Squid Game is full of disturbing life or death situations, but “Red Light, Green Light” might be the one closest to our real world…and all the problems that come along with that.

“Red light! Green light!” Bang! You’re dead! Wait just a minute, we don’t remember this game being played this way!

But that’s how it goes in the first episode of Netflix’s wildly acclaimed Squid Game, in which (un)lucky participants take part in a lethal version of a childhood favorite, refereed by a disturbing animatronic little girl who wields the power of life and death via sniper fire.

And considering that the robot in question, or, at least her design (if not actual functionality) actually exists, we have to ask: is it reasonable to assume that this kind of highly sensitive and lethal motion sensing already exists in the real world? There’s only one way to find out, and that’s to let Hakeem and Tamara work their magic! Get ready for a spirited discussion covering everything from facial recognition technology, radar guns, animatronics, and the pitfalls of capitalism run wild! Okay, maybe not that last part…

SUGGESTED VIEWING

This episode of Does it Fly? is based solely on the first season of Netflix’s incredible (and disturbing) Squid Game series, but season two is now also streaming. While we can’t say enough good things about Squid Game in general and suggest you watch it all, for the purposes of this episode, you can get away with just watching the first episode of the season one, appropriately titled “Red Light, Green Light.” Trust us, you’ll end up watching the rest of the series.

There’s also the non-lethal, somewhat baffling reality show version, Squid Game: The Challenge, which we reference in this episode, that has its own version: “Green Light, Red Light.” Your mileage, of course, may vary.

FURTHER READING

Do you want to delve a little deeper into the facts, concepts, and stories Hakeem and Tamara referenced in today’s episode? Of course you do!

Flame Throwing Car Alarms

Just in case you’re worried about having your speakers stolen or something, you can read more about this lethal deterrent right here. Don’t worry, it’s not actually coming to a neighborhood near you, but you can’t fault these folks for trying! Or…maybe you can. Or should.

Building Your Own Young-hee (Please do not do this)

Three of the key pieces of technology that might make something as terrifying as Young-hee possible are biometric face scanners (you know and love them from airports!), radar guns (you know and hate them from that speeding ticket we totally know you didn’t actually deserve), and transducers (you might not know you love them, but technically musical instruments are are part of the transducer family, so that’s just one of many reasons to love them!).

The Real Young-hee

OK, the real one hasn’t murdered anybody. Yet. But she is indeed real!

Other Squid Game Inspirations

Get some weird culture in your life and feast your eyes on the oddball works of M.C. Escher!

And go learn more about The Astronomical Society of the Pacific, with a certain Dr. O as their newly-minted CEO!

WANT MORE FROM DOES IT FLY?

Maybe an easy to keep New Year’s Resolution would involve catching up on every episode of Does it Fly? from the very beginning. Check out our first episode about the science of Star Trek right here. We’ve even got a handy playlist to make it easier for you to watch ‘em all!

Twisters is now available on streaming services, so now is a good time to check out the episode we did about the original film and its tornado-makin’ technology. Watch it here.

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The Terrifying Real World Implications of Squid Game

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