MacGyver is cooler than you can ever hope to be. But by piggybacking this coolness——adopting the relevant hacks and -isms into your way of moving through the world——you can at least be cooler than your friends. The first step is below (the second step is Netflix). Got other, favorite moments? Comment them below.
Episode 1.04—The Gauntlet: To create a distraction, MacGyver ties firecrackers to the inside of a church bell, attaches a lit candle to the bell’s clapper, and uses rope to hold the bell raised to the side. When another candle burns through the rope, the bell is released and the candle on the clapper swings to ignite the firecrackers.
Episode 2.01—The Human Factor: To recreate the fingerprint of a person who recently used an electronic hand-scan machine, MacGyver coats the scanner with a thick layer of plaster dust. When he gently blows away the dust, some remains stuck to the previous operator’s sweat print. MacGyver then presses the dust print with his jacket: hand-scan verified.
Episode 2.07—The Road Not Taken: To evade jungle pursuers, MacGyver creates a time-release catapult. He bends four small trees to the ground and secures them using a thin vine, using his friend’s rosary to concentrate sunlight, which slowly burns through the vine. When released, the trees spring up, throwing rocks.
Episode 3.10—Blow Out: When MacGyver stumbles onto a robbery in progress at the local grocery store, he mixes tear gas from cayenne pepper, vinegar and baking soda—all this inside a hot water bottle, which pressurizes like a balloon as the vinegar and baking soda react. When MacGyver punches a hole in the rubber water bottle, it spews pepper spray.
Episode 4.14—Gold Rush: MacGyver listens to an old phonograph record by attaching a pin to the end of a paper cone and holding the pin gently against the record, which he rotates on a cylinder.
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