MythBusters is an American pop science television program on the Discovery Channel starring special effects experts Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman, who use their skills and expertise to test the validity of various rumors and urban legends of popular culture. The show is narrated by Robert Lee and is taped primarily in the San Francisco Bay Area.
| MythBusters | |
|---|---|
| The opening credits to Mythbusters | |
| Created by | Peter Rees |
| Starring | Jamie Hyneman Adam Savage Tory Belleci Kari Byron Grant Imahara |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of episodes | 55 (more in progress) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 50 minutes (30 minutes on BBC 2) |
| Original release | |
| Network | Discovery Channel |
| Release | January 23, 2003 – present |
History
The show was originally pitched to Discovery by producer Peter Rees from Beyond Television Productions in 2002. Discovery commissioned three pilot specials at that time. Hyneman came to appear on the show through Peter Rees, who had previously interviewed him for his appearance on the show Robot Wars. Savage, who had worked with Hyneman in commercials and the same Robot Wars episode, was later approached by Hyneman to help co-host the show, because, as Hyneman explained, he wasn't dynamic enough to host the show on his own.[1][2] In July 2006, a cut down thirty-minute (as opposed to the usual 50 minutes) version of Mythbusters without commercial breaks started airing on BBC 2 in the UK.
Format
Each hour-long episode of MythBusters focuses on two or three (occasionally more) urban legends, popular beliefs, or Internet rumors, usually consisting of one that requires complex preparation and building and is the main focus on the episode, with less screen time afforded one or two simpler myths that are more easily testable or entail less visually dramatic results. To date, three experiments (35, 40, and 46) have been so involved that they consume the entire hour.
Some of the urban legends tested 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?
Most of the team's methods of testing urban legends are planned and executed in a manner to produce the most visually dramatic results possible, which generally involves explosions, fires, or vehicle crashes. Because of the emphasis on visual spectacle, and the many mishaps and injuries that have ensued, Savage has described the show as "Jackass meets Mr. Wizard." In addition, the MythBusters will usually only select a myth or claim for the main focus of the episode if it lends itself to such a spectacle, such as the idea that use of a cell phone will ignite gas fumes if used at a gas station, or the allegation that a shark can penetrate a boat or compromise a shark proof cage.
When a myth involves the limits of the human body, the MythBusters use either their resident crash test dummy, "Buster", or ballistics gelatin, which adequately replicates the consistency of human tissue and is used by ballistics engineers to test firearms and other projectiles. If the myth being tested is not too hazardous, the cast may conclude the show by performing the experiment on themselves.
There are myths and urban legends that the MythBusters refuse to test outright. Paranormal concepts, such as aliens or ghosts, are not addressed by the program because they cannot be tested by the scientific method. Even ones that can be are not held in high favor by the MythBusters because of the aforementioned lack of spectacle, as in one episode in which Savage commented, after testing the idea of pyramid power, "No more 'oogie-boogie' myths, please." The program will not engage in experiments that are harmful to animals or people and cannot be tested in any manner safely, such as when Hyneman and Savage refused to test whether a wet poodle could be dried off in a microwave oven. 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 urban legends that are not likely to be explored (although three of these twelve were eventually tested).
Hyneman and Savage use their extensive engineering and construction expertise to construct complex devices with which to perform their experiments, such as an automated toast assembly line to test the notion that toast really lands butter-side-down more often. They design, build and operate these machines at Hyneman’s M5 Industries special effects workshop, though they will operate them at other locations in San Francisco or elsewhere if the size or danger of the experiment requires it, such as the decommissioned Naval Air Station Alameda, Novato's decommissioned Hamilton Air Force Base, Mojave Spaceport, or the Mojave Desert, where the MythBusters test stories involving rockets. Other locations required by the myths being tested have included New Jersey (where they investigated the theory that Jimmy Hoffa is buried under Giants Stadium) and the Bahamas (where they tested some myths involving sharks).
Usually, the team tests the myths via a two-step process. They will first attempt to recreate the myth to determine if the circumstances of the myth, as described, achieve the alleged outcome. If they fail to recreate the outcome, they will then attempt to expand the parameters of the story as much as necessary—often to absurd lengths—until they duplicate the results. This second stage is referred to on the show as "the MythBusters way." For example, In the episode 7 segment "Raccoon Rocket," the MythBusters tested the urban legend of a person who was supposedly launched 200 feet out of a drainage culvert after pouring gasoline into the culvert, climbing in, and lighting the gasoline, in an attempt to kill a raccoon. The MythBusters recreated the circumstances by building a mockup culvert, stuffing Buster inside, and remotely igniting some gasoline. When they failed to launch Buster with this method, they packed Buster inside a sabot, closed an end of the culvert with explosives, and were able to launch Buster about 100 feet away.
When the exact details of a myth are somewhat unclear, The MythBusters will often compete with each other to find and implement the best solution to that problem. An example is when they tested a myth to see if a person could fly or glide by holding onto a sheet of plywood. Savage built a parachute-device from his supplied wood, while Hyneman opted for a glider-shape construct. Both, along with a typical stack of plywood, are tested. Hyneman often has more success, due to his greater experience and technical expertise, and his more patient approach to situations.
Busted, Plausible, or Confirmed?
By the end of each episode, the MythBusters conclude each myth to be "Busted", "Plausible", or "Confirmed". The MythBusters deem a myth to be "Confirmed" when they are able to recreate the myth’s purported outcome with the described circumstances. The MythBusters often corroborate a confirmed myth with documented instances of the myth occurring in real life. "Plausible" conclusions (first used in the second season) are reached if they can only produce the described results by expanding the parameters by a reasonable margin (that is, if the circumstances needed to make the myth work are impractical, but still doable), or by the practical necessity of setting additional parameters that may or may not have been part of the myth described. This judgment is used if a myth is possible but unlikely, or if documented accounts of the myth exist that the MythBusters were not able to duplicate. A myth is "Busted" if the results cannot be replicated via either the described parameters nor reasonably exaggerated ones, or occur only with parameters so unusual that the likelihood of the myth’s validity is virtually nil.
Occasionally the Mythbusters will give more than one designation to a myth. In "Bullets Fired Up", for example, they tested if a bullet fired straight up can fall and kill the shooter or innocent bystanders. They gave the myth all three designations: "Busted", "Plausible", and "Confirmed". The urban legend was "Busted", because bullets fired straight up will tumble to the ground at a non-lethal velocity; "Plausible", because a shooter is much more likely to fire at a slight angle, wherein the bullet will maintain its ballistic trajectory and be potentially lethal when it comes back down; and "Confirmed", because there are many eyewitness accounts of falling bullets killing people. In fact, many municipalities have laws explicitly prohibiting firing weapons into the air for that reason.
In the case of one myth, which alleged that a car passing behind a jet airliner could be overturned by the jet’s wake turbulence when the jet goes to full throttle, the myth was deemed inconclusive, because it could not be duplicated due to logistical difficulties, despite the fact that it was documented by television news, and later recreated on a much larger scale with the CF6 engine from a Boeing 747 by the UK BBC2 television show, Top Gear.
If the MythBusters receive feedback from their fan site discussion forum and other sources asserting that the experiments were improperly conducted or incomplete, the show may revisit past myths and re-test them. As of April 28, 2006 there have been four episodes (14, 38, 46, and 51) dedicated solely to reevaluation. These revisions are conducted with new testing methods or historical information. To date, two previously "Busted" myths have actually been overturned. The "Chicken Gun" myth became "Plausible" and the "Who Gets Wetter?" myth, which asserted that running in the rain gets one less wet than walking in it, became "Confirmed" after their revisits. Other previously "Busted" myths were simply reaffirmed as such.
Buster
Buster is a crash test dummy used in many of the more dangerous myth tests. As a testament to the danger of the tests in which he is used, Buster has had to be extensively repaired and rebuilt over the course of the series — to the point that an entire episode was devoted to his being rebuilt and upgraded to "Buster 2.0". The current Buster boasts improved joints, with a more realistic range of movement, and has easily replaceable wooden "bones", designed to break with the same force as human bone. In addition, his new flesh is made of "Dragon Skin", a special fire-resistant silicone. The MythBusters have at times adapted Buster to fit specialized equipment or give him new functionality; For the purpose of testing the "Hammer Bridge Drop" myth, he was fitted with an accelerometer, while in the Shark Week special, he received temporary modifications that allowed him to punch sharks.
Buster has since been supplemented with a family of at least four simulaides, dubbed "Randy" (Father), "Jane" (Mother), "Suzy" (Daughter) and an unnamed son. They were introduced in the Killer Brace Position myth.
Cast
Hyneman and Savage are assisted by other crew members, most notably the staff of Jamie's M5 Industries workshop, collectively known as "The Build Team". This staff has appeared onscreen since the second season, and were given equal billing with Hyneman and Savage as hosts during the third season. Staff members have included M5 alumnus Tory Belleci, Kari Byron, metal worker and welder Scottie Chapman, electrical engineer Grant Imahara, and Discovery Channel contest winner Christine Chamberlain (often referred to as the "Mythtern" as a play on "intern"). The MythBusters have also regularly consulted with other experts, such as folklorist Heather Joseph-Witham, who explained the origins of certain urban legends being explored in the first season. Much of the show's appeal comes from the interaction between Savage and Hyneman. This interaction is quite similar to a double act, wherein Hyneman plays the straight man and Savage plays the comic foil.
Injuries and mishaps
Due to the nature and methods of MythBusters, several injuries and mishaps have happened over the course of the show. Some of the most significant include:
- Adam's lower lip was sucked into and cut by a running vacuum cleaner motor as he was examining the device for the "Homemade Hovercraft" myth. He 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.
- While taking a break from digging a pothole for the "Driveshaft Pole Vault" experiment, Tory decided to ride around on a bicycle and attempted to jump over a small red wagon. However, the rear wheel failed to clear the wagon, causing the bike to flip and throw Tory onto the pavement. He quickly got up, raised his hands and said "I'm okay".
- Adam lost some hair during an explosion test in the "Cell Phones and Gas Stations" myth, which invoked one of his more famous quotes: "Am I missing... an eyebrow?"
Select quotes
- "I reject your reality and substitute my own." – Adam Savage
- "Jamie wants big boom." – Jamie Hyneman
"We got a robot in the water, he's stuffed with tuna and it's just another day here at Mythbusters." -Adam Savage
Popularity and influence
Hyneman and Savage appeared on Good Morning America on November 8, 2004.
Although no MythBusters appeared on the program, a 2005 episode of Good Eats titled "Myth Smashers" tested cooking-related myths in a MythBusters-like fashion. As portrayed on the episode, host Alton Brown wanted to use the term "Culinary MythBusters" - but his lawyer would not allow it because of trademark infringement. (Later in the episode, he called a myth "busted" anyway before stopping himself.) [3]
Hyneman and Savage appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman on May 23, 2005. The team tested whether a cluster of helium party balloons could lift an adult person (a repeat of the "Carried Away" myth). 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.
G4's X-Play also had a spoof of the MythBusters, dubbed "MythCrackers", first airing on August 22, 2005. In the skit two men attempt to solve various video game myths, such as putting large arrows on the ground for a car to drive over to make it go faster, eating mushrooms to make you giant sized, barrels that explode when you shoot them, and removing the memory card while the game is saving.
The cover feature of the winter 2005 issue of Skeptic spotlighted Hyneman and Savage. [4]
Hyneman and Savage appeared in a segment at the 2006 TV Week Logie Awards, where they attempted to solve the myth of whether or not the atmospheric pressure at the Logies caused guests' breasts to increase in size. This segment used footage from the "Exploding Implants" myth, with a new voice-over, intro, and ending.
Lego minifigure representations of Hyneman and Savage frequently appear in strips of the online comic strip, Irregular Webcomic!, where they test strange myths. For example, they confirmed that "Death waits for no man".[5]
MythBusters is broadcast in several countries, primarily on each country's edition of the Discovery Channel. In some countries, the English speech is either subtitled in the relevant language, or the narrator is dubbed. In the UK, Rufus Hound narrates the BBC Two version of MythBusters, while Robin Banks narrates the Discovery Channel's version. Excerpts of the show are also shown as part of the Beyond Television-produced Beyond Tomorrow.
See also
- Brainiac: Science Abuse, A similar British show hosted by Richard Hammond.
- Urban Legends Reference Pages
References
- ^ "Transcript of Jamie and Adam's Nov. 10, 2004, Online Chat," pg. 1 Retrieved August 1, 2006.
- ^ Interview with Adam Savage on The Sneeze. August 23, 2005. Retrieved August 1, 2006.
- ^ Good Eats "Myth Smashers" transcript Jun. 8, 2006. Retrieved Jul. 21, 2006.
- ^ Skeptic Magazine, volume 12, no.1
- ^ List of MythBusters comic spoofs in Irregular Webcomic! Retrived August 3, 2006.