Narrator: aboard this episode
Of "mythbusters"...
It's time for some pillaging.
It's time for some robbing.
Booty goes inside it.
It's time to
blow some stuff up.
It's time for the "mythbusters"
Pirates special.
Narrator: that's
right, me beauties.
Sea dogs adam and jamie have
Plundered the seven seas for
Pirate parable
and maritime myth.
I'm so pumped!
Narrator: first, do more
Seamen die from the wooden
Shrapnel than the
actual cannonball?
Definitely made
a lot of shrapnel.
Narrator: then, kari, grant
And tory have their eye on
The story that pirate patches
Were a night vision aid.
That was quite funny.
Narrator: next, adam gets
Dirty and jamie cleans up.
Will rum remove
everyday pirate stains?
The plight of the
pirate laundryman.
Okay, I'm ready for battle.
Narrator: and finally, is it
Hollywood hocus-pocus, or can
You slow a high
fall with a knife sail?
Avast, thee.
Arr, you scurvy dogs.
Narrator: who are
the "mythbusters"?
Adam savage.
Danger is my middle name.
Narrator: and jamie hyneman.
Between them over 30 years
Special-effects experience.
Yeah!
Narrator: joining
them, tory belleci.
I'll miss you, buddy.
Narrator: kari byron.
Don't try what you're
about to see at home.
Narrator: and grant imahara.
I'm pumping as fast as I can.
Narrator: they don't
just tell the myths.
They put them to the test.
Something tells me I know the
Answer to this one.
What's the myth?
[ Pirate voice ] right.
The myth is that in a fire fight
With some pirates, in the
Fusillade of cannonballs, that
You would be more in danger of
The shrapnel than the
cannonballs themselves.
[ Laughs ]
He's speechless.
Narrator: arr, me hearties,
This myth comes straight from
The glory days of
pirate privateers.
Morgan!
Narrator: skilled blackguard
Captains will run down their
Heavy treasure-laden prey, then
Deliver a mighty broadside.
On the up row!
Fire!
Narrator: but is it
true the deadly splinters
Created on impact caused more
Deaths than the
cannonball itself?
We'll close for the
k*ll and then board her.
And I'll dangle a glary
from the foreyard.
[ Laughs ]
So what's the plan?
Well, the last time we tried
To find a cannon, the best we
Could do was find one
that just shot blanks.
This time we need to fire one
That fires a real cannonball.
And they're not going to be that
Easy to find, I don't think.
No.
Let's put the researchers on it.
And in the meantime, I've got
Some fabulous ideas for a
Small-scale air-powered cannon.
Turn your face around.
Narrator: now, if ye be
Unfamiliar with pirate ways,
Listen up and listen close.
It's pirate-speak
lesson number one.
A pirate woman is more commonly
Referred to as a wench.
Adam briefs myth-wench jess.
If an air cannon is going to be
Substituted for a real cannon,
It still needs to fire a ball
At much the same speed.
What I want to end up with
Is the slowest possible speed a
Cannonball can hit a boat.
'Cause I don't think we can
Match the highest possible speed
With the air cannon.
Narrator: so while jess hits
The history books to find out
About muzzle velocities, jamie
Tells us more about the plan.
It's time to get started on
The miniature air cannon.
This'll be a 20-foot-long
Schedule 40 pipe with another
Schedule 40 pipe and a
cap on it on the other end.
And our valve will
go between the two.
And we're just going to pressure
The thing with shop air, turn
The valve on, out goes
the ball into the wood.
Narrator: that long
pipe is no accident.
It allows the air to be focused
Behind the projectile and get
The most possible
force on the ball.
This one is going to be
Firing a 2-inch ball bearing,
Not exactly what you would have
Had in ye oldie times.
They happen to be the easiest
Thing for us to get a hold of,
Because people generally don't
Fire these thing these days.
Narrator: while hot shot
Hyneman puts together a target,
Old red beard savage gets down
To the finer plumbing.
I just don't want any leaks.
I don't like leaks.
Grab some air.
Narrator: to maximize
Pressure, all leaks have
to be accounted for.
Adam displays the time-honored
Pipe-hugging method
of checking for leaks.
Of course, he could
have just had a look.
Myth-wench jess has
crunched the numbers.
For a blistering broadside, a
Typical pirate cannonball
Travels at more than
That's way out of their
little cannon's league.
But they think 600 feet per
Second will be sufficient to
Splinter the wood
in a meaningful way.
So, adam, what are you
looking for from this test?
There are three things
We want to get out of this test.
First and foremost is
which of the woods is most
Shrapnel-worthy?
We're only going to use one of
Them for the large-scale test.
And this is a test where we'll
Determine which one.
Second is, is there a death zone
Around the point of impact?
Do splinters travel
in a specific direction?
And, third, do they travel with
Enough speed to have a seemingly
Deadly amount of power?
Do they penetrate?
Narrator: pirates weren't
Choosy about most things,
Including what their
ships were made of.
But three woods seems
to be the favorites.
We've got pine.
We've got white oak.
We've got red oak.
These aren't scaled to the ship,
But that's because on a
Small-scale test we just want to
Look at relative splintering
Ability of each of
these kinds of woods.
Blimey!
Narrator: it's simple -- fire
The 2-inch ball bearing
into the 3 types of woods,
Examine each splinter pattern
And select the best
for the full-scale test.
And of course the winner will be
The wood with the
deadliest spray of shrapnel.
First up on the cannonball
Collision course, pine planking.
Okay, I'm gonna go
ahead and pressurize it.
Okay.
Is everybody clear from
the back of the shop?
We're up to pressure.
Are we all set?
Okay, test one, pine,
in three, two, one...
[ Laughs ]
We're clear.
Oh, the anticipation!
[ Laughs ]
That is cool!
It's a perfect hole.
Narrator: a perfect hole.
But did it splinter?
Oh, oh, look at that!
Dude!
That is an excellent thing!
That is awesome!
Yeah.
It's just a beautiful result.
Okay.
Well, let's reset.
Narrator: with adam and jamie
Up and running, let's take time
Out to tackle a tale of tricky
Pirates and their eye patches.
[ Laughs ]
All right.
You guys know the whole
Stereotypical pirate
with the eye patch.
Yeah, you do.
Well, apparently it wasn't to
Cover up an eye that had been
Gouged out during battle.
Well, the myth surrounding
This one is actuallyreally cool.
I mean, the idea is both of
Their eyes are perfectly fine,
But kept one covered with an eye
Patch to keep that eye
Constantly night-vision ready.
So if you had to dip down
Below decks during the day or
Fight a battle at night after
Having been inside
reading maps, all right.
So we're going to have to
Figure out a way
to test this one.
Aye, aye, captain.
Aye, aye.
Narrator: for all their
"Arr, me hearties" and "avast,
Ye scurvy dogs," this myth would
Suggest pirates were no fools
When it came to eyeball anatomy.
According to pirate folklore, by
Wearing a patch over a perfectly
Good eye, a pirate could exit
The glare of a ship's deck,
Shuffle the patch over and enter
The dark below, or leave a
Well-lit room below decks to
Fight a nighttime battle up top.
We've got the eye patches.
That part's easy.
I think now the best thing we
Can do is go talk to an
Ophthalmologist and see if the
Myth has any merit
to it before we start.
Then we can figure out a way
To test the night vision, maybe
Like a pirate-themed
obstacle course.
If we're building this
Obstacle course, we're not gonna
Be able to test it.
So we'll save this for jamie and
Adam and let them test it out.
We'll make them
wear pirate outfits.
It'd be perfect!
Narrator: while tory and
Grant begin building an obstacle
Course to uniquely designed
To test a pirate's
night vision...
You guys should maybe just
Stand back in this thing falls.
Narrator: kari is off to see
An optha -- an optha
-- an eye doctor.
To test out our pirate-eye
Patch myth, I've come to ucsf
To their ophthalmology
department so I can see the
Science behind your eyes
Adjusting to the
light and the dark.
Now, the whole idea of
This is that the eye patch isn't
Because you have only one eye,
But it's supposed to keep night
Vision in one eye so that
Intruders coming on to your
Ship, you can change
eyes and still have that
Night-vision
advantage over them.
That sounds to
me like a plausible myth.
And the reason is that if you
Keep one eye covered with a
Dark patch, youcankeep the
Nighttime vision cells from
Getting exposed to light and
Keep their sensitivity
in darkness.
Narrator: and that works
Because the eye has two
Major sets of cells
-- cones and rods.
The cone-shaped cells in the
Retina enable us to see fine
Detail and color
in bright conditions.
And the rod cells, which are
Super sensitive to low levels of
Light, help us see in the dark.
But the catch is, after being in
The light, it takes a while for
The rod cells to get
warmed up for night vision.
So I'm wearing
my pirate eye patch.
That means I've got the rods
Active on that side and then the
Cones active on
the eye that can see.
That should work.
That should be exactly
what's happening.
Narrator: okay.
But thisis"mythbusters," where
We leave no theory untested.
Basically, kari gets an eye
Patch and allows the covered eye
Plenty of time to
adjust to the dark.
Dr. Duncan then bleaches kari's
Other eye with bright light.
This feels sort of dizzying.
I kind of feel like I'm in that
Movie "clockwork orange."
Narrator: she then tests to
See how long it is before kari
Can see low levels
of light again.
For a comparison, the test is
Repeated with the
already dark adjusted eye.
So, here's how you did with
The unpatched eye
that had all the light.
It took about 25 minutes for you
To see the dimmest level of
Light you could see or it took
About 25 minutes for your rods
To recover from
that bright light.
Now, if we look at the eye that
Was patched the whole time --
Wow, what a difference.
Exactly.
As soon as we turned off the
Light, you were immediately able
To see as dim a level as you
Were able to see after about 25,
Been exposed to
the bright light.
So the patch allowed you to have
Good sensitivity of your rods
Right away after
the bright light.
Narrator: so it looks like
Kari has got the science behind
The eye-patch myth covered.
And if she can find her way to
The door, we can
move things along.
I can't see anything still.
Narrator: adam and jamie are
Testing the theory that in a
Pirate-ship battle, it's not the
Direct hit from the cannonball
To fear most, but the
Splintering wood caused by the
Shell piercing the ship.
Okay, so, this is a
small-scale cannon test.
And since we can't fire black
Powder cannons inside of jamie's
Shop, we've built an
extremely large air cannon.
This is the reservoir.
This is a nice, big, 2-inch
Valve which we will activate
With a switch from behind there,
Out of sight of this so in case
Any bounce-backs happen, they
Don't happen through our heads.
Through this 21-foot barrel all
The way down here, through the
Chronometer so we can
tell exactly how fast that
Cannonball's going, past these
Lines which will tell us on the
High-speed exactly how fast that
Cannonball's going, into this
Panel, which will then be blown
Into splinters, which will embed
Themselves into
these foam panels.
The cannonball will rest into
This bulletproof vest, and we'll
Be able to see what happens.
Our first test with the pine
Was actually pretty spectacular.
The shrapnel
created is quite nasty.
It looks like this whole area
Would be a bloody mess if you
Happened to be
standing right next to it.
Wow!
That is awesome.
Narrator: splinters a-plenty,
But has it achieved the
Required to simulate
a genuine cannon?
273 Miles per hour.
It's slower than I was hoping.
But it's still pretty darn fast
For a 20-foot barrel.
Narrator: so the air cannon
Isn't quite up to speed.
But at this stage, they're just
Comparing the relative
Splintering qualities
of the wood.
And seeing as they're already
Achieving an impressive spray of
Shrapnel, they're
going to move on.
Next on the cannonball
run -- white oak.
Three, two, one.
Oh.
[ Laughs ]
Looks like a bit
of it's missing.
Narrator: a large chunk of
White oak went walkabout.
But the frag pattern on the
Foam panels is conclusive.
That was brutal.
That is the real deal.
I mean, these things
are almost obliterated.
Well, it definitely made a
Lot of shrapnel, even
more than the pine.
Well, yeah, it made
less piecesof shrapnel.
But what it did was they were
Much bigger and looks
like a lot more lethal.
Narrator: looks can k*ll, but
Can the splinters?
Based on what I'm seeing, the
Shrapnel coming out of the oak
Would be considerably
more deadly than the pine.
Not only are the pieces -- like,
The splinters coming off of the
Oak -- larger, but the
wood itself is denser.
And I can't help but think that
It'd penetrate a human's
skin or flesh better.
I was pulling the
tape off of this to reset it.
And can you guess --
Some of it's
stuck into the wood?
Uh-huh.
Right there.
Yeah, they're larger, heavier
Pieces so, you know, that starts
To make me think that
this would be possible.
It'd be possible for somebody to
Be k*lled with a splinter like
That in the right place, and
Remembering we're only
at around -- what was it?
Yeah, we're at half the speed
And half the size
of a real cannon.
That is awesome!
Narrator: so of the two woods
Tested so far, white oak clearly
Has the deadliest potential.
The final test is -- red oak.
In three, two, one.
[ Laughs ]
I love this.
Thunk!
Narrator: it's a
bull's-eye every time.
And the wood is flying.
[ Laughs ]
Yeah, it's more really,
Really, really big splinters.
Well, is there anything
Sticking through
the back of the wood?
No. No.
Although...the foam is
Definitely much more decimated
On this test than
any of the others.
It doesn't look like any of the
Shards penetrated as deeply as
They did with the white oak.
Narrator: so, adam, day one
Of playing pirates,
almost through.
What say ye to the myth?
You know, I wasn't so sure
About this myth when we started.
What's more lethal
than a cannon shot?
But I'm looking at this and I'm
Really thinking that there's
Some meat on the bones of this
Thing, that it really
actually might be plausible.
Because these shards of white
Oak were stuck into the plywood
And pine boards that
were our backstops.
That takes a lot of energy to
Jam wood into wood like that.
Narrator: it's been a good
Day's science and most
Self-respecting pirates
would head home.
But adam has
little self-respect.
Now let's fire into
something really fun.
What do you have in mind?
Well, we have a big cast
Ballistic-material
head of grant.
Okay.
Narrator: pirate-speak
lesson number two.
A young likable pirate is
Affectionately
called a scurvy dog.
And grant, the "mythbusters"
Version of a scurvy dog if ever
There was one, has cast his own
Face in ballistics material.
There's no scientific
purpose to this at all.
This is totally just for fun.
We rarely finish with a little
Time extra, so we might as well
Use the equipment we've set up.
Grant's face, test
number one and only.
Firing in -- three, two, one.
[ Laughs ]
Narrator: it was
a successful blast.
But surprisingly,
grant looks uninjured.
Something happened.
It didn't go through his face.
Are you sure?
I'm positive.
What's in the
back of his head?
There's no exit wound.
I think it... I
think it hit him --
What's that?
It went right through.
No.
Yeah.
That right there.
Wait, let me see.
You think it went all
the way through his face?
Where else did it go?
It hit the thing.
You're right!
You're totally right.
This thing went all the
way through his head.
[ Laughs ]
That's one of the most
Wrongity-wrong
things we've ever done.
Narrator: when it comes to
Pirate myths,
the "ayes" have it.
But are those eye patches
Really a clever method of moving
From bright light
into a dark ship?
After a scientific fact-finding
Mission at the eye doctor,
Kari's confident this
myth is looking good.
I'm starting to feel like we
Might have a
confirmed myth here.
Narrator: and back at the
Shop, the team gets set to test
The practical applications.
Ahoy, matey.
I see land ahead.
Narrator: so they're going to
Build a pirate ship jungle gym.
I'm going to make a cannon.
Narrator: then ask eye
Patch-wearing adam and jamie to
Complete the course in the dark.
[ As tony montana ] do
you want to play rough?
Okay.
Say hello to my I'll friend.
[ Normal voice ]
fire in the hole!
[ Bang ]
Narrator: there will be
Obstacles to dodge,
cannonballs to avoid.
Cannonball!
Narrator: just your average
Day out pillaging
and plundering, really.
[ Laughs evilly ]
Narrator: and what's a
Pirate's story without
a fair maiden in distress?
What I'm going to do is take
These pictures, put them on the
Computer and
print them life-size.
I'm going to make these
Pop-ups that grant is going to
Pneumatically control, so that
When they come by, poof, if
It's a bad pirate, they stab.
And if it's the girl
they're trying to rescue --
They stab.
They don't stabme.
I'm the good one.
Narrator: so it's life-size
Pirate pop-ups on the poop deck.
But any pirate worth his salt
Won't be satisfied with a good
Night's work until he's
found the treasure chest.
And what goes
inside the chest, kari?
Booty goes inside it.
Narrator: kari has
secured her booty.
Two pneumatic pirates are ready
To pop up and
the ship is in shape.
So, how about a demo?
But, remember, adam and jamie
Will have to do it in the dark.
This looks really good.
I'm really feeling good.
Okay, so you got buckets,
Various boxes on the
ground, first pirate.
That is the
evil grant pirate.
This is evil grant, and
They're going to have to stab
This one through the heart.
And hopefully
not walk into that.
Walk under it.
Okay.
Then pops up the fair maiden
That they donotstab.
No stabbing of the maiden.
Oh, that's brutal!
Oh!
Oh, my god!
That's going to be nuts.
Okay, avoiding the cannon.
Not knocking
over the cannonballs.
Pop-up evil tory pirate.
Which they'll have
to run through the heart.
Narrator: after all that,
They get to raid the treasure
Chest and raise the jolly roger.
Hoist the flag.
And just when they
think they're done --
[ Laughs ]
They're caught.
Narrator: all they
need now are the victims.
Narrator: it's time to sit
Back with a bottle of
grog for a laundry legend?
So, guys, what's the myth?
The myth is that in ye oldie
Times, pirates used rum, not
Only for inspiration but
also as a stain remover.
Well, pirates don't strike me
As the most fastidious lot, but
I suppose if you had blood all
Over your shirt and you had
Shore leave, you'd
want to wash it off first.
Especially if you had a date.
Pirates had dates?
[ Chuckles ]
Narrator: pirates and rum go
Together like cannons and ba*ls.
But is it possible that they
Don't just drink grog, but use
It to get those puffy pirate
Shirts whiter than white?
Well, obviously, we're going
To need some authentic pirate
Shirt material, and we're going
To need to stain it with some
Period-accurate stains.
Blood, sweat and tar.
Perfect.
We also obviously
need some sort ye oldie rum.
I think we should have
Something to compare that to.
So I think we should use some ye
Oldie soap as well.
I have a secret method that
The pirates may have used as a
Laundry technique, and we should
Compare all three of those to
Some modern detergent.
So, I'll do the staining.
I'll do the cleaning.
And I guess that
leaves me to judge.
Exactly.
Narrator: so it's time for
Adam to get down and dirty.
The plan for the test is to
Choose three most common stains
That pirates would encounter.
One would be, of course, blood.
Another would
be, of course, sweat.
Pirates were not
known for their bathing.
And the third would be something
You'd find on the ship, which
Would be pitch or tar.
I'm going to make up some
One-foot square
samples of this cloth.
We're going to put those various
Stains on it and try and see
Whether or not rum will actually
Take those stains out.
[ Pirate voice ] being a
Pirate's a bit difficult what
With the -- the not bathing, the
Hot sun, the blood, the sweat.
This rough fabric is
very harsh on me skin.
[ Normal voice ] we don't have
Any pirate shirts from the
Period, but we do know that
While a fancy gentleman of the
Age might have had a very
Fine-weave shirt made of linen,
Pirates would have used coarser
Stuff called lockram.
The closest we could find is
This bleached embroidery fabric,
Which has a thread count of 40.
It's quite rough, but
it's perfect for our tests.
And I think it's the closest
Thing we could possibly find.
Narrator: the first authentic
Pirate stain is blood.
And adam knows just
where to find some.
We have it in the fridge
Because jamie likes to have it
Every day for lunch.
[ Laughs ]
No.
[ As jamie ] has anyone taken
My blood out of the fridge?
[ Sighs ]
Narrator: next adam takes
Jamie's lunch and smears the
Pig's blood over
four sample sheets.
[ Laughs ]
This is the plight of
the pirate laundryman.
Next up for our
pirate shirts is pitch.
Now, blood and sweat are easy
Choices when it
comes to pirates.
We wanted to choose
something like grime.
And we know that pitch was used
On pirate boats and
period boats at the time.
We've used it on plenty
of other episodes.
It's very dirty stuff.
So that's what we're going to
Put on our pirate shirts next.
Ta-da.
We have one stain to go.
And I'm going to have
to work for this one.
Narrator: yep, adam has a
Plan to sweat for science.
I'm going to do three things.
I'm going to get on jamie's
Treadmill in my sweat lodge,
Formerly his mold room.
And I'm going to put on the
Sweatiest of the sweaty things
We have, which is our fire suit.
That thing is damn hot inside.
I should have no problem
Producing lots of the correct
Bodily fluid for this test.
Narrator: to harvest the
Bodily fluids, adam arranges the
Shirt material for maximum
moisture absorption.
It's go time.
Narrator: adam leaps onto
The treadmill,
ready to stain up.
But after 15 seconds on his
Very own wheel of death, he's
Gasping like an
asthmatic hamster.
It says I've only
burned 20 calories.
What's that about?
Narrator: why don't we fast
Forward to the
end of the workout.
After all, who wants to watch a
Grown man ooze sweat stains?
[ Pirate voice ] now, we've
Got three kinds of stains here.
We've got blood, pitch and
Sweat, or as pirates like to
Refer to it, saturday night.
There we go.
Narrator: but
there's a problem.
Adam's sweat
doesn't stink or stain.
My sweat stain
isn't working out.
It's not very visual, and...
I guess it's all my clean
Living -- I can't
smell the thing at all.
But I need a third stain to
Round out common pirate stains
So I can try out these
detergents and I'm thinking
Oranges.
They kept them on the ships to
Prevent scurvy, and I guess for
Some kind of entertainment.
So I'm just going to blow these
Down and scrunch them on some of
This cloth, and we'll see if the
Detergents in our various tests
Will take this stain out.
Narrator: so adam makes like
A messy pirate eater and swabs
The samples with plenty of o.j.
Oh, that's good oranges!
Narrator: kari, grant and
Tory have set sail on the
Eye-patch myth, and they're
Ready to press-g*ng
adam and jamie into service.
Avast, you scurvy dogs.
Narrator: after adam and
Jamie have dressed for the
Occasion, the scurvy dogs give
Out their instructions.
You got to wait
out here 15 minutes.
I know your eyes are relatively
Adjusted to the light.
We just want to make sure
That you're totally
in daylight right now.
Preferably stare at the
Clouds or something white.
I know it's tough, but it's the
Closest we can get
to bleaching the rods.
Narrator: so while grant,
Kari and tory prepare the
Course, our newly minted pirates
Hang tough, letting
their eyes adjust.
[ Pirate voice ] it's not
Easy being a pirate -- waiting
All the time or the
pillaging, the robbing.
Narrator: how about k*lling
Some time with a
prediction or two?
My sense about the eye patch
Is that, you know, your eyes
Adjust pretty quickly.
I think within a couple of
Minutes of being in there,
there's not gonna be a
Significant difference.
That's my impression.
I predict that I'll be
Dancing on jamie's
intestines in minutes.
[ Laughs evilly ]
Narrator: before the
intestine-dancing begins,
Piratess kari and her translator
Grant, the parrot,
have the rules.
Now listen ye scalawags and
Listen well, for you will
Only hear this but one time.
Send only the evil pirates down
To davy jones' locker.
The evil pirates will have
A target in the middle.
You have to run it
through with your cutlass.
Don't harm the maiden.
Don't harm the maiden.
Don't knock over
the cannonballs.
Don't knock over
the cannonballs.
Find the pirate chest,
Unlock it and hoist
the jolly roger.
There's going to be a
Treasure chest at the end on the
Ground with this lock.
You unlock it with your key.
Which each of
you will get right now.
Okay.
Inside of the chest is
going to be this flag.
Tie the flag on,
hoist it up to the top.
Right.
Let's go!
Narrator: the first seafarer
Aboard is red beard, the savage.
He needs to instantly see in the
Dark with an eye that's been
Subjected to bright light, while
His dark-adjusted
eye remains patched.
Right, lads,
let's go get them!
I can't see a bloody thing.
All right.
Now we release the pit bulls.
[ Laughs ]
Look at him.
He looks like a blind pirate.
Oh, [bleep]
[ Laughter ]
Narrator: by design,
it's pitch black in there.
The light you can see
on-camera is infrared.
To adam, it's as dark as the
Inside of a grog barrel.
He seems very
disoriented at the moment.
Narrator: right from the
Get-go, it's pretty obvious
That red beard is having trouble
Finding his sea legs.
When you go from bright light
Into the dark, you're
as blind as a bat.
Oh, he's going
to hit his head!
Oh, he's climbing
over the sacks.
He's going the wrong way.
The hardest
possible route to take.
Okay, he's coming up to kari.
[ Laughs ]
Oh!
He just got hit with the bag.
[ Laughter ]
Narrator: adam has missed the
First evil pirate and
kicked some cannonballs.
But when confronted
by evil tory...
The sword is the key.
[ Laughter ]
Narrator: ...he can't decide
Who it is until he
has a quick feel.
Oh, I bet it's a pirate.
There he goes!
All: yeah!
Good one!
At least he k*lled one.
Narrator: after a fun-filled
Four minutes, adam's eye is
Starting to adjust to the dark.
He now knows his
port from starboard.
Okay, he's opened the chest.
Nice.
He's gonna get
the flag, turn around.
Narrator: and the final task
Is noticeably easier.
Oh, wait.
There we go.
Hoisted the jolly roger, did i.
Ah!
[ Laughter ]
Oh, and that missed,
but that was quite funny.
Narrator: adam narrowly
Escapes capture and makes
a quick exit overboard.
Hey!
Nice work!
Nice.
You were great.
That was fantastic.
You guys got to watch it?
Oh, yeah.
I missed a pirate
or two, didn't i?
Yeah, you missed the one
Pirate in the beginning.
I could not see.
Literally, it was just black.
I came across this thing that
Had a piece of
paper in the middle.
I figured that was a pirate.
Narrator: subjectively, adam
Was in the dark, but kari was in
The crow's nest keeping time.
So let's get the
official results.
I'm very, very impressed.
He made it through all of that
Darkness of the obstacle
Course in 5 minutes
and 20 seconds.
He only got two time penalties.
One, he didn't stick the first
Pirate and, two, he knocked over
One of the cannonballs.
So in the end, 5 minutes, 40
Seconds, adam's first test.
Narrator: okay, it's time for
Captain hyneman to board the
Ship, find the treasure chest
And hoist the jolly roger.
And just like red beard, he's
Completely in the dark.
He fails all the tasks
except for taking out tory.
Ah, did he k*ll you?
Yeah.
All: yay!
Narrator: but after that,
It's back to feeling
his way around.
They really are super blind.
They really can't see anything.
Oh, he's totally disoriented.
Now, he's going
to steer the ship.
[ Laughter ]
Narrator: it's taken a while,
But jamie finally raises
the pirate standard.
Caught with the net!
Narrator: the big question
Now is what difference will it
Make when our mythbusting
pirates switch eyes.
Yay!
Narrator: adam has been
Shedding blood, juggling
Oranges, and painting with
Pitch, in an attempt to solve
The myth that pirates
used rum as a stain remover.
The plight of the
pirate laundryman.
[ Laughs ]
Narrator: but before the
Cleanup with grog, adam is
Looking into his alternative
Maritime method of
doing the laundry.
I remember hearing years ago
That on ye oldie ships, they
Would save the pirates' urine or
The shipmates'
urine in a barrel.
And when urine stays around and
Is exposed to the air, it
Evaporates into ammonia and that
Ammonia is then used for washing
Everyone's laundry.
Narrator: it
sounds improbable.
But after a quick research
Break, adam confirms
the story and the details.
History of washing website.
I love the web.
Narrator: the key factoid
Here is that over time, the urea
In urine will break
down to ammonia.
And ammonia is a common alkaline
Used in household
cleaning products.
So adam is ready to cook up an
Authentic recipe for
washing with wee.
[ Urinating ]
[ French accent ] what I am
Trying to do here is reduce some
Urine, or "wee-wee," to a more
Raw essence of wee-wee.
The recipe for using urine as a
Cleaning agent like the pirates
Might have, calls
for stale urine.
I do not have stale urine,
but I have a hot plate.
Whew.
So I heat it for a while,
boils the water out.
I get more stale urine.
Or wee-wee.
I can state from experience that
This job does not make you the
Most popular guy on the boat.
Narrator: just be thankful
That from the safety of your
Homes, you can't smell
adam's eau de toilette.
Notice that it is a much
Darker color and this time I
Have only 300 milliliters.
I have reduced it by half.
Removing mostly water, leaving
The essential
chemicals for washing.
Narrator: and for the
Washing, it's time
to tag-team jamie.
I've got three ye oldie
Cleaners and one modern cleaner
To try out on each of
these sets of samples.
I've got ye oldie soap made in
The way ye oldie soap was made.
I've got ye oldie rum, which is
The crux of our myth -- that
They used rum as
a cleaning agent.
I have some stale wee, which is
Broken down mostly to ammonia,
Which was also used as a
Bleaching agent on pirate ships.
And I have modern detergent.
Your task is to try each one of
These out on all
three of these samples.
[ Laughs ]
I'm glad we're near
the ventilation booth.
Narrator: to fortify himself
For the job, captain hyneman has
A swig of grog and
puts on the rubber gloves.
Okay.
First off is the pee.
Narrator: he then goes to
Work on the bloodstain.
Bloodstain is pretty tough
Foranykind of detergent, even
Modern ones and
especially once it's set.
If you had done this when the
Blood was fresh, it
might be a lot different.
So far, it is acting clearly as
A solvent for the stain, because
It's spreading it out.
But it's not removing it.
Narrator: next jamie uses the
Urine to tackle the
tar and citrus stains.
He then repeats the process with
The authentic 17th century soap,
Modern detergent containing the
Powerful stain remover hydrogen
Peroxide, and last
but not least, the rum.
But straight away, jamie spotted
A fundamental flaw in the myth.
I would think that any
Self-respecting pirate would
Rather drink it than use
it to clean a stain out.
Narrator: so that's all three
Stains scrubbed with all
four cleaning products.
And it's soon apparent that the
Only thing coming out in the
Wash is a negative
conclusion to this myth.
It seems the solvent and
Stain-removing properties of
The alcoholic rum are limited.
This batch is the rum and the
Various stains, and I can tell
Right off just immediately that
The rum did the least good job
Of all of these
different products.
It did less than the soap, it
Did less than the detergent, it
Did less than the urine.
Narrator: you
heard that right.
Incredibly, adam's urine recipe
Is looking good, and
jamie's work here is done.
So, it's over to
kari for the judging.
If you're ready, kari, we
Have washed each of these
Four piles -- one in rum, one in
Ye oldie soap, one in...
Stale urine, and one
in modern detergent.
You're to look at all four
And and tell me which one you
Think got the cleanest, which
One's the second
cleanest, et cetera.
Okay, light red.
That one's pretty good
-- a little yellowish.
That looks bad.
Nobody got the tar out.
This is redder.
The tar's a little better.
Okay.
The tar is bad on that one.
But blood's really
good on that one.
And -- okay, whatever
this one is is the worst.
Okay.
I would say that this
one is the best for blood.
That one's the best for tar.
All right.
So the worst one
was ye oldie rum.
Oh, busted!
Your best one for
blood was stale urine.
And the best one for the tar was
Detergent, the modern detergent.
Those are the two best.
The soap didn't really
work well at all.
Well, I think that pretty
Much definitively busts this rum
As a cleaning agent
-- totally busted.
Yeah, it's busted.
I agree -- busted.
Narrator: adam and jamie have
Completed the pirate jungle gym
With their unpatched eye.
Oh!
It hit him in the back.
Narrator: with hilarious,
Flailing in the dark results.
Now to the heart of the myth.
Will the canny use of an
eye patch and an already
Dark-adjusted eye give our
Amateur pirates an advantage?
They're about to find out.
Jamie and adam
have been sitting outside.
They have the patches on.
So their eyes are
adjusted to the dark.
They're going to come in, switch
The patch to the other eye and
Then go through the course.
Narrator: to prevent adam and
Jamie clocking a faster time
Because of familiarity with the
Course, the obstacles
have been switched about.
Adam's excited.
I'm so pumped, I can't wait
To switch this eye patch!
Yeah!
Narrator: the myth suggests
Adam should do this test a lot
Quicker than his five minutes of
Fumbling and stumbling
with his light-exposed eye.
He swaps the patch.
Now the eye adjusted to dark is
Uncovered and in he goes.
It's like night and day.
Narrator: and it's
Immediately obvious
the switch has worked.
Wait, is that a pirate?
Oh!
Wait, is that a pirate?
Oh, it's a lass.
Yeah, he can see.
Narrator: before the team in
The crow's nest can say, "walk
The plank, you landlubber,"
Red beard is almost done.
We're looking at
He's already k*lled his time.
There's my jolly roger.
There's me flag.
Oh, my god!
I can't believe the difference!
And there we go.
Oh, the net fell on me!
Oh!
Woo!
That was like night and day.
That's nice.
That was incredible.
The difference,
is it unbelievable?
The difference is amazing.
I really didn't -- I can't see.
I really didn't expect the
Difference to be
as great as it was.
But whereas before, it was just
Like reaching out in
blackness the first time.
The second time it was like,
There's a pirate, pfltt.
Boop, boop, boop.
Narrator: the reason adam
Found it so easy -- he'd been
Wearing the patch over half an
Hour and the rod cells in the
Covered eye were warmed up and
Ready for nocturnal action.
And the numbers back that up.
Did the course in 1 minute,
Minutes and 45 seconds faster
Than his first test
without the night vision.
So significant amount of savings
In time and, what's more, 100%
Accuracy.
[ Snoring ]
Narrator: while red beard
Rests up after a hard night's
Pillaging, captain hyneman
Launches into the fray, swapping
His eye patch so he can
use his dark-adjusted eye.
How's that?
This is like
totally different.
Narrator: no flailing
in the dark this time.
He's more than twice as fast and
Twice as accurate.
Yay!
That's amazing.
That was -- it was -- I never
Would have believed that it
Would have taken me, I guess, a
Half an hour or something like
That just sitting there in the
Dark to get what I just did with
Switching the patch.
It was excellent.
Just what we wanted to hear.
Narrator: the myth clearly
Has bright prospects.
But they're going to run it one
More time with their
light-adjusted eye.
And kari has a
trick up her sleeve.
We've left the course exactly
The same as when they went
Through it, with the
adjusted night-vision eye.
This way, we can totally
Empirically prove that if they
Can get through this course and
It takes them twice the time or
Any more time than it took them
With their adjusted eye, we've
Definitely proved this myth.
Go get them, k*ller.
Ready?
Let's pillage!
I don't know if
that's legal in california.
Narrator: once again, it's
Obvious that the dark adjustment
Is a massive advantage, as adam
Struggles to plot a course.
This was truly
an excellent control.
I mean, it's difficult to tease
The science out of this myth,
Because it's such
a subjective thing.
However, I have to say there's
Nothing subjective about the
Fact that it was much easier
With the eye that had been
Covered than with the eye that
Was exposed to daylight.
And that third test proved it
Hands down, so that's awesome!
We have nailed this one.
Well, I think jamie and adam
Are pretty convinced of the
Results of the eye-patch myth.
We ran them once with their
Eyes adjusted to daylight.
They stumbled around
the course like idiots.
When they had their eyes
Adjusted for the dark by using
The patch, they were able to
Breeze through the course.
As one last final control, we
Sent them through the obstacle
Course one last time with their
Daylight vision taking out the
Variable of them knowing the
Course, and they still messed it
Up just as bad as the first time
They went through.
I have to say
this myth is plausible.
Aye, I say plausible, too.
Arr!
Plausible?
You're right.
Plausible.
[ Laughs ]
Arr!
Hi.
So, this pirate myth comes
mostly from hollywood.
And this is where the pirate is
In the crow's nest.
He needs to get down
to the deck of the ship.
To get down quickly, he stabs
His knife into the sail
and rides it down safely.
Narrator: douglas
fairbanks -- that'ssr., not
Jr., Demonstrates the perfect
Swashbuckling technique.
Knife in and down ye go in a
Controlled slide, landing
Smoothly on the deck, ready to
Fight another battle.
All right.
Knife sail, let's
define the myth.
Okay.
I think you should ride the sail
All the way down to the bottom
Without falling out.
And once you reach the deck,
You should have so little injury
That you can jump up
and continue fighting.
All right.
So I guess the next step is we
Go talk to some experts, find
Out what kind of knives and what
Kind of sails that these pirates
Would have been using.
I think that's a
perfect place to start.
Oh!
Mutiny!
Narrator: that's the plan,
But this myth is in need
of nautical knowledge.
And for that, our landlubbers
Board the remodeled
We don't really know anything
About pirate sails, so
we found a guy who does.
Narrator: and chris jannini
Is the man at the pointy
end of the question.
So, I hear that you are an
Expert on sails of
different periods.
Not an expert.
I have worked on some pirate
Ships over the years and I have
Worked with some of the -- two
Of the best sail-makers in the
Country on brief periods of
Time, so -- more modern sails --
But I'm pretty familiar with
Some techniques
of building sails.
We classify "expert" as
Somebody who knows more than us,
Which is pretty much there's
Experts all over the place.
Okay, chris, so, the myth
We're looking into right now is
Like in the pirate movies where
The pirate takes a sword, stabs
It into sail and then
rides it all the way down.
Have you ever seen that?
You think it's possible?
I've heard of that, and
Hopefully the sailmaker is not
At the bottom of that sail
Because he wouldn't
make it past the deck.
Narrator: sailmaker be
Damned, there's a myth
that needs exploring.
It's time to get practical and
See how easy it is to
slice a sail with a knife.
Snag.
Oh, there we go.
Narrator: like a hot knife
Through butter, but there's a
Catch -- there's always a catch.
See, these reef bands --
There's going to be one or two
Or maybe up to four depending on
The sail you're trying to come
Down with your knife.
Horizontally?
This is the top
of the sail this way.
You're coming down, then you
Have to go through
the reef band.
You're going to
get stuck on that.
There might be two.
There might be four of those.
You're talking about the
Thickness of the canvas, plus
The folded-over edge.
You're going to have twice the
Thickness, three times the
Thickness of that canvas.
Now you're talking three
pennies' thick of canvas.
It's about like thin plywood,
Like eighth-inch plywood.
It might decelerate
you, though.
It would slow you down.
It might break your hand.
If you're coming down that fast
And hit one of these seams, it's
Going to pop the knife
right out of your hand.
Narrator: arr!
So sails be more than
just a flap of canvas.
Ye old reef bands make this
Myth more of a challenge.
I think we got lucky.
We got a lot of
information here.
Yeah, we got a lead on the
Type of sail to use,
type of material.
So, I guess the next thing we
Need to do is get all the
Materials and take it back to
The shop and test this.
All right.
Thanks, chris.
You're welcome.
My pleasure.
Narrator: salty sea dogs adam
And jamie are looking into the
Myth that the splinters from a
Cannonball piercing the ship's
Hull would cause more deaths
Than the cannonball itself.
Avast!
What does "avast" mean?
Narrator: sounds like a cue
For pirate-speak
lesson number three.
"Avast" comes from the dutch
Translation of "hold fast."
But it can also be used as a
Greeting, as in "avast, you old
Sea dog, where are
ye at with this myth?"
Tests with a small-scale
cannonball on authentic
Pirate-ship wood produce
spectacular splintering.
With white oak,
the deadliest of all.
So it's on to stage two.
But with the researchers unable
To track down a real cannon, the
Guys scale up their air cannon.
The cannon's based on the
Fact that g*n powder, when you
Add flame to it, expands at this
Phenomenal rate, dozens of
Thousands of feet per second.
It's what propels b*ll*ts
Forward, it's what propels
cannonballs forward.
We're trying to replicate the
Speed of a cannonball
by using compressed air.
It's the same principle.
We're keeping air into a small
Volume and then we're gonna
Release it with these two valves
And it's going to expand.
Narrator: this is a
plumber's paradise.
But can a bigger air cannon
Actually produce the same
expl*sive power
as a real cannon?
It's going to expand
slower than g*n powder.
There's nothing we
can do about that.
But even though those speeds are
Lower, I still think we're
Looking at a valid test here,
Because we're looking at the
Impact of metal and wood, and
We're looking at the relative
Difference between the lethality
Of that metal cannonball and the
Splinters of wood
that come off the impact.
Narrator: bigger air, bigger
Air cannon, bigger cannonball.
This is without a doubt the
Biggest air cannon
I've ever built.
It's nothing but raw, awesome
Power safely implemented.
I am satisfied and filthy, two
Of my favorite states.
Narrator: adam's in heaven,
But jamie's getting
all the mail.
I'm not sure yet, but judging
By the weight, these
are our cannonballs.
[ Thuds ]
Can we get adam down here?
I want to see him
juggle these puppies.
Nice!
I have a question for you.
Yeah?
I want to juggle
these, of course.
Uh-huh.
[ Laughs ]
What are these, about 10 pounds?
They're 6 pounds a piece.
6 Pounds.
Oh!
Now, that's a workout.
Whew!
Oh, my god, this is hard work.
Narrator: 18
pounds of workout.
Just don't -- [ clatter ]
...drop them.
So let's recap the
inventory for this myth.
The maxi air cannon,
double-check.
Authentic 16th-century pirate
Ship -- captain,
we have a problem.
There's none here.
Or here.
Or even here.
But adam being the resourceful
Chap that he is, has a
plan to build his own.
So, I've come to svendsen's
Boat works in the alameda
Marina, because hopefully they
Have an expert who can tell me
About what kind of dimensions
They were -- how thick the wood
Was, how they were constructed.
Narrator: adam knows pirate
Ships have horizontal outer
Planking supported by vertical
Ribbing, or stanchions, and
Thinner inner planking.
For the correct dimensions of
These intricate parts, he seeks
The wise counsel of master
Shipwright john phillips.
So, I'd like to be as
Accurate as possible with my
Tests, and I think I'd like to
Duplicate both the inner
and the outer planking.
I'd like an idea from you what
The thicknesses of the inner and
Outer I should be looking at and
Also how far apart they are.
Certainly depending on the
Origin of the vessel and the
Size of the vessel, the
stanchion or frame would
Probably be as wide in this
Dimension as it is thick in this
Dimension, so say 6x6.
And those could easily
be less than a foot apart.
And the planking could be 2-,
Could be 3-inch thick.
And maybe the inner planking
Would be 2-inch thick.
So you've got 3, 6, and 2.
All right.
Narrator: with the numbers
Hastily scribbled on the back of
His hand, adam heads
back to the shop to get busy.
Oh, look, it's beautiful.
That's a pirate
ship right there.
Narrator: uh, adam, haven't
You forgotten something?
It doesn't look like much,
But it will be a
pirate ship soon.
Stand by.
Narrator: don't you need
Another hundred or
so tons more wood?
These are the uprights.
These represent the upright
Beams that describe the
cross-section of the ship.
I'm only going to do a small
Section of this pirate ship.
It's all I've got time for.
So this is going to be up around
The railing of the
deck, about 4 feet down.
In fact, on a real ship of the
Period, these things would be
Placed about this far apart.
I'm only going to place two of
These this far apart because
That's what we're
sh**ting between.
The other two I'll place farther
Apart because they're just to
Hold up the rest of rest of the
Wood slats that
make up my pirate ship.
Narrator: and that
gap in the center?
Right here in the center --
That's where I'm
gonna be firing.
That's where I'll have
The real wood, and behind it,
I'll have the real pirates.
Narrator: can ye trusty
Dagger in a sail slow
down a plummeting pirate?
That's the question kari, grant,
And tory are
attempting to answer.
So far, they've boarded the good
Ship "balclutha" and
plundered her for knowledge.
And this myth
won't be plain sailing.
So as it turns out,
it'snot so easy to do this.
There are variations in the
Thickness of the sail, sharpness
Of the blade, and the angle at
Which you hold the blade can
Make a huge difference.
Maybe before we go risking
Our lives and trying to ride
Down a sail with a knife, we
Should do some more tests so we
Can get some better data.
Let's set up a test where we
Can use a period knife and cut
Through a period sail, but maybe
Make the knife static and run
The cloth past it, that way we
Take out the human element.
We be test the different
Sharpnesses of blades to find
Out what the optimum sharpness
Is so that you get
down the sail safely.
Narrator: so,
it's sail-slicing 101.
And tory is the
man with the plan.
All right, so, what we're
Trying to replicate is a person
Stabbing a sail, riding
down it with a knife.
What we're gonna do is we're
Actually gonna be
pulling the sail up.
And so, in order to do that, we
Need at least the average man's
Weight to pull that sail up.
Okay, dude.
Pure pirate action.
Okay.
Got it?
[ Grunting ]
Be careful.
You're gonna blow
out your o-ring.
That's heavy.
Narrator: it's a simple
Build -- the knife will be
locked off and a run of
Thick canvas pulled past it
Using a dead-weight drop.
A good knife should
have little trouble.
But which knife
would apirate use?
There's an old pirate saying,
"Keep your blade sharp -- you're
Packing plentiful."
I hate this stuff.
Why do people
pack with this stuff?
So these are cutlasses?
I believe they are.
Are they covered?
I don't know.
Oh!
Whoa!
[ Laughs ]
Avast ye.
Arr, you scurvy dog.
Narrator: sheath
those cutlasses, boys.
There's more knives
in play for this myth.
But ye can only choose one.
Whoa!
Nice.
That's sweet.
Cool.
Narrator: three knives have
Been delivered to test the
Thrust and parry of
this sail-sliding myth.
A cutlass -- too long.
A gurkha dagger -- not too many
Pirates in landlocked nepal.
So it's this stabbing knife
Known as the main gauche.
It's not only a
authentic period piece.
It's the same type used by our
Swashbuckling hollywood hero.
All right.
So, you know, with this whole
Myth it's really important to
See how much speed the knife is
Going to slow you down.
If you're going too fast and you
Hit the deck of the ship, you're
Going to break your ankles.
That's not good.
So what we're going to do right
Now is we're going to see how
Fast the knife is actually
slowing the sail down.
Narrator: remember, the
Pirate has to land safely on the
Deck after his
knife-assisted fall.
And these two tests, with a
Dull and sharp knife, should
Indicate the relative
speeds of each drop.
Test one, main gauche knife,
Ready?
Beautiful!
Wow.
Narrator: actually, as the
Replays show, things
didn't go quite to plan.
Well, from our first test, we
Got a few kinks that
we have to work out.
Our knife turned and
the sail billowed out.
So, to remedy both of those
Problems, we have angled the
Knife downward a little bit and
We've also added something to
Hold the sail from flopping out
As it raises up into the air.
Narrator: a little sail
Trimming, and the dull blade is
Once again locked and loaded.
Okay, new and improved test
One, dull blade, cotton swatch,
And it is the main
gauche blade speed test.
All right, here we go.
In three, two, one.
Cool!
We got a good test.
Narrator: the blunt knife at
The altered angle
sliced just fine.
Now, for a comparison
with the sharper blade --
A quick once-over on the grinder
And we'll see if fastidious
Pirates have a better chance of
Pulling off this myth.
Test two, sharp
blade, main gauche.
In three, two, one.
Wow!
Nice!
A lot faster.
Beauty.
Our last test comparing the
Sharp main gauche knife to the
Dull one -- definitely the sharp
One is a lot faster.
So I wouldn't want to be relying
On that to get me down a sail
Safely, because you just whoosh,
sh**t all the way down and
Probably end up pretty
hurt at the bottom.
Narrator: so the sharper the
Knife, the faster the fall.
And the faster the fall,
the heavier the landing.
Now it's time to find out if our
Fall guy could
hang on to the knife.
Dude, that's a hot combo.
The well-dressed pirate is
Definitely going to be
wearing that this fall.
Okay, I'm ready for battle.
That doesn't
look dorky at all.
Narrator: dorky, now,
there's a pirate name.
The locked off dull and sharp
Blades both cut
through the cloth easily.
But could a person, even a dorky
One, hold the blade?
Tory's sharp blade
main gauche test.
In three, two, one.
[ Laughs ]
I don't know why
you guys were so worried.
It didn't look hard
at all, 'cause it wasn't.
Looks like there's
some hope for this myth.
This might be a good way to get
Down from your sail.
So now we know with a
Period knife will cut through
Number-four sail fabric.
And dull knife goes slower,
Sharp knife goes faster.
And we also know that a human
Can hold onto a knife
and cut through the sail.
Okay, so, I think next we
Need to ramp it up and see if a
Falling knife will
actually cut the sail.
I think buster's just about
That weight and probably
the man for the job.
Narrator: buster is about to
Enter the pirate business.
That's beautiful.
Narrator: the following is a
Paid commercial program
brought to you by...
Pirates, if you're like me,
You love the life -- the
Pillaging, the freedom,
but you hate the cannons.
The cannons -- the loading, the
Charging, the dropping
of the ba*ls on your foot.
Well, we've developed an
Entirely new product
-- the blowhard 3000.
Firing a 6-pound ball at 300
Miles per hour on
compressed air alone.
It's guaranteed to solve
all your piratical needs.
Our exclusively developed
Manifold at the piratical
Industries labs allows you to
Use only compressed air
Generated by rowing sl*ves to
Propel your cannonballs
at your enemy.
No more black powder, no more
Smoke making your
voice sound like this.
Narrator: sl*ves
not included.
The blowhard 3000, the next
Evolution in pirate technology.
Narrator: we will now resume
Normal programming.
Buccaneer busters adam and
Jamie have built an air cannon
To test the myth that splinters
k*ll more people than
cannonballs in your average
Pirate broadside.
This is what every
modern pirate's using.
Narrator: an authentic cannon
Muzzle velocity is
In the absence of an authentic
Cannon, the blowhard 3000 needs
To get as close
to that as possible.
What we're doing
is a final pressure test.
We're topping up the tanks with
A very high pressure gas that
Gets us up into
the zone we need.
When they put me in a home
Where I can't hurt myself, this
Is what they'll
undoubtedly make me wear.
Narrator: the team looks
Confident, but no one knows if
The blowhard 3000
will blow hard enough.
This test without a cannonball
Will confirm the
high-pressure system is working.
Okay, firing
in three, two, one.
[ Laughs ]
That's a beautiful test.
I feel really, really
good about this deal.
Okay.
Narrator: a perfect
High-pressure test fire means
It's time to take this myth out
Of the workshop and onto the
Firing range for some serious
"Mythbuster"-style fireworks.
Once again, we find ourselves
On the alameda naval base
Runway, which is a beautiful
Mile-and-a-half-long runway.
Ours alone.
Nice and safe.
Narrator: I'm sorry, adam.
Did you say "nice and safe"?
[ Laughs ]
This is a 40-foot-long
Barrel, and it's in
several sections.
We've got the fancy thing on the
End here, and there's a
lot of stuff to line up.
Narrator: like the earlier
Mini air cannon, a long barrel
Concentrates the energy to
Create the required
cannonball velocity.
If they can't get close to
Genuine cannon speed, this
Experiment is going nowhere.
That's what we're firing --
Kilogram, steel cannonball.
To achieve the velocity that
We would get out of a real
Cannon, we'd have to reach in
The neighborhood of 1,200 feet
Per second, and we know this rig
Is not going to do this.
The theoretical max speed that
We'll get out of this rig, if we
Were to just totally go for it,
Is about in the neighborhood of
Which is still pretty fast.
In fact, it's a huge
amount of force.
Narrator: huge if it works.
And this test, the first with a
Cannonball, will find out.
Adam decides that visualizing a
Positive result will help.
It's going to build
up pressure in here.
It's going to come out
this, go whoosh... Voosh.
This is if you could actually
Follow it in real time.
Boof!
And the sand's going to pour
Out of here, and we're
going to cackle a lot.
That's pretty much
what's going to happen.
We are arming the cannon!
Air-cannon test
fire in three, two, one.
Narrator: and cue the cackle.
[ Laughs ]
That was cool!
Narrator: cool indeed.
But do we have
the speed we need?
It's 2,000 frames per second,
So I'm traveling 1
foot every 4 frames.
That a foot in every 2
Milliseconds -- that's
That is... 340 Miles per hour.
That is respectable!
Narrator: respectable.
And it's as good
as it's going to get.
So time to move on.
The next step will be to find
Out how many people a single
Cannonball can k*ll directly.
That way, when they test with
Wooden shrapnel damage,
they have a comparison.
Now that the cannon's
Working, the first test is to
Find out how much damage
it would do to humans.
So we're going to break out our
Human analogs, fire
the cannon into them.
Narrator: human analogs?
Uh, can we check
the truck again?
We've got the side of
the boat, made to genuine
Pirate-ship dimensions, but did
Anyone pack a human analog?
Explain it again, adam,
please, in simple terms.
We're gonna sh**t at the boat
From about point-blank range.
So it'll be here, the
pigs will be here.
Narrator: hold on,
did adam say pigs?
[ Pigs squealing ]
These are 450-pound pigs.
Pigs are used the world over as
Nearly perfect
analogs for humans.
They have similar amounts of
Body fat, similar
skeletal structures.
While they look quite different,
They act very much the same
Under a lot of conditions,
Including getting
hit with a cannonball.
Narrator: rest assured, our
Scientifically accurate porcine
Pirates were
humanely slaughtered.
But instead of being destined
For the supermarket, they've
Been selected for
a higher purpose.
Wake up!
Time for science.
The myth is that more people
Died from splinters than
from actual cannonballs.
And if we want to test it as
More than just a numerical
Anomaly, we want to know how
Many people a single
cannonball could k*ll.
So we lined four of them up in
Front of the barrel, and we're
Gonna see how many sustain what
We consider to be a lethal
Amount of damage
from the single shot.
Narrator: tackling a
Tall-ship tale from tinseltown
Is kari, grant and tory.
They're asking, "can you slide
Down from a top
mast by slicing the sail?"
So far, they've selected their
Knife, tested its sail-sheering
Abilities through plain canvas.
And they know our fall guy can
Hang on to the blade.
All right.
What are we doing?
Narrator: what we're doing,
Tory, is taking this test to the
Next level by introducing
Full-length sails with cross
Seams, known on the
high seas as reef bands.
On the good shipbalclutha, we
Found a pirate sail could have
As many as four of
these cross seams.
And that could be a problem.
This definitely changes what
The knife's going to do when
It goes down the sail.
When you hit these reef band, it
Could throw you out.
Narrator: so the knife has to
Be sharp enough to get
through these thick seams.
But as the guys found out in the
Earlier tests, too sharp and the
Slide down the sail
becomes a free fall.
We're all ready to go.
Buster's ready.
He's got his hands that are
Gonna hold the
knife at any angle.
Hopefully, he'll
hold on to the knife.
We have our sail
hanging from the ceiling.
It's at a height roughly to what
A pirate ship would be.
So that way we can see when he
Lands on the deck what kind of
Injuries he's going to sustain.
All we have to do is hoist
Him up to the quick release,
Stick his knife in the
sail, and let him go.
Narrator: pride
normally goes before a fall.
But on "mythbusters," grant
Jumps in for some
mathematical injury calculation.
I'm marking out our sail in
One-foot increments.
What we're going to is use the
High-speed camera to film buster
As he rides the knife down.
Counting the number of frames --
That'll will give us velocity.
What we know is 25 feet per
Second is the threshold
of minor injury.
If you're a pirate landing on a
Deck, you'll probably be able to
Get up and walk away
and fight other pirates.
The threshold of major injury,
Which means possibly
it will be fatal.
Narrator: so because the myth
Is about our hero being able to
Walk away, we're looking for a
Speed below 25 feet per second.
Buster's first ride will be with
A sharpened blade.
Full-scale buster test two --
Reef bands sharp
knife in three, two, one.
Whoa!
Oh!
I don't think that
worked very well.
What do you think?
I don't think I want
to use a sharp knife.
Dang!
He hit hard.
It sliced right through them.
It didn't even pause
at the reef bands.
Narrator: too sharp, too
Fast -- too bad for buster.
And the numbers from
the high-speed confirm it.
At over 25 feet per second,
Buster would definitely
have been busted up.
So I think we probably ought
To think about maybe dulling the
Knife a little bit.
Yeah.
Narrator: yep, the solution
Is to blunt the blade
and try to slow the fall.
Call it, kari.
Full weight of buster on the
Main gauche blade, which is
Dull, with the reef
bands on the sail.
Here we go in
three, two, one.
Oh!
[ Talking incoherently ]
Too dull.
Narrator: what kari'strying
To say is buster's dull knife
Hit a snag and he fell from
Grace with a resounding thud.
The solution is a knife that's
Sharp enough to cut the reef
Bands, yet dull enough to slow
Our fall guy's
fall to a safe speed.
But who's going
to wield the knife?
It's obvious that
buster's a bit of a stiff.
And our mythical swashbuckler
Knows how to absorb a fall,
Something buster never
picked up at stunt school.
So for the best chance of
Success, we need to inject some
Humanity into this myth.
Let's find a safe way to do
This, and then one of us -- and
By us, I mean you -- can
go up and try this out.
Twist my arm.
All right.
Narrator: tory gets the blade
Ready for the final
human-on-sail test -- not too
Sharp, not too dull.
Either way, I'm screwed.
Narrator: pirate-speak
lesson number four.
A good pirate should start all
Sentences with the words "thar
Be" as in "thar be adam and
Jamie," or "thar be adam and
Jamie with a very large cannon,"
Or even better, "thar be adam
And jamie with a very large
Cannon pointing straight at four
Pigs dressed as pirates."
[ Chuckles ]
Pirate ships were often
Packed at double, triple, or
Quadruple the actual
capacity of that ship.
So, it is conceivable that the
Deck of a pirate ship could be a
Very crowded place
during a battle.
Narrator: the myth states
More pirates died from
Splintering wood than from a
Direct hit by a cannonball.
Workshop tests with a
Mini-cannon seem
to confirm the theory.
But in full-scale tests, the
Mythbusters first want to see
Just how many people
a cannonball could k*ll.
They figured it was more humane
To use pigs bound for the
Supermarket than real pirates.
Next, we're going to fire the
Air cannon at the pigs -- at the
Pirates, I'm sorry.
My guess is that we're going to
Make it all the way through
Them, because we're going to
Bump up the pressure a little
Bit off of the nitrogen tank.
And pigs versus sandbags,
I'd say the pigs lose.
This is how much damage can a
Cannonball do to some pirates?
Firing in three, two, one.
[ Laughs ]
That is so wrong!
Narrator: wrong -- maybe.
But did any of our pirate
substitutes survive the
Broadside?
He's dead.
Yeah, I'd say so.
All right.
Here's a second pig...
I can see it over
here -- he's dead.
The third pig, well, he's dead.
Fourth pig totally dead.
Let's set up for the next test.
That's stunning --
that's four for four.
Went through them like butter.
Or lard.
[ Laughs ]
We k*lled four little pirates,
And didn't even knock their hats
Off practically --
well, maybe one of them.
That means we're getting this
Cannonball going
really pretty quickly.
Narrator: so the benchmark
For death by a single
cannonball is at least four.
It's crunch time for the
cannonball splinter myth.
Next we're going to fire
Through our mocked-up pirate
Ship and see whether it's more
Lethal to get hit by the
Splinters than a cannonball.
Narrator: pirate ships being
In short supply, adam has built
His own slightly
modified version.
It doesn't look like it, but
I have a fascia that
looks like a pirate ship.
And then I have here 3
solid inches of white oak.
That is accurate to the outside
Cladding on a period ship that a
Pirate might have commandeered.
Then there's a 6x6
inch stanchion.
These are the ribs that run all
The way down the boat,
describing its hull shape.
And on the inside,
it's clad with pine.
These two pieces are what this
Cannonball's going through that
Will generate the splinters and
They are accurate to the type of
Materials that a period
cannonball would have
Encountered in a
ship during battle.
For this myth to be true,
We're looking for a huge volume
Of splinters to come out of the
Backside and spray the whole
Area which could
k*ll a lot of people.
And it's actually more plausible
Than a bunch of people lining up
In a row right behind a
cannonball when it hits.
Air cannon into
the pirate ship in...
Three, two, one.
I hope it made it.
Well, it didn't
come bouncing out.
Let's go check it out.
All right.
Narrator: the air cannon once
Again hits her mark.
But what's the damage report?
Whoa!
It did -- it made it through!
Yeah, excellent!
Oh, my god!
I see a horror show, and I
Definitely see splinters here.
I don't see any
penetration of the pigs at all.
I don't see any of them
Sticking out of the pigs.
Narrator: plenty of
splinters, but unlike the
Small-scale test, there's no
Suggestion that the
shrapnel was lethal.
Yeah, I don't
know what else to say.
I mean, it drilled a neat
hole right through it.
If I were standing right
Here, I'd count my lucky stars
That the cannonball missed me,
But I'd be pulling splinters
out of my...thoughts.
I mean, that would suck.
And sure enough, back then, you
Know, a big splinter going
Through your leg could be a
Lethal injury when you're
Talking about infection and the
Microorganisms living
off the wood of the boat.
But this is like two people who
Are slightly injured or
Seriously injured, not 10 that
A cannonball can travel
all the way through.
I think the scenario we were
Looking for was where this is
Such an expl*si*n that it
Accelerates these particles of
Wood so fast that everybody in
The area just gets
sprayed and dies.
Kind of like a shotgun or more
Like a grenade blast.
And I'm not seeing that
happen with this stuff.
I think the high-speed footage
Tells the whole story, because
It's showing a massive quantity
Of splinters going out of the
Back side of this boat hull.
The problem is that none of it's
Hitting the pigs with enough
Strength, enough mass, enough
Velocity or whatever to actually
Stick into the pigs.
Narrator: with no pigs stuck
With deadly splinters, this myth
Is on shaky ground.
But adam and jamie are reluctant
To call it busted.
Remember, the air cannon
isn't quite up to speed.
With a muzzle velocity of around
Match up to the real thing.
Got to figure out a way of
Getting things
to go really fast.
Narrator: unable to accept
Defeat, the pressure is back on
To find a genuine cannon and put
This myth to rest.
Narrator: when using a knife
To slide down sails, it's not
The fall that'll k*ll you.
It's the sudden stop.
And buster sucks at landing.
This myth needs a dummy that can
Act like a person.
I mean, I wouldn't
want to do it.
Not it.
Narrator: seeing as tory's
The class clown, we're taking
This myth to the circus -- you
Know, high trapeze,
nets, all that safety stuff.
And if you cast your minds back,
Kari, grant, and tory have been
To trapeze arts before.
That time, they wanted to see if
A swing can spin
a full 360 degrees.
Almost there!
You're almost there!
Narrator: uh, kari,
tory's about to attempt a
Life-threatening stunt.
Kari, you're just not taking
This seriously, are you?
Before this myth turns into a
Circus -- thank you, kari,
That's quite enough -- tory gets
The lowdown on his
Knife-wielding fall from trapeze
Trainer eric braun.
The net is good to handle
Someone my size hitting the net
From above the frame.
No matter what,
we're going to be safe.
No matter what,
you're won't hit the ground.
[ Laughs ]
No, no, I said, "no matter
What, we're going to be safe."
The biggest risk of injury is
One part of your body hitting
Another part of your body.
The most common instance is your
Knee hitting her nose.
Ooh!
It's happened before.
My sister broke her nose
In 14 places with her knee
With her knees hitting
her face on the trampoline.
I'll try to
avoid that if I can.
Narrator: when buster tried
This trick, it looked more
Damaging than a knee to a nose.
And with the sail set to the
Same buster-busting height, tory
Is banking on his partially
Sharpened knife to slow his fall
And cut through the reef band.
What I'm about to do is climb
Up to the top of the sail, and
We're going to do a free-fall
Test without the knife just to
Get a control on my speed.
I'm a little nervous because I'm
Not really sure how
I'm going to land.
I just don't want to
smash my face into my knees.
If I can avoid
that, I'll be cool.
[ Laughter ]
Narrator: this first drop
Will be a knifeless test run.
Then we'll stick the knife in
And slide this myth home.
Full-scale tory test.
This one's the
control free fall.
Three, two, one.
That was great!
Are you okay?
Yeah.
How much of that was free
Fall and how much of
that was you stopping him?
Well, it felt like a
lot of it was free fall.
Totally good form.
You were right next to
the sail the whole time.
You had your pretend knife in
It, and it couldn't
have been any better.
Narrator: at falling
down, tory's done good.
But would he have survived the
Fall to fight another day?
Actually, it's not bad.
He is just falling straight
Down, not freaking
out or anything.
That's really good form.
Pirates don't freak out.
Well,youmight.
Pirates don't.
Okay, here's the good news.
The good news is that your
Velocity at the very
end is 25 feet per second.
It's a little bit slower
than physics predicts.
But I think it's still --
Really close to a free fall.
What that means, if the net
Weren't there, you would be
Breaking both legs
and in very bad shape.
Well, good thing for the net.
Narrator: so free
fall equals broken legs.
The question is, will thrusting
A knife into the sail slow down
Pirate tory enough
to prove this myth?
My biggest concern now is
Holding on to the knife.
Could a pirate hold on to the
Knife, cutting through the sail,
Hitting those reef
bands, and not letting go?
That's what I need to
concentrate on right now.
Hey, tory.
You want to put the safety on?
Oh.
Sure.
Okay.
Here we go, tory.
Narrator: safely secured,
Tory takes to the rigging.
His knife of choice, the not too
Dull, not too sharp main gauche.
Full-scale pirate-sail test.
Tory, free fall
with the knife sharp.
Okay.
Call it when you're ready.
Here we go in
three, two, one.
Oh!
Whoa!
Are you okay?
Yeah.
Whoa!
That was crazy.
As soon as I hit that reef band,
The knife just popped right out.
Narrator: so the reef
bands threw him off.
But if the knife was any
Sharper, he'd have fallen too
Fast to walk away uninjured.
But tory ain't giving up yet.
What I'd like to do is try it
One more time, just move over a
Little bit on the sail.
Now that I know what it feels
Like and just see if I
can keep that angle.
Because the first few feet of
Fall, it felt like I was being
Slowed down by the knife.
Narrator: so tenacious tory
Gets one final attempt.
Here we go in
three, two, one.
Dang it!
Narrator: but the result
was exactly the same.
It seems that a knife dull
Enough to get you down at a safe
Speed won't slice
through the reef bands.
You hung on to the knife, but
It was just that force
that popped you out?
So it wasn't like it popped
The knife out of my hand.
It just pushed the knife up and
Then I fell out of the sail.
Well, that's a huge
difference between you and
Buster is the fact that he had
The death grip and everything
Was tightened and there was no
Way his wrist was
going to go back.
That is a normal human reaction.
Narrator: so, tory,
ready to call this one?
Cutting a knife through the
Sail, it's way too hard.
As soon as I hit that reef band,
The angle of my knife changed
And my knife popped out, I fell.
We had a full, live person
Doing this with a sharp knife in
A life-size sail
with reef bands.
You couldn't really get
more realistic than that.
I'm a little disappointed.
I know.
I just don't think the human
Wrist is strong enough
to hold that angle.
Plus, in an historically
Accurate sail, you'd have to get
Through not one buttworeef
Bands, and each of those has a
Variation of sail material of
One to three layers to two
Layers back to three
and then to one.
Not only that -- in a
Real-life situation, you're
Going to have to have your
Knife sharp enough to just make
It through the reef bands but
Just dull enough to decelerate.
When is that really
going to happen?
Only in the movies.
I think this one's busted.
I think this
one's triple busted.
Busted.
Fire!
Narrator: it's a maritime
Myth of expl*sive proportions.
Supposedly, when the broadsides
Strike, more shipmates die from
The flying splinters than the
Cannonballs themselves.
Tests with a giant air
cannon suggest it's a bust.
But without an accurate muzzle
Velocity, our dynamic duo are
Reluctant to call it.
I don't know, man.
I'm looking at this shrapnel.
I'm really pleased with our rig.
I think we can call
this one busted.
I don't know.
A real cannon will fire a
Cannonball at twice the velocity
Of what we got our air cannon to
Do, and that translates to maybe
About 10 times the actual power.
Right, but it did go through
All the wood we had set up, plus
Our pigs -- it did everything
we wanted it to do.
Well, I have actually got
Access to a real cannon that
Fires a real cannonball.
You want to go for it?
Oh, yeah!
Let's do it!
[ Pirate voice ] let's take all
This back to the
site and try it again!
Narrator: actually, adam,
We're playing with
real g*ns this time.
And there's only one place they
Let us do that -- the
alameda county sheriff's
Facility b*mb range.
And joining us to save the day
Is not so dirty
harry and his big g*n.
This is old moses.
Is that the
trailer or the g*n?
The g*n.
He speaks with a great voice and
Lays down the law.
Oh, my lord!
Wow!
[ Laughs ]
Narrator: it's a fully
Functional 1841 mexican
and civil w*r replica.
Not exactly pirate material, but
A cannon's a cannon, right?
This is one of those cases
Where I'm sure the results are
Going to be controversial, but
No one can accuse of
us not being thorough.
And if there are any pirates out
There who dispute this,
I'd love to talk to them.
The cannon we're about to use
Is a piece of what is
known as field a*tillery.
Now, this is the kind of thing
That would go out on the open
b*ttlefield in the civil w*r and
That kind of thing.
We're talking about
pirate cannons.
But it's the same.
The ball size is the same.
It's the same as what we
used in the air cannon.
It's a proper size that you
Would actually
find on a pirate ship.
So the effect on
impact is the same.
Narrator: this first shot --
Into the water barrels for
Safety -- will give the
team the muzzle velocity.
And if old moses hits 1300 feet
Per second, we know we're
Dealing with the real thing.
All right.
Let's see if this is big enough
To hold a pound and a quarter.
Narrator: harry will use a
Pound and a quarter of black
Powder to launch a 6-pound shot.
Okay.
Not too hard.
[ Laughs ]
Okay.
Action front.
Time to load!
Charge.
Narrator: in the heat of
Battle, a crack cannon team
Matched speed and
efficiency with precision.
The correctly sized
cannonballs help, too.
What's going on?
It's too big.
No.
These are fresh-ordered shot
Just for this g*n, and
they're cast too large.
Well, we have one of our
Little unexpected problems,
Something we could have never
Foreseen or put on a list and
It's that our cannonballs are
Too big for the
barrel of our cannon.
[ Pirate voice ] what I'm using
Right now is an ancient pirate
Tool, the angle grinder.
Narrator: the ball is ground
Down by an eighth of an inch.
Well, that's
not a pirate thing.
That's a tumbleweed.
On you go.
[ Laughs ]
Narrator: wild west
Distractions dealt with, the
Team load up, and old
moses is ready for action.
Clear front.
Firing in three, two, one!
[ Laughs ]
Whoo-hoo!
Narrator: old moses
certainly didn't hold back.
A successful firing, but
where's the cannonball?
It's not there?
Unh-unh.
Did it skip?
If it skipped, it
went over the hill.
Narrator: that's one
Cannonball missing in action.
And there's
something else missing.
We were completely unable to
Determine the muzzle velocity on
That test because, for some
Reason, at the moment of
Detonation, our high-speed
Camera's power supply failed.
So we got a new power supply,
And we're going to
do the same shot again.
Wehaveto know what
the muzzle velocity is.
We want to be able to compare it
To the previous test.
Narrator: a little ricochet
Reinforcement and it's
time for shot number two.
Prime.
Clear front.
Firing in three, two, one!
[ Laughs ]
We got that cannonball.
We stopped the cannonball.
Nice shot!
Narrator: no
bouncing ba*ls this time.
The hill took the full force.
It's deeper than that.
[ Laughs ]
So what we've got there is a
Muzzle velocity of 1430 feet per
Second guaranteed, because I can
See when the cannonball exits
The barrel and I can see when it
Hits the garbage can, and I know
The garbage can is exactly 10
Feet from the barrel.
That muzzle velocity makes this
Blast seven and a half times
More powerful than the one we
Produced with our air cannon.
The only question that remains
For us is, does that increase in
Power translate to an increase
In deadliness for
our wooden shrapnel?
Narrator: mini air cannons
And maxi air cannons have drawn
A blank on scattered splinters,
But old moses has the muster to
Truly lay down the
law for this myth.
Adam's authentic pirate ship
Prototype is lowered in place.
Cue the pigs.
This is our pirate crew, and
For this myth to be true, they
Have to have a bunch of
Splinters stuck in
them really quite deep.
[ Pirate voice ] get
your pirate face on.
We're about to
sh**t some cannons!
I'm drooling!
Narrator: drooling?
You ain't seen nothing yet.
Firing in three, two, one!
Looks from here like it put a
Clean hole in the oak.
It definitely put a
clean hole in the oak.
A nice small one.
Narrator: getting through the
Wood is not the issue.
It's the deadly
splinters we want.
What do we see?
I see even less kind of
Splinterage than I saw before.
The splinters are
clearly all over the place.
But I don't see hardly a single
One stuck in the pigs.
Oh, there's one.
Wait a second.
Uh-oh.
Well, that went in
about half an inch.
And that's the most serious
Thing that we've seen all told.
But it's still not lethal.
The increased muzzle velocity
Definitely had a lot
more power behind it.
It pushed this whole thing over.
Caused a lot more trauma to our
Pirate boat than it did on the
Test with our air cannon.
Old moses here had
Considerably more kick than our
Air cannon, and it threw a lot
Of splinters all over the place.
But the result is the same.
From what I'm seeing, they just
Don't have a whole lot of mass.
They just kind of like flip off
Things -- they bounce.
They don't really penetrate.
Based on this, the only thing
That we can say about this myth
Is that it's busted.
The shrapnel is not as
lethal as the cannonball.
[ Pirate voice ] well, let's
Give our pirates a good final
Resting place and
call this one busted.
Can you stop doing that?
Now I can,
because we're done.
Maybe we need to
try a bigger cannon.
What do you think?
[ Laughs ]
Well, that's it.
I think I'm retiring
the pirate voice.
I can't come up with
any more pirate ideas.
Well, maybeyoucan't, but
But I bet the fans have some.
Indeed.
And that's why we're going to
Devote and entire episode
just to fan suggestions.
So log on to
discovery.com/mythbusters and
Give us your ideas.
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05x02 - Pirate Special
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A weekly documentary in which two Hollywood special effects experts attempt to debunk urban legends by directly testing them.
A weekly documentary in which two Hollywood special effects experts attempt to debunk urban legends by directly testing them.