Mythbusters

The Chronicler · **Reply #160 on:** August 14, 2012, 07:40:17 PM

Sorry for double posting, but I found out only a few days ago that there was a new episode of Mythbusters on last night, basically a countdown of the top 25 shark myths and moments on the show, in celebration of this being the 25th annual Shark Week on Discovery. It's been a while since I saw certain episodes, so I'm not sure if some of the myths mentioned in this special had never appeared until now. Either way, certainly some good moments featured in this special.

For those who missed it, check the TV schedule on the Discovery website. I've noticed that it'll rerun a few more times later this week.

The Chronicler · **Reply #161 on:** September 22, 2012, 08:00:14 PM

I recently found out that the next new episode will be on Sunday, October 7. All I know at this time is that they'll be testing a myth from the movie "Titanic", and James Cameron will be joining them for that episode. This should be interesting.

Pangaea · **Reply #162 on:** September 22, 2012, 11:05:46 PM

Thanks for the heads up, Chronicler.

I can't wait for it!

I saw the preview for the upcoming season a few weeks ago. Reminded me of a crazy movie trailer.

Looks like the new season's going to be awesome. (My youngest brother's particularly excited that they'll be testing the myth about hanging on to a cut rope bridge.)

I also saw the Top 25 Shark Myths episode during Shark Week. I loved the entire thing, but for me the highlight came at the very end, when Jamie and Adam gave what I thought was the most powerful and well worded message about respecting and conserving sharks I've ever heard. I physically applauded them when they finished that speech.

The Chronicler · **Reply #163 on:** October 08, 2012, 10:10:13 PM

I watched that new episode last night.

The myth from the movie "Titanic" is right after the ship sank that, contrary to the scene in the movie, both Rose and Jack could have floated on that large piece of wood and survived long enough for help to arrive. I will say that the results of the full-scale experiment were rather interesting. I also liked that Thermo-Man they built for the hypothermia tests.

The other myth in this episode was the rocket-powered surfboard. Now that was one crazy ride!

I can't believe they allowed Tory to actually ride that thing.

Next week, one of the myths seems to be about a small boat in a hailstorm, I think to see if it would sink.

Also, check out the Mythbusters website once every week to watch clips from the latest episode, the Aftershow of said episode, and maybe some sneak peeks of next week's episode.

Pangaea · **Reply #164 on:** October 08, 2012, 11:57:04 PM

I've been on a huge MythBusters kick for most of this year: I watched nearly all of the episodes I own on tape and DVD over the summer, and have been looking at a lot of online videos as well. Strangely I only started watching the MythBusters aftershows about a week ago (and with over a hundred of them on the Discovery Web site, I've got a lot of catching up to do

). There were two I came across that I found particularly funny. One was the "Flaming Reel" myth, wherein Tory stated that when he, Grant and Kari went on a fishing boat seeking to hook a fish capable of imparting enough friction on their fishing reel to set it aflame, but failed to catch anything, the apparently superstitious fishermen claimed that it was Grant's fault due to something he brought on the boat. Grant's response just cracked me up:

Quote

Grant: “I didn’t know a banana was bad luck!”

The other was the "Water Vs. Pavement" aftershow, a myth where Tory, Grant, and Kari dropped dead pigs out of a helicopter to see whether an impact on water is just as damaging as an impact on pavement from a great enough height. It turns out that in order to make sure the pigs hit their mark, Tory dropped oranges out of the helicopter; when Kari and Grant (who were on the ground) saw that the oranges were hitting the target, they knew Tory was in the right position. At one point, however, an orange landed only a few feet from Grant ("I almost took out one of my co-workers with an orange," in Tory's words). No laughing matter, to be sure, but a moment later Tory radioed Grant, and there was this exchange:

Quote

Tory: "Okay, ready for the pig?"

Grant: (screaming into the radio) "NO!"

Here's
Here's the aftershow page on Discovery.com, in case anyone was looking for it.

The Chronicler · **Reply #165 on:** October 15, 2012, 10:30:18 PM

Another good episode last night.

The first myth was from World War 1, where the German army dug trenches that had to have precisely sharp 90 degree corners, supposedly reduce the effects of a blast wave. Lots of awesome explosions. Also, I wasn't surprised that Adam and Jamie decided to have a paintball fight in the trenches.

The other myth was that a pair of clowns involved in a car crash were protected by a bunch of balloons in their car. Interesting how different types of balloons can stop a force, at least until they pop.

Like I said, check out the Mythbusters website once a week to see videos from the latest new episode. Not just the Aftershows, but also some clips not seen in the episode. One of this week's examples; the full clip of Tory inflating a giant balloon until it bursts. (I couldn't stop giggling at how ridiculously long it took to happen.

)

Pangaea · **Reply #166 on:** October 16, 2012, 01:56:08 AM

My favorite part of that episode was the high-speed shots of the trench explosions. Those were just gorgeous, especially the way you could see the propagation of the shock waves through the disturbed dust on the ground.

On a completely different subject, a few days ago I discovered the term "glass cannon" (meaning a fighter or weapon that is enormously powerful, but also extremely fragile) on TV Tropes. One of the first things I thought was that I'd love to see the MythBusters make an actual cannon out of glass and attempt to fire it.

Kor · **Reply #167 on:** October 16, 2012, 12:36:11 PM

That could be interesting to see indeed. I wonder if they have ever considered or been asked to do that.

The Chronicler · **Reply #168 on:** October 22, 2012, 09:00:16 PM

Last night's new episode was interesting. First, in a scene from a movie, the hero runs across a plank-and-rope bridge and when the end behind him is blasted loose he jumps and grabs onto the other end. Some very interesting experiments. My favorite would have to be the last one Jamie did by simply holding on as the bridge falls and then try to climb back up the end ahead of him.

The other myth was that a strong enough hailstorm could sink a boat. With no specifics, I liked seeing how there were different ways to test the myth, either a single hailstone punching a hole in the boat or a ton a hail filling the boat until it sinks. I personally liked how they tested the second method.

The Chronicler · **Reply #169 on:** October 29, 2012, 07:15:16 PM

For last night's episode, all I can say is that it's about time Mythbusters had a Halloween special. My favorite would have to be "Dead Body Disposal"; I really liked the obstacle course they used for this myth.

The Chronicler · **Reply #170 on:** November 08, 2012, 10:10:16 PM

Sorry for taking so long to mention this week's new episode. Anyway, it seems they brought back the Randomizer to test a few mini-myths. Four of them were shown in the episode (my favorite was the underwater bicycle), but they also did a fifth mini-myth that you can find on the Mythbusters website.

The Chronicler · **Reply #171 on:** November 12, 2012, 09:00:16 PM

Remember that cannonball incident a few months ago? Well, last night's new episode finally showed what happened leading up to that incident.

The myth they were going to test is if a stone cannonball can be just as destructive as a metal cannonball, with the advantage of being destroyed on impact and thus incapable of being fired back by the enemy. First, they successfully fired an authentic cannon to see how fast a typical cannonball goes. Since they didn't want to risk damaging that cannon with their stone cannonballs, they used Tory's homemade mini cannon (which had been used successfully on numerous occasions before) to see if they could fire a cannonball at the same speed. It was this test that resulted in the incident.

The myth was put on hold for months before it was resumed and finally finished. Among the changes made, they did the experiment at the bottom of a quarry in the middle of nowhere, and they were allowed to use the authentic cannon after all.

Oh, and the other myth from this episode was that jumping into shallow water would be safer if you landed on a mattress.

pokeplayer984 · **Reply #172 on:** November 12, 2012, 09:12:13 PM

Quote from: The Chronicler,Nov 12 2012 on 07:00 PM

Oh, and the other myth from this episode was that jumping into shallow water would be safer if you landed on a mattress.

And you'd think that would actually be true, but seriously, shattered pelvis, broken spine and dislocated arms? And that was from the mattress? Ouch! :blink:

In all honesty, I hope we see more of the realistic dummy in later episodes. That thing just looks awesome.

pokeplayer984 · **Reply #173 on:** November 20, 2012, 04:11:30 PM

So, the latest episode...

Can you cook an entire Thanksgiving dinner with a car? Do certain meats actually taste like chicken? Is it the turkey that makes you tired after having a Thanksgiving dinner?

Wait till you see the results on that one.

The Chronicler · **Reply #174 on:** November 21, 2012, 10:15:15 PM

If you thought those myths from that episode were interesting, you should see the one that can only be seen on the Mythbusters website. Can you cook lasagna in a dishwasher?

Seriously, go to the Mythbusters website and see that one for yourself.

The Chronicler · **Reply #175 on:** November 26, 2012, 08:40:15 PM

I honestly don't see how anyone could not like last night's new episode: Explosions A to Z. A highlight of many of the explosions that have been done throughout the entire series (a total of 752 to date). I can't quite remember what they used for every letter of the alphabet, but some examples I can remember off the top of my head include B for bomb range, G for grenade, R for rocket, and X for Xylophone (which they blew up just for this episode

).

The Chronicler · **Reply #176 on:** December 20, 2012, 10:32:15 PM

There hasn't been any new episodes for a few weeks, but I just wanted to point out something interesting.

The very first episode of Mythbusters (the JATO Rocket Car) aired back on January 23, 2003. That means the 10 year anniversary is just over a month away. I haven't heard anything yet about plans for that day, but I figured it would be nice to at least point it out.

Kor · **Reply #177 on:** December 20, 2012, 11:23:16 PM

Maybe they'll do a special marathon of favorite experiments or something.

The Chronicler · **Reply #178 on:** January 23, 2013, 10:00:16 PM

Well, today officially marks the 10-year anniversary of Mythbusters.

Nothing special was shown on the Discovery Channel today, but I'm sure this will be at least mentioned, once some new episodes are shown again, soon.

Pangaea · **Reply #179 on:** January 24, 2013, 01:06:53 AM

Whoa! I knew 2013 marked the tenth year of MythBusters, but until I saw your post I had no idea that today was the precise anniversary date of their first broadcast episode. Thanks, Chronicler!

Happy tenth birthday, MythBusters!

Congratulations on a decade of busting myths!

P.S. It's still an hour before midnight in my time zone, so technically I'm not late with this celebratory post.