The cast of the television series MythBusters perform experiments to verify or debunk urban legends, old wives' tales, 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
Episode 137 – "Boomerang Bullet" Original air date: January 4, 2010 Adam and Jamie probe a potentially fatal three-way ricochet, while the Build Team tries to re-create medieval germ warfare by turning trees into catapults.
360° Ricochet Myth statement Status Notes A person firing a gun can accidentally kill himself if his bullet ricochets off three surfaces and returns to him. Busted Adam and Jamie set up three steel plates at 90-degree angles, along with a .45 caliber pistol and a cardboard cutout of Jamie behind it. In three trials with different ammunition types—unjacketed lead, full metal jacket, and total metal jacket—the bullets fragmented after striking the first plate. A fourth trial, using a hardened steel ball bearing in a bullet casing, led to three ricochets and a hit on the shooter; however, the projectile struck at a less-than-lethal speed.
Other materials were investigated for use as targets, starting with measurements of ricochet angles and speeds from only one plate. Cinderblock pavers were chosen over lead due to the latter's tendency to make bullets tumble and lose too much speed. When Adam and Jamie set up three pavers and fired a TMJ round, they observed three ricochets and a less-than-lethal hit on the Jamie cutout.
Finally, Adam and Jamie bent a piece of plumbing pipe into a curve to serve as a bullet guide, firing into one end toward a block of ballistic gelatin at the other. A diameter curve, forming nearly a full circle, resulted in lethal speed and penetration on the target (with an Adam cutout in front of it). Adam and Jamie declared the myth busted, owing to the slow speed of the bullet after three ricochets.
Conifer Catapult Myth statement Status Notes A medieval army laying siege to a castle could have used nearby coniferous trees as an improvised catapult to hurl diseased corpses over the wall. Busted The Build Team began by visiting a tree plantation to determine the amount of bending force a typical conifer could withstand without breaking. Their first test, on a Gray Pine, gave a result of ; they loaded Buster into a second such tree and applied the same force, but he only fell to the ground when they released it.
Returning to the workshop, the Build Team set up some small-scale tests with saplings of three different types—Douglas-fir, redwood, and Alaskan cedar—and a miniature Buster figure. Preliminary trials showed that the fir could give the longest range for the same bending angle, so the team trimmed off the limbs and attached a tether to keep the payload in place until the right moment. With these modifications, the sapling flung "Mini McBuster" all the way to the other end of the shop.
At the plantation, the team found a full-size Douglas-fir and set it up in the same way, aiming at a bouncy castle away with a balloon "wall". With of bending force on the trunk, Buster flew almost all the way to the castle, but he hit the ground just short of it. Because they were unable to hit their target even with the benefit of modern machinery and cutting off all the limbs, the team declared the myth busted. They also noted that the troops setting up the catapult would have been picked off long before the plan reached its final phase.
Episode 138 – "Soda Cup Killer" Original air date: March 24, 2010 This episode was Jessi Combs's final appearance as a member of the Build Team.
Cup vs Car Myth statement Status Notes A foam cup filled with soda, tossed from a car moving at highway speed, is capable of piercing another car's windshield and killing the driver. Partly busted Adam and Jamie first fired several different mixes of soda and ice out of an air cannon to measure which was capable of delivering the most force. They found that slush was the most effective mix. They then built a test rig with a windshield and Buster that simulated an oncoming vehicle. In a test run at , the cup was able to crack the windshield. At the full , the cup pierced the windshield, but it did not retain enough force to be lethal to Buster. Adam and Jamie then decided to switch to using soda cans. While they worked better at piercing the windshield, Adam was unable to hit the windshield accurately enough to hit Buster. Adam and Jamie resorted to using a shoulder mounted air cannon Jamie built, but they still could not hit the windshield accurately enough. With one windshield left, the MythBusters instead fired at the windshield at point-blank range, "killing" Buster. However, since the cup lacked the power to harm Buster, the myth was declared busted. The MythBusters did point out that the situation was dangerous; the driver on the receiving end would likely be startled by the cup and would have trouble seeing out of the cracked windshield. That, in addition to being covered in the sticky drink and the splinters of glass from the broken window, would likely result in a very serious accident (and possibly death).
Fall Guys Myth statement Status Notes A person can hang off the edge of a building or cliff indefinitely. Busted The Build Team first tried to hang off the edge of a building () with three inches of space to hold on to. All three members could hold on for only roughly one minute (Tory also badly hurt his knee on a window ledge in the process). They then reduced the grip space to one inch; now Jessi could hold on for only thirty seconds, while Grant could not get a grip at all and instantly fell when hanging from half an inch. Aaron, an expert, showed that he could hold on to an inch of space for roughly forty seconds and half an inch of space for fourteen seconds. However, nobody could hold on to the edge indefinitely. The Build Team concluded that the only way one could be saved in this situation is if help arrived very quickly. A person can hang off the landing skid of a moving helicopter and successfully climb into the helicopter. Confirmed Because hanging off an actual helicopter was deemed too dangerous, the Build Team decided to simulate the experiment. They first tested the downward force generated by a helicopter to see whether it would affect a person's ability to hang off the skid, but they found that it would exert only at most , which was negligible. For the experiment, they built a fake helicopter and hung it over a swimming pool for safety reasons. To simulate movement, they set up a large fan that could create winds of up to . Jessi, Tory, and Grant all took turns hanging off the skid and succeeded in climbing into the helicopter. Though the experiment was a success, the Build Team was quick to point out that it was much harder than the movies would make it seem.
Episode 139 – "Dive to Survive" Original air date: March 31, 2010 Kari Byron returns to the series as of this episode.
Dive to Survive Myth statement Status Notes Diving underwater can protect you from an explosion. Plausible During their small-scale tests using rupture discs, the MythBusters discovered that water can actually diminish the force of a shock wave caused by an explosion, giving credence to the myth. For their full-scale test, the MythBusters hung rupture discs above water, below water, and below water at 5-foot, , , and intervals away from the explosive. The MythBusters also detonated of three different types of explosives above the water: gasoline, ammonium nitrate, and dynamite. While the gasoline could rupture only the closest above-water disc, the ammonium nitrate ruptured every single disc and the dynamite ruptured all the discs except for the underwater discs located away. With these differing results, the MythBusters declared that the myth was possible, depending on the explosive.
Phonebook Freedom Myth statement Status Notes Filling the cavities of a car with phonebooks will make the car bulletproof for non-armor-piercing rounds. Busted The Build Team filled several car doors with phonebooks and fired various firearms at it. The phonebooks were able to stop 9mm, .357 magnum, and .45 caliber rounds. However, the more powerful deer slug shotgun rounds and the M14 rifle were able to pierce the door and the phonebooks easily. Since the phonebooks could not stop all of the bullets, the myth was declared busted. However, the Build Team continued the experiment to see how many phonebooks behind the door would be needed to stop a deer slug and rifle round and found that only two phonebooks were needed. A car completely covered in phonebooks will be bulletproof. Busted The Build Team calculated how many phonebooks would be needed to completely bulletproof the car, which would be around 900. However, the number needed weighed significantly more than the car could carry, so the Build Team was forced to cut back the number of phonebooks they could use down to 400. They then installed a remote control system in the car and covered it with as many phonebooks as they could, and placed inflatable dummies inside to simulate people. They then drove the car around as they fired M14 and deer slug rounds at it. All of the dummies inside the car survived. In their second test, the Build Team fired at the car with M16s and UMP40s, but all of the dummies survived. For the third test, the Build Team fired various high-powered sniper rifles at the car. Kari managed to disable the car with a .50 caliber round, and the combined sniper fire managed to kill everybody in the car. Though the car was highly resistant to bullets, the fact that they could still penetrate the car and harm the people inside led the Build Team to declare the myth busted.
Episode 140 – "Spy Car Escape" Original air date: April 7, 2010
Spy Car Escape These myths are based on countless car chase scenes from spy movies. The MythBusters try to test whether a pursuing car can be stopped or eluded using... Myth statement Status Notes ...road spikes or tacks. Busted While the road spikes managed to puncture the pursuit car's tires, they did not instantly deflate and the pursuit car managed to catch Adam. The reason the spikes failed was attributed to the fact that the spikes stuck in the tires, partially plugging up the holes and causing the tires to deflate more slowly.
In episode 234 of the 2015 season, this myth was revisited with hollow road spikes, which performed so well that the myth was declared confirmed. ...a smokescreen. Confirmed During the first run, Jamie attached several smoke grenades to the rear of his car to create a makeshift smokescreen. While the test was initially successful, the smokescreen quickly backfired when the smoke was sucked into Jamie's car as well, blinding and choking him and forcing him to stop the chase. They modified the rig to keep the smoke grenades outside the car, and Adam drove while wearing an oxygen mask. The second test was more successful, with Adam being able to use the smokescreen to elude the pursuit car. ...an oil slick. Plausible The pursuit car was slowed down significantly by the oil slick, allowing Jamie to elude it. However, the pursuit car did not instantly spin out as is popularly shown in movies.
The MythBusters then built their own car-stopping devices. They then attempted to see if a pursuer could be stopped with...