Mark Rober partners with the YouTube channel "How Ridiculous" to engineer and drop various items on a custom-designed trampoline. The trampoline consists of a steel weighing 2 tons, a kevlar mat, and 144 garage door springs strong enough to balance a car. The trampoline survives the tests, including dropping a car and a boat onto it from a height of 150 feet. Rober reflects on his engineering background and appreciation for the beauty of using math to understand and predict the world.
1. The trampoline was designed specifically to bounce cars or boats.
2. The trampoline was made of steel and kevlar with 144 garage door springs.
3. The trampoline survived the drops of bowling balls, watermelons, an atlas stone, and a car.
4. The trampoline was analyzed using computer analysis and design before it was built.
5. The challenge to create the trampoline was issued by the How Ridiculous YouTube channel.
6. The person who designed the trampoline worked for NASA and Apple.
7. The car that was dropped on the trampoline suffered minimal damage, including a bend in the steel.
8. A boat was also dropped on the trampoline.