♪ Every day when you're walking down the street ♪ ♪ Everybody that you meet has an original point of view ♪ (laughing) ♪ And I say hey ♪ Hey!

♪ What a wonderful kind of day ♪ ♪ If we could learn to work and play ♪ ♪ And get along with each other ♪ ♪ You got to listen to your heart, listen to the beat ♪ ♪ Listen to the rhythm, the rhythm of the street ♪ ♪ Open up your eyes, open up your ears ♪ ♪ Get together and make things better ♪ ♪ By working together ♪ ♪ It's a simple message, and it comes from the heart ♪ ♪ Believe in yourself, for that's the place to start ♪ ♪ And I say hey ♪ Hey!

♪ What a wonderful kind of day ♪ ♪ If we could learn to work and play ♪ ♪ And get along with each other ♪ Hey!

♪ What a wonderful kind of day ♪ Hey!

♪ What a wonderful kind of day ♪ Hey!

Hey, D.W.!

Hey!

Whoa... (crash) (laughs) (door opens) Hey, Brain, what's so funny?

It's this comic book someone left behind.

It's called Dopey Dobbs and Patch.

That's Dobbs.

He's a dachshund that's not very bright.

(dopey voice): "Mmm, waffles!"

And that's Patch, a sinister cat next door who is always plotting against Dobbs.

See?

Patch just put hot sauce on his waffles.

(laughs) Poor Dobbs!

You really think this is funny?

Oh wait, is it like a philosophical commentary on life?

No, I don't think so.

It's just... dopey!

Sometimes you think you know someone, and then one day they surprise you.

Like that time Mr. Ratburn said those five magic words.

Let's have class outside today.

(everyone gasps) All right, you have five minutes to complete this pop quiz.

(sighs) Isn't this lovely?

Oh.

Aww.

But I've never been more surprised by someone than Binky, when he... Well, you can see for yourself.

(laughs) Oh, Patch, how could you?

I really don't get it.

Do you?

Binky's "A" Game.

(bell rings) Don't forget, there'll be a test tomorrow on Renaissance astronomers.

(laughing excitedly) (laughing) (mummy groans) (Binky laughs) Hey!

(sighing): I know, I know.

"Do your homework."

Work, work, work.

All I ever do is work.

Bad enough you have to go to school, they make you bring it home, too.

"Galileo was the son of a famous lute player and he grew up loving music."

Huh.

"They threatened him "with torture, but still he would not give up his belief that the Earth revolved around the Sun."

Recant!

I command you!

Never!

"Eventually, he told them what they wanted to hear "to avoid being executed, "and Galileo, the greatest scientist of his day, was put under house arrest."

Wow!

What an amazing story.

All right, class, settle down.

It's time for the test.

Test?

Yes.

I reminded you all about it yesterday.

Now please have a seat.

Ah!

Oh dear, I told Mr. Morris we had to fix that chair.

Do I still have to take the test?

What if I hurt my brain?

Your brain is not on your bottom, Binky.

You can sit over there.

(bell rings) That test was impossible.

I know.

"Name the four moons of Jupiter Galileo discovered?"

I didn't even know it had one.

Io, Europa, Ganeymede, and... Callisto!

How did he...?

Those are probably just the names of professional wrestlers.

Uh, Mr. Ratburn?

I think you gave me back the wrong test.

This one has an "A" on it.

No, Binky, that's yours.

Excellent work.

I got an A. I, Shelley "Binky" Barnes, got an A!

Whoo-hoo!

That's A as in best!

Terrific!

Number one, numero uno!

(laughs) Binky cheated?

FRANCINE: Think about it.

He had that "accident" with his chair right before so he could sit next to Brain.

And Binky never gets an A.

It's the only explanation.

I can think of another explanation.

After years of trial and error, Binky finally perfected the recipe for a super-powerful, brain-enhancing smoothie.

One beakerful and he temporarily gets the I.Q.

of a genius.

The only side effect?

Uncontrollable hiccups... (hiccups) I meant it was the only explanation that makes sense.

Well, it's true I didn't actually hear him hiccuping.

Sorry, I just don't buy it.

Binky may be a lot of things, but he's not a cheater.

Well, I think it's pretty suspicious.

Sounds like a mystery.

And if there's a mystery, there's only one person to call.

Fern?

Aww.

Does this help?

(doorbell rings, knock on door) All right, Barnes, the jig is up.

Admit it, those peepers have been all the way to Cheboygan and back.

Huh?

Playing dumb, are we?

Well, you're out of luck, sister.

No one plays dumb better than me.

What are you talking about?

The big swindle, the long con.

And all for what?

One lousy letter from a cheap red pen.

Are you saying I cheated?

Um... Maybe?

(grumbles angrily) It wasn't my idea!

I thought you drank a genius smoothie.

You haven't had uncontrollable hiccups, have you?

I didn't cheat!

Okay.

If you say so.

Why would you even think that?

What did you get on your last test?

A C-minus.

And the one before that?

Ugh, I don't even want to talk about that one.

Ha!

I rest my case.

This time was different.

I got really into the reading.

Oh, relax.

It's not like I'm going to tell Mr. Ratburn.

But I still think it's wrong.

I didn't cheat!

(slurping) It's so unfair.

The only time I do really well on a test no one believes me.

I do.

And it's not everyone, just Muffy and Francine.

Francine too?

I didn't know about her.

Aw, man.

I think it's just because your demeanor suggests a general apathy towards the pedagogical system.

Oh, yeah, that makes it all clear.

Thanks!

Now tell me in English.

It's your image-- you don't seem that into schoolwork.

Mmm.

(bad British accent): Ah, school.

My home away from home, as it were.

Whoa!

(coughs) Nothing like the smell of a good old book by... Ah-ris-tote-lee!

You're not fooling anyone.

What?

Ha, ha!

Can't a lad enjoy the simple pleasures of... "intellectual edification"?

I thought we'd start the morning with a little quiz on last night's reading.

(regular voice): What?

Aw, man.

I mean... Huzzah!

Not only did I fail that quiz, but Francine and Muffy think it's proof that I cheated the other day.

They'll never believe me now.

Well, there is one thing you could do.

What?

Get another A.

We have a science test coming up.

That's a great idea!

ARTHUR: Oof!

Wait, how do I do that?

(weakly): Study.

I was afraid that's what you'd say.

(groans) This is too hard.

I'll never be able to get another A.

Why even bother?

After you fail tomorrow's test, everyone will know you're a cheater.

I didn't cheat!

(sighs) Even little Binky doesn't believe me.

There's one thing you could do to guarantee you get an A-- bring tiny little cheat sheets with you.

No one will know.

(laughing evilly) Herbivore: an animal that only eats plants.

(yawns) Hey Binky, ready for the test?

Ah!

Who?

Me?

No!

I mean, I studied, but it's not like I have all the answers up my sleeve.

(laughs nervously) Chilly, isn't it?

Good luck.

As if you need it.

Yeah.

Hope your chair doesn't break.

I didn't cheat!

Yet.

A milkshake!

And don't tell me a fruit smoothie is better for me.

Today's a milkshake day.

What's that?

Huh?

Nothing!

Just a fortune from a fortune cookie.

"Omnivore: an animal that eats both plants and animals."

That's a pretty strange fortune.

(sighs) I was going to use little cheat sheets on today's test, but I lost my nerve.

I thought I had thrown them all out.

I spent hours and hours copying stuff out and now I'm just going to fail anyway.

Not necessarily.

Writing information down is a great way to memorize the material.

You mean I might have accidentally studied?

Stranger things have happened.

RATBURN: Good job on yesterday's science test.

The average grade was a B+, although there were a few exceptions.

BINKY: There!

What do think of that?

I got another A!

It's an A-minus.

Okay, fine, but it's still in the A family.

And I wasn't sitting next to Brain.

Now do you believe I didn't cheat?

I'm sorry, Binky.

Me too.

I'm going to need a bigger trophy cabinet soon.

I guess we really misjudged him.

Yep.

BINKY: Get it out!

Read it and weep!

Or he really did invent a genius smoothie.

Either way, Binky Barnes is a lot smarter than we give him credit for.

And now a word from us kids!

STUDENT: We all chose a famous woman and we made a report.

STUDENT: Someone who did something really special.

STUDENT: And we painted pictures of them.

Binky read about Galileo and learned about Galileo, and I read about Bethany Hamilton, and I learned a lot about her.

Bethany Hamilton is a surfer.

She was surfing.

A shark came and bit off her arm and she still surfs.

I like Bethany because she is very brave.

I chose Elizabeth Blackwell as my famous woman.

She was the first woman to be a medical doctor in America.

I chose Frida Kahlo as my famous woman.

She was one of the greatest artists in Mexico and she did very good self-portraits with animals.

Cathy Freeman is an Aboriginal Australian sprinter.

She was the first Aboriginal Australian woman to compete at the Olympics.

She ran in the 400-meter race.

I chose Rosa Parks.

Rosa Parks was sitting in the white section in the bus.

Rosa Parks helped us to move to better equality.

Grace Brewster Murray Hopper was one of the first computer programmers and made programming languages.

Marie Curie was a scientist.

I want to be a scientist and discover things like Marie Curie.

Jane Goodall is a researcher that went to Africa to study chimpanzees for 50 years.

I just chose her because I basically like nature and stuff like that.

I like learning about famous people and how they made a difference in the world and how we can make a difference in the world too.

And now back to Arthur!

RATBURN: Everything in this time capsule is over a hundred years old.

The people who buried it wanted to give us in the future a sense of what life was like back in 1910.

Isn't this amazing?

It's like opening a treasure chest.

A catalogue depicting the latest fashions.

Look at that hat.

It's like she's wearing a birthday cake on her head.

This was one of the big new inventions of the time: the Brownie camera.

(laughing) It looks more like an old lunchbox.

(gasps) The Brownie was a great invention.

It made it possible for ordinary people to take photos for the first time.

They must have sprained their arms trying to take selfies.

(kids laughing) I'd like you all to write a paper on what you would put in your own time capsules.

Oh, I'm going to do something much better than that.

Brain and the Time Capsule.

(sizzling) I think it's ready for testing.

Hey, Brain!

You making a robot?

No, but I need a favor.

Try to destroy this.

All right!

♪ ♪ (Binky grunting) (loud thud) Sorry, it's still good as new.

I built it with three-gauge steel so it will last hundreds of years.

What is it?

My time capsule.

So people in the future will know what life was like for a kid in Elwood City today.

Can I add something too?

Sorry, but there's no room.

What do you mean there's no room?

It's empty.

I know, but I have all the contents planned.

That's the thanks I get for helping you?

Okay, okay, you can put in one thing.

Just don't tell anyone.

Don't worry.

I'm locking up your secret... (muffled): and throwing away the key.

Binky told you what?!

About your time capsule.

Can I put some stuff in, too?

Oh, Brain, I have the best things for the capsule.

Future kids will love it.

What happened to locking your mouth and throwing away the key?

Got to find a better hiding place for that key.

Guys, you can't just put any old thing in a time capsule.

Like I even own "any old thing"!

You're letting Binky put his stuff in.

Why can't we?

Because each item in that box is going to be judged by future generations.

I don't want them laughing at us.

So what are you putting in?

"Great Mathematicians of the World" playing cards?

It's a collector's edition.

And the eight of hearts is signed by Sophie Morel.

They won't be laughing at us in the future, they'll just all be asleep.

What do you mean?

No offense, Brain, but this stuff is a little boring.

My quantum mechanics coloring book is not boring!

These things might say something about you, but they don't say anything about what normal life was like.

And you want this to be an accurate portrayal, right?

I guess it could use a little bit more variety.

Okay, you can each put one thing in.

But I get to approve it and you can't tell anyone else.

Here!

For the time capsule.

No way.

What?

Uncle Slam is the six-time wrestling champ of the universe.

Everything in the time capsule has to be important.

Find something else.

BRAIN: "Six complete seasons of Keeping Up with the Kamerahounds?"

You're kidding, right?

Nobody says today more than they do.

Not a chance.

Well, obviously, you have to include the Ziptron T-5.

It's the coolest phone ever.

You're willing to sacrifice your new phone?

There's a waiting list for it.

I know.

Bailey slept outside the store for a week to get it.

Okay.

And here are the rest of my contributions.

I told you, you only get one thing.

Fine, you can include this, too.

It's a good idea to show the future what our currency was like.

I don't want it to go in the box.

I want it to go in your pocket.

Maybe it might free up a little room in there?

♪ ♪ The Winkie Cake.

It says today, but it's also timeless.

This is what life is like in Elwood City.

It's junk food.

I want to represent the very best of ourselves.

Besides, it won't last a hundred years.

Yes, it will.

I looked it up: Winkie Cakes have a shelf life of 322 years.

(sighs) At least it's small.

BINKY: Uncle Slam boots.

You can't even get them anymore.

Binky, wrestling is just vulgar entertainment in outlandish costumes for a gullible public.

I know!

That's why it's so cool!

I'm sorry, but no.

You said I could put one thing in that box and so far you've rejected all my ideas.

I don't even know if they'll fit.

Well, you can at least try.

I guess I can leave out my Math Olympics trophy.

And this.

I can't believe I agreed to all this junk.

"To future generations, "some of the items in this time capsule do not reflect "the views and opinions of its creator.

Sincerely, Alan Powers."

Sorry, Binky.

They're just too big.

What he doesn't know won't hurt him.

BRAIN: We are gathered here today to leave a historical record of Elwood City.

Hundreds of years from now, kids will open this time capsule and discover the important things in our lives today... And hopefully disregard the rest.

(thunder clap) (gasps) Ah!

Uncle Slam's boots?

Ah!

Huh, we must be in the future.

MAYOR: And now to open the Alan Powers time capsule.

(gasps): That's me!

Good thing you invented the longevity smoothie so we could both enjoy this moment together.

Binky, there's something I've always wanted to tell you...

I know.

You're as excited as I am.

And so is Uncle Slam.

(growls) Oh no!

(gasps) Buster, I need your help.

I think I made a terrible mistake.

Where on earth did I bury it?

Last night's rain washed away all the signs!

What's the big deal?

Binky's never going to discover that you didn't put his boots in anyway.

He might-- you never know.

And if he does, he's going to be really upset.

Why didn't you bring a metal detector?

Because I don't have one.

But I know someone who does.

(metal detector squealing) (beeping) You found it!

Huh.

It's just a bottle cap.

This isn't just a bottle cap.

It's a bottle cap from an Old Crow Blueberry Fizz.

So?

It's really rare.

This soda pop was only made in Elwood City in the 1960s before they closed the plant down.

How on earth do you know that?

My great-uncle Rusty worked there.

He's going to love this.

Huh!

I guess one person's trash is another person's treasure.

Now I feel even worse about Binky.

Well, you can apologize now if you want.

Here he comes.

What are you guys doing here?

We're, uh, digging for truffles?

Yeah, we're not looking for the time capsule.

(laughs nervously) I wasn't going to look for that either.

I was just hunting for buried treasure.

Oh, well, it's not here.

See you!

Binky, wait.

We were looking for the time capsule.

I left these out.

Are you mad at me?

Mad?

I'm thrilled!

I forgot these were autographed.

I was here to dig them up.

Hey, you know what this means?

I still get to put one thing in the time capsule.

But we can't find it.

The rain washed away the traces of where it's buried.

So?

Keep digging!

(dog barks) (panting) (gasps) A Winkie cake!

Mmm, delicious!

BUSTER: To watch more Arthur and play games with all the Elwood City friends, visit pbskids.org.

You can find Arthur books and lots of other books too at your local library.

Captioned by Media Access Group at WGBH access.wgbh.org