Create a delayed balloon release device

Task stats

Points

12

Disquals

0

• Nikki goes to the shed to search for ideas, wondering if she can do something with rope and a heavy object. Not much is shown of her actual building process - just that it involves very long pieces of rope. Nikki’s device is started when David cuts the rope tied to the balloons. Nikki makes this more difficult for David by constantly pulling on the rope. However, when David finally cuts the rope, enough rope is left tied to the balloons that it keeps them weighted to the ground. Nikki earns joint last place.
• Carina immediately despairs over the task, as she did not perform well in chemistry in school. Carina has the kernel of an idea, but she wants to make sure that it will work before building it. She starts untying the balloons to prepare for her test. It seems that Carina believes she will be able to reverse-engineer her device. Carina asks if David has a driver’s license, and he replies that he only has one for an automatic transmission car. Carina abandons the idea of a car and instead ties the balloons to the back of a tricycle. By the time David starts her device, it is clear that several alterations have taken place to her idea since it was last shown: a rope is tied to the back of the tricycle, instead of the balloons; the tricycle is weighed down by a briefcase; and David is wearing a mask, in order to keep him from “riding at full speed” (presumably because his vision is somewhat impaired). The tricycle’s tyres also appear to have been deflated. When David rides far enough away from the balloons, the rope tied to the end of the tricycle pulls the brick over, and releases the balloons. Carina delays the launch by 37 seconds, and earns second place.
• After reading the task, Henrik immediately declares that he has an idea, and goes to the shed. He grabs a roll of gaffer tape and uses the tape to cover the ribbon tied to the balloons. He reasons that the presence of the tape will keep a flame alive longer, before it finally burns the ribbon. For his semi-flammable wick, Henrik gaffer tapes a teddy bear to the brick. While taping, Henrik berates the bear for not paying its bills on time, and for not replying to text messages. Since the bear refuses to apologise, it will be sacrificed as a timed fuse. When David sets the bear on fire, it burns much more quickly than he or David anticipated. The gaffer tape does protect the ribbon, but this just allows the heat from the flames to pop two of the balloons, while the third is released into the air. In the studio, David points out that the task stated that ‘balloons’ (plural) needed to be released, and not just a singular balloon. As such, Henrik earns joint last place.
• Marko thinks for a moment, then says he wants a candle. He sources a small taper candle from somewhere, and takes the brick and candle into the shed. Comparing himself to the TV character MacGyver, Marko sticks the candle in one of the brick’s holes (supporting it with a toothpick, which also seems to keep the ribbon away from all but the base of the candle) and shuts it in the shed, with the tethered balloons floating outside. His intention is that the balloons won’t be released until the candle burns all the way down to the bottom. The rest of Marko’s footage is dedicated to the two men yelling across the yard to each other about how the task is going (Marko is sitting in the caravan and David is shut in the shed). Marko’s device is a success, and the balloons are not released until the candle is almost completely melted. Marko delays the launch by 9 minutes 54 seconds, and wins the task.
• Linnéa searches the shed and emerges with a spool of thread. After a bit of off-camera building, Linnéa’s device is revealed: a simple stick with the spool of thread on it, capped by a bit of gaffer tape at the end, jammed into the loop of a small weight (this ensures that the spool of thread can move freely on the stick, but cannot come off of either end). The balloons are tied to the thread, and are being held by David. David is instructed to simply let go of the balloons to start the timer. David releases the balloons, which immediately start floating into the air. However, they are still tethered to the spool of thread, which starts unspooling as the balloons keep rising. David keeps up commentary on the thread, which fully unspools after 12 minutes 12 seconds. Unfortunately for Linnéa, the manufacturers of the thread had taped the end of it directly to the spool. As such, the balloons remain permanently tethered to the device, and never fly freely. Linnéa earns joint last place.