MythBusters (2003)

Lightning Strikes Tongue Piercing, Tree Cannon, Beat the Breath Test

Could a small town have built a working cannon out of a tree? Can a pierced tongue withstand the electric force of a bolt of lightning?

Stinky Car, Raccoon Rocket

Mythbusters, Jamie and Adam put their noses to the test to find out if that nasty smell in your car is there to stay. Is the myth of the stinky car true? Then follow the gasoline trail as they try to flush out the truth in the raccoon in the drain myth.

Escape From Alcatraz, Duck Quack, Stud Finder

Jamie and Adam retrace the steps of the infamous prisoners who escaped from Alcatraz without a trace in 1962. Although presumed drowned, they'll find out if it was possible to survive the tides of the San Francisco Bay in a homemade raft.

Chicken Gun, Octopus Egg Pregnancy, Killer Washing Machine

Explosive Decompression, Frog Giggin', Rear Axle

Can a bullet hole in the hull of an airplane cause explosive decompression that destroys the plane? Can a .22 caliber gun cartridge attached to a car ignition be used as a fuse?

Sinking Titanic, Goldfish Memory, Trombone Explosion

Break Step Bridge, Toothbrush Surprise, Rowing Water Skier

Buried in Concrete, Daddy-Longlegs, Jet Taxi

Solve a legendary mafia mystery by searching for the body of Jimmy Hoffa allegedly buried in the concrete under Giants Stadium. Fire up a jet engine and find out if the power and force of a 737 could launch a taxicab backward up to 25 meters in distance.

Best Animal Myths

Best Electric Myths

A compilation of favorite myths tested in season 1, including body piercing attracting lightning strikes, and the ultimate microwave.

Myths Revisited

Myths tested: "Peeing on the Third Rail" ORIGINAL: Busted RETEST: Reasons still correct for why you can't get shocked, unless you are abnormally close. And, there wouldn't be a continuous shock, just occasional zaps. "Goldfinger" ORIGINAL: Busted RETEST: Still Busted. The paint had no effect on Adam's blood pressure, heart rate or temperature. "Chicken Gun" ORIGINAL: Busted RETEST: Plausible. In the original test there was no conclusive evidence that said this experiment were plausible. However, by shooting the frozen and thawed chickens at 12 planes of 1/4" glass, they found that the thawed chickens only broke 2 sheets, while the frozen chickens broke all 12 sheets. "Ice Bullet" ORIGINAL: Busted. RETEST: Still busted. Even after freezing the bullets for a longer period of time, and firing it at point blank range, the bullet still melts as it comes out of the chamber. "Cell Phone + Gas Station = Explosion" ORIGINAL: Busted. RETEST: Still busted. Even after wearing down the antenna, finding out when the phone puts out the most amount of electro-magnetic energy and shorting out the battery, it just didn't work. CELL PHONES DO NOT CAUSE GASOLINE EXPLOSIONS! "Aerosol (formally Biscuit) Bullet, part II" ORIGINAL: Plausible. RETEST: For the original, they used biscuits. This time they tried aerosol cans to see if they got the same effect. However, after trying different types of aerosol can products, no cans exploded. It took a temperature of 320 degrees (twice as hot as any car would every get) before anything would explode. "Exploding Implants, part II" ORIGINAL: Busted. RETEST: For this test they used inflatable bras. Even at 40,000 feet (in which you'd be dead) the bras did not explode.

Best Explosions

Scuba Diver, Car Capers

Ancient Death Ray, Skunk Cleaning, What Is Bulletproof?

Elevator of Death, Levitation Machine

Beat the Radar Detector

Quicksand, Bathtub Electrocution, MRI Rays and Tattoos

Exploding Jawbreaker

Pingpong Rescue

Boom-Lift Catapult

Buster lends a hand as the MythBusters explore the myth of the boom-lift catapult. Will Buster overcome the raw power of a 30,000-pound piece of machinery, or will the boom-lift turn into the ultimate medieval catapult? Then, worried about the price of gas? Tune in to Jamie and Adam's investigation into the most fuel-efficient way to keep cool in the car: turning on the air conditioning or opening the windows. RESULTS: Boom-Lift Catapult Myth: BUSTED; Fuel Efficiency Test: Computer Models indicated air conditioning on w/ windows up more efficent, but in actual tests windows down w/o air conditioning is the more fuel efficient.

Exploding House

RESULTS: Needle in a Haystack Challenge (Jamie v Adam): Jamie believes finding metal and bone needles is best done by burning the hay/straw, while Adam uses a water system which he hopes will keep the hay/straw afloat and the needles will sink. Adam ends up winning because one of his assistants adds a large magnet to the system which picks up most of the metal needles and the bone needle is found in the bottom of the water tank, as he had hoped. Bug/Flea/Tick/Roach Foggers blow up house: This myth was confirmed because if you use too many foggers in your house without turning off your stove's pilot light(s), for example, you do in fact run the risk of blowing your house up. Do certain sounds make your plants grow better?: This myth was deemed plausible although it's my opinion that this myth will be revisited in a future episode. All of the plants with sound in them did better than the control plants.

Ming Dynasty Astronaut

Buster makes the ultimate sacrifice as he's chosen to test the myth of a Myng Dynasty astronomer who strapped rockets to his chair in a bid to launch into space. Then, Adam and Jamie try to corner the energy market as they test out various free energy devices. And finally, the build team nearly lose their lunch testing out whether or not a common hosehold ceiling fan really is a heads-up death trap.

Brown Note

Ultimate MythBusters

Adam and Jamie go head-to-head in a series of challenges to see who has the guts and gusto to be the Ultimate Mythbuster! Test 1: Engineering. The task? Create a device to launch a tortilla as far as possible without destroying it. Three tries per contestant, and if using a sabot (projectile protector) to protect the ammunition, the sabot must fall away from the tortilla before it lands. Though somewhat dubious, Jamie comes out on top with a distance of 72 feet to Adam's 60 feet. Score: Adam 0, Jamie 1, Ties 0 Test 2: Estimation. Using three objects (a toy car, a small gilded angel statuette, and an airplane outer-hull compartment door), Adam and Jamie must guess the weight of each one, first by looking at the object, then by feeling it. Closest guess to the actual weight of the object (best out of three) wins. Despite Jamie's title of 'human scale', he ends up LOSING to Adam by a margin of 2-1, with his guesses being off by twice as much as Adam's. Score: Adam 1, Jamie 1, Ties 0 Test 3: Fear. Adam and Jamie are given a series of creepy-crawlies to hold (giant millipede, Emperor scorpion, tarantula, and baby corn snakes). They judge the fear factor (no pun intended) of each creature on a scale of 1-10, and whoever freaks out at any point during the test loses. Despite Adam's arachnophobia, neither he nor Jamie really flinched at all, deeming the scorpion to be the scariest of the critters at a mild 5/10. Score: Adam 1, Jamie 1, Ties 1 Test 4: Ingenuity/Creative Thinking. Adam and Jamie are given identical kits to perform their own version of the childhood 'Egg Drop' tests, using only their own two hands and the objects in the kit to create a container to protect an egg from a drop from the top of the warehouse roof. As a bit of leniency, the drop is considered a success if the egg is cracked, but no yolk spills out. Adam's first drop with his 'Cone of Death' proves to be dubious enough to allow for a second run, which is successful. Jamie's aparatus, while unconventional (an egg in an orange peel in a glove tied to a length of string and tape, lowered to the ground to only suffer a foot-high drop) does save the egg in one fall, deeming him the winner. Score: Adam 1, Jamie 2, Ties 1 Test 5: Pain. Adam and Jamie, wearing white overalls, masks, and *ahem* 'cups', face each other in a paintball shooting match, with each other as the targets. The rules are simple: Each contestant shoots once at the other, then takes a step towards each other. Continue until one quits from the pain. Sadly, Jamie's uncannily dead aim (and his own sorry sharpshooting) prove to be too much for Adam, who forfeits after a dozen rounds or so. Score: Adam 1, Jamie 3, Ties 1 Test 6: Memory. Adam and Jamie try to stump each other with a quiz of 6 questions about myths they have tested in the past. Each correct answer scores a point, while a partially-correct answer (usually for multipart questions) earn a half-point. Best score at the end wins. It's close, but at the end, Jamie once again squeeks by Adam with a quiz score of 5-4 1/2. Final Score: Adam 1, Jamie 4, Ties 1 In the end, Adam and Jamie both agree that, while Jamie clearly swept the board as far as won tests go, the results of those tests were so close, that they both would be about equal in Mythbusting prowess. The debate of the Ultimate Mythbuster continues...

Salsa Escape

Salsa Escape

Adam and Jamie go head to head in a madcap Mexican jailbreak as they taste-test the theory of the Salsa Escape. And take one cement truck, add 850 pounds of dynamite, and what's left? Absolutely nothing, apparently. Adam and Jamie join forces with the FBI to find out if you can remove cement build-up from a mixer's barrel using dynamite.

Exploding Port-a-Potty

Can a person receive third-degree burns if he or she lights a cigarette while inside a port-a-potty? Armed with Adam's "special sample," the build team explores whether human waste can create enough methane to produce an explosive result. Then the MythBusters test whether a broken drive shaft on the front joint of a car vault can cause a car to pole vault after it hits a pothole. Just how high can this car fly?

Is Yawning Contagious?

Using a specially fabricated chamber complete with two-way mirror and a hidden camera, Kari, Scottie and Tory set out to see whether a yawn, like a cold, truly can be caught. Next on the docket: Does toast really fall buttered-side down? Jamie and Adam are on the case, each building a rig to simulate toast being dropped from the dining room table. Finally, the whole team tests the myth that a toy car can beat a real car (in this case, a Dodge Viper) in a gravity slope race.

Cooling a Six-Pack

The mystery is finally over! Watch as the MythBusters use ice, water, refrigerators, freezers and fire to test the fastest way to cool a six-pack. Then the team builds a new crash-test dummy ... and drops it 60 feet from a crane. The result is baptism by destruction for Buster 2.0, and a high-speed, high-impact crash the likes of which ... well, see for yourself. And finally, they may not have had iPods or remote controls to use them in, but did ancient peoples have batteries? Learn whether a crude form was invented more than 2,000 years ago.

Mythbusters Outtakes

Son of a Gun

Shop till You Drop

MythBusters Revealed

Experience the funny moments, adventure and misadventures, mistakes and mis-experimentations of Adam and Jamie as they test the truth of myths.

Hollywood on Trial

Breaking Glass