BRIAN BRUSHWOOD: The following program contains secret hacks.
Attempting some of these shortcuts can be dangerous
and is ill-advised.
The great outdoors,
it's beautiful, but also unforgiving.
My buddy, Jason, thinks he needs everything
but the kitchen sink to be comfortable on a camping trip.
And the weight of his backpack shows it.
-JASON: Oww! -You all right there, buddy?
But you don't need all that stuff to have
a great time in the wild.
I'm gonna show him how to hack his way
through the great outdoors,
like making a spear from a cell phone.
Look at that. Less than a minute of grinding
and it's already down to a spearhead point.
Or using urine to make a fire.
You're gonna pour it right in there.
We're gonna make a little pee bag.
And what to do when danger strikes.
[hissing, rattling]
BRIAN: Be quiet.
Bring me a stick with a, with a fork at the end.
We cool?
-Be cool. -[hisses]
I'm Brian Brushwood, and I've picked up
the tools of scientists and spies,
of criminals and con-artists.
I've mastered incredible tricks
and dangerous stunts as a professional magician.
Now, I have an encyclopedia of shortcuts,
secret data, and helpful hacks
designed to help you make life easier
and give you the upper hand.
This isHacking the System.
I can't even get a signal out here.
Here. Let me see that.
-May I? -Yeah.
All right.
JASON: Oh!
-What? -[Brian laughing]
Don't worry. I have an upgrade coming. I'll replace it.
-JASON: Well, it's useless now. -No.
What's useless is a dead brick with no battery.
But I'm gonna show you how to use the components inside
to hack the great outdoors.
-Great. I can't wait. -You're gonna love it.
So how is a broken phone
gonna help us if we're lost in the woods, or ever, really?
I'm not saying that the moment you get lost,
you should break your cell phone.
But I am saying that if it's dead,
there's lots of parts in here you could repurpose.
What are you doing?
I'm gonna make a compass.
Here. Give me your water.
Here we go.
The way this works is you have to find a speaker.
There should be a magnet on it.
You'll also need to find a good piece
of ferrous wiring.
Copper won't get the job done.
And we're gonna rub one end over the speaker.
We're gonna magnetize one-half of this wire.
There we go.
Now...
we're gonna balance it on a leaf suspended in water.
I mean, think about it.
A compass is just a balanced needle
that aligns itself north-south, right?
The magnetized tip should want to align itself north
if you're in the Northern Hemisphere
or south if you're in the Southern Hemisphere.
There it is. It's pointing to magnetic north.
Our campsite is three clicks northwest of here.
You know there was a compass app on the phone, right?
-It died a noble death. -Yeah.
Come on.
I'm getting eaten alive out here.
Uh, the black shirt doesn't help.
Mosquitoes are attracted to heat,
-and that's gonna absorb all that. -Great.
-Ah. -Here we go.
This might work.
Here, smell that.
Hey, I know that smell.
Yeah, this is citronella geranium.
-JASON: Like the bug candles? -BRIAN: Yeah.
Let's go ahead and crunch it up and rub it all over.
-JASON: Just rub it on my skin? -BRIAN: Yeah.
On your clothes too if you feel like staining it,
but you'll smell nice and stinky to mosquitoes.
You can also find some other plants, like catnip.
It's supposed to be ten times more effective than DEET.
-Yeah. But then, the mountain lions will come get us. -[Brian chuckles]
I'm gonna take some extra just for later.
In warmer climates like this, it's easy to encounter
extremely high temperatures and dry heat.
If that happens, you run the risk
of heat stroke or dehydration.
-Oww! -You all right there, buddy?
Yeah. [laughs]
If you weren't carrying all that gear, it would be easier.
[Jason sighs]
BRIAN: Dehydration occurs when the body's losing
more water than it's taking in.
Symptoms may include thirst, dry mouth, muscle cramps,
dizziness, weakness, fatigue, and confusion.
The body may stop sweating and making tears.
This is because water's moving from inside your cells
to your bloodstream to help maintain
your blood volume and pressure.
As the water moves out of your cells,
your body's tissues start to dry out
and your cells shrivel and malfunction.
Brain cells are particularly susceptible to dehydration.
And if it's very severe, it could lead to a coma
and even death.
So you need to seek immediate medical attention.
If you suspect dehydration,
get the victim to take small sips of water
as soon possible.
You thirsty?
Oh, I'm parched. Thank God.
Enjoy your drink, sir.
JASON: Oh.
Okay, that looks really gross. I don't, uh...
I don't think I wanna drink that.
BRIAN: It won't be that gross by the time we're done with it.
All right. You can get pretty sick
if you drink this stuff straight.
JASON: You don't say.
BRIAN: There we go. That look good to you?
JASON: Oh, yeah. It looks like a sports drink.
BRIAN: We'll still have to boil it
'cause it might have a few microorganisms.
Your best source for drinking water is a fresh running stream.
Stagnant water covered in algae like this
is the worst possible source
because certain algae release dangerous toxins.
But if you have no other options
and are desperate for water,
this hack can help.
Question. How do we get just the water
from here down into there?
You know I don't know.
[laughing] I know you don't know.
I'm gonna have to sacrifice a little bit of my shirt.
Oh. This is the part where you get naked.
[laughing]: Not entirely.
There we go. So here's the idea.
I'm gonna stick this guy all the way down.
All this is the muck water.
Capillary action's gonna draw it up
over this top part,
then gravity will take over and run all the way down
where it should fill this one up with clean water.
All right. It'll take a while.
We'll check back on it later on.
JASON: All right.
Well, it looks like we lost a bunch to evaporation,
but tell me that doesn't look a hell of a lot better.
Oh, yeah.
BRIAN: All right. Let's get it boiled.
JASON: Okay.
BRIAN: If I had left that bottle out there
for at least six hours in strong sunlight,
the UV rays would've had
a similar effect to boiling it,
killing many of the harmful bacteria,
viruses, and parasites
probably in that nasty water.
From ocean beaches to mountains and lakes,
California's a rad place to explore the great outdoors.
It's also home to the lowest, driest,
and hottest place in North America:
Death Valley.
What's the hottest temperature ever recorded in Death Valley?
Is it 108 degrees, 119 degrees,
134 degrees, or 147 degrees?
The answer is 134 degrees in July of 1913.
It still holds the record
for the hottest temperature recorded.
Sweet melting cactuses, that's hot!
It's also hot up here in these mountains,
but it's a desert habitat,
so the temperature can drop by 20 degrees or more at night.
You gotta make sure you leave yourself enough time
to set up camp so you don't risk
getting lost and disoriented.
Hang on, boss, 45 minutes of daylight left.
That's awfully specific. Where did you come up with that number?
Oh, you don't know the secret, the trick to reading time from the sun?
-No. I try not to look at the sun. -[laughing]
You hold your fist out at arm's length.
A whole fist is an hour above the horizon,
and each individual finger's 15 minutes.
So we're at three fingers,
-which means 45 minutes. -Oh. Okay.
This is actually a pretty good spot to camp too.
It's nice and wide open, so we'll be able to tell
if any wild animals are approaching.
Wild animals, like what?
I don't know, ocelots, deer, snakes.
Probably won't hear the snakes.
I hope you have some wild animal hacks,
'cause I'm really not into getting eaten alive.
First, the essentials. We need to start a fire.
-Okay. I'll get some matches. -No, sir.
I just need your pee.
-Excuse me? -You heard me.
Fill 'er up. You'll like this one.
I'll get the tinder.
-JASON: Here's your pee. -[chuckles] All right, here you go, buddy.
You're gonna pour it right in there.
We're gonna make a little pee bag.
-All right, you ready? -Okay.
-Just right in there? -BRIAN: Yeah.
Oh, oh. Whoa, oh, whoa.
Perfect.
The idea is to get it as close to a sphere as we can.
There. And it acts like a magnifying lens.
Isn't that cool?
JASON: It's gross.
It's interesting, but it's gross.
Hopefully, we have enough daylight
that we can get this tinder started.
Come on, baby. [blows]
Clear water is the best liquid to use,
but if you don't have any and you're stranded
out in the wilderness, this might be your only option.
Hold the pouch at an angle that refracts the sunlight
to the smallest spot possible on the tinder,
and you should produce enough heat to spark a flame.
Behold. You can have this back, Murphy.
-Thank you? -[Brian laughs]
JASON: My pee started that fire.
BRIAN: Well, the sun's gone down, so it's cooler,
but we're experiencing a heat wave.
So it should only get down to around 70 degrees tonight,
a perfect night to use a hack I've always wanted to try.
-BRIAN: Here we go. -What's goin' on here, True Detective?
[laughs]
What? You think I'm gonna sleep under the stars?
I'm gonna make me a custom-made leaf hut.
Oh. I have a tent like a human being,
so I'm gonna make that.
BRIAN: Start with a sturdy stick
that's longer than your body,
prop it up at an angle of roughly 33 degrees,
then cover the ground beneath in leaves and pine needles
to give you some padding.
After that, lean a series of sticks
decreasing in length up against the center pole,
creating something that looks like a ribcage.
Then, you want to totally cover those sticks
with small twigs and branches.
This will keep the outer layer of leaves
from falling through once you start piling
those on from the bottom up.
Behold, Xanadu!
Okay. It doesn't look like much,
and it's probably not for you if you're afraid of bugs,
but it does the trick on a night like this.
It's day two, time to hack myself a fire.
[bleep]
[rattling]
We cool?
We cool.
If you're ever out on a hike or a camping trip
and encounter a rattlesnake, it's important to know
what to do and what not to do.
-JASON: Brian. -[whispering]: Be quiet.
If you encounter a snake,
any kind of snake,
the best thing to do is to back away slowly
and be as quiet as possible.
Usually, the snake will leave you alone.
Bring me a stick with a, with a fork at the end.
Now, in this case, our new best friend has claimed
a stake in our wood pile.
We need it, so I'm gonna relocate her--
safely.
Okay. Slowly, slowly, slowly, slowly. Be cool.
[breathing heavily]
Okay.
Rattlesnakes can strike about half their length.
This guy looks about six... [laughs nervously]
This guy looks about six feet long.
I'm gonna try to stay at least six feet back.
I'm gonna try to pin it right behind the head, okay?
Once it's pinned,
we should be able to get it out.
We cool?
[breathing heavily]
Be cool.
[hisses]
Since the typical victim of a snakebite is male,
under 30, and has usually had too much to drink,
I highly recommend you sober up
before tangling with these guys.
-Jason. -Yeah.
I'm gonna fling it as hard as I can
along with the stick, okay?
JASON: All right.
If anything goes wrong... run.
All right, ready? One...
two...
three. [grunts]
-There she goes. -[relieved sigh]
JASON: So she's not just gonna come back here
-and hunt us down and kill us? -BRIAN: No, man.
She's just happy that's over with, just like you.
JASON: [exhales] Yeah.
BRIAN: Rattlesnakes carry potent venom.
So what should you not do if you're bitten by a snake?
Apply a light band above and below the wound,
sit calmly for 20 to 30 minutes,
suck venom out of the wound,
or wash the wound with soap and water?
The answer is...
suck venom out of the wound.
Although the movies have made this look like a smart idea,
sucking the venom out can do more harm than good.
Saliva can contaminate the wound,
making it harder to treat.
Instead, the best method is to try to avoid
these slippery serpents at all cost.
All right, Mr. Murphy, we got fire,
we got a compass.
You forgot rattlesnakes.
[chuckles] And we have deadly rattlesnakes,
which is probably why we should make a weapon.
Oh. Now we're on the same page.
BRIAN: I got the parts from the cell phone.
You're not putting that back together.
[chuckles] No, but there's still tons of useful stuff.
Here we go. The back of this screen,
perfect signal mirror.
It could save your life if you get lost.
But we are gonna take the circuit board
and break it in half.
It could be filed down to a pretty good point
for an arrowhead or a spear.
A cell phone circuit board is perfect to grind down
to a small spearhead because the bulk of it's made
of strong, durable fiberglass.
Look at that. Less than a minute of grinding
and it's already down to a spearhead point.
Not bad at all.
I'll tell you what, why don't you grab me some branches
and we could strip off some bark
-and make some rope out of it. -All right.
-Bark acquired. -[chuckles] Awesome.
All right, I'm putting a notch on this tip right here
for this guy to fit in.
Oh, beautiful.
-Look at that. -Nice.
This is the good stuff. Good pick.
What wild beast are we gonna take down with this?
[chuckles] The only beasts we can,
which will probably be fish.
What do you say? You intimidated?
Looks formidable.
-Go, go. Get the pot. -No, no. Don't do that.
-Don't stab me with my own broken phone. -[Brian laughing]
Come on, let's go catch some fish.
If you want to head out into the wild
with the bare minimum, you might wanna make
one of these, a survival tin.
It's packed with all the most helpful,
hardest to duplicate survival tools.
Let's take a look at what we got here.
Stuff like a trash bag.
Not only will this keep you dry,
it can keep you warm, and more importantly,
it can be used to collect water from the air.
Cotton balls are useful for medical emergencies
and is good tinder to start a fire.
Super glue has tons of uses,
but I want it for sealing small cuts and abrasions.
Some of this is obvious,
fishing hooks, fishing line,
tin foil, alcohol pads,
matches.
But what other practical item could be used
to help save your life in the wild?
Is it a nickel, a toothpick, or a condom?
The answer is...
A condom.
No, seriously,
Not only are they giant rubber bands,
but they can hold up to two liters of water.
Check this out.
There we go.
So your river stream...
suddenly becomes...
Wow. Holy cow!
I did not expect that to fill so easy.
Look at that.
This much water could be the difference
between life and death.
But food's also important,
and I need to score some.
You actually think this is gonna work?
Uh, I do not know.
[both chuckle]
I mean, theoretically, you made something sharp,
you stab a fish with it.
BRIAN: All right, boss, I need a spotter.
Come on, baby. Come on, baby. Come on, baby.
JASON: There he is.
Yah! I got him! I... [laughing]
-JASON: Get out! -[laughing]
[Jason laughs]
Now, if you don't have a homemade spear
or a pond full of fish nearby,
try setting up a snare.
If you're gonna set up snares,
you really should tell everyone in your party,
but they're surprisingly easy to set up.
And if you see evidence of small game,
set up a few snares, and you have a good chance
of getting a hot meal.
Let me show you how I made this snare
out of Jason's headphones.
All right,
there are four main components to a snare.
You got the engine, the leader line,
the noose, and the two part trigger.
In this case, I made the leader line and the noose
using Jason's headphones.
I tied one end to the engine,
in this case, a sapling,
and the other end, I made into this slipknot.
Here we go.
So, to set the engine,
we're gonna push the sapling over as far as we can
to get maximum tension.
We're gonna figure out where we can snag it
to where it's barely holding on.
Oh, that's a hair-trigger.
Perfect.
Now, very gently,
set the second part of the trigger.
This one's called the hook.
You're gonna make the noose as wide as you can.
This is where they're gonna step in to spring...
that engine.
There we go.
Let's give it a try. Ready?
If everything goes right,
the animal comes in, snags it,
pulls it just enough,
then you got dinner.
Not me though.
True or false,
if you're experiencing hypothermia,
you should drink alcohol to stay warm?
The answer is...
false.
The so-called booze blanket is a myth.
Alcohol actually reduces your body's core temperature
by causing blood vessels to dilate.
The increased blood flow may make you feel warmer,
but you're actually losing heat,
but you are getting drunk.
-BRIAN: Morning, rock star. -JASON: Morning.
-Nice day. -BRIAN: For now.
-It's a red sky. -What does that mean?
It means it's probably gonna rain.
How do you gather that?
Well, at night, red sky's a good thing.
But at morning...
Red sky at night, sailor's delight,
red sky morning, sailors take warning?
JASON: I think you're making this up.
BRIAN: No. It's a real thing.
When there's a low pressure front,
it's got lots of moisture in it,
which scatters the light, making the sky more red.
When it's red in the morning, it means it's usually gonna rain.
Looking at the sky's one way to predict bad weather,
but how can you also predict it
using your campfire?
Is bad weather coming when
the smoke rises steadily,
the smoke swirls and descends,
the smoke is stagnant,
or when the smoke blows east?
The answer is...
when the smoke swirls and descends.
The smoke from your campfire's a natural barometer
to measure air pressure.
When it descends, it means air pressure's decreasing
and could bring clouds and precipitation.
I gotta say, after two nights in a leaf hut,
it's time to head home.
-[Brian grunts] -We're lost, aren't we?
-We're not lost. -You can tell me if we're lost.
We're not lost. And if we were, we could call for help.
JASON: How?
Oh, man, there's plenty of tricks. Hang on.
Here we go. We could use one of these.
-An acorn? -Yeah.
Well, not the whole thing, just the top.
Check this out.
[shrill whistle]
-Oh. -[laughing]
-How did you do that? -It's...
-Isn't that amazing? -It's loud.
All right, you're gonna push your knuckles together like this,
you're gonna make a V with your thumbs on top.
You're gonna blow right over the top of your knuckles,
and do like an E or an O sound,
give it a nice big pop,
and it will go...
[whistling]
[blows air]
[whistling]
How cool is that?
That is kind of awesome.
Feel safer now?
You know where we're at though, right?
-BRIAN: Yes, we're not lost. -JASON: All right.
Here we go. I can see the road.
JASON: I got to admit, you don't really need all of this stuff.
BRIAN: Yeah, man.
JASON [laughing]: But what were you going to do if it rained?
BRIAN: Nah. I would've been fine.
JASON: I don't think so.
You would've been knocking on my door begging to come in.
BRIAN: Well, maybe.
JASON: Oh, great. The directions,
they were on my phone.
[Brian laughs]
Captioned by Point.360