Scrapheap Challenge

(AKA JunkyardWars) on The Learning Channel. Something like IronChef, but with sheet-metal and welding tools.

http://www.junkyard-wars.com/
http://www.the-nerds.org/
http://www.scrapheap-challenge.com/
http://www.channel4.com/scrapheap/ (possibly the worst web site I've ever seen, something Channel 4 is (in)famous for).

But at least ScrapheapChallenge doesn't have silly dubbing over the actual participants voices.. (at least not here in the U.S.)

The British language is mostly understandable by American viewers while Japanese is not. I remember one episode they had to digitally mask over a Scrapheap Challenge sign, so I guess that's a form of dubbing.

Hey, they are very different but both are very great!!

I note that the British version is a Challenge whereas the American version is a War. The suspicion arises that this reflects the mentalities of the two countries ...

Also called JunkyardWars, at least on the US channel I watch it on. It looks like the just wanted to give it a more garish name for the U.S. citizenry.

Not to deny our garish nature, but scrapheap isn't a very common word here. Junkyard is the word in the USA.

The SpellingChecker here on WardsWiki recognises neither.

The theme music for the US show is very annoying. Especially when it is played after every commercial break.

Just spent the day after Thanksgiving watching the whole series.

A kind of Rough Guide to Engineering!

I think that I use a similar process when I assemble a collection of UNIX bits and pieces and weld it together with a UNIX Shell script. Add a bit of gaffer/duct tape and it is 90% correct in no time.

Unlike XP the teams don't have the Planning Game: they must get the project done in 10 hours... something simple like a flying machine or cannon made from scraps. -- DickBotting

Interestingly, in all the episodes I watched, the lower-tech solution worked better (Although I missed the wrecking machine one) -- PeteHardie

FYI. The low-tech solution worked for the wrecking machine too. -- kfd

I think when you are bodging with limited time, the most low-tech (i.e. DoTheSimplestThingThatCouldPossiblyWork) solutions are always the best. --RobertDiFalco

That statement may be true, but there is a similar statement that is not: "when building with limited time, ...". Think of automated manufacturing processes. These can be incredibly complex in order to minimize time for a given complexity of product. The point is, in limited time, you have to optimise your use of information to get the best solution in the time available. Remember the drag-racer challenge: the solution that won very nearly didn't get finished. So maybe we conclude that the builders made best use of the time available.

Or consider the get-a-car-out-of-the-lake challenge: in this case, the higher-tech solution won because the low tech solution (barrels filled with air) could not be debugged in the time available. The floating crane was more complex, but was easier to test on dry-land. So when they want out on the lake, the crane's main problem was "will it float"; while the low-tech barrels first had difficulty sinking; then sank too far; then became detached when they rose too fast.

IIRC, the problem with that one was a faulty attachment - they had the barrels in place, but didn't correctly secure one set before releasing the excess weight. Had they double-checked the knots, they'd have floated the Mini, at least.

In a "fast as possible" situation, low-tech may be king. But in a "precisely 10 hours" situation, there's no points for finishing faster. --DaveWhipp

I'm always amazed that they ever finish. All the teams seem to wait until the last hour to deal with the risky stuff like determining whether their 30-year-old truck engine can be made to start. In one episode, they had to swap out a transmission with very little time left, because they didn't notice the gaping hole in the one already attached to their engine.

The magic of television, I suspect they may edit it to exaggerate the race aspect of the programme, on other occasions I'm sure they give teams much longer than they say to ensure they have something that can at least attempt the challenge.

Maybe I'm just being too cynical, but it seems to me that the scrapheap is 'primed'; they always seem to be able to find some key parts for whatever contraption they're building.

It is - I seem to recall this being mentioned on one show or another. You don't happen to find triple expansion steam engines in just any old scrapheap, nor a pristine reel of mylar.