Tim Hunkin had a wonderful series on TV back in the 80s or 90s - the Secret Life of Machines. Nice relaxed pace and great for kids. The episodes are up on YouTube via his website: https://timhunkin.com/a243_Secret-Life-of-Machines-intro.htm
Stupid me, I assumed there was a tiny clock driving the mechanism that was just geared up to trigger the bigger machinery. That instead looked like a regular clock scaled up to Big Ben size.
Also - those guys are insane. The "safety harness" was a wooden plank chair with some ropes dangling you over the abyss.
That was a TV presentor from a children's programme called Blue Peter.
If you think that looks dicey, search for the video of when another Blue Peter presenter,John Noakes, cleaned Nelsons Column in Trafalgar Square. Note the overhanging wooden ladder and the entire safety equipment was a pair of flared jeans and platform boots!
He also climbed the mast of HMS Ganges which is possibly even more heart stopping.
It's the camera crew that gets me. Peter Duncan has a bucket hanging down to lower his CoG, whereas the cameraman has a hefty shoulder mount making his balance more precarious.
If you're in the London area at the end of October, the Royal Institution is hosting a special event where "Ig Nobel Prize winners will gather on stage to ask each other questions about their work"
Doug Englebart and Ted Nelson came to give a lecture at my university when I was a student. I was busy in the lab and engrossed in my work, and realised the time 5 minutes after the talk was due to begin. I was too embarrassed to walk in late, so to my eternal regret I didn't go. I'm more comfortable with that sort of situation now, but I can appreciate the desire not to make a scene.
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