Gadget Man (2012) s02e06 Episode Script
Series 2, Episode 6
1 Hello, I am Richard Ayoade.
Welcome to Gadget Man, where I get to celebrate some of the world's best gadgets How's that looking? You look like Will.
i.
am.
.
.
and introduce you to the most brilliant and bizarre technology from around the world.
Woah!Oh.
I am just a little bit tense, you understand.
How do you think I feel? This week I am looking at how small gadgets can be the bees' knees I love what you tried to do, and it very nearly came off.
So before ado is in any way furthered, let's tool up and get down to business.
You join me in my ideal mode of transportation: a car that also affords me the room to jog.
But for the few of you left who don't own Hummers, space is at a premium.
There are over 12,000 people per square mile in London alone.
It's a scramble.
The world is more cramped than ever, so shouldn't we be saving space? Can gadgets help? Is smaller better? Let's tackle this together.
Gadgets themselves are getting smaller all the time, when I was young, if you wanted to make a phonecall on the move, you needed something this size.
In order to take video, this was the smallest that you would get.
And to play music, you needed one of these fellas.
Burn, baby, burn Disco inferno Burn, baby, burn That was the only thing open to a brother.
Now, all of these functions have been condensed into something over one billion of us own.
A smartphone.
But that is by no means the end.
Companies are already investing in technology that you can wear on your frequent person for the sake of Pete.
Like, for example, the Pebble.
It's a smartphone that isn't a smartphone because it's a smartwatch.
Pretty soon they are going to be blasting images into our eyes using this.
It's a contact lens that contains an LCD screen.
And, before long, I may have to forsake one of my Hummers for this.
The world's smallest folding bicycle.
Oh, the savage indignity.
Gadgets are getting smaller and smaller - but unlike the box apartments of Tokyo and New York, our homes remain wantonly large.
Could smaller gadgets lead to us to smaller houses? I am going to dedicate the next portion of my life to finding out.
I'm not the only one quacking on about smaller space - even Mini, the tiny car manufacturer, has developed a vehicle that doubles as a living space by fitting all sorts of functions into its interior.
You open the door, as usual.
This slides out, this goes up.
And there's a stove.
Imagine.
Underneath here, you can store items such as kettles.
Place the kettle on there.
Should all of that exertion have caused you to perspire in an insane manner, you can relieve your sweat with this shower.
Or justpoint it.
And then, finally, you can repose in the bed.
Can I poach this principle, and take it up a notch? For I wish to squish a whole bunch of stuff into a tiny space.
Look at this house, it's an obscenity.
I wonder if I could live in a tiny space.
A cube like this.
One small room using only miniscule gadgets and ingenuity.
To prove smaller is the opposite of worse, I want to squeeze an entire house with five whole rooms and my tiny gadgets into a cube measuring only 120 square feet.
And to action this mindquake I need clever people.
And so I sack without remorse my usual engineers in favour of the country's leading design experts at the University of Hertfordshire, to see if they can make my dream home actually happen.
One thing I will definitely need is smaller furniture - sofas, tables and chairs are the biggest items in our houses and I would moonwalk across my own mind, if I could reduce the size of these beasts.
Foldaway furniture was first developed by the Ancient Egyptians, and that was over 100 years ago.
Surely we can bring it back.
I'm going to see if the space saving furniture I am now pointing to can give the people in the house I am now pointing to a little more room.
I am going to give these innovative items to a standard suburban family to see if they prefer them to their regular bulky furniture in what may be the most incredible TV experiment of all time.
What is that?There's nothing there! What is it? Replacing the three piece suite is the cardboard Flexible Love sofa, which can expand to a thumping seven metres.
If you get up, what happens? Yeah, get up.
Yeah! This item is disguised as a sauna style bath mat.
What is it? Lift it up.
What is it, what's it gonna be? It's like an egg shaped table or something.
It's a coffee table! No, it's a seat.
Just two and a half centimetres thick when laid flat, the Rising Chair transforms into an uncomfortable wooden seat.
I think this is much better than that one.
The aluminium Folditure dining set measures even less - just 2cm each when folded up.
Like Frank Sinatra, it hails from New Jersey and isn't for everyone.
So have this family been persuaded to junk their old furniture for future furniture? How was it? The chairs we have in the other room for the dining room are, they go really flat and skinny.
It did save space, definitely.
I can see that in certain events it could be really good.
That's the furniture dealt with - but what non-furniture items? One man who has a lot of non-furniture items is musician Alex James.
Hey, Richard.
Hello, Alex.
This is a very pleasing abode.
Thanks for coming.
He has upsized from the city to an elephantine six bedroom, five bathroom, 200 acre country estate - with outhouses.
Let's have a proper cup of coffee.
This is Big Bertha.
His gadgets have all expanded as well, so I'm going to try out some compact gadget alternatives to his oversized appliances.
I don't think you need a Costa's in your kitchen.
Maybe we should look at something smaller.
This tiny espresso maker works in a microwave - a world first.
What? You are kidding.
This is an espresso maker.
It's a microwavableThat is going straight in my suitcase.
Simply add ground coffee and water.
This has a curved back, this microwave.
To save space.
And microwave for 30 secs.
What do you think?My word! Is it all right?Yeah! I'm not swapping my ridiculous coffee machine.
I need that.
It's a dealbreaker, wherever I go.
Yeah, you need to put that in the freight case and take it with you.
Pretty much.
Alex's laundry room is stacked with no less or more than five washer driers.
I humbly proffer a space-saving alternative.
This collapsible electric drier will fit in a small cupboard.
You pop it up like this.
And then, say, let's take some clothes.
It takes up to 10 kilos.
10 kilos? So you put these in, zip it up, and turn it on.
Look at that, rising up like a cake.
It is cakey.
Like a big panna cotta.
It is sort of warm, isn't it, so you're sort of drawn to it.
Yeah, I feel the whole family will gather round this like in primitive times.
And perhaps tell stories.
Collapse it down.
Oh, that's a nice action, isn't it?Yes.
Yeah.
What do you think?Put me down for half a dozen.
Good.
So this is your tower of shoes.
Are you saying I have too many shoes? Is that what you're saying?It's a good number, but look at this.
In this suitcase there are 15 pairs of shoes.
You are joking! I'm not even messing with you.
Look.
Described by its Californian makers as 'shoe-vo-lutionary', Zipz shoes claim to be the world's first interchangeable shoe system.
I know what you're about to say.
"This looks like an interchangeable shoe system.
" It's because it IS an interchangeable shoe system.
You have the base, like this, and then you can choose from a variety of fun styles, and they connect up.
I'm the kind of person who might put a new top to my shoe on during a meeting.
I think kids would absolutely love them, but I don't want one.
Thanks.
That's fine, that's fine, that's your prerogative.
And I'm not saying that in a Bobby Brown way.
Almost 9 million of us own more than one BBQ - Alex has in excess of four but less than seven minus one on his outdoor cooking terrace.
I love a barbeque, I'd cook everything on a barbeque if I had time.
You see, I'm morally opposed to barbeques, I just feel that before long you're wearing white jeans, you've got a rugby top on, there's noend.
I am proposing that he can junk them all and replace them with just this one - the multi-functional Frontier Food Smoker.
This Australian beaut can do it all - roast, grill and even smoke.
You're a man of cheese.
I'm a man of cheese.
You know, this can also allow you to cold smoke some cheese.
Oh, wow.
That is interesting.
This wood chip coil burns for ten hours, infusing your meat, fish or cheese with a rich smoky flavour.
That is really clever.
And then, put the lid on.
There you go.
I have to say, pretty good.
That smoking gadget is genius.
That's good? Yeah.
Can't wait to taste that.
While we wait for the cheese, we pay Alex's chickens a visit.
They've got a big rambling coup - but I've brought along the two smallest on the market.
I like the look of the Nogg, it looks like a chicken spaceship.
The reason I'm showing Alex this compact coup is to tell him, and remind any remaining viewers, that I'm planning to live in hutch of my very own.
The idea is to create a gadget house that reduces space.
Three metres by four metres by three metres.
They're even furious at those dimensions.
What do you think, can it be done? Brilliant idea, nightmare.
Great.
we have our trailer.
Coming up, my revolutionary downsized house is finished, and comedian Jimmy Carr comes and looks at it.
Yeah? you know what? I like it cos it's gadgety.
Welcome back.
I've been looking at gadgets that help us live it up in small spaces.
What?!This is an espresso maker.
You are kidding! It's a microwaveableThat is going straight in my suitcase.
Gadgets are getting smaller, so can we reduce the space we need to live in, to boot? I intend to show we can, by building a tiny house where five rooms can fit into one.
To do this, my engineers are employing an intricate jigsaw of folding walls and crazy-clever design.
One room that needs careful thought is the kitchen.
My small cooking area is for def going to need small gadgets.
I'm off to meet Michelin-starred chef Galton Blackiston at a rural restaurant to put a compact cooking gadget to the test.
"What's in the bag, nephew?" I hear you say.
I'll tell you what's in the bag.
An entire kitchen, y'all.
I'm looking forward to seeing you give me a cookery lesson on this.
I'm proposing that all of this need not exist.
Because of this.
Mmm.
I am talking about the Thermomix.
This gadge is a dynamo, with only one less than 11 different cooking functions.
I'm going to demonstrate its versatility by making a three-course meal for diners, right under Galton's beak.
It's soup.
Sun-dried tomato soup.
Does this machine actually sun-dry the tomatoes for you? Don't flirt with me.
Does anything here sun-dry things? No, not really! OK, well, it's a false comparison.
This mini kitchen weighs, chops and cooks.
So making soup from scratch in just ten mins is insultingly easy.
Do you feel in your line of work, at stages, that all food kind of looks gross? HE LAUGHS Yeah, it's all right.
I mean, it's not Heinz.
No, that's ten times better than Heinz.
But that's just the actual starter.
It's going to do some beef.
And it's going to do a palate-cleansing strawberry sorbet.
Yeah?It can do it all.
There's nothing it can't do, apart from emotionally comfort you.
HE LAUGHS Different compartments means that you can boil vegetables below, while also cooking meat on top.
A whole roast dinner at the same time! And for dessert, it can blend fruit to make a sorbet in a matter of minutes.
It will even do its own washing up.
I'm for real now.
The people seem happy? People are very happy with it! I am amazed that you've actually managed to create the main course and the sorbet.
Surprisingly good! Great piece of kit! This is my pretend home.
It's an enormous pretend home, but I don't need this much pretend room.
I'm a man who pretends to have modest needs.
My engineering staff have been busy building me a tiny gadget house which will contain everything I require.
Will it work? Probably.
But let's see it anyway! Surrounded by skyscrapers, my pocket-sized property sits seamlessly in the centre of London city.
Measuring just 3m by 4m, this streamlined house could be a glimpse into the future, when we all are compelled to live life in smaller spaces.
So here is my downsized house.
It looks like a normal Hansel and Gretel-style house.
But there's a key difference.
Would you Adam and Eve that there are five rooms in one here?! Let's explore them! Together, as a team! Now! The interior floor area measures just 12 square metres, but it contains all any man - or other genders - could ever want.
Welcome to the crib.
It's modestly-sized, let's say that.
Erm, this is my living area.
Scattered about the place are all manner of tiny gadgets.
A music player that turns anything it touches into speakers.
The steadfast Thermomix.
And the TV remote control won't get lost behind the cushion, because the cushion IS the remote control, allowing me to lose other things behind it.
It's a bit like a library stacking system.
I turn this wheel Obviously my "objets" are now under direct threat.
My engineering staff has triumphed.
The walls inside the cube sit on runners, moving backwards and forwards, thus re-configuring the interior space.
Lock eyes on the kitchen, y'all.
The power and plumbing supply is built into the back wall.
All I now need do is move the walls again, so I can get back to the living room.
Lovely.
I'm now ready to receive guests.
When I say guests, I lie.
There is just one man coming.
A comedian called Jimmy Carr, whose house may well be larger than this.
So, this is the new house? Yes.
I've made sure that it's in keeping with the area.
That's very important to me, architecturally.
Erm, it's not fully in keeping with the I mean, it's not strictly speaking a residential area.
Who are you, Kevin McCloud? A little bit!How dare you? I love what you tried to do, and it very nearly came off.
GRUMPILY:Do you want to go inside? HE LAUGHS Wow!How do you feel about this? I too, in my home, have an entrance hall where you hang coatsYeah.
.
.
And take off shoes.
And I presume this is that space.
And then, like the TARDIS, it opens up and we go into the proper the property.
Don't be glib.
Sit down.
OK? Sit down.
Sit down.
Wh-where?Sit down.
Where? In the living room.
In the living room? OK.
OK.
Jimmy's initial rudeness is arrested by this hitherto hidden piece of space-saving technology.
Yeah?Do you know, I like it, because it's gadgety.
Yeah.
I just like there's something about that is so satisfying.
If you just had a TV there, I would not be impressed.
We squeeze into the kitchen We're now in the kitchen area.
I've got to admit, that is quite clever.
Do you like it? Well, that's quite a Again, the gadgety nature of being able to do that is kind of Does that then move across as well? Yes.
Are we in danger? Jesus, not really! Come on!How does? So you can decide how big your kitchen is? Yeah, you can re-enact that scene in Star Wars, where they get crushed.
How like your house is this, currently? I've got that! Great gadget.
What do you like about the Thermomix, Jimmy? The Thermomix makes the best porridge in the world.
Just throw everything in there, it does it for about ten minutes and you get this incredible creamy porridge.
Nice.
Love a porridge in the morning! It's a hell of a gadget.
I mean, that's a hell of a gadget.
At last, recorded proof that Jimmy Carr eats porridge.
Do you want a plate? Is that like a? Oh, for Oh, my God! That is a There you go.
Do you want some quiche? I'm liking the kitchen, generally.
I've got a feeling, if you show me another room, all of that will be destroyed.
His feeling is proved correct, as I reveal to him a tiny toilet.
So, actually, there is an exercise element.
I mean, the whole house is basically the gym.
Yes.
And I think we can take out the cameraman.
Here we go.
I mean, this is Yeah.
Are you pleased? This is all fabulous, isn't it? The duck doubles up as a digital speaker, and the shaver is the size of a credit card.
Get in the machine.
What's the machine?OK.
Washing machine, shower.
I mean, brilliant.
I mean, well, that's a shower, that's like a shower in any normal-sized house.
That's just a shower.
OK.
On thisSure.
.
.
Has anyone been damaged? I mean, it strikes me that health and safety-wise Has anyone been damaged?! .
.
You could come in of an evening YeahAnd you could crush a loved one.
They could be just flat.
How would you crush a loved one? Well, wait there.
Wait there for one second and I'll show you.
OK, do it.
Yeah?Keep going.
Yeah? Yeah? Richard, are you in there? Yeah.
If it hurts, tell me.
I'm in the shower, fool! So the safety mechanism on this house is hide in the shower? That's ALWAYS the safety mechanism.
What's your assessment, Jimmy? I like it.
I think it's genuinely fun and innovative and if you think about it, it's like it's basically half a shipping container, maybe a third of a shipping container and they've made it kind of an interesting, fun little space.
There's a problem with housing and where housing is.
It could solve it.
You set one of these up in every shipping container, and plonk them right in the middle of town.
Where are we now? We're in the middle of Spitalfields.
Sure.
No-one can afford a flat round here, they're crazy money.
So just stick one of these in.
There is one final room to reveal.
And that room can only be described as being upstairs.
How do we get upstairs? OK, watch this.
Whoa, whoa, easy! Easy, tiger! Move this to the centre I'm moving, I'm moving! All right.
So that to the centre.
Oh, OK.
OK now? Well, no, I'm putting in the centre.
You're not authorised.
I don't think this marriage is going to work.
Whoa! So this is where the magic happens, is it? Well, this is where the beds are.
Wow.
Let's leave it at that.
The tiny cube house manages to contain two double beds suspended on a mezzanine level.
If we were single guys, right? Sure.
Imagine the scenario, we're single guys.
Yeah.
We live together.
Which I'm very much not, but go ahead.
OK, we're on a budget.
Couple of handsome fellas like usDon't touch me.
.
.
We're going to be bringing the ladies back, right?Shh.
Maybe no.
It's a concern.
If you were trying if I was going to try and The images flooding into my mind are so abhorrent to me, Jimmy, that I must quell this line of thought.
I mean, it's not spacious.
Let's not pretend it is.
Yeah, but that's literally the point.
It's conserving space.
Does it do it effectively? Yeah, it bloody does.
Jimmy Carr, thank you very much.
And on that devastating note, Jimmy makes his exit, his head a-pulse with the brave new miniature world I've opened up before his tiny, confused little eyelets.
Well, there's no need for me to blow my own trumpet, because Jimmy Carr has just blown it for me.
And I'm not sure I'm entirely comfortable with that sentence myself.
You see, we've managed to downsize an entire house into an area probably no bigger than one of his walk-in wardrobes.
I feel I can retire to my upstairs sleeping quarters in triumph.
Welcome to Gadget Man, where I get to celebrate some of the world's best gadgets How's that looking? You look like Will.
i.
am.
.
.
and introduce you to the most brilliant and bizarre technology from around the world.
Woah!Oh.
I am just a little bit tense, you understand.
How do you think I feel? This week I am looking at how small gadgets can be the bees' knees I love what you tried to do, and it very nearly came off.
So before ado is in any way furthered, let's tool up and get down to business.
You join me in my ideal mode of transportation: a car that also affords me the room to jog.
But for the few of you left who don't own Hummers, space is at a premium.
There are over 12,000 people per square mile in London alone.
It's a scramble.
The world is more cramped than ever, so shouldn't we be saving space? Can gadgets help? Is smaller better? Let's tackle this together.
Gadgets themselves are getting smaller all the time, when I was young, if you wanted to make a phonecall on the move, you needed something this size.
In order to take video, this was the smallest that you would get.
And to play music, you needed one of these fellas.
Burn, baby, burn Disco inferno Burn, baby, burn That was the only thing open to a brother.
Now, all of these functions have been condensed into something over one billion of us own.
A smartphone.
But that is by no means the end.
Companies are already investing in technology that you can wear on your frequent person for the sake of Pete.
Like, for example, the Pebble.
It's a smartphone that isn't a smartphone because it's a smartwatch.
Pretty soon they are going to be blasting images into our eyes using this.
It's a contact lens that contains an LCD screen.
And, before long, I may have to forsake one of my Hummers for this.
The world's smallest folding bicycle.
Oh, the savage indignity.
Gadgets are getting smaller and smaller - but unlike the box apartments of Tokyo and New York, our homes remain wantonly large.
Could smaller gadgets lead to us to smaller houses? I am going to dedicate the next portion of my life to finding out.
I'm not the only one quacking on about smaller space - even Mini, the tiny car manufacturer, has developed a vehicle that doubles as a living space by fitting all sorts of functions into its interior.
You open the door, as usual.
This slides out, this goes up.
And there's a stove.
Imagine.
Underneath here, you can store items such as kettles.
Place the kettle on there.
Should all of that exertion have caused you to perspire in an insane manner, you can relieve your sweat with this shower.
Or justpoint it.
And then, finally, you can repose in the bed.
Can I poach this principle, and take it up a notch? For I wish to squish a whole bunch of stuff into a tiny space.
Look at this house, it's an obscenity.
I wonder if I could live in a tiny space.
A cube like this.
One small room using only miniscule gadgets and ingenuity.
To prove smaller is the opposite of worse, I want to squeeze an entire house with five whole rooms and my tiny gadgets into a cube measuring only 120 square feet.
And to action this mindquake I need clever people.
And so I sack without remorse my usual engineers in favour of the country's leading design experts at the University of Hertfordshire, to see if they can make my dream home actually happen.
One thing I will definitely need is smaller furniture - sofas, tables and chairs are the biggest items in our houses and I would moonwalk across my own mind, if I could reduce the size of these beasts.
Foldaway furniture was first developed by the Ancient Egyptians, and that was over 100 years ago.
Surely we can bring it back.
I'm going to see if the space saving furniture I am now pointing to can give the people in the house I am now pointing to a little more room.
I am going to give these innovative items to a standard suburban family to see if they prefer them to their regular bulky furniture in what may be the most incredible TV experiment of all time.
What is that?There's nothing there! What is it? Replacing the three piece suite is the cardboard Flexible Love sofa, which can expand to a thumping seven metres.
If you get up, what happens? Yeah, get up.
Yeah! This item is disguised as a sauna style bath mat.
What is it? Lift it up.
What is it, what's it gonna be? It's like an egg shaped table or something.
It's a coffee table! No, it's a seat.
Just two and a half centimetres thick when laid flat, the Rising Chair transforms into an uncomfortable wooden seat.
I think this is much better than that one.
The aluminium Folditure dining set measures even less - just 2cm each when folded up.
Like Frank Sinatra, it hails from New Jersey and isn't for everyone.
So have this family been persuaded to junk their old furniture for future furniture? How was it? The chairs we have in the other room for the dining room are, they go really flat and skinny.
It did save space, definitely.
I can see that in certain events it could be really good.
That's the furniture dealt with - but what non-furniture items? One man who has a lot of non-furniture items is musician Alex James.
Hey, Richard.
Hello, Alex.
This is a very pleasing abode.
Thanks for coming.
He has upsized from the city to an elephantine six bedroom, five bathroom, 200 acre country estate - with outhouses.
Let's have a proper cup of coffee.
This is Big Bertha.
His gadgets have all expanded as well, so I'm going to try out some compact gadget alternatives to his oversized appliances.
I don't think you need a Costa's in your kitchen.
Maybe we should look at something smaller.
This tiny espresso maker works in a microwave - a world first.
What? You are kidding.
This is an espresso maker.
It's a microwavableThat is going straight in my suitcase.
Simply add ground coffee and water.
This has a curved back, this microwave.
To save space.
And microwave for 30 secs.
What do you think?My word! Is it all right?Yeah! I'm not swapping my ridiculous coffee machine.
I need that.
It's a dealbreaker, wherever I go.
Yeah, you need to put that in the freight case and take it with you.
Pretty much.
Alex's laundry room is stacked with no less or more than five washer driers.
I humbly proffer a space-saving alternative.
This collapsible electric drier will fit in a small cupboard.
You pop it up like this.
And then, say, let's take some clothes.
It takes up to 10 kilos.
10 kilos? So you put these in, zip it up, and turn it on.
Look at that, rising up like a cake.
It is cakey.
Like a big panna cotta.
It is sort of warm, isn't it, so you're sort of drawn to it.
Yeah, I feel the whole family will gather round this like in primitive times.
And perhaps tell stories.
Collapse it down.
Oh, that's a nice action, isn't it?Yes.
Yeah.
What do you think?Put me down for half a dozen.
Good.
So this is your tower of shoes.
Are you saying I have too many shoes? Is that what you're saying?It's a good number, but look at this.
In this suitcase there are 15 pairs of shoes.
You are joking! I'm not even messing with you.
Look.
Described by its Californian makers as 'shoe-vo-lutionary', Zipz shoes claim to be the world's first interchangeable shoe system.
I know what you're about to say.
"This looks like an interchangeable shoe system.
" It's because it IS an interchangeable shoe system.
You have the base, like this, and then you can choose from a variety of fun styles, and they connect up.
I'm the kind of person who might put a new top to my shoe on during a meeting.
I think kids would absolutely love them, but I don't want one.
Thanks.
That's fine, that's fine, that's your prerogative.
And I'm not saying that in a Bobby Brown way.
Almost 9 million of us own more than one BBQ - Alex has in excess of four but less than seven minus one on his outdoor cooking terrace.
I love a barbeque, I'd cook everything on a barbeque if I had time.
You see, I'm morally opposed to barbeques, I just feel that before long you're wearing white jeans, you've got a rugby top on, there's noend.
I am proposing that he can junk them all and replace them with just this one - the multi-functional Frontier Food Smoker.
This Australian beaut can do it all - roast, grill and even smoke.
You're a man of cheese.
I'm a man of cheese.
You know, this can also allow you to cold smoke some cheese.
Oh, wow.
That is interesting.
This wood chip coil burns for ten hours, infusing your meat, fish or cheese with a rich smoky flavour.
That is really clever.
And then, put the lid on.
There you go.
I have to say, pretty good.
That smoking gadget is genius.
That's good? Yeah.
Can't wait to taste that.
While we wait for the cheese, we pay Alex's chickens a visit.
They've got a big rambling coup - but I've brought along the two smallest on the market.
I like the look of the Nogg, it looks like a chicken spaceship.
The reason I'm showing Alex this compact coup is to tell him, and remind any remaining viewers, that I'm planning to live in hutch of my very own.
The idea is to create a gadget house that reduces space.
Three metres by four metres by three metres.
They're even furious at those dimensions.
What do you think, can it be done? Brilliant idea, nightmare.
Great.
we have our trailer.
Coming up, my revolutionary downsized house is finished, and comedian Jimmy Carr comes and looks at it.
Yeah? you know what? I like it cos it's gadgety.
Welcome back.
I've been looking at gadgets that help us live it up in small spaces.
What?!This is an espresso maker.
You are kidding! It's a microwaveableThat is going straight in my suitcase.
Gadgets are getting smaller, so can we reduce the space we need to live in, to boot? I intend to show we can, by building a tiny house where five rooms can fit into one.
To do this, my engineers are employing an intricate jigsaw of folding walls and crazy-clever design.
One room that needs careful thought is the kitchen.
My small cooking area is for def going to need small gadgets.
I'm off to meet Michelin-starred chef Galton Blackiston at a rural restaurant to put a compact cooking gadget to the test.
"What's in the bag, nephew?" I hear you say.
I'll tell you what's in the bag.
An entire kitchen, y'all.
I'm looking forward to seeing you give me a cookery lesson on this.
I'm proposing that all of this need not exist.
Because of this.
Mmm.
I am talking about the Thermomix.
This gadge is a dynamo, with only one less than 11 different cooking functions.
I'm going to demonstrate its versatility by making a three-course meal for diners, right under Galton's beak.
It's soup.
Sun-dried tomato soup.
Does this machine actually sun-dry the tomatoes for you? Don't flirt with me.
Does anything here sun-dry things? No, not really! OK, well, it's a false comparison.
This mini kitchen weighs, chops and cooks.
So making soup from scratch in just ten mins is insultingly easy.
Do you feel in your line of work, at stages, that all food kind of looks gross? HE LAUGHS Yeah, it's all right.
I mean, it's not Heinz.
No, that's ten times better than Heinz.
But that's just the actual starter.
It's going to do some beef.
And it's going to do a palate-cleansing strawberry sorbet.
Yeah?It can do it all.
There's nothing it can't do, apart from emotionally comfort you.
HE LAUGHS Different compartments means that you can boil vegetables below, while also cooking meat on top.
A whole roast dinner at the same time! And for dessert, it can blend fruit to make a sorbet in a matter of minutes.
It will even do its own washing up.
I'm for real now.
The people seem happy? People are very happy with it! I am amazed that you've actually managed to create the main course and the sorbet.
Surprisingly good! Great piece of kit! This is my pretend home.
It's an enormous pretend home, but I don't need this much pretend room.
I'm a man who pretends to have modest needs.
My engineering staff have been busy building me a tiny gadget house which will contain everything I require.
Will it work? Probably.
But let's see it anyway! Surrounded by skyscrapers, my pocket-sized property sits seamlessly in the centre of London city.
Measuring just 3m by 4m, this streamlined house could be a glimpse into the future, when we all are compelled to live life in smaller spaces.
So here is my downsized house.
It looks like a normal Hansel and Gretel-style house.
But there's a key difference.
Would you Adam and Eve that there are five rooms in one here?! Let's explore them! Together, as a team! Now! The interior floor area measures just 12 square metres, but it contains all any man - or other genders - could ever want.
Welcome to the crib.
It's modestly-sized, let's say that.
Erm, this is my living area.
Scattered about the place are all manner of tiny gadgets.
A music player that turns anything it touches into speakers.
The steadfast Thermomix.
And the TV remote control won't get lost behind the cushion, because the cushion IS the remote control, allowing me to lose other things behind it.
It's a bit like a library stacking system.
I turn this wheel Obviously my "objets" are now under direct threat.
My engineering staff has triumphed.
The walls inside the cube sit on runners, moving backwards and forwards, thus re-configuring the interior space.
Lock eyes on the kitchen, y'all.
The power and plumbing supply is built into the back wall.
All I now need do is move the walls again, so I can get back to the living room.
Lovely.
I'm now ready to receive guests.
When I say guests, I lie.
There is just one man coming.
A comedian called Jimmy Carr, whose house may well be larger than this.
So, this is the new house? Yes.
I've made sure that it's in keeping with the area.
That's very important to me, architecturally.
Erm, it's not fully in keeping with the I mean, it's not strictly speaking a residential area.
Who are you, Kevin McCloud? A little bit!How dare you? I love what you tried to do, and it very nearly came off.
GRUMPILY:Do you want to go inside? HE LAUGHS Wow!How do you feel about this? I too, in my home, have an entrance hall where you hang coatsYeah.
.
.
And take off shoes.
And I presume this is that space.
And then, like the TARDIS, it opens up and we go into the proper the property.
Don't be glib.
Sit down.
OK? Sit down.
Sit down.
Wh-where?Sit down.
Where? In the living room.
In the living room? OK.
OK.
Jimmy's initial rudeness is arrested by this hitherto hidden piece of space-saving technology.
Yeah?Do you know, I like it, because it's gadgety.
Yeah.
I just like there's something about that is so satisfying.
If you just had a TV there, I would not be impressed.
We squeeze into the kitchen We're now in the kitchen area.
I've got to admit, that is quite clever.
Do you like it? Well, that's quite a Again, the gadgety nature of being able to do that is kind of Does that then move across as well? Yes.
Are we in danger? Jesus, not really! Come on!How does? So you can decide how big your kitchen is? Yeah, you can re-enact that scene in Star Wars, where they get crushed.
How like your house is this, currently? I've got that! Great gadget.
What do you like about the Thermomix, Jimmy? The Thermomix makes the best porridge in the world.
Just throw everything in there, it does it for about ten minutes and you get this incredible creamy porridge.
Nice.
Love a porridge in the morning! It's a hell of a gadget.
I mean, that's a hell of a gadget.
At last, recorded proof that Jimmy Carr eats porridge.
Do you want a plate? Is that like a? Oh, for Oh, my God! That is a There you go.
Do you want some quiche? I'm liking the kitchen, generally.
I've got a feeling, if you show me another room, all of that will be destroyed.
His feeling is proved correct, as I reveal to him a tiny toilet.
So, actually, there is an exercise element.
I mean, the whole house is basically the gym.
Yes.
And I think we can take out the cameraman.
Here we go.
I mean, this is Yeah.
Are you pleased? This is all fabulous, isn't it? The duck doubles up as a digital speaker, and the shaver is the size of a credit card.
Get in the machine.
What's the machine?OK.
Washing machine, shower.
I mean, brilliant.
I mean, well, that's a shower, that's like a shower in any normal-sized house.
That's just a shower.
OK.
On thisSure.
.
.
Has anyone been damaged? I mean, it strikes me that health and safety-wise Has anyone been damaged?! .
.
You could come in of an evening YeahAnd you could crush a loved one.
They could be just flat.
How would you crush a loved one? Well, wait there.
Wait there for one second and I'll show you.
OK, do it.
Yeah?Keep going.
Yeah? Yeah? Richard, are you in there? Yeah.
If it hurts, tell me.
I'm in the shower, fool! So the safety mechanism on this house is hide in the shower? That's ALWAYS the safety mechanism.
What's your assessment, Jimmy? I like it.
I think it's genuinely fun and innovative and if you think about it, it's like it's basically half a shipping container, maybe a third of a shipping container and they've made it kind of an interesting, fun little space.
There's a problem with housing and where housing is.
It could solve it.
You set one of these up in every shipping container, and plonk them right in the middle of town.
Where are we now? We're in the middle of Spitalfields.
Sure.
No-one can afford a flat round here, they're crazy money.
So just stick one of these in.
There is one final room to reveal.
And that room can only be described as being upstairs.
How do we get upstairs? OK, watch this.
Whoa, whoa, easy! Easy, tiger! Move this to the centre I'm moving, I'm moving! All right.
So that to the centre.
Oh, OK.
OK now? Well, no, I'm putting in the centre.
You're not authorised.
I don't think this marriage is going to work.
Whoa! So this is where the magic happens, is it? Well, this is where the beds are.
Wow.
Let's leave it at that.
The tiny cube house manages to contain two double beds suspended on a mezzanine level.
If we were single guys, right? Sure.
Imagine the scenario, we're single guys.
Yeah.
We live together.
Which I'm very much not, but go ahead.
OK, we're on a budget.
Couple of handsome fellas like usDon't touch me.
.
.
We're going to be bringing the ladies back, right?Shh.
Maybe no.
It's a concern.
If you were trying if I was going to try and The images flooding into my mind are so abhorrent to me, Jimmy, that I must quell this line of thought.
I mean, it's not spacious.
Let's not pretend it is.
Yeah, but that's literally the point.
It's conserving space.
Does it do it effectively? Yeah, it bloody does.
Jimmy Carr, thank you very much.
And on that devastating note, Jimmy makes his exit, his head a-pulse with the brave new miniature world I've opened up before his tiny, confused little eyelets.
Well, there's no need for me to blow my own trumpet, because Jimmy Carr has just blown it for me.
And I'm not sure I'm entirely comfortable with that sentence myself.
You see, we've managed to downsize an entire house into an area probably no bigger than one of his walk-in wardrobes.
I feel I can retire to my upstairs sleeping quarters in triumph.