Brian Clegg

The classic is the Empire State Building. It's typically struck, I think, about 25 times a year. In fact, there's even one guy that was a U.S. park ranger called Roy Sullivan, who's been struck by lightning seven times in his career, thankfully survivable.

The classic is the Empire State Building. It's typically struck, I think, about 25 times a year. In fact, there's even one guy that was a U.S. park ranger called Roy Sullivan, who's been struck by lightning seven times in his career, thankfully survivable.

The classic is the Empire State Building. It's typically struck, I think, about 25 times a year. In fact, there's even one guy that was a U.S. park ranger called Roy Sullivan, who's been struck by lightning seven times in his career, thankfully survivable.

I spend a lot of time talking to people about science, and all too often what comes up is it's a bit more complicated than we thought, that science tends to be a little more complicated than we think about it. And what I'm looking at here, in a fairly light way, a fairly fun way, is...

I spend a lot of time talking to people about science, and all too often what comes up is it's a bit more complicated than we thought, that science tends to be a little more complicated than we think about it. And what I'm looking at here, in a fairly light way, a fairly fun way, is...

I spend a lot of time talking to people about science, and all too often what comes up is it's a bit more complicated than we thought, that science tends to be a little more complicated than we think about it. And what I'm looking at here, in a fairly light way, a fairly fun way, is...

areas where we think that science is different from the way it really is, or where we simplify it so much that actually we don't really understand what's happening. So it's just trying to open up a little bit. It might be urban myths, it might be folklore, or it might just be not quite getting the science right in what I hope is an enjoyable way.

areas where we think that science is different from the way it really is, or where we simplify it so much that actually we don't really understand what's happening. So it's just trying to open up a little bit. It might be urban myths, it might be folklore, or it might just be not quite getting the science right in what I hope is an enjoyable way.

areas where we think that science is different from the way it really is, or where we simplify it so much that actually we don't really understand what's happening. So it's just trying to open up a little bit. It might be urban myths, it might be folklore, or it might just be not quite getting the science right in what I hope is an enjoyable way.

And it seems crazy to say water doesn't conduct electricity, but actually it's a really bad conductor of electricity. But what is happening is it's the impurities in the water that enable it to do that conducting. So if you take totally pure water, it's a really bad conductor. And sometimes there's little things like that, or for that matter, toast. Toast falling butter side down.

And it seems crazy to say water doesn't conduct electricity, but actually it's a really bad conductor of electricity. But what is happening is it's the impurities in the water that enable it to do that conducting. So if you take totally pure water, it's a really bad conductor. And sometimes there's little things like that, or for that matter, toast. Toast falling butter side down.

And it seems crazy to say water doesn't conduct electricity, but actually it's a really bad conductor of electricity. But what is happening is it's the impurities in the water that enable it to do that conducting. So if you take totally pure water, it's a really bad conductor. And sometimes there's little things like that, or for that matter, toast. Toast falling butter side down.

You know this thing, you drop a slice of toast, it falls on the floor. It's always the butter side that hits the floor. Or is it? Can that really be true? And a number of TV shows have actually tried to demonstrate it's not true. But unfortunately, what they've tended to do is toss toast in the air, a bit like tossing a coin.

You know this thing, you drop a slice of toast, it falls on the floor. It's always the butter side that hits the floor. Or is it? Can that really be true? And a number of TV shows have actually tried to demonstrate it's not true. But unfortunately, what they've tended to do is toss toast in the air, a bit like tossing a coin.

You know this thing, you drop a slice of toast, it falls on the floor. It's always the butter side that hits the floor. Or is it? Can that really be true? And a number of TV shows have actually tried to demonstrate it's not true. But unfortunately, what they've tended to do is toss toast in the air, a bit like tossing a coin.

But the reality is when you drop a slice of toast, you don't throw it up in the air like a coin, it slides off your plate or it slides off the work service. And they're just about the right height that when something slides off and starts to turn, it has enough time to turn

But the reality is when you drop a slice of toast, you don't throw it up in the air like a coin, it slides off your plate or it slides off the work service. And they're just about the right height that when something slides off and starts to turn, it has enough time to turn

But the reality is when you drop a slice of toast, you don't throw it up in the air like a coin, it slides off your plate or it slides off the work service. And they're just about the right height that when something slides off and starts to turn, it has enough time to turn

No, absolutely not. The actual water, literally pure water, H2O, is a bad conductor. It's a good insulator. But the fact is, almost all the water we deal with on a day-to-day basis, the water that comes out of the faucets in the bathroom, is water that has minerals in it. And that's a good thing on the whole. There's nothing wrong with that. It's not a problem.

No, absolutely not. The actual water, literally pure water, H2O, is a bad conductor. It's a good insulator. But the fact is, almost all the water we deal with on a day-to-day basis, the water that comes out of the faucets in the bathroom, is water that has minerals in it. And that's a good thing on the whole. There's nothing wrong with that. It's not a problem.