[00:00] as I'm being hunted by an animal Because today, not only are we gonna discover the five most common bloodhound myths.
[00:15] but what she doesn't know is I've done my research against her unfair, superhuman advantages.
[00:27] in order to understand the limit of the dog's capabilities, to run through some basic tests starting off with a simple challenge involving just my hat.
[00:40] Now what makes Shay so cool is she's been working as a volunteer, expert, search-and-rescue handler she and her dogs have pretty much seen everything.
[00:53] I mean, could you find me Because all I see is a guy Now, as for Zinka, after checking out all her options,
[01:08] (Zinka barking) (Mark laughing) It was me all along Shay. (Shay laughing) First was that even an expertly-trained human hunter-
[01:22] Still enjoys the game of fetch like any good girl. - This is a German shepherd. - That's what I thought. these days, bloodhounds are almost never used.
[01:38] because research shows they're just as good but they're also extremely intelligent. is like Zinka finding the puzzle pieces,
[01:51] And now that we've cleared that up, All right, Shay, the hiding test. Everyone's dispersed out there.
[02:03] - What works is a scent article? How about my watch? - Your watch would work. - So I was off to my killer hiding spot,
[02:16] I threw my first curve ball by using the fireman's piston instead of the stairs to get to the lower level. under a blanket of cubes in the foam pit.
[02:29] See if she can find me in here. Then it was Zinka's turn. to sniff my watch to lock in on her target. - [Shay] Don't eat the pizza.
[02:42] I had somehow just teleported away. And while this might have tripped up Zinka, to my trail below, which meant from that point,
[02:56] as you might have guessed, my fate was sealed. (Zinka barking) (Shay and Mark laughing) Well, I'm gonna get you on the next one.
[03:10] How good? - This good. I wanted to test something Shay mentioned to me - If multiple people touch an article,
[03:22] - I need some volunteers. onto a single paper towel with a brief arm rub. and went to hide throughout the lab.
[03:37] apparently she could do the math, then identify it among 16 decoy-scent trails which is just certifiably bonkers.
[03:52] is where that puzzle-solving intelligence, Comes into play. (Zinka barks) That was nothing short of magic.
[04:06] - Which honestly I took as a challenge. on that single paper towel to 12, the single missing person from the 11 others,
[04:20] amongst all the remaining decoys. - Lets go search. - Dude. No way. And honestly, this one somehow seemed even easier for her.
[04:35] No way! Actually bad work. You got found. I wanted to investigate the potential myth
[04:49] is because she's actually detecting trace amounts That hypothesis would also explain all smell totally different, even to my untrained nose,
[05:04] The problem was that to test the myth, with exactly identical DNA, but as chance would have it... from one identical twin but not the other
[05:19] To remove any doubt, we have the wrong twin exactly along the path to the right twin. And there was no question Zinka skipped the twin
[05:32] Which meant the DNA-sniffing myth was busted just picking up on complex scent molecules And at this point, while I was clearly outmatched,
[05:46] in Zinka's armor that I could exploit But I can only learn so much inside CrunchLabs So what if I could find several thousand volunteers
[05:59] And this beautiful college campus in Berkeley, California My thought was that having now moved outdoors, might obscure my own scent trail.
[06:13] I had some opportunities to covertly pass around before finally receiving the word it was go time. What do you need from me?
[06:27] - Me or her? (Mark laughing) with a generous 45-minute head start. It's like really windy today.
[06:41] Keep my scent down wind. There was barely any time to waste. all around campus.
[06:56] to ward off Zinka and Shay, but whatever it was... She'll never figure this out. I guess because that's exactly what's happening.
[07:11] once I saw the number of people gathered in the quad just to express some heartfelt appreciation. who subscribe to my channel.
[07:25] this was kind of my checkmate move. A dog might be chasing you in a second. Be cool. I'm being hunted by a bloodhound.
[07:39] There is no possible way this dog is gonna find me. I'm actually parked up here in a garage. I'd made it to my final hiding spot
[07:55] This is basically a massive Ziploc bag. I feel the need to whisper, But not long after, the timer was up.
[08:08] And right outta the gate, I tripped her up But eventually she realized I was more than just a bench I don't really have any inclination as to whether or not
[08:24] the same can't be said for the campus squirrel population. - I'm gonna pull a dirty trick.
[08:37] And unfortunately for me, she just totally short circuited my clever loop maneuver. near the parking garage.
[08:51] This is terrifying. I thought I might actually be in the clear after all, could overcome her lock on my dirty socks.
[09:07] What the crap? No way! How is that even remotely possible?
[09:21] So while I did have some very minor victories I knew I needed to consult someone who had been here before. and the true OG when it comes to busting myths.
[09:36] The cave! - You have been here, The organized chaos of it all. his incredible Cave of Wonders,
[09:49] I'm here, Adam, because I need help. - That was one of my favorite sets of episodes - In addition to talking about everything he's learned
[10:01] for even understanding how Zinka's brain works. you leave behind a trail of scent molecules. or even standing still, you shed 40,000 dead skin cells
[10:17] the trail of all those skin-cell scent molecules But instead of six unique colors like you see here,
[10:29] since she can ostensibly tell everyone on the planet apart, and then you used a different soap for that day she would still know you as your exact same color.
[10:45] but to give you some sense Do you recognize this person? but your brain also just identified Steph Curry
[11:00] out of 8 billion people on this planet, which is pretty cool that same unique identifying capability And furthermore, just how Zinka's nose can pinpoint me
[11:14] even if he's wearing a hat or sunglasses the way her brain catalogs my unique scent from a sock
[11:26] a unique face from a missing person flyer. for myth number three, it's actually not true at identifying smells, cuz in a few areas,
[11:43] you can practically smell this footage here, right? that enter the air after freshly fallen rain That's 100 times more sensitive than a shark's nose
[11:58] We know in the desert, camels rely on its scent it provided an evolutionary advantage Now, as for Adam, I'll return to some additional advice
[12:12] my original MythBusters blueprint, I might take a few things on my way out. Here we go. Ah!
[12:26] from all our tests from every angle, I'd pinpointed a few of Zinka's weaknesses, you might have picked up on a few of them as well,
[12:40] was exploit those weaknesses with a 12-second build montage. (intriguing music)
[12:58] it was time to head out to meet up with Shay and Zinka But before we get to that, I just wanna know,
[13:10] (explosion blasts) 'Cause if so, oh boy, And it's called Camp CrunchLabs.
[13:25] featuring weekly videos with mega experiments that I do, And the best weekly challenge submission to come out right here
[13:40] (air blasts) (Mark laughs) where we build a really fun toy together comes every month.
[13:54] weekly videos and challenges, - Yes! Look! where you can learn to think like an engineer
[14:06] with 0% chance of sunburn or mystery-meat casserole, where you can reserve one of the limited spots All right, Shay, I got my bag of tricks.
[14:20] Here we go. It's game on. My plan was to lay seven traps for Zinka and Shay And the rules were, once I'd set all my traps
[14:34] And if she couldn't track me down in less than an hour, not having checked the weather forecast... I was ready to set my first of seven traps.
[14:49] so I would tie one of my extra smelly soccer socks and then I would sneak off down a side path. way more scent molecules than my sock,
[15:03] that when the drone flew the pre-programmed flight path, from the server motor in the bushes, for Zinka to hopefully follow.
[15:15] And now that I was off the main road and into the woods, I knew for reviewing the Berkeley footage Taxidermied squirrel. Not fat, guys, for the record.
[15:30] and let it slip it was a combination of their quick movement So between train-track squirrel and taxidermy squirrel, Now obviously, this trap wasn't going to trick Shay.
[15:44] and their one-hour time limit, After that, I continued up the trail for a few hundred yards perfect for my third of seven traps.
[15:59] in case the drone sock didn't work out. I was going for a three-pronged approach. would've one of my sock in a compartment
[16:13] and then another sock in a liquid container... in case the scent molecules would bond well with the water. (sighs) The part I'm not looking forward to.
[16:28] I harvested some actual pieces of meat it would slowly leave behind and overwhelming trail of me And by the way, these weren't just Hail-Mary ideas
[16:44] showing she could easily isolate my scent You got earth, wind, and water. The trifecta. So with everything set and the rover timer counting down,
[16:58] And this next one is a doozy. just without the plane. (engine turns over) cuz my scent trail just seemed to stop.
[17:13] I noticed the reason she got caught up blowing my scent off the sidewalk. with some 95-mile-an-hour, hurricane-force winds?
[17:27] Ah! (hard rock music) Yeah!
[17:39] but I also lost a lot of skin cells hopefully. to follow my scent off the road I picked a random spot to sneak off in the other direction
[17:52] And there was a stream running alongside the trail, that dogs can't track you if you're stepping in water Which was super awesome
[18:05] From there it was all about agility and stamina With five of my traps set and only two to go, on the task at ha- Ooh.
[18:19] Oh, wow! (laughing) (gentle music) Which was good timing because having exited the forest,
[18:34] I've got some big plans for this meadow right here. The idea is to overwhelm this area with my smell. The genesis for this idea
[18:50] where I spent a long time waiting. versus the relatively small amount of scent molecules I had a special surprise.
[19:04] every day at NASA as I tested and integrated my hardware the purpose of those bunny suits is to keep in so we don't send the rover headed to Mars looking for life
[19:20] I would practically become invisible I held my breath as I ran away. I had two final tricks up my sleeve.
[19:35] because she would go for any morsel that was left out. In one of our conversations, Shay let it slip but I just stumbled upon a bunch of chicken and cheese.
[19:51] That's gonna take her the wrong way down the path. And then if somehow she tracks me all the way up here, so all my scent goes out into the valley.
[20:06] All right, team, I am in position. - Good to go. - Okay. She has an hour to get through all my traps.
[20:22] my drone had taken off right on schedule And exactly as I'd hoped, Zinka got to the fork in the road as she starts heading right towards the sock bush.
[20:37] that it wouldn't be a typical search. She went right by. I was dealing with the true professional,
[20:52] I could throw off her game - [Team Member] Well, she loves the squirrel. What's not the love?
[21:05] Did it throw her off? - It did. - [Mark] This actually brings us These dogs aren't working alone.
[21:17] It is a partnership between the bloodhound and the handler. without the other. but it wasn't something that had occurred to me.
[21:30] and if she's stumped, she can help think of different ideas and Zinka was sure I'd teleported Hopefully they lost valuable time there.
[21:43] But Shay wouldn't be much help at the next fork in the path had initiated its time-delayed journey exactly as planned. a fresh trail of me as it roved all the way down the path.
[21:58] which meant they were going to get so tripped up, - What do you mean it didn't work? But really where you were walking.
[22:11] No way she gets my mega fan. I lost my jacket and one of my 37 hats to this monster And this time, I was not disappointed.
[22:26] - [Team Member] She is moving in the same direction about what her nose was telling her Shay put two and two together
[22:38] But then when Zinka hit on my actual escape route, And this is where you can really see Because eventually Zinka circled back as if to say,
[22:50] At which point Shay understood - [Team Member] Oh, she's back on track. - Dang it. It sounds like a that was my closest one so far.
[23:04] this could be my... This could be good. She's frolicking along. - Frolicking? (dramatic music)
[23:18] - [Team Member] She's moving along the pot the fastest. I'm glad I have 12 blisters Shay would later confirm this as our final myth to bust,
[23:31] meaning they stick strongly to the water than just a normal path on land. she had no problem keeping up the pace
[23:46] cuz she was about to hit an olfactory brick wall. - Okay, I think this is where it's game over. just trudging around this clearing.
[24:01] of my scent molecules behind... let me know and I'll come down the hill. which meant at least from the perspective of her nose radar,
[24:14] - [Team Member] Wow. No hesitation. - What? Really? I think my minutes are numbered.
[24:28] She's got about 15 minutes left. But if the chicken of cheese could just distract her enough, - Nope. Get to work.
[24:41] - Yes. - Zinky. - [Shay] I know those are good. up the bowls of the chicken and cheese.
[24:55] - Clock's ticking, Shay. I might have stood a chance, but as it was, It's nerve-racking.
[25:10] as an 11th-hour salvation, the final three fans heading back down the path. - [Shay] Come here, Zink, come on.
[25:24] she apparently was just flexing on me So with a full belly and the proud gait of a winner, she led Shay around the bushes to my final hiding spot.
[25:39] (Shay laughing) Bad girl! And as I sulked in my loss
[25:53] I asked Shay why she's been volunteering working with search-and-rescue dogs. to a very stressful time for a family.
[26:06] I suppose my loss The best mammal won. You were a formidable opponent. Opa!
[26:20] I built a fire-extinguisher-powered hovercraft. to make it across my human-sized glue trap. Now these are both part of Camp CrunchLabs,
[26:35] to help you fight both boredom and summer brain drain. But it's also an example of the type of juicy content when you have a CrunchLabs subscription.
[26:48] where we build a really fun toy together, of how they work, you also get exclusive access to stuff On top of that, CrunchLabs is a real place.
[27:03] to slip in a platinum ticket, - Oh my God! (child cheering) to design with me and my team for the day.
[27:15] whatever you can dream up, go to CrunchLabs.com Thanks for watching. (bubble pops)