These are shade balls. They're being dumped into this water reservoir in Los Angeles. And contrary to what you may have heard, their main purpose is not to reduce evaporation. So what are they really for? To find out, I'm visiting the largest collection of these balls anywhere on earth. at LA reservoir. 96 million shade balls. That's correct. 96 million. It's it's very rare for you to see 96 million of anything. This is your life vest which you are required to wear. Alright. Throw a leg over and climb on in any way you can. There you go. Looking at this, I had so many questions. Like, why are they black? Are they safe to have in drinking water? How much do they cost? Do they actually reduce evaporation? And what is their real purpose? Is it hard to drive in shade balls? It is very hard. Why is that? These are actually partially filled with water. And the reason they're filled with water is that at LA Reservoir we have some really high winds and so uh you know if we didn't put water in these things there'd be balls down bouncing on the 5 freeway as people drive down, they'd be all over the place. So uh so these keep the balls in the reservoir and if they do start to roll, they kind of wobble because the water makes them uneven. But that makes them significantly more difficult to push out of the way, especially when they form close-packed crystal-like structures. Behind the boat, the balls quickly come together in our wake. And some close to the motor are pulled along with the boat. Wow. Did you what did you think the first time they suggested doing this or or when it when it first came in? Yeah, it was a little out there. Did you think they were nuts? No, not nuts. Well, it just it like it it looks absurd. It's like we're in the world's biggest ball pit. Right, yeah, that's what it looks like. Yeah, you wouldn't you can't tell by standing here that we're actually floating over I think it's probably 40, 40 feet right here, 40, 50 feet deep below us. And we you can't even see any water. You'd think it was a joke, right? Like if you didn't know, you'd be like, no, you're not. That's You're you're like a green screen or something, right? Yeah, it's fake. So like when I switch on my tap at home, is the water coming from here? Yes. Sometimes? Or always? Most of the time. Most of the time. Most of the time the water's coming from here. Absolutely nuts. So why is LA reservoir covered in shade balls? Well, the problem all started with bromide. Bromide is a naturally occurring uh substance. It's associated with salt water. And so normally uh places like the California Aqueduct uh that comes down from the Delta, you get some salt water intrusion, so you have some bromide in the water. Bromide is harmless and it's almost impossible to remove. Um but when you when you disinfect the water with ozone, that bromide becomes bromate. And bromate's carcinogenic. And so around the year 2000, they wrote regulations uh regulating bromate and the regulations basically said, if you have a treatment plant that uses ozone, then you have to watch your bromate formation and be careful not to form too much. So the only place we ever measured bromate was at our filter plant. And the results were always within the 10 microgram per liter limit set by regulators. So they were confused when they got a call from one of their customers, a beverage company in LA. They said, we have some really high levels of bromate showing up. Are you aware of this? And we said, well we don't show anything. But between the filtration plant and the customer was the reservoir. So they did some tests. Almost immediately upon coming into this open reservoir, the the bromate levels jumped. It turned out that bromide with chlorine, which was supposed to be safe, in bright sunlight formed bromate even more than ozone did. And so we made this unfortunate scientific discovery that actually was not part of any regulatory scheme. And so here we are at the reservoir. We have a water source that's got bromide in it, harmless. We have chlorine we have to have to disinfect the water. And we have sunlight because it's open. The only choice we have is to remove sunlight. So we looked at all sorts of things. We looked at floating tarps across the water, and normally you put a floating cover on the water, but that's a multi-year project. And so we said, well can we manufacture these kind of trampolines with poly like PVC pipe. And we said, well they're just going to become bird perches, you'll have a big water quality problem. And so then we we knew we had uh high density polyethylene pipe which is used in the water industry and and we know that it floats. We at one point thought about, can we just float a pile of pipe across the surface? Well that's hard to do and very expensive because a lot of material. And so maybe we can take some pipe and run it through a chipper and we can make a debris field across the surface like the back corner of a of a lake somewhere. But then you have all this mushy warm water with plastic floating on the top. That sounds like a petri dish. And so low and behold, Dr. Brian White did some research and he and he found the shade ball. Except they weren't called shade balls at the time. This product existed and they were called bird balls. And they used it on on ponds that had mine tailings where they didn't want waterfowl to go and and get poisoned. And also around airports where there were ponds and they wanted to keep the waterfowl off so that they didn't take off and get into jet engines. You know, they'd actually done wind tunnel testing and they had you know blew you know 50, 60 mile an hour winds across this to see how they behaved, but they were really made to deter birds and wildlife from from sitting on the water. Did there used to be birds landing here more? Like Absolutely. Yes. Once we deployed these balls, all the birds were gone. They used to just hang out, right, loiter at the curbs. Yeah, they'd be all over the the top of the dam. They'd be down at the the outlet tower, they'd be everywhere, but we don't get them anymore like we used to. But before being added to the reservoir, the shade balls had to be tested. Would they actually reduce the formation of bromate? And we bought three kitty pools, three little inflatable kitty pools. And we filled them all with the reservoir water. One was in the sunlight, one we put a tarp on, one we put shade balls on. And amazingly, the shade balls knocked out the problem immediately. So the reason shade balls are black is to block all light from reaching the water and triggering the bromate reaction. The black pigment is also safe for contact with drinking water and it's stable even exposed to the elements for years. They're black for a reason. So, you know, they're made out of high density polyethylene. It's the same material that like a gallon milk jug is made out of. It's a food grade plastic and and they would be clear like a milk carton except that they wouldn't last in the sun. And so they have a a material called carbon black in them and that's what makes the uh the plastic last for at least 10 years out in the sun. We did test to see if there's any other colors we could use. So we actually had the company make uh three different shades of blue. But the dyes were so unstable, they said, we can't guarantee it's going to last more than a year. And so it's that carbon black that's the magic powder in this that really makes this product last in the sunlight. One of the concerns that that people raised to me when we first put these on uh was that are they going to get hot and then leech material? And they don't. They're they're totally inert. I mean theoretically, you could cut off a piece of this ball and you could chew it, no harm comes to you. This is this is totally food grade, nothing wrong with it whatsoever. What's it like driving through these things? It's difficult. As you can see, we've been sitting here for, well, I don't know how long, quite a while, and there's a breeze and we haven't moved. I mean, anybody that knows that's been on a boat in a lake, if there's a slight breeze and you're on a boat, you're drifting, right? Not here. This thing they're just stable. They you It's interesting when you're trying to pilot the boat through these things, it's difficult. It's like driving through peanut butter or something. Something, I guess, yeah. Not that I've ever done that, but. Blocking sunlight from the reservoir also provided additional benefits. You know, one of the reasons we put so much chlorine in was to control the algae growth. But sometimes you still couldn't control it. There were times years ago in the summer where if we had an algae outbreak, you might actually if you filled the bathtub up, it might have a slight tinge of green. I mean, it may be healthy to drink, but it might have a slight tinge of green from the algae. Yeah, and and it's just discoloring the water. That no longer occurs. So, uh with the sunlight gone, um there's the algae problem's gone. We put in basically no chlorine. We've only had a few times since the shade balls went on LA reservoir that we've added any chlorine at all. And we used to do half the chlorine in the whole the whole water system went into that reservoir just to control algae growth. But the big concern I had was evaporation. When I first heard about these black plastic balls reducing evaporation, it didn't seem to make any sense. I mean, wouldn't they absorb more energy and so heat up the water leading to faster evaporation? It turns out the answer is no for a number of reasons. In an open reservoir, there is more exposed surface area where water molecules can escape into the air. Plus there is greater air flow over the water surface, continually removing the layer of moist air and replacing it with drier air, increasing evaporation. Now the shade balls do absorb more energy and get hotter on top, but the bottom of the balls stays cool. Plus the balls contain mostly air, which is a good thermal insulator, and so not much of the heat is transferred through to the water. It's almost like a double pane window. You get that air gap in there and the air acts as an insulator and so the sun never hits the water. Matter of fact, we've actually done some measurements and it's actually cooler under the shade balls even though they're black than it is without the balls just with the sun itself. So so the balls actually have a slight cooling effect. So for all of these reasons, shade balls reduce evaporation by 80 to 90%. That's pretty significant for a dry climate like Los Angeles. How much do they cost? These run about around three for a dollar. I think we paid 33, 34 cents a piece, something in that range. So and they and they actually will have a salvage value, not that much, but if we go to remove them, they're they're recyclable material. So uh but but we figured that over the life of the balls, um between the savings in chlorination, the chemical savings and the savings in evaporation, probably at least half the cost of the balls will be paid for. And so, I mean, of course, the water quality benefit is immeasurable, but even the balls themselves will save money doing what they do. Do you ever bring people out here for tours or... You're the first one. Why am I the first one to get to go on a tour here? To get this uh level of detail tour, yes. This is so cool. I've heard something about hexagonal balls. You've heard anything about hexagonal balls? Oh my gosh. So we had the shade balls and of course everyone in the world came up with another product. I have one, I call it the ravioli, it's a small hex. We had large hexes, we had all sorts of pieces. And people say, well they lock together. But the problem is they need to not stack up and they need to not sit on the bank of the reservoir and the reservoir is going to go up and down. And so it was really the shape of the ball that that makes them not not perch on the side because we need to make sure that these when the water goes up and down that they spread up or they you know, spread out completely to cover the water as best as possible. I mean, I just can't get over what I'm seeing. It's just so nuts. I'm waiting for you to say it looks like a pool of boba. I feel like that's the line that that'll go in but you you got it. Like that is That's awesome. Do you like boba? I love boba. I might get some after this.
A large black semi-truck container is tilted, and thousands of small black balls are pouring out of the back down a concrete slope into a large body of water.
"These are shade balls."
Setting: edge of a large water reservoir — diffuse, daylight
People (1):
• standing near the back of the truck, wearing orange long-sleeved shirt and blue jeans, gray, short hair — partially visible, focused on the balls
The camera pans down, following the cascade of black balls as they tumble down the concrete embankment and spread out into the water.
"They're being dumped into this water reservoir in Los Angeles."
Setting: Los Angeles reservoir — diffuse, daylight
The camera pans back up the slope of black balls to the semi-truck, where a man in an orange shirt is now pushing the balls out with his hands.
"So what are they really for?"
Setting: Los Angeles reservoir — overcast daylight
People (1):
• standing inside the truck container, wearing orange long-sleeved shirt and blue jeans, gray hair — not visible
A man with a beard and sunglasses drives a car, looking out the side window. The view then cuts to the passenger side, showing a vast black surface of the reservoir speeding by.
"To find out, I'm visiting the largest collection of these balls anywhere on earth. at LA reservoir."
Setting: driving alongside the LA reservoir — bright, sunny
People (1):
• sitting, driving, wearing blue button-down shirt, short, dark brown hair — neutral expression, focused on driving
A sweeping aerial drone shot reveals the immense scale of the reservoir, almost entirely covered in black shade balls, set against a backdrop of mountains.
Setting: aerial view of LA reservoir — bright daylight, clear sky with some clouds
The host stands at the edge of the reservoir, pointing out at the vast expanse of black balls. He is talking to someone off-camera.
"96 million shade balls. That's correct."
Setting: edge of LA reservoir — bright, direct sunlight
People (1):
• standing, wearing blue button-down shirt, short, dark brown, spiky hair — smiling, speaking
An older man with a goatee and a straw hat hands a red life vest to the host.
"This is your life vest which you are required to wear."
Setting: boat ramp at LA reservoir — bright, direct sunlight
People (1):
• standing, facing the camera, wearing light blue long-sleeved shirt, gray goatee hair — serious, speaking
A man in a black t-shirt and life vest pulls a rope to bring a small white motorboat closer to the concrete ramp.
"Throw a leg over and climb on in any way you can."
Setting: boat ramp at LA reservoir — bright, direct sunlight
People (1):
• standing, leaning forward, wearing black t-shirt with graphic and blue jeans, graying hair — profile, focused on the boat
The camera, positioned on the front of the moving boat, shows the vast, undulating sea of black balls stretching to the horizon.
"Looking at this, I had so many questions."
Setting: on a boat in the LA reservoir — bright, direct sunlight
A wide, static aerial shot shows the entire reservoir, a massive black oval shape in the landscape, with mountains in the background.
"Like, why are they black? Are they safe to have in drinking water?"
Setting: aerial view of LA reservoir — bright daylight
A close-up shot of the black shade balls shows their texture and how they fit together, with some balls slightly raised above the others.
"And what is their real purpose?"
Setting: LA reservoir — bright, creating highlights on the balls
A man wearing a blue and orange baseball cap and a red life vest pilots the motorboat, looking forward with concentration.
"Is it hard to drive in shade balls? It is very hard."
Setting: on a boat in the LA reservoir — bright sunlight
People (1):
• sitting, driving, wearing black t-shirt, red life vest and blue jeans, graying goatee hair — concentrating, speaking
Text: "James Tilch", "Maintenance and Construction, LADWP"
A man in a gray suit and patterned tie stands in a city plaza with a pond and skyscrapers behind him. He holds a single black shade ball in his hands and gestures as he speaks.
"These are actually partially filled with water. And the reason they're filled with water is that at LA Reservoir we have some really high winds"
Setting: downtown Los Angeles — bright, direct sunlight
People (1):
• standing, speaking to camera, wearing gray suit jacket, white shirt and gray trousers, bald on top, gray on sides hair — speaking earnestly
An aerial shot of the reservoir with a map pin graphic pointing to it. The pin is labeled "INTERSTATE 5".
"they'd be all over the place."
Setting: aerial view of LA reservoir — bright daylight
Text: "INTERSTATE 5"
A low-angle shot from the side of the boat shows the hull pushing through the dense layer of black balls, which resist and pile up against the boat.
"But that makes them significantly more difficult to push out of the way, especially when they form close-packed crystal-like structures."
Setting: on the LA reservoir — bright sunlight
A view from the back of the boat shows the outboard motor creating a wake. The black balls quickly close in on the cleared path, and some are churned and pulled by the propeller's current.
"And some close to the motor are pulled along with the boat."
Setting: on the LA reservoir — bright sunlight
The boat has stopped. The camera pans slowly across the vast, still, and surreal landscape of millions of black balls covering the water surface.
Setting: on a boat in the LA reservoir — bright, clear sunlight
The host, holding a selfie camera, talks to the boat operator who is standing at the helm. Other passengers are visible in the background.
"Did you what did you think the first time they suggested doing this or or when it when it first came in? Yeah, it was a little out there."
Setting: on a boat in the LA reservoir — bright sunlight
People (2):
• standing, wearing blue shirt, red and gray life vest, dark brown hair — smiling, asking a question
• standing, wearing black shirt, red life vest and jeans, gray goatee hair — thoughtful, responding
The boat operator gestures with his arms outstretched, emphasizing the absurdity and scale of the scene.
"Well, it just it like it it looks absurd. It's like we're in the world's biggest ball pit. Right, yeah, that's what it looks like."
Setting: on a boat in the LA reservoir — bright sunlight
People (1):
• standing, wearing black shirt, red life vest and jeans, gray goatee hair — smiling
Close up shot of the densely packed black balls, completely obscuring the water below.
"40, 40 feet right here, 40, 50 feet deep below us. And we you can't even see any water."
Setting: LA reservoir — bright sunlight
The host holds the camera selfie-style, looking at the camera and then gesturing with his thumb over his shoulder towards the reservoir.
"So like when I switch on my tap at home, is the water coming from here?"
Setting: on a boat in the LA reservoir — bright sunlight
People (1):
• standing on the boat, wearing blue shirt, red and gray life vest, dark brown hair — inquisitive expression
An animation shows a cross-section of a body of water under a sunny sky.
"So why is LA reservoir covered in shade balls? Well, the problem all started with bromide."
Setting: animated diagram — animated
The animation zooms into the water. The text "Bromide, Br-" appears, and small red spheres representing bromide ions appear and float in the water.
"Bromide is a naturally occurring uh substance."
Setting: animated diagram — animated
Text: "Bromide, Br⁻"
An aerial shot shows a long, winding concrete aqueduct snaking through dry, hilly terrain.
"uh places like the California Aqueduct uh that comes down from the Delta, you get some salt water intrusion,"
Setting: California Aqueduct — bright sunlight
An animation shows a filtration plant diagram. Water with red bromide ions flows into a tank. Ozone is added, and some red ions transform into more complex red molecules (bromate).
"Um but when you when you disinfect the water with ozone, that bromide becomes bromate."
Setting: animated diagram of a filtration plant — animated
Text: "FILTRATION PLANT", "Ozone, O₃", "O₃ + Br⁻ → BrO₃⁻"
An animation shows a 3D model of a bromate molecule (BrO3-). The text "Bromate, BrO3-" and "Carcinogenic" appear on screen.
"And bromate's carcinogenic."
Setting: animated diagram — animated
Text: "Bromate, BrO₃⁻", "Carcinogenic"
A split-screen animation shows a female engineer on the left and an angry male customer on the right, both on the phone. The customer's speech bubble shows a clipboard with a high bromate reading and a warning symbol.
"So they were confused when they got a call from one of their customers, a beverage company in LA."
Setting: animated graphic — animated
People (2):
• on the phone, wearing yellow safety vest, black hair — confused expression
• on the phone, wearing blue shirt, bald hair — angry expression
An animation shows the water flow from a filtration plant, through an open reservoir, and then to a house.
"But between the filtration plant and the customer was the reservoir."
Setting: animated diagram — animated
Text: "FILTRATION PLANT"
An animation shows red bromide ions and green chlorine molecules in water. Yellow sun rays shine on them, causing the bromide to react and form red bromate molecules.
"It turned out that bromide with chlorine, which was supposed to be safe, in bright sunlight formed bromate even more than ozone did."
Setting: animated diagram — animated sunlight
A simple line drawing on graph paper shows a black tarp being drawn over blue wavy lines representing water.
"We looked at floating tarps across the water,"
Setting: animated drawing — even
A simple line drawing on graph paper shows a structure over water. An animated bird lands on it and poops into the water.
"well they're just going to become bird perches, you'll have a big water quality problem."
Setting: animated drawing — even
A simple animation on graph paper shows a black cylinder (representing a pipe) floating on blue wavy lines.
"we knew we had uh high density polyethylene pipe which is used in the water industry and and we know that it floats."
Setting: animated drawing — even
An animation on graph paper shows a black cylinder being shattered into small pieces, which then form a layer over the blue wavy lines.
"And so maybe we can take some pipe and run it through a chipper and we can make a debris field across the surface like the back corner of a of a lake somewhere."
Setting: animated drawing — even
The man in the gray suit continues speaking to the camera, holding the black shade ball.
"And so low and behold, Dr. Brian White did some research and he and he found the shade ball."
Setting: downtown Los Angeles — bright, direct sunlight
People (1):
• standing, speaking to camera, wearing gray suit jacket, white shirt and gray trousers, bald on top, gray on sides hair — smiling, recounting a story
A still image shows a reservoir near an airport runway, partially covered in shade balls. An airplane is taking off in the background.
"This product existed and they were called bird balls."
Setting: airport reservoir — daylight
A close-up shot of a large white passenger jet (Thai Airways) taxiing on a runway.
"and also around airports where there were ponds and they wanted to keep the waterfowl off so that they didn't take off and get into jet engines."
Setting: airport — daylight
Text: "THAI"
A woman in a red life vest and sunglasses stands on the boat, answering a question from off-camera.
"Did there used to be birds landing here more? Like Absolutely. Yes."
Setting: on a boat in the LA reservoir — bright sunlight
People (1):
• standing on the boat, wearing blue and white polka dot jacket, red life vest, dark, shoulder-length hair — speaking
The woman speaking points towards the edge of the reservoir.
"Once we deployed these balls, all the birds were gone. They used to just hang out, right, loiter at the curbs."
Setting: on a boat in the LA reservoir — bright sunlight
People (1):
• standing on the boat, wearing blue and white polka dot jacket, red life vest, dark, shoulder-length hair — speaking
Text: "Helen Olivares", "Water Works Engineer, LADWP"
A long shot shows a concrete outlet tower standing in the reservoir. The water around it is blue and uncovered, while the rest of the reservoir is covered in black balls. Birds are visible on the uncovered water.
"They'd be down at the the outlet tower, they'd be everywhere, but we don't get them anymore like we used to."
Setting: LA reservoir — bright sunlight
A shot of three inflatable pools on a concrete surface next to large green industrial tanks and pipes. One is uncovered, two are covered with black tarps.
"And we bought three kitty pools, three little inflatable kitty pools."
Setting: water treatment facility — daylight
People (1):
• standing, talking, wearing hawaiian shirt and shorts — in profile
A shot of one of the inflatable pools filled with water and a dense layer of black shade balls.
"One was in the sunlight, one we put a tarp on, one we put shade balls on. And amazingly, the shade balls knocked out the problem immediately."
Setting: water treatment facility — daylight
A split-screen animation. On the left, sunlight hits water with green and red particles, causing a reaction. On the right, a layer of black balls blocks the sunlight, and no reaction occurs below.
"So the reason shade balls are black is to block all light from reaching the water and triggering the bromate reaction."
Setting: animated diagram — animated
The man in the gray suit speaks to the camera in the downtown LA plaza, holding the shade ball.
"They're black for a reason. So, you know, they're made out of high density polyethylene."
Setting: downtown Los Angeles — bright sunlight
People (1):
• standing, wearing gray suit jacket, white shirt and gray trousers, bald on top, gray on sides hair — speaking
Close-up shot of the black shade balls, showing their texture and the way they are packed together, with some balls slightly raised above the others.
"And so they have a a material called carbon black in them and that's what makes the uh the plastic last for at least 10 years out in the sun."
Setting: LA reservoir — bright, creating highlights on the balls
A close-up shot of shade balls, but the color has been digitally altered to a vibrant purple/blue.
"We actually had the company make uh three different shades of blue."
Setting: LA reservoir — bright, creating highlights
The man in the gray suit speaks to the camera, gesturing with the shade ball to make his point.
"One of the concerns that that people raised to me when we first put these on uh was that are they going to get hot and then leech material?"
Setting: downtown Los Angeles — bright sunlight
People (1):
• standing, wearing gray suit jacket, white shirt and gray trousers, bald on top, gray on sides hair — speaking
The speaker brings the shade ball up towards his mouth as if to take a bite, smiling to show he is joking.
"I mean theoretically, you could cut off a piece of this ball and you could chew it, no harm comes to you."
Setting: downtown Los Angeles — bright sunlight
People (1):
• standing, wearing gray suit jacket, white shirt and gray trousers, bald on top, gray on sides hair — smiling, making a point
The boat operator, leaning on the windscreen, explains how difficult it is to move the boat through the balls. The boat is stationary despite a breeze.
"It's difficult. As you can see, we've been sitting here for, well, I don't know how long, quite a while, and there's a breeze and we haven't moved."
Setting: on a boat in the LA reservoir — bright sunlight
People (2):
• leaning forward, wearing black shirt, red life vest and jeans, gray goatee hair — speaking
• sitting, wearing white shirt, red life vest, short, graying hair — listening
The boat operator laughs with another person on the boat after making a joke about driving through peanut butter.
"It's like driving through peanut butter or something. Something, I guess, yeah. Not that I've ever done that, but."
Setting: on a boat in the LA reservoir — bright sunlight
People (2):
• standing, wearing black shirt, red life vest and jeans, gray goatee hair — laughing
• standing, wearing plaid shirt, yellow safety vest, red life vest, dark hair — smiling
An animation shows a cross-section of green, algae-filled water. Green chlorine molecules are added.
"You know, one of the reasons we put so much chlorine in was to control the algae growth. But sometimes you still couldn't control it."
Setting: animated diagram — animated
A split-screen animation. The left side shows green algae water under sunlight. The right side shows clear blue water under a layer of black balls, with no algae.
"That no longer occurs. So, uh with the sunlight gone, um there's the algae problem's gone."
Setting: animated diagram — animated
An animation shows a row of black balls on the surface of blue water. The sun is shining.
"But the big concern I had was evaporation."
Setting: animated diagram — animated sunlight
A split-screen animation compares an open water surface (left) with a surface covered by shade balls (right). On the left, many blue dots (water molecules) are shown evaporating. On the right, very few dots escape.
"It turns out the answer is no for a number of reasons."
Setting: animated diagram — animated
A split-screen animation compares the temperature of open water (left) versus water under shade balls (right). A thermometer on the left shows a higher temperature than the thermometer on the right.
"Matter of fact, we've actually done some measurements and it's actually cooler under the shade balls even though they're black than it is without the balls just with the sun itself."
Setting: animated diagram — animated
The man in the gray suit speaks to the camera, holding the shade ball and explaining its cost.
"How much do they cost? These run about around three for a dollar."
Setting: downtown Los Angeles — bright sunlight
People (1):
• standing, wearing gray suit jacket, white shirt and gray trousers, bald on top, gray on sides hair — speaking
On the boat, the woman in the blue polka dot jacket smiles and tells the host he is the first to get a tour. The host reacts with surprise.
"You're the first one. Why am I the first one to get to go on a tour here?"
Setting: on a boat in the LA reservoir — bright sunlight
People (1):
• standing, wearing blue and white polka dot jacket, red life vest, dark, shoulder-length hair — smiling
A woman stands on the concrete edge of the reservoir, holding two different types of black, geometrically shaped objects designed for the same purpose as shade balls.
"Oh my gosh. So we had the shade balls and of course everyone in the world came up with another product."
Setting: edge of LA reservoir — bright sunlight
People (1):
• standing, wearing blue and white polka dot jacket and gray pants, dark hair — not visible
The man in the gray suit explains the problem with alternative designs, using his hands to show how they might stack or get stuck.
"And people say, well they lock together. But the problem is they need to not stack up and they need to not sit on the bank of the reservoir"
Setting: downtown Los Angeles — bright sunlight
People (1):
• standing, wearing gray suit jacket, white shirt and gray trousers, bald on top, gray on sides hair — explaining
On the boat, the woman in the polka dot jacket smiles and makes a joke. A picture of a boba tea drink is superimposed over the scene.
"I'm waiting for you to say it looks like a pool of boba."
Setting: on a boat in the LA reservoir — bright sunlight
People (1):
• standing, wearing blue and white polka dot jacket, red life vest, dark, shoulder-length hair — smiling widely
The video ends with a shot from the back of the moving boat, leaving a trail in the sea of black balls. The Veritasium logo and Patreon credits appear on screen.
Setting: on the LA reservoir — bright sunlight
Text: "Veritasium", "Click here to subscribe", "PATREON | Pindex | Sam Lutfi | Bryan Baker | kkm"