Tonight at 8PM on the History Channel: the pilot of “History Hacker” starring Bre Pettis. I’ve only seen a bit, but I have every confidence it’ll be a fun show. Bre’s not only an inveterate tinkerer, he’s also one of the only people I know that do a lot of video work that really care about the craft of production. If most of my pals told me they were going to try to do a TV show I’d shrug it off, but Bre’s got the chops and taste to make it happen.
So this show better not suck, Bre! Do us proud!
What’s “History Hacker” about? It’s sort of a walk through technological inventions of the past, with in-lab experiments to try to replicate or improve the originals. Here’s Bre on the pilot:
It’s an hour long, so I have time to get into some projects to break down some of the principles that Tesla pioneered and fought for in the war of the currents. I make a neon bulb, AC generator from a bike and muck about with an old telephone magneto. I also go check out the power plant in the basement of the New Yorker and the space systems lab at MIT to see how the principles that Tesla pioneered are being used today.
HISTORY HACKER – DAY OF SHOW [BrePettis.com]
“History Hacker” is the title of the first episode.
The series itself is named “Hacking History”.
Citing the series title would make it easier for people with DVRs to find.
Are you sure about that? That’s not what Bre says!
Joel, this Tivo screenshot shows “History Hacker” as the title of the episode: http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevegarfield/2889098319/
Here’s the listing, I think…
http://www.history.com/shows.do?action=detail&episodeId=361802
From this link, the series name seems to be “Hacking History”
Here’s another listing for another show at the same time with the same summary:
http://www.history.com/shows.do?episodeId=365730&action=detail
The title? “History Hacker”
All I can hope for is that this is the first in a long series and that Bre is the host of as many episodes as he desires.
That aside, I’d like to know how the first aerogels were made in the 1930s (unless I’m remembering wrong). I think they used silica and something to bind it together. I saw some being made in a modern process (or so they tell me) with some kind of organic polymer fluid that was then baked in an autoclave or similar, yielding a shape about 1 inch tall in a slightly shrunken shape of the container. If they did it in the 1930s in a personal lab, how hard would it be to do it in a present-day kitchen?
why is joel not admitting that a post he made on 17 Sept for chelsey henry was a scam.
Can’t wait to tune in! Go Team Bre!
Awesome, Bre! I can’t wait to get to see it. I don’t have cable but hopefully it’ll be available .. someplace .. near .. me. or something.
Saw this blog post at 7:50 and watching the show now. Really enjoyed the bit where he made a neon tube. Always wondered how that worked, and I’m a total nerd for glass-blowing.
Anyway, yeah. Enjoying the show. Hope they get to make some more. I’ll watch ‘em.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for turning me onto this show! This is the first I have known of Bre Pettis and for my money he’s awesome. I hope he is able to make as many shows as he wants because I’ll watch all of them.
I caught the last 45 minutes of the show. I for one really liked it and am excited about future shows. Bre is a great host & started with a fave of mine, Tesla!
He couldn’t go wrong starting the series with Tesla. Hopefully future episodes will be as enjoyable.
This show has nothing to do with history. Thank of the name of the channel this is on. It was a channel for history buffs, not science nerds of DIY people