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MythBusters
The opening credits to Mythbusters
Created byPeter Rees
StarringJamie Hyneman
Adam Savage
Tory Belleci
Kari Byron
Grant Imahara
Country of origin United States
No. of episodes86 (as of January 24, 2007)
Production
Running time50 minutes (Discovery Channel)
30 minutes (BBC 2)
Original release
NetworkDiscovery Channel
ReleaseJanuary 23, 2003 –
present

MythBusters is an American pop science television program on the Discovery Channel starring special effects experts Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman, who use their skills and expertise to test the validity of various rumors and urban legends in popular culture. The show, narrated by Robert Lee, is filmed primarily at M5 Industries — Hyneman's special effects workshop — and in the surrounding San Francisco Bay Area.

History

The show was originally pitched to the Discovery Channel by producer Peter Rees from Beyond Television Productions in 2002. Discovery then commissioned three pilot specials. Hyneman came to the show through Rees, who previously interviewed him for his appearance on Robot Wars. Savage, who had worked with Hyneman in commercials and on Robot Wars, was approached by Hyneman to help co-host the show because Hyneman felt himself as too uninteresting to host the show on his own.[1][2] In July 2006, an edited thirty-minute version (as opposed to the usual 50 minutes) of MythBusters began airing on BBC Two in the UK.

Format

Each hour-long MythBusters episode focuses on two or three urban legends, popular beliefs, or Internet rumors. The featured myth often requires extensive preparation and set building, although the one or two simpler myths usually included in the show require less planning and execution. To date, however, three experiments (35, 40, and 46) were so complex they consumed the entire hour. Three MythBusters specials (Special Episodes 8, 9, and 11) were each two hours long.

Some urban legends that have been tested include:

Methods for testing myths and urban legends are usually planned and executed in a manner to produce the most visually dramatic results possible, which generally involves explosions, fires, and/or vehicle crashes. Because the emphasis is on visual spectacle, mishaps and injuries have occurred, leading Savage to describe the show as "Jackass meets Mr. Wizard." In addition, the MythBusters usually select a myth that lends itself to such a spectacle, such as "will using a cell phone at a gas station ignite gas fumes?" ("Cell Phone Destruction") or "can a shark penetrate a boat or compromise a shark proof cage by ramming it?" ("JAWS Special").

When a myth tests the limits of the human body, the MythBusters use resident crash test dummy, "Buster", or ballistics gel, which replicates human tissue and is used by ballistics engineers to test firearms and other projectiles. If the myth is not too hazardous, the cast may perform the experiment on themselves, although even this involves risks, since injuries and mishaps are quite frequent. For example, to test whether or not getting into the airplane crash position helps save lives, Savage, and co-hosts Kari Byron and Tory Belleci, strapped themselves into the crash rig after testing it on dummies and dropped it from a height of five feet. Although they were able to walk away, all sustained minor injuries.

There are some myths and urban legends the MythBusters refuse to test. Paranormal concepts, such as aliens or ghosts, are not addressed because they cannot be tested by scientific methods, although one exception, pyramid power, prompted Savage to comment, "No more 'oogie-boogie' myths, please." The program avoids experiments harmful to animals and people that cannot be tested safely, such as whether a wet poodle could be dried in a microwave oven. The book MythBusters: The Explosive Truth Behind 30 of the Most Perplexing Urban Legends of All Time (ISBN 1-4169-0929-X) also gives a list of a dozen urban legends that are unlikely to be explored (although three were eventually tested).

Hyneman and Savage use their extensive engineering and construction expertise to construct complex mechanical devices with which to perform experiments, such as an automated toast assembly line to test whether toasted bread slices land butter-side-down more often. They design, build, and operate these machines at Hyneman’s M5 Industries special effects workshop, although they often test them at other locations in and around San Francisco, including such places as the decommissioned Naval Air Station Alameda, Novato's decommissioned Hamilton Air Force Base, Mojave Spaceport, or the Mojave Desert, where the MythBusters performed tests involving rockets. Other locations included New Jersey (where they investigated if Jimmy Hoffa is buried under Giants Stadium) and the Bahamas (where they examined shark myths).

The tests are usually a two-step process. First, an attempt is made to recreate the myth to determine if the circumstances, as described, achieve the alleged outcome. If that fails, they attempt to expand the parameters as much as necessary — often to absurd lengths — until the desired results are duplicated. This second stage is referred to as "the MythBusters way." In "Raccoon Rocket", the MythBusters recreated the myth of a person who was supposedly launched 200 feet out of a drainage culvert. After pouring gasoline into it, he supposedly then climbed in and lit the fuel in an attempt to kill a raccoon, accidentally launching himself. A mockup culvert was built, Buster was stuffed inside, and the gasoline remotely ignited. When Buster failed to launch, however, he was packed inside a sabot, the end of the culvert was closed with explosives, and Buster was successfully propelled about 100 feet.

When the exact details of a myth are unclear, the MythBusters will often vie with one another to find and implement the best solution. For one myth, they competed to see if a person falling off a building could safely fly or glide to the ground by holding onto a sheet of plywood. Savage built a wood parachute-device, while Hyneman opted for a glider-shape construct. Both were tested, along with an unmodified standard plywood sheet design. Neither of those methods worked, however, as in both cases, Buster and the plywood crashed and busted.

Busted, Plausible, or Confirmed?

File:Mythbusters logo.gif
Logo

By the end of each episode, each myth is rated "Busted", "Plausible", or "Confirmed".

Confirmed
The MythBusters are able to recreate the myth’s purported outcome with the described circumstances. A "Confirmed" myth is usually corroborated with documented evidence of actual occurrences. The term "True" was used in the first season.
Plausible
The myth's results can only be produced by expanding the parameters within a reasonable margin (that is, if the circumstances needed to make the myth work are impractical, but still possible), or by the practical necessity of setting additional parameters that may or may not have been part of the myth described. This judgment is used if a myth is possible but unlikely, or if documented accounts of the myth exist that the MythBusters were unable to duplicate (for safety or cost reasons). A further case for the plausible rating is if there is no documentation of the myth occurring, yet the MythBusters were still able to duplicate it (such as the myth that states pirates wore eyepatches for enhanced night vision). The "Plausible" rating was first used in the second season.
Busted
The myth's results cannot be replicated via either the described parameters nor reasonably exaggerated ones.

Occasionally, the MythBusters give more than one designation to separate aspects of a single myth. In "Bullets Fired Up", they tested whether a bullet fired straight up can fall and kill the shooter or innocent bystanders. They gave the myth all three designations: "Busted", "Plausible", and "Confirmed." It was "Busted", because bullets fired straight up will tumble to the ground at a non-lethal velocity; "Plausible", because a shooter is much more likely to fire at a slight angle, wherein the bullet will maintain its ballistic trajectory and potentially be lethal when it comes back down; and "Confirmed", because there are eyewitness accounts and medical records of falling bullets killing people. In fact, many municipalities have laws explicitly prohibiting firing weapons into the air for that reason.

In the case of one myth, which alleged that a car passing behind a jet airliner could be overturned by the jet's engine thrust as it goes to full throttle, the myth was deemed inconclusive (Plausible), because it could not be duplicated due to logistical difficulties, even though it was documented by television news and later recreated on a much larger scale with the CF6 engine from a Boeing 747 by the UK BBC2 television show, Top Gear.[3] using both a Ford Mondeo and a Citroën 2CV. The Brazilian edition of the show also presented the happening of such event on a Rio de Janeiro airport.

If the MythBusters receive feedback from their fan site discussion forum and other sources asserting that the experiments were improperly conducted or incomplete, the show may revisit past myths and re-test them. As of October 25, 2006 there have been five episodes (14, 38, 46, 51, and 64) dedicated solely to reevaluation, and a sixth is pending. These revisions are conducted with new testing methods or historical information. To date, two previously "Busted" myths have actually been overturned. The "Chicken Gun" myth became "Plausible" and the "Who Gets Wetter?" myth, which asserted that running in the rain gets one less wet than walking in it, became "Confirmed" after their revisits. All other previously "Busted" myths were simply reaffirmed as such.

In The Anti-Gravity Device, Tory mentioned that they couldn't bust Anti-Gravity, just their "Anti-Gravity" devices, resulting in Kari saying they can revise, and give it a Busted (For Now). "For Now" was also seen under the "Busted" sign, making it the only myth to get, quite literally, "Busted (for now)".

Often-used objects

While a wide range of myths are tested, the MythBusters regularly use certain items as part of their experiments due to their versatility, property simulation ability, or usefulness in evaluations. These items include:

  • Ballistics gel is used by various agencies to test performance of firearms ammunition, as it approximates some of the physical properties of human muscle tissue. The MythBusters also use special mixtures of it to simulate certain properties of flesh, such as conductivity or blunt impact resistance.
  • Cars and other vehicles are often obtained from a scrapheap but are sometimes donated by a fan or purchased in running condition.
  • Firearms and explosives are used to test myths involving these devices. These myths typically end with "explosive results."
  • High speed cameras are often used to record moving objects during a test and (with the help of a scale ruler) measure the objects' speeds.
  • Pig carcasses are used as test dummies in place of Buster and ballistics gel to more accurately simulate responses of human flesh and bone to certain types of trauma, for example, decomposition, shrapnel, and potential dismemberment. Savage euphemistically calls them "human analogues."
  • Pneumatic actuators and servos are used to help remotely control vehicles and other potentially dangerous machines during testing.
  • Polycarbonate sheets are used extensively as barriers for potentially explosive or dangerous experiments. The integrity of the sheets themselves was the subject of one experiment.
  • Shackles are used frequently in experiments involving falls or mechanisms under tension. Theatre shackles designed for quick release are often utilized.
  • Shock sensors and digital accelerometers are used to measure sudden impacts.

Cast

Hyneman and Savage are assisted by others, most notably Hyneman's M5 Industries staff, collectively known as "The Build Team". This staff has appeared on screen since the second season and were given equal billing with Hyneman and Savage during the third season. Staff members have included M5 alumnus Salvatore "Tory" Belleci, artist Kari Byron, metal worker and welder Scottie Chapman, electrical engineer Grant Imahara, and Discovery Channel contest winner Christine Chamberlain (referred to as the "mythtern"). The program originally featured interviews with folklorist Heather Joseph-Witham, who explained the origins of certain urban legends, and people with first-hand experience of claims being tested. This was phased out by the third season to focus more on the experimentation process (the only experts shown now are consultants who interact directly with the cast during testing). Much of the show's appeal comes from the interaction between Savage and Hyneman, which is similar to a double act, wherein Hyneman plays the straight man and Savage is the comic foil/relief.

Buster

Buster is a crash test dummy used in the more dangerous myth tests. As a testament to the danger involved, Buster has been extensively repaired and rebuilt over the course of the series — to the point that an entire episode was devoted to his being rebuilt and upgraded to "Buster 2.0." The current Buster boasts improved joints with a more realistic range of movement, and he was given easily replaceable wooden "bones", designed to break under the same stress as human ones. In addition, his new flesh is made of "Dragon Skin", a special fire-resistant silicone. Buster has even been fitted with specialized equipment to give him new functionality; for testing the "Hammer Bridge Drop" myth, he was fitted with an accelerometer, and in the "Shark Week" special, he received temporary modifications allowing him to punch sharks.

Buster has since been supplemented with additional dummies (manufactured by the company Simulaids), nicknamed "Jane", "Simulaide Suzy", and "Rescue Randy". They were introduced in the Killer Brace Position myth.

Even more recently "Ted" (as in busTED), a ballistics gel dummy was made by the Build Team for the "Train Suction" myth. It was then 'given' to Jamie and Adam for the "22,000-Foot Fall" myth. The problem with Ted was that he was melting in the sun while they were setting up for the myth, but he survived, although was almost as flat as a pancake, before being dropped 500 feet.

Injuries and mishaps

File:Mythbusters explode.jpg
Dramatic explosions have become a MythBusters tradition.

Due to the nature and methods of MythBusters, several injuries, mishaps, and close calls have happened over the course of the show. Some include:

  • Savage's lower lip was sucked into and cut by a running vacuum cleaner motor as he was examining the device for the "Homemade Hovercraft" myth. He later explained in the "MythBusters Revealed" special that he had wanted to see if the vacuum motor would pull on his lip, but had not thought about the rapidly spinning impeller within.
  • Savage had some hair burned off during an explosion test in the "Cell Phone Destruction" myth, which invoked one of his more famous quotes: "Am I missing... an eyebrow?", used in subsequent opening scenes for the show.
  • Hyneman almost passed out during the "Stinky Car" myth. The car, having spent two months inside a sealed truck container with two dead pigs inside it, had accumulated high levels of ammonia that almost overwhelmed Hyneman when he went inside to release the brakes.
  • During the "Penny Drop" test, Hyneman modified a pneumatic staple gun to shoot a penny at its terminal velocity. The gun accidentally discharged while upside-down and shot out one of the shop's fluorescent lights, forcing a temporary evacuation due to the mercury vapor from the lights.
  • Savage and intern Christine Chamberlain both suffered mild burns in the "Exploding Jawbreaker" experiment. Chamberlain was hit the most; the hot liquid core of the jawbreaker splattered on parts of her face and neck. Savage was later quoted as saying that the molten candy, at around 250 degrees Fahrenheit, felt "...like napalm."
  • In "Hair Cream Decapitation", a mockup jet being pressurized for the test explosively decompressed mere seconds after Savage accidentally walked past what would become the point of failure.
  • In testing the "Confederate Rocket" myth, Savage and Hyneman seriously underestimated their homemade rocket's power and decided to test it indoors, resulting in Hyneman almost getting caught in the explosion and setting several objects on fire, including Savage's hovercraft. The rest of the shop was affected by the massive amount of (possibly toxic) smoke caused by this incident, forcing a temporary evacuation.
  • In testing the "Boom-Lift Catapult" some fumes from a boom lift got in Byron's eye, which needed to be immediately rinsed with water for a few minutes.
  • While burning test cloth squares for the Hindenburg myth, they used a thermite mixture and lit the top. After a few minutes, the thermite did not light, then as one of the camera men were walking by, the thermite lit and caused the camera to jump. The camera man can be seen in the high-speed camera when the thermite finally went. There were no injuries to the camera man that were mentioned on the show. In the same episode later, Hyneman wanted to do some last minute welding on one of the scale Hindenburgs, resulting in it to catch the bottom part of the model on fire until a fire extinguisher was used. Also, while putting the Hindenburg into the shop, part of the front section started to ignite and made a flame. The Hindenburg burned for several seconds, until Adam put it out with a fire extinguisher.
  • In "Bulletproof Water" initial testing was done in a very tall tank constructed in the M5 lab. A deer slug fired from a shotgun caused at least one corner of the tank to crack, draining the water and threatening the cast and crew with electrocution; the power cords for several lights around the tank were on the floor. Power was cut before anybody was injured.
  • In the Killer Deck, one of the small rubber wheels that they used on their machine broke apart and hit Adam in the chest. The machine was made to throw the cards as hard as possible to see how much penetration a card could make. Adam was not seriously hurt in the accident. Jamie received minor cuts when he decided to put his body on the line to see if the cards could actually hurt them. He said they stung but they drew minimal blood.
  • While testing Hammer vs. Hammer, Tory tried to drive a nail into a bloock of wood with one, heavy swing. On his third attempt, the hammer slipped from his hand on impact, bouncing off the ground and hitting Grant's foot. The hammer had just missed the steel plating in his steel-toed boots, leaving Grant in considerable pain. After the rest of the crew backed away, Tory resumed his attempts.

Popularity and influence

File:SkepticVol12-1.jpg
Hosts Savage and Hyneman, along with producer Peter Rees, on the cover of the winter 2005 issue of Skeptic magazine

Hyneman and Savage appeared on Good Morning America on November 8, 2004.

Although no MythBusters appeared on the program, a 2005 episode of Good Eats titled "Myth Smashers" tested cooking-related myths in a MythBusters-like fashion. As portrayed tongue-in-cheek on the episode, host Alton Brown wanted to use the term "Culinary MythBusters" — but his lawyer would not allow it because of "copyright infringement". (Later in the episode, he called a myth "busted" anyway before stopping himself in jest.)[4]

Hyneman and Savage appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman on May 23, 2005. The team tested whether a cluster of helium party balloons could lift an adult person (a repeat of the "Carried Away" myth). Actor Paul Newman was lifted up by more than 5000 balloons. However, Dave's promised interview with them did not occur on that show. Kari Byron was interviewed on The Late Show, on January 16, 2006.

G4's X-Play produced a spoof of the MythBusters, dubbed "MythCrackers", first airing on August 22, 2005. In the skit two men attempt to solve various video game myths, such as putting large arrows on the ground for a car to drive over to make it go faster, eating mushrooms to make you giant sized, barrels that explode when they are shot, and removing the memory card while the game is saving.[5]

The cover feature of the winter 2005 issue of Skeptic spotlighted Hyneman and Savage.[6]

Hyneman and Savage spoke at the annual convention of the National Science Teachers Association in March 2006, and the California Science Teachers Association named them honorary lifetime members in October 2006.[7] In Australia, they appeared in a segment at the 2006 TV Week Logie Awards, where they attempted to solve the myth of whether or not the atmospheric pressure at the Logies caused guests' breasts to increase in size. This segment used footage from the "Exploding Implants" myth, with a new voice-over, intro, and ending.

Jamie and Adam occasionally appear at colleges around the country to talk about what it's like to be a MythBuster; the show consists of an interview and discussion to give the audience the opportunity to ask the MythBusters questions. To date they've done about 30 appearances, both collegiate and corporate, and are always well received, though the technical colleges tend to be the most enthusiastic.[8][9] They've spoken at RPI, Georgia Tech, Michigan Tech, MIT, IBM Almaden Research center and many others. Jamie and Adam appeared un-credited in an issue of Marvel Comics “X-23 Target X #2”. Jamie was a French teacher while Adam was a Science teacher and both sent X-23 to the principal's office.

Lego minifigure representations of Hyneman and Savage frequently appear in strips of the online comic strip, Irregular Webcomic!, where they test strange myths. For example, they confirmed that "Death waits for no man".[10]

MythBusters is broadcast in several countries, primarily on each country's edition of the Discovery Channel. In some countries, the English speech is either subtitled in the relevant language and the United States customary units, still used throughout, are converted to metric, or the narrator is dubbed. In the UK, Rufus Hound narrates the BBC Two version of MythBusters, while Robin Banks or Daisy Beaumont narrates the Discovery Channel's version. Excerpts of the show are also shown as part of the Beyond Television-produced Beyond Tomorrow.

Criticism

Due to the fact that MythBusters is a television show, and can only bring viewers approximately 50 minutes of footage, many viewers are led to believe that the team is not thorough enough in proving or disproving myths. Adam and Jamie have alluded to this many times on the show, stating that while they in fact are very thorough in testing myths and repeat experiments many times, it is simply impossible to display that on the show, in recent episodes they have propted viewers to visit the show's website to see full clips of cirten events that where heavily clipped for the show . Also, in response to criticism over testing myths in the wrong way, the team has produced several "Myths Revisited" episodes.

See also

References and footnotes

  1. ^ "Transcript of Jamie and Adam's November 10, 2004, Online Chat," pg. 1 Retrieved August 1, 2006.
  2. ^ Interview with Adam Savage on The Sneeze. August 23, 2005. Retrieved August 1, 2006.
  3. ^ Top Gear Series 4, Episode 8
  4. ^ Good Eats "Myth Smashers" transcript June 8, 2006. Retrieved July 21, 2006.
  5. ^ X-Play, episode #5089 "Ape Escape, One Piece: Grand Battle, NHRA Drag Racing and more!" Retrieved September 12, 2006.
  6. ^ Skeptic, volume 12, no.1
  7. ^ John Schwartz (November 21, 2006). ""The Best Science Show on Television?"". The New York Times (requires registration). {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  8. ^ MIT Lecture Series Committee 2006-11-04 MythBusters event page Retrieved January 2, 2007
  9. ^ Wolfman Productions MythBusters Program page Retrieved January 2, 2007
  10. ^ List of MythBusters comic spoofs in Irregular Webcomic! Retrieved August 3, 2006.
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