MythBusters

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14 seasons and counting.

MythBusters, hosted by special effects experts Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage, is a television show dedicated to skepticism about urban legends and attempting to prove or disprove them by experiment. It is produced by the Discovery Channel in Australia (filmed in the United States) and is aired around the world. The combination of skepticism, "blowing shit up real good", Adam and Jamie's natural chemistry, and (second season to the 13th) build team member Kari Byron has made it one of the most popular science shows in the world. It is probably coincidence that "build team" can be abbreviated "B-team."[1]

While it is indisputable that the show often places more weight upon impressive experiments than truly scientific experiments,[2][3] they do much for promoting the scientific method by encouraging the viewer to be skeptical and to subject their beliefs to the rigors of, if not totally scientific, then at least some testing.[4] This skepticism extends to themselves, where viewers are encouraged to question the experiments on the show. They are notable in that they are one of the only shows of their kind that will actually redo a test they have already done, if fans find fault with the original tests, discover different variations of the myth, or dispute their interpretations. These revisits are often just as fun to watch, or even more so, than the original myths, and being open with their faults lends more credibility to their results. Thus, there is no need to feel guilty while enjoying watching some guys "blowing shit up real good!"

They have also, at times, tested standard thought experiments in physics, such as "two bullets, one fired from a gun, the other simultaneously dropped, will strike the ground at the same time" (confirmed) and "it is impossible to blow your own sail with a fan on the boat, because the reaction force of the fan will exactly cancel the thrust of the sail" (busted, surprisingly, for a sufficiently strong fan). They also have a standing rejection of trying any New Age, or as Adam puts it, "oogie-boogie" myths after they attempted to put pyramid power myths to the test.

They also pwned a few moon landing hoax myths, such as shadows from multiple angles implying multiple sources of light (busted), the myth that the flag could not have flapped in a vacuum (busted), and the myth that the astronauts could not have left distinct footprints in the dry moon dust (also busted). The episode ended with MythBusters visiting an observatory that uses a laser to determine the distance of the Moon from the Earth, which would be impossible had it not been for the Apollo 11, 14, and 15 astronauts placing special reflectors on the moon surface. The staff at the observatory stated no moon hoaxers had ever come to question them or investigate the observatory, probably because moon hoaxers don't seem to be aware of the other Apollo missions besides Apollo 11.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] Footnotes

  1. Which has been literally the case since season three or so -- although Kari Byron, Tori Belleci, and Grant Imahara aren't as well-known as Adam and Jamie, they do quite impressive work in their own right while Adam and Jamie are involved in other projects.
  2. PhD Comics - If TV Science was more like real science
  3. See Adam's response to the criticism.
  4. xkcd explains this here
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