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MythBusters is a popular science television program produced by Australian firm Beyond Television Productions originally for the Discovery Channel in the United States and Canada. The series has since been picked up by a number of international broadcasters, including SBS in Australia, and BBC2 in the UK. The series stars special effects experts Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman, who use basic elements of the scientific method to test the validity of various rumors, urban legends, myths, movie scenes and news stories in popular culture.
Filming for MythBusters is based in San Francisco, California, United States though some elements of production are done in Artarmon, Australia.
Discussion
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Quotations
Adam:
80 lbs. of gunpowder, 22 idiots, 1 crash-test dummy…priceless.
Adam:
An empty car doing doughnuts and a police car with its lights flashing…Nah, I checked. There's nothing more fun than that.
Adam:
Here on MythBusters Makeover, we're turning this lovely California bungalow into a disaster zone.
Adam:
I guess I could break into a building too by beating on the ducting with a sledgehammer.
Adam:
I just don't want any leaks. I don't like leaks.
Adam:
I reject your reality, and substitute my own!
Encyclopedia
MythBusters is a popular science television program produced by Australian firm Beyond Television Productions originally for the Discovery Channel in the United States and Canada. The series has since been picked up by a number of international broadcasters, including SBS in Australia, and BBC2 in the UK. The series stars special effects experts Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman, who use basic elements of the scientific method to test the validity of various rumors, urban legends, myths, movie scenes and news stories in popular culture.
Filming for MythBusters is based in San Francisco, California, United States though some elements of production are done in Artarmon, Australia. Planning and some experimentation usually takes place at the cast's workshops; experiments that require more space or special accommodations are filmed on location, typically around the Bay Area of San Francisco. During the second season, several members of Savage and Hyneman's team ("The Build Team") were split off into a second team of MythBusters, and now typically test separate myths from the main duo.
History
Initial pilots for the show were first created for the Discovery Channel under the title Tall Tales or True by producer Peter Rees of Beyond Productions in 2002. Discovery then commissioned three additional pilot specials. Jamie Hyneman came to the show through Rees, who had previously interviewed him for his appearance on BattleBots. Adam Savage, who had worked with Hyneman in commercials and on BattleBots, was approached by Hyneman to help co-host the show because, according to Savage, Hyneman felt himself too uninteresting to host the show on his own.
In July 2006, an edited thirty-minute version of MythBusters began airing on BBC Two in the UK. The episodes shown on the European Discovery Channel sometimes include extra scenes not shown in the U.S. version (some of these scenes eventually make their way into "specials", such as "MythBusters Outtakes").
Cast
Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman are the original MythBusters, and initially explored all the myths on the show using their common background in special effects. The two work at Hyneman's effects workshop, M5 Industries; they make use of his staff, though they often work off-screen, with Hyneman and Savage usually shown doing most of the work at the shop. One of the show's gimmicks is the interaction between Savage and Hyneman, which is similar to a double act, wherein Hyneman plays the straight man and Savage is the comic relief. The show is narrated by Robert Lee, though in some regions his voice is replaced by a local narrator.
As the series progressed, some members of Hyneman's staff were introduced to the audience and began to regularly appear in episodes. Three such members, artist Kari Byron, builder Tory Belleci and metal-worker Scottie Chapman, split off in the second season to form a second team of MythBusters, dubbed the "Build Team". After Chapman left the show for personal reasons during the third season, Grant Imahara, a colleague of Hyneman, was brought in to round out the team with his electrical and robotics experience. The Build Team now works at its own workshop, called M7, investigating separate myths from the original duo. Each episode now typically jumps back and forth between the two teams covering different myths.
The show has had two interns, dubbed "Mythterns": Discovery Channel contest winner Christine Chamberlain and viewer building contest-winner Jess Nelson; neither is with the show now. In the first season, the program featured segments with folklorist Heather Joseph-Witham, who explained the origins of certain urban legends, and other people who had first-hand experience with the myths being tested, but those elements were phased out early in the series. However, the MythBusters still commonly consult with experts for myths in areas in which they need outside assistance. These areas commonly include firearms, for which they most commonly consult Sgt. Al Normandy of the South San Francisco Police Department, and explosives, for which they most commonly consult retired FBI explosives expert Frank Doyle. The MythBusters will also routinely ask those they come in contact with during testing (such as those supplying the equipment being tested) if they have ever heard of the myth in question.
Format
Each MythBusters episode typically focuses on several urban legends, popular beliefs, Internet rumors, or other myths. The list of myths tested by the show is compiled from many sources, including the personal experiences of cast and crew, as well as fan suggestions, such as those posted on The Discovery Channel online MythBusters forums. Occasionally, episodes are produced in which some or all of the myths are related by theme, and occasionally these are dubbed as "[Theme] Special" episodes. As of August 2008, three myths have required such extensive preparation and testing that they had entire episodes devoted solely to them,
and four specials have been double-length.
Experiment methodology
The MythBusters typically set out to test myths following a two-step process. In early episodes, the steps were described as "replicate the circumstances, then duplicate the results" by Savage. This means that first the team attempts to recreate the circumstances that the myth alleges to see whether the alleged result occurs; if that fails, they attempt to expand the circumstances to the point that will cause the described result. Occasionally the team (usually Savage and Hyneman) will hold a friendly competition between themselves to see which of them can come up with a more successful solution to recreating the results. This is most common with myths involving building an object that can accomplish a goal (for example, rapidly cooling a beer, or finding a needle in a haystack).
While there is no specific formula the team follows in terms of physical procedure, most myths involve construction of various objects to help test the myth. They utilize their functional workshops to create whatever is needed, often including mechanical devices and sets to simulate the circumstances of the myth. Human actions are often simulated by mechanical means in order to increase safety, and to achieve consistency in repeated actions. Methods for testing myths are usually planned and executed in a manner to produce visually dramatic results, which generally involves explosions, fires, and/or vehicle crashes. Thus, myths or tests involving explosives, firearms and vehicle collisions are relatively common.
Tests are sometimes confined to the workshop, but often require the teams to move outside. Much of the outdoor testing in early seasons took place in the parking lot of M5. A cargo container in the parking lot commonly serves as an isolation room for dangerous myths, with the experiment being triggered from outside. However, budget increases have permitted more frequent travel to other locations in San Francisco and around the Bay Area. Common filming locations around the Bay Area include decommissioned (closed) military facilities (such as Naval Air Station Alameda, Naval Station Treasure Island, Hunters Point Naval Shipyard, Mare Island Naval Shipyard, and Hamilton Air Force Base), and the Alameda County Sheriff's Bomb Squad and Firearm range. Occasionally, mainly for special episodes, production moves out of state, or even out of the country.
Results are measured in a manner scientifically appropriate for the given experiment. Sometimes results can be measured by simple numerical measurement using standard tools, such as multimeters for electrical measurements, or various types of thermometers to measure temperature. To gauge results that don't yield numerical quantities, the teams commonly make use of several types of equipment which can provide other forms of observable effects. When testing physical consequences to a human body which would be too dangerous to test on a living person, the MythBusters commonly use analogs. Initially, they mainly used crash test dummies (most notably one they named Buster) for observing blunt trauma injury, and ballistic gelatin for testing penetrating trauma. They have since progressed to using pig carcasses when an experiment requires a more accurate simulation of human flesh, bone, and organs. They have also occasionally molded real or simulated bones within ballistics gel for simulations of specific body parts.
Both for the purposes of visual observation to determine a result, and simply as a unique visual for the program, high speed cameras are used during experiments and have become a trademark of the series. High-speed footage of moving objects in front of a measured scale is commonly utilized to determine the speed of the object.
Testing is often edited due to time constraints of a televised episode. It can often seem as if the teams draw results from fewer repetitions and a smaller data set than they actually have. During the Outtakes Special, they specifically stated that while they are, in fact, very thorough in testing myths and repeat experiments many times in many different configurations, it is simply impossible to display all of it on the show. Beginning in the fifth season, episodes typically contain a prompt for the viewer to visit the show's homepage to view outtake footage of either additional testing, or other facets of the myths being tested. However, Savage himself has acknowledged that they do not purport to always achieve a satisfactorily large enough set of results to definitively overcome all bias.
In response to criticisms they receive about their methods and results in previous episodes, the show produced several "Myths Revisited" episodes, in which the teams retest myths to see if the complaints have merit. These episodes have resulted in overturning results of several myths, as well as upholding some results for different reasons than originally concluded.
There are some myths and urban legends the MythBusters refuse to test. Paranormal concepts, such as aliens or ghosts, are not addressed because they cannot be tested by scientific methods, although one exception, pyramid power, prompted Adam to comment, "No more 'oogie-boogie' myths, please." The program generally avoids experiments harmful to animals, though in one episode they bombarded cockroaches and other laboratory insects with lethal doses of radiation and the cast addressed this, saying that the insects were specifically bred for experiments and would have likely died anyway. The book MythBusters: The Explosive Truth Behind 30 of the Most Perplexing Urban Legends of All Time (ISBN 1-4169-0929-X) also gives a list of a dozen urban legends that are unlikely to be explored (although three were eventually tested). Savage has commented that it is difficult to test myths that require them to disprove general claims because of the inherent difficulty in proving a negative. As a result, when they do pursue such myths, they typically go about disproving specific methods that claim to achieve results. Additionally, certain myths are not tested due to various objections by Discovery Channel or their advertisers.
Conclusions of the experiments
By the end of each episode, each myth is rated Busted, Plausible, or Confirmed.
Busted
- The myth's results cannot be replicated via either the described parameters nor reasonably exaggerated ones. Often, when a myth is declared Busted, the team will try to see what would be required to replicate the result of the myth, regardless of the facts within the myth itself. This is commonly referred to in the show as "the MythBusters way."
- Some of these myths are revisited if the viewers are unsatisfied with the results.
Plausible
- Plausible is given under two circumstances:
- The myth's results can only be replicated by expanding some parameters of the myth by a realistic and reasonable margin. This may have been due to facts within the myth having been altered slightly over time by it being told and re-told by the time it was tested by the MythBusters. Also, certain materials may had to have been substituted for others in some cases as a matter of necessity during the course of the myth being tested, but the new materials are almost always very similar to the materials specified and usually are readily available, so as to prevent it from being prohibitively costly or impractical.
- If there is no documentation of the myth occurring, yet the MythBusters were still able to duplicate it very closely to how the myth was described (such as the myth that states that pirates wore eye patches for enhanced night vision, or a civilian being talked into landing an airplane).
Confirmed
- The MythBusters are able to recreate or closely recreate the myth's purported outcome with the described circumstances. A Confirmed myth is usually corroborated with documented evidence of actual occurrences. If the myth lacks any specific scenarios, the Mythbusters will test every reasonable scenario, and just one scenario is enough for them to confirm the myth (for example, when testing to see whether shooting fish in a barrel was in fact very easy, they could not hit the reanimated fish with a bullet, but the pressure distributed by the water was indeed very lethal; therefore, myth confirmed). The term "True" was used in the first season.
Warnings and self-censorship
MythBusters places a strong emphasis on viewer safety due to the nature of the myths tested, often dealing with purported household scenarios. All episodes begin with Adam and Jamie giving a disclaimer against attempting the experiments seen on the show; most episodes also feature a second warning halfway through the running time. These disclaimers are not aired with the broadcasts on Discovery UK, on SBS in Australia, or in the Netherlands.
The show employs various degrees of safety, or courtesy-related censorship. Instead of the standard bleeping, vulgar language or the names of ingredients used in the production of hazardous materials are usually covered over with sound effects which are humorous or relevant to the myth. Other potentially offensive subject matter is glossed over with euphemisms or addressed in a strictly scientific sense. Another example would be the censoring of the valve that was used to release urine on the ballistic gel dummy in the "Peeing on the Third Rail" myth. As with audio, visible chemical labels used to produce dangerous materials are blurred out. In the Hindenburg special, Adam described how to make a compound by "mixing blur with blur", comically recognizing the censorship of the chemicals. In certain scenarios (such as building a bomb), they also admit that even professionals such as themselves are required to seek special permission/assistance from the government or prohibited from engaging in a certain activity and take the opportunity to reinforce the disclaimer. In case of assembling explosives they mostly do not show everything they put into it, or how it was put together.
Many brand names of items used in the show are also edited out, usually by blurring or covering up the branding with a MythBusters sticker. The only exception is when brand names are specific to the myth (such as the Diet Coke and Mentos experiment).
Name lawsuit
In January 2005, children's author and adventurer Andrew Knight (aka "Bowvayne") commenced legal proceedings in Australia against Beyond Productions (the producer of MythBusters), alleging passing off in relation to the use of the name "Mythbusters". Knight asserted that he had previously put together a team of "Mythbusters" and had used the name continuously since 1988 in relation to pursuing myths, ghosts, monsters, goblins, and other such mysteries in an offbeat manner all around the world. Knight authored a series of self-published children's books under the banner "Mythbusters" in 1991, 1993, and 1996. In February 2007, the Federal Court of Australia dismissed Knight's claims against Beyond (Knight v Beyond Properties Pty Ltd [2007] FCA 70).
Popularity and influence
Hyneman and Savage have appeared on numerous entertainment programs, such as Good Morning America, The Late Show with David Letterman, NPR's news program All Things Considered, the syndicated radio Bob and Tom Show, and in the movie The Darwin Awards (as two military surplus vendors who sold a JATO rocket to the main character). Skeptic magazine's Daniel Loxton interviewed the duo in an article entitled "Mythbusters Exposed." Hyneman and Savage spoke at the annual convention of the National Science Teachers Association in March 2006, and the California Science Teachers Association named them honorary lifetime members in October 2006. In Australia, they 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. They also are occasionally interviewed for articles by Popular Mechanics.
Hyneman and Savage occasionally appear at colleges around the United States to talk about what it's like to be a MythBuster; the show consists of an interview and discussion to give the audience the opportunity to ask the MythBusters questions. The Build Team members have sometimes made appearances in similar capacity. They hold lectures in both collegiate and corporate settings, though the technical colleges tend to be the most enthusiastic. They've spoken at WPI, RPI, MIT, Boise State, Georgia Tech, Michigan Tech, UC Berkeley, Northern Michigan University, Purdue University, the University of Akron, the University Of Maine, the University of Florida, the IBM Almaden Research Center, the University of New Mexico, the University of Arizona, and many others.
Adam Savage has written a primer on mold-making for MAKE magazine, and was a featured guest at the 2008 San Mateo Maker Faire. Kari Byron was interviewed on The Late Show, on January 16, 2006. In 2006, Kari did a photo-shoot for FHM magazine, in which she demonstrated simple home chemistry experiments (such as the Mentos and Diet-Coke reaction) while wearing a red bra and lab coat.
People involved in survival stories reported in local newscasts have sometimes mentioned previous viewings of MythBusters as an influence to their actions. Twenty-three year old Theresa Booth of St. Martin, Minnesota credits a MythBusters episode for her and her infant child's survival. On April 3, 2007 she skidded off the road into a drainage ditch which had filled with flood water from the Sauk River. In a local newscast, she is described as opening the car door as soon as it entered the water, and credits her watching of the show (specifically, the episode of the Underwater Car myth) for her knowledge of how to survive the accident. On October 19, 2007 in Sydney, Australia, a teenager named Julian Shaw pulled a fainted middle-aged man off the railway tracks near a train station to safety below the platform. He pulled back as the train passed, citing that the "Train Suction" episode affected his response.
On the May 1, 2008 episode of CSI, "The Theory of Everything", Jamie and Adam appeared in a cameo as observers taking notes during a test to determine whether a taser bolt can set someone on fire under various circumstances.
In August 2008, Hyneman and Savage appeared on the stage of NVISION 08, an event sponsored by NVIDIA, to debunk the myth that CPU was superior to GPU by drawing a Mona Lisa reproduction with a giant parallel paint gun, which they used again at YouTube Live.
International broadcasts
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 and the United States customary units, still used throughout, are converted to metric, or the narrator is dubbed, or the whole show is voiced-over. Sometimes, the part where the myth is explained in sketches is completely redrawn in that language. Excerpts of the show are also shown as part of the Beyond Television-produced Beyond Tomorrow.
See also
External links
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