Going Deep with David Rees - S1 E1

2. How to Tie Your Shoes

Most of us still keep our shoe laces knotted the same way we learned when we were kids, but what other methods are possible, and which one will lead to optimal shoelace tying? Is there really such a thing as the perfect knot? David consults with survivalists, surgeons and even an evolutionary biologist to find out what kind of laces and knots we should be using in our footwear, as well as an answer to the age-old question: should we be wearing shoes at all?

3. How to Dig a Hole

Learn the tools, techniques and talents needed to carry out any type of excavation, including mines, graves, golf cups and even uniquely personal holes that express something about you as an individual. Join David as he embarks on a journey of hole (and self) discovery that brings him in contact with some of the world's foremost experts on digging. He then synthesizes all he learns into a series of simple steps that even those who are unable to tell a spade from a shovel can follow.

4. How to Flip a Coin

Heads or tails? Whichever you pick, there's a better than 50-50 chance that your mind ends up blown by David's rigorous investigation into the history, the physics and the shadowy known unknowns behind the ancient practice of coin flipping. He'll consult with physicists, circus performers, the New York Lottery draw team and an engineer turned “kinetic sculptor” in order to determine with 100 percent scientific certainty the ideal method for flipping coins.

5. How to Swat a Fly

David doesn't like flies, and with good reason: They're annoying and are known carriers of disease. Adding to his frustration is the fact that they always seem to be one step ahead whenever he tries to swat them. In order to become a master fly assassin, he needs to discover the best tools, the optimal swatting motion and the way to get inside his enemy's head — literally. In this episode, you'll find out why it's so hard to smash those little monsters into oblivion.

6. How to Open a Door

In the most exciting episode of television ever created, David Rees will show you - once and for all - how to open a door with total confidence. Glass doors, wooden doors, push doors, pull doors: no doorknob or handle is left unexamined as David twists, turns, pushes and pulls his way to victory.

7. How to Throw a Paper Airplane

David is determined to learn how to throw a paper airplane perfectly, so that everyone in its presence will simply stop and stare in awe. Join David as he consults with a third-generation origami master to unlock the secrets of paper, heads out into the California desert with a fun-loving band of NASA scientists who are literally reinventing the science of flight, and teams up with the world's foremost paper airplane expert on a creative collaboration that nobody expects.

8. How to Light a Match

Join David as he sets out to get the most possible use out of a single match. Along the way, he finds out how matches work and what fire actually is. David attempts to master the art of striking a match and learns about topics ranging from molecular chemistry to the spread of forest fires to stick making. Then, David goes to a remote Montana lab where scientists have unlocked fire's most fundamental secrets.

9. How to Climb a Tree

One bit of unfinished business from David's childhood still haunts him — his parents never let him climb the magnolia tree outside the home he grew up in. But when you have your own TV show, you can make your own rules. Join David as he sets out to defy his parents' warnings by utterly mastering the art of tree climbing.

10. How to Shake Hands

David has dreaded meeting new people his entire life, and it shows — his friends and neighbors all agree that his handshake is horrible. With anatomists to show him how his hands work, arm wrestlers to train his grip strength, and a hand model to help him care for his terribly neglected appendages, David quickly handles the basics.