The theremin is an electronic musical instrument controlled without physical contact by the performer. It is named after its inventor, Leon Theremin, who patented the device in 1928.
Sir David Frederick Attenborough is a British broadcaster, biologist, natural historian, and writer. He is best known for writing and presenting, in conjunction with the BBC Studios Natural History Unit, the nine nature documentary series forming the Life collection, a comprehensive survey of animal and plant life on Earth.
James Burke is a broadcaster, science historian, author, and television producer. He was one of the main presenters of the BBC1 science series Tomorrow's World from 1965 to 1971 and created and presented the television series Connections (1978), and its more philosophical sequel The Day the Universe Changed (1985), about the history of science and technology. The Washington Post has called him "one of the most intriguing minds in the Western world".
A Rube Goldberg machine, named after American cartoonist Rube Goldberg, is a chain reaction–type machine or contraption intentionally designed to perform a simple task in an indirect and (impractically) overly complicated way. Usually, these machines consist of a series of simple unrelated devices; the action of each triggers the initiation of the next, eventually resulting in achieving a stated goal.
Simon Phillip Cowell is an English television personality, entrepreneur, and record executive. He has judged on the British television talent competition shows Pop Idol (2001–2003), The X Factor UK, and Britain's Got Talent (2007–present), as well as the American television talent competition shows American Idol (2002–2010), The X Factor US (2011–2013), and America's Got Talent (2016–present). Cowell founded the British entertainment company Syco in 2005, as well as its now-defunct predecessor, Syco Music in 2002.
Tomorrow's World is a British television series about contemporary developments in science and technology. First transmitted on 7 July 1965 on BBC1, it ran for 38 years until it was cancelled at the beginning of 2003. The Tomorrow's World title was revived in 2017 as an umbrella brand for BBC science programming.
Robert Maurice Lipson Winston, Baron Winston, is a British professor, medical doctor, scientist, television presenter and Labour peer.
A cat's eye or road stud is a retroreflective safety device used in road marking and was the first of a range of raised pavement markers.
Look Around You is a comedic parody of British science television shows, devised and written by Robert Popper and Peter Serafinowicz, and narrated in the first series by Nigel Lambert. The first series of eight 10-minute shorts was shown in 2002, and the second series of six 30-minute episodes in 2005, both on BBC Two. The first series of Look Around You was nominated for a BAFTA award in 2003.
MasterChef is a British competitive cooking reality show produced by Endemol Shine UK and Banijay and broadcast in 60 countries around the world. The show initially ran from 1990 to 2001 and was revived in 2005 as MasterChef Goes Large. The revival featured a new format devised by Franc Roddam and John Silver, with Karen Ross producing. In 2008, the name was changed back to MasterChef but the format remained unchanged.
Ancient Inventions was a BBC historical documentary series released in 1998. It was presented by former Monty Python member Terry Jones and looked at great inventions of the ancient world. The series is split into 3 episodes, namely City Life, Sex and Love, and War and Conflicts, all around 50 min long.
Robert Dallas Campbell is a British television presenter, podcast host, and television and stage actor, previously a presenter on the factual Channel 5 series The Gadget Show in 2008 and BBC One science series Bang Goes the Theory from 2009 to 2012.
Ed and Oucho's Excellent Inventions is a children's TV show, presented by Ed Petrie and his puppet cactus companion, Oucho. Before this program, Ed and Oucho were CBBC office presenters and favoured by many children.
Michael Hugh Mosley was a British television and radio journalist, producer, presenter and writer who worked for the BBC from 1985 until his death. He presented television programmes on biology and medicine and regularly appeared on The One Show. Mosley was an advocate of intermittent fasting and low-carbohydrate diets who wrote books promoting the ketogenic diet. He died on the Greek island of Symi on 5 June 2024.
Wallace and Gromit's World of Invention is a British science-themed miniseries, starring Peter Sallis, Ashley Jensen, Jem Stansfield, and John Sparkes, produced by Aardman Animations, which aired on BBC One during 2010, from 3 November to 8 December. The programme focuses on inventions based around various themes, and consists of live-action films interlaced with animated claymation segments hosted by characters Wallace and Gromit, featuring a side-plot connected to that episode's theme. While Sallis reprises his role as the voice of Wallace, live-action film segments were either narrated by Jensen or presented by Stansfield, with Sparkes providing the voice of Wallace and Gromit's unseen archivist Goronwy, a unique character for the programme.
MasterChef: The Professionals is a BBC television competitive cooking show which aired on BBC Two from 2008 to 2019, and on BBC One since 2020. It is a spin-off from the main MasterChef series, for professional working chefs. Introduced in 2008, Gregg Wallace and India Fisher reprised their roles as co-judge and voiceover respectively. Michel Roux Jr., a two-Michelin-star chef, assisted, from 2009, by his sous-chef Monica Galetti. Since 2011, Sean Pertwee has taken over Fisher's role as voiceover.
Eureka is a British educational television series about science and inventiveness which was originally produced and broadcast by the BBC from 1982 to 1986, and repeated until 1987. Devised and written by Clive Doig and Jeremy Beadle, the series told the stories behind the inventions of commonplace objects.
50 Things That Made the Modern Economy is a radio show and podcast on the BBC World Service. It is presented by economist and journalist Tim Harford. The first series was broadcast between 5 November 2016 and 28 October 2017. A second series began on 30 March 2019.
