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 9 – "Explosive Decompression" Original air date: January 11, 2004
Explosive Decompression Myth statement Status Notes Explosive decompression can occur when a bullet is fired through the fuselage of a pressurized airplane, causing the hole to grow dramatically and possibly cause the plane to break up, as seen in movies such as U.S. Marshals. Busted Sealing a decommissioned DC-9, seating Buster, and pressurizing it to , Adam and Jamie remotely fired a 9×19mm pistol through the window, then the fuselage. Neither resulted in more than a hole, so they wired a window with detonating cord, which blew the window out but failed to suck more than Buster's arm through. A shaped charge successfully caused catastrophic failure. Adam and Jamie reviewed Aloha Airlines Flight 243, where a Boeing 737 safely landed despite an explosive decompression.
This myth was revisited in "MythBusters Revisited".
Frog Giggin' Myth statement Status Notes A group of rednecks returning from frog hunting uses a live .22 LR cartridge as a replacement for a burned-out fuse in their pickup, but while the truck is driving, the bullet heats up enough to discharge, hitting the driver in the groin and causing enough damage to require surgery. Busted "for now" (Plausible) After finding a fuse panel that accepts glass SAE fuses, the MythBusters mounted it in a truck, seated Buster, and inserted the round. The cartridge did work as a replacement fuse, but when a short circuit was created, the wiring burned up the round without igniting it. When the wiring was upgraded to a higher gauge, the bullet did fire but not with enough velocity to cause any serious injury. With this myth not having a "plausible" verdict at the time, both Adam and Jamie agreed to call it busted "for now" due to a lack of conclusive evidence, but they noted it as "unlikely but possible".
Rear Axle Myth statement Status Notes A steel cable, anchored to both a street light post and the rear axle of a police car, will be able to yank the axle clear out from under the car when it tries to drive off, as seen in the film American Graffiti. Busted Rigging the car with radio control and a cable, the MythBusters made several attempts to pull the axle, but the first two attempts failed due to the cable snapping. After Adam cut through most of the axle supports and upgraded the cable from to , he and Jamie successfully pulled the axle free, but it did not clear the wheel well and did snap the cable again. Adam and Jamie theorized that, in the movie, a ramp was used to give the car and axle enough of a boost to wrench the axle completely free.
Episode 10 – "Chicken Gun" Original air date: January 18, 2004
Chicken Gun Allegedly, British rail companies borrowed the titular gun from NASA for testing windshields for high-speed trains, but they were shocked and confused at the amount of carnage the gun did. When they asked NASA what they were doing wrong, they were told to thaw the chickens before firing. Myth statement Status Notes A frozen chicken launched in a bird strike simulation can penetrate aircraft or train windshields better than a thawed chicken. Busted(Plausible upon retesting) First, Jamie and Adam designed and built an air gun with a barrel big enough to handle chickens. Jamie re-used and enlarged the design he used when designing the "improved" 7Up vending machine that was featured in a TV commercial—a tank of compressed air connected to a barrel by a butterfly valve that could release the air in an instant. They then designed foam sabots for the chickens to make sure they were propelled properly out of the gun and procured a used Piper Cherokee fuselage and several spare windshields to shoot at.
With the blessing of pumpkin chunking world champion Bruce Bradford, Adam and Jamie proceeded with their initial test. Not only did both frozen and thawed chickens go through the windshields every time, but on their test shot, a frozen chicken broke the pane of Lexan they had set up to protect the windshields. They declared the myth busted—but then realized they had made a big mistake: Piper Cherokee windscreens are not rated for bird strikes.
The MythBusters then came up with another test—time of impact (which would be the one variable that could affect force of impact since mass was constant whether the chicken was frozen or thawed)—and tested it by firing the chickens at a metal plate viewed with a high speed camera. They found that the impact times were exactly the same and thus declared the myth busted, but this verdict was later overturned in the "Myths Revisited" when they found that the penetration was still different.
After the MythBusters' initial verdict, they also fired a pumpkin at one of the windows, and it went through both windows and through the Lexan glass shield and came to rest several meters away.
Killer Washing Machine Myth statement Status Notes While overstuffing his washing machine with of laundry, a man accidentally wedged himself into the machine and tripped the spin cycle, flailing him around, spilling laundry detergent and bleach as he was bludgeoned to death against the shelves. Afterwards, the man's dog urinated on the baking soda, causing an explosion. "Decimated" (Busted) Not one part of this myth was found to be even remotely plausible. A normal washing machine drum has so little torque that it can be halted in its spin cycle simply by grabbing on to it, though a motor from an electric car was able to spin Buster at dangerous speeds. In addition, most machines have a safety feature that prevents the machine from running if the door is open. Finally, dog urine does not react with baking soda in a way that would cause an explosion. Adam stated at the end that, due to not a single element of this myth having one grain of truth, he found the myth "decimated" (the bumper after showing "Busted").
Octopus Egg Pregnancy Myth statement Status Notes A woman, while swimming, accidentally swallowed a fertilized octopus egg, which gestated in her stomach and caused symptoms similar to that of pregnancy, eventually having a live octopus cut out of her body. Busted The human stomach is far too inhospitable an environment to sustain an octopus egg through its full gestation. No experiment was aired, the conclusion reached only through interviews with a marine biologist from Monterey Bay Aquarium and a pathologist.
Episode 11 – "Breakstep Bridge" Original air date: January 25, 2004
Breakstep Bridge Myth statement Status Notes Soldiers marching in unison can cause harmonic oscillation in a bridge and cause it to collapse. (see Broughton Suspension Bridge) Busted (Plausible upon retesting) Adam built a by suspension bridge from metal tubing and nylon rope, while Jamie built 12 dummy soldiers out of air-powered actuators and combat boots. In the initial test, the soldiers moved far too slowly due to a disconnected hose. During the second and third tests, the soldiers stomped too hard on the bridge, causing it to collapse from impact without any harmonic vibration.
The myth was retested for "Myths Revisited" and found plausible. It was ultimately cut out of the episode; however, it was later included in "MythBusters Outtakes".Break-Step Bridge clip cut from Myths Revisited
Rowing Water Skier Myth statement Status Notes A rowing eight can pull a water skier at sufficient speed for the skier to stay upright. Confirmed After several tries, Jamie was able to stay upright for over 40 seconds, with only a few hours experience in waterskiing.
Toothbrush Surprise Myth statement Status Notes Fecal coliform bacteria can travel from a toilet to a toothbrush and grow in its bristles. Confirmed After confirming that a toilet flush does emit an aerosol spray, Adam built a rack to hold 44 toothbrushes at various distances from the toilet in the shop, as well as two controls kept in the office. Each day, Adam and Jamie exposed the brushes to toothpaste and rinsed them with distilled water, with brushing with a pair kept right above the toilet bowl. Fecal coliforms were indeed found on all the test brushes, including the control ones, but none at a level high enough to be dangerous. A microbiologist from UCSF confirmed that such coliforms were impossible to completely avoid, and that there was no significant difference in the number of bacteria based on where the toothbrushes were placed in respect to the toilet bowl. This surprising result prompts the narrator to proclaim, "Some myths are best left unanswered!"
Episode 12 – "Sinking Titanic" Original air date: February 22, 2004
Goldfish Memory This myth is so widely passed around that it even made it into Time magazine's "numbers" section at one point.
Myth statement Status Notes A goldfish's memory lasts only three seconds. Busted Jamie trained his goldfish to recognize color patterns and complete an obstacle course under water. They remembered what Jamie had taught them over a month later and easily completed the same course without his prompting. However, Adam's fish suffered from a filter malfunction and they were not getting enough food.
The Mad Trombonist Myth statement Status Notes A trombonist had put a firecracker into the mute and, at the final note of the 1812 Overture, launched the mute, striking the conductor and knocking him back into the audience. In addition, the bell of the trombone was blown wide open and the slide was launched. Busted Using a firecracker, the mute hit the conductor (Buster) but did not knock him over. When the equivalent of six model rocket engines was used, he fell forward after being hit. When even more were used, the trombone was practically destroyed, but the bell still did not peel back, nor did the slide launch. Since not even the first part of the myth could be duplicated, the rest could not have followed.
This myth was later tested on "Myths Redux".
Sinking Titanic Myth statement Status Notes A sinking ship creates enough suction to pull a person under if that person is too close (as was rumored to occur when the RMS Titanic sank). Busted Though using a small ship, neither Adam nor Jamie were sucked under when it sank, not even when they were riding directly on top of it. The use of a vessel with a large displacement was not practical.
It was noted during the episode that the story of Charles Joughin, the Titanics chief baker, contradicted the myth. He testified in a 1912 enquiry that he held on to the stern railing of the ship as it went down. As the ship went under, he stepped off; his hair did not get wet, much less himself get sucked under with the ship. However, the story does hold some credence, as many ships emit a large amount of air, as they sink. This massive amount of air, rising to the surface, creates a situation, whereby there is loss of buoyancy in the air bubbles, and anyone caught in this will sink, hence the belief that the ship is "pulling" a floating person down with it.
Later, while the MythBusters were preparing for the Ping Pong Salvage myth, the Sinking Titanic myth was re-tested and re-busted as Adam pointed out.
Episode 13 – "Buried in Concrete" Original air date: February 25, 2004
Buried in Concrete The myth revolved around Jimmy Hoffa, a union leader who unexpectedly disappeared, and the rumors that surrounded his disappearance. Among the myths was that he was buried under the infamous ten-yard bump in Giants Stadium, a rumor that persisted in various forms of media.