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On the new Netflix reality series Making Fun, YouTube star Jimmy DiResta and his crew make outlandish things that are suggested by kids. You know, really common things like a massive dinosaur that spits out tacos, or a unicorn bicycle that farts glitter. But while the builds seem fun, they aren’t exactly safe, according to a popular YouTube DIY creator.
On March 7, shortly after the series’ release, Naomi Wu, who is based in Shenzhen, China but has a popular English-language YouTube page under the name “Sexy Cyborg”, tweeted a thread that included a number of examples of how DiResta and the rest of his crew do not use proper workshop safety protocols on the show.
She goes into a few more details as to why DiResta’s technique is not only incorrect, but dangerous. But then she turns to other members of the crew:
In that last tweet, there might be evidence of why Wu is so frustrated with the show; she speculates that it’s a carbon copy of a UK-based YouTube series called Kids Invent Stuff, which has a mostly female cast, only cast with bearded dudes because for some reason Netflix didn’t think people would watch a show with women in overalls using power tools.
While much of the work Wu shows in her videos is tech-oriented, she’s shown that she knows her way around a drill press, among other shop tools. Yes, she does a lot of the videos wearing skimpy clothing (though not in the shop, because safety), but to us that’s just smart marketing.
Wu’s speculation about the origins of Making Fun aside, she does have a point about how DiResta and his crew operate in that massive shop he has set up in upstate New York. Most people won’t even notice because they don’t work with tools. But considering the show is geared towards families, she’s rightly concerned that the kids watching might use the techniques used on the show, without the experience that DiResta and the crew have that can make up for the fact that they’re not using their tools the way they’re supposed to be used.
It reminds us of the safety lecture Norm Abram gives at the beginning of every episode of The New Yankee Workshop. If Norm can be safe making a coffee table, DiResta and his crew can be safe making a glitter-farting unicorn, right?
Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.com, Fast Company and elsewhere.
