The cast of the television series MythBusters

MythBusters

MythBusters is a science entertainment TV program created and produced by Beyond Television Productions for the Discovery Channel. The series is screened by numerous international broadcasters, including Discovery Channel Australia, Discovery Channel Latin America, Discovery Channel Canada, Quest...

perform experiments to verify or debunk urban legend

Urban legend

An urban legend, urban myth, urban tale, or contemporary legend, is a form of modern folklore consisting of stories that may or may not have been believed by their tellers to be true...

s, old wives' tale

Old wives' tale

An old wives' tale is a type of urban legend, similar to a proverb, which is generally passed down by old wives to a younger generation. Such "tales" usually consist of superstition, folklore or unverified claims with exaggerated and/or untrue details. Today old wives' tales are still common among...

s, 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).

Episode overview

No. in series		|Title		|Overall episode No.

Need for Speed

Myth statement	Status	Notes
While a city bus is turning at 50 miles per hour (22.4 m/s), 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 with 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.

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.
...a locked chain link gate.	Plausible	The car successfully crashed through the gate, but suffered some damage, which also triggered the airbag Airbag An Airbag is a vehicle safety device. It is an occupant restraint consisting of a flexible envelope designed to inflate rapidly during an automobile collision, to prevent occupants from striking interior objects such as the steering wheel or a window... s. 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.

Racing Gravity

Myth statement	Status	Notes
A car driving at 142 miles per hour (63.5 m/s) can beat an identical car falling at terminal velocity Terminal velocity In fluid dynamics an object is moving at its terminal velocity if its speed is constant due to the restraining force exerted by the fluid through which it is moving....  in a race at a distance of 4000 feet (1,219.2 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 in 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 (62.6 m/s) in an attempt to beat it. However, because the car could only achieve a top speed of 105 miles per hour (46.9 m/s), the Build Team had to shorten the ground distance to 2950 feet (899.2 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.

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 Rocket sled A rocket sled is a test platform that slides along a set of rails, propelled by rockets.As its name implies, a rocket sled does not use wheels. Instead, it has sliding pads, called "slippers", which are curved around the head of the rails to prevent the sled from flying off the track... . The rocket sled struck the compact car at a speed of 648 miles per hour (289.7 m/s), completely disintegrating 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 Explosion welding Explosion welding is a solid state process where welding is accomplished by accelerating one of the components at extremely high velocity through the use of chemical explosives. This process is most commonly utilized to clad carbon steel plate with a thin layer of corrosion resistant material...  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.

Episode 115 – Alaska Special 2

• Original airdate: April 15, 2009

As part of Discovery Channel

Discovery Channel

Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...

's Alaska Week 2009 series, the MythBusters returned to Alaska

Alaska

Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...

 to test more cold weather myths.

Pykrete Peril

Based on Geoffrey Pyke

Geoffrey Pyke

Geoffrey Nathaniel Joseph Pyke was an English journalist, educationalist, and later an inventor whose clever, but unorthodox, ideas could be difficult to implement...

's proposed project

Project Habakkuk

Project Habakkuk or Habbakuk was a plan by the British in World War II to construct an aircraft carrier out of pykrete , for use against German U-boats in the mid-Atlantic, which were beyond the flight range of land-based planes at that time.The idea came from Geoffrey Pyke who worked for Combined...

 of building an aircraft carrier

Aircraft carrier

An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...

 out of pykrete

Pykrete

Pykrete is a composite material made of approximately 14 percent sawdust or some other form of wood pulp and 86 percent ice by weight. Its use was proposed during World War II by Geoffrey Pyke to the British Royal Navy as a candidate material for making a huge, unsinkable aircraft carrier...

 during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 (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 pykrete is bulletproof by subjecting a wastebasket-sized chunk of ice and another of pykrete to a close range impact (approximately 10 ft (3 m)) by a .45 caliber .45-70 The .45-70 rifle cartridge, also known as .45-70 Government, was developed at the U.S. Army's Springfield Armory for use in the Springfield Model 1873...  round. The ice shattered upon impact and the bullet easily penetrated it. However, the pykrete chunk held together and successfully stopped and deflected the bullet while sustaining only a small (approximately 1 in (2.5 cm) deep) impact crater.
Pykrete is stronger than ice.	Confirmed	The MythBusters subjected ice and pykrete to a mechanical stress test where lead blocks were placed onto a cantilever Cantilever A cantilever is a beam anchored at only one end. The beam carries the load to the support where it is resisted by moment and shear stress. Cantilever construction allows for overhanging structures without external bracing. Cantilevers can also be constructed with trusses or slabs.This is in... ed slab of each material to determine its breaking strength. The ice quickly failed when the weight exceeded 40 pounds (18.1 kg), while the pykrete had no problem supporting all 300 pounds (136.1 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 "but ludicrous"	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, dubbing it Yesterday's News, 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 (10.3 m/s), 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.

In additional footage shown on the MythBusters website, two additional tests were shown.

• Blocks of ice and regular pykrete were placed on nails against a board at room temperature. The ice melted significantly faster than the pykrete.
• A "shock test" was performed on the three materials by dropping a block of each approximately six feet onto the ground. The block of ice shattered into many pieces. The block of regular pykrete broke into two pieces, but did not shatter. The block of pseudo-pykrete would not break, even when slammed down from the same height.

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 Wisconsin Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is... . In their first test, the Build Team rammed a front engine car into the snowplow at 55 miles per hour (24.6 m/s). 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 (31.3 m/s), 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.

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.

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 Graphite The mineral graphite is one of the allotropes of carbon. It was named by Abraham Gottlob Werner in 1789 from the Ancient Greek γράφω , "to draw/write", for its use in pencils, where it is commonly called lead . Unlike diamond , graphite is an electrical conductor, a semimetal...  and ferric nitrate by combining them in a pressure cooker. This myth was inspired from the CSI: Miami CSI: Miami CSI: Miami is an American police procedural television series, which premiered on September 23, 2002 on CBS. The series is a spin-off of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.... episode "Lost Son."	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 heating it in a microwave oven Microwave oven A microwave oven is a kitchen appliance that heats food by dielectric heating, using microwave radiation to heat polarized molecules within the food... .	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 Hydrochloric acid Hydrochloric acid is a solution of hydrogen chloride in water, that is a highly corrosive, strong mineral acid with many industrial uses. It is found naturally in gastric 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 5000 pounds (2,268 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.

Double Dipping

Myth statement	Status	Notes
The act of double dipping a chip (and therefore transferring microbes from one's mouth into the dip on the second pass) is the equivalent of putting all of the dip directly into one's mouth. The myth was inspired by the Seinfeld Seinfeld Seinfeld is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in syndication. It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself... episode "The Implant The Implant "The Implant" is the 59th episode of the sitcom Seinfeld. It is the 19th episode of the fourth season, and first aired on February 25, 1993.-Plot:... ".	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 dish Petri dish A Petri dish is a shallow glass or plastic cylindrical lidded dish that biologists use to culture cells or small moss plants. It was named after German bacteriologist Julius Richard Petri, who invented it when working as an assistant to Robert Koch... es, 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 Radiation In physics, radiation is a process in which energetic particles or energetic waves travel through a medium or space. There are two distinct types of radiation; ionizing and non-ionizing...  and create a sterile environment. Examining the results, the MythBusters found that double dipping produced less microbes than putting all the dip in a person's mouth. Also, the amount of microbes present was negligible compared to the amount found in regular dip.

Episode 117 – YouTube Special

• Original airdate: April 29, 2009

Adam, Jamie, and the Build Team tested three myths drawn from videos seen on YouTube

YouTube

YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....

.

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 gallons (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 gallons (166.6 l) drum. These were then ignited to create an intensely bright, 50 feet (15.2 m) fireball. Finally, Adam and Jamie built an improvised cannon Cannon A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...  out of a K-size argon Argon Argon is a chemical element represented by the symbol Ar. Argon has atomic number 18 and is the third element in group 18 of the periodic table . Argon is the third most common gas in the Earth's atmosphere, at 0.93%, making it more common than carbon dioxide...  cylinder and loaded it with 60,000 match heads, using a 6 pounds (2.7 kg) bowling ball Bowling ball A bowling ball is a spherical ball made from plastic, reactive resin, urethane or a combination of these materials which is used in the sport of bowling. Ten-pin bowling balls generally have a set of three holes drilled in them, one each for the ring and middle finger, and one for the thumb;...  (shaved down to fit into the barrel) as the projectile. They aimed it at a rack of bowling pins and set it off, but the ball never hit the pins, instead sailing over them and flying 1500 feet (457.2 m) uphill. Adam commented afterward that the cannon might have propelled the ball some 3000 feet (914.4 m) on level ground.

LEGO Ball

Myth statement	Status	Notes
A 7-foot ball built from 5 million LEGO Lego Lego is a line of construction toys manufactured by the Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of colorful interlocking plastic bricks and an accompanying array of gears, minifigures and various other parts...  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 feet (2.1 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 (donated by The LEGO Group), and calculated that a ball consisting of 5 million bricks would weigh 10 tonnes (22,046.2 lb), much too heavy for people to push unassisted. After borrowing another half a million bricks from private collector and artist Nathan Sawaya Nathan Sawaya Nathan Sawaya , is an artist who builds custom three-dimensional models and large-scale mosaics from popular everyday items and standard Lego toy bricks...  and expertise from Legoland California Legoland California Legoland California is a theme park located in Carlsbad, California, focused on Lego bricks. It opened on March 20, 1999. It is the third Legoland park to open, and the first Legoland outside of Europe... , the Build Team brought in every available crew member to put together the ball, which eventually weighed 3000 pounds (1,360.8 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. In the original video, the ball was made of sculpted Styrofoam. The creators of the video sought the advice of LEGO Master Model Builders and claimed that they gave them the one-million piece estimate, though the company claims it never gave them such an estimate.

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 Angle grinder An angle grinder, also known as a side or disc grinder, is a handheld power tool used for cutting, grinding and polishing.Angle grinders can be powered by an electric motor, petrol engine or compressed air. The motor drives a geared head at a right-angle on which is mounted an abrasive disc or a...  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 Gasoline Gasoline , or petrol , is a toxic, translucent, petroleum-derived liquid that is primarily used as a fuel in internal combustion engines. It consists mostly of organic compounds obtained by the fractional distillation of petroleum, enhanced with a variety of additives. Some gasolines also contain...  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.

Homemade Surround Sound

This myth was not shown in the actual episode aired in the United States, but was featured in the version of the episode aired outside of North America and 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

Household Hacker

HouseholdHacker is a YouTube channel and website that posts videos of various "hacks", or quick solutions, to common everyday problems. As of June 2010, the channel was the third most subscribed "guru" channel on YouTube, and the 35th most subscribed overall....

.

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 Household Hacker HouseholdHacker is a YouTube channel and website that posts videos of various "hacks", or quick solutions, to common everyday problems. As of June 2010, the channel was the third most subscribed "guru" channel on YouTube, and the 35th most subscribed overall.... 's specifications and created his own surround sound setup, but when he turned on the music, the speakers didn't work. When Kari suggested 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 $150 to build.

Episode 118 – 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.

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 (340.2 kg) of guar gum Guar gum Guar gum, also called guaran, is a galactomannan. It is primarily the ground endosperm of guar beans. The guar seeds are dehusked, milled and screened to obtain the guar gum. It is typically produced as a free-flowing, pale, off-white-colored, coarse to fine ground powder.-Production:Guar gum is an...  and 10000 gallons (37,854.1 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 Viscosity Viscosity is a measure of the resistance of a fluid which is being deformed by either shear or tensile stress. In everyday terms , viscosity is "thickness" or "internal friction". Thus, water is "thin", having a lower viscosity, while honey is "thick", having a higher 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 Maple syrup Maple syrup is a syrup usually made from the xylem sap of sugar maple, red maple, or black maple trees, although it can also be made from other maple species such as the bigleaf maple. In cold climates, these trees store starch in their trunks and roots before the winter; the starch is then... , was prepared for both Adam and Olympic Olympic Games The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...  gold medalist swimmer Nathan Adrian Nathan Adrian Nathan Adrian is an American swimmer and Olympic gold medalist who currently holds the American record in the 50 and 100-yard freestyle .... . 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 so familiar with swimming in water that he lost his technique in 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 Margin of error The margin of error is a statistic expressing the amount of random sampling error in a survey's results. The larger the margin of error, the less faith one should have that the poll's reported results are close to the "true" figures; that is, the figures for the whole population...  for their testing method, Adam and Jamie declared the myth plausible.

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 Revolver A revolver is a repeating firearm that has a cylinder containing multiple chambers and at least one barrel for firing. The first revolver ever made was built by Elisha Collier in 1818. The percussion cap revolver was invented by Samuel Colt in 1836. This weapon became known as the Colt Paterson...  cartridges, fitting an empty cartridge casing to it, and hitting the primer with the butt of a gun. Based on the MacGyver MacGyver MacGyver is an American action-adventure television series created by Lee David Zlotoff. Henry Winkler and John Rich were the executive producers. The show ran for seven seasons on ABC in the United States and various other networks abroad from 1985 to 1992. The series was filmed in Los Angeles... episode "The Wish Child."	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 gr of smokeless powder Smokeless powder Smokeless powder is the name given to a number of propellants used in firearms and artillery which produce negligible smoke when fired, unlike the older gunpowder which they replaced...  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 gr 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 C-4 (explosive) C4 or Composition C4 is a common variety of the plastic explosive known as Composition C.-Composition and manufacture:C4 is made up of explosives, plastic binder, plasticizer and usually marker or odorizing taggant chemicals such as 2,3-dimethyl-2,3-dinitrobutane to help detect the explosive and... .

Davy Crockett's Magic Bullet

Myth statement	Status	Notes
Davy Crockett Davy Crockett David "Davy" Crockett was a celebrated 19th century American folk hero, frontiersman, soldier and politician. He is commonly referred to in popular culture by the epithet "King of the Wild Frontier". He represented Tennessee in the U.S...  could fire a shot from his musket Musket A musket is a muzzle-loaded, smooth bore long gun, fired from the shoulder. Muskets were designed for use by infantry. A soldier armed with a musket had the designation musketman or musketeer....  and split the bullet on the blade of an axe Axe The axe, or ax, is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood; to harvest timber; as a weapon; and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol...  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 (36.6 m). Each member took three shots, moving up to 20 yards (18.3 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.

Exploding Bumpers

Myth statement	Status	Notes
A car bumper can explode in a car fire and fly across 50 feet (15.2 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 Thermographic camera A thermographic camera or infrared camera is a device that forms an image using infrared radiation, similar to a common camera that forms an image using visible light...  and got readings over 1000 °F (537.8 °C). They then determined that the blaze reached 1400 °C (2,552 °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 an oxyacetylene torch Oxy-fuel welding and cutting Oxy-fuel welding and oxy-fuel cutting are processes that use fuel gases and oxygen to weld and cut metals, respectively. French engineers Edmond Fouché and Charles Picard became the first to develop oxygen-acetylene welding in 1903...  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.

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 (17.9 m/s), in both cases from a fixed distance of 60 feet (18.3 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.

Episode 120 – Seesaw Saga

• Original airdate: May 20, 2009

Adam, Jamie, and the Build Team joined forces to investigate a puzzling seesaw myth. This is the second myth in which the Mythbusters and the Build Team bust a myth together

Myth statement	Status	Notes
A skydiver Skydiver A skydiver is a person who engages in the sport of parachuting. It may also refer to:* SkyDiver a futuristic submarine featured in the TV series UFO* "Skydiver" a carnival ride produced by Chance Morgan...  whose parachute fails to open can hit the high end of a playground seesaw Seesaw A seesaw is a long, narrow board pivoted in the middle so that, as one end goes up, the other goes down.-Mechanics:Mechanically a seesaw is a lever and fulcrum.... , 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 Terminal velocity In fluid dynamics an object is moving at its terminal velocity if its speed is constant due to the restraining force exerted by the fluid through which it is moving.... , 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 (6.1 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 (54.5 m/s) 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 Bungee jumping Bungee jumping is an activity that involves jumping from a tall structure while connected to a large elastic cord. The tall structure is usually a fixed object, such as a building, bridge or crane; but it is also possible to jump from a movable object, such as a hot-air-balloon or helicopter, that...  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 Bungee cord A bungee cord , also known as a shock cord, is an elastic cord composed of one or more elastic strands forming a core, usually covered in a woven cotton or polypropylene sheath...  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 Wetsuit A wetsuit is a garment, usually made of foamed neoprene, which is worn by surfers, divers, windsurfers, canoeists, and others engaged in water sports, providing thermal insulation, abrasion resistance and buoyancy. The insulation properties depend on bubbles of gas enclosed within the material,...  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 Mare Island Naval Shipyard The Mare Island Naval Shipyard was the first United States Navy base established on the Pacific Ocean. It is located 25 miles northeast of San Francisco in Vallejo, California. The Napa River goes through the Mare Island Strait and separates the peninsula shipyard from the main portion of the... , 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 (16.8 m) up and 70 feet (21.3 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 (39.6 m) up at an angle (equivalent of 200 feet (61 m) straight up), but experienced a g-force G-force The g-force associated with an object is its acceleration relative to free-fall. This acceleration experienced by an object is due to the vector sum of non-gravitational forces acting on an object free to move. The accelerations that are not produced by gravity are termed proper accelerations, and...  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.

Thermite vs. Ice

Myth statement	Status	Notes
Igniting a bucket full of thermite Thermite Thermite is a pyrotechnic composition of a metal powder and a metal oxide that produces an exothermic oxidation-reduction reaction known as a thermite reaction. If aluminium is the reducing agent it is called an aluminothermic reaction...  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 (0.45359237 kg) 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 (45.7 m). In a first for the show, however, no definitive explanation was given for why this occurred. Two options were suggested including (1) the water molecules breaking into Hydrogen and Oxygen molecules due to the thermite's heat, and these molecules subsequently combusting; and (2) the steam from the sublimating ice is aerosolizing the thermite itself which then explodes. No one has been able to definitively prove exactly what happens to cause this mixture to be so volatile.

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 SKS The SKS is a Soviet semi-automatic rifle chambered for the 7.62x39mm round, designed in 1943 by Sergei Gavrilovich Simonov. SKS-45 is an acronym for Samozaryadnyj Karabin sistemy Simonova, 1945 Simonov system, 1945), or SKS 45. The Sks is a scaled down version of the PTRS-41 anti-tank rifle also...  rifle.	Busted	This myth originated from Russian gangs, who use an SKS rifle with a free-floating (as opposed to spring-return) 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 Decibel The decibel is a logarithmic unit that indicates the ratio of a physical quantity relative to a specified or implied reference level. A ratio in decibels is ten times the logarithm to base 10 of the ratio of two power quantities...  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 Shock wave A shock wave is a type of propagating disturbance. Like an ordinary wave, it carries energy and can propagate through a medium or in some cases in the absence of a material medium, through a field such as the electromagnetic field...  caused by an exploding bomb is enough to trigger a misfire in an SKS SKS The SKS is a Soviet semi-automatic rifle chambered for the 7.62x39mm round, designed in 1943 by Sergei Gavrilovich Simonov. SKS-45 is an acronym for Samozaryadnyj Karabin sistemy Simonova, 1945 Simonov system, 1945), or SKS 45. The Sks is a scaled down version of the PTRS-41 anti-tank rifle also...  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.

Handgun Horror

Myth statement	Status	Notes
Holding a hunting revolver Revolver A revolver is a repeating firearm that has a cylinder containing multiple chambers and at least one barrel for firing. The first revolver ever made was built by Elisha Collier in 1818. The percussion cap revolver was invented by Samuel Colt in 1836. This weapon became known as the Colt Paterson...  improperly can cause a person's 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.

Car Cling

Adam and Jamie tested whether or not a person 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 mph (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 (72 km/h). 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 –.
...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 (72 km/h) 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 (32 km/h).
...hold onto the hood of a car while the car is making a big turn.	Busted	Adam fell off immediately at only 20 mph (32 km/h).
...hold onto the hood of a car when it makes a sudden stop.	Confirmed	Adam was able to hold onto the hood at both 25 and 45 mph (40.2 and 72.4 km/h) 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 (12.8 °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.

Floss to Freedom

Myth statement	Status	Notes
Dental floss can be used 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 one's 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, meant that someone can cut through one bar in 293 days (just under ten months) if that person flossed eight hours per night.

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 (77.1 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 (73.2 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.

Sonic Boom Sound-off

To help test this myth, the MythBusters enlisted the aid of the Blue Angels

Blue Angels

The United States Navy's Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, popularly known as the Blue Angels, was formed in 1946 and is currently the oldest formal flying aerobatic team...

 and their F/A-18 Hornet

F/A-18 Hornet

The McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet is a supersonic, all-weather carrier-capable multirole fighter jet, designed to dogfight and attack ground targets . Designed by McDonnell Douglas and Northrop, the F/A-18 was derived from the latter's YF-17 in the 1970s for use by the United States Navy and...

s.

Myth statement	Status	Notes
A supersonic bullet can break any kind of glass just by the sonic boom Sonic boom A sonic boom is the sound associated with the shock waves created by an object traveling through the air faster than the speed of sound. Sonic booms generate enormous amounts of sound energy, sounding much like an explosion...  it generates.	Busted	The MythBusters got their hands on a Armalite AR-50 Armalite AR-50 -Design:The AR-50 rifle utilizes weight and a large fluted muzzle brake to provide very mild recoil. The AR-50 weighs approximately 34 pounds and is a single shot bolt action rifle. The barrel is extremely thick and rigid to minimize the "whip" effect of rifle barrels which flex when fired.The...  .50 caliber sniper rifle, one of the most powerful rifles 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.

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 upon firing.	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 Smoothbore A smoothbore weapon is one which has a barrel without rifling. Smoothbores range from handheld firearms to powerful tank guns and large artillery mortars.-History of firearms and rifling:...  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. Once the bullet leaves the gun, there are no lateral forces applied to the bullet, so by Newton's laws the bullet will follow a straight path. In episode 95 they accomplished some bullet deflection using powerful magnetic forces acting continuously on the bullet.

Driving in the Rain in a Convertible

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 (112.7 km/h), and saw that the interior was significantly less soaked than the control. They then drove the car through the rain at 90 mph (144.8 km/h) 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.

Popcorn Pandemonium

The Build Team tested various myths involving popcorn

Popcorn

Popcorn, or popping corn, is corn which expands from the kernel and puffs up when heated. Corn is able to pop because, like sorghum, quinoa and millet, its kernels have a hard moisture-sealed hull and a dense starchy interior. This allows pressure to build inside the kernel until an explosive...

.

Myth statement	Status	Notes
Popcorn can be made 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.
Popcorn can be made by igniting a 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.
A plane-mounted 5-megawatt laser Laser A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of photons. The term "laser" originated as an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation...  can be used 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 Real Genius Real Genius is a 1985 satirical comedy film directed by Martha Coolidge. The film's screenplay was written by Neal Israel, Pat Proft and Peter Torokvei. It stars Val Kilmer and Gabriel Jarret.... .	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 pound per square inches (1.5 kPa), 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.

Bullet Fired vs. Bullet Dropped

Myth statement	Status	Notes
A bullet fired horizontally and one dropped from the same height will hit the ground simultaneously.	Confirmed	Adam and Jamie first carried out two small-scale experiments, one using ball bearings (dropped vs. shot from a spring-loaded launcher), the other using paintballs (dropped vs. fired from a paintball gun). While the first experiment seemed to bear out the myth, the second one contradicted it; Adam attributed this result to imperfections in the paintballs' surfaces that caused them to veer slightly off course. For full-scale testing, they started at a firing range and used a .45 caliber pistol to measure the distance a bullet would travel before hitting the ground. Since the ground there was not level, they set up a second test at Fort Mason Fort Mason Fort Mason, once known as San Francisco Port of Embarkation, US Army, in San Francisco, California, is a former United States Army post located in the northern Marina District, alongside San Francisco Bay. Fort Mason served as an Army post for more than 100 years, initially as a coastal defense... . Once they had properly fine-tuned their mechanism to fire and drop the bullets at the same time, they found that the two bullets landed within 39.6 milliseconds of each other. Commenting that this difference was less than the duration of one film frame (shot at 24 frames per second), and thus short enough for the human eye not to notice, they declared the myth confirmed.

Knock Your Socks Off

Myth statement	Status	Notes
It is possible to literally knock someone's socks off. Pairs of socks sent in by viewers were used for the testing of this myth.	Partly Busted	Initially, the original myth to test was going to be what happened to the socks that go missing in a wash cycle in the laundry, hence the call for sock donations. However, the massive amount of fan requests sent in along with the socks to test the idiom demanded a last-minute change of plans. The Build Team set up a nitrogen-powered cannon to deliver a powerful uppercut to Buster, stronger than the best heavyweight boxers. Buster's socks stayed on after the hit, though one of them slid down somewhat. In the next test, they swung a heavy pendulum (roughly 1700 pounds (771.1 kg)) down into Buster's chest, first with shoes and socks, then with socks only. The second swing left Buster with one sock almost off his foot, but further scrutiny revealed that it came loose when that foot dragged along the ground after impact. The team then set up an explosion, using 500 pounds (226.8 kg) of ANFO ANFO ANFO is a widely used bulk industrial explosive mixture. It consists of 94 percent porous prilled ammonium nitrate , that acts as the oxidizing agent and absorbent for the fuel — six percent Number 2 Fuel Oil...  and mannequin Mannequin A mannequin is an often articulated doll used by artists, tailors, dressmakers, and others especially to display or fit clothing...  legs in socks at distances between 15 and 55 ft (4.6 and 16.8 m). Rupture disc Rupture disc Burst disc redirects here. For the human back ailment see Spinal disc herniation.A rupture disc, also known as a bursting disc or burst diaphragm, is a non-reclosing pressure relief device that, in most uses, protects a pressure vessel, equipment or system from overpressurization or potentially... s calibrated to burst at 100 pound per square inches (689.5 kPa) were set up at each distance as well, to evaluate the likelihood of a person's survival. The blast stripped socks off at 15 and 25 ft (4.6 and 7.6 m), bursting those discs and the one at 35 feet (10.7 m); at the longer distances, both the discs and the legs were intact. Since a person who lost his socks in this explosion would also be killed, the team declared the myth busted.

Episode 126 – Duct Tape Hour

• Original Airdate: October 14, 2009

The MythBusters tackle various myths relating to the "handyman's secret weapon". They tested whether or not duct tape can...

Myth statement	Status	Notes
...be used to construct a potato cannon instead of the traditional glue.	Confirmed	The Build Team took a regular potato cannon and a cannon constructed with duct tape and fired them repeatedly to compare their performance. After measuring the average velocity of the potatoes as well as the distance they were fired, the Build Team concluded that both the duct tape and glue potato cannons were essentially identical.
...be used to build a fully functional cannon.	Confirmed	The Build Team used 1 inches (25.4 mm) tiles of duct tape to measure how much strength it could tolerate. Using a small-scale test cannon equipped with a strength gauge, they discovered that the duct tape tile was indeed strong enough to withstand a cannon blast. They then built a duct tape cannon with a 2 inches (50.8 mm) barrel and compared its performance to that of a conventional steel cannon. Although the range and speed of the duct tape cannon were inferior to the steel one, it successfully fired a cannonball and remained intact.
...lift a 5000 pounds (2,268 kg) car.	Confirmed	Through small-scale tests, the MythBusters discovered that a single length of duct tape can support up to 70 pounds (31.8 kg). They then attached the car to a crane with duct tape. The car was lifted successfully, and was left suspended until the tape failed. The MythBusters were quick to point out that the tape itself failed, not its adhesive properties.
...be used to seal leaks in a boat.	Plausible	The MythBusters patched a damaged boat with duct tape and floated it out into San Francisco Bay. The tape managed to keep the boat afloat, with only minor signs of damage after 40 minutes of exposure. Adam then decided to test whether duct tape can seal an existing leak while the boat is still in the water. He noted that it was more difficult to get the duct tape to stick underwater, but successfully patched the leak. However, the "emergency" fix wasn't nearly as effective, and the duct tape quickly failed. The MythBusters concluded that duct tape was a viable temporary repair method when applied in dry conditions.
...be used to construct an entire boat.	Confirmed	The MythBusters built an entire sailboat using 690 square feet (64.1 m²) of duct tape for the hull and sail. They then took the boat, dubbed the Stuck on You, into San Francisco Bay. The duct tape boat turned out to be fully functional with no sign of failure, confirming the myth.

Episode 127 – Dirty vs. Clean Car

• Original Airdate: October 21, 2009

Adam and Jamie test whether a dirty car gets better gas mileage than an equivalent clean car, while the Build Team test an old adage concerning beer, liquor, and hangovers.

Dirty Car Cash

Myth statement	Status	Notes
A dirty car is more fuel efficient than a clean car because the dirt makes the car more aerodynamic like the dimples on a golf ball.	Busted (Concept Plausible)	Adam and Jamie covered a car in dirt and mud and drove it down a track at highway speeds to measure its fuel efficiency, and repeated the test after the car was cleaned. They discovered that the average gas mileage for the dirty car was 24 miles per US gallon (10.2 km/L) while the clean car performed better at 26 miles per US gallon (11.1 km/L). They then tested the reasoning behind the myth, and tested how well dimpled golf balls performed against smooth balls. They discovered that dimpled golf balls could fly almost twice as far as smooth balls. Dimpled balls disrupt the air around them, creating a smaller wake behind them and reducing drag. After testing model cars in a wind tunnel Wind tunnel A wind tunnel is a research tool used in aerodynamic research to study the effects of air moving past solid objects.-Theory of operation:Wind tunnels were first proposed as a means of studying vehicles in free flight... , Adam and Jamie put a layer of clay on a full-size car and did two more sets of runs on their track - one with a smooth clay surface, the other with dimples pressed into it. The respective fuel efficiencies were calculated as 26 and 29 miles per gallon (11 and 12 km/L). Although the original myth was invalid, the theory behind it was sound, leading to a final judgment of "Myth Busted, Concept Plausible."

The Morning After

Myth statement	Status	Notes
A hangover Hangover A hangover describes the sum of unpleasant physiological effects following heavy consumption of alcoholic beverages. The most commonly reported characteristics of a hangover include headache, nausea, sensitivity to light and noise, lethargy, dysphoria, diarrhea and thirst, typically after the...  caused by beer is less severe than one caused by a mixture of beer and liquor.	Busted	To perform this test, Tory and Grant would have to eat the same food, drink their alcohol at the same time, and sleep for the same length of time in the warehouse for consistent results. Kari (who could not take part because of her pregnancy Pregnancy Pregnancy refers to the fertilization and development of one or more offspring, known as a fetus or embryo, in a woman's uterus. In a pregnancy, there can be multiple gestations, as in the case of twins or triplets... ) then devised a battery of tests to measure dehydration, memory, light/sound/motion sensitivity, and coordination, along with headache severeness. Without having drunk alcohol, Tory and Grant performed well on their control test. They then performed the beer test, with Tory drinking 14 cans of beer and Grant drinking 6. They both performed significantly worse than the control tests, signifying they were badly hung over. After taking a couple days to "dry out", they then repeated the test with a mixture of beer and liquor, making sure to drink the same equivalent amount of alcohol as the first test. The next morning, Grant improved significantly and did not have a hangover, feeling much better than the last test. Tory woke with a splitting headache, but other than that actually felt (and tested) better than with the beer alone. The Build Team then concluded that the myth was busted.

Episode 128 - Greased Lightning

• Original airdate: October 28, 2009

The MythBusters test two potential kitchen disasters, as well as whether cheese can be used with a cannon.

Grease Fire Fiasco

Myth statement	Status	Notes
If a person tries to put out a stovetop grease fire by pouring 8 USoz of water on it, a 30 feet (9.1 m) fireball will result.	Busted	Adam and Jamie set up a stove and started fires with three different cooking materials: canola oil, peanut oil Peanut oil Peanut oil is an organic material oil derived from peanuts, noted to have the aroma and taste of its parent legume.... , and lard Lard Lard is pig fat in both its rendered and unrendered forms. Lard was commonly used in many cuisines as a cooking fat or shortening, or as a spread similar to butter. Its use in contemporary cuisine has diminished because of health concerns posed by its saturated-fat content and its often negative... . The ratio of oil to water was 8 to 1 in each case, with 64 USoz of oil and 8 USoz of water. In each case, a large fireball formed when the water was poured in, due to the sudden formation of steam Steam Steam is the technical term for water vapor, the gaseous phase of water, which is formed when water boils. In common language it is often used to refer to the visible mist of water droplets formed as this water vapor condenses in the presence of cooler air...  which propelled the burning oil upward. No fireball reached higher than 25 feet (7.6 m). To investigate further, Adam and Jamie did some smaller-scale tests, varying the oil/water ratio and the shape of the cooking pot. The latter had no apparent effect on the fireball height, but they decided to use a 2:1 ratio (2 USqt of oil, 1 USqt of water) for further full-scale work in a mockup kitchen set. Under these conditions, they were able to get a 30 feet (9.1 m) fireball; however, they declared the myth busted because the original 8:1 ratio did not generate the stated result. In a further test, they set up a shelf to drop an unopened can of soup into the oil, reasoning that having all the water-based material at the bottom of the pot would more effectively launch the oil when it vaporized and exploded. The result was a fireball with an estimated height of 100 feet (30.5 m).
It is possible to put out a grease fire with enough water.	Confirmed	Adam called in a firefighting helicopter, which dropped 500 gallons (1,892.7 l) of water on the grease fire and successfully extinguished it.

Microwave Mayhem

Myth statement	Status	Notes
A bomb made from a block of C-4 C-4 (explosive) C4 or Composition C4 is a common variety of the plastic explosive known as Composition C.-Composition and manufacture:C4 is made up of explosives, plastic binder, plasticizer and usually marker or odorizing taggant chemicals such as 2,3-dimethyl-2,3-dinitrobutane to help detect the explosive and...  can be detonated by placing it in a microwave oven Microwave oven A microwave oven is a kitchen appliance that heats food by dielectric heating, using microwave radiation to heat polarized molecules within the food...  and heating it for one minute. Based on a scene in the film Grosse Pointe Blank Grosse Pointe Blank Grosse Pointe Blank is a 1997 American Black comedy film, directed by George Armitage, and starring John Cusack and Minnie Driver.In 2000, readers of Total Film magazine voted Grosse Pointe Blank the 21st greatest comedy film of all time. The film's soundtrack features mainly independent music hits... .	Busted	The Build Team set up three microwave ovens, each of which contained a different C-4 device: one unaltered block, one with wiring similar to that used in the film, and one with both wiring and a blasting cap Blasting cap A blasting cap is a small sensitive primary explosive device generally used to detonate a larger, more powerful and less sensitive secondary explosive such as TNT, dynamite, or plastic explosive.... . Using a remote-controlled bomb disposal robot, the team set each oven to run for 60 seconds at full power. The unaltered block did not heat up appreciably, while the one with only the wiring caught fire but did not detonate (though the door of that oven did burst open). The wiring/cap device exploded violently after only a few seconds of heating, due to sparks arcing across the metal wires and touching off the blasting cap. Since a person placing this bomb in a microwave would be unable to get to safety before it exploded, the team declared the myth busted.

Cheese Cannon

Myth statement	Status	Notes
A block of cheese Cheese Cheese is a generic term for a diverse group of milk-based food products. Cheese is produced throughout the world in wide-ranging flavors, textures, and forms....  can be fired from a cannon with enough force to shred a ship's sail. Based on accounts of a 19th-century South American naval battle in which the Uruguay Uruguay Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area... an commander was forced to use slabs of Dutch Edam instead of cannonballs when the ammunition ran out.	Confirmed	The Build Team evaluated three different cheeses for hardness, stiffness, and elasticity: Edam, smoked Gouda Gouda (cheese) Gouda is an orange cheese made from cow's milk. The cheese is named after the city of Gouda in the Netherlands, but its name is not protected. However, the European Commission has confirmed that "Gouda Holland" is to be protected... , and Garrotxa Garrotxa cheese Garrotxa is a pressed cheese made from unpasteurized goat's milk. It was originally produced only in the Garrotxa area of Catalonia. It has a firm but creamy white interior, with a natural grey mold rind... . They set up a canvas sail made with period-accurate materials and methods, and fired one sample of each cheese at it. Edam, the softest of the three, bounced off the sail without damaging it; Gouda, the hardest, was too brittle and broke up into fragments as soon as it left the barrel; but the Garrotxa, having the right mix of hardness and elasticity, remained intact and punched a hole in the canvas. Even though the exact type of cheese did not match the accounts, the team declared the myth confirmed.

Episode 129 - Hurricane Windows

• Original airdate: November 4, 2009 (US)

Adam and Jamie tested whether windows should be open or closed during a hurricane, while the Build Team took on two myths involving liquid nitrogen.

Hurricane Windows

Myth statement	Status	Notes
During a hurricane, it is better to have windows open than closed.	Busted	The MythBusters first did a small-scale test using a box with window panels at all sides with pneumatic valves attached to them. In the wind tunnel, it was determined that having all windows open seemed to be the best option, since it would provide the least stress on the structure of the house. For the large-scale test, the MythBusters made use of Medusa, the world's largest portable hurricane simulator, located at University of Florida University of Florida The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906... 's Hurricane Research Facility, and beforehand built a house that was small enough to accommodate Medusa's cowling, but otherwise built to several state building codes. Contrary to the small-scale test, however, the house withstood the winds Medusa generated, equivalent to a Category 2 hurricane, even when the windows were closed (the windows-open test left a mess inside the house, though). In fact, the pressure exerted on the house while the windows were closed was so minimal, it was negligible. The Mythbusters explained that unlike their small-scale box, the surface area of a full-size house's windows are only a fraction of the building's total surface area, negating the effect. When other components of a hurricane, such as rain and flying debris, were added, the house was again left standing, but the windows were broken, resulting in a mess similar to that of the windows-open test. This meant that there would still be damage in the hurricane's aftermath, inside or out, no matter if the windows are closed or open, and it is still best to board up one's windows before a hurricane.

Liquid Nitrogen Myths

Myth statement	Status	Notes
A human head dipped into liquid nitrogen Liquid nitrogen Liquid nitrogen is nitrogen in a liquid state at a very low temperature. It is produced industrially by fractional distillation of liquid air. Liquid nitrogen is a colourless clear liquid with density of 0.807 g/mL at its boiling point and a dielectric constant of 1.4...  for five seconds can be shattered into pieces (based on a scene from the film Jason X Jason X Jason X is a 2002 science fiction horror slasher film directed by James Isaac. It is the tenth in the Friday the 13th film series and stars Kane Hodder as the undead mass murderer Jason Voorhees, the film made $16,951,798 worldwide with a budget of $14 million... ).	Busted	For this test, Grant built a pan hammer robot to simulate an object being smashed on the counter. Four heads using a mold of Kari's bust were then made, three made of ballistics gel, each with a skull and brain matter analog inside, and one completely made of ice. In the two control tests, the ice head shattered while the ballistics gel head in room temperature only had its front part broken. The test for the one dipped into liquid nitrogen for five seconds showed a result seemingly in between the two control tests: parts of the head did shatter, but not completely. To achieve the results shown in the film, the third head had to be dipped in the liquid nitrogen for five minutes. To really simulate human flesh and bone, the myth was then retested using two pigs' heads. The head dipped for only five seconds merely had its snout flattened while the one submerged for fifteen minutes did not even shatter, completely busting the myth. In a related test not aired in the actual episode but shown on the MythBusters website, Kari made an ice sculpture of a pig's head. The pan hammer only broke off the snout of the ice head; the rest of the head was shattered after it fell off the table.
A fresh Christmas tree doused with liquid nitrogen can spontaneously explode.	Busted	For a control test, a Christmas tree explosion was made using a detonation cord. Then, a second Christmas tree was sprayed with liquid nitrogen. But after half an hour and with the temperature of the tree plummeting to almost -330 F, no explosion occurred, not even after Tory fired it with buck shot. The myth was busted because conifers and other kinds of cold-climate trees have air spaces outside the tree cells large enough to accommodate the expanding water as it turns into ice, thus preventing an expected explosion.

Crash and Burn

Adam and Jamie tested whether a car would explode when driven off a cliff.

Myth statement	Status	Notes
A car that goes over the side of a cliff will always explode in a fireball, just like in the movies.	Busted	Adam and Jamie took a car out to a quarry and set it up on chocks. But before Adam could put a weight on the gas pedal, the car started rolling over the edge. It only made it past the first few ledges of the cliff, and didn't explode. The second car was raised by a forklift so they could get it up to speed. then set it on the ground. The car crept towards the edge because Jamie had left the parking brake on. Crashing unspectacularly, this car didn't explode either. Adam and Jamie discovered why: the gas tank is put on the underside of the car and between the wheels, intentionally out of harm's way. The MythBusters dropped a 3000 pounds (1,360.8 kg) weight directly on the gas tank to simulate the car landing on a rock and flattening the gas tank. The result was the kind of fireball seen in the movies. Adam and Jamie attached the gas tank to the front of a car, drove it over the cliff, and caught the car on fire. It still wasn't the kind of fireball from the movies, though. So, with Frank Doyle's help, Adam and Jamie loaded another car up with explosives, drove it off a ramp and over a cliff, and watched it crash perfectly like in the movies. Frank's method was the one mostly used by filmmakers. Adam then stated that, for once, Hollywood didn't exactly bend the laws of physics; they just turned a one-in-a-million shot into a one-in-one shot.

Rocket Man

The Build Team saw if a rocket could launch a cage containing a human.

Myth statement	Status	Notes
In 1633, an Ottoman Ottoman Empire The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...  Turk Turkey Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...  named Lagari Hassan Lagari Hasan Çelebi Lagari Hasan Çelebi was a legendary Ottoman aviator who, according to an account written by Evliya Çelebi, made a successful manned rocket flight.-Account:...  launched himself 1,000 feet (300 meters) into the air using a rocket, flew down to Earth with a wing-like device, and survived.	Busted	Since the myth is a legend retold over the years, definitive records of neither the rocket's design nor the wing device exist. Kari found two illustrations of the story, one showing a multi-engine rocket, and the other showing a single-engine rocket. Tory and Grant each built a small scale version of one of the rockets. Tory's small scale multi-engine rocket was relatively stable, while Grant's small scale single-engine, half-cage design flew erratically and almost crashed into the crew. For the full scale test, they decided to use Tory's rocket shape, but with only one engine for safety reasons. The next part to test was the wing-device. After doing some hang-gliding (Kari stayed on the ground, being pregnant), Grant and Tory realized that a safe wing design would be too huge to store and deploy at the right time. They decided on using a parachute, since definitive records of the wing-device do not exist. Kari built a spring-loaded mechanism to fire the parachute at the right time, and attached it to the simulaid. The team set the rocket off at an actual missile launch site, but the results were not good. The rocket shot up to around 100 feet (30.5 m), then tumbled around in the air and caught on fire, burning the simulaid, dubbed "Rocket Man," to a crisp. Like the Ming Dynasty Astronaut myth before, this ancient rocket legend was busted.

Episode 131 - Myth Evolution

• Original airdate: November 18, 2009 (US)

The MythBusters test new tangents from five previous myths.

Exploding Water Heater

Myth statement	Status	Notes
An exploding water heater can shoot up about 500 feet (152.4 m) in the air at around 300 miles per hour (482.8 km/h).	Confirmed	The MythBusters did this test after some viewers doubted their estimates in the original water heater rocket myth. They set up a full-sized 52 US gal (196.8 l) water heater, removed all safety mechanisms, and covered it with blankets to speed up heating. After the eventual explosion, Adam used the high-speed camera footage to help him in his calculations, which revealed that the unobstructed water heater shot up 560 feet (170.7 m) at an initial speed of 350 miles per hour (563.3 km/h), which was near their estimates in their original test.
A water heater can explode like a rocket and shoot through the roof of a two-story house.	Plausible	The MythBusters set up a three tier scaffold to simulate a two-story house. The lowest level housed the 52-US gallon water heater, the second level a set simulating a living room, and on top a roof built to standard California building codes. The resulting explosion from the water heater did cause it to shoot through the living room floor and the roof, landing on the metal scaffold next to the house model. It was deemed plausible because, unlike the original myth, the show did not mention any documented events of water heater explosions in two-story houses.

Corner Shot

The Build Team tested various Hollywood methods for shooting around corners, beginning with an offshoot of the "Bend a Bullet" myth from episode 123.

Myth statement	Status	Notes
A device that shoots bullets around right angles exists. Based on the film Wanted.	Confirmed	The device - aptly named the "CornerShot CornerShot CornerShot is a weapon accessory invented by Lt. Col. Amos Golan of the Israeli Defense Forces in cooperation with American investors. It was designed in the early 2000s for SWAT teams and special forces in hostile situations usually involving terrorists and hostages... " - does exist, though it is considerably larger than its film counterpart. While standing outside the doorway to a room, Kari successfully used the device to shoot a target inside.

Grant and Tory also tested other techniques of shooting around a corner in Hollywood movies. Starting from Kari's position at the doorway, they tried to hit the target in the room by...

Myth statement	Status	Notes
...firing with only the gun exposed to the target while still hidden.	Busted	Because Grant could not see the target, all of his shots missed.
...jumping out of the corner and shooting at the target.	Plausible	Tory hit the target using this technique and landed on a mattress that had been placed to break his fall. However, chances of doing this in a real-world setting (i. e. no mattress on which to land and the target shooting back) are slim.

According to Tory, this "complete set" appears to have set a first on MythBusters, where three myths were tested simultaneously with one Confirmed, one Plausible, and the other Busted.

Car Cling (Cardboard Box Wall Crash)

Taking off from the original Car Cling myth, Adam and Jamie tested whether or not someone could...

Myth statement	Status	Notes
...hold onto the roof of a car with the windows up while the car crashes through a wall of cardboard boxes.	Confirmed	Jamie stayed on the top of the car, even though he let go seconds before the car crashed through the wall. Some boxes were hit by the front end of the rig and only one box directly hit him.
...hold onto the hood of a car while the car crashes through a wall of cardboard boxes.	Confirmed	Adam stayed on the car despite feeling what he described was a force acting on his feet from the boxes. Upon closer inspection of the high speed footage, Adam actually let go of his grip on the hood and slid up the windshield. He then regained his grip on the hood just as he was about to fall off the car. Since the loss of his grip happened so fast for anyone to notice (around one second), this myth was deemed confirmed.

The MythBusters pointed out that the tests were done with empty cardboard boxes, as they seemingly are in many Hollywood movies. A different result may suffice if they contained any shipment, especially heavy ones like electronics or "anvils."

Liquid Lock Pick

Fans requested having this myth tested after the original Liquid Nitrogen myths were shown in the Hurricane Windows episode.

Myth statement	Status	Notes
A padlock Padlock Padlocks are portable locks used to protect against theft, vandalism, sabotage, unauthorized use, and harm. They are designed to protect against some degree of forced and surreptitious entry.- History :...  soaked in liquid nitrogen is easier to break.	Confirmed	It took Tory four seconds using a hammer and crowbar to break a padlock Padlock Padlocks are portable locks used to protect against theft, vandalism, sabotage, unauthorized use, and harm. They are designed to protect against some degree of forced and surreptitious entry.- History :...  at room temperature. After a second lock was sprayed with liquid nitrogen for five minutes, he was able to break it in one hit. The Build Team then tested a door locked with a deadbolt Deadbolt A dead bolt or dead lock , is a locking mechanism distinct from a spring bolt lock because a deadbolt cannot be moved to the open position except by rotating the lock cylinder. The more common spring bolt lock uses a spring to hold the bolt in place, allowing retraction by applying force to the... ; Tory required over five minutes to smash it at room temperature, but less than two minutes after it had been frozen. Grant pointed out that the method would require so many people, and so much time and specialized equipment, that it would not be a practical or stealthy way of breaking into a building. Nevertheless, the team declared the myth confirmed. In a test shown only in the MythBusters website (and aired in versions of the episode shown outside the US instead of the deadbolt test), a second padlock test was done using a large heavy-duty padlock. There, Tory was unsuccessful in breaking the room-temperature lock after four minutes; he only broke part of the bunker's lock hasp. When a second lock was dipped into liquid nitrogen, it took Tory only five hits and 14 seconds to smash it.

Snowplow Rocket Replication

The original Snowplow Split tests shown in the second Alaska Special focused only on the circumstances of the myth. This new, supersized test presented below looked onto the results.

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	A wedge entirely made of steel was made and then installed onto a rocket sled to represent the snowplow. The surrogate snowplow travelled a total distance of 770 feet (234.7 m) and struck the car at a speed of 550 miles per hour (885.1 km/h), completely splitting it along its length with a thrust of 75000 lbs. Afterwards, the wedge disintegrated when the rocket sled slammed into a concrete barrier behind the car. The Build Team still regarded the myth as busted because an average motorist is highly unlikely to encounter a snowplow traveling with enough speed to destroy a car in this manner.

Episode 132 – Dumpster Diving

• Original Airdate: November 25, 2009

Adam and Jamie test a Hollywood chase scene jump, while the Build Team probes a gruesome diving disaster. Kari departs to begin her maternity leave, and Jessi Combs

Jessi Combs

Jessi Combs is an American television personality and metal fabricator who appeared from 2005 to 2008 on the Spike show Xtreme 4x4 which is a part of the Powerblock on Spike. Combs was cast as a co-host of Xtreme 4x4 along with Ian Johnson after an international search which required contestants to...

 joins the build team in her absence.

Dumpster Diving

Myth statement	Status	Notes
A person who jumps from the roof of a building into a full dumpster Dumpster (term) A dumpster is a large steel waste receptacle designed to be emptied into garbage trucks. The word is a genericized trademark of Dumpster, a American brand name for a type of mobile garbage bin...  can survive and run away. Based on the occurrence of this event during chase scenes in several movies.	Plausible (but not recommended)	Adam and Jamie first took some lessons in safe stunt falls, jumping onto an air bag from heights of 13 foot without injury. They then inspected a few typical dumpsters but found materials inside that would endanger a person falling into them, such as hospital waste, wood, and metal rebar Rebar A rebar , also known as reinforcing steel, reinforcement steel, rerod, or a deformed bar, is a common steel bar, and is commonly used as a tensioning device in reinforced concrete and reinforced masonry structures holding the concrete in compression... . Adam jumped from the top of a ladder onto four "ideal" materials—empty cardboard boxes, shredded paper, Styrofoam Styrofoam Styrofoam is a trademark of The Dow Chemical Company for closed-cell currently made for thermal insulation and craft applications. In 1941, researchers in Dow's Chemical Physics Lab found a way to make foamed polystyrene...  packing peanuts, and foam rubber Foam rubber Foam rubber refers to rubber that has been manufactured with a foaming agent to create an air-filled matrix structure. Commercial foam rubbers are generally either polyurethane foam or natural foam rubber latex. Latex foam rubber, used in mattresses, is well-known for its endurance.-See also:*...  blocks—to evaluate their ability to cushion a fall. The foam rubber performed the best in this respect and was chosen for full-scale testing. With accelerometers on his body to measure his speed changes, Buster was dropped from 20 feet (6.1 m) into the air bag and a dumpster full of foam rubber. The two trials yielded g-forces of 11.4 g and 9.9 g, respectively, indicating that a leap into the dumpster would be survivable and perhaps even more comfortable than jumping into the airbag because of the lower g-force involved. Adam then attempted the dumpster jump from the same height; upon landing, he was able to climb out and run away. He and Jamie classified the myth as plausible, but not recommended, since a person making the jump would have no way of knowing ahead of time whether the dumpster contents would safely break the fall.

The Squeeze

Myth statement	Status	Notes
A deep-sea diver in an old-style suit can be crushed into his helmet if the line connecting him to his surface air compressor breaks.	Confirmed	The Build Team learned that this kind of suit was typically fitted with a non-return valve that prevented a loss of suit pressure if the line broke. They chose to proceed on the premise that the diver might have forgotten to keep the valve in good condition, and put together a small-scale ballistic gelatin Ballistic gelatin Ballistic Gelatin is a testing medium scientifically correlated to swine muscle tissue , in which the effects of bullet wounds can be simulated. It was developed and improved by Martin Fackler and others in the field of wound ballistics. Ballistic gelatin is a solution of gelatin powder in water...  model of a human diver, complete with suit and helmet. Placing it at the bottom of a 15 feet (4.6 m) dive tank and cutting the air supply, they were surprised to see gelatin being squeezed up into the helmet as the pressure crushed the suit. At this point, Kari withdrew from further work to go on maternity leave and was replaced by Jessi Combs Jessi Combs Jessi Combs is an American television personality and metal fabricator who appeared from 2005 to 2008 on the Spike show Xtreme 4x4 which is a part of the Powerblock on Spike. Combs was cast as a co-host of Xtreme 4x4 along with Ian Johnson after an international search which required contestants to... . The team made a full-size human analog from pork Pork Pork is the culinary name for meat from the domestic pig , which is eaten in many countries. It is one of the most commonly consumed meats worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BC....  and a model skeleton, filled its chest with simulated internal organs, dressed it in a suit and Mark V dive helmet, and lowered it to a depth of 300 feet (91.4 m) in the ocean. After the suit was properly pressurized to 135 pound per square inches (930,792.2 Pa) to match the water depth, they cut the air supply. The pressure change caved in portions of the helmet and caused it to fill with flesh, blood, and organs from the body being crushed upward. Based on this result, the team declared the myth confirmed.

Episode 133 – Antacid Jail Break

• Original Airdate: December 2, 2009

Adam and Jamie put a story of a prisoner's escape to the test, while the Build Team investigates a supposedly foolproof method for smugglers to avoid detection.

Antacid Jail Break

Myth statement	Status	Notes
By mixing enough antacid Antacid An antacid is a substance which neutralizes stomach acidity.-Mechanism of action:Antacids perform a neutralization reaction, increasing the pH to reduce acidity in the stomach. When gastric hydrochloric acid reaches the nerves in the gastrointestinal mucosa, they signal pain to the central nervous...  tablets with water, a prisoner can generate enough carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...  to blow his cell apart.	Busted	Adam and Jamie first ran some bench-scale tests to correlate the volume and pressure of the liberated gas with the number of tablets used and the size of the container. Meanwhile, the crew built a prison cell in a naval shipyard warehouse, complete with plumbing fixtures and a door made of 1.25 inches (3.2 cm)-thick, bullet-resistant plastic. For a small-scale test, Adam and Jamie put together a glass box, lined it with airtight plastic sheeting, and mixed 100 tablets with water inside; the resulting gas pressure blew out its sides. They decided to use 22,000 tablets (roughly 10 years' worth, based on two tablets provided with every meal) in their first full-scale test. After lining the cell with plastic, they mixed the tablets with 350 gallons (1,324.9 l) of water but did not see any rise in pressure. Realizing that the gas was probably leaking out around the plumbing pipes, they removed the fixtures and brought in the equivalent of 100,000 tablets worth of solid and powdered antacid. When the water was added, the resulting pressure—a peak of 4 pound per square inches (27,579 Pa)—bent the door outward severely until the plastic lining burst at its lower edge. In the end, Adam and Jamie agreed that while the method could perhaps be used to break open a prison cell, there was a fatal flaw; if the prisoner was inside the plastic, they would rapidly be overcome and suffocated by the amount of carbon dioxide released from the tablets, and if they were outside the plastic, the resulting pressure from the bag pressing on their body would cause compressive asphyxia and/or fatal internal injuries. Based on this, and the unfeasibly large number of tablets required, they deemed the myth busted.

Driving in the Dark

Myth statement	Status	Notes
A person can drive safely at or above highway speeds in near-total darkness without using headlights.	Busted	The Build Team set up a course at an indoor go kart track, complete with obstacles to test reaction time, long-range vision, and sign-reading ability. Each member drove the course in the dark, with headlights on, and was evaluated for lap time and driving skill. Next each one sat for 20 minutes in a totally darkened room to let his/her eyes adjust before making a second run with the headlights off. Grant and Jessi both performed badly on the obstacles during this run; Tory was able to complete the course only by driving much more slowly than in his first lap. Jessi suggested that the team add the hazard of an oncoming car's headlights, and Grant placed a robot on the course for this purpose. When Tory tried to drive the course, the glare from the lights caused him to crash almost immediately. Finally, he put on a set of night vision goggles Night vision goggles A night vision device is an optical instrument that allows images to be produced in levels of light approaching total darkness. They are most often used by the military and law enforcement agencies, but are available to civilian users...  and attempted one more run, with Jessi chasing him on a go kart outfitted with a siren and flashing lights to simulate a police car. He performed badly, complaining of a lack of depth perception and a narrow field of view, and was soon caught by Jessi. Since no one was able to negotiate the course well without lights, the team declared the myth busted.

Episode 134 – Unarmed and Unharmed

• Original Airdate: December 9, 2009

Adam and Jamie test the Hollywood cowboy's ability to shoot a gun out of a villain's hand, while the Build Team tries to re-create a big-budget bus jump.

Unarmed & Unharmed

Myth statement	Status	Notes
It is possible to shoot a pistol out of a person's hand without injuring him.	Busted	Adam and Jamie made several plywood cutouts and equipped their hands to hold a revolver Revolver A revolver is a repeating firearm that has a cylinder containing multiple chambers and at least one barrel for firing. The first revolver ever made was built by Elisha Collier in 1818. The percussion cap revolver was invented by Samuel Colt in 1836. This weapon became known as the Colt Paterson...  with the same amount of force that a typical person would use. They placed the guns in three different positions – drawing from the hip, pointed ahead for a shootout, aimed sideways at a hostage – and fired at each. Only the "hostage" position allowed them to both shoot the gun away and keep from injuring its holder due to bullet shrapnel. They then devised separate methods for determining whether a person would be startled enough to drop his gun if it were hit. Adam built a paddle with a gun butt and allowed Jamie to hit it with a baseball bat, delivering roughly the same kinetic energy as a bullet; he dropped it on impact, but Jamie was not satisfied with the result. He attached a short side barrel to a revolver, intending to fire a bullet out of it so that the recoil would match the kick of a bullet in flight hitting the gun. This rig did not work properly, so he removed the side barrel and attached a second grip upside down on top of the revolver frame, mounted on a swivel. Each man held the gun in all three positions ("draw," "shootout," "hostage") while the other triggered it remotely at a random time. Jamie dropped it in "draw" and "hostage," but not in "shootout," while Adam held onto it in every situation. Owing to the difficulty of hitting the small target of the revolver, the high risk of shrapnel injuries, and the unpredictable reactions of the person holding the weapon, Adam and Jamie classified the myth as busted.

Speed Bus Jump

Myth statement	Status	Notes
A bus can jump over a 50 feet (15.2 m) gap in a roadway, land safely on the other side, and drive away. Based on a scene in the movie Speed.	Busted	The Build Team acquired a bus with the same dimensions as that used in the film, then built a small-scale model of both it and the stretch of road in question. Running at a calculated speed of 20 miles per hour (8.9 m/s), the bus plunged off the end of the road and crashed into the support posts at ground level on the other side. When the gap was halved, the bus still dropped far enough to hit the far end of the roadbed head-on. The team theorized that hidden ramps placed on either end of the gap may have helped the bus to make its jump safely. After outfitting their full-size bus for remote-control steering on an airfield, they did a speed test and found that it could go up to 58 miles per hour (25.9 m/s), rather than the 70 miles per hour (31.3 m/s) depicted in the film. With the 50-foot target distance scaled down to allow for the lower top speed, they jumped the bus off a ramp; it fell far short of the target, but remained relatively intact until it hit a concrete safety barricade. Since the bus could not make the jump, the team declared the myth busted.

Episode 135 – Hidden Nasties

• Original Airdate: December 16, 2009

Adam and Jamie tackle two health-hazard myths, while the Build Team tries to skip a car like a stone.

Rat Pee Soda

Myth statement	Status	Notes
Drinking from a can of soda on which a rat has urinated can be fatal, due to pathogens contained in the urine.	Busted	Adam and Jamie began with a control sample of 1,000 cans, cleaning their tops and turning a pack of rats loose for 90 minutes to urinate on them. They discovered that the urine would fluoresce under black light Black light A black light, also referred to as a UV light, ultraviolet light, or Wood's lamp, is a lamp that emits ultraviolet radiation in the long-wave range, and little visible light... , then collected 1,000 cans from various locations and storage areas around San Francisco. To their surprise, a large number of these cans showed apparent contamination under the light; they took swabs from the tops and sent them to Stanford University Stanford University The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...  for chemical analysis, which revealed only harmless dust. Since no rat urine was on the cans, and since any pathogens ingested with the soda would almost certainly be rendered harmless in the digestive tract, Adam and Jamie classified the myth as busted.

Car Skip

Myth statement	Status	Notes
It is possible to skip a car across the surface of a pond like a stone by driving it off a ramp at 50 miles per hour (22.4 m/s). Based on a scene in the film Cannonball Run 3	Busted	The Build Team acquired a car with the same surface area, weight, and weight distribution as the Lamborghini Lamborghini Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A., commonly referred to as Lamborghini , is an Italian car manufacturer. The company was founded by manufacturing magnate Ferruccio Lamborghini in 1963, with the objective of producing a refined grand touring car to compete with established offerings from marques like...  that performed the stunt in the film. Jessi determined that the Lamborghini went off the ramp at roughly 50 miles per hour (22.4 m/s) and traveled 100 feet (30.5 m) to the other side of the pond. After setting up an artificial pond and the needed ramp, Grant remotely steered the car into the jump. It went nose-down, hit the water, completed a full end-over-end flip, and landed – badly damaged – in the water at the far end. The team conjectured that the car in the film may have been weighted at its rear end in order to make it behave as it did. They performed some small-scale tests to determine the best speed and whether or not the ramp was needed, then set up a second car for another jump. This time, they ran at 100 miles per hour (44.7 m/s), with the ramp removed, and were able to skip the car all the way to the other end of the pond and drive it away. Since the scene had proven impossible as shown in the film (with the original speed and the ramp), the team declared the myth busted.

Hidden Nasties

Myth statement	Status	Notes
Some common household items are dirtier than a toilet seat, in terms of number and/or type of germs they carry.	Confirmed	Adam and Jamie selected several items that might carry large amounts of germs, including a toilet seat for comparison. They swabbed a small area of each item, dipped the swabs in liquid growth medium, and transferred the mixtures to agar plates. After the samples were incubated overnight, they were analyzed to determine the number of germ colonies. Results were as follows: Toilet seat - 2 Cell phone - 6 Shopping cart handle - 10 Hotel room TV remote - 44 Computer keyboard - 65 Light switch - 332 Paper money - 936 Kitchen sponge - Too many to count In descending order, the sponge, money, light switch, and keyboard were found to have the highest numbers of dangerous germs. Adam and Jamie recruited a college class to take swabs from 10 of each item, again including 10 toilet seats for comparison, and incubated them as before. This time, the ranking (in descending order of average germ count) was: sponge, money, keyboard, toilet seat, light switch. Because some items did have more germs than the toilet seats, the myth was labeled as confirmed.

Episode 136 – Mini Myth Mayhem

• Original Airdate: December 28, 2009

The MythBusters examine six small, bizarre tales. A notice appears after the end credits honoring rocketry expert Erik Gates, who contributed materials and expertise for several segments. He died in a construction accident on December 20, 2009.

Ear Wax Candle

Myth statement	Status	Notes
It is possible to make a usable candle out of earwax Earwax Earwax, also known by the medical term cerumen, is a yellowish waxy substance secreted in the ear canal of humans and other mammals. It protects the skin of the human ear canal, assists in cleaning and lubrication, and also provides some protection from bacteria, fungi, insects and water... . Based on a scene in the film Shrek Shrek Shrek is a 2001 American computer-animated fantasy comedy film directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, featuring the voices of Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, and John Lithgow. Loosely based on William Steig's 1990 fairy tale picture book Shrek!... .	Busted	The Build Team collected wax from Tory's ears and ignited it alongside paraffin Paraffin In chemistry, paraffin is a term that can be used synonymously with "alkane", indicating hydrocarbons with the general formula CnH2n+2. Paraffin wax refers to a mixture of alkanes that falls within the 20 ≤ n ≤ 40 range; they are found in the solid state at room temperature and begin to enter the...  and beeswax Beeswax Beeswax is a natural wax produced in the bee hive of honey bees of the genus Apis. It is mainly esters of fatty acids and various long chain alcohols... , two common materials used for candles. The earwax burned with some sparking and sputtering, whereupon the entire MythBusters crew, their families, and other volunteers were called in to provide more wax. When the team made this into a candle and lit it alongside one made from paraffin, the earwax burned very poorly and inconsistently and soon went out. They attributed this result due to the fact that the material did not melt down smoothly as did the paraffin, which could then easily travel up the wick to burn in the flame.

Camp Prank

Myth statement	Status	Notes
Dipping a sleeping person's hand in a bowl of warm water will cause him or her to wet the bed.	Busted	At the California Center for Sleep Disorders, Adam and Jamie set up a bed with a moisture-sensitive alarm. Each took a turn as a test subject, with the other ready to place the sleeper's hand in the water once he had achieved a deep enough sleep. Jamie never reached that point, while Adam kept waking up due to his sleep apnea Sleep apnea Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder characterized by abnormal pauses in breathing or instances of abnormally low breathing, during sleep. Each pause in breathing, called an apnea, can last from a few seconds to minutes, and may occur 5 to 30 times or more an hour. Similarly, each abnormally low...  and ended up with his hands in an awkward position. Jamie was only able to pour the water over Adam's hands, which soon woke him up without triggering the alarm. Crew member Matt Cordova was brought in for a third trial; five minutes after his hand was placed in the water, the alarm went off, but this was due to water spilling out of the bowl.

Gorn

Gorn

In Star Trek, the Gorn are humanoid reptiles from the Gorn Hegemony.-Fictional history:The Gorn had contact with the Orion Syndicate as early as 2154...

 Cannon

Myth statement	Status	Notes
It is possible to create impromptu gunpowder Gunpowder Gunpowder, also known since in the late 19th century as black powder, was the first chemical explosive and the only one known until the mid 1800s. It is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate - with the sulfur and charcoal acting as fuels, while the saltpeter works as an oxidizer...  and use it to effectively fire a cannon made from a bamboo Bamboo Bamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family....  stalk. Based on the Star Trek Star Trek: The Original Series Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969... episode "Arena."	Busted	Grant and Tory collected the ingredients for gunpowder and began to mix them by hand in various ratios, testing them against industrial powder to find the best formulation. Meanwhile, Jessi bored out a thick bamboo stalk to use as a cannon barrel, which the Build Team wrapped with ropes to duplicate the episode more closely. They set up the cannon, with a Gorn target in front and "Captain Kirk" (Buster dressed in a red shirt Redshirt (character) A "redshirt" is a stock character in fiction who dies soon after being introduced. The term originates with fans of Star Trek , from the red shirts worn by Starfleet security officers who frequently die during episodes.-Star Trek:... , because, as Grant commented, any Star Trek crew-member that goes down to a planet in a red shirt is not coming back) at the breech, and loaded it with ammunition and homemade powder. When they set the cannon off, the powder only burned without exploding; they achieved the same result with an actual cannon and the homemade powder. When they loaded the bamboo cannon with industrial powder and set it off, the resulting explosion destroyed the barrel and wrecked "Kirk," but the Gorn was undamaged. Finally, they made a second cannon, reinforced its breech with plywood Plywood Plywood is a type of manufactured timber made from thin sheets of wood veneer. It is one of the most widely used wood products. It is flexible, inexpensive, workable, re-usable, and can usually be locally manufactured... , and fired it with the same charge, injuring "Kirk" far worse than the Gorn and leading the team to declare the myth busted.

Lead Plunge

Myth statement	Status	Notes
A person can wet his hand and briefly dip it into molten lead Lead Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...  without injury.	Confirmed	Adam and Jamie did some research on the Leidenfrost effect Leidenfrost effect The Leidenfrost effect is a phenomenon in which a liquid, in near contact with a mass significantly hotter than the liquid's boiling point, produces an insulating vapor layer which keeps that liquid from boiling rapidly... , in which cool water vaporizing on a very hot surface generates a layer of vapor that temporarily insulates against high temperature. They melted some lead in a crucible and heated it to 700 °F (371.1 °C), then dipped a raw, wetted sausage; it emerged partially cooked and with some particles of lead adhering to it. After they raised the temperature to 850 °F (454.4 °C), the sausage could be dipped and removed intact, since the lead was now hot enough not to solidify on contact. Finally, Adam and Jamie dipped their own fingers into the liquid—a pinky and an index for Jamie, four fingers at once for Adam—and brought them out unscathed.

Other myths

Two additional myths, which did not have titles displayed:

Myth statement	Status	Notes
A whole coconut Coconut The coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word... can be sent by mail without any packaging.	Confirmed	Adam and Jamie addressed a coconut to themselves, stamped it, and put it in the mail. It later came back to the M5 workshop with no visible damage.
A strike-anywhere match can be lit if grazed by a bullet fired from a gun.	Confirmed	Adam and Jamie set up a .45 caliber pistol and aimed it at a match head. After several shots that either missed the match or destroyed the head entirely, they were able to get a bullet to graze the head and ignite it. They commented on the high degree of accuracy needed to make this shot.

External links

• MythBusters Official site