No Railings

In this very special holiday episode we take the non-controversial stance that Die Hard is a Christmas movie and discuss it! However Ty takes some controversial stances in her descriptions of it, though it's hard to disagree. We explore building science by discussing crawling through the HVAC, just what are elevators, and what's up with the sprinklers.

It's the season finale!! Follow us on social media (twitter, FB, or instagram) to find out about season 2! 

We wrap our time this season with Zombieland, a movie about found family and how important it is to have, just, any girlfriend that will take you.   

Remember the Rules of Survival in the Zombie Apocalypse? One of them is to wear a seatbelt, and Molly goes into why It’s good advice even when the most violent things you’ll encounter on the road are minivans full of soccer teams.  

Second, Ty asks the obvious: DO Twinkies actually last forever? Then she asks the less obvious: what DOES last forever?  

Next, Molly identifies something the movie got… wrong??? She takes us on a journey through prion diseases, mad cow disease, and why we don’t eat brain stems.   

Finally, Ty asks whether you can actually be your own theme park ride operator, and doesn’t really find a satisfying answer. However, she’s now way more familiar with roller coaster braking systems, so it wasn’t a total wash.

Find links to the sources used in the episode and more on our website: https://www.norailingspodcast.com/

Today on No Railings we heroically show up to tell you that Alien is a very good film.

Molly gets down to the nitty gritty of the Xenomorph life cycle by investigating parasitic wasps and their terrible habits.

This week on No Railings, we alone are brave enough to call Sharknado "scientifically dubious".  Ty and Molly lead with some pretty synergistic questions:  1- can you fly a helicopter next to a twister 2- while you're there, can you throw a bomb deep enough into the cyclone to blow it up and stop the 'nado? Ty answers No to kissing tornadoes in choppers and Molly answers No to blowing up the weather. Science is easy!  Next, Ty investigates what happens when animals (like sharks!) get cast as villains in popular media. It ain't good, yo! She also takes advantage of the opportunity to mention bats. The brand is strong.  Finally Molly breaks down just how likely a shark attack is, and how to best prevent them. Are they really out there just waiting for the next 'nado to come and get you? We also talk about our other favorite deadly animal, because the brand is REALLY strong. 

In discussing Reefer Madness this week, we join the hallowed ranks of Podcasts About Weed. Finally! Did you know that there are actually 2 movies called Reefer Madness? One’s a propaganda piece from the 1930’s about the dangers of smoking Giggle Cigarettes and the other is a beloved cult musical from 2005. We watched both!

Our first minisode!

Topics of note:

This week we discuss the coolest movie poster of 2004: The Day After Tomorrow!

First, Molly investigates the animal-earthquake connection we’ve all been told about. Is it real or is it just good cinema? Well… mostly the latter. But there’s a lot of folkloric evidence of following animal cues to guess the weather, so that’s actually pretty cool!

Then, Ty discusses just what exactly is in floodwater. Here is a hint: just about everything you DON’T want to touch. Keep your kids, your clothes, and your cans out of flood water, yo.

Also, what are the chances that weather which hurls choppers out of the sky can be survived in a tent? Molly dissects the uses of tents and how extreme weather gear is used in the arctic by REAL polar researchers!

Next, Ty wants to know what exactly is going on with Emmy Rossum’s leg. It seems super infected, how’s she going to make it through that??? Probably she won’t. Not realistically, anyway. But at least this is a movie so she’s provided a bit of plot armor.

Almost no scientists thought Day After Tomorrow was accurate, but that doesn’t mean we can’t learn from it!

This week we discuss the #1 threat facing extreme sports aficionados today: naked cave monster men.

Welcome to No Railings, a podcast where we look at environmental health and safety by watching movies and talkin' about them. In our first episode, we kick things off with the movies that inspired us in the first place: The Star Wars original trilogy!

A list of the sources we used for this episode can be found at norailingspod.com/links