♪♪
Narrator: on this episode
of "mythbusters,"
Jamie and adam
get that sinking feeling...
Oh, man.
That sound is so wrong.
...to test the myth that
if your vehicle plunges
Into the drink...
Oh, my god, it's coming up
under the windshield.
Wow, I can feel
the pressure.
...are you done, or is
there a way to escape?
That is intense!
And meanwhile, in the biggest
build of its kind in history...
Grant: this is going to be the
biggest piece of paper ever.
...grant, tory, and kari
attempt to squash the myth...
Flat as a pancake!
...that it's an impossible task
to fold a piece of paper
More than seven times.
It sounded so much easier
on paper.
♪♪
Who are the mythbusters?
Adam savage...
Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow.
Narrator: ...and jamie hyneman.
It's almost too exciting.
Between them more than 30 years
of special-effects experience.
Cue dramatic music.
Narrator: joining them,
kari byron...
That's gonna be so cool!
Narrator: ...grant imahara...
Listen to that baby purr!
Narrator: ...and tory belleci.
Paramedics are nowhere
to be found.
Narrator: they don't just
tell the myths.
They put them to the test.
♪♪
♪♪
"Underwater car escape."
Something tells me this involves
a car in the water.
Shockingly, that is true.
This is what I've been
wanting to do almost since
We started
doing this show.
The myth is that you're in
a car, it goes over the side
Of a bridge or something,
into the water,
And starts to sink.
The myth is, you will not be
able to open that door until
The cabin of the car
fills up with water,
And then you can open
the door and escape.
Sounds like you might be cutting
it kind of close, though.
That's exactly what we're
going to find out.
Narrator:
is it possible to escape,
Or would a watery grave
be your fate?
The myth is, if you're trapped
in a sinking car,
You have to wait until the cabin
fills up with water
And the pressure equalizes
Before it's possible
to open a door and swim free.
♪♪
I think
it's pretty obvious
What the plan for this one
should be.
Yep, we got to get
a real car,
We got to put it in the water,
And get inside it
and go down with it.
Really, I've always wanted to be
the dude in the car.
You got to let me be
the dude in the car.
You can be the dude in the car.
Yes!
Narrator: dude,
better you than me.
But before he gets his feet wet,
Adam first sets up
a small-scale pressure test.
He fills a 3-foot-deep
cylindrical tank with water.
It's an interestingly
improvised, rubbery contrivance
That makes
perfect sense to him.
On the right here is a box
which represents my car.
And, like a car, it will
let water in, but slowly.
It'll leak out of a lot
of the corners and edges.
And when you see that happening,
Hopefully, this unit will
demonstrate that the pressure's
Higher here on this drum
that's in the open water
Than it is on this drum
that's in the car.
Narrator: adam places
a small piece of perspex
Loosely on the underside
of the box that will represent
The door of his car.
Ready?
Yep.
Narrator: each foot the drum
is lowered is equivalent
To half a psi of pressure.
In the real world, that's a
crushing 1,000 to 2,000 pounds
Of force on a door.
Adam: that's the pressure
inside the car.
That's the pressure of
the water outside the car.
You're inside this car,
you're trying to open this door.
You can't because the pressure
outside is higher than
The pressure inside --
pressure differential.
It's happening!
Narrator: pressure differential
occurs because water
Exerts greater pressure
than air.
When a vehicle sinks,
the water presses on the doors,
Holding them shut.
When the cabin fills with water,
The inside pressure becomes
the same as the outside,
And it's only then
its grip is released.
After building up and up,
the two lines finally meet...
Watch this door.
Watch this door.
Narrator: ...and release.
[ Laughs ]
There it goes.
Narrator: to test this theory
in a real-life situation,
The plan is to suspend
a car from a crane.
Adam will be the trapped driver
in front, while jamie will be
In back wearing a re-breather.
Then, the car will be lowered
into the watery depths,
With safety divers monitoring
the entire operation.
Fresh from the classifieds,
Jamie has found
a classic american sedan
With power windows.
It runs great.
Never to start again.
Narrator: now to pull it apart.
First thing we need to do is
remove the engine from the car,
Because any oil, any fluids
that would foul the water
Is going to be a problem.
Narrator:
first he cuts the welds
that hold the engine in place.
Wisely putting safety
before style,
Jamie torches without his beret.
Then he ties a chain
around the engine
That is attached to a forklift.
Time to give it a gentle tug.
♪♪
[ Chuckles ]
Looks like it doesn't
want to come out.
Oh, it's holding it.
Maybe it just needs
a little coaxing.
♪♪
[ Laughs ] what's the matter?
Haven't you ever seen somebody
Work on a car with an ax?
Narrator: his opponent
has been wounded
And is starting to weaken.
[ Chuckles ] it's coming.
Narrator: after
a protracted battle,
The engine finally succumbs.
Jamie is victorious,
but the thrill of the k*ll
Has gone to his head.
I had to remove the engine
From the car to clean
the car up, so I did.
[ Laughs ]
Well, there's your problem.
[ Laughs ]
Narrator: now that
the engine is out,
He needs to add its
equivalent weight back in.
This thing right here is
our engine surrogate.
We need to simulate the amount
of weight that it represented,
Because the car might settle
into the water differently
If we don't.
Narrator: 700 pounds of weight
is lowered into the cavity.
This is jamie's new
hydrogen fuel-cell engine.
Jamie: [ chuckles ]
And with the weighting
checked off, it's time
To make like keith moon and
drive the car into the pool.
To conduct their test,
campolindo high school in moraga
Is kindly letting us use
their aquatic center.
Go, cougars.
This is a high-school
diving pool,
And this is where we're
going to sink our car.
It's about 13 feet deep right
here, which should be plenty
For us to do our test.
It's nice and warm.
It'll be great.
Narrator: jamie's auto
arrives on location.
The engine cavity
has been steam-cleaned,
So every trace
of oil and grease is gone
And won't foul the waters.
[ Sighs ]
Where's the engine?
They attach heavy chains
Under, over, and in between
the body of the car
And fasten them to a hook
suspended from a crane.
♪♪
This vehicle
may not be able to drive,
But it sure can fly.
[ Laughs ]
Don't let it go too fast.
No, I know.
You're gonna have trouble
stopping it.
There we go.
Narrator: they park it
on the side of the pool.
Lovely.
Then the crew mount
underwater cameras
Both inside and out
For a fish-eye view of what's
happening beneath the surface.
Aside from his
burning enthusiasm,
Adam has a burning question
for safety diver sean.
All right, sean, so, I'm
going to be in this car.
It's going to start
filling up with water.
I'm going to hold my breath,
but when I run out,
What's the backup?
The backup is sitting in your
passenger seat right there.
For you with a 5-foot-long hose.
Remember to purge it
and breathe normally.
It's already hooked up.
It's ready to go.
And jamie will be sitting
here in his re-breather
With this standing by
in case I need it.
Correct.
Narrator: jamie isn't in the
back just to look pretty.
He's a certified divemaster
with 30 years of experience
And 3,000 dives
under his weight belt.
I'm just going to be sitting
there relaxing, waiting for adam
To freak out, and then I'll be
right there with his regulator.
Narrator: so as not to skew
the test by adding extra air,
Jamie will be using
a re-breather
Instead of regular scuba tanks.
Re-breathers recycle exhaled
breath and, therefore,
Don't create bubbles.
It's a self-contained unit
that's very 007.
Adam's starting
to lose his cool.
I'm actually a little freaked
out 'cause I'm gonna be, like,
Holding myself up
off the dashboard.
I'll be -- my face planted into
the windshield in this thing.
I didn't take that into account,
And it's gonna make this
a lot more difficult
To stay focused and calm.
Let's go do it.
Narrator: the safety dives
swim into position.
And jamie has some
final sage words of advice.
Adam, I only have one thing
to say to you.
[ Chuckling ] yeah?
Don't pee in the pool.
[ Laughs ]
Because I'm in the car
There with you.
Time for adam to get inside
for the ride of his life.
You ready?
I'm all set.
Narrator: so, wearing no
scuba gear, 13 feet under water,
Does adam think
he'll sink or swim?
Adam: I think it's entirely
likely I may need oxygen
Before this test is complete.
I can't get it into gear.
Is that a problem?
♪♪
Narrator:
jamie and adam are testing the
myth that if your car swerves
Off the road and
into a body of water,
To get out alive,
you'll have to wait until
It's completely submerged
And full of water before
you can open the door.
Did you know, last year, aaa
estimated 11,000 vehicles
Went off the road
and into the water?
And as a result of those
accidents, 300 people died.
Holy cow, that's
a lot of people.
I thought it was more
like a freak accident.
No, apparently, it's a lot
more common than that.
Well, maybe we can help raise
awareness a bit as to what
These people are facing.
Narrator: and what better wy
to raise awareness
Than to raise themselves
in a car, into the sky,
And plunge into a pool?
Adam: what the [bleep]
are we doing?
Narrator: remember,
when adam goes 13 feet under,
He won't be wearing
breathing apparatus.
The paramedics are
on their toes,
And adam has his
escape strategy all worked out.
I'm going to try to start
opening this door the moment
I see the water get
above my glass.
Now, if the myth is true,
I won't be able to open
That door until
the water level inside the car
Gets to the same point.
Narrator: deep breaths,
adam, deep breaths.
It's way too late
to put on the brakes.
I couldn't stop now
if I wanted to.
Narrator:
as the water rushes in,
Adam is getting
that sinking feeling.
Oh [bleep].
Oh, man.
Oh [bleep]
Narrator:
the crane chains go slack,
And the car is sinking
on its own.
The 700-pound fake engine is
taking it down nose first,
Exactly as it would
in a real situation.
The water's up to my butt now.
All right.
Okay, it's coming past my waist.
Now I can start to see
under the water.
Oh, my god, it's coming up
under the windshield.
Wow, I can feel the pressure.
All right, I only have
a couple more breaths here.
♪♪
Narrator: adam's never
this quiet.
So, what's going on down there?
The water is leaking in from
every open crevice in the car,
And adam is now fully under.
He holds his breath,
tugs on the door,
Pushes his whole weight
against it,
But nothing happens.
Finally, he can't hold his
breath any longer and signals
For jamie to pass him
the regulator.
When the pressure ultimately
equalizes, he opens the door
And swims to the surface.
But it was too late.
[ Coughs ]
Whoo!
Oh!
[ Laughs ]
That is intense!
No matter how you slice it.
I "died."
Let's just put it that way.
Narrator: well, that's put
a dampener on things.
From the time the water hit
adam's knees to when he surfaced
Took just one minute
and 51 seconds,
But that's a long time
when you're drowning.
The fact is, even though
you do go vertical,
You don't feel like it
because the water is
Filling the cabin at that point.
So you're kind of floating.
I held my breath, I don't know,
for what felt like 30 seconds,
Trying to push open that door,
Using my legs,
bracing up inside the cab.
Well...you died.
Jamie:
[ laughing ] yeah, I died.
Narrator:
jamie's passive-observer view
was a little eerie.
I'm just sitting there
watching the guy drown.
He's, like, just going nuts
on that door.
He's really using up his oxygen,
And it didn't take him
that long to run out.
You don't want to be in a car
when it goes down like that.
It's scary.
Narrator: the bottom line is,
adam ran out of air
Before he
could open the door.
That myth is confirmed.
I could not open the door
Until the cab seemed to be full
of water for a while.
Yeah, you were giving it
all you could,
And you just weren't able to do
anything with that door
Until we started
to level out.
That's the point
that you opened the door.
Yeah.
And that was quite a while.
Narrator: differential pressure
can be such a downer.
But now let's cut to a new myth.
♪♪
All right, this myth
has been around forever.
Okay, what is it?
You can't fold a piece of
paper in half
More than seven times.
I don't believe it.
Let's do it.
That's why I brought
a piece of paper.
All right, let's see.
Show us.
All right, that's one.
Narrator:
this myth is a "mythbusters"
fan-site special request.
It's a theory that most people
first hear in elementary school,
And kari is finding out
it isn't child's play.
Don't break the table.
There's seven.
Come on, kari, one more.
One more, you can do it.
Come on, pump it.
Not giving up yet.
Ugh.
Yeah.
Hmm. Um...
I don't think eight worked.
I think that's se.
There's got to be a way
to fold this piece of paper
More than seven times.
Okay, well,
let's break this down
And figure out what it takes
to fold it eight times more.
I have a feeling you're going
to get math involved again.
Narrator: correct, kari.
It's called
"exponential growth."
Every time you fold a piece
of paper in half,
It gets twice as small and twice
as thick.
A piece of paper folded just
To 128 layers.
To 256 layers.
And the theory is,
this is too thick to bend.
Folding paper
is so exciting!
To add even more excitement,
The team is going to try
to bust this myth
By making it
a friendly competition.
Okay, so, the challenge is,
Each of us has two hours to take
these pieces of paper and see
How many times we can fold them.
The person that folds them
the most wins.
Narrator: using standard letter
Our first contender,
tory belleci, steps up.
First, you must massage the
paper to get it relaxed
So that it will fold easier.
That's one.
Narrator: tory's basic method
of folding and rotating is
Smooth all the way until
he gets to number seven.
Myth.
This is a tricky one here.
Narrator:
to bend the paper to his will,
He needs reinfocements.
Where's the mallet?
Narrator: just a gentle nudge
is all it needs.
♪♪
Number eight.
Narrator: is he about to wrench
this myth open already?
The pressure is on
to bring it home to eight.
Eight. Got it.
Narrator: or did he?
His fellow competitors
are not convinced
His brute-strength technique
really worked.
I think you managed to wad it
in half eight times, but...
Tory: look.
That's not half.
There's one.
[ Laughs ]
That's not a fold.
Oh, you cut the pap.
You cut the paper.
You cut the paper.
I'm sorry, dude.
Nope.
Narrator: grant's thinking
along different lines.
I'm gonna try
folding along the diagonal
And see if that gives me
an advantage.
Narrator: but grant can't even
crack the seven-fold mark.
Ahh. Okay.
All intellect
thrown out the door,
It becomes a tyson-esque battle
Between a man
and a piece of paper.
Okay. There's almost seven.
[ Laughing ] obviously
the diagonal's not gonna work.
Narrator: kari's tactic is
to focus on the fold.
My way of tackling this
To hopefully use a little bit
of compression,
A little bit of steam,
and a little bit of sanding
To make that last fold,
which seems to be the problem,
A little bit easier.
Narrator: a homespun touch might
be just what this myth needs.
After ironing a perfect crease,
She rubs it with fine sandpaper.
It's just going to be
a tiny bit thinner.
I'm thinking maybe just that,
like, microscopic little edge
It could give me.
Narrator: her idea may
just iron out the kinks
In this competition.
When you're done with this,
I was wondering if you could
Come over and iron my newspaper.
Narrator: but she, too,
runs out of steam at seven.
Seven times. That's it.
This ends up a spit wad.
Narrator: meanwhile, grant
has really been pondering
This paper puzzle.
Okay, so, I think that this is
actually a dimensional problem.
And, here, this is a piece
of 20-pound 8 1/2-by-11, like,
Office paper, and it is
.003 of an inch.
So, if I make that thinner,
Theoretically, I should
be able to get more folds
In the same amount of space,
and that's why I have this.
This is tracing paper --
technically, still paper.
Isn't it a little early in
the game to start cheating?
Still paper.
Narrator: a cheat?
Quite the contrary.
Grant sees himself as a purist.
No hammer...
No clamp...
No sanding.
Narrator: plus,
he has a cunning plan,
To fold lengthwise repeatedly,
then widthwise repeatedly.
Now for the folding in half.
Narrator:
if you fold a piece of paper
in alternating directions,
It doesn't constrain itself
with each fold, so it's easier
To keep folding.
Grant: there's number eight.
Kari: eight!
Narrator: but someone still
doesn't want to concede defeat.
[ Laughs ]
♪♪
Narrator: grant, tory, and
kari are trying to burn a hole
In the 7-paper-fold myth.
Tory: you got something
you want to say, grant?
As a matter of fact, I do.
I think it's clear that
I won the competition
With eight folds.
And not only did I win,
I busted the myth.
You know what, though?
You got eight folds,
But you changed the method
of the folding.
The obvious way would be
to fold it in half,
Turn it 90 degrees,
and fold it again.
Every time we tried to do that,
we couldn't get more
Than seven folds.
I mean, there might be
Some truth to this myth.
Well, if we use
A really big piece of paper,
I think there's a possibility
That we could get
more than seven folds.
Okay, then let's get the
biggest piece of seamless paper
We can find and try it again.
Narrator: all right, then.
They roll out the biggest
seamless piece of paper
They could find --
In theory, increasing the
paper's dimensions should make
It easier to reach
the elusive 8-fold goal.
Grant:
[ as arnold schwarzenegger ]
want to have big biceps?
Do this. Do this exercise.
Narrator: for the first
couple of folds,
The paper is a pushover,
but it's shrinking
With surprising speed.
Gets real small real fast.
It sure does.
This is six.
It's starting to get
feisty.
Tory: I don't know
about you guys,
But it's not looking good
for the mythbusters.
Narrator:
they reach the seventh fold.
Now to go for the number eight
and break the myth.
Alright, you're making
a mess of my paper.
So, this is seven.
We're supposed to get
one more fold?
Mm-hmm.
Well, maybe.
Good luck.
Narrator: but no matter what
sick methods of intimidation
They try,
the paper doesn't break.
Like to use the mallet,
don't you?
Ladies and gentlemen,
the pulp is victorious.
I have to say, this is not
looking like an honest eight.
It's looking like
an honest seven,
But unless it just stays
in that folded position,
I think this eight
might be a little sketchy.
We're stretching it.
The team is all torn up.
Even using a piece of paper
the size of a room --
Than the letter-size paper,
They couldn't crack
the 7-fold ceiling.
So, now what?
This is six times thicker
than the tracing paper.
If we can learn anything from
this little exercise,
It would be,
we need to go thinner
And we need to go bigger.
Narrator: bigger?
You got it, kari.
No one knows space like nasa,
And they have plenty of it at
an empty airship hangar
They've given us clearance
to use at moffett field.
At more than 200 feet high,
And 300 feet wide,
our crew will really be able
To explore the outer
reaches of this myth.
Their mission -- to fold a piece
of paper that's almost the size
Of a football field,
the biggest attempt
Of its kind in the world.
It's huge.
I don't know if this
is gonna be big enough.
Grant: oh, yeah.
[ Laughs ]
Narrator: because there's not
a piece of seamless paper
On the planet big enough,
the plan is to get
And lay them out side by side.
Covering 170 by 220 feet,
The team will join them together
with double-sided tape.
Then, they'll use whatever
methods necessary to try
And fold it into submission.
Basically, going to have to
fill this whole area.
Yeah, well, we have 170 feet
this way and 220 this way
Before we get to any equipment.
So, will that work out for us?
Yeah, it's perfect to scale
up an 8 1/2-by-11 sheet.
This is going to be
a long day.
We have a lot of work.
Narrator: then let's roll.
Turn around!
All the way back,
Right to this corner,
right here!
Narrator: the paper they're
using is special order.
Grant: this is the thickness
of regular office paper,
About .003.
What we tried to do in the shop,
Where we couldn't get
seven folds,
Was twice as thick as this.
And when you're talking about
trying to achieve this myth,
Thickness of the paper
is really important.
Narrator:
going larger and thinner
Might just give them the edge
they need to beat this myth.
They position the first roll,
Give it a push, and they're off.
Grant: this is going to be the
biggest piece of paper ever!
One down.
[ Laughter ]
Narrator: their first
Successfully unrolled.
To secure roll number 2,
they need...
Double-side tape.
Narrator: inch by inch,
they press the sticky stuff
Along the edge of the paper.
Keep it --
keep it in line.
Narrator: now, this, folks,
Is an example of highly focused,
Synchronized taping teamwork
in action.
Time to truck in roll number 2.
Grant: coming down.
Narrator: roll down, tape down.
I think we get the concept.
I hear this is good
for your back.
♪♪
Narrator:
the art of paper folding
Is an intricate and
time-consuming pursuit
That is also often
very rewarding.
♪♪
As they set up for the biggest
Paper-folding attempt
in history,
Our team is having difficulty
appreciating this.
Maybe I just lie here,
and it'll get itself done.
Grant: the problem
that we have right now is,
I don't think any of us
is realizing
Exactly the kind of scale
we're talking about
For this experiment.
Essentially,
this is a sheet of paper
The size of a football field,
And just maneuvering that,
Even seaming it together
so it's one piece of paper,
Is gonna be a major, major
challenge.
Narrator: better put them in
lockdown so they can't escape.
[ Alarm wailing ]
It sounded so much easier
on paper.
♪♪
Narrator: back at the pool,
jamie and adam are testing ways
To escape a car that's plunged
into the drink.
They've already discovered
that if you wait for the cabin
To fill with water
so the differential pressure
Equalizes and releases
its grip on the doors,
It could be too late.
Now they're going to try out
a modified survival technique.
Well, here we are at day 2.
Narrator: the first maneuver
On their cheating-death
checklist is to try and open
The door before
the car starts to sink.
I figure, for this particular
technique to work,
You need to do it right
the minute you hit the water.
If you hesitate, it's all over,
and you got to ride it ou.
Here we go!
Narrator: adam's plan
of action is...
I'm just going to wait until
the water gets up to my ankles,
And then I'm going
to try and open the door.
Here we go.
Oh, man.
That sound is so wrong.
Narrator: the water rushes in...
Okay, I'm starting
to see it on the floor.
And it's coming up to my ankles.
Now I'm going to try
and open the door.
Narrator:
...and adam rushes out.
[ Laughs ]
Bingo!
Surface exit via the door,
totally viable.
I waited until the water was up
to the top of my shoes,
And I was still able
to push this door open.
Narrator: the water
rises slowly upwards.
Next, he's going to wait
until it gets to his waist.
Okay, past my shoes.
Halfway up my shins.
All right, now I'm looking at --
my god, it's at my knees.
I'm not going to be able
to open this door.
Alright, wait...
Narrator: this one's
no pushover.
As the water level climbs, so
does the amount of pressure.
And adam has to brace himself
against the opposite door
To force it open.
[ Laughs ]
I was able to do it.
Narrator: but only just.
This time,
he's going even higher.
I'm going to wait until
I see water hit the top
Of this window.
Then, I'm going to use
all my strength
Against the opposite door
to try and push it open.
Dude, I'm going to have dreams
about this tonight.
All right.
The water's getting to
the top of the window here.
All right, here we go.
It's almost at the top.
Almost there.
Narrator: the differential
pressure on the other side
Of the door has become
too strong and holds it shut.
Adam gamely pushes back,
but he's like a krill
Fighting a whale.
It's not long before it's r.i.p.
For our little crustacean.
I think we found
the cutoff point. [ Laughs ]
Exiting the car via the door
After it hits the water is
a viable option,
But you have a
very small window.
By the time you can see water
halfway up your window,
It's pretty much too late.
♪♪
Narrator: back over
at paper fold h.q.,
The pigeons
living in the rafters
Have left some pointed messages
on the team's blank sheets.
It's everywhere!
Nasty!
They better tread
very carefully.
The art of paper
folding, known as "origami,"
Is believed to have
originated as long ago as
The first century a.d. In china.
Masters of the craft believe it
is a pursuit in which you can
Unlock the secrets of creation.
It looks like
a big giant diaper.
Narrator:
that might be a stretch
for our novices here today,
But finally
they reach the last joint.
All hands on deck!
Kari: disperse yourself
at even intervals.
Yeah.
We got to space out.
Whoo!
Yeah!
Narrator: and so the paper
becomes one.
That went so much better
than I thought!
That was a piece of cake!
[ Laughs ]
Whoo!
I thought
this was gonna be hard.
Narrator: looking down
from a bird's-eye view,
It's an impressive sea of white.
No wonder those pigeons
couldn't resist.
Ooh, look at
this ocean of paper.
I think this is going to be
probably the biggest attempt
To fold a piece of paper more
than seven times.
Actually, in 2002, there was
this high-school student named
Britney gallivan, and,
for an extra-credit project,
She did the 7-paper fold
and got more than 7 folds.
What? How.
She used toilet paper
and folded it lengthwise,
But the toilet paper
was 4,000 feet long.
How many folds did she get?
She got 12 folds.
She had to use a shopping mall,
And it took over
seven hours to fold.
Wow. That's impressive.
She may have beaten
the 7-paper fold,
But she did it lengthwise.
I still think
the spirit of the myth
Is folding it in half,
turning it 90,
And folding it again.
That's true.
And, within the parameters of
the "spirit of the myth,"
That record is still up
for grabs.
I say we do it.
We just got to be careful
we don't get any paper cuts.
Narrator: with the paper build
finished, they can finally
Begin folding.
It's socks only as
the whole "mythbusters" crew
Grabs an edge.
Everyone ready?
Man: ready!
Alright, here we go.
Tory: let's do it.
Slowly.
Slowly.
Narrator: slowly,
they pull back the paper,
Being very careful
where they step.
But the pigeon droppings
aren't their only worry.
My new worry is that
this paper is going to rip
When we start trying to fold it.
I mean, it's really thin.
And the size of these pieces
of paper, so heavy.
I just see ripping for days.
Narrator:
is there an ill wind blowing?
Kari: it's already a really,
really difficult task.
The paper has got
the littlest breeze,
And it starts to fly.
Narrator: one rip,
and their best-laid plans
Will be shredded.
Uh-oh, uh-oh,
we got a situation.
♪♪
Narrator: if you drive
your car into the drink,
You can't get out alive
unless you open a door
At precisely the right moment.
So, is there another
window of opportunity?
We know it's pretty much
impossible to open the door once
The car is submerged
and underwater.
The question everyone
asks after that is,
"Well, why didn't you
open the window?"
That's what I'm going to do
a shop test to find out.
I have one
electrically powered window,
And I have one
manual-powered window.
I'm going to put them under
the same kind of strain that
They'd experience underwater
and try and open them.
Narrator: the 350 pounds adam
is adding is equivalent
To the pressure the window
would be under at a depth of
Just 2 feet.
I do not know of a more
visual way to make clear how
Much pressure
you're dealing with
When you put things
underwater.
Narrator: then he tries
to crank it open...
I should point out,
I'm in a really good position
For leverage
to open this window.
Narrator: ...there's not even
a sliver of a crack.
There it goes.
It just failed.
Yeah, the gear just slipped.
Under that kind of pressure,
There's so much force pushing
the glass against the frame
Of the car that the manual lever
is going to break.
Narrator: maybe electric
windows have more power,
But the common perception is
they don't even work underwater.
This is the electric door,
and the first thing I want to do
Is dump the electric door in
this container with the battery
And see how long
the electrics hold out for.
Okay, here we go.
Jamie:
the battery's on the bottom.
They let it steep.
After 45 minutes, surprisingly,
It's still going strong.
Adam: so you shouldn't be
counting on the electrics
To allow you to open up
the electric window,
But it certainly doesn't
short out immediately
Like I thought it would.
So it's not
out of the question
That power windows could
still work underwater.
But what about the effect
of differential pressure?
You ready?
Uh-huh.
Oh.
Narrator: the burden
of 350 pounds pressing down
On the glass is a real pain.
No, it's not budging.
You can see it flex.
Yeah,
you can see it trying,
But it ain't going
nowhere.
So, with electric
or manual windows,
Neither would you.
Automatic windows,
you are just as screwed
As you are
with manual windows.
That's only 2 feet underwater.
That's like the bare minimum
you'd be encountering.
As long as there's still air
in the cabin of the car,
You would not be able
to open this window.
Narrator: but adam isn't
prepared to expire a third time.
Now that we know you can't
open that window because of
The pressure,
the question remains as to
How to open that window.
And I'd say you break it.
The question is how.
Narrator: their plan is to
try to break the glass using
Various items you'd likely
have within your reach inside
A submerged vehicle --
for starters, keys.
All right, you ready?
Go for it.
Adam smacks the glass,
but it doesn't crack.
I'm actually able to get
a good solid hit on that.
Nothing.
I'd say keys are busted.
Next on call, a cellphone.
You're just pounding
for your life!
You're screwed.
Then adam suits up
for another attempt.
So, adam, this is like
you've just stolen a car
And you got a little carried
away and escaping the cops,
And now you're underwater,
so you're in trouble.
[ English accent ]
oh, is that my motivation?
Yeah.
Ah.
So, busting an escape hole
Might be possible
with steel-toed boots.
Aah! Ooh!
Ooh, that's so cold!
Okay, I'm going to get
to kicking this window out
Right away.
But the window doesn't crumble.
If he had just carried out
his community-service sentence,
He would have lived.
No.
Nothing?
No.
None of the items that would
be laying around randomly
In your car worked for us
to break a window,
So we get to try the
commercially available ones.
This is a hammer thing
with a point on it,
And this is a
spring-loaded punch.
Narrator:
they try the underwater
emergency hammer first.
Oh!
What a difference.
Wow!
One hit.
[ Laughs ]
That was instantaneous.
I'll be darned. Well...
That works.
Amazing -- a product that does
exactly what it says on the box.
Next up is a store-bought
center-punch device --
A tool that's normally used
To dent a surface
prior to drilling.
Put it up against the glass
and push, and it does that.
And luckily, I have
one more car door.
A new door is submerged, and
they're ready for the count.
Wow, my hand just went
right through.
The reason the store-bought
products work is because
Car windows are made
of tempered glass.
This means they've been
heat-treated so that their
Surfaces are under compression.
Fracture it,
and this tension shatters.
That's lovely.
The product's meant to do --
get you out of that car.
Did exactly that perfectly on
the first try each.
It doesn't take much, but it
has to be the right thing.
Yeah, exactly.
The guys are completely sold
On the commercially designed
escape products.
Well, I've got a center punch
in my toolkit,
And I think one's gonna fits its
way into my glove compartment.
At last, a release.
♪♪
Back over at nasa,
our team is finding out
That folding a
football-field-sized
Piece of paper
isn't exactly a breeze.
For instance, the fact that
it turns into a giant wind sock
With the littlest bit
of a breeze.
There's air trapped
underneath it.
Narrator: but they manage to
rein in the billowing parachute
Without any tears
for an official fold one.
Let it fall.
Pull the slack.
Oh, that was beautiful.
Narrator: they reposition
for the next crease.
We're gonna fold
that direction.
It's like trying to fold
the world's biggest bedsheet.
It's starting to --
it's crumpling in weird ways.
It's not folding smoothly.
Narrator: but the team manages
to smooth out the wrinkles
And make folds two...
Three...
Hey, notice we're all getting
a little closer?
Narrator: ...four...
Five...
Everybody to this side
for six.
Narrator: ...and six
neat and tidy tuckings.
Grant: it's actually
like an air bag.
And lift.
Narrator:
however, with each pass,
The additional layers make
it harder to heave over.
And at fold seven, everyone and
everything is starting to puff.
Tory:
that's a lot of air.
Grant: yeah,
and it's not going down.
There it is.
Yeah, push your foot.
Narrator:
seven is squashed out.
Now the team is about
to go for eight.
If they achieve this, they will
bust the 7-paper-fold myth.
See how everybody's
really quiet?
Because we're all anticipating
busting this myth.
We've folded it seven times.
We're about to go
for number eight.
Eight.
Looking good.
I think we're going to do it.
Narrator: the paper tries
to dig in its heels
But is losing its grip.
Come on!
And we did it!
Yeah! Eight!
That is eight.
Eight!
Narrator: it sure feels
satisfying to beat a paper myth
To a pulp.
If you draw a line
all the way down,
You'll be able to
intersect every layer.
And that is a true eight folds.
And that busts this myth.
Narrator: there's no stopping
Our out-of-control
paper pushers now.
If it's worth doing,
it's worth overdoing.
Kari trucks in
a giant rolling pin
To flatten this piece
of puff pastry some more.
Flat as a pancake!
Narrator: as smooth
as rolled dough,
It folds back easy as pie.
Nine.
Nine!
Narrator: to achieve double
digits, the paper is too heavy
For the team to lift themselves,
So they stick a fork in it.
Drive in. Drive in.
[ Chuckling ] oh.
That is a definite 10.
Narrator: topping 10
is going to be tough.
Thanks to their buddy
exponential growth,
The paper is
now 1,024 layers thick.
It takes every ounce of strength
they have to bend it.
Ugh. You got it?
That feels like
an honest 11 to me.
Nice!
Yeah!
Narrator: not only did they
bust 7 folds, they turned it up
All the way to 11.
We definitely
put this one to bed.
Absolutely.
As far as our definition
For the myth goes,
as the fold,
We've got it long,
we've got it flat.
If we do any bit more, it's just
going to be a semicircle.
We got 11 folds out of a
football-sized piece of paper.
We busted a myth, and we're
going to go home before the sun
Completely goes down.
Grant:
I didn't think it was possible.
Tory: should we go
to the nasa gift shop?
Yeah!
♪♪
Narrator: if you drive
into a body of water,
You don't get more
than one chance to escape.
So, is there
a best-hope scenario?
Jamie and adam are
trying to find out.
Something tells we're not quite
done yet, are we?
No. No.
We have a whole roster
of survival techniques
That we've heard about
for getting out a car
Once it's sinking
in the water,
And I think we owe it
to the fans
To try them all out.
So, we're going
back to the pool?
We are.
Okay.
I'll get my wet suit.
Excellent.
They've done
their homework at m5.
But it's way more
exciting diving back
Into real-life situations.
Next,
if your window's jammed
Or it's too late
to get them down,
You've got to go for broke.
The next survival technique
We're going to try
is breaking the window.
Unfortunately, we can't break
the window because it's a pool,
And, you know,
people would get
Glass in their feet
or something.
So what we've done is rigged
the window with a lubricant
And with high voltage
So that we can really
positively pull it down.
Narrator: the high-voltage
triggers should be enough
To counter the
differential pressure.
Adam: all right, here we go.
[ Laughing ]
aw, that sound again.
Here we go,
rushing in past my feet.
Wow, we are dropping
really fast.
All right, I'm sinking
really fast now.
I'm about to hit the switch
in 3...2...1.
Narrator: adam hits the switch,
and water enters the cabin
Like a flood.
But he rides out
the torrent and escapes.
I lived.
The water rushed in
Just as I thought it would,
and it was quite intense.
But I held my breath.
I only had to hold it
for a few seconds
Because pretty much very quickly
the cab filled up.
I was able to just go out the
window and come to the surface.
Narrator: by smashing
the window, adam survived.
So in case of emergency,
break glass.
As the silent observer
of adam's numerous dunkings,
Jamie has had time to meditate,
and he's had a vision.
He calls his revelation...
Simply, patience,
The idea being that,
if you sit there,
You relax,
you conserve your energy --
And, therefore, your air --
You'll be able to apply
your energy when you need it,
Right at the last minute
when the car is equalized,
And there's not going to be
any problem getting out of it,
Instead of sitting there
fighting the whole way
And then you drown.
Narrator: adam is at peace
with jamie's guidance.
Let the car fill up.
Let it settle on the bottom.
Then casually open the door
and swim to the surface.
It's the maximum
Conservation-of-energy
technique.
It's very jamie.
Gone through this before.
Totally relax.
Narrator: adam centers
himself inside the cabin.
[ Breathing heavily ]
Narrator: as the water level
rises, he goes with the flow
And serenely lets
the car fill with water.
He's under just as long
as he was in the first test,
But now he's not using up oxygen
trying to yank open the door.
The emergency air tank
remains untouched.
Now, that's calm under
differential pressure.
When the cabin equalizes, he
gently pushes open the door.
♪♪
Ah.
I survived! Whoo!
The "mythbusters"
technique worked.
Whoo! [ Laughs ]
How many minutes was I down?
Woman: 1 minute, 37.
I could have been down for
another 15 or 20 seconds.
That was beautiful.
It was so --
Ah, it was very cool.
The longest period of time was
Actually for the car
to level out.
Once it did, though,
I still felt like I had plenty
of breath.
I just cracked the door, gave
the thumbs-up to the camera,
And sauntered up to the surface.
Narrator: jamie has
a final watery rumination.
Of course, in the real world,
This technique's
a little more problematic.
Everything's happening so fast,
You don't know what the depth of
the water that you're in is.
Best is to open that window
before you get water up to it,
And then you're golden.
Narrator: in the words
of a zen master,
"In the beginner's mind,
there are many possibilities,
But in the expert's mind,
there are few."
Looks like the guys have
narrowed down this myth just so.
Well, how are we going to
wrap this one up?
Well, the original myth
we started with,
That you can't
open the car door
Until the cab is full of water,
Is absolutely confirmed.
And we've actually looked at
Four really viable
survival techniques.
Of course, the best one is,
Just don't drive into the water
in the first place.
I'll try and remember that.
My personal favorite is
your zen technique.
It worked.
It worked like a charm.
That was awesome.
I was just sitting there
Watching you go...
[ Chuckles ]
You're looking
at your watch.
You're kind of chilling out.
Totally.
Actually, I find it really
relaxing to chill out.
I'm going to finish up by doing
a little more meditating
In the car at the bottom.
Okay.
♪♪
I really like
these kinds of myths, man.
Putting ourselves
in dangerous situations
And coming up with
the best way to get out --
That's too much fun.
I want to do some more.
Well, you may get your chance
Because we're gonna do
a whole episode
Based on fan suggestions,
And I bet there's
some like that in there.
You hear that?
So, if you've got
an idea for us,
Log on to
discovery.com/mythbusters
And tell us what you'd like
to see us do on the air.
Yeah. If it's stupid and risky,
we're all over it.
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05x03 - Underwater Car
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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.