'Grey's' Isn't Going Anywhere
'Red Widow' Gets The Axe
MythBusters: Mythbusters Revisited
by Keith McDuffee, posted Oct 17th 2005 11:08PM
OK, so it's almost a week late, but I just realized this morning, after looking at my Tivo play list, that the new season of MythBusters started last Wednesday. I love this show, and I catch it whenever it's on, so I figured I'd give it a little coverage here once a week. Better starting late than never.In this episode, the Adam and Jamie do something they've done at least in one previous episode: go back to old, previously busted/confirmed myths and give them another go. Basically this means that a lot of fans of the show disagreed with the validity of methods used to test certain myths on the show, so A & J give them a more thorough going over a second time.
The first myth revisited is "Blown Away". This was the myth that, when a person is shot at point-blank range, they go flying through the air, just like in the movies. The first time around the myth was busted. This time, with a new Buster in place, they go ahead and try the gamut of weapons on the poor dummy. Oh man, the 50-cal is something to behold. I remember seeing it when they tested the underwater bullet myth in the past, and it's a monster. But, even the mighty 50-cal doesn't cause Buster to go flying through the air. Totally busted again.
The next revisited myth was "Running in the Rain". The first time, myth busted - running in the rain actually makes you get wetter than walking does. This time they used actual rain for their test (rather than the simulated rain the first time) and used a larger sample size. Conclusion: myth confirmed - you will get less wet if you run through the rain.
Third up, "Biscuit Bullet". They actually revisited this myth once before with aerosol cans and cola cans, but fans said they didn't let the cans sit long enough in the hot car. Adam confesses that the myth of a soda can exploding in a hot car is confirmed, but this time they go ahead and test which color car will heat up the least, preventing such a thing from happening. Conclusion: white car = 115-degrees, black car = 120-degrees. So, if you're concerned about heat in the car, get a white one.
The next revisit is "Plywood Builder". Fans say that the 'Busters didn't take any updraft into consideration, though they disagree right off the bat. This time they decide to strap Tory into the back of a pickup truck holding onto a huge plywood board, thus testing one hell of a lot of updraft. After several different configurations on the truck, Tory proves you simply can't hold onto the board at the speeds necessary to fly around on it. Myth busted, once again.
"Explosive Decompression" is next. This myth concerns whether a gunshot through a flying airplane would cause the plane to explode from decompression. The first time it was busted, though they didn't actually put a plane in flight to test it accurately. Unfortunately, they don't get to actually put a plane in flight (yeah, who would volunteer that test?), though they do test in a decompression chamber of sorts. They strap the unit onto the back of a pickup truck to try increasing the psi over the bullet hole in the plane window, but it's so small that we see the myth busted yet again.
Last time around, in "AC vs. Windows Down", the MythBusters concluded that using AC was more efficient than opening your windows to cool down. However, they quickly admit that they were wrong to make such a hasty confirmation. In fact, they find that over 50 mph, you're better off
Lastly, we have "Car Capers: Exploding Gas Tank". The myth was busted last time, that a bullet to a car gas tank would cause the car to explode. However, unlike the way A & J usually finish up busted myths, they didn't test which kind of bullets would cause the gas tank to explode. So, what should do the trick? Tracer rounds. At the appropriate distance from the tank, a tracer round finally did ignite the tank and likely blow it up. Myth confirmed.
Quote of the episode: "I think Adam's had more explosive farts than that."
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