# Oh Discovery Channel, how low you've fallen **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 7, 2014, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-discovery-channel-how-low-youve-fallen/703993 "2014-11-07T16:39:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Helena330](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/helena330/32/531_2.png) [@Helena330](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena330)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-discovery-channel-how-low-youve-fallen/703993/21 "2014-11-07T21:09:00Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > Not too much that’s either Art or Entertaining on A&E either. You mean you don’t want to find out what’s going on with the Gotti losers ten years later? Seriously? Or what about those rednecks blowing up things in their back yard? Come on! ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-discovery-channel-how-low-youve-fallen/703993/22 "2014-11-07T21:25:06Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > I liked this series until the “Cold” episode. There was an awful lot of fluff, showbiz costume vignettes, verbal padding, telling us what they were about to tell us next, and so forth; there was very little actual information. Given that the focus of the episode was how refrigeration, and then air conditioning changed the world forever, I didn’t hear one word about HOW refrigeration works. > Very disappointing. The British series **The Secret Life of Machines** 9which has run on both Discovery and TLC, alas, too long ago) did a wonderful job of explaining how refrigerators work, in the fifth episode of the first season > **[The Secret Life of Machines](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Secret_Life_of_Machines)** > > The Secret Life of Machines is an educational television series presented by Tim Hunkin and Rex Garrod, in which the two explain the inner workings and history of common household and office machinery. According to Hunkin, the show's creator, the programme was developed from his comic strip The Rudiments of Wisdom, which he researched and drew for the Observer newspaper over a period of 14 years. Three separate groupings of the broadcast were produced and originally shown between 1988 and 1993... It’s online here: [https://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play;\_ylt=A2KLqIDNOF1UlkoANAz7w8QF;\_ylu=X3oDMTByNDV2czA1BHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDdmlkBHZ0aWQDBGdwb3MDOQ--?p=The+Secret+Life+of+Machines&vid=0722942007ef80b84dd48b49997e7dba&l=25%3A51&turl=http%3A%2F%2Fts3.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DVN.608052607938595802%26pid%3D15.1&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dsa7o49uOzVI&tit=\Secret+Life+Of+Machines+\<%2Fb\>-+\The+\<%2Fb\>Refrigerator+(Full+Length)&c=8&sigr=11abfvdbk&sigt=1263mfmgo&age=0&&tt=b](https://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play;_ylt=A2KLqIDNOF1UlkoANAz7w8QF;_ylu=X3oDMTByNDV2czA1BHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDdmlkBHZ0aWQDBGdwb3MDOQ--?p=The+Secret+Life+of+Machines&vid=0722942007ef80b84dd48b49997e7dba&l=25%3A51&turl=http%3A%2F%2Fts3.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DVN.608052607938595802%26pid%3D15.1&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dsa7o49uOzVI&tit=%3Cb%3ESecret+Life+Of+Machines+%3C%2Fb%3E-+%3Cb%3EThe+%3C%2Fb%3ERefrigerator+%28Full+Length%29&c=8&sigr=11abfvdbk&sigt=1263mfmgo&age=0&&tt=b) ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-discovery-channel-how-low-youve-fallen/703993/23 "2014-11-07T21:33:05Z")
> [@KCB615](#): > > I remember watching Connections (1, 2, and 3) with James Burke on TLC. Now they have “Extreme Couponing.” How the mighty have fallen. Agreed. I loved Connections. One of my teachers in the gifted program back in the 80s would put it on for us to watch on Fridays. Best day of the week! It looks like snake food guy is going to be wearing a suit of armor that looks like one of the Black Knights. That just adds to the surreal factor. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-discovery-channel-how-low-youve-fallen/703993/24 "2014-11-07T21:38:25Z")
I don’t see why they don’t get in touch with Jon Voight for the snake swallowing…he has previous experience! ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2014, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-discovery-channel-how-low-youve-fallen/703993/25 "2014-11-08T00:15:52Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > The British series **The Secret Life of Machines** 9which has run on both Discovery and TLC, alas, too long ago) did a wonderful job of explaining how refrigerators work… I know how the processes work (is there any way to say that without sounding defensive?), I was just surprised to see that crucial bit of information left out, in favor of repetitive ridiculously padded human interest stuff. But thanks for the leads. I generally prefer British Science TV, even if they do talk funny. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2014, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-discovery-channel-how-low-youve-fallen/703993/26 "2014-11-08T02:40:18Z")
> [@Kimballkid](#): > > They already fell pretty hard when they did the fake mermaid and sasquatch crap. I watched the mermaid thing out of morbid curiosity. It made _Finding Bigfoot_ seem like _The Feynman Lectures_. ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2014, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-discovery-channel-how-low-youve-fallen/703993/27 "2014-11-08T02:45:55Z")
I heard about this show on the radio yesterday. According to this site… > [@](#): > > The special has already been filmed, and the filmmaker – and snake – are believed to be OK. > **[Reality TV's New Extreme: Being 'Eaten Alive' by a Giant Anaconda Snake](https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/reality-tvs-extreme-eaten-alive-giant-anaconda-snake/story?id=26727681)** > > Discovery Channel is promising to go where reality television has never gone before – inside the mouth of an anaconda. I’m obviously no snake expert, but I don’t see how this could have been done without killing the snake (or the guy being swallowed.) I’m pretty sure that we won’t actually see a giant snake swallowing a man alive on this show. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2014, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-discovery-channel-how-low-youve-fallen/703993/28 "2014-11-08T02:52:31Z")
> [@Aquadementia](#): > > People say a snake can’t swallow a person because we are too wide at the hips and shoulders. Thing is, even if a snake couldn’t outright crush the bones I would think they could squeeze enough to dislodge the bones until they are thin enough to go down. Constrictors don’t kill by breaking bones, they kill by constricting the chest and suffocating the prey. An anaconda isn’t strong enough to dislocate the shoulders. In any case, the problem isn’t necessarily that the mouth can’t open wide enough to engulf the shoulders, but that they need to gradually expand the mouth and can’t get the right kind of grip because the shoulders are so much wider than the head. If the human body tapered evenly there they could do it. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2014, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-discovery-channel-how-low-youve-fallen/703993/29 "2014-11-08T03:07:35Z")
As stupid and exploitative as this sounds, there’s a part of me that wants to watch it. Although I doubt it’ll actually happen. My guess is that nearly the entire show will be about designing the suit, planning the trip, and hunting for the snake; and then the last few minutes will be them unsuccessfully trying to get the snake to swallow him. Maybe it’ll swallow his head and then regurgitate when it can’t get any further. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2014, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-discovery-channel-how-low-youve-fallen/703993/30 "2014-11-08T04:55:42Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > Maybe it’ll swallow his head and then regurgitate when it can’t get any further. That was my thought, too. But you know what? Even that, if it’s done right, could be pretty fucking awesome. But, it’s Discovery Channel. It probably won’t be done right. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2014, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-discovery-channel-how-low-youve-fallen/703993/31 "2014-11-11T13:13:17Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > How is this not cruelty to animals? He signed a release. > [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > No one over the age of 7 thought it was true. I think you are overestimating people. The mermaid special on Animal Planet was even more ridiculous than the Megalodon show and yet it prompted NOAA to post on their website that mermaids were not real. They were getting slammed with inquiries. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2014, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-discovery-channel-how-low-youve-fallen/703993/32 "2014-11-11T15:40:06Z")
I believe many snakes can unhinge their jaws to swallow their prey. The suit’s going to have to resist external pressure, be cooled internally, and have an internal air (02) supply. Like a rigid space suit. That snake’s going to have to be really big and really hungry to want to nosh on something like that. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2014, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-discovery-channel-how-low-youve-fallen/703993/33 "2014-11-11T20:22:11Z")
Don’t worry, no animal is going to be harmed. After filming is done, they’ll just turn off the computer that’s rendering the image of the snake. Wait, what’s that you say, they said it was a real snake? And you believe them why? ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2014, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-discovery-channel-how-low-youve-fallen/703993/34 "2014-11-11T22:43:56Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > No one over the age of 7 thought it was true. Well… I thought they thought it was true. After the Mermaid expose, I just don’t know where the bottom is anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2014, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-discovery-channel-how-low-youve-fallen/703993/35 "2014-12-08T18:39:25Z")
I didn’t see this anywhere else, so I figured I’d bump this. I am happy to report that the snake is fine, I was worried he wouldn’t survive. No, I didn’t watch but it was all over the news that it was a disappointment. It turns out the “Eaten Alive” idiot wussed out and had his helpers rescue him. But apparently some people did watch this and then tweet their disappointment. The idiot said the whole point was really to raise awareness about the destruction of the Amazon rainforest. I don’t think the people that want to watch Stupid Human Tricks are going to be the type of people who would give a shit about conservation and will quickly forget anything about the rainforest once they turn off the tv and take to Twitter to complain about what a waste of time it was to watch that. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2014, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-discovery-channel-how-low-youve-fallen/703993/36 "2014-12-08T19:04:40Z")
I did not watch the show but I did see clips and heard the outrage online. Not only was the ending a bust throughout the show they used quick cuts, reaction shots and shaky cam to make it seem that exciting things were happening all the time. It was basically shot like an episode of **Ghosthunters**. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2014, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-discovery-channel-how-low-youve-fallen/703993/37 "2014-12-27T19:10:25Z")
I was very intrigued by the ads for the show. I had a lot of similar questions. I set my DVR to record. Unfortunately, I ran out of space and didn’t record the last 15 minutes or so. I watched the first 20 minutes or so to see how it was going, then planned to look for it elsewhere, but haven’t had the chance. I caught a segment on Letterman ranting about the results of the show, so I came here looking to see what people thought. First off, they explained clearly the plan. Anacondas are huge, and can unhinge their jaws to open wider than their own body. They regularly swallow large animals. There was a picture floating around the internet a couple years ago of a dead anaconda that had half swallowed an alligator. The idea of a snake being large enough to swallow a person is not ridiculous. Furthermore, he discussed the plan behind this. He had a special suit made that is hard to protect him from the crushing pressure and has oxygen and an umbilical line. But the key to the plan is what happens if he does manage to get successfully swallowed. While anacondas can open their mouths very wide, the other end is not similarly equipped. However, anacondas have a safety reflex. They regularly eat animals that are too large for their bodies, so if they get frightened, they will regurgitate their meal in order to get away. Thus the plan relies on scaring the snake. Therefore, the snake doesn’t need to die. As far as the show goes, they spent a lot of time with set up and explanation. The guy was remembering this extra huge anaconda he saw once before, and wanted to go find that snake. Right there, that suggests this program is not going to go as planned. He spent a lot of time discussing the Amazon and this location and the impacts of deforestation. He took a team of trusted people out to catch, weigh and document any anacondas they found for research purposes. I quit before he got to the details of the suit or they did capture the snake they ended up using, so I didn’t see the results of if their snake was large enough or why he stopped short. I’m a bit torn on the results of this program. This is the kind of thing that had an actual purpose, was planned and funded and recorded, so they already spent the money to produce it, they might as well try to recoup the cost by airing the production for ad revenues. And I’m somewhat intrigued by science shows where the results don’t turn out quite as expected or planned. That helps with the validity of the program, in some respects. Except the counter to that is how overhyped the program sounds when they stress so hard him being eaten alive, but then that doesn’t occur. That kinda bounces back and makes them seem less credible. Also, as mentioned, the editing was full of hype and unnecessary cuts and juggles. Sure, you’ve got mobile cams on folks running around in the rainforest, and you’ve got the editing necessities of the modern attention deficit audience. Basically you have to preview before you leave for a commercial break to try to keep their interest and then you have to summarize on returning for everyone who turned on the program during the commercial break. It’s an unfortunate but all too common problem. (I just watched my nephew flipping back and forth between three programs.) I’m still kinda interested to look up the program. > [@Simplicio](#): > > See, everyone’s down on the idea of this show, but than follows up with a bunch of questions that could be answered by…watching the show. Sounds like making Discoveries to me. I agree. My first thought when I had the same questions was … watch the program and see how they answer the questions. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-discovery-channel-how-low-youve-fallen/703993.md?page=1)