TYING YOUR SHOES. MAKING ICE CUBES. OPENING A DOOR. ARE THESE SIMPLE DAILY TASKS? OR ARE THEY COMPLEX, INTRICATE MYSTERIES YOU'RE PROBABLY DOING WRONG?

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CHANNEL INVITES VIEWERS ON A QUEST TO PERFECT EVERYDAY SKILLS IN GOING DEEP WITH DAVID REES

New Series Premieres July 14 at 10 & 10:30 PM ET/PT Immediately Following the Summer Season Premiere of Brain Games

(WASHINGTON, D.C. - June 18, 2014) Here's a simple question: Can you tie your shoes? Odds are you learned how as a young child, but do you really know how to tie them? Are you using the ideal strength of shoelace, or are yours susceptible to breaking? Is your shoelace knot perfectly symmetrical? Does it capsize like a professional mariner's knot? And have you laced your shoes in a way that maximizes their effectiveness for the activities you're doing? Turns out, untangling the art of proper shoelace tying requires a deeper investigation.

In National Geographic Channel's (NGC's) new 10-part series Going Deep with David Rees, viewers will discover that when it comes to everyday activities and simple tasks, there's more than meets the eye. David Rees, the man who literally wrote the book on how to sharpen pencils, is taking to the airwaves to teach viewers how to master other often-overlooked skills. Going Deep with David Rees will premiere July 14 at 10 & 10:30 p.m. ET/PT on National Geographic Channel, following the 9:00 p.m. ET/PT summer premiere of the hit series Brain Games. Going Deep with David Rees will air internationally on National Geographic Channels in 440 million homes in 171 countries and 45 languages later this fall. For more information, visit www.natgeotv.com and follow us on Twitter at @NGC_PR.

Going Deep with David Rees is the how-to show that teaches you how to do the things you think you already know how to do. In each episode, viewers will journey alongside David as he dons his black apron to deconstruct a familiar process - navigating the whys, hows and what-ifs everyday experiences. Along the way, he'll meet experts who reveal the task's surprising history and de-familiarize it until you realize you actually know nothing about it. David will gather everything he's learned to devise and debut the best technique to accomplish this formerly simple task - until even making ice cubes becomes a high-stakes showcase of beauty and technical precision.

WARNING: At some points you will feel like you are losing your mind.

Discover how to tie a perfectly symmetrical shoelace knot, go inside the head of a housefly (literally) to learn how to best annihilate it, and find out the most ergonomically devastating way to wield a shovel. In his quest for knowledge, David hangs out with a collection of diverse individuals who have dedicated their lives to becoming the best in their (often underappreciated) fields - including circus performers, evolutionary biologists, lock pickers, arm wrestlers and a mysterious man known as "Professor Shoelace."

"I'm not a scientist or an engineer, I'm just a guy with an overwhelming need to be the best at things most people take for granted," said David. "I think my audience will be surprised to learn that maybe they don't actually know how to open a door, or flip a coin, or tie their shoes - and after watching me learn how to do those things, they'll be able to perform those tasks with a newfound sense of accomplishment. And they will be in demand at all the hottest cocktail parties and high-school reunions."

NGC continues to produce new series that demonstrate the network's commitment to developing cool science programming that is fun, entertaining and accessible. Brain Games, with host Jason Silva (@Jason Silva), is back on July 14 for all-new episodes featuring interactive illusions, challenges and experiments that showcase the extraordinary nature of the human brain. This fall, new series Mind over Masses will take viewers through eye-popping, innovative and fun experiments that invisibly influence the actions of the crowds participating. It's curating social behavior on a whole new level; their outcomes just may make our world a better place.

About David Rees

David Rees (@david_rees) is a comedian, writer and entrepreneur. Variety once called him a "phenomenal cult hero," which sounds about right. He's the creator of "Get Your War On," a popular satirical cartoon about the War on Terror that was published in Rolling Stone, collected into three books, and adapted as a play that toured internationally. In 2010, David launched his artisanal pencil-sharpening business - since then he has sharpened more than 2,000 pencils for customers around the world. His book "How to Sharpen Pencils" was published to great critical acclaim and confusion in 2012. As a comedian, David has performed with Louis CK, Todd Barry, Paul F. Tompkins and John Hodgman, among others. In his spare time, David makes mash-ups and works on his struggling DJ career.

Upcoming episodes of Going Deep with David Rees include:

How to Make an Ice Cube (series premiere) Monday, July 14, 2014, 10:00 p.m. ET/PT David is tired of sullying his beverages with inferior ice. When he fixes himself a drink at home, he wants it to look like the cocktails you see in high-end liquor ads: a tumbler filled with ice that glitters like diamonds (only cubed). Join David as he gathers expert advice from icemakers, ice sculptors, ice harvesters, glaciologists and venerable Buddhist monks - you'll never freeze water the same way again. The final result is a series of steps guaranteed to turn your freezer into an ice factory that churns out heirloom-quality cubes.

How to Tie Your Shoes Monday, July 14, 2014, 10:30 p.m. ET/PT Think you know how to tie your shoes? Think again. Most of us still keep our laces knotted the same way we learned when we were kids, but what other methods are possible, and which one will lead to optimal shoelace tying? Is there really such a thing as the perfect knot? David consults with survivalists, surgeons and even an evolutionary biologist to find out what kind of laces and knots we should be using in our footwear, as well as an answer to the age-old question - should we be wearing shoes at all, or are they actually nefarious foot-coffins?

How to Dig a Hole Monday, July 21, 2014, 10:00 p.m. ET/PT Learn the tools, techniques and talents needed to carry out any type of excavation, including mines, graves, golf holes and even uniquely personal holes that express something about you as an individual. Join David as he embarks on a journey of hole (and self) discovery that brings him in contact with some of the world's foremost experts on digging. He then synthesizes all he learns into a series of simple steps that even those who are unable to tell a spade from a shovel can follow. He also uses them to dig a customized hole of his own design that, if he's not careful, could kill him.

How to Flip a Coin Monday, July 21, 2014, 10:30 p.m. ET/PT Heads or tails? Whichever you pick, there's a better than 50-50 chance that your mind ends up blown by David's rigorous investigation into the history, the physics and the shadowy known unknowns behind the ancient practice of coin flipping. He'll consult with physicists, circus performers, the New York Lottery draw team and an engineer turned "kinetic sculptor" in order to determine with 100 percent scientific certainty the ideal method for flipping coins - then go out and impress your friends while taking all their money.

Additional episodes include How to Swat a Fly, How to Open a Door, How to Climb a Tree, How to Throw a Paper Airplane, How to Shake Hands and How to Light a Match.

Going Deep with David Rees was conceived by David Rees, Jo Honig and Christine Connor. It is produced for National Geographic Channel by True Entertainment, XCON Productions & Omelette Bar Productions. Executive producers are Christine Connor, Jo Honig, Daniel Miller and David Rees. For True Entertainment executive producers are Steven Weinstock and Glenda Hersh. For National Geographic Channel, executive producer is Michael Kovnat; vice president of production and development is Lynn Sadofsky; and executive vice president, programming and strategy is Heather Moran.

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National Geographic Channels

Based at the National Geographic Society headquarters in Washington, D.C., the National Geographic Channels US are a joint venture between National Geographic and Fox Networks. The Channels contribute to the National Geographic Society's commitment to exploration, conservation and education with smart, innovative programming and profits that directly support its mission. Launched in January 2001, National Geographic Channel (NGC) celebrated its fifth anniversary with the debut of NGC HD. In 2010, the wildlife and natural history cable channel Nat Geo WILD was launched, and in 2011, the Spanish-language network Nat Geo Mundo was unveiled. The Channels have carriage with all of the nation's major cable, telco and satellite television providers, with NGC currently available in over 85 million U.S. homes. Globally, National Geographic Channel is available in more than 440 million homes in 171 countries and 45 languages. For more information, visit www.natgeotv.com.