It was a geeky treat when the MythBusters decided to release six new episodes of their hit science show this July, and we were so amped about it that we kept a journal of all the results (and explosions)!
Number of explosions: 12
Myths tested: 29
Myths confirmed: 7
Myths plausible: 6
Myths busted: 16
Episode 216: Fire in the Hole! (First episode to feature Dubstep?)
You can shoot a grenade in the air and blow it up or disable it: PLAUSIBLE
Where can you stash a bomb, dive, and survive?
Filing cabinet: BUSTED
Twin bed: PLAUSIBLE
Fish tank filled with water: PLAUSIBLE
Back of a garbage truck: PLAUSIBLE (If you jump off to the side)
Episode 217: Household Disasters
A dropped small piano can make it through a house roof and floor: BUSTED
A baby grand piano can make it through a house and floor: BUSTED
Vacuuming up black powder can cause an explosion: BUSTED
You can put out a house fire with an exploding water heater: BUSTED
Sunscreen is flammable while being sprayed: CONFIRMED
Sunscreen is flammable:
Three minutes after skin application: BUSTED
One minute after skin application: BUSTED
Five seconds after skin application: PLAUSIBLE
Episode 218: Commercial Myths
You can successfully bob for an apple during a 100-foot bungee jump unaided: BUSTED
You can have a tennis rally on the wings of a plane in flight (32 feet apart at 35 miles per hour): CONFIRMED
Episode 219: Road Rage
Knocking another car off a cliff is always a long and difficult fender-bending duel: BUSTED (Itâs super easy!)
Tipping a car up on to two wheels and driving sideways is easy: BUSTED (Jaime got whiplash.)
A Corvette can be used as a ramp to flip another car into a barrel roll and both can drive away afterwards (as in the movie Wanted): BUSTED
Episode 220: Laws of Attraction
People get dumber in the presence of the opposite sex (based on famous Stroop Effect): BUSTED (Everyone did better!)
A waitress with a bigger bust will receive bigger tips from men: CONFIRMED (A 30% increase from the men and 40% from the women!)
Commercial âpheromone spraysâ have an enticing effect on the opposite sex: BUSTED
Women prefer pictures of men that have higher reported salaries: CONFIRMED
Men prefer blondes (in a wig-based speed-dating experiment): BUSTED
Episode 221: Traffic Tricks
Even a small change in heavy traffic flow (light braking) can cause a huge jam: CONFIRMED
Itâs faster to stay in one lane during heavy traffic than make multiple lane changes: BUSTED (But weaving isnât that much faster and itâs much more stressful/dangerous.)
Roundabouts are far more efficient than 4-way stops: CONFIRMED
Four journeys under 400 miles, itâs faster to drive than to fly: PLAUSIBLE
Episode 222: Plane Boarding
When boarding an airplane, boarding back-to-front is the slowest method: CONFIRMED
A human tooth can be made into a bullet that is accurate, lethal, and undetectable after it shatters on impact: BUSTED
Thanks to the army of nerd cataloguers at MythBusters Results, you can find much more information about every MythBusters episode here.
Also, we here at Nerdist would like to send big, sciencey love to Kari Byron, Tory Belleci, and Grant Imahara, who after 10 years of busting myths have decided to leave the show. Episode 222 was the build team’s last. While we are incredibly sad to see them leave what is perhaps the last great science show on cable, we are excited for and fully support whatever they’ve got coming up next. Thanks for all the explosions.
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IMAGES: DCL
Kyle Hill is the Chief Science Officer of the Nerdist enterprise. Follow the continued geekery on Twitter @Sci_Phile.
Reread that tweet from the show, and watch the season finale’s coda; those three didn’t “decide to leave the show”, they were let go.