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Big Ben chiming 13.
I remeber this from an episode of Captain Scarlet back in 1968. As a Londoner I'd always wondered if it would work but in those days no-one had access to mobile phones to test it. Nice to see it put to the test at last!
Gerry Anderson was right!
quiller

I also remember "Big Ben chiming 13 times" in one of Gerry Anderson's programmes. I cant recall the exact episode, but I do remember that the goodies realised that the 13th bong was due to time it took for the sound to travel the distance from Big Ben, arriving after the 12th bong on the radio and from this they deduced where the baddies were located. It would be brilliant if someone at the ´óÏó´«Ã½ could locate the episode in the archives?

loved the show! i lost my remote so watching it was an accident but im glad i did. i love stuff like this and i wish we did it in school :( especialy exploding the watermelon. cant wait too see more :D x

It was the Captain Scarlet episode 'Big Ben Strikes Again' oddly enough.
It used exactly the same methods, but despite being a children's TV show slightly less hysteria (or, more kindly, 'youthful exhuberance') than the presenters here with the explanation. Here's a link:

i hate everything about this show. it is to contrived.

Could you please edit out the swear words in future so I can watch this with my daughter? Thanks.

Loved the way of explaining it makes it alot easier to grasp if u can't already it's a fun enjoyable new show keep up the work

Brilliant show, really engaging & fun way to bring science into the living room - As a scientist the hardest thing is explaining what you do & its a great skill to be able to explain complex science in such interesting & accessible ways. Really enjoyed it, when's the next one?

Simply awesome! Bumped into the show by accident and immediately captivated by the passion and simplicity used to expose complex scientific concepts (credits to the presenter I suppose). Is more coming?!?

Watched Secrets of the Universe, found it quite informative. Just one little gripe and that is the distance to the moon, which Greg said it was a half a million miles. Sorry but that was incorrect, more like a quarter of a million miles(a bit less than that actually). Had to post this,I like my facts,but will still be watching again.

Absolutely loved the show! As a professional astronomer who also gives a lot of talks to the public, I know how difficult it can be explaining many of these concepts without losing your audience. Greg Foot makes it look easy and fun while still getting his facts right. Hope there's more to come!

Hi there,
excellent programme! Really hoping to see more stuff explained this way. So interesting and entertaining. Fingers crossed, we'll get to see what matter is made from, how atoms work, how far we can see into "life" and the universe...
Thanks

What a brilliant show, stumbled onto it while flicking through the channels and was hooked.

Whoever convinced you to go on TV committed a crime. I see lots of you on lame American channels, apply there and leave the descent ´óÏó´«Ã½ alone please.

Thanks

Saw the programme about making Big Ben strike 13 and I agree with a previous poster, the whole thing is so contrived, and Greg Foot comes across as being a bit of a pratt. Perhaps he should try Blue Peter. The science is interesting enough but he's so patronising and his over blown self-importance swamps just about everything (which is a bit of a shame).

- sa

I thoroughly enjoyed this programme - Greg Foot explained the answers to some of science's most interesting questions with such enthusiasm and an obvious passion for his subject, and in such an uncomplicated and comprehensible way. I wish I'd had a science teacher like that at school. Please say there'll be more?

just seen this tv prog .....seems so so ..as some of your figures are a bit out..and please if you are going to talk about something as important to cosmology as the (CMB)..COSMIC MICROWAVE BACKGROUND..then please don`t say some guys....(ARNO PENZIAS , ROBERT WILSON , 1963) give them the credit they deserve ...

My 4 children find science at school 'boring' which is appalling, but were enthralled by this programme. There may well have been some minor flaws , but that should not detract from something seriously lacking in science education - CREATIVITY and PASSION.
I thought it was excellent!

Loved this show. Its great to see someone explain concepts that are difficult to comprehend and yet are a part of our everyday lives. The presenters passion and personalisation of the subject made it all the more memorable. Top marks. Can’t wait for future episodes.

Superb! This programme is a great example of how to teach science in an exciting way, education officials should take note.
If only it were allowed to be shown in deep south America where creationism is rife!

Isn't light also a particle as well as a wave? The big bang shouldn't really be compared to as a explosion, really it was a big expansion.

Sound and Light,

One summer evening in Peterborough I was watching the speedway on Sky Sports in an hotel close to the track. The windows were open so I was also receiving the sound of the races and the announcer direct from the track. I soon noticed that the two were synchronised. It seems that the distances were just right for the time taken by the sound to travel direct through the atmosphere to be equal to the delay in the TV signal going up to and coming back from the satellite. Beats Big Ben chiming 13!

Monkey and the Paint Ball Gun

Dubious ballistics. I bet you would not try it again with a Kalashnikov.