Kobuk the Destroyer
99% Invisible

Kobuk the Destroyer

B1IntermediateSeptember 8, 202638 min
  • Interview

Every product has to be tested somehow, and sometimes that means finding increasingly creative ways to break it. Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of 99% Invisible ad-free and a whole week early. Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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I'm going to show you how to make a

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0:00

The first one was the one that was I'm going to show you how to make a canisters actually work. For decades, product testers would assess the bear resistance of a canister by dropping a weight on it from a set height or by trying to puncture it with

1:09

a spike that simulated a bear's tooth. But they kept running up against a problem. These tests weren't close enough to reality. They weren't accounting for a bear's creativity and resourcefulness. So then, in the early 2000s, they hit upon an idea of testing the canisters by using something slightly more realistic.

1:30

Bears. A manufacturer would say, I have this new design for a bear resistant canister that I want campers to use.

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