06x15 - Blind Driving

[bunniefuu]

Please, don't try anything

that you're about to see us do
at home.

Ever!

NARRATOR: On this episode
of "Mythbusters"...

Hyah!

NARRATOR:
...it's martial-arts mayhem...

That's intense, man.

NARRATOR:
...as Adam and Jamie focus,

once again,
on the secret world of ninja...

Pain is your friend.

NARRATOR:... to check out
the one-inch punch.

-Ow.
-[ Laughs ]

Hyah!

NARRATOR: Then Tory, Kari,
and Grant explore the myth

of the underwater
blowpipe assassin.

-Ninja!
-Yeah!

NARRATOR: And the boys settle
once and for all

-if a real ninja...
-Hyah!

NARRATOR:
...can snatch an arrow.

ADAM:
Archers, draw.

NARRATOR:
Who are the Mythbusters?

Adam Savage...

[ Shouting indistinctly ]

NARRATOR:
...and Jamie Hyneman.

If I'm really good,
I'll get nine fish.

NARRATOR:
Between them, more than 30 years

of special-effects experience.

[ Laughs ]

NARRATOR:
Joining them -- Grant Imahara...

Or I be the scurvy dog!

NARRATOR:
...Tory Belleci...

That bus
just came out of nowhere!

NARRATOR:
...and Kari Byron.

But right on the money penny.

NARRATOR:
They don't just tell the myths.

They put them to the test.

MAN: Hyah!

[ Horse whinnies ]

[ Fly buzzes ]

There are a lot easier ways
to k*ll a fly.

Ah, yes, but none more precise
than the ninja method.

I suppose that means that we're
doing ninja myths again.

Indeed, you are correct,
flying walrus.

Three is the number of myths
we must test in this journey.

The first is underwater
blow-dart assassination.

The second would be
the famous one-inch punch.

And the third -- ha! --

they say we must
catch an arrow again,

for we got this wrong
the first time.

-[ Whoosh! ]
-Nice work.

Why, thank you.

NARRATOR:
Unlike the samurai,

ninjas don't have
a fighting code.

They just do whatever it takes
to get the job done.

Their ruthless dispatch
of enemies

spawned a rich mythology,

and that's why they're familiar
territory to the Mythbusters.

But ninja rep took a nose dive

when Adam and Jamie proved
ninjas couldn't walk on water...

...or catch a sword
with their bare hands.

Slides right through.

NARRATOR: And it was 0 for 3
when the boys proved

shadow warriors had no show
of catching a full-flight arrow.

Myth is busted. This is what
it would take to catch an arrow.

NARRATOR:
But the fans disagreed,

and hell hath no fury
like a ninja fan scorned.

[ Aaah! ]

What did they say we got wrong?

Well, the fans complained that
our robo-arrow-catching hand

was way too close to our
robo-arrow-sh**ting bow

and that if it was farther away,

they reasoned the arrow
would be going slower

and that would make it easier
to catch.

That's easy enough to test.
Is that it?

Sadly, no.

Tons of people wrote us
and said they've seen footage

of people catching arrows.

Why didn't we bring
one of those people

on to the show to test with.

So we've got to get a real ninja
and bring him on the show.

I don't know
where we're gonna find one,

but, yeah, I think we have to.

NARRATOR: We'll let them
find that ninja later

and start
with the arrow-speed test.

ADAM:
One of the primary complaints

was that we were firing
all of our arrows

for the arrow-catch test
from too close --

from point-blank range --

and that if the arrows
were going from farther away,

they'd be going slower
and thus be easier to catch.

Well, our understanding
of the physics is,

there's very little difference
between 10 feet and 50 feet.

And we're about to do some tests
that hopefully will prove that.

NARRATOR:
To find out,

Jamie will fire arrows
at increments of 10 feet.

JAMIE: In this test, we're gonna
use the high-speed camera

and this scale to measure
the speed of the arrow

right as it hits the target.

Ready to take the first shot
from point-blank?

I am.

NARRATOR: Jamie is going to use
a full-strength pull

on each arrow.

ADAM:
That's it!

And 60 feet.

[ Clattering ]

ADAM: Oh.

[ Laughs ]

Well, I think
you k*lled something, sir.

NARRATOR:
Now, where did that arrow go?

All right, this is 70 feet.

I thought this was
a ninja special,

not knight special.

This is what I had
lying around. Go!

-Oh!
-JAMIE: That ought to work.

NARRATOR:
So, what did they find out?

Well, we did pretty good.
[ Laughs ]

Uh, there's effectively
no difference.

You were
consistently between

171 and 179 miles per hour.

So, what this means for our
tests is that it doesn't matter

how far away the sh**ter is
from the catcher.

The arrow is gonna be going
about the same speed.

NARRATOR:
And that means

the iron fist in the
leather-glove experiment...

-[ Both cheer ]
-...gets the thumbs-up.

Those results were pretty clear.

They were.
It's true.

This is something
we've known about for a while,

and I'm really glad
we got to show it on the show --

that the speed of an aerodynamic
projectile like an arrow

has a very low drop-off
in speed

from the moment
it leaves the sh**ter

to the moment
it hits its target.

That means we were right,
and the fans were wrong.

I guess if you want to harp
on that, yes, that's true.

Now I think
we can put this one away.

And it's time to bring out
our real ninja.

Just wait till you meet him.

NARRATOR: Getting an elusive
shadow warrior wasn't easy.

But the Mythbusters
research team

not only tracked one down,
they got the best in the world.

Have you seen our ninja?

No, but I'm not sure we'd know
whether he was here or not.

[ Australian accent ]
Hi. I'm your ninja.

I'm Anthony Kelly.

You don't look
much like a ninja.

No, I only have
my street clothes on.

Give me one second.

Hyah!

-Wow!
-That's more like it.

NARRATOR:
Okay, fans,

you, the viewers, demanded
we get a real ninja.

And despite
his non-ninja appearance

and Australian accent,
he is the best in the business.

ADAM: Well, Anthony
might not look like

your classic idea of a ninja,
but don't take our word for it.

We're gonna put him
into our "holodeck" here

and run him through some of his
paces to see what he can do.

NARRATOR:
So, is our ninja fast enough

to catch a full-speed arrow?

Well, there's only one way
to find out --

see if he can catch...
tennis ba*ls?

A thoughtful person
might just ask,

"What does catching one of these

have to do
with catching one of these?"

Well, it's all about
reaction time,

and Anthony has fast reflexes.

That's what this is about.

NARRATOR: So before the ninja
catches any arrows,

they're going to measure
the speed of his handiwork.

Okay, I'm gonna keep time
on the stopwatch

and count on the clicker.

KELLY:
All right, let's go, boys.

He's so ready.

NARRATOR:
Now, catching tennis ba*ls

may not seem all that hard.

And go!

-Hyah!
-One.

NARRATOR: But those ba*ls are
traveling at 85 miles an hour.

ADAM:
That's more or less the speed

of a major-league fastball.

But at 26 feet away,

he's standing twice as close
to the pitcher.

15!

The ninja has less than
a fifth of a second to react.

If he blinks, he'll miss it.

Five seconds.

22!

And time!

Wow!

Oh, goodness me!

22!

This could be
a new world record.

NARRATOR:
It sure is.

JAMIE: We have it clear as day
on high-speed camera --

Anthony catching that ball
as it comes into him.

Apparently,
he has set a new world record.

We'll see how Adam does.

NARRATOR:
A ninja arrow is hot stuff,

but can a shadow warrior
catch one in full flight?

To find out, a real ninja

has been put through
his reaction paces

with tennis ba*ls.

-Hah!
-21!

NARRATOR: But Adam didn't think
it looked too difficult.

I have to try this.
Can I try this?

NARRATOR: And Jamie
is more than happy to oblige.

Hah!

We all know I don't have
any particular problem

with administering a little pain
to Adam.

Oh! God!

You said you'd do it.

I will. I will.

I'm gonna let a couple go by me,
and then you start.

NARRATOR:
Now, Adam is a tad apprehensive

because the last time

he was on the receiving end
of Jamie and a machine...

ADAM:
I'm ready, Jamie.

Oh!

NARRATOR:... Jamie almost
tore him a new belly button.

I keep forgetting
that you have no heart or soul.

[ Both laugh ]

NARRATOR:
So branding Adam with ba*ls...

Dude!

NARRATOR:
...is Jamie's idea of fun.

Knock yourself out.

Here we go! Oh!

h*, crap!
That's so fast!

h*! Ow!

Oh!

Pain is your friend.

h*! Ha! I caught one!

Oh, God!

You don't want pain?
Catch the freaking ball.

Ow! [ Laughs ]

Ow!

That's intense, man.

They come fast.
You want to try it?

No.

Dude, I'm all red.

It's not as bad
as the paintball,

but it's definitely gonna hurt.

NARRATOR: Replays of Adam's
slow-motion suffering...

[ Laughs ]

...make it pretty clear

why he won't be graduating
ninja school any time soon.

ADAM:
This absolutely confirms

why we brought Anthony
on the show.

And this is why I'm no longer
the one trying to catch arrows.

So, ninjas, what do we got?

This is a classic ninja myth
that's all about assassination.

But this is specifically
an underwater ambush.

So imagine you have a target.

The only time he's unprotected

is when he takes
his morning walk by the lake.

Okay.

You grab some poison darts
and a blowgun,

you hang out
underneath the water,

and when your target walks by
[blows] you attack.

So you're using your blow-dart
g*n as a breathing tube.

-Exactly.
-That's wild.

It's like a ninja!

NARRATOR:
In their art-of-stealth arsenal,

the blowgun, or fukiya,
was a ninja's deadly weapon.

But does the myth of doubling
as a snorkel hold water?

The story goes, a shadow warrior
would slip into a pond,

stay hidden for hours, breathing
easy through his blow tube.

When his unsuspecting target
finally turned up,

the ninja's poison dart would
quickly carry out its carnage.

Aaah!

All right,
this is pretty complicated,

so let's break it down
into its elements.

All right, well, first of all,
we need to see

how long somebody
can stay underwater,

because if you're underneath the
water for a long period of time,

there's a possibility
you could get hypothermia.

And we need to see if we can
build an accurate blowgun

using only the materials that
an ancient ninja would have.

And we need to find out
if you can aim underwater,

because you need to correct
for refraction.

Then, the hard part is gonna be
breathing through the blowgun,

loading the dart while
you're underneath the water,

and then making
that lethal shot.

NARRATOR: So first up, Tory is
gonna put his life on the line.

KARI: Stop right there.
That's good.

Today we're gonna test
exposure to cold water.

And to do that,
Tory has kindly volunteered

to jump into our tank
of 66-degree-temperature water.

NARRATOR: That's about the
average temperature of a lake

in Japan during fall.

But they're not throwing Tory
completely into the deep end.

-Here you go, buddy.
-KARI: Ew, it smells, too.

NARRATOR:
He will have some protection.

TORY:
Well, apparently,

ninjas used to rub animal fat
all over their bodies

and then put a leather suit on
before they got into cold water

to act as, like, a wet suit.

All right, you're gonna write
on this board how you feel.

One is you're okay,
you're good to go,

all the way up to 10,

which is, "I think
I've got hypothermia.

Get me out of here now."

NARRATOR:
Sounds easy enough.

All right, 3, 2, 1...

NARRATOR: Just stay underwater
until you're almost dead.

[ Muffled screaming ]

KARI: Quite honestly,
under that cold water,

I don't think
Tory is gonna last very long.

I feel like 10, 15 minutes,

and he's just gonna be cold
and have to get out.

NARRATOR:
In water this cold,

he could die
in as little as two hours.

And just 10 minutes in,
Tory is already struggling.

GRANT: Let's ask him
what number he's at.

KARI:
Five. He's colder.

NARRATOR:
In case Tory hits real trouble,

paramedics are on standby.

They know what to look for.

Symptoms of hypothermia
would include

starting to shiver, lethargy...

...being confused...

...lack of coordination.

-[ Object shattering ]
-KARI: Whoa!

Other than the shivering,
that's how he is normally,

so it's gonna be
a little tough for us to tell.

NARRATOR: It's even harder
to pick when he's underwater,

which he's now been
for 45 chilly minutes.

KARI: Seven.

Okay, he's pretty cold.

He's pretty uncomfortable.

NARRATOR: In water this cold,
Tory is losing body heat

32 times faster
than he would normally.

His breathing
is really getting ragged.

KARI: And the shaking
is getting worse.

Oh, he's coming up.
He's coming up. Okay.

Okay.

Oh, that's it.

All right.

Okay, quick,
let's get your temperature.

NARRATOR: Kari and Grant need
to check if he's critical...

All the water
out of your mouth?

NARRATOR:... to see whether
he can recover on his own

or to call in the cavalry.

-[ Shivering ]
-You can get out now.

Yeah.
That's a good idea.

GRANT: Now, given that Tory
is just a regular guy

of average health,
that is a very good performance.

TORY: It was harder
than I thought it was gonna be.

[ Breathes heavily ]

The longer I was in there,
the harder it was to breathe.

You lasted an hour. I didn't
think it would be that long.

Considering you don't have
any cold-water training,

it looks pretty good
for this myth.

Yeah. So we just did
the exposure test.

Now on to the fun part.

That wasn't the fun part?

No. Now we're gonna do
the blowgun test.

-Yes!
-Yes!

NARRATOR: All good ninja movies
have a showdown,

and the "Mythbusters"
ninja special is no different.

So, our ninja
feels pretty confident

that he can catch an arrow.

Now, maybe holding seven world's
records in catching stuff

and the fact that he calls
himself "the Arrow Catcher"

has something to do with that,

but that's not good enough
for us.

We got to see it.

Before I start sh**ting
at Anthony,

I think I need
a little target practice.

NARRATOR:
Now, unlike a real battle,

the ninja has put in a request.

JAMIE: Anthony wants me to stand
exactly 26 feet away

and fire past him,
not directly at him.

How's it going, dude?
You hitting the dot?

I'm getting them
bunched in pretty tight.

-Yeah?
-Yeah.

You ready for taking a crack
at the real ninja?

-Let's do it.
-All right, let's get Anthony.

Anthony has also requested
I don't do a full draw...

ADAM:
Ready for you, sir.

JAMIE:
...and release my arrows

at only about half
to three-quarters strength.

NARRATOR: So this is the moment
the fans have been waiting for.

Will ninjadom be vindicated
or shamed?

Can a real ninja
really catch an arrow?

Uh, that would be a no.

But he's a ninja.

He's not about to give up
without a fight.

ADAM:
Jamie's arrows are traveling

about 120 miles an hour.

So at 26 feet, our ninja has
about 1/8 of a second to react.

NARRATOR:
He missed again.

This sure is a tough challenge,

and fast looking like
myth busted...

Hah!

Hyah!
Waah! Dropped it.

NARRATOR:
...until finally...

[ Shouting ]

-Hah!
-NARRATOR:... he got one.

[ Laughs ]

[ Grunting ]

Nice catch.

NARRATOR:
And now he's got his eye in.

Hah!

Ow! Ninja!

ADAM:
The ninja caught the arrow.

Maybe the fans were right.

Our ninja was, in fact,
able to catch an arrow...

Hah!

-...which is impressive.
-Hah!

But we should note
that it was at a set distance.

I wasn't doing a full draw
on the bow.

I was precisely
controlling the situation

to give him the arrow
exactly where he needed it.

NARRATOR:
But catch it he did,

so maybe it's time to break out
a slice of humble pie.

Our ninja caught the arrow.
Are you feeling vindicated now?

Our ninja caught the arrow.
Well, hold on.

Don't get so c*ck, buddy.

We got a lot in store
for that ninja to come.

Hyah!

NARRATOR: Blowpipes are a great
assassination accessory...

[ Ugh! ]

...but can a ninja use one
to perform underwater slaughter?

Tory has already
beaten exposure.

Oh, that's it.

All right!

NARRATOR: So now
it's on to the blowpipes.

So, we've got exposure.

The next test is accuracy.

Okay, let's make blowguns
and blow darts.

Okay.

Just for fun,
let's have a little contest

and see how much ninjocity
you actually have.

Hyah!

I think there should be
some rules, though.

Like, the blowgun itself
should blend in to the pond,

so natural materials only.

-How much time do we have?
-End of the day.

-TORY: All right. Get cracking.
-All right.

NARRATOR: With ninja blueprints
thin on the ground,

it'll be everyone for themselves

to use their "ningenuity"
to make a winning weapon.

It's not a game
of how hard you hit.

It's how accurate you are.

NARRATOR: Now, building
a bamboo blowgun is tricky.

GRANT: Bamboo grows in sections
with joints,

so you have to remove the bumps
and notches

to make sure the dart
won't catch in the barrel

or lose air around the sides.

NARRATOR:
Tory and Grant are done.

[ Blows ]

NARRATOR:
Meanwhile, Kari has decided

the non-cheating rule
doesn't apply to her.

KARI: You may have noticed
that I put a metal tube

inside of my bamboo blowgun,

and that might be
considered cheating.

I mean, metal is "natural."

It does come from this Earth,
so not entirely cheating.

NARRATOR:
Three different blowguns.

Three different ninjas.

Only one will win the right
to be the underwater assassin.

All right,
here's dart number one.

-[ Blows ]
-[ Thud ]

-Ooh!
-[ Honk! ]

[ Blowing ]

You're really accurate if you're
aiming for the background.

NARRATOR: That's three darts
close, but no cigar.

Now, Grant's
natural-material blowgun

has had
a last-minute alteration.

Well, if you want accuracy,
you should try the laser sight.

Grant's got a laser sight
on his.

-Wait a minute.
-I know!

Did ninjas have lasers?

Hey, no.

Modern ninjas do.

NARRATOR: Laser sights
have some advantages...

and some disadvantages.

-Ow!
-Oh, don't look down the barrel!

Don't look down the barrel!
Ohh!

It's a self-sabotaging
blow-dart g*n.

Step up to the plate.

I got to save the palace.
Step back. Step back.

NARRATOR:
If Kari can't score,

they'll have no weapon
to test the myth.

-[ Blows ]
-TORY: Ohh!

In the face!

KARI: [ Blows ]

-Ohh!
-Ohh!

That is in the exact center.

She's like a ninja.

KARI:
[ Blows ] Aw!

-Two out of three ain't bad.
-Nice work.

GRANT:
I think you definitely won.

I totally cheated.
I've got a tube in there.

-What?!
-What?!

Oh, you so cheated!

Coming from the man
with the laser sight!

NARRATOR:
Now, there are sore losers...

I'm the master ninja

NARRATOR:... and then
there's Grant and Tory.

[ Blows ]

See that?

That's without cheating.

Kari might be
the master ninja now.

We'll see tomorrow
when she's underwater.

They were really mad.

[ Men shouting ]

They're...
kind of scaring me now.

NARRATOR: Adam and Jamie
are pitting science

against the shadow warrior.

So far, the ninja has proven
he can indeed catch an arrow.

Good work.
Thanks, Jamie.

NARRATOR:
But even before the fan chorus

of told-you-sos had subsided,

the Mythbusters
were flagging a foul.

So how did he do?
Did our ninja catch the arrow?

Well, technically, yes,
but he had some requirements.

I had to stand
at a set distance.

I had to sh**t the arrow
in front of him,

where his hand was gonna be,
not at him.

And I couldn't pull the bow back
to its full draw.

I had to kind of
do it like this.

Yeah, I think
what we need to do

is give our fans
a cold, hard dose

of battle-hardened reality.

Those bows need to be drawn
at full strength.

Those arrows need to be aimed
directly at our ninja,

and he can't know
from which direction

the deadly arrow is gonna come.

Basically,
you're trying to k*ll him.

Yeah, pretty much.

NARRATOR: Let's hope the ninja
has good health insurance.

Look, our ninja caught
the arrow. He totally did.

But that's not the myth
we're talking about.

We're talking about
a ninja in battle.

He hears an arrow being released
from its string --

[ Whistles ] Ching!
And he plucks it out of the air.

That's what we want to see,
and that's the kind of scenario

we're about to set up
for Anthony.

NARRATOR: To test
the ninja's maximum mettle,

Adam and Jamie
have created a battle zone.

JAMIE:
In a real battle situation,

there may be multiple archers,

and you're not gonna know
who's firing when.

So that's what
we've got to replicate next.

NARRATOR: The plan is to use
three archers --

Jamie and two secret shooters,

all firing
straight at the ninja's body.

Soon our ninja will know...

...the Mythbusters' challenge!

NARRATOR: This time,
Adam is making damn sure

the odds are stacked
in his favor.

His secret shooters
are the ninjas' nemesis --

other ninjas.

These are our ninja archers.

I can't tell you who they are.

If you knew,
you'd already be dead.

NARRATOR: Now, there's just
one slight problem

with firing lethal arrows
at a ninja.

It's that they are, well...

...lethal.

That seriously needs sorting,
so back at base,

Adam is building
some less-than-lethal arrows.

We'll see.
Here we go.

3, 2, 1...

NARRATOR: Adam's arrow
went into the ninja,

but the lethal metal tip didn't.

Oh.

It didn't go through the thing.

NARRATOR:
It seems safe,

but he won't be the one
on the not-so-pointy end.

With rubber-tipped arrows,
the ninja won't die.

But will he be able
to catch them

and defeat the forces of evil
ranged against him.

It's a classic shadow-warrior
showdown -- a lone ninja...

Everybody's ready?

NARRATOR:... evil assassins
at every turn...

and Jamie.

Archers, draw.

NARRATOR:
If this were a movie,

the ninja's victory
would be assured.

Ugh! Hyah!

NARRATOR:
But this isn't a movie.

Hyah!

NARRATOR:
It's more like a firing squad.

Wah!

NARRATOR: And the ninja
just took three direct hits.

ADAM:
Okay, stand down.

Well, Anthony is absolutely
a good sport...

...but so far,
under battle conditions,

it's not looking good
for the myth.

No arrows have been caught.

Archers, draw.

NARRATOR:
At this range, with no cover,

the ninja is a sitting duck.

So Adam decides to give him
a bit more room to move.

ADAM:
Okay, all right, stand down.

In the interest of giving
Anthony an even better chance,

I'm gonna back up all three
of the archers 10 paces --

another 10 meters --

so they'll all be
at about 60 feet away from him

before they fire.

[ Grunting ]

NARRATOR: At a greater distance,
the archers are less accurate.

Hyah!

NARRATOR:
And the ninja gets close...

Ohh.

NARRATOR:... but still
can't quite get a grip.

All right, stand down.
Let's reset.

NARRATOR: The myth is looking
like it's totally busted.

But to settle it
once and for all,

Adam has one more option.

ADAM: I want to give Anthony the
best chance of success at this,

so I'm gonna have the archers
all holding their arrows down

until they fire,

so he'll actually have
a little bit of lead time

seeing the flutter of their bow
before they fire.

Ha!

Hah!

ADAM: [ Laughs ]

NARRATOR:
He finally caught one.

Hah!

NARRATOR: So, is it a case
of myth busted or plausible?

JAMIE:
In a battle scenario,

Anthony was, in fact,
able to catch an arrow,

although,
in a real battle situation,

you only have one chance,

and Anthony took a number
of hits before he got it right.

Our ninja did spectacularly

when he could see an archer
go up and release.

He had the time to anticipate.

Hah!

But without that, I think
we'd have one dead ninja.

NARRATOR: When it comes
to fighting underwater,

you can do it the hard way...

...or the ninja way.

Use your blowpipe
as a breathing tube

and fire a poison dart
into your victim.

Aaah!

So despite the cheating...

we did establish
that it's possible

to make an accurate blowgun
using only natural materials.

TORY: We also showed that you
could stay underneath the water

for an hour,
which would be plenty of time

for you to wait
for your enemy to come by.

So I guess it's time
to put it all together.

This is where
it gets really hard,

because underwater, refraction
is gonna distort your aim.

And even if you could
overcome the refraction,

you still have to
load the dart in the blowgun

while breathing.

NARRATOR:
With carp ponds hard to come by,

Tory and Grant
ninja up the local pool

while Kari changes
into something less comfortable.

[ Toilet flushes ]

So how are we
gonna test this one?

All right, well, since
this is all about accuracy,

I think what you should do

is put the dart in the tube
first while you're above water

and then pop down under.

[ Blows ]
Do it that way.

All right.
Get in the water.

NARRATOR: As the winner
from yesterday's test,

it's Kari's job to take aim
from under the water,

where things
may not be so clear.

It's a different thing
when you're above water

versus being underwater,
because of refraction,

which, if we're correct,

will probably make it
very difficult

to actually aim for a target
and hit it.

NARRATOR: The problem
for our trespassing assassin

is the emperor she's aiming at
isn't where he appears to be.

That's because light
travels at different speeds

through water and air,

getting bent out of shape as it
passes from one to the other.

Although she's still
a deadeye shot above water...

-KARI: [ Blows ]
-[ Thud ]

-TORY: Ohh.
-That's where I was going for.

NARRATOR:
...under the water,

Kari will be guessing
where to fire.

-KARI: [ Blows ]
-Oh!

-[ Cat meows ]
-Sorry! [ Laughs ]

NARRATOR:
She's missed by a mile.

It's really blurry.

NARRATOR: Now, remember, Kari is
only fighting refraction here.

Breathing through the blowgun
comes later.

-[ Blows ]
-[ Pole clangs ]

TORY: Whoa!

-You hit the pole.
-lt was high.

Yeah, lower your aim
a little bit.

Oh, wow. I thought
I was way lower than that.

All right, refraction aim test,
take three.

NARRATOR:
So, will it be third time lucky?

-[ Blows ]
-[ Thud ]

-Whoa!
-Whoa! That's a great shot.

A really good shot, and that was
only your third try.

NARRATOR:
Ah, the sweet smell of success.

KARI: The refraction test went
so much better than I expected.

I thought that maybe
I could hit the target,

but I didn't think
I could sit underwater,

see the target,
and really aim for it.

NARRATOR: They've got traction
on refraction,

but what about breathing below
before they blow?

That's their ultimate challenge.

KARI: In the interest
of a bigger sample size,

I think we should all do this,

so I think
you should go ninja up.

Yeah!
Time to be ninjas!

NARRATOR: Once again,
like thieves in the night,

our stealth warriors
sneakily slip into action.

Well, one of them, anyway.

Now, we've already proven
that you can stand the cold.

Kari is compensating
for refraction,

and her targeting is right on.

Now it's time
to put everything together

and do it all at once
to see if it's really possible.

In 3, 2, 1.

NARRATOR:
This is it.

This is why our would-be
assassins are here --

to see if they can breathe

through their blowguns
long enough

to get a secret shot
at their hapless victim.

And for this experiment,
long enough is 10 minutes.

TORY: Now we've tested
all the elements.

Now the final test is to see

if we can load our dart
underneath the water

and then fire
and hit our target.

NARRATOR:
This is the really hard part --

feeding then firing their darts
out of a tube

they're supposed to be
breathing through.

Trouble is, once you take
your mouth away,

the water rushes in...

[ Laughs ]

NARRATOR:... and your blowgun
becomes a water p*stol.

-[ Coughs ]
-Where did it go?

[ Coughs ]
I don't know.

NARRATOR: It's a no-show
from the big blow.

Do our ninjas lack the knack?

Is the task too big an ask?

Hyah!

Next.

Next is the ninja
one-inch punch.

Made famous
by the legendary Bruce Lee.

Exactly the one.

The myth is that,
in the right hands,

a ninja whose fist
is only this far away

can still floor an opponent,
and we're in luck,

because our ninja has been
trained in the one-inch punch

by one of Bruce Lee's
own students.

NARRATOR: Now, before they test
the ninja's one-inch weapon,

Adam and Jamie want to measure
how hard a normal punch is.

JAMIE: Give me your best shot!
Come on!

NARRATOR:
Last time punches were thrown,

Adam got to sock Jamie.

ADAM:
Ready? Aah!

JAMIE:
That was a hard one.

NARRATOR: So it's Jamie's turn
to thump Adam

and then see
how his full-force punch

stacks up against
the ninja's one-inch wonder.

ADAM:
Now, there's been

some concern
from our insurance company

about getting punched
in the chest

because it's where
your heart is.

That's why I'm wearing
this big, red man suit.

Then we've got a load plate,
and then we've got some padding

on the load plate to protect
Jamie's sensitive hands,

'cause in his spare time,
he's a hand model.

NARRATOR: Whoops.

Oh, there he is.
[ Laughs ]

NARRATOR: Well, if he wasn't mad
enough to punch Adam out before,

he sure is now.

[ Dog growling ]

So, just what sort of punch
does Jamie pack?

Give me a full-force punch.

NARRATOR:
It's payback time.

Ohh!

Ohh! [ Chuckles ]

Ohh!

-What was the reading?
-325 pounds.

NARRATOR:
At 325 pounds,

if Jamie's fist had been
delivered to Adam's jaw,

it'd be a knockout.

Ow.

[ Laughs ]

NARRATOR: With their
baseline set, it's time to see

how many pounds of punch
the ninja can muster

from only one inch away.

Okay, Adam, are you ready?

Give it everything you've got.

Hah!

Hah!

Hah!

-Dennis, what was the reading?
-153.

NARRATOR: That's half
of what Jamie racked up

at full throttle.

Ohh!

But still not hugely powerful.

Yeah, but is the one-inch punch

actually a weapon
in the ninja's arsenal?

Yes, it is, but more common
is the three-inch power punch.

Let me demonstrate that for you.

Okay, it goes like this.

The hand rolls in,
and we hit here like so.

Okay.
I'm ready if you are.

Okay.

Hyah!

Hyah!

Hyah!

210 pounds.

-210!
-Now we're getting there.

NARRATOR: The high-speed
shows the force of the punch.

And at two-thirds the power
of Jamie's knockout blow,

it'd more than likely
floor an opponent.

Hyah!

Hyah!

NARRATOR: But where
the ninja's precision punching

really showed...

Hyah!

NARRATOR:... was when he broke
the last of three boards...

Hyah!

NARRATOR:
...leaving the first two intact.

Hyah!

Imagine what would happen
to your internal organs

if you were on the receiving end
of this.

And that was one punch...

No more of that.

NARRATOR:
...even Jamie couldn't match.

No, I don't see
any damage, Jamie...

except to you.

[ Laughs ]

How are we gonna call
the one-inch punch?

I'd have to say it's plausible.

While it'll never be as powerful
as a full-on punch,

Anthony was actually
able to generate

an impressive amount of force
at that range.

I agree.

With the proper amount
of training

and catching your opponent
off guard,

you could totally knock
someone down with what he did.

-I say plausible.
-Plausible.

NARRATOR: Laying an ambush
aboveground is hard enough.

[ g*nshots ]

But can a ninja
blowgun-breathing assassin

do it from underwater?

That's what Tory, Kari,
and Grant are testing.

But so far, all they've blown
out of the water is...

[ Coughs ]

NARRATOR:
...more water.

All right, we're gonna
have to blow harder.

Actually, I was
thinking of this.

You've only got poison
at the tip, right?

So what if you have the end
in your mouth

and you kind of hold on to it
like this with your teeth

and then breathe through your
teeth, and then you load it?

That way, there's never
a water transition.

Sure, whatever works.
We need to assassinate this guy.

[ Laughs ] Okay.

NARRATOR:
So let's pucker up and see

if breathing
through clenched teeth

is the ninja way
to deliver death to the dummy.

That's a miss from Tory.

[ Gasps ]

NARRATOR: And Kari's cheating
blowpipe has fallen to bits.

Oh, it didn't work out for me.

NARRATOR:
So it's all up to Grant.

-GRANT: [ Blows ]
-[ Thud ]

-Oh, yeah! You did it!
-You did it!

Yeah!

Ninjas!
Assassination accomplished!

-You hit it!
-I hit it!

Good job!

NARRATOR:
Grant scored a direct hit,

and spurred on by his success,
the team goes for take two.

TORY: [ Blows ]

NARRATOR:
That's another miss from Tory.

[ Blows ]

NARRATOR:
But Kari is dead on target.

-[ Blows ]
-[ Thud ]

NARRATOR:
And so is Grant.

-Whoo! [ Laughs ]
-Where did I hit?

He's assassinated!

KARI:
Oh, I hit him in the face!

We k*lled him!

-We got him!
-Yeah!

TORY:
This is totally plausible.

We covered all the elements.

You can survive the exposure
to the cold.

And you can overcome refraction.

You know what?

If you put all three of us
together, you'd get a ninja.

A very scary ninja.

We finally found a ninja myth
that's plausible,

and we're not even
trained ninjas.

I mean, could you imagine
if we were trained ninjas?

KARI: The blow-dart experiment
was phenomenal.

This is actually
a plausible ninja myth.

I'm completely surprised.

Now I can go back
to being a pirate,

'cause I'm not one
for this ninja stuff.

It's cold.

NARRATOR: Adam and Jamie
are trying to put to rest

whether or not a ninja
can grasp a passing shaft.

It's true -- when ambushed,
the ninja did catch an arrow.

Hyah!

But he also caught
more than a few with his body.

And then some.

But the ninja is real sore.

He says no shadow warrior
would get cornered like this.

He wants a rematch with Adam,
mano a mano.

ADAM:
Our ninja has actually issued

what sounds like a challenge.

He says, in a battle situation,
he wouldn't catch an arrow.

He'd deflect it, and I'd be dead
before I got a second shot off.

I say, "Prove it, ninja." And
that's what we're about to do.

We're gonna set up
exactly that scenario

and see if I can get two shots
off before I'm dead.

Here's the first one.

NARRATOR:
It'll be an ugly grudge match.

There's a lot at stake,
and Adam needs to save face...

Hyah!

Hah!

NARRATOR:... if there's anything
left of his face to save.

This one's called
ninja's revenge,

and it's all about the speed
of reloading.

Now, let's face it --
putting an an arrow onto a bow

is kind of fiddly,

and if you've got a ninja
running at you full speed,

you might be
in a little trouble --

or at least, so our ninja says.

NARRATOR: At 20 paces, it's
Adam "Ninja Buster" Savage...

...up against his archenemy,
the Orange Avenger.

Oh. Ah.

JAMIE:
Oh, you're dead.

[ Laughs ]
You're dead.

Okay, you ready?

Hyaaaaaaah!

Hyaaah!

Haaah!

[ Laughs ]

JAMIE: You did get the nock
on the string.

I got the nock on the string,
but, man, ninja got to me.

No bananas.
Thank you, my friend.

Well, look, I practiced,

and my arrow-sh**ting
got pretty quick.

I was able to fire two shots
in just under three seconds,

and that didn't even come close
to helping me survive the ninja.

Not only did he cut my arrow
in half, but I was cut down.

In my prime!

Adam was toast.

Although I have to say, this was
a close-combat situation,

and if Adam
was over 100 feet away,

there might be
a different outcome.

NARRATOR:
And the final score...

Hyah!

NARRATOR:
...Ninja 3, Adam's pride 0.

So, the fans say
ninjas can catch arrows.

How are we gonna call this one?

I have an idea
about how to answer

all the complaints
we're gonna get from the fans.

I'm gonna role-play as the fans

and have a conversation
with you as you.

Okay, I can do that.

Okay.
[ Inhales, exhales sharply ]

Dude, he totally
caught the arrow

even under your "impossible"
battle conditions.

Once he saw the archer
raise his bow,

whoop, he was able
to grab that arrow.

Yeah, well,
corpses can't catch arrows.

He'd been dead 20 times
before that.

Yes, but think of all the arrows
he avoided before then, too.

And under battle conditions,

the archers might not be drawing
to full strength,

and things might be deflecting
off walls and stuff like that.

He'd still be dead by then.

But remember the mano a mano
when Adam shot the arrow at him,

and he was able to slice it
out of the air with his sword?

Dead!

Okay, I can't do this anymore.

The myth is that a ninja
could pluck an arrow --

he has no idea
where it's coming from --

sense it coming and reach out --
waa-chhh! --

and pluck an arrow
out of the air.

Our ninja is arguably the best
in the world at catching arrows,

and he couldn't do that.

If we had removed
the rubber tips from our arrows,

we'd have one dead ninja
on our hands.

-I say busted.
-lt's busted.

[ Chuckles ]