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MythBusters: Myths Reopened

by Keith McDuffee, posted Apr 27th 2006 11:46PM
mythbusters(S03E14) Another Myth revisit episode! I love when the MythBusters do these episodes, as it shows they truly do listen to the fans and try their best to shut their whiny mouths up please them. They even let a fan provide some of the supplies!

The myths revisited this time: Spitting an arrow, the Confederate rocket and bullets fired into water.

First up, splitting an arrow. I saw the original episode of this, and I couldn't imagine another myth they've tested before more thoroughly. Apparently the fans disagreed, saying they didn't use materials that were authentic to the period of Robin Hood, including the bow, arrowheads and arrow shafts. Using a special cedar wood provided by one skeptical fan, the MythBusters create some arrows. Many, many firings later, the new wood simply doesn't split fully, so they again call this busted. In the end they decide to try splitting a completely unauthentic bamboo arrow, which easily splits on the first try.

Next, the Confederate rocket. Last time the myth was busted, but the MythBusters want to attempt something quite different this time. You see, they've since heard that these rockets are so efficient that they should be able to run on anything. So what fuel do they intend to use? Why, a salami, of course. Last time a kind of wax was used for fuel, which did work. So does this work? Actually it works too well, and in the first test, the rocket blows to smithereens. Making a smaller rocket, they get it off the ground, but it flies a mere 20 feet. Myth half-confirmed, as the rocket does indeed fly on meat for fuel. Later, to satisfy fans even more, they throw an on-board camera on a second rocket ... but it fails.

Lastly, bullets fired into water. This myth was busted last time, and quite successfully, as the bullet would break up as it hit the water surface. But what if the gun is already underwater? Firstly, they prove the gun does fire underwater, but the shell casing does not eject (at least for some guns). Though it does fire, a 9mm isn't lethal at 10-feet through the water but definitely is at 2-feet away. A 357 magnum, same thing. A shotgun, on the other hand, pretty much explodes and is busted. The M1 rifle doesn't shatter, but the round doesn't travel very far, so it's hardly lethal. The MythBusters call this one, overall, confirmed.

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Michael Brown

In the experiment, firing a gun under water it was said that if all the air was not out of the gun it could explode when the bullet impacted with the water, and the shotgun did explode. My thoughts are that there was air in the shotgun shell it's self because the pellets are sealed in plastic, the handguns bullets are already in the water were as the shotgun shell still has air in the shell there for the gun exploded when the pellets impacted water when the gun was fired

April 30 2006 at 11:23 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Pete Toner

Watching your show ,the feet on the bridge to make it swing and sway and then fall down well I might have a real story for you .My thought s are ,theres a bridge between Sarnia Ont. Canada and Port Huron MIch. USA ,,Blue Water bridge,,my story is it was never designed for trucks to sit up there and run for hours in a day,,now there has to be some kind of a strain on the bridge I no the tar mack sure has to be replaced often from the trucks siting there for hours and every day so how much strain is there being put on the struture like the other bridges that have fallen.Id realy like a return coment on this and who one could contact to test it for its safty I just thought Myth Busters might like to test it Thank you yours truly a good fan of Myth Busters and its crew Pete Toner

April 29 2006 at 10:27 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply

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