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 44 – "Paper Crossbow" Original air date: January 11, 2006
Paper Crossbow This myth was the first entry among those listed as one of the twelve myths that would not be tested in MythBusters: The Explosive Truth Behind 30 of the Most Perplexing Urban Legends of All Time. In an interview for Skeptic magazine, the myth apparently was considered too controversial by Discovery Channel, which thought testing the myth could provoke prisoners to try similar things.
Vodka Myths II Kari, Tory, and Grant tested to see if vodka...
Episode 45 – "Shredded Plane" Original air date: January 18, 2006
Shredded Plane One widely circulated photo showed a systematically and neatly sliced Piper PA-44 Seminole. The damage was caused by...
Fire Without Matches Fire can be started...
Episode 46 – "Archimedes Death Ray" Original air date: January 25, 2006 This was the third episode where myths from previous episodes were revisited, as well as the third episode to focus on just one experiment. This episode, referred to as the "MythBusters Mailbag Special: The Great Archimedes Burn-Off" from within the episode itself, saw a retest of the Ancient Death Ray myth after fans of the series contested the MythBusters' original decision. To this end, the MythBusters commissioned a contest, challenging viewers to prove the myth plausible. Candidates could enter in either of two categories: a smaller-scale version where the object was to ignite an object from 5 ft (1.5 m) away, or the full-scale version, where the object was to ignite a replica trireme from 100 ft (30 m) away (as per the original myth). For the smaller-scale version, two finalists—the team of Kari Lukes and Jess Nelson, both from UCSB, and the team of Brenden Millstein (Harvard) and Stephen Marsh (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)—were chosen to compete against the MythBusters' own entry in the retest (which was disqualified when it was found that the MythBusters had not followed the contest rules they had set out themselves). Only one entrant (Mike Bushroe, a NASA space scientist) entered a full-scale contest; however, the winning entry was destroyed en route for the retest. The MythBusters also invited a team from MIT, led by Professor David Wallace, who had independently verified that a ship could be lit from afar using an array of mirrors, to retest the myth with Archimedean-era technology instead of the modern technology used in their own experiment.
While it was shown extensively that it is, in fact, plausible that an array of mirrors (or a parabolic mirror) could set objects on fire, the MythBusters stood by their original "busted" verdict because of many factors:
Syracuse, where the myth was supposed to take place, faced east, thus it could not take advantage of the more intense midday rays, instead relying on less powerful morning rays. The death ray would not work during cloudy weather. Enemy ships were likely to be moving targets, thus the mirrors would need to be constantly refocused. The historical records: No mention of the use of fire during the Battle of Syracuse was made until 300 years after the event, and no mention of mirrors was made until 800 years after the event. The impossibly large numbers of mirrors and personnel needed to light a boat with any reasonable speed. The availability of other weapons that were much more effective: Flaming arrows and Molotov cocktail were more reliable at setting an enemy ship ablaze, and they were more effective over longer distances. The MythBusters also addressed fans' criticisms that suggested they try to light the ships' sails instead of the body of the ship, and showed the sails diffused the light due to their composition and the wind blowing against them, thus they could not be as easily set on fire compared to the body of the ship. The myth would be visited a third time in 2010 in the President's Challenge, only to be re-busted.
Episode 47 – "Helium Football" Original air date: February 1, 2006
Helium Football Adam and Jamie took on a myth prevalent around football circles, made more prevalent during the time of prolific punter Ray Guy, whose kicks carried so much distance and had so much hangtime, some had suspected the footballs he used were filled with helium.
Catching a Bullet in Your Teeth The Build Team takes on the bullet catch magic trick and sees whether it is possible to do the trick for real.
Episode 48 – "Franklin's Kite" Original air date: March 8, 2006
Franklin's Kite The Build Team took on a piece of American folklore regarding Benjamin Franklin's discovery of lightning as electricity. The folklore description is not historically accurate (as mentioned by the Build Team), although it is a popular misconception.
Facts About Flatulence In this myth, Adam and Jamie tested some of the more prevalent myths based on flatulence. Throughout the myth, the MythBusters were careful to use only the scientific term "flatus" as opposed to the more common "fart", to prevent coming off as insensitive to the viewers (although "fart" had been used and aired uncensored by the MythBusters before and since).
Two additional myths were filmed but not aired as part of the broadcast episode. These have been shown in an outtakes reel at live appearances by the MythBusters.
Do Girls Pass Gas?
Lighting the Emission This is also referred to as "Flatus Burning."
Episode 49 – "Cell Phones on Planes" Original air date: March 15, 2006
Helium Raft
Cell Phones on a Plane
Episode 50 – "Bullets Fired Up" Original air date: April 19, 2006
Bullets Fired Up
Vodka Myths III Vodka can...
Episode 51 – "Myths Re-Opened" Original air date: April 26, 2006 This was the fourth episode in which myths were retested (counting the Archimedes Death Ray revisit).
Salami Rocket The MythBusters revisited the Confederate Rocket myth with some new information from viewers. This was revisited in "More Myths Revisited".
Splitting an Arrow At the insistence of viewers, the team retested the popular arrow-splitting myth seen in the film The Adventures of Robin Hood.
Guns Fired Underwater It has already been shown that, in some cases, bullets become non-lethal when fired into water, but what happens when the whole gun is fired under water?
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