MythBusters Results

Episode 199: Deadliest Catch Crabtastic Special

Buster — Thu, 09 May 2013 02:00:11 +0000

A fisherman will be pulled to the bottom of the ocean if he is caught in the coiled rope when a crab pot is deployed.

plausible

With the help of Deadliest Catch captains Johnathan Hillstrand and Scott “Junior” Campbell, Jamie and Adam set out to test this myth. A scale model experiment showed that normal (spring) coiling did not consistently pull someone off the boat, but over-under coiling did. However, for the full-scale test, a regular coil was used because it is more frequently used in real life. In the first series of tests, with Buster standing away from the boat’s railing or leaning on the railing, the rope consistently caught his leg but did not pull him over. In a final test, with Buster looking over the railing, he went overboard and was dragged along with the pot to the bottom of the bay. This myth was deemed plausible because the rope would consistently grab the fisherman’s leg but it would not consistently pull him overboard.

Working a 30-hour shift with 20-minute naps every six hours results in double the performance of not getting any sleep.

confirmed

On an anchored ship, the Build Team set up a crab-fishing themed obstacle course to test their mental and physical abilities. Kari and Tory both completed the course with perfect scores when well-rested. Attempting the course after being awake 30 straight hours resulted in dramatically low scores. When they added the brief naps to their 30 hours of wakefulness, they both achieved more than double their previous scores.

The 800 lbs (360 kg) crab pots used on Deadliest Catch are indestructible.

busted

The fishermen claimed that one of their pots would survive a 3 lbs (1.4 kg) C-4 blast without any damage to its steel structure. After a test with the C-4 in the middle of the pot, only the webbing was damaged so they appeared to be correct. However, after the Build Team strategically placed the explosives below the steel struts, the pot was heavily damaged.

Episode 198: JATO Rocket Car: Mission Accomplished?

Buster — Thu, 02 May 2013 02:00:44 +0000

An airman strapped a jet assisted take off (JATO) unit to his Chevy Impala, rocketed across the desert at 300 mph (480 km/h), and soared through the air for over a mile after hitting a bump.

busted

All five MythBusters joined forces to test this myth and to commence their 10th anniversary season. This was the first myth ever tested on the series and it was still not fully resolved after two previous attempts (in Jet Assisted Chevy and Supersized Myths).

To begin, the Adam and Jamie tore out the inside of a Chevy Impala and welded in an extensive steel mounting system for the rockets. They used five rockets with 2,000 pounds (900 kg) of thrust each, for a total 10,000 pounds (4,500 kg) of thrust. Extra weight was also added to the front of the car to help balance it. Grant then modified the car to be driven remotely by adding controls for the steering, throttle, brake, and shifter. Kari and Tory modified a large dump truck to be used as a mobile bunker during the rocket tests. They protected the cabin of the truck with a thick steel cage and polycarbonate blast shields.

To conduct the rocket tests, the team traveled to a dry lake bed in the Mojave desert. A blast-resistant steel building was trucked in to protect the crew from any rouge rocket cars. A line of 50 pound (23 kg) sand bags was used to create a berm for the car to hit. Adam drove the Impala from within the mobile bunker and Kari fired the rockets at the appropriate moment. The approach and ignition were clean; the car accelerated to about 200 mph (320 km/h) before hitting the berm. After hitting the berm the car quickly tumbled wildly out of control, destroying itself. At this point the MythBusters decided they had replicated the conditions of the myth as perfectly as possible and declared it busted.

In an attempt to replicate the results of the myth by any means possible, the MythBusters used a second Impala with a total of six rockets attached for a total thrust of 12,000 pounds (5,400 kg). Instead of a berm, they built a large ramp out of prefabricated roof trusses. The ramp was 65 ft (20 m) long and 11 ft (3.3 m) high. With Jamie controlling the Impala this time, the car hit the ramp dead-on and briefly launched into the air. The car then tumbled forward and bounced off the ground again before smashing itself. It traveled a total of 600 ft (180 m) after hitting the ramp.

Episode 197: Airplane Boarding

Buster — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 01:00:08 +0000

When boarding an airplane, boarding back-to-front is the slowest method.

confirmed

To allow them to test various boarding methods, Adam and Jamie built an accurate replica of an airliner’s interior that included 173 real airplane seats as well as real overhead luggage compartments. Volunteers were staged at a simulated boarding gate and were given tickets with their seat assignments before each of the tests. To further simulate reality, 5% of the passengers were given instructions to behave problematically by going upstream, sitting in the wrong seat, boarding small children, or wasting time with folding a coat in the aisle. Professional flight attendants were also brought in to assist with the boarding process.

Each method of boarding was judged objectively on the time it took to board all of the passengers and subjectively by the passengers’ satisfaction after each boarding experience. The satisfaction score was calculated as a sum of votes wherein “great” votes earned 1 point, “neutral” votes earned 0 points, and “terrible” votes earned -1 points.

These were the results from the boarding methods that were tested:

Method	Description	Time	Satisfaction
Back-to-front	Business boarded first, then the zones were boarded starting in the back and moving to the front of the plane.	24:29	19
Random with seats	Business boarded first, then all rows and all passengers were allowed to board.	17:15	12
WILMA	Business boarded first, followed by all window seats, then all middle seats, then all aisle seats.	14:55	102
WILMA with blocks	Business boarded first, followed by a combination of the back-to-front and WILMA methods; each zone was boarded with the WILMA method, starting in the back.	15:07	105
No assigned seats	Business boarded first, then all other passengers chose their own seats.	14:07	-5
Reverse pyramid	Business boarded first, followed by a sophisticated cascade of zones spreading from rear windows.	15:10	113

The back-to-front method proved to be the slowest method tested. It was noted that the fastest method (no assigned seats) ironically had the lowest satisfaction score, but there were also methods that much faster and much more satisfying (e.g. WILMA) than the back-to-front method.

A human tooth can be made into a bullet that is accurate, lethal, and undetectable after it shatters on impact.

busted

The build team chose to test three different types of firearms in this for this myth. They obtained real human teeth from a dentist to make their bullets. Kari made bullets for a handgun (.357 Magnum revolver). She chose not to shape the teeth in order to retain the hard enamel coating. Tory made shotgun shells using crushed up teeth. Grant made bullets for a rifle. He ground and shaped the teeth in order to improve their aerodynamics and accuracy. Grant also wanted to test this myth using bone instead of teeth, so he made additional bullets from a cow femur.

To test accuracy, the bullets were fired from a rig with normal ammunition, followed by the dental ammunition. The handgun with the unshaped bullets was found to be very inaccurate so no further tests were done with it. The shotgun’s accuracy was not affected by using teeth fragments as the shot. The power of the rifle destroyed the teeth bullets before they hit the target. The bone bullets in the rifle had reduced accuracy compared to lead bullets but they still hit the target.

For testing lethality, the bullets were fired at a ballistics gel target. 4 inches (10 cm) of penetration was deemed the benchmark for a lethal hit. Normal buckshot fired from the shotgun went all the way through the target (well over 4 inches). The teeth fragments only penetrated 1.5 inches (3.8 cm). Normal bullets from the rifle went clear through the target while a large bone bullet penetrated 6 inches (15 cm).

Finally, to test detectability, the bullets were fired at pig corpses which were stuffed with organs (the butcher could not sell them containing the organs). A pathologist was invited onto the show to determine if she could detect the cause of the wounds. In each case, the pathologist was able to retrieve the bullet fragments and identify them as foreign. She was even able to reconstruct the bone rifle bullet and reveal the rifling marks on it. Because none of the bullets met all of the conditions of the premise, it was declared busted.

Special 20: Explosions A to Z

Buster — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 01:00:25 +0000

In this episode the Build Team reminisced about all of the show’s explosions and presented insider secrets while going through the alphabet.

Entry	Notes
Audit, Art	Record-keeping of the 752 explosions on the show to date, as well as an explosion of paint onto a canvas
Bomb Range	A tour of the range and associated facilities, including the vehicle training area, firearms range, and safety bunker
Cement Truck	A look back at the “Cement Mix-Up” myth from 2005 and the final blast that obliterated an entire cement truck
Dynamite	Revelation that the “dynamite” used on the show is a different, safer explosive designed with an equivalent appearance and energy content
Explosions	Comments from Grant and Tory on the characteristics and types of explosions, illustrated by the destruction of a china cabinet using a charge of C-4
Food Glorious Food	Remembering various explosion myths involving food. Kari noted that all food items destroyed on the show were well past their expiration date and no longer fit for human consumption.
Grenade	A look back at myths involving grenades, especially the “Red Bazooka” myth from 2011 involving a rocket-propelled grenade launcher
High Speed	Reflections on the intricate detail revealed by high-speed camera footage, illustrated by blowing up a television set with C-4
Implants	The testing Adam and Jamie carried out for the “Exploding Implants” myth from 2004, and the fun they had in the process
J.D.	Explosives expert J.D. Nelson’s contributions to the show, and his full-time work with the bomb squad in the Alameda County Sheriff’s Department
Kitchen	Appliances and entire kitchen sets destroyed in the course of myth testing
Loud	Hearing protection used by the team and technical issues in broadcasting explosions, illustrated by measuring decibel levels of a running lawnmower and a C-4 blast
Movies	Testing of movie-based explosion myths
Nothing	The dangers that bomb technicians face in repairing/rewiring a device when it fails to explode
OSECO	Comments on this company’s rupture discs, which are used on the show to evaluate pressures created by an explosion
Pressure Vessel	Explosions caused by buildup of pressure within a container, illustrated by heating a can of shaving cream with a blowtorch until it bursts
Quagmire	Complications in tests caused by heavy rain turning the bomb range into a muddy swamp
Rockets	Mishaps that have caused rockets and rocket-propelled projectiles to explode during flight or on the launch pad. Includes comments by Grant and Tory on the reasons for the failure of the “Supersize Rocket Car” myth test from 2007.
Safety	Highlighted the extensive safety precautions observed during explosion testing. In an unaired scene, Tory (dressed in a full bomb suit) carried a balloon full of flammable gas onto the bomb range, with the risk of a stray spark setting it off.
Toilet	Myths that have involved blowing up toilets by various means
Underground	Explosions of buried materials, illustrated by setting off a buried charge with a flowerpot full of dirt placed above it
Vehicle	A montage of vehicles destroyed in explosions
Water	Comments on the different behavior of explosions in water and air, illustrated by setting off a charge within a beaker of water
Xylophone / Yelling	Blowing up some xylophones, and the standard yell of “Fire in the hole!” before any explosion is set off
Zenith	The biggest explosion to date: “Homemade Diamonds” from 2009 using 5,000 lb (2,268 kg) of ANFO

Episode 196: Food Fables

Buster — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 01:00:46 +0000

Chef Alton Brown joined the MythBusters in this Thanksgiving-themed episode.

It is possible to set up a holiday meal inside a car’s engine compartment and drive long enough to fully cook all of the food.

confirmed

Adam, Jamie, and Alton found a large, older car that had plenty of space under the hood. They placed thermocouples throughout the engine compartment and around the exhaust to find the best sources of heat. After a 90 minute drive they measured temperatures of between 200 °F (93 °C) and 500 °F (260 °C).

Adam and Jamie worked on building food containers and insulating areas under the hood while Alton prepared a meal consisting of turkey, sides, and miniature pies for desert. They loaded all of the food items into carefully chosen spots and drove for 4 hours, stopping occasionally to check the progress and prevent over-cooking. At their destination, the trio found all of their food to be well-cooked and enjoyable.

Eating turkey makes you sleepy because it contains tryptophan.

busted

Kari used a Whack-a-Mole game to test the response times of Tory and Grant. In their initial control test while fully alert, Tory scored 61 points and Grant scored 66 points. After taking tryptophan in capsule form, Troy scored 49 and Grant scored 60, indicating that tryptophan can make you tired.

To find out if eating turkey makes you tired, a professor of nutrition helped Kari create 3 meals for Grant and Tory to eat on 3 consecutive days. The first meal was a very large holiday meal with turkey and trimmings. Tory’s meal was 2,420 calories and Grant’s was 2,200 calories. After this meal Tory scored 47 points on the response test and Grant scored 52 points. On the second day, after a meal with the same number of calories but with protein powder in place of the turkey, Tory scored 48 points and Grant scored 42 points. On the third day, the two men ate a normally-sized meal that included turkey. Tory scored 63 points and Grant scored 67 points, both beating their control test. These results indicated that eating an excessive amount of calories in a holiday meal is what makes you tired, not the turkey.

Many unusual meats taste like chicken.

busted

Kari bought many exotic meats from a butcher, including: peacock, snake, frog, ostrich, alligator, squab, turtle, goat, and boar. A professional chef prepared all of the meats in the same fashion as fried chicken and Kari administered a blind taste test to Grant and Tory. When attempting to identifying each meat as either chicken or not, Tory got 17 out of 20 samples correct and Grant got 11 out of 20 correct.

After Tory noted that the texture of the meat was a major clue to its identity, Kari eliminated this variable by grinding up new samples of meat and grilling patties with no additional flavoring. In this test it was even easier to tell chicken from other meats: Tory identified 18 of 20 correct and Grant got 19 of 20 correct, busting this myth.

A particular Chinese pressure vessel can be used to cook popcorn faster than any other method.

busted

Using his own fastest technique of a foil-covered bowl over a gas burner, Alton was able to pop a batch of corn in 1 minute and 45 seconds. After setting up the Chinese pressure vessel, Adam dawned a bomb suit for protection while Jamie and Alton stood behind a ballistic shield. Adam heated the vessel until it reached a pressure of 1 megapascal and he then triggered the pressure release. The sudden release blew kernels all over the workshop, but the overall process took over 9 minutes.

Episode 195: Cannonball Chemistry

Buster — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 01:00:01 +0000

A three-story fall into shallow water can be made more survivable by cushioning the fall with a mattress floating on top of the water.

busted

This myth came from a scene in the TV series Burn Notice, in which the hero throws a hotel mattress from a balcony into a 4.5 ft (1.4 m) deep swimming pool and safely jumps onto it from 35 ft (10.7 m). Adam and Jamie began testing this scenario using a dummy with an accelerometer placed in its chest. When Buster, the dummy, was dropped butt-first into the plain water, he experienced 50g on impact with the water and another 29g impact with the bottom of the pool. When he was dropped onto an innerspring mattress, he experienced a deceleration of 86g. With 50g as their benchmark for lethality, neither drop appeared to be survivable.

To get even better results from their tests, Adam and Jamie repeated the drops using a sophisticated simulated cadaver. An orthopedic surgeon was also brought in to evaluate the damage using a portable X-ray machine. In the plain water fall, the simulated cadaver suffered a shattered pelvis and a paralyzing spine injury. When falling onto the mattress, it had far more damage all over, and as Jamie described, was “even more dead”.

At this point the myth was busted, but the duo wanted to see if skilled human jumper could possibly survive the jump. They brought in a stuntman who demonstrated that a normal, feet-first jump from 35 ft carried him to a depth of about 12.5 ft (3.8 m). The stuntman began training Jamie with techniques to reduce the depth of his entry. After a day of practicing jumps from increasing heights, Jamie deferred the full-height jumps to the stuntman due to soreness and concern for further injury. Ultimately the stuntman was able to jump from the full height while only dipping a few inches below the 4.5 ft mark, which Adam and Jamie reasoned would be a survivable impact had the pool only been that deep.

Cannonballs made of stone could be as effective as metal ones while also disintegrating on impact and not leaving the enemy anything to fire back.

plausible

The Build Team began by firing an iron cannon ball from Civil War-era cannon loaded with 1 lb (0.45 kg) of black powder. They measured its velocity at 1,200 ft/s (366 m/s) and used that for a benchmark when calibrating their other shots. When the team began tests with a self-made cannon that they had previously used for other myths, a misfire sent a cannonball into a residential neighborhood in California, an event that made national news and postponed their filming.

The team resumed their testing several months later. They made cannonballs out of three different types of stone: sandstone, limestone, and granite. They changed their testing location to a remote rock quarry and decided to use the Civil War cannon for all of their shots. They calculated how much black powder each type of ball needed to match the velocity of the iron ball and fired one test shot for each. To simulate castle ramparts, they used pallets of large concrete bricks. The iron ball penetrated 2 layers or bricks and damaged 4 layers. The sandstone ball penetrated 1 layer, damaged 2 layers, and disintegrated. The limestone ball penetrated 1 layer, damaged 3 layers, and disintegrated. The granite ball caused the same amount of damage as the iron ball and also mostly disintegrated, making this myth plausible.

Episode 194: Mini Myth Medley

Buster — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 01:00:24 +0000

People can easily recognize the back of their own hands.

confirmed

Adam and Jamie brought in 50 male and 50 female volunteers and took photos of the back of their right hands. 12 additional volunteers were blindfolded while their hands were photographed, then (while wearing gloves to prevent cheating) they were asked to identify their hand among a set of 9 other similar-looking hands. 11 out of 12 people identified their hand correctly, many of them very quickly.

Adam and Jamie also decided to see how well people could identify their palms and their teeth. Using the same methodology as above, 7 out of 12 people correctly identified their palms and 10 out of 12 people correctly identified their teeth.

It is possible to pierce, without shattering, a pane of glass by throwing a needle at it.

busted

This myth was based on a video of a Shaolin monk performing this feat. The Build Team started by throwing large needles at a 1/8 inch (3.1 mm) thick window pane. Kari, Grant, and Tory – with throwing speeds of 28 mph (45 km/h), 38 mph (61 km/h), and 47 mph (76 km/h), respectively – could not pierce or break the glass. Next they brought in a professional baseball pitcher, Matt Cain, to help them. Matt Cain was able to throw the needles up to 113 mph (182 km/h), and despite bending the steel needles, he was only able to chip the 1/8 inch pane. To make the task easier, they switched to 1/16 inch (1.6 mm) thick glass. Again, despite shattering a steel needle, Matt Cain was not able to pierce the glass. Finally, they moved on to 1/32 inch (0.8 mm) thick glass and Matt Cain shattered it several times, but could not pierce it cleanly. At this point this myth was declared busted for humans.

To see if the feat was possible at all, Tori began used an air rifle to shoot the needles at 1/8 thick glass. His first two shots at roughly 140 mph (225 km/h) and 160 mph (257 km/h) were not effective, but a third shot at 180 mph (290 km/h) finally pierced the glass without shattering it.

It is impossible to ride a bicycle under water.

busted

At a pool, Adam and Jamie both struggled to ride an unmodified bicycle under water because of the density of water and the lack of traction. Adding 50 lbs of weights helped slightly when riding downhill but they still could not ride uphill. They decided to modify their bikes further and have a race to see whose ideas worked the best. Adam filled his tires with corn syrup in an attempt to improve traction and he added 50 lbs of weight to the bike’s frame. Jamie, meanwhile, added lead training wheels weighing 140 lbs total to the front and back of his bike. Both Adam and Jamie still struggled greatly to ride their bikes uphill in order to complete the race. Despite their troubles, this myth was busted because they did find it possible to ride under water on flat ground.

Doing the “potty dance” helps alleviate the urge to urinate.

plausible

For a control test, Grant, Tori, and Kari began with empty bladders and each person drank 2 liters of water. They continued their normal daily activity and measured how long they could wait before urinating. Tory was able to last 1 hr 57 min; Grant, 1 hr 58 min; and Kari, 2 hr 40 min.

They repeated the procedure the next day, but this time attempted to dance and move around to help them combat the urge to pee. In this test, Tory lasted 1:31, Grant 1:51, and Kari 2:47.

On the third day, the procedure was again repeated and this time each person attempted to relax as much as possible both physically and mentally. Tory lasted 2:05, Grant 2:46, and Kari 2:43.

After noting that the results of each method can vary widely from person to person, the team called this myth plausible.

Episode 193: Fright Night

Buster — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 01:00:27 +0000

There is an inaudible frequency of sound that can make people feel uneasy and lead them to believe that a place is haunted.

busted

The setting for this myth was a group of four abandoned cabins in the woods. Adam, disguised as an unsettling groundskeeper, told volunteers that something bad had happened in one of the cabins. Each of the volunteers was instructed to sit alone in each of the cabins for three minutes. When each volunteer was in the third cabin, Adam and Jamie used a hidden 40,000 watt sound system to play a 19 Hz tone, which is below the audible range for humans. The volunteers were then asked which cabin they thought was the spookiest. Only 2 out of 10 volunteers chose the third cabin, indicating no correlation between the sound and feeling uneasy.

There is a detectable scent that humans give off when they are scared.

plausible

After reasoning that the “smell of fear” would be contained in the sweat produced by a person who is afraid, the Build Team began collecting sweat samples from themselves. For a control sample, they each ran on a treadmill for 20 minutes to collect “normal” sweat from exercise. Later they each laid in a transparent coffin for 7 minutes with scary creatures – Kari with scorpions, Tory with snakes, and Grant with rats – and again collected their sweat. Volunteers were brought to smell each sample in a double-blind experiment and try to determine which samples were produced under the stress of fear. The accuracy of the volunteers was no better than random, indicating that they could not smell fear. Next, an experienced odor scientist was given a chance at differentiating the samples. She correctly classified 5 out of 6 samples, leading to the plausible classification of this myth. However, in a second test, she failed to identify which 1 out of 20 samples was produced from fear (generated as Tory rappelled 170 ft (52 m) into a cave).

Moving a dead body around is as easy as it looks in movies.

plausible

A 150 lb (68 kg) simulated cadaver was obtained for testing this myth. Adam and Jamie built an obstacle course that required stuffing the body into a closet, pushing it through a window, carrying it up and down stairs, rolling it in a rug, and stuffing it into a trunk. First, the obstacle course was run while carrying a relatively compact 150 lb (68 kg) ball of chain with a solid handle. Adam completed the course with a time of 3:06 and Jamie completed it with 4:33. When carrying the body, it took Adam 1:20 and Jamie 1:55. They were surprised to find that the body was actually easier to handle and they could complete the course faster when carrying it.

Digging a shallow grave is as easy at it looks in movies.

busted

The specific conditions for this myth were that a 2 ft (60 cm) deep grave could be dug in 20 minutes by a single person with a shovel. It took Jamie over 2 hours to complete the task, all the while lamenting that he could complete the job in 30 seconds with a backhoe.

Episode 192: Hail Hijinx

Buster — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 01:00:01 +0000

It is possible to jump to safety on a collapsing rope bridge.

busted

This myth is based on a scene in the film Cliffhanger in which Sylvester Stallone’s character is able to make a running leap to one end of a rope bridge after the mooring at the opposite end of the bridge is destroyed with explosives.

Adam and Jamie built a small scale bridge and a pneumatic “jumper” to begin their tests. Electronic timers controlled the jumper and controlled a solenoid that dropped one end of the bridge. A control jump (without dropping the bridge) resulted in a jump height of 22 inches (56 cm). With a 50 millisecond delay after dropping the bridge, the jump height was 10 inches (25 cm) and with a 100 millisecond delay the jump height was 4.5 inches (11 cm). With a 150 millisecond delay the jumper was no longer able to jump from the falling bridge.

Adam and Jamie then built a full scale, 1600 lbs (725 kg) bridge with pine boards and steel cables. They strung the bridge across a large dry dock in a ship yard. Quick releases with small explosives (squibs) were used to release one end of the bridge. To test a running leap, Jamie began several strides from the safe side of the bridge as the other end was dropped. The bridge went slack immediately and Jamie fell with it because he had no footing to jump from. Next, Adam attempted to make a smaller, standing jump. He stood at an achievable distance and waited for the sound of the explosion before he jumped. The bridge fell before Adam even had time to react to the sound; he was not able to jump at all.

At this point the myth was busted but Jamie wanted to see if it was possible to hang on to the hand ropes as the bridge fell. He was successful in holding on but was not able to climb all the way back to safety. He suggested he might be able reach the top if his life really depended on it.

A violent hail storm can sink a boat.

plausible (barely)

To begin their tests in the shop, the Build Team fired large, baseball-sized spheres of ice at boat hulls from a compressed-air cannon. They began firing the ice at 80 mph (123 km/h) to simulate terminal velocity. At this speed the ice did not puncture an aluminum, fiberglass, or a wooden hull. At 150 mph (241 km/h) (simulating hail in a hurricane) the ice still did not puncture any of the hulls. At 300 mph (483 km/h) (the fastest recorded tornado speed, even though hail isn’t typical in tornadoes) the ice only penetrated the weakest areas of the wooden hull. At this point the myth was described as busted but the team decided to continue these tests with the boats actually floating on water. On water the ice did not penetrate the fiberglass hull even at 300 mph (483 km/h). With the wooden hull, the ice penetrated at 300 mph (483 km/h) and 150 mph (241 km/h), but not at 80 mph (123 km/h).

The Build Team also reasoned that hail could potentially sink a boat by filling up its volume with enough extra mass. At a port they began filling one of their small boats with ice. The boat only began to sink after 4,000 lb (1,814 kg) of ice was added. The boat did not sink entirely because the ice began floating and supporting its own weight when in the water. Because this myth appeared to be possible in extreme situations, it was deemed plausible.

Episode 191: Trench Torpedo

Buster — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 01:00:08 +0000

A battlefield trench built with sharp 90-degree corners can help stop a shockwave and save a soldier’s life.

plausible

This myth supposedly arose from the German army’s careful construction of its trenches during World War I. Adam and Jamie started by building small-scale trenches filled with water and colored oil to help visualize wave movement. Three trenches were built: one straight, one with two sharp corners, and one with two soft (curvy) corners. A motorized mechanism generated waves at one end of each trench and the amplitude of the waves was measured at the opposite end. The amplitude for the straight trench was 0.75 inches (19 mm), for the sharp cornered trench it was 0.125 inches (3 mm), and for the soft-cornered trench it was 0.25 inches (6 mm), lending credibility to the premise.

For full scale testing, three 50 foot (15 m) trenches were dug in the same shapes and lined with plywood to ensure straight edges (the soft corners were not lined). A 25 lbs (11 kg) charge of TNT was used for each explosion and force sensors were placed at 10 foot (3 m) increments from the charge. The following table summarizes the findings.

Trench Shape	Pressure at 20 ft	Pressure at 30 ft	Pressure at 40 ft	Pressure at 50 ft
Open-air (control)	39 psi (269 kPa)	12 psi (83 kPa)	7 psi (48 kPa)	5 psi (34 kPa)
Straight	397 psi (2737 kPa)	65 psi (448 kPa)	38 psi (262 kPa)	21 psi (145 kPa)
Sharp corners	60 psi (414 kPa)	19 psi (131 kPa)	12 psi (83 kPa)	7 psi (48 kPa)
Soft corners	76 psi (524 kPa)	21 psi (145 kPa)	13 psi (90 kPa)	8 psi (55 kPa)

Because the intensity of the blast was lower with sharp corners than with soft corners or no corners, the myth was deemed plausible.

A bunch of party balloons can act similarly to an airbag during a car crash and protect a passenger.

busted

In order to simulate a car crash at 35 mph (56 km/h), the Build Team dropped cars onto their front bumpers from a height of 41 feet (12.5 m). A dummy with force sensors was placed in the passenger seat for each drop. A control crash with no seat belt and no balloons gave a maximum force to the dummy’s chest of 640 g, which was well above the 100 g benchmark for lethality. A drop with normal latex balloons in front of the passenger gave a maximum force of 620 g, so they had little effect. Back in the workshop, the team experimented with different types and configurations of balloons including small balloons, large balloons, balloon animals, and giant, extra-thick balloons. The giant, extra thick balloons performed the best at cushioning an impact so the Built Team packed the car tightly with those balloons for another drop that resulted in a maximum force of 130 g (still lethal). For a final test, they tried taping many small balloons to plastic sheets in order to prevent movement and to prevent holes forming from only a few popped balloons. With this test the maximum force was 230 g, definitively busting this myth.