- This is going to be the most relatable
Try Guys series ever.
Why?
- Because it's real.
- Old people!
We all love 'em.
But what happens when we become 'em?
(screams)
- I'm 31 years young, I'll never get old, I'll never die.
- [Eugene] In this series we're gonna explore old age
and all of the fun and struggles that it entails.
- I am Rhoda Isaacs and I'm Zachary Kornfeld's grandmother.
- We are gonna try on an old age body simulator,
developed by people at MIT.
- I think this is gonna be a weird 24 hours for you guys.
- Mm-hmm, we're trying it for the entire day.
- We're gonna find out when we're gonna die.
- One of you did test positive on one of the tests.
- And in the final video we're gonna be transformed,
look like how we might look 50 years in the future.
- How do I look?
(laughs)
- It's like a horror movie!
- [Keith] And I'll love you no matter what!
- Like feeling what it's like to be old.
We're gonna see what it' like to be old.
Because everyone grows up.
And everyone grows old.
- We're gonna walk a mile in their orthopedic shoes.
Which actually sound quite comfortable.
- [Zach] Let's get old!
- I tend to separate the idea of aging into two things.
There's the mental and the spiritual,
which I think is gonna be fantastic.
And then there's the physical.
Which I know that time erodes your body away naturally.
- I've only recently started
to think about getting old after I had my own kid.
You're a generation higher, literally.
- I want to eat healthier and be healthier
because I want to live a long time.
But also it's like,
hard to care about yourself
if you can't picture the real life consequences.
- Today we're trying on an old age body simulator.
Ha-ha, joke's on you because my muscles already suck.
- Hi my name is Joe Coughlin.
I direct and lead the MIT AgeLab
where we're developing new technologies
and ideas to improve aging.
- [Zach] You're improving aging?
- Well it's better than the alternative.
- Benjamin Buttoning and becoming an old man baby.
- Yeah, going the other way, right?
- So what happens to your body as you age?
- The vision, if you will, in many cases,
is one of the first things to go or noticeable.
Think about this.
By age 40, roughly, you need 20 times more light
to see as well as you did at age 20.
- Shut the fuck up!
- Where's all that light coming from?
- 20 times?!
- Strength, flexibility begin to decrease.
You can fight that by exercising more, build up resilience.
In fact, the real definition
of aging is loss of that resilience.
- Have you guys gotten, like, a cut recently?
Takes like twice as long for that thing to heal.
- Yeah. - Yeah.
- Hangovers.
Way worse in your 30's. - Way worse!
- I kind of already feel like an old man.
So I don't really know where else it can go.
(dramatic salsa music)
- Woo, oh, wow!
- We wanted to come up with a way of making sure that
people in the lab and the companies we work with
get what it means to be old.
The AgeLab team created AGNES.
- Agnes, who's she?
- AGNES stands for the Age Gain Now Empathy System.
And, today we're gonna try on AGNES.
- AGNES is a suit that allows the user,
could be an engineering student,
a marketing professional,
anyone feel the fatigue, the friction,
and the frustration of what it means to be old.
- [Luke] First we're going to put on
some weighted vests.
- Like bulletproof police vests?
- Well, in that they're vests.
- Okay.
- So you put weights on the suit to make it
harder to use your muscles.
- Exactly, so in the natural state,
you're losing muscle mass as we age.
- So there are a number of weighted elements
to use. - Okay.
- Oh, ooh yeah, no, that's pretty heavy.
(laughing) Do I look like LL Cool J?
It's about like the pregnancy belly.
- Oh, well, that was awful. - Yeah.
- Oh, this feels kind of nice.
- Eugene, this is what a hug feels like.
- Really?
- That empathy part is as, it's not just
about the physical experience because in your head
you're still the younger person you once were.
- So what is the scientific function of the jumpsuit?
- It's to make you look a little weirder.
- Oh, okay, alright!
- One of the things that Luke Yoquinto and I put
together in the longevity economy was
younger people and older people have a lot more in common.
The story doesn't allow us to think that.
- Holy shit, I'm sweating already.
- [Luke] Next comes the harness.
- Ooh, I've heard that before.
- [Luke] And then, we're gonna have bungees
that are actually gonna reduce your reach.
- I can barely do the hokey pokey with this.
That's what it's all about!
- These bands are gonna reduce your ability to reach up,
reach down, as well as how long a step
you're gonna be able to take.
- I'm just, ha, getting tired.
- We haven't even done anything.
- Get him fuckin' suited up already so we can
get the next thing on me so I can get outta this.
- What do you think you're gonna be like
when you're older?
- I think you're looking at it.
- [Luke] Test out your hamstrings and then we'll hook
up the rest of the bungees.
- Ooh, it's like we're on a tiny carousel.
- Yeah, I feel like I'm a little toy soldier.
- Every time I step, it's just like a little guy
going, no, come back here.
- 'Cause essentially when you're wearing AGNES
you're an age explorer.
Suddenly, those cabinets become a little higher.
- It's very Jane Fonda.
- Suddenly, it's harder for you to be able
to reach something on the countertop.
- Oh, fuck you. (moaning)
Almost there.
I got it.
- You guys are doing really good.
- Thanks.
- So, not just your hands and the gait,
but even a band that's in the back
will come down on a helmet to reduce
how much you can move your neck, as well.
- Whoa, this is nuts.
- [Ned] Ooh, elbows.
- [Zach] I wonder if, like, knee pad fashions
gonna come back.
- My hands feel like they're falling asleep.
- Do we look like we're in Devo right now?
Whip it good!
- We also have a neck brace.
- Oh, oh.
- Starting around 30, 35, how much you can rotate your neck
becomes a real issue.
- Why does he look so miserable?
- 'Cause I am miserable.
My knees are heavy.
Knees weak, mom's spaghetti.
- [Both] Heads, shoulders, knees, and toes.
Knees and toes.
- Oh my god, I'm seeing stars.
- I kinda like it.
- You're such a sadist.
- I know.
(energetic string music)
- Let's put the rest of the suit on.
- The rest of the suit on!
- So the shoes, we make a fashion statement by using Crocs
that have got some foam padding underneath
to reduce that sense of feel you have,
or that connection you have with the ground.
- Oh, oh, oh, how about that?
- It's like I'm on a balance beam.
- As we age, the fat pads underneath
our feet start to get thinner.
So that cushioning isn't there.
So that lack of balance often comes,
not just from function in your head,
but also is like, gee, I'm not feeling the ground
as well as I once did.
- Nailed it, got 'em.
- It feels like my feet are in pillows.
- Oh, my whole leg is on fire and this is very hard to hold.
- My knees don't bend really well.
- How's your balance?
- Bad.
- Namaste. - Namaste.
- So, we're gonna need to use these
weighted gloves for your experience.
- Kay.
- Gloves that will simulate arthritis or loss
of strength and flexibility and dexterity
in your fingers making everything just a little
bit more difficult.
- So, each of your fingers is weighted.
- Why?
- I'm ready, player one.
- Yep, you leveled up.
- You guys getting thirsty in all this gear?
- Nice.
- Oh.
- Alright, old man's still got it.
- Oh, ow!
- Being able to use certain controls in the car.
Just things you don't think about that you take for granted
with your hands on a regular basis.
- Oh, god, this is awful.
Why do my shoulders hurt?
- We all have touchscreens.
They're easy to use.
A lot of it depends on the moisture in your fingers.
- This is Zach's phone.
I'm texting Maggie.
- Uh oh. - Hi darling girlfriend.
- This isn't working and people are going,
oh that's because they're old.
They just don't get it.
Not so fast.
(gasping)
Their fingers not working well on technology.
- It's 'cause young people have sweaty fingers.
- Holding it here is the most difficult part.
Because all of this is weighted.
- Do you think this will be cool when we're 96?
- Water bottle flip will always be cool.
(cheering)
- [Both] Ow!
- Fuck!
- Well, we don't have anything to simulate
cognitive decline or function.
We do think about vision.
So we have different types of glasses.
- Ah, this is terrible.
- I see just smushy, dull centers of my vision.
- Marketing people love red, they love blue.
Those are really hard colors to see after age 50.
- These yellow glasses will simulate the yellowing
of the ocular lens which is something that also happens.
- Oh, you look cool though.
- I feel cool.
For the rest of your day today, you're gonna wear
the standard issue impaired acuity goggles.
- Oh, cool.
- Oh, this is a nightmare.
- It looks like a filter they use on
RuPaul's Drag Race.
Like everyone just got 20 times more attractive.
- Just like my favorite Reese Witherspoon movie.
Legally blind. - Whoa!
- Sorry, that's how close I get to make our your mouth.
Not make out with your mouth.
But like make out.
- And then the top it off, of course,
there's the ear plugs which is hearing,
a major sense becomes an issue.
So we'll be using ear plugs to maybe not
just deaden the sound
but to reduce your ability to discriminate
the words you're hearing.
- I just wanna, I wanna like, lie on a couch.
Well I usually don't wanna lie on a couch.
I wanna be up and active but this makes me
not wanna be active.
- Well, too bad, we're gonna play wiffle ball.
- Oh, okay, Luke.
- The crack of the bat.
(clapping)
(loud epic music)
- I feel like, why'd you throw so hard?
- Okay, let's go, Ned, let's do it.
- Hold on, let me warm up first.
- If we only ask older adults,
they're likely to go, well, what're you gonna do?
I'm 77 years old.
Of course it's difficult for me to open this jar.
But an engineer, a marketer,
a product designer who knows the technology.
Who knows the idea of what design can be,
will be frustrated enough to go,
no, this is just plain silly.
- Dang it!
- So AGNES is to give you that momentary feeling
of what is might be like to literally walk
in someone else's shoes.
- Okay, just, one, just one more try.
- You're so terrible at this.
- One more try. It won't do it anymore.
- The crack of the bat! - You're so bad, Keith.
Just give up, Keith. - Bases loaded!
Oh god, Keith, you're so bad.
- Two strikes. What's wrong with you?
Every single one, Keith!
That was terrible, I can't see anything
and I can even see you missed every one.
- I got, I'm on first!
(loud frantic music)
- Look, I got to use everything I got.
Whoa! (laughing)
I told you!
- One of the more fun things we do is
have AGNES make cupcakes.
Ya know, sounds really easy.
- Yeah!
- [Zach] Hello, AGNES.
- [Ned] Hello, AGNES.
- Welcome to cooking with AGNES and AGNES.
- Today we're going to be making cupcakes.
- With AGNES.
- Yep.
Mix cake mix, water, oil, and eggs.
(dishes crashing)
In a large bowl, in a large bowl.
- Oh god.
- Excuse me, I need a little bit more light.
- Oh this is, everything's so heavy.
What kind of tray for 350?
- Do we need to mix the dry stuff first?
- Um, no, uh.
- I think this is aluminum.
- Well, I can't pour it, why is it that hard?
What are you doing?
- Giving it to you.
- Oh my god, you're a real dick sometimes.
(dishes clanging)
- One cup of water, a half a cup of oil.
And three eggs.
(eggs cracking)
Fuck yeah, how 'bout that?
(metal banging)
That's a strong egg.
How'd that happen?
- If AGNES does anything it should have
two teachable moments.
Aging does not necessarily have to be destiny
in terms of it's physical limitations.
- I feel awful.
- Let's engineer a world that's easier to use,
more accessible, is seamless and fun for AGNES.
Because, that's the same world that will be
better for everyone of all ages.
- This was just a taste and it was fully debilitating.
- [Eugene] The closest thing I can compare
this to is being underwater.
- Whatever your activity is,
it's really gotta be worth it.
- This was just a few hours,
we have to wear these for an entire day.
(sharp clinging)
- You're a real dick sometimes.
- [Zach] We're planning on wearing AGNES for a full day.
- [Keith] I'm betting on AGNES that she's gonna wear
you out before you wear her out.
- [Both] Oww!
- No!
(yelling)
- What a minx.
- [Zach] But that's not all!
- [Keith] We're gonna spit in the tube,
we're sending it to scientists
and they're telling us how we're gonna get sick.
- [Ned] And finally we're gonna do a full
makeup transformation to show
what we're gonna look like when we're 80 years old.
80 years old.
- Wow. - Are we hot grandpas?
- I think we're hot grandpas.
- Are we GFILFS?
(loud upbeat music)
- So, you're a professor at MIT.
- Yeah.
- I applied, I didn't get into MIT so.
- Neither did I.
- Bit of a, oh, okay, nice.
Alright, yeah! (cheering)