With glitterbombs and fart spray: Mark Rober's on a mission to take on porch pirates, squirrels and science - USA TODAY
With glitterbombs and fart spray: Mark Rober's on a mission to take on porch pirates, squirrels and science - USA TODAY |
| Posted: 13 May 2021 02:05 AM PDT Ever been victimized by a porch pirate plundering packages from your front door? Most people would call Amazon for a refund or even the police. But imagine you're a prankish former NASA engineer with time on your hands and millions of YouTube followers. Then what would you do? Mark Rober tried a different strategy: glitter and fart spray. Rober witnessed a brazen passer-by approach his front door and swipe a package from his Nest cam a couple of years ago. When police failed to seek out the porch pirate, Rober set a trap: an innocuous Amazon box that when opened would unleash a flurry of glitter and fart spray on a thief all while he filmed it using four different cameras. "You might have to burn the house down to completely rid it of all the glitter, but at least it's like no one getting hurt," said Rober during an interview with USA TODAY. Rober's fans know this as the "glitterbomb," and his contraption has led to a massive following on YouTube, where he has amassed more than 18 million subscribers. His latest test of the glitterbomb features a new target: phone scammers. A video posted in late March with more than 33 million views shows Rober unleashing his creation of multiple people working as part of a phone scam operation. "The only thing worse than a porch pirate is these spam scam calls, and I didn't totally even understand how it worked," said Rober. But his channel is more than just dousing unscrupulous people with glitter and fart spray. He has one video where he makes the largest lemon battery, and another featuring a hot tub filled with liquid sand.  Rober, who is a mechanical engineer, didn't set out to forge a career as a YouTube star. After college, Rober joined NASA in 2004 to work at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, where he worked on the Curiosity Rover sent to Mars in 2011. It was during his tenure at NASA when he made his first YouTube video: a do-it-yourself Halloween costume featuring a pair of iPads running FaceTime. The front iPad's camera would show what was streaming from the back iPad, and vice versa, creating the illusion of a gaping hole through your body. "It's so cringey, how I talked to the camera, and the energy level, and the camera angles, Rober recalls. "The video was literally me handing my phone to my wife and just being like, 'Hey, film this.'" The video drew millions of hits and captured the attention of national media. "That high you feel from the first ever video just going viral – because it was such a delta from absolutely nothing to something – I've sort of been chasing that high ever since," said Rober. Rober eventually moved on to Apple, where he worked in the tech giant's special projects group. He quit in 2019 to focus on his YouTube channel full time. His mission with his videos is to get young people excited about science and engineering, luring them with cool stuff such as a rocket-powered golf club and then trying to "sneak the science in." "I don't go super in depth to any specific topic, but I keep it broad enough that even someone who's doesn't consider themselves to be science or engineering-minded, it makes sense to them and they can feel good and walk away from it feeling smarter," said Rober. Rober typically drops a new video every month, with videos planned out months in advance. Rober says he has sketched out ideas all the way to 2022. Among one of his cooler creations: a project that started as the "perfect squirrel proof bird feeder," which morphed into a "Ninja Warrior"-inspired squirrel obstacle course. In a video last September, he spent eight months crafting an explosion with elephant toothpaste – or "devil's toothpaste" as Rober calls it – a foam experiment involving hydrogen peroxide, yeast and dish soap. The why of it – beyond why not and because it's awesome – was to throw a kid named Fletcher, who had been fighting a very rare form of brain cancer, "the most epic birthday party ever," Rober says in the video. "He's such a funny kid that I was so inspired by his hopeful attitude that, after talking for an hour, I secretly vowed that if he made it to 13 years old, I would fly him and his family out and surprise him with just the dopest birthday party ever." The project that has drawn the most attention is the glitterbomb. It has even landed Rober in hot water. After that first glitterbomb video aired in 2018, Rober said he removed portions of the video after learning some of the reactions were staged. "Ultimately, I am responsible for the content that goes on my channel and I should have done more here," Rober wrote in an apology posted three years ago. Rober pressed on with his creation, refining and remodeling the glitterbomb for bigger results. The 2.0 version released in 2019 boasted a more pungent fart spray, biodegradable glitter, and the sound of a voice counting down from five right after deployment. Last year's 3.0 glitterbomb had a new casing with handles covered in glue, more canisters of fart spray with skunk essence, even more glitter, and police-inspired red and blue LED lights. "Everyone loves these, maybe except for the actual package thieves themselves," Rober said. Rober already has plans for glitterbomb 4.0, which he will reveal around Christmas. "I want a better reaction of someone like jumping back, being surprised and shocked by the box," said Rober. "So we have two new features this year that will give me a better visual response of people jumping back and being surprised and shocked." The YouTube star has also opened up more about his personal life. In a video released April 16, Rober talks about his son who is on the autistic spectrum. "Even as I make this video, I am incredibly terrified, but this is something that my wife and I feel really strongly about," he says to open the video. Rober joined late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel to host a livestream fundraiser called Color the Spectrum to support the autism community. And their collaboration isn't done. The two are working together on a new TV show they plan to film later this year called "Revenge of the Nerd," where they prank people who violate minor social norms. "They don't return their grocery cart? Well, we motorized the grocery cart and chase them around," he said. He also has advice for those aspiring to make it big on YouTube: Don't do it to be rich and famous. "The right reason to do it is because you want to express creativity, or you want to learn how to edit videos, or you want to be able to communicate and tell stories because then what is considered success, the bar is much lower," he said. "If your criteria for success is 'you want to be rich and famous,' very few people are gonna feel successful in that." Follow Brett Molina on Twitter: @brettmolina23. Published Updated  |
| WATCH: WUSA9 wins release of video showing assault on Officer Sicknick - WUSA9.com Posted: 28 Apr 2021 12:00 AM PDT  WUSA9 and other newsrooms fought to have the Department of Justice release surveillance video from the Capitol riot. WASHINGTON — Never-before-seen video from the January 6 siege on the U.S. Capitol offers a new look at a violent confrontation between fallen U.S. Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick and two rioters indicted for assaulting him. Several videos of the confrontation were released to WUSA9 after a successful legal challenge by its parent company TEGNA and other media outlets. The footage was compiled from six surveillance videos, three body camera videos recorded by DC Police officers and one open source cell phone video. The videos were shown during a court hearing for one of the defendants, George Tanios, but were not included on the official docket, which is why a judge ordered them released. Tanios, 39, a sandwich shop owner in Morgantown, West Virginia, and his co-defendant, 32-year-old Julian Khater, of Pennsylvania, were indicted in March on 10 counts, including conspiracy to injure an officer, assault on a federal officer with a dangerous weapon and engaging in physical violence in a restricted grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon casing significant bodily injury. If found guilty, they could potentially face decades in prison. In the videos, Khater, marked by a red arrow, can be seen appearing to hold up a canister and move it back and forth. Nearby officers, including Sicknick, marked with a blue arrow, can be seen in a bodycam video covering their faces and moving away. Warning: These videos show unedited footage from the Capitol riot and may contain foul language. Viewer discretion is advised. Bodycam footage captured the officers pulling away from the line to have their eyes doused with water. Another video captured by a surveillance camera shows three officers, including Sicknick, appearing to react to being sprayed with something and moving away from the barricades. Khater can be seen in this video from a different angle appearing to spray something from a canister. A fourth video, captured by another surveillance camera, shows Sicknick rubbing his eyes and pouring water on his face shortly before 2:30 p.m. In a statement to WUSA9, U.S. Capitol Police said the department had opposed the release of the videos to prevent officers from having to relive the events of January 6: "We are disappointed new, graphic videos of USCP officers being assaulted on January 6 were released after a legal challenge filed by several media outlets. Although the Department acknowledges the public's desire for information, and understands the legal obligation for the Department of Justice to provide the videos, USCP leadership requested the videos not be released to safeguard officers and their families from being forced to relive that traumatic day." Prosecutors say Tanios bought two cans of bear spray and two cans of pepper spray or Mace on January 5 before driving to D.C. to meet Khater, a friend who traveled to the District from his home in State College, Pennsylvania. After attending former President Donald Trump's "Stop the Steal" rally on January 6, the two men are accused of marching to the U.S. Capitol building with an angry mob demanding Congress stop the certification of President Joe Biden's electoral victory. In charging documents, federal prosecutors claim Tanios and Khater were part of "a crowd of violent rioters... assembled on the Lower West Terrace" trying to push back a line of U.S. Capitol Police formed to act as a barrier against the mob. Prosecutors accuse Tanios and Khater of "working together to assault law enforcement officers with an unknown chemical substance by spraying officers directly in the face and eyes" while other rioters allegedly tried to remove bike racks police were using as barriers to keep the crowd from advancing any further. Investigators say cell phone video shows Khater walking over to Tanios, who was allegedly carrying the two cans of bear spray and two cans of pepper spray or Mace in a backpack. The FBI says Khater can be heard telling Tanios to "give me bear sh*t," before he reaches into the backpack. Investigators say Tanios responded by saying, "Hold on, hold on, not yet, not yet… it's still early." Khater is then allegedly seen emphatically telling Tanios, "They just [expletive] sprayed me," while holding a white can with a black top that appears to be a can of chemical spray. In an affidavit, the DOJ says three officers near Khater – including Officer Brian Sicknick, who later collapsed and died the following day – were struck by chemical irritant and had to retreat to find water. Earlier this month, the D.C. chief medical examiner ruled exposure to bear spray or any other chemical irritant played no role in Sicknick's death. During a bond review hearing Tuesday, federal prosecutors admitted the chemical irritants Khater allegedly sprayed into the eyes of Sicknick and his fellow officers was either pepper spray or Mace – not bear spray, as previously implied in charging documents and press releases from the Department of Justice. Defense attorney Joseph Tacopina told U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Hogan the distinction is important because it shows Khater was acting in self-defense after he was himself sprayed with chemical irritants – rather than executing a pre-planned attack on Sicknick and his fellow officers. "He was reacting to getting sprayed seconds before," Tacopina said, saying Khater used the pepper spray or Mace on officers roughly 5 seconds after being sprayed himself. "This shows it was not a premediated planned attack; it was reactionary." Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Anthony Scarpelli admitted after reviewing videos of the incident that it appeared Khater did in fact use a can of pepper spray or Mace against police officers, and not bear spray. Scarpelli told the judge a used can of pepper spray or Mace was recovered from each of the defendant's homes, along with unused cans of bear spray. Scarpelli argued the distinction should not make a difference in the eyes of the law. "Why are they buying bear spray to go to a city? There are no bears in downtown D.C.," Scarpelli told Hogan. "There is only one explanation why defendants are gearing up like this. They are lying in wait. They know an attack on the police line is going to happen. It's premediated violence, point blank, with a dangerous weapon on unprotected, distracted officers." Hogan will rule next week on whether to grant Tanios and Khater pre-trial release. Khater has proposed a highly unusual $15 million bond to secure his release from jail. Tanios is requesting he be let out on home detention and GPS monitoring. We're tracking all of the arrests, charges and investigations into the January 6 assault on the Capitol. Sign up for our Capitol Breach Newsletter here so that you never miss an update.  |
| You are subscribed to email updates from "usa news videos" - Google News. To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States | |
Comments
Post a Comment