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The cast of the television series MythBusters perform experiments to verify or debunk urban legends, old wives' tales, and the like. This is a list of the various myths tested on the show as well as the results of the experiments (the myth is Busted, Plausible, or Confirmed).
The MythBusters tested these myths for accuracy in season 7:
[edit] Episode 115 – Demolition Derby Special
- Original airdate: April 8, 2009
[edit] Bus Flip
| Myth statement |
Status |
Notes |
| While a city bus is turning at 50 miles per hour (80 km/h), all the passengers need to move to the inside of the turn if the bus is to stay upright. Myth inspired by a scene in Speed. |
Busted |
In their initial test, Adam and Jamie placed several barrels filled water inside the bus to match the weight of the nineteen passengers seen in the film. They then placed all of the barrels on the right side of the bus and performed a right hand turn at 50 miles per hour. The bus barely managed to make the turn but successfully managed not to flip over. They then performed a second test with the weight evenly distributed in order to confirm the first test, but the bus failed to flip, proving that weight distribution was not necessary and busting the myth. In order to flip the bus, Adam and Jamie distributed all of the weight to the outside of the bus to shift the center of gravity, added steel weights to the roof to make it top heavy, and added a valve to deflate the left side air-suspension to further shift the weight of the vehicle. |
[edit] Hollywood Crash Test
Based on numerous car chase scenes in films, the Build Team tested myths based on whether cars would be able to successfully drive through/into various obstructions. Two criteria were used to test each scenario: whether the real crash appeared similar to its Hollywood counterpart, and whether the car could be driven away afterward. They crashed into...
| Myth statement |
Status |
Notes |
| ...a fruit stand. |
Busted |
The car completely demolished the fruit stand, but the Build Team discovered that the car would not be drivable because the damage caused by the crash crumpled its hood in. |
| ...a locked chain link gate. |
Plausible |
The car successfully crashed through the gate, but suffered severe damage. However, the car was still drivable, prompting the Build Team to declare the myth plausible. |
| ...a camper trailer. |
Busted |
The car completely demolished the trailer, rather than making the clean hole seen in movies. Also, the car was completely destroyed in the crash. |
| ...the cavity between the ground and a big rig trailer, tearing the roof off. |
Plausible |
The trailer tore the roof off of the car, making it an instant convertible. However, the car's braking system failed and it continued on, driving off an earthen berm and going airborne. Based on video playback, the car looked as if it was still in drivable condition after driving under the trailer, prompting a plausible result. |
[edit] Racing Gravity
| Myth statement |
Status |
Notes |
| A car driving at 142 miles per hour (229 km/h) can beat an identical car falling at terminal velocity in a race at a distance of 4,000 feet (1,200 m). This myth is based on a car advertisement. |
Busted |
The Build Team first dropped a car from a crane to see how it would behave in freefall. However, they found that unlike the commercial, the car would not fall evenly and would hit the ground front first. They solved this problem by evenly distributing the weight of the car. For the actual test, the Build Team dropped a car from a helicopter while a remote controlled car drove at 140 miles per hour (225 km/h) in an attempt to beat it. However, because the car could only achieve a top speed of 105 miles per hour (169 km/h), the Build Team had to shorten the ground distance to 2,950 feet (900 m) to compensate. During the actual experiment, the falling car managed to beat the ground car. This, taking into account many other factors of the experiment, prompted the Build Team to bust the myth. |
[edit] Compact Compact Supersized
| Myth statement |
Status |
Notes |
| Two big rigs that collide head on can completely flatten a compact car between them. |
Busted |
This was a revisit of season 3's Compact Compact due to their inability to successfully complete the experiment the first time. Applying the lessons learned from their first attempt, the MythBusters rebuilt the entire crash rig. The test was successful, with both trucks crashing head on and pancaking the compact. However, the compact car was pushed out of the collision zone rather than staying between the trucks, and the trucks were not fused together as stated in the myth. In order to see what it would take to pancake and fuse a compact, the MythBusters decided to ram a compact with a rocket sled. The rocket sled struck the compact car at a speed of 648 miles per hour (1,043 km/h), completely disintigrating the compact car. However, the impact didn't achieve the fusion they were looking for. In order to see what it would take to fuse two pieces of metal together, the MythBusters demonstrated explosion welding where metal could be fused by using high explosives. Since trucks cannot travel faster than sound, nor can high explosives be easily found on a highway, the myth was ultimately busted. |
[edit] Episode 116 – Alaska Special 2
- Original airdate: April 15, 2009
As part of Discovery Channel's Alaska Week 2009 series, the MythBusters returned to Alaska to test more cold weather myths.
[edit] Pykrete Peril
Based on Geoffrey Pyke's proposed project of building an aircraft carrier out of pykrete during World War II (it wasn't put into practice because the war ended), the MythBusters decided to test the viability of making a pykrete boat.
| Myth statement |
Status |
Notes |
| Pykrete is bulletproof. |
Confirmed |
The MythBusters demonstrated that a block of pykrete was able to stop a .45 caliber slug. In comparison, a block of ice was completely shattered by the bullet. |
| Pykrete is stronger than ice. |
Confirmed |
The MythBusters subjected ice and pykrete to a mechanical stress test where lead blocks were placed onto a cantilevered slab of each material to determine its breaking strength. The ice quickly failed when the weight exceeded 40 pounds (18 kg), while the pykrete had no problem supporting all 300 pounds (136 kg) of lead blocks the MythBusters had and took Jamie several additional hammer strikes to break. After this test Jamie made a slab of "super pykrete" (made out of newspaper instead of wood pulp). It held the lead blocks and Adam's weight combined, even holding strong against repeated hammer strikes. |
| A working boat can be completely constructed with pykrete. |
Plausible |
The MythBusters first tested how long ice, pykrete, and Jamie's special "super pykrete" could last in warm water before melting. The super pykrete proved to last significantly longer, prompting Adam and Jamie to use that as their main building material. The MythBusters then built a full size boat out of the super pykrete and subjected it to real world conditions. Though the boat managed to float and stay intact at speeds of up to 23 miles per hour (37 km/h), it quickly began to spring leaks as the boat slowly melted. At twenty minutes in with the boat deteriorating, the experiment was pulled, and the boat lasted another ten minutes while being piloted back to shore. Though the boat worked, it was noted that it would be highly impractical for the original myth, which predicted that an entire aircraft carrier could be built out of pykrete. They agreed to settle on a "plausible but ludicrous" conclusion. |
[edit] Snowplow Split
| Myth statement |
Status |
Notes |
| A V-shaped snowplow is capable of perfectly bifurcating a car front to rear in a head on collision, while the driver and the passenger both escape unharmed. |
Busted |
Unable to find the necessary facilities in Alaska, the Build Team instead settled for a test location in Wisconsin. In their first test, the Build Team rammed a front engine car into the snowplow at 55 miles per hour (89 km/h). However, the snowplow failed to slice the car in two due to the thick engine block. In their second test, the Build Team used a rear engine car (made out of a front engine car with the engine relocated into the trunk), increased its speed to 70 miles per hour (113 km/h), and sharpened the edge of the snowplow to maximize the chances of slicing the car in two. Even though the front portion of the car was sliced in two, the snowplow again failed to cut through the engine block. Also, in both tests, the inflatable dummies representing the driver and the passenger did not escape unharmed, busting the myth. Since the test went so well, the Build Team also declared that the dreaded curse of the snowplow was busted as well. |
[edit] Episode 117 – Banana Slip/Double Dip
- Original airdate: April 22, 2009
[edit] Banana Peel Slip
| Myth statement |
Status |
Notes |
| A single banana peel on the ground is guaranteed to cause the person who steps on it to slip and fall. |
Busted |
In their first test, a blindfolded Jamie (wearing proper protection) stepped on a banana peel while walking, but did not slip. In the second test, multiple banana peels were laid down in Jamie's path, but he did not slip. He then tried running through the banana peels but still failed to slip. They then performed further tests by measuring a banana peel's static friction and kinetic friction and comparing it to lubricant, with the lubricant having far less kinetic friction but the banana peel having somewhat less static friction. In their full scale test, the MythBusters built a race course that had the entire ground covered with banana peels, and later lubricant. They then compared how quickly and easily they could negotiate the course with banana peels and the lubricant, in which they both comically did poorly on when they ran the track without caution. In the end, the MythBusters decided that the myth was busted, but just barely. Banana peels would not guarantee a fall but could still prove to be very slippery on a smooth enough surface. |
[edit] Homemade Diamonds
The Build Team tested several myths that involve creating diamonds with household materials such as...
| Myth statement |
Status |
Notes |
| ...several chemicals such as graphite and ferric nitrate by combining them in a pressure cooker. This myth was inspired from an episode of CSI: Miami. |
Busted |
Tory started by acquiring the required chemicals, as well as a diamond seed and put them all into a pressure cooker, leaving the mix cooking for three days. However, he failed to obtain any results. |
| ...peanut butter by using it to cover charcoal and putting it in a microwave. |
Busted |
Kari tried the method but failed to create any diamonds, despite managing to destroy two microwaves. |
| ...molten graphite and iron by rapidly cooling it and soaking the iron in hydrochloric acid. |
Busted |
Grant performed the experiment but could not find any diamonds. |
Unable to produce any diamonds using household items, the Build Team went on to test whether...
| Myth statement |
Status |
Notes |
| ...explosives can compress graphite into diamonds. |
Confirmed |
The Build Team was invited to New Mexico Tech to see the demonstration, which used 5,000 pounds (2,300 kg) of explosives. This was the largest explosion ever recorded on MythBusters, producing over twelve times the energy explosions that previously held the title produced. They then performed a smaller scale blast and examined the results in the lab after a chemical bath. However, the process only produces cheap quality industrial diamonds. While still chemically diamonds, the Build Team agreed that this process was too impractical to attempt at home and that any homemade diamond scheme was too implausible. |
[edit] Double Dipping
| Myth statement |
Status |
Notes |
| The act of double dipping is the equivalent of putting the microbes in your mouth into the dip as if all of the dip were put in your mouth. The myth was inspired by the television comedy Seinfeld. |
Busted |
In their experiment, the MythBusters used chips with regular dip and salsa. In the control test, they put the untouched dip and salsa into petri dishes, and followed with double dipped dip and salsa, and finally dip and salsa that had been put in Adam and Jamie's mouths. However, when they examined their results, they found that the dip and salsa were already loaded with microbes. For a more accurate experiment, the MythBusters were forced to sterilize all their testing materials with radiation and create a sterile environment. Examining the results, the MythBusters found that double dipping produced less microbes than putting all the dip in your mouth. Also, the amount of microbes present was negligible compared to the amount found in regular dip. |
[edit] Episode 118 – YouTube Special
- Original airdate: April 29, 2009
Adam, Jamie, and the Build Team tested three myths drawn from videos seen on YouTube.
[edit] Match Bomb
| Myth statement |
Status |
Notes |
| If the heads of 30,000 matches are gathered together and ignited, they will create a large fireball. |
Confirmed |
Adam and Jamie started with 30,000 paper safety matches and cut the heads off, collecting them in a 1-US-gallon (3.8 L) bucket. When these were ignited with a slow-burning fuse, they generated a fireball approximately 10 feet (3 m) high, confirming the myth. However, the person who submitted it had also asked what would happen if 1,000,000 heads were used, so the entire crew spent a day cutting off match heads to fill a 44-US-gallon (170 L) drum. These were then ignited to create an intensely bright, 50-foot (15 m) fireball. Finally, Adam and Jamie built an improvised cannon out of a K-size argon cylinder and loaded it with 60,000 match heads, using a 6-pound (2.7 kg) bowling ball as the projectile. They aimed it at a rack of bowling pins and set it off, but the ball never hit the pins; instead, it skipped off the ground, sailed over them, and then flew 1,500 feet (460 m) uphill. Adam commented afterward that the cannon might have propelled the ball some 3,000 feet (910 m) on level ground. |
[edit] Lego Ball
| Myth statement |
Status |
Notes |
| A 7-foot ball built from 5 million Lego bricks can be easily pushed off the top of a hill, roll down, and bounce off a parked car without doing any damage. |
Busted |
Grant, Tory, and Kari investigated this myth in three parts: the number of bricks needed for a 7-foot (2 m) ball, whether its weight would make it hard to push around, and whether it would damage a car after rolling downhill. They managed to collect half a million bricks, and calculated that a ball consisting of 5 million bricks would weigh 10 tonnes (22,000 lb), much too heavy for people to push unassisted. After borrowing another half a million bricks from a private collector and expertise from Legoland California, the Build Team brought in every available crew member to put together the ball, which eventually weighed 3,000 pounds (1,400 kg), and found a road on which to roll it safely. They set up a downhill alley made of construction barricades, put a car at the bottom, and let the ball go; however, it crumbled into pieces long before reaching the car. All three parts of the myth were declared busted, and the Build Team conjectured that the people in the video may have used a large, hollow sphere as the core of their Lego ball, and glued the pieces to it. This would have made the Lego sphere far easier to push and far less likely to break up or damage a car on impact. |
[edit] Spinning Tire Fire
| Myth statement |
Status |
Notes |
| A car tire can be spun so fast that friction with the ground will cause it to not only smoke, but actually catch fire. |
Busted |
Adam and Jamie found a high-performance car and set it up to run in place, with only one tire spinning in contact with the ground. In the first test, Jamie revved the engine to top speed, causing the tire to emit thick smoke and eventually burst. No flames were observed at the time; however, after a lunch break, they discovered that some of the rubber particles had smoldered and built up enough heat to ignite. Believing that a spark might be needed to get the tire to burn, Adam set up an angle grinder and turned it on as Jamie stepped on the gas pedal for the second test. The tire did not blow out or burn this time, so for the third test, Adam hooked up a container to leak gasoline onto the tire as it spun and the grinder threw sparks. Again there was no fire, and Jamie theorized that the air turbulence caused by the spinning tire was preventing the gasoline from igniting. With no flames generated during any test, Adam and Jamie declared the myth busted. |
[edit] Homemade Surround Sound
This myth was not shown in the actual episode, but was featured on the MythBusters website and included in the iTunes download as an extra scene. It was based on a video created by the youtube user: Household Hacker.
| Myth statement |
Status |
Notes |
| A person can make a working speaker out of a paper plate, tin foil, a penny, and a minijack, for under a dollar. This myth was inspired by a video from the Household Hacker. |
Busted |
Tory built the homemade speakers according to the Household Hacker's specifications and created his own surround sound setup, but when he turned on the music, the speakers didn't work. Thinking that there might not be enough electricity to power all the speakers at once, Tory used only a single speaker but failed to get any sound again. The homemade speakers clearly did not work, and Tory also pointed out that the boast that these homemade speakers cost less than one dollar each was not true. A single minijack alone costs around ten dollars, and Tory's entire homemade surround sound set cost one hundred and fifty dollars to build. |
[edit] Episode 119 – Swimming in Syrup
- Original airdate: May 6, 2009
Adam and Jamie explored the physics of swimming in syrup, while the Build Team probed two "magic bullet" myths.
[edit] Swimming in Syrup
| Myth statement |
Status |
Notes |
| It is possible to swim as fast through syrup as through water. |
Plausible |
Adam and Jamie began by digging two long trenches and lining them with plastic sheeting to serve as swimming pools. They filled one with water and the other with syrup made from 750 pounds (340 kg) of guar gum and 10,000 US gallons (38,000 L) of water. Adam and Jamie each swam three lengths in the water to establish their benchmark average times, then did the same in the syrup. Adam’s time in syrup was 28% slower than in water; Jamie tired quickly and withdrew from further testing.
Thinking that the high viscosity of the syrup may have affected the results, Adam and Jamie replaced it with a mixture that was only slightly more viscous than water. Adam again swam three lengths in each pool and found that his syrup time was now only 2.8% slower than in water. A third batch, this one about as viscous as maple syrup, was prepared for both Adam and Olympic gold medalist swimmer Nathan Adrian. Adam and Nathan swam 5.4% and 9% slower here than in water, respectively (though Adam and Jamie decided to disregard Nathan's results, since he was not used to the syrup and thus could not deliver a consistent performance). Based on the results for light and medium syrup, which they considered to be within the margin of error for their testing method, Adam and Jamie declared the myth plausible.
|
[edit] MacGyver's Magic Bullets
| Myth statement |
Status |
Notes |
| It is possible to blow open a lock by packing it with the gunpowder from six revolver cartridges, fitting an empty cartridge casing to it, and hitting the primer with the butt of a gun. Based on an episode of MacGyver. |
Busted |
The Build Team first explored the idea of simply shooting the lock to get it open. They set up a locked steel door and a .38 caliber revolver, and were surprised to find that their first shot damaged the lock sufficiently to let them open the door. Based on the details shown in the episode, they began to test the myth piece by piece: first trying to pull the slugs out of the rounds with their fingers, then trying to set off the case primers by hitting them with the revolver butts. Both of these proved impossible, so they took apart six .38 rounds, collected a total of 30 grains (1.9 g) of smokeless powder from them, and packed it (wrapped in a piece of cloth) into the keyhole of a second door along with a live primer. A firing pin was fitted into a gun butt and swung at the primer; after a few adjustments, including the use of black powder instead of smokeless, the Build Team was able to set off the powder in this manner. However, the door lock remained intact. Finally, they packed the keyhole with 600 grains (39 g) of black powder (equivalent to 120 rounds) and used an electric igniter to set it off. The resulting explosion blew the lock apart, proving the concept feasible, if not the exact circumstances. The team declared the myth busted due to the sheer amount of gunpowder needed, and then proceeded to destroy the entire door with a charge of C-4. |
[edit] Davy Crockett's Magic Bullet
| Myth statement |
Status |
Notes |
| Davy Crockett could fire a shot from his musket and split the bullet on the blade of an axe stuck in a tree 40 yards away. |
Confirmed |
After setting up a target and sticking an axe in it, the Build Team received training from an expert in antique American firearms and began shooting from 40 yards (37 m). Each member took three shots, moving up to 20 yards (18 m) after Tory went first. Although several bullets nicked the blade or handle, none split on it until Tory tried again at the shorter distance. With one bullet hole appearing on either side of the blade, the team declared the myth confirmed and decided that a person could consistently make the 40-yard shot with enough practice. |
[edit] Episode 120 – Exploding Bumper
- Original airdate: May 9, 2009 (Australia); May 13, 2009 (US)
[edit] Exploding Bumpers
| Myth statement |
Status |
Notes |
| A car bumper can explode in a car fire and fly across 50 feet (15 m) to knee-cap a person. |
Busted |
Adam and Jamie started with finding out the temperature a car fire could reach. They set fire to a car with gasoline, measured the temperature with a thermographic camera and got readings over 1,000 °F (538 °C). They then determined that the blaze reached 1,400 °C (2,600 °F), enough by far to melt the aluminium bumper but surprisingly unable to make it explode. Suspecting that unfocused flames might have caused the explosion to fail, back in the shop, they subjected several bumper shocks to directional heat from a oxyacetylene torch at various spots. However, all shocks lost pressure in one way or another before they could explode. During the course, the MythBusters interviewed an Oakland firewoman who indeed suffered bumper knee-capping. But in her accident, the bumper flew only 15 feet (4.6 m) instead of 50 feet as alleged in the myth. Finally, Adam and Jamie simulated a 50-foot bumper blast using a delicately engineered rig consisting of two pistons packed with gunpowder and wet sand and an electric ignition system, which demonstrated the improbability of such a blast under normal conditions. |
[edit] Medieval Mayhem
| Myth statement |
Status |
Notes |
| Hungarian archers got twice the penetration shooting a bow from a galloping horse than from shooting stationary. |
Busted |
The Build Team first attempted to test the myth by having trained horse archers firing at a foam target at varying speeds. However, they were unable to get consistent data because the three archers they tested all rode at different speeds, fired their arrows at different distances, and had varying arrow velocities. For a more conclusive test, the Build Team obtained a Jeep and mounted a crossbow on the top. They then fired arrows at a large foam target while stationary and then while the Jeep was driving at 40 miles per hour (64 km/h), in both cases from a fixed distance of 60 feet (18 m). While the arrows fired while the Jeep was moving did penetrate deeper into the target, they did not penetrate twice the distance of the arrows fired while stationary, busting the myth. |
[edit] Episode 121 – Seesaw Saga
Original airdate: May 20, 2009
Adam, Jamie, and the Build Team joined forces to investigate a puzzling seesaw myth.
| Myth statement |
Status |
Notes |
| A skydiver whose parachute fails to open can hit the high end of a playground seesaw, landing on his feet, and launch a child on the low end safely up to the roof of a 7-story building. |
Busted |
Adam and Jamie constructed a steel seesaw and placed a dummy on one end whose weight matched that of an average 6-year-old girl. To approximate the effect of a skydiver hitting the high end at terminal velocity, they calculated the proper combination of weight and height and dropped several water-filled barrels. The impact crushed the seesaw, ruptured the barrels, and launched the dummy to a height of 20 feet (6 m).
The Build Team was brought in to determine the terminal velocity, based on one specific type of skydiving suit and the diver’s body position. From several jumps, they determined that the diver could reach a maximum speed of 122 miles per hour (196 km/h) in a vertical position.
Meanwhile, Adam and Jamie designed and built a seesaw that could effectively deliver the energy of the falling skydiver to the girl without buckling. Adam did some small-scale tests to correlate drop height and maximum launch height, and also to follow the girl’s trajectory in the air.
Next, the Build Team did some bungee jumping to find a way to accelerate the diver to terminal velocity without having to drop him from several hundred feet up. Their solution: attach the ends of a heavy-duty bungee cord to the diver and the ground, haul the diver up using a crane, and release him so that the cord would snap him downward at high speed.
A wetsuit filled with an alginate/water mixture and dressed in a skydiving suit was used to represent the diver. The team set up the equipment at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, using the heavy-duty bungee cord and a pair of guide wires to make sure the diver dummy would hit the target accurately, and found that they could indeed reach 122 miles per hour. The girl dummy was outfitted with “shock watch” stickers to measure the forces exerted on it, and three drops were carried out. The results:
- 1st: diver hit slightly off-center and burst on impact; girl flew 55 feet (17 m) up and 70 feet (21 m) laterally, but suffered enough force to kill her
- 2nd: sand-filled inner tube used for diver; girl hit the guide wires
- 3rd: girl flew 130 feet (40 m) up at an angle (equivalent of 200 feet/60 metres straight up), but experienced a g-force of 42 g which would cause serious injury even before she hit the ground
Based on the need for a super-strong seesaw and the injuries inflicted on the girl, the team declared the myth busted.
|
[edit] Episode 122 – Thermite vs. Ice
- Original airdate: May 27, 2009
[edit] Thermite vs. Ice
| Myth statement |
Status |
Notes |
| Igniting a bucket full of thermite on top of a bunch of blocks of ice will cause an explosion. |
Confirmed |
This was another viral video request, with the hypothesis that the explosion was not from the thermite/ice reaction, but from a hidden pouch of black powder. However, when Adam and Jamie tested the myth as shown in the video (with one galvanized steel bucket full of thermite on top of ten 1-pound/0.45-kilogram blocks of ice), an explosion did indeed occur, thus confirming the myth. Using more thermite and more ice resulted in a larger explosion, enough to literally rain down fire a few seconds afterward and send ice chunks flying over 150 feet (46 m). In a first for the show, however, no explanation was given for why this occurred, because there is none; while hypotheses ranging from the rapid release of hydrogen and oxygen from the vaporizing ice by the thermite to the aerosoling of the thermite itself exist, no one has been able to definitively prove exactly what happens to cause this mixture to be so volatile. |
[edit] Woofer Weaponry
| Myth statement |
Status |
Notes |
| The vibrations caused by a car stereo system at full blast is enough to trigger a misfire in an SKS rifle. |
Busted |
This myth originated from Russian gangs, who use an SKS rifle with a freesliding (as opposed to spring-activated) firing pin. Supposedly, any large vibrations, such as from a loud car stereo system, can cause the firing pin to trigger and fire off round after round at random. To test this, the Build Team "pimped their ride" with the most advanced sound system they could get, and placed several of the appropriate rifles in different areas in the car before subjecting them to several decibel and tone levels worth of sound. However, none of the guns went off. Even taking the guns for testing at Meyer Sound and getting a custom car specifically designed for sound system contests—with a decibel level much higher than what Meyer Sound could produce—couldn't produce a result. |
| The shock wave caused by an exploding bomb is enough to trigger a misfire in an SKS rifle. |
Plausible |
In a last-ditch effort to get the myth to work, the Build Team tested another, similar myth from the same source, involving an exploded bomb setting off guns placed around the blast zone. This time, one of the guns did fire from the shockwave of the explosion, but only one, proving that while vibrations can cause the guns to misfire, it takes a pressure wave much stronger than even the most powerful sound systems can produce to do it. |
[edit] Handgun Horror
| Myth statement |
Status |
Notes |
| Holding a hunting revolver improperly can cause your fingers to be blown off by the escaping gases emitted when the bullets are fired. |
Confirmed |
This myth came to the MythBusters in the form of a picture that was too graphic to show on air. After testing the handgun and noting the power of the gun's recoil and the gases that emitted from between the barrel and the chamber, Adam and Jamie built a pair of chicken hands to test the damage these gases can cause to an unprotected hand. While Jamie's less anatomically-correct hand only suffered some minor flesh damage from the gases, Adam's hand—specifically created to mimic the bone and joint structure of a human hand—had one finger blown almost completely off, confirming the myth. |
[edit] Episode 123 – Prison Escape
- Original airdate: June 3, 2009
[edit] Car Cling
Adam and Jamie tested whether or not you could...
| Myth statement |
Status |
Notes |
| ...hold onto the roof of a car with the windows down while the car is zig-zagging. |
Confirmed |
A safety rig was constructed in case Jamie couldn't hold on, but he was easily able to hold onto a car going 45 miles per hour (72 km/h). |
| ...hold onto the roof of a car with the windows up while the car was zig-zagging. |
Busted |
Jamie could not hold on when the car was going 45 mph. The windows were up for all tests after this. |
| ...hold onto the roof of a car while the car is making a big turn. |
Busted |
Jamie fell off when the car was going at just 15–20 miles per hour (24–32 km/h). |
| ...hold onto the roof of a car when it makes a sudden stop. |
Busted |
Jamie lost his grip and almost blacked out after a 45 mph stop. |
| ...hold onto the hood of a car while the car is zig-zagging. |
Busted |
Adam fell off after the first swerve at just 20 mph. |
| ...hold onto the hood of a car while the car is making a big turn. |
Busted |
Adam fell off immediately at only 20 mph. |
| ...hold onto the hood of a car when it makes a sudden stop. |
Confirmed |
Adam was able to hold onto the hood at both 20 and 45 mph stops. |
| ...shake someone off of the roof of a car by going through a car wash. |
Busted |
The car wash had no effect on Jamie except for the chilly 55 °F (13 °C) water. |
| ...shake someone off of the hood of a car by going through a car wash. |
Busted |
Adam easily held on to the hood. |
[edit] Floss to Freedom
| Myth statement |
Status |
Notes |
| You can use dental floss to cut through the steel bars of a prison. |
Plausible |
Grant built a flossing robot, applied toothpaste to the bars (the grit used to clean your teeth, they reasoned, could be used to aid the floss), and let it run for a week. After a week, the bar had been worn away a fraction of an inch, which, by Grant's calculations, mean that you can cut through one bar in less than 300 days if you flossed 8 hours a night. |
[edit] Cannonball Escape
| Myth statement |
Status |
Notes |
| An 18th century prisoner placed the ball from his ball-and-chain into the prison's ceremonial cannon, fired himself over the prison wall, and survived. |
Busted |
After getting the specifications of a ball-and-chain for a 170 pounds (77 kg) person (what the dummy weighed) from an expert, Tory built a homemade cannon for the ball. Using one shotgun shell full of black powder, they launched just the ball 80 yards (73 m), well over the fence. After attaching it to Buster and using two shells, he flew an unspectacular 6 feet (1.8 m). Using rope to simulate hip ligaments, they fired again. Buster's leg was completely separated from his hip, leaving this myth busted. |
[edit] Episode 124 – Curving Bullet
- Original airdate: June 10, 2009
[edit] Sonic Boom Sound-off
To help test this myth, the MythBusters enlisted the aid of the Blue Angels and their F/A-18 Hornets.
| Myth statement |
Status |
Notes |
| A supersonic bullet can break any kind of glass just by the sonic boom it generates. |
Busted |
The MythBusters got their hands on a Barrett M82 .50 caliber sniper rifle, the largest caliber bullet available. They then lined up two rows of glass objects, such as windows, wine glasses, cups, and lightbulbs and fired the rifle so that the bullet would pass between both rows. However, the bullet's sonic boom failed to break any of the glass, no matter how close it passed by. |
| A supersonic jet can break any kind of glass by the sonic boom it generates. |
Busted |
Jamie set up a test area filled with various glass items and products while Adam performed a flyby in an F/A-18 going supersonic. However, at flybys of 8,000, 2,000, and 500 feet (2,400, 610, and 150 m), the jet failed to break any of the glass. They then performed a series of low altitude flybys at 200 feet (61 m), but only managed to break a single window. Since the majority of the glass was still intact, the MythBusters declared the myth busted. |
[edit] Bend a Bullet
This myth was inspired by scenes from the film version of Wanted.
| Myth statement |
Status |
Notes |
| It is possible to curve a bullet around an obstacle by quickly flicking the gun as you fire. |
Busted |
The Build Team first tested the myth by imitating the actions seen in the movie by swinging their arms and flicking their wrists as they fired. However, they failed to hit their target and the high-speed footage revealed that the bullets were still flying straight. In order to simulate the superhuman speed and precision that the characters in the movie possessed, the Build Team used a robotic arm. However, neither human nor superhuman speeds could curve the bullet. The Build Team then tried firing bullets that had their balance and aerodynamics purposely altered from a smoothbore barrel. While the bullets were highly unstable, they still travelled in a straight path due to their massive forward momentum. The Build Team declared the myth busted since the myth defied the laws of physics. |
[edit] Episode 125 – Car vs Rain
[edit] Car vs. Rain
| Myth statement |
Status |
Notes |
| Driving a convertible with the top down in the rain at a high speed will ensure that no water can enter the driver compartment. |
Plausible (but not recommended) |
The Mythbusters first performed several small scale tests, using a model car and a wind tunnel, and found that at higher speeds, a sort of air bubble seemed to form around the driver compartment, giving credence to the myth. In their full scale test, they used an actual convertible as well as a rain bar to provide the rain. In the control test, they stopped the convertible in the middle of the rain to put up the top, but the interior was still soaked. They then drove through the rain at 70 mph, and saw that the interior was significantly less soaked than the control. They then drove the car through the rain at 90 mph and saw that the interior was not soaked at all. The Mythbusters attributed this to the car's windshield, which served its function as well as creating an air bubble. However, they decided to declare the myth "Plausible, but not Recommended" due to the inherent danger of driving at such high speeds on wet roads. |
[edit] Popcorn Pandemonium
The Build Team tested various myths involving popcorn.
| Myth statement |
Status |
Notes |
| You can make popcorn by detonating a propane tank with high explosive. |
Busted |
The explosion failed to cook or pop any of the popcorn kernels since the blast blew the kernels away before they could absorb any heat. |
| You can make popcorn by igniting sawdust and dairy creamer. |
Busted |
The Build Team loaded popcorn kernels into a can filled with flammable dairy creamer and ignited it, but failed to pop any of the kernels. Like the explosives, the ignited creamer did not meet the specific requirements needed to cook popcorn. |
| You can use a plane-mounted 5 megawatt laser to cook popcorn, and enough popcorn can expand to the point where it can break open a house. This myth was based on the final scene from the film Real Genius. |
Busted |
Since a 5 megawatt laser doesn't currently exist, the Build Team used a 10 watt laser and still successfully popped a kernel. Even though this proved lasers could pop popcorn, there currently isn't a laser powerful enough to cook such a large amount, so the Build Team resorted to using a large pan to cook popcorn through induction. They then placed a panel representing the wall and window of a house over the pan to see if the popcorn could break through it. However, the popcorn lacked the power to push through the window because it cannot pop when pressure is exerted on it. They then decided to test the expansion potential of popcorn by loading prepopped popcorn into a small model house. They then used a piston to exert pressure on the floor of the house at 0.22 PSI, but nothing happened. They then used the piston at maximum power to destroy the house. To end on a bang, the Build Team used high explosive to destroy a house filled with popcorn. |
