>> Today's episode is brought to you by Bombfell.
>> Head on over to bombfell.com/rogue
and get $25 off your first purchase.
>> All right, Brian, you get sent to prison.
>> Yeah, as one does.
>> It's going to happen.
What is the most resourceful, inventive thing
that you can build or create behind bars?
>> I guess I would rely on the ten years
of 500+ episodes of Scam School.
>> Okay!
>> I would imagine that I would be
a very entertaining fellow inside prison.
I'd be a court jester.
>> That's pretty good, actually.
I can see you thriving in that environment.
>> Yeah, what about you?
What would you do?
>> I would...
>> You'd tell ghost stories?
You would be a dungeon master!
>> I would be the dungeon master!
>> D&D is huge behind bars!
>> Is it?
>> Yeah!
>> We've seen articles about how they fake
dice with toilet paper...
>> Yeah!
>> To play their own dice games.
Do they make D20s?
>> Yeah, sure!
>> Out of toilet paper?
>> Sure, and I'm glad you're prepared,
because guess where you're going this episode!
>> Oh, good, good!
Now I get to let some hardened criminal who's like,
"Yeah, a 15 is a NaturalCrit, sure, that's fine."
[laughter]
[slow synthetic music]
>> ROBOTIC VOICE: Six unreal prison builds.
>> All right, Murphy, we're going back to prison.
We're going to run down the six craziest things
people have built behind bars.
If people haven't heard,
we have new articles every single day at themodernrogue.com.
This one's written by Ian Fortey.
Where do we start?
>> ROBOTIC VOICE: Two contraband computers hidden in the ceiling.
>> My favorite thing that prisoners
have built behind bars, it is wonderful.
in Marion County, Ohio, a couple of guys
built two computers.
>> Okay, look, we built a computer,
and it took all day, and everybody complained
about how expensive our build is. Ho do...
>> And we had everything given to us!
>> Yes! [laughing]
How do you do that behind bars?
>> They were tasked with one of those menial jobs in prison.
Their job was to strip electronics.
Decommissioned computers, or whatever.
Parts that didn't work.
So they just accumulated enough eventually
to build not one, but two function
and internet-capable devices.
>> And is the internet capable?
That really matters.
Because, I mean, don't get me wrong,
I think it's great if they're able
to play Joust or whatever [chuckling]
Joust.
>> That's all you need!
>> They have MAME on there.
[laughing]
>> Yeah, exactly.
>> But how did they get it connected to the network?
>> They hid it in the ceiling,
wired it into the prison's five cables,
and to get access, they got the password
of a prison contractor that was hardly ever there.
>> Oh, that's great!
So they were logged in in the intranet
that had access to the outer-net, the enter-net.
That's a word for it.
[laughing]
>> The outer-net, yes, that's what it's called.
>> Cyberland.
[laughter]
>> Yes.
They were "web-surfing".
>> Oh, got it, the "information super island".
>> That's the one, yeah.
[laughter]
>> So, okay, so, they're online.
>> They had an old AOL disc.
[chuckling]
>> So I would imagine they took turns
sticking their head up in the ceiling
and having somebody else be on the lookout, or something?
>> I guess so, but, ultimately,
someone from the prison's IT staff
found an in inordinate amount of traffic
flowing through the network.
>> They're like, "Look, I know we've all been to PornHub,
but this guy's going a lot on company time."
>> And, of course, that was one of the
things they were hitting up.
But they were also looking up "how to make homemade drugs",
"how to commit tax fraud"...
>> Oh, dear!
>> Yeah, so they were still committing crimes.
It wasn't like, let's use this computer we built to get out.
No, it's, let's use it to make more crime happen.
>> All right, what grade do we give these guys?
>> I am going to give them an "A".
>> An "A++" on my side, because...
>> Yes.
>> Not only for the difficult of what they did,
but the fact that they essentially
brought all the benefits of being at home, like...
>> Yeah!
>> I think I could do really well in prison if...
>> If you had internet?
>> If I just had gigabit, you know?
[laughter]
>> I mean, what I love about this is that
they didn't build weapons, or devices,
or an interesting way to make soup,
or enchiladas, or something.
They built technology.
>> Yeah!
>> And then they just utilized all the resources
they had around them.
It was extraordinarily inventive.
They're masters.
>> Agreed.
>> ROBOTIC VOICE: Maybe this is why our video
on this topic is age-restricted.
>> Now, here's one that's really within our wheelhouse.
Something that we've done before.
Using the principles involved in grain silo fires.
>> Yup.
>> Which we did an episode on.
And they used something you are also very familiar with,
the flammability of non-dairy creamer.
>> Yeah, so we originally ran into that on Scam School,
where you're able to make a coffee creamer flamethrower.
When we did our silo fire episode,
did we use flour or coffee creamer?
>> We tried both.
>> Yeah.
>> They're both really fine texture.
>> And, I guess, what you want is a suspension of
fuel and air, right?
So, you just want to mist it up and ignition soars
that creates an explosion.
And, of course, if you throw shrapnel in there,
if you make it of a substance that will explode,
you can cause a lot of damage.
>> It can be really, really deadly,
as we saw with some of the grain silo fire videos.
These guys were making bombs.
They got caught testing one
when they threw it into a stairwell.
>> Testing, caught testing!
>> Yeah.
>> And I assume it worked, right?
It grabbed everybody's attention.
>> It did, indeed.
>> Wow.
>> So, that could've been very effective and very dangerous.
I have to say that if you're going to pick a weapon
when you're in prison, whether it's a shank,
or our improvised nunchucks, or a Millwall brick...
>> Not the most practical to run around with a bomb.
>> But, also, kind of the most badass.
It's, like, "Well, yeah, he's got a shank.
But Larry over here?"
>> Real-life Junkrat. [laughing]
>> Yeah, he's got a bomb.
[laughter]
Junkrat.
>> What grade do we give them?
>> I'm going to give them a "C".
It's really simple, it doesn't require a lot of ingenuity.
>> Well, and, also, they didn't use it to any benefit,
and they got caught testing, so...
>> They screwed it up.
>> "C+".
>> "C+"?
Okay, I think that's fair.
>> All right.
>> ROBOTIC VOICE: The secret glider hidden
in the attic of a prison castle.
>> Dude, I love this one.
Prisoners of war building a fully-functioning,
32-foot wingspan glider hidden behind a false wall
in the attic of the prison.
>> Yeah, and the prison was supposed to be inescapable.
It was actually where they sent people
who had already escaped from various prison camps.
>> Yeah, what was it, Stalag XIII?
Stalag XVII?
The great escape, like, the...
>> Yeah, where they tunneled!
>> Yeah, exactly.
>> So everyone was afraid that people
were going to be tunneling out of this castle, but no.
Instead, these prisoners were up in the attic
building a massive glider.
>> So, here's the tragedy of the story,
is they built this glider up there.
They never got the chance to fly it,
because, I guess, war has ended,
and other people inherited the prison, but...
>> The Soviets took control of the castle,
and all of their hard work was gone,
but they were free.
>> Yes, correct, so I would imagine that
they were okay with that outcome.
>> But my plane!
>> I never got to fly my plane!
>> Yeah. [chuckling]
>> But, they did, however, years later,
make a recreation based on the exact measurements
of the original glider.
That thing flew, dude.
>> Yeah.
>> This would've worked.
>> That's not what I expected.
I really expected the story to end like Wile E. Coyote.
They jump off and... [whistling]
Bam.
>> I'm giving this one an "A-".
The only reason it's not an "A+"
is because I wanted to see this thing fly,
and I guess it did fly, eventually.
Or, the plans flew.
>> Yeah, you know, I'm going to agree with you.
I'm going to say this is an "A".
The only reason that we can't give it, like, an "A+"
is because they really never got to try it
and weren't successful.
>> And that's really society's fault, not theirs.
>> Yeah, you know, hold off on sieging the castle
and freeing all these PoW's...
>> Yeah.
>> Until their science project pays off.
>> You know, it's, like, keep them there.
Just, like, "All right, guys, listen.
Good news, the war is over.
We just need you to play-act that you're still prisoners.
Don't worry, everything is catered from now on,
you will have internet access, just take it easy."
>> Don't tell the guys in the attic!
>> Yeah. [laughing]
>> We just want to see if they're going to fly!
>> They're going to be so heartbroken
if they don't get to finish this, so...
[laughter]
>> All right, let's do it for Larry!
[laughter]
Everyone whispers, "for Larry, Larry!"
[laughter]
>> ROBOTIC VOICE: Painting over the "exit" sign with peanut butter.
>> I'm going to say a sentence that makes no sense,
and then you have to explain how this is true.
In Alabama, prisoners used peanut butter
to escape from prison.
>> Yes.
>> That sounds like peanut butter is a weapon.
Like, maybe you blinded them in the eyes.
Stuffed in the ears, and you stuff back.
>> Not crunchy!
[laughter]
No!
>> But they didn't do any of this.
This is pure deception, right?
>> Yeah, well, peanut butter is one of those things,
like, in prison, where you find that it has various uses.
>> Like toothpaste.
>> Like toothpaste, yes!
This was used as kind of a putty
to cover up the numbers to a room.
And, so, they just kind of smeared over it
and then painted over that,
and then the sign for this door was gone.
>> So, the door had a sign that says,
"Escape: Do not Open", they took peanut butter,
smeared it all over it...
>> Yeah!
>> And took some paint, and then wrote,
"definitely another cell".
>> Yeah!
>> And then, they hung around,
waiting for the new guy to come by,
and he was like, "Hey, man, I'm locked out of my cell.
It's this one, the one that says "definitely a cell".
>> Yeah!
>> Okay...
>> And the new guy, the new guard
comes in and says, "Yeah, sure."
Opens it up, and these guys all escape
into a wing of the prison where they weren't supposed to be.
>> Twelve of them escaped,
eleven of them were caught within the first eight hours,
but one of them took several days before they were caught.
>> Yeah.
>> I think I give bonus points for this.
This sounds like a Frank Abagnale story, right?
>> Oh, it's really clever
>> Where it's, like, bluff and bluster?
I give them a solid "B+".
>> I would give them a "B",
mainly because they got caught and it didn't work,
but it was pretty clever.
They just had to prey upon the stupidity of one person.
>> I'll tell you, it reminds me
of other prison build stories,
where, at one point, somebody used a potato
to escape from prison.
They took a potato and they carved it in the shape of a gun,
and then they painted it,
and, so, then they were able to pull this out
and then, in the terror of the moment,
people were like, "Oh, that's a gun."
And you escape from prison doing it.
>> Now that's a spud gun.
>> ROBOTIC VOICE: Medium-security makeshift nunchucks.
>> All right, let's talk about Lorenzo Pollard
at a St. Louis prison who went full-on ninja.
>> A man after my own heart.
>> This is you.
This is, yeah...
Because I just remember that nunchucks build, like...
There's that moment you can could tell
I just saw hours and hours in the backyard of practice,
on your face, and in your moves.
>> Yes, yes!
Lorenzo Pollard made them out of chair legs and bedsheets.
>> I would imagine they were
a little more effective than ours.
He should've used paracord.
>> Ah, he should've used paracord.
[laughter]
>> So, this dude makes a pair of nunchucks,
obviously knows what he's doing, because he fought his way
through security guards and escaped!
>> Yeah, he beat up many, many guards
with makeshift nunchucks.
I love that.
>> My favorite part of this tale,
is that at one point, he broke one of those
super thick security glass things with the nunchucks
while holding off a dozen armed guards.
They should've just let him go.
>> This guy is a total badass.
>> All of the guards are just
weeping openly, saying, "Godspeed."
[laughter]
>> Yeah, you know, this one,
it doesn't have a lot of ingenuity to it.
It's not super inventive.
It's just, "I'm going to take this,
and I'm going to escape from this prison.
These things!
I'm going to beat the hell out of people,
and I'm going to get out of prison
with chair legs and sheets!"
>> All right, you just upgraded me from a "C+" to a "B-".
He made the grade.
>> I would agree, yes.
>> Okay.
>> "B-" it is.
>> ROBOTIC VOICE: The death row improvised playing card bomb.
>> Now, this next one actually makes me think of you.
>> Because I'm a murderer on death row.
>> No, because it involves playing cards.
>> Oh, and I'm a magician.
>> Also that, yes.
>> Got it, okay.
>> William Kogut in San Quentin Prison in the 1930s,
he was contrite about the murder he had committed,
and so he decided to end his life.
>> So, and, it's very clear, like,
he wrote his suicide note saying, like,
"Really sorry for killing that guy, look,
I know, either way, the road ends for me.
I don't want to wait until you guys electrify me
or whatever it is, it's the 1930s, I'm not really sure."
He wrote all that in the letter.
And then, so he says, "Therefore, I'm going to kill myself
using these playing cards, my ultimate magic trick."
>> Yeah.
Mr. Kogut built a device, basically a pipe bomb.
>> Yeah, so he took one of the legs off of his cot,
which, so you've got a tube, right?
A metal tube, he stuck a broom handle in one side
to seal off the one side, and then he chopped up
a deck of playing cards, and put water in there,
stuffed the cards down,
and then basically heated up the water until it steamed,
and the pressure got so much that it just exploded,
and he just aimed it right at the side of his head.
>> Yep, so Mr. Kogut made a playing card shotgun?
>> Yeah.
>> What would you rank it?
>> For inventiveness, that's an "A."
That's a solid "A".
I mean, I'm bummed that it's about suicide,
I'm bummed that he's a murderer.
That sort of dampens the story.
>> Yeah.
>> I can only give him a "B+"?
Maybe a "B", a "B".
>> It's super inventive, but...
>> Maybe a "B-", but also, he's a murderer on death row.
>> Yeah.
>> But he was sorry.
>> Yeah, but he didn't use it for self-gain or to escape.
>> Also, he could do a hell of a trick in heaven
where, it's like, "Name a card, name a card.
Queen of clubs?
Hold on.
Is this is?
No, it's not?
It's not?"
>> That's gruesome.
That's really gruesome.
>> He's killing it in open-mic night.
Now, I would be interested for us
to actually see how that experiment worked,
because I'm not entirely clear on the visuals
of what the card paper shotgun looks like.
>> Are you saying you want to build a card shotgun?
>> I think I...
I think that's exactly what I'm saying.
>> I kind of think we should.
>> Okay, all right, done.
Done and done.
>> But, you know, not see it all the way through.
>> Oh, no, that's not what I...
Why would you even?
Just no, terrible.
>> This went to a dark place.
>> Jason Murphy, are you there?
>> I'm right here.
>> Okay, good, I'm in a cruise ship in Hawaii,
and there was a lot going on as I left,
but one thing I did make sure to grab before I left
was my Bombfell package.
Did you get yours?
>> I did, I got it right here.
I'm ready to dig in in hopes that I look way more fly
than you will ever look.
I hope people still say "fly".
>> I'm pretty sure they forbade us
from using the word "fly" in this integration completely.
>> Sorry, Bombfell.
>> All right, so, for the uninitiated,
Bombfell is amazing.
It's basically a personalized stylist.
Somebody who gets what you're all about,
somebody who works one-on-one with you
to get you exactly the kind of clothes
you would get on your own.
It's about saving time, it's about looking better,
it's not some kind of janky mystery box,
or some dumb subscription
where you're trapped getting stuff,
and they're like, "Sorry, bro!
Enjoy this box of rocks!
We think it's a hit!"
>> I haven't gotten any rocks yet.
I don't think there are any rocks in here, not one.
Not one rock.
>> No, but my favorite part about signing up
was it asks you, "Hey, what would you never, ever wear?
Okay, what do you like to wear?
Describe your body, your height, your weight."
And then once they have all your measurements,
somebody looks at you
and the type of thing that you like to wear,
and personally puts together this package.
I'm so excited to open mine.
>> I'm really excited, because every time
I go clothes-shopping for myself, one time, I had, like,
medical scrubs and, like, a leather vest,
and it was a scene, man.
It was bad.
>> They send you, they're like,
"Hey, this is what the stylist is sending you.
If you don't like it, tell us now,
so that we can make it right."
Then you get it, you open it, you try it on,
then you got seven more days to say,
"You know what?
I thought I would like this,
but I wasn't going to like it."
From what I saw, I think I'm going to dig it.
How about you?
Did you feel good about what you saw?
>> No, I didn't even check.
Because you get the email, and you can decide, right?
You can strike something down.
I didn't even look, so this is a total surprise.
>> Ooh, this is great.
>> I am very excited.
>> Okay, here, we'll both open right now.
I got, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.
More than I expected in here, hold on.
First of all, I got a welcome pack.
>> They call me "friend".
I like that.
Oh, measuring tape!
>> They even gave me a little craft paper.
A Moleskine-style writing book,
so I can write down my thoughts.
>> Yeah, yeah, dude.
The journal.
You know how I am about journals.
[chuckling]
>> I'm afraid to use the tape for fear of what
it's going to tell me about my body.
>> When they asked me what my body type was,
I just said "gross".
[laughter]
And they were, like, "We've got you, bro."
That's cool.
They apparently know that I love
kind of olive-green looking shorts.
>> Yeah, okay!
>> Is this a...
Oh, this is short-sleeved, how perfect.
It's like they knew I was going to be in Hawaii.
>> Did they?
Did they get you an "aloha" shirt?
>> Dude, by the way, I saw a volcano yesterday.
That was amazing.
>> Oh!
>> Dude, I think I'm going to be deeply in love with Bombfell.
>> I'm into it.
Short-sleeved, button-down shirt.
It's quality, soft, I dig it.
Collared.
Short-sleeved Henley, pretty slick.
Can't wait to try that on.
Shorts?
Some very fashionable, nice, gray shorts.
This is all going to look really good together, too.
>> I'm going to jump off camera, I'm going to put on these clothes,
I'm going to model them,
and I'll send you a picture of how I look.
I just realized I thought I was off-camera,
but I don't think I'm off-camera.
[laughter]
Jason, I'm not going to lie, I'm on a cruise ship,
and there's a legit-ass shuffleboard court upstairs.
I think I belong instantly up there
looking dapper as freaking hell.
>> You look pretty slick, I got to say.
This is actually more stylish
than I have ever seen you look.
>> Now you're just insulting Brian, the regular fashion guy.
>> No, I'm just saying, don't dress yourself.
I mean, don't not dress yourself,
but just let Bombfell do it.
>> Yeah.
>> From, like, now on.
>> Okay, so here's the important thing.
For anybody who wants to hop in this train,
whether you're somebody who's too busy, you're already...
Let's say you already know the kind of stuff that you like,
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head on over to bombfell.com/rogue.
That's R-O-G-U-E.
You get 25 off your next purchase.
Also, they have a deal,
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Dude, Bombfell has reinvigorated me.
>> Yeah.
>> Like, my whole wardrobe is going to start
looking amazing, thanks to Bombfell.
>> Let the professionals handle it.
Stop looking like some sort of hobo clown.
>> I feel like this is you directly talking to me.
>> I'm not talking about you, specifically.
You've never looked like a clown.
>> B-O-M-B-F-E-L-L .com/rogue.
Sign up, look good, keep us in business,
and have your very own stylist.
How great is that?
>> I'm going to look good.
[engine whirring]
What you will learn, is that my word is law!
>> Or, like, "With all of my years of military service,
let me tell you a story about when I was patrolling
a small system on the outskirts of the Outer Rim."
[laughing]
>> Yeah!
[muttering]
"It sucks, the sand sucks.
Remember that."
How did we get to "Vader is a commencement speaker?"
[laughter] Sorry.