On some isolated island, members of a marooned group of reality TV stars are strapped to two large windmill contraptions resting on a platform over tanks of water. On the platform stand their spirited teammates, who are eagerly spinning the machines wheels, submerging their tied-up friends for enough time for them to slurp up giant mouthfuls of water. The captives must spit out the water from their mouths into tubes, which, once full, will release a ball. Why are they consenting to this? you might ask. Well, theyre desperate to complete the bizarre Rube Goldberg scenario so they can move onto solving the puzzle portion of the task, for its the key to immunity in the next tribal council.

Of course! Theyre Survivor contestants, and its challenge time.

This particular challenge doesnt just sound dangerous, it is unequivocally the most dangerous one the beloved CBS show has ever featured, longtime game maker John Kirhoffer told HuffPost in a lengthy interview last month. The evil baseball cap-wearing genius has been producing reward and immunity challenges for Survivor since the shows inception in 2000, concocting gross, puzzling and, yes, dangerous concepts for its nearly 40 seasons.

Im only 22 years old, but if you look at me now I look 56 because I aged so much during that challenge, he joked. I was so nervous the whole time. We had people on the side, our safety team and our security, but, man, I was very concerned with that one. It worked great in Nicaragua [Season 21] and again in Redemption Island [Season 22], but weve never done it again just because my hairs gray enough.

Yet here he is, 38 seasons in, still coming up with bizarre challenges like reality TVs version of The Hunger Games Seneca Crane. And he shows no signs of stopping.