MacGyver Science: H2O + Orthophosphates + Mission City + Corrosion + Origins

DIY Catchpole

MacGyver is trying to find a missing phone and he gets Riley to track it down — but it’s moving. It turns out that the phone is in a storm drain moving along with the water. When he finds it, he needs to grab it out with a pole — a catch pole.

Image: CBS/MacGyver

The key idea for a catch pole is to have a tube with a string running down the middle. This string then makes a loop on the other end. When you pull the string, the loop gets smaller. For MacGyver’s version, it’s a closing bag instead of a loop.

Here is a nice video of a catch pole that you can build yourself.

But the real question: could they unlock the phone? I guess Auntie turned off the pass code. She was such a trusting person. She always was.

Perimeter Alarm

If you want to stay hidden, how do you make sure you know when someone is near? The answer is a perimeter alarm. This one probably uses a phone or some other wifi device — but the idea is simple. Make a string…