08x08 - Waterslide Wipeout

[bunniefuu]

On this wet-and-wild
episode of "Mythbusters"...

Whoa!

Aaaaah!

Aah!

I'm alive, right?

...It's the biggest, dirtiest,
most vertigo-inducing build

In "Mythbusters" history...

That's one heck of a ramp.

...Testing the fantastical
flight in this viral video.

Whoa!

This is fun.

Meanwhile,
Kari, Tory, and Grant

Deliver the goods...

We're gonna get stuck
on Lombard!

...Finding out
if going the extra distance

And taking
only right-hand turns....

Mcs is coming through!

...Can save you gas.
There you go.

Who knew packages
could be so exciting?

Who are the Mythbusters?

Adam savage...



...And Jamie Hyneman.

We're gonna have an adventure.

Between them, more than 30 years

Of special-effects experience.

Joining them...

Grant Imahara...

Formidable projectile.

Kari Byron...

Let's do it.

...And Tory Belleci.

Wasn't ready for that one,
Kari.

They don't just tell the myths.

They put them to the test.

-- <font color="#ffff00">Sync by l30b @YYeTs</font>
www.addic7ed.com

You're wearing a face mask.

You're very observant.
Why?

Why are you observant,
or why am I wearing a face mask?

Okay.
I'm wearing a face mask

Because we're doing
a fairly damp story.

This is a Youtube clip
that's pretty famous

And got sent to us
by just about everyone,

In which a man is seen
sliding down a water slide,

Launching himself off a ramp,

Flying a seemingly impossible
length through the air,

And landing in a little,
tiny swimming pool.

And so you want us
to test this?

Oh, I want to test this.

It's a death-defying
viral-video stunt

With over 4 million hits,

But is this incredible feat
legit,

Or is it a slide-show sham?

Whoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo!

Where do you want to start?

Well, as much as I'd love

To just build a big, old slide
and slide down it,

Something tells me that
that might be dangerous.

Yeah. So I'm thinking we
should start here in the shop

And do a kind of proof
of concept.

To see
whether we think we can get

That kind of distance
and precision.

Exactly.

Let's start with a small
slide -- a small slider --

Run it through some paces,
and see what we get.

Without putting our bodies
on the line.

Yet.

Yet.

It's a slippery slope
to the truth,

So they're starting with
a proof of concept,

And here's
what they're looking for.

Doing a scale water-slide
experiment is a bit of a problem

Because gravity doesn't scale.

But it's no big deal because
I only need our little dummy

To land in about the same spot
over and over again,

'cause if he doesn't,
he's toast.

Secondly, based on our video,
to scale,

I need him to travel
about 16 feet.


approximate "'x' marks the spot"

For the kiddy pool.

The blue-colored water

Helps the guys ensure that
the whole slide is lubricated,

And then stunt Adam
takes his first slip.

Slip-and-slide scale test.



Oh!

That's awesome.

He left a little blue stain,
nicely marking where he landed.






But the guys have
a slippery trick to try.

Do we want to try it again

But throw a little dish soap
in that water?

Sounds like a good idea.
I'll be right back.

Using soapy water
to further lubricate the slide

Will reduce the friction
on the stuntman...

Oh, yeah.

...Helping him to accelerate
and hopefully fly further.

Here we go.

In 3...2...1.

Boom!

Sure enough,
the soap surfactant's

Made mini Adam go the distance,

But what about accuracy?

Here we go.
Looking for the same spot.

When I look at this rig,
I think,

"he's not gonna hit
the same target every time."

But that's not gonna stop us
from trying,

Is it, little dude?

"oh, I'd rather be done."

No, you got a few more slides.

"okay."
here we go.

I'm not getting tired of that.

It's not tiresome,
but neither is it accurate,

So Jamie's got a plan.

I'm wondering about fixing him
so he's in this position.

Binding the arms and legs
should streamline mini Adam

And help him to land
in the same place twice.

But before he flies,

The slide needs another spritz
of soapy water.

I figure we should use
something like this

For the full-size ramp,
you know, but larger,

Like one of those hand-held
weed sprayers.

I can't see it putting out
anywhere near enough liquid.

I think it will.

If you want to bring it,
that's fine.

But, I swear, if we end up
using it to cover the ramp,

I'll pay you 100 bucks.

All right, then.

The gentleman's wager stands,

So the tiny slider
is tossed down the slide...

Zoofa!

...Again...

And again.

Whoo-hoo!
Boom!

That actually was pretty close
to the last one.

It was.

And he even landed
feetfirst again.

Both times?

Yep.
Nice.

And soon enough,
a pattern starts to emerge.

The more they send streamlined
Adam down the slide...

Getting pretty much
in the same area.

Go ahead and mark it again.
I'm getting kind of excited.

...The more predictable
his landings become.

Let's look at how our criteria
stacks up.

The first thing is
that we need our little dummy

To land in exactly
the same spot,

And all these landings
are within a few inches.

That works.

Secondly, to match the video,

We need him to come
to about 16 feet.

And we got landings
between 13 and 19 feet,

So this might actually work.

Aaahh!

I got to say, dude,
looking at these landings

And thinking, like, perhaps
the pool's about this size,

I'm pretty pleased
with the consistency.

So you'd be willing to bet
your life on this one, huh?

No, not -- not just yet.

But it does seem like less
of the lethal choice

It seemed to me when I first
watched the video.

Aaahh!

Okay, now, this next myth
is based on something

That a major package-delivery
company actually does.

They have
a special software program

That custom-designs a route
for their truck drivers

That eliminates as many
left-hand turns as possible.

You know, I've heard this one.

I mean, apparently it's easy for
truck drivers to take a right,

Because all they have to do
is wait for a clearing

And then they can go.

But if you're turning left,
you have to wait for a light

Or you have to wait
for oncoming traffic to clear

Before you can turn.

You're sitting there idling,
and you're wasting fuel.

Wait a minute.

You're telling me, instead
of just making a simple left,

You're gonna go three rights
to get to the same place

And that's more fuel-efficient?
Exactly.

And for a major package-delivery
company,

That's millions of dollars
a year.

Millions.
Cool.

It's a little counterintuitive,

But apparently
you can cut corners

By always going right
and avoiding the lights.

But can you really save gas

By going the extra distance
to eliminate idling?

So, how are we gonna test
this one?

Well, this myth
is about delivery trucks,

But since most of our viewers
don't have access to those,

I think we should start
with a car.

Why don't we take a car,
we'll bypass the fuel tank,

And we'll put in
our own fuel cell?

That way, we can remove it
and weigh it,

And we'll know exactly
how much fuel we're using.

Good idea.
And we'll do two routes.

The first one will be
the most direct route.

And the second one,
we'll eliminate left-hand turns

And do only rights.

And for consistency, we should
have only one driver,

And because
I'm the safest driver,

I think I should be
behind the wheel.

You're the safest driver?

Grant is up for courier duty,

So the team heads
to treasure island

To deliver their mythical Booty.

Now, the myth
is that right-hand turns

Are more fuel-efficient
than left-hand turns.

So we've set out two courses.

We're going to drive both
courses at the same speed,

With the same driving style,
to deliver 12 packages.

This is Adam's "blade runner"
replica p*stol.

The more direct left-hand route

Includes a 60-second wait
at traffic lights

But is just .4 of a mile.

The longer right-hand route
eliminates the wait,

But they'll cover .6
of a mile instead.

The routes will be repeated


As there are a dozen packages
to deliver.

It's raining.
It was so nice out here.

A slightly damp Grant
and Tory weigh the fuel cell

For their starting weight...

All right,


...Then hook it up to the car.

All right.
Let's deliver these packages.

Whoo-hoo!
We're off.

It's left after left...

Yep, that's the right address.

...And light after light...

...As our left-brain couriers
deliver the goods.

I need you to sign for that.

By the way, your average left
has been 2inutes, 15 seconds.

There's no time to waste
as they complete 12 circuits,

And finally every package is,
uh, safely delivered.

Whoo-hoo!

Yeah!

Yeah!

All right,
we are done with our route.

Let's measure our fuel cell.

Okay,
it's 15.63 pounds.

So that is a difference
of 2.26 pounds.

And you did the run
in 27 minutes and 6 seconds.

All right, that was good time.

Let's reset,
and we'll do the test

Where we just do
right-hand turns only.


Perfect.

It's a straightforward process.

Tory and Grant
repeat the delivery dozen...

I feel like we delivered
to this location before.

...But this time
only going right.

All right, so, you're gonna take
a right up here.

And then maybe --
I think you're right.

Right you are, my man.

Grant maintains the same speed
as the previous test,

And the weather conditions
are identical.

Ugh!

However...

You know,
this route feels faster.

I don't know if it is faster.

Well, we're cutting down
by not stopping at lights.

And this time around,

Despite an extra 33%
of distance to cover...

All right,
this is our last stop.

...The parcels are dispatched
in only 21 minutes.

Whoo!
Yeah!

All right,
now it's time to find out

Which is more fuel-efficient --

Left-hand turns
or right-hand turns?



So that means the right turn
actually consumed more fuel.

Looks like this one is busted.

It's all about the total
fuel consumption for 12 deliveries.

For our first test,
we did all left-hand turns.

We covered 36 blocks
in 27 minutes.

But for our second test,
with all right-hand turns,

We covered almost twice
the distance -- 60 blocks --

But came in at 21 minutes.

So the left-turn test
used less fuel,

But what does that mean
for the myth?

So, yes, we did find
that the left-turn route

Was more fuel-efficient
than the right-turn route.

But the really important thing
to look at is the difference.

It was miniscule --


I think to really get
to the bottom of this,

We need to introduce
a real-world scenario.

Whoo!

Adam and Jamie
take to the skies...

This is fun.

...But first they'll
have to build their mega slide.

The Mythbusters are finding out

If this incredible slide
is real or a flight of fancy.

Whoo-hoo!
Boom!

Zoofa!

And after a proof of concept,

It looks like this
just might fly.

I got to say, I'm astonished
that the small scale

Seems to show that this myth
is not impossible.

Well, then,
it's time to go full scale.

I think it is.

This is kind of dangerous,
though, so the question is,

Are you willing to stake your
life on hitting that pool?

No, I am not, and that's why
I've come up with,

I think, the perfect plan.

See, we don't have to do
this myth on dry ground.

We just need to hit a target
in the shape of a pool.

We could put that target on --
follow me -- a lake!

Then if we miss the target,
we don't die.

It's like a win-win.

Excellent plan.

But before they go big scale,

They need to know
exactly how big it is.

This myth, really,
all comes down to the slide.

How big is it?
How long is it?

What are its overall dimensions?

So I'm gonna spend some time

Getting up close and personal
with the video

To try and extrapolate
those dimensions.

And after some
very thorough extrapolating...

I've got that it's 8 feet wide.
Mm-hmm.

I've extrapolated that
from an earlier shot.

...Adam has the dimension data
on our slide.

It's approximately


With a slope of 24 degrees
and a ramp 12 feet high,

At an angle of 30 degrees.

So they'll need to find a lake

At the bottom
of a large 24-degree hill.

Well, how about this one?

This has got to be the spot.

It's beautiful.

Get a little of that woodgie
feeling just looking at that.

Yeah, we're gonna get going
pretty fast

By the time we reach
the bottom of this hill.

Awesome.

Oh, my gosh.

It's the ideal location,

But they'll have
to work the angles

To get the 24-degree incline
that this myth requires.

But we are no strangers

To extremely large builds
in pursuit of a story.

It seems to me that the biggest
ones always involve ramps.

I'm thinking specifically
the dirt mound

For "the Dukes of Hazzard"
jump...

Oh, my lord.

... And the huge container ramp
for the rocket car.

That ramp held up a tree!

But behind me,
in sheer size and tonnage,

Is the biggest build
we have ever undertaken.

Adam's right.

With over 200 cubic yards
of dirt

Required to make their ramp,
this could take a while.

Still got a little ways to go.

And as the sun sets
on day 1 of this mammoth build,

Their slope is more molehill
than mountain.

But luckily next morning
brings reinforcements.

These guys are pretty good,
and they did great work for us.

But we still got a ways to go,
and we needed some extra help,

So allow me to introduce you
to some extra help.

* yeah *

That was quick.

Sometimes you need the right tool.

Yep, in five minutes,
the massive earthmover

Has completed what it took them
a whole day yesterday to do,

So the guys get to work
on their ramp.

First, Jamie puts a new slant
on danger...

...As he tamps down
any loose earth.

You'll notice I'm only
going up and down the ramp

With the bucket first,

Because I'm worried
that if I went the other way,

I might flip over backwards.

...While Adam works the
planks, building the takeoff ramp.

What are we doing?!

* yeah *


are slid down the slope,

And the slide starts
to take shape.

It's beautiful.

It looks great.

You first.

And now that they're out
of the woods,

Jamie is taking precautions.

These things are called
straw wattles.

Normally they're used
for preventing erosion.

We're not gonna use them
for that.

We're gonna use them
as barriers

Along the side of our slide

To help prevent us from going
someplace we don't want to go.

Jamie, that looks hilarious.

With the wattle
safety system secure,

They focus on comfort,

Cushioning the entire slide
with carpet.

Oop.

Ooh.

Whoo!

Can I get
another roll of duct tape?

And then it's time
for the last ingredient

Of any slippery dip --
lacquered vinyl.

Never let it be said

That "Mythbusters" doesn't roll
out at least the orange carpet.

Come on.
All the way, buddy.

Yep, roll it out.

But we may have a few problems
holding on to it.

Oh, well.

You should hop off the
carpet, please. Yep.

It's like it's slippery.

h* h*!

There we go.
Okay.

I'm not only having fun,
I'm finding if there's any spots

That are sticking up
that can hurt us.

Whoo-hoo-hoo!

I think the answer is no.

And there you have it --

After two days of back-breaking,
earth-moving, soil-smoothing,

Plywood-plaquing,
wattle-waddling,

Carpet-laying,
and vinyl-veneering --

One massive made-to-order
"Mythbusters" water slide.

Well, sir, that is a ramp.

Yes, it is.

What's standing between us
and testing it?

A commercial break?

Oh.
See you in a few minutes.

Can canny
delivery companies save fuel

By turning only right
and eliminating the lights?

So far for cars,

It looks like it doesn't make
that much of a difference

If you're making a left-hand
turn or a right-hand turn.

But, I mean,
is that true for trucks?

Is this company
just wasting their time?

I think we definitely need
to step up to trucks next.

I mean, a big truck
takes longer to accelerate,

Which means it needs
a bigger break in traffic

In order to complete
a left-hand turn.

Plus, they're likely
using more fuel while idling.

Yeah, and in the real world,

Not only do they have
to deal with traffic,

Narrow roads, steep hills,
pedestrians, and --

That sounds a little like
San Francisco.

I say we get trucking.

The Mythbusters courier service

Is ready to deliver
for this myth.

This is the truck
that we are gonna be using

To make our deliveries.

We have created
the Mythbusters courier service.

We aim to please.

But there's more.
Come with me.

We will be making
several deliveries

To our favorite vendors.

And inside our packages
are "Mythbusters" t-shirts.

More importantly, though,

Our truck is outfitted
with a fuel cell

That we'll be measuring
before and after each run

So we find out how much fuel
we're consuming.



So that is our starting
fuel weight.

The best part is,
I'll be driving.

Just like the car test,

For this test,
they'll do two routes,

Delivering to the same
six destinations.

First up is the direct route,
with both lefts and rights,

Covering a distance of 5.2 miles

From the palace of fine arts
to Alamo square.

All right, let's get
these packages delivered.

All right,
zeroing out trip odometer.

Start your engine
in 3...2...1...Go!

All right, and here we go.

All right, coming up here,

You're gonna be taking a left
at the light.

Oh, see?

This darn light --
it's eating into our schedule.

Despite the lights,
in no time at all,

They've reached their first
"Mythbusters" landmark...

You ready, kid?
I was born ready.

...Fort Mason.

Drop that package.
Got it!

The delivery ninja
Springs into action,

And the first package
is dropped.

Come on!
Let's go! Let's go!

We got a schedule to keep!
Okay, hit it!

Oh, my God!
We're going to Lombard street!

I love a challenge.

That's the crookedest street
in the city, possibly the world.

No, that's wall street.

Yep, Lombard street has
more curves than a chorus line,

And it's proving
a little difficult for mcs.

Oh, crap!

Oh, my God!
Oh, my gosh!

We start going down
Lombard, I'm thinking to myself,

"who picked this route?"
I mean, this is ridiculous.

Don't worry.
We're professionals here at mcs.

Watch out. It's getting tighter
and tighter.

Can you make it down this?

I'm almost about to crash
into the side of the wall.

This is a national treasure.

This is a landmark.

I have to throw it into reverse.
I'm backing up.

Just then, because the angle
of the truck was so steep,

We lost fuel to the engine,
and the engine cut out.

Oh [bleep].

Aaahh! We're gonna get stuck
on Lombard!

So I lose my power steering.

I had to throw it in neutral

And do the rest of the street
in neutral.

Mcs --
we guarantee our deliveries!

I didn't even think
I was gonna make it out.

I'm going over the curb!

You're going over the curb?!

Luckily, Tory knows how
to handle a curve, even in neutral.

Go!

So the second delivery is made.

There you go.
Package for you.

And then after a little push...

So crazy.

...It's off to drop stop
number 3 -- north beach.

Hey, ciao.

This is north beach.
It's little Italy -- my people.

Ciao, ciao!

Hey, Vinny!

Hey, let's stop and have lunch.

No time for lunch, Tory.
We got to deliver a package!

Once again, the cowboy courier

Is in and out.

Okay, go, go, go!

And they head to the
"Mythbusters" butcher of choice

In Chinatown.

Little city meats, here we come.

As I'm driving this route,

I'm starting to see
that left-hand turns

Are a lot more annoying
than right-hand turns.

I mean, you got to wait
for the traffic to clear up

Before you can even go.

Yep, so far this test,

They've spent over five minutes

Just idling at traffic lights.

Look out,
people on the cable car,

Mcs is coming through!

Oh, my God.
This is such a hard left.

Come on!
Go, go, go!

We got to get
these packages delivered!

All right, Grant,
this is your drop! Get it!

Go, go, go, go!

Hi.
I have a delivery for you.

That's five packages delivered,

With one final stop to make --
Alamo square.

This is it!
This is the last package!

Yeah!

We did it!
Nice work, you guys.

Package from the Mythbusters.

Thank you.

That's it.
Yes!

We're done.

Customer satisfaction
guaranteed.

That's mcs.

So, left-hand turns --
pretty hairy, huh?

Yeah, and now we got
to measure the fuel,

Get onto the right-hand route,
and do this all again.

So we have 71.95 pounds.

Okay, that gives us a total
of 6.8 pounds consumed.

We went 5.2 miles
in 52 minutes.

Yeah! Nice!

That felt like we went
like 100 miles.

In about five hours.

After driving
our left-heavy route,

I feel like our results
might be extremely interesting

For this experiment.

'cause if you think about
the amount of time

That we had to idle at lights
before we could turn left,

I think it's about
the same amount of time

It would take three rights
to get to a left.

I think we might actually have
the opposite result

Of our previous experiment.

I think we might actually
save fuel going right.

Don't try anything you see
on the show at home.

We're what you call
"experts."

Welcome back.

We are testing

Pretty much everything
we can see in this clip.

So we came out here to pit 232
and built ourselves

A full-size ramp,
which we are about to test.

If you'll excuse me,

I'm gonna get suited up
for the first slide.

While Adam slips into
something more uncomfortable,

Here's Jamie with the stats
on the superslide.

Our slide is 165 feet long.

As we go down it, we'll be going
at a 24-degree angle.

As we come off the end of it,

We're gonna be going
at a 30-degree angle.

How far we go
and how fast we travel --

That's what we're here
to find out.

And they'll coat the slide
with the same slippery solution

As the small scale.

We're using soap and water
to lubricate things,

Make us go faster.

Jamie's sorted out the lube,

And Adam's suited up.

Adam, I've got
this handy-dandy GPS unit

I'd like to put on you
so we can track your speed.

Fantastic.
I can put it right...There.

Ready.

The GPS unit will track
not only Adam's speed,

But also the distance he flies

From the mega "Mythbusters"
slide.

While it would be
tempting to just go for it

And start from the top,

We're gonna start
from the middle,

Because we kind of need
to work our way into this.

I'm not actually nervous.

I'm...Itching to get on
this slide!

This is a prototype.

We don't know
what it's gonna do.

I'm dying to try this out!

We're gonna ease into it,
and everything seems okay.

Then we'll go for it.

I just can't wait.

Here we go!
Test number 1!

Adam "danger" savage
empties his bucket

And adopts the downhill-luge
position of the video.

Whoo! Whoo!

Oh, yes!

I'm okay.

Not very far.

That undignified dismount
wasn't quite the slide Adam expected.

Whoo!

With only half a slope
to build momentum,

He peaked
at 15 miles per hour...

And traveled a measly 4 feet.

You barely made it off
the end of the ramp.

I don't know what happened.

I was good and slippery,

And the track did a great job
of keeping me on the track,

But I landed about 4 feet away.

That's not a good sign.

No, it's not a good sign
for the myth,

But I'm raring to go again.

That was a hell of a lot
of fun.

And for take 2,
he'll need a little more slide,

So he heads to three-quarters
of the way up.

Whoo!

Aah!

Aah!

The landing y have been
a little hard on his derrière...

Whoo!

...But at least Adam got in.

Oh, wow.

But there was
one frothy problem.

Whoo!

Aah! Aah!

By the time I hit the ramp,

So much water had sprayed into
my face from the overly wet ramp

That I couldn't see a thing.

I hit the ramp blind.

Aah!

I did everything wrong.

Aah!

But I landed okay.

Coach, I'm ready to go in
for another run.

Will you send me in?

Okay,
but to be safe for this run,

They ditch the bucket

And give the slide a more even
spray from top to bottom.

If you remember, I told Jamie

That I thought the sprayers
were a stupid idea,

And I was so sure we weren't gonna
use them to grease the ramp

That I told him
that if we did use them,

I'd pay him $100.

I hope he forgets.

I doubt it, Adam.
The Hyneman never forgets.

With the safety sorted out,

The guys can concentrate
on this myth.

There are two parts
to the superslide --

Accuracy and distance.

So first they're taking on...

Distance.

By our best calculations,

The slider in the video
flies approximately 115 feet.

Do I have 115 feet of travel
in my future?

Honestly, I don't think.

Okay,
I'm ready to go from the top.

It should be all downhill
from here.

Yeah, well, break a leg.

Here I go.

But will a slide from the very
top be enough to launch Adam

The same distance
as the video stunt slider?



Oh, it doesn't take much.
Here we go.

Whoa!

Whoa!

Aaaaaah!

Whoo!

Yeah!

Wow!

Whoo!

Well, that was one
mighty mega whoosh.

Aaaaaah!

But Adam only flew 70 feet...

Aaaah!

...A far cry
from the 115 feet of the myth.

I'm alive, right?

I think so.

How far did I fly?

You flew about 70 feet.

Aaaaaah!

That's totally intense.

That went above and beyond
everything else.

The single most intense thing
I've ever done on the show.

Editors,
just roll it one more time.

I want to watch this.

Yeah, look at that!

I'm screaming involuntarily
the whole way to the water.

The moment I feel the water hit
my feet, I am so grateful,

'cause I know
it's a good landing.

I wish you could try this.

Well, we can't,
but the Hyneman can...

And maybe he'll be able to go
the extra distance

This myth requires.

Aaaaah!

Whoo!

Next up...

Keep off walls.

...The Mythbusters deliver

And set their route to rights.

Hey, don't forget to use mcs!

We're the b*mb!

Is it a bird?

Whoo!

Is it a plane?

No, it's Adam "danger" savage,

Trying to re-create this.

But now it's time to call in
the heavies.

So, why do I have to go down
the slide when Adam already has?

Good to go.

Well, you don't think I'm gonna pass
something like this up, do you?

I mean, look at it.

And, besides, who knows?
I might go further.

It isn't a case
of "anything Adam can do,

Jamie can do better."

Just relax and clench your butt.
That worked for me so well.

It's about mass.

Jamie is slightly heavier
than Adam,

And that could give him an edge

When it comes
to flight distance.

Don't you wonder what's going
through Jamie's head right now?

"keep my core tight, relax."

It's probably not.

It's probably more like,

"I wonder how to reassemble
the rack on my truck.

"maybe some quarter-20 bolts.

Oh, it's time to go?
Okay. Here we go."

So, Adam, this whole thing seems
kind of fun,

But it's also terrifying.

Maybe it's terrifyingly fun.
What do you think?

Yeah. Exactly the
same assessment of the thing.

Tell me what you feel like
after the fly.

I guess it's now or never.

Here we go.

Jamie starts
at the safety distance

Three-quarters of the way up.

Whoa!

Perfect!

Whoa!

You sounded great going down --
"w-w-whoa!"

It is kind of involuntary.

Whoa!

Do you see what I mean about,

Like, not having much of
a choice, how things are going?

I didn't keep my legs quite
as spread as you were,

Which was part of the reason
I came off just a hair sideways.

Yeah.

That's kind of painful
coming down.

If you're not centered,
that's a lot of hit.

Yeah, when I landed
on my butt --

I'm still sore from that.

Aaaaah!

With Jamie's safety run
complete, he heads for the top.

Just look at this thing.
I mean, who gets to do this?

This is fun.

Fun,

But will he be able to fly
the full 115 feet of the myth?

From the top.



Oh!

He's okay.

That landing
was a little cattywampus.

Jamie made quite a splash...

Because according to the GPS,

He peaked at 30 miles per hour

And achieved
the furthest flight yet.

I just went


And I flew 72 feet.

Oh!

Now, we know,
looking at the video,

That the guy had
to have traveled about 115 feet.

And backing out from there,
doing the math,

That tells us
that he had to be going

About 40 to 45 miles an hour
through the air.

Not looking good for the myth.

Yep, the mythical


So next they'll focus on
part 2 -- accuracy.

So, you flew 72 feet
on that run.

I beat you.

By 2 feet.

Yes!

But now that leads to the
natural question of accuracy.

If we did this on dry land,

Could we place the pool
somewhere

Where we'd hit it every time
and survive?

We can arrange that.

Can I be the one to do it?

Can I be the one to run the
test? Please, please, please?

Well, with all this enthusiasm,
I suppose so.

Excellent. Excellent.
I'll suit up.

Here you go.
Package for you.

Our trucking trio
are testing the myth

That you can save gas
by only turning right.

Come on!
Go, go, go!

We got packages!

For their left-turn
delivery route,

They used 6.8 pounds of gas.

But will that change
for the right route?

Okay, now it's time
for the right-hand route.

To keep this scientific,

We're driving
at the same time of day

With the same driving style

And going to the same
six destinations.

Just as before,
they weigh the fuel cell.

All right, 76.9.

Start the right-hand route.

All right.
Cool.

And then it's time
to start the engines.

Let's do this.

Six packages
and using nothing but rights.

This should be interesting.

It should.

For this route, they'll deliver
to the same six destinations.

But where there were lefts,

They'll make three right turns
instead,

Meaning they'll cover
a total distance of 6.8 miles --



Okay, fort Mason Gate.

Grant,
you ready for this delivery?

It's your first one.

All right, I'm gonna pull over.

You jump and deliver
that package.

Go, go!

Once again, a fast-and-furious
Grant delivers the goods.

Go, go, go, go!

You can make it, Grant!
You can make it!

And Tory is on the right course.

Seems like we're traveling
over a lot more distance

With this route.

Yeah, but we're not waiting
at lights.

Grant's right.

They're not hanging around
for this test,

And they're already at
their second location.

But will the lack of lights yet
extra distance save them fuel?

All right, so, this is Lombard.

Lombard.
Get ready.

Keep off walls.

Their last Lombard run
was a little sticky.

Oh [bleep]

Looking good.

So this time, to even the odds,

Tory cruises down in neutral

And restarts the engine
at the bottom of the hill

To mimic the same fuel
consumption as before.

Okay, go, go, go, go, go!

Are you a fan of "Mythbusters"?
Yeah.

Here you go. There's a package
delivered for you.

Thank you.

That's one happy fan.

So, it's on to little Italy...

Ciao, ciao!

All right.

Okay, go, go, go!

Did you get a signature?

...And then Chinatown.

It's the belly of the beast --
Chinatown.

Come on! Get back here!
Come on, son.

He's faster than I remember.

That's four packages down
with only two to go.

Who knew packages
could be so exciting?

Should we leave him this time?

Nah, we got one more package
still.

I don't want to get out
of the car.

Do you?
No.

And for the final delivery,

There's just one more set of
rights to get to Alamo square.

All right, here we go.

Last delivery.

It sure would be easier
if we could take a left.

Sure would.
And now they're at Alamo square,

They're done "right"
by the route.

But has going the extra distance
saved them gas?

Good enough!
Let's weigh the fuel cell!

All right, 72.9 pounds.

That means we consumed


On the right-hand route.

So it's confirmed.

It actually saved you fuel

To do do right turns only?

Surprisingly enough,

Although the right-hand route

Added nine minutes
to their total delivery time,

It was more fuel-efficient.

The results for this experiment
are really, really interesting.

The left-hand route was shorter,
it took less time,

But it consumed a lot more fuel.

So this myth is confirmed.

If you're a delivery-truck
driver in an urban environment,

You're definitely gonna want
to plan a right-hand route.

But if you're me in a little,
tiny car, not very practical.

Up next, it's Adam's accuracy...

From here, the ring looks like
the size of a quarter.

...As he rings in
the water-slide wipeout.

Aaaaah!

Water slides --
they're wet-and-wild fun.

But could the science of this
splash landing be misleading?

A flight of 115 feet is busted.

So now it's all down
to accuracy.

To me, the soul of this
myth boils down to accuracy.

Is the slider going to hit
the same location repeatedly?

And, thus, can they place a pool

In the middle of a grassy field
and hit it,

Thus saving their lives?

Okay, so from everything
we've done so far,

We've calculated
that we're hitting a spot

That's pretty much in the center
of that circle behind me.

But here's how I want you
to think about this.

Picture that that is dry land,

And the only salvation you have
at the end of that dry land

Is that circle, which is full
of lifesaving water,

Somewhere in the middle
of the dry land,

And you are going to trust your
life to hitting that target.

I would not.

I personally am really glad

That the whole thing
is surrounded by water.

I just can't give it 100%
that I'm gonna hit it.

I'm gonna try and hit it.
Are you ready?

I'm ready.
Go for the gold star.

Dude, I wish you could see it
from here.

From here, the ring looks like
the size of a quarter.

Well, then, you shouldn't have
any trouble hitting it.

Okay.

It all comes down to this --

One souped-up superslider
and one floatin' ring of rubber.

Will Adam be accurate enough
to ring in this myth?

In 3...2...1!

Yeah!

Yeah!

That was a perfect
splash landing.

Dude, I didn't even break it!

Adam's final run propelled him


And then directly into the
center of the pseudo-kiddy pool.

I don't think this
is really gonna take off

As an amusement-park ride,
though.

It's a little intense
for the kids.

Well done.

Thank you.

I am gobsmacked
that that worked so well.

So, Adam's accuracy
was actually pretty good.

But let's remember
that in the clip,

The pool was about 115 feet away
from the end of the ramp.

And that means that if what happened
here happened in that clip,

That guy would be splat
about in the middle of the run.

Not a good thing.

Not a good thing.

But where does that leave
this mega-whoosh myth?

Well, as far as the distance
goes, it's busted,

Because we'd have
to have a slide

At least twice as long as this
to get that 115 feet.

But accuracy --

The plausibility
of the accuracy

Is the thing I find
most astounding in this.

When we started testing this,
I would have never called

That we'd be reliably hitting
that dot time and again,

That you could somehow
set this up on dry land

And actually hit the target.

Well, for the myth to be true,
both halves have to be true,

And they're not,
so it's busted.

That's awfully technical of you,
but, okay, I'll buy that.

It's busted.

So, where's my 100 bucks?

I got to say,
that was the most intense thing

I've ever done on this show.

Yeah, well, while we were
busting this myth in the field,

Our researchers
were busting it in cyberspace.

How so?

They contacted the people
that made the clip,

And you know what?

It was c.G.

Double-plus busted!

Busted.