• Is it age appropriate?

  About our ratings

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  Not age appropriate for kids under 12, age appropriate for kids over 17; suggested age 14.

• Is it any good?

  4.0

• Common Sense says

  Low-tech science spoof could confuse younger viewers.

Why We Rated This for Ages 14–17

What to watch out for

• Messages:

  Conclusions derived via the show's pseudo-scientific "experiments" are meant to be funny, but kids could miscontrue their facts, resulting in a murky message overall. For example, water is said to boil at 1,000 degrees (the actual boiling point is 100 degrees Celsius or 212 degrees Fahrenheit), and someone is shown eating ectoplasm (the physical existence of which has never been proven). In another experiment, scientists take a sample from an overflowing sewer and drop it onto a human subject's tongue to test the spread of germs. You get the picture.
• Violence:

  A few experiments (plunging your hand into boiling water, removing an egg, and slicing it open with a scalpel, for example) would be dangerous if younger viewers tried to replicate them.
• Sex:

  Although the general tone is straightlaced, there's occasional innuendo. For instance, the narrator explains that "kissing a tramp" is one way to get germs. In another instance, an older man removes his pants and underwear to have his temperature taken rectally -- although no sensitive body parts are shown.
• Language:

  Not an issue.
• Consumerism:

  Not an issue.
• Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

  Usage is infrequent, but it happens. One experiment involving water produces whisky, and the narrator says, "Whisky is a pleasant-tasting, thirst-quenching drink, and it's enjoyed by all." Later, an adult scientist pours a glass from the beaker, drinks it, and promptly falls over.

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