MythBusters on Discovery
Peter Rees
Legends is premiering on The US Discovery Channel at 9:00 p.m. and
10:00 p.m. Eastern 23rd January 2003.
Unlike so many attempts at this idea, we don't just re-tell the
stories.. we put them to the test. In the first two episodes we try
to:
Drive a JATO Powered '66 Chevy
Rupture a stomach with pop rocks and soda
Get stuck to an airline toilet
Build a biscuit dough mortar
and
Throw a lawyer through a skyscraper window.
Hope you have time to watch.
Regards,
TeaLady
news:6b6b4da6.03011...@posting.google.com:
> Unlike so many attempts at this idea, we don't just re-tell the
> stories.. we put them to the test. In the first two episodes we
> try to:
>
> Drive a JATO Powered '66 Chevy
>
Depending on who the driver is, I just might watch...
--
Tea"No fun if it's a crash-test mannequin"Lady (mari)
"We need love and understanding. We need to remedy this cultural
gulf. Half-hour cultural group therapy and urban spelling lessons
can now be scheduled M-Th 7:30-9 EST." - David Wnsemius on the new
feel-good afu standards.
R H Draney
> Unlike so many attempts at this idea, we don't just re-tell the
> stories.. we put them to the test. In the first two episodes we try
> to:
>
> Drive a JATO Powered '66 Chevy
> Rupture a stomach with pop rocks and soda
If nobody else is going to ask, I will....
Where'd you get the stomach?...
> Get stuck to an airline toilet
> Build a biscuit dough mortar
> and
> Throw a lawyer through a skyscraper window.
There's not a soul alive today who hasn't thought of trying that last
one at some point...mind the window doesn't flow out of the way....
R H "do you take requests for future episodes?" Draney
Anthony McCafferty
<dado...@earthlink.net> writes:
>> Throw a lawyer through a skyscraper window.
>
>There's not a soul alive today who hasn't thought of trying that last
>one at some point...mind the window doesn't flow out of the way....
First, insert a JATO in the lawyer....
Anthony "Recombinant ULs" McCafferty
Peter Rees
We used 6 pigs stomachs. With all the tubes attached they are almost
exactly the same size as a human one.... we mounted them in a human
skeleton for visual effect and then injected pop rocks, hydrochloric
acid and cola with a giant syringe. The results with baking soda were
quite impressive.
If the program goes into another series we will definately be taking
requests. The only criterior is that we need to be able to subject the
stories to some kind of physical testing.
My favorite at the moment is the one about soldiers have to break step
before they march across a bridge. If they don't they can set up a
resonance that can make the whole lot collapse... or so the story
goes.
Peter.
Peter Rees
an old car... we rigged it like a giant RC toy and chased it with a
helicopter. The accelaration was phenominal.
Peter.
Norm Soley
> Just thought you all might like to know that our new series on Urban
> Legends is premiering on The US Discovery Channel at 9:00 p.m. and
> 10:00 p.m. Eastern 23rd January 2003.
>
> Unlike so many attempts at this idea, we don't just re-tell the
> stories.. we put them to the test. In the first two episodes we try
> to:
>
> Throw a lawyer through a skyscraper window.
Kinda curious why you would have picked that one since alone among
your list it is a verifiably true story, since it's already been proven, what's
the point of repeating the experiment? Also curious given the outcome for
Garry Hoy how you found others willing to risk it.
Timothy McDaniel
Peter Rees <pet...@beyond.com.au> wrote:
>Just thought you all might like to know that our new series on Urban
>Legends is premiering on The US Discovery Channel at 9:00 p.m. and
>10:00 p.m. Eastern 23rd January 2003.
Thank you for the notice. You might want to mention the title of the
series, so those who want to look it up in on-line TV listings,
discussion boards, and such: it's _Myth Busters_.
In the Austin, Texas, area (Central time), the first episode will be
shown just once in the next 10 days: 8 PM Central, Thursday, 23
January, according to TV Guide's Web site. The second episode will be
shown at (Central time)
9 PM Thursday, 23 January
12 AM Friday, 24 January
3 PM Saturday, 25 January
I wonder if there's mislabelling, where a later showing is actually of
the first episode.
--
Tim McDaniel, tm...@panix.com; tm...@us.ibm.com is my work address
Lon Stowell
> Hi there,
>
> We used 6 pigs stomachs. With all the tubes attached they are almost
> exactly the same size as a human one.... we mounted them in a human
> skeleton for visual effect and then injected pop rocks, hydrochloric
> acid and cola with a giant syringe. The results with baking soda were
> quite impressive.
Oh now wait a minute. I can recall the old kids trick of baking
soda and a glass of lemon juice. None of us suffered the
slightest harm except that caused by parents and the 50 year
later expansion of the waistline.
>
> If the program goes into another series we will definately be taking
> requests. The only criterior is that we need to be able to subject the
> stories to some kind of physical testing.
The choking doberman is out. Ditto the sewergator and jackalope.
You probably won't get that many volunteers for the candiru
test either, altho BMW drivers are allegedly the largest
candidates.
>
> My favorite at the moment is the one about soldiers have to break step
> before they march across a bridge. If they don't they can set up a
> resonance that can make the whole lot collapse... or so the story
> goes.
D'ya think congresscritters can be trained to march in time?
I'll help build the bridge...
John Francis
Lon Stowell <lon.s...@attbi.comedy.forum> wrote:
>Peter Rees wrote:
>> Hi there,
>>
>> before they march across a bridge. If they don't they can set up a
>> resonance that can make the whole lot collapse... or so the story
>> goes.
>
> D'ya think congresscritters can be trained to march in time?
> I'll help build the bridge...
I doubt if you could get as many as three congresscritters to
march in the same *direction*, let alone march in step ...
Peter Rees
Actually Discovery have decided to run the first two episode back to
back so the Episode one airs at 9:00 pm eastern and Episode 2 at ten
pm eastern...
If anyone gets the chance to catch it I would be happy for any
comments, criticism, and of cause condemnation if you think it is due.
Actually there were a number elements in our research that might come
as a spurise to some people. Did you know that Dodge actually attached
a JATO to one of their cars in the 1950's for an advertisement. They
topped out at 140 mph.
P.
Peter Rees
that is verifiably true... there are two others in the list.
Peter
Crashj
> "Peter Rees" <pet...@beyond.com.au> wrote in message news:6b6b4da6.03011...@posting.google.com...
<>
>
> Kinda curious why you would have picked that one since alone among
> your list it is a verifiably true story, since it's already been proven,
> what's
> the point of repeating the experiment? Also curious given the outcome for
> Garry Hoy how you found others willing to risk it.
A. Urban legends can be true, by definition
B. Some People (tm) think lawyer hurling is very beneficial.
Crashj 'not a lawyer' Johnson
R H Draney
news:3E2CB7A9...@attbi.com:
> You probably won't get that many volunteers for the
> candiru test either, altho BMW drivers are allegedly the
> largest candidates.
That's what *they* claim, at any rate....r
Len Berlind
John Francis <jo...@panix.com> wrote:
>I doubt if you could get as many as three congresscritters to
>march in the same *direction*, let alone march in step ...
Oh, I think with the right incentive one could get them do handsprings in
unison in any direction you want.
L"Show me the money!"B
Lee Ayrton
> Actually Discovery have decided to run the first two episode back to
> back so the Episode one airs at 9:00 pm eastern and Episode 2 at ten
> pm eastern...
This isn't the same show that ran as "Rilly True Urban Legends" on one of
the Discovery Network channels a couple of months back, is it?
--
"In spite of what many of us think, our memories suck." David Martin
gives voice to a basic truth in alt.folklore.urban
Peter Rees
by Will Richer from StarTrek.
I hope you all will find this one is really different and a bit more
in the flavor of AFU.
Peter.
Simon Slavin
pet...@beyond.com.au (Peter Rees) wrote:
>Unlike so many attempts at this idea, we don't just re-tell the
>stories.. we put them to the test.
I've been reading this group for many years and this is the first
time I've read a post about putting ULs in the media and thought
that it sounded like it would make great viewing. Best of luck.
In article <6b6b4da6.03012...@posting.google.com>,
pet...@beyond.com.au (Peter Rees) wrote:
>My favorite at the moment is the one about soldiers have to break step
>before they march across a bridge. If they don't they can set up a
>resonance that can make the whole lot collapse... or so the story
>goes.
Been done. On video, at that. A standard training video shown
to UK army soldiers demonstrates a wooden bridge developing its
resonance to the point where the structure moves up and down
what looks like 6 to 8 inches at some points. However, they had
to experiment with different speeds of marching before they
found the resonant frequency and I don't know if a brick or
stone bridge would do the same thing.
Also try Googling this group for a post from Andrea back when
she commandeered some of her own troops and tried it.
None of which should stop you reproducing it for national TV: it
should make entertaining viewing.
Norm Soley
"Crashj" <cra...@mindspring.com> wrote in message news:aa83a82f.03012...@posting.google.com...
> "Norm Soley" <nso...@seemysig.spamsucks> wrote in message news:<S8%W9.1514$VS6.2...@news20.bellglobal.com>...
> > "Peter Rees" <pet...@beyond.com.au> wrote in message news:6b6b4da6.03011...@posting.google.com...
> <>
> > > Throw a lawyer through a skyscraper window.
> >
> > Kinda curious why you would have picked that one since alone among
> > your list it is a verifiably true story, since it's already been proven,
> > what's
> > the point of repeating the experiment? Also curious given the outcome for
> > Garry Hoy how you found others willing to risk it.
>
> A. Urban legends can be true, by definition
Didn't say otherwise did I? just curious, as I said, about what is the point
of putting urban legends to the test that we already know to be true?
> B. Some People (tm) think lawyer hurling is very beneficial.
No, we need to save them up for medical experiments.
Timothy McDaniel
Norm Soley <nso...@seemysig.spamsucks> wrote:
>"Crashj" <cra...@mindspring.com> wrote in message
>news:aa83a82f.03012...@posting.google.com...
>
>Didn't say otherwise did I? just curious, as I said, about what is
>the point of putting urban legends to the test that we already know
>to be true?
To show them for entertainment or educational value on TV. The
original armchair balloonist was not videotaped, as far as I know, but
you could re-enact his feat for _America's Funniest Urban Legends_.
R H Draney
>
>
>"Crashj" <cra...@mindspring.com> wrote in message
>news:aa83a82f.03012...@posting.google.com...
>> <>
>
>No, we need to save them up for medical experiments.
Maybe you could do the gerbil bit with one of them...be good for sweeps....
R H "or send a bunch to the moon to look for the Great Wall of China" Draney
Jami JoAnne
>by Will Richer from StarTrek.
William Riker. And his real name is Johnathan Frakes.
Jami <---TREKKIE!
~Jami JoAnne Russell~
Get the REALITY into "Reality" tv! Sign the petition today!
http://www.PetitionOnline.com/reality/petition.html
Nick Spalding
<BA538474...@10.0.1.2>:
Is the notice instructing troops to break step still in place on the Albert
Bridge in Chelsea? It was certainly there in 1951; I have not passed that
way since then. It is a suspension bridge which might well be particularly
susceptible to this effect.
--
Nick Spalding
Crashj
> >No it isn't "Really True Urban Legends". It also really isn't hosted
> >by Will Richer from StarTrek.
>
> William Riker. And his real name is Johnathan Frakes.
>
> Jami <---TREKKIE!
> ~Jami JoAnne Russell~
Make it so Commander Russell.
Crashj 'one with the borg' Johnson
Alan J Rosenthal
[peterr wrote:]
>>No it isn't "Really True Urban Legends". It also really isn't hosted
>>by Will Richer from StarTrek.
>
>William Riker. And his real name is Johnathan Frakes.
Fascinating! Do you know James Kirk's middle name? I've always wondered
about that one. I think that "Thermocephalic" would be suitable, and a Terry
added my suggestion to the AFU faq some decades or millenia ago, but I've
never known the real answer. There's some evidence that it's "Roy", but that
doesn't start with "V".
-- aj "the" r
p.s. note cross-post to rec.arts.startrek
Jami JoAnne
Tiberius
Hatunen
wrote:
>>Fascinating! Do you know James Kirk's middle name?
>
>Tiberius
>~Jami JoAnne Russell~
I really wish you hadn't said that...
************* DAVE HATUNEN (hat...@cox.net) *************
* Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow *
* My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps *
Ray Depew
: On 22 Jan 2003 21:33:01 GMT, gambit...@aol.comNOTMALE (Jami JoAnne)
: wrote:
: >>Fascinating! Do you know James Kirk's middle name?
: >
: >Tiberius
: >~Jami JoAnne Russell~
: I really wish you hadn't said that...
It's like fishing with Velveeta, isn't it?
--
Regards
Ray "or dynamite" D.
Peter Rees
> you could re-enact his feat for _America's Funniest Urban Legends_.
Actually we did the armchair ballon story... and there is 16mm film
footage. Larry Walters actually worked for a Film company. There is
also a resonable amount of news stories on LArry, although most is of
his appearance before teh FAA.
In fact the interesting thing about Larry is the story that he didn't
commit suicide, he actually was murdered. www.markbarry.com says that
the LA coronors report shows that he had not one... but two bullets in
his heart... or so the story goes.
P.
Peter Rees
We kind of did the Gerbil Myth too... We were filiming in a sex shop
where we were buying gold latex body paint (for the goldfinger story).
One of the shop staff told us that they don't sell anything that would
allow you to put a Gerbil up your butt. They had also checked the
records at San Francisco General Hospital and there was no reference
to a "gerbilectomy" being performed.
All of this is at the end of episode 3.... that's if Discoveru don't
cut that bit.
P.
Chris Clarke
r...@ftc.agilent.com (Ray Depew) wrote:
Dude! Don't say "fish" in connection with JamiJo in front of TMOliver!
Alice Faber
In a barrel, no less.
Alice "don't go there" Faber
--
"Even rain as hard as a cow pissing on a flat rock beats ice when
you're driving." --Life 101, as taught by TM Oliver
Lon Stowell
>>original armchair balloonist was not videotaped, as far as I know, but
>>you could re-enact his feat for _America's Funniest Urban Legends_.
>
>
> Actually we did the armchair ballon story... and there is 16mm film
> footage. Larry Walters actually worked for a Film company. There is
> also a resonable amount of news stories on LArry, although most is of
> his appearance before teh FAA.
I dimly recall that one of the south bay stations had footage
of him down near San Pedro/Long Beach. It didn't get a lot
of mention on the local news down around Torrance, think there
was some other event that pre-empted it, a new sidewalk, a
new tv show premiere, just remember seeing a small blurblet.
>
> In fact the interesting thing about Larry is the story that he didn't
> commit suicide, he actually was murdered. www.markbarry.com says that
> the LA coronors report shows that he had not one... but two bullets in
> his heart... or so the story goes.
Lousy shot. Not that two bullets in the heart is in any way
indicative that the wounds were not self inflicted.
Crashj
> >Fascinating! Do you know James Kirk's middle name?
>
> Tiberius
> ~Jami JoAnne Russell~
Jami, honey, that thing in your mouth? Its a hook, doll baby.
Crashj 'no I won't . . . ' Johnson
Kai Henningsen
> In article <6b6b4da6.03011...@posting.google.com>,
> Peter Rees <pet...@beyond.com.au> wrote:
> >Just thought you all might like to know that our new series on Urban
> >Legends is premiering on The US Discovery Channel at 9:00 p.m. and
> >10:00 p.m. Eastern 23rd January 2003.
>
> Thank you for the notice. You might want to mention the title of the
> series, so those who want to look it up in on-line TV listings,
> discussion boards, and such: it's _Myth Busters_.
Indeed, that would never have occurred to me (assuming I wanted to catch
it, and could), especially given the subject.
Kai
--
http://www.westfalen.de/private/khms/
"... by God I *KNOW* what this network is for, and you can't have it."
- Russ Allbery (r...@stanford.edu)
Timothy McDaniel
Kai Henningsen <kaih=8eRSd$X1...@khms.westfalen.de> wrote:
>tm...@panix.com (Timothy McDaniel) wrote on 20.01.03 in
><b0hv75$h9k$1...@reader1.panix.com>:
>> want to look it up in on-line TV listings, discussion boards, and
>> such: it's _Myth Busters_.
>
>Indeed, that would never have occurred to me (assuming I wanted to catch
>it, and could), especially given the subject.
(1) *slaps own forehead*
Manifestly, some people don't look at subject lines.
(I just hit "n" to go to the next autoselect article, in general.)
(2) "MythBusters" as one word gives no hits on TV Guide's on-line
site.
The showings now listed, by the way, are
Thursday, 23 Jan, 8-10 PM Central
Thursday, 23 Jan, 11 PM-1 AM (Friday) Central
Saturday, 25 January, 2-4 PM
Mike Holmans
tapped the keyboard and brought forth:
>
>Is the notice instructing troops to break step still in place on the Albert
>Bridge in Chelsea? It was certainly there in 1951; I have not passed that
>way since then. It is a suspension bridge which might well be particularly
>susceptible to this effect.
The sign was still there fifty years later. As I said last time this
item came up, I do not propose to walk down there at this time of
night to check whether the signs still adorn either end. And I won't
really have time to wander down that way until Tuesday, when I'll have
forgotten all about it.
Mike "januarying indoors" Holmans
Lots42 bomb vice president
>Throw a lawyer through a skyscraper window.
>
>Hope you have time to watch.
>
>Regards,
Oy. Yanno, I don't know whether the story is true or not but every version I
read told of how the lawyer used to smack himself into the window many, many
times. No wonder it collapsed and he fell to his (maybe fictional) death.
Just throwing a guy against a window won't match up to the story.
Nathan Tenny
I saw this episode last night and was pretty impressed. The truth of the
original story got somewhat short shrift, I thought, but on the whole
things were handled quite well.
It's really nice to see ULs being done well in the media for a change. I'm
having a surprisingly hard time thinking of more examples that would make
good television; somehow I don't see the "life after decapitation" stories
going over well with the sanity-checkers. They could try to weld a contact
to the cornea of a disembodied or simulated eye, I guess...
NT
--
Nathan Tenny | Space is where your ass is.
Qualcomm, Inc., San Diego, CA | -William S. Burroughs
<nten...@qualcomm.com> |
Alan Barclay
Norm Soley <nso...@seemysig.spamsucks> wrote:
>> Throw a lawyer through a skyscraper window.
>
>your list it is a verifiably true story, since it's already been proven, what's
>the point of repeating the experiment? Also curious given the outcome for
>Garry Hoy how you found others willing to risk it.
You don't think that throwing lawyers through a skyscraper window
is valuable on its own merits?
Lee Ayrton
> >From: pet...@beyond.com.au (Peter Rees)
>
> >Throw a lawyer through a skyscraper window.
> Oy. Yanno, I don't know whether the story is true or not but every
Knowing is easy. See Snopes:
http://www.snopes.com/horrors/freakish/window.htm
ObSummary: True, with supporting documentation. Knowing that,
demonstrating that it coulda happened is for entertainment purposes only
and is, well, like demonstrating that a lawn chair can fly.
ObSightingWhileChannelSurfing: Opposite the Thursday night airing of MB,
Discovery's "Animal Planet" channel was gleefully showing video footage of
a `gator in a storm sewer. The voice-over knowingly intoned "No, it isn't
an urban legend..." Person-On-the-street interviews revealed that locals
had been feeding the subsurface beaste hotdogs, pennies, M & Ms, &c.
After a number of days the gator was extracted from its catch basin lair
and sent off to the wilds to fend for itself. They also ran pieces on a
subterranean dog (in a well) and a foal (which they annoyingly and
consistantly refered to as a "pony" when neither it nor its dam were) that
had fallen into some sort of pump vault. Nothing on buried bunnies,
though.
> Just throwing a guy against a window won't match up to the story.
Or a stack of sandbags on a sled. Fun home experiment for those with
access to Discovery Network shows and a VCR with slow motion features:
See if you can decide which hard-edged non-squishy part of the assembly
hit the glass and caused the failure in the final trial. (It won't be
conclusive, 29.98 fps doesn't capture enough detail to show exactly where
the glass failed but my money is on the sled, which continues forward and
up after the leading sandbag stops and forms a pivot point. Think
spring-loaded punch tool on an automobile side window.)
Note to Rees: AFU is well-known for its willingness to pick nits until
well after the cows have come home. It isn't just you.
Lee "Mildly surprised that the glass didn't just flow around the lawyer"
Ayrton
Lee Ayrton
Well, there's always the opinion of the man in the street to consider.
Lee "Hardhat" Ayrton
Dan Fingerman
<news:b0s75p$5...@qualcomm.com>:
>
> It's really nice to see ULs being done well in the media for a
> change. I'm having a surprisingly hard time thinking of more
> examples that would make good television; somehow I don't see the
> "life after decapitation" stories going over well with the
> sanity-checkers. They could try to weld a contact to the cornea
> of a disembodied or simulated eye, I guess...
I agree that the show was excellent. I think there are quite a few
more ULs and rumors/hoaxes that they could test in the same style as
the tests in the first two episodes. These are the ones I can think of
off the top of my head. Peter, I suppose it cannot hurt to ask if I
can get a footnote in the credits if you do these:
- shark jumps out of water, chasing helicopter
- microwaving in plastic containers releases nasties into food
- 87 pound cat
- exploding gel candles
- creepie crawlies nest/hatch in various bodily orifices
(showing whether they can survive in the relevant environment)
And of course:
- Bonsai kittens
--
DTM :<|
Tom Cikoski
>I agree that the show was excellent. I think there are quite a few
>more ULs and rumors/hoaxes that they could test in the same style as
>the tests in the first two episodes. These are the ones I can think of
>off the top of my head. Peter, I suppose it cannot hurt to ask if I
>can get a footnote in the credits if you do these:
And .. Me Too (tm) because the following can be solved merely
by using an unpaid intern with decent research skills (including
the protracted use of the phone):
- Was there ever a "hook hand" assault case in a lover's lane?
- Was there ever a gang that initiated using a headlight scam?
- Was there ever a charity scheme that collected pull tabs?
- Was there ever a case of interrupted kidnapping in a shopping
mall where the intended victim had had an appearance change and
was drugged?
- How many children have actually ever been kidnapped from
a theme park (I knew a woman once who SWORE that friends
of hers had TWO kids kidnapped on the same day from a Disney
park -- and that it drove them MAD!).
- Was there ever a case of assault from beneath a parked car in a
mall parking lot?
- Document one case of a stolen kidney.
The pushier the intern the better.
Oh, and there's at least a dozen more, but I've got to
go stir the Chili Mac.
--
( )_( )
\. ./
_=.=_
"
Leo G Simonetta
<lay...@ntplx.net> wrote:
> Note to Rees: AFU is well-known for its willingness to pick nits until
> well after the cows have come home. It isn't just you.
Heck it's almost our motto -
AFU: Picking nits since XXXX
--
Leo G. Simonetta
lsimo...@newsguy.com
Dan Fingerman
@reader1.panix.com>:
> - Was there ever a charity scheme that collected pull tabs?
Documented: http://www.rmhc.com/mis/rmhs_poptab/
--
DTM :<|
Alan Follett
> We kind of did the Gerbil Myth too... We
> were filiming in a sex shop where we were
> buying gold latex body paint (for the
> goldfinger story). One of the shop staff told
> us that they don't sell anything that would
> allow you to put a Gerbil up your butt.
<snip>
Doubtless I'm just insufficiently imaginative, but what, other than the
gerbils themselves, could they possibly have sold that would allow,
facilitate, encourage, or compel gerbil insertion? I mean, is there
actually purpose-built hardware out there?
Alan "'Er, Robert?' he asked timorously" Follett
Jami JoAnne
>gerbils themselves, could they possibly have sold that would allow,
>facilitate, encourage, or compel gerbil insertion? I mean, is there
>actually purpose-built hardware out there?
I thought all you needed was a cardboard tube like from a roll of toilet paper
or paper towels.
R H Draney
news:24164-3E...@storefull-2178.public.lawson.webtv.net:
> Doubtless I'm just insufficiently imaginative, but what, other
> than the gerbils themselves, could they possibly have sold that
> would allow, facilitate, encourage, or compel gerbil insertion?
> I mean, is there actually purpose-built hardware out there?
>
> Alan "'Er, Robert?' he asked timorously" Follett
Not sure, but I was browsing in a remaindered-book store this evening
and saw an evocative title on the "animals and pets" table: "Gerbils -
a Step by Step Guide"....
R H "the tiny little mind boggles" Draney
Peter Rees
all. And I was hopping for nothing less.
I am sure you have all seen media people try and do this idea many
many times... and in most cases they probably failed.
Yes, just because we can show it happened doesn't mean that it ever
did... but it is at least a different retelling of the story.... I
too have thought about whether the metal of the "lawyer" frame hit the
glass.... Jamie and Adam swear that it didn't . I've reviewed the tape
many times and I am pretty convinved it was the weight of the bags and
not the point of the metal.... By the way PAl video runs at 25 Frames
per second and not 29.9 witht he lower quality NTSC.
Our aim really was to make an interesting science show... we were
never under the apprehension that you could actually "bust" a myth.
In fact if we have another series of these I would like to take it
into some different areas.... what if we...
staked out McDonalds or Nike to see where their supplies actually come
from...
... or perhpas we could use our production funds to covertly film the
Nigerian scam...
We have already done an experiment to see if you can pick up radio s
ignals in teeth fillings and on top of that I have another 70 stories
I woudl just love to put to the test....
do gold fish have a memory of more than three seconds
how do we know no two snow flakes are alike...
How long would it take to run out of oxygen in a coffin
etc...
etc..
anyway I appreciated the feedback and thanska gain for watching.
Kevin D. Quitt
--
#include <standard.disclaimer>
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Kevin D Quitt USA 91351-4454 96.37% of all statistics are made up
Per the FCA, this email address may not be added to any commercial list
Anthony McCafferty
Kevin D. Quitt <Ke...@Quitt.net> writes:
>Kudos, Gentlemen. I just wish I could be part of it.
According to Zotti's Law, you are.
Anthony "unattributed" McCafferty
Timothy McDaniel
"MYTHBUSTERS"; I presume it was the Discovery Channel that decided to
intrude the space): it didn't appeal to me enough to make me want to
watch more eps, but it was OK. I would have liked a little more
exploration of the background (the folklorist, people telling the
versions they've heard, previous history). The searching for a car
dragged on too much for me, and the car test did too. (One key
component of the UL is that the brakes on the JATO car burned out, so
I'd have liked a test of the brakes.)
Bill Kinkaid
wrote:
>Just thought you all might like to know that our new series on Urban
>Legends is premiering on The US Discovery Channel at 9:00 p.m. and
>10:00 p.m. Eastern 23rd January 2003.
>
Sounds interesting. Anyone know if it's appearing on Discovery Canada
or other Canajan stations?
Bill in Vancouver
Charles Wm. Dimmick
> Not sure, but I was browsing in a remaindered-book store this evening
> and saw an evocative title on the "animals and pets" table: "Gerbils -
> a Step by Step Guide"....
Somehow reminds me of the headline on today's sports page:
"Johnson finds right fit with Bucs"
Charles Wm. Dimmick
--
"And some rin up hill and down dale, knapping the
chucky stanes to pieces wi' hammers, like sae mony
road-makers run daft -- they say it is to see how
the warld was made!"
Tom Sevart
"Dan Fingerman" <dtmSS...@bu.edu> wrote in message
news:Xns930DA8B799DFCw...@130.133.1.4...
> - microwaving in plastic containers releases nasties into food
> - 87 pound cat
Better yet, see if a cat will dry off in the microwave...
Tom
Dan Fingerman
<news:6b6b4da6.03012...@posting.google.com>:
> Our aim really was to make an interesting science show... we were
> never under the apprehension that you could actually "bust" a
> myth.
>
> In fact if we have another series of these I would like to take it
> into some different areas.... what if we...
>
> staked out McDonalds or Nike to see where their supplies actually
> come from...
>
> ... or perhpas we could use our production funds to covertly film
> the Nigerian scam...
Exposing these might make a good news program, but doing either one
would take away from your show exactly what I liked about it. It is,
as you said, an interesting science show. If you get into covert
filming, you become 60 Minutes. I vote you stick to ULs that you can
test scientifically.
Dan "two cents" Fingerman
--
DTM :<|
R H Draney
52518.news.dfncis.de:
Thought that was a poodle....
And since that brings us into the dog category, find a scary looking
Black man (it may be hard to find one in Canada) and send him into an
elevator with his dog to say "Sit, Lady!"....r
Crashj
> Because we didn't know what was going to happen with a rocket on such
> an old car... we rigged it like a giant RC toy and chased it with a
> helicopter. The accelaration was phenominal.
That is such a heap of crap. Actually crap of a heap. I bet it never
got over 100. I can see the chopper pitch up when it slows down to let
the car 'get away' so it looks fast. They spent half the section just
looking for a decent car to use.
And the whole series was done over a weekend. You can see the other
experiments (sic) scattered around the shop in several scenes.
Lawyer throught the window was cool. How long did it take to figure
out that you needed a sharp object sticking out the front of the
sandbags to shatter the window?
Can I have an unretouched copy of the 3D scan of the secretary's fine
ass used in the airline toilet bit?
The whole show had a solid air of unreality but was vaguely
entertaining.
Crashj 'thanks for sharing' Johnson
Crashj
<>
> - Document one case of a stolen kidney.
Document? Maybe not, but the show teaser shows one of the actors
sitting in a tub of ice.
Crashj 'felt a chill just watching' Johnson
Crashj
> all. And I was hopping for nothing less.
<>
It's our job ands we love it.
I think the problem might be excess CO2 before running out of O2.
Thanks for the show.
Crashj 'next, Jackalope Hockey' Johnson
Tom Sevart
"Crashj" <cra...@mindspring.com> wrote in message
news:aa83a82f.03012...@posting.google.com...
> Tom Cikoski <spli...@panix.com> wrote in message
news:<b0scol$6eb$1...@reader1.panix.com>...
> <>
> > - Document one case of a stolen kidney.
>
> Document? Maybe not, but the show teaser shows one of the actors
> sitting in a tub of ice.
>
I think they should try to remove someone's kidney in a hotel room. Maybe
they could lead an unsuspecting businessman back to the hotel room and slip
him a mickey.
Tom
Tom Cikoski
>Can I have an unretouched copy of the 3D scan of the secretary's fine
>ass used in the airline toilet bit?
My wife sat next to me, mostly reading, but occasionally glancing
up at the show. When the "enhanced" version of the butt appeared,
there was visible discomfort on her part. It's a gal thing ...
And she ain't near like that! Not even an iota!
--
( )_( )
\. ./
_=.=_
" -- Ah, ladies and their butts. Just cain't live
without 'em.
Peter Rees
we tried to do that one. Our idea was to show that if you were left in
a bathtub full of ice you after the operation you definately wouldn't
be wakin gup the next morning. In fact you would probably die of
hypothermia within ten to fifteen minutes.
We bought the bathtub...
We had the paramedics
We had monitoring equipment.
Adam was happy to be the subject.
but...
Our doctor refused to perform experiments on the human body without
prior approval.
Rick Tyler
wrote:
>we tried to do that one. Our idea was to show that if you were left in
I'm not saying your doctor was right or wrong, but you probably should
have looked for a N*z* doctor.
- Rick "I'm not suggesting anything, just saying 'Uraguay'" Tyler
--
"Ignorant voracity -- a wingless vulture -- can soar only into the
depths of ignominy." Patrick O'Brian
R H Draney
> Our doctor refused to perform experiments on the human body
> without prior approval.
That's HMOs for ya....r
John Schmitt
cra...@mindspring.com (Crashj) writes:
>Document? Maybe not, but the show teaser shows one of the actors
>sitting in a tub of ice.
This appears to be a field in which the Brits can out-dumb the
Merkins.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2691229.stm
John "stupidity knows no bounds" Schmitt
As iron rusts when not used and water gets foul from standing or
turns to ice, so the intellect degenerates without exercise.
-- Leonardo da Vinci
Lee Ayrton
[Apparently in response to a suggestion to demonstrate kidney thievery]
On or about 27 Jan 2003, Peter Rees of pet...@beyond.com.au wrote:
> we tried to do that one. Our idea was to show that if you were left in
> a bathtub full of ice you after the operation you definately wouldn't
> be wakin gup the next morning. In fact you would probably die of
> hypothermia within ten to fifteen minutes.
[snip]
If all you are trying to demonstrate is core temperature loss, may I
suggest a homunculus: Obtain an adult-size block of very firm foam rubber
from an upholstery shop (carve into the shape of a gingerbread man barfly,
decorate with a face and nephrectomy incision line for Added Fun), embed a
temperature probe in the middle and soak in a tub of 98F water until the
foam is thoroughly soaked and the probe shows the core temperature is
stable.
Using a lifting sling you cleverly placed under the mannikin (a pilfered
motel sheet will do nicely) before you soaked it, transfer to a second tub
filled with shaved ice and place bets on when the core temperature drops
below 35C/95F for hypothermia, 32C/90F for coma and 25C/77F for likely
cardiac arrest.
You can recycle the mannikin as the teen who hangs his head too far out of
a moving car's window.
--
"You read about these in the papers once in a while" Brian of bml1212 sets
a new low-water mark for documentation in AFU
Alan J Rosenthal
>If all you are trying to demonstrate is core temperature loss, may I
>suggest a homunculus: Obtain an adult-size block of very firm foam rubber
But wouldn't that show that people are endangered by being in a 30C room
because the core temperature of that rubber block drops below 35C quickly?
The issue is who wins out of the human's internal heat-producing mechanisms
and the ice.
Peter Rees
That is brilliant, and we may well try it that way but there's j ust
one problem...
Discovery viewers just seem to love seeing people sufferring... so it
is critical that we immerse Adam in the ice in some way.
Peter.
Peter Rees
pilot actually got caught out by the accelaration which was truly
amazing. The car went from about 50 to 120 in 12 seconds.
And you kind of missed the point. Don't forget the whole conclusion of
this story was to show that one JATO would never be enough to get
the car to 350 as the legend states... let alone burn the bakes out
... get airborne... and vaporise after crashing. Anyone who tells you
otherwise is full of shit.
By the way I am looking forward to the opportunity of putting the
rushes on a DVD so you can all dissect them for yourselves.
Just for reference in case anyone else wants to put their money where
their mouth is... the show was actually shot over a nine week period
in the United States, Europe and Australia. We filmed from the time
the ideas where initially given to the guys... right through the
research... and on to completion of the experiments. We shot almost
200 hours of material.
The other experiments were intentionally left lying around the shop. I
actually thought thought it looked kind of cool.
Kari (the one with the nice butt) is actually one of the interns...
she is not a secretary.
Love to all
Peter.
TMOliver
...and a recent news story noted the overnight stay of a lightly
clothed infant in a van. Temp well below freezing. Apparently,
the recovery was quick with no permanent physical damage, no
doubt aided by the more rapid metabolic rate of infants, little
stoves to warm their parents feet on icy nights.
TM "Uncle claims many cold nights in flooded foxhole." Oliver
David Wnsemius
> By the way I am looking forward to the opportunity of putting the
> rushes on a DVD so you can all dissect them for yourselves.
>
Usually we yell GIF, GIF but here it would be MPG, MPG.
David W.
Crashj
> In <aa83a82f.03012...@posting.google.com> cra...@mindspring.com (Crashj) writes:
>
> >Can I have an unretouched copy of the 3D scan of the secretary's fine
> >ass used in the airline toilet bit?
>
> My wife sat next to me, mostly reading, but occasionally glancing
> up at the show. When the "enhanced" version of the butt appeared,
> there was visible discomfort on her part. It's a gal thing ...
>
> And she ain't near like that! Not even an iota!
Scan! Scan!
Crashj 'or can I borrow the pattern?' Johnson
Crashj
> [Apparently in response to a suggestion to demonstrate kidney thievery]
>
> On or about 27 Jan 2003, Peter Rees of pet...@beyond.com.au wrote:
>
> > we tried to do that one. Our idea was to show that if you were left in
> > a bathtub full of ice you after the operation you definately wouldn't
> > be waking up the next morning.
<>
> suggest a homunculus: Obtain an adult-size block of very firm foam rubber
> from an upholstery shop
<>
you already have that very big ass. Use the chunk from the airplane
toilet bit with a thermocouple shoved up its, well, you know the rest
. . .
Crashj 'pictures at 11' Johnson
Lee Ayrton
True enough, but Peter's intent isn't science good enough for AFU, or even
science that's good enough for government work, but science that's good
enough for teevee fodder^W entertainment. My suggestion was intended to
provide a mass of water in the same ballpark as an adult human, in a
playfully amusing shape, and I was guessing that 10" of thoroughly wet
foam would cool very, very roughly at the same rate as a human torso.
Ignoring factors such as metabolism and circulation were deliberate, gross
simplifications on my part, intended to fit within the limitations imposed
by television production, and I really should have said so in my post.
Lee "Video whore" Ayrton
Peter Rees
We'd like to think that the science can be good enough for government
or AFU... we are just realistic about what can be achieved...
You know if we go into another series I am going ot have to run all
the experiments and their design past AFU.
P.
R H Draney
pet...@beyond.com.au says...
We second-guess ourselves as well as we kibitz other people...no matter what
kind of approval we give your design, a week after it airs this group will still
be filled with cries of "you shoulda" and "why din'tya"...still, whatever the
perceived flaws, we like the tone of the show ("blew some dough in Vegas",
indeed!)...
But if you *do* have another series, I'm sure we all have favorite ULs to
suggest...I'm not sure how you'd go about setting them up, but I have
attachments to a couple that predate my arrival in AFU: the foreign student who
thinks cruise control is autopilot (my grandfather insisted he was one of the
cops who dealt with the result), and the shoes on the wires indicating a
drug-sale area....r
Simon Slavin
Lee Ayrton <lay...@ntplx.net> wrote:
>On or about 27 Jan 2003, Peter Rees of pet...@beyond.com.au wrote:
>
>> we tried to do that one. Our idea was to show that if you were left in
>> a bathtub full of ice you after the operation you definately wouldn't
>> be wakin gup the next morning. In fact you would probably die of
>> hypothermia within ten to fifteen minutes.
>[snip]
>
>If all you are trying to demonstrate is core temperature loss, may I
>suggest a homunculus: Obtain an adult-size block of very firm foam rubber
>from an upholstery shop (carve into the shape of a gingerbread man barfly,
>decorate with a face and nephrectomy incision line for Added Fun), embed a
>temperature probe in the middle and soak in a tub of 98F water until the
>foam is thoroughly soaked and the probe shows the core temperature is
>stable.
>
>Using a lifting sling you cleverly placed under the mannikin (a pilfered
>motel sheet will do nicely) before you soaked it, transfer to a second tub
>filled with shaved ice and place bets on when the core temperature drops
>below 35C/95F for hypothermia, 32C/90F for coma and 25C/77F for likely
>cardiac arrest.
You omittted the heat-source inside the dummy: a healthy sleeping
human gives off a fair bit of heat. A hot water bottle should do
it. It won't change the eventual result but it will change the
time a bit.
David Wnsemius
> Well actually...
Toilet draining directions on your radar screen?
David Wnsemius
news:BA5E2177...@10.0.1.2:
I was thinking cans of sterno, each with a couple of tubes to the air
above.
Lon Stowell
A duck in an echo chamber?
The old chain around the rear axle?
Peter Rees
Anyone heard of that?
Apparently CD drives are getting so fast (54x) that the CD's have been
exploding, in some cases firing the whole unit out of the front of the
machine!!!
Now that story we can test.... even if it isn't true we will find a
way to accelarate it to destruction.
Can the outer edge of a CD travel faster than the speed of sound...
and if so would you hear the sonic boom?
Peter.
Kevin D. Quitt
>Can the outer edge of a CD travel faster than the speed of sound...
It would require over 50,000 RPM.
>and if so would you hear the sonic boom?
You'd hear the computer go boom.
--
#include <standard.disclaimer>
_
Kevin D Quitt USA 91351-4454 96.37% of all statistics are made up
Per the FCA, this email address may not be added to any commercial list
Bill Heyman
news:6b6b4da6.0301...@posting.google.com...
Yes, you B flat.
Rob Poole
pet...@beyond.com.au says...
> Actually another one I want to follow up is the exploding CD story.
> Anyone heard of that?
>
> Apparently CD drives are getting so fast (54x) that the CD's have been
> exploding, in some cases firing the whole unit out of the front of the
> machine!!!
>
> Now that story we can test.... even if it isn't true we will find a
> way to accelarate it to destruction.
Someone has already done this, a mirror of the original site
that got slashdotted[1] is at <URL:http://html.uhome.net/cd-dvd-bang/e_js_n-cdrom.htm>
Rob.
[1] <URL:http://catb.org/~esr/jargon/html/entry/slashdot-effect.html>
'Also spelled "/. effect"; what is said to have happened when a website
being virtually unreachable because too many people are hitting it after
the site was mentioned in an interesting article on the popular Slashdot
news service.'
--
Rob Poole, Computer Technician, Civil Engineering, Aston Uni
R.H....@aston.ac.uk Tel 0121 359 3611 x4385
<http://www.aston.ac.uk/~poolerh> Pager 07669 007423
Lee Ayrton
> Discovery viewers just seem to love seeing people sufferring... so it is
> critical that we immerse Adam in the ice in some way.
Adam should be worried if he sees the following call sheet:
__________________________________________________________________
MYTHBUSTERS
Call Sheet
CREW CALL: 6:30pm DATE: Sat. 20 Jul 2003
SHOOTING CALL: 8:00pm
Day 18 of 20
__________________________________________________________________
Scn# Set/Desc. D/N Cast Location
__________________________________________________________________
35 Ext: Boxcar Night Adam, Weepy Wife, CN Freight Yard.
EMTs, Gawkers
The freight cars are coupled.
Everybody: This will be Adam's last day with the show. please say
your goodbyes before we roll.
Rick Tyler
wrote:
>__________________________________________________________________
>
> MYTHBUSTERS
> Call Sheet
>CREW CALL: 6:30pm DATE: Sat. 20 Jul 2003
>SHOOTING CALL: 8:00pm
> Day 18 of 20
>__________________________________________________________________
>Scn# Set/Desc. D/N Cast Location
>__________________________________________________________________
>
>35 Ext: Boxcar Night Adam, Weepy Wife, CN Freight Yard.
> EMTs, Gawkers
> The freight cars are coupled.
>
>
>Everybody: This will be Adam's last day with the show. please say
>your goodbyes before we roll.
>
to watch a cable TV personality bleed to death on a railroad track?
- Rick "Works for me..." Tyler
--
"I don't think anyone would deny that people will begin to eat
one another at some stage of starvation."
Ralph Jones, AFU's Deputy Nutritionist
Peter Rees
we just reproduce it for television. I have been looking at video
cameras that film at up to 100,000 frames per second. That would be
some interesting footage to see...
How widely known do you think thius stroy is?
P.
Nathan Tenny
Man, you gotta start including some of the text of the post up to which
you're following. Anyone who's getting the thread out of order (like
your humble correspondent) has no idea what you're talking about.
>How widely known do you think thius stroy is?
Not as widely as he deserves to be, but his younger brother, Thaut Stroy,
has quite a following in Europe.
NT
--
Nathan Tenny | Space is where your ass is.
Qualcomm, Inc., San Diego, CA | -William S. Burroughs
<nten...@qualcomm.com> |
Chris Clarke
n_t_e_nn_y_@q_ual_c_o_m_m_.c_o_m (Nathan Tenny) wrote:
> In article <6b6b4da6.03013...@posting.google.com>,
> Peter Rees <pet...@beyond.com.au> wrote:
> >How widely known do you think thius stroy is?
>
> Not as widely as he deserves to be, but his younger brother, Thaut Stroy,
> has quite a following in Europe.
Whatever happened to their sister Crushkillde?
Lon Stowell
> Actually another one I want to follow up is the exploding CD story.
> Anyone heard of that?
Yes. It is claimed as the G0spill TRVTH in computergeek
circles.
>
> Apparently CD drives are getting so fast (54x) that the CD's have been
> exploding, in some cases firing the whole unit out of the front of the
> machine!!!
Or detonating all over the inside of the machine, or slicing
various objects in the vicinity of the machine, or.....
Sometimes caused by unbalancing corrosion on the disk, sometimes
by an offcenter but tenacious sticky do it yourself label [which
I would expect to hold the thing together], sometimes by an
off center spindle in the drive.
I know several folks who know several folks whose cousin, etc.
were hospitalized by the dreaded CD shard.
>
> Now that story we can test.... even if it isn't true we will find a
> way to accelarate it to destruction.
In a regular CD drive, it takes some time to get up to that
speed.
You might want to check with someone like Plextor folks for
their favorite tales, as well as possibly ways to prove/disprove
this.
>
> Can the outer edge of a CD travel faster than the speed of sound...
> and if so would you hear the sonic boom?
>
Yes it can. Too lazy to compute the rpm needed to do so or
worse, the power in the motor needed to spin it at that rpm.
However, the sonic boom, like a duck's quack.....
Bill Kinkaid
wrote:
>Actually another one I want to follow up is the exploding CD story.
>Anyone heard of that?
>
>Apparently CD drives are getting so fast (54x) that the CD's have been
>exploding, in some cases firing the whole unit out of the front of the
>machine!!!
>
How long before we hear stories of decapitation from flying CDs?
Bill in Vancouver
Bill Kinkaid
wrote:
>"Tom Sevart" <n2uhc...@yahoo.com> wrote in news:b0vtju$tlnob$1@ID-
>52518.news.dfncis.de:
>>
>> "Dan Fingerman" <dtmSS...@bu.edu> wrote in message
>> news:Xns930DA8B799DFCw...@130.133.1.4...
>>
>>> - microwaving in plastic containers releases nasties into food
>>> - 87 pound cat
>>
>> Better yet, see if a cat will dry off in the microwave...
>
>Thought that was a poodle....
>
>And since that brings us into the dog category, find a scary looking
>Black man (it may be hard to find one in Canada) and send him into an
>elevator with his dog to say "Sit, Lady!"....r
I nominate Jarome Iginla. Or maybe Daniel Igali.
Bill in Vancouver
Alice Faber
Bill Kinkaid <kin...@telus.net> wrote:
Anson Carter, maybe?
Alice "in full pads" Faber
--
"Even rain as hard as a cow pissing on a flat rock beats ice when
you're driving." -- Life 101, as taught by TM Oliver
John Ritson
<pet...@beyond.com.au> writes
>Actually another one I want to follow up is the exploding CD story.
>Anyone heard of that?
>
>Apparently CD drives are getting so fast (54x) that the CD's have been
>exploding, in some cases firing the whole unit out of the front of the
>machine!!!
>
>Now that story we can test.... even if it isn't true we will find a
>way to accelarate it to destruction.
The problem is that CDs containing a crack (probably due to careless
handling) may disintegrate at such speeds and fragments could smash
through flimsy plastic front covers of the CD drive and cause injury.
Research Machines encountered this problem with 48x drives and
distributed a complex analysis of centrifugal stress in CDs, warning
notices urging users to examine CDs for cracks before using them, and
eventually thin metal plates to cover the inside front of the drive.
--
John (more worried about exploding laptops) Ritson
Simon Slavin
pet...@beyond.com.au (Peter Rees) wrote:
>Apparently CD drives are getting so fast (54x) that the CD's have been
>exploding, in some cases firing the whole unit out of the front of the
>machine!!!
The UK forthnightly newspaper 'Computing' covered incidents
like this: apparently there was a run of installations CDs
for some Microsoft product (Enterprise Server ?) which were
improperly made and tended to fragment in fast CD drives
sending out shards of splintered plastic in all directions.
I don't know how fast they were going.
Lon Stowell
Probably only a millisecond or so before we hear of a
copy of "Break Like the Wind" causing hendecapitation and
some unlucky soul suffering triskaidecapitation, why
do you ask?
Peter Rees
>
> A duck in an echo chamber?
>
> The old chain around the rear axle?
All of these are on the list... for a new series.
P.
Simon Slavin
John Ritson <jo...@jritson.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>The problem is that CDs containing a crack (probably due to careless
>handling) may disintegrate at such speeds and fragments could smash
>through flimsy plastic front covers of the CD drive and cause injury.
This surprised me somewhat: are the trays in CD drives really so
flimsy that a shard of broken CD flying at drive speeds can go
right through them ?