Urban legend or fact...only the Mythbusters can tell

Jamie prepares to make his co-host ... toast. (Not really, though. Obviously.)


Ever heard the legend that a man killed another man by throwing a playing card at him really hard, cutting his throat and killing him? Or did you ever hear the one about the woman who had been driving her car after grocery shopping on a hot day, and heard a loud "pop" and when she reached her hand to the back of her head, she felt what she thought were her brains leaking out of her head (turned out it was biscuit dough which had popped out of the can)? How about the one where a man supposedly survived a fall off of a scaffold by holding a piece of plywood, using it as a kind of glider? These are the kinds of things that hosts Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman test out on each episode of Mythbusters. I love this show. They test out each of these myths in every way possible, trying their hardest to make them work. Sometimes they are found to be "plausible," and other times they are "busted." You can see this show on the Discovery Channel, every Wednesday at 9 pm (PT).


Here are a few examples of some episodes ...

Episode 21: Pingpong Rescue - It's wet-suit time for the MythBusters as Adam and Jamie investigate whether it's possible to lift a sunken boat from the ocean floor using only pingpong balls. Then Scottie, Tori and Kari get carried away testing a common Hollywood scene: Just how many balloons does it take to lift a 3-year-old child off the ground? premiere: Nov. 3, 2004

Episode 23: Exploding House - Just how hard is it to find a needle in a haystack? Egos fly as the MythBusters get competitive creating the supreme needle-finding machine. Then, returning to their familiar territory of blowing stuff up in the name of science, Jamie and Adam arm themselves with roach foggers and an abandoned apartment building to find out if toxic fumes and bug bombs really are an explosive combination. Finally, the MythBuilders hit the roof to prove whether or not whispering sweet nothings to your plants is the secret to gardening success. premiere: Nov. 16, 2004


Episode 4: Penny Drop, Deadly Microwaves, Radio Tooth Fillings - Can pennies from heaven kill? Or, more specifically, can a penny dropped from a skyscraper kill a pedestrian on the sidewalk below? Jamie and Adam take the challenge, hopefully without deadly results. Speaking of fatal fallacies, is it possible to literally bake yourself on a tanning bed from the inside out? The guys also investigate the claim that Lucille Ball exposed a Japanese spy ring by listening to radio signals transmitted by her tooth fillings. Hmmm ...

Episode 5: Hammer Bridge Drop, Buried Alive, Cola - Can Jamie and Adam cheat death? We'll find out. First, they test the theory that a person could survive a leap from a bridge by throwing a hammer in the water first. According to urban legend, the hammer should break the plane of the water's surface, thereby softening the landing. They'll also investigate whether it's possible to survive being buried alive. How long would it take before all oxygen is cut off inside the coffin causing suffocation? On the lighter side, the guys will take a look at the many myths about cola. Can it remove bloodstains, clean rust or cook a steak? They'll get back to you on that