The Way Things Work

When a mammoth stampede ruins the village, the islanders try to build decent roads, using large boulders. Topics covered: inclined planes, wedges.

To win a 'heaviest mammoth' competition, the islanders build makeshift scales of logs and rocks to weigh them. Topics covered: levers.

The mammoths need their monthly washing, but the islanders cannot persuade them to bathe, until the Inventor suggests the use of winches and wheels. Topics covered: wheels and axle...

Saddened by the failure of the previous year's event, Olive endeavours to ensure that Mammoth Island's annual funfair is filled with exciting attractions. Topics covered: belts and...

In a slight parody of the Chaucer story of the same name, the islanders and a visiting knight attempt to rescue Brenda from the top of an observation tower. Topics covered: screws.

The islanders' supply of mammoth milk is running out, and they attempt to raise the mammoths from the ground for milking. Topics covered: pulleys.

Attempting to take his mammoth herd across to Pasture Island for grazing, Pilbeam breaks the bridge and becomes stranded. The islanders build different rafts and boats, some of whi...

Frank and Pilbeam employ oversized magnets to extract scrap metal from a sunken steamer. Matters become complicated when Troy accidentally creates an electromagnet and Frank's mamm...

When Mammoth Island's new theme park, Mammoth Land, opens to the public, Troy and Olive are disappointed by the slowness of the rides. With help from the Inventor, they use steam e...

The Mammoth Ferry's maiden voyage is interrupted by a tsunami, scattering its cargo. Olive and the Inventor devise a submarine to retrieve the items. Topics covered: submersibles,...

Brenda opens a pizza parlor promising 'free mammoth delivery'; but due to the docile nature of the mammoths her profits are nil. The Inventor helps build a jet engine to deliver th...

When Brenda's bakery burns down, the highly inefficient fire brigade floods the island, and the Inventor helps the islanders build a proper water pump. Topics covered: pumping, wat...

Frank and Pilbeam try to help Brenda run an awning factory while the owner is away on vacation; but stumble on the principles of flight when an awning, tied to a mammoth's back, ca...

Whilst working for the Inventor, Troy experiences several phenomenons due to the way light behaves, including a rainbow. Meanwhile, the Inventor has to contend with the loss of his...

In order to curb boredom, the islanders cross a previously unexplored mountain ridge, with a mammoth for transport. When the mammoth is stuck dangling over the edge of a cliff, the...

When his water pipes freeze, the Inventor accidentally destroys Brenda's house, the local sauna, and his own house. Subsequently, Olive shows him the various ways in which mammoths...

The islanders guide their mammoth herd through a large canyon in search of fresh pasture, but lose them in various pits, ravines, and crevices after a stampede. The islanders becom...

Due to Pilbeam's inability to complete portraits of the winners of the annual Mammoth Island golf tournament, the Inventor suggests the use of cameras and lenses to speed the proce...

During a hot summer, the islanders and mammoths compete for use of a river. Subsequently, the Inventor attempts to install an air-conditioning unit in Frank's kitchen, with disastr...

In an attempt to beat Dodo Island, the islanders construct carts to deliver their cargo more efficiently to prospective buyers. All goes well until Olive and Troy, with a cargo of...

After Troy accidentally discovers the elastic properties of the Mammoth Island coconut trees, the islanders utilize them to gather coconuts effectively, by flinging them across the...

To commemorate the opening of a new bridge, a musical concert is held, featuring mammoths as instruments, which ends in disaster when the Inventor cries out in pain, causing a stam...

Brenda goes to market, leaving Troy and Pilbeam in charge of her house. After Troy accidentally washes Brenda's prized wedding ring down the sink, Pilbeam enlists the help of Olive...

When Troy and his mammoth both spear the same lemon with zinc and copper lances during the annual Mammoth Island lemon harvest, they receive an electric shock. Following this, Bren...

Brenda inherits the Mammoth Inn, a decrepit mammoth-powered hotel, from her deceased Aunt Maude. When Frank and Olive arrive to collect their inheritance, Brenda enlists their help...

In the final episode of the series, the Inventor attempts to introduce a telephone network to Mammoth Island after the islanders begin using the dangerous method of flinging coded...