MythBusters (season 2)

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The cast/crew of the television series MythBusters performs 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).

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The myths the show has tested for accuracy in Season 2 include:

Contents

[edit] Episode 14 — "Myths Revisited"

This is the first episode where the MythBusters retest earlier myths that had been commented or criticized by fans or had not performed as per their original expectations and test spinoff myths related to earlier myths.

[edit] Breakstep Bridge

This myth was retested for the episode but ultimately did not air.

Myth statement Status Notes
Soldiers marching in unison can cause harmonic oscillation in a bridge and cause it to collapse. (From Breakstep Bridge, Season 1, episode 12) Plausible The first time the myth was tested, the miniature bridge was flawed enough in its design to get an inconclusive answer, but with this test, just testing the natural resonant frequency of a simple wooden bridge, resulted in a plausible conclusion, but it is very improbable.

View video clips of the test on the Discovery Channel website.

[edit] Chicken Gun

Myth statement Status Notes
A frozen chicken will penetrate aircraft or train windshields better than a thawed chicken. (From Chicken Gun, Season 1, episode 9) Plausible When re-visited, frozen chickens could penetrate sets of layered glass panes better. Listed as Plausible because it's uncertain the original myth actually occurred.

[edit] Ice Bullet

Myth statement Status Notes
An ice bullet can kill someone without leaving a trace. (From Ice Bullet, Season 1, episode 1) Re-Busted They retested using slow-frozen bullets that were stronger than the ones they used previously. The bullets simply vaporized when the trigger was pulled.

[edit] Cell Phone Destruction

Myth statement Status Notes
Using one's cell phone while pumping gas/petrol can cause an explosion. (From Cell Phone Destruction, Season 1, episode 2) Re-Busted The battery of retests the MythBusters performed reaffirmed their original Busted verdict.

[edit] Biscuit Bazooka

Myth statement Status Notes
Leaving a can of aerosol spray or cola inside a hot car can cause it to explode. (Spinoff of Biscuit Bazooka, Pilot 2) Busted The aerosol cans didn't explode inside a car after sitting in the sun for hours. Both aerosol and cola took temperatures of over 300 °F (150 °C) to blow.

[edit] Exploding Implants

Myth statement Status Notes
An inflatable brassiere can explode inside an airplane as it climbs in altitude. (Spinoff of Exploding Implants, Season 1, episode 2) Busted The different types of inflatable brassieres tested proved capable of maintaining their integrity even at altitudes fatal to humans.

[edit] Peeing on the Third Rail

Myth statement Status Notes
Urinating on an electric fence can cause electrocution. (Spinoff of Peeing on the Third Rail, Season 1, episode 3) Busted/Confirmed Upon retesting the myth on an electric fence it was found to be Confirmed, but the rail was still Busted. Distance was the factor, as the urine stream breaks up less at the close range needed for urinating on the fence than urinating on the third rail, thus ensuring a direct line of current between ones body and the electrical source.

[edit] Goldfinger

Myth statement Status Notes
Covering one's body in gold paint can kill a person by skin asphyxiation like in the James Bond movie Goldfinger. (From Goldfinger, Pilot 3) Re-Busted When Adam retested the myth, he reported some discomfort, describing it as a slight flu-like feeling, but he nonetheless survived.

[edit] Episode 15 — "Scuba Diver, Car Capers"

[edit] Forest Fire Scuba Diver

Myth statement Status Notes
A SCUBA diver can be sucked up by a firefighting helicopter and dumped on a forest fire. Busted The type of pumps used in firefighting helicopters cannot continue running once in the air. As soon as the pump is shut off, any caught diver would simply drop back into the water. The pumps also do not have enough suction to suck in a person in the first place.

[edit] Car Capers

Myth statement Status Notes
If you plug the tailpipe of a car with objects, the engine will be destroyed. Busted All of the objects used were shot out immediately after the engine started up.
If a bullet is shot through the fuel tank, it will explode. Busted The gas tank did not explode.
This was revisited in MythBusters Revisited.
A car door can protect you from bullets in a shoot out. Busted The car door did not stop the bullets shot at it.
Will the engine be destroyed when liquid drain cleaner is put into the tank? Busted The engine still ran.
Will the engine be destroyed when bleach is put into the tank? Plausible The engine soon died out but wasn't ruined from the experience. The following morning, the inside of the gas tank was covered in rust.
Will the engine be destroyed when sugar is put into the tank? Busted The engine ran even better than without the sugar.
Will adding mothballs to the fuel tank increase the horsepower? Plausible The engine still started, but it soon started spluttering. When Jamie pressed the accelerator, the engine sounded more powerful.
If your radiator is bone dry, can cola be used as a substitute for coolant? Plausible The car ran with cola in the radiator, but it may cause damage.
If there is a leak in the radiator, will cracking an egg into the radiator cause the hole to be plugged? Plausible The engine was started after the contents of an egg were poured in, and the leak stopped.
A piece of metal can destroy an engine when it falls in the carburetor. Busted A penny dropped in could be heard rattling, but the engine still ran.
Bleach in the oil can destroy the engine. Confirmed The engine started but it soon started smoking, and very quickly overheated. The engine was so hot, that the undercarriage started burning and Adam fried an egg on the tailpipe. The engine was ultimately ruined.

[edit] Episode 16 — "Ancient Death Ray, Skunk Cleaning, What Is Bulletproof?"

[edit] Ancient Death Ray

The MythBusters take on a myth from antiquity, where it is claimed that Archimedes constructed a solar-powered weapon by reflecting sunlight onto Roman ships. The result of the test sparked much controversy, especially around engineering circles, that an entire episode (Archimedes' Death Ray) was dedicated to a retest.

Myth statement Status Notes
Archimedes constructed a death ray by reflecting sunlight onto, and thus igniting, Roman vessels. Busted In order to have any effect, the mirror would have to be impractically large, and even then, the temperature of wood only raised a few degrees. On the Discovery website, however, a challenge was thrown out to the viewers to come up with an experiment to prove it plausible, and so far, a few of the entries seem to have done so. When all the tests were completed the myth was conclusively busted.

[edit] Skunked!

The smell of Skunk musk can be removed with...

Myth statement Status Notes
...tomato juice. Plausible The strong odor of tomato juice masks the skunk smell until the human nose becomes desensitized to the smell of tomatoes, at which point the skunk musk is again noticeable.
...commercial cleaners. Plausible The commercial cleaners tested had limited success at eliminating the aroma of skunk musk.
...a custom mixture. Confirmed A mixture of soap, hydrogen peroxide, and baking soda proved to work best for actually eliminating the aroma of skunk musk. The precise formula may be found in the Skunk article.
...beer. Busted Beer did not work.
...a douche. Busted A douche had also no effect at all.

[edit] What is Bulletproof?

Adam and Jamie test whether some things that are mythically held to be bulletproof are actually bulletproof - included among them was an assertion by Jamie in the first season on their lexan barriers being bulletproof.

Can bullets be stopped by...

Myth statement Status Notes
...a book? Busted A hardcover book of at least 400 pages can potentially stop a .22 rifle shot, but anything stronger would shoot completely through.
...a deck of playing cards? Busted The deck failed to stop any bullets.
...a Zippo lighter? Busted The lighter failed to stop any bullets.
...a quarter-inch polycarbonate shield like that used by MythBusters? Busted The shield failed to stop any bullets.
...an inch-thick polycarbonate panel rated bullet resistant? Plausible They tested using a four-sided box made of bullet resistant polycarbonate laminate. The panels stopped .22, .357, & .44 magnum bullets but a Springfield .30-06 penetrated both front and rear portions of the box.

[edit] Episode 17 — "Elevator of Death, Levitation Machine"

[edit] Elevator of Death

This myth is fueled by the story of an elevator attendant found alive but badly injured in an elevator car that had fallen down a shaft in the Empire State Building after a B-25 Medium Bomber crashed into it in 1945.

Myth statement Status Notes
It is possible to survive by jumping up at the last moment before a freefalling elevator hits the ground. Busted The jumping power of a human being cannot cancel out the falling velocity of the elevator. The best speculative advice from an elevator expert would be to lie on the elevator floor instead of jumping. Adam and Jamie speculated the attendant survived because the tight elevator shaft created an air cushion. This together with spring action from slack elevator cable could have slowed the car to survivable speeds.

[edit] Levitation Machine

Adam and Jamie try to build a hovercraft from vacuum cleaner parts, and after finding it plausible, decide to compete against each other in a homemade hovercraft racing contest. Adam, along with Tory and Christine (dubbed Team Savage), built the heavier Lillypad Flyer, while Jamie, Scottie, and Kari (dubbed Hyneman's Heroes) worked together to make the Hyneman Hoverboard.

Myth statement Status Notes
An average person can build a home-made makeshift hovercraft on a budget of under $500.00. Partly Plausible While they did cheat and go slightly over-budget both Adam and Jamie built two separate functional hovercraft. While Adam's "Lilypad Flyer" and Jamie's "Hyneman Hoverboard" were both rather impractical they worked nonetheless. It was also disputed of whether or not the hovercrafts could be properly labeled as levitation machines.

[edit] Episode 18 — "Beat the Radar Detector"

[edit] Plywood Builder

Adam and Jamie test a construction related myth, and also put several other objects said to be able to act as a parachute to the test.

Myth statement Status Notes
Holding a large sheet of plywood will slow a fall from a building enough to make it survivable. Busted The fall was almost completely uncontrollable and the impact was still deadly. Even under the best possible conditions the fall was not survivable. Even when the myth was stretched to custom-built constructions of the five individual plys of the plywood, neither Adam's nor Jamie's designs were any improvement.
Opening an umbrella will slow a fall from a building enough to make it survivable. Busted Though different umbrellas did slow a fall, the impact was still deadly. A real parachute was also tested but found to be unable to properly arrest a fall from only 60 feet (18 metres). The best an umbrella can is hold the person somehow upright, causing less damage to the head.

[edit] Beat the Radar Gun

This is the first myth entirely tested by the Build Team.

It is possible to legally beat the police speed radar and/or lidar by...

Myth statement Status Notes
...jingling a set of keys. Busted The keys had no effect at all.
...dangling a disco ball from the rear-view mirror. Busted The disco ball had no effect at all. It is also illegal to have anything large and obstructive hanging off the rear-view mirror.
...dangling CDs from the rear-view mirror. Busted The CDs had no effect at all, and are also illegal.
...covering the hubcaps in tin foil. Busted The tin foil did not have any noticeable effect.
...covering the entire car in tin foil. Busted The tin foil acted as a massive reflector and actually enhanced the detection ability of the radar .
...jamming the lidar by lining the front license plate with light-emitting diodes (LEDs) Busted The LEDs were not strong enough to interfere with the lidar.
...jamming the lidar by covering the entire car with LEDs. Not tested While the idea did come up in the brainstorming phase it was simply too impractical to test on the full-scale car.
...jamming the radar by bouncing microwaves at it. Busted Kari's magnetron failed to jam the police radar.
...shooting scraps of tin foil behind the car as chaff. Busted There were just too many rogue variables to get the system to work properly, especially wind. The car was still detectable and the chaff did nothing to disrupt the radar. This solution would also likely result in a much stiffer penalty for littering.
...spinning a wheel of mirrors on top of the car slower than the actual speed of your car. Partly Busted Tory's "Wheel of Death" actually tricked the radar into thinking the car was going a mile or two slower, but not enough to help. The device itself was highly impractical. Unlike the rear-view mirror attachments, the roof mounted device was actually not illegal.
...painting the car matte-black to absorb the radar and light beams. Busted The all black paint did nothing to reduce the detectability of the car.
...painting the car with special radar absorbing paint, like a stealth aircraft. Not tested The special paint is loaded with iron and goes on like frosting. It was so heavy that the toy car used in the preliminary tests could barely move. It was never properly tested on the full scale car, because it would be more expensive than just paying off any speeding tickets.

[edit] Episode 19 — "Killer Quicksand"

[edit] Killer Quicksand

Myth statement Status Notes
"Killer Quicksand" like in the movies (i.e. quicksand that slowly sucks any person or animal unlucky enough to fall into it under) really exists. Busted Quicksand is denser than water; the greater the density, the greater the buoyancy of objects within. Any victims found in quicksand likely died for some other reason (i.e. exposure to the elements).

[edit] Appliances in the Bath

Myth statement Status Notes
One can be killed by dropping an electrical appliance into a bath full of water Confirmed The current in most electrical appliances is well above the levels the human body can withstand. The electrocution effect is increased if the appliance drops farther from the drain or if the water has more salt in it (such as due to urine or epsom salts). They also proved that devices (and probably by extension, sockets) with GFCIs are effective at preventing these electrocutions, as a GFCI-equipped hairdryer cut off on contact with the water.

[edit] Exploding Tattoo

Myth statement Status Notes
Tattoos can explode when exposed to an MRI. Busted The compounds in the pigments of most tattoos simply do not react to magnetic fields. Old pigments of the color black, which had iron in the composition, could cause some discomfort at most.
Tattoos can explode when exposed to a transmitter Not in this episode This chapter of the myth was not shown in this episode. See Special 4 — "MythBusters Outtakes".

[edit] Episode 20 — "Exploding Jawbreaker"

[edit] Exploding Jawbreaker

Myth statement Status Notes
A jawbreaker can explode when bitten after being heated in a microwave oven or standing out in the sunlight while still in the wrapper. Confirmed Microwave heating of a jawbreaker can cause the different layers inside to heat at different rates, yielding an explosive spray of very hot candy when compressed. During one test, a jawbreaker did indeed explode, catching Christine on part of her face and neck, and Adam on part of an arm, as the "jaw rig" they had set up was not enclosed by safety screens. Both suffered light burns. In Florida, a young girl suffered severe burns to her face when one exploded[1]. When heated in a toaster oven to replicate the conditions of being left out in the sun, the jawbreaker did not explode, but the insides were molten enough to be potentially harmful. Various explanations for why this could occur, including chemical tainting, all further strengthened the Confirmed assessment.

[edit] Static Cannon

Myth statement Status Notes
A construction worker accidentally killed himself with static charge after sandblasting an 8" PVC pipe. Busted No static charge built up on the pipe in initial testing. Even after they were converted into a Van de Graaff generator and a Leyden jar, the amount of static electricity produced was too small to actually kill a person. The original circumstances of the myth preclude any significant static buildup—resting the pipe on metal jack stands allows the pipe to discharge to the ground while sand in the air from the sandblasting can dissipate static charge the same way humidity can.

[edit] Killer Deck

Myth statement Status Notes
An ordinary playing card can actually kill a person if thrown with enough power. Busted Adam was already fairly adept at throwing cards, his maximum speed being 25mph; this failed to cause any injury. After trying some designs for a card-throwing machine, Adam and Jamie settled on a design that could throw cards at 155mph. When this device was used on Jamie, it caused a small cut that only drew a small amount of blood.

[edit] Episode 21 — "Ping-Pong Rescue"

[edit] Ping-Pong Rescue

Adam and Jamie explore the possibility of raising a ship with ping-pong balls, originally conceived in the 1949 Donald Duck story The Sunken Yacht by Carl Barks.

Myth statement Status Notes
Ping-pong balls can be used to raise a sunken ship. Plausible Even though it took an impractically large number of ping-pong balls (27,000), when enough of them were piped into the Mythtanic II, the boat rose to the surface.

[edit] Carried Away

The Build Team takes on a gag used in many comedic works, where a baby or small child could be lifted into the air and fly away unintentionally when given helium balloons.

Myth statement Status Notes
A 4 year old child can be lifted by a bunch of party balloons. Busted It would require such a large number of balloons (3500) to lift an average 4 year old girl just a few feet off the ground that there is no way the myth could have happened unintentionally.

The same experiment was undertaken in the German children's TV show Die Sendung mit der Maus in the late '80s. The result was the same; it works, but you need a lot of balloons.

[edit] Episode 22 — "Boom-Lift Catapult, AC vs. Windows down"

[edit] Boom-Lift Catapult

Myth statement Status Notes
A boom-lift can potentially catapult its operator 200 feet (60 metres). Busted When a car engine was dropped from the boom lift it barely even wobbled, much less catapulted Buster. In an attempt to duplicate the myth result, the boom lift was converted into a trebuchet, mounted on several shipping containers to give it clearance to rotate. On its first throw, it threw Buster at a steep angle towards the ground, and then collapsed between the containers, destroying it.

[edit] AC vs. Windows Down

Adam and Jamie tackle not so much a myth as what they call an "urban puzzle". The debate arises because both methods of cooling influence a car's fuel efficiency—air conditioning requires a lot of power to run, but at the same time, open windows create drag.

  • Revisited in MythBusters Revisited, Season 3, episode 38
Myth statement Status Notes
Running a car with air conditioning on is more fuel efficient than running with the windows down. Partly Busted Tests were performed under varying conditions (55 mph versus 45 mph). Also, the 55 mph test was using a computer to estimate fuel efficiency based on air intake, not actual fuel consumption, and showed A/C was more efficient. The 45 mph test consisted of running the tank until it was empty, and showed open windows were more efficient. This experiment--or one like it--is sometimes cited by the Magliozzi Brothers on Car Talk when presented with this question.

[edit] Episode 23 — "Exploding House"

[edit] Exploding House

Myth statement Status Notes
Overusing bug bombs can explode a house. Confirmed A house actually exploded in San Diego, California because a family used too many bug bombs and an accidental spark ignited the chemicals in the air, as the MythBusters were able to prove in their test.

[edit] Talking to Plants

Myth statement Status Notes
Talking helps plants grow. Plausible Seven small greenhouses were set up on the M5 Industries roof. Four were set up with stereos playing endlessly looping recordings (as having the Mythbusters actually talk to the plants could contaminate the samples with their expelled carbon dioxide): Two of negative speech, two of positive speech (Kari and Scottie each made one positive and one negative soundtrack), a fifth with classical music and a sixth with intense death metal music. A seventh greenhouse, used as a control sample, had no stereo. The greenhouses with the recordings of speech grew better than the control, regardless of whether such talk was kind or angry. The plants in the greenhouse with the recording of classical music grew better, while the plants in the greenhouse with the recording of intense death metal grew best of all. See also: Masaru Emoto.

[edit] Needle in a Haystack

Adam and Jamie compete against each other in a contest to bust an old adage. While Jamie teamed up with Christine and Scottie in a machine known as Dante's Inferno which burned the hay to leave the needles behind, Adam, Kari, and Tory used the Needlefinder 2000, a machine that relied on water to separate needles from the hay (in the theory that needles would sink in water while hay floated). Each team had to locate four needles among ten bales of hay—three of steel of varying sizes and one of bone.

Myth statement Status Notes
Modern technology can render the phrase "like finding a needle in a haystack" obsolete. Busted While it is possible to find a needle in a haystack, even using specialized machines to do so takes a considerable amount of time, particularly since bone needles can't be picked up by magnets. The task is difficult enough to still make the saying viable.

[edit] Episode 24 — "Ming Dynasty Astronaut"

[edit] Ming Dynasty Astronaut

Myth statement Status Notes
A 15th Century astrologer from China made it into space on a throne powered by 47 bamboo rockets. Busted The combined heat from all 47 bamboo rockets caused them to explode, nearly destroying the throne and doing significant damage to the stand-in astrologer (Buster) before it ever got off the ground. A throne powered by 47 modern rockets shot violently to one side, due to uneven firing, but would not have had the thrust to lift the chair very far at all, let alone all the way into space.

[edit] Free Energy

By far the most popular of the submitted myths are myths regarding perpetual motion - it was claimed in an interview by Adam that there was enough material to create three seasons of busting potential free energy machines. The ones that were tested in this episode consist of some of the more well-known such devices - the ring oscillator, the Bedini motor (where the power generated from a motor is used to recharge itself), the Minto wheel (a solar-powered temperature wheel), and ones that were based on extracting electricity from radio waves.

Myth statement Status Notes
A free energy device can be made to harness enough energy to power a house. Busted Free energy itself is a scientific fantasy. Almost all of the free energy devices the MythBusters built consumed more energy than they produced and the one 'successful' device only produced enough electricity to power half a wrist watch, and was ridiculously large for such a small amount of energy. One test, cut for time and shown on "MythBusters Outtakes" involves coils of baling wire being used to siphon off electricity from nearby PG&E power lines in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

[edit] Ceiling Fan Decapitation

Myth statement Status Notes
A regular house fan can cause decapitation. Busted Normal household fans do not have the power to even inflict serious injury while spinning at top speed—they are more likely to break first. An industrial fan is capable of inflicting a fatal injury, but is not powerful enough to take a head off. Even a purpose-built razor-sharp, stainless steel fan powered by a lawn mower engine could not completely sever a head from the neck.

[edit] Episode 25 — "Brown Note, Water Torture"

[edit] Blown Away

Someone who is shot and thrown backward a significant distance is a staple Hollywood visual effect.

  • Revisited in MythBusters Revisited, Season 3, episode 38
Myth statement Status Notes
A person will be propelled violently backwards if hit by a bullet . Busted A bullet fired by a gun cannot hold enough momentum. According to Newton's third law, if the bullet were to knock the target 20 feet (6 metres) back, the shooter would have to be knocked back 20 feet (6 metres), as well.

[edit] Brown Note

Myth statement Status Notes
The infrasonic brown note can cause a human to lose control of their bowels. Busted Even after testing a wide range of sub-audible and near-sub-audible noises on him, not once did Adam lose control of his bowels. Some discomfort was reported however, due to the effects of low-frequency sound on the lungs.

[edit] Chinese Water Torture

Myth statement Status Notes
Chinese water torture can cause one to become insane. Confirmed The required torture equipment (and involuntary movement restrictions) is highly effective even without adding the discomfort of the water drip. The water drip itself, without the equipment, is almost negligible.

[edit] Episode 26 — "Salsa Escape, Cement Removal"

[edit] Salsa Escape

Myth statement Status Notes
Salsa was used by a Mexican prisoner to corrode the window bars of his cell and escape. Plausible Given several years, it would be possible, due to the corrosive elements of the salsa. The use of electrolysis via a direct current source in conjunction with the salsa accelerated the effect, as it draws the electrons out of the bars and into the wires.
A urine-soaked silk shirt is strong enough to bend the bars of a prison cell when wrapped around them and twisted, as seen in the film Shanghai Noon. Busted Adam tested this myth after he gave up on his salsa/alternating current escape plan. The bars proved too strong for the wet silk, tearing the fabric apart instead of bending under it.

[edit] Cement Removal

Myth statement Status Notes
A stick of dynamite can clean the leftover scraps of concrete from the inside of a cement truck. Plausible The dynamite worked well and loosened or dislodged a lot of the dried excess concrete.
A stick of dynamite can remove a slab of concrete from the inside of a cement truck. Busted A solid slab of concrete is too hard to remove practically, and is tougher than the barrel itself. The MythBusters enlisted the aid of FBI explosive experts to load the truck and barrel with 850 pounds of commercial blasting agent. The resulting explosion reduced the truck to numerous very small fragments, and a few larger pieces; the observers had to stand a mile away from the explosion. Billed as the biggest-ever explosion on the show, Jamie admitted that "This has got nothing to do with the myth; it's just a big boom". In the "Shop Till You Drop" special, a large chunk of the barrel containing most of the concrete slab was shown in a junkyard.

[edit] Episode 27 — "Exploding Port-a-Potty, Car Pole-Vault"

[edit] Exploding Port-a-Potty

Myth statement Status Notes
Lighting a cigarette in a port-a-potty filled with methane gas will cause an explosion. Busted Not enough gas is produced by the decomposing waste in the port-a-potty for it to possibly be flammable. A person would need to be in a tightly sealed port-a-potty filled with thick methane gas in order for it to be flammable. By the time the gas was thick enough in the air to become flammable the person would have long-since passed out from asphyxiation. Larger amounts of decomposing waste can produce more gas, and sewer gas explosions are a known safety hazard.

[edit] Driveshaft Pole Vault

Myth statement Status Notes
A broken driveshaft dragging on the ground can cause a car to pole vault end-over-end if it strikes a pothole. Partly Busted A car cannot be made to go end-over-end by striking a pothole with the driveshaft. The back end of the car can be lifted, but the likelihood of an event like this happening is extremely improbable. More likely is that the driveshaft would be forced into the trunk.

[edit] Episode 28 — "Is Yawning Contagious?"

[edit] Toy Car Race

Myth statement Status Notes
Over a ¼ mile long down-hill course a toy car can beat a full size Dodge Viper powered only by gravity. Partly Busted The toy car was able to beat the Viper over 100 feet (30 metres) but over the full length of the course the Viper won by an extremely wide margin.

[edit] Is Yawning Contagious?

Myth statement Status Notes
A person can be subconsciously influenced into yawning if another person near them yawns. Confirmed In a test pool of 50 people those who were influenced into yawning by the MythBusters yawned 29% of the time. However, those who were not influenced yawned only 25% of the time. Despite this supportive evidence, the 4% difference between the experimental and control groups was not large enough to constitute a statistically significant difference (at alpha = 0.05), and therefore no definitive conclusion could be reached based on these results.

[edit] Toast - Butter Side Up or Down?

Myth statement Status Notes
Toast is more likely to land buttered side-down when dropped. Busted In an extensive and highly objective test the toast showed no statistical preference for landing buttered side-down or up when dropped. It was an even 50-50 split when the final results were compared. However, when pushed off the side of a table, toast showed preference to flip once and land buttered side down.

[edit] Episode 29 — "Cooling a Six pack"

Also featured in this episode is the first test of Buster 2.0, built during the Buster special, as well as the final test of "Earl the MythBusters Caddy".

[edit] Cooling a Six pack

Myth statement Status Notes
A six pack of beer can be rapidly cooled by burying it in sand, pouring gasoline on top of it, and lighting the gasoline. Busted The fire did not significantly alter the temperature of the beer; in fact, the fire actually raised the temperature slightly, not to mention burying the beer made the cans sandy.
  • With this myth quickly busted, Adam and Jamie each tried to build devices which could rapidly cool a six pack, but neither device was effective enough. A carbon dioxide fire extinguisher, however, was able to cool a six pack to a satisfactory temperature in approximately three minutes. In terms of practicality, though, one's best bet is to use icy salt water, which cooled the beer to an ideal temperature in 5 minutes. Barring that, normal ice water was next fastest at 15 minutes. The other methods tested (the freezer, ice only, and the refrigerator) did not cool the beer rapidly enough to warrant their use in a spur-of-the-moment event.


Initial measurements:
Ice Ice + water Ice + water + salt
33°F 24°F
Results (after 5 minutes):
Ice Ice + water Ice + water + salt Freezer Fridge
57°F 44°F 35.9°F 55°F 60°F
Final results:
Ice + water + salt Ice + water Freezer Ice Fridge
5 minutes 15 minutes 25 minutes 30 minutes 40+ minutes

reference[2]

[edit] Baghdad Battery

The Build Team created several copies of the Baghdad Battery, an archaeological find which seems to suggest that ancient Babylonians were the first to use batteries.

The ancient people of Babylon created a crude battery for use in...

Myth statement Status Notes
...electroplating? Plausible An overnight plating of zinc over copper seemed to work very well.
...acupuncture therapy? Plausible The electricity from the batteries was felt through the acupuncture needles, though the needles eventually grew hot, causing the Build Team to theorize this technique also being used as a form of torture.
...testing spiritual resolve? Plausible While the ancient batteries were not used on the recreation Ark of the Covenant due to their weak charge (approximately a third of a volt each, or almost 4 volts for a set of ten), Adam theorized that, if any charge was felt with the batteries, the ancient people would believe it to be of divine origin due to their lack of knowledge about electricity.

[edit] Episode 30 — "Son of a Gun"

[edit] Son of a Gun

Myth statement Status Notes
An American Civil War soldier impregnated a woman after being shot in the groin and having the bullet continue on into the woman in question. Busted No spermatozoa could be found alive. In addition, it was well documented that an abdominal wound would have been fatal to the woman (or man) in that era.

[edit] Phone in a Thunderstorm

Myth statement Status Notes
A person can be electrocuted by talking on the phone during a lightning storm. Confirmed Adam and Jamie placed a ballistic gel dummy on a chair and put a telephone receiver on its ear. They activated a machine that was able to shoot 200,000 volts of electricity towards a mock-up hut. The electricity shot from the mouthpiece of the phone into the mouth of the dummy, and it set off the gunpowder charge that Jamie taped to the phone receiver as a signal. A voltmeter wired up to the test rig blew a fuse.
A person can be electrocuted by using the shower during a lightning storm. Plausible The dummy was not hit. A small fire did occur, however, and the voltmeter again blew a fuse. During both experiments, small electromagnetic pulses interfered with the camera.

[edit] Trailer Troubles

Myth statement Status Notes
A boat can be driven with its trailer still attached. Confirmed The boat can still be driven, but there is a great loss in maximum speed. A trailer shop owner said on the show that he once had to deliver a boat and trailer to a customer in such a manner, as the only access to the customer's boat ramp was from the water.

[edit] Episode 31 — "Breaking Glass"

[edit] Breaking Glass

Adam and Jamie investigate whether a human voice could shatter glass, as perpetuated in stories of opera singers and demonstrated by Ella Fitzgerald in a commercial for Memorex.

Myth statement Status Notes
A wine glass shatters if a person sings at the right tone. Confirmed Using lead crystal glasses, Adam proved the Memorex part of the myth by breaking a glass with his amplified voice. Rock singer Jaime Vendera was then able to break a glass using his unaided voice, confirming the entire myth.

[edit] Rolling Stone Gathers No Moss

The Build Team takes on another old adage, and seeing if it remains relevant in modern use. This became the longest MythBusters experiment on record—over six months long.

Myth statement Status Notes
A rolling stone can truly gather no moss. Confirmed While a rolling stone can pick up moss when rolled down a hill, that moss cannot grow onto the rock while it is rolling.

[edit] Jet Engine Vacuum

Myth statement Status Notes
A shop vacuum can act similar to a jet engine if it is used to suck up gasoline. Busted Newer model vacuums have the air flow isolated from the engine; even if this was not the case, the only results would be a small fire.

[edit] Episode 32 — "Jet Pack"

[edit] Jet Pack

Myth statement Status Notes
A Jet pack can be built from plans purchased off the internet and limited funds. Busted The jetpack produced by the Mythbusters was not powerful enough to even lift itself off the ground, and they had to cheat by going beyond their assigned budget, in order to create it. The sum of its parts cost too much to allow the average person to build it on a budget and the plans did not have enough details to give builders a clear example of what to build.

[edit] Pyramid Power

Myth statement Status Notes
Pyramid power can be harnessed for a variety of purposes around the home. Busted The build team constructed a series of pyramid frames using the precise measurements and dimensions required to "harness" pyramid power. Four tests were performed: keeping razor blades sharp, preventing food from spoiling (one test for milk, another for an apple), and preventing the decay of a flower. The apple test at first seemed to be working, however it was later discovered that a contaminated saw blade (used to halve the apple) may have given one half a higher microbial load than the other. A repeated test using sterile equipment yielded approximately the same decay rate for each half. Ironically, a similar test with 'cube power' showed the fruit rotting at a faster rate than the other two tests.

[edit] Episode 33 — "Killer Brace Position"

[edit] Killer Brace Position

The MythBusters take on an airline conspiracy theory. Notable for the introduction of the simulaide family.

Myth statement Status Notes
The brace position was actually designed by the airline industry to kill people rather than save them during an airplane crash in order to save money by paying off wrongful death suits rather than continuous injury compensations. Busted The brace position protected the test subject (Buster) from serious and possibly fatal injuries. When the test subject was not braced he received far more serious injuries. At the end of the test the MythBusters-team risked their lives, but everyone survived the drop. There is a greater chance of dying due to smoke inhalation or immolation from burning debris — due to being immobilized by injury or being pinned down by debris. There is a grain of truth to this myth, however; it was learned through research that the amount of money paid by airlines in wrongful death suits is lower than the amount of money paid for injury compensation.

[edit] Cell Phones vs. Drunk Driving

Adam and Kari take on a contemporary issue in driving, one that has given conflicting scientific data. To do so, Adam and Kari perform a general-purpose road safety test three times (once while slightly under the legal alcohol limit, once while talking to Jamie on a cell phone, and once without either) and compare the three results.

Myth statement Status Notes
Driving while talking on a cell phone is just as dangerous as driving while intoxicated. Confirmed Both Adam and Kari failed a general-purpose road safety test while talking on a cell phone and while driving drunk, with cell phones by a wider margin. However, Adam commented that one can easily put away a cell phone if necessary, but not simply become sober as needed.

[edit] Episode 34 — "Bulletproof Water"

[edit] Bulletproof Water

The MythBusters take on a Hollywood action staple, where a hero dives into water to avoid being hit by bullets.

Myth statement Status Notes
Hiding underwater can stop bullets from hitting you. Partly Confirmed All supersonic bullets (up to .50-caliber) disintegrated in less than 3 feet (90 cm) of water, but slower velocity bullets, like pistol rounds, need up to 8 feet (2.4 metres) of water to slow to non-lethal speeds. Shotgun slugs require even more depth (the exact depth couldn't be determined because their one test broke the rig). However, as most water-bound shots are fired from an angle, less actual depth is needed to create the necessary separation.

[edit] Chain-Straight 360

Myth statement Status Notes
It is possible to do a chain-straight 360° loop on a swingset. Busted Under one's own power it is impossible to do a chain-straight 360° loop on a school yard swingset. With help of other pushers, it is possible, although highly difficult, to do a full circle without the chain being straight. A person would need a rocket strapped to himself to do it. A dummy was set up in such a manner; the rocket was able to propel it in a chain-straight 360° loop, but the setup would be too dangerous with a real person.
It is possible to do a 360° loop on a rigid-arm swingset. Partly Confirmed A seventh generation circus performer confirmed the myth by doing a 360° loop while Tory, Kari and Grant observed. The others were not able to do the loop, as it consumes a lot of energy.

[edit] Episode 35 — "Border Slingshot"

This was the first episode in which the entire hour was devoted to testing a single myth.

Myth statement Status Notes
Illegal immigrants are being launched over the United States border by the means of a giant slingshot. Busted In addition to being unable to achieve the distance and accuracy reported, the device could not be constructed in such a way as to allow the quick assembly and disassembly required for the myth. In addition, the person being thrown would likely be killed on impact.

[edit] Episode 36 — "Killer Tissue Box"

[edit] Killer Tissue Box

Myth statement Status Notes
A simple tissue box stored on the backboard of a car can move with sufficient force to kill a person during a crash. Busted Sharp objects or objects with masses over 3 lb. (1.2 kg), like a bowling ball, can be deadly if they fly forward during a crash. Lighter objects like tissue boxes may cause injury but cannot kill.
A tissue box can stay intact during a crash. Confirmed This was revealed when they crashed the real car and Adam pointed out that the box was intact.

[edit] Splitting an Arrow

The Build Team take on a myth stemming from the film The Adventures of Robin Hood, where the most famous stunt is one where an arrow was split in half, from nock to tip. The Build Team explores whether this was at all possible, and also challenges fans at a medieval fair to duplicate this feat.

Myth statement Status Notes
It is possible to split an arrow perfectly down the middle with a second arrow like in the film The Adventures of Robin Hood. Partly Busted While it is certainly possible to rear-end an arrow with another, only a fiberglass arrow can be split down the middle (known as telescoping in archery circles). With a wooden arrow, even under the most ideal conditions, the best one can do is a partial split along the grain of the wood, and even that is improbable. They clearly showed that the film's circumstances can be recreated using a hollow shaft, such as bamboo.

[edit] Episode 37 — "Escape Slide Parachute"

[edit] Escape Slide Parachute

Myth statement Status Notes
It is possible to jump from an airplane and use an inflatable life raft to safely return to earth (as in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom) Busted Any attempt to use the raft failed due to the instability of the raft in freefall. It was possible to rig the raft as a parachute and land with minimal injuries, but this would not be possible to perform while jumping from a disabled aircraft.
...Using an escape slide instead of the raft. Busted While it was shown that the slide could safely land Buster with no injuries, he had to be strapped in and there is no possible way to perform this from a disabled aircraft.
A person strapped into the rear stewardess seat could survive the destruction of the aircraft in flight by having the surviving tail section slow her fall and absorb impact. Plausible While Adam and Jamie's attempt to recreate the incident resulted in Buster once again being heavily damaged, this event actually happened in real life. The stewardess was severely injured in the incident, but did survive. It was agreed that it was very improbable, but could happen if circumstances were just right.

[edit] Exploding Hair Cream

Myth statement Status Notes
A number of Canadian Air Force pilots were explosively decapitated when their hair gel exploded in the oxygen-rich environment of the cockpit. Busted After recreating the environment in an F-104 Starfighter cockpit, it took some effort to ignite the hair product. Even with extreme amounts of product, the best result was a fire and/or small explosion, which came nowhere near decapitating the test head. It was confirmed that there have been a number of incidents in which small fires have occurred, but there are no recorded fatal injuries. It was noted that a fire in a pure oxygen environment killed the astronauts of Apollo 1.

[edit] External links

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MythBusters
Main crew
Jamie Hyneman - Adam Savage
Build Team
Kari Byron - Tory Belleci - Grant Imahara
Related articles
Season 1 - Season 2 - Season 3 - Season 4 - Pilots, Specials and Mini-myths
Additional cast - M5 Industries
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