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.

Episode 95 – "James Bond, Part 1"

• Original airdate: January 16, 2008

The MythBusters test various myths inspired by scenes in several James Bond

James Bond

James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...

 movies.

Electromagnetic Watch

Myth statement	Status	Notes
An electromagnet Electromagnet An electromagnet is a type of magnet in which the magnetic field is produced by the flow of electric current. The magnetic field disappears when the current is turned off...  hidden in a wristwatch can deflect bullets. Based on Bond's wristwatch in Live and Let Die Live and Let Die (film) Live and Let Die is the eighth spy film in the James Bond series, and the first to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film was produced by Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman... .	Busted	Jamie built an electromagnet that could fit inside a wristwatch and mounted it near a target. They then fired bullets at the target, making sure that the bullets passed close by the electromagnet. However, the wristwatch sized electromagnet was not powerful enough to change the bullet's trajectory. The MythBusters then upgraded to a larger and more powerful electromagnet, but it still could not deflect the bullet. Finally, the MythBusters resorted to using a series of thirteen super powerful permanent rare-earth magnet Rare-earth magnet Rare-earth magnets are strong permanent magnets made from alloys of rare earth elements. Developed in the 1970s and 80s, rare-earth magnets are the strongest type of permanent magnets made and have significant performance advantages over ferrite or alnico magnets... s, which only deflected the bullet enough to bounce off the magnets before hitting the target. The MythBusters explained that a magnet's energy decreased "exponentially" the farther away someone is from the magnet (the force actually follows an inverse square law). Plus, in order to be powerful enough to stop a bullet, an electromagnet would need an enormous amount of energy that could not possibly be contained within a wristwatch, which would make most of the magnet scenes in Bond films impossible (with the possible exception of the unzipping scene).

Propane Tank Peril

Myth statement	Status	Notes
A person can shoot a propane tank with a 9 mm pistol and make it explode. Based on a scene in Casino Royale Casino Royale (2006 film) Casino Royale is the twenty-first film in the James Bond film series and the first to star Daniel Craig as fictional MI6 agent James Bond... .	Busted	First, the Build Team decided to test whether it was possible to breach a propane tank with Bond's 9 mm handgun. They found that 9 mm rounds were not powerful enough to breach the tank, but shotgun shells and 7.62 NATO caliber rifle rounds were more than enough to pierce the tank. They then fired armor piercing rifle rounds at a tank filled with propane, but could not get the tank to explode. Not even tracer rounds were successful. Finally, the Build Team resorted to extreme measures in the form of high explosives and an 7.62mm Dillon Aero Dillon Aero INC Dillon Aero, Inc. is the manufacturer of the Air Force GAU-2B/A 7.62mm minigun. The company and production facility is located in Scottsdale, Arizona. Dillon is owned by Mike Dillon, the owner of Dillon Precision, a manufacture of reloading presses and other reloading equipment.- Television...  M134 Minigun The Minigun is a 7.62 mm, multi-barrel heavy machine gun with a high rate of fire , employing Gatling-style rotating barrels with an external power source...  minigun firing a mix of tracer Tracer ammunition Tracer ammunition are bullets that are built with a small pyrotechnic charge in their base. Ignited by the burning powder, the phosphorus tail burns very brightly, making the projectile visible to the naked eye...  and incendiary Incendiary device Incendiary weapons, incendiary devices or incendiary bombs are bombs designed to start fires or destroy sensitive equipment using materials such as napalm, thermite, chlorine trifluoride, or white phosphorus....  rounds at the same undisclosed location as "Shooting Fish in a Barrel". Both high explosives and the M134 Minigun The Minigun is a 7.62 mm, multi-barrel heavy machine gun with a high rate of fire , employing Gatling-style rotating barrels with an external power source...  were able to cause the propane tank to explode. The Build Team concluded the myth was busted as small arms were unable to explode a propane tank as depicted in Casino Royale Casino Royale (2006 film) Casino Royale is the twenty-first film in the James Bond film series and the first to star Daniel Craig as fictional MI6 agent James Bond... , and that Bond would not have been able to get hold of a gattling gun or incendiary rounds.

Speed Boat Survival

Myth statement	Status	Notes
A speedboat jumping off a ramp and flying through the air can survive the landing and continue driving. Based on a scene in Live and Let Die Live and Let Die (film) Live and Let Die is the eighth spy film in the James Bond series, and the first to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film was produced by Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman... .	Plausible	The MythBusters obtained a boat which was identical to the model Bond used in the movie. They then converted it so that it could be remote controlled and built a makeshift ramp in Lake Yosemite Lake Yosemite Lake Yosemite is an artificial freshwater lake located approximately five miles east of Merced, California in the rolling Sierra Foothills. UC Merced is situated approximately half a mile south of Lake Yosemite... . They even put a barge with a car under the ramp to simulate the exact scene from the movie. Adam drove the boat at the ramp at a speed of 45 miles per hour (72.4 km/h), but lost control of the boat at the last second and hit the ramp at an angle. As a result, the boat managed to clear the car, but flipped in the process. However, seeing that there was no visible damage to the boat, the MythBusters decided that the myth was plausible. It was also pointed out that the stunt team in Live and Let Die crashed 17 boats and made about a hundred practice runs just to perfect the jump.

Lead Balloon

The MythBusters, having already put the concrete glider through its paces, test another flight idiom.

Myth statement	Status	Notes
A 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...  balloon cannot fly (as per the idiom Idiom Idiom is an expression, word, or phrase that has a figurative meaning that is comprehended in regard to a common use of that expression that is separate from the literal meaning or definition of the words of which it is made... , "going down like a lead balloon").	Busted	Using lead foil, Adam and Jamie constructed a cube-shaped balloon with 10 foot (3 m) edges out of lead. Even without pure helium inside it (a mixture containing air was used to limit buoyancy Buoyancy In physics, buoyancy is a force exerted by a fluid that opposes an object's weight. In a column of fluid, pressure increases with depth as a result of the weight of the overlying fluid. Thus a column of fluid, or an object submerged in the fluid, experiences greater pressure at the bottom of the...  and reduce the possibility of tearing), the balloon was buoyant enough to support a basket Hot air balloon The hot air balloon is the oldest successful human-carrying flight technology. It is in a class of aircraft known as balloon aircraft. On November 21, 1783, in Paris, France, the first untethered manned flight was made by Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and François Laurent d'Arlandes in a hot air...  along with some ballast.

Explosive Surfing

Myth statement	Status	Notes
A person can surf on a wave generated by a few pounds of explosives as shown in an Internet viral video Viral video A viral video is one that becomes popular through the process of Internet sharing, typically through video sharing websites, social media and email...  (e.g. here).	Busted	The Build Team visited a quarry lake Quarry A quarry is a type of open-pit mine from which rock or minerals are extracted. Quarries are generally used for extracting building materials, such as dimension stone, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, and gravel. They are often collocated with concrete and asphalt plants due to the requirement...  and detonated TNT at several depths. They found that the best waves are formed from an explosion at a depth of 12 feet (3.7 m). They then used 200 pounds (90.7 kg) of TNT and a mechanical surfer (built by Grant) to see if it's possible to generate a wave large enough to surf. Even with two hundred pounds of high explosives, the wave was not large enough for surfing. In addition, the consultant (Dr. Van Romero) stated that an explosion of that magnitude would likely cause death by internal bleeding within 24 hours if someone was submerged in the water at the time.

Airplane on a Conveyor Belt

Myth statement	Status	Notes
A plane cannot take off while sitting on a conveyor belt moving in the opposite direction.	Busted	The MythBusters first performed a small scale test with a model airplane and a small conveyor belt and were not able to get the model plane to take off from the belt, it merely fell off the front of the conveyor belt. They then tested a model remote-controlled plane on a moving length of paper. The plane moved forward from its starting position and took off. Finally they upgraded to full scale using an actual manned plane and a runway-sized tarp as a makeshift conveyor belt. Like the small scale test, the plane moved forward from its starting position and was able to take off from the conveyor belt. The MythBusters explained that this was possible because unlike cars, an airplane's means of propulsion is through its propeller or jet engine, not its wheels; a car's engine mechanically moves its wheels, which use their contact with the road and the traction it provides to generate forward movement, while the plane's wheels are free-moving and independent of the propeller, which uses air displacement for forward thrust. Therefore, the conveyor belt has no bearing on the forward momentum of the plane.

Shaving Cream in a Car

Myth statement	Status	Notes
Freezing a can of shaving cream, cutting it out of the can, and then leaving it to thaw inside a car will cause the shaving cream to expand and fill the car interior.	Busted	The Build Team obtained some shaving cream, froze it, and then placed the contents into a car, but the results were disappointing as the shaving cream did not expand very much. They then put over fifty cans of frozen shaving cream inside, but that strategy failed to produce any results as well. Finally, the Build Team decided to fill the car with industrial strength foam, which would expand much more than shaving cream. The industrial strength foam expanded significantly and was able to fill the entire car. However, the myth was busted since the subject of the myth was shaving cream, which does not expand very much.

Cockroaches and Radiation

Myth statement	Status	Notes
Cockroach Cockroach Cockroaches are insects of the order Blattaria or Blattodea, of which about 30 species out of 4,500 total are associated with human habitations... es can survive the radiation of a nuclear holocaust Nuclear holocaust Nuclear holocaust refers to the possibility of the near complete annihilation of human civilization by nuclear warfare. Under such a scenario, all or most of the Earth is made uninhabitable by nuclear weapons in future world wars....  and then inherit the Earth.	Busted	To thoroughly test the myth, the Build Team obtained three different kinds of insects: cockroaches, flour beetles, and fruit flies Drosophila Drosophila is a genus of small flies, belonging to the family Drosophilidae, whose members are often called "fruit flies" or more appropriately pomace flies, vinegar flies, or wine flies, a reference to the characteristic of many species to linger around overripe or rotting fruit... , and exposed them to varying amounts of Cobalt-60 Cobalt-60 Cobalt-60, , is a synthetic radioactive isotope of cobalt. Due to its half-life of 5.27 years, is not found in nature. It is produced artificially by neutron activation of . decays by beta decay to the stable isotope nickel-60...  radiation. They then observed the insects for the next thirty days to see how many would survive after exposure. Surprisingly, the flies and beetles performed much better than the cockroaches, with the beetles being the only insect able to survive the most lethal dose of radiation the Build Team used.
Cockroaches could survive a flood much longer than humans.	Confirmed	In an experiment shown only in the website, the Build Team placed five German cockroaches in separate containers, which were each filled with water and let sit for 30 minutes. When released, the cockroaches were not moving. But after waiting a day, the cockroaches had revived. This was explained by the fact that the insects do not need as much oxygen Oxygen Oxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...  as humans so that they can survive underwater longer.

Exploding Pen

Myth statement	Status	Notes
A Ballpoint pen Ballpoint pen A ballpoint pen is a writing instrument with an internal ink reservoir and a sphere for a point. The internal chamber is filled with a viscous ink that is dispensed at its tip during use by the rolling action of a small sphere...  bomb Bomb A bomb is any of a range of explosive weapons that only rely on the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy...  can be used to completely destroy the top of a mannequin. Based on the gadget from GoldenEye GoldenEye GoldenEye is the seventeenth spy film in the James Bond series, and the first to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film was directed by Martin Campbell and is the first film in the series not to take story elements from the works of novelist Ian Fleming... .	Busted	Using normal sized pens filled with explosives, the MythBusters demonstrated that a pen bomb could be fatal. However they needed an unrealistically large pen to completely destroy the top half of the foam dummy they used.

Killer Hat

Myth statement	Status	Notes
A metal brimmed Bowler hat Bowler hat The bowler hat, also known as a coke hat, derby , billycock or bombin, is a hard felt hat with a rounded crown originally created in 1849 for the English soldier and politician Edward Coke, the younger brother of the 2nd Earl of Leicester...  can be thrown hard enough to knock the head off of a stone Stone sculpture Stone sculpture is the result of forming 3-dimensional visually interesting objects from stone.Carving stone into sculpture is an activity older than civilization itself, beginning perhaps with incised images on cave walls. Prehistoric sculptures were usually human forms, such as the Venus of...  statue Statue A statue is a sculpture in the round representing a person or persons, an animal, an idea or an event, normally full-length, as opposed to a bust, and at least close to life-size, or larger... . Based on a scene in Goldfinger Goldfinger (film) Goldfinger is the third spy film in the James Bond series and the third to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Released in 1964, it is based on the novel of the same name by Ian Fleming. The film also stars Honor Blackman as Bond girl Pussy Galore and Gert Fröbe as the title... .	Busted	The Build Team made two duplicates of the hat worn by Oddjob, built a hat throwing robot, and acquired a few statues as test targets. The difference between the two hats was that one had a dull steel edge while the other had a sharp steel edge. The bonded marble statue they first tested was decapitated by the robot, but as it was not actually solid stone it was not considered a valid test. They next tested a concrete Concrete Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...  statue on the premise that it would be a good match for the hardness of natural stone, even though it was weaker than solid marble. It was chipped several times but not badly damaged, meaning that there is no way for a thrown hat to decapitate a solid stone statue. The Build Team did however prove that it was possible to decapitate a plaster statue with a bowler hat, since plaster is significantly more fragile than stone.

Jaws of Steel

Myth statement	Status	Notes
A person can use a set of metal teeth to bite through a cable car Gondola lift A gondola lift is a type of aerial lift, normally called a cable car, which is supported and propelled by cables from above. It consists of a loop of steel cable that is strung between two stations, sometimes over intermediate supporting towers. The cable is driven by a bullwheel in a terminal,... 's cable Cable A cable is two or more wires running side by side and bonded, twisted or braided together to form a single assembly. In mechanics cables, otherwise known as wire ropes, are used for lifting, hauling and towing or conveying force through tension. In electrical engineering cables are used to carry... . Based on a scene in Moonraker Moonraker (film) Moonraker is the eleventh spy film in the James Bond series, and the fourth to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The third and final film in the series to be directed by Lewis Gilbert, it co-stars Lois Chiles, Michael Lonsdale, Corinne Clery, and Richard Kiel... .	Busted	Adam and Jamie created two versions of the teeth shown in the movies. One was a set of steel teeth set in a normal bone jaw, and the other set was a jaw and teeth made out of hardened steel. However, neither jaw was able to cut through the one inch cable they used with normal human bite strength. Not even 10 tons worth of force was able to force the teeth through the cable, with the hydraulic press Hydraulic press A hydraulic is a machine using a hydraulic cylinder to generate a compressive force. It uses the hydraulic equivalenta mechanical lever, and was also known as a Bramah press after the inventor, Joseph Bramah, of England. He invented and was issued a patent on this press in 1795...  applying the pressure actually bending itself out of shape. In order to replicate the results seen in the film, Jamie had to use a hydraulic cutter Hydraulic Rescue Tools Hydraulic rescue tools are used by emergency rescue personnel to assist vehicle extrication of crash victims, as well as other rescues from small spaces. These tools include cutters, spreaders, door busters and rams...  to sever the cable.

Martinis: Shaken vs. Stirred

Though this is not actually a myth, the Build Team decided to test why James Bond prefers his martinis "shaken, not stirred

Shaken, not stirred

"Shaken, not stirred" is a catchphrase of Ian Fleming's fictional British Secret Service agent James Bond, and his preference for how he wished his martini prepared. The phrase first appears in the novel Diamonds Are Forever , though Bond does not actually say the line until Dr...

."

Myth statement	Status	Notes
There is a difference between shaken and stirred martinis.	Confirmed	On physical inspection, the shaken martini is cloudier because of the ice that was crushed because of the shaking, compared to stirred one, which is clear. But when the ice in the shaken martini melts, it is similar to the stirred martini. In a blind taste test wherein only Tory knew the clear shaken martinis and the stirred ones, Kari, Grant and the expert hired for the myth (Anthony Dias Blue, who previously appeared in "Vodka Myths III") were able to correctly distinguish the shaken ones. Several explanations on why this is so were also given. (See the article Shaken, not stirred Shaken, not stirred "Shaken, not stirred" is a catchphrase of Ian Fleming's fictional British Secret Service agent James Bond, and his preference for how he wished his martini prepared. The phrase first appears in the novel Diamonds Are Forever , though Bond does not actually say the line until Dr...  for details.)

Ancient Arrows

Question

Notes

A professor of archeology wanted to know why there are so many arrowheads found, when cavemen could have easily used sharpened sticks.

There was no myth to test here; the task was to find if arrowheads were overall more effective than sharpened sticks. Adam and Jamie created sharpened sticks and arrowheads from scratch, noting that it took much longer to make the arrowheads. When fired into ballistics gel, the arrowheads went in farther than the sticks. After putting some fur over the gel, the results were the same, and it was noted that the arrowheads made bigger wounds in the target, which would mean faster bleeding to death for the animal. Adam pointed out that arrowheads would have been akin to caveman technology, and would be widely used. Jamie also pointed out that sharpened wooden sticks would have rotted away after so long and therefore would have not been found.

Tree Machine Gun

Myth Statement	Status	Notes
It is possible to chop down a tree with a machine gun.	Confirmed	The build team obtained large pine tree trunks and set them up in the Mojave Desert. Using a Thompson submachine gun Thompson submachine gun The Thompson is an American submachine gun, invented by John T. Thompson in 1919, that became infamous during the Prohibition era. It was a common sight in the media of the time, being used by both law enforcement officers and criminals...  and a M249 SAW, the trees were shot at, but they managed to remain standing. The .45 bullets were too slow and inaccurate being shot out of the Thompson, and the small caliber of the 5.56 mm NATO rounds meant that it did not cause enough damage to fell the tree. However, when Kari used a Dillon Aero M134D minigun Minigun The Minigun is a 7.62 mm, multi-barrel heavy machine gun with a high rate of fire , employing Gatling-style rotating barrels with an external power source...  that fired 7.62mm NATO at 50 rounds per second, the pine trunk combusted and collapsed within a minute. Even firing at a mesquite Mesquite Mesquite is a leguminous plant of the Prosopis genus found in northern Mexico through the Sonoran Desert and Chihuahuan Deserts, and up into the Southwestern United States as far north as southern Kansas, west to the Colorado Desert in California,and east to the eastern fifth of Texas, where...  tree (which is four times as dense as pine) led to the same result, although it took a little longer (just over a minute) to fell it. (Not pointed out in the actual episode is that John Browning John Browning John Moses Browning , born in Ogden, Utah, was an American firearms designer who developed many varieties of military and civilian firearms, cartridges, and gun mechanisms, many of which are still in use around the world... 's original demonstration of his M2 Machine Gun involved felling a tree with the powerful .50cal rounds.)

Eye Black

Myth Statement	Status	Notes
The reason baseball Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...  players wear black markings Eye black Eye black is a grease applied under the eyes to reduce glare. It is often used by baseball and American football players, where sunlight or stadium lights can impair vision of an airborne ball. Eye black has been used for centuries to help reduce the glare of the sun.Traditional grease consists of...  under their eyes is to help reduce glare from the sun.	Plausible	Adam and Jamie put black eye paint under their eyes and took an eye exam, then repeated with lighter, peach colored eye paint. Their scores were the same each time. Adam then set up a light meter in a dummy's eye and recorded the lux Lux The lux is the SI unit of illuminance and luminous emittance, measuring luminous flux per unit area. It is used in photometry as a measure of the intensity, as perceived by the human eye, of light that hits or passes through a surface...  reading in the eye with and without the paint, but the results were not very different. Adam then put a baseball cap on the dummy and repeated it again, and noticed that with the black eye paint on, the lux reading significantly dropped. The theory behind this is that, while the cap is able to block most of the direct light, there's still plenty of light being reflected off of one's cheeks and into the eye; the eye black could be meant to reduce this reflected light.

Jeans High Wire Escape

Myth Statement	Status	Notes
It is possible to escape a ski lift Ski lift The term ski lift generally refers to any transport device that carries skiers up a hill. A ski lift may fall into one of the following three main classes:-Lift systems and networks:...  by sliding down the cable using one's pants as a zip line.	Busted	The build team went to a circus training center and tried to slide down a wire similar to the ones used in ski lifts while hanging onto pants. Tory barely moved, and the pants were more likely to rip apart. After lubricating the wire, though, it became a little easier. Once the build team tried it on a real ski lift, however, the friction was too great, the pants kept bunching up, and Tory was not able to move easily. Buster had no momentum at all, and the pants eventually ripped.

Leaking Powder Keg

Myth Statement	Status	Notes
A flame can follow a trail of powder from a leaking barrel and travel up into the barrel, much like in a cartoon.	Confirmed	Adam and Jamie set up a trail of black powder which burned down the line as predicted. They set up another trail from a funnel and kept the leaking funnel at the end, and the ignited trail carried up into the funnel. Later, a robot carrying a leaking barrel was set up and started to move. But when the ignited trail reached the robot, it did not follow up the falling powder and into the barrel. It was only when they increased the size of the hole and had the barrel shaking that the ignition followed into the barrel.

On the MythBusters fansite, the build team tested another short myth.

Myth statement	Status	Notes
One can unlock a car door by having its remote unlocker frequency transmitted through a cell phone call.	Busted	When the unlocker was activated near the cell phone, the car door did not open on the other end. In addition, Grant explained that car unlockers and cell phones operate on completely different frequencies. A cell phone deals with frequency within the range of human speech, which is less than 10 kHz. So due to bandwidth restrictions, it would therefore be impossible to recreate the signal of the unlocker.

Sodium Jailbreak

Myth Statement	Status	Notes
A person can blow a man-sized hole in a wall with one gram of sodium reacting with water.	Busted	The MythBusters placed sodium in a gel capsule, placed it in a bottle full of warm water, placed the bottle against a cinder block wall, and packed it in with sand. However, one gram of sodium was not powerful enough to damage the wall (or even the bottle it was in), and 100 grams of sodium was also not enough. The MythBusters then used 500 grams of more-reactive potassium placed inside a cannon-like contraption to direct all the force onto the wall, but still failed to cause any damage. The MythBusters finally resorted to using C4 high explosive to demolish the wall.

Bamboo Ultralight

Myth Statement	Status	Notes
A person can make a working two seater ultralight plane out of makeshift materials.	Busted	Taking footage from the show, the Build Team built an ultralight plane out of 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.... , duct tape, trash bags, and a cement mixer engine. The show depicted the plane MacGyver built as not being powerful enough to achieve flight on its own, but was able to attain enough lift to sustain powered flight after taxiing off a cliff. With their plane complete, the Build Team added remote controls and took the plane to a quarry that had flat, level ground and a 150 feet (45.7 m) cliff. While they demonstrated that the plane's engine had enough power to move the plane, it was not enough to achieve flight and the plane plummeted straight to the ground.
An ultralight plane can make a safe landing while gliding. (This test is only shown on the website.)	Confirmed	Kari demonstrated that even without engine power, an ultralight plane can stay in the air long enough for the pilot to safely land.
An ultralight plane can keep sustained flight with a 9 hp engine. (This test is only shown on the website.)	Busted	Grant demonstrated that 9 hp is not enough power to keep a plane in the air, as the test showed that the plane was dropping 200 feet (61 m) per minute.

MacGyver Challenge

Adam and Jamie were put under a battery of tests to prove that they could match 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...

's ingenuity. They were not necessarily testing these myths to bust or confirm them, but whether they had the smarts and the ability to make them work without any preparation. In each test, Adam and Jamie had a one hour time limit and could only use the materials that they were provided by Tory and Grant.

Task	Status	Notes
Picking a lock using light bulb filaments.	Pass	While the show had MacGyver picking the lock in just 52 seconds, it took the MythBusters 52 minutes to pick the lock.
Developing film with ordinary household chemicals like ammonia and orange juice.	Fail	Both Adam and Jamie were placed in a room that had multiple household chemicals that included the necessary ones to develop photos. While Adam did have some experience in developing photos and could remember the necessary ingredients, he could not remember the exact process and the MythBusters were unable to develop the photos within the given time limit. (The proper technique to develop film this way is to soak the film in orange juice for 10 min. and then wash it with ammonia as a fixer, all without exposing the film to light.)
Creating a makeshift magnetic compass.	Pass	Adam and Jamie built a makeshift electromagnet by wrapping wire around a metal screw and connecting it to some batteries. They then used the electromagnet to magnetize a paper clip, put the paper clip in a cork, and floated the cork in a cup of water to create a compass. While it was not perfect, it was good enough to direct the MythBusters to their next objective.
Creating a makeshift device that can go 100 feet (30.5 m) into the air and attract the attention of a passing helicopter.	Pass	Using materials found at an improvised "rebel camp," the MythBusters were left to try to create some kind of signal that would be visible 100 ft (30.5 m) in the air. Tory and Grant originally intended for Adam and Jamie to build a potato cannon and left the requisite materials, but the MythBusters had different ideas. They used a tarp, PVC pipe, and a rope to create a large kite, and though it took several failed attempts, they were able to get it to fly at a height of 100 feet (30.5 m) within minutes of the time limit expiring.

Episode 101 – "Alaska Special"

• Original airdate: April 23, 2008

The MythBusters went to Alaska as part of the Discovery Channel's 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...

 Week.

Dynamite Dog

Myth statement	Status	Notes
If a dog retrieves a stick of dynamite thrown onto a frozen lake and gets underneath an SUV, the dynamite will blow a hole in the ice that will cause the SUV to sink.	Busted	To test this myth, Adam and Jamie went to Fischer Pond in Alaska. The dog consistently retrieved and brought back the object thrown onto the frozen lake, at about the same speed each time. However, under the SUV, the dynamite did next to nothing. It took 24 pounds (10.9 kg) of dynamite (packed into high-density directional cones) to blow a hole large enough to sink the SUV. This myth had formed part of the plot of the 2006 movie The Darwin Awards The Darwin Awards (film) The Darwin Awards is a 2006 American adventure comedy film based on the website of the same name.Written and directed by Finn Taylor, the film premiered January 25, 2006, at the Sundance Film Festival... , in which Adam and Jamie had cameo appearances.

Cabin Fever

Myth statement	Status	Notes
Cabin fever Cabin fever Cabin fever is an idiomatic term for a claustrophobic reaction that takes place when a person or group is isolated and/or shut in a small space, with nothing to do, for an extended period...  is real.	Plausible	To test this myth, Adam and Jamie were locked inside separate cabins in Alaska, with no entertainment at all. Both regularly took cognitive tests (to measure mental capacity) and saliva tests (to measure stress). However, the results of the cognitive tests were too consistent, and the saliva tests were rendered worthless by the fact that Adam and Jamie frequently sullied them by eating and drinking beforehand. However, Adam exhibited all four common symptoms of cabin fever (irritability, forgetfulness, restlessness, and excessive sleeping) and Jamie exhibited one (excessive sleeping).

Moose Mayhem

Myth statement	Status	Notes
It is better to run over a moose at high speed than with the brakes.	Busted	To test this belief, the Build Team first created a rubber model of a moose with similar weight and consistency after personal study of actual animals. They then ran similar passenger cars into the moose at different speeds and found that while greater speeds did make the moose hit higher, it still did not clear the car and still caused extreme amounts of damage. They repeated the test with a low sports car at the highest test track speed to give the moose the best chance of clearing the roof, but again it was not enough and the moose damaged the car enough that any driver would have been seriously injured. The Build Team surmised that for the moose to actually clear a car would require a vehicle as low as a Formula One Formula One Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...  race car traveling at 97 miles per hour (156.1 km/h).

Episode 102 – "Shark Week Special 2"

• Original airdate: July 27, 2008

This was a double length episode for Shark Week

Shark Week

The Discovery Channel's Shark Week, which first aired on July 27, 1987, is a week-long series of feature television programs dedicated to sharks. Shark Week is held annually, normally running in July or August. Shark Week was developed to help the average person have a greater respect for sharks....

 2008 in which seven myths were tested.

Eye Gouge

Myth statement	Status	Notes
Could a person find and poke the eyes of a shark in the fury of a shark attack?	Plausible	To test this, Adam and Jamie built a robot shark they named Bruce, after the shark in Jaws Jaws (film series) Jaws is an American film franchise that consists of a novel, four films, a theme park ride, and other tie-in merchandise. The franchise primarily focuses on a great white shark, and its attacks on people in specific areas of the United States. The Brody family is featured in all of the films as the... . Bruce could move like a true shark would in an attack. He was equipped with stop switches for eyes and two sets of teeth (one metal, and a softer set for the test). They put Bruce in the water, and Tory and Adam in its mouth. When tested, they found that some positions of the body make it harder to hit the eyes. Lying face up took the smallest amount of time, while lying face down—like someone would on a surf board—was much harder.

Playing Dead

The myth was said to be borne out of claims from several survivors of the sinking of the USS Indianapolis

USS Indianapolis (CA-35)

USS Indianapolis was a of the United States Navy. She holds a place in history due to the circumstances of her sinking, which led to the greatest single loss of life at sea in the history of the U.S. Navy...

.

Myth statement	Status	Notes
In shark-infested waters, "playing dead" can aid a person in avoiding a potential attack.	Confirmed	Grant and Tory took turns playing the "dead sailor" and the panicked sailor. The sharks seem to be interested in the panicked sailor more than the dead one, even when Grant and Tory switched roles.

Animal Magnetism

Myth statement	Status	Notes
Magnets will be able to repel a shark by messing with its keen electromagnetic senses.	Busted	When tested on a small nurse shark in a confined area, the shark did seem to have a distinct aversion to the powerful magnets, but when tested in a real-world scenario and with larger sharks, there was no appreciable difference in the sharks' behavior.

Dog Bait

Myth statement	Status	Notes
A shark will attack a dog swimming in the water, as the dog's swimming mimics the vibrations of an injured fish.	Busted	The build team built a robot dog they named Robo Dog, with the correct sounds, movement, and smell. When they put Robo dog in the water there was no behavior from the sharks that changed because of the robot, even when the urine and scent was released. There was, however, a slight reaction when the blood was released.

Spicy Salsa Shark Shield

Myth statement	Status	Notes
Chili pepper and/or salsa is a good deterrent against sharks.	Busted	The sharks attacked every balloon the MythBusters used for the test, both the controls and the ones filled with salsa. None of the sharks appeared to be affected by the salsa at all.

Fatal Flashlight

Myth statement	Status	Notes
During a night dive, a person will attract more sharks with a flashlight than without it.	Plausible	The build team went under water to an old sunken ship at night first without flashlights for 20 minutes. The only light was very small so the camera could see the team better (with light magnification). Tory saw four sharks on the first go, Grant saw two, and Kari only saw a turtle Sea turtle Sea turtles are marine reptiles that inhabit all of the world's oceans except the Arctic.-Distribution:... . The second go with flashlights was much different. Not only did they see more sharks, but they also were attacking much more aggressively. They pulled the plug five minutes early because it was becoming too dangerous. In the second round Tory saw six sharks, Grant four, and Kari two (and still saw the turtle), twice the amount of the first run in only 75% the time.

Fish Flap

Myth statement	Status	Notes
The sound of a flapping fish will attract more sharks than if the fish was stationary.	Plausible	Adam and Jamie decided to retest this myth from their previous Shark Week special due to fear that their use of a real fish skewed the results (by allowing the sharks to see and smell the fish as well as hear it). For the retest, they used plastic fish cut-outs shielded by screens, so that only the flapping would be available to the sharks. There was some increase in shark activity towards the flapping fish, but not enough to be especially appreciable until the screen was removed and the sharks could see the fish. In the end, Adam and Jamie both agree that, while the sound of the fish flapping can very well get the sharks' interests up initially, it is not enough to hold that interest without additional stimuli.

Exploding Meat

Myth statement	Status	Notes
An explosion can tenderize a steak.	Confirmed	Adam and Jamie first placed tough cuts of steak in three explosive rigs (the first with a large high explosive, the second with a small black powder explosive, the third with a medium high explosive charge in a suspended vessel with a heavy steel plate). In all rigs the steaks and explosives were placed in water to equalize the concussive force. The steaks were cooked and compared to two controls, an untouched steak and a steak with powdered meat tenderizer. The steaks were put in a blind taste test, but the judges (i. e. Adam, Jamie, and Ron Siegel Ron Siegel Ron Siegel is an American chef working in San Francisco. He is currently Chef of the Dining Room at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, taking over for Chef Sylvain Portray in 2004. Siegel is perhaps best known for his 1998 appearance on Iron Chef, becoming the first ever U.S. citizen to win in Kitchen Stadium... ) were inconsistent in determining what steak was most tender. The MythBusters then tried to tenderize steaks by shooting them out of an air cannon into a steel target or placing them with large ball bearings into a clothes dryer. The meat was then tested using a device similar to USDA United States Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture is the United States federal executive department responsible for developing and executing U.S. federal government policy on farming, agriculture, and food...  machines for determining meat toughness. The machine proved to be an objective and consistent method for testing, and both methods for pulverizing the steaks were shown to be successful. Adam and Jamie then retried all the explosive rigs and tested the meat with the device. The exploded meat was far more tender than the control.

Don't Drive Angry

Myth statement	Status	Notes
Driving while angry decreases fuel economy.	Confirmed	Tory and Grant drove a test course through deserted suburban streets (an abandoned military housing subdivision for the former Fort Ord Fort Ord Fort Ord was a U.S. Army post on Monterey Bay in California. It was established in 1917 as a maneuver area and field artillery target range and was closed in September 1994. Fort Ord was one of the most attractive locations of any U.S. Army post, because of its proximity to the beach and California...  in Marina, California Marina, California Marina is a city in Monterey County, California, United States. The population was 19,718 at the 2010 census. Marina is located along the central coast of California, west of Salinas, and 8 miles north of Monterey, at an elevation of 43 feet . Marina was incorporated in 1975 and is the newest city...  36.67043°N 121.79783°W) which included an aggressive driver, a slow driver, a person walking through a crosswalk, and a parking test. Before the first test, they were both given stimulus designed to relax them, including massage, contact with puppies, and seeing favorite movies. Before the second, they were given stimulus designed to aggravate them, including large amounts of caffeine, denial of bathroom facilities, getting a more painful massage, Grant's feet being put in water with fish, and a false revelation that they were given laxatives. Both drivers used about a third more fuel in the second run than the first—Tory used more fuel even though he took the wrong path and completed only two-thirds of the required course distance.

Episode 104 – "NASA Moon Landing"

• Original airdate: August 27, 2008
• Announced by "This Week at NASA" on NASA
  NASA
  The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
  
   TV on February 8, 2008. "The Marshall Space Flight Center
  Marshall Space Flight Center
  The George C. Marshall Space Flight Center is the U.S. government's civilian rocketry and spacecraft propulsion research center. The largest center of NASA, MSFC's first mission was developing the Saturn launch vehicles for the Apollo moon program...
  
   hosted the MythBusters television show. The MythBusters chose Marshall as one of several NASA locations for an episode to debunk the notion that NASA never landed on the moon.  The cast conducted tests involving a feather, a weight, a lunar soil boot print, and a flag in a vacuum. A team of Marshall scientists helped with the tests."

Faked Photos

Myth Statement	Status	Notes
One of the NASA photos is fake because the shadows of the rocks and lunar lander are not parallel.	Busted	The MythBusters built a small scale replica of the lunar landing site with a flat surface and a single distant spotlight to represent the Sun. They took a photo and all the shadows in the photo were parallel, as the myth proposed. They then adjusted the topography Topography Topography is the study of Earth's surface shape and features or those ofplanets, moons, and asteroids...  of the model surface to include a slight hill around the location of the near rocks so the shadows fell on a slope instead of a flat surface. The resulting photograph had the same shadow directions as the original NASA photograph from Apollo 14 Apollo 14 Apollo 14 was the eighth manned mission in the American Apollo program, and the third to land on the Moon. It was the last of the "H missions", targeted landings with two-day stays on the Moon with two lunar EVAs, or moonwalks.... .
One of the NASA photos is fake because Buzz Aldrin Buzz Aldrin Buzz Aldrin is an American mechanical engineer, retired United States Air Force pilot and astronaut who was the Lunar Module pilot on Apollo 11, the first manned lunar landing in history...  can be clearly seen while in the shadow of the lunar lander.	Busted	To test this, the MythBusters built a much larger scale (1:6) replica of the landing site, including a dust surface with a color and albedo Albedo Albedo , or reflection coefficient, is the diffuse reflectivity or reflecting power of a surface. It is defined as the ratio of reflected radiation from the surface to incident radiation upon it...  similar to lunar soil Lunar soil Lunar soil is the fine fraction of the regolith found on the surface of the Moon. Its properties can differ significantly from those of terrestrial soil... . The MythBusters then took a photograph which was nearly identical to the original NASA photo from Apollo 11 Apollo 11 In early 1969, Bill Anders accepted a job with the National Space Council effective in August 1969 and announced his retirement as an astronaut. At that point Ken Mattingly was moved from the support crew into parallel training with Anders as backup Command Module Pilot in case Apollo 11 was... . The MythBusters explained that the astronaut Astronaut An astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....  was visible because of light being reflected off the Moon Moon The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more... 's surface.

Vacuum Myths

In order to test these myths, the Build Team made a trip to the Marshall Space Flight Center

Marshall Space Flight Center

The George C. Marshall Space Flight Center is the U.S. government's civilian rocketry and spacecraft propulsion research center. The largest center of NASA, MSFC's first mission was developing the Saturn launch vehicles for the Apollo moon program...

 to use one of their specialized vacuum chamber

Vacuum chamber

A vacuum chamber is a rigid enclosure from which air and other gases are removed by a vacuum pump. The resulting low pressure, commonly referred to as a vacuum, allows researchers to conduct physical experiments or to test mechanical devices which must operate in outer space...

s. The hammer and feather demonstration was not aired in the original episode due to time constraints, but can be seen as a supplement on the MythBusters website.

Myth statement	Status	Notes
Footage of the American flag planted on the Moon shows it flapping, and a flag cannot flap in a vacuum, so it could not have been filmed on the Moon.	Busted	The Build Team placed a replica of the American flag planted on the Moon Lunar Flag Assembly The Lunar Flag Assembly was a flag of the United States and flagpole planted on the Moon by the Apollo astronauts. It was specially designed with a horizontal pole to support the flag on the airless Moon, to make it appear similar to how it would look waving in the wind on Earth...  into the vacuum chamber. They manipulated the flag in a manner similar to what the astronauts did when they planted the flag on the Moon, then stopped the manipulation. They first tested at normal pressure; the momentum moved the flag around somewhat but quickly dissipated. In pure vacuum conditions, after the manipulation stopped, the momentum Momentum In classical mechanics, linear momentum or translational momentum is the product of the mass and velocity of an object...  caused the flag to flap wildly as if it were being blown by a breeze. This is because there was no resistance from air to dampen the motion. This proved that in a vacuum, a flag does not need wind to flap for a while after a person sets it in motion.
A clear footprint cannot be made in vacuum because there is no moisture to hold its shape.	Busted	The Build Team first tested whether dry or wet sand made a more distinguishable footprint by stepping in them with an astronaut boot. It was clear that the wet footprint had more detail than the dry footprint. They then placed sand similar in composition to the soil on the Moon in a vacuum chamber and stepped on it with an astronaut boot, which made a clear print. The reason for this is that the composition of lunar soil differs from terrestrial sand, meaning it behaves differently when stepped on. Terrestrial soil is weathered and rounded, so the particles do not support each other's weight very well. Lunar soil, because it is not weathered, has a more jagged texture, so the particles "lock" with each other and will hold the shape of the imprint much more clearly.
In a vacuum, a feather and a hammer will drop at the same rate and hit the ground at the same time.	Confirmed	Kari first dropped a hammer and feather at atmospheric pressure, showing that air resistance caused the feather to fall more slowly than the hammer. However, in the vacuum chamber, it was proven that the hammer and feather dropped at the same rate.

Slowed Film Fakery

Myth statement	Status	Notes
The film of the astronauts moonwalking is actually film of the astronauts skipping in front of a high frame-rate camera, slowing down the picture and giving the illusion they are on the Moon.	Busted	Adam donned a replica NASA space suit Space suit A space suit is a garment worn to keep an astronaut alive in the harsh environment of outer space. Space suits are often worn inside spacecraft as a safety precaution in case of loss of cabin pressure, and are necessary for extra-vehicular activity , work done outside spacecraft...  and mimicked the astronauts' motions while being filmed by a slow motion camera. They also attached Adam to wires in order to mimic the Moon's lower gravity. While comparing the new and original footage, the MythBusters noted that at first glance, they looked similar, but there were many small discrepancies due to filming in Earth's gravity. In order to film in microgravity, the MythBusters boarded a Reduced Gravity Aircraft Vomit Comet A Reduced Gravity Aircraft is a type of fixed-wing aircraft that briefly provides a nearly weightless environment in which to train astronauts, conduct research and film motion pictures....  run by Zero Gravity Corporation Zero Gravity Corporation Zero Gravity Corporation is an American company based in Vienna, Virginia, formerly of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, which operates weightless flights from United States airports...  and filmed exactly the same movements. Adam noted that the movements were more comfortable and made more sense in microgravity, and the footage from the plane looked exactly like the original film. The MythBusters concluded that the Moon landing film is authentic.

Moon Laser

Claim	Status	Notes
The Apollo astronauts left special equipment on the Moon, like reflectors Lunar laser ranging experiment The ongoing Lunar Laser Ranging Experiment measures the distance between the Earth and the Moon using laser ranging. Lasers on Earth are aimed at retroreflectors planted on the moon during the Apollo program, and the time for the reflected light to return is determined...  off which Earth-bound scientists can bounce lasers.	Confirmed	The MythBusters went to Apache Point Observatory Apache Point Observatory Lunar Laser-ranging Operation The Apache Point Observatory Lunar Laser-ranging Operation, or APOLLO, is a project at the Apache Point Observatory in New Mexico. It is an extension and advancement of previous Lunar Laser Ranging Experiment, which uses retroreflectors on the Moon to track changes in lunar orbital distance and... , which is equipped with a high-powered 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... . They first fired it at the bare lunar surface but did not detect the laser bouncing back. They then pointed the laser at a retroreflector Retroreflector A retroreflector is a device or surface that reflects light back to its source with a minimum scattering of light. An electromagnetic wave front is reflected back along a vector that is parallel to but opposite in direction from the wave's source. The device or surface's angle of incidence is...  left behind by Apollo 15 Apollo 15 Apollo 15 was the ninth manned mission in the American Apollo space program, the fourth to land on the Moon and the eighth successful manned mission. It was the first of what were termed "J missions", long duration stays on the Moon with a greater focus on science than had been possible on previous...  and received a confirmed bounce.

Fireman's Lift

Myth statement	Status	Notes
A small car can be lifted into the air by high pressure fire hoses.	Confirmed	The MythBusters first created a small scale experiment using a model car and a set of garden hoses connected to a single fire hose. The small scale model worked perfectly, proving that the basic idea was at least possible. Before the full scale test, the duo decide to find out the pounds of thrust by using a machine, however the water pressure destroyed the machine. But during the full scale experiment, the MythBusters could not get the car to levitate. Part of the problem was because the necessary pressure to lift the weight of the car was beyond the water pressure the city's system could provide. They then got the idea to take out the car's engine block, deducing that the people who performed the stunt in the viral video may have done the same thing. Once the engine was removed, the car then levitated a full 15 feet (4.6 m) in the air for 45 seconds.

Fainting Goats

Myth statement	Status	Notes
Goat Goat The domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the Bovidae family and is closely related to the sheep as both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over three hundred distinct breeds of... s can be startled into fainting Syncope (medicine) Syncope , the medical term for fainting, is precisely defined as a transient loss of consciousness and postural tone characterized by rapid onset, short duration, and spontaneous recovery due to global cerebral hypoperfusion that most often results from hypotension.Many forms of syncope are... .	Confirmed	Tory and Kari went to a goat farm and attempted to scare some goats into fainting Fainting goat A fainting goat is a breed of domestic goat whose muscles freeze for roughly 10 seconds when the goat is startled. Though painless, this generally results in the animal collapsing on its side. The characteristic is caused by a hereditary genetic disorder called myotonia congenita. When startled,... . Initially, they had trouble doing so; they tried many things from using an umbrella to hiding in food to Kari flashing Exhibitionism Exhibitionism refers to a desire or compulsion to expose parts of one's body – specifically the genitals or buttocks of a man or woman, or the breasts of a woman – in a public or semi-public circumstance, in crowds or groups of friends or acquaintances, or to strangers...  the goats (causing Tory to pretend to faint). Eventually they managed to prove that goats can indeed literally be scared stiff (the crew was accidentally causing goats to faint). The attending goat handler explained that some goats, when startled or scared, involuntarily stiffen their leg muscles which can cause them to fall over and give the appearance of fainting. Tory and Kari warned that results are subjective depending on the goats, but the myth is still very true.

Sawdust Cannon

Myth statement	Status	Notes
A person can create a huge fireball by firing a cloud of sawdust and igniting it with a flare.	Confirmed	The Build Team built the cannon according to the specifications shown in the video and replicated the experiment. While it initially looked as if it was going to be busted, the sawdust actually ignited into a large fireball exactly as shown in the video. The Build Team then decided to scale up the sawdust experiment, using a larger more powerful cannon and extremely flammable powdered non-dairy creamer Non-dairy creamer Non-dairy creamers are liquid or granular substances intended to substitute for milk or cream as an additive to coffee or other beverages. They do not contain lactose and therefore are commonly described as not being dairy products... . This created a massive fireball that greatly startled the Build Team and buried one of their ground-level cameras under a thick layer of burnt creamer.

Invisible Water

Myth statement	Status	Notes
"Invisible water" can be created to make it look as if a tin foil boat was floating in the air.	Confirmed	Adam and Jamie filled a fishtank with sulfur hexafluoride Sulfur hexafluoride Sulfur hexafluoride is an inorganic, colorless, odorless, and non-flammable greenhouse gas. has an octahedral geometry, consisting of six fluorine atoms attached to a central sulfur atom. It is a hypervalent molecule. Typical for a nonpolar gas, it is poorly soluble in water but soluble in... , a gas six times denser than air, and placed a foil boat in it. The resulting buoyancy Buoyancy In physics, buoyancy is a force exerted by a fluid that opposes an object's weight. In a column of fluid, pressure increases with depth as a result of the weight of the overlying fluid. Thus a column of fluid, or an object submerged in the fluid, experiences greater pressure at the bottom of the...  force was enough to keep the boat from sinking to the bottom.

iOnion

This was a myth based on a video posted 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....

 website (it was this video created by the 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....

). This myth was cut for time, which was why it was not shown in the actual episode. It was instead posted as a supplement on the MythBusters website.

Myth statement	Status	Notes
One can charge an MP3 MP3 MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...  music player like an iPod IPod iPod is a line of portable media players created and marketed by Apple Inc. The product line-up currently consists of the hard drive-based iPod Classic, the touchscreen iPod Touch, the compact iPod Nano, and the ultra-compact iPod Shuffle...  by plugging a USB cable into an onion Onion The onion , also known as the bulb onion, common onion and garden onion, is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. The genus Allium also contains a number of other species variously referred to as onions and cultivated for food, such as the Japanese bunching onion The onion...  that has been soaked in electrolyte Electrolyte In chemistry, an electrolyte is any substance containing free ions that make the substance electrically conductive. The most typical electrolyte is an ionic solution, but molten electrolytes and solid electrolytes are also possible....  fluid for half an hour.	Busted	Grant tested this myth according to the process shown in the video, but was unable to get the iPod to charge. In order to confirm whether or not any charge was moving across the onion, Grant plugged a voltmeter into the onion, which indicated that there was zero charge in the onion. Grant explained that the basic idea would be that the electrolytes could be used as a sort of "wet battery", but the setup in the video lacked the vital anode and cathode, which would actually move the electrolytes. With this evidence, Grant declared the video a hoax.

Conclusion

• Despite the fact that most of the myths tested in this episode were confirmed, the MythBusters warned that not all viral videos are what they appear. They posted their version of the hoax Rubik's Cube
  Rubik's Cube
  Rubik's Cube is a 3-D mechanical puzzle invented in 1974 by Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture Ernő Rubik.Originally called the "Magic Cube", the puzzle was licensed by Rubik to be sold by Ideal Toy Corp. in 1980 and won the German Game of the Year special award for Best Puzzle that...
  
   viral videos online that showed Adam solving a Rubik's Cube with his feet while Jamie solved one blindfolded. In reality, they started with solved cubes and just manipulated them randomly. They then ran the footage backwards in order to give the illusion that they solved the puzzles. The illusion was partially achieved by having a crewmember walk backwards in the background so he would appear to walk normally in the final video.

Phone Book Friction

Myth statement	Status	Notes
It is impossible to separate two phone books interleaved page-to-page due to the massive amount of friction Friction Friction is the force resisting the relative motion of solid surfaces, fluid layers, and/or material elements sliding against each other. There are several types of friction:...  between the 800 pages of each book.	Partly Busted	The MythBusters tried to pull the books apart with human power, first attempting to do so on their own and then bringing in ten other people (which included Tory and Kari in a separate test) to help. These attempts did not succeed, so they hooked up a pair of cars to try to pull the phone books apart. However, the books held and the MythBusters resorted to using the Military Vehicle Technology Foundation Military Vehicle Technology Foundation The Military Vehicle Technology Foundation is a large collection of military vehicles located in Portola Valley, California. It was founded by the late Jacques Littlefield, and now is under the direction of Bill Boller.... 's M551 Sheridan M551 Sheridan The M551 Sheridan was a light tank developed by the United States and named after Civil War General Philip Sheridan. It was designed to be landed by parachute and to swim across rivers. It was armed with the technically advanced but troublesome M81/M81E1 152mm gun/launcher which fired conventional...  light tank and M113 armored personnel carrier M113 armored personnel carrier The M113 is a fully tracked armored personnel carrier that has formed the backbone of the United States Army's mechanized infantry units from the time of its first fielding in Vietnam in April 1962. The M113 was the most widely used armored vehicle of the U.S... , with a combined 650 horsepower, which were finally able to pull the phone books apart. While the myth was busted, the MythBusters pointed out that it took 8,000 pounds (3,600 kg, or about 36,000 N) of force to part the phone books; the two cars they used in the testing could have been suspended from ropes connected to the two interleaved books without separating them.
Only a strong man can tear a phone book in half.	Busted	Adam showed that there is a trick to tearing apart a phone book. He bent the book into a V separating the pages, tearing them one at a time.

Black Powder Shark

The Build Team received a request to test whether the final scene in the film Deep Blue Sea

Deep Blue Sea

Deep Blue Sea is a 1999 science fiction horror film that stars Thomas Jane, Saffron Burrows, LL Cool J, and Samuel L Jackson. The film was directed by Renny Harlin and was released in the United States on July 28, 1999.- Plot :...

where the protagonists destroy the last shark with a harpoon gun, some 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 a car battery, was possible. To test these myths, Tory built a replica shark named "Hugo" out of foam.

Myth statement	Status	Notes
Gunpowder can be set off by a car battery by using seawater to conduct the spark.	Busted	The spark created by the car battery was not powerful enough to be conducted through seawater into the gunpowder.
A harpoon gun is accurate up to 100 feet (30.5 m).	Confirmed	Tory was able to accurately hit Hugo in exactly the same spot that was shown in the movie.
Ten flares contain enough black powder for two and a half sticks of dynamite.	Busted	Grant first began by trying to take apart several tube flares, which took far longer than it did in the movie. After measuring the powder, the Build Team calculated that it would take at least 450 flares worth of gunpowder to equal two and a half sticks of dynamite, instead of the ten shown in the movie.
Two and a half sticks of dynamite will cause a tremendous explosion.	Busted	The Build Team first tested this myth using a canister with the same dimensions as in the movie, which could only hold 28 grams of powder, which did not even disturb the surface of the water, and caused minimal damage to Hugo. Two and a half sticks of dynamite (681 grams of powder), was enough to blow up Hugo and cause a large explosion, but not anywhere as large as seen in the movie. The Build Team also concluded that the size of the canister needed to contain two and a half sticks of dynamite would make the harpoon too heavy to hit a target 100 feet (30.5 m) away. Eventually, to produce an explosion of the movie's magnitude, 400 pounds (181.4 kg) of TNT was used.
A person can survive a large underwater explosion at a distance of 50 feet (15.2 m).	Busted	The Build Team tested this myth using rigs containing 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 that would burst if they were hit with a lethal pressure of 500 psi (3,447.4 kPa). They placed several in varying distances from the explosion, and determined that a person would have to be at least 150 feet (45.7 m) away in order to have a chance of survival.

Water stun gun

Myth statement	Status	Notes
It is possible to create a water-powered stun gun.	Busted	The MythBusters first tested various commercial water guns to see if they could create a steady, unbroken stream Laminar flow Laminar flow, sometimes known as streamline flow, occurs when a fluid flows in parallel layers, with no disruption between the layers. At low velocities the fluid tends to flow without lateral mixing, and adjacent layers slide past one another like playing cards. There are no cross currents...  of water, which is essential for the conduction of electricity (as demonstrated in an earlier myth from the first series, peeing on the third rail). However, most of the commercial water guns they tested could not shoot a continuous stream of water long enough to carry the current. They then tested the amount of electricity a stream of water could deliver to a target, but discovered the voltage dropped significantly the farther away the target was, ultimately failing at any distance over a few feet, making it impractical to use at long distances and busting the myth. In order to see what it would take to have a water stun gun work at a distance, the MythBusters used a tesla coil Tesla coil A Tesla coil is a type of resonant transformer circuit invented by Nikola Tesla around 1891. It is used to produce high voltage, low current, high frequency alternating current electricity. Tesla coils produce higher current than the other source of high voltage discharges, electrostatic machines...  to power the gun with up to a million volts. The gun worked at a distance, and the lightning bolt could clearly be seen traveling down the stream of water. However, the rig remained impractical due to its sheer size and the amount of electricity required to operate it.

Extinguisher explosion

The Build Team tested whether the following fire extinguisher

Fire extinguisher

A fire extinguisher or extinguisher, flame entinguisher is an active fire protection device used to extinguish or control small fires, often in emergency situations...

s, if thrown into a fire, will explode and put out the fire.

Myth statement	Status	Notes
A carbon fire extinguisher with a safety valve.	Busted	The carbon fire extinguisher did not explode, due to the safety valve, and merely vented its contents harmlessly over a span of fifteen minutes.
A water fire extinguisher.	Busted	The water fire extinguisher did better than the carbon fire extinguisher, but did not manage to extinguish the flames entirely.
A chemical foam extinguisher.	Plausible	The chemical foam extinguisher actually ruptured, but only put out the flames because the explosion scattered the fuel, rather than actually snuffing out the flame.
A carbon fire extinguisher without a safety valve.	Plausible	Like the chemical extinguisher, the carbon fire extinguisher exploded, putting out the fire by scattering the fuel rather than actually extinguishing it.

Fire walking

Myth statement	Status	Notes
The act of walking over coals is purely a mind-over-matter act and cannot be explained by science.	Busted	The Build Team first tested how much heat could be transferred into a bare foot by walking over coals with heat-resistant silicone. They then theorized that feet do not get burned due to three factors: the foot does not stay in contact with the coals long enough to get burned, and both the coals and the resulting ash form an insulating layer to lock in the majority of the heat. They then tried coal walking, and easily crossed them. The team noted that they felt confident because of their faith in physics. For a more complete result, the Build Team had Adam cross the coals, who was not aware of the physics involved. When Adam tried, he had his feet burned, though this was attributed to Adam using the incorrect technique. Adam walked too fast and had hot coals stuck under his toes, meaning they stayed in contact with his skin longer than normal.

Blind Driving

Myth statement	Status	Notes
A blind person can drive a car safely by following instructions given by a passenger. Based on a scene in Scent of a Woman Scent of a Woman This article is about the American film. For the Korean drama, see Scent of a Woman .Scent of a Woman is a 1992 drama film directed by Martin Brest that tells the story of a preparatory school student who takes a job as an assistant to an irascible, blind, medically retired Army officer... .	Confirmed	Adam and Jamie first tried driving while blindfolded but failed miserably. They got a real blind person (Jerry Kuns) behind the wheel within the same abandoned subdivision as the "Don't Drive Angry" myth (though differently routed and with a driveway parking component rather than parallel parking Parallel parking thumb|250px|right|Parallel-parked cars in [[Washington, D.C.]]thumb|250px|right|A motorist gets assistance parallel-parkingParallel parking is a method of parking a vehicle in line with other parked cars. Cars parked in parallel are in one line, parallel to the curb, with the front bumper of each...  on the street) and he did fairly well. But when the instructor (Jamie) was intoxicated, and unable to communicate properly the test did not go as well. If the passenger was drunk, the communications broke down, preventing the blind driver from getting clear, precise, and timely instructions. Adam and Jamie also emphasized that this sort of driving is illegal: if the passenger is rendered incapacitated the blind person would have no way of knowing what was on the road and how to respond, obviously increasing the risk of an accident. Furthermore, a person rendered blind before they could get a driver's license would have no preconceptions of how to drive, making following instructions easier than if they had previous driving experience. They reasoned that this is because a person with experience wants to do what he thinks should be done, while a person with no experience would rely solely on the instructor.

Golf Galore - 90% Air

Myth Statement	Status	Notes
It is better to hit a golf ball straight through a tree than around it because it is 90% air.	Busted	Tory, having played golf since high school, hit 10 balls through a tree, resulting in 6 going through, 2 bad shots, and 2 ricocheting off the tree trunk; Grant and Kari proved inept at driving. Grant then built a robot which only got 24 out of 100 golf balls through the tree, vs. the 90 stated in the myth. Tory competed against the robot and won with 27 balls shot through the tree.

Golf Galore - Lightning Cleats

Myth Statement	Status	Notes
Metal cleated shoes attract lightning.	Busted	Two identical ballistics gel dummies were constructed. One wore metal cleated shoes, and the other wore plastic cleated ones. Both were exposed to simulated lightning, and lightning actually struck the plastic cleats more often, although the number was too close for a definitive preference to be called (6 times vs. 4). For a second test, the dummy wearing the metal cleats was then dressed further with clothing, a necklace, and a metal-laden belt to increase the likelihood of being struck, but the plastic one was also struck during the test, although less often (8 times for the metal cleats vs. 2). As a finale, they demonstrated the danger of holding up a golf club during a thunderstorm. Lightning struck the club and went through the dummy, melting him.

Golf Galore - Gopher Goner

Myth Statement	Status	Notes
C4 makes a huge fireball, and from just 50 yards away, can knock a golf ball on the edge of the hole into the cup.	Busted	Based on the final scene of Caddyshack Caddyshack Caddyshack is a 1980 American comedy film directed by Harold Ramis and written by Brian Doyle-Murray, Ramis, and Douglas Kenney. It stars Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield, Ted Knight, Michael O'Keefe, Cindy Morgan, and Bill Murray... , this myth once again demonstrated the difference between Hollywood and the real world. A smoke ball was the only result of a C4 explosion, and the ball did not go in the hole. Of course, being the MythBusters, Tory, Grant, and Kari used gasoline to create the fireball seen in the movie.

Catching an Arrow

This myth was revisited due to fan complaints that the bow was too close to the arrow catching rig, so the arrow was traveling faster than it would at a farther distance. Fans also pointed out many people who could catch an arrow on camera and wanted the MythBusters to bring one on the show.

Myth statement	Status	Notes
A ninja can catch an arrow in mid-flight.	Busted	The MythBusters first tested the speed of an arrow and showed that an arrow maintains its speed as far as 70 feet (21.3 m) because of its aerodynamic design. They then brought "The Arrowcatcher" Anthony Kelly onto the show and had him perform various tests. Anthony proved that he could catch tennis balls traveling at 85 miles per hour (136.8 km/h) (breaking a world record in the process). They then had him try and catch an actual arrow, and Anthony succeeded in catching an arrow. However, at Anthony's request, the arrow had been fired below full strength (3/4 strength) and directly in front of Anthony. The MythBusters decided to redo the test by firing arrows at full strength from multiple directions. This time, Anthony had much more trouble and could only catch the arrows when he knew which direction they were coming from. Since Anthony was unable to catch the arrow in full combat conditions, the MythBusters considered the myth busted.

Ninja's Revenge

Myth statement	Status	Notes
While charging their target, a ninja can use their sword to deflect an arrow and kill the archer before he can reload.	Confirmed	Anthony declared that it was unlikely a ninja would be cornered by three archers and proposed a one-on-one battle. During the demonstration, Adam fired an arrow at Anthony. Anthony deflected the arrow with his sword and was able to close the distance and "kill" Adam before he had time to fire his second shot.

Underwater Blow Dart

Myth statement	Status	Notes
A ninja hiding underwater can have their blowgun double as a breathing apparatus.	Plausible	The Build Team first tested to see how long a ninja could last underwater before succumbing to hypothermia Hypothermia Hypothermia is a condition in which core temperature drops below the required temperature for normal metabolism and body functions which is defined as . Body temperature is usually maintained near a constant level of through biologic homeostasis or thermoregulation... . Tory submerged himself in a cold water tank and managed to stay in the tank for an hour. Kari, being the most accurate shooter, tried firing her blowgun from underwater. Though she initially had problems with refraction Refraction Refraction is the change in direction of a wave due to a change in its speed. It is essentially a surface phenomenon . The phenomenon is mainly in governance to the law of conservation of energy. The proper explanation would be that due to change of medium, the phase velocity of the wave is changed... , Kari was able to hit the target with her third try. The Build Team then tested the myth combining all three elements of the myth. Unfortunately, when loading their darts, water entered the blowguns and weakened the force of the darts. They then tried it with the darts pre loaded, breathing with clenched teeth, and succeeded in "assassinating" their target. With all parts of the myth possible, the Build Team declared the myth plausible.

The One Inch Punch

Myth statement	Status	Notes
A ninja can knock down a person with a punch from one inch away as made famous by Bruce Lee Bruce Lee Bruce Lee was a Chinese American, Hong Kong actor, martial arts instructor, philosopher, film director, film producer, screenwriter, and founder of the Jeet Kune Do martial arts movement... .	Plausible	The first had Jamie test a full force conventional punch and measure the force. Anthony, who was trained in the use of the one inch punch, performed it. The one inch punch had half the force of Jamie's punch, and the three inch punch had two thirds the force. Anthony further demonstrated the power of the punch by using it to break only the last of three wooden boards, a feat that Jamie was unable to match. The MythBusters concluded that with the right training, a person can use the one inch punch with enough power and expertise to knock out a person.

Beer Goggles

Myth statement	Status	Notes
Alcohol can make people look more attractive.	Plausible	To maximize objectivity, the MythBusters decided to look at a number of sample photos and rate them while sober and again while drunk. Adam started first by rating 30 women and gave a rating of 96 out of a total of 300. Kari's rated photos of 30 men and had a total score of 154. Finally, Jamie had a score of 116. While buzzed (only drinking a few beers), Adam had a score of 121, Kari had 89, and Jamie had 105. While completely drunk, Adam had a score of 134, Kari had 153, and Jamie had 111. In conclusion, even though they had different results, the MythBusters decided the myth was plausible since their overall scores increased when they got completely drunk.

Stone Cold Sober

Adam and Jamie tested several alleged methods for sobering up quickly. For each test, one of the co-hosts subjected himself to the remedy while the other did not, and both then traced a line pattern as quickly and accurately as possible. The difference in their performances was taken as the effectiveness of the remedy, although Adam also mentioned at the end of the experiment that their BAC

Blood alcohol content

Blood alcohol content , also called blood alcohol concentration, blood ethanol concentration, or blood alcohol level is most commonly used as a metric of alcohol intoxication for legal or medical purposes....

 measurements agreed with the differences in their performances as well. They tried to sober up by...

Myth statement	Status	Notes
...drinking black coffee.	Busted	Jamie and Adam's results were about the same, showing no change.
...exercising vigorously.	Plausible	After running for five minutes on a treadmill Treadmill A treadmill is an exercise machine for running or walking while staying in one place. The word treadmill traditionally refers to a type of mill which was operated by a person or animal treading steps of a wheel to grind grain... , Adam's test had a remarkable improvement over the control test.
...dunking their heads in ice water.	Busted	The results showed no effect.
...getting slapped in the face.	Plausible	The results showed a noticeable improvement.

Hwacha

• The Hwacha
  Hwacha
  Hwacha or Hwach'a is the world's first multiple rocket launcher developed and used in Joseon Korea. It had the ability to fire up to 100 steel-tipped rockets, or 200 Singijeon flaming arrow projectiles from a range of 500 yards in multiple salvos...
  
   is an ancient Korea
  Korea
  Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
  
  n weapon that shoots out a lot of arrows at once. The Build Team tested this weapon in 3 parts.

Myth statement	Status	Notes
A Hwacha can fire 200 arrows at once at a range of 500 yard and the arrows will explode on impact.	Confirmed	For the first stage, the Build Team tested whether an ancient rocket-powered arrow could travel 500 yards. They found an arrow could travel that far if enough powder is used. In the second stage, they tested whether an ancient arrow could be rigged to lethally explode. They found if packed right, an exploding arrow could inflict a mortal wound. They then moved to the third stage, where they actually built a hwacha to test if it could fire 200 arrows. During the test, the hwacha performed almost perfectly, firing 199 of the 200 arrows which all landed near the target army. With such conclusive results as well as historical record on their side, the Build Team declared the myth confirmed.

Motor Bike Flip

This is a movie myth based from a scene from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is a 1989 American adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg, from a story co-written by executive producer George Lucas. It is the third film in the Indiana Jones franchise. Harrison Ford reprises the title role and Sean Connery plays Indiana's father, Henry...

.

Myth statement	Status	Notes
Throwing a wooden pole into the spokes of a motorbike's front wheel will cause it to flip.	Busted	The MythBusters first obtained a bike similar to the type used during filming. They then built a mechanized rig that could fire a pole at the same speed a human can throw one. They found that it was possible for a human to throw a pole into the wheel and cause it to stop. They then attempted the full scale test with a moving bike. At a speed of 40 miles per hour (64.4 km/h), the bike snapped the wooden pole without stopping. They then decided to redo the test, except with a steel pole. While the steel pole did stop the bike, it skidded instead of flipping, definitively busting the myth. The team analyzed the movie scene and discovered that explosives were used to flip the bike. They then built a mortar and used it to flip the bike in an elaborate recreation of the movie scene.

Prison Break

The Build Team tested whether or not a person can escape prison (in this case, climbing down the face of the Alameda County Courthouse

René C. Davidson Courthouse

The René C. Davidson Courthouse is a courthouse, part of the Alameda County Superior Court system. The courthouse is located in Oakland. It is adjacent to Lake Merritt.-History:...

) by using a rope made out of...

Myth statement	Status	Notes
...toilet paper.	Plausible	Tory quickly found that toilet paper itself did not have very strong tensile strength, and decided to twist the toilet paper into multiple yarns to create rope. After creating the rope, Tory found that it would be strong enough to support his weight. During the actual test, the toilet paper was strong enough to hold his weight, only snapping when he swung on it for a few seconds after the test, but Tory had difficulty keeping a firm grip on it. However, despite that issue, the Build Team declared the myth plausible.
...bedsheets.	Confirmed	Grant found that his bedsheet rope was incredibly easy and quick to make in comparison to the toilet paper and hair. Grant then tested his rope and found that the bedsheets were strong enough to hold his weight. During the actual test, Grant successfully managed to climb down the rope (though suffering from a bad case of rope burn Friction burn A friction burn is a form of abrasion caused by friction when a person's skin rubs against a surface. It may also be referred to as "skinning", "chafing," or called by the surface which caused the burn...  in the process).
...hair Rapunzel "Rapunzel" is a German fairy tale in the collection assembled by the Brothers Grimm, and first published in 1812 as part of Children's and Household Tales. The Grimm Brothers' story is an adaptation of the fairy tale Persinette by Charlotte-Rose de Caumont de La Force originally published in 1698... .	Plausible	In order to make a rope, Kari braided numerous ponytails and braided them to other braids to create a rope. However, she had trouble getting her hair rope to stay together. Despite initial doubts, Kari managed to successfully climb down the hair rope. However, the Build Team declared the myth plausible since getting the necessary amount of hair to create a rope would be extremely impractical.

What is Bulletproof? 2

Adam and Jamie take fan requests and determine if the following objects are bulletproof.

Myth statement	Status	Notes
A police badge	Plausible	First, a silver star was tested, but the bullet easily penetrated it. A star on a copper shield was tested, but it also failed to stop the bullet. Finally, a star on a nickel shield was tested. It was heavily deformed, but it caught the bullet.
An MP3 player/iPod	Busted	Firing an AK-47 AK-47 The AK-47 is a selective-fire, gas-operated 7.62×39mm assault rifle, first developed in the Soviet Union by Mikhail Kalashnikov. It is officially known as Avtomat Kalashnikova . It is also known as a Kalashnikov, an "AK", or in Russian slang, Kalash.Design work on the AK-47 began in the last year... , Adam's second shot cleanly penetrated an iPod after his first shot only grazed it. The myth came from a story about a soldier in Iraq who survived when the iPod he was wearing was shot. However, he was also wearing body armor when he got shot.
3 pizza boxes in a warming bag	Plausible	Based on a story that a pizza delivery boy survived a shotgun blast by holding his warming bag in front of him, Adam and Jamie first fired birdshot at a warming bag containing three pizzas, and it stopped all but six of the pellets. They then used buckshot which easily passed through the pizzas. To see how far the buckshot would penetrate, 5 warming bags, each containing 3 pizza boxes, were placed in front of the ballistics gel dummy. Buckshot was fired at it, and the shot made it all the way to pizza 14.
Human fat	Busted	Determining that the largest layer of fat around a human (Walter Hudson) would measure 16 inches (40.6 cm), Adam and Jamie placed that amount of human-temperature cow fat in front of the dummy. The bullet made it all the way through the fat easily.
Human muscle	Busted	Using the measurements of a man with 3 inches (7.6 cm) pectorals and 11 inches (27.9 cm) biceps, Adam and Jamie placed 14 inches (35.6 cm) of cow muscle in front of the dummy (assuming the man placed his biceps over his pectoral and the bullet passed through them both). The muscle failed to stop the bullet.
A mixture of cornstarch and water	Busted	Adam reasoned that this mixture's properties as a non-Newtonian liquid Non-Newtonian fluid A non-Newtonian fluid is a fluid whose flow properties differ in any way from those of Newtonian fluids. Most commonly the viscosity of non-Newtonian fluids is not independent of shear rate or shear rate history...  might allow it to stop a bullet. However, 6 thin bags full of the liquid failed to stop the bullet from a Glock pistol.
Bathroom tiles covered in a fiber-reinforced gypsum cement	Plausible	Jamie's attempt at a bulletproof material stopped rounds from a 9 mm pistol, a .45 caliber handgun, and buckshot. It failed to halt deer slug or rounds from a M4 Carbine M4 Carbine The M4 carbine is a family of firearms tracing its lineage back to earlier carbine versions of the M16, all based on the original AR-15 designed by Eugene Stoner and made by ArmaLite. It is a shorter and lighter variant of the M16A2 assault rifle, with 80% parts commonality.It is a gas-operated,... .
A belt buckle (only found on the Discovery Channel website)	Plausible	Although the bullet did pass through the belt buckle, a Deputy Sheriff who had been shot in the belt buckle and survived spoke with Jamie and Adam, saying the bullet caused a large bruise but lodged in his shirt.

Coffin Punch

Myth statement	Status	Notes
A person buried in a coffin 6 feet (1.8 m) underground can successfully punch his or her way out, then dig up to freedom. (Based on a scene in the movie Kill Bill Kill Bill Kill Bill Volume 1 is a 2003 action thriller film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It is the first of two volumes that were theatrically released several months apart, the second volume being Kill Bill Volume 2.... .)	Busted	Based on tests with mixed martial arts fighter Jon Fitch Jon Fitch Jonathan Parker Fitch is an American mixed martial artist. He is currently ranked as the No. 2 welterweight in the world by Sherdog, as well as many other publications.-Background:... , the Build Team determined that greatest a human can punch while in the position of a person in a coffin is about 1450 lbf (6,449.9 N). Grant built a robot that could generate that force with a 3 inch punch, and it was placed inside a plain pine coffin. After 600 punches the robot had created a crack in the lid, but had not punched a hole in it. Then the team placed six feet of dirt on the coffin, and again the robot only split the lid and could not create a hole. To test what would happen if a hole could be made, the Build Team built an acrylic coffin outfitted with a trapdoor and a sliding panel to let dirt in. First Tory entered the coffin and 2 feet (61 cm) of dirt were placed on him. He was able to dig himself out. When Grant repeated this experiment with 6 feet of dirt, the dirt entered the coffin so fast and filled it so completely that there was no way anyone could escape. Based on these results, the myth was declared busted.

Hit the Ground Running

Myth statement	Status	Notes
It's better to hit the ground running.	Busted	The team tested this myth first applying it to actually running, then to a bicycle, and finally to a small car. For running, Kari, Tory, and Grant each ran 30 feet (9.1 m). First they ran from a standstill, then dropping from a trapeze bar while running in air. Finally, they each rode a zipline to the starting line before running. For each of them, they were faster when running from a standstill. For the bicycle, Tory made a rig that allowed him to drop the rear wheel while spinning onto the ground. This made the bike unstable, and was slower than a dead start. Finally, Kari drove a car 300 feet (91.4 m) from a standstill, and then the team raised the front wheels off the ground while Kari revved the engine before dropping. Once again, the car was faster when driving from a dead start. The build team theorized that traction was key; unlike with a dead start, where the runner already has traction to build up and maintain speed, hitting the ground running is the opposite, trying to gain traction while at speed, and that few moments needed to gain traction slows the runner down enough to not be faster than if the runner started from a dead start.

You Can't Polish Poop

Myth statement	Status	Notes
It is not possible to polish poop.	Busted	Adam and Jamie first visited the zoo to obtain a variety of feces to try to polish. Poop collected, they tried to pick the most polishable candidates, and then baked them to remove the moisture. Adam tried to shine his poop with a buffing wheel, while Jamie reasoned that using a wax polish would result in a shine. Adam eventually brought in an outside expert who showed him that it was possible to apply a shine to dirt with a tedious technique called Dorodango Dorodango Dorodango is a Japanese art form in which earth and water are molded to create a delicate shiny sphere, resembling a marble or billiard ball.-Etymology:The phrase 泥だんご, reading dorodango is derived from*泥 literally "mud" in Japanese... . Applying this technique, Adam and Jamie were able to obtain very polished poop without using any foreign materials such as wax polish. Measuring their poop for gloss, both samples were found to exceed the minimum specifications for a polished object.

Better to End with a Bang

Myth statement	Status	Notes
It's better to end with a bang.	Confirmed	To test this myth, Adam and Jamie tried different ways of ending the episode; first with a bang, and secondly with a slow burn. For the bang, primer cord was wrapped around Jamie's moped, and Adam added bottles of gasoline. The explosion utterly destroyed the moped. For a burn, Jamie mixed over 1000 pounds (453.6 kg) 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... , intending to use it to cut an SUV in half. While the SUV was not completely severed, the thermite burned through most of the vehicle, and both Adam and Jamie enjoyed the destruction. Adam preferred the bang more, but Jamie liked the burn. They decided to put the verdict of the myth to the fans on their website for voting. As of June 2009 more fans liked Adam's bang (59.8%) than Jamie's burn (40.2%).

Bamboo Torture

Myth statement	Status	Notes
It's possible to use 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....  as a form of torture because it will pierce human skin and then grow through the body.	Plausible	Because the experiment would last several days and be exposed to the sun, Adam and Jamie decided they did not want to use an animal carcass. First they got some meat and used a force gauge to determine how much pressure was needed to puncture the skin. They discovered that it took the same amount of force to pierce a torso made out of 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... . They then obtained some bamboo shoots, placed them in a greenhouse they constructed on the M5 roof and then placed the gel torso over the bamboo. After only three days, a couple of bamboo shoots had pierced the torso's back. However, Adam was disappointed the bamboo did not make it all the way through the torso. It appeared the sun may have melted the gel, so they got a mannequin torso and filled it with gel and only cut some small holes in the front and back for the bamboo to move. This time the bamboo grew right through the torso and rose to a height of about ten feet. Both Adam and Jamie agreed this would be extremely painful for a person to endure and declared the myth "plausible."

Alkali Metal Mayhem

Myth statement	Status	Notes
Alkali metals dropped into a bathtub filled with water will create a huge explosion.	Busted	Tory, Grant and Kari went to the Alameda County bomb range to test the myth, which is featured in an episode of the British TV show Brainiac: Science Abuse Brainiac: Science Abuse Brainiac: Science Abuse is a British entertainment TV show with a science motif. Numerous experiments are carried out in each show, often to verify whether common conceptions are true or simply to create impressive explosions... . The Brainiac experiment purported to show two grams of rubidium Rubidium Rubidium is a chemical element with the symbol Rb and atomic number 37. Rubidium is a soft, silvery-white metallic element of the alkali metal group. Its atomic mass is 85.4678. Elemental rubidium is highly reactive, with properties similar to those of other elements in group 1, such as very rapid...  and cesium dropped into a bathtub filled with water causing an explosion as large as could be caused by a hand grenade Hand grenade A hand grenade is any small bomb that can be thrown by hand. Hand grenades are classified into three categories, explosive grenades, chemical and gas grenades. Explosive grenades are the most commonly used in modern warfare, and are designed to detonate after impact or after a set amount of time... . However, the MythBusters could not get the rubidium or cesium dropped into a flush toilet to cause an explosion, even though they used 25 gram (0.881849052627799 oz) of each metal, over ten times more than the quantity used in the Brainiac experiment. Instead, the chemical reaction caused a brief flame, and the release of hydrogen Hydrogen Hydrogen is the chemical element with atomic number 1. It is represented by the symbol H. With an average atomic weight of , hydrogen is the lightest and most abundant chemical element, constituting roughly 75% of the Universe's chemical elemental mass. Stars in the main sequence are mainly...  gas before fizzling out. The team also tried two other alkali metals, sodium Sodium Sodium is a chemical element with the symbol Na and atomic number 11. It is a soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metal and is a member of the alkali metals; its only stable isotope is 23Na. It is an abundant element that exists in numerous minerals, most commonly as sodium chloride...  and potassium Potassium Potassium is the chemical element with the symbol K and atomic number 19. Elemental potassium is a soft silvery-white alkali metal that oxidizes rapidly in air and is very reactive with water, generating sufficient heat to ignite the hydrogen emitted in the reaction.Potassium and sodium are... . They dropped 2.5 kilograms (5.5 lb) of each metal into a bathtub. The violent reactions were so intense that they cracked the bathtub but far from enough to disintegrate it as a hand grenade could do, and the myth was declared busted. The discrepancies between the MythBusters and Brainiac results arose from forged results; see Brainiac: Science Abuse#Forged results.

Brandy Warmer

Myth statement	Status	Notes
St. Bernard St. Bernard (dog) The St. Bernard is a breed of very large working dog from the Italian and Swiss Alps, originally bred for rescue. The breed has become famous through tales of alpine rescues, as well as for its large size.-Appearance:The St. Bernard is a large dog...  rescue dogs carry casks of brandy Brandy Brandy is a spirit produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35%–60% alcohol by volume and is typically taken as an after-dinner drink...  because the alcohol enables a hypothermic person to survive longer.	Busted	To test this myth, Adam and Jamie swallowed internal thermometers which contained tiny transmitters that sent their core body temperature to a digital display. They then used 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...  to record the temperature of each others' face and hands. After recording their temperatures at M5, they went to a frozen food warehouse and sat in a room kept at 0 °F (-17.8 °C). Not long after sitting in the room, they started feeling the heat leave their extremities and measured their temperatures again. They discovered that while their faces and hands were indeed much colder, their core body temperatures were actually higher than when they were outside the freezer. They then called in Bob, a St. Bernard carrying a cask of brandy. Adam and Jamie drank the brandy and measured their temperatures again. They discovered their face and hands were warmer but their core body temperatures were dropping fast. Adam and Jamie declared the myth busted for this reason. They did, however, find some positive aspects to having a St. Bernard bring them brandy: The alcohol caused their blood vessels to widen, resulting in more blood going to the extremities. This made it less likely they would get frostbite. They also discovered they felt a lot better after drinking. Jamie also reported he felt warmer while snuggling with Bob. They concluded that if rescue was imminent, it would be a good idea to drink the brandy, but if rescue was uncertain, it would be a bad idea to drink alcohol because it would make a person die more quickly. The MythBusters also pointed out that the idea of St. Bernards roaming the mountains with casks of brandy around their necks is in itself a myth.

Exploding Piano

Myth statement	Status	Notes
Piano Piano The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal... s will explode if set on fire as the tension holding the strings in place is released.	Busted	Back at the bomb range, Tory, Grant and Kari placed some firewood under a grand piano and set it on fire. Instead of exploding, the piano slowly burned. The MythBusters found that the piano's disintegration did not cause the strings to pop; instead the frame and strings expanded from the heat, which slowly released the stored energy over a long period of time rather than all at once in a sudden explosion.

External links

• MythBusters Official site