WORD.
THE MAGIC WORD!
AND BEHOLD,
THE BOOK IS LEVITATING!
IT IS COMPLETELY OFF THE TABLE.
He places five books in a cascade structure.
He says I HAVE DONE IT! MAGIC!
The Wizard says NO.
Overwhelmo says NO?
The Wizard says NOT MAGIC, THAT'S SCIENCE.
Overwhelmo says BUT THE BOOK IF LEVITATING.
The Wizard says NO.
Overwhelmo says LOOK, IT'S NOT EVEN
TOUCHING THE TABLE.
The Wizard says NO, IT'S BEING SUPPORTED
BY THE BOOKS BELOW
BECAUSE OF THE CENTRE OF MASS.
Overwhelmo says PREPOSTEROUS.
The Wizard says I'M AFRAID IT'S VERY POSTEROUS.
EACH BOOK IS BALANCED
ON THE ONE BELOW IN A WAY
THAT THE CENTRE OF MASS
IS BEHIND THE EDGE
OF THE BOOK BELOW.
AND THE ENTIRE STACK'S
CENTRE OF MASS
IS BEHIND THE EDGE OF THE TABLE.
SO, IT MAY LOOK LIKE MAGIC,
BUT IT'S SCIENCE.
Overwhelmo says SO...
I CAN'T GET
INTO THE WIZARD ACADEMY?
The Wizard says NO, I'M AFRAID NOT.
Overwhelmo says I-- GOOD-- ALAKAZAM!
YOU WILL RUE THE DAY
THAT OVERWHELMO DID NOT...
I WILL RETURN AND T
THEN YOU WILL SEE...
He takes the books and they fall on his hand.
Overwhelmo says OH! OUCH.
The clip ends.
Cameron says THAT'S MAKING A LOT OF SENSE.
BALANCE IS IMPORTANT
TO THE BRIDGE.
WE HAVE TO
INCORPORATE SOME BALANCE
TO MAKE THIS
A LITTLE BIT BETTER.
SO, EVERYTHING WE TRY AGAIN,
IT'S CALLED AN ITERATION.
IT'S WHEN WE TRY THINGS
AGAIN AND AGAIN,
AND WE LEARN
FROM THOSE MISTAKES,
AND WE KEEP IMPROVING
ON OUR PRODUCT.
SO, THE PRODUCT I HAVE
RIGHT NOW, PRETTY BASIC.
IT'S A PIECE OF PAPER.
SO, LET'S TAKE A SECOND
TO THINK ABOUT WHY
WE HAVE BRIDGES, THOUGH.
WHAT'S THE PURPOSE OF A BRIDGE?
THAT'S RIGHT. IT'S TO MOVE
PEOPLE SAFELY ACROSS THE SPACE.
MY APPROACH TODAY
IS TO GET THESE LEGO PEOPLE
ALL ON THE BRIDGE,
SO THEY CAN HAVE A PARTY
RIGHT THERE ON THE BRIDGE
AND IT DOESN'T COLLAPSE.
SO, WHAT DO BRIDGES HAVE
TO FIGHT WITH, THOUGH,
TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN?
HOW DO THEY...
WHAT DO THEY HAVE TO COMBAT
TO BRING PEOPLE
SAFELY ACROSS A SPACE?
WELL, THEY NEED TO FIGHT
AGAINST GRAVITY.
GRAVITY IS CONSTANTLY
PULLING ON THE BRIDGE.
SO, WE KNOW THAT,
EVEN AS WE WATCH THIS BRIDGE,
I CAN ALREADY SEE THAT IT'S
GOING A LITTLE BIT LOWER.
GRAVITY IS PULLING
ON THIS BRIDGE.
THEY ALSO HAVE TO DEAL
WITH THE WEIGHT,
THE WEIGHT OF PEOPLE, OF CARS.
AS IT GOES ON, THAT
PUSHES DOWN ON THE BRIDGE.
SO, WE'VE GOT GRAVITY PULLING,
WE'VE GOT PEOPLE PUSHING DOWN,
AND THESE ARE BOTH FORCES
ACTING ON MY BRIDGE.
THERE'S ALSO BRIDGES NEED
TO BE ABLE TO STAND UP
TO NATURAL DISASTERS.
WIND STORMS, HURRICANES,
ALL THOSE SORTS OF THINGS
ARE OTHER THINGS THAT ENGINEERS
NEED TO KEEP IN MIND
WHEN THEY'RE BUILDING BRIDGES.
SO, WE KNOW THAT BRIDGES
NEED TO BE STRONG.
LET'S SEE IF WE CAN MAKE
THIS BRIDGE A LITTLE STRONGER.
I'M THINKING IF, MAYBE,
I JUST FOLD ALONG HERE,
IT MIGHT JUST BALANCE
A LITTLE BIT... BETTER.
SO, TWO FOLDS,
LET'S SEE RIGHT THERE.
TWO FOLDS, QUITE EVEN,
SAME DISTANCE ACROSS.
NOW, WE'VE GOT BRIDGES...
IT'S ALSO A LITTLE SAFER,
THERE'S PEOPLE
AREN'T GONNA FALL OFF.
LET'S SEE HOW MANY
PEOPLE CAN FIT.
I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'LL BE ABLE
TO SEE THEM OVER TOP,
BUT THERE'S ONE.
OH, THAT'S NO GOOD. TWO.
THREE. FOUR.
HEY, THIS IS ALREADY
A MUCH BETTER BRIDGE.
FIVE. SIX.
OH, THEY'RE
FALLING OVER NOW.
SEVEN. EIGHT. NINE.
TEN. HEY, THIS IS GOOD.
GOOD THING I BROUGHT EXTRAS.
11, 12, 13, 14,
15, 16, 17,
18, 19, 20,
21, 22, 23, 24.
AND THAT'S IT!
24! THAT'S AMAZING!
THAT IS A MUCH STRONGER BRIDGE.
I AM INCREDIBLY IMPRESSED.
BUT THIS POOR GIRL, SHE NEVER
MADE IT ON THE BRIDGE,
SO IT'S NOT PERFECT.
IT WORKED A LITTLE BIT BETTER,
BUT THERE MUST BE A BETTER WAY.
LET'S HEAD BACK
TO OUR EXPERT PHIL
AND SEE IF WE CAN
LEARN FROM HIM.
A clip plays.
Phil is in her twenties, clean-shaven and with short dark blond hair. He wears glasses, a green jacket, a salmon shirt and jeans.
Phil says OH, HEY, HOW YOU DOIN'?
LET ME GUESS, YOU WANNA
BUILD A STRONG STRUCTURE,
SOMETHING THAT'LL
STAND THE TEST OF TIME.
WELL, YOU KNOW, YOU GOTTA USE
THE RIGHT KIND OF SHAPES.
A wooden square stands on the floor.
He says LOOK AT THIS, A SQUARE.
NOW, SQUARES HAVE
GOTTA BE STRONG, RIGHT?
WELL, MAYBE.
MAYBE IF YOU PRESS
STRAIGHT DOWN ON IT.
BUT WATCH AS I PUSH TO THE SIDE.
OH, NO!
The squared bends completely.
He continues THE THING THAT I HAVE
BUILT IS NOW COLLAPSING
BECAUSE SQUARES AREN'T,
IN FACT, STRONG AFTER ALL.
IF ONLY I HAD LISTENED
TO SAL'S SAGE ADVICE.
YEAH, SQUARES
AREN'T GONNA CUT IT.
FORTUNATELY, THERE'S A SHAPE
THAT'S STRONG
IN ALL KINDS OF WAYS -
A TRIANGLE!
OKAY, SO YOU HEARD OF
TRIANGLES BEFORE,
GOOD FOR YOU.
BUT LOOK AT THIS.
YOU CAN PUSH DOWN FROM THE TOP
AND IT DOESN'T MOVE.
OR YOU CAN PUSH FROM THE SIDE
AND IT DOESN'T MOVE.
TRIANGLES ARE AWFULLY POINTY.
HOW DO I BUILD WITH THEM?
OBSERVE! HA-HA!
TRIANGLE HERE, TRIANGLE THERE,
PLATFORM ON TOP.
AND WATCH.
NO MATTER HOW I TRY TO SHIFT IT,
IT STAYS SOLID.
AND CHECK THIS OUT!
TRIANGLE HERE,
SECOND TRIANGLE THERE,
AND A THIRD TRIANGLE SHAPE HERE.
THAT'S LIKE THREE TRIANGLES
FOR THE PRICE OF TWO.
HUH? THAT'S A GOOD DEAL.
SO THERE YOU HAVE IT , THE
TRIANGLE -
ONE OF THE GREATEST
SHAPES TO BUILD WITH.
The clip ends.
Cameron says SO, TRIANGLES,
TRIANGLES ARE THE KEY
TO STRENGTH OF A BRIDGE, AND YOU
KNOW, I'VE SEEN THAT JUST TODAY.
CHECK OUT THIS CARDBOARD
MONSTER MY DAUGHTER CREATED.
I WASN'T SURE SHE WAS GOING
TO USE THIS CARDBOARD.
I WAS JUST GOING TO SHOW
YOU PLAIN CARDBOARD.
BUT LUCKY FOR US, SHE'S TURNED
IT INTO A BEAUTIFUL MONSTER.
BUT WHEN WE LOOK AT CARDBOARD,
IF YOU LOOK CLOSELY
ALONG THE SIDES,
WE CAN SEE TRIANGLES, TONS
AND TONS OF LITTLE TRIANGLES.
SO, THAT'S WHAT GIVES
CARDBOARD ITS STRENGTH.
IT ALMOST MAKES ME
THINK THAT MAYBE
WE SHOULD HAVE BEEN USING
CARDBOARD FOR OUR BRIDGE.
BUT NO, WE CHOSE PAPER AND
WE'RE GOING TO STICK WITH IT.
SO, HOW DO WE INCORPORATE
THE CONCEPT OF TRIANGLES
INTO THIS BRIDGE?
WELL, CAN YOU THINK OF ANY WAYS
TO HARNESS THE POWER
OF A TRIANGLE?
HMM. LET'S ITERATE.
WE'RE GOING TO TRY AGAIN.
REMEMBER, WE LEARN
FROM OUR MISTAKES,
SO EVERY TIME WE TRY ONE
AND IT DOESN'T WORK PERFECTLY,
IT'S HELPING US TOWARDS
A SOLUTION THAT DOES WORK.
SO, I'M THINKING, IF I DO THIS
AND FOLD IT ONE MORE TIME...
I'VE NOW MADE A TRIANGLE.
BUT IT'S NOT GOING
TO WORK AS A BRIDGE
BECAUSE NO ONE CAN STAND ON IT.
SO, IF I FOLD IT BACKWARDS...
I'VE NOW GOT TRIANGLES.
HEY, ALL RIGHT.
AND I'M GONNA TAKE THIS BRIDGE
AND WE'RE GONNA SEE HOW
MANY PEOPLE IT CAN FIT.
I'M GONNA TURN THE SHORT SIDE
TO YOU, SO YOU CAN SEE,
HOPEFULLY, A COUPLE OF THESE
LEGO PEOPLE ON THERE.
NOPE. ONE.
OH, THERE'S HER LITTLE HEAD.
TWO. OH, LET'S KEEP IT ON.
THREE, FOUR.
ALL RIGHT, THIS IS GOOD.
FIVE.
SIX, SEVEN, EIGHT, NINE.
LOOK, EVEN THOUGH
THIS SIDE FALLS DOWN,
IT'S STILL STRONG
ENOUGH TO HOLD 10, 11, 12... ..13, 14, 15, 16, 17.
I THREW A DOG ON THERE.
I DON'T KNOW IF THAT COUNTS.
IT COULD.
18, 19, 20...
ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR...
25! THEY'RE ALL THERE.
WE DID IT!
WE HAVE CREATED THE BRIDGE.
IT IS INCREDIBLE.
ALL OF OUR FRIENDS ARE NOW
HAVING A PARTY ON THEIR BRIDGE,
SO THIS HAS HAPPEN.
THE KEY - TRIANGLES.
SO... IS THAT THE
ONLY WAY TO MAKE A BRIDGE?
I DON'T KNOW.
IT WAS A GREAT BRIDGE.
IT WAS DEFINITELY
A GREAT BRIDGE.
IT HELD UP THE WEIGHT OF
ALL OF OUR CHARACTERS.
IT FOUGHT AGAINST THE PULL
OF GRAVITY. TRULY INCREDIBLE.
BUT IN OUR PICTURES, I SAW OTHER
TYPES OF BRIDGES AS WELL.
I WONDER IF PHIL KNOWS ANYTHING
ABOUT THAT. LET'S CHECK.
A clip plays.
In a lab, Phil prepares coffee.
Phil says OH HELLO, SCIENCE MAXIMITES.
WE GOT A LOT OF WORK TODAY,
SO I WAS JUST GETTING PREPARED.
YOU KNOW, TAKING SOMETHING
FLIMSY AND MAKING IT STRONG,
THAT'S WHAT SCIENTISTS AND
ENGINEERS DO EVERY DAY.
AND IT'S ALSO PRETTY FUN.
YOU TAKE SOMETHING
THAT'S NOT THAT STRONG,
AND, BY THE WAY YOU BUILD IT
OR PUT IT TOGETHER
OR CHANGE ITS SHAPE,
IT SUDDENLY BECOMES A LOT
STRONGER THAN YOU THINK IT WAS.
SO I THOUGHT, THAT'S
WHAT WE SHOULD DO TODAY
ON
SCIENCE MAX:
EXPERIMENTS AT LARGE.
WE SHOULD BUILD SOMETHING.
SO, WE'RE GONNA
BUILD AN ARCH BRIDGE
AND WE'RE GONNA BUILD IT
OUT OF SUGAR CUBES.
(laughing)
SO, HERE IS WHAT YOU NEED.
YOU NEED SOME SUGAR CUBES,
YOU NEED SOME SAND PAPER,
AND YOU NEED
SOME MODELLING CLAY.
SO, FIRST, YOU WANT TO
MAKE SOME ABUTMENTS
OUT OF YOUR MODELLING CLAY.
WHAT IS AN ABUTMENT, YOU ASK?
He shows a small two-piece structure.
He continues IT IS THIS.
THEY DISTRIBUTE
THE FORCE LATERALLY
FROM ONE SIDE OR THE OTHER.
I LIKE TO USE THIS.
THIS IS HALF A
ROLL OF DUCT TAPE.
SO, IT FITS IN JUST LIKE THAT,
AND YOU SEE,
IT'S A PERFECT ARCH.
IF YOU JUST TAKE SUGAR CUBES
AND YOU TRY TO STACK
THEM INTO AN ARCH,
IT'S NOT GOING TO WORK
BECAUSE THE SUGAR CUBES
MAY NOT EVEN FIT ALL TOGETHER
AND YOU CAN SEE ONLY THE BOTTOMS
ARE TOUCHING.
I TAKE UP THE GUIDE
AND IT ALL FALLS APART.
SO, HERE'S WHAT YOU DO.
YOU TAKE YOUR SANDPAPER
AND YOU CHANGE THE
SQUARES INTO TRAPEZOIDS,
AND YOU START SANDING DOWN YOUR
SUGAR CUBES INTO TRAPEZOIDS.
BASICALLY,
YOU WANT ONE SMALL SIDE,
AND ONE LONG SIDE.
THIN AT THE TOP,
WIDE AT THE BOTTOM,
OR WIDE AT THE TOP,
THIN AT THE BOTTOM.
IT'S A TRAPEZOID, NO MATTER
WHICH WAY YOU HOLD IT.
PUT IT ON THE BRIDGE AND SEE.
AND AS YOU GO, YOU WILL SEE,
IF YOU'RE DOING IT RIGHT,
THERE'LL BE NO GAPS.
A caption reads "tvokids.com/sciencemax."
He continues IF YOU GO TO THE
SCIENCE MAX WEBSITE,
THERE WILL BE A GUIDE
THAT YOU CAN USE
TO HELP YOU MAKE THE
SUGAR CUBE BRIDGE,
SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO SPEND AS
LONG AS I DID MAKING THIS ONE.
AND THEN, THE MOST IMPORTANT
PART IS THE KEYSTONE.
THAT'S THE ONE THAT
FITS IN RIGHT AT THE TOP,
JUST LIKE THAT.
AND WHEN IT DOES,
YOU CAN TAKE AWAY THE GUIDE,
AND IT STAYS UP.
ISN'T THAT COOL?
IT STAYS UP WITHOUT ANY GLUE,
WITHOUT ANY MORTAR,
ALL BASED ON THE SHAPE
OF THESE SUGAR CUBES.
THE COOL THING IS, IT'LL HOLD
THE WEIGHT OF A WHOLE CAR!
(horn honking)
PROVIDED YOU HAVE A
VERY, VERY SMALL CAR.
He places a toy car on top of the sugar bridge.
He continues THE REASON
WHY IT WORKS IS BECAUSE
THE WEIGHT IS
DISTRIBUTED ALONG THE ARCH
INTO THE ABUTMENTS
AND DOWN INTO THE GROUND.
THAT'S WHAT MAKES
AN ARCH BRIDGE SO STRONG.
The clip ends.
Cameron says WELL, THAT WAS AMAZING.
I LOVE THE LOOK
OF THOSE BRIDGES.
BUT UNFORTUNATELY,
I'M FRESH OUT OF SUGAR CUBES.
SO, LET'S SEE WHAT WE
CAN JUST DO WITH PAPER.
I REALLY, REALLY WANT TO MAKE
ONE OF THOSE BRIDGES.
SO, I'VE GOT
TWO SHEETS OF PAPER HERE
AND LET'S TRY
AND MAKE OUR ARCHWAY.
SO, NICE AND SIMPLE.
MAKE SURE IT
GETS TUCKED IN NICELY
BETWEEN THESE VERY,
VERY COOL HARRY POTTER BOOKS.
MY DAUGHTER IS
OBSESSED LATELY.
AND THEN, WE'RE GONNA TAKE A
SECOND PIECE OF PAPER BECAUSE,
WHILE THIS MAY
HAVE SOME STRENGTH
AND IT'S GETTING SOME BALANCE
FROM BEING PUSHED
UP AGAINST THE BOOKS,
NO ONE CAN BALANCE ON THAT.
SO, LET'S TRY A
SECOND PIECE OF PAPER
THAT GOES RIGHT ACROSS
THE TOP NEATLY.
AND LET'S SEE IF WE CAN GET SOME
CHARACTER TO BALANCE ON HERE.
ONE. WELL, NOBODY STANDS UP.
THEY BARELY STAND UP ON A BOOK.
IT'S ALREADY BETTER
THAN JUST A PIECE OF PAPER,
SO THAT IS SOMETHING.
FOUR, FIVE.
IT'S NOT LOOKING GOOD FOR TEN.
SIX. SIX.
The figures fall and the paper bridge collapses.
He continues HEY, YOU KNOW WHAT?
IT'S MUCH BETTER
THAN A PIECE OF PAPER
AND WE GOT TO EXPERIMENT
WITH SOMETHING NEW,
AND THAT'S THE WHOLE THING.
WHEN WE'RE AT HOME AND
WE HAVE THESE OPPORTUNITIES,
WE GET A CHANCE TO
REALLY JUST EXPERIMENT,
TO TRY, TO PLAY, TO JUST
FIGURE OUT THINGS ON OUR OWN.
SO, I ENCOURAGE YOU, THIS WEEK,
TO GO OUT AND SEE WHAT MATERIALS
CAN YOU FIND TO BUILD A BRIDGE.
THINK ABOUT THE IDEAS OF SHAPES,
OF TRIANGLES, OF THE ARCHWAYS.
MAYBE YOU CAN
FIND STONES OUTSIDE
TO BUILD YOUR OWN ARCHWAY BRIDGE
AND SEE IF YOU CAN CREATE ONE.
THEN, FIND CHARACTERS,
COINS...
OR PAPER CLIPS, WHATEVER YOU
HAVE, AS LONG AS IT'S THE SAME,
AND SEE HOW MANY CAN YOU CREATE,
HOW MANY DIFFERENT
TYPES OF BRIDGES
CAN YOU CREATE
THAT ARE ALL STRONG,
THAT ARE ALL POWERFUL.
REMEMBER, WHEN WE'RE USING
RECYCLABLES, PLEASE CLEAN THEM.
BUT IT'S A GREAT WAY TO REUSE.
EARTH DAY, EARTH WEEK, THINK
ABOUT THOSE KIND OF THINGS,
AS WE'RE CREATING THINGS
OUT OF PRE-USED MATERIALS.
IT'S SO AWESOME.
SO, WHAT SHAPES CAN YOU USE
TO CREATE THE STRONGEST
BRIDGE POSSIBLE?
CAN YOU FIND SOMETHING
BETTER THAN A TRIANGLE?
HEY, MAYBE YOU'LL
DISCOVER SOMETHING NEW
THAT NO ONE'S EVER SEEN BEFORE.
YOU NEVER KNOW.
YOU COULD BUILD IT OUT OF LEGO.
YOU COULD BUILD IT OUT OF
ANYTHING YOU CAN THINK OF.
THAT'S WHAT'S SO COOL.
SO, GO OUT, EXPLORE,
CREATE SOME BRIDGES,
TEST THEM OUT.
CAN YOU MAKE IT STRONG?
AND IF YOU'RE
LOOKING TO GET ONLINE,
TVO HAS A GAME WITH PHIL
AND
SCIENCE MAX
WHERE YOU GET TO TEST OUT
BUILDING YOUR OWN
BRIDGE AS WELL.
ANOTHER IDEA JUST CAME TO ME.
YOU MAYBE WANT TO USE
MARSHMALLOWS
AND A LITTLE BIT OF SPAGHETTI.
CRAZY BUT JUST MIGHT WORK.
SO, CHECK OUT THIS GAME, TRY IT
OUT IF YOU GET TIME THIS WEEK,
AND I WANT TO THANK YOU
FOR PARTICIPATING IN OUR
SCIENCE EXPERIMENT TODAY.
REALLY APPRECIATE IT.
A clip plays.
Olympia and Otis wear blue Odd Squad uniforms. She has red hair and wears red-framed glasses. Otis has blond hair.
Olympia says MY NAME IS AGENT OLYMPIA.
THIS IS MY PARTNER, AGENT OTIS.
THIS ISN'T EITHER OF US.
The picture of a boy appears.
She continues BUT BACK TO OTIS AND ME.
WE WORK FOR AN
ORGANISATION RUN BY KIDS
THAT INVESTIGATES
ANYTHING STRANGE,
WEIRD AND ESPECIALLY ODD.
OUR JOB IS TO PUT
THINGS RIGHT AGAIN.
Miss O says HURRY, OLYMPIA!
Flying, Olympia says I'M COMING, MISS O!
WHO DO WE WORK FOR?
WE WORK FOR ODD SQUAD.
Fast clips show the agents' adventures.
The title of the episode reads "And then they were puppies."
A woman with brown hair and Jerry sit on a bench.
The woman with brown hair says THANKS FOR COMING, ODD SQUAD.
Otis says WHAT SEEMS TO BE THE PROBLEM?
The woman with brown hair says JERRY AND I WERE OUT HERE
TRYING TO ENJOY OUR LUNCH,
WHEN THOSE GUYS SHOWED UP.
(cackling)
Olympia says OH, THOSE ARE EVIL
VERSIONS OF YOURSELVES.
The woman with brown hair says EXCUSE ME?
Otis says YEAH, THERE'S AN EVIL DIMENSION.
DID EITHER OF YOU
OPEN THE PORTAL?
The woman with brown hair says WHAT?
(chuckling)
NO!
Ashamed, Jerry raises his hand.
The woman with brown hair says JERRY!
Olympia says IT'S OKAY.
ALL WE HAVE TO DO IS GET THEM
BACK THROUGH THE PORTAL.
The woman with brown hair says OH, THAT'S EASY.
JERRY, DID YOU
CLOSE THE PORTAL?
JERRY,
ARE YOU KIDDING ME? OH, GREAT.
WHAT DO WE DO NOW?
Olympia says WELL, THEY'RE HERE FOREVER.
The woman with brown hair says WHAT?!
Olympia says SO EITHER YOU CAN JOIN THEM
AND BE EVIL
OR BRING THEM OVER TO YOUR SIDE.
The woman with brown hair says OH, WELL, I MEAN, OBVIOUSLY,
WE WILL BRING THEM
OVER TO OUR SIDE.
RIGHT, J...
Jerry joins the evil versions of themselves.
They say JERRY!
Now, Olympia and Otis walk into their operations center.
Olympia says SO, YOU DON'T NEED AN
ALARM CLOCK TO WAKE UP?
Otis says NOPE, I JUST DECIDE WHEN
TO WAKE UP AND DO IT.
I MEAN, SOMETIMES I HAVE TO
HIT THE SNOOZE BUTTON.
Olympia says PARTNER...
DOES THE SQUAD
LOOK FURRIER TODAY?
The agents are now puppies.
Miss O says THERE YOU TWO ARE.
SOMETHING VERY ODD HAS HAPPENED.
Olympia says MISS O?
Miss O says THE PUPPY MASTER IS HERE.
Otis says DID YOU SAY PUPPET MASTER
OR PUPPY MASTER?
(growling)
Miss O says ARE YOU REALLY ASKING THAT?
THE PUPPY MASTER!
GET OUT BEFORE
SHE ZAPS YOU, TOO!
Puppy Master wears a red hat with a golden band.
Puppy Master says TOO LATE!
WHO'S A CUTE LITTLE
DOGGIE... YOU ARE!
Puppy Master turns Olympia and Otis into puppies.
Otis says I'M FURRY!
Olympia says THERE ARE
SO MANY SMELLS!
Puppy Master says NOW, WITH ODD SQUAD
OUT OF THE WAY,
I SHALL RETURN TO MY SECRET LAIR
AND ZAP THE REST OF THE WORLD
WITH MY GIANT PUPPY RAY!
Miss O says STOP HER NOW!
Doctor O says I'M A DOCTOR, NOT A RETRIEVER.
ACTUALLY,
I THINK I AM A RETRIEVER.
Olympia says COME BACK HERE!
Onna says OONA TO THE RESCUE!
Olympia says EVERYBODY, FOLLOW ME!
WHOA, THESE LEGS ARE TINY!
O'Malley says SHOW'S OVER, PUPPY MASTER.
YOU'RE NOT GETTING THROUGH ME.
OH, I GUESS YOU ARE.
Puppy Master disappears through a system of interconnected tubes.
(barking)
Miss O says WHAT DO WE DO NOW?
O'Malley says TAKE PICTURES OF OURSELVES AND
MAKE A REALLY CUTE CALENDAR?
Miss O says I MEAN,
TO CATCH THE PUPPY MASTER?
Male Agent 2 says WRESTLING THAT'S FUN!
Oscar says THERE IS ONE AGENT
WHO IS STILL OUTSIDE.
Miss O says WHO IS IT? WHOA!
Oscar says YOU'RE NOT GOING
TO LIKE THE ANSWER.
AGENT OHLM.
Ohlm buys an ice cream in a park but it drops.
Ohlm says OH, MAN.
An Ice Cream Man says I THINK THAT'S YOUR BADGE PHONE.
Ohlm says THIS THING IS A PHONE?
CAN YOU HOLD THAT?
The Ice Cream Man says SURE.
Ohlm says THANKS.
HELLO.
Miss O says OHLM, IT'S MISS O.
THE PUPPY MASTER
TURNED US ALL INTO PUPPIES.
WE NEED YOU TO GET THAT GADGET.
Otis says STOP JUMPING ON ME.
Miss O says HELP US, OR WE'LL
BE PUPPIES FOREVER.
Ohlm says WELL, YOU WON'T BE
PUPPIES FOREVER.
Miss O says WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?
Ohlm says I MEAN, EVENTUALLY YOU'LL
GROW UP TO BE DOGS, RIGHT?
Miss O says OH, DON'T ARGUE WITH ME!
ACCESS YOUR WATCH.
IT HAS A MAP TO THE PUPPY
MASTER'S EVIL LAIR.
Ohlm says I DON'T THINK MINE WORKS.
HOLD ON.
MAYBE IF I TAP IT.
WHOOPS.
I BROKE IT.
An agent says ARE WE SURE THERE'S
NO ONE ELSE OUTSIDE?
Miss O says OHLM, DON'T MOVE.
WE'LL FIGURE OUT
A ROUTE FROM HERE.
O'MALLEY, BRING ME
A MAP OF THE TOWN.
O'Malley says DO YOU NOT SEE HOW
HIGH THIS CHAIR IS?
Miss O says OKAY, DR. O?
Doctor O says ON IT.
Miss O says O'MALLEY!
O'Malley says YES, MA'AM?
Miss O says I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT
THE MORE SCARED YOU GET,
THE CUTER YOU ARE.
O'Malley says THANK YOU, MA'AM.
The puppy agents look at a map.
Miss O says OKAY. WE HAVE THE MAP.
NOW WE JUST NEED TO FIGURE
OUT WHERE YOU ARE ON IT.
WHAT DO YOU SEE AROUND YOU?
Ohlm says I'M IN A PARK.
Miss O says OKAY. THERE ARE A BUNCH
OF PARKS IN TOWN. WHICH ONE?
Otis says OH, BOY.
Miss O says OHLM, I NEED YOU TO
LOOK FOR A LANDMARK.
IT'S SOMETHING EASY TO SPOT
THAT MOST PEOPLE RECOGNISE
AND DOESN'T MOVE.
Ohlm says I SEE A STATUE OF A SOLDIER.
THERE'S ONLY ONE PARK
Otis says WITH A STATUE IN IT -
SOLDIER PARK, HERE.
Olympia says WE'VE FOUND HIM.
MY LITTLE DOG HEART!
Miss O says AND THE PUPPY MASTER'S
EVIL LAIR IS... HERE.
SO WE NEED TO FIND A ROUTE,
A PATH HE CAN TAKE
TO GET OHLM THERE.
Olympia says YEAH, YEAH, YEAH.
Miss O says HE COULD GO THIS WAY.
BOOP, BOOP, BOOP, BOOP,
BOOP, BOOP, BOOP, BING.
Otis says NICE ONE, PARTNER. PAWFIVE!
Miss O says OHLM, YOU ARE GOING TO WALK ON
A PATH TOWARDS A STONE PILLAR.
Ohlm says A WHAT?
Miss O says IT LOOKS LIKE A
BIG STONE RECTANGLE.
TAKE A RIGHT THERE
AND KEEP GOING STRAIGHT.
THAT WILL LEAD YOU
RIGHT TO HER LAIR.
Ohlm says COPY THAT.
HERE'S YOUR PHONE BACK.
The Ice Cream Man says THAT'S YOUR PHONE.
Ohlm says OH, YEAH.
Miss O says LISTEN UP, I KNOW WE ARE FURRIER
AND DROOLIER THAN USUAL.
BUT UNDERNEATH THESE COLLARS,
WE ARE STILL ODD SQUAD AGENTS.
AND I NEED ALL OF YOU TO STAY
FOCUSED AND PROFESSIONAL.
Doctor O says HEY, GUYS, I'VE FOUND A SLIPPER!
An agent says SLIPPER!
Miss O says GIVE ME THAT THING. WHOA!
Ohlm says MISS O, IT'S ME, OHLM.
EVERYTHING'S GOOD, BUT I'M JUST
NOT SURE WHAT BOAT TO GET ON.
Miss O says BOATS?
THERE SHOULDN'T BE ANY BOATS.
Otis says HE MUST BE WAY OVER
HERE BY THE WATER.
BUT WHERE ON THE WATER?
THERE'S BOATS HERE, HERE
AND ALL THE WAY UP HERE.
Miss O says OHLM, I NEED YOU TO LOOK
FOR ANOTHER LANDMARK.
Ohlm says I SEE A...
A GIANT STONE BALL THINGY.
Miss O says THAT STATUE IS HERE.
THAT'S WHERE OHLM MUST BE.
Olympia says HOW DID HE GET ALL
THE WAY OVER THERE?
Otis says UGH. HE MUST HAVE
TAKEN A WRONG TURN.
Olympia says OHLM, IT'S OLYMPIA.
I'M STILL A DOG.
DID YOU TAKE A
RIGHT AT THE PILLAR?
Ohlm says I DON'T KNOW MY LEFT FROM RIGHT.
Otis says OHLM...
Ohlm says DON'T WORRY.
THERE'S A BOAT LEAVING NOW.
I'LL JUST GET ON.
Miss O says DO NOT GET ON A BOAT.
Otis says SO, HE'S BY THE WATER,
BUT HE HAS TO GET ACROSS TOWN
TO THE PUPPY MASTER'S LAIR.
Miss O says PERFECT.
OHLM, WALK AWAY FROM THE WATER,
GO BACK THE WAY YOU CAME,
KEEP GOING PAST THE PILLAR,
AND YOU'LL REACH THE LAIR.
Otis says GOOD JOB, MISS O.
Olympia says ALL RIGHT!
Ohlm says I UNDERSTAND.
Miss O says OHLM, TELL ME YOU
DID NOT GET ON A BOAT.
Ohlm gets into the boat.
Ohlm says IT LOOKED LIKE SO MUCH FUN.
(horn honking)
THERE'S A HORN ON HERE.
Miss O says ARGH! I NEED A JUICE.
A Female Agent says HERE, MISS O,
I'LL TEST IT FOR YOU.
Miss O says DON'T DRINK MY JUICE!
The Female Agent says OH, OKAY,
YOU CAN HAVE IT BACK.
She licks Miss O.
Miss O says EWW, GROSS!
Back in the park, Ohlm says GREAT NEWS, MISS O.
I MET A PIGEON
AND NAMED HIM ALAN.
Miss O says DID YOU FIND THE PUPPY MASTER?
Ohlm says NO, BUT I FIGURED OUT WHY
I DIDN'T TURN THE
CORRECT WAY AT THE PILLAR.
IT'S BLOCKED.
Miss O says OKAY.
WE'LL FIND YOU ANOTHER ROUTE.
(growling)
Ohlm says HELLO?
Miss O says OTIS, DROP THAT PHONE!
Otis says I CAN'T HELP IT! I'M TEETHING!
(static hissing, dial tone sounding)
Ohlm says THEY HUNG UP.
Miss O says UGH!
WE'VE LOST CONTACT WITH OHLM!
Olympia says NO, NO, NO, NO!
THIS IS BAD!
A Male Agent says IS ANYONE ELSE
SLEEPY ALL THE TIME?
Ohlm says OH, I GET IT.
MISS O WANTS ME TO
FIGURE THIS OUT ON MY OWN.
SIRE, ME'EM,
I NEED TO COMMANDEER THAT MEP.
The Woman says YOU MEAN "MAP"?
Ohlm says CAN YOU HOLD
THIS UP FOR ME, PLEASE?
He points to the map and says SO, I AM HERE,
BY THIS LANDMARK -
THE PILLAR.
AND I NEED TO GET...
HERE TO THE
PUPPY MASTER'S LAIR.
SO, IF I GO UP HERE...
UP TO THE LIBRARY
AND TURN THERE,
THAT'LL LEAD ME...
STRAIGHT THERE.
THANKS FOR YOUR HELP.
OH, NICE TO MEET YOU, ALAN.
Alan says YOU TOO, OHLM!
The Woman says DID YOU JUST TALK?
Alan says AND I CAN SING.
As Ohlm gets to the Puppy Master's liar, Alan sings AGENT OHLM, AGENT OHLM
O, HEAR MY PIGEON SONG
O, HEAR MY
PIGEON SONG
(cooing)
HIS QUEST BEGUN,
HE SPIED A BRANCH
WITH ONE MIGHTY LEAP,
HE REACHED IT
OR WAS IT TWO?
IT COULD HAVE BEEN THREE
I THINK THOSE LEAPS
WERE ALL JUST WARMUPS
AGENT OHLM, AGENT OHLM
O, HEAR MY
PIGEON SONG
AND THEN BEHOLD,
HE ATE SOME SALAD
TO GET ENERGY
FOR HIS JOURNEY
PERHAPS A NAP?
NO, THERE'S NO TIME
JUST A SHORT NAP?
NO, MUST KEEP MOVING
AND NOW HE'S STOPPED
TO TIE HIS SHOE
A HERO AVOIDS
PREVENTABLE HAZARDS
THE BUNNY
GOES AROUND THE TREE
HE HOPS IN THE HOLE
AND THEN
NO, FIRST THE
TREES AND YOU'VE-- THE BUNNY...
WHY IS THE BUNNY
HOPPING OUT OF THE HOLE?
YOU PUT AN EXTRA STEP
IN THERE SOMEWHERE
AGENT OHLM, AGENT OHLM
O, HEAR MY PIGEON SONG
O, HEAR
MY PIGEON SONG!
Ohlm yells I MADE IT!
(thunder crashing)
OKAY...
(Puppy Master cackling)
Otis says MISS O, EVEN IF OHLM
REACHES THE PUPPY MASTER,
HOW WILL HE DEFEAT HER?
Miss O says OTIS, I'M NOT WORRIED
ABOUT THAT PART.
OHLM IS A MASTER OF
CONFUSION AND DISTRACTION.
Ohlm walks into the liar.
Puppy Master says ODD SQUAD!
YOU'LL NEVER STOP ME!
WHAT ARE YOU DOING?
WHY ARE YOU WASHING MY DISHES?
Miss O says AND HE'S COMPLETELY
UNPREDICTABLE.
Ohlm says LUNCH IS READY.
Olympia says BUT IS OHLM EVEN IN CONTROL?
DOES HE KNOW WHAT HE'S DOING?
Miss O says NO ONE KNOWS. NOT EVEN HIM.
Puppy Master says AH!
MY PUPPYRAY!
IT'S DESTROYED!
OH, YOU'VE GOT MY GADGET!
Ohlm says I DO?
I MEAN, I DO!
O'Malley says INCOMING!
(cheering)
Ohlm appears in the operations center holding the puppy ray.
Ohlm says GUYS, I DID IT! I GOT IT!
Olympia says I ALWAYS KNEW HE COULD DO IT
FROM THE BEGINNING.
Ohlm says HI, OLYMPIA.
HEY, MISS O.
Oscar says HOW DO YOU KNOW WHO WE ALL ARE?
SO WEIRD.
Ohlm says NOW I WILL COMPLETE THE MISSION
BY TURNING MYSELF INTO A PUPPY.
Otis says NO, OHLM, STOP!
Miss O says NO, NO, NO!
Turned into a puppy, Ohlm says WAS THAT NOT THE PLAN?
The Male Agent says I FEEL ANOTHER NAP COMING ON.
Miss O says OHLM, THAT WAS NOT THE PLAN.
WE'RE GOING TO BE
PUPPIES FOREVER!
Ohlm says NOT FOREVER, MISS O.
O'Malley says CUTE PUPPY CALENDAR IT IS!
Their calendar pictures flash by.
Olympia says ODD SQUAD TRAINING
VIDEO NUMBER 801.
GETTING AROUND HEADQUARTERS
HOWDY-DO, AGENTS.
I'D LIKE TO INTRODUCE YOU TO
AGENT OWEN - HEAD OF SECURITY.
Owen has red hair. He wears a blue jacket.
Owen says HI! I'M AGENT OWEN -
HEAD OF SECURITY.
Olympia says GREAT. SO, WHAT'S THE QUICKEST
WAY TO THE VIDEO GAME ROOM?
Owen says EASY. HERE'S A MAP
OF HEADQUARTERS.
He points to a screen.
Olympia says WHOA, HEADQUARTERS IS HUGE.
Owen says RIGHT NOW, WE'RE HERE.
IT'S LIKE WE'RE LOOKING
AT OURSELVES FROM ABOVE.
THE VIDEO GAME ROOM
IS ON THE NEXT FLOOR
AND THE TUBES ARE OVER HERE.
Olympia says OKAY. SEEMS SIMPLE ENOUGH.
WE JUST...
Owen says WELL, IT'S NOT BECAUSE THE TUBES
DON'T GO TO THE VIDEO GAME ROOM.
YOU HAVE TO USE THE STAIRS.
Olympia says OKAY, UM, WHERE ARE THE STAIRS?
Owen says RIGHT HERE.
Olympia says EASY. SO, I JUST WALK
A STRAIGHT LINE
FROM THE LAB TO THE STAIRS.
Owen says YUP, THAT WOULD BE THE FASTEST.
Olympia says OKAY, GREAT.
AND THAT CONCLUDES THIS...
Owen says BUT I WOULDN'T RECOMMEND IT.
Olympia says WHY?
Owen says BECAUSE IF THE BLOB IS LOOSE,
IT TOTALLY BLOCKS THAT ROUTE.
Olympia says IT'S OKAY BECAUSE I
JUST WALK THIS WAY...
AND TURN AT THE FIRE HYDRANT.
Owen says NICE. THE FIRE HYDRANT
IS A LANDMARK.
IT DOESN'T MOVE AND
IT'S EASY TO SPOT.
GOOD WAY TO FIGURE OUT
WHERE YOU ARE.
Olympia says OKAY, GREAT.
Owen says HERE'S THE THING, THOUGH,
I CALL THAT "OWEN'S HALLWAY,"
SO ONLY OWEN CAN USE IT.
Olympia says BUT THERE'S NO OTHER
WAY TO THE STAIRS.
Owen says YEAH. THAT'S HOW I GET THE
VIDEO GAME ROOM ALL TO MYSELF.
Olympia says YOU CAN'T STAY THERE.
Owen says FINE.
He leaves.
Olympia says THIS CONCLUDES
OUR TRAINING VIDEO.
Miss O sits at a desk.
She says THERE YOU ARE.
SOMETHING VERY ODD HAS HAPPENED.
YES, I'M TALKING TO YOU,
WITH THE SHOULDERS.
TAKE A LOOK AT THIS.
ODD SQUAD ARCH VILLAIN ODD TODD
HAS RELEASED A PIENADO -
A TORNADO MADE OF PIES.
GO TO TVOKIDS.COM TO
HELP US FIGHT THE PIENADO.
ODD SQUAD NEEDS YOU!
(music plays)
The end credits roll.
Logo: Sinking Ship Entertainment.
The clip ends.
Cameron says MY FRIENDS, WELCOME TO WHAT I
AM SO EXCITED ABOUT -
OUR BOOK CLUB.
OVER THE COURSE OF
THE NEXT FEW WEEKS,
WE'RE GOING TO BE READING FROM
INKLING
BY KENNETH OPPEL -
AN INCREDIBLE CANADIAN NOVEL.
SO, WHAT I WANT US TO BE
THINKING ABOUT TODAY,
BECAUSE WE CAN'T HAVE A BOOK
CLUB AND NOT DO ANY THINKING...
I KNOW SITTING BACK AND
LISTENING IS AMAZING
AND I ENCOURAGE YOU
TO DO THAT AS WELL.
BUT WHILE WE'RE DOING IT,
I WANT YOU TO THINK TO YOURSELF,
"HOW IS THE AUTHOR
HOOKING ME IN AT THE START?
"HOW IS KENNETH OPPEL
GRABBING MY ATTENTION?
"HOW IS HE KEEPING ME
FOCUSED ON THE WORDS?
"WHY DO I WANT TO KEEP READING?
"IS HE MAKING FUN WORD CHOICES?
"IS HE USING
DESCRIPTIVE LANGUAGE?
"HAS HE DEVELOPED A CHARACTER
THAT'S REALLY INTERESTING?"
IS THERE A PLOT POINT OR
SOMETHING ABOUT THE STORY
THAT YOU REALLY NEED
TO HEAR MORE ABOUT?
I WANT YOU TO THINK ABOUT
THESE SORTS OF THINGS
AS WE'RE READING,
AND THEN THINK ABOUT
HOW YOU COULD USE THAT
IN YOUR OWN WRITING.
SO, THINKING ABOUT THE HOOK.
AND WHILE WE'RE READING TODAY,
JUST SPEND SOME TIME TO ENJOY.
YOU KNOW WHAT? SOMETIMES
WE JUST NEED TO ENJOY A STORY.
SO, WITHOUT FURTHER ADO,
INKLING
BY KENNETH OPPEL
WITH ILLUSTRATIONS
BY SYDNEY SMITH.
CHAPTER ONE.
A caption reads "Harper Collins Publishers Canada."
He reads NO ONE WAS AWAKE TO SEE IT
HAPPEN, EXCEPT RICKMAN.
HE WAS TAKING ONE OF HIS
MIDNIGHT PROWLS,
PADDING PAST THE BEDROOMS
OF SLEEPING PEOPLE,
HOPING TO FIND SOMETHING
INTERESTING TO EAT.
HE WAS NEARLY ALWAYS HUNGRY.
AGAINST THE WALL HE FOUND
A DEAD FLY, A CHOCOLATE CHIP,
AND A SMALL PIECE OF RED CRAYON,
WHICH HE ALSO ATE.
HE WAS NOT A PICKY CAT.
AT THE END OF THE HALLWAY,
HE SLIPPED INTO
MR. RYLANCE'S STUDIO.
IN FRONT OF THE DRAFTING
TABLE WAS A CHAIR HE LIKED,
AND RICKMAN HEAVED HIMSELF UP.
IT TOOK TWO TRIES
BECAUSE HE WAS HEFTIER
THAN HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN.
ON THE DRAFTING TABLE,
MR. RYLANCE'S BIG
SKETCHBOOK LAY OPEN.
ANIMALS AND BUILDINGS AND
PEOPLE JOSTLED ON THE PAGES.
SOME PICTURES HAD
SCRIBBLES THROUGH THEM,
SOME WERE VERY SKETCHY,
AND OTHERS LOOKED LIKE THEY WERE
READY TO MAKE AN APPEARANCE
IN ONE OF MR. RYLANCE'S
FINISHED GRAPHIC NOVELS.
BUT THESE WERE ALL JUST IDEAS.
THEY HAD NO STORIES
TO GO WITH THEM YET.
WHEN IT HAPPENED,
IT MADE NO NOISE,
BUT RICKMAN
SAW THE WHOLE THING.
THE BLACK INK
LOOKED SUDDENLY WET,
LIKE THE PICTURES HAD
BEEN DRAWN THAT VERY SECOND.
THE LINES GLISTENED,
THEN TREMBLED.
FROM EVERY CORNER
OF THE SKETCHBOOK,
THE INK BEADED AND STARTED
SLITHERING ACROSS THE PAGES
TOWARD THE CREASE IN THE MIDDLE.
AS THE INK MOVED,
IT LEFT NO SMEAR BEHIND IT,
JUST BLANK PAGE.
THE LINES OF INK
JOINED OTHER LINES,
MELDING INTO WEIRD SHAPES,
SOMETIMES SMOOTH, SOMETIMES
POINTY, GETTING LARGER.
WHEN THEY ALL MET IN
THE CENTRE OF THE BOOK,
THEY FORMED A BIG BLACK SPLOTCH,
ABOUT THE SIZE OF A FIST.
FOR A MOMENT IT WAS MOTIONLESS,
AS IF RESTING.
NORMALLY, RICKMAN TOOK
NO INTEREST IN THE ARTS,
BUT THIS WAS DIFFERENT.
HE PUT HIS PAWS ON THE
EDGE OF THE DRAFTING TABLE
AND LEANED FORWARD
FOR A BETTER VIEW.
THE INK RIPPLED,
LIKE DARK WATER WITH SOMETHING
SWIMMING BENEATH THE SURFACE.
THEN IT WAS ON THE MOVE AGAIN,
FLOWING DOWN THE CREASE UNTIL IT
REACHED THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE.
IT THICKENED ALONG THE EDGE,
AS THOUGH IT WAS TRYING TO POUR
ITSELF OVER, BUT IT COULDN'T.
IT SEEMED TO BE STUCK.
RICKMAN'S EARS FLATTENED
AGAINST HIS SKULL.
A THIN TENDRIL OF INK
LIFTED FROM THE PAGE,
MAYBE HALF AN INCH OR SO,
LIKE A TINY ARM DESPERATE
TO ESCAPE QUICKSAND.
THEN IT GOT...
(MAKING SLURPING SOUND)...SLURPED BACK IN.
NEXT A THICKER SPIKE
OF INK ROSE UP, STRAINING,
REACHING OVER THE EDGE
OF THE SKETCHBOOK,
ONE SECOND, TWO,
BEFORE IT COLLAPSED BACK.
ALMOST A MINUTE PASSED
AND NOTHING HAPPENED.
RICKMAN YAWNED, SHOWING
HIS STILL-SHARP TEETH.
THIS WAS GETTING BORING.
ALL AT ONCE THE INK RIPPLED, AS
IF A STIFF WIND BLEW ACROSS IT,
AND THEN THE
ENTIRE SPLOTCH CONTRACTED
AND ROSE INTO A
LITTLE MOUNTAIN PEAK.
IT TREMBLED, TENSED,
AND THEN SPRANG.
ALL THE INK LIFTED
RIGHT OFF THE SKETCHBOOK,
LEAVING THE PAGES TOTALLY BLANK,
AND LANDED WITH A SMALL SPLASH
ON THE DRAFTING TABLE.
RICKMAN PURRED LOW
AND DEEP IN HIS THROAT.
THIS WAS GETTING
INTERESTING AGAIN.
THIS MIGHT BE
SOMETHING WORTH EATING.
ALREADY LITTLE STRANDS
OF THE INK SPLOTCH
WERE BEING PULLED BACK TOWARD
THE SKETCHBOOK,
AS IF IT WERE A MAGNET
OR A BLACK HOLE.
THE SPLOTCH STRUGGLED,
FIGHTING ITS WAY INCH BY INCH
ACROSS THE DRAFTING TABLE.
THE BOOK HAD A POWERFUL PULL,
DRAGGING SOME STRINGY TENDRILS
OF INK TOWARD IT.
BUT JUST WHEN THEY WERE
ABOUT TO TOUCH PAPER,
THEY RECOILED AS IF BURNED,
REJOINING THE MAIN INKY SPLOTCH.
WHEN IT FINALLY REACHED THE FAR
EDGE OF THE DRAFTING TABLE -
LEAVING NO TRACE OF INK IN ITS
WAKE - IT CAME TO A REST,
QUIVERING SLIGHTLY LIKE
SOMETHING EXHAUSTED,
BUT ALSO AMAZED,
AND MAYBE EVEN EXCITED,
BECAUSE IT STARTED DOING
SOME KIND OF DANCE.
IT SWIRLED ROUND AND ROUND,
SPINNING ITSELF INTO ALL KINDS
OF STRANGE AND BEAUTIFUL SHAPES.
LIKE IT WAS
CELEBRATING ITS FREEDOM.
RICKMAN'S PAW CAME SLAMMING
DOWN ON IT, CLAWS EXTENDED.
THE SPLOTCH WENT
SPIKY IN SURPRISE,
THEN STREAKED BETWEEN
THE CAT'S CLAWS
AND RIGHT OVER
THE EDGE OF THE TABLE.
IT SCURRIED ALONG THE UNDERSIDE,
TESTED A TABLE LEG WITH A BLACK,
INKY TONGUE, AND THEN SLID
ITSELF DOWN TO THE FLOOR.
WHILE RICKMAN SNIFFED
AT THE DRAFTING TABLE,
THE INK STARTED FLOWING
ACROSS THE FLOOR.
IT HAD NO PLAN EXCEPT TO GET
AS FAR AWAY AS POSSIBLE.
WHEN IT WAS HALFWAY TO THE DOOR,
RICKMAN TURNED AND
HIS SHARP EYES CAUGHT IT.
BUT BY THE TIME HE'D EASED
HIMSELF OFF THE CHAIR,
THE INK HAD SEEPED OUT
INTO THE HALLWAY.
THERE WAS LIGHT IN THE HALLWAY,
SO THE INK MADE ITSELF SKINNY
AND SLUNK CAUTIOUSLY
ALONG THE BASEBOARD.
ANYONE LOOKING WOULD
HAVE MISSED IT,
OR THOUGHT IT WAS JUST SHADOW.
BUT RICKMAN KNEW BETTER.
HE WAS OLD, ARTHRITIC,
AND OVERWEIGHT,
BUT HE HADN'T FORGOTTEN
HOW TO HUNT.
HE PROWLED DOWN THE HALL,
HEAD DIPPED LOW, THEN POUNCED.
THE INK MUST HAVE
SENSED HIM COMING,
BECAUSE IT SHOT STRAIGHT UP THE
WALL, FASTER THAN ANY SHADOW.
RICKMAN BANGED HIS
NOSE AGAINST THE BASEBOARD
AND LANDED CLUMSILY
ON THE FLOOR.
HIS NOSE WASN'T
THE ONLY THING THAT HURT.
NOTHING IS MORE IMPORTANT
TO A CAT THAN ITS DIGNITY,
AND HE GLARED UP
AT THE INK SPLOTCH.
THE FUR ON HIS BACK LIFTED.
WITH A HISS, HE LEAPT,
CLAWS EXTENDED.
THE SPLOTCH DARTED HIGHER,
JUST OUT OF REACH,
AND THEN SWELLED ITSELF INTO A
TERRIFYING IMITATION OF RICKMAN:
AN ENORMOUS BLACK CAT,
BACK HUMPED AND JAGGED.
ITS VAST, INKY CLAWS SHOT
DOWN THE WALL TO SWAT RICKMAN.
YOWLING, RICKMAN SOMERSAULTED
BACKWARD, THEN BOLTED.
THE INK SHRANK BACK
INTO A SMALL BLOB
AND JIGGLED A BIT
AS IF LAUGHING.
IT LEFT NO MARKS ON THE WALL
AS IT MOVED HIGHER,
ONTO THE FRAMED POSTER OF MR.
RYLANCE'S BEST-KNOWN CHARACTER,
A MUTANT SUPERHERO CALLED KREN.
BUT THE MOMENT THE SPLOTCH
TRIED TO CLIMB THE GLASS,
IT SLID RIGHT BACK
DOWN TO THE FRAME.
IT SHUFFLED ALONG
A BIT AND TRIED AGAIN,
WITH THE SAME RESULT, POURING
OFF THE GLASS LIKE WATER.
THERE WAS NO GETTING
A GRIP ON THIS STUFF!
THE INK GAVE UP, MOVED BACK ONTO
THE WALL, AND KEPT GOING.
IT WANTED TO FIND
SOMEWHERE SAFE.
WHEN IT REACHED A DOORWAY, IT
SLID INSIDE THE DARKENED ROOM
AND DOWN TO THE FLOOR,
WHERE IT PAUSED.
IT SENSED
ALL THE THINGS IN THE ROOM
WITHOUT KNOWING WHAT THEY WERE.
IT HAD NO WORDS YET, NO NAMES
FOR THINGS LIKE A DESK, A BED,
AND A BOY SLEEPING ON THE BED
IN A KNOTTED TANGLE OF SHEETS
THAT MADE IT LOOK LIKE HE'D BEEN
BATTLING SOMETHING.
THE BOY'S FEET
WERE ON THE PILLOW,
AND HIS HEAD WAS WHERE
HIS FEET SHOULD HAVE BEEN.
BESIDE THE BED WAS A
PILE OF BOOKS,
AND THE INK SPLOTCH
STOPPED WARILY.
IT WAITED.
IT SENT OUT A TINY TENDRIL,
BUT THESE BOOKS
DIDN'T TRY TO SUCK IT IN.
ONLY MR. RYLANCE'S SKETCHBOOK
SEEMED TO WANT TO DO THAT.
THE INK SLID CLOSER.
IT MOVED OVER AN OPEN MATH
TEXTBOOK AND ERASED EVERY WORD,
NUMBER, AND DIAGRAM IT TOUCHED.
IT ACTUALLY SLURPED
THE INK INTO ITSELF.
THE INK PAUSED,
AND FORMED ITSELF
INTO AN ISOSCELES TRIANGLE,
AND THEN A RHOMBUS,
BEFORE FLOWING ON,
ERASING AS IT WENT.
IT LEFT A BLANK TRAIL
BEHIND IT LIKE A SLUG TRAIL,
EXCEPT IT WASN'T SLIMY.
IT WAS JUST SHINY BLANK PAPER.
OFF THE MATH BOOK
AND ONTO A NOVEL.
IT WIPED OUT MOST OF THE TITLE
AND THE COVER ILLUSTRATION -
IT WAS IN COLOUR, AND THE
SPLOTCH SEEMED TO LIKE COLOUR
BECAUSE IT GAVE
A HAPPY SHIMMER -
AND THEN FOUND ITSELF ON A PIECE
OF ILLUSTRATION BOARD.
THE BOARD HAD BEEN
DIVIDED UP INTO SQUARES
AND RECTANGLES OF
DIFFERENT SIZES.
MOST OF THEM HAD STICK FIGURES
PENCILLED INSIDE THEM,
BUT IN THE VERY FIRST
SQUARES WERE INK DRAWINGS.
THEY WEREN'T VERY GOOD.
THERE WERE LOTS OF SMEARS.
THE INK SPLOTCH SLID ACROSS,
ERASING AS IT WENT,
AND THEN STOPPED IN
THE MIDDLE OF THE BOARD.
THIS SEEMED LIKE
A GOOD HIDING PLACE.
THE SPLOTCH STRETCHED, THEN MADE
ITSELF AS SMALL AS POSSIBLE.
IT LIKED IT HERE.
THE FEEL OF THE
CREAMY PAPER WAS PLEASING.
THE INK TURNED ITSELF ROUND
IN CIRCLES A FEW TIMES,
LIKE A DOG TRYING TO GET
COMFORTABLE, AND THEN WAS STILL.
AND THAT'S THE
END OF CHAPTER ONE.
He closes the book and says SO, WHAT A GREAT WAY TO
INTRODUCE A STORY -
A CHARACTER UNLIKE
ANY I'VE READ ABOUT BEFORE,
GOING THROUGH AND
GOING THROUGH THE NIGHT,
HEARING WORDS LIKE
"SPLOTCH" AND "STRETCHED."
AND A LOT OF DESCRIPTIVE WORDS
THAT REALLY HOOKED ME IN,
THAT MADE ME WANT TO THINK,
"HMM, I WONDER WHAT
ELSE IS GOING TO HAPPEN.
"I NEED TO KNOW MORE.
I'M HOOKED ON THIS STORY."
SO, I THINK KENNETH OPPEL'S
DONE A BRILLIANT JOB
OF INTRODUCING HIS
CHARACTER OF INKLING.
HAVING A CAT IN THERE WAS GREAT,
HIS DESCRIPTIVE LANGUAGE.
THE SETTING FELT RIGHT -
THE DARKNESS, THE BEDROOM,
THE WHOLE THING,
I COULD PICTURE IT IN MY MIND.
SO, HE USED WORDS THAT MADE IT...
MADE IT VISUAL FOR ME.
SO, THESE ARE ALL GREAT
STRATEGIES TO USE
WHEN YOU'RE CREATING
YOUR OWN STORY.
SO, THIS WEEK, FOR A CHALLENGE,
I'M GOING TO ENCOURAGE YOU
TO JUST WRITE A STORY.
JUST WRITE THE START OF A STORY.
MAYBE PUT IN A CHARACTER.
BUT THINK ABOUT
SETTING AND WORD CHOICE.
HOW COULD YOU START OFF A STORY
THAT WOULD MAKE PEOPLE
WANT TO READ MORE, HOOK THEM IN?
AND I'M GOING TO SUGGEST, TOO,
WHEN YOU'RE DONE
WITH YOUR STORY,
SHARE IT WITH FAMILY,
SHARE IT WITH FRIENDS,
MAYBE SHARE IT WITH YOUR TEACHER
ONLINE, WITH YOUR SCHOOL,
SO THAT YOU CAN
GET THEIR FEEDBACK
BECAUSE, WHEN WE GET FEEDBACK,
WE CAN IMPROVE OURSELVES.
THE EDITING PROCESS
IS SO IMPORTANT IN WRITING.
I WAS SPEAKING TO A WRITER
WHO CAME AND SPOKE
TO MY CLASS BEFORE
AND HE SAID, "HALF AND HALF -
"HALF YOUR TIME
IS WRITING THE STORY
"AND THE OTHER HALF IS EDITING."
BUT HE SAID MOST
PEOPLE CAN'T BE AUTHORS
BECAUSE THEY DON'T
HAVE THE PERSISTENCE
TO EDIT THEIR STORIES.
WELL, LUCKY FOR US,
WE HAVE NOTHING BUT TIME NOW.
WE'VE GOT LOTS OF TIME AT HOME.
SO, USE SOME OF THAT,
WRITE A STORY, BE CREATIVE,
MAYBE MAKE A GRAPHIC NOVEL,
WHATEVER YOU LIKE.
BUT FOCUS ON HOW YOU'RE
GONNA HOOK PEOPLE IN.
SO, THANK YOU FOR SHARING YOUR
GROWTH MIND-SET WITH ME TODAY.
THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE
AS A PART OF LEARNING,
FOR BEING A PART OF
OUR SCIENCE EXPERIMENT,
FOR JOINING US.
THANK YOU SO MUCH
FOR SHARING YOUR TIME.
I HOPE YOU FOUND IT
ENTERTAINING,
I HOPE YOU FOUND IT ENGAGING,
AND I HOPE YOU
FOUND IT WORTHWHILE.
THAT SAID, AS WE LEAVE TODAY,
JUST BEFORE WE GO,
I WANT TO ENCOURAGE
EVERYONE TO PLEASE,
PLEASE BE SAFE, AND BE KIND.
EVERYBODY'S HAVING
A REALLY HARD TIME
AND KNOW THAT IF
YOU'RE HAVING A HARD TIME
AND YOU'RE STRUGGLING
AND YOU'RE NOT SURE WHO
YOU WANT TO TALK TO,
KIDSHELPPHONE.CA IS
AN AMAZING RESOURCE.
YOU CAN CALL THEM,
YOU CAN CHAT WITH
THEM LIVE ONLINE,
AND THEY ARE SET UP
TO HELP TO DEAL WITH
REALLY TOUGH SITUATIONS.
SO, NO MATTER WHAT
YOU'RE GOING THROUGH,
KNOW THAT THERE ARE PEOPLE
OUT THERE WHO CAN LISTEN
AND THAT'S ONE GREAT RESOURCE.
SO, THANK YOU AGAIN
FOR BEING WITH ME.
BE HEALTHY, BE SAFE, BE KIND.
WE'LL SEE YOU NEXT WEEK.
BYE-BYE.
The caption changes to "TVO Kids would like to thank the following volunteer teacher for teaching the children of Ontario from their homes: Kenisha Bynoe, Amanda Cameron, Joel Seaman, Robert Vidler, Vickita Bhatt, Spencer de Man, Cameron Steltman."
(soft music plays)
A caption reads "Copyright 2020, The Ontario Educational Communications Authority."
An animated title against a sunny sky reads "TVOKids Power Hour of Learning."
In off, Laura says WELCOME TO
TVOKIDS
POWER HOUR OF LEARNING.
TODAY'S JUNIOR LESSON:
BUILDING BRIDGES AND BEYOND.
A caption reads "Junior 4-6. Cameron." Cameron is in his early thirties, with a short beard and balding. He wears glasses and a plaid shirt.
In a living room, Cameron says HI. WELCOME TO TVO'S
POWER HOUR OF LEARNING.
I AM SO EXCITED TO BE WITH YOU.
MY NAME'S CAMERON
AND I'M GOING TO BE YOUR TEACHER
OVER THE COURSE OF
THE NEXT FEW WEEKS.
BEFORE WE GET GOING,
SOMETHING YOU MAY WANT TO RUN
AROUND AND JUST QUICKLY GRAB
OR WHEN WE'RE OFF ON A BREAK,
YOU MIGHT WANT TO HAVE A PENCIL,
A PEN, AN ERASER,
A PIECE OF PAPER.
ERASER JUST IN CASE YOU
MAKE A MISTAKE. IT HAPPENS.
SO, WHAT ARE SOME THINGS
YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT ME?
WELL, FIRST AND FOREMOST,
I'M A TEACHER.
I'VE TAUGHT GRADE ONE,
I'VE TAUGHT GRADE THREE,
FOUR, FIVE, SIX, SEVEN.
AND I'M A TEACHER LIBRARIAN,
SO I LOVE READING BOOKS.
AND HOPEFULLY,
WE CAN INCORPORATE SOME OF THAT
INTO OUR LEARNING TODAY.
SPEAKING OF TODAY, WHAT ELSE
ARE WE GOING TO BE DOING?
WELL, FIRST THING'S FIRST,
WE ARE GOING TO BE DOING
SOME MATH PROBLEM SOLVING.
WE HAVE A SPECIAL GUEST.
JUST A CLUE -
IT'S AN IRISH PIRATE.
HE'S A BIT INTENSE,
A LITTLE BIT SALTY,
BUT HE'S GOING TO SHOW US SOME
GREAT PROBLEM SOLVING STRATEGIES
FOR WORKING WITH MATH.
WE'RE ALSO GOING TO BE GETTING
INTO THE SCIENCE OF BRIDGES -
LOOKING AT PICTURES OF BRIDGES,
BUILDING BRIDGES,
TESTING BRIDGES,
LEARNING ABOUT BRIDGES,
AND WE GET THE ADDED EXCITEMENT
OF PHIL FROM SCIENCE MAX,
WHO WE WILL BE
LEARNING FROM AS WELL.
WE'RE ALSO GOING TO BE
STARTING A BOOK CLUB.
I AM SO EXCITED TO BE READING
THIS BOOK WITH YOU.
He turns and points to a bookshelf.
He says IT IS THE BOOK
INKLING
BY KENNETH OPPEL,
A CANADIAN AUTHOR WHO'S
WRITTEN SO MANY BOOKS,
AND THIS ONE IS
GUARANTEED TO PLEASE.
I'M SO, SO EXCITED
TO BE A PART OF IT.
SO, I'M HOPING THAT WE GET A
CHANCE TO GET INTO THAT AS WELL.
SO, ONE QUICK LESSON, THOUGH,
BEFORE WE START.
ISN'T THE WORLD WEIRD RIGHT NOW?
ISN'T IT STRANGE?
IT'S BEEN SUCH AN ODD
TRANSITION TO NOT GO TO WORK,
TO NOT TO SCHOOL,
TO NOT BE A PART OF THE GYM,
OR CLUBS, OR TEAMS.
IT'S ALL FEELING VERY,
VERY STRANGE.
SO, ONE THING I WANT
TO THINK ABOUT IS,
WHILE WE'RE TRANSITIONING TO
THIS LEARNING ONLINE
OR LEARNING ON TV,
LEARNING IN SHORT BURSTS,
IS WE GOT TO THINK
ABOUT GROWTH MIND-SET.
SO, HOW DO WE POWER THROUGH
DIFFICULT SITUATIONS?
HOW DO WE PERSEVERE
WHEN THINGS GET TOUGH?
WELL, THE IDEA OF
GROWTH MIND-SET
IS THAT OUR BRAINS GET STRONGER
WHEN WE WORK THROUGH
HARD PROBLEMS,
AND THIS, RIGHT NOW,
IS A HARD PROBLEM.
WE'RE GOING TO BE
DEVELOPING OUR PERSISTENCE.
WE'RE GOING TO BE
DEVELOPING OUR RESILIENCE.
AND WE'RE GOING TO BE
ABLE TO DEAL BETTER
WITH CHALLENGES
LATER IN OUR FUTURE
BY LEARNING HOW TO DEAL WITH
THIS PROBLEM RIGHT NOW.
SO, WHILE THIS IS HARD
AND THE WHOLE WORLD IS GOING
THROUGH THIS CHALLENGE,
THINK ABOUT YOUR GROWTH MIND-SET
WHILE YOU'RE DOING IT,
OF ALL THE THINGS
YOU'RE LEARNING,
THE SKILLS YOU'RE IMPROVING ON,
THE TIME SPENT WITH FAMILY OR
THE SKYPE CALLS WITH FRIENDS.
REMEMBER, WE'RE GONNA GROW,
WE'RE GONNA GET THROUGH THIS
AND THAT WE,
EVEN WHEN WE MAKE MISTAKES,
IT'S GONNA HELP OUR BRAINS GROW.
SO, I WANT YOU TO MAKE SURE
YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT
GROWTH MIND-SET AS WE
WORK THROUGH TODAY.
SO, WITH THAT IN MIND,
LET'S TAKE A CLIP
FROM MATHXPLOSION
ON PROBLEM SOLVING.
A clip plays.
(music plays)
An animated clip shows a big orange X on a blue background. It explodes and letters and numbers come out of it in all directions and float around.
Mathematician Eric appears on screen. He's in his mid-twenties. He has short dark brown hair and a beard. He wears a red T-shirt with the show's logo.
The screen turns red and the logo of the show appears next. It reads "MathXplosion." Meanwhile, cones, cubes and dices float around it.
Kids voices sing a song with lyrics that go IT'S NOT A TRICK,
IT'S MATHXPLOSION
JUST FOR YOU,
COOL AND NEW, MATHXPLOSION!
Eric stands in a workroom. He puts objects inside a bucket.
Eric says DID YOU KNOW THAT PAYING
ATTENTION TO DETAILS
IS A VERY IMPORTANT PART
OF PROBLEM SOLVING?
HA-HA!
(exhaling slowly)
I GOT SOMETHING.
(chuckling)
He uses a string to magically grab a shell.
He says COOL.
I KNOW IT SOUNDS OBVIOUS,
BUT IT'S EASY TO MISS OBVIOUS
THINGS RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU.
WITH WORD PROBLEMS,
UNDERSTANDING THE PROBLEM CAN
BE TRICKIER THAN YOU THINK.
POEMS AND EVEN NURSERY RHYMES
CAN ALSO BE WORD PROBLEMS.
I'LL SHOW YOU WHAT I MEAN
WITH A RHYME I MADE UP.
SEE IF YOU CAN FIGURE IT OUT.
OH, AND DON'T
FORGET THE DETAILS.
Now, he sits on a sofa and says AHH...
SO, HERE'S MY WORD PROBLEM.
(clearing throat)
He reads WHEN I WAS GOING TO THE PARK
IN MY HOOD AROUND THE BEND.
I MET A GUY WITH SEVEN FRIENDS.
EVERY FRIEND
HAD SEVEN KNAPSACKS.
EVERY KNAPSACK HAD SEVEN 'ZAS.
THAT'S "PIZ-ZAS," YEAH.
EVERY PIZZA HAD SEVEN TOPPINGS.
SEVEN FRIENDS, KNAPSACKS,
PIZZAS, TOPPINGS.
HOW MANY WERE
GOING AROUND THE BEND?
HMM, THAT'S A LOT OF NUMBERS.
SEVEN FRIENDS TIMES SEVEN
KNAPSACKS TIMES SEVEN PIZZAS,
EACH WITH SEVEN TOPPINGS?
SO, THE QUESTION IS HOW MANY
WERE GOING AROUND THE BEND.
OR IS THAT THE QUESTION?
OR IS THIS A TRICK QUESTION?
HMM, IS THE ANSWER SEVEN?
49?
HOW ABOUT 2401?
WOULD YOU BELIEVE
THE BEST ANSWER
IS ACTUALLY ONE?
An animation shows the story he is telling.
He continues IN THE VERY FIRST LINE, I SAID,
"I WAS GOING ROUND THE BEND."
BUT I DIDN'T SAY THE
GUY I MET WITH HIS FRIENDS
OR THEIR PIZZAS
WERE GOING AROUND THE BEND.
THEY MIGHT BE,
BUT WE DON'T KNOW FOR SURE.
IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU HAVE TO DO A
LOT OF ADDING AND MULTIPLYING,
BUT ALL THOSE NUMBERS
ARE JUST A DISTRACTION.
WITH WORD PROBLEMS,
LITTLE DETAILS MATTER.
THEY HELP YOU FIGURE OUT WHAT
THE PROBLEM IS REALLY ASKING.
On a blackboard, Eric draws a circle and colours it inside. He taps on it and a new clip plays. It features different types of houses.
He says CHECK THIS OUT.
WORD PROBLEMS
HAVE BEEN AROUND FOR AGES.
HERE'S ONE FROM 4000 YEARS AGO.
THERE ARE SEVEN HOUSES.
IN EACH HOUSE,
THERE ARE SEVEN CATS.
EACH CAT KILLS SEVEN MICE.
EACH MOUSE HAS EATEN
SEVEN GRAINS OF BARLEY.
AND EACH GRAIN WOULD HAVE
PRODUCED SEVEN HEKATS.
WHAT IS THE SUM
OF ALL THESE THINGS?
IN THIS PROBLEM, YOU DO HAVE TO
ADD EVERY ITEM IN THE LIST.
MULTIPLY THE NUMBER
OF CATS AND HOUSES,
THEN MICE AND CATS,
THEN MICE AND
THE BARLEY THEY ATE,
THEN THE HEKATS
OF BARLEY GRAINS,
AND THEN ADD THEM ALL TOGETHER.
AND THE ANSWER IS...
19,607 OF COURSE.
Back in the workroom, Eric says YOU CAN MAKE UP YOUR OWN
WORD PROBLEMS AND PUZZLES
AND SEE IF YOUR FRIENDS PAY
ATTENTION TO THE DETAILS.
PROBLEM SOLVING...
The phone rings.
Eric continues IT'S NOT MAGIC.
A man on the phone says HELLO, IS THIS MATHXPLOSION?
Eric says IT'S MATH.
NO, NO, IT'S OKAY.
(man chattering)
A big explosion brings the show's logo back on the screen.
(music plays)
The end credits roll.
Produced by GAPC Entertainment in association with TVOKids.
Copyright GAPC Entertainment (MathPlosion) Incorporated, 2016.
Cameron says WELL, I THINK THERE'S SOME
GREAT LEARNING IN THAT CLIP.
WE ALWAYS NEED TO BE CAREFUL
THAT WE'RE READING CAREFULLY.
The caption changes to "Problem solving."
He continues GO THROUGH THE QUESTIONS.
SOMETIMES, ON TESTS,
ON TOUGH PROBLEMS,
THE WRITERS ARE
TRYING TO TRICK YOU.
SO, YOU HAVE TO FIGURE OUT
WHAT IS THIS QUESTION
ACTUALLY ASKING ME,
AND THAT'S A GREAT
PROBLEM SOLVING STRATEGY.
BUT I'M GOING TO BE HONEST,
IT'S NOT THE ONLY ONE.
ONE WAY TO MAKE SURE
THAT YOU UNDERSTAND
THE PROBLEMS BEING ASKED IS TO
NOT WORRY TOO MUCH ABOUT SPEED.
WHEN WE'RE WORKING IN MATH,
IT'S NOT ABOUT GOING FAST.
IT'S TIME TO TAKE A BREATH...
(INHALING DEEPLY)...SLOW DOWN...
(EXHALING DEEPLY)...AND THINK ABOUT WHAT IT IS
THAT YOU'RE TRYING TO SOLVE,
WHAT STRATEGIES
DO YOU ALREADY KNOW,
WHAT ARE SOME PLACES WE
COULD JUST GET STARTED,
AND THEN HOW DO WE ANSWER EVEN
ONE PART OF THE QUESTION.
IF WE WORRY ABOUT GETTING
THINGS DONE TOO QUICKLY,
OUR BRAINS GET OVERLOADED
AND WE CAN'T THINK DEEPLY
ABOUT THE MATH,
AND IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT
THAT WE THINK DEEPLY
WHEN WE'RE SOLVING
OUR MATH PROBLEMS.
SO, IF WE ALL TAKE
OUR DEEP BREATHS...
(INHALING DEEPLY)...SLOW DOWN AND REALIZE
THAT SPEED ISN'T IMPORTANT,
LET'S TAKE OUR TIME AND THINK
ABOUT WHAT WE'RE DOING,
WE'LL DO MUCH, MUCH BETTER.
SO, GRAB YOUR PENCILS,
GRAB YOUR PAPER
AND YOUR ERASERS,
AND LET'S SEE HOW YOU CAN
SOLVE THE FOLLOWING PROBLEM
TOGETHER WITH OUR SPECIAL GUEST,
WHO'S HERE TO TEACH US
A COUPLE OF STRATEGIES
FOR WORKING WITH FRACTIONS.
WE'VE GOT THE IRISH PIRATE,
AND WHILE HE MAY
LOOK A LOT LIKE ME,
LET ME TELL YOU,
HE'S A LOT SALTIER.
SO, HOLD ONTO YOUR BARNACLES,
IT'S PIRATE
PROBLEM SOLVING TIME.
A slate reads "Math Problem Solving with Cameron, Vera and Stella."
Cameron appears on a small window on the right upper corner of the screen wearing a pirate hat.
In Irish accent, Cameron says ARR, MATEYS,
WELCOME TO MATH PROBLEM SOLVING
WITH CAMERON, VERA AND STELLA.
HERE WE GO. LET'S LOOK AT
TODAY'S MATH PROBLEM.
SO, THE QUESTION WE'RE
LOOKING AT TODAY IS...
"I HAVE TWO DAUGHTERS,
VERA AND STELLA
"AND THEY BOTH LOVE READING!"
OBVIOUSLY ABOUT PIRATES.
"VERA HAS READ THREE QUARTERS OF HER BOOK
WHICH HAS 100 PAGES.
"STELLA HAS READ TWO THIRDS OF
HER BOOK WHICH HAS 120 PAGES.
"HOW MANY PAGES DOES EACH GIRL
HAVE LEFT IN THEIR BOOK?"
LET'S LOOK A LITTLE DEEPER.
SO, STEP ONE,
WE NEED TO FIGURE OUT
WHAT'S IMPORTANT
INSIDE OF THIS QUESTION.
TWO DAUGHTERS,
IS IT IMPORTANT? TO ME, YES.
TO SOLVING THE PROBLEM?
MAYBE NOT AS MUCH.
VERA AND STELLA,
THEY BOTH LOVE READING -
ALSO GREAT,
NOT THAT IMPORTANT TO THE MATH.
VERA'S READ THREE-QUARTERS
OF HER BOOK.
The word problem appears on the screen.
He continues HEY, THAT'S HIGHLIGHTED IN
RED NOW - VERY IMPORTANT.
AND IT ONLY HAS 100 PAGES.
STELLA'S READ TWO-THIRDS -
HIGHLIGHTED BLUE -
VERY IMPORTANT,
WHICH HAS 120 PAGES.
SO, THAT'S WHERE
THE IMPORTANT PARTS
OF THE QUESTION ARE.
THREE-QUARTERS OF A
BOOK THAT'S 100 PAGES,
TWO-THIRDS OF THE
BOOK THAT'S 120 PAGES.
LET'S LOOK DEEPER.
SO, HERE WE SEE VERA,
SHE'S READING HER BOOK.
IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE IT HAS 100
PAGES, BUT YOU NEVER KNOW.
AND LET'S WORK
THROUGH THE PROBLEM.
SO, WHAT I WANT TO
THINK ABOUT FIRST
IS HOW MANY PAGES
DO WE HAVE LEFT
OR HOW MUCH HAS
SHE ALREADY READ.
SO, SHE'S READ
THREE-QUARTERS OF IT,
WHICH MEANS THAT SHE HAS...
THERE ARE FOUR
QUARTERS TOTAL IN THE BOOK
BECAUSE FOUR QUARTERS,
FOUR OVER FOUR,
THAT MEANS
100 percent OF THE BOOK.
SHE HAS READ
THREE OF THEM.
MEANING THAT
THERE IS ONLY LEFT
ONE QUARTER
OF THE BOOK.
SO, ONE QUARTER
OF THE BOOK,
ONE QUARTER OF 100.
Using a mouse cursor, he writes the fractions mentioned.
He continues SO, LET'S THINK ABOUT
THAT FOR A SECOND.
ONE QUARTER OF 100.
WELL, I KNOW,
IN MY STRATEGY,
I LIKE TO THINK ABOUT
QUARTERS AND MONEY.
I'M A PIRATE,
I LOVE MONEY.
SO, I THINK, "OH,
I KNOW FOUR QUARTERS.
"EACH QUARTER IS WORTH,
HEY, 25 CENTS.
"SO, IF SHE'S GOT
FOUR QUARTERS
"OR SHE'S READ
THREE OF THE QUARTERS,
"SHE HAS 75 CENTS,
"75 percent ALREADY DONE."
HOW MUCH DOES
SHE HAVE LEFT
TO MAKE UP THAT
WHOLE DOLLAR?
ONE QUARTER,
WHICH EQUALS 25.
SO, SHE'S GOT 25
PAGES LEFT TO READ.
NOT BAD.
GOOD READING, VERA.
LET'S MOVE ON
TO STELLA.
AHH, HERE
WE HAVE STELLA.
SO, SHE IS IN, SHE LOVES
HER BOOK, 120 PAGES.
SHE'S READ TWO-THIRDS
OF THAT BOOK.
SO, TWO-THIRDS
OF 120 PAGES.
NOW, THIS ISN'T
AS SIMPLE.
WE CAN'T DO IT
WITH QUARTERS.
WE CAN'T DO IT
WITH MONEY.
WE HAVE TO
THINK ABOUT THIRDS.
SO, BREAKING SOMETHING
INTO 3 SECTIONS.
SO, I KNOW THAT SHE
HAS 120 PAGES TOTAL
AND I WANT TO
SPLIT THAT INTO 3.
SO, HOW CAN
WE SPILT 120 INTO 3?
WELL, WE NEED
TO DO DIVISION.
SO, WHAT I LIKE TO
LOOK AT WITH POWERS OF 10
IS 120 IS A LOT,
BUT HOW MANY TIMES CAN
I SPILT 120 THREE WAYS?
THEN, MAYBE I'LL
JUST PUT MY 10 BACK ON,
I'LL MULTIPLY IT BY TEN
TO GET BACK UP TO
THE NUMBER, TO 120.
SO, I KNOW IF I DO
3 DIVIDED BY 12, I GET 4.
RIGHT?
BUT IT'S NOT 12.
IT'S 120.
SO, I NEED TO DO 4 TIMES 10.
4 TIMES 10 EQUALS?
WELL, WE KNOW WHEN
WE MULTIPLY BY 10,
YOU TAKE THE 10,
WE'RE INCREASING IT,
IT GOES UP THE PLACE'
VALUE CHART BY 1
AND FROM 4,
WE GET TO 40.
SO, STELLA HAS 40 PAGES
LEFT IN HER BOOK
BECAUSE THAT
IS ONE-THIRD OF
OF... 120
BECAUSE ONE-THIRD
OF 12 IS 4
AND WE KNOW THAT
IT'S 120,
SO WE TIMES IT BY 10
AND WE REALIZE THAT
THERE ARE 40 PAGES LEFT.
NICE READING, STELLA.
ARR, SO, WE'RE BACK
INTO OUR QUESTION
AND THE THIRD STEP
IS REREAD THE QUESTION,
MAKE SURE WE'VE
COMPLETED EVERYTHING
THAT NEEDS TO BE FINISHED.
SO, LET'S READ THROUGH IT
AND SEE IF WE'VE GOT IT.
WELL, WE'VE GOT TWO DAUGHTERS.
VERA'S READ THREE-QUARTERS,
STELLA'S READ TWO-THIRDS.
WE FIGURED OUT THAT VERA
HAS 25 PAGES LEFT.
STELLA HAS READ TWO-THIRDS OF
HER BOOK, WHICH IS 120 PAGES.
SHE'S GOT 40 PAGES LEFT.
HOW MANY PAGES DOES EACH GIRL
HAVE LEFT IN THEIR BOOK?
WE'VE DONE IT,
WE'VE COMPLETED THE QUESTION.
CONGRATULATIONS.
BUT UH-OH, LOOK AT THIS.
SOMEONE HAS LEFT US
SOME BONUS MATH.
HOW MANY PAGES
HAS EACH GIRL READ?
THIS IS A CHALLENGE.
LET'S SEE IF WE
CAN FIGURE IT OUT.
WELL, I'M GONNA WRITE A "V."
BECAUSE ORGANIZING
YOUR MATH IS VERY IMPORTANT.
SO, FOR VERA, WE KNOW
THAT SHE HAS 25 PAGES LEFT
AND THE BOOK WAS
100 PAGES TOTAL.
CORRECT.
SO, WE KNOW THAT SHE'S
READ THREE-QUARTERS.
WELL, WE KNOW THAT
ONE QUARTER IS 25
AND SHE'S READ
THREE-QUARTERS.
SO, 25, 50, 75.
HEY, I COULD DO IT THAT WAY.
ONE QUARTER.
ONE QUARTER - 25.
TWO QUARTERS - 50.
THREE QUARTERS - 75.
SO, SHE'S READ 75 PAGES.
YOU COULD ALSO TAKE
THE TOTAL OF 100 PAGES
AND SUBTRACT WHAT
SHE HAS LEFT,
LEAVING US
100 MINUS 25,
WHICH IS 75.
BRILLIANT.
LET'S LOOK AT STELLA.
SO, WITH STELLA,
WE HAVE THE SAME THING.
WE SEE THAT
120 PAGES TOTAL.
WE KNOW ONE-THIRD
THAT SHE HAS
LEFT IS 40 PAGES
AND SHE'S
READ TWO-THIRDS.
SO, WE CAN ADD UP
40 PLUS 40 EQUALS 80.
OR WE CAN SUBTRACT.
120 TOTAL
MINUS ONE-THIRD
THAT SHE HAS LEFT
LEAVES US WITH 80 PAGES.
AND SOLVING MATH
MULTIPLE WAYS,
SHOWCASING THEM,
THAT'S THAT
LEVEL FOUR THINKING,
THAT'S WHAT SHOWS
YOUR TEACHER,
"I UNDERSTAND
HOW THE MATH WORKS."
SO, THAT IS EXACTLY HOW WE'RE
GOING TO SOLVE THIS PROBLEM.
WE'VE GOT ONE LAST STEP
AND IT'S ANSWERING OUR
QUESTION WITH A SENTENCE.
"HOW MANY PAGES DOES EACH GIRL
HAVE LEFT IN THEIR BOOK?
"VERA HAS 25 PAGES LEFT
"AND STELLA HAS
"40 PAGES LEFT IN HER BOOK."
POW. A GREAT AMOUNT OF LEARNING.
I APPRECIATE YOU TAKING
THE TIME TO LEARN WITH ME.
Back in the living room, Cameron says YAR! ISN'T HE A CHARACTER?
I HOPE YOU TOOK AWAY
SOME GOOD STRATEGIES
ABOUT WORKING WITH FRACTIONS
WITH OUR
IRISH PIRATE FRIEND THERE.
HOPEFULLY, OUR SHIPS
WILL CROSS PATHS SOON.
BUT IN THE MEANTIME, I THINK
IT'S TIME TO GET EXERCISING.
WE CAN ONLY SIT FOR SO LONG.
I KNOW I'VE BEEN
SITTING FOR AWHILE,
YOU'VE BEEN SITTING FOR AWHILE.
LET'S GET OUR HEARTS PUMPING,
GET THE SWEAT BEADING
ACROSS OUR FOREHEADS,
ALL OVER MY HEAD AND LET'S SEE
BECAUSE 25 MINUTES
OF EXERCISE A DAY
WILL HAVE A LONG-TERM
POSITIVE IMPACT.
SO, MAKE SURE WE ARE GETTING UP,
GETTING MOVING,
AND I THINK THIS VIDEO
WILL HELP US DO THAT.
ALL RIGHT, LET'S WATCH TOGETHER.
(hip hop beat playing)
Out of a shiny light, Mickeey pops up in a TV studio with graffiti on the walls. He is in his early teens, with short black hair. He wears a red and black jacket, blue jeans and a gray T-shirt.
Mickeey says YO, WHAT'S UP.
WHAT'S GOING ON, MOVERS?
WE'RE GONNA BE LEARNING
A BRAND NEW WAY TO GET STEPPIN'.
TIME TO LET IT SLIDE
WITH THE HEEL-TOE-GLIDE. WOO!
He does some hip hop moves and then says THIS ONE'S A TOUGH ONE,
SO PAY CLOSE ATTENTION.
LET'S GO CHECK IN
WHAT THE FEET ARE DOING.
YOU'RE GONNA TAKE A STEP FRONT,
THEN BACK,
THEN A HEEL, TOE, GLIDE.
DRAW A SEMI-CIRCLE,
THEN ONCE YOU'RE DONE,
PICK UP THAT OTHER
KNEE TO GO AGAIN.
STEP, STEP, HEEL,
TOE, GLIDE, PICK IT UP.
LET'S GO SEE
WHERE THE HANDS ARE.
YOU'RE GONNA START OFF
WITH TWO BIG THUMBS UP,
YOU'RE GONNA DRAW
TWO CIRCLES AROUND...
THEN YOU'RE GONNA
GIVE SOMEONE A BIG HUG,
THEN TAKE YOUR ARMS OUT,
TO REPEAT AGAIN.
CIRCLES, BIG HUG,
DOWN, PICK IT UP.
CIRCLES, BIG HUG,
DOWN, PICK IT UP.
YOU GUYS JUST GOT YOURSELVES
THE HEEL-TOE-GLIDE.
MUSIC AND FRIENDS?
Daniel and Kara join him.
Mickeey says FIVE, SIX, SEVEN, HEY!
STEP, STEP, HEEL, TOE,
AND GLIDE, SIX, SEVEN, AND...
STEP, STEP, HEEL.
NOW, SLIDE! WHOO!
PICK IT UP. WHOO! YEAH!
He says GUESS WHAT, GUYS?
YOU JUST MOVED WITH MICKEEY.
SEE YA!
The clip ends.
Cameron says MY FRIENDS, I HOPE YOU'RE
SWEATING AFTER THAT WORKOUT.
BUT WHILE YOU WERE WORKING OUT,
I HAVE TO TELL YOU,
I HAVE A PROBLEM.
I'VE GOT BRIDGE TROUBLE.
MY DAUGHTERS HAVE ALL
THESE LEGO FIGURES.
Lego figures stand on two opposite piles of books. A piece of paper functions as a bridge between them.
He continues THEY'RE EVERYWHERE.
AND YOU KNOW WHAT?
THEY ALL WANT TO BE TOGETHER.
THEY WANT TO GET
ACROSS THIS BRIDGE.
BUT I'VE GOT TROUBLE.
WATCH WHAT HAPPENS
EVERY TIME I PUT ON...
CHARACTERS ON MY BRIDGE.
IT'S A COLLAPSE!
THIS CAN'T HAPPEN.
I NEED TO MAKE A BETTER BRIDGE.
SO, I'M HOPING,
TOGETHER WITH YOUR HELP
AND THE HELP OF PHIL
FROM SCIENCE MAX,
WE CAN LEARN ABOUT MAKING
A BETTER BRIDGE.
UM, WE HAVE SOME PICTURES HERE
AND LET'S LOOK AT THE PICTURES
AND SEE IF THERE'S
ANY DIFFERENCE
BETWEEN THESE BRIDGES
AND THE ONE THAT I'VE MADE.
HMM. I'M STARTING TO
SEE A LOT OF THINGS
THAT MAYBE WOULD HAVE MADE
MY BRIDGE A LITTLE BIT BETTER.
YOU KNOW WHAT?
THEY LOOK VERY DIFFERENT
FROM MY BRIDGE.
SO, CLEARLY, I'M NOT
YET AN ENGINEER.
BUT I THINK IT'S TIME TO
INVESTIGATE A LITTLE FURTHER.
SO, PHIL FROM
SCIENCE MAX HAD AN IDEA
THAT PERHAPS WE COULD USE IN THE
CREATION OF OUR BRIDGES.
LET'S SEE WHAT HE SAYS.
A clip plays.
(enchanted, playful music plays)
In off, Phil says THE WIZARD ACADEMY.
ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS
DEMONSTRATE TRUE MAGIC
AND YOU'LL BE GRANTED ENTRY.
A wizard and his assistant sit in room with torches. They both have long beards. The wizard wears a gray robe and the assistant wears a brown one.
The Wizard says SEND IN THE NEXT APPLICANT!
Overwhelmo says OKAY. DON'T LET THEM SEE YOU,
DON'T LET THEM SEE YOU. OKAY.
MAGIC SMOKE AND HERE WE GO,
BIG ENTRANCE!
BEHOLD IT IS I, OVERWHELMO!
The Wizard says YOU AGAIN?
Overwhelmo says I ONLY HAVE TO
DEMONSTRATE MAGIC ONE TIME
AND YOU HAVE TO LET ME IN
TO THE WIZARD ACADEMY,
AND LAST...
LAST TIME DOES NOT COUNT.
SO, PREPARE FOR YOUR
MIND TO BE BOGGLED
AND YOUR EYES TO ALSO BE BOGGLED
BECAUSE I SHALL DO A TRICK!
I WILL JUST GET TO IT.
HERE IS A BOOK!
BEHOLD!
AND NOW, FEAST YOUR
STUPEFACTION, AS I PRODUCE...
ANOTHER BOOK! HA-HA!
AND THEN, TWO OR THREE
MORE TIMES, BEHOLD, AS I PUT...
AS I-- THAT'S GOOD. BEHOLD!
AND NOW, LOOK
UPON THE WONDERMENT,
AS I STACK THESE BOOKS ON TOP OF
EACH OTHER LIKE THIS.
AND NOW, FEAST MORE
STUPEFACTION,
AS I-I CLEVERLY MOVE THE BOOKS
OFF THE TABLE.
AND NOW,
NOW COMES THE MAGIC PART.
NOW, I SAY THE MAGIC WORD.
THE MAGIC WORD!
AND BEHOLD,
THE BOOK IS LEVITATING!
IT IS COMPLETELY OFF THE TABLE.
He places five books in a cascade structure.
He says I HAVE DONE IT! MAGIC!
The Wizard says NO.
Overwhelmo says NO?
The Wizard says NOT MAGIC, THAT'S SCIENCE.
Overwhelmo says BUT THE BOOK IF LEVITATING.
The Wizard says NO.
Overwhelmo says LOOK, IT'S NOT EVEN
TOUCHING THE TABLE.
The Wizard says NO, IT'S BEING SUPPORTED
BY THE BOOKS BELOW
BECAUSE OF THE CENTRE OF MASS.
Overwhelmo says PREPOSTEROUS.
The Wizard says I'M AFRAID IT'S VERY POSTEROUS.
EACH BOOK IS BALANCED
ON THE ONE BELOW IN A WAY
THAT THE CENTRE OF MASS
IS BEHIND THE EDGE
OF THE BOOK BELOW.
AND THE ENTIRE STACK'S
CENTRE OF MASS
IS BEHIND THE EDGE OF THE TABLE.
SO, IT MAY LOOK LIKE MAGIC,
BUT IT'S SCIENCE.
Overwhelmo says SO...
I CAN'T GET
INTO THE WIZARD ACADEMY?
The Wizard says NO, I'M AFRAID NOT.
Overwhelmo says I-- GOOD-- ALAKAZAM!
YOU WILL RUE THE DAY
THAT OVERWHELMO DID NOT...
I WILL RETURN AND T
THEN YOU WILL SEE...
He takes the books and they fall on his hand.
Overwhelmo says OH! OUCH.
The clip ends.
Cameron says THAT'S MAKING A LOT OF SENSE.
BALANCE IS IMPORTANT
TO THE BRIDGE.
WE HAVE TO
INCORPORATE SOME BALANCE
TO MAKE THIS
A LITTLE BIT BETTER.
SO, EVERYTHING WE TRY AGAIN,
IT'S CALLED AN ITERATION.
IT'S WHEN WE TRY THINGS
AGAIN AND AGAIN,
AND WE LEARN
FROM THOSE MISTAKES,
AND WE KEEP IMPROVING
ON OUR PRODUCT.
SO, THE PRODUCT I HAVE
RIGHT NOW, PRETTY BASIC.
IT'S A PIECE OF PAPER.
SO, LET'S TAKE A SECOND
TO THINK ABOUT WHY
WE HAVE BRIDGES, THOUGH.
WHAT'S THE PURPOSE OF A BRIDGE?
THAT'S RIGHT. IT'S TO MOVE
PEOPLE SAFELY ACROSS THE SPACE.
MY APPROACH TODAY
IS TO GET THESE LEGO PEOPLE
ALL ON THE BRIDGE,
SO THEY CAN HAVE A PARTY
RIGHT THERE ON THE BRIDGE
AND IT DOESN'T COLLAPSE.
SO, WHAT DO BRIDGES HAVE
TO FIGHT WITH, THOUGH,
TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN?
HOW DO THEY...
WHAT DO THEY HAVE TO COMBAT
TO BRING PEOPLE
SAFELY ACROSS A SPACE?
WELL, THEY NEED TO FIGHT
AGAINST GRAVITY.
GRAVITY IS CONSTANTLY
PULLING ON THE BRIDGE.
SO, WE KNOW THAT,
EVEN AS WE WATCH THIS BRIDGE,
I CAN ALREADY SEE THAT IT'S
GOING A LITTLE BIT LOWER.
GRAVITY IS PULLING
ON THIS BRIDGE.
THEY ALSO HAVE TO DEAL
WITH THE WEIGHT,
THE WEIGHT OF PEOPLE, OF CARS.
AS IT GOES ON, THAT
PUSHES DOWN ON THE BRIDGE.
SO, WE'VE GOT GRAVITY PULLING,
WE'VE GOT PEOPLE PUSHING DOWN,
AND THESE ARE BOTH FORCES
ACTING ON MY BRIDGE.
THERE'S ALSO BRIDGES NEED
TO BE ABLE TO STAND UP
TO NATURAL DISASTERS.
WIND STORMS, HURRICANES,
ALL THOSE SORTS OF THINGS
ARE OTHER THINGS THAT ENGINEERS
NEED TO KEEP IN MIND
WHEN THEY'RE BUILDING BRIDGES.
SO, WE KNOW THAT BRIDGES
NEED TO BE STRONG.
LET'S SEE IF WE CAN MAKE
THIS BRIDGE A LITTLE STRONGER.
I'M THINKING IF, MAYBE,
I JUST FOLD ALONG HERE,
IT MIGHT JUST BALANCE
A LITTLE BIT... BETTER.
SO, TWO FOLDS,
LET'S SEE RIGHT THERE.
TWO FOLDS, QUITE EVEN,
SAME DISTANCE ACROSS.
NOW, WE'VE GOT BRIDGES...
IT'S ALSO A LITTLE SAFER,
THERE'S PEOPLE
AREN'T GONNA FALL OFF.
LET'S SEE HOW MANY
PEOPLE CAN FIT.
I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'LL BE ABLE
TO SEE THEM OVER TOP,
BUT THERE'S ONE.
OH, THAT'S NO GOOD. TWO.
THREE. FOUR.
HEY, THIS IS ALREADY
A MUCH BETTER BRIDGE.
FIVE. SIX.
OH, THEY'RE
FALLING OVER NOW.
SEVEN. EIGHT. NINE.
TEN. HEY, THIS IS GOOD.
GOOD THING I BROUGHT EXTRAS.
11, 12, 13, 14,
15, 16, 17,
18, 19, 20,
21, 22, 23, 24.
AND THAT'S IT!
24! THAT'S AMAZING!
THAT IS A MUCH STRONGER BRIDGE.
I AM INCREDIBLY IMPRESSED.
BUT THIS POOR GIRL, SHE NEVER
MADE IT ON THE BRIDGE,
SO IT'S NOT PERFECT.
IT WORKED A LITTLE BIT BETTER,
BUT THERE MUST BE A BETTER WAY.
LET'S HEAD BACK
TO OUR EXPERT PHIL
AND SEE IF WE CAN
LEARN FROM HIM.
A clip plays.
Phil is in her twenties, clean-shaven and with short dark blond hair. He wears glasses, a green jacket, a salmon shirt and jeans.
Phil says OH, HEY, HOW YOU DOIN'?
LET ME GUESS, YOU WANNA
BUILD A STRONG STRUCTURE,
SOMETHING THAT'LL
STAND THE TEST OF TIME.
WELL, YOU KNOW, YOU GOTTA USE
THE RIGHT KIND OF SHAPES.
A wooden square stands on the floor.
He says LOOK AT THIS, A SQUARE.
NOW, SQUARES HAVE
GOTTA BE STRONG, RIGHT?
WELL, MAYBE.
MAYBE IF YOU PRESS
STRAIGHT DOWN ON IT.
BUT WATCH AS I PUSH TO THE SIDE.
OH, NO!
The squared bends completely.
He continues THE THING THAT I HAVE
BUILT IS NOW COLLAPSING
BECAUSE SQUARES AREN'T,
IN FACT, STRONG AFTER ALL.
IF ONLY I HAD LISTENED
TO SAL'S SAGE ADVICE.
YEAH, SQUARES
AREN'T GONNA CUT IT.
FORTUNATELY, THERE'S A SHAPE
THAT'S STRONG
IN ALL KINDS OF WAYS -
A TRIANGLE!
OKAY, SO YOU HEARD OF
TRIANGLES BEFORE,
GOOD FOR YOU.
BUT LOOK AT THIS.
YOU CAN PUSH DOWN FROM THE TOP
AND IT DOESN'T MOVE.
OR YOU CAN PUSH FROM THE SIDE
AND IT DOESN'T MOVE.
TRIANGLES ARE AWFULLY POINTY.
HOW DO I BUILD WITH THEM?
OBSERVE! HA-HA!
TRIANGLE HERE, TRIANGLE THERE,
PLATFORM ON TOP.
AND WATCH.
NO MATTER HOW I TRY TO SHIFT IT,
IT STAYS SOLID.
AND CHECK THIS OUT!
TRIANGLE HERE,
SECOND TRIANGLE THERE,
AND A THIRD TRIANGLE SHAPE HERE.
THAT'S LIKE THREE TRIANGLES
FOR THE PRICE OF TWO.
HUH? THAT'S A GOOD DEAL.
SO THERE YOU HAVE IT , THE
TRIANGLE -
ONE OF THE GREATEST
SHAPES TO BUILD WITH.
The clip ends.
Cameron says SO, TRIANGLES,
TRIANGLES ARE THE KEY
TO STRENGTH OF A BRIDGE, AND YOU
KNOW, I'VE SEEN THAT JUST TODAY.
CHECK OUT THIS CARDBOARD
MONSTER MY DAUGHTER CREATED.
I WASN'T SURE SHE WAS GOING
TO USE THIS CARDBOARD.
I WAS JUST GOING TO SHOW
YOU PLAIN CARDBOARD.
BUT LUCKY FOR US, SHE'S TURNED
IT INTO A BEAUTIFUL MONSTER.
BUT WHEN WE LOOK AT CARDBOARD,
IF YOU LOOK CLOSELY
ALONG THE SIDES,
WE CAN SEE TRIANGLES, TONS
AND TONS OF LITTLE TRIANGLES.
SO, THAT'S WHAT GIVES
CARDBOARD ITS STRENGTH.
IT ALMOST MAKES ME
THINK THAT MAYBE
WE SHOULD HAVE BEEN USING
CARDBOARD FOR OUR BRIDGE.
BUT NO, WE CHOSE PAPER AND
WE'RE GOING TO STICK WITH IT.
SO, HOW DO WE INCORPORATE
THE CONCEPT OF TRIANGLES
INTO THIS BRIDGE?
WELL, CAN YOU THINK OF ANY WAYS
TO HARNESS THE POWER
OF A TRIANGLE?
HMM. LET'S ITERATE.
WE'RE GOING TO TRY AGAIN.
REMEMBER, WE LEARN
FROM OUR MISTAKES,
SO EVERY TIME WE TRY ONE
AND IT DOESN'T WORK PERFECTLY,
IT'S HELPING US TOWARDS
A SOLUTION THAT DOES WORK.
SO, I'M THINKING, IF I DO THIS
AND FOLD IT ONE MORE TIME...
I'VE NOW MADE A TRIANGLE.
BUT IT'S NOT GOING
TO WORK AS A BRIDGE
BECAUSE NO ONE CAN STAND ON IT.
SO, IF I FOLD IT BACKWARDS...
I'VE NOW GOT TRIANGLES.
HEY, ALL RIGHT.
AND I'M GONNA TAKE THIS BRIDGE
AND WE'RE GONNA SEE HOW
MANY PEOPLE IT CAN FIT.
I'M GONNA TURN THE SHORT SIDE
TO YOU, SO YOU CAN SEE,
HOPEFULLY, A COUPLE OF THESE
LEGO PEOPLE ON THERE.
NOPE. ONE.
OH, THERE'S HER LITTLE HEAD.
TWO. OH, LET'S KEEP IT ON.
THREE, FOUR.
ALL RIGHT, THIS IS GOOD.
FIVE.
SIX, SEVEN, EIGHT, NINE.
LOOK, EVEN THOUGH
THIS SIDE FALLS DOWN,
IT'S STILL STRONG
ENOUGH TO HOLD 10, 11, 12... ..13, 14, 15, 16, 17.
I THREW A DOG ON THERE.
I DON'T KNOW IF THAT COUNTS.
IT COULD.
18, 19, 20...
ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR...
25! THEY'RE ALL THERE.
WE DID IT!
WE HAVE CREATED THE BRIDGE.
IT IS INCREDIBLE.
ALL OF OUR FRIENDS ARE NOW
HAVING A PARTY ON THEIR BRIDGE,
SO THIS HAS HAPPEN.
THE KEY - TRIANGLES.
SO... IS THAT THE
ONLY WAY TO MAKE A BRIDGE?
I DON'T KNOW.
IT WAS A GREAT BRIDGE.
IT WAS DEFINITELY
A GREAT BRIDGE.
IT HELD UP THE WEIGHT OF
ALL OF OUR CHARACTERS.
IT FOUGHT AGAINST THE PULL
OF GRAVITY. TRULY INCREDIBLE.
BUT IN OUR PICTURES, I SAW OTHER
TYPES OF BRIDGES AS WELL.
I WONDER IF PHIL KNOWS ANYTHING
ABOUT THAT. LET'S CHECK.
A clip plays.
In a lab, Phil prepares coffee.
Phil says OH HELLO, SCIENCE MAXIMITES.
WE GOT A LOT OF WORK TODAY,
SO I WAS JUST GETTING PREPARED.
YOU KNOW, TAKING SOMETHING
FLIMSY AND MAKING IT STRONG,
THAT'S WHAT SCIENTISTS AND
ENGINEERS DO EVERY DAY.
AND IT'S ALSO PRETTY FUN.
YOU TAKE SOMETHING
THAT'S NOT THAT STRONG,
AND, BY THE WAY YOU BUILD IT
OR PUT IT TOGETHER
OR CHANGE ITS SHAPE,
IT SUDDENLY BECOMES A LOT
STRONGER THAN YOU THINK IT WAS.
SO I THOUGHT, THAT'S
WHAT WE SHOULD DO TODAY
ON
SCIENCE MAX:
EXPERIMENTS AT LARGE.
WE SHOULD BUILD SOMETHING.
SO, WE'RE GONNA
BUILD AN ARCH BRIDGE
AND WE'RE GONNA BUILD IT
OUT OF SUGAR CUBES.
(laughing)
SO, HERE IS WHAT YOU NEED.
YOU NEED SOME SUGAR CUBES,
YOU NEED SOME SAND PAPER,
AND YOU NEED
SOME MODELLING CLAY.
SO, FIRST, YOU WANT TO
MAKE SOME ABUTMENTS
OUT OF YOUR MODELLING CLAY.
WHAT IS AN ABUTMENT, YOU ASK?
He shows a small two-piece structure.
He continues IT IS THIS.
THEY DISTRIBUTE
THE FORCE LATERALLY
FROM ONE SIDE OR THE OTHER.
I LIKE TO USE THIS.
THIS IS HALF A
ROLL OF DUCT TAPE.
SO, IT FITS IN JUST LIKE THAT,
AND YOU SEE,
IT'S A PERFECT ARCH.
IF YOU JUST TAKE SUGAR CUBES
AND YOU TRY TO STACK
THEM INTO AN ARCH,
IT'S NOT GOING TO WORK
BECAUSE THE SUGAR CUBES
MAY NOT EVEN FIT ALL TOGETHER
AND YOU CAN SEE ONLY THE BOTTOMS
ARE TOUCHING.
I TAKE UP THE GUIDE
AND IT ALL FALLS APART.
SO, HERE'S WHAT YOU DO.
YOU TAKE YOUR SANDPAPER
AND YOU CHANGE THE
SQUARES INTO TRAPEZOIDS,
AND YOU START SANDING DOWN YOUR
SUGAR CUBES INTO TRAPEZOIDS.
BASICALLY,
YOU WANT ONE SMALL SIDE,
AND ONE LONG SIDE.
THIN AT THE TOP,
WIDE AT THE BOTTOM,
OR WIDE AT THE TOP,
THIN AT THE BOTTOM.
IT'S A TRAPEZOID, NO MATTER
WHICH WAY YOU HOLD IT.
PUT IT ON THE BRIDGE AND SEE.
AND AS YOU GO, YOU WILL SEE,
IF YOU'RE DOING IT RIGHT,
THERE'LL BE NO GAPS.
A caption reads "tvokids.com/sciencemax."
He continues IF YOU GO TO THE
SCIENCE MAX WEBSITE,
THERE WILL BE A GUIDE
THAT YOU CAN USE
TO HELP YOU MAKE THE
SUGAR CUBE BRIDGE,
SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO SPEND AS
LONG AS I DID MAKING THIS ONE.
AND THEN, THE MOST IMPORTANT
PART IS THE KEYSTONE.
THAT'S THE ONE THAT
FITS IN RIGHT AT THE TOP,
JUST LIKE THAT.
AND WHEN IT DOES,
YOU CAN TAKE AWAY THE GUIDE,
AND IT STAYS UP.
ISN'T THAT COOL?
IT STAYS UP WITHOUT ANY GLUE,
WITHOUT ANY MORTAR,
ALL BASED ON THE SHAPE
OF THESE SUGAR CUBES.
THE COOL THING IS, IT'LL HOLD
THE WEIGHT OF A WHOLE CAR!
(horn honking)
PROVIDED YOU HAVE A
VERY, VERY SMALL CAR.
He places a toy car on top of the sugar bridge.
He continues THE REASON
WHY IT WORKS IS BECAUSE
THE WEIGHT IS
DISTRIBUTED ALONG THE ARCH
INTO THE ABUTMENTS
AND DOWN INTO THE GROUND.
THAT'S WHAT MAKES
AN ARCH BRIDGE SO STRONG.
The clip ends.
Cameron says WELL, THAT WAS AMAZING.
I LOVE THE LOOK
OF THOSE BRIDGES.
BUT UNFORTUNATELY,
I'M FRESH OUT OF SUGAR CUBES.
SO, LET'S SEE WHAT WE
CAN JUST DO WITH PAPER.
I REALLY, REALLY WANT TO MAKE
ONE OF THOSE BRIDGES.
SO, I'VE GOT
TWO SHEETS OF PAPER HERE
AND LET'S TRY
AND MAKE OUR ARCHWAY.
SO, NICE AND SIMPLE.
MAKE SURE IT
GETS TUCKED IN NICELY
BETWEEN THESE VERY,
VERY COOL HARRY POTTER BOOKS.
MY DAUGHTER IS
OBSESSED LATELY.
AND THEN, WE'RE GONNA TAKE A
SECOND PIECE OF PAPER BECAUSE,
WHILE THIS MAY
HAVE SOME STRENGTH
AND IT'S GETTING SOME BALANCE
FROM BEING PUSHED
UP AGAINST THE BOOKS,
NO ONE CAN BALANCE ON THAT.
SO, LET'S TRY A
SECOND PIECE OF PAPER
THAT GOES RIGHT ACROSS
THE TOP NEATLY.
AND LET'S SEE IF WE CAN GET SOME
CHARACTER TO BALANCE ON HERE.
ONE. WELL, NOBODY STANDS UP.
THEY BARELY STAND UP ON A BOOK.
IT'S ALREADY BETTER
THAN JUST A PIECE OF PAPER,
SO THAT IS SOMETHING.
FOUR, FIVE.
IT'S NOT LOOKING GOOD FOR TEN.
SIX. SIX.
The figures fall and the paper bridge collapses.
He continues HEY, YOU KNOW WHAT?
IT'S MUCH BETTER
THAN A PIECE OF PAPER
AND WE GOT TO EXPERIMENT
WITH SOMETHING NEW,
AND THAT'S THE WHOLE THING.
WHEN WE'RE AT HOME AND
WE HAVE THESE OPPORTUNITIES,
WE GET A CHANCE TO
REALLY JUST EXPERIMENT,
TO TRY, TO PLAY, TO JUST
FIGURE OUT THINGS ON OUR OWN.
SO, I ENCOURAGE YOU, THIS WEEK,
TO GO OUT AND SEE WHAT MATERIALS
CAN YOU FIND TO BUILD A BRIDGE.
THINK ABOUT THE IDEAS OF SHAPES,
OF TRIANGLES, OF THE ARCHWAYS.
MAYBE YOU CAN
FIND STONES OUTSIDE
TO BUILD YOUR OWN ARCHWAY BRIDGE
AND SEE IF YOU CAN CREATE ONE.
THEN, FIND CHARACTERS,
COINS...
OR PAPER CLIPS, WHATEVER YOU
HAVE, AS LONG AS IT'S THE SAME,
AND SEE HOW MANY CAN YOU CREATE,
HOW MANY DIFFERENT
TYPES OF BRIDGES
CAN YOU CREATE
THAT ARE ALL STRONG,
THAT ARE ALL POWERFUL.
REMEMBER, WHEN WE'RE USING
RECYCLABLES, PLEASE CLEAN THEM.
BUT IT'S A GREAT WAY TO REUSE.
EARTH DAY, EARTH WEEK, THINK
ABOUT THOSE KIND OF THINGS,
AS WE'RE CREATING THINGS
OUT OF PRE-USED MATERIALS.
IT'S SO AWESOME.
SO, WHAT SHAPES CAN YOU USE
TO CREATE THE STRONGEST
BRIDGE POSSIBLE?
CAN YOU FIND SOMETHING
BETTER THAN A TRIANGLE?
HEY, MAYBE YOU'LL
DISCOVER SOMETHING NEW
THAT NO ONE'S EVER SEEN BEFORE.
YOU NEVER KNOW.
YOU COULD BUILD IT OUT OF LEGO.
YOU COULD BUILD IT OUT OF
ANYTHING YOU CAN THINK OF.
THAT'S WHAT'S SO COOL.
SO, GO OUT, EXPLORE,
CREATE SOME BRIDGES,
TEST THEM OUT.
CAN YOU MAKE IT STRONG?
AND IF YOU'RE
LOOKING TO GET ONLINE,
TVO HAS A GAME WITH PHIL
AND
SCIENCE MAX
WHERE YOU GET TO TEST OUT
BUILDING YOUR OWN
BRIDGE AS WELL.
ANOTHER IDEA JUST CAME TO ME.
YOU MAYBE WANT TO USE
MARSHMALLOWS
AND A LITTLE BIT OF SPAGHETTI.
CRAZY BUT JUST MIGHT WORK.
SO, CHECK OUT THIS GAME, TRY IT
OUT IF YOU GET TIME THIS WEEK,
AND I WANT TO THANK YOU
FOR PARTICIPATING IN OUR
SCIENCE EXPERIMENT TODAY.
REALLY APPRECIATE IT.
A clip plays.
Olympia and Otis wear blue Odd Squad uniforms. She has red hair and wears red-framed glasses. Otis has blond hair.
Olympia says MY NAME IS AGENT OLYMPIA.
THIS IS MY PARTNER, AGENT OTIS.
THIS ISN'T EITHER OF US.
The picture of a boy appears.
She continues BUT BACK TO OTIS AND ME.
WE WORK FOR AN
ORGANISATION RUN BY KIDS
THAT INVESTIGATES
ANYTHING STRANGE,
WEIRD AND ESPECIALLY ODD.
OUR JOB IS TO PUT
THINGS RIGHT AGAIN.
Miss O says HURRY, OLYMPIA!
Flying, Olympia says I'M COMING, MISS O!
WHO DO WE WORK FOR?
WE WORK FOR ODD SQUAD.
Fast clips show the agents' adventures.
The title of the episode reads "And then they were puppies."
A woman with brown hair and Jerry sit on a bench.
The woman with brown hair says THANKS FOR COMING, ODD SQUAD.
Otis says WHAT SEEMS TO BE THE PROBLEM?
The woman with brown hair says JERRY AND I WERE OUT HERE
TRYING TO ENJOY OUR LUNCH,
WHEN THOSE GUYS SHOWED UP.
(cackling)
Olympia says OH, THOSE ARE EVIL
VERSIONS OF YOURSELVES.
The woman with brown hair says EXCUSE ME?
Otis says YEAH, THERE'S AN EVIL DIMENSION.
DID EITHER OF YOU
OPEN THE PORTAL?
The woman with brown hair says WHAT?
(chuckling)
NO!
Ashamed, Jerry raises his hand.
The woman with brown hair says JERRY!
Olympia says IT'S OKAY.
ALL WE HAVE TO DO IS GET THEM
BACK THROUGH THE PORTAL.
The woman with brown hair says OH, THAT'S EASY.
JERRY, DID YOU
CLOSE THE PORTAL?
JERRY,
ARE YOU KIDDING ME? OH, GREAT.
WHAT DO WE DO NOW?
Olympia says WELL, THEY'RE HERE FOREVER.
The woman with brown hair says WHAT?!
Olympia says SO EITHER YOU CAN JOIN THEM
AND BE EVIL
OR BRING THEM OVER TO YOUR SIDE.
The woman with brown hair says OH, WELL, I MEAN, OBVIOUSLY,
WE WILL BRING THEM
OVER TO OUR SIDE.
RIGHT, J...
Jerry joins the evil versions of themselves.
They say JERRY!
Now, Olympia and Otis walk into their operations center.
Olympia says SO, YOU DON'T NEED AN
ALARM CLOCK TO WAKE UP?
Otis says NOPE, I JUST DECIDE WHEN
TO WAKE UP AND DO IT.
I MEAN, SOMETIMES I HAVE TO
HIT THE SNOOZE BUTTON.
Olympia says PARTNER...
DOES THE SQUAD
LOOK FURRIER TODAY?
The agents are now puppies.
Miss O says THERE YOU TWO ARE.
SOMETHING VERY ODD HAS HAPPENED.
Olympia says MISS O?
Miss O says THE PUPPY MASTER IS HERE.
Otis says DID YOU SAY PUPPET MASTER
OR PUPPY MASTER?
(growling)
Miss O says ARE YOU REALLY ASKING THAT?
THE PUPPY MASTER!
GET OUT BEFORE
SHE ZAPS YOU, TOO!
Puppy Master wears a red hat with a golden band.
Puppy Master says TOO LATE!
WHO'S A CUTE LITTLE
DOGGIE... YOU ARE!
Puppy Master turns Olympia and Otis into puppies.
Otis says I'M FURRY!
Olympia says THERE ARE
SO MANY SMELLS!
Puppy Master says NOW, WITH ODD SQUAD
OUT OF THE WAY,
I SHALL RETURN TO MY SECRET LAIR
AND ZAP THE REST OF THE WORLD
WITH MY GIANT PUPPY RAY!
Miss O says STOP HER NOW!
Doctor O says I'M A DOCTOR, NOT A RETRIEVER.
ACTUALLY,
I THINK I AM A RETRIEVER.
Olympia says COME BACK HERE!
Onna says OONA TO THE RESCUE!
Olympia says EVERYBODY, FOLLOW ME!
WHOA, THESE LEGS ARE TINY!
O'Malley says SHOW'S OVER, PUPPY MASTER.
YOU'RE NOT GETTING THROUGH ME.
OH, I GUESS YOU ARE.
Puppy Master disappears through a system of interconnected tubes.
(barking)
Miss O says WHAT DO WE DO NOW?
O'Malley says TAKE PICTURES OF OURSELVES AND
MAKE A REALLY CUTE CALENDAR?
Miss O says I MEAN,
TO CATCH THE PUPPY MASTER?
Male Agent 2 says WRESTLING THAT'S FUN!
Oscar says THERE IS ONE AGENT
WHO IS STILL OUTSIDE.
Miss O says WHO IS IT? WHOA!
Oscar says YOU'RE NOT GOING
TO LIKE THE ANSWER.
AGENT OHLM.
Ohlm buys an ice cream in a park but it drops.
Ohlm says OH, MAN.
An Ice Cream Man says I THINK THAT'S YOUR BADGE PHONE.
Ohlm says THIS THING IS A PHONE?
CAN YOU HOLD THAT?
The Ice Cream Man says SURE.
Ohlm says THANKS.
HELLO.
Miss O says OHLM, IT'S MISS O.
THE PUPPY MASTER
TURNED US ALL INTO PUPPIES.
WE NEED YOU TO GET THAT GADGET.
Otis says STOP JUMPING ON ME.
Miss O says HELP US, OR WE'LL
BE PUPPIES FOREVER.
Ohlm says WELL, YOU WON'T BE
PUPPIES FOREVER.
Miss O says WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?
Ohlm says I MEAN, EVENTUALLY YOU'LL
GROW UP TO BE DOGS, RIGHT?
Miss O says OH, DON'T ARGUE WITH ME!
ACCESS YOUR WATCH.
IT HAS A MAP TO THE PUPPY
MASTER'S EVIL LAIR.
Ohlm says I DON'T THINK MINE WORKS.
HOLD ON.
MAYBE IF I TAP IT.
WHOOPS.
I BROKE IT.
An agent says ARE WE SURE THERE'S
NO ONE ELSE OUTSIDE?
Miss O says OHLM, DON'T MOVE.
WE'LL FIGURE OUT
A ROUTE FROM HERE.
O'MALLEY, BRING ME
A MAP OF THE TOWN.
O'Malley says DO YOU NOT SEE HOW
HIGH THIS CHAIR IS?
Miss O says OKAY, DR. O?
Doctor O says ON IT.
Miss O says O'MALLEY!
O'Malley says YES, MA'AM?
Miss O says I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT
THE MORE SCARED YOU GET,
THE CUTER YOU ARE.
O'Malley says THANK YOU, MA'AM.
The puppy agents look at a map.
Miss O says OKAY. WE HAVE THE MAP.
NOW WE JUST NEED TO FIGURE
OUT WHERE YOU ARE ON IT.
WHAT DO YOU SEE AROUND YOU?
Ohlm says I'M IN A PARK.
Miss O says OKAY. THERE ARE A BUNCH
OF PARKS IN TOWN. WHICH ONE?
Otis says OH, BOY.
Miss O says OHLM, I NEED YOU TO
LOOK FOR A LANDMARK.
IT'S SOMETHING EASY TO SPOT
THAT MOST PEOPLE RECOGNISE
AND DOESN'T MOVE.
Ohlm says I SEE A STATUE OF A SOLDIER.
THERE'S ONLY ONE PARK
Otis says WITH A STATUE IN IT -
SOLDIER PARK, HERE.
Olympia says WE'VE FOUND HIM.
MY LITTLE DOG HEART!
Miss O says AND THE PUPPY MASTER'S
EVIL LAIR IS... HERE.
SO WE NEED TO FIND A ROUTE,
A PATH HE CAN TAKE
TO GET OHLM THERE.
Olympia says YEAH, YEAH, YEAH.
Miss O says HE COULD GO THIS WAY.
BOOP, BOOP, BOOP, BOOP,
BOOP, BOOP, BOOP, BING.
Otis says NICE ONE, PARTNER. PAWFIVE!
Miss O says OHLM, YOU ARE GOING TO WALK ON
A PATH TOWARDS A STONE PILLAR.
Ohlm says A WHAT?
Miss O says IT LOOKS LIKE A
BIG STONE RECTANGLE.
TAKE A RIGHT THERE
AND KEEP GOING STRAIGHT.
THAT WILL LEAD YOU
RIGHT TO HER LAIR.
Ohlm says COPY THAT.
HERE'S YOUR PHONE BACK.
The Ice Cream Man says THAT'S YOUR PHONE.
Ohlm says OH, YEAH.
Miss O says LISTEN UP, I KNOW WE ARE FURRIER
AND DROOLIER THAN USUAL.
BUT UNDERNEATH THESE COLLARS,
WE ARE STILL ODD SQUAD AGENTS.
AND I NEED ALL OF YOU TO STAY
FOCUSED AND PROFESSIONAL.
Doctor O says HEY, GUYS, I'VE FOUND A SLIPPER!
An agent says SLIPPER!
Miss O says GIVE ME THAT THING. WHOA!
Ohlm says MISS O, IT'S ME, OHLM.
EVERYTHING'S GOOD, BUT I'M JUST
NOT SURE WHAT BOAT TO GET ON.
Miss O says BOATS?
THERE SHOULDN'T BE ANY BOATS.
Otis says HE MUST BE WAY OVER
HERE BY THE WATER.
BUT WHERE ON THE WATER?
THERE'S BOATS HERE, HERE
AND ALL THE WAY UP HERE.
Miss O says OHLM, I NEED YOU TO LOOK
FOR ANOTHER LANDMARK.
Ohlm says I SEE A...
A GIANT STONE BALL THINGY.
Miss O says THAT STATUE IS HERE.
THAT'S WHERE OHLM MUST BE.
Olympia says HOW DID HE GET ALL
THE WAY OVER THERE?
Otis says UGH. HE MUST HAVE
TAKEN A WRONG TURN.
Olympia says OHLM, IT'S OLYMPIA.
I'M STILL A DOG.
DID YOU TAKE A
RIGHT AT THE PILLAR?
Ohlm says I DON'T KNOW MY LEFT FROM RIGHT.
Otis says OHLM...
Ohlm says DON'T WORRY.
THERE'S A BOAT LEAVING NOW.
I'LL JUST GET ON.
Miss O says DO NOT GET ON A BOAT.
Otis says SO, HE'S BY THE WATER,
BUT HE HAS TO GET ACROSS TOWN
TO THE PUPPY MASTER'S LAIR.
Miss O says PERFECT.
OHLM, WALK AWAY FROM THE WATER,
GO BACK THE WAY YOU CAME,
KEEP GOING PAST THE PILLAR,
AND YOU'LL REACH THE LAIR.
Otis says GOOD JOB, MISS O.
Olympia says ALL RIGHT!
Ohlm says I UNDERSTAND.
Miss O says OHLM, TELL ME YOU
DID NOT GET ON A BOAT.
Ohlm gets into the boat.
Ohlm says IT LOOKED LIKE SO MUCH FUN.
(horn honking)
THERE'S A HORN ON HERE.
Miss O says ARGH! I NEED A JUICE.
A Female Agent says HERE, MISS O,
I'LL TEST IT FOR YOU.
Miss O says DON'T DRINK MY JUICE!
The Female Agent says OH, OKAY,
YOU CAN HAVE IT BACK.
She licks Miss O.
Miss O says EWW, GROSS!
Back in the park, Ohlm says GREAT NEWS, MISS O.
I MET A PIGEON
AND NAMED HIM ALAN.
Miss O says DID YOU FIND THE PUPPY MASTER?
Ohlm says NO, BUT I FIGURED OUT WHY
I DIDN'T TURN THE
CORRECT WAY AT THE PILLAR.
IT'S BLOCKED.
Miss O says OKAY.
WE'LL FIND YOU ANOTHER ROUTE.
(growling)
Ohlm says HELLO?
Miss O says OTIS, DROP THAT PHONE!
Otis says I CAN'T HELP IT! I'M TEETHING!
(static hissing, dial tone sounding)
Ohlm says THEY HUNG UP.
Miss O says UGH!
WE'VE LOST CONTACT WITH OHLM!
Olympia says NO, NO, NO, NO!
THIS IS BAD!
A Male Agent says IS ANYONE ELSE
SLEEPY ALL THE TIME?
Ohlm says OH, I GET IT.
MISS O WANTS ME TO
FIGURE THIS OUT ON MY OWN.
SIRE, ME'EM,
I NEED TO COMMANDEER THAT MEP.
The Woman says YOU MEAN "MAP"?
Ohlm says CAN YOU HOLD
THIS UP FOR ME, PLEASE?
He points to the map and says SO, I AM HERE,
BY THIS LANDMARK -
THE PILLAR.
AND I NEED TO GET...
HERE TO THE
PUPPY MASTER'S LAIR.
SO, IF I GO UP HERE...
UP TO THE LIBRARY
AND TURN THERE,
THAT'LL LEAD ME...
STRAIGHT THERE.
THANKS FOR YOUR HELP.
OH, NICE TO MEET YOU, ALAN.
Alan says YOU TOO, OHLM!
The Woman says DID YOU JUST TALK?
Alan says AND I CAN SING.
As Ohlm gets to the Puppy Master's liar, Alan sings AGENT OHLM, AGENT OHLM
O, HEAR MY PIGEON SONG
O, HEAR MY
PIGEON SONG
(cooing)
HIS QUEST BEGUN,
HE SPIED A BRANCH
WITH ONE MIGHTY LEAP,
HE REACHED IT
OR WAS IT TWO?
IT COULD HAVE BEEN THREE
I THINK THOSE LEAPS
WERE ALL JUST WARMUPS
AGENT OHLM, AGENT OHLM
O, HEAR MY
PIGEON SONG
AND THEN BEHOLD,
HE ATE SOME SALAD
TO GET ENERGY
FOR HIS JOURNEY
PERHAPS A NAP?
NO, THERE'S NO TIME
JUST A SHORT NAP?
NO, MUST KEEP MOVING
AND NOW HE'S STOPPED
TO TIE HIS SHOE
A HERO AVOIDS
PREVENTABLE HAZARDS
THE BUNNY
GOES AROUND THE TREE
HE HOPS IN THE HOLE
AND THEN
NO, FIRST THE
TREES AND YOU'VE-- THE BUNNY...
WHY IS THE BUNNY
HOPPING OUT OF THE HOLE?
YOU PUT AN EXTRA STEP
IN THERE SOMEWHERE
AGENT OHLM, AGENT OHLM
O, HEAR MY PIGEON SONG
O, HEAR
MY PIGEON SONG!
Ohlm yells I MADE IT!
(thunder crashing)
OKAY...
(Puppy Master cackling)
Otis says MISS O, EVEN IF OHLM
REACHES THE PUPPY MASTER,
HOW WILL HE DEFEAT HER?
Miss O says OTIS, I'M NOT WORRIED
ABOUT THAT PART.
OHLM IS A MASTER OF
CONFUSION AND DISTRACTION.
Ohlm walks into the liar.
Puppy Master says ODD SQUAD!
YOU'LL NEVER STOP ME!
WHAT ARE YOU DOING?
WHY ARE YOU WASHING MY DISHES?
Miss O says AND HE'S COMPLETELY
UNPREDICTABLE.
Ohlm says LUNCH IS READY.
Olympia says BUT IS OHLM EVEN IN CONTROL?
DOES HE KNOW WHAT HE'S DOING?
Miss O says NO ONE KNOWS. NOT EVEN HIM.
Puppy Master says AH!
MY PUPPYRAY!
IT'S DESTROYED!
OH, YOU'VE GOT MY GADGET!
Ohlm says I DO?
I MEAN, I DO!
O'Malley says INCOMING!
(cheering)
Ohlm appears in the operations center holding the puppy ray.
Ohlm says GUYS, I DID IT! I GOT IT!
Olympia says I ALWAYS KNEW HE COULD DO IT
FROM THE BEGINNING.
Ohlm says HI, OLYMPIA.
HEY, MISS O.
Oscar says HOW DO YOU KNOW WHO WE ALL ARE?
SO WEIRD.
Ohlm says NOW I WILL COMPLETE THE MISSION
BY TURNING MYSELF INTO A PUPPY.
Otis says NO, OHLM, STOP!
Miss O says NO, NO, NO!
Turned into a puppy, Ohlm says WAS THAT NOT THE PLAN?
The Male Agent says I FEEL ANOTHER NAP COMING ON.
Miss O says OHLM, THAT WAS NOT THE PLAN.
WE'RE GOING TO BE
PUPPIES FOREVER!
Ohlm says NOT FOREVER, MISS O.
O'Malley says CUTE PUPPY CALENDAR IT IS!
Their calendar pictures flash by.
Olympia says ODD SQUAD TRAINING
VIDEO NUMBER 801.
GETTING AROUND HEADQUARTERS
HOWDY-DO, AGENTS.
I'D LIKE TO INTRODUCE YOU TO
AGENT OWEN - HEAD OF SECURITY.
Owen has red hair. He wears a blue jacket.
Owen says HI! I'M AGENT OWEN -
HEAD OF SECURITY.
Olympia says GREAT. SO, WHAT'S THE QUICKEST
WAY TO THE VIDEO GAME ROOM?
Owen says EASY. HERE'S A MAP
OF HEADQUARTERS.
He points to a screen.
Olympia says WHOA, HEADQUARTERS IS HUGE.
Owen says RIGHT NOW, WE'RE HERE.
IT'S LIKE WE'RE LOOKING
AT OURSELVES FROM ABOVE.
THE VIDEO GAME ROOM
IS ON THE NEXT FLOOR
AND THE TUBES ARE OVER HERE.
Olympia says OKAY. SEEMS SIMPLE ENOUGH.
WE JUST...
Owen says WELL, IT'S NOT BECAUSE THE TUBES
DON'T GO TO THE VIDEO GAME ROOM.
YOU HAVE TO USE THE STAIRS.
Olympia says OKAY, UM, WHERE ARE THE STAIRS?
Owen says RIGHT HERE.
Olympia says EASY. SO, I JUST WALK
A STRAIGHT LINE
FROM THE LAB TO THE STAIRS.
Owen says YUP, THAT WOULD BE THE FASTEST.
Olympia says OKAY, GREAT.
AND THAT CONCLUDES THIS...
Owen says BUT I WOULDN'T RECOMMEND IT.
Olympia says WHY?
Owen says BECAUSE IF THE BLOB IS LOOSE,
IT TOTALLY BLOCKS THAT ROUTE.
Olympia says IT'S OKAY BECAUSE I
JUST WALK THIS WAY...
AND TURN AT THE FIRE HYDRANT.
Owen says NICE. THE FIRE HYDRANT
IS A LANDMARK.
IT DOESN'T MOVE AND
IT'S EASY TO SPOT.
GOOD WAY TO FIGURE OUT
WHERE YOU ARE.
Olympia says OKAY, GREAT.
Owen says HERE'S THE THING, THOUGH,
I CALL THAT "OWEN'S HALLWAY,"
SO ONLY OWEN CAN USE IT.
Olympia says BUT THERE'S NO OTHER
WAY TO THE STAIRS.
Owen says YEAH. THAT'S HOW I GET THE
VIDEO GAME ROOM ALL TO MYSELF.
Olympia says YOU CAN'T STAY THERE.
Owen says FINE.
He leaves.
Olympia says THIS CONCLUDES
OUR TRAINING VIDEO.
Miss O sits at a desk.
She says THERE YOU ARE.
SOMETHING VERY ODD HAS HAPPENED.
YES, I'M TALKING TO YOU,
WITH THE SHOULDERS.
TAKE A LOOK AT THIS.
ODD SQUAD ARCH VILLAIN ODD TODD
HAS RELEASED A PIENADO -
A TORNADO MADE OF PIES.
GO TO TVOKIDS.COM TO
HELP US FIGHT THE PIENADO.
ODD SQUAD NEEDS YOU!
(music plays)
The end credits roll.
Logo: Sinking Ship Entertainment.
The clip ends.
Cameron says MY FRIENDS, WELCOME TO WHAT I
AM SO EXCITED ABOUT -
OUR BOOK CLUB.
OVER THE COURSE OF
THE NEXT FEW WEEKS,
WE'RE GOING TO BE READING FROM
INKLING
BY KENNETH OPPEL -
AN INCREDIBLE CANADIAN NOVEL.
SO, WHAT I WANT US TO BE
THINKING ABOUT TODAY,
BECAUSE WE CAN'T HAVE A BOOK
CLUB AND NOT DO ANY THINKING...
I KNOW SITTING BACK AND
LISTENING IS AMAZING
AND I ENCOURAGE YOU
TO DO THAT AS WELL.
BUT WHILE WE'RE DOING IT,
I WANT YOU TO THINK TO YOURSELF,
"HOW IS THE AUTHOR
HOOKING ME IN AT THE START?
"HOW IS KENNETH OPPEL
GRABBING MY ATTENTION?
"HOW IS HE KEEPING ME
FOCUSED ON THE WORDS?
"WHY DO I WANT TO KEEP READING?
"IS HE MAKING FUN WORD CHOICES?
"IS HE USING
DESCRIPTIVE LANGUAGE?
"HAS HE DEVELOPED A CHARACTER
THAT'S REALLY INTERESTING?"
IS THERE A PLOT POINT OR
SOMETHING ABOUT THE STORY
THAT YOU REALLY NEED
TO HEAR MORE ABOUT?
I WANT YOU TO THINK ABOUT
THESE SORTS OF THINGS
AS WE'RE READING,
AND THEN THINK ABOUT
HOW YOU COULD USE THAT
IN YOUR OWN WRITING.
SO, THINKING ABOUT THE HOOK.
AND WHILE WE'RE READING TODAY,
JUST SPEND SOME TIME TO ENJOY.
YOU KNOW WHAT? SOMETIMES
WE JUST NEED TO ENJOY A STORY.
SO, WITHOUT FURTHER ADO,
INKLING
BY KENNETH OPPEL
WITH ILLUSTRATIONS
BY SYDNEY SMITH.
CHAPTER ONE.
A caption reads "Harper Collins Publishers Canada."
He reads NO ONE WAS AWAKE TO SEE IT
HAPPEN, EXCEPT RICKMAN.
HE WAS TAKING ONE OF HIS
MIDNIGHT PROWLS,
PADDING PAST THE BEDROOMS
OF SLEEPING PEOPLE,
HOPING TO FIND SOMETHING
INTERESTING TO EAT.
HE WAS NEARLY ALWAYS HUNGRY.
AGAINST THE WALL HE FOUND
A DEAD FLY, A CHOCOLATE CHIP,
AND A SMALL PIECE OF RED CRAYON,
WHICH HE ALSO ATE.
HE WAS NOT A PICKY CAT.
AT THE END OF THE HALLWAY,
HE SLIPPED INTO
MR. RYLANCE'S STUDIO.
IN FRONT OF THE DRAFTING
TABLE WAS A CHAIR HE LIKED,
AND RICKMAN HEAVED HIMSELF UP.
IT TOOK TWO TRIES
BECAUSE HE WAS HEFTIER
THAN HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN.
ON THE DRAFTING TABLE,
MR. RYLANCE'S BIG
SKETCHBOOK LAY OPEN.
ANIMALS AND BUILDINGS AND
PEOPLE JOSTLED ON THE PAGES.
SOME PICTURES HAD
SCRIBBLES THROUGH THEM,
SOME WERE VERY SKETCHY,
AND OTHERS LOOKED LIKE THEY WERE
READY TO MAKE AN APPEARANCE
IN ONE OF MR. RYLANCE'S
FINISHED GRAPHIC NOVELS.
BUT THESE WERE ALL JUST IDEAS.
THEY HAD NO STORIES
TO GO WITH THEM YET.
WHEN IT HAPPENED,
IT MADE NO NOISE,
BUT RICKMAN
SAW THE WHOLE THING.
THE BLACK INK
LOOKED SUDDENLY WET,
LIKE THE PICTURES HAD
BEEN DRAWN THAT VERY SECOND.
THE LINES GLISTENED,
THEN TREMBLED.
FROM EVERY CORNER
OF THE SKETCHBOOK,
THE INK BEADED AND STARTED
SLITHERING ACROSS THE PAGES
TOWARD THE CREASE IN THE MIDDLE.
AS THE INK MOVED,
IT LEFT NO SMEAR BEHIND IT,
JUST BLANK PAGE.
THE LINES OF INK
JOINED OTHER LINES,
MELDING INTO WEIRD SHAPES,
SOMETIMES SMOOTH, SOMETIMES
POINTY, GETTING LARGER.
WHEN THEY ALL MET IN
THE CENTRE OF THE BOOK,
THEY FORMED A BIG BLACK SPLOTCH,
ABOUT THE SIZE OF A FIST.
FOR A MOMENT IT WAS MOTIONLESS,
AS IF RESTING.
NORMALLY, RICKMAN TOOK
NO INTEREST IN THE ARTS,
BUT THIS WAS DIFFERENT.
HE PUT HIS PAWS ON THE
EDGE OF THE DRAFTING TABLE
AND LEANED FORWARD
FOR A BETTER VIEW.
THE INK RIPPLED,
LIKE DARK WATER WITH SOMETHING
SWIMMING BENEATH THE SURFACE.
THEN IT WAS ON THE MOVE AGAIN,
FLOWING DOWN THE CREASE UNTIL IT
REACHED THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE.
IT THICKENED ALONG THE EDGE,
AS THOUGH IT WAS TRYING TO POUR
ITSELF OVER, BUT IT COULDN'T.
IT SEEMED TO BE STUCK.
RICKMAN'S EARS FLATTENED
AGAINST HIS SKULL.
A THIN TENDRIL OF INK
LIFTED FROM THE PAGE,
MAYBE HALF AN INCH OR SO,
LIKE A TINY ARM DESPERATE
TO ESCAPE QUICKSAND.
THEN IT GOT...
(MAKING SLURPING SOUND)...SLURPED BACK IN.
NEXT A THICKER SPIKE
OF INK ROSE UP, STRAINING,
REACHING OVER THE EDGE
OF THE SKETCHBOOK,
ONE SECOND, TWO,
BEFORE IT COLLAPSED BACK.
ALMOST A MINUTE PASSED
AND NOTHING HAPPENED.
RICKMAN YAWNED, SHOWING
HIS STILL-SHARP TEETH.
THIS WAS GETTING BORING.
ALL AT ONCE THE INK RIPPLED, AS
IF A STIFF WIND BLEW ACROSS IT,
AND THEN THE
ENTIRE SPLOTCH CONTRACTED
AND ROSE INTO A
LITTLE MOUNTAIN PEAK.
IT TREMBLED, TENSED,
AND THEN SPRANG.
ALL THE INK LIFTED
RIGHT OFF THE SKETCHBOOK,
LEAVING THE PAGES TOTALLY BLANK,
AND LANDED WITH A SMALL SPLASH
ON THE DRAFTING TABLE.
RICKMAN PURRED LOW
AND DEEP IN HIS THROAT.
THIS WAS GETTING
INTERESTING AGAIN.
THIS MIGHT BE
SOMETHING WORTH EATING.
ALREADY LITTLE STRANDS
OF THE INK SPLOTCH
WERE BEING PULLED BACK TOWARD
THE SKETCHBOOK,
AS IF IT WERE A MAGNET
OR A BLACK HOLE.
THE SPLOTCH STRUGGLED,
FIGHTING ITS WAY INCH BY INCH
ACROSS THE DRAFTING TABLE.
THE BOOK HAD A POWERFUL PULL,
DRAGGING SOME STRINGY TENDRILS
OF INK TOWARD IT.
BUT JUST WHEN THEY WERE
ABOUT TO TOUCH PAPER,
THEY RECOILED AS IF BURNED,
REJOINING THE MAIN INKY SPLOTCH.
WHEN IT FINALLY REACHED THE FAR
EDGE OF THE DRAFTING TABLE -
LEAVING NO TRACE OF INK IN ITS
WAKE - IT CAME TO A REST,
QUIVERING SLIGHTLY LIKE
SOMETHING EXHAUSTED,
BUT ALSO AMAZED,
AND MAYBE EVEN EXCITED,
BECAUSE IT STARTED DOING
SOME KIND OF DANCE.
IT SWIRLED ROUND AND ROUND,
SPINNING ITSELF INTO ALL KINDS
OF STRANGE AND BEAUTIFUL SHAPES.
LIKE IT WAS
CELEBRATING ITS FREEDOM.
RICKMAN'S PAW CAME SLAMMING
DOWN ON IT, CLAWS EXTENDED.
THE SPLOTCH WENT
SPIKY IN SURPRISE,
THEN STREAKED BETWEEN
THE CAT'S CLAWS
AND RIGHT OVER
THE EDGE OF THE TABLE.
IT SCURRIED ALONG THE UNDERSIDE,
TESTED A TABLE LEG WITH A BLACK,
INKY TONGUE, AND THEN SLID
ITSELF DOWN TO THE FLOOR.
WHILE RICKMAN SNIFFED
AT THE DRAFTING TABLE,
THE INK STARTED FLOWING
ACROSS THE FLOOR.
IT HAD NO PLAN EXCEPT TO GET
AS FAR AWAY AS POSSIBLE.
WHEN IT WAS HALFWAY TO THE DOOR,
RICKMAN TURNED AND
HIS SHARP EYES CAUGHT IT.
BUT BY THE TIME HE'D EASED
HIMSELF OFF THE CHAIR,
THE INK HAD SEEPED OUT
INTO THE HALLWAY.
THERE WAS LIGHT IN THE HALLWAY,
SO THE INK MADE ITSELF SKINNY
AND SLUNK CAUTIOUSLY
ALONG THE BASEBOARD.
ANYONE LOOKING WOULD
HAVE MISSED IT,
OR THOUGHT IT WAS JUST SHADOW.
BUT RICKMAN KNEW BETTER.
HE WAS OLD, ARTHRITIC,
AND OVERWEIGHT,
BUT HE HADN'T FORGOTTEN
HOW TO HUNT.
HE PROWLED DOWN THE HALL,
HEAD DIPPED LOW, THEN POUNCED.
THE INK MUST HAVE
SENSED HIM COMING,
BECAUSE IT SHOT STRAIGHT UP THE
WALL, FASTER THAN ANY SHADOW.
RICKMAN BANGED HIS
NOSE AGAINST THE BASEBOARD
AND LANDED CLUMSILY
ON THE FLOOR.
HIS NOSE WASN'T
THE ONLY THING THAT HURT.
NOTHING IS MORE IMPORTANT
TO A CAT THAN ITS DIGNITY,
AND HE GLARED UP
AT THE INK SPLOTCH.
THE FUR ON HIS BACK LIFTED.
WITH A HISS, HE LEAPT,
CLAWS EXTENDED.
THE SPLOTCH DARTED HIGHER,
JUST OUT OF REACH,
AND THEN SWELLED ITSELF INTO A
TERRIFYING IMITATION OF RICKMAN:
AN ENORMOUS BLACK CAT,
BACK HUMPED AND JAGGED.
ITS VAST, INKY CLAWS SHOT
DOWN THE WALL TO SWAT RICKMAN.
YOWLING, RICKMAN SOMERSAULTED
BACKWARD, THEN BOLTED.
THE INK SHRANK BACK
INTO A SMALL BLOB
AND JIGGLED A BIT
AS IF LAUGHING.
IT LEFT NO MARKS ON THE WALL
AS IT MOVED HIGHER,
ONTO THE FRAMED POSTER OF MR.
RYLANCE'S BEST-KNOWN CHARACTER,
A MUTANT SUPERHERO CALLED KREN.
BUT THE MOMENT THE SPLOTCH
TRIED TO CLIMB THE GLASS,
IT SLID RIGHT BACK
DOWN TO THE FRAME.
IT SHUFFLED ALONG
A BIT AND TRIED AGAIN,
WITH THE SAME RESULT, POURING
OFF THE GLASS LIKE WATER.
THERE WAS NO GETTING
A GRIP ON THIS STUFF!
THE INK GAVE UP, MOVED BACK ONTO
THE WALL, AND KEPT GOING.
IT WANTED TO FIND
SOMEWHERE SAFE.
WHEN IT REACHED A DOORWAY, IT
SLID INSIDE THE DARKENED ROOM
AND DOWN TO THE FLOOR,
WHERE IT PAUSED.
IT SENSED
ALL THE THINGS IN THE ROOM
WITHOUT KNOWING WHAT THEY WERE.
IT HAD NO WORDS YET, NO NAMES
FOR THINGS LIKE A DESK, A BED,
AND A BOY SLEEPING ON THE BED
IN A KNOTTED TANGLE OF SHEETS
THAT MADE IT LOOK LIKE HE'D BEEN
BATTLING SOMETHING.
THE BOY'S FEET
WERE ON THE PILLOW,
AND HIS HEAD WAS WHERE
HIS FEET SHOULD HAVE BEEN.
BESIDE THE BED WAS A
PILE OF BOOKS,
AND THE INK SPLOTCH
STOPPED WARILY.
IT WAITED.
IT SENT OUT A TINY TENDRIL,
BUT THESE BOOKS
DIDN'T TRY TO SUCK IT IN.
ONLY MR. RYLANCE'S SKETCHBOOK
SEEMED TO WANT TO DO THAT.
THE INK SLID CLOSER.
IT MOVED OVER AN OPEN MATH
TEXTBOOK AND ERASED EVERY WORD,
NUMBER, AND DIAGRAM IT TOUCHED.
IT ACTUALLY SLURPED
THE INK INTO ITSELF.
THE INK PAUSED,
AND FORMED ITSELF
INTO AN ISOSCELES TRIANGLE,
AND THEN A RHOMBUS,
BEFORE FLOWING ON,
ERASING AS IT WENT.
IT LEFT A BLANK TRAIL
BEHIND IT LIKE A SLUG TRAIL,
EXCEPT IT WASN'T SLIMY.
IT WAS JUST SHINY BLANK PAPER.
OFF THE MATH BOOK
AND ONTO A NOVEL.
IT WIPED OUT MOST OF THE TITLE
AND THE COVER ILLUSTRATION -
IT WAS IN COLOUR, AND THE
SPLOTCH SEEMED TO LIKE COLOUR
BECAUSE IT GAVE
A HAPPY SHIMMER -
AND THEN FOUND ITSELF ON A PIECE
OF ILLUSTRATION BOARD.
THE BOARD HAD BEEN
DIVIDED UP INTO SQUARES
AND RECTANGLES OF
DIFFERENT SIZES.
MOST OF THEM HAD STICK FIGURES
PENCILLED INSIDE THEM,
BUT IN THE VERY FIRST
SQUARES WERE INK DRAWINGS.
THEY WEREN'T VERY GOOD.
THERE WERE LOTS OF SMEARS.
THE INK SPLOTCH SLID ACROSS,
ERASING AS IT WENT,
AND THEN STOPPED IN
THE MIDDLE OF THE BOARD.
THIS SEEMED LIKE
A GOOD HIDING PLACE.
THE SPLOTCH STRETCHED, THEN MADE
ITSELF AS SMALL AS POSSIBLE.
IT LIKED IT HERE.
THE FEEL OF THE
CREAMY PAPER WAS PLEASING.
THE INK TURNED ITSELF ROUND
IN CIRCLES A FEW TIMES,
LIKE A DOG TRYING TO GET
COMFORTABLE, AND THEN WAS STILL.
AND THAT'S THE
END OF CHAPTER ONE.
He closes the book and says SO, WHAT A GREAT WAY TO
INTRODUCE A STORY -
A CHARACTER UNLIKE
ANY I'VE READ ABOUT BEFORE,
GOING THROUGH AND
GOING THROUGH THE NIGHT,
HEARING WORDS LIKE
"SPLOTCH" AND "STRETCHED."
AND A LOT OF DESCRIPTIVE WORDS
THAT REALLY HOOKED ME IN,
THAT MADE ME WANT TO THINK,
"HMM, I WONDER WHAT
ELSE IS GOING TO HAPPEN.
"I NEED TO KNOW MORE.
I'M HOOKED ON THIS STORY."
SO, I THINK KENNETH OPPEL'S
DONE A BRILLIANT JOB
OF INTRODUCING HIS
CHARACTER OF INKLING.
HAVING A CAT IN THERE WAS GREAT,
HIS DESCRIPTIVE LANGUAGE.
THE SETTING FELT RIGHT -
THE DARKNESS, THE BEDROOM,
THE WHOLE THING,
I COULD PICTURE IT IN MY MIND.
SO, HE USED WORDS THAT MADE IT...
MADE IT VISUAL FOR ME.
SO, THESE ARE ALL GREAT
STRATEGIES TO USE
WHEN YOU'RE CREATING
YOUR OWN STORY.
SO, THIS WEEK, FOR A CHALLENGE,
I'M GOING TO ENCOURAGE YOU
TO JUST WRITE A STORY.
JUST WRITE THE START OF A STORY.
MAYBE PUT IN A CHARACTER.
BUT THINK ABOUT
SETTING AND WORD CHOICE.
HOW COULD YOU START OFF A STORY
THAT WOULD MAKE PEOPLE
WANT TO READ MORE, HOOK THEM IN?
AND I'M GOING TO SUGGEST, TOO,
WHEN YOU'RE DONE
WITH YOUR STORY,
SHARE IT WITH FAMILY,
SHARE IT WITH FRIENDS,
MAYBE SHARE IT WITH YOUR TEACHER
ONLINE, WITH YOUR SCHOOL,
SO THAT YOU CAN
GET THEIR FEEDBACK
BECAUSE, WHEN WE GET FEEDBACK,
WE CAN IMPROVE OURSELVES.
THE EDITING PROCESS
IS SO IMPORTANT IN WRITING.
I WAS SPEAKING TO A WRITER
WHO CAME AND SPOKE
TO MY CLASS BEFORE
AND HE SAID, "HALF AND HALF -
"HALF YOUR TIME
IS WRITING THE STORY
"AND THE OTHER HALF IS EDITING."
BUT HE SAID MOST
PEOPLE CAN'T BE AUTHORS
BECAUSE THEY DON'T
HAVE THE PERSISTENCE
TO EDIT THEIR STORIES.
WELL, LUCKY FOR US,
WE HAVE NOTHING BUT TIME NOW.
WE'VE GOT LOTS OF TIME AT HOME.
SO, USE SOME OF THAT,
WRITE A STORY, BE CREATIVE,
MAYBE MAKE A GRAPHIC NOVEL,
WHATEVER YOU LIKE.
BUT FOCUS ON HOW YOU'RE
GONNA HOOK PEOPLE IN.
SO, THANK YOU FOR SHARING YOUR
GROWTH MIND-SET WITH ME TODAY.
THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE
AS A PART OF LEARNING,
FOR BEING A PART OF
OUR SCIENCE EXPERIMENT,
FOR JOINING US.
THANK YOU SO MUCH
FOR SHARING YOUR TIME.
I HOPE YOU FOUND IT
ENTERTAINING,
I HOPE YOU FOUND IT ENGAGING,
AND I HOPE YOU
FOUND IT WORTHWHILE.
THAT SAID, AS WE LEAVE TODAY,
JUST BEFORE WE GO,
I WANT TO ENCOURAGE
EVERYONE TO PLEASE,
PLEASE BE SAFE, AND BE KIND.
EVERYBODY'S HAVING
A REALLY HARD TIME
AND KNOW THAT IF
YOU'RE HAVING A HARD TIME
AND YOU'RE STRUGGLING
AND YOU'RE NOT SURE WHO
YOU WANT TO TALK TO,
KIDSHELPPHONE.CA IS
AN AMAZING RESOURCE.
YOU CAN CALL THEM,
YOU CAN CHAT WITH
THEM LIVE ONLINE,
AND THEY ARE SET UP
TO HELP TO DEAL WITH
REALLY TOUGH SITUATIONS.
SO, NO MATTER WHAT
YOU'RE GOING THROUGH,
KNOW THAT THERE ARE PEOPLE
OUT THERE WHO CAN LISTEN
AND THAT'S ONE GREAT RESOURCE.
SO, THANK YOU AGAIN
FOR BEING WITH ME.
BE HEALTHY, BE SAFE, BE KIND.
WE'LL SEE YOU NEXT WEEK.
BYE-BYE.
The caption changes to "TVO Kids would like to thank the following volunteer teacher for teaching the children of Ontario from their homes: Kenisha Bynoe, Amanda Cameron, Joel Seaman, Robert Vidler, Vickita Bhatt, Spencer de Man, Cameron Steltman."
(soft music plays)
A caption reads "Copyright 2020, The Ontario Educational Communications Authority."
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