MythBusters

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Template:Infobox television MythBusters is an American science television program on Discovery Channel starring Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman, two special-effects experts who set out to test the validity of timeless myths and urban legends of popular culture. The show is narrated by Robert Lee and is set in the San Francisco Bay Area.

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Format

Adam Savage has described the show as "Jackass meets Mr. Wizard". Adam and Jamie perform experiments to test and declare popular myths and urban legends as either confirmed, plausible, or busted, depending on their ability to reproduce the results of the myth.

Adam, Jamie, and their crew use their extensive engineering and construction expertise to construct devices with which to perform their experiments, often building complex machines for relatively simple tasks, such as an automated toast assembly-line. In cases when a myth involves the human body, the MythBusters use either their crash test dummy (dubbed with the intentionally ironic name "Buster" early in the show's run) or ballistics gelatin, a substance adequately replicating the consistency of human tissue and often used by ballistics engineers to test firearms. Buster has been rebuilt extensively over the series — to the point that an entire episode was devoted to his being rebuilt and upgraded — with one or two experiments nearly destroying him. If the myth being tested is not too hazardous, the cast may also choose to experiment on themselves.

Most of the team's methods of testing myths are planned and executed in a manner to produce the flashiest, most exciting results possible, for an entertaining TV viewing experience. The show is known for its love of blowing things up, and an episode of the show rarely airs without displaying explosions, fires, vehicle crashes, or other exciting pyrotechnics displays. The winter 2005 issue of Skeptic magazine included an interview with Adam and Jamie, and it was entitled "Debunking With Kaboom: MythBusters Exposed." Despite the term "exposed," the article was actually a friendly and informative interview with the team leaders, in which they acknowledged the show's emphasis on explosions.

There have also been myths that the MythBusters have refused to test on the show - in the above interview, Adam was quoted as saying "we don't do aliens, and we don't do ghosts.", mainly because they cannot be tested through the rigorous scientific process. In one episode, Adam and Jamie refused to test whether a wet poodle could be dried off in a microwave for fear of harming the dog. In another episode where pyramid power is tested, Adam is quoted as saying "no more 'oogie-boogie' myths, please", indicating that supernatural-based myths are not likely to be explored in the near future. The book MythBusters: The Explosive Truth Behind 30 of the Most Perplexing Urban Legends of All Time (ISBN 141690929X) also gives a list of a dozen myths that are not likely to be explored (although one of these twelve was eventually tested).

Usually, the team tests the myths by a two-step basis: recreating the myth (to determine if the circumstances of the myth actually achieves the myth's outcome), and recreating the result (in which, failing to achieve the outcome of the myth using the myth's own specifications, the team sees what it would take to achieve the outcome). Myths that are tested are deemed either as true (later renamed confirmed), in which the cast are able to reproduce the outcome based on the circumstances of the myth, or busted, in which they are unable to reproduce both the outcome and the circumstances outright. In the second season, a third rating, plausible, was added, in which the cast is able to reproduce the outcome but only either under circumstances similar to but reasonably exaggerated from the myth's original specifications (for instance, if the circumstances needed to make the myth work are impractical, but still doable), or in a similar circumstance using specifications parallel to but not exactly like those in the myth. The plausible assessment was most likely added to make sure that the team was thorough in their testing of the myth.

When the exact details of a myth are somewhat unclear, Adam and Jamie will often compete with each other to find and implement the best solution to that problem. Jamie often (but not always) has more success, due to his greater experience and technical expertise, and his more patient approach to situations. Image:Pinpong1 vzoom.jpg The MythBusters typically perform their experiments within the confines of Jamie's M5 Industries special effects workshop or in the area around the building. They have also filmed in a variety of locations around San Francisco when the main M5 workshop is too small or if the experiment is too dangerous to perform in a populated area. For experiments requiring extensive safety zones, the decommissioned Naval Air Station Alameda or Novato's decommissioned Hamilton Air Force Base are regular venues. Several experiments involving rockets have been performed in the Mojave Desert. The Myths of Taxi Flip-Over and Airplane Decompression have been done at Mojave Airport (MHV).

The myths chosen are widely varied, and some are seemingly simple myths. As such, several myths are often tested in each broadcast. Usually one big "A" myth, and one or two "B" or smaller myths. Sometimes a story involves so much testing that they'll take a full hour to bust a single myth. "Confederate Rocket", or the myth that the Confederate Army lauched a ballistic missile from Richmond, VA to Washington, DC, at the end of the Civil War, is a good example. Such myths include:

  • Can the unaided human voice shatter glass?
  • Does a duck's quack echo?
  • Can ping-pong balls be used to float a sunken boat?
  • Can a penny dropped from a tall building kill a person at ground level?
  • Can a rotating ceiling fan decapitate a person?
  • Can diving underwater protect a person from gunfire?
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The MythBusters

Image:MythBustersTeam.jpg

Although the show features Adam and Jamie, the two have been assisted both on- and off-screen by other crew members. Among the most notable is the staff of Jamie's M5 Industries workshop, from which most experiments are held. Starting in the second season, however, other members have shared screen time alongside Adam and Jamie, and are known as the Build Team, the Junior Team in the European version, or, in the show's promotional material, the MythBuilders. The Build Team, comprised of Tory Belleci, Kari Byron, Scottie Chapman, and later Grant Imahara, would often assist Adam and Jamie in the main myth of a given particular episode, while tackling other myths on their own. In the later parts of the second season, the Build Team would also be referred to as the MythBusters' "second team", or even as full MythBusters alongside Adam and Jamie, although it would be the third season before the Build Team shared equal billing alongside Adam and Jamie as hosts. They were bumped back down to "Joining them [Adam & Jamie]" by January 25, 2006. The second season of MythBusters also had Christine Chamberlain, the winner of a Discovery Channel contest, as the MythTern (a portmanteau of "MythBuster" and "intern"). She was also considered a key crew member, though not necessarily part of the build team. Scottie and Christine would eventually leave the series for their own personal reasons, with Grant replacing Scottie as the third Build Team member.

The MythBusters have also had a group of experts who are regularly called upon, who are considered "honorary MythBusters". Folklorist Heather Joseph-Witham is also considered a MythBuster, as she explained the origins of certain myths being explored in the first season.

Tory, a film school graduate who learned his trade through working at M5 from the ground up, and Kari, an artist, both first appeared in the first season, helping behind the scenes. Kari, in particular, noted that she was "hired" for her behind, as her behind was used as a model for the testing of a myth. Scottie is best known as the MythBusters' resident metal worker, being a master welder and a metal shop teacher. Grant is an electrical engineer, best known for his Battlebots robot, Deadblow, as well as his work in operating R2-D2 and the Energizer Bunny. Hyneman also has his own Battlebot, the notorious Blendo. Befitting Jamie's penchant for destruction, Blendo was deemed too dangerous in early competitions (before lexan walls and ceilings) and Hyneman was often asked to forfeit, and be considered co-champion and accept a portion of the prize. This was mostly out of concern for audience safety.

The MythBusters also have several crash test dummies used to test myths that are too dangerous for human test subjects, but require an accurate stand-in for a human, that have been referred to as MythBusters. These myths usually involve high-velocity or explosive situations. The first dummy was acquired in the first season for the "Explosive Toilet" myth, and was dubbed "Buster". Near the end of the fourth season, after the "Chinese Astronaut" myth, Buster was given a brand new body designed to be more like a human body, including accurate joints and wood bones to tell when a human bone would break, and a fire-proof flesh made of special "Dragon-Skin" latex. Early in the fifth season, four more dummies (an adult male & female, and children male & female) were acquired for the "Killer Brace Position" myth. They have since been featured in other myths, specifically the children for child specific myths.

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Injuries or mishaps

Image:Mythbusters explode.jpg Image:Adam vacuum.jpg Due to the nature and methods of MythBusters, several injures and mishaps have happened over the course of the show. Some of the most significant include:

  • Adam lost some hair during an explosion test in the "Cell Phones and Gas Stations" myth (shown right), which invoked one of his more famous quotes: "Am I missing... an eyebrow?"
  • During the "Homemade Hovercraft" myth, while examining a running vacuum cleaner motor, Adam's lower lip was sucked into the device, resulting in a cut. Adam later explained in the "MythBusters Revealed" special that he had wanted to see if the vacuum motor would pull on his lip, but had not thought about the rapidly spinning flywheel within.
  • Adam lost his balance while standing upright on a makeshift leaf-blower-powered hovercraft pad and fell hard on the concrete floor of M5 studios. He was up on the same hovercraft again many minutes later.
  • Adam and Christine both suffered mild burns in the "Exploding Jawbreaker" experiment. Christine was hit the most; the hot liquid core of the jawbreaker splattered on parts of her face and neck. Adam was later quoted as to saying that the molten candy, at around 250 degrees Fahrenheit, felt "...like napalm."
  • Kari, Adam and Tory slightly hurt themselves in the episode "Killer Brace Position", in which they volunteered to be seated in a set simulating aircraft crashing. They were dropped from 5 feet (1.5 m) by a crane, sitting in aircraft seats which were tilted 30 degrees facing down. They all felt that the brace position was stopping their heads and necks suffering major damage, but still they hit their legs against the seat next to them. Kari received a minor scar on her leg from the test.
  • Adam and Jamie seriously underestimated their homemade rocket's power and decided to test it indoors, resulting in Jamie almost getting caught in the explosion and several things catching on fire, including Adam's hovercraft.
  • Tory sustained some serious bruises when a swing-set he was testing for the "chain-straight 360° loop" myth broke under his inertia. He fell flatly on the ground, landing hard on his back. Tory had foreseen possible problems, and had worn protective clothing as well as laid padded mats on the ground.
  • During the "Peeing on the Third Rail" myth, some liquid flowed underneath the rubber mat Adam and Jamie were standing on, causing the electrical current to surge through the ground. The mat protected them from this, and they were able to shut down the current until the ground dried.
  • During the "Franklin's Kite" myth, the junior MythBusters tied a small rock to their kite for stability. The kite later flipped over at ground level and swung the rock around like a flail, accidentally hitting Tory in the groin.
  • Although not done in the pursuit of mythbusting, Tory attempted to jump a small red toy wagon on a bike, but misjudged the bike's suitability for such a jump. He was thrown to the ground, but was uninjured.
  • In "the killer card" myth, Jaimie receives his first "significant injury" on the show, as quoted by Adam. It was just a small paper-cut caused by a 150 mph playing card.
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Vehicles

When the MythBusters work with myths that involve vehicles, they often purchase a dilapidated vehicle to use for the tests. Fans have donated their own cars in several cases, including "Cadillac Ben", whose donated car became known as "Earl the MythBusters Caddy". Many of the vehicles the MythBusters have purchased do not survive the testing of the respective myths. Earl was destroyed when it was dropped from 60 feet (18.3 m) by a crane while assessing rebuilt crash-test dummy Buster 2.0's various new features. On several occasions, cars that have been used in dangerous myths have been rigged with devices to allow them to be driven by remote control.

In another episode, the MythBusters used an aging cement truck to test whether low grade explosives, suspended within the mixing tank, could be used to clean dried concrete off the inside of the barrel. After this myth was found to be plausible, the MythBusters moved a cement truck containing a thick slab of dried concrete to a quarry and filled it with 850 pounds of high grade explosives, overseen by experts from the FBI. All involved watched the blast from a mile (1.6km) away. The truck was effectively disintegrated, scattering thousands of small fragments over a wide area, and a few large pieces. The blast was billed as the largest explosion recorded on the show.

The Mythbusters have also used two small boats, which were named in succession, the Mythtanic and Mythtanic II. The first of the two boats was used to test the myth that a sinking boat would create a downward pull on a person standing on it. The second was used to test if a sunken boat could be made to surface by pumping in ping-pong balls. It took 27,000 ping-pong balls to lift the boat from its sunken state in Monterey Bay.

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Other notable appearances

Image:Mythbustersshark.jpg The MythBusters hosted the 2005 edition of Discovery Channel's Shark Week. The opening episode for this was an episode of MythBusters in which they examined five urban legends in the movie Jaws. For two of the myths, a battering ram was built, with the estimated weight of the shark from the film.

Adam and Jamie appeared on Good Morning America on November 8, 2004.

Adam and Jamie appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman on May 23, 2005. The team was testing whether helium party balloons could lift an adult person. Actor Paul Newman was lifted up by more than 5000 balloons. However, Dave's promised interview with them did not occur on that show. Kari Byron was interviewed on The Late Show, on January 16, 2006.

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Origin of the show

MythBusters was originally pitched to Australian television networks by producer Peter Rees from Beyond Television Productions in 2002. It was rejected by all networks, with the Seven Network claiming that the show was not scientific enough. Rees then approached Discovery, which commissioned the three pilot specials.

Rees, who had previously interviewed Hyneman about a Robot Wars entry, tapped him to host the new show. Savage, who had worked with him in commercials and the same Robot Wars entry, was later approached by Hyneman to help co-host the show, who in his own words claimed that he wasn't dynamic enough to do it on his own [1].

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Foreign broadcasts

MythBusters is broadcast in several countries, primarily on that country's edition of the Discovery Channel. In some countries, the English speech is either subtitled in the relevant language, or the narrator replaced with a person speaking the relevant language. In a few countries, excerpts of the show are also shown as part of the Beyond Television produced Beyond Tomorrow.

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Quotes

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  • "I reject your reality and substitute my own!" – Adam Savage
  • "Am I missing... an eyebrow?" – Adam Savage
  • "I wouldn't say Jamie's an evil genius... I'm not sure he's evil, and I'm not sure he's a genius, but, uh... *laughs*" – Adam Savage
  • "Jamie wants a big boom!" – Jamie Hyneman
  • (Trying to make a duck quack) "Quack, damn you!" – Jamie Hyneman
  • "I always enjoy seeing Adam in pain." – Jamie Hyneman
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See also

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External links

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