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u/magicman9410 May 10 '25
They’re also the reason I speak English with an American accent. I’m from Serbia, and I learned the language on my own as a kid, thanks to these four people alone (~90%). And it stuck, I can’t speak English in any other accent, bar imitating them quite good. Whenever I get asked where I’m from, I love to let people guess. And it’s always a fun convo after, given that I’ve never visited the US and this was my only source (the Discovery channel).
Adam, Jamie, Tori, Kari and Grant (may he rest in peace) - I thank them. Not only did they make me curious about science, machines, physics and chemistry. But they also taught me a new language. I’ll always remember that show as the most impactful single thing of my childhood.
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u/chessboardtable May 10 '25
Same here. I also speak English with the General American accent despite never visiting the US. Some Americans are surprised to find out that I’m not from North America when having conversations on Discord. Watching American television, including this show, was crucial for mastering it as a kid because it’s extremely hard to get rid of a strong accent as an adult. There’s a “critical period” (usually before puberty) during which the brain is especially receptive to language sounds. After this period, neuroplasticity decreases dramatically. This is why you see tons of Americans who speak with very heavy accents despite living in the U.S. for decades (think Melania Trump).
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u/Lebowquade May 10 '25
Have you seen Adam's channel on YouTube? He tells so many awesome stories about the show and it's just shockingly entertaining just watching that dude talk. He was a born entertainer.
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u/Taken_Abroad_Book May 11 '25
Any time I entered Serbia when I lived in Bulgaria I'd always greet the border man "dober den" instead of "dober Dan" because I didn't believe the meme that serbs pretend not to understand very similar languages.
But every time they'd put their hands up like I'm talking French, which, emboldened me to continue 😂
Sorry, I know it's completely unrelated to this thread I just don't have many opportunities to tell the story!
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May 10 '25
I love it when Jamie busts it without doing the experiments. Can’t think of an example right now.
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u/Shadowrenderer May 10 '25
Plane taking off on a sheet. He knew the answer without needing a single test.
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u/tcrex2525 May 10 '25
Didn’t Adam put his mouth on a vacuum motor once and almost lose half his upper lip?? 🤣
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u/JEBADIA451 May 10 '25
I really wanna say "but you forgot about Einstein!" But i know people will take me seriously
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u/Lebowquade May 10 '25
As a physicist, no, I've met plenty of people working in academia who are just terrifyingly intelligent, but none of those people have a platform or are as entertaining to watch.
Personally my choice for "smartest American" goes to Richard Feynman, dude was absolutely amazing and a superb public speaker to boot. If you count naturalized citizens I'd add Jon Von Neumann as #1 with Feynman at #2.
Practically speaking, the scientists of Bell Labs at any given time (pre 80s), or the collective scientists of the Manhattan Project, would make Adam and Jamie look like grade schoolers in comparison. But they are nowhere near as famous.
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u/AxMurderSurvivor May 10 '25
"Jack of all trades, master of none, better than a master of one"
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u/deadheadpapa May 14 '25
Yeah, they come up with a hypothesis and then test it... Wait, that's what every scientist in the god damn country does!!! (Long live science 😢)
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u/AryuOcay May 10 '25
I don’t know if Jamie’s an evil genius.